The comments, reviews and rantings are for entertainment only. If you are offended then someone else is getting entertained. Welcome to the internet. Have at it. This is where I sound off on what I read in comics this week, and occasionally ramble about other things.
I got a homework assingment from Lee Foster over on 96X: listen to this song and tell him what I think.
96X is the local alternative rock station. I like that song. Its very good, but does it belong on an alternative station? 96X is very much the radion station for me as right when I was coming on age this station challenged my ideas of rock and roll. Seattlle had just exploded and you had Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam blasting like anthems for us Gen-Xers. There were other bands like Hole and Sponge that caught my attention. The station changed as the genre changed. Ska came into vogue. Weezer kicked off a whole new wave of nerd rock. Alternative music has changed a lot over the years, but now we're looking at something that doesn't quite fit the mold. Alternative Country music. They played a track today on there "4:20 Buzz" that's along the same line.
Alternative rock came about when we looked at what was being sold to us as "our music" that was supposed to be youthful and fun and said "bullshit, this isn't us." It was pop garbage, and carefully constructed images and dudes in spandex wearing girly make-up with bug teased hair which was supposed to be what drove girls wild. We didn't care. We didn't want that. We tuned into the radio because that's where the weird, interesting music was. Music that was different than the recycled crap that was played over and over agian n the rock stations. We wanted different and alternative music gave it to us.
Now we're a couple decades down the road and another genre has turned to pop garbage: country music. Let me get this straight, we went from Hank Williams and Lorreta Lynn, to Travis Tritt and Reba McEntire, to Scotty McCreery and Tayler Swift? How the hell did that happen? So we have an uptick in what is known as Americana. Bands like the Avett Brothers, and Old Crow Medicine Show which utterly forsake the pop route in favor of soulful, poerful music that resonates. Lee told me yesterday, "There are people who love the Avett Brothers and people who just like the Avett Brothers, but nobody hates them." People are resonding to this music just like the Gen-Xers responded to the Seattle sound. They don't like what they are being told is country music so they're going with the alternative. This brings us back to our main thought, if Americana is alternative country music, shouldn't it be played on an "alternative" station even if that station made its bones in alternative rock? 96X seems to be a station in flux. Has been ever since they cut loose the Mike and Bob Show. They have to decide where they go from there. Do they want to fully embrace this alternative idea? At the very least, could they bring back "The Punk Show" on Sunday nights?
Allow me to share the mountain of self-importance that I currently possess. The local alternative station 96X does a little feature on weekdays, "The 4:20 Buzz", in which they feature new music and listeners respond if they want it in rotation or not. I drive a lot. I don't have a working CD player or any other music player in the car. Its radio or nothing so I have a definite interest in there being good music on the radio. I started calling in to vote, and honestly I did not think my one vote would matter all that much. The fellow that takes the calls, James Steele, took an interest in me after a referred to one song as "freaky strip club music". Things progressed from me just calling and spouting off about the song of the day to the two of us chatting about music, radio, the alternative format and everything. The station is 20 years old this year and I remember fondly being a college kid and having this station blow my mind. Last Tuesday I asked "Hey, why aren't you guys playing "Beast" by Nico Vega?" Most of you probably know this song from the BIOSHOCK INFINITE trailer. That song is freaking perfect for the format on the X and I didn't just want to push it because it was a song I liked, but because I really thought it would do well on the station. I mentioned it, and James made a note of it. I did figure that the note would get shuffled off, because this guy is busy and gets bombarded with "play this song blah blah blah..." all the time. Thursday night I get a message from him on Twitter. He listened to the song. Friday I get in the car to drive home. One song was ending on the X and sure enough the very next song was "Beast". I played it at horribly inappropriate volume, windows down, and head banging. I called James. He had gotten a message from the indy rep a while back about that song. I got him to listen. He contacted the rep and got an awesome version for the radio. Starts out slow and bit folk-sy and then kicks your teeth in. Even got a Tweet from Nico Vega. ":) xo nv" Sometimes, really cool stuff can happen when you just open your mouth.
Hey guys. Its Sunday May 20, 2012, you haven't heard much from me this week, and this is The Side. I knew this day was coming. I'm putting the brakes on having a set update schedule. At least for now. I'm a bit burnt out, and when I didn't have much of anything ready for the last two updates, that was pretty much a sign.
I'm still going to be doing weekly comic book reviews. As for other stuff I'm not going to be posting as much. Sure, I'll go after something if the mood really strikes me, or if something cool happens, or I want to review a movie. Really, I've been having the serious itch to getting back to writing fiction and I've really missed that. I don't have the luxury to still at the computer all day and type, so something had to give.
That's that. Here's some nerdy stuff.
COMIX!!
Y'know, you take your kids and try to raise 'em right. Try to teach them a proper trade. Try to give them the means to fend for themselves. Sometimes though, they just don't get it. This is what we see in THIEF OF THIEVES #4, which focuses not on Conrad, but on his son, Augustus. As we saw at the end of the last issue, the guy is in jail, and its his third strike. As much as Conrad has his illegal act together, Augustus is the exact opposite, and that's plenty for a certain beautiful F.B.I. to use to put pressure on the kid. We're still in the opening act of this story and getting to know all the players. Spencer is really taking his time with this. Issue one we met Conrad. Issue two we met the ex-wife he wants back. Issue three we meet the agent who wants to bring him in. Now we meet his son. This is an amazing example of taking your time with proper exposition and getting to know the characters and the world they're in, and still making it fun and interesting reading. This story doesn't move incredibly fast, but there's so much really good stuff here that we're enjoying the ride. Top notch work. This continues to be one of the top new titles of 2012.
THE ACTIVITY #6 is a straight military thriller. A seemingly easy mission into the democratic Republic of the Congo goes Tango Uniform in a big way. No fancy spy-tech. Nothing over the top. One could easily imagine this story actually happening. Its amazing. There's a bunch of action, and its all so incredibly controlled. Its another single issue story so if you go right now and grab a copy you can go into it completely ignorant of everything in the previous five issues, and have no trouble whatsoever. The writing and artwork are incredibly tight. This is real substantive storytelling without any flash and trash. Really an amazing comic.
