Mod Post: Off-Topic Tuesday

[icon_uk]

In the comments to these weekly posts (and only these posts), it's your chance to go as off topic as you like. Talk about non-comics stuff, thread derail, and just generally chat among yourselves.

One hardly needs to be clairvoyant to speculate on what the biggest topic of world discussion has been this week.

Last night the UK joined many other countries in establishing a nationwide lock down, schools were already closed, but now we're advised to work from home (luckily I can) and not to be outdoors at all unless we have to be (Shopping for food/medicience is okay, but as little as possible, and one outdoor exercise break a day is permitted), non-essential shops are closed, all religious services except funerals being shut down, and police being given powers to break up social gatherings of more than two people. No one has seen anything like this in the UK and it remains to be seen how well it will work.

Of course, for introverts, it's basically business as usual, but moreso, so a good deal of comic fans are ahead of the game (and I count myself in that category)!

I'm going to try not to dwell on it too much, because it's bloody well everywhere else, though a couple of useful links, which I defintiely encourage all our members, especially but not limited to, those in other countries to add to, if they can.

The World Health Organisation has an informative website.

Regretably, there is likely to be a arise in abuse due to lockdown conditions. In the UK the Refuge hotline is 0800 2000 247, and is staffed 24/7 by trained female advisors.

A shout out to the healthcare professionals around the world, and those in retail positions who are all having to deal with unbelievable stresses at the moment.

So stay indoors, wash your hands and be KIND.

(And post some comic scans if you can so we can all share some good times)

Oh, and Sir Patrick Stewart is performing a Shakespearian Sonnet a day on his Facebook page for the length of the lock-down. So that's the first 154 days sorted then.

Many creators online are making resources available to the public to help pass the time. Such as Aaron Blaise offering a "Fundamentals of Animation" course for free. Again, please feel free to add your own that you might have come across.

If you've always wanted to learn to read manga in the original, the Japan Foundation has freee language learning resources available.

In other news, sadly, Word is just coming in that Albert Uderzo, co-creator and illustrator of Asterix, amongst others, has died at the age of 92. As this is ON topic, and he was one of the legends of bande desinee, I'm hoping we'll see a proper tribute to him soon.

"Duck Tales" Season 3 starts in a couple of weeks, and I'm rewatching the first two seasons because this show is AWESOME!

Comments

[onsokumaru]

So, I'm beginning to suspect french government to unofficially betting on the herd immunity strategy. Because when you tell people "you have to stay at home, but you can go out jogging, but no more than 1 km, and no more than half an hour", that's definitely not a lockdown strategy.

Had a panic this morning with my mom not replying at phone for 40 minutes. I ran to her place, to learn later that a neighboor buyed some groceries for her and she staid a bit talking with them, in their f...ing house. Because she thinks it's fine as long as you don't talk to close from the person and you wash your hands. Checkmate, coronavirus, I'll die from stress ulcer before you get me!

[leahandillyana]

The lockdown/quarantaine is sure to hit small and various businesses a lot. There are some things that may help:
-Order things, online or for take away. Postal services work as usual, and some jurisdictions allow bars and restaurants to function if they offer take away. Use it! Especially bookstores are having emergency promotions now.
-Buy some flowers! They have limited shelf life, and by buying them not only will you make your quarantaine a bit more colourful but also help local flower shops!
I personally wanted to spend my quarantaine (currently 11th day) watching anime, but my internet is limited and I need to prioritize its use for work. So I read fanfiction instead. I am also writing a lot of fanfiction, but it's all for exchanges, so the fics won't appear on my profile for weeks if not months.

[zachbeacon]

No time for a longer post right now. Will probably come back later. Unsure if thoughts I've had in the last week are brilliant observations on the human condition or just me going stir-crazy.

Mostly I just hope everyone here is safe.

[icon_uk]

The two things don't have to be mutually exclusive.

