tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76356462331938170182024-02-18T22:57:31.876-06:00Does Whatever a Comics Blog CanThoughts and musings on the world of comics past, present, and future.Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-20561186349363742882012-02-17T12:25:00.000-06:002012-02-17T12:25:22.609-06:00.1 Issues...The Good and the Bad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.wikia.com/marveldatabase/images/e/ee/Amazing_Spider-Man_Vol_1_679.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://images.wikia.com/marveldatabase/images/e/ee/Amazing_Spider-Man_Vol_1_679.1.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>Recently Marvel has been putting out ".1" issues of their comics. As I understand it, these .1 issues are meant to be a jumping on point for new readers. When they first came about I thought they were going to be a one-time thing, but I keep seeing solicitations for new .1 issues so I guess that isn't the case.<br />
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I'm of 2 minds on these issues. The long time comic book reader in me doesn't really like them. I do like stand alone issues, without question, but since the .1 issues are usually done by a different creative team the tone of the .1 books just doesn't resonate with the rest of the series, at least in the ones I've read. If I'm going to go back and reread a run (which I enjoy doing), I don't care for the .1 issue throwing off the tone of the main creative team.<br />
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Due to that lack of consistency, it seems to me that the .1 issues are also a way to pad the time the creative teams have to put out their book. I'd rather see a planned fill-in issue than a mad scramble or delay, so if that's part of the strategy then that's fair enough.<br />
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I do, however, like Marvel making an effort to reach out to new readers. Dan Slott commented on Twitter that for everyone who complains about the Amazing Spider #679.1 issue numbering, somebody else tells him that the numbering is why they picked it up.<br />
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I guess part of what bugs me is I don't care for the Big 2's "creative accounting" to get to milestone issues. I've detailed this before using the <a href="http://doeswhateveracomicsblogcan.blogspot.com/2011/08/did-anyone-get-number-of-that-book.html" target="_blank">Thor books as my example</a>, so I won't go too deep into it here. Basically, I don't like how books are canceled and relaunched with a new #1, only to revert back to the original numbers to get the sales boost of a #1 and a #500. With the .1 issues, this approach to issue milestones can get even more convoluted.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggz16Q2Lbc6ojyoVDSnVDF4NKSYQIZOaDqFOO0qvvJf_WT-fN5qNsxYW5O5Qeuqhv13sdEEZi6_QqbRI6R0Z0FwmHjtgWToHo2nT_87fnVMg0LvY1I2QJ4uc4O_QUTUCVlYoktWtWfNzcX/s1600/4953419-thor-6201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggz16Q2Lbc6ojyoVDSnVDF4NKSYQIZOaDqFOO0qvvJf_WT-fN5qNsxYW5O5Qeuqhv13sdEEZi6_QqbRI6R0Z0FwmHjtgWToHo2nT_87fnVMg0LvY1I2QJ4uc4O_QUTUCVlYoktWtWfNzcX/s1600/4953419-thor-6201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggz16Q2Lbc6ojyoVDSnVDF4NKSYQIZOaDqFOO0qvvJf_WT-fN5qNsxYW5O5Qeuqhv13sdEEZi6_QqbRI6R0Z0FwmHjtgWToHo2nT_87fnVMg0LvY1I2QJ4uc4O_QUTUCVlYoktWtWfNzcX/s200/4953419-thor-6201.jpg" width="131" /></a>I really do think that comics should look at adopting a volume system. You get the sales boost of a #1 and a "final issue" every year or two, however long you decide a volume is going to be (I would say at minimum 12 issues since that's two-6 issue story arcs). It would also make it far easier on new readers to break in and be able to follow along; to be honest, if I hadn't of bought the Thor books as they came out, trying to follow the story through the numbering system alone would be a nightmare (again, see the linked post for details).<br />
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So good on you Marvel for reaching out to new readers, but I think there is still work to be done as that same approach is going to make things even more confusing in the long-run.Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-32842253077705998482012-02-14T12:56:00.000-06:002012-02-14T12:56:22.304-06:00Digital Comics...When & Why I Buy Them<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.brokenfrontier.com/userfiles/images/headlines/2011/8_aug/Comixology-3-Featured.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><a href="http://www.brokenfrontier.com/userfiles/images/headlines/2011/8_aug/Comixology-3-Featured.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.brokenfrontier.com/userfiles/images/headlines/2011/8_aug/Comixology-3-Featured.jpg" width="150" /></a>I have to say, I really enjoy reading comics on my tablet. With that said, I'm pretty choosey about what I purchase. Not necessarily because of the content, I like reading a variety of books, but moreso because of cost.<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I generally will not pay more than $1.99 for a single issue, and even then it has to be something I really want. However, if I can get a digital book for $.99, then I'm willing to snag a bunch. I know that debate rages about the price of digital books, and I don't pretend to know all of the costs involved with digital, but I do know what the value is to me.</div><br />
If I shell out $3.99 for a physical comic book, I own something. If I resell it I'm probably not going to make a profit, but I am probably able to get something for it. I can't do that with a digital book. What happens if the company I bought the digital book from goes under, and I suffer a data loss? I'm now out that money, whereas with a physical book once I have it I have it, barring something like a basement flood or fire I'm not going to lose them; and even if I do, I have insurance on my physical books, you can't do that with digital.<br />
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That is why I will not spend $3.99 on a digital comic book that takes me 5 minutes to read. However, there are times when I am willing to spend that much or more, and I wish that more of these collections existed.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/40/676706-xspiderman3_super.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><a href="http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/40/676706-xspiderman3_super.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/40/676706-xspiderman3_super.jpg" width="130" /></a>While browsing around on the Comixology app on my tablet, I happened across an X-Men/Spider-Man digital pack for $5.99 that was over 150 pages, containing team-ups of Marvel's merry mutants and their friendly neighborhood arachnid from various comics over the years. Now this is exactly the kind of initiative that can be done easily in the digital comics world. I mean, you made the money on the content the first time around, why not offer it in a bundle like this to entice readers to try out something they haven't read before? In fact, this was created to promote a (then) upcoming crossover between the two teams, that's great marketing!<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">I would love to see more stuff like this...why not put Bloodties together in a digital pack for $5 as marketing for the upcoming Avengers vs X-Men? Or in the lead up to the Galactus-Asgard <strike>snorefest</strike> war put out a bundle of cosmic Thor stories, such as his battles against the Celestials, Ego the Living Planet, etc. Marvel has made their money already with these stories, so why not use them as gravy to marketing upcoming events?</div><br />
Really my only beefs about the X-Men/Spider-Man bundle was one of the stories within ended on a cliffhanger and the resolution wasn't included. My other beef was that I already owned 4 of the issues in the pack, and there was no way to read what issues were included before purchasing. Fix that little mistake and I'd be very satisfied.<br />
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Feel free to steal this idea Marvel, DC, any comic company that wants my money!Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-38336398107917068482012-02-13T11:13:00.000-06:002012-02-13T11:13:20.127-06:00Smell Like An Avenger<div id="cboxOverlay" style="display: none;"></div><div id="colorbox" style="display: none; padding-bottom: 36px; padding-right: 0px;"><div id="cboxWrapper"><div><div id="cboxTopLeft" style="float: left;"></div><div id="cboxTopCenter" style="float: left;"></div><div id="cboxTopRight" style="float: left;"></div></div><div style="clear: left;"><div id="cboxMiddleLeft" style="float: left;"></div><div id="cboxContent" style="float: left;"><div id="cboxLoadedContent" style="height: 0px; overflow: hidden; width: 0px;"></div><div id="cboxLoadingOverlay"></div><div id="cboxLoadingGraphic"></div><div id="cboxTitle"></div><div id="cboxCurrent"></div><div id="cboxNext"></div><div id="cboxPrevious"></div><div id="cboxSlideshow"></div><div id="cboxClose"></div></div><div id="cboxMiddleRight" style="float: left;"></div></div><div style="clear: left;"><div id="cboxBottomLeft" style="float: left;"></div><div id="cboxBottomCenter" style="float: left;"></div><div id="cboxBottomRight" style="float: left;"></div></div></div><div style="display: none; position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 9999px;"></div></div><div id="cboxOverlay" style="display: none;"></div><div id="colorbox" style="display: none; padding-bottom: 36px; padding-right: 0px;"><div id="cboxWrapper"><div><div id="cboxTopLeft" style="float: left;"></div><div id="cboxTopCenter" style="float: left;"></div><div id="cboxTopRight" style="float: left;"></div></div><div style="clear: left;"><div id="cboxMiddleLeft" style="float: left;"></div><div id="cboxContent" style="float: left;"><div id="cboxLoadedContent" style="height: 0px; overflow: hidden; width: 0px;"></div><div id="cboxLoadingOverlay"></div><div id="cboxLoadingGraphic"></div><div id="cboxTitle"></div><div id="cboxCurrent"></div><div id="cboxNext"></div><div id="cboxPrevious"></div><div id="cboxSlideshow"></div><div id="cboxClose"></div></div><div id="cboxMiddleRight" style="float: left;"></div></div><div style="clear: left;"><div id="cboxBottomLeft" style="float: left;"></div><div id="cboxBottomCenter" style="float: left;"></div><div id="cboxBottomRight" style="float: left;"></div></div></div><div style="display: none; position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 9999px;"></div></div><div id="cboxOverlay" style="display: none;"></div><div id="colorbox" style="display: none; padding-bottom: 36px; padding-right: 0px;"><div id="cboxWrapper"><div><div id="cboxTopLeft" style="float: left;"></div><div id="cboxTopCenter" style="float: left;"></div><div id="cboxTopRight" style="float: left;"></div></div><div style="clear: left;"><div id="cboxMiddleLeft" style="float: left;"></div><div id="cboxContent" style="float: left;"><div id="cboxLoadedContent" style="height: 0px; overflow: hidden; width: 0px;"></div><div id="cboxLoadingOverlay"></div><div id="cboxLoadingGraphic"></div><div id="cboxTitle"></div><div id="cboxCurrent"></div><div id="cboxNext"></div><div id="cboxPrevious"></div><div id="cboxSlideshow"></div><div id="cboxClose"></div></div><div id="cboxMiddleRight" style="float: left;"></div></div><div style="clear: left;"><div id="cboxBottomLeft" style="float: left;"></div><div id="cboxBottomCenter" style="float: left;"></div><div id="cboxBottomRight" style="float: left;"></div></div></div><div style="display: none; position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 9999px;"></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnheFg8GR4xx1A9t2dWiXsgd3E7-ghHFQ3fpxkt6rgeF0gIGM9GZoGHEcTjFPmDeyXoyhr8QnM89Laj-JrpaVPcSu7HCxjlGgiW0hobEjgD39GGDfd0mPEQzUUcOdqY0tamGncVF-tZLI/s1600/Avengers+Cologne+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnheFg8GR4xx1A9t2dWiXsgd3E7-ghHFQ3fpxkt6rgeF0gIGM9GZoGHEcTjFPmDeyXoyhr8QnM89Laj-JrpaVPcSu7HCxjlGgiW0hobEjgD39GGDfd0mPEQzUUcOdqY0tamGncVF-tZLI/s1600/Avengers+Cologne+1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I was reading an article today about a line of Avengers colognes and perfumes coming out in advance of the movie, and while at first I scoffed at the notion, I will admit based on the descriptions that these guys actually did their research.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4dF0dQutnSSxqdrxwyy-PiDYjn9jiVOXBHgjxhzl_5F30bLl2tVNepwcn9930T3KkPRdbNUnrxwl_oG_MyfopiDv9N_CmPvY1HlzHD3y1ZYYqsSe8C-iT3bGbTUSawCrj9qKbC17wDkw/s1600/Avengers+Cologne+2+-+Patriot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4dF0dQutnSSxqdrxwyy-PiDYjn9jiVOXBHgjxhzl_5F30bLl2tVNepwcn9930T3KkPRdbNUnrxwl_oG_MyfopiDv9N_CmPvY1HlzHD3y1ZYYqsSe8C-iT3bGbTUSawCrj9qKbC17wDkw/s200/Avengers+Cologne+2+-+Patriot.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<em>Patriot, inspired by Captain America, pays homage to the "confident, stand-up-to-bullies average Joe" in every man, with "hints of green lime and white pepper, and finishes of dry oak, sandalwood and tequila."</em><br />
