Saturday, September 25, 2004

I got this sketch at the November 2002 Seattle ComiCard Convention. Hoberg's art is distinctive, and you can see a bit of his style in this Aquaman sketch. Hubby-Eric got a sketch from him at the same time in his Green Lantern themed book, of R2-D2 as a GL.

AQUAMAN
by Rick Hoberg
10 November 2002
(permission to post given 29 Aug 2004 via e-mail)
www.rickhoberg.com

by Tegan at 10:07 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Smallville: Crusade: It's nice to see this show back, but now that I'm used to watching TV shows with no commercials while exercising, I felt a little strange just sitting there watching this. This has all the hallmarks of a good Smallville episode. A big of angst, a bit of mystery, a bit of "almost", and a nice deus ex machina that solves the problem until next week. Definitely not a fine story, but an ok one. Lois was annoying, but bearable. I miss Chloe and Pete. Looking forward to next week's.

Smallville #10: Only one comic story in this one, and not a particularly memorable one in my opinion. Oh, it was fun to see Lana and Chloe run amock, but not enough to carry the whole issue. There was also an interview with Lois and a couple of guides. But overall? Not as good as previous issues. Very mildly recommended.

Noble Causes #2: I love the Migliari cover to this one. Frost isn't the greatest character ever, but he's really ... um ... cool. And the cover is just plain neat. Looking back to the first issue, there are some interesting things going on with Doc... and more interesting things happening in this issue. Krennick is even more interesting, especially when you consider the revelation that Doc's source may have provided. Not to mention the revelation of Krennick's subject to Liz. This is a superhero soap opera, and I love it.

That's it for this week! Coming next week (if everything reaches my shop): New Frontier, Green Lantern, JLA, Amazing Spider-Man, and PS238(?!).

by Tegan at 8:41 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Friday, September 24, 2004

Daisy Kutter #2: I really like the artwork in this book. It's stylish and fun, and the world is such a neat mix of modern and ... not. I like Daisy, and this issue gives us more of her history as well as some really funny scenes with Tom. And I liked the back-up story a lot, too. Recommended.

Yellow Jar: I can't say this is perfect, but it's very, very nice. A couple of Japanese tales retold, with simply magnificent artwork. The first story involves a yellow jar, a lie, a demon, and the power of love. The second story is about a couple of weeds and a garden. The artwork is both classic and modern enough to satisfy my pickiness with storytelling. In some places, the only way I can describe this book is exquisite. Highly recommended, particularly for anyone who enjoys folktales and folklore.

Silk Tapestry: This book features three Chinese folktales. The first is a very short creation myth. The second is a beautiful story with an ambiguous ending that I found extremely sad. The third is a fun little tale of a little boy with a special talent. I didn't enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed the first volume, but that had to do with the choice of stories and not the quality of the retelling. It is an excellent book, and recommended. Again, particularly for anyone who enjoys traditional stories.

Still to review: Noble Causes and Smallville.

by Tegan at 9:17 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Avengers #502: The cover proclaims "One of these Avengers will die!" and I found myself thinking, "yeah? So?" Not good. The coloring on this book was way off the norm, and distracted from the story. Enough that I'm commenting on it. Mood lighting only goes so far, and in this story it went too far. The only excitement I got out of this story was the thought of seeing a particular blog once the blogger hears about/reads this issue. That's not enough to recommend it. Neutral.

Plastic Man #10: I'm not generally humor impaired, or at least I thought I wasn't... but I don't find this book amusing at all. It's like every attempt is just falling flat. I may have to stop reading it for a bit and come back to it to see if it's just me, or if the book simply isn't that funny. Neutral.

H-E-R-O #20: Leading up to a dramatic finish, I see, with a gathering of the heroes. I don't have a lot to say about this one, just that I'm really curious about how this whole thing is going to finally turn out. I'm liking it, more than I expected to. It's a shame this book is ending, but wow... it's going to be one heckuva ending, now, isn't it?

