Okay, this site will still be up, but to help keep my photography organized I will be moving back over to MSN Spaces.

Please bookmark http://myihome.wordpress.com/, I will be publishing editorial and commentary over there from now on.

Feel free to sign the guest book there and send me a friend request also!

As I mentioned in the previous post, I am thinking about shutting down the Comic Stew. Well, I guess I am doing a little more than thinking now. I am putting the Comic Stew on hiatus.

The reasons for this are simple. With my new daughter and other projects, I just have less time to keep up with running this site, my photography site, writing for other sites, and photography.

But do not dispair! The Stew may not be served here anymore, but I will still be writing reviews and commentary over at my new site - http://swbaugher.web.officelive.com .  That site will store all of my future commentary, review, and editorials, as well as being a gallery for my photography.

Also, I will still be participating at Major Spoilers, both on their main page and on the forums. As a matter of fact, I sent Stephen an article just this morning, and it should be seeing publication some time in the near future. I hope you all like it.

So, update your book marks with the new site - http://swbaugher.web.officelive.com

See you there!

Stacy B.

Despite some rumors to the contrary, I have not been kidnapped and replaced by Skrulls. Norhave I been shunted off to a parallel Earth and had my life re-written in some poor way to reconnect with my readers. The real reason I have not been around is simple, Katie and I have had a baby.

March 26, 2008, 5:44 pm, Emily Rose was born. At twenty one and a half inches long and eight pounds five ounces, she has been quite a healthy handful, but we are loving every minute.

Now the issue at hand is a little more touchy, will the Comic Stew continue to be served?

I enjoy sharing my thoughts and opinions with the general public. Having gotten feedback and comments by some industry people has been a nice surprise as well, and everyone else has been great. Thing is, there are so many other sites which do it better and have more resources and man power. If the Comic Stew is shut down, I don’t plan on disappearing completely. I plan on trying to get my stuff out there through a couple of other sources, just ones with higher profiles than this sites. Also, my comic reading has dropped dramatically, due to  lack of funds. I can only bribe the LCS guys with food for so long…

So, it may be a while before another post is made, but a decision will be made soon.

I’ll keep you posted.

I heard this on the radio while riding to the book store earlier. Came home and found the AP article…

Dungeons & Dragons Co-Creator Dies at 69

By EMILY FREDRIX – 2 hours ago

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Gary Gygax, who co-created the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons and helped start the role-playing phenomenon, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva. He was 69.

He had been suffering from health problems for several years, including an abdominal aneurysm, said his wife, Gail Gygax.

Gygax and Dave Arneson developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 using medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game known for its oddly shaped dice became a hit, particularly among teenage boys, and eventually was turned into video games, books and movies.

Gygax always enjoyed hearing from the game’s legion of devoted fans, many of whom would stop by the family’s home in Lake Geneva, about 55 miles southwest of Milwaukee, his wife said. Despite his declining health, he hosted weekly games of Dungeons & Dragons as recently as January, she said.

“It really meant a lot to him to hear from people from over the years about how he helped them become a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, what he gave them,” Gygax said. “He really enjoyed that.”

Dungeons & Dragons players create fictional characters and carry out their adventures with the help of complicated rules. The quintessential geek pastime, it spawned a wealth of copycat games and later inspired a whole genre of computer games that’s still growing in popularity.

Funeral arrangements are pending. Besides his wife, Gygax is survived by six children.

Rest in Peace Mr. Gygax.

Photograph Copyright 2007 Alan De Smet

Remember the little bit I did on the new WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN cartoon a few weeks back? If you don’t, click the link and read it, and then pop back here.

waiting….

Back? Cool.

Now I hope you weren’t to disappointed that the link to the trailer didn’t work, but there is good reason.

The Foo Fighters are suing Marvel Comics over their use of the songs “Best Of You’ and “Free Me” in the trailer for the new WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN cartoon. Apparently, no one at Cyber-Animation seemed to have thought about the problem of copyright infringement. Seems that the two Foo Fighters songs used in the trailer where used without permission.

