Hey, It Keeps Me Off The Streets

I'm trying NaNoWriMo for the first time. Sort of. In the same way I use Inktober as a general framework to get myself to draw, but don't actually use pens, I'm just using this to make myself write. I have three different things I'm working on, and my goal is to write 50,000 words total by the end of the month. This year's Blogsgiving will probably end up counting towards, since it's also me writing a story.

None of the stories will be done by November 30, not even close. But considering I only wrote 12,000 words between the three of them in the entire month of September, and I didn't write any during October (because I was supposed to be sketching, with limited success), that'll still represent serious progress.

I've been rotating between them, working on a different one each night, using 1700 words as my minimum. Tonight I wrapped up a chapter, but I had the next one planned out in my head, so I went ahead and typed it. So around ~2900 words tonight, which I think gets me on pace to reach 50K by the end of the month. I was behind from the start because I didn't write any on the 1st or 2nd.

Hey, you try to concentrate on doing any serious writing at my father's. Between planning the home repair projects, trying to complete the home repairs, his dogs, whatever movie we're trying to watch, and him trying to carry on a conversation with me while we watch the movie, there's no chance.

I actually like the rotating approach, because it gives me a couple of days to think about what comes next before I have to actually type it. Beyond that, it's just what I usually find when I write, that I can piece things together as I go. I'll still have to go back and revise the hell out of all of these later, but the groundwork is being laid to where hopefully those will be minor revisions.

An Update On Recent Developments

Posting may be erratic in the weeks ahead. My apartment complex was hit by a tornado this week. I was out of town for work, so I found out via texts from several people wanting to make sure I wasn't dead. I was not, except on the inside. But that isn't a new condition.

The apartment is still standing, but is no longer livable. As in, everything is covered in glass and fiberglass. The roof is still there, more than the people in the apartment next to me can say, but you can tell it got lifted off the building briefly. Besides the gaps that weren't there before, I had a scroll hanging on a wall that is now pinned between the top of the wall and ceiling.

(Remarkably, my laptop was sitting exactly where I left it. Everything else that had been on the table was somewhere else, but not the computer.)

Point is, I'll be staying with other people until I find a new place, living out of suitcases and whatnot, dealing with increased commute times, grabbing the rest of my stuff, looking for new apartments. So I'm not sure if posting will remain on schedule. This weekend's Sunday Splash Page was already good to go, but after that, it's on hiatus until I can get the scanner and the comics set up some place.

My Only Regret Is Not Using Lens Flare

*Black screen cuts to camera rushing over a frozen lake.*

Narrator: In a world beset-

Calvin: No man, now is when I need you to bring the bass.

Narrator: Sorry. IN A WORLD BESET BY TEDIUM -

*cut to shot of a busy sidewalk, people walking calmly*

Narrator: ONE MAN DECIDED TO MAKE THINGS SLIGHTLY MORE INTERESTING.

*INCEPTION NOISE*

Pollock: This is idiotic.

Calvin: Less of the back talk and more of the smack talk.

Pollock: *disgusted sigh* What's he's done could mildly reshape the schedule of this blog for months to come.

*back to the sidewalk, everyone running in terror, cars tearing down the street, guys leaning out shooting at pursuing cops*

Narrator: NOW, THE RACE IS ON TO STOP HIM BEFORE HE MILDLY ANNOYS SOMEBODY.

*cuts to dark room with a lot of TVs and consoles*

Clever Adolescent Panda: *trying for gravely serious, but too energetic and giddy* Get me the, snicker, *tries for deep voice* THE PRESIDENT. Of the Internet.

Makes Brakes Fail Lass: *obviously reading the lines off the script* Really? Butweget, so much more *pause* done when he's not *pause, squints at the tiny handwriting* around. Ha, that's so true!

Clever Adolescent Panda: *hammers console with fist, but tears the cheap green screen curtain* Oops, crap, I mean, this is no time for jokes! The fate of humanity is at stake! Random weirdos on the Internet told me so!

Calvin: Hey, no ad-libbing!

Narrator: AND JUST WHEN THEY THOUGHT THEY HAD IT FIGURED OUT, THE GAME CHANGED AGAIN.

*The sky is covered with dark clouds. One guy looks upward as he hears a sound, and we see a meteor storm descending.*

Pollock: *monotone* If we don't act soon, it may be too late.

