Where It Began

It may come as a surprise to some of you...but I really really like Guy Gardner.  He is my favorite Green Lantern, and I really really like ALL Green Lanterns.  And their butts.  It just happens to be my mostly harmless fetish...er...obsess...er...thing that I like. 

Don't judge me!

It didn't start out this way.  My first comic book love was...Asterix. I used to read them...in french...at my dentist's office when I was about six.  Then I like the Batman television show with Adam West when I was a bit older.  To this day, Frank Gorshin is still my ultimate Riddler.  And Julie Newmar IS Catwoman. 

Then I discovered Marvel, and had a serious crush on Thor.  I loved his hair.  I mostly was a Marvel Zombie as a teen, although I knew of the DC heroes of course.  Everyone has to know who Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are.  And I liked the Green Lanterns.  It was Hal of course, and I barely even knew who he WAS, but man, he had a nice costume.  And purty purty hair.  Not quite Thor hair, but still...pretty good. 

Black and Green was such an interesting color combination in a sea of primary colors for heroes. 

And as I got older, I found myself slithering over to the DC side of the aisle at the Comic Book Store...and then I found Justice League International and discovered, much to my surprise that there were OTHER Green Lanterns, and I was hooked.  And went out and found all the back issues in those cardboard boxes that I could find. We didn't have collections or trade publications in those days, my children.  And as much fun as it was finding all those old issues, I freely admit that it is a whole heckuva lot easier now to put a collection together. 

And I still liked Hal, and I liked John, and I loved Kilowog and Salaak, and Katma and the whole concept of Space Cops.  And then there was Guy Gardner. 

Gosh, he was obnoxious.  He was rude, and lewd and crude...and I loved it.  He sassed Batman, and I loved him even more.  He was a complete jerk most of the time...and yet, you could see hints of something else there.  And he had such a fabulous costume.

And he didn't even really start out as a semi-villain, anti-hero asshole.  He was actually a pretty nice guy, an alternate choice for Hal, who just happened to be further away when Abin Sur bought the big one.  A gym teacher, someone who had managed to rise above a pretty crappy childhood and put himself through college and make something of himself.  He even became friends with Hal, after Hal learned that he was almost picked.  Then when Hal was having trouble with this ring, he tapped Guy to take over on a temporary basis, and Guy was up to the challenge.

And then it all went sideways.



See, it wasn't Hal's ring that was going kaflooey, but his battery.  Which he had left with Guy, and which Guy was using to repower his ring, after being a Green Lantern for A DAY!  Followed by his supposed death, imprisonment in the Phantom Zone, being kidnapped and tortured by Sinestro, and falling into a coma for Three years, while his fiancee ran off to marry Hal, and then being brought out of his coma, but still suffering from Brain Damage, which the Guardians couldn't be bothered to fix, and becoming that complete raving maniac that we all know and love.  Well...some of us more than others.

And you wonder why he was a bit cranky with Hal at first?

Thursday's Reviews

It was...an ok week.  I'm still waiting for Green Lantern to come out.  And waiting.  Maybe next week. 

Batgirl #20

I...I just can't get into this anymore.  I love Gail Simone, and I am very fond of Barbara...but I think I am going to be dropping this book again.  Having Oracle...I mean BATGIRL, waffling, and whining and taking out her brother, and obsessing and whining some more...it's gotten a bit dull.  Too much angst.  Not enough humor.  Not enough BRAINS!  And I don't mean the zombie kind. 

Also I don't really like this new Ventriloquist  much at all. 

Dull.

Batwoman #20

This was much more to my liking.  Kate is playing hardball with the D.E.O. This is ok, because they are certainly playing hardball with her.  They managed to fish her sister out of the drink, and stuck her in a giant mystic sarcophagus which brought her back to life or something, and they will give her back, if Kate betrays Batman.  So...she goes for it, and goes home to Maggie, only to find that her entire family is there.  She has a hissy fit, Maggie tells her to get a grip, and they all know everything now, which is a good thing. 

I wonder if Batman would like the giant mystic sarcophagus for Damian? 

Pretty darned good.

Birds of Prey #20

Well, it turns out that Starling was the traitor, which probably isn't as surprising as it could be, since Canary DID find her working for the Penguin.  She's also into monologuing.  She and Freeze are mad at the Court of Owls, for using Freeze's technology on the Talons.  Dinah is cranky, because she liked Starling.  Barbara is much less angsty in this book than in her own. 

So it was pretty decent all things considered.

Fables#129

Nooooooooooooooo!!  Not Bigby!  Snow White takes on her semi-ex, in a duel to the death, and by gum, she does it...but not before he shatters Bigy's crystalline form.  Fortunately, Snow White had the witches on her side, and they are trying to get him back together.  They damned better!

