A Sunday Comic Books Review

Here are reviews of the DCBS comic books that I've gotten around to reading and reviewing, sorted by the original shipping date:

• Apr 4th
• Justice League #42 - I want to like this book, but this mess of a storyline has just about driven me away.
• Green Lanterns #44 - What kind of a deal has Jess made, and what kind of price is she paying? Interesting story, but since it's mostly set-up, I'm not sure how to react just yet.
• Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands #6 - Shapeshifters. I don't love 'em. Not a bad reversal on the situation set up in the final issue - enough clues were left to figure it out. But still, it felt a little extreme. Not a bad mini, but I'm really new to this character and (Sorry Tony) I like the TV version slightly more.
• Bombshells United #15 - Did the plot move at all in this issue? I don't think so.
• Astro City #51 - Yeah, it would be hard to explain a person who never really existed to people who lost close friends and family. That said, I think he's selling himself a bit short. His pain is as real as theirs. Still, actions speak louder than words. His actions at the end of this part of the story ought to be enough to convince anyone with a heart. I am really looking forward to the next issue.
• Apr 11th
• Titans #22 - I can't even remember why the league imprisoned Donna, but the sheer rudeness and dismissiveness makes me happy that Batman is being attacked at the end of the book. Seems like Roy and Donna are the only ones with any idea what's happening. I would like to see more members of the Titans, but eh, this seems to be wrapping up. I'm pretty sure we dropped the book once we were sure Tempest was no longer in it.
• Scooby Apocalypse #24 - What is Daphne up to? For that matter, what's gotten into Fred? And why do those two armies never reduce in size? This book is delivering on the mystery aspect.
• Doctor Strange #388 - Yeah, I'm still not sure what the heck is happening in this book. I feel like I'm only reading part of the story. Probably because it's part of some crossover. In any case, I like the dog more than the doctor.
• Back To The Future: Tales from the Time Train #4 - Not much of anything at all happens in this issue. Just lots of circling around until everyone finally gets into almost the same space. Bored now.
• Spongebob Comics #79 - This issue gets a little meta, with comics being part of the plotline. It's about standard fare, with a brief appearance of a Mermaid Man comic book, so it's a little better than average for me.
• Apr 18th
• Aquaman #35 - So Rath becomes what he depises, but hey, that's the price of power, right? Murk is what I've come to expect. A lumbering soldier whose only loyalty is to the people of Atlantis - once Aquaman makes it clear he doesn't want to be king, Murk is ok again. But how is Aquaman, even with his new allies, supposed to fight the darkest magics of Atlantis? Interesting stuff.
• Justice League #43 - Meh. This whole story was messed up from the beginning. It appears to have been trying hard to be a saga with interlocking ideas and events... the result was something best read as a trade. Issue by issue it just didn't work for me. Hopefully, the next storyline won't be so tangled and pointless.
• Action Comics #1000 - I suppose we got this because of the issue number. Well, it was ok. Aquaman shows up in a couple of group images, so that was nice. None of the stories stood out to me as spectacular, none were particularly bad. A nice anniversary issue.
• Green Lanterns #45 - Ok, this is a story that I've wanted to read since we first learned about Jessica Cruz. She's not what I expected. A hunting trip? Expertise in killing animals because she's been doing it all her life? Wow. I'm really eager to find out more. Add in a dash of Constantine, and I'm hooked.
• Bombshells United #16 - Nice finish. It kind of sorted itself out after a really confusing issue. I think you could have combined this with the last issue and lost nothing.
• Teen Titans Go #27 - Not a particularly great issue. I mean, it would make sense for insurance to be an evil plot, but at the end nothing changed. And the spring cleaning story was... just odd.
• Rough Riders: Ride or Die #3 - So by acting like someone is a bad person, you can turn them into a bad person in the afterlife? Not a pleasant issue.
• Usagi Yojimbo: The Hidden #2 - This mystery is developing nicely, with Usage and Ishida searching for answers in all the right places. Knowing the cultural problems and issues makes this story more delicious to read - there is a lot going on below the surface. I still think Usagi Yojimbo is possibly the best comic book on the shelves whenever it is published.

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Supergirl: "Blood Bonds" - Deeply disappointed in this one, because it makes Cat look stupid. She isn't stupid, and this was a cheat on the viewers as well as the characters. Cat should know, and she should be willing to play along once she's thought about it. I did not enjoy this episode much at all.
• Supergirl: "Childish Things" - Oh, now this is an interesting development! Not only do we get n snfpvangvat yvax jvgu Jvaa, ohg Pnzreba Punfr! Naq gur ivrjref svaq bhg rknpgyl jul W'baa qbrfa'g jnag gb hfr uvf cbjref juvyr qrgrezvavat gung Ybeq vf whfg nf zhpu n wrex nf rirelbar rkcrpgf. V ubcr jr frr zber bs Punfr, rfcrpvnyyl vs ure cnegvphyne cbjre (sebz gur pbzvpf) pbzrf vagb cynl.
• Supergirl: "Strange Visitor from Another Planet" - And the backstory to Mars starts to come out. Pretty scary stuff. The bit with Xnen "genafyngvat" sbe Nqnz naq Png jnf whfg cher zntvp. The rest... eh, it works. This was definitely an episode worth watching, but it's not one that stands out for me.


• The Flash: "Potential Energy" - So everyone is trying to make Barry faster, except for Wally, who has his own issues while learning about his father for the first time. I kind of hate to admit it, but I love the Turtle. And they got the perfect guy to play him, too.


• Legends of Tomorrow: "Pilot, Part 1" - Rory as Rip Hunter. I like it. It's a promising start to what could turn out to be a good show. I hope it does. I loved the bar scene, especially when she finally said she could use help. Overall, fun start.


• Arrow: "Blood Debts" - More movement toward Felicity becoming Oracle? Or something else entirely? And we learn that Darhk's family isn't entirely what we thought it was, or what we might have been led to believe it was.

