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rjmartin11 · 1 year

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I'm Aaron

Chapter Five

Pairing: Elvis & female!reader

Summary: You're a workaholic who decides to take a private mini vacation in Las Vegas. While there, you stumble into and befriend a handsome stranger at a bar. This handsome stranger is more than meets the eye. He wants to show you a great time... privately. It's an experience that you've never had before. You soon realize that you're in over your head, and your heart is falling fast.

Word Count: 3.5K

Warnings: THE TRUTH IS OUT! Let the chips fall where they may and let the smut follow. Mature audiences only. Viewer Discretion is advised. If you aren't 18 plus, don't interact.

Author's Notes: Welcome to Chapter Five! I see y'all screaming at with this one. I beg your forgiveness. If you like this story, send me a like and follow. If you want to be tagged in the next chapter, send me a message.

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Your mouth is on the floor. Your heart rate has accelerated, and you are frozen stuck to your booth. Your eyes haven't left Aaron since he appeared on stage. The same magnetic energy you felt when you met him fills the room. The audience feels it, too.

His leg is going a hundred miles an hour, and he starts to sing.

Well, that's alright, Mama

That alright for you

That's alright mama just anyway you do

Well, that's alright (that's alright)

That's alright (that's alright)

That's alright mama anyway you do!

The way he sings and how the band backs him up is astonishing. You're surprised by how soulful he sounds. In his voice, you hear rhythm, blues, country, and a hint of gospel. It's quite amazing, really.

You have seen firsthand how people react to him. Now, you see why he's so alluring, sensual, primal, and sexy. It does something to you.

You shake that thought away from your mind as embarrassment settles in. You feel made a fool of. You were with Elvis Presley the entire time. He lied to you, and now you want to know what was real and what wasn't.

Another waitress passes by you, and you stop her, asking for a drink. While you wait, Elvis is making jokes about how he started out in the business.

"When I started out singing. It was shaking. *shakes his body* Went on the Ed Sullivan Show, and he goes, "Hmm. Sum bitch." They decided to shoot me from the waist up. Don't let me get started on that tux. *chuckles* They had me singing to a Hound Dog, and the dog growls. *growls* I go grrr. They take the dog away to protect it from me."

You were trying not to laugh with the crowd, but he had a great sense of humor. A bit off beat, but everyone was so entuned with him. The waitress brings your drink, and you start to sip it in an attempt to wash your embarrassment away. Elvis speaks more about how he came to be an actor.

"They sent me out to Hollywood, and they got to do this film. My first film. Let's see if you remember this one."

Love me tender

Love me sweet

Never let me go

You have made my life complete and I love you so

Love me tender

Love me true

All my dreams fulfilled

For my darling, I love you, and I always will

The words to this song resonate with you somehow, and a single tear trickles down your cheek. You're moved by the words of this song. It's as if you feel your mother's presence. The way he sings this song makes your heart soar. This song doesn't just exist for lovers but for loved ones. You grin at that thought. Aaron... Elvis is miraculous and brilliant. In your heart, all is forgive. For a moment.

You haven't forgotten about all the screaming women in the lounge. You can barely hear Elvis on stage with the hoards of women yelling and shouting. "Elvis! Elvis!"

He gets to the edge of the stage and starts to bend down at the women at his feet. There's a pretty blonde that grabs his hand, and he kisses her on the lips. Your heart sinks.

He decides to go out in the crowd to be up close and personal with his fans. Women are running from all directions just to have a piece of him. Just one kiss, and that will make their life grand. They crowd all around him, and he's engulfed in a sea of women. He even passes your table, but you don't bother standing up, and he's not close enough to notice you.

The little green eyed monster of jealousy rears its ugly head. You were the woman who had all his attention, not even twelve hours ago. You sip on your glass, waiting for the waitress to return for your refill. You don't think you can make it to the midnight show if this is what you're in for.

"This next song is called Suspicious Minds."

We're cause in a trap

I can't walk out

Because I love you too much baby Why can't you see whatcha doing to me?

When you don't believe a word I'm saying?

We can't go on together with suspicious mind

Suspicious Minds (The Sweet Inspirations)

And we can't build our dreams on Suspicious Minds

The moment you want to leave, he plays another song that speaks to your soul. The words are so relatable and captivating. You can't help but be swept away by them and the way he moves. Him dancing to the music has you paralyzed. He thrusts and shimmies across the stage with glee! He's so comfortable up there in front of an audience. Although there were a few times you could have sworn, he was shaken. He seemed a bit nervous to be in front of a crowd. You almost want to act as silly as the women around you.

It's very close to ten thirty, and you have a feeling this is the last song of the show.

Wise man say only fool rush in

But I can't help falling in love with you

Shall I stay would it be a sin

For I can't help falling in love with you

There he goes again, making your heart swoon. You don't know whether to be angry with him or not. Disappointed... maybe because he lied about who he is. How can you trust him again? You're more disappointed in yourself for putting your heart out there the way you did. You gave your virginity to the first guy who told you how beautiful they think you are.

There's a part of you that wants to run back upstairs and pack your bags for Atlanta. The other part of you is saying hear him out. See what he has to say to you. It can't be much to explain, but he made his bed, and he has to lay in it.

Joe comes back to your table and asks you to stay put for the next show. In the meantime, dinner's on Elvis. You are truly famished. If you got here sooner, you would have eaten before the first show.

You decide to order grilled chicken salad. It's clean so you don't ruin your clothing. The service is great. They treat you so well in fact you forget about all your worries. The next set of guests and fans come rolling in to take their seats. You already know what's in store. This time, you get to hear the entire set of the Sweet Inspirations. That brings you joy.

After the Sweet Inspirations finish up, you know it's only ten minutes until Aaron... Elvis reappears back on stage. You take a deep breath and sit back in your booth as the trumpets start once again.

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One hour and forty-five minutes later...

It was the exact same show with a few exceptions. Aaron... Elvis came out in another jumpsuit. A white V neck jumpsuit with silver buttons trailed down the opening, which showed off his chest. Though you hate to admit it, he was breathtaking. He came on stage with more confidence than before. He was still a bit shakey, but you just assumed that it was nervous energy.

His second performance was better than the first. Somehow, he even sounded better. He kissed the women again, and you realized it was a part of his act. He had to show them the love that they gave him. As much as it bothered you, you accepted it as it was. You were going to talk to him about it.

This time during I Can't Help Falling in Love, a handsome guy with brown curly hair came up to you. "Hey, are you Y/N?"

"Yes, sir, I am."

"I'm Jerry. I'm here to take you to the penthouse."

"Oh, okay." You grab your clutch and let Jerry escort you to the elevator to the penthouse.

Jerry breaks the silence by making small talk. "So, how'd you enjoy the shows?"

"This was my first Rock N Roll concert believe that or not. He is truly talented. How long have you worked for Elvis?"

"Oh, almost six years. But we grew together in Memphis. Kinda. I was in middle school when he was leaving high school and starting out big. In that sense, he's more like my big brother than my boss."

"Big brother? So he treats you well."

"Better than well. I mean, I live with him at Graceland. Me and a few of the Mafia guys."

"Mafia?"

"Yeah, the Memphis Mafia. It's about eleven of us. We watch out for E as body guards and security and what not."

"Oh." You look away from Jerry as the elevator door opens to the penthouse. You're nervous. You don't know if it's what Jerry just told you about the Memphis Mafia or that it's almost time to confront your lover. Jerry opens the door to the penthouse, and you are astonished by the suite. Will this man ever cease to amaze you?

"You can either wait here or in his room."

"I actually have to use the restroom. Where is it?"

"It's in the bedroom this way." Jerry leads you to the door and opens it for you like a true gentleman. "That door there leads to the restroom."

"Thank you, Jerry."

He nods at you as he shuts the door behind him. You jog towards the door, not realizing how badly you needed to use the restroom. After relieving yourself and washing your hands, you look yourself over in the mirror. You try to calm yourself down because you see yourself visibly shaking. You've never been great with confrontations. It keeps you silent and reserved most of the time.

You wet your face before heading back into the bedroom. You look around his bedroom and realize you could fit two and a half of your bedrooms in here. He has a bar, a television area with a sofa, a love seat, a baby grand piano, and a rather large bed. You don't want to think about how many conquests that have probably been in that bed, so you decide to sit on the love seat crossing your arms. It's quite chilly in his room, and you begin to rub your shoulders.

Maybe you should leave. What's the point of staying? He lied to you. Those bad thoughts plague your mind again.

You hear a commotion outside the door and get up to investigate. It sounds like a party. Before you touch the handle of the door, someone opens the door. It's him. He has a smile on his face, and you advert your eyes from him.

"Hi, baby." He says as if there's nothing wrong.

You look back in his direction without speaking a word. He steps toward you and you step back.

"You're mad with me."

"Mad doesn't cover it. I believe I'm furious. I feel like a fool." You say as hot tears sting your eyes.

"Please don't cry. I wasn't trying to make you out to be a fool or nothing like that."

"Why didn't you tell me you are Elvis Presley? Why didn't you tell me who you are?"

"I was planning on to tell you after."

"Who the hell is Aaron?"

"Aaron's my middle name." He says, trying to get close to you.

"Your middle name?"

"Yes, please let me explain." He asked. In your mind, there's never a good reason to lie. You really want to run and hide, but instead, you cross your arms and listen to his plea.

"I wanted to get to know you as a regular guy. Without all the glize and glam. I wanted you to see me as more than that singer on stage. The image that everyone sees in the papers. I swear I never lied to you. Though I didn't tell you my first name."

You wipe the tears furiously away from your eyes.

"I don't ever know what to call you."

"Call me whatever you want. I'll answer. Call me Elvis or Aaron. Call me yours."

Those butterflies that you felt in pit of your tummy have returned. You didn't want to give him the satisfaction of winning you back so soon. You wanted him to sweat it out some more. He needed to earn you again.

"Y/N, baby, can I get you anything?" He asked.

You shake your head no, with your arms still crossed over your chest. He walks over to you to slowly and takes your hand.

"I think I should go." You say looking into is eyes testing yourself. You know if you look him in the eye any other time you'd stay and do whatever he asks.

"No, please don't go. Stay. We can just talk I promise." He says this with true sincerity never letting go of your hand.

You nod your head and he gives you a little smile. He walks you to the love seat to sit with him.

"Baby, are you sure I can't get to anything?"

"I'm fine, Elvis Aaron." You reply.

"Are you cold? You're shivering." He doesn't listen to you. He realizes that you're trying to pretend to be okay, but you are visibly shaking in front of him. You're cool to the touch. "I'm sorry, baby. I like it cold. I remember what it was like to not have an air conditioner." He grabs one of his robes and wraps it around your arms. You don't stop him. It's very comfortable and warm.

You sit in silence for a while and he grabs your hand again, placing a kiss on it. You will not give into him so quickly.

"Y/N, baby, I love the way you say my first and middle name together."

You glance at him and can't keep the smile off your face. You try to conceal it from him, but you see his smirk. He knows he's won you over again.

"Tell me what you thought about the show."

"When I wasn't mad with you, it was fantastic, but when I found myself angry with you it was good. You have a beautiful voice and the lyrics to your songs are incredible. I felt..."

"What? What did you feel?" He asked anxiously.

"I felt a connection between your words and my life. That Love Me Tender song reminded me of my mother. My angel. Then I felt you were singing directly to me with I Can't Help Falling in Love With You."

"Maybe I was."

"I lost all hope when I saw you making rounds to kiss all those women and girls though."

He closes his eyes and bows his head as if shame takes over him.

"I have to admit that I was jealous of them. Kissing the lips that I thought were mine to kiss."

He looks at you with longing and you see those long eyelashes of his flutter. "They are yours to kiss."

At that moment, you stopped breathing. He just took your words away. He eased his head to yours kissing your lips. You place your hands on his neck kissing him back. He's restoring your faith in him and making you breath again. You both take your time kissing each other. That virgin you were yesterday is truly gone. You know there's no need to rush.

You pull away from him in an attempt to catch your breath, but don't look him in the eyes.

"Baby, you still mad at me?"

You don't answer him. You just close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. You grab a hold to the robe around your arms.

"Y/N, let me make it up to you."

"How?"

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Fifteen minutes later...

He wanted to show you a new position... in bed. It was similar to what you did in the shower this morning but less water and more stability.

He never ceasing to amaze you, he slid his cock into your dripping, heated core from behind. He caresses your breasts as you grip on a pillow for dear life. How does he come up with these positions? As you both work your way into a frenzy, you both moan in pleasure. This turns you on even more. How could you stay mad at him?

As he pushes himself in to you, these filthy thoughts fill your mind. He's brilliant. He's a fucking genius! A mad sexologist! He indeed is a king!

He kisses the back of your neck and whispers in your ear, "You feel is good. So warm. So wet. God, you're so fucking wet. Taking my cock so good."

He removes one of his hands from your breast slides it down your hip and thigh. Elvis then takes your thigh and pulls it back over his leg for more friction. The feeling is incredible. You're so aroused you touch yourself and swivel your hips into him.

"Elvis." You breathe out his name, and he grips you tighter as you moan deeper. Your sees roll in the back of your head, and you see stars orbit around you as you cum. You let out a cry as you cum all over him, and he gripped your waist tighter to escape into the pleasure you're in.

"Fucking Christ almighty!" He shouts and cums on your thighs and ass. You both just lay there for a moment, completely spent, trying to catch your breath.

He turns you over to face him, and he gives you a passionate kiss. You wrap your arms around him. Embracing him, you wrap your leg over his leg.

"You are incredible." He whispers to you, kissing your cheek.

You open your eyes and look at him. "Am I? Is this all you want from me?"

"No, I want all of you." He says, placing his hands on your face to look into your eyes.

You push his hands away from your face and sit up in the bed, covering yourself.

"I thought we were just going to talk?"

"Baby, we are talking."

"I have to go. I can't stay here." You jump out the bed looking for your dress and bra.

"Y/N, baby. Please stay." He says, jumping out the bed.

"No, Elvis Aaron. I can't stay. It was wrong of me to come here. It's wrong for me to be with you."

You ran out of his room without putting on your shoes. With him not being dressed at all, he couldn't stop you. You ran past the guys and out the penthouse door to the elevator. Thankfully, the door opened when you hit the button and you entered the car.

As the elevator sinks down to your floor, so goes your heart sinking in your chest. Why did you leave? Have you not forgiven him earlier? Why did you run away? Is it fear from the way Elvis makes you feel? In his arms, you feel beautiful, safe, and... loved. He makes you feel like you're the only girl in the room.

