Text Twist

I am addicted to Text Twist. I honestly am. I can avoid Text Twist at times, but once I get bored, it comes back, and then I am screwed. So, in Text Twist, you get 6 letters that form a single word (or multiple words) and you have to find all the three letter to six letter words that can be formed out of those letters. If you find the six letter word before time runs out, you get to move on to the next word. Otherwise, you lose all your points. You can get around 5,000 points or so if you find them all, otherwise, you can end up getting 2,000 or so points for each word. I currently have reached 1,000,000 points. Pic or else it didn't happen?


Heck, at the moment, I am getting every word almost every time. I even had over a minute to go when I finished this time. This is getting kind of silly.

New Posts

Sorry about not updating, but at home, I find it more difficult to update, as I am out and about more often. That being said, if you celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas. If you celebrate Chanukah, Happy Chanukah. If you celebrate Kwanzaa, Merry Kwanzaa. If you celebrate something else that I haven't mentioned, Happy Whatever.

Oh, and while Deadpool 4-5 were filler (to an extent), I am looking forward to see how Daniel Way tries to portray Norman Osborn's craziness in the months to come. He failed initially at Deadpool (I feel), but the series has been good, and I feel he has done much better with Deadpool and his insanity. Now, with Norman going after Wade, I hope Way can portray the Green Goblin well. I have confidence.

In other related Deadpool news, I am going to go into X-Men Origins: Wolverine with low expectations. If I expect something good, I feel I'll be very disappointed (Ultimates 3), but if I have low expectations, than mediocre things can seem good (Zoolander).

Oy

So, if you were flying Southwest, and wanted to get to SF from Albany, NY, you have to go through one of their hubs. Since it is the winter, as opposed to going through Chicago, or somewhere else where the weather might be bad, instead, let's go through Las Vegas. Vegas is perfect for traveling during the winter. Okay, so do you actually know the meaning of irony? Irony is when you are expecting one thing to happen and it is the opposite. So, for example, if it hadn't rained all week, and it didn't rain on that specific day for years, and that was the day you planned your picnic because of that, then rain would be ironic. If you plan your trip to go through the place where it won't snow and thus close down the airport and it snows there hard enough to close the airport, that's irony. Yes, apparently Las Vegas had a snowstorm. What? I know. Let's just say that yesterday wasn't fun for travelling. But, at this point, I have made it home. I had to fly into Oakland, as opposed to San Francisco, and actually got into the Bay Area 20 minutes earlier than my Vegas-SF flight would have gotten in, but since I was originally going to San Francisco, they didn't have my luggage in Oakland. Hopefully, it'll come soon. Sigh...

I'm just taking it as a win that I got in earlier than planned. It makes it easier.

No Comics today

As I mentioned yesterday, I am traveling today. Because of that, I am not able to get comics until tomorrow at the earliest. Instead, you get me talking to you about the X-Men Origins: Wolverine trailer. I am really psyched that we get to see young James Howlett (hopefully, they'll get his real name in there). Origin was a cool story, and I enjoyed reading it and seeing young Wolverine. This seems to be an interesting movie. The main thing I notice is it seems to have a lot of action and a lot of different characters. I mean, they have a whole bunch of Weapon X characters, including Sabretooth (duh, he's in it), Maverick, Beak, Silver Fox and a whole bunch of others. The Blob is in it, Emma Frost, Gambit, hell, Beak is in it. Well, he's in it as Barnell Bohusk, and apparently has electrical powers. I'm kind of upset about that. It is like Callisto or Arclight or Psylocke or Kid Omega in X3, where they have the person with completely different powers, in a way that it really isn't the same, aside from that they share a name. Why Beak? Why couldn't they create a random new guy with electrical powers, as opposed to having a guy with the same name as Beak with electrical powers. As for the main reason I would see this movie, Deadpool, I am very worried. So far, all I've seen of Ryan Reynolds in it has been him wearing red, with swords. Sure, Deadpool uses swords, but they are seriously worrying me. I want a hideously scarred Deadpool, who has to wear a mask, and a full body costume because you don't want to look at him. It isn't Deadpool if it's just a guy with swords. It's a disgrace, and I'll be pissed if it is. Again, like with Beak, but more so, just get some random other guy you make up unless you actually make it the character. Deadpool should be a wisecracking character, fully masked, with hideous scars, if you see his skin, and an insane demeanor, constantly mocking people. For a good example, watch Hulk Vs. (the Wolverine part), in which Deadpool appears with Weapon X, hunting Wolverine, all while crazy. That is Deadpool. So far, I am insanely paranoid, and while I want to watch it all for Deadpool, I am nervous that they are going to fuck up Deadpool horribly. Please, don't fuck Deadpool up! Please!

Boredom

I haven't had any finals since last Thursday at 8 in the morning. After that, I've had nothing to do, and I can't go back home until tomorrow. See, my parents had to book me a flight and I didn't know my finals schedule before the time I had to book the flight at a good price. With that in mind, I had to have my flight after everybody's finals are over, by today. It's gotten so bad that I called one of my friends, and after a long discussion, I learned he had a take-home logic final that I had him send me so that I could do the logic problems (I took a logic class this past semester that covered more) on it. I actually took someone else's final (he is going to do it also, but I am doing it for myself). That is how bored I am, people.

MEV

I have gotten my boxes, but only opened one so far. I like playing various Sealed events, so I try and play Sealed with my boxes. I have to wait until I'm back in SF, as there is no one that I know of in Troy that actually plays VS.
Sigh, they messed up the Deadpool 7-drop, in that it doesn't have the artist listed. I want to apologize to the eBay merchant who was selling MEV that had Deadpool for sale. I doubted that the actual card would be missing the artist (Zircher) listed, so I doubted that the cards were real. Apparently, it is real, though. Currently, I am planning on building a Cable/Deadpool deck (for the heck of it) and it is easy in that Cable is at even drops and Deadpool is at odd drops. Who will my 1-drop be? If only HYDRA Recruit were a 1-drop, then I would call him Bob, and play with Bob. Why isn't there a Weasel 1-drop. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance fans will recognize him as the guy who helped out in trying to determine whether or not Black Widow is a traitor. Deadpool fans will recognize him as Deadpool's smart guy who builds weapons and hangs out with him. I really want Bob and Weasel, along with other Deadpool supporting characters. Oh, well. At least they gave me Deadpool legend.

12/10 Comics

Okay, time for reviews. I missed two comics from previous weeks. I missed one on Thanksgiving week, and then I missed one last week. Those are included.

Amazing Spider-Man 580


Basic Plot: Spidey goes up against The Blank.

Yes, that West Coast Avengers villain, the Blank, is back. Who? Exactly. Still, amusing. I enjoyed this issue. It wasn't anything special, but it was fun, and that is all I really ask for. I didn't really like Weeks' art, but whatever. It was slightly distracting, but not bad enough to ruin it for me. The Blank is a guy with a force field that allows him to not get hurt, and also allows him to easily remove webbing. The plot is something I've read many times before, but whatever. This was still amusing. I can't wait for Harry next week, though. See, I have been wondering ever since BND how Harry's back. Okay, so everything happened the same way? No? Did Harry ever become the Goblin? If so, did he die, then wake up in Europe, doing nothing until recently? This is really weird. OMD (and BND) ruined a lot of continuity, so I really don't know what the hell is happening any more.

