Comics No More & The Great Toy Purge of 2004

Free Comic Book Day was this past Saturday, and our own local comic shop – Outer Limits – appeared to have a great turnout. I say appeared because this year, my son and I didn’t go. You see, when I jumped into comics a little over a year, right before the big Flashpoint storyline that lead to DC’s The New 52 lineup, I already knew I was in over my head. Comics are great, they’re fun to read, to look at, to collect. There are many titles I loved and new titles I quickly fell in love with. I’m a sucker for things like this! That’s where my small problem came in. Comics can get expensive the more you come across new titles and multiple titled that spawn from the same character. I tried to limit myself, but failed. I had to have ‘em all.

That was completely my fault, of course, but one that couldn’t be sustained in a reasonable persons life that has too many other things going on. For example, video games, gadget fever – the usual stuff. There is also the eventual problem of storage. Where to put them, how to put them and what to do once you put them. So instead of forcing myself to trim huge portions off of my comic book pull list, I dropped the whole thing completely. I have all my comics bagged, boarded and boxed up for now. Perhaps one day in the future my son and I can step back into that comic collecting world and begin building our collection again.

Of course, that’s not the end of my story. While I’m not venturing out to support my local comic shop every Wednsday anymore, I will still browse eBay for back issues of older comics I use to collect. Titles that were lost in the Great Toy Purge of 2004. What’s that? I’ve never mentioned the Great Toy Purge of 2004? Ah, well I’m sure I have at some point, but to quickly catch you up to speed:

When The Wife and I found out she was pregnant and expecting our first (and currently only) child, we were thrilled. When we found out it was going to be a girl, we were still thrilled but she was a little more thrilled then I was. We had also just gotten married and lived in a small 2 bedroom townhouse with no storage. This was a problem mainly for me because I had a huge stash of toys, comics, books, videos (the old VHS style), baseball cards, etc. When I say huge, I mean the giant rectangular Rubbermaid totes filled to the top and the lids popping open because they’re so full huge.

In my head, a girl wouldn’t want any of these things that I had accumulated since my childhood. A girl wouldn’t read – at least until much much later in life, maybe, the types of books I read. And I had some books, let me tell you. Three large bookshelves full of paperback and hardback novels. So I made a decision. We needed space. We needed room for the baby and her clothes. I packed up all my stuff. On eBay, I sold several dozen books and nearly all of the toys I had collected. This earned us some cash to have on hand to prepare for baby. The giant collection of Star Wars figures and vehicles, Hot Wheels collectible cars, etc, I gave to The Wife’s younger cousins. Sports cards went to some folks at work. VHS movies were big at the pawn shop in town, so I quickly dumped them off there and made some cash.

We were set. We had extra money and lots of space to welcome our new baby girl who would have absolutely no interest in my nasty boy toys and collectibles. Then we went to the doctor one day, 3 months before our child was due, and they diagnosed my wife with toxemia poisoning. They ran a quick ultrasound on her and announced that – WHOOPS! OUR BAD! – we were actually having a baby boy! They then rushed her to the hospital and delivered our son 3 months early.

So, there, my friends, is the story of the Great Toy Purge of 2004. I still tell this story to this very day to my son when I start to feel guilty about not having all of these cool items from my past to hand down to him. It hurts, sometimes, but we make do. We go out on hunting trips to comic shops and collectible vendors at flea markets looking for things that I use to have or always wanted. It gives us something else to bond with, talking about something new he’s discovered and me saying, “Oh, yeah, I use to have one of those.” And the search is on.

 

Kicked in the Teeth

February 2013 has been a nightmare. Not saying it couldn’t get worse – cause God knows it can always get worse, but February has made a profession of kicking me in the teeth. Repeatedly. Hard. With steel-toed boots on. I guess what I’m trying to get at is, it’s been a pretty crappy month. Things are starting to (and I’ll probably regret even saying this) look up and a little brighter.

Aside from minor storm damage, dealing with insurance adjusters, roofing contractors, this crazy weather, flat tires, car maintenance, unexpected bills, etc. Not to mention, because of all the previous items, just down and out depressed all around, ya know? I’ve had little time for anything else, be it playing a relaxing game, watching television or a movie with my family, or anything just to unwind. In fact, up until yesterday, I hadn’t had much free time at all.

Then things start to look a little brighter. The sun shown a beam down through the clouds and rainfall. Hopefully it wasn’t just a tease.

Then again, I guess I am being a little too dreary about how the month has been treating me. I have accomplished a few little things. Nothing earth shattering, but a few little things here and there. For example, I finally – after three months – finished Stephen King’s The Drawing of the Three, the second book in The Dark Tower series of books. Good story. I tried to read it many years ago as a much younger fellow, but I couldn’t get through the first chapter. Picking it back up and decided to read all the way through the series, though, I’ve been finding more enjoyment within the pages.

I also “dinged” level 90 on my Draenei hunter, Shavelle. The toon is my main character in the World of Warcraft MMO and the last two levels seemed like they would take forever. F o r e v e r. I was so proud of the achievement, I posted a screen cap on my Facebook page so all my nonWoW friends and family could just stare at it and think about what a loser I am In fact, I’ll share with you, too.

