Happy Halloween

Gadzooks, it's that time of year again. I rather like Halloween...when I was a kid, we were allowed to go around our neighborhood, where we knew everybody, and got some AMAZING loot. As we got older, it got a little more impersonal. But what the heck, it's still fun to get dressed up and eat candy.

I don't really get too many kids anymore, we live in the Historical district, and there aren't a lot of children. Which means of course, that I get to eat all the leftover candy! While there is nothing wrong with the big kids and adults getting dressed up and having parties, I do think that there is something wrong with giving out candy to someone who has to shave, and has car keys. My seventeen year old daughter however, has the CUTEST Supergirl costume this year! Fortunately it's NOT the midriff-baring one, but the old-fashioned one. Thank Goodness!

I've been trying to think of the scariest picture that I can come up with in honor of Halloween, and I do believe that this may fit the bill...



That of course is Dementor, the mutant Vuldarian half-breed monster thingie that was living in Guy's head...sort've...back in the old Warrior days. Gosh, I miss that book. It was just insane, but a lot of fun. AND, we have Guy's butt, which is always a bonus in my book.

So...have a happy and safe Halloween. The only problem is that by tomorrow, all the Christmas decorations will be up at the mall and the grocery store.

*sigh*

Final Crises: Rage of the Red Lanterns

By the Power of Greyskull...this was Great! I have to say that Shane Davis draws a fabulous Sinestro. And blood. There's a LOT of blood in this. There really isn't too much to do with Final Crises, except for a little footnote explaining that this takes place between numbers one and two of Final Crises, but what the heck, I'm here for Green Lantern goodness.

Atrocitus is mad as hell and he's not going to take it any more. He's going after the Guardians, he's going after the Sinestro Corps, he's going after anyone he damn well pleases, and he's been recruiting other people who are similarly pissed. He even has his own nice little oath, to make him feel all cranky.

"With Blood and Rage of Crimson Red...
Ripped from a Coprse so freshly Dead...
Together with our Hellish Hate...
We'll Burn you all...
That is your Fate!"

Meanwhile in lovely Coast City, Hal is hanging out with Jim and none other than Cowgirl, who can't understand why it is that more people don't just realize that Hal IS a Green Lantern, since he acts exactly the same when he's wearing that silly little mask, as when he's being a civilian. She does have a point. John rings him up to say that the Guardians have decided to execute Sinestro, and that they are secretly taking him to Korugar...presumably, to rub it in. Naturally, Hal has some mixed feelings about all of this. So he dumps Cowgirl, and flies off to talk to Carol about it all.

Oh Hal.

The Scarred Guardian is up to her usual shenanigans, sending Ash to find the corpse of the Anti-Monitor, he just happens to find the a piece of the armor in none other than Sector 666...which is where Atrocitus hangs out. As usual, the rest of the Guardians are completely clueless about what is going on. Presumably Ganthet would have had a grasp on what she is up to, but then he's not around, is he? Stupid Guardians!

Hal visits Sinestro in the Sciencells, and the two of them have a last heart-to-heart talk. Somehow, Sinestro always manages to have the last word around Hal.

And speaking of stupid, the Controllers show up briefly, merely illustrating the point that they may, if anything be even dumber than the Guardians. There is also a tiny hint of an Orange Lantern.

So, the Green Lanterns are busy secretly transporting Sinestro to his trial on Korugar, when they get ambused by...The Sinestro Corps! Oh WHO would have seen THAT coming? Naturally the GL's are surprised, but they naturally enough regain their balance and start fighting back. And then the ambushers receive a surprise of their own.



Awwwwww...!! Isn't he just the cutest little hate-filled Red Lantern that you ever did see? I don't know exactly what was done to piss of this kitten, but it must have been...interesting. Anyway, any number of red shirts...I mean random Green Lanterns and Yellow Lanterns are being killed very messily by the Red Lanterns, who seem to just vomit blood all over their prey, which disolves their auras and stuff. Laira goes after Hal, seemingly without recognizing him, or maybe just not caring, and he's in pretty tough shape as the "...red liquid spewing from her ring bursts into flame..." It incapacitates his own ring, which is pretty serious, considering they are out in the vacumn of space, when suddenly the flame goes out, and his power levels are restored, nay IMPROVED, with a little help from Ganthet and his newest recruit.



Woohoo! It's Saint Walker to the rescue! And I guess we won't be executing Sinestro after all!

This was good loud sloppy fun. Not too cerebral, but a lot of action, and we finally get to see a Blue Lantern. I can hardly wait for the next issue.

Guy and Bea...sittin' in a Tree...

...k i s s i n g! Yes, it's true, Guy and Bea DID date for a while after Tora got iced, and when he was Warrior. Some people may deny this of course, but some people don't believe in the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and Independant Voters. They DO exist!

It is my firm belief that Bea at least had a mad love/hate thing going on with Guy for years, and vice versa. However very little ever came of it, with the exception of a few wild rescues and such during their JLI days. However, you all recall of course that madcap Christmas Eve party at Warrior's, when Bea got completely swacked on the spiked eggnog, and she and Guy started snogging wildly, under the mistletoe. Then things got really out of hand, and presumably an interesting evening ensued.

And that was that. A one-night stand.

Except, the two of them started peeking sheepishly at each other whenever they ran across each other for quite some time after that. Bea keeps suggesting that he call her sometime in her best Mae West imitation, and Guy's eyes would cross, and then something would blow up and they'd have to postpone their discussion to the next time.

<

Smooth Guy. Smooth. This actually went on for quite some time.


Even Bea can't quite believe it. And she's...blushing! That's just so cute! I always assumed that Bea had forgotten how to blush around the age of twelve or so. Guy on the other hand, blushes all the time, the big lug.

And finally, in the last issue of JLA, at least for a while, there was this.

