Father's Failure

I have wanted to say something that is very personal and well painful for me. Those that know me know that I have children and one of them lives with me. I am very proud of my son because he is better than me. He strong of will and mind and will go far in this life. I have 3 other children. My oldest hates me because quite frankly I failed him. My other son remembers me, but he hates me also because I failed him too. My daughter doesn’t know me because I failed her also as a father.

I made a choice. A choice that I will have to live with for the rest of my life and it hurts every day. To explain, my children were being used as weapons to hurt me by my ex-wife. I saw the effect it had on my children and the harm it was doing to them. I chose to stop and for better or worst let them be so they had a chance. Yes, I could have force the issue called the cop and enforce my parental right, but the cost of doing that would be too high for me to bear. Children of a nasty divorce end up having major problems and that needed to be avoided at any cost even their love of me. I watch from afar as they grew up. Sneaking to my son’s track meets and my daughter’s school functions without being noticed by them. Leaving before they were over so they wouldn’t see me because I didn’t want their mother to see me. I will never know if it was the right thing to do for them, but I couldn’t bear to see them being used as weapons to hurt me.

I look at my choice as a way to give my children a choice to grow up and be functioning adults. I live with that pain in my heart every day of my life because they are never too far away in my thoughts and dreams. That is my failure and my cross that I had to bear for last 3 years. Now, things have change and a battle is coming. I have been preparing for this battle for the last 3 years and will spend all my time and energy to get my children back. To see them with the full force of the legal system behind me, and be damn the consequences to me because it is time to fight. I love something a let it go for a while, and now it is time to reclaim it with gentle hands.

Technological Advances or Loss of Humanity

There was time when a computer was used to play video games and seen nothing more than an entertainment console for kids, Commodore 64. Then Apple change things with computers that could interact with each other, Intranet. Then Windows came along making using a computer easier due the GUI, Graphic User Interface, causing a new revolution in way things were done. The Internet really changes how things are done at home and work. Now, you can talk to anyone in the world and interact with multiple people at once. Years go by and corporate world started to go paperless while it is good thing because it was supposed to cut down on cost and increase production, however, it also a cause a result that was not foreseen by anyone. The loss of human interaction beyond the computer screen and cause the creation of new technology like digital media, namely digital comics have been the most talked about on the ‘Net.

The creation of the Internet and it use has made us seem closer to understanding each other as people. It also has caused some of us to become wrapped up in the interplay with people we may never meet beyond a computer screen. Human interaction on the Internet is great, but you cannot shake hands or see the expression of those people, except with web-cams, when they post or send you a message. It is hard to judge what people mean with just words or emoticons. Sure, a new language was creating with lol, lmao, and other shortcuts. A novice to the Internet has hard problem telling a joke from an insult or dealing with what can be seen a High School mentality that sometime runs ramped on message board.(IE The Cool Posters) There are some place where various view point are giving with logic and respect for each other. There are places that exist in a Stalin state where different viewpoint are seen as idiotic or moronic no matter how logically or respectful they are presented by a poster.

We have messenger services like msn, yahoo, and AOL which allows us to “talk” to each through the use of the keyboard. There are services that are a lot better like Skype and Google talk where you use a headset to really talk to people. These things bring greater understanding of how people act on the ‘Net. Taking part of a large group session on the voice messenger is sometimes confusing, but it does help to bring a voice to these typed posts on message boards. You get an understanding if a person who you talk to is being serious or just kidding around. It also helps to discuss differences without angry typing or “knee jerk” reaction typically happening. There is a danger with these things that should be look at too. You can get too wrapped up in these things and ignore what is really important. Those important things are those relationships you have without the computer being involved. You can quite easily get sucked into a fantasy world where the people on the ‘Net become more important than those that you see “real world” on a daily bases. This can cause many problems that can affect your personal and professional life if you are not aware of what you are doing to yourself.

The computer age has made accessing information easier, but it also brought a new crime with it. Identify thief started when people start accessing computers via the web. Hackers have stolen credit card numbers and other information to line their pockets. The FBI created a new division to find and prosecute these people. It also made it really easy for people to do things and claim another person did it. Wives and Husband walk into divorce court with e-mails and Internet history claim their soon to be former spouse did such and such on the ‘Net. In truth, they faked it to get the case to go their way. Thankfully, those are not allowed to be presented anymore because judges learn that vindictive people can try to lying the system to for their gain. There also the matter of things like Napster that made sharing files peer to peer which can been seen as a good or bad thing depending on your perspective. The good part is music, art, or writing that normally would not get seen by any one is not easy to access. The bad part is that copy write material is also being sent out via torrents. This is something that will not most likely end because there are thousand upon thousand sites that do this type of thing and asking them to police it is like asking Google to stop porn being search on their search engine.

Anyone that has been looking for a job recently will testify that all application have to be done on-line for most jobs. While this does decrease the cost of most corporations, it does have real bad side effect. The lack to see these people in person because it is hard to tell what kind of worker someone is from just words on a screen. You must be able to look these people in the eye and see if they are telling you the truth. You could have pass over an outstanding worker because of their resume and never talking to them. You may end up with crap because their resume was to your liking. This is one place the human element must stay in place and it is worth the cost.

Lastly digital comics and art, something that has created vious opinions on the website that follow this type of thing. Digital comics have been seen the end of print by many because it is cheaper to produce and supposedly has the same effect on the customer. That is false. Anyone that has done sales with a pamphlet with tells you that part of the sale is handing the perspective customer the pamphlet to create a sense of ownership. When you buy a comic at a local shop or from an on-line shipper, you receive something that you can hold in your hand and can feel with every page turn. There is also the fact that you own that copy and not have to worry about making backups due to computer crashes or software issues. You have copy forever and it is there whenever you want to read it again. In other words, you don’t have to wait for someone to get done using the computer or another device to read your book.

Digital art while sometimes is quite good; it also can be done horrible. Joe Quesada’s art could be seen as an example of this statement. Before going digital, you can say that his art was more profound and more human. After going digital, it lacks something. It lacks that human touch where you can almost feel his humanity coming through his drawings. He recent works lacks his humanity because he relies too much on technology with his recent work. While this seems to be the future of this media, the fact remains that this current time the technology is not perfected yet and should be used sparingly by artist. There something to be said when an artist is willing to take pencil to paper and does the whole picture by hand. There is a challenge to that that very few can do it in a manner that leaves the customer amazed by their work.

While living in the age of new technology, we must never lose the sight of what is really important. Our humanity to touch, feel, and understand the world around us because that makes us better people. We can become desensitize to the suffering happening or we cause because we just can do it and see over and over again. We must never stop striving to understand each other and the Internet is a tool for that, but we must turn the computer off to interact with people in real world settings. The Internet world is sometimes a wonderful place to interact with people, but it should never be your only outlet. Met people and talk to them.

Progression VS Regression

Over Thanksgiving break, I have been thinking about this concept while choking down on turkey. I stated how the majority of people that don’t like Brand New Day Spider-man are not against change and have facts to back that up. I also think that maybe there are some that are enjoying Brand New Day Spider-man are afraid of change. I will explain that shortly.

Examine the characters pre-One More Day:

1. Peter acted responsible.
2. Aunt May was relevant.
3. Mary Jane was starting to become a full character.
4. Peter life move beyond his teenage years.
5. Spider-man was relevant to the rest of the Marvel Universe.

Those are some major changes from where the characters started. Sure, there were minor problems that a writer with a marginal talent could have fix like the supporting cast members and things like that, but those minor problems were deemed top priority by those that want Spider-man stuck in teenage angst forever. These changes were accepted by most readers and become part of the Spider-man Universe. They lead to better stories full of drama and brought the character forward to the 21st century and not stuck in the concepts of the 60s held. The characters grow beyond those simple beginnings and became legendary figures to which people can say that is the way life grows in the real world. Remove the superhero aspect of the book and that is what I am getting at. Spider-man fighting this month’s bad is cool and all, but the personal life of Peter Parker kept me coming back for more of the story. I want to see him grow and change as person that went from a shy teenager to a responsible adult. That is the real story here and not the freaking costume.

