A list of many topics. Not all of them are comic related.

1. You know what's turning out to not be very good? The new Supergirl series from DC. I didn't have extraordinarily high expectations, but the series is now two issues in, and it's been pretty much nothing but screaming and punching for literally no reason. I have no idea where Jeph Loeb (whom I normally really like) is going with this, but so far, I'm not impressed.

2. Likewise with Allstar Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder by Frank Miller and Jim Lee. The art is good, and you can see some nice moments, but... Batman is oddly out of character and, again, in two issues, not a lot has happened. It's a leap of faith to ask people to keep reading a comic series. You can continue to read, hoping that there will be a nice payoff at the end of six or seven issues. I'm willing to give Miller a longer issue count than other people, but, c'mon...

3. The various Countdown to Infinite Crisis series are starting to wrap up, as well as the first few series of Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers of Victory. Due to the nature of all of these series there's no conclusion or closure, and that's an odd feeling. The Countdown series are pouring into Infinite Crisis. Seven Soldiers is going to wrap up in a final, central issue, at which point I am sure I will have to reread everything so I will remember all the detail to figure out what the hell is going on.

That said, I've enjoyed all of the series thus far to varying degrees, but confess to a warm spot in my heart for OMAC, the Manhattan Guardian and possibly the new take on Mr. Miracle. I have an original printing of the 1970's-era Mr. Miracle #1, and it's a prized posession, so I sincerely hope the 2005 version is just as worthy in the end.

4. Well, my folks are okay. Here's a dispatch from my mom just a short while after the hurricane was scheduled to strike:

Well it is 7:40 and I pretended to be on Esther's Follies and danced for Dad outside the window while he is watching Sci Fi inside.

Huh. Well, it makes sense if you grew up there.

I talked to my folks just last night and they have power, water, cable TV and no damage. Where God has it in for me, He loves my folks.

I've suggested my dad try out some looting since all the neighbors are out, but he's concerned that the cops will catch him if he can't find the jewelry quickly enough after the silent alarm is triggered.

5. Loyal Leaguer Nathan Cone relied on the amazing web-surfing techniques of The League. Apparently he was stranded in St. Louis and scheduled to travel through Houston to get back to San Antonio. The League tried to help Nathan find an alternative flight, but no go. Don't worry, Leaguers, Nathan made it home. He left a message while I was out today and was on the tarmac back in the Alamo City.

6. Note to "creative" people writing scripts, books, etc... (and I say this after watching the trailer for Pride & Prejudice, so take this with a grain of salt as Jane Austen sells a lot of books and makes a lot of movies)

Opposites don't really attract.

People who hate each other at first rarely actually fall in love. Also, that's a really dumb thing to try to overcome. What frightens me is that I KNOW people who actually believe this message. They make life decisions based on cliches used in the titles of Paula Abdul/ MC Skat Cat songs.

The League's recommendation: you'll do a lot better trying to find someone you get along with from the beginning. This doesn't guarantee you won't get divorced, but, you know... Trying to make it with someone you initially loathed based upon what TV told you? It seems like it's probably a good sign things might get rocky again after you sober up.

7. There's a new movie by Rob Reiner starring Jennifer Aniston. Apparently, unable to get the Graduate 2 movie off the ground, Reiner decided that he was going to make a movie leeching off the goodwill The Graduate garners, but not including any of the original cast. The trailer seems to lend itself to that idiot cutesiness that so many romantic comedies have of which The Graduate was utterly devoid.

Something about the stunningly crass exploitation of The Graduate in the trailer made me want to start punching people. Sadly, Rob Reiner was not present.

Also, the entire trailer is people talking about multi-generational sex and sex in airplane bathrooms. They chose to show this before Corpse Bride, which was filled with about 65% children. I don't want to play thought-police, but, I mean, c'mon... Who wants to have to do the birds and the bees talk because Kevin Costner did Jennifer Aniston, her mom and her grandma?

Of course, I'd rather try to explain that than the logical inconsistencies in Waterworld.

8. Flightplan was pretty good. It's a nice, taut story without a lot of distraction. In short, if you liked Panic Room, you'll dig this one, too. The only downside to these movies, for The League, is that a second viewing rarely holds up. Once we know the ins-and-outs of the plot, well, it just doesn't have the same thrill. But, I did like this movie on first blush.

In related news, my crush on Jodie Foster enters year 15. And with those words, the Secret Service now has a file on me.

9. Corpse Bride is really cool to look at. I'm not sure if I liked it as much as A Nightmare Before Christmas, but it's pretty neat from a technical point of view.

10. Jim D is still stranded outside of Beaumont. Poor bastard. He's waiting it out in a hotel room until he's allowed to go home. Let's all send our best wishes to Jimbo.

