Legion RPG

As I'm still in holiday mode and have been playing host to my Mom and Grandmother I haven't finished much reading recently. Due to this I don't have all that much to review. In summary I've read two fun fantasy books I got for Christmas: Cry Wolf and Magic to the Bone. I've also started a book about a super powered boy who's in the closet, Hero (which was recommended by a coworker). I have squeezed in a few comics but have been mostly involved with my new hardcover (Absolute Sandman 4) which is shiny and awesome.



I have, however, been reviewing a lot of Legion stories. Most of my friends and I are gamers of one sort or another but I have to say tabletop gaming is one of my favorite hobbies. A D&D campaign I was playing in recently concluded and as such I've decided to fill that time by running my own game. I've taken the Abberant gaming system and decided to use it to run a game based on the Legion of Superheroes.






The most challenging part of this is, despite the fact that I have a lot of the setting established for the game, I have to figure out a way to combine 3 different Legion worlds and histories. I decided to combine them for two major reasons: 1. I can tailor the setting based on what I want for the story, and 2. this way my players can read any of the Legion comic books to get a feel for things without anything being given away.



So far I've had four players give me character ideas. They will all be descendants of original Legionnaires living in a time where there is no Legion (as they get to be a part of reforming it). Shadow Wolf will be a descendant of Timber Wolf and Projectra - though he himself doesn't even know his parents. Orbit is going to have gravity type powers (both sides of the power) and Star Boy would have been his Grandfather - I haven't decided who his Grandmother was quite yet. I have an great-grandchild of Mordru (and a grandchild of the White Witch) running around who decided to be a hero rather than a villain, and a character named Fix who's possibly connected to Tharok in some way. Everyone has decided to come from different planets as I've been slowly instructing my players about the different worlds of the 31st century.



I've decided that the grandchild of Brainiac 5 and Dream Girl (I decided that their romance was a bit more fun to play with than the Supergirl one) is going to be the person pulling Legionnaire descendants together to fight a building threat to the universe. I'm going to have fun building someone who has both the intelligence of a Brainiac as well as a bit of her grandmother's prophetic powers.





My biggest dilemma is what main villain to use. This will only be an 8 part game so it's essentially on story arc. While there will be a few puppet villains I'm debating between Mordru and Universo as the starring villain. Even so I'd hate to miss out on using the Fatal Five or even the Time Trapper. It's so hard to pick just one!



If anyone here loves the Legion and has any ideas for what they'd like to see in a Legion RPG I'd love to read the feedback!



I hope everyone is enjoying the new year :)

ASYLUM PRESS ANNOUNCES AGGRESSIVE FREE COMIC PLAN

I normally do not post press releases - but this is a unique offer!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Frank Forte Publicity Director / Asylum Press asylumpress@aol.com

12 Days of Christmas Brings Free Comic Books from Asylum Press ASYLUM PRESS ANNOUNCES AGGRESSIVE FREE COMIC PLAN (December 4, 2008 -Los Angeles) Asylum press announced today that for the first 12 days of December everyone who signs up for their mailing list will receive three free comic books mailed to them by the end of the month. The choice of comics will be at the discretion of the publisher. All free books will be mailed out by the end of December at the latest. Fans can sign up for the newsletter by emailing aylumpress@aol.com and put Christmas Newsletter promotion in the subject line.

Fans should make sure and place their mailing address in the body of the email. This offer is only good in the United States. Fans outside the US can get the free comics by paying $12.95 which covers USPS Global Express shipping. Asylum Press CEO Frank Forte explains, “Times are tough all over right now. This is our little way of giving back. We have had great success with our releases Asylum of Horrors #1 and Steve Mannon’s The Bomb and want to say Happy Holidays!” Asylum Press will be releasing Warlash Dark Noir # 2(OCT083866))this quarter as well and information on this issue at http://www.warlash.com// and can be found at most comic book retailers nationwide.

Fans can check out the numerous titles available at http://www.asylumpress.com/ and signing up for the newsletter will ensure the most up to date information on releases, previews and sales! ABOUT ASYLUM PRESS Founded in 1999 by Frank Forte, Asylum Press is a unique publishing house specializing in high profile projects from some of the industry's biggest names. Publishing superhero comics with Warlash: Zombie Mutant Genesis, continuing their tradition of horror with Undead Evil, Satan’s 3-Ring Circus of Hell, the upcoming Asylum of Horrors and Beyond Lovecraft, venturing into dark humor with Billy Boy The Sick Little Fat Kid and The Cletus and Floyd Show, Asylum Press continues to be on the cutting edge of comic and graphic novel publishing.

Frank FortePublisherAsylum PressPO Box 2875Hollywood CA 90078 USA
mailto:USAinfo@asylumpress.com
http://www.asylumpress.com/
http://www.warlash.com/
http://www.undeadevil.com/
http://www.asylumofhorrors.com/

Alan Moore on Steve Ditko

I have always loved Ditko's Work

Dan Didio – 15 Questions – A Parody with Apologizes to Newsarama

Interviewer: Let’s start out easy. Have you fired anyone this week?

Dan: If you are talking about Robinson, then you know it was just a fight and he got mad and said he quit, but I got one of the editors to smooth it all out. James is in for the long haul.

Interviewer: So what happened?

Dan: It is the same problem with all of these writers; tell them to make a few changes and they get to be such a prima donna. I mean sure he had already turned in a completed script that had to be totally re-written and yes last week the editor had approved it, but I had a new idea that was just fabulous and it had to be done. So James says he should be paid for both scripts and I said that is ridiculous, why would we do that. Then he said something about this being bullsh*t and I told him to find self love and it just went on from there.

Interviewer: So when an editor approves the script, then you want it totally re-written you don’t pay for it?
Dan: I didn’t approve it yet or maybe I did. No matter next question.

Interviewer: Continuity seems to be a little hard to follow in DC comics at the moment. Trinity, Final Crisis, New Krypton, RIP, JLA, Superman/Batman all appears to be totally different story lines and not tied into a cohesive universe. How does it all tie-in?

Dan: That whole continuity issue is over blown and tying the writers into some sort of artificial continuity is very restrictive. So what we have done is allow each book to build their own continuities and we see what works and what doesn’t seem to work and then pick and choose from there. Eventually it will all tie together, but it may take some time. When Final Crisis ends we will slowly incorporate some of those changes into books where it makes sense. Then as Batman RIP goes forward we will then tie those events into other events as the correlation of plotlines comes together and the grand plan for DC can be seen. So sometimes it may seem confusing, but it is really pretty easy once you see things my way.

