Happy Free Comic Book Day

Happy Free Comic Book Day

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Free Comic Book Day. It's the greatest holiday that Hallmark didn't invent and Christians didn't usurp from pagans. Given those criteria, it may the only such holiday. They had some pretty good indie books this year and--amongst the mainstream books--an intriguing Runaways/X-Men book with awful, awful art.

While I was in the shop, I also picked up the second volume of Doomed, the magazine of short stories and comics put out by IDW in which the protagonists of each respective narrative never survive their story arcs. Think of it as the spiritual successor to EC's Vault of Horror and Tales from the Crypt. I also picked up the first volume of Gotham Central because I dig Brubaker's work. (You can also admire his brilliance in Sleeper and the current run of Captain America.)

Reading:

Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution, Michael J. Behe

The Hero with a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell

D

The Hero's journey

The Hero's journey

I started reading The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell last night, and it's absolutely fascinating. On the surface it's just a book about the (general) Hero's journey across all mythologies, but Campbell brings in Jung and Freud (although he focuses on the former) in emphasizing his point that the symbolism used in mythological tales is the same symbolic short-hand used in dreams. While I don't agree with him in general, his passion for the subjects of mythology and the collective unconscious are infectious. While his arguments didn't fully convince me that mythology culls from the same pot of dream, I am convinced that his claims are true in limited cases. I whole-heartedly recommend the book to anyone interested in dreams or mythology.

In related news, I've become convinced that the Internet is the physical (or at least visual) translation of Carl Jung's notion of the collective unconscious. Perhaps later I'll go into detail.

Reading:

Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution, Michael J. Behe

The Hero with a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell

Runaways Vol. 5: Escape to New York, Brian K Vaughan, Adrian Alphona, Takeshi Miyazawa (Finished.)

Marbles in my Underpants, Renee French (Finished.)

D

*Please insert girder*

*Please insert girder*

Not that I doubted the predictive power of "Futurama", but I felt pretty confident that robots that drink liquor would've been one of the less accurate visions of our future. Clearly I've been proven wrong.

And to Kate and Eric: I maintain my stance that robots don't want to ultimately take over the world as you both claim. They will only ingratiate themselves into our culture to look for amiable drinking partners and--at the end of day--isn't that what we're all doing?

Reading:

Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution, Michael J. Behe

Runaways Vol. 5: Escape to New York, Brian K Vaughan, Adrian Alphona, Takeshi Miyazawa

Marbles in my Underpants, Renee French

Watching:

My Neighbor Totoro

D

As below, so above

As below, so above

Here's an interesting little article for my Illinois people about Illinois state legislature that, if passed, could bring about impeachment procedings for the President of the United States.

D

Blackout

Blackout

Man, I've been off radar for at least a week now, and I guess it's time I start with the face time again. I spent all of last week playing video games. I made it through Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (PS2) and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC) while dabbling with Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2), Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (GC) and Starfox Adventures (GC).

So now I'm trying to talk to people again--slowly but surely--and read the comics that I've had staring at me the past few months. It's going well. Moreso the comics-reading than the people-talking, but...

Watching:

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

Reading:

Top Ten: The Forty-Niners, Alan Moore, Gene Ha (Finished.)

Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron, Daniel Clowes (Finished. Brilliant.)

Black Hole, Charles Burns

Listening to:

KCRW

Playing:

Resident Evil 4 (GC)

Marvel Nemesis (GC)

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS)

Brain Age (DS)

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (DS)

D