THIS is different!

Wow! I saw this on Rachelle's site this morning over at "Living Between Wednesdays" and I was...stunned.

Firstly I was stunned because seeing a gun, a silencer and a cobra having its head blown off is a little hardcore for an Archie comic book. All these years, and I thought they just sat around drinking malts and thinking up new ways to humiliate Jughead. Who knew?

Secondly, I was stunned because I was sure that fellow with the gun and the silencer somehow...looked familiar. I was SURE that I'd seen him somewhere before.

But where?



Oh yeah. THAT fellow. That fellow indeed.

P.S.

Thanks Rachelle!

Millenium

It has come to my attention, that DC is going to be releasing both the Invasion and Millenium crossovers from way back when, in trade format. I have the original Invasion series, and actually rather liked it...but for some reason, Millenium has never really registered upon my radar. So I turn to all of you, for help.

Is it good? Is it worth my while buying it? It has Guy in it, from back in the old JLI days, which of course would appeal to me. I'm assuming that there are a crapload of other characters as well. This isn't the story where Captain Atom was supposed to go nuts and at the last minute, they made it Hawk instead, is it? Or is this the story where Pie-Face becomes all god-like? There must be something about hanging out with Hal Jordan that makes weird things happen to you.

Something that IS coming out this month is the Omnibus version of Starman, which has me quivering...QUIVERING with delight. George Bush wants to know what I'm spending my little windfall from the Gov'mint on? THAT'S what I'm spending it on. Oh, and gasoline, probably.

Everybody always mocks Zero Hour, but I must admit that I rather enjoyed it. It brought us Lady Blackhawk for one thing, and Jack Knight for another. It brought about the end of Kari Limbo! Woohoo! It changed that ridiculous armor of Guy's to his Warrior outfit of tatooes and a smile. Can't argue with that. It had crazy Hal in it, which is always fun. Heck, it had BATGIRL in it, which was also nostalgic.

And now, we are all gearing up for Final Crises. I'm nervous after the debacle that Countdown turned out to be, and yet hopeful as always that I'll be pleasantly surprised instead. And heck, even Countdown had its moments.

So...should I get Millenium?

Oh Gad, it's Monday

The start of another week, and all of that. In addition, it is raining. Normally that might depress me, but we haven't had any rain in quite a while, and it is such a soft sweet Spring rain. Autumn in New England is pretty darned spectacular, but I have to say that Spring is awfully nice as well. The tulips and the daffodils are blooming, and the trees are putting out their tiny furtive leaves in that lovely pale shade of green. The rain has washed away all the pollen and dust, and everything is just...gleaming.

Well, so much for waxing poetic.

Wednesday is looming only a couple of days away. Wednesday, with its perpetual promise of NEW comics. Good stuff like Green Lantern and Blue Beetle are coming out this week. I think that one of the reasons that I like comics so much, is that in its own weird way, it is a way to recapture that childish sense of anticipation that was also so enjoyable, especially right before Christmas. In fact sometimes Christmas itself was a bit of an anticlimax, and there have certainly been any number of Wednesdays that didn't pan out quite the way that I thought they would. And yet...I still enjoy that feeling of hope.

Good grief, I'm STILL waxing poetic. I'd better do something about that, toot sweet. So, I give you THIS picture.



Crom! That HAS to be Frank Cho. It certainly has all the perquisites of a proper Conan cover. Huge muscles, loincloth, huge sharp weapon, reclining half-nekkid female...all check. And yet, when I looked at it, I found myself bursting into slightly hysterical giggles...because all I could think of was..."My GAWD, those are amazing birthing hips!"

I should really grow up.

Something About Mary

I just can't seem to let go of this. It's one of those annoying, niggling things, like sand in your shoes, or something. Let me just state that not ALL of Countdown was terrible...in fact there were a few things that weren't bad at all. I liked Piper and Trickster for one thing, and the scene where Tim Drake kicked Jason Todd right in the family jewels was a moment to be treasured. The bit with Superbrat Prime and Mr. Myxzlepltik (?) was pretty damned good. There were a few others as well.

But they did a horrible job with Mary Marvel. For the life of me, I can't figure out WHO or WHY turning Mary Marvel evil was supposed to be such a great idea. To me, THIS is Mary Marvel...



I realize that Formerly Known as the Justice League and I Can't Believe it's the Justice League are not exactly in continuity. I don't really care. They did a sensational job of portraying Mary as a sweetie pie. A sweetie pie in little lamp slippers. Jeff Smith did an equally excellent job in portraying her in his Monster Society mini-series.

The point is, that Mary Marvel is young, sweet and GOOD. So naturally, they decided to make her dark, grim and gritty.

Ok, I can live with that, it's an old trick after all. So they have Mary being systematically seduced by Eclipso/Jean, and given powers by Black Adam, and she slowly begins to succumb to the dark side, (not to mention Darkseid) and becomes bad. Not only that, she wears a severely tiny mini-skirt, which just goes to SHOW how evil she's becoming.

Then, they have her renounce her evilness, and Do Good, thus showing her true character, and that she's a true hero after all, and she's rewarded by the Gods that she just rescued with her powers, and everything should be sweetness and light again. A hero has just undergone a hazardous journey and triumphed. Lessons were learned. I began to start unclenching my teeth.

Then Darkseid shows up with his evil pill, and just like that, it's all over. Mary swallows his evil jellybean (it must have been delicious) and presto! Without ANY justification, other than she likes power, she throws away her redemption and goes to the bad. The SEXY bad.



If that's not pornface, then I don't know what is.

So, now, without ANY show of regret or certainly a moment to think, Mary throws it all away. Of course, there WAS this particular moment, which I admit to being rather amused by...



