Time To Reflect

Well, it is that time of year again...New Year's Eve, and we all stop, take a breath, and look back over the Year that Was.  And it was certainly an...interesting year.  I'm not even going to go into the election, the Olympics, Sandy Hook, the Hurricane and all the myriad other things that happened this year.  There are plenty of other and better sites for that sort of thing.  Personally, we lost my Father in Law, whom I adored, and two of his sisters, whom I was also very fond of, had one kid get engaged, and another one is pregnant, and a third is buying a house, and well...life goes on. 

But in the world of comics, we all continued to be awed and amazed by the new 52 Universe from DC, and the Avengers Vs The X-Men at Marvel.

Haw! 

As much as I love my comics, I have to say this was a pretty mediocre year.  At the Big Two that is.  There were all kinds of cool offerings from the OTHER Comic book companies out there, and although I don't buy a huge number of indies, I am thrilled to pieces that they exist and have an audience.  Plus, Saga is awesome. 

Marvel continues to drive me nuts.  On the one hand you have crap like the whole Avengers vs X-Men idiocy, and on the other, you have things like Journey Into Mystery, Thor, and Hawkeye, which have been pretty fabulous.  Plus, the Avengers movie really was fun.

DC continues to drive me batty as well.  Literally.  900 Batman comics on the shelf every week?  I'm exagerating of course...but not all that much.  Batman still isn't my favorite character, but I can understand the appeal of course.  And he has one of the greatest supporting casts in history.  I like Alfred, Barbara, Tim and Commissioner Gordon all a lot more than I like Batman.  Hell, even Damian is growing on me.  But it is getting to the point where the only books on the market are Avengers, or Batman books.  Talk about putting all of your eggs in one basket! 

Justice League has been a rollercoaster ride, one month it is pretty decent, the next abysmal.  They cancelled JLI, which depresses me.  Vertigo is pretty much kaput.  I still don't like all the new origins of all the DC characters, and I terribly miss all of the sidelined characters.  To me, DC's strength all of these years hasn't necessarily been the Big Three, but all of the secondary characters, of which they have an enormous number of strong, well-fleshed out actors in the game.  I STILL miss Ted Kord and the the Dibnys, Wally, and so many many more. 

If the DC writers want to take a year or two off and write what is essentially fan fiction, I suppose it is their right and privilege, but it is getting pretty tedious for the rest of us. 

And let me touch upon the Green Lanterns. 

Oh, my beloved Lanterns!  I loved Rebirth.  I loved the Sinestro Corps War with a deep abiding passion.  I liked Blackest Night.  War of the Green Lanterns was pretty good.  The Rise of the Third Army, and the Evil Guardians has been a train wreck. 

There.  I've said it.  I really like Geoff John's and I wish that he could maybe write fewer books so that he could concentrate on MY favorite books.  Because as usual, it's all about ME!  But seriously, this whole Evil Guardian story has been dragging on for a pretty long time now, and all of the wonderful things that he built up for the Green Lantern Corps are now being tossed away, and it is depressing.  He's killed off Hal and Sinestro (sort've) he's put Guy through the ringer, killed Mogo, killed a crapload of anonymous Lanterns, split up Kyle and Soranik, split up Kyle and Guy, John is angry all the time, Kilowog hasn't been around much at all, and then we got Simon Baz, the new Green Lantern.

He's...well, he's pretty dull actually.  He is an American Muslim, whose family has faced a great deal of animosity and hardship since 9/ll, he managed to put his own brother in the hospital racing cars illegally, he became a car thief, and inadvertently stole a van full of explosives, so the government thinks that he's a terrorist, leading to still more heartache for his family.  When Hal and Sinestro went to Limbo or whatever, he got their combined ring, and with it, he managed to make idiots out of the Justice League, which was actually a HIGH point for me, and is currently trying not to be killed by the guy who originally planted the explosive-filled van, and the Third Army zombie guys. 

In all of this, he has only acted for his own selfish desires.  He certainly hasn't done anything to help his family or his fellow Muslims.  Granted, this has all happened in a relatively short period of time, but he just doesn't seem to have any personal characteristics that seem all that admirable.  Granted he isn't a terrorist, but he STILL does steal cars for a living!  He's not a Robin Hood kind of character, he's keeping the money.  He seems pretty cranky most of the time.  He's not altruistic in the least, and I haven't even seen anything particularly heroic about him. 

