Two Yuletide Comics Reviews

Here are reviews of two comics with Christmas themes. They are Ghostbusters: Past, Present, and Future and The Tick New Series. Both reviews are short snippets.

Ghostbusters Past Present and Future is a one shot Christmas special. In a nutshell its a modern day A Christmas Carol with a twist. As someone who grew up with the Ghostbusters this was nice nostalgic trip that didn't feel re-hashed. Honestly, I didn't expect the twist at the end as Venkman figures out what is going on. The characterization is adequate and the 'continuity' feels closer to that of the movies than the cartoon. What I found amusing that I kept imagining the Real Ghostbusters Ray's voice instead of Dan Akroyd every time I read Ray's line of dialogue. Story-wise it as a decent Christmas story. As for the art, it was good. The storytelling and backgrounds were rather good. The only downside was the character likenesses. Both Peter and Ray looked awfully alike. Furthermore, the main characters don't resemble past incarnations although both Egon and Winston come close. It was also neat to see that penciler Diego Jourdan's work outside of the occasional Tales of the TMNT foray.

Rating 3 out of 5 stars. Read this if you're a fan of the Ghostbusters, Christmas stories, and/or A Christmas Carol pastiches.

The Tick New Series #1 serves not only as the first issue of a new, bi-monthly full color on-going series but as the Christmas special as well. I found it amusing that intsead of putting 'new' in front of 'the Tick' they put it at the end and then discussed that reason. Other than that this issue concerns The Tick, Arthur, and some of the Tick's rogues gallery at separate Christmas, or not, related gatherings. There's four recountings of the Tick spoiling four different Christmas or winter themed evil-doings of several ne'er do wells. Of them Chairface's struck me as the most hilarious and ironic. The reader need not have too much familiarity with the Tick to enjoy this issue as this story wasn't all that continuity heavy although it may help.

Rating 3 out of 5 stars. Read this if you're a fan of The Tick, Christmas stories, humor, and done -in -ones. Its also accessible to both new and old readers.

4 More Blogs added to my blog roll

Once again, I have added some more blogs to my blog roll. Four of them in fact. Three of them are comics-oriented while the fourth includes comics amongst the discussion. I had been following the three comics blogs for awhile and decided to add them to the roll.

The blogs are: Diversions of the Groovy Kind (70's comics), Golden Age Comic Book Stories, Flashback Universe (webcomics, discussions on comics new and old), and A Fistful of Cult.

Added a new blog to my blog roll

By now, it should be well known that I am a huge fan of Doctor Who. With that said, I have added the blog, Doctor Who News Page to my blog roll. As the name implies it has Doctor Who news.

Honestly, I check out the blogs I have on my blog roll more often than those that I am a follower of. With that said I'll probably be adding more blogs to the blog roll in the near future.

RIP Umaga

Just found out via Yahoo, that the wrestler "Eddie" Fatu whom more recently wrestled under the name of Umaga has passed away because of a heart attack. While I wasn't a huge Umaga fan, I did enjoy aspects of the character and respect the wrestler that portrayed him. RIP

Link to Images from WWE Heroes Comic

Found out recently that apparently there's going to be a WWE comic. What's sort of weird is that Titan Publishing is the publisher for it. I'm not used to Titan providing new material. Although its possible that this is a subsidiary of Titan Sports in which case it makes sense. So possibly a different publisher then. Anyway, Titan Publishing sent PWInsider images from the comic. Here's a link that has both images of both covers as well as sample pages. Based on the sample pages I get the feeling the comic is going to be a bit on the strange side. Then again I was expecting something off-kilter from usual wrestling...er sports entertainment.

4 Classic Doctor Who stories for free on YouTube

Over at ComicMix, it has been reported that BBC has released four stories from the classic Doctor Who run for free on YouTube. Here's the link to the original story.

The stories in question are: Edge of Destruction (Hartnell), Krotons (Troughton), Carnival of Monsters (Pertwee), and Caves of Androzani (Davison).

I am curious how long they will be available as well as whether or not more stories will become available later on. Honestly, its a nice a change of pace from the high price DVDs. Granted those DVD's have some nice extras they are about as expensive, maybe more so, than blue-rays. Perhaps the BBC feels it has reaped enough of profit on the DVDs to justify making these four stories available for free consumption?

GIJoe, Star Trek, and RAW 11/23 Thoughts

On the 23rd, I saw GIJoe and the latest Star Trek movies for the second time as well as watched the 11/23 Monday Night RAW. Since its been awhile since I last updated my blog I figured I'd share my thoughts. Besides I have been meaning to comment on both the Star Trek and GiJoe movies.

11/23 Monday Night RAW - This week's RAW was a three hour Thanksgiving celebration that had Jesse Ventura as the guest host. While not a stellar show, it was still a very good episode that advanced things nicely. We got two matches set up for the next PPV, two new stars getting a decent push, and a stellar appearance from Jesse Ventura. Every segment that had Ventura in it was golden. John Cena and CM Punk put on an excellent match for "free". Chris Jericho as usual was excellent on the mic. On the downside, all matches has predictable outcomes with the exception of the battle royal.

GIJoe - First time I saw GIJoe I thought it was an excellent movie. Upon a second viewing months after that I am glad that my impression is still the same. I felt GIJOE was an excellent adaption of a childhood favorite to the silver screen much like Transformers. Unless one does not tolerate deviation I don't see why any GIJoe fan would not want to see this movie. Heck, those unfamiliar with GIJoe would probably enjoy this as well. I look forward to any sequels.

Star Trek - Like GIJoe, Star Trek was just as good the second time around months after first seeing it. In other words, awesome. Other than that I am not sure if I can add any more praise to this successful revamp of a beloved franchise that hasn't been said already. Definately looking forward to sequels.

Bat-Man and D&D alignments

Here's a link to the blog Geek Orthodox's post called the Many Alignments of Batman. To sum it up, its a picture with a line or two matching Batman with each D&D alignment. Felt I would provide a link cause I thought it was very neat.

2nd LARP Session Today

I will attend the second larp session in about a year tonight. Why so significant? One, as stated, its the second session in about a year that I have attended. Years ago, LARP was a hobby of mine. Half my gaming consisted of LARPing. In fact, I had accepted that LARP was a thing of the past until recently. Unfortunately, that brings me to the second point of significance. I have no idea when I will LARP next. Thus, tonight's session has importance.

LARP tonight

Tonight, I am actually going to a larp. Its been about a year since the last session I attended. This LARP, in particular, is a TGN Werewolf the Apocalypse chronicle located in Stevens Point. As one of the founding players of the Point Larp, the game has a lot of sentimental value. Due to my schedule, I haven't been able to play as much as I would like. So for two nights only, I'll actually be able to play. Hopefully, its something I can come back to.

Extreme Rules PPV DVD Review

Sometime ago, I said that the Extreme Rules PPV was PPV I would be willing to purchase on DVD based on the results. When the DVD finally arrived, I decided not to get it. Well, last week, I bought it as an impulse purchase.

My thoughts:
Extras - a post-match Chris Jericho promo. The promo itself was very exceptional. Other than that, only one extra.

The PPV itself was alright. I enjoyed all matches leading up to the steel cage match. The steel cage match sucked. To provide perspective I enjoyed the joke hog pen match more than the steel cage match. There have been better steel cage matches on free TV. Either that or I am not a big fan of both Batista or Randy Orton. The submission match was just there. Have no idea how that fit the concept of extreme rules except as a gimmick match. The ladder match was very good. CM Punk cashing in the Money the Bank to win his second World Title was icing on the cake.

My rating - I give it 2.5 out of 5 stars. A lot title changes and big wins for wrestlers I like made the dvd worth it for me. On the other hand, I came to the realization that with a moniker of Extreme Rules that the PPV didn't live up to the expectations that the name creates.

TNA No Surrender '09 Fantasy Booking

TNA Wrestling's PPV No Surrender occurs Sunday evening. Now, I haven't watched Impact in awhile. One, I don't have easy access to the show anymore. Two, TNA was one of the reasons I need to take a sabbatical from wrestling. By the time I would watch Impact I discovered that I would fast-forward through most of the show. Three, TNA strayed and continues to stray from the type of product that attracted me to it.

Since I haven't watched the product in awhile, I really can't provide any predictions. I will provide my own personal fantasy booking of this weekend's No Surrender PPV. This is merely the opinion of one wrestling fan.

Rhino vs Bobby Lashley: Rhino has given so much to the company that he deserves more than to just lose to Mr. MMA Bobby Lashley. How about have the match end as draw either by time out or double count out. That way Lashley technically doesn't lose and there can be rematch.

ODB vs Cody Deaner: Unlike the WWE's Women's division, I actually like and respect the Knockouts Division. That fact that guy is wrestling for the title makes the division look like a joke. ODB for the win.

Knockouts Tag Title Tournament: the roster's big enough for tag belts? No comment.

X-Division Championship Match: I like both Daniels and Samoa Joe. In my opinion TNA hasn't done the best for Samoa Joe. They also haven't done the greatest by Daniels either. I'd say Daniels. That way there can be a Joe vs Daniels II.

TNA Lethal Lockdown: I'm all for pushing new talent. British Invasion all the way.

Abyss vs Kevin Nash for Legends Title: Oh yeah, a bounty too. Let's see if I'm dissatisfied with how TNA has handled Samoa Joe, I am very unhappy with how they have treated Abyss. Give the Legends title to Abyss via pinfall. TNA really needs to start push its own talent.

Hernandez vs Eric Young: Eric Young is the leader of a heel stable. Hernandez is a potential top guy. Have Eric Young win here. Hernandez can get revenge later.

Heavyweight Championship four way match: By now, I hope I given the impression that I think TNA needs to start building its own stars. Either Styles or Morgan. Styles deserves the belt; however, Morgan would be the biggest surprise. That surprise could pay dividends.

Longbox Digital Comics

This post over at Flashback Universe reminded about Longbox Digital Comics. Longbox is as the name suggests going to be platform for the distribution of digital comics. Even though I am somwhat of traditionalist when it comes to comics, prefer the floppies and trades, digital comics become more attractive as the months go by. One, I don't have to worry about storage as much as I do now. Two, I can trim my physical copy purchases. Three, I can sample more comics in their entirety without hassle. Last, I have read more comics and comics pages online than physically the last couple months.