*Cuts to Calvin in some other control room, talking into the camera*

Calvin: What you don't understand is that you are not in control of this situation. I AM!

*Sounds of a struggle, then the camera is forcibly twisted to focus on Deadpool pulling on pants with bright suspenders. Sorry, those are holsters. Holsters with bright buttons all over them?*

Deadpool: [Really? 'Cause from where I'm standing you aren't in control of jack shit! Yippie-ki-yay.]

Calvin: *hisses* Wade, get out of here! You aren't in this!

Deadpool: [Pfft, my trailers are better anyway.]

Narrator: THIS DECEMBER, WHEN YOU CAN'T COUNT ON TELEVISION, COUNT ON SOME GUY WITH TOO MUCH FREE TIME AND A SCANNER.

*series of rapid cuts to shots of each character running frantically through tunnels, city streets, crowded malls, a fancy dress ball, stuff like that*

Calvin: Get the picture? *grins. INCEPTION NOISE*

Clever Adolescent Panda: Boooooooo.

Makes Brakes Fail Lass: Booooooo.

Pollock: I might hire Deadpool to kill you right now for that line. It doesn't make any sense! You failed to establish what's actually going on!

Calvin: Piffle. Audiences today don't need to know what's going on, only that something is going on.

*Deadpool runs up and punches Calvin. INCEPTION NOISE*

Calvin: What was that for?

Deadpool: [That's not important, only that it happened.]

Calvin: Touche.

*******

Well, we had a lot of fun here tonight with fake movie previews. *looks over at the others, who all shake their heads grimly* OK, I had fun tonight with a fake movie preview. They're stuck in a studio system that prohibits them from working other productions. Hopefully it was moderately amusing. I figured the announcement of what's going to succeed the episode rundowns on Sundays needed a little boost.

I'm actually going with two different series of posts for the immediate future. The first series is the long-promised Alternate Favorite Marvel and DC Characters. Those will go in the same format as the original ones did, although not in any numerical order. Just whichever character I feel like writing about that weekend.

But, as those posts required a lot of effort, and I find myself short on that some weeks, there has to be a fallback. When Siskoid was running the Daily Splash Page blog, he went through (I think) every series DC had published up to then. I'm not going to try and do the same with Marvel, that'd be crazy at the rate they pump out series these days. What I am going to do is go through every series, or mini-series, and possibly one-shots, I own. Depending on the number of issues I have for a series, it may get multiple posts (GrimJack, for example, will probably get three posts).

There you have it.

What I Bought 9/29/2017

The last book I needed from September. Other than that new Tick book, which I will hopefully find at some point. I ordered the third trade for Giant Days a few weeks ago, and it's lost somewhere in a Long Island post office processing plant. In other news, I added all the post labels to the sidebar at the bottom. Because I was tired of having to find a specific post with the label I wanted to find all the posts with that label. Now that problem is eliminated, assuming I remember the right label.

Giant Days #30, by John Allison (writer), Max Sarin (penciler), Liz Fleming (inker), Whitney Cogar (colorist), Jim Campbell (letterer) -Ah, young love, and the futile attempts by friends to stave off impending disaster.

Daisy's girlfriend Ingrid is proving to be a terrible housemate, and Susan and Esther are at the brink. But neither wants to crush poor Daisy, until they learn Ingrid's staying on at the uni another 3 years. Needing time to decompress and prepare to deliver harsh news, they go their separate ways to relax, only for Esther to find Susan sharing coffee with her on-again, off again, McGraw. Who is definitely supposed to be off-again, since he's seeing Emilia, who is right behind Esther (but is hustled out before she spots them). Esther talks to Daisy about it, and during the process of that, reveals the ridiculous heating bill caused by Ingrid. Which overloads Esther self-control, and she bluntly tells Daisy what she and Susan think of Ingrid. Probably feeling guilty over it, she's in no mood for Susan's sarcasm and lets her know she knows. While things go surprisingly well between Susan and Esther, everything else goes into a death spiral.

Geez, I show up and everything goes to Hell. Did I pick something up from buying Deadpool again and transmit it to this book? I'm not sure how much time there is between issues, but it certainly continues with the rapid plot developments. Esther and Emilia just became friends last issue, they're already on the outs again. I'm a little worried about McGraw, in spite of my general disregard for people who cheat. Although I'm unclear if it's "cheating" to hang out with an old friend who also happens to be the mortal enemy of your current significant other. I guess if it wasn't, they wouldn't have kept it secret? They were holding hands in the coffee shop, so yeah, probably cheating.

