Here's a review to cap off the week:

Before Aquaman got his own book, but after he had a trial run in Showcase, he moved into a temporary home in the pages of Detective Comics. These stories stand out as some of the best Aquaman tales ever published. They have the incredible art of Nick Cardy and a slightly more scientific bent to them than many of his other stories. Detective #293 saw the first of these stories: "The Sensational Sea Scoops". In this six page adventure, Aquaman and Aqualad become reporters to undercover a pirate, and the mix of Aquaman's incredible powers with a slight bit of detective work makes for good reading all around.

Adding to the fun of this particular story for me is the fact that, thanks to the generosity and kindness of Jerry Bails, I own the original art of the fourth page of this story.

An unexpected gift for Christmas has provided me with some nice blogfodder. The Science of Superheroes is a book that examines the main comic book myths and explores the real science that either makes them possible or, more likely, makes them impossible. In addition to the expected chapters on Superman, Hulk, Batman, and the Fantastic Four, there is a chapter devoted to underwater heroes like Aquaman (and that other guy, Namor).

While I haven't had time to read the whole book yet (I just got it) I have read the important chapter on underwater heroes, and I've got to say this is a really good read. It's more science than superhero, but it gives a lot of background and explains concepts in a simple and understandable way. It is, in short, fun and informative.

This one is definitely worth a look, and I'm very glad a copy fell into my hands as I had heard good things about it but couldn't afford to buy it myself. Thanks Jen!

My boss is a strong woman who has raised a number of very cool children. She owns a shop that, when she started, people told her was "impossible" and that she'd go out of business in no time because there is no demand for the products she wants to sell. She's been in business 8 years now. My boss is a bit shorter than me, and was injured in a car accident a few months ago. She has a bad back, and is very sensitive to temperature changes because of it.

Yesterday, a man who had cheated us once before came into the shop and managed to bamboozle us again. My boss called him on it, and he came to the store last night just before closing, after apparently having a few drinks to stiffen his resolve. After yelling at my boss at the front desk for a bit, she convinced him to take it outside, where he continued to yell at her. He kept getting into her face, and she kept backing up until she couldn't any more.

So she slapped him.

And he hit her back, then threw her at a parked car. I wasn't there for the altercation, but I had been one of the clerks who had dealt with him earlier in the day. The man was at least a foot taller than me. And he hit and pushed my boss around.

I like my boss. She gave me a job that I adore, has helped me regain a lot of the self-confidence that I lost in my old job, and is a pretty nice woman for all her human faults. She shouldn't have gotten herself into the situation, nor should she have slapped him (no matter how much he deserved it), but she knows that. The police (who were called in) and all the other customers in the store supported her. Heck, when the man threatened to boycott in front of the store, one customer said she would come out and counter-boycott.

But it's very scary. We run a good, fun store. We have lots of good customers. Good people. Smart people. It's scary that any one of them would intentionally cheat us, then come back drunk when we complained about it. It's just... scary.

Too... tired... to... blog...

So click here for something slightly amusing (requires javascript)

The bit about the Bushes' little dog ruining a reading of a Christmas story brought to mind some other recent doggie events...

The owner of the shop I work at has a few children. The youngest, a girl, owns rabbits. Heck, just about everyone at the shop is a pet owner of some sort (except myself, does hubby-Eric count?). In any case, the girl's rabbits live outside, in a nice little hutch built for them. Unfortunately, the rabbit home was not strong enough to endure an attack by another animal, who killed one of the rabbits. A couple of days later, the girl heard noises from outside one morning, and managed to get out just in time to stop a large dog from killing the other rabbit. The culprits were a pair of dogs, and the girl heard their owner calling for them even as she picked up the limp rabbit that one of the dogs had dropped from his mouth as he ran.

I want to point out that this happened in Seattle, within the city limits. Seattle has a leash law, and when my boss catches the man whose animals did this, she fully intends to set the law on him. I hope she does, because I find that, more and more, I can't stand to see dogs off-leash.

With this incident fresh in our minds, we heard the loud screeching of brakes outside the shop the other day. Moments later, when someone opened the door of the shop, an excited little dog raced in and immediately started jumping on everyone it could reach, including a little girl who was small enough that it nearly bowled her over. The shop owner was just short of enraged at seeing the leash-less dog wandering the shop.

A man followed the dog in, and after we captured the little guy, he explained that he lived in the neighborhood, and had spotted the dog crossing the street. The car that had screeched to a halt had missed the dog by about a foot. The man intended to take the dog home and then wander around the area to see if he could find the owners. The dog had no tags, no identification at all, just a rubber band tying up some of the hair on its head.

