Still waiting. I'm not sure what's going to come of this. I'm still a big dork.

I watched the finale of the first season of Battlestar Galactica this weekend. Awesome, awesome stuff. Thank you internet.

Here's what's coming out this Wednesday: Captain America and the Falcon #13, which is the next to last issue; Detective Comics #804, which I'm still unsure about; Doctor Spectrum #5 (of 6), which is the penultimate issue; Exiles #60, which ties into Age of Apocalypse; Fallen Angel #19, which is another next to last issue; Firestorm #11, which is fun; The Intimates #5, which I'm not sure why I like; Justice League Elite #9 (of 12), which is just plain cool; Lex Luthor: Man of Steel #1 (of 5), which I'm looking forward to; Marvel Team-Up #6, which is one my new favorite books; Rising Stars #24 (of 24), which is a long time coming; Shanna the She-Devil #2 (of 7), which will most likely have boobs; Twilight Experiment #2 (of 5); which I still need issue one of; Ultimate Iron Man #1 (of 6), which should be interesting; Ultimate Spider-Man #73, which is always excellent; The Walking Dead #16, which is also always excellent; X-Men: Age of Apocalypse – One-Shot, which is worth checking out; X-Men: Age of Apocalypse #1 (of 6), which can cause confusion; and X-Men/Fantastic Four #4 (of 5), which isn't that good but almost over.

The day's almost over. Much City of Heroes will be played tonight.

It's the waiting that kills you.

Tonight we shall view the gloriousness of Wonderfalls, and possibly other shows like Boomtown and Battlestar Galactica. It should be a good time.

I got to read this week's board review group book. This week is X-Men #167, written by Peter Milligan, art by Salavador Larroca. Published by Marvel Comics, February 23, 2005.

I don't think I've often talked about the X-Men books here, so here's a small history lesson of the past four or five years. Back in 2000 was around the time I was getting heavily back into comics. I didn't pick up much, but the X-books were on my list of stuff of wanted to check out. But when I looked into it, the books seemed to be in the same state that they were in the 1990s: convoluted with crossovers in ten or fifteen different books at a time. It wasn't really something I was interested in.

Then Joe Quesada came along. As Marvel's new editor in chief, he understood the need for a reboot with this franchise. X-Men became New X-Men, to be written by Grant Morrison, Uncanny X-Men was to be written by Joe Casey, and long time X-scribe Chris Claremont was given X-Treme X-Men. It was a totally new jumping on point, perfect for people like me. Morrison's four year run on New X-Men (the name has since reverted) was, in a word, amazing. Just great stuff. Uncanny X-Men went through some ups and down, with Chuck Austen eventually taking over as writer. Claremont wrote the same type of stories he had written for thirty years. Some worked, some didn't. Then Morrison went over to DC, and another reboot was needed.

This all happened a little less that a year ago. New X-Men became X-Men again, with Chuck Austen moving from Uncanny X-Men, and taking those characters with him. X-Treme X-Men was cancelled and Chris Claremont moved onto Uncanny X-Men, a book he wrote for a long time ago. And a new title, Astonishing X-Men, would premiere. This was going to be written by Joss Whedon. My God. My hero. Joss freakin' Whedon. He took over the characters from Morrison's run and went wild. Chuck Austen was eventually phased out of comics, and Peter Milligan took over that title.

So, this is the second issue of Peter Milligan's run on X-Men, the second part of a storyarc entitled Golgotha. Milligan has a strong following, but I'll be the first to admit that I don't know that much about him. There's still kind of a bad taste to this book, and Milligan is working with leftover characters. The book isn't quite his own yet. But I'm willing to give a little time to do so.

STORY: This wasn't bad. But it's not great, either. It's like we're still waiting for Milligan to come along. But the overall idea is still cool. A fungi mutant murderous thing with ties to the crucifixion. I just don't understand why there can only be ONE really, really good X-Men book at a time. All three should be fantastic. Again, not bad, but it needs more. 5/10.

ART: Love Larroca. He has saved these books for a long time now. Awesome, awesome stuff, especially when they actually ink his pencils. 8/10.

