Recent post in the personal blog, talking about Dad’s part in my comics life.
Filed under: 2022 Non-Review Posts, 2022 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: comics, dad, Grieving, memories | Leave a comment »
The ’90s Revisited: Superman: The Man of Steel #20
Posted on February 10, 2022 by Walt
Funeral Day
Story: Louise Simonson
Penciller: Jon Bogdanove
Inker: Dennis Janke
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Ass’t Editor: Jennifer Frank
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Date: February 1993
Cover Price: $1.25
Published by: DC Comics
This issue opens a bit like a tv show with a “soft open” or “prologue” before getting to the main thrust of the issue and its credits. We see last-second construction and prep-work/planning being done for Superman’s funeral, checking in with construction workers and Luthor/Supergirl. We see the Kents dealing with the pending event from afar…while Jimmy is discouraged at “praise” being heaped on him by a coworker for his “death photo” of Superman. Lois torments herself for not yet having CALLED the Kents, and turns down Perry’s offer to take his spot at the funeral (as primarily superheroes and world leaders will be officially the attendees, Luthor having extended an exception to Perry). Lois leaves to go up to the roof–or rather, the giant globe atop the building where she so often met Superman/Clark, then as she’s made her way back down and out of the building she trips over a memorial plaque placed on the ground where Superman fell. Jimmy finds her and escorts her into the crowd lining the street where the funeral procession passes by. Lois insists on going with the crowd to the end.
We then jump around with several scenes–a random scene with Lobo hearing Superman’s dead and flipping out. Keith (an orphan) comforts another kid letting him hold his cat, while Batman stops a would-be-bomber from turning the funeral explosive. Professor Hamilton and Mildred watch the procession pass, while the Underworlders do as well. Bibbo finds someone selling commemorative copies of “the death issue” of the Planet and rather than beat the guy up, buys every copy and offers the guy a job…after all, it’s the sort of thing Superman would do. Arriving at the park, the crowd begins to get out of hand and Lois and Jimmy are separated. As Robin and Wonder Woman are shown stepping in, Jimmy is menaced by a sleazeball trying to buy the “rights” to his “death photo.” As the funeral itself gets underway, Lois leaves to call Clark’s parents, but they don’t answer as–in Kansas–they’re out in the field where they’d originally found their baby–they’re burying a box of his things, all they have OF him TO bury, themselves. Back in Metropolis, the funeral concludes, the crypt’s cover is moved into place entombing the coffin…while elsewhere, Lois finally gets an answer, connecting with her almost-parents-in-law as the three realize they need each other.
I’m really re-amazed this time through at just how MUCH is crammed into these seemingly “simple” regular-sized single-issues! This is a far cry from many modern comics that seem so shallow by comparison, where a ’90s issue would be “decompressed” into at least 3-6 issues.
There’s so much going on here…I’m sure I took it all for granted being as familiar with this period of Superman comics as I am. I don’t need any introduction to the main characters–I recognize them, know the context, have read the issues alluded to, and so on. This is moving stuff to me even with the brief scenes and frequent scene-cuts.
This period of Bogdanove‘s art is certainly nostalgic for me for its time…but of the four Superman titles, it’s probably my least-favorite. Still, it’s strong art and “works” and “fits,” if only because it is what it is…WAS.
The double-page spread of the funeral procession is the image I see in my head when I listen to the opening of the audio drama adapting the Death/Funeral/Return saga…even though in the drama it’s actually a flashback to Luthor’s funeral.
The images of the crowds don’t really totally mesh with the descriptions we get. My own frame of reference for this is the crowds I saw on tv when Cleveland won the basketball championship back in 2015 or 2016, whenever that was.
Lois initially thinking she couldn’t bear to be at the funeral itself changing to having to be there at the end, following the procession…rings absolutely authentic to me, with the crazy way grief works, and one can swing from thinking one thing to realizing another. There’s also Supergirl early in the issue insisting on bringing in the memorial statue when conventional logistics fail, as “the last thing she’ll get to do for Superman.” In the moment, so many emotions, feelings, and expectations leave one all over the place and eager to do their part, to do MORE, to do SOMEthing for the person lost…it just rings really true to me. Also the Kents’ burying the box of Clark’s things. Bibbo’s scene isn’t as poignant/moving as his scene in Action Comics 685 was…but it still gives the guy some spotlight and adds to his characterization and what I came to love about the character.
