30 Characters Challenge #26: Aphid


"My aphid senses are tingling! Even at the size of an insect I can handle whatever it might be, bring it -- " SQUISH!!

Five Year Blogiversary and Changes

On this date in 2007 -- that's five years ago! -- I made the first post on this blog. 4,541 posts and 83,969 comments later, I can honestly say it's been a very fun ride. I've had the chance to interact with some amazingly fun and creative people, I've seen some incredible artwork produced, the HeroMachine application has gotten some fantastic new features due to your direct feedback, and I've had some great belly laughs. You're a pretty amazing group of folks. I want to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who comes here and contributes their with and creativity. Thank you for being part of my life.

After taking the last week off from both writing and my regular job, however, I have decided that the mission of the blog has to change. I don't have the energy any more with my full-time responsibilities to commit to the full weekly schedule of contests and posts. The time I spend doing all of that each day would be better spent converting over more HeroMachine items, or adding new features.

So starting today I'm instituting the following changes:

  • No more weekly scheduled posts.
  • No more weekly contests.
  • The blog will continue to exist but not as the front page of the site; it will be used for program updates, new feature announcements, feedback solicitation, and random illustration stuff. But it will be on a catch as catch can, unscheduled basis.
  • The front page will change to feature links to the various HM apps, which honestly is what the vast majority of people come here for anyway.

Of course the forums will remain open and active for anyone who wants to participate. I highly encourage you to continue the weekly contests there if you have a hankering to.

Thank you again for five great years of fun and intelligent conversation!

30 Characters Challenge #25: Phenokinetic Siyad al Ayad

Phenokinetic Siyad al Ayad can use the power of his mind to change the phenotype of any living organism at will.

Vacation Open Thread 7

This is your daily open thread, talk about whatever you like, of course keeping it clean and friendly.

30 Characters Challenge #24: Gears

Gears fixes stuff. Men are not stuff, so if you're a broken man and you're looking for a woman to fix you -- keep looking. But leave the keys to your car.

Vacation Open Thread 6

This is your daily open thread, talk about whatever you like, of course keeping it clean and friendly.

30 Characters Challenge #23: Grandag

Finally making it to Broadway wasn't as satisfying as Grandag had dreamed.

Vacation Open Thread 5

This is your daily open thread, talk about whatever you like, of course keeping it clean and friendly.

Grail Knight: Iron Man #2 Review

The wonderful thing about Iron Man is his odd sense of purpose. Here is man who has always been intellectual, a tinkerer, a weapons designer and most notably, an adventurer. He really is the living embodiment of an Arthurian knight. He has, especially in recent years, been a man on a quest to rid the world of evil in many forms. With Extremis back on the black market, one of Tony's worst fears is coming true, that his inventions will fall into the hands of those who wish ill of and would seek to harm the world at large. There's no doubt that he's a hero and his heart's in the right place, but then there's always been the question of where his ego is at any given moment. He's become a hell of a tactician in the decades since his debut, but then there are moments when little things slip past him. He may well become the Galahad of S.H.I.E.L.D., or at least their Lancelot. That being said, Maria Hill really needs to hide the (other) women and booze and let the man do his thing, which would be saving the world.

This is what Kieron Gillen has brought to Iron Man. The writer of the last volume of Uncanny X-Men is starting out Iron Man as though he were a classic knight-in-shining-armor hero. There's a bit of history shown in this one that long-time fans would recall and that gives us insight into what Tony thinks of other inventors. The dialogue and narration are pretty freaking good and there's really not much to pick apart as far as pacing or characterization. All of the characters we see in this issue have the potential to really mess with Tony's life, both in and out of the Iron Man persona. It will be very interesting to see where Gillen goes from here. There is a lot of promise for future arcs and the possibility of new Iron Man villains.
Greg Land's pencils are fantastic in this, just as they were in the first issue of the new volume. There doesn't seem to be too much wrong with this at all. Then there's Jay Leisten's inks, which aren't really required in this issue, except for backgrounds and bits of the new armor. The base art by these two is really good, despite some fans complaining that it doesn't match the cover. The colors on this issue were just phenomenal. There's no panel in this issue without great colors and art in general. This is one of the most beautifully illustrated Marvel comics in a long time.

Iron Man #2 gets a 5. It leaves a lot open for more issues in the story arc and the potential for more stories of its kind in the Iron Man series. Hyper Geeky definitely recommends this issue for any and all Iron Man fans.

Iron Man #2 (2012)
Marvel
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Pencils: Greg Land
Inks: Jay Leisten
Colors: Guru Efx

30 Characters Challenge #22: Arrius Septimius