My Week In Comics 8-24-11

The end is near...so, so near...more on that in my next comics post. For this one we have the finales of two "Flashpoint" tie-ins, the end of four regular series and two specials.

Flashpoint: Lois Lane and the Resistance 3 (of 3)
Flashpoint: Project Superman 3 (of 3): I hazarded a guess that I had to read the Lois Lane book first, and I was right, because events in that book were followed up in the Project Superman book. After all, you can't keep Superman (even if his existence has been radically altered by the Flashpoint phenomenon) and Lois Lane (even if her existence, etc.) apart for long. The Project Superman series was well-done, though. Both of these lead to the conclusion of "Flashpoint" and the end of the old DC universe.

Action Comics 904: Like many of the other books, it ends with a heartwarming feel-good moment. In this case, it's Lois and Clark having dinner after Superman and the others end the threat of Doomslayer and the Doomsday clones. The curtain is drawn on the final act of their marriage, since the new DC has decreed that in the new universe they were never married. Sadly, this title will never get to the magic number of 1000 issues (unless, at some point in the future, DC decides to renumber their books again -- they did this recently with Wonder Woman, adding previous series together so they could give her series an issue number 600).

Teen Titans 100: Speaking of books hitting milestone numbers, here's one now. This is an example of my "completeness" issue. Since I bought the previous two issues for the storyline, I ended up buying the last one. Meh.

Gotham City Sirens 26:

Rant On "It Gets Better" (Plus The Phils' Video)

First, at long last here is the Phillies' "It Gets Better" message featuring Chase Utley, Roy Halladay, Hunter Pence, John Mayberry, Jr. and Michael Stutes...



Regarding "It Gets Better," there's been a discussion of its merits on the Outsports Jock Talk Blog in response to a post about a story from Canada. A local paper is doing a series on area gay athletes, and they started with a teenage hockey player who isn't out of the closet and is fearful of people finding out he's gay. The comments have turned into a debate on whether or not the "It Gets Better" project is actually worthwhile.

I am sick of this debate.

Wait. Let me re-state this for emphasis:

I AM SICK OF THIS DEBATE!

An Irene Dream

"Jed! Jethro! Elly May! Vittles!!!"

As I start to write this it's 5:30 am. The center of still-barely-a-Hurricane Irene is just off the coast of New Jersey on its way north. At the weather station where official readings are taken (ostensibly at the airport but the physical location of the weather station is actually just across the river in New Jersey) we've had 5.50 inches of rain. There are a few hours where heavy rain can still fall, and the highest wind gusts may also occur.

Somehow there is still no water coming through my roof. This is borderline miraculous. For a short period, during an intense rainfall that was blowing against the back of my house, water was coming into my kitchen, where there's a door (leading to the deck) that is not particularly well-sealed. It was coming not just at the bottom of the door but also from the top. That was a little freaky.

And despite many dire warnings, the power has stayed on except for a blip of 15-20 seconds. This could change, of course.

Although I semi-planned to stay up all night, I decided around 1 am to try and sleep and I eventually managed to doze off. I got maybe 3 hours' worth, I woke up a couple of times, and now I think I may just stay up. Meanwhile, I had a weird dream about this crap:

Come On, Irene!

Some people stock up on water, batteries, etc. when a hurricane threatens. But that's not how I roll...

Picture this as a 1.5-liter bottle. Now picture six of them in my fridge.

I anticipate not sleeping at all Saturday night and Sunday morning, when the worst of the storm hits. Between the sights and sounds of heavy rain and wind, following the latest reports on Irene, anticipating the possibility of the power going out, etc., I think there's no way I could fall asleep if I tried. (And if the power goes out, I have batteries for a radio and flashlight. I just have to make sure my cell phone and iPod are fully charged.)

Besides, in a couple of past really heavy rainstorms (including the nearly five inches on the 14th of this month) my roof began to leak a bit, with water dripping around or through the ceiling fan in my bedroom. So if it does this again, I don't want to be in bed when it happens. I really fear that sooner or later a truly serious leak will develop or the roof will just cave in or something, and I have no money to get it fixed. God (or whomever) help me if that happens.

