Professor

"Fucked in his symbiotic soul vagina" not only made me laugh out loud while I was listening at work, but it made me laugh out loud while in line at the bank on the 'after credits' bonus. Well played sirs, well played.

Rat Catcher - Decent crime story, but rather predictable. I called all the 'twists' well before they happened. What I really did enjoy was the format. Digest sized hardcover printed in black and white. Felt right for this kind of story. Graphic Novels: 1

My final count of the year. Like Des, I am pretty proud of that. After years of saying I would start reading comics again, I finally did. Now that I am back in the swing of things, I want to read more of the comics I own. Read mostly trades from the library and related issues. I have so many full runs & mini series that I need to put a dent into this year. Here's hoping.

I actually watched things in the past week. This is a new thing for me. Going The Distance - I like that this avoids the general Rom-Com trap of the simple misunderstanding that causes the breakup to happen. The breakup happens for real reasons and things go from there. Everything else about this is average. Friends With Benefits - Timberlake carries this movie to average. Without him, it would have been much worse. She's Out Of My League - Shit. None of these people are likable. Leap Year - This was bad. Paint by numbers rom-com that never colored outside the lines. In fact, I don't think it went near the lines for fear of going outside. Superman vs. The Elite - Decent set up, poor climax. Superman's final plan/actions seems a bit out of character. And the voice of Lois doesn't fit. Justice League: Doom - Uninspired and lackluster. Seems like everyone is just going through the motions. Get Him To The Greek - Haven't seen this since I saw it in the theatre. It still makes me laugh. Yes, it is stupid and over the top, but it does have a bit of heart mixed in. And I love the ridiculous soundtrack.

Finally getting around to watching the non-documentary discs of the CM Punk set. Random thoughts during Disc II: - This Brent Albright match seems like an odd choice to put on the disc. Seems like they would have had a better match at some point, without the injury angle that grinded everything to a halt. - Watching old Punk is odd. Most wrestlers seem to age 15 years in every 3. Punk actually looks the same, if not younger than he does during these OVW/ECW matches. I think it has much to do with him being really huge for his frame during that time period. Somewhat linked; I seemed to be looking at his tattoo progression as well. - Manu. He was no Bam Neely. - The crowd during the Morrison match seemed to be super sweetened. Everyone on the hard camera side looked rather silent until the finish, which did not jive with the crowd noise. - Kofi and Cody has improved a lot since 2008. At least with Kofi, it is easy to think he has been the exact same since his debut. Watching this, he is much smoother and sure of what to do. - I remember when MVP made his debut and I hated his ring gear. Looking back, it was awesome. It was different and made him stand out. - William Regal is special. Every little thing he did during this match added something. Also, nice to see a No DQ match were the rope break rule was not still enforced. Logical.

Uncanny X-Men: Nation X - Beyond Magneto showing up, this felt like a nothing story. Like I said with Utopia, it was too early to move the team out of San Fransisco. I get that the X-Men is all about being an oppressed and shunned. But if that is what your book is 100% of the time, it gets old. Ever since M-Day, it has been a non-stop shit-fest fest for mutants. Moving west and being accepted gave the book a much needed change in tone. It gave the X-Men a feeling of happiness. They finally found a place to be themselves. I know that having a 100% sunshine and puppies book is not going to work either. But you need that to make the inevitable turn for the worse mean more. In comic book time, I would estimate they were in SF for all of a month? In real time, we got three storielines and then shitstorm. It may be the rapid reading of the X-Men books, but all this non-stop gloom just gets old after a while. SF was something different and had more possibilities than were given. I think I need take a break from mutants for a while. Comics: 178 Graphic Novels: 2 Trades: 202 (1212)

X-Men: Utopia - Seems a bit early to be leaving San Fransisco. Seems a bit early to be shitting on the X-Men again. I get it. They are hated and feared. Blah. Let them be accepted and loved for a little while. Not a fan of the Dark Reign stuff either. Comics: 178 Graphic Novels: 2 Trades: 201 (1199)

They tried to have Striker on commentary for Smackdown and PPV's. That all ended at Royal Rumble 2011, when he started "Marking out" for the returns of Booker T and Diesel. Yes, he actually said "I'm marking out right now" during the commentary for the match. That, and The King and Cole supposedly hated working with him. I was more talking about a Sport Science ripoff than having Striker on commentary. He didn't gel well with anybody.