[cygnia]

Comic distribution has been hit. :(

https://ew.com/books/diamond-comics-distributors-stops-accepting-new-issues-coronavirus/

[silverhammerman]

That's bad, though probably the smart choice on Diamond's part. It really makes me worried for my local shops. I haven't been a Wednesday Warrior in a long time, and the two places in Toronto which I frequent aren't entirely geared towards that crowd, but still. I really hope that the shops are able to make it through okay.

On the publishing side, depending on how long this lasts, one has to wonder if this will be the thing to finally shake up comics distribution. Will we see the big players start going digital first if this lasts long? What happens when the quarantine ends? Will six months worth of comics just hit the shelves at the same time?

[filthysize]

I'm surprised this wasn't part of the post, although maybe icon_uk didn't see it in time, but this probably warrants its own thread. Depending on how much the big three cares about not fucking over retailers by going full digital, we may not see any new comics for the next few months.

[bradygirl_12]

Yep, we introverts don't really mind this, but of course it's an economic drag and there are other issues. But social distancing itself doesn't bother me.

[mister_terrific]

My daughter was working in a timeshare call center in Florida; they closed down yesterday and let everyone go. She called us and she was crying her eyes out--she'd come to love that job and just now got on the insurance plan.

Two hours later she called again and told us in a calm, confident voice she was going to apply for unemployment and food stamps, and oh by the way could Mom forward her information on applying at the pharmacy call center that's tied to her job?

I'm so proud of her. She's something to behold.

[icon_uk]

Good for her!

And, if I may say so, the two of you raised her well!

[mister_terrific]

Not too long ago she texted me and said "Thank you for teaching me to be kind". I got a little teary-eyed at that.

She is just so incredible. In some ways she inherited the worst from us--my depression/anxiety issues, my wife's arthritic condition--but she's got the biggest heart and will move heaven and earth to help someone in need. Oh, and she's also a smartass, and sadly I know EXACTLY who she inherited that from!

[skjam]

Working at home since last Wednesday; alas my job is essential under America's current health care system. Already stir-crazy, and trying not to eat a week's worth of groceries in less than a week.

Managed to stop by the local small bookstore while they were still open and stock up.

Over at my blog, I review a relatively recent Disney movie--the comments section is open. http://www.skjam.com/2020/03/23/movie-review-zootopia/

[silverhammerman]

I was unfortunately laid off from my temping job and have asked to have any other placements held off for at least the next week. I'm sure I'm not alone in hoping that some kind of government relief program comes through for workers before I have to go out and risk infection.

On the brighter side of things, for those of us trapped at home I wonder if anyone has anything in their To Read/Watch pile that they're finally getting to.

Personally, I've just finished Appleseed Alpha and Batman: Year 100. The former is a loose adaptation of the ugly as sin CGI movie from 2014, and the latter is peak "Batman fights fascists" content, so of course exactly the kind of thing I like. Some weird libertarian moments throughout, but not enough to spoil things. Up next I'm going to read all of the Battling Boy/Aurora West stuff (I wasn't planning on a Paul Pope kick, I just happened to grab it off my shelf) and think about what a tragedy it is that we've still not gotten more of that. If I get really bored I'm thinking about popping open my old shortbox and diving into Midnighter or maybe the 2012 Age of Apocalypse series. I've also got copies of Kavalier and Clay and Ancillary Justice on standby, thanks to the suspiciously fantastic book section at my local second hand store. I've been watching a lot of genteel mystery programs since they're such an inoffensive time waster, though I'm trying to curb that so as to get a bit of writing done each day.

[icon_uk]

The UK Government has promised to fund 80% of wages lost through COVID-19 which surprised a lot of us.

But things for self employed people are not nearly as clear cut or even clear at all, alas, which given how the Government has been pushing the "Zero Hours contract" and the whole "gig economy" is just cappy behaviour.

[mrwalker]

The "whaddaya scared of, it's just a bad flu?" crowd irritates the hell out of me. So does Trump strongly implying he wants to see all lockdown measures end in a few weeks. That's not going to help the social isolation efforts already hindered by ignorance, or just not giving a damn.