Sarin's artwork is fantastic. The second panel on page 14, Esther has this look on her face as she notices how clean everything is, where she's both looking and her fingers that she swiped against the walls and commenting appreciatively to Daisy, and I don't know what you'd call the expression, but it's perfect. She did the finger test to see if there was dirt, but not in a harsh way, just verifying what her eyes were already telling her, and she's not reacting as though it's strange, but more one of Daisy's quirks she's used to, and wants to express her gratitude casually. I don't know, if you can shorten all that mess down into a single word, that'd be swell. Point being, I would never have had any idea how to draw that, and Sarin makes it look simple. I must be shorting Liz Fleming in the credit for that, I just don't understand inking well enough. I can see places where I'm sure she's adding detail, giving an expression more depth with her shading, I'm just not sure about most of it.

Combine that with some of the comedy touches - Esther's mental picture of the relationship pentagon, complete with McGraw's true love, or Esther starting to keep an emergency teaspoon around her neck - and Cogar's color schemes for the characters and it's a great looking book. Esther has her dark colors, Daisy opts for mostly soft, pleasant tones, Susan has what I'd call are dull, blunt colors. Flat orange shirts. Emilia is sort of a combination of Esther's taste in clothes (or maybe it's the other way around), and Susan's color schemes, except brighter. Orange that's a little warmer, less off-putting.

Anyway, I'm enjoying the book greatly, even as I worry the cast is falling apart. Maybe Esther and Susan could hire Deadpool to kill Ingrid discreetly?

Cookie's Fortune (1999)

I figure this is as good a place as any to mention there will be no Zorro post tomorrow. I've ended up staying at my dad's longer than initially planned, and I didn't watch far enough ahead beforehand. Sorry.

I wonder what attracts my dad to movies like Cookie's Fortune sometimes. It's not a bad movie - it's one of those films set in a small town where every character is a little strange in some way, I don't know what you'd call that, a farce? - it just isn't quite what I expect him to be into. Trigger warning for suicide, I guess.

Patricia Neal plays an elderly woman (the Cookie in question), living in her big family house, alone save her caretaker Willis (Charles S. Dutton). She's estranged from her sisters Camille and Cora (Glen Close and Julianne Moore), but likes her niece Emma (Liv Tyler, though I spent most of the movie thinking it was Anne Hathaway, because I associate the short haircut Tyler had with Hathaway now, I guess). While Willis is out running errands to get ready for Easter, Cookie, missing her husband and possibly suffering from senile dementia*, chooses to take her own life. Camille comes by to borrow a salad bowl, finds her, and fearing this will reflect poorly on her, tries to make it look like a burglary gone wrong.

I expected the movie to get grim at that stage, as Willis gets brought in, since it's his fingerprints that are all over the place, and there aren't any other prints. I figured we were in for a depressing trial, Willis being scared and unable to clear his name. Yes, the fact he was a black man suspected of killing an elderly white lady in what appeared to be a Southern town had something to do with my expectations. As it turns out, most of the cops are confident he's innocent, and the whole thing is sorted by the next day, sort of. It's all kind of a joke. The D.A. is running around trying to check Willis' alibi, which isn't going well. Liv Tyler and Chris O'Donnell (playing a meathead deputy) can't keep their hands off each other. Willis has to stay in his cell, but the door is open, and other people visit and bring him gifts at will. Camille blithely ignores the fact Cookie's house is a crime scene, tears down the police tape, and moves in within hours. There's a whole subplot about Camille directing a local production of Oscar Wilde's version of Salome, which is probably a metaphor for certain aspects of the film, but hell if it meant anything to me.

Camille's ability to ignore reality is fairly impressive. At one point, she asks God to forgive Willis if he did commit this act, even though a) the only other person around is in on it with her, b) they both know there was no murder, and c) she's praying to an allegedly omnipotent being. God is going to know Willis didn't kill anyone, lady. She reminds me of a relative of mine, and I don't mean that as a compliment.

