Hal's Not The Only One

Over at her site, "The Hoosier Journal of Inanity", Sea of Green has been having a thoroughly delightful time, showing that Hal Jordan isn't the ONLY superhero who gets hit in the head. The subject of all this head-bonking is none other than the all-powerful Batman. And I have to say, that somehow seeing Batman get clonked in the noggin gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling all over.

A warm, fuzzy, SATISFYING feeling.

Maybe that's because I'm actually pretty fond of Hal, despite the fact that I make so much fun of him. With all of his arrogance, selfishness and insensitivity, Hal is actually a reasonably nice person. Sometimes he even realizes how clueless he actually is, and makes attempts to improve things. The fact that he's getting hit in the head so often adds a touch of endearing vulnerability to him.

Batman on the other hand, is humorless, dark, all-knowing, all-seeing and practically omnipotent. He's ALWAYS prepared, ALWAYS victorious, ALWAYS the one who comes up with the brilliant solution. His arrogance makes Hal look like Mary Marvel. (er...the OLD Mary Marvel). So, there is a certain amount of joy in seeing him be rendered unconcious by a blow by a thug with a crowbar. It makes him a little more human.

So, I give you...



The fact that he's being tackled by Robin, just makes it better.

Green Lantern #32

Hal's origin story just keeps getting better and better. Now we have Hector Hammond getting into the mix, and I must say, that I am enjoying Geoff John's take on the character. It has been made pretty well evident that Hector has something of a compulsive personality...not to mention stalkerish tendancies. All of that is beautifully portrayed in the opening pages of this issue, with Hector calling up Carol...AGAIN...and getting quite pissy that she's not at his beck and call. Meanwhile, his flunkies are examining the remains of Abin Sur's ship, and are a bit hesitant about opening up the fuel chamber.

Hector blows them off, and insults them all into the bargain, and breezily opens the chamber...which promptly blows up in his face. Oh Abin Sur, you mad scamp! Did you forget to put a "Danger, Meteor" sign on the handle? Osha wouldn't like that! And right then and there, we have the origin of Hector Hammond along with Hal! Hector begins to freak out, understandably enough, when he can suddenly start to hear everyone's thoughts. They aren't particularly very nice thoughts either, it turns out that just about everyone thinks he's a jerk.

What IS interesting, is the use of the coloring. In the various explosions, and reflected in his eyes, is...orange. Heh heh.





Back at the new acquisition of Ferris Air, Tom Kalmaku just can't stop gushing over Hal and his fabulous new jewelry and accessories. Hal's been training on Oa, so he's a little befuddled over what has been going on. Apparently just about everyone has walked out. Carol is brooding in her new office, trying to cover for her father's absence, and feeling a little sorry for herself. In his usual loveable fashion, Hal barges in and starts laying down the law. He's ticked that her old man isn't there, and when Carol gets miffed, he finally lets out what has been bugging him all this time, the fact that Ferris put Hal's father in a faulty plane, and that he's the one responsible for his death. I guess that Hal needs SOMEone to blame, and old Man Ferris is as good a choice as any.

Carol actually takes Hal's tantrum pretty well, and then even offers him a chance to fly again. She may be suffering from a little guilt as well, plus she's getting a tad on the desperate side, since all of the other pilots have quit.



Meanwhile, Atrocitus is laying low at some poor guy's campsite in the woods. Atrocitus recites a VERY cool version of his oath, while eating the poor camper. That camper just happens to be named William Hand. Oh boy.

Hal is back in the air again, and loving it. He's still pissed at Carol's father, but is finding it more than pleasant to think about Carol herself. Oh Hal. You just can't help yourself, can you? So, he's up there flying around without a care in the world, when he spots a figure, and there is a big BOOOM!



Goodbye plane...hellooooo Sinestro!

Sinestro introduces himself, and seems a bit irritated that he even has to do so. He doesn't think too much of Hal, that's for sure, OR his second-rate little planet. Hal isn't too thrilled either, it never ends well when you put two Alpha Males together. They each do a little posturing, and Sinestro gives Hal some advice. Good advice as it turns out. Hal's constructs are weak, because he's angry. "...and although the Guardians believe Fear creates cracks in our Willpower...Anger will distort it."

And then Sinestro does something absolutely amazing.



Hal's happy to have his plane back, but still can't keep himself from mouthing off to Sinestro, who does eventually share with him the reason that he's there, to investigate the death of Abin Sur.

I have to say, that this one feat of Sinestro's in reassembling Hal's plane, just made me pleased as punch. For YEARS, I have worried about this, whatever would Hal say to Carol, if the first time that he flew, he managed to blow up a multi-million dollar plane? It BOTHERED me! And now, that weight is off of my shoulders, because it turns out that Sinestro put the friggin' plane back together, none the worse for wear! Heck, he probably improved it!

Now, Hal only has to explain why he disappeared!

Turns out that he doesn't even have to do that! Who should show up but good old, newly whacked-out Hector Hammond! He's having a lovely time messing with everybody, and reading their minds. At first, he goes for Carol, but his manlove for Hal cannot be denied...and he discovers a few things that Hal would REALLY prefer he didn't know.

The writing is exceptional, and the art is gorgeous. The inking is gorgeous. The coloring is gorgeous. This is one of the best series that DC is putting out, and I am enthralled.

So Many New Comics

Well this turned out to be something of an expensive week! And Marvel certainly had a crapload of product out there! Too bad I only bought two of their books.

First off, we have Final Crises. I...I hardly know what to say about this book, it has me quite conflicted. On the one hand, it has some marvelous moments, on the other, I am highly confused. I thought that J'onn's funeral was touching and well done, although I found Superman's prayer for a resurrection to be a lot more funny than I should have, considering the solemnity of the moment. I would also have liked to see more of the old JLI gang, but I am assuming that they were stuck in the back or something.

The Japanese heroes were interesting, Dan's problems were creepy, and the villains casually strolling out to their cars was fabulous. John Stewart is in a lot of trouble, and so is Hal. Boy, it didn't take too long for the Guardian's latest brilliant idea to backfire, did it? Batman being taken out so early startled me, and I was horrified to see what looks like Desmond in his tiger form on the dissecting table. Or is that Bronze Tiger? The final page was great though.

