New Comics!

It's only been a couple of weeks, but man...I sure did miss getting my books last week.  I am a creature of habit, it appears.  So it was just so nice to be able to stroll into my beloved store, and have a number...nay a plethora of new books awaiting my eager perusal. 

I haven't read them yet...but I am going to.  Oh, I am going to. 

So Happy New Year, and I hope that you all got YOUR new books today!

My Goodness!

It has been something of a dry spell here, as you have no doubt noticed.  Basically I have been cleaning, eating all the Christmas fudge, and trying to reorganize my kitchen, so that the new washer and dryer can be delivered.  That wouldn't seem like much, except we are getting a new stove, fridge and freezer and dishwasher too, and we still need to run the appropriate gas lines and electrical outlets.  But it will be so nice when it is done...or so I keep telling myself.

So, just for fun,  here is a picture of Guy with a beard and long hair.  This is actually a cover from a future issue, and he is quite...hirsute.  At least for Guy.

I'm a little torn actually.  In one way, he looks a heck of a lot like his Warrior days, and I adored Guy as Warrior.  So I confess to actually liking the long hair a bit.  On the other hand, the beard does nothing for me.  Guy has a great chin, and it should always be on display.





Yes, I am shallow.

A Belated Merry Christmas

Oops.  Missed yesterday, but I imagine that most of us were busy with...other things.  But I hope that you ALL had a very very Merry Christmas, or at least a day off from work!  The greatest gift of all! 

It was a little weird without comics this Wednesday, but we coped.  And I got the double box set with Hal and Sinestro, in Green Lantern uniforms!  It was lovely.  And an MP3 player thingie, so that I can once again listen to my music while I am drawing.  And more fudge and cookies than you can shake a stick at. I think I will have to go back on my diet.  After...after they are all gone that is.

So...nothing much important to say today, except to wish  you all the joy of the season and hopes for a Happy New Year.  I am sure that by tomorrow I will be champing at the bit again, to mock DC or Marvel.

It's That Time of Year

No comics this week.  But that doesn't mean that we can't bask in comical Christmas Goodness.  And Lord knows, Little Black Cat has never once let us down, when it comes to Batman and Sons, celebrating the Season.

So...



Awwwww...!

Stuff I Bought

Slightly delayed, but hey, it is that time of year.  Made fudge already, several batches actually, and white chocolate/cranberry scones.  Still need to make Cherry-Chip Bread, and cookies and wassail.  Gulping down eggnogg like a madwoman.

But as much fun as Christmas is, Comics are fun too.  And this was an interesting week.

Batman '66, #6

I love this book so very very much.  And with L'il Gotham ending in a few months, it is one of the few FUN books out there.  And we all know that FUN is something that Comic Book Companies seem to hate.  Which confuses the heck out of me, but hey.

Anyhoo, this month we have none other than the Bookworm, who has always been a wonderful character.  He is actually pretty smart, using his ploys to get more and more information on Batman, so that he can figure out who he actually is.  Batman is mildly annoyed by this, Robin seems to take it more seriously, Aunt Harriet, Alfred and Stately Wayne Manor are prominently presented, and the scene with the fight in the library and the bust of Shakespeare popping open the entry to the Bat poles, is hilarious.

Then in the second story, we have Olga, Queen of the Cossacks showing up after her spectacular debut in Li'l Gotham, and she is just as much fun here.  Let's just say that Batman knows just enough Bessarovian to be able to have he and Robin ride in mounted on a couple of...Bears.

God, I love this book.

Batman & Two-Face #26

This is a bit of a complete u-turn from the frolic-fest in Batman '66, but it is pretty good nevertheless.  For some reason, apparently due to the fact that he went to school with her, Bruce rescues Erin, the EVIL Irish lassie, who is the one responsible for murdering Harvey Dent's wife and disfiguring him.  She's come back for some reason or another, and naturally, Harvey is out for revenge.  She's out for revenge too, and in fact there seems to be revenge all over the place.

