The NZA

Other suggested ideas thus far - bacchus: Elysium fields/Fields of Elysium: Keepin the whole deity idea, this is where the favorites of Zeus played. Jumbie: Men In Tights got rejected for bein too much a parody, Wolverine's Love Shack was temptin but nah. Panel Discussion, Books with Pictures, Three Color Corner = nah, too. Good one with Danger Room, tho. Mulan (:kitty:): The Dreaming - good, but im shootin for one that the masses can follow, so it helps if its in a movie, sadly. Nothin too obscure. hell's Kitchen - Not for here, but damn that'd be great if we ever wanted an Irish corner. She did supply Fortress of Solitude, tho. Other obscure ones i quickly passed up: Oa, Apokalips, Avenger's Mansion, Baxter Building, MurderWorld (tho works for Fight Club, eh?), etc. Myself, ill vote later tonite, after ive thought it out - Fortress is fun but doesnt convey the idea of the forum as well as Xavier's Institute, for me. Danger Room, Batcave, even Hall of Justice (tho cheezy) aint bad, but still leanin towards Xavier's right now.

Just lookin to hear a synopsis/selling of (ie, the cool shit) certain books Wizard & others rave on about but ive never managed to read any of. -Hard Boiled: Supposedly a great action book by immortal Frank Miller; anythin to do with the great action flick, or...? -Hellboy: This one's all over the place, i dont know dick about it, feel like im left out at the comic con's. -Mage: Another with a huge cult followin; ive seen other stuff by Matt Wagner & liked the guy, anyone read any of this book? -Starman: This one raised some waves years back, dont know why. -Usagi: Looks like the ninja bunny from Ninja Turtles...Wizard cant hype him enough, but i cant find a good jump-on book. -100 Bullets: Picked up the first 3 issues or so, didnt hook me...am I really missin out here? -Mircale Man: Alan Moore + Neil Gaiman's legendary, hard-to-find seires of twenty somethin issues, i believe. Im still waitin on the TPB (trade paperback), i hear Marvel's gettin closer. -Lone Wolf & Cub: Along with Blade of the Immortal, two samurai books i heard lots about, picked up a lil but its in-between stuff so it dont help. -Smaller press stuff: Hate!, Pedro & Me (the guy from "Real World", heard it was good), Fax From Sarajevo, Flinch, Minimum Wage, Kane. Also, finally picked up TPB of the first books of Authority, gonna see if it lives up to the hype - A JLA book written by Warren Ellis cant be bad, i figure. Anyway, if anyone round here reads these books, lemme know how they are/whats a good startin point if the 1st few issues arent in trade.

Are you serious? Private Ryan had good acting, fantastic battle scenes, solid plot...one of the last good traditional WWII films ive seen. Thin Red Line was goin for a modern-day "The Longest Day": all-star cast an alla that, but unlike Longest Day, it had no focus, and ended up all over the place, a messy 3-hour trial. The only thing worse was the battle scense: the Japs were shootin at the trees behind the allies, apparenlty, dyin like it was a new trend. Swear to god, i was waitin to hear the Marines yell "Go Joe!"...:ill:

Helpin to protect 1st ammendment rights, especially in the realm of comics, the CBLDF offers such services as legal assistance to creators/artists/writers whose works are under the gun of cnesorship. Backed heavily by Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller, Kevin Smith and numerous others, this organization has become quite reputable in the last few years. It's worth a look. Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Yes, that's right, in addition to many other good moves, genius Marvel CEO Joe Quesada (artist/writer as well) decided to let fans read back issues of popular books online, figurin this'd be the best ad possible. It worked: Ultimate Spider-Man sales alone are through the roof. Anyway, theyre postin Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate X-Men, Incredible Hulk, and Elektra, up to their last month or so's issue, all for free. Check em out, theyre all good books (didnt go for Elektra m'self, but the others are great). Marvel dot.comics, read Marvel online free PS two notes: 1 - there will be ads, just give em a second and you can move on. 2 - You need shockwave, an interent program many webisites use these days; if your Internet Explorer is anywhere near recent, youve prolly already got it. Its free as well.

The idea is just your current books; past favoritres are for another thread(s). Well, ya got most...but forgot Warlands & Shidima. I havent read em in a while, but you still seem to be a fan of Pat Lee's fantasy stuff.

