Arcade's Brought Out The Best In Cammi, Not The Worst

One of the things I've enjoyed about Avengers Arena has been Cammi's role in the whole thing. I've been fond of Cammi since I first encountered her, because surprise! I like teenage smart aleck characters. She's been generally smart and level-headed, but she hasn't descended into a ruthless attitude, or a defeatist one. She didn't go along with Bloodstone's belief that they were doomed, and she hasn't adopted Katy - or more recently, Nico's - position that she might as well kill everyone else and save herself. Some of that is pragmatism - Cammi's on the low end of power scale, though I think she's sneaky enough she could handle most everyone except X-23 and probably Original Darkhawk - but some of it is an admirable shift in her perspective.

When the whole thing started, Cammi was in the middle of being interrogated by Agent Brand for trying to steal an interstellar cruiser. As far as we know, Cammi's been on her own since the end of Annihilation. Well, there was that chaos sprite that had been hanging around Thanos prior to that, but they parted company at some point. Drax did go looking for her later (after leaving the Guardians of the Galaxy), but got sidetracked bringing his daughter back to life. He never did get back on Cammi's trail. So she's had to survive by herself, an Earth teenager out in the universe. She made herself strong enough to survive it, and she's justifiably proud of it. 

But in her current situation, she might not be strong enough, and the circumstances work against her. On a spaceship, she can probably manipulate its systems to give herself an advantage of her enemies outnumber or outpower her. But in Arcade's world, he controls everything. She can set a few mines, but in a place as large and variable as this new Murderworld, that's only going so far. When X-23 nearly kills her, then lets her go because she's not the one X was after, that's a bit of a blow to her confidence. She was completely helpless, and the person who had her didn't even consider her worth killing. She didn't take it well, since stopping to do push-ups while castigating yourself is not the smartest plan.

The key is what came after. She started forming alliances. First with Darkhawk, then later Chase and Nico, and eventually the rest of the non-evil kids. It isn't a case of her using them as shields or cannon fodder, like Katy was doing with her boyfriend or Deathlocket. Cammi generally tries to make peace, come up with plans, get everyone on the same page and working towards the same goal. She's consistently approached the situation as though there's a solution other than playing by Arcade's rules.

Which makes sense, given her past. I was introduced to Cammi during Annihilation: Nova, and then she reappeared in Annihilation proper. Consider what she saw there. A diverse group of people, many of them with past conflicts, some dating back millennium, banding together to fend off a seemingly overwhelming force bent on killing them all. Annihilus' forces destroyed entire worlds, entire empires, he had Thanos, and eventually even Galactus as an unwilling weapon. And he still lost. Because people worked together, because they didn't give up, because they kept learning from setbacks and failures to try different approaches. Compared to all that, the current situation with Arcade probably didn't look too bad, provided they didn't wind up at each other's throats. Which, thanks to Nico and Chase, is exactly what happened.

It's a little like the shift Abnett and Lanning tried to bring about in Drax. When he joined the Guardians, he tried to be less Destroyer and more human, as he put it. There was the friendship with Phyla, trying to reconnect with his daughter Moondragon, trying to come to grips with the number of lives he'd taken over the years, the people he'd lost. It didn't necessarily make him less violent, but he was more, selective, or precise about it. And he had maybe a more concrete idea of what he was fighting for, beyond some vague sense he was supposed to "get" Thanos (that's how the brain-damaged version of him I remember from '90s Silver Surfer comics seemed). For as much as Cammi might want to be the tough, emotionally closed off badass who doesn't care about anyone, she can't help herself. She formed attachments whether she wanted to or not. The question now is whether those attachments are going to save her life, or get her killed.

To Have and Have Not - Ernest Hemingway

I don't believe I'd read this one before. I've seen the movie, an enjoyable sort of Casablanca ripoff, but the book isn't like that. The movie was more about a guy setting aside his cynicism, and letting the honorable man inside out, whether he really wanted to or not. The book is about what hard times will drive a man to do.

It still prominently features Harry Morgan, and for the start of the book, he does own a charter fishing boat that he sometimes lets his rummy pal Eddy crew on. But when he turns to smuggling people, it's Chinese laborers, not resistance members. And, figuring a double cross, he kills the man he made the deal with, and dumps the laborers off back on Cuba, rather than delivering them to their destination. Things go downhill from there. The economic situation isn't getting any better, so he starts running liquor, then he agrees to ferry some bank robbers to Cuba. He feels he has no choice. He's almost broke, he has a family to support, and he sees this as his best option.

There's some other threads about a writer who didn't realize he was losing his wife, and some reflection on how the wealthy are generally indifferent to the suffering of the less fortunate, and if they bother to think of them at all, they don't understand them. It feels tacked on near the end, and only serves to dilute the book.

One thing that kept jarring me was the sheer number of times he used the word "nigger". He's used it in the other books, but not so frequently that it disrupts the flow of the book for me. So that didn't help, and then you throw in all the stuff about the wealthy right at the end, and that throws things off some more. The idea of all these people sleeping soundly in their yachts, worrying about their comparatively small problems, oblivious to the guy who's nearly dead because he felt he had to throw in with thieves, it isn't a bad one. He needed to do a better job threading it in earlier in the book, so it didn't just appear, poof!, at the last moment.

Could Be Earth's Mightiest Hypocrites, Am I Right?

On my way out of the boonies back at the beginning of November, I stopped along the way at a store to look through the back issues. While I was there, I also skimmed through a recent issue of Superior Spider-Man. I've said previously I don't have any interest in Octavius as Spider-Man, but they had the Black Cat on the cover, and I was mildly curious to see how they were playing off each other.

As it turned out, Ock caught her robbing a place, kicked her butt, and left her webbed to a wall for the cops, her swearing revenge under her breath. That along with a few other things that started to go wrong for him in the issue, reminded me of a post on the Legion of Doom several months back. The idea was that Slott's whole plan with this is when Parker inevitably gets his life back, Octavius will have ruined it. Peter Parker's rep will be destroyed - because he looks like he's stealing Octavius' ideas, and siphoning money from Ock's hidden offshore accounts - and so will Spider-Man's, because Ock will screw up something catastrophically, or just do something villainous he thinks is heroic. Which means that Parker will be back to the old status quo: single, broke, no steady lady in his life, the other heroes unsure of him, the public against him.

Octavius destroying Parker's life I can see easily enough. His ego is burning bridges left and right.  In a vacuum, I can see the Avengers not wanting anything to do with him under certain circumstances. The problem is that I don't see how the Avengers don't cut him some slack if he just goes to them and says, "Hey, Doc Ock had control of my body for the last several months." Wolverine gets let off the hook every time someone mind controls him into killing a boatload of people, which is funny considering Wolverine kills boatloads of people even when he isn't mind controlled. I've harped on Tony Stark's actions during and after Civil War for years, but he seems to have been welcomed back into the fold, and all it took was him rebooting his own brain so he doesn't remember what he did. Hawkeye was a crook at one point, the Black Widow a foreign spy, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch were terrorists originally, who have both had mental breakdowns that pitted them against their friends from time-to-time. They all seem to get welcomed back eventually. Stark, Hercules, and Carol Danvers have all been guilty of trying to fight crime while intoxicated. Hank Pym seems to catch more flak than most anyone, but even he gets let back in eventually. None of those folks can claim their arch-foe was running around in their body committing those acts, which really ought to cut Spidey some slack.

Maybe that's not what Slott's going for. It might be sufficient for the public to distrust Spider-Man, but the Avengers know the score. Or perhaps he's going to have Ock piss off the other heroes so much they won't even listen to Spidey when he tries to explain. That would be hard to believe for certain characters, but it could always turn out Spidey doesn't get a chance to talk with any of those. I think Carol Danvers would be a receptive audience - certainly she understands having your life stolen from you - but she's going to be out in space more, so not much overlap there. If it does turn out like that, it may be one of those things where the reader just has to treat the book as existing in its own little world. Ock-Spidey was a jerk, so all the Avengers hate Real Spidey, and just don't look at the fact most of those Avengers don't have any moral high ground for their behavior.

A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway

The thing that stood out to me with A Farewell to Arms was the progression Henry went through. Over the course of the book, I saw him as going from being a young man to an old one.

When the book starts, he's just a kid, nothing is serious, nothing is well thought out. He tells Catherine he loves her when he doesn't, because it makes her more likely to make out with him. After his injury, he seems to fall in love with her, or maybe he's just looking for someone stable to hold onto. But he does seem to love her, wants to be her husband, is willing (I wouldn't say "eager") to be a father. By the end, he's alone, left to bury a wife and child. In someways, he's old, having outlived his loved ones. Maybe Count Greffi is the same, though he doesn't give the appearance of one weighed down by the loss of those dear to him. Still, to have reached 94 years of age, he must have lost someone.

There's also the shift in Henry's attitude to the war. There was his discussion with his drivers just prior to his injury. They all think it would be better for Italy to stop fighting, no more dying or killing. He disagrees; defeat would be worse than continuing the war. He envisions the Austrians charging into Italy, attacking homes, trying to force the Italians to fight for them. His drivers counter that how can you make people fight for you? They'll just run once the battle starts, then you can either waste bullets on them, or on whoever you wanted them to fight (who is presumably taking advantage of the chaos). And as for their homes, let each man defend his own. For them, nationalism isn't anything worth thinking about. They don't see their lives as changing much whether it's Italians or Austrians who run the country*.

After his wound and return to the front, Henry seems to have come around. He's "gentle" about the war, as the priest describes it. There isn't any real fire to fight or win, just get it over with so he can go back to Catherine. Maybe the difference is less that he nearly died, and more that he has someone he could lose because of the fighting. Although then I have to wonder if the injury, that brush with mortality, was what intensified his feelings for her. Then the disaster of the retreat, the military police executing people, essentially, for not looking Italian enough, or officers for begin separated from their men. It's the point where the whole thing becomes not about defending the lives of the citizens - because if it was, they'd be establishing trenches to halt the advance - and more about salvaging military pride by scapegoating. And what the hell point is there to being part of that? So he's gone. He volunteered to help the Italians, wasn't drafted, by his own admission things ran smoothly without him, so no reason not to check out. I think he entered it on a lark, out of some ideal that no longer holds true in the face of what he experienced.

