Getting My Last Whacks In

Well, I couldn't let the week go by without something with Kyle. I would have liked to show John getting whacked, but really, it just doesn't seem to happen too often. Not like Hal or Guy certainly.

And while, I usually just have butt shots of Kyle, here's a decent one.



Although, to be technical about it...it does seem to be Alan getting whacked rather than Kyle.

Man, I do love that original uniform.

No Whacking...just Reviews

Not a huge week, but not a terrible week either. Is it me, or did March just fly by?

Aquaman #7

Well, Black Manta shows up, and he's pissed...as usual. He kills a nice lady in a jungle, while Arthur and Mera are saving a ship, and trying to find that crazy Dr. Shin, in order to find out what more he knows about Atlantis. Mera isn't quite sure why Arthur is so worried about this, but is going along with it...for now.

Shin isn't all that happy to see them either, although he is QUITE intrigued by Arthur's shiny pretty trident. He also submerges the other artifact that Arthur found, which triggers another hologram of an ancient Atlantean saying that Atlantis is in danger. Then another jungle lady and her big big cat bust through the walls and try to carve Shin into little bitty pieces. TWO cat fights ensue! And it turns out that Arthur knows this lady...and apparently there was a whole thing going on back when he was just a wee Aquaman.

The art is gorgeous of course, and the story...intriguing. You could even say I'm having a whale of a good time!

Haw!

Flash #7

Man, poor Barry. If he uses his speed, he runs the risk of opening up worm holes in time,or something, but he HAS to use his speed to save Patty, not to mention Iris. What is a hero to do? Well, he does what he has to do. And Captain Cold is so angry, because he thinks that the problems with Central City are all Flash's fault. Apparently so does Patty. But he gets on his big ol' treadmill and does his Flash thing.

Again, the art is lovely, and I'm having fun with it. A spanking good time.

Green Lantern: New Guardians #7

I hate to admit this, but I'm not really all that into this book. It seems to be...dragging just a tad. They are all fighting this Invictus guy,who seems to think he's all righteous, but is just as bad as the bad guys who destroyed his world. Larfleeze is supposedly manipulating them all. Sayd is cranky. Kyle is trying to talk his way out of things. Bleez shows up and is actually coherent, Arkillo likes St. Walker, and Fatality is trying to get Munk to actually do something.

It's...ok. But it's not great. And dang it, I miss having Kyle and Guy together.

Justice League Dark #7

Well, Madame Xanadu seems to feel that unless this bunch hangs out together, terrible things will happen. Terrible things seem to be happening regardless, and there is apparently some cross-over between this book and the I,Vampire book, which I havent' been reading. Constantine is snarky as usual. Shade seems to be having problems, as does Zatanna. Again, it is a very pretty book, and not a bad read, but I'm getting a little tired of vampires.

Tiny Titans #50

Last issue. Bummer. I only picked this up every once in a while, but I always enjoyed it, because...well, because it is just so damned cute. And something that a kid OR adult could enjoy, and Lord knows, there are precious few of those sorts of books around. You'll be pleased to learn that Beast Boy and Terra actually get together. And Superman shows up! And there is going to be a new Superman book, so all is not lost.

But I still wish that this was still going to be around, because Lunch Lady Darkseid just fills me with delight.

The Mighty Thor #12

About the only books that I have been reading at Marvel, are Journey Into Mystery, which is sensational, and occasionally the Thor book, and I'm happy to say that this book must be the end of the mini-series...and dare I say...it actually has a HAPPY ENDING!

Oh My God! How can this be?

Thor was killed fighting the Serpent, Odin stomped off to old Asgard to sulk, and new Asgardia has been ruled by the Goddesses Freya, Jord, and Idunn. All memory of Thor is gone, and in his place was a different Thunder God, known as Tanarus, who was actually Ulik the Troll, and a Real Jerk. Also, Karnilla has been up to no good along with the Troll king and stuff.

Only Loki could sort've vaguely remember Thor, and he and the Silver Surfer manage to get Mjollnir to Thor who is about to be swallowed up by the Demogorge, who eats dead Gods. Naturally being Thor, he busts out, creating all sorts of hammer-inspired mayhem, and shows up just in time to save Asgardia from being overrun by the Bad Guys.

It's wonderful. Evil is defeated, Good triumphs, and Loki tells the kids a bedtime story. One little girl is sad because Kelda had been murdered, but Loki reminds her of Valhalla, and at the very end, we see Bill...born of Bills, regaling his fellow dead heroes with a tale, when who should show up...oh, you know. It's lovely.

Dang, that was a good book!

Still More Whacking

I've got the bit between my teeth now, and there is no sign of letting up. Not when I have as many scans of my favorite boys being clocked as I do.



I love Alan, I really do...and yet seeing him get clobbered with a hunk of wood just always cracks me up. Unlike Hal, whom I EXPECT to get clobbered. Maybe it is just because ordinarily he is so dignified.

More Whacking

Because...seriously, why not? Everyone loves a good whacking.



Even Guy and Kilowog love a good whacking. Here they are, doing it simply for fun!

Whack A Lantern Week

I haven't done this in quite some time, and seriously, I am hard-pressed for ideas. Plus it went from being 80 degrees here in lovely New England, back to 40, so I'm grumpy. On the other hand, I am oddly relieved. It's just NOT RIGHT to be 80 degrees in March! Unless you live in Texas or something.