I love Bigby.

Oh, and Therese shows up at the end, which is where her story ended a while back, and we are all connected up again.

Vibe#4

I fear that this book is not going to be around too long.  My beloved Comic Book store owner, said that I am one of exactly two people who are buying this.  I would assume that Scipio is the other one.  And that is sad, because it really isn't a terrible book or anything...even though it doesn't have him break dance ONCE!

But he comes across Gypsy, and ends up helping her of course, and naturally Amanda Waller is going nuts, and it turns out that Dale Gunn is married to a very nice man, but is trying to hide it, in order to protect him.  This probably won't end well, knowing DC.

Not bad at all.

Wonder Woman #20

Apollo really does seem to be in over his head.  Poseidon shows up to mock his nephew a bit, and Artemis has shown up to kill the baby.  Diana really doesn't seem to like Artemis very much, and who can blame her?  Ares takes Artemis back to Apollo after Diana beats her to a pulp, while Zora, and Hera and the baby run for it.

Orion doesn't show up at all, which I found to be disappointing.

It's still not THE Wonder Woman, but I'm still enjoying the heck out of it.

Oh Tuesday...wait it's Wednesday!

It's Tues...wait a minute...it's Wednesday!  I think I lost a whole day!  And of course Wednesday means new comics!

That is a good thing.  A sad thing is finding out that DC is going to be dropping Demon Knights shortly.  While it wasn't my absolute favorite book...I did like it.  Justice League Medieval, as it were.  So that's a bit depressing.  They are also dropping the Legion.  This doesn't bother me quite so much, since I have never been able to get past the whole "Snotty Teens from the Future, getting bored and staging tryouts, and then dumping the hopeful Applicants in the Cruelest Way Possible" routine. 

Stupid Teens from the Future!

However...in order to replace all of the books that they are dropping, DC, in order to maintain its self-imposed limit of 52 will probably be bringing out 12 more Bat Books.  Or Justice League books.  A few Green Lantern books would be ok, I would love to have Green Lantern Quarterly back...but make it monthly.

Which brings me to this.


I would so read a book about Bruce's Shrink.

Happy Mother's Day

Okay, so I am a day late.  I was too busy having a really nice Mother's Day.  My oldest made me brunch, which was divine, and then another one came over, and brought my car back.  Granted he left with it again...but it was the thought that counted!  And a lovely time was had by all.

I hope that all of our favorite Comic Book Characters treated their mothers well.  If she weren't dead, I am sure that Clark would have gone home to Smallville to visit with Martha and eat some of her pie.  Bruce is probably draped over his mother's grave sobbing to himself.  Obviously Talia won't be getting a Mother's Day card anytime soon...and it's her own fault.

The Reyes are having a nice barbecue in the backyard, and Jaime is taking the night off from Blue Beetle derring-do.  Guy would be hiding from Peggy Louise Gardner if this was the REAL DC Universe.  Kyle is probably sad.  John too.  Hard to know with Hal.  Although being dead at the moment...maybe...perhaps he stopped by to say hello to both Mom AND Dad. 

I sure wish that they would bring back Hippolyta, so that Diana could get a hug.  I know she has a whole huge new family now, but it's just not the same.  At least Batgirl has her mom back. 

So, I hope you ALL had a lovely Mother's day if you are Mother's.

Oh Why Not

Time for a little bit of Sinestro love.



This is what is known as hitting Hal where it hurts. 

Although, if I were Sinestro, I'd give Kari Limbo back.  Man, she's scary!

Thursday's Reviews

Now that was a pretty good week!  No Green Lantern, which has me slightly cranky, although they DID ship Green Lantern Corps...which is an epilogue to Green Lantern.  So I won't be reviewing it for a while. Except that it did tie up a loose end rather neatly.

Batman #20

Scott Snyder has actually made me into a Bat-fan.  I never thought I would live to see the day.  And Greg Capullo draws the prettiest Bruce Wayne that I have ever seen. 

Clayface of course, has been impersonating Bruce and other people, to the extent that he has actually lost all of his original DNA.  I am not quite sure how this would happen, but hey...Comic Book Science!  He is doing his best to kill off Bruce, and shoves him into an inescapable incinerator with Lucius Fox, who just happens to have a really cool Bat Suit that he was planning to...incinerate.  Naturally, the escape-proof incinerator is not quite as escape-proof as he thought, and building your own death traps is a sign that you have probably too much time on your hands.

Clayface actually discovers that Bruce IS Batman, but naturally nobody believes him, and Bruce has a clever way of getting out of things.  Also, Bruce and Alfred sit down to watch home movies in the Bat Cave, which was...sweet.

Fabulous!

Batman & Red Hood #20

In this issue, Jason takes over as Robin.  He and  Bats go off to fight some terrorists, after Carrie Kelley shows up again, looking for Damian.  Bruce tries to put her off, by claiming that Damian has gone abroad for more studies.  I don't think she's buying it.  Also, she and Titus have a bonding moment. 

Bats and Jason have a reasonably easy time of it, beating up the terrorists, and end up in Ethiopia, which is where Jason..."died".  This is  news to me, but apparently this is the way it is in the new 52.  Jason is less than thrilled at being at the site of his demise, but Bruce wants to know all that he remembers, so that perhaps he can figure out a way to bring back Damian.  I can't say that I blame him for trying every avenue possible to restore his son, but he's going about it in a particularly painful way to all of the people who he is close to.  Jason is NOT happy, and naturally, they start beating each other up,

I actually feel sorry for both Bruce and Jason.  Also, Two-Face shows up at the very end. 

Nice. 

Constantine#3

So there is a spell on John, so that he can't go home to London?  Interesting.  This doesn't stop him from going there anyway, in his quest for the compass thingie, and being John, he naturally manages to manipulate his way out of trouble...and then into more trouble. 

It isn't quite the same as Hellblazer...but it isn't bad actually.

Demon Knights #20

Although she was bitten by Cain, Sir Ystin seems to be fighting off the infection.  Hippolyta has forgiven Exoristos, who, although she wants to return to Themyscira, choses to stay true to Ystin.  They are still lookign for the Grail, and seem to have discovered a map that shows where it might be, on an unknown island in the middle of nowhere. 

Vandal Savage is along for the ride, which doesn't particularly please Jason Blood, since he's been torturing the latter for decades, but hey, no hard feelings, right?  And there is a giant octupus, and  who really doesn't like that?  It's been a good month for giant octopi, if you count Topo in Aquaman.

Nice as well.


Green Lantern Corps #20

I'll review this after Green Lantern comes out.   But not a bad swan song for Peter Tomasi and Fernando Pasarin.

Justice League of America #3

The league is using Catwoman as bait, to find out more about the Bad Guys, although Katanna seems to think that she's a traitor.  J'onn looks into her mind and says that she is not...but the mind meld process seems to go both ways, and she sees into his mind as well, which is something new. 

Green Arrow, shows up as Catwoman is "escaping" and is about to blow the whole scam, when Hawkman tells him to knock it off...so naturally he uses this as an opportunity to blackmail his way onto the team.  Oh Ollie...you really don't need to be so...so desperate.  Also Amanda Waller is mean to Courtney.

This isn't all that bad really.  Not great...but not bad.  I'm interested in seeing where it is going to lead.  It would be nice if they would put Fire and Ice on the team...not to mention Guy.  But that's just me.

Thor: God of Thunder #8

Gosh, this is a pretty book, with its painterly artwork by Esad Ribic.  All three time-displaced Thors have now shown up.  I rather enjoy Old Thor's sense of humor.  I can hardly wait to see where this is going to end as well.


I also managed to get my greedy little hands on the Alex Toth Reader, volume 2, and it is quite lovely.  Toth had such a talent for line-work...it's quite gorgeous.  I also managed to pick up a Fantagraphics Prince Valiant book, because I can never have too much of Hal Foster. 

I hope that everyone had a lovely New Comics Day!

The Doldrums

I...I am at a loss for words.  This doesn't really happen to me all THAT often, but it's true.  Nothing outrageous has happened lately, other than the much lamented shutting down of  Comics Alliance, which is STILL driving me nuts, because I keep forgetting and click onto it automatically, and then the disappointment rushes over me all over again. 

Damn.

I think that Green Lantern is going to be late, which might be awkward if the other coordinating books come out on time.  It all evens out in the end, but still.  I am looking forward to seeing how Geoff Johns wraps up his rather epic sojourn on my favorite books.  It is going to be so...weird not having him, or Peter Tomasi.  I can't say that I am all that excited about them turning Guy back into a Red Lantern, especially since it was established that he really really HATED being a Red Lantern.  Hopefully they won't kill off Kyle again to do it. Or Tora.  Or anybody with the exception of Volthoom, because I REALLY hate that guy. 

I did have a very nice chat with Justin at my beloved Comic Book Shop. He was patiently trying to show some young guys some of the older Roy Thomas Avenger books that they had expressed interest in, only to be disappointed because the art doesn't look the same as it does nowadays. 

Sheesh. 

So I went and picked up some Prince Valiant books, and a lovely compilation of Alex Toth, which made me feel so much better. 

On the plus side, it IS Wednesday, and Wednesday is always a delight.

Also...



It would be an absolute hoot if the new writers for Green Lantern decided to use THIS version of Hal!