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Okay, this one doesn't knock my socks off, though the tequila finish kind of caught me off guard.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3YQL7WRHqszhpIldKBu1aciQBHBJk4kNE0_Yx4YXeR2hFkIXNwgAYAqyzrhDIqLq1p6djU3ImxRILa2yksnDBhvqnykt9pK7XrVV5T6tQm_Dm-Jw18QDgopzJ8tTgp9M7pOZkbyx7cNo/s1600/Avengers+Cologne+3+-+Mark+VII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3YQL7WRHqszhpIldKBu1aciQBHBJk4kNE0_Yx4YXeR2hFkIXNwgAYAqyzrhDIqLq1p6djU3ImxRILa2yksnDBhvqnykt9pK7XrVV5T6tQm_Dm-Jw18QDgopzJ8tTgp9M7pOZkbyx7cNo/s200/Avengers+Cologne+3+-+Mark+VII.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<em>Mark VII smells like mandarin and jasmine with light patchouli, reads a company release, for an Iron Man-like "I don't play well with others" confidence</em>.<br />
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Okay, I almost laughed out loud when I read that the principle odour in Iron Man's fragrance is mandarin. While at first I thought this was just really ironic, as I kept reading I get the impression these guys actually did their homework.<br />
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<em>There is also a "Russian spy/trained assassin" perfume, called Black Widow; a Nick Fury-inspired scent, called Infinity; and a "dangerous-sexy" unisex scent based on the villain Loki, the bad brother of Thor.</em><br />
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Okay, giving Iron Man a scent of mandarin as opposed to WD40 could have been a one-off, but the fact that they named the Nicky Fury scent "Infinity" really leads me to believe these guys put some thought into these. For anyone reading this unaware, comic book-Nick Fury owes his longevity to a little chemical cocktail called the Infinity Formula.<br />
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I skipped posting the details of Thor and the Hulk because nothing really struck me there, you can read them at the full article if you wish (<a href="http://www.winnipegsun.com/2012/02/13/superhero-inspiration-adds-punch-to-fragrances">http://www.winnipegsun.com/2012/02/13/superhero-inspiration-adds-punch-to-fragrances</a>). Well done JADS, well done.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImUd-rBka0sxxgtih9WUlZqdpRkmr06tPC3h_oUP3PloxDukNnw0tg9K5-Zr-zS0PXxqVZQ6WF9dQaL_QkfTucUpw_Eo_WFKe8XOsOu2-jXwQn_zWxBqMiCVmR_Vahs8WGWId2wIBSqI/s1600/Avengers+Cologne+4+-+Smash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImUd-rBka0sxxgtih9WUlZqdpRkmr06tPC3h_oUP3PloxDukNnw0tg9K5-Zr-zS0PXxqVZQ6WF9dQaL_QkfTucUpw_Eo_WFKe8XOsOu2-jXwQn_zWxBqMiCVmR_Vahs8WGWId2wIBSqI/s200/Avengers+Cologne+4+-+Smash.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3hC6Ha_DxmiBuXqRP2o2ziALRxgYMfiGAoMGiwpWMIqAd3_b8s629795dLzuzARgHVDxu7zMHFHCCQkd8Yg40eYRD0s5LTRVyeM6Niin5gq3a1M9uGAxBB8mVPCq0y78LkV4mjmVdzkc/s1600/Avengers+Cologne+5+-+Worthy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3hC6Ha_DxmiBuXqRP2o2ziALRxgYMfiGAoMGiwpWMIqAd3_b8s629795dLzuzARgHVDxu7zMHFHCCQkd8Yg40eYRD0s5LTRVyeM6Niin5gq3a1M9uGAxBB8mVPCq0y78LkV4mjmVdzkc/s200/Avengers+Cologne+5+-+Worthy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-86107068519187438832012-02-03T11:52:00.000-06:002012-02-03T11:52:18.694-06:00Reading GIT Corp on AndroidI've posted before about <a href="http://doeswhateveracomicsblogcan.blogspot.com/2011/11/asus-and-digitalcomics.html" target="_blank">reading comics on a tablet</a>, and how the Asus EEE Pad is perfect for digital comics. The aspect ratio is pretty much perfect for a comic book page, they don't fit as nicely on an iPad's screen.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4b7mU3XNDnOe_4jcv3-XayA6ah43cwnTima-VqVo1WDqvN3leHV2ynCRa7YY_QVgh0T4V53FHyxu7FPZ2nPSkSGdRSpyt5ZAJZQdq12T8pJgY8QjfG5k54yQmk9K3NoWhttmZPsecAE/s1600/avengers+git+corp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4b7mU3XNDnOe_4jcv3-XayA6ah43cwnTima-VqVo1WDqvN3leHV2ynCRa7YY_QVgh0T4V53FHyxu7FPZ2nPSkSGdRSpyt5ZAJZQdq12T8pJgY8QjfG5k54yQmk9K3NoWhttmZPsecAE/s1600/avengers+git+corp.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I've also made mention of the GIT Corp DVD collections that Marvel put out some years ago. Before Marvel created their online subscripton service, they were licensing their books to GIT Corp to create DVD's containing entire runs of books like Amazing Spider-Man, the Avengers, the Hulk, etc, stretching from their inceptions in the 60's until a cut-off in the early to mid 2000's (when the discs came out). At the time they were a tremendous deal, between $40 and $60 for 40 years of comics. Some of the collections are hard to find now and as a result very expensive, but I have collected almost all of them.<br />
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I never cared for reading comics on my desktop computer, so I didn't read the GIT Corp collections as much as I wanted to. When I got my tablet, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to start reading them more. The question was, what app would be best to read them on?<br />
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The books are PDFs, and there are a number of PDF viewers available in the Android market. The trick is, most of these readers display a MARVEL watermark on the books, which can be read through but is annoying.<br />
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After some trial and error I finally found an app, for free no less, called Perfect Viewer, that lets me view my GIT Corp comics without the Marvel watermark. <br />
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GIT Corp comics are a little different than current digital comics; the GIT Corp comics are all 2-page spreads (think of a comic book opened up and laid flat on a scanner...since that's what they are!), meaning that they read a little bit small even when the tablet is horizontal. However, Perfect Viewer will let you invert the comics and then zoom in so you can view one (comic) page at a time, you just need to swipe across. This lets you read the GIT Corp comics like current digital comics, very easy to read!<br />
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You'll need to download the PDF plugin for Perfect Viewer, but it's also free so that's no big deal. For all my fellow Androids out there, here is a link to the Android Market where you can download the viewer! https://market.android.com/search?q=perfect+viewer&c=appsJay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-66117566277456619352012-01-31T08:00:00.000-06:002012-01-31T08:00:17.944-06:00Marvel's Birds of PreyIf Marvel were to have an all female book ala Birds of Prey, what would the cast look like? I know Marvel has the Lady Liberators, but I don't really care for the name and I'm not even totally sure what the concept is.<br />
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And that is important, why would an all-female team exist? I saw this topic on a message board and it looked to me like some respondents were just listing their favourite female characters. There needs to be a reason for these people to come together as a team, and why these characters in particular are the best fit. <br />
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Therefore, for my all female Marvel team, let's go with the concept of a group of women who want to do things smarter; they want to target the source of the problem, not the symptoms. In the super-powered Marvel universe this will still lead to fight scenes, don't worry action lovers, but it will also provide a platform to air a women's perspective on things.<br />
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So who wants to change the world for the better but also isn't afraid to throw down if things go south? Here are my picks.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.wikia.com/hasbroheroes/images/d/d7/317161-invisible_woman_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://images.wikia.com/hasbroheroes/images/d/d7/317161-invisible_woman_large.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Team Leader: The Invisible Woman<br />
Sue Richards is a pretty busy lady. She is a mother of two very exceptional children (four if you count the antics of Ben and Johnny) and is a full time member of the Fantastic Four. However, her husband is the undisputed leader of the team, and it can be difficult to try set your own direction for the group when the smartest man in the world is calling the shots. I would view this team as something "just for Sue", where she can get away from the family and pursue her own agenda without Reed being there to influence what the team does.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8d/Kitty_Pryde_by_Paul_Smith.jpg/250px-Kitty_Pryde_by_Paul_Smith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8d/Kitty_Pryde_by_Paul_Smith.jpg/250px-Kitty_Pryde_by_Paul_Smith.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><br />
Tech Support: Shadowcat<br />
Kitty Pryde and the Invisible Woman just seem to be a really good fit, and I could see Kitty actually looking up to Sue. Kitty would rather use her brains than her fists any day, and therefore I think she could be a pretty good fit.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/write.ign.com/57915/2011/05/157811-11602-julie-power.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/write.ign.com/57915/2011/05/157811-11602-julie-power.jpg" width="173" /></a></div><br />
The Rookie: Lightspeed<br />
Lightspeed has been added recently to the cast of Avengers Academy, but I really think it's important to have that younger perspective on the team. Without a character like Lightspeed, like it or not the "inexperienced" role is going to fall to Kitty, which I absolutely do not think is right. It's been insinuated by a fellow teammate that Lightspeed is homosexual...could make things a little uncomfortable for her on a team of all women.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://members.fortunecity.com/tystates/bigbertha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://members.fortunecity.com/tystates/bigbertha.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
The Muscle: Big Bertha<br />
