Christmas Break — I’m 3/4 done
I just saw The Spirit yesterday... Make sure to check out DestroyTheCyb.org! for my feelings about that film later this week...
But as I talked about in my last post, I have been writing like crazy for Jeff & Mike Write A Comic Book. I have a solid two episodes, thanks for help with my struggle with the end of the second episode goes to Tommy V. I've managed to get like one review done for DestroyTheCyb.org and have not been keeping up with my .75-1 review a day goal. Ugh. I'm pretty pissed about that.
With that aside, I've probably watched enough TV to fill a weekend... and I know that's sad. I've seen some good flicks, but still, my time could have probably been spent much better. Thanks AMC/VH1/MTV!
Just for the record... I have to get a damn cavity tomorrow. This will be my first in probably 10 years. 10 damn years and I am so scared. Why? I don't know. I have a thing about my teeth where I hate pain. Is that so wrong? Ugh. I really hate the idea of a cavity in my mouth. From how I remember back when I was probably 10 years old, it hurts and the shot hurts and the drill is terrible and afterwards you can't eat anything and it all just sucks. IT SUCKS. Damn it all I don't want to get this damn cavity. I cannot express it enough. I know I'm going to get this cavity, then come home and be pissed about having it and play some Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, write some more of Jeff & Mike and just be pissed. Even so, with that awesome sounding afternoon ahead, I am dreading 3:40pm tomorrow. God damn it this is going to suck.
I guess after tomorrow I have a few things to look forward to: working on a side project I've had for about 2 months that I finally have information (after a 3 week waiting period) to finish, reviewing comics, and my giant New Years Bash at my house. So I guess as soon as this cavity is over with I'll have some good stuff ahead of me. What would you guys do if you had a day and a half of free and clear nothing to do?
Oh and before I forget, I'm getting new high-quality headphones in the mail. In case you're wondering they're the V-MODA Vibe Duo Earbuds/Headset for the iPhone. I'm so excited. They should be arriving in the mail in about a week or so (I hope!) and I will/should review them after a week or so of use.
I guess that's all I have for you all. Your thoughts?
Stressful two days
I don't know what it is, but since yesterday morning I have just felt damn stressed. Sure I know nothing of the pressures of being a non-student living in the "real world" but fucking hell I have been feeling stressed.
I could say that it all started when I ended up taking a shower on Tuesday night--where usually I take showers in the morning--and so on Wednesday my day was just whacked all out of shape from that. Or it could have been that I broke my Monday, Wednesday Thursday schedule of working for the web team on Wednesday morning going to the dentist and finding out I have a fucking cavity--I haven't had one since I was nine (god damned wisdom teeth fucking everything up for me). Or it could be the massive amount of homework I've had since Tuesday and my first exam in CS350--a class so boring not even an energy drink can keep me awake--along with my German vocab quiz which is going to be harder than solid steel.
I just feel fucking stressed.
But with that aside, DestroyTheCyb.org! is doing fantastic. Mark Millar just featured THREE of our reviews in his forums (Jake's War Heroes review, Nick's Fantastic Four review and my Marvel 1985 review) and that just kicks so much ass. I really couldn't be happier with that site, unless I had a few more writers... that'd be cool. haha
BUT, let's hope tomorrow doesn't fucking kill me. This exam is going to blow majorly because I couldn't give two shits about software models, use cases and fucking software requirements. BLEH.
I'll be back...
Chris Claremont and X-Treme X-Men part 3
Ah ladies and gents, I’m through issue #18 and that mean another update on my X-Treme X-Men reading.
As a reminder, I’m spoiling this series as I talk about my reaction, so watch out (even though the series is about 8 years old).
So far I’m having a lot of fun with this series in a sense that Chris Claremont seems to be batshit crazy when it comes to story arcs. Moving from Vargas killing Psylocke to Gambit becoming some tool of inter-dimensional imperialists (with some minor arcs in there — I’m not following the wikipedia page I’m reading in order of the comics I have #1-46) this series has been pretty good. I really do like Chris Claremont’s plots, but, as I’ve said, he just goes on and on with the narration.
I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while, and let me just say it right now: Warren Ellis pretty much summed up exactly how I feel about writers like Chris Claremont at Wizard World Chicago when he had his late night panel on Friday. He was explaining that sometimes writers don’t know when to shut the hell up and let the art tell the story. And it’s funny because someone in the crowd actually called out and said “Could you tell Chris Claremont?” I wish I could have been there.
Astonishing X-Men #25 — a reaction/sum-up
So yesterday I went and bought Astonishing X-Men #25 at my local comic shop. I bought it on my lunch break and didn’t have any time to read it yesterday, but this morning on the bus ride to work I managed to squeeze it in. Let me just say (before the jump) that Warren Ellis is amazing and he beats Joss Whedon any fucking day on Astonishing X-Men.
On the right here is a clip from the first page… we see Armor using Twitter. Hell yes Warren Ellis.
**spoilers after the break**
Astonishing X-Men #25 – This week is gonna be awesome
Guess what guys? Guess effing what? Astonishing X-Men #25 is coming out this week (7/2/2008), and guess who’s excited?
ME!
Seriously. And you want to know why I’m so excited? Well, let me answer just one more question for you: Because Joss Whedon is no long writing this series. Hell yes! Yea! Yea! Yea! I’m beyond excited and it’s because without Joss Whedon, this comic book will (probably) come out on a regular basis and with some sweet storylines because the one and only Warren Ellis taking over meaning that Armor, Beast, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Storm, and Wolverine (the line-up according to cover for this issue) are in for a friggin’ show for sure.
The amazing Warren Ellis, author of Transmetropolitan, Newuniversal/Newuniversal: Shockfront, and the Extremis arc of Iron Man, is going to be writing Astonishing X-Men and I can only hope for nothing less than an outstanding series with him backing it. The new series titled Astonishing X-Men: Second Stage. It’s supposed to be back in the continuity and I couldn’t be happier.
**spoilers after the break**
Chris Claremont and X-Treme X-Men part 2
It’s been a while and strangely I didn’t get through as many X-Treme X-Men comics as I wanted to since my last blog about this series, but nevertheless, I got to issue #12 and, again, I’m not really impressed. Effing Chris Claremont again turned the series from partially good to bad to pretty awesome to terrible within 6 issues.
Really, for a while I was digging the series (say issues #4-7) when all of a sudden, things started to just get blotchy with the story and I was constantly going back a page or two to see what the hell was going on. But what was different than from issues #1-6 than #7-12 is that starting with issue #8 the art was almost as confusing as the dialogue (which Claremont began to use to tell a portion of the story). Although stunning at times, a lot of the art had the characters in very weird angles and positions during fight scenes. A lot I could deal with, but for some parts I was just baffled as to where a character started and began.
As for the storytelling, Chris Claremont did exactly as I thought: started a great story and told it poorly. A lot of the plot points in these last 6 issues were mainly jumped right into with no warning. It was kind of confusing, given that I’m used to stories leading up to a plot point rather than just throwing one in.
In one issue, the X-team are walking along in a house when on the next page a monster breaks through the floor and Rogue and Gambit are being held up in the air… it’s way random and utterly confusing for a new reader. It really makes me wonder how this series kept selling…
Even still, Chris Claremont knows how to write an effing good storyline as a whole and I have to give it up to him for that… No spoilers this entry, sorry kids.
I’ll check back with my next 6 issues or so and let you know what’s what…
The Alkaline Trio, Wizard World Chicago, and Wall-E
This weekend was pretty much 100% bad ass: I attended an Alkaline Trio concert, had the privilege of going to Wizard World Chicago and meeting Brian Michael Bendis (the whole reason for going to the ordeal) along with doing some other awesome stuff throughout the whole convention, and I saw Wall-E with Dallas.
Sweet right? Well, let me elaborate:
Friday:
I worked my normal schedule until 5pm and met a friend of mine to head to Yesterdog. One hot dog was all I needed from that landmark place in Grand Rapids to be ready to go see The Alkaline Trio. Come 7pm, we were let in the doors of the show and stood around for about a half an hour just goofing around until The Fashion made their way to the stage. They were a psudo-pop-punk band with a strange techno feel that was neither good nor bad, but still a listen. They played a 35-minute set and took off leading straight into the band Bayside. They too had an iffy sound, something along the lines of pop-punk, but a tad slower. My friend Tori was very into them, yet they didn't really hit for me (like a lot of pop-punk bands usually do, if only for a moment). They finished their 45-minute set and after a very boring 35 minute wait, The Alkaline Trio made their way to the stage. Let me tell you, it was fucking incredible. Song after song of perfection and amazing Alkaline Trio-goodness ensued for a little over an hour. They played songs from their last two albums, Crimson, Good Mourning (more notably: "This Could Be Love", "Mercy Me", "Time To Waste" and "This Could Be Love"), a few new songs from their album and finished their encore with "Radio" from their album Maybe I'll Catch Fire. For any Alkaline Trio, such as myself, it was seriously amazing (especially "This Could Be Love." Boy do I love that song).
Despite being tired, I ended up staying up until 2:30am talking about comics with my buddy Jeff Lanning once I got back from the concert.
Chris Claremont and X-Treme X-Men part 1
Hey guys, Mike Rapin here… I’m going to try and blog some cool stuff about comics every day and give some insight as to what’s what in my mind with what I read… Just a warning, any link I have in any of my blog posts may contain spoilers (<-that one doesn’t haha), so be aware of what you’re clicking! And here goes:
On top of my weekly 5-10 comics I read from Marvel (primarily), Image, Vertigo and the like, I decided to read some back issues of X-Treme X-Men given that it parallels Grant Morrison’s New X-Men and Uncanny X-Men #410-443 all of which were very pivotal points in the X-Men world and both series’ I fucking loved–those two series’ got me hooked on comics. With that said, I know that the events of X-Treme X-Men are starting to come to light in the current X-titles (well, at least when New X-Men–not Grant Morrison’s stuff–was around and the whole Messiah Complex thing was kind of based around it–haha) and I figured I should dig into some of Chris Claremont’s X-Treme X-Men.
I got through the 5th issue today and here is where I’ll start–not so much with analysis of the issues, but with a sum up of story line as a whole and my opinions, the writing, and the art.