I can't really say how this is all going to work out in the end. Granted, it doesn't have that stupid SHIELD helicarrier crashing, but really, hasn't the SHIELD helicarrier crashed about every other Tuesday lately? How exciting can it be anymore? As much as some aspects of it confuse or enrage me, Final Crises DOES have my interest.

Green Lantern just continues to delight me. More on this tomorrow probably.

I'm enjoying Huntress: Year One, quite a bit. The art is lovely, and the story is intriguing.

Jack of Fables came out! Woohoo! Was it me, or was this a bit late? Bigby and his talking horse continue to hunt Jack and his gang of baddies. The bit about Jack paying the guy to make him silver bullets so that he can take out Bigby,and then the poor fellow selling them all to a masked man and his Indian companion was hilarious. Oh, and Babe shows up too.

In JSA:Classified, Ted comes through...as we all knew that he would, but still, it's nice to see. Oh, and Alan was pretty fabulous too.

Superman #677. Wow! Not only did I buy the new Superman written by Geoff Johns, but now I'm buying the new Superman as written by James Robinson! A first for me. This was nice, it reminded me a little bit of Starman, which I loved with a white hot passion. The bit with Superman and Hal playing frisbee with Krypto in space was delightful. Hal's slight touch of forlornness (?) at the end was surprisingly touching. All he really wants is a dog and the love of a good woman? Yeah, right. Oh, and Atlas shows up too.

Thor: Reign of Blood. Now this was good. This was really good, just like the previous one. Man, Thor is something of a bastard, and Odin is a complete horny old jerk. I rather like Loki. Naturally. Good stuff, and gorgeous art.

I'm still sitting on the fence about Trinity. Some parts of it are nice, but the secondary story with Morganna and Enigma is a little irritating, and the other bit with the tarot card-telling girl is dull. Who the heck tagged Wonder Woman with that little Omega symbol? The same symbol that shows up on Darkseid?

I've been reading Uncanny X-Men, because I just can't break the habit, and because it has actually been pretty good. They clear up the whole hippies in San Francisco plot in this issue, not to mention Kurt of all people, hands Omega Red, his shiny behind. Again, some decent art, and a decent story.

I've been avoiding the whole Skrull stuff like the plague. I do find it highly entertaining watching Bendis run around explaining that EVERY last cross-over in the last ten years has been a part of his cunning plan. Apparently in New Avengers, the Skrulls all get together and discuss what they've been up to, how they did it, and what they are going to do in the future, and exactly what tied into the whole thing and so on and so forth. Brian dear, if you have to sit down and EXPLAIN it all to us, instead of just showing us on the page, it is too convoluted.

Oh Hal

Oh Hal...if mocking you is wrong, then I don't want to be right. I was on Adam's site this morning at "Comics Make No Sense" and spotted THIS little gem...so I promptly stole it.



Hee!

I know what conclusion I jumped to! To be fair, this actually ISN'T Hal Jordan, it is a scan taken from Devon's beloved "Lady Cop". But the coincidence of her rat-fink boyfriend's name being Hal, was just too delicious to ignore. And you want to know why?

Because that's the sort of thing that Hal WOULD say! At least pre-Crises Hal would have said that sort of thing, we must give him some credit for having acquired a veneer of political correctness in the interum. After all, this is the same Hal, who told that chick to stay in the kitchen and not go rock-climbing or something.

There are a number of scenes that I wish I could someday see.

Hal telling Katma Tui, that ringslinging was a MAN'S job, and maybe she should tend to her knitting instead.

Hal telling Arisia that she's too young and pretty to go around beating up the bad guys.

Hal telling Wonder Woman to stop mouthing off at meetings of the Justice League, and to just take notes like a good secretary.

Wait. I think he DID do the latter!



Oh Hal. That may have been a tactical error on your part.



Hal. Five seconds after Wonder Woman kicked him in the balls.

Law and...Order?

Have any of you seen that Law and Order episode, where the Woman CEO commits a crime, and tries to use the defense that she's suffering from serious Menopause symptoms? I don't even remember who she murdered, or why, but I'm sure that she thought it was for a good reason. Her defense, was that she was having hot flashes.

I've had hot flashes myself, but I rarely have contemplated murder. Ok, maybe after I've cleaned up the kitchen, and then walk into if five minutes later to find out that the kids have totally destroyed it in the meantime. But ONLY for a momen to two.

But for some reason, I started thinking about Power Girl, and her unfortunate addiction to diet soda, that was portrayed back in the old Justice League:Europe books. For some reason, Kara was always dieting, and the artificial sweeteners used in diet soda adversely affected her alien pysiology...or something. Anyway, she used to get REALLY cranky.

If, she had somehow managed to create a real mess...not just the type of mess that the JLE USUALLY made, could she be held accountable for it by the courts? Would the unintended effects of asparteme on her, be an alibi? It is basically a variation of the "twinkie" defense, but would it hold up in court?

And, for that matter, who IS ultimately responsible for all the mayhem left afterwards by your average super human tussle? I know that in the Marvel Universe, they have Damage Control, which frankly is one of their best ideas ever. And Superhuman Insurance. Does DC have something similar? If Orion accidentally blows up your house, is it an Act of God? Max Lord used to hush things up and pay for physical damage back in the old JLI days, who takes care of that for the current Justice League? Does Bruce Wayne own an insurance company?

And does anybody else think about these sorts of things?

Does Hal have the answer?

Law and...Order?

Rainy Days and Mondays

It's gloomy, muggy, and pouring outside, off and on. The thunder is scaring my iddle widdle puppy, and she keeps trying to climb into my lap, which may explain any typos you end up reading. George Carlin died, which has me highly depressed, because I was a fan of his for years. I remember my parents bought me the Class Clown album when I was about fourteen or so, not realizing that it had the "Seven Words" skit on it. The first time I played it, my mother almost passed out. It was one of the best Christmases ever!

So...since I really can't come up with anything particularly relevant, it is time to fall back on that old standby.

Making fun of Snapper Carr.



Gosh! He...he just makes it so EASY! Snapper, honey, that tingley feeling is because there is empty space where your brains should be!

Haw!

Wow!