My dad and I debated Moore's character afterward. I asked early on if Cora had some kind of brain damage, but I think we're meant to read it as an act. My problem is, she would have to maintain the facade of being largely vacant and someone Camille can lead by the nose for years. No one in the film sees her behavior as odd. Not Camille, not the cops, not the other townspeople. One of the things that made Emma distant from Cora and Camille is that her mother always seemed a puppet of Camille's, which means this has been going on at least 15-20 years. I just don't see her keeping an act up that long, waiting for the chance to hoist Camille on her own petard.

* We see one exchange between her and Willis, where they seem to be having two different conversations, like she isn't hearing anything he's saying, and he can't understand what she's talking about, shortly before she dies, but I'm not sure how much that plays into the act. She writes a letter that seems fairly clear in outlining her reasons.

What I Bought 4/17/2015 - Part 3

I should probably mention that the place I’m staying now doesn’t have internet. There are plenty of places within driving distance that do, but it’s a matter of having time to drive there, plus not wanting to waste a lot of fuel. So consider this the official declaration of “possible erratic posting ahead” for the next 3 months or so, barring changes in circumstance.

Ant-Man #4, by Nick Spencer (writer), Ramon Rosanas (artist), Jordan Boyd (color artist), Travis Lanham (letterer), Idette Winecoor (designer) -  Oh jeez, a Miami Vice cover. It was inevitable given the location, I suppose.

So Augustine Cross has covered all the bases in his attempts to bring his father back. He’s got the right doctor, he’s got the goons to kill her and her son if she doesn’t comply. He’s got Cassie Lang, whose heart is accustomed to being large and the strain that comes with that, and donor hearts the doctor can transplant into Cassie after. And he has an adaptive security system full of things designed specifically to stop Scott Lang. But Grizz has been attending the Super-Villain Anonymous chapter in Miami, and that’s how he ropes in Machinesmith to take out the security system, enabling Scott to get in. Where he is promptly stepped on by Darren Cross. Crap monkeys. At least it saves Scott from anymore awkward conversations with his ex-wife about where her daughter is.

I’m sure Cassie will pull through – Spencer doesn’t strike me as the sort to kill her off, not after Fraction and Allred just brought her back – but I hope having a new heart doesn’t signal the end of her superhero career entirely (since it presumably wouldn’t be accustomed to size-changing). I still hold out hope for father/daughter crime-fighting adventures.

Additionally, I don’t see this continued recruitment of super-villains ending well for Scott. Grizz seems appreciative, but Machinesmith is pretty clearly already looking to make it pay off for him, and I don’t think Scott’s providing medical and dental will change that. Letting criminals be involved in setting up security for places in probably bad, since they then know how to get in. Since Stark has apparently gotten Scott blackballed from the superhero community, I imagine it’s only a matter of time before the Avengers show up to defeat Scott and what they’ll think is his new, second-rate Masters of Evil. I wonder, though, whether this is Scott trying to give people a second chance because he got one once, or if, as Tony suggested, he’s just taking the easy route? Rather than try to force Machinesmith’s hand, or use his parole officer as leverage, he just agrees to give him a job, because it saves time, regardless of the consequences.

Rosanas’ artwork helped carry the scene where Augustine makes his pitch. Spencer writes him as though it’s just another sales pitch, so he’s mostly calm, but occasionally gets either excited or tender, for that human touch. And for the most part, Rosanas draws him as calm and collected. He’s almost always gesturing in some way with his hands. Either putting a finger to his chin to appear thoughtful, or pointing with the index finger to illustrate some point. He even hugs the tank his father is in, to better illustrate his point about bringing a family together. It also has to be significant that during that whole spiel, we only see Darren Cross’ legs, or parts of his arms. We see him in his entirety earlier in the issue, but once Augustine starts the sales pitch and moves closer, we’re too close to see all of Darren. It creates a sort of distance, because we don’t see him as an entire person, just parts. This makes me wonder if Augustine is really trying to revive his father, or just looking for a chance to unlock some secrets trapped within him. The last time Darren Cross appeared, Dr. Sondheim double-crossed him, by putting his worn out heart back inside him. She’s not in much of a position to do that this time, so perhaps Augustine’s going to pull the fast one.

Rocket Raccoon #10, by Skottie Young (writer), Jake Parker (artist), Jean-Francois Beaulieu (color artist), Jeff Eckleberry (letterer) – Even Cable thinks that’s too many guns. Haha, just kidding, Cable never thinks there are too many guns.

