23 posts tagged “broken frontier”

Ombudsman,-header

Yeah, I know I just made two other posts. But this one is going to be a catch all for all the other, smaller new items I want to rant about. It could be a long one. And all over the place.

ITEM!!! I will be attending the New York Comic Con: I know, I know. I have been critical of the NYCC in the past. But it is practically in my back yard and it is quickly becoming a place where my comic loving friends from NEPA and I can meet up.

I will only be going on Friday, however, for those of you who will accept that as a protest. A wedding and Kids in the Hall tickets interfere with me making a weekend out of it.

They are making changes to some of the issues I had with the convention. Not necessarily the changes I think they should make, but at least they are addressing the problems. When I got my ticket, the letter, instead of saying I could proceed directly to the show floor like last year's did, at least alerts me that there will be a line. Why there needs to be a line is beyond me, but at least now I know. Not that knowing does me any good, because I can't get there early, like they recommend, because I have class that day. Of course, if I had a VIP badge, which costs $400, I could get directly in. This is quite a bit more expensive than Wizard's baseline VIP package, and you get far less swag for it.

They also addressed the issue of not everybody getting a chance at an autograph with their special guests (last year, all the ticket were handed out a good 8 hours ahead of schedule due to demand). Their solution? Charge for it! $200 for Mike Mignola and Grant Morrison, $350 for a VIP party with Stan Lee, $500 for a party with Neil Gaiman. The proceeds for the last one go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a worthy cause, but the rest I guess the money goes to NYCC. I guess there could be a better way, but at least this give the people who want Grant Morrison's autograph but can't camp out overnight a chance at meeting him.

ITEM! Bill Richardson creates divisive act, calls for unity: I was going to give this one it's own post, but decided against it. I will say this: if you are a man who kept his name in the political spotlight through mentioning his friendship with the Clintons--even going so far as to speak to Anderson Cooper for 10 minutes about watching the Super Bowl with Bill Clinton--then you go and give your Superdelegates to his wife's opponent, you, sir, are a hypocrite and are in no position to ask for unity. And the fact you gave them to Obama after your state voted for Clinton is even worse. Worse yet is the fact that you stated that the Governors should give their Superdelegates to whoever their states votes for makes you the king of all hypocrites. Sure, he might have been just following his own beliefs, but lets just see if he lands a place on Obama's ticket somewhere.

ITEM!! Firefly might be coming out with a special edition of the complete TV series: If I thought for a second that buying this might get another season or movie out of the cast and crew, I'd buy it. But it reeks of the powers that be trying to wring a little more dough out of their fevorent fan base. I mean, really. Will there be enough new stuff on this edition that I have to buy it? If so, why not put it on the first edition in the first place. It's not like you seriously thought it would be this popular at the time, was it?

ITEM!!! Comic Book Resources updates it's look: I don't like it. The old way might not have been fancy, but at least you knew that the left side had news, the right had columns, and the new ones were at the top.

ITEM!! Comics Should Be Good starts its 100 Greatest Creative Team Runs countdown!: The idea is to list the Top 100 creative teams or creators who worked on a book for an extended period of time. Clicking above will take you to 100 to 91, clicking here will take you to 90 to 86.

ITEM!!! Entertainment Weekly runs down the 20 Worst Comic Book Movies: Their definition of "comic book" is a bit stretched. I'm not certain, but I don't believe Brenda Starr ever was a comic book. But, regardless, it is fodder for conversations at your local comic shop.  

ITEM!!! Kids on the Block to reunite: I'm with Joel McHale. I doubt the apocalypse is ever going to arrive. I mean, if this isn't a sign, then nothing is.

ITEM!! Set pictures from The Spirit released: You know, the more I see of this movie, the less I want to see.

ITEM!!! Uwe Boll will stop making movies if they gets 1,000,000 signatures on a petition asking him to stop: Finally! A cause everybody can get behind!

ITEM!!! Fraction and Brubaker off of Iron Fist, Johns and Katz off of Booster Gold, Ellis off of Thunderbolts: My reactions, in order:1) Noooooooooooooooo!!!!! (Swierczynski is, really, no replacement), 2) Noooooooooo!!! (If DC really wanted to give fans a treat, they'd have Jurgens take over the writing as well. 3) Wait a minute? Marvel is still publishing Thunderbolts? (No, seriously, are they still publishing Thunderbolts?)

ITEM!!!: Marvel fan is a contestant on Deal or No Deal: Spoiler alert: The guy opens a million on the first case. The banker reveals himself to be Mephisto and offers to put the million back in play if the guy gives up his marriage.

ITEM!!! New Guiding Lines columns published: There's a link to all of them.

ITEM!!! Also, my article on the Geppi Entertainment Museum is posted: Click above for the link to that.

