A friend found this (I can’t find everything on my own) and I thought I should share it since films can be a geeky thing… talk to any true film buff and you’ll understand. Some films do inspire… the Dude abides- even if he didn’t make the cut.
Category: Blogposts
Posts not connected to a comic… sometimes information, sometimes just ranting, it’s a bit of a gamble when you read these.
Tales from the Long Box… “Truth, Justin, and the American Way”
I decided when I started cleaning out a bit that I should go back and reread some of those comics that I decided to keep. So as I go back a reconnect with some of the “good stuff” or at least weird, strange, stuff that I decided I needed regardless of it’s value. I know I still have a few boxes that I’m cataloging in hopes that they will find a good home. Ben (when will I get another comic to him to color?) took a full long box of stuff. For those not in the know a long box is the large cardboard box specifically designed to hold comics (around 200). My hope is that every once in a while I will go back and review some titles or story arcs. This week it’ll be…
Title: Truth Justin & the American Way
Published: 2006 by Image Comics
Writer: Aaron Williams & Scott Kurtz
Art: Guiseppe Ferrario
Why I picked it up originally: I was reading PVP and was hearing about this comic project… decided to give it a try.
Why I kept reading it: It tugged at my nostalgic side… for the dopey TV of my childhood.
The story (spoilers included, though I’ve tried to keep them to a minimum): Basically it starts off as a take off of “The Greatest American Hero” one of my favorite TV shows growing up. If you look at the basic storyline guy finds alien suit that gives him great powers if he can figure out how it works… general hilarity ensues. What the comic does is not only twist that basic story, but also infuse it with enough TV references that it not only brings you back to that time, but also makes you try to hunt through the dialogue and art for easter eggs. I won’t give any away here, but some are as simple as the cover being a homage to a movie from that period.
Character wise they seem to be stereotypes (just like when I was a kid)- Justin is your typical nice guy, loser, klutz just trying to get through life and be happy. The plot moves from mishap to mishap with everything being tied up in a nice little box at the end. A simple story about simpler times, when good guys were good guys and bad guys were either the government or communists. If I wanted to be all scholarly I could go through how this follows the basic steps of Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” Justin leaves his life of goofiness and by the end of the story has matured and as we go issue by issue does end up becoming a “hero.” The format of 80’s sitcom doesn’t always lend itself for this kind of analysis so I’ll leave it there- he grows up (a bit).
This was a five issue series looking at the basics plot points in each issue-
Issue 1- Character introductions, getting the suit and not understanding what is going on.
Issue 2- Bachelor Party, antagonist shows up, gratuitous destruction, flashback & Justin’s confrontation with his fiancée
Issue 3- Destruction, introduction of minor adversary, & cliffhanger ending- calling the wedding off?!?!
Issue 4- Fiancée captured by the government, we learn a few more things about the suit, and the “Justinmobile” is born, ending with rescuing the princess…
Issue 5- The wedding, aliens, destruction, comedic ending with appropriate just desserts served. Leading to the typical 80’s to be continued…
So why’d I keep it? I really can’t say… there are times (when it’s snowing or raining) and you just want to read a fun story that you can lose yourself in- this is pretty close to that. Best story ever? No, but in a classic Mad magazine kind of way it did make me feel like a kid again, and made me want to hunt down some episodes of “The Greatest American Hero.”
I really need to decide on a clever rating system to put here… oh well, maybe another day.
Dr. Who Cache Series Update
Well, upon recollection maybe the scope of my original idea was a bit too much (at least until summer. That said I am moving ahead with the idea of 11 geocaches placed around in honor of the good doctor… just “the Doctor.” Today I took some time between lunch, grading, & cat brushing to figure out how it was going to work. As I believe Stephanie pointed out- if I have these placed all around the country, what would happen if one goes missing? Since the original plan was to create each cache by hand. I took some time and thought about this and decided to go a hopefully simpler route. I would put a wrap around each decon container that would be the same, yet also illustrate each doctor.
So with my trusty laptop and black & white printer I came up with this… From this I will add details to make sure that it is as close to what the Doctor in question had as possible. While the chameleon circuit may have been damaged… it is amazing how a number of Doctor’s TARDISes have slightly different exteriors as well as interiors. You would figure that as long as the circuit is broken it would keep the same outside. (logic doesn’t always work in Science Fiction)
So the actual wrap will have something to distinguish one Dr. Who decon from another…
So as I complete each cache and send it off to be released in the wild I will let you know the GC# and which doctor it is for. If you want to see how it turned out… hunt it down.
I still may go with a fantastic final cache. I still have an idea what I’d like to do (& WHO & therefore WHERE I’d like it placed), but I’d first like to get all 11 doctors out saving mankind.
Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear…
When I was a kid I would watch match classic films from the golden age of Science Fiction. Things like “Earth vs. The Flying Saucers” & stuff like that. I remember coming home from school and turning on the TV- after I had finished my homework 😉 and one of our local stations would have a weekly theme- Science Fiction, Abbott & Costello, The Marx Brothers, Westerns, etc. If I didn’t like the theme, I could always watch cartoons on another channel. So what about the video above? For those younger readers while George Lucas admits he was inspired by the classic movie serials… this was not one of them. I received a link to this from an old friend & knew I should post it for those who may not have seen it.