Secret Invasion: Inhumans 4


Basic Plot: The Inhumans keep trying to rescue Black Bolt.

Sigh... Craziness. I noticed a pattern in the SI: Inhumans comic. After reading 3, I realized what was going to happen in 4. See, the first issue had some intro, then went into the Skrulls demolishing Attilan, ending with the Inhumans in a bad position. The second issue had them kicking Skrull ass, and then leaving on a good note. The third issue had them doing some stuff, then getting their asses kicked at the end. Therefore, I figured that the Inhumans would kick ass and back on top at the end. This was a great issue. I liked seeing the Inhumans kick some ass, especially Black Bolt. Using Ahura to command the Skrull scientist to free him, Black Bolt then knocks out the telepath, then whispers in the scientist's ear. Yeah. Bad ass. I never thought whispering in someone's ear would be a bad-ass scene in a comic. Go figure. I personally love Tom Raney's art, and was glad to see him working on this. Annihilation: Conquest, like Ultimates 3, just didn't feel right in terms of the artwork. Both were done by artists I like, Raney and Madureira, but both were on books that should be epic, and they don't fit that criteria all that well. Raney is good, just at doing fun stuff, not on things that are trying to shape the Marvel Universe (or Marvel Cosmic Universe). This was a good example of something that worked. Man, I can't wait for War of Kings. That looks so cool.

What if...? House of M


Basic Plot: At the end of House of M, Scarlet Witch said, "No more mutants." What if she had instead said, "No more powers."

Well, that was interesting. The art was different, and somewhat bizarre, but manageable. The story was odd, but I liked it. Basically, every single person loses their powers. Iron Man has to fight crime all by himself, as there are a lot of non-powered super-villains, and not as many non-powered super-heroes. But, as the cover shows, the Red Skull still has the Cosmic Cube, which isn't quite as powerful, due to the spell, but still powerful enough to make the Red Skull ridiculously powerful, and commanding Hydra and the Hand, attempts to take over the world. See, what I like is that most of the heroes are still heroes, even without powers. Spidey is the one who takes the most time to come around. With great power comes great responsibility? Well, without the power, there's none of the responsibility. Until, he realizes he still has stuff to do. Man, that was one of the more awesome Avengers Assembles that I have heard. Civil War had the people fighitng Cap, well imagine everybody teaming up to take on the bad guys. I mean, everybody. Normal people just charging into battle. It is cool. The Young Avengers/Runaways story is also amusing, although weird. I'll discuss it more in the next review. My main problem is with how everybody lost their powers. Not every mutant lost their powers, so why would every superhuman lose their powers? And how does that extend to the entire universe? What is a power? The Skrulls posing as heroes lost their powers to shapeshift, although that isn't really a power to them. It is to us, but not to them. So did every Skrull lose shapeshifting powers? What about cosmic beings? Did Galactus lose his powers? What about Nova? The Guardians of the Galaxy (well, wherever they were and doing whatever they were at the time)? Oh, well. The best part is how they referenced Secret Invasion, by having the Skrulls lose their abilities, thus revealing the plan early.

What if...? Fallen Son


Basic Plot: As opposed to having Cap be shot, he testified, and then Iron Man was killed by an angry Tom Foster.

Sigh... While the short reference to Secret Invasion was amusing in the other issue, this was more bizarre. With Tony gone, stuff happens, including the Skrulls doing other stuff. Jarvis does some stuff, and the leaders so some stuff. What, I'm not really sure. It could have been a memorial (which doesn't make sense) or preparations for battle (moving out earlier), which would make sense, but then it is left open, which is kind of sucky. The art, well, the art is bad. I hate the art with a passion. It is so disturbing to me. I personally don't like the story all that much. It is kind of sad, but odd, because it doesn't feel real enough that it could have happened, and then the story is about people grieveing (there are titles that go over the stages of grieving). I mean, sure, but it wasn't interesting enough to me. As for the Runaways/Young Avengers stuff, that is weird. Basically, as opposed to going to our time, Kang accidentally went to a future where Victorious (Victor Mancha, a Runaway) ruled the world. He went back in time to gather the Runaways as the Young Avengers to try to stop Victorious. But, really, Kang was stopped, or something, and the current Iron Lad is Victor. It is odd, confusing, and not all that great. Sure, you get to hear Molly say that she isn't Bruiser, but Princess Powerful (how many times has she done that?), but it just isn't all that good. Meh.

Secret Invasion: Dark Reign


Basic Plot: Norman meets with Emma Frost, Loki, Doom, the Hood and Namor to discuss the future.

Sigh. This had so much potential. The story was okay, basically how they all want to rule the world, but now, with Norman in charge, they can do a lot of stuff, but have to at least accept him, or weird crap. It wasn't anything special, and I was more interested in why Emma has nightmares about Kitty Pryde (oh, Kitty), which happens twice. Namor seemed odd. He was ignorant one minute, then knowledgeable the next. All in all, the story wasn't anything that I found great. It was okay, and just okay. The main problem I had was with Maleev's art. I don't like Maleev. I just don't. Covers are okay (occasionally), but most of the time I hate Maleev's art. It didn't disappoint in disappointing. Wait, let me rephrase that. It was as crappy as I expected. Namor's going bald, it seems, and didn't shave in weeks, leaving horrible stubble. Norman's hairstyle isn't what it really should be (bald-ish, with red lines, but more red hair, like on the cover. Oh, wait, more like brown hair. Yeah, that was annoying. Their intereactions were okay, aside from Namor. Mostly, it was just a piece of crap. I am looking forward to having Norman rule the world, but this was a horrible start.

Tired

You see, this week, I have finals. So, I'm not providing as much. Sorry. You can see the new trailer for Hulk Vs., which has Deadpool in it. It's here.

Negativity

Some people think of me as a negative person. I guess I can see that. When I look at the world, I don't really see that everything is great and happy, but see the flaws in everything. When somebody presents me with something they want me to evaluate, as opposed to saying that I like it, instead I give all the reasons I dislike it. By doing that, I try to give ways on how to improve it to make it better. Back when I used to go on VSUniverse/TCGPlayer often, I was mostly in the fantasy card section. I love creating fantasy cards, and loved to make some, but also help other people make theirs better. There was somebody there that always responded to everybody's card that he liked it. Every single card. It could have been a 20/20 1-drop that was Army and "Characters defending against characters you control lose and can't gain reinforcement" and he would say that he liked it. It could have been a 2/2 8-drop that you could only recruit if you KO'd two of your characters and he would have liked it. Now, I'm not an optimistic person, I honestly am not. Still, I can appreciate optimists, but not pointless optimists. Basically, the person wasn't giving any good feedback. If he had said, "I like it because it gives you a challenge," or, "I like it because it really makes the game easier," then at least that is slightly constructive. I would give a lot of examples on how it is bad and could be improved. Eventually, people started attacking this guy for not being constructive, and I PM'ed him and told him why people weren't approving. Eventually, I was able to convince him that blindly saying that everything is good isn't helpful. He actually provided feedback for people later. I know that some people don't like being shown the flaws in what they have, but I feel that it is important for people to see that they aren't perfect. I always accepted what people told me and either tried to explain why I thought I was right, or realized they were right, thanked them, then changed it. I don't necessarily say that something is good just to make someone else feel better, I say what's wrong with it so that it can be improved upon. If I don't like an idea, I'll mention that. If I think that something doesn't make sense, I'll mention it. If you make a Batman card that is a 6/6 Flight/Range 3-drop that can only be recruited if you discard a GK character, I'll probably mention that it doesn't make sense to make Batman have flight, and that it doesn't make sense to just have a really big Batman. I'd recommend something that negated, drew cards or something else that fit Batman (scaring opponents, planning, etc).
Not everybody appreciates honesty and trying to help, though.

