Sequential Follies

Geek Brunch 134

2011-05-06T13:21:00.005-05:00

New episode of Geek Brunch up. This week Micah and I discuss:

Ian Churchill’s “Marineman” series, James Stokoe’s “Orc Stain”, Walt Simonson’s Thor Omnibus, Jasper Fforde’s “The Last Dragonslayer” and his “Thursday Next” series as well as Robin Hobb’s Farseer trilogy of books.

In Movies and TV, we dicuss “Fast Five”, the “Social Network” and John Woo’s “Paycheck”. In the TV we cover get serious with “Game of Thrones” and “Dr Who”, and laugh a bit at “Parks and Rec.”

We also discuss out Script Frenzy experiences this year.

Hope you like!

Direct Download

Geek Brunch 132

2011-04-10T20:35:00.006-05:00

Geek Brunch 132. Featuring:

Comic Reviews:

Abattoir #1 review
Grimm Fairy Tales: Myths and Legends #1 and 2 review
Mystery Society #1 review
Silver Surfer #1 review
Crooked Little Vein review
Night Business #1, #2, #3 review

And in movies/tv reviews:

Last Night, Waterworld, Road Warrior, DaVinci’s Inquest, Trailer Park Boys, Threads, The Big Show a Giant’s World, Superman/Shazam, Spectre and Monsters.

Enjoy!!!

Direct Download

Geek Brunch Episode 119

2010-10-07T21:09:00.004-05:00

Geek Brunch 119 - That's What Makes it so Damn Sexy!

Haven't posted in a while. The latest Geek Brunch is out. We start by an indepth discussion of Lars Von Trier's Antichrist... pretenious BS or worth watching? Find out! Warning - we spoil everything. So see it first. It drags at the midpoint, but blows you away in the last act. If you get too bored jump to the hr mark. Then after you watch it, go back and watch the rest. Cuz you'll want to. And if you understand the ending, let us know.

We also cover Bitch Slap, an over the top tittlation flick. Was entertaining. I liked it more that I thought I would. And Survival of the Dead, which we were mixed on.

We also cover a bunch of new shows, and Micah reviews Catfish and the Social Network.

In comics we cover a bunch of stuff, like Crossed Family Values, Superf*ckers, Blacksad (oh, no wait, that was last episode), and uh, I don't remember, look at the show notes.

It was a fun episode to record, so check it out!

Geek Brunch

2010-05-24T21:13:00.004-05:00

If you like comics, or TV, or movies, or food, don't forget to check out Geek Brunch Podcast. This weeks episode:

Why Batman porn is weird!
Why we have high hopes for the new Lapham Crossed series.
What's good in the new line of Disney Comics.
More Iron Man 2 talk - this time, we analyze all the plot holes!
All that and dirty rice!

Feb Previews

2010-02-18T09:42:00.001-06:00

Just a quick note:

THE SPIRIT #1
Written by MARK SCHULTZ Art by MORITAT
Co-feature written by Dennis O’Neil Co-feature art by Bill Sienkiewicz

That's just made of win, win, win, and win.

Weird Twits

2010-01-20T15:29:00.004-06:00

It's weird when a chain of unrelated tweets on Twitter seems to be related, for example:

Person 1: How to make sure your Thai food is as spicy as it's supposed to be. http://ow.ly/YJwf
Person 2: and...boom goes the dynamite.
Person 1: My head is pounding for some reason.
Person 3: Looks like we're goin' to Qboba tonight!
Person 2: Feast of fools
Person 4: I frown on restaurants that don't take reservations. It's an insult to the dining public.

And none of these were replies, or even related to one another. Hah! Funny (to me at least)

Update

2010-01-20T15:27:00.001-06:00

Heh, been a while...

I'll try to update more often, but meanwhile, you can catch me on
www.geekbrunchpodcast.com

Woot!

Previews Comic picks June 2009

2009-06-11T12:58:00.001-05:00

DMZ TP VOL 07 WAR POWERS – I’m behind on this, but it’s awesome
DOOM PATROL #1 - Woo! Love me some Doom Patrol!
LAST DAYS OF ANIMAL MAN #4 (OF 6) – Woo! Love me some Animal Man!
REBELS #7 – Is awesome
WEDNESDAY COMICS #5-8 – Probably getting these
NEW MUTANTS #4 – Woo! Love me some New Mutants (what’s with all these revivals?)
BP COMICS REVIVAL PX 3 PAK #1 – Injury #3 and 2 #1’s. I love Injury, and look forward to checking out the #1’s. Sure, I’m being semi-forced to get them, but it’s understandable given Diamonds new rules. Plus I want them anyway.
CEREBUS ARCHIVE #3 – Love this kind of thing.
COMPLETE ESSEX COUNTY TP – Read the first trade and have been wanted to get the rest. Jeff Lemire is great.
DARKNESS PITT #1 KEOWN CVR A – Finally!
ELEPHANTMEN TP VOL 02 DAMAGED GOODS – Collection of the Marian Churchland issues. Might get it for the extras, even though I have the single issues.
IRREDEEMABLE TP VOL 01 – Loved #1.
KING CITY #1 – Pick of the month!!!! I loooooooooove King City! This reprints the TokyoPop v1, plus will continue into the unpublished v2 and 3.
LOCKE & KEY TP VOL 01 WELCOME TO LOVECRAFT – Been waiting for this. Shoulda just got the HC…
NANA TP VOL 18 – Woo!
NORTH 40 #2 (OF 6) – Aaron Williams of P.S. 238 fame (which I looooooooove)
OCEANVERSE #1 – Online comic collected. Looks awesome.
OISHINBO GN VOL 05 VEGETABLES – I’ve been wanting to check this out, and being a vegetarian, this one makes sense to get
TALES OF TMNT #61 – Tristan Jones issues of this series have been good, and Andrew Ponce art looks good as well.
TITANIUM RAIN DOUBLE-SIZED RELAUNCH #1 & #2 – I liked #1, and love the concept, so I’m interested in seeing this series continue. Awesome photo realistic art.
UMBRELLA ACADEMY TP VOL 02 DALLAS – Still need to read V1…. (ducks)
WET MOON GN VOL 05 – Ross Campbell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybes:
ALCHOLIC SC – Been wanted to check this out.
ARCHIE #600 – Archie gets married, or engaged.
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA OMNIBUS TP VOL 01 – Any good?
DAREDEVIL #500 – Backup Nocenti story!
FANTASTIC FOUR #570 – First Hickman issue.
GI JOE SPECIAL HELIX – New character.
JERSEY GODS TP VOL 01 ID LIVE & ID DIE FOR YOU – Not sure if this was any good, I liked #1
MYSTIC COMICS #1 70TH ANNIV SPECIAL – David Lapham!
OLD MAN WINTER & OTHER SORDID TALES GN – This looks really good.
SHOWCASE PRESENTS WARLORD TP VOL 01 – Will have to pick this up someday.

More on Podcasts

2009-06-04T21:56:00.006-05:00

Back to Podcasts, if you're not into comics (gasp) but are into music, I'd recommend my favorite Rock podcast, the Rock Dungeon. Hosted by Heath and Michael, the show covers music news, music reviews, and indepth coverage of select bands and band histories. Earlier episodes were actually dedicated to specific bands (one per show), but more recently the guys have been covering more ground each episode. Take a look at the earlier shows to see if there's a band they cover that you are into - the shows are really good. I highly recommend the Dio episode.

What I like most about the show is the humour and personalities of the hosts. They are regular guys, one bringing the humour, one bringing the knowledge (not that the others are lacking in each area, rather, each brings specific talents to the table). So this comes highly recommended. If you like rock, or metal, give it a try.

The bands covered tend to range from harder to more hair band stuff. Typically they play a couple bands I like, and a couple I don't, but that's actually a pretty good ratio for me. Plus I've discovered some new bands (like Rainbow) I now love, so even if the hosts sucked, it would still be worth it. Actually, that's not true, I've heard some other podcasts that I've stopped listening to 5 minutes in because the hosts were awful, good music or no.

But the Rock Dungeon does not suck, quite the opposite. It is the real deal, give it a try!

May 09 Preview Comics Picks

2009-05-12T17:40:00.000-05:00

3 STORY SECRET HISTORY OT GIANT MAN – New Matt Kindt (Super Spy) book, about a man who keeps growing, and how he tries to deal with it. Can’t wait!
DETECTIVE COMICS #855 – Getting this for the JH Williams are. Check it: http://ruckawriter.livejournal.com/67138.html
ENGINEER HC – Awesome art, and cheap to boot! This is another ASP book that skipped the issues and went straight to HC.
MIDDLEMAN DOOMSDAY ARMAGEDDON APOCALYPSE GN – Loved the show, of show, of which this is a continuation. DVD coming soon as well!
MOUSE GUARD HC VOL 02 WINTER 1152 – No doubt.
NOCTURNALS HC VOL 02 DARK FOREVER AND OTHER TALES – First HC was beautiful!
NOIR TP VOL 01 – Top notch creators, worth a look. Stray Bullets!!!!!!!!!!!
NORTH 40 #1 (OF 6) - Aaron Williams! (PS238!!)
PROOF TP VOL 03 THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO – I’m Loving this series.
SHOWCASE PRESENTS ECLIPSO TP – I like Eclipso, so I might as well get versed in his origin for cheap.
THE CONTINGENT #3 – Zack Kruse super power kids story, a bit slow so far, but I’m digging it.
UNKNOWN SOLDIER TP VOL 01 HAUNTED HOUSE – Heard good rap on this one.
WEDNESDAY COMICS – Not sure if I’ll just get a couple, or just go for it. Oversized (4x) pages. Should be awesome. Kyle Baker Hawkman!

And the maybes:
28 DAYS LATER #1 – Continuation of the movie
BIG KAHN – Neil Kleid book about a Rabbi who finds out he isn’t Jewish: http://www.nbmpub.com/comicslit/big_kahn/pre1.html
DREAMER TP VOL 01 CONSEQUENCE OF NATHAN HALE – Web comic I’m interested in, not sold on yet. http://thedreamercomic.com/?page_id=26
IMPOSTERS DAUGHTER TRUE MEMOIR HC – Story of a daughter who finds out he fathers tales of his life we all lies.
KILLING PICKMAN DOUBLE-SIZED #3 & #4 – Glad it’s back, but I’m waiting for the HC
MUPPET SHOW TP – (Still need to read this)
SURROGATES TP VOL 02 FLESH & BONE – Prequel
TMNT 25TH ANNIVERSARY BY KEVIN EASTMAN, TMNT COLLECTED BOOK TP VOL 01, TMNT FUTURE TENSE TP VOL 01 – Not sure what I’m going to do here. I have the original issues, and know nothing of the Archie Future Tense series. Too kiddie?
TROUBLE WITH KATIE ROGERS GN VOL 01 – I know nothing of this, but it looked interesting. APE’s shot at the manga crowd?

That’s the mains, there are a few other titles I’m getting regularly. Big month. Hard on budget. Wife no like.

Feb 2009 Previews Comic Picks

2009-02-07T09:49:00.002-06:00

Here are my picks for Feb 2009; the comics I am planning on pre-ordering from the Preview catalog for comics shipping in April.

ACE-FACE MOD WITH METAL ARMS GN – I love Mike Dawson’s stuff, like his auto-bio Freddie and Me, so I have no doubt this will rock.
BAYOU TP VOL 01 – I’m not much for online comics, except for the ability to check things out before buying them in hard copy form, so that, predictably, is what I did with this one. I read the first chapter, and wow, it was good. I love the art.
CARS ROOKIE #2 (OF 4) – For my daughter
CEREBUS ARCHIVE #1 – Super excited for this one; Back history of Cerebus. Kind of like After Cerebus, but with more early art and archival content.
ELEPHANTMEN #18 – Resolicited, this is a must get – Marian Churchland art in this 3 parter. She even colored the whole thing herself with markers. Looks awesome.
HARKER #2 – I’m giving this one a shot; hopefully is doesn’t get cut by Diamond half way through…
HOTWIRE #3 (OF 5) – From the creator of Sharkman!
IGNITION CITY #1 (OF 5) – New Ellis story. I usually get the #1’s of these to check them out.
IRREDEEMABLE #1 – Super hero turns villain by Mark Waid, worth checking out.
LITERALS #1 – Dunno about this one, a 9 part Fables\Literals\Jack crossover – hopefully they’ll put them all in trade.
NANA TP VOL 16 – Still my favorite manga.
NIGHT SCHOOL GN VOL 01 – Yay! From the creator of Dramacon! About a school for “vampires, demons, and weirns, a special breed of witches”. Dramacon was awesome, so I can’t wait for this. It was originally serialized in Yen-Plus magazine, and got great reviews. I’ll get all of Svetlana Chmakova stuff, she’s one of the creators I’ll automatically collect everything she does.
OZ WONDERLAND CHRONICLES JACK & CAT TALES #1 – Re-offered. I’ve only read the special they did, but I loved it, so I’m picking up any of these series.
RESURRECTION TP VOL 01 – I read the first issue and enjoyed it. The story takes place in a world after the alien invaders leave and humanity has to clean up the pieces and rebuilt. Plus, it’s only 6 bucks!!!
SI AFTERMATH BETA RAY BILL GREEN OF EDEN #1 – Dude, Beta Ray Bill and Dan Brereton art? Hah! Just inject it into my eyes please.
SUPER HUMAN RESOURCES #3 (OF 4) – Continuing the series about an office of Super Heroes.
WARLORD #1 – Written, but not drawn by Mike Grell.
WOLVERINE WEAPON X #1 – Jason Aaron Wolverine. Sounds good to me.

Podcasts

2009-01-21T22:05:00.003-06:00

Over the last 3 years, I've taken to listening to comic podcasts quite regularly. I have been listening to talk radio here in Chicago for many years, ever since moving here in '88 and first hearing Steve Dahl and Garry Meier, so making the jump to podcasts wasn't that far a leap.

The first comic podcast I started listening to regularly, and one I still listen to, is Comic Geek Speak. They are one of the bigger comic podcasts, and have what seems to be a sizable audience; large enough in fact to support an annual convention\gathering in PA. Being into independant comics, another I listen to one regularly is one specialized in that area - Indie Spinner Rack.

Earlier this year, I started listening to another show, which has rapidly become one of, if not my favorite podcast, Geek Brunch. It follows what I find to be a unique and interesting format... for *most* shows, the two hosts, Heath and Mike, have on a guest host. They each talk about the lastest things they have been reading, watching, and eating. So the conversation, in each area, is a combination of review, humor, and general discussion. Essentially, a discussion of all things geeky, or at least, all things geeky in the areas of comics, tv, movies, and food.

One of the things I like about the show is the attitudes of the hosts; both are into the fun of comics, and geeky things, and their love of the medium shines through in each episode.

Each show I've mentioned also has a great forum community at the Comic Forums. Typically, the guests on Geek Brunch come from their forum, which brings me to the main reason I'm writing this, I am happy to announce I recently made my podcast debut on episide 76 of the Geek Brunch podcast. So if you are interested in hearing me ramble about what I love, give it a shot. It was an interesting experience, and something I plan to do again. I only hope the listeners enjoy it as much as I... probably not, but that's ok too.

Read The Uniques #1 for FREE!

2009-01-16T20:18:00.002-06:00

The Uniques is a great independent Superhero comic that I discovered last year. The creators just made the digital version of the first issue free! Go check it out, you might dig it.

September 2008 Previews comic picks

2008-09-24T09:51:00.000-05:00

Kind of a slow month, but some good stufF:

2008 Comic Geek Speak Listener Anthology – I’m a big CGS fan (comicgeekspeak podcast), so I suppose these greatly.
DARKNESS TP VOL 01 ACCURSED – I enjoyed the couple of issues of this that I read, plus this is super cheap! Easy pick.
GOBLIN CHRONICLES TP VOL 01 – I enjoyed this fun little series about a goblin kid charged with saving the world, along with 3 other kids of various species. Nice art.
GREATEST AMERICAN HERO #1 (OF 6) – Oh yeah.
HALO & SPROCKET TP VOL 02 NATURAL CREATURES – Loved the first trade, definitely check it out if you see it, read the first few pages and you’ll be hooked. This is about a robot and an angel living with a female human, and the different ways they view the world. Fun discussions between the 3.
HEADLOCKED TRYOUT #2 (OF 3) – Haven’t got #1 yet, but I’m sure I’ll enjoy this based on the original one-shot.
HULK #8 – Art Adams, woo!
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #27 SIGHTINGS – Milestone!
OZ WONDERLAND CHRONICLES JACK & CAT TALES #1 – I’m an Oz sucker, and loved the special, so I’m all in with this series.
SANDMAN DREAM HUNTERS #1 (OF 4) – I’m probably get the trade if this is any good, Sandman was my favorite series back when it was coming out.
SRG PRESENTS WOLVES OF ODIN ONE SHOT – Vikings vs. Werewolves, with awesome looking art.
FARSCAPE #1 – I was going to trade wait, but I love Farscape, so I’ll get it now.
GAUZE #1 – About a killer presuming a girl, this intrigues me enough to check it out.

