News for the Week of June 11, 2008
Rick’s Writin’s
I got nothing to write about except to complain that it's too freakin'
cold out for June and can't we catch a break and have a few sunny days
thrown into the mix. M's stink, but that's no news and it seems like they're
going to let the season ride out before any heads are going to roll. I
don't get the feeling they're in a hurry to do anything significant, but
if they don't use the last four months of this wasted season to build
for the future, then that's just poor planning, which is what got us here
in the first place. I'm curious as to who will be the running mates for
both Obama and McCain. I really feel that Hillary is the best running
mate for Obama, good and bad both. Why not? and besides, Who else? I haven't
a clue about McCain's choice. There's no obvious Republican that could
help him or give him a huge boost, unless it's somebody not on the radar,
some outside the box choice like Oprah or Martha Stewart. I don't really
see him doing that though. Colin Powell?? Hmmm... New TV show to recommend
and that's In Plain Sight, on USA Sunday at 10:00 pm. The lead actress,
Mary McCormick was on West Wing its last couple seasons and I liked her
there, and she's very good in this show. She’s a US Marshall dealing
with the Witness Protection program. She has an interesting partner, whom
I've seen somewhere before but can't place and the story, both work life
and personal, at least the first episode, was funny and dramatic too.
On to comics....
This week DC wraps up two minis, Gotham Underground (#9 of 9) and the
villain fest Salvation Run (#7 of 7). I never got around to reading these,
but heard good about both. I'll be looking for the trades a bit later,
though I have all the Undergrounds set aside. Batman Confidential (#18)
has the second part of the Barbara Batgirl meets Catwoman for the first
time story. On a side note Cassie Batgirl has a mini coming next month.
The second Trinity (#2 of course) and Action Comics (#866) featuring Smallville's
Chloe round out the notables for DC. Marvel's most interesting this week
(to me at least) is the new Skaar: Son of Hulk (#1). Skaar looks like
a cross between Hulk and Conan, and has its roots in the Planet Hulk story.
Son of Hulk means that Hulk probably had sex, and that's kind of, uh...well,
uh..... Anyway, this book looks like it could be pretty good, and it's
on-going. Secret Invasion has a "Who Do You Trust?" one shot.
I'm not hearing much buzzing about Secret Invasion. How's it going so
far True Believers? Marvel Zombies (no, not you True Believers, the real
Zombies) has the second series hard cover arriving this week. These hard
covers usually have some extras and have been very popular.
Most the other books this week of note are from smaller companies. IDW's
Angel: After the Fall (#8) continues Angel's season six in comic form.
Another TV show makes its comic debut and that's "Chuck" (#1)
from Wildstorm. I really enjoy the Chuck TV show, but I'm not sure you
can capture what makes it a good show to me in a comic, but I'll give
it a chance. Another of my favorites hits its #25 issue, and that's Dark
Horse's The Goon by Eric Powell. Glad it's still going strong. Lastly,
Image's Invincible (#50), by Robert Kirkman, another book hitting a milestone,
though it's very late in arriving. There was supposed to be tie in issues
with this issue #50 and Brit and I think another book, but I don't know
if that's still on the slate because of the lateness.
Paula’s Picks
Late last week we got in the new Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition books.
Yesterday I went to the Wizards of the Coast hosted D&D Game Day at
Neumo’s. We had a blast! There were a ton of people there. We saw
a 13 foot tall Beholder and lots of great artwork. We played one of the
short games and got killed, but put up a good fight. We got all kinds
of cool freebies including a t-shrit with the gnome saying “I’m
a Monster! Rahr!” I love it! The smallest they had was a large,
so I’ll hopefully be able to modify it to fit me by Wednesday. I’m
really excited about the new system and can’t wait to get started!
This week, we’re getting Burn #2 written by our very own Scott Sanders.
The first issue sold wonderfully!
We’ve also got the winners of the Secret Invasion Art Contest! First
place goes to Donnie with his Spider-Man cover, second place goes to Tim
with his Skrull Spongebob cover and third goes to Mike with his Skrull
Boba cover. Thanks to everyone that participated!
We’ve started our Summer Hours! We’re now open Monday through
Friday 11am to 8pm and Saturday and Sunday 11am to 6pm.
We’ve also had a bunch of people show interest in the Star Wars
miniatures game. We’ll have some space available on June 29th at
noon for Star Wars miniatures casual play! Bring at least one 100 point
team and a map and we’ll go from there!