...because, bad person that I am, I find that to be HILARIOUS. But a brief moment of amusement does NOT make up for the bit where she meets up with Black Adam, and throws a hissy fit, and calls herself...(I kid you not...) Mary Goddam Marvel!

ARRRRGGGHHHHHHH!

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Well...it was an INTERESTING Comicsbook week certainly. First, the Good.

Justice League of America #20....by Dwayne McDuffie and Ethan Van Sciver.

For one thing, it is an actual STORY by McDuffie as opposed to some weird half story, stuck in the back of what I assumed was his own book. Secondly, the art by Van Sciver is just lovely. What in incredible amount of difference it makes, to have a good artist on the book. I believe that good art can save a mediocre plot, but even a fantastic writer can be dragged down by bad art, since Comics are mainly a visual medium. So, this issue was a treat.

It's mainly a nice team-up between the Flash and Wonder Woman. Diana wants to know if Wally is going to be a little more dependable, while Wally is a little on the defensive side. I know that he is currently having money troubles, but surely they could work out some sort of salary or stipend from Batman for those JLA members who need it. Plus, the whole "putting out the fire" explanation was nicely done. They get to fight Queen Bee who is trying to make off with some sort of matter transmitter, and have to fight innocent people as well as outsmart her. A nice little twist at the end.

As for the Bad...

The Death of the New Gods #8....Jim Starlin and Art Thibert.

Urghh...this was pretty bad. Not to mention pointless. Darkseid and the Source end up pontificating at each other for most of the book, and sound EXACTLY ALIKE. Then Orion's spirit or something shows up, and New Genesis crashes into Apokolips, and Superman gets knocked unconcious a number of times. It also has nothing to do with what apparently happened in Countdown last week. So all of Jack Kirby's characters have been assasinated and for what exactly?

Speaking of Countdown...let's go to the Ugly.

Countdown to Final Crisis #1...a bunch of guys

Oh sheesh. I stuck with this you know. The whole bloody year. I loved 52, I really did, and I was hoping that DC could do it again, but with the exception of a few flashes of brilliance, it was pretty much a waste of time. Things happened, and characters ran around a lot, and a whole lot of alternative Earths were destroyed, but in the end, nothing much happened.

Mary Marvel was seduced to the darks side, but found redemption and was good again...and then just for the heck of it apparently, went BAD all over again. WTF? Was it really necessary to destroy poor Mary?

Jason Todd is still an asshole. He was at the beginning, the middle and the end.

The Ray, Donna Troy and Kyle Rayner huffed and puffed and tried to scare the Monitors. I don't think that they were nearly as intimidating as they thought they were. Kyle needs to get the heck away from this mess, and stay on Oa with Guy, where he'll be safe. Jimmy Olsen is still a nebbish, and apparently Holly and Harley are best buds. And the fight between Darkseid and Orion was done completely differently in Death of the New Gods. This is just confusing to everyone. I've said it before and I'll say it again, do the Editors even know what they are supposed to be doing?

I love my comics, I really do, and I don't enjoy getting cranky. So, Birds of Prey was pretty good, as was Checkmate and Fables. I enjoyed Ultimate Spider-Man, and Thor actually came out, which was nice.

All I can say, is that Final Crises had BETTER be GOOD!

A Toast!

A toast to Ragnell, on her birthday.



And just to make it extra-special...



Sun-bathing Kyle. Yes, it's an ass-shot. I know that's my "schtick" and all, but sometimes, it is just fun to go against type. And Kyle looks nice from ANY angle.

Shane...I mean Dave, come back Dave!

Well poopies. Dave Campbell from over at Dave's Long Box has decided to hang up his hat, and his blog. I suppose that Real Life has reared its ugly head, not to mention the fact that apparently he gets PAID for doing stuff for ABC.com. It is a shame it has to be ABC. NBC would be much nicer, that Brian Williams is SUCH a hottie.

But I seem to be wandering from the point.

Chris Sims of course is gloating. He's trying to appear all sad and stuff, but I'm not buying that for a minute. Bully of course is as classy as a little stuffed Bull can be. And Scipio at the Absorbacon is reacting with grace and dignity.

I am not.

I have a system. I have a schedule. I like there to be a certain order to the world, and now I can't get my chuckles from Dave's site in the mornings anymore. Sure, there are plenty of other sites to pick up the slack, such as the aforementioned trio, but whatever shall I do without the fabled Sims/Campbell rivalry? Sims may be gloating NOW, but he'll be sorry sooner or later.

It is of course, all about ME. I'll just have to soldier on. Maybe I'll make fun of Snapper Carr. Oh, if ONLY there was a comicbook character, who could shake me out of my doldrums? Who understands what a shock this all is? Like...like a blow to the head, no less!



Bless you, Hal. I can always count on you.

Kari Limbo

What IS it about Kari Limbo anyway? As you all recall, she was originally Guy Gardner's fortune-telling fiancee. She was either a gypsy, or part gypsy or whatever, but she had flashes of prescience, and vague mind-whammy powers. She also spent a lot of time swooning and hanging out in in dark tents. Hustleing the Rubes, I would imagine.

She also ran off with Hal Jordan, about five seconds after he told her that Guy was (supposedly) dead. She slapped his face, and then started slobbering all over him. For some reason, this absolutely entranced Hal. Next thing you know, they're engaged too! She actually manages to GET HIM TO THE ALTAR, before having a fit and realizing that perhaps dear old Guy isn't dead afterall, he's just being tortured in another dimension. Of course, Hal flies off to rescue his old buddy and cuckold, but Guy ends up in that famous coma, and Kari agrees with Hal, that she's going to stay with Guy instead. Hal, is probably breathing a covert sigh of relief by now, but what the hey.