And I have this terrible fear, that Johns is going to dump all of my beloved Lanterns and all I will have is...Simon Baz, Cipher.  Granted, he has a pretty decent behind, but that IS a requiremen to be a Lantern after all, and it just isn't enough.  At his most obnoxious, Guy was still a hero.  At his most callow, Kyle was still a hero.  John can be a bit self-righteous, but he's a hero.  Hal's an idiot most of the time, but he's still a hero.  So far, Simon Baz hasn't proved that he's a hero to me, nor that he deserves that ring. 

Sorry, got off on a little rant there. 

So for the New Year,  I am hoping for a return to normalcy for the DC Universe.  I want the Guardians to get theirs.  I want Superman back with Lois.  I want Hippolyta back in Wonder Woman.  Stephanie Brown is not a character that I go out of my way to read, but hell, a whole lot of people like her a whole lot, and DC's hatred of her is a little weird.  Same thing with Cass.  And Wally.  I want the JSA back.  I love those old farts.  You have all these wonderful toys, DC.  USE THEM!

And Marvel, keep up the good work with Hawkeye and Thor and Loki.  And for God's sake, can we lay off the giant crossovers for a while and just tell stories for a bit?  Sheesh!

What sort of things would YOU all like to see in the upcoming year, or what did you hate over the year past?

Green Lantern #15

In all of the recent excitement, it has finally dawned on me, that I completely forgot to share with you my scintillating thoughts about the most recent Green Lantern issue.  I read it, and I enjoyed it, and then...well Christmas and all that jazz, you know.

Let me start out by saying that the cover gets things off on the right foot.  There is nothing quite like a really nice Green Lantern Butt on the cover to make me smile.  Granted, it is slightly obscured by the hands in handcuffs, but still...the thought is there. 

So...the Third Army is taking over things all over the Universe, and they are doing it in quite rapid fashion as more and more Lanterns are discovering to their dismay.  Back on Earth, Simon Baz, after making idiots of the Justice League, in rather spectacular fashion, decides to go and talk to the owner of the van full of explosives that he made the rather poor decision to steal, to try and find out who stole it from HIM.  This...turns out to be a really bad idea on Simon's part.

The Feds are still after Simon.  This is a surprise to no one.

Funny thing about that van.  Turns out that the owner WAS the guy who filled it with explosives, partly so that he could frame the Muslims.  And here comes poor old Simon blundering right into the middle of it.  Why, it's almost a Hal kind of stupidity!  Fortunately, Simon figures out how to block the bullets by going green again.  Too bad that his ring then cuts out.  Like that hasn't happened before!

Meanwhile, back in that cold dark dimension that Hal and Sinestro have found themselves transported to, whether it is Limbo, or whatever, it eventually dawns on our heroes that they are dead.  Deceased.  Taking the Dirt Nap.  Naturally, being who they are, they aren't taking this sort of thing lying down.  Oh, and a ragged person is trying to tell them all about this, and identifies himself or herself as a foe of Sinestro and a friend of Hal. 

Hmmmm...that actually would include quite a number of people. 

Back on Earth, Simon has been running all over the house trying to avoid being shot.  The Fed who actually sort've believes him, by incredible coincidence, just happens to show up, and before you can say Jack Robinson, he is being chased all over the house as well!  Gosh, that is one well armed crazy man!    They have something of a standoff going, when suddenly a whole crapload of Third Army Zombies busts into the house and manage to eat the Bad Guy.  And it serves him right!  The Fed and Simon are now fleeing for their lives, and Simon naturally still can't recharge his ring

Fortunately, they are saved by B'dg. 

I am not kidding, Salaak had sent him to Earth a little while back to look for Hal.  He's been blending in, and hanging out with the Earth Squirrels.  Seriously, this is my favorite part of the whole book. 

Finally, the Guardians are getting bored with the amount of time that it is taking for their zombification of the entire Universe, and decide to tap into the power of the First Lantern again, getting a little bit of taunting in for good measure, because hey, they're complete Dicks at this point.   This...will probably come back to bite them in their tiny blue asses, and frankly, I can't wait.  I'm getting tired of the Evil Guardians.

