Review of misfortune, By Johnathan

Ha-ha! I am back in business, kind of! 

See, I bought Spore the day it came out, and excitedly fired that sucker up. I played for a while, delightedly, and then... melted my video card. So it's been an Internet-less week, though quasi-ironically not a Spore-less one, as my roommate has it for his Mac (and for his iPod). Man, that game is so JOHN APPROVED! As is my coworker Michael, who gave me an old card to get me running again until Monday, when I will purchase a video card able to handle the fury of the Das Kapitalist civilization.

Being offline? NOT APPROVED.

Hockey + Comics = An Awesome Prize

Alright guys! I have an awesome prize to give away to one lucky reader! This is a prize that is SO AWESOME that I figure I can pretty much make you do anything to win it.

First of all, do you guys know that Darwyn Cooke has been nominated for an Emmy award for The New Frontier (Outstanding animated program for programming one hour or more)? Good luck in L.A., Darwyn!

And on that note, here's the prize I have to give away: A signed copy of Darwyn Cooke's very new, very limited art book. This book was available at this year's Comic Con, and is now only available in select Canadian comic shops. The book is a hardcover retrospective of Cooke's work from 1998 to the present. If you like looking at page after page of stunning art, then you will probably like this book.

This fabulous prize is, as always, courtesy of Strange Adventures Comic Shops.

SO...I figure that since this is a distinctly Canadian prize, and because I am already jealous of whoever wins this because I don't even own a copy of this book, I am going to make y'all do something that will delight and entertain me.

I like two things: comic books and hockey. If you want a shot at winning this book all you have to do is draw a picture of a super hero playing hockey. Then scan it and post it somewhere and link to it in the comment section. Here's a couple of examples to get the creative juices flowing:

Matt (my husband) sketched this at a restaurant while we were waiting for our food:
And here's what I came up with in a hurry:

As you can see by my submission, you don't need to be a great artist to enter this contest. I'm not picking the best drawing. Anyone who makes an honest attempt will be entered into a draw. The winner takes it all.

I'll give it a week or two. Good luck!

Vote for Me!

Hi guys!

I'm not, y'know, trying to pressure you or anything...but if you like my blog and you feel like doing this you could vote for me in the category of Best Local Blog in The Coast's Best of Halifax survey. Particularly if you live in the Halifax area, or are familiar enough with Halifax to fill out at least ten categories.

And even if you aren't...I have some suggestions:

Best Local Website: could also be Living Between Wednesdays!
Best Salesperson: Dave Howlett at Strange Adventures. He has seriously earned it and anyone who shops there knows it.
Best Author: Darwyn Cooke or Faith Erin Hicks
Best Comic Artist: Darwyn Cooke, Steve McNiven, Faith Erin Hicks, or Mike Holmes
Best Halifamous person: Darwyn Cooke
Best Visual Artist: Paul Hammond and Seth Smith of Yo!Rodeo
Best Comedian: Picnicface
Best Comic Store: Strange Adventures!
Best Independent Book Seller: Strange Adventures
Best Local Film: 6015 Willow

There! Those are ten official endorsements by me.

Vote here!

This Week's Haul: New Format

Here are some comics you shouldn't miss this week:

Jonah Hex #35

Why?: Because JH Williams III does the art. And that's all the reason you need. But if you need more, then how about the fact that Palmiotti and Gray come up with a story that takes full advantage of the artist's incredible talent.

Plus...a couple drugs Jonah Hex and attempts to rape him. Yeah, that's what I said.

Green Lantern #34

Why?: Because it's the penultimate issue of Geoff Johns' awesome Secret Origins story, and Hal and Sinestro are pretty entertaining in it. And because Hal tells Sinestro "#$%& you," which Sinestro's ring is unable to translate.

And Ivan Reis continues to throw down fantastic art.

Secret Six #1

Why?: Because it's back! And it's an ongoing! And it's Gail Simone with Nicola Scott (and Cliff Chiang covers, at least for the first couple of issues)! And Catman and Deadshot go shopping for ice cream for Scandal's birthday. And because Deadshot is hilarious.

Manhunter #34

Why?: Because this series is great and if you don't buy it they will take it away again.

Amazing Spider-Man #570

Why?: Venom vs Venom...and it doesn't even suck! Plus Romita Jr's been rocking the art.

AND ALSO...

Showcase Presents Superman Volume 4

Why?: Because the cover is worth $16.99 alone. Look at it! I could look at that all day.

And besides that, it's 500 pages and every single panel will blow your mind.

How's this for a new format? I want to do weekly comic reviews, but I don't have time for all the scanning that I used to do. I also don't have the webspace for it anymore.

Portable Winter Soldier

I don't know about you guys, but I really like those Marvel Classic lead figurines that Eaglemoss has been putting out.

And coming soon...Winter Soldier!!

Oh, sexy Winter Soldier. There you are in all your shaggy-haired glory. Machine gun, bionic arm...sexy, sexy leg holster. I could spend years in the trenches with you.

This is a guaranteed way for me to die of lead poisoning. I cannot guarantee that I will not lick this figurine.

And since we're on the subject of these rad lead figures, coming soon from Eaglemoss...DC lead figurines!!! Oh man...I can't wait for...all of them.

Check out Lex Luthor:

Awesome. I want a Booster Gold and a Blue Beetle! And a Jonah Hex! And a Batgirl! And a Phantom Stranger! And five Batmans! Eeeee!

I'm the birthday boy or girl!

It's my birthday!

My gift to you is my favourite still from the Justice League cartoon:

If ever they were going to kiss, this would have been their moment.

And this link, which my friend sent me. Some brilliant person amassed a collection of Kermit the Frog photos which mirror photos of Christian Bale. It's amazing: CHECK IT OUT!