A Day of Crotchet Gone Away

Hello, dears! I hope you're all having a lovely day.

Now, here at Lucille's Originals, we try to keep things light and beautiful, but sometimes I can't help but get a burr in my petticoats! While it's a beautiful Spring Day out there, I can't help but be steamed. I've got a bee in my bonnet so big I can't even get my mind to sit still long enough to crochet! You see, if there's one thing that gets my buns in a kettle, it's people claiming taking credit for a Boxed Shell Column that somebody else stitched!



Call me a cynical old bat, but I can't help but wonder how many people are abusing this Internets thing to abuse other people's fine designs. I do feel that we as a knitting community should share and share alike, as the Good Lord intended, but Heavens to Betsy! Some people are giving away the whole store and asking for seconds!



As if we didn't have enough problems with whippersnappers snapping up all the good yarn or perverts defiling - defiling I tell you! - the beautiful art of crochet, it's flibbertigibbets giving away all of my Great-Great Grandmother's Original Designs away for free on the Internets! I'm so mad I could spit! Believe you me, I'm going to be filing a protest with The Crochet Guild of America! I'm fit to be tied and I'm not going to take these shenanigans lying down, believe you me!



Dearie, me! I think I've gotten a trifle overexcited. Why don't we all just calm down with a nice cup of chamomile and An Internet Music Video my Grandson sent me? He tells me that it's quite a lovely little ditty that I will quite like, so I will post it here for all of us to enjoy. At least I think that's what this is - you know at my age, there's water in the kettle but the stove doesn't get as warm as it used to!



Now, if you'll all excuse me, I'm off to take my Blood Pressure Pills and try to put together another lovely Basket for you all to enjoy. Happy Crocheting, Dears!



:A Smile on the Internet)!

Mama, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Fanboys?

From everybody's favorite guy, Mr. Joe Quesada, over at a Marvel MySpace page, in response to the questions, comments and concerns of his readers:

Joe Quesada on the "reversal of reality" caused by "the 'net":

JQ: A strange occurrence that also happens on the ’net is an almost "reversal of reality." It’s like people switch around the 2-D characters with the 3-D people. I totally understand that there are times when fans aren’t happy with a storyline, or how a character is treated or portrayed. That’s completely cool, and voicing an opinion on that is appreciated and necessary. But what’s always strange to me is when someone comes to the defense of a character as if they are a three-dimensional, flesh-and-blood person; with feelings and family and all the trappings of a real life. These people sometimes speak to or speak of creators and editors as though we are two-dimensional villains on the comics page, twirling our mustaches, plotting some insane demise for a character, all for the express purpose of pissing them off. Which of course doesn’t make any sense to me. Does anyone honestly believe that anyone here at Marvel is trying to destroy characters or the universe? Last I looked, this is how we make our living and feed out families. More than anything, this is the "distortion" the net causes.

Fair enough. Certainly something worth discussing. Of course, they're all doing what they feel is best - by only writing and publishing stories that they think people will want to read. That's an undeniable fact.

But I now post this second quote, which might end up being important, if just for purposes of irony later. Call it a hunch.

12. From Edward
I didn’t really like how the One More Day storyline ended, but I do like Brand New Day. Now Marvel has this massive new storyline called Secret Invasion coming up, so why didn’t you make MJ a Skrull?

This would have ended Peter and MJ’s marriage, because she would have been a Skrull since the marriage. I know this story is similar to what happened Johnny Storm in the FF, but I just find it hard to believe that Mephisto would be interested in Peter and MJ’s love.

JQ: Edward, yeah, for starters it’s exactly the story of how Johnny Storm’s marriage situation was resolved, but even moreso, it meant that for all these years you were reading the story of Peter and the Skrull. It just seemed like a huge cheat to be honest with you, and also once you open up that can of worms, what’s to keep you from doing that with every little problem within the Marvel U? [emphasis Mine]




*takes deep breath*

*exhales loudly*

Sooooooooooo . . . yeah.

While I wholeheartedly agree that rabid fanboyism is neither attractive or sane (says the guy poised to type up an exhaustive bio on Emma Frost), lazy storytelling is also something I really don't much care for. And I hate to break it to you, Mr. Quesada, but "A Deal with the Devil" really isn't that far removed from "Alien Impostor", in terms of pure cheese ex machina.