OVERALL: 6.5

Next week, I believe, is Ultimate Iron Man #1 (of 6), which I was going to pick up anyways. I like this review board stuff. It's kind of fun.

A bit late on this, but my comic store didn't get a copy of the review book in last week. So, here is my review for Ex Machina #8 written by Brian K. Vaughan with art by Tony Harris. Published by DC Comics, Wildstorm imprint, February 16, 2005.

Brian K. Vaughan has quickly risen to become one of my favorite authors. I think it started with The Hood and spiraled from there. To Runaways and Y: The Last Man, this book is the latest of his original projects which chronicles the four year term of New York's first independent mayor, who also happened to used to be a superhero. It's like The West Wing bashed together with a general superhero story. It's in a work, brilliant.

STORY: This is definitely a middle part in the storyarc. I love how Vaughan has slowly explored Mitchell's relationship with his NSA handler. I love these flashbacks. But the main story of the weird ass glyph that drives people crazy takes a backseat to the subplot of the Deputy Mayor's brother's marriage. It's somewhat scary that Vaughan can successfully write both teenage girls and 30-something gay men. Good stuff all around, but nothing that absolutely blew me out of the water. 9/10.

ART: Tony Harris once again delivers. He's such a perfect choice for this book. No complaints, except he makes dogs look really scary. 10/10.

OVERALL: 9.5/10

I'll do this week's book, X-Men #167, sometime later this week. I still need to read it.

I've been watching all these television shows I had recorded on my computer from the past few weeks. I'm finally caught up on Medium and Numb3ers. Both very cool new shows. One is about a psychic who aids a district attorneys office who has family problems. The other is a crime show where they solve cases. With math. It's cooler than it sounds.

I bought Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars and Battlestar Galactica: The Mini-Series today. Both very cool programs. The Farscape one makes me want to watch the whole series over again. I want to watch the audio commentary on the Battlestar Galactica set. I still need to get the fifth season of Angel. I feel I've betrayed my beloved Joss Whedon by purchasing two far less superior programs. Also, the first season of Deadwood came out today, but it's yet another one of the overpriced HBO DVD sets. I have them all on tape. Season two starts on March 6. This is one of the coolest shows out there. I also still need to get caught up on Carnivale.

I spent the afternoon rereading Henry V for a test I have to take tomorrow. It's a bad ass play, but things tend to become less bad ass when you have to study them for a grade. There's also a very cool and respectable film adaptation with Kenneth Branaugh that I watched. I also have to go observe a high school classroom for my education classes. I have to clock in fifteen hours before spring break. I'm not sure what to expect. It's the same high school I went to and will undoubtedly make me feel old.

Sleep calls me. But not before Stargate SG-1. I'm such a dork.

Nothing much going on, it seems. I need to finish Henry V, and then reread it so I can take notes so I can figure out what is going on in the thing.

Constantine was cool. Of course, I tend to like everything, so my opinion on this subject might not actually count.

It's a good week for comics. Here's what's coming out. Amazing Spider-Man #517, which continues Skin Deep; Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes #8 (of 8), which is the end of this very cool mini-series; Batgirl #61, which is always good; Batman #637, which features Judd Winick-y goodness; Black Widow #6 (of 6), which is also the end of another very cool mini-series; B.P.R.D.: The Dead #4 (of 5), which is of course going to be awesome; Conan #13, which is always metal; Fantastic Four #523, which is winding up Mark Waid's run on the book; The Flash #219, which is the first part of a crossover with Wonder Woman; Hunter/Killer #1, which I guess is worth checking out; Invincible #20, which is always cool; Legion of Super-Heroes #3, which is getting off to a good start; Mystique #24, which is the last issue; Nightcrawler #6, which I think is the last issue; Nightwing #104, which is cool enough; Outsiders #21, which is almost always good; Powers #9, which always kicks my ass; Richard Dragon #10, which is cool; Seven Soldiers #0, which I'm looking forward to; Sleeper: Season Two #9 (of 12), which is awesome; Solo #3, which is the Paul Pope issue; Strange #4 (of 6), which is good enough; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #20, I'm the only person who reads this; Ultimate Nightmare #5 (of 5), which is late; Uncanny X-Men #456, which I'm not sure what to think of; Wonder Woman #213, which is always cool; X-23 #3 (of 6), which is good enough; X-Men #167, which is slowly getting better; X-Men: Phoenix – Endsong #3 (of 5), which is cooler than it should be; and Y: The Last Man #31, which is always awesome.