Then Guy wakes up all cranky and surly, and ends up a part of the Green Lantern Corps, even though none of them seem to like him very much. Kari THEN decides to start chasing Guy again, but bless his evil little heart, he doesn't want her now. Hal expects her to start making a play for him as well, and Arisia is all jealous, but then Hal recieves the shock of a lifetime, when Kari announces that she doesn't WANT Hal, she wants Guy. That is, until she realizes just how much Guy has changed, and the tiny little fact that he can barely stand the sight of her anymore.

After than, they don't cross paths much, she uses her mind powers a few times, when he's trying to fight Goldface, and he ends up wrecking her carnival, much to her displeasure. He does seem to be genuinely sorry when she buys the farm in Zero Hour however. Of course, by that time, he was Warrior, so he wasn't brain-dead anymore.

But exactly what IS it about Kari Limbo? I don't know anyone who likes her as a character. I really don't know if anyone likes her period. As Kalinara has already pointed out, she was a walking cliche, with the whole gypsy thing. She was also clinging, annoying and a tad desperate. On the other hand, she was the ONLY woman who managed to actually get Hal Jordan...Mr. Afraid of Committment himself, to the altar. Didn't end up going through with it, but that was actually HER doing, not his. I've always wondered, deep in my heart of hearts, what their marriage would have been like, if she hadn't noticed that Guy was actually alive, and pretty pissed. Hal used to run as fast as he could every time that Carol brought the subject of marriage up, and I think that Carol was a much more interesting character than Kari. She didn't have fits for one thing. Yes, there was that whole Star Sapphire thing going on, but really, secretly I think that it thrilled Hal right down to his toes.

But somehow, she managed to get two Green Lanterns to want to marry her. She certainly had Guy completely under her dainty thumb before the whole exploding battery incident. She was certainly attractive, being drawn in a rather exotic fashion. She had an acquiline nose for one thing, at least the way that Joe Staton used to draw her, she wasn't your conventional Comicbook beauty, looking very different from Black Canary or Arisia, for one thing. She was also pretty manipulative, although she managed to buffalo just about everyone into thinking she was fragile and helpless.

In the end however, she pretty much got what she deserved. But then I never liked her very much. She didn't get either of the men of her dreams, and in fact pretty much drove them nuts. Then she got blowed up. Blowed up GOOD! I find it interesting that Guy has always seemed to feel a little bit of remorse about what happened to her, but I can't find anywhere that Hal ever gave her another thought, other than being momentarily insulted when she told him that she didn't want him anymore. Which leads me to believe that their marriage would have lassted just about as long as the honeymoon was over, and Hal sobered up.

Does anybody LIKE Kari Limbo? Should she be resurrected? Maybe we could pair her up with Snapper Carr.

Spring has Sprung

My goodness, but it is gorgeous outside! 80 degrees, with a bright blue sky, and tulips and daffodils just flinging themselves out of the cold hard ground. It is far too pretty a day to sit hunched over a computer, so I'm just going to show you all a picture that I blatantly stole from Scipio over at the Absorbacon a while back.

I think that he's summed up Hal's character quite neatly.



Hee hee!

Oh Hal. I've heard some discussion lately about whether Hal should stay with Cowgirl, or get back with a recently-divorced Carol, or even if he should rekindle the spark with Arisia. The problem with Hal, is that no matter what, nobody will EVER be able to love him as much as he loves himself. And, I suppose that's part of his charm.

I've been Tagged!

Well, I've been tagged by Evie over at "Awesomed By Comics" for the following meme;

"What creators who are usually associated with a certain company,(or, indeed medium) would you like to see writing someone else's title? For example, would you want to see JMS on Hellboy? Which DC character should Bendis have a crack at? Should George Pelecanos write Batman? (answer: yes)

I...I find myself in something of a quandary. For one thing, I don't have the foggiest idea who George Pelecanos even IS, much less whether or not he should write Batman. I DO know that I wouldn't put JMS anywhere NEAR Hellboy. And speaking objectively, Bendis has his strengths in writing, but superheroes are not neccesarily his strongest work. He's pretty good with detective stuff or spies, so theoretically, he would probably do fairly well with something like Checkmate or Detective Chimp.

On her post, Evie wants Gail Simone to write Guy Gardner. I am so deeply envious and enraptured by this idea, that I can hardly stand it. 'Cause it would be GOOD!

Speaking of Gail, I think that she'd do a bang-up job on Blue Beetle if they ever decide to give it to her.

I'd like to send Winick to Marvel, and have him mess up THEIR books for a change. And he can take Churchill with him. Put them on Ms. Marvel and watch it implode.

I'd love to put Keith Champagne back on Green Lantern Corps for another arc, but I have to admit that Peter Tomasi is doing a bang-up job at the moment.

How about we take Ed Brubaker off of Captain America and put HIM in charge of Titans?

Any ideas?

An...Interesting Week

This was not the biggest week for me, but I have to admit that there were some interesting tidbits out there. I have to admit right from the start that I enjoyed The Brave & The Bold and the Incredible Hercules the most, with the former being breathtaking, and the latter being hilarious. I also picked up Tangent: Superman's Reign, the Lone Ranger, Salvation Run, Countdown, the Flash, X-Factor and Suicide Squad. There was something nice in every one.

The Brave & the Bold.....Woohoo! The grand finale, the final dustup with Megistus! They threw in just about everybody in this one, with Superman, Ultraman, Hal Jordan, and the Challengers of the Unknown, not to mention Firestorm, Metamorpho, Super Girl, and Power Girl, and Wonder Woman, and anyone who happened to be standing around at the moment.

The Megistus has turned the sun Green, and is about to unleash a scarlet cloud that will destroy the earth! The Challengers, Superman, Ultraman and Hal have borrowed Wonder Woman's invisible plane, so that they can fly INTO the sun, and so that Hal can recharge his ring! If that doesn't get your pulse racing, then I really don't know what will. There are lots of cool fights, rescues, Superman actually using his brains instead of JUST his fists, sacrifice and more cool fights. A Winner of a book!

Countdown #2.....We're almost to the end of this now, and finally, the action has started to pick up in the last few issues. This one features a giant turtle Jimmy Olsen fighting Darkseid as the Atom rushes to get the thingamabob out of Jimmy, while the rest of the bunch stand around and watch as Metropolis gets levelled. Oh, and Orion shows up.

Kyle seems none the worse for wear after Mary Marvel used him to bludgeon Donna last issue, which is a good thing. Considering how nasty Superman was to Oracle and the Birds of Prey a couple of months ago when they inadvertently destroyed a block of Metropolis, he seems to be taking the complete destruction of his city pretty much in stride. How this all ties into the Death of the New Gods, has me slightly baffled.

The Flash....Poor Wally. Poor poor Wally. Nobody loves him anymore since he admitted that he'd actually like to get a job and support his family. Even Jay goes on television and gets cranky. But it turns out that there is a sinister explanation for all of this! Oh, and Roy shows up which is nice.

The Incredible Hercules....I laughed and laughed. Oh Marvel, sometimes you can still sing that old siren song and still seduce me. Athena drives Amadeus and Herc cross-country to San Francisco, and they end up meeting up with some of the Eternals who are trying to convince Hercules that he's REALLy Gilgamesh. He isn't of course, but admits to having some hazy moments when it comes to his memory. It's a hoot from beginning to end.

The Lone Ranger #11....This was pretty, and a nice story as told by Tonto to a condemned prisoner. Leaves you hanging a bit, but it is awfully pretty.

Salvation Run#6.....This was just noisy, violent, didn't make a whole lot of sense...and I loved it. Lex and the Joker bitch-slap each other all through it. Insults and quips are flying. Vandal Savage is scheming. J'onn is imprisoned, and the Rogues are the only ones with brains in the whole bunch. It's a bit silly, and violent and all...and I DON'T CARE! Fun in an embarrassing sort of way.

Suicide Squad #8.....Also noisy and violent, but not as silly as Salvation Run. Good all the way through. Eiling gets his, and once again Amanda Waller triumphs! Oh, and Flagg is smarter than he looks. And Deadshot and Boomer have a bonding moment. Good stuff.

X-Factor #30......A Glenn Fabry cover featuring Arcade? How could I possibly pass this up? I always liked Arcade for some reason that I can't really explain. Maybe because he's just fun and doesn't seem to have an agenda. An interesting twist at the end.

Tangent:Superman's Reign #2.....I really only picked this up on impulse, not having bought number one, but it had John Stewart on the cover, which intrigued me. Somehow, Wally and John end up bringing back the "other" Flash, the one who was trapped on our world a while back, along with the Lantern that had ended up in Guy's storage unit. I'm not sure how, or why, but they all end up in the Tangent Universe, and now it looks as though John and Wally are stuck there. Oh, and Superman rules the world and is pretty pissy about it.

Oh, and Guy Gardner shows up as a weaselly computer hacker. I HAD to have it.

We ALL need Support

There are some iconic figures in comicbookdom. Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, et cetera, et cetera. There are also plenty of newer figures in comicbook history, such as Kyle Rayner, Jack Knight or Jaime Reyes. What exactly is it, that makes a character, and a book good, and interesting and enduring? Other than being a "hero" of course,and having a kick-ass origin?

Support.

To be more succinct, I think that I have come to the conclusion, that for a character to really be good, they need an equally good support group. I.e. having other characters that interact with the hero or heroine.

I don't think that anyone can deny, that Superman has a heck of a support group. Ma and Pa Kent, Perry White, Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane are all great characters, and characters moreover, that are almost equally as famous as Clark Kent. I must also throw Lex Luthor into that grouping, because he's one HELL of a supporting character.

Batman has Robin and Alfred and Commissioner Gordon. Not to mention a plethora of insanely fabulous villains. Spider-Man has Aunt May, and he USED to have Mary Jane, not to mention Flash Thompson, and Harry Osborne, and Gwen, and Capt. Stacy, and so on and so forth. Wonder Woman had Etta Candy, and Hippolyta and Steve Trevor. The Justice League had each other, as did the Justice Society and the Teen Titans and the Avengers. Oh, and the Avengers also had Jarvis, who is a great supporting character.

You can't operate as a superhero in a vacumn. This is pretty obvious of course, and I apologize for pointing it out, but I feel sometimes that the secondary characters don't get enough love. Take Jaime Reyes, the newest Blue Beetle for example. There was a great deal of outrage over his creation, due to the love for Ted Kord that raged in the breasts of Fanboys and Fangirls everywhere, and yet it must be said, that Blue Beetle has turned into a bit of a hit and a success. Some of this must be placed firmly at the feet of Jaime himself, who is a sensational character, but a great deal of his success must also be given to his supporting cast. Paco and Brenda, Mr. & Mrs. Reyes and Milagro, Peacemaker and La Dama and Traci Thirteen are all beautifully fleshed out characters, and Jaime couldn't operate without them.

I think that the same thing can be said for the Starman series. I like Jack Knight of course, but I must admit that I ADORE the Shade, and the O'Dares and Opal City, Black Condor, and Ted Knight and Mikaal. It wouldn't have been nearly as good a series without them.

The earth-based Green Lanterns are all favorites of mine of course. I LOVE Hal, Guy, John and Kyle. But I have to admit that I also adore Kilowog, Salakk, Ch'p, G'nort, Arisia, Vath, Isamot, Soranik, Graf Toren, Boodikka, and Tomar Tu. Even the Guardians are interesting, albeit irritating.

I believe that the Green Arrow family is much more interesting and rich now, that they have Conner, and Mia and Dinah in addition to Ollie and Roy. When it was JUST Oliver, and his trusty sidekick, it was a little dull, a little too much like Batman with a bow. Ollie in particular NEEDS to have other people to bounce off of. It's why he and Hal were so much fun.

The old JLI had each other as supporting characters. It worked because they weren't the big Three, or even the big Seven of the old Justice League. Beetle and Booster supported each other, as did Fire and Ice, as did Scott, and Barda. Guy was there of course for fun and conflict. But the League NEEDED to have Max, and Oberon and Catherine and L-Ron. Hell, even Snapper Carr served a purpose in the old League.

The point of all this long-winded rambling, is that for a hero to succeed, I think that they need good supporting characters. This may be one of the reasons that Martian Manhunter hasn't really been around much lately. He doesn't really have much of a supporting cast, except when he is in the League, and he hasn't BEEN in the League, which is a darned shame, really. Same thing for Aquaman. Or Obsidian for that matter. Let him get back into Manhunter which has a superb supporting cast, as opposed to just lurking in the shadows in JSA.

Hell, I'll be that if they gave him an interesting supporting cast, even Geo-Force could be made to be interesting.

Woohoo!

Well, I just came across some very nice news. I've been kvetching a little bit here and there about the action figures that I want to see...and lo and behold apparently somebody at DC has similar tastes or something because just feast your eyes on THIS...!



It's Ice! I've been pining for an Ice figure for the longest time, and now there is going to be one. In her original costume no less. I actually prefer the second one, but at this point I don't even care. Now we just need Fire to go with her.

And that's not all!



Yes, it is G'nort Esplanade G'neesmacher in all of his glory! And he's utterly adorable. I swear that Shelly had a picture of Black Canary in her outfit from the old JLI days. It was a hideous costume, but gosh, if I can put together the full Justice League from the Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire days, I DON'T CARE!

I'm giggling like a schoolgirl. A schoolgirl with TOYS!

Bhwhahahahahahaha!!!

Green Lantern Corps #23

Sorry, sorry, I spent the weekend away from my computer, whooping it up at the Mohegan Sun casino in little ol' Uncasville, Connecticut...eating, drinking and scoring booty at the NETSA trade show. A wonderful time was had by all, but it WAS a tad disconcerting to be away from my keyboard for so long!

So...back to business. And another excuse to have this cover, by Pat Gleason and Moose.



*sigh* Pretty. So very very pretty.

While all the hoohaw over Boodikka and the Alpha Lanterns was interesting, I did indeed miss our boys and girls in the Corps. We begin with our old buddy Mongul wandering around his flower beds and soliloquying like mad. Basically he HAS to, because he's killed off everyone that he could possibly talk to. But obviously, he is Up To No Good.

Meanwhile, many of our favorite members of the Green Lantern Corps are being hoisted by their rings, and flown off to Oa, willy-nilly. Iolande is in the middle of addressing her planet council, when she flies off, which must have been disconcerting. In a rather wonderful moment, Vath is talking with none other than Adam Strange, and they discover they have a lot in common, before he's whisked off too. Soranik is swimming on Korugar, Stel is trying to reassemble his body out of space junk, Issamot startles some Thanagarian Wing Men, while Sodom Yat is bathing in yellow sunlight. My personal favorite is of course Guy, who is snoring away in his nascent bar, with his head on the architectural plans (by John Stewart naturally). His ring pulls him along, and he's ASLEEP through the entire thing!

Oh Guy.

Mongul is out chasing yellow rings, and lands at a penal institute of Mental Health on the planet Sedas. He discovers a rather...interesting fellow with something of a split personality...not to mention head... who turns out to be tailor-made for the yellow ring. Unlike a number of previous Sinestro Corp ringbearers, he's smart enough or has enough sense of self-preservation, to follow Mongul. Mongul has plans.

Guy finally wakes up when everyone including Kyle has assembled to hear what was just so darned important, from the Guardians. In reward for performing in such exemplary fasion during the recent dustup, the Guardians are sending them out to look for the missing yellow rings in...get this...the Vega system. Sodam pipes up and mentions that there is some sort of treaty or accord that forbids Green Lanterns from messing around there, and the Guardians are fairly lackadaisacal about it...which of course, Guy points out. It is interesting how so many of the old rules are falling by the wayside, and the various reactions amongst the individual Lanterns is equally interesting.

But they pair up with their partners, and off they go. Kyle is being all business-like and is crisply issuing orders...which I find to be adorable. Guy is being Guy as usual. He even quotes poetry, which drives Stel nuts because "bastards" and "asses" don't rhyme. The different groups go off searching for rings, and or, ringbearers, and send the fruit of their labors whizzing off to Oa in green bubble constructs. Since they are all supposed to check in regularly, they start to get nervous when it turns out that Arisia and Sodam Yat haven't been heard from. Yat has been acting a little insecure, and is trying to get some sort of affirmation from Arisia, who keeps asking him if they can discuss his magnificence later on.

The Guardians are getting a little snotty because Kyle and Guy want to go and look for their fellow Lanterns, but that's just THEIR tough luck. It is also tough luck for Arisia and Yat, because they were the ones that landed at the insane asylum on Sedas. And Mongul has decided to...alter the design of the Black Mercy plants, from fulfilling the desires of the wearers, into...fear.

This should be good.

