Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom #1
Written by Peter Hogan
Penciled by Chris Sprouse
Inked by Karl Story
Colored by Carrie Strachan
Lettered by Todd Klein
Cover art by Sprouse, Story & Strachan or J.H. Williams III

If Alan Moore isn’t available to spin more stories of the pulp-inspired hero he co-created, Peter Hogan’s a mighty fine choice to carry on the adventures of the Strong family.  Tom Strong was Moore’s reimagining of the superhero via the original pulp hero model, a man given strength by science and intelligence by learning.  With Moore splitting from the publisher, Hogan steps into the breach to spin a yarn that finds Strong’s illegitimate Nazi son (read it to understand how that came to be) time traveling to the past and altering the outcome of WWII.

Granted, Nazis as villains is the most overused cliché there is, but Hogan understands what makes Tom Strong – really what makes the most memorable superheroes – such a strong escapist protagonist.  Tom’s compassionate and kind, intelligent, and absolutely uncompromising in his heroic convictions.  Hogan puts him in the middle of seemingly impossible odds and just lets that purity of spirit shine through.

Actually, Hogan does more than that.  He opens on Tom’s wife Dhalua and follows her through half the issue, which builds (or rebuilds) the reader’s connection to Tom’s family and enhances the appreciation of Dhalua’s sudden disappearance in the Nazi-controlled reality Tom finds himself trapped in.  This debut issue not only sets up the long odds of Tom Strong vs. the entire Naziverse to recreate reality and save his family, but it also poses the riddle of why Tom Strong alone of all people remembers the way things should be.

Chris Sprouse, Alan Moore’s collaborator in Tom Strong’s creation, returns to illustrate this latest adventure, and of course, he’s perfect for the job.  Sprouse’s strong, clean lines capture the powerful elegance and simplicity of a character like Tom Strong, physically and thematically, and Sprouse’s lean, streamlined architecture and technology fit the uncluttered escapism of the serial.

There are limits to where you can go with a character like this, which is why Tom Strong’s the sort of character who’s best in small bursts of cotton candy escapism, and Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom looks like it’s going to be exactly that.  Alternate realities, Nazis, one man against the world, shining beacons of hope and uncompromising faith, and superior artwork – this one’s got it all.  Don’t miss it.

Batman #700
Written by Grant Morrison
Illustrated by Tony Daniel, Frank Quitely, Scott Kolins, Andy Kubert and David Finch & Richard Friend
Colored by Ian Hannin, Alex Sinclair & Tony Avina, Brad Anderson and Peter Steigerwald
Lettered by Jarek K. Fletcher
Cover art by Finch or Mike Mignola

Batman Gallery artwork by Shane Davis, Juan Doe, Guillem March, Dustin Nguyen, Tim Sale, Bill Sienkiewicz and Philip Tan
Secrets of the Batcave sequence designed and 3-D modeled by Freddie E Williams III, with text by Matthew K. Manning

Seven hundred issues is a nice round number, isn’t it?  (Well, if you don’t count issue number 0 or 1,000,000.)  Grant Morrison, one of the more imaginative and challenging writers in comics today, scripts the 700^th issue of the comic series Batman, and as is the way with these big round numbered issues, he opts for a celebration of Batman and his timelessness.

In this case, the issue titled “Time and the Batman” follows three different Batman – Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne – through encounters with a somewhat mythical Joker’s Joke Book and a time-traveling Dr. Carter Nichols.  Of course, the story doesn’t really illuminate any great insight into the concept of Batman.  Morrison fits a few snappy lines into the script, but none of the three major chapters offer much insight into the importance of Batman, nor does any chapter offer more than a jumpy, unfocused action piece.

There is one great page, three panels, two lines – second to last page in the far future versions of Batman chapter, and that one page sums it all up perfectly.  Alas, the portions of the issue leading to it don’t deliver.

Artistically, the segmented narrative justifies the divergent art styles.  Though I’m not particularly a fan of Daniel or Finch’s over-rendered style, both present solid action sequences, and Frank Quitely, Scott Kolins (his pages are too saturated with color in comparison) and Andy Kubert also provide strong pages, each giving their particular Batman their own distinct mark.

By Julie Opipari

I picked up The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service to spotlight because it is fairly episodic, and you don’t  have to read it in order.  I have read the first volume, and then several later in the series, and didn’t have any trouble following along with the story of this second volume.

The title is character driven, and writer Eiji Otsuka manages to sneak in cast introductions, so you won’t feel lost if you pick up a random volume and give the series a try.

It is a very unique title, peopled by a bunch of misfits who, try as they might, just don’t blend in with the rest of society.  They all have special “gifts” which set them apart and keep more normal people from wanting to hang out with them.  I mean, who wants to pal around with a bunch of peeps who can talk to the dead?  Or are experts at embalming?  Or better yet, talk to sock puppets?

