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Post by The Captain on Jan 23, 2024 18:17:18 GMT -5
Did Zarrko stay around as a Marvel character or did they more or less forget about him after Kang was introduced? Zarrko also showed up in a few issues of Darkhawk in the 90s, manipulating DH and some of the New Warriors in more time-traveling hijinks.
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Post by The Captain on Jan 21, 2024 19:33:21 GMT -5
"San Diablo", huh? Guess Stan never took Spanish lessons and realized that's about the most contradictory name for a country ever.
The Communist bad guy trope was thankfully only used once in the Captain America ToS stories, IIRC. Issue #61 finds Cap in Vietnam fighting a sumo wrestling general of the Viet Cong, because Stan apparently didn't know that Japanese and Vietnamese cultures were two entirely different things.
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Post by The Captain on Jan 5, 2024 16:02:50 GMT -5
Three books in the bin this week: Doctor Strange #11Cute little story about Stephen and Clea taking her baby sister out for a day, to get the child away from Umar and Tiboro, only to find the child going missing and having to hunt her down. "Villains" in the issue were a brand-new Circus of Crime, who were not really evil, just in the way of the main plot. Even Bats the Ghost Dog made an important appearance, which is always nice, and Umar's reasoning for letting the Strange's take Donna out is so perfect for her character. Nothing earth-shattering here, but it's still good for a 7.5/10Captain America #5The ongoing fight against Asmoday and The Emissary continues in the present, while in the past, Steve helps Meyer Lansky foil a plot by Barons Zemo and Von Strucker to blow up a bunch of American Nazis in order to pin the blame on Jewish folks and turn the tide of WWII. Gotta say, I'm actually more interested in the 1940s story than the current-day one, just because I don't feel like The Emissary is all that compelling an adversary. Still, more good than bad, so let's call it 6.5/10Vengeance of the Moon Knight #1Agree with a lot of what thwhtguardian wrote about this. It could have used a slower simmer before bringing in the new Moon Knight, even if just for another issue or two, but I guess they wanted to get the ball rolling immediately on the new plotline. Love the inclusion of 8-Ball in the book, a throwaway villain first introduced in Sleepwalker, even if he doesn't do much here, as Marvel has such a rich history and should utilize it when they can. Writing is solid, art is pretty. Grade is the same at 9/10
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Post by The Captain on Jan 1, 2024 15:41:06 GMT -5
YTD Total: 219
January 2024 Avengers Arena #1 - 12 Marvel Super-Heroes Featuring Captain Marvel #12 - 13 Captain Marvel #1 - 14 Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1 - 5 Hellblazer #47 - 61, 121 - 133, 162 - 174, 283 - 300, Annual #1 Wonder Woman #185 - 186 Young Avengers #1 - 6
Avengers Twilight #1 Captain America #5 Doctor Strange #11 Vengeance of the Moon Knight #1
January Classics: 101 January New: 4 January Total: 105
February 2024 Brave and the Bold #87, 105 Captain Marvel #15 - 32 Secret Society of Super-Villains #1 - 15 Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #93 Wonder Woman #187 - 204 World's Finest Comics #204 Young Avengers #7 - 12
Avengers Twilight #2 Captain America #6 Doctor Strange #12 Incredible Hulk #7 - 9 Vengeance of the Moon Knight #2
February Classic: 61 February New: 7 February Total: 68
March 2024 Weird Western Tales #39 - 70
Avengers Twilight #3 - 4 Captain America #7 Doctor Strange #13 Strange Academy #1 - 18 Vengeance of the Moon Knight #3
March Classic: 32 March New: 23 March Total: 55
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Post by The Captain on Dec 31, 2023 6:11:53 GMT -5
Buying Goals I would like to buy as few new classic comic floppies as possible this year. There are a handful of issues of Captain Marvel I might pick up, and as with the past few years, I will grab cheap Batman/Detective issues, but I made it through 2023 only buying 31 classic comics and I would like to try to lower that number in 2024.
That said, I am not against buying TPBs on the cheap. Still looking for a handful of Hellblazer collections to round out the run.
Reading Goals Would like to average 50-60 never-before-read issues per month this year, which will help make a little dent in the backlog, while avoiding the pitfall of going to the "comfort" books that I reread all the time.
Collection Goals Want to move at least 500 books out of my collection and into new homes. Lot of stuff that I'm never going to read again and that is just taking up space, but I always chicken out, thinking that since I paid money for it at some point, I need to hold onto it until I can get a comparable amount in return, instead of just getting it out of my house.
Other Goals Wouldn't mind trying to restart my Captain America review thread if I can get myself motivated to sit down and read the next handful of issues and take notes. Might have some time later this year after my older daughter goes to college and my younger one gets her driver's license, so we shall see.
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Post by The Captain on Dec 29, 2023 10:50:18 GMT -5
Let's go ahead and see how things finished up:
Buying Goals - Only bought 31 "classic" comics this year in total. Feel pretty good about that. Jonah Hex #91 to complete the series - Got this back in January. Secret Society of Super-Villains #1 and 14 to complete the series - Got both of these, one in January and the other in April Cheap (less than $3/each) Batman, Detective, and Weird Western Tales featuring Scalphunter issues - Bought four $1 issues of Batman and one of Detective, picked up the last seventeen issues of Weird Western Tales that I was hunting for an average of $4 each, and got nine issues of Captain Marvel (first Marvel series) for about $4 each as well Maybe some more Hellblazer TPBs, if I can find them used - Picked up one early in the year, a couple mid-year, and three more on December 28 from Half-Price Books, using a 20%-off coupon.