Normally, I don't post on Sunday, because I am basically a very lazy person, but I simply HAD to let you all know about this. Since I am also a procrastinator, I hardly ever see movies in the theatre, figuring that I'll get around to them eventually, either on HBO or DVD. But this Saturday, my kids finally sat me down and made me watch a movie.

Hot Fuzz.

I think I'm in love.

This is one of the funniest movies that I've ever seen...in a completely over-the-top ridiculous sort of fashion. I am not a big fan of "buddy" action flicks, which is what this is basically parodying, but by God, it WORKS! It's also a bit on the gory side, and I found myself closing my eyes and wincing occasionally, but it doesn't matter. This is a funny funny movie, and you should all go out and see it.

I guess this means, I'll actually have to break down and watch Shaun of the Dead now.

Justice League of America #22

Well, this wasn't too bad. I didn't enjoy it as much as the last two issues, but that is mainly because the art was so good in those books, and now we have Benes back, and frankly, I think that he's dragging this book down. In the opening sequence, we are looking on as Red Tornado discusses his impending resurrection with Black Canary...OOPS! It ISN'T Black Canary at all, but actually Kathy, his wife. You wouldn't have known that until you read through a lot of dialogue however.

But anyway, stuff happens, they are going to put Reddy's conciousness back into a new body, which was an Amazo body, and that turns out to be a spectacularly bad idea, and Black Canary actually acts like the leader for a change, and Vixen 'fesses up to her shenanigans. This is all well and good, but what I REALLY enjoyed for some odd reason, was the fight between Hawkgirl and Roy.

Not that I enjoy watching these two nitwits beat each other up, but because it led to Superman and Green Lantern dispensing advice for the lovelorn.



This...this just cracks me up. Hal bloviating in his usual loveable fashion about how fabulous he is, and Superman patiently listening to a story that he's probably heard forty times before...but being polite about it.

"Right, right."

HAW!

And Kendra also being so polite.


Hal of course jumps right in with advice, and he and Roy naturally see eye-to-eye...until Superman can't stand all the testosterone any longer and steps in with a few quiet words of wisdom. Roy of course hasn't a clue, and neither does Hal.



Ok...Hal's starting to get it...a little. Roy is STILL clueless, so Superman tells a charming little anecdote about he and Lois fighting over the dishes masked the real problem. Of course Roy just HAS to start burbbling about Kryptonite...because he's an IDIOT! It really isn't completely his fault, and I am very fond of Roy, but when you're raised by Ollie and Hal, sensitivity is not going to be your strong point.

Let's hope that when Superman gets to the point, Roy will actually shut up a minute and think about what he's really saying. Hal should shut up and listen too.

And THAT'S why I liked this issue. Oh, and Batman actually getting caught off-guard was enjoyable too.

...And speaking of crazy Villains...!

I like Carface. What a great name. What a great concept. It is just so completely over the top, not to mention absolutely ridiculous.

So what other villains are there out there, that are equally insane? There has been some talk about the Condiment King, who is one of the most absurd villains that there could possibly be.



I don't even remember any more where this is from exactly, although I do have some memory of it taking place possibly in a food court at a mall. I think that he blinded Black Canary with salsa or something equally foolish. In all actuality however, I would think that the Condiment King would be a tough adversary. Have you ever tried to get mustard stains out? It ain't easy! And Mayonnaise can be tough too. I remember a very old issue of Iron Fist that had the X-Men in it, and poor Storm got hit in the face with an entire bowl of potato salad, and she just FREAKED! And who could blame her?

The Condiment King is also evil, because he probably puts ketchup on hotdogs. MUSTARD, man, mustard. My kids actuallyput ketchup on their hotdogs, and I just have to shake my head in sadness and disgust.

Birds of Prey #119

Wow! An awful lot has happened apparently, since last we left our doughty heroines. Oracle has pulled up stakes, and relocated her business in Platinum Flats, a Silicon Valley type of town, and has dragged Zinda, Huntress and Misfit along with her. Coincidentally, Platinum Flats just happens to be within commuting distance to Star City, where the lovely Black Canary is living in wedded bliss.

But that's not what happens on the very first pages of this issue. Instead, we get DC's newest villain. Or if he isn't the newest, at least I'VE never seen him before. I am speaking of course, of the amazing Carface. He's...he's wearing a suit of armor that vaguely resembles a car. He has flames painted on his head, and a front bumper on his chin, and exhaust pipes coming out of his shoulder.

Then Huntress shows up.



Look! He's got tiny little windshield wipers for eyebrows! He's just the most adorable and precious little villain I've ever seen!

Seriously, how poor Huntress managed to keep a straight face while beating up this guy, is beyond me. But she does, and she's feeling rather pleased with herself, until the innocent bystanders start making snotty remarks. Well...excuuuuuuse Meeeee! If the two cops are so competent there, maybe she should take her handcuffs off the guy and let THEM subdue him! They didn't seem to be making much of a success of it before she got there.

Stupid innocent bystanders.

Next we see the commercial being made to promote lovely Platinum Flats, which rather reminds me of the Scorpio episode from "the Simpsons". All is not as it seems in lovely Platinum Flats. The bad guys,who seems to be rather on the shadowy and mysterious side, have a nasty way of keeping people in line.

The girls in the meantime, are busy moving in to their new digs. Zinda is her usual cheerful self, but Helena seems to be a bit bummed out, still smarting no doubt from her reception by the charming citizens. But Barbara has apparently sunk all of her assets into this little enterprise, and she's bound and determined to see it through...not to mention generate a bit of extra cash on the side. Zinda's bartabs don't come cheap you see.

I don't think that Helena is completely convinced, but Zinda does seem to be enjoying herself, the building that they've taken over, has secret passageways, and a slide down to the hangar. A SLIDE! Zinda is just beside herself. Helena is rather impressed with Zinda's ability to let things roll off her back...the move, the whole thing with Killer Shark, etc. and Zinda explains her approach to therapy.

Misfit is still being moody over all the stuff that went down between her and Black Alice. Babs offers to find out the truth for her, but she's not even sure at this point that she WANTS to know. We do find out that Manhunter, Judomaster and Gypsy are still working, they are just on reserve status at the moment. Well...except Manhunter, who Babs has staking out Black Canary's place in Star City. I know that Dinah is your best friend Babs, but really, just pick up a phone and call her already! Is stalking absolutely necessary? But it IS nice to see that Ollie is a bit on the piggish side when eating sphagetti.

