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Post by The Captain on Feb 14, 2020 10:43:46 GMT -5
I'm always looking for Steranko's Outland adaptation, but it's always been too expensive for me whenever I see it on eBay. I really like Steranko's art a lot; I recently bought Nick Fury #3 from 1968 at a bit more than I usually like to pay for back issues, simply because of all the Steranko goodness in it. I also have the Captain America 60s omnibus and, I know Kirby fans will hate me for this, but Steranko's three issues are the best looking art in the 576 page book.They can hate you for it, but you aren't wrong. As I wrote in my Captain America review thread, Steranko's work was so different, in a good way, from Kirby's on that title. He played with form and shape and used different techniques that Kirby might never have dreamed of (or because Kirby didn't want to stray from the tried and true), and it produced a better-looking book. Now, if they had not introduced Rick Jones into the Cap mythology in the Steranko issues, I could consider them absolutely perfect
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Post by The Captain on Feb 12, 2020 22:01:15 GMT -5
On the other hand, neither my wife nor I have ever, in almost 18 years of marriage, gone to bed mad at the other one. If we have an argument, disagreement, or minor difference of opinion, we sit down as soon as we are able and work it out, That's very good advice for most people in most relationships, but I've learned that it doesn't work for everyone. Both partners have to be willing and able to communicate and compromise. Especially *able*. In my case, my wife has severe PTSD and even worse, traumatic brain injury. She literally can't see and understand my point of view. That part of her brain is broken. She sees the world her way, and that's all. I've had to give up waiting, hoping and asking for her to be reasonable. She *can't* be reasonable. You can google "theory of mind deficit from traumatic brain injury" for more information. I just did, and one of the articles that came up says "...ToM [theory of mind] impairment in patients with sABI [severe acquired brain injury] may be associated with decreased quality of life of their caregivers." I can vouch for the accuracy of that. It's not all bad, by any means - she's phenomenally intelligent, and we have some great times together. But some conversations we just can't have. Sorry to hear about your wife, Rob. I didn't mean it to sound as though the way my wife and I do it is a one-size-fits-all solution, but of our friends who have gotten divorced, it almost invariably boils down to them not communicating with each other open and honestly. That said, I'm glad you and your wife have figured out a way to make it work in spite of the challenges her situation presents. I'm a firm believer that love will find its way, and it appears to have done so for the two of you.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 12, 2020 18:07:02 GMT -5
Thanks. I've kind of been going through some personal/marriage related stress in the last few months so I haven't my attention focused really on much else. But I will try to check in more often. As honestly I thought about talking about it here for some perspective. My wife and I are talking together about the issues so we are communicating and trying to find solutions to said issues. But I know a lot of you are married, and at it longer than me, or have been married, and could add some perspective. I just have to formulate what I want to say if I decide to do so. Many of you are wise and been through a lot in life that I value your opinions and advice. I hope you can solve whatever problems you're facing, Adam. It sounds as if you're doing what's best: talking to each other, as opposed to talking at each other. No matter the problem, communication is the most important first step. Hoping you can continue to work together to make things better, my friend. adamwarlock2099, I will absolutely second what Prince Hal says here. I grew up in a house where my parents did not communicate at all. If there was an issue, my dad yelled (usually in a drunken stupor) at my mom, and my mom either shut down completely or just left the house. Nothing was ever resolved, so even today, they have issues that have been festering for decades (they hit 50 years of marriage last year, of which I believe my mother was truly happy for about five of them). It's toxic and unhealthy and should have led to divorce years ago, but they just chose to ignore the problems and never discuss them. On the other hand, neither my wife nor I have ever, in almost 18 years of marriage, gone to bed mad at the other one. If we have an argument, disagreement, or minor difference of opinion, we sit down as soon as we are able and work it out, because we know that even the most minor issue left unresolved can eventually grow into something far worse. We're sure as hell not perfect, and I'm not trying to make it out like we have marriage figured out completely, but we're honest with the other one about what we're feeling, how the other one has hurt us, etc., and that allows us to get past it and strengthen our relationship. I will be praying for you and your wife, that you can resolve whatever issues are between you and that your marriage can become stronger.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 12, 2020 16:08:35 GMT -5
Technically, the only one that I am trying to complete (in a combination of floppies and collected editions) is Iron Man, as I recently discovered that I do not have a copy of issue #39 after erroneously believing I owned it. That is the only one that I need, although judging by the stories around it in the series, I'm probably not missing too much.
Other than that, I have no plans to complete any other series, although if I am able to score the copy of Werewolf by Night #32 that my LCS owner is currently pressing and grading, I may try to get #1 to have the full run. Other than that, I will be buying precious little going forward, particularly in the area of floppies.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 12, 2020 16:00:52 GMT -5
If you are a wealthy playboy:
Go on dates with the knowledge that you will inevitably get pulled away by a rampaging super-villain, robot, alien, or giant dragon that you see either on a TV or out the window of the restaurant you are at, so learn to make up creative excuses for your absence.
Follow-up point: Understand that your date, while pissed off at you, will buy your excuses and eventually forgive you for disappearing in the middle of the date.
