This could be a marvelous disaster. I have 4 book outlines ready to go. I can't seem to really get churning on them. So I'm going to put the 'back cover copy' here. Take a look, and let me know what you'd like to read. Once I see whats up, I'll likely take the top two and post a scene, then we revote.
Choice #1
Adam Archer #2 ‘A Hard Place’
When Adam Archer receives a call that his sister-in-law is missing, he is hesitant to get involved. They hadn’t spoken since he revealed his new, demonic self to her. He is obviously the last person she ever wants to see again. After a cursory look leads to some dark magic, Adam reluctantly agrees to find her.
Next, a mysterious package arrives for Adam, he must continue his search while fighting in a mob war he helped to start.
Choice #2
Girl P.I.
Ekaterina Godov is a magnificent failure. She gave up her job as a Private Detective when a case went bad. She swore off detective work and climbed into a bottle.
After a few hard years, Kat is finally starting to clean herself up when an old flame appears, looking for help.
Kat must decide if she wants to put her sobriety, and life on the line to find a young girl missing in a big city.
Choice #3
Cybermancer
Rory Daniels was always good with computers. Hi progressed from hobbyist, to Script Kiddie, to Hacker by his 20th birthday. When his new girlfriend challenges him to do something special ‘just for her’, Rory ends up hacking into a military site that doesn’t even officially exist.
After the hack goes bad, Rory finds himself not only on the run from the government, but from another group that was planting something bad in there. Something that could end the net itself.
All that seems minor when Rory starts to think the computers themselves are talking to him.
Choice #4
SUPERHERO as of yet untitled
Homeless people are disappearing from all over the eastern seaboard. No one knows what is happening to them. Sal Hendricks finds out first hand when the men come to his camp and take him.
Sal wakes in a facility. He loses track of time as experiment after experiment are done on him and the others. Eventually, most of the others are gone and only a handful remain.
A beautiful woman with red skin breaks the survivors out. Sal flees into the night, but is left with more questions than answers.
When strange things start happening around him, Sal must understand what happened to him before his captors find him.
June 12, 2012
May 18, 2012
2 Minute Review - 'The Price' by Joseph Garraty
I am on a hot streak recently when it comes to books. I've been poring through Amazon and BN looking for something to suit my tastes. I liked the cover for this book, and was not disappointed by this book.
In The Price, we follow a young guy names Jimmy. Jimmy live in a rough section of Boston. When Jimmy comes to his family's butcher shop, some thugs are messing with his parents.
Jimmy is 'helped' by another group of mobsters, and there starts his decline. Benedict, Jimmy's new mentor, teaches him how to use his ability to work magic to aid the Mafia. As the title suggests, magic has a price.
4 out of 5 *
What I liked: The magic and character development were good. the plot itself was a page turner.
What I didn't like: The last few scenes felt rushed. They had a nice kinetic feel to it, but I felt they could have been expanded to draw out the tension.
Who is it for: Dark urban fantasy fans who like a nice occult thriller with a load of violence.
Who isn't it for: Squeamish folk, Erotic Fantasy fans, Russian Mobsters.
In The Price, we follow a young guy names Jimmy. Jimmy live in a rough section of Boston. When Jimmy comes to his family's butcher shop, some thugs are messing with his parents.
Jimmy is 'helped' by another group of mobsters, and there starts his decline. Benedict, Jimmy's new mentor, teaches him how to use his ability to work magic to aid the Mafia. As the title suggests, magic has a price.
4 out of 5 *
What I liked: The magic and character development were good. the plot itself was a page turner.
What I didn't like: The last few scenes felt rushed. They had a nice kinetic feel to it, but I felt they could have been expanded to draw out the tension.
Who is it for: Dark urban fantasy fans who like a nice occult thriller with a load of violence.
Who isn't it for: Squeamish folk, Erotic Fantasy fans, Russian Mobsters.
May 10, 2012
Two Minute Review - 'No Hero' by Jonathan Wood
Boy, I loved this book. I have always been a fan of Cthulhu Mythos type stories. My recent writing and reading of other urban fantasy has only increased this love. So when I read the blurb on this book, I knew I had to try it.
The book begins with an ordinary London detective tracking a killer. When he happens upon something otherworldly, he is recruited into a secret government agency. The story takes off from there.
