Monday, April 28, 2014

What I thought of...Batman Eternal #3


Batman Eternal #3: The return of a fan-favorite Batman supporting character: KING TUT!!!
The Good: OK, so it's not King Tut. It's Stephanie Brown! And boy, is she up shit creek. But, that is the LEAST of Batman's worries. There's a huge gang war, and somebody REALLY REALLY bad has taken control of the Gotham City Police Department. I also get the feeling that there's not one, but TWO major villains at work in this story and they're NOT working together. In fact, I'm not even sure that one is aware of the other. As the first 2 issues, this issue is action and mystery from first page to last and it's ALL good!! Just when you slow down to catch your breath, something else (literally) blows up!
The Bad: ............I got nothin.
The Verdict: I know it's early in the game, but this is seriously THE best weekly comic from DC that I've ever read. And, I've read them all. Grab it!!

Hayeswatch 2...This Time It's Personal!

This week's episode: Your body is a Temple....of Doom
Week 3: HA!! The biggest joke of all was pulled ON me, BY me. And that was to think that during a convention week, I'd have extra time. Silly Jimmy. From now on, these will run EVERY Thursday, so the next one will be up on May 1st, from there, it's be smooooth sailing. Let's get to the stats:
Current Weight: 224.8. YIKES!!!! A 2.1 pound gain! I'm going the wrong way! I'm not sure why this happened, but it happened. I'm not going to dwell on it, just refocus and work harder.
Exercise: Not much to speak of this week, and I'm sure that's what lead to the above gain. Lame. Again, no excuses, just gotta get back on the horse.
Blood Sugar Levels: Weren't that great, but consistently in the high 100's. With 3 out of 4 categories failed this week, we're gonna call this week best forgotten.
Mystery Problem: Slow & steady wins the race. Progress is being made, so for that, this week it gets a C+
Lesson learned: I'm not gonna win every week, but to win, I have to at least TRY, and quite frankly, I didn't really try. Yeah, it was a busy week getting ready and doing stuff for C2E2, but no excuses. I should've MADE time. After all, health is more important than comic book conventions.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

What I thought of...Batman Eternal #2

Batman Eternal #2: A notorious villain appears for the first time in the new DC 52 continuity, and......SPOILER WARNING.....it is NOT King Tut. Dammit.
The Good: I gotta tell you, I'm LOVING this series more than I should. Not that it's secretly bad, but MAN, so far for 2 weeks in a row, The creative team (and I do mean TEAM) has turned out a REALLY solid book. Just like last week, action, suspense, shocks, surprises, and we get to check in with the rest of the Bat-Family. It's hard to go into more detail without spoilers, so I won't.
The Bad: Art-wise there were a couple of panels that I really didn't care for, but at this point, I'm just nitpicking, so it's really no big deal.
The Verdict: What do you think? BUY IT!!!!!!

What I thought of...Original Sin #0

Original Sin #0: This issue kicks-off Marvel's big summer crossover (I think, don't they have something else coming out too? No? All right, I'll take your word for it) and what wouldn't a big, blockbuster Summer Comic Book Event be without an issue #0 that introduces the players?
The Good: Obviously, the art. It's Jim Cheung & Paco Medina! I love both those guys! And seeing them drawing not only Nove and The Watcher (The 2 main characters in this book. OK, pretty much the ONLY characters in this book), but some pretty spectacular moments that have happened throughout Marvel history, is pretty awesome. I also liked the pretty much one-sided conversation between Nova and The Watcher. The creative team really played that up and it works great.
The Bad: Unfortunately, this issue is a little lacking in the story department. It has a good one, but I really don't think this is an actual Original Sin lead-in, so much as it is a "Hey, remember the Watcher? Here's his deal" kind of issue. In fact, readers of Nova should especially read this issue, as it contains something that's VERY important to that title.
The Verdict: Toss-Up. It's really your call. If you want something that leads into the Original Sin story itself, pass on this issue and just pick up issue #1. BUT, if you like Jim Chueng and don't know anything about The Watcher, you should grab this one. It's a nice refresher course on who he is and what he does.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Hayeswatch 2. This Time, it's Personal.