As that blog posts asks about wish lists, here are mine.

1) Big publishers as well as smaller publishers. There's nothing wrong with smaller publisher but there's already OBS and Wowio for that.

2) The option to either download or read online.

3) Some measure of interactivy.

4) Cheaper prices than what the print edition costs. Honestly, if I like the work enough I just may buy the physical copy. If it costs the same, I won't.

5) Timeliness. I am all for supporting the shops. However, I don't want to wait at least six months in order to read the comic.

Serenity Today - Changing my Approach

Been about a month since I last updated my blog, merely because I have been spending more time on Facebook rather than updating my blog. Since today is the next Serenity session, I figured I'd comment on some changes I am making. I have learned much on how I should run the game after having ran one module. Here are some changes I am making to my approach.

Pacing for one Act per session
One of the things I am grateful for is that the players have a tendency to cover a lot of ground per session. When it comes to the published Serenity modules they have averaged one or two, sometimes three even, acts every session. So speed isn't a problem. Well, it isn't so much a problem except when it comes to prepping. Unlike the first module, I read the entirety of the second module before running it. Problem is I still felt stilted while running the first act. Why? Because I hadn't given enough preparation and thought to the first act. In many ways that was the same with the first module. So far I hadn't been able to give proper attention to what I running for every session. My solution is to borrow an approach used by a WOTC staffer. I am only going to plan for one segment each session. Once the players reach the end of that prepared segment, the session will be over for the most part. For the current module, that means one act per session. Which happens to work out rather nicely as the module has three acts and an epilogue.

Not running a game of Vampire the Masquerade
Sigh. Everything was going well among the players until this last session. A player that missed the previous module but character was still present did something questionable. Several players were upset about it. Furthermore, I didn't know the player had done that until it the player revealed it in dialogue. To compound matters another player was passing secret notes. I am not running a game of inter-party intrigue ala Vampire the Masquerade. As Jayne's betrayal was hinted at on camera so shall it be with this game. No secret notes. No surprise actions that happened without GM notification. Everything that happens will occur 'on camera'.

If you are not there, your character isn't
I felt that by keeping the non-present PC's with those actually playing would help foster an in-game connection. Last session, I learned that all depends on the player. No more.

The need for a rules helper
Honestly, I haven't been able to devote as much time to both prepping the module and learning the rules as I would like. Today, I plan to appoint one or two rules helpers. On a related note, the assignment idea never happened as I either forgot to assign or no on volunteered.

That's about it for now.

Summerslam is this Sunday...

Well, Summerslam occurs Sunday. Alas, I am working that day so I won't be able to watch it live. So if I watch the PPV it'll be after the fact. Until I looked at the card on WWE.com, I wasn't too terribly impressed with the line-up. John Cena vs Randy Orton? Been done. DX vs Legacy? Predictable. Hardy vs Punk in a TLC match? If Hardy is leaving, the TLC component is the saving grace. Admittedly, WWE main events (on paper) have not impressed me in awhile. So the mid-card generally saves the show for me. We either have decent feuds or matches that should contain excellent wrestling. Therefore, Summerslam '09 while not must-see is a PPV I'd be willing to see.

Next Serenity Session is Tomorrow

Well, tomorrow is the next Serenity game session. In this session, our batch of greenhorns will conclude their attempt to escape from prison alive or not. Right now things are mighty hairy for them with two of their number knocked out. Granted, two of the remaining PC's are Fighting Types but one of them is more of a medic than a fighter. Another one is a non-combatant while the other two will be taking their cue from the movie the GAMERS cause the actual players won't be there.

So with some more combat and possible tense negotiating ahead for our wannabe crew, you can say things are looking very shiny for them indeed. Even if they manage to .... become acquainted... with the ship Freedom's Flight, they have to worry about a little security measure they were told about. Why nothing other than patrol boat that blasts uncleared ships out of the sky. Some fancy flying may be needed. Only then will they escape.

Decided I'd shakes up a little bit and include a teaser for the next session. Once again, the session is going to be ran very rules light. Provided the game gets that far, I won't be using the full space ship rules. Just some simple skill rolls. Afterwards, we'll either have finished the module Freedom's Flight or it'll be time for either new characters or game.

Serenity: Stun, Shock, and Second Wind

At the moment the biggest problem that Serenity game has is Stun and Shock. While the rules in and of themselves aren't bad, the current situation game leads to those rules hindering the flow of the game. Currently, two PC's are out cause of shock. Normally, that wouldn't bother me. However, the PC's are in the middle of a prison break and every character counts especially the pilot.

So what to do? First, I am making a house rule that because game sessions are so short tracking second wind usages is tedious. My house rule is that they'll be once a session. That way stun isn't quite the game killer. Second, I am going to allow the removal of shock points through story manipulation via plot points. Basically, the PC administering the "first aid" spends a significant amount of plots points and makes a token first aid check. If said PC doesn't have any Medical Expertise that player has to spend the upper bracket amount. Then the receiving player gets to make a d12 roll plus second wind if they choose. Any negative happenings will depend on the dictates of the story...

For this module, I'll allow the shocked/stunned PC to gain a 1 to 2 recovery of stun via d12 plus second wind. Shock recovery will be one for one on a d12 plus second wind roll. Granted this only if a player chooses to use plot points to manipulate the story. I hope this ruling not only helps the flow of the current adventure but future mods as well.

I have joined Facebook.

Several months ago (maybe during Spring...), members of my gaming group urged me to join Facebook. That way game related stuff could be disseminated. I agreed but very reluctantly. My reluctance was so great that even with a reminder on one of their blogs, I didn't create an account. Tonight, that changed. I have finally created a facebook account.

To Play Or Not To Play Magic...on Monday

The other day a buddy of mine from high school told me how excited he was about his first draft experience with Magic the Gathering. Anyone who has ever drafted knows how daunting it can be. The first time is generally less than stellar. Well, my old high school buddy was happy that he placed somewhere in the middle. Looking back, that doesn't surprise me. Winning with a bunch of commons and uncommons was one of his strengths.

He suggested that since he may be drafting more that I also attend the Monday drafts. Since M10, the latest magic set, brought back some old favorites (Black Knight, Lightning Bolt), the offer was tempting. However, this Monday that was not to be. I was really itching to see Public Enemies. Alas, that was not to be either. I ate so much for supper that I didn't feel like driving. (Coincidentally, I couldn't read much of anything either which didn't help the Serenity prep.) The next Monday or two may pose a problem as well. I plan on watching the Gi Joe movie as well as Public Enemies. Although the latter is unlikely as its doubtful it will still be in theaters in two weeks.

Once more there is a chance I'll play Magic again. I guess we'll see.

Serenity RPG: Assignments...

After Tuesday night's Serenity session, something dawned on me. Learning the rules as we play is working... but its not. While everyone seems fine with the pace that we are learning the game, afterwards, I discover/realize tidbits that might have helped. Then we get to the next session and I forget all about what I planned on mentioning. To compensate, I plan on borrowing a concept that I thought of during my Shadowrun 3rd edition campaign. I'm thinking of 'assigning' specific section of the rules that individual players should familiarize themselves on. That way I can concentrate on running the game more.

So next session I will bring this idea up. Those that peruse this blog feel free to voice your opinion.

Another Serenity RPG Cram Session Tuesday

On Tuesday, August 4th, I am running another session of my Serenity campaign. Once again, its another cram day. Why? The same reason I haven't updated this blog in awhile. Lack of motivation and concentration. Not from lack of desire. I look forward to future modules and stories both published and homebrew (ie my own creation). My mind contemplates future possiblities, that are also personal for each of, the crew of the (name withheld). Likewise, I have plenty blog about. So why? Cause I haven't. That's the existential reason. Kind of the same reason why this particular blog exists. I chose to.

Enough with rambling anyway. The point is that I have less than 24 hours to prepare for the Serenity session. I reckon I have day's worth of work and only a couple hours to do it. Oh well, it worked last session. Yep, that's right. The second session was overall an enjoyable time. The fine GM tradition of little preparation continues.

Another Round of Links

Since its Monday, I figured I provide another round to various interesting things on web. Hopefully, later today I'll get around to posting a session overview of my first Serenity session.

10 under-rated Classic Who Stories - what the title says. A neat read.

Doctor Who Series 5 Spoiler - links to a bunch of photo stills although this page does provide the major spoiler. If true, Series 5 will have a much different tone than I thought. Hint: the initials R.S.

Matt Smith in Doctor Who Costume - definately not the goth look I thought it was going to be. Like the nice old/young man contrast.

The Comic Book Database - describes itself.

The last three posts of RPGBlog II's Palladium Week Coverage:
Robotech - as mentioned by Jason Marker whose contributing to practically the entire line.
Bill Coffin: Palladium Alumnus
A Look Back

Serenity: Give, or Don't Give, Me Four Secrets

The next Serenity session, this Tuesday, has one major bottleneck. Our crew will have a chance to bond by sharing an event. They get be interrogated together. Here's where we get to the bottleneck. You see the interrogator is not just interrogating them for basic information. Rather, he wants information. Secrets that is. Four of them to be precise. These four secrets should be valuable to the PC. Both valuable and secretive, ie not easily given up, to the PC and interrogator alike.

Normally I wouldn't broadcast this ahead of time. Its a matter of time. I don't want too much session time consumed by players coming up with pertinent secrets of their PC's. So at the beginning of the session, I plan on having the players come up with four questions that there PCs would not easily part with the answers to. For those of my players who read this blog, consider this an advance spoiler.

Castle is Now on Hulu

The ABC show Castle is now available on Hulu. Why is this pertinent to this blog? Very, very tangentially. Nathan Fillion who starred in Firefly/Serenity currently stars in Castle. So for those curious where the actor who play Captain Malcolm Reynolds is up to, here is one of his current roles. While I have seen a couple episodes, I didn't see all of them. Since its now on Hulu, for however long that may be, I have chance to watch the entire show.