Finished a few DVD releases this week: Top 50 Finishers - It is a list DVD, so you know what you are getting going in. Only notes are that Regal & Striker are the only ones pointing out how and why these moves are 'effective'. RAW is 3 hours. Give Striker three minutes each week to explain some moves. I think it would help someone like Cesaro really get his finish over. Or help guys like Barrett when they switch finishes. ECW Unreleased, Vol. 1 - ECW is one of those things were I will always watch new DVDs, and afterwards wonder why. I am not a fan of the big mainstays, so I don't get it. I enjoy the Guerrero/Malenko ECW. I really enjoy the Yoshihiro Tajiri ECW. Not so much the Sabu, RVD, Sandman ECW. But for some reason I love Masato Tanaka and his incredibly stupid life choices. Falls Count Anywhere & Ladder Match 2 - Only way I made it thru these was to alternate between the two and ECW and taking two months. Match after match of the same gimmick match gets old real fast. I will at least give the Ladder match DVD credit for adding in non-WWE stuff. Even if the SMW Candido vs. Smothers match (for $2500) was so poorly thought out. Or the OVW womens match that was rather bad. They were different and I give credit for that.

I got nothing. Fun times.

Uncanny X-Men: Lovelorn (#504-507, A2) - I hadn't noticed until this book, but there really isn't a team anymore. It is the Scott & Emma show feat. Wolverine. It should annoy me more (like it did in earlier books), but with the wagon train moving west, I can just go with it. Now Uncanny is the mutant book, more than a team book. As for this story, it is weak. The science team forming is rather paint by numbers. Uncanny X-Men: Sisterhood (#508-512) - I read this earlier in the year, out of context. Reading it now, it is more confusing in a way. Until the villains attack, there is not sense of flow. Wolverine gets bad news that pisses him off. His response is to go recruit Northstar and not track down the people who messed with him. There is a massive psychic attack. No one cares, it is as if it never happened. And I was unaware that Psylocke was missing. If she was, then we just did this. Just sloppy writing. Comics: 168 Graphic Novels: 2 Trades: 201 (1199)

Uncanny X-Men: Divided We Stand (#495-499) - Kinda a letdown after Messiah Complex. Not in that this is a light, 'goofy' story. The first issue is what I wanted. X-Men 'disbanded' and everyone doing their own thing. I wanted more of that. Having forgettable fights made this, well, forgettable. I read this about ten hours ago and I was drawing a blank on what happened outside of the first issue. A missed opportunity for some deep character development. Uncanny X-Men: Manifest Destiny (#500-503) - For some reason, I was expecting something more epic. Maybe it was the trade title, but I was thinking EVENT!!~! and I got a short, simple story with set-up for things ahead. The back-up material is simple, but the David Yardin art on the Karma story really stood out. It was donkey ass. X-Men: Manifest Destiny - And this is why I hate these X-Men trades. This collects Wolverine: Manifest Destiny. Marvel, your naming system does not work. Also, would it kill you to have some sort of reading order listed in these trades. I have to use google. You list the available trades on the inside back cover already. Just put them into a damn reading order. Oh, this book is okay. Standard Wolverine doing Wolverine shit, rougher art that fits. Back-up material is back-up material. Comics: 168 Graphic Novels: 2 Trades: 200 (1194)

It is just so very, very pretty.

I found an unopened box of these while at the Salvo today: I honestly do not know how I resisted the urge to buy them. I really want that free t-shirt.

I am happy that I know exactly one person in that video.

