Saturday, August 07, 2004

This one is by Planet of the Capes artist Brandon McKinney, and was sent to me pretty much as a surprise by Larry Young. I think this one pretty much stands on its own.

AQUAMAN
by Brandon McKinney
27 Apr 2004
(permission to post given 27 Apr 2004 via Larry Young)
Planet of the Capes

by Tegan at 11:53 PM Seattle time - Permalink

A western, a sci-fi tinted western, and pure 1960s science fiction. THIS is what comics can be. Not all superheroes, but just about anything the imagination can pull off. I love superheroes, but I love seeing good books in other genres, too.

The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty #2: The first issue was enough to pull me in to getting the second issue, and I think I'll stick with it. It's good. Not much about the sleeping beauty part in this one, but enough to get me to come back for more. I like the art a lot, it fits the story well. All-in-all, very good.

Daisy Kutter: The Last Train Chapter One: Is it really a western? I don't know, but it definitely is good. The story of a woman who has "quit the life" but misses it deeply. This is just wonderful. The artwork is expressive and neat, reminding me mostly of Mark Crilley's Akiko, but the subject matter is more serious... and the humor is still there. Worth getting.

Star Trek Key Collection Vol 1: The giggling started on page 8 of the collection, which happened to be the first real story page of the book, when Captain Kirk says, while looking at a vegetation-covered planet, says "If there's life in this galaxy, we'll find it there." Duh Captain. Vegetation IS life. Still, I understood what he really meant. It was just incredibly funny. As were a lot of the goofs in this book. Heck, the ending of the first story alone is guaranteed to appall most modern audiences. The introduction makes it very clear that the publishers of this collection are aware of the goofs and funky science, but those goofs are part of what makes this book so cool. I agree. It's a wonderful little time capsule, and well worth getting for either Star Trek fans or fans of the history of comic books. The first eight issues, including slightly reduced images of the covers, are included.

I don't have next week's shipping list handy, so you'll just have to wait to see what I'm picking up this time 'round.

And on other topics, I seem to have missed Rick's Eleven. Shame on me.

Also recently posted is Bill Sherman's Eleven.

It has also been noted that my opinion on the subject that started the whole thing hasn't been seen. That's because I didn't feel like repeating myself. But, if you insist: There are lots of comics for kids out there, but marketing is still the problem. Comics for kids aren't seen where kids can get at and read them. Manga is changing this, and if other publishers follow that trend I think we might have an opening. But the trick is getting the good American stuff into the hands of Manga readers... and convincing them that it IS good enough to try. I'm watching, and I'm doing my part by spreading news of good comics for kids around to people near me in real life. If I even come up with a brilliant idea that will definitely work, I'll be sure to share it.

by Tegan at 11:01 AM Seattle time - Permalink

Friday, August 06, 2004

I held off posting this particular post in the hopes of getting some more Eleven Comics Lists. Here's what I've found:

• Milo George's List - AGH! I forgot Maus!!!! How could I possibly forget Maus!?!?? I also like his choices of The Smithsonian Book of Comic Books and Understanding Comics. I have never seen the Smithsonian Book of Newspaper Comics (but if my library has it, I will see it soon) and I don't recognize many of the others.
  
• TangognaT's List - I still forgot Maus. I accept that now. I like the choice of Lone Wolf and Cub, which nearly made my list. In fact, I'm not sure why it didn't.
  
• Steven at Peiratikos' List - Amy Unbounded and True Story, Swear to God are both very good choices.

And for me... I need to remember the library. I've been checking out TONS of stuff lately, but it just occurred to me that the library also carries DVDs. Once we run out of backlog for movie night, I know where to go to get more films to watch.

Ringwood posts another long review post worth taking a look at. The language is not mom-safe, but the opinions are nicely conveyed.

Boing Boing as usual points us to a cool site. This one is Colorcell: a Darwinian color game. Votes determine whether or not a cell (made up for four colors) gets a spot in the livingspace.

Here is a beautiful defense of Ken Jennings and Jeopardy. Regarding the silly charge that the fix is in, writer Steve Beverly says: "Consider this for a moment: if you were going to rig a quiz show for maximum audience drama, would you not have far more exciting finishes than what we have had with Jennings?" Very nice response to a cynical backlash. Many thanks to Augie for passing it along.

Monitor Duty directs us to a funky ad for Star Trek (the original series) DVDs on Sci-Fi Heaven.

Here's a summary of the posts I've seen about the Ballard Locks event. I still hope a bit that there will be another event some time.

• Brown = Terrorist - thoughts
  
• Life, it is a travesty... - links - pictures
  
• justlaura.com - pictures
  
• Garrett Fitzgerald - pictures - more
  
• Michael Hanscom - pictures
  
• Kelley - pictures - thoughts
  
• Trompler Foundation Archives - pictures
  
• Katerine's Picture Journal - pictures
  
• My pictures
  
• Seattle P.I. - August 1st 2004 - Day in Pictures
  
• Seattle Times - August 2nd 2004 - Local News

In honor of Milo's Squirrel army, here is the Seattle Squirrel I "captured" in Nancy's Garden:

by Tegan at 9:53 PM Seattle time - Permalink

DC Comics Presents: Superman #1: Very very strange first story. The second story was more forgetable, with an annoying little PSA. In the DCU, steroids are even worse for you than in this universe. Unless you want to be a raving super-villain. And I'm not sure how the device Supes built solved the problem, either. The psuedo-science dropped me. The first story was cute and odd. This bunch of tribute books continues to fail to impress me.