So...a fair amount happens, which is good, because I think that this whole storyline could use a boost.  I'm still not completely buying Simon Baz as a Lantern.  I find  him a little dull, to be perfectly honest.  He seems to be an amalgamation of the traits of all the other four Earth Lanterns.  He's a minority like John, but without John's righteousness or honor, since let's be truthful, he IS a car thief!  Granted he's not a terrorist, but still!  He's got anger issues and seems to be a bit impulsive like Guy, but without Guy's honor or basic sense of decency, and sense of humor.  He's a little dim like Hal.  He's a rookie the way that Kyle was.  Other than that, he seems a bit of a cipher.

And that ragged figure who is hanging out with Hal and Sinestro?  I am totally hoping that it is Katma Tui.

Teensy Weensy Reviews

Egad, but that was a small week!  I suppose I shouldn't complain, I can remember the year that there was only ONE comic between Christmas and New Year's!  This year, I got TWO!

Aquaman #15

And so it begins...the latest crossover, with the Justice League, called the "Throne of Atlantis".  In this new DC Universe, Arthur was King for a while, but didn't really want to be, and so gave the throne back to his brother, Ocean Master, who also in this incarnation seems to be a nice enough guy.

Except that for some reason, the missiles are altered on an Aircraft Carrier, and they end up blowing up or at least seriously seriously damaging Atlantis.  Obviously, the people on the surface are completely oblivious, but the Atlanteans are just a bit pissed.  And can you blame them?  So, they put their defenses in order, and start attacking various cities on the land, beginning with New York, Metropolis and Gotham City. 

I honestly didn't know that Gotham City had a harbor.  Although actually now that I come to think of it, I guess it does.  Batman is annoyed.  Arthur is annoyed.  The Atlanteans are REALLY annoyed!  Oh, and they let those nasty creatures out that were in the first arc.


Justice League #15

Meanwhile, the poo has hit the fan over in the Justice League, since the Aircraft Carrier has disappeared, and they don't know why the missiles malfunctioned, and oh, surface cities are getting swamped.  And Clark shows Diana how to wear a pair of glasses, so that they can go out on a date in public and not be mobbed.  She is highly skeptical at first, but later seems to be warming up to it. 

Then the tidal wave hits.  Naturally, the two of them spring into action, with Superman just happening to rescue Lois, or rescue the guy who actually rescued Lois, who turns out to be Vulko, who is Arthur's old buddy and pal.

Arthur is trying to explain what happened to the Justice League, but in typical Marvel fashion...oops...NEW DC fashion, they don't want to listen, they just want to start hitting things.  So his talk with his brother Orm doesn't go particularly well.   Oh, and those plans to defend themselves against the surface world?  Turns out that Arthur was the one who wrote them.  Just channeling his inner Batman, probably.

There is also the back page story with Captain Marvel...oops...Shazam, who is still running around with Freddie, and stuffing themselves with junk food.  He also has a knack to stumbling upon crimes, and profits therein.  Freddy however, is getting fed up with his new adult attitude. 

Seriously this version of Billy is pretty insufferable.  I do love the art by Gary Franks however.  And Black Adam decides to show up at the very end.


These were actually not bad books, the art is pretty, and the new plot sounds reasonably interesting.  I feel a bit more sympathetic towards Atlantis, since they were the ones who were fired upon.  Obviously someone is Up To No Good.  After a whole lot of fighting, I assume they will find out who that Someone will turn out to be.  I just don't want it to take 12 issues to do it. 

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas Eve, and I would assume that just about everyone is scurrying around and trying to get things ready for the Big Day.  Wassail is on the stove simmering, the alcohol enhanced eggnog is in the fridge, the presents are wrapped, and I am actually taking a minute to sit down, and say Merry Christmas to Everyone...while eating fudge. 

Mmmmmm....fudge.

Some people of course can't take Christmas off.



Batman would be one of those people.  But seriously, what the heck did he have against the bear?

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Joyful Kwaanza, Festivus and the Winter Solstice and anything that I may have left out!