King City V2

2008-07-10T21:46:00.002-05:00

So with the shakeup at Tokyopop, it looks like King City v2 might not get printed by them. If that does not happen, someone else better bring it out. v1 was my favorite book of 2007, and I can't wait to hold v2 (which, acc to Brandon, will be even bigger that planned.)

In the meantime, Brandon has put the first 12 pages online; yay!!!! But seriously, I need this thing in my hands!

Actually, I also need to buy another copy of v1 since my copy is worn from over reading :)

And one down note

2008-07-10T11:36:00.002-05:00

One down note to the Tokyopop hardcovers -- because of issues between Ross Campbell and Tokyopop, Ross' series Abandoned won't be going any further, which means no V2 or 3, and no nice big oversized hardcover full of Ross' great art and story. :(

July 2008 Comic Previews Picks

2008-07-09T20:40:00.000-05:00

Wow, this month is too amazing. I’m way over budget, but there isn’t much I can cut! 4 Hardcovers, ak!

ARCHER & ARMSTRONG FIRST IMPRESSIONS HC – This was my favorite Valiant series, I’ve been hoping this would be coming out soon. Gotta love BWS.
COMIC FOUNDRY MAGAZINE FALL 2008
CROGANS VENGEANCE GN – Chris Schweizer is a regular on the Indie Spinner Rack forum, and this looks great. Chris has a real fun style. Preview
DARK IVORY #4 (OF 4) – I’m digging this one a lot.
DRAMACON ULTIMATE ED HC – Ah! Another must get Tokyopop HC! What are they trying to do to me? Dramacon is a must get, even though I have the trades. It’s about a young girl in artists alley at an Anime convention, selling her mini-comic. It really captures what it’s like being at a con. It starts at her 1st year (and her 1st con experience), and each volume is a consecutive year. Comics, insider jokes, and of course romance; hence the title. I’m a sucker for manga romance, so that and geek culture and there’s no getting me back. Can’t wait.
GLAMOURPUSS #3
GREATEST HITS #1 (OF 6) – This looks awesome.
LAGOON HC – Lilli Carre! I loves Tales of Woodsman Pete, so this is a no brainer.
PUNK ROCK & TRAILER PARKS GN – By Derf. I loved his Dahlmer book, and I love punk rock, so there you go.
RASL #3 – Love this too.
ROBERTS #2 (OF 2) – Worth a shot I guess.
SECRET SIX #1
TEZUKAS BLACK JACK PX HC VOL 01 – Love me some Tezuka! Preview
TOKEN – JOELLE JONES!!!!!! Must get. Joelle’s art is all kinds of awesome. There’s a pre-grey toned preview on her blog
WASTELAND #20 – Another stand alone I think.
INDIE SPOTLIGHT THE MAXX AF – Heh. Ok, maybe I could cut this.
WOLVERINE FIRST CLASS #7 – Golden art? Ok!
OMEGA THE UNKNOWN PREM HC – Yay! Been hoping for a nice HC. Too bad it’s not oversized.
BONE HALLOWEEN MINI COMIC BUNDLE 2008 – I’m so excited to share the love this Halloween!
COWA! HALLOWEEN MINI COMIC BUNDLE 2008 – And one for the younger kiddies.

July Previews Picks

2008-06-16T13:43:00.002-05:00

Some good stuff this month; 3 oversized Hardcovers!

AIR #1 - New Vertigo series, gonna check it out since Vertigo rarely disappoints.

BOYS CLUB #1 – Not sure how to describe this one, but it looked interesting, and got some good reviews. Teenage monsters Andy, Brett, Landwolf, and Pepe are always 'drinkin', stinkin', and never thinkin'.' These four best friends spend their day-to-day lives together playing Nintendo, eating pizza, and having the occasional psychedelic metamorphosis.

GOLLY #1 – Phil Hester book with Satan working at a sideshow. I picked this the first time is was solicited… hope it comes out this time!

I LUV HALLOWEEN ULTIMATE TWISTED ED – Oversized (for a manga) HC of this very strange Keith Giffen, Ben Roman series. Now in color, which should be good, judging from Ben’s color are on Cryptics.

INVINCIBLE HC VOL 04 ULTIMATE COLL – Love these.

LOCAL HC – Was waiting for this collection. The HC is oversized, and has a bunch of extras, so I’ll get it in this format.

NANA TP VOL 12 – Yay!

ROBERTS #1 (OF 2) – Gonna try this one, since the preview in Previews looked good. The Boston Strangler and the Zodiac Killer are alive and well, living amongst the old and dying of The Shady Lane Retirement Center.

RUNAWAYS 3 #1 – Terry Moore and Humberto Ramos. Sold!

SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE SEASON 2 #1 – Terry Moore and t Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts). Sold!

TERRY MOORES ECHO TP VOL 01 SILVER RAIN – Terry Moore and Terry Moore. Sold! I can’t wait for this one!

VICTORIAN HORRORS OF OLD MAUCH CHUNK #1 – Seems interesting this one, about a PA town.

X-MEN ORIGINS JEAN GREY – Sean McKeever, and awesome looking art.

May Previews Pick

2008-05-16T21:07:00.001-05:00

Brutal previews this month! With out a doubt the best in a long time. I’m going to be way above my limit on this one, there are just too many good things coming out. And the Top Shelf blog called this a very weak month! Hah!

AMERICAN FLAGG DEFINITIVE COLL HC 1 – Howard Chaykin’s seminal work finally re-released in HC. This has been on the horizon for years, and I glad it’s finally getting released.
AMERICAS BEST COMICS PRIMER TP – A cheap trade of I think 5 Americas Best Comics #1’s. Why not?
ATHENA VOLTAIRE TP VOL 02 FLIGHT O/T FALCON – The second Athena trade. Oft compared to Indiana Jones. I’ve only read a couple of issues, so I’m looking forward to reading the whole story.
BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM #1 – A Shazam comic for kids. Looks fun.
CONTRACT #1 (OF 3) – Sci-Fi story with an interesting premise.
HALO & SPROCKET TP VOL 02 NATURAL CREATURES – I loved the first H&S trade – it’s about a girl who lives with an angel and a robot. Very smart and very funny.
I KILL GIANTS #1 (OF 7) – A girl with a Norse hammer who claims she kills giants. Awesome looking art.
MINI MARVELS TP VOL 01 ROCK PAPER SCISSORS DIGEST – Always dug these, especially the Civil War ones, which I’m not sure if they are included in this.
NOCTURNALS CARNIVAL OF BEASTS (ONE SHOT) – Me loves me some Nocturnals, new HC this winter I think.
PERRY BIBLE FELLOWSHIP ALMANACK HC – One of the best web comics.
PILOT SEASON THE CORE #1 – Jonathan Hickman – sold!
RUNNERS BIG SNOW JOB #2 – New Runners series continues.
SPAWN NEO NOIR TP – I dunno, I read one of this storyline and liked it. Good hype as well.
TITANIUM RAIN #1 (OF 12) – Yay! New Kat and Josh series! I loved Utopiates and this one looks to be even better. Check out the art on their site.
TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN HC - New Alex Robinson story about a guy who goes back in time to HS. Ultimate concept, I love it.
UNIVERSAL WAR ONE #1 (OF 6) – Another Marvel EU comic. Need to check it out.
ZOT TP VOL 01 COMP BLACK & WHITE STORIES 1987 TO 1991 – Ah, Zot. I have some of the trades, but this appears to be a nicer version.

April Previews Comic Picks

2008-04-20T13:49:00.002-05:00

BIZARRE NEW WORLD TP VOL 01 FLYING MAN DISCOVERED – Yay! I’ve been waiting for this. Loved the first issue.
COMIC FOUNDRY MAGAZINE SUMMER 2008
COMICS NOW #3
CONAN THE CIMMERIAN #0 – Cheap, why not?
CONTRACT #0 – Ditto.
HACK SLASH SERIES #13 GRAHAM CVR B – Brandon Graham cover!!!!!!!!!!!
KYLE BAKER NAT TURNER SC – I like Kyle, but typically don’t like wordless stuff.
MADAME XANADU #1 – Always up for a new Vertigo series.
NANA TP VOL 11 – Keep ‘em coming.
NEW YORK FOUR – Brian Wood be good. I know it's for the teens, but that never seems to stop me.
PUNISHER MAX LITTLE BLACK BOOK – On the fench on this one. The writer gets good hype so I’ll probably bite.
RED MASS FOR MARS #1 (OF 4): Just got around to reading Pax Romana #1 and loved it. I can’t wait to see what’s next from Hickman.
SKAAR SON OF HULK #1 – Why not?
SPARKS #1 (OF 8) – Gotta support the Hero.
STATION #1 (OF 5) – I thought this sounded interesting the first time it was solicited.
STRAW MEN #1 – Sounds interesting.
SUPERIOR SHOWCASE #3 – Love this series.
SUPERMAN #677 – Uh, oh, cause of Robinson writing this.
SWORD TP VOL 01 – Not sure about this, I liked the first issue, and I’ve always been curous about Luna Bros stuff.
WAR HEROES #1 – Near concept. Military recruits given Superpowers.
WOLVERINE #66 – Neat concept. Future Wolverine tale. Art looks nice too.
ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY HC #18 - Thinking about this, although I’d rather have the next Rusty Brown story.
FREDDIE & ME GN COMING OF AGE BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY – Pick of the month! I love Mike’s stuff. See Superior Showcase #1.

March 2008 Comic Previews Picks

2008-03-15T14:48:00.000-05:00

March 2008 Preview Picks. Nice selection this month, going to be hard to stay at my limit, shucks ;)

ANGEL REVELATIONS #1 (OF 5) – I’m a fan of Angel back from my X-Factor days, so this origin series definitely interests me.
BATMAN GOTHAM AFTER MIDNITE #1 – Will probably get this, Steve Niles and Kelley Jones art, which looks rad.
BODY COUNT SC – Trade of the Image TMNT series by Eastman and Biz; not sure, I’ve been meaning to check this out. Plus I think it’s oversized.
DEAN KOONTZS FRANKENSTEIN VOL 01 #1 (OF 5) PRODIGAL SON – I used to read Koontz books back in college, so I don’t think I can pass this up.
IN ODD WE TRUST GN – Ditto this. One of these is written by Koontz as well. Nice.
DEMO TP – Read one issue of this and liked it; was waiting for the collection.
HOUSE OF MYSTERY #1 – Love new Vertigo stuff.
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #1 – Iron Man + Fraction, I’ll bite.
JOHNNY DYNAMITE TP – New print of Max Allen Collins and Terry Beatty trade; I guess this doesn’t have the red ink that the original series had.
JUDENHASS GN – New Dave Sim book on the holocaust. No brainer.
PROOF TP VOL 01 GOATSUCKER – I wasn’t blown away by the first issues, but I’m interested in seeing where this went. Pretty cheap, so why not. I think I was just put off bit by the first one, since I am a skeptic and don’t believe in this monsters stuff. But, I can suspend my disbelief when if comes to fiction, and since the “monsters are real?” stuff was in the back matter, that most likely won’t be in the trade I should enjoy this more. Hm, liking the trade because it does not have back matter, heh.
RUNNERS BIG SNOW JOB #1 (OF 6) – New Runners series, this time in color! Great! I really liked the first series, and color really suits this stuff, from what I’ve seen. Can’t wait.
SKYSCRAPERS O/T MIDWEST HC – Yes, wasn’t expecting this, and a nice HC even, great!
UMBRELLA ACADEMY APOCALYPSE SUITE TP -
This blew everyone away, so I have to get this.
USAGI YOJIMBO TP VOL 22 TOMOES STORY – I sporadically get the Usagi trades, but I’ll definitely pick this one up due to the inclusion of the Usagi Yojimbo Color Specials #1-3, which, as no one knows, contain Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy stories! I loved their special in the 80’s, and I’ve been meaning to pick up the color specials for this reason. One of the Usagi issues in this has been called the best Usagi story ever, so this should be a good package.
WOLVERINE AMAZING IMMORTAL MAN BLOODY TALES – Written by David Lapham, not sure on this yet. Still need to read his last Wolverine tale.
X-MEN ORIGIN COLOSSUS – Ah, Colossus, another favorite. Gimme!

Punisher sketch

2008-03-01T10:20:00.002-06:00

While it's true I'm mostly and indie guy, I have a love for some super heros from my youth. One such love is for the Punisher, based on the Zeck covers, and the amazing Janson run.

So now, whenever I get a sketch, I typically like to get the Punisher.

Recently DCBS has been offering, or rather, artists have been offering, through DCBS, free sketchs with the purchase of some items. A while back, one such item was the new Horrorwood trade by BRANDON TERRELL & BRENT SCHOONOVER. I asked Brent for a Punisher, and got a doozy.

Thanks Brent, can't wait to read the trade (actually trades, since I haven't had a chance to read Astronaut Dad yet.)

Feb 2008 Comic Previews Picks

2008-02-11T15:12:00.000-06:00

Time again for my comic pick from the Feb issue of Previews (and time again for a post apprarantly, since this is all I seem to be able to post these days).

Pretty good month, although deceptive. At first glance not a lot, but man it adds up quick!

Pick of the Month:

WATER BABY – Finally!!! This was supposed to come out last year, but kept getting delayed. What is this? It’s Ross Campbell’s new book, for Minx. New Ross Campbell is always a cause for celebration. See Wet Moon, and the awesome zombie tale, Abandoned.

Zee rest:

FABLES TP VOL 10 THE GOOD PRINCE – Need to catch up on reading these, but no doubt worth getting.
GLAMOURPUSS #1 – Dave Sims return to comics (besides Following Cerebus); I enjoy Following Cerebus, and am interested in seeing what this new book is about - hard to tell from the solicitations and website; could go many different ways, knowing Sim.
GNOME ONE SHOT – Preview at http://www.superrealgraphics.com; looks interesting, and is a cheap 1 shot. Free sketch thru DBCS!
GOBLIN CHRONICLES #3 (OF 3) – Completing the series
GREEN LANTERN TALES OF THE SINESTRO CORPS HC – Not sure on this one; might wait for the SC, or Absolute, or something.
GUNPLAY GN – Winner of Comic Book Challenge, preview was solicited last month; might wait until I read that. I think this was originally going to be a mini-series, interesting that they went straight for the trade. Actually, this is close to my preferred way of doing it – gimme a cheap preview, so I can check it out, then the trade. I’d rather the solicitation for the trade come out after the preview is released, but I understand the back to back releases for the stores.
INJURY COMICS #2 – Liked the first issue, from the pot story to Heracles, nice stuff.
NANA TP VOL 10 – Always happy to see another volume of this.
NOVA #12– The return of Warlock from New Mutants! I LOVE Warlock! Yay!
PUNISHER PREM HC CIRCLE OF BLOOD – This series first came out back when I was first starting to really get into comics. This was THE series to get, what with the awesome Zeck covers (which also became the Posters to get); I’m thrilled to be able to own this in a nice HC.
SAND CHRONICLES GN VOL 02 – Still need to read V1.
SUPERMAN WORLD OF KRYPTON TP – Haven’t seen this mentioned anywhere. This collects the Byrne WOK mini-series, which I liked, and some WOK backup stories. Not sure about this one.
THOREAU AT WALDEN SC – John Porcellino book about Thoreau writing Walden, I think with all quotes from Walden. I like Thoreau, and I’ve been meaning to check out Porcellino, so I’ll probably get this.
X-O MANOWAR BIRTH HC – I’m pretty much guaranteed to get all of these Valiant HC’s, since I was a big fan. But where’s the Archer and Armstrong? Come on guys! Oh, and glad to hear the legal stuff regarding Valiant has been resolved.

January 2008 Comic Previews Picks

2008-01-25T15:32:00.000-06:00

My picks for this month:

COLLECTED AND THEN ONE DAY GN VOL 01 – Heard Ryan Claytor mentioned on ISR before; checked out his web site, looks like some good auto-bio comics, which I like.
COMIC BOOK COMICS #1 – New comic by the team who did Action Philosophers, this time the topic is comic books; can’t wait!
COMIC FOUNDRY MAGAZINE VOL 1 SPRING #2 – I liked the first issue, even though the “sound-bite” format got a bit tiresome after a while, so I’m looking forward to this one, and to check out their new format.
DARK IVORY #1 – New Lisner comic. I’ve always liked his work, mostly for the art.
DEAD SPACE #1 – New comic from Antony something, of Wasteland fame.
GUNPLAY #1 – Won the Comic Book Challenge this year. This was the one I voted for, due to the interesting concept. A guy gets a gun and has to kill one person a day or
HOLMES GN – Fear and Loathing take on Sherlock Holmes, too awesome.
NORTH WORLD GN VOL 01 – Hip D&D tales. Dug what I read of the comic online – a young hipster guy who gets hires to kill things (e.g. entities) for $.
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #17 – Chakin art.
SCREAMLAND #1 – Turns out the movie monsters are real, and losing work due to CGI. What will they do now? Sounds fun, and the art looks good.
SHARK-MAN #3 - #3 yay! Pete on The Stack said #1 sucked – he’s wrong.
SMUGGLING SPIRITS GN BOOK 02 (OF 2) - #1 was just solicieted last month, so this is quick (why not wait until #1 has shipped, or put both in 1 vol?) but I have faith, since the preview was great.
TERRY MOORES ECHO #1 – Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise) new book. A no brainer.
YOUNG LIARS #1 – New David Latham (Stray Bullets) book; SB was great so here’s hoping.
PS238 TP VOL 05 EXTRATERRESTRIAL CREDIT – One of my new fav’s; school for kids with super power. This is just a great book, funny, interesting, smart, just great.
MOUSE GUARD TP FALL 1152 – I liked the first volume of this a lot and this seems to be more of the same. Great art, and great story telling.

