Remember that one day when you could wake up without an alarm? When you would get your favorite bowl of cereal and sit between the hours of 8 and 12? This is a blog dedicated to the greatest time of our childhood: Saturday mornings. The television programs you watched, the memories attached to them, and maybe introducing you to something you didn't realize existed. Updated every weekend.
Every year, many retailers participate in an event called Free Comic Book Day. Held on the first Saturday of May since 2002, the goal of the initiative is to get people interested in comics by offering them a sampling of what can be found on the shelves every week. Not only will FCBD 2016 fall on the day we kick off our COMIC BOOK MONTH event, but we'll also be covering the smattering of Saturday-based comics that have come out over the years as a helpful guide for you to look for in your local shop's back issue section.
To find a participating retailer, just head to the FCBD website (linked above). And don't forget: the comics may be free, but retailers still have to pay for them. Buy something, why don'tcha?
Martial artist. Actor. Director.
Producer. Stuntman. Singer. These are the many hats worn by comedic action star
Jackie Chan, who has had a long and varied career in entertainment since he was
five years old.
Jackie Chan.
Chan was born Chang Kong-sang in
British Hong Kong, where he was nicknamed Pao-pao
(Chinese for “cannonball”) due to his energetic nature and always rolling
around as a kid. He was enrolled into
the Peking
Opera School where he excelled in martial arts and
acrobatics, eventually becoming part of the performance group comprised of the
school’s best students called Seven
Little Fortunes. He and some of the Fortunes would appear
in the 1962 film Big and Little Wong Tin Bar.
Chan in the '70s.
Chan would continue to train in
various disciplines and take many small roles in films, becoming a stuntman at
17 in the Bruce Lee films Fist
of Furyand
Enter the Dragon.
His first starring role came in 1973 with the film Little
Tiger of Canton,
which
had a limited release in Hong Kong. Having difficulty finding sustainable work
due to the failures of his early efforts, Chan eventually joined his parents in
Australia where he worked in construction. A colleague named Jack took Chan
under his wing, earning Chan the nickname “Little Jack” that would become his
permanent name: Jackie.
Rumbling in the Bronx.
Chan’s first major success came with
the 1978 film Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, which established
the comedic kung fu genre. Chan’s mainstream success came in the film Drunken
Master.
Under
his manager Willie
Chan
(no relation), Chan attempted to break into the international market during the
1980s, initially having some trouble and choosing to renew his focus on Hong
Kong films. He finally conquered North America with the 1995 film Rumble
in the Bronx,
which
eventually led to his blockbuster success with the 1998 buddy cop action comedy
Rush Hour.
Animated Jackie.
Chan
became widely known for his comedic timing, humorous fighting style, and
ability to improvise with any object as a weapon. Being a living cartoon on
screen practically begged for him to become a real one, and in 2000 those
prayers were answered with Jackie Chan
Adventures. Developed by Chan along with John Rogers,
the series followed the adventures of archaeologist Jackie Chan (James Sie, who
would go on to assume another Chan role of Monkey in Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness)
after he had been conscripted into the services of the secret spy agency
Section 13 by his old friend, Captain Augustus Black (Clancy Brown).
With Section 13, Jackie would travel the world to retrieve mystical artifacts
in order to keep them out of the hands of various dark forces who would use
them for their own ends. Inspired by Chan’s films, cartoon Jackie would be
portrayed as a bumbling-yet-competent fighter who tried to avoid conflict as
much as possible, often exclaiming “Bad day! Bad day! Bad day!” whenever things
would go sideways and saw him fleeing for his life.
Uncle casting a spell.
Aiding Jackie on his adventures
would be his uncle, known only as Uncle (Sab Shimono). Jackie lived and worked
with Uncle in his antique shop, Uncle’s Rare Finds, in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Uncle was an
accomplished martial artist from his years as part of the Seven Little
Fortunes, and a chi wizard. Uncle could often be heard exclaiming “aiyah!” or
saying “one more thing”, usually as admonitions to other characters, and
frequently employed a two-fingered slap upside the head in order to get their
full attention or chastise them for something stupid.
Jade: as troublesome as she is helpful.