Serenity: A House Rule or Two

Since my Serenity game session are roughly three hours long and consists of Greenhorn characters going through Veteran level adventures, I have decided to make a house rule. Instead of excess plot points converting to advancement points at the end of a session, conversion occurs at the end of the adventure. That way the players will have access to more plot points for such challenging adventures.

On a related note, character advancement occurs at the end of the module. Unless it situations warrant, it doesn't make much narrative sense for characters to all of sudden improve during a situation. The Serenity crew didn't advance during the course of a story. Not because of their skill level. Half the crew were awful at combat and had plenty of room to improve in that regard.

Furthermore, I am making a modification to the advancement rules. After the first two modules, two skill can be learned or improved instead of only one. That way the characters can improve a little bit faster.

Distractions

Been meaning to post more especially in regards to my Serenity game. Instead I keep getting distracted. Some are things I normally wouldn't comment on while others I have been meaning to comment on. So I figure I'd just list them as that would be cathartic.

Here they are:
Politics, the economy, and workplace drama - don't want to discuss why on this blog. Suffice it to say I haven't been in the mood to post Serenity stuff all week. Especially today...

The Mishler ramblings on the industry - This occupied a night or two of my time. Spent last night read all three threads on ENWorld. Meant to comment but I have decided against it as it would pointless now.

There's another negative reason, or two actually, why I haven't been in the mood to post more; but I'm not going to mention them here.

Other more blog related reasons:
1) I'm reading X-page previews of comics online again. I used to check out the preview pages of the next week's comics all the time. Stopped doing that for a couple years. Only recently have I started reading comics previews on Newsarama. So yeah I have been reading some comics, albeit only five or six pages. Its been reinvigorating.

2) Been working on storing my comics as well as figure out what trimming my pull list. Hit a bottleneck on the former. That has prompted me to focus on what to cut from my comics pull list. I admit that its funny that not keeping up with everything that I purchase doesn't discourage me but storage issues does. That may or may not lead to future post.

3) Worked and turned in my July-September Previews order at my LCS. Took a lot of time. Plus I had to resist the urge to add a lot of stuff. May actually comment on the comics/books I decided not to pre-order.

4) The 50% off Criterion Collection at Barnes and Noble has drawn a lot of attention. Fellini's 8 and half served as a major influence on LARP I ran several years ago and thus has been an item I have wanted for awhile now. Ditto Seven Samurai - although that didn't influence any game I ran, directly anyway. Because its a major influence of Star Wars, Hidden Fortress has been on my radar. Only now have I found a copy available. While browsing the sale, other Criterion Collection movies have grabbed my attention. Sigh...

First 3 Days of RPG Blog II Palladium Coverage

In celebration of both another Tuesday Night Rifts session and more Palladium content on the blogosphere, I figured I'd provide links to the first three days worth of Palladium coverage on RPG Blog II. Haven't read them yet. When I do I may provide my comments.

Mega-Interview with Kevin Siembieda - a recent, as in July-ish, interview with the main man at Palladium.

Being a Palladium Freelancer - Interview with Jason Richards - contains a nice summation of Chaos Earth among other things.

Into the Fire: Tips for Running Rifts - title says it all. I do have an opinion on some of the tips...

Links to some neat blog posts

Another light post. I figured I'd provide some links to some blog posts I liked on the blogsphere.

Luck a neat OSRIC/1E/other earlier D&D simulacra house rule from Mike Mearls - Does I nice job of spicing up what would otherwise be an "aw shucks" moment. Also, not unbalancing.

A quick crit rule - an elegantly simple rule from RPG Blog II. Definately beats rolling on random tables.

Brave Halfling Publishing abandons OSR - read this on Beyond the Black Gate Blog. Find it interesting the BHP is leaving the Old School Rennaissance publishing. Although I can understand why given the reasons provided...

The Problem with Weapon Proficiencies - a well-written arguement against weapon proficiencies courtesy of Beyond the Black Gate.

Herculoids converted to AD&D stats - I'm always a sucker for pop culture character adaptations to game rules. For fans of the Herculoids here's a link to link. Haven't actually gone to the specific link yet...

Hackmaster Basic is out...

Well, Hackmaster Basic is available. Just trying to figure out how and when I want to acquire a copy. Do I order a copy through my LGS or through Kenzer? Wait until August or order it now?

Trying to resist spending too much time on Kenzer boards. After all, I have a Serenity game to prepare for. That and I want to watch Transformers 2 tonight...

IN: ScienceDaily July 4th links

As I write this, its technically July 5th. However, I decided to post links to some interesting articles on ScienceDaily. A light post for now what with July 4th celebrations...

Optical transistor made from a single molecule - faster computers with less heat generated... eventually. According to this article, optical transistors are becoming much closer to reality.

New Treatment for Receding Gums - a potential alternative to taking grafts from the roof of one's mouth.

People Sometimes Seek Truth, prefer like-minded views - even though seemingly obvious, I think everyone should read this article.

More fuel for the embryonic stem cell debate - molecular differences between embryonic stem cells and reprogrammed skin cells

Light sensitive compounds that aid in cancer therapy

Material derived from paper sludge that can replace plastics - I am very intrigued by this. Wonder if more details will be released?

Another Rifts Blog

I want to thank Outsyder Gaming for pointing out another Rifts related blog. Like author of said blog, I probably wouldn't read said blog since I'm only monolingual. However, the Outsyder Gaming blog pointed out that there's a translate it feature at the top of the blog. Again, like said author, I wasn't aware of such a feature. Now I am able to read that blog.

At last, here is another Palladium, albeit Rifts, related blog. In english, its called Featherfall squad. I think this might be the link for the english translation...

Edit: as it turns out that link just takes you to Google translate. Here is the link: Escamot Featherfall

If you can't read the language like me just scroll to translate it feature. Guess there's no short cut for it.

Three Comics Reviews (New Batman-related)

Over the course of the last four days, I have read three more comics. Somewhat on purpose all three include the new Batman. Only two are part of the Batman Reborn sales stunt. Yes, I have fallen victim to the Batman Reborn stunt. The first couple of issues anyway.



My review format changes this time around. They'll be shorter, disclose few spoilers, and include a cost analysis of sorts.



Batman 687

This marks the first issue of the new Batman's solo adventures whom I don't plan on disclosing the identity of. I also did not read Battle of the Cowl nor Batman: RIP although I bought the latter.



The Bad: I am not a fan of Ed Benes art. As far as I know, its for this arc only. Also this fills in the gaps so if one is all caught up on the various Bat-happenings this issue may feel redundant.


Good: Batman 687 sets up the new Batman's status quo nicely. It also does good job of explaining why both Batman and Robin and this title exist. The issue also provides a decent emotional journey for the man who assumes the mantle of the Bat. In addition the issue is accessible for the casual reader and has a nice Batman Begins vibe to it.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars. Overall, I liked the issue. I am a fan of who currently wears the cowl. A solid effort. I felt it was worth the four dollars.

Red Robin #1
I actually do plan on spoiling the identity of Red Robin. So don't read this review if you don't want that spoiler.

Bad: I knew after I pre-order this issue that if there was Batman Reborn title I'd likely drop this would be it. The premise of the series is too limited. It doesn't help that biggest justification to Red Robin's mission will probably shake out of the events of Blackest Night. Not this title. Another problem I have is that this title has Tim become a much darker character. Its not a direction I prefer for that character. As for the issue itself, a lot happened such that some scenes lost impact due to space limitations.

Good: On the other hand, a lot happened in this issue. As a first issue should, the issue sets up the status quo and proceeds at a brisk pace. Tim's motives and methods make sense. Not only that but the issue includes a lot of international travel. A nice change from hanging out in Gotham.

Rating: 2 and half stars. A serviceable first issue. I felt that I got my money's worth. However, I didn't feel that the issue did a good enough job convincing me to buy this title instead of another.

Booster Gold 21
The new Batman is central to this issue; and the (new) Blue Beetle second feature starts.

Bad: Didn't follow Blue Beetle's series. Familiar with the character due to Batman: Brave and the Bold cartoon. Have all 21 issues of this title. First issue I read cover-to-cover. This was the make or break issue. Didn't care for how quickly Booster deduced the new Batman's ID.

Good: Both features were accessible and served as good starts to their separate stories. I'm impressed by Matthew Sturgess's range as I laughed throughout the Blue Beetle story. Got a kick out of the giant robot story which was told well with the ten pages alloted. Both art teams were fantastic with clear storytelling. Got my money's worth even with the increased price tag.

Rating 2 and half stars. A good issue. The Blue Beetle backup saved this issue and title. While the main feature was good, it wasn't as good as the backup. In a sense its like a new beginning, I will continue reading. But...

Serenity RPG: Missed something in char gen

Just recently, I poured through most of PC's character sheets when I noticed something. Granted I didn't notice it right away. When I read the Athletics asset description, I realized two things. One, the asset requires the player to pick a specialization. Two, the description of the major version requires a GM adjudication.

Murphy's Law being what it is I didn't realize during character creation that the two players who chose the Athletics asset didn't pick a specialty. So those two will have to do so. The real problem is that I didn't make judgement call on the major version. That's one of the problems that stem from the fact that the game is still new to me. One of the players did in fact buy the major version. Hence, I need to make a ruling. Fortunately, such a ruling is simple. I am ruling that the major version applies only to the chosen skill specialty. Why? Cause otherwise it becomes a very powerful asset. Otherwise, why pick the minor version?

Pathfinder RPG PDF is at a reasonable price

Over at Grognardia, James Maliszewski mentions that the price of Paizo's Pathfinder RPG in PDF form will cost $9.99. I have to say that is awesome. Kudos to Paizo for offering the PDF of the core book at such a low cost. Not going to lie before I learned this I was perfectly content with the Beta version. I wasn't interested in purchasing a copy of the main book. Since the PDF cost is so cheap, I might actually purchase a copy.

In closing I do have to admit that I my thoughts aren't completely glowing about this news. However, I probably won't share those thoughts until sometime in August. If I do share them anyway. Right now, I am content to further spread the news. The gaming industry needs all the positivity it can get at the moment.

