Happy birthday, little bro.

Saw a four-car pileup on the way to work this morning. It was actually quite impressive, as it was on a regular street, and the last person clearly had almost enough time to realize what was happening as the last car was half out of its lane. Fortunately, there was enough room to pass, and as I passed I could tell that no one was seriously injured so I didn't feel obliged to stop and help. I just wonder how fast the cars had to have been going in that 30mph zone to get that damaged, and how closely must they have been following one another for all four cars to get crunched.

I find that I usually can leave my "driving attitude" in the car. In fact, most of the time I can't remember the annoying things that happen during my drives unless I work to dredge them up. I get angry a lot, and I'm a prime candidate for road rage, but I mostly don't act on it and when I get out of my car at home or at work, the anger stays in the car.

I hate inattentive drivers. I don't care what causes them to not pay attention, but I just wish they'd get off the road while they deal with their personal problems and focus on the road while they drive. There is nothing more dangerous than a driver that isn't paying attention.

I guess I'm a pretty awful driver, because I pay attention to the cars around me, and the road conditions. I try to stay out of faster traffic's way while trying to safely get around slower traffic. I drive a little fast, but I watch for dangers and react quickly. I try to have an "out" while driving. If I'm headed down the road, I try to have an alternate plan if, say, the person next to me swerves into my lane. I think about what I would do next, while paying attention as the conditions constantly shift around me. But almost everyone else on the road seems to ignore conditions, either driving way too fast or too slow. They change lanes without signalling, slow down while in front of you then speed up if you try to pass, cut in front of faster traffic as if it wasn't there... Since that is normal, I must be a bad driver to pay attention. I suppose I should resolve to pay less attention. That would probably lower my blood pressure while driving, since I wouldn't get so angry at all the drivers who refuse to obey basic traffic laws because I'd be ignoring them myself!

Or maybe I should just ride the bus.

Powers #28: Nice to see a different viewpoint. The events in this book take place at the same time as the last issue, and methinks one of the characters has got a theory that may blow up in his face.

Aquaman #3: Still good. I like how Aquaman works through the problems in this issue. I'm not enjoying the bits that take place in Atlantis, but at least we finally get a scene with Mera. Overall, this issue isn't as good as the last one, but still was better than most books this week.

Astro City: Local Heroes #1: If the book wasn't good, I would have just said, "Well, I'm glad it's back." Fortunately, it was better than good, and I can honestly say this one is fantastic to have back in my reading pile.

Cardcaptor Sakura: Master of the Clow Vol 3: There are things in this story that certainly never made it to the toned-down American TV version. That's fine, because this is turning into a real interesting mystery, with revelations abounding all over the place. This is a pretty good comic.

Next Week: Birds of Prey, JSA: The Unholy Three, Power Company, Truth, and Crossovers.

Green Lantern #159: What would have been an unexpected twist at the end of this story was spoiled when I accidently opened the book to the end while picking up my comics... thus I knew what was coming. Still, it was a good surprise.

Superman/Batman Generations III #2: The first issue made a serious effort to be new-reader friendly, but this issue just drops that completely. I'm going to have to dig up the rest of the Generations books to figure this out. If I bother.

JSA #45: Ok, the bits with the villain were fine, but I'm still confused as to what is supposed to be going on in this book. I'm just not impressed overall.

Still to read: Powers, Aquaman, Astro City, and Cardcaptor Sakura.

In response to a question by a fan, Rick Veitch indicated that Aquaman is in no danger from the editorial shake-up at DC, and that the new Aquaman editor will be Peter Tomasi.

Reviews of various comic books still coming. I've been busy working on the website for my job.

There's a great bit on Pulse News about the SpongeBob Squarepants special, including a preview of the Ramona Fradon Mermaid Man story.

Another bit a Pulse News talks about the shake-up in the DC editorial department. This directly impacts Aquaman, as Dan Raspler, the Aquaman editor, has been let go by DC. What it means is unclear, though.

Smallville: Prodigal: I knew it! Lionel is too much of a sick puppy for it to not have been true. Anyway, this was a solid episode in which the plot was moved along nicely, but it wasn't nearly as fun as other episodes have been.

Miranda #1: Hubby-Eric ordered this from Comeuppance Comics since there's no US distribution deal yet, and we're both Doctor Who fans. You don't need to be a Who fan to understand or enjoy this book, though. Good art, moving plot-line... the thing is mostly set-up, but it's good set-up. Worth a look, if you can lay your hands on a copy.

Haven't actually hit the shop yet, but other comics coming out today on my list are Astro City, Aquaman, Green Lantern, JSA, Powers, and Generations III.

Comments (1)

For those interested in buying Miranda, check out the website for Comeuppance Comics -- www.comeuppancecomics.co.uk, of course. There's subscription information there. (Good thing it's a six-issue mini, however.)

Hubby | Email | Homepage | 02.12.03 - 11:20 pm

Here's a good link from Johnny B to Slant Magazine's 100 greatest music videos. I seriously disagree with some of the list, but it mentions most of the good ones I recall liking.

Aquaman and Astro City are both coming out tomorrow. A good week for comics!

I'm actually in a pleasant mood today as I recover from lots of walking yesterday at the comicon. There isn't much news coming out of the world of comic books, and everything else in the world seems to be in a holding pattern when viewed from here.

I've been re-reading lots of old Aquaman stories. Some of them I barely remember, others I can almost quote word-for-word. Yeah, there's a range of quality even in my favorite book. I got a few folks asking me what I thought of the new Aquaman during the con yesterday. Best I can say is that Rick Veitch cares about the character, and cares about continuity, and has a different angle to try. All cool, and worth continuing to check out. Next issue is coming out in two days.

As you can see, Scott Alan, the artist of the great piece of Aquaman artwork I posted yesterday, has already posted a response to my posting of his ... um, I'm confusing myself. Just visit his website, ok? The neat Justice League image is on the second page in the image gallery.

For what it's worth, I was hanging around his table while Donna Barr, who was sitting next to him, read his ashcan of Mr. Man, and complimented him on it. She grabbed Roberta Gregory, sitting next to her, and showed her the book and said, "look at the clean lines! This guy is good!"

Tickets: $16 for the two of us

Bus Fare: $5 for two all-day passes

Food: $13.25 for two hot dogs and drinks (ouch!)

More Sketches for my Aquaman sketchbook: Priceless!

Ahem. Time for the first annual Emerald City Comicon Report. First off, I'm glad I bought tickets ahead of time, as the ticket line was long. As it was, hubby-Eric and I were two of the first people in the door. Yes, dear, I know now that we didn't have to get there so early. You knew I was paranoid when you married me.

Anyway, once in the door and ready to rumble, we wandered over to the artist's alley, then the guests table. First vict- er, first artist I asked for a sketch was the charming Pia Guerra, who did an Aqua-Monkey for me, and a Green Lantern Monkey for Eric (hmm, I'm sensing a theme...). Then we hit the dealers tables for a first walk-through. I was mildly surprised at how few dealers there seemed to be, but hubby did ok and found a book he wanted. I did see a sight that made my eyes pop out of my head and roll on the floor. One dealer had some incredible Golden Age stuff. She said she'd found them in an old school bus where they'd been stored for years. WOW.

After the dealers, we headed back to Artist's Alley. Kathleen Webb was first, drawing a mermaid for me and a Dorothy with Toto for hubby-Eric. While waiting for Kathleen to finish her sketch, I noticed a FANTASTIC Justice League drawing on the table next to her. The artist, one Scott Alan, was doing a sketch of the Flash from that drawing for a young fan. The sketch had all the members of the Justice League as children, doing rather childish things. The Aquaman was so wonderful, I had to have a sketch. As things worked out, I got a different Aquaman sketch from the guy sitting next to Scott first (Brett Cantrell), while hubby-Eric got a Green Lantern from Scott. Then Scott did Aquaman in a fishbowl for me. While it was funny, there was a blank spot at the top of the page just screaming for something. So I suggested fish food, and Scott took it from there:

Brett Cantrell did the Alan Scott Green Lantern for Hubby-Eric, and that turned out to be Eric's last sketch of the con. After a quick lunch, I hit Artist's Alley again while Eric re-visited the dealers tables. I managed to make a quick stop by the Fantagraphics booth and meet the utterly exhausted Dirk Deppey. He's not used to working days, he said. Anyway, on to the Alley, where Jim Smith did Boris the Bear as Aquaman, and I got a quick headshot of Iron Man done by Sean Chen. Last for me, and certainly not least, was Jim Mahfood, who didn't draw Aquaman, but did draw a guy in an Aquaman T-shirt for me. While it would have been cool to stay for the whole con, there were very few places to sit down (the one and only mistake they made, I think) and we're both still recovering from colds. So we left with half the con left to go.

Fun, yes. Very different than the ComiCard shows Seattle usually sees. I hope it makes it to a second year.

Comments (1)

Just wanted to tell you that I was very pleased to meet you and your hubby at the con this weekend. It was fun to be able to share time with people who appreciate the comics craft, and I was pleasantly amazed to come home from the con and find that my pic had already been posted, as promised. You're very prompt, which is great. Also, I wanted to direct you to my website where you can find a copy of my jr. JLA pic posted (as well as many other great works) to view and savor. Finally, just to say thanks! I really enjoy meeting great people like yourselves, it makes the day worthwhile!

Share the happy, it makes life Smurfy!

Scott Alan | Email | Homepage | 02.10.03 - 12:42 pm