Is this what I've been missing ? (Looks Like A Rant)

I had a pretty long hiatus from the funny books last year (who could blame me?) but I've been eager to see what I've missed. Doesn't really look like I've missed too many good things.

I'm really late to the party when it comes to Ultimatum and now it feels like all of those Ultimate comics taking up my shelf space are trash. I'll admit that I thought Ultimates 3 was pretty bad but it could at least be seen as a guilty pleasure type occurrence. Ultimatum on the other hand seems to be Battle Royale with superpowers. No heroic ends or last hurrahs, just gory kills and cannibalism. It reminds me of why I avoided Image like the plague back in the 90s. This was the kind of stuff my prepubescent mind thought took place in those books back then so it's just dandy knowing that this is what's coming out of the Big 2 these days. On the other hand, I am a little sad that I missed Eddie Bloomberg's last heroic deed. I really liked the character but Teen Titans, as done by McKeever (who I usually liked), was one of those books that had me kicking the habit. Well, now that I'm getting back into regular reading, it looks like I can drop a few characters and pick up much fewer books than I used to before I was burned out. It's a far cry from the days when I would spend at least $30 at the LCS every Wednesday. I just have to be really careful about what I invest my time and money into. It does suck that there are so few comics that I can with my cousins in the same way that my uncles and older cousins shared comics with me as a kid.

One little moment that I thought was pretty funny was how little Pixie, who was once this adorable little character and as underaged as it gets, is allowed to get drunk off her keister in a Marvel U where cigarettes are the ultimate sin, and alongside my Dazzler of all people. WTH, Ali ?

Trouble rides on silver surfboards: originally posted May 14, 2007

So today I finally got to to see Spider-Man 3 on THE BIG SCREEN. ( Don't tell anyone but I saw it the first time on a very, very clear bootleg. Hey, I'm ghetto, thats how I roll.) It was even more amazing than my first viewing, I just wished I had my glasses on me. 

Since my little cousins were going with me I kind of  wanted to make it a little special for them and get 3 matching T-shirts with the Black Spidey chest insignia. Ya know ? The "Venom" shirt ( I prefer to think of it as Black Spidey). Ever since I discovered the local Wal-Mart had a good number of superhero t-shirts I'd see on 80stees.com, just for half the price ( still love that site though) I've been buying like crazy. 

 

So anyways there weren't any that would fit me or my 4 year old cousin so I only managed to get a size small for my other cousin.  Its my fault though, they previously had my size but it was only with the gray spider, I want it white dang it, I'm a purist. I did get a really cool JLA tee though , with the all time greatest line up (Screw You Superman).

Anyways the 4 year old comes equipped with his own Spider-Man t-shirt so he doesn't care  but the 9 year old beams up when I toss him the black spidey shirt.Which brings me back to the reason I made this post in the first place. Seeing all the Fantastic Four and Spider Man posters reminds me of a t-shirt I bought during the summer before my sophomore year of college. It was a class Surfer cover where he faced off against Spidey. The logo was rhinestoned or bedazzled or whatever and it was manufactured by Ecko Unlimited while they had the Marvel license. Never cared for anything Ecko, but this shirt and the Black Panther tee I copped alongside it were both genius. I cherished it, Ladies loved it, Men feared it (literally stunned by its sheer awesomeness). It was all good until I acidentally got it bleached or something and a hole popped up in it. Oddly enough, I still have the Panther shirt.



I'm not Ebay literate, but I was hoping I might get one of these beloved tee's. If anyone happens upon this post and knows where I can find it, just "drop me  a line and I'll holler it back." 

Lazy Day: originally posted 10/25/09

It's Sunday afternoon, my car is dead, I'm out of detergent and there's nothing on tv. I've got nothing to do but relax and listen to a playlist I made based on the soundtrack to The Warriors (PS2 game based on the movie. Damn good game btw).



Makes me wish they'd bring back something like USA's Up All Night. It would be a perfect fit on a station like IFC.

Personal Thoughts on Superman

As a kid, I loved everything Superman: Fleischer cartoons, the George Reeves series, all four of the Christopher Reeves movies, Supergirl, Superboy, the 80's CBS cartoon, Lois & Clark, etc. Well, I can't say I was into the comics. Up until some time between 8th and 9th grade, I was strictly a Marvel reader. It was pretty cool having these different versions of Superman while growing up and each one was undeniably Superman but I don't think that I ever thought of just one of these as being the definitive Superman. The Fleischer version would probably be the closest to my ideal though.

I have been enjoying the current Johns/Frank run on Action Comics, and while I don't think it's either creator's best work, it's still been good stuff. One thing that has been making me a little uneasy for a while though was the merging of the Movie Superman with the comics. I was a little peeved when I noticed Clark Kent becoming a fumbler and socially inept. Now, I can understand toning him down a little from the smalltown overachiever of the Byrne comics but what we have here is almost a caricature in my eyes. It's also one of the reasons I don't enjoy the old movies quite as much anymore. To see one my least favorite aspects of any version of Superman become comic book canon is a turn-off.

The recent death of Jonathon Kent has been pretty tough for me to accept as well. The movie was the only place where this event felt natural to me. When it happened on the Smallville show, I was a little upset, due to Pa Kent being my favorite character on that show, but this time around I'm just disappointed. I probably feel this way due to being a big fan of superhero support systems. As much as these guys might be on their own when they're facing the big villain, it feels good to know that there's someone in their corner who they can talk to and who may have a slight understanding of what they're going through while also offering advice. This just feels like an unnecessarily "permanent" change that might be good for a story but changes the overall mood. I can't imagine a story of loss or guilt that would result from a dead Pa Kent that wouldn't be possible with an incapacitated or comatose one. I guess that's why I could never make it as a writer.

I should be doing some kind of work

Don't know what it is, but there's something hypnotic about this



I can watch this all damn day