It's too soon! You just met him on Friday night. Why are you running from your feelings? Sure, you've had crushes on boys. None of them ever made you feel this way.

The elevator opens up to your floor, and you run to your door. When you enter your room, you slam the door, lock it, and run straight to the bathroom. You turn on the shower, lose your dress and bra, and jump in.

As you let the water rinse away your sex, you remember you left your lace panties in Elvis' room. It's too late now. You're not going back there anytime soon. You sob a bit as the water falls over your curls. You think surely he won't want you after this. You acted as a child, plus he got what he wanted from you. This is the end.

You exit out the shower and dry off. You don't look in the mirror, for shame has covered you in the worst way. You grab your robe and cover your body. You hug yourself.

You sit on the bed as the phone rings. You know it's him. You stare at the phone and just let ring. When it finally stops, you pick up the receiver and leave it off the hook.

How could you allow yourself to fall so fast? Your father would be disappointed in the woman you've become. Then you remember the opinion that mattered to you the most. Your mama. She would ask you how does he treat you. Is he kind? A real gentleman or snake in the grass? Does he make you feel valued and special?

"Yes, ma'am. He's the best guy, but I don't believe I'm the best girl."

"Why not? Y/N, you are magnificent. You have a beauty that radiates from the inside out. You have the strength to do anything in the world, and you of all are worthy of true love. Baby girl, don't be afraid to give your heart away."

"Yes, Mama." You shed tears over the conversation you would have with your mama. You curl up in the fetal position on the bed and just allow yourself to fall asleep.

Tomorrow has to be better than today. Maybe it's time to leave Vegas even though you're paid up for another four days. You can't face him again. Your heart aches but it's best to end it now.

Taglist: @missmaywemeetagain @beeandheroddobsessions @headfullofpresley @everythingpresley @epforeverohyes @plasticfantasticl0ver @pianginferno @powerofelvis @ab4eva @foreverdolly @searchingforgravity @thatbanditqueen @daffieapple @18lkpeters @dkayfixates @epsgirl @richardslady121

#elvis x reader #elvis #elvispresley #Vegas #romance #elvis fans #elvis x y/n #elvisaaronpresley #elvis x you #70s elvis #vegas #ElvisPresleySeries #ElvisSmut #elvispresleysmut

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racefortheironthrone · 5 years

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What do you think of MCU phase 4?

It was a hell of a presentation, wasn’t it? I have some thoughts:

Phase 4 is Bold, But Calculated

On first glance, Phase 4 seems like a crazily-audacious plan, stuffing ten projects into three years. My first thought was that Marvel was going to cannibalize its box office between too many projects, but when you separate out the kinds of projects being made, Phase 4 comes down to five movies over two years, which is more in line with what Marvel has been able to make work in the past:

May 1, 2020 - Black WidowNovember 5, 2020 - The EternalsFebruary 12, 2021 - Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten RingsMay 7, 2021 - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of MadnessNovember 5, 2021 - Thor: Love and Thunder

The subject matter of these films, on the other hand, remains quite audacious. The Eternals has an astonishing cast - Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Salma Hayek, Brian Tyree Henry, and on and on - but the underlying property is way more fringe even than the Guardians were at first. From the way that Feige et al. have been discussing it, this feels a lot like they’re trying to turn the Eternals into the Inhumans 2.0, as a way to plant the flag on Jack Kirby Space Weirdness before DC can get there with the New Gods. (Which would make it another part of the fascinating corporate saga that is Kevin Feige vs. Ike Perlmutter.) That makes sense, in that both are clearly drawing from Kirby’s fascination with Lost Civilizations and Alien Astronatus.

Shang-Chi (which I’ve written about before) is a similarly bold attempt to take a weird offshoot of Marvel’s 1970s fad-surfing and turn it into something bigger. As Palmer Haach notes, Shang-Chi is going to be written, directed by, and starring Asian and Asian-Americans amid “hopes that it will have a similar impact for Asian and Asian-American audiences as Black Panther did for African and African-American audiences.”

And as with Black Panther, a big part of that is clearly mixing genres to produce both a milestone and a crowd-pleasing four-quadrant film - in this case, the rich legacy of Hong Kong action and gangster films. Tony Leung being brought in to play the “real” Mandarin (and probably Shang-Chi’s father) is no doubt a significant part of that effort.

In other cases, Marvel is playing it (a bit) safer. Black Widow is, unless I very much miss my guess, going to be a sendoff for Scarlett Johansson and Natasha Romanov, where we’ll learn about her backstory, see her face-off against Taskmaster (which I’m thrilled about, he’s a great villain!), and see Natasha pass on the mantle of the Black Widow to Florence Pugh’s Yelena - continuing the theme of legacy that we saw in Far From Home. Thor 4 I’m particularly looking forward to as a big fan of Thor Ragnarok and Jason Aaron’s run on Thor; it’s also a great opportunity to see Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie finally get a girlfriend and Natalie Portman get to play female Thor after having to put up with the worst of Ike Perlmutter in Phase 2. Doctor Strange 2 remains something of a mystery, but I’ll talk about that in a bit.

Disney+ is Going to Be A Thing

That said, only part of the story is going to be on the big screen - the other half is Disney’s opening bid for its brand-new streaming service. Each of these shows are headed up by major talent (Falcon and Winter Soldier have Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, and Daniel Bruhl; Wandavision has Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, and Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau; Loki has Tom Hiddleston, natch; and What If? is going to be voiced by Jeffrey Wright and pretty much everyone who’s ever been in the MCU), which creates a very different environment for interaction between movie and streaming than we had back when Agents of SHIELD went begging for cameos and the Netflix shows could barely make passing mention of the MCU.

Given that we’ve already been told that Wandavision is going to involve the Scarlet Witch meddling with the multiverse to bring Vision (or a Vision) back grom the dead, and that she’ll be showing up in Doctor Strange 2 (which in turn is going to center on the multiverse, with Strange and friends facing off against Nightmare in a quasi-horror movie), we’re already seeing signs that these shows are going to be much more integrated into the MCU than any previous efforts...which means shelling out for Disney+ if you want the whole story.

At the same time, I think DIsney+ will give room for some interesting experimentation within the MCU. I’ve already talked about how What If? is a permission structure for playing with Marvel’s toys, but it also seems like Wandavision is going the same with the concept of the multiverse and that Hawkeye is going to be a trial run for replacing Jeremy Renner with whichever actress is chosen for Kate Bishop.

Phase 5 is Going to Be Nuts

As if everything above wasn’t enough, it looks like Phase 5 is where things are really going to kick off. Not only is Phase 5 going to have to handle Captain Marvel 2 and Black Panther 2 and Guardians 3, but it’s also going to be where we see the Fantastic Four and the X-Men for the first time. Oh, and Mahershala Ali as Blade just to pay homage to the film that made Marvel possible.

On the one hand, it’s a bit of a disappointment that the next Black Panther and next Guardians are going to be a couple years off yet. On the other hand, I am glad that after the Fox merger, Marvel Studios are taking their time to get the Fantastic Four and the X-Men right after their recent poor handling.

#marvel #mcu #phase 4 #phase 5

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gokinjeespot · 4 years

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off the rack #1303

Monday, March 2, 2020

This is a public service announcement. You will be ticketed for parking on the street during a parking ban even though the snow has already been cleared from the roads. We got a ticket parked in front of our house last week because we couldn't get into our driveway after the grader left a big snow bank at the end of it. I hope to spare anyone from being dinged with what I think is an unfair fine.

Amazing Spider-Man: Daily Bugle #2 - Mat Johnson (writer) Mack Chater (art pages 1-12) Francesco Mobili (art pages 13-20) Dono Sanchez-Almara, Protobunker & Peter Pantazis (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). I can't read the rest of this 5-issue mini. The art really bothered me this issue. It was hard to tell what was going on the first few pages and then seeing Peter Parker in civvies looking almost exactly like the bad guy confused me further. There are interesting mysteries about Spidey's webbing and a Wilson Fisk involvement with an explosion, but this story probably won't matter in the grand scheme of things, so I don't think I'll miss anything if I bail out here.

Punisher Soviet #4 - Garth Ennis (writer) Jacen Burrows (pencils) Guillermo Ortego (inks) Nolan Woodard (colours) Rob Steen (letters). Frank and Valery go after Konstantin by kidnapping his trophy wife. She's amenable to divorce by Punisher. Thank Garth for improving my mood.

Basketful of Heads #5 - Joe Hill (writer) Leomacs (art) Riccardo La Bella (additional pencils) Dave Stewart (colours) Deron Bennett (letters). Everything leading up to this issue has been circumstantial. Now the villain tells the complete story. I'm rooting for June to survive this mess.

Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #3 - James Tynion IV (writer) Steve Epting & Javier Fernandez (art) Nick Filardi (colours) Travis Lanham (letters). Heh, it's the Joker who helps Lex beat the Batman Who Laughs. It looks like next issue's pulse pounding conclusion will be Lex and his super villains versus the Batman Who Laughs and his infected super heroes. It's been a while since the Main Man has been in a comic that I've read.

Avengers #31 - Jason Aaron (writer) Gerardo Zaffino, Geraldo Borges, Szymon Kudranski, Oscar Bazaldua, Robert Gill & Mattia De Iulis (art) Rachelle Rosenberg & Mattia De Iulis (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). I haven't seen Tony Stark in a while so I assumed he was dead. Nope. He was zapped a million years into the past by the master manipulator Mephisto. The devil tries to get Tony's soul. This is a wonderful full issue of Iron Man and if Jason wrote an Iron Man book, I'd read it.

Amethyst #1 - Amy Reeder (story & art) Gabriela Downie (letters). I remember reading the original Amethyst book when it hit the racks in 1983 with the Ernie Colon art. It was fun and weird with a plucky heroine. This new Wonder Comics book has the appeal of having art by Amy Reeder who wowed me with her work on Madame Xanadu and Rocket Girl. Here she is writing as well and the art and story is tight and concise. This is a nice substitute for the dearly departed Naomi book.

Avengers of the Wastelands #2 - Ed Brisson (writer) Jonas Scharf (art) Neeraj Menon (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). It's the origin of Captain America of the Wastelands. His name is Grant. I think this is a great way to change tried and true Marvel characters to make them fresh and new. Having them fight an evil Doctor Doom is nice and simple. Four Avengers may become five but they have to contend with a super villain first.

Suicide Squad #3 - Tom Taylor (writer) Bruno Redondo (art) Adriano Lucas (colours) Wes Abbott (letters). The new Squad's first mission under Lok's leadership does not go according to plan. Neither are these super villains what they seem. This is why I read Tom Taylor books. Forget about any new Crises and DCeased and pick up this most excellent comic book for some straight up action and skulduggery.

Kill Lock #3 - Livio Ramondelli (story & art) Tom B. Long (letters). I get why the calligraphy font is used in the Wraith's word balloons but man, is it hard to read. This issue explains why The Kid is innocent and shouldn't be branded. The four droids find the one who can lead them to the Kill Lock's off switch but she betrays them. This universe of sentient robots is pretty cool.

Jessica Jones: Blind Spot #4 - Kelly Thompson (writer) Mattia De Iulis (art) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Each issue has started off with Jessica held captive by the bad guy. The end of this issue reveals who that is and how she was killed and resurrected. I am looking forward to the conclusion to see how she defeats the villain.

Batman Superman #7 - Joshua Williamson (writer) Nick Derington (art) Dave McCaig (colours) John J. Hill (letters). A new story starts here. Part 1 of "The Kandor Compromise" pits the World's Finest duo against Ra's Al Ghul and General Zod. One of the bad guys is working with the good guys. I got bored of the fight between Superman and Rogol Zaar so what happened to the city of Kandor was a surprise to me. I'm interested to see the final fate of the shrunken city.

Giant-Size X-Men: Jean Grey and Emma Frost #1 - Jonathan Hickman (writer) Russell Dauterman (art) Matthew Wilson (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). This mostly wordless $4.99 US one-shot will be a quick read but I read it twice just to soak in the beautiful art. The story starts with the discovery Storm's body and ends with a problem after Ororo is resurrected. This leads into a story where Jean, Emma, Logan and Scott will have to save Storm again.

Leviathan Dawn #1- Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Alex Maleev (art) Josh Reed (letters). Leviathan succeeded in shutting down every spy agency and the leader has been revealed to be an ex-spy named Mark Shaw. The good guys are still trying to fight back but they're going to need help. Time for Kingsley Jacobs to start up Check Mate again. I like the players he's gathered. I'm looking forward to watching this game unfold.

Finger Guns #1 - Justin Richards (writer) Val Halvorson (art) Rebecca Nalty (colours) Taylor Esposito (letters). And now for something completely different. This new urban fantasy introduces two teenagers with a weird power. Wes discovers that when he shoots people with his left hand he can make them angry. Sadie can calm people down when she uses her right finger gun. They meet by accident at the mall and try to get a handle on their newfound powers. It's a cool concept and I wonder where these kids are going to end up.

Fantastic Four: Grimm Noir #1 - Gerry Duggan (writer) Ron Garney (art) Matt Milla (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). This one's all about Ben's bad dreams. I thought the bad guy was Nightmare but it's another one of those mystical villains that generally mess with Doctor Strange. I expected some sort of Mickey Spillane type story but there's no murder, just a pretty dame needing rescue. It's a nice character study of the ever lovin' blue-eyed Thing.

Detective Comics #1020 - Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Brad Walker (pencils) Andrew Hennessy (inks) Brad Anderson (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). Two-Face is back and he's more bipolar than ever. This is what I like to see, an old villain presented in a slightly new way. We still have the scarred coin dictating how Harvey acts but there's a new twist with a cult of fanatics and the Church of the Two Strikes. I love how the first page hints at the return of the Court of Owls too.

Falcon & Winter Soldier #1 - Derek Landy (writer) Federico Vicentini (art) Matt Milla (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). This 5-issue team-up starts off with a heavily armed and armoured hit squad attacking Bucky Barnes in his home. The Winter Soldier emerges unscathed and hops his motorcycle to find out who sent the killers. Meanwhile Sam Wilson is searching for a missing vet. The two meet at a government agency office where all the staff are dead. Wanting to know who's doing all the killing has got me interested in reading the rest but when a preppy killer shows up and kicks both of the heroes asses I decided to put this mini on my "must read" list. The kid's name is the Natural. Picture a blonde Damian Wayne in a pair of Chuck Taylors.