Interviewer: Dan the answer really makes no sense whatsoever.

Dan: Okay we have no clue how it all ties together and hope someone can make sense of it down the road. Crap I won’t be here forever you know.

Interviewer: Okay, onto another subject matter. The Battle for the Cowl sounds like a pretty odd way to determine who will take over for Bruce Wayne. Why go this direction?

Dan: Well I’m going to have to take credit for this one. See Grant had some other ideas, but I said remember how great the Countdown Arena was, everyone loves a super hero battle and we can have a bunch of guys fighting to take over. Grant did not seem to like it and I asked three or four other writers to take the job, but none of them had time on their schedule and I was even editing the book. So I told Tony Daniel that we could showcase his heretofore unknown skills as a writer if he did the book and he jumped at the chance for continued employment.

Interviewer: So is Grant still involved in Batman after this is over?

Dan: I love Grant’s work and he is truly one of the best writers of our time and has been a huge help to DC with many of his wonderful ideas. Creative minds like Grant only come along once in a while.

Interviewer: Errr okay. What about the Flash?

Dan: He is great, fastest Man alive, so we gave him to Johns to fix. Funny that Waid and Johns had the book working, and then we screwed it up and now are asking Johns to fix it. Of course by bringing back Barry it makes it all better again. So to do the fastest man alive, we let the slowest artist alive do the boo, Ethan Van Scriver. We hope to get all six issues out by 2012.

Interviewer: So what does this mean for Wally West?

Dan: Let’s face the fans were not buying into the second generation of characters so we decided to give them what they wanted and bring back all the silver age characters. Like how popular Green Lantern is again now that it is Hal Jordan.

Interviewer: Isn’t that a function of a great writer and some strong artistic talent working on the book more then it being Hal Jordan? Couldn’t Kyle have succeeded even more then he did with a strong artist and writer?

Dan: Well there is always that possibility, but it doesn’t mean what we did was wrong, we have really changed everything, by not changing anything at all.

Interviewer: You once said that Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis were a trilogy. I maybe a little slow, but I don’t see it. Where is the connection?

Dan: They all have the word Crisis in their title. Boy you are slow.

Interviewer: But a trilogy has an overriding story?

Dan: It is the story of the DC Universe. Come on, you can’t miss it. In Identity Crisis we tried to dirty up all the silver age characters and make it real by having Sue being raped by Dr. Light, then killed by Jean Loring. In Infinite Crisis we brought back the rest of the silver age concepts by redoing the multi-verse. In Final Crisis we are bringing it full circle by destroying the multi-verse and have Identity Crisis be retro-con out of continuity.

Interviewer: Andy Diggle and Jason Aaron are both strong writers working at DC and doing great work for Vertigo. How come you did not give them some DCU work and keep them at DC with an exclusive?

Dan: What the hell is Vertigo? Besides these guys are not friends of anyone in Hollywood and let's face it baby I'm Hollywood bound and need to build all the connections I can.

Interviewer: Now Dan, I’m just asking the questions, but some fans have been very upset with the almost helter skelter way you have things seem to happen at DC. Any comment?

Dan: Do you know how many books we publish and how many characters there are in those books. For god’s sake man how can anyone keep that stuff straight? Get a life people, we will change things the way I see fit and the hell with what anyone else thinks.

Interviewer: Some people have call for you to be fired, how does that make you feel?

Dan: I have an iron clad four year contract and if they fire me tomorrow I get to sit on my ass at home for the next three years and still collect a pay check. Fire away. Hell whaty else do I have to screw up to get my ticket out of here. Do you know how obsessive and maddening these fans are? I could use a vaction.

Finally, it's over!

So, by the time this gets posted, the election is over (hopefully) and someone has won. Since I am actually writing this Monday prior to the start of voting, I will assume that someone is actually winning. And, I, for one, am very, very glad the whole election season is over. I, unfortunately, live in a “contested” area so I have been bombarded with robo-calls, TV ads, and junk mail.

If I look back at the past year, the thing that surprised me about this election is how vitriolic it was. Don’t get me wrong, politics is always a touchy subject but it seems to have gotten worse in the last three elections.

Here are some random thoughts since it would take far too long to condense this into a really clean commentary...

(1) Part of the problem lies with the Democrats and the Republicans. Sadly, I don’t believe either party is looking out for the best interests of America anymore. I believe they are just trying to get into power and stay there. And, I believe they are driving wedges between people more and more to fracture the population and win votes.

(2) It disturbs me that open discussion about political beliefs often degenerates into name calling. It disturbs me that people call each other unpatriotic just for having a different opinion. Since when is that the American way? Just because I don’t agree with you, you don’t have the right to question my patriotism.

(3) I think part of the reason political discussion has died is because people only listen to others who reinforce their own view point. Republicans only listen to Neil Boortz and Sean Hannity who certainly don’t provide anything close to fair and balanced. At the same time, I don’t believe that CNN is always neutral either. Personally, I read CNN and listen to the radio talking heads so that I can attempt to get the entire picture.

(4) For some unknown reason, it’s now bad to be in the middle. Whatever happened to the moderate? For some reason people have forgotten that the middle is where most of live. In business they call it the “win-win” situation, but in politics they only call it losing.

(5) I think the advent of the internet has been the usual blessing and curse for politics. It’s wonderful because candidates can get their message out to more people, more easily. It’s wonderful because there are fact checkers that can quickly point out when a candidate is lying. But, it also allows all the web trolls to post whatever lies they want to. It’s hard enough to discern fact from fiction when it comes to politics as it is without adding people who purposefully spread lies.

(6) Finally, it bothers me that lots of people appear to vote on single issues. I met way, way too many people who voted purely on where the candidate stood on abortion. I understand that it’s a hot topic but there are sooooo many other issues that are far more important. It might help if people voted on where the candidate stood on multiple issues like taxes, the war, and even health care.

This hasn't been one of my most coherent postings and it kinda degenerated into a bunch of talking points. But, it seems that this election was so nasty that I wonder how people will get over all the name calling that occurred. Maybe it’s always been this crazy, but I don’t seem to think so.

Soul of a Zombie - My First Comic Script

Through a series of events I ended up submitting a script for a comic book to an independent publisher. While I have always harbored the desire to write comic books I have not been actively trying to do so due to time constraints and other considerations.

The process was a real learning experience as my thought was to layout some of the direction and settings for the story (as though I’m writing to the artist). I was told to strip it down and tell the story as cleanly and quickly as possible.