This isn't connected to the rest of this, but I was a little stunned to read the doctor advising Catherine to drink beer because it would keep the baby small. Well, the idea of encouraging an expectant mother to drink in general was strange. I realize they probably didn't know about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome back then, but it's still startling. As for Catherine herself, I have a hard time pegging her. She tried to keep Henry at arms length initially, probably because she recognized he wasn't serious about her, but also because she was concerned herself about becoming attached to him, because of the first fiance she lost. Once she falls for him, though, she seems determined to be whatever she thought he wanted her to be. Is it because she didn't marry her first fiance before he died, so she's afraid she caused his death somehow? So she molds herself to what she believes Henry wants, because somehow that'll keep him alive? She's very mercurial, but I can't tell whether that's just Hemingway's attitude towards women, or just a reflection of him. A lot of his characters are like that, shifting quickly between happiness and anger, or brooding, which sounds similar to the author himself.

I wonder about the Count character. He reminds me a bit of the baron from The Sun Also Rises. The much older character, one who survived his own battles, and is wealthy enough and confident enough in himself to live as he pleases. The baron enjoyed meeting new people, drinking, being with women, but none of it seemed too important to him. I'm not certain if that makes him in reality, what Barnes, Brett and the others were trying to be. They play at being affluent, living the high life for the sheer enjoyment of it, but really, their personal lives are disasters, they live beyond their means. So is the baron the real deal, or is he a cautionary tale? Does he have nothing else in his life, and so he tries to fill the emptiness the same as them? Or is he really just living as he pleases, with no worries? There's a line between the two, but I'm not certain which side he falls on.

As for the Count, his pleasures are considerably simpler - billiards figures prominently - but he seems largely content. I don't know if he's a sign of where Henry might end up in several decades. The fact that the Count now finds himself slipping into Italian naturally, rather than German or English seems significant in light of Henry being an American with no strong ties to his family back home. he met an Englishwoman in Italy, fled to Switzerland with her, and lost her there. During their time there, he didn't do any work that I could discern, he just passed the time with Catherine. But Henry is religious, and the Count is not, is actually disappointed he didn't become devout as he aged. Maybe because death doesn't bother him, is that why he he thought he'd become religious, he'd fear approaching death? I notice Henry prayed more after his injury, and especially after Catherine was pregnant and the delivery grew closer. When things beyond your control grow near, you turn to something beyond yourself is the point. The Count either doesn't have any such concerns, or he abandoned them, and so it doesn't work for him.

'This was a strange and mysterious war zone but I supposed it was quite well run and grim compared to other wars with the Austrians. The Austrian army was created to give Napoleon victories; any Napoleon. I wished we had a Napoleon, but instead we had Il Generale Cadorna, fat and prosperous, and Vittorio Emmanuele, the tiny man with the long thing neck and the goat beard.'

* This reminds me of those Mussolini biographies that noted that, contrary to his claims, Mussolini's policies did very little to affect the lives of the average Italian citizen, especially in rural areas. Their culture and lives didn't change much to reflect his Fascist ideals.

Not That Lawyers Need Magic At Their Disposal

Reading Daredevil #32, I noticed when Matt was speaking with Dr. Strange, that he described Strange as being very precise with his words, and mentioned that Strange always is.

Which makes sense. Magic is typically presented - at least in the Marvel Universe, but other fictional realms as well - as something prone to unintended consequences. If you aren't careful about what you say, or don't have your intentions clear in your mind, things will go awry. You can't simply cast magic about willy-nilly, because there's no telling what the end result will be. Strange has been at it enough, and made enough mistakes, to understand that.

It occurred to me, though, as a lawyer, Matt works with words, and meaning is important. Witness testimony, reasonable doubt, discussions of intent, state of mind, definitions of a variety of terms - clinical, scientific, legal, contractual, economic. So many things, and a lot of it comes down to what you say, and how you say it, how you can present it in the way that makes juries or judges see things as you want them to.

So I wondered, Matt Murdock as a practitioner of sorcery (I'm sure the idea was influenced somewhat by that image of him as a stage magician from issue #22)? There would probably be an issue of whether Matt could even perceived mystical energy to manipulate with his senses as they are, but I doubt that sight is essential to Strange's work. But I'd also guess that magic isn't something you normally perceive with your senses, so much as you feel it spiritually, and I wonder if Matt, so used to his enhanced senses being able to pick up on almost anything, would be able to adjust.

That's something that could be addressed with sufficient training, though. Matt's personality, that might be more trouble. Matt's very slick, very good at thinking on his feet, but as he's noted, he relies a little too much on flash and showmanship at times. It's why Matt and Foggy work so well together. Matt projects the confidence and ease you want in your attorney, but it's Foggy's attention to detail that gives Matt a foundation to stand on. That might be Matt's biggest problem, learning to stop and think, to study, to plan ahead, as opposed to leaping into the fray and trusting that he'll come up with something.

Honestly, maybe Foggy should look into it. I doubt he has the temperament, but that could work in his favor. He'd be overly cautious, but you wouldn't have to worry about him overreaching, or not thinking through what he's getting ready to do.

Burn Notice 6.14 - Down and Out

Plot: Having been branded as traitors, it's time to flee the country. Sam has a tearful good-bye with Elsa, that is cut short when they realize Riley had already gotten to Fi's fake passport guy. The crew makes a narrow escape, but has to leave Elsa behind to be questioned by the CIA. Sam isn't exactly ecstatic about that, but the more pressing problem is where they're going to find some decent fake passports now. Sam's hacker acquaintance, Dixon, knows a guy, but Calvin Schmidt isn't in the mood to see or speak to anyone, seeing as he hiding out from a former Syrian Intelligence agent. Schmidt helped the guy's wife escape him, and now Jabbar Hamady is dismantling Schmidt's smuggling operation one warehouse at a time. If Mike can remove Jabbar, then sure, Schmidt will send them anywhere they want to go.

To that end, Mike poses as a former employee of Schmidt's, now disgruntled after he was tortured on suspicion of betrayal. The idea being this will get Mike near Hamady and then he can send him wherever he wants, get him to start shooting, and then sic the cops on him. Great plan, except Schmidt - not pleased at losing yet another warehouse full of illicit goods, tried sneaking in to grab some stuff and got captured. So now Mike has to make himself useful when Hamady doesn't need him to help find Schmidt. There's some fake interrogation, some drug use, Schmidt's heart stops, Mike takes advantage of the fake that Riley decided to try and intimidate Madeline by really obviously bugging her house, and Jabbar winds up arrested. Great! Two problems: One, the manner in which it happens made Riley fed up with her cat-and-mouse game with Maddy. Two, because Schmidt took a severe financial hit on this plan, Mike and the others are going to need to drum up 200 grand person to cover the expenses. That's $800,000, assuming Sam's actually going. Which is uncertain at the moment.

The Players: Calvin Schmidt (The Client), Jabbar Hamady (Guy Trying to Kill Schmidt)

Quote of the Episode: Sam - 'Yeah, well, doing something insanely dangerous won't fix things with me and Elsa.'

Does Fiona blow anything up? No.

Sam Axe Drink Count: 4 (25 overall). Quite the increase there. Having to abandon your lady really makes a man want to drink.

Sam Getting Hit Count: 0 (6 overall).

Michael's Fake Laugh Count: 0 (1 overall).

Other: Mike was "Brent Soder' this week. Fi's i.d. guy proved his evilness by trying to make Sam 'Randy Weems'. At least he doesn't have to use that identity now.

I can't believe Jesse ruled out the West Indies entirely because of one ex-girlfriend. If Sam took that approach, there wouldn't be anywhere they could go. Maybe Greenland.

Maddy's wish for them to say good-bye was touching. I know a lot of it was about Michael, but the fact that Fi and the others have come to mean a lot to her as well, it was a nice acknowledgement of how she's been there alongside them through all of this.

I have a difficult time seeing Patton Oswalt as a successful smuggler. Too many years of the Kingpin in Daredevil comics, I suppose. I figure a successful "import/export" businessman should dress better. And not be such a ninny. Maybe it's meant to be the paranoia. Since Jabbar has informants among Schmidt's men, he doesn't believe he can trust anyone, so he's a nervous wreck.

If Riley really has all the places in the area they could get travel papers staked out, why not travel farther? Go to Alabama, or Ohio, or something. It's not as though Riley's built some impenetrable web of surveillance, or they wouldn't be able to run around doing all this crap for Schmidt. Just get out of the area. Head to a border state, get some appropriate documents, then hop across the border.

I kind of like how they used Riley. If you keep letting her catch up to Michael, only to have him escape, it makes her look incompetent. What they seem to be doing is showing Riley as relentless and methodical. She's done her research, and she's gradually cutting off all their most readily available options. You could even say she was trying to be nice in how she handled Maddy. She had her sign that form stating she'd help their investigation, then made sure Maddy understood what it would mean to break that agreement. She was very open about the fact she bugged the place. Yes, that's intimidation and police state tactics, but from one perspective, you could see it as her trying to keep Madeline from getting herself in trouble by helping Michael. "Don't contact your son, we're listening to your phone conversations. If you keep your distance, you'll be fine, and I don't have to send an old woman to prison." Riley's isn't rainbows and hugs, but she's not a trying to win at all costs, to hell with collateral damage.

The Old West Won't Stay Dead

Since the copy of Red Dead Redemption I purchase was the Game of the Year edition, it also came with the Undead Nightmare, what would that be - downloadable content? bonus content? - on a separate disk. So I've been working through that since I finished the storyline of the main game. I'm still playing RDR, but at this stage, it's mostly about completing little challenges. Right now I'm trying to pull off the "pay off a $5,000 bounty with a pardon letter" achievement. It's been slow, not because I keep ding or getting arrested, but I'm having to kill a lot of people to get anywhere. I tried hijacking a train, but it didn't get me anywhere.