<

So it's canon. It's true. It really happened. And I really really REALLy hope that somehow this gets brought up in Green Lantern Corps, because I think it would be quite...interesting. I also assume that somewhere, Snapper Carr has pictures. Then rather suddenly, they weren't together anymore, which is a story that also needs to be told somewhere, because they were certainly on the outs by the time that the OMAC story by Rucka came out. I used to think that Rucka was just writing them out of character, but when you think about it, I suppose that it makes perfect sense for Guy to be all snarky and obnoxious if he got dumped shortly beforehand. It could even help explain why he was so rude to Wonder Woman.

It is amazing, the mental gymnastics that I am able to perform.

Whatever Happened to Uncle Titus?

Oh sure, you all remember him...Hal's rich Uncle Titus. They used to have Jordan Family reunions at his swanky estate back in the old days. The men would all swan around wearing dinner jackets, while the women wore designer cocktail dresses. They drank a lot of martinis. Usually something untoward would happen, and Hal would slap on the old Green Lantern duds, and clean up the mess, and afterwards blame it all on poor Jim.

Jim's wife Susan was completely convinced that he was actually the Green Lantern. It never occured to her to look at the large and extremely flashy piece of jewelry that was adorning her brother-in-law's hand of course. Hal cheerfully made full use of this little brain fart on the part of his sister-in-law of course. Heck,he had poor Jim so confused, the guy thought occasionall that he WAS the Green Lantern! Then they all went out and beat up their hippie cousin who crashed the party.

Those were the days! What hi-jinks! Now of course, Geoff John's retelling of Hal's origin, and the subsequent disclosure to baby brother Jim that HAL is actually the Green Lantern has probably done away with all those old stories. Which, while I enjoyed the recent retelling, would indeed be a shame. Because Hal was just having so much FUN being a playboy in those stories. He could get away with practically anything, with a wink and a nudge to the reader. And he looked pretty damned suave in a dinner jacket.

But what I want to know, is whatever happened to rich old Uncle Titus? Do they still have those incredible Family Reunions? Do lesser Jordans still show up and try to get in on the party? Does Hal still wear a dinner jacket? Do they bring along Jim's kids? Is Hal in Uncle Titus's will?

So...I hear there's a Movie coming Out

A Green Lantern movie is apparently in the works. It has Hal Jordan as the main character, which pleases me to no end. I LIKE John Stewart, but even though he may be familiar to a lot of people through the cartoon, Hal will always be the REAL Green Lantern to me. No matter WHAT Guy says. And I like Alan Scott too, but let's face it, he'd be perfect in a Justice Society Movie. Can't you see a Justice Society Movie, with Alan, Jay, Ted Grant, and Hawkman? It would be seven shades of awesomeness.

I'd obviously kill for a Green Lanten movie that starred Guy Gardner, but even I'M not demented enough to think that it would necessarily happen. I would be thrilled to my marrow if he and Kyle and John were to show up in the aforesaid movie however.

There have been any number of names bandied back and forth, about who would be the best actor to play Hal. Frankly, I'm old, and I don't even recognize half of these young men. David Boreanz I know, because I watch "Bones".

But I was watching "House" the other night, and it suddenly occured to me that Wilson would be PERFECT for Hal! Or rather, Robert Sean Leonard, the actor who portrays Wilson. He's got the HAIR! And the big soulful brown eyes! And he's....he's pretty! He's a little too nurturing in his role as Wilson obviously, he could borrow a little of House's arrogance to portray Hal. But he's also perfect in his obsession with wanting what he doesn't have...only to disdain it, once he's achieved possession of it. That's Hal to a "T".

Who would YOU cast as Hal Jordan? Be Creative!

Can Kissing Save the World?

Over at his Blog, "Every Day is like Wednesday", Caleb has come up with an utterly brilliant idea about the ending of Final Crises. In the latest issue, Iris West is busy succumbing to the Anti-Life equation, which is being broadcast on the television. An apparently insidious plot by Darkseid, but a darned clever one. She is saved, when Barry and Wally run in, and Barry kisses her. It was Caleb's idea, that since it has been pointed out by Libra and others that the Flashes may be the key to the whole thing, that perhaps all the Flashes will be running around kissing everyone.

I have to say that I just LOVE this idea. Seriously, besides being one of the best endings to a crossover EVER, who WOULDN'T want to be kissed by a Flash? Which is not to say being flashed by a Flash, which is another whole can of worms that I'm not going to get into.

So..which Flash would YOU liked to be kissed by? I like the Flashes. I like ALL the Flashes...just not quite as much as I like the Green Lanterns. Who would incidentally save the world by showing their magnificent buttocks, in order to demoralize the bad guys. But again, that's another story.

I know who I would like to be kissed by.



Joan Garrick is a lucky lucky woman. I can't even explain my attraction to Jay, I just LIKE him. Besides, he probably smells like gingersnaps. Jay is just cool. I wouldn't mind being kissed by Barry or Wally, I just like Jay better.

So...which Flash do You wish to snog?

BEHOLD...In All His Glory!

THIS came into my beloved Comical Book Store this past Wednesday...and I simply HAD to have him:




All Thirteen and a half inches of moulded plastic and fabric glory, Hal Jordan comes with three additional heads, if you want to have Abin Sur, Tomar Re, or some other guy, and an extra pair of hands, if you want him with open fingers instead of fists. His Lantern actually LIGHTS UP! It has a stand! His little green boots unzip and come off! His UNIFORM unzips and comes off! He is incredibly poseable.

Did I check out his nekkid plastic butt? Of COURSE I did! Not quite up to the standards of Ivan Reis, but I'm not complaining.

These figures from DC with the cloth uniforms and such, really are quite nicely done. Now that I have Hal, my ultimate dream would be for DC to make the rest of the Four Musketeers...I'd kill for a Kyle, a Guy and a John.

*sigh*

Now excuse me, please. I have to go and play with my toys. And wallow in your envy! Hah!

It Was Wednesday, and I Bought Some Stuff

Aaaannndd we're back. A little slower and a bit creaky, but my computer woes seem to be on the mend...at least I can fake it until I get my GOOD computer fixed...which may be awhile. *sigh*

Anyhoo...something of a slow week for me, but there were certainly some goodies amongst the racks.

