Copasetic Flow

I've been having a great time the last few months reading World's Finest and The Brave and the Bold.  World's Finest is exactly what you might expect it to be if you read comics back in the '80s. It's got Batman and Superman together in stories that include a somewhtat random selection of other DC characcers each month. (As of this writing, the cast includes both the JLA and the JSA!) The stories are between 1 and 3 issuees long and are light-hearted (enough) and fun! What do I mean by fun? Next month, there will be a story featuring Superdong, Supercat, and Ace the Bathound! Oh! And also Jimmy Olsen and maybe Batgirl. Meanwhile, The Brave and the Bold has turned into a monthly anthology. It has about four stories a month. Some of them are sequential, some are one-shots, and there's even the occasional flash fiction like the adorable ManBat story by G. Willow Wilson. Again, the sotries are fun, not "important." Think Shazam, (Billy actulaly), meets Gre...

Saturday, we went to our comic book stores' 30th anniversary party.  The evening was hilarious!  My partner and I, without discussing it with one another, decided we were essentially going to be the designated driver for the kids.  Designated driver is a bit of a misnomer for two reasons.  First of all, we don’t drive anywhere.  Second, the kids of course weren’t drinking.  There were however, bowls of pastel colored M&Ms — for Spring I suppose—everywhere!  We told the kids they could each have one handful.  However, as I watched, 4 year-old No. Three had not one, not two, but at least four handfuls that I saw.  Of course, her hands are small, but still.  The only kid that resisted the M&M urge was 8 year-old No. One.  She was characteristically responsible.  I admonished One on two occasions that she was really supposed to have had only one handful, but to no avail, and to be honest, I wasn’t really serious.  ...

 *Spoilers lie below* Our oldest kid, 5 y.o., No. 1, tried a few weeks of public kindergarten before she decided she missed the outings with her sibs and homeschool buddies.  During her brief stint in kindergarten her teacher mentioned that reading out loud and comprehension were two different things.  I'm still not sure I believe this entirely, but we started trying to be more mindful with respect to comprehension... just in case. For us, reading comprehension amounts to sitting around discussing the books we're reading.  My wife and I read comic books, and if they're not violent we leave them laying around the house where the kids can reach them.  Similarly, we both enjoy reading the kids' comics that they pick out.  This shared reading material pool has led to really fun reading comprehension discussions. A few weeks ago after Doom Patrol #2 came out, the kid and I wound up discussing it at the kitchen table.   The comic book is loosely conne...

With new elections every day in the countdown to the presidency, Renaissance Adventures brings you the Top Ten Reasons to vote At The Movies 10 You have to try because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived. Anthony Hopkins in Meet Joe Black 9 You told me once that you were a patriot, well now its time to step up! Batman to Amanda Waller: Justice League Unlimited 8 We have two lives: the one we learn with and the one we live with after that. Glenn Close in The Natural 7 "I love you and that makes you mine!" It's your country! Vote! George Peppard in Breakfast at Tiffany's 6 "You'll like that one... It has a surprise ending". Pierce Brosnan in After the Sunset 5 "Remember the Maine!" "Who could forget it!" Like it or not, its your country and your war. Vote! Paul Newman and Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 4 "Every person's life touches so many others." Every vote counts! Henry Travers as ...

In doing research for the recent posts on Superman, Superboy, Mon-El and DaVinci , I came across three interesting blogs. They are, in no particular order: The Comic Treadmill : Great updates and commentary on new comics as well as ongoing reviews of older comic runs. Occasional Superheroine : Frequently updated with lot's of happenings day to day in the comic book world, complete with video reviews. ¿Quién Me Mandaría a mi? : Nicely done Spanish comic review site! Enjoy!

Part I Part II Last Time : In my last Superman conspiracy post, I promised more insight into the DaVinci connection. First, a review: The movie The DaVinci Code made the painting The Last Supper by Leonardo DaVinci even more famous. As I mused about the possibility that Superman could be a modern day Messianic legend, I mentioned the similarities between the color themes of Jesus and John's, (Mary Magdalene's?) clothes and those of Superboy and Mon-El. Sure, the colors are the same, but what other connections are there? Well, the original pre-Crisis version of Superboy sacrifices himself to save Earth. Because he uses his own body as a conductor between two wide spread energy terminals, he dies with arms outspread as if on a crucifix. Meanwhile, Mon-El, his best friend is left to carry on his works. For an impressive recounting of this link to: The Greatest Hero of Them All OK, we have the sacrifice of the heroic messiah figure, but what about the sacred femini...

Part I Part II Is the Superman story a modern-day Messianic legend? A comic book, an animated movie, a Jewish temple, DaVinci, and the latest Superman movie all offer evidence. Is there a connection? Does our author simply have too much time on his hands? You decide. My interest in this all started years ago. The comic book character Superman was killed by an alien villain, Doomsday. There was a lot of fanfare, and a funeral was attended by most of the other superheroes. But, low and behold, a few days later, Superman came back to life. The whole resurrection thing seemed a bit odd, but it wasn't too big of a deal. In addition to the comic book version , recently, an animated film of the same story was released. Then, a few years later, I was jogging to Central Park in Manhattan when I passed the Temple Emanu-El . The building is beautiful! If you get a chance, go visit. But what captured my interest was the -El ending of the temple's name. It reminded...