Undead Nightmare was set somewhere in between John Marston completing his work for the feds and the actual end of the main game. Something has caused the dead to rise everywhere. John's wife and son are quickly infected, but John's able to hogite them so they aren't a threat to others or themselves. After that, as you might expect, he's off to try and find the source of all this and put a stop to it, in the hopes his family will revert to themselves.

The gameplay is  the same, though the details are different. Towns can still serve as save points, but not until you've cleared them of zombies and rendered them safe - for the time being. The towns come under attack again eventually, and you have to go back to help clear them out again. I'm not sure if a town with eventually fall entirely if you ignore its plight, because I usually try to get there as soon as I can. They added the ability to fast travel from one save point to another, which is really handy if you don't want to traverse the perilous wilderness again. Live bears are trouble enough, I don't need any hassle from undead bears.

There aren't any opportunities to earn money, but money isn't important any longer, ammunition is. Ammo was in short supply early in the game, but the farther I progressed, the less of a problem it became. When you clear a town, there's always at least one cache of ammo, if not two or three. If I spent a lot of time roaming the countryside, or made it a point to kill all the undead you see, that would be a drain on my resources. The corpses of the undead are not nearly as reliable when it comes to finding loot as the the dead you find in the main game. Which is why I stopped doing that. Unless I had a specific mission to carry out, I didn't roam, and I don't kill any more undead than I can avoid. After all, some of those people might revert along with John's family. Or they might just be animated corpses, but I can't tell the difference from riding by on a horse. It fits nicely with my take on Marston's personality. He doesn't kill wantonly, but if you stand between him and helping his family, you will die.

I'm a little disappointed I didn't get to enjoy killing Da Santa again, but that cemetery in Sepulcro was really getting on my nerves by the time he dragged himself out of the ground, so I shot him the once and moved to the next shambling corpse. Eh, I emptied six rounds into his head in the regular game, that was probably sufficient revenge for what was a stunningly unsurprising betrayal.

One little thing they added to the game concerns the horses. Sometimes, when you whistle for a horse, the one that comes running is undead. They're faster, stronger, but a little willful. On the whole, I'd rather have a live horse. I use railways as shortcuts frequently, and the last thing I need when hightailing it across some trestle is a horse that's likely to swerve right over the edge without warning. The addition of the Horses of the Apocalypse was a nice touch, though they behave like ordinary horses. Why War is scared of some scraggly undead wolf, I have no idea, but there it is. It's still a cool enough idea that I had to try, even given the fact that lassoing horses was easily my least favorite part of the regular game. The upshot is, practice made perfect, or more accurately, I figured out what I was screwing up, and so I'm much better at horse wrangling now.

Hmm, maybe horse thievery would dial up the bounty in the regular game. Bank robbery didn't work out so well for me.

Islands in the Stream - Ernest Hemingway

Yeah, I'm still chugging along on the Hemingway kick. Probably another month at this rate, unless I take a break. Islands in the Stream is another one of those works his fourth wife arranged to have published some time after his passing. She says in a foreword that it's basically the original manuscript, minus some cuts she made that she felt certain he would have made as well. They could have afforded to make some more cuts. There are some sections where the conversations run on far too long over the same territory. That's a problem I've had with some of the other books, but it was worse here, when it was bad. Still, if they're going to publish it after his death, probably better to leave it as much his book as possible, since one can't be sure what precisely he'd choose to take out, given the chance.

I do wonder how Mary Hemingway felt, reading over these stories, seeing how wistful he was for his first wife? I suppose if you're someone's fourth spouse, you kind of accept that they'll have fond memories of the earlier spouses. Islands in the Stream is ostensibly fiction, but Hemingway is the base for Thomas Hudson. Hudson's a painter, rather than a writer, but he lives on the same islands, had one son who grew up in Paris with his first wife, two sons from the second wife, patrolled for U-boats off the Cuban coast during World War 2. So it's a more fanciful account of his life than A Moveable Feast, but it's also a significantly darker tale than that remembrance.

Hudson is a man far enough along in life to recognize his past mistakes, but to have set himself the task of not dwelling on them. The people important to him are drifting away, and he tries to accept that, use the loneliness to be productive, but he can't quite pull it off. He needs people, but being around them opens wounds and throws him off. He's trying to come to grips with the passage of time, with loss, maybe with the sense he's wasted his talents (or his life), but I'm not certain he pulled it off in time. Not that it matters, the opportunity to put any realizations he might have had into practice doesn't present itself.

As I said, it's a dark book. All three of his sons die across the course of the book, along with an ex-wife. Not sure what that represented for him. That basic fear parents have of losing their children, either in the final sense, or just in the way children and parents grow apart sometimes. Maybe regrets, the feeling he's let them down somehow, pushed them too hard, not been there enough. The whole sequence of Davey trying to bring up that marlin - one of the best sequences in the book - had an air of that after. Hudson feeling he ought to have stepped in, not let the boy exert so much effort only to fall short, as though it damaged the kid somehow. Maybe he feels he put too much of his desires into the boys, made them feel they had to connect with him through the things he liked, rather than him learning about the things they cared about. All the conversations the boys have with him are about things related to him: fishing, Paris, books, writers, painting, horses. I don't have any real picture of things the boys like to do that aren't connected to him some how.

'There are probably politer ways and more endearing ways of leaving a girl than simply, with no unpleasantness and never having been in any row, excusing yourself to go to the men's room at 21 and never coming back. But, as Roger said, he did settle the check downstairs and he loved to think of his last glimpse of her, sitting alone at the corner table in that decor that suited her so and that she loved so well.'

What I Bought 11/12/2013

I put in an order as part of the never ending back issue hunt. It really is maddening, that even as I finish up three series, I can think of three other things I might want to start, not counting the 4 series I'm still working on (Rom and the Ostrander/Mandrake Spectre are coming along well), or the three others I haven't even started yet. Along with all that, I went ahead and picked up the one book from the Villain Month thing I was moderately curious about.

Justice League #23.3: Dial E, by China Mieville (writer), You Don't Actually Expect Me To List All Those Artists Do You? Fine. Mateus Santolouco, Carla Berrocal, Riccardo Burchelli, Liam Sharp, Jock, Tula Lotay, Marley Zarcone, Brendan McCarthy, Emma Rios, Emi Lenox, Jeff Lemire, Frazier Irving, David Lapham, Carmen Carnero, Sloane Leong, Kelsey Wroten, Michelle Farran, Annie Wu, Zak Smith, Albert Ponticelli and Dan Green, Eva De La Cruz (colorist), Taylor Esposito (letterer) - I got the 2-D cover. No way was I shelling out extra cash for some stupid special cover. Oh yeah, Irving, Wu, and Smith did their own coloring, too, if you care. Right now, I'm mostly just pissed DC thought this was a good idea.

So these 4 kids swiped a dial from some wannabe big-shot crook, and once they start using it, they attract lots of attention. First the cops, then the hood himself, and then things get real bad, because the Centipede claws his way back into the universe somehow. The kids haven't got a chance, and soon enough the Centipede gets his dial back. But you know how it goes with villains, they can't resist gloating, and he gets taken down by, I think it's Roxie. Maybe. The hair's the wrong color. Roxie and Nelson couldn't have had a kid, could they? I thought she was a bit old for that, but hell, I don't know how long it's been for them. Who else would know about Nelson briefly calling himself "Rescue Jack"? There's always the possibility that in some universe, there really was a Rescue Jill, or perhaps Nelson creating that identity caused one to come into being, somehow?

In theory, this could be a good issue. We got at least some resolution with the Centipede - it did my heart good to see him finally shut up, he'd been insufferable since he struck out on his own - and at least a hint of the fates of the heroes we last saw at the Exchange. At least one of them made it home safely. Some closure, but some things left open in case Mieville gets a chance to come back to it some day, or if some other writer wants to use the concept. The former seems unlikely, and the latter, I'm not sure who DC has writing for them I'd trust to do a good job with that. It'd be a short list.

Note that I said, in theory. The artist shuffle does not help the book. It's a cute idea, letting each artist draw a different villain on their page, but it doesn't make for a visually coherent book. The 4 kids don't always look terribly similar from one page to the next, to say nothing of the hood, Tibbs, or his lackey. Liam Sharp and Tula Lotay (pages 4 and 6, respectively) draw them at completely different sizes relative to each other, for example, and I think Jock added a third guy to the mix on his page in between them. Some of the artists are good, some of them have styles I hate,  it turns into a mess. I would have much preferred they let Ponticelli draw the whole thing, or failing that, divvy it up between Santolouco, Lapham, and Ponticelli. They were the three guys who did basically the entire series (except for the 0 issue), so that would have been fine. You telling me those guys couldn't find the time to do 6-7 pages each?

Ultimately, not exactly the conclusion I would have wanted, but the conclusion I wanted wouldn't have come for quite some time, when Mieville was ready to end the book. Say 2 or 3 years from now?

As Hal's Bad At Being In Charge, Kyle's Bad At Being Low Key

I don't read any of the Green Lantern books, but I read enough blogs by people who do that it isn't hard to keep up with what's happening, now that this latest crossover event thing is done. I think it's funny - and great -  that with Johns gone, Hal's lost that seeming air of infallibility he had for so long, but he's still carrying on as if nothing's changed. Which makes sense; Hal's a fictional character, he doesn't know there are different writers handling things, ones perhaps not so enamored of him as their predecessor.

Putting Hal Jordan in charge of the entire Green Lantern Corps? That's a terrible idea. Hal's not a bad guy to have around for bad guy punching, last minute heroics, stuff like that. But he's not cut out to lead, certainly not on a level with that many administrative headaches. He's like one of those field commanders that's great on a squad level, where there's only so much to keep track of, but he can't handle the extra responsibility that comes with the promotions, the logistics, paperwork, etc. Honestly, the Corps might be better off keeping Hal in reserve. "In case of Universe-threatening emergency, break glass". Don't let him out before that, because he'll rush in recklessly and make things worse. But if you wait until things can't get any worse, then he seems to be pretty good at turning the tide.

