(Originally written June 14 2012)
Here's a small history lesson. Everyone knows Peter Parker: your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Peter has been a staple in comic books for 50 years now. I learned so many of life's lessons from Spider-Man, whether it was through the '90s cartoon series, or the comic books themselves. The importance of responsibility, giving people a second chance, and sometimes denying your own wants and needs for the sake of other. Maybe I did not learn these lessons from Spider-Man himself, however the character always reinforced these beliefs. I don't have life all figured out, and I struggle with daily choices and temptations... and that's the part of myself I see when I read Spider-Man. To a generation raised on the idea that you can get whatever you want whenever you want, and you can do whatever makes you happy without any repercussions, it's a wonder that Spider-Man is as popular as he is.
In 2000, in an effort to boost sales (like there's ever any other reason), Marvel Comics launched their Ultimate universe, with "Ultimate Spider-Man" leading the way. The Ultimate line was an outlet to reintroduce classic Marvel characters in a modern light, while giving some of their creative minds an avenue to write stories that simply could not exist in the original Marvel Universe. This Ultimate universe was a huge hit, with titles like Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four, and The Ultimates (their version of the Avengers). I never cared for the Ultimate line... while some interesting stories were being told, I did not need reimagined characters to be entertained. I do own a few issues of Ultimate comics, but nothing ever made a lasting impact. I just prefer my classic Marvel universe. 616 for life, home slice!
In 2011, the Ultimate universe's Spider-Man, the character that garnered enough attention and interest to spur on the creation of Ultimate comics, the character that so many people are able to relate to, died. After a long fought battle with the Green Goblin, young Peter Parker collapsed, dying in Mary Jane's arms. His identity was made public, as he inspired many through his death. One of those he inspired was a young man named Miles Morales. Miles gained his own spider-like abilities through a spider bite, and chose to become a new Spider-Man, dedicating his life to the legacy of the great fallen hero.
Now, for the first time ever, Marvel's classic 616 universe will crossover with the Ultimate universe, bringing the Spider-Man we've seen and grown with for 50 years face to face with the Spider-Man who has just recently put on the tights, and is still learning the ropes (webs?). This first issue was great. Artwork, writing, story progression... it's a very well done. As i mentioned before, everything in comics is done to increase sales... bottom line. It appears that Marvel is simply trying to get even more of the spotlight on their new Ultimate Spider-Man by crossing him over with one of the most loved characters of all time. I think it will work.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Comics: Godzilla #2
(Originally written on June 21, 2012)
Wow. Talk about being blindsided. The first 4 pages put tears in my eyes. We see images of Godzilla, Kumonga, and Angurius destroying some cities. There are no sound effects or voices, merely caption boxes displaying text messages and tweets from people trying to talk to their loved ones during the chaos.
"HELP"
"pls send help I don't know the intersection don't know where i am"
"buried help"
"love you grace"
"@LexiUSA Where are u?"
"@LexiUSA cmon honey, where are you? Talk to me."
"So this is the way it ends... with a tweet. Love and luck to you all."
When I pick up a Godzilla comic, like any Godzilla movie, I expect a good time. Giant monsters fighting each other. Yea, the cities get destroyed, but the buildings are always empty, right? Apparently not this time...
Wow. Talk about being blindsided. The first 4 pages put tears in my eyes. We see images of Godzilla, Kumonga, and Angurius destroying some cities. There are no sound effects or voices, merely caption boxes displaying text messages and tweets from people trying to talk to their loved ones during the chaos.
"HELP"
"pls send help I don't know the intersection don't know where i am"
"buried help"
"love you grace"
"@LexiUSA Where are u?"
"@LexiUSA cmon honey, where are you? Talk to me."
"So this is the way it ends... with a tweet. Love and luck to you all."
When I pick up a Godzilla comic, like any Godzilla movie, I expect a good time. Giant monsters fighting each other. Yea, the cities get destroyed, but the buildings are always empty, right? Apparently not this time...