THE SHADOW #2 is a bit difficult. The story is easy enough to follow and there's plenty of action. Cranston and Lane are heading for China before World War II and Nazis ambush them on the flight. Simple enough. Writing is good. The Art is good. There's only one problem: The Shadow is a complete prick. He's really an unrelenting one as well. We don't see him acting nice, charming, or anything unless he's using it as a front as Cranston. In his private moments with Margo Lane he's completely in "Shadow mode" in terms of attitude. There's been that train of thought that Batman is the real identity and Bruce Wayne is the front. I don't really agree with that, however this is that paradigm right to the core. I'm kind of on the fence here. I'm enjoying the story a bit, but really don't like the main character. I'm hanging in there for issue three before I make my final call as to if I'm going to continue with this title. Its not a bad book, but i just don't know if its for me.
HARDCORE #1 starts up a sci-fi thrilled from Robert Kirkman and Brian Stelfreeze. If you see Marc Silvestri's name on the cover, that's all he did: the cover. No problem because still book is great. We meet Agent Drake who is the pilot for a program which allows him to temporarily take over another person. The tech unit that makes this happen is called a "Hardcore" and I'm not exactly sure why, but that's where the name of the book comes from. The program is used by the government, buy its creator has different plans for it. . This is the type of premise that I'd expect to see in a summer sci-fi movie. Its clever, and sets up the conflict very well. The pacing is that of a summer movie opening act. We get enough to go on, a little bit about the characters involved, and then the hook sinks. I'm really excited to see where this goes, so I'm all in.
MUSIC!!
This guy absolutely kills it.
Alrighty guys. For now, The Side is retired. More reviews next week. Take care.
OSU! Its Sunday, May 13,2012, I think I've washed all the sand off of me, and this is The Side. After a pretty trying week, I wrapped it up with the Zanshinkan/Seireikan beach workout. It was a bit of a light turnout as it seems everyone had something going on this weekend. Still, there was about twenty of us out there, so it we had a good number. The workout started with a half mile run to warm up. Then on to stretching and drills. Bill Sensei led us through the kata Empi Ha which my school doesn't do, so it was new and exciting for my students. Its a nice form which Bill Sensei learned back in his Goju-Ryu training, and he's recently added it officially to his kata list.
I wrapped things up with a bit of a tribute to Darrin Sensei who passed away two weeks ago. I showed the group three particular techniques that he had showed me. We didn't go full blast with them as we did with Darrin's training sessions as those left me bruised to weeks. Still the applications got across, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves.
After that it was off to Red Robin for burgers and a healthy round of shooting the bull. I was quite exhausted the whole way home, and passed out on the couch.
COMIX!!
THE WALKING DEAD #97 kicks off the "Something To Fear" story line which will be taking us up to the 100th issue. The last storyline gave us a brief glimpse at another community and this is looking good for Rick and his group. Rick's group has some serious muscle. The Hilltop has a lot of supplies that Rick's group needs. WE saw Hilltop has a problem with some guy called Negan who has a group of his own. Seems he's been extorting goods from Hilltop. Rick's volunteered his groups's aid in dealing with Negan in exchange for supplies. That's pretty much enough to give us a good idea as to where this current storyline is going. This issue gives us a little look at some of Negan's crew. Nothing terribly impressive. They come off as sort of culties, referring to Negan as if he was some sort of spiritual leader. However, its looking like this is the tip of the iceberg. We also get some big news about Glenn and Maggie which kinda has me worried about them. it seems when things start going really well for some characters that the bottom is going to drop out from under them at any moment. We're at another point in which the group is a well oiled machine and for the most part have a handle of things. this is pretty much the cue for Kirkman to lay waste to the cast with something horrible.
MORNING GLORIES #18 bounces us back to the events concerning the Woodrun. This book is crazy, and I mean that in a near schizophrenia type of way. Its been tough to pin down some of these characters, and there's been a lot of weird stuff going on. This time around we're focused on Jun or Hisao or whichever his real name is. We get some back story to him. We get the "not that there's anything wrong with that" reveal about him. More importantly, we get a bit of a look at the playing field. We know Morning Glory Academy is up to something weird and horrible. We know there's an organized resistance against them. There're buckets of straight weird all over the place. We know know that there's some kind of plan against the Academy, but we're light on the details. The reveal about Jun isn't really "graphic", but its pretty in your face, and I'm wondering how the fans of the book are going to react to this. Personally, I've liked the character since I started reading the book, and this doesn't bother me. I do imagine there's going to be camps on bother sides of this, but i doubt its going to be a big deal. This comic still flies under the radar even though its is very good.
Hey gang. Its Wednesday, April 8, 2012, and this is The Side. The Missus's trip to Kansas has gotten extended a bit. I'm pretty much exhausted, so I'm not terribly clever today. Being sick doesn't help either. Right now I'm functioning on vitamins, pills, and caffeine.
MOVIES!!!
THE AVENGERS knocked it right out of the park. Pretty much the only people who didn't like this movie are snobby twit critics who take their jobs way to seriously. It broke the box office record, and a sequel has already been green lit. This is going to follow sequels for Thor, Ironman, and Captain America. There's a lot of expectations going around, so I'm going to share mine.
As far as over all, I like how they've handled things. Going into the next sequel cycle, I'd like some build up to a show down with the big bad they showed during the first extra scene in the credits. The Infinity Gauntlet was shown during Thor, so maybe play with that a bit.
As for the Thor movie, I think an obvious choice in villains is The Enchantress along with the Executioner. I'm not too stoked with piling on villains for movie sequels, but these two go really well together. The Enchantress can be a fun foil to the Natalie Portman played Jane, and make for an interesting pseudo-love triangle bit. Meanwhile you've got The Executioner there for the big time throwdowns that are a must for these flicks. And if during a big battle a certain glove gets lost and the six certain gems get scattered, I'm seeing no problem with that.