Transporter 3

One thing to get out of the way first: I got my MEV boxes in the mail today, and am happy about that. I don't know how I'm going to open them yet (open them all at once, then make decks, make my own sealed decks to see what I can do, try and get other people so I can draft, etc), but I am happy that I now have 6 MEV boxes.

My cousin works at a movie theater (and he made Employee of the Month for November, too!) and while visiting him and family in Coumbia, MD this past week for Thanksgiving, he was able to get me and my grandfather tickets to Transporter 3. I love Jason Statham ever since I saw him in Crank (which was ridiculous). When I heard there was a new Transporter, I wanted to see it. I haven't seen the others yet, although I know the plots to the extent that I need to (and I want to see them), and so going into Transporter 3, I was excited. It didn't disappoint. See, with a movie like Transporter 3, you don't want a complicated story with lots of twists and turns and is an amazing movie experience. What you want to see is Jason Statham doing some crazy driving, and kicking people's asses while losing his shirt. It delivers, with some awesome car chases, including one where he chases the car and one where he gets to tip the car onto its side to drive in between two trucks. He has two main fight scenes where he is able to beat all of the people attacking him fairly easily for the most part. There is one part that reminds me of Punisher, when he fights the Russian, where punching him doesn't seem to hurt as much. Statham still wins, which is expected. The whole movie is ridiculous and over the top, which is fine, as that was what I was expecting. For some reason, my grandfather was confused about the plot which was very simple, as it wasn't the main purpose of the movie. They didn't outright say a whole lot of the plot, but by simply paying attention for short periods, you could tell that the main plot is basically this: People want to dump toxic waste, so they kidnap the daughter of the Minister in charge of the environment (or whatever he was, it doesn't matter, just that he controls whether or not they dump), and hire Frank Martin to transport her to wherever they want him to. That's it. Along the way, Frank drives and kicks ass. It wasn't a good movie, in that it wasn't deep or anything special, but it was a fun movie that was enjoyable to watch.

Majora's Mask

This is a weird game. Seriously. For those who don't know what I am talking about, let me explain it to you. The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time was one of the best selling games for N64 and was ridiculously popular. They made a sequel to Ocarina that takes place fairly soon after the events of Ocarina. In Majora's Mask, you are wandering through a forest, when you get ambushed and mugged and lose the Ocarina of Time. After chasing the thief, you end up getting turned into a Deku Scrub and have to chase after him again. You only have 3 days (72 hours) to get back the Ocarina and return to the Happy Mask salesman who will turn you back. Eventually, with only 6 hours to go (hours pass by really quickly in the game), you confront the Skull Kid who turned you into a Deku. You get back the Ocarina and use its power to go back in time, but only 3 days back in time. At the end of 3 days, the moon is going to crash into the Earth (and the moon looks angry) thanks to the meddling of the Skull Kid. It is really weird as you have 72 game hours to complete whatever task you are trying to complete, of you have to start over. For example, there is a Piece of Heart on top of a house, and the only way to get there is by shooting yourself out of a Deku flower. The Deku flower is inhabited by someone, though. Because of that, the only way to get him out is to go through this series of tasks, exchanging items between people. Each day makes you have to start that over again, as you no longer have some of the items you were given. It is odd and bizarre, yet also awesome.

Amusing, but...

Okay, this normally isn't a place where I discuss religion or politics, but it seems I have to. Well, not that I have to, but I want to.
This was shown to me by StumbleUpon and I read it. See, it was amusing. Not something that makes me believe in God, or believe in science any less (as there are many flaws in relationship to science in it), but it was amusing. Less amusing were the comments. I can accept that people believe in God, even if I don't, and I won't say that science disproves God, but I don't personally believe and I am annoyed when other people take religion and claim theirs is the only way.
Christianity: The largest religion in the world, with Islam in second. Not all Christians are crazy, but unfortunately, the crazies are the ones who are the loudest. In anything, that is the case. The crazy people speak the loudest and are heard the most. So, while the group as a whole isn't crazy (and probably the majority isn't), you still think of it as such, because those few people ruin it for everyone. Most people think other people's religions are wrong, and sometimes, crazy. I've often seen this view of Christianity:
The belief that a cosmic Jewish Zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree.
When told like that, Christianity sounds crazy. Still, I often don't see it like that. Christians (from now on, Christans refers to the crazies) feel the Bible is right and that it is the only way things happened. Why, because God said so. The Earth was created some 6000 years ago, and everything in the Bible is true and the word of God. They say other people's beliefs are crazy and wrong. There was no evolution, there was God. The way I look at Christianity, often, is as a form of Mythology that is current. The Greeks seemed to believe in Zeus, the Romans in Jupiter, the Aztecs in Quetzalcoatl, etc. All of those are believed in as Mythology today, right? What makes Christianity different? Seriously? Because it is right? Where is the proof that Christianity is right and Norse Mythology is wrong? You don't need proof, only faith? Why can't someone else have faith in Deadpool as opposed to God? If you can answer me, by all means, do so. I'd love to hear someone explain why their religion is right and everyone else's is wrong, without just saying their God/gods exist whereas the others don't.
Now, this isn't as bad as most of the things I have seen, but it still is pretty bad at some points. One thing is the student's interpretation of evolution. He says nobody has seen evolution, so it is an opinion. Well, no. People have witnessed microevolution, for things like bacteria evolving and becoming immune to antibiotics (one of the problems with antibiotics, as the ones that survive are stronger, and just keep making stronger versions), and we have evidence that suggests that evolution also takes place on a much grander scale. With all the evidence we have, the most likely theory (scientific theory) is that things have evolved. The birds in the Galapagos, as observed by Darwin, were similar, but had slight differences in their beaks that allowed them to be successful at eating in the particular environment they were in (longer beaks, or curved beaks, or bigger beaks). Also, humans didn't evolve from monkeys. Both had a common ancestor.
I have seen many things where Christians say their beliefs are the only beliefs that count, and that everyone else is wrong. Those piss me off. Anything where someone stated that their beliefs are more important than someone's and that somebody's opinion is wrong would piss me off. The most common place I see it, though is in religion, and unfortunately, in Christianity.
Again, not all Christians have the beliefs that some of the crazies have and most actually don't care. Unfortunately, as I said, the ones I see are the crazies, and I don't know what to do about them.

Prop 8

For my preview card of Extended Monologue, I told people to vote, but I didn't give an opinion on who or what to vote for, as I don't feel I should tell people who or what to vote for, as long as they get their decision heard. In reality, though, I was all for Barack Obama. I am glad he was elected, although Californians really disappointed me. I mean, come on! How did Prop 8 pass? This is how I believe people should be:
Have your own thoughts about what you like and don't like. If you like people of the same gender, go ahead and do that with other people of the same gender. If you like people of the opposite gender, go ahead and do that with people of the opposite gender. If you like believing that there is a God, or gods, go ahead and do that. If you don't believe in deities, then don't. I could come up with more, but I hope you get the point.
BUT, don't force your opinions upon other people. I personally don't believe that there is a God (or gods), as I have not seen proof, and I would like proof for there to be a God. I don't care if you believe, though. If you believe in God, go ahead and believe in God. If you think your belief allows you to affect my life, then I have an issue with you. Now, in the Torah, there are 7 Noahide Laws, which are the laws that God gave to Noah after the flood that everybody would have to obey.

