Meanwhile.... Pt. 2

[zryson]

Sorted through a large stack of comics this afternoon and donated tons of different bronze/copper age comics to charity including old Batman, Hulk, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Superman, etc.

[dan bailey]

Max Hauser needs to look himself in the mirror and tell himself this is the right thing to do. Max Hauser is a man's man, a lone wolf, a maverick and Max Hauser's arm candy will respect him for his choice of film.

Advice from an expert there, considering that his own domestic bliss has inspired at least one book-length paean --

[zryson]

My friend who is in hospital rang last night while I was dozing so I picked up the phone and was happy to hear from him. He is still in hospital, has been moved to a room all by himself (he was previously in a ward with other people). He was basically ringing to let me know the boxes of comics/magazines/books he is sending me are on the way. Its remarkable. Here he is in, in a world of pain and doubt and he still thinks of other people. I told him I hope he gets better but that is unlikely he said but it was good to hear from him.

[Polar Bear]

About to solo a three-day weekend with the six kids. You know what that means?

Lots of Superman comics and Doctor Who on TV.

(And lots of chess and cribbage with the kids, which may be even better!)

[zryson]

Sounds like fun Polar Bear!

[Rob Allen]

Lots of good stuff today. Each deserves its own post.

First, Dreams of Space. A blog featuring art from non-fiction children's space flight books 1945-1975. Lots of great graphics, from the realistic to the now fanciful. I must also point out the wonderful Czech pop-up book and A Trip to Outer Space With Santa.

http://dreamsofspace.blogspot.com/

[Rob Allen]

Next,

Sometimes you might find yourself sitting at a computer, wanting to read something. But you don't want something long. You're thinking, what about a short story, and possibly something in the fantasy or sci-fi realms? You're in luck! Here are some collections, for your reading pleasure:

Apex Magazine short fiction
Baen Ebooks Free Library, which includes some short story collections
Eclipse Online, from Nightshade Books
Strange Horizons fiction archive, including podcasts of many stories
io9 has a pick of 5 short stories from January, with synopses
AE, the Canadian Sci-Fi revue
short SF/Fantasy available at tor.com
Lightspeed Magazine offers a few stories for free, both in print and podcast form
365 Tomorrows is a great daily read for very short form ("Flash Fiction") sci-fi

[Rob Allen]

According to this study:

http://graphicpolicy.com/2013/02/02/...facebook-2213/

Approximately 1.879,340 American Facebook users identify themselves as comic book readers (based on 30 different search terms). Of these:

62.06% are straight males
29.6% are straight females
6.45% are gay females
1.89% are gay males

52.98% are single
24.57% are in a relationship
18.35% are married
4.1% are engaged

47.24% are 21 or under (This was the most surprising statistic to me.)
30.91% are 22-29
15.75% are 30-41
4.27% are 42-49
1.71% are 50-61
0.13% are 62 and over

60% have college degrees
17% are in college
15.15% are in high school

4.22% speak Spanish

[Rob Allen]

And finally, there's a new book out about Frank R. Paul, one of the great science-fiction artists, who also did some comics covers, notably, Marvel Comics #1.

Frank R. Paul, the Dean of Science Fiction Illustration

Frank R. Paul's Golden Age Science Fiction Art Still Dazzles Your Retinas Today

[zryson]

Visited another store recently. Lots of high grade beauties on offer and even better 2 comics for one buck in the back issue bins. Was really tempted to splurge but didnt since I know when on the rare occasion I do I often later regret it. Still I bought a few nice comics and while there also bought quite a few to give to charity after I finish using them as readers.

[zryson]

The bad news just keeps coming; my sole remaining family member has a deteriorating eye problem requiring expensive medication. Plus I'm still worried over my friend in hospital and one of my best friends Mom is just out of hospital and sick with a bad infection which is taking a long time to recover from. To say its taking a toll on my own health from the worrying is an understatement. Thank god for comics and reading. Its one of the few ways I can unwind and just drift off and into another world, if only for a short while to try and relax.

[hondobrode]

Health is really important. That's why it's so important to try to stay up on it.

One of the best things you can do is invest in a daily multi-vitamin.

Rob,

Thanks for all the great links !

Polar Bear,

I had those weekends with my 4 kids and remember them well.

[dr chimp]

Advice from an expert there, considering that his own domestic bliss has inspired at least one book-length paean -

Police Academy 5 and Porkies 2 double bill - never fails

[zryson]

hi hondobrode i take tons of vitamins. its mostly the stress and emotional distress from seeing those i love and care about go through so much pain that is causing my own health to flutter about.

as for the rest of today the boxes from my friend who is in hospital arrived today. Tons of comics and books and novels. most of them are going to charity since many have yellowed from storage or years of reading. some are going to a friend and I have set aside a box of items I will be keeping. Some of the periodicals and magazines dated back to the 1960s. lots of things I have never heard of or seen before.

[Jezebel Bond]

Got Skyfall on Blu-Ray today a little ahead of its release next week and watched it on an 80-inch screen...