Amalgam Comics

It has been so long since I've posted in this blog, and I didn't want to let an entire year go by without posting something, and that's only 12 days away, so I better get cracking.

A lot of my most recent posts (cough, pretending it hasn't been almost a year) have centered around superheros and comic books in one form or another so I thought that would be as good of a place to start back as any.

I believe I've mentioned that I'm a child of the 90's more than of the 80's, at least when it comes to popular media and such things, and this is true of comic books too. So I want to talk about comic book manufacturers for a second.

There are two main comic book companies, DC and Marvel, and while this isn't as true anymore, it was at least as true in the 90's as it is now, if not more so. There are differences between the way each company portrays it's superheroes. DC heroes were always more sensational and over the top in my opinion than were the Marvel heroes who were always a little more down to Earth. This means that Marvel had more relatible characters with flaws and foibles while DC characters always seemed a little shallow in comparison, even if they more powerful or "cooler". One other thing I always liked about Marvel was their recognition of religion in their characters while DC for the most part found this facet of humanity just easier to ignore. I know it's strange to speak of superheroes in terms of more or less real or believable, but this is how it is. While DC may have characters that fit the superhero trope better, the Marvel characters were always more believable and when I'm trying to suspend my disbelief, that makes a difference.

Just so you know, I'm not a DC basher really, some of my favorite characters are DC, not Marvel. I was just speaking as a whole because many times in the past there were crossovers between Marvel and DC, but for the most part they never worked. Some of the match ups, like Superman vs. Spiderman or Hulk vs. Batman are a little strange, while other comparisons are spot on, like Captain America vs. Batman and the Martian Manhunter vs. the Vision. Anyway, comparing Wonder Woman with Storm and not with She-Hulk is just plain dumb. But then, in the mid-90's both companies got it right in a majorly awesome way. Enter Amalgam comics.

Amalgam was Marvel and DC's version of a joint operating agreement, but they took it farther than that. Not only did they amalgamate the companies, they amalgamated the characters too. Add Superman to Captain America and you get Man of War. Add Batman and Wolverine and you get Dark Claw. Add Wonder Woman and Storm and you get Amazon. Some of these were good, some, not so much (cough, Lobo the Duck). Spider-boy, Insect Queen, Speed Demon, Thorion and the Challengers of the Fantastic were good, but I think my favorite was Iron Lantern. Why wouldn't it be, I'm both a big Iron Man fan and a Green Lantern fan, so this was a match made in heaven for me.

Like I said, some of these comics were great, some not so much, but overall this was special. It was the first (and second if I remember right) that Marvel and DC were actually able to play together without all the heroes fighting each other and being stupid. One day I think these comics will probably be very valuable, so if you can get ahold of one, I'd hang on to it.

Hiatus Notification

I've decided to take another hiatus for some time. I don't know when I will be back, but I do have several ideas, so running out of them is not a problem I'm having. I just want to take a little more time to work on my stories and for the next little while, I will probably only be adding entries over here when I need a break from that. So, I'll see you when I see you. It was just about a 4-month consistent run, which is pretty good if you ask me.

Black Canary

Alright, I'm just going to say this right now, Black Canary is my favorite female super hero. That's saying a lot when you stop to think of all the super heroines that get top billing over here. Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Hawkgirl and Supergirl spring instantly to mind in the DC universe, but that is nowhere near all. In the Marvel universe there's Electra, She-Hulk, and of course there's the X-women, Storm, Rogue, Jean Grey just to name a few. Even Spidergirl, Peter Parker's daughter is more prominent that Black Canary, but nowhere near as cool.

Of all the renditions of Black Canary there are, I think I like the Justice League Unlimited one the most. This is true of almost all of the female characters in DC, but Canary and Lois Lane are at the top of the list. I don't really know what fighting crime in fishnet stockings is all about but I can imagine the conversation in the locker room back at the Hall of Justice after another of Lex Luthor's foiled plots.

Flash: "Hey, did you guys check out the new girl? Wow."
Robin: "Holy steaming spandex Flash, she's a babe."
Batman: "........"
Superman: "You two shouldn't be objectifying her that way, she's a valued member of our League."
Aquaman: "Why doesn't anyone love me?"
Flash: "No really, she's hot. I've got to ask her out."
Robin: "Hey, where's Green Arrow?"
Batman: "So much for being the fastest man alive. Grumble."
Flash: "I guess I'm getting no loving tonight."
Superman: "Seriously, I'm a little disturbed by your attitudes and general disrespect for women."
Flash: "Like you haven't had your share of Lois problems."
Aquaman: "Fish are my only friends."
Robin: "Aquaman, you give a whole new meaning to Lenten special."
Flash: "Zing, and that's saying something from the Flash."
Batman: "........"
Aquaman: "No one likes me." Runs out of the locker room crying.
Superman: "Now see what you've done, you hurt his feelings. You really should apologize."
Green Arrow: Walks in. "What did you guys do to Aquaman this time? Infants."
Flash: "Where have you been?"
Green Arrow: "Scoring a date with the new girl. She's a babe."
Robin: "Ha ha!"
Flash: "Screw you boy wonder. Your just a sidekick anyway."
Robin: "Oh boohoo."
Superman: "Serves you right for being so insensitive."
Flash: "Dude, X-ray vision is so wasted on you."