Ultimately it was rejected, but done so nicely that I think we can still be friends. All sarcasm aside, it was done nicely and it was all something of a set of happenstances, but I do like the story and thought I would share it.

===============================================
The Soul of a Zombie

Page One (Six panels)

Panel One

Danny is waking up in bed, his wife is already gone.

Caption: Another morning.

Panel Two

Danny is getting ready for work.

Panel Three

Danny is coming down the stairs.

Caption: I like my life. Mornings I sometimes hate.

Panel Four

Danny is sitting down to breakfast with his wife and daughter. His wife is wearing a distinct ring.

Panel Five

Danny hits the front door kissing his wife good-bye.

Danny “Don’t forget date night tonight.”

Panel Six

Danny is driving into work.

Caption: It’s too nice a day to work.

Page Two (Six panels)

Panel One

Danny arrives at walk and is walking down an aisle of cubes.

Panel Two

Danny stops at his boss’ office.
Danny: “Sorry I’m a little late.”
Boss: “No problem, I’m just glad you showed up.”

Panel Three

Danny scans the office.
Danny: “Everyone sick?”
Boss: “So they say.”

Panel Four

Danny looking outside. Coughs.
Danny: “Can I be sick to?”

Panel Five

Danny’s sitting as his desk. A picture of his wife and daughter sits on his desk.

Panel Six

Danny is driving back home.

The car radio “CDC has raised the alert level about this recent flu epidemic.”

Page Three (Four panels)

Panel One

Danny and his daughter are playing in the back yard.

Panel Two

Danny and his family at the dinner table.

Caption: At times it seems like I have a perfect life.

Panel Three

Danny and his wife are putting their daughter to bed.

Panel Four

Danny and his wife are watching TV.

Danny “Its date night.”

Page Four (Two panels)

Panel One

Danny and his wife in bed after sex.

Panel Two

Danny is in the bathroom, coughing up blood.

Wife: “Danny; Are you okay?

Page Five (One panel)

Top of Page: One year later:

Danny is a zombie.

Caption: They call us the walking dead, zombies.

Page Six (Six panels)

Panel One

Danny is joins a group of zombies.

Caption: They call us that because we appear to all tests to be dead.

Panel Two

The group is moving into the street and joining other zombies.

Caption: Our bodies are decaying and we can’t speak, but we are here, or at least I am.

Panel Three

The group moves to a barricaded wall. Guards are atop the makeshift wall.

Caption: I remember when they pulled the plug on me.

Panel Four

More zombies are joining and are all heading for the wall.

Caption: The doctor told my wife the slight brainwave function meant nothing I was dead.

Panel Five

The zombies attack and the humans begin to shot their weapons at them.

Caption: I wish to God, they understood what has happened to us.

Panel Six

The zombies are starting to break thru the wall.

Caption: We are alive in a sense, but trapped inside a living engine of hunger with no way to control it.


Page Seven (Four panels)

Panel One

The barrier break, the fighting intensifies.

Caption: I sit inside this thing I wish I could go mad.

Panel Two

Zombies are overrunning the compound and the humans are scattering.

Caption: I pray for a head shot they may finally kill me.

Panel Three

Danny with a small group is chasing after some humans, which includes a woman and a young girl running into a building.

Caption: Why I remain sane as I am eating human flesh is itself maddening.

Panel Four

Danny’s zombie group follows into the house and is hit by gun fire from a hand gun.

Caption: But I’m still here, inside and I wonder how many others are still sane and suffering.

Page Eight (Two panels)

Panel One

Danny and one other zombie approach the humans. The gun clicks empty and we see it is Danny’s wife and child.

Caption: This can’t be happening. Please let me go mad, I need my mind to break. I need this to end, I can’t be this. I can’t be doing this.

Panel Two

Danny is eating is wife’s hand, we see her ring. It almost appears as if Danny is crying.

Caption: Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! (an unending scream)


THE END
================================================

And there you have it. There are so many elements to writing something even this simple that you don't realize until you start to do it, but for me pacing is a huge key and I had three of four ideas of how to do it. You should see my first shot at the script and see how much more was in it and I thought that was light. This is stripped down to its bones, but it does allow someone to read the story and determine if they want to go forward with it or not. It was a lot of fun just trying my hand at it and the people behind it who pushed me I have to say thanks. I can see why it is very difficult for a writer to break into this business. One day I would like to take another stab at this stuff.

Books worth buying

Two Morrows is currently having a $2 back issue 50% book sale. I don't normally recommend sales but this is a really really good price and some great material. The magazine back issues include Comic Book Artist which was one of the best in depth artist/history interview magazines ever. If you want to know what it was like by the people who were there then you need to read this.

Also, they are selling lots of "Rough Stuff" and "Write Now" which are essential reads for anyone who wants to know the nuts/bolts of comic book writing.

Finally, the 50% off sale has lots of good stuff too. I ordered "Streetwise" which is autobiographical stories by various artists. The highlight is the Kirby piece but I've heard the Windsor Smith is very good too. Look for a review in the near future. I also highly recommend Mark Evanier's three books. They are very, very funny true tales about people in the industry.

The $2 sale here and the 50% book sale here

Aaron Nelson Writer and Co-Creator of Marlow

The reason this interview is a little shorter is I was hoping to get this to be part of the post for the review of Marlow, but the timing did not work out. I really enjoy during these interviews with creators, especially people who are new to me and sometimes new to be on the creator side of the coin.

Jim: Who is Aaron Nelson and how did you get into writing comics?
Aaron: I got into writing comics shortly after I finished my Master's at Chicago. I've always loved comics, and felt that the medium was perfect for telling the kind of stories I wanted to tell.

Jim: Why Marlow? Beyond this issue, do you have any future plans for Marlow and his crew?

Aaron: I wanted to tell a story about a guy who is struggling with his zombie-side and his human-side; and to show that the life he's leading, while seeming to preserve his humanity, is actually the life of a zombie. I also wanted to show him realizing all of this, and then choosing to succumb to his zombie-side in order to be truly human. The reason why I wanted to tell the story of Marlow, is because I've personally felt like The War on Terror and The Bush Doctrine have had an overwhelming impact on our imaginations and world-view. In fact, I even wrote an essay for the book "Jack Bauer for President: Terrorism and Politics in 24" called "Simulating Terror", which looked at how 24 constructs and projects a reality based on the ticking time-bomb scenario in order to defend moral exceptionalism and the use of torture, etc. That's who I wanted Marlow to be -- this guy who's a living ticking time-bomb, ready to go off at any moment and turn him into a zombie. That's how he can personally be all right with doing all of these unethical things like murdering human experiments and other nasty things for the corporation he works for--because it's what keeps him "human". It's only at the end of the story where he realizes his condition has nothing to do with his actions; and that the only way to be human is to suffer his condition.