Back to the art–while Bogdanove may not be my FAVORITE Superman artist, his work is distinctive without making the characters unrecognizable. And he draws a beautiful Wonder Woman. I can’t quite put my finger on WHY, but one panel of his Jimmy Olsen actually put me in mind of Rob Liefeld somehow…giving me the momentary half-thought as to whether Jimmy’s personality was in any way based on Liefeld in the early ’90s or if it’s just one of those dumb, random thoughts I can have.
All in all, another strong issue with a depth that comes partly from nostalgia, partly rose-colored glasses of memory, and partly the sheer tight ship of continuity the Superman books had at the time, telling a singular ongoing story while each creative team got to “focus” on their own subplots and such for individuality (Man of Steel here had the Underworlders, for example).
This is “the Funeral issue” the way Superman #75 was “the Death issue,” so is worthwhile in that regard. It also lets it stand alone a bit…you get all these allusions and subplotty stuff and the overall story of the characters being nudged forward a bit, but the issue is readable by itself as slice of life, especially if you know the characters…and there’s context one can pick up on otherwise, albeit not perfectly.
Certainly worth a purchase from a bargain bin or such, but as with previous issues, not something to pay more than a couple dollars for individually with the collected editions and digital available out there. While I’ve seen multiple printings for myself of much of the Doomsday arc and the first couple chapters of Funeral for a Friend, I’m not sure if this issue actually saw multiple printings offhand or not. The copy I read this time through I definitely got from a quarter-bin myself…the whole Funeral for a Friend set I’m reading through I picked up for $2.25 including the Justice League issue.
Filed under: 2022 Posts, 2022 Reviews, The '90s Revisited, The Death of Superman Revisited | Tagged: 1990s, Bill Oakley, DC, DC Comics, Death of Superman, Denis Janke, Doomsday, Funeral Day, funeral for a friend, Glenn Whitmore, Jennifer Frank, Jon Bogdanove, Louise Simonson, Mike Carlin, Superman, The Man of Steel, World Without a Superman | 1 Comment »
The ’90s Revisited: Action Comics #685
Posted on February 8, 2022 by Walt
Re: Actions
Writer: Roger Stern
Artists: Jackson Guice, Denis Rodier
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Assistant: Jennifer Frank
Editor: Mike Carlin
Special Thanks: Tom Grummett & Doug Hazlewood
Cover Date: January 1993
Cover Price: $1.25
Published by: DC Comics
This issue opens with contextualizing…with the front page of the Daily Planet indeed using that ‘photo’ from the cover of Adventures of Superman #498 stating Superman–Dead. Tv news informs the world of the events of the day up to Doomsday’s rampage, and recaps some of Adventures 498 and the eventual official pronunciation of Superman’s death. Meanwhile, Westfield and his Cadmus people try to get the alien bodies–Doomsday AND Superman–but are met with resistance from Maggie Sawyer, Dan Turpin and even the Guardian himself…and eventually, some Team Luthor agents and Luthor himself…and the Mayor, with faxes from the President that Superman was an American and is to be honored as such. We then get a montage of scenes as we jump to a number of people and their reactions to this news and consideration of what it means–from Lois, to Perry and Jimmy, to the Kents and Lana, to others worldwide. We then get a scene with Luthor at the morgue where he loses it, smashing a chair over Doomsday’s body. Another scene shows us the uptick in crime with authorities busy and Superman dead, though Supergirl tries to fill some part of the gap. And we close on Bibbo making it back to the Ace o’ Clubs and closing the bar, and praying for the world Superman’s left behind…lamenting that Superman is gone, but he–Bibbo–goes on living.
This is another issue that had several scenes in it that have stuck with me. The image of the Daily Planet front page definitely is one; as is the Cadmus confrontation having happened, though I didn’t remember all the details. That they were presented with an order from the POTUS that Superman was not to be considered an alien is there; and a lot of the scenes of Lois, the Planet staff, and the Kents have blurred for me over the years, clarified in re-reading this issue in the moment.
Bibbo and his prayer, though, is probably the most memorable part of the issue for me; what I feel like I "know" Action Comics #685 FOR. Because that scene has long stuck out to me and been very moving…and I recall in the past it’s even moved me to tears. Now, it gives me an ‘avatar’ of sorts…replace "Superman" with "Dad" and I could BE Bibbo. I’m pretty sure this scene was also one of the key scenes to really make me appreciate the character, far more than the drunken buffoon that tagged along with Lobo in some issue I’d read a couple years earlier.
