Pr3++yG33kyTh1ng

CokeRewards progress - 563/850 - So the Playstation 2 is 850 points . . . How many points for a new Coke-branded kidney?

Today is ultra-sad for a few reasons:
First, I'm at work on a Monday. Even the most casual of Casual Jeans Mondays fails to cheer me up at this point.
Secondly, my family is leaving town for a week. This happens from time to time and profound boredom usually takes about 15 minutes to kick in and have me talking to the cats and surfing Ebay for things I can't live without yet don't want to pay insane shipping for.
Mmmmm. . . . Ebay.
Sunday we went to the Library. A week without family = several hundred dollars at Barnes and Noble. Even Borders with their delicious coffee and discount card (membership has rewards) would endanger the mortgage.
The library did not let me down.
I picked up four graphic novels.
On a side note, I love the term "graphic novel". I think my favorite part is the use of the word "graphic". This suggests, to casual coffee shop conversationalists, that the literary work being described is particularly bloody maybe. Or at least that there is crude language. Ah, crude language. . . How I've missed you my %@*#!&* old friend!
The term "graphic novel" somehow matures what is essentially 4-6 comic books bound up in one super comic book into a possibly violent novel. How very "adult".
I picked up the super mature "X-Men - Hellfire and Brimstone" story line. It looked awesome. Wolverine is on the cover.
I also picked up two volumes of the "Ultimate Fantastic Four".
In recent months, Marvel has decided to update everything into an "Ultimate" universe. When you think about it, the Fantastic Four have an insane amount of history. They first showed up in the 60s, so new readers are sometimes a bit uncomfortable picking up issue #546 or whatever of a book for the first time. In order to capture new readers and breathe new life into the old titles, they created the "Ultimate" line for everything.
These are fresh starts, re-imagined for modern times. Reed Richards and Ben Grimm are friends in Middle School in this version, and only 21 when the "event" happens that gives all of them super powers. They get to meet the familiar bad guys all over again. All the baggage is removed from the "Ultimate" universe, while the old familiar universe chugs along, baggage intact.
I also picked up "The Astounding X-Men". This is the tired old Marvel universe, but written by Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly) and a new team of X-Men.
What I've read so far I really like.
Of course, even four graphic novels will run out before the week does. Must . . . stave off . . . reality . . .