Justice League Adventures #34: Final issue of this series, which will soon be renamed and restarted. Not the best way to go out: an issue focusing on only three members of the league. It was nothing special, but I'm looking forward to seeing the new Unlimited title just for the chance to see more characters done in the animated style.

Swamp Thing #6: Ah, the wonderful, wonderful status quo. This book establishes a new status quo that owes heavily to the original. In fact, unless I'm much mistaken, this issue (spoilers)completely resets Swamp Thing to how he was many years ago(end spoilers). I could be wrong, of course, but I'm glad I read the first six issues. I'll be reading Will Pfeifer's issues, but maybe not the writer after him. We'll have to see.

Still to review: Star Trek Key Collection, The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty, and Daisy Kutter.

by Tegan at 10:39 AM Seattle time - Permalink

• Weight = X-1
  
• Change From Last Week = +2
  
• Met Exercise Goal? Yes
  Goal was fifteen minutes a day (walk/bike/swim) at least six days.
  
• Current Exercise Goal = fifteen minutes a day (walk/bike/swim) at least six days.
  
• Kept food diary? No.

I feel like I've gone right back to the beginning. I can't seem to keep the weight off. But, just as I start to feel the worst despair, I remember that I feel much better now than I did a couple of months ago when I started this thing. I remember that for all my little failures, I do seem to be on the right track. Things ought to get better. I hope.

by Tegan at 8:08 AM Seattle time - Permalink

Thursday, August 05, 2004

Oh good grief. I missed something very important in my Flipping Through Previews post. Yup. Completely forgot about it. I think I had noticed it, but I was so busy checking out everything else, I forgot to mention that Teen Titans #17 starts a 3-issue story arc that includes "Aquawoman". Buzz has it that this is Lorena ten years down the line.

Anyway, that's my D'oh bit before starting this week's reviews.

Books this week include some superhero books, a horror book, a science fiction book, and two westerns. Westerns! That's right, westerns. Ok, one is set in another universe that includes robots, but it's still a western. I don't know how long it will take me to review them, but here's the first reviews:

Thor #83: I give up. This is the last issue David is getting anyway. No rating because I got only three pages into it and stopped reading.

Ant #3: Again, this is not the best comic book ever written or drawn. The dialogue is a bit stilted, like people speaking lines instead of people just speaking. The art is good, but not perfect. Ant herself is a little too bad-girl for my tastes. However, the story is compelling... and the story behind the story is also something. I still cannot give it a high recommendation, but I liked it.

Batman: The 12-Cent Adventure: Nice set-up. Pretty much the whole issue of from the point of view of Spoiler, a character hubby-Eric enjoys but I'm only mildly interested in. From the point of view of a jumping on point, though, this one worked well. I'm still not interested in the long crossover story arc about to start in the Batman books, but if I was into Batman much at all, this story would have done its job of drawing me in.

Birds of Prey #71: A lot better than the last issue. The boring plotline seemed more coherant this issue, and the not-boring plotline got a little more play. I like the guest appearance of Vixen, a character I knew almost nothing about until I read this issue. Good stuff overall.

Still to review: Star Trek Key Collection, DC Comics Presents Superman, Justice League Adventures, Swamp Thing, The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty, and Daisy Kutter.

by Tegan at 9:56 PM Seattle time - Permalink

Steve Lieber comes up with Lieber's Eleven, books that should be carried by libraries, and challenges all us comic bloggers to come up with our own lists. Ouch. This'll be both tough and easy. Easy to come up with enough books, tough to decide which really qualify for inclusion on the list. So here, in no particular order, are eleven comic books that I think libraries should have on their shelves.

• Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon) - Excellent story covering a culture that most of us don't understand. This book makes it clear that we aren't as different as we sometimes think we are. I'm looking forward to the second volume, due out this fall.
  
• Pedro and Me by Judd Winick (Henry Holt) - Whatever you think of Judd Winick's other works, this book is something everyone ought to read. This tells the story of Judd's roommate on MTV's Real World, Pedro Zamora, who was HIV positive while on the show, and later died of AIDS. It's educational as well and painful and funny.
  
• The Interman by Jeff Parker (Octopus) - Great action story with a small hint of super powers to satisfy the fanboys. Very well done and worth getting.
  
• Dignifying Science by Jim Ottaviani and various (G.T. Labs) - A hall of fame worth of artists covers a hall of fame of scientists that are usually overlooked, even in this enlightened age.
  
