Multiversity Comics Update: Is this really happening?

Last time on my Multiversity Comics update, we'd just had our biggest visitor day ever because of a Twitter list Matt had come up with. That was an extremely exciting day, one where Gil, Matt and myself could hardly believe what was happening perpetually. Since then, things have settled down a bit, but not for a lack of excitement. In recent weeks, we've added a new writer in fellow Alaskan and Boscos patron Brandon Burpee. Not only that, but we've had a slew of exciting interviews start coming down the path, as I've interviewed personal favorites like Jonathan Hickman, Fred Van Lente, and Francis Manapul. That's not even the tip of the iceberg. In coming weeks we have interviews with industry giants and newer and highly lauded creators alike, such as:

• Brian Michael Bendis (essentially today's version of Stan Lee, the architect of Marvel Comics)
• Filip Sablik (Publisher of Top Cow Productions, one of the biggest companies in the industry)
• Joshua Dysart (acclaimed writer of Unknown Soldier and BPRD)
• David Petersen (Eisner Award winner best known for his work Mouse Guard)
• David Gallaher (Eisner Award winner best known for High Noon)

We have all of those, plus a number of other great creators like Phillip Tan, Brahm Revel, Jim McCann, and many, many more coming up, plus some other exciting interview opportunities that are presenting themselves.

If that wasn't exciting enough, we've started to get a good amount of press to help legitimize our venture even more so. The most exciting spotlight for me was when one of my favorite creators, Brian Wood of DMZ and Local fame, was emailed my review for the new issue of DMZ and promptly made a post on his forum discussing my review and what others opinions are of my thoughts. To think that I'm not just an outsider looking in but part of a site that seemingly is drawing the interest of all of those people I've idolized for forever is very exciting indeed. Of course, I can't ignore the fact that all of the interest in our site is earning me pretty sweet perks ("hello there package from company...you want me to read your title and feature it in my Small Press Spotlight column? Don't mind if I do!").

Possibly the coolest news of all though I've saved for last. I had been planning on going to the Emerald City ComiCon this year in Seattle, and now it appears that not only will I be attending, but I will be attending as a bonafide member of the press. Press pass and all, getting me into the events for free and into panels and the like automatically. To a huge dork like me whose aspirations for writing never really extended far out of endlessly ranting on this here blog (thank you all for reading it), it's pretty damn exciting. Yet, I do want to note that the more I write there the less time I have to write here. I'll still post plenty because it's my personal version of crack, but perhaps not as often as I have in the past. Still, follow my exploits at Multiversity Comics, and watch us grow into the next big comic site. Or not. Who knows, really? All I know is it's good to know reading comics for so long has started to pay off for me as a writer/person.

Focusing My Chi

This man looks like I will very soon

From time to time, I will take a class at the gym that just seems wildly inappropriate for me. Example: back in February of this year when I took my first (and only) spin class. These random voyages into the world of fitness seemingly always turn out well for me, yet an invite into my friend Stephanie's Group Centergy class seemed like a positively bad idea for my body. In case you don't actually know me, I am about as flexible as Frankenstein's Monster, although thankfully I am not green and I do not choke women while kissing them. In my imagination, that lumbering beast doesn't seem the type to excel in a class that fuses yoga, pilates, and Tai Chi into one hellacious mega mix of stretchy exercises, so in my mind, nor would I be.

Yet I went anyways, partially to expand my horizons and partially because I told Stephanie I would. Regardless of the fleeting thoughts of torn muscles and inadvertently harming fellow yogi's, I would persevere. Somewhat predictably, just like I experienced with the spin class before, it ended up really not being that bad. In fact, I would describe it as a greatly enjoyable experience. Everything was fresh and new, and made me feel looser and more lucid than I had in forever. I felt light as a feather, and not because of some sort of pharmaceutical reason (which is always preferable, I'd say). Plus, the class was frequently hilarious to yours truly as I would find myself turning myself into a starfish (that's right) or something of that sort while trying to maintain my balance without obviously falling out of the pose (this went only so well, as I think those aware of mystic north were also quite aware of my overt awkwardness), and then catch myself in the mirror or look at Stephanie and then start grinning uncontrollably because of what I looked like or how I knew I looked.

All in all though it was a great time though. I came out of the class unscathed (along with my fellow classmates) with a whole new appreciation of things of this sort. I'd always looked at it from a distance as something that would be good for me, yet I never tried it for some unknown reason. Now that I have, I feel confident in the likelihood of me trying it again in the near future...like next week.