The reason I love The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service so much is because of the weirdos who make up the main cast.  There’s Karatsu, who can communicate with the recently deceased; Numata, who finds not gold but dead bodies by dowsing;  and Ao Sasaki, who I want to say is the most normal because her gift is finding things out, but personality-wise, she might be one of the biggest oddballs in the group.  Then there’s Makino, who is a licensed embalmer, which, okay, isn’t all that strange, but let’s face it—she gets a little too excited at the thought of getting down to work with the latest corpse that they encounter.  My favorite characters are Yata, a self-proclaimed channeler, and his dirty sock puppet, Kereellis, who is incredibly foul-mouthed and claims he’s from outer space.  As if!

Our dysfunctional little group met at their Buddhist university, and since they probably chased off all of the normal students due, I am sure, to their preoccupation with the dead,  they kind of got stuck hanging out together.  Most of them are also unemployable, because who wants to hire a guy who can find dead bodies, or even worse, one with a foul-mouthed sock puppet alien permanently attached to his hand? Yata could never work in customer service because Kereellis would be screaming obscenities the whole time.  I guess being an alien isn’t some kind of crime, but add in that evil temper and nobody wants to be your friend anymore.

In an effort to earn a few bucks, the gang decided that it’s their duty to help the dead find closure and move on to the afterlife.  A commendable goal, but dead men don’t pay very well!  When your clientele is comprised of penniless corpses, it’s hard to pay the rent.  You can bet that Karatsu eats a ton of instant ramen.  The situations the cast find themselves in are creepy and often dangerous, as they try to help the spirits of the dead resolve any lingering regrets keeping them from passing on.

In addition to very crisp and precise line work, the series entertains because of the characters.  Their interactions often have me laughing out loud, both at the clever dialog and at the outrage behavior that plays out during the course of each new adventure.  Volume 2 actually contains a one-volume story arc, with key moments that had me cringing.  The creators don’t shy away from gruesome shocks, and that is one of the things that keeps me so engaged in the series.

In this installment, Sasaki realizes that their latest corpse is the man who murdered her parents when she was a child.  As events unfold, we learn more about her tragic background.  The thirst for revenge against the perpetrators of violent crimes is also explored, with an unflinchingly brutal outcome.

If you enjoy edgy stories with quirky characters, give The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service a try.  I can’t recommend it highly enough, and I bet you haven’t read anything else quite like it.  Alien sock puppets?  Yeah, right!

When Julie Opipari isn’t mucking around the barn, she can be found trying to make a dent in the massive pile of manga that keeps following her home from the bookstore.  Not wiling to admit she has a problem, she blissfully continues to anticipate the latest releases despite the cries of agony from her credit card.  She cheerfully blames her addiction on the stresses of college and post traumatic work disorder, and is grateful that her family grumbles only occasionally about the amount of time she spends buried in her books. In addition to reading Your Manga Minute every Wednesday, you can read more of Julie’s work on her blog, Manga Maniac Cafe.

“By running an electric current through Henry Ford’s corpse, we can create a vortex of rational self-insterest capable of traveling into the future”: Political comedy site and dirty joke repository Wonkette, home of the Cartoon Violence column, has now added a new weekly comic strip to their coverage—Ayn Rand’s Adventures in Wonderland by Benjamin Frisch, who will also be interning with the blogazine thingee. Here’s the first installment. (And hey, speaking of Ayn Rand and comics…) (And speaking of Wonkette…did someone actually create and market a product that Chris Onstad joked about back in 2006?)

“When I read this thing and saw these pictures, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I thought: this is a story I really want to do”: That’s Joe Kubert explaining how  his new graphic novel Dong Xoai, Vietnam 1965 came about, in this interview with Bookslut.

It’s just ike Iron Man…if you squint: Dreadcentral.com reviews Metal Man, a cheapie “mockbuster” that looks kinda sorta like a certain movie about a guy in metal suit.

To be fair, outdoors is bullshit: Check out Paul Hornschemeier’s T-shirt design of the week. (Via Flog)

Chris Sims, midwife of awesomeness: Tarot, Witch of the Black Rose…as drawn by Colleen Coover.

Today’s Rise of Arsenal link: In yesterday’s Journalista post, Dirk Deppey ffound one postive aspect to the pontenial of same-day digital distribution of mainstream super-comics: “If it means that Marvel and DC find themselves opening up to the general public once again, and start thinking twice about comic books wherein former Teen Titan Speedy Arsenal gets hopped up on drugs and beats an alley full of hoodlums with a dead cat because he couldn’t get it up for his supervillain babymama, then I’m all for same-day digital distribution.” More at the link.

