Grand Theft Auto IV Saves Francks Sanity

After a stressful two weeks at my jobs with both the video store and the club struggling, my boy Kalazo dropped off Grand Theft Auto IV a full five days before its April 29th release on my doorstep. I'm about six hours in now and already the stress is lifting. This is what video games were meant to be, a complete immersive experience that makes you forget about the outside world completely. Liberty City is very huge and you'll love the stories and people you meet in it. All nationalities are represented some way or another and I fucking love this Niko Bellic character. He will change the way you look at video game characters for quite some time. He moves and feels almost real. I know I sound corny but its that good. Go cop it when it drops this Tues. I reserved my PS3 collectors edition already. You wont regret it.

Geekology: Monthly Comics That Aren't shite!

Fantastic Four
Mark Millar
Bryan Hitch

"I think it's the advice that Stan Lee gave me before taking over FF. He said any idea can be used in the Fantastic Four. There is nothing too silly to be in the Fantastic Four, which is not the same in most comics. If you read Batman or Spider-Man, for example, if they go to another dimension or to space, it doesn't really fit the character. However, with the FF that's just what they do before breakfast. You can honestly write the craziest things you can think of. It's called "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine," so as the writer I just have to make sure every issue is spectacular."

Mark Millar

Captain America
Ed Brubaker
Steve Epting

The reason this is happening in the book now, right on the heels of "Civil War," is because "Civil War" left me with a few options, but most of them I felt had explored already in "Captain America" or in other recent books - such as my own first arc of "Daredevil." So, since I didn't want to do a "Cap gets on a motorcycle and finds America" story, or a "Cap behind bars" story, I decided to bump up the timeline on my big "Red Skull Strikes Back" story instead, and go straight for the jugular. The basic idea of this arc – "The Death of the Dream" – is something I've been building towards since issue #1. Some of the beats and the way it goes down, of course, have been altered since this follows "Civil War's" ending so closely.

Ed Brubaker

Iron Man
Daniel and Charles Knauf
Roberto De La Torre

“What I love about Iron Man is that he’s the one super hero who doesn’t eclipse his alter-ego, Tony Stark is a very complex, messed-up dude. This is a guy who desperately wants to help the human race, but his creative energy is almost exclusively dedicated to weapons design. What’s wrong with that picture?"

Daniel Knauf

All Star Superman
Grant Morrison
Frank Quitely

"I wanted to make All-Star about being a guy, what it’s like to be a man, and fall in love, or lose parents, or be misunderstood…role models, rivals, all that sort of stuff but viewing it all through the lens of alien worlds, mighty feats and super powers.
It was never meant as a pastiche of Silver Age comics or to service nostalgia…which is why we took care to add new situations and characters to the mythos, like Leo Quintum, Zibarro, new types of Kryptonite and new villains like Krull, the Chronovore, Mechano-Man, or whatever. We wanted the stories to seem timeless, mythic, rather than tied to any particular period or interpretation of Superman."

Grant Morrison

Daredevil
Ed Brubaker
Michael Lark

"It's a noir, pulp kind of book. That's what it is and what it's always been at its best. What I'm going to try to do a bit more of is give it a little bit more of that roller coaster ride feel, maybe a bit more action. The first few issues that I've got are really going to pull the rug out from people. I've got a lot of surprises in store. I want to try and do something similar that I've done with "Captain America" which is sort of touch on who the character is in this roller coaster ride kind of story, but also include a real flavor of the Marvel Universe. I think it's really cool to have this huge playground to use. I wish I could say more, but I'm trying hard not to spoil any secrets!"

Ed Brubaker

All Star Batman And Robin
Frank Miller
Jim Lee

I like him. There are certain characters that just talk to you. I regard Batman as unusual in that I really don’t believe in any single interpretation of him as being carved in stone. I see Batman as a piece of folklore – a huge jewel that you can throw against any wall, and it won’t break, but will show you another way of looking at him. There are at the very least, a dozen different ways to do Batman, and they all work. Everything from Neal Adams/Denny O’Neil to Adam West to Dark Knight – the character is so resilient that he can be interpreted any which way…and work. I, for instance, love Dick Sprang and Jerry Robinson’s depiction, and base a lot of the ways I draw the character on their view of him.

Frank Miller

The Planetary
Warren Ellis
John Cassaday

"Planetary are three people who walk the world for strangeness and wonder. Sometimes, ordinary people uncover things that are best left covered. Sometimes, things best left covered emerge into ordinary life and do not have the world's best interests at heart. These are the times when Planetary arrive, invited or not, and deal with the situation while learning from it, adding to their own knowledge of how this world really works. In every issue, they (and we) learn and see something new, something that evokes that old mythical Sense Of Wonder that so few people do any more..."

Warren Ellis

WTF: What's the deal with the Girly Men?

"Effeminacy in men is without doubt associated with homosexuality. Certainly not all homosexual people give evidence of these characteristics, and many effeminate men are not homosexual, but the traits are common enough to create almost universally recognized stereotypes. Homosexuals use these characteristics to identify each other, and more often than they should, heterosexuals suspect homosexuality when they encounter an effeminate man or a masculine woman."

Tim Bergling
Sissyphobia

What the fuck's up with all the effeminate cats showing up asking for big brother advice and getting clingy as of late? Where is this coming from? When did I ever say I had the answers to the universe (I ain't Sheldon) or hinted that I needed more friends? I'm at a loss. I don't usually create these type of posts but this shit is getting WAY out of hand. I don't know if these guys are just lonely or if maybe they haven't come out of the closet yet. At Galaxy I'm getting hit constantly, cats coming by, telling me all their problems, bitching and whining about the same thing over and over again. Can't read a book or surf the net, cant get any store work done. It's so bad, I cant even take a lunch break. They want to follow me when I leave the store. No joke. They actual try to invite themselves, "Yo! Where you going? Let me role with you." This sounds a little vain but I cant hold it in anymore. How do I break it down to them without hurting anyone's feelings? Unbelievable!

I'm Trying!

"Do not accept the role society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience. Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define it for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions - your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life."

Robert Greene
The 48 Laws of Power

The stores slowly (and I do mean slowly) growing into a legitimate business. The time invested is starting to pay off with more to build upon. We're really improving on our customer service and our shipments are meeting demand. Drunk Francko is retired, though I still drink I do it in moderation and only go out 1 day a week. I try to stay out of trouble and have reduced the blackouts to a minimum. Heat and Brasils are getting back to where they used to be when the business first opened up 2 years ago. Though Joey (owner) and I don't always see eye to eye on various things about the club, things have improved. A lot of the regulars are coming back and we continue to draw in lots of new faces. We might be able to make up for our shitty winter, this spring and summer. I found someone really special. That special ladies information will remain private for now. People, Francko's trying. It truly feels like a new day is dawning on my life. Weather it's positive or negative is up in the air. Who would have guessed? This goes against everything I was taught to believe in. I hope I can cope with what happens next. Cause I know the good times aren't going to last forever.