http://www.snopes.com/history/document/horseless.asp

http://speedforce.org/2012/05/shopdcentertainmentcom-finally-live-exclusive-flashpoint-box-set/

http://speedforce.org/?p=24342

Hey Speed Readers,

About a month ago DC Entertainment (formerly known as DC Comics) announced that they would they be rechristening their collectible products line, previously known as DC Direct, with a new brand dubbed DC Collectibles. Not only that but they pledged to make it easier for those without a Local Comic Shop (like I) to purchase their entire products line via their own e-commerce online shop known as ShopDCEntertainment.com. The site is finally live!

The new site will not only allow you to browse and purchase the entire DC Collectibles product line but it will also let you know what comic shops nearby carry want you want if you would still prefer to support brick and mortar comic book shops (Speed Force knows they need it). The line was previously only available in comic shops or through dealers online, who often found it necessary to add a bit of a mark-up to certain products due to their relative exclusivity and in the name of the almighty dollar. This news levels the playing field by a huge margin for fans like myself who have been hosed a few times over the years when it comes to DC Direct products. As I’ve mentioned before my local comic shop closed back in 2007 or 2008 and I haven’t had one close to me in quite a while. Due to that I’ve switched to shopping online about 97 percent of the time. Unfortunately I’ve had to pay not only some outrageous base prices but also crazy shipping prices as well. With the new system in place customers in the continental U.S. will only be paying at the most a 5 dollar flat free for ground shipping and 10 dollars for 2-day shipping if you desire it instead. On top of that any orders over 50 dollars will be eligible for free shipping. The prices for Canadian and International shipping aren’t super awesome but what I’ve seen they aren’t super terrible either.

Not only are the shipping prices a million times better but it seems as if we are going to have access to a bevy of other non-DC Collectibles product. Inputting “Flash” in the search function brings up about 30 different Flash-related items with a number of them on sale, including the terrific 1990-91 TV series on DVD for the low, low price of $10.99 usd marked down from $47.99! You can also find t-shirts, action figure sets from Mattel, statues and jewelry.

Of course the biggest deal for Flash collectors will be the DC Entertainment Shop’s exclusive Flashpoint Box Set featuring the incredibly hard to find (comparatively), and expensive Flashpoint Barry Allen released earlier this year. The set also includes  Wonder Woman and Batman from Flashpoint Series 1 along with an exclusive Emperor Aquaman (which fans are actually calling out as a gyp since it is merely a repaint and doesn’t really resemble the Flashpoint Aquaman from the story, much) and a exclusive $500 poker chip from Wayne Casinos (don’t ask):

Funny thing, I was curious about just what differences we would see in pricing from ShopDCEntertainment compared to oh I don’t know evilBay and wow; I found more than a couple dealers who were selling the set for almost twice the price of the MSRP! Fortunately ShopDCEntertainment has the set at $59.99 usd with free shipping on top of that; take that scalpers!

One more awesome thing about the new shop; In the past like many others I have experienced a few quality control issues with a few figures that I’ve purchased. I haven’t experienced anything too terrible on a consistent basis but I’ve heard horror stories about limbs snapping right out of the package, warped parts, and stuck joints. Unfortunately unless you were dealing with a really cool seller you were stuck with the figure and had to purchase a replacement through your own means and even if you were able to negotiate a deal to get a replacement you would usually have to pay to ship the other figure back. Now ShopDCEntertainment gives us a chance to shop without worries; they offer returns on all items within 30 days and in the case of a defective, damaged or incorrect item you won’t even have to pay for shipping. Great news for collectors!

I’m still mulling over whether I’m going to pick the exclusive set up or not. I already have the Flashpoint Flash figure and it wasn’t even that awesome the first time around. I guess it would be cool to commemorate the first Flash-centric company-wide crossover and the death of everything I knew and loved so who knows? I just think it is a little pricey for a figure that I already have and three I have no use for.

Do any of you guys plan on picking up the Flashpoint Exclusive Set? What do you all think of the new, revamped site and brand so far? Please let us know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading,

-Devin ‘Flash’ Johnson

ShopDCEntertainment.com Finally Live! Plus Exclusive Flashpoint Box Set Available is a post from Speed Force.

http://speedforce.org/2012/05/lego-batman-2-video/

http://speedforce.org/?p=24332

As Devin reported last week, the Flash, Captain Cold and Gorilla Grodd will appear in Lego Batman 2. Today, CBR published new video and still images from the game, including a brief look at the Scarlet Speedster in action!

New LEGO Batman 2 Video Features Flash & More is a post from Speed Force.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/australia.asp

http://mightygodking.com/index.php/2012/05/23/on-aggrandizement/

http://mightygodking.com/?p=6271

Dustin Harbin wrote a very good post about yesterday’s Scott Kurtz dustup and I wanted to respond to it, because Harbin constructs a reasonable argument and I try to respond to reasonable arguments with honest dialogue. And, in fairness, Dustin is not the only one to take issue with the tone I used in writing it.

In fact, most of the time I will try to respond to arguments with honest dialogue. I still, on occasion, will lose my shit with somebody. But arguments tend to fall into four categories:

1. A rational argument written civilly. Even if I disagree with this, I generally will try to engage it as fairly and civilly as possible.

2. An irrational argument written civilly. I will usually try to engage this civilly as well. Not always, mind you – if an argument is gratituously stupid enough I will backslide into mockery (witness my response to that “If I Was A Poor Black Kid” thing a while back). But even then I’ll usually try to direct my ire at the argument rather than at the person making it. I will not always succeed, of course. But I’ll try.