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This week's movie was Man of Steel, the Superman reboot from 2013. I'd been hearing for awhile how bad this movie was, and kind of figured it was just fans being fans... but this was a real stinker. From the opening scenes on Krypton to the final wink and nod, it was just pure crap. Oh, don't get me wrong. The actors were certainly good, but the parts they were given were not. The effects were lovely, but the plot was so thin it almost didn't exist. The movie seemed to be one excuse to have a massive battle scene followed by another, with snooze-fests in between. It was a very long and boring 143 minutes. I hope the upcoming movie is better than this, because if it's as bad, there's no way the DC franchise of movies will survive. That said, here's what I liked... most of the casting was good. Pretty solid characters all the way through. Pity they weren't given a chance to shine. Perhaps the best moment in the entire film is Creel Juvgr fgnlvat jvgu Wraal rira gubhtu vg zrnaf gurl jvyy nyy qvr. V nyfb yvxrq gur vqrn bs Ybvf genpxvat qbja gur zlfgrel zna jub fnirq ure... ohg V'z abg ernyyl nyy gung xrra ba ure univat fhpu fhpprff be rira gur snpg gung vg gheaf uvf bevtva nebhaq pbzcyrgryl. Vs fur pna qb vg, bgure crbcyr pna, fb Pynex Xrag nf na nygre rtb vfa'g jbegu fcvg va guvf havirefr. V ungrq gur vqrn gung Fhcrezna svefg orpbzrf xabja ivn na vagretnynpgvp guerng. Fb rirelbar ba gur cynarg nffbpvngrf uvz jvgu gung naq gur rafhvat qrfgehpgvba. Naq lbh unir gb oryvrir gung gubhfnaqf be rira uhaqerqf bs gubhfnaqf bs crbcyr qvrq va gung rcvp onggyr orgjrra Fhcrezna naq Mbq. Jurgure be abg lbh oryvrir Fhcrezna fnirq gur cynarg, lbh nyfb xabj, gunaxf gb gung guerng, gung ur nyfb oebhtug gur qrfgehpgvba gb gur cynarg. Gur cflpuvp qnzntr gb gur cbchyngvba jbhyq or havzntvanoyr... whfg guvax bs ubj jr'er fgvyy qrnyvat jvgu gur gjva gbjre nggnpxf. Guvf jbhyq unir orra pbafvqrenoyl jbefr naq zber greevslvat. Vg jbhyq unir punatrq gur ragver jbeyq naq tvira iveghnyyl nyy gur fheivibef n frevbhf pnfr bs cbfg-genhzngvp fgerff. Rira gelvat gb fhfcraq zl qvforyvrs, guvf chfurf vg n ovg gbb sne. Gurer unf gb or vagreany pbafvfgrapl, naq guvf zbivr qbrfa'g ernyyl unir vg. And what was with the washed-out color? It was a hard movie to watch visually. I kept feeling like I needed to adjust my television set. Whoever did that ought to not make any more movies. That was horrid. Overall, I'm really glad we got this from the library and didn't pay to go see it. It certainly makes me less enthusiastic about seeing "Batman v. Superman". I'll probably go only to see how poorly they treat Aquaman.

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Here are reviews of the DCBS comic books that I've gotten around to reading and reviewing, sorted by the original shipping date:

• Dec 2nd
• Green Lantern #47 - I like the haircut. The rest... eh.
• Batman Beyond #7 - So the world is reeling and starting to recover, and what's Matt up to? I don't know that I like this universe.
• Doctor Strange #3 - So, he's clued in to the fact that he's being hunted. Will that save him? I don't know the magical rules of the Marvel universe, so I have no idea what's going to happen in this book.
• Mage Inc. #3 - Very good finale to what I thought was a pretty cool story, but it suffered from coming out so long after the last issue. I almost can't remember what happened before.
• This Damned Band #5 - Finally getting to the endgame, and the real badguy is revealed. Scary stuff, kiddies.
• Doctor Who 9th #5 - Who watches the watchmen? This is a classic case of something thinking they can take over for the Doctor without realizing just how much he actually does. At least the ending is somewhat happy?
• Doctor Who 10th #2.3 - I'm liking Cindy as a character, and I enjoyed Cleo almost from the start. With the fellow who shows up on the final page, this can't help but be some kind of fun.
• Doctor Who 12th #14 - I'm really not enjoying the corrupted suns story. It seems to be dragging.
• Dec 9th
• Earth 2 Society #7 - And... that's the end? Ok. Green Lantern is more like the Spectre here, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Overall, though, I've been disappointed in this book. Maybe it'll start telling interesting stories now?
• DC Comics Bombshells #6 - Lots of Mera in this one, and I like her actions. Nice to see her treat Stargirl and Supergirl with such compassion. Amanda Waller calling her silly is nice... and Waller isn't? Honestly, I'm loving this book.
• Star Trek/Green Lantern #6 - Well, I was expecting a return to the status quo, not... what we got. And it seems a little odd that Scotty's rings didn't feature at all in the solution. I suspect this has been left open for a sequel. Only time will tell.
• Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 - Perfect team-up. Can I really say any more without spoiling it? It's just perfect. This is a very good set-up tale, and I'm looking forward to the next issue.
• Spider-Man 2099 #4 - Yay, Captain America finally gets to show herself. But I hope Roberta isn't hurt by the process, although everything she is appears to be a lie.
• Back to the Future #3 - Ha, George and Lorraine both seeking out Marty's help when romance seems to go sour. I love it. As for Biff, well. I'm not sure what to expect from him next.
• Doctor Who 8th #2 - Ah, a smart companion. Of course she gets injured right off the bat... that's what companions are for, after all. This was a pretty good issue, but we still haven't figured out the central mystery of this companion from the first issue: how did she know about all those aliens?
• Doctor Who 11th #2.3 - This one seems like a lot of irrelevant stuff, showing us bits of history of each of our companions, including Daak. I think I'd be happier to just get on with the story, now.
• Rebels #9 - I think this is a done-in-one tale about friendship and the death of it. Nicely written. I liked that the Shawnee, who has seen much more than the British, has his head on straight. Pity he'll never get through the Brit's conditioning.
• Legend of Oz: The Wicked West #3 - I'm enjoying this, even if it is the second time around. I never expected a wild west version of Oz to be good, but it really does work. And I'm also liking the back-up story, which is giving us an idea of the witches of Oz and what may have caused their... problems.
• Spongebob Comics #51 - I saw the ending to the game creator signing story coming from a mile away, but it was awesome anyway. And seeing Squidward actually enjoy time with Patrick and SpongeBob was also pretty cool. Overall, not a bad issue despite the lack of Mermaid Man.
• Dec 16th
• Justice League #46 - Still no Aquaman. Still a boring story about new gods, which I never really liked anyway. Wake me up when this thing is over.
• Justice League United #16 - This appears to be a summary of what's happened so far, with a wrap-up. So I'm guessing this might be the final issue? The art is bizarre and somewhat unsuited for the story.
• Batman '66 #30 - Is this it for the Batman? Has he really had his final adventure? Will we never see him and his chum, Robin, again in the pages of his comic book? Have I been reading too much of this?
• Teen Titans Go #13 - Aqualad's life is about more than just swimming around, talking to fishes. Well, I would think. But the first story in this issue really does bring back some of those uncomfortable questions about how Atlanteans do... certain things. Second story was irritating. I like my teeth, so dentists are fine, thank you much.
• Tales of Honor: Bred to Kill #4 - And that wraps up quite nicely. This mini was far better from the first because it was allowed to be a comic book, straying from the original words of the original author. I wouldn't mind seeing a few more like this, exploring other bits of the Honorverse.
• Huck #2 - That was definitely NOT what I expected to happen. But then, Huck may not be obviously bright, but he's consistent. He just wants to help. Yes, I'm enjoying this series.

