You Must Read The Immortal Iron Fist

The first six issues– and lots of cool bonus content– are available in the can’t miss Immortal Iron Fist: The Last Iron Fist Story TPB, available at comic shops everywhere. So, go buy it and revel is awesomeness of my favorite comic book since the unbelievably awesome Starman.

So what’s this series all about? Two words: Kung-Fu Billionaire. Billionaire orphan Danny Rand is raised in the mystical city of K’un-L’un, where he becomes the city’s champion and learns mystical martial arts. After defeating the dragon Shou-Lao, Danny gains enhanced physical abilities in addition to fantastic new powers (hence the “iron fist” moniker). He returns to New York, where he fights crime, gets revenge for his parents’ deaths and takes the reins of the Rand Corporation. Now he fights crazy martial arts villains, the forces of HYDRA and any other bad guys who need an ass whupping.

Yeah, I know, you’re thinking this all sounds like Batman, right? Well, as much as we all love the Dark Knight, he’s got nothing on the sheer awesomeness of the fights and mythology within Immortal Iron Fist. Matt Fraction, Ed Brubaker, David Aja and editor Warren Simons have brought the most awesome action sequences in comics to life in addition to real gripping stories because things happen. People die. People change. Every issue changes the status quo for Danny Rand and the rest of the cast. Whereas other comics present the illusion of change or simply spin their wheels, Immortal Iron Fist simply delivers every month and ups the ante with each issue.

Buy it. Read it. Love it.

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Hockey Night In Canada, Eh?

Thanks to the wonders of NHL Center Ice, the affordable sports package allowing you to see almost every NHL game, I’ve been able to finally see my beloved Montreal Canadiens in action. It also means that tonight , their game was featured on Hockey Night in Canada, a staple of my youth, and that meant Canada’s second national anthem (you can hear it right here) was in full effect. I didn’t realize how much I missed it till now!

First, let’s focus on the Canadiens awesome game against the Penguins tonight. Bottom line, whether or not you’re a big hockey fan, this is the kind of game that epitomizes the greatness of the sport. Montreal dominated early with fluid, quick plays and took an early 3-0 lead, but soon found that Pittsburgh had a lot of life– and the game was tied with less than 2 minutes left! A great overtime period and exciting shoot out (16 different shots!) led to a Montreal victory, which left me (and many others) on the edge of my seat! Even if this hadn’t been a HNiC presentation, I would’ve been completely enthralled and would still be writing something about the game.

But just as with many things in life, growing older and moving on with my life makes me appreciate how lucky I was to have this high quality hockey program every Saturday. The sheer level of respect for hockey displayed by Hockey Night In Canada, the depth of knowledge and quality commentators make this one of the standout sports programs of all time. Sure, commentator Don Cherry can seem like an ass at times and I feel bad for Ron MacLean (his Coach’s Corner co-host), who never seems to get a word in with Cherry in, but y’know what? They’re awesome. Every time you see them you can’t help but feel their passion for hockey and know that they’re in this business because they love the sport. It’s hard to believe I watched this program so much as a kid and didn’t really appreciate the nuances of its awesomeness.

There’s also something unique about Canadian commercials. In some ways they feel cheaper (ie: lower budget), but there’s this inherent wholesomeness to it all that I can’t ignore. One commercial for Mr. Sub (the Canuck version of Subway) features an old lady stealing a sub sandwich from a young guy and then pretending he’s attacking her, as to avoid him trying to steal it back. Normally I’d probably find this kind of ad a bit stupid, but the Canadians put it together in a way it actually seems a bit charming. Even when advertising a major national chain like Tim Hortons (the home of the world’s best donuts) advertises their special new products, somehow they make it seem like a worthwhile part of Canadian life than some crass ad designed to get you to spend money.

Finally, and this is the smallest thing to some, it’s just great to see my favorite sports team of all time from the comfort of my own home on a regular basis. While I’ve waxed and waned on favorite teams in other sports (the Dallas Cowboys are perhaps the only other team I’ve ever been a fan of for a long time), the Habs have been a favorite since my childhood. I’m actually invested in these games and even find myself yelling at the television a bit, the same kind of behaviour I rarely understand in others but now find myself emulating. It’s great to come home from work and find comfort in a watching the Habs play some hockey. It’s nothing mind blowing, it’s nothing life changing, but it’s comforting and that’s something special to me.

Frankly, if you’ve never seen HNiC, none of this may make sense, but if you’re like me and haven’t checked one out in a while, I’d recommend doing so– there’s something utterly Canadian about it all and it reminds me why I’m proud to be from that country.

