Fellow genre film fans, I'm pleased to report that Iron Man gave a strong start to the summer movie season and is one of the more faithful live-action adaptations of a comic book superhero that I've seen.

On Saturday, 3 May 2008, Janice and I drove out to near where I work in Framingham, Massachusetts. We had lunch at Joan & Ed's Deli, stopped by Barnes & Noble in Shopper's World, and briefly walked through the Natick Collection. We also took advantage of "Free Comic Book Day" at Bedrock Comics and Newbury Comics.

Janice and I then met gamers Beruk A., Sara F. & Josh C., and Thomas K.Y., as well as my co-worker (and fellow blogger) Ken G. and four of his friends at the AMC Framingham multiplex. Most of us later had dinner at Curry Leaf, an Indian restaurant.

Iron Man features the origin story of the armored Avenger, combining pop-culture sensibilities, a dash of science fiction, and superheroic fisticuffs for an entertaining two hours. Like Nicholas Cage in Ghost Rider, Robert Downey Jr. brings his own quirky personality to the role of troubled inventor Tony Stark, whose experiences on the battlefield change him from a weapons merchant to a one-man army defending the innocent.

Stark is aided by Gwyneth Paltrow as the comely and smart Pepper Potts, Terrence Howard as long-suffering Air Force Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, and even director Jon Favreau as chauffer Happy Hogan. Iron Man's eventual adversaries include terrorists and Jeff Bridges (Tron, Starman) as sometime mentor Obadiah Stane. Of course, Stan "the man" Lee makes a cameo.

Much of Iron Man is setup, showing the man inside the powered suit of armor, but there was enough humor and action to keep the movie from dragging. As a reader of Marvel Comics, I was pleased to see the shout-outs to that publisher's fictional universe, including references to SHIELD, War Machine, Stark's later problems, and the Avengers (stay after the credits).

As co-worker Lucas M. and other reviewers have noted, Iron Man only whets our appetite for more. The technology and special effects were also excellent, especially as Stark tests the flight capabilities of his suit. (Robert A. Heinlein depicted similar armor decades ago in his classic military SF novel Starship Troopers.) The heavy metal soundtrack, from AC-DC's "Back in Black" in the opening to Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" at the end, is appropriate.

I also thought that the movie did a decent job of showing the real selflessness of U.S. soldiers and airmen as well as the moral quagmire of providing weapons to groups that often turn on their patrons. Stan Lee and company created Iron Man during the long Viet Nam conflict, but the story is unfortunately still relevant during our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Although Stark must overcome his own inner demons before he can fight evil as Iron Man, the movie is mercifully free of the adolescent angst that weighed down the Spider-Man or X-Men trilogies and isn't as fantastical as Superman Returns or even Batman Begins (although I am looking forward to the animated Gotham Knight and cinematic Dark Knight). On the other hand, this movie also inspired me to return to my D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Ed. superhero scenarios and the City of Heroes online game!

This movie was rated PG-13 for violence, and I'd give about an 8.5 out of 10 or an A-. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes action movies, comic books, or the actors involved. I'm pleased that Iron Man has done well at the box office so far, because I think it deserves to be successful.

We also saw several previews, including some promising ones for Speed Racer, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and Indiana Jones [4] and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, all of which open this month! We also have Hellboy II, Mummy [3], Incredible Hulk, and another Harry Potter to look forward to!

Continuing my socializing, some of my co-workers (including my former boss, Jamie E., who now lives in Puerto Rico) and I met onetime CW IT guru Dora J. for lunch yesterday at the Naked Fish in Natick, Massachusetts. I had a tasty Cuban ham-and-cheese sandwich. Between vacations and illness, we're again short-handed this week.

Backing up a bit, on Thursday, 24 April 2008, I watched the latest episode of Smallville (which I erroneously posted previously as having aired its season finale). I'm glad that "young Superman" television series has continued to get closer to the continuity established by DC Comics (I'm still catching up on hardcopy titles) and the various movie adaptations, even if it still indulges in melodrama.

On Friday, April 25, I enjoyed the latest installments of alien menaces on The Sarah Jane Adventures and its parent show, Doctor Who. The SciFi Channel missed out on a trifecta of British programming by leaving the more adult Torchwood to BBC America. I hope that the rotating cast of companions on Doctor Who won't hurt the revived time-travel drama.

I was pleased to play a pick-up game of City of Heroes online with our entire supergroup. I'll have more in the coming weeks about the transition from my D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: the Broken Chains" Arabian fantasy campaign to various one-shots and Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition.

Online recaps have helped me keep with the revisionist Battlestar Galactica. Although many fans and critics claim that the military space opera is one of the best genre shows ever, several of my friends have become disenchanted with its relentlessly pessimistic and conspiratorial view of human (and Cylon) nature. As David I.S. has noted, supernatural slacker comedy Reaper has upped the ante by having its surprisingly close group of friends struggle to thwart the machinations of the Devil, as played by the charismatic and funny Ray Wise.

On Saturday, April 26, Janice and I drove down to Dedham, Mass., to check out Chipotle, a Mexican-American fast-food chain that we first ate at in Virginia. There was also a good discount-DVD store next door. We found some classic Doctor Who videos featuring Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker as the good Gallifreyan and Elizabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith.

I took advantage of a sale at New England Comics in Norwood, Mass. This coming weekend is "Free Comic Book Day," so I'll stop by Bedrock Comics in Framingham, Mass., before Iron Man. The latest Spectacular Spider-Man has kept up the pacing and faithfulness to previous incarnations of the webslinger.

