Recap For May 5-11 2019

Back with another recap post after just a week.

School is definitely winding down for the year. Next week is really the last normal week of the school year. The week after next, I'll be on the school trip to Xi'an. Then we'll be prepping our International Festival, and then it's time to get ready for exams and graduation.

In the meantime, I've done a few book and comic reviews.

Comic Reviews on Comic A Day

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #187 from DC Comics.

Spring-Heel Jack: Revenge of the Ripper #2 by David Barbour and Wayne Tanaka of Rebel Studios.

Red Bird Comics #1 from Dimestore Productions.

Spongebob Freestyle Funnies 2014 from United Plankton Pictures.

Dark Horse: 20 Years from Dark Horse Comics.

Book Reviews on Goodreads

Anya's War by Andrea Alban.

Warriors: Rising Storm by Erin Hunter.

Supporting
Supporting the Memorial Fund for Nicole Davis, who tragically lost her life last week at age 25.

Upcoming

End-of-school things are happening now through June 15, including the trip to Xi'an the ween after next, and the International Festival on June 1.

The Kiddo and I are also looking forward to WWE Money in the Bank, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

There are some possible opportunities coming up for playing Magic and D&D, but nothing definite yet.

And we've go our big travel plans for June/July, when we'll be heading to Taiwan and then the Republic of Palau!

Connect/Follow

@dandelionstudio on Twitter
@dandelionstudios on Instagram and @dailycomicreview on Instagram
rsilva on Boardgamegeek
rsilva on Facebook
ricksilvawriting on Dreamwidth and Blogger.
Rick Silva on Goodreads

Upcoming Travel

I'll be heading back to Xi'an in less than two weeks, this time as part of a school trip. I'm looking forward to my second trip to the beginning of the Silk Road. There was a meeting today to go over the itinerary, which includes a day of community service, plus a nice mix of sights that I got to see last fall, and places that will be new to me.

I will, of course, be taking lots of photos!

Recap For March 11 to May 4 2019

Happy Star Wars Day! May the Fourth be with you! And thank you for all the memories to Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew, who passed away this week.

It's been a very busy few weeks with day job work and some family things happening. I feel like I'm still catching up on a lot of things. Kiddo and I watched WrestleMania and NXT Takeover, but I'm still catching up on some of the Wrestlemania weekend programming. I completely missed the Magic: The Gathering: War of the Spark prerelease, but I should at least get to buy some of the cards today, and hopefully a draft or two is in the works for the coming week. I did get to play in a fun D&D one-shot during Spring break. Our party only barely survived. Kiddo and I saw Avengers: Endgame, which was loads of fun, and a great payoff for the massive Marvel Cinematic Universe so far.

I've been doing pretty well at keeping up with book and comic reviews, and I'm on track with my reading goals.

Comic Reviews on Comic A Day

Tall Tails: Tears of the Mother #4 by Jose Calderon and Daphne Lage of Dreamweaver Press.

The Origin of Gorilla the Chinchilla by Michael Harris.

Sea Ghost #1 from Nemo Publishing Group.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Gamora's Galactic Showdown by Brandon T. Snider and Marvel Comics.

Giant-Size Fantasy #0 from Red Giant Entertainment.

Lumberjanes Volume 4 by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, and Boom! Box.

Runner's Paradox by Steve Peters.

Captain Underpants and the Big Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy Part 1: The Night of the Nasty Nostril Nuggets (Full Color Edition) by Dav Pilkey.

The Tick: Free Comic Book Day 2014 by Jeff McClelland, Duane Redhead, Ian Chase Nichols, and New England Comics.

Mister Beecher: The World's Worst Teacher by Marek Bennett.

Book Reviews on Goodreads

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis.

The Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.

Warriors: Forest of Secrets by Erin Hunter.

The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh,

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente.

Supporting
Supporting this petition by Cosplay is Not Consent and Sloth Goth Kay Cosplay seeking action from Starfest Convention regarding a harassment incident at the recent con.

Supporting the Madison East High School Debate Team.

Upcoming

Star Wars movie night at home tonight. Gynn's birthday and Mother's day are coming up with plans for special meals out for both of those.

I'm going back to Xi'An in about two weeks, this time with a school trip. When I get back from that, there will be about three more weeks of school. Then about five days after school ends, we're heading to Taipei and Palau. There is also a possible father/son trip to Hong Kong in the works for later in the summer.

Other things to look forward to: Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Spider-Man: Far From Home at the movies, and WWE Money in the Bank.

Connect/Follow

@dandelionstudio on Twitter
@dandelionstudios on Instagram and @dailycomicreview on Instagram
rsilva on Boardgamegeek
rsilva on Facebook
ricksilvawriting on Dreamwidth and Blogger.
Rick Silva on Goodreads

My Ranking of Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies

My ranking of the Marvel films, most favorite to least. I enjoyed all of these, so even the bottom of the list was a fun movie experience for me. Films not listed are ones that I haven't seen at all (Thor, Incredible Hulk) or that I've watched in pieces, but never had the chance to really sit down and see start to finish (Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3).

