Larchmere Festival Author Alley

Just a quick reminder that I’ll be in the Author Alley at the Larchmere Festival in Shaker Heights this Saturday, July 03, promoting Deus ex Comica: The Rebirth of a Comic Book Fan with nearly 50 other local authors, including my good friend John Booth! Author Alley will be at Loganberry Books on Larchmere Boulevard from noon until 4pm.

There is going to be a wide variety of books available. Come out, meet some local writers, find something you like, and feel good about supporting local authors!

How to Spend an Early Summer Evening

We went out to dinner with friends to our favorite local watering hole the other night, the Winking Lizard. We got home around 8:30, and after the kiddo walked the dog, he and I went out back and threw the football around until it was almost too dark to see. As we were walking around the side of the house to head in, we were distracted by the lightening bugs just starting to make their presence known.

My gut told me to herd the child inside and get him into his ready-for-bed routine and settled in with a book. But something stopped me. I guess it was the sense of wonder I could see gleaming in his eyes even in the dusk. I watched him chase a firefly across the backyard. Then he told me over his shoulder that he has never caught fireflies before. With that, it was over. There was no other option except to toss the football aside and head back into the yard to catch fireflies with him.

As it got darker and darker, it became increasingly harder to find them when they weren’t lit up, but we caught quite a few over the next half-hour or so across our and our neighbor’s yards. The lightening bugs would land on us and crawl all over our hands and arms, lighting up now and again to make our skin glow.

After a while, we invited Tracy out to join us. The three of us wandering around out there must have looked pretty odd to anyone who passed by, but it was one of the best evenings ever. Soon it was too dark to catch the fireflies at all, so I collected the football and the three of us headed inside. And while the kiddo curled up with a book in bed, Tracy and I were left to remember a little bit of what it was like to be eight years old on your summer break, if only for a night.

The Karate Kid 2.0

Had a fun “guys” day with the kiddo Saturday. After a week of business travel away, it was great to have some one-on-one time together. He caught up on his Summer Bridge workbook pages while I mowed the lawn, then we headed over to the Metroparks for a three-mile walk. Afterwards, we came home and he helped me clean the interior of my car, then it was time for showers, lunch, and The Karate Kid.

The kiddo has been so excited about this movie for a good month now! I have a fond place in my ’80s heart for the original film, so there was no way I wasn’t going to indulge him in seeing this remake. I debated watching the original movie with him (it’s available on Netflix instant streaming) in the weeks before we saw the new film, but I decided to take a page out of my buddy John’s book and his Star Wars wisdom to recognize that “every generation has a legend.” And John’s absolutely right. Who was I to burst my son’s bubble of excitement over this retelling of the underdog tale? Did he need to know this was a remake of a movie that I probably think a little too highly of because of my own nostalgia and the fact I saw it through a young teenager’s eyes? No.

And where the protagonist of the original film is of driving age, the main character of the remake is 12 – a far closer and relatable age for my kiddo. So he went into the theater armed only with what he knew from the trailers and with zero knowledge of the original’s existence. And we both had a great time! The movie clocked in at two hours and 20 minutes, but hit all the right notes and never felt drawn out or padded. For those of us who remember the Reagan Era, there were nods to the original that were reverential without ever feeling like they were ripping anything off.

The arcs for both Jaden Smith’s Dre Parker and Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han were affecting and resonant. Smith carried the movie like a pro, indicative of his pedigree. Chan was beautifully understated, surprising me by plumbing some emotional depths I didn’t know he could pull off.

One thing I really admired about the movie is that, despite taking place in China, it never dumbed down the language barrier. Instead of going the route of something like The Hunt for Red October (a movie I love) where suddenly the foreign language is abandoned for English with the corresponding accent, the characters who spoke Chinese did just that with subtitles throughout the entire film. A bold choice for a movie aimed at adolescents.

I thoroughly enjoyed this remake of The Karate Kid. I have a feeling it’s going to be one of those movies that leaves an impression on my kiddo and this generation like the original did on me and mine. And that’s a good thing, because there’s always room for well-told underdog stories to inspire us.

Some Quick Thoughts on Annuals

I haven't read a lot of annuals since returning to comics in the last few years. Certainly not in the way I devoured them back in the day, but I read Amazing Spider-Man Annual #37 earlier this week. I enjoyed the main story and art well enough. It was a fun, two-part tale of Spider-Man and Captain America taking place between Avengers #11 and #16. Karl Kesel’s writing really captured the sense of awe a teenaged Peter Parker must have felt meeting an icon like Captain America. And, in a lot of ways, hasn’t that always been the strength of Marvel Comics? The idea that, although these heroes inhabit the Marvel Universe, they are not necessarily commonplace and it’s still an amazing event when they are encountered. When Marvel does that, and does it well, they succeed in pulling kids and adult readers alike firmly into this world, making it all the more believable.