11. An actor whom once played Jimmy Olsen in the Superman movies from the 1940's has died. RIP Tommy Bond.

read more here

12. Jim said he would "die" if I did not blog on this topic, so here it is. I didn't want to explain to Jim D. the third and Mrs. Dedman that I was responsible for their son's untimely demise.

I guess superheroes pretty much reflect the nature of their native culture. After all, Superman wasn't Truth, Justice and the Ugandan Way. It's always interesting to see what's being made in other lands, even if it doesn't make a lick of sense to you as an ugly American (and The League recognizes, that he probably is an ugly American). I've read up on some Brazilian superheroes, and you can't throw a rock without hitting Japanese comics.

As these superheroes are from the Arab world, the perspective of the heroes isn't what we'd all take for granted to see here in the US, without necessarily being propaganda. (And if you don't think Superman and Batman were used for propaganda...)

Anyway, check out the article.

The lack of blogging this week hasn't been due to any personal issues. It's been because I recently joined up with the MMORPG City of Heroes.

CoH is an online game in which you can create a superhero based upon a wide array of options provided by the game designers. There are probably a million combinations of clothing, hair, gender, masks, color, armor, etc... in an easy to toy with user interface.

The game, itself, has a nice learning curve. While parts of it can be frustratingly slow if you decide to repeat the steps in order to create a new character, each new phase does take time to learn, and the designers were smart enough to create a "learn by doing" environment.

The character creation process is a darn good bit of fun on its own. Levelling up is mildly thrilling as well as each time you can earn a new power and enhance the powers you have. All of this is intended to prep you for some adventures I haven't got to yet.

What have I learned? If you make a mostly naked hero girl as a joke, guys will try to talk to your mostly naked pixel mass. Nobody wants to talk to StarSentry, but Mistress Tanya was very popular on her first outing.

I'm doubly excited as CoH is not owned by Marvel or DC. BUT, in 2007, DC is going to release a DC comics based game along the same lines. This could mean environments would include Gotham, Metropolis, Themyscira, Atlantis and a dozen or so other DCU based locations I can think of.

Anyhoo, I'm off to go fight some crime. If you're playing, look for StarSentry. (I had about a dozen other names lined up, but they were all taken. Give me a break. StarSentry was the best I could do).

I'M OSCAR!!!! (dot com)

A new season of Arrested Development is upon us. If you aren't watching this show but have never seen it, get the DVD series. If you have seen the show but didn't like it, you officially are on The League's "enemies" list. If you missed the first episode this season, well, you're probably going to be hopelessly lost.

BUT, the show picked up this season where it left off last season and is still fresh as a daisy in spring in torrential rain.

And I still think Jessica Walters may be the funniest actor on television. She had me at the wink in the first episode.

To catch up on Monday's episode, go here where Oscar Bluth asks the classic all blogger's must eventually face:

What does it take to get people to read my f’ing blog?! What’s more interesting, an innocent man in prison blogging for his life or “Snuppy” the first cloned dog?

Dispatch from the Texas Coast

Run, Jim D! Run as fast as your legs will carry you!

In all seriousness, Jim has split Beaumont and my folks have split from Spring, TX. It's very scary stuff, indeed.

Rita is headed right at the expansive Texas coast, and the computer projections for Galveston don't look all that different than New Orleans if worst comes to worst. If you've never read about the hurricane of 1900 in Galveston, I highly recommend visiting this site.

I never voted for the guy, but Rick Perry was on CNN last night, and the man watched and learned during the Katrina debacle. That much is clear. Folks are getting bussed out of gulf cities and towns to hubs set up a few hours inland. Perry has 5000 National Guard troops on standby and some Texas Guard guys ready to mobilize. (I say guys, but I am sure it is comprised of dudes AND dames).

Honestly, I don't really know where my folks are at the moment. I can't get through, and that's sort of spooky. I assume they're perfectly safe, but that automated message from Verizon isn't terribly comforting.

Of course at the center of all this are the New Orleans refugees. It's tough to try to even imagine what they're going through.

Yeeaaarrggggghhhhhh!!!!!

In case ye furgot, maties! 'Tis Talk Like a Pirate Day, says I!

go here, me hearties.

special thanks to the scurvy dog, Nathan Cone, fer the reminder.

Yar.

Dispatch from Beaumont

So, a few weeks ago, Jim D. sent me another box of comics. After I had pleaded with him not to do so.

There's some good stuff in that box. Astonishing X-Men, some Avengers, some other comics which are worth picking up. We, here at League HQ, are not sure WHY Jim sends the comics, but he occasionally does send off a box. So, thanks, Jim, I guess... He's always looking out for me, even when I beg him not to.

The other day Jim called me at work.

Apparently Jim's local comic shop is an excellent shop, and Jim had called to impart the variety of knowledge which only a fellow comic geek finds ASTOUNDING.

"There's a copy of Avenger's #4 and X-Men #1 at my comic shop..."
"Oh my God."
"I got to hold them in my hand."
"You actually touched them?"
"Yeah."
We are such geeks. Such terrible geeks.

I've never even SEEN these comics. These are huge collectors' items, no matter what condition these comics are in. And while the comics weren't alas, in perfect condition, they were there. And, as I said, I ain't never even seen those comics.

Both are Stan Lee written. Both have art by Kirby. Both are part of the Marevl explosion of the early 1960's.



Avengers #4 isn't worth as much as Avengers #1, but it's worth more than #2 as it's the issue where the Avengers locate Captain America frozen in a block of ice in the Arctic Ocean. Shut up. That's prime comic mythology where I come from.



And X-Men #1? Well, it's X-Men #1. I think I'm cool as I have a torn copy of #32.

Look, we all have our own Maltese Falcon. If you want to take the metaphor up a notch, the Holy Grail of the comic world is Action Comics #1, but people like you or me can't afford Action Comics #1, even with a torn cover. It's a $100,000 comic book in good condition.

So you sort of have to take the trickle down effect and say "okay, what comic is my Maltese Falcon? I strongly suspect the Holy Grail will turn me to dust and I'll be told by that old knight guy that I have chosen poorly. So, the worst that can happen with this Falcon is a lot of people could get shot and dames are gonna turn on you... Is that a risk I'm willing to take?"

Before Jim had even gotten to the shop, someone had called in and wanted the X-Men #1. It went for $300 or so, which is about right for this comic in "good" condition (I will not get into the comic grading scale here, but, believe me, it exists). Not a bad turn around for a $0.12 investment. In Near Mint? The comic fetches a few thousand bucks, I think. So bag those comics, Loyal Leaguers.

However, the Avengers #4 had a partially torn cover and was selling for around $100. Not a bad price, and it will probably just continue to increase in value, even in poor condition. If I were a wealthier man, I might even have had Jim pick it up for me.

Jim did consider buying the comic, but was faced with that cold dread that most comic collectors feel creep into their skulls during any expensive purchase. "What the hell am I going to do with a $100 comic book?"

I have Mr. Miracle #1 in a frame at home. But that's how I roll. The frame cost more than the comic. The League isn't alone in his admiration for Mr. Miracle, but the fan base isn't shelling out huge bucks for a briefly lived series from the early 70's. But that's not the comic I'm looking for.

The League's Maltese Falcon?



Action Comics #252: First appearance of Supergirl and Metallo

I could, possibly, afford a beat up copy of this comic one day. I've just never seen it in person, and eBay sort of makes me itch, so I don't even know how close to getting the comic I'll ever be. Not a big deal. It gives me something to look for.

So, long time no blog.

It's truth day here at The League.

As mentioned to Steanso, I've been considering shutting down The League. It's a massive time sink, and it's not like I've been making any money doing this. My time in the evenings is fairly limited, and this is taking up an hour or so almost each night.

I also sort of feel I've come to the end of the rainbow regarding topics I feel juiced up enough to spend time writing about. I would never turn this into an all-comics blog as I think others do that very well, and I would just as soon turn folks onto the likes of Return to Comics and Dave's Long Box than try to keep up with what those guys are doing.

I had even spent some time last week trying to figure out how to go out with a bang, but nothing is coming to me. I don't want for The League to be something that gradually dies off. If I'm done, I want people to say "Wow, now THAT'S how you end a blog!" Sadly, nothing really came to me along those lines. I had seriously considered taking a picture of my ass and posting it with "The End" written on my butt, but that seemed sort of hostile upon further review.

The fact is, not much goes on in my day-to-day life, and that leaves me without a lot of content ideas. And for reasons I don't really want to get into, it's been a pretty tough summer, and all of that hasn't left me in much of a mood to blog when I do have time. I'm trying to make time, but, as I said before, I'm not always sure what I should be covering, so when I do get some time, sometimes the gods of blogger don't really make it clear what's supposed to be filling the space.

Every time I go through this, I just need to remind myself I don't actually have to blog. It's not a requirement. And that helps.

I have no idea how long I'll keep this up, but I have scrapped any plans to shut the joint down. I will probably be blogging less for a while until I get into a cycle where I feel like blogging more often. Could be tomorrow. Could be in a month or three.

As always, I appreciate the readership, and I really appreciate you guys stepping up to the plate and announcing your presence and tossing out some ideas. We'll see what we can get to. Anyway, Loyal Leaguers, I'm always happy to have each of you lounging about the blog.