Showcase Presents: Big chunks o' fun

I'm no penny-pinching little stuffed bull, but I do 'preciate value for money. That's why I have to tell you that if you like fun comics and great values, run, don't walk, to get the first two books in DC's Showcase Presents series!

The first two are Showcase Presents: Superman, Volume 1 and Showcase Presents: Green Lantern, Volume 1:

Each book is a big chunky collection (over 500 pages!) of consecutive reprints from the Silver Age, reprinted in fabulous black-and-white (but hey, you already know what color Green Lantern is, don't you?). I can hear you all saying: "Oh, yeah, these are just DC's version of Marvel's Essentials series. That's nothin' special!" You think that, don't you? Don't you? Well, you're just plain wrong, buster! Don't get me wrong: I love the Marvel Essentials. But so far with just these two first volumes DC has done a lot of things right that Marvel got wrong with the first batch of Essentials:

• These two introductory volumes are only $9.99 each! (Future volumes will be $16.99, same price as Marvel's Essentials.)
• The black-and-white linework reproduction is very sharp and distinct. No badly-scanned pages that look like photocopies of old color comics, no way! Here's a riddle: what do DC's Showcase volumes have in common with 7-Up? A: They're crisp, and clean, with no caffeine!
• Each one only costs $9.99!
• Each page has a page number on it! So, f'r instance, when I tell you there's a really weird but fun cover to Action #251 on page 327, you don't have to guess what page I mean!
• Only $9.99 for each book!
• Whiter paper than the Essentials...paper that doesn't look like newsprint!
• Nine...ninety...nine!

The Superman volume was 'specially fun because it features consecutive Action and Superman comics starting in 1958 with some of the goofiest but most fun Superman comics from the Silver Age: back when Lois was trying to trick Superman into marrying her, when Jimmy Olsen choppered around in the Daily Planet Flying Newsroom, when every two-bit crook planning a Metropolis crime spree had a chunk of Kryptonite the size of a canned ham, and when Supergirl, Superman's cousin, came to Earth and got left behind in an orphanage so she wouldn't blow Superman's secret identity. Well, at least she didn't have a belly shirt, big Michael Turner soupplate eyes, and scary Susan Powter abs. The Green Lantern book is a little slower to get off the ground but these are still big, wild, fun cosmic and earth-bound adventures of the man who was without fear even before Matt Murdock didn't look where he was going when he was crossing the street! I liked how even though his powerful GL ring doesn't work against the color yellow, and apparently every threat in the Silver Age was yellowy or yellowish or maybe a nice pleasant shade of goldenrod, Hal Jordan could always come up with a way to defeat the menace anyway! That's my Hal! (Not this guy.) Hooray for the Silver Age! Hooray for DC Showcase Presents! Hooray for fun comics!

Adventures in Bullhattan: Little Subway People

Everybody in New York City is in a big rush: people rushing from here to there, hopping on the subways and zooming off to work or home or the theater or shopping or the Hamptons or someplace else, whew! I feel sorry for these people because they're so busy rushin' from place to place they don't see some of the weird and wonderful and pretty and fun things along the way on their journeys. Since I'm a little stuffed bull who likes to stop and smell the roses (or the popcorn, if that's what's along the way), let me be your pers'nal guide to some things you might have passed by every day and never realized was even there!

I bet you all know that there are millions of people who use the subway every day, right? Well, I bet you don't know that little people use the subway too! Don't believe me? Well, you're wrong! All you have to do to see otherwise is to head down to the 14th Street subway station on the    line and look carefully...


Do y'see 'em? Little Subway People! They're everywhere! They re just about as big as I am and they're bronze-colored and they have big round heads. And if you look carefully in the 14th Street station, you'll see them on the floor, on benches, near posts, on the ceilings—just about any place you look there's a little subway person hangin' out!


This one is collecting money. Do you think he makes big money?


Oh wow! That is big money!!!!!!


Whatcha readin', little miss subway person? Is it Harry Potter?


Golly! This is a good book. It's all about little gilded people in New York City!

Do you want to read, hear or see more about the little subway people, from people who also noticed them? Sure you do! So until next time, fellow Bullhattanites...enjoy the city!

Snakes on a Plane update: Samuel L. Jackson speaks!

Like I've said in the not-too-distant past, I can't wait for the 2006 blockbuster motion picture Snakes on a Plane starring everybody's favorite star, Samuel L. Jackson!

If like me, you too want to find out more about Snakes on a Plane, Mister Jackson recently gave an exclusive interview to Collider.com in which he tells how he didn't want to work on the film unless it was titled Snakes on a Plane! (Click on the link to find out more!) That's my man Samuel L. Jackson, that is!

I can't wait for this movie!

Our next President!

I'm too young to vote, but if I could, I'd vote for this guy for President in 2008!

I support his urban renewal program. I'm not as big a fan of his Superman-killing policy. But that platform didn't seem to have hurt the last guy any during his term as President.

Don't nod, back Zod!

What kind of Batman am I?

What kind of Batman are you?

You're 1950s Batman. Sure, you're still a scourge of criminals and all that is evil, but you don't forget to have a fun time battling crime as well. You have a sidekick that you support and joke with, not that you use as a pawn in an unholy bloody crusade against the underworld. Your adventures include giant gorillas, space aliens, multi-colored Batman outfits for all occasions, time travel, immense typewriters, and multi-dimensional imps. You're the Batman with a Bat-Hound. You're not merely 1950s Batman, you're fun Batman. Your likes will never be seen again in modern comics.

What kind of Batman are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Comic books this week/Some are fun, some are not so/But I read them all.

Hi hi hi! It's me.
Gonna try something diff'rent.
All posts are haiku.

ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #1:

Goodness Miss Crystal
Put some clothes on. You look cheap.
Low pants are no fun.


JSA CLASSIFIED #3:

Best cover this week
What tie-in is it? Who knows?
The comic's fun too.


TOP TEN: BEYOND THE FARTHEST PRECINCT #2:

He's no Alan Moore
But fun to spot the in-jokes.
Herbie...Popeye...Wasp!


RUNAWAYS #8:

Skrulls are boys or girls.
They don't care who they marry.
Girls like girls? That's fun.


MISTER MIRACLE #1:

Seven Soldiers? Cool!
Morrison's most fun this week.
Kirby would be proud.

Blast from the past: Set your phasers on fun! (8/14/02)

Hi hi hi everybody! In additiona to talkin' 'bout fun comics, one of the things I want to on my blog is let you re-read the wonderful adventures I made before I had a blog! So every once in a while I will be presenting a special feature of Comics Oughta Be Fun entitled:

BLAST FROM THE PAST!

...in which I will re-present some of my old website entries for an all new, blog-savvy audience. This first one is from August, 2002, when I had just returned from Las Vegas, Nevada. Take it away, Bully of the past!:

---

Hi hi hi everyone! As you all know (if you have been paying attention to this webpage, and if not, shame on you!), I was supposed to go to Steven Spielberg's Lego™ Filmmaking Fantasy Camp this summer. I got on the wrong bus, however, and I wound up in Las Vegas! It was real pretty and everything. I liked all the flashing lights, and there were many cute showgirls and Elvis impersonators who were very sweet to me. I don't know why people call it "Sin City," though. It was pretty fun!

Through a series of bizarre and unusual coincidences, the exact sequence of which remain mysterious to me even today (instead I will let Mr. Steven Spielberg explain it all here), I wound up at the Las Vegas Hilton and spent the summer working at "Star Trek: The Experience"!



It was lots of fun! I started out be being a bartender in Quark's Bar, serving Romulan ale to all the tourists. They all thought I was very cute! The Klingons were even nice to me, even though I looked something like a tribble. But watch out for those Ferengi! They are not good tippers. But if you get a chance to serve Mr. Wayne Newton, by all means, do so! I highly recommend it! He is a very pleasant guy and an excellent tipper. No wonder they call him "Mr. Las Vegas."



Here are some of other jobs I got to do while working at "Star Trek: The Experience":

• Official Tribble-feeder. (Actually, you're not supposed to feed them! I sure found that out the hard way! By the way, tribbles especially love chicken salad sandwiches!)
• Klingon bat'leth polisher. That's hard work!
• Trill spot-counter. Trills sure have lots of spots! I kept losing count.
• Assistant stylist, Mr. Shatner's Toupee.
• Fetched tea (Earl Grey, hot) for Captain Picard.
• Negotiated groundbreaking treaty with Romulans: Romulans can come over Sunday afternoons to play Nintendo, but Federation can't go over to the Romulans's house after school until they finish their homework.
• Vulcan-ear sharpener.
• Reblocking Whoopi Goldberg's big hats.
• Making certain nobody put out their cigarette in the urn of Mr. Roddenberry's ashes.
• Telling everyone not to miss Star Trek: Nemesis, coming this fall to a theatre near you! Whee!
• Escorting fans dressed as Wookiees and Jango Fett to the 'out' door.
• Smoothing out any wrinkles in Miss Jeri Ryan's costume. That was fun!
• Romulan ale taste-tester. Hic!
• Piloted U.S.S. Defiant in all-out victorious battle against the combined forces of the Borg and the Dominion. (Captain Sisko gave me a cookie afterwards!)