Neil Young’s Greendale
Based on the album by Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Written by Joshua Dysart
Illustrated by Cliff Chiang
Colored by Dave Stewart
Lettered by Todd Klein
Published by DC/Vertigo

It doesn’t come up much in my writing here, but I’m something of a Neil Young fan.  One might even say a Neil Young obsessive, if you consider that I have nearly every officially available release (missing only the entirely redundant Greatest Hits and one import-only EP).

The announcement of Neil Young’s Greendale, the graphic novel, aroused some conflicting emotions.  Could the creators really get the point, yet still realize the full breadth of the album?  Maybe as importantly, could they add anything meaningful to the experience?  I’ve already spent time in Greendale via the concert show, the album and the feature film (directly by Young, with actors literally lip-syncing to the songs), so the book needed to bring something new to the table.

Greendale, the album, tells a winding narrative of the Green family, who live in the fictional southern California town of the title.  Each song spotlights a different aspect of the family and community, rounding out a complex, nuanced and involved portrait of small town America and family life circa 2003.  Major themes revolve around media saturation, energy consumption, anti-war sentiment during the building to the Iraq war, environmentalism and violence in American culture.  Actually, scratch “circa 2003”, because it’s all still pretty relevant today.

Neil Young’s Greendale, scripted by Joshua Dysart and illustrated by Cliff Chiang, tackles all the appropriate themes, but does so in a more focused and concise manner, befitting a book rather than a song cycle.  Dysart brings young Sun Green, eighteen and searching for her place in the world, to the fore.  Sun plays a considerable role on the album, carrying the final two songs, but steps off stage for nearly half the songs. Dysart wisely opts to put her front and center from page one, and he keeps her there until the finale.

For readers unfamiliar with the album, it’s a great move.  The narrative’s thrust is clear from the start, and seeing the world of Greendale through Sun’s eyes allows Dysart to dig deeply into the Green family history.  Characters who never appeared on the album, but were referred to on the expansive Greendale website, rise to prominence in Dysart’s script, each supporting the themes he’s exploring in Sun Green’s coming of age.

Suffused with magical realism, Dysart conjures forth imagery only suggested by Young’s grooving guitar solos.  Sun Green’s comforting connection to mother Earth plays nicely against the chaos erupting around her, in both her family and the outside world.  For Young fans, Dysart moves a few pieces around to make the story flow more elegantly – Sun’s war protest comes early, for example, leading to a touching scene of one young girl perhaps moved by Sun’s field art – but he also gives new insight into the Green family and effectively samples several of Young’s better lyrics throughout the dialogue.  Crossing paths with her grandparents, parents, cousin Jed, granduncle and officer Carmichael (oh, and the devil himself), Sun comes into contact with all the major characters from the album, as Dysart weaves their stories into Sun’s awakening social consciousness.

Hand-picked by Young for the job, Cliff Chiang handles the artwork, and to no surprise of anybody who’s read a book drawn by Chiang, Neil Young’s Greendale looks beautiful.  Crisp, strong lines carry the story forward inexorably.  Chiang’s character designs are very strong, instantly recognizable (they vary quite a bit from the James Mazzeo drawings in the album jacket, if you’re an album purist), and he shifts between the magical dream sequences and the mundane small town settings with aplomb.  Simple, clear visual storytelling keeps the entire story accessible to potential crossover readership.

So it’s a comic book, or graphic novel if you prefer, based on a rock and roll album.  Unusual origins, but the end result remains a terrific read.  Neil Young’s Greendale is a socially challenging, politically conscious coming of age riff, exquisitely illustrated, smartly scripted, offering something challenging and something engagingly fun for both Neil Young novices and the most hardcore of aficionados.  And it’s certainly a worthwhile addition to the library of any comic book lover.

Also, you can read my interview with Neil Young’s Greendale writer Joshua Dysart on the main page and my colleague Chris Arrant’s conversation with artist Cliff Chiang.

(P.S. If anybody knows where I can get an affordable copy of the El Dorado import EP, I’d be much appreciative.)

After their falling out with DC, Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster tried to create a brand-new superhero of their own in an attempt to rival their own lost creation: Funnyman.

If you’ve never heard of Funnyman, and there’s a pretty good chance that even plenty of you comic book fans reading this website devoted to comic books haven’t, well, that oughta give you some indication of how that worked out for Siegel and Shuster.

Editors Mel Gordon and Thomas Andrae have put together a book about Siegel and Shuster’s ambitious but ultimately failed second go at a superhero (a genre the pair had ironically more or less created) in Siegel and Shuster’s Funnyman, a $25, 240-page tradepaperback published by Feral House.

I have no idea what the book is like, but I hope it sells enough and/or gets enough attention from the media to engender some conversation about Siegel, Shuster and their legacy—if nothing else, Superman and Funnyman provide perhaps the best argument that creators need to be very careful when selling their ideas, as there’s no guarantee that the first one you sell won’t also end up being your best one.