Having JUST READ Adventures of Superman 498 and still having THAT issue’s art clearly in recent memory, I’m not AS thrilled with the art on this issue. Which is absolutely not to say that any of this issue’s art is bad…just that it’s not QUITE to the level of Jurgens or Grummett for me, apparently. As with AoS 498, the characters are all totally recognizable and do not feel like some artist’s interpretation of things…just the natural fact of the matter that different artists’ work will look different.
Story-wise I’m certainly "too close" to things to be impartial. Along with the actual Doomsday story, this one I feel like I’m extremely familiar with from multiple re-reads over the years (plus the Death and Life of Superman novel by this issue’s writer Roger Stern!). While many cite The Death of Superman as the main story, my understanding over the years has come to be that THIS is the story–Funeral for a Friend–that the writers wanted to tell, and you needed The Death of to get here so that this COULD be told.
The issue’s cover is iconic in and of itself as this 2nd chapter of Funeral for a Friend…but ALSO because it’s an obvious homage to the cover of Action Comics #1 but with Supergirl instead of Superman. And it’s even quite relevant to the issue itself with a scene playing out in the issue of Supergirl picking up a car and shaking the goons out of it/smashing the car. Something modern comics are sorely lacking in–covers actually relevant to their interior contents.
BECAUSE I’m personally so familiar with the Death/Funeral stories of Superman, and this "era" of the titles and such….this "stands alone" perfectly well for me; all the more being only a day removed from the previous chapter. That said, if you’re unfamiliar with this era of the character(s) you’ll be sure to have some questions or "huh?" moments…but I do think the issue still makes a decent read as a one-off, slice-of-life thing in the immediate aftermath of Superman’s death.
This would definitely be worth getting from a bargain bin, up to cover price or a couple dollars at most…by far not something to pay anything significant for–it has at least 3 printings, has been reprinted in multiple collected editions, and is available digitally as well. But definitely worth getting, and reading.
Filed under: 2022 Posts, 2022 Reviews, The '90s Revisited, The Death of Superman Revisited | Tagged: 1990s, Action Comics, Bill Oakley, DC, DC Comics, Death of Superman, Denis Rodier, Doomsday, Doug Hazlewood, funeral for a friend, Glenn Whitmore, Jackson Guice, Jennifer Frank, Mike Carlin, ReActions, Roger STern, Superman, Tom Grummett, World Without a Superman | Leave a comment »
The ’90s Revisited: Adventures of Superman #498
Posted on February 3, 2022 by Walt
Death of a Legend
Writer: Jerry Ordway
Penciller: Tom Grummett
Inker: Doug Hazlewood
Letterer: Albert DeGuzman
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Assistant Editor: Jennifer Frank
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Date: January 1993
Cover Price: $1.25
Published by: DC Comics
This issue opens with a note to see Justice League America #70, which ALSO picked up from the final moments of Superman #75.
We open on an awkward full page shot of Superman’s body slumped against Lois, his cape draped over his chest while Lois looks over the shoulder of the reader, Jimmy stands behind her, The Guardian is seen behind him, while Bloodwynd holds the unconscious body of Ice off to the side. Bloodwynd has declared Superman dead–though Ice may yet live if he gets her to a hospital, and Jimmy questions Lois as to their taking Bloodwynd’s word for it that Superman’s actually dead. Subsequent pages bring us the reactions of various individuals–Dubbilex, Maggie Sawyer, Dan Turpin, Lois, Jimmy, Guardian, various SCU folks and some Cadmus…and Cat Grant joins in as well. Reactions to Superman’s fall; to whether or not the beast Doomsday is dead, and attempts to resuscitate Superman himself. While resuscitation attempts continue, Turpin wanders off, lamenting another loss and is startled by what appears to be a totally burned body and then the arrival of Lex Luthor II who carries it off, calling it his Supergirl.
Cat gives Lois a tough-love pep talk as tv crews arrive/set up, and as we see Cat begin her tv report on the fallen hero, we get a scene with Jose Delgado–Gangbuster, with Cat’s kid Adam as they react to the news. We get a scene of Jonathan and Martha Kent at home reacting to the news. Cadmus begins to remove Doomsday’s body, but is challenged when they try to remove Superman’s as well. With the arrival of Professor Hamilton and Bibbo with an energy-collection device, one last attempt is made to resuscitate the Man of Steel…that doesn’t work. Shifting to the Daily Planet, Perry White and Jimmy discuss Jimmy’s photos and they realize that as hard as they have things, Lois is hit harder…both with Superman having died in her arms…and her fiancé, Clark, is among the missing in the wake of Doomsday’s destructive rampage. Lois finishes typing her story to hand in to Perry, as he and Jimmy try to encourage her, that Clark will be found…though she tells them that Clark’s luck ran out when Superman died.