December 2007 Comic Previews Picks

2007-12-16T18:02:00.000-06:00

That time again. This month isn't blowing my socks off, but there are a few good looking things:

BUSHI TALES #3 – awesome cover and amesome deal at DCBS (free sketch); online earlier issues at Webcomicnation.
COMICS NOW #2 – Second issue of new mag from Comic Geek Speak crew; can't wait for this.
CRIMINAL 2 #1 – I have the first trade, and pre-ordered the second; this is a new format for the series, so I’ll check it out to see what floppy extras I’ll be missing by collecting the trades of this.
GOBLIN CHRONICLES CVR A #1 – The previews look really fun; this looks like a very entertaining series, with great art to boot; sign me up.
HONEY & CLOVER GN VOL 01 – New (not really new) Tokyopop romance series; I’ll give it a looks since I usually like these things.
KICK ASS #1 – Don’t really get this, but I love JRjr
NANA TP VOL 09 - Yay! New issue of a great series.
NARCOPOLIS WRAP CVR #1 – This sounds good, not sure. More info here.
ORDER TP VOL 01 NEXT RIGHT THING – I liked #1, and the series gets good reviews, so I’m tempted by this.
PUNISHER FORCE OF NATURE – I have a soft spot for the Punisher, so might give this a go.
RASL #1 – New Jeff Smith book; a given
SHARK-MAN #2 - Loved the last printing of this, and this is 50% new I think
SMUGGLING SPIRITS BOOK 01 (OF 2) – The preview looked good, very Sin City esq. The story was good as well, about a world where spirits exist but only kids (a kid?) can see them, or something like that.
X-FORCE #1 – Well, I collected Marvel back around the first X-Force #1 days, and I love Wolfbane, so I’ll check it out.
COMPLETE LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE HC VOL 01 - I’m interested in this, but can’t seem to find any decent previews. Might pass for now.
MOURNING STAR – This has been out for a while, and one day I’ll get it. Preview.
TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD v1: I’ve read a few single issues of this, and can’t say I’m in love with it or anything, but this is a nice priced collection, so it’s tempting.

November 2007 Comic Previews Picks

2007-11-21T12:04:00.000-06:00

Kind of lackluster this month, but here are my picks:

Pick of the month:

THEREFORE REPENT: At first I wasn’t interested in the concept, until I checked out the preview on comicspace.”Chicago after The Rapture, the righteous have floated into the sky, life goes on for the immoral majority.” Chicago post-end of world, great art, I’m there. Note: There was an error in Previews, the cover price will be $14.99 us, not $24.99!

BIG PLANS #3: Personal comic about a guy who when to the academy awards; could be good.
HACK SLASH HC VOL 01 OMNIBUS: I dunno, for some reason I’m interested in this. The one issue I read was OK, but lacked depth. But, given that this is the comic version of a slasher movie (but smarter), maybe that’s par for the course.
HOUSE AT THE EDGE OF NOWHERE #1 (OF 4): Preview looked good.
HULK #1: Red Hulk, grr.
INDESTRUCTIBLE SC: Punk rock comics by Christy road
MY BRAIN HURTS: Liz Baille mini-comic collected. Check out the great interview with her on Indie Spinner Rack.
MYTH TOLD TALES #1 MYTH CONGENIALITY: Mmm, not sure, I liked the books long ago, and the WARP series, so I might have to check this out.
ROD ESPINOSA PRINCE OF HEROES #1 (OF 3): Art looks great, might be worth a look.
SPAWN #178: Amnesiac vampire, sounded interesting. I recently read a more current issue of Spawn and I have to say they are working with an interesting concept there now.
TEEN TITANS YEAR ONE #1 (OF 6): The art on this in previews looked great. The preview pages are online as well. Teen titans were one of those things I was always familiar with, but never really checked out, what with my being a Marvel kid and all.
WASTELAND #14: Another one shot. This is probably my favorite new series. The first trade was great, and the first standalone was sensational. I'm assuming this one won't be collected, much like the first standalone, thus the need for the floppy. I'm glad, this is one comic worth getting monthly. And Joe Infurnari art, cool! Tides me over until the next volume of Borrowed Time comes out. First Carla Speed McNeil, now Infurnari, nice. The regular artist, Christopher Mitten is great as well, really atmospheric. Floppy pick of the month for sure.
YOUNGBLOOD #1: Heh, I'll bite; why I dunno.
SPIRIT #14: Aragones, Evainier, Ploog, OK.
APPLICANT SC: At first I wasn't interested enough to get this; actually, I was interested, but didn't think it would be worth the $. Then I realized this was a $4 comic, not a book, thus eliminating the cost barrier. Now I look forward to this glimpse into the past, although I still think it is a weird concept, printing old employee applications, including hr comments that reflect the era. Worth the $ though, I'm sure. Probably more than a few out-loud-laugh moments.

October 2007 Comic Previews Picks

2007-10-18T11:58:00.000-05:00

Here are my picks for the Oct 2007 issue of Previews. Pretty good month, some solid releases.

ANT UNLEASHED #1: I liked the Image run of Ant (although I’m painfully behind in my reading), so I’ll check this one out. Disappointed that Mario Gully is only writing this, and not drawing; hopefully he’ll draw some issues in the future.
BATLASH #1: Sergio Aragones and John Severin western. Apparently created by Sergio in 1968, with a short run.
BLACK HOLE SC: Softcover release of this highly regarded Charles Burns book. This takes place in the 70’s and is about STDs that result in weird deformities. I read one issue of the floppy and it was quite amazing. Really took me to the 70’s and drew me into the situation taking place. Can’t wait to read this.
BLACK METAL VOL 1 GN: I passed on this the first time it was solicited, and Chuck BB had sold out of his copies at the Chicago con before I saw him, so I’ll get it now.
BLUE PILLS GN: Good hype on this as well; euro love story, supposedly quite memorable and emotional.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #33: New Cap I think.
CRIMINAL TP VOL 02 LAWLESS: Loved V1, so I’m looking forward to this next volume in this crime tale. The story arc is supposed to be as good, or better than the first.
DEADLY BELOVED MS TREE MMPB NOVEL: Yay! I am a big Ms. Tree fan, so I’m looking forward to this new incarnation.
END LEAGUE #1: What is this? Oh yeah, “A thematic merging of The Lord of the Rings and Watchmen” wow, big words, them. Superheroes on a quest to find Thor’s hammer in a world overrun by evil. I’ll check it out.
FANTASTIC FOUR ISLA DE LA MUERTE #1: Tom Beland of True Story Swear to God. I was never really turned on by TSSTG, but I like it when alt people do super tales.
INFINITE HORIZON #1: Phil Noto can draw like mad, but sometimes his art seems stiff to me. Course, that’s just based on a couple of comics of his I read with not-so-hot writing.
NANA TP VOL 08: New Nana! I love this title; Manga about a girl named Nana who moves to Tokyo and becomes friends with a rock singer, also named Nana. Two live action movies have come out in Japan (SE’s available on DVD!) and I think an anime series to come.
NEXT ISSUE PROJECT #1: New Image series where they take old abandoned comic characters, and use them in new stories.
NORTH WIND #1(Res): I ordered this before, but it was cancelled. Thanks Boom. Post-apocalyptic ice world tale. I’ll have to think about this more.
NORTHLANDERS #1: New Brian Wood story about Vikings. I’m not too hip to Wood, but I have liked what I read. And I like seeing his studio in Comics Foundry mag.
NOVA TP VOL 01 ANNIHILATION CONQUEST: Good hype; I’ve never read.
RED MASS FOR MARS #1: New Jonathan Hickman book that he’s writing but not reading; I mean drawing. I assume he’ll read it.
SAND CHRONICLES GN VOL 01: New shojo manga book from Tokyopop, yay! Good reviews on this one; can’t wait.
SOME NEW KIND OF SLAUGHTER #1: I was iffy on this one until I checked out the creator’s blog; now I can’t wait. Re-imagining and re-examining old flood stories\myths. I think they are starting with Uncle Noah building himself an Ark. On the blog, there are a bunch of posts that are discussions between the writer and artist regarding the book, and what it should contain. I love it when people use the web to share such awesomeness. Check it out: http://captionbox.net/snksblog
SUPERPOWERS #0: New Alex Ross super book. So cheap how can you pass?
WASTELAND TP BOOK 02 SHADES OF GOD: Ok, I still have to read V1, but I’m sure it’s great. #1 was great. I believe this doesn’t contain the Carla Speed McNeil issue, but that’s ok; I’m sure everyone already has that one, since it *was* drawn by Carla Speed McNeil! Kind of funny, I got that issue because of the artist, and later read a post from someone online saying they *didn’t* get it because of the unknown art. Hah! Fools!

Septembe 2007 Comic Previews Picks

2007-09-27T18:30:00.000-05:00

Pick of the month:
COMICS NOW #1: New mag from the Comic Geek Speak podcast guys. If this is anything like their show it should be great.

ACTION PHILOSOPHERS VOL 3 GIANT SIZED THING TP: Awesome! Last one. Funny and educational.
APOCALYPSE NERD #6: P. Bagge = automatic buy
ASTRONAUT DAD VOL 1 GN: Looks great.
DARKNESS FIRST LOOK *Special Discount*: Not sure about this, ‘first looks’ are usually lame.
ENGINEER #1 *Special Discount*: ASP, art looks great. Previews available online.
MICE TEMPLAR #2: Loved the first issue.
MISERICORDIA #1(M) *Special Discount*: ASP, looks great.
OTHER SIDE O/T MIRROR VOL 1 GN (M) *Special Discount*: Jo Chen, about people with issues, looks good.
PAX ROMANA #1 *Special Discount*: Hickman, no brainer.
RESURRECTION (M) *Special Discount*: Post-apocalyptic tale, my cup o tea,
SPIKE TV RED LOTUS MARK O/T WARRIOR SP : Probably lame, but I like MMA.
TOTEM #1 *Special Discount*: I like Mario Gully, and this looks nice.
WONTON SOUP GN (M)(Res): Looks great! Very Brandon Graham esq.
WORLD OF WARCRAFT #1: Simonson writing, cheap.
WORMWOOD ONE SHOT: Might be time to check this one out.
DAN BRERETONS NOCTURNALS VOL 1 REG ED HC (Res): Oversized Brereton art, count me in!
MISADVENTURES OF CLARK & JEFFERSON #1 *Special Discount*: Cowboys and aliens; could be good.

August 2007 Comic Previews Picks

2007-08-30T21:57:00.000-05:00

Super month this time around, so many must gets it’s like Christmas!

APOCALYPSE NERD #5: Yay, the latest in this new series from Peter Bagge, of Hate fame. I’ll pretty much get any Bagge book, and this post-apocalptic tale is great.

AWESOME INDIE SPINNER RACK ANTHOLOGY VOL 1 TP: Indie Spinner Rack is a very entertainint comic podcast that I listen to on accasion, and always enjoy. This is an anothology they have been putting together for a while. Some top notch indie talent on this one; I can’t wait to read it.

DYNAMO 5 VOL 1 POST NUCLEAR FAMILY TP: Cheap ($10) trade of the first 5 issues. I read the first issue and thought it was excellent. Thanks for the cheap eats Image.

HATE ANNUAL #7: Wow, 2 P. Bagge comics in the same previews! When It rains it pours! As an old school Hate fan, this is of course a must get.

MULTIPLE WARHEADS #2: Brandon Graham’s latest effort. I haven’t read the first issue yet, but it is one gorgeous looking package. Brandon is another must get for me.

SHOWCASE PRESENTS SUICIDE SQUAD VOL 1 TP: I’ve never read an issue of Suicide Squad, but is appears to get rave reviews all around. I’ll do my catching up via this cheap collection.

WET MOON VOL 3 GN: Seriously? New Peter Bagge, Brandon Graham, and Ross Campbell all in one month? What did I do to deserve this? Needless to say, if Ross makes it, I get it. Go read Abandoned if you haven’t; or the first 2 volumes in this alt romance tale. Previews at http://www.greenoblivion.com/comics.html

That’s the musts, here are the others I’m contemplating:

3 MINUTE SKETCHBOOK TP: Collection of 3 minute con sketches. I’m intrigued.

ATOMIC ROBO #1; NEOZOIC #1: New titles from a new publisher, the latter appeals to me more. Their third title got so-so reviews.

CRAWL SPACE XXXOMBIES #1: More zombie tales from Tony Moore and friends.

PROOF #1: Bigfoot joins the FBI to help search for other mysterious creatures. What’s with all these mythical creature comics? Perapanaughts, The Engimas, now this. I checked out a preview and it seemed pretty solid.

SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN VOL 1 TP: Cheap Conan trade. I don’t think I’ve ever read a Conan so this would be a good way to check it out. Especially for the Barry Windsor-Smith stuff,

Finder GN’s: All of the Finder trades are being re-released, so here’s your chance. Finder is a great series, I am missing a few that I need to pick up to complete my run.

July 2007 Comic Previews Picks

2007-07-25T11:53:00.000-05:00

I’m not blown away this month, which is good for the check book.

COMIC FOUNDRY MAGAZINE VOL 1 #1: If I remember the story correct, this mag was initially rejected by Diamond, but got picked up after they lowered their price a bit, and stirred it up a bit online. I’ll check it out.

DIGITAL WEBBING PRESENTS #35: part 2 of 2 of the Enigmas. Don’t know much more than that, but since I ordered pt 1, I should get pt 2 as well. I’m looking forward to reading this.

IMMORTAL IRON FIST ANNUAL #1: Brubaker, Fraction, Chaykin, Brereton… hard to say no to that combo.

ESSEX COUNTY VOL 2 GHOST STORIES: Part 2 of the trilogy about a young boy and an ex-hockey player. I’m part way through part 1 now, and it’s good so far.

MICE TEMPLAR #1: Looking forward to this. Looks different, yet similar in theme to Mouse Guard.

NANA VOL 7 TP: Yay, vol 7 of one of my favs.

NIGHTLY NEWS VOL 1 TP: I read #1 and it was one of the most unique comics I ever read. Amazing looking stuff. The story itself was a bit heavy; I’ll read #1 again before ordering.

PRIMORDIA #1: Another new ASP book, Looks great.

SHOWCASE PRESENTS METAL MEN VOL 1 TP: I love the concept of the Metal Men, and can’t wait to read these classic tales.

SUBURBAN GLAMOUR #1: I had no interest in the artist’s last project, Phonogram, but the art I the previews for this one is blowing me away.

BART SIMPSONS TREEHOUSE OF HORROR #13: Almost missed this one, thanks to Pipeline Podcast for mentioning it! Notable due to the writers: Brian Posehn, Patton Oswalt, and Thomas Lennon. Comedy gold, really. A Zach Galifianakis story would have been nice as well, but he’s a comic hater. Go Comedians of Comedy (and Reno 911)!

Injury Comics #1: Getting this for this story: “May draws punk artist Jeff Wilson's tender story of his junior-high attempt to score his first joint and listen to some heavy metal.“ Preview here.

And in the break the bank category ($150.00 each), two things I will not be getting now, but will attempt to pick up in the future:

TINTIN HARDCOVER BOXED SET: This new hardcover box set contains all twenty-four of Hergé's stories of Tintin and Snowy in eight volumes in a lavishly designed collection. Wowza, Tintin art is beautiful, and the documentary on creator Hergé was exceptional.

COMPLETELY MAD DON MARTIN HC: This deluxe, two-volume, slipcased special edition includes every single work of Don Martin published in MAD Magazine (1957 to 1987), including a selection of his original sketches and notes, and rare photographs. Yikes. I was a minor fan of Mad, but always loved Don Martin’s stuff. I’d love this.

TiVo love

2007-07-20T12:11:00.000-05:00

After several years of valiant service, the hard drive on our Tivo finally crapped out last week, after several weeks of funkiness. I took the main drive out (I added a 2nd drive soon after purchasing it), ran a diagnostic, and confirmed that there were several disk errors. Bummer. Several days later, a nice new 500Gb drive (up from our current 160Gb) showed up, and I proceeded to download the software needed to rip the data from the old drives and onto the new one. I kicked the process off, and it failed immediately, reporting disk errors. No duh. So I took the next step, and did a low-level copy of the data from the main disk to another. This succeeded, only losing about 1700kb due to errors. Unfortunately, some of those k’s must have been important k’s, because the copy could not be backed up, nor would it boot up in the Tivo unit. After several days of trying every last thing I could think of, I finally gave up, ordered Instantcake, and configured the 500Gb drive with a fresh clean image. So now we have Tivo again, much more space, but no old recordings. We’ll live. The only thing I have left to say at this point is how, and why, do you people out there without Tivo do it? Watching regular TV for 2 weeks was like torture! There was nothing on, I couldn’t rewind to catch stuff I missed, and I didn’t know when anything was on. It was horrible. Who wants to flip around the dial and have to settle on some garbage you couldn’t care less about? Ridiculous. I love you, me Tivo.