Eventually John found me there (I told you there were a lot of coincidences happening this summer! We had a fun few days seeing all the sights before I returned home. He got to meet all my new friends!



We hung out with Captain Kirk and Mister Spock and Doctor McCoy!


And then we went travelling with the crew of the first Enterprise! (Captain Archer told me to stop calling him "Dr. Beckett", though!)


Finally Captain Picard let us sit on the bridge of the Enterprise-D! (John is wearing his Scotty uniform! He needs more power, Captain!)


It was all so much fun! But I was happy to go home, even though I will miss all my new Vulcan and Klingon and Trill and Borg pals. They were so grateful for my help all this summer at "Star Trek: The Experience" that they let me take home my favorite tribble. His name is Pickles. Or maybe Pickles is a she. (I can't tell!)

Oh well! Live long and prosper, everyone!

The best present a magazine ever gave me!

So there's an article on the Magnolia Bakery versus the Buttercup Bakery in this week's New York magazine...



But wait! What's this on the right-hand page?!?!:



Whee! Thank you, New York magazine! I'll eat it now. Mmmmmmm!

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

If you happen to enjoy comics that aren't fun, John is eBay-auctioning off some of the comics I turned my little ringed nose up at: Supreme Power, NYX, and Identity Crisis (spoiler alert: Jean Loring did it!). Just click here, or rather, don't.

If you're a big fan of comics that are not fun, I highly recommend you bid on and buy these. On the other hand, there is plenty of other stuff that is actually fun that John is selling, so check it out: advance reading copies of famous books, Mystery Science Theater and Red Dwarf VHS tapes (don 't panic, MSTies and Reddies: we got 'em on DVD!) and a lovely Mary Engelbreit screensaver software package...hey! That's my Mary Engelbreit software!!!!! Don't you auction that off, John!

Eternal sunshine of the little stuffed mind.

A small thought on ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN THE BOY WONDER #2.

Maybe I'm just too sensitive. Maybe I'm just a little stuffed bull who doesn't like when Batman swears. But why, oh why couldn't it read like this?:




Here's a version of this joke I did over six years later, after I finally learned how to (more or less) properly use Photoshop.

C'mon everybody! Get lazy!

Hi hi hi everybody! I'm Bully, the little stuffed bull, and welcome to my blog! We have just returned from an excellent mini-holiday to the Catskills! We went to Mount Tremper, New York for the weekend and stayed at quite poss'bly the most amazing, bestest motel ever: Kate Pierson's Lazy Meadow Motel!

Click here to check out all my photos of Kate's Lazy Meadow!




Those of you who are hip and cool (and if you're reading my blog, you are already!) know that Kate Pierson is a totally far-out and hip member of one of my fav'rite bands, the B-52's (you know! The "Love Shack" and "Rock Lobster" and "Planet Claire" band!)!!! She bought a beautiful old motor lodge in the Catskills and all her groovy designer pals came round and helped her turn into into a fabuulous campy, colorful, cozy motel! There are vintage Airstream Trailers you can stay in, beautiful cabins turned into chic and comfy hideaways, and fun around every corner!



I have been listening recently to Moby's new CD Hotel,which is his usual fun mix of techno-wizardry, wry commentary on modern society, and the importance of drinking a really fine brand of designer iced tea. Anyway, my point (an' I do have one!) is: I was listening to an interview with Mister Moby where he explained that the title "Hotel" came from his real'zation that life is like a hotel: we check in, we roll around on the bed a while, we order room service, and we check out—and then the maids come along and clean up and wipe every trace of us from the room so no one ever knows we've been there.

Well, all I can say is, the best and happiest way to make certain that people know you have been in a hotel is take lots an' lots of photos! Which is exactly what we did. So (if you haven't already) click here to check out all my photos of Kate's Lazy Meadow motel and environs (don't miss the "Mystery Spot"!).

PS: Flickr has my photos slightly out of order and it doesn't let me re-arrange them. Boo! Bad Flickr! But you can get the gen'ral idea as I know you are smart and sophisticated people, yes you are. Enjoy!

I can't wait for the greatest movie in the world!

