tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333119912024-03-13T13:04:41.488-04:00Comics And...Other Imaginary TalesA comic book centric blog and other sophisticated pleasuresJimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352163584546054887noreply@blogger.comBlogger3189125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-33862769254917446772022-01-30T09:47:00.005-05:002022-01-30T20:24:23.268-05:00Good Bye to Comics<p> I have been contemplating exiting getting comic books for awhile. There will be exceptions and the occasional Omnibus or what not, but essentially saying goodbye to comic books once and for all.</p><p>My passion for collecting original art is one part of the equation. With comics at $5 bucks a pop, that adds up quickly and leaves a lot more money for buying original art. </p><p>Next up is that I left Marvel years ago and can no longer even recognize their Universe. I picked up Dark Ages which is fun and Death of Doctor Strange which has been a decent read. Anything else I have tried from Marvel has left me cold. They missed out on doing legacy material years ago. They could have had the characters age slowly. This could have given us a Fantastic Four with Reed and Sue's kids, Johnny could have married Crystal and had a child, Ben could be still the muscle for the group. Instead we are left with the 400th iteration of "new" stories from Spider-Man on whomever. From afar it seems they also went go for broke or woke. So Clea being new Dr. Strange isn't a natural evolution of the character - but of course Dr. Strange is now a woman. I guess the Ancient One could be Stephen or he will be dead for a year or two. Daredevil is now Electra? No matter, Marvel comics is what made me fall in love with comics. That love for Marvel is gone.</p><p>DC I was still getting a few stories and loved the DCeased stuff and Knights of Steel has been fun, but in continuity looks like woke virtue signaling to the nth degree. Gay Superman, Robin, Gay young Aquaman and who knows what else is just too much. Heck I don't really care who the characters are sleeping but it is more like LBQT etc romance comics. The heroic story is missing. So my love for DC has been lost.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMvGVSRd5K8j4XnexQxoKXtWNCoWuqj3nE3PYXCYDUWeIp9sxetrtQyOAZPC_UcSrXoGAmlr0AiCo4gdulYTCRs7ZtR4m2vU_Ui9CM6guB6wpcdwEeH5UEnK5QcuiwjAx7LaK28wFaR4QY-VVEdbLdsX__VWczcV2zHsnyjtRmQg1FBuKzyg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5062" data-original-width="3300" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMvGVSRd5K8j4XnexQxoKXtWNCoWuqj3nE3PYXCYDUWeIp9sxetrtQyOAZPC_UcSrXoGAmlr0AiCo4gdulYTCRs7ZtR4m2vU_Ui9CM6guB6wpcdwEeH5UEnK5QcuiwjAx7LaK28wFaR4QY-VVEdbLdsX__VWczcV2zHsnyjtRmQg1FBuKzyg" width="156" /></a></div>My current love of comics is fueled by DC silver and bronze age more obscure characters and material like Reckless from Brubaker and Phillips. <p></p><p>Really I'm okay with all of it as these are the characters owned by the corporations. The printed comic book has been circling the drain for decades and are really the vinyl records of today. Maybe this gets to a new market looking for this material and in a digital format. And as a 66 year old white heterosexual male I should not be your target audience long term anyway. Still I wouldn't mind a few books that harken back to a different era. I mean I loved Morrison's run on Batman and was disappointment when it was thrown in the trash immediately (actually during his run). I also would love DC to publish Space Ranger, later Challenger of the Unknown runs and that type of stuff. It appears that material has to await public domain status. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgm6aJR93DO2QdJJPlHy5OKjRUELNcMWVJ4JKBVei5GQL7ltZ7P644qCxc89XrOxm7oPV9zjWEHqweR2RL7oJ_HOA3hnjytDa9VCWsDpNeLwU4DDVejO97xpsNf0dfLzh8J0cbEqlBGVB3h_Y9Lse2do8BoVF5qbHkaNts22xQWroX4M00DZA" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5088" data-original-width="3300" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgm6aJR93DO2QdJJPlHy5OKjRUELNcMWVJ4JKBVei5GQL7ltZ7P644qCxc89XrOxm7oPV9zjWEHqweR2RL7oJ_HOA3hnjytDa9VCWsDpNeLwU4DDVejO97xpsNf0dfLzh8J0cbEqlBGVB3h_Y9Lse2do8BoVF5qbHkaNts22xQWroX4M00DZA" width="156" /></a></div>So the couple pictures I have posted here are cover mock-ups by two artist who I consider to be masters of their craft Bo Hampton on pencil and inks and Tom Ziuko on colors. Both gentleman are very active and are open to commissions. <p></p><p>All is this is outlining why I have decided to end getting comics by year-end. It is without animosity or any hue and cry of this is wrong, it is this is no longer for me. Not a good thing, not a bad thing. It is hard to leave behind getting new comics as it has been part of my life for 60 years plus and I even had a comic book store for 4 years in the 90's. </p><p>I'm a little sad, but I prefer to look forward to getting new art, finding those special projects in comics that I will still want to get and read. I hope the industry survives with not just TV and movies as reading a story is still a great experience and is more engaging then any show or movie.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352163584546054887noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-45291349995592574462021-07-10T19:58:00.004-04:002021-07-10T21:26:10.392-04:00Are Old Silver Age Comic Pages Stolen Art?<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Matthew and I are planning on doing a series of relatively
short posts celebrating some of the artists we enjoy. I have gone down the
original art rabbit hole and now admire artists whose comic books I may never
have even read. That is a tale for a different time. Still it is my interest in
original art, reading biographies and articles on creators and seeing certain
pages out for sale in public have made me wonder about the legal ownership of
some art. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To explore this point I am picking one single page. I choose
Amazing Spider-Man #27, the splash page as it sold on Heritage Auctions for
$239,000 in 2016. Steve Ditko died in 2018. I have read he never sold any of
the art that Marvel returned to him. Furthermore, it is well known that Marvel
never returned all of his artwork. It is also widely known that at least one
artist stole art from Marvel to sell for his own gain (supposedly to make up
for what he felt was too low of a page rate for his work). <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m3cL7Snp27M/YOoz2brbqkI/AAAAAAAAchU/c7TxuCZvnwkWhIUnEf6QFAkk6Hi6VtgcgCLcBGAsYHQ/ASM%2B27%2B2016%2B239%252C000.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="408" height="346" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m3cL7Snp27M/YOoz2brbqkI/AAAAAAAAchU/c7TxuCZvnwkWhIUnEf6QFAkk6Hi6VtgcgCLcBGAsYHQ/w236-h346/ASM%2B27%2B2016%2B239%252C000.jpg" width="236" /></a></div><br />So, who owned the art? Did Marvel own it or is it now considered
rightfully Ditko’s property. Is the agreement that Ditko signed to get his art waive
all his rights to any art not returned? If yes, then did Marvel own the art?
Who originally had the art and sold it? <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My point is that if the art was “stolen” by an employee of
Marvel or someone else and they sold it, then all the sales from the beginning
are null and void – right? I mean if a Leonardo Da Vinci piece of art is lifted
from a museum – no matter who buys it – they do not own it legally.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Does that mean Ditko’s heirs, Kirby’s heirs and all the rest
of the artist who have heirs – all have a legal case to get the art back??? I
mean there is a lot of original comic art from certain eras that I believe have
legitimate ownership issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Recently I bought
a couple of Murphy Anderson pages from a 1971 sci-fi story he drew, and it was
part of the Murphy Anderson Collection, so hopefully sold by the family. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I keep thinking this would blow up the original art world
like no one’s business because the high rollers and often myself are sometimes
buying art with no clear ownership trail. This mainly applies to Golden and
Silver Age art for the most part, but that is where there are big bucks
involved. Happily, I have purchased most of my art from the artist or their agents.
<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Update - This blogger did a detailed post outlining the whole thing - Still think there is a lawsuit this as the price of the art makes it more and more likely someone will sue. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://ohdannyboy.blogspot.com/2021/03/jack-kirby-and-art-of-theft.html" target="_blank">https://ohdannyboy.blogspot.com/2021/03/jack-kirby-and-art-of-theft.html</a><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352163584546054887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-40101216488735490512021-06-12T18:40:00.001-04:002021-06-12T18:48:40.175-04:00Stalker #1-#4 By Paul Levitz, Steve Ditko and Wally Wood - A Review <p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Over the years my love of comics has continued but has grown
and changed over the years. Sixty years ago I was in love with mainly Marvel
comics and some DC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The early Fantastic
Four, Amazing Spider-Man, Strange Tales with the Human Torch and early Legion
of Super-Heroes were my favorite. I was there for the stories and loved the
marriage of words and pictures. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As time progressed, I went from being mainly a Marvel fan to
being a DC fan. I think a big part of that was the Neal Adams / Denny O’Neil
work on Batman. Art was a big part of that, but it was also the stories. DC’s
emphasis on story grew my love of comics to make my focus more about the
writers. Denny O’Neil, Marv Wolfman, Don McGregor, Chuck Dixon, John Ostrander
and many more over the years were a key concern for making buying decisions.
Art, no matter how good without a good story was an empty shell to me.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of course, being a retailer for a few years in the 90’s
changed my focus to how the business is run and how it all works together as a
whole. I am not an expert but reading and being involved in comic my wealth of
knowledge is greater than most people, but not as extensive as many harder core
fans. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One hell of a long preamble to get to why I am reviewing the
short lived 1975 series from DC comics. My love for comics has now morphed into
a passion for original art. My meager collection of a few pages has grown to
over 200 pages over the last five to ten years, with a huge increase in the
last few years. Like any addict my addiction has gotten more costly over time.
Where I hesitated to pay $200 for a piece of art that amount is now for buying
a piece on a whim. My high-water mark has broken the $1000 barrier, but I
expect to never break the $10,000 mark and remain happily married. As I got
further into collecting original art I found out that some people have mind
blowing collections of many thousands of pages worth more money then I can
possibly imagine.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8x5x6XR2YPc/YMU2DvLuB9I/AAAAAAAAccU/b1G_S55ufEk1LN8GfakWA2ESpVZNrIazACLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_3354.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8x5x6XR2YPc/YMU2DvLuB9I/AAAAAAAAccU/b1G_S55ufEk1LN8GfakWA2ESpVZNrIazACLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/IMG_3354.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That love of original art has led me to appreciate two
artists I always enjoyed and now enjoy even more. The two are Steve Ditko and
Wally Wood. Stalker represents some of my favorite work by these two men.
Ditko’s pencils appears to be hard to find the right inker on his work. Ditko’s
style has never really been matched and I feel like many inkers did his work a disservice.
Wally Wood when inking often overwhelms the artist and the work ends up
screaming Wally Wood’s style. The pencil artist while responsible for the
layouts and storytelling is often lost to Wood’s inks. Stalker is a marriage
where both Ditko and Wood shine through at the same time. Ditko’s style is
highly evident and Wood’s touches and deft inks and use of blacks are also just
as evident. Outside of pure Ditko pencil and ink work or pure Wally Wood pencil
and ink work – this art is a stunning example of the two men. One day I would
love to own a page from this work, but right now only three pages are out there
that I can find and are owned by collectors who are not parting with them. The
cover for issue #1 sold for $15,535 on August 12, 2017, and I’m sure it would
sell for upwards of $25,000 today.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Usb2tTJj9fs/YMU3cZqJMYI/AAAAAAAAcc8/6c4g9Oh3d8M9ticU9H3VHqW-8rq8gapNACLcBGAsYHQ/Stalker%2BCover.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="395" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Usb2tTJj9fs/YMU3cZqJMYI/AAAAAAAAcc8/6c4g9Oh3d8M9ticU9H3VHqW-8rq8gapNACLcBGAsYHQ/Stalker%2BCover.jpg" width="158" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original Cover of Art</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All of that made me go out and buy the original issues again
even though I have them in a collected Omnibus of Ditko’s work. The reason I
went that route was it was cheap to pick up and often reprints are recolored. While
the effort is to color them the way they were, technology and coloring has
gotten so much better, the colors are often not quite the same or sometimes (Marvel
Masterworks) are flat and garish. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The series is by Paul Levitz who was a very young writer at
the time. He was given the assignment when DC jump into Sword & Sorcery
books. Ditko and Wood were both unique and strong-willed individuals who
accepted many assignments that in hindsight and given their talent you may
wonder why they did the work/ It was simple they needed money. Comic artists
were not highly paid and were contractual workers who received no benefits.
They often never got the artwork back and the aftermarket for art was almost
nonexistent at the time. So, the creative team was set, and we got four fun
filled issues of the man without a soul. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For all intents and purposes, it was a mini-series / try out
book to see if it was viable long term. This is based on the back matter in the
book from Levitz. The story itself is not bad as we have a poor urchin wanting
to have power in a world where he has none. After being betrayed by a person of
power he made a deal with a devil for his soul. He felt the devil cheated him
in their deal and fought his way thru that devil’s hell to reclaim his soul. He
found out he could not get his soul back unless the devil died. The only way
the devil can die is if he has no believers left. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The series ends with Stalker vowing to kill
all the believers of the devil D’grth.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The story started with Stalker telling a Queen he would kill
her in a year, as he blamed her for the deal he made with D’grth. She promised
to train him as a warrior but instead made him a slave cleaning out stables and
other such tasks. Then we flash back to how he made the deal with D’grth and
have 3 issues of him fighting various creatures to get back to hell and try and
get his soul back. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The story had tons of action and was set in a fantastical
medieval style world with all manners of demons and other monsters. I do not
know if the scripts were full scripts or more of an outline form, but given it
was Ditko and Wood I’m guessing they were if nothing else acting as directors.
They likely were following the story but making their own decisions on how to
make said story work. If I was a better historian, I would search out Paul
Levitz interviews and see what he said about the book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The art was the true selling point as Ditko and
Wood were still at the peak of their abilities. Some may argue that they were
not as their earlier work was perhaps more detailed. I would point out the page
rates being what they were I’m guessing they were cranking out a lot of work at
the time as neither had any long term series they were working on. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Paul’s writing was not his best and oft times he overwrote the
page instead of letting the art tell the story. The page with the 3 headed man
is a perfect example where he could have backed off and let the art tell the
bulk of the story. Paul certainly became a stronger writer over the years, and
I thought he was a great asset for DC during his long tenure running DC with
Jeanette Khan. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-quQ5Pi8bENw/YMU28CAcC3I/AAAAAAAAcco/HZw0BLIn3lc68UIwPQ2tK1SdRFK8Uie8QCLcBGAsYHQ/Comic%2BBook%2BPage.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="483" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-quQ5Pi8bENw/YMU28CAcC3I/AAAAAAAAcco/HZw0BLIn3lc68UIwPQ2tK1SdRFK8Uie8QCLcBGAsYHQ/Comic%2BBook%2BPage.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comic Book Version</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-i4BsYvqyu4E/YMU3FLSQ1xI/AAAAAAAAccw/rniw_1ACHPk5bIS_rhh-jk08-LxZTRxoQCLcBGAsYHQ/Original%2BArt.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="539" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-i4BsYvqyu4E/YMU3FLSQ1xI/AAAAAAAAccw/rniw_1ACHPk5bIS_rhh-jk08-LxZTRxoQCLcBGAsYHQ/Original%2BArt.jpg" width="162" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original Art</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Sm7LBOK4uLo/YMU20GHqbqI/AAAAAAAAccg/dMBTkYvL_skDxORHdJuZi2DyztrMEmsRgCLcBGAsYHQ/Omnibus%2BPage%2B.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1268" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Sm7LBOK4uLo/YMU20GHqbqI/AAAAAAAAccg/dMBTkYvL_skDxORHdJuZi2DyztrMEmsRgCLcBGAsYHQ/Omnibus%2BPage%2B.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Omnibus Version</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />The concept itself has great potential for philosophical undertones
discussing what is a soul and what does it mean to not have a soul. Plus given
Stalker’s tracking abilities and warrior skills the action potential for the
series is there. I swear with the proper writer/artist team this could be a
great series today. <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The bottom line this was and still is on second/third reading
a fun book. It shows off a young writer, a great artist team and how coloring
can sometimes mute great artwork.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not the
fault of the colorist, but the art in this case was so gorgeous the color could
only hurt it. Plus there is no way in hell in 1975 that anyone was going to
publish a black and white comic. Coloring is a funny thing as the technology and
higher end paper have made the coloring better and better and better, but
sometimes the pure back and white art is the best. I should write a column with
my friend Tom Ziuko one day talking about coloring.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My review 4 stars out of five. The art carries the day, and
the overall concept is loaded with potential. <o:p></o:p></p>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352163584546054887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-60180743932211223462021-05-30T14:20:00.004-04:002021-05-30T18:46:21.508-04:00Everything Wrong With Super Hero Comics - Adam Strange #10 and James Tynion Interview <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eZuefwHk7ss/YLQVrvG3_CI/AAAAAAAAcbA/YWyMKbyCjOUEer6zkWLeRzOFWRsU5gxgQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/adam%2Band%2Ballana%2Blo%2Bres%2Bcolor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1393" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eZuefwHk7ss/YLQVrvG3_CI/AAAAAAAAcbA/YWyMKbyCjOUEer6zkWLeRzOFWRsU5gxgQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/adam%2Band%2Ballana%2Blo%2Bres%2Bcolor.jpg" /></a></div><br />I'm tired of woke crap, I'm tired of stories serving the writer's need to work out his own issues, I'm tired of no one allowing anyone to be a fucking hero.<p></p><p>Adam Strange #10 has the big reveal that Adam in fact sold out Earth, lied to his wife to save Rann and I guess his daughter. It is a horrible scar to put on a character that was the thinking man's hero. Adam was always a hero that would do the right thing and he would have done right thing no matter the personal cost. This has cast him as a traitor and really someone who has no chance to be redeemed as his crime is about as horrific as it could be given the cost to Earth. </p><p>So what is the purposes of this story to show that some people given horrible choices make bad ones? That's fine but now you have taken a character that stood for 60 years as a cool hero and someone that I always loved and pissed on him and destroyed him to the nth degree. He is basically making him radioactive and irredeemable. Remember when Watchmen was being done DC stated to not use the Charlton characters as was the original intent because DC was smart enough then to not to want to ruin characters forever that were fun and interesting.</p><p>King has insinuated Batman had suicide issues, that Mister Miracle committed suicide and has worked out I'm sure many of his own issues using characters from comic books. The problem I have is that the story needs to be front and center first. Instead the story is subservient to the message, which totally goes against good storytelling in my opinion. </p><p>I see way too many current TV shows that want to preach about some social injustice or woke political viewpoint. I have no qualms with making your political views knows in the context of the story. The problem is that character development and story telling take second place destroys the entertainment value. I buy your product to enjoy your story, see how a character reacts or grows and if a political point is made during the course of the story fine. Just preaching to me leads me to other forms of entertainment. Add to writers' preaching and you have many artists drawing books for the after market sales of the artwork. Way too many beauty shots and not enough story telling.</p><p>Finally I read a quote from James Tynion - who said "I like taking things I am afraid of and turning them into monsters for my characters to deal with. Batman and Joker deal with a lot of the things that scare me right now about society." For me this is a smoking gun. It is not I have a good Batman story to tell; it is I have some social issue I want to address and I will use the characters to make my point. No concern of it's consistency with a character; it is simply the writer inserting his point into what ever character he is writing. </p><p>It is a tougher search to find material I like from DC anymore, but I find plenty of stuff with books, independent comics and old collections to keep me amused. </p><p>For me woke has broke the big two. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352163584546054887noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-26418012060121001372021-02-23T19:53:00.002-05:002021-02-25T15:58:01.281-05:002001: A Reading Odyssey<p> Like many of you dear readers, I signed up for HBO Max prior to Christmas 2020 for the sole purpose of streaming <i>Wonder Woman 1984</i>. And like many of you, I was colossally disappointed with the film. In fact, I fell asleep in the middle of it! However, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because I didn't abandon HBO Max to the streaming platform dung heap as if it were a fig tree in leaf with no fruit, cursed forever to wither and die. No, instead I explored the site to see what else it had to offer and found that if you discount the latest Star Wars/Marvel Disney+ TV shows, it had some of the best content out there!</p><p></p><p>This platform has many of my favorite movies: <i>Logan's Run*</i>, <i>The Omega Man*</i>, <i>Soylent Green </i>[funded by Bill Gates], <i>An American Werewolf in London</i>, <i>Bullit*</i>, <i>Escape From New York*</i>, etc. (*I even own the soundtracks to these.). I'm also watching Showa era Godzilla classics, most for the first time (I highly recommend <i>Ebirah, Horror of the Deep [jazzy soundtrack - fun ensemble]</i> and <i>Godzilla versus Hedorah [stylistically filmed with epic smackdowns].</i>) I've reenjoyed films I liked before, but hardly remember in detail (like most things these days after hitting 50 last spring) such as <i>Time Bandits</i>, <i>The Maltese Falcon</i>, and <i>A Hard Days Night</i>. Plus, I finally got around to watching movies I've always wanted to check out like <i>Capricorn One</i>, <i>Jojo Rabbit</i>, and the moody atmospheric <i>Solaris</i> (1972). </p><p>This last one directly influenced my decision to revisit the Stanley Kubrick masterpiece, <i>2001: A Space Odyssey</i>! <i>(Incidentally, it guest stars Ed Bishop soon to be cast (in 1969) as Commander Ed Straker of S.H.A.D.O in the highly entertaining Gerry Anderson classic TV series, UFO, which I just finished at the close of the never-to-be-forgotten 2020 year.)</i> And just like the mysterious Monolith took Dave Bowman on "the ultimate trip" to becoming the Star-Child. The movie was the springboard for my own (as U2's Bono sang it) "voyage of discovery" to delve into the a 2001 Reading Odyssey in 2021!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ydt1P3awRXc/YDWOEtfOABI/AAAAAAAAEX4/uALsLxm-s8gizQsaYS34khKNzBxDBf_DgCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC09715.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ydt1P3awRXc/YDWOEtfOABI/AAAAAAAAEX4/uALsLxm-s8gizQsaYS34khKNzBxDBf_DgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC09715.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>Fortunately, for me this was not an expensive* endeavor (not pronounced IN-DEE-A-VOR) as I had all of the material on hand in my collection**:</p><p>*I've spend less that $20 getting the novels, <i>2010: Odyssey Two</i> & <i>3001: The Final Odyssey</i> from the local used bookstore and ordering the <i>2010</i> comic adaptation in <i><a href="http://www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/story.php?storyid=123374" target="_blank">Marvel Super Special #37</a> </i>from eBay. I'll probably end up springing for the <i>2010</i> Blu-ray too for $6.</p><p><i>**"like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old" [Matthew 13:52]</i></p><p>A reading sequence in four parts where I ruminate my thoughts, impressions and remembrances:</p><p>#1: <i>The Lost Worlds of 2001</i> by Arthur C. Clarke (1972) [First Print!], Sidgwick & Jackson</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IXKD4sPKgDk/YDWODt_BLxI/AAAAAAAAEX0/A850RmQxuDo0Qq8kfGCiwsA2N12IpBOuQCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC09704.