But as a boss? No, bad idea. Witness sending Guy off to join the Red Lanterns pretty much on his own, in spite of the risks to Guy's life. At least let one of his friends in the Corps go along, say Guy convinced them to defect, too. Then they can watch each other's backs. Now he's instituted some rule about not using the emotional spectrum energy without authorization, which comes from Hal, apparently. He's the boss for a few months and already he's making laws he's specially exempt from to use against people he considers a threat, while cutting his friends slack. Ah, cronyism and corruption, ain't it a wonderful thing?

 I've always thought it was a little dodgy the way the GLs seemed to police things whether they were wanted or not, but Hal just making up a new law all by himself, then rushing off to arrest someone with that new law as one of the charges five minutes later, that's going pretty far. Gavok noted it on 4thletter, Hal's veering into Tony Stark circa Civil War territory these days. Nobody needs to go there, especially Hal. The last time he got a swelled head and started trying to dictate how things were going to be, it ended with Ollie shooting him with an arrow before he wiped out the entire universe. Though if Hal does go on another trip to looney land and tries to remake existence, it might be better to let him. He could hardly do worse than Barry Allen, who's responsible for the current state of things. Plus, if this leads to several months of all Hal's friends taking turns calling him a jerk and punching him in the face, it might be a lot of fun. That was certainly one (the only) result from Civil War I enjoyed, everyone - Spidey, Dr. Strange, She-Hulk, Nova (especially Nova) - taking a shot at Stark.

I really didn't mean to speak so much about Hal, this was more about Kyle. I guess he joined the Source Wall for about 5 minutes, then got popped back out after everyone had left. But he's going to pretend to still be gone. Well, nobody seemed very broken up about it, which doesn't make a lot of sense, but maybe it needs time to sink in.

As it is, I don't see Kyle managing to keep his status a secret very long. He's an artist whose super-power is using energy to do stuff, which usually means "Big, flashy constructs". Not exactly subtle. Then there's his inherent personality. He's very nice, loyal, brave, clever when he needs to be, but I wouldn't say he's good at really thinking through his actions ahead of time. Consider how bad he was at something as basic as a secret identity. He'd switch into costume in full view of a coffee shop worth of civilians at the drop of a hat. If you needed an Earth Lantern to pretend he was dead and make it stick, I think John's your choice, assuming you could convince him it was necessary, which I think would be harder than with the others. The same thoughtful, steady approach that would make him think out how he was going to do something while not blowing his cover, would probably also make him question just why he needed to play dead in the first place. Recall how he wisely balked at becoming an Alpha Lantern.

Anyway, Kyle strikes me as such an absent-minded type I could easily see him deciding he was lonely or thirsty, and heading for Mogo to visit Warriors. Wait, was Warriors still on Oa when it went, and if so, did it get incorporated into Mogo? Let's say it did. The GLs need a place to relax, and I bet Mogo could grow some stuff that would make some wicked brews. So Kyle lands, and walks in, says hi, asks for a drink, starts up a conversation with Kilowog or Soranik like nothing happened. A couple of minutes in, he's still chattering along, he notices everyone's gawking at him, and it dawns on him they're supposed to think he's dead. At that point, I sort picture Kyle letting out this shriek, maybe creating one of those dressing screens to hide himself, or a bunch of giant hands to cover everyone's hands, maybe while yelling, "Don't look at me! I'm not supposed to be seen!"

OK, I stole that last bit from an issue of Groo, but Sergio Aragones is a pretty good guy to steal from when you want knuckleheaded hijinks. Point is, Kyle's not a good person to ask this of, so I don't expect it to be long before he blows it in some ridiculous manner.

Must Not. . . Play. . . Sports Games!

One result of being out of the boonies for a while is getting a chance to watch sports again. We don't have any TV service out there, and given the number of people sharing the Internet, streaming games isn't viable unless you wait for everyone else to be gone (happens one day every 2 weeks at best), or you're an inconsiderate jerk.

It's mostly been the NFL so far, with a little NBA thrown in (I don't get heavily into basketball until at least January, once Arizona's season is usually done). It's nice; watching games is much more interesting than reading about them online, though it's more tense as well. Reading about a player dropping a key pass isn't nearly as frustrating as seeing it happen in the moment.

One side effect, and it's one I should have expected, is I started feeling that itch to play sports video games again. That comes up every so often. The results aren't going how I'd like, or seeing players I like near the end of their careers makes me nostalgic for them earlier (current example: Josh McCown with the Bears. I still have a certain fondness for him from his Arizona days). Since I have not, as yet, developed powers over reality, I must turn to games to produce the results and scenarios I desire.

I usually manage to suppress the urge. I remind myself that I only really have sports games for my Nintendo 64 now, and most of those don't play in a way that satisfies the urge. The passing is poorly designed, batting is awkward, offensive sets run by the computer are predictable, whatever. At the same time, the few newer sports games I've played seem to be complicated in such a way it takes a lot of the fun out of it. I figured I could split the difference find a Madden game newer than the one I've got (Madden '99), but not too new. Then I remember I'll inevitably get steamed at the computer after it pulls some dodgy stunt to beat me and the game will probably wind up broken like last time.

So I'm holding off for now, mostly. I have an old Ken Griffey Jr. baseball game with a season saved on it I don't even remember starting. Wouldn't be surprised if it's been waiting over a decade. So I've picked up that season, and I'm making a little progress. The game is a little strange because you set the difficulty level, but I'm sure the game adjusts as it goes along. I played a "pennant" once - basically the last month of the season. Initially, I was winning every game by 20 runs or more. By the end, I was having to scratch and claw to score 3 runs. All the groundballs stop making it through the infield, the liners and flies are getting run down. It's strange, but it makes me feel better about stealing lots of bases, and sacrifice bunting runners home even when I'm up 12 runs. I treat it as practice for when the hits stop falling, which with a full season, will probably be around June. Assuming I don't get bored before then.

What I Bought 10/31/2013 - Part 6

Last review from this round of books. Saved the best for last, as usual.

Daredevil #32, by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee (storytellers), Javier Rodriguez (colorist), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - I like how Satana is completely unconcerned. I expect that from Simon Garth - he's a zombie, reactions are not really in his repertoire - but she looks mildly put out, at best. I guess fire wouldn't be much of a threat to an alleged daughter of the Devil. I also love Simon's banging '70s medallion. Doesn't look quite as nice on him as the Phantom Stranger's did, but P.S. also had the fedora and that swag opera cape. Does he still have that medallion? I haven't even glanced in the direction of his current title.

The Jester's attempt to spook and kill Matt with a fake dead Foggy fails utterly, because the Jester's banking on sight alone to guide Matt's reactions. It is funny that all of Matt's enemies believe he is Daredevil, so none of them buy that he's blind. Except Bullseye, I guess. Revenge having failed, the Jester's back on the clock for Sons of the Serpent, impersonating Mayor Jameson (I wonder how long Jonah as mayor is going to last?) urging all New Yorkers to arm themselves for their own protection. That's not going to end well, but Matt is too absorbed in RESEARCH! to deal with it. It's a little beyond Daredevil's capabilities anyway, and Foggy found something interesting. The Serpents had (or have) a certain mystical bent to their order, and it involved the Darkhold. So it's off to visit Dr. Strange, who tells what he knows, but directs Matt to Jack Russell (Werewolf by Night) as the real expert. You know, considering he used it to once kill all vampires, I'd think Strange would be the expert, not to mention the whole "Master of the Mystic Arts" thing, but whatever, I'll roll with it. So it's off to the wilds of Kentucky, where Matt immediately stumbles across an angry, intolerant mob out to kill some people. Who turn out to be Satana and that Mummy. When the other monsters show up, it turns into a huge mess, with Matt having no idea who to help or what's going on, and eventually, he gets shot. Well then.

A lot of this issue seems to be about the limitations of Matt's other senses, or maybe it's about how limited sighted folk are because we rely on it so much. The Jester's trap falling apart because Matt can't see the dummy is meant to be Foggy, but instead focuses entirely on the scent, which gives it all away. That Matt can't see what Satana's allies look like, and so doesn't have any idea what he's up against. Even if Matt could see the locals were pursuing a veritable horror ensemble, he'd still likely defend them, if only because the locals are so danged eager to kill them, but he'd also likely question what he was getting mixed up in first. I assume Matt saw at least a few monster movies when he was a kid, so he'd have some frame of reference. There's also the part where Strange and his Sanctum wig Matt out, which makes a lot of sense. Even though they're enhanced, Matt's senses still operate on much the same principles they did before, just to a greater extent. Magic has its own set of rules, but they aren't necessarily the same as science's, so things would be a little tricky.

That page of Matt being shot was effective. Played against the previous page, of Matt seemingly getting out of the line of fire, up in the shadows planning, then I turn the page and BLAM. I think Matt's stunned face was the first thing I saw, but then I'm drawn the the blood, which Rodriguez made brighter, more vital than the red of Matt's costume. That's one of those times I think a panel deserved the full-page treatment. It's a big deal, and it needs to grab my attention. Mission accomplished.

Beyond that Samnee and Rodriguez did their usual excellent job. Love the Jesters outfit, though I have never seen a person eat popcorn by just tossing a handful in the general direction of their face like that. Villains have lousy table manners, I guess. I like how absolutely pissed Matt looked that the dirty cops couldn't tell him anything. Disgusted and aggravated. Matt's continuing aggravation with Foggy's dietary habits, and the way Matt perceives the smell of Cheese Cheez Puffs as a toxic cloud. That was my first thought, actually, that the Jester had either gassed the office as another trap, or just mailed a bunch of garbage to Matt as a prank. Also, as Matt heads off to talk to Strange, the panel were he's still Matt (but changing into his costume), but his reflection is Daredevil already. I always like things like that, or the old bit with Spidey where his spider-sense goes off, and half his face is Peter, and the other half is Spider-Man.