Back In The Saddle

Well, this has certainly been a very very interesting week.  I haven't posted in a while, not from lack of desire, but from the fact that after getting our furnace fixed, it worked for a week or so and finally let go completely, flooding the basement, and dying, so in December we had a house with no heat and no hot water.  Plus the washer went.  It's a good thing that I had all of my Christmas shopping done, because I was just about at the end of my rope. 

So we spent a week at the Marriot Residence Inn in Windsor, Ct. and I have to say that they treated us VERY well.  In fact, my Sweet Baboo is suffering withdrawal from the breakfast buffet and may try and sneak in.  Also our Home Owner's insurance laughed at us, and the warranty on the boiler, while not out of date, can't be proved because the original installer didn't add the serial number plate.  So a whole lot of money later, we now have heat, we have hot water, and we have a giant bill...but Merry Christmas anyway!

And...there were good comics last Wednesday.

Batwoman #15

This particular issue takes a brief break from the story with Kate and Wonder Woman, and delves into the thoughts and actions of Maggie Sawyer, who is desperately trying to deal with the mayhem as a police officer, and her interactions with  Cameron Chase, her worry about Kate, the missing children, and the parents of those children thinking they should resort to vigilantism on their own.  It's very well written, and although the artwork is different, it is well done too.  Definitely a good book this week.  But then, it is always a good book.


Birds of Prey #15

This is the finale to the whole story with Katanna, who has been kidnapped by your basic group of ninja crazies.  Naturally the rest of the Birds decide to go off and rescue her, and there is also Black Condor flying around doing stuff.  Nothing too outstanding, but a good basic and decent comic book story.  They win out, Katanna decides to go off and get her own series, and a new member shows up for the Birds, which startles them considerably.

Fables #124

This issue also took a bit of a break, and we get a lovely tale about Bufkin and what he's been up to, and what is going to happen to him.  It's adorable, and  just  a tiny bit heartwarming, and oh heck...it's just fun.  He never does make it back to Fabletown, but goes around performing various feats of derring-do, and tiny Lily, the little Barleycorn bride stays with him and they even manage to have kids, although it gets a tad convoluted. 

But fun.  Lots of fun.

Green Lantern #15

Oh My! 

Green Lantern: New Guardians #15

I haven't really been liking Kyle much in this...but I'm keeping up with it, because it does have significant contributions to the whole evil Guardian plotline running through the rest of the books.  IN this issue, Carol and Arkillo take Kyle to Larfleeze so that he can master Greed.  He doesn't really want to, but manages to figure it out of course.  Naturally they are attacked by the Third Army, and Sayd manages to save their bacon, but falls to them herself. 

The Guardians are watching all of this of course, and debate laconically amongst themselves whether or not they should save her, but in the end it is thumbs down, and Ganthet looks very very cold and cranky.  I'm getting a little fed up with Ganthet.  I don't know if he is playing a secret game, since he managed to keep the Guardians from actually killing both Guy and Salakk, or if he really IS as awful as he seems.  Nevertheless, too bad about poor Sayd.

Wonder Woman #15

Gosh I love this book.  Yes, it has nothing really to do with the REAL Wonder Woman, but the art is amazing, and the story is absorbing, and I'm lovin' it. 

We have Orion of the New Gods, showing up on Earth to hang out with Milan, who is yet another of Zeus's offspring.  Apparently he can...see things.  So naturally, Diana an Lennox have to go and look him up, although he and Lennox had a bit of a spat a while back.  This leaves Zola and Hera on their own, which will probably lead to much mayhem and hilarity.  Zola does point out that maybe it would make more sense for Hera to be mad at Zeus instead of all the hapless women that he seduced, which makes sense to me. 

Diana gets an upgrade on her bracers, Orion is suitably hot headed, and they are all geared up for an epic battle...that will have to wait till next month.  I'll be right here wating.

Hawkeye #6

Damn.  Damn it Marvel...I love this book.  This is basically covering a week in his life, with guest appearances by Spider-Man and Wolverine, and Kate of course, and Tony Stark, and involves Clint's struggles with his DVD player ( and haven't we ALL been there?) and the crazy mob guys, and various other things. 