Doctor Who: David Tennant interview

Yep, another Doctor Who-related post. This particular post links to an interview. What makes this one noteworthy is that its an interview of David Tennant conducted by the Chicago Tribune. Normally, I don't encounter mainstream news articles, albeit online, about Doctor Who originating from the United States. So here's the link for the curious.

Can't view all blogs that I want to

Originally, I was going to lament how hard it is to read every blog that I want to. Ok, I guess I just did. What I really want to complain about right now is that apparently my browser doesn't want to keep the page open. The window quickly changes to a window that says internet disconnected. Funny thing is I am viewing a different page in a different window at the same time. Guess one of these days I'll have to use a new browser.

Sigh.

Doctor Who RPG - I want it!

Here's another Doctor Who post, except this one is gaming related. Cubicle 7 is releasing a Doctor Who RPG in October. Once again, I got the news from the Tardis. Here's a link for the curious.

As I said in the title, I definately want a copy. Admittedly, the price is a bit steep. However, its a boxed set of Doctor Who game so...

If, and probably will budget permitting, I pick this up, my expectations are this is another game that I bought to own and read. Like many RPGs I own, I don't think I'll actually play or run it. Could be wrong though...

Possible Doctor Who movie starring Tennant

Over at the Tardis, there is a rumor that David Tennant, the 10th Doctor, may star in a possible Doctor Who movie. Since movies aren't as demanding as the television show is, its possible that the 10th doctor could appear in films. Kind of like the original crew appearing in film while Next Generation was on-air. I know I wouldn't mind more appearances by the 10th doctor in a visual medium.

If not, there's always the possibility of audio stories in the vein of Doctors 5 through 8. That won't be any time soon though.

Short Review: Batman: Streets of Gotham #1

Picked up a copy of Batman: Streets of Gotham #1 on Tuesday and in a surprising turn of events had actually read it that day. Much like my review of an issue of House of Mystery, here's my quick take on BSoG #1.

Rating 4 out of 5 stars.

Why four stars? Streets of Gotham opens right out of the gate with not only the main plotline but two subplots. Why is this significant? Because as far as I know, Paul Dini has rarely included subplots in his previous stories. Previous stories have been either done-in-one, two-parters, or trade fodder. Needless to say, I am excited. Another reason for my rating is that I like the disembodied feeling of the story. Its not just a Batman story. Its an ensemble piece with the streets of Gotham as its focus. The narrative changes between characters and scenes at a rapid pace. I also liked how Dini handles Firefly. Honestly, I am not too familiar with Firefly so this is a nice change of pace from the usual villains. Furthermore, Firefly comes across as a significant threat in this issue. Looking forward to reading how the crisis is resolved.

Now, this isn't just a Batman book. There is a co-feature starring Manhunter. The Manhunter co-feature meshes well with the street vibe of the main feature. I am looking forward to Kate Spencer being the DA of Gotham. Ought to be interesting in the long run as she, as Manhunter, takes a more final approach to criminals than Batman does. Overall, I have to say that this particular 10-page backup was worth the extra dollar.

The Bad: Like most comics these days, the art doesn't wow me. That's not say it isn't good. It just doesn't fit my tastes completely. Also, if you didn't read the Detective Comics RIP tie-in, collected as Heart of Hush, one thing may catch you off guard. I also think there may be some overlap with Gotham City Sirens in regards to Hush. So I'm hoping the reader doesn't have to read both titles in order understand things.

Serenity character gen was today

Today, mostly everone made characters for my Serenity game. I'll provide details slowly between now and the first session in July (first Tuesday).

Why?

Cause its cooler that way.

Annoying thing about published Serenity Modules

I've flipped through Out in the Black and Serenity Adventures; and I have noticed an annoying trend in the published modules so far. Unless the module is written with the Serenity crew in mind, the module doesn't seem to take companions and readers into account. The modules don't acknowledge what would happen if a player desires playing one of the two unique concepts that the setting contains. Makes me one very frustrated gamemaster. What makes it worse is that the module I want to run first is the worst offender.

Sigh.

Doctor Who: They're Back...

Hey folks, another Doctor Who-related post.

The Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, starts his tenure with a bang. Just like Patrick Troughton, Doctor #11's first antagonist is the one - the only- the Daleks. One can read read a news report on it over HERE.

Honestly, I am disappointed by this news. At one time I was huge fan of the Daleks. Unfortunately, the new era of Who keeps insisting on using them to the point of overuse.

I was looking forward to newer, or less used, threats. Sigh.

A Torchwood related link or should I say - blog

I am a big fan of Torchwood. So one blog I have been meaning to visit is Torchwood.tv. Not only does it contain info on Torchwood it also includes some neat links.

While I don't know whether or not I'll add it to my blog roll, I figured I'd provide a link for the curious.

Here it is: the link

Wrestling: Extreme Rules PPV

While I didn't watch the PPV, Extreme Rules, live, I did read a detailed report of the PPV. I have to say it seems that it was a pretty good PPV that had a lot title changes including a "surprise" title change at the end. So I might actually pick up a copy of the DVD when it comes out. Normally, I don't the generic monthly PPV DVDs but I might make an exception for Extreme Rules.

Although, I must admit part of that is because some of my favorites such as Jericho and Punk received titles.

Donald Duck is 75 years old

Over at Newsarama, there's a nice little article commemorating Donald Duck's 75th anniversary. I have been a fan of Donald Duck since childhood. So I figured I would give mention it here. It also fits the general topic of this blog as Carl Barks' Donald Duck comics are an influential work that is revered to this day.

Serenity RPG Char Gen date correction

In an earlier post, I said that character creation for my Serenity game would be on the 22nd. I errored. I mistakenly thought that was a Tuesday. There are no plans to create characters on Monday. Character creation will occur on Tuesday, June 23rd. After all, the game will played by the Tuesday Night Game Group.

My response to "S&S vs HF" Part 1

Read James Mishler's comments pertaining to an essay about the impact of Sword & Sorcery and High Fantasy on D&D by Santiago. I will comment on Santiago's post once I have time to digest it. Instead I will focus on James Mishler's, because that's where I read it first.

James argues that the classic S&S character wasn't fated to become a hero like those in high fantasy and 'new school' gaming. Characters such as Conan and Elric were self-made and not destined. Problem is that we first meet Conan as king of Aquilonia. Conan is already at the top. Only two Conan stories, written by Howard, occur after the first story chronologically. Narratively, Conan is predestined to become Aquilonia's king because the reader is first introduced to him as king. As for Elric, fate plays a hand throughout all the early stories. Heck, Elric inadvertently ushers in the new world, aka ours, because that is his purpose. So I wouldn't say that Sword and Sorcery characters achieved their success entirely on their own.

I do agree that fate plays a much stronger role in High Fantasy. That's because High Fantasy is about Good versus Evil. In contrast Sword and Sorcery is not about good versus evil nor does it try to prove a point. Unlike S&S, the protagonists face circumstances that may require sacrifice or result in tragedy. Honestly, Elric would also qualify as a High Fantasy character. Just not within traditional definitions. Hence, the creation of Dark Fantasy genre.

Honestly, I don't really think High Fantasy gaming truly exists, at least not in D&D. Sure a game may try to emulate LotR. Problem is its only an emulation not a true representation of high fantasy. Few game systems, D&D included, can accomodate the genre trappings.

Likewise, true S&S style games don't exist either. Sword and Sorcery stories show snapshots of their protagonists lives. S&S does not occur in a day-to-day manner for it is more episodic. After all, many S&S stories weren't published, much less written, in chronological order. So how is a campaign that proceeds in a continuous, day-to-day fashion a true Swords and Sorcery campaign.

The final contention is that modern gaming, particular D&D 4E, follows High Fantasy literaturewhere characters cannot fail or are meant to. There's problems in that assertion. One, fourth edition is more gamist than any previous edition. Two, the game and its players have more than just literary influences. Third, Sword and Sorcery characters have the same success rate as their High Fantasy counterparts. Its all predetermined. Fourth, characters tend to start out as experienced novices in RPGs. They rarely do in fiction, S&S or High Fantasy. The Conan in Tower of the Elephant is inexperienced as a thief but he is an experienced fighter.

If there is one thing that fourth edition, and gaming in general, can be accused of is that is has de-emphasized its Sword and Sorcery roots.

Serenity RPG: Starting in July

Found out on Tuesday that James Mishler is putting his AD&D 1E game on hiatus until at least after Gen Con. Now I have been meaning to start my Serenity game in July and this fits my plans perfectly. In the meantime, this Tuesday is going to be a board game day since I am not ready yet. During this week, I decided I didn't want to do character creation in July. So I have decided that we shall do character creation on the 22nd of June.

Speaking of character creation it is very important that I decided what experience level they'll be. For awhile I have been leaning towards a Veteran crew. However, I changed my mind this evening. All along I wanted the players to have a say on whether they'd be greenhorns or a bit more heroic. Until now, no one had cared one way or another. This evening a potential new player suggested that the group be a bunch of inexperienced greenhorns trying to make their way through the 'Verse. I am perfectly fine with that. Greenhorn it is.

Hulu and Wrestling

I have mentioned in a previous entry that I am taking a sabbatical from watching wrestling. Recently, I have discovered that Hulu has episodes of both ECW and Smackdown available. Smackdown is a show I have been meaning to watch for awhile. Even more since the draft. So I am delighted that I can now watch it. Hopefully I can watch the entire program. The first time I tried watching an episode it stopped playing after the first half hour.

BBC has unveiled the Doctor's next companion

Over at the Guardian, the BBC has revealed whom will be playing the next Doctor's, Matt Smith, companion. Her name is Karen Gillan. There's the brief promotional piece.

I find it amusing that not only is the Doctor younger, as Matt Smith is around 26, but his next companion is in her twenties, 21, as well. Makes me wonder what type of stories Moffat will be telling.

As an aside, another red-headed companion?