Like Superman #75, this is an extremely "iconic" issue to me. The cover certainly…black border as is the "trade dress" for the Funeral For a Friend arc–with further black background as the main image is a photograph–Jimmy’s–of Superman laying on the cracked pavement. While the cover image is symbolic, it’s also part of the story, as this photo is one that I believe gets mentioned a number of times in-continuity, and I believe is a referential image later for the "death of Superman" issue of the Planet. Other than some color variations for the LOGO The Adventures of Superman and a Roman numeral (or lack thereof) and a bar code or not…the cover itself–trade dress, image, etc–remains the same. There is REALLY only ONE COVER for this issue. Of course, there’d be probably a DOZEN or more if this was published in 2022, and it’d be an extra-sized $5.99+ issue rather than "just" "the next issue" of a title at regular price.
While I tend to think of Dan Jurgens first as my favorite Superman artist, Grummett is absolutely right up there with him! The characters are extremely recognizable and–while going solely on memory withOUT comparing any issues side-by-side–consistent. This does not feel like "this issue’s artist’s ‘take’ on the characters," it just looks like those characters, as drawn by this artist. The art is distinct, it is different, but it does not have a feel of TRYING TO BE different or trying to stand out from the other Superman titles of the time, or to be some singular/distinctive "interpretation" of the character(s).
The writing is hardly noticeable in a way. For me, as an issue this close to Superman #75 and that–along with that issue–I’ve probably read more times over the years than just about any other single issue of a comic series–the story just IS. The characters just ARE. In reading the issue, I simply am watching the story unfold, and the characters all seem like themselves…in-character, acting as one might expect, etc. Though one COULD "join in" at this issue, you’d be kinda fending for yourself. You’re not spoon-fed WHO the characters are, what they’re all about, backstories and nuances and context. That stuff’s there if you know the general Superman stuff of the era, and there’s plenty to pick up on having that sort of context, or simply authentic-seeming details to suggest these are real characters inhabiting a real world going on in real time. There are a lot of characters and subplots present, the stories being nudged along…advancing, but not racing forward. Some jumps are a little abrupt, but some of that I think only seems so by comparison to modern "decompressed" comics.
This issue has a whole new sort of impact on me in early 2022. While I’ve lost a number of extended family members over the years, I’ve never experienced loss QUITE so close before as losing my Dad less than 48 hours before the new year, five weeks ago as of this typing.
There are some moments in the issue that especially stand out to me, that have stuck with me over the years. I’m not sure if it’s some sort of deja vu but I’m pretty sure I had a mental "flash" to the Guardian’s yelling "Then melt the blasted paddles!" while I saw what I saw in the hospital when I lost Dad.
And then there’s Jimmy’s frustration he shares with Perry: "I mean, the way everyone’s crawling over everyone else to be the first to officially pronounce Superman dead…you’d think they were HAPPY he died, to save them all from a slow news day!" That was poignant THEN 29 years ago and it’s all the MORE poignant NOW in 2022! Whether it’s comics sites tripping over one another to be "first!" to spoil something, or any "news" outlet PERIOD trying to be the first to post something public about WHATEVER.
I have a new sort of identification with Lois–the shock of seeing a particular death, of (perhaps projecting) seeing them given up on as even heroic efforts aren’t enough, of having to "go through the motions" and someone "existing" or "functioning," after being through a sudden, virtually-unthinkable loss. My own real-world loss also makes it far more identifiable with so many characters as they react. Knowing what I thought and felt and would have done if I could, the helplessness, all of it…there’s a painful authenticity to this issue that I never fully "understood" before.
While not necessarily FREQUENT, I have definitely found this issue in quarter-bins and other bargain bins. Particularly if you’re not looking for a high-grade first printing and just want THE ISSUE, I wouldn’t pay more than a couple dollars for it; pretty much anything over cover price (if that much, even) would be more of a "convenience fee" for immediacy, to me. You can find this issue digitally, and there have been a number of printings and editions of collected volumes with it, and there are at least 3 printings of the issue that I’m aware of (having a first and a third printing in front of me as I type).
As a "part of history" or just part of what I consider to be an extremely high-quality "era" for Superman, I’d definitely recommend the issue if you’re at all interested in Superman, these characters, or the story in general. I’m surprised at how well it seems to "hold up" nearly 30 years later…though that may be my "closeness" and that this is SUCH a part of my childhood and early period with comics.
