I suppose I shouldn't feel like I'm neglecting my blog when I only post one note a day to it. Especially when I had a very flu-like illness and was really sick for a few days. Anyway, here's a review to cap off your week:

This is the very first Aquaman #1, though as some wags have noted, far from the last. It's a pretty good issue, too. The "three chapter" format of the Silver Age made for nice little tales with self-contained adventures in each part. In this one, the middle chapter completely leaves the main antagonists of the story to show how Aquaman and Aqualad survive being shrunk to doll-size far from any source of water. The artwork in the story is by the wonderful Nick Cardy, who is a gentleman and a hero. The story is by Bob Haney. This is also the first appearance of Quisp, a visitor from another dimension... which was a common thread in these old stories.

More tomorrow...

Wish I could afford to bid on stuff, but since I can't, here's another note from Jimmy Gownley. Remember, look on eBay under the seller TannerRocks.

Hi guys,

The second batch of original art is up on Ebay for the Amelia Rules! Charity auction.

So far, the auction is going great, and I was in such a good mood when I posted these pages, that I set the minimum bid at just $10 for 8 of the nine new items. The final item is something special (My personal favorite Amelia piece), so lets see if we can get it a good home.

If anyone is interested in something that they don't see being auctioned, just post here and we'll see what we can do (Within reason).

Remember it's all for the Leukemia Society, so go ahead and splurge.

Jimmy Gownley

And Amelia Rules #8 just came out and was VERY fun. Remember folks, the first three letters in funeral spell out "fun"! Check it out at the nearest good comic shop, or through the Amelia Rules website.

Avengers #61: Eh, a set-up issue. Not really very interesting. 2 bored starfish.

I cannot believe how many people, including intelligent people whose opinions I usually respect, didn't understand JLA: The Obsidian Age. It was a confusing storyline, but it was readable, as I think I proved in my overview/review of it. But I keep seeing reviews of Aquaman #1 that complain about it because the reviewer didn't understand something that happened in the JLA lead-up. ARGH!

Well, the good news is that DC has completely sold out of Aquaman #1. They had overprinted enough copies to cover what usually would be the next two months of reorders, but those copies sold out in 3 days. They will decide whether or not to do another printing sometime next week. At the sell-through level, I've seen several reports of stores running out of the first issue, which is heartening.

After writing about "new" pre-Silver Age Aquaman tales I've been able to read thanks to help from on-line friends, I did a quick count and survey to see how far I have left to go. Yeah, this is pathetic, but I love numbers:

Paul Norris (first Aquaman artist) 10 stories. I've read 8. 80% done.
Louis Cazeneuve (second Aquaman artist) 44 stories. I've read all 44. 100% done.
John Daly (third Aquaman artist) 37 stories. I've read 14. 38% done.
Ramona Fradon (fourth Aquaman artist) 111 stories. I've read 84. 76% done.

And I have everything after Ramona's work. I want to do biographies of Aquaman artists on my website, but I have so little information on some of them. I know Cazeneuve was probably from Argentina and had a brother named Arturo, but I know almost nothing beyond that. John Daly? I hardly know anything about him. And then I feel bad leaving out the writers, but most of the writers are lost to history. We don't know who wrote what story. We aren't even entirely sure which writers worked on Aquaman in the Golden Age. Makes it really hard.

Ok, must run. I've got to be to work soon, and I still need to finish waking up. More blogging soonish, I hope.

Apparently a SpongeBob Squarepants trading card game is in the works. Should it happen, I want the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy cards!

My opinion on this whole Rawhide Kid thing: 1) I don't read Westerns, and I'm not familiar with the past of Rawhide Kid. 2) I won't be reading any new Marvel until they change their anti-reader policies, anyway. 3) While the art will be beautiful, the writer is known for... less than top quality product. There's far too much a chance that this will be an insulting parody. I'm just not interested at all, and it looks to me like just another ploy to get massive media attention focused on Marvel.

There's a big Elseworlds project on the way, called New Frontier. It looks very interesting.

More Later....

Amelia Rules #8: In addition to being a neat all-ages book, there is some pretty seriously cool art parodies/homages in this one. The dialogue is witty, and the narrative moves forward at a good pace. The story is about a funeral, but it's a really funny issue. Definitely worth a read. 4 3/4 laughing starfish.

Colonia #8: It's been too long. Too long since the last issue, I mean. I couldn't figure out what was happening right away, and that irritated me. Especially since this is a very memorable type of title, and I usually recall it clearly. Still, it's nothing a good re-read wouldn't fix. And certain things happen to move the main plot along nicely... 3 slightly befuddled starfish.

The Courageous Princess 3: The Kingdom of Leptia: Mabelrose still has a long way to go, I think, to get home. But this was a good story of another stop along the way. The art is just overwhelmingly good. If you haven't tried this book, get yourself a copy. 4 charmed starfish.

Tuesday #2: This two issue mini by Henrik Rehr tells about the events of Tuesday, September 11th, 2001 and the days after from the point of view of a family that lives only a couple of blocks from the World Trade Center. The book was published thanks to a Xeric grant. This was a strong viewpoint of the story, well told in stark images that aren't too stark. 3 somber starfish.

I don't have enough connections to New York to feel that I have a right to speak a lot on September 11th. It was a painful day, mostly because it was so hard to understand. How could it happen? The thought of flying a plane into a building had never once crossed my mind. Ever.

But my memories of the days following are more vivid. I live in Seattle, home to Boeing, and I never, in all my life, could remember the skies being so silent. I'd been to places where planes weren't flying constantly, but when I was home, it was always there. A background noise that came and went, but you were never long without it. For days after, the silence of the skies spooked me more than anything else.

Ahem. I'll review Avengers #61 when I get it, which might be as soon as Friday. Next week's books are supposed to be: Rising Stars, Birds of Prey, Supergirl, JSA, and The Truth.

Well, I may have been stupid to go get them, but I might as well review them.

Aquaman #1: Not the most gripping start for the general public, but definitely full of mystery for the Aquaman fan. A solid start to what I hope is a very long series. 4 very happy starfish.

There's a much more detailed review, with lots of spoilers, here. I really wish they'd gone with the cover from Previews. This one just doesn't do it for me... *sigh*

Robotech #0: I bought this for one page, and I'll review that page next. However, since I bought it, I went ahead and read it. Not bad. There is a nice summary of the story so far to get people like myself who haven't followed this series up-to-date. There's plenty of action, and a typical flashback. Lots of pin-ups in the back, too. Not something I intend to buy at all, but not bad. 2 1/2 uninterested starfish.

Wildstorm News Page: Astro City Rocket Clipping: Yup, I bought a whole comic book for the one page. And, frankly, it was worth it just for the bit about the squirrels. 4 eager starfish.

Hawkman #10: I want to like this book. There's always a promising start, then it falls apart. This book fits the rule. Interesting enough start, but what the heck happened at the end? 2 bemused starfish.

Green Lantern #157: "Faerber-Igle Machineworks"? A little too obvious, boys. Anyway. Nice fill-in story. I like Igle's artwork on this one, too. Good stuff all-around, as long as you aren't looking for something deep and meaningful. 3 silly starfish.

Powers #26: Less profanity than usual in the pages, although the letter column is still mostly unreadable. This issue is an ugly look at what happens as super-heroes age. Very interesting. 3 1/2 frightened starfish.

Still up for review: Amelia Rules #8, Colonia #8, Courageous Princess III, and Tuesday #2. When it comes in to my store on Friday, I'll review Avengers #61.

Mark Evanier has a bit on Billy Barty that my hubby-Eric might be interested in.

There is a reprint of a very sweet "But I Digress" column on Peter David's site. It's topical now because PAD just named his new daughter after the person the article is about. Check it out.

I've managed to read four more pre-Silver Age Aquaman stories thanks to a couple of good friends on-line. Reviews will someday make it to my website, but for the moment I'm just savoring the "new" tales. One Ramona Fradon story, Two John Daly's, and a Paul Norris. Good stuff all around! I'm down to only two more of Norris' stories left to read (More Fun #79 and #80). I've read all of Louis Cazeneuve (the second Aquaman artist), but I'm missing tons of Daly and Fradon stories still. You can check out my wantlist if you are curious about what I am still missing.

You may have seen this quote floating around the 'net: "Christmas is weird. What other time of the year do you sit in front of a dead tree and eat candy out of your socks?" My sister-in-law made this observation upon hearing it: "You could think of every major holiday that way. We could be threatening people for candy on their own doorsteps dressed in disguises or eating candy out of basskets full of grass surrounded by hard boiled eggs that are more likely to be lost somewhere in the house during the hunt than be eaten before all the candy is gone. There is a definite theme of eating candy from odd locations." Methinks she has a point.

Some of you are certainly saying, "yeah, what else is new?" to the above pronouncement, but I've got to tell you, I'm definitely in a class of stupid all by myself today.

I had a tough night. I couldn't sleep, despite trying various locations around the house (including the bed, the living room floor, the loveseat, the bathroom floor, the bathtub, and the beanbag chair). I was so restless that I uploaded my Aquaman website at about midnight here on the Pacific Coast, and stayed on-line visiting chatrooms until my connection died sometime around 2 am. I finally got to sleep at about 4:30, though I'm afraid I may have woken up hubby-Eric when I shuffled up into the bedroom then tossed and turned until I feel asleep.

I woke up again about 9, which was the longest I'd slept in a couple of days. I tried to sleep again, but I finally gave up and started reading on-line. I couldn't concentrate. I wanted to go get the new comics. Being sick for a few days, cramped up at home... I just wanted to get OUT. So I took a really hot shower, tricked myself into feeling ok, and went.

Now, there are several things wrong with me going out like that. The first, and possibly biggest problem, was that I didn't put my contacts in. I didn't think about it. My glasses are broken, so I need to wear my contacts when driving. But I didn't think about it until I was almost at the store. Instead I kept thinking, "Wow, the rain sure is thick! I can hardly see!"

Which leds to the second problem. I was not mentally up to driving. I should not have been behind the wheel of a car. While I got there and back just fine, if I couldn't even figure out that stuff was blurry because I didn't have contacts in, I should NOT have been driving.

The third problem was also pretty serious. Literally the moment I got home I had such a severe cramp I had to curl up on the bed for a few minutes. What if that had happened while I was driving? I couldn't see, I wouldn't have been able to pull over safely.

And so, here you have it... the idiot. She is only just recovering from the flu, but she still went and got her comics anyway. Pathetic.

And what's really sad is that half the comics didn't even make it to my store today. Half the shipment won't arrive until Friday. Luckily, the most important book this week, Aquaman #1, was in the Sneak Peek Package, so I had already gotten my copy. I would have been VERY upset if it wasn't, since the store's copies of Aquaman #1 are still in the mail.

No sleep for me. It's almost four in the morning, and I still haven't been able to rest. I'm tired, cranky, sore and really hungry. I just want a good night's sleep. That and no more pain. And something to eat that won't revisit.

A poem my Mom sent me, original author unknown:

Don't have energy for a blog. I'll write when I'm better.

Comments (1)

hey, get well soon, Laura!

David J | Email | Homepage | 12.10.02 - 4:41 pm

I think it's official. I think I've got a flu bug. In addition to the stuffed up nose and general soreness of my nasal and throat passages, every muscle in my body feels like someone twisted them around tightly and then let go. My chest feels like someone has been jumping on it. With cleats on. When I lay down in bed to try to sleep, the aches come in waves and I have to get up and move around a little to make them stop. I finally managed a nap in the beanbag chair, but it got uncomfortable after a while too.

I can't sleep, I seem to have had enough rest. I'm drinking hot cocoa and orange juice as much as my body will take, but I couldn't stomach the thought of breakfast, so I'm getting really hungry now. Reading old Aquaman comics on fiche isn't doing enough to distract me. Especially since I keep dozing off while trying to read, but when I lay down to try to doze, I feel wide awake.

Being sick is no fun. I'd rather be at work.

Found this on Usenet:

Just wanted to let everyone know, that the second annual Amelia Rules Charity Auction is now talking place on Ebay. All money from these auctions goes to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We have original pages from Amelia Rules and Shades of Gray, and new items will be added throughout December. The Auction will be "officially" announced in AR#8 on sale this Wednesday, but you RACers have been so supportive of Amelia, that I wanted to give you a heads up.

You can find these items right now on Ebay by searching for Amelia Rules Original Art, from the seller Tannerrocks.

Jimmy Gownley

While, technically, this was for comic fans on Usenet, I think having a handful more people see it through my blog won't bother Jimmy. And, if you haven't read Amelia Rules yet, it's well worth picking up. Fun book.

Comments (1)

Thank you Tegen. You're sweet.

Jimmy Gownley | Email | 12.09.02 - 10:35 pm

Dashing off to work, can't think of much to say.

I just can't get over how funny that panel of Aquaman falling in love is. Man, I adore those Golden Age stories. I wish I had them all.