Welcome to the Jungle

I have missed watching 24 this year. It has been the only weekly television show that I have watched over the past few years. My T.V. viewing is now limited to CNN, and interesting shows that I find on the History or National Geographic Channels. 

In 2007, the Sci-Fi Channel ran a show called the Dresden Files, and it was conveniently scheduled for the hour prior to 24. I liked Monday nights last year.

Luckily, Dabel Brothers Publishing has released the Dresden Files in comic book form.

Sweet.

It is only a 4 issue run, but for me, that is certainly better than nothing.  I really want to believe that if I visit Chicago in the near future, that I will find Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, Professional Wizard, living in his apartment with his friendly Ghost and cool magic stuff.

Welcome to the Jungle opens with a murder scene, of course. A zoo security guard has been brutally murdered (a mangled body with a missing throat left behind) and the police have determined that the gorilla, Moe, did it.

You know Moe didn't do it.

Harry's friend, Lieutenant Murphy of the Special Investigations Unit, calls on our favorite Wizard to help her solve the crime. He's kinda got a thing for her, so he agrees to investigate and use his Wizard Sight to seek out the real killer.

The comic is a good read, and we (Harry) are left hanging with cats (not little cute kitty cats) that have glowing green eyes, and look like.........well, just bad cats.

Go Harry~ 

Holy Komikku, Batman

While going through the box of new comics at my CB store last Thursday, I noticed a Batman comic that had the cover art on the back cover. That of course made me curious, so I grabbed it out the wooden box and gave it a look. Upon opening Batman: Death Mask, I saw that it was created in manga style, so it read back to front, and right to left. I was a little reluctant to purchase it, having never been into manga, but when I saw a diagram on the front (back) cover, explaining how to read the comic, I decided to take it home.

I'm really glad I did. The comic is a creation of Yoshinori Natsume, who does the story and the art. 

How often does that happen?

The comic is presented in black and white, which usually doesn't appeal to me, but it works with his art style. The story is fun and poses the question: Is Batman the mask for Bruce Wayne, or is Bruce Wayne the mask for Batman?

It includes some great illos of masks, a two-page spread of Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, The Joker, The Penguin, and the gang we love to hate, a faceless murder victim, and a bamboo forest in the middle of Gotham City.

Natsume has really made a splash with his debut in American comics, and I'm definitely putting this four-issue series on my sub list.

My Fifteen

The following post is for my friend Erik, who now lives in Washington D.C.. He has requested that I write about my evening with Barack Obama on my new blog, so if I've already told you this story, or you read it on my old MyBO page, you might want to click out now, and keep surfing :-)

After joining the Obama campaign last summer, I quickly became very involved and was asked to be a part of the "Dreams From My Father" book discussion groups that the campaign was sponsoring. Because of my organizing and involvement with those, I was invited to spend an evening watching a minor league baseball game with Barack Obama on August 21st. I was in my car when I found the voicemail from my field organizer with the invitation. I couldn't believe my ears, so I immediately went home and called him on my land line. 

Yup- I was going to a ball game with Senator Barack Obama. 

OMG.

When he first arrived at the stadium, he was of course swamped by people of all ages, wanting to shake his hand and get his signature. I was very impressed by how much attention he gave the children and how he appeared to really enjoy signing all the baseballs he was given by the young fans. He was quick to give them a high five or a pat on the shoulder. His interaction with everyone was fun to watch.

When the crowd settled down, I was able to talk with him and introduce myself.  I told him my name, and that I was one of his town chairpersons for the state. "Are you having fun?", he asked. I was stunned because I thought he would certainly ask me what events I had planned or what the level of support was for him in my community. 

"Yes, Senator, I am, but I have to tell you that I have never done this before and I've never even been involved with a campaign before."  

"But are you having fun?", he asked again.

"Yes.", I replied. He looked at me and gave me a very warm smile.

He was so easy to talk to that I decided to ask him about his book. I told him that I noticed he mentioned a few times in the first couple of chapters that he read comics as a kid. I shared with him that I was his age, and was also reading comics at that time. When the question, "Senator, who is your favorite superhero?" came out of my mouth, it was really quite funny, as the Secret Service, press, and invited guests all became silent and looked at me with concern.

It was one of those moments where I could feel my face turning red and my mouth quickly becoming a desert.

He, however rolled with it, and replied, "Well, I read Marvel comics. I like Spider-Man. If I had to pick a DC superhero though, it would be Batman."

"Me too- me too- my favorite superhero is Batman!" I exclaimed.

 One more thing we agreed on.

He was nice enough to take the time to sign my book, "To Michelle- Thanks for the friendship and support!" and he put his arm around me (making me scream) to pose for a picture. 

I could not tell you who won or lost the ball game that night, or even what the score was, as my world that evening was limited to the stadium seats. I was sitting next to, and talking with the person who I whole heartily believe will be our next President of the United States.

I was actively a part of his campaign for six months, and I loved every minute of it. After our state primary election was over, I was exhausted and slept during all of my spare time for a week. Senator Obama has been campaigning for over a year now, and has done so with dignity, patience, strength, and grace. He makes time for his family (recently taking Michelle and the girls to the Caribbean) and has an endless supply of energy. 

