DeathBug

I read the first two issues of Venom, then dropped it. It's not that I didn't enjoy the story; in it, Venom is portayed as a kind of movie monster, mysterious, evil and powerful. The problem with Venom, (not counting the art; some like it, some hate it. Again, on the fence.), is that it moves too slowly. After each issue, I like what I've read, but I'm saying, "That's it?' You know how slow Ultimate Spider-Man goes? Put that on slo-mo, and you've got Venom. I plan to buy the trade paperback, so I can read the story in one setting. I do the same for USM, so it's all good. ...I can't wait for the first wave of Tsunami paperbacks....:) Oh, and I whole-heatedly recommend Spider-Girl. It reads like a comic from the eighties....probably because most of the creators on it were writing back then. It's very old skool, as I said before.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Semjaza Azazel [/i] [B] Deathbug - I see you're obviously liking Spectacular Spiderman. I was told it was terrible. I can't really say I was impressed by the little I read (or by the art), but maybe I should just check it out again. I find my comic taste changes randomly. Do you consider it as good as other Spider-Man runs currently? Or are you just getting it because it's Spider-Man? lol [/B][/QUOTE] Heh...when I was nine I got every comic with Spider-Man in it...then I wondered why I never had any money... However, I buy selectivly nowadays. I've eschewed "Tangled WEb", the Tsunami "Venom" title, and all the limited seies. Basically, I follow the two core books, (Spec. and Amaz.), plus Spider-Girl. (Spider-Girl is cool. Old skool, people. :) ) Anyway, I like Spectacular. I'm nuetral on the art, but I'm a huge fan of Paul Jenkin's writing. (His Green Goblin story was fantastic.) Also, I like Venom, and I like what PJ's doing with him. Despite the hype, I believe Spectacular is superior to Amazing right now. I buy Amazing in paperback form, which is why you don't see me ranting about it. Jenkin's charicterization of Peter is more accurtate than JMS's, and he doesn't constantly make continunity gaffs. Plus, he actually uses good spidey villians, istead of making up mediocre ones like JMS does.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by doukeshi03 [/i] [B]I hear that, religious conversations never end well. However, sometimes things need to be discussed, and it doesn't do to "get your knickers in a twist" over other peoples advice DeathBug, you're taking it like it's personal. [/B][/QUOTE] I'm not actually taking it personally, because I'm an unbiased party. I'm just a bit exasperated with the attitude shown. It seems that some posters don't get that Leh has decided that Wicca is the belief system Leh wants to follow. That's not at all what this thread was about. seriously, the word "Christianity" shouldn't have come up because this wasn't meant to be a religious discussion; Leh was simply asking for help with a personal problem. Leh was not looking to be converted to another belief system, but apparently several people know what's better for Leh a lot more than Leh does.

.....This is great and all, but Leh didn't ask for if we thought Leh's religious choice was the right one. Leh has already made Leh's decision, and has asked us for help in how to present it. It is very rude to assume that, just because what Leh has decided isn't what some oif us have decideded is the correct religion, to assume that Leh is wrong, or misguided, or going through a phase. My mom always told me that two things you never discuss in casual conversation are religion and politics, and now I can see why: everyone has different views on them, and theyall believe strongly in these views. I hope things turn out okay with you and your family, Leh. :)

Time for DeathBug to have his say: Well, first off, I think there are several animes where many conclusions about relationships can be drawn. However, to invent one where it never existed is very self-indulgent. Trigun, for instance. Vash has the hots for several women throughout the series. (I think he and Dominique the Cyclops would have made an interesting couple, but that's for another topic.) Therefore, there's no Vash/Wolfwood relationship because Vash is a heterosexual. (On a side note, I don't believe that Vash was in love with Rem; he loved her, but I think it was a more maternal love.) I'm not going to get into Gundam Wing at all, because I only saw it once, two years ago. However, if the question is whether or not fans should indulge in such things, the answer is yes. I support all fanfiction, [i] provided that it is properly labled.[/i] I do not support it on personal beliefs. Personally, I find it distasteful. However, I believe that all fanfiction is good for a property, as it generates interest and keeps the story alive. It shows a devoted, if somewhat odd, fanbase. Personally, I dislike inventing such relationships out of nothing. I speak as a writer. If, by some unlikely twist of fate, my personal work, Sol, became famous, and people began to write fanfics pairing two of my characters, (Say, Simon and TYbalt, for all the four people who read it), I would not approve. Of course, I would, on the other hand, be glad someone enjoyed my work enough to write a fanfic on it, misguided as it may be. What I'm trying to say, I guess, is that even though I dislike yaoi/yuri pairing with no bearing on the anime whatsoever, I can't say to delete them or anything. Like Patrick Henry said, "I may not agree with what you say, but I would die for your right to say it." However...being a male, I can't deny the appeal of certain yuri couples. However, I don't go talkin' about it. ^_^;;

