Getting Ready for Christmas

It starts. Christmas madness is upon us! I went to Sears with my friend Kerry to look at televisions. There were some great deals, but most of the stuff was gone. That is what he gets for waiting until afternoon!

What are you doing for Christmas shopping? I am trying to be creative and do stuff that I can not have to spend too much money on. Does anyone have any suggestions? I will do a monthly calendar for my mom and dad, but other then that I am pretty lost.

It was a nice long weekend for me. I tried to rest as much as possible and tried to get over my cold. It is still lingering, which is bad!

Speaking of Christmas, my hubby and the wonderful artists at Space Goat Fine Arts are having a huge half off sale! I am amazed at this great opportunity. The artists represented here are Richard Moore (Boneyard), Rafa Sandoval (Incredible Hercules, Ultimate Captain America Annual), Jason Metcalf (should be major star any minute now), and Randy Kintz (ditto!). Check it out if you get a chance. The sale starts tomorrow and goes through December 23.

On that note, I am off to try and cook up some soup for dinner. Take care and I will see you back here tomorrow for new comics!

Turkey Hangover

Yesterday was a nice day. I went and saw the new 007 movie and Transporter 3. Then we cooked up chicken breasts and stuffing. Then I proceeded to go to bed and sleep 15 hours in a row! That being said, I have not been productive at all.

I am at my friend Kerry's house trying out his new internet. He hasn't had service for over a year and he just switched to the Charter bundle package. It is pretty cool.

Since today is Black Friday, I am staying as far away from the retail stores as humanly possible. Kerry is going to go play racquetball and I am going home to work on stuff there. Jim and I don't have a shopping plan yet, but we will get there.

Anyone else go see any movies?

Random Thoughts and Musings : Head Cold Edition

It is official- I am sick. I have a crappy head cold and the underneath of my nose is rubbed raw from the constant blowing. The best thing I have found to do is use Afrin nasal spray and Alka Seltzer cold medicine. Otherwise, I just need to sit on my butt and wait for it to go away. Any remedies you have that can help?

I just got the new Guns'N'Roses CD and I dig it. Yes, I know I had to wait like 17 years for it, but I don't care. Axl is batsh*t crazy, and I miss Slash, but it sounds killer. There aren't frontmen out there like that anymore- charisma and insanity are a heck of a mix. Mick Jagger, James Hetfield, David Lee Roth, Rob Halford, and... Axl Rose! LOL. Anyone have an opinion on it?

In comic book news, I have cut back to four titles in January. Yep, you heard me right. We are tightening our belts, so for the near future, I will have to change my focus and review old stuff. That is, if I ever start reviewing stuff again! It is weird to sit here, knowing that I am cutting back so far, but it is a fact of life. I kept The Boys, 100 Bullets, Wonder Woman, and JSA. I also ordered Final Crisis #7. For the first time in many years I won't be getting any Marvel.

On that note, I am going to go sit and try and recover from this mess of a cold. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

New Comics for November 26

It is Thanksgiving week already. Good Lord! This month has gone by so quickly!

I had a nice weekend with my family, but it went too quickly. I also came back with a bad cold, so that is a bit of a bummer. Happily, I have Wednesday through Sunday off, so I can recover.

Here is this week's list of comics!

Batman #681

Birds of Prey #124

JSA: Kingdom Come Special: The Kingdom #1

Reign in Hell #5 (of 8)

Superman #682

Teen Titans #65

Trinity #26

Wonder Woman #26

Captain America #44

Daredevil #113

Hulk #8

Incredible Hercules #123

Ms Marvel #33

Secret Invasion Inhumans #4 (of 4)

Secret Invasion X-Men #4 (of 4)

She-Hulk 2 #35

True Believers #5 (of 5) - pictured

Ultimate Spider-Man #128

Ultimate X-Men #98

That is it for tonight. I have a terrible sinus ache, so I am going to go lay down. See you again soon!

Early Thanksgiving!

I am running home to see my family for a day and a half to celebrate early Thanksgiving. Jim is staying here to check out job opportunities and keep the home fires burning. We wish his family lived closer so that it was a car ride rather then a plane trip.

There is not much more to say, other then to wish you all well this weekend. Take care!

Wishing I Was Rich.... Again!

