I've been taking my kids along with me to Free Comic Book Day since they were just wee ones, but starting a couple of years ago, they became more involved in the process. Going was no longer just for me to get my stash and they get a free comic book or two, they want their own stashes now and are willing to put out to get it.We have two stores in town that we frequent. One of them, Eighth Street Books and Comics, gives out one comic book to each person who shows up. The other, Amazing Stories, gives you every free comic book if you spend $5 at their store. As a result, our routine has been to hit Amazing Stories first and get one of everything, then hit 8th Street for anything we might have missed.
I was really impressed to see Kate and Simon spending $5 and grabbing a whole stackload of comics this year (Emma didn't have $5, but grabbed a copy of Love and Capes). They had some trouble finding anything to spend $5 on, but once that hurdle was overcome, they did just fine. It was also nice to see them devour the ones they expected to enjoy, then read some that they knew nothing about and really enjoy those, as well. Simon basically wanted the Wolverine and Sonic books but came away wanting to read more Sardine. I consider that a plus. Kate and Emma are also converts to Love and Capes, now, and I think Emma spent an hour or more reading the free L&C content on the web just to fill her craving. We'll probably hunt down back issues or collections in the near future.
As for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, I finally watched the last three episodes of season 2 and they were some of the best of the series. Actually, I'd go so far as to say the last 5 episodes of that season were what I would show to any Doubting Thomas' who have been poo-pooing the show for the last two seasons. It's a crying shame that they won't be able to continue from where they left off, but if they had to end it where they did, I'm satisfied with that. All the characters storylines were addressed, secrets were revealed, homages to the films were made, we got to see some of Cameron's endo-skeleton and someone FINALLY says the word "Terminator"! 31 episodes of the series so far and I don't think Terminator is said once until the last 10 minutes of ep. 31.An early complaint of mine for the show was that it lacked some signature Terminator things to really feel like the audience (meaning me) was watching James Cameron's world (or a reasonable hand-drawn facsimile). Not seeing enough of the Terminator itself was one, but I understood the budget constraints of a television program. Not hearing the aforementioned word, Terminator, bugged the shit out of me, and that was probably some kind of licensing thing with the owners of the property since it has been licensed to different people over the years (I'll bet the movie guys get to say it all the time). The music irked me because I knew Bear McCreary was a brilliant composer, but without any Brad Fiedel call-outs, it just isn't Terminator. I heard that was a rights issue and it looked like they ironed some of that out because the music rocked in season 2.
And by the end of it, I loved it. From top to bottom it was/is one of my favourite shows on television and I'm sad to hear that it likely will not be coming back. I will mourn it, I will buy the DVDs when it comes out, I may even go to see the Christian Bale movie but I've invested enough time and energy into these actors and characters that it won't be the same.
So raise a glass to Terminator: TSCC. We knew you for so short a time, but all good things must come to an end, I guess.
Cheers!
mike
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