Hi there.

Sorry for the lack of posts but I've been busy. A got a bookcase; I saw one at Staples a little while back and finally got up there to get it. It's pretty sharp, and was on sale too. Not big news, but it's a great looking shelf all the same.

Haven't seen Indiana Jones yet. Might go to see it sometime, but I think I'd have to go with someone else. I've got to be honest, I'm just not feeling the hype about the Indiana Jones movie. Sure I liked Raider of the Lost Ark, I mean, who didn't? And I have fond memories of watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with my Mom as a child. I don't know though... It just doesn't feel like the must-see movie pheomenon that people seem to think it is. But like I said, I'll probably wind up seeing it in theaters, but only if someone else is going to see it.

Former Minnesota governor was on the Colbert Report about a month ago, promoting his new book adorned with the familiar image of him, you know, that whole neatly bald, mustached, pro-wrestler thing.

That was an older picture since he currently has scraggly hair, no mustache, and is looking pretty paunchy and old. The interview wasn't that great either, since he doesn't seem to have a sense of humor, although Colbert was able to get a rise out of him partway through the interview. But anyway, point is, he seemed a little out of touch and nutty. Then I read this quote from him from Thursday night's "Verdict":

"Well, first of all, I made a statement when I was governor and stand by it today. Love is bigger than government. Who the hell are we as a government to tell people who you can fall in love with? I think it‘s absurd that fact it‘s even being debated."

The man might be a little out there, but damned if he isn't right on the mark there. I'd written him off after the Colbert Interview, but I'm rethinking that.

Final Crisis #1 is out tomorrow and I've got to be honest -- not too excited about this storyline, at least not the same kind of excitement I felt for Marvel's summer crossover, Secret Invasion. Probably has more to do with the whole Countdown debacle that dragged on and on and didn't really go anywhere, the deaths of all the New God characters (all of whom, apparently, are returning in Final Crisis), and the fact that there's characters resembling the New God versions from Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers thing running around the DC universe which I find totally confusing. I'm hoping the first issue gets me really jazzed on this series, since I'm not feeling it right now. I still plan on checking it out and getting every issue for the Grant Morrison writing and the J.G Jones artwork (even if rumor has it there'll be fill-ins down the line).

That's about everything on my mind at the moment. I'll probably check in someone soon and ramble a bit

A Couple of Things...

Hi there. Saw Iron Man Thursday night with Kerr and Edmond. It was great. Didn't quite have the punch of a Spider-Man or X-Men 2, but it was a really solid film that I wouldn't mind seeing a few more times. Might try to catch it at the show again while the big crowds are going to be there. Don't know what else to say -- the cast was great, the direction was sharp, the action was good, the dialog natural and entertaining. All things said elsewhere and in better words. Two moments of nerdishness were the fact they stayed so close to the comic book origin and the cameo at the end of the film. That was just awesome.


Anyway, apparently the whole point of the fifty cent DC Crisis/Countdown book from last week was to bring Barry Allen back. Which is a really bad move on DC's part. I hate all of this need to strip mine the past and rob earlier stories of their impact by bringing back characters creators remembered fondly as children but ultimately failing to provide any real reason for the character's return. Thankfully Marvel's handled Bucky so well and it wasn't really Captain Marvel back from the dead, so I'm not too angry about the whole thing. That said, I totally missed the whole Barry Allen thing. If anything I assumed the weird glowing figure was, like, Darkseid or something since it resembled his appearance just before "dying" in Countdown.

And another thing -- wasn't this supposed to be a wrap-up for Countdown before leading into Final Crisis. Seemed more like an extended ad made up of short, albeit occasionally interesting vignettes. I also could've sworn that the caption box belonged to Zoom once the lightning bolt showed up with the caption boxes, even if they wouldn't have made much sense that way. I don't know. Seems like a really bad idea to bring Barry Allen back. Wally West is a great character and fills the role of the Flash perfectly and entertainingly. Maybe they'll do great things with Barry Allen this time around, but as it stands there's absolutely no reason DC needs to or should bring Barry Allen back. None at all.

Now that that business is off my chest, I'm going to Quebec this weekend. If anything exciting happens I'll probably write about it here, but I'm expecting a fairly uneventful trip.

Stick People Comic Reviews: Countdown #22

It's like a regular review, but with more Stick Man.

Countdown to Final Crisis #23 - - Sold Out?

So, yesterday I went back to my local comic shop to look for a couple of back issues and to get a book or two that I missed on Wednesday -- Captain America #32 and Countdown #23. Captain America because it's a great book that I really enjoy following month-to-month, Countdown because I'm an idiot who doesn't know when to stop reading a book, much less a finite title like Countdown, even if it does mean I'm committed to it for another six months.

I got Captain America, of which they still had ample copies. I didn't get Countdown.

Now I don't know if they under-ordered the latest issue -- that would be the obvious solution -- but this is the first time in as long as I can remember, even going back to 52 (Countdown's predecessor in the weekly DC Comics game), that it's been sold out. The fact they still had extra copies of the last four weeks worth of Countdown issues could mean they finally curbed their orders accordingly. And certainly the fact the issue seemed to be about Superboy-Prime* torturing Mr. Mxyzptlk doesn't make cry out "must have collectors item".

I'll have to make a point of finding out what happened on Wednesday. Unless I forget, which I will almost certainly do.

And by the way, I got a copy of Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: Gotham by Gaslight #1 instead. Yeah, yeah. I know.

*Because calling him Superboy-Prime sounds less stupid than Superman-Prime for some reason.