Marvel, You Mess with DOOM...At Your Peril!

So...did anybody read Mighty Avengers? And that scene where Dr. Doom refers to Ms. Marvel as a "piece of fat furniture" not to mention a cow and a whore? I blush to admit that I didn't actually buy this issue, I've been a bit leery of the whole Skrull thing for quite some time...but really WHAT THE HELL is this?

I know that Marvel has been ramming the whole Secret Invasion plotline down our collective throats. You can't trust anyone, they might be a Skrull. Wolverine can't smell them, Dr. Strange can't find them magically, there is no way to tell, unless you kill one, or they show themselves. Scary, right?

I suppose. It could lead to some dangerous paranoia on the part of the heroes, as they wouldn't know whom it was safe to trust. The only problem with that scenario, is that it was just used as the entire basis for Civil War, as far as I can tell. And ever since the end of Civil War, all the action has been just spinning its wheels, waiting for the Skrulls to show up. In issue after issue, Bendis has had Skrullery raise its ugly green head...but nothing much has happened. They've been hauling Electra's poor Skrullish corpse around for months now. Various characters have been written as horribly OUT of character. We're about to find out that NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS!

I...I don't care. My reaction to finding out that perhaps the past twenty years of Marvel continuity can be thrown out of the window because possibly EVERYBODY is a Skrull is a giant yawn.

However...you just DON'T mess with Dr. Doom. Doom is a villain yes, but he is a villain with grandeur, a villain with class. He gives Storm a nice dinner and wine before he plans to turn her into a living statue. He has his own country, for heaven's sake. He can monologue with the best of them...heck, he IS the best of them. He actually doesn't think of himself as a villian, and he probably would do a dandy job of running the world.

What he doesn't do, is go around insulting women and mocking their appearance or proclivities. So obviously, they have made Dr. Doom into a Skrull. Why, he hasn't even blamed Richards for everything! It's obvious. I also think that Jarvis is a Skrull, since I really don't think that the real Jarvis would have said those awful things about poor Tigra. Stark, Richards and Pym are all Skrulls. The entire U.S. Post office has been infiltrated by Skrulls, including Willy Lumpkin.

So where have the originals been all of this time? Do the Skrulls do the obvious thing and kill the originals (which would make sense) or do they simply detain them somewhere. which is the more comicbooky answer? If the latter is the case, then that means that...somewhere...Dr. Doom is planning his revenge.

At the end of this whole tiresome mess, I want Dr. Doom...the REAL Dr. Doom, to show up and kick their lumpy green butts. Now it's true that I have an oft-expressed love for Green Butts. Just not SKRULL butts.

Now, if, at the end of Secret Invasion, Marvel decides to bring back their heroes...then I might actually read them again. Maybe.

Oh and Mephisto? Totally a Skrull.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Wow...is it me, or did the month of March just fly by? The official parade season is just about upon us, with the St. Patrick's Day parade in Holyoke, Massachussettes stepping off tomorrow. And of course, the Fife & Drum corps will be marching in it. Which means I have to try and figure out where all the tricornes and gaiters are, and sprucing up the MDU (Mobile Drinking Unit)

So...did I mention how good Blue Beetle #25 was? Just thought I'd pass that along. All-Star Superman was pretty darned fabulous as well. I really do love Frank Quitely. In fact, most of my books this week were good, although I somehow managed to fail to pick up Damage Control #3, which has me slightly confused. Guess I'll find it on Wednesday.

Diamond Rock over at Title Undetermined, has finally discovered that Guy Gardner is awesome. Sooner or later, EVERYONE discovers this. It's all a part of our secret plan. Heh heh.

I'm actually starting to look forward to Final Crises. I also find that I don't give a good goddamn about that whole Skrull business. There was a time when I would have cared, but I just can't seem to summon up any enthusiasm. Good job there, Marvel!

So...yesturday, there was a huge crash on Rt 91 in Chicopee, Mass, wherein a Subaru was entering traffic, stalled, and then managed to start a nasty pileup, including sending a full gasoline tanker off the road, which resulted in a huge fireball, and the complete closing of the highway. My son was three cars behind the accident. My heart has finally resumed its normal beating.

Guess that's all the excitement for now. Go read Blue Beetle again!

Green Lantern #29

What is this you say? Yet another origin for Hal Jordan? Hasn't this all been done before? You know, red-skinned bald alien shows up, gives Hal a ring, and a legend is born. It's true, there have been quite a few origins of Hal before, but this is Geoff Johns, and I'm all for it. Not only is he picking up on some of the ideas that he used previously in Rebirth and such, he's fleshing things out with Hal's family, he's giving us peeks into Hal's own head, and by God, he even throws John Stewart into the mix. Not to mention that this makes for a nice jumping-on point for any number of NEW fans. I may know all the old stories, and YOU may know all the old stories, but perhaps this is a new book for a new fan.

Ivan Reis is back, and in tip-top form. Juvenile Hal and little Carol Ferris are just so darned adorable!



Oh Hal. You've been a troublemaker and a heartbreaker right from the start.

Mr. Johns delves deftly into the family dynamic of the Jordans after the death of Martin. Hal's mother just can't understand his desire to fly, and he can't understand her fear. His older brother Jack is something of a jerk, but you can certainly understand his motivation, while Jim is just a little sweetie. Hal doesn't MEAN to hurt his mother, but he just can't help himself.

So off he goes on his eighteenth birthday.



Heh. Notice the address.

So Hal ends up as a hotshot pilot, albeit one who doesn't think that rules need apply to him. Does this sound familiar? There is an amusing bit with Hal at a bar, and a young Marine named John Stewart who just happens to be sitting at a different table. Needless to say, fists soon start flying.



Unfortunately, Hal's mother is near death, and she STILL refuses to see Hal. That seems to be taking a grudge to absurd lengths, but apparently his brother Jack is in agreement with her, and won't even let Hal into the hospital room. In typical bullheaded Hal fashion, he goes off, and picks a fight with his commanding officer, after taking a joyride in a jet, and somehow manages to get himself dishonorably discharged, all so that he can visit him mother. Too bad she dies before he can make it to the hospital. Jack yells at him a bit more, but Jim at least has a heart.



