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.