Birds of Prey#123.............The Calculator returns! I LOVE the Calculator! I don't even know
why, I just do. Oh, and the Joker shows up, and Babs manages to face him down. She is also mildly insulted that he apparently doesn't recognize her. I would have thought that was a GOOD thing! Double-crosses and duplicity are flying all over the place!

Blue Beetle #32.................Another excellent issue. I'll get to it.

Final Crises: Submit..........I...I liked this. It features Black Lightning and the Tattooed Man, trying to save various people, while being hunted by all the transformed humans and metahumans and stuff. There is massive property damage and evil dogs get blowed up. I read this before I read Final Crises, and it's a good thing that I did.

Final Crises #4...................A lot of people apparently didn't like this. I did, so pooh. I'm glad that I read "Submit" first however, since it explains why the Tattooed Man shows up at the refuge and not Jefferson. Darkseid is taking over the Earth, and although he's fighting it, Dick Turpin is slowly submitting to his possession. Lots of other people have been taken over as well, or are off the drawing board for some reason. There are still a few pockets of resistance however. Green Arrow manages to get his bunch to safety, and there is a rather poignant moment between he and Black Canary. Alan Scott is trying to get everybody together, but it isn't working too well. It's dark, and things are very much going to hell in a handbasket.

There is also a lot of kvetching about how J.G. Jones wasn't able to complete all the artwork. He is quite efficiently helped out in this issue by Carlos Pacheco, and I hear that Doug Mahnke will be doing the final issue. I LOVE Mahnke. These are all excellent artists, so I have no problem with it at all...and I find all the hysteria rather baffling, to be honest. Yes, it would be nice for the given artist to be able to finish the assignment, especially given a reasonably adequate lead time. However, things DO occasionally happen, and although I blush to admit this, as a fangirl, I WILL manage to survive this. So long as DC manages to get the books out reasonably on time, I will let it go. Besides, in another few months, we'll all be foaming at the mouth about something new.

DC Universe: Halloween Special....Aawwww...this had Ralph and Sue Dibny in it! I miss Ralph and Sue. As is usual, it is a lot of short stories by various writers and artists, and for the most part they are all pretty good. I can't think of a real clunker or a real stand-out, so it was a pleasant read and a little bit of fun. Plus it had Kyle and his remarkable behind in one story. Can't ask for more than that!

Tangent: Superman's Reign #8........The evil Superman and evil Power Girl have managed to find OUR world...I think. They are met by OUR Superman and Power Girl. Bad Superman blows up the Capitol and the White House. This makes our heroes moderately irate. Meanwhile, Batman and the rest of the good guys are still stuck on the Tangent Universe and still looking for a way out. As this is drawing to an eventual end, I am pretty sure that they will find one. Good silly fun, if only for the nerd portrayal of Guy Gardner at the back of the book. That STILL cracks me up.

Thor: The Truth of History.......This has Alan Davis, and it has Thor AND it has the Warrior's Three, so I was delighted to get this. They end up travelling to ancient Egypt, which is always fun, and have a number of run-ins with the natives, with a lot of misunderstandings and human (or godly) sacrifice, a Griffon, a Sphinx, and a heck of a rainstorm. Lots of fun.

I am rather bemused by the fact that this cost $3.99 instead of the more usual 2.99 for the same number of pages. Final Crises cost $3.99 too, but it was nice and fat. Just one more reason why I'm still ticked off at Marvel. Stop the price gouging!

Trinity #21........I'm still enjoying this. A nice look at the histories of the bad guys,and a wonderful second story with Firestorm and John Stewart. It comes out every week like clockwork, and it's...interesting, darn it!

I also picked up something else at my beloved comic book store, but that would be a post for another day. Needless to say, it is large and green, and made me smile. A LOT!

New Post...Maybe?

Once again, I'm not too sure if this is even going to work, but I'll give it the old college try. For three days now, I've been fighting this bloody virus, and I may...I MAY have figured something out. We'll see.

One small step for a blogger...!

Oh....Fudge!

I'm about to tear my hair out, and I'm not really sure if this is even going to post. The back-up computer is now going insane, and so am I. One of the kids hit one of those pop-up thingies that say you have a problem, except that the problem only arises when you hit the pop-up thingie. I'm desperately awaiting the arrival of my oldest, who worked in the IT department at college, hoping that she can figure out a way to de-bug it. I managed to fake my way through this morning, but it wasn't pretty.

On an equally sad note. apparently they are cancelling Manhunter again. This depresses me greatly, because it is such a well-written book, and because...well...it's a little different. I LIKE Kate. I was a little late coming to this appreciation, but once I managed to get ahold of all the trades, I happily purchased it every month, and it STILL wasn't enough.

*sob*

I'm going to go and bang my head against my desk for a while now. Perhaps the vibrations will cure my computer woes.

Fathers and Sons

I'm not exactly sure what got this idea into my head, but I was wondering if there were any teams or pairings in Comics, that combined Fathers and Sons? The only one that I can think of, off of the top of my head, is Alan Scott/Green Lantern and Todd/Obsidian over in the Justice Society, as well as Ted Grant/Wildcat and Tommy/Wildcat Jr., ALSO over in the Justice Society.

There is Oliver Queen and Connor of course, but have they ever really run around fighting crime together for more than a simple story arc or so? The name of the current book is Green Arrow/Black Canary, not Green Arrows. Roy and Mia are surrogate children of course, but that's a 'nother whole can of worms.

So many superheroes are orphans that it's hard for them to team up with their Dads. And Ollie aside, not THAT many superheroes have kids. Well, there's Wally of course, and he DOES fight with his son and his daughter. Not only that, but they are still KIDS! That's a bit unnusual. There is Batman and Robin of course, but I think that the Robins all fall under the surrogate title. On the other hand, he's out and out adopted Tim, so perhaps that counts as a Father/Son dynamic duo.

There are still a lot more Father/Son combinations that Mother/Daughter ones. There is Hippolyta and Diana of course, and Black Canary Sr. and Black Canary Jr. Mothers don't seem to show up as often as Fathers do. There is Ma Kent, Guy's crazy Mom, and Tora's nice Mom. That is about all the mothers that I can think of. Kyle's Mom was nice, but they went and killed her off.