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Fortean Times #330 (August 2015). Nice shocking cover, pun intended. The layout is eye-catching, so that's good. The cover story itself is ok, all about people who've been struck by lightning. Apparently there are some positives... if you survive. Which is not to say I'm going to head out and get hit by lightning just to find out if the stories are true. The editorial shakily points out two deaths from lightning strikes that happened just before the issue went to print. Yikes.

Another main story is about Yew trees, and was, as usual, more fascinating then I expected it to be. The life-cycle of a yew is interesting, and it kind of makes me want to have one... which would require more land than I've got. Add in that they are poisonous, and maybe I'll just add them to my dream garden instead. But there's a lot of fun stuff in this one about a tree I knew very little about, including interesting sidebars to the main article.

Another article tells the sad story of Stephen Phillips, a promising poet in a time when you could actually make a living as a poet, who moved into a haunted house and pretty much lost everything.

The final main article is about preserving Fortean collections as people in the field age and pass away. Sometimes the families of those who collect Forteana aren't at all interested in the collections and simply toss them. But they clearly had value to the ones who collected them, and might be valuable to other researchers. It turns out a Swedish organization is working on the problem and has started to collect and preserve people's libraries. I heartily approve.

As an aside to that last article, a new feature called "Building a Fortean Library" premiers in this issue. It talks about what to look for as you build a private library, including a starting recommendation of an encyclopedia of Fortean topics. This could be a very fun feature, or it could turn out to be something that would have gone just as nicely on the always excellent reviews pages. Only time will tell.

Strangedays starts out with giant 'blood' falls in Antarctica and gates to hell (a sinkhole filled with flame). That's as good a start as any! There's pieces on clever dogs and a UFO sighting over Nigeria, horrible diets and hippos wandering city streets after a flood destroyed the zoo. There's another round-up of the world's oldest people and some follow-ups of previous stories. Science is about alchemical resurrection, and what the folks might have actually been seeing. Archaeology has a variety of stories that are awesome, because I've always loved the topic. Classical Corner covers everyday advice from the ancients while Ghostwatch visits Las Vegas.

There's a very cool piece on an exhibition of artwork from Richard Dadd, done while he was an inmate in Bedlam. Freaky beautiful works by a man who killed his own father in an apparent schizophrenic fit. Fairies, Folklore and Forteana tells of a collector of tales who saved stories of pixies from vanishing, and was an interesting person in her own right. Forum has a piece on the disappearance of a statue that became a religious fight in Ireland. There's also a piece on hobs and their origin and disappearance.

The UFO Files looks at the danger posed by fans of science fiction who develop cult-like behaviors. Fandom... fanatic? There's also a couple of stories of timeslips. Blasts from the Past continues a look at Phantom Anaesthetists... are they urban legend or something else entirely? Strange Statesmen looks an Idi Amin and what may have driven the insane stories surrounding his time as dictator. The conclusion is that there was far more to the tales than what Westerners may see on the surface. What if open talk is so dangerous that using metaphor and folklore is the only way to express discontent?

On to the reviews! Nothing jumps out as something I want to purchase, although both the dragon and the conspiracy books sound interesting enough that I'd read 'em if they came my way. There's a review by an eight year old, which I think is new. Not quite as excellently written as the standard, but not bad at all. Then there's a nearly incomprehensible review by Barry Baldwin (Classical Corner) that I'm still not certain about. But overall, another excellent review section. And I'm actually slightly more interested in seeing Ant-Man after reading the FT review of it. The letters were solid, although one of them might have been better published in the forum, as it took two entire pages. In the end, another good issue of the best magazine published.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- My Kindle Wishlist -- Hugo 2016 Posts page

Superman is an EVIL Socialist!

I admit, it's kind of odd to imagine a time when even hospitals were considered welfare by the extreme right, but then, I find the current extreme right's attitude that health care is a privilege reserved for the wealthy to be hard to understand as well.

Generator Fun

Hubby-Eric started playing with the Bus Sign Generator last night and came up with some good ones. Unfortunately, he didn't obey his mean wife when she told him to post them here, so she's had to try to remember his genius and duplicate his hilarious signs. So here is my version of his great signs...

Four Linkdumps in a Row!

NEW GALAXION SHORT STORY!

Best Con Costume Ever (not safe for kids who enjoy Sesame Street).

Dave wants you to see what holidays fall on your birthday. For me: Buttercrunch Day, Inauguration Day, and the Anniversary of Roe vs. Wade (which is the same age as me, even). For hubby-Eric: Hugging Day. That works.

Internet Memes Timeline has pretty much every meme I remember, including the earliest ones from my college days.

ComicMix reports on the Siegel and Shuster Society's Successes so far, and encourages you to continue supporting them.

The Amazing Gift of Woo Lai Wah.

Scott Adams notes recent inventions that may save the world.

This has got to be the stupidest school policy ever.

Speaking of stupid, LOLScience has faulty pictures.

The Kents Kitteh.

And lastly, a bit of wisdom from Eric's grandmother, who noted that all the TV news was interested in nowadays is "drivia". I don't think she meant to combine drivel and trivia, but it works. For now and forever, TV news is drivia to me.

