News Years 'Resolutions'

News years have always started out feeling like any other day. I stay inside and normally go to bed at a normal time. Despite all this I am setting goals for myself, like resolutions, but I am holding myself to high standards to reach these goals. To simplify, I'll note them in three parts - and if anyone wishes to copy the idea feel free.

1) Finish my first novel by my birthday.
This is going to be tricky, but I do need a deadline to get really motivated. NaNoWriMo taught me that I can write at a decent pace, but to advance I need a deadline set. I have close to 70 pages on this first novel, and I don't know how many it will take to reach a logical conclusion to the story - but I will reach it by mid April. This does not include any editing, but does include a completed rough draft. All of my writing is split among different novels all in the same grand story, but this first one has been sitting in limbo for a long time (roughly 6 or 7 years).

2) Get a new job.
It is about time I began to move on, and actually get a job that can sustain myself entirely. I'm not sure what field just yet, but I need work that provides at least 30k a year. Now, there is no reason why this isn't possible. This may coincide with going for a Masters degree, or it may be on its own as a separate deal - either way I must start down my grand plan with the path I have figured out to reach my long term employment goals.

3) Get in shape.
This sounds like a very open goal, but I am setting standards by which I can grade myself. My main weakness is stamina and torso strength. Stamina can by gained over all through the year, but I would like to be able to run a mile by the years end. As far as torso strength goes, I would like to gain the appearance of what many call a 'washboard stomach.' All of this is in addition to visable definition in arms and legs as well. Keep in mind, I am not vain about my appearance, but rather I feel it is about time I finally did something to get in shape since I am most definately not in shape. I look thin, but I am somewhat frail aside from being quick.

Comic Reviews

1) Spawn #163
It's odd to think this would make my top spot for this week, considering how the majority of the series has felt very 90s. The last 10 issues or so have been slowly getting better in my opinion, and I love the hyper-detail the previous issues have been. Over all, the issue actually wasn't as spectacular as previous issues leading up to this one, but the last few pages really sunk into me.

This is a major spoiler, so go ahead and skip down if you don't care for spoiling. I have to type this, as to justify my choosing this as my #1. Long time readers, and the curious sort will skip around my site to look this up, but I have a soft spot for Al Simmons and his absolute tragedy of being severed from his love. This is the driving force behind the character, and in this issue it looks like it will finally be resolved. Al Simmons chose to bring everyone back alive, and his last act was to give up his God-like (literally) power to become human once again so he can finally live a normal life with Wanda. There will be complications, obviously, but the last few pages of him deciding his fate are a major resolution to about 160 issues of pain and torment.

2) Detective Comics #827
Little can stop the Dini machine from producing some of the best Batman stories I've read, period. Scarface is back, and this time the Ventriloquist is a highly skilled woman. She looks like she was pulled right out of the Animated Series universe too, which I really like. It's also a nice touch that she has a Dr. Blight (from Captain Planet) scar on the side of her face, hidden by her hair, mirroring the broken face of Scarface.

3) JSA Classified #20
This issue, along with the previous issue, was a fun little story with a nice touch of darkness. I made a pun, since this follows Dr. Midnite. I haven't read much of him, but this little two-parter felt good as an intro to the character. I'm sure he's covered better in something else, but this issue felt well concieved as opposed to some of the other issues previously released. I also liked the dark twists of using Ice Maiden's skin, and the effect of the organ rejection. I like pale skin, so I could sort of see the interest in that, but I digress. It wasn't a happy or pleasant end for the girl.

?) Justice League of America #5
This is the second time I've listed this title here. I'm only buying it because the comic shop is taking kind to it's subscribers to this title by allow us to buy the variant covers at cover price. I've been really liking the variants ever since Turner moved off to the main cover (urgh), and having the variants as normal almost makes up for the lack of real substance inbetween the pages.

I'm not liking Reddy one bit, as he is basically the token child/sidekick/comic relief character in my opinion. He's not suppose to be like that, is he? Also, it has taken five issues for the 'main characters' to join up with the 'new main characters'? Way to pad the story for the trade, Meltzer. Now if only the art crew can stop spreading the panels over two pages every other page I could let my eyes enjoy the shifting of reading this comic like almost every other comic should be read...like a book. I'm not against two page spreads, but it really loses the impact when it is over used - go check out the Conan comic, its mostly single pages, but every now and then they toss a double pager in and it is awe-inspiring.

'Red Arrow' is really taken by Hawkgirl, isn't he? I don't blame him, becuase she does look pretty good in those few panels. My problem is that he's acting as if that's the first time he's seen her, and though I'm not familiar with any previous meetings I am pretty sure they have met before - the characters have been around a long time, right? Jeez...that moment felt really out of character and was too sudden considering everything that had happened moments before.

Poor Amazo has no solution for love. I feel for him, as there can't be much of a solution for love the way this flagship title is going. DC, get Meltzer to wrap up his fanfiction and get the writers from the sadly short lived Justice League Unlimited animation to pump some life into this. You'd make so many people happy...

That meme that people are stealing from Sims

Five things most don't know about me?

1.) Extremely frightened by open water.
Can't explain it, since I think the root cause was blocked from memory. I've tried to get over this fear, but I occasionally still freak out crossing bridges under my own power (walking). As long as I see something solid, like shore, I'm usually fine.

2) Traveling makes me sick.
I honestly enjoy going to new places, but no matter how I travel I always get sick. Nothing violently ill or anything like that, but I almost always lose my appetite for several days. Maybe it's the stress of being somewhere different, but it's is really annoying and has proven costly in the past as well as make people worry about me (which is nice, but shouldn't have to happen).

3) MacGyver was my childhood hero.
True enough, MacGyver was my idol as I grew up and still is for the most part, and not Batman. After all, through Boy Scouts and beyond the most important thing to remember is to 'be prepaired' and MacGyver was the personification of that idea. He had a swiss army knife and duct tape, and used that to do anything he wanted. Power like that is available to any, so long as they know what they want to do. The show sadly feels dated now, and has quite a few preachy episodes, but there is still a lot to learn from that show - like the fact that punching people actually hurts.

4) I used to write Sailor Moon fanfiction.
The funny thing is I have been told by the few people that I let read it have told me it was actually decent, but I don't know of any surviving copies of the files. Also, before anyone asks, it was about the end of the world and how the sailors were coping with it. It was basically a series of medium length texts that introduced the four horsemen of the apocalypse, sailor moon style, and the sailors had little power to stop them. Very much a story in which you introduce characters of your creation that are overwhelmingly more powerful, but I was turning the stories into a very sad tragedy as everyone was slowly killed off. I only got about halfway through my grand story before I called it quits.

5) I dressed up as Data at a Star Trek Convention.
I'm proud of my geek heritage, and it doesn't get much more than this in some circles. Before you say 'that isn't so bad' let me tell you this: it was a specific version of Data in which he had a different uniform, and I had open access ports built into the outfit that held exposed insides. When interviewed I acted like Data, speaking in tech speak. My friend at the time dressed up like Riker, and had a painted on beard.

Since then, aside from Halloween, I've cosplayed as Jigen (from Lupin the 3rd) quite succesfully - natural beard and everything, which was annoying to have while in Japan. And I am considering atempting to pull off Dr. Light (male) if I can plan far enough into the future next year. I can do the beard easy, and I have blue eyes already, biggest problem is the outfit...

That time of the year

Happy Comsumermas to all...

Haven't posted in a while, even after saying I'd do it more often. It's that time of the year where everything goes crazy, so it's to be expected I suppose.

Back on Sat. Shane Davis dropped by the local comic shop for signings and such. That was fun little distraction from the bustle of Walmart down the road. We chatted for a while about drawing and the industry and such - since I'm drawing my plans against those who'd stop me I can use all the help I can get.

Even after picking his brain a bit, I didn't learn any trade secrets like future projects DC'll have him on...I didn't press too hard though, since I want him to keep his job. I did pick up some new techniques to try out, however, so I still am keeping things in shape as far as adapting goes.

Anyway, tomorrow banks open and I can deposit money...to fuel my eBay splurge.

Well that doesn't surprise me one bit...

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The Greatest Story Ever Told - Part 1

Prologue

A team of different skilled men were brought together in the middle of the Vietnam War. A expert pilot, a genius mechanic, a smooth talker, and their unconventional leader. The group was gathered from different corners of the war, and their mission was given the highest level of secrecy. Their code name was Team Alpha, or A-Team for short.

They were shipped back to America and deployed to a remote area on the west coast. Opperating independent of any other governing body, they were asigned a single task. Retrieve an alien artifact to prevent any other organization from getting their hands on it. No other information was provided.

To help in their mission, they sought out the Justice League. Not every member directly aided the A-Team, but they did help locate where the artifact was.

Eventually the group is captured by a secret company of Nazis, and when things look really bad a strike force of robots and cyborgs attack the camp and free the group. As it turns out, they had been monitoring communications of the A-Team, the JLA, and the Nazis.

Furthor truth is revealed about this artifact, and it turns out to be the Matrix. The Matrix belongs to the Autobots, which are in a way kin to the machines of this planet. That kinship presses the machines to seek out the crash site where the Matrix is located, and since the site is not electronically connected to the internet or any other electronic form of communication.

As the Justice League is negotiating with the machines what they will do with the Matrix, and to whom it would belong to, the A-Team sneaks away to continue on their mission.

They arrive at the crash site and sneak into a now-exposed spaceship sticking out of a volcano. There is wreckage everywhere, but no signs of life as they search around. The deeper in they searched, suddenly the place began to blink alive as lights turned on.

They frantically gather their things, but just at the last minute they notice a pale blue light coming from the chest of a large red humanoid robot. Thinking that is what they were after, they grab it.

As they try to escape it becomes evident that they are trapped inside this spaceship, while outside a battle is growing more and more large.

The machines had decended upon the wreck, fighting the Justice League, as well as a new army of flying machines lead by a grey machine with a energy cannon on his arm commanding them to attack everyone on the field. Other machine men were exiting the wrecked spaceship and joining the battle as well.

Soon it becomes apparent that the A-Team is alone inside the spaceship, and they begin to salvage wreckage that is laying about to armor up their van so they can make their escape safely.

They decide that if this many groups are all after this artifact, then it would probably be best if no one had it. THey then explode forth through the battlefield and escape.

Word travels fast that the A-Team had broken orders and had gone AWOL with the artifact. To cover up the incident the shadow government had it entered into official records that the team had formed to rob a bank, and an arrest-on-site proclomation was issued.

As we learn at the end of the opening chapter, it was Adolf Hitler who is in charge of the shadow government, still alive after his supposed death with help from a Lazerus Pit. With the Holy Grail granting him life and the Spear of Destiny granting him military strength, the Matrix would have made him the most commanding leader the universe had ever known.

Now that it was stolen from him, all his mind is focused on its return to him...

Comic Reviews

1) Green Lantern Corps #7
This is what Collateral Damage wishes it was. This new female lantern is great, not just because of who she is, but because she is a great foil to Guy starting with the few pages she appears. I don't want to gush about how almost all the secondary characters in this title seem thought out well enough to stay original, so I'll move on.

Yes, Guy gets an earworm that makes him bleed - finally a cover containing a scene that actually happens inside the cover. It isn't a big moment, but it's a decent moment.

So the Guardians have a black ops team? I'm game, but don't expect it to stay covert with Guy joining it.
8.5/10

2) Tales of the Unexpected #3
Being a fan of this miniseries and the main character already probably helped this issue get to where it is on this little list. However, I still think it was a strong issue even if it felt more like a 'middle issue' that connects two stories. The main punishment story wrapped up about as nicely as it could have, proving the Spectre isn't really all that mean.

Also, the Dr. 13 story is freaking awesome.
8/10

3) DCU Infinite Holiday Special #1
Honestly, I expected this comic to be terrible. I'm not a big fan of holiday themed material, but the potential is still great for something entertaining - especially if it isn't supposed to be serious. This comic is not serious, and surprised me by how crazy it turned out to be.