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="4000" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IXKD4sPKgDk/YDWODt_BLxI/AAAAAAAAEX0/A850RmQxuDo0Qq8kfGCiwsA2N12IpBOuQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/DSC09704.JPG" /></a></div>I'm fairly certain I bought this for the beautifully painted cover. Certainly I got it also because of my fondness of the film and comic, but I doubt I ever really expected to read it. However, upon finishing the film, it was the first item that I sought out (and I didn't have to dig 40-feet under the Moon's surface to find it -- although it was at the bottom of a stack of books). This is an account of Clarke's collaboration with Kubrick to develop the story (the novel and screenplay were being worked on somewhat simultaneously). Clarke includes background to the film, but he also includes some of the original short stories that inspired it (such as The Sentinel) and backstory that was later dropped from consideration. We get to learn more about the astronauts on Discovery and the birth of Hal. Additionally, there are alternative endings, when he and Stanley were still figuring out where they wanted to go and how they wanted to finish. You also get to read about the aliens behind the Monolith. I definitely like having the Monolith be more mysterious, but this was all very enjoyable and it scratched my 2001 obsession-itch extremely well.<p></p><p>#2: <i>2001: a space odyssey</i> by Arthur C. Clarke, based on the Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke (1968) [First Printing paperback edition!], Signet Books</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HPVp4qaRMU0/YDWN8Rtc_4I/AAAAAAAAEXE/NHsKpBmnZGIkS4aN45r9IzradiH0dJsAACLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC09705.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="4000" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HPVp4qaRMU0/YDWN8Rtc_4I/AAAAAAAAEXE/NHsKpBmnZGIkS4aN45r9IzradiH0dJsAACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/DSC09705.JPG" /></a></div><p></p><p>Speaking of mysterious, I was mystified when I couldn't find my copy of the novel. I knew I had read it once upon a time, but it wasn't in the same place as <i>Lost Worlds</i>. Finally, I remembered I have a whole shelf devoted to novelizations and there it was. Again, a very good read with succinct chapters that made for excellent pre-bedtime reading. It generally is the same as the movie, but they go to Saturn, instead of Jupiter. You also get some extra exposition that helps you interpret the film better. You're privy to the thoughts of Moon-Watcher (the bone wielding pre-Man). I especially like the expanded parts with Dr. Heywood Floyd. And unless I missed it, the classic, "Open the Pod Bay Doors, Hal" scene is ABSENT! The film cuts it out, but Dave spends another few months piloting Discovery to Iapetus after lobotomizing Hal. The only draw-back is that some sequences were understandably similar to what I had read in <i>Lost Worlds</i>. I'm not deterred though, I'm on a mission to complete a 1000 years of reading by getting to the three sequels. I've already started <i>2010</i> and I've had <i>2061</i> in my possession, borrowed from a friend, since 1989! <i>No, he's not getting it back. Sorry, Yong!</i></p><p><i>Last spring I was on a James Bond kick and re-read Casino Royale up to Spy Who Loved Me where I got stalled. Still it was an excellent ride of the 007 wave I was on. I switch gears so often on my interests at any given time, it's very rare that I finish a whole series.</i></p><p>#3: <i><a href="http://www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/comic.php?comicid=62323" target="_blank">2001: A Space Odyssey</a></i> [Marvel Treasury Special] by Jack Kirby (1976), Marvel Comics Group</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tklzT3aBhvE/YDWOJnApl_I/AAAAAAAAEYY/fyhaSoeDQigbWiJpTX8vSFFNVBx2b4kHgCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC09714.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tklzT3aBhvE/YDWOJnApl_I/AAAAAAAAEYY/fyhaSoeDQigbWiJpTX8vSFFNVBx2b4kHgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC09714.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I remember getting this Very Fine + copy at Another Universe in the Columbia Mall in the mid-90s. It was only $20 and they had multiple copies. I wish I had purchased more! I've made similar investment blunders before. Like when I only bought one NM/warehouse copy of Amazing Spider-Man #129 for $20 from Dave's Comics in Richmond. I should have pressed and CGC'd that book before I sold it!<p></p><p>I don't think I was even aware of this books existence until I saw it at the Mall. I only knew about the comic series (see below), which was ultra confusing when disconnected from the film that I hadn't seen at the time. But this . . . this . . . is a masterpiece! Could it be the best representation of Kirby's mid-70's/post-DC work? I absolutely believe it can! It's a great adaptation of 72 pages. Considering that the film lacked a lot of dialogue, this book probably has more words than the screenplay, but that just makes it a nice blend of the film and the novel to me. Plus, 70's exposition is a lost art these days. You've got dynamic panels, full-page spreads, photo-collages, and some two-page spreads all at the massive Treasury Edition Size! Kirby couldn't recreate the spectacle of the film with the music and cinematography, but he captured the mood well enough and the size gives it just the extra "oomph" it needs! Sure all the guys have that Kirby-face, but who cares, I'm not looking for Neal Adams here. And you call tell that Jack must have been really jazzed to do this story, he's not cutting any corners. This is a labor of love! And let me say that Jack's depiction of the change from elderly man to child is BETTER than Kubricks! No lie.</p><p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gTgAX-hlR24/YDWOH4iLebI/AAAAAAAAEYM/wsly6gikkgwQBpeawVpZyvfxlkb9kFHtQCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC09720.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gTgAX-hlR24/YDWOH4iLebI/AAAAAAAAEYM/wsly6gikkgwQBpeawVpZyvfxlkb9kFHtQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h426/DSC09720.JPG" width="640" /></a></p><p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NKgzEoj3YuI/YDWOFcZs6xI/AAAAAAAAEX8/UyyGCs4JzxoTQfg2K62WCrUFBUxBNVAyACLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC09716.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NKgzEoj3YuI/YDWOFcZs6xI/AAAAAAAAEX8/UyyGCs4JzxoTQfg2K62WCrUFBUxBNVAyACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h426/DSC09716.JPG" width="640" /></a></p><p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SQ22YUDAtfg/YDWOGX1TskI/AAAAAAAAEYA/O_i1nEtlsyce35STlzGDNql-kpqfxBBfACLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC09717.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SQ22YUDAtfg/YDWOGX1TskI/AAAAAAAAEYA/O_i1nEtlsyce35STlzGDNql-kpqfxBBfACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h426/DSC09717.JPG" width="640" /></a></p><p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VtPcPtSMkdQ/YDWOHHwOomI/AAAAAAAAEYE/CtvB4MMPEFIo5K1oyUu_GehA1xNg-K3XgCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC09718.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VtPcPtSMkdQ/YDWOHHwOomI/AAAAAAAAEYE/CtvB4MMPEFIo5K1oyUu_GehA1xNg-K3XgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h426/DSC09718.JPG" width="640" /></a></p><p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YRmbqhM8Lrs/YDWOHhxUM4I/AAAAAAAAEYI/q_TwxCF38fAebRom6eqDo49a_JUC5EBPACLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC09719.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YRmbqhM8Lrs/YDWOHhxUM4I/AAAAAAAAEYI/q_TwxCF38fAebRom6eqDo49a_JUC5EBPACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h426/DSC09719.JPG" width="640" /></a></p><p>Alas, <a href="https://twomorrows.com/kirby/articles/312001.html" target="_blank">not everyone agrees with me</a> . . . </p><p>A copy on eBay will set you back around $150 to $200 these days. And when you consider that it may never be reprinted. Well, it's a book that's worth having whether you're a Kirby fan, a 2001 fan, or both! I would enjoy a 2001 Marvel Masterworks, but really it needs to be one of those Monster-sized HC editions. I skipped out on the Eternals one recently (cash flow issues). Also, the Eternals is probably my LEAST favorite Kirby series, despite a really strong start. Although, the new Marvel series seems to be promising.</p><p>#4: <i><a href="http://www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/series.php?seriesid=4496&page=gallery" target="_blank">2001: A Space Odyssey</a></i> #1 thru #10; regular comic series "Based on the Concepts From MGM/Stanley Kubrick Production" (1976 Sep 28 [1976 Dec cover date] to 1977 Jun 21 [1977 Sep cover date], Marvel Comics Group</p><p>My first issues of the series were gotten off the stands, likely at the local 7-11, back during "Matthew Year One". Those would have been issues #9 and #10. But I'm not convinced the copies I own are my originals. #9 feels like a Slurpee was spilt and dried on it! Somewhere along the way I got #1 -- I think in Kansas City, maybe the same time I got Star Wars #1 and #2 as back issues (still relatively early late 70s). I didn't fill in my collection until many, many years later. Having reread them now, I wish my issues were in better condition, but they're readable without giving you a mold allergy. In this rereading I also devoured any text pages/letter pages, each Bullpen Bulletin with Stan's Soapbox, and all the tasty Hostess Ads! Marvel was really adding some great new titles during this period from mid-1976 to mid-1977: <i>Logan's Run</i>, <i>Godzilla</i>, <i>Star Wars</i>, <i>Human Fly</i>, <i>Nova</i>, <i>What If</i>, <i>Rampaging Hulk</i> magazine, etc. The famous Thanos versus the Avengers annual appeared along side the second series of Marvel character Slurpee cups. Spidey and Howard also premiered in local newspapers. What a great time to become a fan!</p><p>About the series itself, it started out fairly formulaic, but it's such a good formula! Primitive man gets taught by the Monolith to advance to the next stage, then seque to 2001 where an astronaut encounters the black slab and turns into a Star Child, which Jack describes as the "New Seed". Despite some genuinely positive letters, most were critical, some severely so, and some cautiously. No one really knew what to make of the book, since it had no recurring characters. They wished Jack had a better scripter, etc. I will say Archie Goodwin is listed as "Admired by" in the Editor category, so he may have given Jack a fairly freehand, but trusted him to some degree. You see that is some of the lettercol responses, encouraging readers to have patience, Jack's putting together a broader story, etc. Can you believe that they're complaining about 30 CENTS!?! With comics costing $4, $5, and $6 these days. I know, time value of money/inflation and what not. Still, 30 cents, what a bargain! As a nearly/newly 7-year old, 30 cents wasn't necessarily easy for me to come by, but these writers could afford stamps!<span face="Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;"> </span> </p><p>Thoughts on each issue:</p><p>#1 -- Probably the best cover of the bunch. Nicely captures the whole theme in a beautiful design, even if the Monolith isn't drawn at the correct 1 x 4 x 9 dimensions (the squares of 1, 2, and 3). And the corner box art, OUTSTANDING! I loved this issue, which as I mentioned before was way over my head as a kid (what off earth was happening to the astronaut at the end?). Cave man learns to fight with a stone knife. Nuff said!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GGj6-Qx6LXI/YDWN8T_wGUI/AAAAAAAAEXI/ZV1CwBiiNY4xPaDVW4NfTve-5ZcBQ7ReQCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC09706.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="4000" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GGj6-Qx6LXI/YDWN8T_wGUI/AAAAAAAAEXI/ZV1CwBiiNY4xPaDVW4NfTve-5ZcBQ7ReQCLcBGAsYHQ/w426-h640/DSC09706.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><p></p><p>#2 -- If the facial proportions were less exaggerated, this cover design would work better. It's a great story. Following the formula but with interesting differences. Here you have a primitive woman create the first (wo)man-made religion by dressing up in old bones and scaring the locals into doing her bidding. Honestly, she was just hungry. The Astronaut scene is particularly good when the Monolith creates the character's pool side environment where she rapidly ages and dies to become the material needed to germinate the new seed.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DjhdUZIHeI0/YDWN9ty47VI/AAAAAAAAEXQ/O-D45T5mwMECMwMdq2WmffDnaDwLxHY3gCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC09707.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="4000" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DjhdUZIHeI0/YDWN9ty47VI/AAAAAAAAEXQ/O-D45T5mwMECMwMdq2WmffDnaDwLxHY3gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/DSC09707.JPG" /></a></div><p></p><p>#3 & #4 -- A two-parter! Marak the conqueror encounters an old man who learned how to make Bronze swords. And wait until you see how the wheel is discovered! Marak sees a neighboring ruling woman in a vision and must have her. Nothing and no land will stand in his way. When she sees him coming, she doesn't resist, instead they join forces, creating the first empire/stable government.</p><p>Then in the future a direct descendant of Marak, encounters the Monolith in a sacrifice play to save his fellow astronauts. When the Monolith creates the perfect environment for him, he refuses to go though the evolution process and instead lives out an eternity in his own paradise. Same formula, but with different results! It's a great story.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m2GpTGp9Ho4/YDWN9uXqjiI/AAAAAAAAEXU/oP5Zu-XJOHweFMq0HzCwe-bROfd0Yqs_QCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC09708.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m2GpTGp9Ho4/YDWN9uXqjiI/AAAAAAAAEXU/oP5Zu-XJOHweFMq0HzCwe-bROfd0Yqs_QCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC09708.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>#5 & #6 -- Another two-parter! It's the year 2040! What? Yeah, that's what the letter writers asked. Norton of New York gets to live out his fantasy as super-hero in a pay-by-the-hour simulation. Most of life is an escape since pollution is so bad. There's even a matte paining at the beach! Norton learns from a brief encounter with the Monolith (he thought it was part of the "show" experience) that he needs to go to space for some real adventure. Did I mention how much of a comic geek Norton is? Well, he ends up saving an alien princess (who looks like one of Jack's Rigellians from Thor), but he just misses the "boat" himself, dying in spectacular fashion in one of the best splash pages of the whole series. I found an image of the original art online (see below):</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wpitnC4ajRY/YDWN-x6-J9I/AAAAAAAAEXc/UP5E1AF_6PEhIzyNBLrnA77L2yrrohUhACLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC09709.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wpitnC4ajRY/YDWN-x6-J9I/AAAAAAAAEXc/UP5E1AF_6PEhIzyNBLrnA77L2yrrohUhACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/DSC09709.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AZAvEcq0JY8/YDWiRb9KfmI/AAAAAAAAEZM/rDkP2yU-x5k_dnV2ZfuwCirblCSPA1D2QCLcBGAsYHQ/s585/20011.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="400" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AZAvEcq0JY8/YDWiRb9KfmI/AAAAAAAAEZM/rDkP2yU-x5k_dnV2ZfuwCirblCSPA1D2QCLcBGAsYHQ/w438-h640/20011.jpg" width="438" /></a></div><br /><p>#7 -- The New Seed explained! And what a gorgeous cover, it may be second best, but it isn't second-rate! By my counting this is the fifth Seed we've seen (including the Treasury Edition) to date. But this time we see where it goes and what it does! The Seed is just exploring the galaxy and comes upon a planet it its death-throes. It's a toxic and violent environment that will never get better. But even on this world there are dying embers of love. Unfortunately, it's doomed to die, tragically. But maybe not! The Seed takes the vanquished lovers, intermingles there essence and uses it to "create" the possibility of life in the ocean of a developing world. I love this concept as science fiction, but as a strict Biblical 6-day Creationist, it can only ever be fantasy to me.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2i-HnI4h4aU/YDWN-ypuqDI/AAAAAAAAEXg/f59Rbvc9zf0l_bvBCCBEuFH8pbjPvWaEwCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC09710.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="4000" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2i-HnI4h4aU/YDWN-ypuqDI/AAAAAAAAEXg/f59Rbvc9zf0l_bvBCCBEuFH8pbjPvWaEwCLcBGAsYHQ/w426-h640/DSC09710.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p>You know 2001 would end perfectly right here, but we still have three more issues to go . . .</p><p>#8, #9 & #10 -- A three-parter (and a back-door pilot to another series). It's the debut of X-51, aka Mister Machine, and soon-to-be rebranded as Machine Man long before he took up cussing.</p><p>Jack's thrown the "formula" out the window now. X series robots are running amuck. They all get homicidal at a certain point so the order is given to detonate them all. X-51 is different he's been given a human face and has been raised as a son by his father. Aaron Stack is his name. The powers that be don't care if he's well adjusted, they want him destroyed. His "dad" takes out his inner mechanism bomb, sacrificing himself, so Aaron can escape. X-51 doesn't find out about his death until issue #10. He's captured and they remove his face. Uh-oh, that might cause him to go insane too -- luckily the Monolith gives him an idea for escape. (#8 picture at the end)</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e9renf7alBc/YDWOAS7ntwI/AAAAAAAAEXk/RCVF248QJRQFMPDTOzyvCNRZIbjJon5iQCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC09712.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="4000" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e9renf7alBc/YDWOAS7ntwI/AAAAAAAAEXk/RCVF248QJRQFMPDTOzyvCNRZIbjJon5iQCLcBGAsYHQ/w213-h320/DSC09712.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>I was going to see issue #9 is my least favorite, but it's not as bad as I thought (the art is more rushed though) and serves as a good bridge to the excellent issue #10. X-51 escapes and we get to see him strut his stuff. He can mimic another's voice. He can extend his arms and legs. A wise scientist realizes they can't beat him, so they give him his face back and release him into the world. The Monolith meets him again, hints at a greater destiny (Earth-X maybe), but Aaron declines; he'll pave his own way as a free man (a recurring them in many of Kirby's books). You get the sense that this story is contemporary (1977) and may take place in the Marvel Universe (which eventually it does in a mild retcon I think), but really there is just a kid that likes super-heroes and Marvel Comics, not evidence of the 616 universe. Also includes the Godzilla #1 House Ad!!!!<p></p><p></p><p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eP3otDU5wpw/YDWOBSsOmCI/AAAAAAAAEXw/vhYys4VybLkBzySIbNfN85016lSTys8sgCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC09713.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="4000" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eP3otDU5wpw/YDWOBSsOmCI/AAAAAAAAEXw/vhYys4VybLkBzySIbNfN85016lSTys8sgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/DSC09713.JPG" /></a></p>I really enjoyed the final issue despite the worst name of any villain's henchman, Mister Hotline! Yikes! I like Mr. Machine's interaction with the small town family and constables -- gave me a Dark Shadows feel of every-day/everyman characters meeting the strange and unusual. Hotline is a Devil worshiper or so he thinks. The "devil" believes Aaron holds the key to free will and if he can subvert it like a deleted/censored social media post, he can control the world and all thought. When Mister Machine is captured they dismantle him - head, arms, legs, and torso. They bring the head to "face the heat" of the demon. Meanwhile the other body parts, sprout TV cameras and start to mobilize to rescue Machine Man's head. It's a nifty turn of events. And it turns out the demon/devil is really a disguise for a super computer! Mister Machine saves the family and is on his way to becoming a super-hero in issue #11, which never appears . . . and <i>Machine Man</i> #1 won't hit the stand for another six months!<p></p><p><i>I forgot to mention that all the series issues are inked and lettered by Mike Royer, who I've always thought complimented Jack's pencils the best.</i></p><p>As an extra bonus to myself, I realized I had a Marvel Legend's Machine Man figure (fairly accurate with telescoping arms) that I never had opened. Well, what better time than now! I only wish there were more 2001 toy related merchandise!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KtgOQ3PGGxc/YDWOIdWXIsI/AAAAAAAAEYQ/Noo3rg5F5vIEt4ljAklGFzqmltOSF_bYACLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/DSC09722.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="4000" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KtgOQ3PGGxc/YDWOIdWXIsI/AAAAAAAAEYQ/Noo3rg5F5vIEt4ljAklGFzqmltOSF_bYACLcBGAsYHQ/w426-h640/DSC09722.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><p></p><p>There's one more thing I have to read regarding the 2001 series. There was a retrospective in TwoMorrows' <a href="https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_54&products_id=1236" target="_blank"><i>Back Issue</i> #89</a>, which was glad to see I had in my collection. I didn't want to read it before I wrote this post, otherwise, the whole idea of it may have been moot, having been relayed somewhere else (and perhaps more thoroughly and better written). Oh well, I was thankful for the opportunity to put something together again. It was fun and I hope you enjoyed reading it.</p><p>So until next time, enjoy your own personal Odyssey. Mine is still going to be swimming in space and Monoliths during my leisure. I've got three more novels to finish!</p><p>Take care.</p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894454259041852707noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-46327638470642434602020-10-25T04:39:00.000-04:002020-10-25T04:39:03.890-04:00Fantastic Four #25 (#670) -- A Review<p>Hello, dear reader. It sure has been awhile hasn't it? (And it's felt even longer.) Although, my musings and ruminations have been absent from this blog, my thoughts and intentions often come back to the <i>possibility </i>of writing something for this forum from time to time. I've actually had several posts brewing in my head recently, but alas there's no guarantee I'll ever get to them. You really have to strike while the iron is hot. (Does that cliche refer to blacksmithing or pressing your clothes?) </p><p>For example:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I started to write a post comparing the Casino Royale novel with the film. I wrote one paragraph. Instead, I ended up re-reading the Ian Fleming James Bond novels for the first time in 37 years (since I was 13) and managed to get through <i>Thunderball</i> (the 9th one of the original 14), before getting stalled on <i>The Spy Who Loved Me</i>. I also read the British comic strip versions afterwards and re-watched the associated films.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I'd like to discuss how cover variants have taken over the new comic market, largely surpassing the content of the books themselves.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I finished watching the entire series of Dark Shadows (1225 episodes) in just under two years. I then re-read the two comic series by Dynamite, which I wanted to write about. One took place immediately after the show finished and the other was a slight reimagining of the classic 1795 storyline. I love Dark Shadows so much that I immediately started re-watching it from <a href="http://comicsand.blogspot.com/2019/01/dark-shadows-beginnings-review.html">episode one</a> (usually watching at least one a day) and just finished episode 50 yesterday.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>After I finished Dark Shadows, I decided to pick up my pencil and start drawing again (to fill the "extra" time in my schedule more productively). I largely gave up drawing in high school and stopped taking classes after 7th grade. So far progress has been very slow, but my Dick Blick order just arrived, so we'll see how it goes with better supplies. Actually, that's another reason for writing this blog post (during a sleepless time), since I've been frustrated creatively in the art endeavor, why not supplement it with some writing?</li></ul><p></p><p>Anyway, enough background, let's get to the issue at hand:</p><p>I'm still getting a quite a number of hardcover or trade paperback collections of classic comic reading material, but I also come home with a large stack of new comics every Wednesday (from the excellent <a href="https://www.cosmiccomix.com/">Cosmic Comix</a>). Too many, truth be told. As alluded to above, some I get mainly for the covers. And in a rather new development, if an issue just isn't interesting enough to me, I may not even finish reading it. So, it's a pretty special issue or series that cuts through the "noise" and stands out as memorable or blog-worthy.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gKiC3JhALrI/X5UZMotdVKI/AAAAAAAAEOQ/qSl2ofhe8Zk5q0LYI49uVZownzhNg3SwQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/FF%252325%2528%2523670%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1332" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gKiC3JhALrI/X5UZMotdVKI/AAAAAAAAEOQ/qSl2ofhe8Zk5q0LYI49uVZownzhNg3SwQCLcBGAsYHQ/w260-h400/FF%252325%2528%2523670%2529.