16 YEARS LATER

Today, 2026 January 30th, marks the 16th anniversary of my premiere posting on Comics And...Other Imaginary Tales.  I recommend reading the preamble (at least) from my initial offering, which can be found here, as context for today's post.

As this milestone "sweet sixteen" anniversary approached, I have now reached Season 5 of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, which I began watching back in early November, the day before my Planet Earth/Dylan Hunt post.  I finished the eighth episode (s5.8) yesterday.  It's been a great series so far, which I've enjoyed immensely (especially Harper and Rommy), but a friend warned me at the start that an abrupt change in direction occurs in the fifth season.  After a brutal Season 4 finale, the status quo has been entirely upended as we encounter characters days, months, and years after we've last seen them, displaced in time and space.  They've been living (and surviving) during this time, having undergone major changes along the way (and some regressions as well).  This all reminded me of DC Comics' "One Year Later" event from twenty years ago (2006).

Maybe DC got the idea from Andromeda, since Season 5 began in 2004.  Regardless of where it originated*, it was a pretty nifty publishing endeavor (I hesitate to use the term "gimmick").  After the big (miserable) Infinite Crisis event, DC dropped readers into each title, picking up with the characters "one year later".  And a year in a comic book character's life is a looooong time in normal publishing.  The character may be barely recognizable or their status quo has undergone tectonic shifts, leaving readers to ponder why and what caused this to happen to their "lives".  Creatively, it allowed DC to mix up or establish new creative teams to move the needle on a character's story that otherwise would've taken years to achieve normally.  It's both familiar and nouveau at the same time, with the ongoing story and the backstory unveiling simultaneously.

*Actually, Marvel did it first with Secret Wars back in 1984!  Think Amazing Spider-Man #252 with the first appearance of his black symbiote suit or She-Hulk unexpectedly joining the FF in #265. (See my MMW post from last July for stories from that era, ironically not long before Marvel announced the cancellation/indefinite hiatus of the Marvel Masterworks line.)

[This is different from a hard reboot ala New Earth (post-Crisis), or a soft reboot like One More Day where they de-aged and de-married Peter Parker to make him sexually promiscuous and ruin his character for all time, as it happens in continuity.]

I co-opted DC's "One Year Later" label above for this comparison reflection on where I am...16 years later.

16 years ago...    my youngest child was 15 months old;

16 years later...    my oldest grandchild is 14 months old (today!), and my son is now attending community college.

16 years ago...    we were entering the final four months of our first dog's life (Ginger Bread Mann);

16 years later...    and we've had three rescue dogs (Mr. Magoo, Hazel, and Buddy) come and go, vowing no more dogs due to the heartbreak, but we've had a cat for half that time (Taco Belle). Notice to internet malcontents, we don't use our pet names for passwords, so don't bother.

16 years ago...    I was less than a year into living at a new house after 14 years at the previous domicile;

16 years later...    I'm just over a month into living in a rental while our house is being repaired and made ready to sell, following a highly disruptive mold remediation. Incidentally, my Daredevil TV show posters (now painfully discarded and seen in the linked post) stopped the toxic black mold from spreading further in the room!

16 years ago...    my work situation was undergoing a shake-up (thankfully only temporary);

16 years later...    and I'm doing the same job, content with the current arrangement (and hoping it continues), but still looking forward to retirement in 9 years or less.

16 years ago...    all six of my children were living at home, ages 15 months to 13 years old;

16 years later...    and four of them are now married, jacking up my total number of beloved children to ten, counting sons and daughter "in-laws", plus the two granddaughters.  My how parenting changes during that time!

16 years ago...    I'd never been to California;

16 years later...    and I'm hoping to attend a work conference in Long Beach this summer, which would be my fourth time visiting the Golden State.

16 years ago...    my wife and I had been married only 17 years;

16 years later...    my wife and I have been married almost double that time.  Despite a whole new set of challenges, the Lord continues to guide and sustain us.

16 years ago...    I was a few months shy of turning 40 in the prime of life;

16 years later...    and the aging process is undeniable and I'm struggling to accept the transition to my "old man" look.  Oh, how naive I was when I wrote this one!

16 years ago...    I had a meager HC collection as mentioned in my inaugural post; 

16 years later...    I have a massive (and heavy) HC collection, which I've had to clean and bag, moving it to storage.  Despite the lack of shelves, it's sorta like a hidden library replete with extended travel, secret codes & keys, an elevator, and... carts!  Praise God for the carts!!

There are around 6 omnibuses or 22 MMWs in a bin.

16 years ago...    I was buying and reading a good deal of weekly comics (and unbelievably blogging about them regularly or at least about to for a few years);

16 years later...    and I've really tapered off on new comics, almost entirely abandoning the Big Two with the exception of a few favorite characters here and there.  My dissatisfaction with current storylines and trends (and price$$!!) is great, and I'm no longer a completist by any means.

16 years ago...    I was still building my comic collection;

16 years later...    and I'd like to purge (hopefully consign somewhere) a good deal (maybe half or a third) of it that I no longer need or will ever have time to read or reread.

16 years ago...    I was beginning my first consistent foray into writing for pleasure;

16 years later...    and after a long hiatus that ended last June, I want to continue to write regularly because I really enjoy it (as time and life permits**).  I'm ever thankful to Jim for letting me join this blog so long ago!

**This has been the first normal Friday for me in over six weeks!  While there are still things to process and move to storage, which I can't do right now due to the cold temperatures, most of my worldly possessions have been dealt with, and I can slowly get back to enjoying them again.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20

"Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him --- for this is his lot.  Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and poesessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work -- this is a gift of God.  He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart."

Notice it says, "seldom", meaning you can still reflect from time to time.  The last two months have been a tornado of chaos, but I'm grateful that things are mostly settling down again.

Shout out to my two wonderful octogenarian Sunday School teachers, who celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary today! Joseph and Deanna, your marriage is a testimony to God's faithfulness and goodness! Thank you for sharing about all He has and continues to do in your lives as an example to us "babies".