loudnbothered

Really small week. So only expect like 2 reviews. Don't worry, Midtown Comics shall be avenged next week.

HARDCOVERS:
Hellboy: House of the Living Dead (Dark Horse, $14.99 print): Truth be told, I'm not the biggiest Hellboy dude. But I like Richard Coben and ton, and David Brothers said this story was dope. For less than $10 I paid for it via BnN giftcards, I agree. It's a "lost" story where Hellboy spends some time in Mexico as a wrestler, gets drunk a lot, fights Frakenstein's monster, and then makes me depressed. It's great, and if you're only familiar w/ Hellboy from the movies, you won't be that lost.

TLDR: YOU BUY NOW!


SINGLE ISSUES!

Astonishing X-Men #46
(Marvel, $3.99 Digital and Print). I really like AXM for the simple fact it's mostly continuity free story arcs done by specific creative teams for 4-12 issues. George Pax and Mike McKone are doing a 6 issue arc where post-Schism Cyke teams up with various X-men from alternate realities, referring a ton of different AU stories. It's not status-quo changing, but it does a nice job of examining Cyke's mind post- Schism. You maybe be better of trade-waiting it though, especially at $4 and issue.

TLDR: Solid stuff, but as a part 3 of 5, not exactly the best entry point.






That was it for the week. HOWEVER, 2 trades to finish up, and like 4-5 books dropping this week will ensure a bigger post next week.

In an attempt to keep me writing daily without having to resort to fandom Role-playing and/or Fanfiction (sparring the world from my Oracle X Emma Frost saga/shipping....what it could make sense....), I've decided to convert my dying LJ into a comics blog of sorts. Nothing special, just a summary of what I bought each week, what I liked/disliked, in addition to anything I borrow, buy in trade or read on Marvel Digital. With any luck, I can get some discussions going, and maybe get some people to buy some cool comics in the process. Worst case scenario, endles shipping discussions.

What I pulled this week/What trades I recently acquired:

Trades:
Fueled by alcohol, I picked up 2 new collections over the weekend: Esstenial X-Men volume 2 & Deadpool MAX volume 2. EXM collects both "Days of Future Past" and "The Dark Phoenix Saga", 2 trades I've never read, plus introduces a ton of new folk to the X-universe, like Kitty Pryde, Emma Frost, the Hellfire Club, amongst othesr. While the 30+ year material is a bit dated, it's still pretty damn enjoyable, considering it's a ton of issues for a phonebook sized collection at $20. Also this particular run of Claremont/Byrne stories influenced so much X-stuff, it isn't even funny. Worth your time.

I've only browsed some of DP Max volume 2, but this book looks so good it isn't even funny. I don't want to shit on Daniel Way, who helms the solo Deadpool book, but his book is easily the weakest of the monthly 'Pool stuff (the other 2 being MAX and Uncanny X-Force). On topic, DP Max is a stand alone Deadpool book, which casts Pool as a deranged yet loveable goverment killing machine. Several Marvel characters are recasted in this universe, and it's delightful. Go buy this and volume 1, and assuming you're not a big fan of the multi-voice ADD Deadpool Way's writing, you'll probably end up loving it.

What I pulled this week:
Batman #5 (DC Comics $2.99, available in print and digital) BOOK OF THE WEEK!
Yo Scott Snyder can do no wrong when it comes to Batman. I'm usually not the biggest Batguy unless Grant Morrison's involved, but Snyder's Batman is probably right up there w/ Animal Man as far as my favorite new relaunch title. Let's discuss the art first: Greg Capullo has gone from Todd McFarlane light to Ryan Ottley's Vertigo influenced brother (I mean this in the best way possibly), probably because he's paired up with Ottley's former colorist (which as an Invincible fan, is killing me!) . He's excelling on every front, going from some insane panel/page layouts, to some legit sad panels of a son missing his dad Everything about this book is so very, very good, while being very, very, twisted.
The premise of this arc is this: There's supposedly a secret society who's been ruling Gotham for over a century. They've never felt threatened by the Bat, as he's usually content solving their super criminal problem for them. But when Bruce Wayne has some ideas to improve Gotham, the Court of Owls get all pissy about this, and decide it's time for Wayne to die. Obviously this does not sit well with the Batman, who's determined to stop this from happening obviously, and it's not going well for him. This issue shows just how bad things are for the Bat, as he gets his ass handed to him on a physical and mental level. I'm usually not a big fan of these "OH YEAH, THESE GUYS WERE HERE THE WHOLE TIME" angles for stories, and I'm glad Bruce/Snyder is addressing that as well. Are the Owls what they say there are, or are they exploting some Gotham urban myth? Either way, I'm really glad Snyder is continuing with his world building of Gotham city, turning it into a character itself.
TLDR: This book is great, you should go buy it.