There is a major misconception at Marvel that this reboot needed to be done to tell these stories that are coming out now. Huh? Really? You guys couldn’t tell any of these stories within the marriage? Seriously? NWTD, 24/7, American Son, and Red Headed Chameleon story couldn’t have done with the marriage still being part of the book? Do you guys think the buyer is that stupid? I know we couldn’t have the drunken hook-up with Michelle or the friends with benefits with Black Cat, but I think most readers would be willing to say that those things should have never been written in the first place because it lessens Peter’s character. In fact, the writers are trying to back pedal on the drunken hook up thing in a recent issue. That is clear sign of a major mistake was made and confidence at Marvel is lowering with this group as writers and editors. To make this very clear, these are not “new ideas” these are old ideas from the previous runs of Spider-man that were done a lot better by people that really cared about the character and not just want to voice their political or sexual views. They use a feather touch on stories that dealt with controversial subjects and not hit you over the head with their view.

Change means something is different. How is Spider-man different than the character that was written, better I must add, in 60-early90s run? It isn’t really with the exception the increased sexual talk in the book. I just can’t believe that people want to read tired old storylines dress up in trash and call new. It isn’t different or even original. That is what bothers me the most about all of this talk. I am not against change and for something new being done on something I enjoyed reading. This Brand New Day isn’t new, original, or even good reading 90% of the time. They have made Mary Jane the bad guy in the relationship. They have made Peter a man-whore with Black Cat which in turn makes unlikeable to the people that used to have a connection with that character. Sadly, the writers have chosen to relive their youth through Peter and not try to write decent stories. Stories that will grab you on an emotional level or make you think about what is Peter going through in this arc. These are fanfic, poorly written fanfic, from the 90s done by people who don’t want to grow beyond their childish expectations of a single Peter Parker.

I will not deny that there are people that are enjoying Brand New Day Spider-man. I enjoyed the “Who is Ben Reilly” arc and thought it was the best story I read from this crew in a real long time. I always said that those are enjoying this book are lucky because they can enjoy reading Spider-man while I can’t do it. I remember too much of his full story. I remember all the development that was thrown away in the trash for this current status of the title. In other words, I remember my Peter Parker that I grew up with from a boy to an adult. Little known fact, I got married the same year Peter did in the book. I felt a connection to the character because I was the loner in High School and have very few friends. Life experience change how I view Peter’s life and dare say that these writers haven’t experience life enough to be called a writer. Is that harsh? Yes, because it is true. I have yet to see any of them treat fans like people that the need to win respect from and earn their trust in order to get them to read the book.

Regression is taking advancement and removing that progression for reasons to improve the quality of the characters. That is not, I repeat not, what happened here. The distribution numbers back me up on this due to one issue of Brand New Day Amazing Spider-man doesn’t not match the pervious run. I dare say that the regression has made thing a lot worst for the book due to fans being vocal, very vocal, about their disgust over it. It hasn’t gone away in 2 years, and I think it will not go away until the regression is done away with and a return to old status is return. In turn, that would validate 20 years of stories as printed and start the long path of winning those readers back which in turn increases the bottom line for Marvel Publishing. Sure, that is asking Marvel to say that they made a mistake and make a correction, but what is more important here? Walking around with the attitude that these readers don’t matter and will be replaced soon enough, or realizing that making money with a lot of happy readers discussion the story is more positive move?

An unexpected result is the misconception that those that have stop or criticize Brand New Day Spider-man are negative. That is wrong. I am a positive person. I want to believe in our President is doing the right thing. I want to believe that things are getting better every day. I believe people are basically good and that evil is a rarity that happens. If that makes me negative, paint me pink and call me Rufus. I tried to communicate in a way that explains fully my position. I go to great lengths to point out in a respectful fashion why I feel the way I do about things. With great regret, I have been insulted because of doing that by a writer. That is why this blog came into being, plus I want to write things that go through my head that has nothing to do with comics. My intention here is to make people to think beyond themselves and to make me think too. I hope reading these rants of mine makes you think beyond what you see every day and look at things in a slightly different way. Just if certain people at Marvel could see that, maybe just maybe there would have been a different view of them as a people. They need to stop thinking everything that a reader says is about them. The readers have paid for the right to bitch about something that they don’t like in ASM. It is time Marvel to wake up to that fact. Yes, I do read ASM still when I can get through it without shaking my head in disgust. In other words, dance for my pleasure Marvel...DANCE MONKEYBOY!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

It is that time of year again. There is the turkey. There is the canberries. There are the candy yams. There is the green bean. There are the mashed potatoes. Enough about family, time to eat.


There will be no new posts, unless something changes, until next week.

