Spoiler Alert : Avengers

The newest installment of Avengers has Parker Robbins up to his third Infinity Gem. This story arc is great for so many reasons. The Hood was left powerless after Siege and I was wondering where Marvel would go with him. I am please that he has been given such a great role, and back near the top of the list of Marvel villains. The first issue that laid out this quest for the Infinity Gems started out slow, and even had you wondering who exactly was going after them. After some solid issues, you are in the middle of a great race between the Avengers and the Hood to see who can claim the Gems first from their Illuminati hiding spots. The underlying story of the Avengers discovering the existence of the Illuminati and how betrayed they feel is also great. It adds another layer to the Steve Rogers/Tony Stark battle that rages on, leading to Iron Man being dismissed from the Avengers. I am captivated by where they will go with this story. Will The Hood claim all six gems? Will the Avengers stop him short of his goal? Will the Illuminati be torn apart after their reveal?

This my friends, is good comic storytelling.

The Original Nerd Crack

I am going to assume that unless you lived the last 15 years under a rock, that you know what the World of Warcraft is. The most successful Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) of all time, and still the most subscribed game with millions of players worldwide, WoW has survived over six years of success.

Why is this important you ask?

The game that owned online junkies souls before WoW, was EverQuest. EverCrack, as it was known by its loyal following, set the standard and was the first true MMO phenom to grab so many peoples attentions. People were so addicted to this game that the American Social Services program actually started a branch dedicated to online addicts who had lost jobs, and even worse. This game had an amazing run as pretty much the only thing of its kind, releasing expansions on a regular basis. This was the first game that I knew of that charged $15/month to play, plus you add this to regular releases of paid expansions and you have a money making machine.

In 2004, EverQuest II, World of Warcraft and City of Heroes all hit the market. The second generation of the MMO was in full swing and mom's basement became a permanent residence. The original EQ slowly started to dry up and fade away. It has maintained enough of a loyal following that the company still releases expansions and increases the maximum level cap.

In the new year, over ten years after the initial launch of EQ, the game has offered a server that is the original bare bones version of the game. Amazingly many people, including myself, have returned to wander around and relive the game that stole their lives so many years ago. I'm actually amazed, and yet horrified, that I still know my way around this fictional world. The server itself is full 24/7, which I think shows just how many middle aged nerds crave a walk down memory lane.