Saturday – 28 July 2007
Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down.

That’s what my sleeping hours were like last night/this morning. It wasn’t horrible – and I didn’t feel exhausted when I finally got up this morning – but it was a little annoying. After dealing with the necessary hygiene rituals I met Perry and Max for coffee this morning.

I tried to work on my new lyric-to-drawing piece today, but didn’t get very far today. I did, however get a good bit done last night. The new piece is based on The Black Crowes’ She Talks to Angels. I finished most of the angel last night: Upper body and wings. Wings. Take. Forever. To. Fill. In. (But, I think that they look good.) I still need to figure out how the positioning for her arms. After I finish that, I have to add the other figure into the piece and that’s going to be a little more involved: I want the other figure to look like my grandmother. Yeah… like I’m not going to be picky/meticulous about how that looks. More so than usual, anyway.

The piece that I interrupted to do this one is based on emmet swimming‘s Ed’s Song. But, I’m putting a small twist on the point of view. More on that later. Maybe. Or maybe it will just be a surprise – at least to those of you who haven’t seen me working on it.

Four-Color Coverage

  • Countdown: 40 – Donna Troy, Jason Todd, “Bob,” and Ryan Choi (The new Atom) meet some of the denizens of the subatomic universe. Some rather unfriendly denizens. Hostile and unfriendly, at that. Mary Marvel takes a cruise… kind of. Darkseid masses an army. And is that Ms. Renee Montoya, the new Question, lurking on rooftops?
  • Elephantmen #010 – I really can’t say enough good things about this title. The method/manner of storytelling is reminiscent of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman in many ways. This issue, titled “Unicorn,” featured rhinoceros- based Elephantman, Obidiah Horn. It tells his story in two parts/perspectives: One, harsh and grim, from Obidiah’s… and the other, comparing him to the mythological unicorn.
  • Green Lantern Corps #14 – This issue continues the Sinestro Corps War. GL Soranik Natu returns to her home planet, Korugar, to try and bring stability and balance to her people. Unfortunately, Korugarans are leery of Green Lanterns, following their treatment under renegade GL Sinestro’s “leadership.” So, they are a little “less than happy” about Natu’s attempts to help……until Sinestro shows up. But what is he after?
  • Love and Capes #5 – I first discovered this title last year… and I like it. Quite a bit, in fact. This issue finds Mark and Abby dealing with… Mark’s parents. I think that one of my favorite exchanges in the issue is between Abby and her sister Charlotte (who knows that Mark is The Crusader):

    Charlotte: Don’t worry, I’ve got something that will wake you up.
    Abby: Please tell me it’s something with two creams and three sugars.
    Charlotte: Here you go. *hands Abby a cup of coffee*
    Abby: Thank you. You’re now my favorite little sister.
    Charlotte: Oh, hey– Mark called just before you got here.
    Abby: *to her coffee mug* Come to me, oh sweet, sweet elixir of life that men call “Joe.”
    *to Charlotte* What did Mark say?
    Charlotte: He wanted me to let you know that his mother is coming into town next week.
    Abby: *sputter* What? Mark’s MOM?
    Charlotte: See? I told you I had something to wake you up.
    Abby: You don’t understand, Charlotte. Mrs. Spencer hates me.
    Charlotte: Any particular reason or just general principle?
    Abby: More like multiple choice. Worse yet, she doesn’t say anything outright, she just kind of hints around it. It’s like she has some insidious plan to drive me away, and– –just what is so darned funny?
    Charlotte: *snicker* When you said “insidious” it just clicked– Mark’s mother is your arch-nemesis.

    …although, this post-visit exchange was pretty good, too:

    Mark: Hi, honey!
    Abby: Hey, Mark. How was the airport?
    Mark: Not too crowded. My parents got on with no problems. They told me to tell you “good-bye” for them.
    Abby: I’m sorry I couldn’t go with you. Charlotte couldn’t cover for me today. It’s pretty late though. Was their flight delayed?
    Mark: No, I just wanted to make sure they got home okay, so I followed their airplane to the Ohio border.
    Abby: You do know that planes are statistically speaking the safest way to travel, right?
    Mark: You wouldn’t say that if you’d caught as many of them as I have.

  • The Mighty Avengers #4 – Ultron takes on the world… and plans to remake it in its own image. And, as an added caveat, it plans on using Tony Stark’s own technology to help! All while (still) looking like The Wasp. But, the real Ms. VanDyne hasn’t lost any of her spark – While the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. are looking for ways to take down Ultron, they bring in cyberneticist/biophyicisit (and former Avenger AND Wasp’s ex-husband) Hank Pym:

    Black Widow (acting as head of S.H.I.E.L.D.): Where is Reed Richards? Can’t he look outside his window and see the world is coming to an end? Carol, go knock on the Baxter Building and see if anyone is home.
    Hank Pym: Actually, although clearly Reed Richards is the biggest brain of all time, in this particular field, I am the world expert.
    Wasp: Sweetie– when the world is about to come to an end because of something you created and lost control of… bragging about how smart you are… not cool.

  • Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #32 – Mekt Ranzz, Star Boy and Sun Boy. On Winath. With U.P. Special Prosecutor Tenzil Kem. Still on the hunt for Cosmic Boy.

    Tenzil Kem: Let the record show that Thom Kallor, alias “Star Boy,” confirms incriminating statements made by the fugitive Rokk Krinn, alias “Cosmic Boy.”
    Mekt Ranzz: What record? This is a farm, not a courtroom.
    Tenzil Kem: As an officer of the Adjudication Bureau, I am authorized to conduct field depositions. Everything I lens is part of the official transcript, Mister Ranzz, so you might want to mind your manners. I’ll be arresting Cosmic Boy when we find him. Try to stop me and you jeopardize the Legion’s partnership with the United Planets.
    Sun Boy: Like I care. I quit the Legion, Mister Kim.
    Tenzil Kem: That’s Kem. Tenzil Kem. And I know all about you… Dirk Morgna — alias “Sun Boy” — current leader of a noted meta-terrorist cell.
    Sun Boy: They aren’t terrorists. Not anymore.
    Tenzil Kem: Don’t worry, I’m only after the guy who blew up the Dominators.
    Mekt Ranzz: And what if we don’t let you have him?
    Tenzil Kem: Mekt Ranzz. Lightning Lad’s big brother. I know all about you, too.
    Mekt Ranzz: If you did, you’d get as far from me as possible.
    Star Boy: We’re wasting time here. Bottom line, Mister Prosecutor — We’d all be dead if not for Cosmic Boy. If we find Cos and you lay a hand on him, I will drop you where you stand.
    *breep breep*
    Star Boy: What’s that?
    Tenzil Kem: My glasses have a built-in lie detector. Don’t make empty threats, Star Boy. Not to me.
    Mekt Ranzz: Tell me if this is a lie– You stay out of my way, or I’ll poke my finger in your eye and cook your sprokkin’ brain. *lightning arcs from his fingertip*
    *Mekt and Kem stare at each other*
    Mekt Ranzz: Whaddaya know… it works.

    And… what is the Cult of Validus?

  • Superman #665 – This issue was a bit of a two-for-one filler issue: It serves as a bit of a bridge to Jimmy’s current goings-on in Countdown and it gives background into “When Jimmy met Superman” and how Jimmy came to be known as “Superman’s Pal.” Not an entirely bad retcon of young Mr. Olsen’s origins.
  • Ultimate Fantastic Four #44 – The FF versus the Silver Surfer… again. Still. Or something like that. Although, in this case, the Surfer doesn’t seem to be the herald of Galactus (or however they spell it in the Ultimate universe).

Stray Toasters

  • I talked with the Matriarch for a bit this morning. All is well.
  • I talked to Kris. She’s (still) packing for her pending move; aside from things being a bit hectic, she’s doing well. On top of that, she will be living minutes from Pro Player Stadium… where the Dolphins play. Not that she’s a ‘fins fan, but… she is a Ravens fan. And guess who’s playing the Dolphins in December? Mm-hmm, that’s right! She’s looking into getting us tickets for that game.
  • I also chatted with the too-infrequently seen/heard from <lj user=”yerac”> this afternoon.
  • WTF!?: The 8 Strangest Communities on the Web
  • By way of comes Unfortunate Placement of Yahoo! Ad

Time to go play in the sunshine some more.