High School Musical

For the most part I wasn’t a fan of high school, which honestly had as much to do with me as it did with school and the usual teenage angst. But in my OAC year (Grade 13 which was mandatory in Ontario), I had a lot of fun thanks to my friends and thanks to coming into my own. Part of that growth involved embracing my nostalgic love for the cartoons of my youth and discovering how many of my friends also loved these shows. To that end I created a CD called Big Sexy Toons, a combination of my nickname “Big Sexy” and a popular CD collection called “Big Shiny Toons,” and used to play it frequently in school. Thanks to Rob Chung and Darcy Studer, we installed a stereo system in Darcy’s locker and played music each morning before class. At first some people didn’t quite understand the appeal of these songs, but soon most were asking for a copy of the CD and I made a few dozen of these discs in my youth. I’ve noticed that a lot of my co-workers share an affinity for these songs and it reminded me how much times past can positively impact the present. These songs not only remind me of how much I loved these shows, but the fun I experienced while watching these shows with my family.

So here it is, the complete track listing for Big Sexy Toons: Volume 1, only available in Canada during the 1999-2000 school year and only to my high school friends. How’s that for limited edition? I know people will ask, but I cannot copy this disc and send copies to anyone. I don’t own the rights to these songs so any distribution would be illegal and no, I have no idea how one would collect these songs if one wanted to right now.

BIG SEXY TOONS: Volume 1

1. Teknoman theme song
2. Saber Rider & The Star Sherrifs theme song
3. Robotech theme song
4. Voltron: Defender of The Universe theme song
5. Transformers theme song
6. Go-Bots theme song
7. G.I Joe theme song
8. Pryde of The X-Men theme song
9. Batman: The Animated Series theme song
10. Super-Friends theme song
11. Swamp Thing theme song
12. Spider-Man theme song(60’s)
13. Spiderman & His Amazing Friends theme song
14. Wild C.A.T.S theme song
15. Darkwing Duck theme song
16. Thundercats theme song
17. Silverhawks theme song
18. M.A.S.K theme song
19. Captain N & The Adventures of Super Mario 3 theme song
20. James Bond Jr theme song
21. Captain Planet & The Planeteers Theme Song
22. Gargoyles theme song
23. Duck Tales theme song
24. Rescue Rangers theme song
25. Fat Albert theme song
26. Tick theme song
27. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song
28. Speed Racer theme song
29. Scooby Doo theme song
30. Tiny Toon Adventures theme song
31. Garfield & Friends theme song
32. Heathcliff theme song
33. Samurai Pizza Cats theme song
34. Denver the Last Dinosaur theme song
35. He-Man theme song
36. She-Ra: Princess of Power theme song
37. Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin theme song
38. Woody Woodpecker theme songs
39. Gummi Bears theme song
40. Winnie The Pooh theme song
41. Smurfs theme song
42. Muppet Babies theme song
43. Care Bears theme song
44. My Little Pony theme song
45. Jem & The Holograms theme song
46. Alvin & The Chipmunks
47. Jetsons theme song
48. Flinstones theme song
49. Yogi Bear theme song
50. Tom & Jerry theme song
51. Rocky & Bullwinkle theme song
52. My Pet Monster theme song
53. Raccoons theme song (”Run With Us”)
54. Astro Boy theme song
55. Mighty Hercules theme song
56. Chilli Willy theme song
57. Droids theme song
58. Ewoks theme song
59. Ghostbusters theme song

Things People Say To Me

It’s been well-established that I attract some odd situations. In the last week or so, here’s a few more to share, summed up in nice little sound bytes:

“You must have made a lot of babies up there”– a vendor at Madison Square Garden talking to me before a hockey game about what he thought Canadians did during the NHL lockout that caused an entire season to be missed.

“Are you going to serve me or what?”– a woman who looked a lot like Sherri Shepherd, yelling at me to serve her a hot dog yesterday. Why? Because I happened to be standing behind a cart on the phone.

“You wearing padding under there or is it all real?”– some fellow customers at the NHL Store opening, asking about my, uh, physique.

The NHL Store Experience

Friday is the best day of the week for a lot of reasons. It’s the end of the work week (as much as I enjoy my job, I need the break); it’s the night when everyone goes out to party; and cool events take place because of all the tourists here in NYC. This Friday was no exception, with the first NHL Powered By Reebok Store opening up right here in Midtown Manhattan and of course, I had to go. M my boss was gracious enough to let me leave work at 11am for a couple of hours to see the store as not only was there lots of cool merch…but the Stanley Cup was there! So my work buddy Damien and I headed off, where we were greeted by a long line and a lot of fellow hockey fans. Having grown up in Canada, I’m always a bit surprised when I see passionate hockey fans in America, mainly because most people I met seem indifferent to the sport or simply mildly amused by it all. But, in the middle of this work day, there were hundreds of people lined up, clad in jerseys from various NHL teams and I admit, it was really cool to see.