And of course, the bit where Strange warns Matt he will have to travel to a strange land to see Russell, and we see the outline of a wooden sign and a spooky tower, then in the next panel lightning flashes and we see it's in Kentucky. Good one, fellows. I'm going to assume the rural folk are so violently intolerant because they're members of the Sons of the Serpent, and not simply because they're rural folk. The snake iconography Samnee worked in there a couple of times makes that a safe bet, so hopefully that's how it works out.

Burn Notice 6.13 - Over the Line

Plot: Picking up where the least episode ended, Sam rushes in to find Tom Card dead, and he's none too pleased with Mike's decision. But there's no time to kick Mike's butt, because Card's team is on their way up and calling for reinforcements. Those reinforcements quickly close off the building, so Mike and Sam try and get a bit tricky to escape, assuming "Mike drives a car through the wall of a parking garage" can be considered tricky. Sam's attempt to walk out posing as a concerned hotel employee falls apart when it turns out the Agency person running things is well aware of who he is. Say hello to Olivia Riley, Sam.

So now Riley has Sam and is trying to use him to hunt down Mike and the others, even as Mike, Fi, and Jesse are scrambling to escape and get some supplies. Riley's pretty clever, though, and she's close behind. Close enough Michael decides to leave a bug on Fi's car (which they're leaving behind), to see if he can pick up anything useful. Which is how they hear Sam try to buy them some time by suggesting Mike has a boat stashed at a marina. Naturally, Mike decides it would be a better idea to try and ambush Riley's forces there to rescue Sam. Great plan, but Riley outsmart Sam again, and the ambush fails. Riley's called for backup and is willing to wait, until Mike convinces her he has a helicopter on the way (he uses a tapped phone line to call Sugar and gets him to play along), so she has to go now. And while her team is busy chasing Mike, Fi and Jesse can sneak up and capture her, rescuing Sam and enabling Michael to walk right past a lot of very angry CIA guys. Some place far away from there, Mike frees Riley and tries to explain his actions, what Card was up to, etc. Riley either doesn't believe him, or doesn't care. He's a traitor, she's bringing him in, end of discussion. One thing she hasn't counted on is that Madeline's decided to stick around, and assuming she can get the CIA to keep underestimating her, she's going to funnel any information she can pick up to Michael.

The Players: Olivia Riley (CIA Heavy Hitter), Sugar (Michael's Old Neighbor)

Quote of the Episode: Riley - 'I'll never stop, Westen. I'll hunt you down to the ends of the earth if I have to!' Mike - 'Then I'll see you there.'

Does Fiona blow anything up? No, the explosives were found and disarmed. As an aside, I did not approve of Riley busting Agent Fuller's chops. So he didn't want to get close to live explosives. Pardon him for having common sense.

Sam Axe Drink Count: 0 (21 overall). The CIA Battle Van either doesn't have a stocked fridge, or Riley wasn't offering.

Sam Getting Hit Count: 0 (6 overall). At least Riley hasn't resorted to torture. Yet.

Michael's Fake Laugh Count: 0 (1 overall). Man, this is the least laughy season ever.

Other: We might be past the point of aliases, when even Chuck Finley is failing to get by.

I don't have a lot to say about this episode. Riley seems a capable foe. Intelligent, experienced, unmoved by Michael's heartfelt explanations and demonstrations of loyalty. There are times where Burn Notice is almost a shonen manga, with Mike winning people over through the power of friendship and self-sacrifice. Not this time, maybe because Riley was loyal to Card.

And so Mike's really put his friends in hot water this time, especially since there wasn't time for anyone to get out. Sam got caught, and the others were too busy fleeing the cops to try bowing out. Not that they would have, though I think Jesse was having some thoughts about it. And I wouldn't blame him. Of the three of them (Fi, Jesse, Sam), Jesse has the least history with Michael, and the highest proportion of bad history with him. He isn't in love with Mike, and he isn't the guy who would be his best man at the wedding. Plus, I think Mike's admission that he murdered Card in cold blood troubled Jesse as much as it did Sam, though maybe for different reasons. I think Jesse's a little more concerned with laws, and Sam a little more with ideals, honor codes, unspoken lines you don't cross. It ends up in the same place with both of them looking askance at Mike's decisions (or Fi's for that matter), but it isn't quite the same path.

While I'm thinking of it, when they showed Card dying at the beginning of the episode, I'm more convinced Mike always intended to shoot Card, and just wanted to be absolutely clear about why he was doing it. With all the shadows, deceptions and cover-ups that are part and parcel in his life, he wanted this to be unambiguous.

The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway

You don't need me to recap the plot do you? Fine, The Sun Also Rises about a bunch of people living in 1924 Paris doing their damndest to find some kind of meaning to life. Either that or they're trying desperately to avoid recognizing the lack of meaning in their lives.

I'm pretty sure I read this during that original Hemingway phase a decade ago, but I'm less sure now than I was before this week. I definitely didn't remember there being so much Antisemitism among the characters. It didn't reflect well on them that it wasn't enough to dislike Cohn because he was a bore, or because he wouldn't stop mooning over Brett, his heritage had to be brought into it as well.

Maybe it's that I've changed since then, but I don't recall being incredibly annoyed with most of the characters, especially during the fiesta. The fact, Jake, Brett, and the rest do very little other than drink and behave like asses to each other was off-putting. While I don't drink myself, I have no particular problem with people who (basically everyone I know besides myself drinks to varying degrees), except for when they become belligerent, or if they start repeating the same phrase or sentiment. That in mind, it wasn't surprising I found myself wanting Mike Campbell to be trampled by a bull at some point, since he alternated between the two behaviors. Even when sober, his attitude was irritating. That he was bothered that someone who loaned him money in Cannes - and presumably had not been repaid - who be irate to see him living it up in San Sebastian didn't help. I'm not sure whether that's his privilege showing, or a simple lack of self-awareness.

He's almost - almost - pitiable, in that he can't seem to stop spending beyond his means. The scene near the end in the bar with he, Jake, and Bill , where they start betting to see who pays, and before you know it, he's out of money again. He seems embarrassed about it, but he doesn't seem to have any self-control, and he sort of accepts that. It's happened before, it'll happen again. They're all like that, to varying degrees, caught in these cycles, doing the same stuff over and over again. I don't think they even expect a different result, they simply can't or won't change course. Either they can't decide what they want, they know what they want but can't have it, or won't let themselves have. Brett and Jake might do well together, regardless of his war injury, but he seems to think it makes him unworthy of her, and Brett doesn't seem to think too highly of herself, either, such as her concerns she'd ruin the young bullfighter, Romero.

That whole bit was one of the scenes I found the most interesting. Jake and Montoya discuss whether Montoya should mention the wealthy Americans who want Romero to attend a party with them. Montoya asked Jake because he feels Jake has a true passion for proper bullfighting as Montoya does, and they both recognize Romero could be great. Thus, they both agree he shouldn't pass the invitation along, that those sorts of people will ruin Romero. Of course, alter that same evening, Romero ends up drinking and dining with Jake and his compatriots, becoming smitten with Brett, Jake tacitly encouraging it, out of some idea of chivalry. If he can't make Brett happy (because impotence removes all possibility of that, naturally), he'll help her pursue any man who temporarily catches her fancy, even though he ought to know by now it won't end happily for anyone. The shift in Montoya's attitude towards Jake after that, it's silly in a way, but I understand it. Ultimately, Romero's life is his own, to live as he wants. Montoya, a random hotel owner and bullfight aficionado, is irrelevant. But Montoya's a fan, and I know that fannish desire to see someone great realize their potential, and how ugly it could be to see someone he thought felt as he did turn out to be just another leech.

That whole thing reminded me of the end of A Moveable Feast, when Hemingway described his foolishly associating with wealthy people at that lodge in the mountains as he was nearing completion of The Sun Also Rises. I wonder if he incorporated that experience into this novel, or if that was simply a coincidence. Along those same lines, the first chapter gave me a clue as to why Hemingway didn't want to Fitzgerald to see the book for as long as possible. I feel like Cohn was strongly based on Fitzgerald, and Frances seems to be Zelda, with her attempts to undercut Cohn's writing, her heavy drinking precipitating his drinking as he has to attend parties to watch over her. Or maybe Hemingway simply didn't want Fitzgerald making a bunch of suggestions on how to change the book so it would sell better. I imagine Hemingway wouldn't have taken the advice, but I think he also would have struggled to tactfully ignore the suggestions.

I can't really decide about Brett. Part of me thinks she pursues men who in some way relate or connect her to Jake. Cohn, a writer, Romero, a bullfighter (Jake isn't a bullfighter, but he loves bullfighting), Campbell, someone who lost something in the way. On the other hand, maybe she legitimately likes them for a while, then either grows disenchanted with them, or starts to hate herself. Do people look askance at her for her behavior, or does she believe they do? At a certain point, I think the flings and other failed romances create a loop for her where the inability up to that point to find a lasting, happy relationship, makes her think none of her relationships will go well, because there's something wrong with her. And so it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, or she breaks it off.

One character I would have liked to see a little more on was Bill. There's a part of me that thinks he's the only one of the five not struggling with someone. I could be wrong, the constant travel could be his symptom, that he's physically trying to find something, but he seems more comfortable in his skin than the others. Or he hides it better.

'"I'm sorry, I've got a nasty tongue. I never mean it when I say nasty things."

"I know it," Cohn said. "You're really about the best friend I have, Jake."

God help you, I thought.'

What I Bought 10/31/2013 - Part 5

From a book that's yet to fulfill its potential, to one that's dead man walking.