Daredevil #8 ($2.99, Marvel, Print only)
Comics are a very visual medium, and someone at Marvel knew this when they assigned Mark Waid some of the BEST artists in Marvel's stable. DD for the last 8 issues is one of Marvel's sharpest looking book, having the dynamic Silver Age look mesh with today's sensibilites. That and Mark Waid has been writing the HELL out of these scripts. Bendis' fantastic DD run was hugely influenced by Frank Miller's legendary run, so Waid deciding to go back to DD's roots helps to make a different, yet still amazing book. Issue 8 is a crossover with it's brother book, Amazing Spider-Man, and while you don't have to read Amazing, you should because it was also a well written/drawn book that obviously leads into this story. Had Batman not dropped this week, this would have been my book of the week. It's part 2 of a crossover involving Spidey & DD dealing with a Black Cat framed for a crime she's not responsible for, and eventually ties heavily into what's been going down in DD these last couple of issues.
TLDR: Go buy the Daredevil Hardcover when it drops, then get caught up on the rest of the series. You'll thank me.

Uncanny X-Force #20
(Marvel, $3.99, digital AND print)
I don't like paying $4 for 32 pages of comics. For UXF, I'll make an exception, for the simple fact that's it's currently Marvel's best book, at least IMO.

Despite being issue #20, this is offically year 2 of UXF, and things have changed a ton. Two of the team's members have left for the happier pages of Jason Aaron's "Wolverine and the X-Men", and have been replaced been by characters I don't want to spoil,despite one of them being on the cover. Deadpool, the team's comedic relief, has somehow became the team's moral center, which says a lot, as he's Deadpool and that idea is frightening. Without going into spoiler terrority, let me say this. YOU NEED TO GO BUY ALL OF THE TRADES AND GET CAUGHT UP WITH THIS BOOK IMMEDIATELY, IT IS GREAT, AND YOU SHOULD SUPPORT IT WITH YOUR DOLLARS!

<-- A tad bias.

Uncanny X-Men #5
(Marvel, $3.99, digital and print)
While the first 3 issues of the relaunch where hit or miss, the 4th issue of UXM was pretty great. Now we have Greg Land on pencils, and the book ends up being a surprise-follow-up to the last Uncanny X-Force arc. Script wise, this book is great. Kieron Gillen is in top form, as the plot is good blend of action and dialogue, including some GREAT interactions between the cast. The continuity between what was established in UXF is perfect, and it's nice to see that the UXM team did there homework. Psylocke's addition to the roster (subbing in for the injured Emma Forst) was a nice touch, and it's cool to see someeone who isn't Cyke/Wolverine appear in multiple X-books. As for Land's art, I didn't hate it. It's not as amazing as what the OTHER X-men book has offered, but it's serviceable. My only beef is that Hope looks way older than she should and some of the expressions on the characters faces do not match their dialogue. Still average Land is is still better than terrible Land art.
TLDR: If you've been buying UXM and UXF, you'll be in for a nice suprise. If you're on the fence about the title, Amazon+trade waiting is the way to go.

So yeah, I kind of blew my promise to do at least 1 LJ update a month. In my defense, I may not have actually made that promise via LJ. If my presence was missed, I apologize, but I remain on the internets elsewheres, so get caught up on the times and what have you not.

So what the hell have I've been up to as of late?

Life: BUSY BUSY BUSY! I'm Florida bound this weekend w/ TEE!, and at various times during the 8 days I'm down there, will be joined by Carolann, Lauren, Raymondo Telemundo and Flippy-floppy. We will be visiting Kevine $@#ing Walker, Mickey Mouse, Lina, Chris and their Corgi. I haven't been on a legit vacation in years, so I'm really excited for this. Especially when Lauren and I decide to drink ALL of the liquor.


On the employment end of things, I still maintain my time between being a cube-drone and a blogger. But now I'm doing some work for Bleedingcool.com, which is kind of huge. I have some story ideas to pitch, and who knows, this may turn into a serious thing next year.


