So its Tuesday. I am looking forward to tonight as i get to go hang out with my friends. Its a small break from family (even though the majority of them will be asleep when i leave.) And i have a craving for some chili cheese fries, damn those things were good the last time.
Not much been doing, hanging with the family, cleaning the house, and relaxing. Still gearing up for our vacation in a couple of weeks, but that is now all planned out. Last week was a bear of a week work wise, and am fortunate enough to say this week is not repeating that. Although 4 people out on vacation at once has that effect on the office.
I have a few thoughts that mean nothing to anyone else so i will expunge them from my brain, because i want to.
So September one of the bigger things in my life, beyond my family, has massive changes across the board. Yes, this is a geek out moment for me, so live with it. DC Comics will re-something there entire line with all brand new #1's. I have collected comics since the Death of Superman in 1992. At this point I have just shy of 8000 comics, which equate to 36 boxes or the left side of the garage. I cringe whenever i say that, but my wife who doesn't understand or necessarily support my hobby, still loves me enough that i have two massive racks for them so they aren't on the floor. Hell anymore they aren't on each other! I own every Superman, Batman and Spiderman Comic since 1985, plus some random issues. I own the majority of every other DC hero from the same time span, from Green Lantern, to Flash, to the Justice League, to even Aquaman (someone has to love the Fish guy, why not me!) The big uproar in all of this is that the histories of these characters is being messed with. Continuity, being what it is, will be destroyed. Well, sounds good to me. Look, this is a quick explanation of what this means. These characters have been around since the 1930's. That's 75 plus years of one character. Everyone who is complaining about this obviously doesn't realize that the re-establishment of a character (DC doesn't like the word Reboot, which i think is silly, so i am treading lightly here.) has happened continuously for the entire duration of the character. To say that Superman or Batman are the same from their beginnings is ridiculous. Batman carried a gun and Superman couldn't fly in the beginning. Oh and lets not forget 60's hippy Batman, who is now Noir, Hard boiled, ass kicking Batman. Since the biggest shake up DC had seen in 1986 "Crisis of Infinite Earths", the DC Universe has continued to evolve and change. It will happen again in September, and again in the future, multiple times. And why not its fiction, let it be. People who i have known most of my life at the comic book shop i go to, which i bought that first issue of the Death of Superman at, ask me what i think, i used to work there so i get an opinion. I think its great, i think they aren't going far enough in all honesty. I think the biggest thing that is pissing people off, is the people who are pissed off being able to communicate online in chat rooms and blogs, and the such. Why does this effect people the way it does? I don't know, but it has had DC's intended effect, and that's people who weren't in to comics, becoming interested. My friends who know me have asked me about it, and shown a genuine interest. Will they be there for the long run? Who knows. But if they read something and like it, they have a better chance of sticking around then never being there in the first place. For me, its still me hobby, and my escape. My wife watches her soap opera, i read my comics. Its a brief escape from the goings on of everyday life. Its nice to not worry about the bills, or the kids, or the house for an hour and just read a story. Look if people are going to be pissed about this and be down on it, i think it should actually be out to be pissed off at. If i get something in September and go, wow now that's a piece of shit, guess what, i won't be getting it anymore. That's a reflection on the writing at that point, not some knee jerk reaction to a company trying to invigorate their sales and try something new. Lets face it, if your a comic book fan, you are a cave dweller, in the sense that the only place you can get the material anymore is the comic book store. When i was a kid they were on the shelves at the grocery store, and on racks at 7-11. That's not the case anymore. I think its brilliant that with technology where it is, they are releasing the books online. Personally i will never do that until i have no other choice. But it brings the possibility of new fans through a new medium. When I was kid, i went outside. I had an Atari and the First Nintendo, and while cool, there was more to life then. Now kids have computers, they play their video games with friends at home, there is no more outside. I looked forward everyday to getting home, changing into my play clothes ( i don't even think those exist anymore) and meeting up with my friends to play football, or basketball, or ride my bike through the neighborhood. Well we also traded comics, which in retrospect screwed me in the long run, but what the heck did i know i was 12. I used to collect for the value of collecting, now i do it, because i genuinely love the medium. I threaten my wife with her having to bury my comics with me when i die. For God's sake i have an insurancee policy just for the comics! So this reboot is just another blip to me. I am exited to see what happens to my heroes, and see what new adventures they have. I look forward to showing this to my kids at some point if they are interested (and have washed their hands, and don't touch while i show them). To the naysayers, get a life. If you get this worked up about a fictional world, you obviously have way to much time on your hands, and need to get a life.
And that's a a long wrap.
