Laura "Tegan" Gjovaag
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Laura "Tegan" Gjovaag |
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I got my Jeff Parker sketch on the third day of the 2000 San Diego Comicon. When I went to that convention, my little sister was off in Paraguay, and I was writing to her every week. The con report was cobbled together from my very long letters to her about the event. Anyway, one of my favorite sketches from the con was the one by this guy named Jeff Parker. I'd never heard of him before he did my sketch, and only went to his table because someone else recommended his art. Much later, when I first heard about "The Interman", I ordered it almost immediately because of that sketch. And I enjoyed it, too. I just finished re-reading it, after getting it back from loaning it to my sister, and I enjoyed it as much (if not more) on the second read. So, here's the sketch that made me such an Interman booster: As a reminder: Almost every sketch in my sketchbook was non-commissioned and done on the floor of a con. These are not the best works of the artists. These are only representative of what the artist can do under pressure in a loud, crowded, and often stressed-out environment. Most of them were done as quickly as possible, to prevent huge lines from forming. Don't judge any of these artists negatively by the artwork you see, instead be as impressed as I am by what they accomplished in far-from-ideal conditions. To see all the sketches I have permission to post so far, check out my Sketchbook Page. If you have any contact information for any of the other artists I'm trying to contact, please e-mail me. Click for a random Aquaman sketch. The Saturday Sketch ™ is brought to you by the letters "J", "P" and the number "27", and also courtesy the fine artists who pour their lives into producing wonderful comic books, then come to conventions only to get asked by geeky fangirls for a sketch of Aquaman. Support an artist, buy a comic book. If you have a sketch site and would like to link to my Sketchbook Page, please let me know about the site so I can link back to you! I now have a number of good links, I don't mind adding a bunch more. At the request of Matthieu-David, I made a banner link, which people are free to use to link to me (I'd prefer if you host it on your own server, though). As you can see, I took the Jeff Parker sketch along with the Paul Chadwick sketch to create the banner, as those were two sketches that worked iconically, and reduced extremely well. On my Main Sketchbook Page I now also list which artists I currently have permission to post (so you can get an idea of what sketches will be posted in upcoming Saturday Sketch ™ posts), which artists I'm still looking for permission to post (and while I've contacted the agents to some of these artists, I have reluctantly decided that the permission of an agent is not the same as the permission of an artist and I won't post unless I know the artist is aware of what I'm doing), my con reports (including my massive San Diego Comicon 2000 report), and links to other sketch sites. by Tegan at 7:50 PM Seattle time - Permalink
Ah, you MUST see this neat little flash animation of Tom Lehrer's The Elements Song. This neat link via Modulator. Ever heard of Grape Tomatoes? Well, not if you live in the EU. Another story of regulation gone mad. Also via Modulator. Mike Sterling tackles Demo. I haven't missed the sixth issue of Demo, have I? I don't recall seeing it in the shipping lists... Ok, Just in case there was any doubt whatsoever, my little Amazon.com shop brings in almost no money. I've been testing it the last few months, putting more links in my regular blogs... but people rarely buy anything. I get most of my referrals from family members, when they remember to go through my site. For the last six months I got exactly $12.47 in referrals... enough to buy a paperback if you include tax and shipping. My Zazzle.com shop is doing slightly better, but only because it appeals to Eric's friends. In short, our desperate need for a second income has not been met at all by my on-line commercial efforts. No surprise, really. The Mariners lost again today, bringing them to 8-16, not a good record at all. Oh well. We have a neighbor practicing on his bagpipe. I love the sound of bagpipes. I hope other neighbors aren't bothered by it. Due to the warm weather, everyone has doors and windows open, so we can hear it. by Tegan at 5:04 PM Seattle time - Permalink
