RIIIIIIIIIISE!!!!

I AM BACK! Did you miss me? Judging from the amount of comments to my last post, I would have to guess the answer would be, "No." That doesn't hurt my feelings though....much. Part of that was my fault...my Blackest Night. This blog doesn't need to be another review site or an oasis for snooty comic book geeks. Plots and Pictures should be a place that relates the events of comic books, movies, TV shows, or whatever cool stuff in a way that will make everyone enjoy those things more. So just like in the Green Lantern universe, the Blackest Night shall lead to the Brightest Day.

My absence from Plots and Pictures has almost been a year. That's a lot of time. I can't just dive right in to the new direction. I've got to get my feet wet first, which is absurd because I'm totally a dive-right-in person when swimming. Baby steps are for wusses. Despite that, I will be starting off slowly. How about a recap of my life in the near-year I've been away?

Since the theme of my new direction is Blackest Night / Brightest Day, I'll start with Green Lantern. Recently, I've caught up on the entire series, reading Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, Sinestro Corps War, and Blackest Night all from start to finish. The War of Light is one of my favorite sagas in comic books and I fully plan to help you guys realize how cool it is. Expect a feature story in the weeks to come that you will no doubt fall in love with. Also, make sure you go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this weekend because the trailer for the Green Lantern movie is going to debut with it. I saw some clips already and it looks pretty cool. There's a Kilowog appearance!!!

Speaking of Harry Potter, I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios this summer. In a word it was, magical. Yeah, you all saw that coming, but that doesn't make it any less hilarious. Really though, the park was amazing. The two best roller coasters belong to Harry Potter and the atmosphere was just like watching the movies. Hogwarts and Hogsmeade looked spot-on, Olivander's reenacted the wand-matching scene from the first book, and the pumpkin juice and butterbeer were fantastic. Even the workers all had to do British accents. I had a particularly good time deciphering whose were real and whose were corny.

The trip to Hogwarts was so much fun that it inspired me to do something I swore I never would...read books. I know, I know. I'm a comic book guy. Books are for dorks. I agree, but the Harry Potter books are usually incredibly fun to read. There are some dead moments here and there, but as a whole I thoroughly enjoyed them and look forward to making snooty comments like "That's not how it happened in the book," when I go see the newest movie Thursday at midnight. Yeah, I'll be one of those guys waiting in that awesome line. Check back later this week for a post on that. Oh, and Snape is the man!!!

Another major development in my life is the premiere of the new TV series based on the comic book The Walking Dead. It is amazing, easily the best on TV right now. The show perfectly captures the tone set in the comic books and I love seeing all those crazy dilemmas the characters find themselves in. Should the black guy save the racist white guy? Will the hussie tell her husband she was sleeping with another man while she thought he was dead? You must watch. Sundays. AMC. 10:00. Be there.

What else is there? I played basketball with 14th overall pick in the '99 NBA draft, William Avery. That was cool. I fully intended to school him, but got ripped twice and was outscored by him. He cheated.

I finally read Bendis's run on Daredevil...the second volume at least. The first still sells for well over $100 on ebay and I can't spend that much on a book. Anyway, what I did read clearly showed that Bendis is actually capable of telling a compelling and emotional story. Who would have guessed. I loved it.

You know what? This has already turned into a huge post. I have no idea why, because my life really isn't worth that many words. Hopefully you made it through and if so, please leave some comments on how excited you are that my blog is back. That'll really help out the ol' ego. Also, if you liked this and want some quick hits and random thoughts, follow me on Twitter: @SoKoJohn