At
the start of the series, Jackie’s 12-year-old niece, Jade Chan (Stacie Chan,
again no relation, and Lucy
Liu
for the first appearance of her future self), came to stay with Jackie and
Uncle. Although she was born in Hong Kong, she was fully Americanized. Inspired
by Gosalyn Mallard from Darkwing Duck, she was
adventurous and often defied both of her guardians to participate on their
exploits. Although she often caused the trouble that would plague Jackie, she
just as often came up with solutions. A running gag on the show would have
Jackie supposedly locking her up in a secure location before things got too
heavy, only for her to appear seconds into the action.
An earlier incarnation of Uncle's shop.
Jackie Chan Adventures premiered
on The
WB
as part of their Kids’
WB!
programming block on September 9, 2000. It was a joint production between Blue
Train Entertainment, Adelaide Productions,
Columbia
TriStar Television, Sony Pictures
Television and Chan’s own The JC Group;
a production company he founded for his works. The series’ intro, set to Wheatus’ “Chan’s the Man”
theme, featured a montage of Jackie being caught in comedic danger situations
and occasionally having him briefly swapped out for the real Chan. Chan would
again appear at the end of each episode to answer a fan question as read by Jade
that covered a variety of topics from his career to Chinese culture, as well as
in
promos for the show interacting with Jade, Uncle or other
Kids’ WB! characters. Animation was handled by Dong Woo Animation,
with the characters primarily designed by Jeff Matsuda.
While the characters were rendered in a clean style, the backgrounds were a bit
more abstract; featuring colors that would defy object border lines, much like
a child’s coloring book.
Shendu's statue form, with holes waiting for the Talismans to be returned.
The
series became popular, running for a total of five seasons and expanding beyond
Saturday morning to air up to six
days a week on the network. Each season had its own
overreaching story arc and new primary villains, which were incorporated into the
intro for that year. The first season focused on the hunt
for twelve magical Talismans representing the animals on the Chinese zodiac.
Each Talisman had its own unique attribute: Rat could give inanimate objects
life; Ox bestowed super strength; Tiger could split a being’s Yin and Yang;
Rabbit granted super speed; Dragon fired pure, fiery energy; Snake granted
invisibility; Horse provided healing abilities; Sheep allowed astral
projection; Monkey allowed shape-shifting; Rooster gave the power of
levitation; Dog granted immortality; and Pig bestowed heat vision. The powers
once belonged to the demonic dragon Shendu (Sie) who ruled China until a chi
wizard cast him in stone and divided his ability amongst the Talismans some 900
years ago.
Valmont.
Seeking
freedom and revenge for both him and his siblings, the Demon Sorcerers, Shendu
managed to contact and ally himself with Valmont (Julian Sands
for the first two seasons, Andrew
Ableson after), the leader of the criminal organization known
as The Dark Hand. Valmont was a criminal mastermind and a martial arts expert
from the United Kingdom who could match and even best Jackie in a fight.
However, like most bosses, he preferred to leave the fighting to his men; specifically,
a group in his organization known as The Enforcers.
The Enforcers: Hak Fu, Chow, Finn and Ratso.
The
Enforcers were comprised of Irish comedian Finn (Adam Baldwin),
who had a strong affinity for the 1970s and sang disco at weddings before the
Dark Hand; Ratso (Brown), a nerdy strongman with an innocent demeanor that wore
a bandage across his nose as a fashion statement; Chow (Sie), the shortest and
youngest member of the team who wore yellow-orange sunglasses; Hak Foo (Jim Cummings
in season 1, John
DiMaggio after), a red-haired martial artist who liked to
announce animal-related descriptions to his attack of choice at the moment; and
Tohru (Noah Nelson), a very large Japanese man who began to question his role
with the Dark Hand. Eventually, Tohru defected to Section 13 and became Uncle’s
employee and apprentice in his shop, learning chi magic and becoming a valuable
member of Jackie’s allies. Shendu also had his own minions, the Shadowkhan, who
looked like ninjas with glowing red eyes and gray skin.