Have 2 days off work and frankly dread going back (pharmacy). IMO we should have started running drive thru and curbside last week of earlier.

[kamino_neko]

The "whaddaya scared of, it's just a bad flu?" crowd irritates the hell out of me.

It irritates me for 2 reasons.

1) It's downplaying Covid.
2) It's downplaying flu. Which, as someone hospitalized for flu not that long ago: Screw that noise.

[llordllama]

Around these parts (UK, rural East Midlands) it's been interesting to see how the local denzins have responded to the lockdown. Local yuffs have been spotted in gaggles (no shock there) much to the frustration of many locally, and definition of 'key worker services only' operating left me baffled as I watched the wheely bin cleaning service man (not council affiliated) doing his regular rounds.

I *may* be slightly excited that I get to watch Disney+ tonight to make up for the quarantine, although stressing about friends and family (sister-in-law currently potentially has caught it) is really

And as someone said to me in a virtual coffee break this AM 'Why did the weather have to go nice the second we hit lockdown?' Myself and Mrs Dr Llama seem to be having more virtual coffee breaks than we ever had time for in r/l!

[icon_uk]

Wheely bin guy is probably there as a Sanitation/Health and Safety person. Those things get rank and aren't exactly sanitary for long.

I do wonder if ten years of austerity has left anything like enough police to enforce these new rules.

I might have been tempted by Disney+ if it worked on a PS3, alas, it does not.

[llordllama]

Nah, he's very definitely freelance (from the flyers we've had from time to time)

I expect a legion of housebound curtain twitchers will spring to action to report every infraction, like the NWA in Stanford. For the greater good... ;)

[agent8]

Marvel's announced relaunch of the New Warriors has been almost universally panned. They seriously proposed characters with names like Snowflake and Safespace. There's also a vampire Goth kid with the name B-Negative, a kid named Screentime who was exposed to "experimental internet gas" and Trailblazer, who has a "magic back-pack". The internet was not kind. As of today the you-tube video has 145K downvotes vs 3.4K upvotes

Here's Marvel's introduction https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/introducing-the-new-new-warriors

And one of the less profane reactions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7VWTScVLr8

[bruinsfan]

Did... Kibblesmith think he was creating these characters for a sketch on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert?

[icon_uk]

We've already had a thread on that topic here

https://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/8755042.html

And as I say there, the combination of the writer being the guy who wrote "Santa's Husband" and an artist who's an out queer guy, leads me to believe they're not making those choices by accident, and I'm interested in seeing what it is.

Plus the New Warriors have long tradition of pretty bloody awful names, like Night Thrasher, Debrii and Microbe (and that's not counting pre-existing character names like Rage and Speedball)

[beyondthefringe]

My money is still on Skrulls. 😜

[mastermahan]

I do hope they turn out to be some sort of "How do you do, fellow kids?" false flag. Like the Thunderbolts, only instead of being fake superheroes they're fake millennials.

[t209]

Yeah, I mean Trailblazer's entry seems to be implied that she was forcibly conscripted. So I think that might be it.
I meant the writer himself is Millenial (or Generation X, a rare virtuous among the nihilistic generation) and internet savvy.
And *sigh* I am even pissed off at comic fandom for overreaction, or anti SJW people--many of whom might not read comic at all--being outraged more easily than their opponents.

[janegray]

I don’t know what part of “this virus is especially deadly to elderly people, so Stay. The Fuck. AWAY. from old people because even if you feel fine, you could either be asymptomatic or still incubating” is too hard to understand. But it’s apparently an extremely complex concept, because some idiots had the brilliant idea to go visit their parents in the middle of the quarantine and now they are all infected. Congrats, you likely killed your own parents.

The government has started using drones to monitor the streets and get people who take strolls. Until a couple of weeks ago, I would have said this is too police state-like. But at this point I don’t even care anymore.

[ayasugi_san]

I don’t know what part of “this virus is especially deadly to elderly people, so Stay. The Fuck. AWAY. from old people because even if you feel fine, you could either be asymptomatic or still incubating” is too hard to understand.

