Thirteen Inches of Pure Manliness

Hoohah! I'll bet you all thought that I was going to do a review of Green Lantern Corps #18. Well, I'll get to it, but Sea's Comic Book Store didn't get their delivery yesturday, so I have to give her time to read it.

But anyway, I go into my beloved CBS, and as I am perusing the shelves, notice that Matt, my equally beloved Comic Book Store Owner has some new statues inside the glass display cases. However, a giant plastic Hal Jordan has fallen down inside the case. Yes...he did land on his head. We snickered about that, believe me. He also fell down right on top of a very nice Wonder Woman bust...and we snickered about THAT too! So, Matt opens the case and is putting Hal back, and I ask him how much, and he replies..."For you...10 bucks".

And that is how I came into possession of a rather cool 13" tall plastic Hal Jordan figure. It isn't very poseable, and the mark on his foot says 1999. I don't know If I've gotten a bargain or what, but I don't care. He's adorable! Oh, if only they made ALL the Green Lanterns in this size!

Of course what I REALLY want is one of those gorgeous figures from DC, with the real cloth costumes, but those things cost a ridiculous amount of money, and I've got kids in college for heaven's sake.

More Barry Bashing

Ok, Sea of Green and Folded Soup have both upped the ante. I MUST come up with some serious Barry-bashing at this point. Unfortunately, the paucity of any really spectacular scans of Barry being an idiot, is making this very very difficult. I don't have any trouble making fun of Hal, because really, there is just an embarrassment of riches when it comes to Hal being an idiot.

I can even come up with a lot of pictures of Wally being an idiot. Or Guy. Or Superman for that matter. Aquaman certainly has his moments, while scans of Bat-dickery abound. But Barry? Dammit, this is hard!



Frankly, this is the best that I can come up with. And it really isn't Barry being idiotic, it is that ridiculous bunch that he's saddled with. Seriously, this is not necessarily the bunch of people that I would run to, if the universe is in trouble. The Teen Titans? Hawk & Dove? JIMMY OLESON??!!! I'm surprised that Snapper Carr isn't there. C'mon, Barry...you can do better! Granted, you have Hal Jordan"Mr. Walking Concussion" there with you, but still!

Bah!

I'm running to the Comicbook store and buying Green Lantern Corps #18. And then I'm taking the evening off.

We Need Better Action Figures!

I admit to a ridiculous love of Action Figures. Probably because I never quite outgrew my fascination with dolls. Although I was a bit different from most young girls and their Barbies...I didn't spend that much time dressing them up, I just wanted to build HOUSES for them. Here's a nice hint...wrapping paper makes wonderful wallpaper, and we used to get boxes from the grocery store,which would make pretty good rooms.

Where was I?

ANYWAY, we need more and better Action Figures. And by "better", I mean ones that would appeal to ME! As you can see, I already have the old Guy Gardner figure.



It's a dandy, and I love it, but if Batman can have a bajillion figures, I think that Guy deserves a few more as well. And NOT just a head resculpt, with the same body!



C'mon, who WOULDN'T want "Warrior" figures? Especially anatomically correct ones! I'd have Kalinara's Christmas present, that's for sure!

We need more Green Lantern Corps figures. I want Issamot, and Vath, and Soranik, and Arisia, and Boodikka and Bzzzd! I want R'amey Holl and Von Daggle! Hal in a flight suit, and Guy in his blue outfit with the yellow ring. John in his pimp suit from Mosaic. Kyle in his loincloth. Sodam Yat in his ripped up outfit.

Granted, getting Mogo might be tough, he'd have to be a bit out of scale. But Bolphunga the Unrelenting would be a hoot.

What figures would YOU all like to see?

Let's Mock Barry!

Sea of Green is back, and over at her site, the Hoosier Journal of Inanity, she is taking swings at Barry Allen instead of Hal Jordan for a change. I agree, that it is probably a good idea to give poor Hal a rest, and about two cases of Advil before we start in on him again.

I DO believe that actually of all the Flashes, Wally is the biggest doofus. I'm not counting Bart, because he was just a kid. Wally on the other hand, just BEGGED to be ridiculed on a regular basis. However, Sea has chosen not Wally, but Barry for her mockery, which is much more sporting.

It is also a bit more difficult. Barry doesn't really manage to make a fool of himself that often. Barry is NICE dammit, and he also actually has a brain. It's a bit like kicking a puppy.

However...


...He sure looks miffed here! And possibly ever so slightly terrified. You see, from the positioning of Superman's feet, in the next two seconds, he's going to trip and fall right on his Super Face. Batman will probably try and avoid the pile-up, but nobody else is that dexterous, and frankly, it's just going to be a big mess. Plus Hal will be probably trying to grope Hawkgirl, and you KNOW that Barry is the only one not in the middle of the bodies, and therefore will be the one stuck trying to unpry them all.

All in all, not one of the League's finer moments.

