Happy Halloween, Fools!

Aaah, my little Lucha. Photographic proof that Sadie is, in fact, my daughter. Check her out. Best. Photo. Ever.

They Aren't Kidding When They Say 'Recommended For You'

I was surfing my Amazon recommendations (which is a horrible, terrible addction) and got recommended this baby. If ever there was a book that was, in fact, recommended for me, this would definitely be it. The cover alone sold me. Look at it. Is it a robot? A giant gorilla? A giant gorilla robot? My mind is officially blown.

When It Rains...

In leiu of my AIGA invites (hint, hint Candace), here's a Comic Frenzy poster. I don't know how successful it is, but I like the little monster guy. He's a cutie.

It's Been A While

But now you're getting two comics posts in a row. Sorry. I was waiting for Candace to photograph my AIGA type lecture invites before I posted again, but I will wait no more. So, I've been at the comics store for two weeks in a row now which is an unusual occurrence. I usually wait until I have at least $10 of product waiting for me because you get these stamps when you spend $10. And I want me some stamps.

Anyway, I had a couple of week where everything hit, so it's been a busy couple of weeks. Here's what I got:

The Authority #1: Grant Morrison and Gene Ha revamping the faded 90's glory title as part of Wildstorm's Worldstorm line-wide relaunch. I was a fan of the Ellis/Hitch and Millar/Quitely iterations of the title - which birthed the whole decompressed, widescreen style of comics - and am interested in what Morrison will bring. Right now it looks like this is a Ultramarines in Qweq setup with the Authority showing up in the "real world." But it's hard to know because nothing really happens in this issue. I'll give it a couple more issues.

Batman #657: Morrison and one of the Kubert boys. Dude, Batman's son is a nutjob. Good stuff.

Daredevil 89 &90: If you know my comic book tastes, you'll know that I consider Ed Brubaker's Catwoman one of my favorites of all time, so I was interested in how Bru'd fare taking over 'Ol Hornhead after the grand exit of Brian Michael Bendis, whose run on the book is already being spoken of in hushed tones as being up there with Miller's take on the character. I missed the first arc, telling myself I'd follow the book in trades, but I'm on the floppies now because I just gotta know what's what. This is Brubaker and Michael Lark, who I loved on Gotham Central. Two issues into the new arc and I'm hooked. Daredevil's gone to Europe to find out who ordered the kill on Foggy and gets all wrapped up in intrigue and whatnot. Plus, Tombstone's in here, who I took a shine to back in my younger days. We had an old issue of Spider-Man when he'd put Robbie Robertson in the hospital and I thought he looked cool. Anyway. I'm glad I jumped on.

Gødland #13: Back from a few month hiatus, Joe Casey and Tom Scioli's cosmic superhero epic brings the Kirby. Don't get me wron, this is a decent issue, but it was not my favorite. It's supercompressed to the point of unbelievability and the dialogue tics for the other Dimension Z inmates were a little much. Still, it offers up the neon-colored superhero goodness, so I'm down with it for the foreseeable future.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #s 22 & 23: I really have a hard time remembering what happened in previous issues with this book and It's mainly my fault. I read some issues out of order and it sorta screwed eeverything up. Still, it's a fun, popcorn comic. Props to Mark Waid and Barry Kitson for making me like a comic I had in interest in whatsoever.

Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. #9: Im pretty sure I had a huge grin on my face the entire time I read this issue and I know I was blown away at least once (the bit about the "flying terrorist city" had me at "flying"). Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen have created the perfect joycore popcorn book that never ceases to amuse me, but then again I'm a simple man. So jokes about super-soldier urine for the Fuhrer make me chuckle, sue me.
Now that I've had some time to let it scab over, the whole miniseries idea is ideal for this book. I really don't know how much longer this book can maintain its freshness on a mmonthlybasis. I will conclude by saying that this was my favorite issue of Nextwave so far.

Planetary #26: The resolution to Ellis and John Cassady's archaeologists of the strange series is also a little too supercompressed for its own good. As is par for the course with this book, it'll probably read amazingly in trades, but on its own, not as powerful. Still it's a beautiful, often amazing book. There's still an epilogue in the works next year, so we'll see how it really wraps up. Until then.

Seven Soldiers Of Victory #1: Wow. Now that's some supercompression. I have very little idea what actually happened here, but I'm pretty sure it was good. An insane ending to an insane megaseries, complete with Morrison via Zatanna trying to awaken the DCU into sentience. We shall see how successful he is, I guess. If nothing else, 7S has awakened a strong desire in me for a Morrison-penned Mr. Miracle/New Gods series. "I come with God-sight now," indeed. I'm obviously a Morrison fan, so I'm more than a little biased, but I thought it was one heckuva ride. Not perfect, as is par for the course with Morrison - he's far too rock and roll to nail every note perfectly - but still, buy the end of the album, you don't feel cheated.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #35: Man, am I loving Mike Carey on this book. This is the FF: huge cosmic adventures and good characterization, all wrapped up in a pretty bow courtesy of Pasqual Ferry's capable art. I'm still not sold on his much ballyhooed amazingness, but he does a decent enough job, so I'm satisfied. One of my new favorites.

