Free Comic Book Day Previews #1

This is sort of embarrassing to admit, but I had a really hard time following the Free Comic Book Day Little Archie comic.
It's like, the Little Archie gang (plus some kid named Billy Wong who I've never heard of) are at camp and Mr Weatherbee is the camp director. Fine. I'm with you so far. And they do some boating and then there is a golden owl, and some magic elves, and a tunnel of love, and seriously I have no idea. All the while the male counselor (Betty's older brother(?!) whose name is, wait for it...Chic) and the female counselor do some inappropriate flirting in front of the children. And there's a weird map.

See if you can make heads or tails of this page:

No? Me neither. And, no, reading the rest of the story does not help.

And what the hell does this mean?!

Inappropriate.

The most bizarre thing about this comic is actually on the Fan Art page at the end. Look at this:

In particular, look at the artists' names.

Weirded out.

Not a very good comic. Plus, it's full of lies like this one:

No, Reggie. They don't.

Moving on, let's check out another supposed all-ages comic.

This reprints two Floyd Gottfredson Mickey Mouse stories from 1936. From these stories I learned that Mickey Mouse is kind of awesome.

He's totally badass:

Oh can he ever! Check it out!!

Yeah! Now watch him go Midnighter on the guy:

"Ya like that, Big Boy?! Huh, bitch? I can't hear you over the sound of your skull cracking! What's that? You're going to be sick? Not on my shoes, bitch."

Mickey can't be tied down like that, dawg.


He's kind of a dick:


He's post-modern:


And has a great, dry wit:


Ha! Go to Hell, Goofy!

And, also, there's this panel:


Thumbs up to the Mickey Mouse comic. Thumbs down to Little Archie. I'm just trying to make it a little easier for you guys on Saturday when you're elbowing kids in the face for your free comics. Expect Free Comic previews all week.

Dudes, Seriously

I have decided to extend the contest I am currently running for another week. I thank everyone who has sent in submissions so far, but I really can't believe that so few of you comic-loving types have nerdy objects in your homes. It can be ANY nerdy fan object. Anything that proudly says I Love This Character/Comic/Show/Celebrity/Movie and If You Don't Like It You Can Get the Hell Out of My House.

So please, if everyone emails me a photo of their favourite nerdy fan object then I will be able to make an awesome post that will serve as a glowing tribute to rabid fandom.

We don't even need to think of it as a contest (although there is still a fabulous prize: one autographed copy of the new Oni Press book Shenanigans). Just think of it as something awesome you should do. I refuse to believe that anyone who reads a comics blog wouldn't have at least one beloved fannish object. Even if you have, like, a single action figure...where do you display it? How is it posed? This stuff is FASCINATING!

Alright. Start snapping those photos and hopefully by next Monday I'll have enough to make a little museum of awesomeness. Send them to rachellegoguen at gmail dot com.

Don't make me sic my Dr. Doom curly straw on you.

Batman Shopping!

My pal Mike Drake has a pal named Mairin Prentiss and she took these pictures in NYC:


So awesome.

I've never been to New York, but I have to say that a city where a man can dress in a full Batman suit and go shopping without turning a single head...well, it's clearly the greatest place on Earth.

So, what do you think Batman was shopping for? A present for Superman, maybe?

Random Bits of Awesomeness

Guess what I ate today?

Cookies baked by Steve Rude!

And yes, it was as awesome as it sounds.

Now for something important: I don't know what we, as a fandom, need to do to get DC to make this happen, but this comic, pitched by J. Bone, needs to happen. The name? DCU, as in DC University. You have to check it out at his blog. It would seriously be the greatest thing ever. I mean, look at this:


And now go look at his blog:

DCU!

Alright. You guys check that out. I'm going to go back to reading a big pile of Jim Starlin Batman comics. Because nobody rocks a Friday night like me. I might turn it into a private drinking game. Every time Batman does anything AWESOME, drink! Man, I would be so drunk so fast. I mean...look at this:


Batman totally stuffed that guy into a wall...backwards! Look at him! And then Batman's all "So, anyway..."

God damn, I love Batman.

This Week's Haul: Amazons Go 300 on Your Ass!

First of all, an announcement: I have officially removed Superman/Batman from my pull list. Think about that. Me. I will no longer be buying a comic called Superman/Batman. That is so wrong I don't even know where to start. I've been buying it since the beginning. 34 issues of mediocrity. PLEASE fix this series, DC. I know I am not the only one dropping it. (One shots, one shots, one shots, one shots...)

And now on to this week's comics, which, sadly, were mostly a little...meh.

Catwoman #66

I'm always happy when there's a new Catwoman book, but this one was kinda dull. It's a bridge issue, ending the last story line and starting a new one. It mostly centered around a ridiculous new villain named Blitzkrieg, who, admittedly, was supposed to be ridiculous. It was pretty satisfying seeing that jerk-off cop get his head chopped off, though. And I am looking forward to more Hammer and Sickle. And Calculator.

Wonder Woman #8
Team Dodson was back on the art, so the book was looking good. The issue set up Amazons Attack, so it was more interesting than usual. I haven't been hating on this series as much as most people, but I am confused about how it fits into the larger DCU. Like...I don't understand how this Wonder Woman can be the same Wonder Woman who is in the JLA. That doesn't really make sense. The way I see it, WW shouldn't be a member of the JLA...yet. It makes sense that she would be doing some soul-searching and taking a break from being a part of a team. I mean, it's nice that the other heroes got over themselves and let her into the league, but I wouldn't have minded her saying no.

Getting back to WW #8, like I said, it's more interesting than the past few issues have been because it ties into Amazons Attack. For one thing, we got to see WW kick some serious ass:

And dig a tunnel!! Rad!

And we saw some kinda forced sexual tension between our girl and Nemesis. I mean, it's Wonder Woman. This guy is clearly not awesome enough for her:

I have a hard time believing that anyone who was molded from clay would have a birthmark. Maybe an artist's signature...

More sexual tension:

Hockey joke! I always appreciate that. It's clear that Nemesis does not follow hockey because...well, the Capitals are not winning the Stanley Cup anytime soon. And if they did, no one would care.

But I digress.

Let's see what happens when those Amazons attack!

Amazons Attack #1

Oh man. These ladies are HARDCORE. It starts with some Amazon soldiers randomly killing a father and son:

Daaaaaaamn.

Is it wrong that I kinda enjoy watching these women destroy Washington? I mean, in a fictional sense. Obviously I don't want a bunch of Amazons to really fly in on winged horses and slaughter all the men, but on paper...pretty cool.