The Ironman movie is a bit trickier. Marvel isn't wanting to use Chinese characters as major villains in these movies for fear of a possible backlash and maybe accusations of racism. This sucks because a lot of fans are wanting to see the Mandarin, especially with everything they hinted at in the first movie. This also rules out The Radioactive Man. My next thought would be The Titanium Man, but using him right after the Whiplash/Crimson Dynamo gestalt seems too soon. Back-to-back Russian armor wearers might not go over very well. This is where we hit tricky ground because we're ruling out a lot of top flight opponents. I'm thinking its about the right spot to put in M.O.D.O.K. and introduce AIM. Probably won't have the goofy yellow jumpsuits, and the M.O.D.O.K. design will need a bit of tweaking, but I think that would make for a fun ride. Might also be a good place for a missing gem or two to be recovered.
The Captain America movie has no shortage of bad guys to pull from. The great thing is he's got a ton of Neo-Nazi baddies, and if you can't kick the crap out of a Nazi, then there's just no point anymore. Still, I think it would be a good idea to have the main baddie be someone more current, and not a WWII hold over. At this point, as we saw in THE AVENGERS, Cap is still getting adjusted to the modern world. Having a modern villain can really build conflict, not just between the two foes, but with Cap's whole situation. I'd like to have Crossbones for this. He's got ties to the Red Skull, and would be a good bridge character. Taskmaster trained him, so having him in there for a bit would also be fun.
After Mark Ruffalo's brilliant performance there's been a bit of buzz about a possible Hulk movie. I'm game for it as Ruffalo was really, really good in THE AVENGERS and the Hulk had many of the best scenes. Since I'm picking villain's here, I'd go with The Leader. Some of us got to chatting about this on Google Plus, so I've thought about it a bit. I'd have Banner up north, and have him run afoul a Wendigo. This way you get some good monster on monster violence. Have the Leader be behind the scenes a bit looking to tap the power of the Wendigo, but he goes after the Hulk instead. His quest for the Hulk's power turns him into the big headed green guy we all know.
There's also been a lot of call for an Ant-man movie. I really don't know about that one. Sure, I'd love to see The Wasp, but I don't think Ant-man as a character has enough to him to carry a movie. Yes, I do know he was one of the founding members of the Avengers. However, that's not quite enough to warrant getting your own major motion picture. Thor, Cap, and Ironman are the Marvel Trinity characters. Hulk as been immensely popular for decades. They make sense. Ant-man just doesn't rank up there. Introduce him in one of the sequel flicks and work him in there. The next Ironman film would be the best fit.
There's a lot of characters I think of when I think of The Avengers: Wonder-man, The Vision, Ms. Marvel, The Scarlet Witch, Beast, and The Black Panther. I doubt you'll be able to had too many more characters into the sequels as it would make AVENGERS 2 an unwieldy mess. We don't want that. Work in Ant-Man and The Wasp, keep the cast they have.
For the sequel, everyone's looking to have the team take on Thanos. May as well give the people what they want. Whether or not they use the Infinity Gems as a plot device is fine with me. My favorite Thanos stories involved the gems so I'm obviously biased here. Either way, it should be a bunch of good summers coming up if you're a fan of what Marvel's been up to the last few years.
That said, if you're wanting to check out the movie and haven't, go to a theater, and don't be a dick downloading the thing. The studio makes more money that they can use to continue to entertain us. besides which, watching these flicks on the big screen is completely awesome.
MUSIC!!
Yeah, been a rough few weeks, so I'm tossing this one on out there.
Howdy! Its Sunday, May 6, 2012, I'm getting my geek on, no surprise, and this is The Side. Got a bunch of reasons to be nerding out this weekend. Yesterday was free Comic Book Day and I took the girls up to Kings. We got up there pretty late so most of the free releases were already gone. Heard they went fast too. Still, there were some boxes of old comics out and you could grab 10 each. The girls loaded up, quite pleased with their hauls. I didn't grab anything, because I think Free Comic Book Day should be about getting new readers, not guys like me who already have a pretty regular reading list. Sure, if there were some of the releases out that looked interesting I'd have grabbed one to check it out and maybe add something new to my reading list, but first come, first serve, and I certainly wasn't early.
Other big reason for nerding out. SHERLOCK season two is coming on PBS!
If you haven't seen season one yet, shame upon you. Netflix instant streaming is your friend, however, and you can watch them on there. Brilliant series, and I can't wait to sit and enjoy this new season.
So that's more nerding out. Wasn't there something else? Some movie coming out this weekend?
MOVIE REVIEW: MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS
Which I'm glad they clarified in the title because I might have gone in expecting more adventures with Peel and Steed. But no, this is indeed Marvel's big guns gathered together for the movie fans have been waiting for. Now, at this current time, we are at a point in which we have multiple comic book based movies coming out in theaters every year. This was absolutely not the case for me growing up, so unlike in my youth I'm not as forgiving of them. I used to feel a definite need to defend comic book movies even if they weren't very good, because I feared they'd become fewer and further between. Now, they're a hot property, and they don't seem to be slowing down, so I have no qualms about calling out a movie's flaws, even if the majority of comic book fans loved the films. Its refreshing to be able to be completely honest about a movie and reviewing it based on its merits, and those alone.
So I can be completely honest in my opinion of this movie. Let's face it: this is an unprecedented move by a any studio. They've released separate films introducing these characters to movie going audiences. They made these movies with big budgets, and very talented actors, writers, and directors, not sparing anything in terms of quality if they could help it. Multiple individual franchises have been launched, and the intent has been there since they really started rolling with this to eventually make the movie that was released here in the States this weekend. Expectations from fans were through the roof. Joss Whedon was signed on as writer/director. Expectations rose higher. It was to the point that there did not seem to be any way that the fans' expectations could be met. I had to make a conscious effort to go into this movie and try to leave my personal expectations for what I'd want this movie to be in the lobby and try to form an honest opinion of the work.
So, with that out there I can say completely honestly, and checking my nerded up expectations at the door: this was one damn fine piece of work.
Let's start this out with the writing and directing from Whedon. What he did that was really amazing here is take these characters from their separate franchises and place them in one film and still had them ring completely true to how they were depicted in their separate films. This didn't feel like Whedon's take on these characters. It felt like the separate writers all had gotten together to handle their particular characters. At the same time, Whedon managed to have these character playing of of each other beautifully. It was as if he had had a hand in everything from the beginning of Marvel's big movie push.