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><b>Fantastic Four #25</b> (#670 in the legacy numbering) is such an issue! <p></p><p>Writer: Dan Slott</p><div style="text-align: left;">Artist/Color Artist: R.B. Silva & Jesus Aburtov</div><div style="text-align: left;">"There Shall Come A Reckoning" (31 pages): </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Artist/Color Artist: Paco Medina & Marcio Menyz<br />"Sight Unseen" (8 pages): </div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">Artist: Will Robson</div><div style="text-align: left;">"Fantastic Forum" (1 page): </div><p>I was super excited when the Fantastic Four came back again a couple of years ago, but I've got to admit, I stopped reading it consistently not long after the wedding of Ben and Alicia (#5). That didn't mean I stopped buying it though. I either got behind or was just not very interested in the storyline, but I checked in here and there. But I definitely started reading again for the <i>Empyre </i>tie-in issues, which makes this the fifth consecutive issue in a row. </p><p>I'm interested in going back and reading those issues I skipped, but let me be clear, this particular issue is <u>a great "jumping-on" point for new readers</u>. Beyond a little background that I'll briefly provide below, you don't need to read anything before this issue (more after the break). </p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="color: red;"><b>[SPOILERS AHEAD]</b></span></p><p>The <i>Empyre </i>mini-series was quite good and the FF were involved heavily (along with the Avengers). The big takeaway is that Ben and Alicia have now adopted the young Kree (Jo) and Skrull (Nicki) children that had been the historical fighting repository of their collective races. The two of them used to beat each other up in front of large crowds, now they're brother and sister. Meanwhile, Reed and Sue's offspring are no longer children, but teenagers. Franklin (a mutant) is called Powerhouse (he's been spending some time on Krakoa [Hickman X-Men-verse]) and Valeria is called Brainstorm (she's smarter than her dad). Reed and Sue were out exploring for a long time (and thought dead by Ben and Johnny). Their return was what happened at the beginning of the series. Oh, and Johnny has found his "soulmate" (a term I hate and emphatically disagree with), some girl with wings. The previous issue (#24), which was also super entertaining, featured an untold tale where Iceman joined the team during one of Johnny's teenage "I quit" hissy-fits. There you're all caught up!</p><p>Dan Slott is really skilled at writing dialog and every character has a unique voice and some of the exchanges between them can be quite humorous. That's a big draw for me. Oh, I enjoy an interesting/complex story or action packed one too, but characterization is what I like the most. And it's an essential component to a successful Fantastic Four run. Slott succeeds on this front and he also delivers the action too! He and whomever he's blessed with doing the art, and boy has he had some great artists on this series. This issue R.B. Silva (of <i>Powers of X</i> fame) joins the series, and Paco Medina (of <i>Avengers: No Road Home</i> fame) departs. Both are excellent and their presence indicates that this series is truly striving to live up to "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!" cover tag line. Or to put it another way, Marvel is putting some of their best talent on this book and it shouldn't be overlooked!</p><p>Story One Synopsis:</p><p>Someone has sent a powerful alien to retrieve something from earth and in their search craters the Baxter Building! And a secret (and dangerous) experiment of Reed's (circa the FF #51 timeframe) is released, the Zero Force! And in the end the Forever Gate is created, " . . . a doorway to every point in space and time." Oh the possibilities for exploration for our team of imaginauts. </p><p>Sounds exciting, doesn't it. But wait there's more! The FF showoff their new uniforms (an improvement I'd say). Sue goes on a stealth mission for Nick Fury to Doom's embassy, meaning Doom appears too. Ben and Alicia decide to homeschool the new kids. She-Hulk helps out in her Byrne-era FF costume. Reed and Sue talk about secrets. And Franklin . . . well, I've got to leave some surprises.</p><p>R.B. Silva seems to be channeling a bit of Michael Golden from his Micronauts days, especially the way he's drawing Sue and Val's hair. Anyway, it's just outstanding all around (with a fine mixture of one and two-page spreads [splash and panel layouts]) and the coloring is top notch too. It's sumptuous without being distracting. </p><p>Story Two Synopsis:</p><p>At the end of <i>Empyre: Fallout Fantastic Four</i> #1, the post-credit scene had Uatu the Watcher, whose been dead since the <i>Original Sin</i> storyline (2014), pop out of the Unseen's eye. We get a nice recap of that story, where Nick Fury killed him. "A reckoning is coming . . ." So, the Watcher transforms the Unseen back into Nick Fury, where he'll be his herald. (When you consider the standoff between Galactus and Uatu way-way-back, it's cool to think of the Watcher having his own herald too.) There's a nice two-page spread that shows images of lots of recent goings-on in the Marvel Universe. I'm sure this story will probably eventually build into the next big event, but it's always better to have them occur organically, rather than force-fed down your throat. If you want to get on board sooner, rather than later, this is the time.</p><p>The "Fantatic Forum" page is tied to the letter's page (nice that they still include them) and going forward the different characters in the series will answer the reader's letters using cute little FOJIS (Fantastic Four emojis) . Unless your the late-lamented <i>Unbeatable Squirrel-Girl</i>, the letters pages are rarely include in any collected edition, so that's another reason to get the single issues now. These promise to be fun.</p><p>Finally, let's talk about the covers. There were four (ironically): An Alex Ross timeless variant portrait of Blackbolt, Mark Brooks (new regular cover artist), Nick Bradshaw (former regular cover artist - unfortunately, this was an expensive 1 in 50 variant), and the Scottie Young one shown above. That's the one I got. It's just funny. And I love cartoon art, just as much as I like realistic drawing. I plan to eventually be able to do both myself!</p><p>Well, thanks for taking time to read. It's took longer than I expected (as always) and I'm pretty rusty, but I think I can get a few hours of sleep in now before getting ready for <a href="https://bethanycolumbia.org/">church</a>.</p><p>"Be Seeing You" -- to quote the Prisoner.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894454259041852707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-46409736985144521072020-05-10T14:58:00.001-04:002020-05-10T14:58:34.269-04:00LAST DAY<br />
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What if this was your last day?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How would you live it?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve been thinking about this,
because today, 2020 May 10, marks the 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary of my Daddy’s
death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So yesterday would’ve marked his
last full day on earth, 1970 May 09.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
was 31, married, and had three children: a 6-year old boy, a 4.5-year old girl,
and another son in the womb soon to be born (me).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know some details about that last day,
which I recounted in my poem from Mother’s Day 10 years ago: <a href="http://comicsand.blogspot.com/2010/05/day-to-remember.html">http://comicsand.blogspot.com/2010/05/day-to-remember.html</a>.
And I asked Mama to write up a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009377567792">character portrait of Daddy</a>, which is just
wonderful and will be shared sometime today, if it hasn’t already. But while,
thinking about Daddy’s final day of life is the inspiration of this message, it
not really about him as you’ll see.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What if this was your last day?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would you accept it?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just thinking about those two words
automatically invokes images from one of my favorite movies, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Logan’s Run</i> from 1976.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In that film, in order to keep the population
under control living in the sealed domed city, the citizens voluntarily went to
Carousel on their 30<sup>th</sup> birthday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There they would don hockey/skull masks and white-body suits decorated
with red flames, stand in a circle, and raise their blinking red
life clocks (crystal palm flowers) to “Identify”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then they would float up into the chamber
until they exploded in a fiery display while their fellow citizen onlookers
shouted, “Renew, Renew!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why would
anyone do this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, they were taught
to believe they would be reborn and just get to live another 30 years of fun
and pleasure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those that didn’t believe
the messaged lie realized that the people were actually going to their
deaths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So in order to live longer than
30, they attempted to flee the city seals, becoming Runners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The City could not tolerate that sort of independent
thinking, which would upset their control and delicate balance, so they
enlisted Sandmen to terminate the runners. Logan was a Sandman, but later
became a runner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, it’s a great
movie from story to music to costumes, but again not the real subject.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What if this was your last day?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would you want to know?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My Daddy didn’t know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had no idea the Lord would be calling him
home early the next morning while working at the rail yard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Logan’s
Run</i>, there was a set time to die, but any fear about it was mostly
suppressed by the false teaching of renewal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Those who feared death, the runners, fought hard to resist their fate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people may be ill or injured and can
sense that their time is short.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For me I think it would depend on the
circumstances on whether or not I’d want to know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every (and I do mean every) time, we go on a
long vacation out west, I’m always anxious the last day of the trip or as we
depart one of our key extended stops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even if I’m looking forward to going home, I’m sad that the time off is
ending, that I’m leaving my loved ones for another year or so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It just isn’t the best day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Usually, no matter how much I try to put it
off in my head, I’m preoccupied with the ending, rather than enjoying the
remaining time to its fullest. So I think knowing (most of the time) would be
crippling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if you had enough
foreknowledge, you might be able to scratch off some items from a bucket list,
see some things or some people, and say things that needed to be said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be prepared with minimal regrets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So yeah, it depends, and Lord willing I’ll
one-day (none too soon I hope) get just the right last day that would be best
for me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What if this was your last day?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would you redeem the time?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are some familiar life slogans
about living that could apply here:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Carpe Diem (“Seize the Day”) and “Live like there is no tomorrow”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But these are shortsighted and impractical
for they suggest you forego thinking of the consequences of your actions or
planning your future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if today isn’t
your last day, then you might be in a heap of trouble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe your actions wouldn’t even be
considered reckless, but you could put so much stress on yourself to “make the
most” of the day that it would be impossible to match your expectations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or you exhaust all your resources (or accrue
unneeded debt) fulfilling a goal just to please yourself, because you deserve
it or want it now.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Bible is the best resource for
living I know and there are several verses that are relevant:</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Psalm 90:12<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Teach us to number our days,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">that we may gain a heart of wisdom.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ecclesiastes 5:18<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #001320; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">This is what I have observed to be good: that it is
appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their
toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given
them--for this is their lot.</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ephesians
5:15-17<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="text"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">15</span></sup></i></b></span><span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">See then that ye walk
circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,</span></i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span id="en-KJV-29321" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="text"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">16 </span></sup></i></b></span><span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Redeeming the time, because the
days are evil.</span></i></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span id="en-KJV-29322" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="text"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">17 </span></sup></i></b></span><span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Wherefore be ye not unwise, but
understanding what the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">will of the Lord</b>
is</span></i></span><span class="text"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">.</span></i></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 Thessalonians 5:16-18<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">16 </span></sup></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Rejoice always, <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">17 </span></sup></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">pray continually, <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">18 </span></sup></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">give thanks in all circumstances; for this is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">God’s will for you in Christ Jesus</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 Peter 3:10<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For, “Whoever would love life and see
good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful
speech.</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what does “redeeming the time”
mean during the Covid-19 lockdowns when we may shower every other day and
continually wear pajama pants?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously
you can’t abandon your responsibilities if you’re blessed to still be able to
work from home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You also can’t go
anywhere “fun”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if you’re not a
full-time evangelist your activities are not necessarily going to be “holy” 100
percent of the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What about the
routine things like walking the dog or doing the dishes?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, it really all comes down your attitude.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You may take a walk, see something beautiful and thank God
for allowing you to appreciate it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You may do an act of service in your household out of love. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You may do your best to talk kindly to others. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You may choose to abandon a resentment and bitterness in your
heart.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You may take time to just relax and rest.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You may accomplish a special project of reorganization that
just makes your personal space more calm and pleasant.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, special projects are important, especially after you’ve completed
one of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I tend to get obsessive
and consumed by them until they’re finished and usually that could take several
weekends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The in-between time is no fun
at all (with it always nagging and distracting your thoughts – sort of like
this post over the last two days), but the benefits are usually
tremendous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t like to start
anything that I can’t finish in a reasonable amount of time and it would not be
my go-to Last Day activity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some of my best days recently are
recognizing the small moments with family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nice walks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Entertaining TV shows,
movies, music, or comics. (I finally have an appreciation of Don Heck’s
artwork, reading his Justice League America stories on the 65” TCL TV using the
DC Universe system.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s okay to enjoy
such pursuits, but that’s after “Taking Care of Business” beforehand, getting
your work done, Bible reading, chores, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4gzAz4qWWfM/XrhN7MGfsQI/AAAAAAAAEE0/TTCn_R5OBkgYt4HmKI6TkW74Oq5i7vzkQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/JLA204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="326" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4gzAz4qWWfM/XrhN7MGfsQI/AAAAAAAAEE0/TTCn_R5OBkgYt4HmKI6TkW74Oq5i7vzkQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/JLA204.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I used to be disappointed when Don Heck's art was what was behind a George Perez cover, but these stories are really good!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><i style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1Timothy 6:6-8</span></u></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">6</span></sup></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But godliness with contentment is great gain.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">7</span></sup></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">8</span></sup></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">B</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ut if we have food and clothing, we
will be content with that.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lest you think I’ve got it all
together, dear reader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m a collector…of
<u>many</u> different things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s part
of how God made me/shaped me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It allows
me to connect with people I normally would never have the opportunity to
encounter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Many of my friendships center on my beloved hobbies (and maybe God will
use our relationship as a way of showing His love to them).</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And as a collector, you’re often seeking the
next thing and that’s where it can get to be a problem, spending hours on end
searching for that next thing, thinking about the next thing or how to get the
funds to purchase that next thing, isn’t the best use of my time. Not that you
shouldn’t plan (those 12” Avengers Endgame Captain America figures will take
months to budget for), but it’s got to be held in check.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And sometimes I don’t do that well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would be sad to have your last day spent
in an ultimately fruitless pursuit, even if it were something you’d be
permitted to enjoy.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5_Cqo-uo_B8/XrhNMPV94HI/AAAAAAAAEEk/Pz_IF9VVZgwpsgpQt1wKRBX9fZD7-SJlgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/captain-america_marvel_feature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="990" height="193" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5_Cqo-uo_B8/XrhNMPV94HI/AAAAAAAAEEk/Pz_IF9VVZgwpsgpQt1wKRBX9fZD7-SJlgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/captain-america_marvel_feature.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last Day<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What if this was your last day?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would you be prepared?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My Daddy was ready to die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe not consciously, if he had known, but
spiritually he was ready to meet his Lord and Savior, secure in the knowledge
that “[his] </span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">hope [was] built on
nothing less</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">than Jesus Christ, [his] righteousness</span>.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The refrain of the hymn goes like this:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">All other ground is sinking sand,</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> All other ground is sinking sand.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is your hope in yourself (the New Age god of
self)?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In science (the new age god of
today)?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the authorities (do I even
have to comment)?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no firmer
foundation than Jesus and he is the only hope for salvation according to the
Bible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 Peter 5:7<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cast all your anxiety on him because he
cares for you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Acts 4:12<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Salvation is found in no one else, for there is
no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the concept of renewal in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Logan’s Run</i> was false, where you’d be
reincarnated as someone else, perhaps with or without memory of your previous
life; the concept of eternal life is true based on what the Bible teaches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is more to this earthly life. What we
do here and now does matter later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, in
celebration of my Daddy’s earthly death and eternal life 50 years ago today, I
leave you with this verse:</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Isaiah 55:6-7<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">6 </span></sup></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while
he is near:<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7 </span></span></sup></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and
let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our
God, for he will abundantly pardon.</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894454259041852707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-51544742791292396462020-01-30T17:52:00.003-05:002020-01-30T17:52:56.708-05:0010 YEARS AFTERWell, <i>this </i>is a surprise. <br />
<br />
You may be thinking, "Yeah, you haven't done a blog post in over a year." Or at least, that's what you were supposed to be thinking. Instead, you're probably saying, "Umm, you posted already today. What gives?" You see, the first post sort of just happened. <br />
<br />
Oh, I wrote it, and scheduled it for some distant day, but I totally forgot about it. I was planning on writing <i>this </i>post for today, which marks the 10th anniversary of my debut appearance as a blogger on Comics And...Other Imaginary Tales. <br />
<br />
Even though the blog has sort of morphed into a private Facebook Group these days, it's still pretty important to me and I routinely go back to the well and resurrect links to old posts I remember writing. It was a big part of my comic (book-centric) life for a number of years and I enjoyed the creative expression. Although, I can't imagine how I ever had time to write every week for so long, was ready to take a break, was ready to try again, and now just glad it still exists out there like an old friend. <br />
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Anyway, I loaded up the site this morning, ready to compose something new, and the Ant-Man Marvel Masterworks review was up...brand new today! Foiled by time-travel! Past-me is awfully tricksey.<br />
<br />
With today celebrating such a momentous occasion, I wanted to ruminate on the current state of my comic-book reading, collecting, etc. The hope is that by self-examining my own behaviors and habits, I may arrive at some new conclusions on what to continue doing and what to do next. After all, I'll be hitting 50 this coming May and I want to be <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+5%3A15-17&version=KJV">"redeeming the time"</a> well. While I'm not given to New Years Resolutions, I have been slowly retooling my pull list lately, moving toward some changes. [more after the break -- sorry no photos, but plenty of links]<br />
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I'm still a subscriber at my local comic shop (LCS), the beloved (and often unnamed in my missives) <a href="https://www.cosmiccomix.com/">Cosmic Comix</a> and Toys of Catonsville, MD. They're moving in a couple of months and it'll be a change (and farther from home), but I've enjoyed my weekly Wednesday visits there, whether brief or long. In the past year or so, I think I've bought more new comics than ever before, but ended up reading less. I'm blessed to be able to sell all my Marvel digital codes to a friend in Australia, which is a huge cost savings for me. I also list stuff on <a href="https://www.ebay.com/sch/mannfamily14gab/m.html?item=202886164411&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562">ebay</a> to sell, when I'm done with a series or have abandoned one. When I do get around to reading my books, I usually enjoy them quite a bit, but often I pick reading the latest Marvel Masterwork or Omnibus over reading the newer material. Those books come out on average, monthly or bi-monthly, so they take up quite a bit of my budget. Then there is time spent building LEGOs, watching TV (just finished episode #690 of Dark Shadows), and living regular life (work and family). Don't misunderstand. Family is prioritized, but this is about my leisure time.<br />