Ombudsman,-header

Some more rantable news items:

• NY Governor Elliot Spitzer linked to prostitution ring: Or, the "get tough on crime" candidate lets his position on prostitution be known. You know, one of the more odious comments political wags make about the possibility of women being in power is that the fact they are hormonal once a month inhibits their ability to lead.Yet, how many men in leadership positions had their careers destroyed by their not being able to keep their pesky in their pants?
• Obama states he will not accept the vice-presidency if he loses: I guess he's only all about change only if he is the one controlling the change. If offered to be a high-ranking part of an administration also looking for change, he will stamp his feet and go home. I understand why he said this, after all, he is running for president and his eyes should be on that prize, but it still comes out as being selfish.
• John Rogers off of Blue Beetle: Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!
• Being replaced by Will Pfeiffer: Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!
• But only for a limited time: Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! 
• My review of "Left on a Mission" is up at Popmatters: Go read it!
• New Guiding Lines column up at Broken Frontier: A big day for my writing on the internet. This week, I cover Serenity: Better Days #1, The Last Defenders #1, JLA Classified #54, Pogrom #1, Screamland #1, Superman #674, Astounding Wolf-Man #5, and Avengers Fairy Tales #1.
• Valerie D'Orazio puts the clamps down over at Occasional Superheroine: A combative round of commenting causes Val to approve all comments. Honestly, it doesn't seem from what I see here that the posts were even close to flamewar worthy, but perhaps she has a history with that fellow. Either way, as long as she continues to blog, I am fine with that! 

Ombudsman,-header

Another collection of random news stories from around the web.

• New Guiding Lines Column up: This week, I cover Logan #1, The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home #1, Justice League: The New Frontier Special, Dead Space #1, DC Special: Raven #1, New Dynamix #1, Cable #1, and All-New Atom #21. Check it out.
• First Watchmen publicity photos released: The internet reaction has been mockery with faint praise, mockery, quasi-mockery, and generally positive reaction. My two cents: Did they really need to change Nite-Owl's and Ozymandeus' outfits that much? I thought that they could be translated to film pretty much the way they are. (For a side by side comparison, click here.) Maybe they are saving some money by recycling some old Batman suits from the first four movies. And, really Warners, nipples? Really? Hire someone to read the Internet, would you? People are still mocking Shumacher's addition of those to the Bat uniform and it happened over a decade ago.
• Patrick Swayze diagnosed with pancreatic cancer: The odds aren't good, but I wish him the best. If it wasn't for him, Roadhouse would just be a bad movie, and not campy fun.
• Latest Buffy issue causes a stir:  Covered by the New York Times no less! Also by ABC News, who calls Buffy's female on female fling with another Slayer a "marketing ploy". I am so happy that comics have grown to such a level that they can actually have marketing ploys.

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• Next round of the SNL tournament is on:  My request? Vote for Belushi.
• PopCandy publishes their final installment of the comic crash course: This week, it's Whitney's personal Faves. There's only one superhero book on the list, and it's Identity Crisis. Interesting.
• And if you want to meet Whitney, she'll be at the Isotope in SF: She'll be appearing with Tim Sale. Details in the link.
• New Guiding Lines column published: This week, I cover Project: Superpowers #1, X-Men: Legacy #208, Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood #5, Marvel Zombies 2 #5, Urban Monsters #1, Ropeburn #1, Deathblow #1, and House of M: Avengers #5.

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• A New Guiding Line Column is up: This week, I cover Spirit #14, Cable and Deadpool #50, Superman/Batman #46, Zorro #1, Perhapanauts Annual #1, Jenna Jameson's Shadow Hunter #1, The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite #6, Immortal Iron Fist: Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death, Loaded Bible 3: Communion, and Aspen Showcase: Grace #1.
• Lindsay Lohan appears nude in New York magazine: Yeah, just before all you horndogs click that link, just remember that just a few short years ago she looked like this:
  

  Lindsay_lohan
• Gambit cast in Wolverine movie: Because, you know, Marvel really really wants to put him in a movie, Who cares if he really doesn't fit. And Liev Schreiber is playing Sabretooth? Really?
• New Guardians of the Galaxy series could be good: But it's not really the Guardians of the Galaxy. I hope you know that.
• Brave and the Bold to be DC's next cartoon: YES!!!!
• MENSA chairman picks the 10 smartest shows of all time: I think Mad About You is only on the list just so angry people will blog about it. I mean, Star Trek was way smarter than Mad About You.
• USA Today covers the Red Hulk: And the Red Hulk is news, why?
• New York magazine advises people to send hair to ABC in order to save "Cavemen": This and the Lindsay Lohan thing means that New York Magazine must have suffered a greivous head injury. Did they move April Fool's to February?

There have been two recent occurances of my writing hiting the Internet this week.

