Happy Holidays, part 2!

I know that I said I was done posting for the year, and essentially I am. But I made it through the holidays and wanted to share some more comic cards with you. I hope you don't mind.


First up is one from my favorite "Sin City" one shot, "Silent Night". It's the only words spoken and I believe it's on the last page. Makes a great card:

Next is one from my favorite comic PvP and the great character Skull :

This last one is sort of a downer to end it on, but the instant I saw it, I thought of my best bud Shawn. He had to work on Christmas day and was really bummed about it, no matter how much I tried to cheer him up. Shawn, this is for you hoss!

Not exactly one for the kiddies to see, I know. But hopefully they have been distracted with toys and other things that they received for Christmas. I also hope that you had a safe Christmas and more importantly,will have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy Holidays!

Barring any unforseen events, this will be the last posting until after the new year. I plan to go into hibernation for at least a week or so.



To all of you, my friends and aquaintences, I wish you some joy and happiness at this time of year. I hope that you all stay safe and that your families are healthy and happy in this coming year.



Finally I wanted to share a couple of greeting cards I found several years ago on the net. In keeping with this blog they are comic related:

And a couple from one of the most underrated comics of all time "Herobear and the Kid" by Mike Kunkel. He is also a great artist and writer and deserves some props at this time of year:

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

The "Muttleys" part 2

Thanks for coming back to see what Matthew and I have come up with for some of the year end awards. We hit the big ones last time (comic, writer, artist,etc.) and now we go after some of the smaller, but no less important, categories.

On with the show!

Best Idea:

Matthew:
The Booster Gold series. Every issue has been great and the concept of him being a hero, by pretending he’s a jerk and a goof-off is brilliant.

Ron: I have two, but they kind of dove tail together. First off, the reuniting of characters and creators. Teaming creators like Marv Wolfman and Chuck Dixon with Nightwing and Robin are great things. Yes, Chuck did not actually create Robin, but he did make him a great solo character. The other teaming of Joss Whedon and Buffy leads to my second best idea. That of giving the rabid fans of a cult classic a chance to see things played out. This idea has been taken with shows like Angel and Star Trek, with varying degrees of success. It would have been nice if something like this was done when Gene Roddenberry was still alive. I wonder how he would have ended the original series.

Best Character:

Matthew:
It’s so hard not to just go with one of my favorite heroes…Oh, I can’t resist, I’ve got to pick May "Mayday" Parker a.k.a. the Amazing Spider-girl!!! For villain, I’m going with Baron Zemo, even though he’s kinda trying to reform a bit.

Ron: This one is also a tough one for me. But I think I am going off the page and say Frank Castle. Not the watered down "War Journal" guy, the "I will kill you seven different ways and enjoy them all" guy. His tussels with the Russian mob, the Barracuda, and his own inner demons made the MAX book a great read. Garth Ennis has been nothing if not consistent in dealing Frank both inner and outer pain.

Most Consistent Book (either good or bad):

Matthew:
This goes to Action Comics, with delays, fill-in’s, sub-par Zod storyline, the annoying Chris Kent, but now we have the excellent Legion storyline – this book has been all over the map. Superman has similarly suffered as well, which I blame on DC’s countdown/crisis mega-event disease. Really, Busiek’s run on Superman should be one of the best ever, but it is mired in all the ever-changing continuity madness that’s going on at DC right now.

Ron: My most consistently confusing book goes to Countdown. Talk about all over the place. Everything that went right in 52 has gone wrong in Countdown. Storylines took forever to get moving, and if you didn't read an ancillary title from time to time, you would not know who some of the characters were. I had not idea at the outset that Holly Robinson was Catwoman. Nothing was given, and it's never mentioned. The book has started to gain some momentum, but it may be too little too late.

Most underrated Book:

Matthew:
Amazing Spider-girl. All you have to do is read issue 15 that came out this week to see what I love about this book. That issue also celebrated her 10th anniversary as a character and it was the best of the relaunch so far. This is another story that I would like to write a detailed review for one day. Now, you may think I can only say good things about this series, not true. There was a somewhat miserable Carnage storyline this year, where her baby brother Ben gets his hearing damaged. I was not pleased, but it really ended the year on a strong note. Plus, you get to see Peter and MJ happily married!

Ron: Invincible. This book has been a fun read for me from the moment I heard about it on the show. Robert Kirkman does a great job weaving a story that draws you in and makes you want to read the next issue to see what happens. Even his placeholding stories are infused with both witty banter and great action. I admit that I came late to this party, but I picked up a couple of the trades and I'm happy to say that I'm in until the bitter end.

Most underrated Character:

Matthew:
Bart Allen. In the span of one issue, the writer totally turned his series around with one of the greatest splash pages of the year – Bart revealing his identity to his police bosses. This character was finally going some place, taking over the legacy and they KILL HIM OFF!!! What a waste. I only hope he ended up in that lightning saga lightning that the Legion captured in…well…the "Lightning Saga".

Ron: You know what? Matthew makes a really good point. So I will just say Bart Allen and that I totally agree with my comrade.

Most Overrated Book:

Matthew:
Picking up from my previous response, I’m going with The Flash. I have not been pleased with the return of Wally West under Waid. Maybe it’s the decompressed storytelling, because I really loved his kids’ characterization in the recent Brave and the Bold series also penned by Waid. Just isn’t working for me, I dropped the book for now…

Ron: Wolverine. This book went from being so good with Mark Millar to being so awful. Iron Wolverine? Please. And Jeph Loeb? All we got was the same old battle between Wolvie and Sabertooth. The latest run with Marc Guggenheim hasn't been the best either.

Most Overrated Character:

Matthew:
Iron Fist. No, just kidding. Superman wins this one or is that loses? I love Superman, but he’s been the victim of editorial mismanagement this year and I find All-Star a little too quirky for me, but I’ve still got to read those issues I won from Jim earlier this year.

Ron: Spider-Woman. She became a part of the Avengers, got a convoluted backstory on who she's working for, and other than looking really hot, did not do much else to warrant being in an A-list group like the Avengers.

Worst idea or problem:

Matthew:
JMS Spider-man, culminating with One More Day. I don’t know if JMS is responsible for Peter’s unmasking, but I did really like Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man #23, where Peter and Jonah have their verbal and physical fight. I didn’t like the concept, but that was an excellent issue.

Ron: I agree that the Outing of Peter Parker as Spider-Man wins hands down. To do this as a stunt only to try and act like it never really happened (One More Day) is absurd. Yes I know that the OMD is supposed to wipe out the marriage of MJ and Peter, but don't you think that it is also designed to wipe out the unmasking as well?

Hall of Fame:

Matthew:
Easy, Mike Weiringo. He was a great artist and he will be missed.

Ron: Yep, a no-brainer on that.

Hall of Shame:

Matthew:
JMS. Really, his Gwen Stacy/Osborn affair ruined Spider-man for me years ago and all the "Other" junk, including the unmasking, OMD, etc. He deserves this one or the editors that encouraged or let him do some of these things deserve it.

Ron: To that point, Joe Quesada gets my nod. He had made no secret of his hatred of the marriage of Peter to MJ. But to go about it in such a sleazy way sucks. Yeah JMS' run has not been the greatest, but even he saw the venom that would be unleashed by fans everywhere who had come to accept the marriage. The rumor that he tried to take his name off of the last two issues of OMD was just proof that this is a Quesada-run story. Shame on you for inflicting your prejudices on a good couple.

Well, thats it for me. But Matthew has some categories he would like to add, so I'm going to step aside and let him take over. Matthew?

