Mutt's Ramblings

What it really means

2010-11-25T08:10:00.003-05:00

Seeing as I'm really the only one reading this, I'll guess I'll answer myself.

Thanksgiving means lots of things, but mostly it should mean exactly what is says. Give thanks for what you have, not what you want.

Me?

I have a bunch to be thankful for.

-I'm alive.
-I have a wife and family that love me despite all my faults and problems.
-I work with some people who I do truly enjoy working with and I hope they enjoy working with me.
-Our boys. Just turned 1 and have brought some happiness into our lives.
-Our new place. Still a work in progress, but we enjoy it.
-My friends, who I really don't get to see as much of anymore. I miss them all and I hope that they miss me at times too.

Think that's about it for now. So go and enjoy the day. If you have to work, you have my sympathy. I've been there and it sucks. Hopefully your day will bring you something to be thankful for.

Not the biggest news here.

2010-09-24T04:51:00.005-04:00

Hey there.

It's been the talk of the 'net lately. The fact that DC is shutting down its Wildstorm imprint and folding the books into the DCU proper. I have a small vested interest in this. I love ASTRO CITY and have been a huge fan of most of it's books. Hopefully, they will allow that one to go into the Vertigo side of things, since that is the creator owned side of DC. But other than that, it doesn't seem like that big a deal to me. Jim Lee is a big gun in DC Entertainment now, so he has a right to do with his imprint (it is his after all) to do with what he wants. He did foster some great creators and some decent titles, so give the man his due. But to me this is not the biggest news to hit the 'net this week.

No, the biggest shock to me was the fact that Jim Martin, a man whose opinion on comics I respect in a big way, is taking a step back from both his blog (Comics and...) and from the comics in general. I read his post about why he is doing this and as usual, I get his reasoning behind it. Time, money and quality are issues that most adult comic readers have to deal with. Commitments to work, family and so on take precedence over sitting and reading about the latest exploits of Superman or Batman. I met Jim a few years ago when we started doing the Cosmic Comix Conversations together. He brought a reasoned mature and (at times) a cynical approach that was a balance to my fanboy, geeky, sometimes stupid take on books. I am sure that he will continue to read the "cape books" as he calls them, in one form or another. Still, I have looked forward to reading his reviews on the big books of the day. I will miss that. Much more than that, I miss the back and forth that we had on the show. I never told him this, but I looked forward to that. Maybe it wasn't apparent at the time, but I appreciated his viewpoint on the books. May not have liked it, but I appreciated it.

Good luck Jim. Hope to see you around the store sometime.

Man, It's been strange!

2010-09-13T15:32:00.004-04:00

Hey there anyone.

Well, we've done it. We've finally moved. Got ourselves out into the country. It took a while, but things are slowly starting to settle down. I think I made the right decision to take a week off from work after the move to try and get things going here. The boys (our cats) took awhile to get used to things, like the utter darkness that comes at night around here. No streetlights to speak of, so when it gets dark it gets REALLY dark. Also, they've had to adjust to the floors being different. Not as much carpeting in the new place, and no central A/C. Good thing we moved at the end of the summer, don't know how we would have made out during that brutal stretch in July. I think it was 10 or more days over 90 with a heat index of 100. Anyway, it's a time of adjustment for everyone. Hopefully, if things go certain ways, we will be having friends and family over more to party and such.

I missed out on the Baltimore Comic-Con. Totally bummed out about it too. I was moving the Saturday of it and was too wiped on Sunday to go. The thing that really bummed me out was the fact that I was not able to help out my buddy Rusty, and his store. I have done it every year for about the past 5 or so years and I really look forward to doing the show. Meeting some creators, maybe getting an autograph or two, and seeing some of the cool things that you may not find other places. Oh well, hopefully there will be a next year for me to do something.

Well, that's about it for now. I know that these posts have been few and far between, but I will do my level best to try and get them up more frequently. Until next time, be good!

A bit late, but all things considered....

2010-06-17T10:13:00.004-04:00

Better late than never.

Hey gang. Some random comic thoughts for you to ponder.

-BLACKEST NIGHT was terrific. Geoff Johns created a masterpiece that will go down in the annals of DC comics as one of the best mini-series ever. Was self contained, had a beginning, middle and end, some real surprises, and most of all, established Ivan Reis as an artist to watch in the coming years. His work on this was consistent from start to finish. This elevated him to George Perez-like territory.

-Marvel has ended an era that, myself as well as others (right Jim and Rusty?) went on far too long. It ended OK, withe the SIEGE mini being a period on the long plan of Bendis. I don't know if he had this whole thing thought out from the beginning, as Johns did over at DC, and I'm not sure if this whole HEROIC AGE thing will last.

- I think that I am suffering with something called "event fatigue". I just want to enjoy the books I have and not have them constantly interrupted with some sort of tie-in to something else. It is really frustrating to have good storytelling stopped dead in it's tracks by some sort of editorial mandate. Plot threads left dangling for months at a time with little or no resolution just to satisfy sales tends to make hardcore readers of those titles angry and feel like they are being taken advantage of by the companies. Why can't these guys just keep their hands off a book when it's going good? Do they feel they have to justify their existence by meddling? I mean, how many people rolled their eyes when they saw the solicit for that Spider-Man mini being written by Quesada? Considering he's responsible for the mess the books became, is this his way of atoning? Probably not. And I love how these guys can't leave something alone, either a character (Deadpool is this generation's Wolverine) or a line of books that they consolidate only to expand in a few months. Cancelling a title only to pick it back up with a new number is just lazy to me. It smacks of desperation and makes me wonder if the "creative" minds at the top are really creative at all. If you want to restart a book, fine. But for God's sakes, at least let it have been gone for a minimum of a year. I wish there was a governing body that could oversee these companies and say "no, that can't happen. You must abide by these rules." Yes, we can always vote with our wallets. In this economy, now more than ever we can do that. But still it seems to be happening. One shots that replace ongoings, "specials" instead of the more traditional "annuals" and so forth are clogging the racks these days.

OK, that's enough for now. Have more to get off my chest, such as Buffy and Batman, but that will come later.

Be good!

News and comments

2010-06-06T00:22:00.012-04:00

Hey there all.

First off, I think that I owe you all an apology. After reading over some of the old posts, it appears that I've made the proclamation "I'm back" a bunch. So I promise not to do it again, no matter how long I'm gone.

When I left, the wife and I had just come through the ordeal of losing one of our beloved cats, Penelope. I still miss her and feel her presence from time to time. A month after that, we lost our oldest, Spice. She passed quietly in her sleep during the final big snowfall we had. I took the wife out in the early morning during the beautiful silence that happens during most snows and told her about it. She was upset, but we both felt at peace because we did not have to go through the dilemma of putting her down. There was the plus of the fact that she met the newest additions to our family.Meet Burt & Benji.

These two boys are our new kids. Seeing as we can't have kids of our own (too long a story to go into), we tend to view our pets as our children. We don't do stupid things like putting clothes on them and other inanity, but still they are our kids. We got them a few months ago when they were about 2 months old. They have already chosen who belongs to who. Burt is a mommy's cat and loves her up for treats and such. Benji, the daredevil, is mine. He comes and loves me up when it's time to eat, sleeps with me when he's tired and loves my feet. No, wait. He REALLY loves my feet. He walks with me everywhere I go. He is usually waiting for me at the door when I come home from work. They are still newborns and have a ton of energy from time to time. That can be helpful, but when you're trying to sleep and they want to play, it's a pain in the butt. Still, we love them and are thankful to have them in our lives.

Well, I think that will do it for now. I have things to get off my chest about comics, but that will wait for the next post.

It won't be six months, I promise.

After some consideration...

2010-06-04T13:01:00.003-04:00

I've decided not to totally blow this blog up.

First off, hi there. It's been awhile since I've done this. To say that things have been hectic is a bit of an understatment. Suffice to say I have been preoccupied with other things rather than throwing my thoughts out into the internet for all to digest. I haven't even looked at this blog in about 2 months (judging by the comments, most of you haven't looked at this at all) so you can imagine my surprize when I saw that I haven't posted in almost half a year.

At first I thought of just flushing the whole thing. I mean, does anybody really give a damn about my opinion on anything? I get tired of hearing my voice from time to time so I know everyone else does. I have said that I am a font of useless information. So why does that need to be added to the already crowded chorus of idiots who patrol on blogs, Facebook, Myspace, etc.? I think I will use the space to try and do a few things. First, to flush the feelings and sometimes hopeless out of me so that I can give a more positive energy to my family and friends. Secondly, I do want to express my feelings about things I do care about, like sports and comics. The fact that it is not as insightful as my friends like Jim, Rusty, Matthew and Shawn should not deter me from my feelings and opinions.

So, in summation, I will be out here. Probably alone, but here nonetheless. I will post in a day or so about the losses and additions to my family. As well as some thoughts on comics.

Thanks for checking in and stopping by.

New year...same results

2010-01-23T20:40:00.007-05:00

Hey gang, hope you all had a decent holiday season.

For us, not so much. Well, the holidays themselves were OK. Had to work both Christmas and New Years Eve, so that blew. The center store manager, Kevin, was a great guy and let us come in early and leave at a respectable time so we could enjoy some of the holidays. Man, is he really on the crew's side as far as work, and that scares me. Guys who know what the job entails and really understand what is needed for us to do don't last very long at the store. I hope he stays for a while, but I'm not holding my breath.

As for the Ravens, it was an up and down season. I'm glad they made the playoffs and embarrassed the Patriots, considering no one gave them a chance. Especially that fat load Chris Berman of ESPN. Man, I hate that asshat! Dude must spend his down time giving Tom Brady a reach around whenever he calls him. But I digress. I was disappointed that they lost to the colts, AGAIN. Didn't even feel real competitive in the 2nd half. There were some big improvements to this team. Ray Rice and the offense made strides, but I think they need to find a balance for Flacco. Last year, they ran some great plays that had teams off balance. This year, not so much. Don't know why, maybe Cam Cameron was trying to establish a more traditional offense. However, the loss exposed the needs of this team. They MUST improve both the receiving and secondary corps, either through the draft or free agency.

On a final, sad note, we had to put our cat Penelope down the first week of the year. She had been sick for a while and we loved her too much to watch her suffer. The vets at Carrolltown Veterinary Hospital were and are truly magnificent. They took great care of her and us, giving us time and space to say goodbye. They were heartfelt in their sympathy for us, even sending a handmade sympathy card signed by the whole staff.

I have had many pets over the years. But there has only been 3 that have touched the soul of my core and made me a better person for their presence in my life. Henri, Beau, and now Penelope will always hold a deeply special place in my heart and I miss her in ways that I cannot explain properly.

R.I.P. Penelope. Your mom and dad miss you very much.

Later, folks.

Please Pray for Me

2009-12-24T07:27:00.003-05:00

First off, Hey there and more importantly, Hope that you all have a safe and happy Christmas!

OK, onto the matter at hand. The next 24 to 48 hours will be the most physically and mentally draining of my life. To set this up; our cat, Penelope, has been at the vet's for about 3 days now and we are desperately wanting to have her home with us. Hopefully it will be today, but to do that will require rearranging an already chaotic schedule. I have to take my wife to her family early this afternoon to spend time with them. This will be difficult since it's the first Christmas without her brother. But you guys are probably aware of that.

Then, to complicate matters, I have to go to work this evening and stay until who knows when. This is really turning myself and the crew I work with into a bunch of Scrooges. We are all leaving families of one sort or another to get there and the weather is supposed to be brutal. Not as bad as last weekend here, but enough to screw things up. Whenever we are done, I then have to drive back to her family's house to pick her up. She didn't want to be alone on Christmas, and I can't say that I blame her for that.

So, at some point I have to find the time to get our baby(cat), spend some time with her, the wife's family, work, and get some rest. Christmas day should be a snap considering we are spending that with my family. I just don't know if I can make this. I'm already starting to drift writing this. Need to get at least a few hours so I can take a run at things.

So, please keep me in your thoughts. I love you guys and want to be here to have fun with everyone in the new year. I hope that all you wish and hope for comes true in the holiday season and throughout the new year!

Tearing down the walls

2009-10-30T07:51:00.003-04:00

First off, hey there everyone. Either those who are looking for me or found this by accident, welcome.

I have three words for you.

I'm coming back. (OK, maybe it's 4, so sue me)

Where have I been? Not anywhere in particular, but not really here either. I have been trying to shake myself out of things for a while and have not had much success. I have been pretty much a ghost to most people, either there or being an annoyance. Sure, I have tried different things to keep myself in the game of life, but not much has really gotten through. So sit back, take a drink while I pour some things out here.

I have been doing things sort of on an autopilot lately. Going to work, seeing people, getting my comics and such and really haven't enjoyed what I've been doing. It's not them (or you, as the case may be), it's been me. As much as I don't want to admit it, the death of my wife's brother earlier this year has been unsettling to me in more ways than I perceived. I think in part because I had to sort of box away my feelings on it to be there for her and her family. We have had the roughest year of our marriage since...the death of our newborn son. She blamed herself for that and there was no way on earth I could hold her accountable for it. It was just one of those things. We survived that and became stronger together. This, this tragedy, has cast a pall over her that I don't know when it will lift.

She has tried to talk to people and some have tried to give her what I call "bumper sticker" advice. Things like "buck up" and "be strong" have been repeated so much she hates the sound of them. No one knows how long you're supposed to grieve. I tend to think that it's different for everyone and how well you knew and loved the person. For some, there is a momentary loss and a heartfelt saddening for the family and themselves, but then it passes. Not that they forget the person, but life goes on. For others, the moment is frozen in time and until they can reconcile themselves, it may be that way for a time.

I don't think she is that bad, but the loss in her life has been a tremendous void. She loved everything about her brother and you could see it when they were together, how happy they were. I know I can never make her that happy again, but I have been struggling to. I love her so very much, and it hurts to see her in so much pain from time to time. She has tried to move forward, but in doing so she shut out a lot of people in her life who love her. It wasn't until I confronted her about this that I realized I had done the same thing.

I haven't played WoW in several months.
I haven't called my friends to talk and hang out.
I haven't done a bunch of things I've set out to do.

Some of this is to be there for her, but this is a cop out. So I have to say something and I hope and pray that these people will hear me say this.

To Shawn, Jim, Matthew, Dan, Tammy, Cory, Sara, Cathy, Tom & most especially my family:

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I haven't been there for you all. I hope that you all can forgive me and grant me the chance to try and regain your love, trust and friendship.

That's it, thats all I have for now. I will try and be more of what I was, but know that while I will laugh and smile and hopefully be fun to be around, there is a small part of me that is gone forever.

As Promised!

2009-08-15T21:24:00.006-04:00

I know I said tomorrow, but shoot me for being a little early for once.

I want to talk about 2 things that have caught my attention, short as it is (oooh look a kitty! whoops).

First up is BLACKEST NIGHT. Now, there has been much discussion and dissection of this event since it was announced last year. We are now 2 issues into the main series with one mini wrapped up and another 2 either starting or about to bow. Over the years the phrase "you only have to read the main storyline" has become one of the great lies in the comic universe. Both Marvel and DC have been guilty of this and the maddening lateness of books for the "event of the year" books and it has left many a sour taste in both mouths and wallets. So far, and it has been only a month and a half, DC has kept on pace with their checklist and not overselling this event. By that I mean, they realize it's going to be a hit so they don't have to either cut into main books or overdo the ancillary minis. A huge plus for DC is that they have no plans (at least that I'm aware of) to take this into the main DCU books.The "Tales of the Corps" was a quick 3 issue that you really didn't have to read, unless you wanted to get to know some the players in the other Corps. The timing of the issues has also been very good (again, so far). The day BLACKEST NIGHT #2 drops, BLACKEST NIGHT: BATMAN comes out as well and offers a really cool companion to BN. Again, you don't have to read it if you don't want to, but it is well written by Peter Tomasi. He has been tackling a version of Batman with the OUTSIDERS book and the art by Ardian Syaf is in the Kubert / Morales vein, which works for me.
As for the main story, this is Geoff Johns masterpiece. He has been working toward this for well over 2 years now. Carefully laying down piece after piece until it all comes to a head. So far, the story has more than lived up to the hype. More often than not, that is what eventually kills the "event". It has been hyped to the roof and expectation get raised so that if that first issue doesn't automatically grab you, it's deemed a failure. The first issue did more than that. It actually raised the bar. You see Black Lanterns brought to life and what they do to the living. You have deaths in both issues that actually mean something. It has been a long time since there was a book that I couldn't wait to read, and read it again and again to savor it. This is it. To call this a page turner is like calling the Mona Lisa a nice painting of a broad. I only hope that Ivan Reis (the artist) keeps up what has been stellar artwork over the course of the main book. After this, he should be given any assignment he wants to keep him at DC.

