Monday, May 31, 2010

Week in Geek

Two game sessions this week - got to run my giant robot game and at least touch on my Golden Age game. That made me happy. Also got to participate, today, in a short session based loosely on a Facebook game - surprisingly fun.

My big geeky project of the week is a organizational spree of my various collectible cards. I want to throw away, give away, or sell any of them I can, and organize the ones I can't. This includes various superhero card sets of the early 90's - I think one of them may inspire a series of blog posts later.

I'm also doing the CCGs - planning on liquidating the collection this year to help me pay for my summer vacation. So many defunct CCGs with cards worth nothing more than kindling, now. Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Animayhem, Spellfire, Dragonball Z.. ah, my misspent dollars.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

New Comics Day Supplemental

Oops. Had a couple of extra things that didn't get handed to me.

  • Gotham City Sirens #12
  • Brave and the Bold #34
  • Justice League Generation Lost #2
  • Wonder Woman #44
  • Power Girl #12

Picked'em up today.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

New Comics Day

Here's this week's haul.

  • Robocop #4
  • Angel #33
  • Incorruptible #6
  • Madame Xanadu #23
  • Tales of the Dragon Guard #3
  • Fantastic Four #579
  • The Web #9
  • The Mighty Crusaders Special #1
  • Detective Comics #865
  • Green Lantern Corps #48
  • Green Lantern #54
  • Teen Titans #83
  • Superman : War of the Supermen #4
  • Batman : The Return of Bruce Wayne #2
  • Tarot #62

That's it!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Week in Geek

Kind of a hectic week in geek, though a lot of it was spent in non-geeky pastimes like routine household maintenance. Still, I managed to get several nerdy tasks completed.

Most importantly, I got to run one of my Mutants and Masterminds games and make progress on some characters for the other. We got to run a short session of the Nexus game wherein I introduced a new player and his new character to the group, and we've got some very promising concepts for the Golden Age game brewing. I may even get to run next weekend, as well, which would make three weekends in a row - an almost unheard of streak for this year.

I also did some advanced toy hunting today, picking up a few more rare DC Classics finds from the collector I know in Pennsylvania - including some of the proto-Classics line called 'DC Superheroes'. Same articulation and scale as the Classics, but sometimes a little less in the quality control. On the other hand, that line has a number of figures not yet adapted to DC Classics, including Parasite and Bizarro. Steel, also, but the collector didn't have one of those for me to buy.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

New Comics Day

Fairly significant haul this week.

  • PS238 #44
  • The Incredibles #9
  • Ex Machina #49
  • Galacta : Daughter of Galactus #1
  • The Spirit #2
  • Superman/Batman #72
  • Zatanna #1
  • Batman : Streets of Gotham #12
  • Justice League of America #45
  • DC Universe : Legacies #1
  • Superman : War of the Supermen #3
  • Legion of Super-Heroes #1
  • Brightest Day #2
  • Knights of the Dinner Table #162

Zatanna was a good start. It's nice to see Lexor again. Him, a Green Lantern? War of the Supermen is how an event should be paced. Dropped Titans from my Previews order this month, after the One-Shot with Deathstroke and Ryan Choi. Boo, DC.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Week in Geek

Still getting used to the new desk - the keyboard is at a slightly different relative height than before.

I actually got to run a game this week! The Golden Age superhero campaign kicked off with a team-up between Reveille and the Jaguar. And I ran a short session of Ninja Burger for folks before that.

Yesterday, I belatedly picked up a couple of things from the comic shop - Prince of Power #1 and the new JLA hardcover - and recruited another new player for the gaming group and worked out some character concepts. Hopefully next weekend we can make it two sessions in a row..

Friday, May 14, 2010

The Sentry

I just have to share a link here - someone reviews The Sentry : Fallen Sun special and illustrates the problems with the character more thoroughly than I ever could.

Have a look.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

New Comics Day

Fairly sizable haul this week - still getting through them.

  • Fables #95
  • Magog #9
  • SHIELD #9
  • First Wave #2
  • Doc Savage #2
  • Batgirl #10
  • R.E.B.E.L.S. #16
  • Titans : Villains for Hire Special
  • Booster Gold #32
  • Batman #699
  • The Flash #2
  • Birds of Prey #1
  • Adventure Comics #11
  • Superman : War of the Supermen #2
  • Justice League : Generation Lost #1
  • Batman : The Return of Bruce Wayne #1

Whew!