P. S. Because the title of this post has been overused by millions, you probably have this song in your head.

P.P.S. Here comes Irene now!

"How do you like yer possum, Lowell, fallin' off the bones tender or with a little fight left in it?"

Quick Review: The Change-Up

So, it's not such a great summer for Ryan Reynolds, is it? "Green Lantern" was a disappointment and so was "The Change-Up," in which he and Jason Bateman undergo a body switch. Reynolds, as the single slacker actor, and Bateman, as the married-with-kids workaholic lawyer, aren't bad actors but they need better material than this. There are some gross-out moments and a few fun bits, but mostly it's a predictable tale in which they're forced to live each other's lives and learn the obvious lesson that the grass isn't actually greener on the other side of the fence. My grade: C-plus.

Don't worry, Ryan, we still love you for this...

My Week In Comics 8-17-11

So there are these books, then those I bought today, and the final issue of "Flashpoint" next week, and then...well, that's the question, isn't it? Will I keep buying any books at all? Right now, I don't know. I'm not buying into the new DC Universe. (If I get around to it I'll elaborate on that.) The question is, will I bother to go to the comic book stores at all, for the Simpsons/Futurama books or other things I take a chance on from time to time?

Superboy 11
Supergirl 67
Superman/Batman 87: All three of these are the last issues of these series. There isn't going to be a Superman/Batman book in the new DC, at least not at first. And the changes to the other books starting with their new #1 issues are not to my liking at all, so this is it. All storylines are wrapped up (except for a little loose end in "Superboy") in a satisfactory way. The Superboy and Supergirl books are two that I've really enjoyed; they've been more consistently good than most of the monthly series I've been buying, and they both end (as are many of the DC books) with sweet, heartwarming final pages. "Superman/Batman?" Not so consistent, and I dropped it until these last three issues. It ends with the two heroes on a rooftop, as they so often find themselves. Hard for these two to have a private chat on the street, don't you know. Superman's not entirely satisfied with the resolution of the case, and Batman advises him to let it go, making a neat comparison of the two and their styles: "Last night, while you were paining over this, there were nine murders in Gotham. Six of them remain unsolved. You're an architect, Clark. You're building a future. I'm a fireman. I put out fires as best I can, and then move on to the next one."

Simpsons Comics 181: Ned Flanders on a cruise ship for the religious, with cruise director Reverend Roy: "The eleventh commandment is fun, fun, fun! Pan-denominational, monogamous, non-alcoholic fun, that is!" And poor Rod and Tod are left behind with the Simpsons. "Left behind" -- get it? I'm so funny!

Earthquake!

In a shameless attempt to lure more hits, here's my story of the Great East Coast Earthquake of 2011, or whatever they end up calling it:

I was sitting in a booth at Burger King having lunch. (So you know this is exciting.) I felt movement in the seat and thought there was a little kid in the booth behind me kicking the back of the seat. I turned around to yell at the kid, but the other booth was empty. I resumed eating. Then I went to the supermarket for a few items, walked home, and turned the TV to the Weather Channel to see the latest on Hurricane Irene. Instead, they were reporting on damage to the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. from a quake (5.8 on the Richter scale, centered 40 miles northwest of Richmond, Va.) and I wondered: was it the earthquake that I felt back at Burger King? Since there was no brat behind me it couldn't have been anything else. It had to be the earthquake, right?

I got online and saw that my Twitter and Facebook feeds were haywire from everyone talking about it, and reportedly people felt it from Maine to South Carolina. So it had to be the earthquake -- the first one I've actually noticed while it happened. We've had a few minor quakes in the area -- a couple of tiny ones have occurred just this year -- but unlike other people, I didn't feel a thing. Until today.

There you have it. Now, let's sit back and wait for the blog hits to pile up.

The Bow-Tie Bench

This is almost turning into a photo blog. Maybe I should write soon about the movie "The Change-Up," which I saw a week ago. Anyway, these are the benches that SEPTA, in its infinite wisdom, have placed on their platforms at the 8th Street station on the Market-Frankford El:

Why? Why have benches that are bent out of shape like this? Artistic reasons? They look as if they've been grabbed in the center by the Incredible Hulk while he was sitting there and...never mind, we won't go there.