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Iron Chef America: "Flay vs Hamilton" - Ooooh, I love the ingredient. I should've taken notes.
• How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? - The final four got to snog John Barrowman!!!! I wanna get into the final four! Ahem, anyway, any of these women could perform the part, from what we've seen. I really don't have a preference, though I would love to see them all go on to successful careers.
• Dinner: Impossible: "Boardwalk" - Now I want to try the chocolate-covered bacon. Symon is a MUCH different chef for this show than Robert. More inventive, more willing to take risks, less annoyingly uptight, and lots more alcohol in the food.
• The Next Food Network Star: "Ultimate Vegas Buffet" - This was a completely cringe-filled episode. In the end, they made a very interesting choice. I'm not sure what else they could've done at that point.
• History Detectives - The smoking jacket was fascinating, and it was rather impressive how she managed to hunt down the original owner's son. Very cool episode.
• Ghost Hunters International: "Castle of the Damned" - Barry the Iron Chef makes his Irish Stew... no wait, that's another channel. This was a fun one for stories, but not much by way of experiences. It did prove once again that a little research goes a long way.
• Ace of Cakes: "Elephant Delivery Service" - Duff in a heavy, hot costume delivering an incredibly intricate cake to little children! Fun. But the best cake was the library cart.

Comics this week:

• Land of Oz Manga #1 - Wow, that zipped through bits of the tale really fast! Almost too fast, in fact.
• Usagi Yojimbo #113 - Ah, that one worked out nicely in the end. Well, for everyone but Usagi.
• Green Lantern Corps #26 - Both rings? This one will have something to prove.
• Justice League of America #23 - Vixen's new powers... she should have been able to win that battle.
• Spirit #19 - A nice anthology of three tales. All of them had the Spirit spirit.
• Super Friends #5 - Aquamonkey!
• DMZ #33 - I don't much like the looks of that cliffhanger.
• Fallen Angel #28 - I really have no idea what to say about this issue. I wonder what part the suicidal dude will play in the future, if any?
• Superman #678 - *yawn* I don't know what's happening in this book anymore. And I don't really much care.

This week's library movie was Enchanted. Yup, we took the time to stop and watch a movie. We're pretty close to being done cleaning and packing, so we took a break. And it was a fun little movie. About what you'd expect from Disney making fun of itself. Good animation, good acting, fun plot, and cringe-inducing moments of various New York rodents cleaning an apartment. Yikes. Worth it for Disney fans, or people who like the cute.

Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria - Bleah. Just another talent/popularity contest. Nothing there for me. I don't think I've heard a worse rendition of "Over the Rainbow" recently.
• Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives: "Where the Locals Go" - Definitely want biscuits and gravy (my favorite breakfast food ever). I've had rabbit before, I wouldn't eat it again except to survive. So the first place I would go to happily, the second place I'd try out, but the third place I don't feel like visiting.
• American Gladiators - I'm a week behind thanks to Problem Like Maria, but I enjoyed this episode, which featured twin sisters competing against each other.
• The Next Food Network Star: "Being an Expert" - White chocolate tilapia? Well, my least favorite is still in it, but she's softened my opinion of her a bit with that fall. Nothing makes a person seem human quite like falling down and spilling a quart of sauce over herself. We're nearly to the point where I like all the contestants, and I was sad to see the loser leave this week.
• Supernanny: "Moy Family" - Nice to see the work with older children. Especially children who are suffering from massive sibling rivalry!
• Doctor Who: "The Stolen Earth" - Best cliffhanger in Doctor Who history, especially since I've got a nice amount of doubt as to what's going to happen in the next part. All I can say is that the cosmic reset button BETTER NOT be hit.

Comics from last week:

• Justice League of America #22 - I was just getting interested in the Vixen story, then the Red Tornado story got in the way.
• Teen Titans Year One #5 - I think I hate this book. The ugliest Aqualad ever.
• Super Friends #4 - Ah, this wiped out the stink of TTY1. Very fun issue.
• PS238 #32 - This issue made me sad, but it was really very powerful. As usual, I can hardly wait for the next issue.

Comics this week:

• Phantom #24 - Ah... I don't know if I disappointed or pleased. Pleased, I think, overall.
• Conan the Cimmerian #0 - Promising start.
• Trinity #4 - I'm far more interested in the back-up story than the main one. Is that a good or bad sign.
• Final Crisis #2 - This is another one of those books that's going to read better all at once instead of issue by issue.
• Green Lantern #32 - I'm just not interested in Hal Jordan's origin again.
• JSA Classified #39 - I like Wildcat, but I was hoping for something different.
• Oz/Wonderland Chronicles #3 - I really want to read this whole series from the beginning, once it's done. It's interesting, but I can't remember what happened last!
• Darkness #4 - I don't know that I will buy this for myself once I stop getting it for D once we move, but I do know that I enjoy it most of the time.
• Hulk #4 - I think I know who this red Hulk is, now, but there's something wrong when I like the little comic strip in the back more than the main issue.
• Superman #677 - The day after I read it, I can barely remember what happened. I think there was a game of frisbee, and maybe a new superpower. Not sure what else.

This week's library movie was Hairspray (2007). I really enjoyed the 1988 version. This one had different quirks, but I liked it a lot as well. Christopher Walken was a surprise, but then he's in a music video that I also find surprising as well. I keep forgetting that Travolta is a guy, which is scary if you think about it too hard. Really good, worth a look if you like musicals.

No library books this week, not even any Christie. Time suddenly got really limited on Monday after we got the happy joy phone call from Eastern Washington.

Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Iron Chef America: "Batali vs Bartolotta" - Yay! Batali! And a very interesting ingredient as well. Not to mention a challenger who is nearly as fun to watch as Batali himself. This was a good one.
• Classic Doctor Who: "Invasion of Time" Parts 5 & 6 - Enter the potato-heads! Didn't like these two episodes as much as the previous two. Yeah, fun inside the TARDIS, but it was mostly running around and not much else. Par for the course for classic Doctor Who, I guess. No Classic Who on PBS for awhile, it's pledge month.
• The Next Food Network Star: "Star Quality" - Here we go again! I don't expect that my favorite will ever make it to the final, but I sure had hopes that the one I like least is knocked out in the first round. Unfortunately, fashion lady stays in while unfunny comic leaves. Not an auspicious start for the show.
• Ghost Hunters: "Widow's Watch" - Sometimes I think I learn more about human psychology from this show than anything else. I'm fascinated by the way people fool themselves, but more delighted when they figure something out. The experiment with the broken fan was a great way to show how external noises/malfunctioning electronics can seem like the supernatural. The less said about the second place, the better. Total losers.
• Have I Got News For You: "Alexander Armstrong, Michael McIntyre, and Clare Balding" - Ah, I enjoyed this one. I guess I've recovered from the Brian Blessed episode. Lots of laughing during this one, and I liked Clare a lot.
• Doctor Who: "Forest of the Dead" Originally listed as "River's Run" - Thanks to the original title, and a bit of foreshadowing in the first episode, I actually managed to figure this one out. Well, most of it. Well, part of it. Well, enough to make me happy. There were still a lot of surprises, and I was literally on the edge of my seat for most of the episode. As for what she whispered to him.... WHOA. I hope we see more of River in the future...or the past.

