Olivia loves London, too.

Someone kindly asked for news about how Olivia is enjoying London! The answer is, quite a bit indeed! She is prone to announce "Welcome to London" several times throughout the day. She likes riding on the trains and has many questions that I enjoy answering because I know a lot about the London Underground. She wants to know if we get off now (no, Olivia, this is not our stop; we have three more stops first) or if we can get on the train (No, Olivia, this is a District Line train and it goes to Wimbledon. We want a Circle Line train.) She say a man dressed up as Father Christmas standing on the train platform and declared "Santa!" She did not want Santa to see her when he came Christmas night down the chimney but as she was fast asleep she did not even notice when he snuck in to deliver her Christmas goodies.

She is enjoying most every part of London. I missed when there was a mean little boy who would not let her play in the sand in Holland Park (mean boy! Mean!), but aside from that she has been happy and curious. She likes looking in the shops and eating in the restaurants. Last night for Christmas Eve dinner we ate at Khan's of Bayswater, a very busy and exciting Indian restaurant. The waiters gave toys for Christmas to each of the children in the restaurant and Olivia got a miniature pool table which she was playing with today with Aunt Camilla. (She let me and Marshall play with it too!) She enjoyed the rice and nan bread at the restaurant and has especially been loving English sweets—she got a special cake with a butterfly on it and some hazelnut creme sticks which were very good. She was very fascinated by the oranges at Mark & Spencer's Food Hall, even though she does not like oranges!

Her favorite part so far seems to have been the carousel at Covent Garden. She went on it (twice!).

She got many fine Christmas presents this morning, including many books and a hat with a Union Jack on it and some stuffed animals and a marble-and-tube set and Marshall and I gave her some play food from Sainsbury's. It's pretty cool: it's all British grocery play food. It makes my mouth water just to look at it! She seems to like her stuffed cat that John got her a lot.

She is taking her Christmas day nap now but I'm sure there will be many more Olivia adventures!

Wishing all of my readers a Happy Christmas from London!

Father Christmas is coming tonight!

It's Christmas Eve and Marshall and I are so excited we will hardly be able to sleep! Why? I'm telling you why! Father Christmas is coming to London Town!

I have been over all the British Christmas catalogues and I'm pretty sure I know what I want. I didn't get a chance to send off a letter to Father Christmas this year (he does not live the same place as Santa! He lives in a disused Underground station off the Aldywch) but I am pretty sure he reads my blog regularily just to make certain if I am naughty or nice, not only in my blogging but in my real life. Anyway, F.C., here's my Chrimble list for 2006:

1. An assortment of excellent British cold cereals including Weetabix, Scotch Oats and Nestle's Coco Shreddies
2. An unlimited seven day Oystercard
3. Chelsea F.C. 2006 Top Trumps cards
4. Cadbury Flake
5. For Toga the Penguin to return home safely
6. Ant or Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway Board Game
7. The Keira Knightley 2006 Calendar
8. Wensleydale cheese
9. A Boots gift card
10. The new Beano Annual
11. For Billy Mack's "Christmas is All Around" to be the Christmas #1 top single
12. Wallace and Gromit soap-on-a-rope
13. Peace on Earth
14. Good will to all
15. and a pink baby pig!

Marshall adds: "And a pony, please, Father Cwismas?"

Photos: Christmas Eve in Kensington

Catch up on a lovely bright crisp Christmas Eve with my new photos of my day out and about in Kensington today: just click here!

Now I know how many Christmas carols it takes to fill the Albert Hall

This Christmas Eve afternoon we went to the amazing Royal Albert Hall to see and hear their Carols by Candlelight concert. It was, if your excuse the London slang, dead brill.

There was an orchestra and chorus and a conductor all dressed up in the period of Mozart playing traditional religious and secular (thank you word-of-the-day calendar!) Christmas carols, some of which we got to sing along with! The announcer/conductor was very pleasant and funny (he told a hilarious elf joke*) and he was very good at getting us all to sing along very loudly. In fact, there was a special competition to see who could sing "Good King Wenceslas" the loudest of all the audience members and I won and the prize was that I got to go up on stage and beat the kettle drum during the next carol! Boom boom boom I went! Everyone in the Mozart Festival Orchestra agreed I was v. good at it!**

There were also readings from A Christmas Carol and the story of Jesus's birth from the Bible, a special guest appearance by Father Christmas and we sat in a very special box in the second tier. And had Coca-Colas at the interval! All in all it was a very special Christmas treat and very good value for money.

Add to that: we had a lovely Christmas luncheon at Maggie Jones's just off Kensington Church Street just before. It was good solid hearty English food: among us we had onion soup, prawn cocktail, turkey and stuffing, pork roast with mash, new potatoes, veg and bread, and hooray! wonderful bread and butter pudding with custard and apple crumple with fresh cream. It was definitely the nicest Christmas Eve day ever.

*An elf is driving down the highway and he's knitting while he's driving. A police car pulls up alongside the elf and the police constable yells "Pull over!" The elf leans out the window and says, "No, it's a scarf."

**Editor's note: Certain events in this blog entry exist only in Mister Bull's imagination.

Do they know it's Christmas?

A serious post here for just a moment, everyone.

Tomorrow is Christmas, and I'm in a lovely posh hotel and you're in your home or the home of a friend or family, and we're likely going to have a delicious Christmas dinner tomorrow.

No preaching: just remember there are people who don't have that, not just at Christmas but all year 'round.

If you're in the US, consider donating to The Salvation Army. If you're in the UK, to Crisis or StreetSmart.

As a great man once said: "It's Christmas 1984 and there are more starving folk on our planet than ever before." It's 2005 and that hasn't changed. Do what you can to help change it for future Christmases and for future all-year-rounds.

More photos, more fun!

See my Jubilee Line Extension excursion and shopping trip along Regents Street photos here! Go on! Do it!

The sort of day a trainspotter could appreciate

Talk about good timing!

Go ahead! Talk about good timing. Talk among yourself. I'll be right here waiting.

Okay, done? Good. 'Coz that's 'xactly what John and I had today on our trainspotting, stations-hopping tour of the Jubilee Line Tube Extension. Ever since we got some amazing books on the Jubilee Line Extension that stretched it from ending in central London to all the way out past the East End and beyond, and the fantastic modern British architecture of some of its stations, we've both been dying to take an excursion to check 'em out!

But what did I find on the web the week before we came to London? That the Jubilee Line would be closed (for necessary maintenance) from December 26 through December 31! Aieee! Would we miss it? Would we never see the Jubilee Line extension?

(Wow, we are Underground geeks, aren't we?)

Anyway, the good timing part is that we could still take our trip today while the line's still open! Hooray! Or, as they say here in London, hoorah! So we bundled up in our anoraks with our tube maps and camera and headed out down the Jubilee Line.

I'll spare you all the details (because they are probably less than interesting to non-Underground geeks) but I had a dead brilliant time and very much enjoyed seeing the new modern stations, especially Canada Water and Canary Wharf. There was a shopping mall at Canary Wharf where we did some Christmas shopping, and then finished off the day with an excursion to Regent Street and Oxford Street where we could hardly move there were so many people! I'm not kidding you! It's really true! Wow, these people take their Christmas shopping serious!!!

Anyway, I'm all set for Christmas (shh! Don't tell Olivia that I got her Sainsbury's play food!) and had a wonderful day on the Underground. You can see all my photos from the day coming up soon in my next blog entry. And the Jubilee Line Extension? For those of you who love the Underground, I highly recommend it. Just don't come on a day when they have it closed for repair, okay?!?

My holiday snaps are back from the chemist's!

John tells me that back in his day, waaaay back when in the early 1990s when he would come to London on holiday, he would take his camera film to Boots the Chemist and have them develop his photographs (or, as they like to call them here, your 'snaps') overnight so he could see if he had been taking good photos.

Well, those days are gone! Over! Done! Finito! Now thanks to the magic of digital photography, you can see my photos right away! Aren't you excited!

Anyway, you can see some of the photos from my first couple days in London here. See how simple I make it for you, Bully-fans?

The Death of Mary, Queen of Scots

Click here for another, much shorter play about the death of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Mary, Mary, quite Stuarty.

Last night we went to the theatre in London to see an excellent play called Mary Stuart at the Apollo Theatre in Shaftesbury. It was a little confusing at first because I thought it was about the woman who writes these books. I kept sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for King Arthur and Merlin to stroll on stage! Imagine my surprise when they didn't!

Then I got a little confused and thought it might have something to do with Patrick Stewart or maybe Jackie Stewart. I wouldn't mind seeing a theatre play based on the life of Jackie Stewart! Maybe they would have real race cars running around on the stage! That would be brilliant! Vroom vroom!

At the interval I went out to the lobby and bought myself a chocolate ice with a little plastic spoon and also decided to spend some of my pounds and pence on a theater programme. That was a very smart move! It told me all about Mary Stuart, who was the Scots sister of Queen Elizabeth*, and how Queen Elizabeth put her in jail. Boo! Boo on you, Queen Elizabeth! When I see you do your annual Christmas address on the television on Christmas Day, I will be sure to boo and hiss you.

At the end there was a very sad bit when Queen Elizabeth (boooo!) had Mary Stuart's head chopped off. I was very alarmed and could barely keep from shouting out at the stage but then at the end of the play Mary Stuart came out with everyone else and held Queen Elizabeth's hand and they all took a bow. I'm glad they made up at the end after all. Also, it's good that they didn't chop her head off because then they would need a new actress every night (and twice on matinee days).

Anyways, it was a fun night out at the theatre, and the chocolate ice was delicious.

*Even though she did not talk in a Scots accent, like Scotty or Jackie Stewart.

A friendly warning to American publishers following British trends

From today's edition of The Wharf London newspaper, an article about Christmas sales:

"Books Etc. has been doing a roaring trade, with weekends busier than ever before. But the bottom may have finally dropped out of the Sudoku market, with sales of books falling off the festive radar."

Have you seen this penguin?

Here is the sad news that is on the telly right now in London: someone stole a baby penguin from the Isle of Wight!

I don't know why anyone would steal a penguin! Maybe they thought it was quite cute and wanted to hug it a lot. Don't hug it too hard! This penguin needs its mama to hug him, not you, Mister Penguin-napper! Bring him back or phone the police to tell them where he is right away!

Police constables are asking you to be on the lookout for Toga or for someone who looks like they might have stolen a penguin. If you see them, dial 999 to get the police if you are in England...or if you are in the US, dial the operator and tell them to connect you with Tony Blair. He will make certain the proper authorities are alerted. Be sure to say "Thank you, Mister Blair!"

Anyone who would steal a penguin is a very, very bad or foolish person. I would not like it if anyone stole me away from Brooklyn. Don't steal penguins! It's not cool and it won't make you look like a tough guy!

Covent Garden is not a garden. The Churchill Arms are not arms.

Hope you enjoyed the photos! Here's what we did on our second day (yesterday) out and about in London.

We all bought three day Travelcards to ride on the Tube to Covent Garden. (I had wanted to get an Oystercard, because they sound fun and delicious, until John pointed out to me that not only do you need to be a London resident to use one to its fullest potential, it does in fact have nothing to do with oysters or indeed any sort of shellfish at all. Confusing!) Now, if you know a thing or two about me and John, you know we both love the London Underground. It's fun and easy to use and best of all much more clean than the new York City subway, especially the F train. Why, I would go as far as to say I would eat off the floor of the Underground. (Note: this is not an actual offer to eat off the ground in the Tube).

I got out my little tube-spottting notebook and carefully marked down the color of the Tube lines we took (yellow for the Circle Line, change at Gloucester Road to blue for the Piccadilly Line). Remember the following if you ever step on the London Underground:

• Mind the doors.
• Mind the gap.
• Remember you need to put your ticket in the slot at the end of your ride, not just the beginning!

Covent Garden is a very lovely and busy shopping center (or, as they say over here, centre). It was especially busy because everyone was doing their Christmas shopping! I did some myself (shh! Don't tell Camilla!) at the London Transport Museum Gift Shop and the fabulous Thornton's Toffee Store. There were many exciting events going on: there were jugglers, buskers, a crafts show, a carousel (which Olivia went on twice!, and Father Christmas was there! I stood in line for quite some time to sit on his lap. When I finally climbed up onto his lap he said "Ho ho ho!" and I said "Hi hi hi!" Then he asked me: "What's your name, little boy?" I fixed him with a very stern stare and lifted up his whiskers a little bit. "I think you would know, Father Christmas!" I told him. So I guess that was not the real Father Christmas but one of his helpers, and not an exceptional one at that. I bet the real Father Christmas, working vigorously in his elf-laden underground lair in an abandoned London Tube station, would remember my name. I just hope he remembers that I am in London in a hotel for Christmas and not in Brooklyn. PS: I would like some British cereal to add to my collection, please, Father Christmas.

Laden down with shopping bags full of lovely Christmas items, we went to the Stock Pot on Old Compton Street, home of the 70p Coke and a pretty good omelette. Our waitress was very kind and helpful although she looked overworked. I hope someone like Colin Firth comes and rescues her from her daily waitress life! Maybe on Christmas Eve. I think I saw a movie about that once.

Then we walked up Charing Cross Road, home of many famous bookstores, including possibly the most famous of them all, Foyles Bookshop. It's not the largest bookshop in London (anymore!) but it is certainly one of the best. I could spend hours in here, and luckily we did spend quite a bit of time (and pounds and pence!) in Foyles. Here is a pretty accurate representation of how excited I was during my time in Foyles:

ME: (running through the aisles excitedly, arms above my head, squealing happily) WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
STORE CLERK: Excuse me, little stuffed sir. May I be of any assistance?
ME: (looking up) Yes, thank you very much. Where are your books on trains and buses?
STORE CLERK: First floor, sir. Right up the staircase or into the lift.
ME: Thank you. (running for the staircase) WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Needless to say, I got a bit overexcited and had to go back to the hotel to have a quiet lie down for a while before we went to dinner.

Which was at the beautiful Churchill Arms on Kensington Church Street. This is one of my favorite (or, p'raps I should say, "favourite") pubs in London. It is very busy and loud and fun in the main bar but step in the back and you are in a lovely little resturant that serves good inexpensive Thai food. The entire place is decorated with butterflies as the owner is quite a famous butterfly collector. Bully recommends this highly; two hooves up! Next time you're in London, stop by, have a pint and a pad thai, and tell them I sent you. They will say, "The little stuffed bloke? Hey's a right old chap, that one is."

Later we went to the theatre to see a fascinating and occasionally bewildering play about Mary, Queen of Scots. I'll tell you more about that later.

Three thousand words about London.

A very wise man once told me that "every picture has a story," so even though I just got in quite late from a wonderful day out and about in London and I won't have time to do a full-fledged blog entry (I'll fill in the details later, promise!), here are three photos, each worth about one thousand words, just to show you what a brilliant (or, as they say here, "brill") time I am having here in London:


Here I am at the Covent Garden Underground station. I love riding the Underground. I am very glad the trains are not on strike here!



Which postcards shall I pick to send to all my friends back home?



Here are my very good friends Camilla and Olivia (The Number One Little Bully Fan) strolling through Covent Garden. You can tell how fun it is by Olivia's jaunty pace!

Many more photos (I promise) and more intensive London-blogging soon!

A short but excellent first day in London.

Hullo hullo hullo everyone! It's me, Bully, in London. How are you? I'm not only fine, I'm in London!

Ahem! Sorry 'bout that. Please excuse me for being so excited, but I'm having such a brilliant time here I can hardly control myself! As I promised last night, here's my blog entry on my first day here, but first let me fill you in on the website to keep up on all my fantastic London photos. Bookmark it today, check it semi-frequently (at least every day or so!), and tell all your discriminating, intelligent friends that if they're not checking in every other day at the least they are missing a lot of cool photos!

Okay, public service announcement over.

We all arrived in London at noon-ish local time. It was a long plane ride but luckily I was able to snooze through most of it. It is easier to sleep when you are in a backpack stowed away in the overhead baggage compartment. We all showed our passports to the British man at passport control as we entered the country. I'd been very worried about that part. I was led to believe that they would quiz you on aspects of British history and culture before they let you in the country so I have been studying my Simon Schama books and watching episodes of Monty Python. But all they want to know is where you are going to stay and how long you are going to be there! It was a bit disappointing because I was all ready to perform the Fish-Slapping Dance. He did suggest (with a hearty chuckle) that we would be very welcome if we spent a lot of money in London's shops and put a lot of weak US dollars into the UK economy. Before I could explain to the customs agent how I had been saving my dimes for such a long time and turning them into pounds and pence for my London holiday John dragged me away and we are off to the shuttle bus!

It is very warm here in London: cloudy all day but in the mid-fifties. I did not need a winter coat at all! It has not yet rained either. I don't think we will have a white Christmas.

We checked into the lovely Copthorne Tara Hotel in beautiful Kensington. After a yummy lunch of sandwiches from Boots right up the street, we all took a nap before venturing out into London. I thought I would be too excited to sleep but I was snoring in seconds. Plane travel takes a lot out of you. I am not certain what jet lag really is but it makes me kinda sleepy.

As I said briefly last night, we met Christine, Jonas and little Olivia (yay! I love Olivia) for dinner at the fabulous Pizza Express in Earl's Court. Then we walked around Kensington and went home to bed. If you're reading that and think "Well, that doesn't sound like a very exciting day," well, then you are wrong as a very wrong-headed person because it was an excellent day in London. I know I have many more adventures to come and this was a good way to roll into it.

Now we are off to free continental breakfast!. I was a little worried about this description but John tells me that "continental" does not mean in this case a heavily-accented European guy in a striped shirt smoking a little black cigarette and fingering a waxed mustache. He tells me there will be cereal (wow!) and buns (hooray!) and tea (excellent!). I'm anxious to go downstairs and find out.

Then, we are going to Covent Garden. As I understand it, there are no peas and carrots in this garden but rather a dazzling array of stores. That's my kind of garden! Off I go into London...I'll blog at you later!

London by night

Everyone else is asleep in our hotel room but I'm so excited I can't sleep!

I got up and looked out the window for a long time. I can see a lot of London from the window. Over there is the Albert Hall. Look, I can see the London Eye and the Battersea Power Station. There is not as much light to the city as there is to New York so it is very quiet and relaxing. I can't believe I'm really here!

The last tube train of the night pulls into High Street Kensington station right below me. The tracks rattle for a while and then are quiet.

Good night, everybody. Good night, London! I'll see you tomorrow.

London! London! London!

Hooray! We have arrived in London and are having a wonderful, Londerful time! I still have a little jetlag from sleeping in the overhead compartment of the airplane (which is not the best place from which to see the in-flight movie!), so we did not do anything too amazing today (but isn't just being in London amazing enough on its own? Yes! Yes, it is!)

Our hotel is very nice and crammed to the gills to Japanese beauty school students. They are very giggly (the girls) or too mod and cool to giggle (the boys). John and I took a walk via the famous "sneaky way" in back of the High Street Kensington tube station (I cannot wait to ride on the Underground!). We went to Boots and got mayonnaisey sandwiches and crisps and Lilt and Cadbury bars for lunch and then took a nap which I did not think I needed but boy howdy! Did I! I was very sleepy. Marshall said later that I was really sawing some logs! When we woke up it was time for dinner and we went to Pizza Express where I had a whole pizza all by myself! (You wouldn't guess it, but pizza tastes so much better in London!)

I have not had a chance to take any photos yet so I haven't really started my proper photoblogging, but I hope to take lots of photos tomorrow. We are going shopping in Covent Garden! I have brought all my pounds and pence for English Christmas gifts so I hope that everything is not sold out already. Do you hear that, people of London? Save some prezzies for me to buy!



In the meantime, enjoy this fine photo (above) of the last time I came to London. This photo contains 1) me and 2) pigeons in Trafalgar Square. I am not wearing my mackintosh only because of the pigeons...but it didn't hurt.

Blog at you tomorrow, London and Bully fans!

I'm off to London!

Hi hi hi everyone! I'm at the airport now waiting for my plane to take us to London for Christmas! Hooray! This is going to be the best Christmas ever! I am so excited I cannot sit in my little plastic chair waiting to board the plane so I've been running in all the airport shops and checking them out.

I'm 'specially interested in the "Duty Free Shop." Apparently...now this is where it gets a little weird...apparently there is no duty on the items you buy in this store! While I have always been a little stuffed bull who believes in doing his duty, I find it interesting that you can buy items without doing so!


I had my eye on a Duty Free Giant Toberlone that looked both yummy and large but i talked myself out of it because I am trying to budget my pounds and pence for London and didn't want to spend so much money right away. The shop clerk told me that it was duty free and as I looked like a young bull with a very good eye for value I could not afford to pass this oppotunity up! I looked at him very sternly and said no thank you! Despite no duty it was my sworn duty to save some money for London.

So I am waiting for the plane and I am very hungry for yummy delicious Swiss chocolate and nougat, but I feel proud of myself.

More later in London!

Ben Grimm totally rocks! Reason #8

Q: Does Ben Grimm totally rock?
A:



8. Adamantium skull? Schmadamantium skull. There's only one guy who's the best he is at what he does, and he's from Yancy Street, not Canada.

He's rough, he's tough, and he's not gonna pay a lot for this muffler. He's Bashful Benjy Grimm, fan-favorite of all. And now you know...another reason why Ben Grimm totally rocks.

(Reason #1-3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 )

Today's Magneto threat level stands at code orange.

From today's Yahoo News:

"Earth's north magnetic pole is drifting away from North America and toward Siberia at such a clip that Alaska might lose its spectacular Northern Lights in the next 50 years, scientists said Thursday."

Two! Two! Two weeks of comics in one!

Uh oh! I might have to turn in my comics blogging badge, because I didn't get a chance to review last week's fun comics at all. (I was busy traveling around upstate and central New York! Brrrrrr, it's cold, even if you happen to have been born in a natural leather jacket and have it on you at all times!) I know you fine Bully-fans have been patiently waiting and thinking: "I wonder what Bully thinks of this week's comics!" And I know no number of reasons why Ben Grimm rocks, delightful as they are, can satisfy that comics-reviewin' craving. So, let me roll up some of the comics from this week and the comics from last week into a big ball of comics fun (please note: comics were not actually rolled up into a ball).

GIANT-SIZE INVADERS #2: This comic is fun. One of these days I'm gonna do a post (or two or three) on some of the often-overlooked past comics that John has let me read out of his collection that I think are the funnest of them all. Atari Force. Damage Control. The Shadow. And, let's not forget The Invaders. Marvel doesn't seem to have forgotten them, 'coz here they are again in a big glossy of five stories for a measly fifty dimes! I do hafta wonder: what inspired this nice repackage? It doesn't seem like The Invaders is one of Marvel's top properties. Maybe they are just aware so many of their fans are older and remember the original Invaders comic from the seventies. Not me! I'm new to the whole thing. And I still liked this a lot. There's a brand-new Invaders story by Roy Thomas (and who better to write a WWII adventure of Golden Age heroes than Rascally Roy?), plus four excellent reprints: the seventies Invaders #1-2 by Roy Thomas and Frank Robbins (and I'll get to Mister Robbins in a minute) and two 1940s reprints: a Sub-Mariner story from All Winners Comics #1 and a Human Torch story from All Winners Comics #2. Why, that's three great ages of comics all in one book! My favorite of the stories, though, even after having read them before, is the Frank Robbins stories. I just love the look of Frank Robbins. His artwork is instantly recognizable and you'd never confuse his work with someone else's. I know he was never the most popular or acclaimed of artists but his work on Invaders and (even more obscure) the Man from Atlantis comic is dynamic, powerful, and even in this day and age of Image Comics-inspired artists, totally unique. All hail the Golden Age! All hail Mister Frank Robbins! All hail the Invaders!


MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECIAL ONE-SHOT: This comic is fun. Yay! I sure do like Christmas comics! I like to read them all season long. I like to get a big mug of hot chocolate after I've been out sledding or making snowbulls and curl up on the floor next to the Christmas tree and read a big stack of Christmas comics. Each year we put them on the shelf with the Christmas books—they don't go stored away in a longbox where you can't get at 'em, oh no, no no no no no sirree! They stay out where we can get at them every year and I can read them again and again and again until they fall apart and have hot chocolate stains on them and I know all the words in every panel by heart. Well, here's another one! This is an anthology too: three Marvel Christmas stories. I liked the first one best: the Fantastic Four (with some Christmasy help from the Sub-Mariner!) try to track down the missing Mole Man. Art is by one of my very favorite current comics arts, Roger Langridge (who did the amazing Fred the Clown). John says it is a Citizen Kane parody but all I know is that this comic is as sweet as a candy kane! (Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!) Give Mister Langridge a reg'lar comic, Marvel! He'd make it the most fun of all! The second story takes us inside the New Avengers first holiday party. It is silly more often than it is funny but it does feature not only a nice sentimental Christmasy ending (inspiring speech by Captain America at no extra cost!) but also The Best Line of the Week: "I don't think he writes his name 'Wool Vereen.'" The last of the three stories was a little hokey: an illustrated poem about an old Captain Britain villain versus the FF on Christmas Eve. Happy endings abound even here! But I was least interested in this story because of the format and because I didn't even know who the villain was until the magic of Google showed me the way. Still! Good enough to put on the Christmas shelf!


JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #16: This comic is fun. And what's more fun than a Christmas comic?...Two Christmas comics! This week's JLU is the special holiday issue (and they even take time out to remind you the holiday is more than just Christmas: Atom-Smasher, who's Jewish, and Hawkgirl, who's completely from another planet, all get in the "holiday spirit" too!). The "junior members" of the JLU, under the leadership of Hawkgirl, try to stop a rampaging, unstoppable villain. And yet, at the end: happy sentimental Christmas story! (Sniff.) The JLU has many of the same elements of each issue: a hero doubts himself and becomes the one to make the big difference in the end, not only in the battle but in Learning a Very Important Lesson™. (And while we're at it, the whole story kinda reminds of a similar Marvel story in which a hero—Spidey? The Hulk? Daredevil?—fights to stop a villain who just wants to get home for the holidays. Anybody remember what story it is I'm thinkin' of? Anybody, Bully fans? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?) A couple other minor quibbles: the reason Hawkgirl gets back in costume for just this issue is kinda contrived and doesn't serve any real purpose, and, great as that cover is (I love the animated Supergirl!), where's my favorite Leaguer: Stargirl? But hey! It's Christmas, this comic is fun, and I like it. In the end, isn't that all that matters?


MISTER MIRACLE #2: This comic is fun. (But late! Don't make me wait for my Seven Soldiers fix, Johnny DC!) I've been enjoying the heck of of the Seven Soldiers comics, but I think the whole storyline, not only of each character but the crossover threads winding through each title, is really only going to be clear when I sit down and re-read the whole stack o' story after DC publishes Seven Soldiers Special #1 on April 5, 2006. (I can't wait!) Even so, I'm filled with awe and admiration for how many different genres Grant Morrison is working in through all these seven comics. Even though each of the characters is based on a previous incarnation, you have to say what he's doing here with them is startling, surprising, new-direction stuff that is still reverent (thank you, Vocabulary-Word-a-Day Calendar 2005) to what went before. There's no better example of that than Mister Miracle. You know I love the work of King Jack Kirby. Jack drew like I want superheroes to be: big and bold and bombastic and larger than life and twice as loud! Some of his creations are more popular than others, but some of the others are treated like sacred cows: even tho' Mister Jack is no longer with us, most times these characters get used it's like reading Jack Lite: sorta the same thing Jack would do, sorta the same larger-than-life in-your-face feel, sorta the same big bombastic storylines and events. Here's little stuffed me going out on a limb here: I think doing Jack Kirby comics almost exactly the way Jack Kirby did them can get boring after a while. I don't claim to know what Jack thought about others doing his characters and storylines, but everything I've read about him tells me that even if you were using his characters he didn't want you to copy his style—he wanted you to develop your own way of doing things, that that was where artists and creators were at their strongest. That's why I would like to think that Mister Miracle, which takes the New Gods characters and spins them in different dramatic directions than the oft-overused Orion and his Pals versus Darkseid in the Fire Pits of Apokalips. Kirby's characters here are weird, hidden, changed, different, and not just for the sake of Ultimizing or All-Starring them: some plot's going on that we (and Mister Miracle) aren't aware of yet. Are the Sheeda manipulating "Dark Side"? (Or vice versa?) Why would anyone have Doctor Dezard as a therapist? And why do "The Troops" look so familiar? Those are questions that make me turn the pages in this comic fast, eager to see what happens next, that make me wait impatiently and eagerly for the next issue, that cause me to declare that Grant Morrison is better at re-interpreting classic comics characters in ways that are both different and unique but don't make them unrecognizable (yeah, I'm lookin' at you, All Star Batman!), and that make me declare MISTER MIRACLE #2 the most fun comic of the week.

Ben Grimm totally rocks! Reason #7

Why does Ben Grimm totally rock?



7. His classic mid-Sixties animated show, in which he, the other members of the Fantastic Four, and Jean Luc-Picard, all watched cheesy movies and made fun of them.

He knows the frequency, Kenneth: he's the Thing, and with him around, it's always clobbering time. And now you know...another reason why Ben Grimm totally rocks.

Ten Fictional Places I Would Like to Live Someday

10. Springfield, USA
9. Freedonia
8. Lake Wobegon, Minnesota
7. The Duchy of Grand Fenwick
6. Melonville
5. Blandings Castle
4. Opal City, Maryland
3. Big Rock Candy Mountain
2. Stars Hollow, Connecticut
1. Los Angeles, California

Ben Grimm totally rocks! Reason #6

Why does Ben Grimm totally rock?



6. His classic mid-Sixties animated show, predating Martha Stewart by decades, in which he gave decorating and design tips and showed you how to hang draperies for maximum light throughout even the darkest and dankest of rooms.

He's the star of stage, screen, and Marvel Two-in-One, the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing, idol of millions. And now you know...another reason why Ben Grimm totally rocks.

A lethargic, lazy, turkey-and-gravy-stuffed comics review

Boy, am I full.

I am lying on the couch stuffed with turkey and dressing and cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie and about all I can do it read this week's comics and tell you whether or not they are fun. I am too full for running around in Prospect Park playing touch football. I am too full to go early Christmas shopping on Black Friday and get all the bargains by heading out to the stores that are opening at 2:30 AM to allow you to save 1.5% on a liquid plasma television set. I am even too full to get up and change the channel so I am stuck watching the Thanksgiving weekend The Apprentice marathon.

How full am I? Well, when I say I'm a little stuffed bull, I really am a little stuffed bull! Tee hee!

Ow. My stomach hurts from giggling. Will someone please bring me an Alka-Seltzer? In the meantime, let's look at some comics.

SHE-HULK #2: This comic is fun. Look, I just like time-paradox stories, okay? So the fact that I didn't understand a lot of what was really going on in this issue but still enjoyed the heck out of it is a plus. One of my favorite bits was Hawkeye not understanding that everyone knows he died in AVENGERS #502 (not a fun comic). Plus, Awesome Andy is on a secret mission? Could this possibly lead into next month's thrilling SHE-HULK #100 comic? (Answer: I dunno, but I betcha!) Anyway, good fun, both silly and serious in this book. Points off for the dopey looking Greg Horn painted cover...it just doesn't tell you what a wild fun ride the comic is, and gee, I should never have to think about Hawkeye's lips, but holy cow, there they are! Aieeeeeeeee! Hawkeye’s scary lips!


FUTURAMA #22: This comic is fun. Top of my list of "Comics I Like That Are Based on Cancelled TV Shows I Used to Like" (at least until they produce a Magnum, P.I. comic. Huh, Marvel? Huh? Huh?) Anyway, you know how you can sum up most episodes of some TV shows with a single generic TV Guide listing? (Like this: COLUMBO: Columbo investigates the perfect murder. Or SMALLVILLE: A Kryptonite-powered teen villain threatens Clark's secret. Or GILMORE GIRLS: Lorelai has an argument with Emily and then everyone talks really really fast about pop culture references.) Well, then there's this one: FUTURAMA: Bender's latest money-making scheme goes awry and nearly kills Fry. But even if it's predictable, how can you not love a comic that includes Bender dressing up as Amy, President Nixon losing his jowl fat, and the Caption-Bot? It's all tied into a story with Bender becoming New New York's fitness czar and Fry greasing the transportations tubes of the city with delicious, delicious bacon fat. The creative comic at Bongo have the most important aspect of a successful TV-to-comics adaptation: the characters sound absolutely authentic; you can actually hear John DiMaggio as Bender when he declares on page 19: "Sure thing, right after I do my nightly roll in the money I've made today!'" All this, and a Superman crossover...really! If this doesn't sound fun to you...well...boo on you!


ZATANNA #4: This comic is fun. I'm not allowed to read every issue of Seven Soldiers (John, why can't I look at BULLETEER #1? Huh? Huh? Huh?) but those I have seen I've like a lot, even if I don't quite understand them...at least until I read all of 'em in one big Seven Soliders marathon festival. In this issue, Zee's quest for the Seven Unknown Men takes her into a magical battle that, like everything Mister Grant Morrison does, builds on traditional comic book cliché but takes them spinning off into his own hyper-nano-po-mo direction, so you can see touches of Steve Ditko and Gene Colan and Carmine Infantino and Mike Sekowsky in Ryan Sook's art, but it's orig'nal and fresh and keeps you (well, me, at least) guessing through the whole story. And ZATANNA #4 gets extra points for The Best Line of the Week (maybe even the year!): "It's a magnificent beard and I know you want one! Hahahaha!" There’re a very sweet few panels where Zatanna's father explains to her that his legacy to the world was not his spells or his magic books: it was his daughter. (sniff) Also, it is extra fun reading her backwards dialogue. And um...fishnets. They make me feel funny. But nice. That's why ZATANNA #4 is the most fun comic of the week!


Okay! Now I'm ready for leftover stuffing and pie! Just mash 'em up in a big bowl and bring me a spoon. Yay for leftovers!

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

A Thanksgiving Pageant by Bully, starring Bully (me!) and my kid sister Marshall:

(BULLY and MARSHALL enter the living room. BULLY is dressed like a pilgrim, including that belt-buckle hat. MARSHALL is dressed like an Indian Native American. Everyone APPLAUDS.)

MARSHALL: Hello Pilgrims. Would you like to come over for dinner today?
BULLY: Yes please. Thank you. Will there be corn?
MARSHALL: We call it maize.
(BOTH turn to audience and bow. Everyone APPLAUDS. Exeunt.)

Thanksgiving 2005: Ten things (give or take a few) that I am thankful for.

John!

---

Superman and Batman!

---

Marshall!

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Jack Kirby!

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Cereal!

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Jones Turkey and Gravy Soda!

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Star Wars Action Figures!

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Rory Gilmore!

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Gus!

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And...
You! For reading my blog!

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Was it worth it?

So, I know what you're thinkin'. You're thinkin' was it worth it, little stuffed bull?...Was it worth it?

Heck yeah. It was worth it.

But first...

SIMPSONS #112: This comic is fun. At last, a Simpsons comic that is more than just sorta fun...it's actual full-out real fun! It's a comics sequel to one of my favorite episodes, "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" and features three stories based on the Simpsons spin-off series from that show. My favorite in the TV show and in the comic was "Chief Wiggum, P.I." ("Look! he's slowly getting away!"), but the other two were good fun as well. And hey, a guest appearance by Susan Dey and Gary Busey! Still not convinced? Not enough to tickle your funny bone? How about the sudden reappearance of long-absent but always-loved Troy McClure, who you may remember from such comics as "Troy McClure's Comics and Stories" and "All-Star Troy-Man and Troy-Boy-The-Boy-Wonder." (Sniff. You're missed, Phil Hartman.)


BATMAN & THE MONSTER MEN #1: This comic is fun...sorta. Wow! Best Batman cover in a long time! Creepy and cool. (But that sure is a big moon, Mister Wagner.) It's kinda a big shock after that cover to have the first word in the book be a swear word! Just to remind you: I am allowed to read comic books with some swear words in. An' it doesn't say "For Mature Audiences Only!" on the cover in big red letters, does it? (Checks and sees.) Nope! No, it does not. Still, that is not the first word I expected in a Batman comic book. It's a little too inspired in tone and format by Batman: Year One (not that there's anything wrong with that) but the plot seems promising enough: early in his career, Batman's facing off against the Mob (hey! isn't that a little like Batman: The Long Halloween?) but some monsters are very likely 'right 'round the corner 'cause yay! There's Professor Hugo Strange! You gotta love Professor Huge Strange. I wonder if he is Doctor Strange's brother. Anyway, there was one thing missing from most of this Batman story: Batman! He's only on five pages of the whole story! Yes, I'm aware that this is just the first chapter and I know there will be plenty of Batman coming later. But there were even whole rows of pages in which Bruce Wayne didn't appear. And then...oh no, can it be...pages of Batman's girlfriend in her underwear??!? Well, sorta. It looks like she got tired when visiting Bruce and Bruce let her sleep over. That was nice of him! The story is all well and good but that's not what I buy a Batman comic book for. Still, fantastic art. I might peek at the second issue to see if there is more swearing and kissy-kissy stuff first, though.


RUNAWAYS #10: This comic is fun...sorta. Here's a little riddle: what do the original X-Men, the Micronauts, and the Runaways have in common? Give up? Give up yet? The answer is: when they first appeared in their very first issue #1 of each comic, they were a team of heroes, none of which had ever been seen before. So you might assume, as I did when I first read John's old copies of Micronauts, that maybe this didn't take place in the Marvel Universe, so maybe we wouldn't get any cross-overs that would make it more confusing and tied-down to Marvel events and...whoops! There's Man-Thing! And Ant-Man! And the X-Men! Oh well! Anyway, it'll take a lot to make Runaways not fun to me, but plopping them down firmly in the Marvel Universe is one sure step. I really think this was a mistake not only in terms of making the story more reliant on Marvel Universe events (for example: will Molly of Runaways lose her powers after House of M?) but it also makes it a little less accessible to new readers. A book like Runaways is ideal to target to teens and pre-teens who like manga: the storyline of kids whose parents turn out to be evil villains is something any kid would enjoy, huh? But start tying it into the Marvel Universe: Ultron is one of the kid's fathers, ex-New Warriors and Power Packers show up, and Cloak and Dagger become regular cast members...well, that's jus' plain confusing for the casual reader. Don't get me wrong: I loves me some Marvel Universe. But I don't think every book they publish has to be set smack-dab in the middle of Marvel crossover land. (That said, without the Marvel Universe you couldn't get my entry for a new feature in my weekly comics reviews: The Best Line of the Week, this time spoken by Iron Man as he comes across Wolverine on a rooftop: "A Wolverine appearance? How novel." Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!)


BANANA SUNDAY #4: This comic is fun. Oh, I love this comic, and in any normal week, it would easily win most fun comic of the week. The monkeys are funny, the girls are cute, the mystery is cool, the mythology is surprising (John was close but no cigar on what the monkeys represented when he guessed what they were in issue #1!), and the dialogue is just plain wonderful. (As Go-Go, the Sensational Character Find of 2005, says: "I like to have all the muffins!") Mister Nibot and Miss Coover, please please please please make more Banana Sunday comics! I will buy them all (unless Jim Lee draws them). Thank you.


FANTASTIC FOUR #532: This comic is not fun. This is the end to the storyline I like to call "The Cosmic Rays Are Intelligent But Are They As Interesting As Galactus? No, They Are Not." Reed learns a lot about the secrets of the universe but apparently mostly just how to get home and get in bed with his wife. Maybe they were both very tired. (Wow, that seems to be happening a lot this week in comics! Maybe all these superheroes should take some more vitamins.) A lot of the subplots are wrapped up pretty quick and I'd forgotten about most of them anyway. Some of the funny and fun stuff happening with my per'sonal hero, Ben Grimm, kinda spirals down the drain on the last page, maybe just serving as a set-up to the new THING comic book. And since the story is mostly about Reed, why is Johnny on the front cover? I figure I gave Mister J. Michael Straczynski (I don't even feel like making a joke about how to pronounce his name anymore!) enough time. Now that this story is finished, I'll prob'bly drop FF from my monthly comics shopping list and maybe peek in on the next storyline when or if it's collected in trade. It jus' isn't fun enough for me. And when "The World's Greatest Comics Magazine" isn't fun enough for me, well, that's 30 dimes I can save and spend instead on...


ALL STAR SUPERMAN #1: This comic is fun. Wait, that doesn't do it justice. Let me repeat it with the aid of excessive, needless HTML:

This comic is fun!

I mean, like wow. I know I first read this comic in the aftermath of a total fever dream but it was everything I hoped that All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder wasn't: a wild, modern, tossed-into-the-action storyline that starts out with out of the single greatest retellings of Kal-El's origins in eight words and ends with some spilled oranges. It's got modern-as-nanotechnology elements and classic-as-Christopher Reeve character portrayals. It doesn't insult my little stuffed brain by spelling things out, but everything is there on the page for you to put together (why is Clark stumbling in a crosswalk? Why is the villain talking like Lex Luthor?)—that makes it a truly rare modern comic that actually rewards re-reading. It's Superman, all right, but it looks different (thanks, Mister Quitely!), it feels different, and golly, is sure is different from any other Superman comic on the stands now because it doesn't forget that first and foremost, Comics Oughta Be Fun. This one's not goin' in the longbox—it's going on the shelf so I can read it again and again. Is there any doubt in your mind that All Star Superman gets the award as the most fun comic of the week?


Golly! I'm so excited for All Star Superman #2 to come out next month that I bet I will hardly sleep tonight!

Yawnnnnnnn...stretch...

Oh.

Oh.

Oh...poop.