At least Spider-Man's Marriage still exists in the strip

Newsarama has reported that the Spider-Man newspaper strip has revived the Peter/MJ marriage. As someone whom started seriously collecting comics with a married Peter Parker that means a lot to me. Don't get me wrong I am enjoying the Brand New Day era in Amazing Spider-Man. Its that I am glad that the idea of a married Spider-Man isn't seen as a dead end across all Spider-Man venues.

While reading the article I found out that one can read the Spider-Man newspaper strip over at Spider Man Crawl Space. So if one's newspaper doesn't carry the strip that is another source in addition to DailyInk.

"More than a Feeling" debate

There's been much discussion over the course of the weekend on whether the Old School movement is a defined set of games or just a feeling. This particular debate was sparked by a post by James M at Grognardia. James postulates that the movement has to be more than feelings. Since then I have seen two blog posts that have responded. Wondrous Imaginings, a blog I just added, argues that old school is defined by feelings. That comment can be found here. Bat in the Attic takes a middle of the road argument stating that its an attitude.

Personally, I agree with all three of them. Each blog provides a convincing argument. But then I'm not as invested in the OSR as some so I guess how its defined isn't as vital to me. I do find the debate interesting though.

Comics: Archie is "Getting Married"

Couple days ago I read over at ComicMix that Archie Comics announced that Archie is getting married. After seeing a couple of sites comment about the 'event', I figured that I'd give my two cents. Honestly, I don't see this as a change in the status quo. Neither the 'New Looks' nor 'Back to Frosh' lasted. In fact, they were self contained stories. So this isn't a marriage in the vein of Lois and Clark. I think I read somewhere that this is a glimpse in the future. The story won't take place contemporarily. My hunch is that the comic won't show whom Archie marries. That way they don't really have to pick between Betty and Veronica. Not to mention some other woman.

Even more blogs added to my blogroll

This evening I was reading my email, both past and present, when I followed a link to a Conan blog. Perusing said blog, I decided to add it to my blog roll. Because I enjoyed that so much I sought out other blogs and added them to my blog roll as well. Now, I know I mentioned a while back that I'd comment on why I added some blogs. I will still do that. Just not today. For now, I'll comment on those that I just added.

Today's additions are:
Adventure Game News - for when I don't want to check out various links on EN World. I see its been updated.... a lot during the last few days...

HeroPress - general geek stuff, comics, and Labyrinth Lord

Giant-Size Marvel - another comics site or blog I'm not sure which that celebrates the old Giant-Sized Marvel books.

Comics make no sense - once again another comics that blogs that points out some of the irony that have appeared in the funny books over time.

Geek Orthodox - cause I added it...

The Core Mechanic - a role-playing blog that I didn't add in the last massive blog roll add-athon cause I thought I had more than enough. Kind of funny actually.

Has Boobs, Reads Comics - another 'cause I added it...'

Crom! - A Conan fandom blog. The one I mentioned above...

Classic Articulation - cause the blog celebrates all the cool eighties cartoons/toys that I liked. And cause of the links.

Rifts UE: Wild Shots should be more common

Recently, I realized something about combat in Palladium's modern games. The last Rifts game that I attended (wasn't able to make yesterday's) a concern was brought up. That concern was that why wouldn't a character be covered head-to-toe in MDC armor? Otherwise, an opponent makes a called shot to the exposed area ... and game over. I could go on but that tangential can serve as fodder for a future post.

In a nutshell, Rifts UE ranged combat rules need prevalent wild shots. Why? To address the concern above. Wild shots hinder called shots. Heck, by the rules, they make them impossible. Can't make called shot if the shot is wild.

When would that occur? Look up what conditions cause a wild shot. Hmm. Those conditions should be very common during combat. For example, movement and panic cause a shot to become wild.

Been watching anime

A week passed without any posts on this blog. Heck, my participation/lurking on other blogs has not been very much this last week. Why? Most of my 'blogging' time has been spent watching anime. My local My TV station has Funimation programming late at night. Since Basilisk got me back into anime and manga, I have been watching more and more. Lately, I have started watching an hour and a half almost every night. Right now I watch Black Cat, Aquarion, and Buso Renkin (sp?). One of these days I'll compose my thoughts on them.

Tentative start for my Serenity Game

I have decided on a tentative start date for my Serenity game. My current plan is to start during the month of July. That way I have a little over a month to familiarize myself with both the rules and modules. Also my brother may be able to play by then. It all comes down to whether or not the Tuesday group wants to start then. And whether or not I have actually prepared...

My abbreviation for PointCon

Since I plan to make several posts concerning PointCon, I figured I'd make an abbreviation for it. The abbreviation is simply PC##. The symbol ## represents the year. For example, PC99 is PointCon '99. Just don't want to type PointCon ad nauseum.

Serenity RPG: Greenhorn or Veteran?

One question that I have pondered is what level should the PC's in my Serenity game be. Big Damn Heroes is out of the question. So Greenhorn or Veteran. The six modules I have Heroic, or Veteran, as the default setting. None of the stats or difficulties will change if I allow Veteran PC's. On the other hand, Greenhorn level characters provide a sense of starting from scratch. The players will have a chance to play their characters from the beginning as opposed to "in the middle". The group could also have the captain emerge during play. That is something that should all ready be hammered out at Veteran level.

Fortunately, I have plenty of time to gather player input and decide. Personally, I'm leaning towards Veteran cause I don't have to do as much work. However, a bunch of Greenhorns is appealing...

The next game I'll run (due to PointCon '09)

A while ago, I commented that I was itching to run a game. My choices were either D&D 4E, Palladium Fantasy, and Other. Before and shortly after I spent a lot of time following D&D 4E. Purchased the books and considered running a game. Either a 'sandbox' H1-H3 campaign or a Punjar-based campain are my choices for a 4E game. Problem is that one of the fellows at the Tuesday night game would be a definate no. So that makes a 4E game doubtful. Palladium Fantasy is one of my favorite settings. I ran my Rifts game instead because of two reasons. One, I didn't want to mess the setting up. Two, Palladium Fantasy is another fantasy setting. Unfortunately, when I have brought the topic up at PointCon to a couple individuals, I received a lukewarm response. Other is a various games and settings.

This last weekend at PointCon '09 I decided to finally purchase a copy of the Serenity game along with the three other books available for it. After displaying my purchase, at least two from my Tuesday game expressed interest. Therefore, the Serenity RPG is the next game I run.

Unlikely to attend next Rifts session

There were several things I was planning on commenting on. However, I think I probably should get this out of the way. Looking at my work schedule it appears that is very unlikely I'll attend the next Rifts session. Which is a bummer as I planning on doing a bunch of stuff with my character, Dirk the Mystic.

It ought to be interesting to find out what happens. Suffice if to say Dirk will follow along with both horse and mule in tow. May even lead to some interesting role-playing when/if certain events occur.

As an aside, I plan to comment on last night's Rifts session once Mike updates his blog.

A possible two weeks without a RPG'ing awaits me. Oh well.

Today marks my sabbatical from wrestling shows

This evening was marked by something have not done in a while. Every Monday I have watched Raw either "live" or DVR'ed. Well, that didn't happen tonight. In fact, it won't happen for the forseeable future. Now the only wrestling shows I'll watch will be the clips that sites such as Youtube host.

I'll still follow wrestling news sites. I have many DVDs I have yet to watch. If able, I'll catch a PPV or two. .Heck, there's several books I want to read. So I'll still be a wrestling fan. Just not as active as a fan that I have been.

FCBD and PointCon this weekend

Its going to be a busy weekend. Saturday is Free Comic Book Day. Also, a local gaming convention ran by local campus club called PointCon is happening this weekend. Saturday is going to be a juggling act between going to the convention and the local comics shop. Ought to be interesting which is busier the con or LCGS since Saturday is also the day of the Magic prerelease.

Looking at the schedule I am now disappointed that I won't be able to attend tonight. There's a choice between two Palladium games that I would really like to play. Alas, I have other plans.

I do plan on commenting on both events. Curious as to how much gaming I actually do...

Dying Earth RPG Part 1 The PDF Conundrum

This month is the last month of Pelgrane Press's license for Jack Vance's Dying Earth. Therefore, April would be the last month that Dying Earth RPG PDFs would be offered. When PDFGate occurred, I remarked that my confidence being able to download any purchased Dying Earth PDFs was shaken. Like reading my comics I am not the most prompt downloader. I rely on OBS implied promise that my purchased download would still be there. Since Dying Earth is a license I wasn't sure if the license revocation would emulate PDFGate. In addition, my IPS doesn't like too many downloads. Which begets the question would I have time to download them? Based on the question, I was leaning against purchasing any Dying Earth PDFs.

My interest in the Dying Earth RPG still lingered. After all, Dying Earth is one of the major influences on D&D. So I was still curious how a role-playing game that focused on exclusively on Vance's creation would work. So I went to Pelgrane Press's site and perused the free downloads and links to free downloads that they provided. What glimpsed from a casual look over of said downloads intrigued me enough that I decided to purchase a small handfull of the products. That small handful ended up being four books. Although admittedly one of those four was for the d20 system. Still I probably would not have purchased them if not for free previews and downloads.

Sometime in the future I'll comment on the Dying Earth RPG.

Look what WotC is providing for 'free'

Over at Wizards web site, one can download a somewhat revised copy of Keep on the Shadowfell for free along with a couple other things. Here's a link. Its nice to see that Wizards is offering something to lure new groups in. Although as someone who owns a copy I admit that its a bit irritating that a PDF of the module is being offered for free. However, the PDF contains a revised version that may improve the module. Therefore I can accept a free PDF. It beats pouring through errata and trying to apply it to a session. Now I can just print out the pages that contain the changes and insert them into my hardcopy.

Game Tuesday night

Looking forward to my Tuesday night game. Tuesday night is my time when I socialize with friends and game. With that in mind I'm curious as to which game we'll play, a 3.5 filler campaign or James's Greyhawk 1E game.

To be honest, the more time passes, the more I'd like to run a game. Don't know how well that would work though...

Added a ton of blogs

Well, this evening I added a ton of blogs to my blogroll. Normally, I would explain my reasons why (its in my nature...) except that I have added so many that I'll parse them out over a couple posts.

