Author: Michael

Okay, so it’s a tired meme, but I enjoyed reading it on lymjello’s blog, so I figured, what the heck, I’ll bite. I’ve also followed lymejello’s lead and added my own category.

Four jobs I’ve had:

1. Library Administrator
2. Magazine Reviewer
3. Manager of a Record Store
4. Tax form picker/shipper

Four movies I can watch over and over:

1. The Sweet Hereafter
2. Miss Firecracker
3. Passion Fish
4. Last Night

Four albums I can listen to over and over:

1. Emm Gryner, Girl Versions
2. Martha & the Muffins, Then Again – A Retrospective
3. Kate Bush, The Dreaming
4. Jane Siberry, The Walking

Four places I’ve lived (this one’s pretty boring for me):

1. Boston, MA
2. Melrose, MA
3. Andover, MA
4. Reading, MA

Four TV shows I love:

1. Star Trek: Deep Space 9
2. Twin Peaks
3. Days of Our Lives
4. The Comeback

Four highly regarded and recommended TV shows that I’ve never watched a single minute of:

1. 24
2. Commander-in-Chief
3. Alias
4. American Idol

Four places I’ve vacationed:

1. Australia
2. Canadian Rockies
3. Toronto, ON
4. Phoenix, AZ

Four boys I find adorable:

1. Scottie
2. Don
3. Jonno
4. Phil

Four of my favorite dishes:

1. Fancy Pants
2. Pasta Bolognese
3. Danish Pastries
4. Iced “Corn” Cookies

Four sites I visit daily:

1. Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film
2. Internet Movie Database
3. All These Wonderful Things
4. Dudes Nude

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. A Tropical Nude Beach
2. Watching a movie in a theatre
3. Visiting my friend in Buddina, Queensland, Australia!
4. Visiting Jennifer in Rutland, VT

I have a lot of difficulty compartmentalizing things into years, but I thought I’d give it a try with my comics, since I only keep a single year’s worth in my apartment before moving them to a friend’s for storage. Because of this new set-up, I was able to take a look at the comics I got in 2005 and see what I liked and what I didn’t like. Here is a list of some of my high points, low points and other observations about some titles.

• Best Series ? Ex Machina (Brian K. Vaughan; Tony Harris)
• Best Superhero Comic ? Birds of Prey (Gail Simone; Various Artists)
• Best Writing on a Regular Series ? Wonder Woman (Greg Rucka)
• Most Consistently Excellent ? Y: The Last Man (Brian K. Vaughan; Goran Sud?uka)
• Carrying on the Neil Gaiman Legacy – Lucifer (Mike Carey; Peter Gross)
• Best Event ? Infinite Crisis and Various Spin-Offs (Geoff Johns; Phil Jimenez)
• Biggest Surprise (Positive) ? Young Avengers (Allan Heinberg; Jim Cheung)
• Most Refreshing Writer ? Dan Slott (She-Hulk; Thing; Great Lakes Avengers)
• Best Miniseries Starring an Obscure Character ? TIE! Drax the Destroyer (Keith Giffen; Mitch Breitweiser) & Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill (Michael Avon Oeming & Dan Berman; Andrea Divito)
• Best Epilogue ? Phoenix: Endsong (Greg Pak; Greg Land)
• Best Use of a Prestige Artist ? TIE! Justice (Doug Braithwaite & Alex Ross) & Phoenix: Endsong (Greg Land)
• Best X-Men ? X-Men (Peter Milligan; Salvador Larroca)
• Best of the Four ? 4 (Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa; Various Artists)
• Best Ultimate Title ? The Ultimates 2 (Mark Millar; Bryan Hitch)
• Most Ambitious Mess ? Seven Soldiers of Victory (Grant Morrison; Various Artists)

• Most Welcome Use of a Character ? Zatanna
• Nicest Cameo by an Obscure Character ? Black Orchid in Day of Vengeance
• It?s About Time ? The Reunion of Katchoo and Francine in Strangers in Paradise (Terry Moore)

• Biggest Disappointment ? Kitty Pryde: Shadow & Flame (Akira Yoshida; Paul Smith)
• Stuck in a Rut, or Why Am I Still Buying This Crap? ? Uncanny X-Men (Chris Claremont; Various Aritsts)
• Most Overrated ? Astonishing X-Men (Joss Whedon; John Cassaday) ? Plus, there were only 6 issues
• Most Dismal Event ? House of M (Brian Michael Bendis; Olivier Coipel)
• Shadow of Its Former Self ? The New Avengers (Brian Michael Bendis; Various Artists)
• Most Pointless High Profile Resurrection ? Hal Jordan/Green Lantern
• Most Welcome but Shoddily Executed Resurrection ? Donna Troy
• Great Style, Too Much Substance ? Otherworld (Phil Jimenez)