No, not one bit, early Image days proved that - anyone remember Jim Lee on WildCATs, Liefeld's Youngblood, Portacio on Wetworks, etc...? Writing sucked. As for :kitty:'s example, nah Ennis' batman shit that i read really blew, Alex Ross couldntve saved that. Everyone's got their bad days tho, Frank Miller had Spawn/Batman, Mark Waid had The Kingdom, etc. Its become pretty obvious that books only really stand out when the writer & artist are completely in sync with another, but to which of the two should more of the character's credit go?

Those are good, but The Dreaming is too obscure & leaves out the majority of superhero books, and hell's Kitchen sounds more like the geographic location to me...tho that'd be cool if me & Benny wanted an Irish corner or somethin. Any others, :kitty:?

What's this signs one youre talkin bout? Havent heard of it...on a side note, im exceited since i saw some flick comin out next fall called "Blood Work", a thrilller starring/produced by m'boy Clint Eastwood...

This one's been a debate amongst me, Jumbie, Bacchus, and Artistic for a while. Let's use the ever-present example of Spider-Man. Stan Lee takes credit, obviously ("Ill take credit for anything that's not nailed down!" - direct quote, swear to god). So, he comes up with the idea of a man with spider powers, and the name, Peter Parker. Now, Steve Ditko (not quite Jack "The King" Kirby, but also a very creative man) creates the costume, and with it, the web-shooters. Both have a hand in the origin, tho one would assume its more so from Stan. See where I'm goin with this? Without Stan, Steve's just drawin his ideas, and without Steve, Stan's just got the barebones of an idea in his head. For the next step, we'll use Batman. Bob Kane's original Batman fought humans criminals mostly, and often snapped their necks. He's a far cry from the Batman most folks know, which is only from the cartoons & movies anyway. It was later writers who made him who he is: dark, more gothic, refusing to kill regardless of the circumstances, bit of a sadist, etc (i once heard the description, "An obscessed terrorist on the side of justice"). These details & those of the artist evolved him into this. ...you get the idea. hell, the original Wolverine writer was thinkin of makin him an actual wolverine mutated into a human..:ill: As for the Villian Cast, this obviously plays a huge part: i personally think this is why Batman & Spider-Man are as popular as they are, and not characters with weaker villians like Green Lantern. Regardless, it comes back to writing & art, just lookin for perspective here.

...Ok...so...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm as in "i'm confused here" or hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm as in "fuckin genuis! I love the new format"?