Your thoughts, ladies and gentlemen?

Limerick Reviews for 03/26/08

Feeling a bit more up to snuff, so here goes nothing . . .

SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS! GET YER RED-HOT SPOILERS!

Daredevil #106 - Ed Brubaker & Paul Azaceta - B-

There once was a blind guy named Matt
Whose love life was never all-that
His wife's now a nut
Life's kicking his butt
But all of this? Frankly, old-hat.

Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash #6 - James Kuhoric & Jason Craig - C-

There once was a guy named Freddy
Whose wit was always quite ready
Not so in this book
The good lines Ash took
Feel disappointed, not heady.

She-Hulk #27 - Peter David & Val Semeiks - D+

There once was an jackass named Stark
Whom Jen slept with quite on a lark
He lied to her face
Put her cousin in space
One "I'm sorry."? Not in the ballpark.

All-Star Superman #10 - Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely - A+ - Chris Sims agrees - YOU MUST BUY THIS COMIC

There once was a man named Clark Kent
Who thought his life would soon be spent
In his final days
He prepares some ways
To give the world things heaven-sent.

Ultimate Spider-Man #120 - Brian Michael Bendis & Stuart Immonen - B+

There once was a girl named Liz
Brand-new to the whole mutant biz
Over her front yard
Magneto tries hard
But fails the X-Men/Spidey Quiz.

BONUS HAIKU

"Visual Imaginations Lead to Suffering"

First, post-coital Doom
Now, implied Blob sex, Bendis?
My bile tastes like tears.

Star Trek - New Frontier: Second Stage #1 - Peter David & Stephen Thompson - C+

There once was a Captain Calhoun
Who made Kirk look like a poltroon
While the story's fun -
Timeship on the run -
It's lost in a geeky cocoon.

Ultimate Human #3 - Warren Ellis & Cary Nord - A

There once was a chap named Peter
Who wanted to be a world-beater
Queen and Country's loss
His huge brain is cross
Since they won't play Follow The Leader.

Army of Darkness/Xena: Warrior Princess - Why Not? #1 - John Layman & Miguel Montenegro - A-

There once was a fella named Ash
Trouble stuck to him like a rash
Into Xena's land
Minus one hand
Dynamite? You just earned my cash.

World War Hulk: Aftersmash! Damage Control #3 - Dwayne McDuffie & Salva Espin - B+

The Chrysler Building comes to life
And thinks about stirring up strife
After some debate
He decides to wait
While superfolk play Barney Fife

Blue Beetle #25 - John Rogers & Rafael Albuquerque - A+ - SallyP Agrees - YOU MUST BUY THIS COMIC

There was a young man from El Paso
Who kicked much alien ass-o
With JLI guests
He passed all the tests
It's tighter than Wondy's lasso.

Bleargh

Not feeling so hot. Not sure why, but I'll just blame one of these cute little guys. Hopefully, we here at The LookOut will feel better soon . . . but in the meanwhile, Limerick Reviews will be delayed. Sorry, gang.

Hopefully, it's all just in my head and I'll be fine in few hours time. If not, I wish you all a lovely weekend.

Avengers Babies! And more Iron Man!

The good folks at Blog@Newsarama have revealed something very cute. It would seem that one of the next Marvel animated films is a sequel to their Ultimate Avengers flicks . . . a very, very distant sequel.



I have to say - the little kid 'Vengers? Freakin' adorable.

And in keeping in my promise to keep the readers of this blog updated on all things "Matt Fraction's Invincible Iron Man", here's an interview with the man himself about the upcoming title.

And speaking of Iron Man - can May 2nd come any faster? I know it's less than two months away but I'm seriously stoked about this. Enjoy the brief brand-new TV trailer!

Iron Man TV Spot
Uploaded by Madgascar-2

Thor is F'in Metal

The Good Mr. Campbell over at Dave's Long Box pointed this gem out and the world is now a better place because of it. Behold . . . Death. Metal. THOR!!!

Where do the New Gods fit in?

Somebody took the time to figure out every superhero and superheroine's religion and then organize them all in appropriate groups - collage style.

My Personal Favorite? The League of Objectivist Superheroes



I bet they would cheerfully annoy the crap out of you right up until they either saved you or killed you.