On the other hand, seeing Hal get hit in the head, always makes me happy. And considering what a buffoon he's been lately, in the Justice League at least, I am even more happy.



I like this one. Hal hasn't actually been hit...yet. But when he DOES...then yes, it is all that you imagine it will be.

So...so satisfying. What is even more satisfying, is that it is Guy who is shooting that rocket at him.

Wow, I feel better already!

Young Justice

Well I'll be dipped in honey! I just watched the new Green Lantern cartoon, which was great, and naturally the Artificial Intelligence unit that Hal has been flirting with, saves the day, and refers to "herself" as a Green Lantern, and Kilowog says you have to have a body to be a Green Lantern, and naturally, she makes herself into a hot female for Hal to ogle.

Oh Hal.

So then Young Justice comes on, and I'm actually hanging around watching it, although I don't watch it that much, and the OLD Justice League is up on their satellite being all grim and moody and trying to come up with new members. Naturally, I am sitting there going...Get GUY GARNDER! Because both Hal and John are there. First, they look at some other applicants, and then someone...I think it is Flash says, "Hey, there's a third Green Lantern out there! Howabout...!" And both Hal and John yell "NO!". And there is a but...but, and they still yell no, and I...am crushed.

But for a milli-second there, Guy was on Young Justice. And then cruelly shot down. I am depressed. And then Wonder Woman of all people was being mean to poor Captain Marvel, (sorry, Shazam) for not telling them that he was actually only ten years old, even though he SAVED THEIR BUTTS a week or so ago. And they are all discussing whether he should be kicked out, and he's saying that he's right there, and can hear them!

It's true. The Justice League is a bunch of jerks. Guy and Billy can...can go and start their OWN League! With COOL people. Maybe Booster, maybe Fire and Ice, get Martian Manhunter to join and Blue Beetle and Elongated Man, and IT WOULD BE FABULOUS!

I...I get a bit wound up on Saturday mornings apparently.



Oh yeah!

Green Lantern Corps #7

Well, the Green Lantern Corps has defeated the enemy, and everything is just hunky dory...except that there were casualties, and of course, the Guardians have gone absolutely batshit insane...even though nobody knows it yet.

They have brought back the body of poor Kirrt, of Sector 2541. Kirrt was just about to crack under the torture, and blurt out the directions of how to get to the Main Battery on Oa, when John broke his neck. Thus, the day was saved, and Guy came rushing in with the cavalry, and yet...John hasn't said a word about it.

They have a nice funeral service, and John takes the body back to his home world, and has to deal with the grief of his parents and brother...and still he says nothing. Really what CAN he say?

Meanwhile, Guy gets hauled before the Guardians to explain his use of two members of the Sinestro Corps as Fear Bombs. With his usual zest, he explains that he sacrificed two HIGHLY unpleasant murderers in order to save thousands of innocents, and that the ends occasionally do justify the means. The Guardians don't really give him that much crap over it, for some reason, Guy does manage to talk his way out of just about anything. Say what you will, but when the chips are down, Guy will make the play.

Still...I'm not entirely comfortable with the darkening of the spirit of the Corps. And I am deinitely getting a little tired of the way that John is being portrayed. Yes, he's stoic, and pragmatic, and he was a soldier, and he does what has to be done. But he's being shown as killing way too much lately. Hal and Kyle certainly don't do this sort of thing. Guy does it if he has to, but he's not happy about it. I don't think that John is happy about it either, and I imagine that there ARE going to be repurcussions, but sheesh...why does it have to be John all of the time?

It will be interesting to say the least, to see how the Guardians are going to react when the truth inevitably comes out. With their own attitudes being so bizarre as of late, will they applaud his ruthlessness...which actually echoes their own behavior? Or will they cynically try to make an example out of him? All I know is, I do wish that John would stop killing other Lanterns, and that the Guardians either get what is coming to them, or are released from whatever mindcontrol that Parallax has going on.

What A Week!

Another wonderful week for comics!

Batman #7

I am loving this book...and that is something that I never thought I would say about a Bat Book. This whole thing with the Court of Owls has been inspired, and Batman, is NOT omnipotent, and he'd NOT ahead of the villains, in fact...he's a bloody mess. He's managed to escape, and gone stumbling back to the Cave, where he is discovered by a completely shocked Alfred. Alfred also found the body of the Talon, which despite his ordeal, Bruce insists upon examining.

Dick comes wandering in, during the examination and naturally wants to help, although Bruce is being taciturn and broody...as usual. Then he tells Dick that the Talon is non other than his great Grandfather, and that the Court picks their future Talons from the Circus, and implant an insignia that emits Electrum into their teeth, and all sorts of other very interesting little things. When Dick gets pissy, Bruce slugs him...and out pops one of those insignias!

Holy Crap!

This just keeps getting better and better. Greg Capullo's art is particularly good, I've never seen Bruce look so crazed, unshaven and just a little unbalanced. It's fabulous.

Batman Odyssey #6

Only one more issue to go, and I am also loving this book. This version of Bruce is so completely at odds with every other version of Batman, and yet...it's a heck of a lot of fun. Talia has been freed, Robin is free, and apparently Batman is telling the whole story to none other than Clark Kent. It turns out that Ra's was the one who kidnapped Talia in the first place...and she's not at all happy about it. Bruce goes on and on about how he figured it all out and that he won't kill except as an absolute last resort and a bunch of other stuff that really doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but I don't care.

