TDSA This Week

Hi there.

Not much to update on TDSA. I had the idea of making a few extra bucks by selling copies of TDSA in the broken-up-to-be-sold-digitally format. As I recall, the five chapters were around 60 pages (at the most), maybe 40 at the least, so if I sell them for 3 bucks or so a piece I'd see something on it. Basically I'm still looking for the cheapest way to get it all out there and both get people to read the bloody thing while seeing a return on it.

Meanwhile I've heard back from a few of the emails I've sent out across the internet to get reviews. At least one fellow has even mentioned the solicitation and upcoming review in an actual posting, which is encouraging. At this point I'm so hungry to get word out there I don't even care if the reviews I do get are negative, so long as they start showing up.

Anyhoo, things are slightly more optimistic than before, but barely if that. But slightly is better than worse, I suppose.

Big Annoucements!

Hi there.

Like I said in the last post (which I'm shocked was left nearly a year ago), most of my activity these days is done over on twitter. Still, I figured I'd come back with an update on the progress of TDSA: The Teenaged Defending Squad of America, my graphic novel. Specifically that it's finished and at the printers as we speak, and the official website is up and running.
I've also got a facebook page (which I really need to update with more details -- I suck at promotion, sadly), and I've been posting sneak peeks since the start of the year on twitter. So if you follow my blog (for some utterly inexplicable reason), that's what I've been up to.

 

Thoughts at the Moment...

• The pilot episode of "V" was pretty good, but it might've been better as a mini-series or movie rather than a series with a five-year plan.

• Hammacher Schlemmer makes a nice catalogue.

• The Starbucks instant coffee is actually very good, especially for those of us who like coffee but are lazy.

• The Will Ferrell movie "Stranger than Fiction" was pretty good, and yet I have no strong desire to see it a second time.

• I think I prefer the Nestle brand water to other kinds of water, except possibly Evian, but even then it's twice the cost of Nestle, so there you go.

• I think I read too many comics. If I were a smarter man I'd stop reading so many of a monthly basis and start buying the collected editions. They're cheaper, take up less space, fit nicely on a bookshelf, and give you a whole story. Granted you have to wait at least two months after the story finishes to finally get to read it and there's a good handful of books that actually read better as single issues, but if I were a smarter man I'd make the switch for most of the books I read.

• I don't read like Pizza Pizza pizza. Specifically their pizzas with tomatoes, green olives, and black olives. Something about them... not that great. Their cheese and regular veggie pizzas are great though. But their olives taste funny.

• Heath Ledger's Joker was pretty good. Not that I want to see that become the standard of all other media versions of the character, but you could do worse borrowing some aspects of that take.

• Sometimes it hard coming up with good fodder for blog postings, so writing down a lot of random junk gets the job done on occasion.

• The other day I couldn't remember if I'd told a friend about something or dreamt I'd told him it. Or whether or not I'd actually done the thing I told my friend about. I now I can't remember what it was I may or may not have told my friend I may or may not have done. Ah well, I suppose.

Things I Find Terribly Vexing This Month, Vol.1

I'd completely forgotten about this until I heard a mention of Mr. Coffee on an episode of Seinfeld a a minute ago (the episode where Jerry dates the Miss America pageant contestant for anyone curious). There was a comic book that came out about the time the first Spider-Man film was released that, not surprisingly, featured a return of the Green Goblin. Following a heated battle between Spidey and the Goblin, the two were so winded that they had to rest against a wall; it was during this downtime that the Goblin told Spider-Man that before settling on the "Green Goblin" he'd briefly considered calling himself "Mr. Coffee", making the two laugh. But only the two of them. I thought it was a pretty lame joke, but at least I get why the characters would laugh.

So, seven years later I'm in a supermarket and I find a copy of this... how can I put this... "deluxe edition" comic book that had a few pages of new material, some remastered old issues from the 1960s all dolled up with modern coloring techniques, a couple of handbook profiles, and a history of the Green Goblin done with some text and images from older issues. Since I was catching the bus home and had a good half hour to kill, I started reading some of that back-matter, specifically the skippable the "Green Goblin Saga" history thing. (Just so we're clear, it's just the history thing that's pretty skippable. Not the handbook profiles -- I get a real kick of those. The "Saga" stuff leaves me cold.) But anyway, I'm reading this thing and it gets to the origin of the Green Goblin and mentions that Norman Osborn considered Mr. Coffee as a name before going with Green Goblin.