Good week. Im tired.

The big four comic book companies (Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Image) have all released their solicitations for May of this year. Since it's Friday and I'm at work not wanting to work, I though I'd take a few moments here and there and list some things I'm really excited about reading (not everything I'm getting, just stuff that looks interesting). I think DC will be vastly superior this May.

DC
Batman #640 - the second part of the Family Reunion arc, and if it's going where I think it's going, this should be really cool. I'm so glad that Judd Winick is the permanent writer on this book. And Doug Mahnke on pencils doesn't hurt.

Gotham Knights #65 - the end of the Human Nature, which is surprisingly really, really good. Wonderful art and characterzation here.

Nightwing #108 - Phil Hester and Ande Parks become the art team with issue #107. This is going to be awesome. They did a wonderful job as the art team on Green Arrow for almost five years, and while I was sad to see them leave that book, this is going to be just as good.

Action Comics #827 - a new creative team debuts. Gail Simone is the writer, which is awesome. I love her work on Birds of Prey. But the artist is John Byrne. A crazy old man with outrageous ideas who doesn't know anything about tact. He's so crazy it's almost funny if he wasn't so insulting and degrading to his own fans. I'll still buy it for Gail, though.

Adventures of Superman #640 - Karl Kerschl joins Greg Rucka as the artist of some of the best Superman stories in years. This is probably my favorite Supes book in a long, long time.

Superman #217 - another new creative team, this team composed of writer Mark Verheiden (who used to be a producer on Smallville) and Ed Benes (Birds of Prey, Thundercats). While I'm sad to see Benes leaving Birds of Prey, I suspect this will be something of a sleeper hit among the Superman titles.

Day of Vengeance #2 (of 6) - one of the four mini-series spinning out of DC Countdown. I'm looking forward to all of these, especially after the events of Green Lantern: Rebirth #4. The Spectre is a free agent, or close to it. Should be interesting.

Fallen Angel #20 - final issue. This makes me incredibly sad.

Green Lantern #1 - really excited about his. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it looks like they're not going to kill Kyle, John, or Guy anytime soon. I'm all for having five Green Lanterns around Earth, but they can't fuck with Kyle. He's my generation's Green Lantern, not Hal.

Green Arrow #50 - worth mentioning because it's the fiftieth issue. Judd Winick has kept this book of the same high quality that Kevin Smith and Brad Meltzer established it with. And Tom Fowler is growing on me.

The OMAC Project #2 (of 6) - another mini-series out of DC Countdown from Greg Rucka featuring one of the coolest characters ever, Sasha Bordeaux. This is probably the one I'm looking foward to the most.

Teen Titans #24 and Outsiders #24 - I tend to like crossovers with books that are as closely realted as these two are. Judd Winick and Geoff Johns have successfully carved out their own little corner of the DC Universe, so seeing those shoved together is going to be pretty fun.

The Rann/Thanagar War #1 (of 6) - spinning out of the very cool Adam Strange mini-series, I suspect this will kick lots and lots of ass. Ivan Reis is awesome, and Dave Gibbons is a veteran who knows what he's doing. And the main characters look to be Kyle Rayner, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Adam Strange. I can't wait.

Villains United #1 (of 6) - the last of the DC Countdown, this one from Gail Simone and Dale Eagleshame. This should also be very cool, as it features a bunch of DC Villains, presumably, doing what they do best.

Desolation Jones #1 - something new from Warren Ellis. I'm always there to read what this guy puts out.

Marvel
Fantastic Four #527 - J. Michael Straczynski takes over as regular writer. He's one of my favorites, so this should be excellent.

Daredevil #73 - continuing the Decaogue storyline, this book constantly kicks my ass as hard as it can.