Matthew:
Best comic industry magazine or internet site: Well, I do go to Newsarama quite a bit, but I really love Two Morrow’s Back Issue bi-monthly publication. It focuses on books from the 70’s and 80’s (my favorite era) and provides in-depth interviews, analysis and rare art from these series. This year we got an issue focusing on the Warlord, Micheline/Layton’s Iron Man and a spot light on Isis. Which leads me to my next category…
Best super-hero/comic character movie/DVD or Boxset: The Secret of Isis. I used to watch this series as a kid on Saturday mornings and am now watching it with my children on DVD. It is really an excellent live-action show with cool special effects, great characters and an "after school special" moral (like don’t hitchhike, don’t give up, etc.). If you’ve never seen it, seek it out – only $23 on Amazon. Isis is quite beautiful too. I may have had a crush on her as a kid, I know I did with Penny Robinson.
Best super-hero/comic toy series: One of the reasons I’ve been cutting back on some of my books is to buy toys. I get Mego style Marvel Legends signature series figures to collect (and Mego reproductions of Star Trek figures – plus they’ll be doing Planet of the Apes this year too!), but I get JLU and Marvel Super-hero squad figures to collect and play with on the floor with my children. So, the winner goes to Super Hero Squad. They’re inexpensive (two figures for $6), already have a lot of characters, are readily available (not too hard to find) and they’re soooo cute! I can rearrange them into almost any group: Avengers, Defenders, Fantastic Four. If I ever get a digital camera, I’ll take some pictures. This year we’ll get some cool Iron Man figures, including a giant Fin Fang Foom – so much fun.
Best super-hero/comic toy figure: Tough decision, but it’s a tie between the San Diego comic con exclusive JLU maskless Hawkgirl (it was a gift J ) and the Target exclusive, Gorilla Grodd figure – he’s huge.
Best HC: Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus. I know it’s gotten flak for the paper, but it does have the feel of an old comic. Plus, ordering the series in the publishing sequence was inspired. As much as I love the Marvel Omnibuses (another reason I’m cutting back on monthlies), I’m actively reading these books. I read the B/W trades a few years ago, but it’s like reading it for the first time.
Best Fanboy moment: It has to be meeting the legendary Herb Trimpe at the Baltimore Comic-con and getting him to draw a Godzilla sketch celebrating my 30th anniversary or collecting comics. Ron: That's the photo at the top of the posting. Sorry still trying to work out the bugs.

All right, that's it. We hope you've enjoyed our little compilation of the past year. Maybe it's not to your liking, but you can always leave a reply giving your best or worst. Everyone take care and have a HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! =)

Time for the "Muttleys" Part 1

Well, I threatened to do this and now it's here. My year end awards. But I did not come alone. Oh no true believers, I've brought company. My friend Matthew from the "conversations" crew has been kind enough to join me in this endeavor. So before we get to the awards, I'd like Matthew to say a few words. Matthew?

Matthew:
First off, I’d like to thank Ron for letting me participate in his end of the year review. As I commented once on a post, "It’s funny how reading comics, which is a solitary activity, is more enjoyable when shared with others". And, that is certainly true and I have really enjoyed continuing the camaraderie begun on the radio show, through various blogs. 2007 was my 30th year of collecting comics and it was a memorable one as you’ll see in my comments below (Please forgive me in advance for butchering the spelling of names):

Thanks Matthew. Now on the the awards!

Best Marvel book:
Matthew:
Fantastic Four: This was the fun surprise hit out of Marvel for me this year. I used to be a regular FF reader, but had dropped the title quite a while ago. I really had no intention of picking this book up, but Paul Pelletier’s old style art was irresistible and McDuffie’s scripts were great. I totally embraced the Black Panther and Storm’s addition to the team. The smartest thing McDuffie did was immediately get the team out into space away from all the Civil War mess, while not disregarding what happened in Civil War either. It sure made it easier for new readers to jump on board. One of the most memorable issues was where the Invisible Women really showed off her power level. I know some laughed at BP riding the Surfer’s surf board, but I still thought it was cool – he was holding on to the front edge you know. I think we have only one issue left with this team and I’m already jumping ship with them. I’m not saying the Ultimates team won’t make a great FF story, but I’ll wait for the HC if it’s really good. I just saw today that Pelletier’s has been assigned the art chores for Nova. I love the Nova character and I may have to pick the book up, even though I HATE his new costume (the original is so iconic for me from my 7-11 spinner rack days – did I mention that I own my own spinner rack).
Ron: Captain America. Ed Brubaker did a great job with this book pre- and post Civil War. I mean, how many times can you take the main character out of the book and still have a great story? He handled the death of Cap with the deftness needed. He made Bucky and the Falcon relavent again. The art by Steve Epting has been great and struck the right tone of darkness as the book moved forward without Cap. My only regret is that Cap is being brought back, but if anyone can handle it, my money is on Brubaker.

DC Book of the Year:
Matthew:
Brave and the Bold: This was a no-brainer for me. I love Perez’s art and this book is perfectly suited to his strengths. Waid has also been masterful with characterizations, where you get to know the character (like the new Blue Beetle) by his actions and dialog, not by some lengthy exposition or internal narration. This book represents everything I love about comics, it’s also a very dense read and it amazes me that people complain about that – I mean really, I actually want to get my $3 worth. I feel a bit cheated when I can finish a book is less than 5 minutes. I know "best of the year" isn’t one of our categories but this was the my number one book!!!
Ron: I had a tough choice to make, so I'm splitting it between Robin and Detective. Both of these books have been great since the "one year later" reboot. Paul Dini did a great job with one and dones on the rogues gallery, giving each their own time to shine. He turned Batman into the title; a detective. As for Robin, my love for this book is well known. Adam Beechen and Freddie Williams were as good a tandem as there is in comics today. They handled the triumphs and massive tragedies deftly. They infused it with topics that strike a chord with teenagers of all ages (suicide, first date). This was a great couple of books that had you wanting more.

Best Other publisher book:
Matthew:
Owly 4: A time to be brave: I was going to suggest a "best OGN" category and pick Simpson’s Super Spectacular for this one, but I reread it today to my youngest daughter, Faith, and this book is superb. It took Andy (Runton) some extra time to get this book completed, but it was worth the wait. As always there is a lot of real emotion in the story. There is also some really clever storytelling sequences like the "ball incident". Owly 2: Just a little blue will always be my favorite, but this one is a close second. Maybe I’ll offer up a detailed review for someone to post while I’m off on Christmas vacation.
Ron: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: Again, if you're a regular reader of this blog you know this was a no-brainer. To bring back Joss Whedon and other writers of the show to this character was great. I know there are those who did not like his first arc and are more enamored with Brian K. Vaughn's arc, but not me. Picking up that first issue and reading thru it was like a homecoming to me. The dialog and wit that ran through the series is reflected here, as well as his passion for giving tidbits to the overall arc. Vaughn's run has been great as well, and it shows that he has a love for the characters as well. This book will only get better in the coming year.

Best Mini series:
Matthew:
Baron Zemo: Born Better: This was an easy pick for me. Following the end of the "real" Thunderbolt’s series, Zemo is traveling through time, meeting his ancestors and growing in the process. I could have stood to have this series continue for a whole year. I really wanted to learn more about these fascinating characters. There was also a very important continuity scene where Professor Erskine (the super soldier serum creator) and the original Zemo are talking with Hitler. The series kept me guessing as to the murderous motivations behind the researcher too. I would love to see another mini-series of Zemo by this team (Niceza and Grummett). DC’s Justice was good too.
Ron: In what will be called a major upset I'm NOT picking Justice. No, I'm going with World War Hulk. This was a great mini, despite there being some issues with the artwork (see Jim? I can criticize Romita JR). For the longest time, Hulk readers have been wanting to see the angst ridden hero become the raging monster. Well, this did it. Hulk smash everything, and with a purpose. We had the rage and the brains in this. The ending was great, and the twist that one of the warbound was responsible for the event that drove him into the rage was unforeseen. As for the fallout, I'm seeing RED (get it?) over what is happening. They struck gold once with Cap, but don't count on Herc holding me for very long.

Best story arc:
Matthew: Marvel-
I’m going with "Death of Captain America". While I still think Steve Rogers will return someday, the actual "death" issue took me totally by surprise. When I went to the store that day, I didn’t understand why I could only get the variant cover (none of the others were available). Plus, people kept asking for it. I’ve tried to develop the habit of not looking thru a comic before I read it and this time it paid off. I’m going along and "BAM" (literally) – it was such a shock. Then I went online and it was national news, it was for "real" – at least for now anyway. I experienced dejavue: This was how I felt when watching that Magnum P.I. episode where he gets shot and is having an "out-of-body" experience, but instead of returning to his body at the end – he turns his back on the viewer and walks thru the clouds with John Denver playing in the background. The next day I discovered it was the last episode of the series. Of course they did bring him back for one more season, but the impact of losing such an important character to me was very real. And while, there have been some slower issues since the death one, the on-going story with Bucky, Falcon, Black Widow and Sharon Carter has been very good.
DC-
Well, I could pick "Lords of Luck", but I’m trying really hard not to repeat myself (too often), so I’m going to go with "Death of the New Gods". We’re not even halfway thru yet, but this series seems to really matter. I love the New Gods characters and I HATE that they are being killed off, but it is being told so well. It’s also a natural progression of the story – there needs to be an end someday. I wonder what the "Fifth World" will be like?
Ron: I'm going to forego publishers to just say 3 words; Sinestro Corps War. This was a terrific story that really held your interest. Even the lateness of the last issue and the price all felt worth it. Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis did a great job on this. I must confess that I did not read GL Corps, but this was so well done you didn't have to. This took all that you know about the Lanterns and the Guardians and flipped them on their head. The hook that there are now 7 types of Lanterns in the universe was mind blowing. The final pages that actually set up an event in 2009 was just the icing on the cake. This should read very well in trade.