There is already a vocal group fans that are screaming, WTF!, who cares that they used the songs. Well,the big issue is that the Foo Fighters care, and their record companies probably do as well.

Personally, I find it interesting and rather ironic.

Sure, Marvel  probably figured that Cyber-Animation had done everything they where supposed to, there could even be the possibility that this was meant to be a conceptual trailer and they would get the rights or original music later. Problem is, no matter what the excuse, the trailer was made public, used to promote the upcoming series, and they used the music without permission.

Remember a few years back, when Marvel sued Cryptic Studios regarding the game CITY OF HEROES? If you don’t, Marvel stated that the (in game) player’s ability to make characters which looked like and resembled Marvel characters was copyright infringement. Eventually, the case was settled and the Marvel likenesses where no longer available to be made in CoH. Marvel has also been pretty vocal regarding fans scanning and uploading their comics, which is also copyright infringement.

It just goes to show that everyone is susceptible to mistakes.

Just to let you know, I just had a SECRET INVASION related article posted over at Major Spoilers. It was written for the comedic value, and enjoyed a good editor. If you got a few minutes, and want a good laugh, go check it out. It is called: WHAT IF THE SKRULLS INVADING THE 616 UNIVERSE WHERE NOT 616 SKRULLS, BUT 6160 SKRULL? I think it is pretty funny, but then, I wrote it.

 If you read it, please leave feedback in the comment section on Major Spoilers. Let me know what you think. And a quick thanks to Stephen Schleicher for publishing it over! You guys rock!

You may have noticed that the Black Ribbon of Mourning on the sidebar has disappeared and been replaced by a new picture…

Well, the reason is simple, MAJOR SPOILERS HAS RETURNED!

The new/old site is up and running and looking great! As much as I have enjoyed contributing to the Major Spoilers Forum, it is nice to see the actual site back up.

Congratulations guys! Great to have you back!

Steve Gerber died Sunday. Mark Evanier has taken over Steve’s personal blog at http://www.stevegerber.com/sgblog/ to make sure it is still around until the family decides what to do with it, and there is a detailed obituary here.

Steve Gerber created not only Howard The Duck and Omega The Unknown, who are currently enjoying a sort of revival at Marvel, but with Jack Kirby also created Destroyer Duck while the two creators where having legal difficulties with Marvel.

Mark Evainer has a memorial post on his blog, and it has been suggested by Paul Levitz that anyone wanting to honor Mr. Gerber should make a donation to the Hero Initiative (formerly known as A.C.T.O.R.), as Mr. Gerber had ties to that group.

Gerber’s last post on his blog told of how he was in the hospital, it was the middle of the night, and he was working on his Dr. Fate story.

You will be missed, Mr. Gerber.

“Plants are like people. Writers are like plants. Therefore, and this may come as a surprise, writers are like people. Given them light, water, nourishment, a comfortable pot and an encouraging world and they’ll grow.” — Howard the Duck No. 16.

I had my doubts when I heard about this series last year, but having just watched the trailer, I just gotta say, “WOW.”

Here is the synopsis…

When an explosive event shatters the lives of the X-Men and takes away their mentor, the beaten heroes walk away from it all.
But then they’re given a rare glimpse into the future, and see a world in utter ruin, ruled by giant destructive robots. A world that spiraled out of control because the X-Men had given up.
So now the most legendary of all X-Men takes the lead - Wolverine! Reuniting these broken heroes, Wolverine embarks on the ultimate mission - to prevent de world’s destruction.
To rescue us from ourselves. To save the future.

The animation looks great, the voices fit, and it looks like it is aimed more at an older-teen audience.

