Well, between Covid-19 and some personal stuff that kicked off in October and has only just now been resolved, I have well and truly neglected this blog, for which I can only apologize.
Not that there’s been much happening in the way of comics lately anyway. Marvel’s pretty much suspended production; DC’s doing some ‘digital first’ stuff as well as releasing some random comics out of schedule. It’s all a bit… chaotic. That said, I have had some time to catch up on some reading – some early Church history (I know, I know) and some Brian Lumley (I finally got round to reading Necroscope and its surprisingly readable in a mildly infuriatingly leisurely way) on the prose front, and the Marvel Unlimited app has been getting some love on the comics front.
The suspension of hostilities on the teaching front has meant evenings have been mostly pleasant and son number 2, who, unlike son number 1, resides with us in splendid isolation, has been joining us for a regular hour or so of TV – first Altered Carbon and Westworld, and now The Wire. All well-written, entertaining, and thought-provoking stuff.
On a more sombre note, I was shocked and saddened to hear last week about the passing of Reggie, one of the stalwart regulars of the Weird Science DC Comics site and podcast. He was a true gentleman, a quick-witted New Yorker, knowledgeable and funny and always worth listening to. Unlike a lot of people who consider themselves ‘experts’, he was neither condescending nor arrogant. Although I’d not spoken to him personally, I’d conversed with him via text and Slack and, if you look closely, you’ll find one or two of his comments on this very blog. Not only did he regularly contribute to the Weird Science podcast and site, but he and Chris Sheehan (from Chris Is On Infinite Earths) hosted a regular podcast called The Cosmic Treadmill and it was here that his immense knowledge of the comics genre – of its history and development, of its highs and lows – shone through. Sharp, thoughtful, witty, and always personable and caring, Reggie was a gem in this strange little multiverse of comic fandom. I’ll miss him greatly.
See you soon, people. There’ll be more from me over the next few days and weeks.
The Muttering Muse 