For my second review/ comments, I'm heading into the world of Television. I have found most commercial TV to be really boring or predictable. Reality TV just sucks canal water for me. However, there was an appearance that made me sit up say wow. BBC America recently aired the season of "TORCHWOOD:CHILDREN OF EARTH" over 5 nights. In a row. That's right, a 5 night "event" that constituted a season. To say it was gripping is underselling it. Now, before I get into this, I feel compelled to say that I had watched TORCHWOOD only on occasion and only because JR (my late brother-in-law) badgered me about it from time to time. I had seen the preview for this and with a mix of sadness (about not being able to talk with him about it) and excitedness I watched this. I was totally blown away. If this is the end of the series, it did it in magnificent fashion. I am convinced that Russell T. Davies is the best science fiction writer on television anywhere right now. He did a terrific job constructing a "series" that had enough twists and turns to satisfy a rollercoaster junkie. And while this was a "science fiction" story, it hits with some real and genuine emotion. I really don't want to give anything away, I would hope that you either go and get this on DVD or find it maybe in an "on demand" section. Trust me on this. If you love a great story of aliens, family, love and loss, and the choices that we have to make in life to get to another day, this will not disappoint. You will come away saddened that this show (at least for now) has gone away probably to never return. It will inspire you (hopefully) to seek out the first 2 seasons to learn more about this show and why it works on so many levels.

OK, I know that these technically may not constitute as reviews since I didn't go into specifics. So sue me. I don't like giving plots away to people. I want to find out for myself if something blows or blows me away. So, if reading these got you off your butt and out to either your local comic shop or DVD store, than I consider that a job well done.

Catch you later! =P

A Message from Deep Space

2009-08-15T06:24:00.003-04:00

OK, not really.

Just letting you all know that I'm still here and doing OK. Jim, thanks for the kind words. It's always been a blast talking to you and I appreciate your outlook on life.

As for the rest of you lot, I'm sure you were just too shy to say anything. Like I scared you or something. It's like that old saying; "sometimes you're the bug, sometimes you're the windshield." Lately I've been feeling more like the lightning bug you hit on a hot summer night. You know, the one that leaves a glowing stain on your windshield. However, things are hopefully turning a corner. We'll see.

Oh, and as a tease, I plan to post tomorrow with a couple of reviews of some things that might interest you. so tune in tomorrow. Same Bat-time, Same Bat-channel!

Opening a Vein

2009-08-02T08:11:00.004-04:00

And letting it bleed all over the Internet until I stop.

First off, Hi there.

If you're reading this, either you're a friend, someone who trolls the net looking for stuff, or just someone looking for some time to kill. Whatever the reason, welcome to my tiny corner.

I feel a need to introduce (or re-introduce) myself. I am not giving out tremendously pertinent information, just a generalization. So, who the hell am I?

I am a man who lives with a terrific wife who is going through the year from hell. I am a son of 2 people who give of themselves to friends and family. I've learned a ton from them and would hope that I act that way too at times. I am a brother, uncle and brother-in-law who tries to be a decent person to those I love and sometimes falls way short. I am a friend to those who I have come into contact with on a consistent basis and try to help on the way of life.

You know what? None of these things really mean a damn thing.

I feel lost. Like I'm living outside myself. None of those people mentioned above probably take the time to even read this. I don't know what has happened to me. Sometimes it feels like I'm just going through the motions. Like I'm a ghost. If I should go away, none of these people would truly miss me. Oh sure, they would wonder about me, what happened and so forth. But in the end, none of them would give a second thought to me. Don't get me wrong. I am not feeling suicidal or any of that morose, goth crap. I am just wondering where I belong in the universe. I can't really share any of these thoughts with my wife. It would scare her too much, and she has been through too much already this year. The loss of her brother, who was a big part of her life, has left her needing to lean on me more and more. I have tried so hard to be there for her, but there is only so much I can do. I guess I'm missing him too, but I can't let that show too much to her as I worry that would send her spiraling into a depression that I can't help her dig out of. I love her so much. I try to help her, and it feels so....empty. Like it's just words. I don't know. Maybe it's just the weather that's gotten to me. I am sure that this will pass in time.

Sorry to have bothered you.

Pop Culture thoughts..

2009-07-18T07:09:00.003-04:00

or ramblings as it were (see? and you thought the blog title made no sense).

-First off, the party was great as usual Jim. You really know how to throw a shindig. (OK, that wasn't really pop culture, but it's my blog dang it!)

-The Harry Potter movie. Man, there is a big divide between those who have read the book (a lot apparently) and those who haven't (myself included). Those who didn't read the book seem to enjoy the movie for the most part. Nice story, good character development, and the story seemed to move forward organically. To those who read the book, opinions vary from an OK movie to an outright travesty that J.K. Rowling herself should rise up and slay Warner Bros. for putting this out. All I can say to those die hard Potterheads is the same thing I have said to the comic fans who are highly offended at certain changes in their favorite stories or characters: LIGHTEN THE HELL UP!!!! Cripes, if they included everything you wanted in the movie, we would have been sitting there for close to 6 hours. Changes have to be made in order to put a good coherent story on the screen. There was this same hue and cry from the comic world over the Watchmen movie over the epic disaster at the end. It worked in the movie and made sense. End of story. If it doesn't work as a movie, it would flop epically and only the fans, large and vocal you may be, would be the only ones enjoying the movie and the studios would not make another. From what I gather, the overall story and major plot points (who is the prince, what the deuce is a horcrux) did not suffer nor did the death of Dumbledore seem diminished. At least to me they didn't.

-I must pass along condolences to the family and fans of Steve McNair. I am a huge Ravens fan, and while I hated them playing against him, I respected his talent and desire. I remember being stoked when they signed him, thinking he was the final piece to the puzzle. For the 2 years he was here, he did not disappoint. He was a leader that the team needed on that side of the ball and commanded respect from his peers. It was truly shocking how he died, and I guess that we always seem to be that when someone we put on a pedestal so high becomes human after all. On a side note, there seems to be a lot of teeth gnashing about the fact the Derrick Mason announced his retirement suddenly last week, but not from me. He was very close to McNair, and the fact that his friend was taken so suddenly and relatively young had to play a part in it. All I can say is, for the fans and the team, give him some room. Let him grieve, and for God's sake, don't badger the man. I would think that we would want him to remember his time here fondly, not that we wouldn't let up on him.

-On to some comics. Everyone seems to be geeking on the new weekly by DC called Wednesday Comics. It's been a different take on comics and while I am enjoying it, I am also enjoying the fact that it's only 13 weeks long. The weekly comics have been a steadily progression downhill for DC. 52 was fantastic for the most part; Countdown was OK, but started to weaken to the end; and Trinity was a waste of Mark Bagley's talent, in my opinion.
The Blackest Night debuted this week and has just blown everything else away. Geoff Johns has become a masterful storyteller in my book, laying the foundation for this some 3 years before it was even announced. Ivan Reis' art looks tremendous and hopefully he can keep that standard up for the coming months.
Is it me, or is DC doing a much better job in handling it's universe than Marvel? The Batman universe relaunch has been really, really good and the Superman universe has some interesting things headed down the pike. What I find fascinating is that The Blackest Night will impact these characters, but in a mini-series, not in the core books. This is great. Not only will we not have to have an interruption of a story for a 2 issue "event" that may or may not have an impact on the book down the road, it will be up to the reader of those books if they want to pick up said minis. I have also heard that you don't have to pick up any of these in order to enjoy the main event, but I have heard that before. However, as long as it's Johns at the helm, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. As for Marvel, this "Dark Reign" has taken over a ton of books but also has left some, like Thor and Captain America, alone for the most part. I personally am not happy reading about "Dark Wolverine". He was already dark in my book, they just lightened him up too much for the movie. Not all that comes out of Marvel is bad; Greg Pak is returning to Hulk as of issue 601. This got me back on the book, since I loved his work on "Planet Hulk" and dropped it as soon as he left it in Jeph Loeb's hands(ugh). The bad news is that with JMS (you know who he is) going over to DC, Thor will probably start to suffer. He did a terrific job on the relaunch and crafted stories that were really fun to read. I can only hope that he will return in time to this character he so carefully and artfully rebooted.

Well, that's about it for now. Please feel free to comment, good or bad on anything stated here. I promise to read any and all. Be good and take care of each other.

Later!

Sticking my toe in the water

2009-07-12T05:24:00.003-04:00

Hey gang.

I'm back.

I haven't really gone anywhere, just hiding in the dark corners of the internet watching the downfall of mankind as a human race. Seriously, I'm surprised that we don't have cannibals running amok eating their own here. But after some thinking and wondering about whether or not to shutter this blog and move on, I thought that I still would need a place to vent and rant about things that I care about. Everyone else seems to prattle on about nonsense, so why shouldn't I add my voice to the din?

So keep checking back in so often and I'll try and make it at least interesting.

I hope.

My thoughts on STAR TREK

2009-05-08T02:36:00.008-04:00

Hey there.

I know that the interweb has been abuzz about how bad or good this movie is going to be. The old schoolers seem to hate that it's a big budget flick without any of the stars (well, there is one, but you already know that). The new schoolers seem to think that this was a waste of time rebooting a wheezing, decaying franchise that had been past it's prime for a long time. Well, here's some news for both of you and anyone else:

You're wrong.

This is a terrific movie.

Before I go on, I must observe something, so please indulge me. My brother-in-law, JR, who passed away earlier this year was a huge TREK fan. He was excited to see the movie after I showed him the pictures of Zachary Quinto as Spock. He talked about how much he was looking forward to this movie. So it was with a strange mix of excitement and morose that my wife and I approached the movie. I noticed a couple of times that she had tears and I must admit that the first time I saw the Enterprise I got choked up, and found myself again choked up during the final part before the credits (won't spoil). I miss having him here to talk about it. OK, enough about me, onto the movie.

This was what any good TREK fan would love, a mix of action and story. I don't really get why TOS people are clinging to their hate on this story. We never really learned back in the day how this crew came together. This story told it from a perspective of the two main leads; Kirk and Spock. I can't say enough about the job Quinto did as Spock. My wife said it best when she saw him on the screen for the first time;"uncanny". There may be some plot holes (again, refuse to spoil) and the fact that Scotty didn't appear until almost halfway through are little nitpicks on my part. What I can say is that the action did not disappoint, the actors nailed the motivations and inflections of their (older) counterparts, and that this was a tremendous reboot.

In my opinion, this crew has earned their stripes and should fly at least a couple of more missions.

GRADE: A+

The Future of Comics?

2009-03-28T21:02:00.004-04:00

Hey gang.

Got involved in an interesting conversation at the comic shop yesterday. Marc Nathan, the man who runs the Baltimore Comic-Con came into the shop to talk to the owner Rusty (most of you know that, duh) and was discussing a meeting he attended in Memphis. The subject turned to the price point of comics, which I'm sure most of you have seen or heard about. For those who haven't, it seems that the price of comics has moved from 2.99 to 3.99. This is not done for every comic, just among the big 2 (Marvel and DC).

At the meeting, the Marvel president said the the price change was "something they were testing the waters on to see if there was a market for it" if memory serves. DC said the price change would affect those books that added more story, so you'll get more bang for the buck (in theory). In the course of this discussion, a motive for Marvel seemingly arbitrary price increase is to try and kill the market was posed. To drive the price so that people wouldn't want the books, I guess. There appears to be some facts behind this theory. Recently there was an announcement at a con about SPIDER-WOMAN preview or #1 being released only online for a period before heading to the comic shops. The only way to see this comic is to be a subscriber to Marvel's digital comics line, which costs an amount per month. You'll have to forgive me if I'm not completely and totally factual. I remember a time about a year or so ago that Marvel announced this and at the time, I was financially unavailable to do this. It sounded like a great idea at the time. You would eventually have access to the entire back catalogue of Marvel comics, stretching back now 70 years.

Now, I love a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, but the idea that Marvel would eventually go totally digital and no longer have current material at the brick and mortar stores sounds....suicidal to me. I am old enough to remember when Marvel tried to make a power play to have their own distribution (breaking away from behemoth Diamond) in the early '90s. It was a disaster and left customers and retailers confused and angry. They abandoned it in a short period of time and returned to Diamond's fold. This doesn't sound like that, but in a roundabout way, could be just as disastrous. Most of us comic fans read our books in other places, like the bedroom, in a comfortable chair in the living room, or even the bathroom. We don't sit for hours on end staring at a computer screen catching up on the events in Spider-Man or Batman's lives. We like being comfortable when we are transported to another world, not hogging the computer at home (work would be another matter). I think that Marvel underestimates comic fans (no big surprise here). There would be a large section of fans who would follow them into the internet. That's why they're called Marvel Zombies. However, I think a large section of fans would head somewhere else. They would give IDW or BOOM a try. They would pick up something from DC, Image or Dark Horse instead.

What I'm trying to say is that while there is a demand and marketplace for comics on the internet, to totally remove yourself from what made you who you are is to cut your off at the knees for no good reason. I say this while also being sad that a few months ago, Scott Kurtz announced that he was cancelling his brilliant PvP book at #50. But, in fairness to Scott, he did start out as a webcomic and is still continuing to do a 5 day a week strip. They just wont be collected in true comic form. Sad, yes, but I'm sure that there will be trades from time to time.

So, what is your opinion? Think Marvel's idea is brilliant or sucks on ice? Drop me a comment and if I should get enough of them (more than 1) I'll post with either a comment or a polite rebuttal. Thanks!

Some Random (or Randumb) Thoughts

2009-03-13T13:03:00.004-04:00

Thought I would throw some things at the internet and see what sticks.

-Saw WATCHMEN last night, finally. I had read some of the reviews and thought Shawn was closest to the mark. I liked it, but found myself feeling "meh" after it was over. Maybe it was because I was in a small theater with sound for a larger theater that at times pinned my head to the back wall. Couldn't get out fast enough. My wife, who never read the book, enjoyed it and thought that Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan were excellently done. I agree, and thought that at times it was a spectacularly done thing. But something I haven't seen a lot of; the fascination that Snyder has with slo-mo. Man that was totally overdone at times and seemed to almost stop the movie for me. Will be interested in seeing the director's cut when it's released on DVD.

-on the comics front, I found that my choices of books has been dwindling down without really noticing it. I stopped reading Spider-Man, Punisher, Titans (old not Teen) and the Hulk books. It hit me the other day that these were my entrance back into reading way back in the early '90s, but they have lost me. I have picked up Spawn again (sorry Shawn, I'm an addict) and have been enjoying that. I am giving Iron Man a chance again. I have kept my mainstays in the DCU, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Flash but they are being changed again. Other than the GL event due in the summer, what is happening in these other books has me sort of apprehensive about my continued patronage. Buffy is still a good read and I like where things are starting to go there. It really does feel like the series. They will get off the main story arc from time to time, but those detours are interesting and add to the color of the characters.

-on the WoW front, I finally hit 80 with my char. Now I look forward to doing some of the other ancillary things that make that game so freaking addictive. Like killing and maiming. Those are always fun.

See ya! =)

Where I've Been

2009-02-15T08:01:00.009-05:00

Hey there everybody. Thanks for checking back in.

Missed me?

I thought not. I wouldn't have missed me either.

Well, time to come clean with everyone. I promised in my last post that I would reveal why I had to go away for a while. There was a time that I didn't think I was ever coming back, but things have settled down for the moment and I can tell you what happened.

On January 3rd, at 8:30 in the morning, my brother-in-law and probably one of my closest friends, JR Evens, died from a heart attack. He was 42 years old.

He was about as close to a brother as I have had in the world, other than my sister's husband, but JR was closer in age. There was nothing that I couldn't talk about with him, from cars and comics to relationship issues. He was funny, personable, and if you got the chance to know him for more than a few hours, you left feeling better for the experience. I miss him terribly.

As bad as it has been for me, this has been totally devastating for my wife. She was very close to him and we even bowled as a team. They had their nights when they watched Doctor Who, either on BBC, Sci-FI, or MPT (which used to run late night on Saturdays). They would spend the time talking about the episode and what was going on in each other's lives. I would occasionally watch along with her, but never interfered with their moment. When he was having some money troubles lately, she paid for his bowling until he got back on his feet financially. I would try and help out with some food or snacks so we know that he would have something substantial to eat. It wasn't much, but he appreciated any little bit. We thought that he had turned a corner and started back on the road again, and we were all hopeful that 2009 would be a good year for us all.

Then we got the call from his sister, who he was living with.

We hightailed it to Carroll County General, where he was taken. We got there, and a nurse said that someone would come to get us. I had to pee and found a bathroom. I stood there for a minute and heard a wailing that at first, couldn't understand. A nanosecond later, I realized where the wailing was coming from. It was my wife. She was being told by her sister and father about JR. She was inconsolable. I grabbed her and hugged her and tried to comfort her and her father. I was about as useful as broom trying to beat back a tidal wave.

This was about a month and a half ago. In that time, I have tried to stay as close to my wife as possible. For the first couple of weeks, I just about never left her side, except for a few things. She would sleep, but everytime she awoke, the memory of what happened would come rushing back to her and she would cry. This has diminished over time, and I think I can say that she is doing much better, but she still has her days. The first time we went back to bowling was very difficult for her, and she couldn't bring herself to bowl that night. But she promised him that she would keep doing it (he was the reason we got into it in the first place) so she went last week and did very well, both in bowling and emotions.

I am going to go now, but before I do there are some people I need to thank. My family, especially my mom and sister have been terrific in both talking to Boo and trying to be there for her. I've said it before and I'll say it here; I am a very lucky man to have family like this. I love all of you. On a lighter note, Rusty kept my comics warm for me (man were they the escapism I needed at the time) so thanks bud. A very big thank you goes to our friends. Cathy, Tom, Dan, Tammy, Sara and Cory, you guys have been so helpful and loving toward Boo that I can't begin to thank you enough. You were there from the moment you heard, offering unwavering love and support that even now, there are no words to accurately convey my appreciation, so the simple (but insignificant) "Thank you and we love you" will have to suffice.