Filed under: 2022 Posts, 2022 Reviews, The '90s Revisited, The Death of Superman Revisited | Tagged: 1990s, Adventures of Superman, Albert DeGuzman, DC, DC Comics, Death of a Legend, Death of Superman, Doomsday, Doug Hazlewood, funeral for a friend, Glenn Whitmore, Jennifer Frank, Jerry Ordway, Mike Carlin, Superman, Tom Grummett, World Without a Superman | 1 Comment »
Comics and Marking Time: One Month
Posted on January 30, 2022 by Walt
While the length I go to discussing comics in it would have made the post suitable for this comics blog…the post itself very much belongs in the personal blog and its current purview as I process the loss of my Dad.
Given that it would be suitable for this blog, I share the link here, and using the WordPress web-interface in the hopes that it pulls something of the post itself rather than being “just” a text link…but we’ll see.
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: dad, loss, marking time, memories, personal | Leave a comment »
Thoughts on Pérez and Processing on Losing Dad
Posted on January 20, 2022 by Walt
When George Pérez let the world know in early December that he has been diagnosed with an inoperable, terminal cancer and that he’d been given 6-12 months to live, it obviously rocked the industry. At least the various news/rumor/etc. sites. And fans who have loved his work across several decades.
It was a big thing for me, as well…such a "modern legend" (albeit going back to the ’80s at LEAST)…a "legendary artist" of my own time in comics…though I didn’t know much about him at the time.
I know I knew the name, but he wasn’t the first artist whose work I could recognize from one project to another as a kid (that goes to Alex Ross). And not having had access to back issues of Crisis on Infinite Earths (I barely knew of the event for awhile and then it was such a dividing point between "Grandpa’s comics" and "current comics") that I never bothered to seek it out.
In looking at the Wikipedia article, I see that I was actually exposed to his art very early on in my earliest issues of Action Comics. I missed Infinity Gauntlet’s original go, only "discovering" that for myself in the late-’90s through a friend; and it’s amazing to see all these comics that he DID work on that I know/remember, albeit not necessarily having remembered it was him/his art.
While he didn’t "matter" to me at the time, another early "exposure" for me was Ultraforce in 1994; some great-looking issues that had a lotta hype behind them, and I do remember and still to this day kinda hold as THE standard for those characters’ appearances.
And of course I remember the hype and such when JLA/Avengers finally saw publication back in the early-2000s or so; and one piece of "comic art" I’ve always wanted is that large poster of Pérez/Ross’ cover to Crisis on Infinite Earths that (if I recall) shows over 500 characters.
But what I think REALLY hit me was mentions in articles of his being born in 1954. My Dad was born in 1950. And with all of my Dad’s health issues the last few years, it was too easy to empathize cuz I had asked myself what I would be doing/feeling if I got that sorta news about MY Dad? And horrible/guilty as I feel to even admit to it, I even at one point had the half-baked thought/question of wondering if we’d lose Pérez or I’d lose Dad, first.
(All of my writing here is absolutely selfish. I’ve never MET Pérez, I don’t know him, he doesn’t know me, and since I can only speak to my own experiences and have my own reasons for writing this right now anyway, it is what it is.)
Pérez discussing (via interviews/posts, apparently) making the most of time left, and some phrasing to soften the obvious definitely "got to" me a bit, and affected some of my thoughts/expectations of stuff in my own life, with Dad.
As part of the Super-Blog Team-Up group, I was gonna do a post going in-depth discussing Pérez and his impact on me (sort of like I just did above) and I was gonna focus on Ultraforce. Dig out the covers, re-read the issues, etc.
But then Dad went into the hospital on Tuesday December 29th, and I lost him a little before 2am Thursday December 30th. Despite the hospitalization, it was sudden and very unexpected, and not that ANYone can EVER be "ready," I sure as heck was not REMOTELY ready. I have so many regrets and hurts and frustrations from the suddenness; the inability for people to really gather or for us to safely hold a proper memorial service yet; stuff I was planning on talking to Dad about, stuff I wanted to ask him, even having been starting to think that "soon" I should start writing stuff done and talking to him on stuff.
As horrible as I thought it would have been, I guess I always figured that with Dad’s "declining health," eventually (EVENTUALLY) (and ideally at LEAST several YEARS into the future!) we’d someday wind up with him in hospice. That we’d see the final days coming and however traumatic and heart-wrenching as it’d be, that we’d GET that. That we’d get an actual, more proper "goodbye" or something. Closure?