Most of the stories are pretty straight forward, but they have enough fun originality to them they are fun to read. The clencher, for me at least, was the final story. To be exact, the final page of the final story. Wow.
7.5/10

?) Justice League of America #4
It was between this and Robin #157, but I felt as odd as Robin was it had enjoyable art. This new JLA reboot, though it has "Starro", really hasn't impressed me all that much. It reads like a trade, and I'm not to fond of the overuse of two page panel spreads. Something about multiple panels broken by staples annoys me I guess.

Anyway, the writing is acceptible in my opinion, but I guess I'm just not all that interested with the side stories. Maybe I don't care about the characters, but frankly the story feels a bit dull.

For the record, I'm enjoying the Transformers: The Animated Movie miniseries a whole lot more. I know that story, and the mini is changing dialogue and abridging the scenes!
4.5/10

The Death of the Greatest Story Ever Told

Well...I know it is a quick notice, and a quick ending, but I've decided to seal the fate of tGSET. No more work will happen on it, but I will keep the comicspace account - its the only email that worked for signing up, which is frustrating to no end. It isn't that it gets filtered out with the bulk mail on my main account...it's that it never shows up at all. Oh well.

Despite the project getting the axe, I feel I should at least make it known to the public what the story would have followed in any case. In the next few days I will begin typing out a general summery of the story in all its epiciness.

What Kind of Comic are You?
Graphic Novel You are GRAPHIC NOVELS! You are mature and enigmatic. You are perhaps a bit of a loner as well. There's also no hiding your intelligence, but sometimes people are too quick to judge you and miss out on all you have to offer. Stick to what you know, don't be afraid to experiment and be true to yourself, and you will go far.
Take The Quiz Now!	Quizzes by myYearbook.com

To Do List updates

After neglecting every single other project of mine during the month of November, I am finally ramping up focus on things left behind. I'm not stopping my writing, however, as there is still much to do in that realm of things. NaNoWriMo allowed me to lay more groundwork on my stories, but there is still much to continue with.

For the record, I have been writing a novel off and on for a long time, and I used NaNoWriMo to flesh out the other stories in the series. You can think of it in a way of writing the second book to an unfinished first, but some of it will likely be brought into the first as filler. Since there is so little actually written it is very hard to make much sense of the grand story. And yes, it is a grand epic tale of fantasy in many respects - except that there are no real 'good' characters to cheer for.

Other projects I had refered to before are several open-ended commission jobs to work on. One actually involves color, so that's going to be very interesting. I've never felt like my skill with color has been very good. I understand theory and meaning and all that sort of stuff involving color, but I've never felt like I was good at applying what I know. In any case, I've been asked about these works for a while now, so it is a good idea I get back to working on them.

I've also been toying with the idea of picking up tGSET once again. Some long lost browsers to this site may remember my brief mentionings of this thing, and for some they may actually think the idea is dead. Nothing ever really dies in an artist's mind...they just tend to drift away as they can't seem to fully create their vision, and they always think about what could be improved upon, after all.

For you new readers, tGSET is short for 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' and it is a grand tale of graphic fanfiction in which icons of the 80s and 90s crash together in a retelling of Lord of the Rings, with much twisting of that story itself with other stories. It is absolute madness, I tell you.

When I drifted away, I was still building up the story. It wasn't making a whole lot of sense, but since it is still pencil I can easily change it...

Anyway, that's my random update for this week...until Wed.

Finally a return to reviewing comics

Figures my 100th post would be something as mundane as this, but I have a (new) idea as to get myself to review comics more often (as in, weekly). Three for one! Three shortish reviews of those I felt were good this week, and one I felt wasn't so good. Here goes nothing...

1) Justice Society of America #1
Figures this would be listed in any case, but from my pull I liked it the most. I've waited a while for this thing, and I have to say I really enjoyed this first issue. From this point on I think there is a lot of potential goodness, and I just hope things get carried through in that way.

