New Ultimate Spider-Man Cartoon

YES!  More cartoons for me to watch!  Hopefully Disney wont make it too soft but I'm really looking forward to it!

Read more about the upcoming cartoon on Disney XD here.

Setting the DVR,
~Steve

Spider-Man Reading - Black Suit!

Yes,  I am currently on a mission to read all of the main title Spider-Man issues (and lots of non-main title stuff) available to me in order.  Now you might be thinking no big deal but when you have well over 1000+ issues of Spider-Man it's kind of a daunting task.  Ok, who am I kidding I LOVE it!  So, I just finished reading Amazing Spider-Man #251 and Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #89:

You might ask: Ok, so what's so important about these issues?  I in turn would answer:  WHAT'S SO IMPORTANT ABOUT THESE ISSUES?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?  Unless of course at the time we happen to be anywhere but a comic shop or a place with a population greater than two; in which case I would calmly tell you that these are the last two issues that Spider-Man dons his classic red and blues before heading off to the Secret Wars and getting his Black Spider Costume!  Which means?

VENOM IS COMING!

 Exciting right?  No?  Just me?

Oh well (I'm stoked),
~Steve

Stan Lee Is My Hero!

Stan Lee is my HERO!  I got the newest book out on his life and contribution to comics for Christmas and it's AMAZING!

But today I found myself over at The Real Stan Lee and found this:

I didn't think it was possible but now I like him even more!

Obsessed,

~Steve

U.S. Military Goes Nimble?

News from yesterday reads:

“We’re turning the page on a decade of war,” President Barack Obama said today at the Pentagon. 

For the Pentagon, that means reducing its number of conventional ground troops and moving away from old weapons systems that don’t make much sense in an age where our biggest threats may not come from another nation, but from terrorists who operate on their own. 

The new military will be “smaller and leaner,” [Defense Secretary Leon] Panetta said...

 I'm not really sure how I feel about this yet. I'm used to a big scary U.S. Military not one that jumps around all nimbly bimbly from tree to tree. This next part I'm on board with:

...but it “will be agile, flexible, ready, and technologically advanced.” 

The Pentagon will continue to invest in science and technology and will balance budget cuts “with the imperative to sustain key streams of innovation that may provide significant long-term payoffs,” the strategic report states.

We are an advanced civilization and keeping our military on the bleeding edge of technology will give us the best possibility of defending against attack or prompting attack in response. This next justification is just kinda BS:

“We’ll continue to get rid of outdated Cold War-era systems so that we can invest in the capabilities we need for the future, including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; counterterrorism; countering weapons of mass destruction; and the ability to operate in environments where adversaries try to deny us access,” Obama said.

What are you going to do, have a big ass garage sale? Getting rid of Cold War-ear systems is not going to make us more able to invest. Sure, maybe if you melt down the copper wire and sell it to the guy with the storage container in a Wal-Mart parking lot; but other than that we're still in the same boat. Most likely this will cause a huge sucking black hole into which the defense budget will be thrown into, but that is business as usual.

They close with economic impact:

This will present new opportunities for innovators. The Pentagon will be looking for better ways to protect national security in both space and cyberspace... the new strategy calls for development of a new stealth bomber and improvements in missile defenses,

The old military-industrial complex is undergoing the process of creative destruction. There will be losers, just as there is in the civilian economy...but winners will emerge as well from this shift to a more nimble military.

I'm pro business, so I was happy to see the promotion of good ole' American capitalism in this process but I'm not sold on this plan yet.


Skeptical, Hopeful and Uncertain,
~Steve

Read the full article on portfolio.com

Rare Photos of Elvis aka The King

Here are some cool rare photos of Elvis from 1955.  If you love Elvis you've got to "like" the Elvis Facebook Page because they are constantly updating with both old and new Elvis info.

Check out the great interview with Chris Kennedy about Tommy Edwards and his role early on in Elvis's career.

Always building my Elvis library,
~Steve

Hawkman #22 v4 2004

I never really cared much for Hawkman.  I've always kind of thought he was a shallow character but I was reading Hawkman issue #22, as part of a cross over with JSA that I'm reading, and I came upon this gem:

Typically when a scene like this appears in a comic it's really just a lame intermission with the purpose of showing that in a world where superheroes typically only face Armageddon like situations they still take time to help the normal citizenry; Hawkman takes a different approach to this situation.  This is officially my favorite random act of "kindness" by a superhero.

Wondering what Spider-Man would do if he carried a mace,
~Steve