superheroes – Page 7

Review of The Red Panda Adventures – Season 2

SFFaudio Audiobook Review

As a special CANADA DAY treat for everyone worldwide, Podiobooks.com has scored the entire 2nd Season of The Red Panda Adventures! The entire season is up and ready for download today! And here’s our review of it…

The Red Panda Adventures – Season Two
By Gregg Taylor; Performed by a FULL CAST
12 MP3 Files – Approx. 5.5 Hours [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: DecoderRingTheatre.com / Podiobooks.com
Published: 2006/2007
Themes: / Fantasy / Superheroes / Supervillains / 1930s / Toronto / Secret Identities / Hypnotism / Magic / Parallel Worlds /

Mad Monkey: “Security pays, but it can’t live without fear. And all I want is my cut.” -Episode 20: Monkeyshines

Like the first season of The Red Panda Adventures, season two is an incontestably enjoyable frolic through original, but familiar, comic book territory. The Red Panda and his faithful driver, Kit Baxter (AKA Flying Squirrel), patrol Toronto rooftops by static boot, and whunk their way through superhero sized pneumatic tubes concealed about the city, fighting wrongdoers. New and old supervillains, voiced by professional audio actors, execute egregious crimes that can only be foiled by a prosperous panda with hypnotic powers and a volitant rodent with a mean right-hook.

The second season has more of what made the first season so terrific. Standouts in traditional storytelling include episode 14: The Sunday Supplement, Episode 16: The Sweet Tooth, and Episode 20: Monkeyshines. The latter introduces a terrific new antagonist called “The Mad Monkey,” an arch-scoundrel on par with DC Comics rogues like The Joker and The Penguin. Season two also has a few episodes that expand the storytelling in different directions. Episode 18, for instance, was the long requested Secret Origins episode – in which we discover the first ever meeting of Panda and Squirrel. Episode 15: When Darkness Falls tells its tale from the perspective of a young boy in a city with a vigilante superhero. And episode 24: The World Next Door posits the existence of an alternate universe in which the Red Panda is a Nazi fighter and the Flying Squirrel is a teenage boy! In naming this show an SFFaudio essential I’ve got to cite both the writing and the production. The acting here is absolutely tops. Recording the scenes in-studio, together, works. The writing is perky, puissant, perfect, and seemingly effortless. The series scribe, Gregg Taylor, is a master storyteller.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Super Pal and Jewels of the 11th Generation

SFFaudio Review

Great Northern Audio - Super Pal The Saving of the World: Super Pal (Includes Jewels of the 11th Generation)
By Great Northern Audio Theatre; Performed by a FULL CAST
1 CD – Approx. 70 minutes [LIVE AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Great Northern Audio
Published: 2005/2006
Themes: / Fantasy / Comedy / Superheroes / Meteors / Jewels / Space Travel / Children / Squeak Toys / Computers

A comet is heading towards Big City, but is it a job for Super Pal?

Great Northern Audio brings you the tale of the blue-glowing superhero, as told from those closest to him. The nurse who helped birth him, the girlfriend who likes the cape (nudge-nudge), his best friend growing up, even the crooks he brought down.

Meanwhile, the comet comes closer, and Super Pal is nowhere to be found. The mayor begins to look at other superheroes, but no help is available. One kinked their back while lugging an oil rig across the desert, and another is expecting a baby and is on light duty. You know, bank robbers.

What to do? Well, Super Pal does have a weakness for cats in trees….

The CD also includes The Jewels of the 11th Generation, a story of two zany treasure-hunters looking for the ultimate treasure. They certainly find more than that! Children, pirates- and… squeak toys? But where are the jewels? This is also a lot of fun and well-written. Mix that with excellent acting, including the talents of David Ossman of Firesign Theatre, and you know exactly why I enjoyed it so much.

These performances were a lot of fun. I loved the documentary-style interviews in telling the tale of Super Pal, and the jokes in Jewels made me laugh out loud a couple of times! Very witty, and hearing the audience respond now and then in the background really made it all the more enjoyable. For a live performance, it has a better sound than a lot of in-studio performances. A very enjoyable hour!

Both SuperPal and Jewels of the 11th Generation were part of live Great Northern Audio performances in 2005 and 2006. Definitely worth going over to Great Northern’s website and getting a copy today!

posted by Dani Cutler

Pendant Productions does Superhero Crossover Series: IMPERIUM

Online Audio

Pendant Productions, founded and executive produced by writer/director/actor Jeffrey Bridges has released the first in a nine episode crossover series scattered among their three superhero audio dramas:

“IMPERIUM” incorporates three Pendant shows; Superman: The Last Son of Krypton, Batman: The Ace of Detectives and Wonder Woman: Champion of Themyscira in a story spanning three months and nine episodes. The first show in the crossover appears in “issue” 25 of Superman: The Last Son of Krypton…

Superman: The Last Son of Krypton (Issue 25 “Onslaught”) – Part 1 of 9 of the “IMPERIUM” Crossover
1 MP3 – Approx. 16 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Podcaster: Pendant Productions – Superman: The Last Son of Krypton
Podcast: January 30th 2007

From the tattered remains of Themyscira to Gotham City and Metropolis, Earth is under attack from a horde of parademons that can’t be stopped! Even the mightiest of heroes must band together and take the fight to the source… Darkseid!