Still to review: Noble Causes, Smallville, and Daisy Kutter.

by Tegan at 4:47 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

• Weight = X-1
  
• Change From Last Week = +2
  
• Met Exercise Goal? No
  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.

So I didn't have the best week last week. I didn't overindulge in food, either, so I'm a little surprised at the apparent weight gain. Whatever. I'm still feeling considerably more toned up, and I expect to continue to tone as I continue to exercise.

As soon as I've got a couple of milk jugs saved up and cleaned out I intend to start Tom's exercise suggestions to start working on my arms. I probably won't "count" that exercise at first since it probably won't take long each day until I've worked up a bit.

I'm still looking for a good way to work on slimming my stomach down, and I also need to add walking to my exercise workout as the biking isn't doing enough. I ought to free the treadmill from the piles in the pantry so I can do a few minutes on it over the weekend. The last thing I need to improve is my water intake. I think I will probably add a water chart to my list of things to track on my blog. Maybe my goal for now will be two Sobe bottles (20 oz) of water a day for the next week, in addition to what I normally drink. Let's see if I can keep it up.

by Tegan at 9:25 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Thursday, September 23, 2004

Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum: This is a collection of the cool webcomic I've been reading and enjoying for awhile now. This is a solid first collection that introduces us to the characters. While all the strips appear to be available on-line, it was particularly fun to check this one out from the library. For obvious reasons. And I enjoyed it quite a bit, too.

Of particular interest to me was the October 18th 2002 strip which contains untranslated Braille. Yes, I did go and hunt for information until I could roughly translate it. No, I'm not going to tell you what it says.

A fun book for anyone, but it hits home particularly well for anyone who works with the public.

Unshelved: What Would Dewey Do? by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum: Special guest star librarian action figure Nancy Pearl! Another great collection of a really cool webcomic.

Pretty much all of the book was good, but I liked the extras in the back from a library conference and the "how we make the strip" comic. I also liked their Banned Books Week storyline in which patrons of the library could ban any book they wanted to. There was also a fun "Patriot Act" storyline.

Overall, an excellent collection, and one that any librarian ought to read.

By the way, this is the last strip in the second book. So, once you've read both books, just click forward and you can get up-to-date on the strip. But I recommend getting the books. I sure will once I have some money again.

by Tegan at 10:36 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Via Thought Balloons: DC is suing Kryptonite Locks to keep them from expanding their brands, and they've gotten support from a Federal Judge.

Freakin' Shane Bailey continues to linkblog up a storm or two. I can't keep up with the guy.

Newsarama reports that CrossGen is going on the auction block on September 28th.

Is it illegal to grow poppies? A fascinating essay on one gardener's experiences in trying to learn the truth.

Ivan the Undead Hurricane. And Jeanne is next, then Karl, then Lisa... and there's a couple of storms behind Lisa bidding for their chance to attack Florida.

Boing Boing blogs about the possible demise of Twinkies. Makes me want to go out and snag some.

Don't have Windows XP? Then don't use Internet Explorer. Heck, don't use it anyway. Get Firefox.

Looking at the list of frequently challenged books, the top book on the list that I've read is The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. I don't remember much about it beyond the fact that I didn't enjoy it. I read some other Cormier books around the same time, and I seem to recall that all of them were odd and disturbing. Particularly I Am The Cheese and The Bumblebee Flies Anyway. Cormier isn't on my list of favorite authors, but that doesn't mean he should be banned.

In honor of Banned Books Week, I put I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou on my library hold list. I should get to read it during the next week or so. I plan on reading some of the other books on the list over the next few months, as well.

And to finish off, here's a statue from the Winchester Mystery House:

by Tegan at 7:52 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Conan #8: The artwork is a mild disappointment. It's not bad, but I was really liking the regular artist a lot. This artist, Greg Ruth, will be doing fill-ins for a strange six part story-arc that isn't going to be released all at once. I think it's a good way to handle it, personally, and I'm curious to see what other fans think of the method. As for the story... it's Conan. What else is there to say, really? You like brutal fantasy warriors, you'll probably love this book.