The Joy of Winter Sports

Well...Thanksgiving is over, it's the Monday after, and we are all bloated from turkey, pie, football and shopping. I admit to three of those things, because if there is one thing that I've learned over the years, it is NEVER EVER to go shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

But now, another Christmas Season is at our throats. We've already had our first snowfall here, in lovely New England, and I'm sure that many more are on the way. Which brings me, in a very roundabout way, to the premise of my current bloviating.

I never learned to ski, but boy, I always loved sledding. A while back, I had posted THIS particular picture of Hal getting hit



All in all, a pretty good one. But to my chagrin, I never did figure out what the Tobaggan had to do with anything.

Until NOW!



Holy Hi-jinks! A happy Batman! And look, there's even Alfred. And they are all riding on the Bat-Tobaggan. That HAS to be one of the greatest inventions that Bats has ever come up with! I mean, a Batmobile, Bat-Copter and Bat Shark-Repellant are all perfectly normal crime-fighting tools, but a Bat-Tobaggan is just EXTRA special!

I can only assume that Robin used to smuggle it out of the cave, and take it to the Teen Titan meetings in the winter.

The Brave & the Bold #8

Well, for starters, we have the Flash and his adorable family combined with the Doom Patrol, and if that's not a recipe for success, then I don't know what is. AND, it's written by Mark Waid and drawn by George Perez. I have REALLY been enjoying my comicbooks lately!

I really don't know that much about the Doom Patrol. Yes, I'm familiar with them, but it has flown more or less under my radar. Same with the Challengers of the Unknown. And it really doesn't matter at all, because Mr. Waid writes them all VERY well.

The main thrust of this, is that the Challengers have the Book of Destiny, and are taking turns reading it, because it has a tendancy to...take over whomever is doing the reading. Cue spooky music. Also, it has been revealed that Jai and Iris, the adorable moppets of Wally and Linda West are freaks of nature. I've said that about my OWN kids, but it seems to be even more applicable here. Their powers are unstable, their ages have been fantastically accelerated. It is obvious that Wally and Linda love their children, and are increasingly nervous and afraid for them as well.

Niles Caulder, the head honco or whatever he calls himself over at the Doom Patrol is interested in the West children. Actually, he seems to be a little on the obsessed side. Wally is leery of the good Doctor's interest, but still...they do need to see if there's anything that can be done to help the kids.

Cue MORE spooky music. They end up at a really cool, appropriately gothic castle, just dripping with atmosphere, creaky doors, and all. Caulder himself seems a little out there as well. Wally's nervous, Linda is nervous, the kids are certainly nervous. Fascinated...but nervous. Rita does offer to take them on a tour of the torture chamber however, and like ALL children, this melts their little hearts, and away they go. They are doing pretty well too, until all the odd things start to happen, like Rita's stretchy arms, robots and mummies, just for starters.

Meanwhile, Caulder is trying to convince Wally to turn the kids over to him for...study. Yes, that's it...study. Wally isn't buying what Caulder is trying to sell, but Metamorpho shows up, and calms Wally down a trifle. Then the rest of the Doom patrol and the kids show up, mid-brawl, and Wally, bless his heart, comes out with this little nugget of parentspeak:

"...I don't care WHO started it...I'm FINISHING it!"

Hee hee! Like I haven't said THAT a hundred times in my life!

So then they all have dinner, which is going reasonably well, till the Robot-Guy takes his brain out and plunks it on the table. HOW MANY TIMES do I have to tell you guys not to take your brains out at the dinner table?! The entire West family is just about ready to leave, and who can blame them? COMPANY manners people!

Still, somehow Caulder convinces Wally to let him put the twins in these cool pod-looking capsule thingies, with Metamorpho somehow connected, while he runs perfectly innocent scans. What could possibly go wrong?

Oops.

Metamorpho starts screaming and or vaporizing, the meters are redlining, and Wally can't get through the field to get the kids out. They have to do something, anything to contain the kids...NOW. Cliff, the Robot-guy can contain ONE of the kids, but only one, so Caulder tells Wally he has to chose which child to save. What a prince of a guy! Wally realizes that he can save BOTH kids, with the help of the Negative Man, and by God it works...at least long enough to stabilize the children and get everyone back into their own bodies...which turns out to be just as critical for the Doom Patrol as for the Twins.

So everything ends up just peachy. Except that Metamorpho is still missing, and the word "Megistus" is scratched into his capsule, which refers to the bad guy fighting Power Girl and Wonder Woman an issue ago, and Wally had time to actually think about which child he would save, and now he has to live with that.

This is fabulous.

Birds of Prey #112

Welcome back, everybody! All stuffed with various delicacies? Had enough of crazy relatives, and long only for the warm glow of a computer screen? Not crazy enough to get up at 3:00 AM to go Christmas shopping? Welcome, welcome.

How's this?



Gosh, I just love Zinda. This issue is NOT written by Gail Simone. Know what? I don't care, because it is still good.

We begin with a memorial service for Big Barda, which makes me sniffle a little bit. Zinda however is honoring the memory of Barda in...her own inimitable fashion. Mainly, dancing on the bar and getting squiffed. She even manages to instigate a nice brawl...although in her opinion it doesn't really match up to some of the epic conflicts of the old days. '

Unbeknownst to Zinda, she is being stalked by a pair of bad guys, mainly Falseface and some guy in a cowboy hat, named White Star. Apparently, they were hired by the Calculator, in order to get to Oracle. He just doesn't deal with rejection well. Anyway, after her little brawl, Zinda stumbles out into the street and hails a cab, ordering the cabbie to drive her to Pancho's. NOT the one in Metropolis, but the one near Edward's Airforce base in California, and incidentally, a hangout of none other than Hal Jordan. The cabbie is NOT enthusiastic about this, but Zinda manages to be very persuasive. Drunk and threatening, but persuasive.

She wakes up in Pennsylvania, as the cab is stuck behind an Amish horse and buggy. It turns out that Masoud, her cabbie isn't particularly good with maps. This is when Falseface and White Star decide to attack, which leads to a lot of shooting, explosions, and the forcable highjacking of an Amish mode of transportation...and that's just something that you don't see every day!

Zinda has figured out that the nefarious twosome is probably out to get Oracle, or maybe they just don't like her. Either way, she doesn't let it bother her too much. Which leads to the chase by a combine after a horse-drawn buggy...also something that you don't see every day. Then the train comes by. The buggy is destroyed, but don't worry, the horse is fine. Masoud and Zinda manage to jump on the train in proper hobo fashion.

Falseface meanwhile has managed to get close enough to Zinda, to take on her appearance, and while Zinda is scouting things out on top of the train, "she" gets inside which leads to another confrontation, and the bonking of Falseface over the head with a liquor bottle by Masoud. They then climb up the ladder to the helicopter being piloted by White Star, who, only being 100 feet up, jumps out! So, they do manage to finally get to Pancho's, landing with QUITE a thump in the parking lot.

Hal and Cowgirl are having a beer inside...and theorize that the THUMP was just some fool who can't parallel park. Zinda and Masoud come inside, and Zinda requests that a photograph be added to the fallen heroes on the back of the bar, and then calls for drinks all around. It turns out that the photo is one of Barda and her, and again, makes me sniffle.

There were so many good things in this. I left out quite a bit of the heartsearching and philosophy as expressed by Masoud and Zinda, but I must say, that he's a pretty good new character. Zinda's insousiance is portrayed quite nicely, as well as her absolute belief that Oracle will bail her out. By now, she owes Masoud for the cost of his cab, not to mention the fare,and the Amish farmer for his buggy, the cost of the combine, and she also has a stolen helicopter. Not to mention all the drinks at Pancho's.

Oracle must LOVE going through her expense accounts.

It's rather cute and a little sweet, and kinda funny with a tiny touch of pathos here and there. And it's got Hal!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I LOVE Thanksgiving. I love it more than Christmas to be honest. We all go over to my sister's house...who happens to be my best friend as well...and eat our brains out, then sit around the table and TALK for hours and hours. They live in a log house, in the middle of the woods, with a huge stone fireplace,and it is all so bloody quaint and perfect that I can hardly stand it. PLUS, she's a fabulous cook. And I don't have to buy any presents!

No leftovers though.



So Happy Thanksgiving to you all. And eat your pie.

Green Lantern Corps: The Dark Side of the Green

Yes, I admit it. I went out and bought the trade of GLC, which includes issues 7-13, EVEN though I had already bought the original books when they first came out. Why, you may ask, would I do such a thing? Well, the trade has this really beautiful cover by Pat Gleason for one thing.



Ain't it purty?

Secondly, it is just so darned HANDY to have all those issues compiled neatly together, instead of having to root through my boxes. I am not a particularly organized person. I do rather wish that there had been a foreward or something, but what the heck, it's still good.

If for some reason, you have not read these particular issues, then SHAME! 'Cause they are fantastic. Numbers 7-9 are the issues written by Keith Champagne, and are simply fantastic. He does a fabulous job with Guy, and it is some of Pat Gleason's most cinematic artwork. The other stories are by Dave Gibbons who does his usual excellent job, with the issues that lead up to the Sinestro Corps War, and all the sinister little things that were going on in the background the whole time. There is a LOT of foreshadowing going on here. Gotta love those glowing little yellow lights.

Oh, and there's Mogo, and that's always fun. And Crazy Kilowog! Iolande and Soranik almost have a catfight! Ramey Holl and her adorable freckles!

Excuse me, I have to go and read it again.

No Highmindedness Here

Enough of all this pondering about Wonder Woman and Booster Gold, and being highminded and erudite and...and stuff. I haven't made any references to Hal's butt in quite a few posts, and it's starting to wear on me.

Firstly however, I must point out this particular scan.



For one thing, the lady in question, is absolutely right, Nightwing DOES have a fairly fabulous pair of buns. His remark also makes it pretty clear and our boy Dick is perfectly concious of this fact, and that he probably USES his gluteous maximus as a weapon...at least when fighting those of the female persuasion.

Now don't forget that Nightwing IS the original Robin, and although I can't remember any occasions off of the top of my head, it is more than likely that he came into contact with Hal Jordan and the Justice League on a fairly regular basis. It is my theory, that it was none other than Hal who taught Dick on the essentials of tight spandex and a really sensational ass. Batman wears that stupid cape. One rarely sees this side of Batman. As Oliver Queen once pointed out, Batman uses that cape like a great big security blanket. Nightwing however, is much more of a free spirit than Bats.

Of course, even Nightwing can't really compare to the master.



Go Hal! Arch that back! Flaunt that behind! AND getting hit in the head, is just bonus points.

Some Wondering about Wonder Woman

Well, I hope that you have all been good, and went out and bought Wonder Woman #14, because it is Gail Simone's first issue...and it rocks. Firstly, we have the dynamic duo of Terry and Rachel Dodson doing the art chores, and they make it beautiful. Then of course we have Gail.

Guess what? Diana is strong, confident and self-assured. She also has a rather dry sense of humor. No moping, no whining, so self-doubt. This Wonder Woman is actually competent and clever. What a novel concept!

And she gets to fight white talking gorillas, and that is just a sensational idea from the get-go. And furthermore, she manages to defeat them with her brain, instead of just pummelling them into submission. She realizes that they are being more or less just used by Grodd and are perhaps more angry than evil.

"Creature of ritual, well used to a social heirarchy. Misguided rather than blackhearted. This is why I prefer never to use Batman's methods"

*sigh* My little heart went pitter-pat. And I also greatly enjoy any scoring off on Batman, but that's just me.

Then there is the utterly hilarious scene where Diana takes all the apes back to her apartment, where they are getting a little...rambunctious. Tolifhar, their nominal leader is nice enough to apologize for the "flinging" incident. Diana shows that she's a true lady, by graciously telling them that they are her guests, and not to worry. And they keep calling her "Majesty" which is a nice touch. Then Nemesis shows up and barges in. The apes disappear, and he makes snide remarks about her lack of decorating skills. When the two of the go, the apes come back and start snickering about how the humans are obviously going to be rutting like weasels any time now.

Back at the office, Nemesis is nice enough to have set up a little celebration for Diana's "Birthday", which she herself, had obviously forgotten all about, and they even have cake. Diana's still not too sure about some cultural mores, but figures that humans can be forgiven since there IS cake.

Then Director Steel shows up and starts bloviating. Then Etta Candy shows up (oh Etta!) and puts him firmly in his place. And they get to fly around in an ivisible helicopter! How cool is that? Oh yes, and Captain Nazi shows up. In Canada of all places. Just NOT the sort of place that you think you'll find Nazis. Gosh, they are worse than cockroaches! And finally, the Nazis decide to invade Themyscira.

Now it is becoming pretty apparent that there must be TWO Themysciras at the moment. There is the one from Wonder Woman,where Hippolyta is wandering around, being hag-ridden, and there is the Winnick version, with Athena and Black Canary and a kidnapped Oliver Queen. Exactly how they are going to reconcile the two, has me baffled. Has anybody else, such as Batman for instance, realized that there are two mystical islands floating around? And that's not even bringing Kooey Kooey Kooey into the mix. I do have to say this about Ollie, he and Islands just don't mix.

Anyway. Nazis, talking gorillas, and Etta Candy. Not bad for a first issue!

Booster Gold #4

Enough shilly-shallying! On to the goodness that is Booster. It all starts on the very first panel of the very first page! Rip is moaning about having a fender-bender in the time stream, Booster is trying to sober up, and Barry tells Kid Flash..."Take a good long LOOK, Wally. THAT'S why you don't drink alcohol to excess." Wally meekly says "Yes, Uncle Barry", while a slightly hung-over Booster points out that all that whisky actually saved Superman. When Rip tells him that he doesn't want to hear it anymore, Booster replies sotto voce "Yes, 'uncle Hunter!'"

Three panels in, and I'm smiling already.

Then the Supernova tracking alarm goes off, and the four of them leap into action! Woohoo! Booster is actually being the smart one in the bunch, when he points out that it's too easy, they couldn't possibly have found Supernova already...unless he WANTED them to! Which is exactly what happens. Supernova shows up with his teammate...the nefarious Rex Hunter! It falls a little flat because nobody outside of Rip even knows who he is. Apparently he's some loser who tried to join Rip's team years ago, but got kicked out because of his irresponsibility.

Basically, Rex wants to change history, making HIMSELF and Supernova the only superheroes left. Barry and Wally rush in to help, but Fwwaaammm, they are blinked out of existance! So we end up with a matchup between Rip and Rex, Booster and Supernova, and Skeets vs Maximillian.

Wait...Maximillian?

A SUPER version of Skeets. An EVIL super version of Skeets. I am in heaven.

There is a little bit of other stuff thrown in. Dan flirts with Whatshername...Booster's great great great Grandmother a bit, while there is a page of Dan Garret fighting a mummy for some reason that I am sure will come apparent in future issues. But the good stuff is our heroes squaring off against one another.