Alright, I'm being crass I know, but I really do like the character. She's cool, which is not something that every DC creation can boast. Plus, her sonic attack can even make Superman's ears bleed. That's tough.

Neal Patrick Harris

Alright, take this one as you will, but I think NPH is hilarious. This post is not an in-depth exposition on social mores, I just think he's funny and a good actor.

I like How I Met Your Mother, but I gotta think that Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Of course I also thought that everyone else in that was great too, but NPH really shined.

Well, I actually don't have much more to say. ♫Oooooooo♪♫!

Taco Bell's Addiction Sauce

Taco Bell has a new addition to their line up, well it's about 3 months old, the black jack taco. What makes it special? The second kind of cheese? The purple shell? No, it's the sauce.

Taco Bell makes really good creamy sauces, and alright red sauces. They use the creamy sauces when an item is new, and stop using it after a while, but I'm not sure why. Case in point, fajita wraps.

When fajita wraps were first released, they had this creamy sauce that is much like the sauce in the new black jack taco. They were great, and for almost a year they were the only item I would order at Taco Bell. Then they changed the sauce, and started using a red sauce that was no where as good. Three months later, the fajita wrap was no longer on the menu, and they were replaced by gorditas and eventually chalupas.

This creamy sauce is great, and I will follow it around the Taco Bell menu until they discontinue it in an item, then I will just go on to something else. My guess is that black jack tacos won't be here long, but as long as they are and as long as Taco Bell keeps using their addiction sauce on them, I'll keep eating them.

Foodie Fridays in January

Well, my four stories on Friday for the month of December are done. So I'm keeping up the idea of theme Fridays in January. I'll be doing food based posts every Friday in January. See you then.

In the mean time, Happy New Years! Be safe and have fun.

Tour of Duty

"So this is it?" Benny said to an empty table. "I don't think any of you would have thought I'd be here today would you? Ha!" Benny laughed to himself while holding a shot glass filled with some unidentified amber liquid and toasted other glasses sitting around the table in front of empty chairs. "Huff, Charlotte, Mickey, Shevels, Clover and Six, this night's for you," Benny said as he raised the glass high and brought it to his lips and slowly drained it, closing his eyes as he sipped the liquor, relishing the sensation as it flowed down his throat.
Benny slid his chair back away from the table and slowly stood, gripping the table fiercely with one hand and holding on to a highly polished black cane just as firmly with the other one. He walked around the table counter-clockwise, and coming to the next empty chair gently set himself down. He was already exhausted and he hadn't really began to commiserate his comrades yet. Benny didn't really know how his weakened body would hold up through even this little journey around the table, but he was determined to see it through to the end. He took a few deep breaths and cleared his throat before he spoke.
"Six, you were the first of us not to make it back to our little reunion. I guess when the rest of us would reminisce, sharing stories of the glory days and all the good times we had living them that it was easy for us to forget that you never really had many other days than the good old ones. What, did you make it back here four or five times after the war? It's a shame; you were a good man, the better than many of the rest of us and I've often felt it should have been me who was the first to go and you who were the last, not the other way around.
You were what, twenty-two when you enlisted? It still strikes me strangely, enlisting. The rest of us were drafted, conscripted to fight in a war that nobody wanted to fight in, the risk of becoming a casualty were so high. I have to admit that when I first heard that you had volunteered, I thought you were mad, just some violence junkie commando wannabe trying to score his adrenaline fix, but once I got to know you, you didn't fit that bill at all. I guess it reflects very poorly on me that it took so long for me to realize that you had a good reason for enlisting. You understood duty and honor and you were just the type of person who could put the cause ahead of your own desires. Like I said Six, you were my better, and when I say you earned my respect it isn't just a platitude, you did just that, you earned it.
I remember a time, fighting side by side and we were pinned down with hardly any support. I wanted to run, but we had been ordered to hold. The enemy was piling up all around us and we were in a good position to hold, but I was something of a coward and scared out of my wits. I don't know how you did it, how you managed to talk me down and at the same time keep laying down fire. The fighting that day was the fiercest and most savage I've ever seen, and you managed to keep a level head the whole time. You definitely saved my life that day and a lot of other lives too, and that wasn't the only time you did that either."

Oh, and BTW, Merry Christmas!