The
third season put renewed focus on the Talismans when Wong and the Dark Hand
simultaneously attacked Section 13 for them. In order to stop them, Jackie
destroyed the Talismans and unwittingly released their energy to possess noble
animals around the world. A new quest began to find the animals before Wong
could absorb their Chi energy, leading to the introductions of Scruffy the dog,
Sasha the tiger, Nick the rat, Hai-Ku the monkey, Egbert the rooster, Mordecai
the pig, Lucky the rabbit, Bab the sheep, Sampa the snake, Royal Medicine the
horse, and Yaka the ox. With all dragons extinct, the combustibility power fell
to Shendu who proceeded to trick Wong into giving him corporeal form.
The Oni.
The
fourth season had Wong attempt to re-summon the Shadowkhan, accidentally
summoning their king Tarakudo (Miguel Ferrer)
instead. He and his generals each had an Oni mask that allowed the wearer to
summon a different tribe of Shadowkhan with abilities different from what has
been seen on the show until now. When those masks were gathered into one place,
it allowed Tarakudo’s generals’ spirits to break free from the masks and gain
form on Earth. Shendu’s son from the future, Drago (Michael Rosenbaum),
came to the present in order to free his father but ended up setting his sights
on the powers of the Demon Sorcerers. Drago also recruited The Enforcers to his
cause, giving them an upgrade and new powers. In the final season, Drago went
around the world to find the cursed objects of the Immortals that imprisoned
the Demon Sorcerers in order to free them and conquer Earth.
The J-Team: Viper, Tohru and El Toro Fuerte.
During
their adventures, the Chans sometimes required help from others they met. In
Mexico, they befriended El Toro Fuerte (Miguel Sandoval),
a masked luchador who prided himself on never removing his mask (even though he
ended up doing so in every episode). With him was always his number one fan,
Paco (Franco
Velez), a young boy around Jade’s age who had a conflicted
relationship with her, as well as a crush. Viper (Susan Eisenberg)
was initially a thief when she met Jackie, but gave up her life of crime to
become a security consultant after a run-in with the Dark Hand. Jade idolized
her, which annoyed Jackie who felt Viper was a bad influence. Regardless, they
had proved valuable allies on occasion, and when assembled by Jade, along with
Captain Black and Tohru, they formed the J-Team. Jade would also assemble the
empowered animals at one point to create the T-Troop, with her as an equally
empowered T-Girl.
“The
Dark Hand” (9/9/00) – Jackie’s niece Jade comes to live with him just as he
gets involved with Section 13’s attempt to stop the Dark Hand from acquiring
the talismans.
“The
Power Within” (9/16/00) – Jade accidentally swallows the Rooster Talisman and
gains the ability of levitation.
“The
Mask of El Toro Fuerte” (9/23/00) – The Ox Talisman is part of the mask worn by
undefeated Mexican wrestler El Toro Fuerte.
“Snake
Hunt” (9/22/01) – An archaeologist with a TV show complicates the search for
the Snake Talisman, especially when the Dark Hand shows up.
“Enter the Viper” (9/30/00) – Jackie and Jade
go after Viper, who uses the Snake Talisman to steal, but Jackie ends up
arrested for her crimes.
“Shell
Game” (10/14/00) – Jackie has to protect the giant tortoise that holds the
Rabbit Talisman from being eaten by an evil millionaire.
“Through
the Rabbit Hole” (9/8/01) – The Rabbit Talisman sends Jade back in time and she
has to protect a young Jackie from the Dark Hand.
“Project
A, For Astral” (10/28/00) – When Jade uses the Sheep Talisman to astrally project
herself, Shendu takes over her body to enter Section 13.
“Bullies”
(11/11/00) – Captain Black is hurt when Valmont uses the Dragon Talisman to rob
a bank, putting Jackie on a personal vendetta to take him down.
“Tough
Break” (11/18/00) – Jade accidentally drops the Rat Talisman into her toy,
bringing it to life with only an injured Jackie to stop it.
“The
Rock” (12/2/00) – Valmont lures Jackie into a trap and hits him with a
petrification poison from Shendu, demanding all the Talismans in exchange for
the cure.
“The
Warrior Incarnate” (9/15/01) – Jade tries to repair a statue she broke by using
the Rat Talisman to reanimate it.
“The
Jade Monkey” (12/9/00) – Jade has to find the monkey that stole the Monkey
Talisman or be stuck as one forever.
“The
Dog and Piggy Show” (2/10/01) – Valmont hires Hak Foo to recover the Pig
Talisman from Jackie when Tohru fails.