Now I'm normally big on obscure references and callbacks and archaic trivia and all that, but really now -- "Mr. Coffee" is canon? A lame joke is now an arguably key component of the Green Goblin's history?

Just so we're clear, I'm not angered or anything by how "Mr. Coffee" has seemingly become such an important part of the Green Goblin's back story. It might read that I'm full of rage, but I assure you I'm, if anything, relaxed to the point of distraction here (I've had to proofread this post several times already just to be sure it makes sense). Still, I find this terribly vexing. I mean, really -- Mr. Coffee? Yeesch.

 

Well This is a Kick in the Head

First, I'd like to apologize for all of the nerd-heavy posts lately. On one hand I try to limit it to stuff that I'd hope folks might find interesting even if they're comic related. On the other it's easier writing about colorful funny book pamphlets than, you know, actually relevant stuff, so there you go.

That said, I read today that Dwayne McDuffie's been fired off the Justice League comic for discussing the editorial side of writing that book, specifically mandated tie-ins to other stories, characters being off-limits, writing a scene where a deceased character is mourned in a cemetary and then finding out they decided they weren't really dead after all (leaving the background tombstones curiously out of place), that kind of stuff.

But even being hamstrung as he was, I thought the book was doing pretty good. Not great, but there was still enough stuff in every issue to make it an entertaining read. And of course, I found out about this after finishing the latest issue, musing over the better bits as I checked out a few of my usual online haunts.

This is a real kick in the head. Really stinks.

My (Almost) Frustration

Last Friday I decided to get a copy of the first Scott Pilgrim book (Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life), having noticed some of the press surrounding the currently-filming, Edgar Wright-helmed production currently being shot in Toronto. And it was really terrifically well-done -- I burned through it in a few days. A really solid mix of video game surrealism and superbly honest and fully-realized characters.

On Thursday I got the second volume, which I finished today. Realizing how far along I was with the second volume (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), and not wanting to lose any of my reading-momentum, I got volumes three and four yesterday (Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness and Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together). Which was a wise decision because volume three picks up moments after the end of volume two. In fact, I can't even imagine having to read the volumes with the year-long gap folks had to put up with when the volumes were originally released.

That said, I can't help but feel it's a bit of a kick in the head that I've jumped on the Scott Pilgrim bandwagon at this particular moment. The fifth volume, (Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe), just came out and it'll likely be another year-plus until the sixth (and final) volume is released. And even then, it'll likely be timed to come out with the movie, which, as I've learned today, won't be out until the summer of 2010. And since I've been on a real Scott Pilgrim kick this past week, this is not that good. Still, the books are extremely well done and incredibly entertaining, so it's cool having all that to enjoy. And even if I still have a year to go I still have the fact that my friends have yet to realize how cool the whole thing is, so once they do finally hear about Scott Pilgrim I can act all cool and such because I was aware of it first. Not that I'll be a wiener about it or anything, but it's nice being ahead of the curve.

Thoughts at the Moment

Well, I pre-ordered a copy of the third printing of the Spider-Man comic book with US President Obama on the cover. I already have a copy of the 2nd printing, so I'm not sure if springing for another version (even if the cover is slightly different) is okay or just kind of dumb. Still, in the event I win the contest I've entered for a copy of the first printing, I suppose it'll be good to have all three. I'm just hoping there isn't a fourth, since I'd probably wind up buying that too, because, as we've well established here, I'm a dope when it comes to these things.

On a semi-related topic, how neat was it for Obama to tell the Citibank folks to cram it with walnuts when they wanted to buy a 50 million dollar private jet. Good show. It hasn't completely sunk in that Bush is no longer the President of the United States, but it's starting to. And now that the US is finally in good hands I can start worrying/caring about my own domestic politics, something I've neglected while the global superpower forty minutes from where I live was going all bowling ball-ish.

On another semi-related topic, I read the seventh and final issue of DC Comics big crossover series Final Crisis last night. And I'll probably be reading it again soon since I have no idea what actually happened there.

