Old Comics for a New Generation

Remember those old comics I got for crafting? I took several issues
up to my nephew Joel, who is in the second grade. A Wolverine, an issue of
Marvel Universe, the issue where Clark tells Lois he is Superman --

very appropriate issues for an 8-year-old boy (all approved by the Comics Code!). And it was wonderful.

He loved those comics. I can see how Mark must have been when he was
8 and poring over an issue of Justice League or Superman. It really
is too bad that comics are too expensive for most kids today. So,
maybe the option is to give them the old comics, that you can buy for
a quarter. They don't have to keep those pristine in bags and boards.
They can just enjoy them.

Who's on the Cover of Entertainment Weekly?

Loyal listeners know that we regularly finish our podcast with a game we call “Who’s on the cover of Entertainment Weekly?”. I’ve been making Mark guess who is on the cover of the magazine for years. I don’t know that he enjoys the game, but I do.

This week, though, Entertainment Weekly actually changed the cover! The issue subscribers (like me) received was Paul Rudd. The issue on the newsstands features Natasha Richardson.

I have never noticed that happening before. I wonder if they really think Natasha will sell more magazines? Tragedy is better than comedy. But does this mean Mark didn’t really lose WOTCOEW this week?

No Comics for You!

Okay, I didn’t get to read many comics this week. I really meant to, but at least there weren’t very many this week in the Wednesday pickup. DC had a very light week. Which also explains why we really only talk about two comics in this week’s episode.

But one of them is Star Trek (and Mark goes very in-depth into the Star Trek comic timeline). And just to let you know, Mark and I were introduced at a Star Trek convention. But we weren’t in costume (that time).

Old Comics

I have decided I want to decoupage a table for the comic book lounge, and I want to use old comics to do so. Of course, I can’t use Mark’s comics, so I recently purchased a bulk lot of comics online. Basically, quarter comics. There were a lot of middling old Marvels and DC’s, mostly from the early ’90s, as well as several independents.

In particular, there were several from Valiant, a now defunct comics publisher. And one of those from Valiant was “The Second Life of Dr. Mirage.” I loved this comic. While still in the superheroic vein, it did not have all the “back story” that the DC Comics Mark was reading did. I could pick this up, and start from the beginning. And, in fact, I am going to go back and reread them again. If you get a chance, read the eleven issues that were published. You won’t be sorry.

Facebook

I’ve had some feedback on the website, so I really appreciate that. I am working on how to add comments to our posts (so you could comment on the pages for our podcast, or this blog). That is, hopefully, coming soon. For now, though, you could look for us on Facebook. We’ve set up a fan page for “How I Got My Wife to Read Comics” and you can post in the discussion boards, or on the wall, there.

I really don’t want to encourage anyone to join Facebook. It can become an awful time waster. But it is also a great tool for finding old friends (or enemies...).

And as a final note, I did read 19 comics in one day (the 10th). I almost got caught up reading. But I haven’t read even one of the four current issues of “The Umbrella Academy.” I will make that my goal this week!

Read, Read, Read!

Our new feed is officially up and running on iTunes, so PLEASE make a note of it. You can subscribe in the iTunes store, or you can copy the RSS link location from the podcast page, and paste it into your iTunes (under the “Advanced” pull-down menu.

I am looking at the pile of comics I have to read, and am wondering where to start. Once a year, usually in January or February, Mark consolidates all the comics for the year into his big collection. Every week he bags and boards what I’ve read (because I am so much slower than him...), and puts it into a long box for the current year. Then, as I’ve said, once a year he consolidates that into the main collection, while “archiving” series that have ended into separate boxes. It is a pretty big undertaking, and he always asks me to try to finish up any issues of series that have ended so he can put them away.

He just finished this years...

and I am looking, in my pile of TBRs, at issues 7 and 8 (of 8) of Reign in Hell, issue 6 (of 6) of Terror Titans, and issues 2 and 3 (of 3) of Batman Cacophony. Now, I am pretty sure that some of these came out after Mark’s big consolidation effort, but what lousy timing.

