The Clock King F-cking Sucked!

I've stated before, and will again, that my girlfriend is the best. She puts up with all my passions. She rarely complains about the closets that are jam packed with collectibles or the piles of comic books that are everywhere or my nearly limitless ability to watch anything sports or comic related. So it comes as no surprise that she is an animation fan as well. So there we were last night, watching Boomerang repeats of the old Batman The Animated Series (which she was a big fan of in the 90's... even before I was in the picture... you see, this girl is perfect.). The episode starts, and she remembers in detail the episode and goes on to proclaim "yeah, i remember this episode, the clock king f-cking sucked."... I must say, I truly do love her.

Catching up....

So as usual I've fallen behind on my comic reading. I've been trying to catch up by reading at a furious pace, but it may be time to finally admit that I buy too many titles and I have to cut back a bit... or not. In reading these books the last 2 weeks, one really stood out…

Robin #156
Anyone who has been reading Robin lately knows how good this comic has been. Adam Beechen has captured the tone of a high schooler perfectly. Freddie Williams has been a revelation as the regular series artist (I mean seriously, where did this guy come from, I'd never heard of him before his brilliant work on Mister Miracle), he infuses the pages with an energy that hasn't been seen in the pages of Robin in quite a while.

This stand alone issue starts out with Robin (Tim Drake) visiting the hospital to check on wannabe superhero Dodge. Dodge as regular readers of the title know has literally been popping up and being a nuisance to Robin as he tries to fight crime. He had wanted Robin to train him but Tim wanted no part of him. So he decided he could help anyway, and was tragically injured trying to breakup a teenager kidnapping ring. Tim of course feels this was his fault. Getting back to the issue... Robin is sitting in the hospital with Dodge (who is some suspended limbo type state) when he runs into Dodge's parents. Robin starts to apologize to the parents of Dodge when they stop him and let him know that for as many times he's saved the city, that he has no business apologizing to them. It was a nice, emotional and touching moment. If the comic had ended there, I would have felt I got my money's worth, but something very different in todays comic landscape happened. The story kept going and got even better.

On his way to Wayne Manor from the hospital Robin spots a guy on a roof ready to jump off and end his life. He swings by and tells the kid to wait. The kid thinks Robin is going to get all preachy on him, and Robin tells him no, he just wants to talk to him. They both go on to tell each other about their lives and how hard it is to be a teenager, let alone a superhero teenager. He then talks the kid into speaking to his old guidance counselor or potentially calling a help line. Brilliant back and forth between two troubled kids who both needed someone to talk to.

It was one of the rare moments in any mainstream comic, where the hero actually bares himself emotionally and becomes identifiable to the common reader. It’s something that DC has really tried to do ever since Identity Crisis. Seriously, how many of us are going to jump off roofs with a batarang and a kendo stick. Not too many of us. But how many of us will have to deal with the loss of a parent, or a girlfriend, or having to hide a secret from someone you care about, or accidentally harm someone else. Those are things some of us deal with on a daily basis.

Kudos to DC for releasing such a wonderful, emotional single issue. My only regret about this issue is that it came out to late in the year to be seriously considered for single issue of the year by wizard or any other publication. It has been a great year in comics, but this single stood out and truly resonated with me.

Turning 30

For the last few weeks now I've been running a countdown of sorts to the day I actually turn 30 (which is in a few hours now, but whose really counting). Then I decided to sit down and look at my life and I realized... Hold up, there's nothing to worry about, my life's actually in a great spot.

I mean think about it. I have a good job (that I like most of the time.) I have a great family that loves and supports me (my brothers and sisters are awesome), I have the greatest daughter on the planet (if only she could sit still and focus), but the biggest difference in my life and the reason I'm looking forward to my 30's is the love of my life.

She's my everything. My best friend, confidant, the person whose opinion I trust most, in both personal and professional matters. It's amazing how different life can feel when you know you have someone by your side that gets you. Not someone that wants to change you and make you fit what they think a husband, father, adult, man should be... but someone who just lets me be me, who gets me. Someone who loves when I get excited about the latest issue of Action Comics, or who will take pictures of me as I giddily rip open the box that contains my recently purchased action figures of Demoltion. Someone who sits through my constant Star Wars marathon sessions, or who will wear a Dallas Cowboys jersey with me on Sunday afternoons as I settle in for another long football filled Sunday. Someone who knows and loves me for me.

I know I'm far from perfect. I still don't have enough patience. I know I get jealous and fly off the deep end at the drop of a hat. I know I need to be more social, and be a better friend to those people who keep trying, that I just push away. I know I can and will be a better example and dad to my little girl. I know I'm overly-optimistic. I know that I have a bit of a Superman Complex, and that I make promises that I don't always deliver on. Its probably my biggest fault. I overpromise things. I want to give the moon... but even I can't deliver that. So sometimes when you aim for the moon you land on some stars, and you know what, that's not half bad. I'm a simple man, with a simple heart. Whose main goal in life is to be happy.

So I sit here and look at the age 30, not worried, but excited. Excited over what the future holds for me. Excited that someday soon I get to make my love my wife, and share the rest of my days together with her happily.

Zoinks... only 53 minutes left in my 20's. ;0)