Booster Gold #8

Our two boys seem to be in a dilly of a pickle. As you all know, against the (often) expressed advice of Rip Hunter, Booster has gone and rescued Ted Kord from his grisly fate at the hands of Max Lord. This has lead to all kinds of things happening, with OMACs running around an altered time-line, various heroes killed, and Rip having to grab Daniel and whatshername, to go and try to set things right. Oh, and Per Degaton,, the UltraHumanite and Despero are behind all kinds of shenanigans, along with Supernova and that bad BAD Beetle from the future.

But it's ok, because we have Blue and Gold to save the day. Unfortunately for them, they have a small resistance group that consists of Green Arrow, Hawkman, Pantha, Wild Dog and Anthro. You can't tell me that THAT isn't one heck of a lineup. Too bad all that they do is bicker and fight amongst themselves. Ollie and Carter in particular seem to have more interest in hurling insults at each other than at the bad guys. Pantha is feral, Wild Dog is something of an idiot, and Anthro...well Anthro has finally got himself that cool cool jacket, just like Mr. Terrific's.

Max is still running amok. I really wish that somehow Beetle and Booster could save the REAL Max Lord, and get rid of this evil imposter. But Max has Superman under his evil thrall, and he's using him as his personal hitman, although he still hasn't been quite able to overcome Superman's innate aversion to killing...yet.

Of course, they all band together to go and bring the fight to Max at Checkmate Headquarters. Poor Booster keeps having these feelings of impending doom...as well he might. Naturally things go downhill right from the start. The resistance is crushed with the exception of Booster, and Beetle, who DOES get shot by Max...again, but not fatally. Then they are pursued by a brainwashed Superman, until they stumble into a storage room that has the coolest things.



Booster just can't seem to resist bright shiny things. Especially bright shiny things that make other things explode. I also seem to be able to spot at least three Green Lantern Rings in that sphere. We know that one of those is Kyle's.

Discretion being the better part of valor, the two of them decide to do the sensible thing when Superman shows up...and run away.



They land in the old JLA headquarters, which is actually a pretty smart move, I think. And finally, Booster has one of those moments when the lightbulb can almost be SEEN to shine over his head.

They're going to put the band back together.

THE BAND!

I can hardly wait.

Holy Guacamole!

Well, wasn't this a love week for comics? Good comics. FUNNY comics. Even mildly amusing and not completely terrible comics.

Booster Gold, Green Lantern Corps and Wonder Woman were my favorites, and I'll be getting to them in a different post. But I have to say, that there were some rather splending moments in the other books that I managed to get my little grubby hands upon.

Countdown #3...well, only three more issues to go, and things are heating up again after what I imagined was going to be the climatic battle on Apokolips. Things rather stalled for a bit after that, but now Mary has been turned bad AGAIN, but at least they are back on their own Earth this time, which is a bonus. Superman fights with Darkseid, and Jimmy Olson does...stuff. But what really appealed to my black black heart, was THIS scene...



Mary Marvel, using Kyle to club Donna into oblivion. Am I a bad person for having a fit of the giggles over this?

Green Arrow & Black Canary #7...was actually...rather...(I can't believe that I'm saying this)...good. Winick has been driving me crazy, but I have to admit, albeit grudgingly, that this was quite amusing. First off, Hal shows up.



I always enjoy it when Hal shows up. Hal not only shows up, but he manages to make Ollie look like a complete idiot, which is certainly something of a change of pace for the two of them. Haw! You're not making Nazi comparisons NOW, are you, Ollie!



Hal is being shown as...competent.



Hal is shown as having a sense of humor! But then again, so is Ollie, Dinah and Mia. Let's just say that they have some rather...unnusual interrogation techniques. It involves a large clown, a sheep and an old lady dressed as a rabbit. Oh, and a digital camera for the Internet. Some jpegs. Some live streaming.

Needless to say, the two goons crack under the pressure.

Justice Society of America #14...Beautiful art and a nice story as usual. And WOW! Sandy has some action! Dialogue and some backstory and several pages of him in his jammies! Be still my heart. I love the Justice Society, but it has grown so huge lately, that there hasn't been much of an opportunity to see all the members, which is a shame.

There is a lovely two-page spread of everybody around the big table, and Ma Hunkel being motherly and all. Then Gog shows up and they all fight for a bit, and Alan gets pissed because Gog is beating up on their kids. THEIR KIDS! Which leads more or less to this...



Whew! That sent a shiver up my spine! Alan and Todd together being badassed. Todd and Sandy BOTH having some dialogue!

Be still my heart.

Oh Hal...Never ever Change

So, lately Geoff Johns has been showing us his version of Hal's origin. I am completely happy with this of course, although it has been pointed out by people with actual military experience in their backgrounds that it would be impossible for Hal to run about stealing jets and punching officers. Presumably it WAS possible for charismatic young pilots to do these things way back in the day when Hal's origin was originally conceived. Another reason why progress is not always a good thing.

But I digress.

This new origin, which is pretty similar to the old origin, except that it fleshes it out a bit more, and adds in a young John Stewart as a Marine is just fine. But it DOES seem that it does away with Emerald Dawn. And that's a shame. While Emerald Dawn and Emerald Dawn II had their problems, I'm a little bit sorry to see them go. For one thing, the art was by M. D. Bright, and he was one of my favorite Green Lantern artists. What the heck is he doing nowadays anyway? He'd be great on Justice League. I didn't particularly like the portrayal of Hal as a drunk, so I don't mind that it has been retconned out.

But what I WILL miss is this...



Because the image of Hal getting mad at a stupid SIGN, and flying headfirst INTO it, was and remains...utterly hilarious. And it's a YELLOW sign, which makes it even better. Not even Guy was this braindead.

Which is why, I'm rather hoping that somehow, somewhere in the future issues of Hal's origin, Mr. Johns might be kind enough to throw in that sign for me. If anyone can explain it, he can.