1. Prohibition of Idolatry: You shall not have any idols before God.
2. Prohibition of Murder: You shall not murder.
3. Prohibition of Theft: You shall not steal.
4. Prohibition of Sexual Promiscuity: You shall not commit adultery.
5. Prohibition of Blasphemy: You shall not blaspheme God's name.
6. Dietary Law: Do not eat flesh taken from an animal while it is still alive.
7. Requirement to have just Laws: You shall set up an effective judiciary to enforce the preceding six laws fairly.

Personally, I think that the 1st and 5th aren't necessary, although I can see them as "Do not try and have your religion above someone else's" and "Do not disrespect someone else's religion." Also, I see 4 as "Do not cheat on people (not just sexually, but just as a general)" and 6 as "Do not be cruel." Still, basically, I think that these are the only rules that apply to everybody. Everything else should pretty much be okay (in general). That being said, I like that Judaism doesn't try to convert people or make them think that they are wrong and that if they don't chosse Judaism, then theny will burn. If you follow these laws, and aren't Jewish, you are a good person that will be saved in the afterlife. Nice concept.
I hate how people deny gay marraige because they feel it will somehow affect them. Two men getting married won't make your marraige null and void. You can still date people of the opposite gender. What, they will teach about it in schools? Come on! Personally, I am offended if they would teach that there is only one way to live. There is nothing wrong with homosexuality.

"It protects our children from being taught in public schools that "same-sex marriage" is the same as traditional marriage."

"If the gay marriage ruling is not overturned, TEACHERS COULD BE REQUIRED to teach young children there is no difference between gay marriage and traditional marriage."

"We should not accept a court decision that may result in public schools teaching our kids that gay marriage is okay. That is an issue for parents to discuss with their children according to their own values and beliefs. It shouldn't be forced on us against our will."

These are all quotes directly from the arguement for. They are also all bullshit. Aside from that Prop 8 didn't do that, gay marraige being taught in schools is something I think should happen. I kind of want to just teach my child that gay marraige is right and that traditional marraige is wrong. But I live in a society where most people are straight, and most relationships in the media are straight. What can I do? Sigh, I am ranting, I really should stop.

People, stop being stupid. Seriously.

Comics:

Amazing Spider-Man 578:

Basic Plot: Spidey tries to help people trapped underground.

Well, I like that we are getting back to basics in the Spidey-verse. We had the Thunderbolts, who already existed, starring the Green Goblin, Hammerhead, and now the Shocker. I personally love Herman Schultz. He doesn't really care about Spider-Man like other villains do. He is in it for the money. If it means he gets to destroy Spidey, then great. Otherwise, he doesn't care. He is strictly a criminal who wants money. I am loving the classics and I hope Spidey keeps heading in this direction towards classics. Freak was horrible, Jackpot annoying, Menace aggravating and the Bookie is just stupid.

Avengers/Invaders 6



Basic Plot: Torch tries to free the LMDs as the New Avengers try and find the source that brought the Invaders to 2008.

This is getting too odd for me. I don't know. When did S.H.I.E.L.D. start using LMD's for anything aside from ones that the Director uses to avoid assassination. I mean, there have been Nick Fury LMD's and then there were Maria Hill LMD's and people know LMD's, but when did the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents become LMD's. I always figured most of them were normal people (like Eric O'Grady a.k.a. Ant-Man and his friends). So, what, almost all the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are LMD's now. It doesn't make sense. Oh, and I can't really tell how Torch took out the Sentry. He gave him more power? What? The concept that the Invaders were brought there because many people wanted to see Cap again is cute, but I have no idea how they can make this last 6 more issues, unless it is with the stupid LMD stuff. Sigh...

Fantastic Four 561


Basic Plot: Susan (older) puts her plan into play.

I love Doom. Seriously. He is awesome. And Millar and Hitch are my favorite creative team ever (being behind Ultimates 2 and Ultimates), so this is great. This was a great end to the saga, although I think they have to wrap up. I love all of the things Hitch got to draw. I love the FF drawn by Hitch (in fact anything drawn by Hitch is amazing) and this was a great ending. Sure, it isn't Ultimates and not my favorite, but it is still very good. Doom is so bad-ass in this. Sure, he was forced to fuel the time machine, but afterwards, he kept his word. In the previosu issue, he had said "I will say this only once: Whoever orchestrated my kidnapping shall die tonight. So swears Victor Von Doom." He kept his promise and after Sue freed him and thanked him for the help in moving 8 billion people from the future to Nu-World, he fried her. Well, the Invisible Woman did die, just the future one, and not the present one. Oh, well. C'est las vie.

Thunderbolts 126


Basic Plot: Burning Down the House.

Okay, so the title to this arc (2 issues) is a fitting basic plot summary. In better terms, the team is disbanding. Maybe. Kind of. Well, let's put it like this: Penance was drugged and going to be locked in a maximum security mental institution. Norman said he was disbanding the team due to the "corruption" in the government from the Skrulls and co-conspirators. And thanks to Iron Man having to flee the fight fue to his power being low, the people saw Norman leading the way and people love him now. Radioactive Man is recalled back to China. Moonstone is running things in lieu of Norman being in Washington. Songbird is threatened by Bullseye who is going to kill her as part of Norman's instructions. Man, I love that cover too. The art is cool. The art inside not as much. I just don't like Torre. It feels too scratchy to me. Still, I hope Thunderbolts continues to be good.

Deadpool 4


Basic Plot: Needing money, Wade goes to get a job.

The good: It's Deadpool. He's still certainly crazy. He still has morals. He still is able to be bad-ass. Poison in a water bottle, marked "Poision: Extremely effective against chumps" (which could have been in his head, but nevertheless funny).
The bad: He gets taken down by people shooting him a lot in the chest. He gets taken down by the freakin' hunchback (albeit through the poisonous water bottle and taking instructions from the mysterious doctor).
It's Deadpool, and I love Deadpool. I also like Medina's art a lot. One thing I'm not as fond about is the portrayal of his face. Paco makes it look too good. Sure, it isn't pretty, but it isn't something that makes somebody sick to their stomach about or just feeling slightly queasy. Read The Circle Chase. In it, this is before his face was revealed, some assassins (or something) took off his mask and threw up and were distracted by his hideousness long enough for Weasel to bust him out. Speaking of which, where are Weasel, Bob and Agency X? Seriously. Oh, well, it still is Deadpool.

Basic Math

I am so sad sometimes. There are people in this world who do not know basic arithmetic. Then, there are those who get confused with percentages and fractions. All in all, though, I think it is sad that people can go through life without knowing basic math. If you go to a store and want to purchase 3 items that are each $3.00, then, before tax, you should expect to pay $9.00. Sadly, if there was a deal that was "3 items for $10.00", many people would complain when it rings up the items to be $3.00 each.
The site Not Always Right deals with interactions between customers and the people serving them. Most of them deal with people being idiotic, aggressive and outright unpleasant. Some deal with people who cannot deal with basic math. To live in a world with these people? It is disheartening. At least the people who deal with them seem intelligent enough.
20% off $100 isn't $80?
$7.99+$7.99 is greater than $20?
2 for 6.99 or 1 for 3.50 and 1 for 3.49? The first sounds better, right?
4 times (approx.) $3 is (approx.) $12?
3 times $4 is $12?
What is this sorcery? What do these numbers and figures mean? I am so confused.

Pearls and blogging

As you may know, I never intended for people to read this, honestly. As I have said, it is more of a journal that people can look at than anything else. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but Pearls Before Swine is an awesome comic strip. Ever since it first started running in the SF Chronicle, I have read the strips. It is one of two comic strips I still read on a normal basis. Now, I never figured I could combine blogging with Pearls, but things will surprise you.

I don't expect that my blog will make me money, but I have been feeling fairly stupid recently (mostly because of failing at the puzzles in Zelda, including when they aren't puzzles, but some simple thing like "go into this room" and I miss where the room is), so I do want a stupidity intervention. Someone, stop me!

Link

I'd apologize for missing updates if I honestly thought people were reading this. As it is, this is just mostly a place for me to rant to nobody, so I don't really feel I have to apologize. If I am wrong, then please let me know. Otherwise, I know people have read certain things and people have visited this site. The counter at the bottom tells me you have visited, unless I have visited all those times. Anyway...

I had never finished The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time before. I know people have praised it and that it is one of the most popular games of all time. I didn't own an N64 until late in the life of the N64, and then moved on to the GCN pretty quickly. I pretty much only had Smash Bros. for N64. Still, Wind Waker piqued my interest for multiple reasons. One is that it was part of the Zelda franchise that I had heard was great. The second is the graphics. I love cel shading and cartoony graphics. If you know the artists I like in comics, you'll know I love Chris Giarrusso's art a lot. I love the simple cartoony style a lot. A lot of people love things looking as real as possible, but whatever. If I want reality, I'll look at reality. Getting back to the point, my pre-order of Wind Waker granted me the Ocarina of Time/Master Quest GCN disc that was supposed to come before Wind Waker so that you'd be excited about Zelda when you got Windwaker. I was on vacation or somewhere (it might have been my 8th grade's trip to Mexico) that made me not be able to play Ocarina before Wind Waker that much. I got stuck in Dodongo's Cavern (sad, I know), but whatever. It's not like I desperately wanted to finish Ocarina. I played Wind Waker and loved it, and never got back around to playing Ocarina. Eventually, though, last weekend, I decided to finally play Ocarina to completion. I have to admit that it was pretty fun. I have some complaints, but whatever. To me, it wasn't the greatest game ever that I have heard it hyped up to be, but it was still fun. The most annoying thing to me was probably the long cut-scenes, especially since they repeated the same things multiple times. The goddesses came down and created Hyrule about 5 times, and the scene where Zelda and Ganondorf ride away from Hyrule Castle happened about 10 times, and it got kind of annoying. Also, Volvagia dealt an absurd amount of damage that killed me multiple times. Still, again, it was a fun game. I just started Twilight Princess also (my roommate has Twilight Princess) and I am currently enjoying it more. My thoughts are that Ocarina was amazing at the time and that at this point in time and that the love of the game is more about nostalgia than anything.

MEV Preview: Extended Monologue

First off, let me say this. WOOHOO! I do like the Exiles, and was happy to get a preview for them, but honestly, considering my love of Deadpool (it goes most of my family, a couple friends, Deadpool, Kl'rt, the rest of my family, the rest of my friends, then everybody else in terms of affection), I was very disappointed. Seeing as how people did get multiple cards, though, I was filled with hope. I remember saying TBS was going to give previews the Wednesday before the week of, which made me nervous when Wednesday and Thursday of last week passed with nothing. But, I have my Deadpool preview. And out of the cards he got (that are being previewed this week, I have to say it is my favorite.


Okay, so some background. Nobody, including Deadpool, really knows much about his history. The writers also disagree. What is clear is that he currently calls himself Wade Wilson, and he was a mercenary. He applied to Weapon X because he had cancer. They decided to help by giving him a healing factor. The healing factor kept the cancer in check, but being as powerful as it was, he lost his mind in the process. He might not have fully been there to begin with, but he went even crazier after this. It also messed up his body, by making it hideously scarred. He can't heal the scars, but otherwise, has a healing factor that is up there with Wolverine and Hulk in terms of strength. Afterwards, he broke out, after taking the name Deadpool, based on the dead pool they had going in the facility. He then has clashed with Cable and X-Force, while working for the mysterious Tolliver, but eventally started to just do his own thing. For a while, he actually somewhat merged with Cable, and Cable got some healing factor, while Deadpool got to Bodyslide. There was a lot of craziness. Eventually, though, Cable died, and Deadpool did his own thing for a while. Recently, he has been hired by Nick Fury to infiltrate a Skrull camp and get files for him.

What about Deadpool? Well, as I said, he has a healing factor. He also is proficient with swords, and uses many different guns. He isn't a perfect marksman, but is still a good shot. His main weapon though, is his tounge. By taunting enemies and prattling on and on, he annoys his enemies, and they get sloppy, and fight poorly. He also knows that he exists a comic book, being one of the few characters who can break the fourth wall and talk to the readers. He uses his fighting skills and insanity to be one of the more effective fighters in Marvel.

Now, about the card. Well, as I said, he talks to the readers. At the start of issues of Cable & Deadpool, he started doing recap pages, where he, or others, would explain the series and what happened before to the readers. It was very amusing. When talking to opponents, he also would prattle on, like I said, and annoy people. That is exactly what this card does. While Deadpool's out there, he's constantly badgering your opponent so that the opponents can only go after him, as he is the most annoying.

The card, by itself, doesn't really do anything. There really isn't a killer combo you can get by combining this with something else. Still, it is one of those cards that is awesome to have. People praise Pathetic Attempt for it being able to stop targeting effect from hitting you or cards you control. This basically stops them pre-emptively from hitting your other characters or you. Being an ongoing plot twist, it also does it permanently, meaning that as long as you control Deadpool, your other guys can't be affected by any targeting ability. There are many things that target players and characters, and this stops them all in their tracks. It reminds me of a combination of Mutant of the Year and Star of the Show(which the card itself references in the flavor text), which if control Deadpool, basically makes it a reverse Star of the Show, plus the Mutant of the Year! 2 cards in one. When I faced X-Statix, my opponent using Star of the Show and Mutant of the Year was very annoying, as many of my effects proved to do nothing, so with Deadpool blathering on and on, I can imagine my opponents will get really annoyed as well, and like while fighting Deadpool, make lots of mistakes that I can then benefit from.

Being as it is November 4th, aka, the first Tuesday in November of an election year, go out and vote. I also feel this card is appropriate, as both candidates will make Extended Monologues, most likely. Vote. Show your support for whichever candidate you think deserves it.

A small story

Okay, let me tell you all a story:
Once upon a time, there was a young man. Let's call him Pi. Now, if Pi wanted to take a plane or train, to leave his school, where he had no family, to go to Maryland or California where he had family to spend time with over holidays, he needed a form of government-issued photo identification. So Pi went to the post office to get a passport. While there, he was told that to get a passport, a form of government-issued photo identification, he needed some form of government-issued photo identification. In other words, to get a government-issued photo identification, he needed a government-issued photo identification. With other identifications, the government-issued photo identification might be able to be disregarded. Hopefully, Pi will get his government-issued photo identification, as it cost 116.05 just to attempt to get it, and if it fails, that is 116.05 on nothing.