Marvel Team-Up #8 - fucking Blade and the Punisher. I knew I liked Robert Kirkman for a reason.

Captain America #7 - a new story starts. This is awesome, awesome stuff from Ed Brubaker.

New Avengers #7 - Steve McNiven takes over as artist for three issues. This is one of my new favorite books.

Powers vol. 1 hardcover - FUCK! Buying this.

Dark Horse
Only the regular Conan series and a mini-series. Both cool.

Dark Horse is releasing a three-issue Firefly mini-series in July by Joss Whedon and Brett Matthews. It should kick all kinds of ass.

Image
Nothing real interesting here, either. A new mini-series from J.M. DeMatties called The Stardust Kid, which should be fun. Also, a zero issue of PvP and the Image debut of Hero Camp. All fun stuff there.

DC is going to rape my wallet in May. But it'll be worth it.

You can't take the sky from me.

I wasn't able to get Ex Machina #8 today. Shipping delays, and all which. It's a shame because I was really looking forward to it. But Runaways, Astonshing X-Men, and Daredevil were all really good. That's all I had time to read so far.

I haven't got to play City of Heroes in a few days. Stupid work and responsibility and stuff. I should become a slacker with a steady income and not have to worry about these things.

Or not. Stupid upbringing.

S is for sleeping. Sleeping is for me.

Someone on a message board asked for this, and I thought I'd post it here for achival sake. Not only does this show off my Buffy obsession and my comics obsession, but also my little known obsession about making lists of things.

This is, to the best of my ability, a complete list of Buffy and Angel related comic books. Stock your collection, kids. I actually own all of these, although not the reprints found in the trades listed near the end. Unless otherwise noted, all of these books are published by Dark Horse. I have not included any of the webcomics or strips printed in Dark Horse Presents, as there are numerous amounts of them. A number of the trades reprint these, as often they served as prologues to a storyarc in the ongoing book or a mini-series.

ONGOING SERIES
The original Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic ran for 63 issues from 1998 to 2003.

#1-19 were written by Andi Watson, with the exception of #12 and #16, which were written by Christopher Golden.
#20 was written by show writer Doug Petrie.
#21-25 were written by Christopher Golden, and feature one of the coolest storylines ever.
#26 and #27 were written by Chris Boal.
#29 and #30 were written by Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski, and are a crossover with #15 and #16 of the Angel ongoing series.
#28, #31-46 were written by Tom Fassbender and Jim Pascoe, and are all excellent.
#47-59 were written by Scott Lobdell and Fabian Nicieza, with the exception of #55, which was written by Paul lee.
#60-63 were written by Fabian Nicieza.

The Angel ongoing comic ran for 17 issues from 1999 to 2001. They were all written by Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski.

MINI-SERIES AND ONE-SHOTS
Origin, a three-issue mini adapted from Joss's original screenplay for the film to make it fit into the continuity of the series.

There are three Spike and Dru one-shots written by Christopher Golden (the first co-written by James Marsters). The first two have beautiful art from Ryan Sook.

Angel, a three-issue mini from Chris Golden.

An Annual from 1999 by a number of different writers.

A Giles one-shot.

A Jonathan one-shot.

Lover's Walk, an anthology one-shot.

A Willow and Tara one-shot co-written by Amber Benson. In addition, there is also a two issue mini-series entitled Wilderness.

Fray, an eight issue mini-series written by Joss Whedon about a Slayer in the future.

Oz, a three issue mini-series that fills in his absence in season four.

Long Night's Journey, a four issue Angel mini-series written by Brett Matthews and Joss Whedon.

Haunted, a four issue mini-series written by show writer Jane Espenson.

Lost and Found, a one-shot written by Fabian Nicieza, which lead into a storyarc in the ongoing book about Buffy's death.

Reunion, a one-shot written by Jane Espenson.

Broken Bottle of Djinn, a Tales of the Slayer one-shot written by Jane Espenson and Doug Petrie.

Chaos Bleeds, a one-shot that ties into the video game.