7 Comics I Would Recommend For My Imaginary Daughter

As I look around the Comics Blogosphere, I see a lot of fussing and fighting, my friends. Now, when I started this blog, I promised myself I'd light a candle in lieu of cursing the darkness . . . and I haven't been super-successful at that as of late. This is mostly because I've had writer's block and general foulness nipping at my brain for a while now. Sorry about that. But no more excuses! Time to let the sunshine in!

When I wrote about Empowered, I also snuck in a critique of modern superheroines and how shabbily they've been treated. Well and good, but I failed to tell folks which comics I would recommend to anyone who wanted a double-fisted shot of female empowerment. So, without further ado, here goes . . .

7 Comics I Would Recommend For My Imaginary Daughter!


(Yes, I imagine my fictional daughter would end up just like Layla Miller - funny, self-reliant, intellectual, vaguely sociopathic and stuck in a future she never made.
...
I don't imagine myself to be Lauren Graham, mind you - I just couldn't find a Veronica Mars graphic I could bear myself to mutilate with photoshop. But hey, I'm getting off topic . . .)

AGES 4-10

Yotsuba&!
by Azuma Kiyohiko



Yes, Yotsuba has green hair but a more realistic, touching and flat-out hilarious depiction of childhood you'll never find. Trust me, this is not the story of a plant controlling Sailor Scout who saves the Multiverse (Much as I enjoyed it growing up, Sailor Moon is not something I'd necessarily recommend to kids. Mostly because it might scare them and also, her boyfriend's in high school and she's in middle school. Plus, he calls her "Meatball Head" affectionately. That's a slappable offense where I come from). Anyways - Yotsuba rocks!



Yotsuba&! tells the story of a young girl from the country and the single father who raises her as they move from the country to the city. Yotsuba's a bit quirky and excitable and makes the lives everyone she comes across more interesting. - especially of the family mostly comprised of young women who live next door. Every story is about her discovering new about the world and getting excited over it - hence the &!. It's a great read for people of all ages and I'd heartily recommend it for kids. Yotsuba will even teach your kids that vengeance never works out and thus counteract all those negative Batman comics. That said, you might end up having to explain how global warming and cardboard robots really work afterwards, so be prepared. Here is a helpful diagram -



AGES 10-14


The Baby-Sitter's Club by Raina Telgemeier

Did you know there are Graphic Novel versions of The Baby-Sitter's Club? Well, now you know that!
. . .
Okay, so I've never read a single one of them. I admit it - 'tween lit is not an oeuvre I know well. But I have read Bone by Jeff Smith - and I'm not alone in thinking it's awesome for tweens.




Bone is beautiful. It's epic, it's got a Grandma in it that could kick your ass and it tempers violent fantasy with idyllic comedy. I like to think any smart tween worth their salt will fall in love with both the character design and the storyline. Bone will also teach your daughter that talking bugs and dragons are friendly, which is a valuable lesson that destroys stereotypes. And make sure to include the prequel of sorts, Rose, which has stunning art by Charless "Stardust" Vess.



AGES 14-18

When she isn't busy slamming the door in your face, dating someone you don't approve of and screaming "I HATE YOU!" before turning up her iPod at the dinner table, you might try to engage her in conversation about these fine Graphic Novels and Comics. I find Kung Fu action and evil boyfriends are good icebreakers.



Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 8 by Joss Whedon & Friends
is a great comic to discuss with your daughter, assuming she's seen Seasons 1-7 already. Watching TV with your kid is just as fun as reading the same comics with your child. Of course, things might get more than a little awkward around Season 6 but the main theme here - the only theme Whedon tries to consistently get across in every season of Buffy - is empowerment.
That, and that having any sex other than lesbian sex will get you punished by mystical forces.
And even then, you're not really safe.
...
Okay, so maybe this isn't the ideal gateway comic book for young female readers, unless you want your daughter to die a virgin. Moving on!



Wonder Woman by Gail Simone, on the other hand? Ain't nothing wrong with that! Start off with this volume or with Rucka's work or hell, even the classic Perez run. You really can't go wrong with Wonder Woman.



Simone's Birds of Prey work is also pretty kick-ass, for people of all ages. You may have to have a talk about unrealistic body issues afterwards but I'm sure that's pretty self-explanatory for Ed Benes artwork.