Uhhmmm....

That's the state of mind that I am in currently. Staring hopelessly at the computer monitor, without a single thought in my head. Meanwhile the siren call of blue sky, crocuses and actual slightly warmer weather lurks outside my window.

On the other hand, tomorrow is Wednesday, and that's always a good thing. Furthermore, this looks as though it is going to be an awfully GOOD Wednesday. Booster Gold, Green Lantern Corps, and Wonder Woman, just to name a few. I am slightly depressed to learn that Geoff Johns is going to be leaving Booster Gold in a little while, and I don't know who is going to take up the reins in his absence. Personal preference would be for Gail Simone, because, quite frankly, I think that she could have a HELL of a good time playing with Booster and his amazing friends. Besides, she went from writing a whole passel of books, to just writing one, and I think that she has the time.

And because, as usual, it is all about what I want.

Caleb, over at "Every Day is like Wednesday" mentioned MILLENIUM the other day, and I blush to confess that I have never read it. Is it collected, or do I have to track down a lot of individual issues? I'll do it of course, but it would be nice to have all the hard work done FOR me. Besides, it has a lot of Green Lanterns in it apparently, including John and Katma, and that always makes me happy.

Speaking of John...has he been formally introduced to Soranik Natu yet? They were working together helping Guy in the Sinestro Corp War when he was infected with Despotillis, but I think that is the only time that I can remember seeing the two of them together. Would John be interested in Soranik, or would she remind him too much of Katma? Would Soranik have the slightest bit of interest in John? I'm not sure that I necessarily want to pair Soranik off with someone, because I think that she works quite well being married to her work, so to speak, but I imagine that poor John is awfully lonely. I rather wish that Geoff would remember that Katma was supposed to have been resurrected at the end of MOSAIC and work her in somehow.

Do you know who I am enjoying of late? Salakk. Or Salaak. I'm not quite sure of the correct way to spell his name lately. But darn it, he's a good character. I enjoy his eternal snarkiness, and the depth and breadth of his melancholy. Plus, he's hilarious when he interacts with Guy.

DO they get cable on Oa?

Are there guest rooms, or a barracks or hotels or what do they have for temporary accommodations on Oa, anyway? There have to be lots of occasions when Green Lanterns come flying in from their respective sectors, and need to stay for a while. Where do they sleep? What are the bathrooms like? I have an incredibly trivial mind sometimes, and these are the sort of things that bother me when I wake up at 3:40 A.M. or so, and can't get back to sleep.

Does Kilowog have to send for donuts all the way back to earth, or have they finally gone and opened a Krispy Kreme on Oa? Not to mention a Starbucks. Gotta keep Kyle happy, you know.

And finally...



Because we ALL win when Hal manages to get hit on the head. Again.

And Now, for something Completely Different.

Ah, here we are on a bright and shiny Monday morning. I spent the weekend finishing up my taxes and I am too depressed for words. Since we live in Connecticut, but my Sweet Baboo works in Massachusetts, we get to file state income taxes for BOTH, in addition to our Federal Taxes. Did I say I was depressed? I'm starting to feel suicidal.

However...

...it occurs to me that I have the ultimate pick-me-up.



Yes, that IS Kyle's ass, and it's a goodie.

And why stop there?



Here's Hal showing off his greatest asset, and being pretty and all.



Now WE can't see Guy's behind, but R'amey, Soranik and Iolande CAN, and that's why they're smiling.

I feel SO much better.

Apparently, I DO live in the DC Universe

Our small local newspaper, the Journal Inquirer has a photograph of a middle-aged and slightly paunchy gentleman dressed up in a very nice Batman costume, jogging along the side of the road. It is accompanied by this article:

BATMAN REVEALED, SORT OF
by Max Bakke

Ellington ---"The local man who has been spotted jogging about town dressed as The Caped Crusader strives to help citizens when his hours spend fighting crime are finished.

The 41-year old man who prefers to be identified only as Batman, has lived in Ellington since 2001 and maintains a secret identity as a consumer advocate who assists homeowners facing foreclosure.

The jogging stqarted as a bet between Batman and his three sons. He said that if his boys bought the suit, he would wear it while jogging. When he tried to back out, Mrs. Batman stepped in and made him honor his promise, he said. 'The first car that saw me, stopped and started snapping pictures' he said.

Batman has since lost 56 pounds while patrolling the streets around Jobs Hill Road and the town green--working to get down to a suitable crime-fighting weight. He tells everyone who stops for a picture to stay in school and steer clear of drugs, he said. 'I'm keeping the cows of Ellington and the residents here, safe.'

Sometimes he can be seen running along with his trusty sidekick, Robin, his 11-year old son. 'He enjoys it', Batman said of the Boy Wonder.

A Journal Inquirer employee snapped a phot of Batman listening to his iPod. So what does The Dark Knight listen to while he's pounding the paement, scouting for evil? 'Country mostly,' he said adding that "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" by Big and Rich and "Hillbilly Deluxe" by Brooks & Dunn, get him fired up.

So does this mean residents may soon see the shining beacon of the bat signal beaming from the roof of Town Hall? "I'm sure if we proposed it, the Board of Finance would view it favorably," First Selectman Michael P. Stupinski said.

The cows will sleep more soundly this weekend."

Gosh, I'm glad that I live in Connecticut. I can only assume that his three sons are named Richard, Jason and Timothy.

I Miss Moose

As some of you may have noticed, Colorist Extraordinaire, Moose Bauman has left Green Lantern and Green Lanern Corps. This has made me extremely distraught. Apparently there was something going on with DC, and I do not know the particulars, but he's a little bitter over on his own site, which is a darned shame.