10/29 comics

Wow, there sure is a lot today. Freakin' Annuals...

Ultimate Spider-Man Annual 3


Secret Invasion: Thor 3


Ultimate Captain America Annual 1


Incredible Hercules 122


Secret Invasion: X-Men 3


Amazing Spider-Man: Annual 1


Amazing Spider-Man 575


Thor 11


Nova 18



Avengers: The Initiative 18


Wolverine: First Class 8

The Pretender

There are Pretenders among us. Geniuses with the ability to become anyone they want to be. In 1963, a corporation known as the Centre isolated a young Pretender named Jarod and exploited his genius for their research. Then, one day, their Pretender ran away...
Okay, so to actually try to summarize The Pretender, Jarod is a Pretender, a genius who can insinuate himself into any style of life. He can become a doctor, a lawyer, an astronaut, a racecar driver, etc. When he was a young child, he was abducted from his home by an organization known as the Centre. The Centre used Jarod's genius to preform "simulations" which put him into a different life, and he had to solve situations, and report them. They soldd the information in these "simulations" and people died. When Jarod learned of this, he broke out of the Centre, and then spent time searching for his family, whom he can barely remember, and helping people out, by getting back at people who had done wrong and gotten away with it. Chasing him are Sydney, the person who raised him in the Centre, and a psychiatrist, Miss Parker, whose father is big at the Centre and knew Jarod while they were growing up, and Broots, a tech guy. A lot of the show is Jarod helping people and Sydney, Miss Parker and Broots trying to locate Jarod, but there is also a lot about the Centre in general, with Jarod learning about the pase, and Sydney and Miss Parker learning things about the Centre that make them dubious about their mission. It is a ridiculously fun show. Some of the best parts are the new things Jarod learns. Having been raised in a controlled environment with little interaction with the outside world, he learns about ice cream, Twinkies, Pez, Spider-Man, Star Wars, Magic 8-Balls, Halloween pranks, etc. Usually, he also uses those items in his method of getting the person to confess. For example, he learns about Twinkies, then becomes a toxic-chemical disposal person, and exposes someone to what they think is a deadly chemical, but in reality is only Twinkie cream. It is just a lot of fun. Plus, I love it because it is one of the first TV shows I have watched that wasn't a Saturday morning cartoon or something without a plot. Along with Quantum Leap and Due South, I watched The Pretender to its completion as a kid. It holds a special place in my heart. It's awesome anyway, but it is special for that reason also.

Hulu's amazing

Hulu is one of the biggest time wasters I can find on the internet. Sure, there are all the shows that I want to watch that are going on right now, like Heroes, The Office, Bones, House, etc, that I can watch there. But, there are also shows that I haven't watched before, that I am interested in watching. I had watched a lot of Arrested Development, but I watched the entire series on Hulu. Firefly, I hadn't watched, but had heard about, and I watched all 13 episodes there. Then, there's Naruto, which I am more amused by, but they have over 50 episodes. Dresden Files, I haven't gotten to it yet, but I look forward to it, since it is a great show, and what introduced me to the (what I think are better) Dresden books. If you ask me about the 7th Harry Potter, I just mention how much I loved the 7th Harry, who is a wizard book. I mean, Dead Beat was an awesome book. Still, I have to say how happy I am that they have The Pretender. Maybe my favorite TV show of all time, The Pretender was one of the first series I watched that wasn't a kid's cartoon (or other cartoon), and it is an amazing series. I highly recommend that you go to Hulu right now, and watch the first 2 seasons. They are what introduced me to Jefferey Donovan (the star of Burn Notice) and I watched Touching Evil (a good show that was cancelled too early) and Burn Notice because of him. The Pretender is about a genius who can "pretend" he is someone else, allowing him to feel what they felt, and do what they did, so he can learn more. He was taken when he was a child by this group known as The Centre and is trying to find his past, all while helping the "weak and abused". I can't explain it very well in one sentence. I recommend you just watch the pilot, and if you don't want to watch it, then please leave me alone.

10/22 Comics

Here's the covers. Hope my test went well.

Secret Invasion: Spider-Man 3


Basic Plot: Jackpot fights the Super Skrull.

Well, not great, but whatever. I guess the one thing I dislike the most is that Spidey shows up at the end. I mean, sure, he obviously shouldn't have died during Secret Invasion, and he should be around afterwards, but I just didn't like knowing he was alive at the end. I mean, seeing a Civil War tie-in with Cap doing something other than being in jail after the big fight would be confusing, right? Whatever. It happened, it wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible.

Blue Beetle 32


Basic Plot: The new Dr. Polaris goes over his origin.

Well, I barely realized there was a new Dr. Polaris. At least his identity isn't a mystery. They just say who he is. Some random guy who attended Neal Emerson's lectures (I didn't know he wore the suit before he became a supervillain) learned of the power of magnetism, and as a power-hungry maniac, became a new Dr. Polaris. Still, not that interesting. I think the best part was with Traci and how anything she tried to conjure kept becoming carrots because of some weirdness with magic (probably due to Final Crisis, although I honestly have no idea). At least he has some strange master plan. I just want Jaime to stop being stupid and listen to his father (who kicked ass).

Amazing Spider-Man 574


Basic Plot: The story of Flash Thompson.

Um, what? Freaking OMD. Ruining everything. Okay, so yeah, he served in 'Nam, and I can understand he'd serve in Iraq, but this just doesn't make sense. When did he leave? He was part of Back in Black, when he had little memory, but now, after OMD, he has his memories back, was at Harry's party, but also went to Iraq and lost his legs. I mean, it's a good story, but it just doesn't fit. It is a great story, but has nothing to do with Spider-Man, and doesn't fit into a continuity that makes sense.

Ultimate Spider-Man 127


Basic Plot: Eddie makes his move, as Gwen makes hers.

Well, Gwen is amusing. I never liked Carnage, although Ultimate Carnage is better. As opposed to just a deranged psychopath with a way to kill people, it is more a suit that tries to wreak havoc and carnage, and is merely attached to a clone of Gwen Stacy. Ah, well, hopefully this arc will end soon. This isn't Bendis' best work, but he's been busy, so I can understand. I mostly liked the last page, where Gwen is at Peter's house, saying she can't control it, and has Carnage's face.

Runaways 3


Basic Plot: The Runaways start to dissolve as a team.

Sure, they really aren't a team, they are more like a family, but still. Pretty amusing, especially since they explain it pretty well. I love how Molly and Klara go build a fort off to the side, Xavin socializes with neighbors and everybody does their own thing. It is amusing. Nico said scatter, so they scattered, not just the Majesdanians, but the Runaways scattered as well, just not as magically. It was okay, but nothing special.

New Avengers 46


Basic Plot: The villains try to determine the Skrull situation.

This was awesome. First, some nice action aboard the Helicarrier as the Skrulls tried to become Madame Masque to infiltrate Hood's criminal organization. Then, some great "Oh, no, who can we trust? Oh wait, we can trust pretty much everybody." And the Skrull had to infiltrate as the Slug? I mean, come on, that had to suck. "Who do I get to pretend to be?" "This crime boss known as 'The Slug'" Still great. Oh, and the ending? Totally did not see that coming. I never expected that the demon would be, well, let's just say it's stranger than it appears.