Now that Birds of Prey is becoming solely about the adventures of two wacky teenage girls with powers, this is an even more apropos title to give your teenage daughter. Just make sure to explain Dinah's absence from the team by telling her that women sometimes make terrible choices when they get older and that she should never, EVER settle for less than the best (the best being a guy who won't cheat on her, for starters).
. . .
I'm sorry - that negativity I swore to combat is creeping in again, isn't it?

Well, nobody can help but grin when reading this next title. It's full of nothing but interesting, well-defined female teens who usually lead the team and kick a lot of ass doing it. Plus, it's in nifty digest manga form! What series do I speak of? Well, naturally, I'm talking about . . .



Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan, et al.

Does your teen already hate you? Show her how good she has it with these adventures of teens whose parents are supervillains. Yeah, no TV after ten doesn't sound so bad NOW, does it, young lady? The writing's whip-smart, the art is gorgeous (with realistically depicted teen girl bodies and no unforgiving spandex), and most importantly, it imparts several timeless lessons -

1. People die for no reason sometimes and it sucks.
2. It's okay to be yourself, whomever that turns out to be.
3. Accessories can totally make the outfit.
4. Learning whom to trust and how to support yourself are some of the best and hardest lessons you can ever learn.
5. Dinosaurs are awesome.



I've talked about the joy of this series before (in a limited fashion) and I hope that if you haven't checked it out by now, you'll get on the Awesome Train. It's a fine, well-crafted series for anybody and I look forward to seeing where Whedon and Moore take this.



I know I haven't exactly made any bold, innovative choices here but I do think they're pretty solid ones. Let me know what y'all think, and most of all, please share with the rest of the class . . .

Which comics would you recommend to a young lady who hasn't read any GNs before?

Feeding the Comic Book Jones

THINGS I WILL BUY TOMORROWTHURSDAY MORNING:

DEFINITE PURCHASES -



All Star Superman #10 - 'Bout time!
Blue Beetle #25 - This series is actually ten times more awesome than people were telling me it was.
Freddy vs Jason vs Ash #6 - Yes, I am a huge nerd.
Daredevil #106 - Poor, poor Matt. His first name may as well be Door.
She-Hulk #27 - Previews indicate I might be better off NOT buying this one, so as to keep my blood pressure down. We'll see.
Ultimate Human #3 - Apparently, Ellis is doing Ultimate Queen & Country in this. Lovely.
Ultimate Spider-Man #120 - Snarky teen fun!
World War Hulk Aftersmash Damage Control #3 - If you love me, you'll buy three copies of this and give two to your friends, then have them buy three copies.
Star Trek - New Frontier #1 - See above, Re: Nerdiness.
Army Of Darkness/Xena Why Not #1 - Why not, indeed?

MAYBES -




Gravel #2 - Yep. Lots of blood and mayhem and esoteric facts about Crowley I bet. Yesirree. *sigh* It's a sad day when I'm actually bored of gore and esoteric facts about Crowley. I guess I reached an Ellis saturation point when I started reading Doktor Sleepless and Thunderbolts in the same week. Whatever happened to that last issue of Planetary anyways?
New Warriors #10 - With the original members reuniting in The Initiative, this series becomes even less compelling. Sorry, Jubilee.
New Avengers #39 -
I think I can save myself four dollars. Let's see . . .
Character X: "ARE YOU A SKRULL?!?"
Character Y: "What? Why would you even-"
Character X: "ANSWER THE QUESTION! ARE YOU A *@%#ING SKRULL?"
Character Y: "NO! I'M NOT A *@%#ING SKRULL! GOD! What is the matter with you?!?"
*Cut, paste new values for X, Y - Repeat for 20 pages*
If they kill Echo off, I'm gonna be a little ticked off.
Mighty Avengers #11 - See above, but with more hitting and Dr. Doom. Most likely to go onto the Definite pile.
Wolverine First Class #1 - I have already made my feelings about this book abundantly clear.

How about you?

WHAT ARE YOU BUYING THIS WEEK???

For Those Who Search

Lately, I've noticed three distinct groups of people who scour Teh Interweb popping up here at The LookOut. And, since I'm a kind, helpful soul, here's a little something to help out you wayward strangers.

1. Folks who want to know about "Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog"

Yeah, I'm excited as you are. You might want to go here, which is the official fansite with a link to the possibly official site and everything. Failing that, check Whedonesque regularly. They're awesome and the only linkblog where Joss Whedon posts regularly.