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<u>New Comics</u><br />
<br />
There are plenty of great comics being published today or that have recently been published. Let me list a few:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Unbeatable Squirrel-Girl (MARVEL)</li>
<li>Symbiote Spider-Man (MARVEL)</li>
<li>House of X/Powers of X (MARVEL)</li>
<li>X-Men (MARVEL)</li>
<li>Excalibur (MARVEL)</li>
<li>Tony Stark: Iron Man (MARVEL)</li>
<li>Avengers: No Road Home (MARVEL)</li>
<li>Batgirl (DC)</li>
<li>Hawkman (DC)</li>
<li>Superman Giant (DC)</li>
<li>Basketful of Heads (DC)</li>
<li>Once & Future (BOOM!)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/OCT191386">Klaus: Life and Times of Joe Christmas</a> (BOOM!)</li>
<li>Family Tree (IMAGE)</li>
<li>I could probably list more, but I'm behind in my reading....</li>
</ul>
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The quality of comics remains high, mostly. But every so often, you just scratch your head and wonder what were they thinking? (re: Fallen Angels [MARVEL]) I'm also wondering if the rise of more digital art is making comics harder to read for these aging eyes*. I'm enjoying a lot of these newer artists though.<br />
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<i>*I picked up a copy of Looney Tunes #250 (DC) and the art seemed like it needed to be bigger; it was a strain on the eyes and we're talking "simplified" cartoon drawings. It's like they drew it on a tablet and then scaled the image down for a panel, when it should have been fit for a page. It's something I'll have to monitor.</i><br />
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The newer comics are really good, but there are some significant problems at least for me. They are too expensive. They don't hold their value well. There are too many of them. And the variant covers just make things worse.<br />
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At $4, $5, and $6+ on average for each issue, the trip to the comic-shop feels like making a mortgage payment (or paying your water bill). I can see an early bird movie for $6, enjoying 2 hours+ (hopefully) of entertainment. I can pay $10 a month for a streaming service and get hours or days of binge-watching bliss on old and new material. A $20 LEGO video game can take 60+ hours to complete over months of small increments. Comics by comparison take maybe 5 to 10 minutes to read. I know its situational on how fast you may read your books, but regardless of your chosen speed, the time value of your money is extremely small. Certainly, choosing a comic streaming service would be economical, but (proudly and still holding out for as long as possible) I don't have a cell phone and I hate reading comics on the screen, unless it is one of Thom Zahler's <a href="https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/cupids-arrows/list?title_no=1538">WEBTOONs</a> or Steve Conley's <a href="https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/the-middle-age/list?title_no=93310&page=1">The Middle Age</a> series.<br />
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And reselling or flipping your books on ebay, it's like dumping money down a hole. I noticed a drop in my regular sales last year and suspected that my listings weren't being seen, when lo and behold ebay starts offering the ability to advertise your listings for a fee to achieve better performance. The State of Maryland started to take their taxes out of my sales, something I didn't realize until recently. The final value fees are usually 10% for ebay and 3% for paypal; these are applied to the full price including your shipping costs. My shipping is generally $8. To make the listing competitive you have to really keep the list price low or it won't move at all. Bottom line, it's very difficult to break even and it's inconsistent at best. For now, it's all I've got (or familiar enough) to work with, but oh what a pain! Needless to say, unless you happen to have the latest "hot book", it'll help recoup some of your cost, but it's doubtful you're really "making money" in the endeavor. I'm usually trying to spin the comics into cash to spin the cash into HCs, Funko POPS! or LEGOS, but ideally, I'd like the ebay sales to be supplemental to my budget, rather than essential.<br />
<br />
The Hickman House of X/Powers of X series was absolutely amazing. Afterwards, it spawned 6 new X-titles. I got them all to start with, but quickly fell behind in my reading. Some books ship more than monthly. I had to read 25 issues to catch up. For the most part I liked them, but that was a significant commitment. Who has that kind of time? I'm down to only two now. Then you have these almost monthly Marvel mini-events that consist of 8 or 10 books with tie-ins. I got the Annihilation Scourge books at the same time the 2099 books were coming out. It just isn't sustainable. I'm trying hard to only buy what I truly enjoy or have time to read, rather than getting them all to hopefully resell when I'm finished.<br />
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Variant covers are a nemesis. The best covers are usually the variants, and hopefully not the more expensive kind. My LCS does a pretty good job at stocking up with and pulling for me the versions I want, but sometimes I have go home with my second choice, thinking that might hurt my sales. Just knowing that something is out there that you can't have, or having to choose the best one, it's annoying and doesn't have anything to do with the content of the book! Looking at others' ebay sales, I think variants are the driving force of the secondary market. I can't begrudge anyone or even publishers on how they strive to stay afloat, but collecting comics for cover art seems "wrong". I wonder how bad it is for the retailers that are stuck with the bad covers or the more expensive but not moving good covers. It should be enough to have the book in stock, but it isn't.<br />
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<u>Old Comics</u><br />
<br />
Here's where things are pretty darn amazing. Well, unless you're a DC fan. My go-to site for knowing and preparing for the latest HC or trade releases is <a href="https://collectededitions.com/">Collected Editions</a>, which contains previews and a release schedule. I buy my HCs from<a href="https://www.instocktrades.com/"> InStockTrades</a>,which usually sell the books at 50% off the first week, then 42% thereafter. It's a huge cost savings and I never would even think of buying them at full price.<br />
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The Marvel Masterworks are hitting my sweet spot of late 70s/early 80s, collecting some of my favorite stories. For example, the <a href="https://collectededitions.com/2020/01/11/preview-incredible-hulk-masterworks-vol-14-hc/">Hulk one</a> coming out in August has one of the greatest Hulk arcs ever (#223 thru #229). It's going to be amazing! They just got to the first Miller DD issue and are starting John Byrne's epic FF run too. Now both of those have been collected previously, but here we're getting the best reproduction possible and things never looked so good and clear. If only the light didn't reflect so much on the page!<br />
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Marvel Omnibuses are trickling in slower these days, but the stand-out is Marvel's Conan the Barbarian and Savage Sword of Conan volumes. The quality is top notch with loads of extras. They just started the Peter David run of the Incredible Hulk, which I missed due to cash flow problems (buying too many LEGO Movie 2 sets on clearance), but ridiculously, they don't include issues #329 and 330 (one of which is a Todd McFarlane issue). Now I'll have to pay $12 more for it, but I know I'll get it eventually. I have the originals, but like getting a new comic, getting a new hard cover gives you more of an excuse to read those stories again.<br />
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On the DC HC front, its a mess. They solicit a book and then cancel it, only to re-solicit it again, usually with a new title or trade dress. I dumped my JLA omnibuses when I found out volume 3 wasn't coming out (and it would have gotten me to Firestorm joining the team). I'm still hoping they'll eventually finish the Brave and the Bold Bronze-Age series. They finished the Silver Age Green Lantern and Flash books, but nothing has been mentioned about reprinting the Bronze-Age tales. The Absolute Swamp Thing HC series is amazing with moss-feeling fabric, but people complain about the new coloring. I didn't have issues with it. I'm sick of their creator themed Batman collections, I just want a long run of stories, say by year 1981, 1982, etc. Instead we get the Gene Colan issues, the Marv Wolfman issues, some of which probably overlap. I am hoping we still get the Marshall Rogers <a href="https://www.talesofwonder.com/product/96830/MISTER-MIRACLE-BY-STEVE-ENGLEHART-STEVE-GERBER-HC">Mister Miracle</a> book.<br />
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Then there are the facsimile editions, full reprints with ads. The DC ones use better paper, but the Marvel ones are still nice. I was so excited to get Incredible Hulk #180 this week. Now I can just put this one and #181 right in my missing key-issue holes of my Hulk collection. So far, I've been getting all the DC ones. You already know the stories are good. I love them. Related to these are the dollar books that both Marvel and DC put out. They have new ads, but sometimes it might still be good to have a reprint of a particular story, although the trade dress for the Marvel books changes with the current theme (like Annihilation or Criminally Insane). Still, if you had young kids that you wanted to share comics with, this is the way to go. Cheap and good!<br />
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Overall, I prefer the older material to the newer books. It's just like comfort food for me. And rediscovering old favorites is super enjoyable. I'm at an age where I don't remember all the fine details, even in movies, so rereading or rewatching, is almost like a new experience. I could forego new comics completely and I'd have plenty to read, but I still want to get both for now.<br />
<br />
I still have a goal of upgrading some of my Back Issues or filling in some classic runs that will likely never be reprinted.<br />
<br />
<u>Comics-related Media and Merchandise</u><br />
<br />
From LEGO sets (the <a href="https://brickset.com/article/47541/review-71026-dc-super-heroes-collectable-minifigures-(part-1)">new DC mini-figures</a> are terrific), to action figures, to Funko POPS!, movies and TV shows; it's a great time to be a comic fan. My problem is that I like too many different things, so A LOT appeals to me. I just got the new Marvel Collector Corps Funko POP! Mystery box, an amazon subscription, for this month, which was FF themed. It contained a cool Mister Fantastic and Human Torch variant, plus a T-shirt, and a pin. The best thing is that you can now skip boxes you don't want. So I look online for spoilers to see if I want to pay the $30 or not. This time I did, but now I want a lot of the <a href="https://www.cardboardconnection.com/funko-pop-fantastic-four-vinyl-figures">other figures</a>.<br />
<br />
I really enjoyed the CW's Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over with Flash and Legends of Tomorrow remaining my favorites, although Arrow was really good this year too. I'm excited for any new Marvel TV shows on Disney+, if they're anything like the Mandalorian, they should be awesome. There's just so much stuff to watch. We just finished The Witcher, Cobra Kai season 3 should be out soon, and I'm still loving Dark Shadows so much with a CW sequel in the works. If these aren't all related to comics, they often end up being with tie-books and such. TV watching definitely interferes with my comic book reading.<br />
<br />
Well, I'm getting tired, and there's no guarantee this will even be read, but it was still fun to get some thoughts down. It really is true that "less is more". I need to focus my spending better to the point where I actually read most of what I get and get what I want to keep. And then have enough left over for other cool things that I like, such as music or toys.<br />
<br />
Well, as they say on The Prisoner (now streaming on Amazon Prime), "Be Seeing You", maybe next year.<br />
<br />Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894454259041852707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-62578171030286692512020-01-30T00:00:00.000-05:002020-01-30T00:00:02.353-05:00Marvel Masterworks Ant-Man/Giant-Man Volume 3 -- A Review<br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GevuDZmvU_U/W1Eu5xGtAwI/AAAAAAAADkU/MBcM1zP53rs8fhxXfZoUWWN2v7tmR1s5ACLcBGAs/s1600/mm_ant03_4a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GevuDZmvU_U/W1Eu5xGtAwI/AAAAAAAADkU/MBcM1zP53rs8fhxXfZoUWWN2v7tmR1s5ACLcBGAs/s320/mm_ant03_4a.jpg" width="223" /></a>As much as I love Marvel Omnibuses, I have to admit that Marvel Masterworks (MMW) is my preferred hardcover of choice these days (<a href="http://comicsand.blogspot.com/2014/09/confessions-of-hard-cover-addict-part-1.html">a change from 4 years ago</a>), especially now that they're delving into Bronze-Age goodness, both familiar and unfamiliar. I seem to be getting almost every new edition and when I do skip one, I end up regretting it when it goes out of print (OOP) [Like Luke Cage vol 1 - "sob"]. I also tend to be a completest, which means I'm loathe to begin collecting something that's already started. Although, sometimes that is unavoidable. A recent acquisition was <i>MMW Ant-Man/Giant-Man Vol 3</i>, which came out just about 2 months ago. The fact that I finished it in just about a month (including a week away from it while on vacation) is a testimony to how much I enjoyed it.<br />
<br />
It is thought that this is the last of the three volumes in the series. The first two focused on Hank Pym's adventures from <i>Tales to Astonish </i>(ToA). I wish I had these now (both are getting pricey) and the Essentials' (phonebook) versions I do have are almost unreadable with the blurry printing and lack of color. The biggest draw for me was the short-lived Ant-Man solo series presented in <i>Marvel Feature</i> circa 1972-1973. To my recollection, I had never heard of these stories before (much less read them), thinking that they were old ToA reprints similar to the <i>Human Torch</i> series of the early 70s. And I was especially ecstatic to learn that the first few stories were drawn by the late, great Herb Trimpe! [more after the break]<br />
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After a Roy Thomas/Ross Andru one-off, back-up tale that appeared in Invincible Iron Man #44 (Jan 1972), the Ant-Man stories begin five months later in <a href="http://www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/comic.php?comicid=45091"><i>Marvel Feature</i> #4</a> and run thru #10. All the tales are written by Mike Friedrich. The main plot point is that Hank gets stuck at a small size and spends the bulk of the series trying to find a cure to his condition. Don't sweat the details here, but Peter Parker was around when it happened.<br />
<br />
Ant-Man encounters various dangers ala the <i>Incredible Shrinking Man</i> TV series (the inspiration) and has to be pretty inventive to get out of his predicaments. Herb's issues were #4, #5, and #6 and they are fantastic! This is Trimpe in his prime storytelling best (during his later Hulk tenure) and I relished these stories, posting my pleasure on the Herb Trimpe Appreciation Society Facebook page. One really cool moment is when Ant-Man uses a nail to disable a crook who was about to step on him (OUCH!). That nail becomes part of his handswen, Flash Gordon-esque, swashbuckling costume (his original was torn by a hawk). Sadly, Trimpe left the series too soon, only to be replaced by a capable, but unrecognizable, newbie, P. Craig Russell. (Everybody's got to start somewhere -- it's not bad, but in comparison to the outstanding work he'll later do, it's a bit of a shock.)<br />
<br />
One issue (#8) has a framing sequence around a reprint of the Wasp's origin, which unfortunately wasn't included. Janet was mutating into more of a Wasp form, and here I thought that was a new concept just prior to Heroes Reborn, circa <i>Avengers</i> #400. End of story, Hank is back to normal and Janet is trying to seduce him out of work. Not a bad place to be. This was a Hank that loved Janet wholeheartedly, you know "Before the Dark Times, before the [Shooter wife-beating era]". I really enjoyed these stories, but they do have some interesting plot holes. I guess you can blame Hank not having a secret identity, but when he's stuck at a small size, he encounters villain after villain, not that far from his house! Also, Peter knows Hank is alive, but Janet (and the world) believe Hank to be dead from an explosion. <i>Peter, you work at a newspaper, you know.</i> The plus-side is when Janet is being creepily propositioned by her chauffeur, who is secretly the criminal Whirlwind and is out for her money, ready to step in to "take care" of the grieving widow. They also never explain why Hank is taking a break from being Yellowjacket.<br />
<br />
There's a brief appearance of Bill Foster in issue 9, who once helped Hank when he was stuck at Goliath-size back in the Avengers. This provided a nice rationale to include Bill's Black Goliath appearances in the volume. It starts with a two-part <i>Power Man</i> tale (#24-25), followed by his five issue <i>Black Goliath</i> solo series, and the after cancellation follow-up in the <i>Champions</i> (#11-13). I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the BG stories.<br />
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Did you know he was once married to our favorite Marvel Netflix special guest-star character, Claire Temple? Yeah, and he tries to get her back (from Luke) by lying to her that he's stuck at 15-feet tall. They encounter the Circus of Crime (I'd buy an Omnibus of their appearances). Tony Isabella and George Tuska designed the character. (I have more of an appreciation for Tuska's work then I did as a kid.) He's operating out of LA in his series and runs a lab for Stark International West, which includes his own gang of assistants with interesting personalities. One of them is based off of the humorous "Herbie" character -- the dweebish one. In a breath of diversity, the woman assistant is from Bangladesh. Issue #2 thru 5 were written by Chris Claremont, and while Tuska left after the third issue (just like Herb did for Ant-Man), the last two are well-rendered by Rich Buckler and Keith Pollard. Keith inked his own work and it was phenomenal!<br />
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The basic story is that BG is wrestling with whether or not to be a hero, while trying to stop some thieves stealing vital components from various labs. Eventually, they steal a mysterious box from Bill's lab, that Tony didn't even reveal to him its contents. Like all good Bronze-Age tales, there are ample panel note references to other continuity stories. The <a href="http://www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/comic.php?comicid=48374">cover</a> to #4 by Jack Kirby is especially awesome, although it reveals a variable element in the series, namely his size. He's supposed to be 15-feet tall, but I think some artists draw him much bigger. Back to Stilt-Man, believe it or not, but he's presented as a real formidable foe! Who knew? I thought he was C-List all the way. He's also clever enough to create the terrible Z-Beam, which seems to disintegrate BG and friends at the end of the issue. Turns out the "Z" must stand for "Zeta", since it transports BG to an alien world (the Pollard issue). Typical Claremont moving the story in an abrupt fashion to get to where he wants to go. Why go from point A to B to C, when you can jump to D and flashback the rest. (Anyone, remember <a href="http://www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/comic.php?comicid=48151"><i>Uncanny X-Men</i> #190</a>?)<br />
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Black Goliath #5 is cover dated Nov 1976 and his first Champions appearance in #11 is cover dated Feb 1977 (there's that magical year again). It's three months for the readers, but its only "last week" for BG. He must have boned up on his studies during that time, because he was firmly established as a Biochemist, but somehow he's got the engineering skills to design the Champions flying vehicle! Said vehicle that crashes into him, due to faulty manufacturing (actually sabotage if I remember correctly [eventually revealed in Peter Parker #17 and 18]). The missing box plot thread is picked-up by Bill Mantlo and it turns out to be The Stranger's ever-expanding Null-Life Bomb. Now these are the first stories in the volume I had previously read, but it was nice to be more attuned to the Black Goliath angle (much like watching Marvel movies in character sequence, it changes how you experience the ensemble films). The issues feature John Byrne's early Marvel work, magnificently inked by Bob Layton. The Champions are a really messed up bunch and consist of Hercules, Black Widow, Ghost Rider, Angel, and a pre-21st century ret-conned, then fully heterosexual, Iceman, mooning over the Russian Darkstar. These stories are great, except for the apparent demise of Warlord Kaa, the shadow monster from <i>Incredible Hulk</i> #184 and my Trimpe Godzilla commission. (I'm sure I could still think of a way for him to encounter the big-G in continuity...)<br />
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<i>inked by Joe Staton</i></div>
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<i>inked by Steve Conley</i></div>
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The last two tales spotlight the first appearance and origin of the Scott Lang Astonishing Ant-Man (and now movie star) from <i>Marvel Premiere</i> #47 and 48 (April/June 1979), solely created by David Michelinie, who was rocking out some of the best Iron Man stories of all-time back then. John Byrne and Bob Layton are on hand again for the excellent art. Bob did the iconic cover and in my opinion should also get acknowledgments at the end of the films. There is also two unpublished Layton covers for #48 included in the book's back matter. Both are superior to the one published. Michelinie recounts the origin in the MMW preface - he was originally going to name him Scott Land, but Bob misheard him in a bar and thought he said Lang, mentioning a potential tie-in with another Marvel character. And that's how history is made, folks.<br />
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The story is great. Scott is released from prison after doing a 3 to 5 stint for burglary, and quickly reconnects with the love of his life, his daughter Cassie. Things are going great until she falls ill to a potentially fatal heart ailment. As the bills mount-up, he looks to steal some money and discovers Hank's Ant-Man costume instead. He uses it to try to rescue a kidnapped doctor, that could save Cassie's life, who is being held hostage by Darren Cross to perform repeated heart surgeries. I remember these issues fondly and they're like comfort food to me. It turns out that Hank (like in the movie) saw Scott steal the suit and when he see's how well he uses it, let's him keep it. Scott becomes a better Ant-Man in my opinion, until some writers (Geoff Johns, I think) screw things up for him. I guess it's fitting to end with a Scott tale since Hank is passing the Ant-Man torch to him, but boy would a Scott Lang focused masterwork be great. It would include some of my favorite stories from Avenger's #195-196, and Iron Man #131-132. Not that I need it, I certainly have those tales in other forms already.<br />
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The whole book was a wonderful read and I highly recommend it to Bronze-Age and Ant-Man fans everywhere.<br />
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{This post was proudly brought to you by The Fixx's <i>Shuttered Room</i> and <i>Reach to Beach</i> and <i>Phantoms</i> LPs, playing in the background.}<br />
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<br />Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894454259041852707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-12077683745119030982019-01-24T12:04:00.000-05:002019-01-24T12:04:09.534-05:00Uncanny X-Men Annual #1 (2019) -- A Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sometimes, you've just got to strike while the iron's hot. I have several posts in the works from just the idea/desire to a stack of books (already assembled) to be used for reference, but I may never get around to them. However, I did just read<i> Uncanny X-Men</i> Annual #1 (2019 version) and really enjoyed it. So, while the enthusiasm is running high, I'll see if I can cobble this together in record time.<br />
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First, a confession. Cyclops is my favorite member of the X-Men. From the time I acquired those Claremont/Byrne-era back issues, <i>Uncanny X-Men</i> #109 thru 126 (minus #111), from a trade of some sorts [Is that where my <i>Daredevil</i> #3 and #4 went?] with a neighbor, I always liked him best. Maybe it was because he grew up without a father or because he was having trouble getting the girl he was interested in reciprocate; and I could certainly relate to both. Besides his costume and powers were cool too!<br />
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Although, he was also like the Charlie Brown of the mutant-set. Dark Phoenix is your girlfriend?! You finally are connected to the love of your life and you have to lose her right after! Then you find new love, but that's all destroyed when she turns out to be a clone-whatever. And the dead girl didn't really die like you thought, so you end up ditching your clone-wife! I may not have all the details straight, but things only got worse from there. He loses his leadership with the X-Men, establishes X-Factor, his son is kidnapped (I think), etc. etc. And all those soap-operatic events happened in the glorious Copper Age. Flash-forward to about 6 years ago or so, and he kills Professor X?! Later he dies himself?! Everyone hates his guts?! He dies again! Is it any wonder that I've had trouble consistently reading X-Men since the big relaunch, way back in 1991?<br />
