Hal Pictures Green Lantern Butt's FOREVER!: December 2010

Green Lantern Butt's FOREVER!

Now with Guy Gardner's Seal of Approval!

Friday, December 31, 2010

Green Lantern #61

Well! That's a very nice picture of Hal on the cover of this issue, but actually, that's about the only place that he shows up, so enjoy it. I was rather hoping for a butt shot, but I suppose that one can't have everything.

Nevertheless, I have to say that I didn't particularly miss him. This is mainly a story about Atrocitus, the Spectre, and the Rage Entity, and it just rolls along very nicely.

Atrocitus really really doesn't like Earth very much. But he does appreciate that there is a lot of rage floating about. He's drawn to an execution of a particularly nasty criminal, who is getting his jollies by taunting the father of his victim, even as they strap him down for the needle. This...turns out to be a rather poor move on his part, as the poor Father is filled with Rage...and the Butcher shows up.

Well crap!

And then of course, hot on his heels, is the Spectre, AND Atrocitus! The Father is promptly possessed, and the criminal gets his. Atrocitus and the Spectre have a rather unexpectedly civil philosophical exchange, and we learn still more about Atrocitus's past. As nasty as he can be, you do have to feel a bit of sympathy for him. Oddly enough, the Spectre backs down and agrees that his vendetta against Krona is righteous... at least for now.

It's nicely done. And as usual, Doug Mahnke does a spectacular job. His version of the possessed Rage Entity is scary as heck. I did have to do a double take at that particular page however, which shows the Butcher in all of his red hatey glory...which is directly next to an in-house ad by DC for various prizes, showing Superman, Aquaman, Santa and the GOOD Dr. Light, and somehow the red energy from Mahnke's drawing flows so perfectly across the pages that for a couple of seconds it all looked like One Picture! Why, I wondered, was the Butcher angry at Santa?
Then my eyes snapped back into focus.

Things are really starting to move along nicely, with the build-up coming to the War of the Green Lanterns in a couple of months. I can hardly wait.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

And Onto Reviews

Gosh, but months with five weeks can be interesting. We ended up with a second Green Lantern issue this month! You just can't beat that. But the rest of the week wasn't too shabby either.

Flash #8. Barry doesn't even show up in this, except very peripherally. It's mostly about none other than the ineffable Eobard Thawne, and his trials and tribulations in trying to become the 25th century's very own Flash. History is...oddly fluid around young Mr. Thawne. He's also something of a cranky-pants, but dagnabit, I liked this.

Gotham City Sirens #18. And I liked this as well. Talia and Zatanna had teamed up...sort of...in order to "protect" Batman's identity, by doing a little mindwipe of Catwoman. Zatanna was torn about this, but was reluctantly convinced that it was for the greater good. Ivy was crabby, because she found out that Selina actually knows Bat's true identity and felt that it should be revealed, 'cuz Girlzzz Rock, or something of that nature. Harley, bless her little heart, was trying to convince Ivy that Selina was in love with Batman, so she couldn't reveal his identity. I rather like Harley.

Then it turns out that the whole thing is just a plot by Talia, so that Selina will forget all about Batman and their love, and She'll Have Him All To Herself! Bwhahahahaha! Fortunately, tiptoeing through Selina's memories, is what causes Zatanna to figure this all out. Pretty darned good.

Green Arrow #7. This is growing on me. I wasn't too sure about the whole idea at first, but I'm coming around. The art by Mike Mayhew, is very painterly, and rather gorgeous. Strange things are still a'brewing in the mystical Forest, and who is that pretty glowing lady on the cover? Why it's Ollie's dear old Mum. She and his no-good Dad were eaten by lions...right in front of him. Batman's parents were just SHOT! Being eaten by lions is pretty disgusting, all things considered.

Anyway, she basically shows up in order to tell Ollie to cut it out with all of the self-loathing, and being eaten by lions wasn't his fault. It's not like they took a shortcut through a crime-ridden alley or anything. So what the heck, I liked this too.

Green Lantern #61. Oh, the plot is thickening. Thickening nicely.

Jack of Fables #49. I had pretty much lost interest in this offshoot of Fables, but what the heck...I'm a sucker for a cute little blue ox on the cover. Plus, I do believe that is all going to be coming to a head with the next issue anyway, so this wasn't too bad, all things considered. The Page sisters show up, and all of the rest of the bunch from the diner, not to mention the original Jack and Gary. It should be interesting.

Justice Society of America #46. Why am I still getting this? It wasn't quite as horrible as last month, mainly because there is a LOT of Jay running around in it, but it still isn't floating my boat. Obsidian shows up, but he's cranky as usual, and the mayor is being threatened, and there is a bad guy named Doctor Chaos, and Alan is paralyzed which is ridiculous, and a few other things are going on, in the new city that is in ruins...and I Don't Care.

Meh.

But hey, five out of six ain't that bad.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Computing is Hard!

Hoohah! I am going to get this whole computer thing DOWN! At least someday. I recently switched to Firefox, which was traumatic enough, since it has Bookmarks instead of Favorites. But I figured out how to get all of my favorite sites saved all over again. I even figured out how to line it up on the side of the screen, where it is nice and handy, although it took a week, and a few questions to the resident comptuter genius at work.

But over Christmas, the boys accidentally erased the bar at the top that has all the file, edit, view and tool functions and other interesting stuff. I was going INSANE, but I finally figured out how to get those back too. It's been hard since the last teenager moved out.

Not that it matters. I hear that there is something called Tumbler? Is this related to Twitter? Am I being left behind in the great electronics revolution...again? On the plus side, I DID find my Ipod.