I tend to post things on Facebook and then forget to post here- “doh!” So look for more posts in the future from me, and I’ll even post a comic tomorrow (something new & different!). This week has just been fatiguing (reminder word for my students) with lots of kids sick and I just hope I’ve dodged the bullet- but I don’t think I’m that quick.
Cleaning Out – Geek Style
Usually I try to do this once a year… it has been at least two (maybe three) so this is something that needed to be done, I speak of cleaning out/organizing my comic book collection. My collection is 11 “long boxes” in the basement and then 5 in my office. The ones in my office aren’t filled. I try to pick a day when Sue isn’t home so she doesn’t have to see (or find out) how large my comic book collection is.
I start off bringing up all the boxes and then emptying them out. This way I can consolidate titles and make sure that everything is in order. This move covers the floor of the house in stacks of comics. I then put the comics back into the boxes. While putting them back I decide if there are are any titles I don’t want and move on from there. Seems simple… it is & it isn’t.
All I can say is thanks to the way Marvel (Civil War, Secret War, Dark Reign, etc.) & DC (a Universe in constant “Crisis”) have been publishing the past few years I actually felt like I could winnow down my collection a lot.
Why?!? because some of the stories just aren’t good. I’m tired of “universe altering story lines” that end up with nothing being changed. I’m going to still read a lot, but I don’t see the reason to keep as much. I’m dropping completely, Daredevil with the exception of some Frank Miller issues. I’m dropping Captain America, still reading it, just not collecting it. JLA-gone, Titans-gone, Ultimate anything- nope, a lot of my old stuff that I just haven’t kept up with. I was reading the Avengers, but when the Marvel universe came back to being one big happy family, there were just too many to choose from. Was I reading Secret Avengers, Mighty Avengers, New Avengers, New Mighty Secret Avengers? I don’t remember which one I thought was pretty good and which one either the art or the story was not to my liking. So many titles that I thought would be good and ended up either bad, or I just forgot to pick them up and fell behind.
What am I still reading… Hmmm… let me check- The Walking Dead (I’m missing 4 issues, but I will find them). Invincible, JSA, The Flash, Ozma of Oz, Mouse Guard, Teen Titans, I know there are others but it has been a long day. I figure I’ll still bounce around with Batman, but while Superman’s “Walking” storyline is interesting it is starting to wear me down- I can only walk so far. What I am going to do is go back and reread a bunch of my old comics that I rediscovered while cleaning house. I’m looking forward to getting reacquainted with some old friends. Hopefully, by the time I’m done the Heroic Age will have passed and the sun will have set on the Brightest Day.
So if you read comics… what’s your favorite?
Welcome to 2011 “The Year of NO”
Amazingly we survived 2010 with some great highlights and adventures. So what will 2011 bring? Good question. I have decided to call 2011 “The Year of NO” because so many things I have done in the past I will not be doing this year. Mostly due to timing not because I don’t want to. Let’s look at the list:
MINIs On The Dragon – April 27 to May 1
The BEST MINI event East of the Mississippi- Since Sue and I started going we have missed it once. We stay at the Blue Waters Mountain Lodge and have a wonderful time. Reason for skipping it this year- It occurs right in the middle of statewide testing.
A MINI Vacation In Vegas – May 19 to 22
The biggest MINI event West of the Mississippi. We went for the first time last year because it occurred the first weekend of Spring Break. Reason for missing this year- I’m in school and it will be crunch time as we close out the year.
San Diego Comic-Con – July 21-24
The BIGGEST Comic Convention in the UNIVERSE!!! Missed last year because tickets were sold out before I decided I wanted to go. Reason for missing this year- They sold out of some badges (those with Preview Night) at the Con last year and still haven’t been able to get registration to work properly. Compound that headache with the cost of flying and the cost of a hotel… thanks, but no thanks.
Groundspeak Block Party – August 18
Went to the Lost & Found event last year in conjunction with GeoWoodstock had a great time, would love to attend and go caching around the Pacific Northwest again. Reason for not attending- School starts the 15th.
MINI United – August 26 to 28
The Biggest MINI event in the World. Went to Silverstone (which kicked this comic strip off) and met some wonderful people and had a great time. Reason for missing it- School starts the 15th.
For those who love to say “being a teacher must be wonderful… you get all that time off.” What I give up for getting “all that time off” is the flexibility to say “I’m going to take a few days off” anytime between August and June. Not upset, just a cold hard fact.
Do I miss going to all those events and thingies? Not really. I’m planning on having a wonderful year. What will I be doing? I will be traveling & I will be attending a few conventions and events. I just don’t know which ones, yet. The only thing I have registered for is C2E2 in Chicago. Sue & I are also planning on attending GeoWoodstock in Pennsylvania in July. Sue and I have talked about actually traveling without an agenda (except for caching). It has been a while since we did that. A possible goal would be to finally color in the rest of the U.S. Map when it comes to caching, that might be a bit ambitious. But who knows we might be in your neighborhood. Look for the guy with the monkey in the Mini. I do hope everyone’s 2011 is fantastic, Happy New Year!