Mr. Wood does a great job in adding characters and supernatural happenings. The story never feels slow except for a clunky, but necessary, chunk where the main character is introduced to the rest of the agency.
Even after the obligatory world saving, things are left open for further books, for which I'll be eagerly waiting.
WHO IT'S FOR? People who like fast paced urban fantasy mixed with some lovecraftian themes.
WHO ISN'T IT FOR? Epic fantasy fans, lovers of Byzantine plots, marmosets.
***** five stars.
The book begins with an ordinary London detective tracking a killer. When he happens upon something otherworldly, he is recruited into a secret government agency. The story takes off from there.
Mr. Wood does a great job in adding characters and supernatural happenings. The story never feels slow except for a clunky, but necessary, chunk where the main character is introduced to the rest of the agency.
Even after the obligatory world saving, things are left open for further books, for which I'll be eagerly waiting.
WHO IT'S FOR? People who like fast paced urban fantasy mixed with some lovecraftian themes.
WHO ISN'T IT FOR? Epic fantasy fans, lovers of Byzantine plots, marmosets.
***** five stars.
October 7, 2011
Top 10 Heroes that Influence my Writing
To recap: I am reading for the 20th time Alex Sokoloff’s awesome writing book. In the tome, one makes lists of Works, Heroes, Villains and Endings that you love and that reflect your work. My Works list is HERE. Now onto Heroes.
1. Batman
I love Batman. He is my favorite comic book character. He is a brooding, angry man. He protects others from criminals in Gotham City. I like the tortured aspect of Batman’s persona. No matter what he does, it won’t bring back his murdered parents.
2. Corwin of Amber
If you haven’t read Roger Zelazny’s Amber series, do so now. Corwin is a prince of a mythical realm at the center of reality. The king disappears and a war of succession starts. Corwin is at one point or another shot, blinded, imprisoned and treated poorly. He never gives up though.
3. John McClane
The Die Hard hero. Shoeless, outgunned and bleeding, John McClane battles terrorists in a locked down skyscraper.
4. Harry Dresden
Jim Butcher’s wizard hero. Harry is a regular guy with some powers and lots of powerful enemies. His wit and determination are a great read and a believable character.
5. Sturm Brightblade
Ah, Dragonlance my first love. Sturm was a squire of a failed knighthood. His honor and courage stayed with me all these years. Someday, I’ll write an epic fantasy, and a character like Sturm will be in it.
6. Jack Burton
Jack is a truck driver. Not particularly skilled in any sort of martial arts, he still kicks a fair amount of ass. Great one liners and laughing in the face of death. Big Trouble in Little China is one of my favorite movies.
7. The Crow (Eric Draven)
If there is one character that throws direct influence on my heroes, it’s Eric Draven. The Crow movie is Goth Revenge Perfection. Eric hunts a gang down ad extracts glorious revenge upon them.
8. Joe Pitt
Joe is a Vampire who does some detective work on the side. Joe isn’t a nice guy. I like that. I was kinda locked into the ‘How do you write a novel where the lead isn’t a good guy?’ Charlie Huston and Joe Pitt cured me of that.
9. Philip Marlowe
The great hardboiled detective. I found a bunch of Marlowe radio serials when I was doing a lot of commuting. I put them on my mp3 player and basked in the glory.
10. Edmund Dantes
The Count of Monte Cristo himself. I love a good revenge story. This is the best one ever.
So again we look at what we have. All the gents are powerful in their own way, but not overwhelmingly so. The have one thing in common. They. Never. Stop. Coming.
That’s it. No matter what you do to them or what happens, the keep coming. I hate books and movies where the lead isn’t touched until the very end. C’mon! People suck, they need to get bloody and filthy on their quest, or it isn’t worth it.
Villains are next.
September 23, 2011
Top 10 Stories That Influence My Writing.
Alexandra Sokoloff wrote a great book about writing. Its called Screenwriting Tricks for Authors. I recommend it. One of the things she does is have you list some favorites, to see where your head is at. You list Heroes, Villains, endings and books/films similar to what you are writing. I’ve read it a few times and think it’s a great way to clarify what you are looking at.
I’m going to run through all of these here on the blog, and let you, the home audience, play along. Now, my favorites may not be your favorites. They may not be the best, but they are what I like. I am also including comics to movies books and TV. They are a viable medium and one I read.