But now it comes out...Oracle has a secret, that she's keeping from the rest of the crew, and I'm not sure but what that might come back to bite her in the butt. She's secretly corresponding with none other than the Calculator. I knew it, those two were MADE for each other.

Well, not exactly, he's running scared, and since she was already investigating the area, she figured what the hell. But I think that she's seriously playing with fire here...there is no way that he's not trying to figure out a way to turn this to his advantage.

Finally, Ollie and Mia go out on patrol,while Manhunter keeps watch surreptitiously. But not quite surreptitiously enough, as she's discoverd and receives a boot to the face from Black Canary, who, to give her credit, does have the decency to apologize. She does however want to know just what Manhunter is up to, and who can blame her? Manhunter isn't giving anything away, but seems to have a bit of a chip on her shoulder, because they immediately square off against each other, and that's the cliff-hanger.

Two heroes fighting on a rooftop? It...it just seems like such a Marvel thing to do! On the other hand, Black Canary vs Manhunter IS rather interesting...they seem to be fairly well matched. Mr. Bedard, you have my interest piqued for another month! Oh, and kudos to Nicola Scott for the usual lovely artwork.

But I really really really like Carface.

Why, it's Wednesday!

My favorite day of the week. It's June, it isn't too hot, my roses are blooming like mad, and I'm about to unleash a terrible terrible evil upon the world! Yes, my daughter is getting her license today! If you value your lives, stay off of the roads of Connecticut.

I'm going to the Comic Book Store FIRST, so at least I'll have something to read while I'm waiting in line for her. And if other people don't understand, well tough noogies on them. Plus, some pretty good books are coming out, which makes it all the better.

What Sorcery is This?

So...I was driving, and searching desperately for my sunglasses, and found an odd pair, which I put on...and WHOA! Instead of the usual gray lenses, these were amber, and suddenly, the normal world was transformed into the ANTI-MATTER UNIVERSE! Everything was...yellow! The greens were glowing green, the whites were yellow, the sky was yellow...it was as though I was suddenly transported to Qward!

Turns out they belong to my youngest, but we have agreed that they are to become known as the Sinestro Glasses, and she gave them to me for my birthday today.

Yes. I'm OLD!

And being old, I want to take advantage of that fact, and explain it all to the youngsters here about comic books in the Olden Days. When I started collecting comics, they cost 20 cents, and very shortly thereafter went up to a whole 25 cents. There was no internet in those days, so nobody was able to blog about it or call for Dan Dideo's head. The books were printed on thin crappy paper, and very simply colored. Artists used zipotone to give texture and shadows. It was the 1970's so the covers were bright, garish and full of blurbs. There weren't a lot of cross-overs or "events". Most stories were single issue or two-issue stories, but there were some that went on for a bit, which was considered to be pretty darn daring and state of the art for the time.

Roy Thomas was writing Avengers, and John Buscema was doing the artistic chores. The women mostly stood around and fainted or waved their hands or had mental powers, they didn't punch people or get dirty, and people like Hawkeye sneered at them for being "female and therefore incompetent". I wasn't very old, but I thought that Hawkeye was a dillweed.

Barry West was still alive, and Hal Jordan was still shagging stewardesses. Batman wasn't the dark and grim and gritty asshole of the present yet, but he was still pretty cranky. There weren't any comic books stores yet, you had to go to the newstand or the drug store, and search for them on a revolving rack. You couldn't find back issues, unless you knew somebody who would trade you for them. By the time that I went to college, there was a seedy little bookstore right next to my dorm at UConn, that actually had back issues of comic books, and I thought that I was in heaven. I actually rode my bike to Willimantic to find another seedy little bookstore that had MORE back issues, and bought all of five old Thor's, and considered myself in heaven. They didn't cost very much, but I didn't HAVE very much. This was a time when I had about $20 a month to spend on myself. A MONTH. Of course, tuition only cost about $4,000 too, so I suppose that it is all relative.

Nowadays (you KNEW I'd use that word eventually) I think a single comic costs what all those old Thor's cost me. I have to admit that as much as I adore old Silver age stuff, I love my modern comics too. We have better paper, and all that gorgeous computerized coloring. We have good writers and artists, and we have the internet now, so we can all get together and either complain or rejoice. As a middle-aged woman, I am considered to be something of a curiosity, certainly an anomaly, in this little hobby of ours. You have no idea how lovely and heartwarming it can be, to find that there are OTHER people who have the same interests, and like the same books and are more than willing to discuss them. It makes it a little less lonely.

Now I'm going to go and eat some birthday cake.

And I'm going to show off Hal's magnificent behind. Just because I can!

Oh, what the Heck

Did all the Dad's have a nice Father's Day? I had a lovely talk with both MY Daddy and my Daddy-in-law...both of whom are unfortunately having health problems, but both of whom are facing it with their usual humor and good nature. Meanwhile, my boys took my Sweet Babboo out to the Litchfield Bug-In, which is no longer in Litchfield, but actually in Harwinton, and spent most of the day wandering around staring at Volkswagens. Which meant that I had a day off too!

But here it is, Monday, and it is gloomy, raining, and a bit on the muggy side. So what could possibly cheer us all up?

Random bits of Artwork!



This is Pat Gleason, and it is from Green Lantern Corps #25. Spectacular, eh? As usual, Guy may not have the MOST lines, but he almost always has the BEST lines. My favorite part is, of course, the whale.

Oh, and some of my favorites from Batman Confidential, which I am enjoying FAR too much.



Heh heh. The face plant is classic.

And...



Look at those big puppydog eyes! I have to admit that while I am on Bab's side, I'm REALLY starting to feel a bit of compassion for Catwoman. I mean, really...puppies?

And finally, just for the heck of it.



I just LOVE giant Green Lantern scans!

Booster Gold #10

I...Oh Ted...!

Curse you, Geoff Johns, for making me care! *sniffle*

Anyway, when last we left, Booster and Blue Beetle had reassembled the BAND, and they had dispatched EvilMax with some...er...dispatch. Then, Boosters EvilDad had shown up with his nefarious crew in tow, mainly, the Ultrahumanite, Per Degaton and Despero! The scary music had swelled to a crescendo, and we were left hanging for a month.