Sports: Growing Up With Cleveland
I love sports. I've been a Cleveland sports fan since birth. I once heard that being a lifelong Cleveland sports fan is like having a chronic illness. Yep, that sounds about right. There is no cure. You just get used to the symptoms; the simultaneous feelings of hope and hopelessness. In addition to my love of sports, I have a huge passion for writing. I write about comic books, professional wrestling, concert reviews, and my own fiction ideas. Not sports. I've thought about sports writing a few times, but every time I put pen to paper the words don't come out. Comics, wrestling, and concerts are all about being entertained and how I perceive the finished product. Sports are about competition with a clear cut winner and loser. Entertainment is based on the opinion of the viewer, while sports are facts. There will always be someone who knows more sports facts than I do. Specifics. Like this pitcher's ERA when facing lefties on Mondays and Thursdays, or this running back's yards after contact when coming off a loss of ten points or more. I'm ok with not having a wealth of knowledge like that. It's not the facts I don't know that keep me from writing about sports. It's the facts I DO know. I know my teams lose.
I was born in '86, so my memory of the Browns doesn't exactly stretch back to the glory days. My favorite Browns memory didn't have anything to do with the '64 NFL Championship or the Kardiac Kids. My Browns memory occurred during the regular season of the '94 campaign. I was only 8 years old, and my team was taking on "America's Team", the Dallas Cowboys. The game itself does not hold any significance in history, other than it was the first Browns game I watched by myself. I watched football with my dad, usually at his request. But if he wasn't home, or took a nap, then I had more important things to do involving Legos or Mega Man. Not this time. He fell asleep on the couch, but the omnipotent Sports Gods knew that I needed to see this game. The entire crux of my Browns fandom would rest on this game. With the clock winding down in the 4th quarter, the Cowboys were driving while my Browns held on to a slight lead. The explosive, championship caliber, Dallas offense was matched up against a vastly underrated Cleveland defense. Last play of the game, Aikmen drops back, throws a pass, it's complete, but he's DOWN AT THE 1! Browns win! MY Cleveland Browns go TO Dallas and knock off the Cowboys! Ever since then I've known that my team could beat any team out there. It happened. I saw it with my own eyes. They went toe-to-toe with the best team in the league and won.
Then they moved away. I was too young to realize the gravity of the situation. I guess I thought every team goes away at some point. Nothing is forever. It's not even worth mentioning anything that has transpired since the Browns came back in '99.
I wasn't a baseball fan as a kid. I mainly watched football and played soccer, but always rooted for the Indians if they were on TV. So many people talk about the '95 and '97 World Series, but really, to me, they didn't matter. Again, I was young and naive, and thought the Indians would always be good and didn't appreciate the importance of a World Series appearance. Sometime after I graduated high school, baseball just clicked. I became a real Tribe fan. I started paying attention to spring training and following the team's every move. I preferred listening to the radio broadcast with Tom Hamilton calling the plays opposed to watching on TV. 2007 was magic. I witnessed, in person, an incredible comeback against the Tigers in June. That comeback seemed to ignite the team for the rest of the season. The Tigers were good that year, but we had C.C., Fausto, Grady, Hafner, Victor... the lineup was solid from top to bottom. They finished with the best record in baseball, but still the national media ignored them. In the first round of the playoffs, they squared off with the hated Yankees. Most people remember this series for the game when it appeared the Sports Gods themselves were willing the Indians to victory by having small flying insects, midges, descend upon Jacobs Field. Those insects were everywhere. Sticking to the players' bodies. The Yankees were spraying bug spray out by the mound to get rid of the midges. It didn't matter. Fate had already intervened. The Cleveland Indians were on their way to the ALCS. It seemed like a storybook. First they defeated the evil empire that is the New York Yankees, then had a comfortable 3-games-to-1 lead on America's sweetheart, the Boston Red Sox, with Game 5 in Cleveland... but C.C. Sabathia couldn't close the deal. The series went back to Boston. The magic had run out. Adding insult to injury, releif pitcher, Paul Byrd's name was released the day of Game 7 to have allegedly used performance enhancing drugs and was under investigation. Who released his name? A fron office executive of the Boston Red Sox who just happened to also be involved with this investigation. The claims were false, but the Tribe lost Game 7. For me, that was so much more heartbreaking than '95 or '97 combined. I know Jose' Mesa blew it in '95.... but that wasn't MY team. This one was. 2007 will always be remembered with a smile and a tear. That season made me a lifetime Indians fan.