Pat Gleason delivers as always, there is murder, suicide and betrayal, and it's all pretty darned good.


Green Lantern: New Guardians #26

For the life of me, I could hardly make heads or tails out of what was actually going on in this book.  The "Bad" guys have showed up to get their lives back since the people on this planet stole all of their "good" moments or something to make one paradise out of myriad hells.  Or something.  Naturally Kyle is attacked by the evil version of the sort-of-good guy, but neither one of them is particularly likeable.  Carol dithers, and the New New Guardians pontificate a bit, and Kyle just lets loose, and doorways are opened and closed, and it was, frankly...chaotic and a bit of a mess.

I like Kyle.  I really do.  I like Carol.  I am disposed to like the New New Guardians.  But this is a hot mess.

Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion #3

This is about the only "Forever Evil" book that I can stand, and that is only because it is the Rogues, and because dammit, I love the Rogues.

They've been captured by Poison Ivy, who isn't all that interested in turning them over to the Crime Syndicate, she just wants some sunlight for her plants, and figures that Weather Wizard can help her.  He asks how the hell he is supposed to move the moon, which is a damned good question.  I still haven't figured out how the whole moon thing is even possible, but hey...comic book science.

This was actually fairly decent.  It beats the Justice League, that's for sure.

Wonder Woman #26

Well, Cassandra is busy torturing poor Milan, in an effort to find the First Born.  Strife is babysitting Zola and Zach, and you know that is going to turn out well.  Diana and Hermes seem to have made up, which is a good thing because I love Hermes.  Orion jumps into the middle of things, in the way that Orion only can do, fighting off hyena men, because...well, why the hell not?

Apollo continues to torture the First Born, which is probably a really bad mistake on his part.  Due to Strife's machinations, Zola runs away and runs across Dionysus, which probably won't turn out well either.

Damn.  I like this book too.

And onto Marvel

Daredevil #34

I came late to this book, but man, have I loved it.  No Samnee this issue, but Alvaro Lopez does a commendable job filling in.  I also learned, that while this latest run of Daredevil is ending, it is starting again in a few months in San Francisco, with the same team of Waid and Samnee.  Which is great!  But also a little weird.  Why not just...keep going?  Why start all over again?  Because according to Tom Brevoort, Number 1's create sales!  Woohoo!

Anyway, Matt has made it back with some pages of the Darkhold, and shows them to Doctor Strange.  Some of the spells are healing spells, which is what the monsters used on Matt, and he is hoping against hope, that he can somehow use it to help Foggy.   But in the meantime, he is still fighting the Sons of the Serpent, and in a completely delightful sequence, he goes out  to find Kirsten, who is jogging in the partk, still dressed as Matt Murdock, and making no attempt whatsoever to hide that he is Daredevil, running backwards, and saving an old lady from some muggers.  

Incidentally, this page is sheer poetry...

 



He enlists her, to help him make a broadcast, telling the people of New York that they have been infiltrated, and using a...word...from the book to get the attention of the Serpents...and it works!  Too bad something seems to be going on with Foggy.

Man, this is so good.

 Thor: God of Thunder #16

Malekith is always ahead of Thor's merry little band, which seems to be crumbling under the pressure.  Thor is suddenly sure that the Troll is the traitor, everyone is accusing each other, and things just fall apart.  Oh, and Thor decides to execute the Troll, by whacking his head off with his hammer!  Sheesh!  Turns out that the traitor...was...Thor!  Or the thing that was living inside of him somehow, which is rather disgusting, but certainly explains a lot.

Beautiful art, and a good story.

Young Avengers #14

No teen Loki, but still a good issue.  No McKelvie either, except for just a little bit at the beginning.  We have a host of guest artists, and it gets a bit jarring to see these characters with different portrayers.  Not bad, per se...just different.