Katana #8, by Ann Nocenti (writer), Cliff Richards (artist), Matt Yackey (colorist), Taylor Esposito (letterer) - That's a nice action-packed cover, but the characters are almost too active. It's like Katana and Coil are each trying three different attacks at the seam time. You've got a kick, maybe an elbow strike, plus whatever they're trying to manage with their swords. Can you put any sort of force into an attack when the body is trying to do that much stuff all at once?

Katana's still trying to get into the Sword Clans, and one of the trials is beating a master with his own weapon. Thus, the fight against Coil with one of those whip swords. It's a bit of back and forth, Katana dealing with his greater experience, his mouth, and her own emotions, but she comes out on top eventually. Still, there are other trials, and one of them is to track down the young girl that escaped from her sword and took Shun's foot.  The spirit in question, Mona Shard, is busy possessing a little bully and training her body in to a weapon that can drag her old Dagger Clan to the top. Katana receives some helpful advice from the fellow with the Falcon, though whether it's more applicable to dealing with her sword, or the Sword Clans, I'm not sure. Either way, she has doubts about whether she really needs to kill Mona. I'm not sure myself. She seems vicious, but anymore so than Coil, and Katana spared him, so who knows.

Cliff Richards handles the art chores for the entire issue, so I consider this a real step up from the previous issues. He doesn't do anything spectacular, but he knows how to keep everything clear. When he wants to give one panel a lot of space for a cool moment, he still leaves enough room for the other panels on the page. The action looks good, and I like the panel of Katana and Shun walking through town together. They look so relaxed and confident, each wearing the marks Coil tried carving into them, not giving a damn who sees them.

It fits nicely with what I think is one of the themes Nocenti's been working with in this title, the whole aspect of men trying to keep women down, to dictate what they can and can't do. Coil's a perfect example because he spends the entire fight running down Tatsu, criticizing her for getting emotional, laughing about things her husband (allegedly, though I wouldn't doubt it, Maseo seems like kind of a hypocritical dick) said about her behind her back. When he tries to tell her that she's accomplished nothing with all her scrambling about, she takes control of the fight, rebuffs his argument, and says she's enjoyed every minute of it, regardless of whether it got her anywhere. Then he tries to undercut that by claiming she's "sick", but she blows him off, and leaves, head high, Shun at her side.

I also don't think it was a coincidence the billboard the two fought in front of was showing some ad for women's perfume, and emphasizing what I'd guess were the sort of traditional limitations we impose on women. Look pretty, smell nice, wear heels so a guy will want to kiss you, because otherwise there wouldn't be any point, right? And Katana's rejecting all that, she'll decide what she enjoys, why and for what she fights, and anyone who tries to dictate her life without her asking them to first, is going to learn just how bad an idea that is. Shun's a part of this, since she didn't choose to be covered in these tattoos, they were put there on the orders on 'officials', who I would guess were guys, and given that, it really makes me question the one about Katana. A prophecy that says if a woman takes power, it will ruin everything. Gee, what a shock. I think that's part of why Tatsu's unsure about killing Mona. She recognizes Mona probably isn't any worse that Coil or Sickle, so why does Mona have to die. Besides the part where she's already dead, but you don't see the boys telling her to go after Maseo, the samurai, or the Creeper. Possibly because none of them have demonstrated their intent to upset the current status among the different clans.

See, this book makes me think in a way a lot of the other titles don't. I'm gonna miss that when it's gone. That being said, I did think that during the fight between Katana and Coil, things turned awfully quickly. Some thoughts balloons allowing us to track Tatsu's thoughts might have helped. The way it played out, I think Coil's attempt to deride her efforts at cleaning up the Outsiders, triggered a realization, or helped coalesce her thoughts, and that gave her a clarity that let her turn the tables, start mocking Coil, rather than let his taunts goad her. But with no peer inside her mind, it just looks like she decided to start fighting better all of the sudden. I do miss thought bubbles, but everybody loves those caption boxes now, assuming you even get that.

What I Bought 10/31/2013 - Part 4

What the heck, I enjoyed talking about a book that hadn't shown up in two months due to artist complications so much, let's do another!

Hawkeye #13, by Matt Fraction & David Aja, Matt Hollingsworth (colors), Chris Eliopoulos (lettering) - I don't really understand the hexagonal patterns all over the cover. It's a nice honeycomb, patchwork effect, but I'm not clear on the purpose. Does the next cover follow that? I guess if the book is going to alternate issues between Clint and Kate, it could be to represent their being separated.

Over the past few issues we've had events from Barney's perspective, Pizza Dog's perspective, Kate's, and now it's Clint's turn. So it retreads the same territory as the previous three issues, just as Clint experienced. Which does help to tie things together. I hadn't realized Barney showed before Kate even left, for example. Still, though, you know how I complained about Clint's moping about, but tried to be reasonable because while it was 6 months for me, it was maybe two weeks for him? Well, this is more moping about, only with drinking and painkiller use mixed in. On the plus side, it looks like it's really only been about 4 days for Clint. Of course, it's been 9 months for me by now. One step forward, two step back.

I'm still not sure why Kate left, though. On the ride to the funeral, she told Clint she was going to be there for him, next thing you know she's jetting for the coast. What, because he fell asleep when she was making her heartfelt speech in the car? Fleeing emotional commitment is a Hawkeye characteristic.

I don't sound terribly pleased with the book, I know, but it's hard for me not to be frustrated. The Punisher could have handled these dopes in five minutes, and Clint's still futzing around feeling bad for himself. At least he has good taste in movies. He fell asleep watching Rio Bravo, which is not exactly a subtle foreshadowing of his and Barney's situation, having to defend a set location against an enemy they may not even recognize, what with it being a largely faceless mass of morons.

Aja did the entire issue in 9-panel grids. I admit, when people talk about how different layouts make them slow down or speed up their reading, I don't get that. I tend to fly over pages at roughly the same speed, adjusting for the amount of dialogue or if the art is unclear. So I can't really say what effect Aja and Fraction were driving at there. It does seem to be effective at forcing me to focus on a specific thing. I've been looking back over it, trying to figure out if there's a pattern or meaning to what's depicted in the first panel, and that bag of blood on page 3 was pretty arresting.

Maybe it's between the last panel on a page, and the first one on the next page? Clint rushes upstaris to get his costume and we see it in the closet. Next page, Clint's wearing, lying flat on his back after a tough battle. The risks you take? Lucky licks Clint's face on one page, the next one they're sitting on the stoop together, waiting for Barney. But then, the last panel of that page was Barney following Clint into the apartment building, and the first panel of the next page is a roll of toilet paper. Family means letting your brother use your bathroom, even if he tried to kill you and your ex-wife, because you took all his money? Or something.

I'm probably overthinking the whole thing, but given the limited plot progression, I have to think about something. Like whether Barney's slumped posture as Clint introduces him to everyone and says he's going to help means he's actually there to kill Clint, or if he's just uncomfortable being the good guy. Or if he just doesn't want to get involved emotionally, either. Maybe that's why they're all archers, they like to keep people at a distance. Works for Ollie Queen too, you know.

What I Bought 10/31/2013 - Part 3

Back to comics, with a mini-series. I haven't bought many mini-series these last couple years. I miss Marvel pumping out a lot of odd mini-series. I understand financially why they stopped - they rarely sold - but they seemed like a good way to try out new writers and artists, and they could be a lot of fun, precisely because they weren't really important.

Rocketeer/Spirit: Pulp Friction #2, by Mark Waid (writer), Loston Wallace (pencils), Bob Wiacek (inks), Hi Fi Designs (colors), Tom B. Long (letters) - I just noticed the plane is upside-down. You can just see some water and land in the upper right corner. That being the case, should the Spirit be dangling in the other direction? Or is it a case that the plane is still in mid-roll, so gravity hasn't really taken effect yet.

Betty can't really tell the Spirit much, so it's off to the morgue, where Dolan's able to confirm the body is the alderman. Which still leaves the question of how he covered all that distance in so little time, but the coroner is more concerned with the condition of the alderman's innards, which have all been mashed together, even though his outsides show no sign of it.  Meanwhile, Betty's back at the airfield with Peevy, who has been tinkering with a primitive TV in his spare time. When he turns it on, the image that comes in is of the dead alderman. Intriguing, but the good guys may not have time to do anything with this information, as Mr. Trask has sent a couple of planes to attack them, even as he and the Octopus work to remove the witness, meaning Betty.

My theory is the alderman was someone converted to energy and beamed to L.A. after his death, but the process is still in early stages, which is why his organs are all mixed up. All this talk of beaming pictures, it's the only way I can figure you transport at guy that distance in that span of time.

Paul Smith bailed for some reason or the other, thus Loston Wallace as penciler (and that's also probably why there was a 2-month delay). Wallace has a style that's roughly similar enough to Smith's that there's not a huge shift in how the characters look. He definitely makes the Spirit into a granite-jawed type at times. Maybe that's appropriate for the character, though he always seemed a little too sly for that Captain America look to me. It's not a complaint, just an observation. Wallace doesn't seem as creative with the layouts as Smith, but he's very good at expressions and body language. I didn't get a real sense of speed when Cliff was flying, though, which is a little disappointing. It's a clean style, very pretty, but Wallace uses it well to sell the humorous bits.

I really wonder about Cliff leaving the Spirit in a plane with no landing gear. The way he casually flies in the other direction, offering only, 'Take it easy, you're practically down already!', could be read as Cliff really not caring whether the Spirit survives or not. I know the Spirit said a page earlier that death doesn't work for him like it does for other people, but he said that while fighting a guy on the wing of a plane, while Cliff was busy with another plane, so I don't see how Cliff could have heard it. Cliff's a hothead, but he's not usually callous, especially towards someone helping him.

A Moveable Feast - Ernest Hemingway

Yes, I'm back from the boonies, which means I can resume the Hemingway reading I was doing in July.

