• C4 Central Canada Pop Culture Expo – This Weekend!

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    C4 LogoI’ll be making an appearance at the C4 Central Canada Pop Culture Expo this weekend. It runs Saturday and Sunday, 10am – 6pm both days. Just look for my table in Artist Alley. I plan on cosplaying as Wolverine so look for the chubby guy in a tanktop and funky hair and that’ll be me. If I can’t pull of making some homemade Wolvie claws, then I’ll probably be wearing my Superman one-piece PJs, so look for the nerd wearing those.

    I have lots of book deals planned, special packages, and more so be sure to stop by even if only to say hi. Please note that unlike “real” celebrities, I don’t charge for autographs so if you have a book of mine you want signed, bring it by the table and I’ll be happy to lend my John Hancock for free.

    The more distinguished guests at the con will be Adam West, Burt Ward and Yvonne Craig of 1960s Batman fame. The classic batmobile will also be there so that’s definitely worth checking out.

    On Sunday, Rhiannon Paille and I will be doing a panel entitled “Lit Fest Preview,” in which we’ll be talking about the upcoming C4 Lit Fest–I’m a guest there–and what you can expect to see at that writer’s conference.

    I tabled at the spring C4 show last year and had a blast. Really excited for this weekend. Hoping for a good turn out, and I hope you can be a part of it.

  • Canister X Review #59: X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

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    Click Here to Order from Amazon.com


    X-men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
    Review by A.P. Fuchs
    3 out of 5

    Little James was born in the 1800s, always sick. His family background . . . well, he didn’t have much of one, at least, one that cared. Except for his friend, Victor. One night, during a drunken upset with his later-to-be-found-out father, James learned he could produce bone claws from his hands and defends himself, killing his father.

    That night, James and Victor are on the run, and promise to always stick together. The years go by and the two find a great outlet for their rage: war. Victor (Liev Schreiber) also has a special ability and he is more animal than man, with claws coming out of his fingers. The two are very similar and age very slowly. War after war goes by, and the two eventually end up working with a secret team run by William Stryker (Danny Huston). While on one mission, James–now calling himself Logan (Hugh Jackman)–feels Victor has gone too far in his attack on an innocent and walks out on the group.

    Years later, the group’s been disbanded and Stryker comes to warn Logan that Victor is behind the recent string of deaths of its former members. The only way Logan will be strong enough to fight the always-stronger Victor is to undergo a special experiment of Stryker’s own design: graft the indestructible adamantium to his bones. Logan agrees.

    But there’s something Stryker hasn’t told him about what’s been going on and when Logan finds out, he’s furious and wages an all-out one-man war against Stryker, Victor and anyone else who stands in his way.

    On the action: cool fight scenes and neat concepts. However, it seemed to me Logan was a little too acrobatic and was able to survive way more and take way more pain than even a mutant with a healing ability could.

    On the story: works for me, in that we knew Logan had a history going in. He was the star of the X-Men movies after all, and X2 especially focused on Logan’s origins as much as they were able without detracting from the main story. I did like seeing what really went on and, more specifically, how Logan lost his memory. I was under the impression that he lost it because of the adamantium experiment and not after it. Doesn’t matter, but I did feel for the guy when the love of his life wasn’t all she was cracked up to be.

    On Deadpool, because, you know, it has to be covered: the whole story involving the secret ops group Logan was a part of made for fun action. Deadpool’s origin, hey, why not. To be honest, I don’t know if they followed the comics or not because I’m more a DC guy than a Marvel one and don’t know too much about Deadpool other than he’s the “merc with a mouth.” His transformation from normal-looking Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) to disfigured Wade–good stuff.

    Was this a perfect movie? No, unfortunately. It felt too cartoony as opposed to carrying with it the realistic tone the other X-movies had, namely the first two.

    Will I see the sequel? Absolutely. I’m a saga guy so I want to see what happens next.

    Check this film out if you’re the superhero-movie-completist type like me.

  • My Comic Book Haul Yesterday and Today — A List

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    Normally, my monthly comic reading diet consists of Batman, Superman, Batman and Robin, Red Robin and Batgirl. I might buy another comic or two, but those are my regulars.

    Well, I went to the shop (Galaxy Comics) yesterday and walked out with a pretty big stack of books.

    - Batman/Superman #75
    - Wolverine Saga (Marvel freebie)
    - Batman Beyond #2 (for my kind)
    - Toy Story #-something (for my other kid)

    From the dollar bin, all these #1 reprints:

    The Talisman #0
    Captain America #1 (for my wife)
    Action Comics #858
    Marvel Zombies #1
    The Walking Dead #1
    The Flash: Rebirth #1
    Detective Comics #854
    Spawn #1
    Savage Dragon #1
    Proof #1

    I came home yesterday, went through my pile, read Spawn and Savage Dragon and noticed the Wolverine and Batman/Superman. I thought, Wait, this isn’t my stuff. You see, I have a mailbox there and they just put the stuff I collect in there for me to pick up at my convenience. When I got to the counter with my stack of dollar books, the other comics were already in a bag. I just assumed what was in there was my usual books.

    Anyway, I went back to today. The Wolverine was a freebie (so I kept it, of course) and the Batman/Superman #75 was an error because I originally asked for the regular Batman and Superman series to be added to my monthly books over the phone. I guess the guy took it as the team up book instead of the two separate books like I meant. Completely understandable mistake because the Batman/Superman book is usually refered to as Superman and Batman or vice versa. But I kept the Batman/Superman because a) I like the owner and b) it’s the 75th issue and has some bonus stuff in it. No worries. It’s all good.

    So I left there today with Batman #702 and Superman #702, Hellboy #1 from the dollar bin plus a pack of bags and boards.

    Good haul. Really happy.