1. Captain America: Civil War
2. Black Panther
3. The Avengers
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
5. Avengers: Endgame
6. Thor: Ragnarok
7. Guardians of the Galaxy
8. Captain Marvel
9. Iron Man
10. Avengers: Infinity War
11. Avengers: Age of Ultron
12. Spider-Man: Homecoming
13. Ant Man and the Wasp
14. Captain America: The First Avenger
15. Ant Man
16. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2
17. Doctor Strange
18. Thor: The Dark World

Endgame!

Had to wait until a couple of days past opening weekend, but we saw Endgame last night.

(No spoilers)

Loved it! Some fun surprises, some clever bits, and the kind of epic action that was needed for the culmination of the Marvel saga so far.




This was the first movie I'd been to since about a month ago, when I saw How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, The Wandering Earth, and Captain Marvel in the space of a week.

Fun little bit of geek cred for me, especially since I'm not usually as much of a movie nerd as a lot of people I know. Right now the three movies mentioned above plus Endgame are the top four highest grossing movies so far this year worldwide. All of them are in the general category of SF/Fantasy. I have seen all four of them. Most of my geeky friends have not.

Next up for me for movies will be Godzilla: King of the Monsters. (Or possibly a second viewing of Endgame; it's got enough going on to warrant seeing it more than once).

[WWE] Wrestlemania Predictions By Me And The Kiddo

Time for the annual Wrestlemania Predictions Post!

We haven't had a chance to watch NXT Takeover yet, but we didn't get this post up in time for that, so we'll stick to just the Wrestlemania main card and pre-show.

Wrestlemania Womens Battle Royal

My Pick: Asuka
Kiddo's Pick: Asuka

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

My Pick: Rob Gronkowski
Kiddo's Pick: Braun Strowman

Crusierweight Championship
Buddy Murphy (Champion) vs. Tony Nese

My Pick: Buddy Murphy
Kiddo's Pick: Buddy Murphy

Smackdown Tag Team Championship
The Usos (Champions) vs. Ricochet & Aleister Black vs. The Bar vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev

My Pick: The Usos
Kiddo's Pick: Ricochet & Aleister Black

Raw Tag Team Championship
The Revival (Champions) vs. Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder

My Pick: The Revival
Kiddo's Pick: The Revival

Intercontinental Championship
Bobby Lashley (Champion) vs. Finn Balor

My Pick: Finn Balor
Kiddo's Pick: Finn Balor

United States Championship
Samoa Joe (Champion) vs. Rey Mysterio

My Pick: Samoa Joe
Kiddo's Pick: Samoa Joe

AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton

My Pick: AJ Styles
Kiddo's Pick: Randy Orton

Shane McMahon vs. The Miz (Falls Count Anywhere Match)

My Pick: The Miz
Kiddo's Pick: The Miz

Womens Tag Team Championship
Sasha Banks & Bayley (Champions) vs. Beth Phoenix & Natalya vs. The Iiconics vs. Nia Jax & Tamina
My Pick: Sasha Banks & Bayley
Kiddo's Pick: Nia Jax & Tamina

Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin

My Pick: Kurt Angle
Kiddo's Pick: Kurt Angle

Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre

My Pick: Roman Reigns
Kiddo's Pick: Roman Reigns

Triple H vs. Batista (No Holds Barred Match)

My Pick: Triple H
Kiddo's Pick: Triple H

John Cena vs. Mystery Opponent

My Pick: Undertaker defeats John Cena
Kiddo's Pick: John Cena defeats Undertaker

WWE Championship
Daniel Bryan (Champion) vs. Kofi Kingston

My Pick: Kofi Kingston
Kiddo's Pick: Daniel Bryan

Universal Championship
Brock Lesnar (Champion) vs. Seth Rollins

My Pick: Brock Lesnar
Kiddo's Pick: Brock Lesnar

Raw Womens Championship & Smackdown Womens Championship (Winner Take All)
Ronda Rousey (Raw Womens Champion) vs. Charlotte Flair (Smackdown Womens Champion) vs. Becky Lynch

My Pick: Becky Lynch
Kiddo's Pick: Ronda Rousey

[ WWE] How I Would Have Booked Wrestlemania

As we approach Wrestlemania Weekend, here is my fantasy-booked version of the show, presented in start-to-finish order. I've got 12 matches on the main card (as of right now Wrestlemania officially has 13 matches on the main card, and the two Battle Royals on the pre-show), which allows a little bit more time per match, although this, like the real version, would still be a very long show.

Pre-Show

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

With 29 wrestlers in the ring, Rob Gronkowski is announced as the final entrant. Gronk teams up with Mojo Rawley for several eliminations early on before Rawley tosses him with a cheap shot. Rawley goes on to come close to becoming a two-time winner, before Mustafa Ali eliminates him for the win.

