Sunday, October 24, 2010

Fringe Reading

This afternoon I finished reading the collected Fringe comic that Wildstorm put out a while ago. I picked it up because of my interest in the show and I'd heard that it was a not-bad read that did, in fact, enhance the viewing experience somewhat due to its exploration of the pasts of William Bell and Walter Bishop.

Well, the main story featuring the two oddball scientists was pretty lackluster so I was, overall, disappointed with the experience. I'll definitely keep to the show and avoid any more 'hidden tales' from the fringe. The shorter back-up stories, however, were pretty decent in a Weird Tales or Strange Science-Fiction Stories sort of way. In fact, it looks like the publisher is following this format for their second Fringe series called Tales From the Fringe which appears to be all shorter stories with twist endings and weird situations. The only real difference is the new series actually stars characters from the show like Broyles, Dunham and Peter, so it's a little more interesting to read.

Anyway, just wanted to get some thoughts down on the experience. Not really recommended for anyone but the most die-hard of fans, so reader beware.

Until next time.

mike

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

What's Going On?

It's been a busy and somewhat hectic couple of months here at Jozic HQ. For starters, Jen has moved back from Regina (where she was working at the Provincial archives), my job has been downsized something awful, I've started the process of putting a business together with my brother, had some family health issues, and read and listened to a lot of really cool stuff.

Looking back on my TwitterFeed (yes, I really do have to look back to remember) the kids and I celebrated Groucho Marx's birthday on the 2nd of Oct. by watching A Night at the Opera and it was received very well by middle child, Kate. Emma had already seen it and Simon remains uninterested in anything B&W, so to hell with him. Anyway, Kate got a lot of the jokes, which is impressive considering how much of it is wordplay, and I've even caught her quoting lines every now and then. "And if not, I'll be back. And with squeaky shoes!"

The kids and I also finished Season 3 of Doctor Who and started the fourth, and final, Tenant series. We've been having a blast with these episodes and if I could just convince them to explore some Eighth Doctor goodness with me, that would make things just perfect. It's a work in progress, to say the least.

I debated on starting a Human Target podcast. Could be fun, but am I really committed to the idea? Give it some time to simmer a bit, I think.

I kinda went off on Steve Rude in 'his time of need' on Twitter. In fact, you probably can't even call it going off on him, since he probably doesn't know about it. Comics journalist Tom Spurgeon did reply with some commentary, trying to put some perspective on my irk, which prompted my Rude post a week ago, but I just received a print that I ordered from the Rude Dude store and it was in rough shape so I'm pissed off again.

Started up with Netflix, which has been a ton of fun. Lots of docs and foreign films I've been wanting to see. Watched some other stuff, too. Well worth the $8 CAN so far. I urge anyone who hasn't to try it out.

Everything kind of wraps up with Thanksgiving, some DVDs and BD's I've bought and watched, and that brings us up to the current situation.

So, with that, I'll take my leave. There are some things I'd like to post about and they're just itching to get out but for whatever reason, they're not there yet. As soon as they are, I'll be back here in a flash.

Toodles!

mike

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Help a Dude Out

Okay, so I posted a new banner up top of the page and will continue to do so throughout the series of auctions being put on by Steve Rude and his wife Jaynelle. See, they're in a rough patch and their house is in danger of being foreclosed on and these folks are trying to unload a bunch of comic art and other merch in order to help pay some of the bills.

Steve is one of the finest artists to ever work in comics and his Nexus series with Mike Baron is possibly one of the finest series ever produced. There was a recent attempt to relaunch the book under Steve's creator owned imprint but for whatever reason that didn't pan out for the long-term, much to the dismay of all of his fans, this one included.

Anyway, if you are a fan yourself, love comic book art or just wanna maybe help a guy and his family out, click through at the top of the page and take a gander at what's being offered.

Take care!

mike