bullet point randomness about comics, movies, etc. because I'm bored

• Spiderman 3-Can't work up any interest.  Liked the first movie a lot, missed the second one in theaters and have never seen it as whole.  Have seen hefty chunks at various times, though, and pretty much been bored.  Also?  They've already done Gwen with MJ.  Like the Ultimate titles, there's really no point in bringing Gwen in now because her story's already been done.  Yeah, that's the comic book fan in me talking as opposed to the movie goer, but there you have it.
• Comics-Speaking of comics, April's comics are on their way here and I still have some February and a number of March titles sitting there unread.  Some titles, like 52, it's because they're rather daunting, and others, like Blade of the Immortal and Jack of Fables are NSFW in one of the issues I'm backed up on, but mostly, I think I'm just disassociating myself with comics in general.  It tends to happen when Marvel messes with Thunderbolts(last time they revamped it, my pull list was 3 comics, 2 of which were minis, and then I discovered CrossGen)  I need a new comic to get excited about.  Yeah, Black Canary by Tony Bedard is a step in the right direction, but it's a minor excitement, not enough for me to really get worked up about.  Scratch some of that-mailman just knocked on the door with April comics.
• Pirates of the Caribbean-Can't wait for POTC 2, and seriously hope the right 'ship wins out.  And by that I mean Will/Elizabeth.  Because, yeah, Jack/Elizabeth have chemistry, but it's the "Hot sex and kill each other in a month if we get together" kind.  I'll take the 'ship that actually has a chance at a happy life and a loving relationship.  Not to mention they're the ones who tend to do things like tear up the Caribbean looking for each other and be willing to do anything for each other.  Sorry, but, in comparison to Will, Jack barely registers on Elizabeth's radar(actually, that's true of anything that's not Will except for her father and possibly Norrington, and that's mostly out of guilt)  If the kraken had been after Will, well, Elizabeth certainly wouldn'tr have done what she did to Jack to him.  And the compass bit?  It's the freedom and lifestyle that attracts her, not the man.  (None of this is to say that I don't adore Jack because I do.)
• Manga-I need a new manga to get excited about.  Red River is a possibility, but I don't know.  You know my wants-good story, swords, usually fantasy or historical, interesting characters, hopefully a bit or romance, etc.  That said, the most recent new manga I got excited about was Chika Shiomi's stuff(shojo horror, strong heroine centric), and before that, Full Metal Alchemist(Shonen action, alternate history, very plot and setup driven, 'ships are great but almost never a main focus, which is part of why they're great), so obviously I'm not TOO strict about some points.
• (I say I want a new series to get excited about, but I still have a backlog and a stack of stuff that's just come out that I don't have yet...)
• The Golden Age-Wish it was out already.  Probably the only movie coming out this year besides POTC 3 that I'm excited about.
• Books-I probably need to leave off fantasy/urban fantasy for a bit out of fear of burning out.  Unfortunately, I don't seem to currently have my hands on many other books I feel like reading that isn't in that genre.

*starts food and starts sorting through the box of comics*

bullet point randomness about comics, movies, etc. because I'm bored

• Spiderman 3-Can't work up any interest.  Liked the first movie a lot, missed the second one in theaters and have never seen it as whole.  Have seen hefty chunks at various times, though, and pretty much been bored.  Also?  They've already done Gwen with MJ.  Like the Ultimate titles, there's really no point in bringing Gwen in now because her story's already been done.  Yeah, that's the comic book fan in me talking as opposed to the movie goer, but there you have it.
• Comics-Speaking of comics, April's comics are on their way here and I still have some February and a number of March titles sitting there unread.  Some titles, like 52, it's because they're rather daunting, and others, like Blade of the Immortal and Jack of Fables are NSFW in one of the issues I'm backed up on, but mostly, I think I'm just disassociating myself with comics in general.  It tends to happen when Marvel messes with Thunderbolts(last time they revamped it, my pull list was 3 comics, 2 of which were minis, and then I discovered CrossGen)  I need a new comic to get excited about.  Yeah, Black Canary by Tony Bedard is a step in the right direction, but it's a minor excitement, not enough for me to really get worked up about.  Scratch some of that-mailman just knocked on the door with April comics.
• Pirates of the Caribbean-Can't wait for POTC 2, and seriously hope the right 'ship wins out.  And by that I mean Will/Elizabeth.  Because, yeah, Jack/Elizabeth have chemistry, but it's the "Hot sex and kill each other in a month if we get together" kind.  I'll take the 'ship that actually has a chance at a happy life and a loving relationship.  Not to mention they're the ones who tend to do things like tear up the Caribbean looking for each other and be willing to do anything for each other.  Sorry, but, in comparison to Will, Jack barely registers on Elizabeth's radar(actually, that's true of anything that's not Will except for her father and possibly Norrington, and that's mostly out of guilt)  If the kraken had been after Will, well, Elizabeth certainly wouldn'tr have done what she did to Jack to him.  And the compass bit?  It's the freedom and lifestyle that attracts her, not the man.  (None of this is to say that I don't adore Jack because I do.)
• Manga-I need a new manga to get excited about.  Red River is a possibility, but I don't know.  You know my wants-good story, swords, usually fantasy or historical, interesting characters, hopefully a bit or romance, etc.  That said, the most recent new manga I got excited about was Chika Shiomi's stuff(shojo horror, strong heroine centric), and before that, Full Metal Alchemist(Shonen action, alternate history, very plot and setup driven, 'ships are great but almost never a main focus, which is part of why they're great), so obviously I'm not TOO strict about some points.
• (I say I want a new series to get excited about, but I still have a backlog and a stack of stuff that's just come out that I don't have yet...)
• The Golden Age-Wish it was out already.  Probably the only movie coming out this year besides POTC 3 that I'm excited about.
• Books-I probably need to leave off fantasy/urban fantasy for a bit out of fear of burning out.  Unfortunately, I don't seem to currently have my hands on many other books I feel like reading that isn't in that genre.