So without further ado, and in no particular order. My 10 favorite books/movies/comics
1. Empire Strikes Back.
Simply one of my favorite movies. The original Star Wars ended on a high note. The Rebels were a real force and the future was bright. Noper. The Empire still had a load of resources and were pissed off. I love that it shows the good guys on the run and getting pounded. You know they will win eventually, but for this one movie they were screwed.
2. Braveheart
For a long time, this was my favorite movie. I used to get loaded, put it on and pass out. Over the top violence, revenge and a nipple are featured. This movie has what I like to call ‘Mistake number one’ The point where the bad guys do something so bad, you know they have to pay. I may do a whole post on ‘M#1’.
3. Big Trouble in Little China
One of the best one-liner movies ever. It shows black humor in the face of incredible odds. It also shows Kurt Russell as a regular truck driver mixed up in some bad stuff. He’s not a martial artist like everyone else, but he isn’t afraid. This shows me the values of the everyman in relating to stories. Also, Egg Shen should have his own movie. He is that awesome.
4. The Matrix
Sequels were complete crap. Yet this one movie approaches perfection in my eyes. A geek (YAY) is shown that everything is false, and there is a whole world out there. He is then given power inside a computer to bust stuff up. I’m in. Fighting powerful Agents against impossible odds.
5. LOTR: The Two Towers
Let the Horn of Helm Hammerhand Sound once more in the Deep… What more is there to say? At the climax of the movie, the Rohirrim and some of the Fellowship are trapped in a fortress. The Orc army is outside, tearing the place down. The know they are dead, but they need to buy time, so the women and children can escape. So they mount a suicidal charge. However, at the same moment Gandalf arrives with the rest of the army. If you don’t get chills when that Rohirrim army charges down the hill, you are dead inside.
6. The Eye of the World
The first book of the late Robert Jordan’s Wheel of time series. Before everything got bloated, this was one hell of a series. The first volume is a self-contained story of a young man who is forced to flee his home with strangers. He is pursued by monster out of children’s stories. Excellent.
7. The Crow
Cult classic and Brandon Lee’s final film. It’s a great goth revenge movie. I think it’s the only one in the list where the hero isn’t against great odds. For most of the movie, he is just delivering swift and angry justice.
8. Fool Moon
The second book in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series, and my favorite. We are still learning about the character, but it has more story than backstory. There is a fabulous scene with a werewolf in the police station that is pretty awesome.
9. Shadow over Innsmouth
H. P. Lovecraft was a crazy SOB. His stories are really out there. You need to read a lot of them. This story tells of a mans trip through New England. He decides to stop at a crappy run down town with a bad reputation. It ends badly.
10. Batman Year One
It’s hard to pick a comic. I love Batman. I'm a Bat-geek. If I had to pick one story, it would be this one. Frank Miller tells of the early days of Batman. Again, I’m a big fan of training montages. There is a lot of ‘Holy Crap’.
Honorable mention:
• Last Man Standing
• Rio Bravo
• Batman Begins
• Pale Rider
Upon first glance, I see a few things. First, I like training sequences and the beginnings of series. Also, I Love Love Love the outnumbered hero fighting against the odds. I really get the whole “Rage against the dying of the light” thing. Looking at the list, it’s no wonder that my first book is a revenge tale of a demon hunting a more powerful demon through Scranton PA. Revenge is a beautiful story.
It seems like I would be well served to continue the sex, violence and demons in my second book. Next time: Heroes.
I’m going to run through all of these here on the blog, and let you, the home audience, play along. Now, my favorites may not be your favorites. They may not be the best, but they are what I like. I am also including comics to movies books and TV. They are a viable medium and one I read.
So without further ado, and in no particular order. My 10 favorite books/movies/comics
1. Empire Strikes Back.
Simply one of my favorite movies. The original Star Wars ended on a high note. The Rebels were a real force and the future was bright. Noper. The Empire still had a load of resources and were pissed off. I love that it shows the good guys on the run and getting pounded. You know they will win eventually, but for this one movie they were screwed.
2. Braveheart
For a long time, this was my favorite movie. I used to get loaded, put it on and pass out. Over the top violence, revenge and a nipple are featured. This movie has what I like to call ‘Mistake number one’ The point where the bad guys do something so bad, you know they have to pay. I may do a whole post on ‘M#1’.