Tales of the Slayers, a five issue mini-series writen by Joss and number of the shows writers.

The Curse, a five issue Angel mini-series written by Jeff Mariotte is coming out this May from IDW.

TRADE PAPERBACKS
The Dust Waltz is an original graphic novel written by Dan Brereton.
Ring of Fire is an original graphic novel written by Doug Petrie with art by Ryan Sook.
Creatures of Habit is a prose novel written by Tom Fassbender and Jim Pascoe with illustrations from Paul Lee. Issue #46 of the ongoing series serves as a sequel to this book.

The Remaining Sunlight, collects issues 1-3 of the Buffy ongoing.
Uninvited Guests, collects issues 4-7 of the ongoing.
Bad Blood, collects issues 9-11 of the ongoing.
Crash Test Demons, collects issues 13-15 of the ongoing.
Pale Reflections, collects issues 17-19 of the ongoing.
Food Chain, collects issues 12, 16, 20, the Lover's Walk one-shot and stories from the Annual.
Blood of Carthage, collects issues 21-25 of the ongoing.
Autumnal, collects issues 26-28 of the ongoing.
Past Lives, collects issues 29-30 of the Buffy ongoing and issues 15-16 of the Angel ongoing.
Out of the Woodwork, collects issues 31-34 of the ongoing.
False Memories, collects issues 35-38 of the ongoing
Ugly Little Monsters, collects issues 39-42 of the ongoing.
147 Nights, collects issues 43-45 of the ongoing and the Lost and Found one-shot.
Notes from the Underground, collects issues 47-50 of the ongoing.
Viva Las Buffy, collects issues 51-54 of the ongoing.
Slayer Interrupted, collects issues 56-59 of the ongoing.
A Stake to the Heart, collects issues 60-63 of the ongoing.

Origin, collects the three issue mini.
The Hollower, collects the three issue Buffy: Angel mini.
Haunted, collects the four issue mini.
Oz, collects the three issues mini.
Spike and Dru, collects the three one-shots.
Willow and Tara, collects the one-shot and the two issue mini.
Tales of the Slayer, collects the five issue mini.
Fray, collects the eight issue mini.

Surrogates, collects issues 1-3 of the Angel ongoing.
Earthly Possessions, collects issues 5-7 of the ongoing.
Hunting Ground, collects issues 8-9 of the ongoing as well as two stories from DHP.
Autumnal, collects issues 12-14 of the ongoing.
Past Lives, collects issues 15-16 of the Angel ongoing and issues 29-30 of the Buffy ongoing.
Strange Bedfellows, collects issues 4, 10, 11, and 17 of the ongoing.
Long Night's Journey, collects the four-issue mini.

Pith. Pith. Pith.

My mind is in a ton of different places today, for a number of different reasons. It's nothing I really feel like typing up. Anybody who knows me knows what it is anyways, given the date. Stupid fucking greeting card companies.

My experiment/quest failed, somewhat. I did, however, seem to flush out my system a bit and don't have as great of a desire to ingest death. So, I went from about ten a day to maybe four or five. Next time I try it'll be easier. Maybe next weekend.

To share some more my state of mind, I've been listening to two albums recently. Streetlight Manifesto's Everything Goes Numb. It's this cool ska band made up of half of Catch 22. It's very cool and depressing. The other is not really music. But it is. It's the best type of music. It's William Shatner's Has Been. It's completely awesome and cool and I believe William Shatner has earned the right to do whatever the hell he wants to. And we, as geeks, has a responsibility to listen to him.

