46 and counting...

And here we are at week 46.  I've made some comments here (see below postings) and at Andrew Hickey's Blog, but I guess this is the real start of my blogging Countdown.  So, let's begin...

We're six weeks into the story, and we're finally starting to get a sense of what's going on.  The story is unfolding gradually, and we're still in the "What the bleep's goin' on here?" part of the story.  52 started out from the get-go with a lot of densly packed stuff, and that grabbed a lot of readers right away.  Countdown is structured in a more traditional manner, with the plot unfolding and building.  

If the story follows the "three act paradym", which it so far appears to be, there should be a small climax and a big reveal somewhere within the next six issues.  

p1:  So just when did Jimmy age?  He looks far older here than just about anything in which I've seen him.  Could this possibly be the Earth-17 (Jack Kirby's Fourth World) Jimmy?  That might also explain some of the recent continuity 'disconnects' we've seen with Jimmy and his supporting cast.  That doesn't mean that "Goody" Rickles will be showing up soon, does it?

p2-5  I'm getting the feeling that whule the "SHAZAM!" thunderbolt kept Mary at the same age, the "sorry" thunderbolt has fully aged her into an adult.  I don't think, by the way, that this is the Earty-5 Mary.  I'm guessing it's either "New Earth" or one of the other worlds.  Though nobody's said so specifically, there's been enough hints dropped that I can figure out that Earth-5 is the Jeff Smith Shazamoverse.  Then again, as far as "New Earth" goes, I was thinking that the Rock of Eternity had been put back together, and that Captain Marvel's job now was sitting at the center of the rock in order to hold things together.  Guess I should be reading The Trials of Shazam! to get a clue about this.  

p6-8:  Not much to say here.  I like the handling of the rogues so far, and seeing what's been hinted in Flash I think they're in for a bumpy ride.

p 9-12:  I'm inclined to agree with Olson; "What the hell is going on here?!"  Nothing here dissuades me from my Earth-17 theory.  I'm wondering if the mystery 'killer' might not be some version of the Black Racer.  Or, could be a monitor, I suppose, but at this stage I'm inclined to think not.  Whoever it was, Sleez has seen him before.

p 13-14:  In the old days I used to wonder whether Johnny Thunder ever realized that the magic word to call out his Thunderbolt was "Cei-U", or whether he just used to say "Say You!" at appropriate times by accident.  He never seemed to have a firm grasp on calling forth the Thunderbolt,  but then again there were a lot of facets to life that he never seemed to have a firm grasp on.  I'm getting the idea that Mary Marvel hasn't yet picked up on the fact that her new magic word is "sorry".   And, by the way, what DID just happen to her?  

p 15-20:  Not much to say here, either.  I'm still waiting for more developments.  By the way, why does Jason wear a mask under his mask?

p21-26:  It's a good recap if the multiverse is going to remain, otherwise why bother?  Although, since it's been about 22 years since the first big Crisis, I suppose a "what has gone before" might be helpful to the readers who came in late, though the time for the recap might have been a special between the last issue of 52 and the first issue of Countdown.  Oh, and by the way, Dinah's husband was named Larry Lance, not Larry Drake.

So, there's Countdown 46.  How'm I doing?

A matter of justice...

The new "Justice League of America" has a new headquarters. Well, actually, more than one. Part is in a satellite, where it's presumably secure against your garden-variety intruder. The other portion is located in Washington D.C., on the national mall.

To the right, by the way, is a photo of the new "Hall of Justice". Yep, that's a real building, though it's not actually located in DC.

When they revealed it in the JLA book, it was referred to as being on the site of the old "All-Star Squadron" and "Justice Society" headquarters. Interesting, since the All-Star Squadron was based in Queens (in New York City), at the site of the 1939 World's Fair. Their HQ was located in the Trylon and Perisphere, the central theme pavillion from the world's fair. The site, by rhe way, is now the location of the Unisphere from the 1964-65 World's Fair. The Justice Society's HQ, likewise, was in New York, in an upper-west-side brownstone. (Until recently. Now they're in a new headquarters in Battery Park.)

So... that's quite an error to make. How could the writer (Brad Meltzer) have been so careless? How could the editor (Eddie Berganza) let a howler like that one fly by?

Well, she's a bit slow, but eventually the solution comes to her. There's been a spate of "continuity errors" of late, most related in some way (presumably) to Countdown. My suspicion is that the whole "Hall of Justice" thing is part of this picture. This is going to be one of those 'bleed-through' things from a different one of the 52 universes.

Any bets?

Counting down...

Try to get two persons to agree totally on anything, and you're in for a 'herding cats' experience. That said, I'm finding myself more and more in disagreement with the conventional wisdom on DC's Countdown.

I'm sorry; I like the series.

Many of the complaints seem focused around the series' slow start. Well, yeah, in the first issue we only had one death (and that was after making us care about a character who's never been on anyone's favorite list).

