June 2016 | Otaku No Culture

Wind up Geek’s Best of Canadian TV Commercials Part 1

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

Whether it’s the commercial of a Second City alumni pushing cameras or a Canadian national treasure singing the praises of a bank, chances are these commercials have been imprinted into the minds of the masses. In some cases commercials with 30 seconds of air time can produce more comedy, drama or music then a half hour TV episode. With a good ad writer, a caring director, and the right film crew, a commercial can sometimes impress more than it’s television show counterpart.

But even with the right ingredients it’s still the spokesmodel who can make or break a commercial. A good face will warm your heart, make you laugh and earn your trust.

So without further ado, here is part 1 of what I consider some of the best Canadian commercials and ad campaigns then and now:

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DC’s Scooby Doo Apocalypse is a Mixed Bag

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Scooby-Dooby-Doo, Where Are You?
We got some work to do now.
Scooby-Dooby-Doo, Where Are You?
We need some help from you now.
Come on Scooby-Doo, I see you… pretending you got a sliver
But you’re not fooling me, cause I can see, the way you shake and shiver.

And those are still the words I still hum along to whenever I tune into broadcasts of this fond classic cartoon from the 70’s. It had brief comic book runs by different companies putting their own spin on the tale and they were faithful to the animation, like Gold Key. When I discovered this fond cartoon, not a day in my life could go by without me catching a rerun or reading the Harvey Comics reprint. Woe befell me when I heard about DC comics reimagining of this franchise and after picking up the first issue to read, I strangely found myself enjoying this post-apocalyptic look of my favourite canine turned cyber-mutt.

No, Dynomutt has not been replaced but if later issues start affixing this Great Dane’s body with mechanical parts because he’s been hurt after his encounters with monsters (either attempting to run away or otherwise), I will cry foul. He wears a type of Google Glasses with holoprojectors to give him cartoon eyebrows and show how he’s feeling. What it does is to allow him and Shaggy to work together.

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Punk Rock’s Legacy is Defined with The Damned, A Documentary Review

thedamnedposter — now available for purchase on Amazon

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)
To be published in an upcoming issue of Absolute Underground Magazine

The Damned: Don’t You Wish That We Were Dead is a fascinating documentary that looks at the rise, decline and resurrection of the United Kingdom’s seminary lords of the punk rock scene. They helped give rise to it mid to late 70’s, and the people they influenced included Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders — who played with The Damned albeit briefly before finding her own road to success.

Although I would have liked to hear more from her brief stint, many well-known names were interviewed about the influence this band had back then. They were very introspective. Appearances from Billy Idol, Lemmy, Son Letts, Nick Mason of Pink Floyd, Mick Jones of The Clash and Clem Burke of Blondie are just some of the names who lend their insights to what this group represented. Although they never attained the global success that bands like the Sex Pistols attained, that may be in part to the image the founding members — Dave Vanian, Brian James, Captain Sensible and Rat Scabies — wanted to project. They seemed rather schizophrenic early in their inception.

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Tales From an Early Rider … er Reader of Dark Horse Comics in Salute to Dark Horse Day

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By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

In my days as a fervent comic book reader, I think I bought more Dark Horse Comics than Marvel or DC combined. Nothing against the big two from out East, but this company based in the Dogwood City of the West in the Beaver State released a lot of translated manga, movie-tie in material and unique titles that I definitely gnawed at! Two of the earliest works I enjoyed reading were Aliens and Predator. Of the two, I got my very first issue signed by the artist Chris Warner when he visited my home city of Victoria, BC in a special book tour. A few decades later, I managed to get my Aliens portfolio (my original comics were buried too deep in storage to pull out in time for Emerald City Comicon a few years ago) autographed by Mark A. Nelson .

This publisher is celebrating the big three-o this year, and their big day is being celebrated worldwide on June 3rd. Appropriately enough, they have a release to give out for free which includes an Aliens versus Predator story. This comic book recalls 30 years of their best-selling titles. I’m very curious in which stories get reprinted, but there will be new material too. The worlds represented are Sin City, Umbrella Academy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Best of all, the distribution of this comic is not limited to North America; it’s international! Comic stores from around the world will be offering swag which includes mini-posters, window clings and postcards. Please check with your local comic book retailer if they are participating; the list is huge.

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