This issue I understood better, and while it's contents are slighter and less all-encompassing than Final Crisis, I still enjoyed it a great deal since I quite like the featured villain, the Parasite. He's one of those B-level villains, that's too important to kill off for good, but not important enough to, you know, take over the world or cause any serious trouble. I have an affinity for those middle-of-the-road folks, and in this case it's coupled with a great visual. Nice that they did some work with his characterization as well, since he's often neglected in that area.

My Week in Review

My week's been going all right so far. Saw the dentist, my therapist, got together with the guys a couple of times and went out for a couple of good meals. Didn't manage to get a copy of that Spider-Man comic book with Barack Obama on the cover, but I put the cash down for a copy of the second printing, which is just as good (since I'm not planning on reselling it or anything).

Still, I did find a copy of the latest issue of Final Crisis, the comic that would've been all over the news had the Obama Spider-Man not come out. It probably would've gotten more attention too, I suppose, had DC Comics not publicized Batman's "death" months earlier at the end of the Batman RIP storyline (spoiler: turns out he didn't die at the end of that story). It is curious though that the story actually featuring Batman's death got next to no publicity, but considering how underwhelming the whole thing was -- and really, it's not like he won't "get better" at some point down the line -- it's just as well.

Still, seeing Superman cradling Batman's emaciated corpse makes me a...

Reflective Thoughts on 2008

As I look back at the past year and the experiences that have shaped my life and current direction, my mind focuses on a select few I thought I'd share as 2008 comes to a close.

Although several of my favorite television programs were canceled this past year, I'm still pleased that Chuck hasn't been axed yet.

I've finally lived up to one of my perpetual resolutions and got out to the movies quite a bit this past year. Looking back, I suspect that had more to do with the number of interesting movies released more than a general desire to get out to the show, however.

As I wear my new pair of glasses with my updated prescription lenses, I begin to realize how much I must've been squinting when watching TV or movies with my old pair.

I've updated my list of fake names to include "Funky Buckwald" and "Dr. Quincy R. Mason", putting my total at five fake names to hold onto when the situation calls for it.

I still haven't gotten sick of Coke Zero, egg salad sandwiches, four cheese Bistro Crustinis, and fruit and yogurt bowls, despite the frequency with which I enjoy those food items.

I've unexpectedly found myself attracted to my barber, a comely young woman with a fondness for dyeing her hair and tattooing her hips. I think, more than all of the other indications offered throughout the year, that the fact I considered asking her out a sign that my troubles with depression are improving. And thanks to the wonders of the internet I was able to discover she's (sadly) currently attached, sparing me the embarrassment of asking her out and making things awkward, especially since she's 'almost' got my haircut right. If only that technology were around when I was in high school.

And then the obligatory ten ten list...

My favorite comic books of the past year (in no particular order):

True Believers (five issues, Marvel Comics)
Green Arrow/Black Canary (twelve issues, DC Comics)
Justice League of America (twelve issues, DC Comics)
Amazing Spider-Girl (twelve issues, Marvel Comics)
Captain America (twelve issues, Marvel Comics)
Avengers: The Initiative (twelve issues, Marvel Comics)
Shadowpact (five issues, DC Comics)
Captain Britain and MI13 (eight issues, Marvel Comics)
Ghost Rider (twelve issues, Marvel Comics)
Blue Beetle (twelve issues, DC Comics)

Hard to say which is my favorite of the lot, but there they are. Not to say I haven't also enjoyed X-Force, the Flash, Vixen, I Hate Gallant Girl, Manhunter, or any of the other series I regularly followed, but those are the ten that spring to mind when I'm thinking of titles I particularly enjoyed or put at the top of my reading pile.

And with that I conclude my personal year-in-review. Are there other things worth noting? Perhaps. An exciting story there, the fact I might be a published author under one of my fake names, the numerous games of online scrabble and wordscraper, the comfort and affordability of the Klobo... but what's the fun in boring you, humble reader, with minutia (however nice the Klobo's turned out to be). Here's to a decent year and the hope that the next will be better yet, and the fact I can finally get around to using two of my favorite seasonal jokes -- saying "wait 'til next year" on January 1st, and toasting to "peace on earth" just as an attractive woman walks by and saying "piece of that fine ass". Slightly crude, true, but amusing to me, no matter how often I pull that old chestnut out.