One thing I would like to know is whether or not there are more non-D&D focused blogs out there. While D&D is an important game to me, if not for other game systems I would not be the role-player that I am.

This post makes me want to play After the Bomb

Actually, the blog post in question doesn't refer to After the Bomb RPG. Although, it does refer to a post-apocalyptic world that includes mutant animals. Over at the blog Grognardia, there's a retrospective on 1E Gamma World. As the title implies, I am in a mood to play Gamma World. However, I don't own a copy of Gamma World. Heck, I have never played it. Now, a retro-clone called Mutant Future exists and available as a free download. Perhaps one day I'll download it. The thing is that I already own a game set in a post-apocalyptic world that has mutant animals. That game is After the Bomb. I own both editions of that game. As a bonus everyone I currently game with is, or in the process of becoming, familiar with Palladium Books system. Hence, why I'm in the mood to play some After the Bomb.

I would also like to do some hybrid games too. Elements of AtB, Nightbane, and Heroes Unlimited mixed into the world of Palladium Fantasy would lead to very different play experience.

A 4C (or FAESRIP) Community

Over on EN World, I found out about an online community that deals with the 4C system. The community or forum is called 4C4Ever. What's the 4C system? The 4C system is retro-clone of the FAESRIP system that the Marvel Super Heroes game used. As longtime comics fan, MSH was one of the games that got me into role-playing. So a community such as this appeals to me on a nostlagic level. I would love to play a game.

Ironically, even though MSH helped get me into role-playing I have played only three or four sessions. My game group at the time was too much into the D&D mindset. And I barely understood the rules... Again, I'd love to play it again especially now that I can run the game better.

There are other old MSHRPG links out there. At some point they'll be added to the blog. One that I have been meaning to add, classicmarvel.com, is currently offline. Hopefully, it wasn't due to WOTC ...

Mick Foley is the new TNA world champ!

I read on PWInsider's Lockdown report that Mick Foley is now TNA's world champion. As longtime Foley fan I'm happy. Glad that Foley can now claim another world title his repertoire. Should make the next book a little more interesting. Don't think his title reign would last long cause he's no longer an active wrestler. Alas there won't be much TNA Impact watching for me unless I can find clips on Youtube.

Hilarious: Obama/Conan Parody Comic!

Earlier, I was looking through previews while working on my monthly comics order. I have gradually stopped paying attention to Devil's Due as their section diminished. Well, as I was flipping through the catalog, one of two Obama comics caught my eye. Now, I have quickly gone "tone blind" when it comes to comics trying capitalize on our current president. There have been so many that I have adopted the attitude of "what another?". Then again, has another president been such a fan of the form? So I guess I can't blame them. Rambling done. The particular comic seems to be a Conan/Obama parody comic. A comic that's billed as a monthly on-going. In addition to being a comics fan, Obama has acknowledged his love for Conan. So Obama being cast as a Conan fill-in has my attention. Definately getting this.

Provided it comes out...

Rifts highlight from 4/7/09

I'm really late posting this but I wanted to share what I consider to be the highlights from Mike's Rifts game from two weeks ago.

1) When my character, Dirk, intoned while meditating "I don't care if there are no guards and that danger is coming cause I have sixth sense."

2) Surprising the GM when we left Alliance completely. Everything our characters learned told us that the town had no chance. We also didn't have any motivation nor concern. So off we went. Caught Mike off guard.

3) MDC vs SDC combat. A rarity that should be more common in the world of Rifts. Granted, not all the time...

I liked Wrestlemania 25

Last Sunday evening, I got together with two other people to watch Wrestlemania 25. We watched it. Two of us liked it. Another thought it was so-so. Then again, he fell asleep towards the end. Originally, I was going to post my thoughts afterwards. Then, as I was about to post, I decided to postpone until after RAW. Big mistake. When I was about to do my write-up, I found out about PDFGate. Sigh. Then I posted my thoughts on PDFGate. Well, I'll post afterwards I thought. Rest of the story I got distracted. I would post my thoughts now except for two reasons. One, its a potentially busy day tomorrow/today so I don't won't to stay up to late. Two, its been a week. Right now, I'll give it a 4 out of 5 stars based on my post-WM glow. If I get the DVD, I'll may provide some thoughts then. All in all, I was satisfied and would be more than willing to watch next year's Wrestlemania.

My Reaction to WotC's PDFgate Part 1

When I read over on James Mishler's blog that WotC had pulled its PDFs from OBS, I was irked. As time grew and I learned more, I became upset. I am an example of a customer who purchased legacy D&D PDFs. WOTC's removal of the ability to use up the remaining downloads of those legacy products, as well as purchase of other legacy products, irritates me. This irresponsible action hinders my ability to download replacement copies, purchase other old products, and harms my faith in OBS. If WotC can do this, what's to stop other publishers from doing this as well? Heck, I have been considering purchasing PDFs of the soon-to-be-discontinued Dying Earth RPG. Can I trust that those Dying Earth files that I purchased will be available past the end of April? And the source of this lack of confidence, an attempt to prevent piracy. By removing a legal avenue for PDFs, piracy will be fought. Mind-boggling.

All that said I could see how all the anger towards Wizards was overblown. And I'll make those comments in a month or two. If I care enough to remember to post, I am one of the affected customers. I don't want to waste my energies defending Wizards.

Sadly it was along my desire not to defend Wizards that eventually led to me desire to make this post. Over in the comments section of the OBS rant, James Mishler made a couple comments that shattered my attempts to remain calm and rational about the PDF situation. I have known and gamed with James for about four years. During this time, I played the role of devil's advocate. When 4E was announced and coming, I practically played the role of a patron saint. From personal experience, I knew that at the Tuesday game there would be a rant against WotC. With history as a guide, I would defend Wizards. Didn't I say that I didn't want to defend them. So irrationally I became upset.

I remained upset such that I was unable to make my comments until now. Taking a sabbatical from all forms of D&D was looking like the only option. Yep, 'don't sweat the small stuff' is not my forte. Although I will admit I had reached my acceptance phase when I went to tonight's game. After all by that point in time, I had purchsed a 3.x D&D book. So I doubted that any sabbatical would last. One of the pick up games is D&D. My resolution was looking more and more childish. By the time I got to where we game, I had decided that there wouldn't be any sabbatical. There the general consensus was that it didn't pay to be angry over the latest angering move by Wizards/Hasbro. Why sweat over what is unimportant in the long run?

Two positives have emerged. As Zachary the First mentions, with links, on his blog, other companies are offering deals on some PDF products. Hopefully, more bargains will be offered in the future. Perhaps more silver linings will emerge from this cloud?

The second positive that has emerged from this ... event... is that I am now willing to make a Classic Traveller character. So I wouldn't mind if we played some Classic Traveller instead of AD&D 1E. I have always wanted to play Traveller, especially the classic version given my current interest in older games. My only obstacle was that I didn't want to make a character. After all, why make a CT character when we could play 1E instead? Hopefully, this event will lead to some CT playing. I know the other players and James have invested a lot of time and effort into a Traveller campaign that hasn't been played.

I think its about time that changed. That is if everyone is willing.

Gaming: End of March sales events

Readers of this blog may recall my excitement over two end-of-march sales. Those two were the Rifter Super Subscription and Paizo's half off Dragon/Dungeon/Polyhedron magazines. Well, as March ended another event was brought to my attention, the Lulu author contest. Namely, the Fight On! hardcover compilation and a handfull of Old-School gaming gooodies.

Of those three events the only one I participated in was the Rifter Super Subscription special. Self fulfilling prophecy reared its head such that I hadn't figured out which magazine issues I wanted from the Paizo deal. Combined with being overwhelmed from options such as the Lulu stuff, I decided not to order from Paizo. Likewise, I didn't order from Lulu due to last-minute pressure and fear of shipping costs.

Yesterday, I received a shipment from Palladium. Based on the packaging, I thought it was an issue of the Rifter. As I opened the package, I wondered when the free gift would arrive. As it turns out, it was the free gift. A copy of Rifts: Tales of the Chi-Town Burbs Anthology. And it was signed!. Now I wonder which issue of the Rifter I'll receive. The one that came out when my subscription ended or the "April" issue.

Short Review: House of Mystery 11

At last, an actual review of a comic I have read. Today's comic up for discussion is House of Mystery 11. Granted, the discussion will be brief as per the headline this is a short review. Issue 11 is the start of a brand new story arc or trade paperback, for the cynical. The story arc is called The Space Between, which introduces the concept of the Space Between. The Space Between is a realm that exist between all worlds. In this issue we learn that there was a city that existed there. I won't spoil any of the details.

There's also two other threads running through this issue. These threads concern the nature of the House of Mystery itself and one characters attempts to escape through the means of the conception... Honestly, I can't comment too much on these threads as this is the first issue I have read. Was the issue accessible? Yes.

I have never been one capable of judging art. Suffice to say it tells the story and fits the atmosphere.

All in all, I give the issue a 3 out of 5 stars. Some neat ideas are introduced in this issue, some plot threads are advanced, and the new reader doesn't feel completly lost. I recommend House of Mystery #11 to anyone who doesn't mind jumping aboard after two stories have passed.

Wrestlemania 25 tonight

Well, Wrestlemania 25 is tonight; and I am looking forward to it. Forgot to make time to watch the first twenty Wrestlemanias but maybe next time.

Hopefully, I will post my thoughts on this year's Mania tonight after the show.

Comics Haul 3/31/09

Haven't done a Comics Haul in about a month. Even though I still bought comics all this time, I just didn't get around to listing them. I don't plan on rectifying that. Figured, I'd just list the comics related products I purchased or arrived today.

Barnes and Noble had a real good discount on a select number of Alan Moore written graphic novels around the time the Watchmen movie came out. In addition to a book that hasn't shipped yet, I received three Alan Moore-penned tomes today. They are From Hell TP, V for Vendetta TP, and Saga of the Swamp Thing Volume One HC.

In addition, I finally went to my local comics shop after not going for about two weeks.