In the DC Previews for February 2009, there is an advance solicitation for a sweet statue of the old school Batgirl versus Catwoman. It is based on the designs of my awesome bud Matt Haley, so that makes it even more tempting.

The problem: I don't have the cash. Bummer!

My only quibble is that Catwoman's top is way more lowcut then I remember it being in the old comic books. Otherwise, I love it. The facial expressions are killer and the sheer poetry of motion is divine. Very cool.

Here are the specs:

CATWOMAN VS. BATGIRL STATUE

DESIGNED BY MATT HALEY

SCULPTED BY ANDY BERGHOLTZ

Gotham City’s female foes do battle in a CLASSIC CONFRONTATIONS statue!The latest addition to this line of statues sculpted by some of DC Direct’s premier talent features Batgirl confronting Catwoman as the feline fatale attempts to pull a bank heist. In a unique twist, not only does each figure’s cape suspend her in mid-air, but the capes act as bases on which the figures stand. Packaged as three separate pieces (Batgirl, Catwoman and the bank vault over which they are fighting), the statue can be set up in a variety of configurations. The Catwoman Vs. Batgirl Statue is limited-edition, hand-painted and cold-cast in porcelain. It measures approximately 8” high x 11” wide x 5” deep, includes a 4-color Certificate of Authenticity and is packaged in a 4-color box. Manufactured to order.

Advanced-solicited;

on sale July 29, 2009

* Statue * $225 US

What do you think?

New Comics for November 19

Hey all! It is another week, and I have something to look forward to. Next week I only work two days- I took Wednesday off and Thursday and Friday are part of the Thanksgiving holiday. This will give me a chance to clean my house and go through my comics so we can sell some.

Here is a list of this week's books!

Brave & the Bold #19

Ex Machina #39

JSA Kingdom Come Special: Magog #1

Stormwatch PHD #16

Trinity #25

Deadpool #4- cover pictured

Punisher Max #64

Uncanny X-Men #504

X-Factor #37

X-Men Legacy #218

Tomorrow our DCBS order should arrive, so that is good news. I am very thrilled about next week as well! I hope to start blogging more regularly soon.

Have a good night!

Selling Comics...

Jim and I have been considering selling large chunks of our collections. eBay fees are killer, so we are wondering where the best places are to try and move books. Do you have any ideas?

Also, does anyone do anything with Amazon? I had heard that they have a program. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

I hope you had a good weekend. Take care!

More Comics in Playboy

In the December Playboy, comics are once again touched upon. This time they didn't dress up Tiffany Fallon as Wonder Woman. This time, four writers were asked to talk about thier best of comic books. Walter Mosley (Easy Rawlins and Fearless Jones mysteries), Margaret Atwood (fiction and poetry writer), Jodi Picoult (former Wonder Woman scribe and reknowned author), and Jonathan Lethem (You Don't Love Me Yet) all give their takes.

What may interest you, other then the general take, is that Picoult talks about her perception of Wonder Woman. It is fascinating reading to be sure. After so much controversy surrounding her run on the book, I was a bit surprised to find out she was trying to make all the readers happy. Picoult faced a losing battle from the start, so trying to please all of us was not going to go well.

:-(

Anyone else hear about this?

I won't be blogging again until Sunday or Monday, so until then... have a great weekend!

All Time Low

Man, just when I thought I would have more time to blog, life keeps happening! I am in training this week, and it has been great. It just has made me work more hours again. I am still fervently hoping to work a more normal week next week. I think Jim hopes so as well.

Anyone go to the Portland Show? It was last weekend and Jim and I weren't able to make it.

Is anyone planning to see Punisher: War Zone? It opens December 5th and Jim and I are thinking of checking it out.

In good news, we got notification that our DCBS order shipped today. Yay!

Have a great night!

New Comics for November 12

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a nice weekend. We were supposed to go see my nephews this weekend for their birthday party, but plans fell through when a flu epidemic hit my family. Hopefully we can make it up this upcoming weekend.

In comic book news, there is lots of good stuff coming out this week. Here is the list!