But enough of this...it is Wednesday,and the books are out. REAL books. Printed on paper. That don't need to be plugged in, or charged up, and if something goes awry, you actually still have them in your hot little hands. I am such a Luddite.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

About Ganthet And Guy

I've been thinking again, about the whole alliance that Ganthet and Guy have going with Atrocitus, and how that is going to play out during the upcoming War of the Green Lanterns in a few months. They've both been "outed" so to speak this month in their respective books, and we are all waiting with bated breath, to see how their various Green Lantern brethren will react.

I have to admit that I find Atrocitus's method of keeping an eye on the two to be a bit...disgusting. Really, giant bloody hairballs? He's been hanging out with Dex-Starr too much! Still...it is effective, if a bit revolting. I don't imagine that it tastes particularly good either.

But anyway, I'm not that sure that their various buddies are going to be recoiling in horror. And why should they? Ganthet has always been the smartest of the Guardians, and he's certainly the only one that is in the trenches getting his hands dirty with the rest of the Lanterns, so I don't think that they are going to hold that against him. Guy has always had a pragmatic streak in him as well. It seems as though his visions are a direct result of getting the Red Ring, since the gift of prophecy seems to come from Atrocitus and the rest of the Inversions. How much of the prophecies are TRUE, and how much can be twisted is another story. But I think that Ganthet is right to take Guy's problem seriously, and it was probably smart on Guy's part to take it to Ganthet, as opposed to running to the Guardians. They don't seem to handle adversity well.

I also don't think that what Guy and Ganthet are doing, having an alliance with Atrocitus, to find a Very Real Threat to the Battery is any worse than what Hal is up to on Earth. Salaak certainly seems to be having his doubts, since he's planning on planting a mole to keep watch. Hal hasn't been particularly forthcoming to anyone lately. The rest of the Justice League is a bit perplexed, and they probaby should be. Here's Hal, hanging out with the likes of Sinestro, for Pete's Sake! Not to mention Atrocitus himself. He's also got Larfleeze running around creating a certain amount of mayhem, and even the more benevolent aspects such as Hope is creating some problems. Carol seems to be hanging out on Zamaron, so she's not creating a problem, although I imagine that she's about to have Hawkwoman's Mother in her hair.

Hal and his new buddies are all searching for the various Entities...which is all fine and good, except that now he's attracted the attention of the Keeper, who turns out to be Krona of all people, and now HE'S on Earth too. Hal's right in the middle of a Really Big Potential Problem...and he's got nobody to blame but himself.

So...whose side would YOU be on in the upcoming War? I know that I'm sticking with Ganthet and Guy. Hal may be pretty and charming and all of that, but he's way too much of a lose cannon for me. And probably for the Guardians. But I have to admit that I would be thrilled to pieces if Sinestro ends up as a Green Lantern again. Probably he would consider it a demotion though. Still...it would be interesting.

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It looks as though it is going to be...epic.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Urrrghh

I hope that everyone had a lovely holiday. I know that I did. In fact, I'm so full of wassail and turkey and two dozen kinds of cookies that I can barely move. I'm not going to the mall, that's for sure. I have to pick up all of the wrapping paper and empty boxes and other detritus that is littering the entire house. But...it was worth it.

I did find something that is insanely pretty on the DC Source place. Apparently this is a variant cover...and I'm smitten.

heroic guy

So...so very very pretty.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Almost To the Finish Line!

Well, the Wassail is simmering on the stove, the fourth batch of fudge is cooling in the fridge, and cookies litter the top of the counters in my kitchen. It's Christmas Eve, and we are almost ready for the main event.

The presents are baked, and wrapped and under the tree. Kids are home from college. My Sweet Babboo and my son are out in the driveway putting the snow tires on his car and swearing up a storm. It's Christmas!

Holiday

And in honor of the holiday, there is nothing like Bashing Batman! It's even MORE fun than Whacking a Green Lantern!

I hope that all of your own holidays are equally jolly!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Reviews!

This was something of an odd week. But certainly an interesting week.

Batman Inc. #2. I can't believe that I've been sucked into buying Batman books, but this is pretty darned decent. Bats and Catwoman scamper off to Japan to try and spread the franchise. Their first choice has been murdered, but he was just the Brains of the operation...the Brawn is still kicking and raring to go. I do have to say that the new villain Death man does really seem to enjoy his work.

The art is very nice, and the story just zips along, so it's definitely a good read.

Green Lantern Corps #55. Ooh, and the plot continues to thicken!

Justice League: Generation Lost#16. Max's hold on various people is starting to slip, as Power Girl and Batman keep trying to figure things out. Max manages to reassert himself, but it seems to be getting a little harder each time...or perhaps that's wishful thinking on my part.

Fire is just about to die from her gutshot wound, while Ice scrabbles around trying to stanch the blood. Meanwhile the Creature Commandos are busy wiping up the floor with the rest of our heroes, who unfortunately BECAUSE they're heroes, can't fight back at full strength because they don't want to hurt anyone. Man, mind control just sucks. Beetle is smart enough to realize that the mummy guy can regenerate the wounded, and flies him off to help Fire...and it works! Too bad that Max busts in and teleports out with Beetle, which isn't nice of him at all.

I...I am worried about Jaime.

Justice League of America #52. The new JLA continues to be trapped within the dome which is apparently of Jade's making, stuck with not only the Omega Man, but the Crime Syndicate of America. Supergirl has turned evil, and they are running out of options quickly. The rest of the Crime bunch decides to throw their lot in with the JLA, with the exception of Ultraman, whose deceit even disgusts his own team mates. Man he's evil! The story zips along nicely, and it's even interesting, so not bad...not bad at all.