“The
Tiger and the Pussycat” (3/10/01) – The Tiger Talisman splits Jackie, and his
bad side gives Valmont all the Talismans in order to resurrect Shendu.
“The
Day of the Dragon” (3/17/01) – Uncle creates a potion to allow Jackie to steal
the Talismans back from Shendu before he destroys all of Asia.
Season 2:
“Mother
of All Battles” (9/24/01) – A gang wants to recruit Tohru while his mother
visits and clashes with Uncle.
“The
Stronger Evil” (9/29/01) – Jackie joins Section 13 in stopping the Dark Hand
again while Shendu returns to Earth and possesses Valmont.
“The
J-Team” (10/6/01) – Jade recruits Tohru, El Toro Fuerte and Viper to help
against the Dark Hand as they search for the Demon Portals.
“Jade
Times Jade” (10/13/01) – Jade uses a spell to duplicate herself so that she can
follow Jackie to Japan and obediently stay home as she was told.
“The
Curse of El Chupacabra” (10/15/01) – El Toro Fuerte calls Jackie for help in
dealing with El Chupacabra.
“Rumble
in the Big House” (10/20/01) – Jackie has to go undercover into the prison
built over the site of the next portal to stop Valmont and his crew.
“Lost
City of the Muntabs” (10/22/01) – Jackie and Jade help a millionaire discover
the Muntabs not knowing he just wants to steal the secret of their longevity
for himself.
“And
He Does His Own Stunts” (10/27/01) – While in Hollywood, Jades tries to get
Jackie to become a movie star while he just wants to stop the Dark Hand.
“Showdown
in the Old West” (10/29/01) – Visiting a ghost town leads Jackie to discover an
old book that relates a story of Jackie’s ancestor—the former town sheriff.
“Queen
of the Shadowkhan” (11/3/01) – Jade puts the image of the face on a book they
found onto her leg, inadvertently turning herself into the Queen of the
Shadowkhan.
“Origami”
(11/5/01) – Jade asks Viper to help them catch the art thief Origami, who can
fold himself like paper.
“Shanghai
Moon” (11/10/01) – Jackie and Jade follow the Dark Hand into space to stop them
from freeing the Moon Demon.
“The
Lotus Temple” (11/12/01) – Jade accidentally discovers the Lotus Temple and
promises to help a young girl break the curse on her.
“Armor
of the Gods” (11/17/01) – Jackie ends up finding the armor worn in the battle
against the Demon Sorcerers when the Dark Hand arrives to free the Earth Demon.
“Agent
Tag” (11/19/01) – Jackie goes after Jade when she stows away on the mission of
Section 13’s best agent, Tagert McStone.
“Tale
of the Demon Tail / Demon in Di-Skies” (11/24/01) – When Jade accidentally
snaps off His Wu’s tail, he disguises himself as a young boy to woo Jade into
giving it back to him.
“The
Return of the Pussycat” (12/1/01) – Jackie and Uncle explore an underground
city instead of attending Jade’s play and an ancient evil is freed from it
seeking revenge on its captors.
“Scouts
Honor” (12/8/01) – Jackie forces Jade to join the Buttercup Scouts to get her
active, and she gets revenge by forcing him to accompany them on a camping
trip.
“Danger
in the Deep Freeze” (12/15/01) – The Chans and Toru must keep Peter Bailey from
abducting an abominable snowman, whom Jade names Dwayne.
“Into
the Mouth of the Evil” (1/19/02) – An evil dentist uses Jackie’s filling to
smuggle an ancient artifact.
“The
King and Jade” (1/26/02) – When Jackie is asked to guard the King of Tangra,
Jade uses the Snake Talisman to join them.
“The
New Atlantis” (2/2/02) – While Valmont seeks the Chans’ help to exorcise
Shendu, the water demon seeks to make San Francisco the new Atlantis by
flooding it.
“The
Eighth Door” (2/9/02) – Jade is accidentally banished along with the water
demon, and Shendu promises the Demon Sorcerers access to Earth through his
portal.
“Demon
World – Part 1” (2/16/02) – Shendu returns to Earth and possesses Jackie, using
him to acquire the Book of Ages and rewrite history so that the Demon Sorcerers
rule.