The Amazing Spider-Man #40 - Nick Spencer (writer) Iban Coello & Ze Carlos (art) Brian Reber & Peter Pantazis (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). The fight between Spider-Man and Chance had to do with a bet that Chance could get one of Spidey's web shooters. What bothered me was how easily that was done and Spider-Man's lack of urgency to get it back. There's a couple of foreshadowing scenes that will keep me reading however. One involves the Clairvoyant device and the other is who Norah Winters is working with.

X-Men #7 - Jonathan Hickman (writer) Leinil Francis Yu (art) Sunny Gho (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). This issue is dedicated to a new Mutant Ritual called the Crucible. It's a lot shorter than calling it the Arena of Death and Rebirth. It shows how mutants who have lost their powers can get them back. But first we have to endure a deep philosophical discussion between Cyclops and Nightcrawler. It's a real snoozer if you're an action fan.

Action Comics #1020 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) John Romita Jr. (pencils) Klaus Janson (inks) Brad Anderson (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). I wish they would stop with the deceiving covers. It looks like Superman is trying to come between Lex Luthor and Leviathan but what actually happens inside is Superman fighting Lex and the Legion of Doom. If it weren't for Young Justice helping out I would have found this issue boring.

X-Men/Fantastic Four #2 - Chip Zdarsky (writer) Terry Dodson (pencils) Rachel Dodson, Karl Story & Ransom Getty (inks) Laura Martin (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). There's a lot of heroes accusing heroes of shenanigans concerning the disappearance of Franklin and Valeria. They are actually guests of Doctor Doom. Victor wants to reverse what Reed did to his son and I want to know why. With the X-Men converging on Doom Island, good old Doc Doom is prepared for an attack.

X-Force #8 - Benjamin Percy (writer) Bazaldua (art) Guru-eFX (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Why did Oscar Bazaldua stop using his first name in the credits? Domino and Colossus attack the flesh factory making assassins using Neena's DNA. The organisation funding the flesh factory has a mysterious benefactor and I'm hanging around to find out who that is. I wish they would change either Sage or Jubilee's costume. I keep getting them confused.

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placetobenation · 4 years

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Ladies and Gentlemen, I begin this article tipping my hat to two podcasters who equally match wit and chemistry. The podcast they share, on episode #561 of print, is one that others often try to emulate. Financiers will spend tens of thousands of dollars in advertising budgets to build a brand that these two organically developed through talent alone. That trinity of talent, chemistry and attitude ushered in a new era. That effort has captured the entire globe in a cult following of professional wrestling and pop culture. We quickly learned talented people are standing by to place pillars of excellence to further build upon. This all started with a crackling into an MP3 file called “The Place to Be”. Stumbling upon the new movement of radio on demand and jumping on the bandwagon these two were encouraging in the ProBoards format. That is where I met Derek Cornett for the first time. Then I met Jay Ouimette. We will talk about him later. The privilege in podcasting genius has made entertainment fun again, and we have had a decade of laughter in the process. I can honestly say my quality of life is better because of that nucleus moment in February 2011. Hence penning an article and being honest in my words. To be accepted by a wide audience without judgement. That, to me, is the Place to Be.

I woke up at about 9:45am on Tuesday Morning, September 11, 2001. I turned on the news, hoping to hear more about Michael Jordan returning to the basketball court, and I see Peter Jennings on the local ESPN channel. I am probably getting ready to smack my remote when I see a building standing amongst a billowing cloud of smoke. I was trying to figure out where it was, and I saw New York on the scrolling headline. There is only one place in New York that looks like that. Beginning to imagine the horror taking place before my eyes; this is clearly an act of terrorism before Mr. Jennings said it. Not even 15 minutes later, another building collapsed. This day changed my life forever.

My father has experience in emergency management as a career firefighter. He has also served loyal and faithful duties to the United States. On top of those, he is also a veteran. His service was interesting, due to his ability to duck and dodge a draft. He enlisted in 1971; taking the test like his life depended on it and got college money as a bonus. He spent a hair over two years in the United States Army as a welder in Germany, all the while when a Palestinian terror organization kidnapped and held hostage the Israeli Olympians. No attempt in getting political, but these events have happened close to home for me all too often. Coming back to that moment, as I am watching Mayor Rudolph Giuliani walk through the streets of New York, directing everyone away from the destruction, I have had enough. As the days and weeks lumbered on, the more despair I felt because I wanted a piece of the action. We have seen the shenanigans of the Al Qaeda terror network for far too long. We watched the Beirut bombing in 1983, the first WTC attack in 1993, 1998 twin bombings of U.S. Embassies on the horn of Africa, and the 2000 bombing of a Naval Ship off the coast of Yemen, killing 19 Sailors in the process. Osama Bin Laden has been practicing what he has been preaching for far too long, and by hell or high water, I wanted to be part of the solution. We all watched the same terror training camp videos on the news, and I was hook, line, and sinker in to getting my hands on those bastards.

This decision to join the military happened fast, and over a six-month period, all at the same time. I was deliberately not watching the news to cognitively process my emotions. Is this a decision I am ready to make? Do I want to risk my life to take another? These were questions I was saying yes far too easy to. Hearing bag pipes at funerals for the next three months were a serenade to my thoughts.

What did not help in my congitive thought process was living so close to something like that, the entire community was hurting. In the summer of 2002, fresh off a split with my ex-wife, I went down to the World Trade Center site for the first time, out of respect and reflection. What stood out to me were the flyers of loved ones everywhere. Old, young, man, woman, and child. People were there crying over losses and having a hard time moving on. These things that I was experiencing with my senses: the smell of a disaster, the sound of construction workers and crying, the vision of the enormous hole in the ground, and looking left and right and seeing the flyers. It was not necessarily my calling, but it was a gut feeling that I have never experienced before. I just simply knew what I wanted to do, and I what I felt I had to do, for my own personal closure to such a horrific event that impacted not only America, but my community. If these men can give their all for a greater cause, then why the shit shouldn’t I? John Fogerty said it best, “Put me in Coach. I’m ready to play”.

My real life was imploding because of my obsession to join the military, to defend a lot of different things I could not express openly, because I was not able to do so. I was only a civilian. I had no credentials. I wanted to defend our children against bullshit cowardly attacks that destroy our lives. I wanted to defend the people who decided to jump to their death instead of using anymore time to save their life. I wanted to defend the mothers, wives, daughters who lost a brave man to careers that scream danger. Most of all, and I carry their mantra with me to this day and beyond, I will defend those first responders and civilian heroes on the battlefield (volunteer efforts and United 93 Passengers), who died attempting to save others. The average reaction time for all the heroes, professional and volunteer, of September 11th was an incredible and astonishing FOUR SECONDS. That is all the time they needed to cast their vote and say, “Not on my fucking watch”. To me, those moments of pure adrenaline and selfless service were the first victories in the Global War on Terror campaign. Those heroes of the battle showed me the courage needed to take on a terror organization.

To describe my demeanor, at best, I am socially inept. I am admittedly way more Dwight Schrute, or Andy Bernard than the cool guy Jim Halpert. With that said, on September 17, 2002, I deliberately walked up to an Army Recruiter in his office and proclaimed, “I want to jump out of airplanes and kill the Taliban”. I will never forget his response. “That is terrific, but you kind of have to sit down and watch this video first and discuss options”. We discussed options, and the best he could do for me was an MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) of 11B, which was an Infantryman. If I wanted to go to a Special Forces detachment, I would have to meet their qualifications after initial service. I accepted, scored well on the test, background check squeaky clean, signed the dotted line for a First Blood match with some Iraqi and Syrian forces, and only one walks out victorious. I was headed to Fort Benning, GA for the first round of qualification bouts to step into the arena and dance with the Devil himself.

For the next 18 months, I trained and trained hard for a deployment to Iraq, with the 2-5 Cav (2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Regiment). We went through grueling simulated combat operations for weeks at a time without so much as a shower, let alone a beer. We were not simply going through the motions, we had leadership from the top down that firmly believed that combat training should be more difficult then real-world combat operations, so the fog of war will be easy to operate in. We received our orders in November of 2003 that we will be headed to Sadr City, Iraq. Everyone was pumped and excited to get their hands on these same individuals who believe that democracy must be defeated in war. There was also motivation to let out aggression for the months of grueling training. I was primed and ready to go.

To be prepared for battle in which a known enemy has you in its sights and ready to destroy you, you must have a certain mind set. We were a highly trained unit, but only a handful have seen combat in Afghanistan since this was the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. We would talk amongst ourselves about being able to look another man in the eyes and pull the trigger. The answer always came back to “its either you or him that is going to die. Have a vote in the outcome”. We all had that swagger in the tent in the days prior to actual combat, but none of us, commanders included, had no clue on what we were about to embark, a life changing moment for every single man in that formation.

Through the Place to Be, I have been able to meet so many wonderful people who inspire me to be a better man. JT has never left an empty message, even if it were to simply send a DM about a great show he had. Andy Atherton for allowing me the opportunity to write this article. Will from Texas, I was a fan of his before I discovered the Place to Be when he had Good Will Wrestling on Blog Talk Radio. He allowed me to do one of the “For Your Consideration” podcasts. Not only was that a gift in itself, but it was a three-man booth with Johnny Sorrow posted on the Fourth of July, 2017. I listen to it back once, but the live experience was so good, that could never be duplicated. Aaron Stolz and the genius he brought to the Saturday Morning Spectacular, and we served together in the same unit in Iraq. Ben Ivanson, Steve Rogers, Chad Campbell, J. Arsenio D’Amato, Derek Cornett, Justin Rozzero, all guests on the Spectacular, all come from the Place to Be genesis. I say thank you to you all, and most importantly, thank you ALL for YOUR service!

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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thepermanentrainpress · 5 years

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CONCERT REVIEW: “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC AT QUEEN ELIZABETH THEATRE - AUGUST 19TH, 2019

Like many people, I'm a lifelong Weird Al fan. Watching his videos parodying artists from several decades made an impression on me at a very young age. I grew up listening to every single album he had, eagerly awaiting a new one every few years. I know the lyrics to just about his entire catalogue. The man has a career spanning five decades, and he’s still actively recording and touring; I’ve seen several of his tours in the past and they never failed to disappoint. This one had a twist—Al was accompanied by a full 41-piece local orchestra, bringing a classical twist to his diverse hits. In the past, Al’s shows have included all sorts of wacky stage antics, involving costume changes, physical comedy, and even a Stormtrooper fleet. I had no idea what to expect for the setlist or stage show this time around. In the end, I was surprised and very satisfied.

The night opened with the orchestra playing a few well-known theme songs: Indiana Jones, Mission Impossible, Superman, and Star Wars. It was really impressive to hear these classic arrangements played live by an orchestra as they were originally recorded. They played for about 20 minutes, and it was a fun warm-up and introduction.

After an intermission, Al took the stage in front of the orchestra, joined by his longtime tour band and three female backup singers in black dresses, to massive applause. He wore his classic Hawaiian shirt look, although there were wardrobe changes throughout.

The setlist included songs from all eras of Al, including some very deep cuts I never thought I`d hear live. After coming out to “Fun Zone” (an original Al instrumental), he began with a montage of early hits. The first was “I Lost On Jeopardy” (one of his best-known songs, and far more popular than the original 1983 The Greg Kihn Band hit “Jeopardy” it parodies), complete with a video of the 1980s host Art Fleming lecturing Al on losing at Jeopardy (“You’re a complete loooooooooser!”) This was followed by “I Love Rocky Road” (a riff on Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock 'n’ Roll”) and the medical Madonna parody “Like A Surgeon.”

Many people assume all of Weird Al’s songs are direct parodies. In fact, about half of the songs on every album he puts out are original, although still very funny. Many of them are ‘style parodies’ of a particular artist, if not a direct melody. For example, the upbeat “Dare To Be Stupid,” performed complete with helmets, is a take-off of Devo’s musical style, but it’s not to the specific tune of any Devo songs. He really brought out the originals: next up was “The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota” – a folk parody in the vein of Gordon Lightfoot and Harry Chapin telling of a family road trip to visit a true iconic American landmark. This 1989 song is seven minutes long, and I’m not sure it had ever been performed live before – definitely not something I expected to hear.

Weird Al’s talent lies in simply how much musical style he can cram into an album or show. He does folk, grunge, new wave, pure rock, alternative, and even raps quite well all in an hour. He’s up there imitating Robin Thicke and Pharrell’s “Blurred Lines” with amazing fast flow on “Word Crimes,” then he’s quietly singing on the original black comedy ballad, “You Don’t Love Me Anymore.” (“You used to think I was nice, now you tell all your friends that I’m the Antichrist.”) He’s stretching the high notes and dancing, then sitting on a stool holding an acoustic guitar that he never actually plays before smashing it to bits at the end of the soft tune.

Between songs, many video clips were shown of bonus Weird Al material. Some were of Al’s own creation – a mock trailer for the gritty Al biopic Weird (starring Aaron Paul as Al), or his role as Isaac Newton in “Epic Rap Battles of History” (battling fellow scientist Bill Nye). Others were his guest roles on cartoons as himself (The Simpsons, Johnny Bravo) or of characters simply discussing the singer (a clip from King of the Hill showed Hank Hill mistakenly informing his son that “Weird Al Yankovic blew his brains out in the late 80s when people stopped buying his records. He’s not worth getting in trouble over”). These videos were a change of pace and allowed for costume changes.

Al himself had no shortage of stage banter, greeting us and saying how great it was to be back in his hometown of Vancouver (“I’m a proud Canadian citizen, although I spent the last several decades in the US doing research”) – a line he no doubt used with every city on the tour. During his upbeat rap “Tacky” (a parody of Pharrell’s “Happy”) he ran through the crowd, dancing with some, mocking others, and leaning extra real close to smiling awkward security guards. His costumes didn’t disappoint either – viking helmets for “Weasel Stomping Day” (it’s part of the tradition!), a Kurt Cobain wig and electric guitar for “Smells Like Nirvana” (the backup singers even had cheerleading pom-poms!), and riding around on a segway in a hoodie for his biggest hit, “White and Nerdy.”

He closed the show with “Amish Paradise,” complete with a traditional black hat and long beard, while his backup singers wore bonnets. This song, to the tune of rapper Coolio’s smooth 1995 “Gangsta’s Paradise,” is what fully utilized the talents of the 41-piece orchestra. It’s a very ominous, fast-paced tune with a large string section, and hearing it live with a full symphony backing was nothing short of epic.