I know that the obvious choice is She-Hulk, but that's just too obvious. I'd like to see Bertha venturing into adventures without her teammates to see how she does. And while Bertha is comfortable the way she is around her goofball teammates, does she still feel that way when on a more serious team of beautiful women? She is a model in her civilian identity, but by stepping out onto a larger stage will she end up having issues with her superhero appearance? Body image is a very real issue for girls and women that could really be explored here. Or go the other route, and show Big Bertha being completely comfortable in her own skin. Either way, it can be explored.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://scifimafia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/x-men_emma_frost_comic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://scifimafia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/x-men_emma_frost_comic.jpg" width="165" /></a></div><br />
The Agitator: Emma Frost<br />
Emma rubs a lot of people the wrong way, as opposed to when she was a stripped at the Hellfire club (Bazinga). Kitty really doesn't like her, and I can't imagine the rest are huge fans of hers. Emma is on the team for similar reasons to Sue, as Cyclops is undoubtedly the alpha male of his team of X-Men. Unlike Sue, however, Emma is arrogant enough to think this venture is doomed to fail without her involvement. And I will admit, Emma helps boost the star power in the book for the readers.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080106182125/marveldatabase/images/1/17/Sharon_Carter_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080106182125/marveldatabase/images/1/17/Sharon_Carter_001.jpg" width="68" /></a></div><br />
Intelligence: Sharon Carter<br />
Sharon isn't really a superhero, but her resume is pretty impeccable as an agent of SHIELD. If this team of proactive superheroines wants to tackle certain problems at the knees being forewarned is going to important, and Sharon in an intelligence expert.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4T-UeK0K98nbzPm-eu3jRN0MexZkY4jJD9OazHRzVNnQDlzoiVhnjm4GH_p5HimG6_MZF_Vh2K4TbdsfSmj8YYmGpJAAjT3YLZB2yYLAWLuDbDcirZqbRJjzGwFmuWsDBk5igrVu54ncH/s400/FirestarAvengers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4T-UeK0K98nbzPm-eu3jRN0MexZkY4jJD9OazHRzVNnQDlzoiVhnjm4GH_p5HimG6_MZF_Vh2K4TbdsfSmj8YYmGpJAAjT3YLZB2yYLAWLuDbDcirZqbRJjzGwFmuWsDBk5igrVu54ncH/s200/FirestarAvengers.jpg" width="135" /></a></div><br />
The Difference Maker: Firestar<br />
The New Warriors, when they were first created, didn't have a lot of direction. As the series progressed though they developed an informal mission statement of changing the world for the better, which is exactly what this team is trying to do. I can see Firestar taking on a sort of mentorship role with Lightspeed, and it doesn't hurt that she is a former Avenger. I think I'd go with a Firestar who is perhaps a little too over eager at times, but still respecting that she is a veteran superhero.<br />
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I'm still trying to think of a name for this group...any suggestions?Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-6765384853969814612012-01-27T07:58:00.000-06:002012-01-27T07:58:01.203-06:00Youtube Friday - Mortal Kombat Dance Party<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6HAbYRPyb6c" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Watch it all the way to the end, it just keeps getting better.Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-61510707592650498052012-01-26T11:36:00.000-06:002012-01-26T11:36:23.371-06:00All Ages Book Gets It Right<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.wikia.com/marveldatabase/images/3/33/Marvel_Adventures_Super_Heroes_Vol_2_11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://images.wikia.com/marveldatabase/images/3/33/Marvel_Adventures_Super_Heroes_Vol_2_11.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>Today I stumbled across a free (and legal!) online copy of Marvel Adventures Super Heroes #11, and I have to say, the characterization in this story was better than that in a lot of the 616 books these days. You can read the story (I don't know for how long!) at <a href="http://goo.gl/rFJow">http://goo.gl/rFJow</a>. Go ahead, I'll wait. Note the solicit and the comic don't match, so don't panic when Thor doesn't show up.<br />
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Without spoiling too much, the book starts out with the Hulk seeking out the Thing for his help. Hulk found something (I won't spoil what) and he didn't know who to turn to for help in finding out what it is, so he sought out the closest thing he has to a friend, the Thing. As Hulk put it, "Rockman is strong and smart". So off the pair go to investigate.<br />
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The other part of the book features Steve Rogers and Richard Rider, but I want to focus on the Hulk and Thing part of the story.<br />
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The Thing and the Hulk take the Fantasticar to investigate the Hulk's findings, and the Thing notes that the Hulk is uncomfortable and a little withdrawn. He asks if the Hulk is afraid of flying, and Hulk replies that he is just scared he is going to break the vehicle and then the Thing would get mad at him; everything breaks easily for the Hulk.<br />
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After Hulk uncovers his discovery Ben calls in the Invisible Woman to help them out. I admit I was surprised that he didn't call in Reed, but things are obviously a little different in the All Ages universe; for example, Sue says that she runs the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, while in 616 Marvel she is not a member of the Avengers.<br />
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Anyway, it becomes apparent why Sue was summoned, and it's for story purposes; she has a bit of a heart to heart with the Hulk, talking about friends. Hulk says he doesn't really have any, and it's kind of heart breaking.<br />
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There's a fight at the end and a conclusion, but I've spoiled enough!<br />
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The Savage Hulk is a tricky character to write, but Paul Tobin really does a great job with him. Hulk isn't a monster; rather, he is misunderstood. His lack of social skills (he punches the Thing when they first meet in this issue because he's scared the Thing will punch him, whereas Ben then tries to explain the concept of a handshake as a greeting instead) combined with his immense strength lead him to a lot of the conflicts he finds himself in and would rather avoid. <br />
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This book illustrates two things that are lacking in a lot of comics these days:<br />
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1. A story can be told in a single issue but still be a part of an over-arcing narrative. I haven't read any other issues of Marvel Adventures Superheroes, and I had no trouble following the story. I wasn't expecting Sue to be the leader of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, but it was explained very quickly and easily.<br />
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2. Characters drive the story. Sometimes it feels like a writer has a story to tell and they will try to mold the characters to fit the narrative even if they have to act out of character to do it; in this story, it feels the opposite. The characters are driving the story, which makes for a far more enjoyable reading experience. It also adds a lot more impact to action sequences; I want a reason for characters to fight, especially when it is a hero-vs-hero match. There are 2 fight scenes in this book, and both happen for a reason; the first one in particular has a lot of oomph due to the relationship between Hulk and the Thing even though it is a skirmish at best.<br />
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I have to admit, sometimes I wonder if switching over entirely to the All Ages line would be the way to go, as I find I am rarely disappointed when I venture into those books.Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-66719441649382509622012-01-16T08:00:00.000-06:002012-01-16T08:00:11.169-06:00Rating the Thor ScribesAt the <a href="http://www.comicsboards.com/thor" target="_blank">Thor Message Board</a> the other day a challenge was put forth to rate out of 10 the writers on Thor going back to Dan Jurgens. I tweaked the criteria slightly and said I would only rate the writers on the ongoing title, not mini-series or one-shots. I thought I would expand on my reasonings here.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6YYYDhU2E5jUks683cCu_LEVpyPGC6cuzooqVMsCi8hSBegoZFlBnOluNi47Jn0_ANW_XHIKO_sGarN6b7nBy9pJL_ue8dOre7vI__5zWo85HUcNCtZrCn6eEng3RlSaPejDNzuGOEk/s1600/thor606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6YYYDhU2E5jUks683cCu_LEVpyPGC6cuzooqVMsCi8hSBegoZFlBnOluNi47Jn0_ANW_XHIKO_sGarN6b7nBy9pJL_ue8dOre7vI__5zWo85HUcNCtZrCn6eEng3RlSaPejDNzuGOEk/s1600/thor606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6YYYDhU2E5jUks683cCu_LEVpyPGC6cuzooqVMsCi8hSBegoZFlBnOluNi47Jn0_ANW_XHIKO_sGarN6b7nBy9pJL_ue8dOre7vI__5zWo85HUcNCtZrCn6eEng3RlSaPejDNzuGOEk/s200/thor606.jpg" width="131" /></a>Kieron Gillen - 10/10<br />
I've said this before and I am sure to say it again, Kieron Gillen is the second coming of Walt Simonson when it comes to Thor. Like Simonson, Gillen has a great grasp on Norse mythology and weaves it seamlessly into Marvel's interpretation of the worlds of Asgard. His dialogue, a tricky subject when it comes to Thor and company, is great, a perfect updating of the old "thee and thou" days. His villains are layered, and have many aspects to their plans; watching Loki and Mephisto verbally spar with each other was a real treat. What is especially impressive with Gillen's contributions is he has never been annointed the regular scribe on Thor, it's always been to pick up the pieces of somebody else's work. I would love to see what Gillen could do with Thor if he as free to set the direction of the character, and if you're not reading it you have to check out Journey Into Mystery, one of the best books Marvel puts out and is written by, surprise surprise, Kieron Gillen.<br />
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Mike Oeming - 9/10<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51S6YebG6hL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51S6YebG6hL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
Oeming's Ragnarok storyline was perhaps one of the best send-offs a character could ask for. Lots of great nods to past continuity and Norse mythology, real character growth and evolution, it was a great read. The story itself I would rank a full 10/10, but Oeming had an advantage over the other writers in that he knew he didn't have to put the toys back in the sandbox when he was done, meaning he could effect some really drastic changes and developments that normally wouldn't be possible. As such, it didn't seem fair to give him the full 10/10, but if he were to come back to the title I'm sure he would be embraced with open arms by the Thor faithful.<br />
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<a href="http://images.comicbookresources.com/previews/marvelcomics/thor/preview/Thor01pg00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://images.comicbookresources.com/previews/marvelcomics/thor/preview/Thor01pg00.jpg" width="133" /></a>J Michael Stracynzki - 8/10<br />
