I roughly read 30 a month. 65% DC, 25% Marvel, 10% Indy stuff

there's only one book I read only in trade: Walking Dead

Duh

The day that Captain America died, I lived in Chicago and couldn't get around to picking up my comics until the next day... However, I received a phone call at 9AM, well numerous phone calls, asking if I read the new Cap book. Each time, I said, "no, I'm picking it up tomorrow" and each "friend" on the phone said, "he's dies in this one!" Needless to say, none of my friends read comics, they only ruin them.

I know, I know... 2008 isn't over.....

1. Sinestro Corps War-MUST READ!!!! (Green Lantern & Green Lantern Corps Series)
2. Death & Resurrection of Captain America (Civil War 1-7, Captain America 25-Current)
       QUICK NOTE: To get all of the awesomeness that is the death and rez, you have to read Civil War, it's like the prelude to his downfall and works wonderfully with the current Cap series.
3. Secret Invasion Prelude (New Avengers)
    QUICK NOTE: For the past 10 issues or so, New Avengers has been dealing with the whole "Who's a Skrull" conspiracy storyline, and although you may think it's boring, it's thrilling, I'm on the edge of my seat for 24 pages and most of the time, nothing happens.
4. Three Batmen (Batman, Morrison run)
    QUICK NOTE: Ras & R.I.P. are/were pretty damn good, but this 3 Bat story was just awesome. A small, unnoticed run, split in half because of delays.
5. Hellboy: Darkness Calls

I wrote this extremely long tale about my weekend at Wizard World Chicago and as I was posting it, my computer crashed.... can't recover that one... booo

Man, I'm lazy... Or too busy writing reviews...
I'd like to thank G-Man for stepping into my comic book store that frightful day and recommending this site... Because the rest of that work day was spent staring at the site... And getting mad there was no Ambush Bug news at the time.

Thanks

I tutored kids for a couple years at Columbia College in Chicago for their sub-par screenplays. One thing that most people don't realize is, you need another pair of eyes when writing something. I'm offering to help out, and I promise 100% that I won't steal your ideas: I have my own, I don't need yours.

The offer is on the table, take it if you want.

Girls Gone Wild: Finally 18....

Oh god, finally, these girls are 18.

Every time I see these commercials late at night while I'm trying to write... All I can think about is the fact that when these girls were born, I was 8 years old... It creeps me out... I have a 4-5 year limit on the whole dating thing... The people that look out for the barely 18 click, in my opinion, are half a step away from pedophiles.... Yesterday she was 17, but now she's 18! Hell yeah!.... That's kinda gross to me...

This is what happens to me at night while I try and write, I get distracted by bad commercials...

A few times a month, possibly once a week. Someone brings me a really bad story idea to critique. I love critiquing but I HATE when people don't understand story structure, character development, and theme.

The number one problem people have, when it comes to storytelling, is trying to put too much into something that should be simple. You see this a majority of the time with animekids. Keep it simple. I don't care if the Katutai Gem is will of the Shrazi Sword and because of it's soul is that of a 1000 year old sensei, it is unweilding and only one man can hold it. How about this: The Shrazi sword can only be held by one man. Worry more about the actual story and it's characters than the over-explanation of stuff that really doesn't matter.

Problem number two: Too much action. I know, I know, I love Shoot Em' Up, so call me a hypocrite. But lets take a look at Spiderman for one second. Why is he so popular? Because he is a super-hero and a teenager. He has to fight the Green Goblin at night and then study for his chemistry final during the day. He deals with the same stuff every person deals with. Your best bet to writing something great is to mix the action with what the indie kids call, "A slice of life" story. That will make your story and characters more relatable.

Problem number three: "Why?" This is the most annoying problem writers have. "So my character goes to the canyon." Great, but why does he go there? You must always question why a character does what he is doing. There must be a reason for a person to go from A to B. Not everything has to be addressed... The hero grabs some milk from the fridge, the reader knows he's thirsty, don't put that in there... but there must be a reason your character makes dramatic decisions.