Of course, there was still the encore. After a brief riff of Beethoven’s Fifth, Weird Al came back to the stage accompanied by about ten costumed stormtroopers and Darth Vader himself. The Star Wars songs are a staple of Al’s live performances, and the people on stage were members of the city’s local 501st Legion chapter – a group of dedicated cosplayers. He sang “The Saga Begins,” a six-minute piano ballad to the tune of Don McLean’s “American Pie,” detailing the plot of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The stormtroopers swayed as Vader (“this here Anakin guy”) swung his lightsaber. Finally, in the very last song of the night, Al brought out his trademark accordion. He finished with “Yoda” (“Lola” by The Kinks) with the whole audience singing along for the chorus before giving him a standing ovation.

Weird Al has been making people laugh for almost forty years. The audience was of all ages – many generations coming together to enjoy the art of a man whom we all got to grow up on. Although I’m sure it was fun for everyone, the set was especially rewarding for diehard fans like myself. Al really brought out the deep cuts and classic material, showing off his career almost to the point of vanity. But you can’t blame him – Al’s music and career has outlasted many of the artists he parodies. He’s still going strong, and everyone who bought a ticket loved him for it. He’s a living legend, the #1 comedy artist of all time, and unique in his status and image. No one does it quite like Al, and I’m sure he’ll be making us laugh for a long time to come.

Written by: Cazzy Lewchuk

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weekendwarriorblog · 5 years

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND July 19, 2019 – DAVID CROSBY: REMEMBER MY NAME, THE LION KING

Before we get to the big studio release… which I haven’t seen… I’m gonna focus on a new doc opening in New York and L.A. on Friday, DAVID CROSBY: REMEMBER MY NAME (Sony Pictures Classics). Directed by A.J. Eaton and produced by Cameron Crowe, this movie surprised me first and foremost because I never really had much interest in Crosby Stills and Nash, so I wasn’t sure if I’d really care much to hear Crosby’s story. (Granted, one of my favorite bands, Yes, was hugely influenced by CSN.)

Much of the film is made up of interviews with Crosby conducted by Crowe, who first interviewed Crosby when he was a young journalist in the ‘70s. There are some real revelations in the film – similar to the recent Marianne and Leonard– including Crosby admitting that he got a number of girlfriends hooked on drugs. He also lost a girlfriend in a car accident that deeply affected him, although it’s also interesting to hear from some of his bandmates like Graham Nash, who claim that Crosby is not the nice guy some might perceive.

Whether or not you’re interested in Crosby and his life/career, Remember My Name is a fascinating look at a pivotal person from the ‘60s and earliest days of rock, another great doc from Crowe, who should really be doing more about the history of music.

I may have mentioned before that I have practically zero interest in Walt Disney Pictures’ THE LION KING, even though I am a long-time fan of director Jon Favreau’s work… except The Jungle Book, in which I was disappointed. Maybe it’s just because I was such a fan of the original animated movie and Rudyard Kipling’s book, but not having any immediately connection to the 1994 Disney animated movie, nothing has really gotten me excited to see this one.

You can actually read more about The Lion King over at The Beat.

Bleecker Street also hopes to expand Jesse Eisenberg’s dark comedy THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE nationwide into over 500 theaters, which seems a bit forward, considering that it didn’t fare nearly as well as A24’s The Farewell in limited release last weekend.

LIMITED RELEASES

Before we get to the regular fare, on Wednesday, Trafalgar Releasing is the Trey Anastasio doc Between Me and My Mind in theaters across the nation on Wednesday night. Being a fan of Trey and Phish and having seen this at the Tribeca Film Festival, I can say that it’s a MUST-SEE for anyone who has ever enjoyed Trey’s vast output both with Phish and his solo groups. Besides showing Trey in the writing and production process for his latest solo album, it also shows him and the members of Phish preparing for the 2017 New Year’s Eve run at Madison Square Garden. Director Steven Cantor was given amazing access to Trey, as he also filmed a few personal conversations the singer/guitarist/songwriter has with his parents about their history together. I’m actually going to see it again tonight.. but if you’re in the New York area, go see it at the Alamo Drafthouse, where it’s hosted by the awesome Jordan Hoffman. (6:30pm show is already sold out but they’ve added a 9:20 showing.)

A couple other docs this weekend include Radu Jude’s Romanian dark comedy I Do Not Care If We Go down in History as Barbarians, which opens at the IFC Center. It’s about the dictator Marshal Ion Antonescu, who started a program of ethnic cleansing in the summer of 1941, something that’s recreated in present day by an idealistic theater director, causing controversy. It opens at the IFC Center on Friday.

Also opening at the IFC Center is Tilman Singer’s German horror film Luz (Screen Media), about a young cab driver who has been contending with a possessed woman who can endanger many lives. Lastly and also at the IFC Center, there’s Paddy Breachnach’s Rosie, the story of a mother trying to protect her homeless family, covering their struggle over 36 hours.

Joe Manganiello from Magic Mike and his wife Sofia Vergara from Modern Family star in Raymond De Felitta’s Bottom of the 9th (Saban Films) about a baseball player named Bobby Setano, who ends up in jail at the age of 19 just as his career is taking off. 20 years later, he is tryng to win back everything he lost in this movie from the director of the excellent City Island and Rob the Mob. It’s in select theaters, On Demand and digital platforms.

There are two new docs opening at the Metrograph Friday:

Martin Bell’s Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell is a follow-up to his 1984 film Streetwise (see “Repertory” below), this one following up on that film’s 14-year-old subject “Tiny” and what she’s been through since then, going from drug addiction to poverty, having given birth to ten children. There’s also Marie Losier’sCassandro, the Exotico! (Film Movement) looking at the 47-year-old Saul Armendariz aka Cassandro, the openly gay champion of the Mexican exotico wrestling circuit, which features competitors in drag. The film is shot entirely on 16mm.

I just want to draw special attention to New York’s Village East Cinemas, which really has turned itself around with the variety of films and programs it’s offering, partially to compete with some of the new and revitalized arthouses. This week, it has three new movies, beginning with At War (Cinema Libre Studios), the new film from French filmmaker Stéphane Brizé (The Measure of a Man), once again teaming him with Vincent Lindon as Laurent Amédéo, the spokesman for a company that is going to shut down its factory, putting over a thousand employees out of work.

The Village East is also one of the theaters showing Aaron Harvey’s Into the Ashes (RLJEntertainment), starring Luke Grimes as former criminal Nick Brenner who believe he has escaped his past until his old crew shows up for the money he stole from them, taking Nick’s wife and putting him on a path for revenge.

I know very little Steve Barron’s Supervized except that it’s about four aging superheroes in an Irish retirement home and it stars the likes of Beau Bridges, Louis Gossett Jr., Tom Berenger and Fionnula Flanagan.

LOCAL FESTIVALS

This weekend at the IFC Center is the first-ever 51 Fest, honoring the “female majority on screen” by paying tribute to the women of the world with an amazing line-up of films. The fest opens at the SVA Theater on Thursday night with Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story and then continues at the IFC Center with the New York Premieres of Bart Freundlich’s After the Wedding remake starring Julianne Moore, Paul Downs Colaizzo’s terrific Brittany Runs a Marathon (with a QnA hosted by my pal Ophira Eisenberg), Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts’s doc For Sama and more. The fest will also host the World Premiere of Lisa Cholodenko’s episode of the Netflix series Unbelievable with Cholodenko and actors Kaitlyn Dever, Danielle Macdonald and Merritt Weaver appearing in person. In general, this seems like a strong new festival with lots of talent attending, so here’s hoping that this becomes a regular annual thing.

STREAMING AND CABLE

Premiering on Netflix Friday is Peter Sullivan’s suspense thriller SECRET OBSESSION, starring Brenda Song (The Social Network) as a newlywed who is brutally attacked at a rest stop leaving her with amnesia. As her husband (Mike Vogel) takes care of her at home, a detective (Dennis Haysbert) goes looking for her attacker who also might have kidnapped his daughter.

I’m more excited about the return of Jerry Seinfeld’s series “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” with its new season, as it’s one of my favorite Netflix series by far.

REPERTORY

Although there aren’t a ton of limited releases this week, it’s an exciting time for repertory fans for reasons you’ll discover as you go through the entries below.

METROGRAPH (NYC):

To tie-in with the release of Tiny (see above), the Metrograph is also screening of a new restoration of Martin Bell’s 1984 film Streetwise, about the kids who would gather on downtown Seattle’s Pike Street. This weekend’sLate Nites at Metrograph is the movie musical classic, Alan Arkush’s 1979 movie Rock ‘n’ Roll High School starring the Ramones!Playtime: Family Matineesgoes with Disney’s 1979 film The Black Hole on 35mm, and you can bet I’ll be there for that.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

As we get closer to the release of Tarantino’s 9thfilm, his rep theater will continues its James Bond series with Thunderball as the Weds. matinee and then both Weds and Thurday night is a grindhouse TRIPLE FEATURE (!!!) of Curtis Hanson’s 1972 film Sweet Kill with 1973’s Soul Hustler (with Larry Bishop in person) and the 1971 film Sweet Saviour. The Friday/Saturday double feature is Mervyn Le Roy’s Gipsy (1962) with Sidney Pollack’s This Property is Condemned (1966), while Sunday and Monday is a Fabian double feature of Ride the Wild Surf (1964) and Thunder Alley (1967), the latter co-starring Annette Funicello. This weekend’s KIDDEE MATINE continues the Love Bug series with Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo from 1977. Tarantino’s own Django Unchained is the Friday midnight movie with something called I Love You, Alice b. Toklas (1968), starring Peter Sellers (!), on Saturday at midnight. Monday’s matinee is the 1995 film The Basketball Diaries, starring a VERY young Leonardo DiCaprio. Tuesday night’s official GRINDHOUSE triple feature is Joe Namath’s CC & Company(1970), along with two Jack Starrett films, The Losers from 1970 and Hollywood Man from 1976. I understand that many of the films being programmed are ones that had an influence on Tarantino’s upcoming film Once Upon a Time in ... Hollywood, which hits American theaters across the country next week.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Not be outdone by the younger New York “upstart-house” theaters, Film Forum is kicking off a month-long Burt Lancaster seriesbeginning with a week-long 4k restoration of Robert Siodmak’s (1946) The Killers, starring Lancaster and Ava Gardner. The series will then continue with classics like the Sweet Smell of Success and From Here to Eternity starting Friday, July 26, so check back next week for more on this series. Mikhail Kalatozov’s The Cranes are Flying (1957) will end Thursday to make room for above.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

On Wednesday, comedian Greg Proops screens the 1971 classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factoryas part of his “Greg Proops Film Club.” The “Highballs and Screwballs” series continues Thursday with Humphrey Bogart’s Key Largo (1948) with The Palm Beach Story (1942). On Friday, the Egyptian does a “Mikhail Kalatozov double feature” of The Cranes are Flying (1957) and I Am Cuba (1964), Saturday afternoon is the latest in the “Style of Sin: Pre-Code Film with Kimberly Truhler” series with two starring Kay Francis, Girls about Town (1931) and Jewel Robbery (1933), both in 35mm, while Saturday night is a screening of Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1979 classic Stalker.

Just a reminder that the AERO is closed for the month of July for “repairs and upgrades” but will be back in August with its own entries in the “Highballs and Screwballs” series.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

I’m pretty excited about the second part of the Quad’s Fresh Meat: Giallo Restorations Part II, starting on Friday. I havent’ seen a single one of the movies but with titles like The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion, The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire and Strip Nude for Your Killer, I have to try to see some of these for sure.

FILM OF LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

FilmLinc’s new summer series is This is Cinema Now: 21st Century Debuts, which is fairly self-explanatory but features fairly new films including Barry Jenkins’ Medicine for Melancholy, screening in a double feature with Damien Chazelle’s Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, Andrew Bujalski’s Funny Ha Hawith Maren Ade’s The Forest for the Trees, Shane Caruth’s Primer with Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko, and many more with many screening twice but a lot only screening once. Some of them are playing as two-for-one double features and if I wasn’t dealing with Comic-Con stuff, I’d totally go see the Damien Chazelle/Barry Jenkins double feature on Saturday night.

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

On Friday, BAM begins a series called “Intimate Epics” which includes everything from Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia (1999) to Hu Bo’s very recent Elephant Sitting Still to Kurosawa’s classic Seven Samurai (1954). It runs through the weekend until Tuesday.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

On Friday, IFC Center will present a 60thAnniversary revival of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic North by Northwest in a new 4k restoration. Still no word on when it’s new series will begin but presumably soon.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

The Astoria arthouse begins a retrospective called “Barbara Hammer, Superdyke” on Friday, which runs through Sunday, July 28, honoring the late filmmaker with a number of shorts series under the titles “Mediated Sensuality,” “Ecstatic Subjectivity,” “Hall of Mirrors” and more. I really don’t know anything about her films but you can learn more at the link above.

ROXY CINEMA# (NYC)

Weds. and Sunday, the Roxy shows a 35mm print of the 1964 thriller Marnie, while on Thursday, there’s a very rare screening of Roman Polanski’s 1967 dark comedy The Fearless Vampire Killers.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART (LA):

Friday night’s midnight offering is Gaspar Noé’s Climaxfrom earlier in the year.. so not old enough to be considered “repertory,” huh?

Next week, it’s all about Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood! (Seeing it Monday and I’ll have a review next Tuesday.)

#TheLionKing DavidCrosbyRememberMyName Movies REviews Repertory

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amtushinfosolutionspage · 6 years

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The Redemption of A-Rod Is Complete

Alex Rodriguez was baseball’s most hated player for a long time. Cut to today, just a year and a half post-retirement from MLB, and Rodriguez has become a fun, welcome personality in the baseball world—and beyond. As he makes his debut as Aaron Boone’s replacement on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball this weekend, you might be asking yourself: How, exactly, did we get here?

From almost the beginning, A-Rod’s story played against type. He was a 14-time All-Star, three-time AL MVP, two-time Gold Glove winner, ten-time Silver Slugger, five-time AL home-run leader, and two-time MLB RBI leader. He was a young, good-looking phenom who was a great hitter and an impressive middle infielder. He should have been easy to like. He could have melted hearts with his smile and endeared himself to fans simply by performing the way he was capable of. And yet, he was a villain. The guy who, on paper, should have been charismatic and popular was anything but in real life.

There was the on-field behavior that Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons once referred to as “bush league”: yelling “Ha!” while running from second to third base on a pop-up to try to make a Blue Jays player think his teammate was calling for the ball, slapping the ball away to deflect a tag during the 2004 American League Championship Series against the Red Sox. Then there was the off-field behavior that painted him as someone who was a little too in love with himself: He was rumored to have multiple paintings of himself as a centaur, including one that hung above his bed; he agreed to a photo shoot with Details in which he kissed a reflection of himself. And, of course, the PEDs.

But here’s where the A-Rod story take an even stranger turn: Through a genius social media presence and a willingness to embrace the more unsavory aspects of his past, A-Rod has been able to change the narrative. Giving someone perceived as a narcissist a social media account has the potential to backfire spectacularly. The medium, with its capacity for endlessly posting selfies, is designed to keep the focus on the user. And Rodriguez’s account may have gone that route if not for the scandal that would derail his career and, according to him, change his life and perspective on everything.

Rodriguez launched his Instagram account back in May 2013 with a photo of him hitting balls off a tee in the batting cages. He started slowly: Everything he uploaded showed him working out and training as he was making a comeback from a hip surgery and quadriceps strain he suffered earlier that year. Rumors about performance-enhancing drugs were swirling around him, and that August, Rodriguez was one of 13 players suspended for using PEDs. A-Rod’s suspension would last for the entire 2014 season, the longest non-lifetime suspension ever given.

He told Vanity Fair last year that he decided to try to make the team in 2015 “as a broken-down 40-year-old that didn’t have a lot of allies.” His public image was forever changed by the steroid scandal but, once again going against the grain, Rodriguez found himself cheered at Yankee Stadium after being officially labeled a cheater. A bounce-back season where he slugged 33 home runs and had an OPS+ of 129 surely helped, not to mention a public growing increasingly weary of MLB’s steroid witch hunt.

It was in the lead up to his (forced) retirement in 2016, however, that social media really began to work its magic. Alex the Ballplayer slowly became Alex the Entrepreneur, and his account was full of pictures of Rodriguez hard at work—either in a suit for A-Rod Corp., or in Yankees pinstripes on the field. He also began to look like he was capable of having fun and is genuinely laughing in many of the images.

Post-retirement, working as a FOX Sports analyst during the playoffs, he looks fully in his element. He’s working a camera, he’s putting makeup on co-anchor Kevin Burkhart, he’s taking selfies at Wrigley Field. What comes through more than anything in these photos is joy, something that was often missing from him as an active player, and it resonated with the public.

Enter J.Lo, the final piece of A-Rod’s three-part formula for social-media success. She makes her first appearance on Rodriguez’s Insta account when the two attended last year’s Met Gala together. The best photo from the night was one of Rodriguez, standing off to the side, cellphone raised to snap photos of Lopez on the red carpet. He’s happy to let Lopez have the spotlight—the opposite of the narcissistic center of attention he was known for being in the Yankees clubhouse.

These early glimpses of the couple that would come to be known as J-Rod did something that neither celeb could have done on his or her own. They painted them as a couple enamored with each other, who were easy to root for. This characterization of the partnership has been especially significant for Rodriguez. He spent his 22-year major league career struggling to connect with the public. And despite the fact that he is inarguably one of the best baseball players to have ever played the game, he was always difficult for people to really root for, something that’s usually a requirement for a sports superstar. It was his perceived arrogance and standoffishness that kept a wall up between A-Rod and the public.

In retirement, perhaps the pressure to prove himself and gain acceptance is gone. Perhaps, as he settles into his new role as an entrepreneur, baseball analyst, media personality, and one half of a high-profile celebrity couple, he’s content to just be who he is and be where he is. It’s impossible to know for sure. But what is evident is that, over the course of a few short years, Rodriguez went from almost universally despised to near universally adored. It’s a redemption story that wouldn’t have been possible in an age before social media.

By embracing his past, redemption has become part of his image; it’s now his brand. At SXSW, he hosted a panel called “Baseball, Business, and Redemption.” His new show on CNBC, Back in the Game, is about helping former pro athletes get back on solid footing after a setback. Instead of trying to bury the embarrassing and unflattering parts of his past, he’s using them to create a new image of himself, and educate others.

The story of the underdog is the most compelling sports narrative we have. Perhaps that was always Rodriguez’s problem: He was too golden, too hard to root for because it seemed like there was no struggle before the triumph. Maybe it became possible to root for A-Rod only after he flew too close to the sun.

Today, we get to see a more three-dimensional picture of the man than simply wearing pinstripes ever allowed us. Baseball is never far from the surface and it’s very clearly something he still loves dearly, and likely always will. But this new, retired version of A-Rod allows him to be more than just the scandal-tainted ballplayer. He can be the man who overcame it all and is still here. He can be what he always wanted.

The Redemption of A-Rod Is Complete syndicated from https://australiahoverboards.wordpress.com

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flauntpage · 6 years

Text

The Redemption of A-Rod Is Complete

Alex Rodriguez was baseball's most hated player for a long time. Cut to today, just a year and a half post-retirement from MLB, and Rodriguez has become a fun, welcome personality in the baseball world—and beyond. As he makes his debut as Aaron Boone’s replacement on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball this weekend, you might be asking yourself: How, exactly, did we get here?

From almost the beginning, A-Rod's story played against type. He was a 14-time All-Star, three-time AL MVP, two-time Gold Glove winner, ten-time Silver Slugger, five-time AL home-run leader, and two-time MLB RBI leader. He was a young, good-looking phenom who was a great hitter and an impressive middle infielder. He should have been easy to like. He could have melted hearts with his smile and endeared himself to fans simply by performing the way he was capable of. And yet, he was a villain. The guy who, on paper, should have been charismatic and popular was anything but in real life.

Rodriguez launched his Instagram account back in May 2013 with a photo of him hitting balls off a tee in the batting cages. He started slowly: Everything he uploaded showed him working out and training as he was making a comeback from a hip surgery and quadriceps strain he suffered earlier that year. Rumors about performance-enhancing drugs were swirling around him, and that August, Rodriguez was one of 13 players suspended for using PEDs. A-Rod's suspension would last for the entire 2014 season, the longest non-lifetime suspension ever given.

Enter J.Lo, the final piece of A-Rod’s three-part formula for social-media success. She makes her first appearance on Rodriguez’s Insta account when the two attended last year's Met Gala together. The best photo from the night was one of Rodriguez, standing off to the side, cellphone raised to snap photos of Lopez on the red carpet. He’s happy to let Lopez have the spotlight—the opposite of the narcissistic center of attention he was known for being in the Yankees clubhouse.

The Redemption of A-Rod Is Complete published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

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gokinjeespot · 5 years

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off the rack #1276

Monday, August 26, 2019

Sorry for the lateness. I went fishing this morning with my buddy David and he brought his fly rod that he got recently. He's a novice but he caught two sunfish using it. That made me very happy as they were the first fish that he caught that way. Penny and I went to see a matinee at our local theatre earlier and I had to have words with a teenager who talked and then took out his phone during the screening. The second time he turned on his phone after I had asked him to put it away the first time he showed me no respect so I went and got a staff member to deal with him. By the time we got back to the theatre he had left with his friend but he still abused me verbally while standing at the exit doors. The kid couldn't have been more than 13. The language and disrespect was what upset me the most. I suspected they snuck into the theatre and the fact that they left before staff could deal with him confirmed my suspicions. I didn't care that they snuck in. If this kid had just sat and watched the movie I would not have had a problem with him. I must be an asshole magnet because the kid and his friend were the only other people in the theatre and they sat close to us.

I picked up a copy of Marvel's "Heralds" trade paperback while working at the store last week and while reading the credits I see that it was lettered by Virtual Calligraphy's Clayton Cowles. So that's what the "VC's" stands for.

Batman #77 - Tom King (writer) Mikel Janin & Tony S. Daniel (pencils) Mikel Janin, Norm Rapmund & Tony S. Daniel (inks) Jordie Bellaire & Tomeu Morey (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). A death in the family and this issue is in super high demand because of it. Damian tries to fight Thomas Wayne/Batman while Bruce is recovering under Selina's care. The prospect of the Bat Family gathering has me all excited.

Daredevil #10 - Chip Zdarsky (writer) Jorge Fornes (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). We get a glimpse of real Daredevil action when Detective North is threatened by corrupt cops in his own precinct while Matt is there. Matt gets a visit from an ex that had me chuckling on the last page.

Fearless #2 - This is an excellent anthology for young readers, particularly young female readers.

"Campfire Song" part 2 by Seanan McGuire (writer), Claire Roe (art), Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) & Cardinal Rae (letters) sends Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel to the leadership camp where Captain Marvel, Storm and Susan Storm/the Invisible Woman are going to give keynote speeches. Something nefarious may be afoot.

I liked "Night Nurse: A Cape of Her Own" by Karla Pacheco (writer), Iolanda Zanfardino (art) Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) & Cardinal Rae (letters). It's always a treat to see Night Nurse mending super powered people.

To help get over the end of X-23's book Eve L. Ewing (writer), Alitha Martinez (art), Rosenberg (colours) & Cardinal Rae (letters) show us what Laura and Gabby are up to now.

Ghost-Spider #1 - Seanan McGuire (writer) Takeshi Miyazawa (art) Ian Herring (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). So Spider-Gwen is now Ghost-Spider. She has dual dimensionship between Earth-65 and Earth-616. In her own dimension of Earth-65 everyone knows that she's Ghost-Spider but in Earth-616 where her secret identity is safe, she's just Gwen Stacy, freshman at Empire State University. Peter Parker helps to get her enrolled and now she can go back and forth taking classes and fighting crime. This is a good place to start if you're looking for another female super hero to follow but there wasn't anything really special in here to make me add this title to my every burgeoning pile of comics books that I want to read.

Strayed #1 - Carlos Giffoni (writer) Juan Doe (art) Matt Krotzer (letters). In this new Dark Horse science-fiction book military scientist Kiara Rodriguez invents a device that allows her to talk to her cat Lou. The cat is special because it can astrally travel through space. Kiara's superiors are using her cat to conquer other planets and exploit their resources. They're the bad mans. This sounds familiar to me with Kiara's race being like Galactus and Lou like the Silver Surfer. I'm not much of a cat person so I'll pass on the rest of this story.

Guardians of the Galaxy #8 - Donny Cates (writer) Cory Smith (art) David Curiel (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Rocket's back and we even get a mini origin story for the little furball. This issue also reveals what the Universal Church of Truth's very bad plans are. I loved seeing the cocoon. With the impending battle with Death, I'm wondering if Thanos is going to show up. This would be a cool way to bring the Mad Titan back.

The Avant-Guards #7 - Carly Usdin (writer) Noah Hayes (art) Eleonora Bruni (colours) Ed Dukeshire (letters). The one and only basketball based comic book on the racks and it's a three points shot at the buzzer to win the game. I love the message about team work in this issue.

Powers of X #3 - Jonathan Hickman (writer) R.B. Silva (art) Marte Gracia (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). This issue clears things up for me. Nimrod is the big bad guy and Apocalypse is a good guy in this story. I'm so glad they took last issue to explain Moira's character and her mutant ability because she's crucial to everything going on. If you're not reading this and House of X, you're missing out on a major event in Marvel Mutant History.

Marvel Action Spider-Man #7 - Delilah S. Dawson (writer) Fico Ossio (art) Ronda Pattison (colours) Shawn Lee (letters). Introducing Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat. Her bad luck powers have Peter, Gwen and Miles all tangled up. They're going to have to learn to work together to keep her from stealing again.

The Superior Spider-Man #10 - Christos Gage (writer) Mike Hawthorne (pencils) Wade von Grawbadger (inks) Jordie Bellaire (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Man, Spidergeddon sure did cast a wide net. So the super villain for this story is revealed to be the Norman Osborn of Earth-44145. He wants revenge for being humiliated by the Superior Spider-Man during the debacle with the Inheritors. But first Norman is going to kill everybody that Otto cares about. It's a tried and true basis for many a comic book story but it still works great.

Superman Year One #2 - Frank Miller (writer) John Romita Jr. (pencils) Danny Miki (inks) Alex Sinclair (colours) John Workman (letters). Okay, so Clark trains to be a Navy Seal so that Frank Miller can set it up for him to meet and fall in love with Lori Lemaris and clash with her father Poseidon. It was a slog for me to read through this issue. I think Miller was trying for something epic like The Odyssey by Homer. I found that Clark's time in the navy was contrived, which soured my enjoyment.

Valkyrie #2 - Jason Aaron & Al Ewing (writers) Cafu (art) Jesus Aburtov (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). Why is it that the death in Batman #77 is bigger than the death in this comic book? Bullseye somehow got his hands on Valkyrie's sword Dragonfang and Jane Foster has to take it away from the killer or else a heck of a lot of innocent lives will be forfeit. The last line of this issue made me groan.

Year of the Villain: Sinestro #1 - Mark Russell (writer) Yildiray Cinar (art) Julio Ferreira (inks pages 21 - 26) Hi-Fi (colours) Steve Wands (letters). A solo story of Sinestro doing Lex Luthor's bidding. This story uses sentient nanobots which to me was a silly concept. I thought they did a good job showing how smart and arrogant Sinestro is but unless you're a Green Lantern fan you don't need to read this.

Year of the Villain: Black Mask #1 - Tom Taylor (writer) Cully Hamner (art) Dave Stewart (colours) Wes Abbott (letters). This is a good origin story and sets up the villain for what's coming next. These Year of the Villain one shots are a good way for new fans to learn about these characters which should give them a better understanding of their involvement in the big picture.

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dmmowers · 7 years

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God works for good

I/II.

November 3, 2016. The time was just after 1 am. I was not yet asleep. I hadn’t been awakened by a certain sleeping toddler. Actually, I hadn’t yet made it to bed. The reason I was up? That was a long story. A story of fathers and sons, of heartbreak and faithfulness. It was a story of baseball.

My great-grandfather, George Edward Mowers, born in the 1890s, had been my last ancestor to see the Chicago Cubs win a World Series. His son, my grandfather, Lawrence Allen Mowers, was born in 1922. Later in life, he had caught the disease of loving a very bad baseball team: so much so that he would record TV broadcasts with Harry Caray onto VHS tapes so that he could watch them through the long winter offseason. The Cubs at least made it to the World Series once in his lifetime, but it was in 1945. He was on a boat, somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, returning from his service in the Philippines in the Second World War. So when he died in 2006, he had missed the only time in his 84 years that the Cubs made it to the world series.