It turns out that this is the time and place that Barry gained his superpowers, and evil Rex and Supernova have place a lightning rod on the roof of the building, so that Barry won't get zapped. Holy Back to the Future! Rip is doing pretty well against Rex, but Booster is getting pretty frustrated about dealing with Supernova, so he rips off the hood to reveal...HIS FATHER!

I totally did not see that coming. And yet, it makes perfect sense, because the Supernova costume is designed to only work for someone with Booster's DNA. Booster's Dad has a big old scar and is missing an eye...so he's obviously evil! EVIL!! Poor Booster. Not only is his old man a real bad guy, but he's ALSO a huge jerk, and keeps making really snarky comments to Booster about what a failure he is, and how he's not worthy to be a hero, and how his sister's death was really his fault and so on. Like I said...poor Booster.

Booster IS a hero however, and manages to grab the lightning rod, with a little help from Skeets. But then Skeets gets blasted by Maximillian, and Booster is horrified. His mean old Dad grabs the remnant of the lightning rod, just in time to get hit by a bolt of lightning himself, which causes him to disappear with a big KRAKOOOM! Then Barry gets hit with an even bigger KRAKOOOOOOMMMMM! and history as we know it, is restored.

Rip beat the crap out of Rex obviously, but Booster is pretty pissed that his Dad got away. Rip theorizes that the lightning bolt must have burnt out the chronal energy cells in the suit, so that wherever or whenever his Father is, he's trapped, and therefore no concern of theirs. I can tell you right now, that this is so going to come back and bite them in the butts someday. Meanwhile, Rip is able to repair Skeets, which is a very good thing.

Booster is feeling a little bit down, which is certainly understandable. Oh, and did I mention that Barry and Wally are back, feeling good as new, if slightly confused, and get to run off together on their adorable little treadmill? Anyway, Booster wants to go and save Ted. NOW. Rip gets all defensive and tells him that he's just as bad as Rex, wanting to change the timeline for personal gain. Booster points out that he doesn't want to erase anyone, he just wants to SAVE a life, which is a heck of a lot different from what Rex and Supernova were trying to do.

Rip conceeds, but says that there is one more thing that they have to do first. Isn't that the way that it always is? He says that there is one more anomaly that they missed. Black Canary shouldn't be the head of the JLA ( I agree, she should be back in Birds of Prey, dammit!) and that the current leader should be...Barbara Gordon! Booster is confused of course, and thinks of Oracle, but Rip says NOT Oracle, it should be...



Holy Guacamole!

I am now confused as heck. Because as much as I was fond of the original Batgirl, I do have to admit that I simply LOVE Barbara as Oracle. And apparently everybody and his brother knows that Barbara IS Oracle. I mean, if Booster knows, then everybody knows...right? I don't have the foggiest idea of how they are going to resove this, but I am breathlessly awaiting next month's book!

THAT'S a cliffhanger!

An Amazing Week, continued

Now, where were we? Oh yes...

Punisher was good as usual. I do like Garth Ennis. He's just SO twisted. Barracuda is back of course, and up to no good. Frank is actually experiencing an old emotion, and he's not quite sure what to do about it. And I will say...the cliffhanger is a doozy!

Salvation Run was ok. Waller has apparently either come up with, or is enthusiastically implementing the idea that all the supervillains should be shipped off to another planet, to fend for themselves. There are those who see a parallel to Civil War, and it's other-dimensional Gulag, but I don't really get that feeling here. According to the blurb in the back of the book, this is actually a pretty old idea, that has been taken off the shelf, dusted and put to use. Needless to say, things don't quite go as planned. Not spectacular, but actually, not bad either.

Suicide Squad is fun, I always enjoy watching Amanda Waller strut her stuff. It's nice that Flag is alive and well. Too bad about Rustam though. Oohhh, it has Deadshot in it too.! And hopefully, Boomer Jr. will be making his appearance soon.

Thor was pretty good. The art is nice, although in a few panels Thor looks a little deformed. The pace is the opposite of frenetic, but so far, I can live with that. And look, it brings back the Warriors Three! And that can only be a good thing.

X-Factor is a cross-over with the other X books and is doing the whole Messiah Complex thingie. I can't really say that I'm enthralled, but I like Peter David, and X-Factor is one of the few X books that I've continued with. The main thing, is that Jamie and Layla show up at Forge's place, and Jamie is supposed to send two of his duplicates into the future to find out what happens. Then they die, and bring back the information to the original Jamie. This does seem to be a bit on the cold-blooded side to me. However something goes wrong, and for some reason, Layla jumps in with the second duplicate and gets sent on a one-way ride to the future. Then Jamie collapses. Forge doesn't seem to bat an eye that he's just sent a little girl off to a very uncertain future, nor does the death of the dupes seem to faze him in the least. Guess he's been hanging out with Tony Stark. My theory is that it is the REAL Jamie who has been sent into the future, and that's why Layla jumped into the time machine thingie. I guess we shall see.

Wolverine was ok. Lots and lots of angsting, and going back through history for Logan, who everytime that he "dies" has to fight some guy, and oh, he has to fight himself too. And now there's a mysterious woman who was there when the Hand brought him back to life the last time. Howard Chaykin is handling the art, and I can't say that I'm too enthralled. It's a pity, because I used to really like his stuff. After "Collateral Damage" however, I'm a bit gunshy.