Green Lantern Larfleeze; Christmas Special

I must admit that this was my absolute favorite of the week. Poor Larfleeze wakes up on Christmas morning, all ready to count all of his presents, when he discovers to his dismay that Santa has NOT come down the chimney! A chimney that was Specially Built Just For The Occasion! Nor did he eat his cookies...a recipe for which appears. And the appear to be quite delicious! Horrified by this betrayal, Larfleeze naturally enough goes in search of Santa Claus, but keeps striking out with Mall Santas. He's starting to get frantic when some random kid tells him that Santa lives at the North Pole. And there is an adorable Maze, so that you too can participate. It's just like a paper placemat at Stuckey's!

Too bad he strikes out again. And then Hal shows up, as you knew that he would. With a bit more patience than I would have expected, Hal tries to tell Larfleeze that Santa isn't real, and that Christmas is about more than presents. Larfleeze isn't buying, and really, who can blame him? Eventually, they end up back at Larfleeze's house, where, he does seem to grasp the concept of Christmas Spirit after all.

This is great! There is also a Larfleeze ornament to make, a pinup of Hal, Guy and John that's super, and a two page mini-comic from the guys who do Tiny Titans that is simply wonderful...and hilarious.

Is this a silly book? Certainly. Is it absolutely necessary for you to have? Oh definitly.

DC Universe: Legacies #8. This series started out so nicely. I'm still getting it, in the hopes that Guy will show up sooner or later, but I've pretty much lost interest in the cop and his family. It's nice to see a quick history lesson, but that's about it. There is a second story at the back by Len Wein and Frank Quietly that portrays Orion and Darkseid, that's pretty great though.

Power Girl #19. This is the first time that I've picked up Power Girl since Judd Winick took over, and I only did because of the rest of the JLI on the cover. It is more of the same plot that was covered in the Generations Lost book, with Power Girl coming to remember Max, and her doubts and attempts to convince the rest of the heroes that she's not nuts. Dick as Batman is backing her up, because he remembers too. Until they suddenly don't remember anymore. But she ends up meeting Professor Ivo, and things start to get weird. It's not bad certainly and the art is pretty, but it's no Amanda Conner. But as an addendum to the JLI:GL book, it's not bad.

Wonder Woman #605. Why the hell am I still getting this? I don't really enjoy it, so I suppose it's habit. I keep hoping that it will all be resolved soon, but I think I'm cutting this book lose. I know that this is an alternatve Diana, but she doesn't sound right, and she doesn't act right, and I find it tedious.

Bleh.

Thank goodness this year, we don't have the dearth of comics between Christmas and New Year's like LAST year. That was brutal. So enjoy your comics, and try to get through the crowds to obtain them!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

'Tis' the Season...!

Holy crap, but the roads were jammed packed today on the way to my beloved Comic Book Store. It isn't IN a mall, but it's fairly near a couple of them, so the last minute shoppers were out in droves. DROVES, I tells ya!

Thank goodness my shopping is done. And my baking. In fact, I am sitting here, with a cup of eggnog and a plateful of homemade fudge, feeling quite smug. Part of that is because I made Matt, my equally beloved Comic Book Store Proprietor, his customary Christmas goodies. In return I got a nice porcelain bust of Thor, which was awfully nice of him.

And the moral of the story is, be KIND to your Comic Book Store People. They too appreciate fudge.

Holiday

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

I Find the Oddest Things!

Today at work, I was putting the invoices in numerical order from one of the stores, and happened upon one for a Hal Gardner. Needless to say I did a double-take, and started grinning like a loon. My brain does go to strange and peculiar places sometimes.

Now all I can think of, is that here's PROOF, that Tora and Guy get married, and name their first-born after Hal. AND name him as Godfather. Which would freak him out completely. Hal and babies Do Not Mix. But it would certainly be funny.

You know who else doesn't mix well with babies?

Batman

Yeah, yeah, I've posted this before, but it still makes me laugh, so there.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Let Me Just Take a Moment...

...To congratulate the University of Connecticut's Womens Basketball Team for their recent victory in Madison Square Garden, their mindboggling feat of tying the 88 games won in a row set by UCLA way back in the day.

Woooohooooooooo!

I am a UConn graduate, so please pardon my enthusiasm. And after the Hartford Whalers left town some years back, College Basketball was All That We Had. So I'm a bit excited, along with the REST of Connecticut. I understand if the rest of you have never heard of us.

What I do find hilarious is all the complaining, that what the Women team has done is in no comparible to the original Mens team from UCLA. Even though it IS College Basketball that we are discussing. But heck...they're just Girls.

Well pooh. They're FABULOUS Girls!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #5

Gosh, that's a lot of blood spewing there! Guy must be developing a SEVERE iron deficiency by now. Anyway...on to the newest issue! And it's a doozy. As you all recall, our intrepid quartet was jumped by a bunch of rookie Green Lanterns, all being controlled by the nefarious Zsrdor guy. They've managed to get the drop on our boys and girls, much to their chagrin. The Rookies seem to be convinced that they have actually captured some Sinestro Corp members and are all hot and bothered about getting to execute them. Naturally, Guy, Kilowog, Arisia and even Bleez aren't going to take this without a fight, and since they are the veterans, they manage quite nicely.

Bleez starts barfing blood, which although crude, turns out to be quite effective, even though Kilowog is seriously disturbed. Guy however, figures out that pain seems to distract the Rookies from their programming, and that it is possible to show them the truth. Naturally, they start just whaling on them, which is painful, but effective. Brought back to their senses, the poor Rookies are highly confused, but thankfully back in their right minds. Our heroes are about to get them back to Oa, when Zardor...who is a poor loser apparently...decides that he's not going to have any of THAT, and convinces them all to Blow Their Own Brains Out.

Yuck!

