Apple Announced the Vision Pro and I (As Always) Have Thoughts

I've never been that interested in Virtual Reality headsets. If we could make VR work like the Holodeck in Star Trek, I'd be down for that--although everyone would be annoying to listen too as they remarked, "Hey, this is just the Holodeck!" This resulted in me not caring about Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PlayStation Vr, or Cyberview Express. I made that last one up, but if you're as disinterested in VR as I am, you probably didn't even realize it. This long-winded intro leads me to discuss how Apple announced the Vision Pro today, and I gave a disinterested sigh to all of it.

Apple makes great products, there is no question about that. I am sure their, "Facial computer," which costs a whopping $3,500 will be of the highest quality and work spectacularly. It sounds like it will have lots of bells and whistles. I just don't care and never have been big on the idea of strapping a headset to my nogging even if it lets me be further immersed in virtual worlds, bring up data sheets, or whatever. I've changed my mind on stuff before--I used to "Not get," the Nintendo Switch before digging it. That said, I just had to give the Switch a chance to learn to love it. I've sampled VR and never found it especially appealing. The technology has its proponents, but lots of folk seem unsure about it. The comment section on Kotaku had folks remarking the fact this is an Apple product means it probably won't be able to do any PC games and it'll be walled in for just Apple games, products, and so forth. Some other people said the quiet part out loud about how this might really appeal to viewers of pornography--but that's always been a hush-hush aspect of VR--the big companies prefer it not be openly discussed even though I'd imagine that has at times helped spur a number of sales.

I imagine people with deep pockets who adore Apple and its products will eat this up. Massive corporations might give it a try to see how it helps optimize productivity (or other buzzwords). Will this have mainstream, appeal, however? I honestly cannot say as who knew the iPhone would become as massive as it did? Then again, the iPhone now can be had with various deals you cut via your phone provider for a more reasonable price. Apple's Watch is pretty popular too and I was unsure how it would do. Basically, I'm saying I know better than to ever bet against Apple (rare flop like Newton aside) and if anyone is going to finally crack the VR space it'll be them. That said, I'm just as hesitant to bet on Apple in this case too. Once this thing is for sale in 2024 or so and regular folks--well, regular folks with money to burn--can try it out that'll be the real test.

Steve's Comic Cleaning and Pressing Service is Fantastic!

I've tried a handful of services that offer cleaning and pressing over the years, and only write about one if it really impresses me. Well, Steve of Steve's Comic Cleaning and Pressing is fantastic! He has great prices and did a superb job on a comic I submitted to him. I had an older, 'Star Trek," #3 from when it was published by Gold Key that happened to be a double cover (you've all seen me write about how I like double cover misprints). He worked on it and the issue received an overall 7.5 as CGC grades all the covers but the main grade is always the most interior one. You can see some pictures of the final slabbed comic below:

I personally want to thank Steve and I encourage everyone to give his site a visit and use his services!

What I Found Interesting From SDCC This Year

Well, San Diego has finished its immense comic convention. A variety of pieces of news came out of it, and I'll now share my thoughts on what I think is worth discussing.

Stuff From SDCC Worth Mentioning
Besides the fact that I'm amazed "Multiversity" is actually going to finally happen, this map created by Grant Morrison to illustrate DC's multiverse is both fascinating and beautiful.

Image announced a ton of new comics that are going to be coming out from them. Some look more interesting than others, but I imagine each will be good in its own way, as Image doesn't really put out much that is flat-out bad.

ComiXology is now offering publishers the option to provide digital comics to readers without DRM--as in you can back-up your comic and read it on any device without annoying "protective" software getting in the way that actually doesn't stop pirates(my views on DRM are pretty clear). Some publishers are already on-board and others may soon be too.

Batman Versus Superman apparently had a trailer but it is all-but-impossible to find it on the internet due to Warner Brothers making anyone who posts it take it down, so I'm not even going to link to anything.

Could this be a start of a monster-movie renaissance? I don't know, but I am intrigued to hear that a sequel to the Godzilla movie I enjoyed is going to be made, and that a new King Kong movies of all things is happening.

Marvel is going to be putting out Star Wars comics soon that are officially in canon and everything. Plus they've got some good creative teams.

Speaking of Marvel, they have another original graphic novel coming out right before the new Avengers movie hits theaters, fittingly titled "Rage of Ultron".

"Star Trek" and "The Planet of the Apes" will be having a comic cross-over event thanks to a deal worked out by their respective rights holders, IDW and Boom. This is an announcement that is random but also sounds pretty cool.

That's All?
I can't think of anything else from SDCC that when I read news about it I found myself saying "Wow". I guess there just wasn't as much to grab my attention this year.

UPDATE:
I forgot to mention how I am happy that "Mighty Avengers" is not getting canceled, but instead re-launched as "Captain America and the Mighty Avengers". That made me smile. Also, Image's publisher Eric Stephenson delivered quite the keynote speech.