The first part of the main story finds Cap assisting Spidey against the Sandman, stepping in just the nick of time and leaving Spidey a bit star struck. The second half of the tale gets a little wonky as the heroes team up against the Rogue Scholars, but I rolled with it and let it take me where it wanted to go. Throughout, I really dug Paulo Siqueira’s art. It felt sketchy and rough, but in the best possible way, and Fabio D’Auria’s colors had a muted tone that served the story well.

The backup story was a bit of a letdown for me. As someone who was out of comics during the ’90s, I wasn’t familiar with Untold Tales of Spider-Man, and as much as I’ve enjoyed Pat Olliffe’s work on Peter Parker, I wasn’t really digging on his stuff here. The Kurt Busiek story starring Spider-Man and Stan Lee is the kind that sometimes works and sometimes falls flat. Here, flat. It was 15 pages I would have rather seen devoted to expanding the main story to something a little more epic. This is an Annual, after all.

Not to get all crotchety and “get off my lawn, you damn kids,” but I don’t remember backups that felt like filler in the annuals of my youth. I remember the annuals of the ’80s as king-size versions of the Spidey/Cap tale here. Like Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16 from 1982, which tells the origin of Monica Rambeau’s Captain Marvel and guest starring the entire Marvel Universe! (That one had a couple of nice one-page pin-ups: “The Many Loves of Peter Parker” and “Imagine How Much Fun It Must Be to Work at The Daily Bugle” that felt appropriate and right at home.) Or Fantastic Four Annual #18 from 1984 with the wedding of Black Bolt and Medusa. On the other hand, this 2010 Amazing Spider-Man Annual felt kinda like a regular issue with a backup story tacked inside.

I think it's time I pulled out that '82 Spidey annual and give it another read...

A Cosmic Marvel Reading Guide

Recently on Marvel Noise, my friends Steve, Rick, and Tom did a two-part deep dive into things that serves as a great Cosmic Marvel history lesson. The second installment in episode 118 focuses on the events of Annihilation through the current state of things. (When listening to this episode the kiddo was completely enthralled with what Steve, Rick, and Tom were talking about. When I told him I had all the books we were hearing about, he immediately asked if he could read them! And another Marvel Cosmic fan is born.)

I have been really enjoying the space-based Marvel renaissance over the last few years. Written in 2008, I had this to say about Cosmic Marvel in the “Bound for Greatness” chapter of Deus ex Comica:

Beyond Star Wars, I’ve never been a huge sci-fi fan. (And my friend John would probably argue that Star Wars is more space opera than sci-fi in the purest sense.) No Roddenberry. No Bradbury. I was always more into Fleming and Spielberg, and that translated to my comic book reading tastes as well. The Original Collection has a few Novas and Quasars, and the first issue of the Bill Mantlo/Mike Mignola Rocket Raccoon limited series from ’85. But by and large I stuck with pure super hero adventures: Avengers, Alpha Flight, Defenders, X-Men. These were the comics I loved.

Even though Cosmic Marvel was never my thing, that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to give it a go, and Marvel’s 2006 Annihilation event came highly recommended... The initial story is collected in three books compiling nearly 30 issues of Cosmic Marvel goodness! This is followed by the Annihilation: Conquest event spanning 2007 and 2008, and the Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy ongoing series.

Beginning with Annihilation, Book One, the story immediately sucked me in. I love the way Annihilation and Annihilation: Conquest are laid out. The collections are organized in a way that provides a coherent storyline woven throughout the books. They start with the prologues and tie-in miniseries, then go into the main sagas. The Cosmic Marvel Universe is a bit of a different animal than the Earth-based Marvel Universe. Tent poles like Civil War and Secret Invasion are all about trying to be huge in scope and having a breadth that influences even the far corners of the Marvel Universe. But I wish Marvel would: a) cut down on the number of tie-ins for those tent pole events, instead scaling them down to Annihilation-size, and b) package all their event collections similar to Annihilation. It’s really a model of restraint which, ironically, results in maximum impact.

While I was at Summit City Comic Con last month, I was chatting with my buddy Mike, telling him that I’d just finished up Nova, volumes 3 and 4, and Guardians of the Galaxy, volume 1. He said he has wanted to dig into the revived cosmic corner of the Marvel Universe, but has been unsure of where to begin and what order to go through them. As a fellow stickler for continuity and reading chronology, I totally empathized and decided to share my take on things.

