Missy

I was gonna suggest Paul Verhoeven's American output, but then I realized it's only seven movies. Joel Schumacher's another good choice, but he's 20+ movies. If you wait a little while, Lana and Lilly Wachowski will have eight movies after The Matrix Resurrections is out. (Half of their movies are Matrix films, however.) James Cameron gets you to eight, Joe Johnston has nine, John Singleton is nine, Kathryn Bigelow has 10, and Barry Sonnenfeld has 11 (he also did Wild Wild West, so that would be two segments for the price of one movie).

They won't do it because they're keeping the Steiner legacy away from him, but I would love just a few seconds of him watching the new Chucky show backstage.

DC revealed today that Jon Kent, Lois and Clark's son, is bi. And recently they did the same with Tim Drake. So that's awesome! That's the post.

It boggles the mind that a franchise that produced nine movies in 13 years has not made a single one in the last 12. The remake is easily the best movie in the entire franchise, and should have spawned another line of sequels.

My new sleep routine is 3a to 8a, maybe 9 on the weekends. Since I have anxiety around the act of sleeping, I basically have to push myself to the point of dropping from exhaustion. Or drink myself to sleep on the weekends.

Sometimes I don't even realize how many I've read in a day. But I can definitely tell which days I had IT support calls and which ones I didn't.

Robin #5 is a legit tearjerker.

I just realized September was my most productive month by three issues. Huh. Didn't feel like I read that many.

