TheSteve

Firstoff, I am suprised that this has sat here unanswered since March. Secondly, I think that its dangerous and good at the same time. When I was a kid I had a few comic books, not very many, and since I had no real income I did not have money to spend on comic books. So I kinda lost interest. A few years ago my room mate had the fortune to find through a filesharing service all of the Exiles which had been printed up until that date. I read through them and got hooked, the next time I was home I went to my comic book shop (which had previously just been the place I got trading cards and other things) and got myself set up with a pull box with Exiles in it. From then when I would come in to pick up my box I would look around, and every now and then I would find something which was starting out which looked interesting and I would pick it up. That is how I ended up getting into the Toxin 6 issue run, Astonishing X-Men, and Young Avengers. Then when House of M started up, the fact that it had Astonishing X-Men written on the cover caugt my attention. I ended up getting all of the House of M titles (The central one, Iron Man, Fantastic Four, Spiderman) and picked up a bunch of the issues which it involved (Incredible Hulk, Uncanny X-Men, The Pulse). Now that I had read House of M, I was that there was a House of M prelude in Excalibur, and picked that up. Which then in turn I ended up deciding to read New Excalibur when it came out. During that time I tried some other short runs, Justice League Elite, Last Hero Standing, a few others. But in the end, that comic book shop got all of that business because of illegal downloads of the Exiles comic. To my credit, I went through their back-issues and picked out a few that I had particularly enjoyed. So for someone like me who has enough money to be able to afford comic books, and had the convenience of working next door to a comic book shop it is good. The way that they made their money off of me is through the store. Once they had me on one comic, I would come into the store and see others I liked. In the same breath comicscans are really dangerous to the industry. Most people are quite able to wait an extra week or month to get their comics. That is all it takes for someone to scan in the newest issue and put it online. Given the option of paying for my comics, or getting them for free a week late, I would pick free a week late, as would a lot of people. As the people pirating the comics get better at it, the worse Marvel, DC, and everyone else will suffer. Even important works of comics like Watchmen can be gotten off the internet. Who is going to go out and buy the book when they can download it? I think that in the end scans are helping kill comic books in their present form. Most people want to buy comics to read them. And they can read them just as well on a computer screen as in print (although I prefer to read it in print, the preference is not quite $3 worth). It is a double edged sword. It is one way for people to get introduced to comics, but I think its a bad way to do business. So to answer your questions directly... It is not fair usage, its the same thing as buying a DVD and then ripping and uploading it. It is stealing money from the creators, but not on an epic scale. It is creating more fans in the long run, but it is reducing the number of customers.

I am a little bit sad that they made the new alliance race (Draenai) look just like normal humans. It would have been much cooler if they looked like the actual race, instead of claiming this whole 'more evolved state' thing. Although, I cannot convince myself into the expansion yet. I have yet to have a player hit 50, much less 60, so the prospect of 70 is not much of a draw for me, heh. As for good servers, I use BlackDragonflight (I play alliance.... under the same name I have here no less). Have not had a problem with it so far.

Totally depends on how old of a child... considering I am 22 and that does not stop me from putting on a costume and going around town on Halloween I have a long time I would call "a kid". I have always loved superheroes. So I would go with the Avengers. But that is what I say now. As a little kid, Donald Duck all the way my friend. He is a duck, and he does not wear pants, and is proud of it. Nothing more inspiring to a kid than a flasher who is proud of it.

I am a jerk, I would go for it and get the most bang for my buck I could. I did this like a month ago with a bunch of old school NES stuff, nothing terribly valuable, but the guy wanted to get rid of it. So I paid what he wanted. Now... the hundred bucks. That depends on when I found it. Still within like 5 minutes of the garage sale, I would return it... or at least go back and buy more stuff from him with it. Regardless, I am making sure that $100 stays at that house. But if its when I get home, I am going to be too lazy. Probably use the money to pay my rent... since I am spending that money on comic books instead.