*starts food and starts sorting through the box of comics*

Comics backlog

Inspire me to get some read so I'll stop feeling like I'm neglecting them.

( list )

Comics backlog

Inspire me to get some read so I'll stop feeling like I'm neglecting them.

( list )

reading update

First:  BAH! Waldenbooks still didn't have any of my manga in.  *growls and sulks*  Wish Amazon had them in the 4-for-3 sale so I could just get them that way.  They did still have a few boxes in back, though, so maybe tomorrow.

Saiyuki Reload Vol 7 by Kazuya Minekura-I'm starting to get bored with this "Worm" story(not the full title, but I can't recall it off the top of my head.  The story itself is interesting, but Hazel is a hypocritcal holier-than-thou little prat who doesn't have the decency to to at least be interesting to compensate.  The storyline itself and the impact it has on Sanzo's group, especially Sanzo himself and Gojyo's reaction to that, is interesting but too much of it relies on Hazel, and I wanted him to just go away already a couple books ago.  Also?  No Kougaiji.  Not even a cameo.  *feels deprived*

Night of the Beasts Vol 3 by Chika Shiomi-Did I mention this is the OTP from hell?  Just in case I didn't: OTP. FROM. HELL.  Seriously.  That said, I like this book more and more each volume.  Aria's a VERY strong heroine without falling into the "I'm so badass" cliche-she wants her boyfriend back, the demons gone, and all these whiners to stand up for themselves and quit whining for her to save them from the big bad guy whose death they've been screaming for for years(yeah, I have about as much sympathy for the whiners as she does) who would have left them all alone if they hadn't constantly hounded him and given Kagara a way to take over by forcing him to defend himself.  And for all that he's playing the "damsel in distress" role and is essentially dormant in his own body, Sakura still manages to be protective...and pull off a very "EEEE!!!" worthy rescue.  And Akiya?  Sure, there are plenty of creepy manga villains out there, but he's one of the few who actually gives me a bit of the creeps.  *loves it and wishes the series was longer*

The Dark Mirror by Juliet Marillier-The first in Marillier's new series, this one is about the pict, specifically, about the pictish king, Bridei.  This is, I think, the first time she's made her main character be a real person, even if little is known about it.  It's not based as much on known history and oral tradition as her other books, but that's ok.  We don't know as much about the Picts as we do about the Celts, or the vikings and people of the Orkneys.  She essentially took what we do know and filled in the holes with similar traditions and beliefs of the time, primarily the Celts.  I liked the book quite a bit(but then, I have yet to NOT like one of her books) though I'm curious to see how it'll go...this is the first time she'll be sticking with one lead from book to book, her other series have been generational.  Incidentally, one of the things that I like about her books is that her characters-the girls tend to be 14-16 and the guys 17-20~- manage to be very much like they would have been in the time period, and the romantic relationships are very well developed and manage to avoid feeling wrong when the ages are taken into consideration, because it fits.

reading update

First:  BAH! Waldenbooks still didn't have any of my manga in.  *growls and sulks*  Wish Amazon had them in the 4-for-3 sale so I could just get them that way.  They did still have a few boxes in back, though, so maybe tomorrow.