Guy immediately takes off after one of the rings, which naturally is flying off to find a new recruit. Kilowog on the other hand, is just stunned and horrified. He's been having a bit of a hard time of it lately, after all the GL's that were lost during the late troubles with Nekron, which is why he gave up being the trainer. Arisia is doing her best to comfort him, but I can foresee that Kilowog is going to be having some troubles in the future no doubt. Poor Kilowog. Bleez just seems to hover in the background slavering to herself, but that's what she's there for.

Guy is successful in catching a ring, and using his Honor Guard status, inputs an override code...Mace00l...to retrieve and index the dead Lantern's last locations and actions. Heh. Mace! He used his dead big brother's name for his code! I love it. The ring complies, and then asks if it can go and find a new Rookie, which is polite of it.

So...they now have a location. Arisia is still worried about Kilowog's state of mind, as they all head off to the planet Kralok, when Guy starts bleeding from the mouth, and then just barfs up a HUGE ball of blood. Man, they are having a crappy day! Kilowog and Arisia are horrified, Bleez is delighted, and Guy is just resigned to the fact that it's all coming out now. And lo, a bloody spectre of Atrocitus rises from the blood ball and demands that Guy and Ganthet stop screwing around and honor their pact!

Oops.

Well, now Kilowog isn't sad anymore. He's Pissed! Pissed as hell! So Guy has to explain, that in the aftermath of getting the Red Ring, he kept having nightmares. Being Guy, he just sucked it up, and hoped that they would go away, and they did...for a while anyway. But as he was sprucing up the rebuilt Warriors, it all came rushing out, and he saw a huge bloody vision...or actually a combination of ALL his visions...and it was pretty gross. He saw Krona collecting the entities, although he doesn't KNOW that it's Krona...and the Guardians, and he and Hal fighting...he sees it all. And I'm pretty sure that for once in his life, he was sensible and told Ganthet about it, and THAT'S why they teamed up with Atrocitus. Makes perfect sense to me! More sense than what Hal is doing at any rate.

Whoboy! And that's the cliffhanger. Now if I were Kilowog and Arisia, I'd give him a hug. Somehow I doubt that's what's going to happen, but I'm just saying.
I enjoyed the HELL out of this book! But I have to admit that it's not for the sqeamish.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Green Lantern #60

Well, things just seem to be going from bad to worse. However when dealing with Green Lanterns, that just seems to be par for the course. Gosh, how many MORE cliches can I jam into a sentence?

As you ALL know, Hal has been cavorting around on Earth with any number of members of the other color corps...and some of the Earth heroes aren't exactly thrilled about it, which is why Barry showed up, to find out just what the heck Hal thinks that he's up to. And he promptly gets possessed by Parallax.

Well, THAT'S a bummer!

Parallax seems to be enjoying taking Barry's body for a ride, and as usual he starts taunting Hal. Parallax really seems to enjoy taunting Hal. Hal manages to get a few good digs in himself, when who should show up but the little bandaged ragamuffin that has been collecting as many of the entities as he or she can. And here I must admit that I was completely wrong in my identification of the little troublemaker. I was SURE that it was Sayd...but it's not. And I suppose that I'm relieved.

More taunting ensues. There is a LOT of taunting in this issue. That's ok, I enjoy taunting. And to make things even better a bunch of the remaining entities and their avatars show up! The new Compassion guy with all the arms! St. Walker and Adara! Larfleeze! A bunch of Indigos including Black Hand! Hail hail, the gang's all here.

Well...except for Atrocitus and Sinestro who are still on the hunt for the Butcher. One of Sinestro's cohorts gets on the line and tells him about Kyle and some of the Corps going off to Qward to rescue Soranik. Sinestro looks pretty bored, and sneers that he knows all about it, and what's it to him, when Romat-Ru says that the Weaponer is demanding his presence or else it's curtains for his daughter. Apparently this actually gets Sinestro's attention, and off he goes...presumably to be showing up in Green Lantern Corps, which is rather nice. I love it when all the books intertwine like this, withOUT it being a huge crossover.

Meanwhile, getting the whole bunch together to fight the little guy may just have been a tactical mistake, as he takes control of EVERYBODY! Oh, and we just happen to find out who he is. And yes it's definitely a he.

Why it's Krona of all people! And is HE in a pissy mood!

Fabulous art as usual, and some very interesting twists and turns to the story! Gosh, I love this book. On of the few places where Hal isn't acting like a jerk.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

It Was a Rather Nice Week

And so, onto the Reviews! It was an oddly heavy Green Lantern themed week for some reason...not that I am complaining!

Let us begin with Adventure Comics #521. Apparently, this has something to do with the Legion. I do not read the Legion. Frankly, I can't stand those smart alecky future Teenagers! Nevertheless, I did see a giant larvae-looking thingie inside of a Green Lantern symbol, and so I was seduced into buying it. In the far future the Green Lantern Corps has died out, and Larvae Lad is trying to get it going again, so he lines them all up and goes down the line telling them why they are losers and not worthy of being in the GLC. Hah! Now THEY know how it feels to be rejected! Maybe they'll remember this the next time they have one of their little "casting calls"

Umm...where was I? Oh yeah. They pick Mon El. Seems like a decent choice.

Batman & Robin #18. Still not Tomasi and Gleason, but not bad, not bad. An old girlfriend of Bruce's has lost her mind, and is on a rampage for some reason, since she's apparently pissed that Bruce didn't even come to her funeral. He couldn't since he was lost in time, but try using THAT as an explanation the next time that you're late! Not terrible, but not fabulous either. Ok, I guess.

Birds of Prey #7. Now there were some really wonderful moments in this issue. The Calculator is trying to use Savant as a spy and traiter against Oracle. It turns out that Oracle has the same idea. Exactly where Savant acually stands is a bit up in the air. Oh, and Oracle beats up some kids in an alley, but is still glad to see Bats swooping down, and they have a nice talk.