Best Writer:
Matthew:
Ed Bruebaker. I didn’t read his Uncanny X-men series and I’ve heard really great things about Iron Fist, but it’s his continuing consistent excellence on Captain America and Daredevil that earns him this title from me. I recently dropped Daredevil to save costs and because it may eventually be Omnibused like his Cap run was…and I really like Omnibuses and I hate paying for stuff twice...
Ron: Dwayne McDuffie. This guy has had a nice year taking an A-list team and a seminal character to new heights. His run on "The Spirit", endorsed by Will Eisner himself before his passing, was great taking the character in the modern age without losing the sensibilities that Eisner infused him with. And then to take on "Justice League of America"? His opening arc contained more action than in the first dozen issues. He was a great writer for the series "Justice League Unlimited" and his affection for the characters, both heroes and villains, shows here. He strikes all the right tones on the characters and make you want to read the next issue now. Can't ask any more of a writer than that. Also feel that Geoff Johns and Greg Pak deserve some consideration as well.

Best artist:
Matthew:
Tom Grummett. In the interest of not giving away my best artist, I didn’t praise his work on Baron Zemo above, but it was his finest work. I love his classic super-hero storytelling style (which I fell in love with on the Power Company series) and his detail has only increased. He also did a masterful job on the Mystic Arcana: Black Knight one-shot, which was one of my favorite single issues of the year.
Ron: I must admit that I have really struggled with this one. I have to say that Ed Benes has done a nice job on "Justice League", going from Metzler to McDuffie without missing a beat. And of course, John Cassady did stellar work on "Astonishing". But I hand the award over to an underdog, Olivier Coipel. His art on "Thor" was some of the best I've seen since John Romita Jr's run. He gave the Thunder God a stature deserving of him. His battle between Thor and Iron Man was one of the best of the year. Straczynski has been moving at a snail's pace at times, but it does not seem to affect the art of Coipel. He gives Asgard the depth and grandeur needed for a home of the gods.

OK thats it for now. We'll be back in a few to reveal best idea, overrated and underrated characters and so much more. Stay Tuned!

Coming attractions....

OK, if everything falls right, I will be posting my awards over the weekend. If you would like to have some say in this, let me know and I promise I will post your comments somewhere in the blog.

My Categories:
Best Marvel book
Best DC book
Best other book
Best mini series
Best story arc (may do that by publisher)
Best writer
Best artist
Best idea
Best character (hero or villain)
Most consistent comic (either good or bad)
Most underrated book
Most underrated character
Most overrated book (I know some of you are licking your chops at this one!)
Most overrated character
Worst overall book (either ongoing or mini)
Worst idea or problem (gee I wonder what could go here?)

I am thinking of creating my own "hall of fame or shame" as well. If you would like to submit a nominee, I'm all ears.
Think that's about it. If you can either contribute or give a category that makes sense, I'll be glad to take all submissions into account. By the way, when you post, please try to give some logical reasoning for why you want this. Not just "Bendis sucks" or "Iron Fist is cool". Thanks!

Musings

Hope that you all survived the snowfall.

I guess that I'm still a dreamer at heart. I came to that conclusion after both seeing the responses (thanks Jim and Shawn) and talking to people about my feelings on the last snow event. I want to think that I am a cynic, and in most ways I am, but certain things tend to bring out the kid in me.

The trailer for the new Speed Racer movie is up on AOL. Newsarama has a posting of it as well. At this moment, I have very mixed feelings toward it. On the one hand, it's just another bastardization of childhood memories. I mean who doesn't recall coming home after school and seeing it? On the other hand, it does look promising. Oh and the inclusion of the sound effects from the cartoon is cool.

It appears that Shawn is dead on about the DARK KNIGHT trailer appearing before that Will Smith movie. But get this. They actually have 2 different trailers I have heard. One for the IMAX and one for the regular. I gotta tell you, I am really not digging the IMAX stuff. Seems like another way to gouge us for more money. But the prospect of seeing Joker as big as life has some people jonesing, just not me.

As I stated earlier this week, I am proud to be a Ravens fan, no matter how bad those slugs in the national media try to slam them. Just because they were the first team to really put a threat on the "beloved" Patriots, and didn't give a crap who they were. Of course the league was going to virtually ignore the accusation made about the refs antagonising the players. What did you expect? They have to protect their "polished" image, which has taken a bunch of PR hits this year. If it was proven that a ref was doing that on purpose, they would be facing a PR nightmare. So all I can say is that while the idiots who say it's a conspiracy against the Ravens in particular are off base, it certainly can look like that to the outside world. I just hope they play that well this week, and maybe they can vanquish the Colts.

Next week sometime, I plan to post my first ever year end awards. I have a few categories in mind, but if you would like to offer either some of your own or who you think should win a "Mutt", let me know. Some of my categories; best writer and artist, overall comic and mini, best event, best and worst idea, and some others that will go off the beaten path. Hope to see you all soon, and have a safe holidays!

Beautiful Silence

The first snowfall of the holiday season. It's a nice event to watch, especially if you don't have to travel anywhere. I find a magical sort of silence that falls over the area when it's snowing. Almost as if the world is saying to mankind; "shut up, slow down, and listen." I defy you to go out into it, stand amidst the falling snow and beautiful white coverings and just listen. There is a silence that is almost overwhelming.

I realize that some of you live in the city, but even there, I am sure there is almost an eerie quiet. Like the blanket of white has muffled the sounds and sights.

I know I'm going on like a schoolgirl, but I find it humbling to stand out in it, and not feel that there is a presence in the snow saying "this will wipe away all your mistakes and problems, just allow the beauty and silence to wash over you."

Just take a minute to enjoy the show, folks.

No such thing.....

As a moral victory, but I'll take it anyway. I am proud to be a Ravens fan after the effort they put in last night. Yes, they lost the game and at times their composure. Do I think the refs cost them the game? Not really. The last touchdown could have gone either way. I said at the time there was not enough to reverse the call, and if it had been called an incompletion, it would have stood too. The defense played their hearts out and the offense, other than the 1 interception, played a good game. But there is one thing I would like to point out.

At the end, it was actually a good thing that Bart Scott got the penalties he did. Was it stupid? Yes it was, but consider this. The Patriots actually brain-farted on the ensuing kickoff. The smart play would have been to onside it and let the clock run. Because the kicker got a case of the big balls and tried to put it through the uprights, no time ran off the clock. You can make a case that they actually gave the Ravens a chance to win. If the Ravens had run a kickoff back, they could have fumbled, a penalty could have happened, and maybe, just maybe they would have had a good return. But the time would have come off the clock and they would have had less than 30 seconds to go the distance.

This is no way excusing what Scott did. It was stupid and thoughtless in the heat of the moment. I am sure that he regrets it. But it's just one of those "what if" moments that exist. It's also a sign that the breaks that last year fell their way not fall against them. And before you bandwagon Boston nutbags start posting, remember this. You are no more than one good hit on Brady from being a 4-12 team. So enjoy your teams success, they have earned it, not you.

Screwing the Spider

Well gang, it's official. They have not only jumped a shark, they virtually cleared the entire ocean. I'm referring to Joe Quesada and the yokels at Marvel. You see, this wad Quesada never liked the fact that Peter and Mary Jane were married. So once he got into the power seat at Marvel, he planned to kill this off. And how did he go about this? By making it an "event" book and raping any respectable Spider fan of 4 bucks a throw. A few months ago I sang the praises of a Spider-man book that had him ratchet up the pain on the Kingpin, basically telling him, "if anything happens to Aunt May, you will never be safe anywhere you are." I liked that Peter had gone from be reactive to proactive. Well, I'm guessing this will be wiped out soon.