I don't think you really have to be reading Wonder Woman to follow Amazons Attack. Especially since this attack is pretty damn sudden in WW. Plus, a lot of stuff gets repeated. But overall, Amazons Attack is a better read than Wonder Woman. Will Pfeifer is the man.

I like this scene:

I like to think that Batman completely misunderstands Steel. "I know exactly who you mean...Animal Man, right?"

Amazons are cool.

Action Comics #848
Sigh. Fill-ins. I mean...it wasn't terrible. It just wasn't very interesting. Especially since I would REALLY like to know what happens next in the Johns/Donner story. I feel for the fill-in writer because they have a tough job to do. It's like...Bruce Springsteen can't make it tonight, but here's Bryan Adams. Nobody is happy.

The art was alright, but, like, I dunno. I mean...this guy in the sweater is clearly Superman, y'know what I'm sayin'?

That's a very tight sweater.

So Superman goes to a small town to investigate this religion-based superpowered guy who has been killing lots of people (by accident, it seems). You can kind of tell who the superpowered dudes are in this little town. They kinda stand out, like in this church scene:

Soooo much bigger than anyone else in the church. That's gotta hurt the ol' secret identity.

And then scenes like this one just make me uncomfortable:

That's not usually how I stand when I fluff pillows. And, seriously, Superman looks like he's on the body building circuit. It's a little crazy-looking.

How long is this storyline?

52: Week 51

Well, this was pretty good. Animal Man is back! Yay!

Hilarious.

And Adam Strange got his sight back. Hooray! And Lobo killed that evil dolphin! And Skeets isn't evil, he's just been taken over...by the GROSSEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN. I will not even post a picture of it here. I seriously couldn't look at it.

Here's a little fact about me: I hate Starfire. HATE her. She is so gross-looking, and so boring, and so over-used because she is basically naked. I really hope she's the one that dies (y'know, that whole thing where a character's death kicks off Countdown supposedly? Please be Starfire). So I really enjoyed this:

Ellen rules. Also: "Double DD's"?? Is that, like, double-double-Ds?

Is she dead?! Is she dead?! Is she dead?!

This was interesting:

Awwwwwww. It would have been better if Robin's new costume was half denim too.

One final thing about 52 this week: is Ralph Dibny dead for real? If he is, I am going to be very, very sad/angry. I assumed he wasn't really dead, but now I worry that he is. And if so, how dead is he? Green Arrow dead, or Bruce Wayne's parents dead? Please don't be dead, Ralph! I can't handle losing Ted and the Question and you!

Blue Beetle #14

A new addition to the Living Between Wednesdays weekly haul! I finally got caught up on this series, and just in time for this delightful Gardner-centric romp!

Unfortunately, I couldn't scan any of it because I borrowed it, but I would like to say that I loved Gardner's casual clothes. Especially the chain.

It took me awhile to pick up these comics because I was so pissed about Ted Kord being killed. I love that guy. Kind of the same reason why I wouldn't read the New Atom. But they are both really good series. Goes to show what you miss out on when you're a stubborn jerk.

Connor Hawke: Dragon's Blood #6

Mud wrestling! In dragon's blood!

Cue the porn music aaaaand...roll the clips!

And that's the end of that story! Wait...what was it about again? Connor not being gay or something?

Justice #11
Hal Jordan fans rejoice, because there was a whole lotta him in this issue. Lookin' fine.

My favourite thing about this issue is that Ralph Dibny survived being eaten by Clayface. Man, it was just really good to see him again...totally sane.

Sometimes I get confused about what's happening in Justice vs what's happening in DC continuity. And sometimes it's the same. Like...Captain Marvel defeating Black Adam and forcing him to become mortal again. It all looked very awesome:

Have we seen an Alex Ross rendition of John Stewart before this series? Because he looks awesome:

Here's some of that Hal Jordan radness I was talking about. I love how crazy he makes Sinestro:

"Shut the hell up!" Aw, he's just saying what we're all thinking.

This cracked me up:

Ha! Quote of the week.

And here's a page that I stared at for quite a long time:

I especially like Ralph Dibny in this picture. And the little Bat Family reunion.

Like most issues of this series, there were some totally confusing things, and way too much going on. But it all looked fantastic.

Justice Society of America #5

Ok, when I said my comics this week left me feeling kinda meh...I was not including JSA. This comic rocked. You got your dark, crazy Batman first half in Arkham, and you got your bright, cheerful Superman/very brief history of the Legion of Superheroes half in the Fortress.

Lots of great moments, like this one:

Is that a Meltzer dig? Probably not, but it should make all the fans who cry foul when the heroes call each other by their first names happy.

But, seriously. I love Starman and his craziness. And I loved this:

"I make things heavy!" Awww.

Also, there are a whole lot of Batmans in this issue. So there's some sweet Batman-on-Batman action:
Batmans!

I also just want to quickly mention that this gets my vote for creepiest panel of the week:

Ewww! Get away from Dream Girl, Skeletor Dr Destiny!

I am loving this cross-over. LOVING IT!

Outsiders Annual #1

I checked this out because I love annuals. As I read this I suddenly remembered that I don't care about The Outsiders. I love me some Roy and some Nightwing, but damn. This is pretty boring. Annuals should be funner than this. I haven't read Outsiders since Infinite Crisis, so there are probably people out there who will get more out of this than I did.

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #2 featuring The Avengers

I feel that this is a good idea for a series, and could potentially be very good, but the whole thing is very summer blockbuster. The all-star line-up of artists is great, and the cute way of making each issue a different stage of grief is neat, but overall...meh. I do want to say, because I don't think I mentioned it last time, that the lack of first-person narrative in Loeb's writing is refreshing and surprising. However...I dunno. I think I would have liked to see Bendis on this mini-series. It's just that...Loeb kinda came out of nowhere to do this. He wasn't working on any major Marvel titles leading up to, or during Civil War. He's on there because it sells issues, and it's kind of too bad because this series could probably be a whole lot better. Like, I am a very casual Marvel reader, and this series is too spelled-out to even hold my interest, y'know what I'm saying? It's all a little "I am The Thing. I like beer and poker." "I am Wolverine. I am a jerk with a good heart under my gruff exterior." "I am Spider-Man. I am emo and annoying."

Thumbs up on the McGuinness art, though. Very nice. And, of course, I bought his cover and not the Turner variant.

I gave Wolverine #53 a quick read, but it was so terrible I'm not even gonna bother reviewing it. And the next issue...Wolverine fights Sabertooth. Ok. They must know how ridiculous that is. It must be a joke, right? That every issue ends with the same preview of the next issue, more or less?