X-Factor #12: The initial Singularity Investigations arc gets wrapped up in this issue and I must say, you can go home again. I was a huge fan of David's early 90's X-Factor and am now a huge fan of his early 00's X-Factor. Really good stuff. Upcoming issues include the much-hyped psychiatric session with Doc Samson and then its Jamie Madrox: Agent of H.Y.D.R.A. Whee!

Whew. That's a lot of stuff. I was also supposed to have an issue of Morrison and Jim Lee's Wildcats revamp in there somewhere but the counter jockey at my local comic shop is a flake, so... nothing. From what I've read online, it's largely unsatisfying, but I'm a slave for the Morrison, so what can I do?

Until next time, make mine Big Red Robot!

A Quick, Depressing News Item

I knew it was too beautiful to live long: Nextwave will be cancelled as of issue #12. Here's the solicitation copy, which is, as usual for this amazing series, clever:

NEXTWAVE: AGENTS OF H.A.T.E. #12
Written by WARREN ELLIS
Pencils and Cover by STUART IMMONEN
To all those who HAVEN'T been buying NEXTWAVE - Thanks a lot, jerks! This is the last issue! To all those who HAVE been buying NEXTWAVE- YOU RULE!! Do not miss this pulse-pounding conclusion to the greatest work of western literature EVER! Hamlet? Horrible. War and Peace? What-a-joke! The Great Gatsby? The Great Lame-by, maybe. Those works are going to be moved to the Bad Section of your local bookstores after this issue comes out. Don't miss this or you won't know what your children's children are reading in school.

There's an interview with Ellis at CBR here. Salt in my wound today, sirs. I know I should try and be excited about the promised minis, but man, this sucks. Seriously, what is wrong with America that this title is going bye-bye and Ms. frigging who in the world is reading this crap Marvel is still being published? Sheesh. Personally, I blame society.

I'm Back

And I'll be posting more soon. Spent the weekend in Vegas for my sister Haley's wedding and have been having computer issues, but I'm still alive and (relatively) well.

In the meanwhile, busy yourself with this. I scored like 21%, so I'm not a total geek, but I'm still safely within the geek category. Yay for me. Thanks to Shon Feller for alerting me to this. I knew there was a reason I got out of bed this morning.

This Is My Life, Day 10

In order to stave off any mushiness I will say only this: Candace, I love you forever. You're the best. This is my life.

Today Is the Day!

Today is my lady's birthday! Yay for her! I made her a book! Alright! We ate at Da Pineapple Grill! Super! It was delicious! Now we are going to Wal-Mart! Yay! But first I have to change some lightbulbs! Woo-Hoo! I am excited! I can't stop finishing each sentence with an exclamaition mark! Yipee! Hooray for exclamation marks and horray for Candace! You are the bestest in the Westest! Hiphip... Hooray!

Stupid Stuff

Hey! Wanna know how to turn a 2 liter of Diet Coke into a rocket using a couple of Mentos? You do? That's sick. There's intructions here, you sick little person.

What's that, you want to se a guy with really short shorts turning said 2 liter bottle into a rocket? Yuck. The videos is here.

Honestly, if I were five or so years younger, I'd be at the convenience store by now.

This Is My Life, Day 9

There's somthing intoxicating about the smell of old LP's and paperbacks. As a teenager, two of my favorite haunts were used bookstores and the numerous Record City locations across the valley. Hmmm. Maybe that's why I didn't date much. Anyway, this is my life.

Things I Think Are Cool (In No Particular Order)

The song "Ghosts Of A Different Dream," from the Guided By Voices album Under the Bushes, Under the Stars.
Chocolate glazed Krispy Kreme donuts.
Comic books.
Books by Kurt Vonnegut.
Old t-shirts.
Doc Savage.
The Empire Strikes Back.
Typography.
Robins.
Love.
The cover to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The cover to Pet Sounds, as well as the entirety of that purely genius album.
The Pacific Ocean. It really is better than the Atlantic.
A good Bagel.
The sound of airplanes.
The smell of freshly cut grass and the smell of gasoline.
Robots, jetpacks and laserguns. And psychic powers. And wolfmen.
Atlantis.
Seaguy.
Polaroid cameras.
Christmas.
My new Chucks.
The Flaming Lips.
America, despite all her flaws and imperialistic snarls.
Family.
Truth.
Spirit.
Woody Allen in Take the Money And Run.
My few, true friends. You know who you are.
Laughing.
Watermelon.
Creamsicles.
Toys.
Music.
Inspiration.
Candace, Candace, Candace. Forever & ever, amen.
Boulder Dam which I will always refer to as Hoover Dam because I am old school and I like it like that. It looks especially beautiful on a summer night.
Sleeping.
Dreaming.
When I manage to not be a total meanie.
My little sis, Sadie.
The moon.
Martians.
Astronauts.
Fireworks.
Sparkle Power!
A cold glass of water.
Monarch butterflies.
Driving long distances with my lady at my side.
Trees.
Empty parking lots.
The song "Space Junk," by Devo.
My favorite band since I was like 14, Talking Heads.
When you can see your breath outside, but it's still just sweatshirt weather.
The idea of summer.
Forever long blog posts about nothing.
James freaking Brown.
The streetlights on Ballinger Drive, circa 1990.
Castlerocker, the blog.
Guitars.
Listening to live music.
The smell of the coffee aisle at the supermarket.
Luchadores.
Superheroes.
Kids who can skateboard.
People who smile.
Hugs.
Super Mario 3.
A new haircut.
The TV show Lost.
Pajamas.