Went to the comic store and got three new issues: Spider-Girl #63 and Spectacular Spider-Man #2 & 3. Spider-Girl #63: This issue, somebody dies! Agh! Too bad we don't know who...double agh! Actually, we have an idea. It's either Normie Osborn, who was gunned down by a mysterious assassain last ish, or the Kingpin of crime, who took a turn for the worst after an attempt on his life left him hospitalized two issues ago. And where is Mayday in all of this? On the roof of the hospital, fighting off the mercenary Kaine and the teleporting assassain Mr. Nobody. One of those two is lying and knows who tried to kill Normie, but they both book after a while. Oh, and did I mention that a huge gang war is about to take place? Whew. This is part three of the "Marked For Death" storyline, and it hasn't gone off-course like Season of the Serpant did a few months ago. (In all fairness, SotS had a killer ending.) One could argue that the near-death hallucinations Normie & the Kingpin had were filler, but they were well-done filler; new readers would appreciate being let in on what drives these two. Best scene: The end of the Kingpin's hallucination, when his dead son accuses him of being a murdering ruthless SOB. Kingpin's basic response: "Yeah, so?" Big revelation: [spoiler]In his hallucination, the ghost of the first Norman Osborn says that Normie has [i]fallen in love[/i] with May.[/spoiler] Spectacular Spider-Man #2 & 3: Whole lotta' Venom goin' on, folks. Spider-Man looses him in the subway, then starts invesitigating to find clues to his whereabouts. (Turns out the Venom that Spidey fought in the subway was just the alien; Eddie Brock has left the building.) Meanwhile, Peter follows Aunt May's advice and offers to take care of Flash Tomphson, still a vegitable after the Green Goblin's attack weeks earlier. Eddie Brock, however, isn't doing so well himself: hes dying of cancer, and the alien cann't get any adrenaline from him anymore. The symbiote is reduced to almost killing Eddie in order to get enough adrenaline from him. With some help from New York's finest, Pete flushes Venom (both halves of him) out into the open, and easily defeates him...too easily. As the brain-fried Brock tries to tell Spidey, this was all part of the alien's trap. Best part: Brock on his own. The alien's turned to abusing him, and it's having an adverse effect on his mind. Brock, who was always a very well-spoken adversary, (he used to be a journalist, remember), is reduced to the grammer of a street-punk without the alien. Big revelation: [spoiler] Turns out the alien never liked settling for Brock at all. It's Spider-Man he always wanted as his host. At the end of ish #3, the alien ditches Brock and goes "home".[/spoiler] Anywho...good comic week. :)

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Altron Gundam [/i] [B]Killer Tomato = instant searcher/Spirit Soul Hunter/Don Zaruug [/B][/QUOTE] I know what it's for. However, in my experience, KT & the like don't fare well. If your opponent has more than one monster on the field, they'll more than likely destroy the monster that is summoned. Spirit Reaper can't be destroyed, but you will take damage. Donny Z can be destroyed. I'd just as soon run something more useful and less situational.

Altron: The only thing I would consider would be dropping KIller Tomato; in general, I dislike the "summon

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Altron Gundam [/i] [B]Other than me and Acid..uh they aren't OO; [/B][/QUOTE] Yes, and you, of course, are the supreme master of all things Yu-Gi-Oh, and are the only decent player out of a community of hundreds. :rolleyes: So, where did Polyfuse go, anyway? He only has three posts, all on this thread. Is this thing going to happen?

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by yalborap [/i] [B]No one is trying to change his decision. I'm just trying to give him advice on telling his family about it without them overreacting. [/B][/QUOTE] Don't worry; I'm not referring to you. :D

You know, it's odd....you tell people what your problem is, but they don't get it....now, rather than getting advice on how to explain to your family that you're a Wiccan, you're having to defend your decision in front of the board. It's sad that it turned into that. I'm not Wiccan, (and telling anyghing about my religious beliefs would be spam in this thread....take note, people!), but it seems to me it would be like telling your family anything they'd find unplesant. Just find a good situation and tell them. I'd tell your mom first; save the people who wouldn't have much of a problem for last. If you think she'll misunderstand the religion, have a set way of proving that it's not Satanic, at the very least. If your family loves you, they won't care that much. They might act all wierd for a while, and might never agree with you on that point, but I really don't see it destroying your relationship or anything.