• Age of Bronze: A Thousand Ships by Eric Shanower (Image) - I've been praising this one since before it came out. Literally. This isn't for children, but anyone with any interest whatsoever in the history of the Trojan war ought to get this one.
  
• Clan Apis by Jay Hosler (Active Synapse) - I used to hate bees with a passion. I still hate bees, but I'm not nearly as passionate about it, thanks to this book. I love science comic books.
  
• PS238: With Liberty & Recess for All by Aaron Williams (Henchmen Publishing) - Probably the best superhero book out in the last couple of years. Well worth reading, and something that more people ought to read.
  
• Hellboy: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola with John Byrne (Dark Horse) - Mike Mignola's artwork is just something else altogether. It's an amazing book to read, but even more amazing just to look at. I haven't seen the movie yet, but the source material is certainly good.
  
• Ursula by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba (AiT/Planet Lar) - Already a classic, and it just came out. This one talks about relationships and growing up and somehow manages to capture both at once. Well worth a a read, and well worth a spot in a library.
  
• Usagi Yojimbo Book One by Stan Sakai (Fantagraphics) - Twenty years of this character, and I'm still thrilled by reading about him. This first book is a very good place to start... although you can safely pick this series up just about anywhere and enjoy it.
  
• Aquaman Archives Vol 1 by various (DC Comics) - Ok. I flake. This one I want in libraries just so more kids have a chance at reading some old goofy classic Silver Age stories.

DC Comics has posted Ask the Editors #3, continuing their on-line letter column.

I want to know how DCBS can discount new books 65%. I would be sorely tempted at these prices, if I had the money. Even with $6 shipping, I'd still be tempted.

DeCloah blog links to my husband's favorite computer game: Lemmings! This is a nice Javascript version that can be played on the 'net, and it worked just fine on Mozilla 1.7.2.

A writer spends 10 days living with no technology under 50 years old. Everything must be pre-1954. You would think 10 days wouldn't be a problem.

Ok, hubby. Here's the gnome from Nancy's Garden.

by Tegan at 7:01 PM Seattle time - Permalink

The Miserable Mill (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 4) by Lemony Snicket: While this book isn't as good as the last two, that isn't really saying a lot because it's very nearly as good as the last two. In this book the world that Lemony Snicket inhabits seems to go from almost plausible to certainly impossible with the existence of a lumbermill whose workers don't get paid in cash... of course, there have been many attributes of the world so far that seem less than realistic, but this is the first book that actually pushed the boundaries enough for me to pay attention. Still, if you can get past that, the story is still sad and depressing while the writing style is exactly the opposite, so it's still a very good read. Like the other books, this one only took about an hour to read. Definitely a good series if you need a break from more heavy tomes.

by Tegan at 1:29 PM Seattle time - Permalink

Wednesday, August 04, 2004

YES! The Daleks are back! Gallifrey One has the good news, along with links to virtually every news source in Britain also covering the news.

The Modulator has found an image search engine that doesn't turn up my site on a search for "aquaman". That might be because I don't actually name most of my images "aquaman.jpg" or something, since they are on an Aquaman page already.

Technorati has informed me that Removable Tutu has linked to me. Everyone go check it out. And I'm not sure, have I linked to Tom the Dog yet?

Considering that I can't get my wireless connection if I go too many rooms away from my router, this is impressive. Via Various and Sundry.

Don't release piranha in public fountains.

I'm as angry as everyone else at a woman named Katherine Tarbox's attempts to steal the domain name katie.com by titling her book with the domain name (instead of her own: katieT.com) and then threatening the real owner both through her publisher and through her own lawyers. I hope Tarbox loses this one as she's a sneak-theif and a scumbag, despite whatever may have happened to her to cause her to write the book.

If you are going to have a drug war, at least educate the warriors. People should not be harrassed like this. Via The Modulator.

Other people besides political junkies who find this Electoral College Predictor useful: teachers. "On the other hand, there is a group of people who don't think this site is for weirdos: teachers. I have received a lot of mail from elementary school, high school and college teachers who use it in their classes. Math teachers use it to discuss statistical sampling. In other words, can you really expect to get an idea of what a million people think by asking only 1000? How accurate is that? Geography teachers ask what makes the red states different from the blue states? Why do people vote the way they do? Political science professors are interested in talking about the election process, campaigns, historical trends, and so on. Even some elementary school teachers have said they are using the site to explain how democracy works to their students. The Internet, as usual, is full of surprises."

If this works, you should see the current Electoral College prediction below:

And lastly, here's a picture from Nancy's Garden. This isn't a passion flower.

by Tegan at 8:28 PM Seattle time - Permalink

This is a very long post. I know that. If you'd like to see something other than this, but are too lazy to scroll, try my latest Random Thoughts post, featuring a passion flower, or my Travels with Artie post. Further back, you can see the Ballard Locks Photo Workshop post with lots of pictures. I'm also proud of my Winchester Mystery House walk-through post. See, lots more on this blog than just comic books.