A Moveable Feast is Hemingway's recollections of his time living in Paris in the years before The Sun Also Rises was published. There's quite a bit about his times hanging out with Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound, his life with his first wife, Hadley, and their son, Bumby. I suppose the book is written in roughly chronological order, but it reads more like a series of loosely connected anecdotes, which is fine. Most of them are fairly short, and so the book zips along, though it dragged during the stuff about Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. But I've never cared about the Fitzgeralds (The Great Gatsby was not one of the books I was forced to read in high school that I enjoyed), so maybe that's why.

There are a lot of small things he mentions, those little details that help the story come alive, or just interest me. For example, French book dealers hated dealing with English books, because they could never tell whether a particular book was worth anything, because they considered the binding to be uniformly terrible. Hemingway and Hadley going to the track occasionally, though for Hemingway it started becoming all too regular. His doubts he could ever write a full novel, because he was having so much trouble even writing one paragraph in the way he really wanted, and his doubts about the wisdom in leaving journalism to focus on prose. Heck, even the fact he hated his first name was interesting, though now that I think of it, how many people are truly happy with their first name? You didn't get to choose it, unless you had it legally changed, but you had to live with the other name for a time. Being Hemingway, he deliberately called someone he knew (and didn't like) with the same name in Paris "Ernest", because it was a private way of expressing scorn.

I was very curious about his discussion of Dostoyevsky with his friend Evan Shipman. He likes Dostoyevsky's characters, but they both thought he was a terrible writer, who somehow wrote wonderful you still didn't want to read more than once. Crime and Punishment was one of the two books I had to read in high school I did enjoy (The Old Man and the Sea being the other, which is probably not a surprise to you), but it's been a long time and I haven't read any of Dostoyevsky's other work, so I couldn't really say. I remember being impressed with his characters, but I don't recall being put off by the writing style.

The book's written with an air of wistful nostalgia, perhaps not surprising since it was written over thirty years after the fact, with a lifetime worth of decisions and mistakes between them. There's a sense Hemingway misses being the struggling young writer living in a crappy apartment with Hadley and Bumby, and the cat, F. Puss. The book ends shortly after he describes making a fool of himself for a bunch of rich people at a place up in the mountains, and around the time he started having an affair. My guess is that's when he thinks things started going downhill, and opted to stop before he had to detail it.

This regret and longing colors everything, and combined with Hemingway's own tendency to self-aggrandize and tear others down, I frequently wondered how much I could take at face value, especially where it involved people he was not entirely kindly disposed to, like Stein or the Fitzgeralds (mostly Zelda, though I think Scott's method of writing a little as well, see the excerpt below). Hemingway would hardly be the first to revise history to make himself seem more prescient or wise, just like Stein would hardly be the first author to look more kindly upon writers who gave her work positive reviews (which Hemingway mentions not so much as a fault of hers, more just a fact of life for talking with her).

Anyway, it's an excellent quick read, if you have any interest in him, or some of the life in Paris shortly after World War 1.

'I was trying to get him to write stories as well as he could and not trick them to conform to any formula, as he had explained that he did.

"You've written a fine novel now," I told him. "And you mustn't write slop."

"The novel isn't selling," he said. "I must write stories and they have to be stories that sell."

"Write the best story you can and write it as straight as you can."'

What I Bought 10/31/2013 - Part 2

I had planned to review the comics alphabetically, but for some reason, I've really wanted to discuss X-Men, so it's cutting in line. Really, you'd think a book taking place at a school would know better. Also, I've decided to review each book individually, since there are so few, and this way I can talk about each one as much as I want, without worrying the post is getting too long.

X-Men #6, by Brian Wood (writer), David Lopez (penciler), Came Smith w/Terry Pallot (inkers), Laura Martin w/Matt Milla (colorists), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - I get the idea behind the cover, Wolverine's blood reflecting the vague shadows of those who attacked him, but it's undercut by two things. One, the shadows kind of get mixed up with the black spaces at the edge of the bloodstain, and two, they used so much red on the whole color, I think it really blunts the effect. The shadows on the blood don't grab they eye as they ought to.

In comics I didn't read, Illyana took the Beast and Iceman of the past to the future to investigate the claims of the other team of Future X-Men. This as the one with Future Xavier plans to send Original Recipe Cyclops, Jean, and Warren back to the past against their will. Just as Logan's getting suspicious, too late to do any good, because yes, these Future X-Men are evil. Surprise!

Oh right, we all saw that coming. But man, that means Molly Hayes became a bad guy? Thanks, Bendis.

Anyway, Future Brotherhood of Evil Mutants mop the floor with pretty much the entire team, except Psylocke, and Jubilee escapes with Shogo in his new "hamster ball". For all the good that does them. Future Beast locked the whole school down and then. . . I'm not sure. Cyclops' team shows up with the other Future X-Group, who I guess are the good guys, and the Mansion is partially destroyed, possibly deserted except for Jubilee, Psylocke, and Bling. I have no idea what happened. Did the Future Bad Guys have some mass murder/suicide thing planned? Future Beast did tell Xorn Jean 'It's been a pleasure.', but that may have just been him expressing enjoyment at doing tech work. So, attempt to tell a coherent single chapter within a Stupid Crossover: FAIL.

That look on Future Xavier's face as he tells Past Scott sarcasm doesn't suit him, man, that was the most punchable grin I have ever seen. Forget whether he evil or not, that was such an expression of smug satisfaction, I would have cheered if the freaking Sentry - the Sentry! - had chosen that moment to return, as long as he punched Future Chuck's head clean off. So, kudos to David Lopez on that face. Shogo's happy face in the hamster ball as the fighting goes on around him was pretty outstanding.

I like Martin and Milla's colors on the book. Everything is bright and vibrant, in a different way from what Javier Rodriguez does on Daredevil, but still bright. The colors are smoother here, for one thing, which makes sense. Samnee inks his own work and tends to go heavier on the blacks and shadows, so it needs a different approach, and Rodriguez' gives the colors a sort of gritty texture, almost closer to pastels (from what I remember of those from art class eons ago), than what we see here on X-Men. Anyway, it's a very pretty book all around.

The writing's less certain. I wonder if we're ever going to learn what the problem was between Bling and Mercury back in the first issue, or if that's going to be a running joke of Wood's. Every time they try to address it, some crisis comes up, so no time for teen drama. Wood's dialogue for Wolverine feels more off here than it did two issues ago. Too refined, lacking in words shortened, like "thinkin'", or the like. I guess Wolverine could be trying to sound more educated for all his students, though perhaps her out to focus less on eloquence and more on not stabbing people. Also, and this probably isn't Wood's fault, I can't get a bead on this Future Deadpool. He's more chatty this episode, but while he's still stream of consciousness, there aren't really any jokes. I guess Future Chuck and Jean excised his sense of humor. Also, did he pain the black eye holes that used to be on his mask onto his face, then put shades on over them? That's terrible, it completely kills any goodwill I had from wearing a hoodie in the future.

At least Rachel finally got to do something, I was starting to wonder if Wood really wanted her around or not. He certainly seems to enjoy Psylocke, as she gets to be team badass, near as I can tell. I still don't understand why she only seems to use her telekinesis to form weapons. She's fighting Deadpool and what appears to be a kid Logan had with Mystique (well, they've knocked boots enough over the decades), and she's using a TK sword. Why not just push outwards with the tk in a solid wall and smash them against a wall, or the Blackbird or something?

At least this will be over by the next issue. I can't decide whether I regret not skipping these two issues or not. The art team did a good job, but the story is as much of a mess as you'd expect from one spanning 4 books, written by 3 different guys. Or is it 5 books, with 4 different writers? I don't know.

Burn Notice 6.12 - Ends and Means

Plot: The plan to use Tyler Gray to expose Tom Card's misdeeds proceeds slowly, but is progressing. Card has asked Gray to toss Mike and Fi's loft for anything that might incriminate Card, then burn it. Fi is understandably upset, and insists that she and Michael handle that part, while Mike hands Gray a few files that will make it appear he had been close to linking Card to Anson.

While preparing their arson, they receive a visitor. Fi's associate from prison, Ayn. Ayn's out now, but is having problems with an old enemy. The man Ayn killed, the brother-in-law who was beating her sister, was a C.I. for Detective Garza. Garza is hellbent on bringing down local gang leader Sharrod Washington for killing his partner, and to that end, was willing to work with wife-beaters to do it. Since Ayn killed his informant, Garza's cause was setback, and he's still nursing a grudge. Fi is all set to help, but Mike advises against it. Theya re supposed to be dead after all. Fi presses on regardless. No surprise there.

When Fi and an uncertain Sam visit Ayn to devise a plan, Garza arrives with Ayn's parole officer, and then promptly plants drugs in her apartment. By that time, though Fi and Sam have already escaped with Ayn's son, Amari, and now they have to wreck Garza. So Jesse has to pose as a gangster out to usurp Sharrod's position, who is looking for Garza's help. The plan is to get Garza to steal a gun from an unsolved case, then try and use it to pin the crime on Sharrod. But Garza balks, he won't wreck other cases, and instead decides to simply drive to Sharrod's residence, call him out and arrest him. Or get beaten to death, and maybe someone will testify. At this point, Michael finally agrees to get involved, they put on quite the show to scare Sharrod into surrendering, and Garza gets his guy. Afterward, I assume he either confessed to planting those drugs, or otherwise convinced her parole officer to ease off.

So that's the basic plot. In the subplot, Maddy is sharper than Mike gave her credit for - again. She's knows the man he came back from Panama with is the man who shot Nate, and she wants to meet with him. It isn't so much about understanding Gray, or even browbeating him for shooting Nate. It's a continuation of her conversation with Card last week, an attempt to try and understand Michael. I'm not sure it helped her understand him, but it seems to have resolved something within, because she's decided to leave Miami, believing she's lost both her sons already.

As to the overarching super-plot, Gray's doing a delicate dance with Card, trying to get dealt in on what Card's up to, without ringing too many alarms. Unfortunately, his methods are too passive for Michael, who fears Gray is scamming him. In the end, it turns out not to matter. When Gray meets with Card in a nice hotel, Card has a frequency jammer ready to scramble all listening devices, and a team ready to rush in and handle Gray. Except Michael rushes in first. Not that it saves Gray. He dies, and Card makes it look like Gray shot first.

