Flotsam & Jetsam from Hell Week

Still no time to put up the next DUCKTALES RETROSPECTIVE -- it's been that kind of week.  Even with the added advantage of an unexpected day off from school (on Monday) because of snow, I haven't been able to proceed with "Duckman of Aquatraz."  Things look more promising for this weekend, however.  In the interim, I'll serve up a goulash of gobbets of various types.

Another sign of how busy I've been is that I never did get a chance to post my bracket of predictions for the NCAA tournament.  Ten of my "Sweet 16" are still alive:  Louisville, Michigan State, Duke, Ohio State, Kansas, Florida, Indiana, Syracuse, Marquette, and Miami (Fla.).  That's actually not so bad given the upset-laden nature of this year's Tournament.  Florida Gulf Coast?  Is that an educational institution or the name of an oil refining company?  For the record, my Final Four consists of Louisville, Ohio State, Kansas, and Marquette.  All of them are still alive and well.

From longtime friend Mark Lungo comes word that a "remastered" version of the classic late-80s DuckTales video game will be released by Capcom this Summer.  It's remastered, but, thankfully, not "re-imagined"; as you can see above, many of the original's features are being retained but are being slicked up a bit.  I'm not a game-player, but I can see many nostalgic gamers and Duck fans jumping on this release with both webbed feet.  The (surviving) original voice actors will apparently be returning to lend their voices to the game.

I saw where Joe Torcivia plans to start digging back into his "short boxes" to review old comics, now that he's pretty much stopped buying new ones.  I'm taking a slightly different tack in order to keep my comics-reviewing chops sharp.  With Ape's RICHIE RICH apparently dead in the water and the IDW and Fantagraphics comic-strip collections that I follow releasing new volumes at such a slow pace, I've decided to take the "pony plunge" and give the much-praised MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC a try.  Too many folks whose opinions I respect have told me that this series is worth checking out.  I remain a little skeptical for all that; why would IDW feel the need to produce all of those issues with variant covers if it REALLY felt confident that the comics series could stand on its own four hooves, as it were?  My last experience with variant covers, back during the Boom! Disney era, was somewhat less than optimal.  In any event, you'll be seeing reviews of the first MLP four-issue story arc sooner or later, once I get "out from under behind the eight-ball."

See you this weekend... if all goes well.