To my friends (Jim, Matthew, Shawn) I can only say that I will be back but just be patient. There are days that it's the old me, but sometimes there aren't. I promise to be around more as I can.

Oh, one last thing. I will be posting a picture of JR at some point. Sorry, I don't have a scanner so it will take some doing.

I have to go

2009-01-05T22:54:00.003-05:00

Due to circumstances beyond all control, I am putting this blog on a hiatus. Things are so far out of control that I cannot even begin to focus on something as trivial as this.

I don't know when I'll be back, hopefully soon. When I do come back, all will be explained.

Please keep checking back from time to time and please, keep me and my family in your thoughts and prayers.

We'll need them.

Later

God forbid, but if I should die tomorrow...

2008-12-08T06:53:00.004-05:00

I can go a happy man.

Yes, my life with my family and friends has been fulfilling and all, but come on.....

24-10 on national TV?!?!?!?

SNUFFING THE DEADSKINS!?!?!?!?

SWEET!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Holidays and all that Jazz

2008-12-05T13:01:00.003-05:00

Hey there guys and gals.

Sorry I've been gone for what seems like a long time. Truthfully, the game did not suck as much time out of my life as I thought (or hoped). Still a phenomenal game, but RL is a cruel bitch at times. I had to sort out some issues so that I could return to the fat jolly idiot you see beside this post. They have been resolved so that at least the holidays can be joyous with my family and all of my great friends.

And you are great, no matter what anyone else says, I dig you guys!

A Life Sucker.....and how!

2008-11-13T09:45:00.003-05:00

Hey gang.

I promised some more reviews and there will be in a day or so. Right now, after some well deserved rest, the Kid here is going exploring. Nowhere that you guys would know about. Me and the Mrs. are headed to Northrend.

Where the hell is Northrend?

In the WoW expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, that's where!!!! We have been eagerly awaiting this and the fact that it came out today is the only thing that kept me sane through a completely insane night at work.

So, be good to each other, look out for one another and stay out of trouble. (puts on his armor)

I AM OUT OF HERE!!!!!!

Your patience has been rewarded!

2008-11-09T06:08:00.007-05:00

Yes, FINALLY some comic reviews!

Rather than focus on a particular week (last week was a small one for me), I want to pull some from recent weeks that caught my eye for good and bad.

Spawn 185- Beginning of "Endgame" by McFarlane and Portacio. The line from Godfather 3 kept repeating in my head as I walked out of the store with this issue; "every time I think I'm out, they pull me back in.". Spawn was my foray back into comics after many years and I stayed with it through good and bad times like a battered girlfriend. Finally I get the courage to say "enough" and walk away only to get sucked right back in. Todd hasn't written or drawn for I don't know how long and Whice has been in and out of things as well.
All that being said, this has both good and bad points. If you haven't read SPAWN in years, you're not going to know who this patient 47 is and why it's such a bad thing that he's awake from his coma. If someone knows, please leave me a posting. It also looks like Al (Spawn) has killed himself. Or at least it appears that way. The body is found by the Clown (Violator), sort of Joker to Spawn's Batman. The artwork is typical Portacio, for better and worse. A very dark tone in terms of shading to the book, more to make the words and actions pop. Given that it's the first part of a story arc, it's not that bad. But if they don't go about giving the backstory to this at some point, all of what has happened will be for nothing.
Ultimate Origins- I picked this up with great trepidation. I have loved ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN for the most part and read both FF and X-MEN for a while before both lost me. This is supposed to be a telling of how everything is connected within the Ultimate universe.
OK, now that the official line is out of the way let me say, WTF? Black Panther was part of Weapon X and saved by Nick Fury? Seriously?? Rick Jones is going to be the Silver Surfer? That's it? That's the "big thing"? Man. I know that Black Panther did not have the sexiest origin in the MCU, but it was organic and made sense for the character and it worked. To take it and totally screw it up is pitiful. Speaking of pitiful.....
Ultimate Spider-Man Annual 3- In this economy, I feel that we as fans should march on Marvel's offices and demand our money back from either Bendis or Quesada for this abomination. The artwork on this was sporadic at best, and the tagline about Peter and MJ was misleading. So they get back together, so what? That's supposed to cost me 4 bucks for something they could have put in the regular series? I do have to say that the introduction of Mysterio was nice, and if they had sold the issue as his intro, maybe I wouldn't have as much issue with things. Just a total bait and switch for my money.
Rage of the Red Lanterns- I loved this! Man I was looking forward to this issue and not only did it not let me down, it deepened the mysteries that will go on toward the BLACKEST NIGHT story next year. I also feel that I should throw something out there. Hal Jordan has been the model Green Lantern for the last 40+ years, but I don't think he'll be one at the end of the story next year. I think that he'll become a Blue Lantern to join Ganthet in that particular corps. One question I do have though; what did this have to do with FINAL CRISIS? It had it labelled on the cover and said it took place between 1 and 2,but in my opinion, had nothing do to with it. This was a great mix of action and talking. Having a cat as a Red Lantern? Brilliant! It sneaks up on a Yellow Lantern as they are trying to break Sinestro out of his cell and kills him. He was being transported to his home world for execution by the Green Lanterns when the Yellow Lanterns ambushed them. They appeared to have been tipped off by the Guardian who can see the other colors. The Red Lanterns appear and lay waste to all to get to Sinestro, who had imprisoned the leader Atrocitus.
The Red Lanterns don't care who is in front of them, they kill everything. The one Guardian (a chick?) who was wounded during the SINESTRO CORPS WAR seems to have to ability to either communicate or manipulate the other color Lanterns, including the Black Lanterns. Did not see the red logo or the orange logos in her eyes, but we'll see. She also can communicate without the other guardians knowledge, something that will be telling in the months to come. I look forward to the series next year and if the buildup to it is as good as this, it will totally blow FINAL CRISIS and SECRET INVASION away.
Crossed 1- I have never been a big horror fan, but I've liked most of what Warren Ellis has written. This book totally unnerved me. And not in a good way. It seemed almost like shock just for shock's sake. I know it supposed to be a look at what we would be like if all our inhibitions went away, but some of this, especially with the kid was disturbing on a level that if you heard someone talking about this, you'd have him locked up. I don't know if I'll buy another issue, I may read it in the store to see where this goes. Unlike THE WALKING DEAD, this seems to have nowhere to go, so I'm guessing that it's a mini series.
Superman/Batman 53- Part 1 of the "Super/Bat" arc. This is another book that I jumped off a while back but was sucked back into. So far though, this has been a consistently good book. Michael Green has done a nice job constructing out of continuity stories that while different, don't look too out of place. His "mini-heroes" are was short and sweet (pardon the pun) and a whole lot of fun. Had some great moments of humor in them.
Now he gets to play with Rags Morales on art with swapping the powers for the two. Okay, there are no real powers for Bats to give to Supes, but you get my drift. It appears that Silver Banshee may have caused the switch, at least on the surface it looks that way. The inner dialogue that happens is spot on and captures both heroes flaws, including some pity and jealously. This has the making for a great arc and hopefully a continuation for Green of a great run of stories.

That's it for the moment. Will return (I promise!) in a day or so to throw some more your way.

Quick hits....

2008-10-31T08:25:00.004-04:00

I am behind in both getting and reading the books, and that will be rectified this weekend.

But I did get some of the event books so here are some thoughts;

-OK I did not see that Turpin was actually going to become Darkseid in FINAL CRISIS. A nice surprise using a pretty good supporting character.
-I feel a little like Jim and I just want SECRET INVASION to end. I also sort of understand Rusty's long help belief that issue long fight issues can really suck. It wasn't all that bad, but should have ended somewhat earlier.
-The Lady Bulleseye run in DAREDEVIL has been.....OK. I am really not getting why there are rehashing the secret ID again with Matt. He is also becoming a little too angsty about his wife. I mean, he should feel bad about the situation, but he has to move on.
-I gotta tell you, I did not like the NIGHTWING part of R.I.P. It never even felt like it was a part of the overall story. The OUTSIDERS did a better part of conveying what the DCU was seeing of this. Now to hear DiDio tell it, the next big arc ("the battle for the cowl") is becoming not who inherits it, but who will actually wear it. Hell, I'll throw my hat in the ring for it if that's the case.
-On a related Batman note, November will see the premiere of THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD on Cartoon Network. From what I've seen and heard, I am excited for it. It is steering away from the dark and brooding Bats we've had and is looks to have more of a silver age feel, but using modern characters such as Blue Beetle. Keep your eyes and ears open and give it a chance. After all, it seems that cartoons involving superheroes are going the way of the dinosaur.

That's it for now. I promise that as soon as I immerse myself in the books, I'll come up for air and barf up an opinion.

Oh, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! Everyone be safe and watch out for the kiddies!

Tumbleweeds on the internet!?!?!

2008-10-24T05:34:00.003-04:00

Yep, that's what I see blowing across my screen as I look at my page here.

I know that this is primarily my fault. I haven't been keeping up with things as much as I should have. Things have been in a big flux around here and I am simply spinning too many plates to keep track of everything. If it's any consolation (probably not) other things have been sort of pushed off to the side as well. Nothing major like the wife or hygiene, but a bunch of the small stuff that adds up to your life. I don't expect you to either understand or maybe even care, just know that I am thinking about you guys and gals while I'm out slaying the dragon. I've been doing that more than anything the last couple of weeks or so, and hopefully things will have calmed down that I can get back into a flow. It better, or else things may go sideways.

A long time ago, I promised my wife that work would never again take over my life so completely that I neglect her. That happened once or twice before and it almost cost me the most important thing in my life. After all, she is the reason I do all this crap. The last couple of weeks have been brutal on both of us. I'm not home much, and when I am, I have been pretty much a cypher. The feeling I had yesterday when I walked out of work knowing that I wasn't going to be seeing it for at least a few days was one of being sprung from jail. Finally I could devote some time and effort to things and people I love.

So, now that I've purged myself, I hope you understand why I haven't been here lately. I also hope that you will continue to come back from time to time and check in on me. I will be back more often and with hopefully better and happier posts to throw at you. I know that comics are on the horizon and will make it's way here very soon.

Thanks for bearing with me.

Some Thoughts on the Recent Comics

2008-10-01T06:07:00.003-04:00

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, but I have had a few moments to read some comics and I thought I would throw my 2 cents out there and see what you guys think.

-The craze over ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN should have been how bad the book was. Its was all over the place and at this point I am having trouble deciphering what the hell the story is. They should have placed black boxes over the entire book.

-Conversely, I liked the ending of ALL STAR SUPERMAN. Sure it took forever to get all of it out, and not alot of people are getting what the last page means (leave me a reply if you want my opinion), but it told a story from beginning to end and will look decent when they wrap it all in trades.

-Back on a sort of negative rant, I have been massively disappointed by the latest arc in BUFFY. I was never a big Fray fan (sorry, Shawn) and this whole thing feels like.....I don't know, a stunt? A reason to bring Fray back? But there has been no chemistry, no feeling like "I want to go back and find trades to enjoy her", nothing. I have been as big a supporter and defender of master Joss since the book came out, but sorry, he's on his own here. I'll still get it, I await the next arc with much anticipation. They need to get back to the overall arc.

-I have trouble believing that the whole FINAL CRISIS blame can be laid at the feet of J.G. Jones. Not sure if they are even doing that, but that seemed to be the point of bringing in Carlos Pacheco. He was supposed to be helping, but man they are taking forever to get back to the main story.

-This might be a minority feeling, but my feeling on the last issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA was good, but could have been better. At least we had some resolutions. For the time being, it looks like Steve will replace Bucky in the Marvel axiom "dead means dead". Brubaker has done a terrific job for the most part with this book and I look forward to seeing if he can sustain Bucky's role in the MCU, or will he succumb to Kyle Rayner's disease and fall into the background.

-Is anyone else getting burned out on this "Embrace change" campaign from Marvel? Just end this and get on with the repercussions. Of which, I have a feeling that there will be only a few and probably neither any big or long lasting ones.

-Had a blast at the Baltimore Comic Con last weekend. Some highlights? Getting to see the old crew from the conversations show. I miss them and it was great to talk face to face and catch up.
A big highlight for me was meeting Scott Kurtz from PvP. Yes, I've met him before. Several times in fact. But this year he recognized me and greeted me like and old friend. It was terrific to talk about non-comics stuff with him and he is an awesome guy. Also, spending a few minutes with Herb Trimpe while he was working with Matthew on his HULK sketch was very nice. He is a nice guy and had great things to say about the show, which made me feel great that some people have a good opinion of our little show. I say that like I run the damn thing, but Marc Nathan and crew have done a fabulous job and I look forward to next year.

That's about it for now. Thanks for stopping by while your porn or bootleg movie downloads. Come back soon!

Holy Crap...

2008-09-18T00:12:00.003-04:00

I refuse to make this a place for politics. There are enough places out there for that. However, I feel compelled to say something about what has happened with the economy the last few days;

Are you freaking kidding me?!?!?!?!?

The stock market looks like a train wreck, banks are failing, people are losing their houses, and McCain says with a straight face that "the fundamentals of the economy are strong"? Then, when caught completely depantsed by both the news and the media, he tries to peddle it as "I was referring to the workers as the fundamentals of the economy".

Yeah, right.

Anyone else feel like a "fundamental"? Because I sure as hell don't.

Feel more like a prostitute. Willing to do what it takes to make a buck and stay alive for another day.

OK, that's it. Back to the fun things in life. Be good.

A nice start

2008-09-08T07:13:00.004-04:00

Have to admit, but Sundays this fall are going to be weird for me.

I am a diehard Ravens fan. I am also a realist at heart. I am not one of those drooling fans who think they are going to win every game and win the Super Bowl each year (see Redskins fans for that). I just want them to play well and hopefully win a few more games this year. I also work late Saturday night and Sunday night, so sometimes a 1 o'clock game may be tough for me.

That being said, I watched the game yesterday from start to finish. It was a nice first game. Not great, but good. They still have things to improve on and hopefully they will. The kid Flacco looked comfortable running the offense and made good decisions for the most part. I still like Troy Smith, but the guy looked like he knew what he was doing back there. I think the pickup of Lorenzo Neal is going to be the thing that could turn this offense around. A few years ago, they picked up Sam Adams for the defense and he turned out to be a cornerstone of a record breaking defense. Now, I'm not saying that the offense will break records, but Neal brings an attitude that has been sorely missing on that side of the ball for some time. The defense looked like the nasty unit we have become accustomed to seeing in this town. Smartest thing management did was keep Rex Ryan the coordinator. The defense loves playing for him and it shows.

It's just one game, and there are a lot of season to go, but all in all, a nice start.

Anyone else?

2008-09-04T07:14:00.003-04:00

Anyone out there having a weird week too?

Man I am so out of sorts it's not funny. Work and other things are so out of whack at the moment I feel like I'm standing in the eye of a hurricane. Take one wrong step and you get hit with a flying cow.

OK, back to sleep for a bit. You guys be good and look out for yourselves. I'll be back, I promise.

Batman, R.I.P....or DOA? Part 2

2008-08-23T06:10:00.004-04:00

Before I get rolling, I have to make a correction. The R.I.P. story began in BATMAN 676, not 675 as I alluded to in the last post. Also, the trade ad has it in BATMAN and the OUTSIDERS, but I have not seen it, nor do I really care about it.

It was pointed out to me by Jim that the spin-off books have been not really all that helpful in driving the story forward. I would agree. To me the poorest effort has been in ROBIN. He spends the night looking for someone who took a camera phone picture of Batman to determine if he really has gone nuts. OK, challenge time. Go find the issue (#176) and look at the photo on page 5 ( or maybe 6 if you count ads). Go ahead, I'll wait. Find it? Good. Tell me something. Other than some stubble, how can you tell if he's gone nuts? Wouldn't Batman look like that to any street thug or criminal lowlife? Wouldn't he scowl at them to make them wet their pants? This is the determining factor that Robin us using? I know he found the dossier that Bruce made in his early days, but the photo was the tipping point? And don't get me started on the whole Spoiler thing. I think she brings waaay to much drama into Robin/Tim's life. Should have stayed with Zoanne, but that's for another time. NIGHTWING is just started to get into the R.I.P. story, or at least I think so. In his book, Dick is taking on a task for Two-Face and gets shot by someone. There is very little if any mention of what is going on in BATMAN. Then why do they bother to put the R.I.P. label on the top of the book? Considering that Dick is in Arkham drugged out of his mind over in BATMAN, we have no idea where Nightwing is going to end up.

Onto the main book, BATMAN. Maybe this is a slow burn, I'm not sure or not that smart. There are plot threads which only have 2 more issues to wrap up. How does Jezebel Jet fit into all this and where the heck is she? After showing her the Batcave, is most intimate place in the world, she basically calls him psychotic and implies that the whole "Black Hand" could be in his head. Is Alfred supposed to be the mastermind behind this? One moment it looks that way, the next he's getting the living snot beat out of him in the Batcave. Then out of nowhere, Bat-Mite appears and Bruce spends most of the next issue having a conversation with him. The Black Hand has taken control of the Batcave and the next issue teases the Joker. They sprung him in the first part but haven't seen him since.