Based on what ultimately went down in that hospital room a few weeks ago, I do believe I was holding Dad’s hand when he passed. I hadn’t said any sort of goodbye, had not "made peace with" the idea, was on my knees holding his hand and praying for his survival and recovery. I didn’t GET "goodbye." I didn’t get a conscious, knowingly-final ANYthing.
And of course, now…I’m muddling through. Going through motions. As I type this on MLK day, I’ve spent several hours this weekend sorting "current year X-books" and getting them bagged and boarded as part of a larger sorting/filing project. And while there’s SOME "satisfaction" to FINALLY getting to this…it just feels so empty and hollow. Comics mean NOTHING compared to Dad. I’d chuck every comic I have here upstairs down the stairs, then close the basement door and seal off the entirety of my 32+ year "collection" to have Dad still here.
But this sorting project "needs" to be done, because I’ve had PILES in the one room for months…over a year, really. Going back to the March 2020 shutdowns and such. And Dad had been increasingly anxious and "on me" about getting stuff dealt with and out of the main space there. But I kept putting him off, all that time…because I HAD TO "do it RIGHT." I "couldn’t" just throw stuff into boxes and onto shelves off to the side somewhere–then they’d just be boxes of random comics, right? So I had to do it right and get them properly sorted so I’d KNOW what was where. And even though we butted heads on it a number of times, he mostly let me be, though he convinced me to get some shelves to at least get the comics off to the side more, and I was actually working on that by early December. And had PLANNED ON dealing with the room thoroughly between Christmas 2021 and New Year 2022 since I had the week off from work. I was also gonna tidy up the basement and get fresh, thorough pics and even do a video walk-through for him. But he was feeling so bad at Christmas that everything was subdued, and then with my anxiety I was just "around," "existing," trying to be "available" at a moment’s notice. And THEN when he went into the hospital, it was ALREADY all I could do to "function normally" while being so worried about him.
And then LOSING him?
So now I have to do this project to honor some of his last wishes. To get that room dealt with and to a state that I can be confident he would have been glad for. And I have to sort and file those comics properly, or else there is no reason whatsoever that I could not have just chucked ’em into boxes months ago to make him happy, when he could have appreciated it!
Meanwhile, I FEEL all the more for Pérez and his family. I’m a bit jealous, too. That even with such horrible, dire, terminal news…they’re GETTING time. I had NO IDEA this was gonna happen with Dad, when it did, and so I never knew that Christmas 2020 would be our last "decent" Christmas. That December 3rd would be my last birthday with him. That joining him and Mom for a birthday dinner for him in October would be our last "out to dinner" experience together. I didn’t know at new year 2021 that we’d not make it THROUGH 2021 whole as a family.
So what am I trying to say? I don’t even know. I’ve written all these words, and on one hand I feel like maybe I should delete this, but I’m pretty sure I’m not going to. I don’t know if I’ll post this immediately, or give it a couple days; don’t know if I’ll wait and post this to coincide with the SBTU group and their more "proper" posts about Pérez.
This is all just stream-of-conscious rambling here, and I just kinda hope that it’s helped ME at least in the typing, and that maybe it has some meaning for anyone out there READING this.
I do NOT feel like this post is doing honor to anyone, not properly…but it’s selfish and me "processing" and justifying and….whatever.
But it’s ME, so whatever that says, I guess.
Filed under: 2022 Non-Review Posts, 2022 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: dad, George Perez, processing loss, rambling, stream of consciousness | 2 Comments »
Understanding Peter
Posted on January 7, 2022 by Walt
Way back in 2007–15 years ago–we had One More Day.
I hated it. If only on principle.
Essentially, what I remember the story for, is this: Aunt May was dying, and it came down to Peter (and MJ) making a deal with MEPHISTO to save her.
In exchange for the life and health of Aunt May, Mephisto got "their marriage."
It was as if the marriage had never happened. So they weren’t divorced, neither was dead, none of that "baggage."
And I remember a lot of the argument against the story being that Aunt May wouldn’t have wanted them to give up their marriage over her. She’d want them happy. And she was "old," while they’re young. And so on.
But I never considered it from Peter’s side. Not REALLY.
Yes, this is a fictional story, about fictional characters, etc; I am keenly aware despite how I’ll talk about the characters.
Because I now know that I would give so much, FOR "one more day."
I now UNDERSTAND what one would be willing to give up to save a loved one, if they could. That I’d rather stay/be single, if I could have not lost Dad last week.