What I really liked about JMS' run was the slow boil of the story; you could tell he was building to something, and each issue advanced the plot nicely. Most of the issues could be enjoyed as a somewhat standalone story, a rarity in today's market. Some people think there wasn't a lot of action, but we got to see Thor take on Irom Man, the Destroyer, Surtur, those are some real heavy weights. Fights need to have a reason for being, and every battle Thor entered was charged with personal or larger stakes; with Iron Man he was expressing his displeasure at Tony's actions in the Civil War, with the Destroyer he was fighting to save his people, against Surtur he was fighting for the life of his father, there were real consequences beyond something as simple as a grudge match. The only real problem with the title was the delays, it really derailed the story and is the only reason I knocked JMS' ranking down.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwj30FNhILLv7HG_XypMrl3jzRq_-YFFStafq_RiTRnoqh2XD46Yo-_lX4uUTQWnAEWz2u0kmc8Pzfhkk-Ao9C-eaf0lk_WQnrT9fzFs-0inHcln1lEIL6XMDvAYHlnX0by3q9xP-0nMs/s1600/King+Thor.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwj30FNhILLv7HG_XypMrl3jzRq_-YFFStafq_RiTRnoqh2XD46Yo-_lX4uUTQWnAEWz2u0kmc8Pzfhkk-Ao9C-eaf0lk_WQnrT9fzFs-0inHcln1lEIL6XMDvAYHlnX0by3q9xP-0nMs/s200/King+Thor.png" width="131" /></a>Dan Jurgens - 6/10<br />
I'm the opposite of a fair number of fans, I liked Jurgens later run on the title compared to his earlier issues. I think part of that was the art; John Romita Jr. is a master storyteller, and a lot of guys could learn how to tell a story from him, but I've never cared for his sketchy/blocky style (I was a huge fan of his old style when he was working on Amazing Spider-Man the first time around). But I didn't care for the story elements too; I thought Thor's dialogue was atrocious, for starters. I didn't care for the whole Jake Olsen thing, so that didn't help either. However, I absolutely loved Jurgens "King Thor" era, which slowly saw Thor turn into Odin, essentially. It was a phenomenal way to explore and extract aspects of the character that hadn't been explored before. Yes, Thor was returned to the status quo for Oeming to tidy up the series, but man Jurgens was cooking in the later part of his run.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU2RJb97L29R3ijuV9PBRYB9K4x0b2ZKZDBbTMYdpuTwu3omzRgTdMAJgcTcpDagJcSZxG9eX6fyCMojUEYCNFNvFXA1FreoJo5j75pJ5B6Ee5WU80ZGqdBEie5tOmcFtAG7hs5UbQl6w/s200/Thor+-+Pascal+Ferry.jpg" width="126" /></div>Matt Fraction - 1/10<br />
I'm probably being generous giving Fraction the 1 point, but he's had great artists doing his stuff, even though the colourist destroyed Pascal Ferry's art on his first run. Anyway, Fraction seems to have simply ignored the work done by JMS and Gillen, taking away the more contemplative and mature Thor we were enjoying and replacing him with a hot tempered brute. The dialogue, as I've chronicled before on this blog, is atrocious. The story concepts are great, but the execution is horrendous. I love Thor, and have a full run going back to volume 2 of the book, so Fraction not only got me to drop a book I was invested in emotionally, but also as a collector. That is very hard to do. I look forward to when he leaves the book and I can come back to it, and the collector in me has resigned himself to maybe getting the Fraction books in the dollar bin in future to re-complete the collection.Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-91110961889647694002012-01-13T12:38:00.000-06:002012-01-13T12:38:00.832-06:00New Warriors<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20061127121843/marveldatabase/images/thumb/f/f5/New_Warriors_(Earth-616)_001.jpg/250px-New_Warriors_(Earth-616)_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20061127121843/marveldatabase/images/thumb/f/f5/New_Warriors_(Earth-616)_001.jpg/250px-New_Warriors_(Earth-616)_001.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>Okay, I promised a post this week about the New Warriors, so here we go!<br />
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Over the holidays, I read pretty much every issue of the original volume of New Warriors, excluding 2 regular issues and the annuals. I wasn't in a position to purchase the New Warriors when it first came out, but I am assuming they were a fairly big deal based on the all of the spin-off titles (Night Thrasher, Nova, Speedball, and I think Justice got his own too).<br />
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To be honest, I'm surprised the Warriors lasted as many issues as they did.<br />
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The team's origin was, well, pretty lame. <strike>Batman </strike>Night Thrasher wants to exact revenge against the criminal underworld for the murder of his parents, so he bullies teenage superheroes into working with him. I mean, he tosses Nova off of a building to jumpstart his powers, and says he didn't really care if Richard Rider lived or not (for a guy who's mission is motivated by the death of loved ones he sure doesn't have any concern for anybody else's feelings). I really didn't understand why the rest of the Warriors didn't kick the crap out of Thrash and turn him over to the cops. I also don't get why the angry and brooding Thrasher has a skateboard that doubles as a shield and stabbing weapon; seems kind of whimsical for a character to focused on his mission.<br />
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The team doesn't really have a real reason to exist until around #50ish, where they start trying to effect more change in the world than just reacting to super-menaces that might pop up. A superteam needs a reason for being, a mission statement if you will. The Avengers have banded together to face the menaces no single person can face, the X-Men are about equal rights, the Fantastic Four are primarily explorers, etc. The Warriors have no such reason to exist.<br />
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The series produced no memorable villains other than the Sphinx (and I suppose Hindsight Lad, if you read the Civil War tie-ins), the rest were, well, characters created in the 90's.<br />
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That being said, I love these characters, so I stuck with the reading. The banter between the team was fun. I absolutely loved the storyline about Marvel Boy/Justice and his abusive father; I've long known that he killed his father in self-defense and served time, but unlike a lot of times when I go to read the backstory on such an event this was very well done, definitely my favourite arc in the series.<br />
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<a href="http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/2/24346/657567-0.469545001227135922image_big_super.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/2/24346/657567-0.469545001227135922image_big_super.jpg" width="138" /></a>The addition of the Scarlet Spider was fun while it lasted, though it felt weird to have a veteran hero (at the time I believe Scarlet believed himself to be the real Peter) on a team of lesser-knowns like the Warriors. Full credit to the writer though, he acknowledged that and worked it into the story, with Justice feeling Scarlet wasn't respecting his leadership. It was well done.<br />
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I can't quite nail down why I have such a soft spot for these characters, but I do. Whenever the trio of Justice, Firestar, and Nova get together now it feels special, they're the Big 3 of the Warriors (despite Night Thrasher's creation of the team) and with good reason. I saw glimpses of the hero Nova would become during and after the Annihilation event, witnessed first-hand the moral conviction that makes Justice the man he is today, and absolutely loved Firestar as the team powerhouse.<br />
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It's not the best superhero comic series I've ever read by a longshot, but the seeds were certainly planted for the later evolutions of the characters and the name of the New Warriors. If you're a fan of the team it's worth checking out to see the team's origins.Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-16836589085002166392012-01-10T11:07:00.000-06:002012-01-10T11:07:53.643-06:00Batman: Arkham City = No Man's Land?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2011/11/24528a959019c802cf55bb6fe8141b52.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><a href="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2011/11/24528a959019c802cf55bb6fe8141b52.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2011/11/24528a959019c802cf55bb6fe8141b52.jpeg" width="200" /></a>Lately I've been playing Batman: Arkham City, and I have to say that it is possibly the greatest video game of all time. When it comes to my reading choices I'm more of a Marvel guy than DC, but man, Batman AC is absolutely phenomenal. I haven't completed the game yet by any stretch, I have to grab little hour or so snippets here and there when I can, but I could easily lose myself in this game for awhile.<br />
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What really makes the game so good is the story. With a character like Batman, who has been around forever and has been featured in so many forms of media, it gets harder to tell an original story. Batman AC has come up with a phenomenal story that I absolutely lose myself in. <br />
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Not only is the story good, but so is the action. I was actually disappointed when I went to confront Two-Face and his 40 thugs and 20 or so of them just ran off. The combat is so good I relish jumping down into an entire pit of punks that need a good thumping.<br />
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I do think the concept of an "Arkham City" is a bit far-fetched, I can't see any city just walling off a pretty significant chunk of real estate and chucking all the criminals in, even in crime-infested Gotham. However, I've found myself lately pretending that this is actually No Man's Land, a pretty bold story from the comics themselves.<br />
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<a href="http://noobfeed.com/app/webroot/ckfinder/userfiles/images/batmanarkhamcity2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://noobfeed.com/app/webroot/ckfinder/userfiles/images/batmanarkhamcity2.jpg" width="200" /></a>No Man's Land was a Batman event where Gotham City is cut off from the rest of the United States because an earthquake has ravaged the city beyond repair; it's basically cheaper to just wall off Gotham than to fix it. Right before the bridges were bombed and the city cut off, the inmates at Arkham and Blackage were set free. So not only do you have regular citizens who chose to stay battling against a lack of electricity, food, and shelter, you also have to deal with unprecedented gang activity and a pile of supervillains running the show. It was a pretty fantastic story.<br />
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Arkham City looks like No Man's Land pretty much to a tee. I almost wish they had gone with an adaptation of No Man's Land for the game, but the story in Arkham City has been pretty fantastic, and is, as far as I know, an original story to boot. I believe there is a comic book adaptation that I'm tempted to get, but I actually don't know if it could measure up to the game!Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-49071610205134009972012-01-06T15:45:00.000-06:002012-01-06T15:45:49.210-06:00Getting Back in the Swing of ThingsI decided to take a bit of a break over the holidays, but it's time to get back to bloggin'! I read 73 issues of New Warriors over the holidays, so I'll be sharing my thoughts on that next week!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/77/181241-165424-new-warriors_super.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/77/181241-165424-new-warriors_super.jpg" width="224" /></a></div>Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-68070518261013836732011-12-21T12:38:00.000-06:002011-12-21T12:38:41.418-06:00Should I Stay or Should I Go?Lately I've been contemplating selling off my comic book collection.<br />
<br />