Finally, we have some more story about Abin Sur and the Empire of Tears, which is always nice. All these little hints will, I am sure have a major effect on the ensueing story line.

Ragnell in her review, has some very valid points about Hal's little caper with stealing the jet and punching his commander in the face. Odds are pretty good that Hal wouldn't have simply been discharged, he'd have been thrown in the brig, or the pokey or whatever they call it. It is apparently not as easy to steal a jet as you think. Furthermore, exactly WHY Hal thought that getting himself thrown out of the Air Force was a good idea, baffles me. But that's Hal all over, he may be handsome, brave and charismatic, but thinking things through, is NOT his forte. Why couldn't he simply have gone to his superiors and asked for some temporary leave, and then gone to see his mother? Hal lies to everybody all of the time, he could have told his mom he was out, and she'd have died happy.

So yes, Hal is an idiot. But a darned entertaining idiot.

Blue Beetle #25

Oh. Oh MY!

So after last month's cliffhanger, do I dare to admit that I was in a fever of anticipation for the next four weeks, a fever that was finally doused by the arrival of the new issue yesturday? Could it, could it possibly actually be as good as I was hoping for? YES IT COULD!!!

Let us begin then...



Dan Garrett, Ted Kord and Jaime Reyes all on the first page! My little fangirl heart started thumping. What makes it even better, is that the blue narration boxes, are BY the Scarab! Turns out that it wasn't dead at all, his name is now...Khaji Da, and the Blue Beetle is his friend, by God!

The Negotiator is having a little bit of trouble dealing with being outmaneuvered, to say the least. The Reach is trying to get the engines started, but they can't. That little 'ol code that Jaime downloaded WAS just a bunch of numbers, but it was enough for him distract the Reach and allow the Scarab to do the actual job of hacking the computers. The Scarab and Jaime are working together, in unison and as a partnership, and you can just SEE the panic start to set in, in the Negotiator.

He yells for Dawur, who is busy trying to annihilate Jaime's family back on Earth, but there is one little problem. Jaime's friends and family are worried because something or someone has landed behind them, although it turns out that Milagro is the only one with a clue.

<

Oh yeah, baby! If that's not the most perfect entrance I've ever seen. And there's Milagro down in the corner doing her best to mimic his stance. At this point, I am indulging in tiny squeals of delight. My dog is staring at me in consternation.

And then it gets even better. The Reach feel that they might have a chance at taking down a single Lantern...except Ice shows up, and points out that he's got help. There is a lovely moment with Guy and Peacemaker fighting next to each other, and exchanging bon mots in the heat of the battle about who was dead, and who got better. It is all starting to freak poor Jaime's mother out a bit, to see exactly what it is that her baby boy is doing in his spare time, but his dad points out that their boy is a MAN now and as tough as him mom. *sniffle*

Meanwhile, back on the ship, matters go from bad to worse...for the Reach anyway. Somehow Batman's satellite is functioning. Remember the Satellite from a little ways back, when Jaime ran into the Titans? Yeah, THAT satellite. The Negotiator just can't figure out how Jaime managed to get word to Batman since they monitored every electronic frequency and every bandwidth he could have used. Didn't matter, since Jaime wrote Batman a LETTER, and had Dani Garrett hand-carry it to Oracle. So all of the Reach's plots and shenanigans are right up there on the view screens of the entire world. The world is not slow in demanding clarification and demands for surrender. At this point I almost start to feel a tiny bit sorry for the Negotiator, because he is SERIOUSLY fucked now. Then he decides that if the Reach can't have the Earth, then... NO ONE can! Men. So dramatic.

<

Just to improve things, if that is possible, who should show up but Fire, with a message from Checkmate. I love how Tora is waving to her, and Guy is snarling under his breath. But we can't forget that there is still one heck of a firefight going on, and Paco, Brenda and Milagro are still in the thick of it. Which leads to this...

<

Hah! I KNEW it! You can just see Milagro going "Paco and Brenda, sittin' in a tree, ..." Then Dawur shows up and figures if he can't beat up a Green Lantern, an Ice Goddess or a woman made of green Fire, then by God, he'll beat on some teenagers! Two unPOWERED teenagers. Funny how things work out, since they hand him is ass. Oh Paco, you and your stick! AND Brenda.

Back on the ship, the Negotiator has run off to set off the bombs, but of course Jaime figures out (with a little help from Ted) how to rain on his parade. He and the Scarab manage to make it so that the Earth isn't going to blow up, but they run out of time to escape. Just as the timer is about to go off, who should show up? Why it's Booster Gold of course, he grabs Jaime and they are out of there, just before the ship explodes. Jaime even wanted to try and save the Negotiator, but that didn't work out.

<

There is a brief moment of consternation back on Earth as they try to figure out what just happened, but fortunately, Booster and Blue Beetle show up, none the worse for wear. Bea and Tora are thrilled to see Booster alive. Jaime's family run over and hug him, as Tora runs over and hugs Booster...much to Guy's chagrin.

And...there is a happy ending. The Reach...or what is left of them, are gone, the Reyes house is rebuilt ( I suspect with a bit of help from Batman) and they have a nice big barbecue in the back yard, and everybody shows up, including Booster, Guy, Ice and Fire. Jaime is happy, his family is happy, EVERYONE's happy.

Hell, I'M happy. I'm so happy I can hardly stand it. So do yourselves a huge favor and go out and get this, and then you'll all be happy too. And lord knows, we could all use a little bit of happiness.

Oh Happy Day!

Finally! The new Blue Beetle book is in today! I'm been panting for this ever since that incredible cliff-hanger from LAST month's book. Plus, this is the one that has Booster, Guy, Ice and Fire on the cover. It...it's as though it was made just for ME!

All-Star Superman is also coming out. This is always a good thing. A very very good thing.

