*I’ve been thinking about cussing recently. Don’t worry, not at you guys or anyone in particular. It’s just one of those strange convergences of the universe, like reality television. Two things have happened recently that have made me start thinking about this. The first is Tuesday Morning Quarterback (a great football column), which has been running a contest to suggest “Golden Age Terms for Cussing”. Suggestions were “gummit”, “shoot a pig”, or “Holy Frijoles”. The second is in the old comic book Wildstar. In this book they ‘cleverly’ use the word ’ship’ instead of another 4-letter word. I’ll let you guys guess which one it substituted for.

Personally I’m not a fan of swearing in writing. It has its place. But a lot of time I think it’s just over the top and used to sensationalize someone’s writing. I’m willing to accept some swearing, simply because it can be a natural reaction or even make a joke funny.

Getting back to Wildstar. Using something so obviously juvenile and un-funny as ’ship’ really detracted from the book. Every time they said it, I would cringe. Now why didn’t they come up with their own non-offensive cuss? As TMQ points out, other comics have gone this route. I think we are all familiar with “great Caesar’s ghost”, “Oh my stars and garters”, “Heavens to Murgatroyd”, and even “d’oh”. If Wildstar had come up with something more clever, like, well, anything else, it would have worked a lot better. Let this be a lesson to all you writers out there, you don’t have to be crude simply to cuss.

* Blade: Trinity will be opening in theaters sometime in December, the 9th I believe. This is one movie that I am very much looking forward to. I really enjoyed the first two movies, and have high hopes for the third. Let’s hope I’m not disappointed.

* I read that in an upcoming episode of Smallville, Mxyztplk will make an appearance. This could be a pretty interesting episode. I’ve always been a fan of Mxyztplk episodes because it shows that Superman is more than just strength and speed, he’s smart too.

* Say what you want about the Teen Titans, but you have to respect the creativity of the show. In the episode “Revolution” Mad Mod takes over the city by reverting it back as if the American Revolution never occurred. Because of this the whole show took on a ‘British’ flavor. But the best part was the subtle nods to the Beatles and Monty Python. These are the types of things I like in books, movies, and comics. The subtle references to subjects that you can only notice if you are knowledgeable about the subject and paying attention. It’s a sign of good writing and good direction.

* On the other hand, in the same episode, they went from being unable to fight 2 robots (dressed as British regulars) and destroy them to being able to take out half a dozen robots with a manhole cover. I hate that kind of inconsistency. If it’s so easy at the end, why wasn’t it easy at the beginning?

* Just saw on the news: a man said that drinking alcohol then watching The Day After Tomorrow caused him to burn down his mobile home. Just thought you might want to know.

* I love complicated stories. In fact, the more complicated the better. I think this is one of the main reasons I’ve gotten into anime. They tend to offer multiple episode stories that aren’t your “standard” 30-minute resolutions.

However, I’ve noticed a downside to this phenomenon, namely sometimes I don’t feel like watching the story. Or reading the next comic book. Sometimes following the story feels more like work than entertainment.

A good example of this is Batman: Wargames. I’ve been more into this storyline than any Batman story I can think of. But the thought of reading Act 3 leaves me lacking in the enthusiasm department. It just seems like something I have to do, not something I want to do. Ironically, once I start I’ll love it. But for now, I just don’t feel like it.

* And if you want an example from Anime, Wolf’s Rain. Good show, interesting story, but some weeks felt like it was a chore to watch the show.

* Burger King has announced a toy line themed for the upcoming Fantastic 4 movie. Perhaps they will also theme their food:

1. The Thing Shake: Lumpy and strange colored.
2. Reed Richards Fries: They’re limp and stretchy.
3. Invisible Woman Cola (aka: Sprite): Cause it’s clear and she’s invisible and ah, never mind.
4. The Johnny Burger: Burned to a carbon crisp!

* Still reading Venom & Carnage, and I just can’t decide if I like it or not. I enjoyed the first two issues, but the third one seemed a little ‘flat’. I suppose I’ll stick with it since there are only a few more issues. But still, my enthusiasm is quickly waning.

* And is it me, or does the art in this book look like someone sneezed on each panel?

* I’ve really enjoyed Identity Crisis. I can’t appreciate all of the minor characters and some of the background stuff, since I simply don’t know my DC history as well as I should. But I love the mystery aspect, and the fact that I have no idea what’s going to happen. But what’s my favorite thing so far out of this series? The fact that in issue 4 the bad guys were playing Risk! Talk about cool.

* Time to run. It’s a big weekend coming up (or passed as you read this): Halloween, Steelers vs. Patriots, and then the election. Enjoy it all while you can.