Congrats to me. This is my twelfth edition of Flipping Through Previews. I've actually been doing this for a whole year. Does anyone besides me actually read this when getting ready to order? Eh, time to get on with it:

Yes, it's that time again... time for "Things in Previews That Look Interesting But I Can't Afford To Get (with a list of things I am getting just for contrast)". I'm going to start with the bulk of the book, and then come back and cover the "big four" at the end. Please remember, I'm listing what looks interesting. My actual purchase list is going to be much smaller. The numbers after each title are usually the page number in Previews Magazine, so you can follow along at home.

Let's start with the covers. Conan gets the front cover, and it's very striking indeed. I'm not sure I'll be getting that book, but the recent monthly has been so good that the cover catches my eye. The back cover is a confusing mass of G.I.Joe and Transformers. Not enough to pull a new reader in.

Moving on, let's hit the Splash Page (8-9). Not a lot here for me. The Drawing Contest sounds great, too bad I'm not much of an artist. The DC Comics Encyclopedia sounds like a cool project, but probably way too expensive for me (it's DK, so it's probably quite good if a bit lightweight). Archie Comics is reprinting The Adventures of the Fly.

This month is "How To Draw Month", as seen on page 11. Maybe I should pull out my art books again and start working on my drawing skills.

Skipping over the "Premier Comics", I'll start at page 184 with Wizard magazine. As I said last month, Wolverine doesn't really need another book, but Wizard is having him "host" the magazine this month, whatever that is supposed to mean.

The Featured Items on pages 192-195 include Mike Allred's Golden Plates, the aforementioned Adventures of the Fly, and something from Fantagraphics called Hanging Out With the Dream King. Hrm.

It's no surprise to anyone who knows me that I will end up buying multiple compies of AAA Pop Comics (199) publication for this month. It's a surprise to me, however, to see a full-page ad for it on page 197 followed by a full-page article about it on page 198. I'm not entirely sure that the general comic book audience is going to be that interested in The Golden Plates, but he's sure to get some people interested in comics with this project. For the record, I know for certain I will be buying at least three copies of this at the moment (one for me, one for family, one for a friend), but that number may go up.

About Comics (202) has a resolicit of The Liberty Project, a manga-sized reprint of the nine issue original series. Looks like fun, since it's by Kurt Busiek.

Adept Books (204) has a book called Bright Elegy that looks like it is set in the Pacific Northwest. I'm mildly tempted to get it just to see how well the art captures the region.

Moving on, Airship Entertainment (210) solicits Girl Genius #13 complete with spoilers. If you read the most recent issue, you know what I mean. If you haven't read the most recent issue, what's wrong with you? This is a great book! Go snag it!

AIT/Planet Lar (210) finally reveals their master plan in 1000 Steps To World Domination, in which a comic book writer/artist tries to take over the world through comic books. I'm warning you, if you read this maybe we'll finally figure out what Larry Young is up to! They are also putting out the eleventh issue of the critically acclaimed series Demo, which you probably don't want to miss.

Amaze Ink/Slave Labor (211) is putting out volume 2 of Bill & Ted's Most Excellent Adventures. I don't know what to say.

I didn't realize that I Hunt Monsters from Antarctic Press (215) was already up to issue #8, but I'm only mentioning it here so I can repeat something from the solicit: "Cinco De Mayhem"... oooh, that's bad. If you want to catch up with the series, but don't want to hunt back-issues, you can get a collection in manga size: I Hunt Monsters Pocket Manga Volume 1 (218). Very tempting.

Speaking of monsters, how many times does the word "monster" appear on page 219? Half the titles include the word.

Arcana Studio (220) doesn't have anything I'm inclined to buy this month, but I will note 100 Girls #2 as a book worth a second look. Arcana seems to be going about building a company the right way, I hope they have some luck and some people try out more of their titles.

Archie Comics (221) is ... this is old news. I've already mentioned it twice. Do I have to mention it again? Right... The Adventures of the Fly Volume 1. There. Reprints from 1959 and 1960. Should I say any more?

Garth Ennis fans, which I am not, will want to look at Avatar Press's new book Garth Ennis's 303 #1 (231). As usual, the ideas seem fascinating, but I know the execution won't be to my liking. I hope his fans enjoy it, though.

Beckett Comics jumps in with the fourth issue of The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty (236). I recently ordered the series, I hope it stays strong. I am curious. An interesting bit about this one? The first issue was only available via Free Comic Book Day.

Bighead Press (236) has an interesting offering called The Probability Broach in which a police detective gets thrown sideways in time. Could be interesting.

Big Pond Comics (236) offers up Dandy And Company Anthrology #1 which looks to be based on a web comic and be kid friendly. I might have to check it out.

Bongo Comics (238) is putting out Simpsons Classic #2, which reprints the second two issues of Simpsons Comics in an oversized format.

Broken Halos (240) believes so strongly in their books that they are offering a money back guarantee to retailers on up to 20 books. That said, I wouldn't have looked twice at Mona Lisa: Eve Of All Saints Halloween Special #1 but for the guarantee, and I'm not likely to get it anyway. But it's a cool program.