Comics this week:

• Trinity #1 - Hrm. It's a start. Not horrible, but not really engaging to me, either.
• Detective Comics #845 - Another done-in-one, and a good one at that. Gotham is not a place I'd want to live.
• Justice Society of America #16 - Not enough Ma Hunkel. But this is promising. Who wants to bet it all ends with a nasty fight, though? A power like that just won't fit into the DC Universe.
• Justice League Unlimited #46 - Hrm. A Green Lantern story. I've never been a fan of the cosmic tales, so this wasn't a good send-off for the book in my opinion.
• Jonah Hex #32 - I knew who was going to end up dead at the end of the story. Still, it worked. Not my favorite book, but it's Hex.
• Invincible Iron Man #2 - Nice cliffhanger.
• Noble Causes #34 - Want to go back to the days of Liz and Race. I feel like that plot never finished, and I'm just not confident that this will lead back to that.
• Witchblade #118 - Yikes. Conclusion to one tale, but lots of plot threads for future ones. This book isn't half bad.
• Red Sonja #34 - Oooh, that's a twist I wasn't really expecting. That actually would explain a lot about Sonja.
• Doctor Who Classics #7 - Better than I remembered it. And it's never looked so good.

This week's library movie was Superman - Doomsday. I hate the voices. Hate them. Worst voice casting ever. Ok, maybe not... the problem is that I liked the voices from the old series. Even after all these years, I would have preferred them to reprise their roles. It took a full half hour into the movie before I started to accept the new voices. As for the movie itself, I prefer the comic book version of the story. This was weak on plot and substance, and felt like it could have been done in half the time without losing anything of value. The fights were long, dramatic, and boring (which is a neat trick). I don't really recommend this one.

My library book this week was Fugitives of Chaos by John C Wright. Five children, five different ways of looking at the world, and all of them are right. The true genius of this series is the way it takes those opposing viewpoints and makes them work together. The whole sex and Grendel thing is more than a little disturbing, but it doesn't overpower the rest of the story. This book ends on a more dramatic cliffhanger than the first book, but I knew it was a trilogy going into reading it. So far, a pretty good read.

This week's Agatha Christie book was Murder on the Links (aka The Girl with the Anxious Eyes) from 1923. This is her third book, and the second Poirot novel. I'm really liking Poirot more and more. I can see why these books took off so well. They are written in an easygoing style, fun to read, and you always find yourself guessing along with the characters. Once again I didn't figure it out, so I'm 0-3 on Agatha Christie mysteries (although I was really close with the last book). I'm still trying to pull together a list of complete Christie works, and it's not nearly as easy as I hoped thanks to the odd publishing history of her stories (lots of alternate titles!). But I'm getting closer. Now the only problem is getting the books from the library in good time. Luckily, I have a library system that is likely to have most, if not all, her books.

Fortean Times #237 arrived on the 5th, and I already devoured it *burp*. This is the only magazine that I read cover to cover every time I get one, skipping only the ads (though I tend to giggle at them). This month the cover article was on Crystal Skulls (gee, I wonder why?). I really enjoyed the article on haunted lighthouses. I want to move into one someday. A lighthouse. The "haunted" bit isn't required. Moving on, I really enjoyed Rupert Sheldrake's letter about skepticism, and I think it successfully sums up my own opinion on the subject. The full page comic was missing, and the issue seemed to end abruptly, but it was a good issue that yielded three more books from the reviews that I put on hold at the library. And I've still got two books from the last Fortean Times on hold to read!

Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Classic Doctor Who: "Underworld" Parts 1 & 2 - Another story I'd never seen! I may be a Doctor Who fan, but there's so much history that I still haven't caught up. Best cliffhanger line ever: "Whatever blows can be sucked".
• Numb3rs: "Pay to Play" - Slightly complicated story, but the subplot just made this episode for me.
• American Gladiators: Wonderful mindless fun. I really got into this one, I'm afraid. The guy who'd lost a leg was inspiring.
• Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives: "American Classics" - The most depressing thing about this show is all the places are too far away to visit.
• Supernanny: "Browning Family" - I wasn't sure she was going to be able to bring that group together. The daughter was incredibly cute. But I still wish they would do a big follow-up special on these families. A year or two later.
• Have I Got News For You: "Bill Bailey, Nick Robinson, and Reginald D. Hunter" - The horrid Brian Blessed wife joke was a good running joke for Paul. And... not all barn owls are called Mr Peters.
• Classic Doctor Who: "Underworld" Parts 3 & 4 - The visuals were annoyingly dark, making this hard to watch. But it was a good ending.
• Smallville: "Arctic" - Um. ok. That was it? Right.
• Numb3rs: "When Worlds Collide" - Way to shake up the status quo again. It also underlines the difficulties of protecting a free people.
• Doctor Who: "The Unicorn and the Wasp" - This was the fun one for the season, the one that you can't stop giggling during.

Comics this week:

• Superman #676 - What, have we rebooted the mythos again? Boring.
• Wonder Woman #20 - Team-up with Beowulf? I'm there.
• Titans #2 - Hrm, so Garth hasn't been found. Is he going to die?
• Batman #676 - I must've missed an issue. When did Bats die?
• Green Lantern Corps #24 - yawn.
• Tiny Titans #4 - The first page made me squee, but Brad Guigar did it better. Or at least did it first.
• Captain Britain and MI 13 #1 - As usual with the British superhero stuff, interesting but strange.
• Red Sonja #33 - Is she finally dead yet?
• Serenity: Better Days #3 - Not a bad finish, but I'd rather just have another season of the show.
• Phantom #23 - Still no retcon... but at least we know who is behind this latest nastiness.
• DMZ #31 - Matty's mom for Mother's Day? Well, this has a lot more detail on what drives him.
• Doctor Who Classics #6 - Nice cliffhanger.
• True Story, Swear To God #11 - Oh, I love this book. The whole cost of marriage thing is interesting, especially when I think about my own wedding.

Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews

You Won't Have Superman To Kick Around Anymore

Threatened by a robot, the crowd nevertheless jeers Superman until he simply flies away, leaving the robot to its mysterious and possibly dangerous mission.

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Doctor Who Confidential: "The Italian Job" - I usually watch these and don't comment, because they are good but not so much that I feel I need to make a fuss. This one, however, showing the trip to Italy for the Pompeii episode, is really worth seeking out.
• Star Trek New Voyages/Phase II: "In Harm's Way" - I was surprised at just how good this one was, despite some eye-rolling fanstuff early on.
• Star Trek New Voyages/Phase II: "Center Seat" - very short Sulu story that follows directly on from In Harm's Way. Amusing.
• Numb3rs: "Checkmate" - this one felt slightly disjointed to me, thanks to Charles being off for training.
• Chefography: "The Food Network" - I missed the early years of the network, so it was fun to see the non-food-creation stuff that originally aired.
• Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives: "Something Different" - I spent too much time in school buses in my youth to want to eat in one, even if the food is good.
• Classic Doctor Who: "Image of the Fendahl" Parts 3 & 4 - I want a pet Fendahline-y thing.
• Ghost Hunters: "Ghostly Conversation" - not as bad as the last few, but I'm going to miss the comparatively grounded Destination Truth now that its season is over.
• Smallville: "Descent" - I no longer care when a character appears to die, since all the characters on this show have died a few times each already.
• Doctor Who: "Planet of the Ood" - oodles of scary fun. The Circle must be broken!

Comics this week:

• DMZ #30 went in an unexpected direction in multiple ways, and now I really can hardly wait to see what happens next.
• Powers Annual 2008 is quite a book, with 13 pages of letter column. Which I didn't read. Because reading the Powers letter column feels like wading into a pool of slime.
• Noble Causes #32 annoyed me. Seriously. Bring back Liz and Race.
• Doctor Who #3 has cats. I like cats, but this is getting ridiculous.
• Lone Ranger #11 was nearly incomprehensible because it's been so long since I read the last issue.
• Darkness #3 explained the whole series so far and twisted the end. Not really my thing, but at least it's vaguely interesting.
• Red Sonja #32 had an alternate Red Sonja, and since I'm a sucker for alternates/what ifs/elseworld-type stories, I enjoyed this.
• Countdown 2 made the entire series sort of make sense. I'm sure it would totally make sense if I'd read the entire thing. Maybe.
• Superman #675 was heartbreaking and yet hopeful. Hrm.

No library books worth mentioning this week. Nor did we get a chance to watch a library movie. Last Sunday we went out to a play (The Wizard of Oz, oddly enough) which was a fun little production with an unexpected rocketship at the end (hubby-Eric knew about it, but I didn't). The cast was a mix of professional and non, with a live orchestra and a backdrop partially designed by my friend D (the one I buy comics for). So it was worth the trip.

Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews

Morning Links

Emerald City Comicon has a Costume Contest page up now. I love seeing costumes, so I'm really looking forward to it. I need to start putting together my "to be trolled" list now.

This looks amazing. A two volume hardcover Willie and Joe set. Wow.

Can Marvel buy Superman? Jeff Trexler answers the questions that I hadn't even thought of asking about the Siegel Superman settlement.

Shaun Tan and Phil Foglio are Hugo Nominees. And I hope "The Arrival" wins. And Phil as well.

First the bees, now the bats. Again, bats are very important to the environment, as they eat insects which would otherwise overrun us. A lack of bats is bad news.

The tale of the gold kit, or "How to make money off of gold paint".

He was killed in action in Korea... only he wasn't. But the IRS still thinks he might be dead.

Scientists find the bad breath bug.

Scammers are taking advantage of the switch to digital television.

Universal Music thinks they still own promo CDs they sent out unasked for and for free. I suppose by this reasoning, the original publishers own all the review books they've sent me?

The real reason behind Crop Circles and Roswell.

Joe Lieberman owes an apology to Ned Lamont for lying about him during the 2006 campaign. The FBI also owes Lamont an apology for discovering the truth before the election, but NOT telling the public that Lieberman was lying.

The Seattle Times reports on my eighth cousin who grew up in the Seattle area.

Lies I've Told My 3 Year Old Recently. "Books get lonely too."

No Foolin' - Links

Heroes Initiative to Publish Mike Wieringo's final Marvel Comics work.

Superman creates Community.

There's something very appealing about Deep Value. While I don't want to toss my various gadgets, I wish I could repair my car myself. We use cloth shopping bags and have a clockwork radio. I also tend to have a healthy supply of candles on hand.

I don't know, Jack, I've listened to old-time radio and I enjoyed The Shadow.

The Ten most unreasonable parking tickets of all time.

Famous photographs redone in LEGO. Check each image to see links to the original photo.

Here's a write-up of a neat library event related to a book I recently read.

I'll be watching this story closely to see how well the turbine works.

More on the Wii Fit, the one video game I think maybe I ought to consider getting.

More pug for the in-laws.

And lastly, Rest in Peace Jim Mooney. For your delight, an image Mooney did of Aquaman:

A Sunday Review

I started the week with The Arrival by Shaun Tan. If you have not read this book, find a copy and read it. Really, it's fantastic. It successfully manages to evoke the confusion and fear of someone leaving home and arriving in a strange country. And the artwork is simply amazing. The details make the book wonderful. Seriously, get yourself a copy through the library (like I did) or buy one. It's worth the read. Heck, this is probably the first book I ever opened, stopped on the endpapers, and had to study them for some time.

Ghosts, Critters & Sacred Places of Washington And Oregon II by Jefferson Davis is much like the previous volume. It's a collection of ghost tales with a few sacred places and strange critters thrown in. Again, a good book for kids interested in the paranormal. And this volume read much better than the previous one, now I know what to expect.

TV watching: Smallville: "Siren" (Justin Hartley is hot, otherwise boring), Classic Doctor Who: "The Horror of Fang Rock" (I love this story! Creepy tale set on a lighthouse), UFO Hunters (nah, not my thing), The Daily Show and the Colbert Report (return of the writers REALLY helped), American Gladiators (fun!), Ghost Hunters International: "Headless Haunting" (Fantastic locations! I want to visit that first citadel), Torchwood: "Adam" (that was intense, poor Ianto), Supernanny: "Daniels Family" (six kids is at least four too many, in my opinion (as the fifth child of seven)), Dinner: Impossible: "Robert & the Chocolate Factory" (mmm, chocolate), Ace of Cakes: "Mascots and Mice" (mmm, cake), and Torchwood: "Reset" (oh my, kicking it up a notch).

This week's library movie was Dreamgirls. You hardly have to watch this movie, just sit back and enjoy the music. In between the music, the movie itself is a good look at the music industry with all its up and downs. It runs a little long, but the music makes it seem a lot shorter. Definitely worth listening... er, watching. Especially if you want to see some incredible musical performances.

Hubby-Eric and I finished watching Sapphire and Steel: "The Railway Station". If nothing else, this makes me not want to go ghost hunting. Steel is really quite nasty, isn't he?

A note on Sapphire and Steel. Do not watch ANY of the episode commentaries until you've watched the whole series. They talk about future episodes and end up spoiling them. Argh!

For a Valentine treat, hubby-Eric put on the DVD of the Muppet Show Valentine special. It's on the Season Two DVD set. It was actually the first pilot for the Muppet Show, and shows some familiar characters mixed with ones who didn't pop up again. Crazy Harry appears as Crazy Donald (?!) and Kermit isn't the main man. Er, frog. I notice that Season Three of the Muppet Show is coming out in May. Gotta put that on my wish list!

This week's comic books! I read D's copy of Superman #673 and found it... well... normal. I like Chris, but I'm not sure what to think of his addition to the mythos. Moving on to Green Lantern Corps #21... I still don't like space adventures, and none of the Lanterns I like were in this one. It's a miss.

Another one that hasn't caught me yet is Wonder Woman #17. Again, it just hasn't got hooks into me. I want to like it. I'm giving it a couple more issues to convince me, but I just can't get excited about the character. JLA Classified #52 had lots of fighting and a little thinking. I'm more interested in the next issue, as the tiny preview cover seems to have an Aquaman in it.

A comic with not enough Aqualad in it was Tiny Titans #1. Even so, what I saw of Aqualad in this comic was WAY better than the ugly portrayal in Year One. I saw Astro City Special #2: Beautie described as Kurt Busiek's Barbie Fan Fiction, and giggled about that right up until I read it. At which point I was startled and pleased. It's good stuff. Note the dedication on the inside front cover, by the way.

Doctor Who Classics #3 was exactly what I expected, because I have read this story multiple times before. Again, the coloring is a great improvement over previous versions. And the story is still fun. I'm just impatient for the new stories, due at the end of the month now, according to a note I found on IDW's website. And lastly for this week, DMZ #28 was a bit of a letdown. I'm not sure what it was trying to say. I guess I need to reread it, but not right now. Too many other things going on this week.

I liked The Arrival by Shaun Tan so much I went to the library and picked up every other Shaun Tan book I could find. Memorial by Gary Crew and Shaun Tan is a sad little picture book about the fate of a tree planted in memory of soldiers who fought in WWI. The Viewer by Gary Crew and Shaun Tan is a frightening little tale of a viewmaster. Yes, a viewmaster. The Rabbits by John Marsden and Shaun Tan is a tale that pounds you over the head with the idea that invasive species are bad and destroy everything. The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan is a sweet little tale of how we lose our innocence. None of the four books live up to the sheer power of The Arrival, but they all have their high points. I think I probably liked The Lost Thing the most.

Some Links

Superman and social justice.

The Beloit Mindset List for the Class of 2011. Ouch. This one hit me hard: "What Berlin wall?"

Geeks supporting Obama.

Peter David live-blogs the Superbowl ads.

Cell Phones change the World.

Another reason to shop at Costco instead of that Wal-dude's place.

Clues from old photograph solve mystery of who the drowned man was.

E-voting sucks, so it does, and so we perceive it. We might as well go back to paper and make sure votes aren't lost by computer "bugs".

I love this stunt. Art for fun's sake.

The TSA has a blog, and people are using the comments to complain about the TSA's insanely stupid policies.

Go here to watch the 2008 Oscar-nominated Animated Shorts.

When Geek Relationships Cool Off.

BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!

Yes, this is for the in-laws.

Really Rapid Reviews

These are mini-capsules: about one sentence per book with whether or not I recommend the book.

21 February 2007

52 Week Forty-Two: "Trigger Effect": Oh. Wow. Oh, what a payoff. Wow. Man. Wow. Recommended.

Checkmate #11: "Corvalho Part One": A strange misprint on the second and third pages made them hard to read in our copy of this book. Otherwise, it's another solid installment of a solid book. Waller is some piece of work, isn't she? Recommended.

The Flash #7: "Speedquest Chapter 1: Angel City": Not a bad jumping on point. It's a set-up story, which is what I needed, since I haven't picked up Flash in awhile. Mildly recommended.

Brave and the Bold #1: "The Lords of Luck: Roulette": A solid Silver Age-y book that is well worth checking out. Recommended.

Ion #11: "Lovers & Enemies": I could still dump this book in a second, but at least Soranik shows up. Mildly recommended.

Shadowpact #10: "Cursed": I really liked this one. The team may be cursed, but this is a pretty good book. Recommended.

Superman #659: "Angels": Whoa. Very interesting standalone story, that also happens to work within the greater arc. Highly Recommended.

Birds of Prey #103: "Truth or Dare": Oracle losing control of her spiderweb, intriguing. Recommended.

Aquaman: Sword of Altantis #49: "Dreams of the Fisherman": A great ending to a good story. This revamp of The Fisherman is one of the more successful retcons of a villain in a long time. I love it. Highly recommended.

Powers #23: I just wish this story would speed up the pace a little. Otherwise pretty good. Mildly recommended.

Star Trek: The Next Generation #2: "Captain's Pleasure": Nice little mystery, in the Star Trek style. Not bad. Mildly recommended.

Local #8: "food as substitute": Megan needs to crawl her way back from the depths she's hit, and I think the end of this one started that process. Mildly recommended.

The Spirit #3: "Resurrection": A retelling of the origin of The Spirit, and a good 'un. Recommended.

DMZ #16: "Public Works 4/5": Man, what a cliffhanger. This is a painful book, but wow, it is GOOD. Recommended.

PS238 #20: Time travel is the most difficult of concepts to deal with in a comic book, but I do believe Aaron Williams has managed it this time. Highly recommended.

Really Rapid Reviews

These are mini-capsules: about one sentence per book with whether or not I recommend the book. The dates of the reviewed books are the dates I received them, which may be different from the official shipped dates due to West Coast delays.

