Focused Totality

Focused No More ...

2007-02-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

I think it's time to sling my duffel over my shoulder and walk away.

It's obvious to anyone reading that the quality and frequency here has declined in a steady slope since this past summer. A lot has to do with general workload here at Casa Fossen, but that's not the real reason I'm closing up shop.

My original intent was to have an outlet for honing my writing. However, as I resumed my theatre career after a near decade-long retirement I realized that my creative passion lies there. Writing was a good substitute, but at the end of the day, it's just that: a substitute. It's not the real thing ... at least not my real thing.

This isn't an angry farewell to the WeboComicsBlogoNet or to the artform. I just need to be "focusing" my energies elsewhere. I've come to thoroughly enjoy this community, and hope that I have contributed something to it. I'll still be lurking around, reading and commenting when and where I can. I'll also be making infrequent contributions to the excellent gaming blog 5WG.

T.G.I.F.: February 23, 2007

2007-02-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

Busiek wins.

Again.

I can't even find a specific image from this wonderful issue, so I simply give you the stunning cover. Want to see superheroes being super? This is the title you want to add after you cull that pull list, as per Mr. Church's suggestions.

From Superman #659 by Busiek, Nicieza, Vale, and Pacheco.

T.G.I.F.: Making Fridays Slightly More Tolerable since August 26, 2005.

52 on 52 #42

2007-02-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

Again, plotlines slowly built over the course of the series suddenly get resolved in a few pages.

It's a bit of slumming, a bit of fulfilling the contract, a bit of "leave your hamster jokes at home, smartboy" ... but Darick Robertson absolutely nails Ralph's look.

How well does a longbow float?

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words. For many more words (and excellent ones at that), check out Douglas Wolk's 52 Pickup.

T.G.I.F.: February 16, 2007

2007-02-16T16:08:00.001-07:00

Excuse the lateness - this Friday was more Friday-ish than most. At least it's basically over. I imagine that were I a nattily attired evolutionary standout, the day would have gone much better.

From Nextwave #12 by Ellis and Immonen.

T.G.I.F.: Making Fridays Slightly More Tolerable since August 26, 2005.

52 on 52 #41

2007-02-15T09:20:00.000-07:00

"What the hell was Wacker letting you people do? We've got 12 issues left! Start wrapping this shit up pronto!"

Why so surprised, Adam? It's a deux ex machina. Surely you've seen one before?

Wouldn't the Valentine's Day issue have been a good time to touch base with the weird-on-many-levels Nightwing/Batwoman relationship?

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words. For many more words (and excellent ones at that), check out Douglas Wolk's 52 Pickup.

This Week's Releases: February 14, 2007

2007-02-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

Goodbye, Nextwave. Thanks for all the T.G.I.F.s.

When I hit 2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics, I'll be sad to see this delicious brew of Ellis-Immonen madness come to a close.

Casanova, Godland, Manhunter, Astonishing X-Men and Thunderbolts should take off some of the sting, I figure.

52 #41
Batman #663
Gen 13 #5
JLA Classified #34
Justice Society Of America #3
Manhunter #28
Stormwatch: PHD #4
Casanova #7
Godland #16
Astonishing X-Men #20
Nextwave: Agents Of HATE #12
Thunderbolts #111

Focused Linkblogging

2007-02-12T15:28:00.000-07:00

Hey! Look! It's a bus! Let's throw Adam Kubert under it! I'm all for informing the readers, but pointing fingers to appease forum denizens seems .... unseemly.

Elk's Run will be finished soon, so where can one go to find creepy tales of gnawing suburban dread? One could go to Three Rivers, the new story from Joshua Hale Fialkov and Noel Tuazon. The prospect of more from the Elk's Run team warms the cockles of my cold, cold heart and may be the tipping point that pushes me into reading webcomics. Josh says it's a secret ... so don't tell him I told you, OK?

I really feel a Focused Linkblogging post needs at least three items, but I can't find a third.

Focused Linkblogging

2007-02-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

You read the last 52. You were told by wise and knowledgeable men that the title was an allusion to a song. You wanted to hear that very song. I provide.

"Mark," you ask, "tell me: what is the fine line between wit and bile? Between snark and spew? Between mocking and ranting?"

"Grasshopper," I answer, "direct your gaze here, and learn."

ComicMix has actually opened now, but quickly becomes another site I won't read unless someone links me there. Why? Three simple letters: RSS. There's no feed I can find, and the FAQ makes it pretty clear that none's in the works: "How can I find out when there's something new on ComicMix? You can check in regularly. We have new content every day, several times a day -- new comics, new columns, new blogs, and new news." I like the idea behind the site, and want to see Elayne writing about comics again ... but not enough to check in every day.

T.G.I.F.: February 9, 2007

2007-02-09T09:15:00.000-07:00

Secret.

Freakin'.

Codes.

And decoder ~~rings~~ websites!

T.G.I.F.: Making Fridays Slightly More Tolerable since August 26, 2005.

52 on 52 #40

2007-02-07T16:47:00.000-07:00

Like I said 31 weeks ago, standard superheroics are simply too decompressed to fit in 52. Though an enjoyable enough fight comic, this failed miserably as an issue of 52.

I do get the reference.

"Nancies" still paints Gar as a homophobic bully.

We get this cliffhanger, then three weeks of nothing?

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words. For many more words (and excellent ones at that), check out Douglas Wolk's 52 Pickup.

This Week's Releases: February 7, 2007

2007-02-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

I have no interest whatsoever in Dark Tower.

There ... that's out in the open. I feel better.

There's so much other great stuff happening. Aside from a weirdly manufactured hype event, this Wednesday's comics look to be as good a crop as 2007 has seen. 2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics isn't having one of those midnight openings ... but I kinda wish they were.

I'm not alone amongst bloggers by saying that Shazam: The Monster Society Of Evil (a.k.a. All-Star Captain Marvel) is at the top of my list. I'm a bit selfish on that one, though: I know I won't be scrambling for a TGIF this week. But there's seas of cool stuff beyond that: Action Comics Annual, Astro City, Fell, Cthulhu Tales ... and more. This is one of those weeks where it's really worth the trip.

52 #40
Action Comics Annual #10
Astro City: The Dark Age Book 2 #2
Detective Comics #828
Midnighter #4
Shazam: The Monster Society Of Evil #1
Welcome To Tranquility #3
Fell #7
Fantastic Four: The End #5
Incredible Hulk #103
New Avengers #27
newuniversal #3
Uncanny X-Men #483
X-Men Annual #1
Cthulhu Tales: Rising

Maintenance

2007-02-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

Who cleans up after Dr. Sivana?

The Maintenance guys, that's who.

I received a preview pack of the first two issues of Oni's Maintenance, by Jim Massey and Robbi Rodriguez. It's one of the perks of being a blogger: people send you stuff that you never would have bought otherwise, and you like it. I'm not much of a sitcom watcher - I think the last sitcom I watched was The Office on BBC America - and Maintenance is nothing if not sitcom. In an underground lab for scientists who are both evil and mad, Doug and Manny are the janitorial crew, cleaning up fetid piles of shit and freeing zombie kittens from the inside of vending machines.

It's funny, it's charming, and it has a wit that moves past pop-culture reference pretty quickly. I laughed out loud reading it, and immediately grew attached to the characters. Rodriguez lays out the pages well, and tackles all the weird creations the script throws his way.

The one big drawback here can probably be chalked up to the ol' comics bogeyman know as "economics". Maintenance is published in black and white with grey tones, but really sreams for a full-color treatment. The mad lab of scientists, aliens and sharkmen just doesn't have the visual punch it ought to. I understand that color's expensive ... but how many more copies does Maintenance sell if it's in full color, allowing it to become the mad Adult Swim title it is at heart?

The second issue hits stores tomorrow (February 7th), and is another solid lark: cavemen, Segways, and time travel.

T.G.I.F.: February 2, 2007

2007-02-02T10:34:00.000-07:00

Would you like to send your own postcard?

Do so at the Postcards website, and spread the T.G.I.F.-ness.

You could even do it on Monday, if you insist.

(Look at that freakin' lineup!)

T.G.I.F.: Making Fridays Slightly More Tolerable since August 26, 2005.

52 on 52 #39

2007-02-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

I know how that goes. I can't remember what happened to you either.

Beard Hunter, where art thou?

Pleeease keep the Metal Men action figure sized!

In a classic 52 "Clue Or Typo" moment, we go backwards from "Day 6" in Khandaq to "Day 5" for Lex's storyline.

No. You're Power Girl.

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words. For many more words (and excellent ones at that), check out Douglas Wolk's 52 Pickup.

This Week's Releases: January 31, 2007

2007-01-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

I missed the New Releases post last week. I'm sure you shed a tear.

I did head to 2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics last week, even if I didn't post about my shopping list. I'll be going again this week, buying comics of various sorts.

It's a light week, and the thing I'm most looking forward to is a trade paperback: Doom Patrol: Magic Bus. (I'll probably be an ass and buy it online at a discount, though. Sorry, Night Flight.) I used to have a complete set of Morrison's run on the title, and am glad DC's easing the sting of my eBay cashout. I also used to own Flex Mentallo ... any help with that sting, DC?

Deathblow is really, really unexpectedly good and unpredictable. "Titans East" begins in this week's Teen Titans, so I suppose the Batgirl complaints can become official.

Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham Crisis is the classic comics conundrum: does the art of Mike Wieringo, Mike Allred, John Severin, Jim Mahfood and others outweigh my intense dislike of JMS' comics writing?

52 #39
Deathblow #3
Doom Patrol: Magic Bus TP
JLA Classified #33
Teen Titans #43
Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham Crisis #1
Ultimate Fantastic Four #38
X-Men #195

Focused Linkblogging

2007-01-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

Everyone is bitching and moaning about DC's teaser image. Personally. I'm excited. This looks like a big ol' "Hello-o-o-o-o, Multiverse!", especially the wonder of Pirate Batman. For me, the drug that draws me back to DC comics is The Big Idea: Multiverses, New Gods, and Pirate Batmen. Wild sci-fi fueled space opera is the order of the day when DC's working right ... not conspiracy and rape and betrayal. Leave the soap opera to Marvel - their characters are designed for it. What I want is Gardner Fox and Julie Schwartz filtered through Mark Waid, Kurt Busiek, and Grant Morrison.
- I realize there are corpses littering the ground, but those are all literally in the past. Hopefully they will stay there.
- Re: Emo Superman. It's a dramatic shortcut. Want to show how devastating something is? Show it through your most powerful character. It's not rocket science.

Attention DC: Hand Alice the keys now. She's your Designated Driver.
- As Kevin suggests, package it with Rivkah's Batgirl and Tintin Pantoja's Wonder Woman.
- Please refrain from calling said collection Sexy Chix or Super Girls! or Eeek! Cooties! the like. How about calling it Good Comics By Talented Creators?

Attention Joshua Hale Fialkov: You're an asshole. Making me buy Vampirella? What is it with you people? I've bought her for Morrison, Millar, Busiek, Carey ... and now Fialkov. You're all assholes.
- Though Postcards, Elk's Run and FCBD Punks makes up for it.
- Kinda.

Attention Blogosphere: Civil War's a bloated mess and DC's spinning up another crossover event. That said: please shut the fuck up about what you don't like, and tell me what you do. At this point, the only thing more drawn out than Civil War is the bitching about it. Maybe I'm just cranky, but it all seems so negative these days.

T.G.I.F.: January 26, 2007

2007-01-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

You come here for happiness, and I give you an advertisement. Sometimes, that's just the way it is.

Posting's been even sparser than sparse this past week. I've been quite busy in rehearsals for This Mortal Coil at SB Dance. Here's some info from The Salt Lake City Weekly and The Salt Lake Tribune.

Anyways, we open tonight, and that's a good feeling.

T.G.I.F.: Making Fridays Slightly More Tolerable since August 26, 2005.

52 on 52 #38

2007-01-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

Paging Dr. Scott.

They just lost track of Yuurd The Unknown, Titan of The Age Of Hunger?

(Any chance he snuck out disguised as a certain spheroid robot with a newly acquired appetite for Waveriders and Phantom Zones?)

Vegas puts Natasha's lifespan at three weeks.

I'd take the Under on that action.

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words. For many more words (and excellent ones at that), check out Douglas Wolk's 52 Pickup.

T.G.I.F.: January 19, 2007

2007-01-19T12:25:00.000-07:00

I didn't post this in this week's 52 on 52, fearful of it's spoileriffic nature. As I debated if a few days had ameliorated the spoilerosity contained, I realized I simply can't ignore it as the single image this week that made me sit up and take notice.

From 52 #37 by Johns, Morrison, Rucka, Waid, Giffen and Pat Oliffe.

T.G.I.F.: Making Fridays Slightly More Tolerable since August 26, 2005.

Focused Linkblogging

2007-01-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

Though it's not the tempting edition that Eddie Campbell hints is coming, I bit the bullet on the new Top Shelf edition of From Hell. I even splurged on the limited edition hardcover, and it's worth the extra pennies. This is simply a gorgeous edition, with a cover sans dust-jacket: the artwork is printed directly (and beautifully) on the cover. I had carefully amassed a run of the issues at some point, but lent them to a friend who promptly moved thousands of miles away - absconding with my hard-won eBay victory. While I wouldn't use the word "favorite" to describe this harrowing book, I personally think it's Moore's best work. In fact, I think that "Chapter 10: The Best Of All Tailors" is one of the great achievements in all of comics. This is something I want to have a permanent copy of, and this new edition will do nicely ... at least until 2008.

Tim O'Neil takes 52 to task for being Big Event Fan Service Comics. I'm looking forward to future installments in this series: "24 has too many explosions" and "American Idol doesn't feature enough Arnold Schoenberg".

You're all following 365 Reasons To Love Comics, right?

The shame about these World War III one-shots is that they spoil the symmetry and structure of 52. And they present me with a quandry: are these part of 52 on 52? maybe I do a "Three on World War III"?

The minute I saw the "secret message" in the DC Nation, I thought that it would be fun to decipher. I'm interested in pre-computer cryptography, and this would be a fun exercise. Then I realized that it'd be pointless, as the Intarwub would provide me an answer before I got home. I'm glad I didn't waste my time. Every third word? How frackin' inelegant. I suppose "5 - 2 = 3", but still ... Read, and be spoiled.

52 on 52 #37

2007-01-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

Another cover that spoils the reveal inside.

Was anyone really surprised, though? J.G. Jones calls the Week 15 cover an "obtuse clue".

Looked like a neon sign to me.

How many Animal Man trades will this last page sell?

At least three, says my receipt.

Great timing on that origin story, DC.

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words. For many more words (and excellent ones at that), check out Douglas Wolk's 52 Pickup.

This Week's Releases: January 16, 2007

2007-01-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

It'll be a damn light week for me at 2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics, and half this meager list is populated with items of dubious desire. Were it not for the demands of 52 on 52, I doubt I'd make the horrific drive this week. After all, I have lines to learnin'.

The ebbs and flows of comic product fascinate me. While I understand it's seasonal, my budget is not. I have about $X a month/week to spend on comicbookery. If there's more stuff than I can afford it just doesn't get bought. If there's not enough to meet the budget ... it often gets spent elsewhere.

I was hyped to read Emperor Joker, until Kevin burst my bubble. Fantastic FOur is almost a pity vote: I'm always willing to give Dwayme McDuffie a chance, and without this book I'd simply be skipping Marvel entirely this week. Star Trek I assume would be unremarkable at best, but hits a sweet spot of series affection for me. Battlestar Galactica has been a disappointment, yet I keep buying with the hope that it'll turn into the kind of brilliance the TV series displays weekly. I keep buying Green Lantern with the hope that ... you caught me: I am a victim of character inertia.

It would all leave me feeling quite listless until I realize that there's also some more yummy Darwyn Cooke Spirit, Dans Slott and Jurgens on JLA Classified, and AiT/PlanetLar's First Moon. Larry Young was kind enough to send along a PDF of the book, and I overcame my comics-on-screen revulsion long enough to read the first few pages and get instantly hooked. Berkeley, Werewolves, Roanoke, and Continuity's Jason McNamara and Tony Talbert will do that to a guy. I didn't read it fully, as I need my comics printed on dead trees instead of phosphors ... but I'm excited to read the rest tomorrow.

52 #37
Green Lantern #16
JLA Classified #32
Spirit #2
Superman: Emperor Joker
Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Space Between #1
Fantastic Four #542
First Moon $12.95
Battlestar Galactica #5

T.G.I.F.: January 12, 2007

2007-01-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

Slipped in among "All-American powerhouse", "Kryptonian survivor from a parallel universe", and "The third smartest man in the world" ... this made me laugh.

"Laugh" isn't something I usually associate with a Geoff Johns book.

From Justice Society Of America #2 by geoff Johns and Dale Eaglesham.

T.G.I.F.: Making Fridays Slightly More Tolerable since August 26, 2005.

52 on 52 #36

2007-01-10T17:38:00.000-07:00

Buddy deserves better than a non sequitur cribbed from Doctor Who and "Death By Confusing Battle."

Montoya finally read some of the blogs pointing out there's a guy who can cure cancer in Nanda Parbat?

Hooking Supernova back into the Skeets storyline re-convinces me that he's either Booster or his time-lost ancestor.

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words. For many more words (and excellent ones at that), check out Douglas Wolk's 52 Pickup.

A Token For Mike

2007-01-09T15:07:00.000-07:00

This was my drive last Thursday as I went to pick up comics, an hour of it each way. As I drove down, only barely keeping control on the slushy and slippery roads, I really questioned my sanity. Shouldn't I find another solution? DCBS or Westfield? Each week, come hell or bad weather, I drive an hour each way to pick up books.

When I finally got out of my car, shaken to my core, I patted myself down to check I had everything: keys, phone, comics list .... wallet. Wallet? Wallet?!?

Yes. I had driven a hazardous hour to buy comics only to find I had no way to actually buy comics. I almost got back in my car, defeated and ready to accept that the books would just have to wait a week. I headed into the store, though, and threw myself on the mercy of Mike. He let me call home for my card number and info, and run things through that way.

And that's why I'm not crazy for doing a weekly round trip that nears two hours. Service counts for something, and Mike's continually excellent service is what keeps me coming back week after week.

Plus ... his name's Mike Justice. That's gotta count for something ...

Thanks, Mike. And thanks 2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics. Thanks for making me drive through sled-dog conditions every week, and being happy for the chance.

This Week's Releases: January 10, 2007

2007-01-08T17:24:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's Wednesday, and there are comics. After weeks of delays caused by holidays and weather and the Pony Express stopping to graze, there's actually a Wednesday with a lot of new books on the shelves of 2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics. I'm not buying many personally ... but in the abstract, it's a welcome return to normalcy.

I know I took my potshot at a major component of Warren Ellis' Thunderbolts run, but I'm still looking forward to it more than any other single book this week. It shows all the possibility of a Ellis Suicide Squad ... and I'd be lining up to buy that one. I'm also interested to see where Justice Society of America and Welcome To Tranquility go in their second issues, and realize that each of these final Vaughan Runaways deserve to be savored.

I'm also really looking forward to more of the Raccoons That Walk As Men that Whilce Portacio brings to Batman Confidential. Other than that, I'm still confused as to what's still arriving from last week's solicits, and what will be missing from this.

52 #36
Batman #662
Batman Confidential #2
Gen 13 #4
Justice Society Of America #2
Stormwatch: PHD #3
Welcome To Tranquility #2
Godland #15
Phonogram #4
Runaways #23
Thunderbolts #110

ScatterThoughts: The Books of January 4

2007-01-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

As if the shock reveal of Civil War: Front Line #10 wasn't idiotic enough, it's not even much of a shock reveal when the cover spoils it. Why bother with a this long, decompressed sequence introducing this new identity when anyone who's looked at the front of the book knows exactly what's going to happen and who it's happening to? It's not like Dorian is spoiling anything that Marvel hasn't. It almost seems like a sick joke to turn this figure of fun into this grim 'n' gritty antihero, and I wonder if this is Ellis' brainchild, a jab at the ultimate pervert suit. I seem to remember that Front Line was originally solicited as a 9 issue miniseries, which now seems to be stretching in length to account for the delays in Civil War. I can't imagine it's been a delight for Paul Jenkins to deal with a shifting target, and the strain is showing as what started as a series of promise has had all its power and urgency sapped as it stretches.

You know what I hate most about Civil War? It's not Clor. It's not Spidey's Big Reveal. It's not The New New Thunderbolts. It's that I'm losing respect for Mark Millar with each passing issue. He was until recently a favorite: Superman Adventures, Aztek, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimates, and other books had put him on my list of writers to follow with no questions asked. Each issue of this poorly conceived-and-executed event has dampened my enthusiasm, and Civil War #6 unloads what may be his worst bit of hackery yet. I won't spoil it for my West Coast compatriots who were not as lucky as I ... but there is a hamfisted plot-hammer incident that exists solely for Spidey to drop a bon mot that has obviously been festering in Millar's mind for years and years. It's abrupt and forced, as if Millar has simply given up stringing any pretense of characterization and plot between his setpieces. I fear Joe Quasada's legacy may turn from the guy who brought indie writers to the mainstream, to the guy who sucked every bit of good writing out of those guys, leaving them shallow husks of their promise. It's clearly happened to Bendis and Millar, and one fears Brubaker and Fraction are next.

No, it didn't hit store shelves last week. And it's a minicomic, which I usually leave to those more experienced in those mysterious, miniriffic ways. But when Joe Infurnari (of Caveman Robot and Borrowed Time fame) sent me his wonderful Mandala, I couldn't help but take notice. It's a fascinating book, less a graphic novel or comic than ... well, than a mandala. It's organized in a curious way, where you read all the right-facing pages then at the end of the book, you work back reading the left-facing pages. In this way, the opposite pages in each spread are not connected narratively, but thematically. It's not a narrative book at all, but an object of meditation and reflection: like a triptych (except I don't know what a 26-tych would be called). All this sounds so .... artsy, I suppose. A 26-part formal exercise that's a meditation on the cycles of birth, life, death, and renewal. Perhaps I should mention the giant fucking robot that is the heart of the story, and how much I throughly enjoy it when Infurnari draws giant fucking robots? Copies and be purchased at JoeInfurnari.com, where a measly $4 gets you a full-color mini, hand-numbered (in an edition of 150) and signed by the artist.

Kurt Busiek wins again. The Busiek/Pacheco Superman is one of the true delights of One Year Later, and this issue puts an exclamation point on his opening sentence. It's been an odd arc, with Arion and dystopian futures in a seemingly strained jumble. Instead of coming apart at the seams, Superman #658 introduces the kind of conceptual twist that's more usually seen in Busiek's Astro City: Superman's constant saving of civilization is only going to make the inevitable final fall worse, and is preventing the natural cycles that all life is subject to. To truly save mankind, Superman must stand aside and "Let Civilization Fall!" ... Of course he won't - there's a trademark at stake - but I can't wait to see where Busiek goes with it, and knowing the constraints of for-hire trademark servicing only makes the situation more interesting. This could go down as one of the great Superman runs when all's said and done.

T.G.I.F.: January 5, 2006

2007-01-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

Just a boy and his dog.

From All-Star Superman #6 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.

T.G.I.F.: Making Fridays Slightly More Tolerable since August 26, 2005.

52 on 52 #35

2007-01-04T21:50:00.000-07:00

What's the connection between Supernova and Nat finally getting a clue?

Lex, baby ... these aren't laptop batteries.

99% of your product failed in an instant, on national TV, and with fatal results. The conspicuous survival of your handpicked crew makes it look worse. It's gonna take more than a press junket.

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words. For many more words (and excellent ones at that), check out Douglas Wolk's 52 Pickup.

This Week's Releases: January 4, 2007

2007-01-03T15:00:00.001-07:00

No. I did not make a New Year's Resolution to abandon this blog. In fact, I had all the best intentions to spruce up my little corner of the blogosphere.

My New Year's plans do, however, include remaining gainfully employed. Sometimes that conflicts with blog updates. Creeping Respiratory Crud factors in that equation, as well.

Another week where it appears us Left Coasters get shafted by The Diamond Monopoly. Last week, much of DC's lineup didn't make it out this far. This week, it's Civil War. I suppose when you have a stranglehold on an industry, you can use the Pony Express to make deliveries. Frankly, these consecutive delays have me thinking about a cold-turkey switch to trades. The benefit of buying monthlies is that weekly fix, but with incessant delays from creators, publishers, and now distributors ... that high is diminished.

Yet there is All-Star Superman. And that makes everything better.

52 #35
All Star Superman #6
Manhunter #27
Midnighter #3
Superman Confidential #3
Superman #658
Civil War #6
Civil War: Front Line #10
Fantastic Four: The End #4
Incredible Hulk #102
newuniversal #2
Punisher War Journal #2
Uncanny X-Men #482

And last week's releases only now unloading from the ponies:

Batman #661
Justice League Of America #5
Supergirl And The Legion Of Super-Heroes #25
Superman/Batman #31
Battlestar Galactica #4
Battlestar Galactica: Zarek #1

T.G.I.F.: December 29, 2006

2006-12-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

Everyone and their brother will be handing you Hamburger-Spewing Elvis M.O.D.O.K.s.

I bring you a damn funny character moment.

Have a Happy New Year, and I'll see you in 2007!

From Astonishing X-men #19 by Joss Whedon and John Cassady.

T.G.I.F.: Making Fridays Slightly More Tolerable since August 26, 2005.

52 on 52 #34

2006-12-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

The cover teases a death, and we get Stupid Axe Guy? (J.G. Jones agrees.)

New Year's Eve is December 33rd.

Week 29's cover promised "39 Days till the Rain". I assumed this was to be a rain of depowered Luthorheroes falling from the skies.

39 days would put us in Week 35.

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words. For many more words (and excellent ones at that), check out Douglas Wolk's 52 Pickup.

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

Two thoughts as you enjoy this bit of Holiday Cheer:

1) Wouldn't it be great if DC's whole "Look To The Skies" buildup was leading not to the New Gods, but the Old Ones? Ambush Bug vs. Azathoth would get my money, that's for sure.

2) Be on the lookout for Cthulhu Tales: The Rising.

T.G.I.F.: December 22, 2006

2006-12-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know it's not comics. This defines me as a Child Of The Eighties as much as Anatomy Lesson and Ronin: Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Bob Geldof.

Merry Christmas!

Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid.

T.G.I.F.: Making Fridays Slightly More Tolerable since August 26, 2005.

52 on 52 #33

2006-12-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

Is this supposed to be ... shocking? Titillating? Romantic?

I'm assuming that "stiff", "posed", and "Tussaud-like" wasn't the intention.

I'll keep Alfred's words of wisdom in mind on the 25th.

OK. I admit it. I choked up.

I'm an easy mark at Christmastime. "It's A Wonderful Life Syndrome" is the medical diagnosis.

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words. For many more words (and excellent ones at that), check out Douglas Wolk's 52 Pickup.

This Week's Releases: December 20, 2006

2006-12-20T10:28:00.000-07:00

Brian Hibbs says it's a feast this week ....then why is my list so sparse? I'm not complaining: I still have shopping to do.

Size aside, there are still comics awaiting me at 2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics. Among the best are some books I already have in one form or another, and won't be buying again: Action Philosophers Giant-Size Thing Vol. 2, Warhammer 40,000: Damnation Crusade #1, and the trade collection of the excellent Revolutionary War yarn Black Coat: A Call To Arms. Beyond that, I continue to be interested by Civil War and 52, and am really enjoying Criminal. I'm most looking forward to New Avengers, strangely enough. The title perpetually hovers at the cliff's edge of my pull list, but I can't say "no" to Bendis/Maleev ... no matter what words are on the cover.

52 #33
Birds Of Prey #101
Teen Titans #42
Civil War: Front Line #9
Criminal #3
Iron Man/Captain America: Casualties Of War
Iron Man #14
New Avengers #26
New Avengers: Illuminati #1
Bakers Meet Jingle Belle

Warhammer 40,000: Damnation Crusade #1

2006-12-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, I played the game. Yes, I painted the little men. Yes, I flocked the hills. I consulted rulebooks and charts and blast templates. ... I pretty much drew the line at fiction, however. It always seemed a step too far. Warhammer 40,000 is a damned interesting universe, though - full of darkness, religion, and Gothic architecture. It's got a lot more grit and conflict than its fantasy counterpart, and I can definitely see the potential for some great fiction from the setting.

Adapting a licensed universe presents a tightrope act for a writer: there's a good chunk of your audience coming to the comic shop specifically for the license, but another set reading it as just another comic. You need to appeal to both worlds, laying out the superstructure while not boring those already familiar with it. Dan Abnett's no stranger to the universe of Warhammer 40K, and he's also written a comic or two. He's the perfect writer for the project, and it shows: he walks that tightrope well, engaging in a lot of world-building while developing a fistful of plots and characters that will carry through the miniseries. With co-writer Ian Edgington, he hits a perfect tone that makes this universe work, a mythic scale that makes sure it doesn't fall into Tom Clancy In Space territory.

BOOM! Studios has done it again, pairing a top-notch writer who brings experience to the table with an unknown artist bursting with potential: Lui Antonio. Though his faces feel a bit too over-drawn, too controlled, his sense of scale and composition is a perfect match for the legendary tone Abnett and Edgington bring to the comic. There's violence and action aplenty, and and multiple plots and characters ... Antonio never gets overwhelmed, and keeps the storytelling both clear and beautiful. He's also helped immensely by his ability to stay on-model, as the Warhammer universe has always has utterly fantastic visuals to play with.

Warhammer 40,000: Damnation Crusade is a hell of an opportunity for a small publisher, and BOOM! is capitalizing on it. This is a great debut issue, one that will satisfy both Games Workshop die-hards and newcomers to the universe. It hits store shelves tomorrow, December 20th.

T.G.I.F.: December 15, 2006

2006-12-15T10:28:00.001-07:00

Not much in this week's books that qualifies for the stringent requirements placed upon the T.G.I.F.: an image that made me smile.

Hence, an image from a book that's new to me: Absolute New Frontier. This was my first time reading it, and while my reaction was tempered by the outsized hype ... I still loved it. This image is just one of many that blew off the page, exploding a sense of time and place and boundless optimism. New Frontier has some storytelling deficiencies, but is an unparalleled period piece and a work of tone. A month of Fridays, and I couldn't get to all the images I loved in here.

From Absolute New Frontier By Darwyn Cooke.

T.G.I.F.: Making Fridays Better since August 26, 2005.

52 on 52 #32

2006-12-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

"My Earth"?

"My Earth"?

Either someone needs to learn a lesson about sharing, or the Multiverse is back.

What a great week for character: Osiris, Buddy, Ralph, and Accomplished Physician all get nice moments explaining who they are and why we should care.

But she didn't say that.

Clue, compression, or sloppiness?

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words. For many more words (and excellent ones at that), check out Douglas Wolk's 52 Pickup.

This Week's Releases: December 13, 2006

2006-12-12T13:13:00.000-07:00

I love Christmas Specials.

Keep your snark to yourselves: they fill me with nostalgia and happiness.

I don't care if I'm killing comics - DCU Infinite Christmas Special will sit at the top of the stack as I hot the register at 2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics.

There's also some Holiday fun coming from Marvel tomorrow. I've been reading Wolverine through the Civil War tie-ins, because the Guggenheim/Ramos collaboration has been quite a bit of fun. I'll be dropping the title like a really hot thing that was burning my hands as of next month, when Loeb/Bianchi begin their run. In the interim, however, comes a Christmas tale by the 2000 A.D. team of Rob Williams and Lawrence Campbell which will keep me reading the title for one more double-sized issue.

Fresh off my first reading of New Frontier, I'm also pretty excited about The Spirit. It won't be Eisner, but that doesn't mean it can't be damn good. I'm certainly hoping that Clark, Diana, and Bruce get up and stretch during Justice League Of America, and also hoping that The Escapists does something in it's last issue to redeem a disappointing run.

I desperately want Curses, but need to hold off until after the 25th. I don't much like waiting.

52 #32
Batman #660
DCU Infinite Christmas Special
Gen 13 #3
Justice League Of America #4
Spirit #1
Stormwatch: PHD #2
Fantastic Four: The End #3
Wolverine #49
X-Factor #14
Escapists #6
Curses

Focused Linkblogging

2006-12-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile, hasn't it?

Johanna does a good roundup of the Chuck Dixon Midnighter situation. I commented there, and now am paralyzed with fear that I can't write well enough to make my point and will become a target of WeboComicsBlogoNet derision. It goes a little something like this: I still find myself thinking of Midnighter as "the gay Batman", and it seems I'm not the only one. I don't think anything long-term is achieved by keeping all gay characters as one-note representations of an entire demographic, and if a few issues go by that focus on some other aspect of the character it can only help to flesh Midnighter out. Apollo and Midnighter still feel like gaysploitation, played for shock and edge. I want to get to the point where their sexuality is one trait amongst many.

Dirk Deppey deconstructs Howard Chaykin's current work. This is as excellent a piece of comics writing as I've read in a while, and puts a historical perspective on Chaykin that's too easily forgotten. Those late Eighties are my personal Golden Age, and Chaykin was one of its luminaries. Deppey understands that and asks what's happened since?

Something magical is happening with Punks. Please report back, because it's behind the MySpace Curtain, and as much as I love Punks ... I don't love it that much.

... And since I have resisted MySpace so far, I sincerely doubt my interest in signing up for ComicSpace. I know I'm alone here ... y'all have fun.

Resplendent Beard goes off. Read it, it's a treat.

Waaaaaay too late to write about Minx, isn't it? I just would say - on the name itself - that I regularly have to explain to my two girls that we will not be buying them Bratz. "Bratz" and "Minx" seem to flow along a similar continuum that while not empowering, is certainly successful. I suspect DC is more interested in making money by selling these books to tweeners by hook or by crook than they are in Advancing The Cause Of Womanhood. "Minx" is a name that - for good or bad - will sell. As for the creators' genitalia? I'd need to see the submissions pile to really make a judgement there - I'd hope that it was simply the strongest proposals available.

If the Update-A-Tron 3000 is permanently down, how will we survive?

T.G.I.F.: December 8, 2006

2006-12-08T08:47:00.000-07:00

Because nothing says "Christmas" like fascism.

From Marvel Holiday Special 2006.

T.G.I.F.: Making Fridays Better since August 26, 2005.

52 on 52 #31

2006-12-06T17:53:00.000-07:00

Did M3G themselves compile the continuity nitpicks driving this scene, or did an intern do the actual Newsarama surfing?

Dr. Fate? Ahead? BWA-HA-HA!

The close connection of "Key" and "Superman" leads me to this key.

... I'm grasping at straws, hoping for something more interesting than the obvious answer of "Booster Gold".

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words. For many more words (and excellent ones at that), check out Douglas Wolk's 52 Pickup.

Raised By Squirrels

2006-12-06T16:39:00.000-07:00

You know what I love about Raised By Squirrels, by Brad and Monica Banko Meehan? Actually there's more than one thing - we'll get to that later. What I love, at least initially, is that it reminds me that "Indie Comics" is about as useful a term as "Cable TV". It's a business term, and exists only by ceding the central ground to the industry titans, lumping the rest together as a fringe. Though we'd like to cobble it all together in generic terms: a reviled Big Two providing slick entertainment and everything else as soulfelt art.

It's bullshit. Comics is about people wanting to tell stories, some of whom have marketing dollars behind them, and some who don't. Though they dominate the market, it's not like two Manhattan publishers own the exclusive patent on action thrillers. Many readers of Checkmate, The Ultimates, Chase, or Sleeper might turn their nose up at Raised By Squirrels because anything not coming from the offices of Joe Quesada or Dan DiDio is "artsy indy comix", but would do well to remember that publishing models do not define content. Though disguised as a black-and-white book from an unknown publisher, Raised by Squirrels is as slick and engaging a superhero espionage thriller as you'd find in any "mainstream" book.

The "squirrels" of the title refers to the "S.Q.R.L.", a shadowy security agency that employs metanormal agents to protect national interests. There are hierarchies of power within the agency, and it's near impossible to "retire". Noir backstabbing, betrayals and conspiracies litter the scene, but the Meehans keep the plot and action at the forefront without letting the book degenerate into an atmosphere piece or a chunk of world-building. The story is told through short, titled sequences that are driven by the book's online origins but also serve a as sharp, staccato rhythm to keep the story moving without much pause.

The biggest stumbling block that a Big Two reader might find here is the art. It's certainly not that the art is bad: the composition is excellent, and though the characters are a bit stiff and mannered, there's also a tremendous amount of emotion in the faces and body language. It just feels "off" a bit, the script and art seeming to belong to two different comics. The art feels like a rough draft, a storyboard of what the book would look like with the clean finish the snappy script seems to call for: the naturalistic cinematography of a Sean Phillips or a John Cassady. On the flip side of that, I feel like the art is straining against the heavy plotting of the script, desperately wanting the space to explore fall trees and expressionist cityscapes. I can't say that the friction doesn't have it's merits, however ... the pull between art and story may be the very tension that keeps this from becoming too slick, polished and commercial.

This trade paperback is available for a very value-packed $4.95 at the excellent Raised By Squirrels Website, with a second volume soon to follow. If you're still not sure, you can also download the all the issues in PDF format for the low, low cost of completely free. If a crackling tale of superheroes and espionage gone bad sounds worthwhile, give it a try ... regardless of publisher.

The Penultimate Elk's Run Post?

2006-12-05T11:18:00.000-07:00

Since I returned to comics, nothing has excited me as much as Elk's Run. That's why I'm thrilled I'll finally get to read the whole thing! Josh breaks the good news ....

Don't know about Elk's Run? Well, you could start here. Then go here. And read this. And follow up with this.

This Week's Releases: December 6, 2006

2006-12-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

I'd like to join the bandwagon and throw all the promotional weight of the Focused Totality Most Anticipated Book Award behind the "relaunch" of the incredicool Manhunter. I'd like to reward Marc Andreyko for creating such a complex character, and Dan DiDio for giving the title a second lease on life. I really hope that this second chance is all the book needs.

I'd like to ... but I won't. The book I most want to get my hands on when I head down to 2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics is newuniversal, Warren Ellis' reimagining of the New Universe. It's not due to some deep seated love of Kickers, Inc., either. It's Warren Ellis let loose in a sci-fi universe with only minimal attention paid to servicing trademarks ... that usually works out pretty damn well.

Those that care will note that Agents of Atlas and Beyond! are both missing from my list ... having missed issues of both while I was away a few weeks due to employment shenanigans, I've decided to "wait for the trade" (as the cognoscenti term it). I find I'm skipping more miniseries lately as they tend to read better in their intended trade paperback format. Brian K. Vaughan's fantastic Doctor Strange: Oath is the exception the proves the rule.

52 #31
Batman Confidential #1
Desolation Jones #8
Detective Comics #826
Justice Society Of America #1
Manhunter #26
Midnighter #2
Superman Confidential #2
Tranquility #1
Doctor Strange: Oath #3
Incredible Hulk #101
Marvel Holiday Special 2006
newuniversal #1
Uncanny X-Men #481

ScatterThoughts: Some November Books

2006-12-04T13:36:00.000-07:00

It's Giffen and DeMatteis and wacky superhero hijinks ... you know what to expect, right? Planetary Brigade: Origins #1 covers the formation of a league dedicated to justice, with familiar character types from the warrior woman to the curious alien (whose Oreo opinion is still unrevealed) to the millionaire-by-day/dark-avenger-by-night. It's also home to Captain Valor of Hero Squared, and this three issue miniseries will act as prequel to that BOOM! Studios smash hit. It's a funny book with some great lines, but it's a significant departure from both Justice League and Hero Squared. Whereas both of those books were truly sitcoms, Planetary Brigade: Origins bleeds more toward satire, sending up heroes we know and love. It's a delicate balance, and when the Batman analogue says his old sidekick is "dead as a boot" it starts to go off the rails. Sitcom is about situation and character, but this is mere parody ... and not very clever parody, at that. Since I know these characters exist solely as commentary on other characters, I never feel fully invested in them or in their story. Planetary Brigade: Origins sure delivers on the hijinks that Giffen and DeMatteis are famous for, but it falls short of their best work by not offering much behind the hijinks.

I think Talent #4 is the fourth issue of a four-issue miniseries. The last panel says "The End", and no fifth issue has been solicited. However, when the next to last panel includes the lead character saying "the first thing I'm going to do is find the man at the center of this conspiracy" ... I'm sure you can forgive my confusion. Talent's an interesting book with beautiful art, but it's feeling of "pitch on paper" has bugged me from the start and this "ending" only reinforces that feeling. I really wonder how this would have turned out without the five studio bidding war. Would the series have had a true ending, instead of just a slight pause before the next installment?

Wha-huh? Deathblow #2 is among my favorite books of the week? I vacillated before buying this, as the first issue's darker-than-dark paramilitary/conspiracy/superhero vibe did nothing for me other than trigger flashbacks to the nineties. This second issue starts off in the same vein, then takes a left turn into birthday parties and talking dogs and opposing spy organizations called "U.S." and "T.H.E.M.". Though Carlos D'Anda's art remains solidly in the hyper-macho genre, Azzarello's script is starting to flirt with the madness of Matt Fraction's excellent Casanova, and could easily become one of the surprises in this Wildstorm relaunch.

Oh! Hey! Speaking of Matt Fraction and "darker-than-dark paramilitary/conspiracy/superhero vibe", along comes Punisher War Journal #1. Punisher's a character that I've never had much use for: having read many a Mack Bolan adventure back in the day, I can't help but see Frank Castle as a pale knockoff of something without much substance to start with. Matt Fraction's the draw here, and he delivers what is easily the best comicbookery to arise out of Marvel's Civil War shenanigans. This is a very different take than the grim-n-gritty killer that personified the Chromium Age Of Comics, and reads as the diary of a madman. There's no mistake: Frank Castle is bugshit nuts, and Ariel Olivetti's off-kilter perspectives only heighten the feeling that we're seeing the world through crazy eyes.

T.G.I.F.: November 30, 2006

2006-11-30T22:42:00.000-07:00

It's almost become telegraphy (or contractual obligation): if you're doing an Eisner homage, you must include the book's title spelled out in architecture as Eisner did in his Spirit title sequences. I was surprised through the first few pages of Batman/Spirit as it didn't appear, and then ....

From Batman/Spirit by Jeph Loeb and Darwyn Cooke.

T.G.I.F.: Making Fridays Better since August 26, 2005.

52 on 52 #30

2006-11-29T15:35:00.000-07:00

Read: Grant Morrison points to this issue as the Ground Zero for his current run on the character.

Face The Face hangs upon Harvey Dent being left alone to police Gotham City ... it's looking pretty cape-crowded now, isn't it?

"Saint George Killing the Dragon" by Bernardo Martorell, who died in 1452.

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words. For many more words (and excellent ones at that), check out Douglas Wolk's 52 Pickup.

Fifty-Two More Answers

2006-11-28T13:32:00.000-07:00

Scipio asks.

I answer.

Again.

Do you, like me, pray daily that Ralph Dibny dies in 52?
I'm not a praying man.

Perhaps I should start.

Have you noticed that on Heroes, the women generally have the "butch" physical powers and the men have the "passive" mental powers?
I haven't. But now I'll be thinking about it in every episode.

Will Supernova remain a part of the DCU after 52?
Yes, but not as Supernova.

Will there be an Aquaman movie?
Not in this reality.

Am I the only person who still believes in the possible innocence of Skeets?
I'm sure other tinfoil-hat-wearers agree with you.

When will the new Atom meet Hawkman?
Brave And The Bold #4.

Am I the only person who doesn't think Montoya deserves to become the Question?
I'd agree, but it's not just "deserve". It's just a bad, forced fit.

Has there ever been a more stinging condemnation of Wonder Woman than that made by Circe in the most recent issue?
Superheroes should defend everyone, not just those from their own race/ethnicity/gender/religion/sexuality.

Am I the only person who really wants SuperChief to come back?
I'd like to see more of him, as the character seemed to hint at complexity.

It's perfectly safe to assume that Dr. Light is the Evil Mastermind behind all the other villians in JLA, isn't it?
Oh, dear. You are probably right, aren't you?

Who will come out first, Connor Hawke or Mario Lopez?
Mario - I'm thinking his career needs the boost more. Since I have no idea who he is.

Why do I feel like I'm the only person reading Freedom Fighters?
Because you are?

Does the fact that I burst out laughing when I read that Joe Quesada is Wizard's Man of the Year say more about Wizard, Joe, or me?
All of the above.

If the latest Marvel Heroclix set has four ultra-rare zombified uniques, shouldn't the next DC set have four ultra-rare Starro-controlled figures?
No ... New Frontier figures.

How will Batwoman kiss Montoya when she's wearing the Question mask?
Off-panel, assuredly.

I am the only person who thinks Hercules should now be a permanent addition to Wonder Woman's "dynasty"?
He does seem like he could be fun - especially if he can stay both chauvinist pig and hero.

Even when they name him "Sobek", aren't you going to call the Black Adam Family's new crocodile friend "Tawky Crawky"?
I prefer "Crocy Crawny", myself.

If you had to live alone on a deserted island with one character from 52, which one would it be? I'd choose SuperChief; a lonely, lonely Superchief...
Wicker Sue. Haven't you watched Survivor? You need kindling, man!

Can you name one villain who should be permanently "relocated" into Superman's Rogues Gallery, and why?
Batman. Because the two are implacable enemies, and Batman will always win.

... Sorry. Had a Frank Miller moment there.

Don't you think Dr. Domino will be one of the Four Horsemen?
Sorry, I can't enable you like that.

Is there a more boring book than Checkmate? I'm having trouble sleeping at night... .
Have your tried a phone book? That's about all I can think of.

If M. Mallah & the Brain adopted, what would they name the child? I'm thinking "Dominique"... .
I'm thinking "Dick Grayson Mallah-Brain".

If Aquagirl were to develop one superpower, what should it be?
The power to be interesting?

Will there be a new Booster Gold, ya think?
See #3.

Isn't this the first time we've actually seen Sivana's wife?
No idea.

Don't you think Northwind should be rehumanified and brought back into the fold of the Hawkman dynasty?
If only to permanently keep Kingdom Come an Elseworld ...

I'm the only person hoping the prophecy will be fulfilled by a monster eating Cassandra Cain, aren't I?
I'm hoping it involves making her more evil, just to piss off more blogospherians. Perhaps he will eat her very soul.

If you were to bring back the Joker's Daughter, how would you do it?
Just do it, ignoring any continuity I don't like?

... Sorry. Had a John Byrne moment there.

Shouldn't the Giant Lex Luthor Balloon be a recurring character?
It needs a yearly appearance in the Rutland Halloween Parade.

Do the Wonder Scouts have merit badges for bondage and neck-wringing, and, if so, how are they earned?
They are earned by hard work and practice, of course.

Since the most recent Heroclix map is the Space Map, shouldn't the next one be a Water/Ocean map?
Ummmmmm .... sure?

Shouldn't Black Canary start dating Dr. Mid-Nite again?
Yeah!

Was I the only person surprised by John Henry's loss of his new powers?
I was only surprised it took so long.

Doesn't anyone else miss Neptune Perkins?
I don't.

Isn't it about time we stop mooning over "Cowgirl" and start getting our asses kicked by the Sinestro Corps?
I'm hoping Hal starts listening to My Chemical Romance and posting on MySpace. 'Cause that's about as good a use of the character ...

What one villain would you revitalize by making him/her a member of the Sinestro Corps?
Crazy Quilt.

If DC published an anthology title with new stories written in a Golden Age style, would you buy it?
No. Let the past be the past, I want comics for my age.

If DC published an anthology title with new stories written in a Silver Age style, would you buy it?
No. Let the past be the past, I want comics for my age.

If DC published an anthology title with new stories written in a Bronze Age style, would you buy it?
No. Let the past be the past, I want comics for my age.

Am I the only person who misses Ferdinand and wonders exactly where a minotaur lives if not at the Themysciran Embassy?
I assume he lives under a cork tree.

I'm the last person on earth to realize how good Birds of Prey is, aren't I?
I'm right there with you.

Superchief, Ferdinand, Northwind; hmm, do I need therapy or just a weekend at one of William Marston's furry festivals?
No, you just need a PAC.

Since there will eventually be a new Terraman, what should he be like?
A superintelligent gorilla ninja pirate zombie.

Doesn't anyone at DC remember that Congress can't pass Constitutional amendments without them being ratified by the states?
This is New Earth, baby. The old rules don't apply.

Is it no longer continuity that Luthor was a third-party candidate?
No idea.

Has anyone else noticed how much less child molestation and bodies-in-the-backyard there are now that Alan Moore's not writing for DC?
Que?

Am I the only person who thinks Rex the Wonderdog should be a supporting player in something other than Shadowpact? I think a talking immortal dog would be perfect in either Wonder Woman or Manhunter... or maybe living with Wendy & Marvin in Teen Titans.
He should be a supporting player in Brave And The Bold.

Shouldn't Mr. Terrific be a lot cheerier now that he's getting some?
No. It's part of his mystique.

No one really misses the Ventriloquist, do they?
I do.

So, is it Chung Tzu or Chung Zhu? I hope they choose the latter and cover it by saying that Westerners were mispronouncing it, because it's really odd and vaguely disrespectful to name a supervillain after an ancient philosopher for no reason... .
Excellent point.

Am I the only person who thinks Dr. Mid-Nite should have his own title, with Dr. Scott consulting?
Dr. Mid-Nite by Matt Wagner? Yes.
Dr. Mid-Mite by Geoff Johns or Judd Winick or Greg Rucka? No.

Isn't there ever going to be a second issue of Digging for the Truth? I am dying to see Josh confront the villain.
Josh is a tease.

This Week's Releases: November 29, 2006

2006-11-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

Seems like just yesterday that I was at 2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics picking up books ....

... In fact, it was just yesterday that I was at 2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics picking up books!

The March Of Progress marches on, however, and new books are a' comin'.

I feel some important vote is cast as I choose between two Jeph Loeb books from opposite sides of the fence: Onslaught Reborn and Batman/The Spirit. Truth told, however, the Loebs cancel each other out and the choice comes down to Darwyn Cooke vs. Rob Liefeld. I know where my vote is going.

I've been sitting out Brubaker's Daredevil run, preferring to tradewait the whole thing and regretting my decision monthly. I do not intent to make the same mistake with Immortal Iron Fist.

Green Lantern is about at the end of the line for me. I want to like the book, but Johns' run has one plot repeated endlessly: Hal's Past Comes Back To Haunt Him. Go be a goddamn Space Cop, Hal, and quit yer emo navelgazin'.

Johns' Teen Titans also repeats that exact same plot, but I tolerate it better there. Maybe because they are not goddamn Space Cops who could be doing goddamn Space Cop things?

52 #30
Batman #659
Batman/The Spirit
Deathblow #2
Green Lantern #15
Superman/Batman #30
Teen Titans #41
Captain America #24
Immortal Iron Fist #1
Nextwave: Agents Of H.A.T.E. #10
Punisher X-Mas Special
X-Men #193
Talent #4

52 on 52 #29

2006-11-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

In a world without "The Trinity", the JSA is closing down because Jack Ryder said something mean? Because Luthor's super progeny doesn't like 'em? There's much talk about how they shouldn't quit ... but there's never a reason why they do.

Coming Soon on The Food Network: Mad Style with Dr. Sivana

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words. For many more words (and excellent ones at that), check out Douglas Wolk's 52 Pickup.

This Week's Releases: November 22, 2006

2006-11-20T22:35:00.000-07:00

To borrow a phrase, I "Can't Wait For Wednesday". It's not the usual comics-a-copia that has me all a-twitter, however. In fact, comics aren't even part of the equation this week. Wednesday morning, we'll load up the car and head on out to California to spend Thanksgiving with my family, including my nearly year-old niece who I have yet to meet in person. Strangely enough, three months of unemployment has left me really needing a vacation, and I'm looking forward to getting away for a few days.

So - this week's 52 on 52 will be delayed, as I won't be getting books until next Monday's trip to 2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics where my pull list awaits. I'm hoping to swing a stop by The Fantabulous Isotope while in the Bay Area, however.

When I finally get to shoppin' next Monday what will I find? Though not a stellar week, another issue of Wonder Woman is a good thing. As is more Kubert Action, a Matt Fraction Double Feature (Casanova and Punisher War Journal) and a new Runaways.

52 #29
Action Comics #845
Supergirl And The Legion Of Super-Heroes #24
Wonder Woman Vol 3 #3
Casanova #6
Godland #14
Civil War: Front Line #8
Fantastic Four: The End #2
Punisher War Journal #1
Runaways #22
Wolverine #48
X-Factor #13
Conan #34
Enigma Cipher #1
Planetary Brigade: Origins #1

T.G.I.F.: November 17, 2006

2006-11-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

While the issue as a whole was weak, 52 also managed to produce the biggest grin in this week's books. Red Tornado's head bolted to a pile of junk while mindlessly chanting "52! 52!" just tickles my funnybone.

From 52 #28 by Johns, Morrison, Rucka, Waid and Drew Johnson.

T.G.I.F.: Making Fridays Better since August 26, 2005.

Action Figure

2006-11-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

I wish I could say I picked up Action Figure: From The Journals Of Richard Marzelak at my local comic store, but that's not the case. Although the debut issue of the series was solicited through Diamond, it didn't meet order minimums. And we all know what that means. It's a shame this book didn't make it onto comic store shelves for at least a couple of reasons.

First, the professionalism behind Action Figure is apparent in every step - quality production values, excellent art, a story just off the beaten path. While VampireLesbianTitExplosion keeps on selling enough to make it through Diamond's policies, quality productions like this (and others) get left behind because they are not stroking a particular fanboy bone. Diamond gets to run its own business, and at times I agree with their "Survival Of The Retail Fittest" policies. There's a difference, though, between series that have a proven track record of poor sales, and a series that isn't even allowed to try and build that track record in the first place. I have no idea if Action Figure could become a hit, but I can say with certainty that it won't achieve that status without some presence in shops. I don't doubt that some self copies would have sold just off the strength of that engaging cover ... assuming there were shelf copies to be had.

Second is that though there are problems in this first issue, it shows tremendous promise ... promise that can only be realized by continuing work and feedback. Art needs an audience - it's part of the learning curve - and I hope Richard Marcej can find one though his all-out carpetbombing of the WeboComicsblogoNet and his easy-to-use web shop. The simplest and best praise I can five a first issue is this: I want to see more Action Figure. It's far from perfect, but it is charming, filled with passion, features some wonderful cartooning, and has a disticnt voice. Although Richard Marcej is new to comic books, his experience in cartooning and design is readily apparent.

The biggest weaknesses in the book come right at the front, a barrier before heading into the meat of the story. Both the introductory letter from the author and the curious framing sequence serve the same purpose: to let us know what an accomplished, important man Richard Marcej is. The framing sequence pertains to his alter-ego "Richard Marzelak", but using the phrase "thinly-veiled" would be overstating the case by implying the existence of some sort of veil. Besides the general off-putting own-horn-tooting of it all, it's also committing the cardinal sin: it is a lot of tell and not much show. I'm being handed the curriculum vitae of Richard Marcej/Marzelak, as if it matters. As a reader, I want an entertaining story about interesting people and things: I don't care about truth or credentials or importance. Outside of comics, Harvey Pekar is anything but accomplished and important ... how he observed life and told stories made him a success, not his resume.

Once past that initial hurdle, the book starts to come to life. The art style loosens considerably, and really starts to drive this story of office politics, art, and their uneasy coexistence. There are a few too many cliches peppered through out: dreams of flying by someone who feels trapped, adventures in being late for work, bosses who exist purely as obstacle, too-witty banter by officemates. It edges toward s sitcom, but what begins to carry the book and make it stand out is the character of Richard Marzelak. Once past the aggrandizing bits at the beginning, a whole different character emerges, and one not totally unlike the aforementioned Pekar. Marzelak is a bitter dreamer, illuminated in flashes of optimism and despair. He causes most of his own problems, and it's those moments when you realize that he's not entirely sympathetic that really make the book. He's more complex than his label of "struggling cartoonist". Is is his failures - not his gleaming resume - that make the character interesting.

I hope that web sales or other distribution methods will help Action Figure find a life apart from Diamond. It's an interesting book, and promises to become more so as Richard Marcej grows as a storyteller. The art's there, the production values are there, the characters are there: all that's needed now is the storytelling and the ability to let the work speak for itself. I'm looking forward to Action Figure #2.

52 on 52 #28

2006-11-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

52 has been on a roll lately. That roll ends at #28.

What happens when foreshadowing goes from subtext to text?

It becomes exposition.

This "Odd Couple" storyline should get to the point, quicklike.

A Green Lantern created a permanent organic entity? Which can have its eyes plucked and kept as souvenirs?

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words. For many more words (and excellent ones at that), check out Douglas Wolk's 52 Pickup.

This Week's Releases: November 15, 2006

2006-11-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

A light week, which is a fine, fine thing. I'm re-reading Seven Soldiers according to The Morrison Method, wrapping up Mayflower before Thanksgiving, and clearing the decks for Against The Day. I've actually had dreams about reading Against The Day ... that's how much I'm looking forward to Pynchon's latest. So a light weeks of comics just means I can get a lot of other reading done.

The biggest release of the week in my little world is Absolute New Frontier, as I still have never read the series. I heard raves about it when I returned to comics, but had a sneaking suspicion that if I bought the TPBs I would quickly be replacing them with the at-that-time-unannounced Absolute edition so I held off. Now that waiting will be rewarded, and I can't wait to read this story. Maybe I'm an idiot for buying a story for the first time in an Absolute Edition, but I feel pretty assured it'll be worth it. Though I support my local shop (2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics), I will probably be an ass and buy this online where the discount will be substantial.

There's a lot of good comics on the list, however, at a fraction the price of Absolute New Frontier. The next part of Astro City: The Dark Age begins, Astonishing X-Men continues its quiet run of excellence, and the Knaufs follow up on their excellent opening Iron Man arc.

Oh, and something called Civil War drops, which is at least good food for my Google Reader.

52 #28 $2.50
Absolute DC: The New Frontier
Astro City: The Dark Age Book 2 #1
Birds Of Prey #100
Astonishing X-Men #18
Cable/Deadpool #34
Civil War #5
Iron Man #13
New Avengers #25
Ultimate Fantastic Four #36
Escapists #5

Seven Sons

2006-11-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

And if you didn't hear R.E.M.'s "7 Chinese Brothers" playing over imaginary end credits when you finished the story, you're a better man than I, Gunga Din.

I am not better than you, Mr. Bacardi.

Though I have dim childhood memories of The Five Chinese Brothers, it was R.E.M. that filled my head as I read Seven Sons by Alexander Grecian and Riley Rossmo. When went through my head was not various tellings of an old folktale, but the unintelligible mumblings of the Man From Atlanta. I came into this remembering little beyond "seven chinese brothers swallowing the ocean", and read this excellent new AiT/Planetlar release with fresh eyes and mind. Though Grecian's wonderful essay that closes the book discusses the history of the story in all it's permutations, I did not come to Seven Sons with the baggage of childhood or political correctness.

What strikes me most about the book is the deep emotional power that Grecian and Rossmo wring from the triggering incident of the story. How have other tellings - children's books - glossed over the fact that this story hinges on the death of innocent children? In Seven Sons, that is brought to the terrible forefront in a sequence that's as riveting as any I've seen in comics. Rossmo's jagged art, filled with swirling blacks and expressionistic figures really sells the tragedy that lies at the heart of the story. He does so most notably in a beautiful panel that freezes time to show a single tear representing the struggle Brother One goes through as he tries to save both the children and their rescuers. It's a time dilation that brilliantly sets the emotional stage for the rest of the book.

Originally, this was to be called Seven Brothers, but the name was changed to separate it from the Woo/Ennis Seven Brothers at Virgin Comics. In a strange twist, this renaming points to most interesting and fully-developed individual in the book. The mother anchors this story from the opening pages all the way through to the explosive climax. She is in many ways the fulcrum of the book, a silent mover. The business-driven title change points to a fundamental theme of the book: these are sons, and that definition makes this a story about family in a way that the idea of adult brothers does not. It is tighter, more fragile, and more filled with passion.

If there's a flaw with Seven Sons, it is this: I don't know it ever manages to match the power of that triggering sequence. The biggest problem is one inherent to the source story: how to create individual brothers in a story that relies on them being indistinguishable? Though there's some beautiful storytelling, the brothers remain defined solely by their powers. We come to understand them as a unit, and feel their inner life as a group, but they remain interchangeable parts in a machine work plot. After that glimpse into the heroism of Brother One, we never get in again for am emotional closeup for any of the brothers. It's well written, and Rossmo keeps bringing fantastic art to every page ... and had they not played their hole card early, I might have had a different reaction to the book. When your opening gambit is a sequence as powerful as any I've seen in comics, you have to have one hell of a follow-through. I hope we see more from this team ... because once they can get that follow through, it will be something truly special to read.

T.G.I.F.: November 10, 2006

2006-11-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

Only the third post this week. I wish I could - like a seeming half of the WeboComicsBlogoNet - blame this, but I will instead blame this and this and this.

And this.

Nevertheless, a trip to Batman's sci-fi closet fills me with Friday joy.

From Batman #643 by Grant Morrison, Andy Kubert and Jesse Delperdang.

T.G.I.F.: Making Fridays Better since August 26, 2005.

52 on 52 #27

2006-11-08T15:53:00.000-07:00

Que? The Spectre got squashed inside Crispus Allen during Infinite Crisis. 27 weeks later, the Wrath Of God's hostless again?

I'm supposed to be awed by the pure evilosity of a flying gold Roomba? 52 gave us Wicker Sue: I'm going to need something creepier to buy Skeets as a major villain.

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words.

This Week's Releases: November 8, 2006

2006-11-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

My most anticipated releases this week are of a distinctly digital kind: Gears Of War and Call Of Duty 3. Both for the Xbox 360, both hitting tomorrow. It's a banner month for gaming, and these two titles look to get it started tight. I also have a copy of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance on the way through the cheapness of eBay, and will be sure to share some thoughts.

And when I get to 2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics? What will I be buying there?

Well, it's more a matter of what I won't be buying. There's a lot of interesting-but-I'll-wait releasing this week. Bullet Points has a great premise and Tommy Lee Edwards, but J. Michael Straczynski's comics work is really hit and miss for me ... without the "hit" part. Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes II has a great creative team, but will probably read better in the eventual trade than in monthly doses. I get the same tradewait vibe off Wisdom, but the fact Paul Cornell is responsible for one of the best hours of television ever makes me feel like I should give it a try.

The highlight of the week, without doubt, is a new Action Philosophers! arriving to grace us with its intelligence and humor.

52 #27
Batman #658
Batman And The Mad Monk #4
Gen 13 #2
Green Lantern #14
Superman #657
Teen Titans #40
Phonogram #3
Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #4
Doctor Strange: Oath #2
Eternals #5
Wisdom #1
Battlestar Galactica #3
Action Philosophers #7

T.G.I.F.: November 3, 2006

2006-11-03T09:53:00.001-07:00

Though I have problems with Midnighter #1, by Garth Ennis and Chris Sprouse, I can't deny it also gave me my favorite panel of the week.

"Kicksplodo" barely describes the coolness of this panel, with Midnighter leaping to kick an artillery shell out of the air. It's a great moment, and Sprouse's page explodes with energy.

T.G.I.F.: Making Fridays Better since August 26, 2005.

Midnighter #1

2006-11-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

faggot

swish

fruit

AIDS

We get it.

Midnighter's gay.

We get it.

There's a lot to like in the first issue of Midnighter by Garth Ennis and Chris Sprouse. It's yet another twist on the classic Ennis Hard Man character, but with enough twists and turns to make a story I want to read more of.

What I don't want to read more of is page after page of gay bashing. Perhaps this is similar to 70s Black Panther or Luke Cage, where every plot revolved around racists and racism, but it somehow feels less noble in intent. Perhaps because it's so casual and pervasive? Perhaps because it feels very one-note? Perhaps because it feels like a verbal tic used by Ennis to separate Midnighter from every other black-leather-clad badass he writes? "Ah, yeah ... that's right," says Ennis. "Midnighter's the gay one. OK. Off to write the issue." Is Punsiher filled with Italian jokes? Was Jesse Custer constantly defined by being a Texan?

Ennis hits the truly interesting part of the character in the first few pages. He's a reductio ad absurdum Batman, a killing machine who is only barely human. He exists only as action, and is uncomfortable without it. That's the hook this series could hang on, and Ennis develops a situation that takes full advantage of it. But if Midnighter becomes issue after issue where the lead character is defined purely by his sexuality, I won't be around to see how that Millar-esque last page reveal resolves itself.

52 on 52 #26

2006-11-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

The halfway point. Deep breath, everyone.

Is Natasha that ready to cheap shot her father on television? It seems like all complexity has been removed from this once-fascinating relationship.

I know Christmas comes earlier every year, but did Superboy-Prime punch it into November?

Thank God! Waverider's on the case! He'll save Christmas!

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words.

Focused Bloviation

2006-11-02T07:43:00.000-07:00

If Focused Totality and 5WG just isn't enough for you, I've been interviewed over at Bloggasm. Simon Owens asked some great questions, giving me a chance to think about some new topics.

Lots of fun, and the more places I can bloviate about comics and games, the better.

Rock Bottom

2006-11-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

When I first read about Rock Bottom, I expected a riff on Paul Chadwick's Concrete. Though it shares some common themes (namely the nature of celebrity) with Chadwick's epic, Rock Bottom is an entirely different beast. Rock Bottom isn't about superpowers ... it's about death.

Joe Casey's script is incredibly dense, packing in observations about high medical costs, consumer culture, estranged families, abortion, divorce, and celebrity in many forms - musical, scientific, and superheroic. It may be guilty of tackling too much, but there are only brief moments (like the home shopping scam) when the tangents threaten to spiral the book out of control. Rock Bottom hits a list of hot-button topics, but avoids feeling too issue-based by keeping complex characters front and center. Tommy Dare's gradual and fatal transformation into stone is the heart of the book, and the character is compelling. He's utterly flawed, and we're spared the TV-movie dictum that his impending death will transform him into a saint. He makes questionable decisions throughout, and that friction between expectation and what's delivered keeps the book a page-turner through the final images.

Charlie Adlard pulls off an artistic gamble with the tones in the book. As the novel begins, there is no shading to be seen. It's a bit confusing at times, the naked lines lacking definition and shape. It all pays off as the book develops, though. The grey tones are used exclusively to show the progression of Tommy Dare's petrification, and that color starts to anchor the book. As packed as the script is, that simple grey reminds us in every panel who this story is about, and what is happening to him. One of the book's themes is how the reality of Dare's impending death gets swallowed up by bigger societal forces, and it's Adlard's subtle experiment that carries the storytelling weight of that theme.

Rock Bottom is a damn fine book that is completely unlike what I was expecting. I should have know better than to expect the expected from Joe Casey, Charlie Adlard, and AiT/PlanetLar.

This Week's Releases: November 1, 2006

2006-10-31T14:36:00.000-07:00

Happy spooking tonight, all. I intended to do a Halloween post, but didn't: consider it a trick.

Though I agree with the general hivemind that more series examining the early days of Batman and Superman is as welcome as idea as pre-toasted bread, I'm still excited for Superman Confidential. I don't care if the series as a whole is a bomb, just give me some Cooke/Sale Superman and I'll be happy. I'm also looking forward to the Fossen family event that greets a new Mouse Guard, and the assuredly not-family-friendly Enis/Sprouse Midnighter.

I'm generally a sucker for What If, and its look at the "Disassembled" fiasco holds just enough interest for me I'm considering a purchase ... but the Newsarama preview seems to indicate it's another piece of the "Suddenly Ms. Marvel is important again!" house of cards that I'm just not buying. I may turn that money towards Fantastic Four: The End which will at least contain Official Alan Davis Purtiness.

52 #26
All-New Atom #5
Detective Comics #825
Justice League Of America #3
Midnighter #1
Superman Confidential #1
Criminal #2
Incredible Hulk #100
Uncanny X-Men #480
What If: Avengers Disassembled
Mouse Guard #5
Pirate Tales #1
Local #7

T.G.I.F.: October 27, 2006

2006-10-26T18:32:00.001-06:00

I promised myself I'd find a T.G.I.F. that wasn't from Nextwave. It's like shooting fish in a barrel, taking glee-packed images from that book.

I bypassed the Doom Patrol wink. I bypassed the Authority nod. I even controlled myself when Forbush-Man appeared.

But this? This I could not refuse. After all, turnabout is fair play.

From Nextwave #9, by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen.

T.G.I.F.: Making Fridays Better since August 26, 2005.

ScatterThoughts: The BOOM! Books Of The Recent Past And Near Future

2006-10-26T12:03:00.000-06:00

Yes, I have catching up to do. I've felt particularly bad about stuff I've been sent that I haven't written about yet. Watch my feats of prestidigitation as I clear my desk!

I have some vague inkling Kevin Church was involved in the creation of What Were They Thinking?!: Monster Mash-Up #1. Not sure where I read that, however. I haven't read any of these mashups before, thinking they were ponies that knew but a single trick. What I now realize it that it's a pretty funny trick. The "weird sexual subtext" button gets punched one too many times, but then there are tales like Johanna Stokes' "Hats Off" which is a dense riff on identity, appearance, and chapeaus. It's utterly mad, and manages to eke out a life of its own that doesn't rely on nudgenudgewinkwink for all it's content. Church's "Flipper_Boy_47" is also a delight, a note-perfect livejournal entry by an emo fishboy that pretty accurately translates Beaucoupkevin(dot)com to the printed page. Now it's just whetted my appetite for the nigh-inevitable What Were They Thinking?!: All-Star Blogger Edition.

What a deceptive little pamphlet Tag #2 is. It may be the best comic BOOM! Studios is putting out right now, and that's saying a lot. Though this Giffen/Chamberlain collaboration feels like it falls into the "movie/television pitch with panels" that much of the comics industry seems to be aping right now, it transcends all that by realizing horror isn't necessarily about the horrific. Good horror is about people and how they react under extreme situations. Tag brilliantly places an utterly dysfunctional relationship between two flawed people at its center and uses a clever conceit of "zombie tag" to apply pressure. It's not a comic about an ancient curse descended from Cain and Abel, but a comic about complex characters under extreme stress. I'm hooked on the series not to see how the mystery unfolds, but to see what happens to Mitch and Izumi. That's what horror should be.

Is it possible to escape the shadow of Watchmen when writing a tale about shipwreck and a raft made of corpses? Keith Giffen, Chris Ward, and Rafael Albuquerque certainly try in the opening story of Pirate Tales #1. At least I think they are trying ... though its placement front and center also seems an admission that they may as well get the inescapable comparisons out of the way as soon as possible. At least their "Jerky" feels like a complete tale, but much of the rest of the book can't manage more than rough sketches and opening beats of larger stories. Just as in prose, the short story is a hard form to master and entries like "Wolf On The Wave" and "The Walk" feel like long form works simply cut short by page count.

The Savage Brothers #2 leaves me feeling a confused. It's quite well done, with characters that are already growing outside their initial stereotypes and fun, kinetic art that keps the action a-poppin'. I just can't shake the feeling that it's not done quite well enough to escape the overwhelming feeling of being there, doing that, and owning the requisite t-shirt. Take one part Walking Dead, one part Fear Agent ... shake and serve with a sprig of mint and you have The Savage Brothers. It still shows promise, but the hook will need to come from the characters and not the concept.

Speaking of "movie/television pitch with panels", X Isle #3 still can't shake the feeling of a project designed solely to jump on the now-departed Lost train. This issue's main action sees the survivors split acrimoniously with one group trying to climb a mountain to get radio reception, and the other searching for a missing child. We have the hardass with a gun, the fat nerd, and the desparate father. It's been awhile, but doesn't that describe the early episodes of Lost? Perhaps it's unfair to judge this against the ABC juggernaut, but X Isle isn't doing enough with its characters and setting to climb out from under Lost's shadow.

Second Wave #6 is a refreshing change from the last issue, focusing more on widescreen action sequences than Deliverance flashbacks. For that small cadre of fans of the Tom Cruise sci-fi blockbuster - and this being the Age Of Fandom, I have no doubt they exist - this continues the franchise well enough, providing more depth to the continuing war against the aliens. I often feel lost though, with characters that don't look or sound different enough from each other.

52 on 52 #25

2006-10-25T15:30:00.000-06:00

Best. Cover. Yet.

It tickles some primeval funnybook gland seeing real-world events like Halloween syncing up with 52.

Last Issue Promised:

No Question, no Batwoman, and no Ambush Bug are to be found. That's dirty pool, DC.

It makes me laugh to imagine that as one pissed off, metafictional, mutton-chopped Dan DiDio.

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words.

52 on 52 #23

2006-10-25T15:24:00.000-06:00

Up to now, 52's "style" has been uniformly grim and anonymous, and neither apply to Drew Johnson. That's a good thing.

Though Charlie's "let the kid die, 'cause it might get dangerous" felt unheroic and out of character, he makes up for it with the deadpan humor that's made his appearances memorable.

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words.

52 on 52 #24

2006-10-25T14:51:00.000-06:00

I enjoy in-jokes, but sometimes they overwhelm the scene. Was this sequence about Ollie's run for Mayor, or about spot-the-Maggin?

This is a pop psychology test where your favorite Loser speaks volumes about your makeup. I like the top-hatted fellow in the checked pants. Looks like an escapee from Morison's Doom Patrol.

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words.

52 on 52 #22

2006-10-25T11:49:00.000-06:00

Is this standard Metropolis law? You can maim people as long as they have a record?

Superpowered euthanasia?

Like track-marked Trajectory, Mr. Standing Bear is a morality tale waiting to happen.

It seems like a bit of revisionist history when "Acted As Embodiment Of God's Wrath" gets left off Hal's curriculum vitae.

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words.

52 on 52 #21

2006-10-25T11:10:00.000-06:00

One out of three ain't bad.

If you're playing baseball.

A new Infinity, Inc. but with only a few members using legacy names? Very confusing, Lex. You're better than that.

Ralph threatens Xolotl with splintered bones and punctured organs, gets what he wants ... then makes with the splintering and puncturing anyways?

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words.

Happy Planetary Day!

2006-10-25T09:45:00.000-06:00

I'll take it from here.

Has it really been that long since we celebrated Planetary Day?

This issue sees the end of the main story with only one epilogue issue to come. Though delays and change in focus has taken some of the bloom off the rose, it's still a remarkable series that I'll miss.

It's a simple panel this time: the last moment of issue #25. Seeing as it's been six months, you might need the refresher.

The stage is set, and Elijah Snow is going to save them all.

This Week's Releases: October 25, 2006

2006-10-24T10:38:00.000-06:00

Let this stand as an official "I'm Back" post.

Much backlog will be cleared in the coming days, including a full catch-up on the vainglorious 52 on 52. I'll also be getting up to speed on a new blogging project.

In a statement of hope, I went to 2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics last week to spend some store credit and try to catch up on what I've missed. That hope was rewarded: as of yesterday, my employment situation looks sorted - though there is still some slight finger-crossing involved.

Finger-crossing notwithstanding, I simply can't deny a New Comics Day that features a new Planetary and the conclusion to Seven Soldiers. I'm trying to think of a better New Comics Day, but my mind is failing me. Others will be a-twitter about the debut of the Johns/Donner/Kubert Action Comics and the beginning of the end of Nextwave ... and I would not blame them.

52 #25
Action Comics #844
Boys #4
Deathblow #1
Planetary #26
Seven Soldiers #1
Supergirl And The Legion Of Super-Heroes #23
Superman/Batman Annual #1
Captain America #23
Civil War: Choosing Sides $3.99
New Avengers #24
Nextwave: Agents Of HATE #9
X-Men #192
Conan & The Songs Of The Dead #4
Tag #2

No Shopping List This Week

2006-09-26T13:39:00.000-06:00

Well ... to put it simply, unemployment sure does interfere with comic collecting. There comes a point where I have to simply pull the plug - hopefully temporarily - and wait for income to start flowing again like the sweet wine it is.

No comics also makes comic bloggery difficult, and it's not like my mind is here anyways.

So ... Focused Totality is going to go on a hiatus, hopefully short. I'll see you all soon.

T.G.I.F.: September 22, 2006

2006-09-22T10:47:00.000-06:00

I'm the damn Batgirl.

Another Gail Simone.

Another inside joke.

Another T.G.I.F.

Though I have to ask: What's the story? Need a hit movie on your resume to be able to use "goddamn"? A mere writer of comic books can only use "damn"?

From Birds Of Prey #98, by Gail Simone, James Raiz, and Robin Riggs.

T.G.I.F.: Making Fridays Better since August 26, 2005.

The Illustrated Dracula

2006-09-21T09:26:00.001-06:00

The Penguin Group is obviously getting on board with "comics as art" in a big way. Their "Graphic Classics" have received much-deserved blogosphere buzz, and today's release of The Illustrated Dracula goes even farther. While fans await Jae Lee's take on a certain other horror prose classic, he's been busy contributing 40 illustrations to this sumptuous edition of Bram Stoker's vampire classic.

It's hard to write about the novel itself. Like Lord of The Rings or the works of Raymond Chandler, it can be an odd experience reading a book that seems so packed with cliche because it's what all the cliche was based on. Stoker's novel is certainly a bit creaky, and almost exists more as historical artifact than a stellar example of the genre. I expect, however, you're either interested in a new edition of Dracula or you're not. With plentiful cheaper (or free) editions available, the question becomes this: what does Jae Lee bring to the table?

The answer is "a lot".

Whether it's simply publishing chic, or a real commitment to reaching out to comic artists, this edition of Dracula is a rousing success. It's one thing to slap the latest trend on a classic, but another entirely when the synergy created breathes new life into an old work.

Stoker's Dracula is so trapped in Victoriana that it often fails to connect and to horrify. Lee's masterful illustrations rip the tale from it's time, and let it inhabit a world all its own. There's a contemporary edge to the illustrations, yet it easily inhabits across time with nods to 19th Century England, Murnau's Nosferatu, and the decadent elegance of Anne Rice's Goth bloodsuckers. They are stunning and horrific and they make Dracula itself leap across the centuries.

52 on 52 #20

2006-09-20T16:36:00.000-06:00

I missed the panel where Dr. Irons killed his weepy emo impostor, but I welcome his return nonetheless.

It's like this issue came From The Other World.

Great Next Issue box, but any delicious theorizing got killed quickly:

Luthor's JLA is getting new identities that riff on (or rip from) existing heroes.

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words.

Comic Contemplations

2006-09-19T19:35:00.000-06:00

Meeleygate is over, and I'm not going to say much. Blow-by-blow accounts have proliferated. In my exchanges with James, he seems like a decent guy who tends to do some utterly unfathomable things on the Wild Wild Intarwub. Those unfamiliar may not realize that is was not the first Meeley Controversy, and I'll be suprised if it's the last.

But I'm not here to bury James Meeley.

I'm here to praise Jason Rodriguez, of Postcards fame..

As Journalista and The Beat are linking to James' onetime blog, Comic Contemplations ... Jason swoops into the suddenly vacated space and sets up shop.

Watch out, Uncle Lar and Stan "The Man" ... you have a challenger. Who else has the brains and balls to take one of the most linked-to addresses on the WeboComicsBlogonet, and wring some publicity juice from it?

This Week's Releases: September 20, 2006

2006-09-19T10:24:00.001-06:00

Not sure when I'll make it down to 2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics this week, as it will in part depend on a much-anticipated second interview I need to set up. When I get there, though, I will gasp in delight and shock at the simple fact Astonishing X-Men seems to be shipping on a schedule. I gets the industry-coveted Focused Totality Cover Nod this week in part for that, and in part because it's one of the great covers EVAR.

I only have the first issue of Hatter M, so my decision to continue with this intriguing little series will depend on the availability of backissues to fill in the gap. I am about as undecided as a person can be about Wetworks, and it can be summed up thusly: Mike Carey good, Whilce Portacio double-plus un-good. I've spoken before of my Union Jack fandom, so I'm definitely trying out the miniseries. I'm also buying Civil War, delays be damned: I love the summery-blockbustery-ness of it all, even if it's now a Fall/Winter/Spring blockbuster.

By the by, I've switched over to the Blogger Beta so pardon the sawdust. All the categories/tags need a re-do, and it appears searching old posts is verboten. I'll spiff it up soonlike.

Regarding the WeboComicsBlogoNet controversy: if I ever again post anything interesting here, y'all are welcome to link away. Except for you, Mike Sterling.

52 #20
Krypto The Super Dog #1
Superman #656
Wetworks #1
Looking Glass Wars: Hatter M #3
Astonishing X-Men #17
Civil War #4
Civil War: X-Men #3
Iron Man #12
Nextwave: Agents Of HATE #8
Runaways #20 $2.99
Ultimate Fantastic Four #34
Union Jack #1
Wolverine #46
X-Factor #11
Conan #32
Conan & The Songs Of The Dead #3

T.G.I.F.: September 15, 2006

2006-09-15T11:03:00.000-06:00

Go ahead. Click on that image. Blow it up, and take it in. It'll brighten your day.

There was no doubt where my T.G.I.F. would come from this week. I knew it instantly. Part of the First Second Fall 2006 line, Joann Sfar's Klezmer is a work of irrepressible joy, leaping off the page. It is so deep and true, capturing the Jewish Diaspora experience of "laughing wild amidst severest woe", of making life and music and laughter even under extreme persecution and hardship. In this careful story about musicians in Eastern Europe in the early 20th century, Sfar captures a time and a place and a people. It feels instantly classic, belonging alongside Isaac Bashevis Singer on the bookshelf.

"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture - it's a really stupid thing to want to do," said Elvis Costello once. He may be right, but perhaps sequential art has a leg up. It's not easy to have musical numbers in a comic, but Sfar's explosions of color and action when the music starts throughout the novel almost create synesthesia where you can hear the colors. He also tells stories through these musical set pieces, such as the confrontation between The Baron Of My Backside and the townsfolk musicians who killed his friends. It's absolutely glorious, and the book as a whole is so complex and beautiful that it's easily one of the best graphic novels I've read. Not "this month" or "this year" or "this decade" ...

The cover promises this is only "Book One", and I'll be eagerly awaiting the rest of this wonderful story.

Journey Into Mohawk Country

2006-09-14T22:44:00.000-06:00

Out of the entire First Second Fall 2006 line, this was the book that intrigued me most: simple illustrated history. It seemed like an interesting experiment, and at minimum a fascinating look at Colonial America. After getting the chance to read and digest it, I'm a bit confounded by Journey Into Mohawk Country. Much like Fate Of The Artist (also published by First Second), this has a hard time fitting within the confines of the "graphic novel" primarily because it's not a novel. But unlike Fate Of The Artist, this experiment in boundary stretching doesn't work as well.

It's not the concept that fails. George O'Connor used the unaltered 1634 diary of Harmen Meyndertsz van den Bogaert, a Dutch trader who travels amongst the Native American tribes populating the Northeast. It's a fascinating idea, that should allow for the grounding of dry history in a fresh vision, allowing us to bridge time and see the humanity that drove the early settlers. That humanity appears in fits and spurts, most notably in the backgrounds as one of van den Bogaert's associates falls in love with a Native American. It's subtle and clean, and shows the best of what a book like this can offer. O'Connor's characters are so expressive, that emotion flies off the page and really brings these historical footnotes to life.

The problem is that "there's no there there". While it's an interesting experiment, Journey Into Mohawk Country doesn't have a story to tell. There's an itemized list of adventures and trading victories and facts, but it doesn't build into a tale worth reading. There's no spine, no journey beyond the literal passage of miles. It seems like O'Connor realizes this, and introduces an epiphany near the end - a dream sequence that tries to transform the diary into an epic journey of self-discovery. It it so sudden and abrupt that it fails at making van den Bogaert's story into something significant beyond it's historical place. It's an enjoyable book largely because of O'Connior's wonderful cartooning, but fails at the trick that all great history writers have of taking dry facts and making them as compelling as fiction.

Categories:

52 on 52 #19

2006-09-13T16:37:00.000-06:00

From our first Time Cave visit:

From this week:

Well played, 52. Well played.

Adam's Eyes Update: Who cares? Why are Buddy's consistently green?

I missed some stuff in my comics sabbatical. Thank you, Wiki.

It's now official: 52 exists as lead-in to next summer's crossover event. Well played, DC. Well played.

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension. A picture is not worth a thousand words.

This Week's Releases: September 13, 2006

2006-09-12T15:12:00.000-06:00

Another pretty light week as I head down to 2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics, but that's fine. My unemployed wallet thanks the comics industry for it's thoughtfulness.

I'm hanging on a bit longer to Aquaman, though I really need to see some clues get doled out. Suspended mystery can oh-so-quickly become tiresome (see: Wolverine). Green Lantern ... well, I continually forget it's being published, due to the sloppy publishing schedule, and it may need to get dropped soon. Phonogram and Casanova are great sequential treats, and having them both hit in the same week is a sort of convergence, I suppose. The Fall 2006 First Second books also hit this week, and though I can't afford them beyond the review copies they generously provided ... you should be buying these books.

52 #19
Aquaman: Sword Of Atlantis #44
Green Lantern #13
JLA Classified #27
Casanova #4
Phonogram #2
Captain America #21
Incredible Hulk #98
Escapists #3
Devi #3

Categories:

ScatterThoughts: The Books Of September 7th

2006-09-12T12:05:00.000-06:00

Heading in, I thought I knew what I'd get in Cross Bronx #1. Considering Michael Ovon Oeming's style and past credits, I assumed we'd see some noir-ish, stylized crime drama. It certainly is crime drama, but it's much more mature, with characters that have a bit more complexity to them. Instead of noir, this has the feel of 70's crime drama: Serpico, The French Connection, or the books of Joseph Wambaugh. I was expecting to be impressed by sheer style and crackle, and instead was impressed by something altogether more subtle: character. Excellent work, and a series well worth reading. Even after just a single issue, I'm already a tetch disappointed that the logo reads "1 of 4", as this is a world and a cast I want to see much more of.

The last page blurb in Hero Squared #3 promises that the next issue will bring "LESS DIALOGUE ... MORE HITTING", and that's welcome news. It's a very enjoyable issue, and one that makes great strides in fleshing out Milo and Valor beyond their Odd Couple stereotypes. It's just the second issue in a row filled with almost nothing but long tracts of (admittedly witty) dialogue, without much actually happening. About midway through, I grew a bit weary of the speech bubbles and hoped to see something happen. The fact they are damn good speech bubbles doesn't change the fact that it's a bit of a pacing problem.

Haven't we been here before? Haven't we already talked about the way we so often pass like archetypical ships in the night? Haven't we already had unseen life companions whose absence defines them? For some reason Local #6's "Megan and Gloria, Apartment 6" reminds me of "Polaroid Boyfriend". There's a different emphasis here, a different lesson, and a cutting look inside Megan's traveling act ... but it's a damn familiar backbeat. At it's midpoint, we see the Catch-22 of Local: once Megan really interacts with someone the series will have to end, because she'll stop moving. So these haunting tales of our inability to connect are Local's core fodder, but Brian Wood needs to vary the tune a bit more if Local's going to avoid eating it's own tail.

A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599 isn't a comic at all. Nor was it released last week. I blog it nonetheless, as I read it last week, and was completely blown away. It's a detailed examination of the political, economic, social and artistic currents of the year 1599 as they relate to Shakespeare's output that year: Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, and the first scratchings at Hamlet. James Shapiro has an easy, conversational style that perfectly suits this book's tangential digressions. He wanders across the whole of the English experience that year, yet it's always in the form of compelling stories that have flow and spine. I devoured it in a matter of days, and enjoyed every page. Can I recommend it wholeheartedly to non-Shakespearans? Not really, I suppose ... but you could consider it a prequel to ...

... 1602: Fantastick Four #1. Another series set in the 1602 universe, and though it seems to be largely ignored and/or disparaged among the WeboComicsBlogoNet Cognoscenti I quite enjoy the setting. I'm slowly changing my opinion on Peter David, who I had until recently written off as entirely too concerned with self-referencing cleverness at the expense of character and plot. With X-Factor and this, I feel like he's again hitting that pitch-perfect blend that marks his best work. When he's hitting on all cylinders, PAD can juggle all the balls: character, drama, comedy, wit, plot. I don't even mind that he flaunts Shakespearean scholarship for the good of a joke here, as I realize I'm one of a damn short list that would balk at it. I don't know I've ever seen penciler Pascal Alixe's work before, but he's a natural for this book, with a loose naturalism that perfectly suits this odd world.

Categories:

The List

2006-09-11T12:56:00.000-06:00

9/11/2001

Anna Williams Allison, David Lawrence Angell, Lynn Edwards Angell, Seima Aoyama, Barbara Jean Ares Tegui, Myra Joy Aronson, Christine Barbuto, Carolyn Mayer Beug, Kelly Ann Booms, Carol Marie Bouchard, Neilie Anne Heffernan Casey, Jeffrey Dwayne Collman, Jeffrey W. Coombs, Tara Kathleen Creamer, Thelma Cuccinello, Patrick Currivan, Brian P. Dale, David DiMeglio, Donald Americo DiTullio, Alberto Dominguez, Paige Farley-Hackel, Alexander Milan Filipov, Carol Flyzik, Paul Friedman, Karleton D.B. Fyfe, Peter Alan Gay, Linda M. George, Edmund Glazer, Lisa Reinhart Fenn Gordenstein, Andrew Peter Charles Curry Green, Peter Paul Hashem, Robert Jay Hayes, Edward (Ted) R. Hennessy, John A. Hofer, Cora Hidalgo Holland, John Nicholas Humber, Waleed Iskandar, John Charles Jenkins, Charles Edward Jones, Robin Kaplan, Barbara Keating, David Kovalcin, Judy Larocque, Natalie Janis Lasden, Daniel John Lee, Daniel C. Lewin, Sara Elizabeth Low, Susan A. MacKay, Karen A. Martin, Thomas F. McGuinness, Christopher D. Mello, Jeffrey Peter Mladenik, Antonio Jesus Montoya Valdes, Carlos Alberto Montoya, Laura Lee Morabito, Mildred Naiman, Laurie Ann Neira, Renee Lucille Newell, Kathleen Ann Nicosia, Jacqueline J. Norton, Robert Grant Norton, John Ogonowski, Betty Ann Ong, Jane M. Orth, Thomas Nicholas Pecorelli, Berinthia Berenson Perkins, Sonia Morales Puopolo, David E. Retik, Jean Destrehan Roger, Philip M. Rosenzweig, Richard Barry Ross, Jessica Leigh Sachs, Rahma Salie, Heather Lee Smith, Dianne Bullis Snyder, Douglas J. Stone, Xavier Suarez, Madeline Amy Sweeney, Michael Theodoridis, James Anthony Trentini, Mary Barbara Trentini, Pendyala Vamsikrishna, Mary Alice Wahlstrom, Kenneth E. Waldie, John Wenckus, Candace Lee Williams, Christopher Rudolph Zarba, Alona Avraham, Garnet Edward (Ace) Bailey, Mark Lawrence Bavis, Graham Andrew Berkeley, Touri Bolourchi, Klaus Bothe, Daniel R. Brandhorst, David Reed Gamboa Brandhorst, John Brett Cahill, Christoffer Mikael Carstanjen, John (Jay) J. Corcoran, Ana Gloria Pocasangre de Barrera, Dorothy Alma DeAraujo, Robert John Fangman, Lisa Frost, Ronald Gamboa, Lynn Catherine Goodchild, Peter Morgan Goodrich, Douglas A. Gowell, Francis E. Grogan, Carl Max Hammond, Christine Lee Hanson, Peter Hanson, Gerald F. Hardacre, Eric Samadikan Hartono, James E. Hayden, Herbert W. Homer, Michael R. Horrocks, Robert Adrien Jalbert, Amy N. Jarret, Ralph Francis Kershaw, Sue Kim Hanson, Heinrich Kimmig, Amy R. King, Brian Kinney, Kathryn L. LaBorie, Robert George LeBlanc, Maclovio Lopez, Marianne MacFarlane, Alfred Gilles Padre Joseph Marchand, Louis Neil Mariani, Juliana Valentine McCourt, Ruth Magdaline McCourt, Wolfgang Peter Menzel, Shawn M. Nassaney, Marie Pappalardo, Patrick J. Quigley, Frederick Charles Rimmele, James M. Roux, Jesus Sanchez, Victor J. Saracini, Mary Kathleen Shearer, Robert Michael Shearer, Jane Louise Simpkin, Brian D. Sweeney, Michael C. Tarrou, Alicia Nicole Titus, Timothy Ray Ward, William M. Weems Gordon McCannel Aamoth, Edelmiro (Ed) Abad, Maria Rose Abad, Andrew Anthony Abate, Vincent Abate, Laurence Christopher Abel, William F. Abrahamson, Richard Anthony Aceto, Alicia Acevedo Carranza, Heinrich B. Ackermann, Paul Andrew Acquaviva, Donald L. Adams, Patrick Adams, Shannon Lewis Adams, Stephen Adams, Ignatius Adanga, Christy A. Addamo, Terence E. Adderley, Sophia B. Addo, Lee Adler, Daniel Thomas Afflitto, Emmanuel Afuakwah, Alok Agarwal, Mukul Agarwala, Joseph Agnello, David Scott Agnes, Joao A.D. Aguiar, Brian G. Ahearn, Jeremiah J. Ahern, Joanne Ahladiotis, Shabbir Ahmed, Terrance Andre Aiken, Godwin Ajala, Gertrude M. Alagero, Andrew Alameno, Margaret Ann (Peggy) Jezycki Alario, Gary Albero, Jon L. Albert, Peter Craig Alderman, Jacquelyn Delaine Aldridge, Grace Alegre-Cua, David D. Alger, Boutros al-Hashim, Ernest Alikakos, Edward L. Allegretto, Eric Allen, Joseph Ryan Allen, Richard Dennis Allen, Richard Lanard Allen, Christopher Edward Allingham, Janet M. Alonso, Anthony Alvarado, Antonio Javier Alvarez, Telmo Alvear, Cesar A. Alviar, Tariq Amanullah, Angelo Amaranto, James Amato, Joseph Amatuccio, Christopher Charles Amoroso, Kazuhiro Anai, Calixto Anaya, Joseph Peter Anchundia, Kermit Charles Anderson, Yvette Anderson, John Andreacchio, Michael Rourke Andrews, Jean A. Andrucki, Siew-Nya Ang, Joseph Angelini, Joseph Angelini, Laura Angilletta, Doreen J. Angrisani, Lorraine D. Antigua, Peter Paul Apollo, Faustino Apostol, Frank Thomas Aquilino, Patrick Michael Aranyos, David Gregory Arce, Michael G. Arczynski, Louis Arena, Adam Arias, Michael J. Armstrong, Jack Charles Aron, Joshua Aron, Richard Avery Aronow, Japhet J. Aryee, Carl Asaro, Michael A. Asciak, Michael Edward Asher, Janice Ashley, Thomas J. Ashton, Manuel O. Asitimbay, Gregg Arthur Atlas, Gerald Atwood, James Audiffred, Louis Frank Aversano, Ezra Aviles, Samuel (Sandy) Ayala, Arlene T. Babakitis, Eustace (Rudy) Bacchus, John James Badagliacca, Jane Ellen Baeszler, Robert J. Baierwalter, Andrew J. Bailey, Brett T. Bailey, Tatyana Bakalinskaya, Michael S. Baksh, Sharon Balkcom, Michael Andrew Bane, Kathy Bantis, Gerard Jean Baptiste, Walter Baran, Gerard A. Barbara, Paul V. Barbaro, James W. Barbella, Ivan Kyrillos Fairbanks Barbosa, Victor Daniel Barbosa, Colleen Ann Barkow, David Michael Barkway, Matthew Barnes, Sheila Patricia Barnes, Evan J. Baron, Renee Barrett-Arjune, Arthur T. Barry, Diane G. Barry, Maurice Vincent Barry, Scott D. Bart, Carlton W. Bartels, Guy Barzvi, Inna Basina, Alysia Basmajian, Kenneth William Basnicki, Steven J. Bates, Paul James Battaglia, W. David Bauer, Ivhan Luis Carpio Bautista, Marlyn C. Bautista, Jasper Baxter, Michele (Du Berry) Beale, Paul F. Beatini, Jane S. Beatty, Larry I. Beck, Manette Marie Beckles, Carl John Bedigian, Michael Beekman, Maria Behr, Yelena Belilovsky, Nina Patrice Bell, Andrea Della Bella, Debbie S. Bellows, Stephen Elliot Belson, Paul Michael Benedetti, Denise Lenore Benedetto, Bryan Craig Bennett, Eric L. Bennett, Oliver Duncan Bennett, Margaret L. Benson, Dominick J. Berardi, James Patrick Berger, Steven Howard Berger, John P. Bergin, Alvin Bergsohn, Daniel D. Bergstein, Michael J. Berkeley, Donna Bernaerts-Kearns, Dave Bernard, William Bernstein, David M. Berray, David S. Berry, Joseph J. Berry, William Reed Bethke, Timothy D. Betterly, Edward F. Beyea, Paul Michael Beyer, Anil T. Bharvaney, Bella Bhukhan, Shimmy D. Biegeleisen, Peter Alexander Bielfeld, William Biggart, Brian Bilcher, Carl Vincent Bini, Gary Bird, Joshua David Birnbaum, George Bishop, Jeffrey D. Bittner, Balewa Albert Blackman, Christopher Joseph Blackwell, Susan L. Blair, Harry Blanding, Janice L. Blaney, Craig Michael Blass, Rita Blau, Richard M. Blood, Michael A. Boccardi, John Paul Bocchi, Michael L. Bocchino, Susan Mary Bochino, Bruce Douglas (Chappy) Boehm, Mary Katherine Boffa, Nicholas A. Bogdan, Darren C. Bohan, Lawrence Francis Boisseau, Vincent M. Boland, Alan Bondarenko, Andre Bonheur, Colin Arthur Bonnett, Frank Bonomo, Yvonne L. Bonomo, Sean Booker, Juan Jose Borda Leyva, Sherry Ann Bordeaux, Krystine C. Bordenabe, Martin Boryczewski, Richard E. Bosco, John Howard Boulton, Francisco Bourdier, Thomas H. Bowden, Kimberly S. Bowers, Veronique (Bonnie) Nicole Bowers, Larry Bowman, Shawn Edward Bowman, Kevin L. Bowser, Gary R. Box, Gennady Boyarsky, Pamela Boyce, Michael Boyle, Alfred Braca, Sandra Conaty Brace, Kevin H. Bracken, David Brian Brady, Alexander Braginsky, Nicholas W. Brandemarti, Michelle Renee Bratton, Patrice Braut, Lydia Estelle Bravo, Ronald Michael Breitweiser, Edward A. Brennan, Frank H. Brennan, Michael Emmett Brennan, Peter Brennan, Thomas M. Brennan, Daniel Brethel, Gary L. Bright, Jonathan Eric Briley (Thought to be The Falling Man), Mark A. Brisman, Paul Gary Bristow, Victoria Alvarez Brito, Mark Francis Broderick, Herman C. Broghammer, Keith Broomfield, Janice J. Brown, Lloyd Brown, Patrick J. Brown, Bettina Browne, Mark Bruce, Richard Bruehert, Andrew Brunn, Vincent Brunton, Ronald Paul Bucca, Brandon J. Buchanan, Greg Joseph Buck, Dennis Buckley, Nancy Bueche, Patrick Joseph Buhse, John E. Bulaga, Stephen Bunin, Matthew J. Burke, Thomas Daniel Burke, William F. Burke, Donald James Burns, Kathleen A. Burns, Keith James Burns, John Patrick Burnside, Irina Buslo, Milton Bustillo, Thomas M. Butler, Patrick Byrne, Timothy G. Byrne, Jesus Cabezas, Lillian Caceres, Brian Joseph Cachia, Steven Cafiero, Richard M. Caggiano, Cecile M. Caguicla, Michael John Cahill, Scott W. Cahill, Thomas J. Cahill, George Cain, Salvatore B. Calabro, Joseph Calandrillo, Philip V. Calcagno, Edward Calderon, Kenneth Marcus Caldwell, Dominick E. Calia, Felix (Bobby) Calixte, Frank Callahan, Liam Callahan, Luigi Calvi, Roko Camaj, Michael Cammarata, David Otey Campbell, Geoffrey Thomas Campbell, Jill Marie Campbell, Robert Arthur Campbell, Sandra Patricia Campbell, Juan Ortega Campos, Sean Canavan, John A. Candela, Vincent Cangelosi, Stephen J. Cangialosi, Lisa B. Cannava, Brian Cannizzaro, Michael R. Canty, Louis A. Caporicci, Jonathan N. Cappello, James Christopher Cappers, Richard M. Caproni, Jose Cardona, Dennis M Carey, Edward Carlino, Michael Scott Carlo, David G. Carlone, Rosemarie C. Carlson, Mark Stephen Carney, Joyce Ann Carpeneto, Jeremy M. Carrington, Michael T. Carroll, Peter Carroll, James J. Carson, Christopher Newton Carter, James Marcel Cartier, Vivian Casalduc, John F. Casazza, Paul Cascio, Margarito Casillas, Thomas Anthony Casoria, William Otto Caspar, Alejandro Castano, German Castillo Galicia, Arcelia Castillo, Leonard M. Castrianno, Jose Ramon Castro, Richard G. Catarelli, Christopher Sean Caton, Robert J. Caufield, Mary Teresa Caulfield, Judson Cavalier, Michael Joseph Cawley, Jason D. Cayne, Juan Armando Ceballos, Marcia G. Cecil-Carter, Jason Cefalu, Thomas J. Celic, Ana M. Centeno, Joni Cesta, Jeffrey M. Chairnoff, Swarna Chalasini, William Chalcoff, Eli Chalouh, Charles Lawrence (Chip) Chan, Mandy Chang, Mark L. Charette, Gregorio Manuel Chavez, Pedro Francisco Checo, Douglas MacMillan Cherry, Stephen Patrick, Cherry, Vernon Paul Cherry, Nestor Chevalier, Swede Joseph Chevalier, Alexander H. Chiang, Dorothy J. Chiarchiaro, Luis Alfonso Chimbo, Robert Chin, Wing Wai (Eddie) Ching, Nicholas P. Chiofalo, John Chipura, Peter A. Chirchirillo, Catherine E. Chirls, Kyung (Kaccy) Cho, Abdul K. Chowdhury, Mohammed Salahuddin Chowdhury, Kirsten L. Christophe, Pamela Chu, Steven Paul Chucknick, Wai-ching Chung, Christopher Ciafardini, Alex F. Ciccone, Frances Ann Cilente, Elaine Cillo, Edna Cintron, Nestor Andre Cintron, Robert Dominick Cirri, Juan Pablo Alvarez Cisneros, Benjamin Keefe Clark, Eugene Clark, Gregory A. Clark, Mannie Leroy Clark, Thomas R. Clark, Christopher Robert Clarke, Donna Clarke, Michael Clarke, Suria R.E. Clarke, Kevin Francis Cleary, James D. Cleere, Geoffrey W. Cloud, Susan M. Clyne, Steven Coakley, Jeffrey Coale, Patricia A. Cody, Daniel Michael Coffey, Jason Matthew Coffey, Florence Cohen, Kevin Sanford Cohen, Anthony Joseph Coladonato, Mark J. Colaio, Stephen J. Colaio, Christopher M. Colasanti, Kevin Nathaniel Colbert, Michel Paris Colbert, Keith Eugene Coleman, Scott Thomas Coleman, Tarel Coleman, Liam Joseph Colhoun, Robert D. Colin, Robert J. Coll, Jean Marie Collin, John Michael Collins, Michael L. Collins, Thomas J. Collins, Joseph Collison, Patricia Malia Colodner, Linda M. Colon, Soledi Colon, Ronald Comer, Jaime Concepcion, Albert Conde, Denease Conley, Susan Clancy Conlon, Margaret Mary Conner, Cynthia L. Connolly, John E. Connolly, James Lee Connor, Jonathan (J.C.) Connors, Kevin P. Connors, Kevin Francis Conroy, Brenda E. Conway, Dennis Michael Cook, Helen D. Cook, John A. Cooper, Joseph J. Coppo, Gerard J. Coppola, Joseph Albert Corbett, Alejandro Cordero, Robert Cordice, Danny A. Correa-Gutierrez, Ruben D. Correa, James Corrigan, Carlos Cortes, Kevin M. Cosgrove, Dolores Marie Costa, Digna Alexandra Rivera Costanza, Charles Gregory Costello, Michael S. Costello, Conrod K.H. Cottoy, Martin Coughlan, John Gerard Coughlin, Timothy John Coughlin, James E. Cove, Andre Cox, Frederick John Cox, Michelle Coyle-Eulau, James Raymond Coyle, Anne M. Cramer, Christopher Seton Cramer, Denise Crant, James L. Crawford, Robert James Crawford, Joanne Mary Cregan, Lucia Crifasi, John Crisci, Daniel Hal Crisman, Dennis A. Cross, Helen Crossin-Kittle, Kevin Raymond Crotty, Thomas G. Crotty, John Crowe, Welles Remy Crowther, Robert L. Cruikshank, Francisco Cruz, John Robert Cruz, Kenneth John Cubas, Francisco C. Cubero, Richard Joseph Cudina, Neil James Cudmore, Thomas Patrick Cullen, Joan McConnell Cullinan, Joyce Cummings, Brian Thomas Cummins, Nilton Albuquerque Fernao Cunha, Michael Joseph Cunningham, Robert Curatolo, Laurence Curia, Paul Dario Curioli, Beverly Curry, Michael Curtin, Gavin Cushny, John D'Allara, Vincent D'Amadeo, Jack L. D'Ambrosi, Mary D'Antonio, Edward Alexander D'Atri, Michael D. D'Auria, Michael Jude D'Esposito, Manuel Da Mota, Carlos S. DaCosta, Caleb Arron Dack, Thomas A. Damaskinos, Jeannine Marie Damiani-Jones, Patrick W. Danahy, Nana Kwuku Danso, Vincent G. Danz, Dwight Donald Darcy, Elizabeth Ann Darling, Annette Andrea Dataram, Lawrence Davidson, Michael Allen Davidson, Scott Matthew Davidson, Titus Davidson, Niurka Davila, Clinton Davis, Wayne Terrial Davis, Anthony Richard Dawson, Calvin Dawson, Edward James Day, Jayceryll M. de Chavez, Emerita (Emy) De La Pena, Azucena de la Torre, Cristina de Laura, Oscar de Laura, Francis (Frank) Albert De Martini, Robert J. DeAngelis, James V. DeBlase, Paul DeCola, Jason Christopher DeFazio, Jennifer DeJesus, Monique E. DeJesus, Nereida DeJesus, Martin DeMeo, Jean C. DePalma, Michael DeRienzo, David Paul DeRubbio, Jemal Legesse DeSantis, Christian D. DeSimone, Edward DeSimone, Melanie Louise DeVere, Jerry DeVito, William T. Dean, Thomas P. Deangelis, Tara Debek, Anna Debin, Simon Dedvukaj, David A. Defeo, Manuel Del Valle, Donald A. Delapenha, Vito Joseph Deleo, Danielle Delie, Joseph A. Della Pietra, Palmina Delli Gatti, Colleen Ann Deloughery, Anthony Demas, Francis X. Deming, Carol K. Demitz, Kevin Dennis, Thomas F. Dennis, Jose Nicholas Depena, Robert J. Deraney, Andrew Desperito, Cindy Ann Deuel, Robert P. Devitt, Dennis Lawrence Devlin, Gerard Dewan, Simon Suleman Ali Kassamali Dhanani, Michael L. DiAgostino, Patricia F. DiChiaro, John DiFato, Vincent F. DiFazio, Carl DiFranco, Donald J. DiFranco, Debra Ann DiMartino, Anthony DiOnisio, George DiPasquale, Joseph DiPilato, Douglas Frank DiStefano, Michael Diaz-Piedra, Judith Belguese Diaz-Sierra, Lourdes Galletti Diaz, Matthew Diaz, Nancy Diaz, Obdulio Ruiz Diaz, Joseph Dermot Dickey, Lawrence Patrick Dickinson, Michael David Diehl, Stephen P. Dimino, William J. Dimmling, Christopher Dincuff, Jeffrey M. Dingle, Ramzi A. Doany, John J. Doherty, Melissa C. Doi, Brendan Dolan, Neil Dollard, James Joseph Domanico, Benilda Pascua Domingo, Charles (Carlos) Dominguez, Geronimo (Jerome) Mark Patrick Dominguez, Kevin W. Donnelly, Jacqueline Donovan, Stephen Dorf, Thomas Dowd, Kevin Christopher Dowdell, Mary Yolanda Dowling, Raymond M. Downey, Frank Joseph Doyle, Joseph M. Doyle, Randy Drake, Stephen Patrick Driscoll, Mirna A. Duarte, Luke A. Dudek, Christopher Michael Duffy, Gerard Duffy, Michael Joseph Duffy, Thomas W. Duffy, Antoinette Duger, Sareve Dukat, Christopher Joseph Dunne, Richard A. Dunstan, Patrick Thomas Dwyer, Joseph Anthony Eacobacci, John Bruce Eagleson, Robert D. Eaton, Dean P. Eberling, Margaret Ruth Echtermann, Paul Robert Eckna, Constantine (Gus) Economos, Dennis Michael Edwards, Michael Hardy Edwards, Christine Egan, Lisa Egan, Martin Egan, Michael Egan, Samantha Egan, Carole Eggert, Lisa Caren Weinstein Ehrlich, John Ernst (Jack) Eichler, Eric Adam Eisenberg, Daphne F. Elder, Michael J. Elferis, Mark J. Ellis, Valerie Silver Ellis, Albert Alfy William Elmarry, Edgar H. Emery, Doris Suk-Yuen Eng, Christopher S. Epps, Ulf Ramm Ericson, Erwin L. Erker, William J. Erwin, Sarah (Ali) Escarcega, Jose Espinal, Fanny M. Espinoza, Brigette Ann Esposito, Francis Esposito, Michael Esposito, William Esposito, Ruben Esquilin, Sadie Ette, Barbara G. Etzold, Eric Brian Evans, Robert Edward Evans, Meredith Emily June Ewart, Catherine K. Fagan, Patricia M. Fagan, Keith G. Fairben, William F. Fallon, William Fallon, Anthony J. Fallone, Dolores B. Fanelli, John Joseph Fanning, Kathleen (Kit) Faragher, Thomas Farino, Nancy Carole Farley, Elizabeth Ann (Betty) Farmer, Douglas Farnum, John G. Farrell, John W. Farrell, Terrence Patrick Farrell, Joseph Farrelly, Thomas P. Farrelly, Syed Abdul Fatha, Christopher Faughnan, Wendy R. Faulkner, Shannon M. Fava, Bernard D. Favuzza, Robert Fazio, Ronald C. Fazio, William Feehan, Francis J. (Frank) Feely, Garth E. Feeney, Sean B. Fegan, Lee S. Fehling, Peter Feidelberg, Alan D. Feinberg, Rosa Maria Feliciano, Edward T. Fergus, George Ferguson, Henry Fernandez, Jose Manuel Contreras Fernandez, Judy H. Fernandez, Elisa Giselle Ferraina, Anne Marie Sallerin Ferreira, Robert John Ferris, David Francis Ferrugio, Louis V. Fersini, Michael David Ferugio, Bradley James Fetchet, Jennifer Louise Fialko, Kristen Fiedel, Samuel Fields, Michael Bradley Finnegan, Timothy J. Finnerty, Michael Curtis Fiore, Stephen J. Fiorelli, Paul M. Fiori, John Fiorito, John R. Fischer, Andrew Fisher, Bennett Lawson Fisher, John Roger Fisher, Thomas J. Fisher, Lucy Fishman, Ryan D. Fitzgerald, Thomas Fitzpatrick, Richard P. Fitzsimons, Salvatore A. Fiumefreddo, Christina Donovan Flannery, Eileen Flecha, Andre G. Fletcher, Carl Flickinger, John Joseph Florio, Joseph W. Flounders, David Fodor, Michael N. Fodor, Steven Mark Fogel, Thomas Foley, David Fontana, Chih Min (Dennis) Foo, Del Rose Forbes-Cheatham, Godwin Forde, Donald A. Foreman, Christopher Hugh Forsythe, Claudia Alicia Martinez Foster, Noel J. Foster, Ana Fosteris, Robert J. Foti, Jeffrey L. Fox, Virginia Fox, Joan Francis, Pauline Francis, Virgin (Lucy) Francis, Gary J. Frank, Morton Frank, Peter Christopher Frank, Richard K. Fraser, Kevin Joseph Frawley, Clyde Frazier, Lillian I. Frederick, Andrew Fredericks, Jamitha Freemen, Brett O. Freiman, Peter L. Freund, Arlene E. Fried, Alan Wayne Friedlander, Andrew K. Friedman, Gregg J. Froehner, Peter Christian Fry, Clement Fumando, Steven Elliot Furman, Paul James Furmato, Fredric Gabler, Richard S. Gabrielle, James Andrew Gadiel, Pamela Gaff, Ervin Vincent Gailliard, Deanna L. Galante, Grace Galante, Anthony Edward Gallagher, Daniel James Gallagher, John Patrick Gallagher, Tomas Gallegos Linares, Cono E. Gallo, Vincenzo Gallucci, Thomas Edward Galvin, Giovanna (Genni) Gambale, Thomas Gambino, Giann F. Gamboa, Peter J. Ganci, Claude Michael Gann, Charles William Garbarini, Cesar Garcia, David Garcia, Jorge Luis Morron Garcia, Juan Garcia, Marlyn C. Garcia, Christopher Gardner, Douglas B. Gardner, Harvey J. Gardner, Jeffrey B. Gardner, Thomas A. Gardner, William Arthur Gardner, Francesco Garfi, Rocco Gargano, James M. Gartenberg, Matthew David Garvey, Bruce Gary, Boyd A. Gatton, Donald Richard Gavagan, Terence D. Gazzani, Gary Geidel, Paul Hamilton Geier, Julie M. Geis, Peter Gelinas, Steven Paul Geller, Howard G. Gelling, Peter Victor Genco, Steven Gregory Genovese, Alayne F. Gentul, Edward F. Geraghty, Suzanne Geraty, Ralph Gerhardt, Robert J. Gerlich, Denis P. Germain, Marina R. Gertsberg, Susan M. Getzendanner, James Gerard Geyer, Joseph M. Giaccone, Vincent Francis Giammona, Debra L. Gibbon, James A. Giberson, Craig Neil Gibson, Ronnie Gies, Laura A. Giglio, Andrew Clive Gilbert, Timothy Paul Gilbert, Paul Stuart Gilbey, Paul John Gill, Mark Y. Gilles, Evan H. Gillette, Ronald Gilligan, Rodney C. Gillis, Laura Gilly, John F. Ginley, Donna Marie Giordano, Jeffrey Giordano, John Giordano, Steven A. Giorgetti, Martin Giovinazzo, Jinny Lady Giraldo, Kum-Kum Girolamo, Salvatore Gitto, Cynthia Giugliano, Mon Gjonbalaj, Dianne Gladstone, Keith Alexander Glascoe, Thomas I. Glasser, Harry Glenn, Barry H. Glick, Steven Lawrence Glick, John T. Gnazzo, William (Bill) Robert Godshalk, Michael Gogliormella, Brian Fredric Goldberg, Jeffrey Grant Goldflam, Michelle Herman Goldstein, Monica Goldstein, Steven Goldstein, Andrew H. Golkin, Dennis James Gomes, Enrique Antonio Gomez, Jose Bienvenido Gomez, Manuel Gomez, Wilder Gomez, Jenine Gonzalez, Joel Guevara Gonzalez, Mauricio Gonzalez, Rosa J. Gonzalez, Calvin J. Gooding, Harry Goody, Kiran Reddy Gopu, Catherine Carmen Gorayeb, Kerene Gordon, Sebastian Gorki, Kieran Gorman, Thomas E. Gorman, Michael Edward Gould, Yugi Goya, Jon Richard Grabowski, Christopher Michael Grady, Edwin John Graf, David M. Graifman, Gilbert Granados, Elvira Granitto, Winston Arthur Grant, Christopher Stewart Gray, James Michael Gray, Linda Mair Grayling, John Michael Grazioso, Timothy Grazioso, Derrick Arthur Green, Wade Brian Green, Elaine Myra Greenberg, Gayle R. Greene, James Arthur Greenleaf, Eileen Marsha Greenstein, Elizabeth (Lisa) Martin Gregg, Denise Gregory, Donald H. Gregory, Florence M. Gregory, Pedro (David) Grehan, John M. Griffin, Tawanna Griffin, Joan D. Griffith, Warren Grifka, Ramon Grijalvo, Joseph F. Grillo, David Grimner, Kenneth Grouzalis, Joseph Grzelak, Matthew J. Grzymalski, Robert Joseph Gschaar, Liming (Michael) Gu, Jose A. Guadalupe, Yan Zhu (Cindy) Guan, Geoffrey E. Guja, Joseph Gullickson, Babita Guman, Douglas B. Gurian, Janet H. Gustafson, Philip T. Guza, Barbara Guzzardo, Peter Gyulavary, Gary Robert Haag, Andrea Lyn Haberman, Barbara M. Habib, Philip Haentzler, Nizam A. Hafiz, Karen Hagerty, Steven Hagis, Mary Lou Hague, David Halderman, Maile Rachel Hale, Richard Hall, Vaswald George Hall, Robert John Halligan, Vincent Gerard Halloran, James D. Halvorson, Mohammed Salman Hamdani, Felicia Hamilton, Robert Hamilton, Frederic Kim Han, Christopher James Hanley, Sean Hanley, Valerie Joan Hanna, Thomas Hannafin, Kevin James Hannaford, Michael L. Hannan, Dana Hannon, Vassilios G. Haramis, James A. Haran, Jeffrey P. Hardy, Timothy John Hargrave, Daniel Harlin, Frances Haros, Harvey L. Harrell, Stephen Gary Harrell, Aisha Harris, Stewart D. Harris, John Patrick Hart, John Clinton Hartz, Emeric J. Harvey, Thomas Theodore Haskell, Timothy Haskell, Joseph John Hasson, Leonard William Hatton, Terence S. Hatton, Michael Helmut Haub, Timothy Aaron Haviland, Donald G. Havlish, Anthony Hawkins, Nobuhiro Hayatsu, Philip Hayes, William Ward Haynes, Scott Hazelcorn, Michael K. Healey, Roberta Bernstein Heber, Charles Francis Xavier Heeran, John Heffernan, Howard Joseph Heller, JoAnn L. Heltibridle, Mark F. Hemschoot, Ronnie Lee Henderson, Janet Hendricks, Brian Hennessey, Michelle Marie Henrique, Joseph P. Henry, William Henry, John Henwood, Robert Allan Hepburn, Mary (Molly) Herencia, Lindsay Coates Herkness, Harvey Robert Hermer, Claribel Hernandez, Norberto Hernandez, Raul Hernandez, Gary Herold, Jeffrey A. Hersch, Thomas Hetzel, Brian Hickey, Ysidro Hidalgo-Tejada, Timothy Higgins, Robert D. Higley, Todd Russell Hill, Clara Victorine Hinds, Neal Hinds, Mark D. Hindy, Katsuyuki Hirai, Heather Malia Ho, Tara Yvette Hobbs, Thomas A. Hobbs, James L. Hobin, Robert Wayne Hobson, DaJuan Hodges, Ronald George Hoerner, Patrick Aloysius Hoey, Frederick J. Hoffman, Joseph Hoffman, Marcia Hoffman, Michele L. Hoffman, Stephen G. Hoffman, Judith Florence Hofmiller, Thomas Warren Hohlweck, Jonathan R. Hohmann, John Holland, Joseph Francis Holland, Elizabeth Holmes, Thomas P. Holohan, Bradley Hoorn, James P. Hopper, Montgomery McCullough Hord, Michael Horn, Matthew D. Horning, Robert L. Horohoe, Aaron Horwitz, Charles J. Houston, Uhuru G. Houston, George Howard, Michael C. Howell, Steven L. Howell, Jennifer L. Howley, Milagros Hromada, Marian Hrycak, Stephen Huczko, Kris R. Hughes, Melissa Harrington Hughes, Paul R. Hughes, Robert T. "Bobby" Hughes, Thomas F. Hughes, Timothy Robert Hughes, Susan Huie, Mychal Lamar Hulse, Kathleen (Casey) Hunt, William C. Hunt, Joseph G. Hunter, Robert Hussa, Thomas E. Hynes, Walter Hynes, Joseph Anthony Ianelli, Zuhtu Ibis, Jonathan Lee Ielpi, Michael Patrick Iken, Daniel Ilkanayev, Frederick Ill, Abraham Nethanel Ilowitz, Anthony P. Infante, Louis S. Inghilterra, Christopher N. Ingrassia, Paul Innella, Stephanie V. Irby, Douglas Irgang, Kristin A. Irvine-Ryan, Todd A. Isaac, Erik Hans Isbrandtsen, Taizo Ishikawa, Aram Iskenderian, John Iskyan, Kazushige Ito, Aleksandr Valeryerich Ivantsov, Virginia Jablonski, Brooke Alexandra Jackman, Aaron Jacobs, Ariel Louis Jacobs, Jason Kyle Jacobs, Michael Grady Jacobs, Steven A. Jacobson, Ricknauth Jaggernauth, Jake Denis Jagoda, Yudh V.S. Jain, Maria Jakubiak, Ernest James, Gricelda E. James, Mark Jardim, Mohammed Jawara, Francois Jean-Pierre, Maxima Jean-Pierre, Paul E. Jeffers, Joseph Jenkins, Alan K. Jensen, Prem N. Jerath, Farah Jeudy, Hweidar Jian, Fernando Jimenez Molina, Eliezer Jimenez, Luis Jimenez, Charles Gregory John, Nicholas John, LaShawana Johnson, Scott M. Johnson, William Johnston, Allison Horstmann Jones, Arthur Joseph Jones, Brian L. Jones, Christopher D. Jones, Donald T. Jones, Donald W. Jones, Linda Jones, Mary S. Jones, Andrew Jordan, Robert Thomas Jordan, Albert Joseph, Ingeborg Joseph, Karl Henri Joseph, Stephen Joseph, Jane Eileen Josiah, Anthony Jovic, Angel Luis Juarbe, Karen Susan Juday, Mychal Judge, Paul W. Jurgens, Thomas Edward Jurgens, Shashi Kiran Lakshmikantha Kadaba, Gavkharoy Mukhometovna Kamardinova, Shari Kandell, Howard Lee Kane, Jennifer Lynn Kane, Vincent D. Kane, Joon Koo Kang, Sheldon R. Kanter, Deborah H. Kaplan, Alvin Peter Kappelmann, Charles Karczewski, William A. Karnes, Douglas G. Karpiloff, Charles L. Kasper, Andrew Kates, John Katsimatides, Robert Kaulfers, Don Jerome Kauth, Hideya Kawauchi, Edward T. Keane, Richard M. Keane, Lisa Kearney-Griffin, Karol Ann Keasler, Paul Hanlon Keating, Leo Russell Keene, Joseph J. Keller, Peter Rodney Kellerman, Joseph P. Kellett, Frederick H. Kelley, James Joseph Kelly, Joseph A. Kelly, Maurice Patrick Kelly, Richard John Kelly, Thomas Michael Kelly, Thomas Richard Kelly, Thomas W. Kelly, Timothy C. Kelly, William Hill Kelly, Robert C. Kennedy, Thomas J. Kennedy, John Keohane, Ronald T. Kerwin, Howard L. Kestenbaum, Douglas D. Ketcham, Ruth E. Ketler, Boris Khalif, Sarah Khan, Taimour Firaz Khan, Rajesh Khandelwal, Bhowanie Devi Khemraj, SeiLai Khoo, Michael Kiefer, Satoshi Kikuchihara, Andrew Jay-Hoon Kim, Lawrence Don Kim, Mary Jo Kimelman, Lisa M. King-Johnson, Andrew Marshall King, Lucille T. King, Robert King, Takashi Kinoshita, Chris Michael Kirby, Howard (Barry) Kirschbaum, Glenn Davis Kirwin, Richard J. Klares, Peter A. Klein, Alan D. Kleinberg, Karen J. Klitzman, Ronald Philip Kloepfer, Andrew Knox, Thomas Patrick Knox, Yevgeny Knyazev, Rebecca Lee Koborie, Deborah Kobus, Gary Edward Koecheler, Frank J. Koestner, Ryan Kohart, Vanessa Lynn Kolpak, Irina Kolpakova, Suzanne Kondratenko, Abdoulaye Kone, Bon-seok Koo, Dorota Kopiczko, Scott Kopytko, Bojan Kostic, Danielle Kousoulis, John J. Kren, William Krukowski, Lyudmila Ksido, Shekhar Kumar, Kenneth Kumpel, Frederick Kuo, Patricia Kuras, Nauka Kushitani, Thomas Joseph Kuveikis, Victor Kwarkye, Kui Fai Kwok, Angela R. Kyte, Andrew LaCorte, Jeanette LaFond-Menichino, David LaForge, Michael Patrick LaForte, Stephen LaMantia, Carol Ann LaPlante, Jeannine M. LaVerde, Amarnauth Lachhman, Ganesh Ladkat, James P. Ladley, Joseph A. Lafalce, Alan Lafranco, Juan Lafuente, Neil K. Lai, Vincent A. Laieta, William David Lake, Franco Lalama, Chow Kwan Lam, Amy Hope Lamonsoff, Robert T. Lane, Brendan M. Lang, Rosanne P. Lang, Vanessa Langer, Mary Lou Langley, Peter J. Langone, Thomas Langone, Michele B. Lanza, Ruth Sheila Lapin, Ingeborg Astrid Desiree Lariby, Robin Larkey, Christopher Randall Larrabee, Hamidou S. Larry, Scott Larsen, John Adam Larson, Gary E. Lasko, Nicholas C. Lassman, Paul Laszczynski, Jeffrey Latouche, Charles Laurencin, Stephen James Lauria, Maria Lavache, Denis F. Lavelle, Anna A. Laverty, Steven Lawn, Robert A. Lawrence, Nathaniel Lawson, Eugen Lazar, David Prudencio LeMagne, Jeffrey Earle LeVeen, James Patrick Leahy, Joseph Gerard Leavey, Neil Leavy, Leon Lebor, Kenneth Charles Ledee, Alan J. Lederman, Elena Ledesma, Alexis Leduc, David S. Lee, Gary H. Lee, Hyun-joon (Paul) Lee, Jong-min Lee, Juanita Lee, Kathryn Blair Lee, Linda C. Lee, Lorraine Lee, Myung-woo Lee, Richard Y.C. Lee, Stuart (Soo-Jin) Lee, Yang Der Lee, Stephen Lefkowitz, Adriana Legro, Edward J. Lehman, Eric Andrew Lehrfeld, David Ralph Leistman, Joseph A. Lenihan, John J. Lennon, John Robinson Lenoir, Jorge Luis Leon, Matthew Gerard Leonard, Michael Lepore, Charles Antoine Lesperance, John D. Levi, Alisha Caren Levin, Neil D. Levin, Robert M. Levine, Robert Levine, Shai Levinhar, Adam J. Lewis, Margaret Susan Lewis, Ye Wei Liang, Orasri Liangthanasarn, Daniel F. Libretti, Ralph M. Licciardi, Edward Lichtschein, Steven B. Lillianthal, Carlos R. Lillo, Craig Damian Lilore, Arnold A. Lim, Darya Lin, Wei Rong Lin, Nickie L. Lindo, Thomas V. Linehan, Robert Thomas Linnane, Alan Linton, Diane Theresa Lipari, Kenneth P. Lira, Francisco Alberto Liriano, Lorraine Lisi, Paul Lisson, Vincent Litto, Ming-Hao Liu, Joseph Livera, Nancy Liz, Harold Lizcano, Martin Lizzul, George A. Llanes, Elizabeth Claire Logler, Catherine Lisa Loguidice, Jerome Robert Lohez, Michael W. Lomax, Laura M. Longing, Salvatore P. Lopes, Daniel Lopez, George Lopez, Luis Lopez, Manuel L. Lopez, Joseph Lostrangio, Chet Louie, Stuart Seid Louis, Joseph Lovero, Michael W. Lowe, Garry Lozier, John Peter Lozowsky, Charles Peter Lucania, Edward (Ted) H. Luckett, Mark G. Ludvigsen, Lee Charles Ludwig, Sean Thomas Lugano, Daniel Lugo, Marie Lukas, William Lum, Michael P. Lunden, Christopher Lunder, Anthony Luparello, Gary Lutnick, Linda Luzzicone, Alexander Lygin, Farrell Peter Lynch, James Francis Lynch, Louise A. Lynch, Michael F. Lynch, Michael Francis Lynch, Michael Lynch, Richard Dennis Lynch, Robert H. Lynch, Sean Patrick Lynch, Sean Lynch, Michael J. Lyons, Monica Lyons, Patrick Lyons, Catherine Fairfax MacRae, Robert Francis Mace, Jan Maciejewski, Richard B. Madden, Simon Maddison, Noell Maerz, Jeannieann Maffeo, Joseph Maffeo, Jay Robert Magazine, Brian Magee, Charles Wilson Magee, Joseph Maggitti, Ronald E. Magnuson, Daniel L. Maher, Thomas Anthony Mahon, William Mahoney, Joseph Maio, Takashi Makimoto, Abdu Malahi, Myrna T. Maldonado-Agosto, Debora Maldonado, Alfred R. Maler, Gregory James Malone, Edward Francis (Teddy) Maloney, Joseph E. Maloney, Gene E. Maloy, Christian Maltby, Francisco Miguel (Frank) Mancini, Joseph Mangano, Sara Elizabeth Manley, Debra M. Mannetta, Marion Victoria (vickie) Manning, Terence J. Manning, James Maounis, Joseph Ross Marchbanks, Peter Edward Mardikian, Edward Joseph Mardovich, Charles Joseph Margiotta, Kenneth Joseph Marino, Lester Vincent Marino, Vita Marino, Kevin D. Marlo, Jose J. Marrero, John Marshall, James Martello, Michael A. Marti, Peter Martin, William J. Martin, Brian E. Martineau, Lizie Martinez-Calderon, Betsy Martinez, Edward J. Martinez, Jose Martinez, Robert Gabriel Martinez, Paul Richard Martini, Joseph A. Mascali, Bernard Mascarenhas, Stephen F. Masi, Nicholas G. Massa, Patricia A. Massari, Michael Massaroli, Philip W. Mastrandrea, Rudolph Mastrocinque, Joseph Mathai, Charles William Mathers, William A. Mathesen, Marcello Matricciano, Margaret Elaine Mattic, Robert D. Mattson, Walter Matuza, Charles A. (Chuck) Mauro, Charles J. Mauro, Dorothy Mauro, Nancy T. Mauro, Tyrone May, Keithroy Maynard, Robert J. Mayo, Kathy Nancy Mazza-Delosh, Edward Mazzella, Jennifer Mazzotta, Kaaria Mbaya, James J. McAlary, Brian McAleese, Patricia A. McAneney, Colin Richard McArthur, John McAvoy, Kenneth M. McBrayer, Brendan McCabe, Michael J. McCabe, Thomas McCann, Justin McCarthy, Kevin M. McCarthy, Michael Desmond McCarthy, Robert Garvin McCarthy, Stanley McCaskill, Katie Marie McCloskey, Tara McCloud-Gray, Charles Austin McCrann, Tonyell McDay, Matthew T. McDermott, Joseph P. McDonald, Brian G. McDonnell, Michael McDonnell, John F. McDowell, Eamon J. McEneaney, John Thomas McErlean, Katherine (Katie) McGarry-Noack, Daniel F. McGinley, Mark Ryan McGinly, William E. McGinn, Thomas H. McGinnis, Michael Gregory McGinty, Ann McGovern, Scott Martin McGovern, William J. McGovern, Stacey S. McGowan, Francis Noel McGuinn, Patrick J. McGuire, Thomas M. McHale, Keith McHeffey, Ann M. McHugh, Denis J. McHugh, Dennis P. McHugh, Michael Edward McHugh, Robert G. McIlvaine, Donald James McIntyre, Stephanie McKenna, Barry J. McKeon, Evelyn C. McKinnedy, Darryl Leron McKinney, George Patrick McLaughlin, Robert C. McLaughlin, Gavin McMahon, Robert Dismas McMahon, Edmund M. McNally, Daniel McNeal, Walter Arthur McNeil, Christine Sheila McNulty, Sean Peter McNulty, Robert William McPadden, Terence A. McShane, Timothy Patrick McSweeney, Martin E. McWilliams, Rocco A. Medaglia, Abigail Medina, Anna Iris Medina, Deborah Medwig, Damian Meehan, William J. Meehan, Alok Kumar Mehta, Raymond Meisenheimer, Manuel Emilio Mejia, Eskedar Melaku, Antonio Melendez, Mary Melendez, Yelena Melnichenko, Stuart Todd Meltzer, Diarelia Jovannah Mena, Charles Mendez, Lizette Mendoza, Shevonne Mentis, Steve Mercado, Wesley Mercer, Ralph Joseph Mercurio, Alan H. Merdinger, George C. Merino, Yamel Merino, George Merkouris, Deborah Merrick, Raymond J. Metz, Jill A. Metzler, David Robert Meyer, Nurul Huq Miah, William Edward Micciulli, Martin Paul Michelstein, Luis Clodoaldo Revilla Mier, Peter T. Milano, Gregory Milanowycz, Lukasz T. Milewski, Corey Peter Miller, Craig James Miller, Douglas C. Miller, Henry Miller, Joel Miller, Michael Matthew Miller, Phillip D. Miller, Robert Alan Miller, Robert C. Miller, Benjamin Millman, Charles M. Mills, Ronald Keith Milstein, Robert Minara, William G. Minardi, Louis Joseph Minervino, Thomas Mingione, Nana Akwasi Minkah, Wilbert Miraille, Domenick Mircovich, Rajesh A. Mirpuri, Joseph Mistrulli, Susan Miszkowicz, Paul Thomas Mitchell, Richard Miuccio, Frank V. Moccia, Louis Joseph Modafferi, Boyie Mohammed, Dennis Mojica, Manuel Mojica, Kleber Rolando Molina, Manuel Dejesus Molina, Carl Molinaro, Justin J. Molisani, Brian Patrick Monaghan, Franklin Monahan, John Gerard Monahan, Kristen Montanaro, Craig D. Montano, Michael Montesi, Cheryl Ann Monyak, Thomas Moody, Sharon Moore, Krishna Moorthy, Abner Morales, Carlos Morales, Paula Morales, John Christopher Moran, John Moran, Kathleen Moran, Lindsay S. Morehouse, George Morell, Steven P. Morello, Vincent S. Morello, Arturo Alva Moreno, Yvette Nicole Moreno, Dorothy Morgan, Richard Morgan, Nancy Morgenstern, Sanae Mori, Blanca Morocho, Leonel Morocho, Dennis G. Moroney, Lynne Irene Morris, Seth A. Morris, Stephen Philip Morris, Christopher M. Morrison, Ferdinand V. Morrone, William David Moskal, Marco Motroni, Chung Mou, Iouri A. Mouchinski, Jude J. Moussa, Peter C. Moutos, Damion Mowatt, Christopher Mozzillo, Stephen V. Mulderry, Richard Muldowney, Michael D. Mullan, Dennis Michael Mulligan, Peter James Mulligan, Michael Joseph Mullin, James Donald Munhall, Nancy Muniz, Carlos Mario Munoz, Theresa (Terry) Munson, Robert M. Murach, Cesar Augusto Murillo, Marc A. Murolo, Brian Joseph Murphy, Charles Murphy, Christopher W. Murphy, Edward C. Murphy, James F. Murphy, James Thomas Murphy, Kevin James Murphy, Patrick Sean Murphy, Raymond E. Murphy, Robert Eddie Murphy, John Joseph Murray, John Joseph Murray, Susan D. Murray, Valerie Victoria Murray, Richard Todd Myhre, Robert B. Nagel, Takuya Nakamura, Alexander J.R. Napier, Frank Joseph Naples, John Napolitano, Catherine A. Nardella, Mario Nardone, Manika Narula, Narender Nath, Karen S. Navarro, Joseph M. Navas, Francis J. Nazario, Glenroy Neblett, Marcus R. Neblett, Jerome O. Nedd, Laurence Nedell, Luke G. Nee, Pete Negron, Ann Nicole Nelson, David William Nelson, James Nelson, Michele Ann Nelson, Peter Allen Nelson, Oscar Nesbitt, Gerard Terence Nevins, Nancy Yuen Ngo, Jody Tepedino Nichilo, Martin Niederer, Alfonse J. Niedermeyer, Frank John Niestadt, Gloria Nieves, Juan Nieves, Troy Edward Nilsen, Paul R. Nimbley, John Ballantine Niven, Curtis Terrence Noel, Daniel R. Nolan, Robert Walter Noonan, Daniela R. Notaro, Brian Novotny, Soichi Numata, Brian Felix Nunez, Jose R. Nunez, Jeffrey Nussbaum, Dennis O'Berg, James P. O'Brien, Michael O'Brien, Scott J. O'Brien, Timothy Michael O'Brien, Daniel O'Callaghan, Dennis J. O'Connor, Diana J. O'Connor, Keith K. O'Connor, Richard J. O'Connor, Amy O'Doherty, Marni Pont O'Doherty, James Andrew O'Grady, Thomas O'Hagan, Patrick O'Keefe, William O'Keefe, Gerald O'Leary, Matthew Timothy O'Mahoney, Seamus L. O'Neal, John P. O'Neill, Peter J. O'Neill, Sean Gordon Corbett O'Neill, Kevin O'Rourke, Patrick J. O'Shea, Robert W. O'Shea, Timothy O'Sullivan, James A. Oakley, Jefferson Ocampo, Douglas Oelschlager, Takashi Ogawa, Albert Ogletree, Philip Paul Ognibene, Joseph J. Ogren, Samuel Oitice, Gerald Michael Olcott, Christine Anne Olender, Elsy Carolina Osorio Oliva, Linda Mary Oliva, Edward K. Oliver, Leah E. Oliver, Eric T. Olsen, Jeffrey James Olsen, Maureen L. Olson, Steven John Olson, Toshihiro Onda, Michael C. Opperman, Christopher Orgielewicz, Margaret Orloske, Virginia A. Ormiston-Kenworthy, Juan Romero Orozco, Ronald Orsini, Peter K. Ortale, Alexander Ortiz, David Ortiz, Emilio (Peter) Ortiz, Pablo Ortiz, Paul Ortiz, Sonia Ortiz, Masaru Ose, James Robert Ostrowski, Jason Douglas Oswald, Michael Otten, Isidro Ottenwalder, Michael Ou, Todd Joseph Ouida, Jesus Ovalles, Peter J. Owens, Adianes Oyola, Angel M. Pabon, Israel Pabon, Roland Pacheco, Michael Benjamin Packer, Deepa K. Pakkala, Jeffrey Matthew Palazzo, Thomas Anthony Palazzo, Richard (Rico) Palazzolo, Orio Joseph Palmer, Frank A. Palombo, Alan N. Palumbo, Christopher M. Panatier, Dominique Pandolfo, Paul Pansini, John M. Paolillo, Edward J. Papa, Salvatore Papasso, James N. Pappageorge, Vinod K. Parakat, Vijayashanker Paramsothy, Nitin Parandkar, Hardai (Casey) Parbhu, James Wendell Parham, Debra (Debbie) Paris, George Paris, Gye-Hyong Park, Philip L. Parker, Michael A. Parkes, Robert Emmett Parks, Hasmukhrai Chuckulal Parmar, Robert Parro, Diane Marie Moore Parsons, Leobardo Lopez Pascual, Michael J. Pascuma, Jerrold H. Paskins, Horace Robert Passananti, Suzanne H. Passaro, Victor Antonio Martinez Pastrana, Avnish Ramanbhai Patel, Dipti Patel, Manish K. Patel, Steven B. Paterson, James Matthew Patrick, Manuel Patrocino, Bernard E. Patterson, Cira Marie Patti, Robert Edward Pattison, James R. Paul, Victor Paz-Gutierrez, Patrice Paz, Sharon Cristina Millan Paz, Stacey L. Peak, Richard Allen Pearlman, Durrell Pearsall, Thomas E. Pedicini, Todd D. Pelino, Michel Adrian Pelletier, Anthony Peluso, Angel Ramon Pena, Jose D. Pena, Richard Al Penny, Salvatore F. Pepe, Carl Allen Peralta, Robert David Peraza, Jon A. Perconti, Alejo Perez, Angel Perez, Angela Susan Perez, Anthony Perez, Ivan Perez, Nancy E. Perez, Joseph John Perroncino, Edward J. Perrotta, Emelda Perry, Glenn C. Perry, John William Perry, Franklin Allan Pershep, Daniel Pesce, Michael J. Pescherine, Davin Peterson, William Russel Peterson, Mark Petrocelli, Philip S. Petti, Glen Kerrin Pettit, Dominick Pezzulo, Kaleen E. Pezzuti, Kevin Pfeifer, Tu-Anh Pham, Kenneth John Phelan, Eugenia Piantieri, Ludwig John Picarro, Matthew Picerno, Joseph O. Pick, Christopher Pickford, Dennis J. Pierce, Bernard T. Pietronico, Nicholas P. Pietrunti, Theodoros Pigis, Susan Elizabeth Ancona Pinto, Joseph Piskadlo, Christopher Todd Pitman, Josh Piver, Joseph Plumitallo, John M. Pocher, William Howard Pohlmann, Laurence M. Polatsch, Thomas H. Polhemus, Steve Pollicino, Susan M. Pollio, Joshua Poptean, Giovanna Porras, Anthony Portillo, James Edward Potorti, Daphne Pouletsos, Richard Poulos, Stephen E. Poulos, Brandon Jerome Powell, Shawn Edward Powell, Tony Pratt, Gregory M. Preziose, Wanda Ivelisse Prince, Vincent Princiotta, Kevin Prior, Everett Martin (Marty) Proctor, Carrie B. Progen, David Lee Pruim, Richard Prunty, John F. Puckett, Robert D. Pugliese, Edward F. Pullis, Patricia Ann Puma, Hemanth Kumar Puttur, Edward R. Pykon, Christopher Quackenbush, Lars Peter Qualben, Lincoln Quappe, Beth Ann Quigley, Michael Quilty, James Francis Quinn, Ricardo Quinn, Carol Rabalais, Christopher Peter A. Racaniello, Leonard Ragaglia, Eugene J. Raggio, Laura Marie Ragonese-Snik, Michael Ragusa, Peter F. Raimondi, Harry A. Raines, Ehtesham U. Raja, Valsa Raju, Edward Rall, Lukas (Luke) Rambousek, Julio Fernandez Ramirez, Maria Isabel Ramirez, Harry Ramos, Vishnoo Ramsaroop, Lorenzo Ramzey, A. Todd Rancke, Adam David Rand, Jonathan C. Randall, Srinivasa Shreyas Ranganath, Anne Rose T. Ransom, Faina Rapoport, Robert Arthur Rasmussen, Amenia Rasool, Roger Mark Rasweiler, David Alan James Rathkey, William Ralph Raub, Gerard Rauzi, Alexey Razuvaev, Gregory Reda, Sarah (Prothero) Redheffer, Michele Reed, Judith A. Reese, Donald J. Regan, Robert M. Regan, Thomas M. Regan, Christian Michael Otto Regenhard, Howard Reich, Gregg Reidy, James B. Reilly, Kevin O. Reilly, Timothy E. Reilly, Joseph Reina, Thomas Barnes Reinig, Frank B. Reisman, Joshua Scott Reiss, Karen Renda, John Armand Reo, Richard Rescorla, John Thomas Resta, Eduvigis (Eddie) Reyes, Bruce A. Reynolds, John Frederick Rhodes, Francis S. Riccardelli, Rudolph N. Riccio, AnnMarie (Davi) Riccoboni, David Rice, Eileen Mary Rice, Kenneth F. Rice, Vernon Allan Richard, Claude D. Richards, Gregory Richards, Michael Richards, Venesha O. Richards, James C. Riches, Alan Jay Richman, John M. Rigo, James Riley, Theresa (Ginger) Risco, Rose Mary Riso, Moises N. Rivas, Joseph Rivelli, Carmen A. Rivera, Isaias Rivera, Juan William Rivera, Linda Rivera, David E. Rivers, Joseph R. Riverso, Paul Rizza, John Frank Rizzo, Stephen Louis Roach, Joseph Roberto, Leo A. Roberts, Michael Edward Roberts, Michael Roberts, Donald Walter Robertson, Catherina Robinson, Jeffrey Robinson, Michell Lee Robotham, Donald Robson, Antonio Augusto Tome Rocha, Raymond J. Rocha, Laura Rockefeller, John M. Rodak, Antonio Jose Carrusca Rodrigues, David B. Rodriguez-Vargas, Anthony Rodriguez, Carlos Cortez Rodriguez, Carmen Milagros Rodriguez, Gregory E. Rodriguez, Marsha A. Rodriguez, Richard Rodriguez, Matthew Rogan, Karlie Barbara Rogers, Scott Rohner, Keith Roma, Joseph M. Romagnolo, Efrain Franco Romero, Elvin Santiago Romero, James A. Romito, Sean Rooney, Eric Thomas Ropiteau, Wendy Alice Rosario Wakeford, Aida Rosario, Angela Rosario, Mark H. Rosen, Brooke David Rosenbaum, Linda Rosenbaum, Sheryl Lynn Rosenbaum, Lloyd D. Rosenberg, Mark Louis Rosenberg, Andrew I. Rosenblum, Joshua M. Rosenblum, Joshua A. Rosenthal, Richard David Rosenthal, Daniel Rossetti, Norman Rossinow, Nicholas P. Rossomando, Michael Craig Rothberg, Donna Marie Rothenberg, Nick Rowe, Timothy A. Roy, Paul G. Ruback, Ronald J. Ruben, Joanne Rubino, David Michael Ruddle, Bart Joseph Ruggiere, Susan Ann Ruggiero, Adam K. Ruhalter, Gilbert Ruiz, Stephen P. Russell, Steven Harris Russin, Michael Thomas Russo, Wayne Alan Russo, Edward Ryan, John J. Ryan, Jonathan Stephan Ryan, Matthew Lancelot Ryan, Tatiana Ryjova, Christina Sunga Ryook, Thierry Saada, Jason E. Sabbag, Thomas E. Sabella, Scott Saber, Joseph Sacerdote, Francis J. Sadocha, Jude Elias Safi, Brock Joel Safronoff, Edward Saiya, John Patrick Salamone, Hernando R. Salas, Juan Salas, Esmerlin Salcedo, John Salvatore Salerno, Richard L. Salinardi, Wayne John Saloman, Nolbert Salomon, Catherine Patricia Salter, Frank Salvaterra, Paul R. Salvio, Samuel R. Salvo, Rena Sam-Dinnoo, Carlos Samaniego, James Kenneth Samuel, Michael V. San Phillip, Sylvia San Pio Resta, Hugo Sanay-Perafiel, Alva Jeffries Sanchez, Erick Sanchez, Jacquelyn P. Sanchez, Eric Sand, Stacey Leigh Sanders, Herman Sandler, James Sands, Ayleen J. Santiago, Kirsten Santiago, Maria Theresa Santillan, Susan G. Santo, Christopher Santora, John Santore, Mario L. Santoro, Jorge Octavio Santos Anaya, Rafael Humberto Santos, Rufino Conrado F. (Roy) Santos, Kalyan K. Sarkar, Chapelle Sarker, Paul F. Sarle, Deepika Kumar Sattaluri, Gregory Thomas Saucedo, Susan Sauer, Anthony Savas, Vladimir Savinkin, Jackie Sayegh Duggan, John Sbarbaro, Robert L. Scandole, Michelle Scarpitta, Dennis Scauso, John A. Schardt, John G. Scharf, Fred Claude Scheffold, Angela Susan Scheinberg, Scott M. Schertzer, Sean Schielke, Steven Francis Schlag, Jon S. Schlissel, Karen Helene Schmidt, Ian Schneider, Thomas G. Schoales, Marisa Di Nardo Schorpp, Frank G. Schott, Gerard P. Schrang, Jeffrey Schreier, John T. Schroeder, Susan Lee Kennedy Schuler, Edward W. Schunk, Mark E. Schurmeier, Clarin Shellie Schwartz, John Schwartz, Mark Schwartz, Adriane Victoria Scibetta, Raphael Scorca, Randolph Scott, Christopher J. Scudder, Arthur Warren Scullin, Michael Seaman, Margaret Seeliger, Anthony Segarra, Carlos Segarra, Jason Sekzer, Matthew Carmen Sellitto, Howard Selwyn, Larry John Senko, Arturo Angelo Sereno, Frankie Serrano, Alena Sesinova, Adele Sessa, Sita Nermalla Sewnarine, Karen Lynn Seymour-Dietrich, Davis (Deeg) Sezna, Thomas Joseph Sgroi, Jayesh Shah, Khalid M. Shahid, Mohammed Shajahan, Gary Shamay, Earl Richard Shanahan, Shiv Shankar, Neil G. Shastri, Kathryn Anne Shatzoff, Barbara A. Shaw, Jeffrey J. Shaw, Robert J. Shay, Daniel James Shea, Joseph Patrick Shea, Linda Sheehan, Hagay Shefi, John Anthony Sherry, Atsushi Shiratori, Thomas Shubert, Mark Shulman, See-Wong Shum, Allan Shwartzstein, Johanna Sigmund, Dianne T. Signer, Gregory Sikorsky, Stephen Gerard Siller, David Silver, Craig A. Silverstein, Nasima H. Simjee, Bruce Edward Simmons, Arthur Simon, Kenneth Alan Simon, Michael John Simon, Paul Joseph Simon, Marianne Simone, Barry Simowitz, Jeff Simpson, Khamladai K. (Khami) Singh, Roshan R. (Sean) Singh, Thomas Sinton, Peter A. Siracuse, Muriel F. Siskopoulos, Joseph M. Sisolak, John P. Skala, Francis J. Skidmore, Toyena Corliss Skinner, Paul A. Skrzypek, Christopher Paul Slattery, Vincent R. Slavin, Robert Sliwak, Paul K. Sloan, Stanley S. Smagala, Wendy L. Small, Catherine T. Smith, Daniel Laurence Smith, George Eric Smith, James G. Smith, Jeffrey Randall Smith, Joyce Smith, Karl Trumbull Smith, Kevin Smith, Leon Smith, Moira Smith, Rosemary A. Smith, Sandra Fajardo Smith, Bonnie S. Smithwick, Rochelle Monique Snell, Leonard J. Snyder, Astrid Elizabeth Sohan, Sushil Solanki, Ruben Solares, Naomi Leah Solomon, Daniel W. Song, Michael C. Sorresse, Fabian Soto, Timothy P. Soulas, Gregory T. Spagnoletti, Donald F. Spampinato, Thomas Sparacio, John Anthony Spataro, Robert W. Spear, Maynard S. Spence, George E. Spencer, Robert Andrew Spencer, Mary Rubina Sperando, Frank J. Spinelli, William E. Spitz, Joseph P. Spor, Klaus Johannes Sprockamp, Saranya Srinuan, Fitzroy St. Rose, Michael F. Stabile, Lawrence T. Stack, Timothy Stackpole, Richard James Stadelberger, Eric A. Stahlman, Gregory M. Stajk, Alexandru Liviu Stan, Corina Stan, Mary D. Stanley, Joyce Stanton, Patricia Stanton, Anthony M. Starita, Jeffrey Stark, Derek James Statkevicus, Craig William Staub, William V. Steckman, Eric Thomas Steen, William R. Steiner, Alexander Robbins Steinman, Andrew Stergiopoulos, Andrew Stern, Martha Jane Stevens, Michael James Stewart, Richard H. Stewart, Sanford M. Stoller, Lonny J. Stone, Jimmy Nevill Storey, Timothy Stout, Thomas S. Strada, James J. Straine, Edward W. Straub, George Strauch, Edward T. Strauss, Steven R. Strauss, Steven F. Strobert, Walwyn W. Stuart, Benjamin Suarez, David S. Suarez, Ramon Suarez, Yoichi Sugiyama, William Christopher Sugra, Daniel Suhr, David Marc Sullins, Christopher P. Sullivan, Patrick Sullivan, Thomas Sullivan, Hilario Soriano (Larry) Sumaya, James Joseph Suozzo, Colleen Supinski, Robert Sutcliffe, Selina Sutter, Claudia Suzette Sutton, John F. Swaine, Kristine M. Swearson, Brian Edward Sweeney, Kenneth J. Swensen, Thomas F. Swift, Derek O. Sword, Kevin T. Szocik, Gina Sztejnberg, Norbert P. Szurkowski, Harry Taback, Joann Tabeek, Norma C. Taddei, Michael Taddonio, Keiichiro Takahashi, Keiji Takahashi, Phyllis Gail Talbot, Robert R. Talhami, Sean Patrick Tallon, Paul Talty, Maurita Tam, Rachel Tamares, Hector Tamayo, Michael Andrew Tamuccio, Kenichiro Tanaka, Rhondelle Cherie Tankard, Michael Anthony Tanner, Dennis Gerard Taormina, Kenneth Joseph Tarantino, Allan Tarasiewicz, Ronald Tartaro, Darryl Taylor, Donnie Brooks Taylor, Lorisa Ceylon Taylor, Michael M. Taylor, Paul A. Tegtmeier, Yeshavant Moreshwar Tembe, Anthony Tempesta, Dorothy Temple, Stanley L. Temple, David Tengelin, Brian J. Terrenzi, Lisa Marie Terry, Goumatie T. Thackurdeen, Harshad Sham Thatte, Thomas F. Theurkauf, Lesley Thomas-O'Keefe, Brian T. Thompson, Clive Thompson, Glenn Thompson, Nigel Bruce Thompson, Perry Anthony Thompson, Vanavah Alexi Thompson, William Harry Thompson, Eric Raymond Thorpe, Nichola A. Thorpe, Sal Tieri, John Patrick Tierney, Mary Ellen Tiesi, William R. Tieste, Kenneth F. Tietjen, Stephen Edward Tighe, Scott C. Timmes, Michael E. Tinley, Jennifer M. Tino, Robert Frank Tipaldi, John J. Tipping, David Tirado, Hector Luis Tirado, Michelle Titolo, John J. Tobin, Richard J. Todisco, Vladimir Tomasevic, Stephen K. Tompsett, Thomas Tong, Doris Torres, Luis Eduardo Torres, Amy E. Toyen, Christopher M. Traina, Daniel Patrick Trant, Abdoul Karim Traore, Glenn J. Travers, Walter (Wally) P. Travers, Felicia Traylor-Bass, Lisa L. Trerotola, Karamo Trerra, Michael Trinidad, Francis Joseph Trombino, Gregory J. Trost, William Tselepis, Zhanetta Tsoy, Michael Patrick Tucker, Lance Richard Tumulty, Ching Ping Tung, Simon James Turner, Donald Joseph Tuzio, Robert T. Twomey, Jennifer Tzemis, John G. Ueltzhoeffer, Tyler V. Ugolyn, Michael A. Uliano, Jonathan J. Uman, Anil Shivhari Umarkar, Allen V. Upton, Diane Maria Urban, John Damien Vaccacio, Bradley H. Vadas, William Valcarcel, Mayra Valdes-Rodriguez, Felix Antonio Vale, Ivan Vale, Benito Valentin, Santos Valentin, Carlton Francis Valvo, Erica Van Acker, Kenneth W. Van Auken, Richard Bruce Van Hine, Daniel M. Van Laere, Edward Raymond Vanacore, Jon C. Vandevander, Frederick T. Varacchi, Gopalakrishnan Varadhan, David Vargas, Scott C. Vasel, Azael Ismael Vasquez, Santos Vasquez, Arcangel Vazquez, Peter Anthony Vega, Sankara S. Velamuri, Jorge Velazquez, Lawrence Veling, Anthony M. Ventura, David Vera, Loretta A Vero, Christopher Vialonga, Matthew Gilbert Vianna, Robert A. Vicario, Celeste Torres Victoria, Joanna Vidal, John T. Vigiano, Joseph Vincent Vigiano, Frank J. Vignola, Joseph B. Vilardo, Sergio Villanueva, Chantal Vincelli, Melissa Vincent, Francine A. Virgilio, Lawrence Virgilio, Joseph G. Visciano, Joshua S. Vitale, Maria Percoco Vola, Lynette D. Vosges, Garo H. Voskerijian, Alfred Vukosa, Gregory Wachtler, Gabriela Waisman, Courtney Wainsworth Walcott, Victor Wald, Benjamin Walker, Glen J. Wall, Mitchel Scott Wallace, Peter G. Wallace, Robert F. Wallace, Roy Michael Wallace, Jean Marie Wallendorf, Matthew Blake Wallens, John Wallice, Barbara P. Walsh, James Walsh, Jeffrey Patrick Walz, Ching H. Wang, Weibin Wang, Michael Warchola, Stephen Gordon Ward, James A. Waring, Brian G. Warner, Derrick Washington, Charles Waters, James Thomas (Muddy) Waters, Patrick J. Waters, Kenneth Watson, Michael H. Waye, Todd C. Weaver, Walter E. Weaver, Nathaniel Webb, Dinah Webster, Joanne Flora Weil, Michael Weinberg, Steven Weinberg, Scott Jeffrey Weingard, Steven Weinstein, Simon Weiser, David M. Weiss, David T. Weiss, Vincent Michael Wells, Timothy Matthew Welty, Christian Hans Rudolf Wemmers, Ssu-Hui (Vanessa) Wen, Oleh D. Wengerchuk, Peter M. West, Whitfield West, Meredith Lynn Whalen, Eugene Whelan, Adam S. White, Edward James White, James Patrick White, John S. White, Kenneth W. White, Leonard Anthony White, Malissa White, Wayne White, Leanne Marie Whiteside, Mark Whitford, Michael T. Wholey, Mary Lenz Wieman, Jeffrey David Wiener, William J. Wik, Allison M. Wildman, Glenn Wilkinson, John C. Willett, Brian Patrick Williams, Crossley Williams, David Williams, Deborah Lynn Williams, Kevin Michael Williams, Louie Anthony Williams, Louis Calvin Williams, John Williamson, Cynthia Wilson, Donna Wilson, William E. Wilson, David H. Winton, Glenn J. Winuk, Thomas Francis Wise, Alan L. Wisniewski, Frank T. Wisniewski, David Wiswall, Sigrid Charlotte Wiswe, Michael R. Wittenstein, Christopher W. Wodenshek, Martin P. Wohlforth, Katherine S. Wolf, Jennifer Y. Wong, Jenny Seu Kueng Low Wong, Siu Cheung Wong, Yin Ping (Steven) Wong, Yuk Ping Wong, Brent James Woodall, James J. Woods, Patrick Woods, Richard Herron Woodwell, David Terence Wooley, John Bentley Works, Martin Michael Wortley, Rodney James Wotton, William Wren, John Wright, Neil R. Wright, Sandra Wright, Jupiter Yambem, Suresh Yanamadala, Matthew David Yarnell, Myrna Yaskulka, Shakila Yasmin, Olabisi L. Yee, Edward P. York, Kevin Patrick York, Raymond York, Suzanne Youmans, Barrington L. Young, Jacqueline (Jakki) Young, Elkin Yuen, Joseph Zaccoli, Adel Agayby Zakhary, Arkady Zaltsman, Edwin J. Zambrana, Robert Alan Zampieri, Mark Zangrilli, Ira Zaslow, Kenneth Albert Zelman, Abraham J. Zelmanowitz, Martin Morales Zempoaltecatl, Zhe (Zack) Zeng, Marc Scott Zeplin, Jie Yao Justin Zhao, Ivelin Ziminski, Michael Joseph Zinzi, Charles A. Zion, Julie Lynne Zipper, Salvatore J. Zisa, Prokopios Paul Zois, Joseph J. Zuccala, Andrew Steven Zucker, Igor Zukelman, Christian Adams, Lorraine G. Bay, Todd Beamer, Alan Beaven, Mark K. Bingham, Deora Frances Bodley, Sandra W. Bradshaw, Marion Britton, Thomas E. Burnett, William Joseph Cashman, Georgine Rose Corrigan, Patricia Cushing, Jason Dahl, Joseph Deluca, Patrick Joseph Driscoll, Edward P. Felt, Jane C. Folger, Colleen Laura Fraser, Andrew Garcia, Jeremy Glick, Lauren Grandcolas, Wanda Anita Green, Donald F. Greene, Linda Gronlund, Richard Jerry Guadagno, LeRoy Wilton Homer, Toshiya Kuge, CeeCee Lyles, Hilda Marcin, Waleska Martinez Rivera, Nicole Miller, Louis J. Nacke, Donald Arthur Peterson, Jean Hoadley Peterson, Mark Rothenberg, Christine Anne Snyder, John Talignani, Honor Elizabeth Wainio, Deborah Welsh, Olga Kristin Gould White, Paul W. Ambrose, Yeneneh Betru, Mary Jane (MJ) Booth, Bernard Curtis Brown, Charles F. Burlingame, Suzanne M. Calley, William E. Caswell, David M. Charlebois, Sara M. Clark, Asia S. Cottom, James Daniel Debeuneure, Rodney Dickens, Eddie A. Dillard, Charles A. Droz, Barbara G. Edwards, Charles S. Falkenberg, Dana Falkenberg, Zoe Falkenberg, James Joseph Ferguson, Darlene E. Flagg, Wilson F. Flagg, Richard P. Gabriel, Ian J. Gray, Stanley R. Hall, Michele M. Heidenberger, Bryan C. Jack, Steven D. Jacoby, Ann C. Judge, Chandler R. Keller, Yvonne E. Kennedy, Norma Cruz Khan, Karen Ann Kincaid, Dong Chul Lee, Jennifer Lewis, Kenneth E. Lewis, Renee A. May, Dora Marie Menchaca, Christopher C. Newton, Barbara K. Olson, Ruben S. Ornedo, Robert Penninger, Robert R. Ploger, Zandra F. Ploger, Lisa J. Raines, Todd H. Reuben, John P. Sammartino, Diane M. Simmons, George W. Simmons, Mari-Rae Sopper, Robert Speisman, Norma Lang Steuerle, Hilda E. Taylor, Leonard E. Taylor, Sandra D. Teague, Leslie A. Whittington, John D. Yamnicky, Vicki C. Yancey, Shuyin Yang, Yuguang Zheng, Craig Amundson, Melissa Rose Barnes, Max J. Beilke, Kris Romeo Bishundat, Carrie R. Blagburn, Canfield D. Boone, Diana Borrero de Padro, Donna Bowen, Allen P. Boyle, Christopher Lee Burford, Daniel Martin Caballero, Jose Orlando Calderon-Olmedo, Angelene C. Carter, Sharon A. Carver, John J. Chada, Rosa Maria (Rosemary) Chapa, Julian T. Cooper, Eric A. Cranford, Ada M. Davis, Gerald Francis DeConto, Jerry Don Dickerson, Johnnie Doctor, Robert Edward Dolan, William Howard Donovan, Patrick Dunn, Edward Thomas Earhart, Robert Randolph Elseth, Jamie Lynn Fallon, Amelia V. Fields, Gerald P. Fisher, Matthew Michael Flocco, Sandra N. Foster, Lawrence Daniel Getzfred, Cortez Ghee, Brenda C. Gibson, Ron F. Golinski, Diane M. Hale-McKinzy, Carolyn B. Halmon, Sheila M. S. Hein, Ronald John Hemenway, Wallace Cole Hogan, Jimmie Ira Holley, Angela M. Houtz, Brady K. Howell, Peggie M. Hurt, Stephen Neil Hyland, Robert J. Hymel, Lacey B. Ivory, Dennis M. Johnson, Judith L. Jones, Brenda Kegler, Michael Scott Lamana, David W. Laychak, Samantha L. Lightbourn-Allen, Stephen V. Long, James T. Lynch, Terence M. Lynch, Nehamon Lyons, Shelley A. Marshall, Teresa M. Martin, Ada L. Mason-Acker, Dean E. Mattson, Timothy J. Maude, Robert J. Maxwell, Molly L. McKenzie, Patricia E. (Patti) Mickley, Ronald D. Milam, Gerard (Jerry) P. Moran, Odessa V. Morris, Brian Anthony Moss, Teddington H. Moy, Patrick Jude Murphy, Khang Ngoc Nguyen, Michael Allen Noeth, Chin Sun Pak, Jonas Martin Panik, Clifford L. Patterson, Darin Howard Pontell, Scott Powell, Jack D. Punches, Joseph John Pycior, Deborah A. Ramsaur, Rhonda Sue Rasmussen, Marsha Dianah Ratchford, Martha M. Reszke, Cecelia E. Richard, Edward V. Rowenhorst, Judy Rowlett, Robert E. Russell, William R. Ruth, Charles E. Sabin, Marjorie C. Salamone, David M. Scales, Robert Allan Schlegel, Janice M. Scott, Michael L. Selves, Marian H. Serva, Dan Frederic Shanower, Antionette M. Sherman, Donald D. Simmons, Cheryle D. Sincock, Gregg Harold Smallwood, Gary F. Smith, Patricia J. Statz, Edna L. Stephens, Larry L. Strickland, Kip P. Taylor, Sandra C. Taylor, Karl W. Teepe, Tamara C. Thurman, Otis Vincent Tolbert, Willie Q. Troy, Ronald James Vauk, Karen J. Wagner, Meta L. Waller, Maudlyn A. White, Sandra L. White, Ernest M. Willcher, David Lucian Williams, Dwayne Williams, Marvin R. Woods, Kevin Wayne Yokum, Donald McArthur Young, Edmond G. Young, Lisa L. Young

T.G.I.F.: September 8, 2006

2006-09-08T11:33:00.000-06:00

Sanity Roll!

Either you've made one, or you haven't.

I've made more than a few back in the day.

Thanks, Gail. From The All-New Atom #3.

("What the hell kind of inside joke is this?", you ask.)

52 on 52 #18

2006-09-07T17:06:00.000-06:00

52 seems to be getting a second wind. However, it's half fair play (The Charlie and Black Adam Team-Up) ... and half left field sucker punches (The Ralph and Wacky Talking Helmet Team-Up).

God in heaven, Rucka! We get it!!!! Montoya's self-destructive!

Please try to make her at least a two-note character.

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension.

This Week's Releases: Addendum

2006-09-07T08:32:00.000-06:00

What is wrong with you people?

Why didn't you tell me I had left Cross Bronx off my list this week!

Thanks to Comic Pants for the heads up.

Categories:

Help A Diva Out

2006-09-07T08:13:00.000-06:00

Lea Hernandez, a.k.a. DivaLea needs some help.

Plenty of details available here and here and here and here and elsewhere.

It's new comics day. Take a look at the pull list. maybe there's a title or two that you could put aside until the next paycheck?

PayPal donations are easy enough. I tried to set up a button, but it insists on adding 20% shipping to any donation.

Send PayPal to divalea@gmail.com, attention "Lea Hernandez House Fire Donations".

Categories:

Comics

This Week's Releases: September 7, 2006

2006-09-06T00:04:00.000-06:00

Well, my Madden 07 review is finally up, and that's a heck of a load off. 2000 words of analysis, and it'll just end up as bait for a flamwwar about a numeric score. Frankly, game reviewing is what drove me to Focused Totality ... it's work.

Anyways, what awaits me at 2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics this Labor-delayed New Comics Day? Just like last year, Labor Day pushes New Comics Day and NFL Kickoff together into a delicious stew that you can label "A Few Of My favorite Things". Trust me when I say, in true Kirby/Lee style "Lo, There Shall Come A Pizza."

Not a lot here to get excited about, is there? I'm committed to All-New Atom through Byrne's departure, as I'd like to see the book without his funky stylings. Mystery In Space, American Splendor, Marvel 1602: Fantastick Four, Lone Ranger, Mystery In Space all end up in the same boat: debuts that interest me, yet don't exactly have me counting the minutes.

Local's back, though, and that's a good thing.

52 #18
All-New Atom #3
American Splendor #1
Detective Comics #823
Mystery In Space #1
Agents Of Atlas #2
Beyond #3
Marvel 1602: Fantastick Four #1
Uncanny X-Men #478
Lone Ranger #1
Local #6
Snakewoman #2

Categories:

ScatterThoughts: The Books Of August 30th

2006-09-05T09:38:00.000-06:00

I can tolerate the poor art in Battlestar Galactica #1, although at times it takes an act of sheer mental fortitude to associate these characters with their show counterparts. Greg Pak's characterization and dialogue is close to the target, though suffers from a feeling of telegraphy: there's little of the grace and subtlety of the show, and that's because it's moving to a different medium. What jars here is the concept behind this "episode". It's not an enviable task: part of Galactica's distinct flavor is constant change and progression, and Pak is trapped between episodes with no ability to make fundamental change. However, this plot seems inappropriate to the naturalistic tone of the show, and feels like something borrowed from Babylon 5 or Deep Space Nine, shows that allowed a bit more play with the fantastic than does the grittily realistic Battlestar Galactica.

Ouroboros, thy name is Geoff Johns. Teen Titans #38 is nothing but continuity eating itself, is it? Nothing new is happening here, rather we have a slow unparceling of history. To mix metaphors, continuity is Johns' bread and butter, so I suppose he may was well may hay while sun shines. In fact, he's moved on to invented continuity (isn't it all?) as Johns has apparently run out of DCU history and now with start to tediously backfill That Missing Year. But it seems that since I started reading Teen Titans about a year ago, this is all I've seen: precious conversations about the recent past. Geoff, here's a friendly bit of advice: unless your characters start doing something, there'll be nothing left to write about.

My question about X-Isle #2 is this: Is X-Isle a movie pitch ("King King meets Lost") or a T.V. pitch ("Lost meets King Kong"). Either way it's not much a of a comic book, and seems like nothing more than a hopeful aspirant to big ol' Hollywood Option Dollars. I suppose that's fine, I just don't see why I would pay $2.99 to read one fifth of someone's pitch session. It strikes me, though, that comics became a hot option stripmine precisely because they were outside the mainstream, and stories like Sin City, Road To Perdition and History of Violence couldn't be found in incestuous Hollywood pitch sessions.

What a glorious end to a glorious series. Brendan McCarthy's Solo #12 is a mad assemblage of word and images that flow off the page. He creates synesthesia with colors that taste and layouts that sound. Peter Max homages aside, it all feels/looks/sounds very Beatlesesque. It pushes the borders of the comic like no other issue of Solo has, and closes out this adventurous series with a fitting monument to all it tried to do. I'll miss Solo, but I'm glad I have these issues to go back over - particularly this final one.

Categories:

Sealed

2006-09-04T17:58:00.000-06:00

Make yours here.

(Thanks to Bully and Tegan.)

Categories:

Memes

T.G.I.F.: September 1, 2006

2006-09-01T10:10:00.000-06:00

A powerless Superman leaps to a near-certain death, falling for 20 seconds with the faith that his cobbled-together compatriots will do what's needed to save both him and the world. His only powers are faith, heroism, and leadership.

This week's Action Comics is one of those Perfect Superman Moments, in it's simple assertion that what makes Superman special is not his powers but his humanity and his heroism. It's a wonderful sequence that gave me the smile and chills that I look for every Wednesday.

As much as Grant Morrison's wonder-filled All-Star Superman captures one kind of Perfect Superman Story, Kurt Busiek's recent work on the Man Of Steel is just as stunning.

52 on 52 #17

2006-08-31T09:56:00.000-06:00

I suppose a Harlan Ellison joke would be in extremely poor taste.

Buddy's adventures with Grant are in continuity?

Adam's Eyes Update: Empty sockets.

Seventeen weeks in, and 52 still surprises me. The castmember grid is complete, yet we continue to see new characters and threads brought in. Like a well-timed Reddy.

*What is this? Each week, I write exactly 52 words on that week's 52. The word count is according to the Word Count Firefox Extension.

This Week's Releases: August 30, 2006

2006-08-29T10:05:00.000-06:00

First, I want to address the lack of ... enthusiasm around here lately. It may seem as if I'm going through the motions, not committed with the same level of enthusiasm that got me mentioned as "the All-Star of the new bunch of bloggers that seemed to pop up last year". Frankly, it's simple: unemployment sucks. One would think I would have more blogging time, but with the waiting, the worrying, and the playing of videogames as avoidance ... days get busy. Hopefully, things will come together, and I'll get back on track soon.

There are new comics this week, and I'm buying them. Well, not me, actually. My good and wonderful wife will be doing the buying this week, as we need to scale back our trips into Salt Lake City. Since she's headed in on Wednesday, she's stopping by 2005 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award Winning Night Flight Comics with this here shopping list. Thank heavens I have a comic shop I can be proud of, where I know they'll not treat a woman as if she walked in off Mars itself.

I finally caught up my Battlestar Galactica viewing to the point where I can actually read the comic (set midway through the second season). My #0 is still safely tucked away, and I will greet this #1 like the frothy confection of politics, religion, and character that it ought to be. I'm also thoroughly thrilled to see another Action Comics, Brendan McCarthy's Solo, and Mike Carey and Pasqual Ferry's debut on Ultimate Fantastic Four.

All these do not hold a candle to the appearance of a new All-Star Superman, however. My eyes blink in happy surprise when I see it on the shipping list, and it's become an event to be treasured.

52 #17
Action Comics #842
All Star Superman #5
Boys #2
JLA Classified #26
Solo #12
Superman/Batman #29
Teen Titans #38
Uncle Sam And The Freedom Fighters #2
Cable/Deadpool #31
Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #2
Ultimate Fantastic Four #33
X-Factor #10
X-Men #190
Battlestar Galactica #1

Categories:

T.G.I.F.: August 25, 2006

2006-08-25T11:46:00.000-06:00

Actually, there were two T.G.I.F. candidates from Batman #656, a comic I enjoyed immensely. I also loved the sequence as the ninja man-bats attack that ends with "Ninja man-bats. Alarming twist."

This panel wins out for it's sheer balls and willingness to be completely over-the-top and off-the-page. For that brief panel, I could hear the voices and the soundtrack, as the Hammer Horror Batman came to life right in front of me. It's also, of course, bringing the Lichtenstein pop-art that decorates the earlier scenes right into the comic itself. It's bold and fun, and made me smile.