Wednesday: Coda
The day turned out better than Tuesday, after all. Selah.

After work, SaraRules and I headed to Kate and Perry’s – I had a few Blackest Night-related comics to hand off. On the way there, we were passed by a couple of scooter riders whose helmets looked… vaguely familiar; I confirmed later that it was and A 400 Lb Gorilla. We hung out with Perry and the Kids for a while. Next, we headed to the nearest Best Buy, where I (finally) found a copy of Green Lantern: First Flight… with the figurine. (More on this later.) I, however, completely forgot to look for a copy of The Middleman. Ah, well, another time.

Back home, SaraRules started in on dinner and I started in on today’s four-color crack. For tonight’s fare, SaraRules made maple chicken, cheesy potatoes, green beans and glasses of Novella Synergy Blanc. Dinner was, as always, quite delicious. During dinner we watched GL:FF. After that, SaraRules went back to work on our wedding quilt and I finished up my four-color shwag.

Reeling by on Celluloid
Green Lantern: First Flight, the latest release from DC Universe Animated Original Movies, is an adaptation of the origin story of the Silver Age Green Lantern, Hal Jordan. The feature hits the ground running and, before the opening credits even roll, you’ve been introduced to Hal and two major supporting characters. Things don’t exactly slow down after the opening credits, either, as Hal meets Sinestro and three other Lanterns and is escorted to Oa, home of the Green Lantern Corps. The story doesn’t retell Hal’s first days as a GL entirely as recounted in comics, but that’s okay – the story that they do tell is a good one. The story makes the characters accessible to viewers who neither watched Justice League/Unlimited nor read the comic book and it even lends itself for more GL features down the road. As an added bonus, one of the special features on the disc is a preview of the upcoming Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. Win-Win.

Four-Color Coverage

  • Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #3 (of 3) – The final issue of this series tells the stories of Kilowog’s first mission as a Green Lantern recruit and also of the legacy that a veteran Lantern carries on. Possibly the best feature of the issue is “Blackest Night #0: Director’s Commentary.” In it, Geoff Johns, Adam Schlagman and Eddie Berganza give a running commentary of the zero issue of Blackest Night, given away on Free Comic Book Day.
  • Fantastic 4 #569 – The FF take on the Marquis of Death: Final Round. Fight! The Marquis dishes it out… can Marvel’s First Family take it? (Hint: They aren’t called “The Mediocre Four” or “The Just-Getting-By Four”). Readers also learn exactly what happened to Dr. Doom during his fight with the Marquis. Despite all of the action, I’d have to say that the best Thing in the issue is.. um… The Thing’s wedding. And the final page sums things up perfectly.
  • Justice Society of America #29 – This issue opens with a mystery… and reveals two more mysteries over the course of the story. Readers are also introduced to two new members of the JSA. Also, what’s going on with Mr. Terrific?
  • The Last Days of Animal Man #3 (of 6) – Buddy’s still losing his powers… but he doesn’t intend to just lie down and accept it. To this end, he enlists the aid of the League of Titans, an amalgamation of the JLA and the not-teen-anymore-Titans. Highlights of this issue are Buddy’s interactions with his family and their reactions to him – Gerry Conway does an excellent job of showing different sides of the family dynamic. There are also a couple nods to 52, as well.
  • Ultimatum #5 (of 5) – What’s left of the Fantastic Four, the Ultimates and the X-Men pay a call on Magneto. They intend to make him answer for the destruction he unleashed around the world. As fans of the Marvel 616 Universe might recall, the X-men and Magneto have had this dance before. It ended with Magneto leeching all of the Adamantium out of Wolverine’s skeleton. Will history repeat itself in the Ultimate Universe? Readers also learn the secret that Nick Fury’s been keeping from… well… everyone. And who’s going to be pulling the strings in the Ultimate Universe after the dust settles.
  • Wonder Woman #34 – Diana of Themyscira is now a woman without a family. Or a country. Or her gods. These things have shaped and defined Diana over the past few years. What will she do without them. She does what any warrior does: She survives. More than that, she endures. When she discovers that Genocide is still alive, Diana recruits Black Canary’s help to track down leads she needs to find her. Dr. T.O. Morrow shows… a softer side?! What’s that about?! Also, Achilles makes his first commands as… king… of the Amazons. My biggest gripe with the issue is Black Canary. Let me rephrase that: My gripe is with the way that Gail Simone wrote Black Canary. It felt… off. I would have expected something different, especially given the fact that Ms. Simone wrote Black Canary for years in Birds of Prey. *shrug* Maybe this was part of how she wrote BC in that book, but it came off in this title just feeling…wrong. Maybe it’s me. Maybe it’s Maybelline.

Stray Toasters

Namaste.