New Idea!

In the mythos that includes the Commander, there is an event called the Golden Hollow. There's also a person, as readers of the story "The Golden Hollow" can tell you. The Golden Hollow also happens to be a place.

I've had an idea for a while that at "ground zero" of this telepathic natural disaster, there would remain a dead zone of sorts. This would be a place where the preestablished rules of reality would no longer apply. It would be a bad place, a terrible place, a place with something left to hide.

Recently, I saw the movie Silent Hill. Wow. It was good and screwed up. Crazy visuals, great cinematography, general sense of confusion and dread. It was awesome.

Silent Hill uses transitions between states of reality to trigger many events and compound its sense of dread. One state of reality is obscured by a fog-like haze, the other by pure darkness. Both are totally insane. So I thought this might be a way to go.

However, there's still more. One of the scenes led to me to remember a villainous sorority from other parts of my writing, the Brill'Que (or as Dan and Commander call them, the Balleaters). They are evil, twisted, human, and extraterrestrial--hard to explain in blog form.

Speaking of Commander, I think he may be present as well, filling the role of the wise old man, even though he isn't old by any means. He'd just pop in and out, possibly helping the main character(s) of the story. Commander would be the only one with any clue as how to deal with the single Brill'Que that's taken residence within ground zero. Also, he'd be the only one who'd be able to figure out what is going on in such a screwed up place.

That's not right!

First topic...
I was going to say something here about my personal frustration about how brilliant and attractive (and unavailable) one friend of mine is, but I couldn't make a coherent thought out of it. Suffice to say, some things are beyond words, or at least beyond expression.

Second topic...
"It's time for another Good Idea/Bad Idea." Good Idea--Having Greg Rucka take over on Supergirl. Bad Idea--Expecting that he'll have time to actually work on it. Because of that, it looks like I won't be reading Supergirl much longer.

Third topic...
I love cheap anime, especially if it's any good. I was recently informed that, of all places, Big Lots, was selling anime DVDs for $4 each. I took a look and found one of the volumes of Blue Submarine No. 6. I remember when each of those went for $25-30. I wasn't big on it the first time I watched it ("You can't use rumba music with a battle sequence!").

Easter Thoughts

Some thoughts on things related to Easter.

Sunrise Service was invented by a masochist, not a sadist. The person who comes up with the idea has to attend or else it has no merit.

Easter Egg Hunts, why? I understand it can be fun for kids--provided no other kids are stealing eggs from them. Why does anyone not involved care? It's a bunch of kids running around finding poorly hidden eggs or looking for eggs that are two inches in front of their faces.

Another thing. If you're hiding Easter Eggs, don't just drop them on the ground or put them on the grill of someone's car. By the same token, don't take a page from my book and use a shovel to hide eggs; it doesn't work well.

What determines the date Easter takes place anyway? It seems almost random to me.

Finally, I put the jokes aside for my last thought. Jesus--he died for our sins. That's what the book says. No "ifs", "ands", or "buts." Repent and have faith, you're in. Have peace and try to make the world better in his name, not a problem. Big into [fill in the blank religion]; that's ok too. The sacrifice is for everyone, no exceptions.

Dwell on that one, if you like, but that's what I think.

Comics and Gaming Expo 2006, Part 2

Day 2--Comic Book Convention

Same rules as before, good, bad, if applicable ugly.

Getting up after 5 hours of sleep on the weekend may be ugly, but it was my choice. Ken told me the night before, "You guys are gonna game all night... you're crazy." That's true.

Anyway, lots of trips through the various floors of the Buckner building eventually got the dealers to the top floor and ready to go. We also had a good showing of professional talent for a neophyte comic show. The charity pieces were fully in place--a table of items to be sold or raffled, including 100 prints of the 1960s Catwoman, Lee Merriwether, as drawn by Greg Land. I managed to get my hand on a Queen & Country: Declassified hardcover, signed by Greg Rucka.

Starting out there was a decent trickling of patrons. I did a couple of stints taking admission at the door. I watched as many people I've known for years took part in the first comic convention they've ever been to. Not only were they loving it, but I was too, and I've been to conventions before. I spoke to a few of the dealers and they mentioned in passing--I only asked if they were having a good time--they were pleased with the number of people and the success of their tables. All these things have to come together to make a show work, especially if it's the beginning of an annual show.