THIS month however, we open to Rip Hunter, Daniel and Whatshername...Rose, wandering around Rip's lab, complete with a destroyed Time Sphere and more cryptic warnings scribbled on the chalk board. I LOVE cryptic scribblings! It seems pretty obvious that Ted Has To Go, although neither Skeets nor Rip are happy about it.

Basically then we cut back to the fight. You would think that with Superman thrown into the mix, that he and the League could wipe these guys out pretty quickly, but that doesn't seem to be the case. They seem to be there, to keep the Ultrahumanite, Per Degaton and Despero occupied, while Booster has some interaction with his rotten creep of a father. They have some banter back and forth, mainly consisting of Booster asking "why" and EvilDad cackling...evilly. Oh, and Booster keeps fading in and out periodically, which is just driving him NUTS! Meanwhile, EvilDad has sicced his evil robot Maximilian on Ted, who's doing his best to dodge the hits. Max the Robot says that he doesn't want to kill Ted, but he sure as heck doesn't mind hurting him. A lot.

Then...TADAAAAA!!! Skeets shows up! Woohooo! Ted is of course, delighted to see Skeets and even offers to "kiss that golden butt of yours!" Skeets is a bit more sedate in his joy, and merely mentions that it is a pleasure, and oh, by the way, how is Ted's Bug? He always enjoyed their chats.

Awwwww!

Then Max the Robot starts monologuing, and he and Skeets square off. Max the Robot may be more powerful than Skeets, but Skeets has a secret weapon...a little something that Rip helped him whip together...and...and...basically, Skeets craps all over Max. LITERALLY! THAT'S something you don't see everyday!

Meanwhile, Booster's EvilDad, Supernova is doing his very evil best to undermine Booster's confidence, not to mention his self esteem. All about how Ted isn't worth the deaths of all the others in this altered reality, and so on and so forth. Booster keeps fading in and out, his "history unravelling." Booster can't quite figure out how it is that his Dad even KNOWS about all the stuff that he's quoting, as the camera pans in on Supernova's ear.

That's odd. His ear appears to be...talking!

HOLY CRAP! It's Mr. Mind!

I can honestly say that I did NOT see that coming. And yet...it makes such perfect sense! Or at least it does if you read 52, because at the end of 52, it is Booster Gold, who defeats the machinations of Mr. Mind, and saves the Universe, even if nobody except he, Daniel and Rip know about it. Although Mr. Mind obviously remembers, and he's been nursing quite a grudge!
HE'S been the one manipulating Supernova, and his merry little band, HE'S been the one who got the Black Beetle from the future to go to Booster and talk him into resurrecting Ted! This is Just So Perfect.

Rip, Daniel and Rose however, have not been at the fight, they are busy running around collecting Time Sphere's, Legion Rings and other goodies, so that they can restore Booster's timeline. I did love the fact that apparently it is Braniac's ring that Booster ends up with. So appropriate.

Mr. Mind is still fighting Booster and Ted, and in a spectacularly disgusting panel, vomits out all of his little worm children...all over Booster. Yechh. Thank goodness for force shields! And, as Mr. Mind, stands there gloating and calling Booster a dumb jock, that dumb jock uses a little radio feedback to scramble Mr. Mind's communications, and incidentally freeing his father from Mr. Mind's mind control. Too bad he basically rips his ear off doing it. In his typical fashion, Supernova isn't grateful in the least. This guy is giving Guy's father a run for the Worst Father Ever category!

Mr. Mind in his usual fashion, makes a run for it, while bloviating that This Isn't Over! And then Ted, in my favorite panel does...this.

<

GO TED!

Too bad about Bea however. I do have a caveat about Bea getting blasted, or roasted or whatever. Back in JLI, when they were first fighting Despero, he tried to blast Bea,and the blast went right through her, because she wasn't just ON fire, she actually WAS Fire! A Radiating Plasma, with no actual form! So I do think that they are cheating a bit on this. It serves as the dramatic impetus for Ted's Noble Sacrifice however. You just knew that this was going to happen. Booster is still trying to think of a way to save everyone, but Ted has realized that he can't be there. Skeets however, oddly enough says to have faith, that Rip will come through.

However, just as Ted is about to sacrifice himself, he gets tackled by the Black Beetle, who has been beating the rest of the the League up. Too bad he drops his scarab on the way. The Black Beetle desperately wants the Blue Beetle to live...therefore ensuring that Jaime Reyes will never come into being. Apparently, Jaime steals his girlfriend or something. What a crybaby!

But Ted is resolute. And his goggles are broken again. That's never a good sign.

<

Oh Ted.

Green Lantern Corps #25

"Don't Mess with the Corps!" is the title to the latest issue, and it seems to be pretty self-evident, that this is the LAST bunch of sentients you want to be "messin'" with.

<

Oh Pat Gleason. Is there anything you can't draw? And Tomasi is right on top of his game as well.

When last we left our doughty heroes, they had rescued Yat and Arisia from being devoured, but were in the throes of being pummelled by Mother Mercy! See, some of the Lanterns blew up her babies while Kyle and Guy were rescuing Yat and Arisia, and she's not taking it particularly well...and who can blame her? Most of the Lanterns, that's who. Not only does she throw them around, she can manipulate the pull of gravity on her little ol' planet, and pins them all to the ground. Then she makes it RAIN DEAD PEOPLE! You have to admit, that's not something that people like Batman have to deal with every day.

Let me just say that the artwork is fantastic. The level of detail, and the fact that everything is just so fluid and action-packed...it just jumps off of the page. I'd show you, but my scanner is busted. Bummer.

So anyway, they are all getting their respective Green Asses kicked, when Yat manages to whisper to Soranik, that they should throw him at Mother Mercy. Soranik thinks he's lost it, but Guy and Kyle say go for it. Oh, and Mongul notices that something odd is going on, but doesn't give it too much thought. Stel, bless his little mechanical heart isn't quite as affected as the others, and manages to grab Yat, with his Black Mercy flowers still attached... and tosses him at Mother Mercy, to swallows him.