Freetime is usually consisting of gym and Netflix/Hulu Plus. Tiger and Bunny is wrapping up, which means I'm going to need to find some good anime to watch. F/X and NBC has my back in terms of comedey and dramas, as well as Modern Family. I'm actually reading some non-comic stuff as well as actual comics. I do want to play Heroclix some more, as I have a plethora of the little dudes sitting there not being used properly.

Videya wise- Portal 2, Catherine and Deus Ex: Human Revolution were all picked up. Almost done w/ P2, Catherine I beat w/ the normal ending and I'm waiting for Carrie to finish her run through so I can attempt another one, and I'm slowly getting through DE:HR. Gentle Ben is getting me Gears of War 3 for a late b-day gift, and Mario Persona 2, so I'll have those to keep me busy too. Aside from that, I'm excited for Uncharted 3, Aliens:Infested & Ultimate MvC3. Arkham City kind of, but it all depends on $$ & time.
My iphone has supplied me with Bejweled 2, Tiny Tower and Angry Bird seasons, and I've probably played those the most.


Convention: animeNEXT was a drunk mess of fun, but the last big convention I went to was PAX East. NYCC is little more than a month away and I cannot wait. I'll probably make a pre-NYCC post as things get closer, but man, I have fun times in store. I'm 90% certain I'll be at AUSA again this year again, but there's still a slim chance I'll be unable to make it. I wouldnt be againist me though.

Sports: Playing in a Fantasy Football League for the 1st time this year. Team name: Fister Roboto. I'm way too proud of that.

Music. "Watch the Throne" dissapointed me, as did  MC Lars' last album. Kirby Krackle did me solid though. Sucks that Disturbed is disbanded for the time being, but I imagine they'll be back in some form or another


In an attempt to get people to use their LJ more, I'm opening the floodgates to questions/feedback. What are you guys up to? How was D*C con? What are you planning for NYCC/NYAF/AUSA? How awesome is Tiger and Bunny? Who should I look at for mid-season replacements on my FF team? DISCUSS MEATSACKS!

Hiatus over. Move=GET.

Is LJ still relevant? Doesn't matter, I still prefer using this over Facebook because of the severe lack of LJ messenger or whatever. The only thing that distracts me while updating is more internet. Luckily, it seems ye ol block has been lifted from work, so I can update from the office again. HUZZAH!

Anywho, you may or may not have heard that I've most this past weekend, something that was done with a bro-mada of bro-mandos. My dad, Sean Ewing, Pat, Vic, AJ, John, Ben, Jesse all lent a hand during the big move that morning, and Ray and Mario assisted that night/Sunday. Carolann, Sarah M and Dar also helped out too, because they're cool like that. It was actually a pretty smooth transitation, as the apartment is up and running at about 75%. We have internets, the gas should be turned on by tomorrow. and there's a little work to be done to the bedroom, as well as Carrie/Carolann's sew-hole/computer room. I also have to arrange some manga/book/action figures, but sadly, I find that kind of thing fun. I am a nerd after all.

2011 has been a extremely busy year so far, but I think it's finally dying down. Katsucon/PAX East/The Move kept us extremely busy, but now I only have like 2 1.5 days cons left at this point until...October. I'll be at New York Comic Con Spring Edition in May in Manhattan, as Ryan Ottley is a guest and that's super relevant to my interests, and I'm one daying animeNEXT. I'm sure a Sakura Matsuri cameo will be had, but I don't know to what extent/when/ No cosplay for sure. And there's Free Comic Book Day/Thor weekend in early May. That pretty much covers the anime/comic side of thing.

But then there's music! I'm pulling a Sarararararara and doing 3 concerts in the span of a month, and since I haven't been to a true concert in forever, I'm excited (I've seen live music, but...not a concert per say)
This weekend is the Final Fantasy Distant World show in downtown Brooklyn, in which I'm going with Mario, Anna, Amanda and a whole other slew of nerds I know. Easter Weekend I'm seeing My Chemical Romance in Manhattan w. Ali and Alina (that's not confusing <<;;) and in early May, Rammstein in Jeresy w/ John, Lene and Carrie. Excited, I is.

Game wise, I've been fucking around with the Saints Row games, but I ultimately go back to Mass Effect 2. The Arrival drops today,and I'll be playing the hell out of that tonight/tomorrow and then hopefully get back to trying to get a better ending. Handheld wise, I have both Dissdia 0012 and 3rd Birthday at my disposal, so my PSP will continue to get plenty of love. Yes I did beat Persona 3 Portable, yes, it was sad, and man I was glad I bought my Aigis Figma.