3. Big Trouble in Little China
One of the best one-liner movies ever. It shows black humor in the face of incredible odds. It also shows Kurt Russell as a regular truck driver mixed up in some bad stuff. He’s not a martial artist like everyone else, but he isn’t afraid. This shows me the values of the everyman in relating to stories. Also, Egg Shen should have his own movie. He is that awesome.
4. The Matrix
Sequels were complete crap. Yet this one movie approaches perfection in my eyes. A geek (YAY) is shown that everything is false, and there is a whole world out there. He is then given power inside a computer to bust stuff up. I’m in. Fighting powerful Agents against impossible odds.
5. LOTR: The Two Towers
Let the Horn of Helm Hammerhand Sound once more in the Deep… What more is there to say? At the climax of the movie, the Rohirrim and some of the Fellowship are trapped in a fortress. The Orc army is outside, tearing the place down. The know they are dead, but they need to buy time, so the women and children can escape. So they mount a suicidal charge. However, at the same moment Gandalf arrives with the rest of the army. If you don’t get chills when that Rohirrim army charges down the hill, you are dead inside.
6. The Eye of the World
The first book of the late Robert Jordan’s Wheel of time series. Before everything got bloated, this was one hell of a series. The first volume is a self-contained story of a young man who is forced to flee his home with strangers. He is pursued by monster out of children’s stories. Excellent.
7. The Crow
Cult classic and Brandon Lee’s final film. It’s a great goth revenge movie. I think it’s the only one in the list where the hero isn’t against great odds. For most of the movie, he is just delivering swift and angry justice.
8. Fool Moon
The second book in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series, and my favorite. We are still learning about the character, but it has more story than backstory. There is a fabulous scene with a werewolf in the police station that is pretty awesome.
9. Shadow over Innsmouth
H. P. Lovecraft was a crazy SOB. His stories are really out there. You need to read a lot of them. This story tells of a mans trip through New England. He decides to stop at a crappy run down town with a bad reputation. It ends badly.
10. Batman Year One
It’s hard to pick a comic. I love Batman. I'm a Bat-geek. If I had to pick one story, it would be this one. Frank Miller tells of the early days of Batman. Again, I’m a big fan of training montages. There is a lot of ‘Holy Crap’.
Honorable mention:
• Last Man Standing
• Rio Bravo
• Batman Begins
• Pale Rider
Upon first glance, I see a few things. First, I like training sequences and the beginnings of series. Also, I Love Love Love the outnumbered hero fighting against the odds. I really get the whole “Rage against the dying of the light” thing. Looking at the list, it’s no wonder that my first book is a revenge tale of a demon hunting a more powerful demon through Scranton PA. Revenge is a beautiful story.
It seems like I would be well served to continue the sex, violence and demons in my second book. Next time: Heroes.
September 15, 2011
Hi, I'm Ed, and I'm a geek.
Geek
Nerd
Weirdo
Oddball
Guilty as charged.
So what?
There is no shame in it. It’s ok. Do you love Star Wars? Fantasy Books? Computers? Astronomy? You do? Awesome! Are you happy? That’s all that matters.
It took me a long time to come to terms with my Geekdom. I used to hide my comics from my friends. I played endless sports and never let my sports friends to happen upon my roleplaying friends.
Why?
Well, I’ll tell you why. I was a poor fat kid from the projects in coal country. I was picked on for just about everything. My hair, my clothes, my address. Everything. Why pin the target on myself? Stupid decision on my part. People will judge no matter what. So why be miserable in the process?
When I played sports, I gained a modicum of acceptance. I fooled myself into thinking it was real, that I was real. It wasn’t. I gave up reading for a few years. I was miserable.
When I hit my 20’s, I decided, FINALLY, that I didn’t give a rip about what other people thought. I picked up my books, rpg’s and comics. It was totally refreshing. Once I became me again, I met my wife. I don’t think I was comfortable enough before to really commit. I got a job (computers) and wrote a book (fantasy). I now have some kids, a house and an eye high stack of geek cred. I am a happy geek. I do, however still love football (go Raiders), but it's like #9 on my passions list. I think I'd actually rather play the xbox version to watching a game.
Embrace your geek. If you like playing video games, do it. Like fantasy books? You can borrow some from me. Heck, do you enjoy discussing the minutiae of crocheting pullovers for dogs? Guess what, you are a geek too, and that’s OK.
Don’t let fear of what others say keep you from doing what you love. If you lose your path, hit the internet. Rumor has it there are some geeky folks thereabouts.