I've recently picked up New X-Men - while i dont like Frank Quitely's art like Wizard does, Grant Morrison's still a great writer (JLA, The Invisbles - a vertigo book loosely adapted into The Matrix). Fun, smart team stuff, like X-Men hasnt had in a long-ass time. The team's just Wolvie, Beast, Cyk, White Queen & Phoenix but its suprisingly good, new villians & everythin. My regular stuff, tho: -Ultimate Spider-Man: Some of the best dialogue and pacing ive seen in a comic, and Mark Bagley's still my favorite Spidey artists. This shit's so good, ya dont notice its been 20 issues and he's fought like 3 people, maybe. -Ultimate X-Men: Artistic is right that Wolverine shouldnt be 6', but otherwise, a good book gettin better each month. The Weapon X stuff was great; last month's book was my favorite of the series. -The Ultimates: Only 2 issues out so far, but no complaints at this point. #1 is a Captain America "Saving Private Ryan" type battle scene, lotta run. -Ultimate Team-up: The artist changes ever arc, but this book is conistently good. The Punisher/Spidey/Daredevil Teamup was badass, and the joke issue of Fantastic Four was fuckin hilarious. -Amazing Spider-Man: J. Micheal Strazinsky can do no wrong. New villians, some of the best Spidey ive read, and ive read tons. -The Hulk: Also featurin new writing and John Romita Jr's art, new creative team started only 3 issues ago but its gettin interestin. This one looks promising. -Green Arrow: Kevin Smith is quickly becomin one of the better comic writers out there, pick this one up before its prices go through the roof, if they havent already. This one's worth it just to see Smith write the JLA in some issues. -Powers: Brian Micheal Benids is a machine, doin this many books a month. This is his flagship one tho; the usual great dialogue in a supehero crime story. Surprisingly good. -The Red Star: Doesnt show up too often, but its a really good fantasy/war book, lot of its own mythology behind it & excellent digital art. -Bone: This bi-monthly classic is in its final story arc, i believe. Ive never seen such a lighthearted book go epic so seamlessly, if you enjoy fantasy and humor, this might be a favorite. -Rising Stars: Today's equivalent to Watchmen: how a real superhero team would exist in today's society. Phenomenal, wish it'd show more often tho - damn movie rights are holdin it up. -Midnight Nation: Along with Rising Stars, also by Strazinsky. This guy used to do Babylon 5 episodes, apparently...anyway, he's very innovative, new ideas are all over these books. Borth books are lookin to end in a year or so. Anyway, this is a short tale of a cop whose literally lost his soul & has to travel to the other side to get it back; sounds cliche, but i assure you its not. -Transmetropolitan: Sadly in its last year...Warren Ellis' opus tale of a bastard journalist against a corrupt President, amongst other things. Political, yet funny/nasty as shit. Not for the light hearted, but a great fuckin book that more folks oughta be readin. -Hellblazer:: Written by Azarello (Banner, 100 Bullets), this one's the best its been since Ennis wrote it. Dark, moody stuff as usual: current storyline has investigators lookin into who killed John Constantine (!). You must read: -Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again: Miller's second go at it doenst feel like milkin a sequel at all; its one book shy of finishin, but damn, the last book made me think if it keeps this pace, it might just end up on par with the original. If youre used to Lyn Varley's art (300, Dark Knight Strikes Back), this book'll really shine. -Origins: Yeah, i know, im a huge Wolverine fan, but fuck this is some really amazin shit comin from Marvel. 4 of its 6 books are out, which is killin me how theyre draggin their feet to tie it up, but then again, take your time - each book has been a blast. Paul Jenkins (Vergito, amongst other things - think he won an Eisner once) is carefully allotin a new secret each issue, some huge, some more subtle. The direction he seems to be goin in makes the character 10x better, for me....Adam Kubert (favorite Wolvy artist) dont hurt the book either. Less recommended but still OK: -Wolverine: Sweet merciful crap, this one's finally pickin up! Next month, now that Wolverine's lost healin factor (yeah, again), he gets to take on a teamup of Sabertooth, Lady Deathstrike & Omega Red....yeah, im a dork & a huge fan of this often poorly written book, but its gettin better again, so im excited. -Outlaw Nation: Yeah, im just buyin this one 'cause i was 15 issues into it before i realized it wasnt that damn good, and now its just bout to end. Took it for a Preacher clone, but nah. -Punisher: Dear god, please put Ennis back on this book. I cant wait till issue 13 when he & Dillon are supposed to return...the first issue after Ennis left, its Frank teamin up with Mr Fantastic to travel back in time to take down Al Capeone...:ill: :ill: Yeah..that bout covers my monthly books, or so. Still sad Fury's over...so what's everyone else's recommendations? Anyone got books im missin? For what its worth, im curious bout 100 Bullets.

...and so far, the Joker's a runaway sucess! Odd, i really thought Reeves would take it by a landslide. Well, keep it goin... PS were always willin to accomodate. The man couldnt even wear a skull on his shirt.. ???

See, thats one of my concerns with XP: i know it looks nice & runs faster/smoother an all, but i dont wanna lose all my customization. It comes from a lotta programs that barely work with 2000, not lookin to find replacements all over again. Thanks for the advice tho, was wonderin bout the new OS.

Neither do I! But i was thinkin bout "House of Ideas". Sounds a lot better. Not necessarily a Marvel theme, just liked it as a title - tho Danger Room is fun, and so is Men In Tights...lookin for halfway artistic but not necessarily/more clever than anythin i guess, not to make fun of comics tho since enough folks do that. "Books with pictures"...... Maybe ill do another poll. House of Ideas, Danger Room...these are good options. Keep em comin if ya can. PS - bacchus, artistic, others - were now takin applications...

I know it, but :kitty: told me so i dunno if its fair...ill stay quiet.

Junker - When does Unbreakable 2 come out? I here its a trilogy & Bruce is lovin it, im dyin to see more. Again, didnt like the cop-out endin but otherwise great movie. Bucket - Ha...post s'more and we'll see if we can get ya moderatin. But feel free to start your own thread on guitar tabs over there in Culture, that sounds like a great fuckin idea, actually. Gotta let BigChiefSlapaho know tho, he plays a bit too. :D

Eh...Nirvana's good, but cmon people... Window Licker is a funny ass video, if the other one's better, i gotta see that. nine inch nails definietly deserves a spot, but not for closer necessarily. As for Oasis, my personal fave of theres is "D'yer Wanna be a spaceman?", but that might just be me. Oh, and Orbital's Halcyon + on + on, that'd get really high up there, i fuckin love that song.