Avenging Spider-Man #6, The Punisher #10 (2011), Daredevil #11 (2011): The three-part The Omega Effect storyline is, honestly, remembered for one joke. It’s fine, but does nothing for any of the characters. Batman ’89 #2: Pure fun. Batman & Captain America: This had no right to be this good. John Byrne works magic to make Captain America feel like a DC character, especially a wartime DC character. And somehow this spun off into the Superman & Batman: Generations series. Batman: Face the Face (Detective Comics #817-820, Batman#651-654): Between the end of a crisis and the start of One Year Later, Batman left Gotham City under the protection of a cured and healed Harvey Dent. Why? *shrug emoji* When Batman returns, someone starts killing villains, and all eyes are on Harvey. Is he the killer, or is someone else pulling the strings? I get why Two-Face fans would dig this, but it is not for me. It attempting to do too much and only serves to accomplish some of it. Carnage #6-16: There’s a slight dip in the middle, but it’s needed to introduce new characters and set the stage for the big battle. It’s also good to see one creative team throughout the run. Catwoman #1-4 (1989): This tragic retelling of Selina’s origin ties directly into Batman: Year One, while wrapping up some loose ends from that book and laying seeds for other writers to water down the line. Chase #1-3: Sadly this did not hold my interests. I might come back though, if only because there are a total of 10 issues. Daredevil #66-76: Matt visits Karen in LA, guilt trips her, then runs back home to work a politically charged case. As always, Matt’s a dick. Roy Thomas has left the book, and I’m not that keen on the new direction under Gerry Conway. Also, Matt is a real piece of shit. Dark Ages #1: To save the planet, Dr. Strange makes a major mistake, casting the world into shadow. Seven years later, the story begins. DC Comics: Bombshells #10-18: I get why the stories bounce around so much, but I do wish they stuck with the characters for more than one issue at a time before jumping to elsewhere on the front then back again. Detective Comics #411 and Batman #232: The first appearances of Talia and Ra’s al Ghul. The Talia issue has its moments, but the Ra’s one is a stone-cold classic. And I will never back down from the idea that Ra’s initially calls Batman “Detective” from a place of sarcasm. By the end it is a title of honor, but those first few times, hmm, they seem suspect. Extreme Carnage, parts 1-4 (Alpha, Scream, Phage, and Lasher): It starts out with an interesting hook, then sort of loses focus by the middle. Can’t say I’ll read parts 5-8. Fantastic Four #29 (1961): Starts a little silly then ends on the moon. It’s an odd one, but a fun read. Hellblazer #5: It’s interesting seeing John so utterly helpless in the face of terror. Heroes Reborn The Avengers #1-12 (1996) Captain America #1-12 (1996) Fantastic Four #2-12 (1996) Iron Man #1-12 (1996) Fantastic Four starts out incredibly strong. Stronger than it has any right to be. But it loses its focus after the Namor issues, and drops the ball once Wildstorm absorbs the Liefeld series. Iron Man was okay to a point, but it had too much to do between the Iron Man characters, Hulk characters, introducing Rebel, and focusing on Doom in the later issues. Captain America is a steaming pile of crap, even after Liefeld departs. And the whole series winds up being one retcon after another. Avengers is forgettable at best and childish at worst. Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year One #13-18: So I can only do this series in small doses. Tom Taylor is taking his time building this world, which is good, but the issues at play are complex and each side his to grow naturally. But some characters are way out-of-character, even for an alternate reality. Kurt Busiek's Astro City #14-20 (1996): This is The Tarnished Angel storyline, and man is it sooooo damn good. Magneto #1-6: With his powers vastly decreased, Magneto wages a one-man war on any human who would dare stand against mutantkind — including those turning humans into Sentinals. Again. Nightwing #84: Part one of a three-part tie-in for Fear State. Ton Taylor’s pacing is a little off from his norm, but there’s a lovely moment between Batman and Nightwing, an old Nightwing side character makes their return, and Barbara is back in action. The Pro: Before The Boys, Garth Ennis used The Pro to smear superheroes all over the place in a post 9/11 world. It doesn’t hold up so well ~20 years later, but some of the messaging still resonates and Amanda Conner is unmatched. Robin #6 (2021): The tournament has begun. That’s it. Ruins #1-2: It seemingly runs out of steam. Sad that, ‘cause it’s an interesting idea as a tarnished mirror held up to Marvels. Seven Secrets #7-12: This needs to lean into the secrets a little more, but the action is great and there are a lot of ideas being threaded throughout the book. But it might have crossed one too many bridges for me. It keeps breaking reality — or, the rules of reality — and I’m not sure I can keep up. Spider-Man: Spider’s Shadow #3-5: This What If…? tale does not end as one would expect, and the whole experience really could have been two issues. That said, it’s cool seeing Marvel bring back a line of What If…? comics. Spider-Woman #5-10 (2015): The opening story takes a dark, real-world turn. The the book has to end for Secret Wars. It picks back up in the 2016 series, but this is a great slice of what it will become. Spider-Woman #1-5 (2016): Roughly one year after the end of the 2015 series, Jessica is nine months pregnant and finds herself in a Die Hard-like situation… in a Men-in-Black-like maternity ward… in the middle of a blackhole… with no one to save her. And it is soooo much fun. Superman ’78 #2: They did the Superman II thing and I love that they said, “Fuck it! Let’s do it.” Superman & Batman: Generations #1-4: The final issue is a little too quick, but the miniseries overall is a love letter to the original versions of Superman, Batman, and their supporting characters. Byrne pulls a mega-swerve that’s setup from pretty much page one, and it is excellent to see it play out. Superman: Son of Kal-El #3: They’re beginning to position Jon as the Superman of Earth, with Clark possibly erased from history in the near future. The Terminator: Sector War #1-4: On the same night Sarah Conner was fighting for her life in LA, a police officer in New York was doing the same. The manga-inspired art is a nice treat, but it takes no more than 15 minutes to read this whole useless thing. What If…? #8-10: Issue number nine was my very first What If…?, so this little run has a special place in my heart. What If…?: Why Not: A collection of What If? stories from 2005, consisting of What If Karen Page Had Lived?, What If General Ross Had Become The Hulk?, What If Jessica Jones Had Joined The Avengers?, What If Magneto and Professor X Had Formed The X-Men Together?, What If Dr. Doom Had Become The Thing?, and What If Aunt May Had Been Killed Instead of Uncle Ben? They’re all solid stories, but the Spider-Man one is a bit weak for me. Witchblade #80-85: Ron Marz begins his tenure on the title, and it’s a fine entry point to Sara’s world. It’s not the best, but it opens doors for new readers just fine. Wonder Woman #1-6 (2011): The start of the Brian Azzarello run does an excellent job setting up new mysteries surrounding Wonder Woman and her family. X-Men: Fatal Attractions (X-Factor #92, X-Force #25, Uncanny X-Men #304, X-Men #25, , Wolverine #75, Excalibur #71): This is way better than I had hoped it would be. My memory held this in esteem because it’s the first X-Men crossover I ever read, but it is still good all these decades later. January: 157 February: 125 March: 185 April: 131 May: 177 June: 86 July: 97 August: 128 September: 188 TOTAL: 1274

Absolutely agree it feels like a stage play. Might have to watch it again, 'cause I quite liked it. Though, I fully admit their conversations are pretentious and I would add cynical. With them both being Generation X icons, however, I was able to roll with it.

Miro's had the TNT Title since May, and I keep thinking about who can beat him. Specifically, how that person will be absolutely made by beating him. With that in mind, I would love to see him enter a program with Jurassic Express. Specifically I'd have him absolutely merc Luchasaurus to the point of getting him off TV for a month or so, leaving it to Jungle Boy to defend himself and Marko Stunt -- and winning the title. Give him a short reign, then have him drop it to Malakai Black.

