The Titan's Curse

Third book. Also awesome. This was difficult to do, though, because I was so far removed from the book by the time I drew it. Still haven't started on the drawing from the fourth...That's gonna be a bear, too...

No, not a bear drawing...

Sea of Monsters

This would be from the second Percy Jackson book. Also quite awesome.

Channeling Ramos

So, like I mentioned before, I've been reading lately...you know, because I just remembered how. And, if you remember, or if you scan down a bit, I started reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, which is awesome pulped, pressed and bound in either paper or hardback form. If you have any interest at all in awesome, and Greek mythology, I highly recommend it.

Anyway, I've been a bit obsessed with the series, having read books 2 & 3 Monday and Tuesday this week. Today, I was having fits because I couldn't find an available copy of book 4 anywhere in the school. I checked the same bookcases, like, 6 times hoping, praying that it would be there. Still, I know that a kid on my boys' homeroom's team (long explanation if you don't know what I mean) has the book and he was within 40 pages of finishing, so hopefully, I'll catch it at the library after he returns it.

All that to say, I've also been inspired to draw interpretations of scenes from each one. This is the first one, from the first book. If you can't read the scrawl at the bottom, it says "Percy Jackson in the Underworld." The next one, in which Percy faces down the cyclops Polyphemus, is much better, I think. Still, I like the hint of Ramos in Percy.

Humberto Ramos, I mean. I love his stuff.

Literati

On the advice of someone who knows, I've picked up my reading lately. I finally finished a book by Raymond E. Feist that I started back in August...I'd blamed the time it took on being busy, but it turns out that it may've been lack of interest. Now, Feist is probably my favorite author, so it was hard for me to admit that I didn't like his book, but, there it is. I came to this realization with the next book that I read, the choice being influenced by my desire to teach and the age range that I'd like to and such. The book was The Lightning Theif by Rick Riordan, the first in the series Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Awesome.

Lots of action, lots of references to Greek mythology, and the story itself wasn't too bad either. I finished it in my customary two days...and that was while I was working. ...I don't mean I read it while I was working...this week was only two days long because of Thanksgiving and I read it in those two. Anyway... In a lot of ways, it reminded me of American Gods and Anansi Boys. You know...except that it was geared for kids in middle school and junior high. All in all, it was pretty good stuff.

Then, the next day, I read Rules. I forget who the author is (yes, the book is like 15 ft. away, but I'm lazy...you can Google it), but it's about a girl who's brother is autistic and some stuff that happens to her over a summer.

I was bored.

It's not that it's a bad book. It's just that it's a girl book. It's all about relationships and stuff and in its 200 pages it just went. There were some genuinely funny parts, but the fact is that it was a horrible choice for a follow-up to something as high energy as The Lightning Thief. I didn't choose it so much as it was chosen for me, though. So, in short, I'll probably read the next three of the Percy Jackson books and avoid anything else by the author of Rules.

Friggin' Potheads

...Oh, excuse me...that should read Potterheads.

So, historically, I've been anti-Harry Potter. There's no rhyme or reason to WHY I've been against the young wizard and the tales of his exploits. It was more of an arbitrary decision. Maybe that everyone and their grandmothers were screaming about how these books were the greatest thing to hit the printed word since moveable type, much like how I hate country music based, mostly, on how everyone here in Hicksville, USA, loves country music. Anyway, the local movie chain (well, the chain isn't local, but they have two outlets in my tiny town and no competition) has been offering one free rental a day over the weekend, so long as you get something that isn't new. Well, I'm not sure how it went down, but Saturday we came home with The Sorcerer's Stone and Sunday, because one of the others we'd intended to get was out, we got both The Chamber of Secrets and The Prisoner of Azkaban.

But Monkey, you're thinking, that's two movies and you were only getting one free per day and that's TWO on Sunday.

True, but its one free per day PER STORE. I do so enjoy working the system. Besides, if they didn't want people to do it, they'd make the computers at both stores reflect what the customer has done regardless of location.

Anyway, so in one weekend I've gone from no Potter whatsoever to one movie shy of all the Potter there is. Not too shabby. My wife did point out that it was quite a bit of the same thing in such a short timespan. Then again, she frowns on the idea of me getting the entire run of 24 through Netflix, as such is available, because that's a lot of 24.

I wouldn't be expecting me to read the books, though, if I were you. I still haven't finished American Gods yet...and I started that (more or less) back before Christmas.

Good thing I work at the library. They might've gotten mad at me otherwise.

It Was Clever...

It was witty. It was well-written. It was short-lived.

I'm referring to my post all about the book Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. Great book. Well worth the time it took to read. The post, however, got lost somewhere. Not sure how, but it ain't here. Rather annoying. Anyway, the book was good. I like the way he writes. Kind of like hearing a story of something that happened from a good friend. Only the good friend tells stories REALLY well.

This is compared to Douglas Adams, the previous holder of the title "Author I Most Recently 'Discovered' That I Really Enjoyed", who writes like a good friend telling you a story really well even though he's a bit drunk.

I'm going to try and get my hands on American Gods which apparently takes place in the same "world" (though its set on our Earth, it works within the same framework that Anansi Boys) and Anansi is even supposed to be in it. Though I don't know how much.

You should probably pick up something Gaiman has written. It'll be worth the time.

Slammin' the 'Code'

No, I've never read the book. It may be everything people claim it is, in terms of story-telling, but people tend to take it too seriously and put stock in it when it's about as well researched as your average Stephen Ambrose book. Ask Cricket about that. I mean, one of the characters who is supposedly a historian cites, for example, the apocryphal Gospel of Philip as proof that Mary Magdalene was Jesus' wife because the word translated "companion" is an Aramaic word that literally means "spouse".

Which would've been a lot less embarrassing for the author if the Gospel of Philip hadn't been written in Greek.

So, yeah, I'd have problems with the book on a theological level anyway, but this is just shoddy research. I'll be doing something similar with a story point I'll reveal in the next couple comics, but only because I don't have access to certain materials that can be worked into the comic without messing with a lot of things like copyright violation and such.

But then, no one bases their beliefs on anything I do in Vapor Lock, anyway.