This is a long movie at two and a half hours long. It didn't feel like it because of the excellent pacing. Its kinetic, without being rushed. The quiet moments are still packed with juicy, fun conversations that really give you a good feel for these individuals. Certainly you have to have suspension of disbelief when in this genre, but that's not taken for granted here, as Whedon keeps the story on track. Its fairly straight forward. Loki is back and he's ticked over what happened in the THOR movie and he's got a plan for some big time revenge and looking to take Earth in the bargain. There's not a lot of twists, but that's fine because the speed this roller coaster moves at, any hairpin turn in things could easily send it right off the rails.
On to the performances, and here's where this movie shines. Everyone brought their "A" game to this. There's been a lot of buzz about Mark Ruffalo coming into to playing Bruce Banner. Initially there was some dismay from fans who were miffed about having a different actor for the role when every other role was being reprised by the actors from the separate movies. This has shifted to glowing praise of Ruffalo in his work in this role, and that praise is completely justified. He was remarkable, especially in his scenes with Robert Downey Junior. Downey delivered the Tony Stark that the fans love with style, wit, and panache. Chris Evans was a really fun Captain America. Chris Hemsworth gave us the Thor we know and love, albeit with a bit less humor than in his movie. That's easily forgiven considering the circumstances of the story. I didn't get quite enough Jeremy Renner. It seemed like Hawkeye got the short end of the arrow this go around, although he did have some really cool moments. Scarlett Johansson was amazing in this. Whedon shines at writing strong women, and his Black Widow is no exception. Some fans have sort of rolled their eyes at her inclusion in this with a "What's she gonna do? Flash her boobs at the bad guys?" attitude. To say she holds her own in this is an understatement. Samuel Jackson's portrayal of Nick Fury is slick and stylish with enough gravity to it to really anchor the film. We can't forget Tom Hiddleston as Loki. He's gotten a lot of praise for his performance, and its well earned. This is a very nuanced character, and and it shows down to every little facial expression.
Big props to Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson. He's been around since the first Ironman movie, and is really great here. He may not have had the flashiest moments in the marvel movies, but he's always kept things very grounded, and I've found myself really liking the character even though he's been a bit antagonistic in previous films. He had all these great little moments in this, and it was really made things fun.
Overall, this movie gave me everything I could have asked for. It got me engaged in the story. There were parts that totally cracked me up. There were parts that made me grin like a child that has been thoroughly indulged. The movie had a definite purpose and didn't fall into the trap of having unneeded and distracting sub-plots. The action was incredibly over the top and was still easily followed. You could see and appreciate every impossibly blow in these battles. The fast clip editing that is completely annoying in many fight scenes is used very sparingly, and when it comes to the big hits, the camera hides nothing.
I'd pay full price to see it again.
Also, make sure you stay through the credits for some fun little Easter eggs, and a hint as to where a possible and probably sequel will be heading.
MUSIC!!!
Yeah, I'm sticking with my theme today.
I think that'll do it for me today. Time for some coffee. See y'all Wednesday.
Its a short one today, kids. Its Friday, May 4, 2012, its the missus's birthday, and this is The Side. That's right. My wife was born on Star Wars Day. That's how we roll.
Yeah, only had one comic waiting for me this week. Things are still pretty nuts here, with the return of the mssus being under a week away, and Darren's untimely passing.. Let's get to it.
COMIX!!!
THE SKYROCKET #4 hit the stands a bit unexpectedly. Was not expecting it, but I'm glad that Mike Federali and Os Petroli got this baby on out. Samantha Robbins AKA The Skyrocket starts out a new adventure when Agent Evans needs her assistance in a hostage situation involving hi-tech crooks. Pretty straight forward stuff, but a very pleasant ride. We get fun villains for Sam to fight. We also get a bit of a twist at the end. The writing is good. Federali shines in the little moments, like the early seen with Sam in her lab. He does a good job of making Sam likable and engaging without falling into the trap of having a female lead who is just an over-developed bosom in spandex. Petroli plays off of this and does a great job of making her attractive without resorting to cheap cheesecake shots. This book continues to improve. Its paced well. The art continues to get cleaner. I do like that we see Evans in the field wearing tactical gear as opposed to his suit. There are a few things that didn't really work for me, like the Sam/Mari throwdown, but that's mainly me coming from a fight background and I'm too much of a stickler sometimes as far as fight scenes. These are only small misgivings, and even with them, I'm still really enjoying the comic and am definitely on board waiting for issue #5.
MUSIC!!!
Well, since we're having a Federali love fest today...
That's a wrap for me. See you guys Sunday with a certain movie review. May the Fourth be with you.
Its Wednesday, May 2, 2012, I'm not having a good week, and this is The Side. While my mother-in-law continues having difficulties with her health, things haven't been going well here. I've managed to keep things going, and continue working. The kids are fed, and occasionally I can find matching socks for them. I'm still trying my best to keep things going at work and support my buddy while his arm heals. Things at the dojo are alright. Money is tight, but that's nothing new. We got the light at the end of the tunnel when we were finally able to set a date for the Missus to return from Kansas.
Then we got news that we couldn't have expected.
My neighbor, Darrin, died in an accident while whitewater rafting. From what I'm told he and others fell out of the raft, and he got caught underneath somehow. The news hit the neighborhood very hard. Monday night after getting home I went over to visit with the neighbors, and there was laughing, crying, drinking, more crying, more laughing, and more drinking.
I've mentioned the NWA (Neighborhood Watch Association) before and our fun adventures and misadventures. The neighborhood is a lively place. Darrin was the heart of the group. Everybody loved him. He was the guy behind the bar serving the drinks at every party. He was the first guy to come over when you needed help. He was funny, kind, and soft spoken.
My main bonding with him was through martial arts. He was one of those crazy dudes that punches trees and rocks. His techniques were amazing. His knowledge of pressure point strikes allowed him to knock guys out even by hitting them on their arms. That's probably the main thing that really bugs me. He had all this amazing knowledge, and never got to pass a lot of it on.
