...and we're back!



The League enjoyed our time away from the hussle and bussle of the blogging world, but we're also happy to be back.

Of course the week I decide to take off, a lot of things happen.

1) Superman Returns release date is pushed up to Wednesday, June 28th. This will give Warner Bros. the world's longest weekend to try to really hit a home run at the box office. We're travelling Saturday after what was to be teh Friday opening, so I'm pretty pumped about being able to catch the movie opening day and not worrying about missing an early flight.

2) The new Batwoman Post Post Crisis is slated to be a lesbian. And, of course, before anyone's read a word or seen anything more than two drawings, DC went on a media blitz to promote the new character. Yes, I'm embarrassed at the DC PR/marketing machine. Anytime they go hat in hand to the news, pleading for attention, it's a little bit silly. But, that same idea has done wonders for Marvel of late.

Despite the giddiness in the announcement, DC's editorialship and stewardship has been able to handle gay characters for years. In the late 80's/ early 90's, Superman's police captain pal, Maggie Sawyer was gay. The Golden Age Green Lantern's son, Obsidian, is gay. The Vertigo line has been handling gay characters since I was in high school. Green Lantern under Judd Winick had a GLAAD-Award winning storyline.

Can DC avoid tokenism in their Post Post Crisis world as they strive to make the DCU reflect the real world a bit more? The All New Atom is slated to be a Chinese-immigrant academic (which sounds like a stereotype, but I've worked in two Universities. I assure you, we've got our fair share of Chinese-immigrant scientists working in universities). The new Spectre is former Gotham Central cop Cris Allen, an African-American dude. The new Blue Beetle is an Hispanic kid from El Paso (superheroes in El Paso? That's awesome.).

It's kind of nice to have DC giving it the old college try giving roles to folks who aren't just straight, WASPy dudes. The key will be: Will readers give new characters a try? Of late, few new characters of any type have been readily embraced by comic fans.

I guess it's a waiting game on sales.

Here's an article on CNN.com. This ridiculous bit of trivial minutia sat on the FRONT PAGE of CNN.com for two days. We have a war going on, possible war in Iran, NSA wiretaps on American citizens, a new CIA Chief... and lesbians in batsuits and frikkin' Paris Hilton sat in the headline news section for 48 hours. I think America has officially jumped the shark.

Oh, the new batsuit was designed by Alex Ross and based on the Batman Beyond suit in color scheme. The original Batwoman was also named Kathy Kane, and also a fellow socialite with Bruce Wayne. However, she wore a sort of goofy, brightly colored suit and instead of a utility belt, carried a purse full of high-tech ladies' products (I recall in particular an "expanding hair net" she used to capture crooks). So, yes, she may have needed a bit of a make-over.

Here's a picture of some recent toys of Silver Age Batgirl and Batwoman. Here's a pic of Batwoman from a straight-to-video Batman movie release from a few years ago. Notice any familiar elements?

Oh, Jim, Manhunter was cancelled and then un-cancelled in the past two weeks. That is related to nothing in this issue accept that Obsidian appears sometimes in Manhunter.

3) Alex Toth has passed. Creator of Space Ghost and several other animated legends. Read more here.

4) X-Men 3 made a boatload of money. I mean, a LOT of money. I guess that's one franchise that has really grown on cable and DVD.

I finally saw it this afternoon after getting bumped by a sold-out show last Monday.

It was okay. I think Ratner still can't direct his way out of a bag and certain aspects of the screenplay made no sense. The movie demonstrated one of the flaws of the actual comics. The more the humans throw at mutants, either by enslaving them, experimenting on them or trying to chemically "cure" them the more one starts to wonder if Magneto isn't the realist. While written, perhaps, the most over the top of any of the three films (and making some unbelievable tactical errors) Magneto was given the moral higher ground in this movie about half-way through.

I didn't understand why the movie was so short when so much more could have been done with the newest X-Men (I mean, Colossus got about three lines and was an X-Man)? Jean's ascension to Phoenix sort of just went nowhere, and folks seemed able to travel from San Francisco to suburban New York and back in about twenty minutes.

Luckily, the movie was cut short enough, was loud enough and moved along fast enough that you were never really given much of a chance to think about some of the movie's flaws. Ratner seems like a capable technical director, but he's not winning any extra points for his direction of actors.