Saiyuki Reload Vol 7 by Kazuya Minekura-I'm starting to get bored with this "Worm" story(not the full title, but I can't recall it off the top of my head.  The story itself is interesting, but Hazel is a hypocritcal holier-than-thou little prat who doesn't have the decency to to at least be interesting to compensate.  The storyline itself and the impact it has on Sanzo's group, especially Sanzo himself and Gojyo's reaction to that, is interesting but too much of it relies on Hazel, and I wanted him to just go away already a couple books ago.  Also?  No Kougaiji.  Not even a cameo.  *feels deprived*

Night of the Beasts Vol 3 by Chika Shiomi-Did I mention this is the OTP from hell?  Just in case I didn't: OTP. FROM. HELL.  Seriously.  That said, I like this book more and more each volume.  Aria's a VERY strong heroine without falling into the "I'm so badass" cliche-she wants her boyfriend back, the demons gone, and all these whiners to stand up for themselves and quit whining for her to save them from the big bad guy whose death they've been screaming for for years(yeah, I have about as much sympathy for the whiners as she does) who would have left them all alone if they hadn't constantly hounded him and given Kagara a way to take over by forcing him to defend himself.  And for all that he's playing the "damsel in distress" role and is essentially dormant in his own body, Sakura still manages to be protective...and pull off a very "EEEE!!!" worthy rescue.  And Akiya?  Sure, there are plenty of creepy manga villains out there, but he's one of the few who actually gives me a bit of the creeps.  *loves it and wishes the series was longer*

The Dark Mirror by Juliet Marillier-The first in Marillier's new series, this one is about the pict, specifically, about the pictish king, Bridei.  This is, I think, the first time she's made her main character be a real person, even if little is known about it.  It's not based as much on known history and oral tradition as her other books, but that's ok.  We don't know as much about the Picts as we do about the Celts, or the vikings and people of the Orkneys.  She essentially took what we do know and filled in the holes with similar traditions and beliefs of the time, primarily the Celts.  I liked the book quite a bit(but then, I have yet to NOT like one of her books) though I'm curious to see how it'll go...this is the first time she'll be sticking with one lead from book to book, her other series have been generational.  Incidentally, one of the things that I like about her books is that her characters-the girls tend to be 14-16 and the guys 17-20~- manage to be very much like they would have been in the time period, and the romantic relationships are very well developed and manage to avoid feeling wrong when the ages are taken into consideration, because it fits.

Jo Chen

I rarely latch on to artists, certainly not as much as others do(unless it hurts, I tend to look at the art after the story and characters) but there are exceptions, one such exception is Jo Chen.

For those who don't know, Jo Chen is a manga and comic book cover artist. Most notably, she does the covers for the Runaways and Buffy series.  Unfortunately, she's slow, so she doesn't do interior work *sad* and her manga, as far as I know, hasn't been licensed.  But she makes very, very pretty pictures.  See?

( more pics )

Jo Chen

I rarely latch on to artists, certainly not as much as others do(unless it hurts, I tend to look at the art after the story and characters) but there are exceptions, one such exception is Jo Chen.

For those who don't know, Jo Chen is a manga and comic book cover artist. Most notably, she does the covers for the Runaways and Buffy series.  Unfortunately, she's slow, so she doesn't do interior work *sad* and her manga, as far as I know, hasn't been licensed.  But she makes very, very pretty pictures.  See?

( more pics )

cdrama: Heroic Legend

Ok, last drama I heard of and my eyes glazed over with "WANT!!!" so think and fast?  Damo.  We know how that went.  Short version? "If Basara were a dorama."



what d.wiki has to say:  The central plot focuses on a girl named Yun Lei (Fan Bing Bing) seeking revenge for her grandfather's death. Unfortunately, the person most responsible for his death is the father of Zhang Dan Feng (Huang Hai Bing), a man she has mutually fallen in love with. There are also subplots like Zhang Dan Feng's father planning to stage a coup and start his own dynasty, the touching, but tragic romance between the princess (Sun Fei Fei) and Yun Lei's brother (Ma Shang You), and the black and white twins (Mao Ning in dual roles). - Lady Zhuge 

wwwwwwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnttttttttttttttt

cdrama: Heroic Legend

Ok, last drama I heard of and my eyes glazed over with "WANT!!!" so think and fast?  Damo.  We know how that went.  Short version? "If Basara were a dorama."



what d.wiki has to say:  The central plot focuses on a girl named Yun Lei (Fan Bing Bing) seeking revenge for her grandfather's death. Unfortunately, the person most responsible for his death is the father of Zhang Dan Feng (Huang Hai Bing), a man she has mutually fallen in love with. There are also subplots like Zhang Dan Feng's father planning to stage a coup and start his own dynasty, the touching, but tragic romance between the princess (Sun Fei Fei) and Yun Lei's brother (Ma Shang You), and the black and white twins (Mao Ning in dual roles). - Lady Zhuge 

wwwwwwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnttttttttttttttt