BilmBlog500

The first two issues of the J. Michael Straczynski run in Superman were interesting, but not entirely convincing.  #703 starts to move things into a higher gear, and I liked it quite a bit. The first two issues showed us a Superman walking the back streets of America, one might say to find his zen. In this issue Batman comes by to tell Superman why we don't see superheroes doing this. When a Superman is out with the real people there's too much danger of them becoming collateral damage. It's an interesting argument, one which might have seemed out of place in the more innocent days of the "relevant" Green Arrow series. Certainly an argument intentionally not scene in the prior two issues. Simultaneously there is Kryptonite arriving on Earth, only this type effects us instead of the Kryptonian. While it lasts people want to attack Superman and have a Superman power. So you can see where its going.  Regular Joe under the influence attacks Superman and there is lots ...

Once upon a time DC Comics had a Superman team-up book called DC Comics Presents, a companion to The Brave and the Bold that was a long-running Batman team-up book.  They like the title, so they trot out the title every now and again to keep it nicely trademarked. The current trotting out is a series of reprint books, and I decided to sample a Green Lamtern volume with four issues from 2001 written by Judd Winick.  Solid entertainment. The first of the reprinted issues was a minor landmark because it had a supporting character come out as gay. Preachy, no. But very much a best case scenario, the coming out process should go so well for everyone. [down the road a bit the character became the victim of a gay-bashing] The next two issues are a little preachier but surprisingly relevant today, as Green Lantern goes to a planet trying to emerge from a long civil war, but the extremists win. GL heads for home, mission not accomplished, which is not the traditional way in comic books. Why sho...

The DC Universe Halloween Special for 2010 demonstrates the anthologist's creed, to put your best feet at the forward and tail ends of an anthology. Billy Tucci both writes and draws the opening story, Trick for the Scarecrow, but special kudos to colorist Hi-Fi. There's a nice and very Halloweeny orange and yellow color scheme that sets the story apart from the dominant tones of 99% of what we see in comics, and works even around the very blue and gray Batman. I'm not entirely sure I understood the story, but it was intriguing and nice to look at.  Brian Keene wrote Fears of Steel with Superman encountering The Demon.  I didn't understand this one either, nor could I say that the depiction of The Demon was The Demon I knew, but the art had panache and the story seemed to reflect an artistic vision of sorts. The other few stories in between these made no impression at all. I can kind of recommend House of Mystery Halloween Annual #2.  There's a nifty main story in t...

I bailed out of DC's Brightest Day after a promising first issue, but now a few months later I find myself bailing back in.  I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Firestorm and he's taking on a primary role in the series, so...  And considering I haven't been reading the series issues #11 and 12 cohere well enough that I shall buy another issue instead of re-bailing out.  But what are they doing with the covers?  They match so poorly I think the cover of #12 should've been on #11. Maybe because this is biweekly, two issues a month and ads sold to run in one issue of each book over the course of a month, the second issue in a month is filled with house ads. #12 has multiple ads ballyhooing the new lineup of Batman titles. And I find not a single one of them which I have even the slightest interest in reading. This is not good, whole year storyline leading up to this relaunch and instead of ending up someplace that would broaden the appeal of one of the primary DC ...

It's extremely rare to get to the end of a movie and be left wanting more, but that's how I felt at the end of The Social Network, the extremely delightful film directed by David Fincher, with a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin based on The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich. I wanted more. I was so delighted by the music, by the writing, by the performances, by the unobtrusive craft in every frame and every minute, by the true drama still made with enough wit that I found more laughs here than in many an alleged comedy I had seen, that when we got to the end and I realized we were at the end that I deflated a bit that there wasn't going to be another hour I could be entertained. This movie is good. It is good, good, good, it is Empire Strikes Back good because that's about how rarely it comes along that I am Not Happy that I will have to leave a movie behind. Jerry Maguire, maybe, or Bull Durham, there just aren't too many movies I can think of over the past 30 year...

Fact: George W. Bush signed and enthusiastically supported a bill to raise all of our taxes in 2011. Living people, dead people, working people, unemployed people, rich people, poor people. And this bill was supported by, like, every Republican in the US Congress at the time. So why can't the Democrats just start talking about how "my opponent voted for/supported/supports the Republican Tax Increase of 2011. I voted against/was opposed to the Republican Tax Increase of 2011. And in fact, I support the legislation President Obama has introduced to stop the Republican Tax Increase of 2011 and to give every American a tax cut. My opponent doesn't support this bill, he's trying to stop it." If a Democrat is asked about the "Bush tax cuts," why can't he respond "yes, you're asking about the Republican Tax Increase of 2011. My opponent voted for/supported..." Everything I've stated here is true. Even the richest people in the wor...

So a few weeks ago I posted an ode to Australian Rules Football, which you can enjoy here . I've now been introduced to one of the, um, odder customs in the sport. I happened on, rather by accident, the wonderful news that ESPN Classic was doing live coverage of this year's Grand Final. Among the participants, the St. Kilda Saints, whom I'd seen in person win a controversial upset victory during the first round of the playoff series three weeks ago. Well, great game. The Saints fell behind pretty badly in the second quarter, but slowly and steadily made their way back in the second half, and then they go ahead by a goal late in the 4th quarter, fall behind by one point, get that one point back, and we end regulation time dead even at 68-68. Well, imagine if it's game 7 of the World Series, the game is tied 4-4 at the end of 9 innings, and Bud Selig comes on the field to say it's such a great game that we're going to come back tomorrow and play another one. Yo...