Wonder Woman is great. REALLY great. I'll get to it.

One HELL of a Wednesday!

Gosh, I'm happy. Quite a bit poorer, but happy. This was one heck of a comicbook week! I was lucky enough to pick up the following:

All-Star Superman #9
Black Adam #4
Booster Gold #4
Countdown #24
Fables #67
Green Arrow/Black Canary #2
JLA: Classified #46
Punisher #52
Salvation Run #1
Suicide Squad #3
Thor #4
X-Factor #25
Wolverine #59
Wonder Woman #14

Oh, and the Green Lantern Corps "Dark Side of the Green" Trade compilation. I of course HAVE all of these, but it is so handy sometimes, to just pull the book out. Besides, I've been going through GL withdrawal, so I had to read it cover to cover anyway.

So...there are some pretty good books in that list. Some better than others, but that's not unnusual. I can honestly say that there was not a real stinker amongst them however, and that's always a nice thing.

All-Star Superman was superb as always. Not everyone likes Frank Quitely's artwork, but I must say that I love it. It is a little on the quirky side, but his linework, and his backgrounds are amazing. And look...his people have hands! And feet! And varying body types and facial expressions!
And they accidentally broke the moon, then stitched it back together using suspension bridges! Oh, and Jimmy Olsen decides to wear his underwear on the outside. Good stuff, good stuff.

Black Adam was creepy and poignant all at the same time. The art was lovely too. I know that Black Adam has...anger issues and all, but darnit, I like him.

Heck, even Countdown was pretty good. Boy, Superbrat Prime REALLY has issues. Serious, serious issues.

Fables continues the story of Ambrose, and he is kicking some serious Homeland tail. Defeating the enemy and acquiring allies at the same time. Who knew that Fly was so smart?

In JLA:Classified, J'onn finally gets his act together. 'Bout time!

To be Continued!

I DO believe that Wonder Woman is supposed to come out

Oh sweet sweet Wednesday. I DO hope that there are comics today, because I was wondering if Veteran's Day would have messed up the schedule. However...I DO think that Wonder Woman is supposed to come out today, AND it is the first issue penned by the inimitable Gail Simone.

I am in little Fangirl Heaven. And I haven't even read it yet.

But it has gorillas, and that's always a good thing. Almost as good as Dinosaur-riding Nazis! And presumably, Diana won't be wandering around questioning her role in life, and weeping because she doesn't know how to put gas in a car. She'll be punching simians, and taking names, and according to Gail's interview at Newsarama, there will actually be some cloth in her star-spangled bottoms, which is a good thing.



Of course this isn't the cover of the new book, but dagnabit, Adam Hughes draws a gorgeous Wonder Woman. And Lois isn't too bad either.

Gosh, but this week looks to be an absolute plethora of goodies.

How to make a Fortune in the DC Universe

This is Hal Jordan.



Hal is very brave, and very pretty. He also gets hit in the head. A LOT.



This is Oliver Queen.



He is also a superhero, known as Green Arrow. He enjoys making terrible chili, and tries to poison unsuspecting Green Lanterns. (Yes, this is Guy, not Hal. Hal is immune to Ollie's chili)

Oliver Queen used to be rich. RICH! Then he lost all his fortune. Ollie was sad. Arrows don't grow on trees you know. Ollie wondered how he could regain his fortune. So, one day he looked at his best friend, Hal.



Ollie noticed that although he was brave AND handsome, Hal was also...something of a klutz. Clumsy even. And boy, did he ever seem to get hit in the head a lot! And a lightbulb went off in the air over Oliver's own head!

So he took all that was left of his money, and borrowed all the spare cash that Black Canary had lying around, and bought lots and lots of stock in a company that manufactures aspirin.

Now Ollie is rich again. And he is happy. A little gassy from all the chili...but happy.

Hal still has a headache.

We Need to Rehabilitate Max Lord

I yield to none in my love of Ted Kord, but let's face the facts. He's not the only one who got shafted. Why oh why, did it have to be Max who went whacky and shot Teddy in the head? I LIKE Max, dammit.

Max was always a rather ambivalent character, and therein lies his charm. Yes, he was manipulative, not to mention machiavellian, and he had that whole mind-whammy thing going on, but by and large, he WAS on the side of the Angels...mostly. Max was interesting partly BECAUSE he was a bit on the shady side. And he was funny as heck. I loved his interaction with Oberon, and later with L-Ron. Speaking of whom, what ever happened to L-Ron, anyway? Because I miss him too.

Is there a way for Geoff Johns or somebody to go and figure out a way to rehabilitate poor old Max? Maybe make it Captain Atom as the one who went bonkers...and DISGUISED himself as Max! Or he pulled a Max from an alternate Earth or something, since he seems to have been spending so much time bopping around the Bleed and the Multiverse. For an odd reason, I can find it much more believable that Capt. Atom turned into Monarch and lost his marbles than Max.

