motoring

drive-by readings

Superman #702 (DC) "Grounded" J. Michael Straczynski Eddy Barrows J.P. Mayer Rod Reis John J. Hill John Cassaday/David Baron (cover) Kevin Nowlan (variant cover)

what we learned: Superman helps out Detroit via some aliens who provide an excuse for some fisticuffs (or else the action fans will be bored outta their skulls) and job creation for the unemployed. a feel-good story, that one hopes were true.
oh shit moment: Batman is such a damper. what, are you breaking out your protocols again? put down that K-gun!
what's next: Arizona needs some assistance on this illegal immigration thing.


hey! that's definitely not Dwight Howard!

snaps: Superman #701

... where Forrest Gump Superman takes his long walk cross country, but with a lot more sense and direction. he's around Route 80 now, if you wanna catch him.


pet peeves: idiot reporters. who does he look like again? Harry Knowles?



first, Danny Rand had a dollar. now Superman has one. can't Dr. Fate or Zatanna keep a magic petty cashbox for the heroes to use when they need a burger and fries in between punching villains?



and you're something off Drag Race, you jerk.


the sequence theisb calls "stupendous!", "amazing!" and "what a douche!". hey, Superman wants YOU to take responsibility for your goddamn health problems.


screw The View! they're discussing the Wendy Williams Show!!!



and while you're ruminating on politics and talking to this jumper-wannabe, there were two plane crashes, four train derailments, three heart attacks, nine burned houses, and a couple of tsunamis and tornados. and oh, Fletcher Chu-Fong is up to his ears organizing the DC panels for the SDCC!!! it just ... is.


"of course not, Officer. what do you think i am, some kind of powerful alien dressed in a colorful costume who wants your adoration but somehow am tired of you all depending on me for everything you want?"

" ... "

up and down

drive-by readings

Superman #700 (DC) "The Comeback" James Robinson Bernard Chang Blond "Geometry" Dan Jurgens Norm Rapmund Pete Pantazis "Prologue: The Slap Heard 'Round The World" J. Michael Straczynski Eddy Barrows J.P. Mayer Rod Reis John J. Hill Gary Frank/Brad Anderson (cover)

have not been following the Man of Steel that closely after All Star Superman ended, save for some peeks at War of the Supermen, and i was kinda turned off with the whole let's-bring-back-the-Kryptonians thing. turns out they're all gonna be whacked anyway. but still.

the lead story from outgoing writer James Robinson, has the long-awaited reunion between Lois and Clark. if anything, i was happy for the two of them, and i haven't felt like that in a while. you take these two for granted too much.

there's a fill-in story (but doesn't feel like one) by Jurgens in the early years when Robin disobeys Bruce Wayne's orders and goes after some gunrunners, and his bacon gets saved by Superman (along with his geometry assignment). its weird to see Dick in his classic child-molester-attracting duds, but hey, that's part of history multiple Crises can't erase.

what really intrigues me is new direction set by Straczynski, who takes over the main book and will set the tone for the Superman stories to come (who isn't excited about Paul Cornell putting Lex Luthor on center stage in Action Comics?). in this prologue, Superman attends a press conference in the aftermath of War of the Supermen, and his previous dalliance with the idea of New Krypton, and a distraught woman slaps him to everyone's surprise (this recalls a similar incident in the Marvel Universe where a woman spits on Tony Stark during Civil War). Superman hears her story out, and though its an unfair burden, seeks out the meaning of what is "important" in the scheme of things and as the premier superhero of the planet. where this takes him will shape how he will be reacting to the DC Universe from hereon.

snaps: Catwoman #83

... where we have the requisite Blackest Night crossover. is this a one-shot deal? the original Black Mask comes back to haunt Selina, and even with help from her little friends in Gotham City Sirens, this battle may have even more damaging consequences. man, i miss Adam Hughes covers on Catwoman (Jim Balent slowly shaking head at me).

zero points for originality, Black Mask; somebody already did that.


somebody mistakenly believed in Luke Wilson and AT&T.


really, there should be a Blackest Night video game. should be as fun as Left for Dead or Dead Rising.


awwww, look who needs more practice in Batman: Arkham Asylum.


Warrior Nun Areala, anyone?

here's a hint, Slade: use Bing.

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Teen Titans #78

you bite like a dog!

Krypto definitely not:
a) biting off more than he can chew
b) biting the hand that feeds him

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Blackest Night: Superman #3

Ma Kent 2009

... is no longer the sweet lady you once knew.

her soulmate dead, their Kansas farmhouse wrecked every other week, used as a hostage by some supervillain every other month ... there comes a time when a girl has to put her foot down.

this is TMZ material. damn you, Geoff Johns! (and by extension, James Robinson)

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Blackest Night: Superman #2

drive-by readings: Blackest Night: Superman #1

Blackest Night: Superman #1 (DC) "A Sleepy Little Town, Part 1" James Robinson Eddy Barrows Ruy Jose Julio Ferreira Rod Reis Barrows/Nei Ruffino (cover) Shane Davis/Sandra Hope/Alex Sinclair (variant cover)

first of all, Eddy Barrows draws a mean Krypto (didn't he draw that Cujo in Teen Titans, the one that ate Marvin? WIN!!!). and the rest of the book is no chopped liver either. as for the story ... well, am a little befuddled by the dialogue, at least on the resurrected Kal-L's (yeah you know why) part. his motivation is just to kill everyone? ("yes, grifter, haven't you been reading Blackest Night?" - Geoff Johns) seems so simplistic to me, at least for this Superman tangent of the theme. and somehow, seeing Connor Kent (the artist formerly known as the first arrogant Superboy) flying around again, after Infinite Crisis, makes me shake my head (i know, i know - Action Comics #1). let's just everyone stop making events out of deaths, ok? as Blackest Night shows in a nutshell, absolutely no one stays dead forever.

drive-by readings: Justice League of America #35

Justice League of America #35 (DC) "Royal Pain: Chapter 1, Luck of the Draw" Len Wein Tom Derenick Pow Rodrix Marlo Alquiza Rob Hunter Walden Wong Dan Green Pete Pantazis Rob Leigh Eddy Barrows/Ruy Jose/Rod Reis (cover)

welcome to the JLA farm system. with all the big names gone, we're only left with Vixen and Firestorm to lead the troops against ... gasp! ... the Royal Flush Gang. actually, with Dr. Light, Red Tornado, and (yaaaayyy!) Plastic Man along for the ride, they're still powerful enough to take on anyone. but that being said, it still doesn't feel like a JLA book to me. the reveal of having Prof. Amos Fortune and Roulette was ho-hum as well. maybe they do have plans down the line for the League, and having the wordy Len Wein write a storyline is a holding pattern, but it looks like Justice League of America has ceased to be a top-tier book for now.

Hal Jordan says ...

"i don't think that's the way to amputate a smoker's haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAARRGHHHHH!!!!!"




moral lesson, kids: quit the damn sticks.

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Green Lantern #41

burger teen

recognize these three?


well, here's a refresher course, you pretending-to-be-born-in-1990 sucker.

Wendy and Marvin were one-time sidekicks of the SuperFriends (which is the kiddie version of the JLA). they didn't have any powers, and they had a pooch they called Wonderdog. they were eventually replaced by the equally despicable Wonder Twins, and much-more despicable monkey Gleek.

in modern times, Wendy and Marvin have been written as the custodians of the Titans Tower, the headquarters of the Teen Titans (the kiddie version of the Titans, who are the young adult versions of the JLA). in Teen Titans #62, they come across a dog, which should be a lot more puzzling to them because Titans Tower is located in an island and there's no way a dog could have strayed from anywhere.

well, now you know how we feel now, Wendy, after we think about those times we watched you and Marvin in the SuperFriends.

to make a long story short, Wonderdog is a lot more than meets the eye. in fact, seems like he has a different kind of appetite.

in a sequence reminiscent of b-movie slasher flicks, Wendy gets chased around by this Cujo without anyone knowing better, and ends up as a Deluxe Double Stack. sorry, couldn't resist.

so Wendy and Marvin haters, there's your payback. have they done anything like this for the Wonder Twins? maybe they can be chopped up by Libra in Final Crisis? that too much to ask?

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Teen Titans #62