It’s good to be home again. For those of you keeping up, I have been away on my own little vacation over the past few weeks or so and have spent the majority of this week getting back home and making amends to my editor. I have kept my promise to myself and to you, my loyal readers, and have cut out the sticky sweet stuff. Cold Turkey. I am no longer knocking back soda after soda, and I completely avoid the candy aisle when I have to stop for a pack of smokes. I wake up in a cold sweat, and my hands shake uncontrollably at times, but it is the price I have to pay after hitting rock bottom and trying to fight my way back to the top. A special thanks to the woman who nursed me back to health and thank you all for thinking about me over the last week. I am well on the road to recovery and I am confident I can beat this habit without the use of “alternative medicine” or rehab.

I have to confess something…

As I think I have mentioned least a few times on this site, my contribution as a writer is mostly limited to film, television, general pop-culture, and the occasional drug induced rambling. I tend to let the other guys take care of the comic book thing. Most of my friends either read comic books, draw comics, or have some connection to the industry, so all (and that’s no exaggeration) conversations inevitably lead to who is drawing what books, and they all have their opinions on who should be doing what and who should probably be behind a register at Wal-Mart. It’s those times that I normally wander around the bar checking out the Louisville-Texas Tech score. And with the exception of Superman and Batman, my only knowledge of comics comes from eavesdropping when the conversations get a little heated, and any time a comic book movie comes to my local multiplex. So I certainly don’t claim to have any kind of knowledge of the subject.

Occasionally, I will grab a book recommended by one of the guys, but if it includes super heroes and super powers, my interest usually falls off pretty quick. Usually, if I can find a well written book, without the emphasis on costumed heroes and over the top villains, I can usually latch on to it and read it from beginning to end. I buy these in trade form because I don’t have the patience to wait an entire month to see what happens next.

I am currently reading “Powers” by Brian Michael Bendis, and this seems to be the perfect middle ground. Set in a world where superheroes exist, it is about two detectives assigned to solve superhero murders. They don’t have big guns, they don’t have special powers of their own, they just happen to deal with people that happen to have special powers. These people with special powers are flawed, they screw up, they retire, get stuck at comic conventions signing pictures for old fans and have to get a day job. It seems almost like an R version of Law and Order with people that can fly. I can get into the super hero aspect of the comic because they are flawed, and the book is very grounded, and it is the super hero flaws that keep me reading. Definitely worth picking up and taking a gander at. If you aren’t into the super hero aspect of comics, I think you will totally get into it. And you know I wouldn’t steer you wrong.

Well, that’s about it for me this week. I have a thing for heroes with flaws, and I think next week I’ll take some time to talk about those heroes that are flawed and why I seem to relate to them, or at the very least empathize with them better. I am still putting it together in my head, but stay tuned next week, same Bat Time, same Bat Channel.

If you have any suggestions for reading material that I may enjoy, shoot me an email at  DPlace76@yahoo.com.
or you can check out more of my ramblings at
www.livejournal.com/users/bigdpimpin.

FYI this week:

Comics I have read and just fell in love with:
Preacher
Sandman
100 Bullets
Powers
Y, The Last Man
V for Vendetta
From Hell
Torso
Watchmen
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen