Exercise in Futility

Lilith 2010, Philadelphia - A Summer Adventure

2010-08-11T22:08:00.010-04:00

Is it really brave to travel alone to an unfamiliar city, with nobody to meet at the destination? Don’t people do that all the time? I don’t know. Maybe it’s just that I look about five years younger than I am, based on one recent estimate. Young and naive. But whatever other people may think, for me, this trip did take a lot of planning and anxiety and doubt. So maybe it was an act of bravery, after all. I'm still trying to decide.

When I first drafted this, I was on a train rattling its way through the mountains of Pennsylvania. I was still far from home. The Alleghenies are beautiful green hills at this time of year, dotted with small valley towns, and I hope someday to find an excuse to visit them again by rail. In the fall. They must be breathtaking. You have to be patient, but the train is an amazing way to travel.

My weeklong vacation to Pennsylvania was all a successful effort to attend the Lilith concert in Philadelphia. Technically, it was across the river in Camden, New Jersey, but everybody knows where The City of Brotherly Love is located. Camden, not so much. Of course, there was a much closer Lilith concert in Detroit, too, but the lineup wasn’t quite as interesting. I wanted to choose one, however, and all of Missy Higgins’s (Yes, I would cross state lines to see her in concert, thank you.) tour dates were on the Eastern Seaboard. Philadelphia was the second closest of those. Washington, D.C. was first, but not by enough to really matter. Besides, I’d been there before. So, inspired to “steer,” I made my way to Lilith by car, bus, train and subway.

Waiting outside the Susquehanna Bank Center (formerly the Tweeter Center, by which it is still known to the locals), enjoying the breeze off the river and sharing sunscreen with other concertgoers, meant meeting women of all ages. Most of them were from New Jersey. Each looked forward to their favorite artists. It was outside, waiting for the gates to open, that I met (among others) Michelle and Michelle, two women in their middle years, Lilith Fair vets and rural Garden State citizens. They may have been a couple, though I never asked. We chatted about call-in radio contests, and country versus city air, and they reminisced about the old Lilith, lamenting the lack of late ‘90s artists. Though I never went to a ‘90s Lilith (something I regret), I enjoy the associated artists, too. Just the same, the more current artists that dominated the Philly/Camden lineup were mostly amazing.

I stuck with the Michelles for a while, having found in learning the train system that much of steering involves asking questions and following the lead of people who know what they are doing. (Not for nothing are we humans frequently compared to sheep.) I stopped at a tent, ate a sample of fair trade chocolate, and joined them at a blue metal picnic table, where we chatted some more, and sipped beer, water, and water doctored with samples the Crystal Lite people were desperate to unload. This was at the Village Stage. Apparently there was an earlier act at the ABC Stage on the other side of the amphitheater, but I missed that as Marié Digby appeared nowhere on any schedule. The first act I saw was Joy Ike. Her voice was rich and soulful (a common theme at this concert), accompanied by keyboard, drums, ‘cello, string bass, and so much warmth you don’t even know. And I’m not talking about the weather, though that was plenty warm, too.

The crowds weren’t huge early in the day, and outdoor mingling agrees with me more than indoor. It contributes to the festival atmosphere, makes it not just a concert, but a celebration.

After Joy’s set, I temporarily said goodbye to the Michelles and went in search of the ABC Stage and Zee Avi. Who I eventually found, but not before acquiring more sponsor samples (they were everywhere) and missing her first song or two. Zee is from Malaysia which may partly (I don’t know) explain her breezy island pop sound. (One way or another, the island comes through in the music. See also: Heather Nova.) She’s crazy talented on guitar and ukelele, and her "Honey Bee" song is kind of bittersweet and mostly adorable. I thoroughly enjoyed Zee.

In spite of that, I left the set a bit early, because I’d been listening to a Lilith 2010 sampler on the way to Philly, and loving “Keeper” by Butterfly Boucher. I did not want to miss her, and she was back on the Village Stage. So I rejoined the Michelles, who had been waiting for this performance back at the table, and stuck with the Village Stage for the rest of the opening acts. Butterfly rocks. And excels at onstage banter, in spite of sunglasses she’d forgotten to remove and later regretted. I honestly didn’t think about it at the time, but then, I was off to the side and out of eye contact range.

Part of the banter was actually between Butterfly and surprise guest vocalist Sarah McLachlan. It was about morning breath. You probably had to be there.

After that performance, I skipped Anjulie (who was back over at the ABC Stage) in favor of getting Scary Fragile signed, and meeting Butterfly. Briefly, of course, but she is very nice. Oh, and then there was meeting Georgi and her daughter. We chatted about music, mostly, including country which is slightly more my cuppa than I used to think. It’s interesting how life events shape our connections to different genres and artists... I had not brought a camera with me, in accordance with the rules I’d found online regarding the venue. Apparently they’d relaxed the camera thing, though, and Georgi’s daughter wanted to get a photo with Butterfly. When the line had cleared, she did that, and Georgi kindly took one for me, too. We exchanged e-mails, so that she could send it to me later.

Thank you, Georgi and Butterfly!

By that time, I had completely lost track of the Michelles. I couldn’t find them at the Main Stage, either, but I hope they had fun!

Next on the Village Stage was Jill Hennessy. I was a huge fan of Crossing Jordan for years (before it started crossing over with Las Vegas and entering whole new levels of weird), and during that time I apparently gained a lot of knowledge about Jill. Nothing creepy, just major roles, busking past and identical twin status. Which was still way more than the woman (not Georgi, someone else) sitting next to me knew when she asked who was playing up there. Jill’s voice is interesting, deep but feminine with a faster vibrato than you’d expect. She was not the strongest vocalist at Lilith, but she made up for it with charisma. She’s an actress. Why not? Jill was joined for part of her set by Martie Maguire of the Courtyard Hounds. There was more banter and some wicked fiddling. I snuck away during the set long enough to grab a hotdog and refill my water bottle for perhaps the third time so I could make it through the Main Stage acts. But I didn’t miss much. I don’t think. I’d go to see Jill Hennessy again live, but I don’t know how interested I am in her album. And I do have two tracks of hers on my iPod already, from the Crossing Jordan soundtrack. (I said I used to be a fan of that show, right?) No rush.

Somewhere between Jill and the Main Stage, I lost track of Georgi and her daughter. (This losing track of people thing had become a theme early on, specifically at Union Station in Chicago.) I did, however, meet a young couple from the one county in Pennsylvania I’d heard of. And, well, we chatted. They were where that five-years-too-young age estimate came from. She was looking forward to Missy Higgins as much as I was, which for some reason surprised me. Missy isn’t that big a name in the States, really, and wasn’t bumped to the Main Stage until Kelly Clarkson (definitely a big name) withdrew from the concert series. I was glad not to be alone. Her boyfriend seemed interested in the music, too. He certainly didn't begrudge being there. We chatted about music and (of all things) smoking. And about how I would get back across the river. I’d taken the PATCO train to Jersey, but didn’t feel comfortable enough with Camden to negotiate it in the late evening. They offered to take me across the river if the ferry wasn’t running, which was extremely generous of them.

Eventually, we said our goodbyes and went off to find our respective seats. Mine was fairly close to the front and slightly off to the right, which coincidentally mirrored my vantage point at the side stages. It was not a bad place to be.

When Serena Ryder came on, it was not in front of a full house. Sad, really, because she rocked. People did not know what they were missing. She has an alt-country/folk-rock thing going on that I still haven’t quite pegged, but whatever her official genre, she rocked, the fringe on her black shirt shimmering as she danced and head-banged (no, really, it works, look it up on YouTube), making excellent use of her hair. And her voice. It’s powerful and smoky and true, chock full of emotion. She owns the stage and she loves it. This may sound blasphemous, considering, but of the four Canadians performing at Lilith, Philadelphia she may have been my favorite. I was disappointed that Janelle Monae had to pull out of the concert, but not that Serena got to take center stage in her place.

Then there was a break, with ads on the screens next to the stage, which I mostly ignored. More seats filled in, and it became clear that the beer had been flowing. And Missy Higgins, with one accompanist, came on stage. Audience conversation and shouted requests marred Missy’s set a bit, at least for me. I blame my upbringing in theater etiquette. That sort of thing is hard to ignore, especially when your favorite artist’s set is so quiet to begin with. But hey, I’d come all that way for it, so I did my best to ignore the women in front of me. And the ones at the other end of my row, the ones shouting requests. The set was primarily drawn from On A Clear Night, with the exception of “The Special Two,” a beautiful song, but a loud and obnoxious request from the yellers. Missy pulled that off in spite of being a bit sheepish about her older material. (She did, in fact, remember all the words.) The set also included, to the best of my memory, “Where I Stood,” “Sugarcane,” “Secret,” “Angela,” “Peachy,” and “Going North.” Not in that order -- I used the track listing on my iPod to jog my memory -- but you get the idea. (Much later, the setlist was posted on Twitter. If you’re curious.) With the exception of “Peachy,” they were some of Missy’s quiet songs which, to be fair, make up the majority of her catalog. She would have played “The Wrong Girl” instead of “Angela,” if not for a faulty electronic device on the necessary guitar. Needless to say, the song was gracefully aborted due to technical difficulties (That’s how you know it’s live.), and a new guitar and more upbeat song were chosen. I really did enjoy the music, and someday I hope to see Missy play in a smaller venue, a place more conducive to jazzy acoustic pop. Preferably a dry venue.

I think the break between Missy and Sara Bareilles included the showing of a new sitcom on those screens. But I can’t be certain. It wasn’t very good, whatever it was. Once I'd remembered where I'd seen the lead actress before (Crossing Jordan. Really.), I ignored it completely.

Sara is technically an excellent live performer. Her music has just never clicked with me for whatever reason. I couldn’t tell you why, and nothing has really changed since seeing her perform. My favorite part of her set was actually her cover of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” mostly because it was both well-done and unexpected. But the thing I remember most was Sara talking about how emotional she was. She mentioned this two or three times. And it’s not like every performer before her, or after her, hadn’t said something about being honored and excited to be at the concert, or about loving their jobs, but... I guess I just didn’t hear her emotion in song the way I had the others. Ahh well.

After Sara came the Court Yard Hounds, the only mainstream country act at the show. I was not that familiar with them, though I have liked what little I’ve heard of the Dixie Chicks. This is a spin-off group, so at least I had some idea. I can’t tell you much about the first part of their set because I was very distracted by a couple who’d taken seats in the row in front of me. Both were pretty inebriated. She was standing up, half swaying, half dancing. (I switched seats temporarily so I could actually see the stage instead of just her back and hips.) At some point, I do believe she was stroking the hair of the woman in front of her. Her (soon-to-be ex?) boyfriend or hubby was sitting down, and snapping at her to sit down as well. I think. I didn’t actually hear them, but you could tell he was frustrated. So was she. What a happy couple. Eventually security kicked them out, possibly due to the hair stroking thing, and I was able to focus on the stage, which was considerably less dramatic but much more fun. Country vocals didn’t do much for me, but I loved the instrumentals. And the fact that Jill Hennessy got to join Martie and Emily for a song or two.

Before the grand finale of the evening, and the seats were really filling in by then, I went off to purchase a t-shirt (That was a small mission of mine, to procure a concert t-shirt.), and a fresh bottle of water. I doubted I’d have time afterwards, what with the need to get back to Philly and everything. At that point I was glad I hadn’t sprung for a VIP ticket. After all, I had met an artist, if not the one that would show up for the VIP meet and greet (I wonder who did?), and didn’t have to contend with lines at the merchandise booth after all. My not-so-important-person ticket was perfect. Anyway, I was back to my seat in plenty of time for Sarah McLachlan, who regaled us with old favorites (including “Building a Mystery” and, of course, “Possession”) and new, dramatic lighting, and a performance that... Well, she lived up to her reputation. A lot. I’d tell you more about it, but what is there to say? She is Sarah McLachlan, and she is awesome.

After that, there was encore of “Ice Cream,” (much like on the live album Mirrorball, including the audience sing-along part, so I guess some things just don't change all that much) and another of... I’m not sure what the song was, but it was a vaguely familiar cover, and it was performed by... well, a lot of different people.

And before I knew it, it was time to go. Naturally, I’d lost track of the Pennsylvania couple. Luckily, with the help of other concert-goers on the way to the ferry (which was in fact still running), I was able to get back across the river safe and sound. It was much more pleasant than the subway. I was also able to get back to the hotel safely. To the Pennsylvania couple who insisted I share their cab rather than wait alone for another (they were few and far between, the taxis at Penn’s Landing), thank you. You have no idea what that meant to me. City of Brotherly Love, indeed!

I’d tell you more about the touristy things I did (Yes, of course I saw the Liberty Bell!) or the my favorite train station (30th Street in Philadelphia), or the train rides themselves (not fast, but fun), but the concert was my primary goal. I did meet a lot of people along the way, though. Not just at Lilith, either, but at the stations and on the trains. Many of them were willing guides. Others just liked to chat. There were the women I passed the time with at the Pittsburgh station on the way home, when our train was delayed for three hours (finally coming in at three in the morning.) There is not a lot to do in the Pittsburgh station, and I don’t know about the nightlife in the city proper, so we talked. A lot. To the retired relocated Texas schoolteacher and her mother, and to the woman from Oregon who let me play with her Kindle so I could help her learn to use it, I had a lot of fun talking about cats and Sudoku and I don’t remember what else (it was very late), and I hope you are all well and reached your destinations safely. To the other couple I met at the Pittsburgh station when I was going the other way, the one with children in all four corners of the States, I hope your lengthy trip went well! For all I know it is still going. To the retired music teacher I met at the Battle Creek station and lost track of in Chicago, I hope you are well, too, and that your eventual time in the Windy City was grand. To the mother and daughter headed home to New York, who I met in the station in East Lansing, I hope you made it home safely without much further delay. (The train out of Battle Creek was about an hour and a half late.) It was fun to meet you both! To the new music teacher headed out to Nevada, who I met on the train from Philly to Pittsburgh, I hope you enjoy your new home, and that your job goes well. I wish I could connect you to the teacher I met in Battle Creek. That would be so cool. To the retired professor I met on the train from Chicago to Pittsburgh, I hope you are well, and discover what you are looking for. I am still not sure what that is. But it was an interesting conversation, at least. To the woman on the train from Pittsburgh to Toledo who moved her stuff so I could take my assigned seat and get a bit of sleep... well, there is no way you are actually reading this. No thanks for confusing the heck out of me when I was exhausted at three in the morning and thinking I was in the wrong car because my seat appeared to be taken, but thanks for moving your stuff for me. Really. Seriously, though, people who ride trains seem to be an agreeable, patient bunch. Makes sense to me!

To all of my guides, thank you. Lilith may have been a solo journey for me, but it was not taken alone, and the people I met along the way were just as important as the concert itself. I may not remember all of your names, if I ever got them, and you may not have even gotten mine, but that’s the way it seems to work. It is entirely possible to lose track of people without forgetting them. (It has been two weeks since the concert, as I type this up, and I know I have forgotten names, but not faces. So I think I’m doing okay.)

To the artists: You rock. Butterfly has a new fan for life, I think. Serena does, too, and I’m seriously considering going to see her live again, soon. It would be a total of four hours or so of highway driving, and I am not at all used to highway driving, so I don’t know for certain that I will go. But I do have more confidence about traveling now. I know that I can steer, literally and figuratively. And for that, thank you to Missy Higgins for the inspiration and the motivation. It really means a lot. And that was a most excellent vacation. Hm. Maybe I'll try it again next summer...

Nine Nine Nine!

2009-09-09T06:33:00.003-04:00

Happy 9/9/09 from... Square One!

Wow, I miss that show.

Fictional Mortality

2009-07-22T21:41:00.005-04:00

I've been drifting back to prose lately. Most of it is fantasy. Oh, I'm still reading comic books, don't get me wrong, but Marvel keeps getting bleaker, and my interest in that is decreasing at a higher rate than my interest in DC is increasing. And my interest in the DC monthlies is primarily the surreal metafiction (Air, The Unwritten, Greek Street...) that's been coming out of Vertigo lately.

My favorite fantasy series these days are urban. Not paranormal romance so much, but adventures centered on wizards and werewolves, peppered with vampires, fae, and djinn? Sure! A little romance on the side is good too. Spices things up a bit. And then there are the reasonably strong female protagonists:

-Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville, the snarky werewolf radio talk show host, whose personal growth is pronounced as the series progresses.

-Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson, the coyote shapeshifting VW mechanic with, among other things, a great gift for finding trouble (and getting out of it.) There is also a comic book mini-series, which I would recommend. The trade is coming out in late August, according to Amazon.

-Rachel Caine's Joanne Baldwin, a Weather Warden with slightly more strength than mental acuity. To be fair, though, she has more magic than most Wardens, and I think she's smarter than she lets on. Just started reading the series, though, so I can't know for certain...

Those are my three favorite series so far, but the world of urban fantasy is still pretty new to me, Buffy and Charmed episodes of my youth not withstanding.

And then there are the more traditional fantasy series, not the least of which is George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. I bring up ASoIaF because, well, let's put it this way. You learn very quickly not to get too attached to characters because NONE OF THEM are safe. POV characters are almost as vulnerable as non-POV characters, and none are exempt from the threats of mutilation, torture, death, or worse. (And believe me, there are fates worse than death in ASoIaF.) I don't think Martin will kill off all of the Starks (none of whom are named Tony or wear high-tech power armor, by the way), but you never know. The point is, I do know what to expect in terms of character death, I have since close to the beginning of the series, and I don't expect it to change.

Character death is somewhat less frequent in the urban fantasy series, but the key protagonists generally don't die, or if they do, they get resurrected pretty quickly for obvious reasons. It's okay to get attached to the leads, at least. The mortality rate for likable supporting characters is naturally higher.

But comic books. I thought I knew what to expect from Marvel, starting out. It's my own fault, really. I thought it was safe to get attached (as much as one can get attached to fictions), in spite of jumping in at the tail end of House of M, because they are comics and... yeah. I don't know why I assumed it was safe.

Of course, it's not safe. I know that now. Of my favorite trio -- I think of them as an unofficial trio, which I know I've mentioned before -- only one is neither dead nor MIA. That would be Sue Richards, who a few months ago I was almost certain they would send the way Janet van Dyne.

And I have no idea what terrible fate they have in store for Jennifer Walters. I'm not sure I want to know.

Ultimately, I'm not sure it's worth it. With the urban fantasies and ASoIaF, I know what to expect, and it's fine. The stories are good, sometimes great, and I can accept them for what they are. But the cape and cowl yarns? Story quality fluctuates depending on creative teams and editorial edicts. The constant isn't the storytelling, but the characters, and it's the characters I seem to follow. If my favorite characters go away, temporarily or (rarely if ever) permanently, then, I suppose, so do I.

Comic Shopping

2009-04-15T22:53:00.004-04:00

So I met Kalinara for lunch today, and as it was a nice day, we went for a walk. During this walk we went to three stores, two of which were comic shops I'd never been to.

The first of these was hers. It was impressive. Twice as big as my LCS, it had a lot of merchandise, but still seemed open. It emphasized the games, I think -- they're the first things you see when you walk in -- but the comics section is pretty well organized, segregating titles by company or genre, and sorting them alphabetically. I found one issue of Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four I'd missed but hadn't found. There were more than a few tall shelves of trade paperbacks. We didn't really have time to peruse them, but I have a feeling I'll be going back at some point. Oh, and the staff seemed nice enough, too. Good vibes all around.

The second shop was not impressive. Small, and disorganized, it had long boxes strewn haphazardly under gaming tables and employees that didn't seem all that interested. I'd been keeping an eye out for an issue of Marvel Adventures Iron Man (the one featuring Yay!Spider Woman). We (well, Kali) asked whether they might have it, and one of them replied, "Probably not". Maybe he knew what he was talking about, but I kind of got the impression he just didn't want to bother. Then he went back to eating lunch. On the way out, we took a look at the back issue rack. Among other things, there was an issue of Anita Blake sandwiched between The Flash and Batman and the Outsiders. Which sounds like bad slash fic, but whatever. If the store survives the recession, I'll be surprised. That is, if I notice.

Later, at my own LCS, for which I have new appreciation, I found the Iron Man issue I was looking for. As part of a digest, but that's easier to store, anyway. That made me happy. But the real find of the day occurred not at a comic shop, but at a used bookstore. I'd been to the store before, but not to its second floor which has, among other things, television and film tie-in books:

Yes! It is a novel based on a screen-play for a notoriously bad film (which I haven't seen) based on comic books that aren't bad at all. I read the first chapter tonight. It's very meta, which I guess you have to expect. And it's probably better than the movie, since you actually picture comic book Howard, not a guy in a duck suit. (I still want to see the film, though, for the score if nothing else. John Barry is very good.)

It definitely takes precedence over finishing Twilight.

In Which I Blame the Blogosphere

2009-02-25T21:28:00.003-05:00

I am taking an English class right now. Well, it's really a writing class, and it counts as a writing credit to the institution I want to apply to. (I haven't applied. I'm scared to apply there again. I went to the campus today to meet Kalinara and somehow managed not to cry. Much. That campus is like a lost home. I practically grew up with it, or parts of it at least, and... and I digress...)

Anyway, I'm taking an English/Writing class in order to make my lost home happy, and we finally got our first essays back today. We get to rewrite them, which is good, because the class really has been more about literary discussion than writing techniques. Today was our first in-depth lecture on writing literary analysis, and guess whose essay was dissected by the professor for the class's benefit?

Yeah.

It was technically anonymous -- the prof. took my name off of the piece before throwing it up on the projector screen -- but people knew. Whatever. It doesn't really matter, and since the prof.'s handwriting is difficult to read, hearing his comments out loud helped me. And while the essay needs work (does it ever!), it was chosen because I did a few things correctly, such as write a kick-ass thesis statement. Whatever else I do to my essay, the thesis stays more or less the way it is.

I also did some things wrong. These were common enough errors, but I did learn that the way the Comics Blogosphere often seems to talk about its literature does not fly in a formal classroom setting. These are the three top things I learned today:

Slang is not a good idea. I really didn't mean to use it. Oops.
The characters are not real people. We know that, of course, but we fans often talk about them as though they are. This is fine when you're talking about the direction you'd like to see your serial fiction take, I think, or if you're writing fanfiction. Or role-playing, or something. This is not so fine if you are analyzing Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" for an academic audience.
Speculation is also a Bad Thing. See Number 2.

I blame you, Comics Blogosphere. You are a bad influence.

Fanvid!

2009-02-06T23:46:00.005-05:00

I have made a fanvid. Of this I am quite proud.

Description (also on YouTube):

This is a tribute to a webcomic called The Dreamer, written and drawn by Lora Innes. Read it here: http://www.thedreamercomic.com. I've been wanting to make a fanvid for a while now, and this is my first... Well, it's my second, but it's the first that I can actually share. Still, I think this turned out reasonably well, and it wouldn't have if I hadn't found just the right music...

The music, by the way, is "Fur Elise", (composed by Beethoven, 'natch), as played by Taimane Gardner. It's from her album LOCO PRINCESS. Check out her homepage, http://taimane.com/, or listen to her at Tribe of Noise (http://www.tribeofnoise.com/TaimaneGardner).

The track is used with permission and under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

Umm

2009-01-04T22:00:00.002-05:00

This house ad appears in Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #43:

I'm guessing that the answer is "no".

30-Second Recap

2009-01-03T23:45:00.000-05:00

The following is my entry for Chris Sim's 2008 30-Second Recap Contest. I tried to take on Marvel's True Believers mini-series...

Note: I did take the cat photo myself. (She's my brother's cat. I really wish he'd name her.) Anyway, photography's drawing with light. I drew it with light myself, and then pasted it into MSPaint.

Wow. This is the second time I've done this, and the second time I've worried about disqualification.

Oh well!

Fantastic Four #562

2009-01-03T00:41:00.001-05:00

***This review is spoilerish. You've been warned.***

I like Between Stories. You know, the pause in the action, the issue where the characters take a breather in preparation for the next attack or crisis. Fantastic Four #562 is an issue full of Between Stories, and plenty promises to happen.

Of course, it starts with Sue Storm Richards's funeral. The kicker? Sue gives her own eulogy. One thing I don't get about this scene, though, is the fact that everyone seems to assume that the Future Sue in the grave is the Official Future Sue. There may be infinite Alternate Future Sues, branching off from Official 616!Sue, with permanent microscopic tracking devices. (I picture something that looks like a cladogram.) I guess that wouldn't make the mourning any less profound, though. (Imagine, speaking at what is sort of maybe your own funeral. Yikes.)

Okay, I have to move on to the other Between Stories contained within this issue, inasmuch as overthinking Marvel's time travel logic is never a good idea.

Ben is happy (really genuinely happy) for once. Five beautiful (Bryan Hitch deserves his reputation) pages are devoted to this. Can't argue with that. Ben needs all the genuine happiness he can get his mitts on. There promises to be more for him. But where is Alicia in all of this?

Dr. Doom is in jail, and he has a word of warning. Apparently there is a villain coming that gives even Doom chills. Is this something connected to Marvel 1985? I have no idea. I haven't read it. Anyway. Doom gets to be ominous. He's good at that.

Please do not let this be foreshadowing.

Finally -- and I've been recounting this out of order -- there is Valeria's super-genius intellect, which she has just recently revealed to the rest of the family. I like this concept. I like the possibility of a future genius Invisible Girl. And in current continuity, it opens up some interesting possibilities, throwing the "family dynamic" into more than the usual "flux". Also, Franklin is jealous.

Yeah. That can't be good.

The Franklin panel appears about halfway through the magazine, and nothing afterward -- not Doom, not Ben, not Crazy Powerful New Villain -- even comes close to matching the Holy Cow Factor.

Everything in the Millar/Hitch run has been connected so far. I doubt that will change, and I look forward to discovering how, exactly, the Between Stories dovetail into Stories Proper.

Reading Twilight

2009-01-02T22:00:00.000-05:00

Reading notes for Chapter 11 ("Complications") of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight:

Ooh, movie day in science class

What high schooler doesn't like that?
But of course Bella can't focus on it.
Duh, Edward's right there.
Ohh, Edward, with his perfect face.
Zot, zot.

Next class.
Bella cannot bear to part with Edward!
Aww, Mike's all chivalrous in Gym.

Poor Mike.
Great guy with no taste in girls.
But he's perceptive.
He knows Edward wants to eat Bella.
Probably doesn't know that Edward literally wants to eat Bella.
(We the readers do!)
But Bella could probably figure that one out.
Listen to Mike, Bella!
You idiot.

Driving with Edward, blah, blah, blah.
Hunting with vampires is dangerous for humans.
More electricity. Zot, zot.
Dreams of Edward.
Chat with Charlie.

Yes, Bella, Charlie might take issue with your possible necrophilia.
Not that it matters, 'cause adults are useless.

Bella's favorite color of the day is brown.

Because it's warm.
It's also the color of...
Nevermind.
She doesn't say it, I just think it.

Edward is such a stalker.
Oh, come on Bella, how hard is badminton?

For a more-or-less able-bodied idiot, I mean?

Exit Edward (finally).
Enter Jacob the Complication.

Reading Twilight into the New Year

2009-01-01T22:00:00.000-05:00

Reading notes for Chapter 10 ("Interrogations") of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight:

It is a foggy morning.
Edward gives Bella a ride to school.

Overprotective, much?

She likes his smell.

They are compatible in an olfactory way.

Vampires like fast cars.
Yes, everybody stare at Bella and her beau.
Jessica grills Bella about Edward.

They continue to be boy obsessed for two class periods.

Vampires can eat solid food.

Like people can eat dirt.
So can vampires get pica?

Edward wants to know everything Bella thinks.

And would like to censor her thoughts, if only he could...?

All the guys at Forks High want Bella?

Really?
Why, for gods' sakes???

Bella and Edward have a long lunchroom conversation.
Vampires like to eat mountain lions.

And bears.
(And presumably tigers.)
Oh my.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T00:31:00.002-05:00

Forget resolutions. I need a theme song for 2009. Something to live by. Something that makes me happy.

I think it will be "Steer" by Missy Higgins.

My heart can be fierce. Yes it can!

Really.

If I'm not careful, this will start to sound like a New Year's resolution, so I'll stop now.

Bring on 2009!

Reading Twilight

2008-12-31T22:00:00.002-05:00

I really am still reading Twilight. And slowly, due to the note-taking. My current hypothesis is that the faster you read this book, the more likely you are to like it. If you slow down, you actually have time to think about it, and it comes out sounding like Alanis Morissette covering "My Humps."

It's only an hypothesis, based on one bad song and the fact that I'm pretty sure I could blow through this terribly long novel in the space of a day or two if that was my goal. It would probably be better that way. But I'm prolonging the agony for the sake of my two or three readers, all of whom are friends who warned me about this book's level of awful. (Willow's right. I'm a masochist.)

So without further ado, here are my...

Reading notes for Chapter 9 ("Theory") of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight:

Edward knows your scent, Bella.

This just gets better and better.

Bella's mind doesn't work normally?

No way.

Edward drives too fast.
Bella asks Edward about vampires.
She doesn't care if Edward's a vampire.

For some reason I start wondering if there's a necrophilia angle to this.
I've never wondered that before.
Why?

"Vegetarian" vampire idea starts here.
Edward worries about Bella when he's away from her.

He also worries about her when he's with her.
Edward worries about Bella all. The. Time.
Obsessed much?
This has been covered in previous chapters.

Bella? Crying? Will wonders never cease...
Edward gets Bella home.
He warns her not to go into the woods alone.

Meaning she inevitably will at some point.

Mundane details, blah, blah, blah...
And we end on the paragraph that's on the back cover of this book.

Janet Lives!

2008-12-30T22:46:00.008-05:00

So Marvel recently killed 616!Wasp. It wasn't exactly what you'd call an heroic death. I'm still hoping that I connected the dots correctly, and that Jan'll be back with a new mantle (Hank has her old one, right?) and new explosive powers and... At any rate, I'm disappointed, but what can you do, right?

And even more recently, Marvel offed Ultimate!Jan in the pages of Ultimatum. This (which you'd be wise not to click, but you will anyway) is just wrong. Count the levels! (Thanks to Kalinara for that link, by the way.)

Now, I can't get up in arms about this sort of thing. I've tried. Seriously. A fictional character, one I rather care about, has been stuffed into a miniature Maytag (twice!) and all I can think is that, well, at least she's alive and well in the Marvel Adventures Universe. Which is the Marvelverse that really ought to Count. From here on in, I'll call it the "Yayverse."

See? Yay!Jan is defending Earth against alien invaders in Marvel Adventures the Avengers #26. As Giant Girl, not Wasp, but still.

And she's having a casual lunch with Yay!Ororo in Marvel Adventures The Avengers #30. This issue also introduces Yay!Tigra, and she's treated well. It's awesome.

We even get to see prepowered Yay!Jan in Marvel Adventures Super Heroes #6. Her primary role is to cheer up Yay!Hank.

Yay!Hank needs a lot of cheering up, and that's because he's him. It's not just because of this guy:

Yes! It's Yay!Psycho Man.

Don't get me wrong. Marvel 616 can be a whole lot of fun, and Ultimate Marvel... Well, Ultimate Fantastic Four is an important title to me, and it's better right now than it has been in a long while. It's just that Yayverse titles are the ones I consistently look forward to reading. They are also the ones that consistently deliver fun. And they don't have to kill heroes (or villains) to do it.

Reading Twilight

2008-12-16T21:56:00.002-05:00

Reading notes for Chapter 8 ("Port Angeles") of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight:

High school girls apparently talk about boys to the exclusion of all else.

And there is drama.
Boy-related drama.

Mundane details aplenty.
So... Let's talk about Cullens!

The Cullens "go backpacking all the time".
The mystery deepens.

No, Bella, the new age bookstore is the one you want. Idiot.
(Can't go wrong with a new age bookstore in urban fantasy, right?)
A silver Volvo in Port Angeles! Oh noes!
A scary group of strong men following Bella! Oh noes!
More scary guys. Triple oh noes!
Edward swoops in to the rescue!
Edward fears his temper.
Edward takes Bella to dinner.
At an Italian restaurant.

So I guess garlic isn't an issue.

Ohh, Edward, you really shouldn't dazzle people so.
Ohh, Edward, you are so muscular.
Bella is a "magnet for trouble".

Duh.
Meyer has to spell out everything in simple terms.
That's kind of insulting.

Edward's stalking Bella, but that's totally okay with her.
He's mentally stalking her, even.
Creepy.
Edward is emo.
Creepy and emo.
Dangerous, creepy and emo.

Don't leave me alone, Bella, or I will kill someone.
If you don't leave me alone, I may kill you.
Decisions, decisions.

After (Bella eats) dinner, they go back to the Volvo, and that's it for Chapter 8.

Reading Twilight

2008-12-15T22:00:00.001-05:00

Reading notes for Chapter 7 ("Nightmare") of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight:

Bad dream involving a werewolf fighting a vampire.

It was probably inevitable.

Okay, I swear, I DO NOT NEED TO KNOW every single blessed detail about what Bella does while she waits for her modem to dial.

Talk about padding the page count.
Is the whole book gonna be like this?

Yes. Pop-up windows are the bane of the internet user. I get it.
Vampire research time for Bella!
Bella's research fails. Time for her to take a walk!
How long is this chapter again?

Seriously?
Damn.

"Could the Cullens be vampires?"

That question appears on page 138.

Bella doesn't know.

Of course, I do
I saw the movie trailer.

Bella does homework.
Charlie gets home.
Bella goes to bed.
Another day dawns. It is sunny.
School time!
Bella writes a paper on Shakespeare and misogyny.

I wonder what she concludes.
I wonder whether it's ironic or appropriate.

What? No Cullens?
Bella can't keep her mind on anything.

Well, except for getting her homework done.
'Cause she's a model student.
Of course.

Bella does not trust her sheriff dad to feed himself.

Because adults are useless, I suppose.

Time to go dress shopping with the girls!
End of chapter.

Reading Twilight

2008-12-14T22:00:00.000-05:00

Reading notes for Chapter 6 ("Scary Stories") of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight:

Yes, Forks students, by all means tease Bella about the fainting spell.
Ohh, Edward, where are you?
Bella has an enemy. A blonde enemy.
Time to go to the beach! And it's sunny!

Pretty beach.

Mike is a nice boy, Bella, you idiot.
Dare you defy Edward and brave the tide pools???

Sure. Better than braving evil blonde Lauren.

Geez. I'm not exactly graceful, but even I don't fall all the damned time.

Not even in the woods.
Maybe Bella has an undiagnosed neurological condition.
That would explain some things.

Native Americans join the party!
Another boy, Jacob, notices Bella.
That makes... Five now?
Well, five that are named.
Jacob is pretty.

And he's a mechanic.
And he's a story-teller.
A good one.

Bella gets a scary vampire story.

It's clearly an important plot point.

And she gets a new friend.
It starts to rain just in time for the beach party to leave.

Reading Twilight

2008-12-13T22:00:00.001-05:00

Reading notes for Chapter 5 ("Blood Type") of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight:

Edward is beautiful.

Gush, gush.

Bella's not smart, Edward.

She's not gonna avoid you.
She wants to gaze into your "deep gold eyes".

Ohh, Edward, are you... Spider-Man?

How about Superboy?

Edward's... dangerous.

Ooh.

He's an ass, Bella. Stay away from Edward!

(She's not staying away from Edward.)

A micro-lancet! Oh noes!
There is blood. It is time for Bella to faint.
Is it even legal to do the blood type test in a public school?

Or is it just a liability issue?
My high school didn't allow it.

Edward steals Bella away from Mike and carries her to the nurse's office.
He. Carries. Her.
Edward and Mike: Bitter rivals.

But Mike doesn't have a voice "like melting honey".
He can't possibly win.

Pushy Edward.
Not healthy, Bella.

Just remember, no means no.
When and if the time comes, I mean.
Seriously, Bella.
Yes, he's pretty.
But he's moody, pushy, and over-protective.
And he's a jerk.
Not worth it.
You are not being adult about this.
Not that adults don't fall into potentially abusive relationships, too.
But are adults being adult when they do?
Okay, right, back to the dreck.

Bella's planning to go on a beach trip.
Edward's going camping with his family.
Blah, blah, end of Chapter 5.

Reading Twilight

2008-12-12T22:00:00.001-05:00

Reading notes for Chapter 4 ("Invitations") of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight:

Dream of Edward.
Bella's not used to being the center of attention by now?
That's it, Tyler. Grovel. Good boy.
Edward's being all weird again.
School dance? Oh noes!

Bella can't dance!
So she'll... go to Seattle.
Excuses, excuses.

Make up your gorram mind, Edward.
Bella drops her books.
Edward picks them up for her.
Bella drops her keys.
Edward picks them up for her.
Bella falls down a lot in Gym.
Tyler asks Bella to the dance.

So does Eric. And Mike.
Gawd.

You're right, Bella. You're not interesting.

But this is the "Twilight Zone".
Apologies to Rod Serling.

Fretful sheriff.
We know where his daughter gets it.
Or maybe he's wise.
But probably not. Parents are useless.
And Charlie seems a little slow. Idiocy runs in families?
Don't do it Bella.
Don't say "yes".
Don't open that door.
Bella, you idiot.

Reading Twilight

2008-12-11T22:08:00.002-05:00

Reading notes for Chapter 3 ("Phenomenon") of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight:

Forks is icy. Oh noes!
Better be extra-careful, Bella.
Remember: You're a klutz.
Why do the boys of Forks like Bella?
I don't understand.
Oh, hey, snow chains. Good idea, Charlie.
Out-of-control van! Oh noes!
Edward is Bella's hero.

He's so pretty and golden-eyed and mysterious.

How'd he do that?

Deny, deny, deny.

Dr. Cullen is pretty, too.
I bet Tyler becomes a Bella hanger-on.

Maybe he'll give her chocolates.
Or something.

Bella doesn't like lying.
Charlie's daughter is involved in a car accident, and he feels guilty about telling her mother?

WTF?

Adults are useless.

Inspiration

2008-12-09T21:41:00.002-05:00

This needed doing...

Panel from She-Hulk: Cosmic Collision.

Still reading Twilight...

2008-12-08T22:25:00.009-05:00

The second chapter ("Open Book") of Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, is about as slow as the first. Hopefully things will pick up a bit, but right now this is decompressed storytelling in novel form. And this is what I've learned:

Mike and Eric are totally sweet on Bella.
Bella remembers people now!
Edward is not in school.
Bella is worried.
Bella's parents are useless.
Bella's already studied this stuff.
So school is kinda useless, too.
Also, she can't play volleyball.

Neither can I, so I guess I sympathize.

Dad likes the Cullens. He gets vocal about that.
I don't think snow works like that.

Not when it's warm enough for rain as well.
How would enough accumulate in the space of a high school class period?
Well, maybe Washington snow is different than Michigan snow.
Whatever. I'm not a climatologist. Moving on.

Edward comes back to school.
Bella is worried.
Ooh, Edward is flawlessly beautiful.
With a musical voice.
And golden eyes.
And his touch is electric.
OMG.
And he's smart, too!
But strangely tense sometimes.
Also, adults are useless.
Annnd... Previous question answered: FlakeMom remarried, so Bella moved to Forks so FlakeMom could spend more time with Stepdad.
Martyr.

Please, by the gods of urban fantasy, let there be villains or werewolves or something in Chapter 3.

Death and Dumb

2008-12-06T22:45:00.004-05:00

It's not worth going into my thoughts about Marvel's Secret Invasion, except to say that I am disappointed and will absolutely continue to seek refuge in the Marvel Adventures universe, where characters don't get killed off. For any reason. Paul Tobin may well be a better writer than Mark Millar and Brian Michael Bendis combined, as measured in Fun Stories Written.

But... enough about that. Let's move on to Stephanie Meyer.

I decided to read Twilight, just to see first-hand what all the fuss is about. I have to admit, I went in predisposed to dislike the thing (I've been reading funny internet critiques, you see, thank you Willow), and... well... Prophesy fulfilled. Granted, I've only read the prologue, and the first chapter, so things may change. But I'm not counting on it, because this is "First Sight" (i.e., Chapter 1) summarized:

Mom's a flake.
Dad's monosyllabic.
Bella's really pale.
She's also a klutz.
With a really loud truck.
And all the boys are drawn to her.
Except Edward Cullen.
Who is even paler than Bella.
And who seems to hate her.
Which might make him the only sane person in Forks.
Which is a terribly rainy place.
Bella misses the sun.
So why'd she move away from Arizona, again?
Maybe I'll learn that next chapter.

On a brighter note, MaryJanice Davidson's Fish out of Water, a three-hour read of mindless, crude romantic comedy fluff (think mermaid sitcom on cable), was worth the read. Davidson won't be winning a Pulitzer any time soon, but I somehow doubt that's her goal. The Fred the Mermaid trilogy is probably to Twilight as the Marvel Adventures line is to anything written by Bendis or Millar. (It's a fun versus not fun thing.)

Right. Back to attempting to study now.

Another Great Moment with Susan Storm

2008-11-22T22:00:00.001-05:00

This panel is from Fantastic Four #561:

I'm not sure why Alternate Future Sue seems so passive, but Regular Universe Sue is cutting quite a swath through the antagonists.

Take that, Dr. Banner, Jr.!

Speculation is Fun

2008-11-13T21:24:00.009-05:00

*****

It's been weeks since the referenced comics actually came out, but this is your official SPOILER WARNING. (Particularly for Secret Invasion.)

*****

I have a theory about Janet van Dyne, aka the Wasp. It's not a perfect theory, of course, as it is dependent almost completely on Hulk #7, which takes place in a pocket Loebverse that may or may not have a tenuous connection to regular Marvel. (I'm assuming that it does.)

The Red Hulk story contained within Hulk #7 begins with She-Hulk trying to get somebody to help her track down and beat up Rulk. It's a quest of vengeance. There's really not much to explain, and you don't really need to know. Beating people up is the theme of Hulk. Anyway, the key is the list:

Panels from Hulk #7

Jen finally recruits Thundra and Valkyrie, who are not on the list. But the list seems to consist of the women She-Hulk knows and would call first. Right? Ms. Marvel's a friend and colleague. Storm's part of the Fantastic Four. Jen and Sue go way back. She knows Black Widow (and it's also possible S.H.I.E.L.D. made some suggestions.) She meets Spider-Woman at that Christmas party with Santron, if nothing else. Dazzler's an old friend from her Savage days. So's Hellcat. Risque... Wait, who the heck is Risque?

Let's look her up in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #9, because it's handy and more official than Wikipedia.

Page from the All-New Official Handbook
of the Marvel Universe #9

Hmm. Risque appears to be a dead. She's a mutant, which means she could conceivably be alive again, but she's not exactly high profile. More to the point, I'm positive Jen and Risque have never crossed paths. Even more to the point, she has energy projection powers.

This is where the last few pages of Secret Invasion #7 come in.

Panel from Secret Invasion #7

Yes, it looks very bad for the Wondrous Wasp. Will she survive the Skrull invasion?

Scroll up and take another peak at Jen's list. Jan is as great a friend as Sue, and would be one of the first people Jen would call. She's not on the list, but Risque the Obscure Dead Mutant is right there between Tigra and Hellcat! Really?

In She-Hulk #34, the Invisible Woman joins the new Lady Liberators. She doesn't ask about Jan. What's up with that?

Panel from She-Hulk #34

I think Jan survives, and what's up is that she's just busy learning to control her new(ly enhanced) energy powers while establishing a new superhero identity.

Panel from Secret Invasion #7

It's fun trying to connect the Kirby dots.

Edit: **Thanks to Mallet for listening to this on IM a few days ago. Helps to talk, er, chat it out.

On Meeting the Artist II

2008-08-27T16:23:00.002-04:00

Mr. Ryan Claytor of Elephant Eater Comics visited my LCS today. It was his last stop on his book signing tour, before settling into Lansing. Which is cool. It's always fun to meet the artist. Especially when the artist is an extremely nice guy who kind of reminds me of my (youngest) uncle (who, incidentally, is a painter living in California, and is also an extremely nice guy. Similar vibe, I guess.)

The thing is, though, while it's always fun to meet the artist, it can also be one of the most awkward guilt-trips ever. I'm not familiar with Ryan's work, nor did I budget for it today. It's the last Wednesday of the month, when most of my pull list comes out. I have a budget and a routine, and that didn't include a ten-dollar collected edition. So I found myself talking (awkwardly) to a recently local indie creator. Picked up the first trade to look at it, but... How do you stand in front of someone, anyone, and silently read (or read and comment on) their work in front of them? I had a similar problem when I met Guy Davis a couple years ago, but at least there I'd had the foresight to purchase and read his book (Unstable Molecules, a haunting take on the Fantastic Four) beforehand.

So that's the awkward. The guilt is passing up an autobiographical comic which, frankly, looks kind of cool with the creator sitting right there, and purchasing the Marvel monthlies I've already agreed to buy. Such is the nature of the pull list. *sigh*

Well, next week is slow. I'm pulling the Ms. Marvel Annual (Or at least, I think I am. Never can tell with my LCS. Gods, that's an awful cover...), I'm planning on Manhunter, and I'm curious about Marvel Apes (pending previews), but should they be there, I may plan on picking up the first collection of And Then One Day.

Exercise in Microfiction

2008-06-02T23:19:00.001-04:00

I emerged from my first bed, shed my last coat and spread my wings. It was the first real warmth I had felt; the earth had coated and sheltered me, but it was still cold among the twisted roots and blind moving threads of flesh. Standing amidst the tall shadows, I drank it in. And soon, I folded my dry wings, rasping together in my first experimental song.

Around me, my brothers did the same. I know, because my leg membranes ached with the force of the chorus.

We soon found our bearings, my brothers and I. We touched the souls drifting up from the fruits of the tall shadows. We fed on these fruits when we first saw her. She was silent, but not demure, never demure. She leapt with confidence and grace greater than any of the other silent ones.

Every night my brothers and I courted her, our song growing as the world grew warmer. She did not choose between us. (I try to believe that she would have chosen me.) She ignored us, as we ignored everything but the world's bounty and her.

And then, one warm night, the ghost leaper took her. It was a giant beast, with damp fungal breath, and a cry that shook us all.

Fools, we leapt after it, dropping our bounty, for what was it next to her?

One by one, it took them, grasping them with an impossibly long strand of sour honey. We are agile, but it is fast, this beast. Of my brothers, I alone was quickest, springing behind a boulder, and finding shelter beneath.

Here I cower, but the cloak of earth is no longer a comfort, for I feel the monster's baleful cry. I touch its soul. And I know that the nearest fruit is much too far, and my crop is empty. The beast can afford to wait. I cannot.

Blue Beetle #26

2008-05-06T12:40:00.000-04:00

I love Blue Beetle. Every month, without fail, Jaime's adventures make me smile. His family and friends make me smile. He makes me smile. I even like that this latest issue was in Spanish. Well, there's some English, too. The sound-effects are, well, sound-effects, and the "Scarab-speak" is clearly alien. But the bulk of Blue Beetle #26 is definitely something I can't read.

So I open it up for the first time. Actually, my comic is opened the first time by the manager at my LCS, who is curious. I like it when that happens, since the majority of my comics-based conversation occurs online, and I don't even have much of that. So he opens the book, tries reading some of the dialog aloud. He's pretty clearly not fluent. His 'r's, which are difficult in Spanish, don't sound right, but hey. It's fun! I don't try reading aloud. The manager has had two years of high school Spanish to my one. (French was my language of choice in high school. Had four years. I'm not fluent in that, either, but it's easier to pronounce.)

Yes. I can't speak, read, or understand Spanish. The characters' voices don't come alive in my head. So, when I open the book for the second time, I am effectively linguistically immersed. And I have the comforting knowledge that the equivalent of a Spanish phrasebook is tucked in my figurative back pocket. With one hand marking that handy English script, I play. Sometimes I read a page of script first, and then read the Spanish page it corresponds to. Sometimes I read a few pages in succession, Spanish first, then go back and translate before rereading those same pages. That's how I read a good chunk of the battle scene between Blue Beetle and Parasite. I realize, in my reread, that I hadn't been lost the first time through. Clear imagery and cognates probably have something to do with that.

There are quite a few ways, I'd imagine, for a non-Spanish speaker to read Blue Beetle #26. I'm patient enough to read it as a "'Nuff Said" comic, but that could be done. Again, the imagery is clear, and the characters are plenty expressive.

It's also a relatively simple story. It has depth, of course, between the family relationships and Parasite's analysis of Jaime. The Scarab gets to cut loose for once. The fact that Jaime trusts it enough for that says a lot about how he has come into his own as the third Blue Beetle. But nuances aside, I don't think the plot would be hard to follow even without that phrase book. It's a hero versus villain fight, framed by a family gathering, after all.

Actually, now I'm kicking myself for not reading this without a crutch the first time through. Did anyone? If so, how did it work out for you?

At any rate, it's fine Blue Beetle, and the last page, which has no words and needs none, is one of the sweetest things ever. And while I wouldn't want to read Spanish comics every month, this is a great novelty.

Also, it is easier to understand than DC Universe: Zero. That's in English, but the depth immersion is more than I am ready for. Can anyone translate that comic for me?

Either-Or

2008-04-28T23:24:00.000-04:00

EITHER Jen holds herself and Jaz to the very double standard they are discussing here...

... OR she is simply trying not to imagine her friend and five partners at the same time.

***

EITHER Chili is Sue's annoying long-lost distant cousin from another dimension or a mirror universe (or something)...

... OR "Chili Storm" is just a stage name with an origin we dare not try to imagine.

***

Atrea is EITHER Elle transplanted into the Ultimate 'verse...

... OR "like father, like daughter" just applies sometimes.

***

EITHER Aaron Stack is seriously warped...

... OR... or... Okay, there's no "or" here.

(Panels from She-Hulk #28, Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #35, Ultimate Fantastic Four #53, and Ms. Marvel #26.)

I Want to Visit Leeds

2008-03-31T23:27:00.003-04:00

I am on dial-up. This means that, out of necessity, I don't spend much time on YouTube. But sometimes it becomes necessary to share what I'm listening to with other people, if only to get bands like Chumbawamba stuck in their heads.

And I found this fan video. It's X-Men movie clips set to "Outsider," off the album Tubthumper, which gets much better after the title track. (No really, it does.)

Is it stuck in your head now, too?

Good.

Dear Marvel...

2008-03-27T22:16:00.000-04:00

Dear Marvel, Dwayne McDuffie, Salva Espin and associated art team,

Please give the Chrysler Building a summer vacation special. I'm not sure he could carry a mini-series, but I absolutely want to see this guy's adventures in Japan.

I'm sure I'm not the only one. Thank you!

-Canton

(Panels from WWH Aftersmash: Damage Control #3, easily the best thing to come out of World War Hulk.)

Comics on Six Legs

2008-01-22T23:47:00.000-05:00

Yeah, it's the same old story. I haven't really blogged in months. I haven't had much to say.

But last week I read three comic books, and all three featured insects. Or insect-like creatures. Those almost always make me happy. (There are certain contexts in which certain larval forms are unwelcome, but we don't need to go there.)

The first, Marvel Adventures The Avengers #20, features a reasonably contented, self-assured, sane Ant-Man. Dr. Hank Pym, that is. He's happy to be working in his lab, but doesn't seem to mind the occasional stint as a super-hero. The story also features giant attack ants...

...and equally giant bugs from outer space. The aliens are hostile, but not very bright, flying right into Jan's trap like that.

Next we come to WWH Aftersmash: Warbound #2, which has a cumbersome title; more hostile, giant bugs (gamma-mutated this time). . .;

. . . and No-Name of the Brood, who saves human children and is just as likable as the other Warbound companions. Not all giant alien insectoid creatures are bad!

Finally, we come to The Stranded #1. There are no bugs with gland problems here, just humanoid telepathic sleeper aliens, one of whom is no longer technically a sleeper and can control insects with her mind. So we do get swarms of terrestrial attack bees. And explosions, but that comes a page or two later. I'm not too excited about The Stranded yet, but it does have its moments.

All in all, it was a small (but good) week. Never underestimate the power of insects!

Something that Makes Me Happy

2008-01-22T14:42:00.000-05:00

KT Tunstall makes me happy. The album Drastic Fantastic came out last year, and both the music on it and the liner comic book gave me a great big burst of cheer! So the Newsarama interview is both a bit overdue and fun to read.

That's all.

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to engage in more reviewing-like behavior, by the way. Said resolution has not been implemented yet, so technically it's not broken; it's just not out of the box yet.

Tuesday Night Twee #5

2007-12-04T11:00:00.000-05:00

This week's twee, because I am feeling festive, comes from the Marvel Holiday Special of 2006:

Oh, yeah, and this is going out to Mallet.

Namor will never live it down, but the Moloids will cherish the memories.

And so will Reed.

Tuesday Night Twee #4

2007-11-27T15:47:00.000-05:00

The word "twee" does not always involve or imply romance, but it certainly can. Runaways #28 gives us the sight of a charming young lass and a dashing android boy literally dancing on air.

This is certainly a star-crossed little romance on many levels, not the least of which is the fact that relationships between androids and super-powered women do not tend to end well. Although, to be fair, Victor and Lillie seem more well-adjusted than Vision and Wanda...

Oh, whatever. Best not to overthink.

The Radio Dial

2007-11-25T22:00:00.000-05:00

I really need to get reacquainted with a few of my local radio stations. Well, not the country station. That one hasn't changed in forever, and I don't care much for country music anyway. The rock station will no doubt stick with its usual annoying metal, and the public stations will also stay true to their mission. But the others? Not so much.

One of them used to be an oldies format, but it switched to R&B/Hip-Hop for a while, and now it seems to be a Top 40 of some sort. I think that's where I first came across Colbie Caillait's "Bubbly." (Damn that song. Generally speaking, I enjoy cuteness, but I have a lower threshold for it when it comes to music. Sometimes its better if the twee does not get stuck in your head.)

And then there's the station that used to be Top 40, back when I was in middle school or maybe early high school and came to the realization that sometimes pop music can be good. I used to listen to the Billboard Countdown on weekends, keeping track of the latest Sophie B. Hawkins single ("As I Lay Me Down" is still and will always be a great song.) or whatever for some reason, until most of the music on the list started sounding the same and sleeping in became more important than listening to Casey Kasem. That didn't take long. The station changed formats, and now plays... Top 40. Sort of. It's the same music I listened to back when, plus current stuff like "Bubbly" plus Queen. And Mellencamp. Can't forget him, not when said station played "Cherry Bomb" today, which I hadn't heard in I don't know how long.

Hrm. Oh, yes, and we can't forget the station that used to be classic rock, which was virtually identical to another area classic rock station. Seriously, I couldn't tell them apart. Now, of course, I can, as one of them is now some sort of Adult Easy Listening station, the kind they pump out into doctors' waiting rooms. I first realized it had changed formats when my dad flipped to its frequency and it was playing a romantic duet from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. Not classic rock anymore! Which is sad.

I'm not sure what else there is to be found. Probably plenty. What am I missing...?

Tuesday Night Twee #3

2007-11-20T11:13:00.000-05:00

We have already discovered that everyone's favorite Amazon Princess is great with animals. Now we know she's also talented with Animals. This week's twee therefore comes from last week's Wonder Woman #14, in which Diana takes on some interesting houseguests:

Interesting, insightful houseguests who are good at hiding, playing chess and...

...drinking beer.

I like those gorillas.

Tuesday Night Twee #2

2007-11-13T11:05:00.000-05:00

This week's twee comes from last week's All New Atom #17.

Yes, the dog is adorable. Put an adorable fluffy animal in the arms of a princess (even an Amazon princess in disguise), and you get... well, duh, you get twee.

Head is not a cute fluffy animal, but Diana seems to have him tamed as well. Because she is a princess and can do that. It's like Disney in Ivy Town:

Come to think of it, there probably is a wormhole to the Disneyverse in Ivy Town, though it's no doubt heavily guarded by hoards of copyright lawyers and whatnot...

Tuesday Night Twee

2007-11-06T11:27:00.000-05:00

So many people do these weekly things. Friday Night Fights, Thursday Night Thinking... That's all fun, but I think twee needs a day, too. And Tuesday is appropriately alliterative. Hence Tuesday Night* Twee.

I have no idea how long I'll be able to keep this up, but it does not take much thought, finding things that are excessively cute, yet somehow not nauseating. Once you know what you're looking for, that is.

This, for example, is twee:

At least, I think it is. This is all very subjective.

Anyway, this first Tuesday Night Twee was brought to you by Mythos: Fantastic Four.

*I am not technically posting this at night, but it's always nighttime somewhere...

On 19 September, 2007

2007-09-21T23:41:00.000-04:00

It's 11:30 on Friday night, and I am very tired, and do not feel like doing things that are more important such as class work, so it's comics blogging time!

[SPOILER WARNING IS POSSIBLY APPLICABLE.]

This past week, I read Avengers books, including (and limited to)...

...Marvel Adventures: The Avengers #16, in which there is Hawkeye, true to form! Everybody thinks he's a criminal at first, but then he proves them all wrong. He also flirts with Storm and Giant-Girl, with skill that actually comes in handy.

...Avengers Classic #4, in which Captain America joins the Avengers! I like seeing the reprints in brightly colored Kirby glory, but I'm also in this for the back-up stories. And this one, naturally, focuses on Cap, and his reintroduction to life. There is a little fighting, but it is mostly just bittersweet.

...a bunch of story bites contained in...

...Marvel Comics Presents #1, in which there is a cockamamie Spider-Man story that I won't try to describe, though it is amusing; a fluffy Ben Grimm and Alicia vignette; the beginning of the Immonens' Hellcat tale; and two other Chapter Ones that are lost on me. I do not see myself following this title religiously. Will they collect the Hellcat story when it is finished, I wonder?

...Jungle Girl #0, which is all about a buxom, scantily clad woman who hunts giant aquatic beasties for a living. In other words, it's about what you might expect based on the cover. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It is simply what it is. Which is not my cup of tea.

...and a triple helping of Hulk, including...

...World War Hulk #4, World War Hulk: Front Line #4, and Gamma Corps #3, in which there is a lot of smashing. Most of the smashing occurs in the main title (the Illuminati are compelled to smash each other and in front of a crowd of eager onlookers. It is naturally a disturbing, mostly-'splosion issue. Gamma Corps has somewhat less smashing. About half of it is the tragic story of Ryker and his wife (in flashback), and the rest is the Corps versus the Hulk.

Front Line, because it is Front Line, provides the reporters' perspective on war, and gives us some insight into Sally Floyd's family life. The backup stories are more fun (as usual.) "Costume Division: Death of an Android" continues, the murder investigation progresses, and Korg becomes my favorite Warbound alien. Finally, an extremely goofy "What If?" story. But the highlight of Front Line?

It's Earl! Don't go in there, Earl! You risk seriously bad karma points!

And... that was my comics week. Yes indeed...

On 12 September, 2007

2007-09-18T22:55:00.000-04:00

[WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD]

So, yes, I am trying once again to keep up this blog. And I apparently get bored writing review-like posts the same way week after week. How do people do that? Last week I was full of thanks. This week -- well, I'm thankful this week, too (I'm always thankful for comic books) -- but this week...

Well, this past week, I read...

...Gen13 #12, in which we learn all about Percival Edmund Chang. Once upon a time, little Percy was a hard-working uber-genius who spoke formally, wore a sailor suit and got himself beat up a lot. Tired of that, he remade himself into Eddie, a slacking uber-genius who talks casual, avoids clothing wherever possible and gets himself beat up a lot. He also absorbs abilities and shows us that Fairchild's super-strength may be somehow connected to her breasts which begs the question: If she were to choose to undergo reduction surgery for whatever reason, would that be like Samson getting his hair trimmed? Anyway, this is always a fun book! It is! (Hopefully, next month there will be an adventure in outer space. There's no way we've seen the last of Doc Tomorrow in this title.) Now say hello to little Percy!

...Welcome to Tranquility #10, in which Tommy consults with Salabal the Jungle Princess who bakes hallucinogenic cookies and takes Tommy on an astral journey, where we learn that the Fountains of Youth are made possible by an evil television dance show host and that there is a key to defeating the zombies (who are still at large.) There is also a backup story in which we learn that the Liberty Snots used to be very like a super-powered Scooby Gang, complete with a cowardly dog whose current whereabouts are unknown. I think. The story involves attacking scarecrows. (There are attack scarecrows in this month's Gen13, too. Go figure.)

...Wonder Girl #1, in which Cassandra Sandsmark fights stray mythical monsters (remnants of that whole "Amazons Attack" thing); the stigma of being an Amazon (see previous parenthetical); and potential romance with Robin in a highly enjoyable, bright, animated style. All this, and a Save the Hydras protest to boot!

...Fantastic Five #5, in which an extra-mutated Franklin Richards leads his team to Doomstadt for a daring rescue attempt, most everybody gets to blow up a Doombot or three, Lyja gets to be armor, and Reed gets to have some sort of extreme mental showdown with Dr. Doom. This has been an entertaining mini-series, and I do hope there will be a sequel.

And that was my comics week of September the 12th!

Thursday Thank Yous

2007-09-06T21:27:00.000-04:00

Thank you...

... Dan Slott and Ty Templeton for wrapping up your run on She-Hulk with a sweet goofy story that ties up loose ends without feeling rushed; for redeeming Mallory Book; and for nearly making me cry with awwww. (It is not mean-spirited either, so Kalinara might like it!)

... Rick Burchett, Cliff Rathburn, Andy Troy and Dave Sharpe for stuff like this:

... Gail Simone for Head; Panda; for not making me buy Countdown even though The All New Atom #15 is technically a tie-in; and also, Head.

... Fred Van Lente and Gurihiru for a colorful romp in Latveria; Doombots on spoked wheels; and convenient penpals.

... Brian Reed for writing Aaron Stack after Warren Ellis.

... Warren Ellis for Aaron Stack as we know him today.

... Greg Pak for balance between verbal sparring and general smashing; and Greg, Carlo Pagulayan, Jeffrey Huet, Chris Sotomayor and Joe Caramagna for this:

... Zeb Wells for the whole snake versus mongoose battle in Snakewoman: Tale of the Snake Charmer #3.

How to get here from there

2007-06-26T19:35:00.000-04:00

There are a lot of things I haven't done (or don't remember doing) with this blog that seem almost like required blogging activities. One of those things is selected Google searches. Make of them what you will:

-susan storms old

-make it to bat foom funny moves

-song in fantastic four when johnny is teazing ben

-medusa in black bolt in silence of the heart

-comics food exercise

-manhunter dc bed men

And my favorite:

-funny photo of guy wearing underpants in front of computer monitor

I'm sure they found what they were looking for somewhere..

Oh! That's right! I have a blog!

2007-06-25T23:11:00.000-04:00

So I don't know what happened to May. (May the month, not May Parker, though I don't know what happened to her, either. Is she dead? Or what?) June, at least, I know what's going on. I am shooting myself repeatedly in the foot. Intro to Organic Chem is not a wise thing to be taking at an accelerated pace. So really, that's my excuse for June. And July. Just not May.

I've been reading comics, just not writing about them. But I'll be all topical and touch on a few, at least. For instance, Painkiller Jane #1. Now, that had me worried that, deep down, I was actually homophobic. I really could have done without that beach scene where the seemingly random woman propositions Jane, and Jane decides to go with it. There is something very dirty about that, and the status of the beach (nude) doesn't exactly help matters. It's really too bad. Painkiller Jane could have been fun, but... No. Not worth it.

But I actually feel better about my discomfort about Jane now, because I have lately seen Rent (the movie), which is surprisingly addictive. I am perfectly okay with the couples of Rent. Maureen and Joanne, for example are a fun, dysfunctional pair. The straight-laced lawyer and the drama queen, oh yes. Entertaining! And not generally dirty. And then there are Collins and Angel! They make an adorable couple. I am a bit confused about them, though, inasmuch as Collins is gay, and Angel... Well, Angel is a gay transvestite who identifies as a woman. It's very confusing. But Angel and Collins seem to have it figured out and are clearly, happily in love and that's really all that matters.

So I'm not homophobic. I just didn't care for Painkiller Jane. Thank you, Rent.

I am comfortable reading about greenness. Not sure why. I guess I just really like the color.

Let's see. World War Hulk. I am on still that bandwagon in spite of (or because of?) Stark's new suit, which is something out of a Project Grizzly anime. Senseless violence can be fun, but I do feel bad for Black Bolt. He has not been having a good time of it, between this Hulk thing and Silent War.

I am still enjoying She-Hulk, which seems to be getting back to the firm lately, which will be cool while it lasts. (Three more issues.) Then Peter David will take over and it will be a different kind of cool.

Hulk and Power Pack may or may not be worth giving to my younger cousin as a gift. I'll know once I've decided how I feel about the third and fourth issues, which bug me as far as continuity goes. And more importantly, they aren't quite as fun as the first two. Hulked-out Katie Power is entertaining, though. And She-Hulk makes an appearance, only to be depowered. Temporarily, but still, it's kind of her major running theme.

Getting away from the gamma... Well, okay, I did read Green Lantern Corps #12. Because I can't keep my word when it comes to stuff like that, especially if there is a cool insectoid character involved and Kalinara has convinced me to join a role-playing game that I don't actually have the time or the background for but that I joined anyway. Whew.

And I can't forget Wicked. It's not a comic book, of course, but the lead character? Green. (It's an important plot point.)

Well, I should cut this off here. I have studying to do for, you know, chemistry. My foot hurts...

Comic Fortunes

2007-04-28T23:00:00.000-04:00

Panels from Fantastic Four #545.

Fortune from a cookie.

Thoughts on 25 April, 2007

2007-04-27T23:43:00.000-04:00

Spoiler warning! Just in case, you know?

I picked up seven titles this week, taking place in a total of four universes. One of which is our very own universe! (It still involves super-heroes, though. Go figure.)

Amazons Attack #1

-Is it me, or are the Amazons here as irrational as those in Y: The Last Man? No attempt at diplomacy at all? No warnings? Just... land and start beheading fathers in front of their sons? Aren't these women supposed to be civilized? Good grief.

-Wonder Woman is not going to like this, is she?

Blue Beetle #14

-The supporting cast member of the week is Jaime's mom:

-Guy Gardner is a pretty cool guy, so long as he's not trying to kill you.

-Yay for flightful harmful penguins! With glowing red eyes!

Fantastic Four #545

-Only a couple pages of Reed and Sue, but they're just enough to make you think the two might actually mend things. They've had a major disagreement, but they are mature adults who can handle it.

-Who's watching the kids? Reed and Sue are honeymooning, the active team is in space, Crystal's occupied with a major Inhuman crisis (see Silent War), and Jen is otherwise occupied with S.H.I.E.L.D. So who does that leave? H.E.R.B.I.E.?

-Life support bracelets! Precursors to the PEG units in Fantastic Four: The End?

-Ororo has had experience with cosmic stuff before. Not sure about T'Challa. They're both a little overconfident in dealing with the Silver Surfer though, I think...

Silent War #4

-So the Inhumans are awful. That's not a good way to treat the mentally ill.

-Maria Hill is also awful, but we already knew that.

-Black Bolt can write after all. He just generally chooses not to.

Snake Woman #10

-Yeah, right, Jessica, like prison would keep you safe. Interesting idea, though.

-There's a month missing. What happened then? (And how is Jessica not in prison, given what her detective friend knows about her?)

-And it turns out that Raj is... Raj is.... Well...

Yeah...

The Faithful characterize Jessica as "afflicted," and Harker is becoming slightly sympathetic. (He wants the cycle of violence to end, after all.) These people are twisted, and do want Jessica to die (though Harker wants everyone else to die first), but they're at least about survival. Jessica is about survival. Well, that and revenge. She has trouble controlling that. And Justin, who really is the only sane (maybe) character left at this point, doesn't seem too bothered by what Jessica is capable of... And Raj is just plain evil.

True Story, Swear To God #5

-Tom Beland's take on Spider-Man is freaking adorable. Also, Iron Man and Cap at a hot dog stand. Hee! Ahh, the fantasies associated with NYC...

-And the scene with Letterman? Nice.

Wonder Woman #8

-I'm still trying to decipher Circe's line of reasoning here, but I expect that there really isn't one. Just evil, evil magic.

-Nemesis suddenly seems competent. Except for not seeing through Diana's super-thin disguise. That's traditional though, right?

Comic Fortunes

2007-04-25T00:05:00.000-04:00

Panel from The Brave and the Bold #3.

Fortune from a cookie.

No Lanterns, but...

2007-04-23T23:35:00.000-04:00

Will a Torch do? (Insert your favorite heat-based euphemism here, if you feel so inclined...)

Many happy returns, Ragnell!

(Panel scan from Fantastic Four: The Wedding Special.)

Thoughts on 18 April, 2007

2007-04-21T23:24:00.000-04:00

Only four titles this week, taking place in three universes.

Bizarre New World #1

-Cityscapes and landscapes, 'scapes with both land and city... They are all beautiful in this book.

-Something that is better than caffeine: The sudden manifestation of flight capabilities.

-Paul's visit with his son is heartwarming without being sappy, probably because it's also hilarious.

-Actually, the whole book is funny, in an honest, non-snarky way.

The Brave and the Bold #3

-Batman probably does have a Bat Snowblower back in the Batcave. Right next to the Bat Lawn Tractor and the Bat Weed Wacker.

-Acting to save Lobo's life isn't enough to buy his services. Wow. Now that's being a jerk.

Manhunter #30

-What can I say? Wanted to finish reading this arc, whether or not I read the next one. Also, the cover is sweet.

-Wonder Woman in a Hummer is a good example of good driving evil.

Mighty Avengers #2

-Why does Jan ever have dragonfly wings? I don't understand.

-Bizarre three-way battle. A villain who is sometimes kind of sympathetic versus a twisted villain who is never sympathetic versus a group of heroes who may all be insane... (Should I be rooting for Mole Man here?) Wow.

Comics and Chinese Food

2007-04-19T00:41:00.000-04:00

Panels from Wonder Woman #7.

Fortune from a cookie.

Thoughts on 11 April, 2007

2007-04-17T23:48:00.000-04:00

This week, I read seven titles in about four universes. Or maybe five. I'm not sure about Spider-Man/Fantastic Four. Usual warning about spoilers applies.

Gen 13 #7

-Goofy stand-alone issue involving a scantily-clad Caitlin and dinosaurs. The cover does not lie.

-Caitlin: 1, Smilodon: 0. There's no way raw saber-toothed tiger pelt is sanitary, but if you're stuck in a tropical setting and your current outfit is too warm, you make do, I guess... oO

-I'm not a big fan of game ranches, so the ending made me happy.

Legion of Monsters: Man-Thing #1

-Speaking of happy yet grim endings, Evil Nature-Battling Wetland Hating People: 0, Man-Thing: 1. Yes!

The Loners #1

-There is not much to say about Loners. It turns out that I really don't care about any of these people save Julie Power, if only she weren't all (sort of) grown up and Blonde. She's like Susan Pevensie or something.

newuniversal #5

-Native American shaman. Vision quest complete with a feather, a campfire, and a hawk. Casino. There are so many ways this set-up could have gone wrong, or maybe it does, but at least Emmett Proudhawk is all mysterious in more ways than one.

-The government is awfully quick to dispatch nuclear weapons at newly-minted superhero types. So if you ever develop superpowers, be sure to build a really good bunker before you do anything else.

She-Hulk #17

-Line that annoys me now because I feel like I see it everywhere: "Way ahead of you." It's not just Dan Slott, but it does occur twice in this issue. Egad, stop it! Seriously. It's right up there with "Go limp..." *sigh*

-For some reason I thought Jen had standards. Where did they go? *double sigh*

-I want to hear Rick Jones' "Hulkbusters" song.

-Mal actually defends people she believes are bad and/or evil [insert expletive noun here]. Good grief. As of last issue I was actually feeling some sympathy for the woman. Not so much anymore. Great bar scene, though.

Spider-Man/Fantastic Four #1

-Impossible Man can be fun in small doses. Overdoses have side-effects of annoying. Which is probably the point. Actually, he kind of reminds me of Jim Carrey. You know. Guy with an extremely flexible face who is much easier to take in slightly serious roles.

-Very nice prank on Ben's part. Not to be performed on somebody who can't fly, though.

Wonder Woman #7

-Well, that was an angsty yet anti-climactic rescue.

-Does Nemesis actually get treated for fleas, or is the bottle just sitting there?

-I like the Villains and Vixens Bar concept. Especially in contrast with "The Bar With No Name" (see She-Hulk #17). Not sure which is better. The bar with loser villains or the bar with losers who want to be villains?

How many roads can a girl walk down...?

2007-04-09T17:00:00.000-04:00

(Warning... Not quite logical something-or-other ahead.)

So I guess the DC Universe really isn't bad. There are some characters I can't seem to get excited about, sure. Green Arrow. The Hawks. Catwoman. Superman is likable enough, though, and so is Robin. Manhunter, too.

I look forward to reading Blue Beetle and The All-New Atom every month and, because I am clueless, I do want to see where Wonder Woman goes. (If I somehow gain a clue and realize that my instincts aren't untrustworthy and the book is actually as bad as so many people say it is right now, then I'll drop it in favor of another Fantastic Four title.) Manhunter, I should probably just read in trades. Yes, I know that's a sacrilege, but I'm not following the subplots, which make up maybe half the book. I need to start at the beginning. Trade sales are good, right? ...

Anyway...

I'm a little scared about the Green Lanterns.

No, seriously, hear me out.

See, the Lanterns are involved in Blue Beetle, and they are also in The Brave and the Bold (which I am actually reading because of Jaime, not Kyle or Batman or whoever. That's not too weird, is it?) And the Lanterns... Well, it turns out that they're kind of fun. That's great and all, but I do not want to become a Green Lantern fan, not because being one is a bad thing (It's not a bad thing!), but because I just don't want to go down that road. Or further down than I've already gone, what with the three or four DC titles (not counting Wildstorm) I'm regularly reading right now. Reading good Lantern-related stories puts me at risk. (They are everywhere, those Lanterns.)

See, I read Fantastic Four stories for a grounded sort of cosmic-level adventure escapism. (And family. And humor. And because I just plain like it, but I digress.) Sue is quite a bit like a Green Lantern; she just doesn't need a magic ring from outer space to wield her force field powers. She doesn't fly nearly as well, but that's the price you pay, I guess. See? I'm reading about Green Lanterns already! They're just in a more familiar universe, wearing blue costumes that are tight but not, you know, that tight. Point is, I'm in a high-risk category, Lantern Fandomwise. And I have got to resist. Seriously.

There might be hope, though. DC has this Countdown Event coming up. If this makes DCU, as a whole, inaccessible to me, I might be in the clear. If Blue Beetle and Atom are too heavily involved in Countdown, I may have to drop them temporarily. Which is unfortunate, but it does kind of beat the alternative, which would no doubt be bad for my pocketbook. Which will already be suffering due to Marvel's next Event, which I am looking forward to because I do not learn. (Or maybe it's just that She-Hulk is involved, and there is the possibility that Hulk will smash Tony.)

But yeah. Standing on DCU Path, and in the unfamiliar darkness ahead a bright green will o' the wisp beckons. I do not want to go down that road.

Thoughts on 4 April, 2007

2007-04-07T23:59:00.000-04:00

Hmm. I do like this format. Less labor-intensive than writing actual coherent paragraphs, and the content is really about the same! There may be spoilers, so be warned.

Eight titles and five universes this week...

The All-New Atom #10

-The first few pages are a flashback (i.e., no zombies), and reminded me about how bad my memory is. This is not due to the story (which eventually I did remember from March), so much as the narration, which told me where I went wrong on my geography quiz last week.

-Ryan has an incredibly loving and thoughtful father. (Please don't kill him, Gail!) His panels and dialogue overshadow the flirting and zombie fights that make up the rest of the book. Others will disagree, inasmuch as there are zombies, but hey, bring it on. I'm still half sick of zombies after that Ultimate Fantastic Four story.

Avengers: The Initiative #1

-Happy accidents: "What God intended." Heh.

-So things in Iraq could be worse, if we had Hydra in real life and they set up shop in Baghdad. (What's a little Civil War aftermath story without a little politics, eh?)

-Why do Marvel civilians call their super-heroes "capes?" Honest question here.

-For a while there I thought Southpaw had adopted a new identity. Don't know why. Armory's energy is the wrong color. Still, her attitude kind of fits.

-Trauma really should listen to Gauntlet and change his name to Emo Boy. Much catchier. Yep. Also, while his power is disturbing, it has nothing on Robbie Baldwin's. It really doesn't.

-Poor Cloud 9.

Hulk and Power Pack #2 (of 4)

-Power Pack isn't limited to loser villains? Cool.

-Ad juxtaposition: On a left page, we see a well-adjusted (sort of) and cheerful Marvel Adventures Hulk preparing to put the smash-down on Zzzax. To the right of said page, we see an ad with an angry warbound 616 Hulk preparing to put the smash-down on Earth. Rainbows and fun versus fire and 'splosions. Interesting.

-From the "Mini Marvels" short, we learn that Devil Dinosaur makes a bad babysitter:

Edit: See Chris's Invincible Shopping List...

Incredible Hulk #105

-BOOM! Earth is so screwed... This is not a shock to anyone who has seen the ads (see above) of course, but still... Wow.

Ms. Marvel #14

-Carol feels guilt. A lot. Nothing new there.

-The Carpenter child custody hearing would be an interesting story in and of itself.

-AIM. DNA bomb. MODOK.

Painkiller Jane #0

-Skeevy tattoo parlors are a bad place to hang out unless you are an undercover cop with super healing powers. And even then...

Runaways #25

-Creepiest recap pages I've ever read.

-Joss Whedon really is a natural on this book. Characters on the wrong side of the law, trying to do good and stay alive all the same (not necessarily in that order). Dealing with unsavory crime bosses. Robberies gone terribly wrong, ending in explosions and possible death. A resident pilot who likes dinosaurs...

Um. Geez. He's written this before, hasn't he? There are aliens involved this time, though.

Welcome to Tranquility #5

-Is there a new mystery here, or has my memory failed me yet again? Something different about the water in Tranquility? Interesting...

-I like Mangacide's (I think that's her name) power. Not sure what it does, exactly, but lines like "Medi-shock horror image mirror!" are certainly welcome, even if (or maybe because) they sound like something out of Nextwave.

-Dr. Hate redeemed? There's something about an evil old skull-headed guy with a black eye and an IV looking contrite...

Thoughts on 28 March, 2007

2007-03-29T23:45:00.000-04:00

(Yes, I do have thoughts once in a while. They are not necessarily original, but they are there. This format is not original, either. Everybody does this sooner or later. I am a sheep and that's nothing to be ashamed of! I hope.)

Anyway... Six comics this week, taking place in a total of four universes.

Blue Beetle #13

-This issue would make a great jumping-on point for people.

-Two pencillers. I didn't notice until I really read the credits. Actually, I didn't actually notice afterwards.

-Is the Justice League really cool with evil money-worshiping aliens? (The Justice League has a Green Lantern, right?) Is The Reach really, as Jaime says, that smooth?

Fantastic Four #544

-In what issue of Black Panther does Ororo beat up on Clor? I want to see that.

-T'Challa intimidates Tony Stark. Very nice. The Batman Effect is alive and well.

-Is this the first time capes have been worn in the Fantastic Four? Just wondering.

Silent War #3

-So Pietro is a completely irredeemably evil creep. Sad.

-Speaking of, I'm having trouble getting my head around Pietro's time travel methods. For some reason, longer jumps are easier to grasp.

-Note to self: Read X-Factor some day. Layla Miller is interesting. She's creepy in her own special way (and looks even creepier through Luna's eyes), but she lacks the evil. Maybe.

-Is madness infectious?

Snake Woman #9

-I actually like the cover this month. Definitely an improvement over the past few.

-If any characters ultimately survive this title, I will be shocked.

-This title's sole non-creepy characters are actually police. One detective in particular gives Jessica some perspective: A job doesn't have to be or define a person. Sometimes, when a job is ugly, a person can dissociate themselves from it. Jessica, unfortunately, has been letting the serpent define her. Does she realize this? Would it be better if she doesn't?

-If Raj is really one of the Faithful, he has to be one of the smartest. He does not wear the seal that triggers Jessica's transformation. (The seal is the trigger, Jessica is the gun, and the Snake Woman is a bullet that has yet to miss.)

-What the heck is Harker eating that's alive? Do we really want to know? Ew.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #40

-Switching between Scott Kolins and Mark Brooks every so many pages is slightly odd, but not too disorienting.

-There's a four-page ad for the 616 Fantastic Four. This sort of ad is always annoying, but at least this one is logically placed.

-Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ultimate Diablo could probably kick 616 Diablo's arse. Or would, you know, if they met. Regular Diablo needs potions. Ultimate Diablo has a magical eye, a better costume, and disturbing control over the classical elements. Both versions are tied when it comes to the 'stache.

-If your group wears colorful costumes, have strange abilities and otherwise looks outlandish, disguise your operation as a traveling circus. It might work for a few minutes. Just don't expect to enjoy it:

Wonder Woman #6

-A super-hero theme park. In context, that's just odd. (Also, green popcorn looks unappetizing.)

-The Super Real characters could totally take Maxi-Man.

-How long, exactly, has Diana been participating in human society? Does she really not get turnstiles?

Hulk and Power Pack

2007-03-25T01:00:00.000-04:00

Some team-ups just seem completely natural, and Hulk and Power Pack is one of them. Assuming Banner sticks with transforming into the childlike savage Hulk, and not Mr. Fixit, anyway.

In this first issue, he does. Hulk and Power Pack #1 is a bright and inviting cartoon, and was especially appealing in an otherwise dark post-Civil War week. Power Pack battles loser villains while cracking all the required Hulk jokes and making it clear that, yes, they are kids. Smart kids, sure, but Jack in particular is obsessed with his hand-held video game, a running gag from beginning to end.

As for Bruce, he's in surprisingly good spirits. Why not? He's off to meet up with James Power, do some sciency things, and his super-powered colleagues aren't actively shooting him off into space. Live is pretty good, considering, but naturally the Hulk puts in an appearance too, and gets to smash a not-so-loser villain of his own.

The whole thing, being a kids' book, is fun and lacks in any real Hulk-related angst. Between that, and the bonus Mini Marvels story... If this ends up in Digest format, it'll make a great gift for one of my younger cousins.

Holy Low-Stakes Bet, Batman!

2007-01-30T23:23:00.000-05:00

A while back, Kalinara and I were discussing Heroes over the world's most evil instant messaging service (AIM) and for some reason decided to make a bet on Zach's sexual orientation.

The Terms: Is Zach gay? I said he wasn't, Kalinara said he was.

The Stakes: The loser was to choose and review a book from the winner's pull list. The book was not be one that loser would normally pick up, and the review was to be at least 300 words in length. If Zach turned out to be bisexual, we would both lose. And we had an end-of-January deadline. I assumed that this meant January, 2007. (I'm flexible, though.)

The Outcome: The character was originally conceived to be gay. The network decided to make Zach straight, instead. We both won, but we also both lost, and in this case, losing seemed like more fun. Well, it did to me. Kalinara apparently agreed.

The Choice: I looked over Kalinara's pull list. (Hers is heavily weighted towards DC, mine towards Marvel. Not much overlap, which is helpful when it comes to stuff like this.) I'd already tried quite a few of the titles. A few others were coming out on January 31st, which really messes with the deadline, since I (originally) wanted to pick up a "fresh" comic for this exercise. That narrowed it down quite a bit. Seeing as how I'd never read a Batman comic (assuming that Catwoman doesn't count), Robin #158 seemed like a good bet. Well, it did until I read the solicits and realized that issue would be the second half of a two-issue story. But I stuck with the chosen title, and went with the first part of the story: Robin #157

Anyway... The Review:

I went into this knowing next to nothing about this or any Robin. Now I know that this particular Robin's name is Tim, and that he goes to high school. (I know he goes to high school because there’s a scene there during which he placates an angry girlfriend. He’s good at talking to girls. And keeping secrets. Guess that’s a DC thing.) Tim looks young for a high schooler, some how, but maybe that's more the art than anything. Or maybe Tim is just gifted (with more than the ladies) and talented. That would make sense. Why a gifted and talented youth would feel the need to rescue a cat from a tree, I don't know, but it makes for a fun story. This cat is a big orange furball with a lot of attitude and a big Cheshire grin. His scene with Alfred is priceless; clearly the good butler is not a fan of animals. Non-bat animals, anyway. (Where's Selina Kyle when you need her, huh? Or Holly or whoever?)

Right. The initial mission, being kind of lame (and Robin does acknowledge that it's kind of lame, though not in those exact words), explodes into something a great deal bigger. The mysterious cat leads Robin to dead pushers, disturbingly huge footprints, and various other damage, all of which suggests that there is a large, dangerous creature loose in Gotham City. (How often does Gotham have to deal with stuff like that?)

Naturally, a big fight ensues. Robin versus an angry dragon, and Robin is the underdog. This being a two-part story, a lizard remains at large, and a character I know even less about than Robin appears. Kid with blue skin, pointy ears, horns and way too much eye makeup. Goes by the name of Klarion, according to the cover. (What is it about guest stars showing up on the last page?)

Yeah, it’s a fun comic, and while I probably won’t continue to read the title (if only because my pull list needs trimming), I will at least be reading one more issue.

Thirty Second Recap Contest

2007-01-01T02:45:00.000-05:00

I can't draw for beans, and I really don't have the patience to learn, which didn't stop me from attempting to recap a story arc from Ultimate Fantastic Four. In nine (9) panels. For Chris Sims' 2007 Thirty Second Recap Contest.

And I had to do this tonight, or I'd never do it. Happy New Year!

(Medium: MSPaint -- Crayon box of the digital age. Fonts: Centaur and Pop.)

Great Moments with Susan Storm

2006-12-29T00:34:00.001-05:00

So I was planning to post about America's culture of violence (or somesuch) in relation to Gail Simone's Gen 13, but it's going extremely slowly, so here we are with the cliched "Panel-in-Lieu-of-Content" drill.

This particular panel comes from Civil War #4. That was a while ago, wasn't it? Wow. Really did mean to post it earlier but hey, time flies... And Sue Storm moments like this never get old:

Previous Nifty Sue Moments (scroll down for them):
On 10 May, 2006
On 7 June, 2006
On 14 June, 2006
On 16 August, 2006

Jiminy Crispness!

2006-12-23T17:13:00.000-05:00

This Christmas carol is a bit of a family tradition. A framed version of the song -- a set of newspaper clippings, in fact -- graces our dining room around this time of year. Though I don't know all the lyrics, it's hard to forget about poor "Nora freezin' on the trolley." These panels from The Pogo Papers don't capture the entire song, but I think they do capture its essence.

I keep forgetting how much I used to like Walt Kelly. Really should get reacquainted with the denizens of the Okefenokee Swamp. That would be a good New Years Resolution, but for now... Happy Holidays!

On 20 December, 2006

2006-12-21T23:47:00.000-05:00

--Warning: Spoilers ahead--

Quick Tally: 1 universe, 9 books, 3 themes.

1. Big Fellas in Flight.

So Ben Grimm goes to Paris, and hassles aside, he does get to carry his toothpaste. He arrives; hooks up with an eclectic group of Parisian heroes; embarks on an underground adventure (think the Gallic version of Mole Man); and picks up a new battle cry. "Il est temps de battre!" It's a bit of old school fun, a far cry from the drama across the pond. Ben's pleased with that, and I like it, too. I also like that the French people get some respect for once (They fight! And they win the fight! With a little help from an American, sure, but let's not overthink it.). I like that the Eiffel tower isn't in every panel, and that the accents aren't overdone. Yes, Ben's flight in Fantastic Four #541 is a positive one.

The same cannot, unfortunately, be said for Awesome Andy as of She-Hulk #14. Andy trudges through the story of his life. His origin, emancipation, and heartbreak are all presented here, in Andy's own voice. Star-crossed by Starfox and scorned by Mallory Book, the big gray android literally flies into the wild blue yonder, hoping to find himself there. Ohhh, Andy.

2. Women in Alternate Lives.

In Ms. Marvel #10, Carol discovers that the psychotic version of herself travels from universe to universe killing Rogues. And other Carols. Not the best of revelations, certainly. Of course, 616 Carol must stop Psycho Carol. Even with the help of 616 Beast and 616 Rogue, this is a tricky, given that evil Warbird is powerful crazy. Standard doppelganger fare, I suppose. It seems the problem with facing an evil twin is that sometimes you sort of recognize yourself. Not a good feeling. Through the course of her escapade, Carol discovers that she's not a bad superhero (like evil Warbird), but that maybe, just maybe, she's not as good a person as she thought. So now she has a different, perhaps heavier, load of insecurities to deal with. And that's probably a step in the right direction. She has the skills; she needs strength of character.

You know who isn't facing herself though? Wanda Maximoff. The not-so-late Clint Barton sets off to find his sometime killer in New Avengers #26. He wants closure, you see, and well, it doesn't seem like he'll get it. Wanda just isn't herself anymore. No need to upset her with a past she doesn't remember. She's living her own alternate life in the bliss of ignorance. And maybe that's better for everyone. Except maybe Clint, who doesn't know how to leave well enough alone. Not sure about the story, but the art is exceptionally pretty.

3. Beating Up on Iron Man.

I've rather had my fill of Tony Stark this week. The man's a twit. But he takes a lot of blows, physically and psychologically, and that helps. Here's a rundown:

-New Avengers: Illuminati #1 -- Tony (along with the rest of the team) is captured and tortured by Skrulls.

-Civil War: War Crimes #1 -- The Kingpin outsmarts Tony. Tony captures a lot of supervillains, which is certainly a good thing, but that doesn't change the fact that, well, Iron Man gets played for once.

-Iron Man/Captain America: Casualties of War #1 -- Iron Man and Cap meet at the Avengers Mansion (what's left of it) to talk. Naturally, they end up fighting, and Cap proves that he's better than Tony at hand-to-hand combat.

-Iron Man #14 -- Iron Man and Captain America meet at Yankee Stadium for a parley. They end up fighting, and Cap has backup. Tony takes hits from Captain America, Luke Cage and (I think) Ultra Girl. Later he gets smacked by Sue Storm.

No wonder Tony looks so haggard in Front Line...

On Blogging

2006-12-20T20:52:00.000-05:00

Wow.

Wow, I have really been slacking lately, haven't I? And by lately, I mean "for months." Maybe I should get back into this blogging thing. I have been reading comic books, after all. And they're fun to write about, but the usual weekly thing got, well, tedious. Not the good "in-the-zone" tedious that I tend to experience at work. More the "this isn't fun or useful for anybody" tedious.

I think I will try to get back into the weekly swing of things. But I need to shake things up a bit. I think I know how to do that now and, with luck, it will be fun or useful for somebody!

So I guess I should go read Wednesday's haul, or what I can read meaningfully before Medium comes on. Yeah, you just read over 100 words of metapost. Sorry about that.

Y'know, come to think of it, I do have some content. It's fanfiction. Marvel Civil War fanfiction. (Yeah, I know. At least it's something.) So go read "Calling Home"! I mean, if you feel like it.

On Veteran's Day

2006-11-11T11:00:00.000-05:00

Thank you to all who have fought to my country safe. (Obligatory cover scan from GCD)

12 Days of Halloween: Day 12

2006-11-11T10:57:00.000-05:00

On the Twelfth day of Halloween old comics gave to me:

Twelve cats a'scratching,
Eleven pilgrims hunting,
Ten paintings shaking,
Nine beasts attacking,
Eight spiders crawling,
Seven midgets gawking,
Six children waiting,
Five Poppupians,
Four furry gargoyles,
Three Trick-or-Treaters,
Two Montross Monsters,
And a giant Swarm of Nazi killer bees.

(Image from Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery, Vol. 1)

12 Days of Halloween: Day 11

2006-11-10T00:37:00.000-05:00

On the Eleventh day of Halloween old comics gave to me:

Eleven pilgrims hunting,
Ten paintings shaking,
Nine beasts attacking,
Eight spiders crawling,
Seven midgets gawking,
Six children waiting,
Five Poppupians,
Four furry gargoyles,
Three Trick-or-Treaters,
Two Montross Monsters,
And a giant Swarm of Nazi killer bees.

(Image from Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery, Vol. 1)

12 Days of Halloween: Day 10

2006-11-09T00:36:00.000-05:00

On the Tenth day of Halloween old comics gave to me:

Ten paintings shaking,
Nine beasts attacking,
Eight spiders crawling,
Seven midgets gawking,
Six children waiting,
Five Poppupians,
Four furry gargoyles,
Three Trick-or-Treaters,
Two Montross Monsters,
And a giant Swarm of Nazi killer bees.

(Image from Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery, Vol. 1)

12 Days of Halloween: Day 9

2006-11-08T00:30:00.000-05:00

On the Ninth day of Halloween old comics gave to me:

Nine beasts attacking,
Eight spiders crawling,
Seven midgets gawking,
Six children waiting,
Five Poppupians,
Four furry gargoyles,
Three Trick-or-Treaters,
Two Montross Monsters,
And a giant Swarm of Nazi killer bees.

(Image from Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars)

12 Days of Halloween: Day 8

2006-11-07T00:25:00.000-05:00

On the Eighth day of Halloween old comics gave to me:

Eight spiders crawling,
Seven midgets gawking,
Six children waiting,
Five Poppupians,
Four furry gargoyles,
Three Trick-or-Treaters,
Two Montross Monsters,
And a giant Swarm of Nazi killer bees.

(Image from Midnight, Mass. #4)

12 Days of Halloween: Day 7

2006-11-06T00:25:00.000-05:00

On the Seventh day of Halloween old comics gave to me:

Seven midgets gawking,
Six children waiting,
Five Poppupians,
Four furry gargoyles,
Three Trick-or-Treaters,
Two Montross Monsters,
And a giant Swarm of Nazi killer bees.

(Image from Fantastic Four Visionaries - John Byrne Vol. 5)

12 Days of Halloween: Day 6

2006-11-05T01:02:00.000-05:00

On the Sixth day of Halloween old comics gave to me:

Six children waiting,
Five Poppupians,
Four furry gargoyles,
Three Trick-or-Treaters,
Two Montross Monsters,
And a giant Swarm of Nazi killer bees.

(Image from Freaks of the Heartland #5)

12 Days of Halloween: Day 5

2006-11-04T00:55:00.000-05:00

On the Fifth day of Halloween old comics gave to me:

Five Poppupians,
Four furry gargoyles,
Three Trick-or-Treaters,
Two Montross Monsters,
And a giant Swarm of Nazi killer bees.

(Image from The Impossible Man Summer Vacation Spectacular #2)

12 Days of Halloween: Day 4

2006-11-03T11:36:00.000-05:00

On the Fourth day of Halloween old comics gave to me:

Four furry gargoyles,
Three Trick-or-Treaters,
Two Montross Monsters,
And a giant Swarm of Nazi killer bees.

(Image from Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery, Vol. 1)

12 Days of Halloween: Day 3

2006-11-02T08:09:00.000-05:00

On the Third day of Halloween old comics gave to me:

Three Trick-or-Treaters,
Two Montross Monsters,
And a giant Swarm of Nazi killer bees.

(Image from Fantastic Four #517)

12 Days of Halloween: Day 2

2006-11-01T08:10:00.000-05:00

On the Second day of Halloween old comics gave to me:

Two Montross Monsters,
And a giant Swarm of Nazi killer bees.

(Image from Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery, Vol. 1)

12 Days of Halloween: Day 1

2006-10-31T07:58:00.000-05:00

The Twelve Days of Christmas start on the day after Christmas (December 26th) and conclude on Epiphany (January 6th), at least according to Wikipedia. In keeping with that (though I'm fudging a little), I'm pretending that Halloween goes for twelve days, too, commencing on Halloween night (October 31), and culminating on the anniversary of Typhoid Mary's death (November 11th.) How is that for timing, right? Also, the term "old comics" is loosely defined here as "comics from a few months ago and beyond." Poetic license. So! On with Halloween!

On the First day of Halloween old comics gave to me:

A giant Swarm of Nazi killer bees.

(Cover scan from Grand Comics Database)

Heroes -- A Quick Look at Eden

2006-10-17T23:03:00.000-04:00

So, like every other good little American comic book geek, I have been watching NBC's Heroes. And there's one character I truly hope to see more of in the weeks to come. Besides Hiro, I mean. (Does anybody not want to see more Hiro? Should Hiro eventually get his own spin-off series, all in Japanese, with subtitles? Okay, maybe that's pushing it.)

No, the character I'm intrigued by at the moment is an unknown quantity: Eden McCain. Eden may not have special powers, but she is the real connection between Mohinder and his father's knowledge. The book, the map, and the algorithm all need interpretation, and Eden could still be the key to that. Forget the cheerleader, let's figure out what did Chandra Suresh knew. It's not just knowledge, though. Through Eden, Mohinder could potentially come to know, on a more personal level, an estranged loved one.

Let's see. What else can Eden do? Well, she helps make Mohinder feel more at home in a foreign country. That's huge. She encourages him to keep searching for answers without losing his capacity for skepticism. She makes him comfort food... Okay, okay, so Eden is a catalyst who has had, as yet, little opportunity to kick butt or anything. We don't really know who she is, or what she does for a living. She's a mystery. And I'm more than okay with that because, right now, Eden McCain is a potential Sue to Mohinder's Reed. Maybe she is already. She could be the most powerful woman on Heroes.

Or she could be cannon fodder. Who knows? I'll try not to get too attached.

On 4 October, 2006

2006-10-11T23:25:00.000-04:00

I bought a copy of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Overcoming Procrastination about five years ago, and it's been collecting dust on my bookshelf ever since. (Clearly, it hasn't helped.) Well, this blog is starting to collect dust, too, but it's a beautiful new month, and a good time for a fresh start. Stale reviews can come later...*

Reading music: KT Tunstall: Eye to the Telescope

--Warning: Spoilers ahead--

DC

The All-New Atom #4: Dr. Ryan Choi is growing. Not literally so much, because apparently abrupt size-changing is difficult for him even though mass, weight, and density changing are easy. But he's growing just the same as he continues to learn the art of superheroics. Much of that learning this issue occurs in the mouth and, later, stomach of a 30-foot naked woman. Anyway, Ryan escapes, makes with the banter, and sees his reflection in the mirror. Well, he sees his reflection, but I think he's also starting to see some of his predecessor in himself. And he starts to learn about the sacrifices a superhero has to make. He also kicks butt. Gotta love seeing an effective size-changer!

I really wanted to go all A.P. English on this one, but, well, the procrastination thing. Maybe next month...

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yes!

Marvel

Amazing Spider-Girl #0: Adjectiveless Spider-Girl is a series I didn't follow, but here's a nifty scrapbook/diary that tells me the trades are something to add to the ol' Amazon wishlist. If it's any indication, anyway. Meanwhile, I won't be totally lost when I try the first issue of Amazing in a couple weeks. I shouldn't be lost anyway, with a #1, but references can still come in handy.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? The jury's out 'til the actual story starts.

Dr. Strange: The Oath #1: I don't know much about Dr. Strange, but Vaughan introduces him in a way that touches upon all aspects of Strange's name. Most of what I've read of the character seems to focus the "Strange" aspect, and of course there's still an emphasis on that in The Oath, but Stephen is also trained as a medical doctor. That's not lost here. As a wounded Dr. Strange watches the Night Nurse patch up his body, he watches her work with a critical eye and proves once again that doctors make the worst patients. (To be fair, he also praises her suturing skills.)

Of course, while he's lying on the table he's also floating above it in astral form. Both Dr. Strange and Wong relate how Dr. Strange came by his gunshot wound. Wong, the faithful assistant, has been hiding a medical illness from his master: An inoperable brain cancer. Of course, the good doctor finds out about this and isn't about to lose Wong to some terrestrial disease. Can't cure it scientifically? Well, if you're Dr. Strange, you try to cure it metaphysically, even if that means stealing magical elixer from an extra-dimensional demon. And if that elixer happens to be the cure for cancer, people will come after it. This series plays on a fantasy I can totally get behind, and it's well-written, too.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Fantastic Four #540: Sue leaves Reed. She also leaves Reed with an estimated $789,000 of damages as she slams the figurative door on the way out, and it's surprisingly hard to blame her. Better that she takes her wrath out on an innocent building than her (soon-to-be ex?) husband, right? Well, maybe. Reed continues to be a twit, telling himself to "focus on the numbers" and wondering whether if that isn't what he's always done.

I don't think it is. Isn't one of Reed's past strengths the ability to look at the big picture? To create a big picture out of disparate concepts, to link things? If so then, no, he hasn't always had numerical tunnel vision. I'm sorry. No. Sue's right, he's not the man she married. And she's probably right to leave at this point, but jeez. (Also, is she the woman he married? Leaving the kids like that? Sue, what is wrong with you?) It's still kind of sad. *sigh*

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yes. *wistful sigh*

The Irredeemable Ant-Man #1: This is a slow read with lots of little panels and lots of dialogue. I'd be okay with that, but it doesn't do much for the humor. I guess I just expected more of the bad heroism and less of the low-level SHIELD agent sitcom. I want to love Ant-Man, but this just isn't doing it.

Do I Know What I Just Read? For the most part.
Do I Care? Not really.

Marvel Team-Up #25: This is not a series I've been following, though I did pick up three key Titannus issues some months back, so I wasn't totally lost. In fact, this was a nifty conclusion to that story. Dr. Strange summons a whole bunch of heroes to tackle the problem of a mindless Titannus who is trashing Baltimore. Warbird is playing pool with Luke Cage when Strange's astral form appears. Captain America is playing solitaire. Spider-Man is out being nostalgic about his old costume. Wolverine is fighting with Deadpool. And She-Hulk is in bed with her husband. Dr. Strange doesn't even give her time to get dressed. (Jerk.)

So, anyway, they team up, (sort of) help defeat Titannus, and conclude the series. Also, there's a gag involving Speedball being an idiot in the future. Not the Stamford future, an alternate future. Guess I might pick this up in trades...

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yeah

Week's most memorable moment: Dr. Strange and Night Nurse discuss fetishes in Dr. Strange: The Oath #1.

Tentative checklist for 11 October, 2006
(**Indicates a title I've preordered.)
**Civil War: Front Line #7
Gen 13 #1
Ultimate Power #1 -- Hmm... On the one hand, this involves the Ultimate Fantastic Four (Yay!), but on the other, it's pencilled by Greg Land (Nay!). Decisions, decisions...

*Later: A procrastinator's favorite word.

On Meeting the Artist

2006-09-22T14:22:00.000-04:00

So, it's official. I am slacking off on this little blog. Four weeks worth of comics to "review," and next Wednesday feels like it's coming up fast. *sigh* I'll eventually get to it. No really. I will. Some day.

You know what's also official? That I am terribly awkward, that's what. See, my LCS had an Artist Showcase this past Wednesday. Three professionals were there, as well as some local students, and I'd heard of none of these people when the Showcase was first announced. But Guy Davis, at least, was the penciller and inker of Unstable Molecules, and I dig the Fantastic Four, so... I went ahead and bought the book (which I would have picked up eventually, anyway), with the intention of reading it and getting it signed. And I did, and that's nifty. And it was fun meeting a professional comic book artist for the first time. Guy Davis is very polite and easy-going, and well... nice. Awfully bland word, I know, but it works here. Nice. As far as I could tell, anyway, based on a few long minutes of trying to find a way to converse and utterly failing at it. It's awkward, you know, standing there looking at pictures (and Mr. Davis' drawings are fun to look at), and having nothing of substance to say. I'm sure it's kind of awkward for the artist, too, but I almost hope he's used to it; that would mean I'm not alone.

What do you say to a comic book artist when you meet them...?

On 13 September, 2006 -- Part I

2006-09-14T08:23:00.000-04:00

So this, from the Civil War Files, made me happy yesterday:

It must be official because, really, what's more official than a guidebook like this, even if it is written from Tony Stark's point of view? She-Hulk is strong as Hercules, strong as Sentry, stronger than Iron Man and stronger than Thing. Sure, it sounds silly, like a "this character can beat up that character" sort of thing, but you know? It's still kind of nifty.

Note: I am conveniently overlooking the fact that the whole ID card could be a mistake, inasmuch as it uses the word "equipment" rather than "powers," and the description of said powers is ambiguous. "Resistance to regeneration?" Ouch.

On 7 September, 2006

2006-09-13T11:12:00.000-04:00

Reading music: Dusk Till Dawn: The Best of Capercaillie

--Warning: Spoilers ahead--

DC

The All-New Atom #3: The greatest philosophers have, as a general rule, been philosophers, haven't they? I suppose it's fitting that Dr. Ryan Choi, also (supposedly) a great scientist, finds himself in the age-old war between science and faith. In this particular conflict, Ryan finds himself on neither side. On the side of reason (sort of) are the strange creatures with perplexing grammar; and on the other is M'Nagalah, a vile sewer-dwelling Cancer God who has brainwashed many an Ivy Town resident. Naturally, Ryan is fighting both factions. (And he has an arch-nemesis lurking in the background, no less). While he trusts in empirical science ("I believe in reason. I believe in science," Ryan insists to M'Nagalah), he is certainly open-minded enough to accept certain unbelievable things, such as the fact that a monster can live in the sewer and convince otherwise intelligent people to worship it and dress oddly besides.

So Ryan is in the middle. He's on that bridge between science and religion. He is a philosopher, of sorts, or at least he could be. Now, if only he can save that town...

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Marvel

Marvel 1602: Fantastick Four #1: The Fantastick Four, strangely enough, doesn't appear much in this issue. Six pages involve Grimm (mostly in disguise), and the the very last page is devoted to Reed and Susan. John does not appear at all. Instead, Fantastick Four tells the story of the Most Frightful Four (here it's the Wizard, Sandman, Trapster and Medusa), their battle at sea, their discovery at the end of the world, and their eventual alliance with Count Otto Von Doom.

The language is archaic, but only just enough to give it the proper Shakespearean flavor, I think. I'm sure it's not perfect, but it's not painful to read, either, and that's what really matters here, isn't it? And, hey, it's a fun set-up issue, even if the Four are a bit lacking.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Kind of

Virgin

Snake Woman #2: Jessica's reptilian side comes out in full force, with lots of hissing, eye-color-changing, strange cold flirting with Raj, and raw bacon eating. Needless to say, Jessica is confused and scared by the whole thing. The mysterious Brinkley describes her well:

Changed inside, from the serpent's glare
No longer small, nor kind, nor fair
But I'll protect my maiden, though she wishes me ill.
Now that the snake has made her first kill...

Jessica isn't the only one dealing with a dual identity. The major players here are all (I think) souls reincarnated who know a surprising amount about their past lives. Harker, the key villain (or one of them) embraces his, and knows how to awaken, what, ancestral memories(?), in others. And, of course, there is the enigma that is Brinkley. Maybe Jessica's human instincts just aren't that good. Jessica maybe be Brinkley's "maiden," but Brinkley is also 68 (whatever that means), and who is Snake Woman to him? This is one heck of a mystery, and it probably deserves a longer, more in depth analysis. There's quite a bit packed into this little comic...

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Week's most memorable moment: This panel, from All-New Atom #3, should speak for itself.

Tentative checklist for 13 September, 2006
(*Indicates a title I've preordered.)
Civil War Files #1
*Ms. Marvel #7
Wasteland #3

On 2 August, 2006

2006-08-29T22:59:00.000-04:00

Still catching up...

Reading music: Riverdance: Music from the Show

--Warning: Spoilers ahead--

DC

The All-New Atom #2: Well, okay, I kind of wish this issue had an essay question to answer, like the last one, but the Scientific Method theme makes up for it. It's as though, for Ryan, becoming The Atom is a grand experiment. At least, he wants it to be as he tests ants as a means of transportation and the parameters of the size-changing ability. He observes the powers, tests them, and sketches atomic fire rockets on napkins whilst eating "Chinese" food. The scientific method doesn't quite line up with the process Ryan is going through, I don't think, but maybe it's not really supposed to. After all, Ryan soon dons brightly-colored spandex and dashes off to learn the life-or-death science of superheroics. And that requires a different method altogether.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yes.

Image

Doll and Creature #4: With macabre political commentary (sort of), and lots of 'splosions, the wonderfully morbidly amusing Doll & Creature concludes. I hope there will be a sequel.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yes.

Liberty Meadows #37: Comic strips don't get much more juvenile than this without losing the funny, do they?

Do I Know What I Just Read? Sure...
Do I Care? Kinda.

Marvel

Fantastic Four #539 is, of course, a Civil War zone. This one focuses on Ben and his home street. Thinker and Puppet Master team up yet again to lay a complex trap for the opposing superhero strike teams. As the villains work to light a fuse on Yancy Street, they discuss their anger management issues and mutual hatred of the Fantastic Four. Stuff naturally goes sour, pushing Ben over the edge and out of the fight entirely.

Note: Sue, Johnny, and Reed are conspicuously absent here.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yes.

On 23 August, 2006

2006-08-29T22:31:00.000-04:00

Okay, this is just unusual. Not much of interest from Marvel this week. Go figure.

Reading music: Riverdance: Music from the Show

--Warning: Spoilers ahead--

DC

Blue Beetle #6: Blue Beetle and the Posse take the good fight to a metahuman compound that rings of the 198 prison camp over on Earth-616.

But there are two characters I feel like I ought to know. There's the burly tattooed fella on the red motorcycle, and there's the mysterious Dr. Strange type who keeps popping up out of thin air. Who are those guys?

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes. Mostly.
Do I Care? Yes.

Justice League of America #1: I have seen that first page floating around the blogosphere for what seems like months and, well... It's even weirder in print, and it is not comfortable. Maybe discomfort is what they were going for, but... Geez, it's weird.

Of all the stories here, Red Tornado was the most touching. Diana, Clark and Bruce voting on JLA members was entertaining, too. As for the rest, I have no clue. Eh.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Generally speaking, yes.
Do I Care? Not really, no.

Wonder Woman #2: I like that Diana is this woman confused about what her role in life ought to be. Very existential and very human, that. I like that, on top of the "Who am I?" stuff, she's managing the whole big sister/mentor role by watching over the two women replacing her as Wonder Woman, and she's maintaining a new job as a government agent.

I am going to posit that it is taking both Donna and Cassie to replace Diana as Wonder Woman, but that may be as shaky as Diana's secret identity, seeing as it's based primarily on this one comic. (I had no idea there even was a Wonder Girl.) Oh, and Kingdom Come. At any rate, in Kingdom Come, Diana is characterized as having two roles, right? That of a warrior, and that of a teacher/peacemaker... Something like that. (I can't believe I'm writing this. I shall probably be smote by the collective feminist comics blogosphere or something.) At any rate, in Wonder Woman, Donna (in the middle of a battle) calls herself a "kinder, gentler Wonder Woman." That's probably kind of tongue-in-cheek, but however it's meant, Donna still shows she has a sense of humor. Meanwhile, Cassie displays a quick temper and a less-than-forgiving nature. Are the attitudes of Donna and Cassie sort of representative of what Diana has to balance within herself?

Or not. It's a very fun, very pretty book though.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Kind of.

IDW Publishing

Supermarket #4 (of 4): The relationship between the two families (the Yakuza and the Swedes) is a bit confusing. A fake rivalry that disguises an alliance?

At any rate, whatever the deal is with the organized criminals, Supermarket #4 is an unexpected but strangely satisfying conclusion to Pella's story, complete with a great car chase and surprisingly little bloodshed.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Image

Elephantmen #2: "Shock Crock!" A Howard Stern parody interviews Crocodileman Elijah Delaney. There is goofy banter, and there is the question as to how Elijah lost his tail. And whether he likes scantily-clad human women, of which there are two. That ends rather poorly. But what else do you expect from a Howard Stern parody?

"Behemoth and Leviathon." Okay, this is just odd. An epic battle between Hip Flask (I think) and a... That's not Elijah, is it? It would explain how he lost his tail, but honestly, that reptile looks more like something out of Jurassic Park. At any rate, it's narrated by Job. As in, the Book of Job, or parts of it. Weird contrast.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Pretty much, yeah.
Do I Care? Sort of.

Marvel

Women of Marvel Poster Book: Okay, so I'm guessing there won't be any "Men of Marvel" poster books. There should be, in all fairness, but no. At least there's variety here, anyway, with all manner of reprinted images from various artists, most of whom are not named Greg.

In case you're curious, the following is a listing of all posters and artists, verbatim, from the inside front cover:

She-Hulk by Mike Mayhew
Spider-Woman by Andrea DiVito
Ms. Marvel by Frank Cho
X-23 & Psylocke by Randy Green
Black Cat with Wolverine by Joseph Michael Linsner
Rogue by Rodolfo Migliari
Invisible Woman by Steve McNiven
Wolfsbane by Josh Middleton
Misty Knight & Colleen Wing by Khary Evans
Arana by Mark Brooks
Emma Frost by Greg Horn
Jewel by Mark Bagley
Mary Jane with Spider-Man by Takeshi Miyazawa
The Women of Marvel by Greg Land
Black Cat by Terry Dodson
Dazzler by Michael Ryan
Dagger with Cloak by Josh Middleton
Mystique by Mike Mayhew
Power Princess by Gary Frank
She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters by John Buscema
Psylocke by Josh Middleton
Ms. Marvel (House of M) by Terry Dodson
The Women of Marvel by Mike Mayhew
Ultimate Invisible Girl, Marvel Girl & Vision by Brandon Peterson
Storm by Michael Turner
Blink & Nocturne by Adrian Alphona
Spider-Woman by Joe Sinnott
Black Widow by Greg Land
Spider-Girl by Ron Frenz
Sersi by Rick Berry
Shanna, the She-Devil by Frank Cho
Kitty Pryde by John Cassaday
Rogue by Chris Bachalo
Polaris with Havok by Billy Tan
Phoenix by Greg Land
The Women of Marvel by Bruce Timm

The book might be worth unstapling for Steve McNiven's Sue Storm, though I have no idea where I'd display it, if at all.

Week's most memorable moment: Pinata (a.k.a. Cinetico), a member of the Posse, describes her powers in Blue Beetle #6. (It's like something out of Nextwave...)

Tentative checklist for 30 August, 2006
(*Indicates a title I've preordered.)
*All New Official Handbook Marvel Universe A To Z #8
*All Star Superman #5
CSI: Dying in the Gutters #1
Civil War Young Avengers & Runaways #2 (Of 4)
Mythos: Hulk
*She-Hulk 2 #11
Snakes On A Plane #1 (Of 2)
*Ultimate Fantastic Four #33

Lordy...

On 19 & 26 July, 2006 -- Part II: Everywhere Else

2006-08-29T21:41:00.000-04:00

Catching up. Part I is here

Reading music: Kitty Donohoe, This Road Tonight; Leahy, Lakefield

--Warning: Spoilers ahead--

DC

Blue Beetle #5: Jaime Reyez makes a truly public debut as Blue Beetle. I think it's good publicity. He still doesn't have complete control over the Scarab, but he does manage to save a baby from a bizarre religious demon creature. We learn more about the Posse, and Jaime learns (at long last) he's the only one hearing the voice in his head. ("I'm not crazy. I just hear this voice in my head!") Inasmuch as the main storyline focuses on the Posse and La Dama, the two Brenda pages seem kind of thrown in. They're good bits, just oddly placed. Blue Beetle is consistantly good, and it's probably about time I added it to my standing pulls.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Image

Elephantmen #1: "See the Elephant." I'm not a fan of any portrayal of George W. Bush as an utterer of wise words, but it's easy enough to put the inside cover page out of mine and focus on this little vignette of innocence lost. Or gained, or never had, or... something. The Elephantmen, creations of a mad scientist, are born and bred to be soldiers, and like many soldiers who have been to war, they have regrets and trouble integrating into society at large. That's the case with Ebony, at least. He has disturbing bloody flashbacks, and they are triggered by Savannah, a young girl in pink, the very picture of innocence. And maybe she's the key to unlocking some sort of innocence in him. It's a sweet story, actually.

"Just Another Guy Named Joe." A vignette from the perspective of a man who resents the Elephantmen and their place in society. This is a short one, very dark, and somewhat tricky to get a real handle on, at least here. Call it a small window into a big fictional world.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Marvel

Black Panther #18: Iron Man and Cap are too royally cheesed off at each other to stick around for the ceremony. It's a shame they miss it, too, because ceremony consists of Ororo and T'Challa making dramatic entrances, then going to the spirit realm to face the judgement of the Panther god, who slobbers all over Ororo, finds her tasty, and says she's cool to join the club. After the ceremony, Spider-Man fights a drunken Man-Ape, and the newlyweds receive an invitation to Latveria from a surprisingly cordial Dr. Doom. So ends Marvel's wedding season. And divorce season? Just around the corner!

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Kind of?

She-Hulk 2 #9: So J. Jonah Jameson is insane. His son and his new daughter-in-law aren't exactly thinking at full capacity, either. (Why else would they elope? In Vegas? With an Elvis impersonator??? This is more entertaining than the T'Challa-Aurora and Jessica-Luke nuptuals, but it's also more disappointing. Maybe that's the point.) Mallory and Awesome Andy are under the same spell as the newlyweds. Naturally, that leaves Pug tearing his hair out, as he is perhaps the only major character who is compos mentis. And he knows it. Poor Pug...

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Virgin

Snakewoman #1: The, well, the hissing and such is justa wee bit corny, and Jin (Jessica's roommate) is a tad two-dimensional. In spite of that, though, Snakewoman endeavors to answer a question of trust. Consider the men. Raj, the new neighbor, seems nice enough, but Jessica is wary of him. Maybe her trust is "delicate," but this time she's probably right to trust her judgement. I takes a surprisingly short time for her to find him in bed with her boy-crazy roommate. Then there's the man in plaid, Brinkley, an eccentric regular at the bar where Jessica works. He seems to know Jessica's schedule, tips only her, and writes prophetic poetry for her. And he bothers some people. She trusts him though, knowing that he's harmless. It's the nice-looking gentleman with the golden bracelet who throws her. The Naga within her, maybe, makes her drop her guard. He turns homicidal, and so does she. Later, with blood on her hands, she is confused, frightened, and cold. Her judgement has failed the heck out of her. That's where this first issue leaves off, with a frightened woman not ready to come to grips with a dual nature.

Of course, green and purple seem to be her colors of choice. Go figure.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? I do want to see where this is going...

Week's most memorable moment: Mallory Book and Awesome Andy relax in She-Hulk 2 #9

On 16 August, 2006

2006-08-19T00:01:00.001-04:00

Okay, so I'm a month or so behind. But then, so is Marvel, and they are actually working with deadlines.

I have to live up to some linkage (Thanks, Kalinara), though, meaning it's time to get current and worry about catch-up later. It's usually the other way around, and that never works.

Ohh, I'm also having trouble settling on a new avatar. Sheep? Shulkie? Or should I go back to the porcupine? Or find a suitable Gert Yorkes image to crop and resize? Decisions, decisions...

Reading music: Leahy, Lakefield

--Warning: Spoilers ahead--

Marvel

Nextwave #7: Warren Ellis tackles Marvel Mysticism, conjuring a demon from the Dank Dimension who eagerly accepts payment in United States currency and Suicide Girls. Demonic forces are unleashed, and of course Nextwave has to deal with them, and of course the demons explode beautifully. (It wouldn't be Nextwave without explosions!)

Before the explosions, though, we see: Dirk Anger sinking deeper into his drug-addled depression; see Monica and Elsa speculating about Captain America's sexual orientation; and Aaron Stack literally hooking himself up to a keg.

Memorable dialogue:

Elsa: What's our E.T.A. to Shotcreek?
Monica: Couple of hours. I just wish the Marketing Plan was more specific about this one.
Elsa: Yeah. "Magic deal." What do you think?
Monica: Could mean anything. Tabby said there was a "Magik" in the X-Men.
Elsa: Didn't Tabby also say that Magik was dead?
Monica: Like that matters. X-Men come back more than Jesus.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yes.

Runaways #18 & 19: Oh, Mr. Vaughan. How could you? Why did it have to be her of all characters? *sigh*

Still, hers is a hero's death, and while the Children of the Pride are diminished in number and spirit, they haven't lost their sense of purpose. They've gained a member in Xavin, too, and not a moment too soon, because there's demonic trouble ahead, and Victor still has to take a crash course in Leapfrog piloting.

The Runaways try to deal with their teammate's death, of course. One confides in the Leapfrog; another in Xavin; a third in Victor. Xavin him/herself is also trying to deal with the probable death of two planets, something that doesn't help matters.

It's a lot of good stuff to take in. As usual.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yes.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #32: Yes. The light at the end of the dark tunnel is here: the conclusion of the (aptly named) "Frightful" arc and the end of the Millar-Land run. Maybe the new team will bring back some of the magic Ellis and Bendis put into this title.

'Cause in spite of the mystical Atlantean ritual Dr. Doom (in Reed's body) uses to draw the alien out of Johnny Storm's torso, this is decidedly non-magical.

Reed (in Victor's body) deals with the Zombie Four using maggots. (Brilliant!) And Victor eventually takes back his own body in order to play hero, capturing the world-eating alien within himself and leaping into the zombieverse. Boy! Zombies, explosions, and aliens, but... Nah. It's just a little too much. And it's over. Yes.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Eh.

Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #2: Between this and Nextwave, it is Stuart Immonen week! Lovely! And energetic! And fun! (Let's review. Immonen: Fun. Land: Not so much. Or in the words of my AP English class not so way back when: "Beowulf good, Grendel bad.")

Anyway, Annual #2 goes back to the fun and the magic that got me started reading FF in the first place. It's the return of Dr. Molevic, the terribly disgusting Mole Man, plus an introduction to a few of the other Think Tank members. This little group of geniuses is led by none other than Strange Josie, slightly misandric inventor of the Stealth Corset.

Ultimate Mole Man, though. He has a thing for young scientific genius. Specifically, he has a thing for kidnapping them and dictating to them his life story. His hilarious bio recounts early scientific endeavors and devolving his baby sister into a lungfish.

And on. He has quite the bio. The story fluctuates between Mole Man's narrative, and monster-bashing a la Fantastic Four. The Think Tank crew, meanwhile, becomes another heroic team, riding to the rescue with Lemurian-style death weapons. There's even a moral. (Sort of.)

Thank you Mr. Carey and Mr. Immonen. You both rock.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yes.

Oni Press

Wasteland #2 focuses on a brewing religious conflict. The wandering protagonists struggle to live off the land, and through it all they worship "Mother Sun" and "Father Moon." (Talk about your symbolic role-reversals. I love it already.) At Abi's request, the village Sun-Singer recounts the legend of A-Ree-Yass-I, an apocalyptic Noah's Arc style tale featuring the aforementioned celestial gods. A flood, an almost empty sky, and a poisoned ocean (among other things) set the people on the path to redemption. That's what the Sunners believe.

But the Sunners are heathens in the eyes of Newbegin's ruling church. And the church is not to be trifled with. Even if the villagers can survive their trek through the desert, will they survive their destination?

It'll be worth finding out.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yes.

Week's most memorable moment: I am a sucker for badass Sue moments, like this one from Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #2.

Tentative checklist for 23 August, 2006
(*Indicates a title I've preordered.)

Blue Beetle #6
Elephantmen #2
Women Of Marvel Poster Book (???)

Exercise in Microfiction

2006-08-17T21:38:00.000-04:00

Swift, a blue blaze on winged feet, leaps through and past the flashing sirens'
call. Cries for help come early to one with the sense of velocity.

Ancient gray stone and pillars arrive in an instant, and a gaping maw of a door. An instant more, and the speed sense guides Swift to a chamber of clocks, all stopped. And in the center of it looms a shade, the alarm tripper. Widdershins. Swift pauses to meet the gaze of stop watch eyes, but quickly averts it.

The shade's cloaked right hand rests upon its jeweled timepiece quarry. The left hand begins to gesture, and stop watch eyes stare at the figure in blue.

Swift, always impatient, leaps past Widdershins into a dusty grandfather clock. The loud clang interrupts the spell, and Widdershins spins sunwise to silence the echoes.

The sirens draw closer. Widdershins, unbalanced by the spin, struggles to concentrate on a new spell. Swift focuses on the enemy, rocking imperceptibly on heels and toes.

This time, Swift is more patient. Widdershins focuses on the clocks surrounding them now, and slowly with surprising stealth one second hand clicks backwards. Then another. Then another, and Swift senses a pause of time no noise can interrupt.

They are beyond noise.

They are not beyond movement, though, in a field of time out of time, and Swift moves. Widdershins, whole attention on jewel-encrusted prize, does not expect a collision at Swift speed.

Knocked back, Widdershins drops both clock and field. The uniforms storm and secure the exhibit, place silver bracelets on the ever-patient Widdershins. Stop watch eyes never leave the door.

Swift is gone as though Swift never was. Other sirens beckon, after all. But they will meet again. They always do.

On 19 & 26 July, 2006 -- Part I: Civil War territory

2006-07-28T22:38:00.000-04:00

Calvin Pitt and his anonymous commenter are right. Marvel's Pro-Reg faction is full of intellectual elite. Doctors, lawyers, scientists and what have you. I don't think that smacks of anti-intellectualism, however. Not quite. It's too clearly polarized, a better set-up for a parable than a diatribe.

I think these characters (those with Iron Man) are accustomed to living in their heads when they're not out beating people up. These are characters who, in their civilian lives, work through hypotheses and problems using pure logic and reason. Then they take their logical ideas (which tend to look great on paper), and test them in controlled settings, like laboratories and courtrooms. Sometimes things work, sometimes they don't, and sometimes they actually blow up, but whatever happens, the intellectuals generally live through it and move on to the next logical thing.

Well, Iron Man's headstrong team is sticking with the logic behind the the SHRA. And in a way, they're right. The idea of a little government oversight of superhero activities isn't a bad thing. The intellectuals though, to their detriment, are hanging onto that, apparently forgetting that the the "experiment" is not being conducted in a controlled setting. There are too many people involved, too many variables. And the Act itself, spurred by a rabid Public and rushed through Congress, is fatally flawed.

See, the deeper we go into Civil War, the more frightening the regulatory end of the SHRA becomes. Look at Young Avengers & Runaways #1. "Public Sympathy Ratings" determine how hard the SHIELD enforcers hit "rogue" heroes. Aren't the officers saying, in essence, that "it's okay to beat mercilessly on someone as long as the Public doesn't care?" It's not about what's right or just; it's about what the authorities can get away with. Ugh.

And look at Cable & Deadpool #30. (No, it's not part of my regular pile, but the Great Lakes Champions sold me on this issue.) The CSA hires a mercenary with questionable morals to do the government's dirty work. They do this after Deadpool, without provocation, attacks (and is thoroughly whipped by) Squirrel Girl and friends.

That's the government, and hopefully Marvel's authorities will feel repercussions in due time.

The Marvel heroes are already feeling them. For them, it has become a polarized battle between the head and the heart. In Civil War: Front Line #4, "Embedded Part 4," Ben Urich warns Sally Floyd about her speculations, about "seeing things that aren't there." He is a proponent of the objective fact, while Sally, is playing hunches and generally going with her gut. Guess who represents which side.

In Amazing Spider-Man #534, Peter feels as though he has no choice but to battle Captain America, a warrior for whom he has nothing but respect. His sense of logic says he's doing the right thing, but his conscience is eating away at him. His Spider Sense ought to be tingling.

And Civil War #3? Iron Man's strike team, in its cold logic, sets a trap for Captain America's Secret Avengers. The bait? A fake emergency, used with the knowledge that Cap and his teammates will follow their hearts whatever the risk.

Iron Man sets the trap because he's using his head, not his heart. Captain America falls into the trap because he's using his heart, not his head. Use one without the other, and you are running an enormous risk, aren't you? That's a good warning, whatever your political beliefs. Moderation in all things. (And an inefficient legislature helps, too.)

Look back at the panel up top, now, the one from Young Avengers & Runaways #1. Wiccan is right. Nobody is acting normally (normal being a relative term). Whether they are polarized by a villain or just Mark Millar, the result is the same. Follow the characters alone, and Civil War is becomes less a political diatribe about security versus freedom and more an allegory about the mind versus the... well, the soul. And what's not to love about that?

Critterblogging

2006-07-24T16:05:00.000-04:00

Late afternoon yesterday, I borrowed my mom's digital camera in hopes that I might capture a bit of the fun that is the barnyard. It was a good day for it, too, warm and clear, and a variety of critters was enjoying the remaining daylight hours.

Julius, who is less than a month old, was putting the moves on ewe lambs three times his age and twice his size. He is nothing if not persistant.

As he pursued the unreceptive girls (who probably think he has the sheep equivalent of cooties or something), they inadvertantly chased Baron, the lonely turkey, around the yard. Baron's mate, Betty, was a native Vermonter with an independent streak. She promptly flew away when she got the chance. Not the sort of behavior you tend to expect in a domestic turkey but, again, Vermont bird. Needless to say, Baron's wings are clipped just in case. Which is why he's not as majestic as he'd like you to think.

Meanwhile, as Julius' mother, Ginnie...

...and his Aunt Matilda...

...looked on, kittens Lorna (the calico) and Pietro (the gray) came out to play.

Their sister Wanda (Yes, that's the comic book connection, right there.) hung back, as usual. She's a little shy.

The sheep played with the cats, too. Sheep and cats get along surprisingly well, though the kittens don't always appreciate the attention.

And Baron continued to wander around, because that's his main function, on the farm. Wandering around, eating bugs, and wishing he had a girlfriend. It's a mundane life, but at least he doesn't have to worry about Thanksgiving.

Gotta love the small farm drama, huh? And this is only the half of it. There are also dogs, horses, and chickens around. Well, not in the preceding scene, but in the vicinity. You know. I just happen to prefer cats, sheep, and turkeys.

So ends this pointless Critterblogging session.

Yes, this is procrastination. I haven't written anything about last week's comic books yet (and I still haven't read Manhunter). To be honest, I feel like I'm running out of ways to say what amount to the same things over and over again...

On 12 July, 2006

2006-07-19T00:02:00.000-04:00

How long have I been putting this off? Wow. I blame the heat.

Reading music: Dusk Till Dawn: The Best of Capercaillie

--Warning: Spoilers ahead--

DC

DCU: Brave New World: Bought this for The All New Atom. Sure, that's kind of backwards, reading the comic before the preview, but it's not like The Atom is about linear chronology anyway. It was worth it to get some clue about those dogs (though now I'm wondering how Duster escaped his Secret Service guys).

Nothing else here really caught my fancy, but that's okay. Never really expected it to.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yes.

Marvel

Beyond! #1: The presence of Gravity sold me on this one, I think. That and Scott Kolins, who is growing on me inasmuch as I can identify (and enjoy) his art without much effort. Fun story, too, though it can't decide whether it wants to be goofy superhero fun or dark cosmic angst. I might wait for the trade instead of buying the rest of the floppies. Yes, a trade would look nice, on the bookshelf right next to the first Secret Wars...

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Civil War: Director's Cut: It's not like I really needed this, but seeing the script, some sketches, and the variant covers is kind of neat.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Civil War: Front Line #3: "Embedded" -- Sally interviews a group sof anti-registration vigilantes, and later witnesses a fight between two others, one pro- and one anti-reg. Meanwhile, Ben argues the validity of statistics with Reed Richards. He questions not the calculations but rather asks (in a nutshell) "Can't numbers lie?" Since Reed's rationale for the Superhuman Registration Act (I think I'll just start calling it SHRA) appears to be based largely on numerical projections, Ben's interview is solid.

"The Accused" -- Yes! Robbie Baldwin has retained Jennifer Walters as his defense attorney. Considering Jen has a relatively extensive history of defending people the public has deemed guilty (among them Morbius the Living Vampire, the Juggernaut and, of course, the Hulk) the case is a perfect fit. Anyway, Jen gets Robbie (who is having an extremely difficult time in prison) an offer he shouldn't refuse.

"Sleeper Cell" -- Whales don't run in schools. They run in pods. People need to learn their collective nouns. Silly fictional news crews, not doing their research. Anyway, yes, there is a disaster at a fish store, and there's something bizarre about the owner. (Is he Atlantean? What does this have to do with Civil War?) And it has something to do with a pod of beached whales.

Coda -- A poem by World War I soldier Wilfred Owen is set to art that parallels Army medics and firefighters battling on their respective fronts. This is the best coda so far -- understated and not particularly preachy -- but the Captain America imagery is out of place. This should be about the soldiers and the first responders, not the vigilantes. It doesn't matter that Cap is a soldier, too. He's in costume, not uniform, and that makes all the difference.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Ms. Marvel #5: Carol teams up with Dr. Strange to defeat Warren Traveler (whose name is all too appropriate.) She has no idea what she's doing, and I'm not entirely sure either (what with the alternate reality jumping and all), but maybe that's the way it's supposed to be. Big end to a big fight, and then set-up for Civil War.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yes.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #31: Mind-switching (classic!), evil Zombie Four and... er, yeah. I went back and read the first three trades of Ultimate FF some weeks ago, and, well, I don't think the series has the same charisma that it did. Sure, zombies and Doom and world-eating N-Zone aliens are all well and good (so to speak), but it seems like the plot has sacrificed substance for style. Hopefully that will change soon...

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Eh.

Oni Press

Wasteland #1: Can't resist a good post-holocaust story, or even a potentially good one. Wasteland has it all. A civilization struggling to survive, a mysterious wanderer, people with special abilities, deadly humans gone savage, and modified English with words like "Newbegin" and "wulves." Okay, so maybe it's a bit formulaic, but it's a most excellent formula that works here.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Week's most memorable moment: Ben Urich and Reed Richards experience an anti-gravity environment in Civil War: Front Line #3

Tentative checklist for 19 July, 2006
(*Indicates a title I've preordered.)
*Civil War #3
Daily Bugle Civil War Newspaper
Manhunter #24
*Runaways #18
*She-Hulk 2 #9

Fun with Photoshop

2006-07-10T13:22:00.000-04:00

We had to mess with filters for the most recent Photoshop class assignment. Pretty open-ended. And when in doubt, which I usually am, I just go with sheep. (If not sheep, llamas.) And this time? Mutant sheep, complete with a nuclear facility in the background, seemed to be the (un)natural direction to take.

Source pictures from stock.xchng:
Sheep family
Nuclear Power Station 5 (photo by Henriette)

In the Headwaters

2006-07-10T11:27:00.000-04:00

Maybe, eventually, I'll wade the headwaters with more frequency than once a month. (Right.) Anyway, how would the physics of this pan out? And why doesn't Superman just, you know, hide the costume in the ground or something? Yeesh. Show off.

From Showcase Presents: Superman Vol. 1

On 6 July, 2006

2006-07-06T23:53:00.001-04:00

I went to the store at a relatively busy time today. Quite a few customers, all guys, enough that chiming in on the Civil War discussion they had going just didn't feel right. Plus, when another woman entered the store, one of the guys joked about it being a sign of the Apocalypse. Two women in a comic book store at the same time, right? Not offensive, just not real original. The only reason I mention it is, well, that's the first "Ohmygosh, a girl!" type comment I've heard in that shop. Either that's unusual and I've been lucky, or people are pretty open-minded in mid-Michigan.

Needless to say, I'm in a pretty good mood. Getting this done early, since one of my aunts is coming to visit from out of town tomorrow, and if I don't do this now... who knows if it'll ever get done? Yeah, best do it while I'm in a relaxed mood and taking joy in seeing the world through a wonderful new pair of glasses.

Reading music: Dusk Till Dawn: The Best of Capercaillie

--Warning: Spoilers ahead--

Dark Horse

Archenemies #4: It's funny. I really didn't expect a bittersweet philosophical conclusion to this series but... that's what this was. A tale told primarily in flashback by an angsting Ethan on the phone with his father. There is a breakup; an origin story; a climactic fight between the archenemies; the discovery that one isn't all good, and the other isn't all bad; and the discovery that both have father problems. There are a few fun moments that sort of lighten the mood, but wow. Quite the departure from the first issue, that's for sure. It's not bad; it just took me by surprise, is all.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes.

All-New Atom #1:

Study the following three prologues, which are presented in non-linear fashion. Discuss how the sequence of events differs from traditional story-telling methods. Why did the author choose to present the epilogues out of chronological order?
-All-New Atom #1

Atom #1 is a symmetrical book. Nothing about the first prologue (pp. 1-3), which I won't try to describe, clicked until the last page. The second prologue (pp. 4-5), the sequence in which a pack of dogs kills a professor, is referenced about halfway through the story. The third prologue (pp. 6-7) deals with Dr. Ryan Choi's past and leads us nicely into his present, and the "meat" of the story. By presenting the prologues in this order, rather than chronologically, the story takes that symmetrical form. The prologues themselves force the reader to ask the questions, "What's going on," "What's up with those dogs," and "Who is Dr. Ryan Choi." In that general-to-specific order. These questions represent a major overarching problem, an immediate mystery, and the main character for whom trouble looms. All are elegantly connected. The order also makes for a tidy wave of a story, from the introduction, to the problem of Ray Palmer's belt (its shrinking capabilities in particular) and the general weirdness of Ivy Town, to the climactic rat scene, to the denouement (the presentation of the belt to the poker-playing scientists.) There is no definite conclusion, but then, this is comic book story-telling we're talking about, and this is a first issue. And a fun one at that. What is up with those dogs?

(Geez, these essay questions... This is graded on a curve, right?)

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Actually, kinda yeah.

Marvel

This is a Civil War free week for me, which is wonderful. I am generally enjoying that story, but I think I OD'ed on it last week. Last month, even. It's detox time now, though, with three helpings of old-school Fantastic Four!

Fantastic Four: First Family #5: Sometimes, it seems, angst can be energizing. One scene Sue is commiserating with Ben, the next she's leading the team off to rescue Reed from his insane nemesis. In a flying bathtub. The flying bathtub. Johnny's recovery from a rescue-gone-wrong (Human torches and runaway tanker trucks don't mix well.) will now have to wait 'til the cosmic ray-powered zombies (as seen on the cover) are neutralized. Great set-up for what should be a feel-good explosive conclusion.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Marvel's Greatest Comics: Fantastic Four #52: I was a negative 17 years old when this was first printed, and the most economical way to get something like this tends to be black-and-white reprints. So this is a treat. Classic Kirby-Lee Fantastic Four complete with the Black Panther, the Inhumans, and the day-saving Wyatt Wingfoot! I'll have to go back and spend some time really reading the old ads and bulletins and fan letters. Because, you know, they're there and they're fun.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

The Thing #8: Dan Slott concludes his first (but hopefully not last) run of The Thing with a poker party, a Bar Mitzvah, and a couple fun flashbacks involving Squirrel Girl and the Impossible Man (no, not at the same time.) It's wonderful, and it is a huge departure from Civil War. The first two-page spread is proof enough. Everybody's playing (and sometimes cheating at) poker, having a grand time. Namor's not being a total ass. Johnny's not comatose. Iron Man and Captain America aren't at each others' throats. And Ben... Ben gets a long-deserved respite. Not from his form (still the Thing), but from his sorrows. He gets to focus on the good things in his life for a change, namely his friends, his family, and Alicia. *sigh* Next week it's back to business as usual on Earth-616 (which, again, isn't bad), but for now, I'll just relish this.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Virgin Comics

Devi #1: Well, darn. I was hoping for more Indian mythology and less, er, cheesecake. The first half of Devi #1 is the story of Devi's deveat of Bala, the evil god. Devi is a god-gifted warrior (kind of like Wonder Woman?) of light dressed in, well, a few tendrils of fire and not much else. So, anyway, she defeats Bala and offers her gifts back to the gods.

Part two? Bala has, of course, escaped, and he's on the phone with a scantily-clad Heaven's Assassin as she systematically slaughters a group of Yakuza. (These Yakuza are everywhere. They need their own Sopranos spin-off or something.) I'm not sure whether the assassin is a reincarnation of Devi or what but... Ugh. I guess I just don't care that much. And next issue has a Greg Horn cover to boot. Suits the book, I suppose, but... eh. Guess I'll pass on this series and learn about Indian legend elsewhere.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Kind of?
Do I Care? Nope.

Week's most memorable moment: The GLX-Men/Avengers get a new name almost nobody objects to Thing #8.

Tentative checklist for 12 July, 2006
(*Indicates a title I've preordered.)

Beyond #1 (Chose Devi over this today. Oops.)
Civil War: Director's Cut (Yeah, I know. Shush.)
*Civil War: Front Line #3
*Ms. Marvel #5
The Next #1 (maybe)
Snakewoman #1 (bigger maybe)
Wasteland #1 (hmm...)

Pinpointing an Issue

2006-07-01T00:53:00.001-04:00

Well, this is depressing. I really didn't want to get involved in Ragnell and Kalinara's Damned List but, at the same time, I like helping to disseminate information. And for me (in regards to The List), since I've nearly assembled an entire run of Sensational She-Hulk, that meant helping to pinpoint the issue in which a sexual assault occurred. Which in turn meant pulling suspect issues and reading them for relevant content. I did not attempt to catagorize, only to catalogue that which is suspect. These are my notes. You be the judge.:

Issue 7 (John Byrne): Xemnu attempts to transform Jen into another of his species for the purpose of taking her as his bride in order to repopulate his planet (pp. 18-20.)

Issue 25 (Simon Furman): Brent Wilcox (an old friend of Jen's from college, introduced in Steve Gerber's "Cosmic Squish Principal" arc) sits in front of Jen's apartment with a pair of binoculars, a camera (presumably with a zoom lense), tapes, notebook, and god knows what else. He's jealous of whoever else she might be seeing, and seems to be stalking her (pp. 8, 10.)

Issue 33 (Byrne): Mole Man attempts to take Jen as his bride, as the price for helping her defeat Spragg the Living Hill. She's not entirely unwilling -- she's given her word to pay whatever price for Mole Man's help -- but she's not at all happy about it, either.

Issue 37 (Byrne): The Living Eraser abducts Jen for the purpose of taking her as his bride.

Issues 38 and 39 (Byrne): Mahkizmo, under the influence of one of Eros' (Cupid's) magic arrows, abducts Jen for the purpose of taking her as his bride. In Issue 38, she breaks the fourth wall to yell at Byrne about the whole running theme, and also complains about Santa Clause making a pass at her in Issue 8, and a zombie hitting on her in Issue 35.

Issue 43 (Byrne): Xemnu attacks and threatens to sell Jen as a slave, whereupon she "will be handled and examined by scores of would be buyers," purchased by someone disgusting, become a "helpless plaything" and forced to perform "acts of unspeakable degradation." (pp. 19-24.) (Luckily, Weezie knocks him out by conking him on the head with a spanner, and his evil plan never comes to pass.)

Issue 54 (Michael Eury): Zapper (Jen's boyfriend from her Savage series, now married to someone else) kisses Jen after resurrecting her and giving her a medical examination. She pushes him away, reminding him that he's married. He apologises, and she forgives him (p. 19.)

Issue 55 (Eury): Zapper kisses Jen again. Again she pushes him away, reminds him that he's married, and suggests he and his wife get marriage counseling. She says good-bye and slams the door behind her as she leaves (pp. 18-19.)

---

I also went ahead and pulled two other She-Hulk episodes that came to mind. They're not a part of the Sensational run, but they seemed worth including all the same:

Sensational She-Hulk Graphic Novel (Byrne): Jen is abducted by SHIELD. She is forced to strip by SHIELD agent Dooley (on pain of death for Wyatt Wingfoot, who's been abducted with her) in front of a large group of male agents. SHIELD Director Dugan breaks up the "strip search" and yells at Dooley, telling him the required strip search is supposed to be in private and performed by an agent of the same sex (pp 26-29.)

Jen is then subjected to a thorough, invasive and exhausting medical exam (off-panel), again in the nude on Dooley's orders (pp. 31-33.) She later discovers that Dooley has been watching tapes of the "examination" (pp. 41-42.)

Not sure this is worth noting, but evil radioactive cockroaches attempt to invade and take over her body (as they do to Dooley) (pp. 54-55, 68.)

Fantastic Four #275 (Byrne): T. J. Vance, editor and publisher of a sleazy nudie magazine, takes unauthorized topless photographs of Jen (as she sunbathes discretely on the roof of the Baxter Building) for the purpose of printing him in his periodical. (They do get printed, in spite of Jen's best efforts as a lawyer and superhero, but with a mistake that results in a victory, of sorts, for She-Hulk.)

---

So! There you have it. I've a new appreciation for what the authors of The List are doing. Not envy, just... appreciation. Yeah. That sounds about right.

*sigh*

On 28 June, 2006

2006-06-30T23:23:00.000-04:00

The stars have aligned, or the planets, or both, but something clicked. Big Max #1, which I'd all but forgotten about, came, thereby completing the Vaughan-Ellis-Slott Axis.

So, right, I have a particularly excellent end-of-month-sized stack, so I won't bother with real reviews of last week's fare. But, in a nutshell, Haunt of Horror: Edgar Allen Poe #2 was kind of disappointing, and The Flash: Fastest Man Alive #1 was incomprehensible, but All-Star Superman #4 and Giant-Size Hulk #1 were fun. I still haven't read Manhunter #23.

Reading music: Riverdance: Music from the Show

--Warning: Spoilers ahead--

DC

Blue Beetle #4 is great, chock full of mystery, humor, and story. This issue touches on the previous Blue Beetles, as Jaime reintigrates into his world (which isn't turning out to be that hard, since apparently a lot of weird stuff went down the year he was gone), reconnects with his friends, and fights evil Ents. And fights the scarab about fighting with said Ents, who are trying to kill him. The scarab doesn't want to hurt nature, but Jaime doesn't want nature to hurt him. Interesting little conflict of interest type deal.

Also, I love seeing "marginal" heroes tell off the bigger names, so Jaime telling Oracle to "go to Hell" was, by itself, worth the price of the book.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Marvel

All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #6

Amazing Spider-Man #533 Spiderman's unmasking cracks the Marvel internet in half, at least. And the car phone conversation is great. But what really has me wondering is what JMS has in mind. In Fantastic Four #538 (see below), he's writing Ben as neutral where the Superhero Registration Act is concerned, and Sue as torn but essentially reluctant to hunt down her friends. But... There they both are, front and center on Tony Stark's strike team. I trust JMS has a plan, but at the moment, it's a bit confusing.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Civil War: Front Line #2
Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Not quite enough to write a blurb, but yeah.

Fantastic Four #538: Reed is cold, and just about every dialogue bubble of Sue's might as well be dripping with ice when he's in the room. Johnny's comatose and Ben... Well, aside from the ominous brewing subplots involving Mjolnor, and the Mad Thinker and Puppet Master, this book is about Ben and his voice of reason. He manages to kick ass without clobbering things, by being warm and pretty much refusing to fight with his friends. Or to get between fighting friends like Ms. Marvel and Silverclaw. Ben Grimm: One of the few Marvel superheroes currently behaving like a rational adult. And he knows it. It's wonderful.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Nextwave #6: Elsa and Tabby dispatch of Samaroids and I am forced to read many, many panels of pictures without words. That's challenging for one accustomed to thinking in sound, not sight. Luckily, theirs is a straightforward slugfest interspersed with panels with words. Beautiful words. And with those words, the depth of Dirk Anger's insanity and, ultimately, a cross-dressing robot. Oh! And homicide crabs. Can't forget the homicide crabs.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Runaways #17: Ahh, the bittersweet raturn of radiant Karolina, with Xavin at her side, expands the "adults at war" theme to a cosmic degree. A world is lost to the insult of a bridesmaid's dress. It's off-panel, sure, but between Karolina's story and the mysterious flash last issue, it's all too real.

She helps the team patch up its differences in time to face explosions, an attempt to save Molly and a potentially tragic cliffhanger ending. Vaughan is killing off a Runaway next issue, and the sad part is, I almost hope this isn't a red herring.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Mr. Comics

Big Max #1: An ape-based super-hero tale by Dan Slott, complete with frosty beverages, secret identites, evil mimes, and some grand nods (i.e., allusions even I can pick out) to Superman. You do the math.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Week's most memorable moment: The Thing sends a cat flying in Fantastic Four #538.

Runner up: Dirk Anger ordering the launch of Atomic Puppies in Nextwave #6. "Yap yap bang!"

Tentative checklist for 6 July, 2006
Archenemies #4
Fantastic Four: First Family #5
Marvel's Greatest Comics: Fantastic Four #1
The Thing #8

On 21 June, 2006

2006-06-26T22:38:00.000-04:00

FIFA? Meet Marvel. Marvel? FIFA:

I'm also cheering for France and Sweden. Rooting for the USA is kind of futile at this point, but why not be a little patriotic, right?

No reviews for last week's comics. I just didn't have the motivation to write about my hodgepodge little pile. (How do people do this week after week?) Seriously, this is supposed to be a fun activity, and when reading the latest issue of Manhunter starts to feel like a chore, it's time to take a break. You know. Sit back, eat some popcorn, watch David Beckham score the game-winning goal (on a free kick) against Ecuador, watch him ralph all over the pitch, see if Wayne Rooney can play the full 90 (plus stoppage time) in 90 degree heat, watch Beckham ralph some more, watch them finally pull the guy off the field (in like the 85th minute) to get some water so he doesn't die before quarter-finals...

You get the idea. I took a football break. I am rested. So maybe if I get on a role with this week's pile, I'll slip in reviews of:

All-Star Superman #4
The Flash: Fastest Man Alive #1
Giant-Size Hulk #1
Haunt of Horror: Edgar Allen Poe #2
Manhunter #23

And if I don't, well, you really aren't missing anything.

Actually, I was motivated enough to scan this week's memorable moment, which comes from Giant-Sized Hulk #1. Enjoy!

Tentative checklist for 28 June, 2006
All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #6
Amazing Spider-Man #533
Blue Beetle #4
Civil War: Front Line #2
Fantastic Four #538
Nextwave #6
Runaways #17

Warning. Non-Comics Sports Post Ahead.

2006-06-19T22:29:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately, I live in a nation, possibly the only nation in the world, where the common consensus seems to be that soccer is boring. (Don't get me wrong. I love the United States, but we can be so backwards for a developed nation.) It's getting better -- ABC actually broadcast some non-USA games this weekend -- but for the most part it seems like the World Cup matches are confined to cable television in favor of things that are boring. Like golf.

Or maybe not. I don't know. I don't follow sports that closely, but I do wish it were easier to follow real football. There's a lot of beauty in World Cup soccer, if you care to look. A well-played game is like ballet. The intricate footwork the players use is simply amazing, and when that ball soars through the air, neatly past the goalkeeper into the net... It's a sight as lovely as it is rare.

Aesthetics aside, the real wonder of watching World Cup soccer is the fact that you are watching right along with half the world. This isn't like the Olympics. There is only one event, one focus, and that is the game. And when you are watching, whatever team you're rooting for, you can be certain that millions of other people around the world are cheering, too. Maybe not at the same time (time zones being what they are), but it's still a very global, very unifying experience.

No wonder the US isn't a soccer nation. Pity.

(Cover scan from The GCD)

On 14 June, 2006

2006-06-16T23:57:00.000-04:00

This week's pile includes 1 (one) DC comic, 1 (one) IDW comic, and 5 (five) Marvel comic books. That's over 71% Marvel and around these parts, that's not atypical. I think I need to use my new Photoshopping skills to make a... badge or something. A Marvel-centric Blog badge. Yes, that would be fun.

Reading music: Liz Carroll and John Doyle: In Play

--Warning: Spoilers ahead--

DC

Ex Machina Special #2: The Machine vs. Animal slugfest concludes with a bloody confrontation in a Manhattan animal shelter. The insane Pherson has murdered a police officer and fed him to the pound puppies. He is also holding two workers hostage in order to draw out a somewhat worse-for-wear Mitchell and kill him with said hounds. Needless to say, the whole thing ends messily, and then we're back to the "present," where a conflicted mayor shares his views on the death penalty with a hard-hitting radio host.

This really became more of a "former superhero looks back on his past with regret" story than a Man versus Nature tale. That's okay, too. It's still a good read.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Sure.

IDW

Supermarket #3: Streetwise, Pella is not. She's wanted by the rival gangs her parents represented, and she has only Beta, a Yakuza and a friend, to help her. Well, him and her parents' considerable funds. (How'd she get those funds back, anyway? I'm kind of confused about that; I thought she was locked out of their accounts or something.) She's still obsessed with money. She "look[s] down and wonder[s] what's the current market value of the square foot of pavement [she stands] on" in the richest sector of the city. She ponders wealth to no end, but has no clue about how to go incognito, to stay alive. She is, in fact, learning the real cost of survival. It's a sharp learning curve, Pella comes to see, as Beta kills one of his own to protect her.

The issue ends on a nice West Side Story note, which is actually not at odds with the overall tone of the book. We'll see how it leads into the conclusion, and how much Pella actually grows as a character next month (or whenever the fourth and last issue comes out.) At least, I hope that's what we'll see.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes
Do I Care? Yes

Marvel

Civil War #2: Now, I can't help but wonder whether Tony Stark has staged the Doombot attack on the Big Apple. I mean, Reed Richards and Hank Pym are right there as part of the team that takes it out off-panel, and ever since Stark set up the battle between Titanium Man and Spider-Man, I just don't trust the guy. The ends don't justify these means, Tony! Oi. Sure, Dr. Doom is back in action somewhere, but it still seems like the odds of a set up are damn good.

Meanwhile... Reed's predicting the Apocalypse if Superhuman activities aren't brought under control (and upsetting Sue due to his seeming lack of interest in Johnny's welfare). Tony has doubts. A secret identity is revealed. (For that spoiler, check out some of the mainstream news organizations.) Lots of things are going on, but the main thing is Captain America's new underground safehouse network for illegal vigilantes. The camps are neatly established, and the plot is moving right along in tidy steps.

Also, and I know I don't comment much on artwork, but still... I really dig Steve McNiven now.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Yes.

Four #30: Click here for a special review.

Marvel Romance Redux: Love is a Four Letter Word: "Hot Alien Love." Just what it sounds like. A female "Homeworld Security" agent falls in love (?) with a Lustarian and escapes Earth to join him on his homeworld. Make of that what you will.

"Buffy Willow: Agent of A.D.D." Another secret agent. This one has a bad case of (you guessed it) A.D.D. The narration is funny, so this one has some redeeming value.

"Mice and Money." Two disgusting people with a rodent fetish get together. Their world is filled with people who enjoy rodents. Mostly as cuisine, but still. Rodents. It's like a twisted version of Pokemon wherein the losing Rattatas and Pikachus end up in the oven.

"Love Me, Love My Clones!" A technophile falls for an android after breaking it off with half a dozen ever-lovin' clones.

"They Said I Was... Insane!" And they'd be right.

Do I Know What I Just Read? ???
Do I Care? ???

Marvel Westerns Two Gun Kid: Matthew Hawk goes werewolf hunting in the present and the past, the premise being that a lycanthrope's curse has followed the gunslinger from 1876 to 2006. And it has touched the current quarry. At least, that's what the Two-Gun Kid believes.Westerns really aren't my cup of tea (unless they're sci-fi westerns, in which case they are très cool), but this is a Dan Slott story. That's probably the reason I was able to get through it at all.

Haven't read the back-up stories yet. I will eventually, but to be honest, the dialect is a bit of a turn-off. Maybe it's just my northern ears. Or maybe the wannabe "Texas cowboy" President's ruined it for me. Probably a combination of factors, but what can you do, right?

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes, what I read of it.
Do I Care? Eh.

Ms. Marvel #4: Is total gibberish just shorthand for someone losing his or her mind, if the reader isn't looking through the crazy-person's eyes? Because, really, do people suffering from psychosis actually say stuff like "I cannot cartel any primrose?" Aside from bad poets on drugs? Just curious...

Anywho, Carol's just sort of starting to recover from her latest ordeal, but she has to deal with her overbearing publicist (who is sort of scary), and an evil other-dimensional sorcerer. That would be where Dr. Strange comes in. The sorcerer, Sir Warren Traveler, possesses the Eye of Watoomb; seems to be after the Wand that goes with the Eye; is somehow connected to Carol via the House of M event (They did actually refer to it as an "event."); and is more than a match for Dr. Strange. In other words, he's scary.

But still not as scary as Sarah Day.

Do I Know What I Just Read? Yes.
Do I Care? Kinda sorta.

Week's most memorable moment(s): The sweetest Infinite Possibility is the last page and a half or so of Four #30, but this I.P. is a great deal more entertaining...

Tentative checklist for 21 June, 2006
All-Star Superman #4
Giant-Size Hulk #1
Haunt of Horror: Edgar Allen Poe #2
Manhunter #23
The Thing #8 (Last issue. Sigh.)

Four

2006-06-14T23:58:00.000-04:00

I never did participate in First Comic Week. I wrote a silly rambling entry that I never typed, much less posted. It's too early for that kind of nostalgia. But today? Well, I'll get to my normal little blurb reviews in a few days, (after I've read the rest of my week's pile), but Four #30 warrants some special attention. (There are spoilers a few paragraphs down, though nothing earth-shattering.)

My first real foray into the fantastical comic-book world of capes and cowls was the first trade paperback of Ultimate Fantastic Four. It was Book of the Month at my LCS around the time the movie came out. I'd been planning to see the movie, but gave in to that "read the book before seeing the film" curiousity. And I was hooked. That's what really drew me into this whole genre.

But if Ultimate Fantastic Four was Sue's ill-advised jab at Ben's fragile male ego, Marvel Knights 4 was the Pocket Rocket that launched me into the world of the Superhero. Specifically, it was #21, a stand-alone that focuses on Sue's relationship with Reed and features a few of Sue's close friends, one of whom is She-Hulk, a character that has quickly grown to be one of my favorites and a focus for my new comic-accumulating habit. Point is, Bendis and Millar drew me in with the first trade of the Ultimate version, but Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa kept me in with his light, family-focused take on the Earth-616 version of the Four.

Today, with the 30th issue, Four (nee Marvel Knights 4) concludes, tying up some loose ends as the team holds an Open House at the Baxter Building. (Pay no attention to the solicitation text. It does not apply.) The Inhumans make an appearance, reassuring Susan that the Inhuman children encountered earlier in the series are well. Rebellious, but well. Alicia Masters comes to the Open House, too, though her insane, "practically invalid" stepfather stays home with a lump of harmless, non-radioactive clay. Namor shows up to talk to Reed, and for once compliments Sue without shamelessly hitting on her. Dr. Strange even comes with the Salem Seven. The Poppupians do not seem to be around, though, which is probably for the best.

The book opens with Susan wondering if the public doesn't only perceive the family as a group of "action-adventure stars." Maybe their public does, but that's not all they are, and that's what this series has been about. The family. And on the family-oriented front, things are incredibly normal. Susan loves Reed. Johny plays yet another prank on Ben. Ben and Johnny squabble. Reed considers the Infinite Possibilities. It's nothing unexpected, and it's comforting.

Really, not a lot happens in this book, but it is a sweet little goodbye issue for a sweet little series. I think I'm going to miss it.

On Hope

2006-06-12T23:56:00.000-04:00

Marvel versus DC. The debate rages on (in spite of any efforts to the contrary.) And, again, in a DC-dominated comics blogosphere, I feel the foolish need to reassess why Marvel appeals to me. It's probably so much bullshit, but I think... I think this is why. At least, it is today.

It's about hope. Not the hope of the civilian on the ground cheering on the hero who's flying in to save the day for the umpteenth time, ogling (depending on your tastes) Green Lantern or Power Girl. You know, the "It's a bird, it's a plane" civilian. That can be fun and all, but... it seems like that's DC hope.

I tend to prefer Marvel-style hope. The hope that the world will go on, that things will go back to the way they were before Tony Stark unmasked (for the umpteenth time, I hear), before Hawkeye sort of died, before the New Warriors screwed up.* I don't want to be a civilian on the ground admiring iconic greatness; I want to get inside the heroes' heads and hearts, into their hopes: that they will live to fight another day; that their lost friends will return; that the civilians will let them do their jobs; and that Damage Control will clean up afterwards.

DC hope versus Marvel hope. It's the hope of the sanctimonious mayoral millionaire archer versus the hope of the archer who rose from a life of poverty and petty thievery to earn his status.

It's the hope of the god-gifted Amazon princess that she can live up to the works of her predecessor versus the hope of the woman warrior that she can simply be good enough to protect her people.

It's the hope for utopia versus the hope for survival. The hope that the multiverse will endure without shattering.

It's a hope for the underdog we know will win.

Yes. That kind of hope.

*Yes, I have been reading '80s reprints and back issues. Why do you ask?