2007 also marked the year that LeBron James took the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals. I'm not a basketball fan. At all. I cheered for the Cavs, simply because they were from Cleveland. I remember Mark Price from back in the day, but basketball was never my thing. I have never told anyone this, but when the Cavs made the Finals, I secretly wished they wouldn't win. I didn't love them like I did my Browns or Indians. Why should they get to end the "curse"? I wouldn't enjoy it was much if it was the Cavs. Yes... I said it: for stupid, selfish reasons, I hoped that a Cleveland team would lose a championship. I got my wish. They got swept by a far superior San Antonio Spurs team. It's my fault the Cavaliers lost... the same Sports Gods that I had crossed paths with many times before were teaching me a lesson about being careful what I wished for. It wasn't LeBron's fault, his supporting cast's fault, or Dan Gilbert's fault. It was my fault. And you all know how that story ends. The Cavs haven't made a Finals appearance since, and someone thought their talents were better suited in South Beach. I'm sorry Cavs fans. My Bad.
So here I am in January of 2013. The Browns just named, to everyone's surprise, Rob Chudzynski their head coach. Terry Francona is the new manager of the Indians, and Nick Swisher seems like a great off season acquisition. Time will tell. Last year Kyrie Irving was rookie of the year, but it seems like the Cavs are well on their way to earning another lottery pick. Writing this has been a nice release of emotion, but ultimately depressing. Maybe I will write about sports again someday when my teams stop losing.
I was born in '86, so my memory of the Browns doesn't exactly stretch back to the glory days. My favorite Browns memory didn't have anything to do with the '64 NFL Championship or the Kardiac Kids. My Browns memory occurred during the regular season of the '94 campaign. I was only 8 years old, and my team was taking on "America's Team", the Dallas Cowboys. The game itself does not hold any significance in history, other than it was the first Browns game I watched by myself. I watched football with my dad, usually at his request. But if he wasn't home, or took a nap, then I had more important things to do involving Legos or Mega Man. Not this time. He fell asleep on the couch, but the omnipotent Sports Gods knew that I needed to see this game. The entire crux of my Browns fandom would rest on this game. With the clock winding down in the 4th quarter, the Cowboys were driving while my Browns held on to a slight lead. The explosive, championship caliber, Dallas offense was matched up against a vastly underrated Cleveland defense. Last play of the game, Aikmen drops back, throws a pass, it's complete, but he's DOWN AT THE 1! Browns win! MY Cleveland Browns go TO Dallas and knock off the Cowboys! Ever since then I've known that my team could beat any team out there. It happened. I saw it with my own eyes. They went toe-to-toe with the best team in the league and won.
Then they moved away. I was too young to realize the gravity of the situation. I guess I thought every team goes away at some point. Nothing is forever. It's not even worth mentioning anything that has transpired since the Browns came back in '99.
I wasn't a baseball fan as a kid. I mainly watched football and played soccer, but always rooted for the Indians if they were on TV. So many people talk about the '95 and '97 World Series, but really, to me, they didn't matter. Again, I was young and naive, and thought the Indians would always be good and didn't appreciate the importance of a World Series appearance. Sometime after I graduated high school, baseball just clicked. I became a real Tribe fan. I started paying attention to spring training and following the team's every move. I preferred listening to the radio broadcast with Tom Hamilton calling the plays opposed to watching on TV. 2007 was magic. I witnessed, in person, an incredible comeback against the Tigers in June. That comeback seemed to ignite the team for the rest of the season. The Tigers were good that year, but we had C.C., Fausto, Grady, Hafner, Victor... the lineup was solid from top to bottom. They finished with the best record in baseball, but still the national media ignored them. In the first round of the playoffs, they squared off with the hated Yankees. Most people remember this series for the game when it appeared the Sports Gods themselves were willing the Indians to victory by having small flying insects, midges, descend upon Jacobs Field. Those insects were everywhere. Sticking to the players' bodies. The Yankees were spraying bug spray out by the mound to get rid of the midges. It didn't matter. Fate had already intervened. The Cleveland Indians were on their way to the ALCS. It seemed like a storybook. First they defeated the evil empire that is the New York Yankees, then had a comfortable 3-games-to-1 lead on America's sweetheart, the Boston Red Sox, with Game 5 in Cleveland... but C.C. Sabathia couldn't close the deal. The series went back to Boston. The magic had run out. Adding insult to injury, releif pitcher, Paul Byrd's name was released the day of Game 7 to have allegedly used performance enhancing drugs and was under investigation. Who released his name? A fron office executive of the Boston Red Sox who just happened to also be involved with this investigation. The claims were false, but the Tribe lost Game 7. For me, that was so much more heartbreaking than '95 or '97 combined. I know Jose' Mesa blew it in '95.... but that wasn't MY team. This one was. 2007 will always be remembered with a smile and a tear. That season made me a lifetime Indians fan.