He did show us quite a few things though, especially when he visited my dojo. He was always humble and respectful in there, even though head on I wouldn't have a prayer against him. He'd put guys all over the room with complete control always doing just enough to get the techniques to work, without being abusive about it. It didn't matter how big and strong my guys were, he'd have them on their knees in the blink of an eye. A lot of my students were curious about his techniques. One memorable moment was when one of the black belts, Kim, was asking about Naihanchin Sho-dan, particularly the moves in his version that weren't in ours.
"Well, these moves here are tearing up the opponent's arm."
"Show me." And she held her arm out.
"No. You really don't want me to."
"Come on! It'll be fine." She shook her arm as it she was baiting an animal. "Show me."
Darrin looked at me. I shrugged.
"She asked for it."
Fuwackity! He didn't hit her hard, but he hit her arms just right so that the yelp of pain was easily heard throughout the zip code. I've never seen Kim move that fast ever as she practically jumped across the room. He felt kinda bad after that, but she was fine.
This isn't to say that Darrin didn't have his moments when he could be scary as hell. Once some punk tried to bust into the NWA HQ, that being the gazebo we all hang out in. Well, John caught the weasel, and the police put him in the back of the squad car ready to take him away. Of course the punk was being a mouthy little prick about the whole thing. Then Darrin came out.
About 6'4" of a big tattooed, shirtless Irishman. At the time he had the ponytail. He walks over to the squad car, and wipes the window to take a good look at the punk. The twerp was still pretty defiant, but was a bit intimidated.
"How much is his bail?"
"What?" The Officer asked.
"Tell you what. I'll give you $400, and you turn him over to me. You'll never have to worry about him again."
At this point the punk was yelling from the back seat, "TAKE ME TO JAIL!"
You see, Darrin didn't like having the peace and quiet of the neighborhood disturbed, unless it involved pretty girls and/or beer. Like two Easters ago, when the house right by our little court caught fire. Black smoke billowed over the trees. The sirens from the fire engines were easily heard. We all got up on a deck and watched it. Darrin comes out of his house.
"What the hell's going on out here?"
"House over there is on fire."
"I'm in here tryin' to meditate! Tell them to keep it down!"
And he went back inside.
So, as you can probably tell, he was quite a character. This is indeed a very emotional time for the entire neighborhood. We're all going to miss him. I know he respected me as a sensei and that means a lot to me. It makes me want to be a better sensei to really deserve that respect.
Good-bye to a good and honorable man that I was glad to call my friend and neighbor.
MUSIC!!!
Friend of mine turned me onto this tune. Apparently it was in that Scott Pilgrim movie that I couldn't be arsed with. I do dig the song though.
Morning gang. Its Sunday, April 29, 2012, its review day, and this is The Side. As you noticed there was no update on Friday. I was very tired the tale end of the week, and just couldn't find the time and energy to sit down and write. Hit the wall, as it were. Has absolutely nothing to do with NetFlix now having TRANSFORMERS and G.I.JOE cartoon available for streaming now.
COMIX!!!
In recent months, I've railed against things like stupid variant covers, and rebooting entire comic book lines just In the hopes of bringing in new readers. It does seem like sensationalism is being pushed instead of good stories sometimes. Its very frustrating for me seeing the same silliness that absolutely did not work well twenty years ago being repeated now. This brings us to THE GOON #39, which is an issue that is sure to be a collector's item because its the book that guarantees Eric Powell won't be working for DC or Marvel for a while. The last two issues of this comic have dealt with some serious stuff and struck emotional chords. Not this time. Oh no. This issue is on big brutal mockery of every stupid thing certain larger companies have been doing to whore themselves to the media and the masses. Changing origins, changing costumes, gratuitous pantie shots, big gay kissin', characters dying repeatedly and more is all wrapped up in one nice neat little package for use to laugh at. This was my read of the week.
ANGEL AND FAITH #9 wraps up our heroes encounter with Druscilla who is now sane. She had gotten a hold of a demon which can take trauma out of you. You still have the memories, but you don't feel anything about them. This issue is a serious throwback to the old TV series, but in a really good way. It used to be Whedon and his writing staff would have a monster with some specific ability and that would be a plot device for a type of statement about humanity. That's what we have here. Having our pasts and caring about them is what makes us who we are today for better or worse. We definitely get both sides of the coin here as on one hand you have Druscilla whose trauma drove her mad. On the flip side, you have Faith who long time fans have seen go through a huge and tough character arc filled the guilt and trauma and come out the other side a hero. I had been on board with this book, and liked it well enough, but the wrap up to this story really made it shine. I wasn't expecting it, but I should have as Christos Gage really knows his knows his way around these characters. Great stuff.
This brings us to THE ACTIVITY #3 & #5. I can't review #4 because its classified. That and I didn't get it in, which I'm hoping to remedy soon. I said in my review of the first two issues that this comic is filling the hole in my soul left by an absence of QUEEN AND COUNTRY stuff. These two issues really put a point on that because both series are spy-fi, but neither is stupid spy-fi. There's no gratuitous action. There's no guarantee of success. This isn't James Bond with buckets of gadget saving the world in a tuxedo. Issue 3 gives us an insight as to some of what happens when an operation goes completing tango uniform. You don't get all the details, and good on Edmondson for that, because the story isn't about the operation itself. You get a lot of information about the resumés of the characters, and you see how they handle it when things go bad. They aren't larger than life, and this really grounded the characters for me. It did get a little heavy-handed with the "war is failure" bit, but I understand it since if these guys do their jobs right then wars don't get started. Issue five has our team in a Thailand prison getting interrogated. You also get more of Weatherman's history and how he was brought into the team. Again Edmondson doesn't throw in every last detail, because you don't need them all. This is a comic for intelligent readers who are capable of filling in the blanks for themselves. This way a storyline which could have been stretched out for two or three issues can be wrapped up neatly into one issue with no filler and we don't really lose anything. Its compressed storytelling that moves fast, kinda like GLOBAL FREQUENCY in that regard. The ruslt is a comic that you can pick up from any issue and be fully up to speed. I'm loving this comic.
MUSIC!!
I was clicking through the radio stations and actually caught this tune. Ain't nothin' like Jerry Reed.
That'll put a spring in your step, or at least make a fella feel better about his current situation. See y'all Wednesday.