TV on Comics

2007-06-22T20:31:00.000-05:00

So it appears the new trend is continuing cancelled TV shows in comic form... Cool!

Last season, two of the shows my wife and I watch were cancelled: Jericho, which I was lukewarm on, and Veronica Mars, which I loved.

Both were cancelled, but recently one was renewed due to fan support, and the other seems to be headed to the graphic arts medium.

I'm glad both have been given a second change, but unfortunately the one that is best suited to comics is going to be returning to TV, and the one best suited for TV is headed to comics. Bummer.

Jericho, while an interesting story, moved too slow for TV, and could have used better writers. It's post-apocalyptic story would have been perfect for a long, on-going comic, where one good writer could have explored the new world at a nice pace, for an indefinite amount of time; kind of like Walking Dead is doing. From the start I thought it would have made a better comic than TV show.

One of the strengths of Veronica Mars, on the other hand, was the great cast. The stories were good, but the actors really made the series a big winner.

But no, now we have each playing to their weaker elements, rather than two home runs (OK, Veronica Mars wasn't a ratings home run, but it was a fun show) we have two doubles that might get stretched into triples. (OK, I don't really care about baseball, so there was probably a better analogy there.)

Oh well. I'm still glad both are continuing in some form, and I can't wait to read the Veronica Mars series; it might even force my wife to read a comic!

June 2007 Comic Previews Picks

2007-06-17T07:47:00.000-05:00

Here are this months picks for comics shipping August 2007:

Pick of the month!

My POTM this month is the easiest yet – it is a collection of an old series that I have been wanting for a long time now. I figured it would be coming eventually, what with all of the awesome reprints that are coming out these days (Peanuts, Little Lulu, Popeye, etc.) This one may be less of a classic, but it has always appealed to me -- HARVEY COMICS CLASSICS VOL 2 RICHIE RICH TP!!! Yup, the poor little rich boy hisself. I believe this is a best-of collection, and not a sequential release, but that’s ok. Nice series this Harvey Classics, let’s hope v3 is Little Dot.

The rest, in alpha semi-priority order:

RIDE HOME GN: Yay! I’ve been waiting for this one for several months now, ever since finding the comic online. The story of a Van-Gnome, who loses the Van he lives it and tries to find it. Fun stuff: http://tragic-planet.com/theridehome/index.html Based on what I’ve seen, it looks like anything by creator Joey Weiser is a must get (I think Superior Showcase comes out this month, yay again!)

SPECIAL FORCES #1: Another yay! A new Kyle Baker series, this one about an autistic kid getting enlisted (which apparently happened last year) along with a bunch of other kids who also shouldn’t have been enlisted. Mostly though, it’s a Kyle Baker war story, and I personally loved the art in Truth: Red, White and Blue, so I can’t wait for this. (Yes, I realize the art in this is different). Preview art

MIRIAM #1: The story of Miriam and Peter, who been friends since the third grade. Each issue has 3 stories from their lives, over a period of twenty years. Sound interesting and the art appears to me. Previews here

MY FRIEND DAHMER #1: by Derf. Derf was friends with Jeffery Dahmer in High School. Sound be an interesting read. Get’s a big recommend from the Top Shelf blog. Preview ‘ere

SHAZAM MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL DELUXE HC: Sometimes it pays to wait… the collected version of Jeff Smith’s new limited series. Looks amazing, pretty much an automatic purchase for any Bone fan.

SUPERMAN #666: Simonson art, yeah!

TEEN TITANS #50: I know zero about the Teen Titans, but I know a lot about the new series writer – Sean McKeever, and thing I know is that Sean can write the hell out of a teen superhero story. Yay! Sean + teen superhero = gold! Kudos to DC for paying attention.

PHOENIX VOL 11 TP: I recently picked up a bunch of these from deepdiscount.com. Great stuff.

AWAKENING #1: A zombie book by Archaia. Or at least it appears to be – people have gone missing and a girl claims it because of zombies. I’m excited for 2 reasons: 1) Archaia has been putting out some top notch stuff, and 2) I love good zombie stories, which seem to be out numbered by bad ones. Abandoned by Ross Campbell was a good one. I think this will be as well.

KILLING PICKMAN #1: Another Archaia book, about a cop who decised to kill a serial killer, whcih is, apparently, more difficult than assumed. Great looking cover.

THIRTEEN STEPS #1: By Phil Hester and Chuck Satterlee. About a teen werewolf. I’m getting this because I’m bummed about Golly! getting cancelled (although it appears Image may release it), and I love Chuck on Comic Geek Speak. I think they talked about this on CGS, but I haven’t heard that ep yet.

HARBINGER THE BEGINNING HC: OK, I tried, but I’m not sure I can pass on a Valiant HC. Especially if it means later they bring out Solar, X-O, and ARCHER AND ARMSTRONG books.

NEW UNIVERSAL
VOL 1 EVERYTHING WENT WHITE PREM HC: I’d like to read this, but I might wait for the SC.

Too much once again. Why do comics have to be so awesome?

May 2007 Comic Previews Picks

2007-05-16T16:53:00.000-05:00

Here are this months picks for comics shipping July 2007:

Pick of the month!

My POTM this month is a toughie – but I think I’ll have to go with what was the biggest surprise: PERRY BIBLE FELLOWSHIP TRIAL OF COLONEL SWEETO HC ($14.95): I’ve been reading the Perry Bible Fellowship comic strips online for a couple of years now, and they remain one of my favorites. Very dark and twisted… and smart… and funny. I look forward to enjoying these on the printed page. And a hardcover even! Nice! http://pbfcomics.com/

The rest, in alpha order:

BAKERS BABIES & KITTENS HC ($18.99): I’ve been bad and have yet to pick up the last Bakers HC, or any other Bakers material (other than the x-mas special), and I feel guilty for that since I have, and enjoy, other works from Kyle Baker. And really, given the fact that this is about living with babies, and the fact that I have 1 little one, and another on the way, you’d think I’d be on-board with this series… but I’m not. I intend to change that this month. This gets high recommendations from other people as well.

BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #7: Written by one of the writers of Heroes. Not sure if I care enough to get it. I do like Heroes thought.

BLAZIN BRANDY #1: The art sparks my interest, but the preview on the artist’s site is down. Oh well. I’ll check it out if it ever comes back.

CHAMPIONS #1 ($2.99): New Matt Fraction book; I think the concept is Iron Man makes people super heroes for a year each, unless they screw up and get fired. Kind of a Tony Stark reality show it seems. Hmm, not sure how interested I am anymore… luckily I trust Mr. Fraction.

COMICS INTROSPECTIVE VOL 1 PETER BAGGE SC ($16.95): New TwoMorrows book on Peter Bagge; I’ve been reading Mr. Bagge since forever, so this is a given. 50% off at DCBS. I think there’s another book on Mr. Bagge coming out next month by someone else; weird. I’ll probably get that one too.

FAKER #1 ($2.99): New Vertigo book about people in college and some weird stuff happening to them. Like one of them no longer has a history of existence. Worth a look.

FONE BONE PLUSH TOY ($12.95): So I was going to get this doll for myself, but then Randy on www.comicpants.com mentioned that he was going to get one for his daughter, and son on the way (or vise versa), and suddenly remembered I have a two year old that would probably like this… so I’ll get it for her. I’m nice that way.

GRENDEL BEHOLD THE DEVIL #0 (50c): Preview for a new Grendel by Matt Wagner. I would have gotten it even if it weren’t a preview.

HEARTBREAK GN: This a gn about a guy and his failed relationships. I read some previews online and liked what I saw: www.heartbreakcomics.com

MOUSE GUARD WINTER 1152 #1 ($3.50): Second Mouse Guard series. I should probably just wait for the hardcover since I’m sure I’ll get it. I dig this little tale (no pun intended). There are also PVC figures solicited this month, which I’d get if I had more loot.

MULTIPLE WARHEADS #1 ($5.99): OK, this is my second pick of the month. New 3 issue series from Brandon Graham, creator of King City. See review in a previous post This series is about Sexica and Nikoli leaving Dead City, 50 years after WolfWar 3. So it’s a post-apocaliptic Brandon Graham story. I can’t wait! Alternate pick of the month!

NARCOLEPTIC SUNDAY GN ($14.95): A narcoleptic wakes up after a one night stand to find the girl dead. Sounds interesting.

WHISTLES VOL 1 THE STARLIGHT CALLIOPE GN ($10.95): A clown finds discovers the seedy underbelly of his circus and of life. Sounds interesting and the art is good. Previews at www.teamspecialolympics.com. Half-off at DCBS.

That’s it really. Not much, but adds up fast unfortunately.

April 2007 Previews Pick Correction

2007-04-25T12:52:00.000-05:00

Oops, totally forgot one comic, which also happens to be my actual pick of the month... It didn't appear on the list I was working off of since I actually ordered this on Amazon a few months ago, when it first showed up.

So, without further ado, my top pick of the month, is of course...

SPENT HC!

This reprints issues 11-14 of my favorite comic book, Peepshow, by Joe Matt!

April 2007 Previews Picks

2007-04-24T21:18:00.000-05:00

Comics picks for Previews comics for April, shipping in June.

Pick of the Month:

MARVEL ILLUSTRATED TREASURE ISLAND #1: Hah! Have to make this sucker my pick of the month! Why? Two reasons: one, I’m a big Mario Gully fan, and two, I’ve been mildly obsessed with the idea of a Treasure Island comic ever since seeing Crumb. Let’s hope Mario throws in some Charles Crumb style art as a tribute!

The rest:

AMELIA RULES #18: I’ve never read this, nor do I have much of an idea what it is like, but the story, about kids adjusting to having their fathers go off to war, sounds like it could be quite memorable.

BIFF BAM POW #1(Res): New Evan Dorkin book. I didn’t really like the last issue of Dork, but I’m a long time Dorkin fan, so I’ll give him another shot. I think this is an actual story as opposed to strips, so it should be more of my thing.

BLACK SUMMER #0: New Warren Ellis series about a superhero who decides the president of da USA is evil and kills him. I’m intrigued.

HERO BY NIGHT #4: Last issue of the series.

HULK PLANET HULK HC: OK, here’s my HC, but 40$? And some non-Planet Hulk issues, why, I dunno. I’ll probably still get it though since its 50% off at DCBS, and I think the story is a great concept.

LAST CALL VOL 1 GN: Some kids get trapped on a ghost train, “an inter-dimensional soul carrier”. Sounds great and the art looks awesome. http://www.vasilislolos.com/

LEGION OF MONSTERS SATANA: Jonathan Hickman backup story. I love the Nightly News and am wildly interested to see Hickman’s take on a Marvel story. http://www.pronea.com/

MYSTIC ARCANA MAGIK: One, I’m an old school New Mutants fan. Two, I’m an old school Louise Simonson fan. Sold!

NORTH WIND #1: Me loves me some post apocalyptic stories!

SPIRIT #7: Baker is awesome, Simonson is awesome.

SUPERIOR SHOWCASE #2: #1 was great, so I’m in. One of the best indie anthologies I know of. Definitely my fav.

TICK COMIC CON EXTRAVAGANZA #1: A new Tick is cause for celebration, especially when it's done by rising star Sean Wang (who has done the Tick in the past).

WORLD WAR HULK #1: Hulk coming back and kicking ass, might need to check it out.

AVIARY: Don’t know much about this, but the previews I looked at online looked good.

CLUBBING: Next Minx title, this time by Andi Watson and Josh Howard. Preview looked good. Still don't know if these are any good for us old men (us old men who like Ai Yazawa.)

ESCALATOR GN: Since I loved King City, I have to get this earlier Brandon Graham book.

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE 17 COMICS FROM AN UNPLEASANT AGE TP: Joe Matt story, dunno if it’s new.

THREE PARADOXES GN: Paul Hornschemeier’s last book, Mother Come Home was great, so I’m sure this is as well. Wonderful art.

In other news, I can't believe GPS lost! Oh well.

King City

2007-04-22T20:26:00.000-05:00

So every once in a while a comic book is more of an experience than a good read, and I recently read once such tome. The book is King City, by Brandon Graham, an OEL manga from Tokyopop.

First off, I'm not sure why these 'original English language' books Tokyopop is putting out are called manga -- in the case of King City, and my favorite book from last year "The Abandoned", the only thing these really have in common with manga is the format. No distortions, no Japan, no nothing. So I'm not sure why they're called manga, but I sure do like them! Go Tokyopop! (Even though you cut off all the pages on "The Abandoned", and aren't going to print any more issues of it.)

As for King City, I came very close to not ordering this, in fact, it wasn't even on my original list, so I must have added it at the last minute. And thank goodness for that. I think I was initially going to pass due to the art, which ironically, is now what I like best about it. Initially, the art looked too graphitti-esque for me, but, upon reading it, realized there was much more to it than that. The art is very dynamic and really helps tell the story. Some of the sequences were so beautiful I found myself staring at them and re-reading them several times.

The story is great as well, Brandon has created a strange universe that does not feel 'out-there' when you read it, rather, it reads as completely normal for the inhabitants of that world. My favorite concept in the book is the drug 'Chalk', but there are so many original concepts in the book that I could have easily chosen any number of others.

And of course the cat; the cat rules.

Thanks Brandon, can't wait for the next issue.

Linky

March 2007 Previews Picks

2007-03-24T12:12:00.000-05:00

Pretty good month; I’m having a hard time narrowing this one down. Here’s where I’m at so far:

Pick of the month:

SCHULZS YOUTH HC: Pick of the month! I love non-Peanuts Schulz comics. This one is about teenagers. I enjoyed L’il Folks (pre-cursor to Peanuts), so I figure I’ll like this as well. Interestingly, I only really liked the first couple of years of Peanuts. Hmph. Hardcover only available to the direct market!

In the pull list this month:

BATMAN #666: A future Batman story by Grant Morrision. I’m a sucker for 666, so I’ll bite; hopefully an interesting tale.
BLACK DIAMOND #1: Instantly made my must-get list based on the copy: “Initially a response to international terrorism, the U.S. government grounds commercial airline flights and builds the Black Diamond, a dangerous road full of gearheads and misfits, drug runners and grey-market tech heads, all driving illegal 1970s muscle cars in a nomadic, breakneck existence.”
DEFINITION GN: This actually came out a while ago, but is being offered again, or some-such. This is the autobiographical comic of a girl in high-school, created while she was still in high-school, which means is may not be as polished as some other auto-bio’s, but is probably more honest and factual, being fresh in the mind of the author and all. I’ve only read one issue of the 3rd story line, and have been meaning to pick these up (I think there are 4 in total, grades 9-12 I believe).
FABLES VOL 9 SONS OF EMPIRE TP: Newest Fables trade, yay! I’ve been getting these since the Wooden Soldiers trade.
FOLLOWING CEREBUS #10: Dave Sim might be a bit nuts, but I find him endlessly fascinating (even though some of his writing goes right over my head the first couple of times I read it.)
IT’S ONLY A GAME TP: Another non-Peanuts Schulz comic! Two in one month? This one is full of sports gags. Not as excited about this as the Youth one, but both are must-gets. Might wait a bit on this one, however.
MIDNIGHTER #7: A one shot by Brian K Vaughn. I’m unfamiliar with the character, but the premise (a guy who can “anticipate any move to the nth degree”) sounds interesting, and should be handled well in BKV’s hands.
MR STUFFINS #3: Pt 3 of 3. Just to finish off the storyline. Not sure about this one.
NANA VOL 6 TP: I’m only up to #4, but so far I’m enjoying this one a lot.
TEZUKAS APOLLOS SONG: I’m a little late to hop on the Tezuka band-wagon, but I’m glad to be here. So far I’ve only read Vol.1 of his masterpiece “Phoenix”, and loved it, so I’m probably check this one-shot out.
WARD O/T STATE #1: Liked the preview in Previews. Teenage killers I think.

And in the not sure about pile:

BIZARRE NEW WORLD #1: About an average fat white American dude who discovers he is able to fly. Art looks good, and this seems like it could be very interesting.
CIVIL WAR FALLEN SON CAPTAIN AMERICA : JRJR art, and I dunno, more about Cap I guess.
CRIMINAL VOL 1 COWARD TP: I liked the first issue, so I should get this at some point.
HERO BY NIGHT #3: Ordered 1 and 2; will either get this or trade wait.
INCREDIBLE HULK #106: New ‘World War Hulk’ storyline; Hulk is back from exile in outer-space and is pissed! I might check this out, might just trade wait… where’s the Planet Hulk HC?
RE-GIFTERS: Second Minx volume. Liew art.
SIDEKICKIN ONE SHOT: I checked out the artist online somewhere and he seemed to have the stuff.
TANK GIRL THE GIFTING #1: New Tank Girl! Might TW.
WORLD WAR HULK PROLOGUE WORLD BREAKER: I think this is a recap of the Planet Hulk storyline… will it be in the HC? If not I might have to get.