The "let's throw everything in the mix" attitude to the film should have been ultimately disappointing to comic fans. It's fine to get a glimpse of established aspects of the comics, but I would rather have seen the storylines touched upon played out for maximum effect. X-Men is unique among comics as the origin of each character is not what defines the character. Thus, the characters tend to develop in a soap-opera method, exposing who they are in their relationships with the other players. Here, we're given black hats and white hats and just sit back and watch events unfold like watching that old magnetic football game.

This was supposed to be the final of a trilogy of X-Films, but if anyone believes that after this movie, I have some beach front property in CHandler, AZ I can sell you. Oh, and for those of you who've never read the comics. Nobody in X-Men is ever dead for long. They'll pop up again one way or another.


5) The Melbotis Store isn't selling too much stuff. I'm a little disappointed.

6) Steven G. Harms is now in Austin. You guys in the Live Music Capital of the World need to invite him to your next cook-out.

7) Lucy was a very sick little girl last weekend, but she's all better now. Today she and Melbotis both got a much needed bath. I no longer feel the need to immediately wash my hands simply because I've touched them.

8) I hope to have a small package sent out to anyone who participated in the 2006 Mellies. If you've updated your address since March, please send me a new mailing address.

9) A special howdy to anybody who has popped in thanks to my recent attempted expansion of my MySpace.com friends list. If you want to be a friend to The League, we're in there. I was delighted to find Amy C. on MySpace, and Esther E. Hello to anybody who pops by.

That's about it for now. We're back.

Random Comments, May 1 - June 1

HIATUS

Quick Links:


A site dedicated to saving the Britney that was.

http://bringbackbritney.com/

Also: The wax museum doll of Britney, on a stripper pole. The new one at Madame Tussauds in NYC is supposed to have an animatronic heaving bosom.

Jodie Foster really, really did this. At first I was embarassed. Now I think I love her all the more.

See Jodie rap from 8 Mile.


New Zealand Acoustic Hip-Hop Geniuses (courtesy of Jim D.)

Here.

Don't forget to hit the League of Melbotis STORE for all your clothing needs.

And the funniest thing I've seen in quite a while (courtesy Cowgirl Funk)

MELBOTIS: THE STORE

Hey, Leaguers,

We at League HQ are perfectly aware that many of you feel constrained by the fact that The League is mostly some pictures and words floating in the internet. We know you want to take The League of Melbotis with you no matter where you go.

Thus, we've decided to sign up with CafePress.com and dream up a League of Melbotis store.

Next time you're looking for a great gift idea for your kid or Mom & Dad, why not pop on in and buy a bunch of stuff? We've even got stuff for your dog.


****UPDATE****

Jamie thought I had been negligent by not mentioning that all the images of "Robot Planet" have some minor nudity. Yes, you can see a cartoon booby. Beware.

Also, Jamie mentioned that I should vary the pictures some. I'm going to add some pics that Jamie requested. And then probably leave them. Long story short, beware the booby in "Robot Planet" and don't order anything until I say it's cool.

****end update****

***Update Update***
Well, go nuts. I changed some images around. Now Jamie can get the shirt she wanted.

Yes, some shirts go up to Steans Boy sizes.

I checked the terms of use, and there's nothing in there about CafePress owning my images, which doesn't surprise me, considering their business model. They are much more concerned about covering their own interests and making sure their clients aren't breaking any laws.

CafePress gives you an option when you're setting up your store to basically bump up their base price if you want to make a profit. I've chosen not to do so. Now, if I suddenly see all the hip kids walking around Tempe with LoM shirts, we may see me trying to get a dollar or two per shirt. In the meantime, I've not adjusted anything.

***end update update***

Go to THE STORE.

GHOST RIDER: THE MOVIE

Here's a link to the site of the new Ghost Rider trailer.

It looks pretty bad. It looks like Ghost Rider is wearing some sort of polyester outfit instead of leather, and that maybe his head is a Halloween ice cream/ liquer confection (a flambe!).

I am neither pro nor anti-Ghost Rider, but this movie doesn't look very promising. Perhaps most telling is that it was due to be released this summer and they didn't even dump it in the August C-Grade movie junklot. It's not coming out until February.