Well, in my case, delivering meals to an old guy is my job, so staying away isn't really an option. But I am handwashing before and after shopping, before preparing food, and before and after delivery.

[janegray]

If it's for your job, it's different. Delivery people are practically heroes at this point.

Even so, if you are allowed to, I'd suggest you do what delivery people have been doing here in Italy for the last couple of weeks. Ring the bell, leave the package on the front door, move several meters away, person comes out and takes the parcel, you leave. If they are supposed to pay you (although pretty much all payments for deliveries are done through the internet now), they leave the money where the parcel was, and you go grab it after they have gone back inside.

[ayasugi_san]

I also put them all away, check what else he needs, help him sort through mail and write checks, and move things around the house.

[janegray]

All due respect, but I very very very very very strongly suggest you stop doing that.

[ayasugi_san]

If I don't help, who will? His eyesight is so bad he can barely read, everything he doesn't expect is too complicated for him to deal with alone, he can't carry things larger than a milk carton

[janegray]

On less depressing news, I've bought myself a bunch of stuff. Yay retail therapy.

I got three super cute action figures, and several books and comics.

Harleen in particular is very highly discounted right now, it's 50% off. And there was a coupon where you could take 5 pounds off any 25$ purchase (I think it's still valid, apparently it lasts until the end of the month, so you should be able to use it too), so I was able to mostly recoup the cost of shipping too.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1779501110

If you are wondering why I'm buying stuff off Amazon.co.uk instead of Amazon.it, it's because Amazon.it sucks. Even including international shipping, comics still cost less if I buy them from the British store.

[minervasolo]

For anyone not support Amazon right now (Bezos is behaving appallingly, but ultimately he can get away with it as more and more retailers close down and his monopoly increases, and I don't begrudge anyone who does turn to them) Harleen is also discounted on Hive.co.uk, which supports indie bookshops.
https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Stjepan-Sejic/Harleen/24337755

[tripodeca113]

The Red Dwarf special got a trailer. It’s almost like it’s 1989 all over again.

The Walking Dead’s ratings for season ten continue to dip bellow that of season one. We maybe be watching the death throws of a franchise here.

According to rumours Ahsoka might be in season two of The Mandalorian. Personally, I’d prefer if she’s kept to the safer world of Star Wars animation. I’m going to wait for official confirmation.

Star Trek Picard continues to confuse me. I though this show was going to be very political and relevant, but it isn’t not really. They brought Picard back after 16 years so he could be in a Mass Effect knock-off?

I am currently waiting for the price for the Inside No 9 season five DVD to go down.

Oh look, a Katara focused standalone comic. Neat.

In other news it seems like this June in Usagi Yojmibo, Usagi will be returning to his home town for the first time since 1991. Twenty nine years…

[scorntx]

Last week, I discovered Amazon does not acknowledge the existence of Rung.

Bit of drama just before the weekend with a family member who is right in one of the severe risk categories being told they needed to go into the hospital for stuff.
Despite them mentioning repeatedly both this fact and that there was no safe way for them to get there.
And when they got there, even the nurses went "fuck, why'd they tell you to do that?! That was stupid!"
(Fortunately, nothing bad seems to have happened.
Except for them catching a rash somehow.)

The weather turned suspiciously nice on Monday. On the plus side, allowed for some good gardening weather.
Discovered two ant colonies right next to one another.
Always disconcerting when you try to dig up a weed and suddenly the ground starts crawling...

After several months, finally got around to reading some old Star Trek novels I bought while on holiday.
They were alright.
(The irritating part is that the second one ends on a cliffhanger... and with none of its subplots resolved... rassafrazzarazza...)

[owlbrigade1]

The shop I buy giant jars of pickled eggs from has also run out, who the hell is panic buying pickled eggs? And can I buy a jar from you?

[beyondthefringe]

Thanks a lot, now I want pickled eggs.
Oh wait, I found a jar in the pantry.
All good!