Marvel vs. DC

This subject's been poking around my brain again lately, and though other bloggers have really done a great job of examining the issue, I thought I'd throw in my own two cents. Scipio of the Absorbascon did a whole series of Marvel vs. DC posts are - if I recall correctly - nailed down that Marvel heroes are sympathetic, and DC heroes are inspirational.

It's kind of in that vein that I'm going to expand on the discussion to look at each company's appeal. Obviously, there are some exceptions on each side - I think Incredible Hercules is a very DC-style book, for instance.

A Marvel hero Makes Tough Choices. When confronted with horrible option A, and reprehensible option B, they agonize and analyze and pick the lesser of two evils, and forever after wonder if they did the right thing. This is relatable, and 'realistic', because everyone - even in the real world - Makes Tough Choices. That's part of Marvel's appeal, from the beginning. It's also why they've never been my favorite, because it's dull. EVERYONE Makes Tough Choices. The heroes aren't exceptional.

A DC hero Finds a Better Way. When confronted with horrible option A, and reprehensible option B, they punch out the villain and do unexpected thing C. This is inspirational, and 'escapist', because few people can do that kind of thing in real life, and of those that can, fewer still actually do. That's not a problem for me, though - because I think heroes should be exceptional.

In this regard, a Marvel hero is externally defined by the choices he is given by the universe at large. A DC hero is defined by himself or herself, from within. And while pondering this issue, I hit upon another unexpected parallel - the DC hero is Captain James T. Kirk. Confronted by the unwinnable Kobayashi Maru, he creates a third option and wins. The Marvel hero - well, I wanted to use Captain Picard, because who doesn't love a good 'Kirk vs. Picard', but honestly? They're the Captain Janeways of the universe. They're stuck in circumstances beyond their control, muddling through a series of decisions thrust upon them, doing the best they can.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Week in Geek

I finally watched some of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya this week - I approve, thus far. For those unfamiliar, it's an anime series about a schoolgirl who unwittingly possesses godlike power to manipulate reality. Two thumbs up. I also picked up a disc of Mobile Fighter G Gundam on the cheap - I like it, but the version of G Gundam that filtered through to Dynasty Warriors Gundam is more appealing. I'd love to see this show redubbed with that cast. At least the VA for Domon Kasshu, in particular.

I have fully succumbed to the Pokemon craze, about 15 years late to the party. I resisted for a very long time, but ultimately, I fell. I guess my worries about not getting my money's worth out of my DS are moot now, though. I spent most of yesterday training Pokemon in Pokemon Platinum.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

New Comics Day

Woo! Got DC Classics Wave 12 at the comic store today. Good stuff.

  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer #35
  • Irredeemable #13
  • Doom Patrol #10
  • Nemesis : The Impostors #3
  • The Great Ten #7
  • Red Robin #12
  • JSA All-Stars #6
  • Secret Six #21
  • Batman and Robin #12
  • Superman : War of the Superman #1
  • Brightest Day #1
  • Knights of the Dinner Table #161

Just starting to read them now..

Monday, May 3, 2010

Week in Geek

The big geek thing this week was Free Comic Book Day - which my local store turned into an extended two-day event. The 40% discount on back issues and available Lantern Rings (1 of any color per $10 spent) lured me into splurging on some back issues. Now I've got two complete sets of rings.

My upstairs television bought the farm yesterday, though - I was watching season eight of Dragonball Z - well, listening, mainly - poking my head back into the doorway to get the visuals occasionally. Suddenly, I noticed that the colors were way off - everything had gone green, and not in the environmental sense. Sure, Piccolo looked fine, but everything else was screwed up. I tried power-cycling it, and adjusting the color controls in the set's menu, but I was only able to mitigate the shift slightly.

So, time to buy a new relatively inexpensive TV.

I also spent some time this week putting together another robot model - it'd been a while since I'd done one, and I had three sitting around in boxes waiting, so I decided to grab one this weekend and throw it together.