I think we'll find out that this "Zur-en-arrh" trigger was planted in Bruce's mind when he was Narda Parabat while he has mediating during the 52 mini series. Someone, maybe Ra's al Guhl did this to him to strike at Bruce's heart and soul. I found something recently and it grabbed my attention. In DC UNIVERSE Zero, basically a primer for all the big series they are going to be doing, there is a conversation between Batman and Joker in Arkham. In it, Joker tell Batman that he is about to get his head handed to him by some "some very, very bad people have decided to hurt you. Because they can, Because they think you deserve it.". Obviously the Joker will play some part in this, because "Robin has been promised to him.".

So, what is the endgame here? Will Bruce give up the mantle of the Bat to someone like Dick or Jason? Unlikely, since Dick is doing well over in NIGHTWING and I don't think that Tim would trust Jason enough to continue on as Batman and Robin. We saw in the opening page of this story that Batman and Robin are still together six months in the future. Will there be some wild card out there who will show up to help? Again, unlikely. Does anyone out there have a clue, outside of Grant Morrison? Because I fail to see where this is going to end. I guess I'm just not that savvy.

Overall, I've enjoyed the story. It does take you out of your comfort zone in reading it, and if done properly, that can be an enjoyable thing. I do know this. Once this wraps up, I'll be breaking out all the issues to see where I missed something and how it will all be tied together nice and neatly.

I hope.

Batman- R.I.P......or DOA?

2008-08-21T08:41:00.005-04:00

Hey there gang.

Rather than write a review of an individual book, I was asked for my opinon on the storyline of Batman- R.I.P. (Thanks for the suggestion Jim, I am sorry about the lateness of the post.)

Now, I have to say that while I am not a Grant Morrison fanboy, I have enjoyed most of his work. JLA, X-Men were fun reads more often than not. So far, this has been a disorienting read. Bruce has gone certifably nuts and is talking to not only Bat-Mite, but gargoyles and other objects. The wording and look of his word balloons give the appearence of someone who has come completely unhinged, almost like someone from Arkham. The Black Hand has taken control of the Batcave and have beaten the living crap out of Alfred. Poor Alfred. The Star Trek redshirt of the Batman universe. The guy controlling the Black Hand is "Thomas Wayne". I put quotes around this because we are expected to believe that this is Bruce's long-dead father? If this turns out to be true (and I suspect it won't), Morrison will have committed the ultimate sin in my book. At least when they have brought back Bucky and Jason Todd, they have done it with some conviction and a decent backstory as to why (Bucky's is better than Jason in my book).

Originally I thought that this was going to be self-contained in the two core books (BATMAN and DETECTIVE), but this was spun into both NIGHTWING and ROBIN. This illustrates my point about "event" books. If had stayed with the two, you would have had only input from 2 writers (Paul Dini writes DET.) but now you have to include 2 more (Peter Tomasi writes Nightwing and Fabian Nicieza has just taken up the writing chores for ROBIN right before this started) so now Grant's story becomes even more diluted. Yes, I'm sure that the other writers had a hand in planning this, but this is supposed to be Grant's opus. The spin-off books have been just that. DETECTIVE is working the origin of Hush into this. It turns out that he was introduced to one of Bat's rogues (Scarecrow) at an early age. It looks as if the 2 are working together. My one problem with this is continunity. Not the Scarecrow/Hush angle. That I can live with. It's the fact that in here, Batman is sane and working with Robin and Nightwing and even Catwoman. He hasn't gone 'round the bend yet. There is a mention of the Black Hand in here, but would it be too much to put a box saying "These events occur before Batman 675"?

There is so much to go on about that I am going to break this post up into 2 parts. The next post will address ROBIN, NIGHTWING and BATMAN books and what I think it going to come out of all this.

DC Superheroes- The Filmation Adventures

2008-08-15T05:48:00.005-04:00

A review.

If you're older than 35, you probably remember Saturday morning cartoons. From usually 7am until noon, they populated our universe. Sadly, like much of what was good and fun, it's been taken away or diluted. If you were a comic lover, it was a great time. There was Spider-Man, and the Superman-Batman Adventures. Sure the animation wasn't Disney, but there were our heroes in all their technicolor glory having the fights and adventures with the bad guys we read in the comics.

This DVD is composed of those adventures with the "supporting cast" of the SBA crowd. I always look forward to these since they were a cool change of pace from Supes and Bats. The lineup consists of the Atom, Green Lantern, Flash, Hawkman, Justice League of America, and the Teen Titans. Their origins and even the titles are taken from the Silver Age, which fits since these were all created in 1967 or '68. There is 3 stories for each character or group, with no real underlying story thread tying them together. They were written by George Kashdan, except for one Flash cartoon.

I must raise my geek flag and nit pick a little. They introduce Aquaman in the JLA cartoon beginning but never use him. They use Superman, I guess for name recognition, but not Batman? Also, they use Aqualad in the Teen Titans but not Robin? Upon reflection, maybe it was because the live action show was on at the time. But back then there wasn't a term like "synergy", so I don't know why he wasn't there. I wasn't a big GL fan the way I am today, but the kid sidekick from Venus? What's up with that? Hawkman and Atom didn't have sidekicks (OK there was a bird for Hawkman, but he wasn't getting into trouble, so he doesn't count) in their toons.

In watching these, you remember that while you loved these, you were also somewhat frustrated at them. The use of stock footage over and over became a gag for shows like the Simpsons and Family Guy. The fast and easy resolution to these were sometimes (OK most of the time) hokey and headscratching. You wanted to see more action, more of your hero doing what he does best. The use of flashing lights and piercing sounds could give you a headache if watched for hours. Still, these are great peeks into the past. The voiceovers are a trip in the way back machine (anyone else remember and love Ted Knight from the Mary Tyler Moor Show? He does all the narration and some of the minor character voices.) and consistent. The actors who do the voices for Superman and Aqualad do them here. They strike a tone of who the character acted like in the comics back then. For Silver Age fans, these are a great look back at your heroes in their prime.

Fun? Yep. Mindlessness? You betcha. But also a nice remembrance of a time not that long ago that we may never see again.

Grade: B-/C+ (would it have killed Warner to clean these up just a little?)

Is it just me?

2008-08-11T06:53:00.005-04:00

Gang, I really, really need some input on this please.

Is it just me or does it seem that people really don't give a crap about how they go about their job anymore? I realize that I am wired differently than most. But it drives me nuts when in the course of doing my job, I encounter some shabby or really shitty work done by someone who is supposed to be in a position of authority. When I go to someone else in management, I usually get dismissed or told something along the lines of "well, that's the way so and so does it".
But if they are doing it in a halfassed way, shouldn't someone say "look assclown, either do it right or don't bother doing it at all."? Maybe they are waiting for someone to say that so they don't have to do the work, I really don't know.
I know that I am old school. I don't care what your job is, take some freaking pride in doing a good job. It should reflect well on you and hopefully someone will notice.

So, am I stupid or what?

Oh by the way, review is on deck for tomorrow.

DUH!!!

2008-08-09T07:07:00.003-04:00

That above sentiment is directed at yours truly after seeing that he labeled the last 2 post the exact same thing. ASSHAT!

-Caught a bit of the opening ceremonies at the Olympics. Wasn't going to, but took a peek and man was I glad I did. That opening part was mindblowing. The choreography, the tech, the costumes, it was awe inspiring. I don't give a crap about the politics of the country, all I know is that the people put on one hell of a show.

-I am deciding which book to review for your enjoyment later on in the weekend. Have a couple of obvious choices, but may go off script.

I take my leave of you all as I go climb into bed next to the love of my life. Yeah the wife will be there too (KIDDING!!!).

Be good all! =)

Some thoughts and musings

2008-08-05T15:39:00.003-04:00

I'm awake so it's time to put some things down.

-Why are the "event" books this summer feel like they are just spinning their wheels? I know this may seem like heresy, but the 3 I am following (RIP,SI,FC) feel like maybe a too slow a burn. But it's probably me.

-The news that THE DARK KNIGHT is about to overtake that piece of crap TITANIC fills me with both elation and dread. I can finally stop hearing from my wife every time she pops that piece of dung in the DVD player that, "well, it is the highest grossing movie ever." If she stopped after grossing I would have agreed with her. My dread is that this is it. We have it hit the pinnacle of movies as comic fans. After living through DAREDEVIL and and the first HULK film, we have climbed the mountain to achieve our little piece of success. We saw the fantasy genre hit the high water mark with the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, and they have not been able to top that since. Mind you, it was the BATMAN franchise that sort of killed us before (thanks Joel Scheumacher) and we have been slowly climbing back from the rubble since. The X-Men and Spider-Man franchises were big components to letting us shine our geek and comic lights. Now with both IRON MAN,HELLBOY and TDK earning both critical and commercial success, we stand proud in the light and say "Yes, I do read comics! And you know what? 300 and so on are based on comics! HA HA! We WIN!" But as we all know, once you've hit the top, there is only one way to go: down.

There is hope that the inevitable fall will not be so dramatic as last time. The WATCHMEN movie has people giddy and non comic fans asking about it. But, even there some of my fears are being realized. It's almost a year before it is due for release, and it's on the cover of Entertainment Weekly? Most of us were worried about the hype surrounding TDK killing it. WATCHMEN may outdo that, if that's possible. Some of the other ones that have been announced (Ant-Man?!?!?) leave me scratching my head. But for now, I will enjoy my walk in the sun as a proud unabashed fan of comics and will never let my flag hang low. I will, however, enjoy bashing the hell out of the posers who claim they "know" the comics of which they try to speak of. Let's try to keep them from eating us from within, shall we?

-On a final note, I read my friend Jim Martin's blog about the Image previews. Jim, I used to read SPAWN for many years, much to Shawn's dismay. The solicit for not only McFarlane but Portacio to come back to it on a regular basis has me somewhat geeked. I might (stress the word MIGHT) be tempted to pick an issue and see what happens. SPAWN was the comic that brought me back to comics (much to my wife's eternal frustration) so I feel like a first love or girlfriend has asked me to try again. I've been burned before, but you can't say no to that first love.

MIA....again

2008-08-04T16:41:00.003-04:00

Hey there all.

I am really sorry about not posting more, but things have been conspiring to keep my brain fried.

I promise that in the coming weeks, there will be more content.

Oh, and one other thing. I have decided that when I do a review of some comics, it will be a one at a time deal. That way I can give it more time and thought.

Thanks for your patience. I love ya, guys! =)

Some movie thoughts

2008-07-23T03:29:00.004-04:00

Hey there gang.

Did something unusual for my birthday the other day. Caught THE DARK KNIGHT again. I'm not one for repeat showings in the theater. But it did sort of expose the fact that there are two types of moviegoers. I sat with the first bunch on Thursday night/ Friday morning. Those people are the fans of either the movie, an actor, or the character. These folks went nuts the first time you see the Joker in action, laughed at the right moments and got into the movie and left it clapping and happy.
The group I was it with on Monday night was an entirely different group. Most of them sat there silent and while there were some chuckles and gasps at certain things, they were as about as much fun as a dead fish.
I use the truck flipping stunt as an example. No real spoilers here, we've all seen the ads. Thursday night's crowd? Clapping and whooping it up. I can only imagine how this must have looked in the IMAX format. Monday? No real reaction, maybe a "wow" or two heard, but that was my brother-in-law, who we treated to the movie.
Oh and the fact that a new SPIRIT trailer (with footage!) appeared Monday was lost on most of the crowd. But I remember the reaction by quite a few people (excited to see it and how Dr. Manhattan looked)when the WATCHMEN trailer started on Thursday.
So, if there is a point to this, I guess it's this: if you really want to see the movie, to enjoy it with people who are going to enjoy it (not to say that they went and had nothing better to do), then go as early as possible. The fans who do tend to make it a more enjoyable experience.

Not that there is anything wrong with waiting. I understand that some of us have difficulties with crowds and life in general. Just think that at least once you should do this. It could be great fun.

Later.

The Dark (and long) Knight

2008-07-18T04:34:00.003-04:00

Hey there all.

I promise that I won't spoil a thing for anyone. Nothing that the ads may or may not have done.

All I'll say is a one word answer to the question "is it worth the hype?"

Well, what do you think?

YES!! OMG YES!!!

I am sure that there will be naysayers out there, that IRON MAN or HULK was better, and I will admit that IRON MAN was VERY GOOD.

But this? This was a tour de force for just about everyone who appeared on screen.

That's all I'm saying for now. Go and judge for yourself.

2008-07-08T22:22:00.011-04:00

Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam #1- A review. Writing, art and "heart" by Mike Kunkel. Lettering by Steve Wands

First off, sorry that I don't have a picture to put up. No scanner and DC's website was not cooperating.

When I first saw the solict for this in Previews, I had to do a double take. There was Mike Kunkel doing a DC book? And a "kids" title at that? Holy crap! To explain my reaction, let me give you a quick flashback. Several years ago I was wondering thru my comic store and happened upon an indy book called "Herobear and the Kid". The cover reached me for some reason and as I opened it, I was instantly captivated. The art, the style of writing, the characters were a perfect marriage. I became a Mike Kunkel fan on the spot. Since that book many years ago, I have been scanning the comic horizon for more of Mr. Kunkel, but to no avail. The only time recently I had seen him was in the Batman/Superman tribute book to Sam Loeb.

When you pick up this book, you are transported back to a few years ago. Not so much the story right off, but the fact that this book is priced and looks exactly like comics did before the speculator boom. Even though this book is not in current DC continuity, they saddled him with with the story done by Jeff Smith (Bone) a few years ago. Billy is Captain Marvel, his little sister is Mary Marvel. To be honest the first couple of pages are sort of lost to me. It's because the dialogue is written in The Monster Society Code. I am not sure if this is something that Smith came up or if this as old as the original Captain way back when. At least they give you the code up front and let you decipher it. Smith's book has the titles done like this and you had to wait until the final issue to get the code. Don't fault him for that, just sayin'.

After a brief recap of what's happened lately, the story jumps to Cap and Mary flying to save a train with no brakes. The interaction here is what you would expect from a brother and sister. We learn that while they both have the same key word to change, their powers are slightly different. Billy uses Cap to pose as an adult to get them an apartment and to meet the principal of the school they are to attend. As he goes to change, he is summoned to the Rock of Eternity by Solomon. Also introduced is the villain of the book, Theo Adam (Black Adam). Turns out at the end of the Jeff Smith mini, as Cap was tossing the bad guys into a vortex (don't ask), Theo escaped from another dimension, but he returns as a kid. He was placed there by Solomon for some reason. Solomon tells Cap of this threat and that the 7 evils are opening their eyes, which is not a good sign. Theo sees Cap and recognizes him, sort of. He knows there is a word that will give him power, but he can't remember it. He also sees the change from Cap into Billy and knows that he can do that as well, as soon as he remembers the word.

This book has all the things that make Mike Kunkel a terrific creator, in my book. First off, the interaction between the characters is spot on. Cap has Superman powers, yet retains Billy's innocence. Theo acts like a snooty prince talking to kids his own age. Billy and Mary act like you would expect siblings to act. The art is exceptional. I have always thought of Kunkel's work as "storyboard-ish", that is clean and static, but conveys a sense of motion and emotion. His ability to convey the emotion of a character simply by observing their face. The humor both broad and subtle is refreshing.

Now, this is not the perfect book. Several things are somewhat troubling me. First off, since this a "Johnny DC" book, why burden him with current events? Why not let him take off and retell things using his own spin? Also, using the Monster Society code at the beginning and end of the book for dialogue may tax or lose younger readers who don't want to work that hard to decipher it.

Still, this is a very, very good book. It's something that old Captain Marvel fans would enjoy as well as the younger set who the book is aimed at. I hope that DC gives Mike a good chance to create some stories that will entice and entrance you as he did me.

Grade: A minus (sorry, they lose a point for the code)

Better, thanks

2008-06-21T06:59:00.003-04:00

We are starting to feel better. Still hurts like a magilla, but things are settling down.

If I can get some rest, maybe some reviews will follow.

One thing: Even though I have heard some positive feedback about the HULK movie, I am still not convinced to open my wallet.

Oh, and my choice for dead movie of the summer? SPACE CHIMPS. I know that Jim will love it, he loves all things chimp, but it opens the same day as THE DARK KNIGHT. So you know it will be DOA, except for those parents who can't take their kids to Bats.

Be good, everyone. I love you guys.

A week fom hell....

2008-06-15T08:11:00.003-04:00

And now to top off the perfect week, we had to put our other cat Sophie down last night/morning.

I had to leave work to do this, and go back after it was over. I am so freaking numb right now I can't stand it.

Who the hell did we piss off to put us thru this hell?

It's moments like this that come close to drive me back into a bottle of booze.

But I can't do that to Boo. I love her too much. So I buck up for her and bury myself.

God, the rest of this month has got to get better, right?

What would you do?

2008-06-13T00:14:00.004-04:00

Hey gang. There will be reviews to come, I promise.

But first, my wife and I are dealing with some things. You should know that I grew up a "dog person". Had one since I was little and never cared for cats. While I was dating my wife she was given a couple of kittens by her family. She named one of them Spice and the other Sugar. I told her that I couldn't live in the same house as two ridiculously named cats so she changed one to Tink, short for Tinkerbell. My wife lived in a rowhouse apartment in Towson at the time and I remember coming over the first night she had them. They were tiny, meowing balls of fur. I was ignoring them when Tink climbed up on the sofa, climbed on my chest, and curled up in a ball and fell asleep. I was smitten. Tink went on to become my wife's cat, sleeping beside her and sensing things that are unspoken.