Rocket’s trying to make some cash to pay off his court costs. Then he gets word from a criminal who says he has info on the Book of Halfworld, but Rocket will have to pay. Bye-bye clean record, hello arrest warrant. Klep shows him a photo of a case kept in a vault in a place called Tower City, and Rocket’s off, though he has to beat up some more cops and Cosmo first. Cosmo got jobbed in that fight, I tell you. Didn’t use his mental powers at all. Anyway, now Rocket’s in Tower City, and he’ll get right after that case, as soon as he finishes barfing.

This series is not exactly packed with plot. Young seems content to allow space for gags and reaction jokes, most of which involve Groot. Either Rocket’s irritated with how much Groot enjoys his drink, or Groot’s dealing with some surly bartender. Which is OK, I suppose. The relatively low number of panels – this issue averages a little over 4 per page, and only tops 5 panels 3 times - gives Parker space to draw weird aliens and hideous undersea beasts. The number of panels does increase near the end of the issue, as Rocket has to flee and fight his way through security. Which I’d guess is meant to convey a rising sense of tension or danger. Except Rocket dispatches his opponents so quickly it’s hard to buy in. Oh well, we know someone else is out there looking for the book, so that’ll be a problem for Rocket eventually. Something about Tower City makes me think of Ratchet & Clank, which isn’t a bad thing.

Recent Events Have Prompted Self-Reflection

People are going to have disagreements, because they're going to have different opinions. Nothing wrong with that. Everyone has the right to voice their opinions, but they aren't guaranteed their opinions will go unchallenged. The problem is when challenging crosses over into personal attacks and abuse.

I did that once, in the first six months of this blog, when I went to Devon Sanders' old blog and basically told him he didn't understand Cassandra Cain's character and he should shut up until he did. Which was out of line, and thankfully, he didn't tolerate it. He deleted the comment, and told me I wasn't welcome any longer, which was the smack upside the head I needed. That wasn't the person I wanted to be, so I sent him an apology, which he accepted (he didn't have to, but he did), and since then, I think I've avoided personal attacks on other bloggers. I still disagree with other people a lot, but I try to stick to addressing the problems I have with their opinions.

It took me a little longer to extend the same courtesy to comic creators. Probably because I had it in my head they were getting paid at least in part by me, so I could throw out all sorts of insults here. Which is stupid. Also, I'm sure I thought it was cool and edgy to talk about wanting to hit Chuck Austen with a pipe wrench for the sin of writing bad X-Men comics. Which is also stupid. And I still think they were bad comics, just like I think Civil War was a disjointed mess of moments that were meant to look cool, but didn't really make any sense, especially when viewed in the larger context on the shared universe they were taking place in. But it's one thing to say that, and another to go, "Augh, Mark Millar sucks and he should die!" I don't think I said that specifically, but I'm sure something along those lines was typed at some point.

Disliking something or a person's body of work is fine, and talking about the whys can be a productive exercise. And heck, if you met the someone and they were an ass, then sure, say so. The problem with me was, I don't know any of those people I was talking shit about, and so it seems foolish for me to be getting personal about it. I doubt any of the professionals ever noticed me, I'm one voice in a wall of voices screaming either praise or invective. But it's still embarrassing to look back on some of the stuff I said in the past, because there just wasn't any need for it. So I'm sorry for all the out of line things I said in the past, and I'm trying my best to make sure I don't repeat those mistakes now or in the future.

What I Bought 11/15/2014 - Part 2

I saw David Brothers' post today that 4thletter's being mothballed, which was a bummer. Reading the explanation though, I can understand the reason. I can't fault someone for feeling they've got other things they need or want to spend their time on. I always wonder what's happened when people just stop posting. Are they OK? Did they just get tired? Are they sick, did they move? At least we know in this case. I've debated whether I should set up some post for this blog, just in case, set for a few weeks ahead, and just keep rescheduling it as needed. That would be more in the event of my untimely death - given the current wind chill, the mostly likely cause will be insufficient layers when I go running - rather than my getting tired of blogging.

Daredevil #8 and 9, by Chris Samnee and Mark Waid (storytellers), Matthew Wilson (colorist), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - Grand Comics Database didn't have issue 9's cover up yet, or I'd have gone with the creepy kids walking Matt off a ledge made of their dad's face. You'll just have to be content with a picture of creepy kids staring at you. Look at them. LOOK AT THEM!

