What would you do if you had a million dollars? Me? I’d sit on my bum and re-watch Firefly constantly. And when I was done with that, I’d go read a comic book. But heck, you don’t need a million dollars to do that! Look at me. I’m broke, and I watch and read all the time! So, how about we get onto the reading of issue two of Serenity: Better Days, and find out what the crew of our favorite bug-themed spaceship would do if they had more money than sense!

[Granted, for some, that doesn’t need to be that much money]

In a few months, Frankenstein will be one hundred and ninety three years old. Despite its age, the story continues to captivate and inspire minds. One such mind was playwright Justin Cioppa, who sought to bring a new ending to the story of Victor Frankenstein and his eternal fight with the monster of his own making. And, fortunately for me and other residents of the Cape Fear region, the Browncoat Pub & Theatre is featuring this chilling tale as their October production.

[The grandfather of sci-fi horror has been given new life!]

Hey there, Browncoats! Sorry it has taken so long for me to get to the other comics in my Firefly Re-Watch, I’ve been busy, both here with stuff and elsewhere. Not to fear, though, over the next couple weeks I’ll cover the three issues of Better Days, as well as Float Out. And, as I mentioned once upon a time, in late November when The Shepherd’s Tale comes out (if it does, wasn’t it set for October originally?), I’ll take a gander at it, too. Not going to do a full summary, but will have some thoughts and coverage. Anyway, let’s leave the world and get to the black, eh? Onward, to issue one!

[A fool and his money]

I do not normally read paranormal romance. In fact, I’ll openly admit that if a friend at Tor hadn’t highly recommended Beth Bernobich’s Passion Play to me—out tomorrow, October 12^th—I most likely wouldn’t have read it. (Well, highly recommended it and given me an advance reading copy.) Boy, would I have been missing out. The romance of the novel is definitely there, and it is very well written and enjoyable. But what hooked me was that there is any entire epic fantasy starting to unfold at the exact same time.

[Some more discussion, no spoilers]

So, Monday at Dragon*Con was, as usual, actually pretty chill. Kind of like Sunday at most regular cons. Yeah, there was still programming until like 4:00 PM, but most people were more worried with packing and hitting the road, and most of the programming was “goodbye and feedback” panels. But, Brandon Sanderson, true to form, kept on trucking, and at 11:00 AM, he and two of the artists that had worked on the twenty-plus illustrations for The Way of Kings sat down for a good long time and talked to us about not just the art, but the inception of the book in general.

[What I’m about to say makes this very ironic]

Batman wearing leather and brass? Captain Marvel screaming “SCIENCE!” and having a bottled lightning gun and a jet pack? What is happening? Oh, the superheroes have been tossed back into Victorian England? But why? Well, aside from “Because it’s cool,” an entire panel at Dragon*Con was dedicated to this emerging idea, headed by Mike Mignola, of Hellboy and Gotham by Gaslight fame, and Andrew P. Mayer who has a forthcoming book from Pyr called The Falling Machine, the Society of Steam, Book 1.

[Holy Flaming Limelights, Batman!]

Well, more of a shamble. Regardless, across the country, a new form of gathering has started to become more and more common: Zombie Walks. That’s right, the undead just get up and start moving around town. Well, alright, it isn’t the undead, but instead fans of the undead (or people just trying to blend in?) putting on their best corpse makeup and making a stand for what they want.

[What do we want? BRAINS! When do we want it? BRAINS!]

There were several highlights to being a browncoat at Dragon*Con 2010. For one thing, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Summer Glau and Morena Baccarin were in attendance, and it was Sean’s first Dragon*Con besides. And yes, I did get to sit in on the Kaylee-Simon panel, where they came out with champagne, chatted, and were interrupted by Nathan Fillion calling both their phones in an elaborate stunt. But yeah, there was more than just the guests and other “Whedonverse” antics. There was a new movie! No, not from Joss, but a fan-made production that has been making quite a stir amongst the fan communities.

[Of course, one of their taglines is “Can’t Stop the Signal”]

So, it is probably no stretch of the imagination that there was quite a bit of Wheel of Time stuff going on at Dragon*Con. Aside from the full up fan track run by the charming Jennifer Liang and her swarm of minions, Brandon Sanderson himself was there and hanging out with the fans. And I’ll take this moment to just continue to propagate the “rumor” that Brandon is an amazing, down-to-earth guy. Whether it is at a signing or over a game of Magic: The Gathering, you always get the sense that he was totally a fanboy before he was the author, a geek just like one of us. And, of course, that he still is.

[Well, he is also an evil undead overlord, but a geek, too]

Pretend for a moment that I didn’t just see Brandon Sanderson for three days at Dragon*Con. Pretend for a moment that I’m not some sort of creepy stalker (along with a half-dozen or so other attendees who were at Dragon*Con) who decided to follow him to Raleigh. No, instead, picture a quaint little bookstore in Raleigh, Quail Ridge Books to be precise, and a civil group of Sanderson fans waiting patiently for the author to appear and read to them. Fortunately for us, he did.