Noh Varr has well and truly burned his bridges with Kate, which is a shame.  She's feeling a bit blue, and who can blame her...but ends up dancing with Tommy, which is nice.  All of the other teens who helped save the Universe are having a very nice party.  Teddy and Billy are cooing at each other, Prodigy is feeling a little down, and we get a little more insight into America's history.

One more issue to go.  But dang, needs more Loki.

Saga #17

Oh crap!  Oh, not the story, the story is fabulous, but a number of people that I really really like, are apparently dying, and things aren't looking good at all.  The charming interlude of Marko and Alana holing up and playing games and flirting, and so on, is over, Prince Robot IV is torturing Heist,, who is actually holding his own, when stupid Gwen shows up with Lying Cat, and ...damn!

So...so good.

Helluva a week!

Hal and Guy, part deux

I think that we can all agree that Hal and Guy have had an interesting relationship over the years.  I once compared them to Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.  I'll leave it up to you, to figure out who is who.  But now I am wondering, if there isn't another comics analogy that I could use. 

Peanuts.

Hal is Lucy holding the football, and Guy is Charlie Brown...hoping against hope that THIS time, he can kick the football, and Hal won't leave him holding the bag instead.  This came to me, while reading the most recent issue of Green Lantern Corps, where John yells at Hal for coercing Guy into spying for him, on the Red Lanterns.  I think we can all agree, that it was a pretty terrible idea. 

For one thing, why would Hal feel the need to continue a plot by the Guardians, after it has become abundantly clear, that the Guardians had lost their collective marbles, and were actively trying to rule the Universe by any means possible.  The Red Lanterns had been decimated, and weren't a huge threat to begin with.  Guy had a history with them, and he HATED the Red Ring, almost as much as he loved the Green Lantern Corps.  That's pretty much how he and Hal defeated Krona and rescued the Guardians in the first place.  Guy tried to warn Hal of the consequences of assuming a Red Ring, and Hal chose to ignore him, because it didn't fit in with his plan.  Granted, Hal didn't expect anything to happen to the Blue Lanterns, which were the only ones who could rescue Guy if it all went sideways, but that's still remarkably short-sighted on Hal's part.  Long-Range planning is not Hal's forte. 

Hal told John, that Guy was a Big Boy, and he could look after himself.  And, it's true.  But Hal was the one who placed Guy at risk, and now he's all huffy about it.  Guy was smart enough to wrangle control of sector 2814 away from Hal, although I am pretty sure that somewhere down the line, Hal will try and wrestle it back...because that is what Hal does. 

Still, knowing the dangers full well, and knowing exactly what could happen, Guy was loyal enough to the Corps, to go ahead and do what Hal asked him to do.  And when it all started to get out of hand, he did call on Hal, to come and get him out.  And Hal...let him down.  Again. 

He pulled the football away, just as Guy was going to kick it. 

Which is why I really really enjoy pictures like this.



Do it Guy!  Hal deserves it!

Green Lantern #26

This...was an interesting issue.  There weren't any huge fights involving the entire fate of the Universe, or the Corps, although this being a Comic Book, there WAS some violence.  Sweet sweet violence.  But for a change,  Van Jensen, took a bit of time to establish some characterization to all of the mayhem that has been going on for so long. 

The Guardians are gone, the New New Guardians are out hanging around with Kyle, whom most people think is dead, Oa is destroyed, Guy has become a Red Lantern, The Corps has moved to Mogo, and Hal is drunk with power.  Or something.

John, who being the SMART one, saved his little group that had stayed behind to save the rest of the Corp, and being the smart one, managed to have it not be a replay of so many Last Stands.  So, he's quite happy to find that most everyone is safe and sound, and is reunited with Yrra again, which is nice for John.  It's about time he gets a decent love life! 