Comicthon 2009

This isn't even the full collection

As I've mentioned a number of times on this blog, I am kind of addicted to comic books. I think the sequential art medium is an extremely underrated one and one that can realize creator's imaginations as well as any other medium out there, if not better. Having an addiction of that sort leads to absolutely disgusting collections of comics though, and as a person who is also a slave to organization (at least in terms of things of that sort), I have to reorganize my comics every single year.

Through the years, it's gotten easier and easier. If my memory serves me correctly, the first time I organized them all with help from my mom, it took an entire weekend. An entire weekend of hell, to be exact. Last year, with the assistance of my mom once again as well as my sister Bobbie, we drastically reduced that time down to just one day. Incredibly enough though, with all three of us now savvy veterans we managed to finish it all up in just around five hours this time around. That's exceptional work, and it definitely helped that I put in some time before turning my friends into indentured servants who helped bag and board before hand, but we truly thoroughly dominated this task.

Of course, there was still time for plenty of fun, most of which was derived from the misundertanding or complete fabrication of comic titles by my sister and mom. Examples: DC's title The Brave and the Bold somewhat unsurprisingly became "The Bold and the Beautiful", Sub-Mariner: The Depths was now Sub Mariner, but pronounced like a pitcher who solely pitches submarine style, and the concept of company wide events like Dark Reign completely dominated all other thoughts ("Why is this stack so high? Oh god...is this a stack of just Dark Reign comics?!"). The funny thing about dealing with comics with people who aren't very familiar with the industry is that you instantly realize how realize some of the things you read are ("Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers"...really).

That's okay though, I'm fine with being ridiculous. I sleep better for it. We also had the excitement of unearthing some forgotten gems (like some awesome relics from our time at the 1997 Orlando Mega Con) and there is always the bonus of looking through old comics and feeling fleeting rushes of nostalgia. When you've been collecting as long as I have and have a memory like mine that is so based around effortlessly pairing real life events with pop culture (waiting at my brother's hockey practice wasn't just that...it was Gloria Estefan and Larry Hama/Mark Texeira's run on Wolverine in the 90's), seeing an old comic cover is like looking through an old family photo album. File that one under weird but true.

No less, I'm glad we've managed to perfect this science. Not that I didn't have fun during those epic multi-day ventures into the world of comics, but condensing the organization of 29 long boxes (roughly 9,000 comics) into five hours is pretty damn astounding if you ask me. Can't wait for next year. I bet we can do it even faster!

This was surprisingly comfortable

My crown jewel - Avengers #1

Sketch by my former favorite artist Humberto Ramos of my once favorite character Impulse

The mess before it started coming together

Ghostland Observatory at Bear Tooth

Ghostland Observatory

Recently, Alaska has had a rash of good concerts. That this statement means we've had three in two months that were good is sad, but in comparison to what we normally get it's an embarassment of riches (what do I have to look forward to the rest of the year, concert wise? Lyrics Born, Three 6 Mafia, and Clinton Fearon - shoot me in the face) as The Hold Steady, Iron and Wine, and now Ghostland Observatory have come up to Alaska. Somewhat predictably, Ghostland also ended up being far and away the most fun of the three, as it was not only one of the best dance parties I've ever been to (perhaps even better than when I saw Girl Talk), but the best First Tap I've ever been to at Bear Tooth.

Given that it was a Bear Tooth show, we were subjected to bad openers. This time, they started up with a pair of DJ sets, the first of whom I missed entirely (evidently he basically played Justice's album Cross) and the second I just wish I missed, as he was effectively playing Bass Nectar and Daft Punk from what I understand (as in the exact mixes). Whatever it was, he was a simply terrible DJ.

If I went to these shows for the openers, well...I wouldn't go. Thankfully, Ghostland came out and blew the roof off the building. Starting up with five straight tracks off Paparazzi Lighting ("Piano Man", "Ghetto Magnet", "All You Rock and Rollers", "Vibrate", and "Sad Sad City") was a great idea, as everyone was clearly more familiar with the superior earlier album than their follow up Robotique Majestique. At this point, I was up front dancing my feet off, not really dancing with anyone in particular but always dancing with someone. Regardless of what was playing, it sounded perfect and was a massively entertaining romp for all to dance to. That they threw in a stellar laser light show and enough smoke machine action to give a fire marshall hives was just icing on the cake.