So when it's really crowded on the platform there's not enough seating. You can't sit on about 40 percent of each bench. If anyone knows the point of these things, enlighten me.

The Glee Project Jumps The Shark

I don't often jump on here and write about something that just happened, particularly if it's a movie or TV show I finished watching. So you know something amazing happened to be seeing this post so quickly.

I've been watching this show all season and, although there have been some annoyances, I've enjoyed it. But tonight, "The Glee Project" jumped the shark in its very first season finale.

Seeing as how I'm writing this so quickly after it ended on the East Coast, I will give you a fair warning: SPOILER ALERT! Why has it jumped the shark? Read on after the jump to find out.

The Doctors

You can find this meeting outside Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (although most people still call it Presbyterian Hospital).

This illustrates some important points. First, when four doctors "consult" each other on your case, all four of them can bill for services rendered. Notice that fellow in the background, rushing to join the others. His urgent stride seems to say, "Wait for me, fellas! I want to get in on this gravy train, too!"

Also, it appears that all doctors are white men. (Actually, the statues could be really old, as the hospital itself was founded in 1871, so perhaps they just reflected the times?)

Too Long For Twitter: Netbook Edition

There's a part of me that, despite my current financial status, really wants to buy a new netbook or laptop before my trip next month. The laptop I have is NINE YEARS OLD. I bought it before I went to Baltimore on a temporary work assignment (I ended up staying down there for nine months). It's on its second hard drive, which I somehow managed to install by myself. The disc drive doesn't work any more. The battery life is pretty poor. And it's not very light. I have to take it on the plane in my carry-on bag because, as old as it is, it still would probably disappear from my checked bag.

A new laptop (or netbook) would be a lot easier to carry. But, just like my old TV that still refuses to die so I would be forced to buy a new HDTV, I'm not sure I should buy one if the old one still functions (at least well enough).

If you want to talk me into (or out of) buying it, feel free to comment.

And don't forget to vote for me for the CBSPhilly.com Most Valuable Blogger awards. Click on the image at right. Thank you!

Way To Keep Up, Virgin Mobile

There are times when I complain on Twitter about my Virgin Mobile wireless service -- because they have more than a reasonable number (or at least reasonable to me) of problems with their web service. Either I have a slow connection or none at all. And any time I do, some Virgin Mobile Twitter account will post a reply asking how they can help me. It's not like there's anything they can do. The problems are never with my phone or my ability to use it. It's always with their connection.

So today, just after I got outside and was waiting for the bus, I tried to update Twitter via my phone's web browser and got "Network Connection Failed." Same thing for other web sites.  Via text message I updated Twitter at 5:37 pm:

 

It's nice that their help desk personnel, or whomever, are so up to date.

Two things...

1) I'm not sure how removing the battery would help. I know my friend Kurt has had to do this with his BlackBerry, especially the one he had before that was really bad, when the screen would freeze or it would otherwise not cooperate. I don't have that problem. My phone, for what it's worth, works fine, and even when these web outages occur I've always been able to text or make calls.

2) Notice how I pieced those three tweets into one image? I just pasted them onto a word document and typed in between. I am so smart! S-M-R-T...

Moon Trees And Shirtless Thugs

Just posting a couple of miscellaneous pics. This, my third "shirtless thugs" sighting, was taken last month...

It's a fenced-in lot on 3rd Street between Market and Chestnut Streets, not exactly as scenic as the previous locations where I've spotted them.

Meanwhile, I passed through Washington Square yesterday and found the Bicentennial Moon Tree...

Now let's look at the tree itself...

...or what's left of it. Clearly it's seen better days.

A Sort Of Universal Sort Of Prayer

This is a "To Whom It May Concern" message to any deity/higher power in existence.

It feels like too many people I know -- whether I know them very well or only from Twitter or Facebook posts -- are having problems. Health issues. Money problems. Family concerns. Relationship breakups. You name it. And sure, even one person is one too many, and to be sure there are plenty of people I don't know at all who are enduring trials of their own. I know that things happen. But it seems lately it's happening more than it should. Maybe it's just me, but it feels that way.