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But soon after in late 2012, there was some hope. <i>All-New X-Men</i> #1 premiered and the original X-Men were brought back from the past to the present to fix all the royally screwed-up stuff going on or at least that was the premise. I followed the series for a good bit, before dropping off again for some reason. <i>Hmm, character retcon, perhaps?</i> Well, recently Marvel decided to send those kids back in time where they belonged in the really entertaining 5-part limited series, <i>Extermination</i>. Being able to come relatively cold to the current X-Men story line with their way-too-many side characters and totally dig the series was no small feat. <i>Isn't it ironic how they always talk about how there are so few mutants, but there are actually too many to keep track of and follow?</i> <br />
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The first issue really blew me away. BAM! Cable is killed...by a younger version of himself. He actually refers to it as "retiring". Wow, and best of all was the ending -- Cyclops is BACK -- ALIVE -- and wearing the visor again in a beautiful silver finish. I definitely had my local comic shop, the stellar <a href="https://www.cosmiccomix.com/">Cosmic Comix</a>, put this Annual in my box since it was a direct continuation... (more after the break <b><span style="color: red;">[SPOILERS]</span></b>).<br />
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<a name='more'></a>This issue was written by the <i>Extermination </i>writer, Ed Brisson and drawn by <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/carlosgomezartist">Carlos Gomez</a>. All I need to say is that the art is X-cellent. : ) Cyclops rises from the grave. Sure we knew that happened, but we get to see it happen. Then we have a flashback sequence of Cyclops saving an MIT student from a robot controlled by a crazy professor, which is further enhanced with the retro-style coloring. Cyclops is wearing his second (I believe) costume, the yellow and blue with skinny visor. So we're talking 1967, right? Sigh. Unfortunately, due to Marvel-time, this event is reported as having occurred only 13 years ago, instead of 52! I guess that's why everyone is dressed like it is 2006. I know it makes no sense -- just roll with it. <br />
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Then Cable -- I'm only talking about young Cable here, the other one's dead, remember? -- visits the guy, Paul Douek, whom Scott saved 10 years prior. He warns Paul to stay away from the leftovers, because his tummy is getting soft. <i>And that's how I relate to characters at age 48!</i> Cable gives Paul an assignment that he has two years to complete. Forget that the concept is crazy and could only occur in a comic, but I've got to respect that he was actually given time to do it. <i>Man, if I were on the Enterprise, they'd have been dead -- a gazillion times over. "Sorry, Cap'n, when I say three-weeks, I mean three weeks." That's real engineering folks.</i> The humor in the scene is awesome.<br />
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Basically, after Scott died the first time (<i>Death of X</i>), Paul and Cable implanted a Phoenix-pace-maker-magnet-thingamajig inside the corpse of Scott Summers. Then when the Phoenix resurrected him as part of, duh, <i>Phoenix Resurrection</i>, he died again but drew in enough of a spark to <i>Kickstart [His] Heart</i> (my favorite Mötley Crüe song by the way). <br />
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It reminds me of another song that only my Christian family and friends would know and appreciate:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">It only takes a spark</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">To get a fire going</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">And soon all those around</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Can warm up in the glowing</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">That’s how it is with God’s love</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Once you’ve experienced it</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">You’ll spread His love</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">To everyone</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">You’ll want to pass it on</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(<a href="https://st-takla.org/Lyrics-Spiritual-Songs/English-Coptic-Hymns-Texts/7-Christian-n-Gospel-Lyrics-O-P-Q-R/Pass-It-On.html">Pass It On</a> - first verse)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">[Interesting song origin article - <a href="https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-pass-it-on">here</a>]</span></div>
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Now we come to the end of <i>Extermination</i> #5, with father (Cyclops) and son (Cable) kicking back a couple of beers. When the young X-Men returned to their original timeline, the older versions got the young X-Men's memories. This sequence is very fan-pleasing. For all Cable's holier-than-thou-shalt-not-interfere-with-the-time-stream talk, he has to answer a very relevant question:<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">[Below: All Caps is NOT yelling, Bold is or for emphasis.]</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Cyclops: "THEN HOW COME I'M NOT <b>STILL </b>DEAD?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Cable: "BECAUSE..."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Cyclops: "IF YOU'RE <b>SO CONCERNED</b> WITH MAINTAINING THE TIMELINE THAT YOU'D <b>KILL MY SON</b> IN ORDER TO FIX IT -- "</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Cable: "<b>I AM YOUR SON!</b>"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Cyclops: "WHY DID YOU BRING ME BACK? I SHOULD STILL BE DEAD."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Cable: "<b>BECAUSE IT WASN'T RIGHT!</b> YOU'RE... YOU'RE THEIR <b>LEADER</b>. THEIR <b>HOPE</b>. FOR YOU TO DIE ON YOUR <b>KNEES </b>FROM A <b>DAMNED </b>INFECTION? <b>FROM MIST?</b> THAT'S <b>NOT </b>THE WAY THAT IT SHOULD HAVE GONE DOWN. I <b>COULDN'T </b>LET THAT BE THE END."</span></div>
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Cable's not letting Scott get out in the world yet though. He has to be tested to see what sort of man came back from the dead. Cable creates a situation where Scott can either join in some X-Men madness, where they could certainly use his help, or save the life of Paul Douek and his family. He can't do both, he has to choose. After he's made that choice, Scott gets to explain his wacky actions (when he was going-off-the-rails) and repent (of sorts). <br />
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To be continued in Uncanny X-Men #11. I'll certainly be there, will you?<br />
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Thank you Ed Brisson! You've done what I thought was impossible, but what can only be done in comics. You've restored a character who had been ruined and abused for years back to his former glory or at least started him back on the right path. I no longer need to be ashamed to say that Cyclops was my favorite X-Man. You could sell hats to celebrate.<br />
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<strike>MAKE </strike>MADE CYCLOPS </div>
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GREAT AGAIN</div>
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<br />Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894454259041852707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-8075084953284474172019-01-11T06:32:00.000-05:002019-01-11T06:35:36.261-05:00Dark Shadows Beginnings -- A Review<br />
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I'm way behind in my new comic reading. And I'm making slow progress thru some of my more recent hard cover acquisitions. The reason? Too much TV (as always). How can that be when all the CW comic-related shows (including the excellent <i>Riverdale</i>) are on winter hiatus and the Marvel Netflix shows are all but done (sob)? Amazon Prime. Or rather, the free streaming shows available on that service. It all started around Halloween when looking for something spooky to watch, I viewed the Dan Curtis Production of Frankenstein (1973). It reminded me of <i>Dark Shadows</i>. I then caught the film-quality version of Dan Curtis' Bram Stoker's Dracula (also 1973) with Jack Palance, who if you believe the internet was the inspiration for Gene Colan's depiction of the character in the Marvel Comic.<br />
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After a few more Dan Curtis classics(?) such as a werewolf in LA and a zuni doll from Trilogy of Terror (filled with plenty of jump-scares), I decided to delve back into watching <i>Dark Shadows</i>. I became a fan of the show over a quarter of a century ago around the time I got married. It was on the Sci-Fi (now SyFy) Channel (back when it contained good material) where they aired at least two episodes back-to-back, I think around 10:00 am (after the <i>Six Million Dollar Man</i> or <i>Incredible Hulk</i>). I had seen odd episodes here and there, but this was the first time I recall making a concerted effort to watch the series regularly. I remember seeing much of the late 1860's story line, where Barnabas' consciousness enters his entombed body during that time and meets the "real" life Quentin (I think to deal with the music-appearing spook version from 1968 [then present day]).<br />
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I even got a few books on the series back then celebrating its 25th anniversary, so I read synopses of most of the episodes. After all, how could anyone watch them all? Back when MPI was issuing video tape versions, each one was about $30 each and contained a week's worth of shows, meaning only five 22 minute episodes. That's quite an expense when you understand that there were <b>1225 episodes!</b> Enter Amazon Prime. A search will show you that they have divided the series into 26 "collections" of around 40 episodes each. As a daily [Gothic-horror] soap-opera (did I forget to mention that?) there were no yearly seasons as we understand them, which means they just broke them up into roughly even chunks that stop whenever, not necessarily at the end of a major story arc.<br />
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Picking up roughly where I had left off in the mid-1990's (and possibly later as my older kids remember watching some of the show with me at times - maybe from the library?), I began watching Collection 17, episode 27 (#884 or sequentially #873), which originally aired on 1969 November 13. This means I was viewing it almost exactly 49 years later! (The episode numbers don't always add up due to interruptions and them always wanting the Friday episode with the bigger cliff-hanger to be a multiple of 5.) It was a show that I could watch by myself, when others are watching <i>This is Us</i> or <i>Call the Midwife</i>. But a funny thing happened. My 10-year old son, "Manny" (Matthew Jr.) started watching it with me. He enjoyed it enough that he got upset if I watched it without him (shades of Netflix show viewing with my beloved wife)! So, I waited, and waited. Our progress became too slow for my purposes. I kept watching with him -- we're currently thru Collection 20, episode 15 (#996 or sequentially #981), which originally aired on 1970 April 20 (nearly a month before my birth!). We've seen the entire Leviathan story-line and have entered into 1970 Parallel Time.<br />
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I didn't like having nothing to watch when he wasn't available (or willing), so I went back to the beginning. Specifically as it is listed on Amazon -- <i>Dark Shadows Beginnings</i>. It's a six-part collection that includes the first 206 episodes (thru #209), spanning from 1966 June 27 to 1967 April 14. All of these precede the first appearance of Barnabas Collins (at least in person). You may question the need to view the episodes before things "got interesting". Well, I'm here to tell you (after an extremely long-preamble/warm-up exercise), that there are plenty worth watching. It's OUTSTANDING!!!<br />
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But where to begin...How 'bout the way each episode does:<br />
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<i>"My name is Victoria Winters..." </i></div>
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<i>[more after the break]</i></div>
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Victoria Winters (20-22?) is arriving by train to Collinsport, Maine from New York City. She has been hired out of the blue from her foundling home (i.e. orphanage) to be the governess/instructor of a 9-year old boy, David Collins. David is the heir of the Collins name (only male child) and lives at the family ancestral estate, Collinwood. He's a very intelligent, but troubled young man who talks about hanging out with ghosts and hates his father. The estate, which is actually <a href="http://www.seaviewterrace.org/">Seaview Terrace</a> in Newport, Rhode Island (and it's now on my bucket list to visit), is run by his aunt, Elizabeth Stoddard, who hasn't left the grounds in 18 years. She has a young daughter, Carolyn (17-18?), who has a steady boyfriend, Joe Haskill, that she's stringing along. She wants to hang out with him (have him take her on dates), but she refuses to agree to marry him and just about every male stranger in town catches her eye. Joe's a hardworking fisherman that works for the Collins' company, but he has aspirations of going independent and buying his own boat one day. The two of them typically visit the Blue Whale, the local restaurant/pub/dance house, which often plays the same three tunes on the jukebox! (They're good tunes and I can enjoy them for hours at work.)<br />
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Arriving on the same train with Vicky is Burke Devlin (played by the actor, Mitchell Ryan, who portrayed William Riker's father on <i>Star Trek: The Next Generation</i>). He's come back with a mission - a mission of vengeance against the Collins family and warns Vicky to go back where she came from. He has reason to be bitter, despite his vast accumulation of wealth in the last five years. He spent the previous five before that in prison for manslaughter. He was convicted of killing a man while driving drunk. He says he's innocent. He claims he was framed by Roger Collins, David's father and Liz's brother. Roger is very snobbish and definitely has secrets, especially one with the local town drunk, the painter, Sam Evans. Both are very disturbed when Burke comes back to town. Sam's daughter, Maggie, works at the local coffee shop at the Collinsport Inn, where Burke sets up his residence. The original gossip-girl, she's one of my favorite characters with a friendly personality, bright eyes and a smile that really remind me of my wife, Pam. : ) The actress, Kathyrn Leigh Scott also used to be a <a href="http://www.explayboybunnies.com/biographies/kathrynleighscott/kathryn.html">Playboy Bunny</a>! Rounding out the cast, is the old caretaker, Matthew, who lives in the cottage on the estate and Bill Malloy, who runs the sardine cannery. Both are very loyal to Mrs. Stoddard.<br />
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<i>I would love to go into great detail about some of the story lines, but I really want to avoid spoilers as much as possible. (I've got my mother hooked on the show now and I'm hoping you dear reader will give it a try as well.) So I'll try to be a bit vague where possible and may offer up some theories that I've purposely not looked up online to verify. There are ample of online Dark Shadows sites if you want to know more information.</i><br />
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These early episodes are in glorious black and white and I actually think it enhances the eerie/spooky/mysterious feel of the show. Some of the music is the same as you'll hear in later episodes. It was composed by Robert (Bob) Cobert, a graduate of Juilliard, and is actually a series of short cues and themes. <i> I got the complete soundtrack for Christmas (nearly 8 hours worth).</i> The Collinswood interior sets with it's double doors, signature staircase, and drawing room are also the same. So, right off the bat the show is very similar to what you may be more familiar with during the Barnabas years. But there is also a brighter component to both the music (Oh, those poignant woodwinds!) and some of the sets (like the coffee shop and Sam's house). The characters have some more hopeful/happy moments too as the only spooks are the ones David talks about and of course, the old legends. There are also exterior shots, brief scenes (not just static establishment shots) of characters going outside -- the real outside, not just a set. It helps ground the series.<br />
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The acting is extremely good and it's largely like watching a well scripted play. In this day of CGI where special effects take up a lot of the show's length, it's interesting to see a story that is more played out with dialogue and facial expressions. In fact, when I started watching the series, I was working on a LEGO set, enjoying it mostly by hearing only and looking up occasionally over my reading glasses. However, I quickly realized that I wanted to view everything. So I wouldn't recommend it as background noise -- it'll work, but it needs to be seen and heard. The dramatic music and visuals are masterfully put together.<br />
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Now I realize that <i>Dark Shadows</i> is known for it's bloopers and mistakes. Sure you'll see a boom mike in a shot, an off camera stage sound can be heard, and the actors will sometimes flub their lines and call a character by another name - I'm sure that stems from how quickly these things had to be taped. However, I actually enjoy the dialogue snafus (humorous to be sure, but not distracting) as they are more realistic. Who speaks perfectly? I certainly don't. It's not like I can reread and edit my speech multiple times like I can this post.<br />
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You get a taste of the swinging and swigging sixties in this series. Carolyn dances like Mary Jane Watson in the Lee-Romita <i>Amazing Spider-Man</i> stories. People drink...A LOT. Another cup of coffee, another bourbon or brandy. Poor Roger seems to take a sip regularly to deal with all his pressures. At least you see the destructiveness of alcohol in the deteriorating, guilt-ridden life of Sam Evans - also the verbal abuse of an alcoholic. Modern day woman may be offended by some of the comments (but don't let that deter you -- you can always tell your child that it isn't the way people should talk today.) Once Burke Devlin told Carolyn that she should be happy knowing that we can all just admire her beauty. The actual line was much better, but it will take too long to track down the episode. I guess it is like a daytime, PG-version, of <i>Mad Men</i> (from what I've heard - never watched it). There is romantic tension and embraces, an occasional kiss, but no sex scenes like you would have today. But by inference, stuff has certainly happened.<br />
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<i>Could David actually be Burke's biological son? He used to date David's mother before she saw Roger as the richer beau. Laura and Roger did get married immediately after Burke went to prison. And Victoria resembles a woman that Sam once painted a few years before he married Maggie's mother, now deceased. Could she actually be Maggie's half-sister? At this moment I think both theories are viable and likely.</i><br />
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Man, there is just so much ground to cover, and I want to get back to watching the show! Let's try to wrap this up...<br />
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The writers definitely bring in the supernatural gradually. So the viewer like the characters need to have multiple/subtle encounters before any of this can be believed. I'm amazed at the detail plotting that went into the show and have seen most of the initial mysteries satisfactorily resolved at this point (or about to) as Barnabas makes the scenes. However, the foundational elements are right there at the start, including just a reference to Jossette Collins, the tragic woman who leaped or was pushed to her death from Widows Hill in 1840(?). We don't see Jossette ourselves as a ghost until around the 50th episode. Things really start to pick up from there when we discover who killed off one of the characters, despite numerous suspicions and red herrings. Sometimes when you think something is going to go one way, and often it eventually does, there are numerous and unexpected twists and turns along the way. It's quite addictive and it doesn't help that Amazon starts the next episode before you can get up and turn it off -- then you say, well, let's watch one more...<br />
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After the murder mystery is solved, the <a href="http://collinsport.net/2012/07/27/laura-the-phoenix-burn-baby-burn/">Phoenix</a> story-line was also quite good, especially with the introduction of Dr. Peter Guthrie, a paranormal/parapsychologist investigator. <i>He's seems to be a precursor to Dr. Julia Hoffman. I guess they needed a woman to counterbalance Barnabas later.</i> I loved the introduction to the Eagle Hill cemetery and crypt with the old caretaker. The story just builds and builds, even though you'll have key characters absent for episodes at at time. Villains can become friends (like Magneto). It's fascinating how some characters weave in and out, while others move in to take center stage. I believe Barnabas was supposed to be a temporary character, but he became too popular. It reminds me a bit like Chris Claremont's run on <i>Uncanny X-Men</i>. Kitty Pryde shows up and the focus is shifted around her for a while. Subplots are peppered throughout and take time before reaching fruition.<br />
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I've always been interested in supernatural stories, but I draw the line at fiction versus reality. Some of my favorite comic book characters are Doctor Strange and Doctor Fate. I've got (as yet unread) Omnibuses of <i>Tomb of Dracula</i> and <i>Werewolf by Night</i>. I recently purchased the first omnibus volume of <i>House of Mystery</i>. I've been a fan of Buffy and Angel and love to watch Constantine on <i>Legends of Tomorrow</i>. Ghosts, vampires, etc. make for great stories, but I'm not going to dabble in the occult in real life. That stuff is too dangerous. The Bible mentions the spiritual warfare that goes around unseen and demons are real. I wouldn't advise anyone to seek this stuff out, seek the truth and light about Jesus Christ instead. It still creeps me out whenever there is a seance on the show...<br />
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Did you know that many of the story lines in Dark Shadows were inspired from classic literature? Look it up.<br />
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Anyway, I hope you've gotten a taste of my enthusiasm for the show and check it out. I plan on continuing (maintaining a balanced life and prioritizing things properly). I figure I've got about 900 more episodes to watch! Willie's just opened up Barnabas' coffin hoping to steal some jewels, but he's just been grabbed by the neck...<br />
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<br />Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894454259041852707noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-41350762362041530172018-12-25T09:49:00.000-05:002018-12-25T12:53:26.348-05:00The Reason<br />
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<u>December 25, 2018</u></div>
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<u><br /></u></div>
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Yes, I grew this beard for a reason.</div>
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You ask, “In honor of the season?”</div>
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<br /></div>
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Ho. Ho. Ho.</div>
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Not So!</div>
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<br /></div>
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(Though my belly has begun to shake,</div>
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I’m afraid <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that’s</i>
from too much cake.)</div>
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<br /></div>
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It’s my brother’s fault you see…</div>
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He was only honest with me.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Now, instead of having the clean shaven chin</div>
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Of Burke Devlin or Popeye the Sailor</div>
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<br /></div>
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My skin is more akin</div>
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To the incarcerated face of George Taylor!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Remember him?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
famous film-guy,</div>
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Who confronted with destroyed Liberty</div>
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Knelt in the sand, wet from foaming seas,</div>
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And CURSED the human race!</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“GOD DAMN YOU ALL TO
HELL!”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Strange Contrast</div>
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Remember Him?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
sinless God-Man,</div>
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Who surrendered His will to gain our freedom</div>
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Knelt in a garden, sweat as bloody drops,</div>
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And BLESSED us by choosing to take <u>our</u> place!</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And he said, “Father,
if you are willing, let this cup pass from me; however not my will, but yours
be done.”</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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(Yeah, that’s all true</div>
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And Jesus can certainly SAVE you)</div>
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<br /></div>
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But if you’ve got to know why,</div>