Comics on Wednesday are going to be so awesome words can not effectively describe it. It's one of those outrageously cool weeks that come along every once and a while. Adventures of Superman #637, which continues the awesomeness of Greg Rucka; Astonishing X-Men #8, which is Joss Whedon at his greatest; The Authority: Revolution #5 (of 12), which is in and of itself pretty freakin' cool; Birds of Prey #79, which is always excellent; Catwoman #40, which is Scott Morse's last issue; Catwoman: When in Rome #4 (of 6), which I kind of like, but it's nothing special; Daredevil #70, which is always excellent; Daredevil: Redemption #2 (of 6), which had a strong first issue; Ex Machina #8, which is one of my new favorite books; Gotham Knights #62, which is surprisingly awesome; Green Lantern: Rebirth #4 (of 6), which is late but welcome; Hawkman #37, which is always good; JLA Classified #4, which is the sequel to the Formerly Known as the Justice League mini-series that came out about a year ago; Manhunter #7, which is finding its footing; Ocean #4 (of 6), which is Warren Ellis goodness; Robin #135, which is always good; Runaways #1, which has me mad with excitement (because I have no life); Space Ghost #4 (of 6), which is just silly; Spectacular Spider-Man #25, which is decent enough; Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill #2 (of 6); which is very, very metal; Teen Titans #21, which is always good; Trigger #3, which is surprisingly good; and Wolverine #25, which is the end of Mark Millar's first story arc.

Yay. Dammit, I'm tired.

William Shatner wants to share something with you:

you will never understand
how it feels to live your life
with no meaning or control
and with nowhere left to go
you're amazed that they exist
and they burn so bright
and you can only wonder why

At 4:00, it will be 32 hours and counting. I almost slipped earlier. I was already pissed off when I got to work this morning, and there's a certain person at work who has the act of pissing me off down to an art form. So, this person probably knows what I'm trying to accomplish, and either deliberatley or just in the back of their head was doing things to piss me off even more. So I almost slipped. I had one drag and threw it very far away and pulled out my gum.

I'm better now. I still want to punch random people when they walk by me. I'm sure that will pass. Coffee helps.

Blah. Almost seven hours since I ingested death. I keep feeling like my stomach has become a hard ball of lead. I keep drinking Coke in order to stop it, but it doesn't help for very long. My feet are shaking too. It's a lot of fun.

I have to finish a paper of The Taming of the Shrew by 5:00 tomorrow. I'm about halfway done with it. I can finish it up easy tonight and a bit tomorrow.

So, here's a book review. It'll help take my mind off... things. This week's book of choice for review is Young Avengers #1 written by Allan Heinberg with art by Jim Chueng. Published by Marvel Comics, February 9, 2005.

Anyone who reads my blog can pick up on what has happened with the Avengers lately. Avengers go boom. People died. Captain America started a new team comprised of himself, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Spider-Woman, Sentry, possibly Wolverine (one day), and possibly Daredevil. So here's a book that is spinning out of that, as well as a number of others.

The artist is one of Marvel's "young guns," up and coming artists who they are putting on big name books. The writer is a writer and producer on, of all things, The O.C. (which I admit that I love, but it's an odd thing to have on your resume). So I was all for this book from that. But Marvel never really told us what the book was going to be about. It was just a group of teen superheroes named the Young Avengers. And we had names: Patriot (mini-Captain America), Asgardian (mini-Thor), Iron Lad (mini-Iron Man), and Hulkling (mini-Hulk). Yeah, I know. But I still wanted to check it out. The only marketing strategy they had was "we can't talk about this book much." Maybe that's the best kind of marketing. The conversations online in interviews and whatnot went something like this:

"You should read this book."
"Why?"
"Because it's cool."
"Oh. What's cool about it?"
"Can't tell you."
"Why?"
"It's a secret."
"Okay..."
"Just buy it."
"But... but there's a guy named 'Hulkling' in here."
"It's cool."
"But..."
"Just do it. You like the Avengers."
"No I don't."
"Yes you do. Spider-Man is in there now. You have to like them."
"But..."
"Spider-Man."
"Maybe you're right."
"Of course we are."

And so on.

I still dug the hell out of it, though.