Why Spider-man Needs to Get a Life

Peter Parker, what has change with the character since he become Spider-man. Well here is the list of what has change about the character after Uncle Ben died:

1. ….he wore a black costume for a little while….

Yep, that is it. Nothing about the character direction has change since that fateful night. I am not downplaying the Death of Gwen Stacy, but it wasn’t exactly something new in Peter’s life. Comparative speaking Gwen’s Death just add more guilt. That’s about it. We have a character that hasn’t grown beyond being a teenager. Still have the same job, same problems, and same experiences. In other words, the character is in stasis. We have all experience the times when writer went outside of the box, and it was fun for the most part. The character must grow beyond that little box that Stan Lee and others wrote in because the character will die due to being reparative. Those that worked at DC need to remember what happen to Superman after there was no change. That character became a joke. The same can be said of Peter Parker. Make no mistake, Peter Parker and not Spider-man is the interesting focus that kept us reading the book.

Peter Parker life hasn’t change since getting his degree (unless that has been Mephisto out too). We feel that Peter Parker needs to move beyond that little box that Stan started with in the 60’s. Let the character grow (I don’t mean age so shut up about that) and be organic. Peter needs to move on with his life and not stay the same forever. That is what used to be Marvel’s promise to the readers. This character will not be the same old thing all the time. We need to be honest here; is keeping the character mired in the past ideas really the best thing to draw more readers in?

People over the years have changes. They are more informed and more knowledgeable about what is going on. If the Braintrust was honest with themselves, they would admit this about their readers. People that are interested in Spider-man are going to go on the Internet. They will see what is being said about Amazing Spider-man. They will also see how vocal the people are about this current direction in the book. Some may decide to pick up the book or they may not. They will be informed about the direction and all that has been done.
Back to the characters, Peter should be trying to better his future. Why you ask? That is the core of the character. He has a desire to be better every day of his life or he wouldn’t be Spider-man in the first place. The writer’s mistake is that we want the same old Peter until the book is cancelled forever. To put this basically we need this to happen in order for more readers to be drawn to the book:

1. Peter gets a job that uses his degree.
2. Peter gets a life beyond being Spider-man.
3. Peter really needs be on his own.
4. Peter needs to grow up.

: Now before One More Day, that is the direction we were moving. Most of it was done to undo the marriage, but they found something the draw readers to the book. We like seeing Peter happy for a while. We liked that this was covering new ground beyond the same old stories. While the marriage was used a lot, the marriage was used correctly in the book. Some may not like the Other, Sins of the Past, or other things that happen in JMS run; it had a lot more people taking positive about the book. We debated what happen with rancor about certain stories compare to what is currently being offered by the Braintrust. This is what I mean by they lack style and the touch to tell good Spider-man stories.

In the last 2 years, the writers flatly refused to explain the effects of the deal. Why? Seriously why? I really don’t get the concept of keeping the reading in the dark this long about the effects of the deal or what happen to all the characters. We just get this little things that make no sense or effects that hurt the character. Face facts, Norman Osborn is most powerful man in Marvel Universe right now and Spider-man’s world barely has been touched. I thought Norman was Spider-man villain. It would have been a better story if Norman knew Peter’s secret identity. Now, that is the Parker Luck.

We seen too many hit and miss with the writing of Amazing Spider-man to be called anything beyond failure. It is a failure to bring new reader. Hello, it has been 2 years and the numbers haven’t changed if you want to use the distbution numbers. I know for a fact where I live that Amazing Spider-man is going more in the 50 cent bin than out the door when it is released. We know there are some that like the book, which is good for them, but this current direction of the character, has damaged the character for those that have read the book for the characters and not to read stories that have been done before a long time ago. The execution of the character development has been nil. There has been absolutely zero character development since One More Day. We have seen little beyond a few snippets of this character reason for being the way they are and that is bad writing. Example; the drunken hook up would have made a better story if Michelle had more depth beyond just being a bitch. Why is she like that? Why didn’t she kick Peter out when they first met? What was her reasoning? What is her background beyond being a lawyer? If there was a little more depth to the character, it could have a different reaction than the current direction.