When "One More Day" started, I received and email from one of my buds, I think it was Jim. He basically laid out how it was all going to go and at the time I read this I said "nah, they're not that stupid". Guess what? They are! I want to ask a question at this point. Is there any of you guys and gals who read the Spider books with ANY degree of regularity who has not accepted the fact that Peter is married? Anyone?

The last show I did for Cosmic Comix we praised the fact that Marvel had their characters based in some real world theory. And in that theory, things move forward, they are constantly in motion. They don't stand still, no matter how hard we try. It seems that the characters were fine, its the creators who are lost in fantasy. These morons have just (or are about to unless there is a HUGE curveball somewhere) undone the last 15+ years of continuity. And this is not the first time, either.

For some reason known only to Marvel, they feel a need to redo the legend and backstory of Spider-man, who is only their most identifiable character (sorry, Brandon. Wolverine? Please.).
The Spider clone saga? The death of Gwen Stacy? The affair of Gwen and Norman Osborn (yech on sooo many levels)? No wonder Ultimate Spider-man sells so well. They don't screw with their character over and over so you can't tell what in continuity or not.

I recently have had to make cuts in my budget and it has affected what books I get. I had kept a couple of the Spider books since I like the character and his issues sometimes speak to me. But this? Destroy a marriage to a great girl who will love you forever, or let some old lady or raised you and will not last another 10 years die? This has caused me to start to rethink things. I will stick with it (I'm an idiot, I know) and probably check out the first month or so of "brand new day" the sequel. But so help me, they are on a very short leash.

Review time!

Hi there everyone. Hope you all survived the holiday weekend intact. I know I said I would do this over the weekend, but I got sidetracked (again). So here we go. I have 2 weeks worth of books to talk about. Not sure if this will become the pattern du jour or not.

DC
Action 859- 2nd part of the "Legion" arc. Turns out that in the future, they teach Superman's history differently then we know it. I like the twist that Geoff Johns has given this and that has me wanting to see more. Unfortunately, it will be with Gary Frank's art. I've liked Frank's art in the past, but this has him diving into Lu territory (see: Avengers). Lots of lines on the faces, almost like it wasn't cleaned up properly. He's earned a grace period from me, but not a long one.
All Star Superman 9- Now this is my vote for comic of the year. I don't care how many issues come out of a book, if it's well done, its a nominee. Grant Morrison bring Kryptonian astronauts to Earth and weaves a great story. Frank Quitely has done a great job with just about every hero he has tackled and does a phenomenal job with the art here. This is what most books should strive for; imagination and heroism on a grand scale.
Detective 838 and Nightwing 138- I lump these in together only because they are both part of the "Ra's al Ghul" crossover. Nightwing becomes involved in the arc by Batman asking for his help in protecting Robin and Damien (Bat's son) at the cave. The bad guys get away with the kids when Nightwing is forced to make a life and death decision. Robin is confronted by Ra's, who tempts him with an offer. Batman arrives and the battles commences. Ra's forces Bats to choose between his ward and his child. OK, this has been a pretty good crossover, but man, the artwork in Detective is REALLY bad, and takes you out of the story somewhat. The writers have handled this crossover about as well as can be expected. No major plot holes (so far) and the chapters flow from one to the next.
Flash 234- I wish that this team would continue on the book for a while. Mark Waid is a writer born to do Flash stories, and Freddie Williams gives the book a great look. As for the story, it turns out that Jai overheard the conversation last issue between Wally and the JLA. He may not have long to live, apparently and he's hiding the fact that he knows from his parents, something we can all identify with (hiding something from your parents). Wally develops a new power that allows him to get the kids and pull them to him. Not alot in plot movement here, but still a nice story, and you have to scroll down to "A Fitting Tribute" for my thoughts on whats in the back of the book.
World of Warcraft1- see post below. I think you guys should give it a try. It's not just for WoW fans, any fan of sword and sorcery type of things might like it.

Marvel-
Captain America 32- Most of the issue is the inner monologue of Sharon Carter as she struggles with the crap that the Red Skull and Dr. Faustus has done to her. Bucky fights his programming and tries to convince Sharon to get away. Unable to break free on her own, she throws Bucky out of a plane to distract the Falcon and Black Widow, who have discovered the hideout. I'm not sure if I liked this issue or not, since it bordered on Bendisitis. Not much action, lots of talking without saying much of anything. But Steve Epting's art keeps you focused so that if Ed Brubaker has an off issue, you still enjoy it.
New Avengers 36- I really don't have alot to say about this, except that you give us one of the hottest woman in the Marvel Universe (Spider-Woman) in the shower and actually find a way to make it unattractive? I call Shanangans!
Punisher 52- If the last page is for real (so to speak) this issue will go down as one of the most savage in Punisher history, and man is that saying something. I will not reveal it, since I am not sure who is reading this, and some people may have kids in the room or weak stomachs. But suffice to say that Barracuda performs an act so heinous, that if true, cements his place as one of the sickest, most twisted villains in comics today.
Thor 4- You know the saying; "the cheese stands alone"? Well, I guess that me. I have really liked what they have done with Thor. Putting him into real life situations to find his lost comrades is something I didn't expect and yes, you saw it coming a mile away, but it still didn't take away from the book, in my opinion. I have also enjoyed Oliver Coipel's art. He gives Thor a majestic presence that is required of the hero.
Wolverine 59- Wolvie battles to return to the earthly plane. Yawn. Fights a lot of versions of himself to get there, whoopie.
World War Hulk 5- The end of the big story line. Again "cheese" here. I am a fan of John Romita Junior's art and I understand the criticism that has been leveled at him over the past year. But this was really kinda cool. We finally get to see a couple of heroes at full power unleashed on each other. The Sentry was an unknown coming into the battle and he threw punches with the Hulk like Frasier/Ali. There has been speculation as to how they were going to end this, and I for one liked it. Hulk going down the only way he knows, fighting and destroying whatever is in front of him. I am not sure about the aftermath (won't give anything away here) and I am not crazy about taking the Hulk out of his own book. Marvel had the formula work once with Captain America, but don't look for lightning to strike twice.

OK that's it. Hope you liked this. If you did or didn't, please leave me a post. I really would like some input on things, and trust me, I read them all and will not ignore any.

A Fitting Tribute

Hey there all. Hope that Thanksgiving has treated you well. As you lay there in a turkey induced haze, I found something I want to share with you.



I have mentioned a couple of times about the sudden loss of Mike Wieringo earlier this year. Marvel put a very nice tribute to him in all their books with the team that he did for several issues, the Fantastic Four. Well, if you have followed his career, you know that Mike got his big break drawing the Flash for DC. This week, Flash 234 came out and while the issue was OK (I'll do some reviews later on in the weekend, promise) there was something really special in the back.


Mark Waid, the writer who has crafted some of the best Flash stories and who worked with Mike, and Brian Augustyn, the inker (I believe) during that run, put a very nice tribute to him in the book. While I wish that it would go into every DC book, it's fitting that it would be in Flash.

The added touch of putting in some of his artwork was very nice and took me back to when they were working on the book. The run they had was a defining one as far as I'm concerned. It's a rare thing to see the writer and artist work together for long periods of time and so harmonious in their direction.


Well, thats it for now. There will be reviews coming for this book, World War Hulk, and others so keep an eye out!

World of Warcraft #1- a review

Hey gang. I am not sure if I will be able to do the show on Sunday, so I wanted to share a review with you to tide you over for the holiday. Consider me a your first turkey of the weekend.

I am a major WoW (World of Warcraft) fan. Both my wife and I play the game and enjoy the friends we have made. When this book was first announced, I had my reservations. This is based on a MMORPG (if you don't know what that is, find someone between the age of 15 to 25 to tell you) so everyone experience is different. You could line up 50 people and none of them would have the same look, feel or drive to the game. So how would DC and Wildstorm try and convince people to read it?

Well, for starters, they got Walter Simonson to write it. If you are old enough to remember his run on THOR, then you know that he can handle mythology rather well. In this issue he does not disappoint. He begins to flesh out the characters right from the beginning and handles the mythology that Blizzard (the company behind WoW) has put into their characters with a nice deftness. He introduces us to a human character with no name and places him in the middle of Horde territory. His fighting skill is shown right away and while he has memory of who he is or how he got there, he is captured by Rehgar, the orc Shaman. He is put into a cage with Broll, a Night Elf druid; and Valeera, a Blood Elf rogue. They train for a competition to begin at Dire Maul so they must learn to work as a team, an issue since Night and Blood elves are mortal enemies. The human rallies the team against another composed of the Horde races of Undead, Tauren, and Troll. It is he who saves the others and establishes himself as the hero of the opening arc.

