Pugs woke me up early for a long walk, then it was off to work, then down to Tacoma through horrendous traffic to attend a baby shower. It's been a crazy busy day. I think I've finally finished everything that was absolutely required of me. Time to lean back and relax until the pugs start demanding another walk. Whew.

posted by Tegan | 8:08 PM

Comments (2)

Based on all your pug posts, I'm starting to pronounce the "u" in "pug" the way Leah and I pronounce it in "Bludhaven." :)

Posted Sat 26 Jul 09:49 PM by Elayne Riggs (elayneriggs@yahoo.com - http://elayneriggs.blogspot.com)

That just begs the question...

How do you pronounce the "u" in Bludhaven?

Posted Sun 27 Jul 07:27 PM by Laura

I was upstairs reading when I heard a scratching and tapping. "Ug," I thought, "Buster wants to come up and piddle on the bed again." So I got up and walked over to the gate at the top of the stair and looked over, expecting to see an anxious pug. There was nothing there. There was no way the pug could have run all the way down the stairs in the time it took me to walk over. I guess I owed Buster an apology. Then the sound started up again. It sounded like it was coming from the bathroom. So I walked into the bathroom and found the problem immediately. There was a pigeon on the skylight. While I watched, another hopped up onto the skylight and made a scratching noise as it slid over the light. The first one started pecking at something invisible on the skylight.

After a moment of stunned bemusement, I took a towel and waved it at the birds. They didn't notice. I thought about throwing soemthing at the light to make a noise, but thought better of it. Pigeons don't scare easily. So... more pests at the Pug House. I'll live with it...

posted by Tegan | 9:38 AM

Comments (2)

Man

You got more critter problems than I've ever had in my life, even camping never got this many critter issues.

Posted Sun 27 Jul 05:58 PM by paul (noxturne@hotmail.com - www.noxturne.blogspot.com)

Pugs, Possums, and Pigeons

Heh. I should tell you about my camping experiences sometime. Between the bear and the killer bunny-rabbit, I've had all the narrow escapes one could hope for in regards to animal behavior.

Posted Sun 27 Jul 07:26 PM by Laura

Yup, I'm pugsitting again. Just took them out on their morning walk and fed them breakfast, and now they are snuffing around my feet trying to convince me that they are so hungry they'll eat lint. Hmmm, Buster would probably eat lint anyway...

Well, I'm up for a few more days of this, so expect stupid pug stories for a bit while I deal with being away from home and at a strange computer. I'll try to drop in any stories of note, but don't be surprised if I mostly complain about the four-legged monsters I get to monitor.

posted by Tegan | 6:49 AM

So nothing to see here. Go look at some odd barcodes.

posted by Tegan | 10:48 AM

Silken Ghost #3: This issue was missing the zap of the first two, and while the character interactions are good, it just didn't quite do it for me. There's good information about the nature of the characters, and a nice new character, but the tale is definitely faltering a little here in the center.

Arrowsmith #1: I love alternate universe fiction. I love the "what if?" stories that wonder about fantastical things, like "What if the South had had some help to win the Civil War" (Guns of the South) or "What if successful Mad Scientists existed in Old Europe?" (Girl Genius)... so a new series with an alternate history twist is bound to be of interest to me. Kurt Busiek had no problem convincing me to buy his book with the on-line free sample. The Preview in DC's Horizon mag only helped that. But now that I've got the actual book in hand, I'm not sure what to say about it! I liked the story itself. The start of a good strong coming-of-age tale. The artwork is simply wonderful. I love the hints and outright statements of how this world differs from ours, including the map in the back. And I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

Next week's (er, tomorrow's) books: Usagi Yojimbo, Birds of Prey, JLA: Scary Monsters, Outsiders #2, and Crossovers #7.

posted by Tegan | 2:22 PM

By the time I got through San Diego 2000, I realized that I was focusing a little too much on just getting Aquaman sketches. That last sketch, by Neal Adams, seemed to cap a pretty good all-around experience of getting Aquaman sketches, but I decided that I wasn't going to "push" artists into just doing Aquaman in my next sketchbook. I developed a plan by which I would say, "Aquaman if you could, someone else of your choice if you can't." It worked well. Ten of the seventeen sketches in my second sketchbook are Aquaman, one of the remaining seven is Boris the Bear as Aquaman, and three more are Aqua-related: including a mermaid, an Aqua-monkey by Pia Guerra, and this sketch:

AQUAMAN FAN
by Jim Mahfood
9 Feb 2003
(permission to post given 14 July 2003 via e-mail)
www.40ozcomics.com

This sketch was drawn at the First Annual Emerald City Comicon on February 9th, 2003. As of this writing, it is the last sketch in my sketchbook. It's on page seventeen of my second sketchbook, right after a sketch of Iron Man by Sean Chen. I'm not certain if this guy is meant to be Aquaman himself just wearing an Aquaman t-shirt, or if it's an Aquaman fan. In any case, it's a nifty Mahfood drawing, and I quite like it.

To see all the sketches I have permission to post so far, check out my Sketchbook Page. If you have any contact information for any of the other artists I'm trying to contact, please e-mail me.