It doesn’t matter that he was 71, and I’m 41, and statistically I might have another 30 years in me. It doesn’t matter if Dad would have had another six weeks or another six years…I would trade so much to have him back.
I cannot condone making a deal with THE DEVIL; so I can say that THAT part I cannot understand.
But Peter’s willingness (as I recall?) to sacrifice being married, and so much of the happiness he’d found….to give that up in exchange for whatever additional time he could have with May?
Yeah.
I get it now.
Until all things new. "Get some good rest. Get some good sleep. I love you."
Filed under: 2022 Non-Review Posts, 2022 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: Amazing Spider-Man, dad, One More Day, Peter Parker, Spider-Man | Leave a comment »
Until then we’ll have to muddle through…somehow
Posted on January 3, 2022 by Walt
This post–the one immediately following the Weekly Haul December 22, 2021 post–was supposed to be the Weekly Haul December 29, 2021 post. I went to the shop on Wednesday. I got new comics Wednesday.
BUT…I was ALREADY going through the motions. Sick with worry over my Dad in the hospital. But he was in the hospital where they could give him fluids, ensure he (got) his meds, other stuff that Mom and I just were incapable of here at the house. She got to visit him Wednesday–she left minutes after I got back and I took the dog who haaaaates being apart from him. Or all of us at once.
We got a call from the hospital Wednesday night…
We rushed to the hospital.
I don’t know HOW long what I saw in those couple hours will be with me. Very often when I close my eyes and/or lose focus, I’m back in that hospital room, seeing what I saw. Experienced what I experienced. Or worse, I’m in the hall with the flurry of medical professionals rush into the room. I’m seeing what they would not have wanted me to see.
What no one should have to see.
And this scene..these scenes…from Superman: New Krypton Special #1 that were moving and hit me hard in 2008 at even the CONSIDERATION of the thing, albeit (then) being FICTION…these are now all too real.
For me.
Except I don’t have a Lois.
Whether he knew I was there, or heard me, or heard Mom…
I got to say goodbye.
I was holding his hand.
Once upon a time, I could only "imagine."
Now I know.
Now…I understand.
And will have to muddle through.
SOMEhow.
Filed under: 2022 Non-Review Posts, 2022 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: dad, Jonathan Kent Funeral, Superman: New Krypton | 4 Comments »
The Weekly Haul: Week of December 22, 2021
Posted on December 27, 2021 by Walt
Closing in on the fiiiiiiinal haul of the year! Here’s a look at yet another huuuuuuge week’s haul!
The Trial of Magneto #5 wraps up this mini-series jusssst shy of the new year. Wolverine #19 and SWORD #11 I believe ALSO wrap the current volumes, with renumbering/relaunching with stuff in 2022.
New issues this week for Amazing Spider-Man #82 continuing the Beyond thing; Phoenix Song Echo #3 continuing the theft/plundering/appropriating of X-stuff to the Avengers side of things. And Wastelanders Hawkeye is….there. (Still hunting down the Wolverine issue from the previous week!)
Rounding out the Marvel stuff, I happened to look at the Venom #3 cover and saw that it lacked a certain NAME on the cover. Ok…so, if that name was JUST on the #1–that I already bought when I mixed it up with Hulk a few weeks back–then I’ll give in and give the series a few more issues since I’m not avoiding it for the social media practices of its writer. And I’m not even sure why I’m getting Black Panther except to "support" a title that does NOT feel like its writer is overhyped or "stunt"-assigned.
I love that we have a whole family of Spawn books now…though I’m curious as to just how long McFarlane & co. will keep it up. I’d have to "research" to see what the longest-running other "side series" was for a companion piece to the main Spawn, but I have a feeling these are already putting a decent-sized dent into things.
Radiant Black continues to get by on strength of its writer’s name for me, and supporting his NON-Boom, non-MMPR work.
Walking Dead Deluxe continues; as does IDW‘s TMNT; and managed to get the second issue of the new Haunted High-Ons mini.
While I’m mentally "OVER" DC at this point, I’m already "invested" in this Batman Catwoman series for better or worse; ditto the Batman Scooby-Doo Mysteries. Total "obligation" or "OCD" buys both…and I’m not even sure about reading either at this point! Yet again, rather sad to note that a mere 5 years ago I was basically all-in on DC and now it’s just my own OCD finishing out limited runs on a couple books that has me buying ANYthing AT ALL from them.