Rating the Super Hunks #3: Batman

I was going to hold off on this one, but I've decided that now was as good a time as any to rate Batman. Why not raise the bar a little? Hal could stand to be taken down a peg.

So here we go with this week's super hunk:

Batman, aka Bruce Wayne

Costume/Appearance: It's hard to say that Batman's costume is sexy, exactly. If he's going to lose points, it's going to be here. I mean...it's got pointy ears. But he makes it work somehow. It's all about confidence. He believes he looks awesome, and therefore we believe he looks awesome. And confidence is the sexiest thing a man can wear (I think I read that in GQ).

There have been a whole lot of variations on the Batsuit over the years. Is there one that is sexiest? As much as I love the grey and blues, the black and grey really is the more attractive suit. But I'm not here to get into a whole debate about what Batman's best outfit is. I'm here to rate him on a scale of one to forty based on how hunky he is.

Batman is in excellent shape. There aren't a lot of men who can pull off that look, but he works it with his hot body. Shame the mask covers his ruggedly handsome face. I think extra points should be awarded for the fact that he makes his own costumes and accessories.

And I do like those gloves.

8/10

Alter-ego: The only thing hotter than Batman is Bruce Wayne. You want to argue with me on that, you will lose. First of all, he's a billionaire. Secondly, he's sad inside. Thirdly, he's, like, the smartest person on Earth. And fourthly, he's, like, the hottest guy on Earth (not mentioned nearly enough in JLA profiles).
Dark hair and blue eyes: always a solid combination. Add a square jaw and a perfect body, and you've got yourself a damn good-looking man.
Bruce Wayne has proven himself to be good with children, and makes a good father figure to younger heroes as well. Sure, there's that whole Jason Todd fiasco, but at least Bruce took a chance on the kid that was stealing his hubcaps. He's nice like that.
Bruce is a good actor. He has an array of costumes and can fool anyone. I admire that.
Now, personality-wise, yeah. Bruce is kind of...withdrawn. A little cranky. He's got some guilt issues to work out. He may walk the thin line between sane and totally nuts (though I believe he's closer to the sane side). One could even argue that he's taken the whole Batman thing a little far, but you're not gonna hear that argument from me.

I mean, look at how Bruce Wayne asks ladies out on dates:

And speaking of which, Bruce Wayne is a hit with the ladies across the globe. I like a superhero who takes time to get a little sugar.

Also: he can kick your ass. While drinking a mug of coffee. And he will not spill a drop.

10/10

Sexiness of Superpowers: According to my packet of Batman Hot Chocolate, Batman's super power is that he has trained himself to the peak of human physical and mental perfection. I have no choice but to award that a...

10/10


Day Job: Bruce Wayne is a jet-setting billionaire industrialist and philanthropist. Sure, sometimes he goes a little crazy and uses his limitless funds to build things like, say, scary satellites that can kill people from space. And maybe sometimes those satellites turn against him. But when he's not doing that, he's just a sexy man who dresses well and has a big pile of money.

10/10
Cons: What? There is nothing wrong with Batman or Bruce Wayne at all. Not one single flaw.

Alright, he doesn't have a great track record with relationships, and he tends to be attracted to sexy female career criminals.
And he has been known to make...unfortunate mistakes...that sometimes lead to mass destruction. And he has a hard time admitting these mistakes.

And he has a bit of a temper.

And he...kinda...dresses like a giant bat and throws bat-shaped objects at people. And drives around in a bat-shaped car. And flies a bat-shaped plane. And pilots a bat-shaped boat. And has bat-shaped tracking devices. That doesn't mean he's...like, crazy or anything.

Did I mention he has nice hair?

Alright fine. I'll knock a point off.

- 1

Final Score: 37/40

Ladies and gentlemen we have a new champion! (Was there really any doubt?)

100th Post Extravaganza!!!

It's my 100th post!

To celebrate, I invite you on a little tour of my favourite nerdy possessions! Follow me!

Here's a flower pot I painted and decoupaged myself a few years ago. I actually made a full set, but the Batman one is the only pot seeing any action these days. Next to it you see my Batman piggy bank. He reminds me that saving money is important, and not to spend it on foolish things. He is also empty and sitting on top of a shelf full of comic books.

This is my autographed picture of Mark McClure (Jimmy Olsen). Lots of people think it's an autographed picture of Christopher Reeve. Nope! Actually, one time I was showing my apartment when I was trying to sublet it and the girl asked if it was signed by "the real Superman." I had no idea what to say to that.

I made these picture frames myself. I went through a real crafty phase. It's over now.

Inflatable Superman!!!

Oh yes. He's awesome.

Here's a sketch of Batman that Darwyn Cooke did for me. It's, like, my favourite thing:

He also gave me this when I bought the Absolute Edition of New Frontier:

It's a sketch that ended up becoming this page:
I really like New Frontier. A quick glance around my apartment will tell you this.

I broke Green Arrow's bow, so I had to get a little creative with his posing. I think the "pulling-an-arrow-out-of-the-quiver" pose kinda works:


Bizarro crushed Hal Jordan's head!

Movie Batman and Movie Superman hang out:

It's the Superman that blows! Look at his face!

It's supposed to blow over a cardboard cut-out of Luthor, but it isn't even strong enough to do that. It blows all right, just not the way it's supposed to. Fortunately I bought it at the grocery store for $3.

Midnighter protects my hard drive. My Clark Kent trading card gives me something to look at while writing:

Clark and Lex are friends:

Lex is like "Look out, Clark! There's a big piece of kryptonite in front of you!" And Clark's like "I dropped my bookbag."

And Batman's like..."I'm on some stairs."

And R2D2 is like "I'm behind you, Batman!"

And Joe Sakic is like "I don't belong here." And Frank Miller Batman statue is like "I'm kind of an eyesore!"

I have some more little friends who hang out in my kitchen on a spice rack:

Yeah. That's weird.

Let's take another look at that inflatable Superman:

Awesome.

And finally...

...Cuddle Pillow Batman!!!

He's my best friend. He likes to watch Justice League episodes with me, and he never complains when I want to watch the Once and Future Thing episodes over and over again. He listens with interest to my complaints when I'm playing the Superman Returns video game, like "Why is this game so terrible?" "This is the least fun thing I have ever done," "Why does the Superman Returns game have dragons, robots and monsters?" or "So, have I beaten the game, or what? I don't understand."

BFF.