And on that depressing note, let’s take a look at some of the other comics coming out this week, after the jump.

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If you like what you’ve read so far (c’mon, how can you not?) totally check out more super cute comics at:www.sosuperduper.com!

UPDATE June 9, 2010: Mystery SOLVED. This is in fact a SPEC trailer for a Mortal Kombat live-action movie. According to actress Jeri Ryan, seen in the clip as Sonya Blade, the movie is not yet greenlit, and this was basically a “tryout” by a director. From her twitter:

Okay, so… Mortal Kombat. It’s not a game trailer. Actually was made for the director to sell WB on his vision for a reimagined MK film.I did it as a favor to a friend. No idea yet what WB’s reaction to it was.

She also made a plea to fans that enjoyed it to reach out to Warner Bros and ask them to make it, though she didn’t know how. Your best bet? Comment here that you want this movie to be made, and I’ll send the link over to Warner PR.

Original Story June 8: Is this the trailer to a new Live Action Mortal Kombat Movie?

Is this a live-action trailer to a new, relaunched Mortal Kombat game?

Those are the questions being asked by fans of the franchise today. It’s clearly a professional trailer, with some major star power from across the science fiction/genre worlds, but there’s no real indication as to just what it is. The one thing we can say for absolute certain: it is AWESOME. Peep it below, and tell us what you think this is for. We’ll be at E3 next week to see if we can get some answers from the franchise’s new stewards, Warner Bros.

[Source: Kotaku]

Yesterday at the group blog The Cool Kids Table, Ben Morse wrote an appreciation of the title Young Justice, which ran for 56 issues between 1998 and 2003, at which point it was apparently canceled to make room for a Geoff Johns-written Teen Titans reboot.

Morse sure doesn’t mince words, writing “Young Justice isn’t just one of my favorite comics of all-time, it’s also in my mind a tremendous accomplishment,” and regarding the “accomplishment” aspect, he pays a lot of attention to the fact that it had the same creative team for pretty much all of those 56 issues, with writer Peter David and pencil artist Todd Nauck sticking around from start to finish and making time for plenty of Young Justice side projects, and that when Young Justice was used as the center for a DCU-wide crossover, it turned out pretty damn great.

Here’s Morse’s description of the Sins of Youth story/event: “From there, it’s a series of adventures all over the DCU as the various aged and de-aged heroes run around trying to figure out ways to reverse the situation, to defeat the Agenda, or to just have fun with their new status quo.”

Heroes? Having fun? Was it really just a few years ago when that used to happen in mainstream super-comics?

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Twitter brings a lot of daily entertainment, and a fun way to get short communicae from some of your favorite comics writers, artists, editors, and of course, journalists. Sometimes, it also spawns some great freaking ideas.

While Matt Fraction was talking about the impending return of the many-ringed villain The Mandarin to the pages of Invincible Iron Man, Geoff Johns had a sudden idea:

@mattfraction What can the Mandarin’s rings do? Iron Man/Green Lantern xover…! about 15 hours ago via TweetDeck

GeoffJohns0

Fraction responded:

@GeoffJohns0 together, all of ‘em can save the direct market…! #LETSDOTHISTHING about 15 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone in reply to GeoffJohns0

mattfraction

Then it sat for awhile, until Fraction brought it up again, starting to riff a story idea:

wait weren’t me and @geoffjohns0 plotting our GreenLantern/IronMan xover in real tweettime? wasn’t mandarin getting a red ring or something? about 10 hours ago via web

mattfraction

And Johns responded once more:

@mattfraction Then Hal loses his ring, but finds one of Tony’s suits. And thinks it’s the coolest thing to ever pilot… about 3 hours ago via web in reply to mattfraction

GeoffJohns0

And suddenly, an actual story idea was born. One that makes amazing sense, and could be a lot of fun. Ya know, if Marvel and DC would actually consider doing a crossover again, using two franchises that are currently big in the movie biz (and/or soon will be) wouldn’t be a bad way to resurrect the idea.

Me? I’m holding out hope for a Green Lantern/Captain Planet crossover. What say you?

DC Universe Legacies #1
Written by Len Wein
Penciled by Scott Kolins, Andy Kubert and J.G. Jones
Inked by Kolins, Joe Kubert and Jones
Colored by Mike Atiyeh, Brad Anderson and Alex Sinclair
Lettered by Rob Leigh
Cover art by Andy & Joe Kubert, or Jones

I kvetched recently about the erratic art in Brightest Day.  This book handles multiple artists with much better effect.  Kolins handles a two-page framing sequence.  The Kuberts – and Andy’s never, ever looked better! – illustrate the bulk of it, and Jones provides the art in a back-up tale.

Wein’s script is beautifully grounded, telling of a young boy on the wrong path and his encounters with some of the “mystery men” of the 1940s.  The boy’s voice is delivered with conviction and assurance, making each page a believable step on his journey through adolescence. It’s the type of tale Kurt Busiek handled exceedingly well in the better Astro City issues, everyday joes whose lives are influenced by the superbeings, and Wein delivers in the same quality manner as Busiek.  The back-up, a little more whimsical, but ultimately light-weight and forgettable, takes on the cynicism of suddenly discovering that there are people can perform supernatural feats.

Legacies is off to a very, very good start.  Of course, having twenty pages of Kubert-on-Kubert artwork could save most scripts, but Wein’s more than holding up his end of the equation.  This series looks like a real winner.

Legion of Super-Heroes #1
Written by Paul Levitz
Penciled by Yildiray Cinar
Inked by Wayne Faucher
Colored by Hi-Fi
Lettered by Sal Cipriano

Okay, to start with, on a plot level, I don’t really understand why the failure of life support systems on Titan would lead to Titan literally exploding, but fine, I’ll roll with it.  The art is solid superhero work, exaggerated, but dynamic and expressive.

The big news, Paul Levitz’s return to writing the Legion, almost lives up to the hype.  I mean, I love Paul’s old Legion, and this script delivered a solid to plus bit of entertainment.  It’s a little heavy on 21^st century references (for my preference, anyway), and for those of us outside the Green Lantern mythos, it’s difficult to know how to read this Daxamite GL or the weird dude who pops out of Oa’s surface.  Most interesting in the entire issue, the conflict and compromise between the Legion and the government made for compelling reading, and I’m curious about Imra’s missing children. The most interesting part of the Legion has always been its world-building, complex future universe and sense of family, not its inherently compromised connections to the current-day DCU. A promising debut, but too early for any firm statements.

Birds of Prey #1
Written by Gail Simone
Illustrated by Ed Benes
Colored by Nei Ruffino
Lettered by Steve Wands

Not bad.  Benes controls his more female exploitive tendencies – well, mostly, and it’s not really hit fault that Huntress’s costume redefines hideous.  And he remains capable of putting together a decent action scene.

Simone’s script has a nice mix of character and plot, mixed with a tiny dash of humor.  I don’t have much feel yet for the cast, and there are quite a few of them this time around.  But the story’s not too hung up on its own history or over-done sense of legacy – I was able to follow it despite not having read a single issue of the previous BoP series after issue 17 or so way back in the Chuck Dixon days, and that’s a pretty impressive feat.  Birds of Prey #1 is a solid debut issue.

Zatanna #1
Written by Paul Dini
Penciled by Stephane Roux
Inked by Karl Story
Colored by John Kalisz
Lettered by Pat Brosseau
Variant cover by Brian Bolland

Zatanna is, frankly, one of those characters who makes no sense to me.  Like many magic-themed characters, she’s basically a walking deus ex machine, able to do anything the plot requires (and just as often prevented by arbitrary writer’s fiat).  So let’s give some credit to Paul Dini and Stephane Roux for crafting an entertaining debut issue of their new series.  It’s got magic and demon mobsters, lays some groundwork, and manages to be fun – well drawn fun, despite a little gratuitous undressing toward the end.  But it was a fun issue, and I can’t complain about that.

Flash #1
Written by Geoff Johns
Illustrated by Francis Manapul
Colored by Brian Buccellato
Lettered by Nick J. Napolitano
Cover art by Manapul or Tony Harris

Flash fact: Barry Allen died seven years before I bought my first comic.  I have no real preference – aside from a general distaste for nostalgia – for his status as living or dead, as he’s basically a blank slate to me.

So this debut issue of the new Flash series, starring the old Flash, Barry Allen, it’s all right.  Art’s a little unfinished at times; Manapul’s inking will hopefully get stronger.  The opening sequence plays into my suspension of disbelief’s inability to wrap itself around super-speed – none of that sequence had to occur!  It could’ve been ended literally in a panel.  I guess that wouldn’t be as exciting, but it just rubs me as odd.

Nice effort to create a supporting cast.  Hard to tell if it’ll pay off, not much to go on yet.  Cute use of text messages.  Still no feel for this Barry Allen dude, though.  He was blank to me after JLA: Year One.  And after the dreadful Brave and the Bold miniseries that followed.  And still today.

Find out more about Global Freezing here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or at ComicsByEgg.com.

At 7-0, the DC Bullets are off to one of their best starts ever, but they faced one of their biggest challenges of the 2010 season Thursday afternoon against perennial powerhouse, the High Times Bonghitters.  In the end, High Times rode one strong inning to a 12-7 victory, handing the Bullets their first loss of the year.