Last night, at 4 am, we had to decide to put Tink down. She was 15 years old and had become very, very sick. We were going to take her to our normal vet but decided that she was suffering too much. We were there at the end, with both of us in tears and devastated. We know that we did the right thing in ending her suffering, and we take (or will take) some comfort in know that we gave her a terrific life, full of love and happiness. But right now, we are 2 people who are mourning. We can't have kids of our own, and they had become our children. Think it's stupid? Screw you. Why does doing the right thing hurt so damn much? It's what Boo asked me last night. I told her if it was easy, everyone would do it. The truth is, I don't know why it hurts. It just does.

Rest in Peace, Tink. You will always be loved and remembered.

A Warning

2008-06-04T22:43:00.002-04:00

OK, if I can get it together in the next 24 hours, there will be comic reviews to come. I decided to wait until the big events started to gather my thoughts.

I know that you all await breathlessly, so I promise that I will not disappoint.

In the mean time, be good and be safe.

Tired.....

2008-06-01T19:39:00.001-04:00

....so freaking tired. And now I have to go to work. Man, sometimes it's tough to be the king.

More to follow in the coming days. Stay tuned.

Settling in

2008-05-16T05:39:00.003-04:00

Hey gang.

It is a big period of adjustment over here for the household. It's one thing to be a nightowl, it's another to be one and working at the same time. It ain't brain surgery, but there are worse things out there. It's great to be close to home (saves on the gas) and the Mrs. is going thru her adjustment as well. She hasn't had to deal with me being gone for long periods of time, but I think this will benefit us both in the long run

Some comic quick hits:
Secret Invasion 2- not as good as 1, but I'm willing to give it a go.
Buffy- Man this book is just too good. Each one has that episodic feel that Joss infused into the series.
Batman- the start of the R.I.P. story left me sort of lacking. I'm sure that the story will pick up speed over the coming months (at least I hope so).
Titans- Man, did the artwork suck this last issue. They look more like bend-it figures than heroes. Totally threw me out of the story, but Winick is worth reading.
Punisher- The last Garth Ennis arc is really good, but the "book" pages sometimes disrupt the flow. Still, it's a great read.

I am looking forward to the Final Crisis and Trinity stories. Oh and I read the FF Secret Invasion book in Rusty's store the other day. Not bad, did a good job of explaining what happened in SI 1.

That's it for now. I don't think I will be doing a whole lot of posting on the weekends (have to sleep sometime) but will still keep you all on your toes, so watch out.

Oh, and the IRON MAN movie ROCKED!!! Only problem? I missed out on the Nick Fury cameo after the credits. Oh well, I'll wait for the DVD. Other than that, it looks like Marvel has another solid franchise on it's hands.

Be good! =)

Some news and notes

2008-05-01T15:34:00.004-04:00

Sorry I haven't put anything up in a while but I've been directing my energies elsewhere.

So where to begin???

-How about this: I finally, FINALLY have a job!!!!
Yeah, yours truly has gotten off his rear and entered the working force. Actually, I caught a major break. A friend I bowl with in a league told me that his store was looking for overnight help. Seeing as I'm a bit of a nightowl myself, I went and applied. After a couple of nervous weeks, it came through. Someone finally is willing to take a chance on me (I know that you guys would as well, but I'm speaking of a workplace). It's not a full time (32 hrs.), and it is weekend nights, but shoot, I'm happy to be working anywhere. I know that one or two of you may say "well, I would have tried to get him something if he asked". I know that, but I could not bring myself to use my friends and family like that. It's just how I'm wired. This was something that fell into my lap, and for once went my way. There has been much rejoicing in the house. Actually it's more like a sense of relief.

-The Mrs. and I are going to catch IRON MAN tonight as a way of celebrating. That, and next week is our anniversary. 15 years, holy crap. We have been through the ringer at times and hope that the next 15 are slightly less uneventful than this 15. Less hospital visits, less bill collectors, and more of you guys and the fun that is out there in life.

-On a comic note, I am slightly perplexed by the DC Zero issue. One the one hand, it's really nothing more than an ad for the other upcoming events. But it was only 50 cents. I know that there as been a slight hue and cry about why they released the book on the week of Free Comic Book Day and that it should have been given out then. But I don't fault them. Their choice of FCBD is a great one (All-Star Superman #1). If you haven't read it, go to your local comic store on Saturday and pick one up. In fact, pick up a bunch of books that interest you and give them a try. Maybe you'll find a diamond in the rough.

OK, that's about it for now. See ya!

Moving Forward

2008-04-12T09:31:00.004-04:00

Yep, I'm back.

Thanks for bearing with me. I think that I've finally turned a corner. It happened the other night when I actually slept for more than 2 hours at a stretch.

You guys have been great with the support and thoughts. I can't begin to tell you how much you all mean to me. It took something else to shake me from the fog. I have been a loyal listener to "The Don and Mike Show" for a long time. Dang thing makes me laugh so hard sometimes. A couple of years ago Don lost the love his life in a car accident. He came back to the show even though he said at times he didn't want to. He met someone else recently and even though he didn't anticipate it, he fell in love. He realized that the show was reminding him more and more of his former wife and life, and decided that it as time to move forward. That meant leaving the show and all the people that have supported him over the years. He has earned that right to move forward. Anyone should be able to move forward if they so choose.

Why am I bringing this up, you may ask? Because in listening to this man pour his heart out, to lay himself bare to the world, it has sparked something in me. I have to start moving forward myself. No, I am not leaving my friends or family. Nor am I leaving the love of my life, Cindy. But it's time to stop wallowing in the fog that has occupied my brain for the past month and get on with things. So when you see me, I may look the same and probably sound the same, know that there is something different about me. Not bad different, hopefully good different. I just know that my perspective has been kicked in the ass, and that's not a bad thing at times.

See you out there in the real world! =)

Hitting the Pause Button

2008-04-04T13:17:00.003-04:00

On life that is.

I really appreciate all the kind words and thoughts you guys and gals have given me over the past few weeks. I mean that sincerely. It's been more of a morale booster than I can possibly express.

But for the next few days, you won't be seeing hide or hair of me. I am hiding out for a couple of days. I need this to remove that last little bit of fog that is clouding my brain and keeping me from enjoying the things I love in life, including you guys. So I hope that you'll bear with me while I take a small siesta and just veg out with the Mrs.

I will see you on the other side of this, I promise.

Be good! =)

HELP!!

2008-03-29T20:15:00.003-04:00

Seriously.

I am in need of some assistance. Things have gotten so far out of whack for me that I am not sure if I am coming or going.

Let me explain. I have been trying to play the good husband for my wife and be there for her whenever or wherever she needs me. We had to call 911 earlier this week because she was experiencing chest pain and pressure and it was something we did not want to screw around with. Turns out after spending 8+ hours in the ER that she was experiencing normal pain that comes from having the cartilage in her ribs cut and put back together. But you can see where we would not want to mess around with it.

My overall issue that that the last 3 weeks has really thrown me off kilter. I have had no real energy to go onto WoW, no desire to read the few comics I do get, and no real motivation to do anything. I am hoping that this is temporary, but there are moments that I worry that I have lost the spark to do those things that I love.

I am a worrier, I can't help it. It's how I'm wired. If you can offer any advice, no matter how small or simple, I would greatly appreciate it.

Sprung!

2008-03-17T21:28:00.003-04:00

That's right sports fans, she's on the loose! Well, about as on the loose as someone with a bunch of staples in her chest can get.

But seriously, I have to take a moment and thank you all. There are no words to express my gratitude and appreciation for the words and thoughts you guys sent our way. I must confess something that happened. I came home from the hospital late Saturday night and turned on the computer to check my email. On a whim, I checked out the blog here, and actually started to cry. It's been tough, really tough to get through this. To know that you guys are out there gave me the strength I needed to see this through to the end and keep her spirits up.

I will post later in the week once we both can get some rest.

I love all you guys and gals. You're the best friends a slob like me could hope for.

=)

Out of the loop

2008-03-14T04:03:00.003-04:00

Hey there everyone. You'll have to forgive me if this seems sort of incoherent, but it's 4 am, and your boy here is tired.

Why, you may ask is this dazzling young urbanite doing at the keyboard instead of sleeping? Don't worry, I'll fall back soon enough. But before I go, I wanted you all to know where I've been since Sunday.

four words:

Howard County General Hospital.

Late Sunday night, my wife, the love of my life, my reason for my existence, had a major medical issue. I will not go into details, because; 1) it's really disturbing, and 2) it's fucking (sorry my inner filter is gone) private. Just suffice to say that we were in the ER from 3:30 Sunday night until 8 Monday night, when they had to perform and operation on her. It was on an unrelated matter, but they found fluid around her heart. A lot of it. They drained almost a pint of it from her. The other thing, the thing that we went for, has since corrected itself, thank the good Lord above. But she has been in an ICU unit for the last 4 days. They have since moved her to another location but there is still some things to be rectified. I have been by her side every waking (and some not so waking) moment of the day. I thank the stars that we don't live a long way from the hospital, because there would be a better than average chance that I would have fallen asleep at the wheel and wrapped my car around a tree.
You may be asking yourself at the moment; "dude, if you're just sitting there, how tiring can it be?" Tell you what. You go have a loved one have something go wrong, put them in peril, hooked up to more tubes and wires than the damn Terminator, and see how you do. Then be there every time he or she wakes up to assure then that they're OK, that things are getting better. Do that for 10 to 12 hours a day for 5 days, neglect just about everything else in your life (eating, sleeping, keeping a house in order) and see how draining you find it. Overdramatic? Maybe. But it's how I'm wired. My wife and family come first at the expense of everything, including me. My friends are right there below that, but I will get some sleep before I do anything with you guys.

OK, I'm rambling now. Anyway, that's where I've been. The worst is over but there is still a bit of recovery for her, so that's why you won't see me here for a few more days, possibly a week. When I get her home, she and I are going to crawl into bed together and fall asleep in each others arms for a few days.

You all be good, OK? =)

The Reason You're Here

2008-03-09T19:01:00.006-04:00

Hope everyone remember to jump ahead this week. There will be something of an announcement at the end of this post. Nothing large or life changing.

Onto the comics!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 12- Beginning of the "Wolves at the Gate" are penned by Buffy writer Drew Goddard. A terrific start to the arc. It's clear that Goddard has not lost his voice for these characters, Andrew in particular. I have been remiss in crediting Georges Jeanty as the artist in this series. He has done exceptional work without resorting to some sort of photo shopping and drawing over it. He has made the stories jump and crackle with a nice energy. There is a controversial part to this story. Buffy is shown in bed with another slayer. The one who woke her from her "sleeping beauty" curse during the first arc. I thought that it was handled well, and even had some of the typical Whedon humor at the end to break the tension. No, Buffy is not a lesbian. She was lonely for some companionship and the slayer, Satsu, confessed her feelings for Buffy last issue while on patrol. The issue ends with a "holy sh!t" moment that leaves you wanting to read the next issue NOW. I won't spoil that for you, go read it and see for yourself.
Thor 6- A bunch of people have been critical of the writer (JMS) for his pacing of this book. Not me. This has been a really fun read every issue. The town meeting involving the Asgardians was hysterical. I loved the conversation between Blake and Thor in the diner, like it was so matter of fact to be conversing with your alter ego in public. Also, the townspeople relating their stories of the interactions with the Asgardians was cool, especially the one with Hogun, who walked from Asgard (which is located above Oklahoma) to Texas for a wild boar. Olivier Copiel again does a magnificent job, conveying the scope and spectrum of the Gods and the task that Thor has undertaken. I understand he will be taking a few issues off, but will return. I eagerly await his return.
Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder 9- Here again there has been a real diversity of opinions on this book. Some love it, some think it's a parody, others hate it. For me this has been an OK read. I must admit to not really being in love with the way that Frank Miller has written Bats. Some have suggested that if I read him like a "Sin City" character, I would enjoy it more. But this issue has saved the book in my opinion. The beginning of the issue, not so much. Have to go get my eyes checked after seeing all that yellow. Man, DC must have had a vat of that stuff left over to use since "Sinestro Corps"ended. What made me turn the corner was the last 4 pages. After realizing that he has rushed Robin into action and almost cost another hero (Green Lantern) his life, Batman cracks. He knows now that he has had the advantage of time and people like Alfred to hone his skills and crusade. Dick has had maybe a couple of weeks, and Bruce has been exceptionally tough on him. In fact, it wasn't until this issue that Robin finds out that Bruce is Batman. He takes Dick to the graveyard where is parents are buried to let him mourn properly. This is a great jumping on point for anyone who either hasn't read this yet, or gave up on it. I hope that going forward this will be seen as a great turning point.
Green Lantern 28- The first appearance of a red Lantern. A disgraced Green lantern who killed Amon Sur, Laira's hatred is the beacon for the first ring. This was a great issue and shows that even though Geoff Johns isn't doing the next major crossover until 2009, he is introducing plot threads a little at a time to entice us. The Guardians enacting their 2nd law leads Hal to talk to Sinestro. You get the feeling that even though he is in jail, Sinestro got exactly what he wanted in the end. The conversation leaves us with a lot of questions, including one I have; will Hal stay with the Green Lanterns, or will he join another corps before the next major event?
Captain America 35- Bucky enters Washington D.C. to discover that the public is on edge and that just about every level of government has been corrupted by Kronas. Ed Brubaker does a nice job building the tension of a mob on the edge and ready to be ignited. You can feel that Bucky is still dealing with the emotions of taking up the mantle from Steve. Next issue looks to be a big battle between Cap and the Serpent Squad, who have invaded Congress.
Batman 674- I know I am in the minority, but Grant Morrison's run on this has left me wanting. At least he tied up the string of where the 3 Batmen came from. Turns out they were police officers developed by a character named Simon Hurt, who managed to convince Batman to take part in an experiment. I know, your eyes are probably rolling and you're feeling drowsy, but hang in there. They were designed to take Batman's place if something should ever happen, but the experiment got out of hand. Bats escapes from them and is left to wonder who activated them. There are as many questions as answers at the end of this, so I am reserving total judgement until all is revealed. I'm guessing this will be great in trade format.
Detective Comics 842- Peter Milligan fills in for Paul Dini on a one and done. A suit of armor is given to Bruce by Talia (his on and off again lover) and gives him the feeling of invincibility. He begins to realize that the suit is causing irrational behavior from him and he sets out to discover where the suit originated from. It's a long and complicated story, so I won't bore you with details. Turns out is was a gift originally from Ra's Ah Gaul passed to Talia. While this is going on, Bats is tracking a killer in Gotham. As the chase for him ends, he passes a test of the suit and realizes that he should never wear it again. A nice one and done, but I look forward to Dini's return to give the rogue's gallery a work over.
Teen Titans Year One 3- The end of the first arc. Nice work of teaming up to take their mentors down, although Aqualad still seems to be useless. Batman is still something of a hardass, expecting alot for Robin. This is a 6 issue mini, so the two arc should work well in unison.
Amazing Spider-Man 552- This is a pivotal issue. Not for them, but for me. I am really close to dropping this forever. The fact that they introduce one of the grossest looking villians is not helping matters. I would have hoped that with this reboot, they would have tried to introduce some of the classic rogue's gallery. After all, Spidey had the best one in the Marvel universe. But alas, it looks like my dreams will turn to dust.
Nightwing 142- I am thinking that this will move up to tnear the top of the pile. Peter Tomasi and Rags Morales are a great team, in my opinion. Tomasi is crafting a great story on various levels, and Rags art gives a nice sense of action. The scene in the Batcave with Tim and Alfred felt...organic to me. Especially Alfred's reaction to the note. I am also digging two other factors at play here; Dick's involvement in other areas of the DCU, specifically the JSA; and the relating of a story that took place in the BATMAN book by Tim. It gives you a sense that all of these are connected, which it should be.

That's about it for now. There were other comics out there that were good, like ACTION, or surprising good, like UNCANNY X-MEN. But I've decided that maybe later on, if anyone cares, I'll post some reactions.

Oh and the announcement? Two really. First, I will be doing this week to week instead of waiting 2 weeks. It tends to drag. The other is the books that I am cancelling. Wolverine:Origins, Ultimates, Amazing Spider-Man, Ghost Rider are all biting the dust. This hurts more than it freaking should (well maybe only for ASM) but I just cannot see myself spending good money for stuff I just am not into. On a quick side note; I would have bought the NEW FRONTIER SPECIAL, but there was no way on God's green earth I was spending 5 bucks on a comic that, with the exception of the first story, felt like a straight money grab.

Later.

Some thoughts and feelings

2008-03-05T22:20:00.003-05:00

Thought I would put keyboard to internet and throw some stuff out there:

-I am a registered Independent voter. Which basically means I go whichever way I want. I am not really sure about the candidates at this point. I respect the stuff that McCain went through as a POW, but I don't think that translates into being a President. His apparent waffeling and cowtowing to the radical right does put me off a bit. Hillary? Keith Olberman said it best. She never attended a daily briefing, got taken into the situation room, and any of that other stuff while Bill was in office. She was closer to the action than the other two, but I don't know how close. And I think that some people (NOT ME) believe that if you vote her in, Bill will be puppeting her, sort of how Chaney has been with Bush. Obama? Too clean, I want to see if he's willing to get down and dirty with things.