It's a little fuzzy, because they were always on during Thanksgiving and I know I've seen portions of every movie, so some of them have mashed all into one. But I'm pretty sure I've never seen all of Thunderball, Moonraker, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, Quantum of Solace, and Spectre.

I've been meaning to do a full Bond watch-through, especially because there are some big ones (GoldenEye) I've still never seen.

Is it selectively partially colored or uncolored in an unfinished sort of way?

Adventure Comics #316 (1938): A fun but predictable LoSH tale. The Avengers #1-4, 262: Felt like some classic Avengers, and #262 was highly recommended on Twitter. I also give it a thumbs up. Batman '89 #1: A continuation of the movie universe. Very good. Batman: White Knight #1-2: What if The Joker got healthy and solved Batman? It's fine, but didn't inspire me to keep with it. Daredevil #63-65 (1964): It's always a pleasure to come back to these lived-in characters. Daredevil: Yellow #1-6: A quick but heavy look at Daredevil's earliest days. Defenders #1 (2021): Not sure where it's going, but I'll give it some time. Fantastic Four #1 (1961), Fantastic Four #1 (1996), Fantastic Four #1 (1998), and Ultimate Fantastic Four #1: For the 60th anniversary of The Fantastic Four, I read these four very different takes on the FF. Each one has its own merits, and I was quite shocked to see how close 1996 #1 was to 1961 #1. Fantastic Four #23-28: Issue 27 is easily the best issue to date, while #24 is objectively terrible. Fantastic Four: First Family #1-6: This slides right into early continuity without much disruption, and adds to the strife the team was feeling at the time. Gambit #1-4 (1993): Lee Weeks, so that's a plus. But it overly dramatic and some elements are lifted from the original Wolverine miniseries. Hellblazer #1-4: Some truly macabre stuff here, mixed with odd and somewhat out of place humor. Hitman #47-60: The series comes to a definitive, emotional close. Over, very mixed bag of a book, but the good is so good. Iron Man #218 (1968): Tony fights the KGB over a century-old bio weapon. Marvel's Super-Heroes #12-13 and Marvel's Space-Born Superhero! Captain Marvel #1-5: This book is trying so hard to find its footing, and I had to bail after five issues. It's such a shame, because I've always wanted to get into Mar-Vell but there's very little here to latch onto. Nightwing #83 (2016): This book just keeps getting better and better. Punisher: War Zone #1-6 (2009): A lackluster sequel to Welcome Back Frank. Quantum Leap #1-2: The show does not fit a comic book format very well. Robin #5 (2021): This brought me to messy, ugly, slobbering happy tears. Secret Origins #44 (1986) and Detective Comics #604-607 (1937): The Mud Pack is a wildly underappreciated story. Seven Secrets #1-6: An interesting concept, but the cliffhanger went in a direction I didn't see coming and wasn't really established. Spectacular Spider-Man #178-188 (1976): JM DeMatteis does not want you to be happy. Or the characters. My god this is bleak, but in the best way possible. Such an amazing run so far. Starlight #1-6: What if Buck Rogers or Flash Gordorn returned to Earth, lived a good long life, and was asked to come back for one more fight in his twilight years? Surprisingly touching and straightforward for Mark Millar. Suicide Squad #1-8 (1987): Solid. Gonna be coming back to it soon, I hope. Suicide Squad: Get Joker #1: The Joker has Amanda Waller's kill switch. Oh no. Superior Iron Man #1-4: Tony's a cunt now. I'm out. Superman '78 #1: Same as Batman '89 #1. Superman Annual #11: For the 1000th comic I've read this year, I treated myself to For the Man Who Has Everything. It's so damn good. "Burn." Superman: Red and Blue #2: I'm finding this anthology series isn't quite for me. Superman: Son of Kal-El #2: Jon struggled to find his identity, especially after Clark outed himself. Clark is way out of character in an otherwise good book. Tales of Suspense #39 (1959): It's crazy to see how closely the Iron Man movie follows this issue. What If? #3-9 (1977): Mixed bag but some good stuff in here. World's Finest Comics #134 (1941): It's WFC. January: 157 February: 125 March: 185 April: 131 May: 177 June: 86 July: 97 August: 128 TOTAL: 1086

I've watched his entrance at least a dozen times now and the whole thing three times, and it never stops giving me chills. Tony Khan just wholesale tore Chicago away from WWE. Oh they'll still run show and they'll sell out, but 1) WWE will never have a crowd that hot in Chicago (and they have had white-hot crowds here), and 2) now that Punk's in AEW, the prospect of him showing back up in WWE is dead and buried. There are few moments in media where you can feel something shift. Last night was one of them. AEW already had its core audience, but the addition of Punk will surely bring in lapsed fans and people who were AEW-curious. Hopefully Vince & Co. see this and wake up. They don't have to treat AEW as competition, but they better realize a true player is on the stage and use this as an opportunity to get off their stagnant backsides.