STORY: Jessica Jones is one of my favorite characters. I think this might be her first appearance outside of a book penned by Brian Bendis (who created the character), and Allan Heinberg gets her down pretty good. I love the opening scene, even if it did run a little long. But that's okay, I like talking head books. I dug the fight scene, although we've been thrown in the middle of these characters' lives. This definitely isn't a normal origin story. But that's good, as well. The ending is... I don't know (Iron Lad says that he's Kang, who is the Avengers' equalivent to Doctor Doom or Lex Luthor). I'm not the world's biggest Avengers fan, so I don't know exactly what this means. But, it's cool. I'm definitely looking forward to the next issue. 9/10

ART: I don't think I've ever seen this guy's art anywhere else before. It's good stuff. A but... harsh, I want to say, but it works in the tone of the book. I dig the characters designs, especially Asgardian's costume. A lot of the characters look very feminine, and I don't know if that's on purpose or not (I think Hulkling might even be a girl). But if Cheung stays with the book, I'm sure we'll all come to love him. 9/10

Overall, it's a nine out of ten. It's a good first issue, although I wouldn't hand this to a new comic book reader. There's a lot going on here that requires knowledge of Marvel happenings from the past two or three years (stuff from Alias, The Pulse, Avengers, and New Avengers. Still, really good though.

I had something really cool I was going to type up, and now I can't remember what it was. Instead, I thought I would list the movies coming out soon that I am excited about seeing.

Constantine (02/18/2005) - because as much as you might argue, Keanu Reeves is pretty cool. And it has Rachel Weisz in it, which is always good. And Djimon Hounsou as Papa Midnight is going to kick all kinds of ass.

Be Cool (03/04/2005) - because I want to be Elmore Leonard when I grow up. And Get Shorty is one of my very favorite movies.

Sin City (04/01/2004) - this is going to be so cool. You know it will be.

The Amityville Horror (04/15/2005) - because I love the original one. At the same time, remakes usually suck. But, still, it might be cool.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (05/06/2005) - besides being one of the coolest books ever, Mos Def is playing Ford Perfect. That has to be awesome. I love Mos Def.

Revenge of the Sith (05/20/2005) - I know. But, childhood memories will make me see it in the hopes that it will be cool.

Batman Begins (06/17/2005) - because it's Christopher Nolan. And Christain Bale. And Michael Cane. And Ken Watanabe. And it's freakin' Batman.

Fantastic Four (07/08/2005) - the trailer made me want to see it. Michael Chiklis is great.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (07/15/2005) - because I hope it's the movie that will restore my faith in Tim Burton.

Serenity - (09/30/2005) - this is it. After I see this movie my life will be complete.

That's all that IMDB has up. There's alot of freakin' comic book movies coming out. If they rock, then more power to 'em. My inclination tells me that there will at least one that will suck. Possibly Fantastic Four. And Batman can be horrible if not done correctly.

I got Wonderfalls on DVD this weekend. Such a great show. I think season five of Angel comes out tomorrow or next week, so I'll have to get that, as it's one of the best seasons of television ever.

The new Battlestar Galactica is still kicking my ass. Nobody else seems to like it except Chris.

Here's comics for Wednesday. I'm trying to pass the time at work. Action Comics #824, which is first issue without Chuck Austen, and I hope it stays that way; Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes #7 (of 8), which is kicking all kinds of ass; Batman: The Man Who Laughs, which might be the last DC work for Ed Brubaker for a while; Bloodhound #8, which is ending at issue ten; Captain America #3, which more than makes up for Ed Brubaker leaving DC; Captain America and the Falcon #12, which I'm sad is ending, but I think something cool is coming out of; Fables #34, which is always good; Fantastic Four: Foes #2 (of 6), which is good Robert Kirkman stuff; Gambit #7, which is supposed to feature Brother Voodoo; The Gift #10, which is really good; Gotham Central #28, which always kicks my ass; Green Arrow #47, which, also, always kicks my ass; Incredible Hulk #78, which continues the return of Peter David; JLA #111, which continues Kurt Busiek's opening run on the title; JSA #70, which continues JSA/JSA; Jubilee #6 (of 6), which makes me realize all good authors have a bad one in them; Legends of the Dark Knight #188, which has been good lately; Marvel Knights 4 #15, which is always good; Marvel Knights Spider-Man #11, which is the penultimate issue of Mark Millar's run; New Thunderbolts #5, which I'm enjoying quite a bit; Nightwing #103, which continues Year One; Outsiders #20, which ought to get better now; The Punisher #17, which is always good enough to make me keep buying it; Ultimate X-Men #56, which is always good; The Ultimates 2 #3 (of 12), which is of course going to be awesome; Vimanarama #1 (of 3), which I'm looking foward to; The Walking Dead #15, which is always good; and Young Avengers #1, which is extremely looking foward to.