There is a lot of dissension in the ranks however.  Not everyone is particularly enamoured of Hal's style of leadership.  Which basically...is everyone.  Hal is a good guy, he's brave and dedicated and the perfect person to show up at the last minute to save the day.  But when it comes to being a Leader and Administrator...he's in over his pretty little head. 

Meanwhile, things are brewing on Oranx, that warrior planet that Jruk comes from.  The Durlans have infiltrated, and are busy having a fine old time spreading rumors and trying to take over secretly.  Jruk and Arisia and Feska, who has a tiny crush on Jruk fly off to see what is going on. Arisia is trying to tell him about something called "diplomacy" which is of course a totally foreign concept. 

As all of this is going down, John decides it is time to have a little "chat" with Hal. And boy does he ever!  He wants to know just who put Hal in charge, and what does he think he is doing, calling out the entire Corps to save his beautiful ass from Nol-Anj, sending Guy off to spy on the Red Lanterns, and declaring that nobody but the Green Lanterns can use their rings, and quite a number of other complaints.  Hal bloviates a bit, and basically just says that he'll "figure something out".  It is just about at this moment that John finally realizes that Batman may have been right about Hal all along.  He does everything by the seat of his pants.

So he punches him in the face. 

It is a lovely moment.  Hal hasn't been punched in the face since Guy did it a couple of issues ago.  But then Hal does point out that the New New Guardians DID just happen to put him in charge and that he's doing the best that he can.  John simmers down, and agrees that something has to be done, even though he was all set to go back to Earth and settle down with Yrra and be just an architect again.  So he goes to Mogo, and  between them, they build...a new home for the Corps, that is rather cool really.  That Mogo!  He/She can do just about anything! 

But the Durlans are still plotting in the background, and things aren't going particularly well for Jruk's planet, although the three of them do manage to get out with their skins intact. 

So, I liked this issue.  It explained some things that had been bothering me, and it set up some other perils for the future, and sometimes, you just have to slow down for a month and take a breath.  Plus John Punched Hal.

So lovely.

Reviews

Well, that wasn't a bad little Wednesday at all.  I am a bit concerned about what I will do for Christmas, since it lands on a Wednesday this year, and Peace and Goodwill and all that, but do I get my Comics the day before...or after? 

Hey, these are important questions!

But anyway.

Action Comics #26

I had dropped this book, but someone told me that it was actually really really good, and God knows I am looking desperately for some decent books, so I picked this up, even though it came out last week.  And you know what?  It WAS really good!  It has the new version of Lana Lang, and I actually don't hate her!  I loved the idea that Clark was showing off for her even though he is dating Diana.  Which just proves that deep down in both of their hearts, they know it is a stupid idea to date. 

But I digress.  This was fun, and cool, and interesting, with a good story and decent art.  How nice!

Batman #26

Oh Scott Snyder, you keep making me actually care about Bruce Wayne.  And Greg Capullo is quickly turning into one of my favorite artists.  This was grisly, and fascinating and a bit of a whirlwind.  Bruce...not Batman shows up in most of this, getting his skull fractured, but not letting a silly thing like that slow him down, and meeting up with James Gordon, even though the two of them really don't like each other all that much.  Bruce is a bit on the self righteous side here, but hey...he's young.

But man oh man, this is good.

Batman: Li'l Gotham #9

I think this had to be my favorite book of the week.  Of the month.  Possibly of the year! 

Batman and Damian are chasing Clayface, who ducks into the Gotham Comic Book Convention, because of course he would.  The trials and tribulations of our Dynamic Duo trying to get in without tickets, dealing with artists and cos players, not to mention Damian's quest for that elusive comic book is simply hilarious.  Dustin Nguyen pokes fun...but it is gentle fun.

The second story is about Jenna Duffy, Carpenter to the Villains of Gotham's quest to have a day off, so that she can make a dog house for her insanely adorable little puppy.  Unfortunately, Batman is on a tear, and she keeps getting interrupted for emergency lair repair by all of the various baddies.  Absolutely fed up, she lights up the Bat Signal in order to find his Battiness, and then yells at him for ruining her day.    Then he hires her to repair the Bat Cave. 