Podcast feed:

http://www.pendantaudio.com/superman-podcast.xml

And be sure to watch out for the subsequent issues:

FEB 14 – Batman 13 (Imperium 2)
FEB 21 – Wonder Woman 13 (Imperium 3)
FEB 28 – Superman 26 (Imperium 4)
MAR 14 – Batman 14 (Imperium 5)
MAR 21 – Wonder Woman 14 (Imperium 6)
MAR 28 – Superman 27 (Imperium 7)
APR 11 – Batman 15 (Imperium 8)
APR 18 – Wonder Woman 15 (Imperium 9)

posted by Jesse Willis

WHYY declares Chanukah: A Time for Superheroes

Online Audio

Hey you didn’t think we forgot about Chanukah did you? Nah, we got your Chanukah, we got it right here in a show that just aired on WHYY Radio (Wednesday, December 20th, 10 pm – 11 pm):

Chanukah a Time for Superheros illuminates the connection between ancient heroes and modern-day superheroes. Host Arye Gross begins with the Chanukah story of the Maccabees, the Hebrew band of brothers who fought against the religious repression of the Syrian-Greeks over 2000 years ago. This heroic tale has inspired comic book writers since pow, zap and bam first appeared in print and on the silver screen.Listeners enjoy insights from Marvel Comics’ Stan Lee and DC Comics’ Wil Eisner, who describe their humble origins and the backdrop of their Jewish experience that informed Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and Wonder Woman. Listeners also hear from filmmakers Sam Raimi (“Spiderman”) and Brian Singer (“X-Men,”) from Michael Chabon, the acclaimed author of “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,” and they visit the studios of Art Spiegelman and the Hanouka brothers, cutting-edge graphic novelists.

“Chanukah: A Time for Superheroes” includes archival radio and movie clips, music and readings, all woven around the compelling tale of how the holiday evolved from a story of military victory to one of light and inspiration.

You can still listen! Head over to PRX.org (a nonprofit web-based platform for digital distribution, review, and licensing of radio programs) where they’ve archived the 1 hour show! You’ll need to sign up to listen to the stream but sign-up is free and relatively painless.

Happy Chanukah!

posted by Jesse Willis

Darker Projects has a new SUPERHERO Podcast Feedback: A Hero’s Calling

SFFaudio Online Audio

Darker Projects has a new show! Feedback: A Hero’s Calling

This, the first episode is the origin story!

Every morning, I wake up to a mechanical alarm clock, put on my dampening suit, and cross my fingers that the game I’m about to play is going to be the “right” one. If I don’t, two things happen. One, my feedback field remains active and I fry every electronic piece of equipment within 30 feet of me. And two, I will have no superpowers to save the world.

My name is Feedback, and these are my stories.

Before the explosion that infused my body with the feedback field, I was simply a computer scientist and a little out of touch with computer games. That’s where a remarkable group of people known as Tech Support comes in. They assess my missions, supply me with the games I need, monitor my progress and patch me up — because the greater the intensity at which I use the powers, the faster they dissipate.

What I haven’t told you is …if I use a game ability, I lose a memory. Every act of heroism that requires these powers is a conscious choice to lose part of who I am. Sometimes that isn’t easy to do.

But what other choice do I have?

The world needs a hero.

Subscribe via the feed:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/Feedback-Superhero

posted by Jesse Willis

Review of The Red Panda Adventures – Season 1

SFFaudio Audiobook Review

The Red Panda Adventures – Season One
By Gregg Taylor; Performed by a FULL CAST
12 MP3 Files – Approx. 5.5 Hours [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: DecoderRingTheatre.com / Podiobooks.com
Published: 2005/2006
Themes: / Fantasy / Superheroes / Supervillains / 1930s / Toronto / Secret Identities / Hypnotism /

Flying Squirrel: “We could have two super-power’d loons on our hands.” -Episode 11: Duality

Masks, grapple-guns, static boots, retractable membranes, ring-radios? Check. Supervillains with names like The Golden Claw, The Electric Eel and Diablo? Check. Okay then, tune your podcatcher to ‘pure pulp’ and break out the hockey organ because The Red Panda Adventures – Season One is ready to glide into justice. This first 12 episode season is full of flying kung fu fists, mesmerizing hypnosis, snappy dialog and mystery. Most memorable for me are the characters and the dialogue. Plot lines are reminiscent of comic-book and radio serials from yesteryear but the parlance is all modernistic as filtered through a roaring-twenties speech pattern paradigm. Episode 2: Night Mission and Episode: 7 Red Panda Wanted Dead Or Alive stood-out because these episodes highlighted the interaction between the love-blind hero, Red Panda, and his adoring sidekick The Flying Squirrel. The Panda’s superpowers are a cross between those of The Green Hornet and The Shadow. He’s a master hypnotist, able to cloud the minds of villains. Other fun aspects are the introduction of other superheroes and superhero groups, in a way the whole show reminds me of animated version of The Tick if it were played slightly straighter.

The Red Panda Adventures – Season One is a super-fun diversion delivered in delicious half-hour doses. The only thing better than the production of this fab audio drama series is the vocal talent. I get endless kicks out of the sexual tension between the oblivious Red Panda and his pining sidekick/driver Kit Baxter. Their city, 1930s Toronto, is quieter than many other audio dramas, I hear less foley and fewer sound effects, I like that they aren’t obsessed with putting in the sound of footsteps in every scene – it usually isn’t necessary. Also nice is that from episode one of this series this show really works. This is probably because of the experience gained during the previous Red Panda incarnation (a six episode series set during WWII). Season Two is already underway and I look forward to devouring it too.

Posted by Jesse Willis