Month: April 2020

Can’t Help But Smile

When I go to the cinema, I’m one of those that will tut and groan at people talking or, Cthulhu forbid, using their phones when the film is playing. You’ve paid money to watch the damn moving pictures, people, so pay attention! I’m even silent during viewings of Star Wars – sure, my eyes are wide and I’m tapping Mrs Earth-Prime on the arm in the excited way seven year olds have, but I’m not bloody talking.

All that said, I just couldn’t help but smile a couple of days ago when a clip of audience reaction to Avengers: Endgame was shared online again as a reminder of how things were just a year ago. There’s a couple of articles out there with a link to a Twitter video, but here’s the same one on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/-vjTgsScGxI

The sheer, unadulterated joy of that audience watching Captain America wield Mjolnir against Thanos is something to behold . . . and I sort of wish the audience I saw the film with had the same reaction.

100 Issues Ago December 2011

I came across this “100 Issues Ago” panel in an old JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA and thought I’d tidy it up and re-purpose it. If one month = one issue, what was I reading 100 Issues Ago?

With all my comics in storage right now, I’m reliant on my admittedly not too brilliant memory for these posts over the next couple of months.

THE RAY was a mini-series by Jimmy Pamiotti and Justin Gray that would redefine a character they’d recently been working with pre-New 52 in FREEDOM FIGHTERS. It was a good start; the duo usually delivered good, solid superhero stories and given a clean slate with the New 52, gave us a new version of The Ray that showed some promise.

Elsewhere, things were starting to slow down for me; normally a fan of Dan Jurgens, his JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL was just a bit slow; MISTER TERRIFIC and BLUE BEETLE were plodding; and FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN and CAPTAIN ATOM just seemed to be throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.

There were high points as well, though: ALL-STAR WESTERN (another Palmiotti and Gray title) was working well; FRANKENSTEIN: AGENT OF SHADE was fun and interesting; and GREEN LANTERN was romping along nicely.

Outside of the nineteen New 52 titles, I had THE BOYS and it’s side series BUTCHER from Dynamite, and then PUNISHER MAX from Marvel.

Mash-Up #223 Red Sonja and Dr Fate

I can see this pair getting on well after the customary “fight before realising they’re on the same side” type of scenario.

Annotations Continuing

Hard at work on the HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE annotations; with a bit of luck, I might have them done by the end of the week/early part of next.

Once that’s done, I shall be turning my attention – finally! – to the CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths. Sure, you lucky American types saw this months ago, but the whole thing has only just aired over here in the UK. And, thanks to my good friend Spike, I now have access to the episodes in a format I can screen grab.

Give me a week or two and I’ll get some notes up on that as well.