-On a lighter note, or maybe a sadder note, the rumor is that Lex and Lana want out of SMALLVILLE. Or at least the actors do. My wife cannnot stand Lana and is all for firing her out of a cannon into space. I don't think the show will do as well without Lex. After all, he is Clark's main foil. Unless they make Brainiac the big bad next season, I may travel elsewhere.

-Speaking of TV, do you think we all should pay the writers for going on strike? I think I owe them some money, since I find myself watching less and less TV these days. Sports are still at the top of my list, but other than SMALLVILLE, there is nothing really out there these days. Two shows I had liked, CHUCK and HEROES, are gone until September. I hate just about all reality shows and wish that someone, anyone would put American Idol out to pasture. Unless you have someone who is on this show, why are you going to waste your time and valuable money voting for these asshats?

-Will be posting comic reviews later on, possibly before the weekend. Early results? BUFFY and THOR were some of the best of the past two weeks.

Well, time to head out into the night. Destiny awaits me and she can be a cruel mistress if left standing around.

Ramblings of a Sick Man....

2008-02-24T16:57:00.004-05:00

Hey gang. Thanks for wandering over to look in on me. Time to throw some reviews at you and see what sticks.

Before I begin, a note on change in format. Ever since I started this thing, I have reviewed comics by company. Starting with this post, I will be reviewing "top to bottom". That is, from stuff that sits at the top of my meager pile to the bottom.

Lets begin, shall we?

Robin 171- Begins with what has to be the stupidest villain ever since the TV series days. But from there Chuck Dixon continues a stellar run. The interaction between Batman and Robin, while brief, is great. Conveys a real sense of family. Love the new "redbird" car. Dixon looks intent on bringing back everything interesting from his run. Speaking of that, the mystery of Ives gets a little deeper and more interesting. Having Tim without a girlfriend in his civilian life means that we will probably see Spoiler in an issue or two. Oh, and falling asleep on a roller coaster? Funny as all hell, and something that a guy who jumps from rooftop to rooftop would do.
World of Warcraft 4- Well, some of you must be reading this since #1 went into a second print. Our heroes escape and meet up with some resistance fighters in Ashenvale. During the conflict, we see the awesome powers that Broll can inflict. Talk about an epic fighter! I had been wondering how Walter Simonson would handle a "raid" like battle, and he did a terrific job. In most "raids", there are no clear cut winner or losers, just a show of strength. This portrayed that perfectly, counters and moves that mirror the game. The story elements get some side coverage and look to show more and more of the Kingdoms. Can't wait.
Fantastic Four 554- First part of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's run. This has been debated about on the forums and there seems to be a mixed reception. For me, this was a great jumping on point. You don't have to have read the last 500+ issues to get up to speed with this. A nice starting point to (hopefully) a defining run. Hitch handled the art with feeling, even giving the Thing great expressions. I look forward to the next issue to hear more about how the earth is going to die. Knowing Millar, probably something gruesome. Sweet.
Wolverine 62- This shot to the top of my pile after looking at one page. I am so freaking happy that Ron Garney got rid of the style he was using on SHAZAM and got back to pencils. And wow are they good! Not sure about Jason Aaron's story, but I like where this is going. I am so freaking tired of him chasing crap, this looks like a start to a chase that could be intriguing. The fact the Mystique can become anyone must be driving Wolvie nuts. Also, I liked the interaction between Cyclops and Wolvie. Sanction without really saying that? That's Logan's bread and butter. And the fact that he's going it alone instead of one of the other tired books? Yep, there's going to be a decent bodycount here.
Invincible 48- I admit to coming late to the party on this book, but man it rises to the top of my pile everytime it comes out. The in jokes about the other heroes? Funny as all get out. Loved the interaction between the mom and the director. The battle between Mark and the underground dwellers was beautifully rendered. The fact that Doc Seismic looked surprised for half a beat before proclaiming victory was kinda funny, sort of the look you would see on the Joker or Dr. Doom's face if they actually succeeded. Should be a great next issue.
Superman/Batman 46- I must admit that I dropped this a long time ago when budgets over ran my love for comics. But after hearing the promo for this, I had to pick it up. Our intrepid heroes are travelling the world looking for all the remaining Kryptonite. Turns out there is a new color, silver Kryptonite, which causes Clark to revert to teenage attitudes. This was a really fun issue and may, just may, convince me to put it back on my list. Michael Green did a wonderful story full of fun and humor, and if you don't like it "ssik ym ttub." If you read the story, you get the joke.
Green Arrow/Black Canary 5- Telling the backstory of Connor, we see Ollie at various stages in his life. Turns out he knew all along about him and was (I think) ashamed of his actions. Dinah proposes to him and an intimate wedding occurs. However, someone has taken Connor and the chase is on. I know that people either love or hate Judd Winick's work, but I must cop to falling somewhere in the middle. This is an example of good Judd, nice characterizations, a plot that moves ahead even if it's not the main thrust of the issue. Hopefully, the good Judd will stick around for a while.
PvP 38- What, you think I would let this slip by? Oh hell no! The only reason it falls where it does is that after all the fighting and exposition and posturing, it's great to read an issue that can make you laugh. Sometimes so hard you show your teeth. The guys from "PvP" get a new officemate who seems reluctant to share who and what they are, so they break in. Mayhem and hilarity ensue. Kurtz brings in a guest artist for a brief story that has an ending, while gross, could make even the sourest puss smile.
Countdown 11 & 10- The battle begins in earnest on Apokolips. All the storylines seem to be converging there for the Great Disaster, which I hear will be shown in COUNTDOWN before the next mini. Mary Marvel gets her power, her true power back, while Harley and Holly get granted powers by the gods as well. Una becomes infected by Brother Eye, don't really know what will happen there. I am wondering who killed Granny. I don't think it was Darkseid since he didn't use his Omega-beams. OMAC assimilates Apokolips and looks to be the beginning of the end. Two great issues that really ratchet up the action.
Flash 237- A one and done to fill in between Mark Waid and Tom Peyer. A nice issue dealing with the kids. They are given the task of stealing Superman's cape and watching them interact with each other and how they handle villains was nice. Also liked the interaction between Supes and Wally. Looks like the kids have the values we want all out kids to have; Jai by an unconscious Superman with his cape hanging in the breeze: "No. Stealing is wrong." I am willing to give Peyer a chance simply because he's bringing Freddie Williams back do to the art. I have loved his stuff and look forward to see his take on the Flash.
Amazing Spider-Man 550 &551- I have been taking a beating on why I am still buying this from some. I know I hated OMD, and I am not really all that thrilled with how they have handled the FUBAR reboot so far. But if I am willing to stick for some (FF), then I should be for others. I wanted to give each writer and artist team their first arc to see if they could do something interesting with a (supposed) clean slate. So far, a mixed bag. Nice humor, some good action, but just not a lot there to hold people. I have been collecting ASM for a long time and it's tough to give up something you love, something that got you into reading comics. Unfortunately, it may be time. OMA, or "one more arc", then I'll decide.
New Avengers 38- Jessica and Luke end their marriage. Yawn. This would have been better done in CIVIL WAR as opposed to this stuff. Man, it looks like Bendis has been watching daytime soaps to come up with this dialogue. Only redeeming part? That Lentil Yu was not the artist. The fact that he is doing the SECRET INVASION may put me off of it.

OK, that's it for now. Go savage or praise me, but at least give me credit for having an opinion!

Odds and Ends....

2008-02-10T16:54:00.000-05:00

Hey there gang. just thought I would take some time and throw a few things out of my brain and into your face. I've included a couple of comic reviews to wake you up so my noodlings don't totally make you sleepy.

-I was estatic over the Super Bowl. Not just the fact that the Giants won, but that it was an entertaining game. Even my wife, who had no rooting interest and was basically reading in the same room, put her book down once the game hit the 4th quarter. She puts up with me as a diehard Ravens fan, and enjoyed the fact that she could sit in a room with me and not have me totally mental over the game.
-On a side note, is it me, or are the commercials they aired just trying too hard? The trailer for the IRON MAN movie was awesome, and I admit to liking the screaming animals tire one and the Budweiser "Rocky" one, but other than that, they were forgettable at best. I think the hype over the commercials is getting bigger than the hype over the game, if that's possible. They have been slowly going downhill.
-Jim put up a nice posting of a few books that you should be reading. If I may be so bold, one I would like to pimp (other than PvP, but you guys know my love for that book) is World Of Warcraft. Issue 3 came out a week or so ago, and I would reccommend it to anyone who likes the sword and sorcerer type. Walter Simonson does a terrific job balancing telling a story and making sure to be faithful to the game and it's environments. You can tell that the artist, Ludo Lullabi, studied early Joe Madueria, and gives the characters an distinctive feel based on their races and classes. I know that Wildstorm has had some hiccups in doing some things, but so far this one has been done well. Give it a shot.
-I also started to read Dynamite's Superpowers, but found myself dozing off. For a buck, it's a great intro, but man is there a heavy cost. You know how sometimes you can breeze through a book in about 10-15 minutes? Not here, brother. I love Alex Ross, his stuff runs the gamut from pedestrian to breathtaking. But his protege, Jim Krueger, must have studied under Bendis. Still, for a buck, it did have some pretty pictures.
-I have a question....who did Leinil Yu service at Marvel to get the cherry crossover of the Skrull Invasion? Other than Bendis , I mean. Have they looked at this guy's art lately? Marvel does not seem stacked with as great a lineup of artists that DC has, but they certainly could have given it to someone better. Paul Pelletier comes to mind. They are pulling him off of Fantastic Four after a pretty good run, why not give it to him? That's a team book, right? He's worked with some great writers, don't they think he could handle Bendis? OK, spleen vented.
- I am ending this on a serious note. We have had a major health scare in my wife's family this past week. Her sister, who is 45, suffered a major heart attack. She had a blockage of the Left Anterior Decending artery, or LAD, which is called "the widowmaker" for a reason. It appears that they got to her in time, but there is some damage. I bring this up for a reason. She has been taking Plavix for clot breakage for a while, but stopped for a week or 2. While I am upset that she did that, I use this to make a point. PLEASE, if you are taking any type of meds, anything for an ongoing condition, DON'T STOP! There is usually a reason for you having to take it in the first place, like me with my diabetes.

I just don't want to see any of my family and good friends check out needlessly. I love all you guys!
Be good.

Hope You're Comfortable...

2008-02-03T20:11:00.000-05:00

Because I have a truckload of comics to review. So many that I am starting this during halftime of the Super Bowl. Not really going to comment on that until later if needed. I will say this. After seeing the IRON MAN trailer, I am convinced that it will give THE DARK KNIGHT a run for the money this spring.

So, on to the comics!

Marvel-
Amazing Spider-Man 547 &548- I really loved Dan Slott's run on THE THING. It was the best superhero book with humor out there. That being said, this has not been a great start. I know he is hamstrung by Quesada's agenda, and he probably cannot start any real good storylines because of the "Secret Invasion" stuff. (real quick sidenote on that; I may pick an issue, but having Yu doing the artwork to such a big project is turning my stomach. His stuff has not looked as strong as his earlier stuff. In my opinion.) So with all that, he managed to do put an OK start to this FUBAR hero. Not great, but OK. I will stay with it for a bit more and see what he can do before the hammer drops.
Astonishing X-Men 24- We're almost done with this Whedon /Cassaday run, and I know that a lot of you are happy about that. You know my feelings for Master Joss, and I love just about anything Cassaday does, but I think I feel the same way. He has tried to write this at times like his shows, or at least I think he does. I loved the line from Wolverine; "when does Pete get to throw me at something?" But for the most part, the story has been really sort of blah.
Captain America 34- The "new" Cap begins his run. There have been lots of stuff written about this, most of it by people who never bothered to pick up a comic in their lives. I like the fact that Bucky is using a different suit and his explaination of why he is using a gun. Steve Epting does a great job drawing the battle and Bucky's inner conflict at wearing the colors seems in place. Brubaker does a terrific job ratcheting up the suspense in this issue and the next should be as good.
Daredevil 104- Mr. Fear uses Lilly to drive Milla over the edge and beat the living crap out of her nurse. Matt is too busy plaing catch-up and discovers too late what is happening. Meanwhile, Mr. Fear and the Hood are meeting to (I guess) join forces. This has been a pretty good arc from Brubaker. He has turned DD from a reactive hero to a proactive one. The things he does to Ox with a blow torch , while not MAX line stuff, is not the usual fare from ol' hornhead.
Fantastic Four 553- This is Dwayne McDuffie's last issue before Mark Millar takes over the writing chores. Man, did this one give me a headache. Timelines, alternate timelines, Kang's 3rd law of time, yada, yada yada. Wow, felt like I needed a Phd or something at the start of this. As such, was not the best issue to start on. But we got a big battle with Dr. Doom and a nice wrap-up so I can't complain too much. On the whole, McDuffie's run has been one of the better one on FF in the past few years, with Mark Waid's really the best of the past decade or so. I look forward to seeing what Millar and Brian Hitch can cook up for the First Family of Marvel.
Iron Man 25- To begin with, I must agree with Jim's assessment of Marvel's continued gouging of it's fanbase. Charging 1 to 2 dollars more without giving more story or anything of signifigance is just wrong. If I want to read about the origin of IM, or see a preview of another miniseries, I'll look elsewhere. That being said, the main story was pretty good. We are FINALLY going to see Iron Man vs. the Mandarin. Can't wait to see that.
New Avengers Annual 2- Big battle, Jessica Jones turns herself in. Not really a whole lot more than that. Dr. Strange kicks them out of the house and leaves the group. And who the hell is the demon controlling the Hood? If it is Mephisto, I am holding a public burning of anything Marvel.
Punisher 54- We see a series of flashbacks on what made the Barracuda such a bad mofo. Man, the way that Frank finally ended him was so brutal, so final, it makes it tough to think that there will be any more miniseries.
Ultimate Spider-Man 118- First part of "Spidey and his Amazing Friends" arc. Don't know if that's what they're calling it, but I'm calling it that. So, Liz is the new Firestar? That's....cool. One thing the Ultimate universe prides itself is taking characters and putting some spins on them. This is one I like. I also like this kid Kenny. He seems somewhat grounded and has potential. Have to say I was not real thrilled with Stuart Immonen's art on this ish, but to quote Spider-Man from "Family Guy"; "everybody gets one save". So I'll consider this his.
Wolverine Origins 21- Not really much to say here except for one word; Deadpool. This issue really did nothing for me except make me laugh at a couple of times. The opening "duck" sequence was a pacesetter for how this arc is going to go.
X-Men 207- End of the "Messiah Complex" crossover. Other than *spoiler warning* Professor X ending up dead, what the heck really happened here? What is the deal with Bishop? Will he be a pariah? This is leading into the ongoing CABLE series, but sorry, not for me. Oh, would someone please tackle me and explain the deal with Rogue? I know she is one of Rusty's favorite character, but just what is her damage?

DC Comics-
Action 861- Looks like Brainiac wasn't such a bad guy after all. Turns out the JLE is using one of the lost Legion guys to turn the sun red. Then Brainiac loses control of his planet and the universe is headed towards war. This was a really terrific issue and Gary Frank's artwork (at least to me) got really better. Maybe he just needed to get his feet wet again, as I don't think he has done any monthly work in a while. If I'm wrong, I humbly apologize. As for Geoff Johns, this guy is becoming the Bendis of DC. Or maybe Brubaker is better. Anyway, just about anything this guy touches is done right and feels like a sure fire winner.
Batman 673- I love Grant Morrison's stuff, but sometimes it takes me awhile to catch up on what the heck is going on. Case in point, last issue Bats got shot in the chest and was left for dead, or so we thought. It was not until the last page that we actually discovered what happened. On the plus side, we did get a peek into what Bruce subjected himself thru during the Nanda Parbat thing. My unconfortableness aside, this was a pretty good issue upon further reading and I am looking forward to finding out just who is this guy in the other Bat suit.
Countdown 15-13 - I can pretty much sum alot of this up in one sentence. Superman Prime is the biggest jerk in the 52 universes and acts like a petulant child. But I have to say issue 15 had the line of the week during the battle between Wonder Girl and Donna Troy; "I'm Donna Troy, bitch. Donna. Troy.". Loved it. Darkseid makes his move and Monarch is killed, maybe along with Superman Prime (I hope).
Green Lantern 27- Creation of the Alpha Lanterns. They are the internal affairs of the corps. they will police the police, as they say. John Stewart had a chance to join, but refused the offer, perhaps sensing something is not all wel and good in Oa. An interlude in the issue shows a "guardian" asking Ash to recover the corpse of the Anti-Monitor. Last panel on that page shows it all. It also shows why I love Geoff Johns. He introduced an idea during the conclusion to the Sinestro Corps War and even though it won't become a major thing until 2009, he is already starting to sow the seeds. For the love of God DC, don't screw this up and let him go without completing this epic!
Justice League of America 17- Alan Burnett takes over the main story arc here while McDuffie writes the back-up. Main story deals with some villians looking to the JLA for sanctuary from the Suicide Squad. The stories are geting back to the JLA about the planet the bad guys have been put on (see SALVATION RUN for that one) and they aren't happy about it. Looks promising. Back up is dealing with Vixen's new powers, that of being able to leach the abilites off of her teammates as opposed to animals. For me, Jon Boy Meyers drew about as sexy a Vixen as I have ever seen. This story has me curious as to where it will lead. Is this something that she can control, or is it part of something more sinster using her as a bait? We'll see.
Robin 170- Well, it didn't take Chuck Dixon long to make himself right at home back on Robin, did it? He brings back one of Tim's better supporting cast (Ives) and introduces a new female villain in purple (Stephanie? nope.) to chase around. There has been a bunch of speculation on the 'net about if Steph will actually return from the dead or not. Me? I sure as hell hope not. I like the girl Tim has in his life now, and bringing her back will just draw Batman back into the mix, and he really works well as an ancillary character here.