Looking at the credits, I was confused for a moment to not see Javier Rodriguez' name for color art. Then I remembered he's drawing that Hobgoblin mini-series, so he's busy. To Wilson's credit, I couldn't tell a difference in the color work. It's the usual excellent work we expect on this book. Was it Wilson or Caramagna who colored the text purple when someone is giving a command. I'm guessing Caramagna, couldn't be that hard for him to use a different color ink (font?), but I could be wrong. I like it, though, just as a visual shorthand for how there must be something noticeably different in the tone in those circumstances. A measure of command, or something just being wrong. It's also interesting to see when the kids seem to use it on each other, and raises the question of how much conscious command they actually have.

The Purple Man, mind-controlling creep, has fathered a bunch of kids over the years with women he made forget all about him after. Now he's rounding them up, expecting them to love him by choice, unlike all the people he's forced to love him over the years. Except the kids don't care about some dad they've never known, and they make him walk himself in front of a train. Which still isn't enough to kill him, because he put the mental whammy on himself that it wasn't.

Contrasted with all this, Matt and Kirsten are apparently back to being a couple. I wasn't sure up to this point - she could have simply decided partnering with Matt would be good for business, an assumption that appears to be wrong - but he's getting to meet her parents, as awkward as they turns out to be. Kirsten isn't a big fan of her stepmom, and her dad is trying to pitch Matt on selling his life story for a book deal. Worth 8 million dollars. Matt isn't certain whether to take the offer or not, and Foggy, out to breakfast with them in a fat suit, is worried reliving all his tragedy will wreck the attitude Matt's tried to cultivate. Matt dismisses this, but his run-in with Purple Man's kids has perhaps disabused him of that notion, since it left him curled up in the fetid stuff that runs through a diversion channel.

Well I'm certainly glad to be past Original Sin. Not that the previous two issues were bad, but they did feel awkwardly shoehorned in. I'm a little concerned about the use of the Purple Man, because he's one of those villains with powers that really lend themselves to creepy uses. But for as long as I can recall, he's been portrayed as using them in creepy and sexually assaulting ways, so I guess it's just part of his character at this point. I do like that Waid and Samnee have the kids seemingly eliminate Killgrave at the end of one issue, figuring our sympathies will lie the kids, heck we'll probably even cheer them on. Then we find out having five kids with the same powers, and no compunction about using them, because they're kids, really isn't any better. Killgrave didn't care about anyone's desires or wishes but his own, neither do the kids, but they aren't even bothering to stay off the radar, or consider the consequences of what they're doing, which means they'll probably cause even more widespread damage.

Samnee used the after image thing in one panel in issue 9, which is one of my favorite comic techniques, so that's always a plus. I also like the body language on the 5 kids in the panel at the bottom of that same page (page 16). The way the littlest has his hands folded across his body, the eldest boy with his fists clenched, the girl in-between with one hand in a coat pocket, and the other arm hanging loose at the side, which strikes me as more nonchalant. It's nice. Plus, since it's Matt's radar sense, we don't have any clue as to the kids' expressions, which makes them seem more alien and menacing. Five faceless figures advancing steadily towards him.

Quick Notes For The Weekend

FX has been showing Spider-Man 3 lately. It isn't a good movie, but there are still several parts of it I like. I'll never stop laughing at Evil Parker strutting down the street, trying to give smouldering looks to every woman he sees, then busting into impromptu dance moves. That evil Peter Parker isn't a world-conquerer, doesn't start robbing banks or snapping the necks of purse snatchers. He's just thinks he's way cooler than he is, to the point that he swings between being an ass and a doofus, depending on what he's doing at that moment. I figure that's a mark of how good he is, that being a kind of sleazy jerk is what passes for evil with him. Getting to see Harry be happy for a while was nice, even if it was doomed to end.

That being said, I hadn't remembered Harry having so much cranial trauma. The initial crash into the AC units, the hoverboard to the head, flying headfirst into a girder. Roger Goodell thinks Harry ought to look into better protective headgear. Goodell also thinks Harry could still spend more time fighting, and wouldn't agree that there's any link necessarily between the head trauma and Harry's behavioral shifts in the film, but that's Goodell for ya.

