I had a really nice time with the Call of Cthulhu game today

My character who was injured in a vampire attack last time was healed by a witch, one of the NPCs (non-player characters) is going nutsy cuckoo due to an ability to travel and manipulate other people's dreams, and one of Brenda's characters has crash landed in a plane in the rain forest with several other people and a mystery is afoot as to how they got there. Next week should be very interesting. We hadn't played for a couple of weeks, so it was nice to do so. And even though I'm not on the plane adventure, I don't mind watching what happens (I have a character who is visiting an injured family member, so when I play that out, Brenda's in the audience, but mostly we're both in the scene, so to speak, together. I am the more passive player, however, and that's something I haven't really worked on in the 23 years I've been playing this game, and I really need to do so.)

It's been a pleasant weekend. A was away at a conference and YKWIA and I spent a lot of time together, watching episodes of 'Hart of Dixie' and talking about all sorts of things, including comics. We both used to work for the same comic book store, but I had no idea just how encyclopaedic his knowledge was of the Marvel Universe. No wonder he's always complaining about how the movies mess with the canon. For someone who has read comics all his life but is not a comic geek at all, he knows lots of details, and remembers many of the covers of his youth. I now know a lot more about mutants, Inhumans, Eternals, and Celestials than I used to, as well as Kree, Skrulls, and other alien races. :) But it was fun to learn about. I came to comics late. I read a couple when I was in my teens (Star Wars and The Amazing Spider-Man), but I didn't really read or collect much until I was working for the store and was in charge of ordering, so I saw the full catalogue. I started with The X-Files (I was a really big fan of the show at the time) and then discovered Sandman, which is still my favourite title, although it's not really a 'superhero' comic. I'm glad Neil Gaiman has been working on the prequel. I've got the first two issues, but I'm missing the third--I haven't had a chance to pick it up with how tight things have been of late. Comics have gotten more expensive than when I was working at the store in the 90s. It's over $5 for those comics, and I had been getting both variant covers. Granted, the Sandman prequel isn't monthly, so it's not really a terrible expense, but there's been other bills to pay and things like food and gas to get, so no, I can't really afford to collect much in the way of comics these days.

Okay, I have to get up early tomorrow and run an important errand before work. Good night.

Hmm...

Upcoming Genre Movies That Aren't Sequels, Remakes or Reboots

I was attracted to this article because, frankly, so much of Hollywood today is recycled stuff and I wanted to see what might be coming up. Oculus with Karen Gillan (Amy from 'Doctor Who') sounds intriguing. I am interested to see what they will do with Lois Lowry's The Giver. Two more based off of books frighten me because I love them dearly and would hate to see them done badly. One is Sandman, based on Neil Gaiman's excellent comic book series, and the other is Ransom Riggs' Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, which is being directed by Tim Burton, which could mean it is very good or that I will totally dislike it. Please tell me it will not have Johnny Depp. I really don't care for him, and it seems like he's in just about every movie the man makes. Thanks to Alexandra Bond for sharing this on Facebook.

I walked into a comic store for the first time in about 15 years

all because of Neil Gaiman and his new Sandman prequel. It came with two covers. I prefer the one on the left, actually. But yes, I sprang for both. The next one is due out in December.

Sandman is what got me collecting comic books as an adult--it was totally different from the comics I'd read as a kid (primarily Star Wars and Spider-Man. With its literary and historical allusions, interesting plots, and the intriguing Endless, I was hooked. I was very sad when it ended, although I kept up with The Dreaming for quite some time afterwards. I'm glad to see a new story, the story before the story, back. Hopefully it was worth the wait.

I went into the store (Collectibles, Etc.) and the smell hit me, the scent of comic books, and I felt instant nostalgia. I worked at a comic store for a year (The Comic Interlude, back under the former owner) in 1996, doing the ordering, databases, reserve files, and generally helping keep it running. There were times YKWIA and I were there till 4:30 in the morning working on backstock and re-arranging things. It was actually great experience in that I did a lot of things that I later did in the library--work with vendors, catalogue, order items for customers, etc. It actually helped me get my present job. :) I'm looking forward to reading the comic book.

I cannot conceive trying to bake this....

A Little Endless cake. Via @neilhimself (Neil Gaiman on Twitter).

Ah. I love Sandman. And Death. And Delerium. And....