Opposite Forces #4: The first story-arc is finally finished, and it's as funny as expected. Not a bad one at all, right down to Waggles the Villian. A fun, light superhero book.

PS238 #7: Wow. Just, wow. I thought this book couldn't possibly get any better. I was wrong. If you aren't reading this, at least visit the website and check it out: Free samples here. Or start here or here or here or here or here or here (or you could just click on that first here and keep clicking "next" as you read the minis. The regular issues are full length with a back-up story).

Still to review: Avengers, Plastic Man, H-E-R-O, Noble Causes, Smallville, and Daisy Kutter.

by Tegan at 4:52 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Possibly following the lead of AiT/Planet Lar, Atomeka has sent out a few review copies of their comic books to bloggers. I was one of the lucky recipients, and I'm happy to give you my thoughts on these books.

The Dave Johnson Sketchbook: Do you like Johnson's artwork already? If so, you'll love this book. It's a lot of great sketches from the artist, without any pretense of a story or theme. Most of the characters are original, with a couple of familiar faces from elsewhere thrown in. There's a nice box at the front of the book for getting your own sketch, but I've already got my Dave Johnson one. I personally liked some of the uniform and mecha designs. If you already enjoy the art, get the book. If not... well, it's probably not for you.

A1: Big Issue 0: I'm not even going to pretend to understand the first story, "The Bojeffries Saga", but it was funny and goofy and bizarre. The second story, "Kathleen's House" was a painful little slice of life story that I enjoyed a lot. The "Shark-Man" story was great from a superhero fan point of view, especially an Aquaman fan. It's a nice mix of Batman and Aquaman, and was stylish to boot. The Flaming Carrot story was just odd. "Survivor" was a slightly different take on a common concept. Overall, an excellent little anthology. Recommended.

Note: That's not all. Two more from Atomeka coming soon, and more from AiT/Planet Lar as well.

by Tegan at 6:52 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Welcome to Autumn.

Giant microbes. Plush fuzzy friendlies shaped like common diseases. Just the sort of thing Warren Ellis would point his readers to. I think the Rhinovirus is the cutest.

Shane Bailey is linkblogging again (does he ever stop?) go visit and check it out. 24 Hour Pixel People has some really good links up right now, too.

South Knox Bubba has another good entry: "New questions about service records have surfaced. Two former Air Force researchers have uncovered startling new information about a certain fighter pilot's fitness for duty. There are no fake memos involved this time. Instead they have documented evidence on film." Fascinating stuff.

The Seattle Times has an article about blogs. Yawn.

The lamp is happy to see you.

When Iranian newspapers are banned, Iranian Bloggers take up the fight. If there's hope for Iran, a part of it can be seen on Iran's blogs.

Apparently is is illegal to protest. Or walk down the street in an unmarked zone that is covered by this ridiculous law.

Slashdot explains why you should NEVER respond to spam, especially if it involves clicking on a link in the spam message.

Man returns UPS Shirt after a pleasant non-lawyer talk with UPS rep.

I'm addicted to Firefox. It's ten times faster than Mozilla on my computer, and after adding a few small extensions and changing a couple of settings, I like it almost as much as Mozilla in some places and much much more in others.

Jog the Blogger tells us about the top book on the challenged books list I linked to. Makes me want to go find the books and check them out!

The Modulator pledges to re-read Of Mice and Men in honor of Banned Books Week. I'm thinking maybe of re-reading Huck Finn if I don't find something else on the list I want to try out. Like Jog's suggestion of Scary Stories.