I know it's not coming out until the summer of 2006, but I just can't wait for the greatest movie of all time! It stars Samuel L. Jackson and it's titled

Snakes on a Plane

There's no official website yet (hmm, I wonder if I should register www.snakesonaplane.com ?) but here's the premise of this sure-to-be-smash-hit movie: "On board a flight over the Pacific Ocean, an assassin, bent on killing a passenger who's a witness in protective custody, let loose a crate full of deadly snakes."

Not on Samuel L. Jackson's watch, assassin! Not on Samuel L. Jackson's watch!

I'll be telling you about the future box office blockbuster Snakes on a Plane as I find out more about it! In the meantime, thrill to the excitement of these two Snakes on a Plane publicity photos! I don't know 'xactly what is happening in these pictures but I've taken the liberty of writing the dialogue I think will accompany these scenes:


"Well, hello there. I'm Special Agent Samuel L. Jackson, checking to see if you have any snakes on a plane."


"Aieeee! There are snakes on a plane!"

Snakes on a Plane! Coming soon to a theater near you! But not soon enough for my tastes, I tell you!

Today in Comics History, September 8, 1990: Superman makes his first appearance, apparently

from Superman: Secret Identity #1 (January 2004), script by Kurt Busiek; pencils, inks, and colors by Stuart Immonen; letters by Todd Klein

Mmmmm...Simpsony.

It's All-Simpsons Week here at Comics Oughta Be Fun, 'coz Matt Groening and his crazy crew at Bongo comics shipped three, count 'em, three Simpsons comics this week. I almost always find Simpsons comics a heckuva lotta fun, so you can bet I rushed right home to read 'n' review these! (I would have got this up a little while earlier except I had to watch a re-run of The Simpsons on Channel Five...it was the one with Stop the Planet of the Apes: I Want to Get Off! Help me, Doctor Zaius! I laffed and laffed and laffed.)

Golly, I love this show. Anyway, onto the comics!:

BART SIMPSON #25: This comic is fun. The Bart Simpson book seems to be intended for a slightly younger audience (and hey, I'm a little stuffed bull, aren't I?), so there's less of the sharp biting humor of the TV show and even the regular comic in favor of gags and adventure, but there's still plenty of fun for all ages in Bart. The first story is my favorite: it's by Tom "Tennessee" Peyer (hey, I remember him from his "Sideshow" and "Captain 'Cuse" days in the Syracuse New Times. When will Lee Alexander's Cat make an appearance in your comics, Tom? Huh? Lee Alexander's Cat?). Bart goes to work for Comic Book Guy and that's where the fun begins, especially for us comic fans, because it's chock-a-block fulla comics and sci-fi references: Green Arrow's Arrow Cave, Jonathan "Riker" Frakes, Mark Waid, the Pocket Universe, and the splash panel is a homage to the cover of Amazing Spider-Man #50. Best of all, it's still a funny story even if you don't get all the comics references! The other two stories are fun too, but if you're at all a comics fan who doesn't mind giggling a bit at your own hobby, this is a fun issue.


SIMPSONS #109: This comic is fun. But weird! Mr. Burns tries to rewrite history by erecting a museum of Burns history. Homer pursues a feud with Artie Pie. And quite possibly one of the greatest captions in comics this year: "Meanwhile, back at the "B" story..." All this and a Wacky Races joke, too! It's a little over the top but never stops being quirky and funny. I've said it before and I'll say it again...wait a minute, I'm not certain I've said it before. Let me check. (.......................) No. No, I haven't said it before. But I'll say it now: there's no comic that more captures the spirit, chaotic adventure, and humor of the great Dell and Gold Key funny animal comics of the Silver Age than today's Simpsons Comics. They're not quite a Carl Barks story, but they're the best modern equivalent—even the cover gag looks like something Huey, Dewey, and Louie would do with Donald! Well, if Donald was morbidly obese.


SIMPSONS SUPER SPECTACULAR #1: This comic is fun. Now here's a nifty idea: an anthology series of Simpsons superhero stories! If you liked the comic book story in this week's Bart Simpson, you'll love Simpsons Super Spectacular! (Or, at least, to keep truth in advertising, if you liked the comic book story in this week's Bart Simpson, you'll also like Simpsons Super Spectacular.) There's a Homer as Pie Man story called "Holy Cow!! Has Pie Man Turned Evil?" (Pie Man: "Yup.") Luckily it's just an evil Pie Man that Homer must stop! Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Then Bartman steps into a parallel universe ("The Borders is a Barnes and Noble!") where Lisa is a supervillain, plus a flip-book comic (Gosh! I love flip-books!) featuring two stories of Radioactive Man! Tell me what other comic has such thrills, chills, spills, uh...um...(looking in the Krusty Burger scene to see if there are any pickles)...dills and all-out Bills (okay, just one: Bill Morrison)? None! That's why SIMPSONS SUPER SPECTACULAR #1 is the most fun comic of the week!