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On the day we sing of the babe that slept with cows.</div>
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I’ve just got to say,</div>
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I was only covering up my <u>jowls</u>!</div>
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MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!<br />
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<br />Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894454259041852707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-7959791581765601962018-11-18T00:00:00.000-05:002018-11-18T00:00:02.278-05:00Lou Scheimer: Creating the FILMATION Generation -- A Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I picked this up during <a href="http://twomorrows.com/">TwoMorrows</a>' nearly month-long Black Friday Sale last November at a substantial discount and have been reading it off and on since it arrived, finishing it on Friday, 2018 Feb 23. The bulk of the reading took place before basketball games and during half-times with me then finishing up certain chapters before bed. Sometimes this turned out to be a real distraction, since I didn't want to stop reading even when the games started, especially when the subject covered a show that I was particularly fond of from childhood. However, it wasn't just the shows that I was interested in by that point, I wanted to spend more time with Lou and hear what happened next in his life! Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this intimate and personal autobiography.<br />
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The book is primarily black and white with a small color section. However, it came with a FREE digital version download that was in full color. It would have been nice to have the print version be full color, but I can understand the need to keep costs down, and honestly, I prefer the regular matte paper versus the glossy color magazine style. I think it is another testament to the compelling story that I wasn't deterred from reading a book about color cartoons in black and white. Since I only read digital media on a PC (no hand held devices yet), it wouldn't have been the same reading experience for me on the screen. Opening a physical book just connects you more with the material, I think.<br />
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Lou was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Russian and German Jews, which had immigrated to the US in the early to mid 1920s. The first chapter is entitled, "Wherein My Father Punched Out Adolf Hitler Years Before Captain America Did (1928-1946)". His experience of growing up Jewish in Pittsburgh is very engaging and was a great way to start the book, because it not only established important background, but it helped you get to know him more as a person, rather than just what he later did. That personal thread is throughout the whole book. He talks about his time in post-WWII Japan and his courtship with Jay, who would become his beloved wife. She was thought of as a <i>shiksa</i> by some in his family. Choosing to marry a non-Jew, illustrates early-on his attitude of accepting people based on their character, regardless of their diversity label.<br />
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I believe the book was primarily constructed from interviews, since it has such a narrative style to it. You really do feel that Lou is conversing with you the whole time. You learn of his passion for quality children's entertainment to mean something and have pro-social messages. The trials and travails of the animation industry are recounted as well, along with his mostly successful (for FILMATION) but ultimately doomed efforts (for the industry) to keep the work stateside. But he doesn't gloss over his mistakes and regrets either. He cusses at times and drinks too much on occasion, which caused him to forget to credit his friend Hal Sutherland during his Emmy acceptance for a Star Trek episode. And when he mentions a person that was troublesome or a jerk, well he doesn't mince words even when he's trying to restrain himself from saying too much negative about them.<br />
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Andy Mangles' role in fact-checking (with help) Lou's tale and his reconstruction of the interviews is essential to making this book flow so well. Many of the chapters, generally focusing on specific periods or years, foreshadow to future events later in the book, making <i>this </i>reader salivate for the next juicy morsel. By the time it got to shows that I wasn't particularly familiar with or interested in, I was hooked because I still wanted to listen to Lou. There is also an exhaustive amount of FILMATION facts and details. I think one could skim some portions that were more strictly business related without taking too much away, but it's also so entwined with his story that I'm only talking about isolated paragraphs here there, where numerous names are listed (kinda of what some people do when reading Numbers).<br />
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Lou's reflections on his life are bittersweet. Just when FILMATION is doing its best year, things quickly change, which leads them to abandon the Saturday Morning networks, which had largely abandoned them already, to produce He-Man and She-Ra in syndication, certainly their most successful shows ever. However, their pioneer work on the weekday cartoon series phenomenon is quickly crowded out by a glut of such shows on the market. Then thanks to a vicious buyout by a company that only wanted their back catalog and not their studio, it's all over very abruptly not long after their 25th anniversary. Lou's efforts to get back to work over the next 15 years isn't very fruitful at all. His final thoughts on his legacy and life are Solomon-esque in their wisdom of ups and downs and what really matters at the end of it all.<br />
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My copy of the book is a second edition, published in 2015. I didn't realize this, so I was shocked to learn (the day I finished the book) that Lou had already died in 2013, less than a year past the first edition (late 2012). And here I was thinking of how nice it would be to meet with him at a convention someday. I had seen the Lou Scheimer gallery at Pittsburgh's Toonseum on 2015 Jul 31 before attending an <a href="http://www.apologetix.com/">ApologetiX</a> concert in Wexford, PA. It was relatively small, but I immediately recognized the film cells from the cartoons. Regrettably, the Toonseum closed its downtown doors just yesterday (as of this writing) on 2018 Feb 24. It was a neat place. I hope it comes back someday and that Lou's gallery becomes even more prominent.<br />
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I am certainly one of the FILMATION generation. I grew up on these shows before I even started getting comics (and that may be a subject of a future post: TV's role in comics). My favorite FILMATION shows (in no particular order) were/are STAR TREK: The Animated Series*, TARZAN of the APES**, FLASH GORDON*, BLACKSTAR, Lone Ranger, and the live-action SHAZAM*, ISIS*, and ARK II*. I also remember watching Fat Albert and the Archies* on occasion. The * represents DVD box sets that I'm very happy to have in my collection, since some of them are way too expensive these days. The ** represents a recent purchase from a Canadian online site called <a href="https://www.retrotvmemories.com/pages/home">RETROTVMEMORIES</a>, so that I could get the remaining episodes of Tarzan. (The one readily available only covers the first season's 16 episodes, missing 24 others.) RetroTV is a good source of out-of-print material, but the quality is variable -- still better than watching bits and pieces on YouTube. I can also recall the anticipation of wanting to watch <i>Journey Back to Oz</i> on the SFM Holiday Network, which I always seemed to miss. After reading this book, I even have a strong desire to delve into He-Man and She-Ra someday.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--5DfdDqpzjQ/WsqgRsa_teI/AAAAAAAADYw/ba_BrpZtqhIzi8SEK5p1DVLFtNvtE0frQCLcBGAs/s1600/DSC09698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--5DfdDqpzjQ/WsqgRsa_teI/AAAAAAAADYw/ba_BrpZtqhIzi8SEK5p1DVLFtNvtE0frQCLcBGAs/s400/DSC09698.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of my Filmation boxsets (forgot to include Tarzan).</td></tr>
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I've been blessed to be able to share some of these shows with my children. The music is incredible, the live-action acting is very authentic with great "after school special" style morals, and most of the stories are really great.<br />
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If you're a FILMATION fan of any of their material, this is a MUST READ. And if you just want to get to know a guy who tried to do his best all his life, but didn't always succeed. A creative person who struggled at the end, living past his "prime" years, but was eventually rewarded by the fans who appreciated his shows that shaped their lives, then this is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. It really makes me think of all our favorite comic creators that had super hot streaks, but eventually fell out of favor for various reasons. We don't always get to know them personally or their stories, Lou's story is a good representation for ALL of them.<br />
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BONUS -- Here is the ISIS commission I got from Jerry Ordway this year at the Baltimore Comic-Con (according to him his first drawing of the TV version).<br />
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<br />Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894454259041852707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-36665591705839885312018-10-28T00:00:00.000-04:002018-10-28T00:00:01.732-04:00The State of Comics And...Our beloved founder and zen "pool" master, Jim, has let it be known that he's bowing out of our Comics And...Other Imaginary Tales reunion tour. He's certainly been the guiding force behind this endeavor, encouraging us with his comments and schedule reminders. Not to mention he's the one person we can always count on to actually read our posts. According to said schedule, Shawn and Lee are up for the next two Sundays, but I honestly don't know if they or Thomas will want to continue on a regular basis or not (Gwen was already taking a hiatus). I for one have two posts "in the can" to share that I keep pushing back for newer material.<br />
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Anyway, I, personally don't plan to stop (the "...of course, we can still be friends" stage), but in terms of a standard rotation or organizational format, I think it will be whenever the mood strikes us, i.e. "No Deadlines!" It'll be interesting to see if not having the deadlines will promote more posting or less. We're all quite busy (as I'll discuss more below) and this <i>is </i>just for fun. I appreciate the opportunity to express myself and this is an awesome way to accomplish that on a semi-regular basis. Without it, I'm just reading/thinking about stuff by myself and that's not nearly as enjoyable as being part of the larger Comics community. We may not be comics creators (yet), but somebody's got to be the "Siskel and Ebert" too. To quote Roy Neary from <i>Close Encounters of the Third Kind</i>, "This means something; this is important." Or not, maybe we just like to play with our mashed potatoes...<br />
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So, in typical comic-fashion, I've been having a Crisis of sorts...<b>A Crisis of Too Many Unread Comics!</b> (That was going to be the original title of this post. I probably have well over a hundred by now.) Every week almost without fail I faithfully stop into my Local Comics Shop (LCS) on New Comics Wednesday, the stupendous <a href="https://www.cosmiccomix.com/">Cosmic Comix and Toys</a>, which I've been a patron of for over 20 years. I truly love it there, not just the atmosphere, but the chance to chat with the gang and the regulars. It's a bit like my version of Cheers. I get my books hand delivered for me from my box, or I'm allowed the privileged to go behind the counter and get them myself. I carefully study the issues (like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1st6Bjopm2o">Juan Valdez</a>) and if necessary go to the rack and select the best copy possible. The service is exceptional. They'll place stuff in my box (beyond my "normal" list based on just an e-mail [sometimes the day of]) to check out with no pressure or obligation to buy. I can always put something back, because they know there is always something else I'll probably pick up.<br />
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Even when I try to cut back, I usually get something new. For example, this week I picked up <i>Batgirl</i> #25, 26, 27, and 28. The art by Paul Pelletier was the main draw, but the story was really great too and I highly recommend the series (and may discuss further in another post). I canceled <i>Vampironica</i> by Archie Comics. It was like a combination of Buffy and Blade with Archie characters and drawn by the excellent Greg Smallwood, but EVERY issue arrives DAMAGED. I might be willing to pay a buck for a beat up book, but not four!<br />
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I also picked up a slew of Marvel books, including a lot of Infinity Wars/Warps tie-ins. (I really enjoyed Duggan's <i>All-New Guardians of the Galaxy</i>, but they've gone overboard with this Warps concept (trying to create the next Spider-Gwen or Cosmic Ghost Rider.) Really, the best thing about Marvel is their digital codes. I have a friend in Australia who Paypals me cover price minus $2 for each of them. It's a huge savings for both of us. Unfortunately, I've gotten so far behind in my Marvel reading that I get the books only to bag and board them for months at at time until I give up on ever hoping to read them and relist on <a href="https://www.ebay.com/sch/mannfamily14gab/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=">ebay</a>. I just sold my <i>Venom:First Host</i> lot last Friday. I actually read that and liked it, but it was one of the few things I thought would actually sell , so up it went (it took less than 24 hours). It might have helped that I listed it for cover price minus a dollar per issue to account for the lack of digital codes. I loved the finale of Dan Slott's <i>Amazing Spider-Man</i>, but the new series is a little too tongue in cheek for my tastes. Sure, it's funny and entertaining, but it doesn't feel like Spider-Man to me. A lot of books are that way. Then there are the super serious ones like <i>Immortal Hulk</i> and <i>Captain America</i>, both sporting exceptional Alex Ross covers. I enjoy the Hulk quite a bit, but Cap is unreadable and the middle-aged Sharon Carter desperately hoping for some affection from Steve is painful to watch.<br />
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To be honest, I'm digging DC books more than Marvel right now. <i>Hawkman</i> by Bryan Hitch is a stand out for me along with Tom King's <i>Batman</i>, the recent Two-Face arc in <i>Detective Comics</i> and <i>Justice League Dark</i>. Then there are the mega maxi-series like <i>Doomsday Clock</i> and <i>Heroes in Crisis</i> (are those people really supposed to be dead?! Wally West?! We just got him back!) Although, I've given up on reading the Bendis Superman books for now. Of course, I'm still buying them all, but I'm three months behind (times two series) and I'd spend all my limited time catching up. (Plus, I really hate Rogol Zaar and can't wait for him to be gone.) Now, I may eventually binge read a bunch or try to sell them. I've been getting the new Justice League series, but I'm like 9 issues behind now and the Drowned Earth series is just going to further tax my budget. You can buy them <a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/202481238723">here</a> (second shameful plug). Despite my interest, I'm just not invested in these storylines right now. If only that were true for all the comics related TV shows I partake in...<br />
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I love all the Marvel Netflix series (those that are left, sadly). I watched Iron Fist season 2 twice, the first viewing in 26 hours. Then I rewatched Defenders with my daughter and started Daredevil season one for the umpteenth time. I'd probably be well on my way of watching Daredevil season three by now, but my wife wanted me to wait to watch it with her (it's been a week since episode three [SOB]). The fever has at least left me for now.<br />
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The new CW shows are all in full swing with <i>Riverdale </i>being my favorite. <i>Flash</i> seems promising again this season, <i>Legends</i> is still a lot of fun, and <i>Arrow</i> has been pretty good. I'm really excited that John Wesley Shipp is returning as the 1990's Flash in an <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenAmell/status/1054560946838859776/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1054560946838859776&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftoynewsi.com%2F414-32000">upcoming cross-over</a>. I've been waiting for that since the beginning of the show. I like <i>Black Lightning</i>, but I'm going to probably wait to binge it once the season is over. I don't want catching up on my weekly TV shows to be a part-time job! Besides, there are still some <i>Petticoat Junctions</i> to watch (excellent series, so funny). My youngest son and I are about to finish the original <i>Lost in Space</i> series, which we usually view on Friday mornings before he goes to school. We've finished the 60s <i>Batman</i> series and <i>Six Million Dollar Man</i>. We need to finish <i>Buck Rogers</i>, <i>Bionic Woman,</i> and <i>The Incredible Hulk</i>. We took a side trip and enjoyed the first (only?) season of the <i>Justice League Action</i> cartoon, which included great portrayals of Firestorm and Booster Gold.<br />
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So obviously, TV watching, which I'm highly invested in, takes up a bunch of my "free time". Then there is blogging (thinking about what I want to write at least) or ebay listing (thinking about what I want to sell at least), not to mention unscheduled Facebook challenges! There are also the numerous hardcovers I'm getting. These are high on my reading list and kick the new comics to the curb. The Doug Moench Fantastic Four's have been slow going for me (Marvel Masterworks volume 20). Bill Sienkiewicz draws an unsettling Reed Richards with his neck always stretched out. The latest Iron Man volume (#11) contains some favorites and I'm eagerly awaiting volume 12 next Spring. So much to read, so little time. That doesn't even bring into play the fact that when I do sit down to read something, I often fall asleep! Or when I wake up in the middle of the night from insomnia on the weekends (or just get up early), my eyes aren't focused enough to actually enjoy reading. Plus, even with my new Oscar Goldman's I still have to vary the distance to get perfect clarity.<br />
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The point of this all is that I really need to change my buying habits.* This year's Baltimore Comic-Con reminded me how much I love original art and classic Bronze Age comics. If I severely reduced my new comic list, then I could afford some really cool commissions. But it's so hard to stop, after all part of the act of buying something you may never read is a hopeful endeavor...a promise that you really will get that time by the pool to relax and enjoy something special one day. What I want is a series or character I really care about like I do my favorites on TV. <i>Batgirl</i> has some strong potential at least. But some of the big events...it may be a great story, but in the scheme of things I can live without it or wait for the trade. <br />
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<i>*My motivation for the books I'm getting is out-of-whack: It should be reading first, then collecting, and finally looking at resale value. Instead it is more backwards, looking for resale (buying the next issue to help with a sale), mindlessly collecting, and then reading.</i><br />
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I have enjoyed some independent books lately too like <i>Isola</i>, <i>Oblivion Song</i>, and <i>Hey, Kids Comics! </i>Unfortunately, the <i>Simpsons</i> ended it's 25 year run with Bongo the other week. We didn't even get a new Halloween Treehouse of Horror this year. Speaking of Halloween, the kids are back from the Halloween-Disco (thankfully I found that 5-spot on my dog walk earlier which helped pay for them to go), so I better sign off. Happy Halloween and I'll see you around sometime when you least expect it. Keep Reading!<br />
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<br />Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894454259041852707noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-86642743475292564712018-10-21T00:30:00.000-04:002018-10-21T00:30:07.730-04:00Royal City<a data-cthref="https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjD4eaWmOXdAhVRON8KHdQ4CBAQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FRoyal-City-1-Next-Kin%2Fdp%2F153430262X&psig=AOvVaw2hTQmy9f_nfYrmXGu_lz0l&ust=1538481454351512" data-ved="2ahUKEwjD4eaWmOXdAhVRON8KHdQ4CBAQjRx6BAgBEAU" href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjD4eaWmOXdAhVRON8KHdQ4CBAQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FRoyal-City-1-Next-Kin%2Fdp%2F153430262X&psig=AOvVaw2hTQmy9f_nfYrmXGu_lz0l&ust=1538481454351512" id="irc_mil" jsaction="mousedown:irc.rl;keydown:irc.rlk;irc.il;" style="border-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for royal city lemire" height="320" id="irc_mi" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51sHQ-9xVwL._SX327_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" style="margin-top: 33px;" width="210" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Jeff Lemire is a busy man. Most of it is writing, sure,
but at the time this was published he was working on several books for Marvel,
a couple for Dark Horse, and several for Image, including this one and <em>AD</em> where
he also did the art. In <em>Royal City</em> his stated intent was to tell a long, more
or less open ended story, but he soon realized that he was reaching the point of
telling the story he wanted to tell and that forcing it further would be
counterproductive. So it went 14 issues instead.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">And a good decision it was.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Straight off, if you like his <em>Essex County</em> work you’ll
like this. He even slips in a reference to that work in mentioning an opposing
football team for the high school four of the characters in the story attend.
If you don’t like Lemire’s art, as I know one person who doesn’t, this book
isn’t for you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I’m a fan of both his art and writing, especially when
the latter is of characters of his own creation, such as this and <em>Descender</em>,
which also just ended (sort of). More on that another day. Whether <em>Essex County</em>
or the more fantastic <em>Sweet Tooth</em>, I find his art unique, spare, and
wonderfully sketchy.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">But on to this show. The story in <em>Royal City</em> is of the
Pike family of the titular company town. The story takes place in 1993 and the
present of 2017 when the book started. Peter and Patti have four children,
Patrick (Pat), Tara, Richard (Ritchie), and Thomas (Tommy).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The 1993 portion of the story is in the fall. Pat
graduated in the spring, but his lofty ambitions of being a writer only have
him working a drill press at the Royal Manufacturing plant where his father is
a floor supervisor who’d rather be back on the floor. Tara is a senior with a
boyfriend and is determined to not lead her mother’s life of young parenthood
and frustrated ambitions. Ritchie is an outré personality and vigorous imbiber
as well as adherent to libidinous habits that leave his girlfriend, Clara,
betrayed. Tommy is 14 months younger than Ritchie and a freshman who suffers
debilitating headaches that further his preference for being alone with music
and his thoughts.</span></div>
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<a data-cthref="https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjcrPirmeXdAhXGMd8KHeNeDS0QjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fimagecomics.com%2Fcomics%2Freleases%2Froyal-city-5&psig=AOvVaw2hTQmy9f_nfYrmXGu_lz0l&ust=1538481454351512" data-ved="2ahUKEwjcrPirmeXdAhXGMd8KHeNeDS0QjRx6BAgBEAU" href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjcrPirmeXdAhXGMd8KHeNeDS0QjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fimagecomics.com%2Fcomics%2Freleases%2Froyal-city-5&psig=AOvVaw2hTQmy9f_nfYrmXGu_lz0l&ust=1538481454351512" id="irc_mil" jsaction="mousedown:irc.rl;keydown:irc.rlk;irc.il;" style="border-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for royal city lemire" height="320" id="irc_mi" src="https://imagecomics.com/uploads/releases/RoyalCity_05-1.png" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="206" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">Things happen in 1993 that determine how the family
interacts in 2017. In 2017 Peter has a stroke that leaves him in a coma, drawing Pat, now a successful writer under a past due deadline for his next book,
back to Royal City. Tara is not her mother, though she's still living in Royal City. Ritchie is a floor worker at the plant. Tommy is the most obviously trapped in 1993, but all of the Pike family has been stuck because of events that happened then.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The struggles among them, spouses, affair partners, and a
surprise grandchild are all told with a spectral presence who is perceived how
each of the Pike family idealizes him. Each family member, reasonably or not,
has guilt associated with the spectral presence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">One of my favorite aspects to the story is that marriages
continue or end without over the top dramatics. There are arguments. There is
sniping. But there’s also self awareness enough that all of the characters in
three distressed marriages recognize there’s no high ground. No one is superior to
anyone else in dissatisfaction with how the marriage is proceeding. Each of the
distressed marriages is distinct in the causes and dynamics, with each coming
to its unique resolution.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This isn’t a book to read if you’re looking for fighting.
There are exactly two instances of anyone being punched. This is a book about
relationships, events that stress and strain them, and how letting go of past
events that have damaged those relationships doesn’t create Hollywood style
happy endings but does tend toward happier people.</span><br />
<a data-cthref="http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjsmc_HnOXdAhVymuAKHaY3B2YQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.brokenfrontier.com%2Flemire-royal-city-image-comics-steve-wands%2F&psig=AOvVaw2hTQmy9f_nfYrmXGu_lz0l&ust=1538481454351512" data-ved="2ahUKEwjsmc_HnOXdAhVymuAKHaY3B2YQjRx6BAgBEAU" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjsmc_HnOXdAhVymuAKHaY3B2YQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.brokenfrontier.com%2Flemire-royal-city-image-comics-steve-wands%2F&psig=AOvVaw2hTQmy9f_nfYrmXGu_lz0l&ust=1538481454351512" id="irc_mil" jsaction="mousedown:irc.rl;keydown:irc.rlk;irc.il;" style="border-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for royal city lemire" height="306" id="irc_mi" src="http://www.brokenfrontier.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/rc3_0218.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">A little bonus feature to <em>Royal City</em> is that Lemire throws in a mix tape at the back of each issue. These are songs that influenced him or to which he listened during the creation of the story. Or maybe just enjoyed that day. Anyway, if you want you can compile the songs and listen as you read, if you're so inclined. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The only writing for the Big Two that Lemire has done that I have read has been Moon Knight for Marvel. On the whole I've been dissatisfied with the results of independent voices like Lemire writing characters that are owned by a corporation rather than the creator, but I did enjoy his Moon Knight work. If your only experience of Lemire's work is Moon Knight or another of the corporate cowls, read <em>Royal City</em>, <em>Essex County</em>, <em>Descender</em>, or <em>AD</em>. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593880717075168462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-31237688184972288942018-10-08T12:06:00.000-04:002018-10-08T12:06:09.658-04:00Old Comics Teach Boys How to Be MenEveryone knows Golden Age Comics can be, to be kind, inappropriate. Have you ever wondered how the Silverage stacked up? Well wonder no more because I'm about to tell you.<br />
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The book, Sarge Steel #1, from Charlton Comics, published December 1964.<br />
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The question, what to do when a woman is crying? See the panel below...<br />
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So, what could you do? Hug her to sooth her? Talk to her calmly until she isn't frightened?<br />
<br />NOPE! WRONG ON BOTH COUNTS!<br />
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And now you know how to deal with crying women!<br />
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Oh my on my how times have changed.<br />
<br />Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09941136992562060124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-52914325946100530092018-10-07T21:03:00.001-04:002018-10-07T21:03:34.589-04:00The Place HolderSo, today was my day to post and... I'm way behind.<br />
<br />Why? Lots of reasons but one of them was the fact that I was in Cali this week. <br />
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And if you were convinced that Cali is it's own unique little corner of the universe, check out this sign. It seems like an ordinary sign sign you would see in any ol'parking lot.<br />
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BUT, upon closer inspection you will notice that my car, and the fact that I need to drive the car to work are equivalent to a pack of cigarettes? Oh my. A close up in case you can't see it...</div>
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<br />Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09941136992562060124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-65380088067338150322018-09-30T10:27:00.000-04:002018-09-30T16:52:37.594-04:00Goodbye, Norm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I learned that artist/writer Norm Breyfogle passed away six days ago on September the 24th. He was fifty-eight years old. It's been a tough week in part because it broke my heart. His art was an extremely important part of my comic book consumption throughout middle school and high school. This was the second time I was given sad news about him, and the only thing I can possibly hope for is that he found peace.<br />
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Breyfogle is probably best known for his run with the Batman family characters. He worked on Detective Comics, Batman, and helped launch The Shadow of the Bat title. Breyfogle co-created characters like Ventriloquist, Anarchy, Victor Zsasz, Jeremiah Arkham, Amygdala, and Ratcatcher. Probably his most important creation along the way was his co-creation of Ultraverse's flagship character Prime. He worked on lots of different comics including having a run on Archie Comics in 2008.<br />
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The most influential part of his contribution to the Batman mythos (in my opinion) was not the co-creation of some of the previously mentioned characters, but his redesign of the Robin costume given to Tim Drake. It remains my favorite and arguably inspires every version of Robin's costume since. I can't even look at Damian's horrible redesign without thinking that Breyfogle's original design and Tim Drake wore it better.<br />
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I loved remembering Breyfogle and his art, but it was bittersweet receiving the news of his death. I like to remember him and look through his art, but I'm sad he's gone. After working on a Batman Beyond Unlimited digital comic in 2012-2013 (which was collected in print), I thought he was going to have a resurgence drawing mainstream comics again. His work on Batman Beyond was pure joy and I adored it.<br />
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In 2014 Breyfogle suffered a stroke which left him paralyzed on his left side. He drew with his left hand, and although he did recover movement, he couldn't draw anymore. I can't imagine what it is like to have what you love taken away from you like that. He was pretty honest and upfront about it and chronicled his struggles online through social media. He seemed a kind and gracious creator and I knew he was trying to get into writing comics because he could no longer draw them. They say he died of natural causes, but I still think fifty-eight is way too young and he was gone too soon.<br />
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After Breyfogle's health issues in 2014, DC Comics put out a hardback of Legends of the Dark Knight: Norm Breyfogle Vol. 1. DC did this in part to help him financially, but it is truly a wonderful edition to anyone's Batman collection. A second volume will be coming this November. I own the first one and will be buying the second, and I'm hoping to track down the collection of his Batman Beyond Unlimited series as well.<br />
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I recently discovered they also put out a Batman Black & White statue based on Norm's illustrations. I tried to see about buying one, but it is backordered. Maybe I'll get lucky at some point and pick one up. It's pretty cool looking and I think it would do my geeky home justice.<br />
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I realize that sometimes people we never meet still impact us and leave something behind that touches our souls along the way. Thank you Norm for your art, man. I always hated Batman's blue and gray costume, but never when you drew it. Your version was the only acceptable one as far as I was concerned. May you be at peace knowing you left behind so many fantastic comics.<br />
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Goodbye, Norm.<br />
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-SJDShawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03026335818721649588noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-10291282473724628522018-09-23T00:00:00.000-04:002018-09-23T00:00:01.775-04:00Fantastic Four: Behold...Galactus! OHC -- A ReviewWow, this week really has gotten away from me. My plans on getting my stuff ready for the 2018 Baltimore Comic-Con (#bcc2018) next weekend epicly (why is this not a word?) failed yesterday. However, we've got all my daughter's supplies and she's working on fanart to sell. (See some examples on her <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cmartlover/">FB page</a>.) So feel free to come by the <b>Who's Mannz</b> Artist Alley table (A-135) to look at (and hopefully buy) her wares or talk to me about comics. We got her some business cards and I thought about getting one for myself as a Comics And blogger. : ) We'll be there all three days, Sept 28-30 and Lord willing I'll have an interim update next Saturday just before our next blogger's post on Sunday morning.<br />
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<i>Now in case you haven't noticed, something about the blog page is broken (or at least when I look at it). Gone is the search field and the listing of posts by year. However, there is a workaround. If you go to an old post where those fields are still shown, then obviously you can still use them. So, I'm putting this <a href="http://comicsand.blogspot.com/2013/01/my-thoughts-on-amazing-spider-man-700.html">link here of a post from 2013</a>, which is good background to the upcoming Superior Octopus series coming out.</i><br />
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Enough of this preamble stuff (consider it my warm-up exercise), let talk about the World's Greatest Comic Magazine PRESENTATION: <i>The Fantastic Four: Behold...Galactus!</i> Over-sized Hardcover (OHC). In this instance "World's Greatest" is not hyperbole. It. is. simply. beyond. belief. It's AWESOME to the highest degree (no pun intended) and gives you a never-before-EVER uncanny reading experience like no other. It's so good that I bought two more copies and had them shipped to friends as surprise gifts. (I wish I could've bought even more.) This was helped by the outrageously inexpensive price -- $25 the first week (50% off) at www.instocktrades.com and afterwards about $29 (40%). Unfortunately, I think it is already sold out there, but if you can get it for the $50 cover price it is still more than worth it. $100 wouldn't be too much either. [Just checked - only $38 on amazon.] The concept is simple: Let's reprint some of the best Galactus stories at a Galactus size. And Galactus-size it is, the book is nearly two-feet tall! Bigger than any Omnibus, Treasury Edition, and Artist Edition I've seen.<br />
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I had my eye on this book from its first announcement in Previews. I knew it was going to be great, but I couldn't conceive of the unexpected ways. Find out more after the break:<br />
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<a name='more'></a>I fell into the art. The best way to describe it is the way Mark fell into Hoodoo's hat at the beginning of Lidsvlle (see video below):<br />
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It's just so immersive. The bird's eye perspective of some panels is almost dizzying. The detail is amazing too. I'm fairly certain that these pages are larger than the size of the original art, but they don't seem stretched at all. While it didn't impact the flow of the story, I found myself just gazing at the panels, soaking it all in much like you would do at a museum gallery. Contrast that with my regular reading experience these days, where even with reading glasses the text often obscures the art, so it's more like glancing out the window of a moving car.<br />
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It's like watching a movie in IMAX, everything is better even the sound! Honestly, I usually skim over the sound effects in comics with rare exceptions, but here you can't ignore them.<br />
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The construction of the book is solid, the binding is sewn, and it weighs almost 12 pounds. The cover is an image from <i>Marvels</i>, the groundbreaking mini-series from Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross. I've visited a gallery of Ross's work and his originals are much smaller than you would think, so it's impressive to see this image so large. I plan to include some comparison pictures later on. (My copy did have a slight bulge in the lower spine crack, but it seemed like a minor manufacturing flaw and wasn't worth complaining about and it didn't hinder my enjoyment.)<br />
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I thought of several funny comic strips that could show the issues (again no pun intended) you may encounter while reading this book. If you read it in bed, it can be like being on the front row of a movie theater or drive-in. If you place it at upper chest level, then the image is going to be all out of whack. And while I can read this without reading glasses, in that prone position I'd need my progressive lenses to have the top be in focus! Also, if you fell asleep, you just might decapitate yourself if it fell on your head. And don't even think about lazily reaching for it with one arm from the bookcase, you might end up in physical therapy. You could sit it at the dinner table and give it something to eat or create a temple shrine in your house and offer it sugar wafers daily. (I wish I had had the time and skill to execute some of these ideas.) All kidding aside, I think the best way to read this is looking down, with the book spread onto the bed or at a podium or pulpit. "Please rise as we read from Fantastic Four #48..."<br />
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I guess I haven't really discussed what stories are covered in this tome yet, did I? It collects Fantastic Four #48-50, #74-77, #120-123, and #242-244. The first two are Lee/Kirby classics. And I know its popular to downplay Stan's role in things these days, but the dialogue is where most of the characterization comes through. The brilliant art and words complement each other perfectly. <br />
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The third story is good, but John Buscema's art seems a bit empty in comparison to Kirby's. Worst is the "getting-his-hands-dirty" portrayal of Galactus where he is throwing stuff around like some monster. It's written by Lee too and the captions spread out too far, meaning what would take you two minutes to read or say in real life covers a lot more time in the images. And it would be much easier to spot No-Prize-worthy errors at this size. At the end of #122, Reed has commandeered Galactus' ship in a spacesuit, but at the beginning of #123 he's just in his costume again and it's the continuance of the same scene! The best part is the renderings of Silver Surfer and the set-up with Gabriel, the Air-Walker.<br />
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<i>Galactus has quite the costume history, from a bizarre color scheme in his debut appearance, to his big "G" emblem, to wearing short pants with long sleeves, wearing long pants with short sleeves, wearing short pants with short sleeves, and finally wearing long pants with long sleeves! I guess when you're hungry your temperature fluctuates a lot.</i><br />
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The fourth story is the classic John Byrne tale, where Reed saves Galactus' life and includes an epic battle between Ben and Terrax. #242 is a special issue for me, which I recounted about in this archived <a href="http://comicsand.blogspot.com/2010/11/package-from-new-york-2.html">post</a> from years ago that features a great Fred Hembeck cover-redo. I haven't started rereading these yet, but they look, well... Fantastic!<br />
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Now for some pictures...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not every sequence is the same as the original in terms of page placement.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reminds me of the Monolith</td></tr>
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I really hope Marvel decides to reprint their Godzilla series at this size!!!<br />
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<br />Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894454259041852707noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-78459286543424212462018-09-16T00:00:00.000-04:002018-09-16T00:00:03.453-04:00Kill or Be Killed<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Yeah, I know. Another Image book. What can I say? They
publish a lot of good stuff.</span></div>
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<a class="popup-link" href="https://imagecomics.com/uploads/releases/KillOrBeKilled_01-1.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Kill Or Be Killed #1" class="book" height="320" src="https://imagecomics.com/uploads/releases/_main/KillOrBeKilled_01-1.png" width="208" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">This one was easy to spot, being another Ed Brubaker and
Sean Phillips work. Elizabeth Breitweiser worked with Phillips on the art,
having first joined with them for Fatale. As always with this team it’s great
looking work.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Of course Brubaker and Phillips are deservedly well known
for their noir work in <em>Criminal</em>, <em>Fatale</em>, and <em>The Fade Out</em>. <em>Kill or Be Killed</em>
certainly follows in that vein in tenor and appearance. The back matter also
includes great writing about noir films, most often by Kim Morgan. These essays
are worth reading on their own.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">But <em>Kill or Be Killed</em> is a book that uses the form of
noir to examine consciousness. It never once uses that term, but that’s what it
is. What is reality? <em>Kill or Be Killed</em> leaves the reader wondering.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a class="popup-link" href="https://imagecomics.com/uploads/releases/KillOrBeKilled_10-1.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Kill Or Be Killed #10" class="book" height="320" src="https://imagecomics.com/uploads/releases/_main/KillOrBeKilled_10-1.png" width="208" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial";">Lead character and narrator Dylan has a history of
suicide attempts, self medication, and complicated romantic relationships. His
father, a talented but frustrated illustrator, was a suicide when Dylan was
young. His father’s sexually charged horror illustrations were porn in the
woods to young Dylan and his friends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">When the story opens Dylan is a serial killer targeting
people who are unsavory, whether child molesters, Russian mobsters, or American
oligarchs. Taking a nonlinear narrative approach that parallels Dylan’s own
mental process, <em>Kill or Be Killed</em> jumps around to fill out Dylan’s story that
includes girlfriends Kira and Daisy, roommate Mason, dealer Rex, and detective
Lily.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Throughout the story the reader is pressed to determine
how reliable Dylan is as a narrator. Is his perspective what’s really
happening? Is it an adverse reaction to harms to his mind? Is he suffering from
an organic brain problem? Better yet, the question includes whether Dylan is
morally and ethically right in his actions even if he is unreliable as to why
he he’s taking those actions.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a class="popup-link" href="https://imagecomics.com/uploads/releases/KillOrBeKilled_15-1.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Kill Or Be Killed #15" class="book" height="320" src="https://imagecomics.com/uploads/releases/_main/KillOrBeKilled_15-1.png" width="208" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial";">Brubaker, Phillips and Breitweiser don't tell the reader whether to believe Dylan or whether his actions are justified. They weave a complex story that's full of questions, as well as a lot of violence and a little bit of sex. The reader can take the surface joys of sex and violence as sufficient entertainment, or the reader can have the added enjoyment of thinking about what is consciousness, reality, and morality/ethics, and who decides any of those for anyone but themselves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Coincidentally I was recently in a group discussion about
consciousness in the philosophical sense. This book, which concluded at 20
issues, fell right in with that discussion, certainly as much so as the Force
from Star Wars that owes its genesis to Jung and which was a part of the group discussion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">I should also mention the covers. A small sampling here shows several of them. Different arcs within the story merited a different theme to the covers. The opening arc all had the dark background like the first issue. In the middle there was a run of orange and the demon that Dylan says is his impetus. No detail is too small for this creative team to use in telling the story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><em>Kill or Be Killed</em> is an excellent read, full of tension
like any great noir story, that has the addition of an insightful look at what
is reality, who can be believed in telling a story, and the uncertainty that is
life.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16593880717075168462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-27158177554484094672018-09-09T00:00:00.000-04:002018-09-09T00:00:01.234-04:00Public Domain and Gwandanaland Comics <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uyWhearnx_g/W5RAha33kGI/AAAAAAAAbOo/2OrUg7WgPEM4yxgez1OkT7lyL7JtLnngwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/IMG_2213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uyWhearnx_g/W5RAha33kGI/AAAAAAAAbOo/2OrUg7WgPEM4yxgez1OkT7lyL7JtLnngwCK4BGAYYCw/s320/IMG_2213.jpg" width="320" /></a>So I started drawing a blank for what I wanted to talk about
this week. Lately I have been immersed in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/gwandanaland/?fb_dtsg_ag=AdwTO__11LabNuQEeery2OH6_IinN0cqgbF07QCs_hgkDg%3AAdzCWvle0ZQCr0Nb0hR6qS29_7Pn9b7pVXX4Ra7RjocXDQ" target="_blank">Gwandanaland Comics</a>. They are a small
company who specializes in reprinting material that is in the public domain. I
have included a few pictures of the collections that I have ordered. I have
sent two collections onto fellow contributor Lee for his enjoyment after I read
them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As this is all public domain material so anyone can
essentially work with the material. Many companies have in fact obtain copies of
the material and cleaned up the pages and published them as hard cover
collections. Often recoloring the books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While a great way to enjoy these comics it also takes away from the book
having that feel of being the actual comic. Especially the coloring as it is
way better in many collections, which is both a good thing and is like
colorization of old black and white films is a bad thing. Something is lost and
gained at the same time. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0uBm8KkCqaY/W5RBhki-gqI/AAAAAAAAbPk/l5kpeWVs6UwWWkUqlIcBgD7K2Vplmgc0wCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/IMG_2217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0uBm8KkCqaY/W5RBhki-gqI/AAAAAAAAbPk/l5kpeWVs6UwWWkUqlIcBgD7K2Vplmgc0wCK4BGAYYCw/s320/IMG_2217.jpg" width="244" /></a>This format has the feel of almost sitting down and reading
the comic itself. Every page is not always crystal clear, but it has been great
fun for me to read books and material I have never heard of before and no one
else would ever have collected this material. Even better they can create
almost any collection that you want within limits. Take the Jane Martin War
Nurse collection. I was not interested in all of it, I was more interested
later in the series as the art and stories got better. I learned at that point
that two different female artists worked on the series. I have also learned
some female writers did comics but used a male name for purposes of
publication. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It becomes a history lesson
as well as entertainment.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-owmZllHc8hU/W5RBCpEDm8I/AAAAAAAAbPU/7keKMR0XQ9wQu90AuFyr1MjbWewCkHFDACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/IMG_2219.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-owmZllHc8hU/W5RBCpEDm8I/AAAAAAAAbPU/7keKMR0XQ9wQu90AuFyr1MjbWewCkHFDACK4BGAYYCw/s200/IMG_2219.jpg" width="148" /></a></div>
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Often when possible the collections will include the ads
from the comics. The ads from the 40’s and 50’s are almost as entertaining as
the comic themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dated to be sure,
but also a reflection of the way society viewed itself at that time. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-resHzOtDwh4/W5RB-yvOY7I/AAAAAAAAbQI/Yq7Ggd6_KKAOX6KXuCweWbQ4khWF8ZimACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/IMG_2220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-resHzOtDwh4/W5RB-yvOY7I/AAAAAAAAbQI/Yq7Ggd6_KKAOX6KXuCweWbQ4khWF8ZimACK4BGAYYCw/s200/IMG_2220.jpg" width="150" /></a>What was very cool is that they produced an artist edition
version on Nyoka the Jungle Girl. I own the art for the full seven pages and
found a local person who was able to produce high quality scans of the pages. I
sent the scans to Gwandanland Comics and they produced a book with the color
pages and the original art plus some extras to make the book big enough to publish.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-er77BFqioOw/W5RCFS-G5sI/AAAAAAAAbQQ/HsGC3jbc2QQX9XPU3U_qkh_JYHIA1A1CgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/IMG_2214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-er77BFqioOw/W5RCFS-G5sI/AAAAAAAAbQQ/HsGC3jbc2QQX9XPU3U_qkh_JYHIA1A1CgCK4BGAYYCw/s200/IMG_2214.jpg" width="200" /></a>Lance is the central contact point and he is cordial
friendly and very helpful in explaining options. You can buy the books on
Amazon or pay them direct – cheaper but slower mailing time. They only produce
books when ordered as they have a huge catalog to choose from and are
constantly adding material. Recently they had to delete material as they found
some material that appeared to be public domain was in fact copyrighted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I asked about how they could publish all the
Charlton material they publish when DC had purchased Charlton characters. I was
told Charlton published their material without a copyright. While the
characters are owned by DC the Charlton material is public domain.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There is such a wide variety of material. Some is dated and
some of the writing and art are weak, but there is also an amazing amount of
beautiful art and fascinating stories. A lot is pure fun and enjoyment. It gets
crazy at time as before the comic code the companies were pushing the envelope.
Gwandanaland has a series of collections call Wertham’s Weapons that publish
most of the comics that were referenced in the infamous Seduction of the
Innocent. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The material here has captured most of my reading time at
this point. It has the plus of telling complete stories often in eight pages.