So, sweetie-pie, you know what we're doing for Valentine's Day..!

Wednesday

Well, Wednesday was just an oddly decent day. I got a lot done at work, it wasn't as mind numbingly hot out as I'd suspected, Dan called me at work to fill me in on some Blackboard updates (and life updates), and I got to leave work at a decent time.

Also, of course, Jamie is home from the hospital. She went in to the ER on Monday around 1:00 AM and was admitted, so she was sort of hanging out without much to do at Chandler Regional until Tuesday evening.

She's going to see a pulmonologist (outpatient) to check up on some breathing stuff she's had going on for a while, but otherwise she seems okay. Jamie, of course, took the opportunity in the hospital to tell Dr. Chang I'd been running. He didn't exactly praise me for my astounding transformation, but it was kind of funny how he was more than ready to switch gears and discuss that instead.

So, this evening was kind of nuts with the finale of Lost (which Jamie taped, and which I will not be watching), the Suns/Mavs game and finale of American Idol. I'm kicking myself now, but since we assumed the Suns were sunk, we tuned in to AI. Obviously a very, very bad call.

That said, American Idol turned out to have, arguably, its most entertaining episode to date. Pairing contestants with showbiz success stories, it made for a pretty good variety show without all the self-congratulatory hoo-hah of an established awards show. I mean, where else will you see Mary J. Blige, Live, and Burt Bacharach under one roof? Where?

But, of course, they also had Prince, who reminded us EXACTLY what a performer can be. Thank you, Prince, I had almost forgotten. How have I never seen him live? I'm not living right.

And the show was funny. AI gave in to it's inner dorkiness for the AI Awards, giving some of the not-so-lucky contestants an opportunity to take the stage. And while Clay Aiken may now look like the lost child of Barry Manilow, it was funny to see him as a seasoned performer.

We tuned over to the Suns/Mavs game with three minutes left, saw our boys were down and tuned back. We were more than a little stunned to see the news after the show announcing a Suns victory. I am, I admit, more than a little surprised. Winning Game 1 at Dallas didn't seem to likely. Now for Game 2 the Mavs are really going to be looking for blood.

New comic day brought a conrnucopia of good stuff which I didn't get much of a chance to read. 52 is turning out to be a very interesting read thus far. I guess it's on my recommend list. It's fun to have a book to look forward to every week, so, sales willing, I'll be curious to see what lessons DC takes from 52 as far as marketing strategy.

I still have a stack of other stuff to read, including two Gail Simone written comics (Birds of Prey and the new Secret Six book).

No Superman books this week. Trimming it down to two regular titles is leaving me feeling a bit high and dry, and with JLA on hiatus until July, All-Star Superman a bi-monthly and Superman/ Batman on a wildly irregular schedule, it's just not always as easy to get my Superman fix as I'd like.

Also: Parents called. New Frescata sandwich at Wendy's was okay for what you pay, and Lucy was able to entertain herself all night with a tennis ball.

Hope your Wednesday was a good one.

No post? Not so.

Check out my review of Da Vinci Code over at Nanostalgia.com

I think you'll find that I am a genius.

Mavs v. Suns = silly betting

Despite the fact that he is not an amoral moron, CrackBass is a Mavs fan. For those of you keeping track of the NBA play-offs, the Mavs beat my San Antonio Spurs last night in game 7 of round 2. It was a feirce battle, and had we fouled the evil Dirk with a few seconds remaining, Spurs would be up for the Western Conference Championship rather than Mark Cuban's evil minions.

Your Phoenix Suns finally decided to play as they do in the regular season and blew out the LA Clippers in game 7.

So, next up, the Suns v. Mavs in the Western Conference Champeeeship.

So, me and CrackBass are putting our money where our mouth is.

Says CrackBass:

Well dear readers, the Mavs won their series over the evil empire that is San Antonio. They overcame themselves and thanks to some horrific officiating (even I think Duncan was fouled at the end of the game), the Mavs will be facing the Suns of Phoenix for a 7 game series beginning Wednesday. The League, Steanso's younger, more distinguished brother, currently resides just outside of Phoenix, in the burgeoning metropolis of Chandler, AZ. Since The League was stripped of his super hero status four years ago after an unfortunate and misunderstood incident with a baby giraffe, The League has been forced to take an interest in such mundane things as pro sports, and therefore, the Suns. I care for the Mavericks a great deal. A bet has been suggested between The League and I. If the Mavs win, then The League shall be forced to do something foolish (mowing the yard in a dress, a la The Simpsons, if only Chandler supported the growth of plants); if the Suns win, I shall do something. We are open to your suggestions. We will take submissions and will choose before tipoff on Wednesday.

Now, the problem is that I don't think the Suns will make it to Game 6, but I have to stand with my local sporting franchise. After all, I have two Suns shirts and no Mavs shirts.

We are now taking requests for what should be the result of this little wager.

You see the comments tab. Go nuts.

Personally, I think whomever loses the battle should have to give Steanso his annual bath.

RIP Lloyd Bentsen

I don't make note of the loss of too many politicians, but I think Mr. Bentsen's years in public service and interesting career are certainly worthy of reflection.

Read more here.

The International Trailer for Superman Returns

Far more spoilery than prior trailers, but a lot of fun.

Go here.

Thanks to Jim D. for the hyperlink.

Summer of Superman/ Melbotis Mailbag

Randy writes:

I always thought Supes got "beat up" too easily. For a creature with god-like powers, he gets knocked around a lot. This is what always frustrates me when watching a Superman cartoon (JLU; Superman TAS). If Supes was so powerful, couldn't he just destroy people at will? Sure, folks like Doomsday and Darkseid would give him problems, but a guy in spandex with a ray gun? Yes, he has to be careful so that he doesn't kill human beings, but why should he let them push him around? It's like he doesn't fully utilize all his superhuman skills.


Dear Randy,

Point well taken, Randy.

In issue #1 of New England Comics' The Tick, The Tick explains that he is "nigh invulnerable". That's his power. He's exactly as invulnerable as the story dictates. A lot of these sorts of questions don't really bug you when you accept that nigh invulnerability is more or less the status quo of the average superhero in comics or any medium.

The creators of the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited TV programs have gone on record about their decision to de-power Superman in the cartoon. The point being, if Superman were operating at full capacity, would he really need the Justice League? If one watches over the course of the series, it's pretty clear they either couldn't agree on Superman's power (he stops a hurricane but is having trouble with a truck falling off a bridge?), or they simply didn't know what was appropriate to make the show work. I remember screaming bloody murder at the TV in the first episode where Superman is overcome by some alien knock-out gas. Supes can fly in the sun's corona. I think he can handle a little chlorophorm.

All things being equal, I think the same argument regarding "de-powered" superheroes can be made regarding Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern or Wonder Woman. However, nobody seems too concerned that J'onn doesn't have his "Martian Vision" or, seemingly, his telepathic powers. There's barely a snort that Wonder Woman's magic lasso is just super-strong and doe snot force anyone to tell the truth. And I've heard barely a peep that Green Lantern appears limited to lasers and bubble shields in the cartoon.

On the flip side, nobody seems concerned that Hawkgirl can destroy otherworldly atomic drills with a swing of an electrically charged mace.

I guess what I'm saying is: It's all about managing expectations. Everybody more or less has an idea of what Superman can do. It's possible the show's creators misstepped in not meeting those expectations.


If Supes was so powerful, couldn't he just destroy people at will?

He could, but he doesn't. If he did, I think you'd see someone named "Zod" and less of someone named Superman. The idea that Superman would "destroy" people is sort of anathema to the concept of the superhero. Simply because you have the ability to destroy somebody doesn't mean that you utilize it.


Sure, folks like Doomsday and Darkseid would give him problems, but a guy in spandex with a ray gun?

Well, it depends what's in that ray gun and whether Superman was braced for the punch it delivered.


Yes, he has to be careful so that he doesn't kill human beings, but why should he let them push him around?

I think what you're asking is: Why does Superman allow himself to be put in harm's way? Or, are you asking: Why does Superman let himself take the first hit?

Look, some of it is just bad writing. If you have telescopic vision and heat vision and some guy down the block is shooting the place up, you could, in theory, melt the weapon before he ever notices you. I think this is the approach you'd see in the comics but which seems to have missed the JLU writers.

If you're asking why Superman doesn't just pound everyone who is a threat to him... You're kind of missing the point of Superman.

