Sunday – 01 April 2007
Okay, let’s go ahead and get this out of the way:  It was April Fools’ Day!  And, with that in mind: Top 100 April Fools’ Day Hoaxes of All Time.  There.  Now, we’re done.  Let’s continue…

Today was sunny and bright (for the most part).  I spent the first part of the morning/afternoon creating a giant mess of comics in the middle of my office floor.  I was boxing/reboxing some of my more recent acquisitions.  After that, I decided to get out and play in the sunshine for a bit.  First stop: REI.  Thanks, to the , I am now the proud owner of a set of golf clubs.  I think that he got a new set and rather than take the dual-wield skill, he gave me his old set.  Now all that I need to do is learn how to ruin a good walk.  Any takers?  From there, I headed to Jitterbug for lunch and chat with Bruce and company.  Next, I stopped at ‘ to drop off his paintball gear and to pick up some game books.

Back home for a bit before heading to catch a movie with .  Tonight’s fare:

…based on one of my favorite books, The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, by Dan Millman.  Being an adaptation, there were a number of things that the movie had to omit, but they left the heart of the book in it.  Scott Mechlowicz seemed to portray Dan Millman well and I felt that Nick Nolte was an excellent choice to play Socrates.  I recommend the movie almost as highly as I recommend the book; I plan to purchase the DVD when it is released.

 Four-Color Coverage
Yesterday, I mentioned the Legion of Substitute Heroes.  This afternoon, I came across the following while going through my collection:

Yesterday’s Legion toon episode did not include Fire Lad (on the left) or Polar Boy (second from the right), but it had the rest.  And they were played to just about the same amount of comic effect as they were in the books.

And now, for something not-so-different, let’s take a look at some of the highlights from the four-color press for the past couple weeks:

  • 52: Weeks Forty-Six and Forty-Seven – Closing the “One Year Later” gap.  We’re shown scenes that set the stage for the upcoming crossovers “World War III” and “Countdown.”  The issues had a couple of good scenes, but on the whole felt just… mediocre.
  • Action Comics #847 – This was something of a filler issue, I think to help Geoff Johns and Richard Donner get their finalè to their Last Son storyline finished up.  This was a “Kents in Spaaaaaace!” issue, featuring Clark and Jonathan.  I didn’t remember that Dwayne McDuffie was slated to write this issue… but I usually like his work.  This issue was no exception.  The issue also featured the artwork of Renato Guedes.  I am not familiar with his work; he drew a great cover, but it will take a while for his style to grow on me as interior art.
  • Black Panther #26 and Fantastic Four #544 – Reed and Sue take a leave of absence from the team to work out their issues.  But, since “The Fantastic Two” doesn’t inspire the same feel as “Fantastic Four” – and since the remaining two would fight each other almost as much as they would fight bad guys -  they called in a couple of substitute members: The Black Panther and Storm.  The duo fit in nicely – T’Challa takes on the leader/scientist role comfortably while Ororo falls easily into the nurturing mother/voice of reason role.  It was also interesting to watch the New FF interact with Uatu, The Watcher.  The encounter reminded me of the  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode, “Q-Less,” where Q came to the station and expected Captain Sisko to treat him the same as Captain Picard had.  (Hint: Sisko didn’t.  Likewise, T’Challa didn’t deal with Uatu as Reed had.)
  • The Brave and the Bold #1 and #2 – DC returns this team-up title to its regular lineup after a LONG hiatus.  With Mark Waid on story and George Perez on pencils, they hit the ground running.  The first issue opens with Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and Batman discovering twin alien corpses… with matching wounds.  One in space… one in the Batcave.  The trail leads to Vegas and then to outer space, so the heroes split up and take on new partners as they follow the leads.  Issue #2 opens with Green Lantern and Supergirl heading to Ventura (imagine a planet-sized Las Vegas), while Batman and the new Blue Beetle continue on the Earth-side investigation.  Waid’s writing is sharp (I’m going to miss him on LSH) and Perez’ artwork is as clean and crisp as ever.
  • City of Heroes #18 – Ms. Liberty and her other-dimensional doppelganger, Dominatrix, Minx, and LuminarySwan go out for a night on the town.  And it’s not long before a fight ensues.  Being Paragon City, it’s a super-powered cage match.  We also see Ms. Liberty and Dominatrix learn something about each other… and themselves.
  • Elephantmen #8 – This was a good story of a battle-hardened soldier who’s trying to adjust to life after war.  We are introduced to Trench, another of the Elephantmen, who is a no-nonsense, take charge and take no prisoners zebra.  We meet him in the middle of a gunfight.  And we get to watch him work.

Stray Toasters

  • I just found out that Garcia’s Pizza will be offering online domestic ordering soon.  I am not sure if this is a good thing (I haven’t had Garcia’s since I left Indiana) or a bad thing (cost).
  • If you haven’t seen it yet, take a look at the Halo 3 Announcement Trailer.  Selah.  *genuflect*
  • Matt and Tyranist: Check out Comic Book Urban Legends #96, specifically the Wolverine-Magneto item.
  • Moonlight Sonata
  • Diodesex
  • Derek, my acolyte/apprentice, made a picture of me as a South Park character:

    I was amused.

  • chrisGcomics
  • By way of Matt: 300, the PG-rated version
  • I have a new supply of Cadbury Creme Eggs.
  • and I were pondering the following: If Disney did an animated feature with Death, as a new “Disney Princess,” what would she look like?
  • I need to buy a football and a Frisbee®.
  • Pencils made from creamated humans

And that’s good for now.

Namaste.