I’m reading it all exclusively in collected editions, and I’m pretty confident the reading arrangement I have cobbled together is correct. All books I reference here are the trade paperback editions, with the exception of War of Kings, which I couldn’t resist in that beautiful hardcover. (And, yes, I do sorta wish I’d picked up the Annihilation and Annihilation: Conquest books in that oversized format as well.)

What Keith Griffen began with Annihilation has only been improved upon by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. Far-reaching and epic in scope, these are tales that stretch the imagination and mine the rich history of Marvel Cosmic adventures. So, to the best of my knowledge, for your reference...

Annihilation
Annihilation Classic
Bug (1997) #1
Tales to Astonish (1959) #13
Nova (1976) #1
Quasar (1989) #1
Rocket Raccoon (1985) #1
Rocket Raccoon (1985) #2
Rocket Raccoon (1985) #3
Rocket Raccoon (1985) #4
Marvel Spotlight (1979) #6
Logan's Run (1977) #6
Marvel Premiere (1972) #1












Annihilation, Book One
Drax the Destroyer (2005) #1
Drax the Destroyer (2005) #2
Drax the Destroyer (2005) #3
Drax the Destroyer (2005) #4
Annihilation Prologue (2006) #1
Annihilation: Nova (2006) #1
Annihilation: Nova (2006) #2
Annihilation: Nova (2006) #3
Annihilation: Nova (2006) #4












Annihilation, Book Two
Annihilation: Silver Surfer (2006) #1
Annihilation: Silver Surfer (2006) #2
Annihilation: Silver Surfer (2006) #3
Annihilation: Silver Surfer (2006) #4
Annihilation: Super-Skrull (2006) #1
Annihilation: Super-Skrull (2006) #2
Annihilation: Super-Skrull (2006) #3
Annihilation: Super-Skrull (2006) #4
Annihilation: Ronan (2006) #1
Annihilation: Ronan (2006) #2
Annihilation: Ronan (2006) #3
Annihilation: Ronan (2006) #4












Annihilation, Book Three
Annihilation (2006) #1
Annihilation (2006) #2
Annihilation (2006) #3
Annihilation (2006) #4
Annihilation (2006) #5
Annihilation (2006) #6
Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus (2007) #1
Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus (2007) #2
Annihilation The Nova Corps Files (2006) One-Shot

Annihilation Conquest, Book One
Annihilation: Conquest - Prologue (2007) #1
Annihilation: Conquest - Starlord (2007) #1
Annihilation: Conquest - Starlord (2007) #2
Annihilation: Conquest - Starlord (2007) #3
Annihilation: Conquest - Starlord (2007) #4
Annihilation: Conquest - Quasar (2007) #1
Annihilation: Conquest - Quasar (2007) #2
Annihilation: Conquest - Quasar (2007) #3
Annihilation: Conquest - Quasar (2007) #4
Annihilation: Saga (2007) One Shot












Nova, Volume 1: Annihilation Conquest
Nova (2007) #1
Nova (2007) #2
Nova (2007) #3
Nova (2007) #4
Nova (2007) #5
Nova (2007) #6
Nova (2007) #7












Annihilation Conquest, Book Two
Nova (2007) #4
Nova (2007) #5
Nova (2007) #6
Nova (2007) #7
Annihilation: Conquest - Wraith (2007) #1
Annihilation: Conquest - Wraith (2007) #2
Annihilation: Conquest - Wraith (2007) #3
Annihilation: Conquest - Wraith (2007) #4
Annihilation: Conquest (2008) #1
Annihilation: Conquest (2008) #2
Annihilation: Conquest (2008) #3
Annihilation: Conquest (2008) #4
Annihilation: Conquest (2008) #5
Annihilation: Conquest (2008) #6












Nova, Volume 2: Knowhere
Nova (2007) #8
Nova (2007) #9
Nova (2007) #10
Nova (2007) Annual 01
Nova (2007) #11
Nova (2007) #12











Marvel Cosmic Ongoing
Nova, Volume 3: Secret Invasion
Nova (2007) #13
Nova (2007) #14
Nova (2007) #15
Nova (2007) #16
Nova (2007) #17
Nova (2007) #18












Nova, Volume 4: Nova Corps
Nova (2007) #19
Nova (2007) #20
Nova (2007) #21
Nova (2007) #22
Nova: The Origin of Richard Rider (2009) One-Shot

Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 1: Legacy
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #1
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #2
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #3
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #4
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #5
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #6












War of Kings
Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2: War of Kings, Book 1
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #7
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #8
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #9
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #10
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #11
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #12