There are so many, many good Max Lord stories. I can't really say the same about Capt. Atom, because I always found him to be something of a jerk from the beginning. In fact, he was even more annoying than Guy Gardner, at least to me, and that's saying something.

Maybe EvilMax was a clone! That would be nice. I can accept that. Just bring him back, rehabilitated and as morally ambiguous as ever.

Where there's Smoke....

....There's Fire. I like Fire. I wish they'd put her back in the Justice League, although at least I can read about her in Checkmate. But she just hasn't been her old feisty self lately. Granted, she's been put through the wringer like ALL the old JLI'ers, but still! If there was one character that I could always count on for spunkiness, it was Beatriz. Too bad about her Dad being such a scumbag.

It's nice that Ice is back though. I thought that it was interesting that Bea's first thought was to grab Tora and get the heck out of Checkmate. It's a depressing place, and I definitely want Ice OUT of there. Although, I DO like Checkmate, I'm terrified that Waller or somebody is going to do something to poor Fire.



Now THAT'S my girl! I even liked that outfit. Not your usual superhero outfit. If she wasn't in Checkmate or the JLA, maybe they could put her in Birds of Prey? I know that Oracle originally dismissed her as being too ditsy, but hey, Bea's been through a lot lately, and has calmed down considerably. And she and Zinda got along pretty well back in the old "Warrior" days.

And it isn't as though there were a LOT of Brazilian superheroes out there!

A Little Wackiness

So...I'm browsing through my Photobucket stuff, because as usual, my brain is COMPLETELY empty. When I absolutely have nothing of interest to talk about, there is nothing like falling back on posting pictures. I love pictures.

I forget where this came from, but it was at the back of some book, and I'm missing the first couple of panels, but BOY howdy, it struck me as being something of a hoot.

Giffen used this schtick of Guy terrorizing the DC offices, and Beau Smith used it as well. I guess Guy just has that effect on people.

Without further ado, Guy Gardner goes to DC, and shows them whatsfor...!




So they bring in the new "Old" guy, and...


Then a purple monster shows up for some reason. Naturally Guy leaps to the rescue.




Tell me, that's not a perfect rendition of Guy Gardner!

A rather Small Haul

A bit of a slow week for me. It is to be hoped that next week will be better. Of course it is killing me, that I have to wait until the LAST week of November for GLC#18, but I'm doing my best to be patient.

I did pick up Astonishing X-Men #23, and darn it, it was pretty good. It does take a little while to remember what actually happened in the last issue, since it has been a goodish while, but as I recall, Cyclop's lifeless body was floating in space. Guess what? He's not dead! While I wasn't particularly surprised by this, there was a genuine "Holy Crap!" moment at the end, which was nice.

I did giggle over Aaron Stack over in Ms. Marvel. I blush to admit that I flipped through it surreptitiously at the Comic Book store, ONLY in order to see Machine Man. His new body was...interesting!

New Avengers: Illuminati made me laugh out loud...but not necessarily in a good way. More of in a "Oh for cryin' out loud!" sort of way. I hate to spoil this, but apparently, Black Bolt was really...A...SKRULL! Dr. Strange is oddly ineffective, Xavier can't read his mind, and Tony Stark is busy whining through the whole thing. Reed is the ONLY one who wonders (briefly) what happened to the REAL Black Bolt, and as usual Namor is the only efficient and intelligent one in the whole bunch.

Speaking of which, how do they have time to come and hang out together and stare at Skrull Electra's body, when they are supposed to be beating each other up in Atlantis? Is that whole Hulk thing still going on?

No matter how bad Tony Stark acts, he will NEVER be as badass as Dr. Doom. He has all this power now, and all he's doing is crying about Cap, and angsting. Dr. Doom NEVER angsts! Ok, he may soliloquize a bit, but that's a totally different thing.

Marvel has me a bit confused at the moment. With everything coming out late, different story lines seem to be going on simultaneously, and very little of it makes sense. Of course, I suppose that the same thing can be said for Countdown. The heck with it, I'm looking forward to reading "Thor" next week. It has nothing to DO with Civil War, or Hulk or anything else.

Well, that wraps up my incoherent ramblings for another day. And I thought I'd post this too. No reason, other than it makes me laugh and laugh.



*snicker*

Whoa!

Isn't that amazing? It is an alternate cover for All-Star Batman & Robin, by Neil Adams. I don't read ASBAR, mainly because I think that poor Frank Miller has completely lost his mind, but that is one AMAZING piece of art. I stole it from "Scans Daily"

Cool, eh?

Short Post, Gotta Run

Eep! Not a lot of time to talk today, have to go and vote. Our local Selectmen are up for election, and I have to be sure and vote against the guy who wants to enforce the blight laws. He wants to make sure nobody has any unregistered vehicles cluttering up their yards. I currently have a firetruck, a '65 Mercedes, and another firetruck in the Carriage House...all unregistered. I LIVE for blight!

Um...anyway, here's a nice picture of the Justice League. It has nothing to do with anything, I just like it.



Now go and do your civic duty!