I have no idea what posting is going to be like for the next two weeks. I'm heading back to where I spent last summer, so Internet access could be sporadic. Or perhaps things will be better. I do have the next 3 weeks of Burn Notice posts ready to go, so you won't miss out on me complaining about Anson (I actually enjoyed the Season 6 opener a lot). Beyond that, it's up in the air.

Apologies For The Absence

I'd like to blame it on work, and that is sort of the cause. I simply couldn't get to the Internet on Monday, and that kind of settled that. On the other hand, I was running low on ideas, so I might not have had anything for the next couple days, anyway.

I'm back now, though, but I'm going to ease into it by touching on some things related to past posts.

- I asked once before if anyone wore their watch on their dominant arm, since I've been told it's strange I do. I had two more people tell me last week they'd never seen that before. Add them to the list.

- From the Department of Failures in Reading Comprehension, we step back to Batman Beyond Unlimited. I said that while I thought the bit with killing Vixen to get John Stewart and Shayera together was a poor decision, I was curious to see what it was that caused the Guardians to rescind their ban on Earth and hand out another ring. Then I reread the story and the last line the blue twit has says they'll keep an eye out for an Earthling who has achieved unity of mind, body, and soul. Which answers that question, I guess. It doesn't kill my interest in seeing how the kid got the ring, but it takes out its kneecaps with a shotgun (what I call a "GrimJack Special").

- From the Department of "I Flipped the Switch, but the Bulb Blew", I watched Duck You Sucker with the commentary on. While there were interesting bits, it didn't help to explain the slow motion ending with James Coburn, his Irish buddy, and their mutual lady friend. Well, it didn't convince me my theory about the lady being metaphorical is off-base, but that didn't come as any surprise. It does seem to be expected there was some level of a love triangle between the three of them, though one guy suggested there was a lot of jealousy on John's part towards his friend. He even suggested John informed on his buddy to the Brits, then killed him when they did not, which I don't think the film supports. John sees too many parallels between Dr. Viegga and Sean, and nobody ratted out the doctor. He was tortured, he talked, other people died. It's the fact John killed his best friend for that act which haunts him, and is why he gives the doctor a chance to either redeem himself, or prove he's a coward, depending on how you look at it. One fellow did use the phrase menage a trois, though I wonder if he means it the way I think he does. That would explain at least part of why killing Sean hit him so hard, but I don't know.

I Liked This Page

First order of business: The link at the end of yesterday's post actually takes you where it is supposed to, now that I've spelled "genius" correctly. Hat tip to Matthew.

I'm very tired tonight for some reason, so simple post. Here's one page from Red Robin #10.
I saw a person online critiquing Batgirl's technique, saying a person wouldn't (or shouldn't) use those moves in the order she did. Certainly the kick seems a bit unwieldy for disarming an opponent, but whatever works. I'm impressed her cape vanished for a panel. The kick had such power the shockwave from it blew the cape clean of her shoulders. Which is good, because it means she has one of those easily detachable capes, which helps to avoid embarrassing moments where one gets hung up because of the cape. No getting sucked into turbines because of her cape for Stephanie Brown, nor sirree!

I love Tim's "Holy crap" there at the bottom. Note that, surprised as he is, he still caught the gun. He had an internal monologue on the previous page when Prudence pointed the gun at Stephanie about how there was nothing he could do, Steph was going to die, it was all his fault, he should have worked harder to make her give up crimefighting, but he was thinking with his heart and not his head, and now she's doomed, oh no. Then this page, and well, never mind, she's OK.

It turns out the gun is empty, suggesting Pru wasn't actually going to kill Batgirl, at least not with a gun (or perhaps not with a gun while Tim was around). Why did she bother to point an unloaded gun at Stephanie? Maybe she thought it would scare Steph, and found that funny. I'm guessing she wasn't expecting a beating. She should count herself lucky she wasn't dealing with Cassandra Cain, or she'd have been on the ground before the gun was halfway out of its holster.

That's all I have for tonight. Good night, everybody.

This Could Be Awkward

Adorable baby Panda: What is this place?

Calvin: {It's the office for my job. Since my computer cannot find the wireless signal its been using for the last two goddamn months at my home, we're going to have to use the work computer if we want to post, which means sporadic posting, since I shouldn't be using the work computer for this anyway. Unless my computer gets its shit together.}

ABP: You're cursing a lot more than usual.

Calvin: {Because I'm angry, damn it! The network is there, everyone else in the housing can use it, but not my computer, nooo!}

ABP: Maybe you should calm down, all these people are looking at us.

