Whoo boy

So I haven't updated in about a million years.  This is because very little comic book related has been happening in my life. 

After 6 months of job hunting, I am finally able to make rent working weekdays as a waitress at a cafe on Charles Street and weekends as a receptionist at an apartment builing for formely homeless elderly people in the South End.  None of this has much to do with comics.  I still make monthly rounds of a few local stores like Comikazi, Million Year Picnic and Comicopia, but none of them are hiring and I can't afford to buy much.

STILL-- I have spend a great deal of time thinking about stuff I'd like to do/offer at TOS when I finally get it off the ground.  I met with a representive from the Boston Small Business Association (such nice people), who suggested I have about a year's expenses saved up before I start out, so I have a lot of saving (and planning) to do.

One of the ideas that I've had a lot of fun with, impractical as it may turn out to be, is the idea of having a little coffee bar/reading area at the back of the store.  To occupy the time at the cafe, I've compiled a specials menu for the mini-cafe tenuously known as Coffee On Infinite Earths:

The Incredible Hulk
           Steamed milk with mint flavor and whipped cream
The Flash!
           Triple macchiato (wooosh!)
The Goddamn Batpuccino
           Mocha cappuccino with bat sprinkles
Manga Latte
            Sweet green tea latte, served with a cute okashi
Weapon X
            Spicy hot chocolate
The Capekiller
             Spicy double espresso
The Harley Quinn
              Iced raspberry mocha
Mutie Soda
              Club soda with choice of flavor syrup
Deadpool’ s Surprise
               Feelin’ lucky, punk?
Tales of Suspense Special
               Steamed milk, vanilla flavor, patriotic sprinkles

Comics storage

Much to my parents amusement, I'm trying to get my whole comics collection packed to come with me.  I argued that going without my comics would be like going to school without textbooks, but it didn't stop the inevitable eye roll when they saw how big the box was.

A couple of months ago, during a procrastination marathon of The Big Bang Theory, I noticed that Sheldon his comics in small decorative baskets:

This is a great solution-- classy, easily accessible, and best of all, a total field day for those with OCD.  I saw some cute, versatile containers that were about the right size at Ikea, but I figured I could find them even cheaper if I kept looking.  I ended up getting photo storage boxes from A.C. Moore.  They're a tiny bit too wide, but they're cheap and come in a variety of colors. 

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In current reading, I've been totally obsessed with the film Inception and literally squealed with glee when I saw they've released an online promo comic. 

The comic, entitled "The Cobol Job", is a prequel to the movie and supposedly gives a bit of background to the botched job that has Cobol Engineering chasing the team down at the beginning of the film.  Being a prequel, it lacks many of the movie's best characters: Eames the forger and Yusuf the chemist are still in Kenya, Mr. Saito is only mentioned as an employer and Ariadne the architect has yet to even hear of shared dreaming.  Still, the 36 page comic, available as a .pdf here, is brightly colored and full of action-- in fact, it's pretty much one big fight scene. The dialogue is stilted and the art is a bit too anime-flavored for my tastes, but it has potential. If the same people were to turn it into a series (which they won't, but hypothetically speaking) I'd read it just to see how things unfold and to spend just a bit more time in that fascinating world.

The only big let-down is the lack of resemblance to the actors:

Maybe the real one's just too pretty...

 

Packing woes (or, how will I fit my lightsaber in my suitcase?)

Well, I've reached that inevitable point in my preparations to move where I have just enough packed that it seems like I have an overwhelming amount of crap, but not enough packed that I feel prepared to actually move it.
Good point to stop and do some reading.

I've just finished the first volume of Scott Pilgrim ("Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life").  I enjoyed it, definitely, but it was a bit underwhelming.  I guess I had expected it to be a sort of an American Splendor for the Gameboy generation-- just the tales of an ordinary guy who has these surreal, quasi-allegorical video game style fights.  As it is, the whole thing takes place in a slightly off-kilter, painfully hip world where a 23-year old dating a 17-year old is "refreshing", "Knives" is a totally normal name for a shy little Asian girl (seriously, why does no one question this?), and all Amazon deliveries in Canada are done in person by a possibly magical hipster girl with roller blades.  Don't get me wrong, I liked it-- I'll be reading the rest as soon as I can get my hands on vol. 2, it's just not the future classic I'd hoped it would be.
The art style, on the other hand, I really enjoyed.  It reminded me a bit of FLCL: hard to tell the characters apart sometimes (especially when a whole lot of them are being introduced at once), but overall quirky and endearing.  The Scott Pilgrim Avatar Generator that's part of the movie promotion is especially fun.  I'll probably go see the movie, too-- I just know now not to expect anything generation-defining.

 Apparently, I am "kind of bitch".  Thanks for noticing, Internet.

Jumping the gun?

I am a massive nerd.  I'm just going to put that out there.  I'd like nothing more in life than to spend my days surrounded by comics and the people who love them. 
Because of this, I have decided to work towards opening my own comic book store. 

Do I have any idea what I'm doing?
None. 
Do I have any retail experience?
Nope. 
Do I have any idea how long it'll take to achieve this dream?
Not at all.

Why am I writing it down, then?  Why not wait until I am established behind the cozy star-spangled counter of my very own corner shop? I am jumping the gun here in the hopes that, whatever happens in the subsequent months (years?), my experiences can entertain and enlighten my fellow massive nerds.

Now I just need to find a job...