Monday, December 31, 2007

And never brought to mind

So, I want to do a 2007 retrospective post, like I did last year. Unfortunately, the holiday season has not been particularly conducive to posting and planning. The majority of my comics are several hours away, and I've been playing catch-up so much this year that I honestly can't recall what comics came out this year, and what ones came out previously. Hell, just last night I read the last twelve issues of "All-New Atom" for the first time, and it was just a few days ago that I actually finished off Busiek's run on "Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis."

So, when I get back to campus in a few days, I think I'll whip up a nice, long, detailed retrospective post on the year that was: 2007. We'll hit the highs and lows, the shiny new and the broke-ass old. And, like everything else I've done this year, it'll be just a bit too late to matter.

See you in 2008!

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Trade-Off

So, I hear that the new Spider-Man issue kills the marriage. I also hear that it brings back the mechanical web-shooters. You know, I hated "The Other," I hated the organic web-shooters from "Disassembled," but I think the marriage is a pretty high price to pay for undoing all that. It seems like undoing one bad idea with a worse idea doesn't equal out to a good idea.

Hey, wait a minute...no organic web-shooters, no marriage, no Aunt May knowing the secret--did they just completely erase the Straczynski run? And then some? I see the Morrison X-Men Protocol is still in effect.

Questions

  • Is anyone else as bored with "Death of the New Gods" as I am? I feel bad, because I liked Starlin's "Cosmic Odyssey," but I'm really kind of bored with this series, and it doesn't feel like any of the characters have distinct voices.
  • Why don't we hear more about Superman's origin from the radio show, where he came to Earth as an adult?
  • Is Willingham ever coming back to Shadowpact? I mistakenly credited his inconsistency for the sharp decline in quality, but it seems I missed that someone else has been writing the book for awhile. If this is the new status quo, then I'm done with the 'pact.
  • Why is the Tangent Comics universe becoming so important in the DCU? Honestly, it's been almost ten years since the last time they did anything with it; does anyone really remember it?
  • Am I the only one who wants to see the Amalgam universe get a similar revival? Yes, I recognize that it won't happen.
  • Why am I still buying Countdown to Adventure?
  • Why did they give Adam Strange back his old costume? I liked the new outfit.
  • Did the "Search for Ray Palmer" issues have any importance beyond "check out some of these slightly different worlds that will be gone in a year"? It felt like "Sliders." And not the good years.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Questions of Grave Importance

I don't want to overhype this or anything, but this may be the most important question I've ever blogged about. It's like if Deep Thought came up with Zen koans. Don't ponder it too closely, because it might blow your mind.

So, I get that you're not supposed to feed Mogwai after midnight, but for how long after? I mean, after all, it's always after midnight. You might be able to justify feeding them at midnight, but it's not like you can feed them instantaneously. By the time you set the food down, it's already after midnight.

And what about the time zone? Do Gremlins get jet lag?

Saturday, December 15, 2007

The eyes have it

So, I just read the first two issues of "Salvation Run." It's not a bad series, though certainly not a great one either. I mean, maybe it's just because I've never read many comics with the Fearsome Five, but I could have sworn that Psimon was telepathic and telekinetic. Seems like "mind-control the Joker" should have been considered before "yell 'ow, stop that' like a baby."

I'm a little disappointed with the characterization of Ragdoll. Simone set him up as a vaguely eloquent twisted masochist, complete with his own font, but that seems to have been dispensed of entirely for a more cookie-cutter personality.

But my biggest problem is that, considering that crucial points of the last big universe-wide crossover hinged on it as a detail, you'd think they'd make some effort to get Lex Luthor's eye color right. Our Lex's eyes are green. It's Earth-2 Alexi and Earth-3 Alexander who have blue eyes.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

All Glory to the Hypnotoad!

Is it just me, or has "Everybody Loves Hypnotoad" gone downhill this season? I don't know, I think it's that they're spending so much time on the gymnastics flashback story arc, and it's just not as entertaining. And every now and then, it's like as soon as the episode is over, I forget what happened.

I'll keep watching, but I hope it picks up soon. It'd be nice to see if it ever reaches the quality it had back in the fourth season. Remember this?



I almost forgot about the lily pad. Those were the days.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Hibernating

Someone wake me up when Spider-Man stops sucking. Okay? Thanks.

Deals with Mephisto? Really?

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Quick Medical Question

Regarding H.R.G., doesn't a blood transfusion require, you know, a heartbeat?

I've got a No-Prize answer or two ready, sure, but that seems like a pretty basic error. I wonder what Polite Scott would say.

Saturday, December 01, 2007

One of these things is true

I just read Action Comics #858, the first part of the "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" arc. Yes, I'm a bit behind on comics. Anyway, I had some serious problems with the comic, which led me to one of the following conclusions:

1. This story does not take place on New Earth.

2. Continuity lord Geoff Johns hasn't read a Superman comic in 20 years.

Now, if the former is true, then there are some serious problems with continuity. While it would clear up the whole Legion thing and the other problems in this issue if the story took place on Earth-1 or something, it does refer to the recent General Zod storyline, which by all appearances took place in the normal DCU.

Unfortunately, it seems to me that the latter is probably true. See, in this issue we find nebbish Clark snubbed by his co-workers, then berated by Perry White for never making any friends his own age. Now, I don't mind so much the decision to make Clark unpopular around the office again; that I can handle. I do mind that Perry White has gone from a caring father figure who treats Clark, Lois, and Jimmy as friends to J. Jonah Jameson-lite, smoking cigars (I guess he forgot about his bout with lung cancer) and calling Clark by his last name. Especially since that character development backsliding only applies to Action Comics. Over in this week's Superman Annual #13, we get the more modern, nuanced Perry White.

The most egregious thing about that whole exchange is where Perry says to Clark, "Why, you've been here, what--three years? And yet I haven't seen you make a single friend outside of James Olsen!" Did Perry have a $&*@ing stroke? Besides Ron Troupe, who, last I checked, was still writing for the Planet, there's at least one other absolutely-in-continuity friend Clark's made since starting at the Planet. A close friend, in fact. So close that they got *&%^ing married, and Perry was at the wedding!

It's telling that, in the panel where our intrepid Editor-in-Chief makes this comment, Clark isn't wearing his wedding ring. Whether it's telling that this is on some other Earth, or telling that even Gary Frank hasn't been paying attention to Superman comics in years, remains to be seen.