It's not something I really want to do, but it is getting harder to justify continuing the hobby. The space required to store my books is one consideration (I always dread loading the comics when moving), and the cost is another. Comics are not getting cheaper, and with a new bundle of joy at home my expenses are not getting cheaper either.<br />
<br />
I love my comics. I love reading about heroes who do what is right simply because it is the thing to do. I love the creative application of superpowers, in both combat and non-combat situations. I mean, I'm just as interested in the creative application of super powers to clean the Mansion as how they would be applied to defeating Ultron. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_iheGnej2Sv8nwKe_P_yMCC0unUJ1uw2yF3znlKEZ_7zvuTLpZxcRnWIz1CEiYc593ig1HjleSa0feQ2hv29uBd_eQiVyE1YzAPja5ws5ecJhw2Uoolnlo1hh2aYXxbPRR1uSBG9L_w/s1600/Griffin+Cape+Bib.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_iheGnej2Sv8nwKe_P_yMCC0unUJ1uw2yF3znlKEZ_7zvuTLpZxcRnWIz1CEiYc593ig1HjleSa0feQ2hv29uBd_eQiVyE1YzAPja5ws5ecJhw2Uoolnlo1hh2aYXxbPRR1uSBG9L_w/s320/Griffin+Cape+Bib.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I have long dreamed of the day when I could share my love of superheroes with my son. I don't think I've bought him anything superhero related yet (other than a stash of birthday presents he'll be ready for a few years down the road) but friends and relatives keep buying him Spider-Man stuff just because of my love of comics.<br />
<br />
However, with the cost of comics these days, am I doing him a disservice by getting him into the hobby? I've spent a lot of money on comics, and the majority wasn't purchased at the current prices! To start collecting now with the prices as they are would be pretty expensive getting towards a collection as extensive as mine. And a lot of the comics I have from back in the day can be read as stand-alone issues, which isn't the case now.<br />
<br />
As I write this though, I do recall the argument I used to give to my father when he would rag on me for buying comics; "Would you rather I spend my money on reading material or on cigarettes & alcohol?". He never had much of a comeback for that one.<br />
<br />
Still, the thought of selling off my collection and getting out does have some appeal. Going digital has some appeal, if the prices were to drop; having my comics accessible on my tablet and not taking up space in the basement is pretty handy.<br />
<br />
For now I think I'll be standing pat and continue my love of comics, but I have to admit the temptation is there to get out. The idea that a long-term fan like myself (20+years) is thinking of getting out due to the current story structures and pricing should be an alarm bell to the publishers, but it doesn't seem like it's much of a consideration.Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-711860209415559122011-12-16T16:45:00.000-06:002011-12-16T16:45:17.873-06:00Today is a Great DayI just discovered a blog dedicated to the Martian Manhunter, <a href="http://idol-head.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">"The Idol-Head of Diabolu, a Martian Manhunter Blog"</a>. This is a very happy day. The Manhunter is one of my favourite characters, and is definitely my favourite DC character! <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I'll have some actual content for my own blog next week, this one has been nuts!Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-43167436666423884372011-12-15T15:47:00.002-06:002011-12-15T15:47:58.734-06:00Stupid Real LifeCrazy week, hope to have something up Friday or Saturday. Sorry True Believers!Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-39908909590221219302011-12-09T13:42:00.000-06:002011-12-09T13:42:40.994-06:00Youtube Friday - Justice League Live ActionThis was just a quick project I put together a few years ago. I took the opening theme music from Justice League, and set it to footage from the pretty-darn-awful Justice League live action pilot.<br />
<br />
<object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZgzNSL0WqoQ?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZgzNSL0WqoQ?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-68214552168273034822011-12-07T13:46:00.001-06:002011-12-07T13:47:03.597-06:00Time for a ChangeSo<a href="http://doeswhateveracomicsblogcan.blogspot.com/2011/12/state-of-longbox-address.html" target="_blank"> last week</a> I left off saying I was making some changes to my reading list, so let's continue. To recap, my pull list is currently:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">Captain America</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strike>Captain America & Bucky</strike></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strike>Thor</strike></div><div style="text-align: left;">Journey Into Mystery</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strike>Secret Avengers</strike></div><div style="text-align: left;">Alpha Flight</div><div style="text-align: left;">Avengers: Children's Crusade</div><div style="text-align: left;">Avengers Solo (slot "any solo Hawkeye books" here)</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now before I continue, I thought I should add the books that I collect in the form of trade paperbacks. I have an all-hardcover collection of all of the cosmic books going back to Annihilation, with the exception of Nova which is in softcover (as the entire run is not collected in hardcover). Even though I'm not wild about the concept, I am waiting for the collected edition of Annihilators: Earthfall.</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">I also collect Fables and Jack of Fables in trade format, though I am a little behind on Jack (which I think has ended, which I'm fine with because I've never loved the character). I will probably get the Cinderella spin-offs as well.</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">Up until the Mark Waid "relaunch" I have a full run of Daredevil going back to the Smith & Quesada "relaunch". I'm undecided if I will continue with the Waid books simply because I have a nice book-ended run right now and the collector in me likes that.</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">So what have I added? </div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/08/FOUR_TEASER4of5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/08/FOUR_TEASER4of5.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/archive/1/15/20110904135027!Future_Foundation_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/archive/1/15/20110904135027!Future_Foundation_1.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
Fantastic Four and FF.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I keep hearing about how good Hickman's run has been, and a reluctance to add more titles is what kept me away. With that being said though, I am happily jumping in now, for the following reasons:</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">- The books I've been reading have been kind of dreary, especially because of Fear Itself tie-ins (lately). I'd like a more fun, upbeat read, and the Fantastic Four fits the bill.</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">- The Fantastic Four is a book about family, and now that I'm a father myself I love the scenes with the kids even more (and I've been a fan of the family stuff for awhile)</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">- The books should be fairly self-contained. Marvel's events lately have revolved around either the Avengers or the X-Men, the FF dont' usually headline events. Hopefully that will continue going forward.</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">- The Fantastic Four actually go on adventures! I remember when the Avengers and X-Men used to do that, it's been awhile.</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hypergeek.ca/wp-content/gallery/pointoneenrollsinavengersacademy14_1/AvengersAcademy_14p1_Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.hypergeek.ca/wp-content/gallery/pointoneenrollsinavengersacademy14_1/AvengersAcademy_14p1_Cover.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">I am also very close to adding Avengers Academy to my list; I've read some issues digitally and I really like what I've been reading. The completist in me likes to go back to the beginning, and since Marvel tends to cancel every new series anyway I'm thinking of just waiting for it to be canceled and getting a full run at a discount. It sounds terrible but really, what book has Marvel launched in the past 10-15 years that made it past 30 issues?</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.comicbookcritic.net/20b8767c47b2_FF9E/x-men-schism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://www.comicbookcritic.net/20b8767c47b2_FF9E/x-men-schism.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">I also considered the X-Men, as I really like what I read in Schism. However, there are simply too many titles that tie into each other for me to get into it. If I could get the story of Cyclops' team in one book and Wolverine's in the other, I'd be okay with that, but there are I believe 8 different books, with 4 per devoted to Cyclops' side and 4 more to Wolverine's, plus whatever other X-Books there are. Too big for the kind of money comics cost these days, so I'll pass.</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">My comic book store has put together a Fantastic Four and FF run for me, all of Hickman's issues, and they're giving me a bit of a price break, so I'm looking forward to picking them up next time I'm in the city. I may be paying in installments though, that's a fair number of books! Fortunately my shop is awesome like that.</div>Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-29387179977643905812011-12-06T14:39:00.000-06:002011-12-06T14:39:39.986-06:00Avengers vs X-Men...PassSo Marvel has announced their big event for 2012, Avengers vs X-Men. From what I've read (http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=35774 and http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/story/2011-12-06/marvel-comics-avengers-x-men/51672784/1), it will be a bi-weekly 12 issue event created by a whole pile of creators.<br />
Writers - Jason Aaron, Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, & Jonathan Hickman<br />
<br />
Artists - John Romita Jr., Adam Kubert, Frank Cho, and Olivier Coipel<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjP_zxE74ypuJpX9k3S35KI57N_Pi1yJwRETxBLqqHwa9noIUEpe5ULYVUKNt0y-VMjidn8IJ8Tt1ySvb1Vty07K7Xj9YjFx5c3t75Q3J3eNsP-iMuB707_AJ7_vmxFWeTpvZHQ4bJLKs/s1600/Avengers+vs+X-Men.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjP_zxE74ypuJpX9k3S35KI57N_Pi1yJwRETxBLqqHwa9noIUEpe5ULYVUKNt0y-VMjidn8IJ8Tt1ySvb1Vty07K7Xj9YjFx5c3t75Q3J3eNsP-iMuB707_AJ7_vmxFWeTpvZHQ4bJLKs/s400/Avengers+vs+X-Men.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
From what I've read it seems like individual writers will script each issue, and each artist will be responsible for a 4 issue arc of the series. <br />
<br />
I will be passing on this event.<br />
<br />
12 issues for such an event seems really stretched out, even as a bi-weekly. And currently Marvel is doing an Avengers/X-Men crossover called X-Sanction, which I am assuming will lead into Avengers vs X-Men. So before you add any tie-ins that is a massive main event, which is funny since a couple of years ago Marvel said they were going to focus on "smaller" events, like Siege, which clocked in at 4 issues (and I hate to say it, should have been 6 to give each plot point enough room to breathe).<br />
<br />