Its Wednesday, April 26, 2012, I won't be getting my comic today, and this is The Side. the single dad thing continues and that means taking the kids to gymnastics on Wednesday as opposed to hitting the comic shop like a proper nerd. Not enough time to do both. Ah well. So, no reviews until Sunday again. Thanks for the patience.
BATTLEGROUND: FACEBOOK!!!
Oh, I am loving this one.
If you've been online for more than five minutes, you've probably heard the horror stories of women getting pictures sent to them that nobody wants to see. There's been a few cases of well-known guys getting busted for it, like Brett Farve and Anthony Wiener (the name along selling the joke). Kidding aside, its one of those things that I do worry about having daughters who know about computers and a little about the internet. Its one of the reasons I don't want them to ever have a Facebook account. Some pervs start fixating on a girl and then the messages and inappropriate stuff start getting sent to the girl. Its flat out harassment and its one of the reasons we've got the Government trying to regulate the internet.
The problem is that the people in the government barely have a clue as to how things work on the internet.
People that are online, and don't take shit, know how to handle these sorts of things. This brings us to Ariane Friedrich. She's an athlete from Germany who will most likely be competing in the high jump at the Olympics this year. She's an attractive woman, and I'm certain she has quite a few admirers. However, one of them got all stalkery on her. Used to be a proper stalker would follow you around and leave notes and dead roses on your doorstep. Nowadays, they send pictures of their junk.
Now, there's legislation in this country giving women options for dealing with stuff like this. It varies from State to State. Some places have fines. Other places even have jail time. This this involves pressing charges and having to go through a whole bunch of paperwork. Got to make sure the paper trail is sound and that you've got evidence and all that.
Friedrich is a busy woman. She doesn't have time for that crap! So, she outed the dude! She posted the guy's name and e-mail address right on her Facebook page. Now, there's a big old tizzy about her not handling this in the "proper" fashion, and due process.
Screw that. This moron was dumb enough to send dick pix to woman who didn't want them, and she knew his name. No need for the courts to get involved here. This guy has been thrown directly into the court of public perception, and that's one harsh jury. I do love how she handled it.
While there are a lot of good intentions about internet safety, a lot of what's being proposed is overkill. Its people with a particular paradigm that can't be applied nice and neat to communications and interpersonal relationships of the 21st century. Really, with a lot of these cases, it can be handled fairly simply: don't take any shit, and if the pervos can't keep it to themselves, then share it with everybody.
MUSIC!!
Girls that jump are awesome and so are girls that run.
Alright, I'm off to the ratrace. See y'all Friday.
Its Sunday, April 22, 2012, if you're one of the every fifth people who click on this block you get to see the variant pictures, and this is The Side. I got into it over variant covers with some people this week. I've seen how ridiculous it can be. I was around in the early 90s when it was completely out of control. Now many of the books with the super elaborate covers that collector's though would be worth something one day are found in dollar bin in comic shops right next to the same comics that didn't have the fancy pants variant.
Its one thing if a comic has a variant cover by a different artist. When INFINITE CRISIS came out years ago Jim Lee did the covers and George Perez did the variant covers. I sought out the variants because I'm a big fan of George Perez's artwork. I certainly didn't buy two copies of the same book. I can even understand seeing two covers by different artists and really loving the artwork on both covers, and buying both if you're unable to choose.
But this business Marvel's doing with not coloring parts of the cover and calling it a variant. That's so freaking sketchy. I've got to wonder where they came up with such an idea..
BEHIND THE SCENES!!!
Head Suit: "OK men, our movie franchises are a hot ticket right now, but need a good sales boost on our comics. Ideas?"
Suit #1: "Make the best books we possibly can and hope readers and the market recognize this?"
Head Suit: "You're fired."
Suit #2: "I've got it! Variant covers!"
Suit #3: "We tried that back in the 90s. About the same time our bankruptcy attorney gave us our frequent filer card."
Suit #2: "No, no! It'll work this time! We've got Disney money backing us! Mickey Mouse cheddar, baby!"
Head Suit: "No, we're not going to use the Disney money to fall back on, but still this variant cover idea might have legs."
Suit #2: "Sure. We'll hit the nostalgia factor. If those guys across the street can bring back Barry Allen and get people to actually buy a book starring him after he's been gone for twenty-five years, I think we can run with such an old school gimmick. Its been twenty years, so its about time again."
Suit #4: "Are we going with the card stock, foil embossed covers with the holograms again?"
Suit #3: "Hold it. You've got to remember that we're still in a recession. Those bells and whistles will up the cover price. Money's tight and there's a lot of readers who won't pay too much more than they already do for one book."
Head Suit: "Yes, we need something that won't up the cover price much, if at all."
((Insert hours of pondering here.))
Suit #4: "What if we don't color part of the cover?"
Suit #3: "What?"
Suit #4: "Yeah, we'll not color a certain character on the cover."
Head Suit: "Oooo, I wonder how much we'll save in ink?"
Suit #3: "Probably not much, sir."
Suit #2: "Hey! Maybe we can get a kickback from Crayola, since someone will have to color those missing parts."
Head Suit: "Excellent thinking! Good work, gentlemen! Pie and hookers all around!"
COMIX!!
THE WALKING DEAD #96 concludes the "A Larger World" storyline which is pretty pivotal. At the end of the last issue Rick was forced to kill a member of the Hilltop community in self defense. This issue we get a better idea of what Hilltop has to deal with, but its from description rather then Kirkman just dumping action on us. Hilltop has enemies. Rick and the others need what Hilltop has to offer in terms of supplies and food. Hilltop needs what Rick and others can provide by way of strength. This is so very fascinating from an anthropological point of view. We're seeing how countries are made. These tribes have formed a network to help each other. Now Rick's tribe has joined and we see what their contribution will be. How its going to work out is anyone's guess, but most likely Hilltop's enemies are going to have to deal with a very determined Rick Grimes as we approach issue #100 of the series.