This is practically the best Book that DC is publishing.  There.  I've said it.

Constantine #9

Well, John has Swamp Thing and Pandora and the Phantom stranger and Nightmare Nurse vs all the evil baddies unleashed by the Crime Syndicate, but it isn't working out too well.  Also he keeps moaning about Zatanna.  Pandora and the Phantom Stranger are strangely uneffective, and the same can be said for Swamp Thing.  I would assume therefore that more of the story will be taking place in their respective books, but the heck with that, I am not about to get suckered into buying a bunch of books that I don't particularly want in order to resolve a story that I don't particularly care about.

Meh.

Green Lantern Corps #26

Finally!

I have dropped Justice League and Justice League America.  This Forever Evil thing is taking...well...FOREVER!  It seems as though it has been going on for 12 months already, and not a whole heck of a lot has actually...happened!  Every month, it is just more of the same, all moving at an incredibly glacial pace towards the eventual resolution.  I don't care. 

But man, Li'l Gotham was great!

Wow!

So...cruising through my pictures again, and I stumbled upon this little gem.



A Guy Gardner by none other than Chris Samnee!  I LOVE Chris Samnee! 

This makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over.  Which is a good thing because it is cold and snowy out. 

Hal and Guy

Over the years, Hal and Guy have had a somewhat...tumultuous relationship.  And even though the new DC 52 Universe has erased most of the REASONS for that conflict...apparently they still have issues around each other.  I thought that this was the perfect opportunity to go spelunking through my Photobucket and mine some of the rather numerous scans I have of Hal and Guy doing terrible terrible things to one another.

Like This.



Wrong.  So very very wrong, on so many many levels.  And yet...it still cracks me up.  I do wish this was still in continuity.

Green Lantern #26

Oh Hal.

Seriously, have you lost your mind completely?  I know things are a little difficult for you right now...the Guardians are gone, the New New Guardians are out cruising with Kyle, who is supposed to be dead, but half the galaxy knows he's alive...Oa is gone, and you and the Corps are shacking up on Mogo.  And instead of getting down to basics, such as food, shelter, logistics, replacing dead Corps members, or rebuilding Oa...you take Kilowog and fly off to chase a bunch of people on their own planet, whose modus operandi is basically piracy...but hey, that's how their planet works...because they have a Star Sapphire who is doing her very best to help her people.

You also declare that nobody in the Universe can use their rings EXCEPT for the Green Lanterns...and individuals that you personally like.  You arbitrarily declare this to be a LAW,even though you don't have an iota of authority to do something like that.  What the hell is going on?

Hal and Kilowog are up against it, mainly through Hal's pigheadedness.  They are fighting  the entire planet of Dekann, and their leader, Nol-Anj, who is a very proficient Star Sapphire.  Hal is just outraged, and proceeds to go to town.  When that doesn't work, he decides to call in THE ENTIRE GREEN LANTERN CORPS to bail out his sorry behind.  His beautiful sorry behind. 

Granted, there are probably only 100 Green Lanterns left, after all the brouhaha, but still!  Hal Jordan whining and calling for help?  Not to mention that Hannu and Graf Toren are still pretty skeptical about using their rings, since they don't want to deplete the potential power in the Universe.  Naturally Vath starts yelling at them and basically calling them pussies.  When did Vath become such a complete asshole?  But they all fly off anyway and rescue Hal and Kilowog and somehow, they manage to get Nol-Anj to give up her ring.  But the entire planet of Dekann is still very very mad at them.

Hal then whines that nobody respects the Lanterns anymore.  Which is probably true.  But you don't really gain respect by marching in and telling people what to do OR ELSE.  That seems to be what the various Thug  groups are doing, and they're the villains!  It's a sad thing when the supposed heroes are being just as obnoxious as the Bad Guys.