"You accepted defeat with honor, Dereck," Seth said. "For the first time ever, i actually respect you for something. However..." He turned off his duel disk and held out his hand. "You owe me two cards. First, your special Tournament card, so I can get into the finals. Second, your rarest card, as per the ante rule."

Bakura leaves the hospitol, (after scaring Grandpa, like Bandit keeps saying..;) ) He steals a duel disk and hears about duels in a cemetary. He heads there and finds Bandit Kieth's old henchmen scaring people and stealing their locator cards. (They have five already.) Bakura duels Bonz and wins, then traps them in the Shadow REalm. Bakura now has enough cards to enter the Battle City finals and win Marik the cards he wants. (Of course, if he does, Bakura will be given all the Millenium Items, and Marik will have the Pharoah power, etc...)

I am so sick of Yami Bakura killin' people every time he shows up. Seriously....first Pegasus, now these three...gah! Other than that...nice eppie. It was very typical of those three (the Stooges, as I call them), to scare people out of their locator cards. I mean, that was basically the same tactic they used in Duelist Kingdom. (Huh...that was Bandit Kieth's tactic. They're pretty helpless on their own...) Anyway...Bad Yami Bakura! Bad! No cookie for you!

Seth laughed. "That's all you can do? I activate my face-down card, Ring of Destruction! This card burned you last time, and it'll do the same now!" The bright ring of fire floated in the air, waiting for Seth's instructions. "Destroy his Megumi!" Not needing any more of an invitation, the ring encircled the Gyakutenno Megumi, destrying it instantly. Both players lost 1800 LP. (2200) "But that's just phase one of my plan! Now, I activate my other face down card, Monster Reborn! I use it to raise your Megumi from the grave, on my side!" The plant woman rose from the monster reborn card. Seth didn't stop there, however. "Now, I sacrifice your Megumi and my Thunder Nyan nyan to summon a more powerful beast...the Mystical Knight of Jackal!" Both monsters on Seth's side of the field sank into the new card, and out rose a new beast. It had the body of a warrior but the head of a jackal, dressed in ornate Egyptian armor. (2700/1200) "My Jackal Knight has a very special ability," Seth said. "You'll gain your 500 points, brining you up to 2700 Life points. However...Jackal, destroy him!" The beast-warrior roared and attacked the Pupeteer, destroying it instantly. "Now...here's why the Jackal is my second most powerful beast," Seth said. "His special ability states that any monster he destoys in battle isn't sent to the graveyard...it's sent to the top of your deck. The next card you draw will be your Mysterious Pupeteer..." "No way!" Dereck snapped. "That's impossible! Even *you* cant' do something like that!" "Draw your next card and see!" Seth laughed. "It's the Pupeteer I just destroyed. Now, you have two options, not counting surender. You can play a monster, but that won't do any good. You can't summon a High-level monster without sacrificing a weaker one first, and even then, you'll need a two-sacrifice monster to beat my Jackal. Any monster you set, i will destroy, and send it to the top of your deck. You'll never get any more cards then what you have right now, plus your Pupeteer." Seth chuckled again, running his hand through his hair. "Eventually I'll summon a second monster and attack when my Jackal is through, and you'll loose. Your other option, of course, is to *not* set any monsters. THen, my Jackal can't send them to the top of your deck. However, if you don't have any monster...my Jackal can attack you directly and wipe out your Life points." "You're through here, Dereck. You'll be leaving this Tournament and giving me your rarest card, as well as your Tournament c ard. And you're going to stay the heck away from Serena."