Fantagraphics reprinting Pogo

2007-02-16T20:56:00.000-06:00

Yay! Fantagraphics is reprinting Pogo in 12 installments.
I love Pogo and couldn't be more pleased. Design by Jeff Smith even!
Yay!
http://www.fantagraphics.com/blog/archive/2007_02_01_fantagraphics_archive.html#2583732417830212795

February 2007 Previews Picks

2007-02-12T19:21:00.000-06:00

Holy Toledo, what a great, expensive month. This marks the first month in a year and a half I haven’t been able to keep under my self impose $50 limit… a taste of things to come, or just a good month? Let’s hope the latter. The real problem this month is the number of must have trades that are coming out. Glad to see the industry so on fire, but ouch.

First off, pick of the month has got to be, uh, no real standout, but I guess I’m looking most forward to getting MOUSE GUARD VOL 1 FALL 1152 HC. I’ve been waiting for this since reading the first issue, and I’m sure it will be a beautiful book. The publisher, Archaia has been very impressive so far with their titles and printing. http://www.mouseguard.net/

And that’s not the only Hardcover on my list this month, no, Mouse Guard is joined by a record 3 others!

First up, the AGENTS OF ATLAS PREMIERE HC; again, I have been waiting for this since reading #1, and am jumping at the HC due to the inclusion of the origin issues of each of the characters, and a cheap discount price. This story is very well written by Jeff Parker, and the first issue did a good job of introducing the characters, who were all new to me, in a humorous and exciting way.

HC #2 is INVINCIBLE VOL 3 ULTIMATE COLL HC, I got #1 and 2 during the Google checkout sale from buy.com, and am enjoying those, so this is an easy add.

LITTLE NEMO IN SLUMBERLAND VOL 1 LTD ED HC is #3, and I probably should have made this the pick of the month. Little Nemo was a wonder, and quality reprints are always welcome in my home.

Several other Trades round out the big books (see what I mean about the $?):

One, a welcome surprise, TRUTH SERUM: THE LONELY PARADE. I’m a big Jon Adams fan, love his art and sense of humor, so this second volume of the creepier side of superheroes is a must have.

SAVAGE DRAGON ARCHIVES VOL 2, Savage Dragon has always a guilty pleasure of mine, so I’m super grateful that Erik Larsen is putting out these cheap B&W showcase-type editions.

PLAIN JANES - This is a first title from DC’s new Minx line - a line of original graphic novel targeted to females (young females I think). So why get it? Because someone at DC has big brains and put super talented creators on these titles. This one has art from the creator of Street Angel, and a writer who, from her web site, seems super cool; she even used to work for Epitaph records.

And in the floppy category, we have the following:

SPIDER-MAN FANTASTIC FOUR #1 - Jeff Parker, so I’ll check it out.

MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #1 - New Michael Allred series, should be good.

SALVADOR #1 - An interesting sounding story about a man who as a result of genetic engineering, is born so light and fragile he can fly. Written by Michael & Mark Polish, who made the movie Twin Falls Idaho, which was good. And weird.

SOLLITARIA #1 - Mmm, not much to say about this really. I checked out a preview online and liked the art a lot. South African creators I believe. Here’s the link: http://www.praxiscomics.com/sollitaria.html

TICK 20TH ANN SP ED #1 - I’m not convinced this will be any good, but I have a hard time passing on a new Tick comic; especially when there’s something from creator Ben Edlund in it.

BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #151 - First issue with the new modern style art… I’d like to check it out.

Finally, a couple of continuing series:

HERO BY NIGHT #2

UTOPIATES #4

So there you go. Too much stuff.

In the drop pile this month are:

ART OF BONE HC - I’ll definitely check it out, and might get it in the future.

KORGI VOL 1 TP - ditto

HARVEY COMICS CLASSICS VOL 1 CASPER THE

FRIENDLY GHOST TP - Happy to see it coming out, since that might mean a Richie Rich in the future.

SPAWN VINYL COLLECTOR DOLL - This looks too awesome, but costs to much 4 me.

BUDDY DOES JERSEY GN - I have all the issues of Hate, so I’m holding off on this for now.

And that’s it.

Previews Picks January 2007

2007-01-18T20:05:00.000-06:00

Hey, not too late this month!

ATHENA VOLTAIRE LEGEND OF MU KING #1 – I’ve heard a lot of good thing about this, so I thought I’d finally check it out.

BACK ISSUE #21 – 80’s and early 90’s Daredevil featuring Klaus Janson, John Romita Jr., Ann Nocenti, Frank Miller, and others. I was a big DD fan during the Romita\Nocenti era, Klaus is my favorite comic artist, and Frank Miller is a no-brainer, so I’m there already. Plus - Greatest Stories Never Told examines Colleen Doran's unpublished X-Men spin-off, Fallen Angels! Doran, and Fallen Angels 2? Score and score, my friend.

DYNAMO 5 #1 – A superman type dies and his widow finds his 5 illegitimate children, each who has inherited one of his super-powers. Sounds interesting enough to check out.

GRENDEL ARCHIVE EDITION HC - I have the 2 Mage HC’s so this first version Grendel is right up my alley. Apparently this is the original 3 issue mini-series that is impossible to find, and Matt Wagner calls a “draft” verision (according to Wiki). I don’t think I’ve ever read Grendel, somehow… weird.

HERO BY NIGHT #1 – A kid takes over for an old superhero (I think). Nice art, and great web site with previews: http://herobynight.net/

LEGION OF MONSTERS MAN-THING #1 – OK, seriously, penciled by Klaus Janson, and Ted Mckeever? Are you kidding me? Two of my all time favorites (one who IS my all time favorite)? Not only a must, but pick of the month, if not year. I can’t wait.

PERHAPANAUTS SECOND CHANCES TP – I’ve only read the first issue (here), but thought it was great. This is the second trade, I’ll be ordering the first as well. The story is about a team of mythical creatures, who protect humanity from other creatures who cross over into our world. The first issue was exciting, had interesting characters, and a nice dose of humor, which I like.

UNIQUE #1 – A parallel world’s story by Dean Motter of Mr. X fame. Sold.

WASTELAND BOOK 1 – Post-apocalypic earth type story, which I love. Thought the first issue was great, so I can’t wait to see where the story goes.

On the maybe list:

BPRD GARDEN OF SOULS #1 – I’ve never checked this out, but it gets great hype, and I’ve always liked Guy Davis.

CSI DYING IN THE GUTTERS TP – I liked the first issue, but I need to re-read it to see if I care enough to want the whole series. Very comic industry centeric. I think it was pretty funny.

FANTASTIC FOUR #544 – New FF team, written by Dwayne McDuffie, who I like.

ELEPHANTMEN VOL 1 WOUNDED ANIMALS HC – I need to re-read the first issue again. Not sure I need a HC though.

ESSEX COUNTY VOL 1 TALES FROM THE FARM – I’ll probably get this. Top Shelf iz gud. Gotta love this part of the copy: “Lester befriends the town's gas station owner, and former damaged hockey star, Jimmy Lebeuf. The two escape into a fantasy world of Superheroes, alien invaders and good old fashioned pond hockey.” Preview here: http://ashtraypress.com/tales.htm I think I might have just convinced myself to move this to the order list.

JEFFERY BROWNS FEEBLE ATTEMPTS – I like Jeffery Brown, but haven’t been too into his stuff recently, so this is a maybe.

Not a bad month overall.

Don Rosa Interview

2007-01-15T13:20:00.001-06:00


Interview with Disney comics writer and artist Don Rosa, made by Fievel A. Elliott in 2000. I'm really just posting this to remind myself to watch it. Don Rosa rocks.

Da Vinci's Inquest

2007-01-01T13:16:00.000-06:00

Good news, a new (US) release of Season 1 of my favorite TV show, Da Vinci's Inquest has been announced! Amazon has the pre-order up here. Even though I already have the Canadian release of Season 1, this new version is important for two reasons:

1) The possibility of extras. The Canadian release is as barebones as it gets, so the possibility of anything additional is exciting; doubtful, but exciting. My guess is that it will be a straight port.

2) The prospect of the eventual release of Seasons 2-7. It's a shame that a show this good hasn't had a proper full release yet.

If you haven't seen the show yet, get on that Tivo. The show is about the Coroner's office in Vancouver, BC, and the associated police and homicide investigations. Kind of the grandfather of the CSI ilk, but better.

Preview Picks for December 2006

2006-12-26T19:40:00.000-06:00

Comic picks for Dec 2006 previews. Super late again, oh well...

All Star Superman Vol 1 HC: When #1 came out it got crazy hype and I was really looking forward to reading what people were saying was one of the best comics in recent years. I tried not to let the hype influence my reading experience but I failed… for me it just didn’t live up to my lofty expectations. It was good, but not great. When the solicit for the hardcover came out this month I decided to re-read #1, this time with low expectations. And you know what? I (obviously) loved it. I guess I was just in the right mindset this time, and read it as a good old fashion Superman story. And that it is. And now I get it.

All New Atom #8: Pt 2. Mike Norton art.

Shazam The Monster Society Of Evil #1: Jeff Smith! Need I say more? OK, I will point out that Jeff has a great blog, where-on he recently regaled stories of his world-wide Bone tour.

Time Guardian Vol 1: Not sure why I’m getting this, I may even drop it. I enjoyed the preview in Previews so it’s on my list. It’s a story about a shop where they lend you time in exchange for memories.

Strongarm #1: A kid gets a super robotic arm. Looked good.

Following Cerebus #11: A regular.

Numb (p 210): Comic about a writer trying to overcome writers block by reminiscing about an ex-girlfriend.

Utopiates #3 (p 238): Continuing the series

Mr Stuffins #2 (p 239): Ditto

Borrowed Time #2 (p 312): Yay! Part 2 of the series about a guy who becomes out of sync with time. When I read the first volume I thought it was a one-shot and as I was reading I was very disappointed that it ended before getting very far into the story. Getting over that though, the story was good, and the art was good, and I’m intrigued to see where the story goes, since it is a different way than I expected.

Wasteland #7 (p 312): Art by Carla Speed Mcneil, of Finder fame.

Amazing Spider-Man #539 (p 12): Uh, the return of the black costume, which I liked.

New Avengers #27 (p 42): I’m just getting this because the cover is so awesome. So awesome it is now my Desktop image.

X-Men #196 (p 72): Humberto Ramos art. Pt 3. I like Ramos art, especially just pencil art, which this is not.

X-Factor #16 (p 101): Multiple Man finds one of his clones that has gone off and started his own life. Sounds great.

Secret History Book One (p 220): Immortals traveling through time and guiding history. I’m mostly getting because the publisher, Archaia Studios Press seems to be bringing out some top notch product. They need some stinkin previews on their site though.

On the cutting room floor:

Beyond Hc: I’ll wait for SC

X-Factor Longest Night Tp: I might get this in the furure, but no $ left this month. Might just get from the library if they get it, which I assume they will.

Nextwave Agents Of Hate Vol 1 This Is What They Want Tp: Ditto.

American Elf Vol 2 Coll Sketchbook Diaries Of James Kochalka: I hope to get this from James at the Chicago Comicon this summer, if he’s there this year, so I can get a sketch in it.

Elks Run Gn: I’ll get later, after I re-read the mini-collected edition that came out before.

Souls Winter Collected Tmnt Work Of Michael Zulli Tp: Sad to cut this, but I have the individual issues anyway.

Walking Dead Sorrowful Life Vol 6: Waiting on this cuz I can.

Little Lulu Vol 15 The Explorers Tp : Ditto.

Batman Snow Tp: Will get someday.

November 2006 Previews Picks

2006-11-14T20:51:00.000-06:00

Pretty lame month, but a couple of good TP’s to make up for it…

All New Atom #7: Mike Norton art; I loved Gravity, so I like Mike. Plus it’s cheap at DCBS.

Ballad of the Sea: Classic Italian tale now re-available in English in a new print from Heavy Metal. Apparently a must have.

Goon Noir #3: Finishing the series.

Helmet of Fate Detective Chimp #1: Bill Willingham and Shawn McManus; I’m in.

Jack of Fables TP: I read the first 3 Fables trades and liked them. Then I read the fourth and was BLOWN away. Then I ordered the fourth, fifth, and six trades from Buy.com with the Google $10 off deal. Then I order 1001 Nights from Buy.com. Now I order this. Happy days.

JSA Classified #21: Walt Simonson story and art.  I’ll get the first then the trade if it’s as good as it should be.

Meltdown #2
: Finishing the series.

Nana #5: The latest. Although I’ll have to read #4 first, since it apparently takes the series in a new direction.

Usagi Yojimbo #100: Anniversary issue of a title I don’t pay enough attention to.

Utopiates #2: Will probably get this to support it rather than trade wait.

Wilderemere v1 TP: Um, a British series I couldn’t find much info on, but the creators website gave me a good vibe so I’ll get this. Yup, based on a good vibe. Now that’s marketing.

Godland #16: 60 cent special issue; I always wanted to check this out, so I’ll bite. Hopefully it lives up to the hype.

October 2006 previews picks

2006-10-19T21:35:00.000-05:00

Another month in late, but not belated, Preview picks. This month: Oct Previews; solicits for December 2006.

In alpha order, except for:

Pick of the Month!

The month’s pick of the month is a hard one… actually; there may not be a pick of the month, since there are a few at the top of the pile, quite evenly…

Oh – forgot about this one:

Fables #56: Is Santa Claus a fable? Sold! I love me some legit Santa fiction.

So, in alpha order:

Action Philosophers v1 and v2: I passed on v1 a couple months back. I remember I checked out their web site, but wasn’t really into it and there were other things I wanted more. This time around, they are releasing v2, and resoliciting v1. Since this thing continues to get great press I decided to check out the strips on the site and… this time I get it! Quite funny, and educational. I seeks to enrich me brains. And laff too.

Bakers and Jingle Belle: I have no idea who this Jingle Belle is, but I love Kyle Baker, so I’m sold. Actually, I think I heard that Jingle Belle is Santa’s daughter, so a Bakers Santa story is a no brainer.

Darkness/Pitt: I dunno, I liked Pitt back in the day, so I’ll check this out.
DDP Quarterly

Dinowars Jurassic War of the Worlds #1: Dinosaurs come back to earth after a (self-imposed?) exile, and I assume want the earth back. Go dino’s! By Rob Espinoza, so that’s cool.

Golly #1: Satan working at a carnival sideshow. Wasn’t too interested until I saw a preview, which looked promising.

Janes World Trade: I have never read this, but have a couple of issues I’ll read now.

Little Lulu v14: Yay for Dark Horse!

Maintenance #1: Janitors at a super villain think tank. Could be funny.

Meltdown #1: A superhero reflects back on his life. I think. The preview in Previews looked real good. $5.99 is rather steep though. Sheesh.
Mr Stuffins #1: Fun premise – an AI computer chip programmed with spy abilities is put in a Teddy Bear owned by a little kid.

NEWUNIVERSAL #1: OK, so I was into New universe in the day as well. Not too deeply, but I’m still interested.

Savage Dragon Archives Vol 1: B&W trade of the first 21 issues and limited series. Awesome. I like SD because it’s a labour of love by the creator.

Utopiates #1: So close to the pick of the month. I’ve been waiting for this for a while now, ever since reading the preview online somewhere. It’s about drugs that let you swap personalities with others or something cool like that.

Wizard of Oz trade: French Oz adaptation. So there it’s not funny.

Tranquility #1: New Gail Simone series about a town where superheros retire. I do love reality based superhero stories.

Wonderman #1: Man, another flashback. Wonderman was one of my fav’s, mostly due to the Jeff Johnson art. This isn’t drawn by Mr. Johnson (jerks), but I’ll still check it out.

I think that brings me to around my $50 limit at DCBS.

Here are the ones that initially drew my interest, but am going to pass on:
Okko 1: Seems to be a popular pick, but I couldn’t find any good previews so too bad, so sad.

Punisher 1st to last trade: This is really getting good hype and I’m sad to pass on it, but I haven’t read any of these 1 shots. Maybe there will be a softcover some time?

Red Sonja Annual: The only RS I’ve read was a preview issue, and it was good.

SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATER SLEEP OF REASON #1: Too bad, I liked the orig series.

Spawn.Batman: Would like to check this out.

SPIDER-MAN REIGN #1: I think this might end up on my list. Probably.
SPIRIT #1: Darwyn Cooke Spirit. I should probably read the original Spirit series first?

Town of evening: Sounded good.

World below gn: New Paul Chadwick OGN. Hate to pass on this. Might have to track down a preview.

That’s it. Bye. Too tired to check grammer. Too bad.