Ok, so there is a point to all this. To celebrate my 100th post, and to thank all of the nice people who read my blog, I am going to have a little contest. I want you to email me pictures, or post them in your blog, of your favourite nerdy possession. I will arbitrarily select my favourite in, say, one week. Extra points will be given if items are:

- obscure
- homemade
- crappy bootlegs
- confusing
- adorable
- amazing

You can send your entries to rachellegoguen at gmail dot com, or, post in your blog and link in the comments. I'll post them all at the end of the week in my blog. It will be awesome.

Oh! And the prize! I have a copy of the new Oni Press book, Shenanigans. It was written by Ian Shaughnessy and illustrated by local art superstar and all-around nice guy, Mike Holmes. This guy is going places. I can probably get Mike to sign the book, too. (Mike? You wanna back me up on this?). I just read it and it's really fun. The art, really, is fantastic.

Honestly, big thanks to everyone who reads this blog. I love writing it so much. It's come a long way since my first post, when we saw Superman Walk the Dinosaur. Originally this blog was supposed to be authored by myself and a couple of my gal pals, but they totally dropped the ball. I know I don't always get back to everyone who comments, but I really do appreciate all the kind words.

This Week's Haul: Start the War!

Civil War? Pffft. Whatever, Marvel. When DC throws a war it covers the whole damn world. And it lasts one week. That's right. Efficiency. Look it up.

Let's do this thing.

World War III #1-4

First of all, thanks DC for making me have to buy four issues in one week. I'm not made of money. But on the other hand...thanks for wrapping this up in one week.

WWIII was a real whirl wind. It basically showcased Black Adams kicking ass and...not so much taking names. Just ripping faces off and removing various limbs from people. Not important people. A lot of Infinite Crisis loose ends get tied up in these four books, and a lot of questions get answered. Such as:

Aquaman - saves city, gets turned into The Dweller. And I guess that means he's dead now.
Nightwing - oh, it's Jason
Batgirl - manipulated by Deathstroke
Martian Manhunter - sad, confused, hero, reborn in new ugly outfit
Adam Strange, Starfire, Animal Man - Zeta Beam mishap trapped them in space somewhere
Red Tornado - Exploded by Zeta Beam
Killer Croc - dead?
Booster Gold - up to something awesome
Donna Troy - "Well, someone's got to be Wonder Woman."
Young Frankenstein - killed by Black Adam
Terra - killed by Black Adam
Manhunter - takes job, shoves it

I can't really say that I was riveted by these four issues, but they did serve their purpose. They are certainly important reading. I liked this scene with Deathstroke and Batgirl:

Oh, Slade. You're so rad. Let's get a Deathstroke movie made, huh?

So, yeah. That's WWIII. I don't have much else to say about it, except you should read it before you read 52 this week.

52: Week 50

Technically the penultimate issue of 52 proper because issue #52 is going to be the first issue of Countdown. [EDIT: Nevermind. I don't know what I'm talking about. Although the first issue of Countdown will be numbered #51, it will in no way be set up in the last issue of #52.] This is just more WWIII stuff. Captain Marvel is now the Guardian of Magic and he has changed Black Adam's magic word to something he will never guess. What do you think it is?
And that's all I have to say about that. Let's move on to funner stuff, because there was a lot of that this week.

Aquaman #51

This was the first thing I read this week. I read it in the bathtub. I would recommend doing the same. It adds a whole other dimension to your Aquaman reading. It's like you're in the story!

First off, beautiful cover. Really nice. And inside is non-stop fun. I'm really enjoying this. All the more so now that World War III has answered some important Aquaman questions. In typical new series fashion (because, really, this is a new series), the Justice League all-stars show up in this issue. In their little oxygen masks. I like Topo getting stared down by Batman here:

And Wonder Woman hugging it out with Mera is nice. I don't think Superman needs that mask. He just likes it.

This comic has fun adventure, well-written characters, and a great quest-based storyline. It's really got everything going for it. I bought an Aquaman t-shirt today to celebrate how much I like this.

The Spirit #5

Well, that's not the cover we were expecting. But it's fun. I like it. This issue was hilarious, the premise being that a crooked businessman/vulture-loving lunatic named Carrion (nice) has devised a money-making scheme where he markets old Russian army rations (beans and pork) to children using The Spirit's likeness and name on the cans. The ads promise the beans have enough sugar in them to give kids their "fix" without mom or dad knowing. Fantastic! Carrion is a truly weird villain, and makes for some really funny moments like this one:

Man, that's a great expression on The Spirit's face in that last panel. Perfect.

Another great issue!

Justice League of America #8

The big JLA/JSA crossover gets underway. I like it when these two gangs hang out.

As I keep saying, I love this series. I proudly fly the Meltzer flag. You can't convince me otherwise. There are two many tasty nerdy nuggets in these issues for me to not love them.

I loved Batman being offended that Superman had rated Karate Kid a level 15 fighter, and Batman only a 12. He vows to prove Clark wrong as he starts to fight KK. We don't see the fight, but we get this panel a few pages later:

Seriously. That is so funny.

Also funny: Mr Terrific impressing Black Canary and Hal Jordan by playing both of them at chess simultaneously...while blindfolded (though, honestly, I could probably beat Hal at chess blindfolded too). Then Batman busting in and explaining to everyone how he's doing it, and informing them that Mr T stole the trick from The Amazing Kreskin. Awesome.

And that's why Mr Terrific will never be the #1 smartest person on Earth as long as Batman's alive.

Then there's the delightful double page spread with all the heroes, all paired off and having fun conversations. I loved it. Especially this one:

Aaaaand this one:

Y'know, I've never really thought about it before, but now I kinda want Power Girl and Batman to hook up. That could be good for both of them. He might even be looking her in the eye in that picture. Maybe not, though. Do you think Bruce went out and bought a china tea set for the headquarters?

I really like Power Girl and Black Canary as the two chairwomen. I can't wait to see them lead their teams over the next few issues.

Brave and the Bold #3

JLA and Brave and the Bold came out in the same week...as The Spirit. I almost exploded.

Still awesome. Might be my very favourite series. It's pretty damn perfect. I love the structure, and I love the characters that are getting paired up. Batman and the new Blue Beetle? Brilliant. Jamie is just as giddy and nervous hanging out with Batman as I would be.

There were several things that made me laugh out loud. For instance:

Oh please get Batman to write that note.

The lettering on Jamie is great. I picture his voice cracking and just generally being really panicky. Very cute.

Meanwhile, we check in on Supergirl back on Ventura as she tries to find a way to get to Raan:

God damn that's funny. See, I like Supergirl as an obnoxious character. She's not dumb, because she's clever enough to find a way to Raan. Even if it does mean teaming up with Lobo. She's just immature and self-absorbed...like, say, Hal. Anyway, I am looking forward to the next book because Supergirl and Lobo is going to be a fun ride.