And hey, do you not want to click a link at all to hear NPH sing? Here you go.



You're welcome, my fellow Whedon nerds and NPH fans.



2. People excited about "Matt Fraction's Invincible Iron Man"



Matt Fraction totally has a blog. I'm pretty sure he might update more regularly about Iron Man over there than I do here, but hey, you never know. I'll make sure to keep fresh Invincible Iron Man news coming, just in case Mr. Fraction might be incredibly shy and self-effacing.

3. . . . "Emma Frost Naked"? Really?



. . . I have no idea WHY this keeps coming up. Seriously! I've never blogged about Emma in any way other than adoration and/or respect for her character.

Still, since a frankly disturbing number of you want to see a fictional character naked, here she is . . .



Whoops. My bad. So terribly sorry. Guess you'll just have to figure out how to use Google Freaking Image Search. Or possibly go outdoors and *GASP* talk to real girls!

Honestly. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Emma's almost always half-naked anyways, for crissakes. But hey, thank you each and every one of you for encouraging me to get onto writing the Emma half of my Emma/Scott post. You know, about why she's awesome and such a fully-realized character and NOT JUST WANK MATERIAL FOR FANBOYS. *eye twitch*

. . .

Just to be clear - Emma Frost will not be naked in that post either.

Maybe I'm just getting old and cranky

Okay, so yeah - Secret Invasion. Skrulls replacing Marvel heroes. Having done so for decades, apparently. Spooooooooky. *eye roll* Putting aside the violent "First Night In Federal Prison"-style violations this'll end up giving Marvel Continuity, I have another big question . . .

The Skrulls have got a bunch of the heroes captured. They've got a foolproof way to replace them. They then replace the captured heroes in a totally seamless way. Congratulations, Skrulls! So why then, pray tell, do you keep the original copies ALIVE? To draw marker mustaches on them and take pictures? Keeping them Tupperware fresh for a Disney Style "Hall of Conquered Enemies"? I mean, really, this makes no freakin' sense to me.


I'm just gonna huddle down with a scowl and maybe a drink until this is all over - all the while quietly hoping they don't muck up the lives of Teddy from Young Avengers and Xavin from Runaways too badly with all this nonsense.



And if Emma Frost, Jennifer Jones, Daredevil or anybody else I actually give a crap about is suddenly a Skrull, I am going to cut the amount of Marvel Comics I buy in half. I only collect roughly 13 Marvel titles a month, so whittling that down to 6 titles is not that big of a challenge. Let's say Daredevil, X-Factor, Ellis' Astonishing X-Men, Runaways, one of Fraction's titles, and, in a fit of irony, Powers - done and done. I'm not going to be one of Those Guys who froths at the mouth and declares a boycott but they're definitely going to get me to avoid the major corners of the Marvel U in the near future. Especially if the word "Skrull" in ANY way further ruins the Jessica Jones/Luke Cage relationship (don't even get me started on that one). I'm just so damn tired of mega-crossovers making shockwaves in my books (and yeah, I'm looking at you too, DC - damn well better be "Final Crisis". My wallet can't take much more of this).



I know this is trying to be fun and campy. I get it, I do. But I'm sorry, this Skrull stuff is just . . . ugh. With the flat-out stomping on of old stories to make way for the goofiness of little green men from space, I just can't get into this one. Sorry Bendis & Co.



You know, the funny thing is, I used to like giant Marvel Crossovers. Really! I totally did. Secret Wars and um . . . Secret Wars II! Okay, three giant Marvel Crossovers at least. Remember Acts of Vengeance? That was utterly awesome. Villains versus heroes they never fought before! Beautiful in it's simplicity, really. I freakin' loved Acts of Vengeance.



. . . of course, I was 12 around the time those came out.

God, I'm old.

And bitter.

I'm an old, bitter fanboy.

Happy Easter Everyone!

Remember folks - Easter isn't all about sitting on the laps of men in bunny costumes or finding dyed eggs on your lawn. There's a reason for the Season, gang! This day actually began because the Christian-type churches wanted to stomp out the ongoing Pagan fertility celebrations of Spring's return that were spread across a variety of cultures. Or something (cut me some slack, people - this isn't "Look Out! Here Comes a Comparative Religions Blog!").

