MYSPACE!

I'm not sure why everything is so wrong today, but I'm fairly certain it's Myspace's fault.

Also, Myspace wants to eat your children.

Myspace.

Bang! Howdy Is Fun.

It is.

Think Boot Hill/Steampunk/RTS/MMOG. If you tried and liked Puzzle Pirates (WHICH WAS EXCELLENT) you might dig this. Three Rings just hits that sweet spot for "Oh, I've only got five minutes for a round or two, and by the way I don't want to emotionally scar my kid in the process" gaming.



It's like chewing gum. Satisfying, but not destructively habit-forming. Games for people with jobs. Or lives. Or interests.

Plus, you know, steampunk.

Have some more gum.

(Update: Okay, fine, it's on MacOS X and Linux too. Snobbery!)

Seriously, What's The Deal?

Why do I feel like someone stepped on my grave today?

I'm as paranoid as the next guy, but this morning I feel like Philip Dick guest-starring on a very special episode of The Prisoner.

If anything serious goes down today, launch my ashes into space.

Nothing Bad's Allowed To Happen Today!

...

So, It's Wednesday.

What are we gonna do?

Standing invitation:
Drop me a line, and we can play some Guild Wars or Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory for a little while. Then we can read comic books and talk about girls. Then drink from a bottomless frosty mug of root beer. Then play Lazer Tag.

Do I sound bored? Why would I sound bored? I'm normally so insanely busy that when a quiet evening comes around, I don't know what to do.

Don't make me watch Beauty and The Beast again with my daughter.

Please.

No.

Okay, fine. I'll go write something.

I Have Decided To Hurt You... Again.

Today... I'm Going To Hurt You.

Almost Friday. Smoke 'Em If You've Got 'Em.

What Makes The Boys From Brazil work so well?

It's not Gregory Peck.
It's not Sir Laurence Olivier.
It ain't even James Mason.

It's Steve Guttenberg.

[SPOILERS]
Start the film with fifteen minutes of his hideous over-emoting. And then behold his brutal stabbing. Ignore the rest of the movie, forget all the Hitler-clonage, just watch those first fifteen minutes.

Best. Start. Ever.

Could only have been better if he had been eaten by Dobermans.

I don't know why this is in my head today, of all days. I rented it like a month ago for some research on a languishing comic script that I really need to get around to writing.

It's just a Guttenberg-stabbing kind of day.

But We Don't Want To Watch Television...

... We want to watch you.

Kieth Moon's Head

Chris Onstadt keeps on giving me reasons to link to Achewood.

Story thus far:
After winning the Great Outdoor Fight, Ray and Roast beef decide to have a party and trash their couch. Phillipe decides to rescue the couch from the dump and runs away. Ray meanwhile discovers the hidden Elite Ebay auction site by typing in "What's the best you got" in the search box. He purchases Airwolf (AIRWOLF!) and Kieth Moon's head. Flying Airwolf, Ray and Roast Beef launch a rescue mission to save Phillipe, and succeed. Flushed with success, Ray and Teodor debate on whether to drink some of the vodka from Kieth's Head-Jar. They open the jar to discover...

I now officially have no further need for any other webcomic. Ever.

If you aren't reading this comic, you don't get to be my friend anymore.

Not Going Anywhere Today

I'm just gonna hide at home all day and pretend that the surrounding area is nuked out wasteland.

Last night I watched Forbidden Planet starring... Leslie Nielson. Actually, it's an excellent film that I'd recommend to anybody. I hadn't seen it in well over a decade.

I was engaged and impressed. The special effects are fun, the soundtrack is awesome, and, you know, Robbie The Robot. The end is scarier than I remembered. I was watching it with Kate, and she kept giving me wide-eyed looks and saying "OH NO, WHAT HAPPENED?" It's good stuff for a 1956 Leslie Nielson flick. Stick this in the "Good 50's movies file" along with War of the Worlds and Invasion of the Bodysnatchers.

I'll also admit that the writing holds up pretty well. Aliens-style rescue mission meets The Black Hole meets Twilight Zone. The romance dialogue doesn't work, nor do the sad attempts at humor, but it was for an audience from a different age. The basic plot holds it together though, and the reasoning behind the premise is surprisingly sound.

Admittedly some of the scenes are a little hokey, like when the string-suspended flying saucer descends to the planet surface. But I couldn't shake the feeling that if I was a different 12-year-old me, circa mid 1950's, I'd be digging the hell out of this film.

Happy Free Comic Book Day!

So, hit the store today. Got some free comics.

Was at the checkout when I saw on the flyer that the store was selling all their back issues for $1 each. The sale's going on until the 13th. Holy Schnikeys!