First off is my weekly Guiding Lines column, this week, I covered Fantastic Four #554, Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure, Booster Gold #0, Ghost Rider #20, Next Issue Project #1: Fantastic Comics #24, Spider-Man Family #7, Tiny Titans #1, X-Force #1, and Spooks #1.

 Also, I reviewed The Nightmare Factory treade paperback over at PopMatters.

Please, go check these out!

Ombudsman,-header

Back at my old Friendster blog, I used to do a semi-regular news review on a quasi-daily basis called The Gates Ombudsman. Since it has been a while since I've blogged, I decided to bring back the format to catch up on things I've missed. But now, we have a snazzy, yet amateurish header for it. Yay!

• Where have I been?: College is a drag on my time. Between classes, homework and reading assignments, I barely have time to write what I am supposed to write, let alone blog.
• Pop Candy starts "A Crash Course in Comics":  Whitney Matheson is a writer for USA Today and a pop culture maven. Think a female version of me, only cuter. And more alternative. Anyway, she has decided to treat her readers the a crash comics course. This first of the four part weekly course hit today, and she gives us 25 essential graphic novels. Can't really argue with the list, although it favors the shoe-gazing, indie books a bit much, but a lot of the agreed essential books are their.
• Another of my Guiding Line colums have been published: Usually, I post this in a separate post, but tonight I am trying to be economical. This week, I cover Scud, the Disposable Assassin #21, Uncanny X-Men #495, Halloween: Nightdance #1, Abe Sapien: The Drowning #1, ClanDestine #1, Midnighter #16 and Marvel Illustrated: Moby Dick #1. Check it out.
• Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose: He died of a fatal cocktail of a bunch of prescription meds. I wonder if People Magazine is going to a cover story apologizing for the cover story in their February 4th edition in which they make a point to include quotes from "friends" of Heath Ledger saying that he was a rampant partier and depressed over his breakup with Michele Williams. Because that article implied that Ledger was either A) A reckless druggie or B) Suicidal. Now that both those are ruled out, People Magazine should do the right thing and set the record straight. They won't but they should.
• Super Tuesday does not settle the election: I don't know if this is because we have so many good candidates or because all the candidates are kinda, eh? For the record, I voted for Hillary. Heath care is very important to me, and I believe she is stronger on that issue. I do appreciate that parking was on a preimium at the polling place. I am also glad to be living in New York instead of Pennsylvania. Because, usually by the time the primaries reached PA, the race was over.
• Elisabeth Hasselbeck has a "baby blog": The term "gag me with a spoon" is so outdated, but it really sums up what I'm feeling about this perfectly.
• Shaquille O'Neal is traded to the Phoenix Suns: In related news, Shaquille O'Neal is still playing basketball, apparently.
• My second favorite team wins the Super Bowl: I have two favorite NFL football teams. This causes me to be teased mercilessly by my friends. But I came into loving the Pittsburgh Steelers on my own, and love the New York Giants because they were my father's favorite team. It was a bonding experience for us both. I rooted for the Giants with him, and he would root for the Steelers with me. Now that he's passed away, 10 years gone now, I still root for the Giants. Don't get me wrong, there is a hierarchy, Steelers are first, Giants are second. But I am happy that my two favorite teams have won the SuperBowl within three years. And Giants had to beat the Perfect Patriots and the hated Cowboys to do so.
• However, the Super Bowl commercials were lackluster: Yeah, the ads, which some years are the best part of the game, were kind of blah. Especially disappointing were the Bud Light ads. Usually they are solid comedy. Instead they were kind of lame. My favorite had to be the soda commercials. The "Wkae Up" ad was made with Chris Kattan's appearance at the end, who doesn't love to see Justin Timberlake's crotch rammed into a post, and I love that Charlie Brown wins the Coke bottle in the end.
• The Writer's Strike might be over: Yee haw! I just hope the writers didn't give up too much.
• The early release of the 3rd season of SNL depresses me:  You know, when one and two came out in December, I got them immediately after for Christmas. Now number 3 will be released in April? I'm sure another one will be coming in December. Getting one $60 box set for X-Mas was hard enough. Getting two is impossible.

There is a new Guiding Lines column up over at Broken Frontier. This week, I cover Captain America #34, Spider-Man: With Great Power #1, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #25, Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters #1, Black Adam: The Dark Age #6, New Avengers Annual #2, and Salem #0. Check it out!

There is a new Guiding Line column up over at Broken Frontier. This week, I cover World War Hulk Aftersmash: Damage Control #1, Young Avengers Presents #1, Jack Staff Special #1, Iron and the Maiden: Brutes, Bims and the City #1, and New World Order #1. Check it out!

There is a new Guiding Lines coulmn up at Broken Frontier. This week, I cover Catwoman #75, New Exiles #1, The Flash #236, Cemetary Blues #1, The Stranded #1, Robin #170, and Wolverine: Origins #21 Check it out!