I also am not wild about so many creators working on the book. Maintaining a cohesive story with so many hands in the pot is going to be tough. For example, Coipel and Romita Jr. couldn't have more dissimilar styles. On the writers side, maintaining a consistent voice is going to be difficult, especially with Bendis' dialogue style.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPQLeY0-4DPrtY2eY4Vn0CsaOWhubXnSiRLI3fV4-LvNmas6G7zdNknClbSUJTk4bdqhzzxOMWFOMzGoKqaTSBEmLOTVL0q9Xe8joG_B8A9Ac0TDThMQrapLtCFR2VGRlaNViOYeDZs4/s1600/Avenger+vs+X-Men+Original+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPQLeY0-4DPrtY2eY4Vn0CsaOWhubXnSiRLI3fV4-LvNmas6G7zdNknClbSUJTk4bdqhzzxOMWFOMzGoKqaTSBEmLOTVL0q9Xe8joG_B8A9Ac0TDThMQrapLtCFR2VGRlaNViOYeDZs4/s320/Avenger+vs+X-Men+Original+1.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br />
It really is too bad, because there is some potential for some good stuff here. Seeing how the Beast, Wolverine, and other X-Avengers react to being put in the middle could be good stuff. I'm a fan of the old Avengers vs X-Men mini-series that saw Magneto tried for crimes against humanity, but it was a much more reasonable 4 issues (that will probably hav more story content than all 12 here).<br />
<br />
I skipped Fear Itself because of event fatigue, and now Marvel is launching a 12 parter that will get its start in another crossover (again, my assumption, not confirmed), I will definitely not be adding this to my pull list. <br />
<br />
Fortunately most of the titles I read should be immune from this crossover, or at least I can hope.Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-12495616607257817072011-12-06T10:57:00.002-06:002011-12-06T10:58:13.652-06:00Every Neighborhood Needs a Friendly Spider-ManNot much time today to work on the blog, so I'll leave you with my son and one of his favourite toys (which is actually mine but I'm okay with him having it), the Itsy Bitsy Spider-Man.<br />
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<object width="560" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qEkgp7bwwo8?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qEkgp7bwwo8?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-7412793800126697062011-12-02T10:16:00.003-06:002011-12-02T10:22:05.556-06:00State of the Longbox AddressI've been feeling for a little while that the crop of books I'm buying is getting a little stale. Here is my pull list:<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">Captain America</div><div style="text-align: left;">Captain America & Bucky</div><div style="text-align: left;">Thor</div><div style="text-align: left;">Journey Into Mystery</div><div style="text-align: left;">Secret Avengers</div><div style="text-align: left;">Alpha Flight</div><div style="text-align: left;">Avengers: Children's Crusade</div><div style="text-align: left;">Avengers Solo (slot "any solo Hawkeye books" here)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
I've found that some books just haven't been getting me very excited lately, and it was time for a change.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgpPtpRSb8Nch3npBa7T3DKHLkrX51bHsoNNdPcqaLnMgY0rW3bgF_LWd1tXKjp58O7dSUSHypvN2HLThfa7NNXp3GR2vmWWT1fCtvsIeIbZK5Y1ZkxFLrJT1qLZkQQC9Ns447gBTr-is/s1600/Captain+America+%2526+Bucky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgpPtpRSb8Nch3npBa7T3DKHLkrX51bHsoNNdPcqaLnMgY0rW3bgF_LWd1tXKjp58O7dSUSHypvN2HLThfa7NNXp3GR2vmWWT1fCtvsIeIbZK5Y1ZkxFLrJT1qLZkQQC9Ns447gBTr-is/s200/Captain+America+%2526+Bucky.jpg" width="186" /></a></div>I think Ed Brubaker does a spectacular job with Captain America, but I'm getting kind of bored with all the WWII/Cold War stuff in the title. Going to the well here and there is great, but it gets a little old after awhile, and Brubaker has been on the book for quite awhile now (a great accomplishment in this day and age). That theme doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon, since he will be launching a Winter Soldier ongoing (provided Marvel doesn't cut the feet out from under it before it launches) in 2012.<br />
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I was tempted to get the Winter Soldier seres, to have a complete collection of Brubaker's work in the Captain America universe, plus he will be re-teaming with Butch Guice, but as I said, I'm burnt out on the old war story stuff. Therefore, I made the decision to axe Captain America & Bucky from my list, and will not be getting the Winter Soldier series.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiam7y9-D_QQNet9WIeiIdFcRw1mR-eE5P2ZU6bBgPxrff6vOhRv2X8W7NTfk-0kSOPONV9RaBVwsohSqvbFU9BQoRRj7c0cLOjg7Tq1fZF3vWVmIU2_rrD7pfqUP7rN_Rz-O-34oU4cVg/s1600/Thor+-+Pascal+Ferry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiam7y9-D_QQNet9WIeiIdFcRw1mR-eE5P2ZU6bBgPxrff6vOhRv2X8W7NTfk-0kSOPONV9RaBVwsohSqvbFU9BQoRRj7c0cLOjg7Tq1fZF3vWVmIU2_rrD7pfqUP7rN_Rz-O-34oU4cVg/s200/Thor+-+Pascal+Ferry.jpg" width="126" /></a></div>Thor has been a disappointment for me ever since Matt Fraction took over the title. I feel he has ignored recent continuity, as established by J. Michael Stracynski and Kieron Gillen, and that really makes it hard to enjoy the book as an ongoing series. I feel that the dialogue is terrible, as Fraction cannot decide if Thor is eloquent or a brute, and the rest of the characters aren't much better. Fraction is good at starting things at a slow boil, but his conclusions leave a lot to be desired. With the price of comics today it is really hard to justify buying the book, even though I have a complete run going back to Volume 2 (and we're on the equivalent of Volume 4 right now). <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV5AYjj9qASKaXPHGoQrhBxhPc1XHpxFx6D2yN955Lg7yyGuWn2H6Kb7Jnd9A_USJo_lh_9xc2lI2fHxxIR-jPNrckJuAiygj0jwxd0hF7BQjFi20eHo4okY5yoPQYSlaL3ehyphenhyphenmO4Jqys/s1600/Secret+Avengers+-+Mike+Deodato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV5AYjj9qASKaXPHGoQrhBxhPc1XHpxFx6D2yN955Lg7yyGuWn2H6Kb7Jnd9A_USJo_lh_9xc2lI2fHxxIR-jPNrckJuAiygj0jwxd0hF7BQjFi20eHo4okY5yoPQYSlaL3ehyphenhyphenmO4Jqys/s200/Secret+Avengers+-+Mike+Deodato.jpg" width="162" /></a></div>Secret Avengers was a book I was really excited for. I don't care for Bendis' Avengers, and Brubaker picked a really great line-up for the book; Steve Rogers, Sharon Carter, Ant-Man (Eric O'Grady), War Machine, Valkyrie, Beast, Moon Knight, and Nova. This was a great blend of characters I thought would play well off of each other, but unfortunately the book under Brubaker always felts like "Steve Rogers and friends", not a true team book. I gave the Warren Ellis issues a try but they haven't really seemed to be going anywhere, and I have no great emotional attachment to the series (as I do Thor) since it never quite achieved its potential to my mind, so cutting it off is just the way to go.<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
So now we are at:</div><div style="text-align: left;">Captain America</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strike>Captain America & Bucky</strike></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strike>Thor</strike></div><div style="text-align: left;">Journey Into Mystery</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strike>Secret Avengers</strike></div><div style="text-align: left;">Alpha Flight</div><div style="text-align: left;">Avengers: Children's Crusade</div><div style="text-align: left;">Avengers Solo (slot "any solo Hawkeye books" here)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVa8YQ5CnUU27dwyb5ZPoWu1a0HgrwPucz7ahliHNnLnQznMP0zwhRuFZp36U_Y5kzdPyYI-amlWwfqDrC-P1Z3bN_2wFsm6jFspy7u36qfvNEVvrNApQfTSV2mgzDeZe9wgcRKXSVFsM/s1600/Journey+Into+Mystery+_622+cover+by+Stephanie+Hans.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVa8YQ5CnUU27dwyb5ZPoWu1a0HgrwPucz7ahliHNnLnQznMP0zwhRuFZp36U_Y5kzdPyYI-amlWwfqDrC-P1Z3bN_2wFsm6jFspy7u36qfvNEVvrNApQfTSV2mgzDeZe9wgcRKXSVFsM/s200/Journey+Into+Mystery+_622+cover+by+Stephanie+Hans.jpeg" width="131" /></a></div>Of the remaining books, Journey Into Mystery is a real treat. I feel that Kieron Gillen has a grasp of Thor and the world of Asgard second only to the great Walt Simonson himself. Gillen's fill-in work on the Thor title, before Fraction took over, was spectacular. I firmly believe that he should be the writer of the main Thor book; I would be back in a flash if that were to happen.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uyWoY6zxIV3vpMHtzjTQVXnVQUyCMLjrixJY5pWqpTJ2hMZkvB9GWDS3K0qMQl_I6Cy2JkoJGKLVpexkp1AUE_V99Ttmt8zdprpdm4lsgAtTp0l_FU-h2LQCE76C9LXRCIlspLs_rK4/s1600/Captain+America+6+-+Alan+Davis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uyWoY6zxIV3vpMHtzjTQVXnVQUyCMLjrixJY5pWqpTJ2hMZkvB9GWDS3K0qMQl_I6Cy2JkoJGKLVpexkp1AUE_V99Ttmt8zdprpdm4lsgAtTp0l_FU-h2LQCE76C9LXRCIlspLs_rK4/s200/Captain+America+6+-+Alan+Davis.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>Even though I am tired of the World War II inspired stories in Captain America, Alan Davis is coming on board as the artist starting with #6, and anyone who follows this blog know <a href="http://doeswhateveracomicsblogcan.blogspot.com/2011/09/awesomeness-of-alan-davis.html" target="_blank">how much I love Alan Davis.</a> Therefore Captain America's main book will be spared the chopping block.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-0edN-5gFAsxQw4E5CO8SxdpyzmrLStVVmfnRiORuzFUvu52zHHsdN-rA7SuJCo8YFkd8fEOPw4hzLvpnQC_K1FgjEnfLyrofrVmdLnYFP8y85ri9C3ikJ2yCysR0WEL7jPZGpdi1J8/s1600/Alpha-Flight-FI-Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-0edN-5gFAsxQw4E5CO8SxdpyzmrLStVVmfnRiORuzFUvu52zHHsdN-rA7SuJCo8YFkd8fEOPw4hzLvpnQC_K1FgjEnfLyrofrVmdLnYFP8y85ri9C3ikJ2yCysR0WEL7jPZGpdi1J8/s200/Alpha-Flight-FI-Cover.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>I absolutely love Alpha Flight, and I have every issue of their various on-goings and mini-series ever produced, and am working on getting their notable appearances in other titles (I am a proud owner of their first full appearance thanks to a trade with Tom Breevort, in Uncanny X-Men #121). I was very sad that Marvel toyed with my emotions by announcing the mini-series by Pak and Eaglesham would be made into an ongoing (yay!), then they later announced it was reduced back to a mini (boo!). While I haven't completely fallen in love with the current story, I think it was going to establish a good base to go forward with.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbA2rVZYQ9RcHTFbCCEG58skJ94Awnx_DzVTmzCRrtcFRKGu6yGUWAbvBQtvT7tzf1bIqCAmo3VvGhYplDk2XtN92jfi0vdmOHQKyzX8iR-Yj7P_oMcJltoq9LFf7XC9PmXgTfOodF4Eo/s1600/Avengers+Children%2527s+Crusade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbA2rVZYQ9RcHTFbCCEG58skJ94Awnx_DzVTmzCRrtcFRKGu6yGUWAbvBQtvT7tzf1bIqCAmo3VvGhYplDk2XtN92jfi0vdmOHQKyzX8iR-Yj7P_oMcJltoq9LFf7XC9PmXgTfOodF4Eo/s200/Avengers+Children%2527s+Crusade.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Avengers: Children's Crusade has been alright, though I'm starting to find Young Avengers books to be a little formulaic; kids confront a problem, Avengers tell them to stay out of it, kids defy Avengers. And if there is an in-story reason why these kids aren't a apart of Avengers Academy I'd love to hear it; I assume the in-story is that the Children's Crusade book couldn't even keep to a bi-monthly schedule, makes it hard to include them in other books. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3i1d0XVcriiK6K9L7192iKC_UUzhiqNW6BRYSBX3T7GhEKFbHyHG-F3rHjBZzrVALqUYb6qTP3F0pcluxxV8jt4akHJqtfvQfKfU0GmW1oiE-TqvRbDdEuyaOtA_Fxrxb_1JfVnsDdCE/s1600/Avengers+Solo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3i1d0XVcriiK6K9L7192iKC_UUzhiqNW6BRYSBX3T7GhEKFbHyHG-F3rHjBZzrVALqUYb6qTP3F0pcluxxV8jt4akHJqtfvQfKfU0GmW1oiE-TqvRbDdEuyaOtA_Fxrxb_1JfVnsDdCE/s200/Avengers+Solo.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>Avengers Solo #1 was okay, though I wasn't blown away. I think I need to re-read it, as part of the problem may be that it was a fairly dense read, and I'm not as used to that as I used to be, with the way comics are currently written. I will still collect the whole mini-series though.