Also, my weight loss thing has been pretty good. It will be a year in April (or May, I forget) since I've join the gym, and as of this morning, I'm under 165lbs. I've actually stopped drinking for the Lent season, as I usually try to do something instead of say, going to Church or praticie religion property, so it's definetly played a role in that. I need to bulk up a bit though, as being twig thin is never in season outside of the moon. Some definition would be appreciated.

Cosplay wise, for all of you that do care, I'll start working on my 1 summer costume come May, which is 75% reuse, because I am lazy. I still need to fix Dante up a bit as well. I'm aiming on 2 new costumes for NYCC (Big Time Spidey and Shepard) and 1 new one for AnimeUSA, which is something I want to go to, since it will make some time since I've last seen the VA/DC/Maryland/Carolinas crew. Speaking of traveling, Florida in early to mid September looks like a thing that will happen, so I'm excited for that.

Aside from that, nothing much else to report. Enjoying this Leonard-pic from PAX East, as it's full of cute and lolz.

Status update: I'm in move mode over the next 2.5 weeks, so I may go AWOL/MIA from LJ for a brief hiatus due to move stuff. I can be reached via FB/Twitters/Email/Txt, which most of you mooks should have by now.

Anywho, PAX East was a thing that happened. Again. In Boston. It was big. Like 67,000 ppl big. Making it the biggest PAX to date, let alone the biggest gaming convention in the country. Is that both sweet and tight? YUP.

So how was the con itself? Excellent actually! Let us review.

Wednesday:
We should have packed earlier, but fuck that noise, it was happy double date fun times w/ Amanda aka Blucircles and her bf. We hit up Dallas BBQ and a non-dairy ice cream place in Alphabet City. A rad time was had, as the dude was LEGALLY cool guy, and Amanda remains "A cute widdle woobiely". Will do again at some point in the near future even.


Thursday:
A late start almost caused up to miss the bus,  but some Bro-op thanks to AJ and I ensured us arriving on time. A solid bus ride got us in on time, and after some slight hotel faggotry, we managed to get our room. Carolann, Carrie, myself and AJ went on mini-adventure, and ran into Ken Levine, the dude behind System Shock and Bioshock. That was rad. Eventually, we split up, and the girls and I hit up the Pokemon Pub Crawl, which is exactly what it sounds like. Mcslanty, Pokemon Sara and her crew were on hand, and I ran into Sephygoth Nick, his gf and his boy Chris for the first time in years, so we shot the shit. Despite paying only for 2 drinks, I managed to mooch a decent amount of booze w/o asking. We got back to the hotel room  w/enough time to meet up w/ Ali and Maryann, and go to bed at a decent time.


Friday:
-Woke up at 7:30
-One line by 8am w/ Carolann, Maryann. Ali and Carrie to guarantee us getting stuff.
-Severe Bioware fail, yet great Okamiden plushie buy=GET
-Played Street Fighter 4 on the 3DS, was rad, but nothing I need now.
-Sang Bon Jovi for a free shirt via Rock Band 3, coz none of the fucks I played with knew any goddamn Disturbed or Avenged Sevenfold
-Went over to the Oni Press/Udon booth, score a cool Bayonetta sketch, and picked up a box/poster for the 6 volumes of Scott Pilgrim, and Street Fighters Legends: vol 1 & 3 to get signed by the creative teams/
-Picked up a sweet Samus Aran shirt from the Halolz crew, coz I love me some Samus,
-Failed getting into the Penny Arcade Q+A #1, was discouraged from panels for the rest of the day.
-Changed into Dante, Carrie changed into gym uniform Bayonetta, and met up w/ Leonard and Laura T as Lady. Got a ton of photos taken, and ran into a really nice Trish cosplayer who ironically cosplayed Bayonetta last year. Our pic is up on Kotaku, and I imagine we'll see Leonards DMC/Bayonetta photos over the next couple of weeks.
-Pizza Party w/ the masses. The Masses being Aj, Maryann, Drew, Ali, Meg, her crew, Ray, Flippy all while Ben and Carrie had chinese.
-Waited in line to see the Protomen performed. Got drunk on "Plants vs. Zombies, sans the Plants"
-Saw the Protomen, who kicked ASS! Promptly bought both cds and a poster.
-Hung out w/Drew and Ray until Sean Ewing showed up.
-Headed over to Drew/Ray's room and hung out w/them, Alex, Mario, Carolann and John.
-In bed by 1:30


Saturday:
-Woke up before 10:30
-Saw the Draw a Strip Panel. Watched as a fucking Brony got his way.


