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.

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.

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.

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!

Happy Birthday Challengers!!!!!

I couldn't let today go by without acknowledging the SIXTH anniversary of Chicago's greatest comic book store-Challengers Comics + Conversation. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUYS!!
-

Ah...........you don't want to read this

It's time that I come clean about something. For the past 6 years, I've suffered from depression and anxiety. Most of the time, it's controlled through medicine and me just being able to control it, but sometimes, if flares up and things get bad. Sometimes, REALLY bad. The thing that's most frustrating about it is that it stops me from doing things. One of the most common questions that I get asked in my life is "Hey, where were you?". This applies mostly to social functions. "Why weren't you at the party last night?" "Why didn't you go to (insert comic store name here) event?". I'll be honest, 90% of the time, I have to make up a bullshit excuse "oh, something came up at the last minute". "I found out too late about the party".....you get the idea. Instead of telling the truth and saying "I was at home, too afraid to leave the house".
-Now, the point of all of this is not to get you to feel sorry for me. It's not for pity, not for attention, not for anything of that sort. I just felt that it was time to explain the reason that I disappear from time to time. There's times where I just CAN'T function in social settings. And believe me, I've tried to "suck it up" and go to these things, but it never really works.
-I hate to say this, because it's SO cliched, but unless you suffer from this, I don't think you can understand it. Sure, we all get sad or "depressed" from time to time, but usually that feeling passes after time or you do something to get your mind off of things for a little while, but when you have chronic depression, even on the BEST days, there's a constant state of  "Hey, today's pretty good, but things still suck."
-You're probably thinking "Well, if your life sucks, then change it", I really wish it were that easy. Some days it takes everything that I can do to get out of bed in the morning. It's much easier to just maintain the status quo, then to even THINK about doing something that might make things worse. Even if the change I'm making is going to make my life BETTER, I'm too afraid that it might backfire and make things worse.
 -What is the point of all of this? Shit, I don't know. But, what I DO know is that I've been having these problems off and on since 2008, and the last year has been REALLY REALLY bad, and I'm really sick and tired of it. REALLY. SICK. AND. TIRED. So, I'm going to do something about it. What, you ask? I have no freaking clue. But, I've got to do something. Whether it's talk to a doctor, a therapist, punch big frozen sides of beef, cry until my eyes fall out, it doesn't matter, I've just got to get my mind and body right so that I can get on with my life.
-So, I'll be going on some self imposed "quiet time" and figure some things out. I'll still be around, I'll ALWAYS be at Challengers every Wednesday, I'll still be reviewing comics for Geeks of Doom, and for Challengers. I just won't be doing as much tweeting and promoting and blogging (not that I do this regularly anyway)until I've gotten things figured out. Until I get back to my old self. If you've stuck around this long and haven't given up on reading this, thank you. You deserve a reward. Here it is. It's one of my all time favorites, and I watch it whenever I can...




PS-You guys, my friends, are seriously all awesome. And I love each and every one of you. For real.

Indiana Jones 5-A New Hope

This news came out about a month ago, and it made my 2013! Here's the scoop, right from Deadline:

"Walt Disney Studios and Paramount Pictures said today that they’ve reached a marketing and distribution deal for the Indiana Jones franchise. Among other things, this agreement removes the last hurdle for Disney in moving forward with future Indiana Jones movies, which the company acquired when it purchased Lucasfilm in a multibillion-dollar deal late last year. The new deal gives Disney marketing and distribution rights to future films as well as retaining Lucasfilm’s ownership rights — which basically means they’ve got the whole shebang now. Paramount, on the other hand, isn’t left in the cold: The studio will continue to have distribution rights to the first four films. While details of the deal are unknown, Paramount also will receive financial rewards on any future Indiana Jones films that are produced and released by Disney. Moving ahead with a new Star Wars movie coming out in December 2015 and with two more in the pipeline, the studio has not confirmed that a fifth Indiana Jones has the green light. However, with today’s news and star Harrison Ford’s previous expressed interest in returning to the role, one would have to say it’s looking likely."

-How awesome is this?!?!?!?!?!?!? Not only do we get another movie(at least), but this is DISNEY!! They know something about huge franchises and how to treat them. Besides the movie, I'm looking forward to toys, bed sheets, rides, games, rides, "Indiana Jones Weekends" at the theme parks, but what I'm most looking forward to is the inevitable Disney XD cartoon:

AND the return of Indiana Jones to Marvel Comics!!!!!

Hopefully a lot of Indy stuff will get announced sometime during the comic year. I'm guessing most of it at the D23 Expo this year

HAPPY NEW YEAR....and 7 days!!!

About halfway through 2013 it turned into the worst year of my life, and it kept that title until the very end. BUT, it's a new year, and I'm gonna get back on here to just have some F.U.N. For me, 2014 will be a year of redemption. No, I didn't commit any crimes and I wasn't a super asshole to anyone, there was just some things that I should've done better, some things that I should've seen through, some things that I never got around to doing, so now I'm going to make up for it by actually DOING all those things. Wish me luck!! And I want to wish EACH and EVERYONE of you a VERY Happy New Year!!!

Hot Girl Wednesday Starring.....CHRISTIE STEVENS!!!!!!!!!!

I can't even begin to know where to start when I'm talking about Christie Stevens. A year ago, I met her at the Exxxotica Expo here in Chicago:

She was a living doll! And SO NICE!!! Now, at the time, honestly, I had NO CLUE who she was. She was wicked hot and didn't have a line, so I picked up some stuff from her and went on my way. I followed her over the course of the next year and she has TAKEN OVER THE INDUSTRY!!!!! She's made a ton of films, done tons of work for websites, and is about to launch her very OWN website!!! Here's what I'm talking about:

You know how much I love Christie Stevens? Enough to make her the BIGGEST Hot Girl Wednesday post EVER!!!! And, this year, I was not disappointed because Christie was at the show again, where I got to catch up with her.

-Yeah, I know you're looking at her, but jeez, I need a new wardrobe!! You can catch up with Christie on her Facebook page here, and follow her on twitter here. And, you can rest assured that as soon as her website launches, I'll let you know.