<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">So with all that being said, I felt it was time for a bit of a change. What books have I added to the mix and why? Stay tuned for "Time For a Change", same Blog Time, same Blog Channel!</div>Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-67799308323224482212011-11-30T10:55:00.000-06:002011-11-30T10:55:00.560-06:00Is He Worthy...in PicturesBlogger was being a total dink yesterday and I could not get all of the images I assembled into the post without completely mangling the text, so here they are in all their glory!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihHG5KXxd8aQctCrnzYaKv1D99qqp7X7Uz2Ur0ymXC5ENwMfVau2gh21Q8xHap-BvAgx9JBeDFYnk4jhCe484uOeSkaRPn38NRxTvmphqtkRhHbWDVh64oFE-HYvMf93e4gweqzjUF5Dk/s1600/Spider-Thor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihHG5KXxd8aQctCrnzYaKv1D99qqp7X7Uz2Ur0ymXC5ENwMfVau2gh21Q8xHap-BvAgx9JBeDFYnk4jhCe484uOeSkaRPn38NRxTvmphqtkRhHbWDVh64oFE-HYvMf93e4gweqzjUF5Dk/s320/Spider-Thor.jpg" width="304" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm58ioeFwrSva-UrF53MhihdKMWoxhbkSE6YIWzMUT_Mx7NxGjYT373NgYihleNs7P7-5gGx9z09p6mrOQR-ZfpaflAh2Ch6ouAqIA6fdekESZiVyf8Na3s1AHXPr64dGDIYDUT3qgqho/s1600/Thing+Mjolnir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm58ioeFwrSva-UrF53MhihdKMWoxhbkSE6YIWzMUT_Mx7NxGjYT373NgYihleNs7P7-5gGx9z09p6mrOQR-ZfpaflAh2Ch6ouAqIA6fdekESZiVyf8Na3s1AHXPr64dGDIYDUT3qgqho/s320/Thing+Mjolnir.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkkz7agcWOh6L4MrgpPEBN1O2dtbQ7_mXgNUmUJxpj7jbjMfySwZgnJTatlQG18JW8gdTAhrgkib8cRqwe2r7nxSSnNT8oUGy7aoftmqzBgGEsOz948SrDqjXZ-ShUw74TmE8DVx3Hsbw/s1600/Captain+America+Mjolnir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkkz7agcWOh6L4MrgpPEBN1O2dtbQ7_mXgNUmUJxpj7jbjMfySwZgnJTatlQG18JW8gdTAhrgkib8cRqwe2r7nxSSnNT8oUGy7aoftmqzBgGEsOz948SrDqjXZ-ShUw74TmE8DVx3Hsbw/s320/Captain+America+Mjolnir.jpg" width="197" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSNvHZmL6C-z9ShNHmmaDMinf23IZoRgLUHuxRCPyOLRPRiwN7Hd6diG9TQGCvk5S0wg_aeh82nTckvbjURPHTj1bHCXayJW9Q3NClQ14lcPG1Ozk3g9Bl8F5eczyj0yQMJrZW_7ZJ3_8/s1600/Superman+Mjolnir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSNvHZmL6C-z9ShNHmmaDMinf23IZoRgLUHuxRCPyOLRPRiwN7Hd6diG9TQGCvk5S0wg_aeh82nTckvbjURPHTj1bHCXayJW9Q3NClQ14lcPG1Ozk3g9Bl8F5eczyj0yQMJrZW_7ZJ3_8/s320/Superman+Mjolnir.jpg" width="222" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKWRA4RCqUHTT5lV-Cr3aURdSVd7911BqSvfkAxXLmyfJXby_LpMwvGvI8KZ46yDO3aZ2tLae28t1axNxfljl6OFEkMQC2cFyEHCu1Whdkx6XxSztqGff7Y1bfJYr0Co_PdukHpwYQQHw/s1600/Wonder+Woman+Mjolnir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKWRA4RCqUHTT5lV-Cr3aURdSVd7911BqSvfkAxXLmyfJXby_LpMwvGvI8KZ46yDO3aZ2tLae28t1axNxfljl6OFEkMQC2cFyEHCu1Whdkx6XxSztqGff7Y1bfJYr0Co_PdukHpwYQQHw/s320/Wonder+Woman+Mjolnir.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-4920208462663679712011-11-29T10:55:00.000-06:002011-11-29T10:55:09.733-06:00If He Be Worthy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJC8l0KhvfRfqm9woN6gVJcZrOJPyySRfkF4ywSisfG9HWr2WrXoFrABvcljR4kKRNXf5YfKzuOrfZals1GZ_A1qIi_EaEttTfE9_HzJLuQD_sdZ8kZDC_4aClnxJ7mTlDJl8f9KcLCeo/s1600/Mjolnir+No+Lift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJC8l0KhvfRfqm9woN6gVJcZrOJPyySRfkF4ywSisfG9HWr2WrXoFrABvcljR4kKRNXf5YfKzuOrfZals1GZ_A1qIi_EaEttTfE9_HzJLuQD_sdZ8kZDC_4aClnxJ7mTlDJl8f9KcLCeo/s320/Mjolnir+No+Lift.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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I'm fairly certain anyone reading this blog is familiar with the stipulations attached to wielding Mjolnir, but just to cover the bases here is how it works.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpq8GkrwIwo33D3kR1-F5Cm793lLXjvE4qmEZd_WA3KpMCKvX35naVD7MkyUJnmCWF0Qh2Q582iYFjNY2CqWbNNiEvZY2xUo4mTFhjE7tzFu1wVFyhZmUQlVL7dRmUr8g-omXBTGTMwt4/s1600/Mjolnir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpq8GkrwIwo33D3kR1-F5Cm793lLXjvE4qmEZd_WA3KpMCKvX35naVD7MkyUJnmCWF0Qh2Q582iYFjNY2CqWbNNiEvZY2xUo4mTFhjE7tzFu1wVFyhZmUQlVL7dRmUr8g-omXBTGTMwt4/s200/Mjolnir.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
Fans love to debate exactly what constitutes "worthiness" of the hammer, and who can lift it. The following is a post I made at the <a href="http://www.comicboards.com/thor" target="_blank">Thor Message Board</a> on the subject, though I've had to adjust it a little after the events of Fear Itself. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In general, I think we can all agree that to be worthy of Mjolnir you have to have a heroic nature. Self-sacrifice, honour, desire to help others, that is all a part of the package. Describes a lot of heroes though, doesn't it? <br />
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Spider-Man is certainly self-sacrificing, arguably even moreso than Thor. He lives by the adage "with great power comes great responsibility", and Mjolnir is obviously a great power. However, Spider-Man is more motivated by guilt than a purely altruistic nature, and I think that is what takes him out of the running to lift the hammer.<br />
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If there is one character around who I personally think would be worthy, it's Ben Grimm. Ben is a hero's hero, sacrificing his own happiness to turn back into the Thing when others need him. He has dedicated his life to helping others as a member of the Fantastic Four. His never-say-die attitude is legendary (eg. his battle with the Champion). So why isn't Ben worthy? Quite recently we saw him try to lift the hammer and fail. I think the reason is Ben's own self-loathing and insecurity about his appearance. He doesn't have the self-confidence/esteem needed to wield Mjolnir.<br />
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This brings me to Captain America. Cap certainly embodies everything discussed thus far, without the guilt or self-loathing to weigh him down. Confidence is certainly something he doesn't lack. Cap has lifted the hammer on two occassions now, and it is worth noting that both times he has not undergone a transformation into a Thor-like being. My feeling here is that while Cap had need of the power, he has never intended to take it from Thor, rather he has borrowed it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This leads me to the conclusion that to lift Mjolnir, you must have need of it. Beta Ray Bill certainly had a need, as his world's champion against Surtur and his hordes. Superman managed to use it once, and that was when the entire DC and Marvel universes were at stake. When there was no longer a need, even though he was just trying to return it to Thor (in far less perilous circumstances than when Steve did the same), Superman could not lift it.<br />
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Which ultimately leads us to why isn't Superman worthy. Again, this comes down to need. Superman doesn't need the power of Thor, he is just as powerful on his own. He exemplifies many of the same characteristics as Thor, but since he has no need of the power of Thor, he cannot lift the hammer either.<br />
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And before anyone asks about Wonder Woman, as far as I know the only Marvel/DC crossover that is actually in continuity is JLA/Avengers. That being said, you could argue that Wonder Woman was fighting for her entire universe, and since she lost to Storm (due to fan voting) she obviously could have used the power boost.</div>Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-70698007076776631312011-11-24T13:04:00.000-06:002011-11-24T13:04:55.886-06:00More Digital MusingsI've been reading, and researching, more on digital comics over the last few days, and while I still like my idea of a digital download code being standard with the print version of the comic, I have to wonder how the Netflix model would work with comics.<br />
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For anyone unfamiliar, Netflix charges you $8/month and lets you then stream as much of their content as you like. They rotate through what is available and what isn't, but I've seen a fair amount that interests me and I just signed up for a free trial last week.<br />
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<a href="http://www.rarecomicfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/digitalcomics/marvel-digital-comics-300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="http://www.rarecomicfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/digitalcomics/marvel-digital-comics-300.jpg" width="200" /></a>So could a NetComics fly? Marvel does, or did, I'm not sure, have their own digital subscription service that let you pay a monthly fee to read their digital content, but I've always felt that initiative suffered due to the rather random assortment of books available. When it comes to the older books, don't put up a random smattering of titles, at least do it by story arcs. The titles available were pretty random, without much rhyme or reason to which books were available. I'd rather see more complete listings rotated on a monthly basis than random books here and there.<br />
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I'd like to be able to use an app like Comixology to pay a monthly fee, and I can read as much or as little of what is available as I want. Give me an option to pay to download the comic to my hard drive, or to order a print copy. This way readers can sample a wider variety of titles than they might normally and could lead them to purchasing more titles.<br />
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I love my print comics, but I am really enjoying reading digital comics on my tablet as well, but the current digital model exactly having me rushing to purchase digital comics.Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-80226098368962221982011-11-22T10:30:00.000-06:002011-11-22T10:30:42.550-06:00When the Preview is the Best PartI admit, I got burned on a recent Marvel purchase.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">*X-23 #17 Spoilers!*</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrA96z5jVSi0INunXb4YZPDBOwtsvC4Drd8KDK6JLkHsYa2R4p-NWPiUypke7np2FYf6V4zwjOTOtvLgat34GwxK6_jWt4mY_pBG0PlDjH8K6eMHNaDn6yW4CbMY68LfV_xjGwVO1pYp8/s1600/X-23+17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrA96z5jVSi0INunXb4YZPDBOwtsvC4Drd8KDK6JLkHsYa2R4p-NWPiUypke7np2FYf6V4zwjOTOtvLgat34GwxK6_jWt4mY_pBG0PlDjH8K6eMHNaDn6yW4CbMY68LfV_xjGwVO1pYp8/s320/X-23+17.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I saw the preview for this comic and it looked like a lot of fun, so I thought I'd get purchase the digital copy to read on my <a href="http://doeswhateveracomicsblogcan.blogspot.com/2011/11/asus-and-digitalcomics.html" target="_blank">tablet</a>. Something I think a lot of comics miss these days is the fun factor, and from this preview page alone made me think this issue would be a lot of fun.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqs-xWE7_-TozAFGJ0dqiMwzoqe5YCNokZxJgFo92qYvlUcOPMwfhYVRJj_RPi8Lm514qcJPylrNoyuZyt7EOesVDR8oweTk62PtdZOHIsSWj_1f9PkcHPghxrne-mXrZ3Rzk-V9bJ5pc/s1600/x232010017intlr-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqs-xWE7_-TozAFGJ0dqiMwzoqe5YCNokZxJgFo92qYvlUcOPMwfhYVRJj_RPi8Lm514qcJPylrNoyuZyt7EOesVDR8oweTk62PtdZOHIsSWj_1f9PkcHPghxrne-mXrZ3Rzk-V9bJ5pc/s320/x232010017intlr-4.jpg" width="210" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full preview can be found at<br />
<a href="http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/11/14/x-23-adventures-babysitting-preview/">http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/11/14/x-23-adventures-babysitting-preview/</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
