"Birdwatcher" is a 2008 science fiction short story by Garth Upshaw. It is about a teenaged boy who witnesses the arrival of aliens bearing gifts.

Richie Rich & Casper #20

• Date: October 1977
• Publisher: Harvey Publications, Inc.
• Cover Price: 35¢
• 2013 Price Range: $1.00 - $10.00
• Stats: 21 color pages plus ads and "Richie's Mailbox" letters page
• Writers: ?
• Artists: ?
• Notable Notes: Richie and Casper discover the value of a penny!

Extreme Up Trading!

Have you heard about these people who do extreme up-trading? You know, they start with some small object (or amount of money) and then try to see who can get the biggest or best or most expensive object just by bartering? I've heard of some pretty cool things, like people who have acquired cars that way! This issue demonstrates that concept as the little master of money himself, Richie Rich, goes about doing that very thing!

Question: Is chess the greatest board game ever?

Answer: Yes, yes it is. :-)

A little over a year ago I posted scans of an old 1980s chess program, called Sargon III, to my Commodore 64 web site. Reading through that manual again got me thinking about my all-time favorite game. I learned to play chess when I was pretty young (< 10, I think?) because I was so fascinated by the chess pieces and how they moved on the board. My mother taught me how to play, and we enjoyed many rounds of the beautiful game. (Sorry soccer fans!)

"The First Men" is a 1960 science fiction novelette by Howard Fast. It is about a group of gifted children, raised in a controlled environment, who evolve into super humans.

Dial H For Hero #2

• Date: August 2012
• Publisher: DC Comics
• Cover Price: $2.99
• Stats: 20 color pages plus ads
• Writer: China Miéville
• Artists: Mateus Santolouco, Tanya & Richard Horie, Steve Wands, Brian Bolland
• Notable Notes: Crazy superheroes battle Darren's old gang!

Superhero Variety Hour!

Did you ever dream up your own superheroes when you were a kid? (Do you still do that?!) I sure did. Mostly I pretended to be Daredevil, but sometimes I would make up my own super powers - like magical rainbow-colored eyes that could control people! Mwa-ha-ha-ha! Um, anyway, here is comic book with some wonderfully strange superheroes. Give it a try - you may like it!

I have been a fan of the Irish rock band U2 ever since they released their Joshua Tree album way back in 1987. Over the years, as I listened to their songs, I thought it would be fun to somehow incorporate some of their lyrics into a short story. I finally did that very thing in June of 2013 for Round 33 of our writing group. As an extra bit of fun, I not only included song lyrics but was also able to work in the title of every song as well! If you enjoy this time-travel story, then maybe go and listen to some classic U2 songs after you finish reading it - I think that would be time well spent.

"The Empress of Mars" is a 2003 science fiction novella by Kage Baker. It is about a woman who overcomes all sorts of obstacles to build an empire on Mars.

The Amazing Spider-Man #251

• Date: April 1984 
• Publisher: Marvel Comics Group
• Cover Price: 60¢
• 2013 Price Range: $2.00 - $16.00
• Stats: 21 color pages plus ads, Bullpen Bulletins and "The Spider's Web" letters page.
• Writers: Roger Stern and Tom DeFalco
• Artists: Ron Frenz, Klaus Janson, Joe Rosen, Christie Scheele
• Notable Notes: Hobgoblin dies (or does he?) without his identity revealed!

More Stringing Along...

Spider-man is a great character, but he sure does have trouble with the roller-coaster quality of his series! Here is another issue that I place on the "down side" in terms of quality and customer satisfaction. You decide if I'm over-reacting or not...

I recently wrapped up my play-by-post (PbP) Mutant Future campaign on rpol.net. I had mixed feelings about its ending: on one hand it was nice to see the adventure come to a satisfactory ending. On the other hand it was a bit sad too, as it was a fun game and I will miss playing in it with some very cool players.

"The Fate of Nations" is a 2003 science fiction short story by James Morrow. It is about a fan who finally explains to his wife why sports are so important to the galaxy.