In a fair, just world, people's suffering would at least be eased by societal and governmental functions. But we don't live in a fair, just world. We live in a world controlled by men and women who are sometimes evil and despicable, sometimes maddeningly incompetent, sometimes both (and those may be the most dangerous of all).

So if you're out there, God, Allah, Buddha, Krishna, Yahweh, Flying Spaghetti Monster or whatever you're being called this week, I'd like you to work a little harder and provide more people with answered prayers, positive energy, good vibrations, white light, magic or whatever. Because we could all really use a break. I've included a couple of lighted candles if you're into that sort of thing.

Thanks in advance,

Joe

My Week In Comics 8-10-11

Winding down to the end of the old DC Universe. Just two weeks of issues left after this. But first, a non-DC book that actually was issued a week earlier. The store I had gone to then didn't have it, so I had to wait...

Moriarty 4: So the back of the book reveals that this isn't the end of a four-issue miniseries, but just the end of the storyline, with more adventures starring Professor Moriarty to come in the fall. And my one suspicion, that at the end of this tale Moriarty would have to confront the thought-to-be-dead Sherlock Holmes, sort of comes true. Yay me.

DC Retroactive: Superman - The '80s 1 (of 1): The reprinted story features Superman being confronted by a being called Destiny, who teaches him that just because he can help everyone, he shouldn't always do so. You know, one of those "mankind becomes stronger by fighting their own battles" blah blah blah stories. The new story brings this Destiny character back -- to try and make Superman choose between two future paths, neither of which are very palatable, with the tactic of showing Superman "future" events such as "Identity Crisis" and "Blackest Night" and, of course, his temporary death in battle against Doomsday. (Remember, this is set in the 1980s.) But if he really wanted to show a bleak future, Destiny could have shown Superman his mopey walk across the country.

Teen Titans 99: I wasn't so thrilled by the last issue, in which Superboy-Prime returned. I wasn't going to buy this, but I started looking through it in the store and sort of got suckered in. Dammit. I suppose I'll have to buy the last issue now.

Vote For Me And I'll Set You Free

Many of you* have been asking me, "Joe, we just love your blog so much! You're awesome! Short of actually handing you piles of cash, is there any way we can show our appreciation for you?" Well, now there is!

CBSPhilly.com is the catch-all site for the local CBS-owned TV and radio stations, including CBS-3 television, KYW Newsradio (1060 AM) and sports-talk WIP (610 AM -- at least for now; it's been reported that they plan to move to/simulcast on FM next month). At their website voting has now begun for Philadelphia’s Most Valuable Blogger Awards 2011, in the following categories: Dining/Entertainment, Sports, Lifestyle, Local Affairs, Health/Fitness/Medical and...Everything Else.

And guess who's been nominated in the "Everything Else" category?

Go on...guess!

Okay, I guess the image at right sort of gives it away.

Now, the stakes aren't that high. The only prizes they're giving away are $50 Amazon gift cards (12 in total, 6 to the top vote-getter in each category and 6 "Editor's Choice" picks.

You can go here to vote in my category. (Scroll down -- the nominees are listed alphabetically, so I'm in the T (for "The") section. And you can check out all the categories here. The voting is open now and runs through September 9, and you can vote once every day. And feel free to pass this on to your family, friends, neighbors, frenemies, acquaintances, pets, the supermarket cashier, the file clerk at your office, the toll collector on the turnpike, etc. Thank you for your support!

*"Many" in this case equals "no one." This is called "writer's embellishment." But it seems I have my friend Kurt to thank, as he told me today that he nominated my blog. How I became a finalist, I have no idea.

My iTunes Shuffle Baker's Dozen 8-15-11

I haven't done this in quite some time. Actually, more often I've been listening to either my summer playlist (still looking for suggestions to add to it, by the way) or a playlist of songs I've acquired recently, including Lady Gaga's album. And I haven't bought a whole lot of music lately. Very few full-length albums and not many individual tracks, either. There's a lot of new music I'm not getting exposed to, or at least not hearing right away. Not good. Not having spending cash sucks. Anyway...