Can anybody think of any parent/child combinations?

Booster Gold #13

Well, no more Geoff Johns, no more Dan Jurgens, not even Chuck Dixon. Instead we have Rick "I destroyed the Atom" Remender and Pat Oliffe and Jerry Ordway. I admit to having the highest of apprehensions going into this issue.

You know what? Not to worry. Things are fine.

As we begin our tale, Booster and Michelle are just back from a mission, that requires them to only save ONE person, instead of all the people in peril, which distresses Michelle. I imagine it distresses Booster too, but he's managed to deal with the problems of time travel a little better at this point. Unfortunately for them, once they return, they discover that Rip is...well, not quite feeling like himself. Turns out that he has one of those Starro thingies on his face.

May I just state, right here and now, that I LOVE the concept of Starro the Conquerer. Having a giant Starfish trying to take over the world, and having little starfish glommed onto people's faces taking over their minds is a FABULOUS concept. It also makes for a great visual.

Anyway, they fight for a while, but Rip/Starro take off in the GOOD Time sphere, leaving Booster, Michelle and Skeets stuck with the rickety old Time Sphere. This is the equivalent of trying to chase someone in a Porsche, while driving a Pinto. A RUSTY Pinto. I HAD a rusty Pinto once, you could even see the road through the floorboards...but it was great for doing a four-wheel drift in turns...!

AHEM!

By going around in the Time Sphere, Rip/Starro has retroactively TAKEN OVER THE EARTH! The computer monitor showing everyone, including Mount Rushmore with Starrofish on their faces, is priceless. Skeets is ascerbic as usual. When Booster mentions that "...Rip has some tricks under his belt, and now all that knowledge is in Starro's hands!", Skeets points out that Starro HAS no hands. This of course drives Booster crazy, but a minute later, when Skeets downloads the whole NEW history of Earth, Booster is enthralled and wishes he could...er..."...if you had an orifice, I'd kiss it or rub it or something."

Haw!

They go back in time and prevent Rip/Starro from handing out little Starrofish during the Black Plague in the Middle Ages. Michelle thinks they should just whack Rip over the head or something, but Booster is strangely reluctant. Then the bop back to the present and pick up Daniel, who, it turns out, may have been responsible for the whole mess, from when he borrowed the Supernova suit to go back and rescue a beloved locket that belonged to Rose, on the way back, he found a cute little Starro attached to his leg. So he stuck it in a mayonnaise jar, and sort of forgot about it. Oh Daniel. Even Booster thinks you're an idiot.

Too bad that Rip/Starro, foiled in the past, decided to hop, skip and jump into the future. Then his minions come back and grab Michelle, forcing Booster to go with them...or else! Booster manages to beat up some pretty fun villains who have all been "Starro'ed", but he's finally overwhelmed and thrown into what seems to be a LAKE of Starro-fish, who are glommed all over him, claiming that he's going to murder his own Son! Booster seems more startled by the idea of actually HAVING a son, than getting mind-controlled. Oh Booster.

Anyway...it's a lot of fun, and the art is good, and really, that's usually enough for me.

Well, that was a pretty decent Wednesday

Usually the third week of the month is a bit dull for me, but I had a pretty decent haul yesturday. I picked up the following books:

Astonishing X-Men
Booster Gold
The Brave & the Bold
DC Universe: Decisions
Fables
Flash
Justice Society of America
Final Crises: Legion of Three Worlds
Final Crises: Rogues' Revenge
Trinity
Zorro

Not a bad haul at all.

I have to admit that Astonishing X-Men has been a bit on the...convoluted side, but I DO like Bianchi's artwork, so I'm sticking with it. For now. And I'm enjoying the relationship between Beast and Agent Brand. And Scott's suddenly growing a spine.

I have to say that I LOVE the cover to Booster Gold #13! It has dialogue and everything! I also have to admit that I was just a tiny bit terrified that it was going to be awful. It was Rick Remender who took over the all-new Atom from Gail Simone, and in the space of a mere two issues sapped all the joy and fun from the book. So I was apprehensive. Not to worry, there were some lovely bits throughout the book.

The Brave and the Bold continues the story from last month, teaming up Supergirl and Raven. Not exactly my cup of tea, since I can hardly think of two characters that I care LESS about, but a decent read,nevertheless.

There has been a great deal of vitriol aimed at DC Universe: Decisions. I'm going to buck that trend here, by stating that this is stupid...but fun. In fact, the further it goes, the funnier it gets, if you are looking at it in that way. Stop trying to analyze whether or not Lois would be a Republican. I've stopped taking this seriously at ALL . Plus, it has Hal's butt prominantly displayed, which is ALWAYS a good thing. I'm not quite sure that I buy the identity of the villain, but I'm eager to see what happens next.

Fables was fantastic. It always is.

Flash was interesting. I don't really mind that Wally is having to run at only the speed of sound. I've always thought that it made sense to put some limitations on the amazing things that your heroes can do, because it makes them TOO powerful. Plus it has Jay. And BEES. And Roy.

Gosh, I'm loving the Justice Society. The art is lovely as usual, and now, in addition to Gog and Magog, we have the Justice Society Infinity showing up! And other stuff as well, of course. And I just LOVED this picture...



Woohoo! You tell 'em Alan! And Ted. Of course, it WOULD be Hawkman who starts things. Stupid Hawkman!

All sorts of interesting things are being revealed in FC: Legion of Three Worlds. Keeping in mind that I usually don't give a crap about the Legion, I'm enjoying it for the stuff about the Green Lanterns. Oh, and I keep hoping that somebody will finally put Superboy Prime out of my misery.

FC: Rogues' Revenge was GREAT! I can't help it, I know that they are villains, but they are really really interesting villains. Captain Cold has this...world-weary attitude that is quite appealing. And Libra got thwarted which is always nice. Boy, Inertia is NOT a nice boy. I've never been able to stand him, so I'm quite pleased at his eventual fate. But Zoom's was QUITE a surprise.