Thunderbolts 125


Basic Plot: Norman leads the charge to protect DC, then heads to NY to do battle with the rest of Earth's defenders.

Aw, yeah! The Thunderbolts are so ridiculously awesome. Norman is so great at manipulation. He is so cool. All in all, this is a great series. Every character is written perfectly, and everything works exactly as it should. Plus, I love how the dialogue synchs up with Secret Invasions 6 and 7 (well, for the most part, they switched some lines between Norman and Fury, but whatever). It makes it feel official. Plus, damn. Bullseye is so bad-ass. In his hands, a mundane object becomes a weapon. What happens if you put a weapon in his hands? He can snipe people with a rocket launcher. I mean, come on! Sniping with a rocket launcher? What is this, a video game? Still awesome.

Secret Invasion 7


Basic Plot: FIGHTING!

That's pretty much it. Lots of fighting. I loved it, as I've loved the previous issues, and I love the fighting taking place. All the Terrans fighting together. New Avengers with Mighty Avengers. Heroes with villains. Gods with Mortals. Thunderbolts with Spider-Man. Interactions between them are great. My favorite part is probably the end, but I do love Spidey talking about the Watcher, because it is so true. Oh, this isn't important, because Uatu isn't here. See, in Beyond!, they mentioned that, by having Uatu talk about how just the act of observing something changes it. Now, sure, it usually isn't as dramatic as Uatu, but, well. In Beyond!, the characters have teamed-up to fight the Stranger who gathered them together for an experiment, like in Secret Wars, but then Uatu shows up, and the Stranger gets nervous, wondering why he is there. Deathlok suggests he is there to witness a bunch of Terrans taking down the Stranger, which makes the Stranger panic, and eventually just leaves the conflict. By just being there, he changed the course of a battle. See, when Uatu shows up, you realize that it is a big event. Now, this is a big event. Sigh... Still awesome though.

Late

Kind of late, I know, but basically, this week is kind of tough, with a big homework and a test, and I also have some other stuff I want to get done.
Okay, I never thought I would, but I have watched some Naruto. Hulu has it, and I have watched the first 50 episodes or so. Basically, it is amusing. It isn't a great show, and I hate how their version of ninja is a martial artist with superhuman powers, but it is amusing. Certain parts are just kind of stupid, and it has a lot of moments where I feel nothing really happens. By nothing, I mean nothing important. When Sakura cuts her hair to get out of the grip some Sound Ninja has her in, it is about 5 minutes of "OMG! SAKURA CUT HER HAIR! IT IS THE MOST AMAZING THING EVER! LOOK AT THE HAIR FALL SLOWLY TO THE GROUND AND EVERYBODY'S EXPRESSIONS!" If I was directing it, it would be maybe 1/2 of a second, just quickly cutting it, having her make her move (which was biting someone) and then later, reminiscing about it for a couple seconds. It just seems silly more than anything. Some of the power levels are just ridiculous. I mean, come on! Sigh... Still, it is amusing. Pretty much the best adjective I can think of. I don't really recommend it, but it is nice so that I can understand what people are talking about when they reference it.

Too tired

I am too tired to put up a post. Yesterday was exhausting. 8+ hours of travel, especially since I hadn't expected it until Friday. Especially since the 8+ hours took me back to the same place. I took two different cars, a bus, two trains and a taxi. Oh, and what the heck? See, I always have felt some animosity towards people. I don't like people, in general. One of those reasons is that I think people, as a whole, aren't all that intelligent. Sure, the smart ones make it seem like humanity is intelligent, with our technology, but really, most people aren't all that smart. Still, I felt that most people must be fairly intelligent. I listened to a conservative radio show in my taxi and had to bite my lip to keep from yelling at the radio. I also had to put a lot of effort into not calling the station (they were taking callers) and just complaining to them. It was one of the longest taxi rides of my life (not helped by the fact that he was taking people to lots of different locations and mine was second to last).

October 15 comics

I know, I know, it didn't go up yesterday. Yesterday had the preview and I didn't want either to try to overshadow the other, so it is just right here today.

Ultimate Origins 5



Basic Plot: Uatu talks through Sue and you see the past.

For some reason, I kept reading this. Maybe because it was a mini-series and I thought I could tough it out. Maybe because other people were praising it, both story and artwise. Personally, I disliked it. Some parts were okay, but overall, I just straight up didn't like it. I don't like the art. It is too scratchy, stiff and awkward for me. Oh, and I hate retconning. Hate it. One of the reasons I read Marvel over DC. This was, well, just bad. Retconning into Nick Fury being from WWII and a supersoldier? Retconning into mutants having been created by man? Retconning into Magneto being the son of people involved with the mutant conspiracy? Retconning Ultimate Magneto (a darker, more murderous version of 616 Magneto) into a nicer person? All stupid ideas to me. Sigh... Oh, and the ending? Well, as much as I loved seeing Rick Jones flash on the screen in Hulk for a second (at most), I think that he wasn't that great a character. I guess I never read Avengers during the Kree-Skrull war, when he saved everybody, and stuff like that, but I never particularly liked Rick Jones. It is amusing to see him in the Ultimate Universe, but honestly, it seems kind of stupid as the big finale.

Astonishing X-Men 27


Basic Plot: The X-Men try to figure out what the box is and what it has to do with Tian.

I don't know about other people, but I love this series. Sure, not as much as when it was Whedon and Cassaday (along with Kitty and Colossus, as opposed to Storm and Armor), but it is still good. Ellis is making this really fun to read. There is a fair amount of humor and Bianchi's art is still really amazing and I love it. I mean, it has Cyclops saying stuff like,"Logan, this is us. The 'bad old days' could be as recent as three weeks ago." and "I swear to you, I will cut your head off and hide the ****ing body if that's what it takes to keep S.W.O.R.D., business out of mutant affairs, because I am done with this--" to Agent Brand, being interrupted by Beast and Abigail wondering why Scott just said "****ing" to his "xenophiliac experimentation partner/girlfriend." It is just a fun and amusing comic. Cyclops is more awesome here than anywhere else (aside form the Whedon Astonishing X-Men) and everything is so awesome.

Secret Invasion: Front Line 4


Basic Plot: All of the survivors gather and wait.

I guess I am missing the point. What is so great about SI: Front Line? I liked the other two Front Lines, for Civil War and WWH, and the Decimation mini-series with Sally Floyd. This just isn't as interesting to me. Is it because the others showed how superhero fights mess up people's lives and this shows that sometimes people fuck each other up more. I mean, sure Skrulls attacked people, but not that many, mostly because they want people to embrace change, whereas the gang in the subway just attacked people. Maybe I don't like it as much because it doesn't as much show the indomitable strength of people and their reactions, but that people are fucked and that the Skrulls aren't doing anything to them that is worse than they do to themselves. This just wasn't as interesting a series to me as to others. Oh, and look! They are at Central Park for the final showdown. Huh...
Amazing Spider-Man 573




Basic Plot: Spidey goes after the Green Goblin as Anti-Venom goes after the Thunderbolts.