The art is gorgeous of course. It is also more fun, if you pretend that it is actually Hal Jordan instead of Bruce Wayne, because it just LOOKS like Hal, and quite frankly, he sure ACTS like Hal.

Good Crazy Fun.

Birds of Prey #7

Well, the Birds are all being attacked by the mind-contolled puppets of "Choke". The poor possessed people keep chanting nursery rhymes, and it turns out that Starling is possessed too, since she tries to shoot Batgirl. And that guy is actually Choke, but maybe not, and Canary and Poison Ivy are fighting, and then Katanna goes and does something that I certainly didn't expect! The art is lovely, and the story is lively, and it's a good value.

Fables #115

I liked this issue a lot more than the recent ones, at least something seems to actually be happening. Little Therese gets taken to Toyland by her toy boat, because they need a new Queen. Mrs. Spratt is found in the Fable Town office, and give them all a tale of woe. Beast wonders if he and Beauty shouldn't stay in Haven to raise their daughtere. And Snow White discovers that Therese is missing, while Bufkin is having his own problems.

A little less scattershot than recently.

Green Lantern Corps #7

The aftermath of last months thrilling conclusion!

Justice League #7

What the heck? I must admit to being just a tad confused by this issue. Suddenly, the Justice League is now formed, and they are the darlings of the entire country, with Steve Trevor as their liason to the government. In fact they are are SO popular, that the Government is starting to get a wee bit nervous. They even have the Satellite already, although it isn't explained exactly how that all came about or who paid for it. The Government even supplies them with...er...supplies. Which naturally Hal is eating on the side, because who has time to go grocery shopping? Hal is also having way too much fun being rude to Batman...simply because he can, and Barry naturally follows his lead.

Oh, and they fight some guy. And when the Government wants to exert more control over the League, Steve Trevor tells them what's for. And Etta Candy shows up as a slender attractive young black lady, who gets him coffee.

What really confused me...is that Batman is ranting to the good Colonel about what an embarrassment the new JLI is...and that the Government should kill it...before they do.

Whuh?

Excuse me, but wasn't Batman himself helping to FORM the JLI, and running around telling Booster Gold that he stood behind him, and that he's doing great? I am also highly confused, because the League has just formed, and I thought that it was supposed to have been formed quite some time BEFORE the JLI...not simutaneously. If Guy is a "highly decorated member of the Green Lantern Corps", how can Hal still be wet behind the ears? In fact, how can Hal be there at all, considering he is running around with Sinestro at the moment, and isn't even IN the Green Lantern Corps?

Seven issues, and continuity is screwed up already!

Oh, and the back up story has adorable little Billy Batson, trying to get adopted. Except that adorable little Billy Batson is actually...not so adorable.

Sigh.


Wonder Woman #7

Now this again, continues to delight and enthrall me. For one thing, Cliff Chiang is back, and may I just mention the cover? It is FABULOUS! Diana is standing there, holding a giant hammer, with a sword on a forge. Her back isn't arched so much that it looks broken. Her breasts aren't bigger than her head. Her arms have a bit of muscle. She is posed...just as a MALE super hero would be posed...and I am thrilled! And she looks beautiful as always.

We learn a whole lot of new things in this issue. Eros shows up, and is glad to see his uncle Hermes. This actually confused me a bit, since I thought that Hermes was his father, but what the heck. And he takes them all to see Hephaestus, because they sure could use some weapons. Hades sends a monster into Mt. Etna, where the forge is, because he's feeling cranky, and it kills some of his workers, but is beaten off by Diana. She is then stunned to learn, that these guys are actually her...brothers! Turns out that Amazons don't just have girl babies, nor is she the ONLY daughter ever born to the Amazons! In fact they go out to passing ships a couple of times a year, and bonk the sailors, push them overboard and then go home to wait for nine months. If the baby is a girl...woohoo! If the baby is a boy...well, tough luck. Or in this case, Hephaestus shows up and trades weapons for the boys, whom he raises to be his aides.

Diana is more than a little stunned by all of this, and decides that she's going to free her enslaved brothers...except that they don't WANT to be freed, they like it there, and they love their master. Diana is having a really bad day.

It's not the old Wonder Woman at all...and yet...I can't help enjoying this book. Just so long as I keep telling myself that this is a COMPLETELY different universe, and that this isn't the REAL Wonder Woman. Because it is so completely divorced from what I have always known as Wonder Woman. But it is beautifully told, beautifully drawn, and dammit...it's a good story! Of a different Diana.

Sweet Sweet Wednesday

Well, I'm off to the Comic Book Store, where a whole bunch of books are awaiting my eager perusal. Oh, and I'm also getting my snow tires removed. Watch...now it will snow three feet. This IS New England. It could happen.

I haven't a thing in my head, so I just thought I would put up a nice picture of Kyle.



Gosh, he's so pretty. I really do like the floppy hair, and the crab mask, and the original costume. It was actually pretty cool looking.

Missing Characters

So...in the new DC Universe, things have been reset, and a whole passel of characters have ceased to exist, or only exist on alternate Earths, such as Earth 2. This...is a shame for the most part. I really do miss people like Rip Hunter, and Wally West, and his family, not to mention most of the Justice Society, and Obsidian, and Connor Hawke, and Mia, and more.