Trinity continues to entertain me, which is nice. Of COURSE Aquaman would look different if you didn't have Superman around to compare him to.

Zorro came out, which was nice. Pretty, and a good read. It has sword-fighting!

I Still Miss Ted Kord

I'm feeling quite nostalgic. Possibly, because I was going through one of my boxes last night, and came across a big fat pile of Justice League Quarterly books. Gosh, these were fun. They were a chance for different artists and writers to come up with a story about the old JLI, that wasn't necessarily covered in the regular book. Sort of a precursor to Justice League Classified, I suppose. Every so often, DC comes up with anthology-style books that start out strong, and then seem to fizzle after a couple of years. I don't mind though, because I always enjoy them. Which reminds me, I'd KILL to have Green Lantern Corp Quarterly published again.

Anyhoo...I came across the story where Ted decides to go to his High School reunion, and, apparently terrified of his own company, manages to talk Booster, Fire and Ice going along with him. An interesting combination, because NONE of them attended High School, at least in the same manner as Ted did. His old classmates are all present, and happy as can be, just as middle-American as it is possible to be. They even show up in formal wear.



Incidentally, that's Ted. NOT Bruce Wayne. Doesn't he look gorgeous? That's the nice thing about a proper tux. You really can't screw it up. ALL men look tall dark and handsome while wearing a tuxedo. Booster has a white dinner jacket, which is also quite dashing. Tora looks nice of course, but as usual, Beatriz is pushing the envelope with a backless, and mostly frontless dress. Oh Bea.

Things are going nicely until the hotel where they are holding the Reunion is taken into space by some Aliens. Turns out that everyone in Marquette, Ill. is ACTUALLY an Alien, with the exception of Ted and his family. But that's ok, they don't hold it against him. They'd all run away from their home planet quite a few generations back, and they've quite happily assimilated as humans. Needless to say, Ted and Booster, Tora and Bea run into the bathrooms and put on their super suits, and do their best to fight the bad guys. Ted even has the wit to make a quick cellphone call for help.

Who does he call? Guy of course. He doesn't call Batman, or J'onn or Oberon. He calls Guy. Guy is naturally enough a bit skeptical at first, but once he gets it through his head that Ice is involved, he rustles up the cavalry and comes a'runnin'.

Ted manages to save the day through quick thinking, and they all defeat the nasty old aliens, and the NICE aliens are taken back to Earth,and everyone heads to the buffet. Ted's old buddies are quite eager to forget all about his secret identity, if he does the same for them. A little quid pro quo as it where. It is kind of a silly story, but a fun one nevertheless, and the artwork by Edward Barreto is excellent.

And gosh darn it, he draws an AWFULLY pretty Ted.

Oh for Heaven's Sake!

I am not having a good day. My sinuses are clogged, and there is an annoying tickle in my throat. These are not good signs. Furthermore, when I got up this morning, I managed to put my shirt on INSIDE OUT, and didn't notice it for several hours. Nobody ELSE noticed it either, or else they were too polite to mention it. This is shaping up to be One Of Those Days.

So naturally, I started to think about Ralph and Sue Dibny.

Seriously, that has to be the most awkward segue ever. But I can't help but miss old Ralph. I know that apparently they are "back" in ghost form, having shown up most recently in some issues of the Outsiders, taking posession of various characters bodies, and having their way with them. But it still isn't the same. I was putting some of my books away last night, and stumbled across a number of old Justice League International books, with their depiction of Ralph and Sue, Wally, Peej, Peej's cat, and Captain Atom. And they were a hoot. Not quite as much fun as the regular Justice League, but they certainly had their charms. You can't really say that many current books fall into the "charming" category.



Heh. It...it's just so CUTE! And it makes fun of Batman, which is always a bonus in my book.

Also...



The looks of horror and disgust on Ted and Wally's face is just perfect. You have to admit that if I saw a man doing that with his nose, I'd be grossed out as well. But somehow, Ralph managed to carry it off. There are also not too many men who can wear purple.

I guess I miss Ralph and Sue the most, as the Nick and Nora Charles of the DC Universe. I've actually watched a number of those old black and white movies (my sister has a ton of them) and they are just so...charming. There's that word again. Ralph and Sue had STYLE. They also seemed to have an awful lot of fun being married to one another, which was rather unnusual in the normal state of affairs in a comicbook universe. So naturally, they're dead. Horribly.

*sigh*

I wonder if they are going to show up in the Darkest Night story? That could be interesting. Whatever happens, I just hope that they aren't forgotten, and that they, along with Ted, J'onn, Dmitri and Max manage to make their triumphant return. They can even use magic to explain it, I won't mind.

Just Another Monday

Another shiny fresh new week, is staring me in the face, and I don't have a CLUE! It's Columbus Day, which is nice. The leaves are turning color on the trees, here in New England, the air is crisp, and it's nice to have a fire in the fireplace in the evenings. All of this is just fine, but still, I am sitting here staring in desperation at my computer screen,and trying hard to think about comics.

I can't beat up Hal, because I've done that waaaaay to much lately. I can't even beat up Batman. Somehow smacking around...say Booster Gold for a week, lacks that certain something. I mean, I could DO it, but it wouldn't be as satisfying.

I suppose that I could talk about Guy and Ice, but I've rather analyzed that topic to death lately. Plus, you all might start to wonder if I have a fixation or something. There aren't any memes going around, so I don't have an easy topic. Dammit, writing something witty every day is HARD!



Howard Chaykin still has the ability to crack me up sometimes. Except for Guy Gardner: Collateral Damage, which was an abomination. But this? This is a hoot.

A hoot and a HALF!

Green Lantern #35

And we come to the conclusion of Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis Secret Origin for Hal Jordan. I must say, that they have done a superlative job of it. I liked making Hector Hammond a part of it all, I liked seeing a young and callow Hal training on Oa, and I really liked Sinestro. That last phrase is something I never thought I would say, as I've always thought that Sinestro was the quintessential villain. He's still an egotist, arrogant and elitist, but by God, he's a sympathetic egotist! It is also a little uncomfortable to realize just how much he and Hal have in common.