We are currently working on the next Marlow story. Unlike the first story, it's going to be a bit more pulpy and a bit less philosophical. With that said, it will expand Marlow's story while (hopefully) entertaining the readers, and (hopefully) making them think.

Jim: What is your process for producing this book? Did you write a full script with detail panel descriptions or some other method? How did you and the artist work together?
Aaron: The process was fairly lengthy. When I was thinking about the storyline, I decided to re-read Thucydide's "Peloponnesian Wars", Virgil's "Aeneid" and Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" in order to find some inspiration as to how to tell the story. Ultimately, I felt like "Heart of Darkness" was most "in-line" with the concerns I wanted to address, and his use of the frame-narrative and first-person storytelling was pretty appealing, as well. I thought it would work well in a comic book. After the storyline was established, I wrote a full script, and then collaborated with the artist on any panel or layout changes. I felt that Mathew and I worked extremely well together, especially on elaborating the story visually.

Jim: Do you have any other new projects on the horizon and/or are you pitching ideas to companies?
Aaron: I do. I have a couple of creator-owned projects that are nearing the submissions phase, and can't wait to get them out. One of them is a sci-fi comedy in the vein of Phil Foglio and Robert Asprin; the other is a mythological story that has been my baby for quite some time.

Jim: Would you want to work for DC or Marvel? If yes what would be your dream project.
Aaron: Although my immediate goals are focused around creator-owned projects, perhaps in the long-run, were I to be lucky enought to work for DC or Marvel, I'd certainly do it. From a dream project standpoint, I'd love to tell my story about Bruce Wayne.

Jim: What would be your dream project as a creator owned book?
Aaron: I'm actually working on it right now. I've read a lot of Ancient Greek and Roman epics, tragedies, comedies, histories, and dialogues, and my dream project takes that and incorporates it into a modern story.

Aaron, thank you for your time and we will keep watching the credit box to see your name.

Abandoned Cars by Tim Lane

So, all the major comic sites… wait wait let me clarify that statement. All the OTHER comic sites (we’re major too!) always do advance previews. I figured, why can’t we? So, one of the independent books I picked was:

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS
Abandoned Cars HC by Tim Lane
Abandoned Cars is Tim Lane's first collection of graphic short stories, noir-ish narratives that are united by their exploration of the great American mythological drama by way of the desperate and haunted characters that populate its pages. Lane's characters exist on the margins of society-alienated, floating in the void between hope and despair, confused but introspective. Some of them are experiencing the aftermath of an existential car crash-those surreal moments after a car accident, when time slows down and you're trying to determine what just happened and how badly you're hurt. Others have gone off the deep end, or were never anywhere but the deep end. Some are ridiculous, others dignified in their efforts to struggle to make sense of, and cope with, the absurdities, outrages, ghosts, and poisons in their lives. The writing is straightforward, the stories mainstream but told in a pulpy idiom with an existential edge, often in the first person, reminiscent of David Goodis's or Jim Thompson's prose or of films like Pick-Up on South Street or Out of the Past. Visually, Lane's drawing is in a realistic mode, reminiscent of Charles Burns, that heightens the tension in stories that veer between naturalism on the one hand and the comical, nightmarish, and hallucinatory on the other. Here, American culture is a thrift store and the characters are thrift store junkies living among the clutter. It's an America depicted as a subdued and haunted Coney Island, made up of lost characters-boozing, brawling, haplessly shooting themselves in the face, and hopping freight trains in search of Elvis. Abandoned Cars is an impressive debut of a major young American cartoonist.
Pages: 168, 7x10, B&W, $22.99

Visit Tim here

Lee: Another, this just strikes me as interesting. I like many of the books that Fantagraphics publishes because they have a knack for finding great artists. Visiting Lane’s website and just looking at the cover, I can easily see the influence of Charles Burns. I’m in.
Jim: Okay I have not visited the website and Lee maybe (MAYBE) correct, but in reading the premise it sounds like it is on the artsy-fartsy pretentious BS side. It has so much angst and lost souls in it that I can feel myself tearing up even now. Of course it could be the next great America comic book also.

One of the reasons I love the indie picks is Jim and I rarely agree on anything. And because we can't agree it stretches both of us to not only try new things but learn about them too. In this case, I thought Jim was missing the boat so I went ahead and contacted Tim Lane. What better way to change a persons mind then to hear from the creator himself! Now Tim is one awesome dude because I just asked how he was and got the following…

Lee: Hi Tim, I was wondering who are your influences? Based upon the cover, it would seem like Charles Burns is a big influence. Any others?
Tim: Thanks very much for your interest and support! I really appreciate it. You guessed right that Charles Burns is an influence, although not as much as it might seem. You aren't the first to reference the connection, though, and it has me a little concerned that maybe that's not such a good thing. Probably the biggest comic influences on me, in terms of visual style, is Will Eisner's The Spirit. When I was a kid, Kitchen Sink Press was reprinting all of those Eisner serials from the 1940's, and I couldn't get enough of them. Although I'm not as big a fan of his graphic novels (although I like them - it's just that, to me, nothing compared to The Spirit), I can always go back to those Spirit comics and find something new. The way Eisner set up his splash pages, the inventiveness of his panel arrangements, the great perspectives and, maybe best of all, that noir lighting sensibility he developed in the later 40's was, and still is, some of my favorite stuff in comics.

Lee: Let me interrupt here... I LOVE THIS MAN! Seriously, it is an amazing breath of fresh air to see a creator who respects Eisner as much as this. Don't get me wrong, everyone respects Eisner but it's obvious that he has really looked at The Spirit and he gets it. But Tim was just getting started.

Tim: I'm also a really big fan of pre-comics code EC comics: Artists like Johnny Craig - the Crime and Shock Suspenstories. Also Jack Cole's crime comics work. Dick Tracy is a big influence, too. I've just always really loved those old comics from the 40's and 50's. But David Mazzuchelli was a big influence, too - as a kid, I loved Frank Miller's Batman Year One, and Mazzuchelli was the illustrator. Mazzuchelli also illustrated the graphic adaptation of Paul Auster's City of Glass, which was another early influence.
Lee: Please note, more classic influences yet tempered with some modern creators. As an art fan this sold me right here. Knowledge of those who came before is so sexy.