“Demon
World – Part 2” (2/23/02) – Jade attempts to reassemble her J-Team with some of
the Talismans in order to restore the world.
“Enter
the Cat” (3/2/02) – Jackie finds a magical cat statue that transforms anyone
scratched by it.
“Pleasure
Cruise” (3/9/02) – The Chans and Tohru embark on a cruise to keep a rare
statute out of criminal hands.
“Tough
Luck” (3/16/02) – The Enforcers break out on their own and their first caper
spoils Jackie’s plans to return a cursed gem to its tomb in Ireland.
“The
Chosen One” (3/23/02) – Tohru is believed to be the chosen one of th Ben-Shui
monastery, which attracts the attention of practitioners of Dark Chi.
“Glove
Story” (3/30/02) – Magical gloves frame Tohru for several thefts.
“The
Chan Who Knew Too Much” (4/27/02) – Magical druids hunt down Jackie and Jade as
they search for the missing Stonehenge.
“Chi
of the Vampire” (5/4/02) – Uncle infuses Jade with some of his chi and Tohru
with some of hers to counteract the effects of a vampire attack.
“The
God, the Bad, the Blind, the Deaf and the Mute” (5/18/02) – Daolon Wong kidnaps
Uncle in order to help him use his monkey statues to steal the senses of
everyone in China.
“Shrink
Rap” (8/17/02) – Jackie races Hak Foo for the armbands of Shiva, but Jade’s
spell shrinks them both to the size of ants.
“I’ll
Be a Monkey’s Puppet” (8/24/02) – Jackie is turned into a puppet when he
releases the Monkey King and can only be restored by having the King pull his
leg.
“The
Amazing T-Girl” (9/7/02) – Jade wants to have fun with the Talismans one last
time, accidentally becoming infused with all their powers.
Season 3:
“Re-Enter
the J-Team” (9/14/02) – Chang holds a tournament to find a worthy fighter to be
his bodyguard, and Jade assembles the J-Team to thwart his plans.
“The
Powers Unleashed” (9/21/02) – Jackie destroys the Talismans to keep them out of
evil hands, and their power goes into the noblest animals of the world
representing the Zodiac.
“Viva
Las Jackies” (9/28/02) – Jackie’s acquisition of a stage show tiger is hindered
when the tiger splits into a docile and savage version, and Jackie ends up with
two heads.
“Aztec
Rat Race” (10/5/02) – Jackie and Jade team-up with El Toro Fuerte and Paco to
find the empowered rat, who ends up reanimating a statue of Quetzalcoatl.
“Monkey
A Go-Go” (10/12/02) – Finding the empowered monkey in Hawaii leads to a fight
between Daolon Wong and a reawakened Monkey King.
“When
Pigs Fly” (10/19/02) – Jackie has to convince the owners of the empowered pig
to turn him over, but Daolon Wong manages to absorb both its powers and that of
the rooster they caught.
“Rabbit
Run” (11/2/02) – The noble rabbit is a Jackalope player in a stadium in Wyoming
where a young player uses its powers to prove himself to his team.
“Sheep
In, Sheep Out” (11/9/02) – Wong uses Bab the sheep’s power to cast out Jackie
and Jade’s astral forms and to find the remaining noble animals.
“The
Invisible Mom” (11/16/02) – Tohru’s mother accidentally turns herself invisible
with the noble snake and uses her ability to secretly protect Tohru from harm.
“A
Jolly J-Team Xmas” (12/14/02) – The J-Team has to save Christmas when Wong
attempts to steal Santa Claus’ chi.
“Little
Valmont, Big Jade” (1/25/03) – Valmont goes to the Chans for help when Wong
turns him into a kid and ends up helping them retrieve the noble horse.
“The
Ox-Head Incident” (2/8/03) – While Hak Foo and Wong fight over the power of the
ox, Uncle secretly transfers the power into himself for safe keeping.
“Animal
Crackers” (2/15/03) – Jade sneaks all the animals out of Section 13 in order to
prove to her classmates her adventures were real, giving Wong an opportunity to
capture them.
“Tohru
Who?” (3/1/03) – Valmont wipes Tohru’s memory in order to use him to help
rebuild his Dark Hand empire.