This show was the perfect example of how First Taps should be: great bands, great sound, great show. You give us those three things and I guarantee you every First Tap will sell out that fast. That we get retreads like Born and Fearon for the rest of the year is disappointing and just assures that I will not attend, but I hope someday they realize what they could accomplish by bringing up incredible bands like Ghostland up.

Plus, without bands like Ghostland, how will the guy that had a Tron suit on at the show display it in a public setting? You just don't get a lot of chances to wear that.

Lasers!

Dance party plus!

Thomas Ross Turner dropping some wizard beats

Glorious lasers!

Frontman Aaron Behrens resting his weary voice

Senator David Harper's Campaign Rally (aka Halloween)

My campaign had supporters coming out of the wood work, with donations coming from such luminaries as Holly Golightly and Jason

This past Saturday was Halloween, and as per usual it was incredible. Halloween is pretty much my favorite holiday, and this one was extra special because it was probably my most all in Halloween ever as I really went for it on the costume front. Not that my costume was really that big of a deal, but the work I did before and for it was, as Senator David Harper turned his apartment into a glorious campaign headquarters for one evening (does that count as third person?).

The campaign rally/Halloween party was a blast for all that joined in, and I really think I earned some serious voters out of this bunch. It's good to know when November 3rd hits I can count Holly Golightly, Jason (Friday the 13th), Oscar the Grouch, Marilyn Monroe, Billy Mays, and many more out there to vote for me. I'd go into more detail, but it was your standard awesome Halloween party: drinking games, LeBomb James' (shot of Crown with a splash of Grenadine and Red Bull, after you're done throw sugar in the air ala LeBron James), awesome costumes, intense beer pong (Eric and I had an all time one on one match up), and much, much more. The only negative was that campaign central was trashed the next day, but oddly enough that led to my apartment being cleaner than it has been in forever.

Works for me.

I have to admit, now that Halloween is over, I'm a little sad I won't be referred to as "Senator" any more, but all things have their phases. Could stand to have that one last a little bit longer though. See below for pictures from the shenanigans.

Greek Goddess, Senator David Harper, and Billy Mays

Harry Pooter and my mistress/security detail member

My security detail: Eric and Joanne

Senator David Harper doing important things (with security)

"So up first: Canada. Why is it not part of Alaska?"

Doing important Senatorial business with a member of my security team

Review: Battlestar Galactica: The Plan

I'm about as big of a fan of Battlestar Galactica as you can probably find. Really, I think the Ronald D. Moore's series is not only the best of the decade, but the best TV show ever. To me, every single thing about it is perfection, from the mini-series that starts it all the way to the finale (which is the best two hours of television I've ever seen).

Which is why it is so disappointing to watch the new movie that was released last week and find myself not just being bored by it, but openly disliking it. All the pieces were there: the cast back together again, frequent series writer Jane Espenson writing the script, and star/director Edward James Olmos at the director's chair. There was no reason for me to not be excited, which is perhaps why it was so disappointing.

The biggest problem with The Plan is a very simple one: half of it is old material. Not just old subject matter, but actual old scenes from the show. Not to be overly coarse, but who the hell wants to watch the exact same scenes from other episodes again? I know that it just works to show us where the new scenes fit in, but this is completely absurd. I spent nearly $30 for the Blu Ray of this, and it's effectively a rehash that introduces a new and unnecessary character and focuses primarily Brother Cavil (the ultimate villain of the series but ultimately kind of one note even though the performance by Dean Stockwell is a wonderfully devious one) and the boring Cylon Simon. Sure, we find interesting little bits out (a Simon was married and living in the fleet before he refused his Cylon assignment and committed suicide, the other Cylons though Aaron Doral sucked as much as we did) and there are some hysterical scenes between a somehow even sluttier version of Number Six and Cavil, but really, this is kind of a travesty.

Really, this doesn't shed any additional light on the series. There is very little uncovered that we were looking to uncover. In fact, you could argue that often it creates probelms with the series proper (the elephant statue and Boomer). This feels like a blatant money grab from everyone involved as what they accomplish here feels like it should either be deleted scenes on a DVD or a bonus feature. Not worth my money, and the only thing that saves it from an F is the fact that the actors involved really do give it their all and at least make sure the terribleness on screen is at least represented by good performances.

Ugh.

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan: D