I can't say that I miss Geo-Force particularly, although I DID like the Owl Man that showed up in the Outsiders during Peter Tomasi's brief tenure when Alfred was running the show.

However, I have noticed one glaring absence. Where on earth is Snapper Carr?

It's not that I actually MISS him. To be blunt, I can't STAND Snapper Carr. Nevertheless, he was a major part of the Justice League, and he did have a few decent moments. Not many...but a few.

Without Snapper, we won't have any moments like this...



...and we all know that there's nothing quite so satisfying as a Snapper-Slappin'.

It Was A Green Lantern Weekend

So. It was St. Patrick's day on Saturday, which put me in the sort of mood to appreciate green even more than usual. And Sunday, we marched in the St. Patrick's Day parade in Holyoke, Massachusetts which is only one of the largest in the country! The parade started at noon, and our corps didn't step off until 1:40, and we weren't even anywhere near to being at the end! Sheesh! But it was sunny and nice, and a rollicking good time was had by all.

Also the first NEW episode of the new Green Lantern cartoon was on, which was nice, since I had already seen the previous two episodes as the one hour pilot. I don't know what all the fuss is about. Yes, the computer imaging is a little blocky and a little simple. Who cares? It's about the Green Lanterns! Now...I just want to see MORE Green Lanterns!

And, Saturday evening, on HBO, was the Green Lantern movie, with Ryan Reynolds, and it was a thing of beauty. Yes, it isn't perfect. And I think that probably there were some scenes left on the editing floor that would have improved it. But I still like it. The scenes on Oa, were my favorite, Tomar Re and Sinestro and Kilowog were phenomenal, and there was the fun of picking out the Lanterns that I know in the group shots. Salaak in particular looked great. The Guardians were both terrifying and awe-inspiring, which is as it should be.

I also thought that Carol Ferris was actually quite well done, by Blake Lively, Hector was creepy which is very true to life, and...oh heck. I will probably watch it again tomight...just because I can. It WOULD be nice to have a sequel. With Guy. And John and Kyle. But I'll settle for Guy.



Because you can never ever have too many Lanterns.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

A little bit of the Green.



Green...and GLOWING!

Green Lantern #7

Oh...My!



I can't quite put my finger on it, but boy howdy, I really liked Green Lantern this month. Maybe it is because Doug Mahnke makes Hal look so very very pretty. Maybe it is the plentiful butt shots. Maybe it is because Sinestro is just SO badass. Maybe it is all of those things.

When we left our doughty hero, he and Carol had decided to try and make a go of things, and have apparently been humping like bunnies ever since. I'm actually rooting for Hal and Carol, because I like them. I've ALWAYS liked them. And Hal actually seemed to be coming to grips with life after the Corps and even...maturing just a little bit. Which for Hal, is a huge step.

But before we get to that, we have all of the Indigo tribe hanging out at their Indigo lair, talking in Indigo lingo. And a NOK to you too! THEN, we have Sinestro butting in on poor Hal and Carol, and telling him to put his big boy pants on and get to work.

And Hal says no.

I love the look on Sinestro's face. He can hardly believe it. But Hal really means it. He's fed up with the Guardians, who used him up and then hung him out to dry. He's also a little tired of being Sinestro's plaything, and says that he's had it with working for other people.

Well...except maybe for Carol.

Sinestro of course, is nothing if not persistent, and decides that if Hal is going to be pissy, they'll just have to do it the old-fashined way, and proceeds to threaten to blow Carol's head off with a glowing green gun. So...Hal punches him one, which is quite satisfying for Hal. And they proceed to fight a bit, which is fun for BOTH of them. But there is more to this than just going out and being Sinestro's weapon, there is a real problem.



Sinestro knows what the Guardians are up to. And it isn't good. And then the Indigos all show up. And they want Sinestro. Naturally Hal, being Hal has to argue, while Carol not liking any of what is going on, runs to look for her Star Sapphire ring. She had it tucked away pretty well, because it takes hera little while to find it and put it on, and by the time she shows up in all of her violet glory, all of the Indigos, Sinestro and Hal have disappeared.

Meanwhile, on Oa, the Guardians are interrogating Lyssa Drak. They want the Book of the Black, and she wants the Sinestro Corps book back...or in a pinch, the book fo the Red. Lyssa really likes books. It dawns on the Guardians that if Lyssa doesn't have it...the Sinestro probably does, and that doesn't bode well for their nefarious plans. In fact, one of the Guardians says they should off Voz on the spot, since he knows too much. Gosh, they are such adorable little blue pixies! Ganthet demurs, saying they should hold off...for now. They can't strike down their faithful Corps until they find the First Lantern.

The Guardians make TERRIBLE bosses.

Hal wakes up half nekkid and alone in a cell, with a dead ring. Again. This seems to happen to Hal a lot. I am also MOST grateful to Doug Mahnke for a half-nekkid Hal. The guy in the cell next to Hal seems quite happy to see him, and tries to beg, cajole and then threaten, which freaks Hal out just a tiny bit. And then who the heck should show up but...Black Hand! Well! That at least explains to Hal what happened to him. He babbles a bit in Indigo lingo, which is annoying to say the least, and finally does say that they have all been saved...and Sinestro will be saved too. Hal is getting a wee bit tired of people beind inscrutable.

