Over A Year

So it has been a while since my last post. A year and almost four months. Life has been extremely busy. Too busy to keep up with so many options on the social networking front.

However, I intend to start making posts once more. Now is this plan actually works out or not is an entirely different story.

Hope all is well with my four followers.

Thanks for sticking around.

An Update concerning Books

Whoa. I haven't posted since August 2010. I've been busy. Work, work, some work, and sometimes a weekend. I started posting on tumblr as well. Which appeals to me more, because of the massive amount of comic fans there.

I've read a few good books since last time. Here's what I remember:

The Passage by Justin Cronin. Excellent book. I was sad when it ended. I actually miss the characters. I thought it was a really good read for being such a long book. Alot of times, longer books have alot of fluff they don't need, but The Passage was interesting all the way through the book. It has alot of twists and turns, and it doesn't always end up the way you think it would, or the way you want it to. Which is what I liked the most about it. Most books are pretty predictable. Which can make them boring at times. As vampire fiction, The Passage managed to stand out against all the other huge stacks of VF out there today. One of my favorite books that I managed to read in 2010. Highly recommend it.

The Parasol Proctorate series by Gail Carriger. My first venture into Steampunk related reading. I really enjoyed this series. It's set in a Victorian era where vampires, werewolves, paranormals, and steampunk are the norm. There are three books in the series to date, with two more planned.

The Sirantha Jax series by Ann Aguirre. The term I've heard most to describe these books is 'space opera'. Four books so far, and two more on the way, which isn't going to be enough for me. Initially I was drawn to pick up Double Blind because of the cover. I am a sucker for cover art. The books are well written and the plots keep you reading. I look for series to read, because I'm usually not content with one book. The more the better. Maybe by the time book 6 rolls around there will be more planned in the series.

OverWinter by David Wellington. Wellington is one of my favorite authors. He has written vampire, zombie, and werewolf fiction. All with new twists on the old myths and excellent characters. OverWinter is the sequel to the first werewolf story, Frostbite. Both are excellent books. OverWinter has new interesting characters, and elaborates on the existing ones. It has quickly become one of my favorite werewolf fictions of 2010. I can't wait to see what Wellington writes next.

Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter. One of my favorite subjects are skinwalkers. Native American legends of people who can shift into different animals, or just one, depending on what tribe they are from. Hunter writes an excellent Skinwalker series, with Jane being one of the more likable characters I have come across. She is a vampire hunter (which seems to be a running trend in books these days) but she ends up working for the vampires. The only part I didn't completely enjoy at first was the narrative when she was in her 'beast' form. It was choppy and frustrating to read at times. Once I got used to it, it kinda grew on me. The third book, Mercy Blade was recently released and I've just started reading it. There is a fourth one planned as well. Hunter also writes another series called the Rogue Mage series, which I believe deals with Angels and such.

And that's about it ladies and gents. Maybe more later. For now I have to get back to work and actually get something done.

No wonder you're late. Why, this watch is exactly two days slow.

I was thinking about the defining moments of my life. The ones that stand out against all the white noise that the day to day becomes. And how long ago they happened. Time is relative, but in our lives time is the absolute. We live and die by the clock. From the time we are pronounced new and fresh to this world, till the time they put on our end. It’s all judged the same. The length of time you put into anything is something meaningful.

Everyone remembers time. You hear it everywhere. Jobs. “I’ve been working here three years and still haven’t gotten a raise.” Communities. “Hi. My name is Bob, and I’m an alcoholic, but I’ve been sober for three months.” Cue the clapping. Home. “Honey it’s been three weeks, since I’ve seen you. Please come home for the weekend.” School. “ Ten more minutes and I’m free for three months.” (It hardly seems like three months when you know what’s on the other end of that freedom.)

We judge people by time. By how long they have been married. How long they’ve been on drugs. How long it’s been since they died. Since they were born. It’s inescapable. It’s always there. Vacatiions aren’t even free of restraints. You know it’s going to end. You know the weekend will slip away faster than the hours you spend at work. But you also know at the end of the week, there’s always the weekend, waiting to greet you.

Thank god, it’s Friday.