[And he even avoided reading from the phonebook!]

Brandon Sanderson has often said (and I have quoted ad nauseam) that any author who grew up on Robert Jordan has a great epic of their own to tell. Without a doubt, The Way of Kings is Brandon’s. We have grand battles, both arcane and new magics, compelling characters, and a strange new world called Roshar.

[A little more spoiler free discussion foiled by mega spoilers after a disclaimer]

Well folks, here we are: the true end of the “Re-watch.” I’d like to take this moment to say I’ve enjoyed having you all along, and I hope you will join me when I talk about the further comics. (Also, here is a direct link back to the first half, if you missed it. )That being said, below is my continued three-time-frame analysis of the movie, and obviously, spoilers abound. And, um, sorry for the length of this thing. I had a lot to say.

[Now, to my Big Damn final Re-Watch Post]

I have two lovely and wonderful boys, aged two and four. It is my dearest hope that they not only grow up happy, but that they grow up nerds. I am, of course, stacking the deck in my favor.

[An instance of how below the fold.]

And here we are. It feels almost sad, getting to the last of the Firefly Re-watch. Yeah, I’ll still have some comics to talk about after this (in a bit, they are in the mail), but I’m going to format those a bit differently than I did with Those Left Behind, if for no other reason than to save the taxonomy of “re-watch.” I am breaking this up into two parts, though, splitting right about halfway through the movie. Even more, this is going to be a little different, so hang on as I stream-of-consciousness this baby!

[It’s like what River would get if she read my mind while I wrote!]

And here we have the thrilling, if delayed by moi, conclusion to our episode in comic form. We have Judo, we have heartbreak, we have snark, and we even have a sword. What an issue. Past exploits are here. Spoilers are obviously below.

Issue Summary:

Aboard the primary derelict from the Battle of Sturgis, Jayne looks at the numerous corpses, Alliance and Independent both, and mutters that it just doesn’t seem right. Mal pauses a moment in respect, then tells them to keep moving as there is a job to be done. Outside, the blue-hands sneak up under Serenity in their small shuttle and establish an airlock and prepare to breach.

[I have a feeling they aren’t there to sell cosmetics.]

So, fancied we’d have a little second issue, eh? Maybe a spot of tea along with it? Well, isn’t that just bloomin’ dandy. Guess you’ve forgotten what happened last time we did this, eh? We’ll, I’ll be sure to spoil any and everything while I’m at it.

Issue Summary:

On Whitefall, the blue hands smile down at the guard they have just murdered when a bullet impacts near their feet. They look up and express their gratitude for the warning shot, and a man with a cybernetic eye tells them don’t; his depth perception just isn’t what it used to be. He asks what they want.

Blue-Hand 1: The same thing you do . . .
Blue-Hand 2: Agent Dobson.

[Dun-dun-DUNNNN!]

On this glorious day, my friends, I have come here to talk to you about Those Left Behind, be they friends or foes. Of course, a strong recollection of where we have already been is important. But know also that a thorough, and a spoiled, understanding of the present and even the future is important as well.

Issue Summary:

On a bright day on the moon Constance, Book is finally plying his trade and giving a sermon to the whole town. And as he speaks to his flock of giving, not taking, and the worth of not valuing material things, Mal is in the nearby bank, robbing them all blind.

[Or at least, he wishes he was.]

So I went back and read all my comments, and aside from realizing I need to proofread better and probably go back and fix some formatting issues, I am at a bit of a loss of where to start. I definitely look at Firefly differently now that I’ve critically watched it, and I have plenty to say, but I have a feeling I will be very, very stream-of-conscious in doing so. So, just to be administratively sound, here is the archive, and I will be whole-hog spoiling on the series and not shying from spoilers on the movie and possibly the first comic book, Serenity: Those Left Behind.

[Let’s see where this takes us.]

So, with there being no Firefly post this week, I suddenly found myself with some free time. What did I do with it? I went to a local small theater and pub called The Browncoat. I am not pulling your leg, this place does exist, and it is awesome, from having drink specials such as a Firefly and a Sihnon Sunset, to signed pictures of the Firefly cast, to tourism posters for the different worlds of the ‘verse.

And what did I see in this shiny pocket of geekdom? A home-grown production called Catastropolis, by Justin Cioppa. In the city of Catastropolis, being a super-hero or super-villain is just another job, and the story focuses on seven particularly bad super-villains. That is to say, they are bad at what they do.

[Strap on your shiny pants, because you’re in for a world of trouble.]

I need to preface this blog with some information. I am not a “metal head.” Nor am I a person who even normally goes to concerts. I do enjoy music, and I can get into some of the fringes of hard rock and trance or techno, but still, metal in and of itself is not something that I usually listen to. Yet, when my friends insisted I come with them down to Myrtle Beach for a GWAR concert, I was perversely interested. I mean, I had heard of GWAR, and I knew there was something to do with monster-aliens and lots of blood and gore and a strange stage show. But oh, how little did I truly know.

[At least they told me to wear a white shirt.]