My Unfavorite Martians

Let's talk about Martians, shall we?

John took me to see War of the Worlds this week. It was pretty scary. I climbed into my popcorn bucket and didn't come out until the end. Every now and then I poked my head out of the popcorn to see if horrible things were happening up on the screen and they still were every time I looked! I highly recommend that if you go to see War of the Worlds you should face backwards in the theater. Except it sounds scary too! Here is my impersonation of what War of the Worlds sounds like: CLANK CLANK CLANK BUZZZZZZZZZ BOOM! AIIEEEEE! OH NO!!!! HELP! BLAM! BLAM! BOOM! SMASH! CLANK CLANK! ROAR! SNARL BUZZ ROAR! HELP! AIEEEEEE! RACHEL! RACHEL! RACHEL! RACHEL!!!!

I liked that guy who starred in it a lot better when he was dancing around in his underwear in that film. I think War of the Worlds would have been a lot better if everyone had been in their underwear. Including the Martians. Anyway, don't go or see it. Don't buy the DVD when it comes out. And if you see Katie Holmes in the street, slap her in the face and say "Snap out of it, Joey! Dawson's the guy for you! Not this jumping-on-couches running-away-from-Martians guy!!!!"


Anyway, the film was too scary for me and I kept wishing Batman or the Hulk would come in and outsmart/smash the Martians. So that's why I thought the best comic in the world would be....

SUPERMAN: WAR OF THE WORLDS: This comic is not fun. Golden Age Superman versus the Martians? How can this comic go wrong? Well, by making it so depressing that it just isn't fun to read, that's how! There's some neat ideas in this "Elseworlds" story: Superman's identity as Clark Kent is exposed almost immediately to Lois and the world; Superman's superhuman blood actually helps the Martians avoid their fate from the original novel and book, and the idea that humans are mistrustful of Superman because he, too, is an "alien invader." But it doesn't help that it's just so relentlessly grim and sad: horrible, horrible things happen, and even Superman can't stop them. I guess it's hard to do a War of the Worlds story without death and destruction, but it just made me sad to think that even with a Superman we'd be overwhelmed by evil alien invaders. The ending is kinda triumphant but very grim and definitely not fun. And, hey, I thought of an Elseworlds twist that Mister Roy Thomas didn't: why wasn't J'onn J'onnz one of the Martians? It might have been interesting seeing him as a villain for once. Anyway, while it wasn't as scary as the movie version, it was twice as depressing to see Superman defeated. Not fun! Not fun! Oh, why oh why can't The War of the Worlds, a story in which Martians kill millions of people and invade the earth, be fun in the least???

Well, that's what I was contemplating as I cowered under the bed with my popgun, when John came around and coaxed me out with a cookie and a hug, and reminded me that Martians are just stories, and if I wanted to a version of War of the Worlds that was kinda fun, that he would let me listen to his CDs of...


JEFF WAYNE'S MUSICAL VERSION OF THE WAR OF THE WORLDS. Boy howdy! Now this is what The War of the Worlds should be all along! I never knew progressive rock could be so science-fictiony! There's Phil Lynott and Justin Hayward and David Essex and Sir Richard Burton (!!!!!!!!) in this rock-opera version of the story. Same Martian invasion, same death and destruction, same rout of humanity, but with songs you can whistle! I 'specially liked the song "Forever Autumn": it's just so beautiful it brought a tear to my little button eye. The movie version should have been like this! I would have gone to see it again and again!


So, the moral of the story is: Progressive rock makes things less depressing. Hooray for progressive rock!

The JLA is still fun; you just have to know where to look.

Not many comics at all this week! Does that mean fewer fun comics? Let's find out, shall we?

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #12: This comic is fun. Kids who don't know there was a Flash before Wally West (hey, haven't you kids read Crisis on Infinite Earths?) don't believe that Jay Garrick is the Flash. Wally West and Jay team up to stop the Mirror Master, learn from each other, and we all find out (even the obnoxious kid from page one) that two Flashes are better than one! That's about it, but it's bright and colorful and while it's one of the kids' DC comics, it's definitely not just for kids only! (And even me, a little stuffed bull, can tell you that!) If you're looking for a comic book with the fun and wonder and variety and excitement of the Silver Age DC Universe in a modern-day setting, only place you have to look is these comics based on the cool Cartoon Network show, where every DC Universe hero could possibly appear. (Even poor dead Blue Beetle!) In a day and age when the "real" JLA is getting their throats cut and murdering people, I'd much rather hang out with these guys, thankyouverymuch! That's why JLU #12 is the most fun comic of the week!


JSA #76: This comic is not fun. I'm a big fan of Geoff Johns's recipe for a decent comic book: one part nostalgia, two parts continuity, a dash of drama and a big chunk o' Wildcat. The trouble with JSA this month is too many cooks and that the restaurant Johns is cooking for suddenly decided to stop serving...oh, shoot, that metaphor jus' isn't gonna work. Let's start again. The trouble with JSA this month is "Countdown to Infinite Crisis" and its "OMAC Project" tie-in. I'm jus' not interested in this miniseries and its spin-offs. Maybe I'll regret later on not leaping aboard what seems to be DC's big universe-recreating project this summer but everything I've peeked at about it is not fun: heroes getting murdered, heroes murdering, heroes not being very heroic anywhere you look. Ick. No thank you, Johnny DC! JSA's too tied into "OMAC Project" this month to be of interest to me (or even understandable). There's two nice pages in the whole book wrapping up the Atom-Smasher storyline: Al proves whatever he's done, he's a hero who takes responsibility for his actions, and Stargirl realizes it. But two pages does not a fun comic make.

Yes, I am allowed to read comics with the word "hell" in the title.

Hi hi hi everybody! I'm sitting here with a big stack of comics, and as always, some are fun and some are not! Which ones are which? Well, let's find out, shall we?

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #522: This comic is fun. The "New Avengers" storyline continues and I've got to admit I'm enjoying it a lot more than the actual New Avengers comic! Spidey in New Avengers always seems to be pointless in a fight and just there to make dumb—not even funny—wisecracks. (I really would have thought if anyone knew how to write Spidey in an entertaining way, it would be Brian Michael Bendis! But noooooo!) Anyway, Peter goes after the Hydra forces and finds that maybe he shoulda waited for Avengers backup...I'm sure we all know that feeling, right? I'm not as keen about the "the world thinks Mary Jane and Tony Stark are kissin' and cuddlin' thanks to a paparazzi photo" subplot: it's the sort of event that would be a non-issue between Peter and M.J. (and Aunt May knows better, too), so where's the drama? Not there, I'm tellin' ya! Isn't this the sort of problem that can solved by Tony Stark waving around some money or Peter appealing to J. Jonah Jameson to pull in a few press-world favors for him? I know that's the way I'd write it, and I'm not Mister Jay Michael Stratego; I'm jus' a li'l stuffed bull. But leave out the soap-opera plot and it's a good Spidey-sneaks-around and discovers a deadly plot story, with a nifty cliffhanger last page that makes Spidey (and us!) hope the Avengers are watching his back...As long as Spidey keeps up with the climbing and the action and the wisecracks and the webspinning, these comics are fun. Just watch the soap opera, Mister JMS! Don't go there! You know you have a tendency to go there! Yes you do!!


FANTASTIC FOUR #529: This comic is not fun. And speaking of Mister J. Michael Strandeightmilesofbooks... He's layering on the soap opera as heavy as chocolate frosting in this new issue of FF (Wait, I like chocolate frosting. Let's say instead...broccoli frosting). Mister Fantastic, whose greatest weapon is always his brain, has to resort to sabotaging his mission, tricking his science colleagues and abandoning them because he didn't see what the secret government project was going to be. Hello McFly! It was clear as the Invisible Girl to us all along! Add to that the same theme he brought to Spider-Man: that getting specific superpowers was pre-destined and was gonna happen whatever else occurred...and you're makin' me miss Mark Waid on this title big time. This is the third issue in a storyline that I liked when it began, but there's no real villain, concrete threat, or clear movement towards a unifying plot, and even the Thing is kinda boring this issue. I'm not impressed...and somethin' better happen, fast.


JUSTICE LEAGUE CLASSIFIED #10: This comic is fun. First of all: that's a horrible cover. Don't let the guy who designed "The Sims" do the cover of your comics, please, Johnny DC! But once you turn the page or rip off the cover it's actually a pretty fun roller-coaster of a old-school JLA (that is, late 1990s-style JLA). Deaths, disasters, explosions and firestorms are happening all over Earth-DC, and it looks like they're targeting the three Big Guns of the JLA (Supes, Bats, and Wondy!) Things are so bad, even Perry "Don't Call Me Chief" White is a big crankypuss! Switch to decaf, Perry! It's the sort of big disaster-things-go-wrong-that-only-the-JLA-can-stop story that Grant Morrison did so well in early issues of JLA, and Warren Ellis does a real solid callback to those earth-shaking stories. By the way (or, "BTW", as we b(ul)loggers say) this story is titled "New Maps of Hell." Which proves that I'm allowed to read comics with the word 'hell' in them! But even if I'm 'lowed to read and say it, I really don't think Superman should be. In my book, Lois can cuss. But "Smallville" don't.