Reading Goals Read more. Hit or miss with this one. I read a lot of new TPBs that I'd picked up, including Priest's run on Black Panther, Aaron's run on Thor, Planet Hulk, Monster of Frankenstein, but not much in the way of making it through the floppie backlog. It's so much easier to grab a collected edition off the bookshelf than it is to go through the effort of opening bags, pulling comics out, then putting them back in.
Collection Goals Need to finally start thinning out the boxes. Going to focus on things I know I am never going to read again (I'm looking at a lot of 1990s Marvel here) and just get rid of things. Give them away, sell them, let my daughters have them; doesn't matter, need to clear them out. Got some plans in my head, just haven't translated that into action yet. Actually moved a good number of series from the cabinets into the short boxes that I store elsewhere, now just need to move them out of the house somehow. Something for 2024.
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Post by The Captain on Dec 28, 2023 12:34:12 GMT -5
loved, Loved, LOVED the first episode with the new Doctor! Cannot wait to see what is coming, but I love the idea of having a Doctor unburdened by the weight and guilt of his entire existence and who just enjoys the travels. Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson were such a breath of fresh air, both of them being charming and likeable from the outset and seeming to be having fun with their roles.
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Post by The Captain on Dec 28, 2023 12:29:27 GMT -5
Can’t really offer an opinion on Westerns, but I like what Cei-U! wrote. As for superhero movies now, well one thing that is really off-putting to me is how impenetrable it can be, and how some films seem to exist partly to set something else up. Nothing is more off-putting to me than reading a headline such as “DEADPOOL 3 WILL SET UP SECRET WARS” or something. Be careful what you wish for. As a kid, I hoped we might see Christopher Reeve and Michael Keaton appear together. I might have wished for a shared universe. And in some ways, it hasn’t been entirely bad, I did like how early MCU films led to The Avengers. But it is impenetrable now. I haven’t seen The Marvels because I can’t afford a cinema ticket right now. I would have seen it, and am familiar with all that led to it. However, an online friend said he isn’t seeing it because he hasn’t seen Ms. Marvel (he doesn’t have Disney+), and wonders how much backstory he would need. Personally, I’d rather see headlines such as “DEADPOOL 3 WILL BE ABOUT THIS OR THAT” than one suggesting it’ll set up another film or arc. Part of me hopes that we might go back to mostly standalone films, but I know many people probably like arcs and build-up. Tell your friend that seeing Ms Marvel is not required to understand or enjoy The Marvels. All that he would miss is seeing how big of a super-major-mega Carol Danvers fan that Kamala Khan is and that Kamala's family are an absolute treat, but the movie pretty much gets you up to speed on those two points fairly quickly. I agree with you that since Endgame, each movie property (other than The Eternals) is nothing more than set-up for the next thing. The only post-Endgame movie I've watched more than once (and I have Disney+) was The Eternals, only to see if it got better upon second viewing (I felt it did as a stand-alone story, but much like Kirby's comics run, it really doesn't fit into the Marvel universe and is somehow diminished by making it do so). Dr. Strange 2, Quantumania, GotG 3; each of them is a deeply flawed movie that doesn't draw me to it for rewatching like many of the early MCU films. Now, the Disney+ shows have been better than the movies for the most part. Hawkeye, Falcon & Winter Soldier, Ms Marvel, Loki Season 2 (did NOT like the first one, more from the technical aspect in that the green screen was WAY too noticeable), and even She-Hulk were solid. Wandavision was good the first time through, but once you know the misdirect, it loses its charm, and Moon Knight was god-awful.
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Post by The Captain on Dec 28, 2023 12:15:35 GMT -5
It's late-March-esque here in Western Pennsylvania, with a high temperature today of 49. We might get a little snow flurry on Friday night into Saturday morning, but the temperatures have settled into the low-40s for highs/low-30s for the foreseeable future.
I hate snow from a driving and shoveling perspective, but it would be nice once in a while to get a little coating on the ground just to break up the grey sky and brown grass palette.
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Post by The Captain on Dec 19, 2023 6:26:32 GMT -5
Guess we could get Immortus, Scarlet Centurion or, fingers crossed, Rama Tut going forward? Or maybe Kang with the classic mask Not sure if this needs a Spoiler Tag since the movie came out more than six months ago, but you should check out Quantumania (specifically the credits scenes).
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Post by The Captain on Dec 13, 2023 8:21:49 GMT -5
I’ll add my favorite Tennant episode, “Silence in the Library” (Moffat). That’s in my Top Five as well for Tennant.
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Post by The Captain on Dec 13, 2023 6:31:29 GMT -5
PS Tennant's best episode remains *Blink* imo....
This ☝️ A Stephen Moffat episode IIRC “Blink” is a great episode, but is it really a David Tennant episode, when Sally Sparrow and the Weeping Angels are the main characters? For my money, “Human Nature” and “Family of Blood” are the best David Tennant episodes, both written by Paul Cornell.
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Post by The Captain on Dec 13, 2023 6:27:38 GMT -5
My younger daughter and I have been watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine together recently, and this is just heartbreaking. She literally came downstairs after seeing the news on social media (Terry Crews had posted something) and she was sobbing.
61 is just too damn young. RIP Captain Raymond Holt.
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Post by The Captain on Dec 1, 2023 9:37:57 GMT -5
- Alice Ever After #5 - Captain America #3 That's it This was 2/3 of my list this week, with Moon Knight as the other member of the group. Haven’t had a chance to read any of them yet, but planning on doing so this weekend.
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Post by The Captain on Nov 21, 2023 21:07:26 GMT -5
Roasted Brussel sprouts are delicious, sprinkled with a little olive oil and sea salt.
As for cauliflower, my wife makes a roasted vegetable medley with that, broccoli, carrots, and red onions that is finished with a little balsamic vinegar once it's out of the oven. Absolutely fantastic.
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