Meanwhile, Zinda, Helena and Dinah have taken poor Dove off to a Male Strip club to celebrate her birthday. Those girls are HARD partiers! Poor Dove isn't really into this sort of carousing, and passes out after only one beer, which leads to Helena observing that the LAST time she saw..."someone passed out like that, it was Hal Jordan at that pilot symposium Zinda hosted for Blackhawk Express." Dinah quirks an eyebrown and says that she'd been meaning to ask them about that...but Helena says that she really shouldn't.

HAW!!!

The Birds are really having themselves a fine old time, but of course, the Strip Bar ends up being attacked, by various baddies, and the newest baddie of all, a woman who calls herself "Mortis", who happens to have this little mind-whammy thing going where she can make everyone face their regrets, and make them apparently jump out of windows and such. So The Calculator has hired her to go after Oracle. THIS should be interesting...very very interesting.

Another really good issue.

Brightest Day #16. Well, this issue focuses on Aquaman and Aqualad, and I have to admit that it's pretty damned good. It has some of that purty purty Ivan Reis artwork for one thing. Arthur is trying to convince Junior that he has to come and help, and Junior is understandably a bit reluctant. We discover a bit of backstory about his parents, and more about Mera and her bunch, and Arthur shares a bit of his own story. It's all very well done.

And there is the other plot involving Firestorm and Hooboy, does HE make a booboo at the end! After a bit of a slow start, this book has really picked up the pace, not to mention the cool stories. Also very well done.

Green Lantern #60. Well I'll be damned! I did not expect that person to be...that person!

Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #5. Oh, the blood hits the fan in this one!

Green Lantern/Plastic Man: Weapons of Mass Decption #1

This is a combination that you would never expect, that's for sure. Plastic Man is at his whackiest, and Hal is at his most insufferable...but it works somehow. I can't help thinking that Plastic Man and Guy would have worked a lot more amicably together, but what the heck. It's a little silly, but I don't mind a little silly sometimes. Hal is a bit of a jerk, but I'm used to that too. Oh, and there are alien ducks. What more could you want?

Time Masters: Vanishing Point #5. Wow, I had forgotten all about this lately. This was pretty decent, they all manage to get out of their little predicament, thanks mainly to Hal for a change, and Rip sends Starfire and Claw back to where they came from, thus clearing the decks. The Black Beetle is still up to his tricks, and what he does with Waverider's corpse will either amuse or repulse you.

There are some explosions, and more stuff and then evil Flash shows up,which would have been quite the reveal, except that they gave it all away on the cover, which is rather disingenuous of them. Oh well. Still...Hal is slightly less of a douchebag in this issue.

Hmmm...Hal being a douche seems to be a recurring theme lately.

And finally, I got Loki #2 from Marvel. This seems to be more of a retelling of Loki's story, rather than tying into anything particularly mainstream, but what the heck. I like Loki, and it wasn't bad. And throwing things at your brother even though you think that he can't be harmed is always a bad idea. Silly Gods.

So, it was a pretty darned good week! And full of Green Lanterny goodness!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Oh, The Shame of It

So... I saw today that Ryan Reynolds and Scarlet Johannson are getting a divorce after an all too brief marriage. I suppose we should have seen this coming. He's playing Hal Jordan in the Green Lantern movie, and she played the Black Widow in the Iron Man movie.

Obviously, she's a Marvel...and he's a DC. It was doomed from the start.gil kane hal

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

In A Silly Mood

As usual, when it is a Tuesday...the DEADLIEST day of the week...I haven't a thought in my head. So, for some reason, I started thinking about the recent Tiny Titans/Archie crossover. Gosh, but they're just adorable. Which got me thinking about Archie books in particular for some reason. I never read that much of Archie, although I BLUSH to admit this...I watched their gawdawful television show on Saturday mornings as a kid. Reggie was and still is my favorite resident of Riverdale, and always will remain so.

And then I saw this. I can't remember where, but it started those evil gears in my evil brain.

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Obviously, Guy and Tora have invaded Riverdale, and gone to the bad. That's the only possible conclusion.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

If It's On the Internet...It MUST Be True!

According to an article that I just read on MSN.com, if you wish to increase traffic on your site...simply be a jerk. I am SHOCKED to hear this of course, since all of MY readers are charming people, but I have noticed that other people aren't quite so lucky.

All you have to do is make a brazenly erroneous remark, be testy, be sarcastic, be negative, or even simply misspell words and use poor grammar, and people will flock to your postings, simply panting with desire to Prove You Wrong. People are entitled to their own opinions of course, although I can certainly understand the outrage over poor spelling and punctuation...but that's simply because I am a pedant. And because I don't notice when I actually misspell something, and because I only recently learned how to edit.

So...if I type in that I consider Winick to be a douchebag...am I being provocative or simply factual?

Please discuss.

Violently if possible.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Great Guardians, It's Cold!

Chilly even. I know that this is New England, and it is indeed December, but good grief, it's a bit on the nippy side. Which of course made me think of this.

blinded at north pole

Yup. Hal stranded at the North Pole. He goes on to fight a polar bear, using basically his head, gets snow blind, and STILL manages to get out of it. If he had only used that stubbornness and determination when he was being taken over by Parallax, we wouldn't have had to go through all that...unpleasantness.

So bundle up!

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Bouquets and Brickbats

This was something of an...odd week. I was expecting Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors, but no such luck. There ARE five weeks in December this year, so hopefully it will show up next week.

What there was, was either really good or really horrible.

Booster Gold #39.