You can easily see how it might be expanded into 20 pages or more but I sometimes enjoy not having every comic book story I read be a Homeric epic. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352163584546054887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-91720848275512195722018-09-02T00:01:00.000-04:002018-09-01T22:18:44.578-04:00DC Universe Streaming I've been debating whether or not to pull the trigger on pre-ordering the new DC Universe service that will start on September 15th. There are many pros and cons to pre-ordering and I can't seem to make up my mind. In case you are in a similar state, I thought I'd share what I've learned about this digital endeavor and maybe we can make up our minds together by the end of it.<br />
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It is no secret I love DC Comics if not the direction the company has taken in the Dan Didio era. I think Rebirth was a success while the Nu52 was a failure. (I don't care what the numbers might have said, at least, in the beginning.) The DC Universe digital service seems perfect for a fan like me. So why am I hesitant?<br />
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Let's get down to the logistics. The DC Universe streaming service will air films, TV, cartoons, and other DC related media and also include the ability to read many classic and modern DC Comics. There will be new content created just for the DC Universe service and I imagine if it is successful, we will see less new DC content on networks like the CW or even a cable service like HBO. On the whole, this is ambitious because in addition to the traditional streaming service (I do think there are starting to be too many of them), it offers a comic reader than can be viewed on a tablet or on your 60 inch TV. </div>
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I have a friend who reads many of his Marvel comics through the Marvel Comic App, and he has lamented the fact that DC doesn't offer something similar. Making it part of their media/streaming service is both a bold move and a good one, in my opinion. The only problem I see is the list is a "curated list" which means it is not clear how many comics will be available or which ones. They claim some of the Rebirth titles will be on there, but the advertisement showed some classic and Nu52 books. I did see All-Star Superman, so they will at least be offering some of their great graphic novels as well. It is difficult to get too excited without seeing the list of titles yet, but even if they are mostly classic/older books, they would be fun to read. </div>
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Probably the aspect of the service that will draw the most fans immediately is the original TV content. In October, Titans will be released, and in 2019, there will be original series for Swamp Thing, Young Justice: Outsiders, Doom Patrol, Stargirl, and Harley Quinn. I know Young Justice and Harley Quinn will be animated, but I am not sure about Stargirl. Of the titles listed, Swamp Thing, Doom Patrol, and Young Justice are the most exciting for me. It is no secret I think Young Justice is one of the best versions of the DCU, and I wish the Nu52 had been exactly like it. I'm not excited about Titans because, well, I watched the trailer. Judge for yourself, but immediately, I hate their take on dark, violent, and homicidal Dick Grayson.<br />
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Along with the original content will be films like the original Superman and Tim Burton Batman movies, Constantine, and the animated DC films. They claim there will be "many more" but I don't have a definitive list. I'm hoping everything from Watchmen to V for Vendetta to even misfires like Green Lantern will be added, but we'll have to wait and see.</div>
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They are also showing HD versions of Batman: The Animated Series and the old Wonder Woman TV show. Batman TAS will be released on Blu-Ray next month (and they've done a stellar job of cleaning it up for HD), but if you do the DC Universe service, you can just watch it at your leisure. I'd like to see the CW DC shows and shows like Smallville, Lois & Clark, and even the old Superman TV show get added, but like everything else, we'll have to wait. </div>
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There are exclusive merchandise opportunities for DC Universe subscribers to take advantage of, but let's be real, I'm not going to get this service as an opportunity to spend more money. If it allows me to get something interesting, cool, but it's not a selling point.</div>
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This is where we get down to brass tax. If you pre-order the DC Universe, you get it all for less than $5 a month. They give you 12 months + 3 extra (15 total) for $74.99. There is no other option before the service begins. Who knows how much it will be thereafter? Probably between $7-10 a month. On the surface, I'm tempted. 15 months? But I don't like ponying up $75 before it is out and all programming/comics are clear. I like to pay my streaming services monthly. I like what DC has to offer here, but I'm not sure if I want to make that investment without being able to try it for a month first. I currently get Netflix, Youtube Premium (so I could watch Cobra Kai), and Amazon Prime. My wife has a Hulu account as well. Youtube will be ending soon and I won't be renewing it until there is more Cobra Kai. Disney is planning a streaming service. CBS keeps trying to get me to watch expensive Star Trek. DC really needs to make an impression to get me to pick them up.</div>
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Sigh. I'm not so sure I've made a decision yet. I guess I'll have to wait and risk spending more. If you can spend $75, I think it is a good deal. But I'm poor. The promise is there, but it's a big commitment. It would be easier to decide if we knew the cost post-launch. </div>
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What do you all think?</div>
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-SJD</div>
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Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03026335818721649588noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-5083683241672951522018-08-26T00:26:00.001-04:002018-08-26T00:26:08.893-04:00Ninjago: The Dark Island Trilogy and More!<br />
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Review: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Ninjago:
The Dark Island Trilogy</u></b>, written by Greg Farshtey and illustrated by
Paul Lee<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="background: blue; color: yellow; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Story 4/5 stars</span></b><span style="color: seashell; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
</span><b><span style="background: blue; color: yellow; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Recommended age: 3 and up</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I had no idea Lego Ninjago even
existed until I had a kid. I was vaguely aware that the Lego stuff was way
cooler than when I was younger (Batman space shuttle, enough said) but I didn’t
know much about the stories the Lego company owned. I’ve now be immersed in the
Lego movie world, Ninjago, and Next Knights. Ninjago is by far my favorite. The
TV show is surprisingly well done with compelling storylines. I mean this show
has not only grown and changed over time (the characters grow up, they have
dynamic relationships, the writers are not afraid to seriously shake up the
status quo…) but the plots have been fantastic. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AOErT1foAqE/W4IrA9X7Y-I/AAAAAAAACes/EqI5AZ4kvI08zinXrqwvX4hcdZgg9mxogCLcBGAs/s1600/Nin0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="660" height="193" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AOErT1foAqE/W4IrA9X7Y-I/AAAAAAAACes/EqI5AZ4kvI08zinXrqwvX4hcdZgg9mxogCLcBGAs/s320/Nin0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The original storyline (basic chosen
one type story) was okay but the following plot when one of the main characters
sacrificed himself to save his friends was very well done and fairly deep for a
kid-oriented show. The current episodes have managed to take what could be a
very dark theme (one of the main characters is systematically broken down and
made to think he has lost most everything but he finds a way to keep fighting
and is now running an underground resistance) and still make the show completely
appropriate for a 5 year old. On top of all of this the show has changed with
the times. Nya, the main girl character, went from being a side character to a
pretty cool self-made hero, to a full member of the ninja team. While Lego hasn’t
completely succeeded in integrating solid female characters in their shows they
have made a strong effort and continue to improve. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Now don’t confuse this with the
Ninjago movie from last year. While cute it is a very different story and
universe than the main Ninjago stuff and I just consider it an elseworld of
sorts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PmL8Xa1NkWI/W4IrG7vtAjI/AAAAAAAACew/JOlRGyt-eUUWezHJ3EV5QXgk9-Sjc0q6wCLcBGAs/s1600/Nin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="349" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PmL8Xa1NkWI/W4IrG7vtAjI/AAAAAAAACew/JOlRGyt-eUUWezHJ3EV5QXgk9-Sjc0q6wCLcBGAs/s200/Nin1.jpg" width="139" /></a>So, what does this have to do with
comic books? Ninjago is one of the only Lego stories that also has a comic book
version. The graphic novels follow the same timeline as the TV show but usually
have side stories that there wasn’t time to tell during the course of the TV
season. They are all written by Greg Farshtey (the artists vary) and generally
they are so-so in quality as the author is constrained to mini stories that
could easily have taken place in the same timeline as the show. My son adores
them and they are hands down his favorite comic books because he knows enough
of the context of the story that he can generally tell what is going on even
though they are mostly above his reading level at the moment. I’m genuinely sad
that they haven’t put out new graphic novels for 3 seasons.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The books I am reviewing today are
the only stand-alone Ninjago comic book material. The Dark Island Trilogy was
written to take place right after season 6 of the TV show and before the TV
special: Day of the Departed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">First, the good.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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The Dark Island Trilogy story is okay
but it too broken up into odd segments to really come together. The start to
the story was strong with two of the characters investigating a mystery that
leads them to the Dark Island (a location from the early days of Ninjago that definitely
deserved further exploration). The characters come under attack from an unknown
group and just manage to leave a message for the ninja to find warning them to
stay away. Of course, they don’t, and that’s how the ninja and Sensei Wu end up
on the Dark Island. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_HtmOk20Bnk/W4IrG1Y7W-I/AAAAAAAACe4/zwe0zJFY4cQa9_FyKy8gZxd5DdTGPlawgCLcBGAs/s1600/Nin2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="205" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_HtmOk20Bnk/W4IrG1Y7W-I/AAAAAAAACe4/zwe0zJFY4cQa9_FyKy8gZxd5DdTGPlawgCLcBGAs/s200/Nin2.jpg" width="139" /></a></div>
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The strong points of the story have
to do with the characters struggling against their own demons and it was
interesting to read about overcoming inner weakness. This is a good talking
point with my son as well and we always discuss the first rule of being a
ninja: ninja never quit. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The final battle of the book was
laid out well, especially giving a chance for Master Wu to shine a bit more as
the ninja’s teacher is often shunted to the side of the story.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The art was nice here as well. Occasionally
Lego hires artists who are less experienced and it was nice to see they kept
the same solid artist for the entire trilogy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Now the bad<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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The big reveal of the big bad guy
and his plot to “take over the world” falls a bit flat. Honestly how many bad
people out there actually want to rule the entire world? It is a bit silly.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JH27A5hxSz8/W4IrGwmcDcI/AAAAAAAACe0/gL9G-yYmUzMru2FUFW8Au-CdmKn26AryACLcBGAs/s1600/Nin3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="205" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JH27A5hxSz8/W4IrGwmcDcI/AAAAAAAACe0/gL9G-yYmUzMru2FUFW8Au-CdmKn26AryACLcBGAs/s200/Nin3.jpg" width="138" /></a>My son and I both liked reading a
brand new Ninjago story but it was annoying to have the main plotline
constantly interrupted by journal entries written by “Sensei Wu”. They were
somewhat insightful but did not hold my son’s interest as he just wanted to
know what happened next. If they had been less disruptive to the flow of the
plot it would have been more interesting. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Finally, there seemed to be a lot
of buildup going into finding out what happened to a missing character (Kai, my
son’s favorite ninja) but when you finally get to his story it was disappointing
and no where near as involved as the other characters’ struggles on the island.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Bottom
line: B+<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></b>Overall, entertaining for
Ninjago fans but it is not what I’d use to introduce anyone to the franchise.
Also, it can be expensive to get ahold of as it is out of print and Lego never
published it in a different format from the original hardcovers. Still, my son
got a big kick out of it so I don’t have any regrets from spending the time to
hunt down less expensive copies. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14840270045390557504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-38047718452953221592018-08-19T16:00:00.000-04:002018-08-19T16:00:16.855-04:00Books you missed... Jughead Vol 1Have you ever noticed that people have a default comic book genre?
I'm convinced that people, when they want a good read, naturally
gravitate towards one specific genre. For example, Jim loves crime
noir, Matthew loves nostalgia and has a soft spot for every book from the 80s, and Thomm just love confrontation. I meant, a spirited discussion about people's inability to use gramar correctly.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LtuL50CwSS4/W3nCrjkSr6I/AAAAAAAAIXo/naSe6x90bO4C3ZE-u6sibOEQEE2MHL1gwCEwYBhgL/s1600/3488600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LtuL50CwSS4/W3nCrjkSr6I/AAAAAAAAIXo/naSe6x90bO4C3ZE-u6sibOEQEE2MHL1gwCEwYBhgL/s320/3488600.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
My default comic genre is always humor. From Carl Barks Ducks to Groo
to Squirrel Girl, if a comic has a good joke there's a chance I've read
it. EXCEPT for Archie books. For some reason, I've never been an
Archie fan. But, when Archie relaunched their entire line a couple of
years ago I knew I had to give it a try! Which is why.... this week, I
want to talk about Jughead Vol 1 tpb collecting issues 1-6, written by
Chip Zdarsky with art by Erica Henderson.<br />
<br />
Don't worry if you've never read a Jughead comic, the first issue quickly set the stage by introducing all the main characters and the plot. Riverdale H.S. has a new principal and according to Jughead he's turning everyone's favorite high school into a training school for spies! Or is Jughead just dreaming it and if it's true, how will Jughead avoid detention? <br />
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Zdarsky does a great job of updating Jughead for modern readers. From
the very first issue, the old style Jughead, Archie's goofy straight
man, is replaced by a Ferris Bueller-esque savant who manipulates the
system to maximum effect. I didn't think Zdarsky wouldn't be able to
keep it up for six issues but I was wrong. Each issue featured Jughead
thinking up some new and ever more creative way to torment the school's
new principal. I didn't think I would like Jughead as a lazy genius but
it fits perfectly.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N8ZEDn1QpIY/W3nF3rBVaAI/AAAAAAAAIX4/Zthi644lfxARHLYz7BpCIZLcnXxmaacuQCEwYBhgL/s1600/Jughead%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="540" height="248" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N8ZEDn1QpIY/W3nF3rBVaAI/AAAAAAAAIX4/Zthi644lfxARHLYz7BpCIZLcnXxmaacuQCEwYBhgL/s320/Jughead%2B1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Zdarsky has a simple formula for each issue, the problem is introduced, there's a spoof dream sequence, and of course the resolution. The dream sequences are brilliant send-ups of modern pop culture (Game of Jones!), Spies (The Man from R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E), and even time travel. The dream sequences allowed Zdarsky to really use other settings and really ramp up the silly and keep things off kilter. <br />
<br />
That isn't to say Zdarsky doesn't do a great job of silly outside of the dreams in each issue. One of my favorite scenes is when Archie, Jughead and gang travel to the next town over and meet... Andi, Crownz and the gang???!!!!! It's played so straight that you can help but smile!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GyvGX6XfF5g/W3nF3pJ8xZI/AAAAAAAAIX0/SyM2q_ZkFHUUum9a70_B2rA73Zy4ZpecgCLcBGAs/s1600/Jughead%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GyvGX6XfF5g/W3nF3pJ8xZI/AAAAAAAAIX0/SyM2q_ZkFHUUum9a70_B2rA73Zy4ZpecgCLcBGAs/s320/Jughead%2B2.jpg" width="272" /></a>Finally, Erica Henderson does a perfect job on the art! Her loose style is perfectly suited for the material. She has a solid command of facial expressions which is necessary in a book without superheroes. I loved her sense of design, like this page in which Jughead learns to make hamburgers in home economics in order to "defeat" the evil principals nasty lunch menu. My only quibble was Betty. Henderson tried to make her an "every girl" to offset Veronica but she never quite nailed Bettie's look. <br />
<br />
Overall, the new Jughead series was a fantastic read that will make you smile and laugh with it's good natured fun.<br />
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Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09941136992562060124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33311991.post-78136636909715805022018-08-18T07:10:00.001-04:002018-08-18T07:10:55.722-04:00Batman #53 by Tom King and Lee Weeks -- A Review<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c_h4iZJm78o/W3fScYg_yvI/AAAAAAAADow/C29n2ZN_cCIsrW9WNVj5sR8OpZ_WFXl-gCLcBGAs/s1600/blog_2018-08-18_Batman%252353%25282016%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1038" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c_h4iZJm78o/W3fScYg_yvI/AAAAAAAADow/C29n2ZN_cCIsrW9WNVj5sR8OpZ_WFXl-gCLcBGAs/s200/blog_2018-08-18_Batman%252353%25282016%2529.jpeg" width="129" /></a>With the third chapter of their third Batman story together, Tom King and Lee Weeks have unequivocally established themselves as one of the greatest Batman creative teams. Top 10, Top 20, Top 40? It doesn't matter what their rank is, because that would be debatable; the fact remains that the achievement has been reached (if it hadn't been already with just the Elmer Fudd story). I will layout my case to support this bold claim below (after the break) in my <b><span style="color: red;">SPOILER-FILLED</span></b> Review: <br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
"Cold Days" is a three-part masterpiece akin to the three-part "Angels Unaware" Daredevil story (also by Lee Weeks) that came out five years ago. My review of the first part of <i>that</i> magnificent story can be found <a href="http://comicsand.blogspot.com/search?q=angels+unaware">here</a>. However, this time I'm concentrating on the last part of the story-arc. For one reason, it was the issue that moved me the most. For another, there is no way I'm going to find the other two issues in the dark while my wife is still sleeping in on a Saturday morning! The drawback is that any thoughts I have on the first two parts (Batman #51 & 52) are relying on faulty memories. <i>Please forgive any inaccuracies in that regard.</i><br />
<br />
Batman #50 was to be the much anticipated wedding of Batman and Catwoman (aka Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle). While I recognized how well-crafted that particular issue was with the mirroring panel layouts, I HATED the outcome. Basically, Selina thought that if she married her love, he wouldn't be as effective as Batman, whom the world desperately needed. To make things worse, she sent him a "Dear Bruce" letter! After all that build up, all that hype, they didn't get married! What a disappointment. And even though I got the first two issues of the new Catwoman series, I haven't read them yet, because I'm still upset with her. Although, I have a theory that they <i>will</i> get married for real before its all said and done. After all, the DC universe is due for another Rebirth someday and you can always push the envelope before the end. <br />
<br />
"Cold Days" is the direct fallout from that event. Mister Freeze is on trial for murdering three women and Bruce Wayne is in the jury box! We learn via courtroom testimony what is alleged to have happened (#51). Freeze confessed after Batman put a massive beat-down on him. The evidence strongly suggests that he did commit the crime, evidence discovered not by the police, but by Batman himself, the "World's Greatest Detective". The second part (#52) details the jury deliberations. After the discussion someone asks if anyone thinks Freeze is <b>not</b> guilty. Only a single hand goes up --Bruce Wayne's! Now, in this issue (#53), Bruce tries to convince the jury that Batman made a mistake. Sounds like a pretty cool story, doesn't it? And it certainly is, but what elevates this story to an even higher level is the argument Bruce uses to make his point and it centers on God and Christianity. Yeah, I never saw that coming either, but boy was it awesome. <i>Dang, I just realized that this has all been a stretched out preamble up to this point. At this rate, I'm never going to get back to bed...</i><br />
<br />
Bruce directs a question to one of his fellow jurors, asking her if she is wearing a cross (that is not readily visible only suggested by her clothing and a glimpse of a chain). She is. She professes her belief in God and asks him if he believes too. "I <b>used</b> to." is his response. Bruce states:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>"My father was a <b>Christian</b>. He held hallow the immortal soul, Heaven, the Father and the Son. Giving your <b>will</b> to your Lord, trusting <b>Him</b> with that will. He <b>wanted</b> me to believe, too. But he wanted me to come to it on my own. We went to <b>church</b>. He told me <b>all</b> the stories. Talked <b>a lot</b> about what we can control, what we can't"</i></div>
<br />
We're on page three now, and the text above was laid out over two panels. The first one shows a long shot of Bruce and his father going to church, holding hands. The second panel zooms in on their hands. The third panel maintains the focus, but the scene is shifted to the same set of hands in a different circumstance. The black suits are now illuminated in a blood red color. "Later." Panel four zooms out mid-way and we see Bruce leaning over his father and mother's bullet-ridden bodies on Crime Alley. "After..." <br />
<br />
I'm verklempt again and my eyes are getting moist. For two reasons I think, the scene itself of a boy dealing with the death of his father <a href="http://comicsand.blogspot.com/2010/05/day-to-remember.html">something I'm familiar with</a> and reading an accurate description of Christianity in a comic book. I get really excited about the life changing <a href="http://comicsand.blogspot.com/2018/03/remembering-billy-graham-and-when.html">Gospel message</a> and anytime it's making a possible inroads into other's lives via a non-traditional medium is astounding.<br />
<br />
On page 4, Bruce continues his personal story. For the jurors, they hear from a man who abandoned his belief in God, because God didn't save his parents. So he went to search for other answers. For the reader we see images of Bruce being comforted by Alfred, training in a gym, and climbing a mountain in the Far East, before finally returning home.<br />
<br />
Page 5: "...And I waited for something to find <b>me</b>." Full-page splash of Batman swinging through Gotham.<br />
<br />
Pages 6 and 7 each have three column panels depicting Batman defeating (mostly off panel except for the occasional fist or kick) a different villain: Joker, Penguin, Scarecrow, Riddler, Two-Face, and finally Mister Freeze. The last image is pulled-back so we finally see more of Batman, reminding us of the story focus. The captions detail how Batman "beats back the bullies...[and] keeps [the citizens of Gotham] safe."<br />
<br />
Page 8 -- "Bruce...Your argument for why Batman might have made mistakes with Freeze...is that you think he's <b>God</b>?" Zooming in on her cross now in the last panel, Bruce responds, "I thought he was God."<br />
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Page 9 shows Bruce asking the jurors if they'd be dead without Batman. They all raise their hands.<br />
<br />
Page 10 shows Mister Freeze being led to his cell with text that reinforces Bruce's assertion that the jurors also think of Batman as God in that they don't question him. "<b>Our</b> lives are his. We <b>Worship</b>. We <b>do not</b> inspect."<br />
<br />
Page 11, a great line. "God is above us. And he wears a cape."<br />
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Page 12, six wonderful equally-sized panels in two rows of three showing Bruce drinking a cup of water. I especially liked the fourth one where Bruce looks at his cup introspectively and the last, where he looks directly at the reader, quoting God from the book of Job: "And <b>who</b> are <b>you</b>?"<br />
<br />
Page 13, Bruce tells the jurors about Job. The last panel, a full length column depicting clouds with Crepuscular rays emphasizes the majesty of God's response to Job, when He was questioned. "Who are <b>you</b>?" Now Job can be a tough book to understand, especially since he's got three "friends" that say all sorts of things about God and life that are wrong. But if you were a lazy reader you might take things out of context and claim the Bible is saying something it's not. King's script gets to the heart of the Bible's first book of Wisdom.<br />
<br />
[I'm just hitting the staples!]<br />
<br />
Page 14, Bruce is getting verklempt himself. Hand holding his head. The woman wearing the cross asks if he's okay. He can't respond right away, but then he explains that he got hurt recently.<br />
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The next two pages (15 & 16) are full-page splashes. The first is Batman looking up. "I was <b>happy</b>." The second shows that he was watching Catwoman up on a fire escape. "And then it all fell..." We never got to see Bruce's reaction after the wedding issue. We only delved directly into this Mister Freeze murder trial. But now we read how distraught he was and how he went to Batman [his God] for help, meaning he went bad-guy bashing with a vengeance.<br />
<br />
Page 17 has us back in the jury room and Bruce gets to the crux of his argument:<br />
<br />
<i>"He's <b>not</b> God. He's not. He <b>tries</b>... He does... I know. And he <b>fails</b>, and he tries <b>again</b>. But he <b>can't</b>... He does <b>not</b> provide <b>solace</b> from <b>pain</b>. He <b>cannot</b> give you <b>hope</b> for <b>the eternal</b>. He <b>cannot</b> comfort you for the <b>love</b> you <b>lost</b>. God <b>blesses</b> your soul with <b>grace</b>. Batman punches people in the face."</i><br />
<br />
His argument continues on the next three pages: Page 18 speaks to the sacred duty of the jury and reiterates that Batman is "not <b>perfect</b>. He's just like <b>us</b>. But in a leather bat suit." Page 19 is broken up in twelve panels, each focusing on a different juror, ending with Bruce. "However <b>good</b> he is, we can be <b>just as</b> good. However <b>flawed</b> we are, he can be <b>just as</b> flawed." Page 20, reveals the real reason for it all, showing Batman's brutality in his rage and anguish over Catwoman's abandonment, Bruce pleads not just for Freeze but for Batman. If Freeze is condemned, then Batman is condemned too for making a mistake. "Save <b>him</b>."<br />
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Page 21, the jury gets up and leaves the room. The text is a conversation between Bruce and Alfred afterwards. We discover that Bruce bribed his way unto the jury. Alfred remarks that it was "not exactly the <b>purest</b> way to achieve a [Not Guilty] verdict." Bruce tells him to get the original suit ready, he doesn't want to wear the most recent one when he was happy with Catwoman. "Alfred. I was... I'm lost."<br />
<br />
Page 22 -- full-page splash of Batman in his first costume. "I need to remember who I am." And finally, a quote from Job 1: 20-21:<br />
<br />
<i>"Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head. He fell down upon the ground, and worshiped. He said, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. Blessed be the name of the Lord."</i><br />
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<b>Brilliant.</b> King (script), Weeks (art), Breitweiser (color), and Cowles (letters) have produced a gem of a story. They deftly handle the philosophical themes without losing sight of telling just a great "in continuity" Batman tale. It's a perfect example of <a href="http://comicsand.blogspot.com/2018/07/how-comics-work-by-dave-gibbons-and-tim.html">How Comics Work</a> and most of all a reason to still support and enjoy NEW comics! It's wonderful and a must-read!<br />
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I don't know where Tom King is spiritually, but I do know Lee Weeks is a born-again Christian. We spoke at length at the <a href="http://baltimorecomiccon.com/guests/">Baltimore Comic-Con</a> a few years ago. I had to find out after reading that Daredevil story he wrote and drew. I may just get to ask Tom myself at the convention this year. He and Lee (YES!) are both going to be there. I can't wait, or rather, I will likely wait in a very long line, but I think it might be worth it.<br />
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I'm finally done posting for my week, see you all next month...<br />
<br />Matthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03894454259041852707noreply@blogger.com2