And another issue of Green Lantern! Woohoo! Ivan Reis is back, and Geoff Johns is doing his version of Hal's origin. Granted, I pretty much know Hal's origin by now, but I am always up to just about anything that Mr. Johns wishes to add, so I am looking forward to this a lot.

I'm pretty sure that there are any number of other books that will be coming out this week as well, but these three were the ones that I was salivating over.

What is everybody else getting?

I Am so Smartt!

This is all Kalinara's fault. Again. Her latest blog had the utterly brilliant idea of having lawyers having to deal with superheroes and such. She also threw in a bit about how she'd read a book that was nothing but superheroes working at the DMV. Immediately, my brain inserted the old Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League into THAT slot, and the idea has been fermenting ever since.

However, I really do have an idea. We could do away with crime OVERNIGHT with this idea, it is so fabulous.

Legalize drugs. But the ONLY place that you can get them, is at your local Department of Motor Vehicles.

Can't you picture it? Some whacked out druggies come in, and have to fill out numerous forms in triplicate, and produce their birth certificates, social security numbers, the credit rating of their third cousins in the old country and so on and so forth to a bored and cranky middle-aged clerk. Think of Selma and Patty from the Simpsons. I'm sure that there is a LOT more paperwork that could be added to the whole process. And then after standing in line for an hour, they would discover that they were in the WRONG line, and get sent back to start all over again.

It would just be easier to give up drugs. Therefore crime would plummet. Instead of petty thievery and gang wars, the supervillains would once again be able to concentrate on crimes based on clever gimmicks and stuff with clowns and exploding teddy bears and life would just be grand.

Sometimes I just impress the heck out of myself.

Just some Mild Grumbling

Did everyone have a nice Easter? I'm still in shock because it was so early this year. I had my family over to my house, and we all had a huge ham, asparagus, strawberry pie, and any number of other goodies, ate dinner and just sat around and TALKED around the table for three solid hours! It was lovely.

It's too cold though. At least it's not snowing. Yet.

Is it just me, or has there been a great deal of out and out belligerance on the various blogs lately? Everybody seems to be mad at everybody else and usually over something pretty silly. Both Valerie D'Orazio and Johanna Draper Carlson made a big deal about going on their respective blogs and being nasty about "When Fangirls Attack", which I found to be both petty AND nonsensical. If you want to drop reading a blog, then simply do it. I do it all the time, if there hasn't been a posting in three months, or if I've simply gotten bored or whatever. I dont' make a HUGE fuss about it. I'm not even really sure what point it is that the two ladies are trying to make. WFA is simply a site that finds other postings that pertain to things that the WFA is interested in. There isn't any commentary, but if people are interested, this is a great way to read about things. Frankly, I love it.

Apparently some little weirdo over at Marvel has been posting stuff as Marvel bOy, and has HE got an attitude. Nobody is really sure if he is for real, or if this is just some new strange way for Marvel to get some attention.

Then there are the trolls. I have to admit, that in moderation, a good trolling can be quite amusing. In moderation. Like anything, when taken to the extreme, it quickly loses its entertainment factor and starts to get VERY messy.

I just like to read comicbooks. I'll read just about anything, I like Westerns and Vertigo and Adventure stuff as well as straight superheroes. But I'm getting a little tired of people looking down their noses because I enjoy the superhero stuff. I really don't read that many Indie books. If that is your flavor, then more power to you. But it really isn't very polite to make fun of people who don't have the same tastes.

Sometimes there really is nothing like a good kick to the face. Or a dinosaur-riding Nazi, who is fighting giant talking gorillas.

Or God help us, yellow ceiling tiles.

Is Too Much Enthusiasim a Good Thing?

It happens every month, in the pages of Preview, or on various sites, such as Newsarama and others, the enthusiastic blurg that heralds the arrival of the new books. Sometimes I pay attention, and sometimes not. Let me just show a couple of versions, one from Marvel and one from DC.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #563 .......Remember that joke that starts "So Spider-Man walks into a bar, and...?" Well, when it's the Villain-filled Bar with No Name, it's no joke! It's a barroom brawl as only Mike McCone can draw it! And that's only the beginning of one of the most maddening nights of Spidey's life! Throw in the Enforcers, the Bookie and a climax at Coney Island, and you've got a recipe for the nuttiest Spider-Man story this year! Gale didn't tell us what he was drinking when he wrote it, but it must have been good stuff!

And

FINAL CRISES #2.........Meet Japan's number one pop culture heroes, the Super Young Team and their languid leader, Most Excellent Superbat! Join legendary wrestler Sonny Sumo and super escape artist, Mister Miracle as they team to face the offspring of the Anti-Life Equation! See Earth's superheroes mourn one of their oldest allies! Witness costumed criminals sinking to new depths of cowardice and depravity as Libra takes things too far! Uncover the doomsday secret of the poisoned City of Bludhaven! Learn the shocking identity of the prime suspect in the murder of a God! And read on if you dare, as Batman becomes the first of Earth's champions to face the Fallen of Apokolips. All this and a spectacular return from the dead....

Just going by the introductions, which book would YOU want to read? Personally, all I really want is a brief description of the plot, no spoilers, or hoopla is actually necessary. A little bit of enthusiasm is ok, but when they start going into a threnody of hucksterism, my own enthusiasm comes to a crashing halt.

You see, I'm one of those really annoying type of person, who when you say that they are going to just LOOOOOOVEEEE something, my first reaction is...no I'm not. I'm just obnoxious that way. It doens't always apply, if somebody that I know and trust tells me that Blue Beetle is the greatest thing since sliced bread, I may be initially skeptical, but I WILL take a look at it. However, when the Company that is trying to sell me their product starts having orgasms all over the page about how sensational their product is, my innate crankiness kicks right in.

Marvel seems to be the worst offender. All that cutesy blurb about how caaraaazzzzy Spider-Man is going to be, and the sly digs at the creators, and the "gosh, aren't we just so hip" attitude leaves me cold. The DC blurb on the other hand I thought was rather clever in a pulpish sort of way. There was a ton of hyperbole of course, but it wasn't sly or self-referencing.

So...DOES all the "You Must READ THIS" type of hype really work? "You'll be Better off Slitting your Wrists, if you Miss this Issue!" "Joe Quesada will hunt you Down, and kidnap your Children if you miss this chapter!" "Dan Didio has a payment on his Boat!" "You have to READ everything we print, or you Won't Know What's Going On!"

Am I the only person who would like to see this..."The Skrulls Invade! Nothing will ever be the same! Iron Man realizes he was WRONG, they all sit down over tea, and work things OUT!"

Or am I just being too cranky?

Huzzah!

The Dibny's are back! Well...sort of. Those odd appearances in the Outsiders were TRUE! They are still dead of course, but have somehow gained the ability to use other's bodies and do...cool stuff! And they talked to Alfred, and to Batman, and even to Ollie.

It's not QUITE the same of course. I doubt that Ralph can still do his nose-wriggling thing, which I always thought was so CUTE...but what the heck. I'll take what I can get. Now, if Ted can just manage to stay alive, and Ice is back amongst the living, and Ralph and Sue are back in a strange sort of way, all we need is Scott and Barda! And Dmitri, and Max. Maxima can stay dead on the other hand.

The JLI LIVES!

Sort of.



Can I tell you how much I am looking forward to this? I don't even have to READ it, I'd be almost as happy to just look at the cover.

Birds of Prey #116

I picked this up with some anticipation, and I must admit that I was FLOORED to read Gail Simone's name on the cover! Woohoo! I thought, in anticipation! Alas, it was not to be, it was still written by Sean McKeever.

It isn't a bad issue, in fact I loved the Zinda/Queen Shark and Huntress portion of it. I was less enamoured of the Babs/Misfit/Black Alice part however. Babs just hasn't been HERSELF lately. We discover that apparently Misfit's powers are magical in origin, and therefore able to be assumed by Black Alice. Who, after originally helping Oracle suddenly goes bonkers again, and attacks not only Misfit, but Oracle. I can understand her not being pleased with Misfit, who to be perfectly honest is acting like a two-year old here, but Oracle? And Oracle herself is still in her snotty/judgemental state, that she's been in ever since she was scolded by Superman a couple of issues ago. Snap OUT of it, Woman! Sheesh!

However, the adventure with Zinda and Helena is rather on the rollicking side, and I enjoyed it a lot. Zinda of course has been drugged with Killer Shark's old serum, so she's totally in love with this guy, who apparently is not all that we believed. Huntress has this air of incredulity about her, that I find amusing.

It turns out that Killer Shark isn't REALLY Killer Shark, but his obnoxious Grandson. He's still a nasty little piece of work obviously, but he certainly lacks the original's panache. For one thing, he's rather turned on by the fight between Zinda and Huntress, the little weasel. Secondly, he's pretty much a wannabe, and he's using Zinda in order to find Grandpa's treasure. Zinda, as Queen Shark is still under his spell however, and she doesn't like the attention that he's paying to Huntress, so she locks he in a closet or something.

Zinda does manage to lead him to the location of the treasure, and he's a happy happy little fake Shark. So happy, that he decides he's NOT going to kill her after all. OR her pretty pretty friend. However, when he asks Zinda if she would mind sharing, she loses it, and punches him in the mouth, even knocking out some of his teeth. Haw! Way to go, Zinda! Naturally enough, this pisses the little stinker off, and he's about to shoot her, when Huntress shows up and kicks his ass! Zinda is still a little befuddled due to the drug, but underneath it all, she's still Zinda, and when she locked Helena in that closet, she apparently also included a number of helpful items such as keys, her crossbow, quiver and some ancient candy. The bad guy is defeated, and Zinda and Helena stroll merrily off into the sunset.

Just as a little added bonus, Manhunter shows up! She's investigating Platinum Flats, which is some sort of Silicon Valley kind of place, running down Oracle's lead. And we see who is behind all the trouble. Maybe.

So...worth reading, certainly. I don't think that Mr. McKeever really has a handle on Oracle yet, but I suppose that the problem is moot anyway, since Tony Bedard is going to be coming back soon, and I rather liked his version. I'd really like Gail back, but I suppose that isn't going to be happening anytime soon. Of course, I think that I'd like for Gail to write MOST of my books, at least the ones not written by Geoff Johns, Greg Tomasi and John Rogers over at Blue Beetle, but hard as it may be for me to assimilate, the comicbook world does NOT revolve around me.

*sigh*

It's That Kind of Day

It's cold, it's raining, and I completely forgot to put up an entry yesturday. While some of you may actually rejoice at this, I am just dumbfounded. I had plans, I just got caught up in reading some fanfic, and lost track of the time.

Anyway...I'm in the mood for some Male Pulchritude.

I give you Booster Gold!



Isn't he just the purtiest thing you've ever seen?



I've been waiting for an opportunity to show this picture of Ollie, and I think that the time has come.

Here's one for the Kyle fans among you.



For the guys, here is a little something.



Fire's breasts, Ice's breasts and a very confused Captain Atom. And talk of baths.

Tentacle porn!



Well...not really tentacle porn, unless you have a vivid imagination. But the replica of Hal there IS nekkid, so that counts for something.

I guess I should start to wrap this up. And what better way, than with Hal Jordan...



...in a towel AND hitting his head.

Oh Hal!

This was SO Weird

I don't know if it was the corned beef and cabbage or what, but did I ever have the strangest dream last night. I arrived at my beloved local Comic Book Store, and was QUITE distraught to discover that the entire Comic Book section had apparently been flooded out. Matt, had these really cool-looking art-deco-ish glass doors covering up the comic section, which is rather strange since it doesn't HAVE any doors, much less art-deco ones.

Having the entire Comic book section apparently destroyed was bad enough, but then Matt wouldn't let me read the very last copy of the new book put out by DC that teamed up Batman and the Shade. At the Beach. I can not think of two more incongrous characters to be hanging out at a beach than Batman or the Shade, but that's what they were doing. Although I must admit that a Bat/Shade team-up could be potentially awesome!