CSI: Demon House / CSI: Dying in the Gutters - Because I hate myself. The latter is mildly amusing for two seconds to see random comic creators being bags of douche. Comics: 168 Graphic Novels: 2 Trades: 197 (1175)

X-Men: Messiah Complex - Was not a fan. Again, it just seems like a hard left turn for the X-Universe right when things had momentum. I think reading this now, with knowledge of all the twist, turns, shocks (& and baby chests) made for a rather blah reading experience. And this book just has too many people running around for its own good. At one point, I felt like I was trying to read all 200 remaining mutants at once. In the big end fight, I have no idea who is doing what with who. And I know I said this when I read the Civil War tie-ins, but Layla Miller is just incredibly annoying. "I know stuff". Just shut the fuck up. This vague knowledge shit is not endearing or clever; it is a convenience. Maybe it plays better in X-Factor, but based on my 5 issue sampling, it has put me off from reading X-Factor anytime soon. Comics: 168 Graphic Novels: 2 Trades: 195 (1165)

Uncanny X-Men: Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire (#475-486) - I really enjoyed this, much to my surprise. Given my general dislike of the Shi'ar, I think I went into this with low expectations. My only real complaints are the inclusion of Warpath and the lack of an ending. Warpath seems like a completely random person to use. And the lack of an ending if more of a lacking of a place to read the further adventures of the space team. Uncanny X-Men: The eXtremists (#487-491) - Solid, but unspectacular. Also, Xavier has been coming off as the biggest douche in this run. He certainly has moved to the dark, dark grey area. X-Men: Endangered Species - I like this, in that it really drives home that M-Day is absolute. There is no way of changing things. Not Science, not magic, not time travel. Nothing. I gives the real feelings of hopelessness that I think will tie into Messiah Complex. Which just so happens to be next on my list. Comics: 168 Graphic Novels: 2 Trades: 194 (1152)

Uncanny X-Men #441-474 - Claremont picking up where X-Treme left of, kinda. You can tell he is running out of steam. The real team aspect that I liked in X-Treme is gone by moving everyone back to the school. And House of M killed dead any momentum that the book may have had. I know I felt the same thing with New X-Men, and I am sure it will be the same when I read X-Men. After 75-ish issues of Claremont, I am looking forward to someone else in the X-Universe. Batman: The Brave & The Bold - Batman wearing a top hat riding a dragon. Boom. Comics: 168 Graphic Novels: 2 Trades: 191 (1127)

I just watched this as well and I agree. If you kill someone off, make it Jet Li (because he fucks off ten minutes in anyways) or Randy Couture (because he really adds nothing and is easily the least memorable of the group).

And I finished the first season last night and was all sad.

X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills - I enjoyed this. Nice to read an X-Men comic when there are not 58 characters, and no one is massively overpowered. X-Treme X-Men - I would say I enjoyed this the most out of the three X-Books of the time. Not to say it is perfect, but this feels like a team, with natural departures and additions. The first half of the series is better than the second, more due to a somewhat aimless feel and Storm. Storm is just a mess of a character during the latter issues, and I don't think I followed the point of her solo story. At the end, I would have liked to see this team stay on the west coast and not be a part of the X-line reshuffle. And since I read the above Graphic Novel because this contains the 'sequel', I feel I should add my thoughts. It wasn't bad, but I don't think it should have been called God Loves, Man Kills II. This takes William Stryker, just a powerfully connected man with the power of speech, and turns him into just another mutant hating man with a gun. And body armor. It just altogether seems false. Add in that when I Wiki'ed him to see if he made any appearances between the stories (no), and I had forgotten that he was the villain in the New X-Men series that I liked. And I just read that, less than six months ago. Just a disconnect in my brain between the original character and what became of him. Comics: 139 Graphic Novels: 2 Trades: 189 (1115)

Marvel Age Iron Man - Not a much fun as the other Marvel Age books. Not really enough variation in the stories either. Marvel Age Gus Beezer - Insanely fast read that is rather bland. I get the idea (put the child reader in the story itself), but the main character is just annoying, rather than a gateway. Comics: 86 Graphic Novels: 1 Trades: 189 (1115)

In what may be the best video ever, Jim Harbaugh on Saved By The Bell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIR8EW3riZc