The reviews are in!

Here's what the critics are saying about Classic Home Video Games 1972-1984:

"a labor of love...comprehensive..recommended"--Library Journal

"Brett Weiss knows his video games and this book is a must have for all fans"--Bart Bush (former editor of Larry Bieza's Pinball Price Guide)

"Quality writing...accessible reviews of every game released for popular and obscure game systems"--Retro Thing

"This is a GREAT book!" --Rick Kelsey (columnist for Toy Shop magazine)

"A great-looking new book"--classicgaming.gamespy.com

It's not too late to put in an order for the book in time for Christmas. Email me at brettw105 AT sbcglobal.net if you are interested in obtaining a signed copy (with free priority mail shipping).

Recently published in...

Comics Buyer's Guide #1637, where I review the following:

Black Canary Wedding Planner #1

Captain America: The Chosen #1

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #6

Justice League Wedding Special #1

The Tick's Comic Con Extravaganza #1

Zombie Proof #1

The Last Fantastic Four Story

Sights and sounds (actually, just sights) from Wizard World Texas.

Arthur Suydam, former Heavy Metal artist, signs autographs for admiring fans. Suydam is popular these days for his Marvel Zombies covers.

Adam Kubert signing at the Lone Star Comics booth.

Who are you? I'm Batman!

This married couple is obviously suited to one another.

Although DC didn't have a booth on the convention floor, they were represented at the show by their vice president of sales Bob Wayne (on the left) and executive editor Dan Didio (at the podium). See the Green Lanterns watching over the proceedings? They are the same couple that portrayed Wonder Woman and Batman (shown above).

Laura Vandervoort, who plays Supergirl in Smallville, was quite the attraction, drawing hundreds of people (mostly males, for some unknown reason) to her autographing.

Laura "Supergirl" Vandervoort. Sure, she's kinda cute and all, but I prefer brunette school teachers (especially those who specialize in English and journalism).

The great Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane in The Adventures of Superman, the classic TV show starring George Reeves.

Truly a big Wonder Woman fan.

Soon to be appearing at...

Wizard World Texas!

Since it's only 15 minutes or so from my house, I go to Wizard World Texas every year, and I always have a great time. This year, however, the event holds a special significance, at least to me. Part of the festivities is the 30th Anniversary of Lone Star Comics, an eight-store chain in the Dallas/Fort Worth area (I used to manage the Hurst location).

Lone Star will play host to a number of autographings, including the likes of J. Scott Campbell and Adam Kubert. Somehow I weaseled my way onto the list and will be appearing at the Lone Star booth on Friday from 12-1 and on Saturday from 10-11, copies of Classic Home Video Games 1972-1984 in hand. If any of you reading this happen to be going, feel free to drop by and say hello.

Now playing...

Wii Sports!

Though I'm a little late jumping on the bandwagon, I finally picked up a Nintendo Wii. What finalized my decision was playing the system over at my brother-in-law's house and being amazed at the way the controllers worked in manipulating the onscreen action (depending on the game, the motion-sensitive remote can be used as a wand, a tennis racket, a sword, etc.). I was skeptical at first, but won over by the interactive nature of the games. Anyone can play and enjoy the system, from the youngest of gamers to the oldest of fossils (even people older than me!).

As fans of the system know, it comes packaged with Wii Sports, which is one of the best, most versatile pack-in games in the history of consoles. Boxing, Golf, and Baseball are fun, but I especially enjoy Tennis and Bowling, which seem tailor-made for the system. My 11-year-old son recently got a perfect 300 in Bowling, something I haven't come close to. Luckily, I'm still the king of Tennis (no, not Billie Jean King), especially the cool target game in the training mode.

Now reading...

The Flash -- Terminal Velocity.

"Terminal Velocity" was the peak of Mark Waid's critically acclaimed run (so to speak) chronicling the adventures of The Fastest Man Alive. The storyline originally ran in Flash #0 and #s 95-100, but is readily available in trade paperback via Amazon. (Waid has recently returned to writing Flash, but the last couple of issues have been disappointing to say the least).

I reviewed "Terminal Velocity" in issue #1600 of Comics Buyer's Guide, where writers were asked to come up with "1600 Comic Books You Need to Read." It was hard summing up such a story within the limited word count provided (concision is the rule of the day with these types of assignments), but here's what I wrote about this epic tale of action, adventure, intrigue, and romance:

By introducing the Speed Force in the highly energized "Terminal Velocity" storyline, Mark Waid gave an exciting, open-ended explanation for the existence of most of the super-speed characters within the DC Universe. Suddenly, Kid Flash's origin didn't seem to be such a ridiculous coincidence. "TV," which saw the further maturation of the series' title character, also served to cement one of the best, most fully realized romantic relationships in the history of super-hero comics: Wally West and Linda Park.

Recently attended...

The Sci-Fi Expo--Star Wars 30th Anniversary!

Sights and sounds (well, just sights, actually) from the Sci-Fi Expo, held in Plano (North of Dallas) on October 20-21. It was a special Star Wars 30th Anniversary edition of the convention, meaning lots of B-listers from the films were on hand meeting fans and signing autographs. I spent most of my time in the dealer's room, talking with friends and checking out the merchandise, but I managed to snap a few photos along the way.

Mathew "General Grievous" Wood with Darth Vader fan

Fans dressed as Corruscant Guards

David "Darth Vader" Prowse talking to a "Storm Trooper" and "Princess Leia"

Jeremy Bullock, who played Boba Fett in the original Star Wars

Daniel Logan (on the right), who played the young Boba Fett in Attack of the Clones

A fan in an incredibly elaborate Jabba Palace Guard costume

Me and Amy Allen, who played Aayla Secura