But not as tired as Sinestro, who is a dilly of a pickle.

Gosh this is good.

Thursday's Reviews

Good Gosh, but I love the second Wednesday of the month. So many books, I can hardly contain my joy.

Batgirl #7

I enjoyed this, it is always nice to see Black Canary, and having her and Barbara get together is fun. Babs is still wrestling with her feelings, not to mention a bit of survivors guilt as far as I can reckon...about getting her legs back and being Batgirl again. She's also fighting a guy in the sewer. Babs gets around. Meanwhile, her long lost mother has finally shown up on Jim Gordon's doorstep. And Barbara runs across someone out of her past.

Good story, good art. What's not to like?


Batman & Robin #7

I do love this book. Nobody has taken Damian hostage and is busy breaking his fingers and threatening to do the same to various other body parts, while he gloats at Bruce. Batman is pissed, but keeping it together, an he finally does find Nobody's lair, and in a REALLY fabulous page, stands there, wreathed in smoke and wrapped in his cape, demanding to know if, after trying to murder his son, he really expects to live?

There ensues an all-out, knock-down, dragout fight to end all fights, as poor Damian looks on, and Nobody does the usual rant, and then Batman dumps him in the giant vat of acid! Woohoo! For a minute there, I really thought that Bruce had lost it, but fortunately, he stays true to himself and hauls him out and prepares to take him to jail. And he and Damian have a nice little bonding moment. And then Damian...well, Damian is true to his upbringing too.

Fabulous! And the art is simply amazing.

Batwoman #7

This was good as well. Naturally. There is a whole lot going on in Gotham, that is for certain. Kate continues to work for Cameron, but I don't think she's particularly happy about it. But they do have some wonderful wonderful toys. And a whole lot of very twisted monsters, and the gangs, and other stuff. It's all tying together, and it is beautiful.

Demon Knights #7

Well, the final Donnybrook is well underway, as the Queen's forces are attacking, and things aren't going particularly well. Then Vandal Savage, attacks...his own baggage train, which draws in the Queen's horde, since horde's usually like to get paid. He was just fooling! I knew it all along.

Thanks to Jason getting some innocent tears from Hell, Madame Xanadu is back in fighting trim, and taking on Mordu. The Shining Knight is fighting the queen, and so is everyone else, but the Horsewoman managed to get through and now has summoned the cavalry...literally. And the village is saved! Granted, it is a smoking ruin, and there may only be a couple of survivors, but hey...a victory is a victory.

I really do like this book. Nothing like a medieval Justice League.

Green Lantern #7

Gosharootie, this is fabulous. More anon.

Journey into Mystery #635

Once again, my sole Marvel book...but the BEST Marvel book.

Loki, Leah and Daimon Hellstrom are fighting to save children from Nightmare, and his quest to become head Dream Honcho...or something. They are slowly saving the kids, but it is a long slog, and Loki is becoming discouraged, not to mention having the same fear clot in his own brain. It occurs to him, that law of averages is not necessarily on their side, and has Leah remove the Fear Clot from his own brain, which he then offers to Nightmare...free of any tricks or changes.

Egad!

Fabulous. Really fabulous.


The Ray #4

I'm so bummed that this was only a mini-series, because I really like the new Ray...which rather surprised me. Everything has gone to hell in a handbasket, Ray is hurt, his girlfriend's father is dead, and all sorts of terrible terrible things have come to pass, due to the machinations of his foe, who has the power to alter reality. It finally dawns on the Ray, that perhaps, reality can be restored, and all the bad things can be fixed...including his enemy.

Is it a copout? Well...maybe, but dagnabit, it is so nice to actually have a happy ending for a change! I liked the art and I like the story, and I really like the way that the colorist was able to make the Ray look as though he was literally glowing. And they even leave a teaser at the end for more.

Very very good.

Resurrection Man #7

Another good book. Mitch is hiding out after escaping from Arkham and when the building where he is lurking is being raided by the cops, he at first thinks that they've come for him...when actually they are after a drug dealer, who has this handy dandy force field thingie.

There are a lot of explosions and various amounts of mayhem, and Mr. Untouchable does manage to kill Mitch. Like that's going to work! He comes back to life with his OWN force field, and well...let's just say that Mr. Untouchable turns out to be eminently touchable. Mitch is starting to remember more about his past life in the meantime, and is coming to realize what a jerk he used to be.

Again...very very good.

The Shade#6

Aaaah...the Shade. We continue with our little side adventure in Barcelona, with his old protege La Sangre vs The Inquisitor. All he really wanted was a vial of his blood, but these things have a way of escalating somehow, and he's involved in a fight, along with Montpellier, who is La Sangre's sidekick, or ally or whatever.

It is a fun ride, and I always enjoy seeing the Shade.

Well, it was a very nice week. Not a loser in the bunch!

Some Actual Good News

I'm actually a bit torn. I had this great idea to mock Rush Limbaugh, because it seemed as though that might be a fun sort of thing to do. Seriously, the guy has been married FOUR times, and has NO children. I can only assume that his wives were using BIRTH CONTROL!!!! Either that, or he's shooting blanks, which isn't really very...manly, if you know what I mean. (wink wink, nudge nudge).