New Project for 2011: Doctor Who Cache Series?
Here’s the deal… last year my creative project (outside of the comic) was Project: Pinewood, in which I went back to my days as a Cub Scout and made a pinewood derby car, using only a pocket knife and sandpaper. This was in honor of the centennial of Scouting in America. The car became a travel bug and is is presently wandering the United States from cache to cache. Being larger than most caches I completely understand why it hasn’t gathered the miles. So what should I do this year?
Here’s the plan it might work, it might not. I know a number of the readers of this comic also (because they have some geeky traits) watch Dr. Who. My plan is to create a geocache for each incarnation of the Doctor. These would all be decon containers (TARDIS) that I have added some decoration for the unique doctor.
My first idea was to have Cecil place the series as I had time to create them, and be done with it… then another idea started to germinate. What if those caching Dr. Who fans from across the country received a cache and placed it in THEIR community? What if each cache had part of the coordinates to a final cache filled with Dr. Who swag and a commemorative Pathtag? What if I just turned this whole project in to way too much work? Could it all be done in a year? A dozen caches placed around the country (the world?). I’d need to really learn more about Dr. Who (I remember Tom Baker – the fourth doctor, but not well.) I picked up the series with the 9th Doctor and still haven’t seen all the 10th Doctor’s episodes. What do you think? In the immortal words of John Belushi “Who’s with me?” Thoughts? Ideas?
Happy Holidaze!
I know many people travel during the holidaze which was one of the reasons I decided to take the comic on hiatus while I’m on the road. For Christmas my parents gave me a wonderful new scanner which will allow me to draw on larger paper, so hopefully you will see a worthwhile change when we get everything back up & running in January. I’m going to take this time to plot out some of the big geek odyssey events for 2011. I’m also planning on doodling a bit (seeing some of the sketches at the Indy Webcomics Group meet up got me thinking about some characters, and some tweaks I’d like to make).
I hope everyone is safe and sound, and enjoying time with friends and family. I’m enjoying the “frigid” weather in South Carolina (it’s around 37 this Christmas morning) with no snow wandering with Sue’s family on the beach. Hemi is at the “kitty spa” being pampered while we travel. Sue and I decided that Hemi might not enjoy the drive even though questions about his attendance had been raised. I am amazed at how much that cat has become part of our lives… I miss the little guy when he’s not around.
The holidays here, with Sue’s family, are filled with tradition- on Christmas Eve we have a Swedish smorgasbord with Swedish meatballs, potato sausage, ham, herring, etc. I often joke that I am “more Swedish” than Sue but she knows more about Swedish culture than I ever will. The evening usually involves “glogg” a mulled wine served warm. A card game finishes out the evening.
If you have noticed the Twitter feed Sue & Cecil had done a little geocaching once we got into town. The drive back promises more opportunities and who knows Cecil might reach 1400 finds before we get home. Looking for a Cecil or My Geek Odyssey pathtag? I know I will be dropping them along the way home. If you head out to the comic shop, yarn store, or to find a cache enjoy and stay safe & beware of alligators, or something.
Cecil’s Plan… the Original Concept from Top Gear
Cecil does come up with plans & schemes on his own- but sometimes inspiration is needed. Here is his inspiration. Enjoy!
Podcasts and Thoughts
I may not be as much of a podcast junkie as Sue and with time I really have slowed down on my podcast listening. There are a few I still listen to regularly (whiteroofradio, decoderringtheatre, & podcacher) unfortunately for me, one that had stopped posting for a while has started again. Webcomics Weekly has been on hiatus until the last month. The funny thing is I started listening to this podcast back when it was the “Blank Label Comics Podcast” the podcast itself has evolved from basics for web cartoonists (if you want that listen to early episodes) to the life of a web cartoonist- they even have changed their thoughts from what they had written in How to Make Webcomics & Webcomics.com. Nothing too bad, interesting suggestions and thoughts from people who have been able to give up real life and enjoy cartooning as a life.
I bring this up because this last week someone talked about “Should I quit?” the guys on this podcast rambled about a bunch of stuff but they also talked about (with 10+ years experience) the need for people who really want to create a webcomic and aren’t looking for a way to give up their day job. I guess even after the comments from my mother about “when I’m going to make money” I’m here because this is something I have always wanted to do. I don’t know if I was stupid not following the advice given to me in high school- there is something about having bit of life experience.
I’m still working on what I want this comic to become… but really I’m not trying to deal with getting enough money to support my comic book & Mini Cooper habit, I’m just trying to have some fun, and learn in the process. In 2011 hopefully you’ll see some changes to this comic (the only thing that is constant is change). After close to two years of playing, I have paid for three more years of keeping this site up and running so you haven’t seen the last of me… I’m putting together My Geek Odyssey’s Annual Report to our stockholders. Huh? When did we get stockholders? Maybe the government will bail me out too.