SUNNNNN IS COMINGGG UP

HEre c iomeez the sunn! IT IS MORNINGGG YAYYY

NOW WE CAN GO TO THE COM IC BOOLK STORR. WAKE UP JOHN TIME TO GO TGO COMIC BOOK STORR WAKEM UP WAKE UP ITS MORNING

I NEED SUPPERMAN COMIC PLEESE

I wanananNA REad SUPERMAAN COMIC THEN I CVAN GO N STLEEP OKAy

zzzzzzzzzzzz

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

the uyahsg iis ghjhlm, hy,.

uthags ;'berao hgy7 rta lo, nab. ahayte hagiuah y. YAGhn
SUPERMANNNNNNNNNnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

u7ujjmm,,

gegurghghh

t8eoo

I WANNA GO SLEEEEEp

I CANT FINDD ANY MORE

WE ARE OUT OF HERSHEES SYURUIP AND I CANNOT F UIND ANY MORE!!!! GRRRR WHEREDO YOU THINK CAMILLA HAS HIDENE IT! THERE M UST BE MORE AROUND HERE SOMEHWER

click...click...clikc

wooww there is really NUTHING good on tv at threee in thje mornjing.

reading: it puts you to sleep. NOT

at least that is what everyubody says. I have read all of showcase presents: superman and i'm now halfway into superman for all seasons. and i am not at all tired. i wish it would be mornin galready.

PS: Choclate milk is really really goood.

urghhhhhhhhhh

this isn't working. i can't sleep. maybe i will get up and read for a while.

Nothing at all.

I'm thinking about nothing. Nothing at all. Certainly not anything about Jimmy Olsen or Lex Luthor. Or what they will look like pencilled by the new artist. Quite frankly, Frank Quitely will

!

Oh my gosh! Quite Frankly! I just got it!

Hee hee hee hee hee!

La la la la la la.

..............

I am thinking of nothing at all.

..............

Marshall is snoring.

My baby sister is snoring! She is very very loud. I can't sleep! Grrrrrrrr. Maybe if I close my eyes and try to think of nothing at all I will fall asleep very very fast.

I thought it was later than this!

How can it not even be midnight yet?!?!?

A little later.

This pillow is lumpy. Maybe I should go get another one. And some more chocolate milk.

I can't sleep.

I am wide awake. I can't sleep at all, I'm too excited. Maybe I will have a glass of warm milk. With some Hershey's syrup in it.

Mmmmmm, Hershey's syrup.

I can't wait!

As a very great man once said: "The waiting is the hardest part." And I can't wait until tomorrow. Why? Is it Christmas? Is it Arbor Day? No! Tomorrow is going to be the best day ever! Why?

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's All-Star Superman arrives in comic book stores!

Now, I should know better than to get all worked up and excited until this actually happens. You may remember that I have been disappointed before while waiting for an All-Star comic book. But that was Frank Miller. And Jim Lee. Come to think of it, I really sorta should have seen that one coming, shouldn't I have! But this is Grant Morrison. And Frank Quitely. And, gosh darn it, it's Superman. If this isn't the best comic ever, I don't know what will be!

Gosh, I'm so excited! John once told me that there was one night years and years ago when he was so excited to get Uncanny X-Men #138 the next day at the comic book store that he could hardly sleep. (And that was in the days when there was only one X-Men comic! I know, it seems like a bazillion years ago!)

I am going to bed now so when I wake up it will be time to go get All-Star Superman! Yayyyyy!

Bully's Book Club: The Unofficial LEGO Builder's Guide

If you know anything at all about me, you should know that I love Lego®! (Don't forget: a true Lego fan always refers to them as "Lego"...not "Legos.") Lego are...er, Lego is my favorite toy. I have lotsa keen Lego sets and there are Lego bricks all over the place so I can play with them any time I want. They are the perfect toy! They snap together to form anything! Anything, I tell you: ANYTHING! I am pretty good at building things from Lego but as we all know, you can never know too much about your interests! That's why I highly recommend The Unofficial Lego Builder's Guide!

Now don't get me wrong. This is no book full of patterns and projects of robots and planes that you can build if you follow the instructions and have the right Lego pieces. Oh no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no, no. There are plenty of books like that and those are just fine. But this one is the single best reference I've read to understanding how to create successful and sturdy and most of all cool Lego models! It shows you the tips and techniques to create a structure that's not going to fall apart on you by learning how bracing works, how to use the pieces you have to approximate pieces you don't have (I never have enough archways and now I know how to create them out of small loose bricks!), and how to plan what you're going to build and turning your ideas into cool Lego constructs! I'd go as far to say that this is no mere Lego instruction book: it's actually the Zen of Lego.. Buy it, study it, and you will become master of your own domain...Lego domain, that is!

There's lots of advanced Lego hobbyist's hints and suggestions in here as well: how to create a dedicated area to work on your Lego (not a problem for me; I just dump mine on the living room floor and work on the rug, at least until Gus the Cat comes along and knocks things over and wants to lie on them. Bad Gus! Bad bad!), how to store your Lego, how to make tools to help you build and take apart your creations, and the proverbial much, much more!

There's even a neat section that catalogues most regular Lego pieces, gives a little history behind them and tells you whether they're rare or not. The only thing that would have made this section even more cool was if there was a pull-out card that I could take to the Lego Store as a shopping list to remind me what pieces I want to buy!

Finally, the author has a super-cool website and a very interesting blog in which he addresses more questions about Lego. Man, I never thought I'd see someone more obsessed with Lego than me, but this Allan Bedford guy certainly appears to be! (I just hope he didn't swallow a Lego piece once because it looked like yummy, yummy candy. I learned not to do that the hard way!)

So, to conclude, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of The Unofficial Lego Builder's Guide. It has taught me to understand about Lego mechanics and structures more than I ever thought possible, and it's inspired me to sit down and plan out my models ahead of time so they hold together properly and look professional. In the past I would always get too excited about playing with Lego and my models would get away from me. Not any more! This is the new Lego-master Bully at work! This I swear to you, world: Every one of my Lego models from this point onwards will be elegant and professional and will inspire awe and fear in mankind! You will not defeat me anymore, Lego!




Awwwwwwwwwwwww...poop.

Ben Grimm totally rocks! Reason #5

Why does Ben Grimm totally rock?



5. He knows that in this day and age of multiple Yellow Pages books, the smart consumer compacts the information into a single resource.

He's the tough guy from Yancy Street, the man who's bigger and boulder. And now you know...another reason why Ben Grimm totally rocks.