*sniff* Not really a whole lot going on in this issue, except for Character moments, but it's no secret that those are what I LIVE for. Booster has to finally come to grips with the fact that even though he can see him whenever he wants to, by taking a dip in the ol' Time Pool, he's got to face the fact that Ted is gone, and he's not coming back. Skeets tries to be as comforting as his little circuits will allow him, and Michelle wasn't as annoying this issue, while Ranni continues to be adorable.

I give this a large bouquet of whatever smelly colorful flowers that Ted Kord would like.

Fables #100.

Well, boy howdy, this was fabulous, as befits the 100th issue of a fabulous series. We have the duel between Frau Totenkinder and the Dark Man, and it's a doozy. That's one lady that it doesn't pay to underestimate. Things turn out a little differently than you originally think that they will. Oh, and Beauty and Beast have their baby, and Nurse Spratt turns out to be quite the pill.

There are all sorts of lovely extras by different artists at the end, and it's all quite quite wonderful. So a large bouquet of roses.

Flash #7. This issue focuses on Captain Boomerang, and I have to admit that I enjoyed the heck out of it. I love Barry, but the past few issues have dragged a bit. This is bright and interesting, and it's going to have oh, so many many consequences. Digger is haunted by his visions, and decides that breaking into jail and questioning the Reverse Flash is a good idea. Oh Digger...I like you but you really aren't the smartest tack in the box. But it's fastpaced and it's fun dammit.

A slightly straggly bouquet, that Boomerang would have swiped from a cemetary.

DC Universe Holiday Special 2010.

This was an interesting little book. It's not a Christmas special, per se, it covers quite a few celebrations, and certainly it covers some unusual ones, or at least ones that I'm not too familiar with. We've got Anthro and a Winter Solstice celebration. Jonah Hex and Hannukah, which I thought was quite well done. John Stewart is being awesome as usual, and manages to teach a rookie a few things. Superman shows up with some balloons and a hero award that I found to be a little heavy handed. The Spectre gets cranky, but for a good cause. Oh, and the Legion one was good, and I don't even like the Legion!

So, I award a nice little bouquet, not a huge one, but a nice one.

Justice League: Generation Lost #15

Oh. Oh my. Where the hell do I start with this one? On the one hand, it has some interesting moments. Max Lord is trying to find Wonder Woman, presumably so that he can pinch her head off, but she's vanished, and what's more, nobody has ever even HEARD of her! Oh, the irony. Well, Max remembers her, and Booster, Atom, Fire and Ice, but that's it. I assume that this all ties in with whatever is going on in her book.

Captain Shinypants is wanted for murdering Magog of course. He's furious and wants to find Max and kill him, but Booster makes a nice speech about how they're all heroes, and heroes don't DO things like that, and when they find Max, they're going to lock him up for a Very Long Time. Oh, after he beats the crap out of him first.

And then we come to Fire and Ice. Bea wants to know why Tora lied about her family all these years, and Tora says it was because she wanted to be a HERO and Heroes don't come from a family of thieves. Apparently the Government moved her mother and sister to New Zealand.

Now this is where I started shrieking silently in my head. For one thing, Bea had been lying about HER family all along, not to mention her name, but that's not my problem. Winick completely ignores the fact that we've all BEEN to Ice's apparently imaginary Ice Kingdom. We've met her father, her mother, her rotten brother. We've been shown the letters that she used to write to her imaginary Ice Kingdom father, actually using Runic script. We've met these people and fought with them, and IT JUST MAKES NO SENSE WHATSOEVER!!!!

*pant pant*

It's an illusion of course, yes, that's it, Max is just playing games with Tora's head for some unfathomable reason. Either that, or Winick just wants to FUCK WITH ME!

This did not get a bouquet. It receives instead a Large and Unwieldy Brickbat.

R.E.B.E.L.S. #23

Oh Vril Dox, you nasty boy you. I mainly got this issue, because it has John Stewart on the cover, and boy, I was not disappointed. Dox and his bunch have been badmouthing the Green Lanterns all over the Vega system, in an attempt to boost their own stock with the populace. As is their usual habit, the Gaurdians are making a mess out of their public relations. Adam Strange is supposed to be mediating between the two groups. Vril postures, and darned if John doesn't posture right back. And then a group of "revolutionaries" threatens to set off a bomb that will destroy Vega's sun. Vril Dox expects that the Lanterns will fail miserably, especially since he's set it all up to mimic the situation that lead to the destruction of Xanshi. But it is never wise to underestimate John Stewart, and his two rookies manage to save the day, and quite handily. The good name of the Lanterns is restored, and Vril must live to plot another day.

Darned good, and worthy of a green glowing bouquet.

Thor: The Mighty Avenger #7

Why oh WHY is Marvel cancelling this book? It's sweet and funny and dagnabit it' just about the best thing that they are publishing! And kids can read it and enjoy it too!

I swear every time I really enjoy a good and funny book it lasts for only a few issues. I'm starting to get a complex.

Anyway, Jane and Thor have a lovely evening at home, getting to know one another better, if you know what I mean (nudge nudge, wink wink) but Thor has to go off and investigate the wide swath of destruction left by a giant robot. A robot that has apparently been designed just to destoy him! He defeats the one, but unfortunately there are actually a lot of them. And he loses his nice new cell phone.

A huge bouquet to this book. A a slap in the face to Marvel for dumping it.

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

The Next Green Lantern Event

Looming over the horizon...at least according to the previews...is the War of the Green Lanterns. Green-on-Green violence! Brother against Brother! Blows to the head!

I can hardly wait.

Or, is it actually a revolt against the Guardians? If that is the case, then they REALLY can't be all that surprised considering the poor quality of their stewardship lately. They've been doing a piss-poor job, to put it bluntly.

