Taking stock
16 11 2005At work we got our stock options sorted out today, which I’m finding is great fun. Mainly the bit where I calculate how much money I’ll get given in about 9 months time when my options vest and I can cash in big, assuming the bottom doesn’t fall out of the company, but also the bit where I have a trading account that makes procuring shares remarkably easy. Remember how online shopping made spending money incredibly easy? Well this is the same thing, only the potential losses are tremendous in relation. As my credit card debt approaches the near zero level I may set aside some money to lose in unwise investment. Amalgamated Spats, anyone?
In addition to my Pixies recording that’s pending arrival, and the one I received the other day, I bought an official version of the Brixton gig I went to all those months ago. I did get the MP3 download version at the time, for I was an intensely poor student, but I just bought the 2-CD “mastered” version that comes in proper packaging, for £20. That means I’ve got soundboard recordings of 3/4 of all the Pixies gig’s I’ve ever been to, and they didn’t do Kentish Town Forum disclive sets so that’s the only one i’m missing. I heartily support this endeavour. It’s the ultimate in scams, convincing me to spend money on a gig I’ve just been to. You can’t even rely on me to buy a t-shirt from the bootleggers at the end, let alone the official stall, but a recording like these? Every fucking time.
In other news, do you know how good the comics coming out tomorrow are? I suspect that you don’t. Brian Wood’s other new series, Local, is released, as well as Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s “All Star Superman” which will mark possibly the first ever mainstream DC superhero purchase I’ve ever made, soley because of the creators. It’s bound to be too good to miss. That, and I’m haunted by the memory of the time I was passing up issues of Ultimate Spider-Man #1 going ‘Bah, flash in the pan, load of shite’ only to have it become one of the most sought-after comics in recent memory. That’ll be the kind of speculating genius that’ll win me some share money. In addition to those two comics, the marvel figurines thing that I’m pissing money away on is putting out a Hulk Special, and the Hulk figure looks fucking awesome. I’m kind of disturbed by how fast the accumulated cost is piling up for the figures (I’ve got almost £30 invested after 5 issues) but they’re too good to stop buying. I’m sure you’d agree if you saw them. Don’t judge me.
People on Newsarama are already hating on All-Star Superman. That means it *must* be good…
It *is* brilliant, by the way. Quitely’s art isn’t at We3 standards, but it’s still superb, while the whole thing has a lovely, part-Silver Age, part movies, part Morrison-Otherworldy-Weirdness feel to it.
I’m really interested, though, to hear what an “outsider” such as yourself thinks of it, though…
I thought it was good. Certainly in the A range. I wasn’t blown away or anything, but then I’m well aware that the mind-destroying brilliance of things tends to appear when you get some resolutions, so I’m definitely going to stick with it. Qutely’s art was obviously brilliant. I thought the scene where Clark is running into the office was probably the funniest thing I’ve seen in ages, and certainly seemed (to me) to owe a lot to Christopher Reeves’ movie version of Clark. I think Morrison writes a good Lois Lane, from what little we’ve seen of her, so the end of the issue above the rest of it makes me want to see where it’s going. His Lex Luthor seemed very far removed from any version I’ve ever seen, I’m not sure if that’s reflecting mainstream continuity more or just Morrison’s specific ideas for him, but of all the characters he was the only one I didn’t “recognise”
To be honest, I thought the first issue of New X-Men was a more intriguing introduction, but I suspect that’s more my preference for X-Men over Superman than any specific indication of quality. I’ve always found superman relentlessly dull a character in much the same way as the 616 Captain America, so it might take a while for Morrison to undo that a bit.