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A few weeks ago, I mentioned that a lot of the indie comics I read don’t have fixed schedules. In a few cases, it goes beyond that, and the comics are, as near as I can tell, totally stalled — in some cases for years. Maddeningly, there are a few that are stalled just one issue from the conclusion!

Planetary #27 was one of these, but the epilogue issue finally came out last month. I was beginning to wonder whether Ignition City #5 was headed the same way, once it got to three months after the fourth issue, but the last issue finally came out in October.

Currently, I’m waiting for…

Gemini #5

Gemini #4(Image) This five-issue miniseries from Jay Faerber and Jon Sommariva about a super-hero whose secret identity doesn’t know he’s a super-hero (sort of like that TV show with Christian Slater last year) started off solidly, then quickly went off the rails scheduling-wise. I didn’t even realize how late it had gotten until I looked for it a few days ago and found a reference to the original solicitation: It was supposed to wrap in September 2008! The longest gap was between #3 and #4 (which came out this past July).

Status: The artist is currently working on the issue…along with a bunch of other projects.

Update (March 2011) Still not finished. According to Jay Faerber, “Jon Sommariva has the script, so it’s in his hands now.” (Image.com forums))

Update (April 2026) To the best of my knowledge, this was never completed.

Robert Jordan’s New Spring #8 – COMPLETED! (May 2010)

Robert Jordan's New Spring #1(Dabel Bros.) This 8-issue miniseries adapting the Wheel of Time prequel launched in August 2005, produced by Dabel Bros. and published by Red Eagle Entertainment. After a couple of issues it got to be very sporadic as the studio and publisher started to feud, and it ceased publication entirely after #5 came out in early 2006.

Update: This got complicated enough that I’ve moved it to its own page.

The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles #4 – COMPLETED! (April 2011)

Oz/Wonderland Chronicles #4 (Preview)(BuyMeToys.com) Simple premise: Alice from Alice in Wonderland and Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz have grown up and left behind the worlds they think were simply childhood fantasies, and are now roommates in (IIRC) Chicago (Their other roommates include Wendy from Peter Pan and an obvious analog of Susan from the Narnia books). Of course, their pasts were real, and now they’re being called upon to return to those worlds and help them. The four-issue miniseries was coming out about once a year starting in 2005, but it’s been at least two years since issue #3.

Status: They released a preview of #4 at Chicago Comic-Con this year, and the website says it’ll be out “early 2010.”

Update (June 2010): I’ve found several stores listing an August 25, 2010 release date, but the official website doesn’t say anything. We’ll see.

Update (April 2011): The fourth issue finally came out on April 13, 2011 — three years after the previous issue and six since the first. Meanwhile, they launched a sequel, “Jack and Cat Tales,” before they actually finished the first series.

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Wheel of Time: The Gathering StormThis weekend I finished reading the new Wheel of Time novel, The Gathering Storm. Now that I’ve read it, I can definitely say that Brandon Sanderson was a good choice to finish the series from Robert Jordan’s notes, and that splitting the final book into three was the right approach. It may be a doorstopper, but it would be difficult to cut more than a tiny amount without diminishing the impact of what remained.

Read more…

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The restrooms in the office building where I work have sinks with automatic faucets, triggered by some sort of sensor, probably motion detectors. I walked in this afternoon and noticed one sink was completely full, with a skin of soap bubbles on top. From past experience, I had my suspicions about what had happened, so I tried to look through a clear spot to the base of the sink.

Sure enough, someone had plugged the sink with a paper towel, then walked away.

That’s inconsiderate enough in any public restroom. But when the sink is automatic, there’s another problem: Once the water reaches high enough, it trips the sensor, and it can get into a feedback loop. As near as I can tell, it filled up the sink until it hit the overflow drain, and eventually the sensor stopped registering movement and shut off.

I rolled up my sleeve, reached in there, and pulled the soggy paper towel out. It started draining, and I started washing my hands in another sink. As I watched, the movement of the water triggered the faucet, and it started running, though fortunately the drain was faster. By the time I was finished, it was clear. Problem solved, though it had already wasted a whole sinkful of water (or more — I have no idea who long it was running before it shut off).

So please, if you must plug a restroom sink with a paper towel, especially if it’s automatic, take two seconds to remove the paper towel before you leave.

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I’m floored.

Absolutely floored that 4-day passes for Comic-Con International 2010 have sold out.

I mean, it’s the first week of November, and the convention isn’t until next July!

Tickets with access to Wednesday’s Preview Night sold out a few weeks ago, but at the time, CCI didn’t provide any information about how many regular 4-day passes were left. This Monday, they posted a progress gauge at 70%. The last time I looked yesterday, it was up to 89%.

Today? Sold out completely.

I can’t help but think it would have taken longer if they hadn’t provided a gauge to let people know just how scarce a resource memberships were going to be. There’s nothing like the fear of a shortage to get people to run out and buy up what’s available (and create a shortage). But I also can’t complain, because without that feedback, we might have kept putting off plunking down the $200 for the two of us, and we might have missed our chance.

Single-day tickets haven’t gone on sale yet, so it’s still possible to go if you haven’t already bought your tickets. You can of course buy more than one, it just means standing in line each morning to pick up the next badge. (Even the more relaxed WonderCon, run by the same organization, doesn’t let you pick up a Sunday badge on Saturday, as we discovered last year.)

If you’re planning on going to San Diego next year, keep an eye on the website. Four-day passes went insanely quickly, and I would expect the one-day passes to do the same.

Update 2019: Seeing how surprised I was is almost nostalgic, now that the entire con sells out within minutes every year. This was the tipping point.

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This weekend I finally watched Evil Dead 2. Aside from some nifty low-budget cinematography, it mostly confirmed that the only movie in the trilogy I actually like is Army of Darkness. Not surprising, since I like the sword and sorcery genre better than horror to begin with.

I also started thinking about what sets the Evil Dead trilogy apart from other 1980s horror series: instead of focusing on the villains, the later installments are all about the hero.

Friday the 13th? All about Jason. Nightmare on Elm Street? Freddie Kruger. Hellraiser? Pinhead and the Cenobites.

Evil Dead? Ash. Hail to the King.

At the comic store today, I noticed that there’s a whole line of sequel comics, focusing again on Ash (including “Ash Saves Obama”). But they’re not titled Evil Dead. They’re all Army of Darkness. It must have greater name recognition.