Comic Review: The Old Guard by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández

Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández’s The Old Guard began as a sharp, tightly written comic series before spinning into a multimedia franchise that includes the popular Netflix films. Having come to the comics after watching the first movie—a personal favorite for both me and my wife—I found myself reading them with Charlize Theron’s Andy and the rest of the cinematic team already in mind. That context colored the experience, for better and for worse. The First Series: A Strong Start The opening series of The Old Guard delivers everything you’d hope for in an immortal-mercenary saga: gritty action, complex characters, … Continue reading Comic Review: The Old Guard by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández

My 2024 Recap

I have a few hobbies. Here is a quick recap of some of them. Reading Log: 32 books read 112 Albums Rated Watched a bunch of stuff 201 Comics Read A bunch of time in the gym 2,075 bets made. ROI +7.3 percent. 403.4 Miles in Nike +. This was down significantly. See the below line. Two knee surgeries + vasectomy. 225 Stories written for the Wayne County Press 79,415 Minutes on Spotify 1 Powerlifting meet: 1,350 total. Deadlift PR of 585. 700+ government bids submitted. Weight on 1/1/25: 253.3 pounds. 110 Different Beers Drank Trips: Bloomington, IN golf trip; … Continue reading My 2024 Recap

Book Nook: The Dark Knight Returns, by Frank Miller

Blurb A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! It is ten years after an aging Batman has retired and Gotham City has sunk deeper into decadence and lawlessness. Now as his city needs him most, the Dark Knight returns in a blaze of glory. Joined by Carrie Kelly, a teenage female Robin, Batman takes to the streets to end the threat of the mutant gangs that have overrun the city. And after facing off against his two greatest enemies, the Joker and Two-Face for the final time, Batman finds himself in mortal combat with his former ally, Superman, in a battle that only one … Continue reading Book Nook: The Dark Knight Returns, by Frank Miller

Book Nook: Marvel Comics, The Untold Story, by Sean Howe

Blurb The defining, behind-the-scenes chronicle of one of the most extraordinary, beloved, and dominant pop cultural entities in America’s history — Marvel Comics – and the outsized personalities who made Marvel including Martin Goodman, Stan Lee, and Jack Kirby.   “Sean Howe’s history of Marvel makes a compulsively readable, riotous and heartbreaking version of my favorite story, that of how a bunch of weirdoes changed the world…That it’s all true is just frosting on the cake.”  —Jonathan Lethem For the first time, Marvel Comics tells the stories of the men who made Marvel: Martin Goodman, the self-made publisher who forayed into comics after … Continue reading Book Nook: Marvel Comics, The Untold Story, by Sean Howe

Book Nook: The Sandman: Act II, by Neil Gaiman, Dirk Maggs

Blurb Enter the Dreaming again as the blockbuster audio adaptation of “the greatest epic in the history of comic books” continues in The Sandman: Act II. James McAvoy returns to voice Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, in this sequel to the number-one New York Times audio best seller. Journey into a world of myths, imagination, and terror based on the best-selling DC comic books and graphic novels written by Neil Gaiman (returning as the Narrator), and lose yourself in another groundbreaking, immersive drama adapted and directed by the award-winning audio master Dirk Maggs. In the absolutely packed Act II, the dark fantasy resumes … Continue reading Book Nook: The Sandman: Act II, by Neil Gaiman, Dirk Maggs

Book Nook: The Chowderhead Crusades, by JJ Walsh

Ready Player One is one of my favorite books. I tell people it is not one of the best written, but it is one of my favorites. It sits in my wheelhouse. So, when I saw Patton Oswalt, one of my favorite comedian/actors tweet that he did the audible reading for a book hailed as “Ready Player One for comic book nerds”, I thought…okay, wheelhouse me galore. The Chowderhead Crusades is written by JJ Walsh and is set in the not-too-distant future. The setup is basically the same as Ready Player One. The world has collapsed, and for largely believable … Continue reading Book Nook: The Chowderhead Crusades, by JJ Walsh