Well, the boys have managed to capture Atrocitus, but apparently in working together they have violated a rule of the Guardians and are hauled back to Oa, to answer for themselves. Sinestro...rather wisely tells Hal to shut up and let him do the talking. The Guardians are pleased enough that they have recaptured Atrocitus, but being a bit on the anal side, keep harping on the fact that it took the two of them to do this. And blah blah blah, about how Lanterns have to fend for themselves. Bless his heart, Hal ups and asks "Why?"

The Guardians, never having had this asked of them, are stumped. And no doubt a bit shocked that this uppity Earthman is actually arguing with them. They mouth a few more platitudes, and again, Hal asks "Why?"

Heh heh.

Then of course, Hal being Hal, he just can't help but bring up the whole story of the Manhunters and the massacree in sector 666. The Guardians, naturally don't like this. Then Hal has the nerve to tell them that while they expect the Lanterns to be without fear, they certainly seem to be fearful themselves. This REALLY pisses the little blue munchkins off, and even Sinestro is getting nervous. But Hal is certainly the boy who has realized that the Emperer has no clothes, and he's relentless in pointing out their hypocrisy. The rings don't work on yellow? Why? The buildings on Oa are all yellow for that very reason, and that territorial edict is @#$%^!! I love the part where the ring can't translate Hal's explitives.

The Guardians are having hissy fits and are THIS close to kicking Hal out of the Corps. Hearing the truth hurts apparently. Then Sinestro steps up and outs Ganthet, telling them that he was ordered by one of them to go and help Hal in the first place. This gets their attention off of Hal and onto the idea of which one of them is doing this. So, they let the two of them go, but make Sinestro responsible for Hal's shenanigans.

What is interesting is that quite a number of the other Lanterns are portrayed as listening to Hal's little rant. However much they may be indoctrinated by the Guardians, it has to ring a certain chord with each of them. Later of course, Hal is still trying to prove that he could beat the yellow weakness, without any success. Tomar Re believes him,which surprises Sinestro.

Oh Hal, you're like that cool kid that moved into the new school.

Hal does fly back to Earth, and is overjoyed at being able to fly again, although Tom can't quite understand why he wants to fly a PLANE, when he can fly on his own. He has fixed up the old plane that Hal's dad took him up in, which is rather sweet. Carol wanders over and Hal immediately goes into wolf mode. This is at least ONE part of the old Silver Age Hal that Geoff Johns has kept...if there is one thing that Hal Jordan enjoys, it's a chase.

We have a brief visit with Hector Hammond,who is getting weirder and weirder, and Black Hand, who is also getting stranger. Sinestro returns Atrocitus to Ysmault and gets a bellyfull of more personal prophecies. Finally, Hal meets up with Jim at their parent's graves, and decides that perhaps it is time that he shared something of himself with his brother.

I know that some people didn't understand why Johns decided to devote seven issues to Hal's origin, when it is something that practically everyone is already familiar with. I think that it was necessary, because it sets up SO many plot points for the upcoming Blackest Night saga, from Hector Hammond and Black Hand's own origins and their subsequent relationships with Hal, to Sinestro's fall. There has also been a fair amount of kvetching over having the Guardians portrayed as they look in the present. If you look closely however, it is pretty obvious that at this stage, ALL of the Guardians are still male. They may be bald, in the manner in which the female Guardians are currently presented, but none of them have comic book breasts. And, as we all know, it is simply inpossible for a female character to be drawn without double D cups. So everyone can calm down.

Green Lantern Corps #29

Look! It's Guy and Tora! Oh, and some other stuff happens too.



As we begin our tale, the Guardians are cranky. Well, to be honest, just ONE of the Guardians is cranky, and that is our own little scarred whacked-out-of-her-doodle Guardian. The Zamarons have been busy lately, working on their own powers and creating their own purple/pink crystaline power battery, and the scarred Guardian thinks that they are just FLAUNTING their intentions in her face. The scarred Guardian, in my humble opinion, needs to put on some nice soothing music and take a bubble bath.

We then turn to Kered and Miri, a charming young couple who are on their honeymoon, and just gushing to each other about how happy they both are, and will remain for the rest of their lives. Oh...you know this won't end well. And of course it doesn't as their ship is attacked by a ravenous Mongul. Turns out that Mongul is really really really hungry, and eats all of their food. That's all he was really after, and flippantly cracking the space helmet of Kered is just his happy way of saying thanks for the grub. He burbs and leaves poor Miri holding the body of Kered in her arms.

Meanwhile, Mattoo, his pregnant wife and KT21 are searching throughout Sector 1114 along with Kyle and Natu for the renegade Sinestro Corps member Kryb. You remember Kryb, she's the one who had that cage on her back and imprisoned the babies of slaughtered Green Lanterns. The Lanterns feel that she may be the one behind the recent massacre of the Rookie Green Lantern's families,and NONE of them can feel at ease knowing that she's still out there lurking and targetting Lantern relatives. Which of course ties into the whole love theme.

And of course, we have Guy and Tora having a romantic dinner together in a cool green space bubble just outside of Oa.



Guy's been pouring the wine and plying Tora with appetizers. He's also trying...in his own inimitable way...to ask her something. Tora is all interested and encouraging, leaning forward and holding his hand...and then he blurts out the bit about "cohabitate". You can just see the disappointment in Tora's face. I think that she was hoping for a little bit of "...come live with me and be my love, and we shall all the pleasures prove..." instead of ..."cohabitate". She even asks him "like Lovers do?"

Oh Guy.




At least he's bright enough to realize that his big pronouncement is going over with a thud. A palpable thud. And really, who can blame her? He's about as romantic as a chain saw. Tora gently tries to explain her feelings and as usual, he only hears what he wants to hear.



It's actually rather nice to see that Tora has managed to grow a backbone during the time that she was dead, because she doesn't let him walk all over her. I love the bit where she freezes the table. However, emotionally,things seem to be at something of an impasse.