Hal saved their tiny blue butts...and as usual, they're suspicious because he isn't sending in progress reports. Salaak is all set to start spying on his taut firm ass. To be frank, he IS hanging around with people like Sinestro and Atrocitus, not to mention Larfleeze...but it's for the Greater Good!

Guy has teamed up with Ganthet to do something behind their backs with Atrocitus of all people. We're still being teased about exactly WHAT it is that is so important, but Guy doesn't take betrayal lightly...so I'm pretty sure that it's important. Whether everyone else will see it that way, is debateable. It's already been broadcast that he and Hal are going to find themselves at loggerheads, but that's just par for the course.

Even Sodam Yat, who used to be SUCH a toady to the Guardians has gotten fed up. He's gone from believing everything that they say to believing nothing. Of course, being betrayed by Scar, stripped of Ion, and stuck in a star may have had something to do with his sour mood, and really, who can blame him? He's run off with the few GOOD Daxamites, and they are going to star their OWN planet, and screw the Guardians!

John's always been a bit leery of the Guardians, and it can't have helped that they actively wanted to turn him into an Alpha Lantern...and were QUITE pissy when he declined that dubious honor. So I imagine, that Honor Guard or no, John is keeping an eye out.

Not too sure what Kyle thinks about all of the undercurrents. Guy isn't around right now, and he's busy trying to rescue Soranik, so I don't think that he's all that worried...yet.

But it will be fun to see what happens. Now, I'm off to the Comic Book Store!

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Where IS Everybody?

Is it just me, or has there been a drop-off in people blogging or commenting on blogs? I've been wandering through some of the old Message Boards, and what used to be a veritable torrent of feverish banter, has dried up to the proverbial trickle. Although I do have to say that I don't miss the "Kyle vs Hal" wankathons...but still.

It's quiet. TOO quiet.

Have we all reached our outrage overload? Or maybe just nothing particularly stupid has happened lately. Or...God forgive us, have we all actually grown up and moved onto other pursuits? Oh, say it isn't so! Or are we all just too poor to buy comic books anymore? Or maybe we're either buying Christmas presents, or we haven't finished digesting the turkey from Thanksgiving yet.

All I know is that it is awfully muted out there.

So...to cheer you all up, here's nice picture of Hal fighting a pterodactyl. A YELLOW pterodactyl. Naturally.

Photobucket

He may not be graceful, but goshdarnit, he gets the job done.

Monday, December 06, 2010

Things That I would Like to Have Happen.

Now that our Whack a Lantern Week has come to a close, it is time to move onto other ideas. It occured to me, that I've been mired in a bit of a funk lately. I'm not all that thrilled with the way that some of my beloved book's storylines are trending. JSA has become all but unreadable, which saddens me to no end, because I LOVE the JSA! The JLA on the other hand has actually been fairly decent, so that's a good thing. The Green Lanterns have been plugging away quite nicely...no complaints there, and Brightest Day has really picked up lately. But I'm STILL in a bit of a snit over What Winick Did, over in JLI: GL, and I tend to hold a grudge.

When he's not writing about Ice or Fire, I have to admit that Winick doens't do too badly. He seems to have a fair grasp of Captain Shinypants, indeed, I haven't liked ol' Nate this much in...well forever. And he's doing a decent job with Gavril and Booster. He just doesn't do too well with women for some reason.

I have been picking away at it like a scab that refuses to heal, and I think that one of the things that bothers me the most about his retcon of Ice's Origin, is that it comes off as a generic X-Man origin. Youngster on the verge of puperty has awesome powers, that must be concealed, accidentally kills a loved one, blah blah blah. It's BORING. It's been done a hundred times already. Every bloody Mutant in the world has that origin. Whereas, a princess from a lost and enchanted Ice Kingdom, who decides to go out and join the world, and teams up with a brash and brassy Brazilian who breathes green fire, and together they fight crime...THAT'S unusual! And frankly kind of cool. Plus it would appeal to girls.

*sigh*

So anyway, getting back to the original gist of my idea...if YOU were running things, what kinds of stories or plots would you like to see covered? One of these days, I'd REALLY like to see Ice tell off either Batman or Hal for their treatment of Guy...or both.

I want to see another Reyes family picnic with various superheroes invited, and have Guy make fat flying green ponies for Milagro.

I want to have either Ralph and Sue resurrected or else at least be the Ghost Detectives again. Anything!

I want to see Barry and Ollie fight over Hal...with Hal loving it, of course.

I want Hippolyta back in Wonder Woman being her usual awesome self.

Zinda drinking. And partying. While she and Huntress tie up Hal and leave him with the bar bill.

I want evil Max Lord vanquished, and the old decentbutslightlyshady Max Lord back.

I...want...Ted Kord. Somehow.

I'd like Superman to go back to actually being heroic instead of stumbling around the countryside whining.

I want to see the Green Lanterns partying at Warriors.

I want to see John Stewart take a shower. I have shower scans of Hal, Guy and Kyle and I NEED one for John! Oh, and letting him have a love life would also be appreciated.

We need to see more of the Shade. Make it so.

Do YOU have any ideas that you'd love to see happen?

Saturday, December 04, 2010

Best...Cartoon...Ever!

Did everyone watch Friday's episode of Batman: the Brave & the Bold? It had the Justice League! And not just ANY Justice League, but the JLI! Well...more or less. It had Booster and Beetle(Jaime), it had Guy and Fire and Ice and Martian Manhunter! They threw Aquaman in there too, and naturally...Batman. It was hilarious. It was fabulous.

They all ended up fighting Darkseid, and the day is finally saved by...well, that was a heck of a twist at the end, wasn't it? Oooh, and Fire and Ice each had little accents when they spoke, which MAKES PERFECT SENSE!!!

