Thursday, November 22, 2007

Things I'm Thankful for

in my comics this week.

  • Lady Blackhawk versus the Amish.
  • The Terrible Trio, whom I recognize from any angle. I can't wait until they (inevitably) join forces with Arkham's three newest guests!
  • "Lex Loser".
  • Come to think of it, I think I used to date Starfinger, too!
  • Conrad Krupp. Anyone who lives in a giant mansion in the shape of his initial is okay by me.
  • It's about time somebody called Superman Prime "Margaret"!
  • Who would have thought Robotman, of all people, could make me laugh for a solid minute with only one word?
  • Masoud, the Pakistani sidekick.
  • Billionaire crazy guy's supervillain fetish emporium.
  • I guess reading the Book of Destiny is kind of like watching Degrassi The Next Generation out of sequence.
  • Mxyptlk's plays along with the gag.
  • I Ching and Batman == still hating each other's guts thirty years later!
  • The tragedy of Wally's Choice, which was the most moving Flash story I've read in a very very long time.
  • We won't know Wally's choice, but ... what will Bruce's be?
  • Catwoman, homeless, maskless, clueless ... but still Catwoman.
  • Rita's smile.
  • Yes, of course he speaks French; he used to live in Paris, remember?
  • Ubu versus Alfred.
  • "Quiet. He can smell fear."
  • I can't believe she fell for the old "Have some coffee" routine; did she even look at the cup?
  • The reaffirmation that Mr. Mxyzptlk's powers are science-based, not magic-based.
  • Echo-location in the mask? I love you, Paul Dini.
  • So, is that the new Black Spider or the new Tarantula?
  • Lady Blackhawk speaks Pashto.
  • The reaffirmation that Mr. Mxyzptlk's powers are magic-based, not science-based.
  • Noah's old mask; I remember it fondly, too, Noah.
  • Etiquette tip: Do not remove your brain at the dinner table.
  • Half-naked Robin accusing Ra's of being lewd. HOT!
  • He's the only person who can call himself "fantabulous" without sounding really gay.
  • Batman being called a "boy scout" in two different comics in the same week.
  • See, Selina? Even Tim didn't fall for the old "Have some refreshments" routine.
  • Safety tip: Do not put post-its on the Book of Destiny.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's your second Degrassi reference this week! As a proud supporter of my country's teen TV melodrama industry I'm not complaining, but it does beg several questions I'm far too Canadian (read: polite) to ask.

Anonymous said...

Love your blog, always look forward to "things that made me happy". One note, where I come from, "paki" is a somewhat offensive word for a person of pakistani origin, on par with "gook", or similar words. I'm not sure if the reference was from the source material, but it's not a word a person would generally use in civilised company.

Other than that, thanks for the Blog sir!

Scipio said...

Hm; in America, I've heard Pakistanis use the word to describe themselves. No offenese on my part is intended.

Of course, in America, we call ourselves "Yanks", too.

Anonymous said...

Points I Still Ponder:

Rita just depresses me. In the Silver Age, she was a tough chick.

Was I the only one expecting them to reveal that Zinda and Jillian are related somehow?

The kids thought a torture chamber was cool, but a woman with stretchy arms scared them senseless? A guy taking out his brain freaked them out, but getting turned into Robotboy and Negative Lass delighted them?

I thought it was Wonder Woman and I-Ching who hated each other?

Wasn't Caulder deposed as leader of the Doom Patrol? Did he stage a coup and re-anoint himself as Chief?

I wonder when things are going to settle down enough for the JLA and JSA to have Thanksgiving dinner again? I miss those stories...

MaGnUs said...

Of course he speaks French because he used to live in Paris? I'm sorry, but I deal with plenty of Asian people who live in English speaking countries and call an English speaking help desk... and barely speak English.

Also, my mom lived in the US for 9 years and now she barely speaks English as it is.

Anonymous said...

The reaffirmation that Mr. Mxyzptlk's powers are science-based, not magic-based.

Oh, really. This is one of my personal pet peeves. Maybe I'll have to pick that issue up.

SallyP said...

I think that I now actually love Mr. Mxyptlk...and that's something I never thought I'd say.

Oh, and Zinda is fabulous. So is Wally.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone else get the impression that Metamorpho's monologue (when he appeared before Flash and Niles Caulder) was going for a Splash Brannigan vibe? Rex's self-hype in the 3rd-person - "the Freak That Never Fails!" - sounded a LOT like Splash "The Stain That Won't Remain" Brannigan.

Not that I'd mind - I actually thought that Metamorpho has never sounded cooler than in this scene. Because if we can't have a Splash Brannigan regular series, Metamorpho might be an acceptable substitute.

Scipio said...

Hammerheart; that's the original version of Metamorpho. "The Freak That Never Fails" was one of his tag lines.

If you enjoyed that version of him, I recommend you pick up the Showcase Presents Metamorpho edition. At Big Monkey Comics, of course.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the heads-up, Scipio! I may just follow your advice; I actually remember reading some Metamorpho stories in Brazilian anthologies when I was a kid. But I didn't remember that catchphrase.

I remember the despicable Simon Stagg, the beautiful Sapphire and the uglier-than-any-of-the-readers Java... but Rex's witty banter probably got lost in the translation. And if it's that good, I'll definitely have to check out that Showcase. ;)

Anonymous said...

Could I get some references, please?

I'm a sucker for both Terrible Trio appearances and supervillain fetish emporia!

Anonymous said...

The supervillain fetish thing is in "Catwoman", if that helps.

JonHendry said...

magnus wrote: "I'm sorry, but I deal with plenty of Asian people who live in English speaking countries and call an English speaking help desk... and barely speak English."

I actually don't know who was supposed to have lived in Paris, but I'm guessing there's a difference between someone moving someplace for essentially economic reasons, and someone moving to Paris in order to "live in Paris", which would usually involve making an effort to learn the language in order to make the most of the Parisian experience.

MaGnUs said...

Jon Hendry, if you live in a country, even for economic reasons, you should learn the language... even then, Metamorpho (the person who lived in Paris) lived there as part of the Justice League Europe, and could teleport back to the US any time he wanted, he was only there for superheroing. No reason he should really speak French.

It's like living in Paris but working with English speaking people all day, not going out to mingle with the population, and watch only English language TV and movies. You don't have to learn French.

Anonymous said...

Really glad to see the edit. Thank you. Next time I comment I promise it will be about something I liked.

Rob S. said...

I'm sure Sapphire would be impressed by his French. Good enough reason as any, since he was there...

MaGnUs said...

Of course Sapph would have been impressed, but I never said that he can't know French, I just said that just living in Paris is no example.

I've met plenty of Americans and people from other countries that live in my country but have not found the necessity to learn Spanish, since they work for an American company where we all speak English.

Scipio said...

Oh, how I love my comment threads to my posts degenerate into needless and inapt anti-American rants.

Anonymous said...

So start all speaking spanish one day to MAKE them learn it.

Stop blaming other people for your failure to cruelly ostracise them.

MaGnUs said...

Scipio: no anti-Americants here, at least from me. Just facts.

And Tristan: I don't blame anyone but the system. I don't have to make anyone learn anything, and all my business conversations here HAVE TO be in English by company policy.

Those co-workers who don't speak much Spanish who have expressed a wish to learn more, I've talked to in Spanish.