Superhero Evolutions: Spider-Man, part two

On By Charlie BrooksIn ComicsLeave a comment

I maintain that Spider-Man’s deal with Mephisto was one of the biggest missteps in comic book history. It’s one thing to have a hero make a mistake, but to make a bargain with a stand-in for the actual devil is a pretty terrible idea for someone who is supposed to be an everyman hero.

But that damage was done in 2007, and it’s been almost two decades since then. So let’s see where our friendly neighborhood wall crawler has gone in the years following that disastrous deal.

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Comics & Quests: Triangles

On By Charlie BrooksIn Comics, Role-Playing GamesLeave a comment

After a couple issues focused on providing some backstory for the crew, “Triangles” kicks off a longer story for the crew of the Realms Master and brings a new member into the adventuring party. True to this arc’s name, it also establishes a love triangle that puts the character of Ishi Barasume to the test.

I complained previously when “Spell Games” did Vajra dirty by running through a checklist of “strong female character” tropes that were already tired by 1990. Ishi is this title’s strong female character, and she also provides east Asian representation, since her homeland of Kara-Tur is a hodgepodge of legends and stereotypes taken from our real world. Is Ishi bound for the same tone-deaf treatment that Vajra got, or does “Triangles” offer something better? Read on and judge for yourself.

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Bonding with Your Babies Over Books

On By Charlie BrooksIn ParentingLeave a comment

Originally posted on BabyCenter.com February 22, 2013

Books are one of the truly great things in life. Yes, there is lots of newer media crowding them out these days, but a good book is still better at unlocking the imagination and building language skills than anything else out there.

Reading to my son is probably the biggest thing I looked forward to as a dad. I started reading to him while he was still in utero and now make sure to give him a bedtime story each night. One thing I learned quickly is that bedtime stories don’t have to always be kids’ books.

When you’re reading with a child during the day, it’s good to have something with simple words and lots of pictures, but when you’re winding down at night, just about anything goes. (Well, almost anything – it is my personal opinion that reading Stephen King’s It can probably wait until puberty, at least.)

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How Excited is too Excited when it Comes to Birthday Presents?

On By Charlie BrooksIn ParentingLeave a comment

Originally posted on BabyCenter.com June 7, 2018

Seven years into this parenting thing, I still don’t know how to strike the right balance with anything. Am I too hard on them or too lax with discipline? Do I give them a suitable number of presents or do I spoil them? If there’s one thing I’m sure about, it’s that I overthink things.

This week’s lesson in self-doubt comes from my son’s birthday. By now, he knows the drill: for several days on end, every friend of ours he meets will give him a present of some sort. And I’m sitting here trying to temper his excitement by focusing on that old nugget, “It’s the thought that counts.”

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Some Thoughts about Parenting with Depression

On By Charlie BrooksIn ParentingLeave a comment

Originally posted on BabyCenter.com on January 25, 2018

I’m not an expert when it comes to the clinical side of depression. I’m just one of the millions who have to deal with it on a fairly regular basis. Because I focus so much on my kids’ well-being, I sometimes forget to take time out for myself. That’s when depression catches up.

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Comics & Quests: Head Cheeese

On By Charlie BrooksIn Comics, Role-Playing GamesLeave a comment

The 1990s were rife with heavy-handed anti-drug messages. Many of them rang false because they didn’t connect with kids or simply went too over-the-top in their presentation. The message of “don’t do drugs” even landed in the pages of the Forgotten Realms comic, but I feel it’s more effective here than in many ad campaigns.

Perhaps it’s because the Forgotten Realms is already filled with over-the-top situations, or perhaps it’s because the story focuses on an addict’s perspective, but “Head Cheeese” works pretty well as an exploration of addiction and recovery. Don’t let the goofy title fool you–this is a pretty serious story that has a lot of heart.

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Comics & Quests: The Morning After

On By Charlie BrooksIn Comics, Role-Playing GamesLeave a comment

Following some epic adventures in “The Hand of Vaprak” and “The Dragonreach Saga,” the Forgotten Realms comic series pivoted toward some more personal stories. After all, we had seen the crew of the Realms Master in action, but aside from Agrivar, whose struggles we were familiar with from his previous adventures in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons title, we didn’t know much about the unusual crew.

First up for examination: Captain Dwalimor Omen. We know he’s hunting artifacts throughout the Realms, but why?

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Superhero Evolutions: The Incredible Hulk, part six

On By Charlie BrooksIn ComicsLeave a comment

When we last left off, the Hulk was dead. Although he came back briefly as part of a Hydra plot, that resurrection didn’t take and he soon returned to his dirt nap. But the Hulk is a primal force, and death doesn’t tend to last long for such things. In fact, the next story arc would reveal that the Hulk was immortal.

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My Wife Smacked Me Upside the Head During Labor, Here’s Why

On By Charlie BrooksIn ParentingLeave a comment

Originally posted on BabyCenter.com October 20, 2016

Men have it easy during labor, because we’re not the ones with a human being forcing its way through our innards and out our nether regions. Of course, we still have to watch our loved one go through that process, and if we’re not careful we sometimes get smacked in the head.

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Site News: Parenting Section Incoming

On By Charlie BrooksIn Site NewsLeave a comment

You might have noticed a Parenting page among the topics in this site’s header. That’s because I have several blog entries that I wrote with BabyCenter.com which I plan to archive here. Being a “Dad Blogger” for BabyCenter was a rewarding job that I happily did for several years before the site restructured its blogs. I remain proud of the experiences and insights I shared there, and I’m happy to bring them back for those who might want to read them.

The Screamsheet is largely devoted to nerdy pop culture topics, so slipping parenting advice in there might seem off-topic. However, this site is meant to show off my personality and the things I find interesting, and there is nothing more interesting than being a parent.

Other content won’t be going away, so there will be plenty of nerdy ramblings from me in the future. But I hope you enjoy seeing this other side of me as well.