The Comics Weekend

I'm sorry I've been away for so long. Hopefully that Roger Langridge interview and the buzz generated by it was enough to keep you guys interested for a couple of weeks. I really must apologize for the long hiatus, which seems to be what I do here more than anything. Sad face. I'm living on the edge of poverty right now and even things as simple as internet access have seemed difficult. I some weeks have to watch my budget so closely that even a cup of coffee bought in hopes of doing a few hours of work on free wi-fi is out of the question. My friends have been great about allowing me the use of their houses in important spots, but I try not to put them out too often. Fear not though, my faithful few. Just because you don't see updates here doesn't mean I'm not writing. I'm working on pitches for The Poet, and my Beowulf inspired Western as well as scripting for a potential webcomic.

I've also been asked to help with the comics programming of a local (and growing) convention, the Geek Media Expo. I'm hoping to join their staff officially for this year's show and that's been taking up some of my time. I expect it will begin to take up a great deal more very soon. The show, if you're interested, is the weekend of October 21st, which just so happens to be my birthday. Come have fun, party, see some great guests and celebrate 31 with me as I help grow the best convention Nashville's ever seen.

I did get out and do some comics related stuff this weekend, at least. There was the Thor movie, of course, which I saw earlier today. Any of you that know me know that I'm not overly fond of reviews, so I'll refrain from a drawn out examination of the film. I can say that I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I didn't think it was as good as Iron Man, a film that still stands as the best of the Marvel lot. I enjoyed the cast quite a bit, even Anthony Hopkins who typically leaves me flat. I think any problems with Thor stem from the fact that it's difficult to make a strong film while pleasing all the fans. With so many writers bringing so many different things to a character over the years, finding a balance between the good and bad can sometimes prove overwhelming to filmmakers. Hellboy, which I enjoyed, is a good example of this. Not a bad film, but so much of the comic's nuance was lost by the filmmaker's attempt to cram everything he loved into one feature. Thor suffers from this at points, as the main character is at times Walter Simonson's warrior son, at times the possibly insane and aggressively pragmatic Thor of the Ultimates line and even occasionally the naive yet heroic hero of the short lived Mighty Avenger series by R. Langridge and C. Samnee. Despite the delicate balance, I think the film succeeds for the most part and I was left feeling pleased. That's saying a lot coming from a guy who considers Simonson's run on Thor his favorite superhero run of all time.

The other big comics event this weekend was of course Free Comic Book Day, which happened on Saturday. I headed down to my LCS early and grabbed up the books I desperately wanted, specifically the Thor/Captain America crossover by the aforementioned Langridge/Samnee team and the Elric launch comic from Boom Studios. I was extremely pleased with both, Elric in particular. If Roberson continues to grow the seeds he plants in the first issue of his new Elric series, fans of the famous Moorcock creation are going to be very pleased indeed. Like a true comics professional I must admit that most of my FCBD haul has gone unread, as my time has been split between Nashville Predators games, writing and naps. Mostly Predators games.

So there's your quick update. I'm hoping to move to a smaller place soon so the likelihood of around the clock net access is much higher. Won't that be exciting? You'll have to hear from me all the time!

Till next time, thanks for reading, and keep the faith True Believers.