Problem number zero: Mass appeal. I call this one zero because EVERYONE has this problem; I suffer from this all the time. One of my old room-mates wanted to write a comic with me once about some guys flying around in giant robot suits in this galactic civil war. The first thing I told him was, "It sucks." Yes, I'm that blunt. I told him the story has been done a million times and unless he changes something within the story, it's going to fall flat and you may be accused as a plagiarist. Raise the bar. Only animekids who love giant robots will like your book. RAISE THE BAR. You need to think of a way to get other comic book readers and even non-comic book readers to pick this book up and give it a shot. This includes taking your finished prose story (however you do it, whether it be a 1/2 page plot outline, or a full short story describing every detail [that's how i do it]) and hand it off to someone you know, who you think would hate the subject matter. You know you've won them over when they don't hate it... unless their being nice..... sadly, you may never know.

I know what all two of you are thinking, "Who is this guy? Why should I take advice from this jerk?"

Well, I critique people's writing, I teach fictional writing, I teach a comic book creation class. I love writing... and even moreso, I love great writing. I've had short stories published. I've had a few short films made in Chicago, won a couple of awards for my screenplays and currently write two comics published by small independent companies. I have a degree in Film from Columbia College in Chicago and concentrated in Screenwriting and Critical Film Studies and currently working on my Masters in the same areas. So take my advice, or leave it. However, I know how hard it is for a writer to get an actual job writing. It's taken me years to get my foot in the door. A decent artist will almost always get hired over a great writer in the comic industry. So, you have to work twice as hard.

Hope this was helpful,

~Mat

I'm currently going from site to site on the intraweb praising companies, seeing how much I can pull in. Here is part one of my triumph.

NOTE: This is the worst example of my writing, I was trying to write like either a middle-aged house wife or a complete douche... enjoy.

Red Robin Restaurant: (I am not a fan of the restaurant, but I like free meals)

This was my first time at a Red Robin restaurant, and let me say "wow"! I was blown away, I do not remember my server's name, he was a woman in her early 40s, late 30s I believe, but she was so nice and helpful. The rest of the wait-staff was really nice, I was very satisfied. The food was really good, I wish I could eat more, but I was so full! I've gone there at least once a week since then, it's become a family tradition now.

Thank you so much!

Potbellys: I love that place.

I have spent quite a lot of time at your restaurants. I lived in Chicago for 5 years and went to your location on Wabash, a block or two north of Congress once a week. Until the store in the south loop, Roosevelt and Wabash, went up. I was then at the store 2-3 times a week since it was next to my college. But, now I live in the suburbs working at a community college. So I occasionally ventured to the store in Geneva. Until I noticed a new store going up near my work. Thanks for following me around and building more stores closer to me! I know where my paycheck is going!

FYE: (fucking rip-off, but they have some decent products)

I've shopped at your store for a number of years, mostly at your Stratford Square location in the Chicago suburbs. Because I live roughly 25 miles from the location, I do not make it out as much as I would like to. I've noticed within the past couple of years that the prices for many of your products (mostly DVDS) have gone up quite a bit. Most of the DVDs I look for are BBC television shows or harder to find films. When I checked this website a while back, I was excited, but soon found out that everything that you have in the store is not always available online. At times I honestly feel a little ripped off, which stinks considering how much I like going into the store.

Overall, I would like to thank you for the service you have provided, my experiences in the store have been wonderful. I will not purposely go anywhere else because of the problems I have, avoiding a store I like as much as yours is insane in my opinion. I just wanted to stress my concerns to you.

Thank you.

Amazon.com: (lets see what happens with one of the big boys)

Thank you!

I've been using amazon for the past couple of years or so and this site has made shopping so convenient and enjoyable. I have found better deals on this site than any other retail store. I have had only one problem with shopping on here, which was easily corrected by the seller. I can not express the joy and gratitude I have for Amazon since you have made shopping for myself, friends and loved ones extremely easy.

Sincerely,

inferiorego (i used my real name)

I know, I know that last one was cheesy, but I really love amazon.... oh well, part 2 will happen as soon as I get feedback.