Diary of a Network Geek

Comic books are cool.

No, seriously, they’re cool again. All those super popular movies, like the Avengers? Totally all comic books. But, also, Atomic Blonde. Yeah, that’s right, that spy thriller set in the last days of the Cold War was a graphic novel first. The thing is, comics have been around for a pretty long time. They got super popular in the Forties and then again in the Eighties and, well, now. And, yes, most of us are familiar with the most famous comic heroes, like Superman and Batman, or more recently, Captain America and Ironman and Spiderman and Wolverine, but there are way more to comic books than that. And, if you want to see some of the older comics, the comics that started all this fun, for free, you’re in luck!
Now, thanks to Comic Book Plus, you can browse through a massive archive of old comic books. There are spy and espionage comics, and sci-fi comics and, yes, even superhero comics. You name the category and it’s probably there. Though, keep in mind that these are mostly pre-1960 comics, so some of our more extreme tastes may not be catered to!

In any case, they’re free and fun and it’s Friday and you can’t convince me that if you’re reading my blog you don’t have time for a classic comic book.
Go check it out!

This post first appeared on Use Your Words, my other blog.

Don’t have time to read the classics?

Hey, I hear you!  I mean, really, who does?  But, at the same time, I feel like I should read some of the business classics, like [amazon_link id=”1612930298″ target=”_blank” ]Think and Grow Rich[/amazon_link] or [amazon_link id=”4770028016″ target=”_blank” ]The Book of Five Rings[/amazon_link] or[amazon_link id=”0486272745″ target=”_blank” ] The Prince[/amazon_link].  (Okay, actually, I have read those and in their full print format, but that’s just an example.)  Well, for those of us short on time, but long on business ambition, there’s Smarter Comics; graphic novels of popular or important NON-fiction books!  Naturally, they have all the books I just mentioned but they have many more, as well!  Modern classics like The Long Tail and The 80/20 Principle and How To Master the Art of Selling!  There are more titles on the way, but, hey, we read slow in the modern age, so you can work your way through the ones that are available now while the rest are getting printed, right?

No, seriously, these look like fun and I’m tempted to get the Long Tail.  I’m told it’s a classic and, while I understand the principle, I’ve never actually read it.
Well, maybe someone will buy it for me for Christmas!

Right, who didn’t want to be a superhero when they were a kid?

Whether it was Batman or Superman or Spiderman or, yes, even Wonder Woman, surely, anyone my age and younger wanted to be some kind of superhero when they were a kid.  Those costumed crusaders inspired us all, to some level, as kids, didn’t they?  Well, apparently, some of us never grew up because, yes, there are still people dressing up in costumes trying to inspire people.  In this case, it’s the Real Life Superhero Project.

They all have different motivations, but they all share some common ideals and, of course, they all have costumes.  The site says it started as a gallery and has become a much larger project.  From it’s tone, it seems like they’re almost trying to be a Justice League or Avengers kind of team, though maybe not so organized or unified in their fight against crime.  Not sure if they’re gaining popularity since Kick-Ass was made into a film or not, but I wonder how they’d do fighting, you know, actual crime and actual criminals.

Well, I’m not going to start hatin’ on a Friday, so, go check it out for yourself and see if you think they’re for “real” or not.