With all the negative campaign attacks that has/is being thrown his way, he remains steady, focused, and above it all. 

He has it all over any superhero I know~

Kick-Ass

Kick-Ass #2 was not an easy item to get a hold of this week. Because of all the press Icon's new title has received from Newsarama and other comic websites, demand was up for the second issue of this comic. The distributor that supplies my comic book store shorted the shop this week, and I didn't receive one in my sub folder. 

Again- one of the downfalls of having a last name that begins with "Y". My CB store ran out of that issue at "T". 

Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence for me.

So- I did have to go on an adventure this weekend and find the comic elsewhere. 

It was worth the trip.

Kick-Ass #2 opens with David Lizewski at St. Vincent's Hospital in NY, recovering from a crushed spine and two broken legs. After four operations, two months of counseling, three metal plates inserted in his head and weeks of rehab, David returns home with his Dad. He realizes that his dream to be a superhero was not a realistic one, and burns all of his comic books, plans, and costume designs.

However, once he is off his crutches, he realizes the superhero inside of him cannot be ignored, and he heads back out in his community. Thankfully, this time his costume includes two big sticks in an "X" across his back. He comes across one young adult who is being trashed by a gang of other young adults. He pulls the sticks off is back, kicks some gang butt, and saves the young man they are pursuing. Our hero does take a galvanized trash can to the back, and the lid to his face, ending up with up with smashed teeth and cracked ribs. He of course draws a crowd while doing all of this, and the final panel of this comic shows one of the curious on-lookers capturing the moment on his cell phone and saying, "....this is so going on YouTube."

We've got to hope that Dave Lizewski's Dad has a great health insurance plan~

 

April Fool's Day

As I was leaving a ComCon last weekend, a thirty-ish geek boy looked at me and said, "Would you like to try one of my Bawls? Look at them, they're blue."

I had no reply for him, and wished dearly that my good friend, the Pirate Queen, was there to field that question. I just reached down to grab one of the bottles of the free beverage, put it in my backpack, and kept moving.

Upon arriving home, I gave it to my son, and he reported that it has a sweet, cream soda taste, proclaiming it to be a yummy beverage. It is also highly caffeinated, which is probably the real reason he likes it. If you would like to try a Bawls, or would like to offer one to someone you know, you can check them out at: http://www.bawls.com.  

They're also hiring, if you'd like to sell Bawls.

Irish Eyes - Part 2

6:57 a.m.

Monday morning.

My car battery is dead.

Flipping Awesome.

After calling AAA, my boss, the car dealership, and my boss again, I arrived in the waiting room of my car dealership and began watching CNN while sipping on a small hot coffee. I had settled into the fact that I was going to be very late for work, and going to spend close to $200.00 to have a new battery put in my car. I figured my April Fool's Day had arrived 24 hours early.

While watching a CNN piece on the high profile Dems that are asking HRC to drop out of the race, an elderly gentleman began talking to me. 

He asked me if I liked Obama, and I told him I did. I shared with him that I had been a town chairperson for the Obama campaign during the six months prior to the primary election in our state. He told me that he too, liked Obama, and thought he was a good public speaker and seemed to get along with everybody. 

"That's exactly what we need right now," I said, "a President that gets along with everybody." He nodded his head in agreement and looked back up at the T.V. 

I noticed that he was wearing a "Korean War Veteran" hat, and asked him what branch of the military he served in. "Army," he replied. "I was Master Sargent- E8. Helicopter Division. I served in the Korean War, Vietnam, and in Desert Storm. I was in my fifties when I served in Desert Storm. My kids didn't think I'd come back alive."

I looked at him, smiled, and said, "Thank you."

I then realized that he might be able to answer my burning question of the past five years, so I decided to give it a shot. "Can you tell me why we are in Iraq?" I asked. He shook his head and told me that not only could he not tell me why we are there, but he couldn't understand why we weren't presently bringing our men and women home. 

"We have no business there." He said.

My search for an answer continues~

Irish Eyes

I was at an St. Patrick Day's celebration today (the original event being canceled by snow) at an Irish Pub. I was in a large crowd of happy people, standing shoulder to shoulder, drinking beer and listening to a group of bagpipe players. I was really enjoying myself, and feeling very proud of my Irish heritage- my maternal grandparent's last name is O'Brien.

Toward the end of their performance, and between songs, the leader of the group invited all of us to raise our glasses and salute the fallen troops in Iraq. He then proceeded to lead his bagpipers into "Amazing Grace." That song played on the bagpipes always brings tears to my eyes, and having it played to honor our men and women that have lost their lives over the past five years was rough.

As of this writing, there have been 4002 confirmed (and 4 pending) troops that have died since 2002 in Iraq. That is a lot of our young men and women who have sacrificed their lives for another country's civil war, and I still cannot find anybody who can give me a good reason for why we are there.

While listening to "Amazing Grace" today, saluting the fallen troops, and blinking back tears, I couldn't help but think about how our current leadership in Washington has really let us down. Senator Obama came forth, before the vote in the Senate to authorize Bush's blank check for this war, and told the country that our involvement in Iraq was a really bad idea. He told us that it would have no logical end, and that too many of our troops would lose their lives fighting another country's battle.

Just saying~