Then I started worrying about where oh where was I going to go for my new books, at which point I woke up. With GREAT relief, I must say. Then I started dreaming about Colonial-era furniture, which can probably be explained by my watching the John Adams show on HBO. It was REALLY good. So I suppose that I can understand my unconcious mind fixating on that, but flooding comic book shops?

It was the cabbage. It had to be. But happy St. Patrick's day anyway.

Booster Gold #7

I love this book. I love it to bits. And here we have old Blue and Gold on the cover, and I'm a happy happy woman.

We open with Rip Hunter, teaming up in the time Sphere with none other than Daniel and Whatsername, to deal with the effects of the Time Storm that Booster's actions have caused. I must admit, that somebody over at Scans Daily pointed out, and I am just realizing it now, that Rip's appearance changes throughout all the issues. At one point he had reddish-blond hair and blue eyes, but if you look, he now has brown hair and brown eyes. I don't know if this is because of various time changes, or if it is just Rip altering his appearance for other reasons, but I'm pretty sure that it isn't a random mistake in the coloring. Interesting.

Booster and Beetle in the meantime, have been attacked by an army of Omacs. Ted of course, hasn't a CLUE what an Omac is, but Booster does his best to explain. Ted of course proves how utterly fabulous he is, by coping quite gracefully under the pressure, and calling up...THE BUG! Oh baby, I've missed you! He even had a Beetle-Cave! Well, technically it was storage, but STILL! Ted THEN uses his huge huge amazingly attractive brains, to fool the Omacs into believing that there is nothing there. Some of Kord technology was used after all, in the construction of the Omacs, and it is pretty damned clever of Ted to pick up on that little fact, and USE it. And just like Guy, Booster realizes that his buddy is indeed as smart...if not smarter...than Batman.

Meanwhile however, things are not looking so good for other heroes. Their little time caper has indeed messed things up royally.



Gah! Not KYLE! Waitaminute, if I recall from the Omac mini-series, weren't the Green Lanterns the ones who were best prepared to FIGHT the Omacs? Max however has been up to his evil evil self and has just wiped out the Amazons, and is doing his best to take out the Titans and the League as well.

Booster and Beetle aren't happy with what is going on at all, and manage to hie themselves over to London and break into the old headquarters of the European branch of the League. And who should they find there?



Power Girl's Cat! I LOVE Power Girl's cat! This is just so...so perfect.

Then Catharine shows up which is also nice, and she shows them what is going on all over the globe, including Alfred turning into an Omac, right next to Batman. Heh. It's all pretty amazing right up to the point when SHE turns into an Omac. Which turns into a rather crappity-crap moment. There is a giant pink explosion, and Ted and Booster find Beefeater's staff and start fighting the Catherine/Omac, when who should show up but Hawkman and Green Arrow. That's about when Booster starts to really realize that the shit has indeed hit the proverbial fan.

Oh, and Booster's mean old dad is stuck back with the dinosaurs but gets rescued by the future Beetle. I KNEW there was something fishy about that guy! And they ALL end up at a really cool fortress with Per Degaton, Despero and that giant white Ape guy, that switches bodies. Guy can explain it better than I can.

Cue the spooky music here.

Green Lantern Corps #22

And here we finish up the two-parter with Boodikka and the Alpha Lanterns. Not a bad little tale, all in all, although I find myself desperately missing Guy and Kyle, but at least they'll be back NEXT issue.

As we all recall, the Guardians have sent a newly Manhunterized Boodikka back to her old stomping grounds, to find the NEW GL of her sector, who just coincidentally happens to be her very own sister. Her very own sister however, doesn't WANT to go to Oa and be a good little Nightlite, since she is very much under the sway of Recca, who leads the whole bunch of Amazonian-like freebooters from Bellatrix.

Of course they fight. And there is a nice flashback of Boodikka's fight with Hal that lead to the severing of her hand. It turns out that Recca is BAD, and is only using Zale, the new Green Lantern, and Boodikka's very own sister, which makes Zale get mad, and then they fight, and then Boodikka goes all roboty, when who should show up (sort of) but the Guardians, who demand that Boodikka bring Zale with her to Oa, RIGHT NOW!

Instead of putting Zale in jail, or decommisioning her or OH, I don't know, TURNING HER INTO A RED LANTERN...the Guardians actually show a little bit of compassion and intelligence for a change, and place her on probation instead, and make her Boodikka's partner. But they aren't giving her her own battery, she has to recharge from Boodikka,which is a little on the weird side, but hey, they're Guardians.

In the meantime, Tomar and Graf Toren are looking for Hannu, who is overdue, and eventually find his ship, not to mention a badly wounded Hannu, who manages to mumble that Laira is now a Red Lantern. Oh, WHO could have seen THAT coming?

Stupid Guardians.

In the meantime, I'm REALLY pining for some Guy/Kyle fun, not to mention the new bar, and just when are we going to see Guy and Tora's date anyway?

Why, it WAS a Good Week!

Whew! Just back from Kalinara's latest Flame Wars and it was SOOOO refreshing! Snapper Carr Sucks! Woohoo!

I still haven't quite recovered from the shock of the blatant shaving of my Shi Tzu, but on the other hand, it WAS a heck of a good week for comics, so I guess I'll just have to adjust. I managed to get TWO Westerns; the Lone Ranger and Bat Lash, which was nice. Then there was Countdown, Suicide Squad, Green Arrow & Black Canary, Salvation Run, Countdown to Mystery, JLA Classified, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern Corps, Booster Gold, X-Factor and the Punisher.

Oh, and some more Starman trades, because that series was AWESOME!

Booster Gold, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern Corps were my favorites, but most of the others were pretty good too.

I have to admit however, that my patience is starting to run out for Green Arrow and Black Canary. The art, was and remains beautiful...Cliff Chiang can draw like nobody's business, but the plot, OH the plot is beginning to drive me mad.