So I could not pick up the most recent House of M core book this week, but I did get HoM Fantastic Four and HoM Iron Man. Fantastic Four has lost a little bit of its steam, although I am still enjoying it. Nerd out factor is high, although it raises more questions than it answers for me pertaining to Reed and Johnny, I could care less about Sue. Doom is fantastically mean, and his relationship with his mother has become very interesting... in an almost unhealthy and kinda creepy way. But all in all a good read, leading up to some really interesting stuff in Issue #3, which will finish out the tie in. Iron Man, I still hate the coloring. But the story is interesting, I like the interplay between Tony and his father, two good men with completely different ways of getting things done. Also find out a bit more about certain other people, and it seems that there is yet another way which this happy little world could enter into total chaos. As a whole I love how in House of M you have the role reversal... which really changes nothing. Yes the Mutants are in power, but there are super powered people all over who are not mutants who can easily go toe to toe or better. Like the Hulk for example. Even though the world is 'better' its just the same, just with the humans suffering and in fear even with super powers... or suits of armor. Very cool and fun. In conclusion.... I hate you Wolverine, and I wish you would give up on being a super hero and instead turn heel so that the plot will dictate that sometimes you do in fact need to lose.

The movie looks like it could be fun, given I am not particualrly familiar with the original, it was a good bit before my time. I will watch it if it comes on TV, or if my school cinema has it and I am not doing anything better that night.

Dr. Doom and Magneto, given a dude in metal armor is a bad choice to fight a dude who can control metal, I wonder if he has tried before.

I am so not buying him a pad, besides, he is weakminded enough that I can convince him that it was his idea all along. If he ever read this he would shout "It was my idea!" but that is because I have clearly fooled him into believing it to be so. In other news I am a jerk.... and I still look forward to this game, having just completed an even 40 songs on DDRMAX2 in order to survive the wait to October 24th.

I have read somewhere that the Royal Rainbow does make at least one appearance, so it is very possible that the old standby of vomitting rainbows will be adhered to in this, the most recent incarnation of playing with a sticky ball.

That was way too much information there dude. But yeah she has tenticles, its odd looking. I have not followed her for long enough to care or know why.

You mose certainly did not misread that. Heh. And I have no idea where she got them.

Ok, so a light week on the House of M for me. I picked up Pulse #10, The Pulse Special House of M edition, as well as the Excalibur Prelude tpb (#11-#14) The Pulse Special Edition was really good, I was highly amused by it. Given, it was done up just like a newspaper, the articles in it were interesting and in many cases humorous. Excalibur was less entertaining. I mostly figured I would pick it up because post House of M it will have one of my favorite characters, Nocturne. Hopefully I will be able to find a good comic book shop to pick up next weeks House of M stuff at. I might be stuck picking up the trade paperback to pick up a few issues that I might end up missing.

I am a huge fan of Katamari, having just replayed a few missions yesterday (so far my record for the moon level is something like 730 meters) and I am very much excited to see "We Love Katamari" hit the shelves in a few months. It is slated for September from what I saw, although it looks like it is not going to sport the $20 price tag of its predecessor. Regardless, I am looking forward to seeing the next installment in Katamari which apparently has underwater levels, mythical levels, as well as more entertaining banter from the King of the Cosmos.

Just read a preview for this, and whoa totally awesome. Its release date will be October 24th, 2005. I look forward to making my room mate pick this little gem up in a few months... and making him pick up a second dance pad. I love that it comes with a story mode as well as minigames where you play normal platforming sections using the dance pad for movement. Supposedly it features mostly Mario Theme music, and little of the typical pop music which the other DDR titles sport. But thats what I have my PS2 and DDRMAX2 for. I look forward to seeing more games which make use of stuff like dance pads... or bongo sets... or whatever else might be thought of.