See you for now, and have a happy new year.

My Favorite Song, and a Few Observations

Here's a couple of youtube clips featuring my absolutely favorite song, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow". My favorite version is by the Shirelles, but some of the other versions --particularly the one by Dusty Springfield (who, for years, I'd assumed was a man) -- are pretty good. But before we get to that, here are the aforementioned observations.

I voted in the election held a short time ago. For anyone outside Canada, you vote for your local MP (Member of Parliament) and the party with the most MPs has it's leader elected Prime Minister. Needless to say, this is the fifth election I've voted in, and since my candidate didn't win, my success rate is 1-4.

I've been thinking about throwing a US election night party, but there are two things holding me back from going forward with it: 1) I doubt I'd be able to keep my friends focused on the election coverage and we'd just wind up playing Mario Kart and NFL 09 like we do every other time we get together, and 2) if McCain wins I am going to be awfully cheesed off, which won't be fun for anyone. Still, it could be fun I suppose.

The price of Marvel Comics in Canada went up 50 cents last week, and DC is likely to follow suit soon too. My local comic shop has already raised the price of DC titles to match Marvel because they're losing too much at the current prices. A bit of a kick in the head, but it's not too bad since I get a pretty good discount as a regular customer. And since four of the titles I follow have been cancelled (Amazing Spider-Girl, Checkmate, The Flash, and Manhunter), the timing works out. Unfortunately though, since I really like Spider-Girl, the Flash, and Manhunter. Checkmate I was probably going to drop anyway. I shudder to think what it's going to be if Marvel raises the prices in the US. I'd really come to believe that a $4.25 comic was a thing of the past.

Anyway, onto the music:

The Shirelles:

Amy Winehouse:

Carole King:

Elton John:

Dusty Springfield:

Brenda Lee:

The Bee Gees:

Cilla Black:

Rainbow:

Inquiring Minds Ask: "Did Spider-Man Sleep With a Married Woman?"

Now you can question the validity and necessity of such a question in times such as these when things are unquestionably tumultuous around the world, both politically and economically, especially when the subject in question refers to a couple of comic book panels from a story published 30 years ago. But if I did that it'd make me a hypocrite for all of the nonsense I've wasted time debating over the years. Besides -- it's pretty obvious he did. But to lessen the blow (no pun intended -- whoops, there goes the 'G' rating), she was in the middle of a messy separation and when the ball-and-chain confronted good ol' Spidey, he roughed him up some.

Even Spider-Man deserves "a good break" every "now and then" too, right? A tip of the hat to the fellow who added "Peter should be happy that the caption said two hours later and not ‘an awkward, unfulfilling 15 minutes later’". That tickled me.

Images Care of Comics Should Be Good: Did Spider-Man Sleep With a Married Woman?

My Long Weekend

Went to the Toronto Fan Expo this past weekend, and was awfully sore the next day. Most of that had to do with the four and a half hours I spent in various lines at the show (my feet and back were killing me), but my hands and left shoulder were also aching from lugging stuff around. Still, I got a few nice things including an Aquaman maquette for 25 bucks, a hardcover collecting the first Ennis/Dillon Punisher run for 15, and the Essential Godzilla for 5. Not to mention the stuff I got signed that almost makes up for time I spent in line to get them.

I also noticed that there was an almost surprising number of attractive women at the show. Granted from what I could tell they were either there for the Japanese anime stuff, with their boyfriends, or working, but curious nonetheless. After the fact I realized that both times I passed a woman in a skimpy metal bikini top handing out copies of a book titled "Looking for Group" (whatever that means), I unabashedly stared at her chest, but I can't say I feel too bad about that since, really, she wouldn't have worn that if she didn't want the attention. Still, in hindsight I could've been a little more discreet about the whole thing.

After a relatively unproductive Sunday spent soaking the tub for several hours, I wound up feeling pretty stuffed up for the first time this summer -- for all the discomfort caused by the moisture and humidity this summer, it's been nice actually being able to breath -- and slept through most of Tuesday doped up on Sinutab.