His son, my father, Ted Aaron Mowers, was born in 1954. He had the disease of Cubs fandom less than his father and his son, but he spent many afternoons in a tractor or grain truck with Pat Hughes and Ron Santo on WGN radio, the soothing sounds of baseball from the Friendly Confines of beautiful Wrigley Field giving him something to tell his oldest son about when he got home from work. When he died in 2011, he died without having seen the Cubs even make it to the World Series.

As for me, other than a two year flirtation with the White Sox as an 8 year old, I’ve been a Cubs fan all my life. Prior to November 3, 2016, my strongest Cubs memory was the heartbreaking collapse of the 2003 Cubs in their final two games of that year’s playoffs – when they were 5 outs away from going to the World Series and inexplicably blew that game and the one after it.

So as I watched Game 7 of the 2016 World Series that night last November, I watched it alone. I could not bear the thought of what would happen if they lost. With two outs to play in the 9th inning, the Cleveland Indians tied the game and much weeping and cursing ensued. But the Cubs pulled out an 8-7 victory in the 10th inning. I threw my scorebook in the air and fell on the ground and banged on the floor and cried.

Maybe it’s normal for people who cheer for more successful teams to act that way when their teams win a championship, I don’t know. What I do know was that my first thoughts in that moment of celebration were not just pure joy. They were joy, yes, but mixed with sorrow. Grandpa Larry was the first person I thought of, falling asleep in his chair with Haray Caray blaring away, of dad coming home from work and asking, “did you hear about the Cubs this afternoon?” I thought of sitting with my dad at the all too few games we went to together at Wrigley Field. I thought of announcers like Haray Caray and Ron Santo who taught me to love the game who had passed away, of people who would have lost their minds to see what I was seeing.

I think those reactions were born out of the solidarity formed between Cubs fans as they watched their lovable losers fail – and sometimes fail spectacularly – over a hundred years. Ask Cubs fans about 69 or 84 or 89 or 98 or 2003 and we have stories of being together with our loved ones, of making happy memories over our connection with the Cubs.

I never once hoped for any of those Cubs collapses, for any of those awful 95 loss clubs who had no shot at the World Series before the end of April. But that game 7 last November was so sweet in part because the drought before it had been so long, so frustrating, so endless. The suffering of generations of Cubs fans was finally, finally brought to an end.

For those of you who aren’t sports fans and have been sitting here gritting your teeth for the last few moments, I apologize. But I do have a point that transcends the Cubs. In fact, the plight of the Cubs helps us to understand something that St. Paul gets in our New Testament reading this morning from Romans chapter 8.

In verse 28, what we just heard read was this, from the New Revised Standard version of the Bible. “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” But that translation is not a correct one. The New International Version puts it this way: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Hear the difference? In the incorrect translation, we hear, “All things work together for good.” In the correct one, we hear, “In all things, God works for good.”

The incorrect translation, “All things work together for good” is incorrect in that doesn’t give us a correct understanding of the underlying Greek this letter was originally composed in. But it is also theologically disastrous in that it claims that all things that happen to us, no matter how terrible, work together as part of a good plan for our lives. It’s only a short step from there to saying that suffering is a good thing because it is ultimately for our good, and that is monstrous.

Not long ago, a friend in another state had a baby. As often happens in labor and delivery, things did not at all work out according to this mom’s preferred plan. All of you moms out there - can I get an Amen? When Elizabeth and I visited with her and her healthy new baby sometime later, she told us the whole story. You could see in her demeanor how hard it had been and hear in her words the physical and emotional pain it had caused her. But instead of being able to acknowledge how painful it had been, all she could say was the delivery was all a part of God’s perfect plan for her and her family. She was not able to verbalize what was written all over her body language, that the delivery had been deeply painful.

Another friend once told me of a favorite uncle who had passed away. It seems that the uncle had been morbidly obese with notorious eating habits until the day he died, even though his doctors had urged him to lay off fried and processed foods. At his visitation, someone told my friend that his uncle had died because it was his time to go, because his death was a part of God’s plan for the world. My friend, a professor of theology, shot back, “No it wasn’t. It’s never part of God’s plan for people to destroy themselves.”

In both of these cases, there is a confusion about how God works in our lives. Just because something happens doesn’t mean that God wills it to happen. Just because something happens doesn’t mean that it’s a part of God’s plan for our lives. In previous sermons this summer, we’ve learned that God is at war with the power of sin. Because of Jesus’ death, sin has lost the war, but it continues to battle, and there continue to be casualties in God’s good creation.

III.

The better translation for verse 28 says this: “In all things, God works for the good of those of who love him and who have been called according to his purpose.” This is the furthest thing from denial, from papering over suffering and calling it God’s plan. God working for our good means that we can tell the truth about the real ways in which we suffer. Where evil, tragic or terrible things happen, we can acknowledge that they are evil, tragic and terrible.

But in all things, even those that are evil or tragic or terrible, God works for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Many of us have faced things that we did not choose, that we did not choose, that we would not wish on anyone, even our worst enemy. We have watched our young adult children develop serious mental illness. We have gotten the phone call that’s made our stomach drop. We have been the victims of abuse and domestic violence. Those events, the ones that we measure our lives in terms of “before that thing happened” and “after that thing happened”, those events are not willed by God. And yet, God works in the wake of the evil things that happen to us for our good.

Earlier this week, I helping a friend at the Washington County Fair in West Bend for a few days. He operates food trailers for a living, and so I fulfilled a lifelong dream -- well, okay, that’s not true -- I helped him sell French fries for a couple days. While there, I got to meet a friend of his, a man who, for the last 7 years, has lived with ALS. He asked what I was preaching today, and I told him about this sermon. He said that he wished that he had never been diagnosed with the disease, that it has been terrible. And yet, he said, as a part of the process of the disease, he has learned things that he never knew before: how to gracefully receive the care and concern of others. How much he is treasured by others, not because of what he could do, but because of who he is. “I have come to appreciate how valuable and beautiful this life is,” he said.

In a 2015 interview for GQ magazine, The Late Show host Stephen Colbert shared how his father and the two of his brothers closest to him in age, Peter and Paul, were killed in a plane crash when he was 10. Colbert was the youngest of 11 siblings, but his remaining older siblings were already off to school by then, leaving he and his mother alone at home. He refused to do school work, but would lock himself in his room with books. He barely graduated from high school, started at a small private college and got into theater, which became an outlet for him to share his pain with people. One thing led to another – Northwestern University’s theater program, then performing at Second City, then the Daily Show, then the Colbert Report. One day, at age 35, he was walking down the street and stopped dead in his tracks when he realized that he was where he was grateful because of what happened to him. “I love the thing that I most wish had not happened,” Colbert said. “It’s not the same thing as wanting it to have happened,” he said. “But you can’t change everything about the world. You certainly can’t change the things that have already happened.”

But what Colbert and this man with ALS help us to understand is that God is at work even in the wake of tragedy, to take the hard things that have happened to us and to make them a part of a story. That is different than them being a part of God’s plan all along. God works on our behalf in the wake of them.

IV.

I don’t want to trivialize any of the hard things that anyone has gone through, and I know that there are many of them in this room this morning, but all of that is why I chose to start this morning by telling you about my family and the Cubs. I did not choose any of the adversity that the Cubs faced on the field of play. But when the World Series victory came, it was so much different than it would have been if it had happened last year, or if it had happened at any point in the last 108 years. It was sweeter precisely because of the adversity that they had undergone. That is a game, I grant you, and it is a little silly.

But Paul is not being silly when he finishes our reading this morning with this: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor live, nor angels, nor demons, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Some of us are still much too close to tragedy for us to see much that’s redemptive in our lives. We see only what is missing, what has been violated, what is damaged. We feel the absence of our loved ones and the presence of Alzheimer’s and cancer, and all that we can see around us is suffering. In those moments, nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus Christ our Lord. He is with us, suffering alongside us, bearing us up in the midst of hard years and hard decades. He is hearing our prayers, and he is at work within us for our good, even though things have happened that we would never have chosen.

I am convinced that God’s work for good for us never stops. When Jesus comes again to make all creation new, he will redeem all of our suffering, all our pain, all our tragedy. “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory about to be revealed in us,” Paul wrote in last week’s reading. Some of us have undergone such hard things that I don’t know how they can possibly be redeemed. But the good news of God in Jesus Christ is that our God will repair the things that our broken, will restore lost parents to their children and children to their parents, will restore sound minds to those who have lost them, will restore innocence where it has been taken, will restore life where there has only been death. We will see the love of God reach into those moments in our lives that we wish never happened and hear the love of God say “Peace, be healed.” That is a glory we cannot imagine because our hard years have been so hard, our tragedies so terrible, our suffering so long. But when it comes, we will do more than throw our scorebooks in the air and pound on the ground. We will rejoice in the wholeness of ourselves and of this good creation. We will look back on the hard roads we have traveled, the paths we went down that we did not and would never have chosen, and we will know that in all things, God worked for the good of those who loved him and were called according to his purpose.

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chorusfm · 7 years

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Guitarist Chad Gilbert talks about switching things up on New Found Glory’s ninth album Makes Me Sick, writing 100 percent on instinct, what coming out of Florida was like in the ‘90s, and why the band has no plans of going away anytime soon.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How’s the anniversary tour going?

It is going awesome. Very easy. It’s really cool.

How is it playing full albums but mixing them up, so you’re not playing them in sequence?

It keeps kids on their toes. You show up to a show and you know what songs you’re going to hear, but you don’t know when. So you can’t take a pee break. You can’t go too far or you might miss your favorite song.

I think it’s the better way to go. It makes it so if you like one album better than the other, you don’t have to wait through one to hear the one you like more. They’re mixed together, and it makes the set ramp up and ramp down at different times.

Is there a favorite deep cut you’ve enjoyed playing on this run that maybe you’ve barely played in the past or have never played at all?

I love playing a song called “Your Biggest Mistake” off Catalyst. That song we’ve never played in the set normally and on this tour it’s going awesome. When we play that song, kids go crazy. I was really surprised about that.

So the new record sounds very different than your last one, Resurrection, did. It’s a lot more pop-influenced and less hardcore. The production and instrumentation is a lot fuller. How did you figure out what you wanted to do this time and make that progression?

Without trying to sound too cliché, our music is true to who we are and what we’re going through. In making Resurrection, we were a little bit more pissed off. We wanted to be really raw and aggressive. Touring on that album for two years, seeing our fans love it the way they did and sing along to it, the growth New Found Glory has made has been so cool coming into this new era of our band.

When we went to make this record, we were more self-reflective with this “nothing is going to stop us” headspace. It led for lyrics that are a little bit deeper and music that was not afraid to step out of the box. We went into Makes Me Sick with a lot of confidence. That’s what made us able to grow musically and not be afraid like we used to in trying new things.

I interviewed Aaron Sprinkle last month and he had some very kind words to say about you guys. How did working with him show up on this record?

Having Sprinkle there gave us more room to imagine. When I would write a melody in my head, if I were normally to record it, it would take me an hour to find the right sound to match the keyboard. Where with Sprinkle, I could be like, “Hey Aaron, I wrote this part in my head.” I could sing it to him and be like, “I like the Bananarama vibe on ‘Cruel Summer,’ or this vibe on that song,” and he would know exactly what instrument it was, find the sound, play it, and we could track it within 10 minutes. Maybe even five.

He was able to take our ideas or stuff we wrote and help us find the sounds that were in our heads. You can be a songwriter but it doesn’t necessarily mean you can find the sound. That’s a whole different style of production, and he’s really, really good at that. He’s a great song guy, too, but for us he was about producing this record’s sounds and bringing all of our ideas to life. He was awesome and so fun to work with.

He said when he works with a band that’s been around as long as you have, it’s not that he disregards an artist’s past history, but he tries not to take it too much into consideration. He tries to be in the present and not overthink things. For someone like you, who has a couple hundred songs out at this point, is it a challenge to not overthink too much or be worried that a song sounds like something you’ve done in the past? How do you balance all that?

I don’t think we do at this point. What we remind ourselves is when New Found Glory started, our genre didn’t really exist. There was Blink and West Coast punk that was big, but that was a different style. Us and Saves the Day at around the same time were blending more emotional lyrics with punk/hardcore-influenced stuff. When we started writing songs, it just came out. We didn’t overthink it. Is this punk? Is this not? Is this whatever?

Looking back to Stick and Stones, we had songs on there like “Sonny,” which totally doesn’t fit the genre. Even “Head on Collision” and “The Story So Far,” we had a lot of songs that weren’t so much punk rock songs, they were New Found Glory songs. Looking back throughout our career, we always did that, so we never think about it. We write what feels real.

We never try to fit anything, and we also don’t try to recreate. We don’t go in and go, “Oh man, how do we write a New Found Glory song?” As long as we’re being honest in writing songs that are true and real about what we’re actually feeling, then it always comes out exactly how it’s supposed to.

It’s more on instinct for you, then?

100 percent instinct. It’s never like we got to write a fast song or what if our fans think this. It’s not like that. I don’t mean it in a cocky way, but we feel that our fans trust us. Especially if you look at our catalogue, Coming Home sounds nothing like Sticks and Stones, and Sticks and Stones sounds nothing like Resurrection. But they sing all the songs the same. They love them each differently for their own reasons, and that’s what our fans count on us for. They don’t want to have the same album over and over again.

One of the cool left turns you do on this album is “The Sound of Two Voices.” I don’t know how you describe it. Hawaiian or something like that?

The little sounds and percussion stuff that Aaron added gives it an island vibe. But overall, it was our take on a Paul Simon throwback. When we started writing, it just came out. We were like, “Oh, this reminds me of ‘You Can Call Me Al,’ but somehow still sounding like New Found Glory.”

It almost sounds like it could be in Moana, too.

I love Moana, so I’ll take it.

Were there other highlight songs that you enjoyed working on and writing?

Yeah, I really love the song “Barbed Wire.” I really love the song “Blurred Vision.” The last song on the record, “The Cheapest Thrill,” is a fun one. We made 10 songs because I feel like every song has its own life, its own sort of ride. They all have their own pacing and something in the melody that makes it really different from the song before it.

You also have the most synths on a record since Coming Home, in addition to a lot of layered guitars and some solos. Was that fun to incorporate more of as well?

Yeah, definitely. Looking at older records we’ve put out, and hearing the production and then playing them live, we noticed there’s a difference. Our fans love our songs live, even though it might be missing some of the bells and whistles because we’re still a four-piece. They don’t care. So we were like on this new record, let’s make it an album.