I stumbled across this article while surfing the net today, and considering the discussions going on in the "Illinios Bans Sale of Violent Video Games" thread, I figured it might be worth it to put up some stuff about the good things video games do instead of just highlighting how many games like GTA should not be sold to children. So here is an article about how video games make people smarter. I am so smart, I am so smart, S M R T... I mean Enjoy.

It would do passably well. I think a lot of fans would be dissapointed because there is no way they could hit all the things about the show that made it great. One of my favorite things about Buffy was episodes that at the end just ended. No one was particularly happy, the bad guy was slain but there was clearly a lot of stuff left to be dealt with by the characters and then that screen saying "Joss hedon" came up. That is one of the things that made it good, it would not wrap up each episode in a nice little bow. But you cannot do that in a movie as well, it comes off as unfinished rather than intentionally abrupt. A movie version would become a "How can we have each character do something in their signature style, oh and have a plot to" I do not think Joss Whedon will make a movie of it any time in the near future. But of course, I could be wrong and he might write something spectacular.

I am current PS2 owner. But honestly, I am looking at switching loyalties to Nintendo when the revolution comes out. I don't have the money to drop half a grand to a grand for a video game, I have trouble getting myself to buy games for $50 instead of waiting six months so they are only $20, and even then I buy them used. Sony is nuts if they think ANYONE is going to pay that much. None of the gamers I know can afford it, and no parent is going to shell out a grand when next to the PS3 on the shelf is a $200 Revolution and a $350 360. Especially since most games are multiplatform these days.

Awesome link. And awesome Blog post.

Personally it is those light things I kinda enjoy about super heroes. Although Reed has a fantasticar, why would he ever hail a cab. Although I still do not look forward to a sequel.

So let me get this straight... if it happened in a video game that I play its not my fault? If we can equate video game reward systems to real world crime and punishment I suppose we can also equate it to other things... after all by the same reasoning used in the court case the makers of Paperboy should be recieving pay for job training. It all comes down to one thing, people are responsible for THEIR actions. Video games are not a mind control device, they are entertainment. If you are not able to discern between actually shooting a police officer and aiming with a directional pad and pushing the X button you have no one to blame but yourself. I cannot forsee Parker Brothers getting in trouble if some kid were to play the old board game "Operation" and then actually try to remove someone's funny bone. Same sort of logic should hold with video games.

Wow, I do not know how good this is going to be. Although it could very well be a good kids movie, and I hope that is how they market and produce it. Something akin to the Power Rangers movie in style.

I can buy that vision of Lex Luthor, although that pose is not good for him, he should almost always have his head held high as arrogantly as possible.

I guess it could make an interesting action game... but I dunno about making movies based on games in general. Of course I said the same thing about making movies based on rides and Pirates of the Carribean 2 is expected soon.

It really is fantastic. The animation style even interests me. I have seen only a few of the episodes, but they are all fantastic for the many levels their jokes are made on as well as for the overall fun of the series. Most of the humor is accessible to everyone, and it really is just a good time.

I have a box at my local comic book shop, I work only a few doors down from it, so when Wednesday comes along I can always get in there to get my comics. I found that having a box is definatly the way to go, because you can add and drop from it as often as you like. As like Retreater said, you notice the other stuff on the racks that catches your eyes. I started reading Exiles and only Exiles, and that quickly blossomed into a whole slew of regulars as well as going after the whole House of M storyline. I also get a 15% discount for having a box at the shop. In the end you spend more money because you will find more things you want to read. But at the same time you get what you want, and everyone enjoys having a good group of nerds to argue with over comics and related stuff. On a sadder note I just recieved word from the guy who runs my comic book shop that the powers that be have decided to shut him down. Today is the last day that he will have new comics for me, and man does that make me sad. Great little comic book shop, and a place I have been visiting on and off for more than a decade. It will be sorely missed. I would also like to say that 'business' sucks because it tends to take people who actually work towards being a member of a community and doing a service, and destroying them. Big business is bad for humanity as a whole.