Finally here's a funny video I came across. Granted I'm not the biggest Danny Bonaduce fan (what's the deal with this guy anyway? Is he only known for the Partridge Family or did I miss something along the way) but it's kind of nice seeing him throw around that guy from Survivor.

You know...

...I was just thinking about the Tangent: Superman's Reign comic book (issue 6 on sale now), and I'd probably buy a "Brave and the Bold" style title by Dan Jurgens and Jamal Igle. Don't know if Igle's going to stick with the title once his run on Supergirl starts up or if they've ever worked together before this title, but they're really gelling as a team and I'm really enjoying their takes on Green Lantern and the Flash (John Stewart and Wally West, specifically).

...I tried watching "Gossip Girl" Monday night, but couldn't make it more than ten minutes into the episode. Not that it seemed to be a bad show or anything, and not to say I don't enjoy the prime time teen soap (I watched a lot of the first season of "The O.C."), but I really couldn't get past the fact that the teenagers on the show looked older than I am. Is it really too hard to find actors to play teens that actually look like teens or are *gasp* teenagers themselves?

...Salt and vinegar Pringles aren't that great, especially after having the salt and vinegar Lay's Stax chips. Those are pretty good. The Pringles... not so much.

...The Daily Show and the Colbert Report are in reruns at the moment, which is a kick in the head, but on the bright side they seem to have picked up on this so there's fewer reruns these days than in years past. I'd still prefer they not just rerun the prior weeks episodes during a repeat week though. But I still watch it all the same, so who am I to complain?

A Couple of Interesting Things...

Not much to say, unfortunately. I wasn't sleeping well for a while there, but I've been getting better hours lately and have had more energy as a result. It was rough the first night though -- I guess my body had adjusted to getting five hours sleep a night (which was what was screwing me up) so after hour five of my getting-back-to-normal night I was waking up hourly and trying to fall back asleep. After keeping better hours for a few days I got hit really hard by my allergies and lost a day because I could barely think, much less breathe. Things are better now though, and I'm hoping to get things back on track.

That's the extent of my life since the last post, give or take the odd dinner out with the guys or whatever. Thankfully I've come across a few things that I thought'd be worth passing along, so here we go.

Entertainment Weekly's New Movie Classics

A look back at the new classics, films from the last 25 years worthy of the title. A few of my favorites including The Naked Gun, Back to the Future, and There's Something About Mary made the list, so I'm happy.

Japanese Invent Car That Runs on Water

Not exactly as pictured, but it was hard to find a good descriptive image and, really, who wouldn't want to drive a car that could ride on water? Anyway, it'll probably be a long time before the cars mentioned the article are sold in North America, but you'd think people would want them as soon as they could get them.

Read Deepak Chopra's Beyond #1

Haven't read it myself, but my brother's really into Chopra, and a free comic is a free comic.

That's all I can think of for now. Have a good day.

A Couple of Things...

Hi there. Saw Iron Man Thursday night with Kerr and Edmond. It was great. Didn't quite have the punch of a Spider-Man or X-Men 2, but it was a really solid film that I wouldn't mind seeing a few more times. Might try to catch it at the show again while the big crowds are going to be there. Don't know what else to say -- the cast was great, the direction was sharp, the action was good, the dialog natural and entertaining. All things said elsewhere and in better words. Two moments of nerdishness were the fact they stayed so close to the comic book origin and the cameo at the end of the film. That was just awesome.


Anyway, apparently the whole point of the fifty cent DC Crisis/Countdown book from last week was to bring Barry Allen back. Which is a really bad move on DC's part. I hate all of this need to strip mine the past and rob earlier stories of their impact by bringing back characters creators remembered fondly as children but ultimately failing to provide any real reason for the character's return. Thankfully Marvel's handled Bucky so well and it wasn't really Captain Marvel back from the dead, so I'm not too angry about the whole thing. That said, I totally missed the whole Barry Allen thing. If anything I assumed the weird glowing figure was, like, Darkseid or something since it resembled his appearance just before "dying" in Countdown.

