Free Comic Book Day 2013 Results, Part 2 of 3: Familiar Names and Creatures

Stjepan Sejic, Aphrodite IX

The painted dragons of Aphrodite IX. Art by Stjepan Sejic.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

As previously recounted, my wife and I had a ball on Free Comic Book Day 2013 two weeks ago. Readers flocked to our local stores and had the opportunity to enjoy samplers from all the major comic companies and many of the indies.

How did the finished works do? Did they present an enjoyable, self-contained experience? Were they welcoming to new readers? Did they adhere to the old adage that every comic is someone’s first?

More of those finished products:

Infinity (Marvel) — Fans already entrenched in current Marvel Universe continuity may enjoy this prologue to the upcoming major summer crossover event, in which an alien race that once rebuilt itself from the ground up after world-shattering decimation now finds itself entertaining a second visit from its conqueror. From a science fiction standpoint, it’s an intriguing short story even though Thanos only speaks a grand total of two words. Any first-time comic-shop visitors who know Marvel only from their movies might be disappointed that their first Marvel experience is filled with complete strangers and has virtually no Marvel heroes in it at all, save a three-panel montage at the end.

Read more of this post

About these ads

“Star Trek Into Darkness”: Ongoing Reboot Uses Lying as Brilliant Marketing Tool

Benedict Cumberbatch, Khan, Star Trek Into Darkness

Does Benedict Cumberbatch’s new entourage stand a chance against hordes of delighted Sherlock groupies?

If your only exposure to the Star Trek universe so far has been JJ Abrams’ scintillating 2009 revival, then Star Trek Into Darkness will seem like a simple, straightforward extension of that origin story — funnier, louder, more hyperkinetic, and blessed with a far more charismatic villain. You may not notice the parade of lines and moments borrowed and refurbished from previous works, but that might be for the best.

Read more of this post

“Revolution” 5/20/2013 (spoilers): Charlie vs. the Murderous Mole

Jason, Charlie, kissing, JD Pardo, Tracy Spiridakos, Revolution, NBC

Charlie (Tracy Spiridakos) and Jason (JD Pardo) share a moment of true love while a disenchanted Atlanta evacuates in panic.

When last we left the heroes of Revolution, Nora had been captured by the Monroe Militia, spirited away to Philadelphia, and brought face-to-face with President Monroe himself. This week’s new episode, “Clue”, Monroe attempts to lure Nora to his side by giving her a white dress reminiscent of the Master’s maidens in Manos: the Hands of Fate, offering her free romantic dinner, and even wearing some of Miles’ cologne, which I’m sure he stockpiles by the gallon for occasions such as this.

Read more of this post

Free Comic Book Day 2013 Results, Part 1 of 3: Familiar Names and Faces

Star Wars, Dark Horse Comics

From “The Assasination of Darth Vader” by Brian Wood and Ryan Odagawa.

As previously recounted, my wife and I had a ball on Free Comic Book Day 2013 two weeks ago. Readers flocked to our local stores and had the opportunity to enjoy samplers from all the major comic companies and many of the indies.

How did the finished works do? Did they present an enjoyable, self-contained experience? Were they welcoming to new readers? Did they adhere to the old adage that every comic is someone’s first?

My reading results were as follows:

Read more of this post

Birthday 41: the Underrated Sequel to the Big 4-0

Google Birthday Banner

There is nothing wrong with your ‘Net device. This search field is not clickable and is provided for illustrative purposes only. For best use, send the link to your friends and guffaw when they try clicking on it.

Fun fact: Google+ registrants whose birthdays are in their profiles are treated to a very special Google banner all day long. I rarely use my Google+ account for anything except tracking my YouTube history, but it was a nice, unexpected touch. At first I thought it was a salute to people that share a May 17th birthday, such as Dennis Hopper, Trent Reznor, Dave Sim, or my mother-in-law. When I realized it was keyed to li’l ol’ me, I was flattered and disturbed at the same time.

Read more of this post

“The Office”: And They All Lived Happily Ever After

Michael Scott, Steve Carell, The Office, NBC

“There’s a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn’t that the point?”
— Pamela Beesly Halpert, May 16, 2013.

Our family spent this evening bidding farewell to the quotidian saga of The Office after seven solidly engaging seasons, one apocryphal season we endured out of customer loyalty, and one mostly improved bonus season to make up for that one. Of all our ongoing TV series, it was the only one we watched unanimously. Whenever the Dunder Mifflin staff spent another work day together, we spent quality time together, like the families of days past that gathered around the old-time radio, the puppet stage, the family plow, or whatever other objects past generations thought were worth gathering around. (Well, at least we did this after my son was old enough to appreciate it and binge-watched the early seasons over one summer vacation.)

Read more of this post

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,163 other followers

%d bloggers like this: