Thursday – 05 April 2007
Another bright, sunny day in the valleys of the Land of Zion. I actually got more than a couple hours’ sleep last night, which definitely comes under the heading of “a good thing.” Getting up and out the door wasn’t too much of an ordeal, either. The road monkeys weren’t flinging poo. And, the path to caffeination zen has been a smooth one. Not a bad way to kick off a Thursday, I must say.
On the way home, last night, I picked up my weekly dose of four-color crack – more on that below. Then, I headed home to decide how best to spend the evening. Apparently, that translated into “Take a forty-minute nap.” I can’t say that it wasn’t needed. I also needed to eat. Post-nap, and I went to Fascist Place to assault the food court. (I never said that I wanted something “good for me.”) Then, we wandered around the mall. Here’s a question for those of you who are familiar with See’s Candy: Does anyone remember a candy that they (used to) sell that fits this description:
- Chocolate base, about 1″ square
- A thin layer of marshmallow on top of the chocolate
- A green mint “jelly” on top of the marshmallow
Someone sent me a box of them many, many rains ago… but I haven’t seen them since. I seem to recall that they arrived somewhere around Easter, or at least in Spring. If anyone remembers this candy and/or knows what they were called, I’d appreciate any information on it. Thanks.
After the mall, it was off to Borders. I really wanted to finish the drawing that I’ve been working on. And I did. Finally. It’s not necessarily a masterpiece, but I’m happy with the way it turned out. I was going to scan a picture of it last night… but that didn’t happen. I’ll try to get to it tonight.
Four-Color Coverage
As I mentioned above, I picked up this week’s offerings from my local comics emporium. I don’t know what happened or who kicked people in the pants, but the books this week were all pretty good… even the one title that I wasn’t planning getting – Avengers: The Initiative, a Civil Bore aftermath title – was good. Here’s this week’s breakdown:
- 52: Week Forty-Eight – This was a Renee Montoya issue. She finally comes into her own as the new Question. We all knew that it was coming, but it’s been interesting to watch as she came to realize – and accept – that she the fact.
- Avengers: The Initiative #1 – What happens when the U.S. Government decides to license and train metahumans to use their powers safely and effectively? And give them a chance to step up and be part of the senior team? You find out here. That’s right…. welcome to The Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. Wait… wrong book. Welcome to Camp Hammond. Okay, there we are. It’s not all fun and games, though. Instead, think: “superhuman boot camp,” and you’ll get the idea. There was even a Starship Troopers-like accident during one of the training exercises. I was shocked… and a little impressed by the fact that they did that. I’m not sure if I’ll continue to collect this – Marvel’s lost a bit of their luster for me, lately – but I’ll probably give it another couple of issues to see where it goes.
- Justice League of America #7 – For all my opinions about JLA #6 and that it was what the new direction was all about… I was wrong. It was this issue. The latest incarnation of the JLA finally – officially – came together as a team. One member finally “graduated” to the senior class. One potential member shared a possibly dangerous secret with a former teammate. And there even may be a romance in the offing. And, the last two pages seem to be tie-in with some pages from Justice Society of America, setting up the upcoming crossover: Lightning Storm – an arc that will unify the legacies of the JLA, and the JSA with the Legion.
- Supergirl #16 – Finally. FINALLY!!! We now see why it is that Little Miss Argo is so messed up. It’s an interesting look at the introduction of the Phantom Zone, from the point of view of Zor-El, brother of Superman’s father, Jor-El. There is still a little bit to go to unravel full mystery of Kara’s psyche, but we’re finally on the yellow brick road. Next stop: Oz. Or the Fortress of Solitude. Or somewhere. But, even with all of this… this is probably the weakest issue of the week. The weak? (The strangest of the strange? The queerest of the queer… Do do do do-do-dooo)
- Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #28 – The new/latest Dominator war comes to a head. The Legion and the Wanderers square off against the Dominators’ armies. The teams are splintered. And battered. And definitely on the thin edge of the wedge. Not to mention Cosmic Boy and Triplicate Girl are both subjected to some fairly brutal torture – at one point, I wondered if Trip would be changing her name; it would have been a very interesting twist on the original story. And, was that Polar Boy with The Wanderers (Threeboot)?!
- Superman #661 – A Superman/Wonder Woman story… featuring Lois Lane. You’d think that with two of the three members of DC’s trinity in the story, Lois might get overshadowed. Nope. Granted, she doesn’t have a lot of “screen time,” but she does hold her own with Clark and Diana. It was an interesting one-off story, but far from a “bad” one.
- Superman/Batman #33 – This issue was the wrap-up of what I’m referring to as the “Black Rock Invasion.” I was a little surprised at how quickly/tidily the story concluded. In fact, it included a plot hole that was large enough to pilot a Khundian battlewagon through. And given that hole, one wonders if there’s a way to bring a certain Infinite Crisis villain back to the fore in the DCU… Hmm. Not a horrible story, but possibly the second-weakest of the week. On the plus side, though, it did show an interesting side of the Bruce/Clark relationship and it also showed a more light-hearted Bruce Wayne than we’ve seen in recent years.
Scales of Justice
The Hand of Nefer-Tem took to the streets – and sewers – of Paragon City last night. The objectives: Follow-up on the missing Kheldians… and hit Level 20. Both objectives were accomplished. It also turned out that the Kheldian mission was the last of that storyline.
I trained up to Level 20 and got my new power: Black Dwarf. This means a new form and six new powers. I didn’t test them out; I’ll do that this evening.
Stray Toasters
Namaste.
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