And Daylight Savings Time always makes me cranky. It was JUST getting light in the morning, and wham...back to darkness again. Is it me, or does DST seem to be going on for 10 months of the year now? So...I've been cranky.

But then I discovered THIS!



Rip Hunter! Boosters Baby Boy! This is coming out, and I MUST have it. Having artists like Alex Toth, Bill, Ely, Joe Kubert, Ross Andry and Nick Cardy is also a powerful attraction. That's a Nick Cardy cover by the way and I simply adore Nick Cardy.

So, I'm in a much better mood already. It's a good thing that I'm a woman and therefore fickle and flighty!

RIP Moebius

Well, now I'm all depressed. I was just over at Bully's blog, and found out to my utter dismay that Jean Giraud, aka Moebius and probably one of my favorite artists/creators in the WORLD has died.

Crap.

It was through reading his Lt. Blueberry books, that I discovered the incredible world of French and European comics, and found the Corto Maltese books by Hugo Pratt, Tintin, and Lucky Luke and all kinds of fabulous stuff. After devouring all the Lt. Blueberry books that I could find, I read MORE of his creations, such as Airtight Garage,and the Metabarons and anything else that I could find.

His line work was simply spectacular. His style was fluid, and he could switch from the incredibly intricate detail of a Blueberry book, to the much more cartoonish look of his later work. It may have LOOKED simpler...but it wasn't. He also wrote a lot of his own stuff, and had a certain dry sense of humor that I much appreciated. In fact, I think that he was even knighted, or at least given the same honor as a knighthood in France, which seems to appreciate Comics more than we necesarily do in the States.

Damn. Now I'm depressed. I think I'll go and read all my Blueberrys again and raise a toast.

Remember When?

It really was only a few short years ago, that Jaime Reyes was introduced as the new Blue Beetle. People naturally, were...skeptical. I was HIGHLY skeptical, because I really really love Ted Kord. It took a few months for me to summon up the curiosity to check the new book out. But word on the street was also highly favorable. And once I read it...I was HOOKED!

A young new hero. A Hispanic hero, based, not in New York, but in El Paso. His friends and family knew his secret identity. The people of El Paso liked him. Oracle tried to recruit him. Guy ended up liking him. Hell, Batman liked him! He got a girlfriend, who was as awesome as he was. He wanted to be a Dentist.

Remember stuff like this?



and





and



not to mention



and even



This is only a tiny tiny sampling of the awesomeness of Jaime. So maybe...we could get back to that sort of thing?

Please?

Hey, New Comics!

And by the way, the new books came out yesterday!

Action Comics #7

After my slight befuddlement over the flash-back/flash-forward issue from last month, we are back, having our Boy, still in his old jeans and work boots, trying to deal with the alien invasion. A whole chunk of Metropolis has been snatched up, including Lex, Lois and Jimmy. Of course it was.

The Authorities, finally seem to be supporting Superman, and to realize that he's trying to help. And in what may be one of the most fabulous sequences ever, he's trying to get up enough speed to make it into outer space. Yes, you heard me. So he runs...faster than he's ever run, uses a flat-bed truck as a launching pad, and JUMPS into the Atmosphere, bouncing off of a couple of satellites along the way! He runs so fast that he wears the soles right off of those wonderful old work boots! Oh, and he's got an air tank, because Superman can't breathe in Space.

Oh God, I love this book.

Naturally, he gets captured by the Alien ship, and we finally realize that Lex, with all of his wheeling and dealing with the Alien, is imprisoned in a bottle, along with the rest of Metropolis. Meanwhile, Superman is offered a test, to save Metropolis, or to save Kandor. Naturally, he wants to save them both, and he also gets some new duds along the way...which is a bit of a shame, because I have really been loving the T-shirt, jeans and old boots look. Rags is back on the art, and it is just lovely.

Fairest #1

This is the latest offering from Bill Willingham, and it is a new Fables book, that presumably will be focusing on the lovely ladies of the Stories. Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning handle the art and the inks, and I have to say that it is simply gorgeous. There are some twists and turns along the way, but we find out that Briar Rose, is still asleep, and that I believe the Snow Queen is snoozing right along with her. Ali Baba shows up and a rather amusing little efreet in a bottle.

Good stuff.

Justice League International #7

Naturally, you all recall that at the end of last months issue, everyone got Blowed Up! Well, now we deal with the repurcussions of that explosion. Booster and Guy managed to save themselves and everyone they were close to, Batman was across the street, all the women are hurt and out of action, and oh, they killed Gavril. And Briggs and whatshername. And the woman who reluctantly went along and granted them their charter from the U.N. shows up and yells at them. And Booster angts a lot. And Guy is having kitten fits over Ice and her broken legs. And Batwing shows up.

And they killed Gavril! Damn, I liked him. And a new bad guy by the name of Lightweaver shows up, and he's behind the shenanigans, except that someone is telling him what to do, and we don't know why, or the motivations for all of this, and dammit, they killed Gavril!

Crap. Why is it whenever I like someone, this happens? DC just doesn't love me anymore.

Red Lanterns #7

I really only picked this up because it has Guy in it, and it's nice to see Guy, and the new Lantern is highly confused of course, but not completely evil, in fact he actually said something, which startles Guy something fierce. And Bleez is leading her own contingent of Red Lanterns, and hunting down former Sinestro Corps Members. And Atrocitus is mooning around and searching for Krona, who it turns out was skinned and eaten by some guy named Abysmus, who is one of Atrocitus's rejects or something.

