Saturday, January 31, 2004

The story of this sketch is told in my con report from the day I got it. I don't really have a lot to say about this one, except that I really like it.

AQUAMAN
by R. K. Post
16 November 2003
(permission to post given 16 November 2003 in person)
www.rkpost.net

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. Click for a random Aquaman sketch.

by Tegan at 11:42 PM Seattle time

Green Lantern #173: Please tell me this storyline is ending soon. Please?

JLA #92: Monkeys. Too many monkeys. Too much preaching. And I'm sorry, but Tan Eng Haut's artwork just doesn't work in this context. Yes, it's cutting edge and different, but maybe DC ought to give him a different genre to work with? Maybe something that plays to his strengths and isn't another morality play.

Wonder Woman #200: We got this for the art by Eric Shanower and Linda Medley. Thus, the starting story was mostly a mystery and of little interest. The "Golden Age" tale was just on the edge of being too sarcastic, but it managed to convey what those stories were like pretty well. The Silver Age tale was... um... Silver Agey. The ending was particularly groan-worthy. I really enjoyed the Linda Medley tale of Perseus and the Gorgon. I wish there was more of Shanower's artwork in his story, but it was a fun look at media in the DCU.

Still to review: Hawkman, Amazing Spider-Dude, and Wildguard.

by Tegan at 9:12 AM Seattle time

Friday, January 30, 2004

Just a note: It's really cool for me to see a two page spread advertising Aquaman #15 in Comic Shop News. I mean, two pages! DC is really pushing the book this time. I just hope Will and Pat live up to the hype. I know the cover artists do, but then I've seen their efforts...

Smallville: Delete [3-11]: Oooh, wow. That was an intense episode, with everyone trying to kill Chloe. And I kept "calling" what was going to happen next. There was a little bit of telegraphing of future events, but the events were all so good it didn't hurt the episode. And Lois Lane is mentioned...

Powers #36: No ads, and the story goes from the first page all the way to the back cover. And what a story! After the last issue, you get the impression that Christian wants to get rid of his powers... but I'm sure he wasn't planning what actually happened. Nice. Very nice.

PS238 #5: No way, I thought, can this series continue to keep me completely satisfied. There is no way this series, which has been consistently wonderful from day one, can continue to impress me as much as it did. No way. Yes way. If it's possible to like this series even more than I did before, then I like it more than I did before. The ending alone, a touch of adult pain, was enough to make the whole rest of the book which was funny and even cute, into something terribly powerful. This book is coming very close to an impossible five starfish from me. You know, I liked it so much I'm going to go read it a third time.

And on a final note, PS238 is being collected, so you can get the first five issues along with the zero issue in trade form. I plan on buying at least one, probably more, as this will make a GREAT gift for some young (and not so young) reader friends of mine. If you prefer trades, this will be the perfect way to check this series out.

Still to review: Green Lantern, JLA, Wonder Woman, Hawkman, Amazing Spider-Dude, and Wildguard.

by Tegan at 11:08 PM Seattle time

Dating tips from Lord of the Rings. via Gallimaufry.

Via Amy Langfield comes news of the worst bar in NYC. Read the story, get annoyed, never visit it. Not that I'm ever likely to visit a NY bar, but hey, that sort of behavior is pathetic. You don't like a crowd of people, so you kick them out before most of them have even ordered, and block others from coming in? You don't even let them in to tell the others why they haven't arrived yet? Here's a hint to AZ (the worst bar in NYC), don't kick out 40-70 people who spend much of their time detailing their lives on-line to huge audiences.

And lastly: The Human Clock, via Elayne Riggs via Neil Gaiman.

by Tegan at 7:52 PM Seattle time

Happy Birthday to my big sister Janette. May your day be bright and happy, despite the rain and flooding.

by Tegan at 11:03 AM Seattle time

Thursday, January 29, 2004

I can always tell when Dirk Deppey of Journalista! has linked to me because my hits jump by almost exactly 100 for the day. This time he linked to my rapid review of Palomar.

I've added and deleted some links on the sidebar, based on which sites I was actually visiting. As always, if you've linked to me on your blog or website and want me to take a look, please drop in a comment or an e-mail. I'm interested in interesting blogs. And yes, "interesting" is one of my favorite words, why do you ask?