2007 also marked the year that LeBron James took the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals. I'm not a basketball fan. At all. I cheered for the Cavs, simply because they were from Cleveland. I remember Mark Price from back in the day, but basketball was never my thing. I have never told anyone this, but when the Cavs made the Finals, I secretly wished they wouldn't win. I didn't love them like I did my Browns or Indians. Why should they get to end the "curse"? I wouldn't enjoy it was much if it was the Cavs. Yes... I said it: for stupid, selfish reasons, I hoped that a Cleveland team would lose a championship. I got my wish. They got swept by a far superior San Antonio Spurs team. It's my fault the Cavaliers lost... the same Sports Gods that I had crossed paths with many times before were teaching me a lesson about being careful what I wished for. It wasn't LeBron's fault, his supporting cast's fault, or Dan Gilbert's fault. It was my fault. And you all know how that story ends. The Cavs haven't made a Finals appearance since, and someone thought their talents were better suited in South Beach. I'm sorry Cavs fans. My Bad.
So here I am in January of 2013. The Browns just named, to everyone's surprise, Rob Chudzynski their head coach. Terry Francona is the new manager of the Indians, and Nick Swisher seems like a great off season acquisition. Time will tell. Last year Kyrie Irving was rookie of the year, but it seems like the Cavs are well on their way to earning another lottery pick. Writing this has been a nice release of emotion, but ultimately depressing. Maybe I will write about sports again someday when my teams stop losing.
Sports: A Wrestling Fan's Journey
I've been an off and on wrestling fan my whole life. My first memory of pro wrestling was watching an old vhs of the first ever Clash of the Champions that my dad recorded off TV. The major highlights were the Road Warriors teaming up with Dusty Rhodes in a Texas barbed wire match versus Warlord, Barbarian, and Ivan Koloff; as well as a 60 min time limit match between Sting and Ric Flair that ended with neither man winning. That's where the bar was set from the very begining.
I began watching WWF around 1990 when I was 4 years old. I loved Hogan. Hulkamania was running wild, but the Hulkster was only really around for the major pay per views. I remember really starting to like this midcard guy who was always on TV: Bret "Hitman" Hart. His match at Summerslam against Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Title is probably on my "Top 5 Matches of All Time" list. Not only was one of my favorite guys starting to evolve into a major superstar, but it was damn good wrestling. I think it was during that match that the Hitman passed Hogan in my young and impressionable mind.
I floated back and forth between WWF and WCW through most of the early '90s, I was a huge fan of Sting's, and loved his matches with Flair, Cactus Jack, Vader, the Great Muta, and so many others. But, the WWF had Bret Hart, and his rivalry with his brother Owen in '95 was pure magic. By the time the Monday Night Wars rolled around, I was a full blown WCW fan. I loved the idea of Hogan as a bad guy, I loved all of the iconic figures like Sting, Flair, Macho Man, Luger, Piper and wondering if they could take down the nWo, and I especially loved the luchadors. Eddie Guerrero, Ultimo Dragon, Psychosis, and La Parka were all favorites. Even my beloved Hitman showed up in WCW.
Somewhere around '98 or '99 I started to lose interest. At the time, I thought I was getting too old for pro wrestling. Looking back, I think it just stopped being fun. I even tried to switch over to WWF at the time, and it just didn't seem fun either. I wanted my colorful, over the top, kid-friendly characters. Not beer-swilling, swearing, sexually driven characters. Despite my 8th grades hormones, I just wasn't drawn to what professional wrestling was selling. So, I stopped watching.
I always kept tabs on my favorites. Bret Hart was done due to injury. Sting was in TNA. One half or the Road Warriors was dead, while the other one was the father of a starting linebacker of THE Ohio State Buckeyes. (Go Bucks!) Maybe worst of all, the luchador "fad" was over. Eddie was dead. Psychosis wasn't even wrestling under the name "Psychosis" anymore, and there was a new La Parka under the mask. Ultimo Dragon had all but disappeared. I decided there was no way I could ever enjoy wrestling again.