Tim: Since then, I guess the usual suspects are pretty influential: Daniel Clowes, Kim Dietch, Charles Burns, Chris Ware, Joe Sacco, Adriane Tomine. I like all of their work. But I've been influenced by film noir movies more than comics, probably. Or just movies, in general, come to think of it. Also the short stories of Raymond Carver and Denis Johnson were pretty influential. And the music of Tom Waits. It's hard to name everything.

Lee: So that was quite the response for art influences. I was very impressed. Then I asked a second question. And, the ridiculously hard question... what can I expect from this book? The hype is 40 sentences of everything under the map, any chance you can summarize or let me know what you were trying to achieve. Now I give Tim credit because this is such a loaded question. He's worked months if not years on this and I want 40 words or less. Here's what Tim had to say.

Tim: Abandoned Cars is a book of loosely related graphic short stories. All of the characters have in common the fact that they live on the underbelly of the American Dream. I kind of think of it as a Coney Island America. Abandoned Cars is the first book of what I'd like to become a trilogy of similar books of stories - in which new characters will be introduced, and certain characters will occasionally return at different points in their lives, kind of like Hemingway's Nick Adams stories. But, through the work, I'm trying to understand something about American mythology. That description is painting with a pretty broad brush, I know, but it's really hard for me to sum up the contents of Abandoned Cars without getting the feeling that I'm talking too much.
Lee: Let me interrupt here... WOW. A reference to Hemingway. He's well read too. The plus's of this book are adding up by the minute. Back to Tim.

Tim: Probably the BIG catalyst for Abandoned Cars is an album by Bruce Springsteen called Nebraska. Nebraska is this stripped down acoustic album, and works for me like a book of short stories. I was really moved by that album, and it sort of pointed a direction out for me. I can't really explain it. But up until then it just never dawned on me to try writing/illustrating short stories in comic book form. Then, after that little realization, all the other stuff - the old EC comics, the Spirit, etc, influences - sort of fell into place. It made sense to me that, not only could you tell engaging American stories through comics, but maybe comics were one of the best possible vehicles to tell those stories - like rock or folk music is. What I really admire about both Springsteen and Tom Waits is the way they've both so vividly created nuanced worlds that are partly real and partly fictional. For those who do like their point of view, you become a life-long spectator.
Lee: He had me at I listened to Dead Kennedys while writing this. Oh poop he didn't say that at all. Ok, our taste in music is slightly different but for what Tim is trying to achieve is Springsteen's Nebraska is probably better than "Kill the Landlord" by the DK's. Oh well can't win them all.

Well, somehow this turned into a mini interview with Tim. But with great answers to two simple questions he completely sold me on this. Hopefully I convinced Jim and you too.

Jim: Okay I was close to saying yes until Springsteen was mentioned. I lived in NJ for six years and grew sick of him. Still this book actually sounds like it could be one of the better books coming out this year. Count me as sold.

Iron Man, The Comic not the Movie

So Jim has the weekend off which means two posts by me this week. Lucky, lucky you!

Since this is my second post of the week, I figured I would talk about comic books. Specifically, I want to talk about Iron Man. The book, not the movie, not only because every other blog has already written about the movie but mostly because I haven't seen it yet.

Anyway, I managed to read issues 25-28 and I really liked it. I skipped all the Civil War crap last year so this was all new to me. In summary, it was a good superhero story and I felt that it read like so many of the older Iron Man issues. There was lots of armor, lots of fighting, and even a classic villain, the Mandarin. I liked the fact that the Mandarin was portrayed as the classic scheming mastermind who almost won. He had been modernized slightly by having his rings surgically attached to his back. Maybe he's been doing this for awhile but, as I said, it was new to me. And, the authors, even managed to work in all of Iron Man's "classic" armors into the story.

But, this caused a problem. I realized that while I liked the stories there were a couple of basic problems with the whole concept.

Problem #1: Since when does Tony Stark has super powers?
I've always felt that Iron Man's appeal in a world of mutants, radioactive spiders, and generic superpowers was that he was an ordinary guy. He was just like you or me but smarter and richer.

Suddenly that's all changed. Apparently, he's infected with the Extremis Virus. I have no clue what the virus is or does but Stark's not an ordinary man anymore. Suddenly he has a superpower that allows him to talk to computers, or his armor specifically. Is it me, or does that completely defeat the premise of Iron Man? AND, even more disturbing, suddenly he's got Wolverine's healing factor!!!

If you think I'm kidding, read issue 28, page 31-32 in which he cuts his own heel off and then page 36 where it was all grown back! WHAT??? I must have missed something along the way because... let me say it again... Tony Stark used to be an ORDINARY man! He didn't have any healing powers! That completely defeats the purpose of the character! He isn't Wolverine. He's supposed to be a man.

Problem #2: The new armor is ugly!
The more I looked at the old armor, the more I realized that I liked it a whole lot better than the new armor. I will concede the old armor is kinda tin-cannish but it's the "classic" look. The new armor just seems like it's full of hard angles and techno type lines. It looks far more like a robot than a man in armor. AND, the yellow on the helmet looks exactly like the Punisher's skull. I don't want a skull head Iron Man! I want a round head Iron Man.

Don't get me wrong I liked the stories but I didn't feel that Tony Stark was still Tony Stark. Maybe he's a skrull or something but somehow I think they just messed with the character and didn't make him any better. I'm all for change and growth but not when it messes with the core concept of the character.

Oh well, that's just my opinion.

Kid Houdini and The Silver Dollar Misfits - A Review

Kid Houdini and The Silver Dollar Misfits by Writer Dwight MacPherson Art Worth Gowell - Publisher Viper Comics

This looks to be a wonderful all age story. It is a FREE COMIC DAY book from Viper (May 3).

The Story:
The story starts in Appleton, Wisconsin in 1886. Since much of Harry Houdini’s early history is not 100% verifiable we still know that Harry started out in Appleton, Wisconsin in that time frame.

Harry appears to be 10- to 12 years old and is running away from home. He jumps a train and meets a bunch of young children locked in a cage. The children are Harry’s age but they are locked in a cage because they are the carnival Misfits for a traveling circus.

The Misfits are Lydia, a snake charmer, Hans, a boy with no legs, and Jacques and Joe the ever arguing Siamese twins.

We jump ahead a few months and find Harry practicing his escape tricks and the Misfits, now including Harry, solve mysteries for children who require there services. A young girl whose father is gone missing hires the gang, for a silver dollar, to investigate. During the course of their investigation, the Misfits go to the little girl’s house. The story leaves us hanging as a girl’s scream echoes in the house they are investigating.