Nyaaa indeed.

-Exhibitor room fail, although I got to pick up my sketch. Paid too much for a hot dog, sat on line for the Deus Ex: Human Revolution panel.
-Panel was rad.
-Shot the shit w/Renee, Leonard and Rob, eventually mady my way to the Hip Hop and Video games panel hosted by Mega Ran, his producer and MC Frontalot.
-PANEL WAS AMAZING, despite the Q+A portion was fulled of white dudes trying to look fly.
-Sean-abrations, made me miss the Cosplay panel (Bioware cosplay, bioware cosplay everywhere),  but worth it to hang out with pretty much EVERYONE!!
-Went to the Scott Kurtz/Kriss Staubb panel, which was like a RAGE! panel but legally allowed to be more drunk, and what have you. Lasted 90 minutes out of the 3-4 hours it actually ran.
-Eventually met up w/ Ali, Drew, Sean and Ray and watched Mega Ran perform. Shit was sweet. Cameos also included the Donelly crew, many ppl named Sara(h), Carrie, Flippy, Adam and a very drunk asian girl.
-Suddenly 3am



Sunday
-Hated life
-Saw the tail end of the X-play live panel, hated that.
-Kick ass seats for the 2nd Q+A panel. Was rad.
-Hung out w/Mario, got to play the Gears of War 3 multiplayer demo, Fire Pro Wrestling, Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon, and Skull Dolls. Picked up some light up shutter shades as well.
-Eventually headed back to NYC



OVERALL: Fucking amazing time. Granted these are just highlights, I had a ton of fun, and love the PAX community. I believe I'm con free for awhile, but come summer, I'm looking forward to working on Mass Effect plots w/Renee. I haven't been this energized post-con running on such little sleep since NYCC, and it was pretty much confirmation that anime cons are nearly dead to me. My ANEXT status is still up in the air, but there's a slim chance I'm going to AUSA for the simple fact that I want to Beta test a few panels for Magfest/PAX East 2012. Either way, an amazing con was amazing, and I'll be back in 2012.

It was also great to actually hang out w/Carrie at a con where she didnt have to work. She joined me at a few panels and had a ton of fun, and played a lot of Pokemon black and white. As I said on the CoP thread, this is her now when it comes to the Pokeymans:



And while I'm slowly, attempting to get her into more comics and Mass Effect, she's back on the Bayonetta ball again, with talks of a 4th Bayonetta costume. This pleases the fuck out of me so much. It also helps we have group plans later in the year.

Either way, enjoy some fun images, and I'll see you'll when I see ya. And for the record, I didn't see a single dick wolf, be it in t-shirt form, banner, or costume. Not saying there wasn't any there, but if they were, it was in an extremely small quantity. Although a vagina wolf was drawn during the make a strip panel, and quickly erased. Shit was pretty funny.

Dwayne McDuffie died today, which hit me kind of hard, not unlike the late Mike Turner or Mike Wieringo's death. I'm well aware that there's more important stuff going down in the world today, but the dude died at 49, and was a killer writer, for both comics and television. I'll probably touch up on it more next entry, as this is the annual post-Katsucon report.

There's a good chance this is my last Katsucon. Not that it was a bad convention or anything. It was actually all sorts of rad. It's more of a life choice, as it's between Magfest and PAX East next year, which is followed by C2E2 in April (in theory). There's a chance I'll be hitting up 2 or 3 of those, and it makes sense to drop Katsu. It's always been a sub par con, but a lot of awesome people go there. Either way, I have plenty of time to decide my status for next year, but if this was my final Katsucon, at least I went out with a bang. And no, this doesn't really apply to Carrie, as her business is still heavily reliant on con sales. Anywho, recap away:

Thursday:
Despite some car troubles on Ray's end, we not only managed to secure a lease on a new apartment 10 blocks away from our current one (bigger, slightly more rent, but better local IMO) and hit the road by 1pm. Twas a packed car filled with myself, TEE, Ray, Flippy and Drew, but a fun trip none the less. We got there, got our rooms, unpacked, made some rounds, watched some CN (The Regular Show and the new MAD series are both great!) and eventually got read for our Devils WILL Cry shoot w/Lionel (w/ some photos from Leonard as well)

More photos are obviously on their way, but hey, it's a start right? Carrie and have plots for PAX East regarding the couple, but  more at that at some other time in the future. Either way, after said shoot, we ran into some rad ppl (Mandy and Co.) and got into our fancy clothes, and eventually, we broke into smaller groups and hit up Pulse, or as John and I now refer to it as, the Citadel (Mass Effect reference). Anyway, have some lolzy pics.