War of Kings (Hardcover)
Secret Invasion: War of Kings (2009) #1
War of Kings (2009) #1
War of Kings (2009) #2
War of Kings (2009) #3
War of Kings (2009) #4
War of Kings (2009) #5
War of Kings (2009) #6
War of Kings: Darkhawk (2009) #1
War of Kings: Darkhawk (2009) #2
War of Kings: Ascension (2009) #1
War of Kings: Ascension (2009) #2
War of Kings: Ascension (2009) #3
War of Kings: Ascension (2009) #4
War of Kings: Savage World of Skaar (2009) #1
War of Kings: Warriors (2009) #1
War of Kings: Warriors (2009) #2
Marvel Spotlight: War of Kings (2009) #1












Nova, Volume 5: War of Kings
Nova (2007) #23
Nova (2007) #24
Nova (2007) #25
Nova (2007) #26
Nova (2007) #27
Nova (2007) #28

Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3: War of Kings, Book 2
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #14
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #15
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #16
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #17
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #18
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #19

So This Is What It Looks Like

I grew up in Ohio. And although I spent a quarter of my life living out of state, I have somehow remained a Cleveland sports fan. Because of this, I have never experienced a championship first hand. The closest thing I can claim is the 2002 Ohio State National Championship (and that does count, and it was glorious). But, on a professional level, “my” team has never won it all, rarely even sniffing the opportunity. So it was a very cool and completely foreign experience to be in a bar in Chicago with my local friends and packed to the seams with a rollicking bunch of hockey fans to watch the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in Game 6 overtime.

And walking out onto North Avenue in Wicker Park after the game was over and Lord Stanley’s Cup had been presented was like stepping onto another planet. A barrage of car horns honking, drunk and sober fans alike sharing high fives, every restaurant and bar overflowing with patrons out into the street. I'm not even a big hockey fan, but enjoyed every moment of the evening, soaking it all in. The celebration was unlike anything I’ve seen before, but something I hope I experience again… but in celebration of a Cleveland team.

The View from the Blue Line platform at Damen

Zen and Art of Lawn Mower Maintenance

My parents bought me a gas-powered leaf blower back when we lived in the house on Merriman and had mature trees and autumn leaves to deal with. To this day, I can never get it to start consistently or run well, to the point where I simply refuse to take it out any more. But I’m nearly certain it’s more because I’m an idiot than because of any sort of mechanical problems. Along these same lines, when we moved to our current house in 2006, I purposely bought an electric snow thrower which I have had no issues with and works great with virtually no maintenance.

When we moved to the Merriman house in 2000, it was our first foray into homeownership and lawn maintenance, and my dad gave me his old push mower. He doesn’t remember how long he had the mower before then, but it served him well and got the job done for me at both our old house and our new one, up until last summer.

As evidenced with the leaf blower, I’m horrible when it comes to understanding and maintaining outdoor/lawn appliances. Outside of gassing it up regularly, I pretty much ignored that mower. I never changed the oil. Never changed or even sharpened the blade. Seriously. I’m terrible with this stuff!

In the fall of 2008, the mower started acting a little buggy, nothing major, but just enough that I noticed, so I took it to a local shop for a complete tune-up, oil change, the works. While it was in the shop, I borrowed my neighbor’s self-propelled mower and was amazed at how easy the mowing was on our side hill when I didn’t have to do all the work myself. My eye started to wander while my mower was being tended to. Suddenly I was seriously considering buying a new one. I began researching brands and features, even narrowing it down to a couple of specific models I liked… then never pulled the trigger. I figured I didn’t need to spend the money when I had a perfectly good one and mowing is a good work out (at least, that's what I told myself).

As contrition for my roving eye, I bought and installed a new blade for the old mower at the beginning of last summer. And then last fall the universe meted out its justice, lawn care style, for flirting with infidelity by killing my mower.

The poor thing started spewing nasty, thick gray-black smoke and emitting a rattling death knell of protest whenever pressed into service. It would seem that my old mower had found its own delicate life-balance, learning to survive – even thrive! – in my neglect. I can only assume that my too little, too late attempt at taking care of it threw off its equilibrium. Like giving a starving man a fancy meal, the fresh oil and new filter and all was just too much of a shock to its system.

So I now have a new mower. It’s pretty fancy, what with its “Guaranteed to Start” system and “Personal Pace” self-propulsion and mulch/side-discharge/bagging options and all. I took it out and used it for the first time this week (after a month of borrowing my neighbor’s mower again), and it was all pretty slick. But it was with a certain sadness that the old girl went to the curb, leaving in its place not just the burden of lawn care maintenance, but also that of maintenance on the tools used in lawn care maintenance.

The dam is broke. I may need to have my dad over to teach me how to properly use the leaf blower now.