Review: Batman and Robin

I finished reading the Deluxe Edition of Batman and Robin last night. It’s the first collected trade of Dick Grayson being Batman, and Damian being Robin. I had picked this title up when it came out in single issue form. I dropped it after the first issue. The reason being at the time was number one, I was mad that Bruce was dead. I knew when battle for the cowl started that Dick was the only real logical choice for Batman, but it still made me mad. I was kinda hoping for someone to be like,”Sorry guys, we were just screwing with you. “ Of course, they didn’t, so I was still fairly angered by the fact that there was a new Batman in town. Until recently, I hadn’t given much thought on to how I felt about Robin, really, any of the Robins. I hadn’t realize there had been four to date already. But I did like Damian. The kid was alright. And that was one of the reasons I picked up Batman and Robin to begin with, plus you have to get everything a shot right?

So, dropped after one issue. Damian wasn’t his usual smart ass self, Dick was whining too much, and the villains! I hated the villains. There was just something about the villains that I despised right off the bat. I think it was the bright colors. The silliness of them. I still don’t like the first arc’s villains after reading the trade, but I did enjoy seeing Jason Todd as a villain in the Red Hood arc. Even if the Red Hood outfit get up is absurd. That helmet is awful. I preferred the version in “Under the Hood.” Scarlett was okay. Her story was simple, but it wrapped up much too quickly, almost too nicely as well. Will she be back? People just don’t go from being a mass murderer to “I’m okay with the fact some guy ruined my life, I killed my own father and a lot of other people, now I can move on with my life” just because a mask fell off. Psychological issues are more than skin deep.

Giving it a second shot, I understand what is trying to be accomplished. Morrison is giving Grayson his own Rogues Gallery. An excellent idea, but I’ll always love the classics. Every once in a while, a new villain can be introduced that falls right into the story. A villain that just makes sense. I don’t think that happens a lot. And that’s where we get a lot of the secondary villains. You know the ones, Orca and Roxy Rocket, the Film Freak and Kite Man. To me, Professor Pyg will become one of ‘the lesser known foes’ in the Batman universe. Perhaps only remembered because he was Grayson’s first villain and the dancing before the kill number.

Damian seemed to have more life breathed into him as the book progressed and by the end, I was satisfied that he would be back to his overly critical and sarcastic self in the next trade they release. I also read Streets of Gotham and Batgirl, which Damian has appeared in, and I find his character much more enjoyable in those books.

Another aspect that seemed off was the art. Don’t get me wrong, I love Frank Quietly. The man can draw. But not Batman. His drawing is better suited to superman, the ever humble boy scout of the DC Universe (I completely dislike Superman, the only thing good from him, is the fact that he has Kara for a cousin). There is where I had another problem with the colors as well. Batman is not about bright colors. At least not anymore. Maybe when the Dark Knight began his crusade on crime it was all about the colors and the jokes. But not now, we’re here for the brooding and the darkened streets. For the shadows and danger. When Phillip Tan took over the job of illustrating, I was relieved. His style is much better suited to Batman’s theme. Again, I enjoyed the second half better style and art wise.

Overall, I enjoyed the read. It was a little rough to begin with, but I suppose you could translate that into a metaphor for Dick becoming Batman being rough as well. I still enjoy reading Streets of Gotham more, and I quit reading Detective Comics when it became centered on Batwoman (no problem with her, I just have other priorities in the Batman universe). But overall, I think Dick is making an awesome Batman, and Damian an excellent Robin. Of course, once I came to terms with that, they announced the Return of Bruce Wayne. Which, we all knew was going to happen anyway because no one stays dead in comics. And now I’m torn again. I missed Bruce when he left, but now I’ve fallen in love with a new Batman. Will Dick just go back to being Nightwing? Will Damian stay Robin? What about Tim? What happens to Stephanie when Bruce finds out she’s fighting crime again? Catwoman? Jason? Hush? Maybe we will have two Batmans. And then a fan war will start between the Grayson fans and the Bruce fans. So many questions for something that I finally became comfortable with.

I've decided my favorite subjects so far this year are Zombies and Batgirl. Second place goes to the rest of Gotham, whom I live with on a hate-love relationship.

This is my most recent comission by Michelle Sciuto. She does lovely work. And I continue to gather evidence on why Steph and Tim should get back together. Bryan Q. Miller, please write a "We're back together" issue of Batgirl and kill off that Tam girl in the Red Robin series. No one likes her anyways. Thanks!

But that's basically my thought for the day. I swear to start writing more. I'm working on reading Feed by Mira Grant right now. So I'll be sure to post how it turned out, and there have been many new Batman trades to come out I haven't had a chance to write about. So, hopefully I'll get to that soon.

Until then, this will have to do.