Winner: Mustafa Ali

Wrestlemania Women's Battle Royal

In my scenario, Bianca Belaire is coming off a close loss in a one-on-one rematch with Shayna Baszler at Takeover. Here, she is victorious in what will end up being her main roster debut.

Winner: Bianca Belaire

Both Battle Royal winners will receive title shots ate Backlash.

Wrestlemania

The Shield vs. Evolution

Yes, we have seen this match before, but instead of blowing off the last ride of the Shield at Fastlane, have the Reigns vs. McIntyre match at Fastlane, and reunite the Shield here. This also gets Batista and Triple H on the show while letting Randy Orton do the heavy lifting for his side. Tension can be teased between Batista and Triple H, as well as between Ambrose and Rollins. Done right, this could be an awesomely hot opening contest.

Winner: The Shield

Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka (Smackdown Womens Championship)

In the exact same slot as last year, this time with the Queen as the challenger (no, Asuka does not drop the title on a random episode of Smackdown). Asuka redeems last year's defeat. I know there is often a lot of grumbling about 50/50 booking, but this is a case where it makes sense, and it's absolutely necessary to establish that Asuka is on the same level as Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, especially with Ronda Rousey departing.

Winner: Asuka

AJ Styles vs. Andrade Cien Almas

Just a straight-up singles match between the up-and-coming Andrade and the all-time-great Styles. Andrade picks up a career-defining win here.

Winner: Andrade Cien Almas

The Usos vs. The Revival vs. New Day vs. The Bar vs Heavy Machinery vs. Rood & Gable (Double Tag Team Ladder Match for the Raw and Smackdown Tag Team Championships)
Okay, so I have no idea if this would be amazing or a giant mess, but I'm willing to give it a try here. Two sets of titles are hoisted over the ring in SEPARATE locations. First team to get a set of titles wins those titles, but the match continues. The same team could win both titles, or they could go to separate teams. Match ends when both titles are claimed. Any team that wins a title that is not of their own brand  is automatically reassigned to that brand in the Superstar Shakeup.

Winners: The Usos become the new Raw Tag Team Champions. Heavy Machinery become the new Smackdown Tag Team Champions.

Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley (Intercontinental Championship)

I know that heel vs. heel can be a bit of a turn-off, but McIntyre would essentially be wrestling as a babyface here, while Lio Rush makes sure that Lashley gets plenty of heat from the crowd.

Winner: Drew McIntyre becomes the new Intercontinental Champion

Buddy Murphy vs. Tyler Bate (Cruiserweight Championship)

Set up is the same: Single elimination tournament on 205 Live. I like Bate here better than Neese because Neese something of a known commodity. This also gives some exposure to NXT UK.

Winner: Buddy Murphy

Kurt Angle vs. John Cena

Kurt Angle's retirement match, the match the fans wanted to see. Angle gets the feel-good win on a rollup.

Winner: Kurt Angle

Samoa Joe vs. The Miz (United States Championship)

Miz has more than earned the chance to compete for a title at Wrestlemania in the babyface role here. He still gets put to sleep by the Coquina Clutch.

Winner: Samoa Joe



Sasha Banks and Bayley vs. Kairi Sane and Io Shirai (WWE Womens Tag Team Championships)

Similar setup to the Cruiserweight Title match, the challengers are the winners of a cross-brand tournament. I think that the Iiconics and the Riott Squad deserve title runs eventually, but Sasha and Bayley deserve a long and memorable initial run as champions, so they should prevail here, and the Sky Pirates should put on an incredible match with the champs.

Winners: Sasha Banks and Bayley

Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston (WWE Championship)

I really can't complain about the buildup WWE has done for this one, but the way I'd do it differently is to have Kofi win the Royal Rumble match. From there, the storyline could pretty much play out the same way, with Vince McMahon throwing additional obstacles in his path because he considers Kofi a "B+ player". I'm going with a lot of feel-good endings for these top matches, but I'm okay with that. Kofi with the much-deserved win here.

Winner: Kofi Kingston becomes the new WWE Champion.

Brock Lesnar vs. Finn Balor (WWE Universal Championship)

Balor gets his rematch from the Royal Rumble show here, and goes full Demon, including an epic entrance. If I was going to go with a heel win in any of the top matches, this would be the place to do it, and Heyman could brag about the Beast Slaying the Demon. However, the fact is that Lesnar really has been champion long enough, and the reign may as well come to an end at Wrestlemania.

Winner: Finn Balor becomes the new WWE Universal Champion

Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch (WWE Raw Womens Championship)

I just feel that a one-on-one match is a better finale to the show than a triple threat, especially when Charlotte Flair has an obvious rival for a match earlier on the card.

Winner: Becky Lynch becomes the new WWE Raw Womens Champion