In any case, here are a couple of the Banned Books Week posters:

Banned Books Week is September 24th to October 1st.

by Tegan at 1:17 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty #3: I wish there was more story in each issue. That's my only real complaint about this book. I'm enjoying the storyline, and the art is pretty good. It's a nice Western that isn't too Western-y for me. I definitely want to see how this one turns out. Not bad for a book that started out on Free Comic Book Day.

Colonia #10: Ok, things are getting even more bizarre in Colonia land. At least we're getting a hint at where Jack's abilities come from. Sort of. I like the way these three issues were planned to come out close together, the story hangs together much better when you can remember what happened in the last issue. And I'm really looking forward to the next issue.

Vagabond Vol 1 by Takehiko Inoue. I've heard good things about this series, which is based on the novel "Musashi" by Eiji Yoshikawa, so I decided to check it out. Violent, gross at times, intense. This tells of two guys from the same village, Takezo and Matahachi, who survive a battle as foot soldiers and go on the run. I don't know exactly what I was expecting from this book, but it wasn't this. The artwork is very nice, good stuff, and the story is pretty engaging. I think I'll read a bit more.

Huzzah! I actually finished last week's books before this week's came! This week's books (assuming everything actually reaches my shop): Noble Causes, Conan, Smallville, H-E-R-O, Plastic Man, Avengers, PS238, and Daisy Kutter. I also have some special reviews coming up of books from Atomeka and bloggers' favorite AIT/Planet Lar. Expect more reviewing overdoses in the next week...

by Tegan at 9:46 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

The Batman: Call of the Cobblepot: Well, that's a different version of the Penguin. Well, not really. He's obnoxious, rude, trains birds... and gets Alfred involved in the story. I liked Alfred in this one, although I keep expecting him to be more intense than he is. Another ok episode.

The Batman Strikes! #1: Well, I'm glad I managed to see the second episode of the show before I actually read this issue, because the Penguin's attitude made more sense that way. The book was disjointed at times, and the story didn't flow too well, but the art was good. I'm neutral on it, let's hope it improves a bit over the next few issues.

Birds of Prey #74: Well, on the one hand, this is much more coherant than the cult plotline. On the other hand, what was the stuff in the last issue about? There doesn't seem to be a proper resolution. Some nice bits with Savant and Canary, at least. Not horrible, but still not quite what I expect from this book. Mildly recommended.

Still to review: The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty and Colonia.

by Tegan at 10:32 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

The Slippery Slope (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 10) by Lemony Snicket: Well, now I have to wait until book 11 arrives at my library. There's less of a cliff-hanger at the end of this one, although it's not a situation that I'd want to be in. The series has moved from a comedic tragedy to a complicated mystery over the last few books, and it seems like the big mystery has been solved. But then, things never seem to be what they seem in these books. The characters are growing older, even though the time frame of the books isn't all that long. And Sunny's words still crack me up completely at times. Another interesting aspect of this one is the sense that the orphans aren't really going through all this alone. There is a definite feeling of the bigger picture beginning to emerge, and even the children can see it now. With only three more books to go (I think), this ought to be a very strange series when it's done.

by Tegan at 6:32 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Banned Books Week is coming up, so I visited the ALA Store to see what's new and found this cool Batgirl poster. It features Babara Gordon in her job as a librarian. It just brought home to me how wonderful the character really is...

Oh yeah, Banned Books Week is September 24-October 1 this year. The theme is "Elect to Read". And the ALA website needs a serious overhaul to make it usable.

Trash Heap is also covering Banned Books Week. To answer the question of how many of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000 have I read, only 15 for sure (and that includes series as a single book).

Lieber updates us to the status of the artists of Mercury Studios.

The folks behind the Scary Movie franchise want to poke fun at superheroes. Joy. The superhero movie boom is officially over.

Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy is back.

"Hateriots Stole My Yard Signs". I may have to make a sign like this for my yard. Sign number 3 was stolen Sunday afternoon.