Nerd
Weirdo
Oddball
Guilty as charged.
So what?
There is no shame in it. It’s ok. Do you love Star Wars? Fantasy Books? Computers? Astronomy? You do? Awesome! Are you happy? That’s all that matters.
It took me a long time to come to terms with my Geekdom. I used to hide my comics from my friends. I played endless sports and never let my sports friends to happen upon my roleplaying friends.
Why?
Well, I’ll tell you why. I was a poor fat kid from the projects in coal country. I was picked on for just about everything. My hair, my clothes, my address. Everything. Why pin the target on myself? Stupid decision on my part. People will judge no matter what. So why be miserable in the process?
When I played sports, I gained a modicum of acceptance. I fooled myself into thinking it was real, that I was real. It wasn’t. I gave up reading for a few years. I was miserable.
When I hit my 20’s, I decided, FINALLY, that I didn’t give a rip about what other people thought. I picked up my books, rpg’s and comics. It was totally refreshing. Once I became me again, I met my wife. I don’t think I was comfortable enough before to really commit. I got a job (computers) and wrote a book (fantasy). I now have some kids, a house and an eye high stack of geek cred. I am a happy geek. I do, however still love football (go Raiders), but it's like #9 on my passions list. I think I'd actually rather play the xbox version to watching a game.
Embrace your geek. If you like playing video games, do it. Like fantasy books? You can borrow some from me. Heck, do you enjoy discussing the minutiae of crocheting pullovers for dogs? Guess what, you are a geek too, and that’s OK.
Don’t let fear of what others say keep you from doing what you love. If you lose your path, hit the internet. Rumor has it there are some geeky folks thereabouts.
September 2, 2011
My 2 Minute Review: JLA #1 (Spoilers)
Like I said in my last post, I am pretty excited about the DC Relaunch. The first book came out this week. JLA #1.
I am going to give it 4 out of 5 stars. It was a fun, fast paced adventure. Was it perfect? Nope. I mean Batman barely hit anyone at all. The story itself perhaps suffers from the books being short. I could have gone for a double sized #1. The teaming of Batman and Green Lantern happened too fast for my liking, but it’s forgivable.
I like that Hal Jordan has an ego problem. He was a test pilot and now has nearly limitless power. It probably does something to a fella.
Batman is Batman. He doesn’t say much, but when GL starts cocking off, Bats is able to deflate him a bit. It works.
The Superman reveal is ok as well. I’m not a Supes fan, but I do like his new costume. It’s retro-futurish. Like what the Man of Tomorrow would wear in the late 50’s.
I opted for the digital and paper combo pack. No offense to my paper-sniffing brethren, but the digital edition knocks it out of the park. It looks splendid on my iPad. I find in my advancing age, I notice the art more if it is presented one panel at a time. The only jab is that some of the dialogue was different between editions. That was fixed by an important update last night.
Whoever did the digital conversion did a great job. The panel advancement is handled in an almost cinematic way. I liked the effect.
I will give little reviews of the rest of my pull list as it comes out.
My current list:
Batman
Detective
Batgirl
Batwoman
JLA
JLA Dark
Action Comics (for now)
I am going to give it 4 out of 5 stars. It was a fun, fast paced adventure. Was it perfect? Nope. I mean Batman barely hit anyone at all. The story itself perhaps suffers from the books being short. I could have gone for a double sized #1. The teaming of Batman and Green Lantern happened too fast for my liking, but it’s forgivable.
I like that Hal Jordan has an ego problem. He was a test pilot and now has nearly limitless power. It probably does something to a fella.
Batman is Batman. He doesn’t say much, but when GL starts cocking off, Bats is able to deflate him a bit. It works.
The Superman reveal is ok as well. I’m not a Supes fan, but I do like his new costume. It’s retro-futurish. Like what the Man of Tomorrow would wear in the late 50’s.
I opted for the digital and paper combo pack. No offense to my paper-sniffing brethren, but the digital edition knocks it out of the park. It looks splendid on my iPad. I find in my advancing age, I notice the art more if it is presented one panel at a time. The only jab is that some of the dialogue was different between editions. That was fixed by an important update last night.
Whoever did the digital conversion did a great job. The panel advancement is handled in an almost cinematic way. I liked the effect.
I will give little reviews of the rest of my pull list as it comes out.
