BT03 – In the Dark

Well, that kind of sucks. Power just went out. Advantage of notebook computer? Battery backup. Alas, the internet connection doesn’t work that way, nor, I’ll hasten to point out, does the fan.

I hope this is temporary, I do, I do.

(Hmmm. Just called Xcel. The automated power outage line chimed in that Denver Metro is being impacted by a major heat wave, and may be down for an extended period, i.e., Sunday evening.)

Yeesh. Well, I’ll keep blogging, watching my power, and when the battery starts running low, I’ll connect in manually to my ISP and do one last upload.

Hope that counts, sponsorship-wise. Acts of God are, by definition, beyond my control …

(It’s very quiet outside. Very still. No breeze. No a/c units running. No cars. No kids out playing. Kind of spooky. Not to mention hot.)

And by the way — holy moley, my in-laws commented on my blog. Yowzers! That’s a first! I’d reply to their comment in the same post, but, well, I have no internet connection at the moment. So I’ll just say thanks to them here and, if you don’t see anything about the power coming back on, Ginger, don’t call at 4 a.m.!

UPDATE: Power’s back up, 45 minutes later! Based on anecdotal evidence, it’s a rolling blackout sort of thang for the Metro Area. Swell.

Review code format: writing (3-1, faboo to mediocre), art (3-1), suitability for jumping on as a new reader (3-1), suitability for hooking a a non-comics reader (3-1), and eagerly waiting the collected TBP (Y/N).

X- Men Unlimited #49 (Marvel) [2/1/2/2/N]
I picked up this one issue solely on the basis of Bill Willingham doing the writing. And he did, and he did a nice job in this tale of Nightcrawler rescuing a young girl from an underground kingdom holding her captive. Very fairy tale-like, with a nice twist ending. But the art by Kelsey Shannon is — well, way, way too cartoony for my taste. Bleah.

Incredible Hulk: NightMerica #1 of 6 (Marvel) [2/2/1/1/N]
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: a shadowy and unscruplous corporation is up to no good, conspiring against the Hulk and a woman who is thrown together by circumstance with the hapless Bruce Banner. Smashing ensues. Ho-hum. Robin Laws does a good job, but it’s so threadbare and worn a plot hook that Shakespeare woul dhave problems making it fresh. Brian Ashmore’s paint work is great when you see normal people and settings, but his robotics are awful, and his Hulk looks … well, awful. I got stuck with this in a facilitated cross-over, and I’ve already cancelled it.

Y: The Last Man #12 (Vertigo) [2/2/2/2/N]
Everyone is raving over this series. Well, I think it’s good, but it’s not great. It has a fine Twilight Zone premise: a plague kills every man on Earth, almost instantly. All, that is, except poor Yorick, who just wants to get back to his girlfriend in Australia, but is caught up in conspiracies left and right, most of which (unexpectedly) want to kill him for one reason or another. It’s imaginative, I’ll give you that, but only if you’ve never seen anything produced by Rod Serling.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2 (Dreamwave) [2/2/2/2/N]
Honest, I only am reading this because Peter David is writing it. And, frankly, writing it pretty well. It’s still kiddie stuff (sort of), but there enough substance for an adult to enjoy. Indeed, he plays some find head games between the “classic” April O’Neil and what she’s turning out to be in this book. Nice. And if Lesean and Eric Sander have a terribly cartoony style — well, damn, it is TMNT, after all.

Fallen Angel #1 (DC) [2/1/3/3/Y]
Speaking of Peter David, this is his new creator-owned project. Bete Noir is “where dreams come to die.” Enter cloaked Lee, a woman and trouble-shooter who has a rather … complicated relationship with Doctor Juris, who seems to run the dark side of town. Add in assassination attempts, lost children, prostitution, S&M, and a rather peculiar bartender, and … well, I’m not sure what you have, but it sure seems interesting for starters. David Lopez and fernando Blanco’s art is largely pedestrian — this series could use something a lot more stylish — more realistic, more dark, more something. This is an atmosphere book, and the art just isn’t doing its important part of the job.