28 December 2006

52 Week Thirty-Four: "Suicial Tendencies": Mostly set-up in this issue, for events that are about to happen. Mildly recommended.

Detective Comics #827: "Double Talk": A new scarface, huh? How soon before the Orca comes back? Mildly recommended.

Age of Bronze #24: "Betrayal 5": If you are reading this, good for you. If you aren't, START READING THIS BOOK. Highly recommended.

Usagi Yojimbo #99: "Bridge of Tears": It's rare to see Usagi being a cad, but it's going to get him into more trouble in the future, isn't it? Recommended.

4 January 2007

52 Week Thirty-Five: "Rain of the Supermen": Worst pun title ever. Hey, Lorena shows up in this one! Mildly recommended.

Batman #661: "Grotesk" part 3: While I don't much like this story so far, having the groups of bad guys go after each other was nice. Very mildly recommended.

Superman #658: "The Last Tomorrow": Arion's flash-forward finishes, and I'm not sure he's saying what he's saying. Mildly recommended.

Guy Gardner Collateral Damage #2: Meh. Not recommended.

JSA Classified #20: "Skin Trade Part Two: Surgical Strike": This whole tale is just ick. Very mildly recommended.

JLA Classified #31: "Secret History, Sacred Trust" part six: I like Aquaman's different outfits in this one. Otherwise, I'm just glad the story is over. Mildly recommended.

Justice League of America #5: "Born Again": I just can't work up any sympathy for this story. Needs some Aquaman. Mildly recommended.

Justice League Unlimited #29: "Untamed": This is what a good all-around DC Universe book should be like. B'wana Beast! Heh. Recommended.

Justice #9: Um. Ok. We'll just have to see where this goes, I guess. Recommended.

Powers #22: The opening of this one had to hit home to all the fanboys reading it. Recommended.

10 January 2007

52 Week Thirty-Six: "How to Win a War in Space": Is the answer to the title "get Lobo so peeved he joins in"? Nice subtle cliffhanger. Recommended.

Green Lantern Corps #8: "The Dark Side of Green" part two: I don't like Guy, I don't like space sruff all that much. So this isn't my kind of story. Neutral.

Batman #662: "Grotesk" conclusion: Didn't we just get an issue of this last week? Yes? Stupid shipping delays. At least this is the last issue of this storyline. Very mildly recommended.

Justice Society of America #2: "The Next Age": Love the cover. Yet another book (besides Ion) which indicates that (spoilers)the Multiverse is still alive and well(end spoilers). Mildly recommended.

JSA Classified #21: "Best Served Cold...": This is all Hawkman. Nothing here for me. Neutral.

Only last week's books to go... and this week's books by the time I get to last week's books. *sigh*

Really Rapid Reviews

These are mini-capsules: one sentence per book (unless I feel like writing a bit more) with whether or not I recommend the book.

8 November 2006

52 Week Twenty-Seven: "The Past Best Hope": When Skeets explained what he was made of, I felt my jaw drop. Oh. My. Recommended.

Superman #657: "Camelot Falls": Wow, Arion is a jerk in this one. Mildly recommended.

Green Lantern #14: "Wanted: Hal Jordan Ch 1": Hmm, better than the last few stories, but confusing. Mildly recommended.

Batman #658: "Absent Fathers": I swing from believing the kid is doing this intentionally to thinking he's a victim of his upbringing to back again. Recommended.

Wonder Woman #2: "Wonder Woman? Part Two": Secret agent Diana never really appealed to me, but this story is quite bizarre. Mildly recommended.

JLA Classified #29: "Secret History, Sacred Trust part four": Aquaman has some good moments in this one playing the complete jerk. Mildly recommended.

Wisdom #1: "The Day the Fairies Came Out": I don't know who Pete Wisdom is, didn't follow a part of the story, but enjoyed it nonetheless. Mildly recommended.

DMZ #13: "Public Works 1/5": Promising start to another tale in the wilds of New York. Recommended.

Nodwick #35: Ah, the story is coming to its final climax. I can't wait to see more. Recommended.

Action Philosophers: "It's All Greek To You!": Good stuff as usual. Recommended.

And here's an extra review for your reading pleasure:

American Born Chinese by Gene Yang: After the recent fluffle about this book winning an award that some prose-snob (who doesn't even know the meaning of the word "genre") didn't think it deserved, I decided I ought to check it out. And so I did. It's not bad. Three apparently unrelated stories pull together to give a view of the experiences of a minority in America. I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending, and I certainly get the moral of the tale. I wouldn't call it the best ever tale, but it's worth reading. Recommended.

And for the moment I'm caught up... wow. I don't think it'll last long, as I've got a ton of books coming on Wednesday.

Rapid Reviews - 6 Nov 2002 - Part I

Things are going a lot more slowly this week than last, only two books and thoughts on Smallville...

Smallville: Lineage: This was a story I really wanted to see, because I wanted to know how Clark's adoption was arranged ever since Chloe first looked it up. I was not disappointed. This one added new layers to the whole Smallville tale, including more about what Lionel Luthor knows about Clark's secret. This episode counts as a key issue. 4 starfish.

Hawkman #9: Very odd story, but the book has been leading up to this revelation for a time, so I guess it isn't so odd after all. Nice cliffhanger. All-in-all makes me want to keep reading, but doesn't thrill me. 3 starfish.

Superman #188: I got this book only so I could rip out the Aquaman preview in the middle... it was the cheapest book that looked like a stand-alone story. This was a good story, very amusing at first, and then very touching at the end. It also qualifies as stand-alone, so I guess I picked well. This one goes into next year's Halloween box. 3 starfish.

Aquaman Preview: I like the new logo, but having puns like "The New Wave!" on the cover is just irritating.

Only five story pages, but I already like the nobility and strength Aquaman is showing. I'm not keen on the explanation for how the Atlanteans turn the sea life against Aquaman, nor do I think that Vulko would be talking about "murdering our myth" after 15 years of slavery under Gamamnae... but then, I haven't read the last chapter of JLA: Obsidian Age yet so I'm not sure what is happening there.

The artwork is good, better than I was expecting, and I like the coloring so far, too. Never underestimate the importance of good coloring in a book based underwater!

Overall, a promising start. I think the preview did it's job of whetting our appetites (although I'm not in the target audience for the preview), now it's just a long wait until December 11th (35 more days!). Preview: 3 1/2 starfish.