JLA: Scary Monsters #3: I like this tale a lot more than I like the regular JLA at the moment. This should be the main book. An intriguing mystery, frightening foes, and a cover by Art Adams. What more can you ask for?

Alan Moore: A Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman: This is a dense book. That's dense as in thick, crowded, full. The positive meaning. There's little bits from just about everybody who is anybody in the comic book biz, and much of it is bizarre beyond description. There are text pieces, artwork, photos... a little bit of everything. I don't recommend this to anyone who doesn't like Moore's work, but if you like Moore's stuff, this is worth picking up.

Next week's books as scheduled are: Usagi Yojimbo, Batman Nevermore, JSA All Stars, Justice League Adventures, and Way of the Rat.

And here's an extra one for the road.

My Uncle Jeff: This is a quiet and introspective story about a family. Don't be deceived by the title, Uncle Jeff is just a focal point, not the story. It's both sad and happy, with dreams and hopes and everything about life fit in. And I felt extremely melancholy after reading it.

And for those of you who want an update on my friend Leah Adezio, she is "guest blogging" on Elayne Rigg's Blog.

Titans/Young Justice Graduation Day #2: It didn't take me long to figure out the whole Superman twist. Unfortunately, there are too many characters. And the events are too extreme. This book just isn't clicking at all.

Green Lantern #165: So this is the new direction. This is not a bad start, but this is definitely going to be a wait-and-see series.

JLA: Age of Wonder #2: I wasn't expecting the events at the end of the last issue, so the resolutions were a little different than I would have expected also. Beautiful art. This is a pretty good Elseworld. Now, somebody just needs to write one that includes Aquaman.

Still up for review: JLA Scary Monsters and the Alan Moore book. Maybe I'll write those up tonight for posting tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow afternoon I start my stay at the Pug House of Horror. I'll blog more about it once I'm there and settled in. If the puggles will let me settle in.

Also, please note that the homeland security level has dropped from an "Ernie" to a "Bert". I just want to see us drop to a "Cookie Monster". And am I the only person who is disturbed by the use of the word "homeland"? It just seems to have some very negative connotations.

Futurama #13: Ok, this issue is surreal. Even for this book. But I also found it considerably more amusing than any other issue I've read. Which really isn't saying much.

JLA #81: Strange, I'm having a flashback. To what? To the Obsidian Age storyline. You see, the only reason I followed that storyline so closely was because I knew what the payoff would be: the return of Aquaman. This story is promising to be just as convoluted, and I have no idea if the payoff is worth reading the book for. I'm not impressed.

Ruse #20: I need a bigger scorecard. Most of the characters are explained in the pages well enough that even someone with my faulty memory can keep up, but the activities are still zipping by quickly enough that I'm having trouble keeping track. And this is a detective book, right? I want to see more detecting!

Still to review: Green Lantern, Age of Wonder, Scary Monsters, Graduation Day, and Alan Moore.

And just to throw you off a little, here's a review completely unrelated to comic books.

A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar: Not the movie. I still haven't seen the movie. The book is incredible, though. This is a fascinating study of one man's journey into madness and back out again. It jumps around through time a bit, enough to throw off a casual reader. There is nothing casual about trying to read this book, so don't even try if you aren't willing to put a little effort into it. But if you do, OH you will be rewarded.

How about a visit to New York? Just don't break any laws. Don't sit on a milk crate, have a frame around your car's license plate, or stop to rest while walking up from the subway.

And here are some thoughts on Bush's tax cuts from somebody who writes better than me. Yay, we're back in the era of trickle-down Reaganomics! Huzzah!

The Supreme Court has ruled that it's perfectly alright to torture innocent people for confessions. Kind of scary, I think.

Howard Dean's Blog isn't Howard Dean's blog, it's just a collection of hype from other people. And it's really boring. I'm dumping it from my links as of the next update. Gary Hart's Blog, on the other hand, is written by Gary Hart, although rarely updated, and has some interesting thoughts, so it stays.

Salam Pax is irritated by some of the e-mail he's been receiving. People are questioning who he is and asking about his parents. He gives away a lot more information about himself in this entry, and it's not what some folks would expect. The above link will only work if blogspot archives are working.

Jim Henley has some strong words on the continuing effects of the war. The death of one US soldier a day in Iraq is getting to him.

Here's the story of the WMDs in the words of our leaders. Makes you just want to spit, doesn't it? Oh, but wait, we're the good guys! Never mind. Here's another take on the same theme.

And I think this particular quote (taken from the comments section of the first link above) is spot on as far as the Bush Administration's lies are concerned:

No-one disagrees that the Saddam regime was brutal and I suspect that I and a lot of other people could have supported military action to remove him and his regime IF THAT WAS WHAT WAS ACTUALLY PROPOSED. That is a valid, and preferred, liberal position but it was NOT the case that the Administration relied on.

All the Administration's justifications were based on the 'imminent threat' that Iraq posed to the U.S., combined with the continual comingling of the words "Iraq", "Al-Qaida" and "terrorist".

So, it looks as though there are now 2 kinds of people:

First, those who knew they were being lied to about WMD's before the invasion and don't believe that the U.S. should start military action based on lies; and

Second, those who believed what they were being told in the lead up to the invasion and, now that the U.S. has "won", are comfortable justifying the action on the basis of an outcome that was never used to gain support for the action.

Joe Betsin

And I'll leave the rest at that. The next few blogs should be all about comic books, blackberries, and baseball, and not much else.

Got some trimming of the blackberries done, out in the sunshine. Sat back and watched my team play baseball. Relaxed... Hope you enjoyed the day, too, where ever you are.

The big comic book story on the 'net today is Fantagraphics is in trouble. Not having any money, I can't buy anything to help support them, but if you do have some cash, here are some suggestions. Usagi Yojimbo, Scary Godmother, Little Lit. Look in their all-ages comics and classic comics sections. To be honest, I can't recommend much of my other stuff, it's just not my style, but they do have some great books there. And it would be a shame if Fantagraphics vanished, no matter how you feel about them.

More Fund Comics. What an interesting name. Hmmmm, I wonder where they got that from? In any case, I think I want this book. Stan Sakai alone is enough to make me want it, but we're talking at least 128 pages for $10. Yeah, this one might be worth checking out.

You want propoganda? Here's another article on Micah Wright's propaganda remix project. I particularly like this warning: "Wright is an unabashed liberal who makes the Dixie Chicks sound like Ronald Reagan." Yup, he's still at it. But is it art?

Draw Your Own Monsters Funbook by Laura Dunham. Why would I link to this? Well, it's not by me, but I spent the first 22 years of my life with that name. So when my little sister Lisa stumbled over this in a shop, she picked it up for me. So that I would have a book by Laura Dunham in my collection. (To bring this back to comic books, Laura Dunham was also a character in the Marvel universe who dated Rich Rider, Nova, for awhile).

New comics came out today, and everything Eric and I ordered showed. So I'll be doing reviews as soon as I get around to it, which will be after I've read the books, which will happen as soon as I get around to it. I might also post something about Previews and Wizard Magazine, which also came. Depends on how chatty I feel after tackling the blackberries and ivy today.

Oh yeah, countdown to stay at Pug House Of Horror: two days.

Comments (2)

Actually, I was the one who stumbled over the book by Laura Dunham at the store.

Lynnae | 05.29.03 - 10:10 pm

Oh. Ok. Hi Mom.

Tegan | 05.30.03 - 8:57 am

I'm not even going to try to explain the circumstances leading up to Bob Hope finding Aquaman on Venus. But hey, Happy Birthday Bob Hope!

This image is from "The Adventures of Bob Hope" #94. Yes, he had his own comic book, and yes, it ran for longer than any single series of Aquaman comics. *sigh*

Comments (1)

When I was very young (late 60s, grade school, I think), there was an old store that had hundreds, maybe thousands, of used comic books. It was about a mile from my house. The store was run by an elderly lady (at least she seemed elderly to me at the time). It was my favorite place. She sold comics for 1/2 of the cover price, or you could bring in two comics and trade her for one.

This store was the place where I first saw the Brave and Bold, the Spectre, the Flash, Teen Titans, and so many others. I still remember the checkerboard design and big DC bullet on all the comics. Seems like it was all DC and Archie. I don't remember any Marvel books but there must have been.

Seeing the Bob Hope panels brought back a lot of memories about that store. I remember seeing Jerry Lewis comics and Bob Hope comics (both by DC), but I didn't know who Bob Hope was.

The memories are bittersweet. I would collect pop bottles and cash them in for comics money. I probably traded in a hundred comics on that 2 for 1 deal. I wish I had them back now.

If there were such a thing as a time machine, that little store on Third Street would be one of the first places I would go.

farsider | 05.29.03 - 12:17 pm

Go visit Spinsanity. They seem to be as balanced as I wish I could be. Of particular interest is a sick misrepresentation of Bush's statements by New York Times Columnist Maureen Dowd, who is an insult to all columnists and reporters thanks to this story. There's also a nice summary of the war spin there. Oh heck, just read the whole site. It's worth it no matter what your point of view is. I wish these guys ran the newspapers.

I chose my nickname for the internet based on seeing a couple of episodes of Doctor Who. The character of Tegan seemed to fit me. She was uncertain, thrown into situations that she didn't like or understand, but she kept going and never shut up. She listened, she watched, but she never let a chance to let her opinion be known go by. I never suspected I would fit my handle so well, but over the years I've grown to be more like Tegan. I might as well die before I shut up. Even if I don't necessarily know what the heck I'm talking about.

Tegan was also a bit of pessimist. Strange, how well that name fits me.

I was going to be all cheery and post something completely innocuous, but I was so irritated by the knee-jerk Bush-supporters comments that I just don't feel like making any effort. Why doesn't anyone who agrees with me ever make a comment to support me? I know you are out there, even reading. Are my arguments too stupid to support or something? At least tell me if my writing stinks.

Or maybe everyone does believe that we are the good guys.

Whatever.

Three days until Pug House of Horror.

Surveys pointing to high civilian death toll in Iraq. Apparently we killed a lot more people than we had to in our rush to Baghdad. I suppose that's alright, though, since Saddam would have eventually killed just as many. After all, it's ok if we murder mass innocents to overturn a dictator who murders mass innocents. We're the good guys, right? Those mass graves we are finding, they make it all worth it. It doesn't matter that many of those people are in those mass graves because Bush Sr promised American support for an internal uprising a decade ago, then let Saddam butcher those people by ignoring his promise. Because Saddam killed them, not us (we just killed another few thousand), and we have finally come to the rescue (a decade too late). We're the good guys. Right.

Salam Pax has a bit more on the work of CIVIC, as he participated in one of the surveys. He even took some pictures, which you might be able to see if you are lucky and his blog actually loads.

And, strange, we still haven't found those Weapons of Mass Destruction. Did Bush lie to us? And, if so, why hasn't he been impeached for lying? After all, Clinton lied about his sex life and was impeached. Bush lied to start a war, I would think that's a far more serious crime. But no one but extreme liberals and peaceniks have brought up impeachment, and no one seems terribly serious about it at all. Why is that? Do we seriously consider a lie about someone's personal life to be a more severe crime than lying to justify an invasion of another country? Is our society that sick?

Oh wait! I know. It's because we're the good guys. Of course. That makes everything better.

Just to make this entry a little more fun, since I know I'm going to get slammed for having an opinion anyway, take a look at The Memory Hole Blog and see what that wacky Michael Moore is supposedly up to. Oh yeah, this will go over well with the Republicans. Somehow I doubt Moore has a case, but it'll be fun to watch him dance around and make a big deal of it.

The next item on The Memory Hole Blog is also interesting. It points out that Congress can release the information about 9/11 that Bush wants to keep secret, if enough congresscritters believe that information is in the public interest. The only reason I can think of to hide the findings is to mask the incompetence of the intelligence community, and I would think knowing that they are incompetent would be in the public interest. It would also shut up the conspiracy theorists, at least for a day or two until they found a new topic to harp on. Release those files, folks!

And The Onion is up to it's normal tricks with a fun article about a new law being passed while the nation is distracted by sports. Parental guidance advised for visiting these pages. After all, the Onion is a bit naughty.

A Federal District Court has struck down a law to prevent people from posting personal information about police on websites. If you haven't heard this one before, sit back. Bill Sheehan, a website designer, decided that the Kirkland police were harrassing him, so he set up a website with all kinds of personal information about the police, including their social security numbers and home phone numbers. The police naturally took issue, and sued him. Before the lawsuit could go through, the state passed a law to make it illegal to put up that kind of information. It went to court. The law has been deemed unconstitutional. And I've got mixed feelings about it. I sure would feel threatened if I were a police officer with all my personal information listed on Sheehan's site, but there are a lot of police officers who abuse their positions (just look at Tacoma right now). I think an appropriate website by Sheehan would have been a listing of police officers with ranks, and information on how to complain about them. Listing personal information, no matter how available it is, just seems childishly vindictive.

And, heck, since you all hate me now anyway, take a look at Cows With Guns, a flash animation done to the very odd song by Dana Lyons. The animator is Bjørn-Magne Stuestøl.

Comments (5)

Three points:
1. I don't hate you. And I suspect none of your other readers do either. We know what to expect from your blogs by now.
2. Yes, you're right. We should have just asked Saddam nicely. I'm sure he would have just left without all the bloodshed.
3. Bush didn't lie. Look at Powell's speech to the UN. That was the Administration's official case for war with Iraq. It was based on WMDs, Saddam's brutality, and violations of UN resolutions. I believe Powell's entire presentation was truthful and most of it has already been shown to be accurate.

farsider | 05.28.03 - 2:30 pm

George SR was limited by the Beloved UN! He was not allowed to send troops to Iraq. He was not allowed to order troops to take out Saddam. I do not hate you, I just see things differently. Not right or wrong compared to your view, just different.

Maggie | 05.28.03 - 4:52 pm

1) No comment.

2) Yeah, so we are justified in forcing an invasion on false pretenses and murdering as many, if not many many more people than Saddam would have murdered all year. Uh-huh. Sure. Asking him nicely wouldn't have worked, but there had to have been a better way than lying our way to an invasion and butchering people whose sole crime was to have been born in the wrong country.

3) Oh, so you think that finding no (read that: NONE, ZERO, ZIP, ZILCH) weapons of mass destruction after Bush and Powell promised us they were there isn't lying? If the war wasn't about the WMD, then why did the Bush White House make it so absolutely clear that THAT was the reason we had to go in NOW and not wait for a better solution? Oh wait, they're the good guys. They can't be lying.

And, Aunt Margene, why did Bush Sr make those promises if he never intended to keep them? Bush Jr didn't pay any attention to the UN. Why did Bush Sr pay attention when it meant the death of thousands?!???? Why are you applying different standards to each Bush? Bush Sr obeyed the UN so he's forgiven for his part in their deaths, but Bush Jr doesn't obey the UN so he's forgiven for massive casualties inflicted by US troops. It doesn't make sense. Either Bush Jr is a criminal and a liar for going against the UN and illegally invading another country, or Bush Sr is a criminal and a liar for not going against the UN after he promised aid to the people of Iraq. Which one is the criminal, and when are you going to start calling for his punishment, Aunt Margene? I'm waiting.

Tegan | 05.28.03 - 6:49 pm

Which one do you believe is the criminal?

Tom T. | 05.28.03 - 6:53 pm

Me personally? I think every president since good ol' Carter has been a criminal, and most other politicians, too. Not that things were pretty before Carter, I just don't think he was a criminal.

Tegan | 05.28.03 - 7:01 pm

Not much going on. Hubby-Eric tackled the lawn yesterday, and I went out and tackled some of the blackberries. I figure if I take them a little at a time, maybe I'll eventually wear them down.

Countdown to stay at Pug House Of Horror: four days.

Comments (2)

Laura, you didn't mention my job interview!

Hubby | Homepage | 05.27.03 - 7:39 pm

How did the interview go?

Maggie | 05.27.03 - 8:13 pm

Remember today the people who fought and died for our freedom. Never let their sacrifice be in vain. Stay free.

Smallville double-dose.

Smallville #2: Two interviews, two comic stories, and an episode guide. The first comic book story read much like a decent freak-of-the-week episode of the show, the second comic book story was a bit... far out there. Though amusing, I guess. Overall, not bad.

Smallville: Exodus: There were certain things I expected... this story wasn't one of them. Again, this has become my favorite Elseworld. I love the oddities in the tale. I love the new characters. I love the new slants. This is a fun show, as long as you aren't taking it as the written-in-stone-history-of-Superman.

As per usual, check out the Smallville Ledger, the Smallville Torch, and the Chloe Chronicles (number four just posted). I'm not sure if the Chloe Chronicles will continue through the summer, but whenever a new one gets posted I'll mention it if I spot it.

And, since I'm directing you to further entertainment on the web, remember to visit the BBC's re-recording of Shada by Douglas Adams, episode four now up, at the BBC's Doctor Who site.