We tsked about it, figured the dog had gotten loose from it's home. It was probably an indoor dog. The man later came back to let us know that he was taking the dog to the pound, if anyone asked about it. No one has.

My in-laws pugs got loose once. They escaped by visiting grandmother, who lives downstairs, and sneaking out when she didn't properly latch the screen door. Grandma has been extremely careful since then. Although one of the pugs has tried repeatedly to escape by burrowing under the fence in the front yard, he hasn't had much success.

Makes me think that dogs are too much trouble. I don't like seeing them hurt, nor do I like seeing them hurt others.

Newest cover to Aquaman is being done by the internal art team of Yvel Guichet and Mark Propst instead of Alex Maleev.

The now infamous line in Aquaman #1 about the crab attack has been explained by writer Rick Veitch: Can't remember how I worded it in the actual script, but I think the idea was that we'd see a closeup of a horrified AQUAMAN completely covered in hundreds of crabs, which in his already dehydrated and severely wounded state, could 'finish him off'. Yvel (who as penciller really is the final say on the storytelling) decided on a longshot for that panel, with fewer crabs, so it was missing that visual hit that the caption needed to fully work.

Challenge of the Super Friends is coming to DVD. Ah, Super Friends. The very show that has given Aquaman his long-standing veneer of lameness. So the question is, am I interested in trying to get it, or should I pass?

Books for Free Comic Book Day 2 have been announced. The day will be May 3, 2003, and the format will be the same: just bigger and better. There will be a group of books from top publishers in each free package, with random books from other publishers making up the rest of the package. DC's contribution will be the first issue of the new Batman Adventures book (which is replacing Gotham Adventures). I just want one of everything they'll let me have. I love trying new books, and if I don't have to pay for them, so much the better!

There's a preview of Astro City: Local Heroes #1 up at DC Comics website. Wahoo! It's mostly B&W pages with no text, but it's enough to raise my anticipation for the return of one of the best superhero interpretations ever.

Comments (3)

Regarding Super Friends, I suggest you pass. That is some of the lamest stuff from the dark ages of animated TV, IMO.

Of course, those shows do have their admirers...but so does Barry Manilow.

Johnny B | Email | Homepage | 12.19.02 - 10:13 pm

It's a war in my mind. Lame show that gave Aquaman a bad name... but it's Aquaman on DVD! Lame show versus Aquaman on DVD... argh. At least I've got a few months to decide.

Laura Gjovaag | Email | Homepage | 12.19.02 - 10:42 pm

At least it doesn't include the episode where Black Manta tricks Aquaman during a race and tosses him into a giant clam. That must be Aquaman at his most lame.

Franklin Harris | Email | Homepage | 12.21.02 - 12:02 am

News I couldn't pass up: A reading of "The Night Before Christmas" to 60 third-graders by President Bush and his wife, Laura, disintegrated into what the president called a "near riot" after the children were frightened by the unexpected appearance of the Bushes' Scottish terrier, Barney. "He's pretty ferocious looking when you first look as him," Bush said of the overly eager little black dog. BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!

As for the blogfight I reported, it seems to have reached the final stages. Peter David reports that his BID column is now coming up before Groth's column on Carol in web searches. Nifty. Dirk posted his final thoughts on the subject, much of which make perfect sense. The bit that really convinced me that Dirk is more on the right on this subject was the line that Gary used to say the same things to Carol to her face, and that she enjoyed a good argument when it came her way. Very well. I stand by my initial reaction to Glenn's editorializing on PAD's blog: he would have done better to just not mention Groth at all. Same result, no nastiness.

Christmas traditions I hate: The Christmas tree. Even as a little girl, I hated the idea of killing a healthy tree just to bring it indoors and hang stuff on it. The whole concept seemed cruel to me. I'd been raised with a respect for nature, and yet here we were, bringing a murdered tree into our house every winter! I recall suggesting that we get an artificial tree, but everyone around me looked at me like I was completely bonkers and told me it was "tacky". So I made a little promise to myself that when I grew up and had to get my own Christmas tree, I'd get an artificial one.

It didn't work out that way. The word "tacky" was so ingrained, and my hubby-Eric was also from a family of tree-murderers, so we ended up getting real trees the first few times we did the tree thing. To make matters worse, hubby-Eric is a noble fir guy! I prefer bushy trees.