The artwork is handled by Ludo Lullabi. It is apparent to me that he is influenced by Humberto Ramos, as his style is very manga-esque. He gives the characters a sense of proportion in both height and stature that is in the game. I had a friend look over the book the other night and he loved the way the fight at the end of the book flowed with an energy and style to it. I agree, the battle in the training area is frenetic, the same as it would be if you were playing the game.

So, what do I think? Well, I think that I could hand this book to someone who is not a WoW fan, never played the game, and they might like it. If it was their sort of thing. Fans of Conan would probably dig it. On the negative side, I had my feelings sort of validated. Of the characters they introduced in this issue, 3 of them (the shaman, druid and rogue) have been made into the first wave of figures, coincidentally by DC direct. On second thought, it's not a coincidence at all. But I would give it a solid B for a first issue and of course I will stick with it. I would recommend it to anyone looking for something both mainstream and slightly off the beaten path.

A Friend is.....

...someone who laughs at the bad jokes and cries with you at the sad moments.

...someone who will tell you if you suck, but will defend you to someone else who thinks that.

...someone who can laugh at themselves when they do something stupid and not get mad when you laugh hysterically.

...someone who laughs hysterically when you do something stupid, but feels your pain and humiliation.

...someone who you can talk to about anything, and not feel like you have to censor yourself.

...someone who can look past your faults and see the real person hiding underneath it all.

...someone who will point out your faults and do it in a way that they're not busting your balls.

...someone who enjoys your company, no matter who stupid you look.

...someone who tells you "you look great" when you couldn't look like a bigger dork.

...maybe not the most important person in your life, but someone who you can't think about without smiling. Or laughing.

...hopefully someone who makes you want to be a better friend and a better person.

Just something that's been rattling around in my head. Hope you like it.

The problem with "Heroes"

I was going to take the weekend off from posting, but I got to thinking about why HEROES went from being really liked to seemingly reviled in a space of a few months. I still like the show. It has had it's good and bad moments. But I think I may have stumbled upon a couple of things that are causing people to flip on it.
First off, they have kept the core cast while adding new members. This is often a tricky proposition. People loved the characters and want to see them grow more, but not adding new people to the mix can make the show get stale fast. There was a real organic sense of things coming together, the lives of the good and bad guys crisscrossing and intersecting. It built up to something, and it felt like it was leading to that, for the most part. While some of the new characters have been decent, it takes away from the characters that made the show good.
Next, we have the pop culture factor. Any show that becomes big and has people parodying it will always have backlash. It's inevitable. I defy you to name me a show that was big that didn't take some sort of hit. Especially in this day and age, things are chewed up and spit out so fast we never get a time to enjoy it.
Finally, we have the tired factor. LOST went through this as well. I don't know if they still are, I have never watched the show. The first season there were so many surprises (George Takei and Stan Lee cameos among them) and plot threads left that you had to watch to see where things were going next. This season, the plot has been all over the place. There is no real connection to each other and what is happening. The shocks seem almost for shocks sake and have no real effect on what is happening. I think the writer's are mostly to blame for this. I understand the producers had them cranking out scripts so that when they went on strike, the show could continue. Obviously, they didn't really put their heart and soul into from the looks of it. I also single out Tim Kring, the creator. It looks like he has been spending more time taking congratulatory bows and prepping the DVD sales then working on the show. He could take a lesson from Joss Whedon. You can tell with Joss's shows when he was involved and when he was just a cursory presence. The shows (Angel and Buffy) soared and were terrific when he was active. When he wasn't, they suffered. They weren't awful, but the quality suffered.

So there you have it. A dissection for you guys. You have rode me for a while about how bad this show is, and now I have explained to you as to why I think it's not as good. I still would take this over most of the other things out there. I mean, have you watched that new Bionic Woman? Sheesh. Oh, yeah one more things. SHAWN!!! Go get the newest issue of Wizard. I PROMISE you won't be disappointed. Your girl is in there and smoking hot!

Quick Hits

It's Friday, so I thought I would empty the garbage can that is my brain.



Some SMALLVILLE news. Looks like Black Canary is coming. She is supposed to be hired by Lex to kill Green Arrow, who will be returning shortly. Last night's episode was pretty good. It carried on the tradition of former "Super" people showing up, with Helen Slater (the god-awful Supergirl movie) playing Clark's birth mother, Lara. I'm not sure how the impending writer's strike will affect the show, but it explains why we haven't seen any reruns. Yet.

My master, Joss Whedon (if you read PvP, you know the reference) is returning to both comics and TV. The newest solicit for the Buffy comic has him returning to write. He is also planning to write a series called "Dollhouse" starring Eliza Dushku. You may remember her from Buffy as the slayer Faith. The premise sounds cool, with people gaining powers and having their minds wiped after missions. I know that I am not doing justice to the story, but I'm sure there will be more details to come.

The Ravens return to the field this week on Monday night which, quite frankly, scares the bejeezus out of me. I am a major fan, but I am also a realist. It's the perfect storm of bad things. It's Monday night, which means they are the only game on; National TV (well, ESPN) which they sometimes have bad showings; and an away game in Pittsburgh. Yes, they won there last year and they have had success on the national stage, but I feel this team is at a crossroads. This game sets the tone for the 2nd half of the season. If they win, terrific. Joy to the freaking world. All I ask is that they don't embarass themselves they way they have at times.

On a final note, I have a question. Is there someone in your life you can't do without? I don't mean love per se, but someone who does things that get you through your day? Have you ever tried to think about what your life would be like without them? Sort of deep for a friday, but I told you I was emptying my brain. Have a safe weekend all!

Mutt's Reviews

Well, I threatened to do this, and I make good on my promises. I am doing this a little differently than some others. I go by company and I will try to be brief as possible, so bear with me.



DC COMICS-
Action 857- 3rd part of the "Bizzaro World" arc. The cover alone is almost worth the price. Eric Powell (The Goon) did a real nice job giving it a silver age feel. Geoff Johns continues to show his grasp of heroes and the history to them.
Countdown 27- I'm sure that Jim like this simply for featuring Detective Chimp in it. The big shock was given away on the cover, so they lose some points for that. The first hint of where they are taking the villains to in the DCU, setting up the "Salvation Run" mini coming up.
Flash 233- Wally takes down the monsters with an assist from the Justice League, who then confront him about his kids. Love the line from Wally to Batman about putting kids in harm's way. "I'm getting lectured on child safety from a man who's gone through 4 Robins?" Priceless. Waid continues to show his mastery of Wally' world. I only wish he was staying on it longer.
Green Arrow Year One 6- The wrap-up of the arc. Andy Diggle did a real nice job taking the story of Ollie's beginnings and re-imagining it without straying too far from the mythos. Other than that, sort of a blah ending.
Robin 167- A "one and done" by Brandon Thomas. A nice story told by Tim in a dialogue to his dead father. This has been done a few times with Batman as the narrator, but this had a nice touch to it. The bad news is that Freddie Williams, the artist who has done a phenomenal job, is moving over to Teen Titans.
Superman 669- The 3rd Kryptonian is revealed. So much back story in this issue, its difficult to capture. Not a big fan of Rick Leonardi's art, I think he's done better. I am wondering what the deal is with the push behind Kandor.
Teen Titans 52- 2nd part of the "Titans of Tomorrow" arc. The story got a little convoluted toward the end, but still lots of action and battles galore.


Marvel Comics-
Daredevil 101- Second part of "Without Fear" arc. Not really much here. Some nice tender moments between Matt and Milla. Basically just DD tearing up Hell's Kitchen looking for Mr. Fear.
Thunderbolts 117- "Caged Angels" part 2. Warren Ellis has really taken this group and made it a great, consistent read. This issue had an interview between Doc Samson and Penance about who he really is. Also, it seems a group of bad guys (?) wanted to get caught so they can destroy the T-Bolts. Also, there is the ongoing mental battle for Norman Osborn's soul with a nice twist this issue. Can't wait to see who is behind it.
Ultimate Spider-Man 115- If you've listened to the show, or if you've read any of the other "ultimate" books, you know that this is the top dog. Peter is in the custody of SHIELD. Kitty tries to break him out while Osborn goes on a rampage to find his money. They get drafted into SHIELD and the battle is on. The banter between Peter and Osborn is vintage Spidey. It reminded me of all those battles and the snappy banter that was part and parcel of Spider-Man.
Wolverine Origins 18- For the life of me, I have no idea why I am reading this book. I enjoyed Daniel Way's run on Wolverine, but this has just been crap. To waste a great talent like Steve Dillon on this drek is a crime that Marvel should have to answer for. Put him back on Punisher, for God's sake!

