Sneaks and Creeps

Good Morning, Spawn Campers.  It's March 16, 2012, the Ides haves passed, two days ago was time for Pi, and tomorrow maybe some green pie, and this is The Side.  Does it seem weird to anyone else that every other day seems like a "holiday" and every month is designated as a time that we're supposed to be aware of something.  Yesterday was of interest due to Julius Caesar, so there's historic context their.  The day before was amusing due to a specific number important to mathematics.  Tomorrow is an Irish holiday which proper drunks refer to as "amateur night".  I'm sure today is probably supposed to be recognized as something specific, but really, who cares?


There's too much of it and these stupid things have already started to overlap.  The worst culprit is April 20th.  Had someone at the bar I worked at ask me if I was going to celebrate 4/20 and I told them absolutely not and that the person who instigated the holocaust is not a person to be celebrated.  They weren't sure what I was talking, because they were stupid.  I told them that April 20th was Adolf Hitler's birthday.  They tried to argue that it was the pot smokers holiday or something to that effect.


It was that point that I told them they really should put the bong down and pick up a book.

COMIX!!!

There's a void in my existence which is left because I can't get new QUEEN AND COUNTRY stuff on a regular basis.  I'm on the verge of sending Greg Rucka an e-mail begging for such.  I sit wishing the THE SANDBAGGERS DVD collection wasn't so expensive.  Fortunately for me Nathan Edmonson and Mitch Gerads have heard my pleas and THE ACTIVITY #1 and #2 are in my hot little hands.  Yes, I am a bit late to the game on this one, but I'm so glad I got a hold of it.  This is some really outstanding Spy-Fi.  Its not too over the top.  The operatives have some great gear, but no jet packs or tricked out Aston Martins.  These are top tier professions who handle problems for the CIA and other intelligence outfits.  If a job goes a it wrong or there details or evidence that needs taken care of, these are the people that go in.  The story is mostly mission driven, but the cast is very cool.  We get scant bits as to their personal lives or lack thereof, but they all seem very likable.  Don't go in expecting explosions on every other page or high drama.  Do expect to see people who are very good at what they do beings very good at doing it.  The art is phenomenal.  The writing is sharp.  this is the kind of book that could easily be over written, but Edmonson seems to really know when to stop and let Gerads handle the storytelling.  This is a really great collaboration.  I highly recommend this one.


I missed the first issue, but I did get THIEF OF THIEVES #2.  I dig Robert Kirkman and Nick Spencer so that alone sold me.  I wasn't let down.  This book also isn't over the top action, but is a really great character driven work about an incredible thief who is looking go go straight and get his family back.  Shawn Martinbrough is the perfect artist for this project.  I was a big fan of his work with Greg Rucka on their run in DETECTIVE COMICS for DC.  His noir style is incredibly grounded and in a book like this in which the expressions on people's faces have as much impact as the bullets fired, his mastery of these subtle things is crucial.  Even though I missed the first issue I feel like I'm mostly up to speed on the important things.  That's great, because usually is you miss the first issue you're lost.  Nice to see a smart comic that accessible.  This book made me care a bit about the main character Conrad, and while we don't have all the pieces to the puzzle that's his life I find myself hoping he can put it all back together.


BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: SEASON 9 #7 continues "On Your Own" which deals with Buffy's pregnancy.  Kinda of a weird title to the story since all she's done is go to get support from her friends.  Her plans go awry when the police officer who's been trying really hard to establish himself as a character runs into a nest of "zompires", who are some of the most un-sparkly vampires ever, and Buffy, Spike, and is his alien bug piloted spaceship fly to the rescue.  As much as I want to ask why in the blue frak Spike has a spaceship with a bunch of giant alien bugs that serve him and speak English, I've decide that this is just a monumentally weird thing that I approve of.  There's a twist ending on this one that is also monumentally weird, which I'm going to approve of for the moment based solely on monumental weirdness.  This "season" of Buffy has been pretty oddball, but after the overly epic epiciness of the previous "season" I'll take oddball.  I was a bit put off by Buffy's decision to terminate her pregnancy, and I did briefly consider bailing on the book, however this issue made me glad that I hung in there.


You know how I said the zompires in BUFFY were some of the most un-sparkly vampires ever?  Yeah, the vampires in THE STRAIN #4 are the most un-sparkly vampires ever.  Icky, nasty and disgusting.  These things are just outright creepy.  The outbreak is coming and the CDC is a bit behind the eightball.  The more they find out, the more disgusting these vampires seem to be.  I do really like this book because its so very different from a lot of the more popular vampire fiction that's out there.  They really do seem like diseased inhuman things.  While not for the faint of heart, this is a really well done horror comic and I'm really enjoying it, even though it does creep me out.

MUSIC!!!

This tune gives me a sweet American Gothic vibe.  Kinda weird that the local alternative/modern rock station is playing the hell out of it, but I dig it.





Got the Petersburg Karate Open tomorrow and will be competing in the kata and weapons events.  Hopefully, I'll have some nice new big trophies to put in the garage.  I'll let y'all know Sunday.  See ya them.