It is lovely.  IT is practically perfect.

Thor #3

Also a first rate book.  You have surprised me yet again, Marvel.  Still more on the three time periods, and more on Thor's history and the history of ALL gods, and the scene with the tribunal and library is a hoot.  It's interesting to read a Thor story that doesn't involve him winning out through brute strength.

I'm hooked on this, and will keep going with it.


Saga #8

I also find this book to be incredibly compelling.  It's funny, it's amazingly well-written, and the art makes me weep with joy.  I love the characters, and oh heck...it's just darned good.

Alana wakes up and finds that her new father in law has been making stuff for her, and bonding with Hazel, and she discovers that he's dying, and wants to do this last thing for them.  Meanwhile Marko and his mother are still looking for Izabel, their ghost babysitter.  His mother is amazed that Marko uses his brains and guile instead of just random violence. 

Man this is good.

I hope that everyone has their shopping done, and is sacked out drinking eggnog by now.

Green Lantern Corps #15

Well, here is a fine how-dee-doo.  Guy has been stripped of his rank and ring, due to the utterly evil machinations of the Guardians.  They whisked him back to Earth, and we open with him having a temper tantrum in his Dad's garage.  I can honestly say that I can't blame him in the least.  It's actually not completely a temper tantrum, so much as Guy expressing his despair and agony in the only way that he knows...by punching the wall.  The fact that this leads to bloody knuckles that aren't healing finally dawns on him, and he flings his gloves away in disgust, rips off his green vest, and puts on his helmet to go out and deliver some Justice...Gardner Style!

Meanwhile, Fatality has met up with John, who is pursuing a chunk of Mogo.  Apparently she is as well, it turns out that Mogo has Male and Female parts that are calling out to each other.  They have a nice talk, and decide to more or less let bygones be bygones, and concentrate on getting Mogo back together, since it seems as though some of the pieces can't re-unite.  Gee, I wonder who could have done THAT?

Back on Oa, The Guardians are watching a nice wide viewscreen of all the mayhem being wrought by the Third Army, when Ganthet notices a tiny tiny nano-camera planted by none other than Salaak,, and the jig is well and truly up.  Naturally, they confront him, and try to convince him that all that they are doing is for the Good of the Universe.  Salaak may be curmudgeonly, but he isn't stupid, and he points out that they have all lost their tiny collective minds.  I was pretty sure that they were going to rend him into tiny Salaak pieces, but instead they imprison him.

Back on Earth, Guy calls his brother, to see how they are doing, and then rushes off in search of Bad Guys and Mayhem.  He may not be a Lantern anymore, but that isn't going to stop him from deeds of Derring Do.  He figures is Batman can do it, then so can he.  He's smart enough to not let on that he doesn' t have his ring, beats some people up and discovers that there is going to be a huge sale of armaments to a suspected terrorist, so of course he rushes in and starts kicking some major major butt.  Too bad for him, that it all turns out to be an undercover police sting, and he has just mucked up a whole lot of work.  The mean Lieutenant who knew him from before, has his very own sister arrest him and haul his sorry but still beautiful ;butt off to jail.

Dang.

They really are putting my Boy through the proverbial wringer!  And yet, I have to give props to Peter Tomasi,  because it may be the new DC 52 Universe, but he has stayed remarkably true to the original Guy in the Reborn mini-series, dating back to when he lost his ring to Hal, in the infamous duel in Green Lantern #25.  In that one, he wandered around in his uniform for a while, and did his best to try and fool people into thinking he still had a ring, and trying to bring in the Bad Guys.  Didn't work of course, but darned if he didn't try. 

So having him literally beat himself up, and then rush off to try and prove he is still a hero, is pretty much in character for Guy.  You knock him down, and he may hurt for a while, but he'll always manage to pick himself up again. 

Amazing.

No Comics Today

Ordinarily I would be enthralling you all with a review of Green Lantern Corps, or whatever incredibly insightful and brilliant idea I may have come up with.  Or pictures of Hal's behind.

But not today.

I live in Connecticut.

Fortunately, not in Newtown, where there has been a rampage at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.  Eighteen childred are dead, and at least seven adults.  Kindergarteners.  Little kids, going to school, in a nice safe bedroom community in Connecticut.  Safe, affluent Connecticut.