Faithless - Insomnia
Bananarama - Once In A Lifetime
Mary J. Blige - Sweet Thing
Brandon Flowers - Crossfire
Soundtrack "The Nightmare Before Christmas" - This Is Halloween
Tevin Campbell - Round And Round (Soul Mix Edit)
Prince and the Revolution - Computer Blue
Angelo Badalamenti - Fire Walk With Me ("Twin Peaks" Theme)
Fleetwood Mac - Silver Springs (Live)
Various Artists (mashup) - Fixing Up for a Love Connection
The Chemical Brothers - Hold Tight London
Live - Pain Lies By The Riverside
Mama Cass Elliot - It's Getting Better

My Week In Comics 8-3-11

As it is many times, it's an all-DC week. Although when September arrives and DC reboots, I really don't think I'm going to be on board. The advance publicity has revealed quite a bit, and I dislike almost every change in the series I buy regularly. Which also makes me wonder, if the only books I get regularly are the Simpsons/Futurama books, should I even bother? But that decision is for next month...

Flashpoint 4 (of 5): The story that's leading to all of those changes is nearing its end. War between the Amazons and the Atlanteans is erupting, and a desperate Flash finally convinces this world's Batman to join with other superpowered beings to try and stop it. Some of what happens is a result of what took place in some of the tie-in books. Without that background, a few characters' motivations here is fuzzy. I have to agree with some other commentary I've read, that the main Flashpoint series is being overshadowed by some of the companion books...

Flashpoint: Batman Knight of Vengeance 3 (of 3): ...and this was one of them. The amazing cliffhanger in the last issue -- (okay, SPOILER ALERT if you care about these things) where we learned that the murder of young Bruce Wayne in Crime Alley not only resulted in his father Thomas becoming Batman, but his mother Martha is the Joker -- is played out, with flashbacks interspersed revealing Martha's descent into madness.

Superboy 10: As with the other DC books I've been getting, here's the next-to-last issue. And to mark the occasion, Superboy himself appears on a grand total of two pages of the book. The last two. Good thing it's not the very last issue. (The rest of the book was flashbacks telling how the villain of the tale, Tannarak, has been around trying basically the same thing over and over since at least...drum roll...the year 45,025 B.C.)

Superman 714: This, on the other hand, is the end. The end of the series before the new one starts up, and the end of "Grounded," otherwise known as Superman's Walk Across America. Although, technically, did he complete his walk if, in order to rescue Lois from the woman who was holding her hostage in order to draw him out, he flew from Portland to Seattle? Not to mention his time walking from Vegas into and out of Los Angeles just disappearing -- seriously, it's like Hands Across America. There are gaps. Anyway, the finale wasn't all that bad, but it couldn't make up for so much bad that came before it.

Quick Reviews: Captain America, Friends With Benefits

And without further ado, here are the two films I saw most recently...

Captain America: The First Avenger: A little better than "Thor" and "X-Men: First Class," definitely better than "Green Lantern" on the Summer Superhero Scoreboard. Chris Evans is not a great actor, which actually makes him well-suited to play this particular hero. Hate that his chest was shaved/waxed to within an inch of its life. My grade: B-plus.

Friends with Benefits: Not a remake of, and better than, "No Strings Attached." Funny, though a little predictable (aren't all romantic comedies?). Good chemistry between Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. And quite a bit of Justin's butt. Woody Harrelson plays a gay sports editor (co-worker of Timberlake's character), which normally might be refreshing. But my friend Kurt felt the character was too much of a stereotype, while I was more put off by Harrelson's overacting. My grade: B-plus.

Quick Reviews: Potter 7.2, Crazy Stupid Love, Rise/Planet of the Apes

Five movies over the last two weeks. I've let this go way too long and can't motivate myself to write separate posts for each of these, so I'm doing this in two posts.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2: Pretty much everything you'd expect from the final Potter movie, even if you didn't read the books. One of the hyped moments was the first kiss between Ron and Hermione, but what I really liked was their immediate reaction once the kiss was over. My grade: B-plus.

Crazy, Stupid, Love.: Why do we need, two commas and a, period in the title.? Very good, made me laugh, a little contrived, a plot twist near the end caught me completely off-guard (although some apparently guessed it in the trailer). Ryan Gosling: yum. My grade: B-plus.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes: I've dubbed this a preseboot: a prequel/sequel/reboot of the franchise. Technically it's only a reboot but this is my word. I like that it gave a plausible explanation of how the "rise" actually starts, and how the story makes you root for the apes to win. James Franco's talent is kind of wasted, though. My grade: A-minus.

Time For DeSean Discipline, Eagles And NFL.

Memo to the National Football League and the Philadelphia Eagles: I haven't forgotten.

Last month, when NightlifeGay.com took the Eagles and the NFL to task for not responding after DeSean Jackson's "gay-ass faggot" radio interview, I pointed out that the league was still in a lockout and that neither the team nor the Eagles could do a thing until the labor situation was resolved.

As you know, shortly after that the lockout ended. There is labor peace in the NFL. Players have reported to training camps.

DeSean Jackson, however, was a no-show at first.

I Think I Kinda Sorta Love Southwest Airlines

So you may have seen me mention on Facebook or Twitter that my dad passed away in California, and his will named me the executor of his estate. He never told me he was doing this, as we haven't spoken in years (even though I still sent him cards for his birthday, Christmas and Father's Day). Anyway, because of this I planned a trip to go out there and straighten out his affairs (close bank accounts and so on). I had earned a free round-trip flight from Southwest Airlines' Rapid Rewards program. I was hoping to use it to go someplace I haven't yet visited, or at least someplace super fun like Vegas, but since I don't really have money to spend, I used my free flight for this. I made reservations to fly to San Francisco on August 23rd and return on the 31st.

Tonight I was looking at a website for California's court system and found a section regarding wills, estates, etc. It seems that, if the deceased's personal property (bank accounts, stocks, etc., not "real" property such as a house) is worth less than $100,000, you don't need to go to court and go through probate. There's a simplified procedure involving an affidavit to get the funds, etc. transferred. However, you have to wait at least 40 days after the person dies. That means I'd have to wait until at least the 10th of September.

I thought for sure that, because I used my free flight, either I wouldn't be able to change the flights at all or I'd have to pay some additional (and likely expensive) fees. But I went to the Southwest website and not only was I able to change, there were no additional fees at all. In fact, I'm getting a refund of $2.50 in security fees because on my original return flight I was going to have to change planes in Denver and now I don't.

I'm pretty sure that if I get to travel again someday, I'll be flying Southwest.

Superman Goes Disco!

It's the new hip thing, darlings!

I guess I should listen to this while reading the DC Retroactive 1970's issue that I picked up last week. And I especially like the video presentation -- holding the record up to the camera, then taking it out of its sleeve and placing it on the record player. You kids with your mp3s don't know what you're missing!



And if that's not good enough for you...

The Voice DID Wear Me Out

Another post I'm finally getting around to: it was almost two weeks ago that I accompanied my friend Kurt as he went to the New York auditions for season two of "The Voice."

The "New York" auditions that were held at the Izod Center at the Meadowlands complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, that is. The ones that required he be there at 7 am. And, as we are both financially challenged, there was no realistic way to swing a hotel. So we took the Greyhound bus from Philadelphia to the Port Authority terminal at 3:20 am. I had gotten up at 9:30 am the previous day. With SEPTA's overnight service the way it is, I had to leave my house well before 1 am to get to the terminal and not be rushed. I didn't bother to even try to sleep beforehand, and I couldn't sleep on the bus ride either, as I was not comfortable at all. The bus may have had air conditioning but it wasn't hitting me.

We arrived around 5:30 am and then had to wait for the first New Jersey Transit bus that goes by the Meadowlands. That would be the 6:50 am bus. Our one advantage was that, by being there that early, we were at the front of the line to get on the bus, and it was packed. Many people were using this route to get to the Izod Center, but we got to sit.

At about 7:05 am the bus dropped us off. Not in front of the Izod Center. Oh, no. That would have been convenient, after all.

My Week In Comics 7-27-11

I need to bear down and get these posts out, as my online time might be limited in the coming days. And this was a heavy week because of two "Flashpoint" tie-ins and a couple of other books not part of my regular deal.

Action Comics 903: As with just about every series, this is the next-to-last issue before the reboot. So it's the next-to-last part of the "Reign of the Doomsdays" storyline, which I've found to be badly written. Between this and the walk-across-America story in the other Superman book, even though I detest much of what I've heard about the reboot it's arriving just in time.

