The six weeks of my Summer holiday are almost over. A week to go.
I know you're thinking, 'lucky bugger' - 6 weeks off! I'd kill for that! Well, that's fine, there's a current shortage of teachers in my area, in other areas of the UK, and the US. A quick peek on Twitter will tell you that.
Anyway, I'm not going to whinge on about that... I just thought I'd pop on here and waffle on about Marvel for a bit - its been a theme of my summer.
At the start of the break I decided to subscribe to Marvel Unlimited and read some comics. I used to have a subscription, a few years ago, and thought I'd catch up for a bit. When I was young I had Spider-Man delivered every week - the first one was, if I recall correctly, an episode with Boomerang in it. My love of the character was solidified with the Doc Ock, Owl, and Black Cat story line.
*After all the build up, the treachery, growing romance, and developing trust, this panel almost killed the teenage me. Noooo!
So, you'd expect I'd dive straight into Spider-Man, but there's so much on there its hard to know where to start.
The 'Series' button was a life-saver, and I found the Noir comics. I'd played Spider-Man Noir in the Xbox Spider-Man game - my first introduction to the character, I think - and figured I'd give it a try.
So, I read them all. Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Daredevil. All set in the 1930's, and most without any super powers. It was all different and all excellent. Dark, and it always seemed to be raining. Did it rain all the way through 1930s New York? Anyone know?
I lied, sorry. I started with Captain America - the original 1941 Comics and I am so sorry to say I just couldn't get on with it. Every Nazi in the world seemed to be around every corner in the USA - literally every corner! They weren't fighting a war or anything clearly. And Bucky - a 12 year old boy (he was 16, I think) who got caught by the criminals in every single story and was rescued by Captain America. Admittedly, I only got through 6 comics, but that's still 18 Captain America stories.
Now I am back into ready Spider-Man - picked it up just after 'Brand New Day' because I have all the graphic novels in paperback of that run. Enjoying it again and there are a lot more events going on than I ever recall - all interwoven through different series and characters, which can make some storylines feel a little disjointed at but I'm still enjoying it.
And now She-Hulk has appeared on Disney+ and two episodes in and I'm enjoying it. It is one that the whole family are watching. I also watched Ms Marvel and thought was really good - tackling historical events and making those part of the story. I like the way they are going for different tones in different TV series so there is something for everyone, even if you're not a Marvel fan or follower.
And now I really should get back on with editing the last book and writing the next one!