Larry Ganem and the Bullet defense forced the Bonghitters to put up zeroes in five of seven innings, but in the second, everything fell in.  Line drives, flares, see-eye grounders – High Times hit ‘em where the Bullets weren’t, producing a ten-run frame.  It was easily the worst inning the Bullets have allowed in some time.

Meanwhile, facing one of the best pitchers in the New York Media Softball League, the Bullet hitters struggled to string together extended innings against the mix of speeds offered by the Bonghitters’ ace righty.

In the first, trying to jump out for an early lead, third baseman Mike Lorah lined a single to right center, and shortstop/co-captain Adam Schlagman (1-4) followed suit, setting up first and third with one out.  LF Andrew Arnold hit one on the screws, but lined it directly to the opposing shortstop, and a fielder’s choice squelched the scoring threat.  In the second, responding to the Bonghitters’ ten run outburst, the comic book makers managed only first baseman Brian Cunningham’s (1-3, double) one-out double to left center.  The Bullets retired in order in the third, including hitting into a double play.

After Lorah grounded out and Schlagman popped up, Andrew Arnold (1-3, R, RBI, HR) finally gave the team a kick start in the fourth.  On the first pitch, Andrew pulled one of the longest foul balls seen in the NYMSL.  And then to show he’s not a dead pull hitter, he went to right field and hit it just as well.  The solo homer got the team on the scoreboard, and DH LP Vollano, playing with a bruised shoulder, and SCF “Doc” Lauren Fries (2-3) kept the inning alive with base hits, but the Bonghitters prevented further scoring.

2B-1B Joel Press (1-1, R) singled to open the fifth and went to third on RF Brian Walters’ (1-1) seeing-eye grounder back through the box.  Larry Ganem (0-0, 1 RBI, SF), pitching shutout ball after his second inning troubles, scored Joel with a sac fly to center, but again the team couldn’t build on the momentum and settled for a single run.

LP (2-3, R, RBI, HR) launched a two-out blast to deep center field in the sixth, cutting the deficit to 10-3, but High Times managed to tack on two more runs in the top of the seventh to take a 12-3 lead into the final half-inning.

One-out singles by catcher/co-captain Sal Cipriano (1-2) and CF Vince Letterio (1-1, R, BB) gave the Bullets life.  After Christine “CNap” Napolitano’s (0-2, R) fielder’s choice erased Sal, centerfielder Neil Hiremath (1-3, R, RBI, BB) drove a base hit into center, scoring Vince.  Ending a string of frustrating at-bats against the Bonghitter ace, Mike Lorah (2-4, R, 3 RBI, HR) got hold of a pitch and drove it just beyond the High Times’ centerfielder’s reach to clear the bases.  But Schlagman followed with a hard hit fly ball that carried directly to the left fielder for the final out.

With their first loss of the year, the Bullets drop to 7-1 overall, and 3-1 in the New York Media Softball League.  They return to action next Thursday, 5:30pm, North Meadow Field #2 in Central Park, against the Scholastic Red Dogs.

Game Notes:

Defensive standouts notices to Brian Cunningham and Joel Press for digging out those low throws at first base (and to the High Times’ first baseman, who made a similar scoop on the back end of a double play), and to Neil Hiremath and Andrew Arnold for turning the two farthest-hit balls of the afternoon into outs with smart positioning and a whole lotta speed.

This reminder to stay behind the dugout fence on the third base line whenever Vince is batting.  Nobody wants to see you get hurt, Andrew.

by David McRaney

This article was authored by David McRaney and republished with permission of http://wwww.youarenotsosmart.com

The Misconception: You prefer the things we own over the things we don’t because we made rational choices when we bought them.

The Truth: You prefer the things you own because you rationalize your past choices to protect your sense of self.

The Internet changed the way people argue.

Check any comment system, forum or message board and you will find fanboys going at it, debating why their chosen product is better than the other guy’s.

In modern consumer cultures like America, people compete for status through comparing their taste in products. (You can read more on how that works here: Selling Out).

Mac vs. PC, PS3 vs. XBox 360, iPhone vs. Android – it goes on and on.

Usually, these arguments are between men, because men will defend their ego no matter how slight the insult. These are also usually about geeky things that cost lots of money, because these battles take place on the Internet where tech-savvy people get rowdy, and the more expensive a purchase, the greater the loyalty to it. (more…)

By Christian Beranek

Unhappy White Girls is a graphic novel project making a difference, and addressing real-world issues — or it can be, if the Kickstarter project gets the support it needs by the June 15 deadline. Unhappy White Girls is the story of Tish and Branna, two teenage girls coming to terms with their own secrets throughout the course of one turbulent day.