From out of nowhere, Ollie and Dinah are disguised and chasing down leads about a giant invisible ship. Wha huh? They end up with their "cover" blown, then Ollie yells at poor Roy a bit, and then Mia drives them around in a van for a while while Ollie angsts some more. I STILL don't think that poor Dinah has even gotten laid yet. Then they end up getting CHASED by the large formerly invisible flying ship.

Which leads to this...


I have to say, that the art is just spectacular. And yes, Dinah probably IS a better driver than Ollie. Ollie starts shooting at the large floating ship from the back of the motorcycle, which leads to an admittedly amusing moment, when he grabs a glue arrow by mistake. Believe it or not...(and I'm having a wee bit of trouble believing it) they actually DO manage to shoot down the ship, and run over and take a look at the pilots...!



You know something Dinah? I didn't see that coming either. And what's more I find it to be LUDICROUS!

Where's Hal when you really need him?

What the...?

My goodness, did I have a night! My sweet Baboo and I went out to attend our Porsche Club meeting, leaving the teenagers at home. We had a lovely time, had dinner, and got to see the actual 1973 911S RSR prototype, which is being restored at Jim Newton's shop in Canton, Ct. Only one like it in the world, and it is a dandy.

So we come home, all full of bonhommie and car goodness...to discover that the sixteen year old has decided to SHAVE THE HAIR OFF OF MY SHI TZU! Granted, she needed a trim, but it has been winter, and I didnt' want her to get cold. There was a HUGE pile of hair right smack dab in the middle of the living room floor...on my oriental rug no less. The pile was bigger than the actual dog! She was hideously embarrassed of course. The dog that is, the teenagers thought it was hilarious. I suppose that there are worse things that they could have been getting up to, but REALLY!

So, I'm awfully glad that it is Wednesday, and I can soothe my shattered nerves in new comics. Booster Gold and Green Lantern Corps are coming out today!

But my dog is still nekkid.

I just like Old Farts

With the possible exception of Jaime Reyes, and Kyle Rayner, it seems as though my tastes in characters seem to be veering towards the more...mature. Except Guy Gardner of course. Guy is NEVER mature! Haw!

But I was browsing through my new (old) issues of Starman recently, not to mention Justice Society, and it occured to me that I really REALLY get a kick out of the Golden Age heroes. And here is Alan Scott, Ted Grant and Jay Garrick holding their own against the young dogs, and still being able to teach them a thing or two, and it just warms the cockles of my heart. And Ma Hunkle, they've got Ma Hunkle to take care of them. How cool is that? I'm a little bemused by the sudden influx of callow youth into the Society, but I figure that it is probably temporary. They are there, because in a way, the Justice Society is DC's version of superhero Finishing School. The lucky ones go to the JSA. The more unfortunate ones, end up in the Teen Titans.

Look at Alan. He's just so...so suave! Even Batman respects Alan. And he's about the only person alive that can calm down Hal Jordan. Even the villains respect Alan. Same thing with Jay. The Shade likes Jay. Jay likes the Shade. I like the Shade. ( no really, the Shade is fabulous)

Ted is a cranky old boxer, who can still whup the bad guys and show the young whippersnappers a thing or two. Plus he hangs out with Power Girl and Cat Woman and Lady Blackhawk.

Alfred is cool. He's old, but he makes good tea apparently. That's important.

Ganthet is old. He's REALLY old. The other Guardians are the grown-up "babies" that Kyle made, which may explain why theyare acting in such a foolish manner lately. I love Kyle, but I'm the first to admit that he's not the sharpest crayon in the box. But Ganthet is the only Guardian with a brain lately. Which is why he's off frolicking with Sayd and being Hopeful.

Wonder Woman is pretty old. So is her mother. Am I the only one who wants to see Hippolyta get back together with the rest of the old farts at the JSA? That could turn out to be a hoot and a half. Especially when they get together with the Justice League, and she won't stop embarrassing Diana.

I swear that I would enjoy a comic if it only consisted of Jay, Alan, Ted and the Shade sitting in rocking chairs and shooting at the kids on the lawn.



And get Geoff Johns to write it.

Justice League: The New Frontier Special

Well this was a treat from start to finish. Furthermore, it goes so nicely with my recent acquisition of the DVD. Why YES, I DID get the one with the cute little figure of Hal in it. But you probably knew that.

Frankly, I was hooked from the very first page, with Mr. Cooke's VERY droll representation of Rip Hunter and his explanation of the multiverse AND hunting of aluminum siding salesmen.

There are three stories, all written by Darwyn Cooke, although he only does the art on the first one, with Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. The second story has art by David Bullock, who mimics Cooke's look VERY well, while the final story has art by J. Bone. It doesn't matter, because all three are amazingly fun to read.

The first has Superman being sent after Batman by the President no less. Superman has his doubts, but he's still a good government boy. Batman of course manages to set up all kinds of traps to actually make the fight a fair one. Wonder Woman comes back in the end and defuses the situation, by being the voice of reason. There was a certain amount of grumbling amongst a number of reviewers that it was the "same old hash" with Batman being able to defeat a much mroe powerful Superman. You know what? I don't CARE! I'm not really that much of a Bat or Super fan, so it was all new and fun to me! And the look on their faces when Bats pulls his mask off and stands revealed as Bruce Wayne is wonderful.

The second story has Robin and Wally West teaming up to go after evil Street Rodders! Oh the horror. Somehow street racing ties into stolen munitions and a plot against the President, which makes it all the more delightful. Both Dick and Wally are a bit full of themselves, but come to realize that teaming up isn't really a bad thing. Oh, they also write "Uncool" in fiery letters on the landing strip, thus saving President Kennedy. When was the last time they did something like THAT?

