I've started a new site called VOICES TO HEAR.  It's the result of a column I used to write for TopBlogMag.  I've taken the column and turned it into its own site.  The purpose of the site is:

Our mission at this site is to promote an artist, a group, a CD, a song that you might have passed by. Unless you have a major record company promoting your newest release it's hard to get noticed. In today's rapid on-the-go world it's hard to find the time to discover that artist that falls between the cracks. There's a lot of good music out there that deserves a wider audience and that's the goal of this site. We want to help you find that music.

It's as simple as that.  So far we've talked about Will Hoge, Shannon McNally, Theresea Andersson, Alejando Escovedo and Susan Cowsill.  If you want to catch some good music that you might have missed give this site a try.  I've added a widget to the sidebar to the left on this page that will update whenever I make a new post.  At least every Monday I'll make a post.  If you want to put this widget on your blog or MySpace page you can and than you'll see what I'm updating from your site. 

Spread the word, I really want this site to work and get a lot of exposure, so these artists will get more well known.  Check it out and leave some comments.  Tell me if you've got an unknown singer or group that you feel needs more exposure.

This MySpace page is pretty much devoted to my comic book writing and reading side.  If you want to know more about me check out my blog at

 altjiranga mitjina

You can also get to it by scrollling down this page and there's a link.  Over there I talk about anything and everything.

Comics I bought this week.  (Actually almost a week old since I didn't get to the comic shop till the weekend.)

The Boys # 4:  Another great read, I'm really liking this series.  Lots of sex and violence.

Daredevil #90: Not much I can say but this still remains one of my favorite, if not favorite superhero comic.

Anita Blake #1:  Still reading it.  I'm going to have to go back and look at the copies of the book, but that's not how I pictured Anita. 

Civil War: Choosing Sides:  Not really much of a story in it.  The only thing that I found interesting was the Iron Fist part.  Iron Fist has always been a favorite of mine, so I'm looking forward to what Burbaker does with it.  The Howard the Duck was just silly.  Steve Gerber should write Howard or no one should.

New Avengers #24:  I've found the last few issues of New Avengers some of the best stories from the whole Civil War  storyline, but this one didn't quite do it for me.  I'm really not sure what to think of Sentry.  If he's as powerful as they make out in this issue it creates problems with finding foes strong enough to fight him.  Too much weepy feeling sorry for himself.

John Woo's 7 Brothers:  Another Garth Ennis comic.  I've mentioned before that Garth is either on or off for me.  With this issue he is definitely on.  Lots of humor mixed in with the violence, this is a John Woo comic after all....I could see this as a movie really easily.

CSI: Dying in the Gutters #3:  I'm not a fan of the CSI tv shows.  Never watch them, even though Heather keeps trying to get me to.  But this comic is really neat.  I think it's mainly seeing the "inside" world of the comic con.  I enjoy how the writer Steven Grant has taken what seems to be aspects of the real characters from the comic world and is playing with them.

Rex Mundi #2:  I'm new to this series.  This is only the second issue I've picked up, but it's intrigued me enough that I ordered the first three trades of it.

Ultimate Power #1:  Not really a lot to say.  I might pick up the next issue, I might not.

Frontline #7: I've been enjoying this series pretty much.  The Speedball storyline is interesting, their attempt at making him a "serious" hero.  But this issue feel kind of flat for me.

This is a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang.  It is a very attractive design.  I haven't seen this book at my local comic shop, but I have seen it at Barnes & Nobel in their graphic novel section.  I've picked it up a few times, flipped through it and put it back down.  I've come close to picking it up, but never quite did. 

I've read a lot of good reviews of this book lately so I decided to give it a try.  I realize that I've been mainly reading super hero comics, or if not superhero still comics put out by the bigger companies.  Years ago I hardly picked up a comic published by a major company.  It's not that I have any bias against a comic by whoever puts it out.  It was just at that time there were no comics put out by the big two (and the others right below them) that I cared about.  I was reading mainly the smaller independents and black & white comics.  I still love comics in black and white, I think it's a medium that gets the short shift by most comic books fans. 

I like super hero comics but there is so much more out there.  Stuff that I've been ignoring to an extent lately.  Comic books can do so much more than just show a fight between a hero and villain.  And this book proves it.

It's a great book.  He takes three different storylines and in the end makes them merge together and make sense.  What you might think is just a tale of a young boy of chinese parents trying to live and survive in American and what he goes through at school is so much more.  He adds elements of fantasy and humor that make this book one of a kind.

Amazing.

That about sums up this book.  I've been a fan of Vaughan's for awhile now.  Y and Ex Machina are two of the best comics out there right now, but I was still a little skeptical when I heard the storyline behind this comic.  A bunch of lions roaming around Baghdad after the American attack.  And it's going to be in hardback, so it'll cost twice as much.

But Vaughan has said he thinks this is his best work yet, so I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. 

This is an excellent story from beginning to end.  My only complaint is that at times he comes a little too close to beating us over the head with comparing what the lions are going through with the whole Iraq invasion.  He comes close, but just when he is about to step over he manages to step back before it becomes too obivious. 

The lions emerge as  real characters.  I liked the way humans don't show up in the book except as vague figures (unless they're dead) until the end.  It helps keep you in the fantasy of talking animals. 

And what can I say about the artwork?  I know I've used it before but all I can say is...Amazing. 

I really can't say enough good things about this book.  It is worth every penny.

Another story from the past.  This was a series that was created by me and artist Terry Pavelt.  It went through a fairly long history.  We had it placed with a couple different small comic publishers, but things never seemed to work out.  For awhile I thought that any publisher that dared to take on this character was just asking to go out of business.  Finally it was published by Millennium Publications in an anthology title called Song of the Sirens.  Truthfully I had no idea it had even been published until years after the fact when Terry mentioned it to me.  It was only lasted  two issues and the second issue someone else did the words.  Which is another story I don't feel like getting into here.  I read this now and see a lot that I would have changed, including the typos that did not get caught.  It really needed a good proof reading before it was published.  Still overall I think it turned out pretty good.

Once again anyone reading please leave comments on what you think.

The Lone Survivor is copyrighted by John Holland and Terry Pavlet.