Now normally, when I read a comic book, I notice the writer of course, and I notice the art. The inking, unless it is particularly horrible, is not something that necessarily leaps out at me, although sometimes when it is particularly gorgeous, I do actually notice. Same with the lettering. I can appreciate the work that it takes to do something like Scarab-speak in Blue Beetle, but ordinarily, it is just...there.

Back in the old four-color days, the coloring never even really registered. Nowadays with all the computer stuff, and the nice paper, the coloring is much more important. A good colorist can make a huge difference to the look of a book, and occasionally even rescue a mediocre artist. Not that that was ever a problem on the Green Lantern books, which have had consistantly excellent artists...at least of late.

But I really really liked Moose's coloring. He seemed to have absolutely every shade of green at his command, and he made all these shadings and glowy effects...it was and remains...gorgeous.

Take a look at the upcoming cover for Green Lantern Corps, which alas, will be Moose's swan song for the GLC. First we have the black and white drawing by Pat Gleason, which is beautiful all on its own...



Nice, eh?

Then we have the generic coloring job, that was hastily done so that they would have something for the solicits.



Not bad, but not great either.

Now look at THIS!



Stunning. Absolutely stunning.

If it is a question of money, then perhaps DC should simply bite the bullet and stump up some cash, because that is a talent that is worth cultivating.

Half-Hearted Reviews

Well...not a TERRIBLE week, but certainly not the greatest either. I have to say that out of the bunch, Jonah Hex and Nightwing were the best. Countdown was...ok, and I must say that I liked Jamal Igle on the art, and Keith Champagne on the inks, although I am SERVERELY disappointed in young Mary Marvel. I keep picturing her as she was with the Super Buddies, and my eyes start rolling back in my head.

I have to say that I'm dropping the Atom. Only two issues after Gail Simone left, and it is practically unrecognizable. Giant evil monsters in his blood? People dropping dead right and left? (including Panda!) Not exactly my cup of tea.

I did manage to pick up the third issue of Damage Control, which I somehow missed last week, and it was a hoot. Apparently it is perfectly ok for the Chrysler Building to go off and visit Tokyo in August...because NOBODY is in Manhattan during August. Haw! And there weren't any Skrulls.

Batman Detective Comic #843 wasn't bad. It was the one with Zatanna and the Ventriloquist. I don't really pick up Batman books very often, but I like Zatanna, so I figured, what the heck. Not bad at all.

Now Jonah Hex was excellent. I could acually tell what was going ON this month, and it had quite a number of very amusing moments. Jonah is holed up in the hotel of a town that is slowly going under after everyone left after the mine played out. A hi-jacked train full of baddies pulls into town, and things just degenerate from there. The leader of the bad guys is named "Lucky" and lets just say that his all of his luck is bad. He manages to blow up the safe, but all the money is destroyed along with the train. There aren't any horses in town except one old nag, and Jonah's. And so on and so forth. The ending is deliciously ambiguous.

Nightwing was also very good, although I did miss Rags Morales on the art a little bit. However, Dick and Tim work so WELL together that it is a lot of fun to read about their little adventure. They do manage to save the day...at least for a while anyway. Too bad their remote to summon the Batplane/sub is destroyed, so that they have to SWIM back to try and find it. Heh heh.

In Countdown, Mary goes bad again after being tempted by Darkseid. When are people going to realize that when Darkseid shows up and sits on your couch it is NEVER a good thing? Oh, and Jason is still being a jerk. Bet THAT was a surprise. Does this mean that since we are almost at the end of this, that Kyle can go back and start being nice and competent again? I'm sorry to be so snarky, but I've been getting this since the beginning, and lately it seems as though it has just been in a holding pattern. I really lost interest after they lost Trickster and Piper, frankly. And Ray has been AWFULLY tentative, which doesn't seem normal for him. SKRULL!

Now...finally...I must admit that I blush to admit this. Especially after all my rather sanctimonious ranting on the subject. However, it was in my pull box, and I didn't want to hurt Matt's feelings, so I bought the damn thing...I'm trying not to actually have to type this out. I DID buy Secret Invasion.

Oh God! I feel so...so DIRTY!

I also feel pretty much underwhelmed. That's it? Pym is a Skrull? There is a ship full of (maybe) old heroes? Tony Stark is sick, and Dum Dum Dugan blows stuff up? How can the SWORD ship be there? I thought whathername got blowed up on that planet where the Astonished X-Men are. Spider-Woman is still being devious. And some other stuff happened.

Apparently this is going to go on for another eight months. EIGHT MONTHS! I don't think that I'll be able to handle the strain. I did fall for getting the first one, but I really don't feel the need to get the second, third or eighth one. I know I said that before, but I MEAN it this time, dammit!

Damn Skrulls.

Well, it's Wednesday...

...but then you all knew that already. The first Wednesday of the month is always a bit of a slow week for me. There are a few good books coming out, but I'm still riding the high of Blue Beetle and All-Star Superman. Oh, and I understand that the Secret Invasion book from Marvel is coming out today. I think I'll give THAT a pass.

So instead, I'll just put up a picture. It's an oldie but a goodie.



I realize that I'm being juvenile, but I can't help it. This just cracks me up.

Yes, I KNOW it's April Fool's Day!

It has come to my attention, that apparently quite a number of people seem to find the title of my blog...amusing. Allusions and parodies have been made. In my defense, let me just state that teenagers were involved, and possibly the use of alcohol.

On the other hand, I am both awed and flabberghasted at the lengths that some bloggers have gone to, in order to honor, this most hallowed day. The level of skrullduggery and buffoonery are astonishing. I salute you all.

And leave you with this.



I don't even WANT to know exactly what it is that he's doing.