THE SHADOW #1 kicks off Garth Ennis and Aaron Campbell's take on the classic pulp character. I'm a fan of The Shadow. I loved the Alec Baldwin flick. I still catch an occasional episode of the old radio show when the local high school radio station plays them. Ennis pulls no punches here. I love WWII comics, but haven't seen anything of his concerning anything from the Pacific Theater. The book opens with details of japan's brutal assaults on China. I'm not sure how much of it is accurate, but when it comes to WWII stuff Ennis tends to be very well researched. Ennis's version of The Shadow is a gun toting, avenging mystic, who seems very cold. Then we see him as being very smooth and debonair as Lamont Cranston. I wasn't really thrilled with how he acted towards Margo Lane, however that was only one scene and I'm thinking she's one that'll be holding her own. I find this version of The Shadow not very likable, but still entertaining. I do like Ennis as a writer, and he's good at writing characters which aren't terribly likable, but still sympathetic. Haven't seen it here yet, but its just the first issue and we'll see how it goes.
THE ROCKETEER ADVENTURES #2 gives us another trio of really great stories. This book has an excellent balance to it. We start off with a harrowing tale from the battlefield of WWII. Then its over to a fun little story with Cliff checking up on Betty while she's filming a movie. The last one is a great story from the one and only Walt Simonson with a charming little story. I do get a kick out of this book. We're treated to all these different takes of the same character by all these really talented writers and artists. Even with all the differences in the story styles, its still all obviously the Rocketeer. Great read.
RAGEMOOR #2 is just flat out freaky. I've read my fair share of really weird and disturbing comics, but this one has got to be up there in the ranks. It bangs about with the subtlety of a tire iron right to the face. The setting is just so intentionally horrendous, and Master Herbert tries to rail against it this issue for what happened to Anoria last issue. It just goes horribly and I have to wonder how on earth he and Bodrick the butler have survived so long in there. The answer is that the castle tolerates them and you don't screw with the castle. The creatures inhabiting the place are just so weird and freak that i have difficulty fathoming how the pieces of the puzzle fit. We know from the first issue how the castle was built, and how over time developed some sort of life of its own. Its almost like it is some Gothic, Lovecraftian entity that has all these little things growing in it like bacteria. Read it if you feel like getting weirdly creeped out.
MUSIC!!!
Caught this tune on the radio yesterday. I dug it.
Where's the coffee? Its Friday, April 20, 2012, I'm freaking beat, and this is The Side. The Missus is still with her family, and I'm still on the single dad patrol. Very exhausting. This has also prevented me from getting by the comic shop, so yet again, the reviews will be on Sunday, that is if there's anything waiting for me.
Hey, speaking of ye olde comic shoppe.
LABELS!!!
I was at Kings last Saturday picking up my comics, and the owner's son was chilling out behind the counter on some downtime between rounds of the Saturday Yu-Gi-Oh Tournament. He expressed his surprised that I wasn't picking up the latest AVENGERS VERSUS X-MEN issue. I told him I wasn't a Marvel reader.
"How can you be a Comic Book Hipster and not be reading Marvel?"
I thought you couldn't be a comic book hipster if you did read Marvel. I figured that a comic book hipster was pretty much one and the same as the "indier than thou" crowd. I was actually worried about being lumped into that group with my reading stuffs lately. No, I haven't been reading Marvel for years. I did give them a shot again with FF on the advice of some valued friends, but it just wasn't for me. I stopped reading DC, and that wasn't so much me leaving DC Comics as DC Comics leaving me. My reading currently consists mostly of books from Dark Horse and Image. And for anyone reading this and thinking "well those are indy companies" you haven't been paying attention. Dark Horse has major franchises like STAR WARS and BUFFY, as well as HELLBOY. If you've had multiple books from your company be made into movies, you're no longer indy. Image has THE WALKING DEAD. That's just about the hottest show on TV. There's no more "Big Two", its the "Big Four" now. Has been for a long time.
So, I'm not in the "indier than thou" crowd, but am I a comic book hipster? I have enough of a knowledge base of comics that I feel confident that I could teach an undergraduate course on the subject. Still, the term "comic book hipster" conjures a certain image in mind. Skinny jeans, and knit hats. T-shirts of comics that either people haven't heard of or ones that people had and that were made into movies,but the person wearing it will be quick to point out that he was into that book before everyone else. Glasses that are big and black that make sure to let people know that this individual reads a lot. They must read a lot. Look at the size of their glasses, for cryin' out loud. They look down their noses at anyone who dares to read a comic they find unworthy of their interest. Its kinda like fanboys who leveled up.
Stopping to consider my current self in relevance to my notion of a comic book hipster, I don't think I fit. My glasses aren't thick enough. I sure as hell don't wear skinny jeans. Actually, I'm usually wearing my work clothes, and those have been through hell and back on my construction job.
I do have a habit of being snarky towards some of the things I don't like. I got a little heat because after getting a description of the X-Men storyline "The Messiah Complex" I said it sounded really stupid and I wouldn't bother reading it. Sure, that sounds like me being a prick, but I can't really get excited about a book, no matter how glowingly someone describes it, if the entire premise sounds dumb to me. My friends convinced me to give FF a try due to their knowledge that an issue of THE FANTASTIC FOUR was one of the first ones I every got, and that there were going to be interesting directions explored in the comic in that it was super-heroes through a nearly pure sci-fi prism, which is how I like my Fantastic Four. Sure, I didn't like the issue I bought, but at least my friends made a proper sale of it. The bit about "Messiah Complex" tying into all these other "event" stories isn't a selling point either.
"It ties directly into HOUSE OF M."
"What? So, I have to read that too?"
That's not being a snotty comic book hipster so much as being a guy who really doesn't want to track down comics that don't sound interesting and read them. There's too much other interesting stuff that I want to read but haven't had the chance.
Is there a bit too much of "we're the cool comic book reading guys" going on here? Is it like when the guys on THE BIG BANG THEORY call someone else a "dork"? You do see it sometimes, but really a nerd calling a nerd "nerd" is just stupid. I do revel in my fantasy of seeing the guys from Comic Kings throwing down with the crew from Local Heroes like a geek version of the Sharks and Jets, with Mike Federali writing the entire score to this nerd gang musical.
So, I'm not a comic book hipster, and definitely not a fan boy. I'm not "indier than thou" either. Fine by me. I've had enough stupid labels stuck to me over the years.