My current list:
Batman
Detective
Batgirl
Batwoman
JLA
JLA Dark
Action Comics (for now)
My DC Relaunch Thoughts
I love comic books.
When I was in my teens, I was lucky enough to work at the local comic shop (off the books). I spent almost two years reading, recommending and selling all types of books. As I got older and found other pursuits (girls), comics faded into the background. I still kept an ear to the scene, but my heavy collecting days were over.
Fast forward 22 or so years (wow). I was married, and had two kids and a house. I had a teeny bit of discretionary income. What to do?
A friend at work who never strayed from his comic path kept me up to date. He said DC was putting out this story where Batman gets tossed back in time. Everyone thinks he’s dead. This leaves everyone fighting over who will be Batman. Bruce himself will be traveling through time trying to get home.
Cool as hell.
I got the Battle for the Cowl and some Bat books. It was cool, but I felt like I was missing something. I am a DC Comics guy, but I was away so long and missed so much, I felt kind of left behind. Truthfully, I was drifting away again.
Then something neat happened. I read that DC was restarting the whole universe. It was a ballsy move. Some folks were up in arms, and I totally get their point. They invested years in continuity, only to have a large amount of it flushed. I feel that. I was actually upset for a moment myself.
Crisis on Infinite Earth
The Killing Joke
The Death of Superman
KnightFall
It bothered me that these things might be lost. Then I got over it.
Not to belittle anyone’s feelings, but Comics are a business. No matter how much you love them, if they don’t make money, they go away.
The world is a multimedia place. You can’t be just comics. You need TV, Movies, merchandising etc. To be honest, coming onto a book like Action at issue 900 is daunting. We know that storylines restart every few months, but that is a lot of canon for a new reader to digest.
I think the relaunch is a wonderful idea.
Now, if one of my kids decides to like Wonder Woman, Superman or Heaven forefend, Hawkman, there is a reasonable backlog to get into. Even if they don’t start reading for five years, 30 issues is WAY more accessible than 900.
DC opens the door for new consumers of all types. Easy to get on story points early in hero’s careers are a great idea. I am glad they didn’t punk out and go the alternate universe route. They easily could have kept current continuity and launched something else to lure in new readers.
I am planning on getting ~8 of the 52 new titles. That is up from the 4 I used to get. I would love to write for comics one day. The storytelling medium is fabulous.
At some point, I’ll talk about Marvel. I do like their stuff and LOVE the online archive. At the moment, I don’t get any Marvel books, though.
When I was in my teens, I was lucky enough to work at the local comic shop (off the books). I spent almost two years reading, recommending and selling all types of books. As I got older and found other pursuits (girls), comics faded into the background. I still kept an ear to the scene, but my heavy collecting days were over.
Fast forward 22 or so years (wow). I was married, and had two kids and a house. I had a teeny bit of discretionary income. What to do?
A friend at work who never strayed from his comic path kept me up to date. He said DC was putting out this story where Batman gets tossed back in time. Everyone thinks he’s dead. This leaves everyone fighting over who will be Batman. Bruce himself will be traveling through time trying to get home.
Cool as hell.
I got the Battle for the Cowl and some Bat books. It was cool, but I felt like I was missing something. I am a DC Comics guy, but I was away so long and missed so much, I felt kind of left behind. Truthfully, I was drifting away again.
Then something neat happened. I read that DC was restarting the whole universe. It was a ballsy move. Some folks were up in arms, and I totally get their point. They invested years in continuity, only to have a large amount of it flushed. I feel that. I was actually upset for a moment myself.
Crisis on Infinite Earth
The Killing Joke
The Death of Superman
KnightFall
It bothered me that these things might be lost. Then I got over it.
Not to belittle anyone’s feelings, but Comics are a business. No matter how much you love them, if they don’t make money, they go away.
The world is a multimedia place. You can’t be just comics. You need TV, Movies, merchandising etc. To be honest, coming onto a book like Action at issue 900 is daunting. We know that storylines restart every few months, but that is a lot of canon for a new reader to digest.
I think the relaunch is a wonderful idea.
Now, if one of my kids decides to like Wonder Woman, Superman or Heaven forefend, Hawkman, there is a reasonable backlog to get into. Even if they don’t start reading for five years, 30 issues is WAY more accessible than 900.