Others-
PVP 35- I have pimped this book to the moon, so I won't bore you with a breakdown of the issue. But if you love comics, and you consider yourself a nerd or a geek, pick this book up. It will make you smile. You will find either someone in there who you recognize, or a situation that will look familiar. Scott Kurtz is coming up on his 10th year doing these characters, and deserves alot of credit for sticking with it through good times and bad in the industry.

There you have it. Sorry if it ran long, I tend to have a blabbermouth. I promise that I will work on shorting these up in the future.

Almost.....

OK, maybe it was me last night. I wasn't in the greatest of moods. But I really look forward to Monday night for HEROES. It's my only serious hour of television by myself that does not involve sports.





Last night was one of the worst episodes I've seen. I can't really put my finger on why it sucked, but it seemed that every twist, even Hiro's, was telegraphed so badly. It doesn't put me off the show, but it did make me pause for a moment. I know that Shawn is probably reading this and thinking, "I told him so, the asshat". After a few hours rest, and some caffeine, I think that I'll go all geek on you for a minute.





In comics, during a big story arc, there are what we sometimes refer to as a "placeholder"story. It doesn't advance the story too much, and provides the artists and writers a chance to focus and gain momentum into the next part of the overall arc.





Considering that the November sweeps begins soon, this episode had that feel. The overall story wasn't advanced that much. And I have to think that after next month, they go into repeats until after the first of the year. So they have a lot to get to in the next few weeks. Oh, and yes, I do tend to think that they are sometimes forcing characters into the story just for the sake of it. They don't want to lose any of the big guns from last year, but also want to keep introducing new ones as well. That can make for some scatter shot storytelling. That is what last night's HEROES felt like. So, it's a bad episode. Won't make me jump the ship, just know that when it re-airs, I can go watch something else. Later, folks.

Since when?.....

I've heard that "30 Days of Night" cleaned up at the box office this past weekend. This is not really news considering the push it got. What is interesting is my involvement in it.

A friend told me last week that she was going to see it. I remarked off hand that it's based on a graphic novel. I can't help that, it's a comic geek thing. She said "Well, I guess you'll be going then, huh?". I replied that no, I wasn't for several reasons. The biggest of which is money, of which I have none. Secondly, horror is not really my thing. There is enough real life horror to go around. But the comment she made caused me to stop and think.

Why is it assumed that if I read comics, that I must automatically go to every comic book based movie out there? Or that I must watch every single sci-fi show that comes out? Yes, I do watch HEROES and SMALLVILLE, but that's about it. Do we pigeonhole everyone this way? Is every sports fan supposed to have a jersey of their favorite team, and must they wear it every single time their team plays? If they don't, are they less of a fan? Do we think that adult fans of the Harry Potter series read every single book on witches and wizards?

When did this happen? Has it always been this way? I realize that the word "fans" is short for "fanatics", but aren't there shades of grey in this? I love the anime Cowboy Bebop, and would recommend it to anyone of reasonable intelligence, but I don't love all anime. Carrying this a step further, it's not a secret that I am a major animation (OK, cartoon) buff. I love the old Warner Bros. stuff with a passion, and I enjoy quite a bit of the new stuff too. But I have heard from time to time; "oh, you must have seen HAPPY FEET or CARS, since they're toons.". WHAT?!?!

I don't feel that I have to waste my time and money going to and viewing every thing. If something catches my eye or attention, then cool. But don't expect me to be a sheep and automatically flush my money away just because it's a comic or a cartoon. I didn't go to the Simpsons movie this past summer because I really didn't feel like plunking 10 bucks down for it. I still love them, and watch every Sunday, so I don't think I'm less of a fan.As for "30 Days", more than likely I'll catch it when it comes on cable or borrow someones DVD. For those who went and enjoyed it, I'm glad for you. Hope it brought you the chills and thrills you were seeking. If it didn't, go read the graphic novel.

Smallville

Promised I would be more active. So here are some thoughts and musings about Smallville.



*WARNING* Possible minor spoilers ahead. So if you Tivo the show and are waiting to watch in one sitting, turn back now.





SMALLVILLE has gotten off to a decent start. While I wanted the Bizzarro Clark to stick around for a few more episodes, they handled it much better than the Zod/Lex ending a season or so ago. Lois is still smoking hot and Chloe is still a much better fit for Clark than that doe-eyed loser Lana. I admit that I approached the season with some trepidation after hearing they are introducing Supergirl (Kara) into the show. So far, it's been...OK. Not great, but fine. I initially worried that they were going to make her some slave to Luthor (and who remembers that god awful storyline with the bearded Luthor posing as his son? *shudders*) but at this point they have sent her off to find her lost ship. But they let fall a major plot point that, I think, will play a factor in the ending of the season. Clark had been getting help from the Martian Manhunter, who said that he worked with his father on Krypton. When he and Kara met, some real serious sparks flew, intimating that one, if not both are whom they seem to be.

The addition of Dean Cain has shown the creative team still continues to tip the hat to those who have come before Tom Welling. He played a villain (Vandal Savage?) in the recent episode. I somehow get the feeling that if Chris Reeve or George Reeves (the original TV Superman) were alive today, they would have some part to play. Of course, Chris Reeve did have a part, but it would have been fun to see where they would have gone with his character.

I have hopes for this season, as I do for any show that I enjoy. I hope that they bring back Green Arrow and some of the other heroes. I hope they will get around to what happened to Lionel Luthor, since I am a huge fan of John Glover. Most importantly, I hope that this show stays true to the mythos that is Clark Kent and SMALLVILLE. Yes, its been different and not a totally faithful adaptation, but if it's done right, the changes make the show better. I hope to have a posting after HEROES Monday night. Have a good weekend all!

M.I.A.

Or maybe I should be labeled Missing In Inaction. Sorry you guys haven't heard from me in a bit, but I've been seriously sidetracked. Last week was Cindy's birthday, we took a day trip, Ravens game (always takes priority on Sunday!), and a lot of other things to distract me from the task at hand. Namely, entertaining you.



Call this weird, but I have entered my self-imposed embargo. From about this time until after the holidays, I don't buy anything for myself that I would ask for at Christmas. I have done this for many years so that those who want to get me something don't have to worry about whether or not I have it yet. It may sound stupid to you, but it beats having to fake excitement at getting something you already have.



This year promises to be both easy and tough. Easy, because I have no money to spend on myself. I have no wiggle room for anything resembling extras. Tough, because there are some really good things out there. The movies, such as the FF, Spider-Man, and Transformers. I am sure that sometime in the next month or so the Harry Potter movie will be released. These fall into the category of; never seen it and want it (FF), seen it and want it to complete the trilogy (SM), and saw it and really liked it (TF and HP). There are other things out there I would like, but I'll keep them to myself. If you really care, feel free to ask. In person.



OK, this was a simple check in to let you know that I am alive and vertical. More to come and I promise to be more on top of posting. Thanks for your patience!

When did it happen?

I have been mulling over this post for a few days. I read a post on my friend Jim's blog by, I believe, his daughter Gwen. In it she asks why we sometimes tend to look for the negative in comics as opposed to highlighting the positive. It was a great post and got me thinking about this in general.

We are a nation, if not a world, of cynics.

This does not apply universally. But on the whole, we tend to look a things with a sceptical eye. When did this happen? Now, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I believe that this trend began in the late '60s and gained traction in the 70's. Of course, we always think that earlier times were sunny viewed through the prism of hindsight. We tend to think that kids have it easier than we did. They have better tools to learn, cooler stuff to play with. That may be true, but the pitfalls of being a kid in this modern age is not as easy as in our day. We could walk to a bus stop on a crisp autumn morning and the most you had to worry about is whether you had forgotten your homework or lunch. Nowadays, parents stay until the bus comes to ward off potential predators or other nefarious types. You could have left your kids home alone and not have to worry about either someone breaking in, or what was happening on the internet. The media certainly must shoulder some, if not most, of the blame in what has happened to our innocence. I mean the fact that some local newscasts take the attitude "if it bleeds, it leads" and playing to our voyeuristic nature is telling. And we are a nation of voyeurs, whether we want to admit it or not.