First off: HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANNY WHO!

Some of the last news from San Diego Comic-Con: JLA news, Random news items, and lastly, the final Photo Parade. All from Comic Book Resources.

On another note, Wil Wheaton mentioned PS238 on his blog, I thought I'd mention it too, and direct you to the website where you can even read some samples of the humor in this book. Both hubby-Eric and I highly recommend it.

Comments (2)

Call me a nerd

But I always wanted to dress up for a convention, at least once. I really want to go to the Chicago Comic con, but there's no way I'll have a costume ready in time. I would love to do Connor Hawke as Green Arrow.

Posted Tue 22 Jul 08:21 PM by paul (noxturne@hotmail.com - www.noxturne.blogspot.com)

Yer a nerd

I've always wanted to go as the original Red Tornado, Ma Hunkel, in all her wannabe glory. Truly, she was something to contend with when she first appeared. She took on a whole gang of mobsters single-handedly, and took 'em out. Forget those later JSA appearances, her early stuff was classic.

http://justicesociety.bravepages.com/tornado1.htm

I figure I've almost got the stature for doing a costume based on her...

Posted Wed 23 Jul 06:59 AM by Laura

Mickey Mouse trying to commit suicide? Do my eyes deceive me? No, someone is trying to let folks see stories that Disney won't reprint. Including a sequence where Mickey's despair reaches a pinnacle. Via Neilalien

I'm having trouble writing even a quick review of Arrowsmith, and I'm not sure why. I seemed to have just tapped out on my reviewing skills for the week or something. So, while you are waiting for my final Rapid Reviews from last Wednesday's books, here's some thoughts on an upcoming book: WildGuard.

If you visit the website, you'll see the profiles of a whole buncha new superhero characters created by Todd Nauck to vie for a spot on this new superhero team. The final team will have five characters, and the audience for the comic, you and me, gets to vote for the final member. The first issue of the comic book itself won't be out until September 10th, but you can vote once a day now until October 31st on your favorite characters. Yeah, there's not a lot there to tell you about the characters, but there's enough to get you started...

For instance, I counted two water-based character in the list, and voted for Aqua-Chica, as she seems to be my kinda gal, right down to the obsessive-compulsive problems. I'm also fond of Toughlon, he looks cool and I may have to vote for him later. Once the series itself starts, my votes will change a bit to reflect who I like in the book.

Anyway, as a comic book fan, I recommend that any of you out there who reads comics participate in this new experiment of comic book interactivity. Todd Nauck is a really cool guy, too, so support him by buying the book (it's only a six issue mini) if you can afford it.

Comments (2)

Let me be honest

I didn't intend to pick this up, but you changed my mind about it. I'd never been to the website before you posted it, but i have to say I'm very interested in some of the characters. A couple of them seem more like jokes than anything else, not really having any depth, but a couple of them seem like winners.

Posted Tue 22 Jul 08:25 PM by Paul (noxturne@hotmail.com - www.noxturne.blogspot.com)

I like Supertemp.

Some of them are definitely jokes, and I can't wait to see how Nauck uses them in the book itself. Every time I visit the page, I think of the scenes in 'Mystery Men' where the team holds tryouts. I think this will be a lot funnier in some ways.

Posted Wed 23 Jul 07:02 AM by Laura

Aquaman #8: While this is definitely the strongest issue since number two, it also suffers from a major and painful flaw. The art is just bad. It's servicable enough to tell the story, but OH how I wish Sal Velluto had done the art on this issue, too. Enough complaining, let's get on to why I like the story. The Thirst was getting boring, so the introduction of a new element was vital. And what better new element than Aquaman's most hated enemy? Better than that, Rick Veitch took the Manta from both the McLaughlin run and the twisted Peter David Underworld Unleashed version and made it all fit, giving Manta a history and a motive that works for the character. But here's something to think about (spoilers): After Aquaman cures Manta, the first words he says are "My head feels clear for once", which is apparently the exact same words he told the doctor at Arkham using an experimental procedure to "cure" him of his autism. Of course, he later killed the doctor. (end spoilers). I was told that Veitch's run would slow down and then build to an amazing finish, I think I'm seeing the signs of that happening in this issue, and I'm getting thrilled with this book again.

Still to review: Arrowsmith and Silken Ghost.

The links are flying fast from San Diego, and here's a few to check out: Pulse's full coverage, Friends of Lulu Awards, DCU Team Books, Newsarama's full coverage, the DCU Panel, the Smallville Panel, Yet Another Photo Parade (I particularly like the shot of the Marvel Booth), Speaking of Marvel, the Marvel Panel, and lastly, Comics Continuum's coverage from Saturday and Sunday. whew!

The reports from congoers wasn't all positive, as the sheer size of the con has some people gasping for breath. Wil Wheaton even decided to go home a day early, as reported in his audioblog. Other people reported difficulties getting from the con floor to panels, as the crowds slowed everything down. Mile High's e-mail newsletter reported that the line for the convention stretched for over a mile. I sounds to me like I would not have enjoyed the convention at all this year. It's just gotten too big.