Well gang, thats gonna wrap it up for me right now. There are a few more that I will comment on later, since I'm back to being poor and my selection will be come slim again. But I promise that there will not be any more 3 week breaks like this again. 2 at the max, no more.
See ya! =)

So, who the heck are you?

2008-01-31T23:42:00.000-05:00

I will be posting later on in the weekend a whole bunch of reviews of comics. But before then a brief interlude....

Which Buffy the Vampire Slayer Character Are You?

Created by BuddyTV

And......

Which Smallville Character Are You?

Created by BuddyTV

That should hold you. Ponder the fact that either I am a dead lesbian or a iconic superhero. I am confused myself. Time to go read some comics. Later.

Words......

2008-01-23T14:46:00.000-05:00

Before I dive into the meat of this blog...give it up for the kid here. This is my 50th post. Never thought I had that much brain matter in me.

OK, on to the heart of things. I never really got that at times. The "heart" of things. Is that saying because the heart is the most important muscle in the body? Or is that the heart lies in the center (well, just off center if you studied anatomy) of the chest?
My point is that we as a society tend to throw words around without sometimes really thinking about the meaning. There have a couple of subjects that have captured my attention and I thought I would share them with you and (hopefully) get some responses.
First, is the term "heroic". I have heard this attached to the quarterback from San Diego after hearing that he had an operation to get back on the field. The fact that I think that this guy is a hump is not really in play here. I have heard a couple of sportscasters say it was "heroic" and "gutty" of him to go out and play. Heroic? No, I'm sorry, its not. Heroic is a policeman who puts himself in the line of fire to protect a civilian. Heroic is the firefighter who risks his or her life to save someone at the expense of their own life. Heroic is the soldiers who are fighting an unpopular war that they have no say in, no way out, and are probably hated by just about everyone over there. As for "gutty"? I'm sorry, but it's his job to be out there. That's why you get paid. Think about this for a sec. Most of you get sick pay if you miss a day or two. But this guy gets paid if he does nothing all week. Do people call you "gutty" if you're sitting at your desk with a fever or some other malady?
The other word that has come into play lately is "tragic". This has been especially used in the last 24 hours over the unfortunate death of Heath Ledger. Now, before you sharpen your pitchforks and fire up the torches, hear me out. Is this a tragedy? You bet your ass is it. But not for us. It is for a little 2 year old girl that will have to grow up without her father there for all the momentous things in her life. But for us? The great unwashed? It's sad, yes. The prospect of what could have been is daunting. And I think the family has every right to call it tragic. In the end, maybe it was tragic. When I think of tragic, my thoughts tend to run toward people who had no control over their situation and were faced with insurmountable obstacles, like a child born with AIDS. So I guess maybe this comes down to interpretation.
I know that most of you will probably think I'm out of my mind, and you may be right. I butcher the King's English as much as the next person. But I just thought that I would throw this out there.

Wishes and Random Thoughts

2008-01-19T02:16:00.000-05:00

First off, lets all give a big birthday wish to Shawn! Happy Birthday, you crazy fool!

OK, on to other things.....

The big news is that the Ravens have hired a new head coach. John Harbaugh, the older brother of former Ravens QB Jim, is now the face of the team. I am still thinking over how I feel about this. On the one hand, it's a good move. The guy is young and has a chance to set things up for a long time to come here. He may have fresh and new ideas that can only help this (somewhat) aging team. On the other hand, he has never held any sort of coordinator position until this past year. Even then it was only special teams, which isn't really the glamour job. Still, I'm willing to give the guy a try. Let's see what he can do with a few years and maybe he'll make all forget about that other guy who was here.

I am also glad about his hiring in that it proved that Bischotti (sorry if I misspelled it) was not going to be beholden to his players. I'm sorry, I love those guys, but they basically killed any chance of Rex Ryan getting the job because they couldn't keep their heads shut. Why do they think Billick got canned anyway? One of the biggest factors, at least that I could see, was that the players were out of control. The way they carried on at the end of the Patriots game and the end of the Steelers game just showed that the players thought they had final say in things. Then, after the firing, the idiots just couldn't shut up. Anytime someone shoved a mike in their face, they had say "we love Rex, we want Rex, Rex deserves this." MORONS! If they had kept their mouths shut (rare I know), or said something like "we'll be happy with whoever comes aboard", there is a chance that Ryan would be the new head coach. This next sentence makes me want to throw up in my mouth, but do you hear the morons down in D.C. popping off? Nope, they are keeping quiet and they will get that tard Williams. Sorry just my opinion of the guy.

They practically forced the owner's hand. He was not going to continue this culture of grandstanding by the players. He took a stand, and I think it's the right one. It's possible that in the long run, these guys will understand that Harbaugh may have been the right tonic that this team needed.

Time to bring the mojo down on some teams. My predictions for the championships? My heart says Chargers and Packers, even though I hate that goofy-faced Mayberry screw Rivers. But I'm going with my head and say; Packers and Patriots. That sets up my dream scenario; Farve beats the pretty boy and the hoodie, then walks off into the sunset.

Time for bed. Everyone stay warm and have a good weekend.

Finally! Ta Da!

2008-01-15T11:37:00.001-05:00

I am sure that you all waited with bated breath for this moment, but things were sort of out of whack for me. So here we go with at least 3 weeks worth of books!

Dark Horse-
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #10- Master Joss returns for a one and done to give us a pause between arcs. The last one, "Faith" by Brian K. Vaughn was very good. The main thrust of this is Buffy and Willow going to see a demon about the future. Instead he gives them both a peek into dark secrets in the past. Buffy committed some bank robberies overseas to finance the slayer operation. Turns out that Willow blames Buffy for her lover Tara's murder. To top all of this off, Buffy finds out that someone close to her will betray her. This is a great example of why I love this comic. It advances the overall arc somewhat and give clues to things both in the past and future. Can't wait for the next issue.

DC Comics-
Action 860- Part 3 of the "Legion" arc. The remaining Legionnaires and Supes head to an interment camp to find Brainiac. However, he has gone to his home planet and become something of a despot. The leader of the JLE is absorbing all of the captured Legion powers and using them to find the others. Pretty good story, but I am still not really all that thrilled with Gary Frank's art. It's not all that bad just.....sketchy. I've seen his more polished work and liked it more. Still, it does sort of fit the gritty world that Earth has become under the red sun.

Batman 672- This is example 1 in my "why crossovers can suck" case. Grant Morrison is a terrific writer, and Tony Daniel is doing a fine job, but I was seriously lost on the first read. I had to go back to find out what the deal was with the other Batmen and the affair between Bruce and Jezebel. Now that I've done that, the story makes some sense. A terrific cliffhanger as Batman is suffering a heart attack and Bat-Mite may be on the way to help (summoned?). Again, I love Grant Morrison, and he does things here that either haven't been done or tried in a long time.

Countdown 18-16- OK a lot of stuff happening here, so I will give the condensed version. The Challengers finally find Ray Palmer, only to have "Bob" go rogue on them. Turns out Ray is the modern Ray, not the Ray of the Earth the find them on. Monarch makes his move after drawing the Monitors out of hiding. Superman-Prime is going to use the rogue Monitor to help him find the perfect Earth. Jimmy Olsen is a soul-catcher. Jason gets captured by a Batman and is staring down the barrel of a gun. WHEW! This book has really picked up in intensity and looks to be (hopefully) headed for a great finish. I've heard that Morrison will pick up some of the threads from this to use in Final Crisis. Maybe he should just let his story stand on it's own, but that's just my opinion.

Detective 840- So let me get this straight; we had a major crossover with all the Batman books to bring back Ra's ah Gaul as a player in the rogue's gallery, and they leave him in Arkham? Are you freaking kidding me!?!?! Man, they are swerving dangerously close to Spidey's "one more day" crap. It was a great crossover, with lots of action and battles, and the best resolution they can come up with is to drug his ass and take him off to the insane asylum? BOO!!!

Green Arrow/ Black Canary 4- I am not sure how long I will stick with this book, but man did it take a major turn for me. I did not see that ending coming. I thought for sure they were going to kill Conner, thus sending Shawn into a spiral about killing his favorite characters. I loved the way Ollie called for Clark, just repeating his name over and over, building in intensity until he's screaming at the top of his lungs. And the scene with Batman in the stairway? Nicely done. I do have one question about this great issue; when did GL become a surgeon? That was so out of left field and really unneeded. Could have used Dr. Midnight, but they go with the fighter pilot? Final thought: Cliff Chang will become a major player in the field. His artwork is beautiful, capturing the right tones to the characters. DC would be wise to lock him up for a while.

Nightwing 140- Beginning of a new arc and a new team. Rags Morales jumps on with art that, while different from his work on "Identity Crisis", still is a classy look. Peter Tomasi climbs on to write, and it looks like he has a handle on who both Nightwing and Dick Grayson are. This takes place before Detective (since the crew is talking about Ra's and Talia) and leads to an encounter between Dick and Talia. Great dialogue there. There has been a rash of grave robberies and Nightwing goes to investigate. He sets up a new base of operation in New York and gets a visitor; Superman. Can't begin to tell you how much I am looking forward to seeing the next issue. Dick and Clark have always had a good repore, with Clark even contributing the codename (Nightwing was a hero in Kandor).

Teen Titans 54- The end of the "Titans of tomorrow, today" arc. They stop Starro from taking over and Wonder Girl realizes that Bart and Superboy are clones. That sets in motion events taking the future heroes out of the time stream. This was an OK ending, with the epilogue giving the appearance that things are not really going to change. Also that the Martian Manhunter (Girlhunter?) is going to be the one to cause the events to happen. An OK arc, but not one that left me feeling really satisfied, an odd sensation since Sean McKeever usually has done a great job.

Teen Titans-Year One #1- This issue looked for me like I was going to be not going to continue onward, but it took some steps that made me curious. I did not like the characterization of Aqualad, either in look or feel. He's afraid of fish? Seriously? The look and feel of Robin and Kid Flash on the other hand were dead on and those, along with what's the deal with Batman, has me interested enough to try a second issue.

MARVEL-
Amazing Spider-Man 545 and 546- End of the "One more Day" arc and beginning of the "Brand new day". I should have known something was up by the way they made Mephisto look a retard on the cover of 545. Could almost hear him saying "duhhhhh, are you sure you want this Joe?". In the interest of fairness, I will yield to other, more intelligent people such as Jim, Shawn and Matthew to comment on these two issues. As for me? Well, having Aunt May call Peter "tiger" almost made me throw up in my mouth. So we'll leave it at that.

Captain America 33- Continuing the tradition of telegraphing their moves 6 months before actually doing it, we get to see the beginning of Bucky's transformation into the new Cap. I mean, did anyone really expect it to be anyone else when they announced it? I feel bad for Ed Brubaker, because I have a feeling that if he had his way, he would have picked someone else. I don't know this for sure, just a gut feeling.

Daredevil 103- Matt is battling on several fronts and not really doing well. He is worried about Milla and the upcoming trial. She is still dealing with the effects of the fear gas she was exposed to. Not to mention the fact that Mr. Fear is running the streets causing chaos and panic. That he can do something about. He captures Fear's main henchman, the Ox, and has him chained up with a blowtorch ready to get info as to the whereabouts of his boss. The last page reminded me of the classic Frank Miller cover with DD holding a gun saying "no more mister nice guy!". Again, Brubaker is doing a slow build-up to the inevitable confrontation. And it's working.

Hulk 1- Pretty pictures by Ed McGuinness. Other than that? Are you kidding me? They gave it all away again in the first issue. I am starting to wonder. Long ago, in one of the early issues of Thunderbolts, they gave away the plot twist that the good guys were actually bad guys in disguise. But that only helped to enrich the stories as the series went forward. Lately, Marvel just doesn't seem to care if the reader is entertained or not. I would have been better served if we would have some suspense as to who actually was the Hulk. Is it his son? Some genetic clone from Tony Stark? Instead we get this, and I really don't care how he ( I won't spoil it for you) got to become the Hulk. I think I may stick for another issue or two, then I'm out. And yes they have effectively killed the buzz that "Planet Hulk" and "World War Hulk" had.

Iron Man 24- Really don't have much to say here. An OK issue. Looks like we might be getting more Mandarin soon, which can only be a good thing.

Punisher 53- Looks like my fears from my posting a while back were unfounded, but it was a great cliffhanger. Man, the stuff that Frank does to Barracuda once he captures him is brutal. But how the Barracuda uses the kid against Frank is just as brutal and frightening. The dude is the Energizer Bunny of comics. No matter how much you beat, shoot, torture or main him, Barracuda just keeps on coming. Next issue should be one big beat-em-up, which will be great.

Thunderbolts 118- Part 3 of the "Caged Angels" arc. Man does a lot of stuff hit the fan in this issue. Norman is just about over the edge (sitting in the bathroom with the Goblin mask on? Priceless.), Venom is on a rampage and the Swordsman makes his move with troops loyal to him. I have really loved this stuff by Warren Ellis, but I agree with Jim. Sometimes the lateness of these books take you right out of the story and you have to go back and re-read to find out what is really going on. But nevertheless, a relentless story that if you read this and don't want to pick up the next issue, has me feeling sorry for you.

Ultimate Spider-Man 117- End of the "Goblin"arc. And what an ending it was! Really, did not see what happened coming and was totally enthralled by it. The dialogue between the principals, especially Peter and Harry, were engrossing. Stuart Immonen's art was fantastic. This is the book any fan of Spider-Man SHOULD be reading. I only hope that someone has the smarts there to keep Joe Quesada from getting his grubby little fingers on it and destroying what is a consistently good to great read.

Well, that's about it. There are some others, like Wolverine (next time he dies, it's for good), the X-Men crossover (yawn) and Superman (insects? meh.) that really don't warrant my time or a second (or third, in some cases) read through. Hope you enjoyed my reviews and as always, feel free to throw me a comment or two. Promise to respond to any and all!

Later!

A Moment of Clarity

2008-01-11T14:32:00.000-05:00

Comics will be reviewed later on this weekend, I promise.

But first, a little introspection.

I realize that I am a large hairy man. I also realize that looking like this might intimidate some people, but not you gentle readers. I bring this up because I felt like a real shmoe. I have been waiting and waiting to interview for this job. I have been put off so many times I started to get frustated. But I stuck with it simply because this was the best chance I have had in some time to get working. The interview took all of 10 minutes and the person basically gave me the bum's rush. I have been prepping as best I can and this person made me feel like she couldn't wait to get me out of the office. Like I was going to go berserk and start turning over things. Now, I'm back at square one and I am feeling lower than snail shit. If this is what the year is going to be like, I may have to consider swallowing a handgun at some point.

A number of years ago, I stopped drinking. When I did, I was about as good as a high functioning drunk as you would ever find. I used to down about a case a night at my peak. If you can think of it, chances are I've imbibed it at some point. I stopped cold turkey because I was tired of literally pissing my money away. That was over 14 years ago. I do still have a beer from time to time, but that's about it. Days like this really drive me close to crawling back into the bottle and not coming out until after Groundhog's day. Truth of the matter is, I'm too poor to go on a bender, so here I sit.

Stupid, broke and not sure where to turn next.

Happy fucking new year. Whee.

I'm Back.....Miss Me?

2008-01-08T10:30:00.000-05:00

Probably not. But that's OK too.
So how was everyone's holiday? Hope you survived the drinking and eating binges that you all had at one point or another. Me? I'm fine. No serious injuries to speak of.

Where have I been, you might ask? Well, my initial time after Christmas was spent trying to get my wife's computer up and running. I had her brother build her one so we can play WoW together. It was her wish for the past few months and I was able to pull this off with JR's help. Even got her to cry when she saw it. She said that she was crying because she never thought it could happen. So, after some stops and starts, we now have 2 computers. One for her and one just for me. Makes it much easier to download porn now.

I have not spent as much time as I wanted to reading comics. Money and time were major constraints on me. I did get there last week and thanks to Shawn, I was able to purchase my books. I plan to put up a posting later on in the week about everything that has come out lately. Not the "One more day" crap though. I think that Jim and Shawn have said it much better and more eloquently than I can.

However, I will say one thing. I took some heat about my roasting of Joe Quesada for inflicting his opinion on the characters. After reading this, I stand by my comments. Someone asked me if I thought he should be fired for this, as they thought he should. I disagree. In the ledger of what Quesada has done right and wrong, this is a big check in the wrong column. However, he has done a lot of things right. He has brought great writers and artists to Marvel. He has overseen some rebirths that have made the character fun to read again (Cap, Daredevil, Iron Fist). So while I don't give him a pass on the OMD crap, I don't think it's that egregious to warrant a firing.

But he is on notice.
Thanks for stopping by and hopefully this will be the start of a lot more to come!

Happy Holidays, part 2!

2007-12-26T19:32:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-12-20T20:30:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-17T10:06:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-17T00:04:00.001-05:00

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....