We know there’s two different forms of listening to New Found Glory. There’s when you’re at home, you’re in your car, you’re on your headphones, so we were like let’s make this record sound the best it could be right then and there while you’re listening and not sacrifice anything. If we have an idea, let’s put it in there. Let’s make it really fun to listen to.

And then when people come see us live, they’re busy going off and singing along. No one really comes and listens for the third guitar layer, you know what I mean? You’re there at the show to go crazy and sing along.

You’ve mentioned before there’s a level of vulnerability this album has where you’re not afraid to talk about yourselves like maybe you have been in the past. What about this album do you feel like brought that out more?

I think maturity. Being a little bit older and seeing worries we might have had in the past or mistakes people have made throughout our career. Seeing us come out of them and being able to reflect. After living and touring in a van for 20 years, you learn a lot and you make a lot of mistakes.

Do you think getting married last year had any impact on the record for you?

I wouldn’t say it had an impact on the record because there’s three other band members, you know what I mean? If it did, it’s in the same way that Cyrus having a kid impacted the record, and Ian being sober impacted the record, and Jordan starting a business. All of us individually and where we are in our lives impact our records. I wouldn’t say one impacts more.

So I wouldn’t say so much getting married. It’s who we are now, each of us individually, and realizing the things in our lives that have kept our band going. With this band and writing music, we’re very lucky. Personal lives can be very difficult and very hard. We’re able to use this band as a way to express ourselves and impact other people’s lives, as well as it being therapeutic for our own. That’s what you get with the new record.

I was able to attend Yellowcard’s final show last month and it got me thinking about what pop-punk’s legacy is at this stage. You were two of the biggest bands in pop-punk’s heyday in the early 2000s, but now it’s more of a niche market and we’re at the point where we seem to be losing a prominent band every year. Where do you think the genre is in 2017?

I really don’t think about it, honestly. We were before the genre existed, we’re a part of the genre now, and we’ll still be a part of the genre when it’s not cool, if it ever was cool. I don’t think it ever was cool [laughs].

When we first started, it was always us, Get Up Kids and Saves the Day. No one ever said pop-punk. It wasn’t a thing. It grew and became a thing. Instead of trying to control what our fans think, we wanted to have fun with it, so we played along. This is a 20 years of pop-punk tour. We have no problem with calling ourselves a pop-punk band, because that’s what our fans call us. We’re not overthinking it.

A New Found Glory fan knows we’re not just a pop-punk band. You can see that by going to our shows. There’s people that listen to hardcore. There’s people that listen to metal. There’s people that listen to indie rock, to emo, to pop-punk, to regular punk rock. We have this huge melting pot.

As far as the scene goes right now, I really don’t know. I’ve always felt like we waved the flag of the genre, but whoever breaks up or gets back together or starts, New Found Glory is going to keep going. We’re going to keep doing the same thing. We’ve never been driven by a scene. We built our own world inside of it. So I can’t really say what the scene’s like because there’s so many different styles now.

And the internet has opened things up so much more than when you were starting out. Now there’s so many options everywhere, it’s more diluted in a way, too.

Yeah. We’ll just always do our thing. We’ll always tour. I remember when we had three gold consecutive albums, and then we didn’t. We were playing smaller shows, but it still meant the world to us. Things always go in circles and come around. Now our shows are bigger than they’ve been in a long time.

Big or small, if you’re a New Found Glory fan, you’re going to get the same amount of passion one way or the other. I think that’s why we’ve lasted this long and why we don’t break up. We’ve given up our self-serving pride a long time ago with this band. We’re here to play regardless. We don’t get affected by what anyone says or what’s cool and hip at the time.

You see a lot in 20 years. You see a lot. There’s so many bands that have come that were big and we might have been told to open for, and now five years later they’ll open for us. It’s just the way it goes. We’ll always be the same and we’ll always be here because we have that loyal fanbase, which is all we ever set out to have.

New Found Glory and Yellowcard also got me thinking about that five-year or so period where there were so many cool bands coming out of Florida. There were you two, Anberlin, Copeland, Underoath, Against Me!, A Day to Remember, Further Seems Forever, Dashboard Confessional. What do you remember about that time? What made Florida a hotbed where all these bands were coming up at the same time?

A lot of bands you were mentioning were later than we were. When we were coming up, there was New Found, Dashboard, Further Seems Forever, Less Than Jake, Hot Water Music, Yellowcard, Poison the Well. The other stuff was a little later. What I always loved about Florida is when you think about the bands from Florida, everyone sounds different from each other.

At the time if you weren’t from New York or L.A., and maybe a little bit in Chicago, you didn’t really have a chance. The Northeast and California is where every band came from. It’s where all the record labels were. Because those scenes were so big, there was a lot of the same things going on. Where when it came to Florida, none of us thought we would ever get anywhere.

There was nothing to do, so you would write songs not based on what was going on but based on who you were. There wasn’t a big scene in Florida, so if you were a punk band, you were playing with a hardcore band. If you were an acoustic guy, you were playing with a ska band. It didn’t matter. There was this weird mesh of things stylistically. Even the hardcore back then was really melodic and weird.

I think the fact that Florida is so secluded from everywhere, especially South Florida. It took 12 hours just to drive out. It let people be creative because you thought you never had a chance. You were just writing music for your friends. You were writing songs because you wanted to play that weekend at a club in your hometown.

You weren’t distracted by the business side of things, because there was none. Whereas maybe if you were a band in the Northeast or California, you were focused on writing and getting signed. But in Florida, it didn’t really matter.

With this being your ninth album and reaching year 20, is there a different feeling now, or does it more or less feel the same and how it always has been?

No, it’s a different feeling. When you’re younger and you’re growing, you feel like you have all this stuff to prove to people. You think there’s this thing you need to reach or this finish line. You’re constantly worried about what’s next.

Now, 20 years later, there is no stress. We’re not worried. We’ve done nine albums. We’re not worried if fans are going to like our band or not.

Or if the album sells.

Yeah, or if the album sells. It would be great if the album sells. It would be great if it’s the biggest record and sells a million records. That would be awesome, but we’re not living for that. We’re able to get onstage and play our songs and focus on what matters, and not about the illusion side of the music business.

We’re able to live in the present and enjoy every show and be thankful. Does that make sense? That’s the difference between then and now.

’Makes Me Sick’ is out now on Hopeless Records. Find Chad Gilbert on Twitter and New Found Glory on Facebook, Twitter and Spotify.

Please consider supporting us so we can keep bringing you stories like this one.

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#chorus.fm

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placetobenation · 6 years

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With the midpoint of the 2018 season upon us, it’s time to check back in with our July Power Rankings.

Teams now are clearly contenders, pretenders, or non-tenders. As the contending group looks at the also-rans to pick their bones and acquire some stretch-drive talent, the fun of the MLB trade deadline looms.

While we wait to see what shakeups await our favorite teams and players, let’s dive into another round of rankings!

All records and stats as of Tuesday July 9, 2018.

With an OPS+ of 199, Mike Trout is basically having TWO good seasons at the same time, making him beyond great.

1. Houston Astros (Last month: 3; 56-31) — Really, any team listed in the top six could have a decent case for a No. 1 ranking, but the Astros have reeled off a 12-game winning streak this month. They also have not lost more than three games in a row all year and have five winning streaks of five games or more. And the reigning MVP Jose Altuve (.334/.398/.472) is still incredible, while Justin Verlander is marching toward another Cy Young (9-4, 2.12 ERA, 178 ERA+). His closest competition is maybe rotation-mates Gerrit Cole (9-2, 2.50, 151) and Charlie Morton (10-2, 2.55, 148). Also, Alex Bregman has become another star for the ‘Stros (16 homers, 27 doubles, 152 OPS+).

2. Boston Red Sox (LM: 2; 58-29) — The Sox have such an interesting offense — five everyday betters with great numbers (Mookie Betts, JD Martinez, Andrew Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts, and Mitch Moreland) and four that are just putrid (Christian Vazquez, Eduardo Nunez, Rafael Devers, and Jackie Bradley, Jr.). The starting staff is mostly solid, with Chris Sale and Rick Porcello leading the way, with the bullpen doing a fine job. That said, they’ll probably acquire Manny Machado and Bryce Harper while Dave Dombrowski burns the farm to the ground…/sarcasm/

3. New York Yankees (LM: 1; 55-28) — Despite anticipated pitching woes, the lineup is so up-and-down good that this team is still mashing — 5.16 runs per game is second only to Boston and 141 homers is tops in MLB. Can the offense and crazy-great bullpen carry them into October?

4. Seattle Mariners (LM:4; 55-31) — If the Mariners go .500 in their remaining 76 games, they finish with 93 wins. This is a sneaky-good offense despite sitting mid-pack in runs per game (4.38) and a good-not-great staff (11th in MLB at 4.09 runs per game). All this with a down year from icon Felix Hernandez and missing arguably their best player Robbie Cano.

5. Milwaukee Brewers (LM: 5; 50-35) — We all knew Ryan Braun, Lorenzo Cain, Travis Shaw, and Christian Yelich would be contributors to a strong Brew Crew offense this year, but where did Jesus Aguilar (team-best 19 home runs and 55 RBIs, 159 OPS+) come from? Wow.

6. Cleveland Indians (LM: 13; 47-37) — The Tribe still has not fully broken out, but in June the team outscored its opponents 113-91 and has firmly taken the lead in the weak AL Central. The season-ending shoulder injury to Danny Salazar hurts, but with a front three of Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, and Mike Clevinger, the Indians are still a playoff threat. Not to mention the crazy-good years Jose Ramirez (24 doubles, 24 homers) and Francisco Lindor (27 doubles, 23 homers) are having. They just need some relief aid, which should be plentiful in July deals.

7. Chicago Cubs (LM: 6; 48-35) — No. 4 starter Tyler Chatwood has issued 66 walks in 73 ⅓ innings. Yu Darvish (4.95 ERA in 40 innings) has been a bust as well. But the bullpen is excellent — a third-in-NL 3.19 ERA for the unit — and every single regular in the lineup, including semi-regulars Ben Zobrist and Ian Happ, has an OPS+ north of 100. A very good team, despite a few weak spots.

8. Atlanta Braves (LM: 8; 49-35) — Much like the team right below, the Braves seem to have arrived a year early. Freddie Freeman’s excellence (153 OPS+) is expected, but the strong showings of Johan Camargo (120) and, in particular, Nick Markakis (143), are pleasant surprises in the Peach State. On the mound, Mike Foltynewicz (2.02 ERA) and Sean Newcomb (3.10 ERA) look great, too. As a Tigers fan, I have to ask: What the f***, Anibal (2.89)? What the f***?

9. Philadelphia Phillies (LM: 11; 46-37) — In our preseason predictions, young arm Aaron Nola (2.48) was lauded, but the breakout of Zach Elfin (2.97, 137 ERA+) has been a nice surprise, especially as Jake Arrieta (3.54, 115) slides into mediocrity. The bullpen will need some help for the Phils to hang in there, though.

10. Arizona Diamondbacks (LM: 12; 48-38) — After his craptacular April/May, Paul Goldschmidt has blasted a line of .379/.478/.789 over the last 28 days. His season line now sits at .277/.385/.538 with 19 homers. That’s more like the Goldy we know and love. Hope is that the return of center fielder A.J. Pollock (141 OPS+) can help the Snakes fight off the coming Dodgers.

Will the return of center fielder A.J. Pollock help Arizona fend off the Dodgers?

11. Los Angeles Dodgers (LM: 15; 46-39) — If your preseason picks had Max Muncy (2.9 bWAR) as the Dodgers’ best hitter, Ross Stripling (2.7 bWAR) as their best pitcher, and Matt Kemp (.318, 15 homers, 145 OPS+) playing like it was 2011 again, then stop reading and get on the next flight to Vegas.

12. Oakland Athletics (LM: 18; 47-39) — Matts Olson (18 homers) and Chapman (119 OPS+) look like cornerstones of Billy Beane’s next Frankenstein’s monster, while Jed Lowrie (.293/.355/.502) has apparently morphed into Ponce de Leon. And that bullpen looks full of trade bait. Sweet, sweet trade bait…

13. Los Angeles Angels (LM: 9; 43-43) — Wunderkind Shohei Ohtani is back as a hitter (.280/.361/.517, 142 OPS+), and Mike Trout is still insane (.310/.454/.626, 199 OPS+). Yes, that OPS+ means Trout is essentially twice as good as an average hitter. Mercy! As for the rest of the team? Well…

Actual photo of the 2018 Angels training room.

14. San Francisco Giants (LM: 16; 45-42) — The Giants have hung around while Bumgarner, Cueto, and Samardzija have battled injuries. If they can get healthy, the G-Men could still make a nice push later this summer. Also, Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria still look weird in those cream and orange unis.

15. Colorado Rockies (LM: 14; 43-43) — Nolan Arenado, defensive wizard, hitting machine, and 2019 free agent, has recently stated he is tired of losing. Arenado made his MLB debut on April 28, 2013. Since then, Colorado has run up a 398-474 record, good for a .456 winning percentage. If Arenado is sick of losing, he should either learn to pitch or start packing his bags.

16. St. Louis Cardinals (LM: 10; 43-41) — Marcell Ozuna (.277/.321/.406) has been decent, while Dexter Fowler (.171/.276/.278) has been swallowed up by injuries. It’s the bats of Jose Martinez (131 OPS+) and Matt Carpenter (133) carrying the offense, while pitchers Jack Flaherty (3.19 ERA), Miles Mikolas (2.61), and Michael Wacha (3.20) have been very good. This team, on paper, is much better than the results have shown. Maybe they have a run in them yet?

17. Washington Nationals (LM: 7; 42-42) — When preseason predictions are made, a lot of things are assumed. Good health, consistent production, everything going just right. Maybe it’s a function of us missing the game over the winter. Maybe it’s the eternal optimism that comes with being a fan. Whatever the case, we have pooped the bed on this one.

18. Tampa Bay Rays (LM: 23; 40-45) — I still think it’s weird that, as much of an amateur baseball haven the state of Florida is, it cannot sustain ANY type of decent MLB team. At least the Rays appear to be trying, unlike those jokes further south. Blake Snell (11-4, 2.24) is pretty amazing. Watch him, damn it! Watch him!

19. Toronto Blue Jays (LM: 21; 40-45) — Kevin Pillar is still amazing on defense, and Teoscar Hernandez is having a nice season too. But outside of those two, there isn’t much worth crowing about north of the border. Oh, someone seems to have kidnapped Marcus Stroman and replaced him with an inferior version (1-5, 6.02 ERA, 56 hits in just 49 ⅓ innings). He’s gotta be hurt more than he’s letting on, right?