Quantum Leap very often wears its liberal ideals on its sleeve, but can also be rather conservative in the very same episode. For example, in "Good Night, Dear Heart" Sam leaps into a mortician in 1957, and quickly discovers the woman on the slab was murdered. (It was assumed she committed suicide.) Throughout the episode he attempts to uncover her killer, and begins to suspect it was the young man who had gotten her pregnant. Sam then learns the victim sought an abortion, but backed out at the last second. One thing leads to another, and the big reveal is that the killer was the victim's best friend -- who was also her female lover. So this episode which aired in 1990 and was set in 1957 makes no judgments when it comes to the victim being bisexual, the killer being lesbian, a woman having two lovers at the same time, or even her being pregnant and unwed. But it does take major issue with abortion, to the point where Sam nearly publicly shames the abortion doctor if she doesn't help him in his investigation. When she asks if he's going to hold it against her, Sam glares at her for a long, hard moment then angrily walks away. It should be noted Sam is the only character who's pissed about the potential abortion. Every other character is treated very evenhandedly on the issue, and portrayed as trying to have helped a young woman with a tough decision. But with Sam being the lead character, his reaction is the one we're supposed to give the most weight. So when he plays bad cop with the abortion doctor, it very much sends the signal that we should side with him on the issue. It makes one wonder if this was a network decree, or something the director or writer added in.

Adventures of Superman #454 and Superman #31 (1987): More of my slow read-through of Superman: Exile. Amazing Spider-Man #378-379, Spectacular Spider-Man #201, Spider-Man #35, Spider-Man Unlimited #1, and Web of Spider-Man #101-102: The first half of Maximum Carnage. This time through it's much more enjoyable. Probably because I'm pacing myself. Batman #414-430 (1940): Jim Starlin's run on Batman needs more attention, because between Ten Nights of The Beast, A Death in the Family, and the story about the serial killer, it's amazing. Batman Adventures #3: Fine. Cable #1-2 (2020): Didn't hook me. Cable: Blood & Metal #1-2: You come for the John Romita Jr. art. Carnage #1-5 (2016): This series has no right to be this good. Detective Comics #1040 (1937): Bruce is in jail and a drunk reveals he knows The Secret. Doom #1-3 (2000): Wasted concept. Fantastic Four #34 (2018): Johnny's dick has gotten him in a lot of trouble. A LOT! Fantastic Four: ¡Isla de la Muerte!: The story is good, but the art is excellent. Hitman #44-46: The dinosaur issues. Next! I Am Not Starfire: An excellent YA OGN all about Starfire's goth daughter. Think Ghost World but without the cynicism. Iron Fist #1-7, 73-80 (2017): Solid enough, but the final three issues tie into a Doctor Strange crossover that does nothing for me. (The weird numbering is due to legacy numbering.) The Mystery of the Meanest Teacher: A Johnny Constantine Graphic Novel: A YA Hellblazer OGN that is absolutely charming. Nightwing #82 (2016): Apparently Dick has a half-sister. And she was raised by Tony Zucco. Plunge #1-6: @Dread, you should give this a try. Prodigy #1: Clearly Mark Millar wants this to be a movie. Which, fine. But write for the comic too, man. The Punisher #85 (1987) and Punisher: War Journal #61: The prelude and opening chapter to Suicide Run. Kinda boring. The Punisher #1-12 (2000): Welcome Back, Frank wasn't as full of Ennis-isms, but they were there. Robin #4 (2021): Little bonding time between grandfather and grandson. Star Trek: Year Five #20-21: Gonna have to read what's come before, because this is a solid continuation of the show beyond the third season. Superman: Son of Kal-El #1: Excellent! Superman and The Authority #1: Light on the story and I'm not keen on Superman being near The Authority, much less founding it, but I'll see where it goes. Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #106: The issue where Lois changes her skin color to interview the African Americans living in Metropolis. I found it rather compelling, but it is sitting on the line between the Silver and Bronze Ages. Superman: Red and Blue #1: An anthology comic. I'll read the next issue. Unfollow #1-6: The inventor of a Twitter-like platform is dying and he's gifted his money to 140 people. If people die, the survivors get more money. You do the math as to what happens next. Didn't quite land for me. January: 157 February: 125 March: 185 April: 131 May: 177 June: 86 July: 97 TOTAL: 958

The WWE has released Bray Wyatt. Like, I wasn't a fan of The Fiend, but the character was massively over before they dropped that ball less than six months in.

