Cornell is Selling What Tomorrow Means

OSU! Its Friday, March 18, 2011, I'm as ready as I'm going to be, and this is The Side. With so much being afoot I'm still trying to get back into fighting shape. My body has some thoughts of its own about this. Been training with my boat oar again, and I feel stronger than ever with it. I hadn't really used it for a couple years with my being out of the tournament circuit. Still, while practicing with it the other night while performing a technique that I've done hundreds of time I smacked my own leg with weapon and sent it flying out of my hands.

I wasn't hurt, but it did lay there on the dojo floor. Fortunately, it was undamaged. Still, I had to think "this does not bode well".

Can't focus on that right now. There's stuff to do, and comics to discuss!

COMIX!!!

KNIGHT AND SQUIRE #6 is the wrap up for this fun little mini-series. The Joker has come to London and has kidnapped Jarvis Poker, the British Joker. Along with that he's looking to wipe out all British Superheroes. Knight and Squire look to rally the forces and save Jarvis continuing the very clever use of media that we've seen throughout the series. One thing that does jump out at me is how differently Paul Cornell writes the Joker in this series than he did in The Joker's appearance in Cornell's ACTION COMICS. It very much follows the Morrison notion of Joker reinventing himself repeatedly. The series has been pretty whimsical, but took a nasty turn with this storyline. At the same time it still stays true to the characters and theme showing that these fun folk can get the job done even against one of the DCU's top villains.

R.E.B.E.L.S. #26 has Starro back on the march, and this time he's got a very pissed off Lobo to contend with. While it looks like he's struggling to get his act together in the face of the threat of the Main man, his invasion takes a creepy turn as in invades Rann. I'm bummed that this series is getting a axe because its rock solid and always entertains. This time around it gave me a pretty big chill with a certain splash page.

RED ROBIN #21 continues Tim Drake's battle against the Unternet. This storyline is pretty oddball for me because the notion of entering a virtual world mentally just seems dated. I almost expect old bearded Jeff Bridges to come strolling through a panel. Still, FabNic keeps me around every issue because he writes a very cool Tim Drake. His fight this issue with the Mad Men is cool. I do like that this book is playing off of some things that I dug in FINAL CRISIS, and things in BATMAN INC, but it feels like cool notions being explored in ways that aren't quite as cool as originally envisioned. Its not bad, but not as engaging as I'd like.

Let's move things on over to TINY TITANS #38. The underwater world is a strange and mysterious place, and Aqualad and Lagoon Boy discover just how strange it is. Baltazar and Franco have a bit of fun with the old TERROR TITANS series with this issue as our underwater heroes meet some underwater Titans. Despite being around since issue one, poor little Aqualad hasn't really been around all that much in the series, but he's a hoot in this. The series continues to be great for kids and fun for older fans who enjoy the parody bits that and slipped in.

Baltazar and Franco join up Mike Norton on YOUNG JUSTICE #2 which is adapted from the new Cartoon Network series. I've never seen the show, and comic doesn't make me feel like I'm missing much of anything. Its passable I guess, but its featuring Superboy, and this version of Superboy has all the personality of a chair. There's a lot more action than their was in the first issue (which isn't hard as someone kicking a soccer ball would be more action than the first issue) and not a bad twist towards the end, but first such a dull protagonist its difficult to get into the story. I really wanted to like this series, but I won't be picking up issue 3.

Let's wrap things up with 41 #2 Bob Frantz is joined by Alexander Singleton has he continues his freshman effort into comics. Frantz doesn't take the easy route with this book in that he's managing to write an ensemble cast and still make them all sound individual. Tricky for a new writer sometimes. He also let's us know something very important with this issue: these characters aren't safe. One of the team doesn't make it back from a mission and the others have to deal with that. Singleton's artwork is very tight, and he gives each character a unique look. The one thing that could be done to really improve this book is place a little intro caption by the characters when we first see them in the book. This was done in issue 1, but was missing here. Makes it a lot easier for new readers and with this being issue 2 everyone is still a new reader. Great book and I'm looking forward to issue three.

MUSIC!!!

Because my goal in life is to keep running.



Alright, big chop socky day tomorrow. I'm completing in the Petersburg Karate Open and we've got a hot UFC card for Saturday night. Expect a beatings wrap-up Sunday. See y'all then.