So, my goal is to have all of those, plus 14 more from two weeks ago, in the next 24 hours. Do you think I can do it? Only time will tell....

More Episodes, New Feed

Here are five more old episodes, along with episode 47 from this weekend. I’ve also updated the tags on the episodes. I am getting the hang of how this all works now.

All new episodes will be posted here, starting Sunday. Our new feed should be active in iTunes very soon -- it has been submitted.

I didn’t read any comic books today. I am trying to finish reading “Revelations” for a book discussion group with some teens. It is one of a myriad of vampire books being written for teen girls now. But I’ll be back to reading comics come Saturday morning.

Back to Work

I have spent the last few days getting the first 20 episodes of our podcast posted to this new site. Now, though, I have to go back to work. Look for the remaining 20 to go up five or six at a time, over the next four or five days.

I also need to read comics (like always). I picked them up today, and it seemed like a light week -- I did see a new issue of Buffy, though!

And I am only two issues behind on Trinity!

You can read this now...

Well, since you can read this now, I guess I figured out how to upload. It is still a little iffy, as the ftp client I am using seems to flake out a little with the hosting service I am using. It is amazing how much has to work out to bring a web page up.

But, tomorrow is comic book day! Of course, I still haven’t read most of last week’s comics. But that is of very little concern. I read the ones I wanted to read, like Echo 10.

And the second wave of Watchmen figures came out last week, too. So, hopefully, this will be a light week at the comic book store.

Still Working...

Well, I am continuing to work on figuring out how to do this website. Right now, I don’t seem to be getting any links to older entries on the Vast Wasteland podcast page. And in the meantime, I’ve read last week’s Titans/JLA crossover. I am going to have to ask Mark about Jericho.

Origins and Omens

I am not sure if the “Origins and Omens” stories are telling me anything or not. Mark seems pretty sure that the stories are foreshadowing, but -- especially in the Green Lantern book this past week -- I wonder if they are just something a little fun for the writers and artists. I did think the whole “Tom Sawyer paints a fence” Green Lantern thing was pretty cute, but the black paint as an omen was a little too over the top!

Lost My Blog on L.E.G.I.O.N.

I was telling Mark in our podcast today, that I had been working on a blog entry about L.E.G.I.O.N, and how much I had liked that comic. So, I log into my blog editor, and the draft is completely gone. Argh... We are not sure about this Quick Blogcast software that our host is providing. I will try to reconstruct my comments on L.E.G.I.O.N and post it later.

EDIT: I am now blogging with a different software, so hopefully that won’t happen again.

Oh, No

I haven't read any comics yet this week! We record the show in less than 24 hours. Argh.

:(

Aerogarden Classic

I purchased the Aerogarden Classic about six months ago, as a Gold Box purchase. (Aside: If you are not familiar with the Gold Box, click on Today's Deals on the main Amazon page. There is a different Gold Box deal each day; there may be several lightning deals there, as well as Quick Picks especially for you, if you are logged in.) I had been looking at the Aerogarden for quite some time, but it really was too pricey to get for no occassion. But through a series of events not detailed here, Mark "owed" me a present, so I picked the Aerogarden.

The garden comes with seed pods for a mixed herb garden. The directions were comprehensive, it was easy to set up, and the herbs started growing quickly. I grew two kinds of basil, mint, thyme and dill. The mint and basil did the best. I got very few chives, a good bit of dill and thyme, but an abundance of basil. For the first time, I made pesto. And more pesto. And even more pesto. Good thing I like pesto.

My herbs lasted quite a long time, at least four months. They quite probably would have lasted longer, but Mark and I were going to be away for about a week, and I was worried about them running out of water and burning out the pump, so I turned off the garden and cleaned it out.