One of the things I dig about Superman is that it's not like Superman is stupid. He KNOWS he can beat most other folks on the surface of the planet. So when he shows up, he can always give crooks of all stripes a chance to drop their weapons and surrender peacefully. He can also afford to take the first shot in a fight, knowing it's entirely likely that he will be able to walk away from a fight.

Does he fully utilize his powers and skills? I guess it depends on your definition. Comics are full of characters who believe they are fully utilizing their powers and/ or skills in order to make the world a better place (ie: the world according to them.) Part of the point, again, of the superheroic ideal is that simply because one has the power, one doesn't necessarily force others (and most likely cannot force others) to abide by their notions of right and wrong. What they CAN do is step in to protect people who stand in harm's way or protect those who are at risk because someone else is "fully utilizing" their powers in a way which is detrimental to the powerless.

But what I think you're really asking is: Can't Superman open a greater can of whoop-ass than what I've seen?

The answer is: I guess it depends where you're looking. Personally, I would have liked to have seen Superman really cut loose on JL and JLU, but that just wasn't in the cards. I did feel like the producers might not even have really liked Superman all that much as a character in the first season, maybe because he can be a pain in the ass to write as he's the swiss army knife of Superheroes.

I think by the end of the show, they really had come to like him a lot more, and had become more comfortable using him in stories.

You do hear some writers complain that Superman is too tough to write as the hero who can do anything, but the fact is that successful Superman stories have only infrequently been about Superman slogging his way, video game like, through low-level villains to the big boss. And, in fact, I don't personally find those sorts of stories terribly engaging anymore in any comics (not just my Superman stories).

Superman comics usually present a far more logical view of what Superman might do. The editors know who their readership is, and they're far more likely to ensure that they don't receive bags of letters asking why Superman let, say, The Rainbow Raider get the drop on him.

I think when you see characters of more limited power, it's easier to chalk up their actions to a "real" effort. Everyone's favorite example: Wolverine. Wolverine is, for all intentions, a guy with a few knives. Wolverine is portrayed as hacking and slashing his way through piles of ninjas, etc... each issue, often with his mouth hanging open, drooling. THAT, is effort. That is a guy fully utilizing his abilities. Superman isn't usually portrayed in this sort of light. And when Superman DOES demonstrate effort, it's usually shown at such a scale that it's less relatable (such as "charging up" by flying through the corona of the sun before smashing through the invading alien army.).

I'm not sure this actually answered your question. What I would say is: in all the media where you see Superman appear, rarely is he portrayed the same way from media to media or even program to program. And, yes, Superman fans also get frustrated with the seeming lack of consistency, too.

Some Super Unexpected Attention

Apparently Jim D. somehow got a link sent to USA Today regarding the Summer of Superman posting from last weekend. And, apparently, one of the USA Today blogs linked back.

So, LoM has a little unexpected attention.

Howdy to folks stopping in. Sign in below in the comments section. We'd love to see who is popping by.

A million thanks, as always, to Jim D. Special thanks to Whitney Matheson (reporter for a great Metropolitan newspaper) for the USA Today plug. Much appreciated.

Well, today was a real gem.

I'll try to keep it all short, but we headed to the ER this morning as Jamie had numerous, seemingly unrelated symptoms like a fever, a sore throat, a migraine and probably some other stuff.

However, after sitting there for two hours (I started the second Augusten Burroughs memoir) Jamie decided she really didn't feel all that bad. At least not bad enough to deal with the ER anymore. NOTE: The ER is for people with a medical emergency. about 50% of what you see come in can be dealt with by putting an ice pack on it and a splint from Walgreens.

Anyhoo, we checked out having only, really, checked in.

We kept Jamie's pre-scheduled appointment with her doctor. It seems she may be dehydrated, which is a tricky thing for a dialysis patients. She may also have developed an allergy to something out here. And she has waxy build-up on one ear.

Anyhow, nothing major. She's doing okay, but we're really going to have to keep an eye on her hydration levels.

When we got home, I guess I'd been pretty stressed. I sat down and read a few comics (this was around 4:00) and I fell sound asleep for an hour.