Two days later, on the Mongul-ravaged ship, Miri is about to lose her life-support and join her dead lover, when who should show up but the Zamarons! They tell her that her love is pure and intense and can be used for a greater purpose, so of course she puts on the ring. She's encased in crystal, and the transformation actually seems to be quite painful.



Cool, eh? Bless his little heart, Pat Gleason put her in the old-fashioned Star Sapphire costume instead of the Ivan Reis one. I actually quite like her little helmet/hat thingie, it's rather retro. she has interesting ears too.

Saarek in the meantime is still wandering around trying to find the dead Anti-monitor as the scarred Guardian asked him to do. The scarred Guardian is up to all KINDS of shenanigans!

Guy has come to see Tora off, as she needs to go home. He's still pouting of course. We do get to meet Symon Terrynce, her escort, and a rather chatty fellow. With his usual incredible sense of timing, Salaak sends Guy a message.



Awwwwww...!

Finally, Guy storms off to meet with the Guardians, who have also summoned Arisia and Yat. Turns out that they are all going on a diplomatic mission to Zamaron, and they want the threeof them as escorts. Oh...THIS will be interesting!

I've already read this a number of times, because I was so interested in the Guy/Tora interaction. On the face of it, it looks as though he asks Tora to shack up with him, she declines, and he gets pissy, then she gets pissy, and that's that. Except of course, that I don't remotely think that that is that.

Let me just say, that my initial sympathies are completely with Tora. It's pretty obvious that she thinks he's going to propose, and instead she gets him stammering and fumbling around. In a way, it is almost identical to the way that he acted when he was supposed to go in front of the Guardians waaaay back when and ask them to let G'nort into the Corp. Guy loves Tora, but he is just having so much trouble SAYING it.

Then she sighs and looks down, and he picks up on that at least. Of course Tora then makes the mistake of mentioning Bea, and Guy immediately picks up on that and starts having a tantrum. He falls so easily into those old ways of behavior, because in a way, I think that it is comforting for him to act and feel that way. It's just easier to throw a hissy fit instead of actually listening to what Tora is saying, and having to work things out.

Let's not forget that practically the first thing that Guy did, after finding out that Tora was alive, was to run off to Oa. Then he starts pining for her and their first date. She makes a HUGE step in their relationship, by figuring out how the heck to get herself to Oa for a visit, and he's delighted...at first. I think that Guy loves Tora, and vice versa. I also think that Guy is AFRAID. The whole theme of the past couple of issues has been the targeting of Green Lantern families. The theme of the current issue is the power of love. It is possible that Guy wants Tora, but is also terrified that something is going to happen to her, so he's simultaneously pulling her forward and pushing her away. Tora can't help but be confused by his behavior, but she's handling it remarkably well. I love the part where he asks her finally where it leaves them, and she answers gently, "...wherever we want it to, Guy." She's not slamming the door on the two of them, she's leaving it wide open.

If you notice, Tora is the one who took the initiative to figure out how to find a way to get to Oa, she's the one who is touching him, and being open. He's the one who is standing there, shuffling his feet and having his arms crossed or his hands in his pockets and pouting.

I can hardly wait to see where this all goes.

Oh, the Giddiness of it All

Oh...My! That was a very very nice Wednesday! Some absolutely spectacular books came out, and I'm just wallowing in the comicy goodness of it all.

Firstly,

Action Comics #870...was AMAZING! Let me just explain, that I only started picking this up quite recently, when Geoff Johns came on as the writer, as a matter of fact, and the start of the Brainiac story arc. While I've always liked Superman, I thought he was a little on the dull side. But, along with Morrison and Quietly's All-Star Superman, Action Comics has been a fascinating take on the story and character of Superman.

Imprisoned on Brainiac's ship, Superman manages to defeat him, rescue Metropolis AND Kandor, gets Supergirl to save the earth, and then in his moment of greatest triumph, suffers a devastating loss. In saving Martha, Jonathan Kent suffers a fatal heart attack, and Clark, rapt with delight before the revived city of Kandor, doesn't at first hear his Mother's cry for help. He does eventually, and the artwork as he flies desperately to her aideis gorgeous, but he's too late,and I'm sure that will be something that haunts him. Beautiful artwork by Gary Frank, and an excellent story. The look on Brainiac's face as he lands in the swamp is just perfect.

Final Crises: Revelations, Part 3...This was...ok. All tying into the Final Crises story, and Spectre is having problems, and Mercy is having problems, and Lord knows, that the Question is having problems.

Green Arrow/Black Canary....Awwww...this was actually kind've cute. Mia and Dodger ostensibly go out on patrol, but they're really doing the town...much to Dinah's amusement and Ollie's consternation. Mia confesses that she's HIV positive, and Dodger takes it like a gentleman. Connor wanders in, shirtless,which is a bonus, and begins eating chili, forgetting that he's a Buddhist/Archer/Vegetarian. Being stabbed in the foot with a knife also doesn't seem to bother him. That was a heck of a knife that was in the bread, and that later fell into Connor's foot, by the way. You don't USE Butcher knives to cut bread, a serrated one would have been much better. I didn't hate Winick this week, and the art was cute.

Green Lantern #35...Oh yeah! I'll get to this later.

Green Lantern Corps #29...Oh HELL YEAH! I'll get to this later as well.

Secret Six #2...And the love continues. I hardly know where to start, I'm just gushing with delight over this book. Catman fights Batman! And does a pretty damned good job! Meanwhile, while he's distracting the Bat, the rest of their motly crew breaks into Alcatraz, and extracts a highly reluctant Tarantula from custody. Quips and fists are flying. Who knew that Batman likes burritos? And the Villain of the piece, makes an exTREMEly villainy speech. The dialogue is snappy, the artwork is gorgeous, and I just enjoy the HECK out of this book.

Trinity #19...Dagnabit, this book just keeps getting better and better. They are now exploring the ramifications of a world without the big three, and the implications are quite interesting. Plus Alfred shows up, and things are hinted at, and...and it's just GOOD! The backup story is fun too, Firestorm shows up and doesn't understand how things are so altered.