This actually turns out to have been a bad move on her part. Yat uses his "Ion" powers and with a hearty "BWHAKOOOOOM", Mother Mercy suddenly has really bad gas. Yat's attack gives the others a chance to get up and, boy are THEY pissed. All that is, except Kyle, Soranik, and believe it or not, Guy. Kyle wants to talk to it, Soranik realizes that it is grieving, and Guy notices that she's stopped attacking them, and that maybe, just maybe, they SHOULD talk to her. It is interesting that Iolande, Vath, and Isamot are the ones that want to keep attacking. Stel is being his usual rational self, and Bzzd isn't saying too much at this point.

So...they offer Arisia and Yat to Mother Mercy, and lo and behold, the Black Mercy plants that had been attached to their torsos remove themselves, and they both are relatively good as new. Relative being the term of course, Yat is fairly calm about things, but Arisia is fighting mad, and who can really blame her. Yat of all people, manages to calm her down, and gives us all a bit of insight to what life is like on Daxam by the way.

So...everybody has taken a deep breath, and they are actually TALKING to Mother Mercy instead of trying to just blow her up, and they learn a lot of very interesting things. Mother Mercy is sentient, as are her children. They exist to help ease pain and suffering, and were never intended to be weapons, they were used by Mongul for that purpose. She allowed his harvesting, in the hopes of keeping the secret that they were sentient a secret, in order to help ease suffering, she felt it was imperative that nobody know. She's not too fond of Mongul, that's for sure, but she likes the color green a whole lot more than yellow. She's ALSO not terribly happy about what Mongul Jr. has done to her children, making them evoke fear instead of bliss, and you get the feeling that everything is going to be ok, with her working with the Green Lanterns instead of against them...

...and then Mongul shows up. Naturally. And he's brought his new little friends with him! This time they are ALL hit with the altered Black Mercies!

Or ARE they? I didn't see Bzzd in that final group. Or Stel for that matter.

Heh heh.

Man I can hardly wait till next month.

There has been a certain amount of speculation that perhaps Mother Mercy is going to be the driving force behind the Indigo Lanterns. I can certainly see where that would work. Oh, and that creepy Guardian with the scars is up to no good.

Supermellagorgeous

*sigh*

Oh this WAS a lovely week.

For the first time in my life, I picked up and bought a copy of Action Comics, and I'm glad...GLAD that I did. It seems to be a pretty good jumping-on point, I love Geoff Johns as a writer, and I've liked Gary Frank from way back when he used to draw the Hulk. I have to say that the artwork was just gorgeous. Is it me, or does Clark look astonishingly like Christopher Reeve? That's only a good thing, in my book.

Anyhoo...good story, lots of fun small moments and an excellent cliff-hangar, not to mention some large moments as well, such as the room full of bottled cities. Incidentally, I loved the scene both with Steve Lombard, who look eerily like Matt O'Dare, and the return of Cat Grant. The bit with the doughnut just cracked me up. She was trying SO HARD, and Clark just wouldn't play.

Then there was the second part of the Batgirl/Catwoman fracas in Batman Confidential, and as usual Kevin Maguire does not disappoint. In fact I was having so much fun with the artwork, that I didn't even CARE who the writer was, which is unnusual for me. But Mr. Nicieza does his usual competent job.

Frankly, I found the nude wrestling scene far more hilarious than titillating...which is how it should be. And the part where Catwoman jumps Batgirl in the junkyard, and she grabs her by the TAIL, so that she faceplants in the ground...not to mention just who it is that ends up with the notebook...well, I laughed and laughed.

Green Arrow/Black Canary had its moments. The art is light and pretty, and Winick didn't drive me into a frenzy. Plastic Man is always welcome, and the League of Assassins show up, along with Batman. About time, frankly. Winick's writing was a hell of a lot better in this, than it was over in Titans, which made me want to retch.

I've been enjoying Huntress: Year One. Again, the art is very nice, and it's a well-told story, with some interesting twists and turns.

I'm liking Trinity so far. Each of the big three has their moment in the sun, and each performs according to their personalities and characteristics. Batman in particular has a lovely moment, when he dispatches his foes with a single word. And John Stewart shows up! Always nice to see John. I understand his feelings about Pluto, and agree with him 100%.

Wonder Woman continues to engage me. It took me a while to figure out that that was Claw, I kept thinking Conan, but wrong Universe. She's going to seriously have to moisturize that hand when she finally gets home. And Steel is a paranoid lunatic. Nemesis is sort of an idiot, but I'm finding him to be a likeable idiot at any rate.

Salvation Run finally finished up, which gave me some closure. Too bad about leaving J'onn all alone, but I have to say that it's an improvement over what just happened to him in Final Crises. I love how Lex keeps insisting that he's a HERO dammit, to all the people that he just sacrificed.

I also got the Punisher: the Little Black Book, and it wasn't bad. It wasn't Ennis, but still...pretty good. Some appropriately dark and moody artwork, and a decent story.

Booster Gold and Green Lantern Corps came out, and they were both fantastic, but I'll get to them another day.

Did everyone enjoy their books this week?

The Justice League of America

The Justice League has to be the best club in the world. And I'm NOT just talking about the Giffen/DeMatteis incarnation either (although it WAS the best) but practically any version of the JL of A. Silver Age in particular. Not only did you get to go out and battle Starro the Conquerer, save the world, and bask in the adoration of millions, but you got to hang out with some of your friends while doing it. Not to mention a cool headquarters, really spectacular technology, and unlimited budget (thank you Batman!) and a whole lot of other perks.

And you got to play games! Fun fun games. Like Ring around the Rosie, for example...




Sure, there were SOME disadvantages. You had to put up Snapper Carr and his incomprehensible attempts at being "hip"...not to mention that goddamned finger-snapping. On the other hand, there was the opportunity to gaze at Wonder Woman's rack or even Hal's beautiful hair. Sure, Superman cried a lot but Martian Manhunter's milk and chocos made up for it.

Not quite as much fun as the parties that the old JLI used to have of course...



Fire was always a blast at parties. And so HANDY!

Of course it wasn't always beer and skittles. Bad things happened occasionally. People even died. Or went crazy, or had their backs broken, or got blowed up...or worse still, CANCELLED! But somehow, like all good friends, they managed to work through it. It could still be confusing however...