I do give the writers a hard time because I wanted better stories from them. I wanted to like Amazing Spider-man or I wouldn’t have given it 60 issues. The writers failed. To use the words of friend of mine, this is an epic fail. Oh sure, this will picked apart to just a negative post about Amazing Spider-man, but it isn’t really. It is a clue for those writers that come here to snicker and point at the Deltas. It is clue to how you can possibly bring some of the reader that left to the book. Stop hammering the Parker Luck to death. Start allowing Peter and all the character to grow beyond the sophomoric versions you have now. Stop sticking to the Deltas. Start listening to the complaints about what is happening in the book. You may find out that we are right about a lot of things if you are really honest about it.

Change, Lies, and Spider-man

There are those that have said that the people against Brand New Day Spider-man don’t like change. That isn’t the case because we welcome change when it makes sense to the characters and not for selfish editors. Face the fact that is what Brand New Day Spider-man is all about in the end. It was to make Joe Quesada happy and not the readers. Writers have chosen to embrace this mess and compare themselves to legends in this business. It is really hard to understand that concept due to fact they act like spoiled children being threaten that their favorite toy is being taken away.

It is fact Brand New Day Spider-man sales haven’t match JMS, Stern, or Delfaco’s run in any titles they have written for when they helm the flagship character. You can make the case for JMS being part of One More Day, but I think he understands trying to relive the past is always mistake. You honor it, you refer to it, and you use it to make the stories better and not try to think you can outshine it in people’s minds. The one thing these writers have in common is they respected the fans, even those fans that don’t like their work. Sure, some of them didn’t have deal with the Internet and just have deal with these people face to face. You tell me which is harder? Some words on a screen or a person facing you that didn’t like what you did in whatever issue of Spider-man? These men acted like professionals and talked to these people like they are adults and move on. Compare to the current crew who have chosen to act like fanboys with their panties in a bunch on the ‘Net.

I picked up 612 at my LCS and tried to Bryne Steal it, but I end up setting it down after Electro’s speech. Mark Waid has the subtly of a sledgehammer. That brings a major problem with current version of Spider-man writers. They lack style. The lack the ability to not hit things over the head of the readers like the Parker Luck, Sex, and their personal political stance in every issue of Amazing Spider-man. You want political opinions that are informed and have some basis on fact? Turn on FOX, MSNBC, CNN, or search the ‘Net because you get better view point then those writing Amazing Spider-man. Stan Lee, Ditko, and many others did a story about a current situation happening in America, but they did it with style. They had a light touch of a feather and not a sledgehammer hitting you right between the eyes.

Not being against change of a character, but what is up with Electro’s new look? Really, tattoo faced? Is that the best these guys could come up with to modernize this character? I bet they would try to modernize a classic piece of Americana literature like “Call of Wild” with Buck being a pug dog. While complaining the whole time people don’t get their vision of the character or story. That it is hip and fresh. The problem is that the readers look at them after they make their arsine comments thinking they don’t get them as readers. You don’t have to change a look of a character to make them more appealing to the readers. You can change their reasons for acting like psycho or go back to basics with the character. Back to basic, meaning, you don’t reboot them to making a deal with the devil. You got back to the driving force of their behavior of being a criminal and their hatred of Spider-man. You don’t have them as your mouth piece for a political rant. Get a blog if you want to do that, and you can contact me if you don’t know how to create a blog. Just make a decent, was going to say good but that is asking a lot out of this crew, Spider-man story.

These characters have a rich history that plot thread by the score dangling around them if people just do some research. That is asking a lot from these writers because they would be required to care about these character beyond the stupid version that Joe Quesada has created. Max could be seen as a villain that is trying to get his life in order and takes a job to take out Spider-man for the Karvens for money. You play the human card and keep the overall story going by getting the reader interested in all the characters. This is something the writers of Spider-man have failed to do time and time again. They are not bringing the A game to the title. Hell, they are not even bringing the B game to the title. They don’t have the balls to do a story that fans what to read because they would have to go head to head with their God, Joe Quesada.

