Sort of Random Thoughts

Still at the pugless house of not-so-many horrors. It occurred to me the other day that I'm not entirely sure when Nancy, Jerry, and the pugs are going to return home. "Five weeks" was the estimate. All I know for sure is that they are headed to the East Coast in a camper and will be taking their time going there and coming back. And the heatwave continues. You all now know that if you are planning a trip to Seattle, make sure I'm housesitting during the time you plan to be here.

I woke up this morning exhausted. I thought I'd slept, but I felt like I hadn't slept at all. When I checked the clock, it was 4:45, and I wondered what had woken me. Then I heard it. Someone trying the front door, trying to get into the house. When the person realized it was locked, they knocked rapidly. I swear it sounded like they were annoyed. Whoever it was tried the door again, then silence. I got up and put a robe on, then headed down the stairs, checking the side door as I went. Nobody there. Nobody in the garden, no sign that anyone was ever at the front door. I wondered if I'd dreamed it somehow. I briefly thought about calling the happy campers and asking who would be likely to think they could enter their house at 5 am and then knock when they found the door was locked. I wondered if maybe the sound was from next door. My brain wasn't working right, and I felt simply awful, so I went back to bed.

I didn't sleep well. My mind was working on the problem of who might have been trying to enter the house. Everntually I gave up trying to sleep, and had breakfast and read the newspaper. After returning upstairs from delivering the newspaper to the grandparents, I felt suddenly very sick. I decided to try to nap a little.

I had the most vivid dreams. I'm glad I can't remember any of them now, but right after I woke up I was in a cold sweat. Real nightmares, only it was daytime. However, it did the trick. I felt oddly rested after the nightmare-ridden nap. It was like my body needed some REM sleep desperately. I wonder if I've been sleeping lightly because of the noise, and I finally hit the wall?

As long as I'm writing just to write, and not review, I think I'll post this image from Aquaman #18.

I've been trying to figure out what appeals to me about this, because when I saw it in the book it hit me like a punch in the stomach and for the first time I realized that I actually love Gleason's artwork on Aquaman. Not just "like" it, LOVE it.

There's a strange and beautiful sense of motion in this image. Your eye follows the form of the character, and it's clear where he just came from and where he's going from there. As an Aquaman fan, I also like the fact that the punch is not coming from his water-hand.

But, overall, I think it's the implied movement that this piece shows that really gets to me. I'm thrilled by it. It reminds me of Mike Mignola's work on Hellboy, and yet it's smoother. I'm really scrambling to find the vocabulary here...

It works. It works in its spot in the story, it works as a standalone little pin-up here on my page. It works. It's freakin' gorgeous, and it works. That whole page this panel is from is a wonderful piece of art, and this panel in particular works.

I know I've failed to get my feelings about this one across. A picture is worth a thousand words, but it's in a different language, and I can't translate. Not this time.

The more I see of Gleason's artwork on Aquaman, the more I like it. Both Pfeifer and Gleason have won me over completely (Alan Freakin' Davis didn't have to, he already had), and I'm enjoying Aquaman like I haven't in a very long time. Perhaps I'm even enjoying it more than ever.

Thanks guys.

Well... here's some links so this entry isn't a total waste of your time...

Dark Horse solicits for Jun/Aug are up at Comics Continuum.

An eBayer realizes he's being scammed, and scams the scammer. Absolutely hilarious.

Boing Boing links to a bit about women in gaming. Here's a hint: same things apply to female comic book fans.