And another thing -- wasn't this supposed to be a wrap-up for Countdown before leading into Final Crisis. Seemed more like an extended ad made up of short, albeit occasionally interesting vignettes. I also could've sworn that the caption box belonged to Zoom once the lightning bolt showed up with the caption boxes, even if they wouldn't have made much sense that way. I don't know. Seems like a really bad idea to bring Barry Allen back. Wally West is a great character and fills the role of the Flash perfectly and entertainingly. Maybe they'll do great things with Barry Allen this time around, but as it stands there's absolutely no reason DC needs to or should bring Barry Allen back. None at all.

Now that that business is off my chest, I'm going to Quebec this weekend. If anything exciting happens I'll probably write about it here, but I'm expecting a fairly uneventful trip.

My Comforts This Week

Haven't been feeling too good lately. The whole business with my computer and a few bad days have brought me down and I haven't been able to get myself back up again. Hoping to have a good day this weekend to bring me up, but I'm getting by with what I have.


Coke Zero is pretty good -- tastes like regular Coke, but with the goodness of a diet drink. Can't tell you what a delight that is, since I love regular Coke but find the diet kind of flat.



I finally got around to reading Watchmen, and it lived up to all of my expectations and the hype and all that. Just an absolutely amazing piece of fiction. If anything, I'd say it was maybe a little underrated -- I was surprised by the wonderful character work, when I'd mostly been made aware of the story points and such.




And I had a couple of slices of Pesto Amore pizza from Pizza Pizza, and that stuff is always good. If you haven't tried it and you live in Ontario, I heartily recommend it.


That's my week. Such as it is. Hope there's more bright spots to come.

The 40 Worst Rob Liefeld Drawings

To view at your discretion.

Countdown to Final Crisis #23 - - Sold Out?

So, yesterday I went back to my local comic shop to look for a couple of back issues and to get a book or two that I missed on Wednesday -- Captain America #32 and Countdown #23. Captain America because it's a great book that I really enjoy following month-to-month, Countdown because I'm an idiot who doesn't know when to stop reading a book, much less a finite title like Countdown, even if it does mean I'm committed to it for another six months.

I got Captain America, of which they still had ample copies. I didn't get Countdown.

Now I don't know if they under-ordered the latest issue -- that would be the obvious solution -- but this is the first time in as long as I can remember, even going back to 52 (Countdown's predecessor in the weekly DC Comics game), that it's been sold out. The fact they still had extra copies of the last four weeks worth of Countdown issues could mean they finally curbed their orders accordingly. And certainly the fact the issue seemed to be about Superboy-Prime* torturing Mr. Mxyzptlk doesn't make cry out "must have collectors item".

I'll have to make a point of finding out what happened on Wednesday. Unless I forget, which I will almost certainly do.

And by the way, I got a copy of Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: Gotham by Gaslight #1 instead. Yeah, yeah. I know.

*Because calling him Superboy-Prime sounds less stupid than Superman-Prime for some reason.

From Todays "Lying in the Gutters"...

"In June/July, DC are killing off Batman. Or rather, Bruce Wayne. Robin will inherit the Batman cowl. One of the Robins anyway. Tim Drake. Jason Todd. Or possibly Red Hood. Hey, maybe Jean-Paul Valley, it has been ten years since Azrael."

This makes me:

But here's the upside:

"Either way, the book will relaunch with a nice shiny #1."

Yay.


Sigh.

Marvel Delays "One More Day"

So, Marvel's issued a press release today, announcing a second set of delays to the story that's going to "shake Spider-Man's foundation to the core!™"

The books were supposed to come out weekly in August, with the final issue in the first week of September. Then the first weeks of September, October, November and December. Now the final two issues are set to arrive the last weeks of November and December. I'd like to think this would be the last delay, but I wouldn't be surprised if the last issue came out next year.


At least the fan commentary on a book that artist and Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada touted earlier in the year as coming along nicely has made up for having to wait another month for the next part.

Here's probably the best thing I've heard on the subject: "It's also not lost on me that because of this crossover and its delays, there will be two months with only one Spider-Man title out there for me to sell instead of just the one. If they had kept Sensational and Friendly alive during this event then we could at least be selling those."

Read more here.