And to leave you with a picture, here's something from the Winchester Mystery House:

by Tegan at 10:33 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Monday, September 20, 2004

Farscape [1-12]: Rhapsody in Blue: Lots of blue. This one was disturbing. The concept that memory can be altered like that so casually is a frightening one. The effect was blunted a bit by the humor when the other three are altered, but showing Crichton "alone" was effectively creepy. The end was strong, with Zhaan renouncing her calling. I wonder if that will come up later?

Farscape [1-13]: The Flax: Another strange episode. This one refers to Moya's pregnancy again. As a comic book fan, I like some continuity, but I also like the fact that it's not so totally ingrained that no one new to the series could possibly figure it out. While the characters are odd and certainly benefit from explanation, the show never seems to rely overmuch on the audience being completely familiar with what came before. In this episode, there's a bit of chemistry between Aeryn and Crichton. Nice to see, wonder if it'll grow into something more?

Farscape [1-14]: Jeremiah Crichton: I had to do a hunt to find out that the title references a movie about a hermit. That kind of ties in with John getting abandoned by Moya and crew. I liked how the "natives" mistake Rygel for a god, but it's not just a simple mistake. Nice twist on the usual silliness. And it was interesting to see more of Rygel's legacy. As unpleasant as he is, it is not at all surprising that there are dark marks on his people's history. At times you wonder if he is learning anything at all from his time on Moya.

by Tegan at 8:13 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

JLA Secret Files 2004: I suppose that if I cared a flying fig about Justice League Elite, I would have enjoyed the first story much more. As it is, I couldn't figure out why the Flash was in both groups and wearing different uniforms in both. Seemed silly, even for Wally. The profiles were ok, but the real key to this book was the Crime Syndicate story, and it was cool. I'm looking forward to Busiek's JLA run even more now, if that was possible.

Captain America and the Falcon Vol 1: Two Americas: My friend David wanted to try out this book, but finding back issues proved impossible thanks to Marvel's crappy no-reprint policy. So I bought the trade, which is thanks to Marvel's not-so-crappy put-out-trades-fast policy. Anyway, there's nothing wrong with the story, but the artwork was confusing. Very poor storytelling, with pin-ups of the heroes thrown in for no discernable reason, except maybe so the artist could draw pin-ups. Captain America, both of him, were obscenely over-muscled to the point of not looking vaguely human. Find an artist who actually wants to draw a story, and this could have been a good book. As it is, the book was too much trouble to try to decipher. Not recommended.

Strange #1: Hrm. Not being familiar at all with Dr Strange's origin, I'm not sure what to think of this one. Young doctor full of promise, goes on to become arrogant plastic surgeon? The beginning of the book was good, with the promising doctor showing some decency and kindness, but the rest seemed a bit blah. I'll have to hold back judgement on this one, and see if I get more from the remaining issues.

Still to review: Birds of Prey, Batman Strikes, The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty, and Colonia.

by Tegan at 6:19 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Castle in the Sky: Another Miyazaki film for hubby and I. And, as it turns out, a really good film to watch on Talk Like A Pirate Day, because there are not only pirates in the film, but at one point there is a very short discussion of how to talk like one! Let's see... wonderful animation, as usual from Studio Ghibli. The extras on this DVD were a bit odd... the second disc had the entire movie in storyboard format. I would love to have time to watch it again that way, but I think I'll wait until I have my own copy instead of the library's. The film itself was pretty nice. Again, nothing compared to Spirited Away, but a good solid movie nonetheless. A fun way to spend an evening.

by Tegan at 10:30 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Sunday, September 19, 2004

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi: I suspect that if I hadn't read the first installment of Marji's story, I would have thought a whole lot less of her. This story isn't nearly as innocent and sweet as the first one. Indeed, she gets into problems that you really don't like seeing teenagers get into. I won't spoil any of that with the sordid details, for that you'll have to read it yourself, but I will say that for a kid all alone and unguided in the world... well, she did about as poorly as any parent would fear. I found her story after she returns to her family in Iran to be far more compelling, as only then she starts to put her experiences into perspective.