I got a little off topic there for a sec, so forgive me. Where I was going with this was, when did we lose the innocence in reading comics? For me, there is a certain happiness in going to the comics store on a Wednesday and seeing what awaits. It's like Christmas morning. OK, it's nothing like Christmas. But do you see what I'm getting at? If you don't enjoy something, if all you do is look for the negative right away, then stop doing it. Go find something that makes you happy. In this world there are so many things that can do that. Not all of them legal or good for you. But man, do something that makes you happy. For me? The day that I no longer look forward to going to the comics store to see what Batman and company have cooked up for me, that's when I'm out. I guess it's why I read "Spawn" for so long after it had jumped the shark. That book was my re-entrance to the wonderful world of comics. And for that plus all the years of happiness that comics has brought me, I thank McFarlane. He sucks, yes, but he allowed me to see other terrific things I never would have known if I had not said; "man I can't believe I stopped reading comics".

I hope you stuck it out with this post. Think it's the longest I've done. If you have, post me. What makes you happy? What makes you forget all of your troubles, even if for only a minute?

WoW and people in general

Hey gang. My wife and I have been bitten by the WoW bug. For those who aren't in the know, it stands for World Of Warcraft. I never thought that a game could be so addictive. You become so immersed in it that you really do tend to lose all sense of time. Now, don't fret about me. I won't become one of those guys you read about who play for 40 hours then collapse and die. My attention span is WAY too short for that. But I bring this up because of the dynamics we encounter in the game with other people.

Our entrance to the game was through our best friends and their kid. They enjoy the game and have been playing a lot longer than we have. We got it and started it on a lark, not really sure what to expect. Cindy is not one who enjoys video games as much as I do, but after watching me for a bit, she got intrigued and started to create her characters. We share a computer, we are poor folk after all, and we have learned to give each other space to play. I feel the need to share an experience that actually changed my life and feelings about things.

A while back I was going through a bout of massive depression. Didn't really care about much of anything, including comics. Heresy, I know. I logged onto the game for what I thought was going to be a few minutes, just to check on mail and other things. Some people from the guild I had joined were on and seemed excited to see me. They asked me to come do things, quests and other tasks. They didn't care that I was feeling bad or even suicidal at that time. All they cared about was having fun with me. These people, whom I had never met face to face, cared about me. It blew me away. These people, who were in Texas, Canada, Pennsylvania, and even Australia, were life savers. They saved me from myself and pulled me from a depths I didn't even know I was headed down. For that I will always be grateful to them.

I tell you of this because lately I find myself just wanting to be left alone when I play. But because I am a sucker in the game like in real life, I can't say no to help out someone who asks. Does this make me a bad virtual person as well as an asshat? I want people to like me for who I am, not what I can do for them. It's a self esteem issue I have always had. Even today, I wonder if you're reading this out of pity, or because you really enjoy my company. I know that I am a loud, large, sometimes obnoxious and opinionated moron. I am trying to be better, but I can only lose so much weight. So for those of you who really know me, I thank you for being a friend. Or at the very least, someone who can tolerate my ass.

Comics time....again!

Well, let's try this again. I wrote a bunch last night and for some reason, the site didn't allow for it to be loaded. Didn't think they had that much creative input, but oh well.



OK kiddies, gather round and let Uncle Ron clue you in on some comics to spend your valuable money on. Or in some cases, not to waste your time even reading.



Justice League of America- Dwayne McDuffie has picked up writing the book as of issue 13. He was a major contributor to the "JLU" cartoon and did a fantastic job on it. Now, I seem to be in the minority when it comes to Brad Metzler, the last writer(*cough* Jim). I didn't think he did all that bad a job, but wow. McDuffie put more action and team chemistry in one issue that Metzler managed in his run. This is a must read for any fan of DC, team books, and big battles. It (hopefully) won't disappoint.

Robin- Consistently one of the best books since DC's "One year later" relaunch. Adam Beechen has really made both Robin and Tim Drake fleshed out, believable characters. Gave him a nice supporting cast in both hero and civilian life. For Robin, it's always been about balance. Tim has suffered so much personal tragedy it would be easy for him to head down the path that Bruce Wayne did so long ago. But as he says; "I want to be like Batman, but not be Batman." Each arc improved and even the one and dones, like Tim's first date being interrupted not once, but twice by Batman, were great. Unfortunately, Adam is leaving the book with the issue that came out this week. Chuck Dixon, the original writer for the book, is returning. I wish Adam well and say, Chuck, you've got some big shoes to fill.

All Star Batman and Robin- Since it looks like this book is coming out with some regularity, I guess I can give my opinion of the "goddamn" Batman. If you don't get that last joke, you obviously don't read the book. Pick it up. It won't take more than 5 minutes to read. But you will find yourself going back to either look at the great art by Jim Lee, or you won't believe that Frank Miller actually made him say that. It's a guilty pleasure. Just make sure to leave most of what you think of Batman at the door. I think that Frank is making this younger Batman into the one that he created in "The Dark Knight Returns".

Iron Man- I have been a long time fan of Iron Man, and the thought of next summer seeing both him and Batman on the big screen has me geeked. This book has undergone some character changes in the last year, mostly due to the "Civil War" mini. Tony now runs the military group SHIELD, and has been putting out brush fires everywhere. From Cap's death to Spidey turning his back on him, it's been a tough year. I like this book and the fact that they don't focus entirely on Tony. They give the supporting cast, like the soldiers who seem to chafe under a civilian commander, some room to breathe. I am looking forward to seeing where this book goes, but I wish they would bring more of his rogues gallery, especially Mandarin, into the book.

Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men- I lump these books together because that's what they are; a lump. I have been so disappointed by these books I cannot even bring myself to talk about them during the "Conversations" show. It takes alot for me to drop a book, since I worry that after I do that, the book will get some buzz and I find myself drawn in again. I call it the "Spawn" theory (stop rolling your eyes, Shawn). But these books have done it. The goal of the Ultimate universe was to take iconic characters and update them. But doing shock simply for shock's sake sucks. These books started out great and even managed to spawn a red hot phenomena going on in the main Marvel universe: zombies. It was a great story in the FF book and did so well they brought it over and made it a hugely successful franchise. But these books have become just that, zombies. They patrol the comics rack looking for unsuspecting readers to eat their brains. Don't waste your money.



That's enough for comics for now. Real quick hits on TV: thought "Heroes" is great. Looking forward to see how they can bring the company down and just who the big bad is this season. For "Smallville" and "Buffy" fans, James Marsters is coming back to reprise his role as Brainiac later on this season. HA! Scooped ya, Shawn. Nah, you probably knew this anyway. Well, off to reality. Sucks, doesn't it?

"Smallville" and things...

First off, I am felling somewhat better. Thanks for asking. Seriously, I needed some time to reflect on things and realize that while our situation sucks, there are people who are worse off than us.

Onto Smallville, which premiered Thursday night. Well, I have some mixed reactions. I have to say I called it about Lana. Saw that one coming down the street and around the block. Really liked the Bizarro character and more importantly, liked how they didn't use "Bizarro speak" for him. Comics fans know this and sometimes get frustrated with it. I am still trying to figure out who has Lionel Luthor. John Glover is a Baltimore native and I have loved him as Lionel, so I hope he's back. I also like the use of the Martian Manhunter in this and hope that he will become more of a recurring character. Jury is really out on the Supergirl character. One plot hole that you could drive a truck through: at the end of the episode she's sitting on the water tower in Smallville while Clark is staring at the moon. Uh, hello? wouldn't he have seen her flying off? DUH? OK geek moment over.

Have a show to do tomorrow. I haven't been doing them as regularly as I have in the past, but with fall and winter here, plan to get back into the swing of it. That is, of course, if it doesn't conflict with the Ravens schedule. Then it's RAVENS time, baby! See you all out there somewhere in real life, hopefully.

Allow me a moment of your time

I am assuming that most of you who read this know me or at least know of me. So allow me a moment to vent and let some pressure escape.