Wonder Woman #25...The Queen of Fables is SUCH a perfect villain for Wonder Woman, and it certainly is nice to see a different bad guy/girl than Circe for a change. The "filming" of the Wonder Woman movie is going on throughout their battle, and the comments and thoughts of Diana throughout the whole debacle are just priceless. Seriously, I snickered my way through the whole book. Plus the ending, with Diana bringing the little bracers for the two little girls was adorable. I love Gail Simone.

Lone Ranger #14...this comes out on a rather erratic schedule, and it isn't too long, but what the heck. The art is purdy, and it's a Western, dadgummit. I love Westerns.

I also finally got the second part of the Two-Face: Year One series, and it was really very good. Nice art, and the sepia tones of the coloring gave it an old-fashioned look.

I hope that everyone enjoyed their comics this week!

Great Galloping Hornytoads...It's Wednesday!

I love Wednesdays. I love them even when there has been a holiday and the delivery of the books has been delayed a day. It is like having Christmas Eve EVERY WEEK! And here it is Wednesday again, on a crisp October day, with a burning blue sky, and the leaves all turning color, and fresh apple cider. Summer is nice enough, but by GOD, I love Autumn.

This Wednesday is a particularly good one. We have both Green Lantern and the Green Lantern Corp coming out ON THE SAME DAY! I think that I've died and gone to little green Heaven. No Booster Gold, but I suppose that you can't have everything.

This is the one afternoon a week, that you do NOT want to call me. I get my books at my beloved local Comic Book Store, and wallow in the warm and fuzzy feelings of actual Nerd contact. I come home, and tenderly put my books on the table next to the couch, and make lunch, and brew some tea, and put on some good music, and spend the rest of the afternoon basking in the glow.

Wars may be declared, financial crises may come and go, but I ignore it all. And as my children have come to know, you DAMNED better not fall off of a skateboard and break your arm on a Wednesday, because I'll be seriously pissed! And it's gonna be pizza for dinner, because you really can't expect me to cook on Wednesday night.

Hmmmm...some of the cantankerousness from being Internet deprived for a whole day seems to have lingered. I can't be cantankerous today...it's Wednesday!

And just for fun...



This sort of relates to Bash Batman week. I don't think that Alfred has ever actually bashed Batman, but you really have to feel for the poor man. After dealing with twelve tons of bat guano on a monthly basis, you just KNOW that he wants to give ol' Bruce a big smack in the backof the head.

Personally, I'm pretty sure that the sale and refinement of all that batshit is one of the mainstays of Bruce's fortune. There's good money in manure!

Well THAT was Unfortunate

I apologize for not blogging yesturday, but my fershlugginer computer decided to go belly-up, and I was having hysterics all over the place. All the teenagers decided to be selfish and go off school! The nerve! Fortunately, I had a cunning plan. We do have a back-up computer thingie, so I plopped that one on the desk, and with a lot of brow-furrowing, I figured out how to put the plugs and wires and thingies on the back of the busted one, into the one that is NOT so busted. And it worked!

Sort of. It wouldn't let me connect to the Internet, which made me cry. So I went off and actually worked around the house for a while, went to the bank, shopped and boring stuff like that. But my heart was heavy. Then I finally managed to get ahold of the oldest daughter who actually worked in the IT department of her college, and asked her in a quavering tone what the fuck I was going to do?

Push this button, and do this, she said...and lo and behold...it worked! Woohoo! My blogging hand has stopped quivering and my bloodpressure has dropped back into its slothlike normal state. But it was a close call. Thank GOD, we bought the insurance on these things, so the Geek Squad will fix it up good as new. But this does seem to be happening with dull regularity, and it is annoying.

When did we become so darned dependant upon this phenomenom we call "blogging"? Is anyone else in the same pitiful state of mind when denied access to his or her drug of choice? I don't think that I've ever taken anything much stronger than aspirin in my life (except for that one joyful experience with Sodium Pentathol during a minor operation) but I'm actually beginning to have a tiny smidgeon of sympathy for addicts. I didn't start shaking or experienced any actual physical symptoms, but I WAS extremely...pissy.

So anyway, the crises has been averted, the sun is shining and new comics are coming out tomorrow.

And So we come to the End of Bat Bashing

Well, it's been a fun week, and we've had some lovely entries, but all good things must end, or so we've been told.

I WAS going to reuse that lovely Ethan Van Scriver picture of Hal punching out Bats while Guy looks on in UTTER delight, but I just used that very recently, and besides, it is sort of the obvious joke. Which isn't to say that it isn't one of my VERY favorite scans.

Instead I went with this.



Yes, I've also used this one before. But I LIKE it. It is just so...so incongrous. And even a little absurd. But I just enjoy it more when Batman isn't taken down by some huge, complicated, drawn-out post-apocalyptic plan, and simply gets hit from hehind with a stuffed bear head.

Still Bashing.

Boy, once I get my teeth into something, it's hard to let go. Plus it is just fun.

Now THIS one, is more of an...anticipation sort of thing. Nothing has happened...yet. But you just know that it is GOING to happen.



I just love Roy's whole " 'ain't I a stinker?" attitude here. I'm not quite sure what sort of arrow that he's using, but I'm pretty sure that the end result is going to be either smelly or sticky, and HIGHLY embarrassing for Batman.

Still Merrily Bashing Away

You know, it is a LOT harder to find images of Batman being whacked than Hal. I don't think that I ever truly appreciated the sheer magnitude of pictures of Halsmacking out there, until I tried looking for Batbonking.

However...I think that you'll all agree that THIS is something rather out of the ordinary!



Why...I almost expect to see Wonder Woman trussed up there instead of Batman. This just conjures up all sorts of subtext!

Bashing Batman is JUST so much Fun!

And so it continues.

While it may be an awful lot of fun to hit Batman over the head, or go burrowing into his groin (see Sea of Green's latest!) sometimes it is even MORE fun to mess with him in a more subtle fashion. A psychological attack can be one of the most devastating after all.

Here, we have a villain who obviously knows how to hit Batman where it hurts.