And lastly, I think the Boondocks strips I linked to in the below post will be going into archive soon, which means they won't be available to folks who don't pay a fee. If you miss them, I'm sorry, I should have linked sooner. At least you can still watch Aquaman fail to be a kids' tv show host.

by Tegan at 10:30 PM Seattle time

Aaron McGruder is tring to amuse me. First he put up this cartoon in which he makes fun of either Gephardt or Aquaman, or both. I don't know which should be more offended, so maybe we should just say both. Then he sequels it with today's comic. To be honest, though, it's this comic that really made me giggle. It fits entirely too well.

And in more Aquaman news, correspondent Tim pointed me to Wild Hare Studios to look at their Aquaman & Friends Action Hour. Yes, it's the Super Friends Aquaman as an inept children's show host that the Legion of Doom wants to take down. Fun for the whole family. Ok, fun for the Aquaman fans in the family. You need Quicktime installed to view the episodes.

by Tegan at 8:57 AM Seattle time

Wednesday, January 28, 2004

Palomar: Normally I don't review something until I've finished it, and if I can't finish it, I just don't mention it, as the quality was clearly low enough that my comments would be inappropriate. That's one way I've managed to stay so cheery, with mostly positive reviews. But this book is different. First off, it's frigging HUGE. It's a $40 book, and I believe it gives value for money. Second off, the reason I'm not likely to finish this book has little to do with what I perceive to be its quality, and more to do with my interest in the subject matter. See, I just can't "get into it" even though I recognize some very neat aspects. There is an interweaving of ideas, plotlines, and lives that is fascinating to watch. But I can't bring myself to care about the characters. I feel like an peeping tom, watching the story from behind my curtains so I don't have to interact with the people. I don't identify with any of them, and I can't seem to get any closer. I finished roughly a third of the book and realized that, while I was getting along in reading it, I wasn't enjoying it. I was just slogging through, and once I put it down, I felt no urge to read any more. So I'll return it to the library, and maybe in a few years I'll try again. Who knows, maybe my tastes will have changed enough for me to enjoy it by then. But in the meantime, it gets a solid neutral from me.

JLA: Zatanna's Search: This was fun. Hubby liked it for the fishnet stockings, I think. I liked the Silver Age simplicity. It was all nostalgia, though it wasn't written like that. I was particularly intrigued by the Batman story. Overall, it was a fun jaunt through a number of books with a character (Zatanna) that has always been one of the coolest in the DCU. Worth a look.

Yossel by Joe Kubert: I came into reading this book with certain expectations. I expected, I think, another Fax From Sarajevo, another book that would introduce me to ideas and experiences that, as horrible as they may be, are different from what I already know about. I suppose I was projecting my expectations on it a little heavily, because it didn't meet them. It's not bad, indeed it is quite good, I just feel like it didn't add to my general knowledge. And, like any book written about that particular time and place, it was very hard to get through because of the subject matter. I think this would be an excellent introductory book to the events it covers (the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto and the Holocaust), but for a jaded old gal like me it was just a painful retread of what I already know. A very well done retread, yes, but a retread nonetheless.

by Tegan at 10:43 PM Seattle time

Wednesday, January 28, 2004

Yesterday, we got an interesting brochure from the school district we live in. See, after the Marysville strike (which I covered first-hand, unfortunately), no school district in the state wants a strike. But there are definite problems in Northshore, which is where we live. Unlike Marysville, where both sides stopped listening to one another and the administration took a hardline stance early on and refused to negotiate, the Superintendent of Northshore got together with the President of the Teacher's Union, and they wrote this article which they then sent to everyone in the district. And I'm impressed.

"Many of us watched last fall’s strike in the Marysville School District with interest, sorrow and frustration. We recognize that what happened in Marysville could happen in any number of districts across our state. In Northshore, both district officials and union leaders are working hard to avoid a conflict of that magnitude."

It's a crying shame that Marysville, which had never had a strike before last Fall's fiasco, is now the standard for disfunctional school districts in Washington state. But there we have it. In Marysville at this time last year, the union and the administration were going loggerheads about the make-up day for the teacher day-of-action in Olympia (in which virtually every teacher in the state marched on the capitol). Negotiations for the next year were nowhere to be seen. It's a good sign that Northshore is already starting to work on next year's contract. Marysville administration waited until late summer before dealing with the problems, which led to the long strike.

"Representatives of our school district administration and our teachers’ union leadership have written this pamphlet cooperatively and jointly. We apologize for its length. Realistically, there is no quick and easy way to help you understand the complexity of the problem without explaining the issues."

They are honest. They explain the problems. They admit there are no quick and easy solutions. If there is a strike in Northshore, it won't be nearly as bitter as the Marysville one.