And then Michael shoots Card, right between the eyes. After Card holstered his weapon.

The Players: Ayn (The Client), Detective Garza (Scumbag with a Badge), Sharrod Washington (Gang Leader)

Quote of the Episode: Garza - 'I'm not stealing evidence from any case to close mine. I'm not screwing cops. I'm not screwing victims. That's not who I am.'

Does Fiona blow anything up? I assume she made those explosives they used on the two cars.

Sam Axe Drink Count: 1 (21 overall)

Sam Getting Hit Count: 0 (6 overall). It was Jesse who got the beating this week.

Michael Fake Laugh Count: 0 (1 overall).

Other: No real alias for Mike this week. Unless you count "Officer *Explosion* from the Department of *Explosion*".

I didn't know Nate liked graphic design, or that his middle name was Elias. Jeez, what were they thinking with that one?

I am sorely disappointed in Sam and Jesse for how reluctant to help they were. I at least understood Mike's reasoning - that they were trying to keep a low-profile - and fighting cops wasn't conducive to that, even if I disagreed. But Sam and Jesse just didn't want to help because Ayn had been to prison. For killing a wife-beater. I like Sam, but guy is a soldier. He's killed a lot of people. Can he really say every single one of them deserved to die more than the man Ayn killed? What about Michael? He worked with Dead Larry for like two years? You're going to tell me he didn't kill even one poor schmuck of a Soviet guard, whose only crime might be standing in front of the wrong doorway? But what, it's OK because it was for your country? Well Ayn did what she did for her family, so a little consideration was in order.

That being said, Fi playing the "don't let Amari grow up without a mom like you did" card on Jesse was pretty low. Also, while the slow badass walk was a nice touch, I'm not sure it was a good idea only a couple of blocks away from a place where a bunch of cops are pulling up to investigate shootings and explosions. Especially when you're all carrying assault rifles. Kind of conspicuous.

The Madeline subplot has been interesting, even if I'm not sure how well it's gelling. I do think it was a nice touch that she didn't appear for a couple of episodes after Nate's death, and that it was clear she was avoiding Michael. She's trying to sort things out herself. it used to be almost a joke, how odd she found his life, the lying, the sneaking about at odd hours, the misdirection. She'd comment wryly, then offer him coffee. He was back home, speaking with her, that was enough.

It's not funny any longer. She needs real answers, if they exist. Having reached an impasse, she takes the chance to seek out Tom Card, and later, to speak with Tyler Gray. She's truly confronting just how little she understands about either son, but especially Michael, and so she turns to others. Card, who trained him. Gray, who was a sniper, just like Michael was originally. I mean, it wasn't exactly subtle when she asked Gray if he came from a broken home while she glanced over at her son, who, you know, came from a broken home.

Also she hasn't bothered to try talking with Fi or Sam since then. You might think they'd be ones to ask about Michael, but for a couple of factors. One, they're almost too close to Michael, and with the lives they lead, his behavior might almost seem normal. Plus, they didn't know Michael before, and with as little as he speaks of his upbringing, they don't really have a baseline to compare current Michael to. Further, they tend to take Michael's lead and treat Maddy with kid gloves, even though I've lost count of how many times she's demonstrated she can handle all the crap that gets flung on her due to her proximity to their lives. They'd both offer useless platitudes. Better to talk to someone who will listen when she tells them not to, who probably doesn't care enough to sugarcoat things.

But it didn't matter, I don't think. The answers didn't help her understand him, not in any useful way. Her conclusion is she's never going to understand him, so perhaps it's better to just stop.

Then there's Michael shooting Card. I have a lot of questions about that? Did Michael always intend to shoot Card, at least once the jammer was active and there was no chance of getting him to say something incriminating on tape? If so, what does it say that he waited until Card holstered his weapon? That he wanted to make absolutely certain he succeeded? Maybe Card is that fast, and this was a time Mike couldn't afford to fail? Or did Mike want it to be absolutely clear why he shot Card. Or at least make it clear it wasn't in self-defense, that it was an execution. Card didn't get to go down fighting, he got to die thinking he'd won again, completely unprepared.

There's always the chance Michael had decided not to shoot Card. Mike's usually pretty pragmatic, he knew with no Gray, with no evidence, he couldn't nail Card to the wall as he hoped. And then Gray said he was proud of Michael. The thing he said when he was planning to air strike him. The thing he told Tyler Gray Mike liked to hear, which almost had to be done as mockery, because why would Gray need to know that? The sort of thing Anson probably told Card, assuming Card hadn't figured it out for himself in training. There's a chance that was the straw, and Mike simply snapped. That Card's arrogance, his self-assured attitude would encourage him to say that to someone he tried to kill just recently, who got his brother killed, was just too much.

I don't know which it is, but I know that after multiple seasons of me encouraging Mike to just shoot this bad guy or that one - from Carla, through Management, Simon, Vaughn, and especially Anson - he finally did it. And it may have been the absolute worst time to do so.

What I Bought 10/31/2013 - Part 1

Some of that driving in the rain I mentioned not enjoying was to get comics. I was kind of hoping for a better haul than 6 books again, but Atomic Robo Savage Sword of Dr. Dinosaur still didn't show up, and neither did that double-sized issue of Captain Marvel. Also, my comic guy didn't pull October's issue of Captain America for me, but seeing as I was dropping the book anyway, I don't mind that in the least. I didn't even notice until several hours later, when I had some time to read them.

Avengers Arena #16, by Dennis Hopeless (writer), Karl Moline (penciler), Mark Pennington w/Rick Magyar and Karl Moline (inkers), Jean-Francois Beaulieu (colorist), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - I don't know what to make of all those inker credits. Also, Francisco Francavilla is good at designing covers, in case you hadn't heard. Using the outline of the raygun to frame the image of Cammi against that slightly off-white background helps it pop, even though the colors aren't really strong. Well, the blue near the bottom is a bit, but I wouldn't describe the colors as intense. But it works for the movie poster feel of it.

And here's what Arcade's been waiting for. Aiden's taking out his grief over Nara on Cullen, who is letting him. So Cammi steps in. But then Nico decides she and Chase should just kill everyone else, so she goes after Cullen, Chase knocks Reptil into the path of an enraged Aiden, and Cammi's left to deal with Chasehawk. Oh, and X-23 is still trying to disembowel Hazmat. The one flaw in Nico's plan is that Arcade said there could only be one, so even if she and Chase win out, one still has to kill the other. I'm pretty sure she remembers that - and that Chase isn't thinking of it all, thinking not being a strong suit of his - but I can't decide if she'd kill him, or force him to finish her.

Arcade's loving all this, which unfortunately means Tim/Katy and Deathlocket can't engage their plan to access his systems and save the day. Deathlocket starts engineering diversions, Katy starts hacking, and then they realize they underestimated Arcade. They can't get in his systems, and he's already disarmed Deathlocket. Yeah, it's kind of a pun, but it's also an entirely appropriate description. One bit of good news is that Arcade's powers don't work so well down in the subsystems area. Maybe there isn't as much environment to control, I don't know. The other bit of good news is Deathlocket freed Chris Powell. Still no Darkhawk amulet, but he's got a lot more experience at this than any of those kids. So it's a question of whether they can stop Arcade before the other kids waste each other. Can't say I'll mind if Cammi shoots Chase's face off. He's always been such a complete dumbass it's hard for me to care.

The art is a bit of a mixed bag, not surprising with three people handling inking. Means I don't know who to credit for the good work at the bottom of page 18 and all of 19. I thought the shading there was a lot more expertly done, conveyed a little more subtlety overall. Mostly though, the figure work is rough. Exaggerated lips, eyes you can't really see, Katy's face varies so much there were times I wasn't sure there wasn't a third sibling we hadn't heard about emerging. The layouts are well done. Page 3, Cammi blasts Aiden upwards and out panel 2, into the background of panel 3, where we see Nico make her decision. As she and Chase make their move, the view moves in closer, over their shoulder as they look at Reptil, and some of the energy that surrounds Chase when he activates the Darkhawk amulet is present in that panel, bleeding over from the one below it where he's wearing the armor and flattening Reptil. There's a few other pages like that.

Now we're all set for the big finale, just two issues to go.

A Musing From The Road

Most of the time I drive, I'm impatient to get where I'm going and thus, easily irritated by other drivers (I've said in the past I'd enjoy driving much more without all the other cars around).

Every so often, I have a day where I have someplace to be, but there's no rush, and I drive accordingly. Counting today, I think this year's count is up to 3. The varied road construction didn't delay get in the way very often, I mostly avoided annoying drivers, the weather was nice (if a bit windy), and the leaves around here finally turned colors in earnest in the last few days. The maples and hickories had started earlier, but the majority are oaks, and they seemed to wait until it warmed back up a little, oddly enough. Or it takes them a few days to react to a frost. One or the other.

I did see a sign in front of a church. You know the little messages they like to use to get your attention. 'Even Jesus had a fish story', is my personal favorite. This one wasn't amusing, 'The truth can sometimes seem intolerant' isn't much of a gutbuster. But I did spend a fair few miles trying to decide what particular stance that church was taking others were deeming intolerant. I figured either anti-gay marriage, or anti-abortion, but that's me being judgmental. I suppose they could be really steadfast in a belief that cake is always better than pie, and they're facing a barrage of insults from pie-lovers.

If I had seen it yesterday, when I did a lot of driving in pouring rain, surrounded by even worse drivers than normal, I would have fumed about it. As it was, I though of how it sounds like a new way to excuse being a jerk. There are people who say cruel things, then try to justify it under the heading of "telling it like it is". By now, everyone recognizes that's code for, "I'm a complete ass and enjoy it". Now they can say, "sometimes the truth seems intolerant", and it'll confuse the people they're talking to. It has more of an air of sage wisdom than glibness, even though it is kind of glib.