It's too...quiet.

Been a while since I posted something, so I thought I'd just spew forth some randomness for your entertainment.

This week is the last regular week of my current college term.  Right now I have a B+ in the class, and assuming I don't bomb the final (an essay), I assume that's where I will probably end up.  Admittedly, I haven't put as much effort into school this term as I probably should have.  And it kind of shows.  My two papers, while competent, are kind of lackluster.  My mid-term essay was pretty standard, and my posts are nothing inspired, though I have taken to posting after most of my classmates, just so I can take their posts and talk about them from a different angle.  All in all, a good class, but I need to try harder in the future.  And that future starts on June 4th, with a class on the Roman Republic and Empire.  Should be fun!

In other news, I hate my body.  Ok, so that was a very "girl" thing to say, but it's true.  I have a tire around my belly, my ass is dwindling away, and I basically look like a potato with pencils for limbs.  This is mainly due to inactivity.  And that, in turn, is mainly due to physical ailments, and just plain being tired.  However, I have a plan.  I've started blogging about it over at Fighting Man's Fitness, but the basic gist is that I am going to draw on my military and martial arts backgrounds to get my fat, lazy ass moving.  If you're interested, check out that blog.  If not, don't worry.  I probably won't mention it much here anymore.

Tomorrow I am taking a personal day due to my daycare provider not being available.  It's no big deal.  She goes out of her way to accomodate us, so I don't mind an interruption every now and again.  Besides, it's a nice, convenient excuse to get out of going to work.  My plan is to get some writing in, most likely during nap time, and also take a trip out to a game store a couple of towns over.  Other than that, just taking it easy, and hanging with my little clone.

The game store trip actually has a purpose.  We are having another session of our Old School Gaming group this Sunday, using AD&D 1E rules, and I want to find a cool figure for my character.  This store has a used section, so I'm hoping to find an old figure to use, and maybe some basic paints to slather on, just to complete the look of the AD&D games I played in during high school.

Fiction writing has been all over the place lately.  It seems like each day I get inspired to work on a different project.  The other day it was all about the sequel to Blackskull's Captive!, and today I'm working on some groundwork for Agesilaus.  I have no idea what I will be working on tomorrow.  Probably something in space.  With guns.  And big monster aliens.  Or maybe supernatural cowboys.  Or...

Eh, you get the point.

Oh, and before I forget, check out the right side of this page.  There's a link to a petition I started.  I would like to generate interest for Marvel Entertainment to do a direct-to-video animated movie about Hercules.  For those not in the Marvel Comics know, this version is quite different than most versions presented in other mediums.  He's not quite the film version, brought to life by such greats as Steve Reeves, Reg park and Lou Ferrigno.  But, he's not really like the Kevin Sorbo TV show either.  And though he does have some shared stories, he's not much like the myths that inspired those versions either.  Personally, I love Marvel's Hercules.  He's my second favorite Marvel character, after Captain America.

And he needs a movie.

Comic Book Goodness

We saw The Avengers yesterday. I was considering doing a full review, but why? It did so well this weekend, and promises to continue doing well for a such a long while, that virtually everyone will see it anyways, so what impact could my comments have? That being said, it was brilliant! Loved it! Just about every minute was awesome. There were a couple of spots that annoyed me, but nothing that detracted from the film. We saw it in 3D, but honestly, it would have been fine in 2D. The 3D was good, but not over-the-top. One other note; I am now completely sold on Mark Rufffalo as Bruce Banner.

Before that, Saturday was Free Comic Book Day. So, between my wife, my daughter and me, we got a good stack of free stuff, with only one duplicate (stupid Dark Horse, and their reversible double-issues). Of course the annual Atomic Robo issue is always a treat. The series itself is really cool, but the FCBD issues are self-contained, and don’t feel like they “require” you to continue reading (unlike the Marvel ones).

These two elements, combined with the fact that I have watched more than a few comic-based animated films on NetFlix recently, have me almost wanting to collect comics again. Which I’m well aware is the point of FCBD. However, comic books have become an investment these days. Used to be, you could collect a single title, or maybe a small handful, and get the complete story. But not so anymore. Now, with so many crossovers and over-arching storylines, you have to practically buy everything on the shelf to get the whole story. And I just can’t afford that.

This makes me wish that someone would start a comic book company with four-color superheroes, but in self-contained titles. If I want to read Amazing-Dude, I don’t want to have to also read The Avenging League, and all the members’ individual titles, just to get the whole story. I’d like to be able to read 3-4 titles a month and be happy. But, with so much digital media and everything else out there, such a business model no longer works for a medium that has remained in its current form, virtually unchanged, since the 60’s.

So, chances are, I will not be buying comics. Instead, I may start buying occasional graphic novels that collect individual issues together, and tell a complete story. Then I can pick and choose what I read.

Also, we need to see Marvel’s Hercules on the big screen. He needs an individual movie, and then be included in The Avengers 2. It won’t happen, though. The Avengers and all of the other current Marvel movies are highly tied to the “Ultimate” Universe of Marvel (which is why we have Sam Jackson as Nick Fury), and in that universe, there is no Hercules. So, if I want to see my favorite Olympian on the big screen, I will have to wait for a movie based on the mythology. Still, it would be cool to see Herc and Thor go at it like they do in the comics.

Anyone else have a comic book geek-out weekend?