Change is good when it is natural and makes sense to everyone that reads these characters. You just do not make false statements or go toe to toe with the readers. This is the real deal here. The readers pay for everything. The art, the writer, the EIC, the Inker, the Publisher, and even the paper which a book is printed on and to say they don’t is an insult to the readers. The Amazing Spider-man title for pervious 10 years was a main stay in the top ten in comic sales. Now, it is barely holding its own in top 20. What does that tell you about the writers of Amazing Spider-man? It should say they are the wrong people writing the book. It should also say that this experiment of changing writers every arc is a mistake. It time for some young blood to get at this character and do something to bring reader back to Spider-man. Spider-man is about responsibility and not youth. Spider-man is about trying to do the right thing even when you are wrong. It is about trying to find hope when there is no hope. It is about progression in Peter Parkers life and not repeating or acting like a teenager. It is not about writers living vacuously through Peter Parker and his sexual mistakes. It is not about writers trying to think they are better legends. Change the writers for Amazing Spider-man that really understand the character and the sales will go up because they will do what is best for the character, readers, and not the EIC.

Spider-man has become a joke. Marvel has become DC of the 80s trying to hip and fresh instead of printing stories that are worthy of the characters’ history. Marvel has become a platform for political rants and calling New Yorkers sheep. Marvel has become a place where writers and the EIC think the readers are stupid. The fact is those readers that have left are more intelligent then anyone at Marvel right now. Those readers know these characters far better than people working at Marvel because they understand the history. These readers have the ability to go to back issues and see what a great story that were written. These readers are not like the ones in 60s, 70s, or the 80s because they have access to more information now. It is time for writers and the EIC at Marvel to start wising up to that fact because they are insulting these readers’ intelligence.

The question was asked, “What can be done about this?” You can write letters to Marvel and Disney and not just one. Keep writing until the change happens because that is only way they will get the message. Flood their boxes with letters and e-mails telling them about your experiences with the writers via the ‘Net and their unprofessional behavior. You link to sites and message boards. You get your friends to help you and those that feel the same as you do about it. You start a blog and rant. You express yourself at your LCS about your view points. It does work over time because nothing is forever in comics especially arsine changes.

“If I don’t like the game, I change the rules.”

I say that a lot when I get angry because it means things are about to change for the worst for someone. No, I am not angry so don’t worry this is going to be a rant filled with curse words…well maybe a few.

I always lived my life since I come to a self realization that treating people the way you want to be treated only goes so far in this world. You have to get mean sometimes. You need to get down and dirty to get your point across, whatever that point maybe you are trying to get across. You could say that you need to get in mud with the pigs sometimes to show them that they are nothing but bacon waiting to happen.

Anger is a useful emotion if you know how to use it in a productive manner. You could buckle under the pressure or those people you want to change you from who you are, or you can fight. I chose to fight mostly. I am not saying I am unwilling to change certain behavior, but I am not going to change who I am as person so that person can feel good about themselves. Fuck’em, it is their lost in not trying to get to know the person a little before making them a project.

People aren’t projects for someone to change. You either accept who they are or don’t. Simple isn’t it? Case in point, there is someone on the Web I think is a total ass. I mean he does nothing but stir the pot to get his rocks off, but that childish behavior is amusing to some. I find it boring and quite frankly annoying. No, this is person isn’t Dan Slott. Sheesh. He won’t give any more of my attention here unless he does something about it. No, this person, as someone would put it, is an asshat. Those don’t know what an asshat is: You have your head so far up your ass that it is an hat: They think they know everything, but they are not experience to realize that there is more to a single side to a story in the world.

I do get angry with people that I would consider friends. Mostly due to the fact they say the same thing over and over again. I agree with mostly with what they are saying, but saying ten thousand times doesn’t make your point any more valid. I know, I am guilty of this too, but I have right to point this out about anyone or myself. It is my blog bitches.

I also get angry if someone makes me look like an ass after I have taken steps to show that I made a mistake. Let it go already. I apologized and move on. Deal with it on your own and leave me out of it because I see my involvement with the issue being done. Don’t ask, I won’t tell what happen.

Since I broach the subject, you people don’t know who I am really. Sure, some of you talked to me. You don’t know everything about me and there is a reason. I don’t trust anyone completely. Sadly, I did that once and got hurt really bad for it. No, it hasn’t healed because it hasn’t ended yet. Some things are best to keep private about myself and not lay it out there for the vultures to pick over with glee. There other thing not so painful that I haven’t brought up because I don’t want anyone’s fucking pity to shown to me. I really hate when people do that to me. I am stronger than most people realize and tougher than old leather. Battles are fought that will never be won. Wars are won with words and not anger. Life is a painful trip taken by those that have courage to fight those battles and win wars with words.