A month or so back Vaneta Rogers wrote an article here on Newsarama about the effectiveness of Kickstarter in terms of raising awareness and funds for creative endeavors. I decided to use the site for Unhappy White Girls, a passion project of mine for many years. I started working on it in 2005 after I was at a convention in Detroit. I was at a diner and said to my friend who was sitting with me, ‘Our waitress is one unhappy white girl.’ Right there I knew I had a title and an idea sparked.

I recruited illustrators Triska Tsang and Vivian Lee from Brooklyn, NY, to provide the art and bring the characters to life. Triska and Vivian really understand how to convey emotion via the page. From the slightest glance to frustration and tears, they capture the teenage condition.

But Unhappy White Girls isn’t just another graphic novel — it has a greater purpose to raise awareness about teen pregnancy and LGBT issues. If the project meets its $6,000 goal by June 15, my team and I will complete production on the novella, with all remaining funds and proceeds being used to promote awareness regarding these social concerns. Once the Unhappy White Girls Facebook page reaches 5,000 fans, I will also donate $1,000 to St. Anne’s, one of the most highly-regarded social services agencies in Los Angeles, providing targeted programs and support services in response to the ever-changing needs of today’s society.

Helping out this long-time project is not without perks, either. For backers that pledge through Kickstarter, my team offers a series of rewards, from behind-the-scenes artwork and development material to a private dinner with myself and a graphic novel seminar in your hometown.

I am asking you for not only your support, but your trust. I hope that my team and I can complete our task and not only bring you something that entertains, but also spreads awareness. We’d love for you to be a part of it.

Thank you for your consideration.

For more information on Unhappy White Girls please visit http://kck.st/du4aFW

By Vaneta Rogers

Robert Pattinson may like Blade, but Blade isn’t returning the love.

Last year, MTV asked Robert Pattinson: Who is your favorite movie vampire of all time?

“I really like Wesley Snipes [in the Blade movies],” Pattinson said. “I think Wesley Snipes is great.”

But Blade, the heroic half-vampire from comic books, has a different attitude toward Pattinson, at least in a story that Marvel’s releasing in August.

Writer Mark Millar, whose comics inspired the movies Kick-Ass and Wanted, is now writing Ultimate Avengers, and the next storyline, starting in August, features Blade. According to Millar’s recent interview on Newsarama, Blade apparently isn’t too keen on Pattinson.

“[There's] a scene where Blade has a dream sequence, a kind of fantasy thing, where he sort of skewers Robert Pattinson,” Millar said with a laugh. “He puts a stake through Robert Pattinson.”

Millar said he couldn’t resist writing the moment. “With Twilight, you know, I kind of hate it, but I kind of love it as well, because my daughter loves it,” he said. “I get some pleasure from it by osmosis, and the fact that my 11-year-old daughter is so obsessed with it, and so are all her friends. I think it’s kind of lovely.

“But I still couldn’t help myself in the comic,” he laughed. “My 40-year-old self just had to get in some kind of comment on Twilight.”

I assume DC Direct is going to make a Rise of Arsenal Roy Harper figure at some point: Will it come with a dead cat accessory, or will that be sold separately?

Apparently I’m developing an addiction to linking to posts discussing Rise of Arsenal: Because here’s one more! This one’s a review by Tucker Stone that acts as a sort of coda to his review column Comics Of The Weak. And get this: It’s a pretty damn positive review. In fact, Stone defends Rise of… to the point that it looks like it may have been one of his favorite comics covered in the column (Well, that or Jon Vermilyea’s Pizza Time).

Here’s a paragraph:

But hating on this comic for these kinds of things—for being ugly on half the pages, for being sleazy, for being dumb—that pretty much calls into question why people don’t hate on those things when they happen everywhere else, and they happen everywhere else, all the time. If that’s what counts—good storytelling, originality, moral values, whatever else it is that Arsenal is lambasted for not having—then it should count all the time. And it doesn’t.

There’s a whole lot of food for thought there, and a bit more in the comments section.

Just a couple of dudes talking about comics: Comics Reporter’s comics reporter Tom Spurgeon has a nice long chat with Chris Butcher of the Toronto Comics Art Festival and The Beguiling about all sorts of comics-related topics.

And cartoonist Harry Bliss designed it!: “PETA wants downtown statue to put egg on face of McDonald’s”

We all win: Check out Noel Murray’s article for The Onion’s AV Club, “Astro City vs. Planetary: Superhero reconstruction vs. deconstruction.”