100 Bullets #97
Action Comics #871
Booster Gold #14
Detective Comics #850
Fables #78
Green Arrow Black Canary #14
JSA Kingdom Come Special: Superman #1
Manhunter #36
Nightwing #150
Titans #7
Trinity #24
Broken Trinity #3
Darkness #7
Wolverine #69
Fallen Angel #31
Lone Ranger #15

That is it for tonight. I am being a bad blogger, please forgive me. Jim and I are going to sit down and have a discussion about upcoming events.

Birds of Prey, Nightwing, and Robin Cancelled!!

I read over at Newsarama that Birds of Prey, Nightwing, and Robin are being cancelled. The February issues will be the final of each, with issues #127, #153, and #183 respectively.

My first thought is that it has to be due to Batman RIP. My second thought is that DC is imploding again, almost thirty years later. That being said, it is a complete bummer. I do think it is interesting to take note of what Newsarama points out- each series was originally written by Chuck Dixon. Another note is that each book has been wildly popular at one point or another.

In recent memory, there have been some stinker periods on each book. Since Gail Simone left Birds of Prey, it just hasn't been the same. Bruce Jones almost killed Nightwing. I quit reading Robin around the time Identity Crisis hit. I do admit there have been some bad times. I have really enjoyed Nightwing recently and am especially sad to see Birds of Prey end. I love the concept of the book and the execution has been mostly fantastic.

Why do you think the books got cancelled now after such long runs?

New Comics for November 5

We made it through our first day of "go live" very well, so I am a happy but exhausted woman. It is such a relief that things are working as well as they are. I feel good to my bones about it, so that is what matters. Now I just have to cross my fingers that things continue to go well.

Here is the list of this week's books.

Army @ Love #4 (of 6)
Final Crisis Resist #1
Justice Society of America #20
Sandman Dream Hunters #1 (of 4)
Secret Six #3
Top Ten Season Two #2 (of 4)
Trinity #23
Ultimatum #1 (of 5)
X-Men Manifest Destiny #3 (of 5)
Femme Noir Dark City Diaries #3 (of 4)- see cover!

That is it for tonight. I am going to go sit and relax for a bit before heading off to bed. This is a big week for me! Take care.

Still Alive!

Hey there! I am still alive and kicking! My computer conversion was this weekend and things are looking good. Tomorrow morning, we are good to go "live" and I am very happy.

It was amazing. As things were completed and looked good, I could literally feel the stress leaving my body. As the main person from my old company who worked on the pre-conversion, I really felt I had something to prove. As things worked, and we were able to progress, I just had to smile.

At any rate, I hope you are all doing well. I have missed my blog and all the great folks who come around and see me! By the end of the week, I hope to be back on my more normal blogging schedule.

Take care!

Being Healthy and Leaner Is a Good Thing

It is just a couple of days before the "go live" onto the new system, but I wanted to take a quick moment to talk about something serious- being overweight.

The last five months have been very tough on me, and in the last few months, my gym attendance has dwindled. I still get up in the morning and do some cardio, but my weight lifting has been completely non-existent. Add the fact that I am eating poorly to the mix, and I am at the highest weight I have been at for almost ten years. I am fat and I am unhappy. Let me tell you why.

When I gain weight, it really accumulates around my stomach. That makes it harder to get a good, clean breath, and it has caused me to start snoring. Some nights I breath so laboriously that it has really upset Jim. All that fat around my organs isn't good for my heart either.

Since I am in my 40's losing weight means loose skin and more wrinkles. My skin has lost some of it's elasticity, so when I lose the weight, it will look like crap under my clothes.

Add in a higher risk of diabetes, heart attack, and high blood pressure to the mix, and I can't find a single good thing to say about being heavy.

That is why I am going to go on a diet tomorrow. My friend Rick works at a Fitness place and they are sponsoring a lower pressure contest. It isn't on the scary workout level of the contest I have done in the past, but it is still a challenge. That means no more candy and that means that after "go live" I will be back in the gym at night.

I don't care what the naysayers have to say about this. Being overweight sucks. It makes me look and feel like crap and it completely saps my energy. I defy anyone out there to tell me what is great about being heavy- there just isn't any reason.

Cross your fingers for me that I can get my work stuff done and get back on track. It is about time!

New Comics for October 29

It is another big week for me at work. We are exactly a week from "Go Live". It is hectic, but very interesting. I can't wait to be up on the new system, as it will help me with my daily tasks. I also think that Jim would like to see me more, so he will be happy.