Also, this issue ends with Batman being fused together with Tharok. That's going to be interesting.

Superman/Batman #34

Oh lord. Here we go with another six terrible issues. I can just tell. Maybe I can hypnotize DC: one-shots...one-shots...from now on this series should only be one-shots...

The art is really hard to look at. Superman looks like Harland Williams:

Sigh. The worst part is I will totally keep buying this thing. I don't want to live in a world where a comic called Superman/Batman doesn't interest me. Christ.

Let's get our minds off that unpleasantness with the awesomeness of...

Nightwing Annual #2

Woot! Now we're talking! A big ol' issue of hot Dick/Barbara action and adorable flashbacks. God I love those two.

Ok, there is a lot to enjoy about this book, but most of all...boner joke! It is not above going for the boner joke!

Flashback to young Robin and Batgirl trapped in a very cramped safe together. Robin's having a hard time keeping his cool when all smushed up against his attractive partner:

Aaaaaahhh!! DC went there!

Also, Barbara is funny:

And Tim is funny:

Delicious. When are we going to see a series about the boys' travels? I know Grant Morrison is going to touch on it in an upcoming issue of Batman, but I would really like a mini-series.

Robin #161

Tim Drake is awesome. Really awesome.

But he shouldn't dress so much like Robin when he's not being Robin. It'll really blow the secret identity thing:

I guess he takes after Bruce (see above panel of three boys on boat).

Oh, this comic was good. Full of detective fun. I'm just getting tired of writing.

Birds of Prey #105

Birds of Prey + Secret Six. That's a fun combo. I'm especially enjoying dreamy Catman and awesome Barda. And now Harley!

I haven't read Birds of Prey regularly for a long time. I'm in the process of getting caught up. The last two issues have been a lot of fun. I'm excited that Sean McKeever is going to be taking over. It will be in good hands. And Simone on Wonder Woman is going to rock.

Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century #1

New series!

I love the cartoon, and the comic is a lot like it. It captures the sense of humour nicely. This is going to be a Free Comic Book Day comic, so if you didn't grab it this week, you should totally check it out next Saturday. You should also watch the show. And no, "I'm a grown-up and I don't have children" is not an excuse to not watch it.

Plus it has this fascinating story in the middle where Batman teams up with Cal Ripken Jr. They defeat the Penguin. And we learn the merits of Big League Chew brand bubble gum. I remember throwing that stuff up when I was a little kid. A whole bag of it. Good times.

Rating the Super Hunks #2: Booster Gold

Last week Hal Jordan rated a mighty 31/40 on the official and very scientific Hunk-o-Meter. This week's challenger...

Michael Carter, aka Booster Gold


Costume/Appearance: Booster's costume is sweet. The yellow and blue combo is reminiscent of a sports uniform, which reflects Booster's athletic past. The goggles would probably look weirder in real life than they do on the page, but I think he makes them work. The headpiece doesn't obstruct his boyish blond mop of hair, and it's nice that his hair colour matches the yellow in his uniform exactly. Honestly, blond is not usually my favourite flavour, but Booster rocks it. The tight costume looks best when without the cape, and fortunately the cape rarely gets worn. He's got an athlete's build despite the fact that he doesn't seem to do anything physical.

I like that so many elements of the uniform are unnecessary. They were all chosen for style. Booster knows what looks cool. Plus, a giant star in the middle of the chest is great. I'm pretty sure I designed a very similar uniform for myself when I was seven.
Unfortunately, points must be deducted because he sells ad space on his uniform.

7/10

Alter-ego: Michael Carter was a star football player in the 25th century. That's definitely sexy. Then he was disgraced when he was busted for betting on his own team. Not sexy. So he got a job as a night watchman at the Superhero Museum. Then he got the idea to steal a bunch of stuff from there so he could travel back to the 20th century and be a superhero using all the stolen gadgets. While there's nothing particularly sexy about that, it is kind of clever.

Carter is basically a down-on-his-luck jock who got in a little over his head. Despite that, he handles himself reasonably well and even got to be a member of the Justice League. And, yes, being a member of the JLA increases sex appeal.

Booster means well. His intentions were less-than-noble when he first came to our century, but he has had heroic moments since. He believed in Ted Kord when no one else did, and maybe if people had listened to Booster, Ted would still be alive. This, of course, does not excuse the fact that Booster is pretty dumb.
Booster is a businessman, and I respect that. Although I don't approve of him cluttering up his costume with ads, as a former ad sales rep I am impressed that he landed big sponsorship contracts like Ferris Air.
The name Michael Carter is alright. It's got the two-first-names thing going for it, but he sadly isn't even the hottest hero with Carter in his name.

5/10

Sexiness of powers: Booster has a pretty awesome armory of powers. Unfortunately, they are all stolen. Even if we overlook this, we still have to consider that all of his powers come from objects. He does, however, travel through time. Not technically a superpower, but definitely cool.
I think I can include Skeets in this section. Booster is followed around by a security robot named Skeets who traveled with him from the 25th century. Skeets would be annoying on a date. I'm not even talking about the new evil Skeets. To date Booster Gold means a relationship that's a little crowded. I mean, sure, we all wish our boyfriends had know-it-all, futuristic robots for friends, but in reality, it probably wouldn't be so cool.

5/10


Day Job: Booster Gold is a thief and a shill. Not really as good as being a test pilot, I'm afraid.

1/10
Cons: Booster Gold's hero name is so childish it's almost brilliant. Unfortunately, he only got the moniker when president Ronald Regan screwed up the name Michael had chosen for himself: Goldstar. Goldstar is a crappy name. Michael loses points for that. He's frequently hard up for money, and he doesn't have many friends these days. One is dead, the other is evil (and, as previously mentioned, a robot). I'll go a little easy on him because that whole Supernova stunt was pretty neat.

- 3 points
Final Score:

15/40

Ouch. Sorry Booster. I actually expected you to score higher. I've got a soft spot for you. Too bad.

My Favourite Archie Comic

Gather round, everyone. It's story time.

I want to share my very favourite Archie comic. It has so many elements I like: Ethel getting a date, Ethel showing up all those stupid jerks and bitches in Riverdale, a dreamy merman with super strength, and a bittersweet ending.

I love Ethel. The rest of Riverdale can burn. It's a town of ghouls. The amount of physical harm those kids do to each other terrifies me. Spawn of Satan, every last one of them. Except Dilton. That guy kinda rules. I don't know why the ladies fight over Archie and Reggie. Dilton is clearly the prize.