The CBLDF (244) has SPX 2004 Anthology, which I would get if I had enough to buy it. But money is indeed tight, and I'm afriad I'm going to have to pass on this one.

Committed Comics (247) goofy title Java! #3 comes to an end. While I don't drink coffee, the whole Seattle=coffee thing is a mild amusement to me. I'll probably get it. And am I the only person in the world who hates the smell of coffee?

Digital Webbing (273) has two books worth a second look this month. The Savior #1 looks like a different kind of book. Ok, it looks like a concept that has been done a thousand different times in a hundred different ways, but it has potential and there is an on-line preview. I also recommend Digital Webbing Presents #19, which I should really get on my pull list one of these days. It's a rarity: a good short anthology.

Dork Storm Press (273) has the first regular issue of Dr Blink: Superhero Shrink as well as a resolicit of Nodwick #26. PS238 isn't solicited this month, but I'll just mention again that it's probably the best all-ages book out there right now and I highly recommend it.

Fantagraphics is putting out Hanging Out With The Dream King (289), which many of us do anyway just by reading his blog. Still, could be fun.

Jetpack Press (310) caught my eye for some reason, then I noticed that they publish the Johnny Raygun book that I wasn't overly impressed with for FCBD. To my amusement, though, their solicit of Johnny Raygun Triple Pack Plus has a cover that includes a character called "H₂Olaf". Now that's a character I wouldn't mind learning more about.

The Tomb from Oni Press (319) looks like another cool little story. This one could be good.

I'm not getting it, but Deady The Terrible Teddy is a really funny name. This one is from Sirius Entertainment (322).

Don't miss Daisy Kutter #3 from Viper Comics (351). I almost missed issue #1, which should be due out real soon here.

And I seem to have managed to get through the main comic book section with most of my brain intact. Moving on to the Magazines/Books/Toys/Videos...

There is a strange new book on page 365 that I would like more information on. It's called Comic Book Digest #1, and it claims to be an "up-and-coming comic magazine about up-and-coming comics!" And it also claims to have 80 pages of 8 page previews. But that's not the big thing. According to Previews, this book is only $1.95. At that price it is worth taking a risk on even though we don't know who is in the book.

The second issue of Big Fun Comics is also up on page 365. Again, looks very interesting, but I can't swing it at that price.

There's a Faction Paradox book on page 382. Faction Paradox is related somehow to Doctor Who, but I couldn't explain it if I tried. Anyway, Faction fans might want to check out Faction Paradox: Of the City of the Saved.

And I finally reach the new DK book on page 392: The DC Comics Encyclopedia. It's out of my reach at $40 retail, but maybe someone will get it for me or at least let me look at their copy to see how much Aquaman manages to get in there. Yeah, I'd like a copy. But I still have to eat.

There's a European Import I'm interested in, but not enough to really want it. It's Hellboy: Semilla De Destruccion (399). That's right, Hellboy in Spanish. That's how you get kids to study their High School Spanish.

What, another Green Lantern T-Shirt? Page 417. This makes, what, the 900th? This year?

Who wants to get Happy Days action figures? (443-444). I think the only one I would have wanted as a kid would have been Fonzie. And now I wouldn't be inclined to get even him (sorry, Arthur).

Did you know that you can get Playskool Star Wars action figures? (447). Well, now you do.

Hello Kitty Wizard of Oz Plush Set (488). I've been tempted, oh so tempted, to get this set for hubby-Eric, but have resisted so far.

Here's another nostalgia trip for you: Mork & Mindy Complete Season 1 DVD Set (529). I think I'll pass on that, thanks.

Jumping back to the beginning of the book, it's time for me to cover the "big four" Premier Publishers. As usual, I'll finish with DC Comics, since they are the publisher I tend to buy the most books from.

Let's start off with Dark Horse. The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist Vol 2 (16) collects issues 3 and 4, which is solicited on the next page. I couldn't really justify getting the first two issues, and we probably won't buy any more of this series. It's good, just not enough for us.

Conan #9 (18) will make my list, but I'm not sure about Conan and the Daughters of Midora (19). It's Kurt Busiek's writing and Cary Nord's amazing art that make this series for me, I'm not entirely convinced that Palmiotti and Texeira can match them. We'll have to see.

I'll definitely be getting Usagi Yojimbo #79 (21). Yeah, that's a no-brainer, isn't it? Less certain is Marge's Little Lulu Vol 1 (22) which I would love to get but think it may not make the list. I love the cover to The Goon #9 (24), but I won't be getting the book. It's a fun series, but not to my liking. I think Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Vol 2 (34) will make the list. I'm enjoying everything related to the Clone Wars Adventures animation.

Image Comics is putting out Noble Causes #4 (138) which certainly makes the list. Top Cow is soliciting Rising Stars #22 (165) which is a wee bit late by my accounting. Oh, I'll get it. If I can, I'll even dig out the first 21 issues so I can remember what was happening.