Adventures of the Escapist #2: If you can get past the first story, which wasn't terribly good, the rest of them are decent. I'm still irritated at Dark Horse for announcing the collection of the first two books before the first book has even come out. Had I known they were going to collect it so quickly, I wouldn't have bought the individual issues. Of course, call me a sucker, I've ordered issue three. Conan #3: If I were really familiar with the original Conan stories, I'm sure I'd have some sort of different reaction. As it is, I'm really enjoying this series. Pure straight up fantasy. Usagi Yojimbo #75: Amazing. I didn't think I could be surprised by the storyline, but learning ... what we learn at the end, it was a complete surprise to me. This is a wonderful series, and I'm glad to see it hit #75, and here's to another 75 issues! Still to review: Way of the Rat, Noble Causes, and Abadazad. by Tegan at 10:35 AM Seattle time - Permalink
You can get just about anything out of a Japanese Vending Machine. Via Metafilter. Steve Pheley, Gutter Ninja, made a splash with his post on what Marvel and DC learned from Manga, and he's off and running with another intelligent post on genre comics. Welcome to the blogosphere, Steve, I think you'll fit right in. Here's one for the hubby: Slate reviews the Fairly Oddparents. I guess, from reading other blogs, that it's Poem in Your Pocket Day, which is also now Poem on Your Blog Day. So here's mine current favorite, or at least the one that's currently running through my head nearly constantly: We and They by Rudyard Kipling. There are also some good notes on the poem on the same site. In general, Kipling is one of my favorite poets since I discovered one of his poems in Middle School and spent many hours trying to explain it to bored friends. by Tegan at 3:42 PM Seattle time - Permalink
Batman: Harley & Ivy #1: This is more like it. Low-brow humor for the fan of supervillians. The art on the cover is... um... bothersome. I wouldn't usually complain about it, but ... um... just what strange disease do Harley and Ivy have that deformed their breasts like that? They appear to have short bananas stuck to their fronts. The interior art doesn't show that problem, but it's really icky on the cover. Anyway, I think hubby-Eric enjoyed the shower scene, as he pointed out to me the various ways the naughty bits were hidden, from bubbles, hair and steam, to towels and sound effects. Very fun. Birds of Prey #66: What happened to the Toth cover? Did I miss an announcement? And, while this was all very interesting, I just can't figure out how Dinah came to the conclusion she did at the end. Again, did I miss something? Perhaps I'll have to go back and read this whole arc again once it finishes. But without knowing what's really going on in the entire arc, I guess this was an interesting issue anyway. Still to review: Way of the Rat, Noble Causes, Conan, Escapist, Usagi Yojimbo, and Abadazad. by Tegan at 12:02 PM Seattle time - Permalink
I've noticed a number of other bloggers posting their fitness stats and goals. While I don't really pay close attention to them, I do admire the fact that they're working on it, and they've got fellow bloggers and readers to call them out if they don't make progress. So I'm going to try to start my newest endeavor, the Friday Fitness Blogging. I'll confess that it might not work, and I might stop blogging my fitness quickly... I don't know. Indeed, there is no way to know until you try. So I'm going to try. Here's the starting stats. I'm overweight. I don't particularly care how much I weigh, in general, but my weight is causing health problems and making me miserable. So it only makes sense that I should attempt to shed a few pounds. But for a variety of reasons, not the least of them pure embarrassment, I'm not going to tell you how much I weigh. All I plan on telling you is that I've recorded my weight in my food diary, and every Friday morning I'll have a weigh-in and record here, on the blog, the difference from last week and from starting point X. Food diary... ah yes. I once went on a quite successful diet/exercise program. There were two main parts to it. One was a food diary, the other was an exercise chart. I didn't