Apparently, this game doesn't want me to finish it...

Some time ago, I was playing X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, until the game refused to let me fight the final battle. I don't know if the disc was bad, or the file on the memory card corrupted, but it quit and that was that. Then, over the weekend, I hit up a local pawn shop for DVD's. I swear I was actually looking for something specific, something I thought said pawn shop would have...no idea what, though.

But, the Oldest wanted a couple PS2 games, and had saved some. Then the guys there offered some overstock PS2 10 for 10 bucks. Fine, sold. Among other nonsense, there was a copy of Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death, which like many of the games I buy, probably isn't amazing but will be good enough for me. And, I bought a new X-Men Legends II, which I've been playing when I should be blogging or something. I used some cheats, since I played my way through most of the game already...and now it's locked up twice on me today. I'm starting to suspect my frankly ancient PS2 now.

Fortunately, I did a good bit of reading before getting these games and devoting all my time to them: I read Greg Cox's novelization of Infinite Crisis. Which I got for a couple bucks in Borders' closeout sale, which is the only reason I gave it a try, because I didn't really like it any more than I had expected I would. (Which, I should underline, is not Cox's fault, but the state of DC's comics at the time.) In case you've forgotten, and I wouldn't blame you, this was the one with Superman from Earth-2, Superboy-Prime, Brother Eye and the OMAC's--which should be a band, right now--and our Superman as uninspiring and indecisive, Batman as a control freak who has lost control of his giant evil satellite, and Wonder Woman as a murderer on a mission of peace.

Frankly, I thought it was a bit of a trainwreck, and reading it reminded me I really haven't liked a lot of DC's superheroes since the end of Identity Crisis--I maintain, I was expecting a murder mystery that made a damn bit of sense; and that wasn't what that book was going for at all. But, the upside of reading Infinite Crisis is that it really sold me on the idea of the DC reboot. Seriously. The novel convinces you that tossing a ton of continuity out the window is absolutely not the worst thing in the universe.

In better reading news, I'm in the middle of Ralph Steadman's The Joke's Over, a memoir of his life and work with Hunter S. Thompson. Enjoying the hell out of it. And I read Darwyn Cooke's adaptation of Richard Stark's Parker: the Outfit. Even without reading the first book, you'll pick it up, and it's a solid read. I don't know if I enjoyed it as much as the New Frontier, but still good.
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Reading list: Fantastic Four: Doomgate!

I'm guessing this one isn't involving tapes from the Latverian throne room...but these Marvel novels are fun summer reads. I'm not familiar with author Jeffrey Lang, or if it's a traditional or Ultimate-style Fantastic Four, but we'll see. EDIT: It's traditional, set post-Civil War sometime after the core team reformed.

I actually read this before going on vacation: I wasn't sure how much time for reading I was going to have; as it happens, plenty. I also read Stephen King's Full Dark, No Stars and Brian Cronin's Was Superman A Spy? (If there's still a Borders store in your neighborhood, you may be able to find the latter for well under $4! I picked those two up, along with the new Underworld CD.)
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Reading list: The Ultimates: Tomorrow Men!

I'm curious how much I'll like this one, since I've pretty much soured on the Ultimates. The first two series are great spectacle, but the whole lot of them are generally unlikeable bastards; and later work has put me off the Ultimate universe entirely.

But, I'll give it a shot, and I know Michael Jan Friedman wrote a ton of Star Trek stuff, so it should be entertaining enough. I'll let you know.
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Reading list: Elric at the End of Time!

Another one from Michael Moorcock, I can't remember if I've read this before yet. Although the cover describes it as "The seventh book of Elric of Melniboné," I think it's set between books two and three.

(If you've ever read Stephen King's Dark Tower books, there are a few stories like that, that came out long after you probably read the end. How much you enjoy said stories may depend on how you felt about said end...)
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Reading list: Elric of Melnibone!

Another book I read as a kid, although I'm positive I read Michael Moorcock's second Elric first (Sailor on the Seas of Fate) and possibly even a couple others. Tomorrow's, if I stay on reading schedule, one I'm not sure I read before...

And I know I've mentioned this before, but I preferred these to the Lord of the Rings books.

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Reading list: the Bachman Books, or at least a couple of them.

I had been keeping my eye out for a new copy of this for some time, but I needed an old one. Huh? Well, the first story in Richard Bachman Stephen King's Bachman Books is Rage, about a school shooting; has been taken out of print at King's request since several actual school shootings. Which is a shame, since it's still damn good. (The second story, the Long Walk, also scares the hell out of me, which won't stop me from walking while I read it.)


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When Captain America throws his mighty shield (away)...

The old TV movie Captain America II: Death Too Soon is on SyFy right now, and I probably haven't seen it since it originally aired in 1979. I didn't recall the bits with the townspeople or Cap going over the side of a dam...or his transparent shield; but I know Christopher Lee has a pretty cool death scene coming up. (Oh, that's not a spoiler! He was the bad guy, and it's Christopher Lee! C'mon!)

So, I took a second to grab my beat old copy of Captain America: The Great Gold Steal, by Ted White. While Cap's origin in the book is comic-accurate (for the time, 1968) I believe there's a scene later where he loses his shield! Normally, that would be troubling, since in the traditional Marvel universe Cap's shield is an indestructible blend of vibranium and adamantium, unique and virtually irreplaceable. In this book, however, Cap's shield is well made, and tough, but neither unique nor invulnerable.

I'm curious if that won't be the case in the new movie; and I think the Ultimates Cap follows suit. (To the best of my recollection, anyway.)
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