"How did we create an environment with such high levels of mistrust? Most administrators were once teachers themselves. When did “us” become “them”? What are the underlying, systemic factors that fuel this conflict? And what steps can we all take together to improve understanding, communication, mutual respect, and focus on long-term, sustainable educational improvements?"

Bravo, Northshore! I suddenly wish (again) that Eric had found a place here instead of in Marysville. An administration willing to listen to parents and teachers makes all the difference.

by Tegan at 9:45 AM Seattle time

Tuesday, January 27, 2004

Virus warning: If I (or anyone) sends you an e-mail with a vague subject (like "hello"), just don't open it. If I write an e-mail, I try to make sure the subject gives a quick summation of the note. There's another virus out there, and while I don't think I'm infected, now that I'm using Outlook (I know, I know) I'm less confident than I used to be when I used Pine on a telnet connection.

If you've got pennies to spare, send some to Sean Collins, who is in tough financial times. Heck, it's a better cause than helping me to buy a new computer.

The Captain is having a caption contest for the cover of the latest JLA issue. Go, ye creative folk! Make us all laugh!

H at the Comic Treadmill has a story of a bad comic shop. It amazing how unprofessional some of those folks can be. While H is complaining about bad shops, Mag has a tale of cat stupidity... a little off-topic, but funny nonetheless.

Elayne corrects my misspelling of Blokus and links to their website, complete with on-line versions of the game. Thanks for the tip, Elayne! Like I said, this game has sold like crazy from the shop I work at. And people then come back and buy copies for their friends, which generally is a good sign with a game.

Johnny B has the same reaction as I did to Jim Henley's review of New Frontier. Yup, Jim's right, and I missed it. That's why I don't do reviews for money. I can only offer my reaction, and I liked the book on the first read-through.

To those of you who use Haloscan for your commenting: If you pay $10 to Haloscan, you get a year's worth of upgraded service. That includes no textads at the bottom of the comment box, and a higher limit on the comment lengths (1000 characters per comment versus 3000 characters for premium members). Maybe it's not perfect, but if you like Haloscan free, consider upgrading to help support the service.

Franklin Harris links to a New York Times article on copyright. I've still got some thoughts rattling around in my head about copyrights, and my opinion may even be changing. I just haven't been able to get them down into words yet.

Mark Evanier links to an article by Fred Kaplan that dissects the language in the original Kay report. Interesting reading on political-speak.

Hubby-Eric links to a Dave Barry column from his Wizard of Oz Party Page. Heh.

Yes, I've heard about the Namor movie. No, I'm not that interested, thanks for asking. No more e-mails, please?

Fun post on Shakespeare by Peter David. My own experiences with enjoying Shakespeare run from a spectacular presentation of "The Tempest" I saw at the Seattle Rep while in High School and a fantastic teacher in college (Marjorie Donker).

Nice preview pics of Abadazad #1 at Newsarama, which also reports that the shipping date is now Feb 18th.

Newsarama also has an update on Jeff Parker, whose book Interman got four starfish from me.

by Tegan at 12:56 PM Seattle time

So it's nomination time: The Razzies® and 76th Annual Academy Awards. Both are fascinating lists. Links via Franklin's Findings.

by Tegan at 8:42 AM Seattle time

Monday, January 26, 2004

Batman Adventures #10: Another good one. After the last issue I was a bit worried that it had lost the magic, but this is back on track. Catwoman has always been very good in the Animated universe, and she's great here, from the paint trick to the daring rescue. I hope the series stays at this level.

Arrowsmith #5: Oh wow. Not the ending I was expecting, though I've been expecting a mission like the one they get since seeing the events of the last issue. Nor did I expect Rocky's bit in the plot. Oh wow. When is the next issue out?

Next Week: Powers, PS238, Green Lantern, JLA, Hawkman, Wonder Woman, Wildguard, Amazing Spider-Man, and Abadazad, if everything arrives on time.

by Tegan at 8:57 AM Seattle time

Sunday, January 25, 2004

Following the lead of John Jakala, I've set up a News Feed for Bloggity-Blog-Blog-Blog. Those of you who prefer to read that way, there it is. Those of you who, like me, are pretty much clueless when it comes to these xml thingys, well, you can ignore it I guess. I'll put something in the sidebar soon to link to it.

I'll just note that I downloaded one of the programs recommended at Atom Enabled and tried to look at my blog that way. I got most of the text fine, but the pictures came in weird. I'm sure I wasn't doing something right... but it seems like too much effort to put into just to avoid visiting someone's actual website. Or am I missing the point?

by Tegan at 9:31 AM Seattle time