Coffee and Rain, Postcards and Plays

 

IMG_3410March 12 &13, 2019

Tuesday was my last full day and I had only made one plan for the afternoon to meet a friend and Lin had tickets for me to see a show that night, so I figured this was a day on my own. I was up and out of the house before Lin knew I was gone.

I had arranged to meet my friend Ian near the South Kensington station so I headed that way. I found a place just outside the station called Muriel’s and treated myself to a “Little English” breakfast while I wrote out a few postcards and watched the rain fall outside. This is what my vacation was all about. I wasn’t rushing around to see stuff and take in all the sights and wonders of a new place, instead I was just relaxing, watching the world go by. It was wonderful. Continue reading “Coffee and Rain, Postcards and Plays”

Spirits and Giant Squids,Geeks and Shipwrecks

 

IMG_3403.JPGMarch 11, 2019

Monday morning started off too early for Lin. Naturally, the hazards of living with a small child and having to get up early on a daily basis means no matter what time I go to bed, I get up at what, for some people, is an unreasonable hour. But being the trooper (trouper?) she is, she was up before 9am and ran out to the local bakery to get some fresh bread then fixed us both some eggs (Gordon Ramsey recipe and it was skanu!) and toast for breakfast. Continue reading “Spirits and Giant Squids,Geeks and Shipwrecks”

Cursed Children, EasyBuses, and other adventures

IMG_3375March 10, 2019

A few weeks back, I was getting pretty ragged. I was exhausted, working on various projects, and hadn’t had a real break from anything in about 8 months. It also turned out that due to a scheduling thing at work, I could have a week off from work. It was at this point Rasa, my ever supportive wife, said, in essence, get the hell out! After debating for a bit, and looking at options, I booked a three-day getaway to London, where I could stay with my sister from another mister, Lin. Continue reading “Cursed Children, EasyBuses, and other adventures”

Stan Lee (1922-2018)

Well, True Believers, the time finally came. a month before his 96th birthday, Stan Lee passed away. Down the Tubes has a couple of nice pieces: In Memorium by Alan Woollcombe and Tim Quinn’s piece “How to be a Hero.” Both of these pieces, as well as many others, recount Lee’s history, his start as a teenager working for Timely Comics (which became Marvel), and how he, as no one else ever had, came to personify the field and the artform. Buzz Dixon, in particular, speaks of the man and his problematic relationship with the industry Continue reading “Stan Lee (1922-2018)”

Elfquest and Comics without Superheroes

When I was a kid, and I started getting into comic books, naturally, my first inspirations were the superheroes. AAron and I would pull whatever was on the rack at the local Safeway, stopping for an hour or more on our way home from Kenny Guinn Middle School to sit and read. Continue reading “Elfquest and Comics without Superheroes”

Skids Poppe

Johnathon_Blaze_(Earth-616)_from_Marvel_Spotlight_Vol_1_5_001I’ve always loved motorcycles. I’m gonna say it stems from first picking up a Ghost Rider comic book (#35, “Death Race,” way back in early 1979, from the wall rack at the Readmore bookstore on Spring Mountain and Jones). Johnny Blaze, the Ghost Rider‘s secret identity, became my personal favorite hero and I proceeded to collect every appearance of the character in the Marvel universe up to that point. Continue reading “Skids Poppe”

Toxic fan culture

Geek Geek
From Scott Johnson

Really interesting piece here about toxic fan culture. The writer references Rick and Morty, a show I’ve never seen (and to be honest, I’m getting mixed reports and have such limited time I don’t know if I ever will) but the idea of the Revenge of the Nerds seems so odd to me. Continue reading “Toxic fan culture”

The FANTASTIC FOUR TV Series (1963-64) – Home

Thoughts for a Sunday MorningThe FANTASTIC FOUR TV Series (1963-64) – Home.

With the release of the latest movie next week, here’s a look at the original TV series from 1963. Such an amazing amount of talent… it’s a shame they couldn’t get it to work. It was the Firefly of its day.

Anyway, enjoy the detective work put into discovering so much about this “lost” show.

Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron

avengers-age-of-ultronAvengers: Age of Ultron, as far as I’m concerned, works. Now, to be fair, I’m a fanboy. I’m predisposed to like it and be far more forgiving than others who don’t know Marvel from marvel. This doesn’t mean I can’t find fault with certain elements (I do) but it does mean I’m more willing to give it a bit of lead. I’m also not so tied to the source material that I’m going to freak out becuase something happened on screen differently than the way it happend in issue #183 of the comic. Intention and execution count for a lot with me, as do target audiences and the desire of the writer/director (not to mention the studio) to please as many people as possible. Continue reading “Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron”

London 2014: Day Two – Walking the walk, talking the talk…

2014-08-14 18.39.19Thursday started bright and early with breakfast at the hotel, which was kind of weird. Most hotels, if they offer breakfast, it’s usually a continental style, with pastries and coffee. Hostels often offer similar. This place had a kitchen so you could make what you wanted and offered up eggs, bread, cereal and some fruits. So we had scrambled eggs and toast before heading out for our day.

First stop, as planned, was the British Library. There was an exhibition on about British Comic Books until the 19th and since we didn’t know when we’d get another chance, today was our day for it (Monday and Tuesday were already blocked out due to the London Pass – to be explained later). Continue reading “London 2014: Day Two – Walking the walk, talking the talk…”

Review: Ex-Heroes

Ex-Heroes
Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It would be great if this book was written with the least bit of irony… with some notion that Peter Clines knew he was writing a cliche ridden, sexist, clunky book and was using it to make a statement about… well… anything really. Instead, we get a superhero/zombie mash-up so full of earnestness and the wish fulfillment of the adolescent that it’s almost unreadable. Continue reading “Review: Ex-Heroes”