Just as with gaming, the comic convention took a few hours to really find its legs. Ken was a little nervous about it, until within 5 minutes 12 paying customers flooded in. And the flow didn't really stop either.

Guests included Ghost Rider creator Gary Friedrich as the Guest of Honor, Brian Hurtt and Chris Samnee who have both worked on the aforementioned Queen & Country, and Matt Kindt. No, I didn't determine the guest list, that's just the way things turned out.

Yes, I went and talked to Brian Hurtt and Chris Samnee. Yes, I got that hardback singned by Brian Hurtt as well, since he did the art on it. Yes, I bought a trade and the latest issue. Yes, I looked at the art for the next issue--which wasn't done at the time! Yes, I stood there and talked to those guys about all kinds of stuff. If I figure out how to do it, I'll post some pictures of the loot here.

Later, Katie pointed out a Lois & Clark promo poster that she wanted to get for Jeff, but didn't have the money for. I started dreaming up holidays as an excuse to get it for him. I also drafted Jonathan's help to get it, since that's the kind of gift that can be fun to get from a bunch of people. Jonathan and I bought it, snuck around Jeff and held it up. Katie then told him to turn around. Jeff ended up being eye to eye with Dean Cain's arm and the side of Teri Hatcher's chest.

Then came the watching of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: Tears of the Dragon, a film by Nick Murphy, formerly of this area. I think I judged the film too harshly. It's a fan film and I watched it and thought about it like it was a major release. It was good and, if I get the opportunity, I'd like to talk to Nick more about it. Note: you can learn more at www.tearsofthedragon.com

I didn't really have an opportunity since all those comic boxes I helped carry in before the show, had to be carried out after the show was over. As a whole, I say the show was a success and I hope Ken agrees.

Comics And Gaming Expo 2006

"Ken Con." "Ken-vention." Whatever title you might want to use for it, Ken put on a kickass show. There was previously a single, one-shot trade show years ago in this area, but Ken blew it away. I only remember it because I went for a little bit. Comics and Gaming Expo--I was there most of the time. Here is my report on the activities of CAGE, the good, the bad, and (if applicable) the ugly. I'll use my perspective on the events, so, if you went, you might have seen something else. If that's the case, please share.

Day One--Gaming:

I went a little early, both to help out and to see what all was going on in the couple of hours before HeroClix took place. The Halo tournament started way too early, so they did another later in the day. Several card games were getting started up. A few RPGs had started up. Warhammer was nearly a bust since most of their players were no shows.

The gem in all this, I felt, was a fairly new card game being demoed. Anachronism, made with assisstance from The History Channel, is a very quick game where players take the roles of famous warriors, soldiers, and mythological figures throughout history. It was fast--about 5 minutes to play one whole game--simple and fun. I learned that the booster packs aren't random, so I might have a grab a few at a later date.

We had about 10 players show up for HeroClix, up from our recent level of 5-6. Among the extras were Jeff, who hasn't played in a tournament in a good year plus, and his wife Katie, who's only played with Jeff. Jeff played some core JLA members. Katie played The Shadowpact. I played a Rann-Thanagar War team. Nathan, our area shark, played the JSA. Until she got to the last round, Katie was whooping the hell out of everybody she played, myself included. If it had been put to a player vote, Katie would have won.

By the time HeroClix was wrapping up, some Star Wars miniatures action got going. It was pretty cool to see that going. Also got to try out the Fullmetal Alchemist card game. It's no Anachronism, but it's pretty neat. It takes a while though, which really started to eat into our playing Vampire. With Vampire, Oscar has started his first campaign. He's got a good handle on things and his narrative style is very unique. I like it and it's pacing (Read: Oscar, make notes on how the game moves and you could easily get a book out of it.)

At the conclusion of that, it was around 2:30 AM. And I turned around and got up at 8:30 AM for... I'll fill you in on that later.

Why I Hate Infinte Crisis, Part 6

Back by popular demand, it's my reasoning for not liking Infinte Crisis! You too can share these thoughts, even if you currently don't. All you have to do is hit a wall and it'll change reality!