It's ok, I guess. Not really floating my boat.

Swamp Thing #7

Well, things aren't going to well. The Rot has Abby and wants to make her into its avatar or something, and Alec wants to be turned into Swamp Thing in order to save her and the rest of the Green, but the Parliament is feeling pissy, and they are also dying, so after a LOT of kvetching, Swamp Thing is...ReBorn! Woohoo!

Good stuff.

Still On My Beetle Kick

Gosh, I loves me some Blue Beetle. Especially Ted. Why can't I have Ted back? They don't even have to think up anything particularly amazing, he could just walk in the door, say that he got "better" and I would be happy. More than happy, I would be ecstatic.

You know who else would be ecstatic? Booster. I also love Booster Gold, and I've been enjoying the heck out of his recent series, and having him in the new JLI, but still...boy I miss Ted. Booster misses Ted. Tora and Bea miss Ted. Guy misses Ted too, he even thinks that he's smarter than Batman. Barbara Gordon misses Ted. Batman may not, but hell...he's the Batman.

But Booster and Ted just had the most amazing friendship ever.



I believe you Ted and Booster! I believe you!

THIS!

This is one of the reasons that I like the original version of Jaime Reyes so much. Well...Jaime and his amazing Family.



There is nothing about this, that isn't adorable.

Of Blue Beetles

Let me confess right here, that I...am a Blue Beetle fan. I'm a fan of ALL the Blue Beetles, although Ted Kord probably holds the highest place in my heart. Blue Beetles may not be Green Lanterns, but dammit, they're fun nevertheless.

At least...they USED to be fun. I bought the first issue of the NEW new Blue Beetle, which with the new 52 Universe retold the origin of the new Blue Beetle, AKA Jaime Reyes, who took the mantle after the death of the old Blue Beetle,Ted Kord, who took over after the death of the original Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett.

Sheesh!

Anyhoo, Dan was fun in a Silver Age sort of way, and Ted was loads of fun, because he was written so well by Giffen and DeMatteis,and drawn so well by Kevin Maguire and a host of other talented artists in Justice League International. And I was so sad when they killed off Ted, but I did fall in love with Jaime, who was so young, and so untried, and so...so SMART! And I loved his family and I loved his whole story by Giffen and John Rogers and Cully Hamner and Rafael Albuquerque, and the new Beetle was simply simply fabulous.

And I was sorry when it too came to an end. But at least it came to a decent end. Well, Nadia was killed, and Hector went bonkers and now we have the Black Beetle, but still...it was a cohesive story with wonderful, fabulous characters.

So I was very happy, when I heard that DC was going to start Blue Beetle up again, and that they were bringing back Jaime. And then...I read it. And I dropped it. But I picked it up again recently and was even more repulsed, so I dropped it twice.

They took everything that was fun and enjoyable and distinctive about his character, and twisted it all around. Yes, he's still young, and yes, he still lives in El Paso...I think, and Brenda and Paco are there, and his family, but all of the JOY is gone. The actualy alien beetle, Kahji Da, is different too. Now it is a cold-blooded killer, instead of the rather charming damaged creature of the first stories, and now Paco has one too, and it has Kyle as the Green Lantern instead of Guy, and Booster hasn't been in it at all, and the Reyes are no longer awesome, and I don't even know if Milagro is IN it.

The new Blue Beetle was a critical hit, and had a devoted and vocal bunch of fans, but by in large, it didn't sell in large numbers. But everyone who DID buy it...pretty much loved the heck out of it. The character of Jaime was also a hit on the Batman: Brave & the Bold cartoon, which also recently ended, much to my sorrow. Kids liked him. He even showed up in Smallville.

So why are they giving us this dreck now? By and large, the new 52 Universe has been pretty dark. I am not completely against a bit of grimness and grittiness in my comics. It can be done very well. But for quite a very long time now, that is ALL that we've been handed, and all of the whimsy, joy and out and out craziness of comics has been ruthlessly sucked away. There are still a few bits of madness out there. Neal Adams Batman: Odyssey is insane, and akin to absolute lunacy, but by God, it jumps off of the page, and although I can't really make heads or tails out of it, I enjoy the crap out of it. Nextwave was fabulous, the Incredible Hercules was a hoot,Ambush Bug was nuts, and so on and so forth...but comics that are simply FUN are becoming an endangered species. And I don't know why.

Now it has come apparent that the new Earth 2 is not going to be the refuge that I had originally hoped for, with the old Farts of the Justice Society, and Power Girl and Huntress and so on. Instead, they have promos touting that Wonder Woman is the only Amazon left, and Batman is willing to kill, and Superman is cranky and out of control, and that pretty much just killed whatever anticipation I had...and I had a LOT...dead.

DC...I love you. Why are you being mean to me?

Guy Stuff

At this point, I'm just having too much fun with the whole "Guy being Awesome" thing. Because there is a lot! I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised...he IS a Super Hero after all. But certainly one of the ones who isn't right at the top of the list when it comes to...you know...Super Stuff.



This is one from before he ever even became a Green Lantern, when he was just plain old (or in this case young) Guy Gardner, and he's taking kids on a field trip, and their bus is in an earthquake, and he's trying to save this little girl. They fall, and he gets hit in the back by a yellow bus, but not to worry, because Hal shows up and rescues him and the little girl. He's in the hospital for a while, because Hal doesn't know how to rescue people properly with spinal damage, but hey.