Why on God's Green Earth are they cancelling this cartoon? I love it. Everyone I know, loves it. Heck, even my Sweet Baboo likes it, and he's NOT a comic book fan. This is a version of Batman that I actually LIKE! And where else can you see such wonderful obscure characters? Plus, Aquaman is outrageous, and that has to stand for something.

Guy fights Booster! He doesn't hit on Ice, which is the only disappointment that I had with the episode. I would KILL to have them make a new Justice League cartoon...starring this bunch. It would be EPIC!

I have heard that the DVD for both seasons is supposed to come out in March or so, and if that is the case, then it will wonderful, since I did manage to miss a couple of nights...but still...! I liked Young Justice well enough, and I am looking forward to the new Green Lantern cartoon with great anticipation, but I don't understand why they can't keep the Brave and the Bold going, because it is Just That Good.

The art was a lot of fun. And I SWEAR that they used this very shot in the show...

Photobucket

...of Guy in the air from behind with the giant green fist. It was lovely.

And speaking of lovely, here's a nice Lantern on Lantern whacking.

guy and hal

Ouch.

Friday, December 03, 2010

Less Whacking, More Reviews

Let us take a brief reprieve from the Lantern bashing, to focus on the new books this week. As is usual, with the beginning of the month, at least for me, there wasn't a whole lot out there.

I did pick up the new Batman 80-Page Giant, because for some reason I am ALWAYS seduced the the 80-page giant books, and also because I just love that cover. It's by Dustin Nguyen, and it's just so purty!

We have a whole slew of short stories, and for the most part, I have to say that they've all been done pretty darned well. I loved the first one, with the Joker, who is busy establishing his insanity against the skeptical efforts of a television shrink, who wants to prove that he's sane so that he can be executed. The artwork by Szymon Kudranski is dark moody and fabulous.

The second story has the Riddler and Catwoman and is rather charming, the Calendar Man story is full of pathos, while the Scarecrow one is a bit...well, scary. The one with Killer Croc was disturbing, but a bit hard to follow, at least artwise. The one with Batman as Bruce Wayne AND Batman, called Two-Face isn't what you originally think that it's going to be, but it's rather clever. The one with the REAL Two-Face, not to mention the Joker is really quite good...and scary as heck.

All in all, a pretty good way to spend some time.

Brightest Day #15. Oh, this was excellent. Back to focusing on J'onn J'onnz, our favorite Martian Manhunter, with the glorious artwork by Pat Gleason. It's twenty-five years later, and J'onn is basking in the glow of a revitalized Mars, and the praise of his friends in the Justice League. Everything seems just fabulous until suddenly, all of the JLA ends up murdered, with the exception of Superman, who unfortunately also dies at the hands of J'onn himself. J'onn is horrified of course, until he figures out that the whole thing is a con, and that D'Kay has been messing with his mind all along. I wouldnt' want to be in HER shoes! Then Congorilla and Mikaal play some chess, and Firestorm shows up in a tizzy. Very nice. Very nice indeed.

Jonah Hex #62. This was an odd little story. Jonah is hired to transport...something mysterious, with a bunch of rather peculiar people, none of whom seem to like him very much. So what else is new? And some unsolved murders at the beginning of the book tie into the whole transport thing. It involves circus folk, freaks, and an unusual twist of identity, not to mention rules of honor. But good as always.

JSA Allstars #13. Starring Cyclone, and apparently a whole crapload of Cyclones, who have been replicated with nanites, and...and stuff. I really couldn't make heads or tails out of this, and I'm dropping it along with the rest of the JSA, which saddens me, but still...it Must Be Done.

Secret Six #28 on the other hand, was fabulous. I even wound up not hating Black Alice in this. The Six, not to mention the OTHER Six, manage to get the hell out of Skartaris, although there is a heck of a lot of mayhem along the way, and end up getting pardons from Amanda Waller...with a catch of course. Heh. I just love Waller. And that Shark guy is really into hot tubs.

And in my favorite moment, Giganta finally gets a bit of payback against the SOB who killed the Atom...and lordie, it is a beautiful moment. Violent...but beautiful.

Finally, there was Warriors Three #2 from Marvel. For some idiotic reason, some people from A.I.M. thought that setting the Fenris Wolf free was a good idea. We get a bit of old history of the Warriors from when they were young and just starting out, not to mention how they all ended up the way that they are. Volstagg rocks of course...he always does. And Fenris sounds a lot like Bigby which makes sense since Bill Willingham is writing this whole thing. There are still a lot of things that need to be explained, but I'm cautiously optimistic.

Oh, and here's Hal.

Photobucket

Man, Bats just loves punching himself some Lanterns...and he's apparently not that picky about who he is going to punch.

*sigh*

Thursday, December 02, 2010

More Whacking...Sort've

Never let it be said that I will not flog an idea into the ground.

Today we have John Stewart.

John Stewart

In this particular instance, we have John and Hal beating up on each other. Granted, it take place BEFORE they were Green Lanterns, but for the love of God, do you know how hard it is to find a scan of John being whacked? He's usually the whackER, and very rarely finds himself in the ridiculous sorts of situations that the rest of them fall into so easily. Compensation, I suppose for not being as...flamboyant as the rest of the boys.

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

More Whacking!

Posting a bit late today. Had to work late, and then had to go and proctor a test for recertification, and I am pooped. But not too pooped to enjoy a good Green Lantern shellacking.

guy and aquaman

Here we have Guy as Warrior, taking one in the breadbasket from none other than the King of the Seas himself, Aquaman! In my least favorite incarnation, alas. I really hated the long hair, and I'm SO glad that he's back in all of his green and orange glory.

At least he's not getting hit in the head. Unlike SOME people!