And how did they do this? They spread the heartwarming tale of a lovable zombie named Jesus Christ. Sometimes by force, but always with love. Go to Scaffer The Darklord's MySpace Page and click on Night of The Living Christ to hear this beautiful story . . . Nerdcore-style.



But hey, remember folks, there's no such thing as a War On Easter.Sure, there were the occasional burning of heretics at the stake, but mostly? The only things that got warmed were people's hearts. Awwwwwwwwwwwwww. And not many people realize this, but Spider-Man helped out too!



Yay, Spidey!

And now we have chocolate rabbits, big and bigger. More importantly, Easter gave birth to those most blessed of creatures, Peeps! Say what you want, I love these sweet, gentle creatures. Especially when they fight to the death:



I hope that all of you enjoy this special day, be it filled with making Marshmallow creatures Fight to the Death or a hearty feast. And enjoy the worship of whomever you hold dear - be it the sacrifice of a loving Zombie, a gentle Pagan celebration, or Buddha. Buddha really loves Easter, you know. He'll eat all your honey-baked ham if you don't watch him like a hawk. Your yams too. Seriously. I'm not even kidding. If you meet the Buddha on the road, don't invite Buddha to Easter Dinner. Dude's kind of a tool - unlike our resurrected ZJC, who also slays Vampires in his spare time:



Like, a LOT of Vampires, actually:



Go Jesus! Zombie defeats Vamipres FTW!

So mainly, the lesson here I'm trying to impart is this - Easter Kicks Ass!



And don't piss off the Easter Bunny.

ETA: Polite Dissent also loves Peeps and Comics - and like an Easter Mad Scientist, he's combined the two!

Comic Book Fashion?

This link about comic book nerds being "Brashly confident avatars of cool" has got me curious . . . so indulge me, Dear Reader, by answering the following questions for me - either in my comments section or in your own blog!

1. How many comic book related shirts do you YOU wear/own? What are they?

Batman, Superman (original logo & colors), Superman (on fire logo, black background), Powers (Retro Girl outline on Black), Milk & Cheese Bowling t-shirt, Bone (Phoney Bone's face & logo), Spider-Man (black background)

2. Which of these shirts are your favorites?

The Milk & Cheese one is well-made, extremely comfy and hilarious. Hands-down my favorite. Of course, I wear all of the above regularly, save for the Spider-Man one, due to it having shrunk in the wash.


3. Which of these shirts get the most comments when you're out and about?

Original Logo Superman and Batman always guarantee comments from strangers and occasional wide-eyed stares from kids. The Milk & Cheese is a surprisingly strong third, especially when I wear it out to bars. All three generate a lot of fun and I've even started conversations that way.

My favorite moment with the Superman shirt was when I was in Vegas. My friend Jim and I were strolling down the entranceway into the Excalibur Casino where we were staying, after having a very disappointing day. Being that this is Ye Olde Medieval Times Casino, they have two trumpeteers who blare out a welcome for guests as they arrive. They gave us a perfunctory bugle call and I tried to cheer up Jim by quipping "Hey, at least these guys knew we were coming!", and giving them a thumbs-up.

Not two seconds went by before they began playing the John Williams Superman Theme in tandem. :D I burst out laughing - and then made sure to strut the rest of the way down the entranceway in a "Superman" pose, preening like an idiot.

(On a side note, my friend Kay tends to get tetchy whenever she asks somebody with a Superman t-shirt questions about, say, Action Comics and gets met with a blank stare. Luckily, I'm authentically GEEKCORE - you know, as opposed to all these wanna-be playas co-opting Geek Culture. :P)

4. Feel like posting a pic of yourself in one of your Comic Book T-shirts, looking oh-so-fashionable?

Not right now, but I'll edit this later to add one . . .
Behold! This is from many moons ago but the shirt remains the same. Gotta say, Clark Kent is/was the easiest five-minute Halloween Costume I ever put together.



(Ye Gods, I forgot I even owned that goofy-looking Buffy poster. I'd always wished whomever gave me that B-Day gift went with a more fandom-y black background Buffy/Angel or the Buffy Season 2 Cast poster. Instead, I had to constantly convince people I loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer, not SMG inexplicably squatting in poison ivy. *sigh*)

Limerick Reviews for 3/19/08

SPOILERS ABOUND, LADDIES AND LASSIES!