Previews Picks for Nov 2006 (Sept 2006 previews)

2006-10-03T08:12:00.000-05:00

Here is my order for this month. It was pretty hard to get under my $50 limit, but I only had to drop a few things. Here are the titles, and their prices at DCBS:

Pick of the month:
Peepshow #14 $3.71 – I couldn’t believe when I saw this in Previews. Peepshow is one of my all time favorite comics, if not my favorite. The last issue came out 5 years ago and I never thought I’d see another. I was tempted to order 2 just to show my love. This is the autobiographical story of Joe Matt. I also learned Joe has a myspace page, which seems incredibly out of character, but I couldn’t be happier. In the words of Big Black, welcome back, Joe.

The rest:
Ant #11 $1.79 – I’m still getting this because I like the art; and the creator, Mario Gully, seems cool. I need to catch up on my reading of the series however.

Wolverine #48 $1.79 – For the Ramos art. On a side note, can DC please release a sketch version of Revelations TPB? The Revelations #1 ashcan was all pencils, and looked incredible.

Blue Beetle Shellshocked TP $6.49 – I read #1 and liked it. A teenage Blue Beetle who talks and behaves like a teenager.

Incredible Hulk #100 $2.39 – I’ve been meaning to check out the Planet Hulk storyline, and this seems like the perfect time. Also in the issue are reprints of 2 older stories (one is 1st Wolvie I believe). I’m sure this is what Marvel was hoping for with this issue, getting people like me to take the plunge. I’ve been planning on getting the trade if the story is good. The premise is interesting (Hulk being banished to another planet and becoming involved in their war) and the reviews are good.

Moon Knight #7 $1.79 – For the art and the Spidey and Punisher appearances.

New Avengers #26 $1.79 – Return of Hawkeye, whom I like. I think.

Dwight T Albatross The Goon Noir #2 $1.79 – Brian Posehn story.

Wisdom #1 $1.99 – To check out, because the premise sounds cool (fairies turning on the humans). If it’s good I’ll get the trade.

Birds Of Prey #100 $2.39 – To check it out. See Hulk. I’ve also been enjoying Gail Simone’s blog, so I owe it to her.

Content #2 $3.50 – Super good hype for this.
Content #1 $2.10 – Super good hype for this.

Zombies Eclipse Of The Undead #1 $1.99 – For the premise (humans holeing up in a baseball stadium during a zombie invasion.) See Wisdom.

The Super Naturals #1 $1.75 – Checked out a preview and the art looked great.

Makeshift Miracle Vol 1 Gn $9.09 – See Content. And Gail Simone super recommended it. See Birds of Prey.

And because they were cheap:
Superman Confidential #1 $0.74
Stormwatch Phd #1 $0.74
Midnighter #1 $0.74
Nightly News #1 $0.74
Immortal Iron Fist #1 $0.74
Onslaught Reborn #1 $0.74

Dropped:
Following Cerebus #10 – Hate to drop it, since Dave Sim fascinates me, but I still haven’t read enough Cerebus proper, so I should probably start there.

That’s it. Hopefully I’ll post earlier next month.

Under the Influence of Protestants

2006-10-01T12:54:00.000-05:00

A couple of bands I’ve gotten into lately, one mainstream, one sub-stream.

The mainstream band I first saw on the best late night show around, Jimmy Kimmel live. Please program your tivo’s now (especially in Chicagoland, where Jimmy airs at like 12:30am or something ridiculous. Jerks.) The band is Under the Influence of Giants. I stink at describing music, but they are alt-rock like with a 70’s hipster flair. Hmm, better just go to their myspace page and listen.
.
In the substream category is a Milwaukee band, Protestant. Protestant play hardcore punk rock with a metal\math rock edge. I dunno, something like that. Earlier stuff seems more math rockish and later more heavy\grindcore. Cory von Bohlen who used to do Butt Ugly fanzine is the singer\guitarist so what more do you need to know?

Garden part deux

2006-06-06T16:38:00.000-05:00

Long time no post. The garden is going good. The tomato plants I grew from seed turned out less than expected (mini) so I bought some plants from the store. The lettuce is coming in like wild fire, especially the mixed greens. The first round of the radishes are done and ate, and round 2 is growing. Next time I'll start the second round sooner -- maybe get 2 patches going. A couple of weeks ago I also started the Beans and Cuc's. Yay for food! Here's a pick, pre-planting.

Song of the year #2

2006-05-08T12:58:00.000-05:00

OK, here's my second pick for song of the year - "I want to be buried in your backyard" by Nightmare of You. You can here the song here, on their myspace page.
I first heard the song when I saw the video on JBTV, a local Chicago cable access video show that has been on forever and plays some good alt stuff. I recently purchased the cd and it's all quite good. Thanks JBTV.

In other myspace news, I recently found the page for Driver 23's own Dan Cleveland, and was finally able to get a copy of the CD featured in the documentary. Yay for me! As for Driver 23, I originally gave the movie a low rating for the lack of a conclusion. The DVD release however contained both movies (Driver 23 and Atlas Moth), and as such come highly recommended (and looks out of print). Guess myspace is good for something after all.

Song of the Year (so far)

2006-04-06T11:22:00.000-05:00

I'm undecided on the rest of the album, but the 3rd song on the Flaming Lips new record "At War With The Mystics" is just great. You can hear it here: flaminglips.com, click on the Music link in the New album out now! section. The song is called "The Sound Of Failure / It's Dark...Is It Always This Dark?"

Best song of the year, so far.

injoy.

Summer Project

2006-04-04T09:24:00.000-05:00

I’ve finally taken the plunge and started on one of my goals in life – to have a garden. I actually intended on starting a garden last year, but managed to procrastinate well into October. Last year, the main problem I had was trying to decide what type/size of garden to have – one big square? A couple of rows separated by grass? Raised beds? It was all too much. This year, I decided to check out the offerings from online gardening stores and found this . Now, granted, it’s probably more expensive than I could have made myself, but I’m not much of a craftsman (no patience) so this is perfect for me. Plus, it’s always back-ordered so it can’t be half bad. So garden style problem – solved. I even found a free shipping deal to sweeten the pot.

Next step – what to grow? I took a look at my book shelf for gardening books (I mentioned this was a goal in life, which means I have collected a few books over the years) and found The 20-minute Gardener. This book, it turns out, was written just for me – it explains how to have a garden that requires a minimal amount of work – a lazy man's garden if you will. And I, being a lazy man, am all onboard.

I also read parts of Gardening in Illinois, which will give me specifics on when to plant, harvest, etc. based on the seasons in Illinois specifically. Nice. The book also covers growing trees, grass, flowers, bushes, etc.

So with this arsenal I sat down to determine what to grow in my new garden. After consulting the list of easy to grow veggies in the 20-minute Gardener, and avoiding the hard to grows, and the things I don’t like, I ended up with the following list:
Lettuce
Arugula
Spinach
Tomatoes
Radishes
Cherry Tomatoes
Asparagus

Sounded good, so I head off to several seed sites to see what was available. I ended up getting the following seeds from Heirloom Seeds due to their Tomato selection, and decent prices:

BRANDYWINE TOMATO, RED, Price: 1.50
GIANT BEEFSTEAK TOMATO - CERTIFIED ORGANIC, Price: 2.50
GOURMET BLEND RADISH, Price: 1.15
BLENDS- MESCLUN MIX BLEND - CERTIFIED ORGANIC, Price: 1.85
BLENDS - PREMIUM LETTUCE BLEND, Price: 1.85

As you can see, I opted for Lettuce and Mesclun blends rather than the above, since I figured that would be more interesting. I also went with two tomatoes, because I love me some tomatoes.

I reviewed the list with my wife, who pointed out the absence of:
BLUE LAKE BUSH BEAN - CERTIFIED ORGANIC, Price: 2.50

And Cucumbers.

For the Cucumber, I wanted a Bush variety, rather than a Vine, but couldn’t find any a heirloomseeds, so I picked up a pack locally.

Now I just have to wait for the seeds, and figure out what I have room for in the garden. I figure a small amount of each, give or take.

As for the Asparagus, I’m going to order that just before planting time (mid-May I believe), and plant it outside of the garden – probably against the back fence, but I’m not sure yet. Asparagus apparently grows for 20 years, so that will be interesting. Plus garden fresh asparagus is super delicious.

So that’s the plan. I wanted to build the garden itself last weekend, but the weather didn’t cooperate. I also have to figure out some sort of fence to protect the garden from rabbits. The book has some suggestions, although I’m not clear on how to fence in a raised bed…

Bloglines love

2006-03-28T09:12:00.000-06:00

Have to give a quick plug to a web app that has proven to be one of my favorite, and one of the most productivity enhancing (oof – can you smell the corporate on me?) tools I use. The app is called Bloglines, and is a new feed reader, which means it allows you to subscribe to sites, and it will collect any new data from those sites for you. This means you can subscribe to all of your favorite blogs and only have to go to one page to read them all. I’ve tried a couple of news readers in the past and have been less than impressed. Bloglines was suggested as an option by Andrew and as soon as I started using it I knew it was a keeper. I think it’s the layout that won me over – very simple – the sites you subscribe to are displayed in a tree on the left side of the page. When new stories are posted to the sites they are bolded in the tree and the number of new posts is displayed. To see the stories click on the site in the tree, and the new posts for that site are displayed on the right side of the page. Simple, easy, definitely a winner. Thanks Andrew.

Pepsi Smells

2006-03-07T20:57:00.000-06:00

Am I the only one out there who loves the way Pepsi smells? That great aroma that hits your olfactory nerve when you pour a fresh one in a nice big glass and stick your face in the fizz and inhale deeply? I love dat.

May 2006 Previews Picks

2006-03-07T20:52:00.000-06:00

Another round of Previews picks. This looks to be a good month for comics. Much better than last month in my op. Last month it was relatively easy to keep within my monthly budget (after dropping the Ant statue, and forgetting to order the new Jeffery Brown book, oops (the later of which I’ll pick up from Mr. Brown at the Chicago Comicon this year – which in retrospect is the preferred route since then I can get a sketch in it.)) this month, however, is going to be a challenge. To wit:

Apocalypse Nerd #3: Latest of the new Peter Bagge series. It has been pretty good so far. It’s about 2 guys who go camping and return to find out that the end of the world has apparently arrived. I’m an old school Hate fan and loved Sweatshop, so this is a no brainer.

Hate Annual #6: The latest incarnation of Buddy and friends. See above.

Power Girl TPB: I liked #1 and loved the art, so I’m in.

Wolverine #42: Loved, loved, loved Humbertous art on Revelations, so yeah!

Spider-Man Unlimited #15: Book of the month!!!!!!!!!! 2 stories, one with art and story by KLAUS JANSON! Klaus has been my FAVORITE artist since Punisher #1, so I’m as giddy as a schoolgirl over this one. Big smiles.

Nana #3: I still have to read #1 and 2, but hate the backwards Japanese format.

Last Christmas #1 (p. 140): Co-written by Brian Posehn, enough said! Ok, maybe not… Brian is a stand-up comic you may have seen on Mr. Show, Just Shoot Me, or more recently in the completely brilliant ‘Comedians of Comedy’, which really needs to come out on DVD loaded to the max with extrees. Brian is also a huge comic nerd so this should be good.

Walking Dead vol 5 (p. 149) Latest trade in the top zombie series out now. Started a huge zombie trend in comics. Good story, not great, and so-so to lousy art, but I love end of the world stories, especially on-going ones.

Wonderland (p. 218): Sonny Liew art! Sonny Liew!

X Isle #1 (p.243): Something about people stranded on an island inhabited by weird creatures. I dunno, the preview art looked interesting.

GI Joe Elite Hunt for Cobra Commander: 25 cents. I liked the last 25 cent’er, so I’m sure I’ll like this one too. And if not, what’s a quarter?

Love as a Foreign Language (p. 314): The write-up on this one is good, and the previews on onipress.com are interesting. Manga about a North American in Korea.

Eddy Current vol 1-3 (p. 226): Another favorite artist of mine, Ted McKeever’s, classic story from the 80’s, reprinted here. Probably my second favorite creator, after Janson. Checkout his art in Eclipso #7 and 8. One of them is better, I think someone else did the breakdowns on #7, so I would imagine #8 blows it away. Compare for yourselves at home!

Borrowed Time #1 (p. 311) Checked out a preview somewhere out there and this looked interesting… aren’t I helpful?

Mm, good enuff. ckc

Oh yeah, I also pre-ordered the Castle Waiting HC at Amazon for super cheap.

Egg salad

2006-03-01T12:40:00.000-06:00

Just ate some mac n cheese from the cafe at work today and was good, but that not point. Point is that mac n cheese came with a make-it-yourself side salad from the salad bar that was delish x2. I really need to start putting hard boiled eggs on my salads at home cuz dern they's good. Second only to raisins, dig.

INXS

2005-09-20T22:00:00.000-05:00

So I just watched the finale of Rockstar INXS, the reality show to find the new singer of INXS. The show was great, but the winner, JD Fortune, stinks. Too bad. No INXS for me. Not that I am a crazy wild INXS fan or anything, but I do like them. They were actually one of my favourite bands when I was a teen. I used to listed to "Listen Like Theives" over and over again while moving our massive "lawn", singing at the top of my lungs as I rode the mower, confident that my cooning would be enveloped by the roar of the engine. I used to imagine that I was at an INXS concert and that Michael Hutchence was so enraptured with my singing that he pulled me up to join him on stage. Ahh, the memories. Memories I can relive by watching my INXS live DVD.

So when this new show came along I gave it a chance, despite its unfortunate choice of hosts (note to producers - next time think credibility and see your ratings rise!) And I liked it. One of the best aspects of the show was the 'behind the scenes' episode that aired every Sunday night -- a show that got moved from ABC to VH1 from some unannounced reason. I got to like some of the singers, and hate others.

The last 4 singers were all ok, with 2 standouts, Suzie McNeil, and Marty Casey. Of course, neither of these singers won, the prize instead going to a generic rocker who emulated Michael more than the rest. Makes sense I suppose for the band, but not my bag. Too bad -- guess I have to find something else to find to mow the lawn to.

(Like the new Tegan and Sara, hint, hint.) (And by hint, hint, I don't mean I want it, I mean I have it, and so should you.) (And JD was the singer I hated most, by the way.)

Project Greenlight

2005-05-04T21:56:00.000-05:00

So I was flipping around the TV dial a month an a half ago or so, and came across a show that caught my interest, specifically because it seemed to be a direct rip-off of another show I like. Actually, that's not entirely true. In fact, I lied not once, but twice my intro sentance. Nice! First, I wasn't flipping through the TV dial. Besides the fact that my TV doesn't have a dial, since I have Tivo, I never "flip" anymore. 90% of the time I just watch something off of TiVo; the other 10% I look through Tivo's guide to see what is on. So, I wasn't flipping -- I believe what happened was I turned on the TV, and this show was on. That happens (random stations on) because TiVo is constantly changing the channel to record different things. Rarely is the TV on the last station you were watching. In this case the station was Bravo.

The second lie is the fact that the show caught my interest. I guess that's not completely a lie, but I actually said "What's this? A rip off of antoher show that I like and will name soon? This new show sucks!" So my "interest" was more "disgust" than interest.

In any case, this show appeared to be a documentary on the making of a movie ala project Greenlight on HBO, a show I watched the first two seasons of and loved immensely. I watch a couple of minutes then turned it off in my previously mentioined, and well established, disgust.

Then, a week or so later, I turn on the TV to find that TiVo had once again turned to Bravo, and was once again prompting me to watch this new show. This time however TiVo had wisened and decided that rather than intice me with the show itself it would instead lure me in with a promo. And what did my eyes and ears behold but words that startled and warmed my heart at the same time: "Project Greenlight, now on Bravo"! Holy Batman, Robin! This copycat show was infact the original! One of my favorite shows jumping ship and leaving me behind! My poor TiVo all ready to record the right show on the wrong channel! (Note to TiVo -- send people a message when their shows have changed stations!)

Needless to say, I updated TiVo and have now watched the entire new season of Project Greenlight thus far.... and loved it! I actually think the people on the show are better this year, although the show itself seems to be going faster than usual (shorter season?). The premise of the show is that there is a contest where they pick a screenplay to make into a movie, and a director to direct said movie, from all of the people who submitted their work to the contest. The screenplay this year is a horror flick, and the writers are pretty interesting; one goofy and annoying, the other seems pretty cool. The director, however, is the real star of the show. In a suprising move they selected the more timid of all the finalists, who also happened to be the most talented. He is a super nice guy who has trouble verbalizing his ideas in certain situations, namely, when uncomfortable. Which makes for interesting TV when his crew can't figure out what he wants them to do. I think one of the reasons I am drawn to the director is because I am a lot like him in the sense that I too have trouble getting the words out when I am in a strange or new situation, or dealing with new people. It always takes me a bit of time to read a person and to become familiar enough with them to be able to interact comfortably. Pain in the ass really, but what you gonna do? The director seems to be the same way, and has become more comfortable as the series has progressed.

So that's it. If you have Bravo start watching. If you have TiVo get programming. Go find out how movies are made, and how people work together in stressful circumstances.

April Previews Picks

2005-04-12T17:49:00.000-05:00

Howza 'bout a new feature? Howza 'bout something other than TV for a change? Howza 'bout comics? Howza 'bout you bet?