3.) A rational argument written uncivilly. I can go either way with these. Sometimes I’ll be civil to be “the reasonable one.” Sometimes I will write a civil response and then go back and throw in some insults. It really depends a lot on the original argument being made and the person making it. Some people, when they are uncivil, will drop back and apologize if challenged. Some want you to rise up and engage in a boxing match. (My sense for this isn’t perfect – nobody’s is – but I tend to think it’s not bad.)

4.) An irrational argument written uncivilly. Short version: fuck these people. Long version:

I understand Dustin’s point. An offensive response to an offensive post can turn off those who would potentially agree with you. And you know what, he’s not wrong. But here’s the thing: for those people, there is David Brothers’ logical sledgehammer of a post at ComicsAlliance about creator abuse, or Tom Spurgeon’s essay about “more Watchmen“, or many others besides (although those are the most important, I think). Those are both calm, insightful pieces that lay out the ethical and moral failings that have led us to this point in comics history. Both were widely read. And, if you look at the comments on Brothers’ article, a lot of people still didn’t get it.

When I first read the Kurtz article, my initial response was to say “just go read Brothers and Spurgeon and the others and they will show why Kurtz is full of shit.” But after a second reread of Kurtz’ post I decided otherwise, and this is where Dustin will likely disagree with me: I do think there is value in the expression of anger and disgust. Simply saying that Kurtz’ article is morally abhorrent and full of wind is not enough to convince some people; there are those who will be swayed by the expression of how horrible you found it, and I think viscerality plays a part in this.

The Overton Window is one of those things that has been bandied about far, far too often in the past decade, to the point where many people would prefer the phrase never existed in the first place, but the Overton Window gets shifted when one makes an outrageous argument on the far side of an argumentative spectrum. Kurtz’ post fell into this category (“not only was Kirby not that important, but the people supporting his side of the story are bad people”). When an argument like that comes around, I think it must be engaged and driven down as forcefully as possible. And at a time like that, there is value in scorn.

That’s my two cents on it, anyways.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/joshreads/~3/YrxOGolozYM/

http://joshreads.com/?p=13669

Mary Worth, 5/23/12

ROMANCE TIP: If you accidentally run into girl you just dumped over e-mail while grocery shopping with the girl you dumped her for, be sure to keep a death grip on girl number two, to ensure that you appear to girl number one as a walking Facebook profile picture of radiant happiness. To twist the knife further, be sure to tell girl number one that she “looks good” while basically shoving the much better looking girl number two in her face. At least, I’m assuming that Paula is supposed to be better looking than Dawn? This is Mary Worth, where everyone is hideously ugly, but Dawn is looking especially like a big-headed alien wearing a terrible wig, so probably that’s a good bet.

Funky Winkerbean, 5/23/12

“The compromise you proposed — that same-sex couples be allowed to attend the prom, so long as their faces and identities remain hidden behind the battlements of this Castle of Gayness — was really visionary. I’d love to show the pictures to my future children, if we were allowed to be photographed!”

Rex Morgan, M.D., 5/23/12

Remember, kids, with tiny bottles of liquor from your mini-bar, you can turn anyplace into your personal Tranquility Room!

http://speedforce.org/2012/05/week-flash-9/

http://speedforce.org/?p=24295

THE FLASH #9

Written by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato
Art by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato

Continuing the debut of Gorilla Grodd in DC Comics –- The New 52! The Flash travels to Gorilla City for the first time! Who are the “Runners” –- and what do they mean for The Flash and the Speed Force?

IO9 has a preview of the issue.

This Week: Flash #9 is a post from Speed Force.

http://mightygodking.com/index.php/2012/05/23/dear-hollywood-please-stop-using-the-wilhelm-scream/

http://mightygodking.com/?p=6265

So I was watching The Avengers again over the weekend and during one of the fight sequences, there is of course a Wilhelm Scream. This was not something I failed to miss the first time I watched the movie. More precisely, when I watched The Avengers the first time through and the Wilhelm Scream happened, my reaction was “oh, Christ. The Wilhelm Scream.” And this is because the Wilhelm Scream now must be in every movie ever, because it’s stopped becoming an in-joke and started becoming a sign of nerd credibility. I mostly blame this Youtube video for that:

And now every action/blockbuster movie has to have a Wilhelm Scream in it somewhere. All of the Harry Potters had them, The Hunger Games had one, all of the Marvel flicks have one, I think The Expendables had about half a dozen, et cetera. But the problem is this: whenever I hear a Wilhelm Scream I am taken out of the movie experience. My suspense of disbelief ends and I am just a guy sitting in a movie theatre who realized he just heard the same damn scream for the umpteenth time, because I recognize it. Every time.

I hate that feeling of being reminded I’m watching a movie, and for the sake of a cheap in-joke at that. When I watch a movie, I want to be thrilled during the fight scenes and exciting bits where a Wilhelm Scream might conceivably be heard. I want to experience that “ooooch” feeling when somebody really gets it, and if that moment is punctuated with a Wilhelm Scream then I’m not going to get that feeling. Instead, I’m just going to be thinking “oh, a Wilhelm Scream. Huh.” I mean, it would be as if a character stopped acting and suddenly just turned to the camera holding a handful of bacon and said “look! Bacon!” Because people love bacon. You would want to smack them if they did that, right? I mean, I already want to smack every webcomic artist who uses “bacon” as a punchline, and I’m not even paying for the webcomic, whereas I am typically paying in some manner for the movie.

Seriously. Sound people in Hollywood. Go find some other scream noise. Don’t use the Wilhelm Scream for another ten years at least. We all need a break from it.