The Order #9 - Matt Fraction & Barry Kitson and Javier Saltares - A+

There once was a group called The Order
Who fought crime north of the Border
There's fun Die Hard quotes
A villain who gloats
I can't work in a rhyme for "Mordor"

BONUS HAIKU:

"The Second Stage of Grief"

Why didn't you buy
This incredibly good book
You damn fanboy twits

Angel: After The Fall #5 - Joss Whedon & Brian Lynch & Franco Urru - B+

There once was a girl named Fred
Whom we all thought eaten and dead
But in this murky fight
An astonishing sight
These plot twists are hurting my head

BONUS HAIKU:

"Bad Impressionism"

These vague renderings
Murky faces, dark action
Send Monet away.

The Immortal Iron Fist #13 - Matt Fraction & Ed Brubaker & Tonci Zonjic & David Aja & Kano - B+

There once was a fighter named Rand
Who could make one Iron-like hand
With fighters galore
He'll settle the score
I see now why folks say it's grand.

Thor #7 - J. Michael Straczynski & Marko Djurdjevic - B

There once was an Aesir named Odin
More august than Sir Charles Grodin
As comatose Thor
Learns Dad's pretty sore
Don Blake is free of forebodin'

Checkmate #24 - Greg Rucka & Eric Trautmann & Joe Bennett - A+

There once was a cult who loved snakes
Who transformed folks and raised the stakes
Supes, the JLA
And all JSA
Plus spies?! So good it gives me the shakes.

BONUS HAIKU

"Waffling in the Face of Loss"

Rucka, Trautmann gone
Bruce Jones is just not the same
Should I still buy this?

Yet another Dancing Batman Video

From Comics Should Be Good - I hereby present "The Greatest Batusi EVER":



This clearly puts all the other Dancing Batman videos to shame.

More Links than a Hyrule-Themed Smash Bros. Brawl

My Limerick Reviews will be delayed until tomorrow evening due to unavoidable Real Life Stuff but I thought I'd leave you all a boatload of interesting links to peruse in the meanwhile -



- With all the Two-Faced politicians out there lately, it's nice to have someone running for office that I can trust. Somebody who doesn't use a bunch of double talk and doesn't bow down to special interest coin. I am, of course, talking about Harvey Dent. This fine fellow is coming to my state this weekend. As I am totally in support of this upstanding D.A., I hope to get some snaps of me stumping for him and a crime-free Gotham City in the coming days.

- Always intelligent and intriguing, The Comics Journal also has an exhaustively comprehensive linkblog that goes by Journalista. The folks behind Journalista were kind enough to link to my recent discussion of Empowered. Thank you kindly, Journalista!
(Remember - if you don't see my link, you can just look for the post that begins with “I say: more penis on DC’s covers! More penis!”.)



- And let's not forget The Precocious Curmudgeon, whose kind words in response to mine sparked Journalista's interest in the first place. I'd also like to thank David P. Morgan for pointing everyone toward this fascinating link on the making of Adam Warren's Livewires from an editor's P.O.V. You know, Livewires? - a. k. a. one of the best Marvel mini-series you've never heard of? *sigh* Y'all should really try it out - it's only 8 bucks and there's a scene where Hydra tries to kill Nick Fury with beer.



Poor Livewires.




- If you're as big a fan of Greg Rucka as I am, I think you'll also enjoy this excerpt of an interview TCJ did with Rucka and Steve Lieber about their "Noir in Antarctica" tale, Whiteout. This is soon to be adapted into a movie with the young lady from Underworld. Good Lord, Rucka's a frighteningly large fellow.

I'm enough of a dork to remember when this was supposed to star Reese Witherspoon. Is it perverse of me that I'm still curious what she would have been like in the main role?

- Also, I have now found the location of the Coolest Movie Theatre on Earth. I may have to make the day-long drive to visit The Alamo Drafthouse just for the food alone, especially that 20 Beer Chili. Hell, any theater that serves Fat Tire is already given a thumbs up by yours truly.

- Evan Dorkin's blog reveals that he and his lovely family are writing an episode of the cheerfully surreal kids' show Yo Gabba Gabba! And if you haven't read the hilarious coming-of-age novel he illustrated the make-you-fall-down-laughing page breaks and cover for, I Love You, Beth Cooper - you, my friend? Are missing out.