So, I finished a book, leveled a character to max level, am experiencing a tiny bit of a turn around in my luck. Oh, and I picked up season 2 of HBO’s A Game of Thrones blu ray boxed set. There again, though, February tried to ruin my fun by not including the slip that has the codes for the digital download version of the episodes. My package wasn’t the only one to have this issue, but finding information about it online is near impossible. Seems to be only packages from a particular distribution center and not focused on any particular retailer. Customers from Target, Wal-Mart, Amazon, etc (online and brick n’ mortar) have all experienced the same problem. But I won’t let that little bit drag me away from the good things. Not now, now with this godforsaken month nearly over with

I have also been keeping up with the second half of season 3 for The Walking Dead. Good episodes this season, will discuss more about them later.

How’s your February been going?

Book Report: Dark Matters by T. Joseph Browder

Inside the self-published collection of short stories by T. Joseph Browder, titled Dark Matters, are 7 tales of varying subject matter. I picked up this little gem after hearing it mentioned several times on the literary podcast, The Library Police, hosted by Dietrich Stogner and Josh Mauthe. To quote the guys from the podcast, “there are no bad stories here.” Each tale inside Dark Matters is a wonderful experience and one I’m glad I took a chance on. When I read, I’m normally drawn back to the same trustworthy, safe authors that I know and love. So, to step outside my comfort zone and try someone new, I get a little queasy. Thankfully, Mr. Browder has a new fan, and I can’t wait to hear details about the new novel he is working on! I’m not sure if he has a dedicated website, as I can’t find one, but he does have a Facebook page where he posts information: T. Joseph Browder on Facebook

While there are no bad stories in this 7-story collection, not all stories are created equally. What you will find, though, is that even at it’s weakest, Dark Matters offers bang for your buck. The tales range from emotional, heart touching recounts of youth, fear, chills and spills and action. There’s psychological horror, supernatural events, even some science fiction elements – a little bit of something for everyone.

The Stories:

Toby – The tale of a boy and his special St. Bernard. I admit, there was a lump in my throat at the end of this one, and Mr. Browder does a fantastic job of relating the tale of the innocent child in Lima, Ohio to the married father years later. Toby pulls at the heartstrings, folks, and this is just the first story in the collection.

Rogue – For me, Rogue was the weakest link in the book. I was lost for a second at one point, when a flashback occurred and I wasn’t able to get back on track for the remainder of the story. Rogue is in no way a bad entry into the collection, but not my favorite out of the seven. Rogue refers to a grizzly bear that terrorizes a wounded, stranded motorist. The story culminates in a no-holds-barred, knock down, drag out fight to the end.

Hammerfall – Right smack dab in the middle of the action is where Hammerfall starts. I enjoyed this tidbit of what seems to be a much larger work sitting around somewhere that the author is hiding from us. Hammerfall refers to a particular event that occurs in the story and follows a man with a past as he is thrown into an intense situation and must decide how to deal. Greg, our hero, is far from a hero and the thoughts we are allowed to share with him make that evident. The story – as a few others do – ends abruptly, and I like that! Mr. Browder seems to get it – the reader doesn’t always have to have everything little detail drawn out for them at the end of a story. He ends a couple of the stories – such as this one – without any further explanation.

The Visitor – A vampire. An old man. A mansion rigged with every imaginable booby trap. This is one you have to experience for yourself.

The Contract – A man walks into a bar. He meets with a hitman and slides him an envelope with the mission. The assassin is taken aback when he opens the envelops and discovers his target is the same man sitting across from him. He promptly pulls out a gun and shoots the man between the eyes. The man shakes his head and tells him he has 72 hours to try and do the job he’s been given, otherwise, the man will come after the assassin with a vengeance.  How do you kill a man who can not die before he comes after you? A fantastic thriller/horror/supernatural tale. I actually wanted to know more about the natty man myself and hope he might show up in another tale further down the road in another collection.

After Hammerfall – a follow-up story that takes place about a dozen years after the events of the story Hammerfall. Different characters and a simple, simple tale that deals with how a planet reacts, how people change and what might rise up in man’s place if a few vital elements were removed from everyday life over the course of years.

Educator – The final tale. Short, sweet, to the point. And, again, it seems like it should be part of a much more expanded story. I was reminded of Darkman by the end, but by saying that, maybe I’ve said too much.

I consumed Dark Matters in 2 days, and it only took that long because I picked it up late one night before bed and finished it up during breaks at work the following night. If you enjoy quick reads and enjoy a variety in your reading, pick up this book. Then! Head over to sites such as Goodreads and leave reviews, rate and leave comments on the sites you buy the ebook, etc.

Buy on Amazon Kindle

Also available on iTunes, B&N Nook

 

Quick Read: Throttle by Stephen King & Joe Hill

I picked this quick read (about 50 pages in ebook format) up the same time I picked up the father and son team’s book, In the Tall Grass. Throttle is inspired by Richard Matheson’s Duel, and the writing duo even acknowledge this in the title page to the book. Throttle focuses on a biker gang, The Tribe, as they are chased across the desert by a faceless semi-truck driver. The story is also available as a comic book published by IDW under the main title Road Rage.

Quick Reads: Dark Matters by T. Joseph Browder

At the recommendation of The Library Police, I finally picked up Dark Matters by T. Joseph Browder. A collection of short stories from the self-published author, the book contains 7 stories that are all worth the read and the $2.99 price tag for the ebook format on all your digital outlets.