Can’t wait for it! Click the link below the picture below to be taken to the trailer site.

http://www.cyber-animation.com/wolverine/wolverine.htm

WRITER: Joss Whedon

PENCILLER: John Cassaday

INKER: Chris Eliopoulos

COLORIST: Laura Martin

EDITOR: Axel Alonso

RELEASE DATE: January 23, 2008

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My wife introduced me to the work of Joss Whedon before we where married. It was through BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and I quickly became a fan. Later, after we where married, we accumulated the complete series on DVD and I spent a lot of time watching them and deconstructing the stories. By studying the story structure I was able to see the method to the madness. I have a tendency to do that, breaking down stories to see how they work. It’s fun and a good mental exercise.

When we found out that he would be writing the Astonishing X-Men, we where excited! Now, 24 issues later, I can look back and see how his mad master plan had began…

One of the hallmarks of Joss Whedon’s writing is his ability to weave a story that grabs the readers and sends them off in one direction. Once they get comfortable and think they know where the story is going, he spins them around and makes an unexpected stop in a new zipcode. That is pretty much how the whole Astonishing X-Men series has been, and this installment is no exception.

Enough of that, on to the issue.

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Issue #24 starts off with the Astonishing X-Men on the Breakworld trying to save the Earth. Since being launched into space, we have discovered that Colossus is destined to destroy the Breakworld, Lockheed was working with S.W.O.R.D., watched Cyclops die (he got better), the long awaited consummation of of a relationship as old as the new X-Men, and they even managed to capture the leader of a whole planet! Translation: LOTS OF STUFF HAS GONE DOWN!

Hold up in equivalent of the only hospital on the whole planet, the Astonishing X-Men, S.W.O.R.D. survivors, and alien sympathizers try and make their plans to save the Earth from a 10-mile long missile aimed at the Earth. Yeah, as Beast said in issue #22, “That’s no moon.”

As with the last several issues, we really see Scott Summers come into his own as a leader.  Yes, he has been leading the X-Men in one fashion or another for quite a while, but many time he was portrayed as not having total confidence and getting a lot of input. Now we have a Scott Summers who is large and in charge. He makes his plan and takes no whining about it. His plan? Split up into two groups, one handle the missile, the other go threaten Breakworld.

Things quickly go pear-shaped as we discover the mastermind behind it all (not who you think) and the true nature of the threat to Earth.

——————–

Not to go back and start tooting the Whedon horn again, but this issue is another solid homerun. Taken by itself, it is simply good, but within the context of the whole story it adds to a run that is destined to be one of the legends. But, there are some complaints. Whedon is masterful with the one liners and wit. That was a hallmark of Buffy and Serenity and he carries it over into his other work. But the problem hits when his wit clashes with some of the other character traits. Example: Scott tries to strike a deal with Powerlord Kuun, your world for ours. After the Kuun essentially turns him down, Scott cracks a joke, “Are you TRYING to wipe out your world?” He cracks a joke at an enemy who has no sense of humor and sees anything but physical strength as a weakness. Still, the dialogue is good and fun to read.

The art by John Cassaday in this issue is just as good as the others. He will defiantly go down as one of the stellar artist of the day, but there seems to be the occasional slip. Occasionally a face looks off, or Colossus no longer seems muscular. But over all, it is on the same level as we expect.

——————–

The thing that makes me wonder is the same as lots of Marvel titles: When The Hell Does This Happen? The whole series seems to have taken place within a matter of weeks, with only a day or two since they landed on Breakworld. I mean, back on Earth we have a major storyline with the X-Men tying up, Scott disbanding the teams, Wolverine gathering X-Force, etc. There are several members of the Astonishing missing from that crossover, and it makes me wonder if that is a hint to some happening in this series.

Bottom line: If you have enjoyed Whedon and Cassaday’s work up till now, you will continue to be astonished. Their handling of the X-Men is one which was long overdue, and as long as you accept that what you thought you knew is probably wrong, you are gonna enjoy this issue.

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THE COMIC STEW PANEL PICK