David's Boring Blog

 Comic books have an addictive quality. I have often found myself incredibly excited about picking up the latest issue of Batman or X-men in spite of the fact that the previous issue was lackluster in its storytelling or felt like I did not really get my money's worth out of the issue. The challenge here is that for legacy characters and comics fans like me are often more dedicated to the overall character or property than they are to a current run or writer. I want to break that habit for myself and maybe for others. I had to really reflect on what factors of a comic book really mattered to me. I thought that was pretty simple since comics are a heavily visual medium: Cover Art. When I was first starting to enjoy comic books between ages 8 and 12, I did not have any character bias beyond a vague knowledge of seeing old cartoons with Spider-man, the Justice League, or the live action Batman show or movie.  I was born at a fortunate time in that way. Super Friends and Spider-man and

 I have been blogging off and on for sixteen years today. My blog has undergone many different changes over those sixteen years, but it has existed in one form or another. I suppose that means that my blog is spiritually old enough to be trusted behind the wheel. I have to say spiritually because I have rebranded, deleted, restarted, and generally overhauled my blog several times in the last sixteen years. The version you are reading this on currently is only two months and six days old. What is more meta that talking about your blog on your blog? My whole blogging experience started because I wanted to share a story about a possum falling through my then-under-construction roof. I have told enough fantastic but true stories over the years to know when it is unlikely that someone is going to believe me. Two things have come of that. One, I almost always have a camera on me (this is a part of the story of how I came to enjoy taking pictures so much), and two, I always get proof. The fee

 I have an unusual habit for a man my age. I carry a backpack with me almost everywhere I go. I am no stranger to being weird, but in this instance I wonder why more people are not like me. How does a person get through their daily adventures without their every-day-carry bag? My idea of being prepared must be vastly different. I carefully consider not only the things I carry, but also the bag I carry them in. This stuff matters to my psychologically.  Before I get into how I use my bag now, I thought it might be fun to explore how I got into the habit of carrying a bag when I was not in school. Obviously, I started carrying a backpack when I was a kid in school. By sixth grade that bag had evolved considerably from just my school work. I made sure to have a sketch pad or two, pencils to draw with (which were typically different than the #2 pencil required for school work and test taking), a magazine or comic book or two for reading and drawing inspiration, and whatever novel I was rea

I wear many hat for the Printed Panel Podcast. At the beginning of the show Garin and I called ourselves hosts. I was hesitant to use the term," On-Air Talent," because I debate that talking about a hobby requires any talent in the first place. Additionally, Garin and I share responsibility for coming up with ideas and content for the show. Most of our content is actually produced by the exceptionally talented artists, writers, and other types of comics book creating professionals, but we figure out what we want to highlight and discuss.  I also am the show's primary researcher. That is not to say that Garin does not read or look up content. By researcher I am talking about putting together the cover art for the show, putting together which variant cover belongs to which artist, and generally figuring out how to get the information on the screen after we talk about it. There are quite a few other content ideas that I have developed and have not figured out how to implemen

 My five year old does not yet understand the concept of summer vacation despite the fact she has completed three years of Pre-K. She wakes up early and gets started on her typical five-year-old version of living her best life. The danger of this is that she sometimes does this before 7 am which is a time I like to refer to as before-Daddy-is-awake. Thankfully, she generally does not get into any mischief.  This morning I woke before my alarm clock as usual. One of the first things I heard was the kid talking to her toys. She really does occupy herself well. The biggest difference between her play and mine as a kid is that hers sounds like she is narrating a video for YouTube. I am not exaggerating in the slightest. In my house you often will overhear her loudly proclaiming," Hey guys, Teagan here!" What can I expect from a child who has had access to an age restricted version of YouTube since she was 3?  I typically can perform my morning ablutions without disturbing the kid