reach my goal weight, but I was well on the way when I suddenly fell ill and stopped exercising. Depression soon followed, and I stopped keeping track of my food. At which point the program failed and I started to gain again. That's where the blog here comes in. My hope is that, due to my anal-retentive nature, I'll feel incredibly guilty if I don't post my current information. That'll hopefully give me the additional incentive to keep on keeping on. Anyway, I plan on this being a pretty short blog every Friday morning. I'll just list the stats, and maybe comment on how I feel. Nothing more. Don't feel obligated to give me cheers of encouragement, don't feel like you need to say "good job, Laura" whenever I post the FFB, but don't hesitate to do so if you feel like it! So, here's the first one, to establish the pattern: And that's all until next week. by Tegan at 9:00 AM Seattle time - Permalink
JLA #97: Gah. Lame cliff-hanger, lame characterizations, even the art was poor. Not worth picking up. Green Lantern #176: Promising start, but not much more than that. So, he's home. He even tells us how he got home (but we don't get to see it, despite it sounding more interesting than 90% of the rest of the issue). How many more issues until this version goes "poof!" and vanishes? Well, since the superheroes aren't doing it for me this week, maybe there will be something worth reading in the AIT/Planet Lar box... round and round and round she goes... First up is White Death. I actually read that one several day ago and had trouble writing anything about it, so I have also read Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden. Here's the rapid reviews: White Death by Rob Morrison and Charlie Adlard: I'm really disturbed by this one. It's a horrible war story, but it's both well written and well drawn. It's deeply disturbing. It's about what happens to people during war, and I had to sit on this one awhile after reading it, because I couldn't think of anything to say about it. It was like a punch in the gut. I still am not sure whether I liked it or not. It did make me think, and for that reason I'm going to recommend it. Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden: Borrowed Magic by Dave Roman and John Green: This is another "loaner"... I'm sure my copy will meet many hands. Jax accidentally journeys to another realm while chasing a rabbit, and finds some funky-looking armor and a magic book. Upon returning to the "real" world, she discovers that nothing is quite the same anymore. And that's just how it starts. My first thought upon finishing this was "where's the second volume? I NEED the next volume NOW." I think that's a sign of enjoyment, yeah. In short, this one is highly recommended, and I would also like to know when the next volume is coming out. Until then, this website has a handful of Jax stories to tide me over. But you, YOU need to go out and buy this one now. Still to review: Way of the Rat, Noble Causes, Conan, Birds of Prey, Harley & Ivy, Escapist, Usagi Yojimbo, and Abadazad. by Tegan at 8:15 PM Seattle time - Permalink
Want to earn a merit badge in Atomic Energy? Maybe you could build a backyard nuclear reactor. Or maybe not. This isn't what I'd call a "safe project". Shane Bailey posts some lyrics to Ookla the Mok's great song, "Arthur Curry". As great as the song is, however, I like "Viewmaster" from the same album less than art even better. Here's Ookla the Mok's fansite. Via Boing Boing, James Patrick Kelly is releasing audio recordings of his short stories into the wild under a creative commons license. Fascinating article by Christopher Butcher about Manga Distribution in the US. I think he's hit all the important bits of interest to retailers and fans... Via Franklin's Findings. The Rampaging Fanboy points out a new JSA mini coming up, with art by Barry Kitson. Yeah... Thanks for the info, Newsarama. Also, according to the above Fanboy on a Page, it was former Aquaman writer Shaun McLaughlin who got famed Aquaman sketchbook artist Matt Haley to design the Superman you see in the Seinfeld ads. Originally from Comicon.com. And one more bit from Fanboy Rampage is an excerpt from a Geoff Johns post on the return of Hal Jordan. Most important bit to me: "But we are not out to wipe the slate clean and go backwards to 1975. ... Truth is, you don’t know where we’re going, but we're going forward." In my opinion, just about anything would be better than the last few issue of Green Lantern. Franklin thinks that a little competition is a good thing. This is all about Toykopop's decision to run TV ads. Chris Hunter points out that some people still want CrossGen to succeed. I fall into that category, if only so Robin will someday get paid. And I know hubby-Eric really loves Abadazad and wants to see more issues of it. In case you are inclined to celebrate, here's a page about Cinco De Mayo, and here's some recipe ideas. Do you want to see if your town is on the 'net? Look it up. Huh. Finally an "Ask Yahoo" that applies to Frankenhaus. Now, if I could only get rid of the blackberries, too... There is a lot I would like to say about politics. However, I'm entering the "It's all futile!" phase, and I'm rapidly losing interest in the whole nightmare that is our government. So, unless something truly outrageous happens, I'm probably going to lay off the politics for some time to come. I'll still be thinking about it, but I don't plan on commenting about it. In the meantime, watch Talking Points Memo for fascinating transcripts of White House Press Briefings. Here's a little survey for you. Answer in the comments if you feel like it. 1) Do you normally read this blog through its website, or through an aggregator (like Bloglines)? 2) What's your favorite aspect of this blog? by Tegan at 1:00 PM Seattle time - Permalink
Smallville [3-19]: Memoria: Wow, John Glover is good. He's simply incredible. In fact, this was by far the best episode I've seen in ages. The flashbacks all worked for me, and the small regular cast helped to keep it tight, too. A very strong episode. I really enjoyed it. Angel [5-19]: Time Bomb: So Smallville involved flashbacks, this one just involved simple time travel? Ok, maybe not so simple. In any case, it really wasn't a bad episode. I liked the way one hanging plot thread was simply solved, in an offhand way at the beginning. Not the best one ever, but pretty good. Comics that came this week: Abadazad, Escapist, Way of the Rat, Conan, Usagi Yojimbo, Birds of Prey, JLA, Green Lantern, Harley & Ivy, and Noble Causes Vol II. Reviews coming soon. by Tegan at 10:01 PM Seattle time - Permalink
Via Elayne, June 9th is International Webloggers' Day. Oh dear. The current Green Lantern series (which I haven't been enjoying much) will be ending in September. A mini-series will re-introduce Hal Jordan. Where it goes from there? News from Newsarama via Thought Balloons. And now we go live to a reaction from a real live Green Lantern fan, hubby-Eric: "Um. Oh well. What, you want an answer? Ok, what's gonna happen to Kyle? C'mon, don't write that! It's not that big a deal to me!" Hubby-Eric and I also send our condolances to Marty Nodell, creator of the original Green Lantern, whose wife Carrie passed away. I remember her as an energetic and kind woman, who loved to hear from fans and was always willing to talk with you. Raise a glass for her. Mike Sterling gives an overview of The Merman Batman for me. Very cool! Boing Boing had a picture worth a thousand words for me. Yeah, it's a Fark thing, but the picture they chose to represent it was just wonderful. Via Tangognat comes this preview site for Emily and the Intergalactic Lemonade Stand. I think I ordered this one... by Tegan at 8:27 AM Seattle time - Permalink
Shortly after 6 pm (I think), the lights flickered. I didn't notice at first, because the laptop switched to battery back-up, but hubby, who was watching the TV, sure noticed. The lights quickly came back on... then went out again. The wind was blowing like crazy, and it was clear we were out of luck for power. I half expected the lights to come on again within a few minutes, but it's now four hours later, and I'm sitting in the light of my laptop, which will only be on long enough to type this out. My sister and her friend came out to visit, and we all went down to the nearest Ben & Jerry's to get a free ice cream cone together, then because it was clear the power wasn't coming back on anytime soon, we all went out to eat. Hubby-Eric and I got home in the pitch dark and realized that we didn't have any flashlight to be able to see the front door so we could unlock it. Hubby-Eric did it by feel. I sure hope the power comes back soon. While it's nice to have the utter silence an outage brings, it's very strange to know I can't even check the score of the M's game. And so to bed... by Tegan at 6:43 AM Seattle time - Permalink
Don't forget to get your Free Ice Cream today. I just returned from the doctor's office, where I was probed, poked, shot, blooded, burned, and swabbed. I hate annual physicals. Suppose you've just had your first child. And you are an art collector. What could be more natural than starting a sketchbook for baby? After you've looked at the pictures, you can see the baby, too. Neil Gaiman answers some questions about 1602. Via Da Rampage. And lastly: "Apr 27, 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines." Ah, I loved the Animaniacs. Confidential to Larry Young: *SPEECHLESS GASP OF UTTER SHOCK* by Tegan at 3:01 PM Seattle time - Permalink
Don't forget to get your Free Ice Cream today. The Seattle Times this morning has an article about the recent serious storylines in comics Get Fuzzy and Doonesbury. The Times has been running Doonesbury on the editorial page for several years now. The article quotes the comics blogosphere's own Dirk Deppey, too. The Tree of Life, in web format. Via Metafilter. EWeek is doing a comparison of Open Office vs Microsoft. Since installing Open Office on my machine, I've found it can do most of what I want, except in Excel. As if Tokyopop wasn't doing quite enough by preparing to air TV ads for their comic books, it now appears that they've signed up with the NBA to do a series about NBA stars. Let's hope the books actually have some sort of plot... from the description they sound like they'll just be short bios with action shots. Via a number of bloggers, including Thought Balloons. Mathemagenic wonders about the ethics of interblog quoting. It's an odd set of questions, really. What makes blogs strong is the ability to rapidly share all kinds of information. Linking to other blogs is crucial, quoting them less so. Legoland is offering wireless kid tracking at its park in Europe. Via /. Here's what was on John Lennon's iPod. Sort of. Via Boing Boing. by Tegan at 9:52 AM Seattle time - Permalink
When I saw it on eBay, for a meager $4, I couldn't resist. It was a copy of Lois Lane that I'd never seen, but had a mention of my favorite hero in it. I suspected, and I was right, that Aquaman didn't appear at all in the tale. But it was a lot of fun anyway, so I'm going to give you a little review of it. The title story is "Lois Lane's Aquaman Tricks!" which is what got me interested. And, sure enough, Lois gets to pull an Aquaman in the story, but it takes awhile to get around to it. The story starts on the campus of Pacific University, where a taxi has pulled up delivering guest lecturer Lois Lane. The students are extremely interested in Lois' lovelife, and one of them goes so far as to "play campus cupid", setting her up with Professor Thorne, and icthyologist who is in a wheelchair because of injuries he got from a landmine in Vietnam. As the students planned, she falls for him hard. The Aquaman bit comes in when he reveals that he can control fish with a device he's created. He later saves her life with the device, and ... well, that would be telling, wouldn't it? The ending was a bit annoying, in a Silver Age kind of way, but it was nice to see a person in a wheelchair portrayed as a very sympathetic character. And, hey, Lois got to play at Aquaman. That's something. Anyway, this is a fun little book, the kind you just don't see much of anymore. Yeah, there's a lot of silliness in the Silver Age, but sometimes silly just works. And in this book, it's just what's needed. by Tegan at 5:48 PM Seattle time - Permalink
The first thing I did this morning (after getting dressed) was open all the windows and doors in the house in order to heat it up. Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day here in Seattle. Early Visual Media shows how special effects were created in the Victorian age. John wasn't as impressed as I was by Planet of the Capes. Yeah, I fell hard for that first sweet Elseworld idea, and John raises some good points. 24 Hour Comics Day is over. Wonder what came out of it this year? Take a whole bunch of one panel comics. Mix up their captions. Exhilarator. Reload often to get funny mixes. Note: some of the images are not child-safe. Via Boing Boing. Greg McElhatton does a Previews Review for Ninth Art. I found it interesting to compare the books I noticed to the ones he mentions. Mike Sterling posts a wonderful Batman cover of interest to Aquaman fans. Must... find... issue... and... read... it... The Sci-Fi wire has rumors of Angel TV Movies. Since it doesn't look like the effort to save Angel is going to work, a series of TV movies isn't a bad result. Yet another researcher thinks he's found Atlantis. Ok. Whatever. WARNING! WARNING! POLITICAL GARBAGE AHEAD! (people tired of my political rants can just skip the rest of the post): Here's an editorial that dares to name Bush as a Traitor. In the meantime, Maureen Down of the NY Times (registration required) visits Bushworld. Links via Blah3.com. And in other political news, here's a site I can almost agree with (warning: naughty language). I don't particularly like John Kerry, but he's a whole lot better than Bush (which really isn't saying much, is it?). Meanwhile, in Iraq, Raed Jarrar continues his roadmap to reconstruction posts with the demand that American companies pull out and let the Iraqis do the reconstruction themselves. Of course, that would mean that Cheney's business buddies wouldn't get their cut, so it'll never happen. And lastly, North Korea Zone continues to monitor the situation in... well, North Korea obviously. They include links to video that shows some of the devastation. END POLITICAL GARBAGE. WE NOW TAKE YOU BACK TO NORMAL PROGRAMMING. by Tegan at 11:45 AM Seattle time - Permalink
Iron Chef America - Masaharu Morimoto vs Wolfgang Puck - (spoiler)Battle Egg(end spoiler): I don't have a preference for who wins this battle, so it won't affect my record. I absolutely LOVE the ingredient, especially the various types that are offered for the chefs. Again, lots of focus on the assistants as well as the main chefs. Yaah! Morimoto is using neat tools, like a hacksaw and a blowtorch. And they also pulled out the Kobe beef? Wow. And a huge hunk of tuna. Puck floured his cutting board, then floured the camera. Puck is a funny guy, when talking to Kevin even. And knocking over pots and pans with lot and lots of noise. I want to try this version with the Iron Chef drinking game (note: non-alcoholic drinking games may not be as much fun, but you end up going to the bathroom just as much, if not more). We're seeing almost more of Puck's assistant Sherry than we are of Puck himself. Her ice cream. Her gossamer threads of caramelized sugar. Hey, she's not an Iron Chef, is she? Alton really needs someone to ask dumb questions. His problem is that he knows too much and goes too fast. Speaking of annoying things, I usually don't watch enough TV to get annoyed at the ads, but I'm very tired of the commercials I keep seeing during these Iron Chef episodes. I like the presentation the chefs are coming up with. Lots of great possibilities with the ingredient today. Wasabi scares me. I hate the voice they got for Morimoto when he doesn't speak in his broken English. I want to eat Wolfgang Puck's dishes. I don't usually want to eat the Iron Chef meals very much, but I really would like to try his. So, whose cuisine reigns supreme? (spoiler)Wolfgang Puck wins the battle! And it's closer than the other two battles. The Americans sweep!(end spoiler). And now... the final new battle: Iron Chef America - Tag Team Finale - (spoiler)Battle Scallops, Langoustine, and Sea Urchin(end spoiler): With Open Hearts and Empty Stomachs, ALLEZ CUISINE!!! Let's see, they put my two favorite chefs on the same team... I think I'm rooting for Sakai and Batali, despite the odds against them. Morimoto brought his own grill. And Bobby Flay is accident prone. Heck, Morimoto and Flay seem to have fires and problems all through. Despite the language problems, Batali and Sakai seem to work well together. Whereas Flay and Morimoto keep running into each other. I really don't like these judges. So, whose cuisine reigns supreme? (spoiler)Bummer. It's Flay and Morimoto. Ah well, I'm 1-2.(end spoiler). And that's enough of Iron Chef for awhile. by Tegan at 11:00 PM Seattle time - Permalink
So, free ice cream day is upon us... and while Free Comic Book Day isn't for a bit longer, if you have the gall, print out some flyers for FCBD and hand them out when you go get your free ice cream! You can get Free Ice Cream on Tuesday at Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, and on Wednesday at Baskin-Robbins. by Tegan at 8:16 PM Seattle time - Permalink
Iron Chef America - Masaharu Morimoto vs Mario Batali - (spoiler)Battle Spiny Lobster(end spoiler): Batali is a Seattle native, so he's the one I'm rooting for. So far I'm 0-1. Morimoto spilled rocks all over the kitchen... interesting. And is it considered an interruption when Kevin jumps into the kitchen itself to discuss stuff with Batali? Just a thought, we've had two live ingredients in a row. Yuck. If I were Batali, I'd tell Kevin to go annoy Morimoto. Of course, right after I wrote that, they started talking about Morimoto being frustrated and holding more knives. Is it just me or is Kevin blind? He keeps missing obvious things. It's slightly amusing to watch the Chairman walking around in the background. Unlike Kaga, this guy just can't settle down. Speaking of background, I miss the gallery. It was nice to have a small audience that sometimes claps, cheers, or sits quietly adding presence. Hubby-Eric found the name of the actor playing the Chairman, it's Mark Dacascos, and he's a martial arts champion. Are Batali's assistants wearing shorts, too? Alton really needs someone else to play against. He's hyper, but he needs someone else up there to ask questions. Batali's assistant Anne is wearing a skirt. I can't see what his other assistant, Mark, is wearing, but I don't think it's shorts. I guess Batali doesn't force his dress code on his kitchen. I want some of those dumpling things from Batali's side. Hubby-Eric pointed out that I put spoilers around the secret ingredient from the last battle, but not around the result. I guess I enjoy the unveiling of the ingredient more than anything else in the show, so that was the bit I hid. Today I'll put the actual result in spoilers. I miss Fukui saying "The Rice Battle Is OV-AH!" or whatever battle it is. Morimoto goes first this time. I liked the flashbacks to the making of the food during the serving. This time the Chairman was definitely eating along with the judges. Only someone from Seattle would make a sea urchin cappuccino. The reaction to Batali's dishes seems positive. I want to try one of those doughnut thingys. So, whose cuisine reigns supreme? (spoiler)Mario Batali! Wow! I'm 1-1 now!(end spoiler) This was a fun battle. Two more new Iron Chef shows will air tonight, and I'll blog 'em if I have the energy. At the moment, this cold is driving me nuts. Now, on to something more up my alley: Planet of the Capes by Larry Young and Brandon McKinney: He got me on the first page. I'm such a sucker for alternate history stories, and the alternate story of how Benjamin Franklin supported the raven as the national bird instead of the turkey or the eagle was very cool. I'm not entirely sure about the ending, but the flashback was neat and silver-agey. It would have been nice to see more of Justice Hall's reactions to how different this other world was from his own. And lastly, another book pulled out at random from the AIT/Planet Lar box. The Couriers 02: Dirtbike Manifesto by Brian Wood and Rob G: Um. Ok. Let's see, what's the nice way to put this? This is a car chase/shoot 'em up comic. Unfortunately, it's not the kind of comic book I like at all. At one point, one character says "Why aren't you dead yet?" and I had to agree, with all the bullets flying around, why not? This was a swear-fest, too. It definitely didn't work for me. by Tegan at 12:15 PM Seattle time - Permalink
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This is a solid Silver Age book, from February 1967. The full title of the series was "Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane", and this is issue #72. According to 
The second story, "The Forbidden Box!" was first published in 1962 and has a completely different flavor to it. The artwork appears to be Curt Swan, and is noticably different from Kurt Schaffenberger's work on the first story. In the story, Superman challenges Lois to not be such a snoop, giving her a box that she can't open. To add to the challenge, the box has some... strange qualities. Namely, it flies around begging Lois to open it. There are some really nice touches in this one, including Jimmy pointing out to Lois that she's shaking the box to try to see what's in it, even while she was protesting that she wasn't at all curious. At one point Lois also takes sleeping pills to keep herself from opening the box.