The Conan the Barbarian facsimile edition #1 is from a week or two back; had to get it online as it was unavailable locally.
I also hit back-issue bins and came up with a "random" issue of the ’90s What If..? series…the cover grabbed me. I’ve long been a fan of this iteration of the Iron Man armor, with those cables in the neck…not sure WHY, it’s just always grabbed me! And I’d swear I already had the X-Men ’92 issue, but it was still on my list, so I figured fine, get it (again, maybe) just to make darned sure so I can get it OFF my "missing issues" list!
And of course, Comic Shop News…amazingly still going, and at this point the ONLY still-published, continuously-numbered periodical in North America that actually goes back to the early-’90s…
One more week’s haul to go to complete 2021. And that’ll be the usually-small week falling on the Wednesday between Christmas and New Year.
Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts | Tagged: Amazing Spider-Man, Batman Catwoman, Batman Scooby-Doo Mysteries, Beyond, Black Panther, Conan the Barbarian, DC, Gunslinger Spawn, Haunted High Ons, IDW, Image, King Spawn, MARVEL, New Comic Book Day, new comics, Ninja Turtles, Phoenix Song Echo, Radiant Black, Source Point Press, SWORD, TMNT, Trial of Magneto, Twiztid, Venom, Walking Dead Deluxe, Wastelanders Hawkeye, Wolverine | Leave a comment »
Harper Convention: October 2021 & CNJ Consolation Haul
Posted on December 26, 2021 by Walt
While I’d made it to the Cleveland Comic Book & Nostalgia Show last October (2020), I missed out on the February 2021 edition due to it being far too crowded. This year’s October edition–October 3, 2021–I had no trouble getting in…was actually there and part of a small crowd there for when the doors opened.
Unfortunately, it was a rather "disappointing" show for me, in terms of finding stuff I was looking for.
I ended up buying several Marvel Milestone Editions of some X-stuff. But no luck on other stuff I was actively looking for.
Perhaps the most notable thing for ME was while I was fishing the MMEs out of a box, someone right next to me dropped about $2k cash on an actual Giant-Size X-Men #1! The seller sold 2 copies in as many minutes, albeit one for $2k, one for about $5.
I also stumbled across this display pack of vintage ’90s X-Men figures from Toy Biz. I was shocked at the low price! ONLY $20, for 10 figures! So….$2/figure! And this was still intact as a box unit.
Well….the figures are basically screwed into the plastic bases. However…given I’d want to display them anyway, and for the price, I’m plenty-ok with that!
What I was less "ok" with was going to the trouble of going to a show and not really finding anything else of interest, just frivolous-ish stuff that didn’t really MATTER long-term/overall.
So with time on my hands and money in my pocket, I decided to visit Carol & John’s since I was relatively close by, and snagged a big chunk of missing Generation X issues that I needed.
They also had a bunch of random $1 comics including some Alpha Flights; I ended up grabbing these two issues, figuring their condition’s rough enough I can have patience and find better condition copies OR a larger "run" some other time.
Plus I had my eye on another issue I spotted…
They had this issue of the original Mirage run of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Considering I am STILL kicking myself mentally for passing up a 3rd print of #1 several years back that they had for something like $125, I jumped on this. With their everyday 25%-off-marked-prices discount, this was significantly less than marked…but STILL well above what I’ve paid for ANY OTHER SINGLE ISSUE in my 33-some years of buying comics! (surely pocket change, though, for someone that drops $2k cash on a single issue some Sunday morning..!)
While I forget the exact phrasing, I remember years ago hearing on a podcast someone talking about how essentially, 90% of one’s collection costs 10% of what they pay for the collection. That’s certainly looking valid to me for TMNT stuff. All the more as I’ve also snagged the Raphael and Michelangelo covers of IDW‘s #1 from 2011 this year and am now looking for the Donatello cover. I’d intended to try to get the wraparound cover (a la X-Men (1991) #1) but as a retailer-incentive cover or such, figured if the REGULAR covers are so hard to find these days, I’d better snag those when I CAN. I’d bought the Leonardo cover when it came out, and (in retrospect) SHOULD have sucked it up and bought the other 3 at the time just to have them. Deffffffinitely paying for it now.
But that’s another story for another time!
Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: Cleveland, Cleveland Comic Book & Nostalgia Show, comic books, comic conventions, Convention, conventions, Harper Comics, Harper Productions, IDW, Jeff Harper, Marvel Milestone Editions, TMNT, Toy Biz, x-men | Leave a comment »
Comic Reviews by Walt 