The Art:
Jim: The artwork is very well done. It is a sophisticated cartoon style that is very fluid and has terrific clean lines. The page layouts are great and the story telling is top notch. I loved how the mood was switched with both color and art from lighthearted at times to a kid’s scary as they are exploring the house.
Lee: I really liked the art too. The storytelling was clean and concise. What really sold me was the facial expressions. In all ages books, it’s really important to get the faces right to help convey the mood. And the artist did a great job of it. I was equally impressed by the colorist too. Unfortunately, these days it appears the colorist only muddies the artwork but such is not the case here. He/she did a great job of using color to highlight the moods and tones of the book.

The Story:
Jim: Personally I can’t wait for the graphic novel. Dwight has this ability to tell a modern tale fairy tale type story that appeals to the adult in me and makes me long for the days when my kids were young enough for me to read to them every night.
Lee: I am of split mind on this book. On one hand it’s a great all ages book but on the other it’s a kinda bland all ages book. I like all ages books and I read lots of them but something was missing from this one.

If I put on my “I’m Ten Again” hat on (easily accessible) this is a great story. And, as a parent, this is a great story and I look forward to giving it to my kids. I regard this as a “library book.” It’s a great book to get kids into reading, is easily accessible to the mass market, and would be a great addition to your local library. And that is no small achievement.

Now then, as an adult reading this story, it fell flat for me. The characters were almost too generic in nature and the motivations to plain. There was the stock angry kid who wants acceptance (Hans), comic relief (Jaques and Joe), and love interest (Lydia). There’s nothing wrong with using the archetypes but there needs to be a great take on the story to compensate. Overall, It’s a great little adventure story for my kids who haven’t read 100 plus adventure stories already.

The Opinion:
Jim: Highly recommended, Grade A
Lee: As a book to sit on my kids bookshelf for them to read over and over again, A+.
As a book to sit on my personal bookshelf, B.

It's a free book and hopefully your retailer ordered some of them (as the books are free to us, but a small price is paid by retailers for each book).

Look for the graphic novel later this year for only $9.95.

Check out an interview Dwight did with the fine people from Newsarama about this book.

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=152942

Let The Countdown Begin!

In case you didn’t read yesterday’s late night post… It was Gwen’s birthday. You should go, wish her a happy birthday, and check out her picture in case you're wondering what she looks like. Come back quick!!!

Now that you've done that, let's get down to business. Seriously, Gwens' birthday is exciting and all but there are more important subjects to discuss. Such as the fact...
THERE ARE ONLY 30 SHOPPING DAYS LEFT UNTIL MY BIRTHDAY.

Wait wait wait. I know the realization that time is running out to get me a “good” gift might cause you to panic but there are still plenty of quality options left. Seriously, there is no need to panic because to make things even easier I have created the "Short List" of super cool gifts for Lee…

There is always the For-Me AND For-Lee gift...
Option #1: The small chalet in Sweden or Finland or some other cool country we have friends in!
AND, this is a gift for YOU and ME because I need someone to live there in the winter. I’m sorry but I am a cold weather sissy. Love the views, love the mountains, not much into snow and ice and cold and general winter conditions. So, what I really want is a small chalet in some cool country where I know someone for the month of July and August. And, not some crappy little chalet either. I want a real one with field stone on the insides and outsides, 400 year old fireplaces, all an amazing view. I don't want it in downtown Berlin.... Yick. I want it up in the Mountains.

If you're not sure about the vacation home option, there is...
Option #2: Really cool art.
But not crappy art! I’m not looking for the painted bowl of fruit that you find over the bed at Motel 8. I want a real painting like this one… or that one. Something that all of us saw on the back of every single comic book in 1978. EVERY SINGLE COMIC BOOK! Anyway, the artist is John Berkey if you are googling him.

Then again art can be expensive. I know that no price can be assigned to my happiness but I want there to be something for everyone to buy me.

So we have... Option #3:A super-cool, dressed in leather personal fitness trainerette.
I think it’s important for a person to stay in shape. Not that I am getting fat but I want to remain tone because it would be harder to get back into shape than to maintain the incredible awesome physique that I already have. Now, this is a tricky gift because I don’t want some chick that’s more manly than me. I know that limits things quite a bit but it can be done. I’m sorry but if the steroids mean she has a thicker, darker mustache than me... no. Just no. Honestly, I just want some hot chick in leather pants telling me to work harder!

And, please note, unlike others who look at 40 as a spec in their rearview mirror (…Jim…) I ain’t there yet. Still 30 and lovin’ it!!!

Birthday Wishes!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GWEN!!!!

You may not know but today is Gwen 's birthday!!!

That's right she is finally old enough to drink! Yeah GWEN! Ummm not that she ever drank before... ANYWAY

Feel Free to wish her a Happy Birthday.

And, I was lucky enough to find this picture taken of Gwen when she was a child too!

Ads in Comics Make a Difference

After last week’s random post it’s time to get back to the business of comics. This years Christmas present to myself was getting weekly books again. That doesn’t sound like much but in the last few years with the advent of children and far less free time (and money) I started buying more trades and HC’s. AND, I mail ordered because of the better discounts. Basically, I gave up the weekly trek to the store.

Well, that’s all changed, and I have to say it’s good to be back. That’s not true, it’s both good and bad to be back. On one level, I really love the camaraderie of the store on a Wednesday. It’s all about getting together with people who share the same interests and either praising the new or bashing the old.

But, the reading experience wasn't as good as I remembered. In general, the stories in comics are still good (except OMD) and the art is good (for the most part) but something was wrong. Comics reading is an experience based upon not only art and story but silly things like ads and letters pages. It's a package deal. For some reason, the overall reading experience with DC was much better than it was with Marvel.

To prove my point, let's look at two books in particular, Fantastic Four #552 from Marvel and Batlash #1 from DC.

In the Fantastic Four, it broke down as follows:
22 pages of story, the standard
9 pages of ads, the standard but the ads broke down as follows:
TV shows 2 (one was double page spread)
Marvel licensed product, 5
Non Marvel Toy 1
In addition, the first page was a recap of the previous issue/storyline. I must say, I really liked the recap because it was especially helpful for someone like me who doesn’t normally read the monthlies. What I found really interesting was there were no house ads for upcoming stories or other books. In fact, there were barely any ads that didn't have anything to do with Marvel.

