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I finally read Swamp Thing

If you read Brightest Day to its conclusion, then you know that Swamp Thing has returned as the protector of the Earth. If you were a fan of the critically acclaimed Alan Moore run from the 80's, you probably happily freaked out over this. If you were me, you were scratching your head and wondering what all the fuss was bout. I mean, he's a freakin' plant guy. What's the big deal?


It was suggested to me that I should read the Alan Moore series, so that I could properly grasp the magnitude of his return. It's something that I have always wanted to read, mainly due to people talking about the series whenever the subject of "good" comics had come up. What better time to jump into the swamp than now, right?

Now before I talk about the first trade, let me fill you in on what I knew about Swamp Thing prior to this.


1. He had a live action TV show that would air on FOX after Saturday morning cartoons.
2. His toy line had a swamp boat for him to cruise around in.
3. He was a thing from the Swamp.

Reading this book for the first time now will never be like what it would be like back in the 80's. In that sense, it will not be the same book to me that everyone else raves about. However, given my laughable amount of knowledge when it comes to this character, I'm pretty close to where I would need to be to have that original experience.

I'll put it bluntly, the book was fantastic. I stayed up late into night to finish the first trade in one sitting. I understood now why the character was so interesting. He wasn't just a plant guy, he was a plant that thought he was a man! That's a wild concept and I am very much into it. The art didn't even seem dated to me, unlike when I read Sandman for the first time. The layouts were beautiful and dreamy. It was an awesome book, which explains the years of praise it has received.

It reminded me a lot of when I watched Rocky for the first time. I had always been told it was a classic film, but had never been able to watch it before. I had an idea about what it was about, heard people talk about it, but had never experienced it. Once I saw Rocky lose by decision to Apollo Creed, I understood what all the fuss was about. I had the same feeling when I saw Swamp Thing uproot himself to save a small town from the Floronic Man. I experienced it, and now I love and understand it.

Testing Atari Games

New video games, whether they are old or new, is always a time of great rejoicing here. It's also a time of great cleaning and testing. We can't just let these games go out on the shelves without verifying they work or cleaning the copious amounts of dirt and grime off of them. We have to hold them, feed them, clean them, teach them the ways of the world, and then let them run free on the shelves when they're ready. I assure you, it's a very emotional process.

It's not all sunshine and candy though. It's not all unicorns and kittens wearing funny hats, no sir! Sometimes, testing a game can drive you to the brink of insanity. It can be like starring into the subconscious of Gary Busey, full of wild animals singing Motley Crue songs while gnawing at piles of rotten meat. It's a real test of a man's worth, that's for sure.

Superman, for the Atari 2600, really stood out as a game that can break the will of a civilization. It's seizure inducing characters and level screens made my eyes hurt. Its lack of instruction and intuitiveness left me foaming at the mouth. It made no sense. It sounds like a Daft Punk B-Side and looks like a child's first foray into the world of computer animation. When looking for an example, it was no surprise to me that the video showcasing this game had the word "unplayable" in it. Here, take a look.



The word "unplayable" implies that there is a way to play the game. Whereas I feel that there is no way to play it. There can't be, it's just a mess of shapes and sounds. A world of noise and color that you navigate this helpless sprite through. It's damnation. This is not a game in the classic sense. This is an insanity simulator.

While I do enjoy cleaning and testing the majority of games that come into our shop, it sometimes causes me mental harm. In this case, Superman for the Atari 2600 has scarred me for the rest of my life. There will come a day when I am old and withered, sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair, with a vacant look in my eye. If you look closely, you'll see scenes from this game running their hellish course in my eye, in my soul.

For the sake of you having confidence in purchasing used video games here, it was worth it. Goodnight everyone.

Free Comic Book Day!!

Here are some photos from this years Free Comic Book Day. The photos were taken by the talented David Zwickerhill, of Zwickerhill Photography. zwickerhillphotography.com

This Week In The Life Of Comics 5/6/11

When I start thinking about how my week went, I start doing the face rubbing thing. That says to me that I don't want to write about it.

Instead, let's talk about the facebook group I've made. I was watching an episode of the new Doctor Who series, and there's an episode where David Tennant ends up lighting the Olympic Torch for the upcoming 2012 Olympics in London. How cool would it be if he really ended up doing that? It would be super cool! If you think like I do, then please join my facebook group here. I want to make this a reality.



On to the comics...

Fear Itself #2

The second chapter in Marvel's mega-event has arrived! We didn't have to wait an entire month for the second issue to come out, so that's pretty rad, but we won't be so lucky with the third issue. That does ship in one months time.

The majority of The Worthy end up being chosen in this issue, and there's little surprise as to who they are. Due to advanced solicitations and promo posters, you pretty much knew who was getting evil hammers. The two that you didn't are such C-list villains, that's it's kind of difficult to care about them getting an upgrade.

The story is still cool, and by the end of this issue we finally start to see action. It's pretty clear that we were given two issues that set the stage of the event in order to get people interested. So far, I'm hooked and waiting for more. Mission accomplished, I would say.

The art continues to impress me, though a couple of The Worthy's costumes left me wanting a little more. It's the fashionista within me, it demands so much. Overall though, the book is gorgeous. Just like the previous issue.

Next issue is supposed to be the issue that blows everyone's minds, according to Matt Fraction's twitter. If you're getting bored, at least wait until you finish the third issue before you pass judgement. This is shaping up to be a pretty monstrous story, and so far I'm really enjoying the ride. Even if it's taking a little bit to set the story up.

Moon Knight #1

Moon Knight is in L.A. and selling his life story for fame and fortune! Things seem to be going pretty well at a gala event, until Cap, Spidey, and Wolverine show up to speak to him. They tell him that since he's in LA, he needs to clean up the city. There's a new kingpin of crime in the LA area, so he should have plenty of work trying to get rid of him.

Keep in mind that Moon Knight is still a lunatic. He's still a crazy nutter, with tactical combat experience, running around playing super hero with multiple personalities and voices in his head. Just in case you were worried that Bendis made him sane or something, he didn't. He's the same crazy guy. CRAZY!

Moon Knight ends up doing some detective work, which leads to a run in with Mr. Hyde (NOTE: Could have sworn he was in The Raft as of the last issue of Thunderbolts, but what do I know.). He ends up foiling his scheme and recovers something that is definitely troubling and problematic for the future.

The last page has a surprise twist, which did catch me off guard. It doesn't really seem like that big of a change for the character to me, but I can see where there are opportunities for major swerves further down the line. It has potential to be mind blowing, but this first issue did not melt my brains. It caused them to lightly simmer.

Overall, it's a great Moon Knight comic. If you're a fan of Moon Knight, then you need to be reading this. If you're not, then this will probably be the series that changes your mind. Stop in and check it out. He's crazy!

Alright, that's all for me this week. See you guys at Free Comic Book Day tomorrow!

Boston Comic Con Day 2

Anyone that has been to a few conventions knows that the last day of the con has a different feeling about it. It's a little calmer, there's a feeling of winding down that's in the air. That's not to say that the last day isn't special at all, but it's not as electric as the previous day(s).

Tim Sale continued to be assaulted by hordes of fans. He took more breaks on this day than the previous though. I'm assuming this was for his mental health, as he was drawing nonstop.

I saw Brutus the Barber Beefcake and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine there too. Brutus is a massive, jacked dude. Given his age and how jacked he is, he's probably hitting steroids pretty hard, but don't quote me on that. "The Hammer" looked like hell. He looked like he had been on the ass end of an ass-whuppin' for sure.

I had one customer tell me that he had been drunk on absinthe since seven in the morning and that Gerald and I appeared as cheetahs in his eyes. I told him that it was real and that I run up and down Mass Ave. (as a cheetah) hunting gazelles. We both laughed, what fun we had this day.

They had a costume parade/contest which was pretty neat. Some of the costumes were pretty impressive. I especially enjoyed an exchange between a guy pretending to be John Stewart (Green Lantern, not the Daily Show) and a guy playing Jason of Friday the 13th fame. They had a stare-down with each other and then the Green Lantern gave Jason the cutthroat hand gesture (like The Undertaker before he gives the Tombstone Piledriver). Jason then raised his axe in the air, and pointed at it. It was very WWE, but I thought it was hilarious. Dear DC, please write Green Lantern Vs. Jason.

We continued to sell funny books throughout the day, until it was time to close. We were then involved in a massive clustercuss as we attempted to bring all of our stock down to the loading dock. It was like that final scene in the 2012 when the mass of people are trying to get on that ship. It was ugly.

That was it for me guys. We had a lot of fun at the con and were able to meet a lot of cool people. If you've never been to a comic book convention like Boston or New York, then I highly recommend going. It's a great opportunity to geek out and meet a lot of cool people in the process.

Boston Comic Con Day 1

Boston Comic Con is huge this year! There's a bunch of new vendors and tons of artists. It's almost NYCC, it's just missing the room full of new video games. Who knows, maybe in a few years, they'll have them.







We ended up setting up shop next to Tim Sale this year. I'd like to say that we struck up a conversation that resulted in a life long friendship, but we didn't. This guy has been insanely busy this year. With all of the sketches he did yesterday, he probably could have drawn an entire comic book. I imagine that he probably spent the evening icing his drawing hand. He's a hard working man. He even drew on a girls leg!


















There was lots of cool costumes at the show, some pictured above. I wish I had taken more photos, but I was busy selling funny books!













I bought a sketch from Stan Sakai yesterday as well. This was a big deal for me as I've been a big Usagi Yojimbo fan for a long time.






Gerald missed his opportunity to get a drawing from Ryan Ottley. His drawing schedule filled up in the first 20 minutes! Gerald's been a wreck since then. He's adorned himself in goth makeup and is listening to Cradle of Filth. He's full of despair.












We met our only fan too! Michael Lynn Wherley stopped by our booth to bask in our glory. Michael is a really cool guy. He likes our videos for some reason, and we love him for it.





Afterwards, we were invited out to a retailers dinner by Larry's Comics. It was a lot of fun to meet everyone from the area and to know that not every comic shop hates us. That's a relief.












After that, I curled up in my hotel bed, babbling nonsense words to myself. It was a long, fun day full of awesome people and comics.


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