But last year, we couldn't afford a tree, and I was beginning to feel a bit treeless on Christmas Eve, so I went down to the local fabric shop and found a nice little artificial tree with a nice little string of white lights, under $2 for the whole lot, and brought it home. And that is now my Christmas tree. Eric can murder all the noble firs he wants, I'll just keep my little two foot artificial tree, and I'll never tell my children that live trees are better.

Comments (1)

Oh, sure, make me out to sound like a bad guy. (And do you realize how many people in our local economy depend on tree sales to earn their livelihood?)

Seriously, once we are in a position to get a large tree again, let's take a look at artificial trees. It's not like you ever actually told me any of this before...

Hubby | Email | Homepage | 12.20.02 - 12:41 pm

Truth #2: Ok, I know that some seriously sick things were done to minorities during WWII, but this bit seems to go over the line of credibility even for the Marvel Universe. The art still isn't quite working for me, although I'm starting to get used to it. In any case, I'm not quite sure I like the direction this is headed. 2 concerned starfish.

Birds of Prey #50: Basically a jumping on issue. A whole new arc is starting, and most of this issue is set-up for it. Good artwork, decent story set-ups... 3 interested starfish.

JSA #43: Mostly set in the past. The distant past. While I can't really remember what happened in the last issue, there is enough context here for me to follow the story. Another ok issue. 2 1/2 savage starfish.

Supergirl #77: Ok, I think I'm beginning to see where Kara is from. Anyway, this issue is kind of spoiled for me by the knowledge that the series is being cancelled. Without that knowledge, I think I would have enjoyed it immensely, but as it is, I only enjoyed it a lot. 3 1/2 super starfish.

Rising Stars #21: Sure, NOW it gets really really good. Yeah, some of the issues were quite cool before, but this one is truly interesting. I wish Brent Anderson had pencilled it from the beginning. 4 wowed starfish.

PS238 #0: This issue is made up of a bunch of short takes, and it's really funny. Definitely recommended. This may be the best all-ages to come around in awhile. 4 1/2 laughing starfish.

And lastly:

Birds of Prey: Nature of the Beast: Actually, this was a pretty good episode. Better than the last few. Whole lotta "family" in this one. 3 telekinetic starfish.

Next Week's probable books: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen II #4, Gotham Adventures #57, Gotham Girls #5, Power Company #11, Titans #48, Amazing Spider-Man #48, Avengers #62, Ruse #15, Archard's Agents #1 and Opposite Forces #2. Big week if everything comes.

Comments (1)

I haven't gotten very far yet, but I just have to say, I love "PS 238." The kid who can turn rocks into food is great.

Hubby | Email | Homepage | 12.20.02 - 12:42 pm

Just found a link, thanks to a friend across the internet, of some images from the first "graphic novel", the adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck. Poor Obadiah keeps trying to woo his ladye-love, but always seems to fail and then try to commit suicide. The good news is that he eventually succeeds. The bad news is that the whole story isn't posted on this website I'm linking to, nor are the images that are posted particularly readable, sadly. The work is by Rudolphe Töpffer, and was first printed in Europe in 1837, and reprinted in the United States in 1842.

I just got a copy of Comic Book Artist #22 (thanks Paige!) in which there is an interview with Aquaman co-creator Paul Norris. The one addition to my Aquaman collection that I would love to have is that man's autograph. According to Paul, in this interview, Whitney Ellsworth (the editor of More Fun) told him to develop a water-based character. He did the visual design, and Ellsworth assigned Mort Weisinger to write the first story. So there we have it, the creation of Aquaman. Norris also has said that he was unaware of Namor at the time Aquaman was created. For those of you who may think that is far-fetched, remember that this was long before the internet and that Norris was probably slaving over a drawing board most of the time. Reading other comics wasn't a priority in his life.

Comic Book Artist is a darn good mag, so I have plenty of other reading material in this book. After all, would I spend $6.95 on just one six page interview?

Naturally, I got comic books today. Ones that I'll be reviewing as soon as I read are Rising Stars #21 (the last one shipped in early October, I hope I remember the storyline!), PS238 #0, Birds of Prey #50, Supergirl #77, JSA #43, and Truth #2. I took a peek into the sneak peek package, and saw the next League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but didn't feel the need to ask if I could take it. I'm just happy it's finally shipping. Anyway, those reviews will be going up later, maybe as soon as tonight.

Comments (3)

Hey, Laura, was your copy of CBA an advance? It didn't come out at my store, which is just as well since I spent a fortune Wednesday anyway...

Johnny B | Email | Homepage | 12.19.02 - 10:16 pm

It was actually a re-order. I heard about the interview after issue #22 came out, and my retailer went to some effort to make sure I got it.

I think #23 is due out very soon, if it already hasn't hit the stands.

Laura Gjovaag | Email | Homepage | 12.19.02 - 10:36 pm

If I had gone to the trouble to look at the covers, I would have seen that I already have #22. Duh.

I don't keep the majority of my collection at my house, and I've already stored my CBAs.

I tend to remember each issue more by subject matter (the "Harvey" issue, the "Atlas" issue, etc.) than issue number, hence my confusion.

David J | Email | Homepage | 12.20.02 - 9:07 am

I seem to have gotten myself right into the middle of a horrible little blogfight. See, I read both Peter David's blog and Dirk Deppy's Journalista blog every day. So when I noticed that Dirk attributed the words of Glenn Hauman (PAD's webmaster) to Peter David, I wrote an irate letter to Dirk that basically told him off for bad journalism, because he wasn't paying attention to the byline. I was also more than a little irritated with Glenn, because I read Peter David's blog for Peter David's thoughts, not Glenn's. A note explaining why he was posting that particular BID column without an editorial on Groth's column would have been much more appropriate.

That should have been that. Dirk apologized for the mis-indentification in an addition to his blog, and I thought all was well with the world. But Glenn is still talking about it, as is Peter David, who says he fully supports everything Glenn said in his first essay. Since this partially invalidates my earlier complaint to Dirk, I sent Dirk the link to PAD's comment.

So before this goes any further, which it is definitely poised to do, I'll chime in with my thoughts on the whole thing.

I don't particularly like Gary Groth's column. It reads like a typical anti-Marvel propaganda piece, with the added nastiness of making fun of people in mourning. However, Groth is allowed his opinion, and a backlash like his can only be expected. Carol died far too soon, and the shock made a lot of people write somewhat strange pieces about her. Groth found the pieces left out some vital (in his opinion) aspects of her career, so he decided to fill in the blanks. It's not a nice piece. It's not a memorial. It's a backlash. As unpleasant as it is to read, it does have some thoughts about Carol that you don't see anywhere else, and oddly enough, it makes Carol a real person when taken with the other pieces about her. Everyone has many sides to them. Carol was no cut-out saint, but a genuine human being.

When I read Peter David's piece, I was moved by the content. I thought it was a very sweet tribute to someone who had helped a guy along the way. It's a tribute, which it was meant to be. Carol clearly had a massive impact on Peter David, and Groth's nastiness will never change nor diminish that.

What is really sad is that all Glenn did with his comments on Groth's column was draw attention to it. If he had said nothing about Groth, the tribute to Carol would have read just as it was meant to. There would be no blogfight, no CBG versus CJ, no Gary Groth versus Peter David. What Glenn wanted, for the tribute to Carol to come up first in a web search, would probably have eventually happened anyway. It never pays to attack your "enemy", even in a casual throw-away line like Glenn did.

That's a lesson we could all use learning.

Use the comments to leave your thoughts on my stupidity. I probably deserve it...

Comments (1)

I find the less said about Gary Groth, in general, the better. Mind you, I've had my own little spat with TCJ recently.

Franklin Harris | Email | Homepage | 12.18.02 - 9:08 pm

Supergirl has been cancelled. The news just went up on Peter David's Blog. The solicitation read kind of like it might be the last issue, but I thought it was just the end of the arc. That makes even more books that we read cancelled. Gotham Adventures, Supergirl, Young Justice, Spectre, Titans.... it's almost a death-kiss to be read by us.

As Elayne noted in her response to my last blog, the CBLDF has been involved in two cases that don't exactly fit. In the interests of full-disclosure to anyone who might not be up-to-date on their comic book legal issues, here's the rundown:

The first one, Kieron Dwyer versus Starbucks was about Dwyer's parody of the Starbucks logo. The problem was that Dwyer was making t-shirts and mugs with the logo and selling them. I agree that that use of the logo was wrong. But the use of the logo on a comic book was also deemed wrong by the court. The argument that the CBLDF is putting forth as to why they are still supporting the case is that comparing comic books to t-shirt and mugs reduces comic books to the status of commodity, when in fact they should be a protected form of speech, similar in this case to an editorial cartoon. I don't know that I can completely agree with that, but unlike Elayne it doesn't bother me enough to stop supporting the CBLDF, especially with Castillo's case still being fought.

As for the other case, Stu Helm verses Kraft, I think I'm on Elayne's side on this one. Helm started signing his work with the moniker "King VelVeeda" after deciding that he was a cheesy artist. Kraft eventually noticed, and got annoyed because Helm is the kind of artist that definitely doesn't fit their image, and told him to stop. He fought back, and eventually asked for help from the CBLDF. The CBLDF agreed that his use of the nickname should be protected under first amendment rights. I disagree. Helm hijacked the name and used it repeatedly in the context of "cheese", albeit of a different sort. It's within Kraft's rights to ask him to stop. The only way Helm has the moral high ground here is that he was using the nickname for a decade before Kraft noticed. Again, it's not enough to stop me from wanting to support the CBLDF for Castillo's sake, but this one really does stretch the credibility of the CBLDF in my eyes.

I suppose the way for me to get around this is pretty simple. Next time I donate (whenever that may be), I should include a note that mentions I don't support either the Dwyer or the Helm case, and ask that my money not go to either of those funds. I doubt the CBLDF has the means to do that, but at least whoever receives my note will know that I'm not behind them in those two cases. Maybe that will make a difference. But I can't not support Castillo. He was just working at a comic shop, and was being responsible. He shouldn't be punished for selling an adult comic book to an adult. Period.

My husband worked part-time at the local comic shop. It could have been him. If it could happen to a guy that did everything right, including hiding adult comics in a separate section just for adults, then it could happen to any comic book retailer or clerk. I just can't let that go by without a fight.

Comments (1)

I've already asked the CBLDF if they have some way of earmarking their funds. Charles Brownstein replied that at present they do not. I really hope they acquire that capability soon, I'd dearly like to continue supporting their efforts on behalf of the First Amendment rights of comic book creators, publishers and retailers, and I just don't like that they seem to be veering a bit from this mandate by taking on the trademark infringement stuff, particularly with the laws being somewhat in flux at present. There's only so much money to go around, and I think it's imperative that the CBLDF focus on their mandate.

By the way, I'm having the same qualms lately about those people in Friends of Lulu who support the idea of more comics for kids. It's a fine idea, but it has nothing to do with a feminist organization. You want more comics for kids, start a kids' comics organization. You want to change the laws regarding trademark theft, start a copyright and trademark law org, don't use the First Amendment as a pretext for that.

Elayne Riggs | Email | Homepage | 12.18.02 - 9:05 am

An interview with Jesus Castillo, the comic book clerk unconstitutionally charged and convicted for selling an adult comic book to an adult, is up at Newsarama. Read how a guy's life was basically ruined because people in Texas are unable to understand freedom of speech or apply the laws as written. Then donate to the CBLDF to try and help get this injustice reversed.

Apparently there's a new comic book out about the adopted daughter of Doctor Who, Miranda. Now, if I had been able to keep up with the many Dr Who novels, I might have a clue who this person is, but as it stands, I don't know.

And lastly, the new solicitations for DC comics are out. Aquaman has long been joked about because he can talk to fish. I have to wonder what people are going to say when he gets turned into a fish...

Comments (5)

As sympathetic as I am with the Castillo case, I've made the tough decision that I can no longer support the CBLDF as long as they take the part of trademark thieves (not parodists, but people who actually do commerce using subverted trademarks) and refer to that theft as exercising of First Amendment rights. Once the Stu Helms and Kieron Dwyer cases are out of their system, I'll rejoin. Until then, if I can't earmark my donations to go specifically to First Amendment cases, I'll have to withhold my money.

Elayne Riggs | Email | Homepage | 12.18.02 - 12:56 am

Hmm. I thought the Dwyer case was long gone. And, while I don't particularly like the Helms case, I think Catillo has been put through enough hell that it's worth it to donate just to free him from what will be a black mark on him for life.

Laura Gjovaag | Email | Homepage | 12.17.02 - 7:49 pm

My mistake, the Dwyer thing is still being battled out.

Laura Gjovaag | Email | Homepage | 12.17.02 - 9:41 pm

Now you guys know how some people feel about the ACLU -- even those who support them don't support everything they do.

Hubby | Email | Homepage | 12.18.02 - 12:01 pm

I dunno Hubby, I can't remember a case that the ACLU has fought that hasn't been about the First Amendment. My current beef is that I don't think the CBLDF is sticking to its own mandate by taking on trademark infringement cases, as I don't believe those have anything to do with the First Amendment. Although I'd be curious as to whether First Amendment Absolutists feel that way as well. Let's ring up Nat Hentoff and ask him.

Elayne Riggs | Email | Homepage | 12.18.02 - 8:58 am

I took a long lunch today as part of my "flu recovery" program. It's a 30-minute drive home, but I went home anyway, planning on a nice relaxing meal and reading the morning newspaper that I hadn't yet read. But when I parked my car and got out, it made a distinct, and loud, gurgling sound at me. "What?" I said, looking at it in disbelief. "GURgle!" It responded. "Do you need an oil change?" I said, thinking about the little sticker in the window that I'd been ignoring that said to go in on October 1st. "BURbleGURbleGERgulla!" It agreed.

So, after a short meal with no newspaper, I drove down to the nearest Jiffy Lube to have them give my car the once-over. It's actually kind of pleasant to watch these guys, zipping around the car, checking everything on the checklist, and making sure everything is right. Yup, was a bit low on radiator fluid and anti-freeze. Needed a bottle or two of oil. Everything else looked good. I'm set for another 2,000 miles or so.

I like driving. The problem is, I don't like driving when there are other people on the road. Which makes driving a very unpleasant proposition for me most of the time, since there isn't any time I drive that there aren't tons of other people on the road. I also like driving fast, which isn't terribly legal on the roads I normally drive, nor is it practical, as there are usually plenty of people in front of me who think that 45 miles per hour means that they should really go 25. I never wonder why road rage exists. It's because of two smallish groups of people: the over-cautious and the under-cautious.

The o-c drivers drive slower than the speed limit, usually by at least 5 or 10 mph. When making lane changes, they s-l-o-w-l-y move over, blocking two lanes while they move. If they are coming up on their turn, they slow down even further, without turning on the turn signal... about a mile before they have to turn. If there is a turn lane, they once again move over s-l-o-w-l-y, taking about a half-mile to get out of your lane into the turn, blocking your lane AND the turn lane at the same time. If stopped at a red light that turns to green, o-c drivers will carefully look both ways five times before slowly accelerating into the intersection. If ANYTHING wierd happens at that point, they will stop in the middle of the road. If nothing wierd happens, they will get up to about 15 mph and stay there for the next mile after the light, only accelerating further if there are clearly no other dangers around.

But the u-c drivers are the real trouble-makers. These are the people who drive too fast, but don't pay attention. These are the people who put on their make-up, talk on their cellphones, eat breakfast, read the newspaper, or otherwise distract themselves into doing stupid things regularly. These people sometimes drive too slowly, also because they aren't paying attention. They change lanes without signalling, and turn without signals, and sometimes at the last minute. They run through crosswalks when pedestrians are in them. They don't notice lights turning green, then get upset if you honk at them (after counting to three, always count to three before honking). They drive unpredictably, which screws up all the known defenses of defensive driving.

Get rid of those two groups somehow... maybe by education, and driving wouldn't be the nightmare it currently is. Of course, you could always take people like me, who get impatient with such drivers, off the road too. I'm sure that would make things better. Heck, if there is nobody on the road, that would improve traffic.

Comments (2)

The worst are the ones who go to so much trouble to pull out in front of you and then go only 20 mph for the next six miles.

Franklin Harris | Email | Homepage | 12.17.02 - 6:50 am

Oh, definitely. You sit there and wonder why they couldn't have just waited until you passed instead. There's this whole "get ahead" mentality, except very few drivers seem to actually want to drive a decent speed once they ARE ahead.

There's a long stretch of road on my commute where the speed limit is 45 mph, but half the drivers seem to think the limit is "as slow as I can go". It wouldn't be so bad, since there are two lanes in each direction, if they just drove in the right lane. But, no, they must make sure BOTH lanes are blocked.

I hate traffic. *sigh*

Laura Gjovaag | Email | Homepage | 12.17.02 - 11:48 am

Here's a great essay on the current copyright case that should be read by anyone with any interest in copyrights. It's only three pages, well worth your time. Thanks to Journalista for the link.

There's an amzing website a http://www.dcindexes.com/ about DC comic books. The author of the page states that he intends to collect every book ever published by DC. In addition to collecting all these books, he's gone ahead and done reviews and essays about them! Aquaman fans should take note of the Weekly Planet Archive #27, in which he makes a very good argument about where the dividing line between the Golden and Silver Age Aquaman is. Even if you aren't a fan of Aquaman, the site has plenty for any fan of good old comics, unless you're a Marvel Zombie.

Thanks to people talking about comics they hadn't gotten yet, a creative joker on Comicon.com started a thread about comic book in 2023. Worth a read, just for the sheer insanity of it.