Anyway, I'm already off track. Here's the story:

Oh Veronica. You are so awful. When will Ethel finally kick your ass?

Ok, here's where things get awesome:

"I'm real! Here! Touch me!" Damn, I love me a smooth-talking merman. Even with Garfunkel hair.

Poor Ethel. Her esteem is so shot she assumes that merman is making fun of her. I like that she looks like she's thinking about punching him for it (She can't help the violent tendencies. It's the Riverdale upbringing).

Damn, this is mildly sexy, for an Archie comic. Dude gets Ethel to close her eyes while he gets naked and makes a little seaweed skirt for himself. I mean, that thing can't hide much.

I know that Betty is being nice, but she sounds really condescending. Man, don't comic writers realize how damaging it is to have one non-perfect looking female in a comic and then have her be the butt of every joke? It really makes a young female reader believe that she will never get a date because she is awkward-looking. Don't listen to them, Ethel! They are stupid bitches!

Onward!

Mermen are invincible. Neat.

Veronica, you suck. What if Ethel did hire him from an escort service? It would be better than your stupid date (who, from the looks of things, is Betty).

Here's where Bobby totally serves Veronica:

Awww. What a sad ending. I am really charmed by her having to return his tux for him, for some reason. It's just cute. And that he gets naked again in front of her. Racy!

So there you go. That's pretty much Archie comic perfection right there.

Remember in that Return to Riverdale TV movie when Ethel turned out to be a supermodel? That was nice. She should date Dilton.

Ditko vs Gobots

If I ever meet Steve Ditko (unlikely), these are what I am asking him to sign:

Oh, don't let the halfway decent cover art fool you. The art in these books is completely phoned in.


Look at them! They look like I drew them! When I was six! With my feet!

This is my favourite panel. This is how our three heroes meet Leader-1 for the first time:

He punches the little girl in the face through a window. I'm not sure if the kids are yelling "Help! Aliens!" or if that's what Leader-1 is saying. With his fist.

And here's the very next panel:

Those are some awkward proportions. The basic laws of physics would not allow that to happen. That kid in the orange jacket would basically have to be growing out of the mustache man's back. And the girl would have to have no legs.

Two panels later, the remarkably calm humans get a proper introduction:

"Yes, and I also have a few more questions for you to field: What the hell just happened? Am I high? and also, Could you please not punch us in the face again?"

God dammit! I expect quality in my Gobots super adventure books! I mean, by looking at this shoddy art one would get the impression that Ditko didn't care about this project. Almost as if he were only doing it for the money!

The joke's on you, Ditko collectors! You can't truly say your collection is complete until you own these fabulous volumes.

This Week's Haul: "Every Super-Villain For Themselves!"

Tremble in terror, comics that aren't All-Star Superman! You have chosen a bad week to come out! Line up and let yourself be compared to the undisputed masterpiece of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely! Good luck!

All-Star Superman #7

There's a certain buzz in the comic shop when a new issue of All-Star Superman comes out. Even more so when the hardcover of the first six issues also happens to come out on the same day. This comic is the great uniter. Everyone loves it. I can barely process how awesome it is.

Let's all just take a minute to stare at these two pages, wherein Superman is setting his pet sun-eater free into space because it has grown too large for his zoo:

These are so beautiful and adorable, they melted me into a puddle of goo on my couch. No text at all, but you can see Superman doing the whole "It's ok, buddy, you're free now." And the sun-eater is grabbing him because he doesn't want him to leave! And, ohmygod, is it waving to him in the top panel on the second page?! Quitely! You're killing me!

From that page on it's non-stop Bizarro awesomeness. I love how Bizarro looks, and I love his homemade S-symbol. I love Superman jotting down the formula for an experimental Bizarro formula while listening to Jimmy's plan. I love Superman using his new powers. I love the Zibarro cliff-hanger. I love the cover for the next issue. I love this book.

Well, now that the bar has been set impossibly high, let's check out another comic.

Green Arrow #73

Connor's back! This series just got a whole lot sexier!

Awwwww.

This is the first issue in what I understand will be the final story arc of the series. Too bad. I really do love this book. I enjoy watching Ollie struggle to be a superhero now that he's got himself tangled up in all the strings that are attached to him. He's got Connor, Mia, Roy, Dinah AND he's the damn mayor of Star City. It makes it hard to also be a vigilante, and he's had to make a lot of sacrifices to protect his loved ones and his city. I am guessing that this story is going to have Ollie listen to the wisdom of his (attractive) son and just do what he's best at, consequences be damned, to save his city from crime lords.

I like Brick as a villain. Winnick writes a good laid-back, dead-pan bad guy who will snap with little notice and kill your ass. Now we have Merlyn on deck for the next issue, which is always fun, and Black Canary. Good times!

But it's no All-Star Superman.

Grifter/Midnighter #2

Is, um, anyone else reading this? Anyone?

It looks really nice. The art, by Ryan Benjamin, is really pretty. And the colouring, by Joel Benjamin, is fantastic.

I still really don't know anything about Grifter, except that he carries two guns, does some fancy shooting, and is reasonably hot. He also likes to take cheap shots at Midnighter's sexuality. The gist of the story is that Grifter was sent to kill a member of the Saudi royal family in Paris, and Midnighter was sent to protect the very same guy from Grifter. Then they are forced to put aside some of their differences because they have bigger problems: an alien attack.

There has been a disappointing lack of heads getting kicked off, but it's an alright series so far. Aliens. Guns. Hotties. Meh. It's better than Superman/Batman.

Definitely not All-Star Superman.

Wonder Woman #7

I liked this issue, but the art was back to being cheesecakey. Other than that, the art was pretty nice.

I like how tall Wonder Woman is in this issue. Much improved from last week.

There was a lot of fun stuff in here. I really liked the super-villain bar for people who dress up like super-villains. I really liked Nemesis making a snarky comment that its patrons are really into Ashlee and Jessica Simpson, and then we get this panel a couple of pages later:

I can't remember the last time a Wonder Woman comic made me laugh out loud.

I liked the fake Catwoman busting into the bathroom. I liked that Sarge Steel bothered to shoot a net over Wonder Woman when he arrested her. And what's not to like about this panel?:

But it ain't All-Star Superman.

52 Week 49

And the only book that came close to touching Grant Morrison this week is...also by Grant Morrison.