So I came home and I hugged my kids, and I cried a little bit, and I worried about the kids in my own nice safe little town.

So please, hug your own kids, or your own family members today.  Because we could use some Super Heroes of our own, and those would include the teachers and the Principal of that school who did their best to save those kids.

Reviews!

Yes, it is the day after Wednesday, we've all read our books, and are basking in the lovely afterglow.  At least I hope that we are.  This was a pretty decent week, although heavy on Bat-Stuff.

Batgirl #15

And the whole "Death of the Family" storyline continues.  When last we caught up with Barbara, she had discovered that the Joker had kidnapped her mother, and was holding her hostage in a roller skating rink.  Man, I haven't been to a roller skating rink in years.  And oddly enough, he wants to MARRY her.  Oh, that Joker.  What a guy. 

Of course in order to sweeten the pot a bit, he has her mom sitting on top of a bomb, and the unfortunate denizens of the skating rink have all been exposed to that nasty little Joker toxin, and there are snipers, and her brother was the one who gave her up to the Joker, although he seems to be having some sort of end game of his own, and they all end up at the Chapel! 

I don't imagine there will be too many more Batgirl books by Gail Simone, so I'm enjoying this while I can. 


Batman #15

Man, this is as scary as all get out.  For one thing, I have to say that the art by Greg Capullo is awfully awfully gorgeous.  He draws on helluva pretty Bruce.  The poop has more or less hit the fan, Bruce wakes up a couple of times, since he has been exposed to the Joker toxin, although the second time seems to be more or less reality, and all of the rest of the various Bat-people aren't too happy to learn that their true identies may have been compromised.  Bruce swears up and down that the Joker is just messing with their heads, but who the heck knows? 

Gosharootie, this is great stuff.

Batman & Robin #15

Oh Damian.  Bruce has told junior to stay in the Batcave and watch the monitors, but of course, he's just trying to keep him safe.  Damian talks to the Bat Hound, and off he goes to the Zoo to check out the hyenas, which is smart of him, but also dumb of him, since he's rather easily snapped up by the Joker.  The Joker feels as though all of the various Bat-people are just weights around Batman's neck, and that in order to be the Best that He Can Be, he needs to get rid of them.   The Joker isn't wrapped too tightly, which I'm sure we have all realized is the point. 

This is also great stuff, Tomasi and Gleason always deliver.


Demon Knights #15

I do enjoy the heck out of this book.  The evil Queen is attacking Avalon, Lucifer and his hordes are attacking Avalon, the Demon Knights are stuck in the middle, hauling around Merlin's carcase, and Etrigan is on the loose.  Gosh what fun!  Turns out that if the bad guys invade Avalon, they start to lose their powers, which was certainly a surprise to all of them.  Jason Blood and Etrigan were separated, but naturally, that doens't last too long, and Merlin is back, and younger than ever.  

Also pretty fabulous stuff.


Green Lantern Corps #15

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

Well Poopy Pants!

All kinds of rather distressing news has been arriving this week!  Firstly, and most importantly, at least to me, is that Gail Simone has been summarily canned from Batgirl by DC.  They chose a rather tasteless way to do it as well.  Gail Simone has always struck me as an intelligent and classy sort of Lady, and that's just a crappy thing to do.

It wasn't as though the book wasn't selling well either.  The old "Artistic Differences" I suppose, but she IS one of their best writers, and certainly has the following to prove it.  I still desperately miss her on Secret Six, which may just have been one of the Best Books Ever, not to mention Birds of Prey, The Atom, and so many many more. 

DC, you know that I love your books, but sometimes...I really do get tired of handing you my money and having you kick me in the teeth as a  thank you. 

Dave Brubeck and Ravi Shankar died, which was depressing.  Yes, I'm old.  I HAVE the Bangladesh album

And finally, Kevin Youkilis is going to be playing for...for...the Yankees.  Not my beloved Greek God of Walks!  Oh Red Sox, what have you wrought? 

It's a good thing that the new books are coming out today. 