I got:
Back Issue 33 which focuses on teen superheroes of the 70's and 80's.
Necronomicon TP
The free handouts After Watchmen and Wolverine Saga
Amazing Spider-man 588, 589 and Extra 3
Angel 19
War of Kings Darkhawk 2 and X-Men Kingbreaker 4
Guardians of the Galaxy 12
Tales of the TMNT 56
Usagi Yojimbo 119
Phantom: Ghost Who Walks 1

I also got for cheap all the issues that comprise Nightwing Year One that appeared in Nightwing as well as Red Prophet Tales of Alvin Maker Volume Two HC. I think I have volume one...

1E: A change in plans

Tonight, we played in James's AD&D 1E game. It was a fun, exhilarating session. I'll mention some of my personal highlights once James posts his session report over at his blog. For now, I have decided on a change of plans. Unless circumstances change, I will continue playing Friar Pudge. Finally, I figured out how to play his fractured state of mind.

I do want to add that all this means is that I'm not planning to replace the Friar formerly known as Pudge. If circumstances call for it, the good old friar may not remain a part of the game.

Thoughts on the last two Tuesday Game nights

As of right now, I have no idea on whether or not James's 1E game is happening tonight due to the weather. Regardless, I figure I might as well provide my comments on the previous two sessions, 1E and Rifts.

I'll start with the last week's session which was supposed to be Rifts. Alas, two players weren't there. One of them had the crucial skill needed for the GM's plot to continue. At that point the game broke down as why continue if the GM has nothing planned? On the bright side, James finished his Crazy whom should be joining the group sometime next session. Hopefully, Mike figures out how as our characters are secluded at the moment.

James's 1E game resumed two weeks ago. The group wasn't evicted out of Homlet despite seemingly impossible odds. Then, with the aid of truthstone, one of "leaders" of the village learned the group's story from Twidorek. Hopefully, our little band of PCs benefit. Last but not least, Friar Pudge's days as a PC are now numbered. Unless things change during the next session, I probably won't be playing him anymore. My biggest disappointment is that it seems we are just spinning in circles. I'm doubting whether or not we'll actually complete the village of homlet adventure. In and of itself that isn't so bad. The problem is that no one among our merry band of PCs wants to leave. So right now the game is peetering toward an ending.

Added two game company links

Today, I added links to two game companies, Green Ronin and Kenzer and Co. Added Kenzer because I'm intrigued by the upcoming fifth edition of Hackmaster. Knights of the Dinner Table is the gaming magazine right now. It just happens to be a comic book. Along similar lines, I'm excited about Green Ronin's licenses for A Song of Ice and Fire and Wild Cards. Having previously played A Game of Thrones D20, I'm curious about GR's brand new game that uses that setting. As I have the two newest Wild Cards novels, I've tinkered with the notion of running a Wild Cards based game. Last but not least, True20 is a game that fits my criteria for a good game.

Whether or not I acquire any of these games and settings depends on fate. And no I don't mean the game system.

Fixed my problem with Blogger

For about a week I was wondering why my blogger blogroll wasn't updating itself. No problem I told myself. Its lagged before. Still the lag only lasted a day or two. Yesterday, I logged in. No change. Oh well, I told myself. Wrote and entered my latest post. Got some type of error page. So I go back to my blog. I'm logged out. In response, I go to log in again except I go straight to my dashboard. According to my edit posts, my entry has been posted. Furthermore, one of my entries have received two more comments during the previous week.

At tonight's Tuesday game, I mentioned my problem. James Mishler mentioned a possible cause. Mike indirectly added credence. Encouraged by my latest news, I followed James's advice. While that didn't correct the problem right away, I managed to figure out the fix with the use of the Blogger FAQ.

My problem is fixed.

Yahoo's 100 Movies You Must See List

Yahoo has done a 100 movies one must see list. Here's the link.

I decided to list which of those movies I've seen, think I have seen, or seen sections of. Movies that I have seen chunks or not sure that I have seen I'll bold. Those that I haven't but would like to I'll italicize. Not all 100 hundred movies will be listed. Much shorter that way.

The list:
12 Angry Men
2001: A Space Odyssey
The 400 Blows
8 1/2 - inspired one of the storylines in a LARP that I ran
Alien
Apocalypse Now
The Bicycle Thief
Blade Runner
Blazing Saddles
Blue Velvet
Bonnie and Clyde
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Casablanca
Chinatown
Citizen Kane
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Die Hard - I never seen this from beginning to end or if I have, I forgot.
Dr. Strangelove
E.T.
Enter the Dragon - I briefly felt an urge to play or run a Ninjas & Superspies game afterwards.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
French Connection
Godfather
Godfather Part 2
Goldfinger - There a many Bond flicks that I have never watch the entirety of the film.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Goodfellas
Groundhog Day
Its a Wonderful Life
Jaws
King Kong
Lawrence of Arabia
Lord of the Rings
M
MASH
Maltese Falcon
Matrix
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
National Lampoon's Animal House
Nosferatu
On the Waterfront
One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
Paths of Glory
Princess Mononoke
Psycho - I have seen the remake, but not all of the original.
Pulp Fiction
Raging Bull
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Rashomon
Rear Window
Rocky
Saving Private Ryan
Schindler's List
Searchers
Seven Samurai
Silence of the Lambs
Singin' in the Rain
Snow White
Sound of Music
Star Wars
Sunset Blvd
Terminator 2
Titanic
Toy Story
Usual Suspects
Vertigo
Wild Strawberries
Wizard of Oz

So I can say with some confidence that I have seen around 43 of these movies at this time.

Added a 4E related link

I added Dreams of a Kobold King live journal to my Comics and Games links list. At this point in time, I'm comfortable with fan made creations for 4E D&D. My change in attitude has come about because I once again I again embrace the hobbyist aspect of this hobby. Also, not playing LFR all that much helps too. Learned about the site via ENWorld when I checked out the spoilers on the Sorceror.

No Rifts for me

Despite the whole XP issue, I was looking forward to tonight's Rifts session. Alas, I had to bow out. Came down with a stomach bug yesterday and still was dealing with the after effects. Apparently, it lingers still.

Although its possible James showed up; and that they played Traveller or AD&D 1E instead.

Clariftications on the Rifts XP issue

First, I want to say that my comments in my previous post trouble me. I don't want this blog to contain negative, whiny rants.

Second, I don't plan to comment on game sessions unless one of two criteria are met. I must either have ran that session or must have the burning desire to write about.

On to the subject matter at hand, I rambled once I started commented about the experience awarded after the last Rifts session. Afterwards, I realized that I never gave a basis for my rant. In a nutshell, all characters got 1000 xp as a base. One thousand experience points is a significant amount for first level characters to receive for one session. Active participants received 200 xp as a bonus.

Honestly, the whole matter of experience awards deserve its own space. Otherwise, any comments I make about a game session regarding experience points will just devolve into a whiny rant that just spin around in circles. A post for another time.

Mishler game Tuesday?/Game commentary

Heard yesterday that James Mishler might actually make an appearance at Tuesday's game session. I have been looking forward to playing Friar Pudge and Twidorek again in his Gary's Greyhawk campaign. In addition, the other players really want to play Traveller. So I'd have to make a character. Not sure how much I want to when character creation takes longer than Palladium. If I could use Mongoose Traveller (MT) instead of Classic, I wouldn't mind. As I own a copy of MT, I could make a character on my own at my leisure. Granted that's all based on hearsay. In all likelihood we will play Mike's Rifts game unless James shows up and is prepared to run a game.

Which leads me to my commentary on the two pick up games that have occured on Tuesday in lieu of one Mishler's games.

Jayson's 3.5 D&D campaign
Honestly, I don't feel fully comfortable offering my thoughts on the campaign as whole as I have basically joined during the middle of it. Therefore, my comments would be a little unfair as I don't have the "full story". I will comment that I enjoyed last week's session. Even though my character only had one big moment which, in itself, is a bit minor. Basically, my dwarf fighter, Ebert, was disgusted by the lack of both beer and ale at a party. He decided to forgo alcohol for water because of his disgust. Other than that all three players were involved in the session.

Mike's Rifts game
And this is why my commentary has been delayed...

I really enjoyed the two sessions of the Rifts campaign that I played in. It felt like Rifts to me. Despite the lack of combat, Mike has woven two entertaining game sessions using the Rifts RPG. My problem is that I would have to write the rambling blog essay about several key points without sounding negative. No problem. But then I couldn't figure out how to write to those essays. Then I came upon the idea of the mammoth entry. I hit upon doing a likes/dislikes bit. Unfortunately, right around that time, I realized something. I was willing to forgo this Tuesday's Rifts session in order to watch the Watchmen movie. Watching Watchmen wound up not being a problem at all.

But still the idea nagged me.

Mike's Rifts game is a pick up game intended to run with little preparation. Many of the faults I find with the game stem from that. Alas, that is not the problem. Because I know that not much prep time is going into the game, I can accept that. Heck, I consider those faults to have little consequence as I enjoy the game despite them. I am sure I'd like the game even if our characters left Alliance and wondered aimlessly...

Now I understand what bothers me. Its not the game. I enjoyed both sessions. Heck, it was only after the last session that I began to have negative feelings. After the session two weeks ago. As in when experience was awarded. From my history with RPG's, experience awards are vital to long-term games. So what was my problem with the experience award?

A player that barely played received two hundred less experience points than those that actively participated. Now, that wouldn't be too much of a problem except that thePalladium system experience awards correlates with involvement. The more involved a PC is the more likely that character will receive more xp. Or at least that's my interpretation. So one PC received two hundred less xp than my character. I played my character in such a way that it made sense that he, Dirk, was involved. Dirk had no motivation to actually do anything. Let alone with the other PCs. I had to figure out that motivation myself. In the process, my character, Dirk, helped move things along. Otherwise, our characters would have left Alliance. What then? Don't know. Would there be a future for the game? Maybe.

That in a nutshell is my problem with Mike's game. If XP won't be commensurate with the contributions, then I have no motivation to be involved. That's a problem with a character with Anarchist as an alignment. They are hard to involve. Since the character is a Mystic, combat alone won't cut it. So experience points are deciding factor on whether or not I continue to play. In a Palladium game, Experience based on individual merits matter to me especially when one player doesn't do much of anything.