First off...how does everyone like "The House of Ideas" as part of the fourm's name? I know, its one of Marvel's names and prolly kinda lame, but ive been throwin it around. Anyway, lookin for moderators here to join me. Here be the prequisites: -Youve read the greats - Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, Kingdom Come, even Maus cause its so damn popular. Mad bonus points for Preacher. -Youve read a ton o' shit, too: Marvel cosmic shit, DC team shit (im talkin 80's here folks), etc. You must honestly be able to say a good chunk of your youth was wasted on crappy plotlines like "Cap-Wolf!", etc. Knowin the mind-numbin continuities of Zero Hour, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinity Gauntlet & the subsequent battles, Secret Wars, etc. If nothin else, at least know "Age of Apocalypse", that shit was cool. -Youve watched good comic films like Blade, Crow, Matrix, X-Men etc as well as bad, like Captain America, Crow sequels, The Punisher, etc. Again, mad bouns points for seein the Fantastic Four bootleg flick, i never saw it but man it looked shitty. -Familiarity/love for superhero books, past & present, as well as for human/realist books, such as Vertigo's Hellblazer, Transmet, etc - Im lookin for variety here, people. Anyway, ya'll get the idea. I think Bacchus wants to help out, maybe artistic if he can keep it in his pants, but its not set in stone yet, so lemme know if youre interested or just have a good sub-name for this place. :jay: :bob:

My film class had me thinkin bout this one... Was gonna put a "Greatest comic movie of all time" poll but i thought this'd be more fun. Personally? I figure everyone's gonna go for Reeves, god knows the man was/is Superman, no doubt about it, but watchin bits of X-Men again.... Jackman has the look, the movements, the voice, even the growl down pat. Plus, im obviously a huge Wolvy fan, so this all but made the film for me. Where do the rest of ya stand? And no bullshit replies like "Matt Salinger" as Captain America!

Yay, our first flame battle! Anyway...yeah, KOS raises a good point...i dunno if Ennis can top Preacher, it certainly dont seem like he wants to give it a go these days. Granted, those mins i told ya & Fury, Punisher etc are as good as those books get, but i see what youre sayin: its a different calibre. Have you read the next few things he's lookin to do? I hear its another Just A Pilgrim series, then a book 'bout Super Powered Ho's (!), then back to Punisher for a wee bit. Like i said, im dyin to see the man make his own book again sometime, even if it aint Vertigo. Ill ask ya this, tho: What do ya think of Dark Knight Strikes Again? Its still 1 book shy of finishin over here, but while i cant honestly say it tops the original, its pretty fuckin good, if it finishes strong i think it has a shot with bein on par, to be honest. My point is: no, youre prolly right, i dont expect Alan Moore to outdo Watchment or Miller to top DKR, but their follow-ups were stuff like 300, Sin City, Top Ten, From hell, etc... I think writers like these just had their opus, their be-all-to-end-all stories, got em told & off their back, and went on to still dominate the world of comic writing. I see where youre comin from, but i just cant say theyve past their stirde yet; sounds to much to me like "lets put me out to pasture, and make way for real writers like Rob Liefeld!"...:ill:

I..am a philosophy major with a lax security job and good typin skills...I have all the time in the world! Cmon man, lookit my post number. You realize this place has only been around since wha, December or so? Id say were safe till i move/lose my power. So no one finds it confusin, then?

Yeah, ive heard of that Ghost World one. For the record tho, if there's mostly superhero stuff, it's cause this forum was invented last nite (!), hasnt had time to grow yet - feel free to preach more stuff like this, ill hopefully have threads up for recommended Vertigo shit, includin best of Ennis & Warren Ellis as well. Ill check that one out tho Bucket, thanks.

Uh...right. *Steals a few more hamburgers* So...cmon, gimme some feedback here, what does everyone think of the subtle changes? Good, bad, ugly, more confusin, ingenious, etc? It's your board, people....

Like I said, topics got moved, so post #'s went up & down: I honestly tried to put relevant shit in its folders. If ya notice a particular thread you liked missin or dont agree with a certain move, by all means, lemme know. Fear not, with your new 3rd admin, im sure the topics you kids have been croppin up (or in Jumbie's case, taken from NYtimes.com) will skyrocket over the Lyceum soon enough. Congrats on seein whats supposed to be the two most intellectual forums as a "race"....remember, quality/quantity? Ah well. Yes, apparently I'm the hamburglar, then. "Theyre MINE! All mine! Gimme all the posts!!"