“Re-Enter
the Dragon” (3/8/03) – Wong makes a deal to resurrect Shendu in exchange for
the power of combustibility, but Shendu double-crosses him and steals all his
power.
“A
Night at the Opera” (4/5/03) – Two warriors in Uncle’s old acting troupe are
found stealing priceless artifacts from an exhibit Jackie is setting up.
“Attack
of the J-Clones” (5/3/03) – Chang escapes from prison and uses clones of the
J-Team to steal for him.
Season 4:
“The
Mask of the Shadowkhan” (9/13/03) – Wong accidentally frees Tarakudo, king of
the Shadowkhan, and the Chans must keep the masks of his generals out of his
hands.
“Samurai
Ratso” (9/20/03) – Ratso puts on the second mask and summons a new breed of
Shadowkhan: the Razor Khan.
“The
Amazing T-Troop” (9/27/03) – When Scruffy becomes possessed by a mask, Jade
assembles the other animals and forms the T-Troop to get him back.
“The
Black Magic” (10/4/03) – Captain Black ends up wearing the next mask and
steadily grows more evil under its influence.
“The
Demon Behind” (10/11/03) – Jade uses the Rat Talisman to bring the next mask to
life to interrogate it, but it escapes and ends up attached to Finn’s rear.
“Fright
Fight Night” (10/25/03) – Paco and El Toro Fuerte visit on Halloween and Paco
puts on one of the masks in order to out-scare Jade.
“Half
A Mask of Kung-Fu” (11/1/03) – A bidding war breaks out over the next mask
resulting in its being split in half and worn by both Valmont and Jade.
“The
Shadow Eaters” (11/15/03) – Hak Foo becomes possessed by the next mask, and the
card with the mask’s removal ingredient is lost along the way.
“The
Good Guys” (11/22/03) – The Enforcers attempt to reform and help the Chans take
on a trio of jewel thieves.
“J2:
Rise of the Dragons” (1/31/04) – The Chans encounter Jade from the future who
has come back to prevent the revival of Shendu by Drago.
“The
J-Tots” (2/7/04) – Jade wants to be recognized as a J-Team member and casts a
spell that turns them into toddlers while in battle with their evil duplicates.
“Ninja
Twilight” (2/14/04) – Recovering the last mask results in the Oni Generals
being freed and the Chans having to find a way to defeat them.
Season 5:
“Relics
of Demons Past” (9/11/04) – Drago escapes Section 13 and recruits the Dark Hand
to retrieve weapons that contain demon chi.
“It’s
All in the Game” (9/18/04) – The Chans join a game show in order to get access
to a prop containing demon chi.
“Black
and White Chi All Over” (9/25/04) – Drago and his new henchmen activate demon
chi, spoiling Jade’s birthday.
“Dragon
Scouts” (10/16/04) – The Enforcers have reformed for the sake of their visiting
nephews, but Jackie suspects otherwise.
“The
Demon Beneath My Wings” (6/4/05) – Jade’s teacher is possessed by the Sky Demon
Chi, putting the Chans up against her, Drago and ghosts.
“Mirror,
Mirror” (6/4/05) – Uncle takes his charges to visit his old home town before
it’s flooded by a new dam, encountering a mirror housing evil spirits.
“Antler
Action” (6/11/05) – An earthquake frees the demon chi, and one of them ends up
in a teenager longing to be a hero.
“Clash
of the Titanics” (6/11/05) – In order to defeat the Thunder Demon, Jackie must
retrieve an artifact with his chi from a sunken ship in the Arctic.
“Stealing
Thunder” (6/18/05) – Drago takes over Seattle in order to create a powerful
lightning rod to increase his Thunder Demon powers.
“Weight
and See” (6/18/05) – The Chans find the immortal weapons for the Mountain Demon
Chi, but have to sort them out from other items.
“J2-Revisited”
(7/8/05) – Jade follows a thief through a portal and encounters her older self.
“The
Powers That Be – Part 1” (6/25/05) – Drago holds Uncle, Black and Jackie
hostage in exchange for the demon chi.
“The
Powers That Be – Part 2” (6/25/05) – Section 13 desperately accepts help from
anyone in an effort to stop Drago from summoning his demon brethren.