In the end however, no matter how bad the art or terrible the writing, we should ALWAYS have some form of the Justice League around. Always. Because otherwise, they won't have a place to hang out, and be with their friends...oh and save the world a time or two. And because it would upset Hal. You wouldn't want to upset Hal would you?

Anticipation

Well, Heaven's to Betsy, it does look like a very good week coming up this Wednesday. AAANNDD the Heat Wave is supposed to break tonight, so Wednesday will be a whole heck of a lot cooler, and therefore more comfortable to read comics, without dripping sweat on them. Still, I suppose that I'd rather have heat over tornados.

Anyway, there are a plethora of wonderful books coming out tomorrow, including Batman Confidential, Booster Gold, Green Arrow/Black Canary, Green Lantern Corps, Huntress: Year One, the last issue of Salvation Run, Trinity and Wonder Woman.

I can't say that I'm looking forward particularly to Salvation Run, but I DID read the damned thing, and it would be nice to have a payoff. I'm dying to read Booster Gold, because when we last saw our heroes, they were in a dilly of a pickle. I am both terrified that they are going to kill off Ted again, and anxious to see what happens.

I want to see what is going to happen in Green Lantern Corps, so that we can get through this Mongul stuff, and back to what is REALLY important...mainly reopening Guy's bar on Oa. I must admit that I hope that Iolande keeps her little ring-generated parosol however. It is just so PERFECT!

I blush to admit that I'm actually...sort of...enjoying Winick's Green Arrow/Black Canary story. He still drives me into a frenzy sometimes, and putting Connor into a coma seems unnecessarily nasty, but some of the dialogue and situations have been rather amusing. Plus the art has been lovely. But again, I just want to get to the end and see what happens to Connor.

What books are the rest of you looking forward to?

Some Hal Buffoonery

Crap in a hat, it's hot out! They actually sent the kids home from school at noon, because the classrooms were too hot! They never did that when I was a kid. Nope, we had to walk a MILE to school, and they never cancelled school, even when there were blizzards and we were being stalked by polar bears. And WE didn't have computers and Tetris, and...and...oops. Got a little distracted there.

Anyway...I'm hot and cranky, and can't be bothered to be brilliant. So I'm just going to post scans of Hal looking stupid, bless his adorable little heart. I can always count on Hal.



Oh Hal. It's even beginning to dawn on you, that Yellow in NOT your friend. And a nice shot of his behind, to boot!



Do you get the feeling that this has happened before? He doesn't even seem surprised.



Oh now, this is just getting silly.



It's bad enough being beaten up by a monkey, but now the cops are at it too!

But just for fun...



A rare example of Batman getting hit in the head. So for all the people who had a heart attack when Hal rang Batman's bell back in Rebirth, it HAS happened before.

Hmmmmm....Hal hitting Batman....!



Oh yeah. That's the ticket. For me, there is not only the delight of Hal actually delivering his well-deserved comeuppance to Bats, but the look of pure amazement...nay, JOY on the face of Guy Gardner.

Poetry.

Real Life Intrudes

Man, I'm pooped. I spent ALL day in New Haven, with the State games for the Special Olympics, and it was about 90 degrees and humid. Bleh. There was the usual scheduling kerfuffle, like putting 100 meter dash at 12:30 and the running long-jump at 12:45, but somehow we managed to work around all of that.

My oldest son Chris, is mildly autistic, but a heck of an athlete. This is his ninth year of participating in the Special Olympics, and I'm proud as punch. We managed a bronze in the 100 meters, and silver in both the shot putt and the running long-jump. The 4x100 Unified relay is tomorrow, and they usually do pretty well there as well. I have to give a great deal of credit to the organizers, they do a magnificent job, with usually only a few mix-ups.

But gosh, I am tired. All this fresh air and exercise is terrifying.

As usual, I brought along some trades for the kids to read while we were waiting. They may not know who everybody is, but they LOVE the books. And it seems that the more convoluted the story is, the better they like it.

Where have you been, Joe?

Something rather interesting happened a day or so ago in my sleepy little burgh of a hometown. We're not really USED to this sort of thing, so it made quite an impression upon us.

"...Police on Wednesday charged a Suffield man in connection with an early morning burglary and shooting on Maple Avenue, in Windsor Locks. Neil Gardner was charged with home invasion with a deadly weapon, second degree burglary with a firearm ,reckless endangerment, threatening and breach of peace. Members of the North Central Municipal Regional Response Team, the West Hartford SWAT Team and police from several departments responded to the scene of the burglary where shots were fired, evacuating people from nearby homes."

Luckily nobody was hurt, although two ambulances and a police car went FLYING past my house that day, and they did catch this guy.

This RED-HAIRED guy. Named Gardner.

It's Joe! I don't care if he said his name was Neil, now we know where Guy's evil Clone Joe has been hanging out! Right here in Connecticut! Being nefarious! We KNOW that he's the clone, because he even went and grew and EVIL GOATEE! I was always a little surprised that Joe didn't have a goatee of Evil, because it would have been SO appropriate.

Poor Joe. What a come-down. You've gone from enslaving ex-Green Lanterns to burglarizing suburban houses. I can only assume that Sledge will be showing up to bust you out any day now. Or maybe not, because you have to admit that this is pretty embarrassing for someone of your stature. I imagine that even Libra would scorn you right about now.



Somewhere, Guy is snickering to himself.

Manhunter #31

It's back! It is as though it never left! Oh Manhunter, I've missed you. Just like the All-New Atom and Blue Beetle, I was a little bit late in jumping onto the Manhunter bandwagon, but through diligent search of the back issue boxes and trades, I've been able to get all the stories. And unlike poor Atom, which went to pot the minute that Gail Simone left, we still have Marc Andreyko, working his wordly magic. Michael Gaydos is on as the artist now, and he does an excellent job as well.

There is a nice opening sequence that brings everybody up to speed, and also makes this a nice jumping-on point for new readers. Then...boom, we are right into the action, with Kate taking out a rather formidable opponent in the form of the Atomic Skull. This however, is really just the warm-up to the main story. It seems as though there has been a long and systematic reign of terror going on in the El Paso/Ciudad Juarez area, with women turning up dead and missing. Nobody has ever really done much about it, since the victims were all poor and Hispanic. Kate feels badly about this and decides to investigate.