And since we're all kids at heart, here's some videos from and relating to Yo Gabba Gabba! to brighten your day and/or quietly terrify you:

Biz Markie's Beat of the Day!
(HE! HE'S got what you NEED! But you SAY he's JUST A FRIEND! But you SAY he's JUST A FRIEND!)



Nathaniel Likes to Dance. He is The Best Dancer Ever.



Is Elijah Wood scarier here, teaching children how to become puppets, or as a cannibalistic Charlie Brown in Sin City?
You Decide!

Match It for Pratchett

On a serious note, the talented and charming author Terry Pratchett was recently diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. He's already given half a million dollars to charity to try and find a cure for the disease and is asking his fans to try and match his donation with whatever they can give - Match It For Pratchett.

Over at Written World, Ragnell has more information on this pledge drive and a very moving, personal story here.

I loved his work with Neil Gaiman, Good Omens, and the first solo novel I ever read by him, Soul Man, remains one of the few books I've ever read that caught me completely flat-footed by how wonderful it was. If you can, please take the time to send a little something his way.

BONUS VIDEO CONTENT:

Terry Pratchett telling a slightly off-color joke in Berlin -

Feeding the Comics Jones

Today, I buy . . .

DEFINITE MUST-HAVES:

Checkmate #24
The Order #9
Thor #7
Angel: After The Fall #5

MAYBES:

Everybody's Dead #1 - The writer behind this original Zombie Survival RomCom series is Brian Lynch, the same gentleman who is helping put out the murkily-drawn but very well-written Angel Season 6 comics with Joss Whedon. He also created those fantastic Spike minis with Puppet Spike and the telepathic talking fish. We'll just see how the art grabs me.

Immortal Iron Fist #13 - With The Order being cancelled and Rucka & Trautmann ("TWO COPS who PLAY BY THEIR OWN RULES on THE HARD STREETS of PORTLAND, OREGON! Separately, THEY KICK ASS! Together, THEY FIGHT CRIME!") being taken off Checkmate in 2 months, I will be left abruptly devoid of the fresh transfusions of Awesome I need to live. From what the Internet tells me, I understand that this "Immortal Iron Fist" is made of Awesome. Do I need the trades to get into it or is it just going to rock my world immediately?

Incredible Hercules #115 - Ares keeps punching poor Wonder Man in the back of the head and yelling completely fake narration to explain why. If he was this great in Mighty Avengers, I'd be recommending it to all my friends. Plus, the super-smart kid with the coyote pup is awesome when he isn't being really annoying.

Justice League Of America Vol 2 #19 - The art has pissed me off and the story's put me to sleep until now. And yet, from what I understand, this issue will contain both Amanda Waller AND the Martian Manhunter. Decisions, decisions. With my luck, I'll buy it and they'll have whitewashed Amanda Waller too.

So, my friends, the question now becomes . . .

WHAT ARE YOU BUYING TODAY???

Erin go Boo-Yah

In honor of St. Patty's Day and my Irish heritage, here are my Top 5 Gleefully Stereotypically Irish Characters!

5. Cassidy, the Irish Vampire



Violent, has not one, but TWO major drinking problems.

4. Hitman



Violent but doesn't have a drinking problem because he enjoys every minute of his drinking.

3. Banshee, a.k.a. Sean Cassidy



Starts out as an insultingly ape-faced supervillain with a pipe, ends up as a stereotypically Irish hero who actually has his own keep and says things like "Aye", "Saints" and "Begorrah" all the time.

2. Shamrock



Irish, Catholic, has "luck powers." Retires to be a hairdresser. No word on whether or not she's now cooking potatoes with her husband, Lucky the Leprechaun.

1. Siryn, a.k.a. Teresa Cassidy


Check all that apply:

-Catholic
-Alcoholic
-Irish Brogue
-Can make people fall in love with her using superpowered version of exaggerated Irish Brogue
-Same powers as her Dad, Banshee
-Red haired


Faith and begorrah! This blarney's enough to make a fella right jaded!

REAL IRISH PEOPLE WHOM I DO NOT FEEL SHAME FOR ENJOYING THE EXPLOITS OF:

Flogging Molly rocks out!



Irish Reporters are not going to eat your BS with a smile!



Sinead O'Connor and The Chieftans are more Irish than you can handle!