Holy God, this was awesome. Every damn page - awesome. Will Magnus strikes back as he reveals that he's been secretly building little tiny Metal Men while the other scientists have been trying to destroy the world. Mercury is babbling about how he's actually not the only metal that's liquid at room temperature, which is great. Then he gets shot by Morrow, which is unexpected and hilarious. Magnus lets Morrow escape before the JSA bust in and arrest them all. Meanwhile, Sivana is cutting his losses and getting the hell out of dodge, leaving a very angry Black Adam trapped on the very scary operating table:

We can only imagine what Adam has been through these past few days (Thunder pliers!! HA!).

And EVERYTHING on this page is awesome:

This was so great. And the cover is amazing. One of the best. Pats on the back for everyone!

Not All-Star Superman, but surprisingly close.

Spider-Man Loves Mary-Jane #17

Y'know, this book could change its title to Spider-Man Loves Firestar and I would be ok with that. Firestar is supercool and Spider-Man is all adorable with her.

I like the addition of Felicia Hardy, all bitchy and tough. And looking a lot more PG than usual. I don't know much about Black Cat, but I do know she has a tendency to walk around un-zipped.

I really like the fashions in this book. The kids are all so well-dressed all the time. It's better than Archie comics. And I really like this guy in the trench coat:

What do you think is going on with that guy? Baffled by the coffee shop menu? Forgot his wallet? Scared of all those punk teenagers?

How long is this series going to last? Forever? Please say forever.

Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four #1

A double-shot of fun Marvel comics! And, man, I needed this. Marvel has been very busy lately pumping out the various one-shots, and mini-series, and tie-ins, and new series, and front lines, and casualties, and war journals, and fallen sons, and whatever the hell else. None of it is fun. I needed some laid-back, Ben-pranking-Johnny, Spider-Man being nerdy, non-continuity Marvel silliness. And Marvel has delivered. Check it out:

Fun! And what do you think Ben has done to the pancakes? Definitely something...

I love the contrast in the crowd reactions to Spider-Man and Impossible Man showing up, and later when the Fantastic Four show up:

I'm looking forward to more of this!

Madman #1

I live in one of those loser parts of the continent where Madman didn't ship until this week.

This basically serves as a madcap summary of all previous Madman comics, which I have taken some time in the past week to re-read in preparation. Well, it turns out none of them are important because this issue tells us that none of it actually happened.
It's great to have some new Madman stuff. I look forward to the next issue when the content is truly brand new. I love Madman. He's got such a great attitude!

Rating the Super Hunks #1: Hal Jordan

A new weekly feature! How exciting! In the grand tradition of sexual exploitation in comic books, I'm going to devote a little time each week to selecting one superhero and measure how he stacks up in the sexy department. Actually, to be honest, I am not trying to make a statement at all here. I just want to talk about hotties.

I'm going to start with an easy one (Pun intended! Zing! Get it? Cause Hal's a slut!).

Hal Jordan, aka Green Lantern

Costume: Hal's skin-tight, capeless one-piece has long been the gold standard in attractive costuming. Hal may not have chosen his costume, but he can't mind how great his butt looks in it. Green, black and white is an undeniably fantastic colour combination. Topped off with a simple green eye-mask that doesn't mess his hair, Hal's costume may hide his identity, but it doesn't hide how damn fine he is.
10/10


Alter-Ego: Hal doesn't need to wear spandex to look good. Always well-dressed in simple, masculine basics like white shirts, khakis, and bomber jackets, he's got style that doesn't try too hard. Hal Jordan is cocky, playful and 100% all-man. And Hal Jordan is a great name, in the tradition of super heroes having two first names. Plus, he's the alleged bravest man on Earth. If only he could keep that ego in check.

8/10




Sexiness of Powers: Hal is useless without his ring, and even with it he's no good against anything yellow (usually). These weaknesses aside, Hal's power is only limited by his own imagination. If you don't think that's sexy, I can't help you.

8/10





Day Job: When he's not Green Lantern, Hal Jordan is a test pilot. And that's awesome.

10/10







Cons: Despite his appearance of being head-strong and free-willed, Hal is essentially the Guardians' bitch. As a result, he's a very busy guy, always darting about the galaxy with little time for dinner dates. We can also assume that he's tapped a considerable amount of interplanetary ass, Shatner-style, so the possibility of alien STDs is a real concern.

More than a little conceited and, well, dumb, Hal might be a tiresome long-term companion, but he'd make a great one-night stand. With proper protection. There was also that unfortunate psychotic and homicidal episode a few years back, but if the JLA can forgive him, who am I to judge?

- 5 points


Final Score: 31 points out of 40

Not bad, Hal!



We'll have to wait and see how next week's Super Hunk measures up!

This Week's Haul: Cowboys and Indians

I didn't get to read all my comics last night because of Grindhouse, so I'm a little late with this. I have some new additions to the weekly reviews. Most importantly, Jonah Hex, which I am now caught up on and have decided to buy monthly rather than wait for the trades because, frankly, it's pretty much my favourite comic.

This is also the week that Living Between Wednesdays reader and super-fan Mark Sable started writing Supergirl, so I checked that out.

I was hoping to be caught up on The Atom by now, but next month for sure! Same with Runaways. I'm also planning to add Blue Beetle, Birds of Prey, Green Lantern, Manhunter and Daredevil within the next month.

And there's some new Marvel junk this week. Let's get started!!

Justice League of America #7

You know, I was smiling throughout the entire three hours of Grindhouse. Then I got home and read this before bed, and damn if my face didn't get a chance to relax. This was delightful.

First of all, there's this:

Adorable! (Even cuter that he gets it framed and hangs it in the cave later).

And then there's Roy being totally great-looking in his new costume, and being all flustered and happy with being invited to join the league. And making Canary and Hal cry. And the new headquarters! With the slideways door that leads to the watchtower in space!! So rad! And the pull-out of the whole league?! That was an exciting surprise.

I really love this series. It's the little details. There are so many fun little moments like this one:

He looks at his boots!

I seriously love this line-up. It's going to be a good time.

I like Meltzer's banter. I like the things he imagines the heroes do together when they are hanging out. Like Arrow and Lantern:

All this plus a Starro story-line? Beautiful!

Midnighter #6

My boyfriend's back! And he's totally...weird. This one-shot story was set in feudal Japan. While not as fun as the rest of the Ennis run, it was certainly sexy. I actually don't have much to say about it. It was fine. Next month...Brian K Vaughan!

Superman #661

Ladies, ladies, ladies!