Oh, fuck yeah! I have been wanting this since, well, since the beginning of Civil War. When Civil War started, Spidey got sucked into it, and everything he did related to it, and until OMD, he was sucked into the greater MU and trying to deal with it. As interesting as that can be (not saying it was all bad), but I love Spidey being by himself, having his fun solo adventures. And against classic Spidey villains. BND was okay all in all. There were some good stuff, some bad stuff, and mostly meh stuff. My three main complaints were that the stories were too quick (3 issues at max), that the creative teams changed too quickly (again, 3 issues) and that there were too many new, crappy villains. This was 6 issues (a good length) with the same creative team the entire time (a good creative team) and had the Green Goblin. Sure, Menace at the beginning, and it had the new people, but all in all, it boiled down at the end to Spidey vs the Green Goblin. Man... This was awesome. For those people who like Spider-Man, I highly recommend New Ways to Die. It is great.

Mighty Avengers 19


Basic Plot: Noh-Varr looks for a sign and Khn'nr tries to deal with thinking he is Mar-Vell.

Meh. I was looking forward to this to an extent. But it didn't really do anything for me in the end. Noh-Varr seems interesting, and Mar-Vell, I mean Khn'nr, seems interesting, but this wasn't. Mostly, it's Khn'nr frekaing out and flying about. There is way too much text in some parts (annoying to read that much for such a small amount of pictures) and none in others, leading me to believe it easily could have been spaced out more, and that would have been better. The art wasn't great (Pham is okay, but not especially good) either, so all in all, this was just kind of meh.

Guardians of the Galaxy 6


Basic Plot: The Skrulls revealed!

Oh, Drax, you silly, silly individual. How do you tell who's a Skrull? Kill everyone, at least, for 90 seconds, then bring everyone back to life. Ah, Cosmo. He has such a hard job. Adam Warlock attacks, and he uses his powers to make Adam realize these are Skrulls that are traitors to their own kind. Then Drax and Quasar attack, and he has to make them realize. Then the Luminals attack, and well, you get the point. All in all, not much happened that was interesting. Well, the team broke up when they realized Mantis had manipulated them, but who didn't see that coming? Oh well. I just want more Drax. If I have more Drax, I'll be fine.

MEV Preview: Blink, Earth-295<>Dimension Jumper

There's the card. Good for you.

For those still with me, let's go over the character, first of all.

Blink is a character, like most of the Exiles, from a different dimension. See, Marvel is actually a multiverse where universes don't often interact. Unlike DC, with Flash running back and forth, and Crisis on Multiple Earths causing people to go back and forth all the time, these universes are pretty stable. Most of them are created as What if? type scenarios where as opposed to "A" happening, "B" happens and things work out differently. Time travel makes new universes often, where there is one where they didn't go back and then the one where they did. Professor X's son, Legion, was crazy, and in a misguided attempt to stop Magneto, went back in time to when his father and Erik were still friends, and tried to assasinate Magneto. Charles, being Erik's friend, dove in front of Legion, causing Professor X to die instead, causing an alternate universe where Apocalypse took over America and the Age of Apocalypse was born.
Clarice Ferguson is a mutant with teleportation abilities. Simply put, with the training she received, she can teleport things, including over fairly long distances. She can teleport even to the moon with difficulty. A prisoner, she was freed by Sabretooth, who became a mentor to her, much like the 616 Wolverine to Kitty Pryde, Jubilee and recently Armor. Joining him in the X-Men, she helped Magneto's team, and they fought against Apocalypse. Eventually, Bishop from 616 came to Magneto, revealing that the Age of Apocalypse never should have been and that it only came about because of Legion. As Bishop went back in time and stopped Legion, the Age of Apocalypse was thought to have come to an end. Blink, however, was plucked out of Earth 295.
The Exiles are a group of heroes, usually related to the X-Men in some way, that dimension-hop, fixing things and making them right. The founding members of the Exiles were Blink, Mimic, Nocturne, Morph, Thunderbird and Magnus. Blink became their leader, more because nobody else really would or could, and led the team for a long time, eventually finding Sabretooth from Earth 295, who was part of the dimension traveling Weapon X, which went around killing people to try to solve problems. She has been a main member of the Exiles, although is currently off the team.

Let's look at the card:


First off, I have to say that I do like the issue that the card takes its art from. Exiles 84 was a good issue. I am not the biggest fan of the Exiles (I only have a couple volumes), but I do enjoy certain stories more than others, and this was the beginning of a story I liked.
Anyway, just average stats with range, but look at that text-box. First off, I should explain Shift. I'm sure you know about this new keyword, but Shift is a way for people to pay for their characters in advance.
* The keyword shift means:
Pay 1 or more resource points >>> Remove this card from the game shifted with that many shift counters. Use only if this card is in your hand.

* Cards have two additional powers while shifted:
Pay 1 resource point >>> Put a shift counter on this card.
Remove X shift counters >>> Put this card into play if you control X or more resources, where X is its cost. Use only during your recruit step.

Now, Shift is the main theme for the Exiles, and it is awesome. Generally, it means that you pay resources earlier, but Blink has a different concept in mind. One thing she can do is throw little javelins at people that she's imbued with the ability to teleport, meaning she can throw them at people to teleport them somewhere else. This can be used offensively, to throw the opponent into something dangerous, or a more common use, to allow people to rest before rejoining the fight. Whenever one of Blink's allies becomes injured during battle, she can move that person to a safer location, allowing him/her to come back later for a single measly resource point. Or, if you get the other Blink into play somehow (Shifting, like Substitute, does not get around uniqueness), you can get your other character back for free. And I'm sure there are other ways to manipulate those Shift counters.

The last way, and I'm sure one of the better ways, is to get rid of your opponent's characters. Now, sure, they can pay a resource point and get the character back next turn, but without a deck designed to do things like that, losing your 5-drop on 5, and having to pay a resource point the next turn to get it doesn't seem all that fun. You make them have to choose between getting their 6-drop out, or their 5-back, plus another 5. Sure, it seems like they got 10 resource points, but really, they lost one by having to replay one of their older characters.

Stategies? Well, with a card that can add a shift counter, like I said, on turn 5, shift your guys away, then get them back the next turn for free. Otherwise, you can always just use it as a way to pay 1 resource point and discard a card to recover a character. Now, if they go after Blink first, and I mean, who wouldn't, then you can use her ability on herself too. Also, you can keep getting your characters back the next turn and getting their "enter play" effects just like Bodyslide. With Blink, you are going to want to look for other cards to add counters, just so that you can make your guys come back for free. Otherwise, like your opponent, you are going to have to make decisions about what to do with your drops. If you would lose the character anyway, then if you have a useless card, you can always discard that and if you run into a situation where you have an extra resource point or don't have a character to play otherwise, you can always bring it back.

I got Blink, Earth 285<>Dimension, Jumper as part of Exiles week for the "Blink Legend" part of the week. Blink, as a legend, has a theme that relates to her powers. A lot of the Exiles (at the very least, all the ones this week) have the Shift keyword, as part of their dimension-hopping, but Blink gets both Shift, and abilities that make Shifting easier. Both of the characters this week (mine and the one that should have been at VsSystem.com, but was at Facebook) help with shifting, the 3-drop by adding to already-shifted characters and the 5-drop by getting a few of your guys Shifted out to save them for later, or even just to Shift some of your opponent's guys to another plane. Blink is all about teleporting her team places and teleporting enemies away when the fight gets too rough. Her cards all reference that and make her a powerful legend.

Anyway, this is an awesome card. It is versatile, in its helping your guys (if you can use shift counters) and hurting opponents (unless they have shift counters, in which it is then annoying).