So I did some digging. And I'm ready to do some bragging. Here's what I nabbed, and only felt slightly guilty about:

Aliens V1 #2 (Mark Nelson greyscale art which I've never seen equalled in the past 18 years.)
Aliens V2 #1
Astro City #1/2
Brit
Concrete #2
Concrete Earth Day 1990 #1
Concrete Fragile Creature #2
Concrete Strange Armor #4
DHP #1, 3 (I thought I threw #2 on the pile too, but must have dropped it...)
Give Me Liberty #1-2
Global Frequency #1 (HOLY CRAP), #4
League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen V2: #5-6
Losers #4-10, 13-18 (WOO!)
Madman #2-3 (Dark Horse)
Monkeyman and O'Brien #1-2
Mystery Men #2-4
Uncanny Xmen #256 (Jim Lee art. They had a near complete run of Claremont/Silvestri too, which I'm barely capable of restraining myself from rushing back and getting. Maybe Monday.)
Watchmen #2 (Again I say, WOO!)

And the crown jewel. For me anyway, I was pumped to find this.
Longshot #1, Autographed by Art Adams himself. I was literally scared that the Comic Book Guy was going to see this and tell me that there was no way I was getting this book for a dollar. I've been such an Adams fanboy since I was a kid, and I still love his work. He's got the attention span of an ADD squirrel, but his art is so clean and darn fun to look at. Truly one of the greats that's been imitated countless times, but never surpassed.

In some ways, I'm actually glad comics are unpopular at the moment. It makes filling up my back-issue wantlist so much easier.

I'm done gloating. For the moment. At least until Monday. Pretty darn good Saturday.

Worst Fears?

CONFIRMED.

Xmen 3 will suck.

Crappity crap crap.

CONSUME: Catching Lucifer's Lunch

Just thought I'd mention this. This is the first book put out by T.J. and Jason May. One writes, one draws. The book is illustrated entirely in watercolor.

It feels like a first book, which is okay, because the enthusiasm of these guys comes through, even if it's flawed.

The story is a Lovecraft/Army Of Darkness/Grimm's Fairy Tale hybrid horror story. The plot is very sketchy, and the dialogue is not as punchy as it should be. The movement of the story is more dreamlike than anything. The incongruity in the action plays out like one of my nightmares, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The art is suited for horror, and the watercolors are pretty. I will say that I got lost a couple of times, particularly in the action sequences. Violence allows for no ambiguity in comics. I'd be reading, and realize a character had been stabbed. How did that happen? Oh, in the previous panel, the bad guy kind of looked like he was making stabbing motions. My bad. The visual vocabulary is lacking a little bit.

Like I said, there's a lot of flaws. But I was charmed by the way these guys just decided to make a book, and did it. It's not awful. I hope they do more. And I hope they get better.

CONSUME: Marvel Comics Redux: Guys and Dolls #1

Can I tell you what a great idea this is?

Dig up the old Marvel Romance artwork, rehash the dialogue, and sell that badboy.

If you've missed Mystery Science Theater 3000 hilarity over the years, you can get that same taste in your mouth with some of this comicky goodness.

It's funny. Laugh-out-loud funny. You should buy it. You'll laugh.

My favorite was the story about the occult-obsessed vixen who can't decide between her trucker ex-boyfriend or the food-obsessed stranger who comes to town.

Five episodes, five brokenhearted young ladies, five starcrossed romances, five unquenchable love stories.

Marvel will teach you how to love again.

False Alarm

Work conflict. Can't go anywhere.

Brain is sad.

No E3 for Badger.

Stupid, stupid E3.

Holy Schnikeys

Man, um... Looks like I'm going to E3. My good buddy Don evidently scored with the passage. I'm fairly certain that if I even think about not going, he's going to release a weaponized virus, 'cause, you know, that's his thing.

Honestly? I'm pumped. They've made a focused effort on making E3 a lot more respectable trade show, especially since last year was the last show with Booth Babes. That means fewer drooling fanboys revealing previously undiscovered emotions and urges in sweaty public areas... Bleah.

What do I want to see? Not interested in the ridiculously dubbed Wii. I've been blessedly ignorant of the Console Wars, I'm a PC gamer with a tiny bit of Gamecube Animal Crossing thrown in.

If the Introversion guys are there, I'll be bringing rose petals to strew at their feet.

If the Valve/Half Life 2 guys show up, I fear I may put my marriage in jeopardy.

I'm also fairly certain that we'll be cornering the Bioware guys and interrogating them ruthlessly about Neverwinter Nights 2 details.

I curious to see if Linden Labs will be there.

And if Gabe and Tycho are there, I may say a swear word, just out of politeness.

I'm a stammering fanboy about a select few things, but when I am truly enthused, it's like pulling the cord on a nitro-fueled chainsaw.

Now I need a good camera, an IV stand, and some earplugs.

Oh, and to break the bad news to the wife...