Random Blathering

Good golly here we are, on a beautiful Monday morning! I can honestly say that I don't have a CLUE about what to write about today, but I've never let that stop me before.

Kalinara has come to the inevitable conclusion over at "Pretty Fizzy Paradise" that the whole "For Men Only! No creepy Girls!" banner on Wizard, was probably just a very very bad joke that fell completely flat. It's pretty sad really,when you come up with an idea, that probably went over great at the Editorial Meeting, but went completely south, when actually exposed to the world. NOBODY got it. As she points out, probably because it was just so believable.

*sigh*

So...has everybody been reading the Sinestro Corps War like good boys and girls? Great stuff. Except that it is going to be several weeks before the GLC book comes out, and the finale doesn't come out till Dec. 12th, and I'm starting to go through withdrawal...and it AIN'T PRETTY!

I have also been reading Countdown quite faithfully since the beginning. It's been...ok, I guess. I don't like what they are doing to poor Mary, but Piper and Trickster have been modestly amusing. And while it is always nice to see Kyle, I really would like a large anvil to fall on Jason Todd.

However, with all the hoohah going on with the Monitors, what I don't understand, is that they have completely missed the fact that the ANTI-MONITOR is running amuck over in the Sinestro Corps stuff!!!! One would think that perhaps they might find this little bit of information to be slightly more important than chasing after "Bob",Kyle, Donna and Jason. The only conclusion that I can come to, is that the Monitors are even MORE stupid than the Guardians! And that takes some doing.

Does anybody but me think that if Marvel had a Justice Society, there would never have been a need for "Civil War"? Basically the Marvel Universe has turned into "Kingdom Come".

Is Tony Stark really a Skrull? Do I even care anymore? Oh, and by the way, how did that whole "Hulk beats up everybody" cross-over come out? Wouldn't it have been nice if the X-Men actually showed up in time to save somebody once in a while? And Namor's long-lost son is ALMOST as bratty as Superbrat Prime. That's why I like Wildcat's kid so much. Long-lost son, who turned out to be pretty well adjusted, and turns out to like his old man without being obsessed or crazy.

And finally:



Oddly enough, that is NOT Hal! It's Guy! ALL Green Lanterns have fabulous behinds!

The Grand Finale to JLA 80-Page Giant

Oh yes, there is more. Gotta stretch this thing out, afterall. Nah, what really happened, is that I hit the wrong fershlugginer button.

So, without further ado:





Finally, Guy runs by wringing his hands and screaming "Don't kill it, don't kill it!"

And a good time was had by all. Have I mentioned in the last five minutes how much I miss stuff like this?

80-Page Giant JLA

Ok, this relates to my Halloween post. This is one of the stories from the aforementioned 80-Page Giant book, which came out in '98 I think. They were all nice stories, but this little gem by Kiffen, DeMatteis and Maguire is a hoot. It is actually a flashback, stemming from THIS little scene:



A true classic. Guy wakes up after being biffed by Batman's "One Punch" and goes looking for his ring. He's startled by the mouse, and rears up, and bonks his noggin.

Which leads to THIS:



Oh Booster, that is one beautiful behind.



Booster also seems to have an aversion to Wharf Rats.



J'onn really should know better. You KNOW that this isn't going to end well.





Never come between a Martian and his Oreos (or Chocos if you prefer)





The looks of blank horror on their faces, just seems to sum it all up so neatly.







Again with the Wharf Rats!

Justice Society of America #10

Well, this was interesting. Due to Starman's deft use of a black hole to contain an explosion by a bad guy from last issue, somehow Superman from the "Kingdom Come" universe is sucked into OUR universe. This is just post-nuclear explosion, but clearly ante-Hope-Filled-Wonder Woman Bonking. So naturally, the poor fellow is depressed.

Clearly, the Justice Society is understandably nervous about this ticking time bomb sitting in their meeting room. Ma Hunkel shows up, which is nice, and apparently does his laundry,while Power Girl is depressed that he's not really her cousin. Starman is just happy to see somebody that he knows.

Superman is depressed because this world is so much better than his, and he's having some trouble coping. Then, who should show up but Obsidian!



Finally!

Todd even gets some dialogue! Woohoo!

Then suddenly, Superman appears to go berserk, and busts out of the meeting room, where they had previously locked him in. Big Pile-On ensues! Doesn't work of course, and off he goes. Alan is a little snarky with Todd. It all turns out that he is just flying to rescue a young girl who is trying to jump off of a building. He gets to do something heroic, and the rest of them are suitably impressed. You have to feel for the guy, it must be nice to actually be able to SAVE somebody for a change.

Meanwhile, Batman broods in the batcave and ominously fingers what could be a Kryptonite ring, Peej visits Kal's grave, a bad guy is being chased through the sewers for some reason, and Jay and Wally dig out the old Cosmic Treadmill, which has apparently been stuffed into storage.

Not a TON of story, but what there was of it, I liked. And the artwork is beautiful as always. It is interesting that the Society just doesn't really quite know what to do with him, or how to react. They all seem to be treading on eggshells around Superman, and I suppose that you can't blame them.