DC opens the door for new consumers of all types. Easy to get on story points early in hero’s careers are a great idea. I am glad they didn’t punk out and go the alternate universe route. They easily could have kept current continuity and launched something else to lure in new readers.
I am planning on getting ~8 of the 52 new titles. That is up from the 4 I used to get. I would love to write for comics one day. The storytelling medium is fabulous.
At some point, I’ll talk about Marvel. I do like their stuff and LOVE the online archive. At the moment, I don’t get any Marvel books, though.
August 30, 2011
How I Spent My Summer Vacation.
I was sitting in my office last Thursday. It was a regular day. I was excited that I had a few vacation days coming up for my anniversary.
About 1:30, I started feeling odd. I was a little disconnected, and my heart started pounding. I went to the men's room and washed my face, and got a drink of water. I felt a tad better, but my heart kept pounding.
After 20 minutes of so, I was really worried. Was that a chest pain? Was I short of breath? I called my doctor. Lovely, he was on vacation. I described my symptoms to the nurse. She told me she find one of the other doctors in the practice and call me back.
So I sat, and thumped. Was it getting worse? I couldn't tell. Thinking about it didn't help. A coworker called to ask me something. What was it? Beats me.
Finally, the nurse called back. “Go to the ER.”
Shit. I mean I knew it all along, but to have confirmation ratcheted my BP a few more notches.
It this point, I was freaking out on the inside, and making everything worse. Should I call an ambulance? Hell no. I rather flame out in the lot than have my coworkers see me go out like that. Antiquated macho Bullshit? Maybe.
Then was the hardest call.
“Marg, I'm on my way to CMC. Can you meet me there?”
Another few BP points up as I tried to calm her down enough to meet me. Luckily (You wont hear me say this too often) my mother was up visiting. So my wife didn't have to bring the kids with her.
I felt better out in the air. Rihanna's 'S&M' was on the radio. There was no traffic. I was able to breathe fine, but my chest was pounding like nothing I've ever felt.
The ride to the Hospital took about 6 minutes. Or 660 heartbeats, if you are keeping score at home. I had to park in the regular garage, because of course there aren’t any f'n spots to be had.
I trundled to the window with my iPad bag and some comics, it wasn't my first rodeo. I played a little buzzword bingo with the receptionist and said 'heart'. That is the secret word to get medicos to move faster.
My lovely wife came boiling in at this time. The receptionist took my info and pointed to the waiting room.
“Chew these.” My wife said, handing me two pills.
“What are they?”
“Aspirin. Look around.”
Sure enough, there were 25 other people in the waiting room. We were lucky to get a seat.
I chewed the horrible pills and sat down. By this time General Hospital was starting.
I was having no trouble breathing now. Oddly, it was like I took a Benedryl or something, My breaths came in long, cool waves. The pounding didn't relent, however. Fear sweat drooled down my sides to pool in every cranny.
Three times we were called back to the ER area. A quick EKG, pressures and o2 test, then paperwork and the all important copay. Eventually about 5:30 we went to the ER proper. I started to feel a little better, which made me more anxious. If the aspirin helped, I must be having a heart attack, right?
One of the nurses led me to a stretcher in the hall between the rooms and Nurse's Station 2. Good old stretcher 11. The nurse also intimated that it was incredibly busy for the last few weeks.
Perfect.
I did an hour of people watching, while the staff tended to the mangled remains of humanity. They tried to turn ambulances away, but they kept coming. I saw three folks come in with big time, debilitating heart attacks. There were also two psyche holds, and a small avalanche of broken bones.
My nurse came by and drew some blood. Then, the tech came by and took more. My wife was standing next to me the whole time, until about 7 the nurse took pity and gave her a chair from a room.
I went for a chest x-ray and back to my cot. My chest subsided to a dull roar. The Doctor came by. I think I am older than he. He was nice though, not like the hosers you sometimes get. Actually, the other doctor on was a hoser, and I was tickled not to have him. Anyhoo, the young healer told me that the X-ray and EKG were good. They were waiting on my labs.
It was apparent to me that I wasn’t staying unless the blood work was bad. I could still feel my ticker (not to be confused with my pumper) hammering away.
At Nine PM I was turned loose into the night. BP? Good. EKG? Good. X-ray? Good. Blood? Good. WTF?
We stopped at Dunkin Donuts for something to eat. By the time I had a wake up wrap and an orange juice, thumper had returned.
I slept on the couch that night, total sleep about two hours.