Would VLC work? I use it to watch videos on an Android tablet, and it does play MP3s as well.

Is that streaming anywhere?

What Price Gloria? is so uncomfortable and did not age well at all. Sam leaps into a woman for the first time, and it's as uncomfortable as you might think. Everyone is constantly hitting on Sam, including Al. Al is so horned up by the woman Sam's leapt into, he starts seeing a psychiatrist about it. From there Al questions his sexuality, can't get it up for anyone but female Sam, and even calls Sam a hermaphrodite. And how does Sam put the antagonist in his place? By trying to seduce him while revealing that he's really a man. Yeah, it goes to some nasty transphobic places. For all of the good it does addressing sexual harassment in and out of the workplace, it's mired by everything to do with Al and that ending.

Continuing my Quantum Leap rewatch, and, yeah, someone high up at NBC clearly forced Bellisario to make changes to the show. Especially when it comes to the violence. Season two opens with Honeymoon Express, in which one guy is sliced in half by a train and Sam stab another to death. Then we jump to Disco Inferno, and this one opens with Sam getting blasted with a shotgun. It turns out he's a Hollywood stuntman and the whole thing was on a movie set, but it's rather bloody. Later, while standing atop a building, a scorned ex-lover pushes Sam off said building. She falls to her death, and Sam does too. But oops! This was also a movie stunt. And it ends with a stunt gone wrong, resulting in a massive explosion, and Sam's "brother" nearly dying. And in The Americanization of Machiko, Sam's "wife" is abducted by a racist World War II vet, resulting in a life-or-death fight between the two men. It's nuts how violent the show became. One of the aspects of Quantum Leap that I did not recall is that Al is forbidden from telling Sam anything about his life, including his name (first episode) and personal history. In The Americanization of Machiko, Al jokes that Sam wasn't nervous when he got married for real, to which a surprised Sam says, "I'm married?!" Al quickly denies it, passing it off as a joke. But then he makes an "Oh shit!" face Sam can't see. This is the very first indication that Sam is married, something that would not be confirmed until the first episode of season four. It's a clever little clue to astute viewers.

Are there any in-continuity stories and / or series that acknowledge the alternate Captains America set from the "death" of Steve Rogers to his resurrection in Avengers #4? With the ever-expanding timeline, there's a lush world to build. William Burnside could still be the Captain America of the 1950s. Then there could be a series of Caps who are very much controlled by the government during the Cold War, Vietnam War, and Ronald Reagan presidency. Cap of the 1990s could be used to poke a little fun at the comics at the time, with him always changing his costume and breaking away from his handlers for EXTREME~! missions. And finally there could be a gap before Steve is awoke circa 2009.

Quantum Leap, season one: This show is a whole lot hornier than I remembered. And not just Al's stories about Tina and his mistresses. Sam tries to seduce his future girlfriend 10 years before they meet all while pushing away someone the person he leapt into was sleeping with, then he's got a stripper girlfriend, then he tries to seduce a cowgirl, next he leaps into a hitman just after he's had sex with the ex of the mob boss, then he kisses a 16 (?) year old girl to secure his leap out, and finishes up by falling for a femme fatal. I think the only one he might sleep with is the stripper, but that's never confirmed. He does fall in love a few times though. Season one is mostly low drama, or personal drama. There's no high action outside of a quick drag race and two gun battles in the final episode. But it very much lays the framework for the show moving forward. Season two begins (and this is as far as I am on the rewatch) with Al pleading the case of Project Quantum Leap before a Senate oversight committee, while Sam attempts to save the life of woman from her murderous ex-husband. This one honestly comes off like Donald P. Bellisario working through his frustrations with producers. The whole "don't cut our budget" portions honestly feels like Bellisario fictionalized his conversations with tight-wad producers, and the thing with Sam having to violently kill two men is clearly also something the producers asked for. (And the theme of someone stealing your wife could easily be read as Bellisario having something he loves taken from him.) Can't say any of this actually happened in real life, but it very much feels like it. And while season one had a few mentions that God might be controlling Sam's leaps, season two opens with constant talk of this being a fact. It'll be interesting to see how much they keep this up.