Anyhow, I don't have much to add, but since I've somehow accumulated dozens and dozens of comments from Sunday's posts, I thought maybe I'd step in to say thanks for all the participation! I feel like the first Summer of Superman post was a hit, so I'll try to think of some other posts I can do in keeping with the theme.

Ya'll have a good one.

Tuesday Night Ramblings

Hey, ya'll.

Well, there's like 3 seconds left in overtime and Mr. MVP just screwed up a perfect chance to win the Suns/ Clippers game. Crud. I don't need the extra stress, I tell you.

By the way, what sort of bizarro universe am I living in when the Lakers didn't get past the first round and the Clippers are still competing for the Western Championship? I keep expecting to see goatee'd Spock come around the corner.

I'm going to say something that I find personally painful: The Mavericks will probably win the NBA Championship this year, and, even worse, they may deserve to. You have to understand, with John Stockton and Karl Malone out of basketball, my least favorite guys are now Dirk and Cuban. Which pains me. Because Avery was one of my favorite players ever. Remember when it was Avery and Robinson carrying the Spurs? I do. Dammit.

Well, shazam! Looks like Raja Bell just bought the Suns a 2nd overtime. I'll be dipped.

You know what's awesome about the Clippers (aside from Sam I Am)? Penny Marshall, Laverne herself, is at the game.

I know CrackBass loves the Mavs, but to me Cuban represents what's pretty much awful about about money+ego. I mean, how many millions does he really have to get fined before he takes his Moe hair and sits down? They need to quit fining him and start reducing Dirk's minutes every time they want to punish that moron. Dirk is skilled, yeah. But he's a jerk, which makes him hard to actually respect. Sorry Dallas fans, this is why nobody will cheer your team if they aren't from Dallas. Your owner makes us dislike your team. Funny that Big D produced two of the biggest jack-ass owners in sports...

I can't take all this basketball. It's too much. I need to get back to the WNBA where it's all about the opportunity to play, and nobody cares who wins.

Shit. Shawn Marion just got hurt.

I am just not into this Bam Maguera guy, even when he incorporates Roller Derby into his ads...

OKAY...

So, just to clear the air here. Not The League nor Mrs. League were offended by any comments made when things got a little wacky yesterday. Let's all just relax.

Regarding my Hopes and Dreams for making comics:

Look, I really, really appreciate the support. I do. Ya'll are nice to tell me I make nice pictures. Jason is nice for telling me I have decent ideas.

There's a saying among comic creators: There's no such thing as a fan over the age of 21 who doesn't want your job. Would I like to do all that? Oh, sure. I'd also like to be an ice cream taster, an NBA recruiter, Gillian Anderson's towel boy or an astronaut. Like anything else, sure, if you try hard enough and chase your dreams, that can be you. Whatever.

I am totally happy enjoying other people's work. I am happy sitting at my table and drawing my little pictures for fun. It's a nice thing to do to keep the brain working as you unwind.

Calling me out for not making a comic kind of ruins the whole thing for me. I never said I was making a comic, so I'm not even sure where that comes from. Up until when I moved my table out of my office last week, I'd had time to draw one picture in all of calendar year 2006, and that was at a special request for KareBear's birthday.

I don't see what's wrong with me enjoying my hobbies separately. Going forward, that's sort of what I would prefer to do.

Jesus. Did you guys see that? My Suns! I can't believe that. Insane. Good game. Marion and Raja were awesome. Mr. MVP made some pretty dorky mistakes. Ah, heck, we WON!!! I thought we totally blew it.

And Billy Crystal, also there for the Clippers, looked so very sad. How will he tell funny baseball stories now?

Kenny Smith looks sleepy. It must be past his bedtime.

Speaking of...

They may not know you, but they love you...





Yes, we re-arranged the living room. I was sick of everyone coming into my office whenever I was at my drawing table so I brought my table to them.

SUMMER OF SUPERMAN:
A SUPER LIFESTYLE - HAVING A SUPER DAY

Leaguers probably wonder how the League manages to maintain a Super outlook in life. The answer is: You have to start your day the Super way.

Superness can vary from day to day, so you really have to take steps to ensure that you've done what you can to make your day as Super as possible.

Below you will find a photographic guide to a typical, say, Saturday in the League's busy, busy life.



Your Super alarm is set to wake you for your day. Superman would not steer you wrong. If he's telling you to get up, you probably should. Also, note the super-safety of keeping a Super flashlight by the clock in case of an emergency.



