What Do I Say Now?

Here’s the blog I had originally written for Monday:

So here I am. It’s Sunday and I figure I’ll write up my Monday Blog early…only I don’t know what to write. I could just skip a week, but once you start down that path, it’s too easy to skip updating altogether. So no! I need to come up with something! I guess today I’ll settle for a potpourri of topics.

Yesterday I went to the local comics and collectibles store, Zone 51, as I like to do on Saturdays. There, in addition to my weekly comics, I found a trade paperback called Grimm Fairy Tales. As I said last week, I’m on a fairy tale kick, so I picked it up even though it was volume 4. From the back cover, it seemed like the stories would be self-contained. Well, not so much. There’s an arcing storyline throughout the series and Volume 4 actually marks the end of the series in that form. So now I know how it ends and I have an idea of what the basic premise is, but I’ll need to visit the earlier volumes to really get everything. It’s another dark take on classic fairy tales. I definitely wouldn’t recommend it for the younger folk out there.

After buying some rechargeable batteries for my Skylanders Portal (I have the PS3 cordless version), my buddy Frank and I played Skylanders last night. It’s good simple fun. The portal and toys are genius. It’s fun to switch characters in the middle of a level to use one that has a particular skill, like Eruptor (I renamed mine Magmar) who lobs fireballs in an arc rather than shooting them straight ahead. Useful for getting baddies who are on an elevated plain. My overall favourite character to play is Trigger Happy (renamed Gun Nut). He comes with the basic game and he’s got good ranged attacks. He shoots so fast that baddies generally don’t have time to get in close. I’m looking forward to the second wave of figures being released so I can try them out. The crafty developers have found my unhidden weakness: cool collectibles. The game is good family fun and easy to pick up. Both Kayla and Frank had fun playing along with me.

Other than Skylanders, I’ve been putting a lot of time into Batman: Arkham City. It’s not quite the family friendly game that Skylanders is (not by a long shot), but it’s entertaining nonetheless. I think I’m close to the main storyline’s endgame, but I’m delaying going through with it to go through the side quests and picking up the hidden Riddler trophies. It’s sad to think that this will most likely be Mark Hamill’s last time voicing the Joker (he’s said as much). He and Kevin Conroy are the definitive voices for Joker and Batman for a generation of fans, like me, who ate up Batman: The Animated Series and its followups. If you’re at all into superheroes and haven’t watched Batman: TAS, then you owe it to yourself to check it out. Like now. Just come back to the site for a break every now and then.