Yes, this is the first in what I hope to be a long line of entries regarding the latest and greatest in the world o' comics.

First the history.

I've been reading comics since... hm, must have been around freshman year of high school, but I could be mistaken. I started collecting comics along with my brother Scott. Whenever possible we would head off to Gnu Books in Ajax Ontario, or to the Book Between in Oshawa to check out the latest in the world of superheroes. Fast forward to college. Around this time my interest became more focused on music and such, and my comic collecting waned. Post college, and after getting a job and some loot, I started picking up books here and there. Mostly filling in gaps in my collection from quarter bins and various Graphic Novels. Along the way my brother and I always made it to the annual Chicago Comicon, but neither of us really kept up to date on the current trends.

Fast forward to... I dunno, more recently. More recently the industry has seemed to have hopped on the Graphic Novel bandwagon, so there's tons of great stuff I've been picking up. So much so in fact (and fueled by the discount deals available on the internet) I've begun to peruse the latest comics listed in Previews each month.

So without any further ado, here are my April Picks:

NEIL GAIMANS NEVERWHERE #1 - I have the book, I have the DVD set, I might as well get the comic (plus it's only $0.75 at DCBS).

WE 3 TP - Heard good things about this... we'll see. Cyborg animals or something. Written by Grant Morrison who did Animal Man, so there you go.

CONCRETE VOL 1 DEPTHS TP - A cheap collection of early Concrete comics. A no brainer. Did I mention that my Concrete watercolor I got for ridiculously cheap online is one of my prized possessions? Cuz it is.

HOUSE OF M #1 - again, $0.75. Marvel's next big thing I gather. I think by Brian Bendis who I don't really like as a writer (yes, I prefer his art, even though he's made his fortune off of the writing.)

LIFE AND TIMES OF SCROOGE MCDUCK TP - Oh, yeah... a new collection of Don Rosa Scrooge McDuck comics. I haven't ever read these but can't wait.

AEIOU GN - Pick of the month! The third of the Jeffery Brown
"girlfriend" trilogy. Genius! The first two volumes are Clumsy and Unlikely. Jeffery's work is scribbly and honest, and sometimes I like him and sometimes I want to punch him in the face. Mostly the former. My only complaint is that sometimes he comes off like a braggart, even if he is bragging about self-deprecating things. Kind of like being show-offy about how lazy you are. Not that Jeff's lazy. And not that I won't get this. I will. I love this stuff. It's my pick of the month, remember?

STREET ANGEL VOL 1 TP - Heard good things and liked the preview I read online. Getting it due to the hype. Sucka.

MARGES LITTLE LULU TP #2 - I used to like Richie Rich, Little Lulu and Little Dot comics so I figure I'll enjoy this collection of original comics put out by Dark Horse Comics (following in Fantagraphics Peanuts steps?). There are 4 of these out now, I'm starting with #2 cuz it was cheaper than #1 and I'm a #1 cheapskate. Now where are the Richie Rich tpb's? Seriously! Let's get with it people - it's Richie Rich, he's very popular! They made a couple of movies for pete's sake! Get with the program! Cummon Fantagraphics! Cummon Dark Horse! Cummon Image! Get it on!

That's it. See you next month.

Fight Reality TV

2005-04-02T18:52:00.000-06:00

I've been meaning to write about this for a while, but have been preoccupied with the birth of my Daughter (something else I have been meaning to write about)...

There are two television shows on currently, that I watch, that, while different, are very much alike.

The shows are the Contender, on NBC, and The Ultimate Fighter, on Spike TV.

Both are similar in that they are both "reality" shows about fighting, Boxing, in the case of the Contender, and Mixed Martial Arts, in the case of the Ultimate Fighter. On both, a group of fighters are competing against one another to attain money and fight contracts, or somthing to that effect. They are different in that one is a huge prodution starring a huge movie celebrity, and the other is a low(er) budget production, with no celebrities other that those in the world of Ultimate Fighting.

I've watched both programs religiously since they began. The Ulitmate Fighter (UF) beat the Contender to the air waves by two months, so by the time the Contender premeire I was already fully ensconced in UF.

A bit of history first -- I've never really been a huge fan of Ultimate fighting, or Mixed Martial Arts, as it is know. I watched a few UFC videos years back, but never thought it more than a exercise in violence for the sake of violence. Then I watched the documentary "The Smashing Machine," which is the story of a MMA fighter named Mark Kerr. That documentary, which I consider to be one of the top 5 of all time, let me see that while the sport may be violent, at its heart it is just regular people just trying to get by. It also showed me that the sport had advanced to the point of "sport" reather than just violence. There were more rules now to protect the fighters, ala boxing. Actually, the documentary made me miss some of the old violence that was allowed, but that was just the power of the movie.

Fast forward a couple of years. When I saw that there was going to be an Ultimate Fighting reality show I immediately thought of the Smashing Machine, and knew I had to watch it. I went in with huge expectations, and am happy to say I was not let down. The show is a great mix of stories of the fighters and their thoughts and lives, and of straight on fighting. Top notch all the way.

Then the Contender appeared. My expectations, being set by the Ultimate Fighter were high, and... I was unfortunately let down. Not that the Contender is a bad show, Ultimate Fighter just does it all much better. I should also point out that there was another boxing show on eariler in the year, which I assume died an early death. I should also point out that I find it humorous that everyone was comparing these two shows, to determine which would come out on top, when in reality the unknown black horse would trump them both.

First the similarities:
On both shows there are two teams that compete. The winning team gets to chose a person on their team who will fight the opponent of their choice from the opposing team. At the end of the show they show the fight. The loser goes home. On both shows fighters have had to leave due to medical reasons, and elliminated players were chosen to return.

The differences:
On Ultimate Fighter each team is led by one of the top 2 light heavyweights in the UFC. Awesome. On the Contender, i'm not sure who the team leads are, I don't think there are any. On UF the lead coaches give advice and provide opinions on the fighters and the developing story.

On Ultimate Fighter they show the entire fight at the end of the show. The fight is in the facility where the fighters train and the audience consists of people involved with the show, and three judges. On the Contender, the fight is in a huge venue with packed house and the whole package. Unlike the UF, they only show a "highlights" version of the fight, with added sound effects!

This pretty much illustrates the main difference between the two shows -- the Contender is like a movie, the UF is more concentrated on the fighters and the fighting.

Interestingly, while the Contender does focus more on the 'movie' factor to drive stories, the story lines in UF are actually much more compelling. The likeable fighters are more likeable, the hateable fighters are more hateable, and I overall care more about the Ultimate fighters than I do the Contenders. After an episode of the UF I feel like I know the fighters who have fought. After the Contender I feel I have been given a few minor glimpses into their lives.

Not that the Contender approach doesn't have its merits -- some of the fights have been great, and some of the stories very inspirational. But the UF is just more real.

One other major difference that puts UF ahead once again is the fact that on the UF all of the fighters live in the same house, so that we are able to see the evolving relastionships between the fighters. On the Contender I feel like we see the fighters in their natural environment occasionally, but I don't have a real feel for any of the fighters, or feel that there is any story developing.

So hurrah for UF, for beating goliath. Kudos to all.

Actually, extra Kudos to the UFC president Dana White, who appears on the show, for (I assume) comming up with the show. Not only is it exposing UFC to a wider audience, but the main fight on the next UFC PPV is none other than a fight between the two coaches on the show - Chuck Lidell and Randy Couture, both awesome fighters! Talk about hugh publicity! Nice!

In the end, I'm still going to watch both shows, but I'll only be buying The Ultimate Fighter on DVD (if the extras make it worth seeing again.)

Juggling con't

2005-01-30T18:58:00.000-06:00

Well, they bumped 4 of the Juggling shows to Feb 2 because of tennis... what's wrong with people? And when are the new shows going to show up on Tivo? Grr...

Juggling

2005-01-25T20:15:00.000-06:00

Woo-hoo! Juggling competition on ESPN2 Jan 27-28! Woo-hoo! Now I become depressed at my pitifully amateur juggling abilities...

World Juggling Federation

Carson and Love, Actually

2005-01-25T18:28:00.000-06:00

First off, I don't know why people are so confused, or off put by the fact that the Johnny Carson dvd's are selling like hotcakes now that he's passed. Make perfect sense to me - Johnny dies, it's in the news, people go "oh, poor Johnny (how old was he?) I loved his show, I wonder if it's out on DVD? Oh, look, it is!"... and hotcakes are born.

I actually wouldn't mind seeing them DVD's myself come to think of it. I never really watched his show (don't watch any of the current batch either,) but I'm sure I'd enjoy a best of. Time to hit the library I guess, well, after the death rush that is...

Second, just thought I'd recommend a movie I watched last night called "Love Actually". It was probably pretty popular when it came out... lets see... $60 million, not bad. I Tivo'd it in Nov and finally got around to watching it last night. Actually, love, I began watching it on Sunday, then decided to watch another installment last night (no, not the best method of watching a movie, I admit, in fact probably the worst, but I've been short for time lately and poor Tivo is jammed to the gills...) So I begin watching the movie, with plans to turn it off and head to bed in half an hour. An hour and fifteen minutes later I think to look at the clock and notice the time. Yikes! Way past my bedtime. Apparently I had gotten so engrossed in the movie that I did not realize the passage of time, nor did I have the inclination to glance at the clock. Now that's an endorsement if I ever heard one! At this point there was only 20 minutes or so left in the film so of course I watched it all. And loved it.

No, it wasn't perfect, but it was quite lovely. And chock-full of stars! Hugh Grant, Rowan Atkinson, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Tim from The Office (Martin Freeman), etc. That's a lot of star power.

Um, good stories, and written, apparently by the guy who did Four Weddings and a Funeral, a bunch of Rowan Atkinson stuff (Bean, Blackadder), and some other brit goodies. All the stories are about love and relationships, both sad and heartwarming. Quite a bit of swearing and some mild nudity for those who care; nothing shocking or obscene, just adult. I recommend. And that 11 year old kid was super. Go kids!

More TV

2005-01-04T13:49:00.000-06:00

I've started watching the TV show "House" recently (since in re-runs it doesn't conflict with other shows) and must say it's quite good. Hugh Laurie's character is great. Now on with the Alias, man.

Canadian Idol

2004-11-08T20:51:00.000-06:00

OK, more TV stuff. I know I watch too much TV, too bad.

Recently I downloaded, and watched, the entire second season of Canadian Idol. Yup, all 34 episodes. And I loved it.

Here's the thing:

Even though the Idol franchise represents much of what I hate about the music industry, it also represents much of what I love about life.

You see, while the whole point of the show is to deliver some big name pop album and superstar, the stars of the show themselves are just some kids with dreams, and that's what makes it great. Seeing these kids go from no-name nobodies with stars in their eyes during tryouts, to bona fide celebs is an exciting experience to watch. And, unlike some other reality type shows, at least these kids are getting famous off of at least some modicum of talent; in some cases a lot of modicums!

Case in point -- the top 3 singers on this seasons Canadian Idol's were all quite talented. And quite varied -- one, a teen crooner kid, one, a goofy pop-punk rock kid, and one, a jazzy folk singer. Actually, the top 6 all had more musical talent than is typically seen on these shows, as was evident in one episode where the top 6 all performed a Gordon Lightfoot medley (Canadian Idol, dig) for which the Idols not only contributed the singing, but also the music! Yes, the Idols themselves played the instruments for the performance. Quite amazing, really.

But most of all, watching Canadian Idol brought back al of my memories of growing up in Canada, and seeing all of the wonderful people there made me jealous of what a wonderful nation it really is.

In comparison to American Idol -- production wise the US version is slicker, but the Canadian version has way more heart, and better judges to boot. On the Canadian version there are 4 judges, one a Simon type (who does not come off as a clone), one a female pop/rock singer (who actually has an opinion and who actually criticizes), and two music producer types, both opinionated (and neither of which say "dawg" every two seconds). The host is better, too, and the son of a former Prime Minister even. The Canadian version also has a comic relief guy, for variety. Very nice.

Eh.

And in terms of watching a copy off the internet, all I can say is if they released it on DVD I'd buy it, but until then I'll takes what I can get. Personally I'd rather watch it live (more anticipation), but video does have the advantage of being able to fast forward past all of the stinky singers (and there were a few... actually most besides the top 3 were pretty lousy). Plus, I'll definitely buy 2 of the top 3's CD's if they ever come out... and I'll give the winner's a listen too -- especially if there's a Gordon Lightfoot song on it.

Weiner schnitzel

2004-09-15T20:50:00.000-05:00

I don't know if it's old age or what, but certain things seem to be slipping my mind recently. Actually, things have been slipping my mind for the past couple of years. My theory is that life expectancy used to be only 35 give or take, so that in reality I have reached old age. Much like the "wall" long distance runners must break through to continue their run, I think 35 is like the "wall" you have to break through in order to obtain your "second wind" in life, which will take you till 50 or 60 or something, I have no idea when the next wall hits, as I am but I mere child.

But, yes, a child at his first round of old age. And as one of the elderly, me mind ain't what it used to be. One thing I have specifically noticed, something that seems to be increasing in frequency, is my habit of not zipping up my fly after using the bathroom. I dunno what it is -- I go to the bathroom, I wash up, I leave the bathroom, and I enter the world... totally exposed. Well, not totally, I do wear boxers, but still. Luckily, because of this, I have also gotten into the habit of verifying my state of zipp'ed ness, so my reign of indecency typically doesn't make it more than a few steps passed the bathroom door, where I question aloud my sanity: "what the hell?" And ponder my mental deterioration.

Either that or I'm just an exhibitionist at heart and never realized it.

TV

2004-08-27T20:49:00.000-05:00

I tend to be a bit of a TV freak... always have been. Not being the most social person in the world, I guess it makes sense. Fact is I like to be entertained. Sure I like being entertained by real life humans, but real life humans require feedback from me, which I often find difficult. Plus, if the TV starts to bore me I can just change the channel, which is awkward to do in real life. But enough of that; before I delve too deeply into my neuroses let me get to the crux of this post... I love TV, and as such will now share with you some of my favorite hidden gems.

These are the shows that have kept me entertained all summer, when network TV takes a breather. And by damn, some of these shows rank much higher than their more mainstream ilk:

1) Trailer Park Boys, BBC America. A current Canadian cable show (think the Canadian version of HBO or Showtime) being broadcast in the States by BBCA, TPB is currently my favourite show on the tube. Trailer Park Boys is about two 30 something guys living in a trailer park (surprise. surprise), and trying to survive the daily grind of life. Of course their daily life is hep full of drinking, and drug dealing, and robbery, but daily life nonetheless. The whole show is seen through the camera of a team of filmmakers documenting the lives of these individuals in the park, so we often see the characters talking directly to the camera in mock-documentary style. The trailer park boys and their co-horts are for the most part bumbling idiots, but are also quite indearing in a odd sort of way. In the end this show is really about the interactions between people, and is terribly funny. It's also completely full of profanity, and as such isn't for those who don't like the swears.

BBCA is currently airing the 2nd season. The first 3 seasons are available on DVD from Canada censor free. I own them, but have yet to watch them all. The commentaries I've seen thus far are really good (1).

Oh yeah, Bubbles rules!

2) Da Ali G show, HBO. Ali G is a white homeboy style character done by Sasha Baron Cohen, who also does 2 other characters on the show, the hilarious Borat, and the other guy whose name evades me. This show has seemed to have popped, so I'm not going to talk it up much. Respekt. I've also watched the Ali G movie that came out in the UK -- is was OK, but not up to par with the HBO show.

3) Chef!, BBC America. BBC America rules this year -- there are 4-5 shows on it that I watch regularly. Chef is one of them. Chef is a show about a Chef at a French restaurant, played by comedian Lenny Henry (who is married to Dawn French apparently). Pretty much the Chef character yells at and berates his staff every episode quite hilariously. Lenny Bruce is great. For some unknown reason this show isn't out on DVD, but there are 2 videotapes available. The show itself is from 95 or so. Highly recommended.

4) Monk, USA. I think Monk is pretty big so I won't go into it. For those who haven't watched it, it's a comedy/mystery show about an obsessive-compulsive detective. The only down side is that the seasons are too short and a couple stories were a bit implausible. Other than that, ace. Bitty Schram and Tony Shaloob rock.

That's it for now. Next time - My Hero!

HDTV

2004-08-20T20:49:00.000-05:00

Recently I took the plunge into the brave new world of HDTV. Despite the cable guy arriving 2.5 hours late (thanks much,) and being relativly incompentant, everything is great. The picture is sensational, and I cannot wait until everything is HD. The only bummer part is the Olympics -- I was looking forward to watching the games in HD, but unfortunately NBC-HD only shows the previous days events in HD (in seemingly random order) and does not do a simulcast with regular NBC... what's up with that? Thanks for nothing NBC, or close to nothing anyway.

Lo and behold, I suck

2004-07-20T20:47:00.001-05:00

Cuz I never write you see... was the same when I had a fanzine - "when are you gonna put out a new issue?" was all I ever heard. Which, I suppose, is better than "why the hell are you putting out another issue?"...

