I’m pretty optimistic about the Avengers movies. That’s mainly because my expectations are low. Those expectations are low not because I don’t like Joss Whedon—I do—nor because I think the film doesn’t have enough impressive actors in it—it certainly does—but because even Kenneth Brannagh didn’t totally crush Thor.

Listen, I like Joss Whedon, and I enjoyed Serenity, but it wasn’t a great movie. It was a good movie. A good movie is enough. It is not a bad movie nor a mediocre movie, but a good movie.

Thor was a good movie. I wouldn’t call it a great movie, though I enjoyed it. It was a good movie, it did its job. It—like the Avengers—had a pretty stellar cast. The character development, even for its main character, fell a little flat and the fight scenes didn’t have much energy. I’m not going to complain, though, because I got to see Thor on the big screen.

I expect the same from the Avengers. The photos that I’ve seen so far have been great. The trailer—I am certain—will be awesome. It will look spectacular. And, in the end, it will be good. I’m fairly certain of that. I don’t think, though, that it will great.

According to leaked information from an upcoming issue of Entertainment Weekly, Marvel movies in the pipe include Ant-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Inhumans. Of those, the one I’m both most excited for and dreading the most is the Guardians of the Galaxy.

I was a big fan of the comic when it was running. Granted, I only bought the collections, so maybe I was part of the problem, but I was very sad when it disappeared. I didn’t really follow the Thanos Imperative, because while it kind of continued the Guardians, without Starlord there really is no Guardians.

Now it looks like Marvel is banking that the concept that couldn’t keep a comic running will make a profitable movie. I truly hope so, and I also truly hope that they look at the Guardians series for their story and characters.

Unfortunately, though, it looks like they will go back to the original Guardians concept, which I have absolutely no stake in and could not care less about. I am not surprised by this, given how much Hollywood hates me.

By the way, when is someone going to give me my Immortal Iron Fist movie starring Ray Park? When?

Read the leaked information here.

Read the Wikipedia article on the cool Guardians of the Galaxy here.

I’ve been a bad, bad boy. I’ve let Sword’s Edge grow very, very quiet. July and August were quite the months for me. Prepping for Gen Con, then getting “Crossing the Millers” out the door, and finally—this month—finishing a re-write and update of my soon to be released RPG of Viking mayhem titled Kiss My Axe: Thirteen Warriors and an Angel of Death, kept me very, very busy.

But Gen Con is done. “Crossing the Millers: A Sword Noir Adventure” is available for sale. Last night I delivered the completed manuscript for Kiss My Axe to Rob Wakefield for layout.

It’s all done.

That doesn’t mean I have nothing more in the hopper. “Suffer the Witch: A Viking Adventure” is scheduled for an update, as it will be the product that follows up Kiss My Axe. But I have time. And the adventure is short.

I have hopes to get Sword’s Edge moving again. It’s never been particularly busy, but I’m going to try to cast Raise Dead on this mofo.

First up: I have a dilemma with a modern military campaign I’ve been planning.

Stay tuned. And welcome back.

You can find ”Crossing the Millers: A Sword Noir Adventure” here.

You can find more information on Kiss My Axe: Thirteen Warriors and an Angel of Death here.

I have been busy, it’s just been over at the Sword’s Edge Publishing website.

Yes, I’ve been very quiet. I got the manuscript for Kiss My Axe: Thirteen Warriors and an Angel of Death RPG. That’s a Viking RPG based on Sword Noir . . . which continues to sell relatively well. I’m almost done a Sword Noir adventure called “the Kheufer Scrolls.” When that’s done, I need to do the one-shots for Gen Con—yes, there will be one-shots for both Sword Noir and Kiss My Axe to play at Gen Con. Those one-shots will then be released post-Gen Con as products.

So, yeah, things will likely continue to be quiet until those projects are all wrapped up. On the up side, there’ll be Sword’s Edge Publishing stuff to buy. Great, eh?

Sarcasm? Maybe.

Buy stuff here.

Holy *expletive deleted* I’m in Black Gate!

Listen, there are very few professional venues for heroic fiction, let alone something like Sword Noir fiction, so when John O’Neill—Black Gate’s editor—bought one of my stories, I was thrilled. Now that story has seen the light of day in Black Gate 15, a copy of which arrived in my mailbox today.

Here’s the thing about Black Gate—it’s much more a short story collection or anthology than a fiction journal. By that I mean it’s big, huge in fact—issue 15 clocks in at 384 pages and boasts 21 stories plus regular features. That’s a lot of heroic fiction. Unfortunately, it looks like Black Gate might be moving to an annual format, as the note with issue 15 indicated the next issue would be Spring 2012. Issue 15, as one might guess, is the Spring 2011 issue.

Still, annual is better than never! And that just gives all of you a little extra time to go buy Black Gate 15. The story “A Pound of Dead Flesh” was consciously a Sword Noir story, so pretty cool that it’s coming out a couple of months after the game it helped to inspire.

By way of introduction to the story, imagine Vorenus and Pullo from HBO’s Rome caught up in criminal machinations in my version of the Roman Empire—let’s call it the Aeolean Empire. An old “friend” hooks them into an easy gig that turns out—surprise surprise—to be not so easy.

I guess you could call it Sword & Sandal Noir. And yet a new genre emerges!

—

Check out Sword Noir: A Role-playing Game of Hardboiled Sword & Sorcery.

Go buy more Sword Noir fiction with For Simple Coin: Four Tales of Sword Noir.

You really should watch HBO’s Rome.

Oh, and in case you didn’t get the hint up there . . . go buy Black Gate 15.

Why have I been so quiet, you ask? Sword Noir is out and has been doing very well. I’ve been busy trying to get some kind of visibility for it, as well as getting files ready for the Print on Demand version. I’ve also been looking into other options for making something special for Gen Con.

Unfortunately, whenever I get wrapped up in something, Sword’s Edge takes a hit. In this case, there is a direct connection, since Sword’s Edge Publishing pays for this site, focusing on that is basically focusing here.

It’s not going to get better any time soon, I’m afraid. I have another release this weekend, and then I have the Viking action RPG Kiss My Axe to complete and get out (including PoD).

And then there is Gen Con.

But stick around. I’ll get stuff up whenever I can—especially if it is geeky news flavoured stuff.

You can purchase your PDF copy of Sword Noir here. A Print on Demand version should be available shortly.

For a while there, it looked like the Wolverine might have been the movie I wanted X-Men Origins: Wolverine to have been. Now, that’s falling apart.

First, the director, Darren Aronofsky, left the project. Then natural disasters and their aftermath scourged Japan, where the Wolverine was to be filmed. Now it looks like Hugh Jackman may be looking for other work until the movie gets back on track.

While we will likely have First Class to keep us going until the Wolverine gets made, the fact that Jackman is going to be involved in another production means that we will likely be waiting two years—optimistically—for the Wolverine to arrive, if it ever does. The sad thing is that maybe what made this movie anticipated will be lost in the interim. All it takes is a mediocre director, or one with a vision at variance with what is in the script to change it into another Origins fiasco.

Please, no.

And to add insult to injury, it looks like the Deadpool movie is languishing as well. Should Green Lantern make money, Ryan Reynolds will likely be back on for the sequel production quickly—with little or no time for Deadpool. And that’s even if a director can be found in the near future.

Things are looking grim. Thanks Hollywood—or the Fates, Satan, whomever—for taking my dreams and drilling them in the pooper.

Dune is dead. Long live Dune!

There have been a few directors attached to Paramount’s planned new adaptation of Dune, and there have been a few scripts. I met some of the announcements with cautious optimism, but most with outright pessimism. That does not matter now. What matters is Paramount’s option to the property is running out, and the reason they are going to give up on it is simply the money.

The production would likely have cost over $100 million.

It’s hard to argue that $100 mill is a hell of a bid for a gamble of this magnitude. David Lynch’s Dune, which I enjoyed—and I saw it before I read the book—failed to make money. I suppose the SyFy mini-series made some bank, because they filmed a sequel, but big budget is closer to David Lynch’s foray than the mini-series. We’re talking some major cake.

And, frankly, do we need another Dune movie? I really don’t think so. I don’t think a single movie can do it justice. Two or three movies, with significant budgets? Possibly. But there is never a guarantee of quality.

I’m not terribly sorry this adaptation of Dune is being buried. Let’s try something new, shall we, Hollywood?

An important question on this St. Paddy’s Day–more important than ‘are you wearing green’ or ‘did you have to have that tenth Guinness?’–have you listened to episode 33 of Jennisodes, titled “Kids and Gaming” with guests Becca and ME?

Go listen. Do it now, before you are too drunk to do so.

Follow Becca/Talulla and Jenn on Twitter, because they are awesome.

And listen to the Jennisodes. It’s the best RPG podcast out there right now.

Cross-posted at SEP

For those of you who follow the news even slightly, you’ve seen that Japan was rocked by an earthquake, struck by a tsunami and there are now reports of a volcano. To try to help support disaster relief, Sword’s Edge Publishing has created two products from which all proceeds go to the International Committee of the Red Cross for its operations in Japan.

I’ve put together a bundle product of some of our items for $5.00. That’s more than ½ off the cover prices! Second, I’m re-releasing our Modern Medieval products, which took some of the tropes of d20 Modern for use in the Medieval and early Renaissance eras. That’s $5.00 as well. All proceeds from these products will go to the ICRC.

You can also donate directly to disaster relief through RPG Now or through one of the many humanitarian organizations, like ICRC or Oxfam.