Get yourself a physical infirmity that keeps you from returning the true love of your devoted office assistant/nurse/etc., but that does not prohibit you from going out to fight crime or being a serial dater of random women you don't actually care about.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 12, 2020 15:37:38 GMT -5
Waht's the story on the Rick Jones hate? Not that I like the character particularly - I don't really have a strong feeling about him either way, so I'm surprised to find he's considered annoying by a lot of people. Maybe it's something I didn't read? I know him mostly from the early-70s Captain Marvel reboot with the new costume and a bit from the early Hulk. Mind you, I can see finding any and all juvenile sidekicks annoying. If that's it I'm totally on board, just on general principle. My biggest problem with Rick Jones is that he is the quintessential "lucksack". Always in the right place at the right time, always succeeds in spite of himself; he's the guy that gets into a fight with a motorcycle gang, gets thrown into a septic tank, and winds up finding the Hope Diamond at the bottom of it. He wins the Skrull-Kree War because he had previously-unknown mental powers (later revealed as "The Destiny Force", "the ultimate manifestation of human potential", in Avengers Forever) inside him all along that allowed him to single-handedly turn the tide of the fight in the heroes' direction. More than that, he's a disrespectful punk. He's written in at least Captain Marvel and Captain America as that late-60s/early-70s teenager who is angry at the world and always "fighting the man". When Captain America rescues him from getting pulped by the Hulk in CA #110, he takes Jones back to his apartment to recuperate, and while there, Jones wakes up and puts on Bucky's costume. Cap tells him to take it off, and Rick responds by telling him that everyone loses someone and Cap should just get over it, instead of accepting he was at fault and doing as he was told. Plus, teen sidekicks (other than Robin) suck.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 12, 2020 15:21:51 GMT -5
Planetary Ruse Fables (at least the first 75 issues. I usually continue on the rest of the series and lose steam around issue #110) N.E.X.T.W.A.V.E. (read this every year) Wisdom mini-series and Captain Britain & MI13 ongoing(I'm an unashamed huge fan of Pete Wisdom) Milk & Cheese and Sam & Max: Freelance Detectives (both of these make me laugh every time I read them)
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Post by The Captain on Feb 11, 2020 21:10:03 GMT -5
Got a little positive news about my mom today. She and my sister met with a geriatrician, and this doctor gave my mom a battery of cognitive tests. At the completion of these tests and coupled with the quick onset of the issues, she said she doesn't believe that my mom has Alzheimer's or dementia, but rather believes that my mom had a stroke of some magnitude.
Mom goes for an MRI next Tuesday and we should get some more definitive answers from that, but at least initially, this might be the best possible news we could have hoped for. No guarantee she'll recover what has been lost, but barring another event, it won't be the inevitable and inexorable decline that Alzheimer's or dementia would bring.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 11, 2020 15:59:00 GMT -5
I voted "Other", because the only proper answer to this question is "Rick Jones", but I will also applaud those who mentioned Deadpool and Harley Quinn.
Oh, and Scrappy Doo should be considered for the list as well, the annoying little cur. Puppy Power, my ass.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 11, 2020 11:52:03 GMT -5
Rhythm
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Post by The Captain on Feb 11, 2020 8:58:17 GMT -5
Comics
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Post by The Captain on Feb 7, 2020 18:10:21 GMT -5
Awesome news, Kurt! Can't wait to hear how the new digs are once you're settled.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 7, 2020 13:33:44 GMT -5
Just finished Season 3 last night, and it was VERY dark compared to the first two seasons, especially the last couple of episodes. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and I'm intrigued by where they might go in Season 4 (if there is one) with a few of the dangling plot threads from the finale.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 7, 2020 7:36:59 GMT -5
After not getting more than a few flurries for much of the season, the winter weather hit in full force overnight in the Pittsburgh area. Some wintry mix to start the festivities, then we woke up to around 3-4 inches on the ground, and it's still coming down.
Kids started with a two-hour delay that morphed into a closure by 7 AM, with the upside of this being that I don't have to shovel the front walkway to clear a path for them this morning and can send them out later to do it instead.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 5, 2020 10:23:25 GMT -5
Welp, it finally happened. News broke as I was leaving work that the Sox dealt Mookie Betts and David Price to the LA Dodgers for OF Alex Verdugo and a hard throwing pitching prospect (Brusdar Graterol) from the Twins, who get Maeda from the Dodgers in the deal. Dodgers then traded Joc Pedersen to the Angels for a utility infielder. The move gets the Sox under the tax threshold, and recoups some young talent, but they will be significantly less competitive next season. I get the necessity of it in the current market, but I don't like it. But Betts was adamant about not signing an extension, and someone is going to give him upwards of $300 million (possibly close to $400 million) in gree agency next year, so it was bound to happen. -M Did it have to happen, though? Fenway Sports Group is valued at $6.6B. The Red Sox made $518MM in 2018, so it can be reasonably assumed they made a figure in that ballpark in 2019 as well. They co-own NESN, which likely keeps its revenues from being comingled with the Red Sox revenues, meaning the $518MM figure may be understated. They could have offered Betts, arguably the second-best position player in the game, any dollar figure on any length contract to keep him, but they low-balled him with their initial offer and all but guaranteed he would be gone one way or another. The return is middling. Alex Verdugo is a good player, but they couldn't have gotten any of the Dodgers' top ten prospects (from a DEEP system)? The pitcher from the Twins projects as a back-of-the-rotation starter or reliever, neither of which are particularly exciting. This deal was all about getting rid of David Price's ill-conceived contract (why anyone would give a 30-year old pitcher a seven-year deal worth $31MM is beyond me) and saving $10MM in luxury taxes, both of which are ridiculous considering the amount of money that a good Red Sox team could make, a team that would have been possible for years to come with Betts onboard had they made him a reasonable offer.
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