Speaking of fanzines, I do one day hope to put some of my old stuff up on my page, I just haven't gotten around to it yet (lo these many years). Someday I swear.

But for now it's this journal, which I never update.

The past month or so has been very hectic, you see, as my wife and I have been supro busy moving out of our old house and into our new. We moved a week and a half ago and are still being intimidated by the mounds of boxes surrounding us; don't know where I'm going to put a lot of this stuff to be honest with you. And this place is larger than my last! Just gotta start loading up shelves I guess.

And most of the stuff is mine, so I can't blame my wife. DVD's, CD's, video tapes, books, comics, toys, action figures... man I gots some stuff! And it's all mine!

I'm into possessions you see -- I know most think it best to be minimalistic and not into earthly possessions, but they haven't seen my STUFF! My stuff is the heart of me; it represents all that I stand for, all that I admire, all that makes me happy to be alive. And that, my friend, takes up space.

Like my Jimmy Osmond doll, that takes up space.
Or my NEW Leaping Lanny Poffo book, that takes up space.
Or my 100 some odd graphic novels, they take up space.
Or my Flaming Carrot statue, that takes up space.

And on, and on.

So yes, I suck, and I need to be less lazy, and stop making up so many excuses about everything, but not until I finish unpacking, which at this rate will take approximately 15.87 years.

Nuts about Peanuts

2004-04-21T20:45:00.000-05:00

Not the edible kind -- the Schultz kind, you know - Sparky's work.

Truth is I've never really liked the Peanuts comic strip. I love the cartoon version they play on TV at Christmas, but the daily strip never really appealed to me the way, say, a Calvin and Hobbes did. I always respected the comic, and liked the characters, but the strips just didn't move me.

But, if there's one thing I like, it's origins, and the evolution of things -- especially when it comes to pop culture. One of my favorite "historical" comic strip books is Gary Larson's Prehistory of the Far Side, which has early versions of Far Side strips, and general info on the creative process behind Larson's work (as well as some hilarious rejected, or never submitted, comics). So when 2 new books about Peanuts came out I jumped on them. Or, rather, jumped on one of them, and plan to jump on the other as soon as it is released.

The first book is not a Peanuts book per say, but rather a collection of the pre-cursor to Peanuts - "L'il Folks". L'il Folks was a comic Schultz produced before Peanuts. It, like it's progeny, stars a bunch of little kids, and a dog that became Snoopy. In fact, in the book we find several L'il Folks panels presented next to the Peanuts strips they became years later, along with explanations of each strips. Great stuff. The book is only available at the Schultz Museum and has already sold out once.

The second book is upcoming the first collection of Peanuts strips from Fantagraphics that should be available everywhere: The Complete Peanuts: 1950-1952. It will include all strips from 1950-1952 in chronological order, and should make a nice follow up to L'il Folks. Fantagraphics is planning on publishing 25 volumes -- all of Schultz Peanuts strips I believe. Seth, of Palookaville fame, designed this volume, so it should be a sight to behold.

Why do I love these types of books? I guess because it gives me a glimpse into the artistic process, enabling me to see how things evolved over time. I also really like early works of creators -- I feel that a person's early work is more raw and immediate -- less polished and less mass-media friendly, which for me makes it more personal and real. While often not a creators best work, I think their first work is often their most interesting -- capturing the creative explosion that erupted from their brains when they first conceived their creations, and wanted to unleash them to the world at large.

I know from some of my own work, that early versions, while often utterly embarrasing and horrible to behold, contain some of the most immaculate of gems. I'm sure Schultz felt the same derision about some of his early strips; luckily most readers won't feel the same way.

On to the reading!

Ebert

2004-02-20T20:43:00.000-06:00

I've always liked Roger Ebert -- mostly because we seem to share the same taste in movies. He also seems like a good guy. Today I read his review of a new movie "Osama", about a woman living in Taliban ruled Afghanistan. The movie is about how horrifically the Taliban treated women, and one woman's attempts to life a normal life. Roger gave the movie 3.5 stars. Sounds good -- probably not easy to watch, but necessary.

I was struck by the last paragraph in his review, which read:
"In this country Janet Jackson bares a breast and causes a silly scandal. The Taliban would have stoned her to death. If you put these things into context, the Jackson case begins to look like an affirmation of Western civilization."

Which is probably, if not definitely, the most intelligent thing I've read regarding the Janet Jackson incident. Kind of puts it in a new perspective, no?

Movie Day

2004-02-18T20:41:00.000-06:00

Was feeling sick Monday (Feb 16) and decided to take the opportunity to watch some of the seemingly infinite supply of movies currently being stored (and overwritten) on my beloved Tivo... see, I am one of those people with a serious love/hate relationship with a little electronic box - actually, more of a love/annoyance relationship. I read an article about it once, or rather, about "us" - the Tivo junkies, and the stress our most precious device causes us. The article pointed out how the Tivo was touted to be the great black (box) hope, allowing people to "time-shift" TV - play their favorite show when ever they wanted, freeing them from the evil TV scheduling empire that loves to put our favorite shows all on the same night (jerks). However, the article pointed out, what has happened, is that rather than be FREED from our TV's, we are now becoming SLAVE to our Tivo's.. and you know what? It's true! And you know what else? We love it! See what happens is that Tivo gives you too many options, and too many features! Feature rich I tell you! Tivo has enabled dopes like me to search out every little movie I might ever have an interest in, and record it on one unit that requires no tapes, and no manual intervention. Heck, I don't even have to know what's being recorded. What dopes like me, or more specifically, I, have done, is to give Tivo a list of every Movie I would ever like to see and told it to record them if ever they appear on the TV dial. Additionally, I have instructed my Tivo to show me a list of all movies that are going to be on the next month starring my favorite big screen stars, or directed by my favorite movie moguls.

So, day after day, week after week, my Tivo does it's duty and records me more movies than I could ever hope to watch. And what does this ever-growing (and re-writing) pile of unwatched movies cause? That's right - STRESS! But not too much really... I make sure Tivo keeps what I one day hope to watch, and allow the deletion of things I care less about (and wondered why where recorded in the first place), and yes, ever once in a while find time to watch some of the damned things...

Which brings me to Monday... Monday I had a whole day with nothing to do but lay on the couch feeling sorry for myself, so I seized the opportunity to get down and dirty with my Tivo.

Here's what I watched:
Independent Lens (PBS) - WHY CAN’T WE BE A FAMILY AGAIN?: This is a new (I think) PBS series that features a short film every week. This week's was about these two kids living with their grandmother as their mother goes in and out a rehab. It was good, but sad since the Mom will never go clean, you can tell. Kids seemed smart though. I recommend Tivoing this series.

Driver 23: A documentary about the singer of a metal band called "Dark Horse.” This guy's dream is to be a big rock star, but probably lacks talent. This movie documents his efforts to get his band going (2 members leave) and to record a CD in his homemade basement studio. The singer, Dan, is on medication for being bipolar or something, and likes to create things, mostly but duct taping them together it appears (including his cigars). One of his creations is his workout machine, which consists of a milk crate full of concrete blocks attached to a series of pulleys. Nice. I enjoyed the movie - it reminded me of American Movie, but not near as good. One big flaw -- they end the movie with Dan recording his album (like a year and a half into it), but never tell us how it ends! What the heck! I was expecting some explanations to pop up in the screen "Dan finished the album 8 months later" etc. But nothing. Oh well. Tivo gave this 1.5 stars, I give it 2.5 (3 if not for the lack of a conclusion). I should also point out that movies like this make me very nervous that I am also just a hopeless dreamer with no real notable talent and no chance of succeeding at anything creative, but I try not to let those feelings stop me for too long :)

Update: I just found out there is a second movie to this entitled "Atlas Moth"... off to the Tivo I go!

Das Experiment: German film about a scientific study of prisons. Scientists create a fake prison with volunteers who play the part of the prisoners and security guards for 2 weeks. The whole project gets out of hand and violence is the result. I liked it! After the movie I looked on the net and found that this movie was inspired by an actual experiment called the "Stanford Prison Experiment" done at Stanford University in 1971 (http://www.prisonexp.org/) The movie follows the real story pretty much to the point where the real study was cancelled (6 days in). The movie then continues the story and explores what would have happened it the study had continued, and if the study took place in a movie where unrealistic event are allowed to happen. I liked it! If you get a change, check out the link to the real study... it creeps me out that the behaviours of the students changed so dramatically so quickly -- e.g. the prisoners rebelled on the 2nd day, and the guards got very brutal and authoritarian. Wild. At then end, I think 3 of the kids had physiological breakdowns, and the guards turned truly brutal. It's amazing to see how people change so quickly when put in a new environment. I've seen this to a smaller extent when playing games, or working on projects. I've been involved in some team building exercises at work where the regular work roles between people completely disappear as they get drawn into the game. Soon they take on the roles enforced by the game to the point where the games rules become the reality in which they are now living. This is what happened in the fake jail -- to them it became a real jail to the point where they felt that there was no escape, even though their imprisonment was voluntary. And the guards took their roles so seriously they actually abused the prisoners, even though in the real world, they were no different from the prisoners, and this was just an experiment. Fascinating stuff. I had never heard about this experiment before. I blame my education, or maybe I just skipped that class. Oh well. Thanks to Das Experiment now I know. The movie itself was good, although there were several subplots, I wish they had explored more (e.g. the woman), and some of the guard’s behaviour I found had to swallow. They got more evil than seems possible - even if you were so into the role I imagine you would still realize laws apply to you. Nevertheless, good, nonetheless.

With a Friend Like Harry - Sheesh, why'd I have to watch so many movies? This one was French. It's about a guy and his family who run into an old schoolmate. The schoolmate turns out to be a nut job. The movie was good, but kind of long.

I think I watched another movie but I can't remember what it was... that's enough anyways...

2004-02-13T15:48:00.000-06:00

Just another test :)

2004-02-12T21:17:00.000-06:00

test4

2004-02-12T21:09:00.000-06:00

test3

2004-02-12T21:03:00.000-06:00

test2

2004-02-12T20:19:00.000-06:00

test

Poetry

2004-02-02T20:38:00.000-06:00

Came across this today -- it's my favorite poem. Or, rather, was my favorite poem, until I forgot about it. But now, in seeing it again, can confirm that it is in fact my favorite poem.

This Is Just to Say
by William Carlos Williams

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

----------------------

Now I'm not a big poetry person, in fact I would consider myself rather ignorant regarding the subject, but some poems - like this one - I just like. I remember liking it when I first read it back in -- grade school I believe, perhaps high school. The last line is the best of course... so sweet and so cold. Nice. Perhaps it is the simplicity of the poem that attracts me to it - easy to understand and the like; I'm not big on poetry you have to study in order to understand. Not that complicated poetry is bad; I'm just lazy is all. There seem to be two kinds of poetry: one kind, like the one above, are immediate, and sensual, and vital, the other kind are complex and contain hidden meanings and secrets that can be studied and argued by those who have made it their devotion to research such things. It's like anything really, if you look at any area of interest there are two levels -- an immediate level that is accessible by all, and a deeper level reserved for those that are fanatical. Like religion for example -- there are more entry-level religions, like the uber-churches, and deeper ones that require years of meditation, or hours and hours of service and study. Or something as simple as music -- at the immediate level you have people just listening to the cool cold funky beats, but at a deeper level have people analyzing the relevance of the music and lyrics at that time in music history.

Of course Williams might disagree...

But which is better? Most would say that which takes the most intelligence to unravel is the true "art". But maybe there really is no inherent superiority in the complex and convoluted, indeed, perhaps the opposite is true -- that to state intangible the in a simple, eloquent, and accessible manner is truly the height of the creative skills. To touch directly the synapses, without the murk.

More Sleep News

2004-01-22T20:38:00.000-06:00

Well, I had some more hallucinations last night - 4 I think. Most I've had in a while. They were mostly interesting, but one of them made me scared that I might be losing my mind. This has happened before (being scared about it, I meant, not losing my mind, although some may argue otherwise). Hmm... I guess I should really start at the beginning...

As far back as I can remember I've had insomnia; nothing substantial, typically it takes me an hour or two to fall asleep. Sometime more, sometimes less. Accompanying the insomnia for the last 15 years or so have been hallucinations. Hallucinations I used to thing were completely normal, but have come to realize may not be.

The hallucinations come just before I fall asleep. I believe my entering into REM before I am actually asleep, such that I am in fact dreaming whilst awake causes them. That is, my brain is dreaming of something and my eyes and ears perceive these things as if they were really occurring, and not just figments of my mind. Occasionally these hallucinations several minutes, and prompt me to action, but most of the time they last less than a minute -- typically until I recognize them as hallucinations and not reality.

So last night I had 3 hallucinations -- at least that I can remember. I don't remember what I saw during the first one. In the second one my wife had put her face right up in mine and was eating something like looked like a green pipe cleaner... maybe a green bean. I watched her eating it bit by bit, slowing drawing it into her mouth and couldn’t figure out why she was awake; why she was eating; and why she was eating right in my face. Coming to the conclusion that it didn't make any sense I quickly realized it was just a hallucination. My hallucinations typically end this way... I realize that it isn't real and I just stare at the illusion until it disappears. The image of my ravenous wife disappeared before my eyes, reveling my real life wife asleep next to me, facing the opposite direction.

During the next hallucination, I actually ended up waking my wife up. I was lying there, trying to sleep, when something started crawling up on the bed (I get this one a lot). I don't remember what it was, but I started hitting the side of the bed trying to get rid of it. Actually, now that I think about it, I must have been partially asleep, as I don't remember it that clearly. After hitting it, I rolled over to try to sleep. That's when my wife asked me if I were awake. "Yeah," I replied rather indignantly, "why?" She didn't respond; she had either fallen back asleep, or didn't hear me. I didn't think it was worth it to wake her just to see is she was awake, so I let it slide. At the time I didn't know why she had woken up to ask me if I were awake... I figured all my tossing and turning has woken her. Today at lunch I asked her and she said she had been woken by my hitting the bed. It was only at that point that I remembered doing so, thus my uncertainty as to whether this was a dream or a hallucination. My wife was just glad I wasn't facing her when I started beating the bed. In the past I have touched her because of these events -- once time I shook her awake; another I shook her leg, or squeezed it or something. Such fun for her...

The last hallucination is the one that scared me mentally. And, again, I don't mean in the horror movie "aaaaah!" kind of way, I mean in the "what if I'm really going crazy" kind of way. The last hallucination is the kind that freaks me out the most -- auditory hallucinations. For some reason seeing things that aren't there doesn't bother me - I can rationalize how my eyes can be deceived by my brain, but hearing things that aren't there is different for some reason. And not because hearing things is generally though of in a "crazy" kind of way, I mean it's just a freaky experience.

Last night's auditory delights took the form of some sort of big-band music. There I was lying in bed when all of a sudden (as I entered REM no-doubt) the music started "ba-rumpa-pumpa-rump..." etc. It was quite good, and quite imaginary. I say up in bed to isolate the source of the music and quickly realized the source was between my ears, not outside of them. Upon this realization, I listen to the music for a couple of seconds, waiting for it to disappear. It must have taken longer for it to subside that the visual ones do because I remember as I sat there listening to the music suddenly becoming a big scared and depressed - here I was, listening to music that wasn't there, music that I *knew* wasn't there, but could hear none the less. I was also partially amazed at my brain for being able to synthesis an actual none existent song so realistically! If only I were a musician, then I could write these orchestrations down for the world to see - me - the next Mozart! But alas, all I got out of it was the fear of insanity, which, in all but a few cases doesn't pay the rent (and in other cases causes the state to pay the rent).

Actually, I think the air filter in our bedroom plays a part in the auditory stuff -- it's hum becoming the stirring of a song in my mind, so perhaps no so crazy after all, eh?

I finally fell asleep at 12 something. I am tired today, but not too bad.

Sometime I'll write about some of my memorable hallucination, like the time I ran all over the house trying to find the music I had left blaring (in my head) or the time I woke up on the floor. Fun!

2004-01-08T20:12:00.001-06:00

So I've started a blog... um hm.

'Bout time I guess... and, on the other hand, why bother, what with the multitude of yappin and yackin alreasy out there? I dunno. Not like I have anything important to say. Mostly this'll just be a way for people to keep up to date with my brain. And who, I say, who, doesn't want to date my brain? Me thinks it died several years ago...

Anyway, I'm really tired today. Last night I didn't take a sleeping pill. I had on the previous 3 nights and felt awake each day... so that might be it. I also ate a Taco Bell for lunch, which always makes me tired, for some reason. Probably a food allergy. Tonight I won't take a pill and won't eat at TB to see which it be. If it's the pills I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get a sleeping study done. I think I have some form of narcolepsy, since I have nighttime hallucinations. Last night I saw my wife sitting next to the bed picking things from under the sheets, but it was just a hallucination - in reality she was sound asleep next to me.

I went down to the cafe today to get some Pepsi Blue but they had none left. Dammit! They stopped making the stuff in June or something and I miss it. I have some in my garage, but am going to have to search out some krappy marts to see it I can find more.... maybe I'll hit up some gas stations.

Later,

-DBM.