Friday Mad Science

[DannoE]

Time to turn the page. Another week, another column. This week, 803 Studio's KIP, Viper's SASQUATCH, and a bunch of nonsense.

http://www.paperbackreader.com/newco...p?ColumnID=579

I hope you guys enjoy it.

[albone]

Great article again Dan. I like how you broke down the housing market snafu. I knew a lot about what happened, but your column shed some light on why and how it happened. Greedy asshole bankers. The borrowers aren't saints either, but I can see how more than a few of them got sweet talked into it too, either by the lenders or there own family/spouses. Can't wait for the bailout. Ugh.

Hey KIP and the 803! I think I might have told you that in Milwaukee, there's like 50 comic artists and nobody knows anyone. Two years ago we got to sit next to 803 and while most of them are from the east coast, Rob Hicks is from Brown Deer, WI, a suburb or Milwaukee and about 30 minutes away. The guy is good and last I heard he had some test pages for DC. He also has a smoking hot girlfriend.


Anyways, really great guy, super nice.

I also enjoyed Gunslinger and Buffy. Our Rival Angels run is going to be a good time, the layouts rule.

[DannoE]

Thanks Alan. And yeah, that is a smokin' hot girlfriend. Seems like artists always wind up with girls like that. Meanwhile, engineers... well, not so much. And don't even get me started about what it's like to be a historian. Heh. It's one of the world's great mysteries.

I got a nice note from the guys at 803 after that review. Short version: the artists liked it; the writer was trying to learn to live with it. As I told him, I can understand that. I've had a few of those myself. It's too bad though because I thought he had a really good concept (far better than most in that genre) and good art. He could have had a GREAT book. And no doubt it will be for some readers. We all see that sort of thing differently. That was kind of my point, though I probably didn't make it well enough.

[DannoE]

New week, new FMS. This week: Sally reviews the new GHOST WHISPERER, I read Super Real Graphics' GNOME, and finally, IDW's ZIPPER closes its first story arc. Plus, a bit about mountain bikes and a few other odds and ends.

Enjoy!

http://www.paperbackreader.com/newco...p?ColumnID=585

[albone]

Very cool column yet again. I liked Sally's review, always good to get thoughts on comic stuff from the fairer sex. Have either you checked out the webcomic/comic The Dreamer? Its a good fun read, produced entirely by a history obsessed mac-babe. www.thedreamercomic.com

Biking is way cool. I don't know if I told you but I enjoy biking to work when the weather permits. We just got 5 inches of snow last night, thanks Spring. I got a hybrid myself, and my ride is 6.5 miles to work, so not so bad.

The Founder's Day dinner does sound like kind of a rip. Seems like a high school reunion but way more expensive but a little less depressing. :P

Oh yeah, I forgot to say that I loved last week's opening quote from Dr. Impossible. 'Invincible' was a great read.

[DannoE]

Thanks Alan.

Very cool column yet again. I liked Sally's review, always good to get thoughts on comic stuff from the fairer sex. Have either you checked out the webcomic/comic The Dreamer? Its a good fun read, produced entirely by a history obsessed mac-babe. www.thedreamercomic.com

I emailed her right after I discovered the comic and asked if she had it out on WOWIO or was willing to send me a PDF for review. She got back to me saying that she'd planned to release the first "issue" of Dreamer to WOWIO later this year, and she'd let me know when it was out. So... I'm sort of on hold, but I plan to review it when it's out.

As an aside, I already have a TON of stuff to read and review in the meantime, so waiting actually works for me.

Biking is way cool. I don't know if I told you but I enjoy biking to work when the weather permits. We just got 5 inches of snow last night, thanks Spring. I got a hybrid myself, and my ride is 6.5 miles to work, so not so bad.

Heh. I'm at the point where I sort of wish my commute was longer. Not that I necessarily want to spend more time, but I only bike about a mile, and some days, particularly when it's nice in the afternoons, I'd as soon keep going. Bottom line: I'd like to trade about 15 minutes of train-time for bike time right now. Still, if I did that, my column would probably NEVER get done.

The Founder's Day dinner does sound like kind of a rip. Seems like a high school reunion but way more expensive but a little less depressing. :P

Oh yeah, I forgot to say that I loved last week's opening quote from Dr. Impossible. 'Invincible' was a great read.

Heh. Me too. I still want to be Dr. Impossible.

Sadly, I think many West Pointers are an inherently arrogant lot. You start off as a high school stud and then get told, "This is the toughest thing you'll ever go through in your life." They follow that up with an almost year-long emotional beat-down and then follow that up with insanely hard pre-engineering courses that make you want to pull your hair out. After that, it gets a little better, but it's never what you'd call a party. Anyway, when you graduate, it feels pretty fucking good... to say the least. And I think a lot of guys never get over that feeling of triumph and accomplishment. By the time you're looking back on it with what you'd hope would be some perspective, you start to think of yourself as a past-lived "bronzed golden god." I think that's why they always have to make these get-together's black tie affairs, in the literal sense of wearing a tuxedo, etc. But that doesn't make it right.

[DannoE]

New week, new column:

http://www.paperbackreader.com/newco...p?ColumnID=592

Enjoy!

[albone]

Very cool column per usual. I think it was only shorter in the Stray Voltage area as it was kind of a slow news week. I've always loved Byrne's work but it was getting kind of sloppy for a bit there. Glad to see he's back because he's always been a rock solid artist and a pretty good writer.

The Speed Racer review is intriguing. I know the movie is coming out and I probably won't see it until DVD, but that review is going to at least make me take a look at it when it comes out.

The segue into indy comics and companies other than the big two was great. On a personal note, I ended up buying 10 comics last week which is a crazy many comics for me in a week, and only two of them were Marvel books, the rest were DH, Dynamite and IDW. Anywho, I hear what you're saying.

Naturally, I enjoyed the Rival Angels discussion. 'These Girls Will Kick Your Ass,' is still at the top of the list for me for all of the reasons you mentioned. A couple other ones are 'Heavenly bodies. Hell in the ring,' and 'Enemies in the ring. Friends at home.' There's good and bad to them so I'm letting it germinate so to speak. I digress, fantastic read.

And, I liked the slogan for Proletariat.

[DannoE]

Thanks Alan. Sorry I didn't get back to you this week. But if it's any consolation, I've been LOVING the match over at Rival Angels.

This week: Star Trek: Year Four #1, The Executioner #1, and a little guessing game about my new favorite metal.

http://www.paperbackreader.com/newco...p?ColumnID=599

[DannoE]

New week, new column. Lot's of reviews and a few letters:

http://www.paperbackreader.com/newco...p?ColumnID=605