Well...now that all the good positions have been taken and I'm just going to look redundant... I used to watch DBZ & Pokemon all the time, until I came to the shocking realization that, "Hey! This is the same thing over and over!" So I stopped. However, I continued to watch Sailor Moon until it was cancelled, and I also watch Yu-Gi-Oh. Aren't these the same thing over and over? Probably, but I like them more. I enjoy the plot, and like the characters. Call it a guilty pleasure, or say that there's no accounting for taste. To wish anime wouldn't be availible mainstream is to do the artform a disservice. If the Big O hadn't been mainstream, there'd be no second season. We wouldn't have acess to Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, Spirited Away or libraries of DVD if some anime wasn't mainstream. I say, let the kiddies enjoy their DBZ and such. If that's all they like, fine. Or maybe, like myself, they'rll realize that there are better shows out there. And of course most anime is crap. Most TV shows anywhere are crap. (So are most books, most movies, etc.) However, people can still make their own choices on which is good and which isn't. I, personally, am tired of new Gundam series all the time. (No disrespect to Gundam fans...but really, how many properties does one show need?) Yet at the same time, I like American comic books. You could easily attack those mainstream books: the hero never dies, they're running around in tights, they're just a cash cow, etc. But I still am a devout Spiderfan. I camn accept the critizcism, but that doesn't mean I constantly want people putyting Peter down. So I'm not going to slam DBZ either, despite my low opinion of it. And, of course most people get anime from FOX & CN. It's easy. Seriously, that's the main reason. I've never seen Excel Saga, Slayers, GXP, Angel LInks or Ranma 1/2. Do I want to? You bet. But it takes a bit of effort to get them. (I could get them off of Kazaa, but that would be stealing.) In the same way, I can't get into the Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh CCG, because I don't know where to get JP cards. In conclusion, leave the nuubs to their DBZ, and the more diverse otaku can still emnjoy themselves. Oh, and can we hold off judegement on Shaman King's dubb until it at least airs? Sure, the previews look crappy, but can't we at least give them the benifit of the doubt?

"Serena, I dedicate this victory to you," Seth said, drawing his next card. "I summon the Thunder Nyan nyan, in attack mode," he said as the electric cat girl appeared. "I also set two cards face down." "Now, Nyan Nyan! Attack his face down monster!"

Seth stepped forward, glaring at Dereck. "Dereck, you've harassed this youg lady long enough. It's time for you to go. I challenge you to my first battle in this tournament!" Dereck laughed. "Sure, whatever. I got you all figured out from the last time. You're toast!" "Remember, when I win, I get your Tournament card, and your rarest card. Also, after this, youhave to leave Serena alone forever!" "I know the deal, geek!" "Let's duel!" They both drew five cards. Seth grinned. "You may go first this time, creep."

Seth looked around. "Dang....where'd everyone go?" He caught up to Serena. "Hey, Serena, is that jerk stalker of yours actually here today? If he his, I want to boot his hieney out of the tournament before moving on to actual good duelists. I don't want him bothering you today."

Seth approached the group, smiling broadly. He was still dressed from head to toe in black. "Heyo, Hiro," he said. "Glad to see you showed. It would have been so dull otherwise. Rio, wasn't it? Nice to see you again." He stopped at Aidian. "We haven't met. The name's Seth. Remember that name, you'll hear it again." "Serena, always a pleasure. Be sure to check me out in the finals." Seth adjusted his duel disk and shuffled his deck. "I've revamped my deck to the point where you'd barely recognize it," he said. "I'd love to tell you all about it, but you'll find out soon enough."

I'd like the Millenium Eye and accompanying hair from Yu-Gi-Oh. That way I could, you know, read people's minds and stuff....I'd finally know what girls are thinking.... I'd also like Wolfwood's outfit from Trigun. (You think he'd get really hot wearing all black in the dessert...) Finally, I'd like a cabbit, from Tenchi Muyo. Cabbit!! Oh...and if we're not limitred to just anime, I'd swap out Wolfwood's threads for Neo's in The Matrix, and I'd drop the cabbit for an alien symbiote from Spider-Man. :demon: Tis' cool...

Seth was already at Yugi's shop. He glanced around the crowd and sighed. "Nope; no one here looks like a challenge. I'm gonna' end up sleeping through this thing. It's a pity; I wanted a more challenging path to the top..." He saw Hiro running into the crowd. "Well, looks like there's at least one challenger around here. I guess it won't be all bad. I might actually loose some life points. Good luck, Hiro; you'll need it."

Seth sighed as he removed St. Joan from his dueling deck. "Sorry to do this, SJ, but Rio's a duelist, and he saw you. I can't leave myself open to attack like that. I'm afraid I'll have to replace you with another card." "I didn't really want to duel yet, but it was worth it to help out Serena. I'll use you at the next tournament; promise."

Does anyone actually know when the promo cards for the new game are? (IMO, WWE had the best promos, followed by FM, then EDS, then DDS.)

If I play a normal magic or trap card, can I activate "Emergency Provisions" at that time as a chain to gain LP gain for a card that's going to the graveyard anyway?