I'm not really getting into this whole "I can't Use My Powers!" aspect.  It's stupid for one thing.  Why give someone a power and then restrict their use of it?  The way that it worked before was that emotion generated the powers, not some weird reserve of mythical power located..somewhere that had a finite source of energy.  I don't care what Relic says.  Relic is a jerk.  And Hal's a jerk. 

You know what?  The only bunch I am enjoying right now are the Red Lanterns, because they don't give a damn about marshalling their powers, and they've got that whole magic thing going, and By God, they don't know what they are doing, but they are going to go out and save the Universe anyway!  And Guy of course.  And Zillius Zox, who is fabulous.

The Green Lantern Whiners is not exactly what I am looking for.  And I say this as a MASSIVE Green Lantern fan.  I know that Hal is headstrong, and not the greatest at strategy, but sheesh!  He was never quite this stupid.  Is he possessed by Parallax again?  Get Sinestro back leading the Corps! People don't give Sinestro lip! 

I did not particularly like this issue, as you may have gathered.

Lovely Thursday Reviews

Oh I do like Thursdays.  I'm basking in the glow of Wednesdays comics, and I don't have to go to work.  It's lovely.  And although this was something of a small week for me, it was also an excellent week!

Daredevil: Dark Nights #7

This is part two of the latest story that has Matt teamed up with none other than Misty Knight, and it is a hoot.  The art is very nice, and it's a rather rollicking story.  Matt was on his way to Miami with a murder witness, and naturally things have gone awry.  The "King", who is based in Cuba is the brother of the alleged murderer, and a very...unpleasant fellow.  He likes to beat people at video games and then threaten to kill them when they lose, and then set them against each other for his own amusement.  Sheesh!

Anyway, Matt and Misty have teamed up,and are on their way to Cuba in a really nice helicopter.  Too bad that it gets blown up. Naturally, they survive, as Misty was smart enough to grab a life raft on the way out the door.  They float around for a while, while Misty makes suggestive remarks to Matt, who promptly falls asleep.  Hey, the poor guy has been on his feet for two days! He's tired!  They do manage to land, and have ditch his outfit, which is a bit...too noteworthy, so he gets to wander around in his undies for a while.  Very nice.

Anyway, naturally they are followed, and there are some fights, and Misty gets kidnapped, and Matt is presumed dead, but natrually he's not.  And it turns out that King is Misty's old boyfriend!  Oh, the plot thickens.

This is fun, and doesn't take itself too seriously, which is always a nice thing.


Fairest #21

We are focusing on Cinderella in the newest storyline, which is always nice, as I happen to really like Cinderella.  First we get a bit of background about Cinderella's first fateful visit to that ball, and her Fairy Godmother's shenanigans with the pumpkin and the mice footmen.  A little bit of foreshadowing.

Then Snow White is putting the cubs to bed, by reading to them about Harry Potter, which I found to be a nice touch, when she is attacke by a number of mouse headed men!  Being Snow White...and therefore awesome, she makes short work of them

Meanwhile at Cinderella's shoe store, her manager Crispin is still taking care of things, while Cinderella is out doing her thing.  Beast wanders in, looking for her, and Crispin makes the mistake of being a little too snotty in some of his remarks.  Then a heavily cloaked figure wanders in, with dynamite attached to his chest, shouts "Death to Cinderella!" and blows himself...and the shop...to smithereens.  Beast tries to protect Crispin, but the latter winds up in the hospital.

All this time, Cinderella herself is  tied up to a chair,after being kidnapped by some trolls, who have decided a female slavery ring is the proper way to occupy their time.  She's rescued by a cute little talking mouse, and naturally mops the floor with the various Trolls...all in her underwear.  She hears about Crispin, and then has a talk with Snow and Beast, and discovers the wierd body of the man-mouse, and makes a few cryptic remarks about their origin.  I wonder who the mysterious "She" will turn out to be?