Photo 1: Chris-face will be a FB icon.
Photo 2: I'm Captain Swagger Shepard of the USS BALLIN-dy even when drunk.
Photo 3: Anna and I were both blitzed, so dont ask what was going on or what she was getting suprise buttsex. However, we are accepting captions for the photo.

The night ended with me doing a drunk work out at the Gaylord's gym. Not gonna lie, shit was cash.

Friday highlights:
The Mecha panel went over real well! Thanks to John, Ray, and Sean Ewing for helping me out, Drew for being a bro, and Ray again for calling a Hetalia cosplayer a robot fucker when Xenosaga came up. Running gag of the weeekend #1 established.

The MVC3 event was rad, as was the DC event that followed it several hours later. Post drinks were had, and I met Anna's friend Crystal who was a delight, and we ended up paling around the rest of the evening as Carrie clocked out early due to excessive alcohol consumption. We ended up at the club again in fancy clothes, and I think Rob of Roblanna fame and I talked NY sports for about an hour. Again, shit was cash, and I have photos.



Photos by Judy and Ollie, who's proven Spider-man is indeed a menace. Also Ollie gets a bro-fist for having a GF who willingly wears costumes with Boob windows.

Saturday:
Starting the day off with a hangover and Hetalia was a poor life choice, as that's what I did. The Carrie and her Gaga was pleased with my Denmark costume, as were many people who associate with that fandom, and it made my life suck for awhile. On the brightside, I did get Frank Cho to sign some Bendis-written Avenger books he drew and picked up a signed sketch book (no sketches/commissions sadly Monty as he wasn't doing any), and I'm fairly certain I made Amanda-panda & Jenni's day by showing up at their booths as Denmark. Also here, have some photos:

Fear my tiny hat, also be assured that Ray pointed out that I was now a robot fucker. Anywho, eventually I got out of this and hung out w/Drew,Ray and John for a bit, making some rounds, creeping and swinging by Harle's booth for a rad wig for Ray. We even did dinner w/ Laura McDoo, Dar and Mac in my room! Eventually it was Metal Gear time w/ Lionel, Virgina and Judy, and I eventually got my man card back for doing this.


Slick I know. Eventually it was back in semi-fancy w/ the boys, as I made my rounds once again. The whole lot of us met up at the bar (The Secret Gentlemen Alliance, the Tits n Heels Society, the Far East Movement, The Ray and Drew Show....yes these are now running gags 3/4th of you are not aware of. Also- Doctor Lawyer MD, Lawyer Doctor PHD, the Pizza Rape Wagon and Pizza is a real thing). I actually remained sober the rest of the evening, which outside of NYCC, is something that's rare at a con. John, Drew, Ray and I handled the Badass games, and Lauren and Brian lended a hand w/ Ray and John for Who's Line Anyway, which was packed for a 1:30am panel.
Either way, I could not ask for a better bunch of people to help me.

Sunday we made our rounds, said goodbyes and headed back to NYC, where I proceeded to play the hell out of MvC for hours on end. Overall Katsucon was a rad con thanks to many a rad people, who I hope to see again in the future despite the fact I'm not going to Otakon or Dragon Con, and my status at AUSA is still up in the air. Hell of a run gang.

FAIR WARNING: There will be some sports talk in this post. Very brief I assure you though, if that's not your thing.

So the Super Bowl happened this past weekend. It was actually a really good game, even with the Packer running wild like Hulkamania in the 1st half of the game. Which I admit, was super rad. I was pulling for the Packers too, as the Jets lost to the Steelers, so fuck them.




NOT LITERALLY CREEPER!



So apparently aside from being a Goth Wizard who has control over an army of Vikings, Aaron Rogers is also the WWE Champ. I am jealous.

So let's focus on 2 other key factors of the Super Bowl The half time show and commercials. The Puppy Bowl would be the 3rd, but John doesn't have Animal Planet, and we could find any feeds, legal,illegal or European.

Movie trailers: There were 3 different types of trailers I've noticed this year: Aliens, Sequels, Marvel. I'm excited for Cap and Thor, although I'm super bias, but they're Marvel flicks. Alien wise- Super 8 looks RAD, I'll see Aliens & Cowboys for the premise alone, and Battlefield: LA could be cool. Who knows. Sequels- Never saw Pirates 3 so no go for 4. As for Transformers 3...Lionel, you may want to advert your eyes.