As usual, I didn't bother picking up the Marvel Preview, so for Marvel Comics I'm ordering via the shipping list (176). No Thor this month, my friend David has dropped it. I'll be getting Amazing Spider-Man #72/513, Supreme Power #13, and Powers #5.

And so we move into DC Comics for this month.

I guess we start with the CMX section (55-57). Is that a girl or a guy on page 55? It looks like a drag queen to me. It don't think I'll be getting any of these comics, but if I did I think Land of the Blindfolded (57) would be the most likely.

Moving on to the Batman section (58-65), I'm not at all interested in yet another massive crossover. It's good to see that Batman: Detective No. 27 (63) is finally coming out in softcover. Birds of Prey #75 (64) is an extra-sized and extra-priced issue.

Next is the Superman section (66-70). A hardcover edition of Superman: Birthright (68) is already coming out. I wouldn't mind getting the Superman Archives Vol 1 (69) at that low price.

In the DC Universe section (71-87) there are some obvious must-gets along with a few I hope to get my hands on. Adam Strange #2 (72) might end up in our box. Aquaman #23 and Bloodhound #4 will for sure.

Fallen Angel #16 (73) is on the list, but I'm still wondering how well the trade has done.

Some other titles: Green Lantern: Rebirth #1 (74), Green Arrow #43 (75), H-E-R-0 #21 (76), Identity Crisis #5 (77), JLA #107 (79), JSA #66, JSA: Strange Adventures #3 (80), Outsiders #17 (81), and Plastic Man #11 (82).

I'll be getting Solo #1, and hopefully the rest of the issues too. This one has a lot of promise, I hope it sells well.

In the Johnny DC Section (88-89) we'll be getting two titles. The Batman Strikes! #2 (88) and Justice League Unlimited #2.

I'm pretty much skipping over the Beyond the Universe section (90-95) and the Humanoids and 2000 A.D. section (96-99).

The Wildstorm section (100-110) has one title I'm getting. Astro City: A Visitor's Guide (103). Well worth getting. You'll get it too, right?

Moving on, the Vertigo section (111-119) has a book, maybe the last of this title I'll be getting. Swamp Thing #8 (115).

There is nothing in the DC Direct section (120-126) that we can get (or afford).

So that's it for this month's "Things in Previews That Look Interesting But I Can't Afford To Get (with a list of things I am getting just for contrast)". Comments? Questions? Did I miss any really cool books that you know about and would like to point out? Do you disagree with something I wrote, and want to correct me? There's the comments, right below. Post something. And, yes, I accept review copies. I'm willing to give almost anything a try.

by Tegan at 10:33 AM Seattle time - Permalink

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

Well, that was interesting. Only two bloggers showed again, but this time I had a cup of their incredible hot chocolate. We talked about various subjects, particularly how to improve attendence. Well... if you want to come, our next try will be the first Tuesday in September.

by Tegan at 8:42 PM Seattle time - Permalink

For any Bothell Bloggers reading this, the Bothell Blogger Bash is tonight, at 7pm and lasting til no later than 8 or so pm depending on turnout, at The Lyon's Den (just across from the Post Office).

Digital camera memory cards are tough. Via /.

I agree... best eBay auction ever. Thank you, Fanboy Rampage.

Excellent interview with Larry Young at Near Mint Heroes. If that's not enough to get you to go there, Shane has also put up some Astronauts In Trouble mini-comics (with permission) that are a cool read.

The Hurting reproduces some of my images of Artie on the road trip, and guesses at where they were taken. He's absolutely correct, of course. If you read the troll's page, it confirms both shots as being right where Hurting thinks they are. And yes, I really like Weed. It's a great town to stop in on the trip down. I do wonder about the name sometimes, though.

Via Mark Evanier, an interview with Jim Mooney. Yes, he did an Aquaman story way back when.

The Curmedgeons point us to the 25 All-Time Greatest Covers of American Comic Books. Some very nice choices.

The much anticipated Jeff Parker and Steve Lieber San Diego Con Report is now up for your reading pleasure and pain.

PvP is offering free strip syndication to newspapers. I've already written to the Seattle Times and suggested they take him up on the offer.

Today in Alternate History has a primer for people who don't understand the many alternate histories being covered.

I don't remember where I saw this meme, but it's an interesting one. Check the tag on the shirt you are currently wearing and see where it was made. The one I've got on says "Made in Honduras".

Don't believe the media, the Kerry post-convention bounce was huge. And in other news, the Current Electoral Vote Predictor site has started an RSS feed for their daily news, which means I'll actually remember to keep up with it.

Ashcroft ordered public libraries to destroy documents that "include information on how citizens can retrieve items that may have been confiscated by the government during an investigation." The Department of Justice backed off when the ALA protested.

This is a flower on a vine, and it's above my head so I wasn't sure if I could actually get the shot. I think I managed ok. The flower is incredibly intricate, I'm sure somebody could tell me what it actually is. All I know is that it's very strange-looking and neat, and it lives in Nancy's Garden.

by Tegan at 4:26 PM Seattle time - Permalink

Usagi Yojimbo #77: Hmmm. Someone is missing from this issue. Who could it be? It's a very good tale, with the introduction of a great new character and the appearance of three favorites from previous stories. As usual, a great story. Even if a particular character is missing.

