Hello, everyone! I hope you are all doing well today. Please take a moment to listen to my official first episode of Eighthworld Podcast if you haven’t already. I recorded it not long after starting on Star Trek: Picard, so it focuses entirely on that. I’ll also share other episodes of my podcast here for your enjoyment in the near future!
Hello, everyone reading this! I know it’s been well over a year now since I last updated this blog, and good God has a lot happened, but I’m taking this space back for my use and moving forward with power! I launched a podcast–Eighthworld–on YouTube back in February. That became my haven for expression. Now I want to combine my endeavors and begin dropping links for my podcast episodes right here, where they may grow among my thoughts of yesteryear. It’s good to be back! Expect more in the near future right here. Without further to-do, here is a link to Episode 0 of my podcast. Pardon my whispering; I was new and nervous at the time.
Also, Candice’s previous business endeavors are still up and running, so in addition to this Instagram pic for my account, I’ll also include a nice list of places you can find us and follow us! Behold!
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Hello, everyone! I know it hasn’t been too long since I started maintaining this blog again, but I’m going to have to back off a little bit. Between this, work, and more important obligations, I just don’t have time in my week to continue churning out new content for a handful of readers. I also feel it’s a bit of a disservice to lean too heavily on older posts I wrote years ago to carry me for entire weeks at a time. That said, I’ll still be around and probably putting out a new post and a throwback post every week. I think I can handle that better. If you are reading this, or actively reading anything on this blog, let me know. I’d appreciate engagement and feedback. This type of writing is a relationship, after all. 😉 Let’s have a conversation!
If you’re a fan of books and hot beverages, check us out at Blue Spider Books. And check out our blog here!
A disclaimer, since I have had to address silly complaints on posts like this before: What I am saying here is that these comics are my personal favorites from this era. I am NOT saying they are objectively the greatest comics of this era. Loosen up and enjoy!
Part 1: Marvel Comics
The New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis and various artists
This is what made Bendis’s name at Marvel, and this coupled with his runs on Daredevil and related books from the same era likely represent the peak of his comic book work. This book also helped get me back into comics in college after I’d been off the wagon for a short time.
Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday
This comic was a treat, and precedes Whedon’s involvement in The Avengers film by years. It’s sad to think what could have been done if Whedon had had the ability to work with these characters on film as well. I already enjoyed Whedon’s work (Buffy and Firefly, anyone?), so his involvement with another of my favorite properties cinched it for me.
Uncanny X-Force by Rick Remender and Jerome Opeña
When this title was around with Remender at the helm, it was the single best book Marvel was putting out. The choice of cast was spot-on, and they were all handled so very well. In particular, this includes enjoyable versions of both Wolverine and Deadpool, if for any reason you find either character tough to read.
The Amazing Spider-man by J. Michael Straczynksi and various artists
Everybody has a favorite Spider-man storyline/writer, and this one is mine. I’ve read other stuff over the years (the more recent Superior Spider-man being a standout honorable mention), but the full scope of Straczynski’s work on the character and then having all of that undone by a single editorial decision at Marvel grant this period a mythic quality.
The Ultimates and The Ultimates II by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch
These comics set in a now-dead universe hold a special place in my heart. They provided a well-crafted, action-packed Avengers story in an era that needed it, and it actually held some narrative surprises given the freedoms the Ultimate line afforded. I tell you, these comics had some of the best moments of the entire era, and they accomplished two great feats: 1. They made Captain America a powerhouse badass again, and 2. They presented some ideas that would later be incorporated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, such as Nick Fury looking like Samuel L. Jackson. Find these and read them if you never have.
Some honorable mentions (besides those mentioned in the post) would include Greg Pak’s run on The Incredible Hulk, Straczynski’s run on Thor, and Fabian Nicieza’s Cable & Deadpool.
If you’re a fan of books and hot beverages, check us out at Blue Spider Books. And check out our blog here!
Needless to say, SPOILERS AHEAD!
There is a lot of controversy surrounding the story arcs of pretty much every one of the core six Avengers in Endgame, with Thor near the top of that puppy pile. I, for one, really enjoyed and sympathized with how Thor was presented. Not only that, I actually appreciated having a fat version of the character that I could identify with, as silly as that may sound.