Mr. America felt like a curveball. To me he looks like Gomez Addams, but wow does he not act like him. I like the little mustache he has, but I'm more wondering where his story will go. Of all the side stories that tie in together, his was the most loose.

I got a kick out of the new Red Tornado and think she'll be fun in that innocent fangirlish way. However, I have a feeling something bad will happen to her - that's just how those characters usually end up. I hope differently though.

The new Starman also was a fun bit to read, but I think my affection for the character is for the same reason I like Bizarro. Not exactly a good thing for a hero to be connected with, but time will tell.
9.5/10

2) Detective Comics #826
This issue was a fun quick read. Quick, because it flowed so well off the paper. Fun, because the Joker goes on a killing spree trying to call the cops to report his hit and runs while he is trying to get to a fastfood place for an eggnog shake. I mean, come on. This is the kind of issue I bet Chris Sims would love to read. I know I did.

Besides, Batman doesn't appear till the very end. It is all Robin and Joker action, and the kid defeats the Joker in a classic move...
9/10

3) Manhunter #26
About time Manhunter returned to the shelves. There is a lot of flashing forward and backward to tie it directly into the "last" issue, but it does work in the end. This is a pretty good setup to what I can pretty well imagine will be only a miniseries of sorts, to check how the sales go for the title. Here's hoping that this issue, tied in with the graphic novel collection of issues 1-5, will make DC think about keeping this thing being printed.

I was really close to sticking Nightwing #127 in this spot, but I felt Manhunter had the small advantage due to my excitement of having it available again. Nightwing was really good this issue around, but the last few issues have all been quality (finally), so there wasn't so much new there. Manhunter had plot and action, and development of the whole story, and besides - her title technically shouldn't be as popular as it is making it all the more great of a comic to be published.
8/10

?) 52 Week Thirty-One
It may just be me, but I think the edge is slowly becoming dull with 52. Maybe they just are not following the arches I like in this issue, but for the first time I found it a little hard to read this issue. I don't really know much about the Captain Comet arch, but his whole story in this issue felt like it was ripped right out of Chronicles of Riddick. I'm sorry, but as one of the few people that enjoyed that movie I have to say this: to rip of that movie in a title as "important" as this comic is degrading to the title.
3/10

"Heroes"

I've been forcing myself to watch Heroes, and honestly that means one of two things in my book. One is good and the other is bad, obviously.

I want to like this show, I really do, but it just tends to hurt to have to sit through an hour of it. See, Lost and Dr. Who fly by for me in their timeslot. Even Battlestar Galactica can feel like its moving by fast when it isn't all angsty with pointless flashbacks.

This show, however, really drags along.

I blame the writing first. It doesn't matter who thought it was a good idea to put certain characters in, but if they are not written to be interesting the characters fail. They then produce a moment where I start to think getting something to drink before the commercials roll wouldn't be a bad idea. Seriously - I've fixed my dinner while the show was still the show due to a lack of interest in a plot segment.

In my book, there are only three interesting characters out of how many? I honestly don't know how many characters there are. They all tend to blur together on the sidelines.

Hiro, of course, seems to be the only one really advancing the plot. For a long time he also seemed to be the only one actually doing anything worthwhile. He accepts his powers and is trying to use them for good - That, my friends, is what the show is supposed to be about, right?

Then there's Peter, who I am starting to enjoy as of recently. He is also using his power to help others, though he doesn't quite get the chance to be selective over his power. He risked his life, unsure what would happen - and that is also the very definition of being a hero.

As far as I can tell those are the only two actual heroes in the show. That is terrible in my opinion.

Oh yeah, I said three people didn't I? The other is this Syler guy that absorbs other people's powers after killing them. He's got some real potential to be a great villain so long as they don't wholely overpower the guy. I just hate that the girl that was the Indian guy's neighbor was killed because of him, becuase I also liked her despite limited character development.

Anyway, here's me yelling out that the show needs a lot of help in the concept department. They have something that could work really well, but right now it feels like bare minimum.

On a side note: Imagine how awesome the show would be if Frank Miller wrote it? It would probably not make a whole lot of sense and offend a bunch of people, but at least it'd be fun to watch...