That last panel alone lead me to think this would be great fun, so I downloaded it. Now to be clear, the previewed pages <em>are</em> a lot of fun! X-23 is an assassin trying to learn how to live like a normal girl, and babysitting is a pretty common activity for young girls (and boys; my first job was a three times a week babysitting gig). Throw in the shenanigans kids can get into, then amplify that by the setting of the Baxter Building, and we're in for a fun ride.<br />
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The problem is, the preview pages were by far the best part of the issue. I made the assumption the preview pages were the opening pages of the book, and I would therefore be treated to 20-22 pages of babysitting adventure. In actuality, the preview pages didn't show up until the middle of the book, after dealing with some Schism housekeeping details that I'm not terribly interested in.<br />
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The book ends with the kids and X-23 off on a madcap adventure, but I had hoped I was getting a one-and-done when I bought the book. I'm going to have to research if #18 wraps everything up or if this will be a 4 part arc, because I'm not willing to shell out full price on a digital run of a comic; the odd issue here or there is okay, but not on a regular basis.<br />
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The issue is a fun one; if I hadn't of already read the preview pages I would have liked it more. The art is good, the story is good, the dialogue is good, it's not a bad issue at all. It's just too bad that the best part of the issue was in the preview pages (or too bad I bought the book not knowing I'd already read the best pages!).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-84660594019057091732011-11-18T12:57:00.002-06:002011-11-18T13:00:46.752-06:00All Ages Does Not Mean "For Kids Only"One of the criticisms levied against the DC <strike>Heroes Reborn</strike> New 52 was that the content in some of the books is too adult (the biggest examples being <a href="http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/09/22/starfire-catwoman-sex-superheroine/" target="_blank">Starfire in Red Hood & the Outlaws and Catwoman in her own mag</a>), and not all-ages friendly. The response from some readers was that comics aren't necessarily for kids.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcp9Khg1JKD8ibufD-TKls0LUC2sHxXfnyADxQR7v1WXfR2D87qYHQcTWbrSpFf2y-_Km9ZN7K63y0i0PzI9EN42osbHZDPbtRrqcdLegq2HqWfn73lo2a4wR-iPM7uvnaE56xRWiRDs/s1600/Rorschach.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcp9Khg1JKD8ibufD-TKls0LUC2sHxXfnyADxQR7v1WXfR2D87qYHQcTWbrSpFf2y-_Km9ZN7K63y0i0PzI9EN42osbHZDPbtRrqcdLegq2HqWfn73lo2a4wR-iPM7uvnaE56xRWiRDs/s1600/Rorschach.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcp9Khg1JKD8ibufD-TKls0LUC2sHxXfnyADxQR7v1WXfR2D87qYHQcTWbrSpFf2y-_Km9ZN7K63y0i0PzI9EN42osbHZDPbtRrqcdLegq2HqWfn73lo2a4wR-iPM7uvnaE56xRWiRDs/s200/Rorschach.png" width="200" /></a><br />
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Now, I certainly think there is a place for more adult story-telling in the comic book medium; I'm not going to give an 8 year old Batman: The Killing Joke or the Watchmen to read. But I do feel that there is a distinctive difference between books suitable for all ages and those intended only for kids.<br />
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A good all ages story has elements that kids can enjoy, that adults can enjoy, and that everybody can enjoy. If you want to look outside of comics, Pixar's movies are a perfect example. The movies are marketed to kids, but adults enjoy them just as much or more.<br />
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Comic books, at least the mainstream Marvel and DC books, all used to be all ages! Stan Lee made a point of not writing down to his readers, instead he did his very best to challenge the reader to keep up! As a kid I always did well in subjects like language arts and spelling, and was told that I had a very large vocabulary. I attribute that directly to my love of comics, because I was exposed to these big words and concepts that prose books aimed at my age level could give me. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidN4a0-30u_Bghf5UgLZg8ElNYgVUSw8lwlBqyiEkQ4QDU-jsuH5F4vKMYqhp7sfC64jhzAng8qiaYZ2IDUNO6eZZNc18gvQ3_P_Kfwt1hw6h3CjCA-eIdZeqb2vXIsBzoOclPtQw8dJo/s1600/Spiderman_2_film_poster_peter_parker_tobey_maguire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidN4a0-30u_Bghf5UgLZg8ElNYgVUSw8lwlBqyiEkQ4QDU-jsuH5F4vKMYqhp7sfC64jhzAng8qiaYZ2IDUNO6eZZNc18gvQ3_P_Kfwt1hw6h3CjCA-eIdZeqb2vXIsBzoOclPtQw8dJo/s200/Spiderman_2_film_poster_peter_parker_tobey_maguire.jpg" width="153" /></a><br />
I look at my progression with Spider-Man as a good example of how stories can cater to all ages. As a kid, I was drawn to Spider-Man. He was brightly-coloured, funny, had awesome powers, and fought cool supervillains. In Grade 3 I tried my hand at my own Spider-Man comic, which was painfully brutal (but my Mom saved all the same, I wonder if she still has it...); the story featured Spider-Man foiling Electro from robbing a bank. <br />
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Here is the important part of that comic I tried to make; Peter Parker wasn't in it, it was all about Spider-Man.<br />
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As I grew older, I came to care about Peter Parker, the man behind the mask, more and more. I'm at the point now that I'm far more interested in Peter than Spidey; when I came out of Spider-Man 2 in the theatre, I commented that the movie was so good I didn't even care if he ever put on the Spider-Man costume. The life of Peter Parker was far more interesting.<br />
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Thus Spider-Man, for a very long time, was an all ages book. Kids might focus on the cool powers while adults (who still appreciate the powers and the fights, don't get me wrong) catch more of the nuances of the plot.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyFUOybW1X12VhQd_fpNTcXkCS4K0muzGVL4tpihBdCFkxI5_fAuxWmDJxDi3xc_tUjnu1CvLLJ_DUti9ySP94K8adHU-BU-YM0-plfHMpPav-F-wPA8t-HMuXa3qdQGH8zZ-5VE-7P7A/s1600/calvin-on-global-warming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyFUOybW1X12VhQd_fpNTcXkCS4K0muzGVL4tpihBdCFkxI5_fAuxWmDJxDi3xc_tUjnu1CvLLJ_DUti9ySP94K8adHU-BU-YM0-plfHMpPav-F-wPA8t-HMuXa3qdQGH8zZ-5VE-7P7A/s1600/calvin-on-global-warming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyFUOybW1X12VhQd_fpNTcXkCS4K0muzGVL4tpihBdCFkxI5_fAuxWmDJxDi3xc_tUjnu1CvLLJ_DUti9ySP94K8adHU-BU-YM0-plfHMpPav-F-wPA8t-HMuXa3qdQGH8zZ-5VE-7P7A/s320/calvin-on-global-warming.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
It takes real skill to do a good all ages book. The best example I can think of, in any medium, of all-ages writing is Calvin & Hobbes, by Bill Waterson. Kids love the strip, and adults love it just as much or more. <br />
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It's easy to throw in some T&A and make verything dark and gritty to make a book "adult" and "edgy". It's far harder to craft a story that everyone can enjoy, and it's a shame that more Marvel and DC titles aren't even making the attempt.<br />
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The other night my son was crying in the car, so after awhile I pulled out my <a href="http://doeswhateveracomicsblogcan.blogspot.com/2011/11/asus-and-digitalcomics.html" target="_blank">tablet</a> to read him a story. Unfortunately I discovered the storybooks I thought I'd downloaded needed an Internet connection, so I got the idea to read him a comic. I had downloaded some free comics from Marvel and DC's Comixology pages, and I figured I could just adapt the story to the pictures as we went; he's only 7 months old, he's not going to know the difference!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8XCHCCMKpdX4FBr-0RKtBAu-qdaUrcZOCSRQFW_2SQ-fZ9bRPQRX0RYIxaletxIYzPyOzKGdIMdCus48RqF1NVj7-Q6ifQ0nv2NWbWXmeSLa6baAW62BK9CiqugyuGcsOBR6uprrN0iM/s1600/Billy-batson-magic-of-shazam-no1-2008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8XCHCCMKpdX4FBr-0RKtBAu-qdaUrcZOCSRQFW_2SQ-fZ9bRPQRX0RYIxaletxIYzPyOzKGdIMdCus48RqF1NVj7-Q6ifQ0nv2NWbWXmeSLa6baAW62BK9CiqugyuGcsOBR6uprrN0iM/s200/Billy-batson-magic-of-shazam-no1-2008.jpg" width="130" /></a>I chose "Billy Batson & The Power of Shazam", and let me say, I enjoyed the story more than my son did! Reading about a kid with the power of Superman, and how he uses it, was a wonderously fun adventure. The little touches like Billy transforming into Captain Marvel and then putting on civilian clothes to go to Parent Teacher interviews as his own father, that's exactly what a kid would do if they had the power to do so! I think the rest of the series is only $.99 an issue for the remaining 5 so I am going to be picking this up next time I am on Wifi.<br />
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All ages does not mean just for kids, there are lots of great stories out there without blood, guts, and women in thongs.</div>Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635646233193817018.post-73933962432030322222011-11-16T15:19:00.000-06:002011-11-16T15:19:42.065-06:00Asus and DigitalComics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifwt208Md7NGEXYv-vwmiwaOnKkvmD9Dnqlh341FrStsDLsfKqDyc3TKQEEgWLVNIxAsjF7KsXdNRE4gWVDNmprbEYijn2ck7_uL_E6gHbk-bJGo7XkQEX7Cjo1Hc7LIe2lRDb2XuXKWs/s1600/Asus-Eee-Pad-Transformer-TF101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifwt208Md7NGEXYv-vwmiwaOnKkvmD9Dnqlh341FrStsDLsfKqDyc3TKQEEgWLVNIxAsjF7KsXdNRE4gWVDNmprbEYijn2ck7_uL_E6gHbk-bJGo7XkQEX7Cjo1Hc7LIe2lRDb2XuXKWs/s200/Asus-Eee-Pad-Transformer-TF101.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Recently for my birthday (and Christmas) my wife got me a tablet. I have been wanting a tablet for quite some time, but she's always told me that I couldn't get one, which of course didn't stop me from doing a lot of research on the cheapies out there. Anyway, she surprised me with an Asus EEE Transformer, with the help of my buddy who owns a computer store, and I absolutely love it.<br />
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One of the primary reasons I wanted a tablet was to read digital comics. I love my hard copies and don't intend to stop collecting them, but I have all these Git Corp collections that I want to read, and I hate reading digital comics at my computer desk. I want to relax on the couch or lounge in bed, like I do with a physical comic. I was looking into cheapie tablets for this purpose, and was about to launch into serious research on the Amazon Kind Fire before I got my Asus.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4b7mU3XNDnOe_4jcv3-XayA6ah43cwnTima-VqVo1WDqvN3leHV2ynCRa7YY_QVgh0T4V53FHyxu7FPZ2nPSkSGdRSpyt5ZAJZQdq12T8pJgY8QjfG5k54yQmk9K3NoWhttmZPsecAE/s1600/avengers+git+corp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4b7mU3XNDnOe_4jcv3-XayA6ah43cwnTima-VqVo1WDqvN3leHV2ynCRa7YY_QVgh0T4V53FHyxu7FPZ2nPSkSGdRSpyt5ZAJZQdq12T8pJgY8QjfG5k54yQmk9K3NoWhttmZPsecAE/s200/avengers+git+corp.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Fortunately for me, my Asus is good for a lot more than just reading comics. However, if reading comics will be a priority if you get a tablet, the 10.1 inch model is perfect perusing your favourite titles. The dimensions of the screen are better suited to a comic than an iPad, as a page fits perfectly on the screen. When I get to a two-page spread, I just tilt the screen and everything fits. While there is a zoom option I find that I don't really need it, I can read everything quite easily.<br />
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Now if only somebody would create an App that would let me play VS system on my tablet...a touch screen computer for a card game would be pretty darn awesome.Jay Boazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13078117121038031010noreply@blogger.com3