Friday, September 17, 2004

He can spin a web any size; what size web are you?
Well, it happened again; my post got eaten. This time, I recieved an e-mail and clicked on a link inside it; rather than opening in a new window, it opened in my current one, effectivly wiping my ranting away. So, today's post is now half of itself, because I'm not retyping my rant against kids acting like brats in stores. Maybe later.

Anyway, onto the real purpose of todays post. Ladies all the time be askin' me, why am I a fan of Spider-Man? Well, the short answer is, I'm a total geek. (The loser geek, not the ombnivourous one....) But that's not long enough to give body to this post. So, we're gonna' go the long way about this.

When I was a wee lad of eight, my parents were stationed in Hiedelburg, Germany. As a child, this presented only on major problem: no toys. The base exchange was a bit lacking in their toy selection, and by that I mean that the most up-to-date products they had were Biker Mice From Mars action figures. Yeah, no dice there.

Then, what the heck would I spend my allowance on? What could keep my interest and fascinate and challenge my imagination?

Well, the answer sort of came without my realising it. See, I was already an avid reader of the newspaper comic strips. Guess what one of the comic strips of the Stars & Stripes was?

With my interest piqued, I started buying the spidery mags. They were cheap ($1.35), portable, and readily availible at every store. Jackpot.

The character of Spider-Man had an appeal beyond the neat costume and cool powers. Peter was a smart guy, and I was a young nerd myself. Peter was a loner, and I was notoriously friendless. And, quite frankly, if Pete was a real person, he'd be the kind of guy I hung out with. I liked the guy.

Compare this to Superman, who is a total loser, or Batman, who's just kind of a downer to hang with. (Granted, Batman is still the coolest character DC ever made. But not Robin. Robin sucks.)

There was a space of about two years, '99 to '00, where I didn't read any Spidey comics, because management had botched the character so badly that I just wasn't interested. The sin was unforgivable: they made the books boring. Don't bore me.

However, things turned around, and I was hearing good things, so in 2001, I went back, and didn't regret it.

And, on a slightly related note, Spider-Man has the coolest gallery of enemies ever. And you know how much I like villians. Villians rock.

Now, we get to the part where I try to convert you. There are two books I recommend, but each for a different audience.

If you like anime and read manga, take a look at Ultimate Spider-Man. The stoey-telling style and publication route are very similar to manga; the entire story is collected in sequential volumes. (My favorites are volumes two and six.)

If you already read American comics and are accustomed to the genre, then read Marvel Knight's Spider-Man; it's the kick-arseing-est book right now.

And if you don't read comics or manga, then talk to9 me. I'll find you something. =P

You see, I want you all to be as geeking as I am.

Thought of the moment: My radio is fixed!

Quote of the moment: "We fear it not, for we have emergency rations." -Excel

Song of the moment:

"All of This", Blinik-182 & the Cure

With all of this I know now
Everything inside of my head
It all just goes to show how
Nothing I know changes me at all
Again I wait for this to change instead
To tear the world in two
Another night with her
But I'm always wanting you

Use me Holly come on and use me
We know where we go
Use me Holly come on and use me
We go where we know

With all of this I feel now
Everything inside of my heart
It all just seems to be how
Nothing I feel pulls at me at all
Again I wait for this to pull apart
To break my time in two
Another night with her
But I'm always wanting you

Use me Holly come on and use me
We know where we go
Use me Holly come on and use me
We go where we know

She's all I need
She's all I dream
She's all I'm always wanting
She's all I need
She's all I dream
She's all:
I'm always wanting you
Yeah I'm always wanting you
I'm always wanting you

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