I also watched the season premiere of the BBC's latest incarnation of Robin Hood. I like the actors' portrayals of the legendary heroes on the latter show, which doesn't have the mystical overtones of the popular 1980s Robin of Sherwood. I have several books on this topic, and my favorite versions are still the Howard Pyle novel (I recommend the edition illustrated by former Green Arrow artist Mike Grell), the 1938 Errol Flynn swashbuckler, and the hard-to-find Legend of Robin Hood miniseries.

On the other hand, the current Robin Hood's anachronistic arms and armor and dialogue are distracting. (Don't even get me started about Prince of Thieves.) England cut down its forests in the 1200s, so the show is filmed in Hungary. Thus, it's no surprise that the peasants look more Central European than like proper yeomen.

Coming soon: Iron Man, gaming returns, the environment and politics, and comic book reviews!

Friends, I hope that all's well with you. The past week has been busy, despite the break from the usual gaming schedule. Although I missed the birthday party of niece Ava, I look forward to seeing my family in Virginia at the end of next month.

I attended CW's annual editorial off-site from Sunday, 27 April 2008, through Tuesday, April 29, at the Warren Conference Center in Ashland, Massachusetts. The meetings were productive, the food was excellent (including lobster), and the weather was unfortunately cool and damp. It was especially nice to see co-workers who work in our remote offices.

Thanks to features such as "speed meetings" and "Who am I?" I was impressed to learn of co-workers' literary preferences and some common interests. Donna S. and I brought board games, which went unplayed. Although reporter Eric L. trounced me in ping-pong (both doubles and singles), I had fun.

On Friday, 11 April 2008, former Boston-area role-player Byron V.O. arrived at T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island. He, Thomas K.Y., Janice, and I ate dinner at Bertucci's, a restaurant chain that hasn't yet reached St. Louis, where Byron now lives with his family.

Byron, Thomas, and I then watched the Stargate SG1: The Ark of Truth on DVD, thanks to Thomas' Netflix subscription. The direct-to-video release wrapped up the main storyline from the military space opera's 10-year run on television. It felt like a longer-than-average, more elaborate episode, but it was satisfying to see a cast and crew that we liked one more time. Stargate: Atlantis and Continuum (as well as a possible out-of-continuity movie sequel) will continue the franchise, which hasn't gotten the recognition it deserves.

On Saturday, April 12, Byron and I stopped in at Newbury Comics for miniatures before meeting Thomas, Beruk A., and latecomers Sara F. & Josh C. for lunch at the busy Minado sushi buffet in Natick, Massachusetts. The meal and camaraderie were excellent. From there, we drove back to Janice's and my second duplex in Needham Heights, Mass., where we were joined by Greg D.C., Brian W., and John C.M. (see group photo above).

The latest D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: the Broken Chains" Arabian fantasy session went well. Byron, as Anpur (Jackal-man) Druid "Kemosh," and Thomas, as Sylvan Elf Ranger "Ahrad," met up with the current Player Character party — Beruk/"Kunal," Greg/"Killian," Brian/"Mumtaz," John/"Nebi," Sara/"Neela," and Josh/"Raz" — on Emein Island, where they fought demons.

As we do on Tuesday nights, we ordered dinner from Oak Hill Pizza. In addition to our usual levity, we talked about pop culture and upcoming one-shots between the "Broken Chains" and our first Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition party, such as Josh's proposed Everway scenario. Byron and I later drove back out to Natick to drop off Beruk and Thomas, and with cleaning up after the gamers, it ended up being a late night/early morning.

On Sunday, after her usual stint at an animal shelter in Dedham, Mass., Janice cooked pancakes and sausages (she had made brownies that we had inhaled the day before). Byron and I then logged in for a D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: Holy Steel" teleconferencing session with Dexter V.H. in Brooklyn. Despite some technical and scheduling snafus, Byron's Paladin "Ibrahim," Dexter's Drow Ranger "Faelonia," and their followers made significant progress in their journey across the hostile Halmed Desert.

We weren’t able to get together with Ken G., but there'll be other events. Unfortunately, I'll be missing about a month's worth of City of Heroes with the Thursday night/Sunday morning supergroup because I'll be busy, but the face-to-face games take priority. Greg stopped by briefly on Sunday afternoon, and Thomas rejoined us for dinner at Blue on Highland, a very good bistro in Needham Heights, Mass.

Once again, we talked late into the night about travel, gaming, science fiction and fantasy, and history. It turned out that all of us like Nickelodeon's animated fantasy Avatar: the Last Airbender, but have mixed feelings about the SciFi Channel's revisionist Battlestar Galactica. We're also looking forward to this coming summer's crop of genre movies.

Since then, I've returned to work and caught up on recorded television shows. The first season (and possibly series) finale of immortal New York cop drama New Amsterdam was good, but ended on a bit of a down note, while the series premiere of The Sarah Jane Adventures was entertaining. I met lead actress Elizabeth Sladen at a recent science fiction convention.

The Doctor Who spin-off is aimed at a younger audience and is thus much lighter in tone than conspiratorial sibling Torchwood, which featured its characters' backstories and whose second season ends next week on BBC America. The fourth season/series of the revived time-travel drama Doctor Who will begin airing in the U.S. soon.

Last night, Janice and I walked up to the Trader Joe's near where we live for a cheese tasting before watching the latest episode of Spectacular Spider-Man and Part 1 of "Masterpiece's" well-done adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility (not to be confused with the recent movie with Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant). I also touched base with fellow science fiction fans David I.S. and Jim J.D'B. This coming weekend, we'll be driving down to Pennsylvania to visit Janice's extended family.