Oh, and some other good stuff happens too,with her real Grandfather, Iron Munroe showing up, and some angst over that, not to mention that Dylan receives a rather grisly present. And Todd shows up! He's got this cool helicopter, and he and Kate go searching in it, over the area where all the murders have taken place. The Mexican authorities show up and Todd has to beat feet, so that the Justice Society doesn't get involved in an international incident, so Kate just jumps out and continues to search on her own. And just as she uncovers a buried hand, who should show up, but...!

Oh come now. El Paso, and who do you think should show up? Frankly the thought of Kate Spencer and Jaime Reyes working together just makes me giggle with delight. I can hardly wait until next month!

I would like to say something about the artwork. Mr. Gaydos does a lovely job of portraying Manhunter as a super hero. Her costume may be tight red leather, but it doesn't look like she's wearing it as a second skin. She actually has hips. She is not wasp-waisted. She looks like a real woman. When she is portrayed wearing her regular clothes, they actually look like clothes that a normal woman would wear. It's wonderful.

Wednesday, sweet Wednesday

Woohoo! New comics! Manhunter is back! Trinity starts! Some other stuff comes out! It's raining, and a bit dreary, but in a few short hours, I'll be back, sitting in my leather chair, with fresh hot comics.

In the meantime, I have come across some of the finest series of comicbook panels...ever. These are from an issue of Starman, although I'm not quite sure which one, but one of the ones where Jack is off in outer Space, so it's before the whole Grand Guignol kerfuffle. Look upon their wonder, and be amazed...!







Hee!

Kilowog and Arisia

Two of my favorite characters. I started thinking about them, mainly because of Sea of Green, and a post that she did over at the Hoosier Journal of Inanity, whereing she speculates that perhaps Kilowog and Arisia ought to get together. Then I was over at Duskdog's site, Towards Twilight, where she has some excellent fanfiction about Green Lanterns, and she even had a story about Kilowog and Arisia, called "Lucky". And it occurs to me, that it is TIME, dammit!

Time for Kilowog to get a love life. He had that odd little attraction to Arisia, that dates from waaaaaaay back in the day, but he's never really acted on it. Arisia knows about it, because she had to go into his head while he was trying to snuff Sinestro, but I don't know if she has ever really made any mention of it. Because at the time, she was completely hung up on Hal Jordan, and we all know how THAT worked out.

But anyway, the Corps is back together, and Arisia is back from the dead. While she still thinks that Hal Jordan hung the moon, I don't get the feeling that she's quite that same naive love-struck young girl anymore. His behavior as Parallax probably went a long way towards erasing the stars from her eyes, and hanging out with Guy at the bar probably helped too. Plus she had that whole "dead" thing going on.

I did think that it was interesting in that issue of Green Lantern where she is resurrected, and she and Hal are battling the giant Manhunters, that she says that she missed "this" meaning, the fighting, while Hal says that he missed "her." But he's all hung up over Cowgirl at the moment, not to mention probably having mixed feelings about Carol Ferris, and while he may be happy enough to kiss her, I don't think that he's in love with Arisia anymore.

I think that Kilowog on the other hand, COULD be. He was a bit over-protective of her during the whole Sinestro Corps kerfuffle when they were battling over Mogo. He doesn't seem to think TOO highly of Sodam Yat, who is her new partner. For that matter, I don't get the impression that Arisia herself thinks too much of Sodam Yat. With all of his power, he's a bit too raw and uncertain. As big an idiot as Hal can be, he's NEVER uncertain, and the same thing goes for Guy, two men, that she's quite fond of. The same thing goes for Kilowog. So it might be nice for a bit of a budding romance between the two of them.

While we are at it, let's find somebody for poor old John. He's been lonely for a very long time. Or else resurrect Katma. Heck, everybody ELSE has come back. And I want to see Guy and Tora go out on a date, dagnabit! And it is possibly more than time for Salaak to go back to that resort planet and hang out with those android Tigergirlzzzzz. He's been awfully tense lately.



Oh Kilowog. There's just so much of you to love.

Final Crises #1 has Lanterns!

Lots and lots of Green Lanterns. AND Hal right on the cover. I do realize that there is actually a whole lot more going on in this first issue of Final Crises than just drooling over Hal, but I really can't help myself sometimes. I will say, that the art is gorgeous. I love a well-written book, but I love it even MORE, when the art is as good as the writing. I think that has been a major problem with the Justice League lately. Put a decent artist in with McDuffie, and he shines.

But that's getting away from the point. I read Final Crises, and was a little confused about a few things. However, I have discovered that reading it several times, is a good idea, you begin to pick up on things, and some of the other plot points have had some time to percolate, so it all starts to make more sense.

I WILL say, that it doesn't really seem to tie in with Countdown, and I think that is a very good thing. It makes it much easier for someone who didn't read Countdown or Death of the New Gods, to pick up and get into. If you DID read those two series, (as I did) and didn't really like them all that much (as I did) then by God, you have a chance to start all over again. So I'm just pretending that a lot of the stuff towards the end in Countdown didn't exactly go down the way that it seemed.

But anyway. There are Lanterns in it, and boy howdy are they done well. There are some very nice small touches, such as spotting John Stewart in a tie, working in an office. Presumably, an Architectural office. A small thing, but a nice one. Then he flies off into battle, with his green aura showing up so beautifully against the red and lightning in the sky, with even his eyes glowing eerily green.

He's called for Hal, but typically, Hal is a little late, and John's first question is "Blonde or Redhead?" which I found to be perfectly in character. John and Hal are friends, but I just know that John occasionally finds Hal to be a bit exasperating. J.G. Jones proves that he knows all about Green Lanterns with a lovely rear shot of Hal.

Then the Guardians get to play like Cosmic CSI's. There is actually a code, 1011 for Deicide. The Guardians want them to seal the crime scene, dust for radiation, and so on. They even send in the Alpha Lanterns. I'm hoping that a certain pair of Honor Lanterns will also be showing up eventually. There is a lot of other stuff inbetween, but when Green Man, Boodikka and Varix do show up, there is an absolutely gorgeous scene of them hovering over the earth, with the green beams from their rings criss-crossing the Earth.

Oh, and Anthro, Metron, the JLA, the Question, a bunch of cranky Monitors and the Bad Guys also show up. And some very very bad things happen to poor J'onn.