Fast forward to the Summer of 2011. My younger sister moved away and her new boyfriend was a big WWE fan. She told me wrestling was "good" again. I started looking in to it so I would have something to talk with her about. I was immediately drawn to CM Punk. Dolph Ziggler looked amazing in the ring, seeming to be a natural superstar. Cody Rhodes was so good at being an arrogant bad guy, I couldn't help but like him. Zack Ryder had a charismatic innocence that made him instantly lovable. My sister was right... wrestling was good again. None of the characters were flashy like they were in the early '90s, but they were fun and entertaining characters.
I will never forget the moment that made me a wrestling fan again. There were months of hype for this monster of a man to make his debut. His appearance kept getting pushed back for some reason, and they even worked it into the storyline, saying how angry these delays were making him. They even released a promo, with him talking about how he was the monster under your bed or the thing that goes bump in the night or something. He didn't seem like anything special to me. Then, he made his debut. Ladies and gentlemen... Brodus Clay.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp-Zn9Gs0-k
I showed my wife. I showed my younger brother. THIS is what pro wrestling was about. I am now a WWE fan. I love Punk's promos, I'm excited for Ziggler's future, and I cannot describe how excited I am whenever there is a Tyson Kidd sighting.
Wrestling is fun again.
I began watching WWF around 1990 when I was 4 years old. I loved Hogan. Hulkamania was running wild, but the Hulkster was only really around for the major pay per views. I remember really starting to like this midcard guy who was always on TV: Bret "Hitman" Hart. His match at Summerslam against Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Title is probably on my "Top 5 Matches of All Time" list. Not only was one of my favorite guys starting to evolve into a major superstar, but it was damn good wrestling. I think it was during that match that the Hitman passed Hogan in my young and impressionable mind.
I floated back and forth between WWF and WCW through most of the early '90s, I was a huge fan of Sting's, and loved his matches with Flair, Cactus Jack, Vader, the Great Muta, and so many others. But, the WWF had Bret Hart, and his rivalry with his brother Owen in '95 was pure magic. By the time the Monday Night Wars rolled around, I was a full blown WCW fan. I loved the idea of Hogan as a bad guy, I loved all of the iconic figures like Sting, Flair, Macho Man, Luger, Piper and wondering if they could take down the nWo, and I especially loved the luchadors. Eddie Guerrero, Ultimo Dragon, Psychosis, and La Parka were all favorites. Even my beloved Hitman showed up in WCW.
Somewhere around '98 or '99 I started to lose interest. At the time, I thought I was getting too old for pro wrestling. Looking back, I think it just stopped being fun. I even tried to switch over to WWF at the time, and it just didn't seem fun either. I wanted my colorful, over the top, kid-friendly characters. Not beer-swilling, swearing, sexually driven characters. Despite my 8th grades hormones, I just wasn't drawn to what professional wrestling was selling. So, I stopped watching.
I always kept tabs on my favorites. Bret Hart was done due to injury. Sting was in TNA. One half or the Road Warriors was dead, while the other one was the father of a starting linebacker of THE Ohio State Buckeyes. (Go Bucks!) Maybe worst of all, the luchador "fad" was over. Eddie was dead. Psychosis wasn't even wrestling under the name "Psychosis" anymore, and there was a new La Parka under the mask. Ultimo Dragon had all but disappeared. I decided there was no way I could ever enjoy wrestling again.
Fast forward to the Summer of 2011. My younger sister moved away and her new boyfriend was a big WWE fan. She told me wrestling was "good" again. I started looking in to it so I would have something to talk with her about. I was immediately drawn to CM Punk. Dolph Ziggler looked amazing in the ring, seeming to be a natural superstar. Cody Rhodes was so good at being an arrogant bad guy, I couldn't help but like him. Zack Ryder had a charismatic innocence that made him instantly lovable. My sister was right... wrestling was good again. None of the characters were flashy like they were in the early '90s, but they were fun and entertaining characters.
I will never forget the moment that made me a wrestling fan again. There were months of hype for this monster of a man to make his debut. His appearance kept getting pushed back for some reason, and they even worked it into the storyline, saying how angry these delays were making him. They even released a promo, with him talking about how he was the monster under your bed or the thing that goes bump in the night or something. He didn't seem like anything special to me. Then, he made his debut. Ladies and gentlemen... Brodus Clay.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp-Zn9Gs0-k
I showed my wife. I showed my younger brother. THIS is what pro wrestling was about. I am now a WWE fan. I love Punk's promos, I'm excited for Ziggler's future, and I cannot describe how excited I am whenever there is a Tyson Kidd sighting.
Wrestling is fun again.
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