After living in Europe, where freedom gave her a little too much leeway, she is back in a totally different world, one where fear dominates. Of all the moments of revelation in the book, there was a single one that jumped out at me. She tells us that when people are worried that the wrong color socks, or a stray hair sticking out from under a veil, can lead to a beating then they aren't thinking about freedom of thought, speech, or what's happening in the prisons.

Fear is the tool of dictators.

When you are afraid, you aren't thinking about the way the government is taking away your right to live. If you are scared to be arrested for carrying a bookmark, then you aren't thinking about how your constitutional rights have been removed. If you are afraid because the government keeps raising the terror alert, then you aren't paying attention to the people being illegally imprisoned for getting out of a cab in the wrong place.

Marji learns that one way to survive is to fit in, a role that she simply doesn't play very well. She learns that even cultural heroes aren't acceptable the government, and in the end discovers that she can no longer survive while playing at being something she isn't. The power of this book is that it shows us that people are the same all over. That Iranians, the people, are no different than any other people. You cannot come out of reading this book hating Iranians. You might hate their government, but the book is about the people. I preferred the first book to this one, but both are worth reading. Visit your library, or pick them up from a local bookstore.

by Tegan at 7:49 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Justice League Unlimited: The Return: This may be the first time ever that I was more excited about the closing credits than the episode itself. In fact, I'm having a lot of trouble remembering what the episode was about now that I've sat down to write about it... I'm thinking of Aquaman in the next episode. Ahem. Oh yeah, Lex Luthor and Amazo. A different sort of story, with the League being defeated piecemeal and wholesale while Lex panics. It was very cool to see the Green Lantern corps, and in fact all the other members were great to see, too. Even if Red Tornado's fate is a wee bit... uncertain. Yeah, it was a good episode. But I can hardly wait to see next week's "Super Friends" story. Aquaman.

The Batman: The Bat in the Belfry: You can tell that Matsuda worked on the designs in this show. I'm not sure I really like it, though. I really don't like the Joker redesign, and I'm going to have to see much more of the Gotham PD before I know what to think of them. Mixed feelings, overall. Once I've seen more of the show, I'll get more of an opinion.

Identity Crisis #4 (Of 7): Well, hey. That's slightly different. I mean, who expected a positive turn of events in this book? This title still hasn't lived up to the pre-release hype at all. It's mildly good, but nothing I would recommended enthusiastically. This issue is quite a bit better than the first three, but that really isn't saying all that much. It's still just ok.

JSA: Strange Adventures #2: I really don't get this. The story seems to have a split personality and I'm not sure which bits are "happening" and which are memories. There's promise, yes, but I'm getting so much interference just trying to figure out what's what that I'm not really enjoying this much.

Still to review: Birds of Prey, JLA Secret Files, Batman Strikes, Strange, The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty, and Colonia.

by Tegan at 3:08 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Ar, me mateys. Here's today's links! Arrr.

Scott has all your essential pirate links.

Wow. A big list of Webcomics. I knew there were a lot... but this is a cool way to check them out. Via Neilalien.

Boing Boing links to neat stereoscope pictures.

They Might Be Giants is offering MP3s on their page, direct from the artists, for 99 cents a song or $9.99 an album. While I still think that's a we bit steep for a lot of folks, these MP3s don't have any security on them and are "mastered in extraordinary fidelity (far superior to even last year’s technology)". Frankly, I'd much rather buy right from the band than from another site, and the lack of obnoxious security stuff means I don't have to worry if I need to transfer the files to a new computer. Now, if only they offered songs I actually have heard already... Via Life, it is a travesty...

For interesting coverage of the Paralympics, check out Stuart Hughes blog.

And, AR! Here's some flowers from Sacramento. And, no, I'm not going to even try to talk like a pirate in all my blog posts today.

by Tegan at 9:38 AM Seattle time - Permalink