I have not given most of you a peek behind the curtain that is my life. I also am not so vain to think that you all would want to. But I have to let you in on something. I have been out of work for awhile now. I am not telling you this out of pity or sympathy (god forbid). I am telling you this because of the frustration I am going through. I cannot find a job in my chosen profession. They want someone with more experience. By the way, my chosen profession is cardiac monitoring. Big whoop, I know. I have tried any and all avenues. I have tried anything short of strapping a bomb to my chest and walking into a place to beg for a job. Nothing has worked. I don't know what it is about me. I try to project a positive image when I can get an interview, on those rare occasions. I just don't know.



There is something else I have to get off of my chest at this time. I am also a little frustrated with some of my friends and family. Those that know about my situation, they offer me advice and platitudes. I don't want to seem ungrateful, I am thankful that these people care enough to offer such things, but I wonder. When I was working and a friend was out of a job, I would have done all that I could to help him, including trying to get him a job wherever I was working. It would have been nice for a friend to come up to me one day and said "hey Ron, I know you're still trying to get in the field, but why not come apply at my place and I'll see what I can do to get you in. It's not what you want, but hey it's a start." Rusty has tried by offering me some things where he can, and for that I will always be grateful. I know I sound like a punk, or at lest it's how I feel, but sometimes I just need a break. Not a big one, just someone to take a goddamn flyer on me. I won't prove them wrong.



This sucks.

Heroes..A review

I promised that I would post with my thought about the shows. But I fall into a weird category. I don't immediately jump on the internet like the other nerd to fight about what this meant or who said what, but I am a fanboy of the show. I expect the ratings for this to be somewhat low, since most of their target audience were probably standing in line for "Halo 3". I don't have an Xbox 360, nor do I plan on owning one. A Wii? Yeah hopefully one day.

OK on to the show. I admit that I was so jazzed for this opener that they could have shown me Hiro reading the phone book and I would have at least liked it. That being said, the show was a decent opener. The title says it all. "Four months later" and we get an update on where some of the characters have gone to. They still manage to keep in some contact with each other, so they are still connected. Peter is alive (no big shock there) but without his memory. We get an introduction that there is another big bad guy out there, possibly one of the "originals". OMG! They killed Sulu! YOU BASTARDS!! Should have killed the bitch mother, but meh. Two new "powers" are also introduced. One potential bad guy, one who is on the run. She has a power that I think can only be described as "sick". Won't spoil it for you. Hiro is still in Fudal Japan, where he discovers that his childhood hero is not who he thinks he is. You know, digging deep for a second here, don't we all have that moment? Someone who we admire as kids, build them up to be almost a mythic figure, then discover that in the end they are just as flawed as the rest of us. Maybe not, but I think that maybe that speaks a little to our society today. OK maybe I am a nerd reading too much into things, so sue me.
So, is this worth your valuable time? I would say yes, but I don't think you can expect shocks and surprised each week. At some point they lose their value. It's a good show and the character development is among the best out there. For the most part, these are fleshed out characters, not cookie-cutter flavor of the moment types. So give it a shot next week and see what you think!

Some comic related stuff and thoughts.

Before I go into the new things, something the past week or two has caught my eye and I wanted to share it. If you have been reading this or any comic related site, you know about the passing of Mike Wieringo. A great artist, a nice guy who enjoyed talking to his fans, he went far too soon. There have been many tributes, including a nice one a few weeks ago at the Baltimore Comic con with the proceeds going to the Humane Society. He worked for both Marvel and DC and last week, Marvel put a very nice tribute to him in their comics. I thought I would share it with you.


This is my first time posting images, so you'll have to forgive me if they seem off. I find it interesting that DC really didn't do anything in their books since he worked on one of their best books, the Flash. On a personal note, I kind of wished that they would have put something in there about Spider-Man, since he was a great artist during a bad stretch of writers.

Next is the sketch I have talked about. Talk about a nerdgasm. I had a chance to meet Scott Kurtz again at the Baltimore show. I am a HUGE fan of PvP, and he has been one of the nicest artist to talk to. I have been badgered by some friends (looking in your direction, Matthew) to get him to do something for me, maybe me pimping his comic on our "conversations" show. Instead, knowing that he is a major player of WoW (that's World of Warcraft for the noobs) I asked him to do a sketch of my main character. He is a night elf warrior named Festezio. Yes, I love "Family Guy". He was very obliging and since I got to him early in the show he had some time to throw it together. Here is how it came out:

Pretty cool, huh? Man, when 2 things you love collide, sometimes it just feels right.



I have one last tidbit to throw out there for comic as well as non-comic fans. It has recently been announced that DC was adding more heroes to the Johnny DC kids line. This is nice news and all, but one of the books has me giddy with excitement. Mike Kunkel, the writer and artist behind one of my all-time favorite indy books "Herobear and the Kid" will be doing the artwork for the Shazam book. If you have never read "Herobear" you've missed out. I found this book by accident and fell in love instantly. It was only 5 issues and I have been praying for more. The last artwork seen by him was in the DC tribute issue to Sam Loeb. Every month I scan the Previews hoping to find something, but to no avail. Now he is bringing his style to a mainstream book that (I hope) will get kids excited about Shazam. On a side note, Captain Marvel really has had some A-listers doing work on him. Howard Porter, Jeff Smith, and now Mike Kunkel. OK so they are A-listers to me, but seriously, get this and give this to kids to read when it comes out next year.



That's it for now. Next week is a busy week, TV wise. So I will post again with my thoughts on the "Heroes" and "Smallville" premieres next week.

Comics time!

OK. Message received. I will try and post more often.

I hope to have the sketch that Scott Kurtz did for me up sometime in the next week or so. But before I review some comics, I have a general thought I want to throw out. I observed at the Baltimore Comic-con last weekend some interesting things. What I would like to talk about is the dealers and some of the dealings going on. I don't know if we had a "rape me" sign hanging somewhere on our booth, but for some reason dealers kept coming over asking if there was some "deal" we could work. Now last year, Rusty (the owner) worked a deal with a big group and pretty much sold the booth out on Saturday. That's cool and all, he is the owner and it's his livelihood. But these guys sidling up to me and asking if there is something we can "work out", made me feel kinda oogy. These guys had been there all weekend and had to know that I wasn't the owner. Even said so on my badge: "staff". And there was no way I was going to do anything without Rusty's consent.
Now, to be fair, I did do some deals with people who were either fans or retailers coming for the show. We sold out the manga, which did really well with both. But these guys, who I'm guessing are pros on the convention circuit, were really interested in making deals. As opposed to some of the boothmates we had, who could not look more disinterested and bored to be there. But who can blame them? They had no real business, nothing but really older books, and looked for all the world like they couldn't get out of there fast enough. OK, that's enough on that. FUN TIME!

I want to try and give some quick reviews of the comics I read. I tend to stick to the mainstream stuff, and my budget has been really screwed with.
Countdown- This series started off with some promise but has really fallen apart. I'm not sure if it is the "52" curse or not, but I am finding it hard to stick with it.
Detective Comics- The best Batman book being done out there. This book has managed to reinvent the best rogue's gallery in comics to a new level. Paul Dini has done a terrific job.
Batman- Deserves a mention for Grant Morrison's run. His knack for taking obscure things (the league of Batmen?!?) and making them a viable story has paid off.
Green Lantern- I have always been a GL fan. But the "Sinestro Corps War" has been one of the best things done in the book in a long time. DC really dropped the ball by not promoting this more instead of Countdown.
Amazing Spider-Man- I now have to lump all the Spidey books into one since they are cancelling them to make Amazing the core book. This past week started the "One more day" arc. I am not sure where they are going with this, and really until they get there, I don't care. I will read this with some trepidation because I am expecting a major fake out from Marvel.
World War Hulk and Incredible Hulk- Now THIS has been a great read! The main Hulk title not so much. But WWH? WOW! I have enjoyed every issue so far. Why? Two words: HULK SMASH! No whiny exposition, no hidden agendas, just pure aggression. What any Hulk fan wants.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8- This book has apparently started a trend. A lot of books (Angel, Star Trek) which were TV shows have picked up on the sales trend of Buffy and tried to copy. The newest arc began this week, and I recommend it to both fans and non-fans alike. It's a great jumping on point and it will not disappoint.

Alright, that's enough for now. Maybe there will be more on comics, or something on the sad state that is my life in general. We'll see.