THE INCREDIBLE HULK: DESTRUCTION #1: This comic is fun. It's a Hulk comic without the Hulk in it? How can that be fun, huh? For answers, see the Paul Jenkins issues of Incredible Hulk. Hah! But I kid Paul Jenkins. Seriously, my fav'rite Hulk writer is an' always has been Mister Peter David. Say what you like about him, he writes an incredible Hulk. I've actually been a li'l disappointed in some of Peter David's recent Hulk issues: I kinda lost interest in the "Tempest Fugit" series and I'm not really at all having fun with the "Imaginary Story" House of M Hulk, but this first issue of a four-part miniseries on the Hulk's foe The Abomination is just plain brutal Hulk fun. Lots of smashing and psychology, and you all know how well those two things go together! Nobody writes a better Doc Samson than Peter David, and I even like that he's writing General Ross again (even tho' I musta lost track: isn't General Ross dead?!?) I'm not as wild about the artwork by Jim Muniz—everybody's got big stringy veiny muscled arms that are kinda creepy to look at—but he draws good dynamic, powerful, smash-'em-up fight scenes, and really, that's a good skill to have if you're drawing the Hulk.


HELLBOY: THE ISLAND #1 and 2: These comics are fun. Here's s'more proof that I'm allowed to read comics with the word "hell" in them! Really, John doesn't have any problem with me reading comics with "PG" language as long as they're good comics! And they don't come much gooder than a comic by Mike Mignola! These are the last two issues he's gonna work on for a while of his "Hellboy" series, and they're doozies. He wraps up a lot of storylines and developments from other issues, but even if all you know of Hellboy is the kinda-cool movie, you'll be able to follow this. It's spooky, moody, and sad at the same time, and Mignola is a great artist of teh sort I wouldn't mind being: a little cartoony, but great shading and a keen eye on how to leave lots of space to draw the eye to the next panel. It even explains what's the story with Hellboy's big heavy forearm! The best thing about this is that even tho' it's the last Mignola Hellboy for a while, there's a whole lotta other stories he's done before that I wanna go back and read now. You will too: and that's the best kinda comic of all. That's why these two comics get my vote as the most fun comics of the week! With the word 'hell' in them or not!


ASTRO CITY: THE DARK AGE #2: This comic is fun. This one has all the things I like best in an Astro City comic: little intriguing tidbits of history parceled out at mysterious intervals for us to piece together, great colorful superhero characters, great ordinary human characters, a believable, amazing city where it doesn't sound so off-the-wall that superheroes and villains battle in the streets, and most of all, it came out on time! Hooray! That's a big plus in an Astro City comic. We get a few more clues in flashback form about why Royal and Charles hate the Silver Agent, but the best part is a full-page appearance by my fav'rite Astro City character, the Blue Knight. Ooooh, scary! Bad things are happening left and right in Astro City, but that all adds up to a fun comic!


RUNAWAYS #6: This comic is fun. You know what I like best about all the characters in Runaways? Each one of them is diff'rent...sure, they may all be the children of supervillains, but each one has a more than just a diff'rent power, they have diff'rent types of powers: there's a mutant, and a magic user, and an alien, an a time-traveller, and a dinosaur...it's the sort of melting pot of characters that really hasn't been since the Roy Thomas/John Buscema issues of The Avengers around #60-80...and that's an apt comparison, cos' in this issue, the Runaways get another member who fits in perfectly: he's the son of one of the Avengers' greatest nemesisses nemesies nemesees villains. Just like the previous issues, there's a real sense of movement in this comic: things don't just happen, they cause characters and the team to change and evolve.

Also, I think Nico is really cute. Sigh...

The two best things about Power Girl.

Hi hi hi everybody! How are you? I am fine. 'Coz it's new comics day, hooray! Here's some of the comics I got to read this week:

SIMPSONS COMICS #108: This comic is fun. This is what you call a comic book that's "ripped from today's headlines!" (Not really. I don't like my comic books ripped.) Homer gets framed by Mr. Burns for nuclear terrorism and sent to prison! Sounds like a laff riot, doesn't it? And guess who his cellmate is? None other than Sideshow Bob! That's where the fun begins! This isn't the funniest Simpsons Comics issue ever, but this title is still month after month the most consistently fun comic on the stands! And that counts for a lot to me, even if every single issue isn't a five-star extravaganza.