Rise of the Fallen sucked. Sucked hard. Real hard. This isn't a matter of opinion, it's a fact. Racism, dick jokes and boring explosions. I SEVERELY doubt this movie is much better, despite the removal of Megan Fox. After all, TF2 was a Micahel Bay flick with boring explosions. Try to wrap your head around that for a minute. Yeah...just yeah.
Editor's Note: My rage circa 2009 http://loudnbothered.livejournal.com/209924.html?nc=21

#2. That Half-time show:


Fuck the Black Eyes Peas. You are not muscians, you talk at your audience and cannot be saved even with autotune. Fuck Slash, you are a sell out and I hope Axl kills you in a fat coke-binge rage. Fuck Disney for not slapping a C&D for the BEPs shitastic knock off Tron outfits. Fuck Fox/the NFL for booking this trainwreck. Fuck anyone who supports this "band" legally.

Haters, will, and forever will, hate.

Anywho, that's enough of the sports talk. Time for some fun.

With Katsucon next week, there's not much going on my end aside from the usual, as well as apartment hunting/tax stuff. I'm sure they'll be a worthwhile post in a week or so regarding that. However, as I fun little hobby, I've been collecting original comic art-stuffs posted on the internet via Comics Alliance, /co/, DA and what have you not. Figured it would be fun to share some of my favorite pics for image dump fun!








FACT: Marvel cats will never not make me laugh



FACT: I love Bruce Timm's style. Clean and iconic.



Crossovers are rad and fun



Easts meets West, and all is rad.


Theme: Capes. That last image may be a little hardcore, but I LOVe my Ryan Otteley, Invincible AND Power Girl, so deal accordingly.

I leave you with some legit classic DC Valentine Day's cards


I have a lot of these. So if ppl want to make this a monthly swap or something, I totally can. Also fuck you, I changed my mind, I'm ending this with Young Justice.

So the Jets won yesterday, avenging themselves from last year's lost. This is awesome y/y, and here, your final Manningface for the season:



Ah good times, good times.

Today I saw 2 dudes getting beat down with a baseball walking home from my mom. They brought it upon themselves for some reason, possibly keying a moving car or something. Either way it was weird/violent/awesome. I am messed up no?

Violence aside, it's 2011, and I have been productive. Sorta. Since the New Year I managed to beat Halo Reach, ODST, and I'm at the end of Mass Effect 2. Also beat X-Men Arcade a bunch of times. Metal Gear Solid 4 is next on the list, then it's new game-a-rama with Dead Space 2 and Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. Eventually Dragon Age Origin will be tackled properly. Maybe.

So it's 2011, what is CHris excited for/planning?

MOVING- Staying in Bay Ridge, just getting a bigger place for Carrie's business, maybe babies in the future.

TRIPS- Toronto this spring/summer, Orlando late summer instead of Otakon/Dragon Con. The Floridians I know down in Orlando have made some sweet offers for me, and I'm definetly going to take them up on some of them.

VIDEO GAMES- Dead Space 3. Marvel Vs Capcom 3. God Eater EX. 3rd Birthday. Dissidia 2, or whatever the hell it's called. Pokeomon black/white. Saints Row 3. DEX: Human Revolution. Gears of War 3. Uncharted 3. Resistance 3. Soul Calibur 5 (maybe) Mass Effect 3. Diablo 3. This is what the majority of my budget is going to.

COMICS- A ton of runs/mini-series are coming to an end this year. Not sure if there's any new series worth looking into, and I'm pretty content what with I'm reading currently.

MOVIES- Super 8, that new JJ Abram's joint really has me excited. Thor and Cap look cool, and I'm still on the fence about GL. I'll see "Sucker Punch", but I'm not expecting much. Aside from that, I'm not sure what else is worth my time in 2011 movie-wise.

MUSIC- Aside from Megaran's "Black Materia", I have no idea what else is dropping this year that I care about.

ANIME- I think we're getting some movies I care about on Blu-ray statewise, and mayhaps a new Gundam something. Plus I imagine we'll hear about the new Gainax non-P&S thing. We shall see right?