Calvin: {No, they're looking at you. Pandas are uncommon around here.}

ABP: Oh. Hi, everybody! *waves, people peer curiously*

Calvin: {Great, now they're going to inch closer, and start poking. Not to mention all the questions. Let's get on with this.}

OK, then. I think Deadpool needs a Hug, because the X-Men weren't very friendly, but he also needs a Bonk, because killing that guy isn't going to help. {Applause for Dagger! Applause for Dagger!} I will! Dagger gets Applause for sticking up for Deadpool, at least in principle. {Hey, Wade can use any kind of support he can get.} I think Grimjack needs a Bonk because he was pretty rude to the Sleepless Monks. {Hey, they're supposed to stay awake so the Manx Cat doesn't escape through their dreams, and they failed. Scorn away, says I.} You try staying awake forever! {I have, it's not pretty. I become even less pleasant than usual, then oddly super-pleasant, then sociopathic.}

Hey, stop pulling my ears! {I told you this wasn't going to end well. Kind co-workers, the panda is rabid. Numerous bites have rendered me immune, but you could be sorry if you don't give it space. *co-workers retreat rapidly*} Wait, I'm not rabid! Why did you tell them that? {To make them go away, obviously. What would you have done, a dizzying display of martial arts? That would have only brought more of them. Quickly now, before their curiosity overwhelms their fear.}

Right, right. Um, uh, I'm blanking! {Oh, come on!} Wait, yes, no, ah, they're creeping closer! {Ignore them!} I think Shang-Chi might need a Bonk, because he never lets anyone else win the bike race. {Focus, will you? He didn't win the race shown in the story! He and Wade went back for more hot dogs!} He did, oh, I'm sorry, they're just freaking me out. Stop staring! {Stop talking to them, it's only making things worse!} Why don't you say something? {Please, I have to work with these people. They already think I'm kind of off, yelling at them is only going to exacerbate the situation.} The Phantom! he gets Applause for not killing Birch. {Right, as Deadpool is demonstrating, killing people never solves anything.} Exactly. Now I have to get out of here! *leaps out window, flees into the night*

{*turns to co-workers* Ok, show's over. Go on, return to watching Glee. Skeedaddle!}

Link Post

Originally, this was going to be one paragraph of my "What I Bought This Week" post (coming later today! Yeah!). But I tend to ramble, so I figured it could be it's own post. Lot of good sites there, some I've been reading for a couple of months, like Dave's Long Box, the first comic blog I found thanks to a link to his Power Girl post. That was what we call an 'attention-getter'. Thank you Sheriff Justice! This would work so much better with pictures. Well, soon, so bear with me.

One note: if you are primarily a Marvel fan, like me (but not apparently like many of the bloggers here), then you might want to watch out for Scipio's Absorbascon. I will admit that some of the posts where he expresses his, how should I put it, disdain, for Marvel have been known to leave me muttering curses. Something along the lines of hoping a rabid badger makes its way into his pants. That being said, he gives me a laugh much more often so visit the site, and all the others over there. They have good stuff, and it's much prettier than mine. And a special shout-out to Pretty, Fuzzy Paradise, by kalinara. For whatever reason her blog was the kick in the pants that caused me to start this place up.

Checking Things Out

Ok, so this post serves two purposes. One, to see if this thing is actually working. Two, to serve as a mission statement for anyone who actually cares about what I'm going to be doing here.

So this is a comics blog. Marvel, DC, anything I else I happen to read. I'll review what I buy each week, and you can all be blessed to know what I think of it. I'm also going to put up some discussion topics, related to things going on in comics, and what is being discussed at the comic store I buy from, Marvels and Legends here in Cape Girardeau. And no, the owner of the store did not pay me for that. I'm going to rant about stuff in comics that pisses me off. And there will probably be a bunch of other random stuff, comics related, and perhaps sports-related. Like for example, if the Colts are 15-0 and lose to my Arizona Cardinals in their last regular season game. I will probably let you know.

Also, some talk on anime or mangas, if I'm in the mood. And perhaps more, I'm not sure. I will try to avoid the "angry fanboy" stuff, and not just tear books apart. But if it's bad enough *New Avengers*, I'll probably go a little beserk, so I apologize in advance. Anyway, I'll actually put a post people might care about later today.