The doctor ordered me some more blood work, and a prescription for some blood pressure pills. I returned home defeated and confused. I was heartened a little that no one put me in the hospital for the balloon, but what was wrong?
Saturday was a good day. I got up, thumper free. I got my blood taken, and hung out around the house. It was probably the first time in half a decade I just vegged at home. My poor Margo, on the other hand, was busting her ass keeping the house running.
Saturday night, thumper returned. It was a bad night. Mostly because I had felt so good during the day. I didn't think I would sleep. Finally, I self medicated (don’t tell my Dr.) with some Benedryl, a Lasix and Maalox Max. Shh. Glorious sleep ensued.
Sunday dawned bright and full of possibilities. My chest felt good. I could do anything. We went for breakfast, and did some Walmart shopping. It was great until the evening. Once the kids were in bed, the pounding returned. I couldn't understand why it happened every night. Was I having congestive heart failure? When you are sick, friends, the internet is NOT your ally.
Monday, I called the doctor again. He punted. He set me up with an appointment for a cardiologist and a smack on the ass for good luck. I moped around for most of the day wondering at my place in the universe. The palpitations weren't so bad that night.
Tuesday was my best day yet. I would have bet that I felt better than even before my initial pain nearly a week before. Margo did the lawn, bless her. I wanted to help, I felt great. Since she is way smarter than I, she told me to get my ass in the house.
My doctors office called. My blood work was awesome. Cholesterol and thyroid were yummy. I got a gold star. Soooo no clue to the thumping. I felt better that day, I finally felt that I wasn’t going to croak at any moment.
On Wednesday, we went to the cardiologist. I took it as a bad omen that a paramedic followed us in with a stretcher. Another patient was in the midst of a heart attack at that moment. It has been my experience that the better the office staff, the more asslike the doctor is. All I will say is the staff was wonderful. After a cursory/perfunctory/smarmy discussion and another EKG, I was sent for a stress test.
For whatever reason, I have hated the phrase 'stress test' for 20+ years. My departed grandfather, paranoid that he was, told me he knew lots of people who died during stress tests. He actually went for a stress test, then was admitted to the hospital and had a heart attack. SO when they said it, by blood pressure must have spiked something fierce.
Chubby, shirtless and terrified I got wired up and had another EKG. Then onto the mill for my date with destiny. Ellen was on the TV hung on the wall. The tech fired up the treadmill.
As a lifetime fat kid, the treadmill was no stranger. Several of my worst memories are on treadmills. The incline went up as did the speed. He told me he needed my pulse to hit 180. I told him to go get my kids. I didn't even need to walk.
So I limped along on the treadmill as it went higher and faster. He took my BP three or four times. All good readings. It was hard to keep going, I was winded and my bad hip ached. He kept asking if I had any pains or tightness. No, just fat.
Thankfully, as my hip started cramping, we finished. He took my BP once more for fun. Then, he cut me loose. I saw my friend's sister in the waiting room. It was good to see a friendly face. We chatted about the last 20 years for five minutes. She said hope to see you soon, which is funny considering where she works.
The Cardiologist sent me on my way with no restrictions and an appointment for next year. Once my heart calmed down, Margo and I went for lunch. I felt good again. I hoped someone would figure out what was wrong with me.
I got a call from my doctor again. The other batch of blood work came back good. This presumably ruled out Diabetes, B12 and lackanookie.
Thursday, sweet sweet Thursday. I went for my Holter Monitor. Basically, its a heart monitor that you have to wear for twenty four hours. Immediately, it made me anxious. Was that a flutter? A thump? Soon, my heart was pounding like I just got pulled over with a trunk full of hookers. Not an auspicious start.
There was a little diary I had to keep. It said to keep track of meals, sleep, activity and SEXUAL ACTIVITY. Really? No, really? Who is humping while wearing a heart monitor? It's not a NASA experiment. Long story short, I couldn't relax, and slept like crap. I can only imagine what the results will say.
Today is Friday. The doctor called again. Now ,instead of asking for Edward, the nurse says hi Ed. My stress test came back swimmingly. Good to hear.
I am officially the fittest fat kid on the East Coast.
My regular doctor will be back from his Italian Odyssey next week. I plan all my WTF questions for him. Why do I feel like ass? Why do I feel flutters? Crazier than usual?
I currently feel pretty good. Let's hope it lasts.
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