This weeks episode: The Chocolate Mousse is Not in Season
Week 2: Week 2 went pretty well. I didn't break any records exercising or eating, but I was able to cut down a lot of behaviors that make me look like a fool, and turn me into a fat ass. Here's the stats:
Current Weight: 222,7. That's down almost 2 pounds from last week, which I'll gladly take. I don't really want to go more than that. People who tend to take off 5 to 10 pounds a week, usually gain it back pretty quickly
Exercise: I did a lot of cardio this week. Since the weather has been nice, been walking a couple miles a day. Stayed away from strength and resistance  training this week. Don't know why, just never felt like it. Which is something I better get out of my system pretty quick.
Blood Sugar Levels: Bit on the high side. Upper 100's and lower 200's. I COULD adjust my insulin, but what I SHOULD do is eat better.
Mystery Problem: Getting better. Doctor said that I should make a full recovery, unfortunately, it's going to take some time, but it IS improving. This week, it goes from an F to a D-.
Lesson Learned: This goes for men AND woman. If your shaving with a razor and you feel a sneeze coming on, PULL THE RAZOR AWAY FROM YOUR BODY!!! Trust me on this one, I have the scars to prove it.
PS-Sorry this is almost a WEEK late. Been busy. I'm terrible.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

What I thought of...Batman Eternal #1

Batman Eternal #1: A year-long mystery begins and it begins with a bang! And, a crash. And flames, did I mention the flames?
The Good: Just about everything. THIS is what I want out of a Batman story. Mystery, a supporting cast member in jeopardy, and Batman kicking ass.
The Bad: Man, this is hard to pick. I liked the writing, I liked the art, I liked the whole FEEL of the book overall. I give up, nothing to gripe about here.

-While I was reading this, and knowing that it's going to run, I thought in the back of my mind "how much is this going to change from what I'm reading today? Will the creative team change some of the original story? The Ending? ANYTHING about the series that is "set in stone" at this point?" And then THAT got me thinking "Wow. I wonder how much EVERYTHING will change in a year. How the comics industry will change in a year. How much pop culture will change in a year. How much the world will change in a year." And then THAT got me thinking "I wonder how much I'LL change in a year?" And that leads into...........

HAYESWATCH 2: This time, it's personal

This week's episode: Citizens on Patrol
So, how much CAN I change myself in year? I'm guessing, quite a lot. I mean, a year IS a long time, right? You can do almost anything in a year if you put your mind to it. Get a new job. Get a new car. Even get a new house, if you work super hard at it. OK, getting a new house might take a little longer than a year, but there are people who do make enough money that they CAN do it. You could move to a new town, city, even COUNTRY if you wanted to! You could learn a new language, all right, I'll stop giving examples. It's annoying. SO, over the course of the next year, you'll get a weekly Hayes report. It'll include:
-My weight (and, if it was +/-/the same from the previous week)
-How much exercising I did that week (how much and what kind, you won't get blow by blow workouts, cause these tend to be long and boring to read, unless you're really into that sort of thing)
-My blood sugar levels
-3 or 4 times you'll my A1C
-And maybe various little shit along the way. Let's start it off:
Current weight: 224.0 I'm not really sure what my goal weight will be one year from now, but it's going to be less than I weight now)
-I just had my A1C done, so for this week, I'm counting that and my sugar levels as 1 think. My A1C was 8.7. My goal, for 1 year from now, is to have it below 7.0
-Mystery Problem: Yeah, this one's weird. I have something going on. Something physical not emotional, and I'm not going to tell you what it is. Maybe someday. When it gets better, you'll know. If it doesn't, you'll DEFINITELY know. Right now, I'm going to give it an F.
-And something that I learned this week, is a lesson in contentment. Yes, goals and dreams are a VITAL part of life. Without them, you never improve yourself. But, while you're chasing down these goals and dreams, be sure to take a second and enjoy the season of life that your in right now. Just because you're not a bazillionaire or have a brand new car or your not working your dream job, doesn't mean that you can't be happy right where you are. See you in a week!