The final story frankly, is my favorite. It has Wonder Woman teaming up with Black Canary, so that Diana can spread her message of love and acceptance throughout the Male Patriarchy. Diana finds that young women dressing up as rabbits in clubs may actually be demeaning. She and Dinah march into a Playboy club and discover Bruce Wayne, who is thrilled right down to his toes. That is until Diana shows up, glowering over his shoulder and the Big Bad Batman pretends that he's just following a bad guy and runs out the door. Haw! Then Diana hauls Jayne Mansfield out of the cake, and jumps out of it herself, exhorting the men on the floor to raise their glasses in honor of treating women with respect! It doens't end well of course, and she ends up beating them all up. The best part is the burning breastplate, which she rips off, and then can't understand why all the guys on the floor are still smiling, although Dinah gently tells her maybe she should put her top back on.

Again, not a lot of the guy seemed to like this story, but I thought it was hilarious! A little over the top perhaps, but hilarious. Wink wink, nudge nudge.

There is even a nice bit at the end, with drawings of the art for the movie and such. It's WELL worth the money, and I hope that they continue to do these, perhaps as an annual. It's all very tongue-in-cheek, without being smarmy.

Meh

While for the most part, my books were excellent this week, there were a couple that were on the..."eh" side for me. What was disappointing, is that they are books that I normally am very happy with.

I admit fully, that I am a latecomer to the All New Atom, but once I started picking it up, I enjoyed Gail Simone's writing enormously. Ryan is a great character, with an excellent supporting cast, and the level of humor was always high. I also fully admit to being very much in favor of fun in my books.

This week however, there was a new writer, by name of Rick Remender, and that sense of wonder and humor was pretty much missing. Ryan is worried about some stuff in his blood, which is interesting, but it was all getting rather dense and VERY wordy, and only the appearance of Head made it in any way lighter. It was lacking in that sense of zest and sparkle for me this week.

I love Jonah Hex, and I've been very happy with the series, but again, this week was something of a disappointment as well. I didn't like the art at all, it was busy and crowded, and didn't seem to flow very well. Also, at one point, after Hex has been captured by the Indian tribe living inside the Devil's Paw, and the annihilation of the original group of Pinkertons, ANOTHER group of Pinkertons is apparently getting ready to go and see what happened. Instead however, a troop of Cavalry show up and massacre the tribe, which doesn't make a lot of sense. Also, how is THIS bunch of soldiers that much better than the former soldiers who had been wiped out so handily? It was something of a confused jumble, and I didn't really get as much enjoyment out of it as usual.

I've been reading Countdown from the very beginning, and have been glad that things are picking up...finally. However, this issue, everyone just basically stood around and yelled at each other. Nobody DID anything.

Sorry to be so cranky. Maybe I'll go and read my back issues of Starman, that I just picked up. Wow! Those are fabulous!

Some Really GOOD Stuff

Gosharootie, but I'm enjoying Nightwing. And let me tell you, that is a sentence that I NEVER thought I would say...or in this case type. As I have mentioned before, I'm not much of a Bat-fan, although I DO love Alfred, and I am rather fond of young Tim. But as for Nightwing...meh. However, I can safely say that those feelings are in the past.

Mr. Tomasi is doing wonderful things with Dick Grayson. I love how he is bringing in other characters for support, such as Dr. Midnite in this issue, not to mention how Dick makes full use of his assets...mainly having all of Batman's wonderful wonderful toys to play with. His relationship with Tim is a joy to behold. It is rather a pleasure to read about both of these young heroes NOT wallowing in angst, but going out and fighting the good fight, and enjoying themselves into the bargain.

Plus, the note that he leaves for Batman after "borrowing" a few things is hilarious...as is Alfred's reaction.

I am having an equal amount of fun with the Year One: Teen Titans mini, as written by Amy Wolfram, and drawn by Karl Kershl. It is lighthearted and quirky and a little silly. It is also a much more realistic portrayal of young teen sidekicks than I have seen in a very long while. Aqualad in particular is a hoot. His reaction to Donna's tears has to be seen to be believed. I'm impressed as heck that they managed, working together, to actually bring down most of the Justice League, but that they naturally had their behinds handed to them by Batman.

It is only half over which is nice, because there is so much more to look forward to. I was again, never too much of a Teen Titans fan, but I'm a fan of THIS!

Good grief! Put this together with the Green Lantern books, Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, and I may swoon from all the comic fabulousness.

And speaking of the Green Lanterns, here is the scan that SHOULD have been posted in yesturday's review. Sorry about that.



Man, the Guardians are being idiots lately. More than usual, anyway. They created a situation where a Green Lantern kills an enemy, and then have a hissy fit when she does so, and then instead of simply using a little compassion and wisdom, decide to make an "example" out of her, and in so doing, directly create a future enemy. Way to go, Guardians!

Green Lantern #28

Well, just dip me in butter, but this was good. That first page REALLY gets your attention. It's about time that they paid some attention to Ysmault and the baddies who started it all.

*ouch*

Meanwhile, back on Oa, the trial of Laira commences as she stands before the Guardians accused of murder. Frankly, I think that it is a bit disengenuous of the Guardians to enact the use of lethal force, and then get all mealy-mouthed when one of their Lanterns takes them at their word. Laira DID take it too far, when she slaughtered Amon Sur as he was trying to surrender, but on the other hand, he was taunting all of them as he was doing it, so really...he was just ASKING for it. Or something. It is also telling that having set this whole mess up, the Guardians basically weasel out of it in the end, by making Boodikka deliver the judgement. The whole "No Lantern escapes the Alpha Lanterns" speech made my blood run cold. Apparently it did the same for quite a lot of the other Lanterns as well.





Then, to add insult to injury, after finding Laira guilty, the Guardians enact the second new law...that lethal force is authorized against ALL enemies of the Green Lanterns. The looks of consternation on everyone's faces is very telling. This is NOT going to end well.

The use of Sinestro as the voice of the choir is inspired. Although I am desperately in love with Ivan Reis' art, I must say that Mike McKone draws a sensational version of Sinestro.

Other strange things are happening throughout the book. The Guardian who was burned by the Anti-Monitor's power shows up acting VERY enigmatic. Something is definitely wrong there. The Guardians determination to find and stamp out every flicker of emotion, and the subsequent corps seems to be pretty misguided. I think that Sinestro is right in this case. Instead of trying to STOP the War of Light, they should be worrying about how to FIGHT it. Stupid Guardians.