You've been getting your Super Sleep all night, so now it's time to get up and get on with your Super Day!



Filling your head with Supermanness isn't enough. You've also got to fill your tummy with Super goodness. Remember, you super are what you super eat.



While enjoying your Super coffee, it's time to really start considering how your day can be more Super. You should consider a wide-ranging view of Superman as you enter your Super day.



Check your home for Golden Age items



...add a lot of Silver Age



...and some Modern Age and a few items from the upcoming movie.




Select from your Super wardrobe



Brush your Super teeth with super accutrements.



Make sure significant other is properly attired



Check in with Super Dog



Check in with the Fortress of Nerditude



Staying classic means you can't go wrong...


Check Super library for readings



Review other materials in Super Library



Consult with Super Friends about how to proceed with your day


Now The League has taken the necessary steps to get rolling. We hope your day is as Super as can be. We'll be having a few more Summer of Superman highlights. We hope you keep checking in.

Happy Mother's Day

Hey, everybody. Most of you should have a mother of some sort. I sincerely hope you visited or called your mother today. I did. I love my Ma. She's one hell of a lady and a really good dancer.


Weekend Round-Up

Friday night wasn't all that exciting. In fact, I can't really tell you what we did Friday. I believe I picked up food from Venezia's and we watched some tube and played with some dogs.

Lucy has officially made the passage from interior-destroying outside dog to lazy inside dog. I don't know what Jamie did, but somehow in about three weeks' time, Lucy made the adjustment.

Saturday Jamie tried to get me up to go running, but was completely unsuccessful. Around 10:00 I took an hour-long walk around the new part of our neighborhood (which is nicer than my part), ate some lunch and went to see Poseidon. Look, to keep it short, it wasn't my favorite movie. Of course I did a review, and you can read it over at Nanostalgia.com.

Last night we headed for United Airways Center to see a pre-season WNBA match between the Phoenix Mercury and the Conneticut Sun. Hey, it was $10.00 per ticket for good seats, a Coke and a hot dog. All we paid for was a plate of nachos, which, apparently, the 90 year old lady at the concession stand took 10 minutes to "fix" herself.

I sort of dig the WNBA, mostly because seats are $10 a pop, but also because it's such a laid back atmosphere that winning or losing is sort of incidental. That, and... let me put it this way... if a bomb ever goes off at a WNBA game and the audience is wiped out, there will be nobody in the city of Phoenix to train dogs.

The Mercury doesn't have cheerleaders, but we do have something called the "Hip-Hop Squad" which is comprised of a Disney-esque team of insanely perky multi-ethnic folks, some of whom can dance. I mean, all of them can sort of dance, but only one or two actually seem to be able to dance in a way which people might find engaging. Many of the members look like elementary school teachers trying to dance. It's sort of the best/ worst thing I've seen in weeks.

I strongly suspect the Phoenix Mercury won't be taking home a national championship if this weekend's effort was any example of what Phoenix has to look forward to, but at $10-15 a ticket, I'll be back.


Anyhoo, Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's and children of Mom's.

Melbotis Mailbag: Emergency Edition

RHPT writes:

Dear Mel,

The Mysterious M has gathered her 8 closest friends from high school in Nashville this weekend, and four of them have made camp at our house (with 4 more arriving tomorrow as reinforcements). They have overrun the house - now with women's undergarments strewn around the house [and not in the good way] - and cornered me into the office with nothing but a laptop, internet connection, two cats, and left me without food or water. Please send help.

Dear Randy,

By the time we'd get to Tennessee it would be far too late. You're on the right track with the internet connection. Beware: You can't actually stay in the room the whole time or, by the end of the weekend, the stench will be unbearable .

My recommendation, take M's momentary distraction as your cue to hit your local comic shop. It will give you a chance to get out of the house and you can finally spend some quality time (and money) looking at comics without M worrying about when you're coming home.

I also suggest possibly hitting Best Buy and/ or your local record store.

If money is an issue, you say you have two cats. It's time to teach those cats to dance. Not only will it fill the time, you can also bid your guests a nice fairwell with a small dance number. Afterward, you go on the road with those dancing cats, Randy. You'll take the world by storm.