Here is my list of new comics for the week.

DC Universe Decisions #4 (of 4)

Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns #1

Justice League of America #26

Reign in Hell #4 (of 8)

Superman #681

Teen Titans #64

Trinity #22

Sword #12

Incredible Hercules #122

Secret Invasion X-Men #3 (of 4)

Ultimate Captain America Annual #1

Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #3

X-Force #8

Boys #24- both covers pictured

Since I am running so late, I am keeping this brief. This will be a spotty week for posting, as I am going to have no days off until November 8.

Have a great week!

Major Kudos...

On Wednesday, the wonderful Laura at Bloggity-Blog-Blog-Blog celebrated her six year blogoversary! Many congratulations and high hopes for many more years! That is just awesome!

In further anniversary celebrations, Johnny Bacardi celebrated his six year blogoversary as well! May you continue to be irreverent and inspirational, Sir.

I know that in the midst of my hectic year, I have failed to give a shout out to many of you on my blogroll as you have celebrated your milestone, so I just want to send lots of blog love to all of you who continue to soldier on, giving me a reason to smile and keep on reading!

Random Thoughts and Musings

In really good news, Jim and I got our comic book order Tuesday night. I was very excited, and have been randomly reading them the last few nights.

I am sad that Fallen Angel is going to end. I can't remember the issue number off the top of my head (help on that anyone?), but I will miss it. Hopefully writer Peter David will bring it back again.

Another book I have been pleasantly surprised about is Rex Mundi from Dark Horse. When the book began, I was intrigued, but wasn't able to get all the issues. Since the Dark Horse run, I have been on board. The book continues to improve, telling a tale that appears to be hitting it's apex.

I loved 100 Bullets as usual, and I laughed until I cried when I checked out The Boys. The last page is priceless!

There are many more books in my stack, and I would love to knock off a true blue review sooner than later. I am not holding my breath, but it would be nice to get back on the old review horse.

Work is continuing to rev up as we head towards "Go Live" on the company's computer system. Getting bought by another company can go many different ways, but luckily for me, it has been a pleasant, intriguing experience thus far. My harshest complaint is that I have been working so hard I haven't had a settled homelife. I miss Jim and I miss my blog, but both are being patient.

The bad news is that Jim and I will not be attending this Sunday's Seattle Comicard Show. Jim tried to get a table, but never got a call back. I am not too sad as I am very tired and was not looking forward to the drive. The worst part about not going is missing our friends. I am very sad about that. Next spring, Jim and I will be back on the convention circuit with a vengeance.

Tomorrow is Friday and that is a good thing. Jim and I are planning to order pizza and watch True Blood, so I am really looking forward to that. I hope you all are doing well!

I will see you back here soon to answer comments and babble about more stuff!

New Comics for October 22

Good Evening! I can tell that my computer conversion is starting to be condition critical. We go live on the new system the first week of November, and I am very anxious. The good news is that it will be soon, and that then I can start to look forward to more normalcy and the upcoming holidays, which I hope to spend with family and friends.

This week's pull list is fascinating, with both Secret Invasion and Final Crisis busting out the gate. Because of my DCBS file, I won't see either for another two weeks. I really hope they don't get spoiled all over the internet, but I am not holding my breath.

Here is the list.

Birds of Prey #123

Final Crisis #4 (of 7)

Final Crisis: Submit- cover pictured

Supeman New Krypton Special #1

Trinity #21

Noble Causes #37

Captain America #43

Daredevil #112

Hulk #7

Ms. Marvel #32

New Avengers #46

Secret Invasion #7 (of 8)

She-Hulk 2 #34

True Believers #4 (of 5)
Ultimate Spider-Man #127- I really HATE this story arc.

X-Factor #36

X-Men Legacy #217
Terry Moore's Echo #7

That is it for tonight. I am going to go scrounge up some food for dinner. Have a wonderful night!

Huge Bummer: Manhunter Cancelled

For the third and final time, Manhunter has been given the death knell. In an article at Comic Book Resources, it is revealed that the news comes from no other then series writer Marc Andreyko.

What a bummer! This book has been consistently excellent, yet the readers aren't there. Is it me? Am I the only fan? Did you think it was bad after trying it? I am really curious to know.