Fun again.  I probably could have done without Cinderella in her underwear, but it wasn't too sleezy, and to be honest, I had just been savoring Matt Murdock running around in HIS underwear, so I really can't be casting stones.

Green Lantern #26

Oh...Hal.  You Ass.

Young Avengers #13

Oh...My...God!

I have been happily and greedily lapping up this book every month since it debuted, and frankly I am utterly heartbroken that it is going to be ending.  However, if I just look at as a really really fabulous mini-series, I can live with it, because I don't think I could bear to read it with another writer and another artist.  Gillen and McKelvie have been nothing short of sublime.

So, things are pretty much just as bad as they can possibly be.  A passel of young heroes are helping fight off Evil Alternate Universe versions of the Young Avengers while the doughty  group themselves, try to figure out how to save the world.  Billy is fighting Mother, but not really doing all that great a job at it.  Teddy is currently a chair.  Loki is holding off Leah, America vs the Ultimate Nullifier, and Noh and Kate against Noh's ex girlfriends. Things are not...going particularly well.  Noh also picks this particular moment to blurt out to Kate that he likes her and all, but that Oubliette is still the girl of his dreams.  This doesn't go over particularly well, as you can imagine.

Then Nullifier decides that if he can't hit America, he can always hit Loki, and fires, but she manages to jump in front of his blast...thus saving Loki.  He gloats that she doesn't have her powers anymore, and she agrees, and then kicks him hard in the nuts.  Ouch.

Loki is rather stunned that America of all people, saved his bacon, and has something of a realization about himself.  He yells for them all to Stop!  At this point Leah  smiles and says that Loki has something to say, and he...finally confesses what he has done and been doing to them all along.  He killed Little Loki and took his body.  He's been manipulating them all from the start. He made a deal with Mother and then betrayed her.  He wants Billy to become the Demiurge so that he can control this magic.  It's all.. his fault.

And then Leah tells him that confession is good for the soul more or less,and they all...dissolve away.  It was Loki all the time.  And Leah, was actually little Loki, or the remnant of little Loki that was floating around inside of Loki's consciousness.  I'm a little confused, but when I look back, it all makes SENSE!

They turn Teddy back from a chair in to a nice person again, and Loki is lying on the ground wrapping his arms around himself and probably rocking back and forth.  Except, that this new teen Loki isn't the OLD Loki either.  Apparently that old Loki really is dead.  This new Loki wasn't the murderer, but the murder weapon, so although he is a lot trickier than cute little baby Loki, he at least isn't completely evil anymore.  He even begs America to kill him before he can talk his way out of things again, and is surprised when she doesn't.

So what to do with Billy and Mother?  They are still hanging out there doing battle.  Prodigy talks Teddy into going to Billy and showing him what True Love is.  And it works!  Although Loki is embarrased that that they are all going to be saved by True Love, America yells at him and things are back to norml.  Billy does manage to defeat Mother utterly and completely and then wanders around for a while in the most amazing two page spread that I think I may have ever seen, commenting about power and responsibility and realizing at last that he just doesn't have the experience or wisdom to start messing with things and comes back.  Loki tells him it was all for the best anyway, and America beats up the rest of the remaining Alternate Universe group and just tells them to go home...and they do.

And the Grownups are back to normal, Reality has been saved, and it has a Happy Ending!  Except that Loki goes off to sit on a cloud, and probably pout for a while.  I guess this is how he ends up with his own book shortly.

It's not the end of the series, there is another issue for that, but by God, it was a helluva finish.  I love this book.  Twelve Thumbs Up!

Oh Hal

Every once in a while I actually remember just what it was that prompted me to start this silly blog in the first place.




Oh yeah.  Hal's butt. 

Although Guy's butt, John's butt, Kyle's butt and even occasionally Kilowog's butt are also very good reasons.