Conventions/Cosplay

Katsucon/PAX East/NYAF/CC are my definites this year. Costume Con apparently is the same weekend of the Sakura Matsuri, so I'm not sure where I'll end up that weekend. AnimeNEXT all depends on wedding things, but I havent missed on yet, so we'll see. As for post NYAF/CC if MNEXT happens, I'll probably end up there, if not AUSA. Again time will tell, etc.

New costumes? I'm trying to keep things simple this year, but again we'll see.

Confirmed for brawl:
Katsucon







Dante's been someone I wanted to cosplay since forever, and will be a nice companion piece to Carrie's Bayonetta. Plus Laura (Catsiy) is making Trish, so we'll look stunning together. Denmark is something I promised Carrie I'd wear forever ago. The rest of Katsu will be stuff I'm going to be rewearing, or perhaps borrowing. Time will tell.

NYAF/NYCC:




Big Time Spidey is something I'm super-excited to wear, especially since it may mean fun times w/ Kit once again! :D Also it's Spidey!

Renee and I are finally doing Mass Effect cosplay, and Jesus Christ, I am excite.

???? But I want to do at some point in 2011 given the chance:







Oh look, Squall has a new outfit. Time to cosplay it that!
Akikiko is something I definetly want to cosplay in 2011, it's just a matter of time and deciding on which costume. The suit from Trinity Souls is slick so it may end up winning.
Covering obscure Square games, Kyle Madigan is something I WANT to cosplay, seeing how 3rd birthday should lead towards an increase of Parasite Eve cosplayers. Could be wrong, time will tell.
Post Prison Sim0n (TTGL) is something I want to do as well, but I've done a lot of TTGL cosplay so far. Again time will tell.

Well I typed enoughed for one day. Time for Mass Effect 2!

Your NFLoLz of the week. You know aside from The Patriots losing.




Last weekend, as I stated, was extremely low-key. I was at Kingscon for all of 90 minutes, where I scored a shirt, a print, some single issues, and sat in on the Kyle Baker (artist on Deadpool MAX) panel, which was fun. For $7, I can't complain. I also picked up Persona 4 used, which I'll get to after the holidays, as I'm a 1/4 way through Dead Space, which is a ton of fun now that I'm no longer sucking at one particular part. As far as interacting with others went, I hung out w/ Vic and John Baker on Saturday night, which consisted of a Home Depot run, a trip to Lucky 7's, and 90 minutes worth of Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episode. I did some RE5 online merc mode that night, which was fun as well. Sunday was me cleaning, blogging, watching a ton of Spectacular Spider-Man, and eventually meeting up w/ John, Carolann, Rory, Flippy, Ray and Katsu for The Walking Dead. Good times overall, and exactly what I need between cons.

That's right, another con. This weekend to be exact. Last one of the year/until Feburary. My bank account rejoices.

Anywho, let's get the part where I outline my upcoming weekend st Anime USA.

Das Costumes:


Thursday:
Still figuring that out, because I can't have nice things. In theory, we should be getting in sometime between 12am-1am. I hope.

Friday:

1pm- Scott Pilgrim Shoot w/ Lionel, alongside Mario, Carrie, Sarah and Carolann. I'll Mr. Stiles, BECAUSE TALENT.
5pm- Deadpool Shoot w/ Leonard, alongside Laura Mcdoodle and Carrie. Fairly obvious who I'll be.
8:30-10:00- We Dig Giant Robots- Das Mecha panel. Myself, John Baker, Ray and Uncle Yo on panelist duties.
10:00- Happy Bar Time.
11:30- Burlesque show, until I see the performance I promised too, I can return to bar.

Saturday:

1pm-2:30- The Badass Games: The panel. Myself, John, Ray and Sean Ewing discuss the baddest of badasses when it comes to Japanese Pop Culture

2:30-3:00- Evangelion photoshoot w/Lionel, featuring Kit, Mario and myself as Mari, Shinji and Kaji respectedly.

9:00pm- Hopefully 2nd attempt for a EVA shoot w/ Lionel, sans Kit, but now w/ Jae and hopefully Jenni. EXCITEMENT!

?????- Hetalia nonsense w/ Carrie. Me as Business Casual Denmark or something, Carrie as Ukraine.


11:30- Back at the Burlesque show for zombie porn, or something.

Sat/Sunday- Drinka, drinka, drinka, drinka, DRINK!

Sunday- GTFO to Brooklyn. Took off Monday b.c I could.

That's pretty much it. 4 costumes, 4 planned shoots, 2 panels, 2 events and much drinking. Low-key con shall be low key, and I'm excited. Who am I chilling with during the huge gaps of events?