Flashpoint: Project Superman 2 (of 3): This book, on the other hand, really surprised me. I enjoyed it much more than I expected. Held in a secret facility under Metropolis, young Kal-El (Subject One) is being experimented on and, ironically, it's General Sam Lane who's treating him with compassion to try and guide him into becoming the hero that Subject Zero couldn't be. We also meet Lionel Luthor and his son Lex, who is viciously attacked (thanks to some manipulation by Subject Zero and a timely push by Lionel) by Subject Two -- the dog we know in the regular DC world as Krypto. And young Kal meets young Lois Lane for the first time.

Flashpoint: Lois Lane and the Resistance 2 (of 3): Meanwhile, the all-grown-up Lois meets up with the Resistance in London, and they're after a prototype of an armored battlesuit that could help them fight against the occupying Amazons. But there's a traitor in their midst...

Gotham City Sirens 25: This time out the entire issue is focused on (and has narrative boxes from) Poison Ivy, as she escapes from Arkham with Harley Quinn, intent on killing Catwoman for her betrayal. I remember when this book was a lot more humorous. I liked it a lot more then.

Teen Titans 98: Somehow, and I suppose there's an explanation coming, Superboy-Prime (whose punches caused lots of changes in DC's continuity, but fortunately have nothing to do with the reboot in September) has returned and is out for vengeance (or something) against Superboy. The last page is amusing.

DC Retroactive: Superman - The '70s 1 (of 1): DC is doing a bunch of one-shot specials which pay homage to the 1970's, 1980's and 1990s. Each book will have a new story set in the specific decade, plus a reprint of a story from that era. In this case, the new story in part deals with a little drama between Lois Lane and Lana Lang over their love, Superman, which the old story tells how the Earth-Two Superman came to marry Lois Lane.

Futurama Comics 56: Fry blows up the Earth. Not really. It's a theme restaurant called Earthies. It leads to, among other things, Bender being chased down while on the Internet for illegal music downloads -- by the artists whose music he downloaded.

The Guy On The El

This is the story of a conversation I had today -- the type of conversation that, if you weren't there in person, you'd think it could only happen in a movie or TV show. (And anything I show in quotes may not be exact, but they're to the best of my recollection. Now that I think of it, I really wish I would've somehow secretly recorded it with the video camera on my phone.)

I was on the Market-Frankford El to make my way home from Center City a little after 5 pm. I had a seat open next to me for a while, until at one point a guy in a t-shirt and jeans got on and sat down next to me. Dark hair, masculine good looks, in good shape, not too old but not very young, maybe around 40 or so at most. A real blue-collar, macho guy. He immediately started to talk, and pretty much didn't let up the whole time.

He started by complaining about the rain, which he wasn't aware was in the forecast. (I don't know where he gets his weather from, but the reports I heard were calling for a chance of late-day showers and thunderstorms.) He's a roofer and you can't put the rubber coating on a wet surface, so not only did he have to stop work on the roof he was on, but he had to go check the roof on another job he had been doing. Then he asked if I was finished with my newspaper because he had a long bus ride to take after he got off the El at Frankford Terminal -- the route 58 to Neshaminy Mall, because he lives in Feasterville and normally doesn't take the bus. (I wasn't really done but I skimmed through the rest of it as we talked so he could take it. There were a couple of regular columns that I figured I could read online, and I skipped over the rest. That probably says as much about how much actual news is in the Daily News as anything else.)

The El train runs through the Kensington section as it makes its way to the terminal. Kensington is where I grew up, but it has really gone downhill over the years. There's a lot of poverty, crime and drugs. It was at one of the stations in that area where he got on, and he talked about the guys on the corners begging for money and having their girlfriends walk the streets. All drug addicts. He was a Marine and was in Iraq and Afghanistan for six years, and was amazed at how much worse it was out there since he came back. His attitude is that they're young and should "get a job!" but he said he realizes it's easier said than done.

He introduced himself as Anthony, and then asked if I was headed home from work. I told him I wasn't, just hanging with a friend downtown. And then it got interesting.