And that's when John Stewart comes in, and why he is 2814.2 and Guy is 2814.3.

And their glorious rivalry was...BORN!

Damn

Man, Davy Jones of the Monkees died the other day. I remember watching their show on Saturday mornings back when I was a wee tot. Years later, I was crushed to learn that at least in the beginning, they did not play their own instruments or write their own songs. At the time I was completely convinced that yes, they lived in that groovy pad, and had all those wacky adventures. My sisters and I practiced our "Monkee Walk".

And I still don't care that it was a show devised to cash in on Beatlemania, because it was fun, and innocent and had some really really great music. We were talking about it at work yesterday, and what really destroyed me, was that most of the people didn't even know who Davy Jones or the Monkees even were! Nor for that matter, Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Lovin' Spoonful, or the Mamas and the Papas, not to mention the Association, Herman's Hermits and Jerry and the Pacemakers.

Gah!

I get it, I'm old. But while I am familiar with the names of N'Synch, the Backstreet Boys, and Justin Bieber, I'll be damned if I can recall the name of any actual song that they performed.

But moving onto other things. Remember when Hal got Parallaxed and tried to remake the world, and everyone thought he was evil and stuff? And Kyle was the only Green Lantern left, and Guy had his bar?



It didn't matter that Hal took his yellow ring and his eye and beat him up. It didn't matter that Hal had taken his Green ring and beaten him up. Guy still stood by Hal, and for that matter so did the rest of the erstwhile Lanterns. And Batman could just suck on it.

Tiny Reveiws

Fifth weeks are always...interesting. And I have to say that although I only got three books this week, they were darned good books!

Batman: Odyssey #5

I have completely given up trying to make heads or tails out of this book, because it makes absolutely NO sense whatsoever...and yet...and yet, I'm enjoying the piss out of it. It's as though Neal Adams is just drunk on booze, adrenalin and ideas, and those ideas just keep pouring out of him and onto the page. And the art...well, it IS Neal Adams!

For all of you who were worried, Robin is alive and well, and didn't get blowed up by Batman last issue, and Bats has somehow figured out how to beat Sensei, and Ra's is probably behind stuff, and they go and rescue the women from the Troll people, and there are dinosaurs, and backstabbings, and arial fights and...and more insane stuff than you can shake a stick at. What really excites me, is that Bruce is narrating this whole story to someone...and he's wearing a Green Lantern T-shirt as he does it, and he's so happy and excited and the complete OPPOSITE of grim and gritty...and for that alone, I love this book. And look who is doing the colors! Moose Baumann! I love Moose too!

This crazy insane book.

Justice League #6

Well the pooh has hit the fan, and Darkseid has Superman on Apololips where he's being tortured, and Batman is hiding in the shadows,and Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash and Hal are fighting Darkseid, and Cyborg has figured out that he can manipulate the Mother Boxes, and PING!

Superman gets loose, Batman and he manage to get back, and Cyborg more or less saves the day by sending Darkseid and all of his cronies back, and fixes it so that the Mother Boxes don't work, and Woohoo! They saved the day! But they are still worried that the general populace still hates and fears them, but not to worry, everyone realizes that they are Heroes!

Super Heroes!

And the President has a nice ceremony, and they all stand there and kvetch about how they have other stuff to do, besides just hang out and solve the world's problems, but Flash is just so happy, so he thinks they should be called the Super Seven or something. They do get it straightened out eventually.

Was this the greatest story about the League ever? Well, no, but still, it was reasonably fun and exciting, and Wonder Woman really seemed to enjoy punching things, and Hal was reckless, and Barry was endearing and Arthur was actually pretty awesome, and Superman was ok, and heck, even Batman wasn't completely annoying. So I liked it.

There was another story at the end, involving that lady in the purple hood, who is apparently called Pandora, and she runs into everyone's favorite fellow, the Phantom Stranger, who isn't particularly happy with her shenanigans. I...foung this intriguing. Very intriguing.

Shade #5

God, I love this mini-series.

Shade is still trying to figure out what is going on, and talks to his great grandson, who just wants a bit of his blood, so that he can survive Leukemia long enough to figure things out as well. So Shade goes to Barcelona, and teams up with La Sangre, who is a rather nice Vampire, who fights for the People of Spain. She insists on calling him Father, and he's NOT, but he was there when she was more or less born as a Vampire, and it all has stuff to do with why HE doesn't have real blood anymore, and there is a most unpleasant Bad Guy named the Inquisitor, that they are going to have to fight, and heck, it is just a helluva lot of fun. And Shade looks so dapper in his spats. I love spats.

So that is it for the new books.

But continuing with Guy Gardner being the most awesome Green Lantern...



This is Guy NOT being a Green Lantern, but being a Gal during the whole Warrior thing. This was by Beau Smith and just happens to be one of the funniest issues he ever wrote. Dementor has turned Guy into a woman, and he's not taking it very well. But rather than moan and cry and whine about it like MOST guys do when having a gender-bending experience, she just buckles down, grits her teeth and goes out and kicks Dementor's butt the way that she is. AND, she's wearing MORE clothes than he normally would, which is a bit of a thrill as well.