HULK #84: This comic is not fun. What's going on? I'm so confused! Suddenly the Hulk is in Australia and he's fighting Nazis?!? How did that happen? Then, at the end of the issue, the Hulk is ruling Australia. Did I miss an issue? What's going on? What's happening? I don't get this at all? And what's this "House of M" banner on the cover? What does that mean? As you can see, I was too confused with this issue to find it fun. Only thing I found fun was that the Hulk was bald in this issue. Now that's fun!


MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN #16: This comic is fun. C'mon, how can you not find this issue fun? It's Spider-Man meets Superman! How can that not be more fun than a barrel of spider-monkeys? Well, actually it's not really Superman, but it is a strange visitor from another planet with powers beyond that of mortal men, working as a mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper—sound familiar, comics fans? All this plus the Fantastic Four (Billy Tan draws a really good bulky-lookin' Thing), plus some great Kirby-type art (nobody can imitate the King, but it's a great salute to Kirby's cosmic Marvel comics, complete with faded margins like a real old Marvel Silver Age comic book), AND a twist ending that I sure didn't see coming! You prob'bly did, but you are prob'bly more sophisticated and jaded than I am about comics. Maybe you didn't find it fun, if you're that sort. But I did! Heck yeah!


TEEN TITANS #26: This comic is not fun. I like Geoff Johns's comics just fine. He's very good at mixing old and new characters and getting you to care about all of them. He writes comics that pay attention to the past but aren't just rehashes of old stories. Then why can't he get Superboy right? He's lost all the fun of Superboy in his Teen Titans run that Karl Kesel and Peter David brought to him. He makes Superboy all dark and moody just because Lex Luthor brainwashed him. Who hasn't been brainwashed by Lex Luthor at one point or another? (I know I was! When I took those cookies? It was Luthor's fault! Luthor's!) Here's the thing I don't get about Teen Titans: nobody seems to be having fun. Hey you guys! You're kids! You have amazing superpowers! You get to hang out at an ultracool clubhouse on the weekends! You all look like supermodels, even the green guy! Why aren't you having more fun?!?!?


WOLVERINE #30: This comic is fun. You know why? Because at the beginning of it all the X-Men are sitting around in Emma Frost's astral-projected beanbag chairs. How cool is that? Astral-projected beanbag chairs! I don't think I have seen a cooler piece of comic-book related furniture since this! I would sit on a astral-projected bean-bag chair all day! Oh yeah, Wolverine also slices and dices some more, and at the end Elektra and Nick Fury are both in big big trouble. But that happens every issue—only this one has astral-projected beanbag chairs!. Sigh.......I think I love you, Miss Frost.


ASTONISHING X-MEN #11: This comic is not fun. Here are three reasons why Astonishing X-Men #11 is not really fun.

1. This storyline has gone on far, far too long. And...
2. Each issue is delayed so much that I don't really remember...and I don't really care...what happens from month to month. And...
3. No astral-projected beanbag chairs.

Still, it's nice that somebody remembers stuff that happened in Grant Morrison's New X-Men. I don't think anybody else at Marvel does. Sigh.


JSA CLASSIFIED #1: This comic is fun. Remember what I said I liked best abour Mister Geoff Johns's writing? If you don't, scroll up and read it. I'll wait here until you do. Go ahead! ......... Did you do it? I hope so, 'coz I'm not gonna repeat myself and say that I like best how he mixes old and new characters and gets you to care about all of them in comics that pay attention to the past but aren't just rehashes of old stories. This one looks at all of Power Girl's mixed-up and confusing origin stories, and even she isn't certain who or what she is at all! Is she Kryptonian? Is she the daughter of Arion, mage of Atlantis? Or is she...something else? Maybe we'll find out by the end of this storyline, but in the meantime I'm having fun watching Power Girl try to find out! Amanda Conner draws real cute girls (Stargirl, Hawkgirl, and especially Power Girl!) but there are two things in this issue I liked the best! One is the return of Power Girl's cat (from Giffen's Justice League) on pages 10 and 11. And the other one is the guest appearance of three of my very favorite super-heroes, in my very favorite version of them, on the very last page! Yay! That's why JSA CLASSIFIED #1 gets my award for the most fun comic of the week.

What? What two things did you think I meant that I liked best about Power Girl? ....... Why are you giggling?