What I'm seeing is a build-up. The story is, after all, some thousand pages long. It's striking me that it's following the archetypal three-act structure. We're still in the first act; matter of fact, we're still prior to the point where "everything changes".

We've had the opening kicker; now we're getting the introduction of characters and themes, and yes, I'm enjoying seeing things unfold even without lots-o-fighting-guys-in-spandex.

It's not the way 52 was structured, true. 52 was, well, 'busy'. What with four main writers (five if you count Steve Wacker) 52 had a much less structured approach, more a mosaic, and that led to a real 'density' in the book. There was lots crammed in, and because of the piecemeal approach it sometimes seemed as though there was more story there than actually appeared on the page. For example, much as I enjoyed the space heroes storyline, what exactly happened there that couldn't have been told in a 'done in one' issue?

Countdown seems to me to be just hitting it's stride. I don't fault anyone for being left cold by Countdown. It's far different from 52, and isn't everyone's cup-o-tea.

Seeing the reviews of Countdown, I'm kind of motivated to do my own. There's nothing wrong with someone who doesn't like/understand it reviewing it on that basis, but the reviews aren't reflecting my tastes. I believe I'm going to be doing more postings on comics in general, and Countdown in particular, and find out whether anyone agrees with me. Or, for that matter, whether anyone cares.

About last night...

Last night, a group of us stopped at a Steak 'n Shake for a late dinner. The group included myself, Piper, Cat Lochley, Scotty, and Terry. We were told to seat ourselves, which we did after some difficulty finding a clean table.

We looked through our menus and chatted, when it occurred to us that nobody had yet been by to take any orders, even for drinks. So we looked around and noticed that some tables had parties who had arrived after us and had already ordered. As we watched, two of these groups received their food.

We attempted to signal a waiter, to no avail. We finally reached the point of loudly calling for a waiter, but we were completely ignored. Ultimately we left, and drove down the road to a Waffle House, where we were served promptly and courteously.

Why weren't we served at the Steak 'n Shake? Good question. Nobody said anything to us (literally!), but we could take some good guesses, dealing with certain transgender status.

I was in tears in the car on the way to the Waffle House. Why do some persons think this is an acceptable way to treat persons of whom they may not approve or understand? I'm, well, I'm at a loss for words to describe my feelings.

I'd urge persons reading this to *NOT* patronize Steak 'n Shake restaurants, and to, if possible, communicate with the company just WHY you're not eating there. Please keep it polite -- don't sink to their level -- leave out the vituperation and maybe someone will notice a number of complaints on the same subject. Companies DO notice these things, and maybe, just maybe, it'll motivate them to clean up their act.

By the way, as I said, the folks at Waffle House were prompt and courteous. It could be that there wasn't any "reading" done, or maybe just that they didn't care about things like that. In any event, I was quite happy with the service and food there, and would encourage patronage at your local Waffle House.

Thanks for sticking with my rant.

Memories of Jack...

A Short Story...

It was back in the mid-80's, and I was attending the Chicago Comicon. This would be during the time it was held at the Marriott O'Hare. It was a nice place, and fairly well spread out, but from the way it'd been remodeled and expanded over the years, much of the exhibition and meeting spaces were scattered all over the place. That year the artists room was a small conference room tucked back in the bowels of the hotel. Eventually I stumbled my way to the artists area, and as I approached I could hear quite a hubbub inside. I figured something worthy of notice must be going on. As I entered the room, here's what I saw. The room was comparatively shallow but wide. Banquet tables ringed the room, with artists sitting behind the tables, with fans clustered around their favorite artists. There were a few artists ranged along the left and rear sides, and one on the right.

The hubbub was coming from a knot -- no, crowd, of fans clustering around someone centered on the back side. Well, the era might give you a hint. Todd McFarlane. Yep, he was the hot artist of the day. There were scattered fans at the other artists, but even they kept casting glances to see if there was going to be an opening in the Todd fan corps.

The artist at the far end? Well, I'm sure you can see where this is going. Jack Kirby. Sitting perched on the table, idly looking around, and absolutely ignored by the fans. I thought I'd stop by just to say "hi", and we started chatting. Chatting -- well, we talked about lots of stuff, and before I knew it, most of the afternoon had passed. And the whole time, Jack was ignored by the fans. If memory serves, the only interruption was once when Jerry Ordway stopped by for a minute.

Jack was quite a talker that afternoon. I tried to pull away a few times, to not monopolize his time, but he kept the talk going. Well, either I'm more a sparkling conversationalist than I thought, or he was feeling a bit alone and abandoned. I had a great time being able to spend so long with Jack -- unfortunately the only time we ever met.

I know that comics has a large "flavor of the month" aspect, along with lots of other fields, but it was more than a bit upsetting to see someone who arguably built the industry left ignored.

Hey kids, what time is it?