Samurai Executioner Vol 1: If you enjoyed Lone Wolf and Cub, but were a bit squeamish about the gore or sex, then you may not enjoy this one as much. I find this somewhat ironic to say, but Lone Wolf and Cub had more hope in it than this story. Itto Ogami's escape from the constraints of his class made his story readable, as you wanted to see where he went. In this story, Asaemon is trapped, and it's remarkably painful to read about his life in a place of no hope. But the artwork and the story are as compelling as LWaC, so this one comes recommended from me.

Noble Causes: Distant Relatives #1-4: Well, what can I say. After getting a freebie of the first trade I've slowly collected the rest of the books. This was the last fill-in to get before the regular series starts up. It's a black and white series that changes the status quo of the Noble family. The ending is a little abrupt, in my opinion, but other than that this is every bit as good as the others. I'm looking forward to more of this family.

This week's comics (due out Wednesday): Star Trek Key Collection, Batman the 12-Cent Adventure, Birds of Prey, DC Comics Presents Superman, Justice League Adventures, Swamp Thing, Thor, and books I ordered late that might come late: Ant, The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty, and Daisy Kutter.

by Tegan at 8:58 AM Seattle time - Permalink

Monday, August 02, 2004

So I've got a new website. It was a direct result of getting a digital camera, acutally. At first, I thought it would be cool to take one of my Aquaman action figures and take pictures of him on our trip with us. I could do all kinds of stuff, like take his picture in front of the state capital in Olympia:

or maybe in Oregon's capital in Salem:

or maybe at some touristy Vista Point in California:

We had Artie check out the facilities at our hotel in Red Bluff, where he declared the shower acceptable and the pool a little deep for him:

And he visited the Dunes of Asilomar, not to mention the beach, as seen in a previous blog entry:

But when all was said and done, the Aquaman action figure just didn't work out so well. I got a number of good shots, but other shots were hopelessly blurred. And he also often looked washed out in bright light. Worse, he had an annoying tendency to fall down, usually just as I was about to take the picture. His trident didn't help hold him up at all, and often got in the way of the shot. I needed a perfectly flat surface to pose him on. And while flat surfaces are common, they aren't everywhere. We resorted to using the box I was carrying Artie in or the top of the car:

While I was pleased with a great many of the pictures, overall I would have to declare the Aquaman experiment a failure.

But not to despair! Although I took Artie, I also had a moment of brilliance and decided to take another figure along as well. At each tourist spot in California my long suffering husband dutifully pulled out each figure and posed them, and I got the shots.

The other figure has some distinct advantages over Aquaman for picture taking. First off, he's made of wood and has a larger base, so he's easier to pose and less likely to appear washed out in pictures. Second, he has a part in family history, so his travels will be much more interesting to the Gjovaag part of my audience than Aquaman would be. Third, he's handmade (I think) and comes from Norway, so the likelihood of someone else managing to take pictures with an identical figure is slim.

Allow me to introduce my newest website, to be updated periodically as new pictures get taken:

For the full story on the Troll, where he came from and what his significance is to my husband, please visit his page. If you'd rather just jump into the pictures, you can jump right to The Winkie Conference Road Trip, July 22-27, 2004, or you can go to the much shorter Troll Around Seattle page.

And, by all means, if you enjoy this little website, please feel free to leave a comment here to let me know.

by Tegan at 8:07 PM Seattle time - Permalink

If you live in Bothell and you blog, we'll be having another Bothell Blogger Bash on Tuesday, August 3rd (that's tomorrow) at 7pm at The Lyon's Den which has Wi-Fi (so bring those laptops).

by Tegan at 10:53 AM Seattle time - Permalink

Sunday, August 01, 2004

I got a little nervous this morning as I looked at today's forecast, and the first time I checked it said 78° F (which is pretty warm for Seattle), then the second time it was 79° F, then the third time it was 80° F... I figured if I kept watching it would get up into the 90s, so I turned off the TV (the actual high temperature was 83° F).

I got to the Lake Washington Ship Canal and Hiram M. Chittenden Locks about 15 minutes early and wandered down to the locks to take a look. It's been a little while since I was last there, but not so long that I'd forgotten what they looked like or anything. There were a lot of tourists there, including the Greater Seattle Fuchsia Show in the garden, a live band (Greenwood Concert Band) playing near the locks, and somebody told me that there was also a wedding although I saw no sign of it. In any case, having such a nice day in Seattle brought out tons of folks to the water.

Virtually every second person at the Locks today had a camera, so I wasn't sure who might be there in support of Ian. I was an obvious target for folks who were part of the group, though, as I was wearing my "I'm blogging this." T-shirt. Several people came up to me as I wandered to check if I was with the group. My husband had suggested getting a t-shirt that says "I'm a photographer, and I vote" but there wasn't time to make them before the event. I looked for people carrying tripods. Eventually we started to congregate.