That’s why all the superheroes are based in either New York City or fictional cities: “It’s Dangerous to Be a Superhero with the LAPD Around”

“It’s graphic novel Christmas in Twi-land this spring, with Stephenie Meyer herself as the subject of the most recent bio”: I can’t really make heads or tales of this Hollywoodnews.com story about a new Stephenie Meyer bio comic, and not just because of the writer’s weird word usage (Can you use the term “biopic” to refer to a comic book, which technically has pictures in it, but isn’t a film—or motion picture—, which is what the term usually refers to?). Either Bluewater Productions is publishing an expanded version of their previous Meyer bio comic with 51 extra pages, or someone else is publishing a Meyer bio comic that will be 51 pages longer than Bluewaters weird Fame bio comics of the stars of the Twilighy Saga movies. Or something. “Graphic Novel Christmas in Twi-land” sounds like a pretty good title for a comic to me though.

Nexus: Space Opera
Written by Mike Baron
Penciled, painted and co-plotted by Steve Rude
Inked by Rude, Gary Martin, Al Milgrom and Bob Wiacek
Colored by Glenn Whitmore
Lettered by Todd Klein
Published by Rude Dude Productions

Here’s the thing about superhero comics: none of them have the slightest thing to actually say.  In the end, it’s all about their own mythos, their own “universe.”  It’s pure plot, pure mechanics.  At best, it’s fun, but eminently forgettable, a puff of sweetness, gone in a second.

Then there’s Nexus.  If you don’t know: Horatio Hellpop, orphaned son of a war criminal, was given godlike powers by an alien being and charged with being humanity’s conscience.  Driven by nightmares, he seeks out and kills mass murders, while trying to create a home where his philosophical soul can find peace.  Or something like that.  It’s more classical tragedy than corn-fed cheese, I promise.

I read Space Opera when it was serialized, making a very, very rare exception to my long-standing revulsion of the serialized comics form.  But I felt that until Steve Rude was able to stabilize his self-publishing venture, comics of Nexus’ exceptional quality deserved some under-writing.  Alas, even with my support, the venture was not a commercial success, but even in the worst case scenario that Baron and Rude are never able to return to their signature hero, at least the series went out in good shape.

Nexus is a superhero comic with intent.  Within the pages of Space Opera – now collected into a minimally designed book edition – Baron and Rude address political and religious freedoms, extremist religious zealotry, parenthood and the conflicting desire for personal freedom opposed by societal necessities.  You won’t always agree with Nexus’ viewpoints – heaven knows I don’t, but the intelligence and ambition of the series makes nearly every other superhero comic around look like it’s still wearing footsie pajamas.

Sure, sometimes they reach a little too far, as in the hamfisted political parody flashback to Sundra’s youth, but wouldn’t you rather a series that oversteps rather than one that doesn’t even stride?

So, Baron’s a smart guy, and he jams as much information onto each page as possible, offering glimpses and teases of dozens of alien races, letting readers extrapolate the details for themselves.  He similarly raises human issues, but leaves room for the reader to come to his or her own conclusion.

Steve Rude, the Dude, can sometimes overwhelm a reader with his idiosyncratic pages, but his draftsmanship is nearly unparalleled in the industry today, his character designs positively sing, and deep down in all those quirky layouts, there are some really striking page designs and, more often than not, strong visual storytelling.

Nexus: Space Opera collects four issues’ worth of Nexus goodness, including the birth of Horatio and Sundra’s son, multiple assassination attempts on the newborn lad, and all the moral and social complications of a rising tide of violence from the Elvonic religious order.  It’s probably not the best place for a new reader to start, but if you’ve been in the water, it’s a very welcome reason to return.  If you’re not a convert, Dark Horse’s Nexus Archives series is waiting.  Once you see what the hubbub’s about, you’ll catch up before you know it.

Find out more about Global Freezing here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or at ComicsByEgg.com.

Headed to Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC this Saturday.  I’m looking forward to hanging out with friends and my artist pal, Wilfredo Torres.

Wired, you are awesome. Because now if the zombies come and I’m not ready for it, I have no one to blame but myself.

The magazine has a zombie workout plan up, and it makes quite a bit of sense. Key exercises include climbing, free fall, hurdles and breakaway (which admittedly took a little bit of explaining).

You can check out their web site for more detailed explanations. Although I’m surprised that running wasn’t on the list, y’know? As anyone who’s ever seen Zombieland knows, Cardio is Rule No. 1, and Limber Up is Rule No. 18! Rama readers, I want to hear from you — what’s your zombie escape plan? What do we need to know to keep the walking dead at bay? Let’s share tips!

Y’know that image I showed you guys yesterday of the prospective Avengers? Well, it’s looking like we might be adding one more — because the Hollywood Reporter is announcing that Jeremy Renner is in negotiations to play Hawkeye.

Last year, Renner had expressed some enthusiasm to MTV about the part. “I liked it because he wasn’t a superhero,” Renner explained, saying that he thought there might be a “little cameo” of Barton in the film. “He’s not a guy in tights doing his thing, he’s actually just a regular dude with a highly trained set of skills. I think I can actually connect to that. Not just flying around with a codpiece on or something.”