Now in comparison Batlash broke down as follows:
22 pages of story, same as Marvel
9 pages of ads, again the same as Marvel but this time the ads broke down as follows:
TV shows 0
DC licensed product, 0
Non DC Toy 0
Self Help (?) – 1 “Above the Influence” ad.
Video Game – 2
Continuing Education – 1.5, Joe Kubert School and half page school Computer Animation
Collecting supplies – 1
House Ads - 2.5 (Teen Titans Yr One, Zuda full page and half)
There wasn’t any kind of recap (to be expected with a first issue) but there was an editorial by Dan Dido.

It's obvious the ads play a big part in the reading experience. Both books had the same amount of ads but DC's had some variety to them. Marvel's were all the same Spiderman blue and red in different layouts. Basically, Spiderman on a bed sheet or Spiderman on a lamp. There was no variety. Now the DC ads were all different. They all looked different. They had different colors. They had different layouts. Even though the ad still broke up the story at least it was interesting to look at. To further this point, comic books are a visual medium. It's all about eye appeal. The ads in Marvel were dull and repetitive. If I was advertising with Marvel, I'd be pissed. Unless I was the Army who seems to get product placement in the middle of the splash page!

The other big problem was the placement of the ads.
(1) DC had 4 pages of story before the first ad. Marvel had 3.
(2) Just by flipping through Batlash, the most consecutive ad pages on the right hand page were two. So, if I read page 4, page 5 was an ad, then 6 was story, and 7 was ad, then 8-9 were story again. Whereas the Fantastic Four had FIVE consecutive pages of right hand ads. So page 17, 19, 21, 23, and 25 were ads. Three pages of story and 29 was another ad. Fantastic Four was like reading half a book it was terrible.
(3) Marvel had no ads on the odd numbered pages (left hand side of the book). NONE. DC put all ads past the center spread on the left hand page. Visually this made a big difference because everytime I turned the page I saw story and not another ad. It kept me in the story instead of continually pulling me out.
(4) DC seems to more middle load the ads while Marvel back end loaded all the ads. It really hurt the read because I saw more ads the closer I got to the end of the book instead of seeing more story.

I was surprised to find the the ads were making a huge difference in how much I enjoyed the overall experience but they really did. That isn't to say I didn't enjoy the FF, because I did, but I liked Batlash, which was a weaker story, just as much because it was a smoother flow and read.

Oh well, next time you read your comic take a look at the ads and see if they make a difference to you too.

Help Bill Mantlo

Every now and then I think it's important to help former comic book writers and artists. This is an industry that tends to discard those that have worked in it. Today, we should try and help Bill Mantlo. Fpr those unfamiliar with Bill, he wrote on just about every Marvel book from the late 70's through the early 90's. Anyone who is a fan of the Micronauts or Sword of the Swashbucklers knows Bill Mantlo's work.

In 1992, Bill Mantlo was struck by a car and suffered extensive brain injuries. Today, he requires 24-hour care and is not expected to fully recover. Though Medicaid covers his basic needs, the project will help with new clothes and other life improvements.

WOWIO, a site where readers can legally download high-quality copyrighted ebooks (and comics) from leading publishers for free, is offering the Sword of the Swashbucklers GN and 12 issues mini series for free. Each issue contains an ad and the publisher is paid . 50$ for each download. With the cooperation of Bill's brother Mike Mantlo, co-creator Guice and series artists Geof Isherwood and Colleen Doran, all royalties from Swords of the Swashbucklers will be redirected to Mike, to assist with Bill's quality of life.

If you have never read the series this is a perfect time to check out some great art and cool swashbuckling stories. Even if you own the gn and the series I asked that download them all. It goes to a good cause. Besides the Swashbucklers WOWIO has other comics and graphic novels to download for free.

Just goto
http://www.wowio.com/users/searchresults.asp?txtSearch=%22swords+of+the+swashbucklers%22

Sign up and download. You can only download 3 a day and the swashbucklers issues are started to be offered Dec 18.

Be seeing you,

Jim: Thanks Lee. - Just in case some people don't remember Bill gave us Rocket Racoon and one of the best series from Marvel in that era Rom. Thanks Bill

2 Guns: A Review

With two issues of 2 Guns coming out for November I thought it would be a good time to catch up on my reading as far as this book goes. Considering the fact that I get over 70 titles a month and that I have full time work and school I fall behind on my reading more than I'd like. Luckily I had some free time today and while most of it was spent cleaning (ugh) I made some comic book time. Sometimes it pays off to wait and read several issues of a book at once as I can tell that this book would have been hard to wait for.

2 Guns is a fast-paced action/adventure, with so many layers and twists that it left my head spinning. That's a good thing in this case. Of course now I have to wait impatiently for the last issue.

I haven't experienced a story with this many layers of subterfuge since I started watching Alias (except minus the destiny stuff). From bank robbery, to being undercover, to getting framed, set up by the Navy, getting shot, not knowing who to trust, following the money, committing treason.... well lets just say there's a whole lot going on for a five issue mini series! I salute Steven Grant for his ability to write such a busy story with both style and pizazz. The plot, while complex, fits together one piece at a time and manages to build up the characters all the while. I really developed a fondness for Steadman and Trench as they race through trying to stay one step ahead of, well, just about everyone.

I think I was sold on this book by page 2 of the first issue. The conversation between the two main characters had fantastic timing and immediately gives the reader a feel for their personalities. My favorite line was, "Orange juice and crullers? Some desperado you are."

The art is boldly done but it works well with the genre of the story being told. Santolouco's art reminds me a bit of Ryan Ottley's work on Invincible. Santolouco's work is simpler in the sense that he doesn't work with as much fine detailing but the character expressions seem similar. I really enjoy accessible art like this that allows me to easily identify characters. The other thing the art does well in these comics is the actual action sequences. It's all done very cinematically, which compliments the story beautifully.

My one complaint is that there are quite a few times in these issues where the word bubbles are switched around between characters. It makes things a bit confusing and threw me off of the pace of the story. Hopefully these typos will be caught before this goes to trade.

Overall I had a good time reading these four issues and I'm looking forward to the last installment. I have no idea how Grant can possibly wrap this up in one issue, but if the build up is any indication it should be one hell of a roller coaster ride.

Red Sox!!!!

YYYEEEAAAHHHHHH

GGGOOOOOooooooooo Red Sox!!!

10-1 at the end of the third.

We're going to game seven boys and girls!

RAH RAH Baseball.

In less important news, Ravens v. Bills tomorrow. Bills looking good these days.

