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Shaking the Tree
May. 8th, 2008 10:19 amAlthough I've been somewhat productive this week, I'm starting to feel like I wasted 40 hours of vacation time. I just haven't done enough on the things I took the week off to work on.
As some of you likely already know, another Nine Inch Nails album is being given away over at theslip.nin.com. It's good stuff, sufficiently so that I'll probably order the physical version when it becomes available. Thanks to ... crap. Can't remember her LJ name. Thanks to the lovely Tokezo Hime for pointing me that way.
Two new Mutants & Masterminds books this week.
Book of Magic is just what the title would lead a reasonable person to believe it is. A nicely-done (as always) exploration of magic in the comic book tradition, with plenty of otherworldly powers and artifacts, as well as some good advice on building and playing a mystic hero. There's a good selection of archetypes - Artificer, Elementalist, Infernalist, Master Magician (PL15 - whoa), Mystic Knight, and Occult Investigator (PL 6, and undeniably John Constantine).
World of Freedom is an exploration of alternate versions of the Freedom City setting. The historical settings didn't especially grab me (Revolutionary War, Civil War, turn-of-the-century); there's also the obligatory world where the Nazis won (reminded me strongly of Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle). More interesting to me was the chapter on Freedom City as it might be in the Paragons setting - sort of an Ultimate Freedom City. Past that, two science-fiction settings, one along the lines of the Marvel 2099/Batman Beyond model, the other one following the Legion of Super Heroes (including a note about a five-year-gap). I'm ever so slowly being drawn back to the Legion, I can feel it.
Grabbed a DC Heroclix booster with the books - another pretty good mix. Will Magnus & Platinum, a Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner, Kid Flash, and Hawk & Dove. I'm getting close to a decent Teen Titans team here.
New comics, too, of course.
Dark Tower: The Long Road Home #3 (of 5): Peter David's doing a good job of aping King's style, particularly his narration in the later books. This issue has some very unpleasant looks into the future for Roland, although he's blessedly too caught up in himself to know what's going to happen to him.
Invincible Iron Man #1: I read some misgivings about Matt Fraction when this was announced, but he's delivered a solid opening issue. There's good representation of Tony and his strengths and weaknesses here.
Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas #1 (of 4): Written by Jon Favreau, art by Adi Granov. Slow start, could have done without the 5-page preview (filler, dammit) for The Eternals. The house ad for Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. made me grin, though - "The world's toughest job needs more than a man of steel."
Freeport tonight.
As some of you likely already know, another Nine Inch Nails album is being given away over at theslip.nin.com. It's good stuff, sufficiently so that I'll probably order the physical version when it becomes available. Thanks to ... crap. Can't remember her LJ name. Thanks to the lovely Tokezo Hime for pointing me that way.
Two new Mutants & Masterminds books this week.
Book of Magic is just what the title would lead a reasonable person to believe it is. A nicely-done (as always) exploration of magic in the comic book tradition, with plenty of otherworldly powers and artifacts, as well as some good advice on building and playing a mystic hero. There's a good selection of archetypes - Artificer, Elementalist, Infernalist, Master Magician (PL15 - whoa), Mystic Knight, and Occult Investigator (PL 6, and undeniably John Constantine).
World of Freedom is an exploration of alternate versions of the Freedom City setting. The historical settings didn't especially grab me (Revolutionary War, Civil War, turn-of-the-century); there's also the obligatory world where the Nazis won (reminded me strongly of Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle). More interesting to me was the chapter on Freedom City as it might be in the Paragons setting - sort of an Ultimate Freedom City. Past that, two science-fiction settings, one along the lines of the Marvel 2099/Batman Beyond model, the other one following the Legion of Super Heroes (including a note about a five-year-gap). I'm ever so slowly being drawn back to the Legion, I can feel it.
Grabbed a DC Heroclix booster with the books - another pretty good mix. Will Magnus & Platinum, a Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner, Kid Flash, and Hawk & Dove. I'm getting close to a decent Teen Titans team here.
New comics, too, of course.
Dark Tower: The Long Road Home #3 (of 5): Peter David's doing a good job of aping King's style, particularly his narration in the later books. This issue has some very unpleasant looks into the future for Roland, although he's blessedly too caught up in himself to know what's going to happen to him.
Invincible Iron Man #1: I read some misgivings about Matt Fraction when this was announced, but he's delivered a solid opening issue. There's good representation of Tony and his strengths and weaknesses here.
Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas #1 (of 4): Written by Jon Favreau, art by Adi Granov. Slow start, could have done without the 5-page preview (filler, dammit) for The Eternals. The house ad for Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. made me grin, though - "The world's toughest job needs more than a man of steel."
Freeport tonight.