There was never a huge group, more of a milling group of like-minded people looking for good shots. We did pull together at one or two points for group photos, but I don't think everyone was there any time we did. One guy was going around getting names and home towns... I hope he wasn't with Homeland Security. We also had the presence of Louis The Freedom Pug:

I wandered over to the other side of the Locks with my fellow Bothell blogger, Garrett Fitzgerald to get pictures of the fish ladder and wave sculpture. My pictures of the fish ladder didn't come out, but I got two good shots of the waves.

I ended up with a good set of just over 100 pictures, about 80 of which I'd be willing to share if someone asked nicely. I'm putting many much reduced versions up in this blog. The larger shots are nicer, but I've got limited disk space for all my pictures.

Here's a shot from the Lock gates, which pedestrians and bicyclists can walk over when they are closed. This shot is of boats headed towards Lake Washington.

A boat named "Outlaw" heading into the ship canal after being raised in the Locks. The name seemed appropriate for the event.

We had many different people and many different cameras. This is the ACLU rep with a camera that some of us wondered if he'd borrowed from a museum. Very cool. The ACLU guy had a shirt that read: "It's a Bill of Rights, not Suggestions".

Here's another cool camera there for the event. As fun as digital cameras are, there is something deeply satisfying about seeing a good old-fashioned looking camera at a photographers' workshop like this. It looked like he got some really incredible pictures out of it, too.

We lined up between the two locks and started taking photos. At times we looked really quite professional:

However, whenever we got together, we couldn't think of anything more enjoyable than taking pictures of people taking our pictures. Oh c'mon, you would've taken these kind of pictures, too!

The local wildlife wasn't impressed with us.

When the Goodtime III came up to the lock, I shouted and waved, and we got a little bit of a response from the folks enjoying the sun on the deck. I noted that the more I waved, the more they waved back, but it was hard to snap a picture and wave at the same time.

I got a lot of good shots (for me) and was pleased with the event. I think my favorite shots came right at the end of the event, before I left to avoid another killer sunburn. I noticed that the train bridge had been raised, and then saw a lot of boats headed toward the locks. I snapped a couple of shots. This is the best one. Note that it was taken from about the same spot as the opening shot on Ian's Artist's Statement.

After a lot of milling around and taking cool pictures, we got together for one last attempt at a group picture, then the group kind of broke up as everyone wandered off.

As we were leaving, one of the marshalls pointed out that Ian had apparently been taking his photos from Commodore Park, across from the main body of the Locks and part of the City of Seattle instead of the Army Corps of Engineers. It was proposed that we do a follow-up event and take pictures of the Lock from Commodore Park sometime in the future. I'm for it. I had a blast and learned quite a bit from talking with actual photographers.

I'll also note that I picked up two brochures in the Visitor's Center, for free, which give a lot of details about the Lock and its history. It is not at all difficult to get information about the Locks, and taking pictures from Commodore Park seems like a less dangerous spot than the Locks themselves for such an activity. Ian was harrassed for no good reason. We already knew that, but I've got even more proof.

If you were at the event, and blogged about it, please leave a comment with the link. I'll update this entry to include links to other coverage.

• Brown = Terrorist
  
• Life, it is a travesty... - links - pictures
  
• justlaura.com - pictures
  
• Garrett Fitzgerald - pictures - more
  
• Michael Hanscom - pictures
  
• Kelley - pictures - thoughts
  
• Seattle P.I. - August 1st 2004 - Day in Pictures
  
• Seattle Times - August 2nd 2004 - Local News
  

I made the front page of the Local Section of the Seattle Times for Monday, August 2nd... (try this link if the first one doesn't show me). I was resigned to showing up on other people's blogs, but was extremely shocked to turn to the Local section of the paper and see my own face there.

And let me apologize right now to anyone reading this via a feed. I'm going to keep updating as I get more links, sorry.

by Tegan at 6:58 PM Seattle time - Permalink

Justice League Unlimited: Initiation: Had to watch this, but we almost forgot! Half the fun of this episode was trying to identify all the characters who showed up in the backgrounds and the crowd scenes. There were a LOT. Aquaman's appearance was tiny, but then so was Wonder Woman's. And did I really see Dolphin? In short, I'm really looking forward to seeing more of this one. Oh yeah... the story wasn't bad, either. I really like the animated Green Arrow, and I adore the way this one ended. I hope somebody puts up an annotated version complete with screen caps.

Conan #6: The final issue in the Hyperborea arc, and completely different than I was expecting to see. I guess I was getting used to the idea that Conan always wins. This book is definitely cool, and when Dark Horse collects it I'd be inclined to get a copy for my shelf.

Powers v2 #2: We kind of expected this to happen eventually. I mean the reappearance of a certain character that you saw in the cliff-hanger to the last issue... not to mention her identity. I'm really enjoying this series, and I'm curious what kind of storylines will play out in this new world.

Still to review: Usagi Yojimbo and Samurai Executioner.

by Tegan at 10:20 AM Seattle time - Permalink