Good week. I'm glad I got paid today.

So, I'm doing this review group thing on a message board for comics. I thought I would repost them here and expand on them for my non-comic book reading friends. This week is Black Panther, volume 3 #1, written by Reginald Hudlin, with art by John Romita, Jr. Published by Marvel Comics, February 2, 2005.

Volume 2 of Black Panther was published for 62 issues back from 1999 to 2003 (ish, not exactly sure on the dates). 60 of those issues were written by Christopher Priest, and for me and a lot of other people, it is the definitive run for the character. While there were a slew of artists to come on and off the book, the writing was always consistently good, and the subjects ranged from the Panther's relationship to the Avengers, to Wakanda's relationship with America and the United Nations, to good old fashioned superhero battles, to a gritty crime drama in its later issues.

The story is not as simple of other superhero comics. T'Challa is the king of Wakanda, a nation in the middle of Africa that has been prosperous for hundreds of years. T'Challa has taken up the mantle of the Black Panther, as have the kings before him, and uses a suit infused with vibranium, a natural resource of Wakanda, to fight evil not only in his homeland, but in America as well as a member of the Avengers. As the previous series finished, T'Challa had realized that he had forgotten his own nation, and faked his own death in order to return home quietly after taking back his country. The last major arc of that book had someone taking over T'Challa's mantle in New York, only to find the king still alive. These adventures were chronicled in The Crew, also written by Priest, but was sadly cancelled after only seven issues. So, we don't know what T'Challa has been up to since then. He made a brief appearance in Avengers Disassembled, but other than that, his fans have been waiting for this new book. The previous volume never sold well, I guess, and eventually became a book that allowed the writer to play around with things and never really have people complain about it.

So when I heard that they were brining back the book, but without Priest, I was a little disappointed. But John Romita, Jr. was attached. And FUCK, he's awesome. He could draw a book of a guy reading a phone book and I'd probably buy it. And when they announced the new writer, I was even more disappointed. Reginald Hudlin is not a "Hollywood heavyweight," as they promoted him as. At the same time, other movie and television writers have done comics that have becomes awesome (J. Michael Straczynski and Joss Whedon, for example). So I opened this book with a little hesitation, but knowing that I would at least dig the art.

STORY: I'm a little tired of these #1 issues where the main character is nowhere to be seen. We get kind of history of Wakanda, and that's it. It's kind of cool. There's nothing cooler than a stream of arrows taking down an entire army. What bothered me with both of the flashbacks was the dialogue. They didn't say "kiss my butt" in the 5th century. And the 18th century guy should have said "huzzah!" Just once. It would have been cool. But the frame tale that appears makes it clear what's happening here. The American government wants to have dealings with Wakanda. And there's a bad guy. I especially liked the bit with the racist senator guy and how he was dealt with. So, it wasn't the best first issue, but it will probably be good in the context of the rest of this story arc. 6/10.

ART: FUCK! I mean, FUCK! This is Romita at the top of his game. While I was a little disappointed at him leaving Amazing Spider-Man, we got The Gray Area, the awesomeness that is his art on Wolverine, and this fantastic first issue. I look forward to seeing this go on. 10/10.

So, overall, the book gets an 8 out of 10. Not bad for a first issue. I hope it stays that way.

Nothing interesting is happening, still. New Avengers #3 kicked my ass last night. Hard. God damn that book is bad ass.

I get paid on Monday. I can do a number of things then. I should probably buy my A-kon ticket before the price goes up anymore. But Wonderfalls came out on DVD Tuesday, and I really want to get that. Really, really badly. I might break down and do that, so I can force all my friends to watch and bask in the joy of talking stuffed animals.

The new Battlestar Galactica is so awesome words can not describe it. You wouldn't think it would be that good, but it is. That's just the genius of Ronald D. Moore, I suppose.