A couple of things I want to mention further. This is only the second time in my history of reading comics that I have stopped buying The Avengers. The first was when Rob Leifield was writing it (it picked it up a few issues later when Walt Simonson took over). What Brian Michael Bendis has done with a former favorite title of mine is inexcusable. It in no way resembles a comic called The Avengers, and despite the use of one of my favorite characters from the 1970’s (Spider-Woman) it just plain sucks. DC knocks one out of the park with its massive Infinite Crisis event, including four terrific lead-in mini-series, and other regular titles picking up some compelling threads (the Wonder Woman/Superman clash specifically.) I am the first to admit how much I enjoy Young Avengers, a title I was sure to hate. Allan Heinberg has made a convert out of me. It’s great to read Dan Slott’s work, bringing old-style superheroics back to comics with a nice dose of humor on titles such as She-Hulk, The Thing and the Great Lakes Avengers mini-series. Who would have thought I would have enjoyed miniseries starring such obscure characters as Drax the Destroyer and Beta Ray Bill so much? And the attention paid to Zatanna this year has been very much welcomed. Kitty Pryde, on the other hand, a much-loved character, disappointed in her mini-series, which I just felt fell flat. The X-Men titles themselves were a mixed bag. I bucked the majority and really enjoyed Peter Milligan’s work on X-Men, while being greatly disappointed in Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men despite a strong start in 2004. And Chris Claremont? Just give it up. Greg Pak did an astounding job adding another chapter to the Jean Grey/Phoenix saga. And to think, I’ve had dinner with him! And as for my boyfriend, talented artist/writer Phil Jimenez? He had a mixed year; his astounding pencils make Infinite Crisis so beautiful, and add some wonder to Otherworld, but his muddled writing in that series and the non-event, The Return of Donna Troy were disappointing. Finally there’s House of M. The less said about that mockery the better.

Then there were some titles that were solidly enjoyed, but didn’ tmake any of the “best categories.” Geoff Johns continues his superlative work on JSA, while DC’s struggling title Manhunter continues to keep my interest. J. Michael Straczynski’s Supreme Power remains one of the most refreshing superhero comics, but it will have strong competition with the revamped return of Peter David’s excellent X-Factor, the most anticipated series of 2006. Pulse remains the best series by a writer I don’t like (Brian Michael Bendis) and the Legion of Superheroes, while interesting and fun to read, isn’t catching on the way Mark Waid probably intended. All-in-all, I can say it was a year filled with ups and downs. Now I just have to save some money and start dropping some of the titles that continuously disappointed me throughout the year.

Happy New Year!

I wish I was one of those people who could now give a quick and pithy (or lengthy and detailed) summary of 2005, along with what I’m looking forward to in 2006. I can’t. I have found that I just don’t think in terms of years. It would be a huge effort for me to think about what my life was like in January 2005, or March 2005. I can’t really remember when I was enjoying my Mothra/Godzilla resurgence, or my enthusiasm for the Powerpuff Girls started to dwindle. These things just happen, and I can’t put a timestamp on them. I suppose if I kept a journal of sorts, (oh, wait a minute, isn’t that what this is supposed to be?) I could look back on it and see things more time-related, but alas, I don not. Maybe I’ll start. Or maybe not.

As for 2006, I can say I’m very excited about the coming year. We’re going to start looking for a condo! Yippee!

Cheers!

George Takei, Star Trek’s Sulu has come out of the closet! That’s right, swashbuckling Sulu, who boldly went where no man has gone before is out and proud as a gay man. He’s also starring on stage in Equus. You can read about it in this article at tribe.net. Funny, I never thought about Takei being gay, but looking back, I can see it. After all, after Uhuru, Sulu was always my favorite character. That should tell you something. Good for you, George.

Those who know me also know that I have a special connection with the city of New Orleans. I have visited New Orleans on several occassions. It is one of the only U.S. cities that I have ever seriously considered moving to. I realized fairly quikcly that this wouldn’t be a good idea and as recent events have so horrifically and eloquently pointed out, I made the correct decision.

It’s difficult for me to wrap my mind around the impact that Hurricane Katrina has had on the people who live on the Gulf Coast, despite the images I’ve seen in the media. New Orleans is a city I have visited repeatedly. How could it possibly be under water? I can’t imagine what the residents are going through, from those who evacuated and must now wait possibly months to even find out if their home still exists, to those who have been trapped in the city waiting for some mysterious reason, for the delayed rescue forces to come and help them.

Much has been made of the slow response of President Bush and his administration with regard to the aid sent to New Orleans, and I rightfully so. It is unforgivable that rescue forces were not deployed immediately in great numbers. But really, let’s be honest about this: are we surprised by anything that Mr. Bush does? My surprise would be for him to do something right. What is so criminal about his actions is the fact that there are lives in the balance here. Innocent lives in a country expecting leadership but receiving very little.

The “natural” part of this disaster keeps coming back to me as well. This horror has come about as a result of weather, something that man, try as we might, has little or no control over. Tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, blizzards… we can combat them as best we can. We can try to predict what they will do, but in the end, these things are part of the natural world, and that is something humanity has never really had a very good grasp of, both intellectually and physically.

What the future of New Orleans will be is still very much up in the air. The priority is to help the scores of people who have been displaced by this natural disaster. I hate when my thoughts drift to the inevitably selfish, “will that city I loved so much survive this cataclysm? When I next visit (supposedly next June) will the magic stlil be there?” It’s amazing how we can’t help but reduce a horrible experience, no matter how distant, to how it affects ourselves? For me, it’s just the enormity of such an event, and how unreal it seems. My heart goes out to all of those people, from friends I have in the area, acquaintances I have met online or during vacations, to the countless strangers whose lives have been uprooted.