All Romance Comic Heroes Look Like Hal

I simply cannot get enough of those old and completely over-the-top Romance Comics.  So...so much weeping, and sighing and yearning.  Because it was pretty obvious that all those beautiful young nurses, secretaries, and society girls Just Needed A Man to be Complete.




And they all seem to look like Hal.  Occasionally some of them look like Guy.  More rarely, like Kyle,which I actually find rather odd.  and not as many blonds as you would think.  None of them alas, look like John.

In this particular case, that sure looks like Carol.  And whatever she's been up to, while Hal is off gallivanting in Spaaaaaaace.

Yes, it's Monday...and I don't have a thought in my head.  How could you tell?

Heat!

Woohoo!  We got our furnace fixed yesturday!  Since I live in New England, this is a Very Big Thing.  It was also starting to get more than a little bit chilly.  Now of course, it almost seems odd not having to wear a sweater and a jacket and a quilt while watching television with the fire in the fireplace going. 

It's the simple things. 

And speaking of things that are both simple AND hot...



Yeah, I've been ignoring Kyle lately.  I just miss having he and Guy hanging out together in Green Lantern Corps.  While it is nice that he has his own book, he's been so isolated from the rest of the Lanterns, and he seems to have lost all of his...zest and charm.  Of course it is hard to be charming when you are learning to channel your inner rage, fear, love and all the rest of it. 

To be honest, I'm rather hoping that this whole Evil Guardians thing is going to be over soon.  I know that they always have to have a huge disaster looming on the horizon, but to be perfectly honest, I enjoy it when the boys and girls in Green are just out there saving worlds, and hanging out on Oa. 

Thursday Reviews

Well that was a nice little week.  Little being the operative word.  Next week though...!

Action Comics #15

I admit it.  I thought that Action Comics was beginning to drag just a wee bit.  Morrison seemed to be wandering off into various tangents, which, although they were interesting, seemed  to be getting away from the whole premise. 

I take it all back, because this was an amazing book this week.  We got back to the story about Clark's mysterious landlady, and her back story, and boy howdy, but it's a doozy.  The Fifth Dimension, and Mxyptl...lksz...you know!  And various other amazing denizens of that charming little dimension, and exactly what is going on, and who are those people, and maybe, just MAYBE, this will all be leading up to the whole thing with Pandora, and the Phantom Stranger, and Booster Gold, and the Light At The End Of The Tunnel!

Oh frabjous day.

Seriously, this is great.


Fairest #10

More stuff with Rapunzel in Japan.  She's still looking for her twins, stolen at birth, she thought by Frau Totenkinder, her foster mother, but it turns out that may not be the case, and her old girlfriend in Japan is bad now, and all sorts of skullduggery is occuring.  Jack gets whacked, but it doesn't take.  And then Totenkinder and Bigby decide to take a hand in the whole thing, which increases my interest, because damn it, I just love the both of them. 

And that is a rather seriously creepy cliff hanger!


World's Finest: #7

Why do I keep succumbing to temptation?  I looked at that cover by Kevin Maguire, and I HAD to have it, even though I really don't like this book all that much.  But egad, I do like the Maguire artwork. 

Helena has more or less teamed up with Damian, even though the two of them continue to insult each other, and Damian's dialogue is extremely...painful.  God, so painful.  And there are wolves, and werewolves, and for some reason Peej ends up being attacked by kids who are armed with weapons from Apokolips. 

Damian and Helena more or less acknowledge that they are siblings...sort of. 

I honestly don't really care, and Damian doesn't sound like himself at ALL.  But still...Maguire!


Hawkeye #5

Good God, but I do enjoy this book.  The art is top notch, and the story is a hoot.  It zips along with all kinds of twists and turns and great dialogue, and doesn't take itself too seriously along the way. 

Clint begins by being thrown out of a high rise window, while still tied to a chair, by ninjas of course.  Par for the course apparently.  Naturally, he manages to get free, but fortunately for him, Maria Hill just happens to be flying by.  Also, Kate, who had tied up Madame Masque and taken her place, decides to take a wee gander at the controversial tape that has Hawkeye cold-bloodedly murdering some fellow.

But not to worry, because the whole thing is  a clever scheme.  There is much fighting, a few ribs broken, and arrows of course.  Fun for all!

And While I'm At It...

