Thursday – 11 June 2009
Another NBN Thursday kicks off…

…with meetings. Yay. Looking at my calendar, it looks as though I only have two meetings, rather than the three I thought I had. That’s a nominal win.

::: EDIT :::
One meeting down… and I just found out that I might have a third meeting, after all. It’s not the one I was expecting, however.

Last night, SaraRules and I made our weekly(-ish) trek over to The Perfect Dress to see what they were unleashing upon the world as the new, hot items in bridal and formal wear. There was only one new dress to ridicule look at. After that, we wandered through the neighborhood World Market for a bit, with side trips to Paradise Bakery and Cafe and Red Mango. The night wrapped with a bit of TV and the reading of some Stephen King (for her) and this week’s comics haul (for me).

Stray Toasters

  • Buck Rogers #1 – It’s a new take on a classic character. This is your quintessential introduction issue. We meet the titular Captain Rogers, Colonel Wilma Deering… and… Ursinius. If you’re looking for Twiki, all I can say is “Sorry… bidi-bidi-bidi-Buck.” This book looks like it could be a rather fun spin on the tale of Buck Rogers and company.
  • Fantastic Four #567 – Doctor Doom vs. his Master. Who will pay the price for the backlash from this fight? This storyline has been building nicely for the past few months, I am intrigued to see how it will pan out.
  • The Flash: Rebirth #3 (of 5) – Can Barry Allen outrun his fate to become the new Black Flash? Would it be Barry Allen if he didn’t try?  One of the best sequences of the story includes a bit of dialogue with Superman:

    Superman: Barry. I’m not going to let you do this.
    Flash: You can’t stop me.
    Superman: I’ve raced you before, Barry. I even won some of those races.
    Flash: Those were for charity, Clark.  ::: speeds out of sight with a sonic boom :::

    The Fastest Man Alive, indeed.

  • Green Lantern Corps #37 – Daxam under a yellow sun. (Never seen that one before, have we…?) GL Arisia rallies the Daxamites who want revenge on Mongul. GLs Ash and Saarek’s paths cross… at the direction of the scarred Guardian. The Alpha Lanterns make an appearance at the Sciencell riots.
  • JSA vs Kobra #1 (of 6) – DC Comics’ cult Kobra is stepping up its game and looking become “a name” in the DCU. Their opening move: Making an attack on Mr. Terrific, member of the JSA and Checkmate’s White King… in front of the JSA’s brownstone. (“Not smart,” you say? Actually, it was quite shrewd.) What is their endgame and what are they willing to do to achieve it?
  • R.E.B.E.L.S. #5 – Durlan shapeshifter, Ciji, states her case/mission. Astrild Stormdaughter states her case/mission.  And readers finally see the true face of Starro the Conqueror. (Or at least the updated “true face.”)
  • Red Robin #1 – Not only are we (re)introduced to Red Robin – and the man behind the mask – but his mission. Also in this issue, we get a glimpse at the “changing of the guard” in the Batcave and of [SPOILER DELETED], who seems to have something of a vested interest in the activities of Red Robin, both in and out of costume. I was impressed with this issue – it contained interesting looks at some familiar characters and pushed at least one of them in a direction that I wasn’t expecting. I’m looking forward to see how the series progresses.
  • Uncanny X-Men #511 – The X-Men split into two teams to battle the Red Queen and the Sisterhood… and this time, they bring their “A” game. And friends. And they’ve even managed to work up a couple of surprises. The question is: Will it be enough? And, by the end of the fight, a familiar face returns to the pages of UXM.

Of the books I picked up this week, there were a few that didn’t make the cut… but one that really didn’t do anything for me was Uncanny X-Men: First Class #1. It was a “behind the scenes” look at the transition from the original X-Men team and the post-Krakoa team. More specifically, it was a collection of stories from each of the new X-Men (minus Sunfire and Thunderbird) about their lives before joining Xavier’s cause. Of the stories, the only one that really struck me as “good” was the Storm story, which recounted one of her adventures as a child thief in Cairo. Other than that, it was a waste of $3.99, in my opinion; if I could give negative bricks for this, I might consider it.

Stray Toasters

Namaste.