I liked this Aerogarden so much, when it went back into the Gold Box, I got another one! In that one, I planted lettuce. For about 4 months, we had lettuce for sandwiches and garnish whenever we wanted it. There really wasn't enough lettuce for entree sized salads, but there certainly was enough for two side salads a couple times a week, and lettuce for burgers and turkey sandwiches. The lettuce seemed to die off sooner than the herbs did. By the end, I only had one pod producing lettuce. Before we left for vacation, I had a BIG salad and turned the garden off.

So, since we are back, I replanted. Of course, my refill kit came from Amazon. Conveniently, they were on sale in the 4-for-3 promotion, so I got two kits, and two replacement grow lights. In one garden, I will grow flowers. In the other, I am going to try tomatos. A note about the grow lights -- Aerogrow recommends replacing them every six months. I am going to try going longer, or replace only one grow light per unit every six months. I am hoping this works okay.

The new gardens were planted about three or four days ago. I am already seeing sprouts.

I am not using the gardens to grow "special herbs." From what I have heard, "special herbs" do not do well in Aerogardens. More room is needed.

Although I really like my Aerogarden, I don't know that I would recommend it for everyone. It is a trifle pricey, and replacement bulbs and seed kits can add up. This is not really economical, but if you can get one cheap, it might be a fun growing experience.

A Comic Week

Well, I was off work two days this week for snow days, and my sewing machines were in the shop, so I read comics. I admit, with the holidays, all our recent travel, sickness, and work, I haven't read comics for about a month. My stack of comics to read was about two feet high. I spent Thursday reading all old stuff. Friday, I picked up the comic books for the week. The last issue of Final Crisis was in, so it was time to attack that.

So, Friday night I read Final Crisis 1-7, Final Crisis Revelations 1-5, Final Crisis Rogues Revenge, and three or four more Final Crisis titles. I think that may be the podcast this week.

One plea -- please read Terry Moore's Echo -- it is so good, and the first graphic novel has been named a "Great Graphic Novel for Teens."

Fox Run Set of Four English Muffin Rings

Today's Amazon purchase is the "Fox Run Set of Four English Muffin Rings." Zoe, on her blog, talked about using no-knead bread to make easy English Muffins. I love English Muffins, with all their little nooks and crannies for butter and jam. So, this was a no-brainer -- I would make English Muffins. (English Muffins -- It is starting to sound really strange -- English Muffins, English Muffins -- English Muffins).

I used the Buttermilk Dough from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day , and followed Zoe's instructions on using 3.5 ounces of dough. Here they are rising in the rings:
There was a recipe that came with the rings, which some reviewers said was really good. But using the pre-mixed no-knead dough was certainly easier. I baked them for about 20 minutes, but I did put my baking stone on top of them to try to get a more traditional flat muffin. I had some problems with that:

The stone held the dough down in the rings, but some of it pushed out the bottom. Not a big deal, I just cut that part off. I would also have liked to have them slightly browner, but that might be a combination of the dough choice and the silicon sheet I used.

The rings came off nicely, the muffins fork split easily, and tasted delicious. Next time, I will probably use 2.5 ounces of dough, to be sure I don't have the leaks around the rings.

All-in-all, the muffin rings lived up to their purpose. They held the dough in place while baking, they were easy to clean, and very inexpensive. I give these a thumbs up rating.

My First Post

I love Amazon. I like to browse books, check out the Gold Box and Lightning Deals. I comparison shop, and read reviews (and occasionally post one). Every once in a while I like to read the forums.

Take today, for instance. The Gold Box special is the complete "Get Smart" series for $68.00, which includes shipping. What a deal! I am so tempted to get this for Mark, who loves the show. But I MUST RESIST! We'll see -- maybe by the end of the day I will have plopped it into my cart and it will be winging its way to me courtesy of USPS or FedEx.

In any case, since I am very lax about about posting reviews on Amazon, and since I wanted to start a blog, I am combining the two. I am going to try to make a post for every Amazon purchase I have ever made, or make in the future. What a goal! We'll see how it goes.