We start off the movie not long after Infinity War, and Thor is grieving. He’s mournful over his failure and wants another shot at Thanos, which he gets. But it doesn’t matter; nothing can be undone. Fast forward the five years, and Thor is basically hiding from life and this immense failure that he has completely saddled himself with. He has fallen into alcoholism and overeating, and put on quite a bit of weight. He doesn’t seem to care at all about his appearance anymore, and even gains a comparison to the Dude from The Big Lebowski. But he still reluctantly goes along with the insane time heist mission.
And this is where everything turns around. First off, he gets a pep talk from his perceptive, super-powerful witch mother in the past, which is just what he needs to hear to ground himself. But he then also reaches out for Mjolnir, and it responds to him. All at once, tears still in his eyes, he sees that he is still worthy of it. All that has transpired, all the emotional and psychological weight that burdens him more than his physical girth, has made him no less worthy of his original weapon. And some of the fault he feels evaporates as well as he readies himself for battle.
I understand this version of Thor best of all of the different ways he has been presented across the MCU, and I am eager to see what comes next for him. I know he will lose the weight and likely travel with the Guardians of the Galaxy for awhile, which will also be awesome. And if Thor can overcome these things and drop some weight along the way, perhaps we can all face what assails us.
What do you think?
If you’re a fan of books and hot beverages, check us out at Blue Spider Books. And check out our blog here!
In keeping with the Joker theme from the past week, here is a throwback movie review I did for Sourcerer a number of years ago. Check it out!
If you’re a fan of books and hot beverages, check us out at Blue Spider Books. And check out our blog here!
This has been a hell of a week, guys. Sometimes it feels like there is an unseen crowd of malcontents out to get us and bring us down, but we keep moving forward. We endure.
We got to go see Avengers: Endgame this weekend, and it was certainly worth the wait. We both loved it. I feel an internal need to begin writing some short posts on here about individual characters from the movie, their arcs, and how they wrapped up. I think that will be rewarding for me and anyone else who really enjoyed the film. I may wait a bit longer to avoid spoiling it for anyone who hasn’t yet seen it, though.
That said, I want to take this opportunity to thank whoever might be reading this. Thank you for coming back to this blog after it being in suspended animation for so long, or thank you for taking a chance on your first visit. I hope that my thoughts strike a chord with you and keep you coming back.
More to come.
If you’re a fan of books and hot beverages, check us out at Blue Spider Books. And check out our blog here!
Here’s another throwback to an older post from right here at the Thoughts. Enjoy!
Thoughts on Croaker of the Black Company
If you’re a fan of books and hot beverages, check us out at Blue Spider Books. And check out our blog here!
A disaster strikes your home, and you have to get out quick. You’re risking leaving a lot of things behind, but the important parts of your life–your family and pets–are already safe. You only have a few moments to grab at most seven books from your shelves and run. What will those seven precious books–the backbone of starting over–be? Here are my choices. Consider sharing your own.
Forgive the condition of some of these; my books have been through a lot with me, which is why it’s nearly impossible to make this decision. This is a background anxiety I believe a lot of us with large book collections likely possess, and I wanted to interrogate mine a bit. If you had to pare it down and start over, where would you begin?
Happy Sunday, everyone!
I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to do with this blog now that I’ve come back to it, and I have come up with three ideas I would enjoy that fit the theme of this, my thought collection.
First off, I want to start a new weekly column on par with my old Batman column over at Sourcerer. I’m thinking of doing cosmic characters from Marvel, especially the obscure ones, now that that side of the franchise is gaining traction in the movie universe. Who would be up for reading about a different cosmic Marvel character each week?
Second, I want to do a series of shorter, periodic posts on fictional characters exploring their appeal. This can run an endless gamut of any sort of fictional character; effectively, my mood that day will dictate who I decide to write about. These will also only run a maximum of a few short paragraphs.
Third, I’ll continue with random short short posts of my thoughts in the moment. I feel like some of my sort-of Tweet-length thoughts might gain greater expression here. We’ll keep trying that out.
Expect to see me get these off the ground this week and next week. I’ll keep to a pretty rigid publication schedule once I get back into the swing of things and knock all the rust off.
Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to keep coming back!
If you’re a fan of books and hot beverages, check us out at Blue Spider Books. And check out our blog here!
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