Marvel Unlimited - You've got to try it!!

I enjoy going back and reading many of the back issues of the Marvel comics I have collected over the years. Currently, I am rereading the Infinity trilogy with the Infinity Gauntlet, the Infinity War, and now the Infinity Crusade.  I will soon be moving on to the New Warriors and Guardians of the Galaxy.  Often, I have a few holes in my collection with missing issues that would be nice to be able to read to fill in a complete story.  

A couple years ago, I gave the Marvel Unlimited digital comic subscription a try and really liked the availability to read some stories and backgrounds of some of my favorite characters.  I read many of the original Dr. Strange stories that show up in the Strange Tales title which give tons of background of that great character.  I also enjoyed the stories of the Human Torch who actually was the feature of those titles.  

Now that I have moved into the Infinity Crusade, I am reminded of how these massive storylines started doing massive crossovers that we see today.  So I have used the Marvel Unlimited to fill in the many holes I have in my old print copy collection.  There are many issues not available in Unlimited, but there are enough to make it enjoyable to finally get many of the side stories.  

Here is my problem with Marvel Unlimited as I write today.  Somehow, I have gotten into the beta version of the comic reader and I am having a difficult time reading the text.  They have a two-page option viewer, a one-page viewer, and a smart panel viewer.  I really like the options because you can get the "double-truck" pictures that often accompany an opening, closing, or huge battle or explosion.  The single-page view is nice to see all other art juxtaposed on a single page, but neither of these options is especially good for reading.  The smart panel option brings the text closer for reading, but the problem I am having is that it cuts the edge of the page on both sides and I miss any text that is close to the edge of the pages.  I thought I would be able to pull the page around to read, but that is not possible.  

So, I wonder if anyone else has had this experience and has a fix.  Or perhaps a Marvel web surfer will come across this and send me a personal fix or a way to switch off the beta viewer.  I do like the viewer except for this one problem.  I also give the Unlimited subscription a high recommendation.  I look forward weekly to seeing what issues they add. 

Update January 2024: My problem with the app in 2014 has been remedied by 2024.  This app continues to be amazing and they continue to add books to the app with over 10K on the app currently.  

Dungeons and Dragons Fun

If you have about an hour and a half, you can still get in a great, exciting Dungeons and Dragons adventure.  This tabletop board game uses figures, dungeon tiles that come out randomly as characters move to the edges of each tile, treasure, encounter, and monster cards that drive the action. A basic adventure goal like escaping from the under dark or destroying Shimmergloom in the Legend of Drizzt game leads the adventurers on from tile to tile.  This game is an old fashion D&D dungeon crawl or brawl as monsters are always coming at the characters along with dungeon encounters such as poison gases, cave-ins, and lava vents blowing up!  This game is a real challenge to defeat, and every game has a different path to the conclusion that is if you ever get to the goal encounter.
One of the reasons I paid the premium price, $60.00 or so, is that the game is compatible with other D&D board games as well as the awesome player vs. player Dungeon Command, so I can combine my game with friends' games.  Also, the game can be played by 1-5 players, so that when I can't get together with my friends, which is often after working 2 jobs and raising two kids, I can get a game in on my own.
If you have played this game, what are your thoughts?

Thanos...Nuff Said

I love Marvel Comics, and I fall into the pit of buying into as many of the major crossovers as I can.  I really enjoy the collaborative efforts of the heroes when things get especially difficult.  Namely when that mad titan Thanos gets an itch.  This summer anyone in the know with Marvel Comics saw the Infinity storyline.  While I was glued to the pages, I pined for some old Thanos stories.  

A couple weeks ago when the weather had just been to cold to do anything but sit around the house, I was browsing the shelves at my local comic shop, Acme Comics.  As if fate led me there, I discovered right on the shelf, one copy of the single edition reprint of Thanos Quest.  The tale of Thanos's acquisition of the Infinity Gems.  I read the story years ago, but I did not have it in my own colleciton; I do now.  I soaked up the ultimate power and cunning of Thanos as he gathered up the Infinity Gems.  Now I have moved on to a re-reading of The Infinity Gauntlet.  What a great story with great characters!  

I had forgotten how much I liked Adam Warlock and what would become his Infinity Watch team.  Warlock uses the Earth's mightiest heroes including the Avengers, Spiderman, Namor, Dr. Strange, a couple mutant heroes, Wolverine, Cyclops and Scarlet Witch and many other as pawns in this galactic myth.  As the team musters at the Avengers mansion, the feelings of massive power give me the feeling that these guys can't be denied.  Then the pages turn to Warlock's meeting with the Silver Surfer, Quasar (another of my favorite characters who has faded from the pages of Marvel's books lately) and his mentor Epoch.  That isn't all though, a double-truck page reveals the true members of this alliance to be the Watcher, Lord Chaos and Master Order, Kronos the Titan God, the Stranger, Love and Hate, two Celestials, Galactus, Eternity, and the Living Tribunal.  These powerful entities next to Earth's mighty heroes makes the heroes seem small and insignificant.  In fact, Warlock tells surfer, "Our Allies' power is less than nothing against Thanos' might.  They stand defeated before the battle has even begun. The true purpose of their attack is merely diversionary.  They are sacrificial lambs."  Earth's heroes enter a massive battle Thanos.  Warlock's plan almost works, but Thanos slips away with a victory. 

The story continues with more heroic team-ups which is what keeps me coming back to these stories with Thanos.  He is not one who can be dealt with individually, but only with power and cunning from teams of heroes.  In my eyes, he is arguably the most awesome villain in the Marvel Universe.