Books and Music!
Star Wars #8 by Jason Aaron and Stuart Immonen - Stuart Immonen definitely steps his artistic likeness game up here as he matches Quietly in terms of the known characters. Luke think he's Han for a second while Han has girl trouble. And oh yeah, Sana is DEFINITELY a mystery.
ASM Renew Your Vows #4 by Dan Slott & Adam Kubert - Slott again throws my guessing a curveball here...to my delight. Regent shows he's brilliantly stupid as a man who wants to takes down God and my heart goes out to The Spot. Through this all, I maintain that I still miss this MJ/Peter dynamic in the regular books.
Age of Ultron vs Marvel Zombies #3 by James Robinson and Steve Pugh - Last review I said humanity was screwed as it was resting in the hands of a Hank Pym who doesn't know Ultron. Well Robinson and Pugh had to one up me by deciding to create even more nightmare fuel than either The Deadlands or Perfection. Yeah...can't wait to see Pym's plan...
Spider-Verse #4 by Mike Costa and Andre Araujo - On the subject of brilliantly stupid men who want to take on God, hi Norman Osborn! And unfortunately, the Web Warriors discover this just as God does. Meanwhile, Peter and Gwen have a plan for Osborn... how sane the plan is definitely is questionable!
Runaways #3 by Noelle Stevenson and Sanford Greene - Somehow the kiddos can move in-between realms/zones in their ship. The true purpose of the test is revealed and Valeria has a crush? Oh yeah this book is frantic fun for me. Now can the kids survive?
Guardians of Knowhere #3 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato - Book still confuses me BUT I can't lie, the Gamora/Angela interactions have been intriguing. Does Gamora know about the nature of the world because the TRUE Thanos arrived elsewhere? Are her bonds with her "dad" that deep? Just a thought....
Howard The Human #1 by Skottie Young and Jim Mahfood - Speaking of confusing, yet fun, this was an interesting invert of the Duck's tale, invoking not only the Usual Suspects but also the famous "Almost Got Him" episode of Batman The Animated Series. A fun little one off in the insanity that we call Secret Wars.
Astro City #26 by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson - 20th Anniversary Issue. 20 years of reading a loving homage to comics and mythos of all types crammed into one amazing city and its denizens. Everytime politics of comics get me down, I can pick up an issue of Astro City and remember why I read them and love them. Here's to 20 years more... as far as the issue goes, remember issue #1 of the new run? Well one major mystery gets reintroduced subtly here.
AfroPunk
Had a great time at what was my 4th time at the event Saturday in Commodore Barry Park in Brooklyn. Suicidal Tendencies, Lion Babe, Kelis, Lauryn Hill, and Grace Jones were the acts I caught a majority of with bits of LetLive thrown in for good measure. DBurt and I had a blast but as always we ran into a little stupidity. So, as a public service, here's a little how to guide for survival.
1) Know your weather: This should be simple but I did see 4 or 5 people fall out due to heat exhaustion. Come on. If it a 90+ degree day, know that you need hydration BEFORE and DURING the event.
2) Count on favorite acts being scheduled up against one another so prioritize: I had a list of the acts I wanted to see in my mind already and by sheer luck I only had one conflict. I had to sacrifice Death Grips in favor of Lauryn Hill BUT again I had a plan going into the event.
3) Count on everyone wanting to see what you want to see so get there early to get a good spot. Try to get to your stage 10 minutes before showtime at least. Sorry I just not cool with in the midst of a jam packed performance, people trying to push through to the front. ESPECIALLY if you know that it is packed. Although after a couple of bad encounters, I did get folks that said excuse me and sorry.
4) BE POLITE! For an event predicated on coming together and awareness, there were certainly enough a$$holes from every walk of life that tested my patience.
5) As I say this, BE PATIENT! Yeahhhh if I'm the one saying this with my anger issues....! It going to be a long fun filled day with great music and beautiful women (people for other tastes) so be safe and be careful! I had fun but of course I had to come down from the energy high so...HELLO comic shop!
Post AfroPunk
Book of Death #2 by Robert Venditti and Robert Gill with Doug Braithwaite on art - Ivar proves that it isn't bravado. He ACTUALLY has thought hard about talking out Unity and proceeds to do so..painfully. The Puppetmaster stands revealed, more chaos, and are we really talking a tactical nuke on US soil? Wow these are desperate times....
Archie #2 by Mark Waid and Fiona Staples - The trademark Andrews klutziness/bad luck follows him in the midst of a certain mansion being built. Betty has more skills than I have ever assumed and I think Archie's Dad has a plan. Now what exactly is Jughead up to? lol
Captain Britain and The Mighty Defenders #2 by Al Ewing and Alan Davis - Short and sweet this story ends after 2 issues. A lil fluff that served a purpose in fleshing out Faiza more AND being a great homage to Judge Dredd. Boss Cage? Really sounds like a tough character in Double Dragon..lol
Check The Technique by Brian Coleman - I already blamed Ed Piskor for me getting this at AfroPunk. I recognized the book from the bibliography of Hip-Hop Family Tree. Technique gives us 36 of the most famous albums of hip-hop's history with artists' first hand accounts of the stories, fun, and turmoils behind them. Book may be 8 years old but how could you profess to be a student of the game WITHOUT this information? Well done Mr. Coleman. Well Done! Special thanks to Greenlight Books for having it.
Thanks for reading! Great day! Great times! Until Next Time, Keep Fantasizing!
Great rundown
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