The word, "Goodnight."

This Is My Life, Day 8

I was up late working on some stuff. This is a shot of what sits to my right as I sit here, working away into the slippery night. Misc. addresses, a little encouraging note from Candace and Sadie, cards from my meager collection of Pete Fowler Monsterism figures, a work schedule because I can't be bothered to remember things like when I work there, instructions for Can-can's iPod (whose battery is dead and I really should charge it, but I just can't remember to do it) and a picture of my lady, whose iPod battery is dead. This is my life.

This Is My Life, Day 7

They came down to I.F. to go shopping. It was a fun time to be able to hang out with them, as it seems that lately, I just haven't had the time to relax and shop. Plus, they're pretty, so that makes it easier to hang out with them. It wouldn't be so much fun to shop with ugly girls. That just would not do. Anyway, this is my life.

This Is My Life, Day 6

There's something cool about being able to hold my entire music collection in the palm of my hand. The future is rad.

I Got Sucked Into The Beta

Obviously, there have been some changes on the blog. Last night, I got sucked into Blogger's new beta version. It's pretty handy, allowing for quick changes to format without knowing a ton of HTML. Unfortunately, that means that I dinked around with it for way longer than I should have last night. Oh well. I'm still trying to figure out how to make a custom header graphic, so if anybody can help me out, HOLLAH!

Some Music Nuggets and Then I'm Going To Bed

Firstly, I bought Beck's new abum, The Information. It is good. I haven't made it all the way through, but I likes what I hears. It's "weird Beck," which I always appreciate. For whatever reason, I always forget the man's a certifiable genius and then I hear a new album and am blown away for weeks. It happened with Guero and I'm sure it will happen with The Information. Is it better than my current favorite Beck album, Midnight Vultures? Whoa. Slow down. Let's not get crazy. I haven't heard any falsetto yet, so Vultures is pretty safe.

Some quick statistics: In purchasing The Information, I got a 15 track CD that is 60 minutes in length. I got a DVD of Beck's self-produced music videos. I got a suh-weet set of stickers so I can make my own little CD cover. I paid $9.99 for all of that. That, my friends, is value for dollar.

Also released today was the Killer's hotly anticipated (to most people... not me really) follow-up to Hot Fuss, Sam's Town. Now I must say, I begrudgingly liked Hot Fuss, despite the fact that I know a couple of guys in the band and didn't really like them at all. It's a decent album. Nothing that's going to cure cancer or put a man on the moon, but decent, Duran Duran rip-off pop sung by ridiculous glam boys with more concern for their appearance than actual artistic depth.

Anyway, Entertainment Weekly has mercilessly savaged their new album, Sam's Town. You can read the review here. It's pretty harsh. And pretty funny. Is it bad of me to laugh at this thing, to sort of relish it? "The MySpace generation has found its Bon Jovi." Ouch.

One last thing: For those of you not Vegas-lingual, Sam's Town is a hotel-casino geared toward locals (pronounced: "retirees with pension money burning a hole in their pocket") with a breakfast buffet that is pretty good. I prefer Boulder Station, but that's just me. I'm what you'd call a "non-conformist." A "hipster." Or, if you will, a "weirdo."

This Is My Life, Day 5

Seriously, she's crazy. She's started climbing out of her crib. Today Candace swas taking a nap and heard a door shut. She thought I was still home, but I'd left for stupid work. The next thing she knew, Sadie was all up in her face saying, "Hello Mommy."

I closed at work tonight, which meant I didn't get home until sometime near 10:30. She was awake and wired for sound. I laid down with her, trying to get her to go to sleep because I could tell Candace had had it. Well, this little girl is talking my ever-loving ear off. I've worked late the last couple of nights and have been pretty much gone every day, so I like to think her staying-up-latedness had something to do with her missing her daddy. Who knows. She's weird.

We ended up going to the store because my lady needed some orange juice. I thought for sure she'd fall asleep in the car. No dice. Finally, sometime after 11, she went down. Hopefully she'll sleep late tomorrow because I am tired and I'm sure Candace is, too. Anyway I love my funny little girl. She's a keeper. And this, as they say, is my life.

I Got A FEEvAH...

And the only cure is more Lost. Has anybody else seen this little thing here? Sawyer. In a big hamster cage. Good golly, I loves this show.

This Is My Life, Day 4

One of the things I always loved about my lady was her love for green things. Candace was taking floral design classes when we met and after we were married and we've almost always had some plants wherever we've lived. There's something refreshing about a plant. Makes you a little happier, a little more balanced. This is my life.