First of all, I just want to say that Wonder Woman's shorts looked fantastic in this comic, so nice work Eduardo Barreto! In general, I really liked the art in this book. It was cartoony and fun. This comic was mostly about women, and Superman just played a supporting role.
I really liked that Clark was magically changed into Superman in the middle of a room full of people and yet his identity remained protected because no one could remember what he looked like before he became Superman. ("Was he wearing glasses?" "No, a false mustache.")

Good-looking and fun. I liked it. Especially Lois breaking the fourth wall in the final panel.

52: Week 48

So that answers that question about where Batwoman is, one year later. Batwoman: we hardly knew ye. But you looked damn good. This issue was a lot more focussed than last week, but I have to say, the last page, being the only page not part of the Montoya/Batwoman storyline, was totally my favourite part. I guess my theory about Black Adam turning the tables on Sivana that I made last week was incorrect. He's in pretty rough shape. And Sivana saying "I finally found a way to dissolve the enamel on the Black Marvel's teeth" gets my vote for comic quote of the week. Or the year. (Think about it...he used the word "finally". That's hilarious).

Detective Comics #831

Not bad. Not bad at all. I really don't like Don Kramer's art, largely because his facial expressions are weird, but I didn't think it was too bad in this book. One thing I can say that's positive about his art is that he doesn't do cheescake. And there were a few panels in this book that were actually really nice. Like this one:

Harley is an undeniably endearing character, and Dini obviously loves writing her. It was a good little story. I really liked Harley telling Batman about meeting the Ventriloquist in Arkham and how he reached out to her. I'm a sucker for stories that humanize Bat-villains.

Superman/Batman #33

Ok, they should just change this to Superman Loves Batman and get it over with.

This ends the not-so-hot Enemies Among Us storyline. I liked this issue ok, but mainly because this really felt like it might be the one where they finally kiss. I mean...Superman taught Batman that the most powerful weapon against mind-controlling aliens is...love. Or, at least, trust. Anyway, it ends with this bit of fluffy goodness:

I am a sucker for Batman holding a cup of coffee.

And then we get a Bruce Wayne who is a changed man, Christmas Carol-style:

WHAT?! It better not! Oh Verheiden, go back to Smallville, where your sugar-coating cannot possibly make things sweeter. (I like Mark Verheiden. I'm just sayin'...)

And the last page? Well:

God that's romantic.

Do you know what would have been amazing? If Superman/Batman had, first of all, been called World's Finest, and had just been a series of one-shot stories, each time told by a different writer and artist pairing. A different set of storytellers for each issue, so everyone would have a chance to tell one story about the two biggest guns in the DC rack. Then the title would have referred to the characters and the authors/artists. Wouldn't that have been awesome?! Is it too late for that?

Supergirl #16

I said I'd read it, and I did. And...I liked it. It satisfied my nerdy love of Krypton-based stories, and it gave a really interesting and compelling backstory for Kara. It also showed us where she got her good looks, because her dad is a stone fox. See? I'm not totally against objectification.
The art is really nice, and that's refreshing. I mean, that costume is always going to suck, but the cartoon-style art makes her look a lot less gross. And the new studded belt is kinda fun and teenager-ish (it is new, isn't it?). I'll keep hoping for an issue where she matures a little and realizes that her costume is ridiculous and changes it.

The issue started with the line "You are a failure, Kara. An utter and complete failure." So right away I was enjoying myself. The book was delightfully self-aware. The theme of the whole issue was basically "Nobody likes you, let's figure out why and then do something about that." It had a great cliff-hanger ending that makes me want to read the next issue. So far so good. A definite improvement. And you know I really wanted to hate this, so this praise has weight to it.

Fallen $on: The Death of Captain America #1 featuring Wolverine


What a frigging cash-grab.

This actually featured everyone but Spider-Man, pretty much. It's written by Jeph Loeb, so it's full of totally natural dialogue like this:

Wolverine: That's how everybody and their grandmother remembers you. Bucky, Captain America's teenage sidekick back in World War Two. Kids all around the world dreamed of just meeting Cap -- and there you were in your dandy red-and-blues, fighting along-side the living legend. And we remember how you died.

Winter Soldier: I wasn't the only one people thought died that day. The world also lost Cap back then.

Wolverine: Exactly...And here you are. All alive and stuff. And after digging him out of a block of ice, Cap survived as well.

Clunk, clunk, clunk.

And Iron Man is still hanging out next to Steve Rogers' body. Boyfriend, much?

This was pretty lame. See the movies, kids! Buy the toys! I'm surprised Silver Surfer didn't glide on in for a page or two.

I was hoping I wouldn't have to bust this out again, but:

Avengers: The Initiative #1


This is me trying to care about Marvel, post-Civil War.

I actually enjoyed this comic. It was fun. Superhero bootcamp. It had some fun characters and nice art. I have nothing else really to say about it. I'll read the next issue, though.

Jonah Hex #18

Jonah has a bad day in this one. Makes some mistakes. He also kills a bear and says some really awesome things. There have been a lot of artists on this series with a lot of different styles, and they have all been excellent. This week it's provided by Val Semeiks, and he's of the school that likes to make Hex's face extra gross. I respect that.

This series is so good. It's the first thing I recommend to anyone who asks me what comics are good. You could pick up any random issue and completely enjoy it. Plus, he's such a perfect fictional character. And everyone likes cowboys.

Scalped #4

And we've come to the Indians half of this post's title.

This series is good. It's one of those comics where you kind of forget that you're reading a comic. It feels more like I'm watching a television show or a movie. Dash is just a really compelling character, and beneath all the violence and profanity and bleak imagery there is a dark, but touching, love story. It's a really well-constructed series, and I recommend checking it out while it's still young.

My Spoiler-Free Mini-Review of Grindhouse

This movie was so awesome and fun. It has nothing to do with comics, but I just thought I should let you know.

It's totally violent and gross, but I'm sure you comic-lovin' types can handle it.

Feel free to discuss the movie in greater detail with me behind the spoiler-shield (the comment thread).

Superman's Sneaky Summertime Shenanigans!

I can't look at that crying Superman anymore. It's freaking me out.

Here's some summer fun Superman!

Nice work, Supes! And let's hope that Lois doesn't notice Clark Kent's suspiciously smokin' bod, or the fact that his bathing suit consists of Superman's shorts and belt!

"It's Not Easy To Be Me"

I...I just...words escape me.

Best. Thing. Ever.

Oh but I wish I could. Had I access to a time machine, I would be there so fast. No moment in history could possibly be as great as this one. To see the world's greatest heroes in all their splendor...stunt waterskiing at Sea World!

Is there anyone out there who was lucky enough to witness this? I desperately want to know how awesome it was.