Archibald Saves Christmas #1 - A Review

Archibald Saves Christmas #1 - A Review
Jim: As regular readers know, Lee and I comb through Previews every month and decide which are the best, and worst, books of the months. When we look at Marvel or DC we often have a good idea about the books because we are familiar with the source material. But, when it comes to the smaller press books, we base our judgment upon the cover and whatever information we can find about the artist and writers.

Lee: And, that was certainly the case with Archibald Saves Christmas. I originally chose the book purely because of the cover. And my comment was : I am getting old. Once again that fact is proven to me because I don't find this title humorous in the least. Don't get me wrong, years ago I bought "Lobo's Para Military Christmas Special" wherein Lobo killed Santa and laughed the entire time. Now that I am older, and have kids, it's no longer funny. This is for the rebellious teen crowd, just not me.

Typically, that's the end of the story but in this case, things turned out differently. The writer, Dwight MacPherson, found our blog and left a comment stating he was sorry we didn't seem to like Archibald.

Jim: Well, since Lee and I are always open to new ideas and books, we started talking to Dwight. He felt the perfect description for Archibald was Sin City meets Roger Rabbit. I don't know about Lee but I was certainly intrigued so I suggested that Dwight let us review the book. He generously provided a review copy and I'm happy to say that we were wrong - this book is very funny and extremely cool.

Lee: I have to agree with Jim. The book is far better than what the hype and my expectations were. On with the reviews…

Jim: As I said I was wrong and I really got a kick out of this book from page 1, it had me laughing. The cartoon characters are real as in Roger Rabbit, but have the sensibilities of the characters from Sin City. We open with a cartoon character who is pissed off as the crew can not get the props for the scene right and he goes cursing off to a bar. This is where we find Archibald the aardvark drowning his sorrows. I will not go into a long explanation of the book, but it is apparent that we have a decent amount of back story to learn about. The book is filled with crass humor, blood letting by cartoon characters and is out and out pure fun and hilarity. Grant Bond's artwork is wonderful and really brings these characters to life. I think it is extremely hard to sell a cartoon character mixed up in a bloody murder and still keep the tongue and cheek aspect to the entire thing. Not a book to read to little Johnny to go to bed too, but a book that an adult can enjoy as a send up of multiple genres and still make you feel for the characters. A great effort by Dwight McPherson and Grant Bond.

Lee: I have to admit that on one level I really enjoyed this book. Unfortunately, on the other level I really didn't. On the upside, the story is really good. Dwight was correct in his analogy to Roger Rabbit. The characters may be animals but after that they are as complex and flawed as any human character would be. I didn't find the story as much humorous as a funny animal crime drama ala Hitchcock. In addition to a solid story, the art was excellent. I've not heard of Grant Bond but he has some talent. He managed to evoke a Chuck Jones feel to the characters which is no small feat. He also laid the book out exceeding well, alternating between splash pages and panel pages. And even the panel pages had nice variety between vertical and horizontal panels. The only thing I wo uld comment is the constant use of a medium distance shot. Maybe a few more closeups or longer distance shots to set tone, but that's being nitpicky.
The only flaw I found in the book was the inclusion of Santa Claus. In terms of story, he is a throw away character. He is on 6 of 22 pages and one of those he is dead. He wasn't shown as anything other than Santa Claus so I imparted my perceptions onto him. I mention this because back in the day I read Lobo's Paramilitary Christmas Special and enjoyed it immensely. The difference there was Santa was portrayed as the antithesis of what we perceive Santa to be. In Lobo, Santa was mean and nasty so when Lobo killed him it was not only understandable but funny. It was so far removed from the actual Santa there weren't any misconceptions about it really being Santa. In this case, because Santa's appearance is so brief he becomes the Santa that I and my young children love and killing him isn't f unny but sad.

That said, Santa could easily have been replaced with Roger Rabbit, Mickey Mouse, or even the Easter Bunny and I would have enjoyed the story much more. It appears to be killing Santa for the shock value of killing Santa. I would recommend this because of the solid story and art and as long as you don't care about Santa.

Gwen: I didn't have an original comment on this book as I really only have time to do the DC solicitations, but as the author was kind enough to share the book with us I'd like to add in my two cents. First of all, I really loved the art work. I'm a fan of black and white as it always makes small amounts of color usage more powerful. The occasional use of red in the story helped to add a sense of surrealism, as if the reader is caught in a bad dream (which in this case is a good thing as the main character seems to feel this way at times). The story itself was both funny and intriguing. While I was a bit confused by the ending it has been suggested that parts of the story are meant to be vague. If this is the case, my criticism is mostly unfounded and I'll just have to patiently wait to read more. Overall I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more from Dwight McPherson and Grant Bond.

The official hype (which doesn't do the book justice) ARCHIBALD SAVES CHRISTMAS #1 story DWIGHT L. MacPHERSON art & cover GRANT BOND 32 PAGES, 2C, $3.50 Archibald Aardvark went insane after the brutal murders of his brother and friends. After spending five delirious years chewing on his tongue in a mental hospital, Archibald finds himself back on the spiraling streets of Tinsel Town. Desperate and alone, Archibald has two choices: catch a psychopathic murderer or blow his brains on a wall at the Hopeless Hotel. The only problem is… he may have to do one to accomplish the other.

JIM - BUY IT - TWISTED HUMOR DONE RIGHT!

Football Talk

There's a new unstoppable force in football.
... The Cleveland Browns.
The games not over so there's still a chance but it looks like the Browns are going to win today!
UNSTOPPABLE!
I feel bad for whoever they played today.
_________________________________________________

The above post is being left only due to this blog's upholding anyone's right to a total a**. Yes the Ravens looked very ordinary today. I hate divisional games, anything can happen and usually does.
_____________________________________________

The above - above post represents an honest, and intellectual statement of facts regarding a certain professional football team. Namely, the Cleveland Browns and their very impressive beating ... NAY CRUSHING... of the Baltimore Thugs.. umm I mean Baltimore Raisins.

The random, psychotic rambling (appropriately in red ink) following the initial factual, intellectual post is just a grumbly, mumbly Ravens fan who can't handle the truth.
___________________________________
The green words above are the hopeful ravings of a deluded fool, who believes that the entire season is over after 4 weeks. (For those of you playing along at home Lee and I could continue these exchanges forever).

Football

There is ONLY one professional team currently in the NFL.

THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS!!!!!!

Another week. Another crushing. How sweet it is.

Oh yeah. Ravens played. I hear they "escaped" with a win