Sorry Mike.

One big entry to come...

I have been meaning to make several entries for some time now. I just kept procrastinating. Then this week came. A lot has happened. So instead of futiley trying to make multiple posts, I have decided to do it as one big entry. My thoughts on latest Previews offerings and a summation of the Comics Haul covering the last two weeks of February will still be separate entries. Those really can't be truncated enough.

A Problem with Blogger

Well, I was intending to go peruse various blogs this evening/morning. Unfortunately, when I closed the window that contained the page of a blog on my blogroll, my browser started loading multiple pages of said blog in the still open window. So after stopping that, I go to a different blog. Same thing. So I decide to only briefly look at several other blogs. Nothing. Everything works like a charm. It seems my problem only occurs with blogs that I'm a 'follower' of. So far anyway...

Thoughts on Marvel's GN offerings for May

Although a bit later than I would have liked, here are thoughts on Marvel's graphic novels that are solicited with the May previews.

Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Black Knight/Yellow Claw V1 HC - In a perfect world, I would so order this. As I'm collecting Agents of Atlas, I am very much interested in reading the old Jimmy Woo stories. These stories combined with the Arthurian-esque stories of the Black Knight make this very appealing to me. Alas, I can't really afford a Marvel Masterwork at this time. Unless I made serious changes to how I buy my comics I can't afford to buy one in hardcover format at this time...

Which brings me to MM: Amazing Spider-Man v2 TP a softcover version of the hardcover. This would be tempting but two problems. One, I already have a copy. Two, as much as cheaper versions of the Masterworks are right up my alley, I have discovered I'd rather own a hardcover version rather than a softcover version. So until I get over my faddish obsession over hardcovers or circumstances change, I'm going to pass on the softcover MM's. Won't stop me from talking about them though.

Hulk: World War Hulk HC - The super duper hardcover version of the trade paperback... As I own Planet Hulk, this is tempting. What concerns me is the padding that fills the rest of the page count. I mean is the Marvel Spotlight and PH saga really worth it?

X-Men: Manifest Destiny HC - Much like the Uncanny X-Men: Manifest Destiny HC from last month, this is tempting. I'm a long-time X-fan who has been turned off by how much one has to buy/read in order to follow the X-mythos. So these mega hardcovers are attractive to me for a reason that I could use an entire entry for. That aside, Wolverine involved in Chinatown action strikes me a cool.

Avengers Forever HC - About time this was collected...in hardcover format (or at all if not previously collected). I read this maxi-series when it came out. A really good story, which made me a fan of several characters. I think I have the original issues still ... so I won't be getting this. Just wait, I'll discover that either I no longer have them or they exist in such poor condition that I wish I got this when I had the chance. Sigh.

Spider-Man Noir Premiere HC - I love noir. I love Spider-Man. Waited for the trade. If I'm able to, I'm so getting this.

Spider-Man: Family Ties Premiere HC - Guess Marvel is collecting the Amazing Family title along with a one-shot. The only appeal this holds for me is the J.M. DeMatteis story along with the Man-Thing one-shot. If I acquire this, it would have to be cheaper.

I applaud marvel for the Balder and Black Widow hardcovers. Reprinting some of the older tales in hardcover is fantastic. Unfortunately, my applause of such a venture has tended to be symbollic.

Illiad TP - Want to read the Illiad without having to read the text? Well, how about graphic adaptation then? Sadly, this may be the only way I'd actually get around to reading the story.

Marvel Saga TPB - Why would anyone buy this since one could have picked up all three installments from a comics retailer for free? I suppose if you missed them at the shop I could understand the appeal. I know I don't have all three.

Ultimate Galactus Trilogy SC - Looks like the hardcover version may not last for much longer. Thanks Marvel for the incentive to pick up that version.

Fantastic Four: True Story - Paul Cornell. Fantastic Four. Voyage to the realm of fiction. Has my attention.

Dead of Night: Devil-Slayer - Like the character/concept. This story appears to be a 'modernization' of the character.

Some Paizo related "news"

Since Paizo is apparently moving, they have a sale on old Dungeon/Dragon/Polyhedron magazines. When the sale was announced, the deadline was March 1st. Procrastinator that I am I went to the site to figure out what I wanted. Apparently, the deadline is April 1st. April Fool's Day suits me just fine as a deadline. Now I have plenty of time to determine my wants. So around the last week of March...

Other interesting news is that the Planet Stories line is now available at B&N locations. While one could order them online, now brick and mortar stores are offering. On a non B&N front, a local bookstore in my area is carrying select Planet Stories books for the time being. Last but not least, SFBC has offered one of the titles, forgot which one, as an exclusive hardcover. I will probably order it at some point although I don't know when.

Finally, I downloaded the latest two updates, magic items and prestige classes, of the Pathfinder rules. I'll comment on them at some point. May also download the primer for the latest adventure path. But that will be at a later date.

Learned about Veoh - watch old D&D cartoons

Over at RPG Blog II, there is a post that links to a page where one can watch episodes of the old D&D cartoon. For simplicity's sake, here's a link to the actual page. I have fond memories of watching the show. So I'm quite happy that there currently is a means of viewing the '80's D&D cartoon sans DVD.

In addition, I have learned about Veoh. Now there's a site where I can watch shows that I can't with Hulu. One downside that I can determine is that not all the shows list the given episode number. So unless you know exactly where an episode falls during a season its hard to watch in order. For example, Lost.

Interesting News: Feb 21 ScienceDaily Links

Once again, here are some links to articles on ScienceDaily. I may or may not comment on them at a later date.

Since I know of at least one person that suffers from Bipolar Disorder, I'm interested in any research. One recent study concerns TEM.

Another report shows that coastal wetlands are suffering a net loss.

Some nano goodness concerning a silver-based nanoparticle ink.

As a Wisconsinite the drinking culture surrounds me. The British did a study on what positives emerge from binge drinking.

How video games can be educational.

Material that can improve computer chip and solar cell efficiency.

Plastic from plants?

University of Wisconsin-Madison has released a press release on a two step chemical process that converts biomass to fuel.

Thoughts on Marvel's May '09 Solicitations

One feature I miss was thefourthrail's commentary on the latest Previews catalog. For quite a while, I have meaning to do something similar on my blog. I was going to start with April solicitations but since May solicitations are on the web I changed my mind. Rather than cover the "entire" catalog at once, I figured I'd break it down into four parts. The four parts are Marvel, DC, other comics companies, and games/videos. The latter two I'll provide commentary once I have a copy the catalog. Keep in mind this isn't necessarily a wish list on my part. Its basically me commenting on whatever provokes discourse. Today, I'm going to provide my thoughts on what Marvel is soliciting for May.

On with the show:
Halo Uprising HC - I might be remembering things wrong but I thought this was offered earlier..

Comics based on novelists' fiction - I'm glad that Marvel is continuing the Raymond E Feist adaptations. The original Dark Tower stories are continuing which is cool. Alas the biggest appeal for me is in book and not pamphlet form. On a less positive note, I don't quite see the appeal of a comic version of the Stand. But considering I have bought comic adaptations of Conan stories I probably shouldn't be throwing stones.

Marvel's 70th Anniversary - I really like the concept of the index. What I'd really like to know is whether or not it will be collected in trade. Same for the special one-shots Marvel is releasing. If their not collected into a trade, the one-shots would have an aura of specialness. As for index, I'm waiting for the trade. But even if its, I feel sorry for those that bought it in pamphlet form.

Soleil Imprint - Absolutely love the fact that Marvel is bringing these European comics to the States. Problem is that I'm not quite ready for four or five dollar comics quite yet. Or at least not if they are going to wind up in book form.

Trojan War - Wonder if this going to be a much, much shorter version of Age of Bronze. Definately interested...

Spider-Man the Short Halloween - Cause three times a month wasn't enough. Here's a one-shot for more solo Spidey fix.

And on that note... Amazing Spider-Man Family is now monthly. Yep. Another monthly. On the bright side it features more than just Peter.

New Avengers 53 - Wow, Carol Danvers appears to be on the New Avengers team! Ok, I don't actually read this title but I wasn't aware that she is now on this team. Plus I consider it to be more noteworthy than what the story is about. New Sorceror Supreme? Must be a new decade.

Dark Reign: Young Avengers/ DR: Hood - Hey more stories about villians. How unappealing. Guess Ellis's Thunderbolts is now a franchise. The Hood story seems to have promise but the character is on verge of being overexposed.

Black Panther 4 - Cool. Morlun's back. Glad that he hasn't gone into obscurity. Just wish Marvel wouldn't be coy about who the Panther is. Its getting old...

Ms Marvel 39 - Oh ... it appears Carol Danvers is actually dead. Confused now. As for the switch, not sure how much it will actually help the title.

Punisher 5 - Hey, another title where the Hood appears in. At this rate, he might actually rival Wolverine!

Howling Commandos 1 - Guess we know former Heroes producer Jesse Alexander has been up to. Ok, dark humor aside, I'm a big fan of the Howling Commandos and WWII war comics. Provided this actually is a one-shot, this comic is a good deal coming in at forty pages for four dollars. I may actually have to pick this up.

Hulk 12 - I'm only interested because its a Defenders story. Waiting for the trade.

Incredible Hercules 129 - At last, why death is so temporary in the Marvel universe. This one of those titles that I wish I could add to my list. One of the disadvantages of wanting to start from the beginning...

Marvel Zombies 4 issue 2 - Another Hood appearance...

New Mutants 1 - The New Mutants are back. Um, guess X-Infernus was important after all. While I read a handful of issues of the old run, I never did get into. Unless I make changes to pull list, this going to be tough sell for me.

X-men Forever Alpha - Yay! Chris Claremont returns to the X-men of the old 1991 continuity. Claremont's first X-men run means a lot to me and this particular time period does as well. Looking forward to this title. Although I don't know if I'll pick up the Alpha book. I have all the issues.

Deadpool Suicide Kings 2 - Uhm, Deadpool has a healing factor that rivals Wolverine. How is the Punisher too much for him? Glad I decided not to read this.

I'll discuss the graphic novels in a later post this week or next. Same with DC.