After about 30 minutes in line, Damien and I finally got in the store, quickly racing to the Stanley Cup, as we wanted to take our photo with the greatest championship trophy in sports history. I was surprised how many people headed straight for the merchandise and not the Cup, but to be fair, some probably didn’t have as much time as we did and just wanted to get in and out. The result, ironically, was a 30 second wait to get your photo taken with the Cup, as you can see Damien and I did below. I also took a picture of a father & son who were there, clad in Rangers jerseys, but didn’t have a camera to take the photo themselves—I figured I should help them because if I was a kid with my dad, I’d want a record of this kind of once-in-a-lifetime memory.

Now, as to the store itself, it’s a superb design both from a shopping POV and from an aesthetic POV. The store is full of monitors, displays and eye catching larger than life graphics that put you in a hockey mindset the minute you enter the store. I must admit, at times I was a bit annoyed by how narrow the aisles seemed, but then again with hundreds of people inside, it’s hard for it to feel spacious, y’know? It’s hard not to realize how you can find almost everything you’d ever want as a hockey fan—jerseys, sweaters, t-shirts, home accessories and more. Now will you find collectibles, rare items and the like? No, but to be fair, even the mind blowing (and admittedly superior) NBA Store doesn’t have every little thing you could ask for in merchandise. I quickly scooped up a Montreal Canadiens hoodie, an old school Canadiens t-shirt and a retro Winnipeg Jets t-shirt, but trust me, I could’ve bought more. All the retro “Original 6″ shirts were awesome but hardly necessary, so I focused on the merchandise I knew I’d regret not purchasing. The selection of caps was fairly mediocre, mainly because as someone with a big head I need the slightly larger caps to fit my head, but I give them credit for stocking Quebec Nordiques headwear.

Overall, the service was excellent and the selection of merchandise was great, but I hope they have a large store room because in the first hour this store was open, there were already some shelves that looked to be bare by the end of the next hour. Like myself, many people simply grabbed merchandise and didn’t much worry about the price because we were all so excited about a store in town that caters to the coolest (no pun intended) sport on Earth. After checking out and realizing we’d explored the store as much as possible without going broke (I really did want one of those cool new Skill Sticks), Damien and I lined up to see if our NHL key could win us anything. To clarify, all around NYC this week they’d been handing out black keys with the NHL logo, that could be used to open a locked box and win some awesome prizes at the store. Naturally, my key didn’t work and we decided to check out the rest of the cool stuff around there, including a New York Islanders shooting challenge, a hockey trivia challenge and some great free samples, including free Starbucks coffee.

As seen above, I soon ran into some Maple Leafs and Rangers fans, with whom I joked about being natural enemies and asking to pose with me for a photo. I suggested they try beating me up (as I was wearing my new Habs hoodie) and they naturally obliged. We chatted for a few minutes and it only underscored one of my favorite aspects of the visit– everyone was friendly. No matter which team you liked, no matter who you didn’t like, everyone was awarm and inviting because it was a gathering to celebrate the spirit of hockey. I’ll definitely head back to the store again soon…but perhaps not too soon, as I don’t think I can justify spending money there any time soon!

However, I encourage all hockey fans to check out this store and soak in the atmosphere– I’ve had a smile on my face since Friday and I don’t think it’ll go away any time soon because it’s one of the most pure, joyous sports experiences I can imagine outside of watching the game.

It’s That Time Of Year

Yup, it’s that time again. Gifts are always welcome. Ha.

I hear that they’re shipping comics to stores today just to celebrate my birthday.

Wait…

…they do that every week!

Friday Night Lights Star Talks To Arune!

Check out my interview on Marvel.Com with FNLScott Porter. The guy is awesome, a real great actor and a true comic fan.

And don’t miss the second season premiere of FNL this Friday on NBC. You can view it– and the entire first season– for free on NBC.Com.

Buy The MAX Sampler Today!

It’s finally here folks– MAX Sampler, the latest Marvel Comic written by Arune Singh! Mind you, this is a spotlight on other people’s cool books and I didn’t write any story within, but I interviewed some cool creators working on some must-read books.

MAX SAMPLER #1

WRITER: ARUNE SINGH

For over six years, the Marvel MAX line has redefined the mature reader comic and pushed the limits…but that was only the beginning! With the launch of FOOLKILLER, TERROR, INC. and a shocking new direction for PUNISHER, MAX is going to once again change how you look at comics! What’s next for this groundbreaking line? Which red-hot creators are launching new books? You’ll get all those answers—and exclusive art—in this specially priced issue!
32 Pages/ Explicit Content…$1.00

PRICE: $1.00
IN STORES: October 3, 2007