[minervasolo]

Pur local shop had run out of Rich Tea biscuits. Not chocolate digestives. Not boubons and custard creams. Not all the fancy branded biscuits. The literal blandest biscuits that have ever been made are the ones people apparently felt desperate to stock up on.

[owlbrigade1]

I want a rich tea biscuit now. My grandmother used to have those all the time, and I feel suddenly deeply nostalgic.

[zachbeacon]

So with the current economic uncertainty, most of us with any free time are probably dipping into our media backlogs rather than getting anything new. I figure I’d share some free things I’ve come across recently. Feel free to add your own (keep it legal). YMMV as some of these may be temporary and vary by region.

https://www.npr.org/2020/03/20/818670715/getting-bored-heres-a-list-of-free-things-that-werent-free-before-coronavirus

https://stories.audible.com/
(Free until schools reopen)

https://www.audible.com/ep/FreeListens
(Free to keep. Not a complete list. I also got John Leguizamo’s Latin History for Morons)

Kelly Thompson’s Herokiller is currently free on Kindle. I’m not sure what other free ebooks are worth reading (and I welcome suggestions) but it seemed relevant here since some here may be fans of her other work.

https://www.comixology.com/free-comics
(There seem to be considerably more free comics there than normal. At the very least everyone should read Astro City #1/2)

https://kotaku.com/games-you-can-play-for-free-while-stuck-at-home-1842429089

Again, YMMV but I’ve heard Monster Hunter World is temporarily free on the PSN in some regions (that isn’t the case in the US).

[zachbeacon]

Also, why I don't play D&D (despite having owned books from two separate editions) I do listen to Critical Role.

They've put out a free adventure from the new Explorer's Guide to Wildemount book ...

https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/module/5353/adventure-preview-explorers-guide-to-wildemount?fbclid=IwAR0Ll5GUcbcmcPJnb-bngyzroJsfLzGd08yQQbxQt7PeNA5oPBnJrTnODyE

[chalicother]

Watching Steven Universe Future. Once again, a show that made me want to see fusions , and makes me realize I stay for the plot and characters. I just hope Steven keeps his powers, but I trust Rebecca Sugar not to do that. I think with how low-scale universe is that it's won't have as rushed as an ending as the original.

Still need to finish the Punisher. Finding it interesting how they are humanizing Jigsaw, but he still demented individual. I also appreciate Abby(whatever the teenage that is with Frank). She annoys Frank and shows the lack of emotional maturity that disrupts her relationship with Frank. Her attempt to make Frank think about his kids, without realizing how much pain that is for him.

Also saw DeathStoke :Knights and Dragons. It's interesting it veers back to the Slade that had some kind of code, but loves the job more than his family. Not sure I like what they did with Rose. Also no mention of Grant in this. Still I will continue to watch. It's not uber-evil Slade, but Slade with some ethics.

Also watched the CW cartoon for Constantine. I really enjoyed at some parts. It's a good interpretation and jump at the character, it makes a good rendition of the character. It made Constantine have a good heart, but show's he pushes away people and loathes himself.

Still upset about it even though it happened months ago, but I hate the fact that my backpack was stolen, as this time would be perfect for going through my steam catalog.

Need to stop procrastinating about doing my work for a possible paper on the Passenger Pigeon extinction. Finally a opportunity to do some paleontology research.

Also got hired as a Paleomonitor for another company and may move. Would like to stay in, but I can't afford to. It's dangerous, but I need to be able to eat and live.

[t209]

Sad to hear about Uderzo's death.
Even if his writing after Goscinny was considered as nadir for Asterix, especially Falling Sky.
https://www.cracked.com/article_27309_5-insane-ways-superheroes-were-changed-in-other-countries.html (Also Cracked made Asterix entry in one of their articles)

[sarahnewlin]

I'm super late to this.

Does anyone remember on the old scans daily. There was an infamous animated icon. Features Arthur Curry getting manhandled and tied naked to a chair. I remember it also had the words "Ah, canon' on it.