OK, that's enough BS, at least for the moment. Infinite Crisis is good again. The ratio is currently three out of a total of six issues not pissing me off.

In the past month or so, my respect for Connor Kent, the one true Superman--oh, he's a minor... he has to be called boy--has greatly increased. He's truly a badass. I'm loving his character. So rich, so full of depth. Unlike his utopian counterpart, Clark, Connor has interesting problems. He doesn't have a perfect life. His (should be) archnemesis also is his father, Lex Luthor. Great stuff. I will discuss Connor more in a moment.

Mr. Terrific. Damn. He did exactly what I thought he would in the fight against the true villain of Infinite Crisis, Brother Eye. Being the second smartest man in the DC universe, he is the solution to our technological problem. I know he said "third," but he recently got promoted.

How? Look at what Lex Luthor wears in Infinte Crisis. A purple jumpsuit with a collar right out of 1972! No one on the top 5 smartest list can even consider looking like that in public.

Actually, this particular post should be entitled, "How DC bitched Infinte Crisis." I'm going to talk freely about that book, Teen Titans, and a few other selected events. If you haven't read issue #6, stop reading this and go read the comic. It's really good.

So, how about that Superboy? Damn. Ass-whooper. And all those guys hanging out with Batman. They concluded a story thread left over from a Countdown miniseries. Awesome. Unfortunately, the final ratio comes to 1/3, and I don't think there's anything of a major plot left for Catman and company. However, having Brother Eye say "Eye" in place of "I" is really annoying. It's distracting. I don't care who thought to do that little technique--even if it was Greg Rucka--that person needs a lesson in how not to alienate readers. Incessant use of wrong words will do that.

Next issue, we'll get the Big 4 (or Big 3 and Wonder Woman, if you prefer) and Earth-2 Superman against Anti-Monitor Prime. The world is safe thanks to Superboy, who is, sadly, dead. He didn't go out a bitch, though. He took a page out of Wonder Woman's playbook; "who gives a crap about me, let's beat this asshole." Thank you, Superboy. Your sacrifice will--

*****Commander's Interjection*****
--Be rendered pointless. The same day.
*****End Interjection*****

Right. If you turn your attention over to Teen Titans, you'll see that Superboy is mourned, remembered, and in the process of being resurrected. A significant death occurs, a powerful sacrifice is made--and the impact of that sacrifice is lessened the exact same day. By the exact same writer! "But it's been a year for the characters." Well, it hasn't even been five minutes for the comic reading public. At least it's cloning. It could be punching a wall.

Apparently, if you want to change the timeline, you don't get into a time machine and you don't release some negative energy blast. You could say some cheap line ("No more mutants"), have a flash effect, and expect dumb readers to buy it. But if you really want to sound stupid, if you want to sound like a severe idiot, you explain your history as the effects of a character punching a wall.

This tactic makes smart guys like Dan Didio and Geoff Johns sound like preschoolers. It's stupid. I can't find a better explaination. It's stupid. Anti-Monitor Prime punches a wall, so Jason Todd comes back from the dead. What???? No.

Basically, don't bitch Infinite Crisis with dumb thoughts and idiotic concepts. Also, don't negate the impact of THE BIG STORY with another comic you release the same day. With some help from a friend of mine, I know exactly how Superboy is coming back, less than 24 hours after his death hits stands.

What you do instead of stupid concepts, is you have something great come along like Green Lantern. Issue #10 was incredible. Have you read this? Do you read this? You should, it's great stuff from the mind of Geoff Johns.

In short, Infinite Crisis is good. Stupid ideas are bad.

News From Neelyville

Exhausted from the time change and talking with friends until (technically) 5AM, I was surprisingly awakened around five hours later. My parents called saying they were heading up here to find no sodium things to cook with--as part of Dad's treatment, he can't have any salt.

Later, they arrived. Mom and Dad are both doing well. Dad had quite a bit of energy, which is good considering all that's happened. Mom is weathering the passing storm, as it were.

Funny thing, right after they left here today, some quick, nasty storms came through the area. When I talked to them again later on, they said they kept away from all the storms.

In other news, Dad informed my that my truck is my truck. It's paid for. It's mine.