The Controllers are revealed to be searching desperately for something...orange. Finally, Honnu is taking Laira back to her homeworld in disgrace, when they are visited by something VERY frightening.



Yet another..."Oh crap!" moment.

Slightly Incoherent Ramblings

Firstly, I promise to actually READ what I am writing today, instead of just posting it, willy-nilly. Yesturday's was something of an embarrassment, and I humbly apologize.

So...we were sitting around last evening, gathered around the fire, and the subject of technology and cell phones came up in the conversation. Let it be known, that I do not own a cell phone. I have no desire to own a cell phone. I can see the use of a cell phone if I am broken down on the side of the road, or if I cannot remember what type of cereal to get at the grocery store, but otherwise, its charms are lost upon me. I am somewhat of a luddite when it comes to technology anyway, and frankly it is a miracle that I have managed to figure out how to bang out these very words that are holding you transfixed in wonder.

But anyway...there is nothing wrong with cell phones really. They are handy, small and come in pretty colors. I could wish that people did not see fit to use them during weddings, funerals and graduations and such, but there are clods everywhere. What I do NOT understand however, is the concept of "texting". You have to write out your message, by tapping frantically on a tiny hand-held device, and then wait for the recipient to read your urgent urgent message and then reply to you.

My question is, how exactly is this progress? It sounds remarkably like a telegraph to me. With a telephone, you can pick it up, dial a number and then TALK to a real person at the other end. You don't have to write things out, and try to abbreviate words and phrases. You can actually TALK to them. Texting is really one one step removed from sending a carrier pigeon for heaven's sake. Why is it progress, to make communicating MORE difficult?

Maybe I'm just too old and cranky. My Grandmother managed to communicate with her entire coterie by simply folding a corner of her calling cards in various ways, and leaving them at their doors. Her friends were able to decipher that she was leaving town, but coming back on Monday, or that the party was cancelled and she was devastated...all without saying a word. Of course, she used to put on a hat and gloves just to go out and get the mail. Frankly, I think that delivering our messages the old-fashioned way...by footmen is the way to go.

A different Shade

I think that I have discovered a really interesting character. Which is usually turns out to be expensive. Of course I am talking about Shade.



Originally, I believe, he was a Flash villain. Of Jay's no less. Then he became a bit less villainous and more...interesting. Then in Starman, he really started to blossem forth as an unnusual and intriguing character. I don't really know that much about him, except that apparently he is a Victorian gentleman who used to hang out with Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde, and somehow gained...powers. Really cool shadowy powers. He's witty, erudite, and totally ruthless, which is fun. For some reason, I enjoy a dollop of moral ambiguity in characters.

And isn't this lovely?



Anybody know some good Shade stories? I'm really starting off as a neophyte here, and I am about to start plunging into the back issue boxes. Plus, he wears a tophat. How can you not like a man who wears a hat?

Behold! I give you...PROOF!

...Proof that no matter how you dress him up, Tony Stark is STILL a dick! How can I prove this you may say?

Feast your hungry eyes upon...THIS!




I assume that this is from the recent "Iron Man" movie trailer. But what catches my eye here, is that HE HAS JUST DESTROYED A VINTAGE COBRA!!!

The man is a monster. A MONSTER!

I mean...that's a Cobra, man! They're like...gorgeous! And fast, and beautiful, and there really aren't that many real ones left in the world, and it would be like punching your fist through the Mona Lisa! I know that Stark is rich, but that just isn't right!

I've never driven a Cobra. I did have the thrill of racing one once, on our way back from the October show in Hershy, PA about thirty years ago. We were young and thin, and pre-children back in those halcyon days, and my sweet Baboo and I were driving our dark blue Triumph TR6 over the Tappanzee Bridge in New York, and who should come zooming up, but a guy in a sweet sweet blue Cobra, just like the one in the picture. We raced back and forth for about 20 minutes, before he finally got bored and left us in the dust, but it was a lot of fun. Of course this was back in the days when it cost me about $7.00 to FILL my gas tank.

Tony Stark is a bad bad man. He couldn't have landed on a Scion or something? It is to weep.

Feeling Surly

I'm in a bit of a snit. My car...my beautiful beautiful car, is behaving poorly. She's not supposed to behave poorly. She only has 46000 miles and now suddenly she won't shift from 2nd the 3rd. Or at least will only do so, intermittently. It's a Mercedes for cryin' out loud!

It's also snowing. Great big fat fluffy flakes. I'ts lovely, but frankly I'm getting just a wee bit tired of snow.

On the plus side, my cold is getting better.

Perhaps discussing comics will help improve my mood.

Thor #6 finally came out. It is very pretty. There are some nice moments in it, with a number of the townsfolk sitting together at the diner and discussing their interactions with their...interesting...new residents. I got a chuckle out of the poor guy at the town meeting discussing sanitation with Volstagg. The bit with Hogun coming upon the guy and his son changing a tire on their truck, as he's hauling the carcasses of a couple of wild boars on his shoulders is fun. And poor Bill...born of Bills seeing the girl of his dreams was poignant. Then Thor goes and tries to do...something with lightning and thunder to bring back the rest of the missing Gods, and Loki does some sneering. It's nice, but it would be nice to see it a little more often.

Damage Control #2 was a hoot. THIS is what I want from Dwayne McDuffie when he writes Justice League! Gene comes up with an adamantium razor, and the talking head from Hulk's ship is quite appealing. There is also a running gag with Black Goliath that is a lot of fun.

Ultimate Spider-Man was also very good. Guess we now know why Liz was always so freaked out by mutants. I have to say that lately my favorite character has been Kong. Immonen has taken up the reins on the artwork, and is doing a lovely job. I have to say that I much prefer THIS version of Spider-Man to the 616 version. No devils in sight, which is a relief.

Holy Guacamole! THREE Marvel books! Who'd a thunk?