2007-12-11T07:42:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-08T09:09:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-05T20:38:00.000-05:00

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.....

2007-12-04T12:01:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-03T00:10:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-11-27T13:20:00.000-05:00

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

2007-11-23T01:04:00.000-05:00

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

2007-11-21T05:37:00.000-05:00

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.....

2007-11-08T06:21:00.000-05:00

...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"

2007-11-03T21:38:00.000-04:00

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

2007-11-02T08:10:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-28T16:56:00.000-04:00

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.....

2007-10-23T08:00:00.000-04:00

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?.....

2007-10-22T11:07:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-19T22:56:00.000-04:00

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.

2007-10-19T01:51:00.000-04:00

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?

2007-10-11T11:22:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-06T22:15:00.000-04:00

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!

2007-10-04T12:53:00.000-04:00

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...

2007-09-30T01:48:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-27T01:45:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-25T05:54:00.000-04:00

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.

2007-09-21T05:28:00.000-04:00

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!

2007-09-17T11:15:00.001-04:00

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.

Baltimore Comic-Con 2007

2007-09-10T14:41:00.000-04:00

Well, I've managed to survive another Comic-con. I thought I would give you some thoughts and impressions from someone who was there as a fan and worker.

First off, they moved it into another part of the convention center and expanded it. A nice, spread out feeling with the artists and major sponsors having their part and dealers having another. You didn't have to worry about lines for artists (such as Jim Lee) interfering with your booth and lines of sight.

Secondly, the artists. On the whole, it seemed that the artists were genuinely happy to be there and were very friendly. I had an opportunity to talk with Scott Kurtz to thank him for coming and get a drawing (will post that later). He was very happy to be there and thanked me for the patronage of his book (PvP) and website. The convention was under somewhat of a sad note with the sudden death of Mike Weiringo last month, but the artists did a great job working with and contributing to the SPCA, one of his favorite charities. All the artists, both major stars and rising indy stars gave of their time to help out. Kudos to all of them.

On a minor complaint, I had several people come up and ask why Marvel did not have a presence at the show. Like I work for the show promoter or something. I do not know why they didn't. They had a panel there on Saturday, but in all honesty, it sounds like it was boring as hell. DC and Image have been major sponsors and brought big name talent to the show. Dark Horse had a small presence there and hopefully it will increase over time. Considering Marvel is based in New York, and in close proximity to Baltimore, maybe they will start to rethink coming with some major people. My hope, but just not sure.

On to the business side of things. I was running the Cosmic Comix booth on Sunday, and I have never seen it that busy. Not a mad rush, mind you, but a steady flow of people over the course of the day. The last few years it's died down so quick that you're checking your watch to see how early you can load out. Not this year. We were steady until almost 3:30, which is great on a Sunday. And considering how busy we were compared to some of our boothmates, it was a fun Sunday. I will have something to say about some of the dealers who come to the show in the next post as well.

Overall, a great show. The crew who work and develop the con deserve a round of applause for not only an enjoyable show, but for making the whole experience a smooth one, at least for me.

Some thoughts and feelings

2007-09-07T05:23:00.000-04:00

Hey gang. I have a somewhat busy weekend ahead of me so I thought I would put some thoughts and general things down for you to discuss.

I once heard an old comedian say " did you ever get the feeling that the world was a black tie dinner and you were a pair of brown wing tips?" I know that most of you may not get the joke, but at the moment I am feeling that way. Out of place, unsure of why the hell I am here, and wondering where I fit in if at all. I know, I know. Bitching on a blog? Wow what a rarity. But as I said, it's how I'm feeling. I am a lucky man, I realize that. I have a tremendous wife that loves me so much it scares me at times. I have friends that seem to like me, or at least tolerate my ass. I have a caring family that still gets together once in a while. But right now I feel like a turd in a punch bowl. Disgusting and best forgotten by all who see it, if they see it at all. Not a happy way to start a posting, but hang in there. It gets better (at least I hope it does).

This weekend is the big Baltimore Comic-Con. If you're going down on Sunday, be sure to stop by the Cosmic Comix booth and say hi. I'll be the guy closely resembling the comic book guy from the Simpsons. I look forward to this every year, not so much for the work, but to check out what the rest of the comic world has going on. I must admit to being somewhat geeked (poor choice of words) at the fact that some of my favorite artists will be there. The Kubert brothers as well as their dad are supposed to be there. Scott Kurtz, creator of PvP, will also be there and I look forward to meeting he and his wife again. But the fanboy moment for me will be if I get the chance to meet John Romita, both Junior and Senior. I have long been a Spider-Man fan, and they have been the premier artists to help shape his look. To be able to JRJR sign the 9/11 issue of Spider-Man would be the ultimate in my collection. I can only hope I don't crap myself if the opportunity arises.

Lastly, FOOTBALL IS BACK!!!!! One of the bad things that usually happens is that I miss the opening Ravens game to work the show. Not this year. Monday night, baby! Those who know me well enough know that I live and die with the team. This year I hold no illusions about the upcoming season. The Ravens are in a tough division and a tougher conference. If they can make the playoffs, nice. Get to the conference championship, terrific. Super Bowl? Well then I would have to be dreaming, but it's a nice dream to have.

OK that's it for now. have to try and get my head into some sort of place where I can do what's expected of me for the weekend. Later!

2 Years?!?!?

2007-09-01T09:27:00.001-04:00

About 2 years ago I embarked on something that I thought was interesting and different. I was asked to be on the inaugural panel of the Cosmic Comix webcast. There was no title for it, at least to me there wasn't. It was an informal discussion of the comics and the events surrounding them. The panel consisted of myself, Rusty the store owner, Brandon his faithful employee, and I believe either Jim Martin or James McGuinn. The haze of time tends to fog my brain. It was an interesting start. It felt like a normal Wednesday afternoon at the store, with guys bantering about what was good and what sucked. The producer, Ken, just let things fly and as long as we watched our language, the discussion flowed unabated.

Since then the panel has grown. Jim and James are still active and have surpassed me in appearances (Ken stopped keeping track). Others, like Matthew Mann and Greg Flynn, have brought a new and different perspective to the conversation. There have been others who have put in an appearance or two, and they have been welcome additions to the tapestry. We are upon the 2 year anniversary of the show and I feel some conflicting emotions. On the one hand, I am proud that something that seemed to be a "one and done" sort of thing has grown and become popular enough (I think) to still be around for a couple of years. But, on the other hand, the show has morphed into something since it's inception. That's not a bad thing, mind you. When we began, we talked from the heart and let things fly. Now, we have to do more prep work and have some notes to speak from. Again this is not a bad thing. There were times that I stumbled and bumbled my way thru a segment. I still do, but at least I have notes to fall back on.

I am grateful to Rusty and Ken for including me in this endeavor. It's not something to make money off of, just a forum to yell from. It has given me a chance to meet people and make friends like Jim, Matthew, James and Greg. It also has given me the opportunity to reconnect with my best bud in the store, Shawn. At the time of the startup, he was serving his country overseas, in a place best left forgotten. His return home and subsequent visits to the show gave me a recharge in life that I was lacking at the time. Like the others in the show, I look forward to the banter with him and only hope that there will be more with him and the others in the future.

By the way, the show is here if you're curious: http://www.cosmiccomix.com/conversations/index.htm

Been MIA

2007-08-31T05:22:00.000-04:00

Or rather, missing altogether. Sorry about that, but sometimes life not only knocks you down, it stands on your throat until you pass out.

First off, like the new look? I wanted to find something different, yet not the same as Jim's and Shawn's blogs, both of which look way nicer.

I will be doing some posting this weekend on comics and other such fun. I know you await with bated breath. Really, you should see someone about that. It's disgusting.

Labor day is here and you know what that means. Time for the stupid drunks to hit the highway and byways of the land. So to the 95% of us who are smarter than that I say: be careful please. I would hate to see you hurt by a drunk asshat.

Really, I guess I just wanted to check in and let all of you know that I am alive. For the moment anyhow. Things really can change fast. More to come later, promise.

A Murder of Nerds.....

2007-08-20T17:36:00.000-04:00

I don't know what a group of comic fans really would be named, but I thought it was cool. Saturday was a special sort of day. Cosmic Comix had a picnic for all its regular subscribers at Jim's house. This was a great opportunity to meet and greet not only those you encounter on the day you go get your books, but also a chance to meet and talk to those who share your love for comics. Families and loved ones were also invited. But since Cindy and I are house and dog sitting, she couldn't make it.
The usual conversations crew made it there, as expected. Jim's house is a really nice one and he made everyone feel welcome and part of the crew. He and his wife are excellent hosts, and have made every time I visit an enjoyable one. The weather was fantastic. The day was made really great by not only those factors, but by what did and did not happen.
What did happen? Well, besides all that I mentioned above, it was great to talk to those who read what you do and to get their opinions. Whether it was good or bad, it was interesting to discuss what is going on and to find out if what you read is being enjoyed by others. The food and setting was phenomenal. The chance to talk to those you meet once a week outside the store and their families was really nice.
Which leads to something that didn't happen. This picnic was put on by a comic store. You would never had known that if you walked in off the street. Rusty did a great job of letting everyone know that this was an informal "thanks" to all of us who buy the comics week after week, either in rain or snow, mainstream or indy. There was no sale pitch, no strings, just a gathering of people who enjoy his business. That was the greatest thing of all.
OH, and the moon bounce was real cool too.

Enough fantasy, time for a reality check.

2007-08-14T01:33:00.000-04:00

Hey gang. Since no one liked my last posting, or at least didn't like it enough to leave a comment, I am moving back into the real world. Two things happened this weekend that left me feeling at the opposite ends of the spectrum.
On Saturday, my niece Jenny was married. I am very happy for her and Matt, he seems like a really nice guy. I will admit to having a twinge of feeling old. I have been there since just after Jenny hit the atmosphere, and I have watched her grow into a beautiful young woman with a sense of humor. The day was made better for me by two things; first off, the reception was held at Art Donovan's country club. If you don't know who he is, you've never lived in Baltimore. The chance to meet a living legend and to discover that he is the same in person that he projects on TV was amazing. I mean when you think of him, you picture a guy sitting in a bar having a Nattie Boh and telling stories. About an hour into the reception, into the bar comes this man who sits at the bar and has a couple of Schlitz. He was gracious and humble to everyone who stopped and thanked him for the place and his contributions to the community. His humor was self-depreciating, as you would expect from him. To get a picture of my mom and my wife with him and be able to thank him was a real treat. Today's athletes could really learn alot by sitting down with him, having a beer, and just talking about life.
Secondly, I had the chance to see some of my family that I had not had the opportunity to for several years. My uncles and aunts that were able to be here (sorry to hear about your back, Uncle Ron) were sitting at one table and we were able to chew the fat (not the dinner, that was great) about what was going on in their lives. I made a decision to sit with them seeing as they were out-of -towners who didn't know anyone there. It wasn't until later that I figured out that Cindy and I were supposed to sit with my immediate family. So for all of my recent bitching, I guess they wanted us there with them, and for that I am grateful.
Today began on a sad note. Mike Wieringo passed away from a massive heart attack at the age of 44. Mike had been one of my favorite artists since his work on the Flash way back, and I was looking forward to getting an autograph at the Baltimore Comic-Con next month. He was a dynamic artist and he will be sorely missed.
More to come later in the week. Be good to each other out there.

A road to nowhere

2007-08-09T22:40:00.000-04:00

I find myself staring into the brownest eyes I've ever seen in my life. I have a thing for that, as opposed to most men who are suckers for blue eyes. Not me. An ordinary woman with deep brown eyes gets me every time. But I find myself distracted by the fact the between the two eyes is a barrel of a gun pointed straight at my crotch. It's the little things that I overlook that get me into trouble. Like the fact that this woman, this somewhat plain woman who turned out to be a monster in the bedroom is also nuts in the head as well.

Sweat begins to form on us. She's riding me for all she's worth and yet the gun doesn't move from my crotch. She stops for a moment and breathlessly whispers in my ear "I love to see a man come and go at the same time." I realize that for all my arrogance, all my hubris about women and how great I am with them, I only have a few minutes left on this earth. For the briefest of nano-seconds I think "well if I'm going to go, at least I'll go with a smile". As quickly as that thought leaves my head, the overriding thought of the fact that I will never be able to see my family again enters.

She begins again. I am powerless to stop her since I allowed this freak to handcuff me to the bed. Amid the screaming and moaning, my thoughts drift to my kids. Daniel and Rachel were my greatest treasures on this earth and the fact that I have failed them so utterly as a father and role model fills me with a sadness that drives me to tears. Seeing this, she stops. "Come on, it will all be over soon. Don't worry sugar, I'll make your last time the best ever!" My weeping becomes uncontrollable to the point that things begin to happen.

She climbs off and lays beside me. The gun is now laying on the foot of the bed. She asks if she really is that bad and I tell her that I deserve to die for failing my children. She asks their names and goes to my pants for a picture. Upon gazing at their smiling happy faces, she begins to cry herself. She was happily married herself once until she caught him with another woman in their bed. All of her actions since then have been to redeem herself somehow. Five other men have "come and gone" at her hands (or body). None of them showed even the slightest remorse over her or the women they cheated on. But the kids? They were not even in the picture. She reaches for the gun and again straddles me. She looks at me with the brownest eyes in the world and says, "I'm sorry". The sound of gunfire deafens me into a world of white. I awoke 3 hours later with medics pulling a limp naked body off of me and freeing me from the handcuffs. The police tell me that I'm a lucky man.

I never even knew her name.

Family Guy - Best of the Evil Monkey

2007-08-07T02:29:00.001-04:00

OK friends it's video time! Time to show you some of the fun things I love. First up: Family Guy. This is my favorite show and this is one of my favorite characters. Enjoy!

A Guilty Pleasure

2007-08-03T13:48:00.000-04:00

Summertime TV totally sucks. No real programs of interest. But last summer a cheesy oasis appeared in the dessert. "Who wants to be a Superhero" aired for 8 weeks on the Sci-Fi channel and I was hooked from the word go. The characters were somewhat lame, but some of the contestants really seemed earnest about why they wanted to be a superhero. I pimped this show so hard on the Internet (http://www.cosmiccomix.com/conversations) that it became somewhat annoying to the other panelists. The show did well enough to earn a second season and so far the cheese factor is just as good. Now, don't go looking for deep meaning in any of this stuff. It's fluff of the highest order. But as far as reality shows go ( I hate them all!) this is not bad. It's not a long show, only 8 weeks in length so you don't get tired of the players. There are no major rewards, like cars and trips. The grand prize itself is not really all that special to most people. The winner gets a comic done by Stan Lee, a movie based on their character, and this year, and action figure.

Rusty, my bud who owns Cosmic Comix, tried half-heartedly to get yours truly to sign up and try out for this season. After I told him to go take a rectal exam, I realized why I could never do this show. First and foremost, everything I touch turns to absolute crap. No exceptions. So the idea that I could design and carry through with a costume and character is absurd. I also have the crazy idea that I would give comics fans and more importantly my family a bad name and embarrass them. So I sit on Thursday nights at 9 with the most important woman in the world to me (my wife, not my mom. I am happily married despite being a raging geek.) and shut my brain down for an hour. It is a show that families can watch and maybe some of the younger ones can learn some of the values of being a superhero. If they take that and become doctors, policeman, fireman or any of the real life heroes, then this show has worked.

Some random thoughts and stuff....

2007-07-28T12:36:00.000-04:00

Hey there everyone. Time for me to put some thoughts down on to paper and let you, the gentle reader decide how nuts I am.

First off, on a rather personal note, my birthday has come and gone. Yes, I know you are crying in your beer at the thought of not getting me that elusive present. But fear not. I know that you are out there somewhere in the nether regions trying to find a piece of sanity. I only wish that you have a better birthday than yours truly did. It wasn't the worst by any means, but didn't really make me go, "wow am I glad I was born" either. Now, I need to preface this by saying my family has been there for me more times than I can remember. I love them to death and would do just about anything for them. But they really don't understand me. I am not really all that complex, but for some reason, my family just doesn't see it. I know I sound ungrateful. I feel that way too, after all I should be happy I have a family that is close by and willing to put an effort into getting me anything. This will not change in anyway how I feel about them. If it did, I would be one shallow, vain asshat. So now that's of my chest, let's move on.

The trailer for THE DARK KNIGHT has been released. My copy was a bit choppy, but was still enough to get me moist. Check out my good friend Shawn's (naked imagination on the right) website for more info. On a related note, the IRON MAN pictures I have seen posted really have me jazzed to see this. I thought the casting of Robert Downey Jr. was a good call from jump street, and so far it looks like I was actually right on something, for once.

The big comic-con was this week in San Diego. Lots of big news comes out of this magilla, and the one I really got happy about was the casting of Star Trek movie. It's a prequel ( and yes I know that ENTERPRISE technically is a prequel, sheesh dad!) to the original series. The one casting that I have heard of is that Zachary Quinto (Sylar from the show HEROES) is going to play Spock. This is great as I think he can pull off the silent, understated control needed to play the greatest Vulcan ever. I just hope it doesn't take him off of HEROES for too long. That show was really good and has the potential to only get better.

Lastly, this weekend is a big deal in Baltimore. Cal Ripken is being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Some of my family members have made the trek up there and all I can say is:Congrats Cal!

Now, go play in the hot sun and get all sweaty. Remember, showering together can be fun!