I'm just bummed that "Lord Nozz, Prince of Pain" never stuck.
MUSIC!!!
What? You sayin' that just because a guy is a level 30 alchemist that he can't serve some shit?
Alright, your filthy spawn campers. Its Wednesday, April 18, 2012, I've been fragged, and this is The Side. Some days, you just have to get out of your comfort zone, and this week I did so with some gaming. Been a good stress release what with having to do the single dad thing while the Missus is tending to her family.
Yes, apparently I release stress by swearing at my computer screen, and attempting to Force choke people across the internet.
VIDEO GAMES!!!
Got word about a free game online, TRIBES ASCEND. Well, I like free so I looked into it a bit. This is a really well done game. I don't really play first person shooter games, but it was a lot of fun. It handled nicely. The graphics and sounds were good stuff. Its pretty straight forward. Get on a team, go out, shoot a bunch of people until your team wins.
The really neat part is that its free. We've all played free games online, and the highest quality you're likely to see is something like ANGRY BIRDS. This was different. This was like a game that I'd expect to pay money for. I went over to there site and there was the button for the free download. Took a bit of time, but there was nothing sketchy about it. I loaded it up, and started looking through the menu once I set up the account.
Here's where it gets good. You can unlock all sorts of upgrades and new character classes with experience points that you earn or you can pay to upgrade your account and purchase all sorts of upgrades. You also get added experience points for getting friends to get the game. This paradigm for money making on free games isn't new. Often you can purchase exclusive content from the site offering the game and money gets kicked back over to the game makers. TRIBES ASCEND isn't being offered through any social website like Facebook or Google Plus. It stands on its own. So this may be the start of a major shift in the paradigm of how video games are marketed. Multi-player games online aren't new, but often you pay to get the game, and you pay for membership to the online portion of the game. This is different. This is getting the game downloaded to as many people as possible, because there'll be people out there who will fork out the cash for better gear to blow folks up. Its a very clever idea. Plays off of gamers' competitive spirit, and gives them just what they want.
And yes indeed I played the game. I'm absolutely horrible at it. I chose the Pathfinder class as they're faster, and if worse came to worse, I figured I could run away screaming as more experienced gamers attempted to pick me off. I did the tutorials and did alright with them. I still don't have a good feel for some of the finer points, but it was time to jump in.
Went into a "Deathmatch" in which two teams of about 15 each go after each other and victory comes when the other team loses 99 lives. I would like to take this time to apologize to the teams I was on as the losses in battle could very easily been all my fault.
I sucked at this.
No kidding, during one match I got ganked nine times. It tells you who got you and what weapon they used. Five times the message read "SUICIDE", and I endevored to find that sum'bitch with the screen name "Suicide" and then it dawned on me that I was an idiot and really needed to watch where I aim my weapon.
I did have a shining moment in that in a Deathmatch the first person that gets ganked spawns a flag and whoever has the flag gets double points or some such. Well, I slid down a slope and caught sight of the flag holder and he wasn't facing me as he had a swarm of guys after him. I can't hit the broad side of a barn in these games, but sure enough a popped off a shot and got him. A little achievement metal appeared for bagging the flag bearer and I reveled in my n00bish glee. My team was up by about 20 lives and on its way to a win. Then I lost connection with the server and got booted.
I was way more pissed than I should have been.
I've played it a couple more times now and again. Its fun. I won't be dropping any cash on it though considering how tight money is now. Still, I'm happy running around, getting in the occasional lucky shot, and upgrading my stuff when i get enough experience.
Bottom line: TRIBES ASCEND is a hell of a good time for broke clowns like me who like to shoot stuff.
MUSIC!!
Speaking of shooting things.
That'll do it for me today. Off to work. See you guys Friday.
Whew. Its Sunday, April 15, 2012, made it through the week, and this is The Side. yeah, it was a tough one this week, and I'm glad to have a morning where the main thing I've got to worry about is blowing on my coffee to get it the right temperature. Sure I've got another week of exhaustion ahead of me, but its those little respites that let us keep going.
That includes doing stuff like reading some comics.
COMIX!!!
Starting off with BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: SEASON 9 #8 in which we deal with Buffy not being pregnant, but being a robot. I know those two things are often confusing. Buffy and Spike confront Andrew about her being a robot, because, of course, it had to be Andrew. Detective Dowling is also dealing with the nasty death of his partner during the zompire attack. He's not coping well at all, and that's actually refreshing. Very often in the Buffy-verse we see characters adapt to dealing with supernatural threats a bit too easily. This character is a capable police detective and had knowledge of the existence of the supernatural things that go on, and was still incredibly shaken in the aftermath of losing someone to them and having to fight for his life. I'd been having trouble remember the guy's name, but the character really stood out issue. There's also a disturbing little bit with Xander that has me fairly creeped out as to possible directions they may make with the character. This is made creepier by by a bit of possible fore-shadowing from season six of the TV show. But, this season has taken turns that I haven't been very comfortable with, but has given interesting payoffs once the story worked out. The main story itself is taking a neat path of its own. Cliff Richards steps in on pencils and does a great job. All and all, a decent read. This story has me engaged.
Moving on to the comic that AMC just optioned to make a show of THIEF OF THIEVES #3. We meet Special Agent Cohen, the beautiful FBI agent who is determined to catch Conrad. Oh man, this book was just great. Nick Spenser just worked this whole issue masterfully. The back and forth between Conrad and Cohen was absolutely brilliant. This book is just scene after scene of brilliantly dialogued, well paced storytelling. Shawn Martinbrough continues to shine with his elegant noir style. This issue does a great job of letting us know exactly where Conrad stands with the law, as well as giving us a glimpse of some of history in relation to Cohen and her investigation. We actually don't see much of Conrad in this issue after the opening scene, but Cohan is a great character to follow around. The book is low on action, but there's still a ton of things going on that kept me riveted. Do yourself a favor, go out and buy this book.
MUSIC!!!
There was a huge reveal this month in THIEF OF THIEVES: Conrad is a Zevon fan.
Figured that one was appropriate for old Conrad. OK, I'm off to take a couple rotten kids to the circus. I'll see y'all Wednesday.