It seems as though I haven't done much else but think about the state of my comics lately.  While I have enjoyed some of the new stories, I'm beginning to get a wee bit tired of the latest incarnation of the DC Universe.  And while I guess some of the writers have enjoyed their little fling at writing what is basically Fan Fiction, surely some of them are longing for the warm sweet blanket of continuity as much as I am.  And if I am reading it correctly, I am not alone in this.

But anyway.

I want to talk about Superman and Wonder Woman.  Both of them are very nice characters, that have withstood the test of time.  Oh, sometimes, Superman gets a little dull, but at least Lois is there to spice things up.  Oops, no more Lois.  And I love Wonder Woman, although for some reason a lot of writers just have a heck of a time trying to get at the root of her character, with the exceptions of Gail Simone and Greg Rucka.  But at least she had Steve Trevor.  I love Steve Trevor.  Oops.  He's been dumped too, so that Clark and Diana can smooch up a storm in the moonlight.

Yuck.

I don't buy it.  For one thing, it is a complete 180 degrees from how she is being presented in her very own book.  Of course her very own book is also 180 degrees away from how she USED to be presented, what with being the daughter of Zeus and all of that, but as an Elseworlds, I'm enjoying the heck out of it.  And I rather like Clark as being written by Morrison.  But Clark and Diana making goo goo eyes at each other, as Batman plays voyeur on the Satellite?

Double Yuck.

Even Booster Gold knows that this is forbidden love!  There was that tiny appearance, and mention of Rip Hunter back when they brought the JLI to a summary end, that is giving me a small amount of hope, that somewhere, out there, someone knows that this whole thing is an alternate Universe and that eventually...it will all go back to normal.

I would assume that we are going to have to wait until Geoff Johns is finished with his latest epic disaster in the Green Lantern books, and also so that Scott Snyder can finish up his whole Joker and Death in the Family storyline.  Then...then maybe they'll be done, and sanity will assert itself again.

But seriously, if DC wants to hook up a beautiful Princess with an iconic figure who can do just about anything, why not go with THIS!


Oh yeah.

Here's a Thought

Sometimes, I just like to sit and think weird thoughts about my comics.  Am I alone in this, or do we all do it?  Trying to untangle plotlines, revamps, retcons, and God knows what else.

In the new DC Universe, Guy Gardner's origin has been...drastically altered.  His Mom is not in sight, his Father is alive, and he's acquired a younger sister, which simply boggles my mind.  He still has an older brother, but it isn't Mace, it's Gerard.  He still doesn't get along with his Dad, but it is for completely different reasons, as his Dad is no longer a struggling blue-collar Dock Worker, but a retired Baltimore Policeman. His new brother and sister are also cops,and Guy was supposed to be a cop, but apparently didn't make it or something, which I find to be patently absurd.  So that's why his Dad thinks he's a screw-up. 

Right.

Others pointed out, and I completely agree, that the new backstory sounded a heck of a lot like that of the O'Dares' over in Opal City.  A whole family of red-haired super cops, with a black sheep.  And I do remember reading at one point that Opal City was supposed to be set near to Baltimore.  So this got my twisted little brain thinking.

Peggy Louise Gardner, the ineffable Mother of the Gardner family is missing, but I hope will eventually be back, when DC comes to their senses and returns my beloved continuity.  So...if we are going to be entertaining retcons...why not make Peggy an O'Dare?  They could all be Guy's cousins!  Red hair!  It could work!  Besides, although there are plenty of immediate family members in the comic book world, I can't remember seeing a whole lot of cousins, with the possible exception of Superman and Supergirl.  And Peej of course, but that also calls in the whole Alternate Universe stuff. 

I have to say that I miss Guy's wretched violent horrible childhood, because it is such a fabulous reason for his whole personality, not to mention his relationships with his fellow Lanterns.  And I want Mace back, because frankly, Mace is cool.  And his evil old goat of a father, Roland, instead of his current not-so-evil-only-curmudgeounly-father.  But I think that making Peggy Louise an O'Dare would be something that could be done without destroying the Time-Space Continuom.

Or maybe I just think waaaay too much about my comics.


But how could they have possibly put this woman on the shelf?