Photos
Take a look at this blog. I love this guy's photos.

Spring is in the air...
There was a definite feeling that spring just might be around the corner. Although it was cool, it is much warmer than the cold weather we had at the end of last week and half of this week. The sun shone and some of the plants were beginning to bud and I didn't have to wrap myself up in scarves and gloves for a change. The one down side to losing weight is that I've been feeling the cold much more without so much fat to keep me insulated. The spring weather can't come quickly enough for me!

So, everything was beautiful, until I was driving home in the middle of the afternoon and drove through a downpour that turned into a hail storm. Luckily it was over quickly, but something about counting chickens was uppermost in my mind...

A landmark on the diet front!
I got weighed this morning and to my delight found that I was 14st 2lb. That's a loss of a whole stone so far! 14lbs! I think I shall celebrate with a glass of orange juice... :)

LucasArts cancels Sam and Max 2

You can read the brief press release here.

It’s rather unfortunate that it’s happened and a shame that we seem to be losing some of the old variety from the top-flight gaming scene, but if LucasArts genuinely believe that it’s not a game that can make it in the current gaming and economic climates, then you can’t blame them for doing so. They are a successful company, after all.

What fills me with dread is the reaction of some fans on the various adventure forums who seem to think that LucasArts owe it to them to bring out this game irrespective of profitability. Yes, I understand the disappointment. Yes, I think that writing to LucasArts and creating petitions is valid. But let’s get the reactions into a manageable context and cut out the hatred and the vitriolic postings – that’s really going to win LucasArts over to your side!

Somehow, there is a perception around that the numbers making up the forum member lists are enough to give real weight to their arguments, but if that were the case there wouldn’t be a problem because there would be enough guaranteed sales that Sam and Max would be a dead cert. The problems arise because there aren’t enough people in general who are buying adventure titles. Even amongst the fans of the genre there are many who only buy a percentage of adventure titles. This is fine because we all have different tastes, but there is a feeling created of “do as I say, not as I do” to the whole business.

I also have a feeling that the fans may have been shooting themselves in the foot a little. I couldn’t help but notice, only a couple of days ago, some very negative reactions to comments about the sequel to The Longest Journey having action elements in it. (After having gone through this same problem with our own game, I sympathise with Ragnar.) Am I reading too much into it when I make a connection that only a day or so after all these negative comments (about an unseen game) we get this terse statement from LucasArts.

It could be just coincidence, but maybe the fans have more weight than I give them credit for.

Them Web Comic Things...
A summary of some of the strips that I’m currently reading my way through the archives of, on and off.

Demonology 101 by Faith Hicks – Although there are many redeeming qualities to this comic, it can be a little variable at times and a couple of the characters look so alike I lose track of which is which. I shall persevere and give a proper account once I’ve read it.

Sabrina Online by Eric Schwartz – Many people are really against “furry” comics, but I think that this one rises above the majority. I just wish that the lettering was clearer at times and that Schwartz would forget his obsession with Amigas.

Oddly Normal by Otis Frampton – I would have actually made this one of my Web Comics of the week if he hadn’t suddenly stopped doing it. It’s worth a read of what he’s done to date, but it looks as though it’s not going to be continued for a while.

Diesel Sweeties by R Stevens – I’ve tried and tried to like this and read lots of the archives, but I find it very unfunny. I thought that it was my age but my son feels the same way about it. Sorry, R.

Penny Arcade by Krahulik and Holkins – Sometimes it can be genuinely hilarious and others quite tedious, but mostly I find it just OK. I’m determined to work my way through the archives, though.

Nowhere Girl by Justine Shaw – This is brilliant and would have chosen it as another Web Comic of the Week, but again it’s on semi-permanent hold. You should definitely go and read what’s there, though. Do it now, I’ll wait.

More to come at a later date...

New Link
Just added a link to the blog of Ragnar Tornquist, Voyage to Mars. Ragnar is the designer of the game, "The Longest Journey".

The title came to me because I like to fill all my time with something creative or constructive. Obviously, there’s my job and the comic strips, but there’s also the reading, listening to music, playing games and watching TV (I’m not sure about that last one...). This column will reflect my feelings about the things I fill my time with.

The Two Davids
I’m currently switching between David Sylvian and David Bowie in the music I mostly listen to.

I’ve been a fan of Bowie for more than thirty years and the wealth and variety of his musical output is incredible. My current favourite is his last album, Reality, which is just superb. Sometimes he’s made it hard to like him, particularly when he did the Tin Machine stuff and a couple of albums in the mid eighties that were quite poor, but generally speaking his output has been spectacular. I can still remember the day I bought my first Bowie album – Space Oddity – as though it was yesterday. For someone who was as quiet and shy as I was, David Bowie was a key that unlocked an almost hidden personality.

Although I’ve admired Sylvian since the 80’s and his time in the group Japan, it’s not until fairly recently I’ve appreciated his music in a big way. Varying from melancholy to ambient with the occasional excursion into something more closely resembling rock, I love the way he uses his voice as a full part of the musical landscape of each piece. He’s not simply singing songs – this is about strong lyrics being carried by a voice used as an instrument. My current favourite of his albums is Blemish.


Fantasy Novels
I can be pretty choosy when it comes to what I read as I don’t like my time wasted by novels that aren’t up to my expectations. I will quite happily stop reading a book part way through and have done so with a few books recently; “Shadow” by KJ Parker and “The Redemption of Althalus” by David and Leigh Eddings are two that instantly spring to mind.

One of the things I’m reading at the moment is “The Chosen” by Ricardo Pinto, the first in the series, “The Stone Dance of the Chameleon”. I love the richness of this book and the way he writes with a confidence that comes from having fully worked out the details of the world it’s set within. He has the ability to make you feel genuinely mortified by the actions of some of the characters, because he has created the set-up for this pay-off so well. I’m currently only about half way through the book, so I suspect there is much more to delight and entertain as it unfolds.

Two of my favourite books of all time are books I read fairly recently, “Perdido Street Station” and “The Scar”, both by China Miéville. So many people sing the praises of these novels and when I read “Perdido...” I could see exactly what they meant. Reading it was like a literary breath of fresh air. What I find with such excellence, is that you have to try really hard not to compare everything else you read in an unfavourable way. This is truly one I recommend you read!


Of things Graphic Novel
Some of the graphic novels or collections I’ve read recently.

“Blade of the Immortal” by Hiroaki Samura – It’s often really useful to have a son who also reads comics as I get to borrow his and read them. He’s currently working his way through the “Blade...” series and I’ve just read volume six. This is a truly excellent series and well worth picking up. Although there is some graphic violence, much of the story works on the building relationships between the main characters, often while they do the most mundane of things. It’s not a series you can dip into in the middle, you really have to read it from the beginning.

“100 Bullets” by Azzarello and Risso – I’d heard a few people mention the quality of this and read some good comments online, too, so I thought I’d give it a try. I’m now up to volume three and the story is unfolding very well. A mixture of conspiracy and violent revenge, with characters that almost walk out of the page, speaking dialogue I wish I could write; this is a beautiful piece of work that should sit on every comic reader’s shelves.

“Cerebus” by Dave Sim and Gerhard – And if you have never heard of this, where have you been living? I’m currently re-reading (again) the series from the beginning in collected form, sparked on by the fact that the 300th (and last) issue is pretty much imminent. Always courting controversy with his views, Sim has created a true landmark in comics that has no equal. Regularly challenging the very nature of comics story-telling, it’s not a series to be read with a light undertaking.

“Akira” by Katsuhiro Otomo – If you’ve ever seen the film of “Akira”, you’ll know what quality it is, though the comic version is quality of a very different kind. The story is a sprawling work that looks a little deeper into the same themes and that shakes up its world in a much bigger way. Although it comprises six thick volumes, reading through them takes much less time than you would expect and there were times when I felt almost breathless as I went along.


All Fingers and Thumbs
Being a look at some of the games I’ve recently played.

“Max Payne” – I’m currently playing the first one and thoroughly enjoying it. This has surprised me as I avoided it for a long time, finding that the screen shots turned me off. Just goes to show that you can’t judge a game by the screenshots.

“Syberia 2” – The demo of this sequel has just been released and I played it in my lunch break. I must admit to being very disappointed as it’s not doing anything we couldn’t have done with the Broken Sword engine eight years ago. Okay, the graphics are a higher resolution and of excellent quality, but nothing earth-shattering. There was also an amazing lack of things to do, simply walking across a number of similar screens until you get to a house and have to do some fishing at the back – a puzzle that was too hit-and-miss for my liking. Not a game I’ll be holding my breath for.

More Sapphire Claw
I've coloured two more of the black and white strips. You can see them here and here.

My invite came
Somehow it seems to make it more official now that I've received my award ceremony invite. What a shame I won't be able to go. Tosee the invite click on the image below.

Web Comic of the Week
I started out writing a new entry last night and then realised that I didn't feel the same way about this particular strip as I do about the previous choices. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading it as the new installments appear, but somehow I didn't feel it quite deserved the acolade of Web Comic of the Week. I know this may seem somewhat arrogant on my part, but I'm looking to try and set my own standards by which to judge these things so that if I look back in five years time I can still be pleased I chose the comics I did.

This actually leaves me with a problem - I have nothing to choose for this week's WCOTW. This isn't to say that I read no other comics, but that they either fall into the category of not quite making the grade, or I'm still working my way through years of archives for that strip. My reading time is more than a little limited because of my day job and the creation of my own strips.

What I have decided to do, then, is to make Web Comic of the Week a more occasional thing. Of course, this will make the name a little silly so I will attempt to come up with something more catchy. Perhaps even create a logo.

What I am going to do, though, is to create a separate "column" which will take a broader look at what I'm reading and cover other things as well as web comics. Keep watching for further announcements.