20. Pittsburgh Pirates (LM: 20; 40-45) — The Pirates have a lot of slightly-above-average talent, and a lot of slight-below-talent. You know what that adds up to? An average team having an average season.

A great hitter on a bad team…please watch some Votto ABs and appreciate him, people!

21. Minnesota Twins (LM: 19; 35-47) — Offseason adds Jake Odorizzi (4.57 ERA, 91 ERA+) and Lance Lynn (5.49, 76) have been awful, while the homegrown talents of Jose Berrios (3.52, 118) and Kyle Gibson (3.58, 116) have done fine. Overhyped by most at the start of the year, myself included, we often forget that injuries cannot be predicted and development, such as that of Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano, is not linear.

22. Detroit Tigers (LM: 17; 38-49) — An 11-game losing streak sunk the Tigers down to where we all thought they’d be coming into the year. Detroit has fashioned a bottom-tier offense, an adequate defense, a mid-tier starting staff, and a still crappy bullpen. Hope for a few trades to keep building the system, Tigers fans.

23. Cincinnati Reds (LM: 26; 37-49) — One day in the future, we may look back on Joey Votto (.291/.425/.440) as one of the greatest players to never win a ring. Because the Reds have no pitching. We often talk of how the Angels are “wasting” Mike Trout’s greatness. No, they’re not. They have actively spent money to contend with him on the roster; they’ve just spent poorly (see Pujols, Albert and Hamilton, Josh). The Reds, on the other hand, have not made a real stab at contention for the bulk of Votto’s career. It’s just been one long circle-jerk rebuild with no pitching.

24. Texas Rangers (LM: 25; 38-48) — These guys are bad, but they’re not unsightly bad. Well, except for Joey Gallo (98 OPS+), Robinson Chirinos (97), Ronald “Who?” Guzman (92), the entire bench (led by Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s 81), and garbage person Rougned Odor (77). Remember, 100 OPS+ is average. So, maybe this team is unsightly bad after all.

25. San Diego Padres (LM: 22; 37-50) — This season, the Padres’ top player, according to Baseball Reference’s WAR is reliever Kirby Yates at 1.7. As for the rest of the team, well, it’s a bonafide “Who’s That?” of baseball. That said, off the final 10 teams in these rankings, the Padres probably the brightest future coming soonest.

Note: Hold your nose, kids, it’s about to get nasty…

26. Chicago White Sox (LM: 27; 30-55) — Irrepressible toad Bruce Rondon has an ERA of 8.00 with 22 walks in 27 innings. A million-dollar arm with no clue or care what to do with it. A complete and utter waste of talent.

27. Kansas City Royals (LM: 28; 25-60) — And the Royals’ GM is “publicly musing” about signing a sex offender under some bullshit guise of morality. F*** off, Dayton.

28. New York Mets (LM: 24; 33-49) — A dumpster fire that the ownership seems to more than happy to douse with gasoline. Here’s hoping Thor and deGrom get traded somewhere better.

29. Miami Marlins (LM: 30; 35-52) — Here’s how forgettable wretched this team is. Each time I compile these rankings, I write out a checklist of all 30 teams to make sure each is included. When scribbling out the five NL East teams, I wrote “Phillies” down twice.

30. Baltimore Orioles (LM: 29; 24-60) — The Birds are 5-14 in one-run games, 14-40 against righties, 7-23 in their last 30 games. The only thing interesting about them is wondering what they get for Manny Machado and any other veterans they trade away.

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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gokinjeespot · 5 years

Text

off the rack #1242

Monday, December 24, 2018

I was hit by a spasm of back pain on Saturday like the ghost of Christmas Past. That'll teach me for being such a Scrooge this time of year. I try not to be naughty but being nice is such a pain in the pants. I am slowly recovering under the gentle ministrations of Santa's Helper. Being around family and friends is better medicine than any pain pills I could take. My brother and sister-in-law hosted a brunch yesterday and seeing everyone together laughing and happy soothed me greatly. Just holding baby Oliver and making him smile eased my back pain.

I saw the Ottawa premiere of Aquaman thanks to my Jee-Riz partner Chris, who won passes from the comic book store Myths, Legends and Heroes. I can sum up how I felt about the movie in one word; wigs. I wish they had spent some of the Atlantis special effects budget on better wigs for the actors. Arthur's dad's toupee was glaringly obvious. I've seen better hair on Cosplayers than Nicole Kidman's wigs. It looked like Amber Heard/Mera was wearing a wig at times but even when it looked like her real hair the colour red they chose was too unnatural looking. The movie's saving grace for me was Jason Momoa. He makes a great Arthur/Aquaman. I'm glad I didn't pay to see this one.

Ugh. Stan Lee tribute covers. Terrible marketing idea.

Dead Man Logan #2 - Ed Brisson (writer) Mike Henderson (art) Nolan Woodard (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). A couple of things really annoyed me this issue. Sin, the Red Skull's daughter, acted like a spoiled brat. It's not a stretch to foresee the villains losing at the end of this 12-issue story. Then we have Forge repairing a machine that can get Old Man Logan back home. They actually go there and he doesn't stay. I'm for super heroics as much as the next nerd and maybe I'm selfish, but that irked me to no end. Old Man Logan has been whining about getting home ever since he showed up in this timeline and now he wants to stay to prevent all the super heroes from being killed by all the super villains. There isn't even a guarantee that is what happens in the future. And why don't they use the machine to fix things? Man I hate time travel. I really like Mike Henderson's art but this looks like another travelling super heroes versus super villains battle every issue, and that's not very interesting to me.

Defenders: The Best Defense #1 - Al Ewing (writer) Joe Bennett (pencils) Belardino Brabo (inks) Dono Sanchez Almara (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). It's the big Defenders reunion to save Earth. Old Man Dr. Strange, Hulk, Namor and the Silver Surfer have to sidetrack The Train in order for Earth to survive. It's a bit complicated and I'm surprised that you didn't really need to read all the one-shots to get what's going on. I mean all those scenes where the stabby killer in the bed sheet is killing aliens isn't even mentioned in this story. So what was up with that?

Marvel Knights #4 - Vita Ayala & Donny Cates (writers) Joshua Cassara (art) Matt Milla (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Here's where they explain why all the super heroes have forgotten who they are. T'Challa/Black Panther is featured in this issue that ends with him discovering the lair of villains. I'm wondering how the bad guys retained their memories.

Old Man Hawkeye #12 - Ethan Sacks (writer) Francesco Mobili (art) Andres Mossa (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). That was a very satisfying ending. What a great prequel to the Old Man Logan story where Clint and Logan go on a road trip. This is where Clint loses his sight for good. I loved the last page epilogue showing Clint tracking down someone who will help him to continue to fight the bad guys despite his blindness.

Runaways #16 - Rainbow Rowell (writer) Kris Anka (art) Matthew Wilson (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Reading this Christmas special is better than getting a lump of coal. Having Doombot as a dinner guest made this a treat. I wish he was a regular member of the team.

West Coast Avengers #6 - Kelly Thompson (writer) Daniele Di Nicuolo (art) Triona Farrell (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). The good guys have been captured by the bad guys: Satana Hellstrom, M.O.D.O.K., The Eel and Madame Masque. Kate is still free however and she's not going to abandon her team mates. Too bad she gets waylaid on her way to rescue them. Her captor is a complete surprise, which will make the next issue a hoot.

Thor #8 - Jason Aaron (writer) Mike del Mundo (art) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). This is an awesome issue with Thor fighting the Angelus. It ends with an ex-Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. being paid a visit by the Black Panther. I like how this book is being tied into The Avengers.

Season's Beatings #1 - Jason Latour (writer) Greg Hinkle, Chris Brunner, Veronica Fish & Mario Del Pennino (art) Rico Renzi, Jim Campbell & Veronica Fish (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). I should have realized from the cover that this was a Deadpool Christmas Special. If I had known, I would have bought a pair of socks from the Dollar Store with the $4.99 US that this comic book costs. Unless of course, you're a big Deadpool fan or West Coast Avengers fan or even an X-Force fan. They're all in here too. Plus Squirrel Girl and Doctor Doom. Come to think of it, this is an everything but the kitchen sink gift for a Marvel Comics fan who will get a few chuckles out of it.

Freedom Fighters #1 - Robert Venditti (writer) Eddy Barrows (pencils) Eber Ferreira (inks) Adriano Lucas (colours) Deron Bennett (letters). This is some heavy duty patriotic poop right here. We start this 12-issue story in 1963 America that is ruled by Adolf Hitler and his "ratzi" party. The original Freedom Fighters meet to plot a resistance attack on a war robot factory. Things don't go well for the good guys. Jump forward to 2018 and the surprise appearance of the New Freedom Fighters; Black Condor, Doll Woman, the Human Bomb and Phantom Lady. All we need is Uncle Sam. Robert Venditti holds nothing back showing the Germans as ruthless racists. The art is really well done so I will give these Golden Age heroes a chance to see how they fare in modern times.

Middlewest #2 - Skottie Young (writer) Jorge Corona (art) Jean Francois Beaulieu (colours) Nate Piekos (letters). A new character named Jeb is introduced who helps Abel get out of a bind. Jeb reminds me of the first time we meet Gandalf. Abel's quest continues and we find out a bit more about the symbol on his chest. I predict he'll meet his mother down the road but unlike the talking fox, I won't be travelling down it with him.

Cover #4 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) David Mack (art) Michael Avon Oeming (Owen art) Zu Orzu (colours) Carlos Mangual (letters). This issue is a great example of how a comic book can tell a story with words and pictures. I felt like I was watching a TV show or a short film. Brian, David and Michael work together seamlessly

Hardcore 1 - Robert Kirkman & Andy Diggle (writers) Alessandro Vitti (art) Adriano Lucas (colours) Thomas Mauer (letters). Yeah man, it is. Agent Drake is a drone pilot but what he controls are other human beings. A new nanotechnology allows him to take over and move a remote body for 72 hours so he can complete wetwork missions. It's really cool. The big problem arises when the guy who invented the tech comes back to reclaim it from the government. That guy is not asking nicely. I like this concept and the predicament that Agent Drake finds himself in at the end of this issue. Therefore, this goes on to my "must read" list.

Klaus and the Crying Snowman #1 - Grant Morrison (writer) Dan Mora (art) Ed Dukeshire (letters). This $7.99 US one-shot tells the tale of how Sam the snowman helps Klaus save the Earth from murderous aliens. I loved how they wove in Norse mythology. You'd think a crying snowman would be doomed in the end and you'd be right, but fear not, 'tis a happy ending.

Betty & Veronica #1 - Jamie Lee Rotante (writer) Sandra Lanz (art) Kelly Fitzpatrick (colours) Jack Morelli (letters). The BFFs are back with a 5-issue mini that starts off their senior year of high school. I know that these slightly more mature Archie Comics want to draw in a new audience but Betty dating Reggie? Sacrilege. A few other things bothered me storywise that turned me off even more. Betty drinking a spiked punch without noticing? C'mon. Then there's the art. I didn't like the interiors compared to the nice cover that Sandra drew. I expected my girl Betty to be treated better than this.

Catwoman #6 - Joelle Jones (story & art) Laura Allred (colours) Josh Reed (letters). The finale of "Copycats" is a quick read so I read it twice. The first time was to see how Catwoman deals with the evil Mrs. Creel and her pumped up on drugs son. The second time was to see Catwoman in action and to savour the beautiful art and layouts. I wish Joelle Jones would do a Betty & Veronica mini.

Extermination #5 - Ed Brisson (writer) Pepe Larraz (art) Marte Gracia (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). I tolerated this time travel tale because of the amazing art. I wish Pepe Larraz would do a Betty & Veronica mini. If you thought that the mutants being exterminated was a real threat then you haven't been reading X-Men comic books for very long. This story puts the young X-Men back in their own time and all is well again. The big surprise comes on the last page and I'm thinking "oh geez, here we go again".

Domino #9 - Gail Simone (writer) David Baldeon & Michael Shelfer (art) Roberto Poggi (ink assist) Guru-eFX (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Soldier of Fortune part 3. The ladies are asked to kill Longshot. Haven't seen him in a while. Might not see him for long though, since he's supposed to bring about the end of the world. This is interesting because both Domino and Longshot have the same super power. Who's luck is going to run out first?

Firefly #2 - Greg Pak (writer) Dan McDaid (art) Marcelo Costa (colours) Jim Campbell (letters). Mal and Zoe are being hunted by a gang of thieves and the Alliance. Darn tootin' there's going to be shootin'. I have been watching Nathan Fillion's new cop show The Rookie and I quite like it.

Batman #61 - Tom King (writer) Travis Moore (art) Tamra Bonvillain (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). Knightmares part 1. The "what the!?" appearance on the last page of #60 is explained here as a new story starts. I knew something was hinky when I saw the string of pearls around the dead body of Martha Wayne in the alley. I thought we were in an alternate universe and we sort of are but it came as a complete shock when what was going on was explained. Arkham Asylum is getting a new inmate. At least he's new to me unless I want to go back and read Batman #38.

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gokinjeespot · 5 years

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off the rack #1251

Monday, February 25, 2019

It was so windy last night that it blew over our amaryllis flower that was inside the house. That was the crash I heard overnight. Actually, this amaryllis bulb produced a mutant flower stem that was the tallest I've ever seen. We got two stalks, each almost 2 feet tall, topped by three huge red blooms each. I had rotated the pot regularly so that they wouldn't grow at an angle but there was enough of one to make them topple. I should have supported them sooner.

Black Widow #2 - Jen & Sylvia Soska (writers) Flaviano (art) Veronica Gandini (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). I like this new Natalia who doesn't have to hold back like she has a license to kill now. Her mission to shut down a torture porn site based in Madripoor is a good story but a couple of things bothered me about this issue. Clayton Crain's cover is very nice but you couldn't tell that one of the women was the Black Widow in disguise compared to what's shown inside. I thought the veil Nat wears was dumb and the next issue teaser spoiled the last panel. A better match on the hair colour would have fixed the cover problem and a different image for issue #3 in the next issue ad page would have been nice.

Catwoman #8 - Joelle Jones (writer) Elena Casagrande & Fernando Blanco (art) John Kalisz (colours) Josh Reed (letters). Something Smells Fishy part 2. We find out what the Penguin wants Selina to do and she goes and does it. This story isn't too complicated and I expected better. I didn't like the facial expressions that the artists used when Selina was puling off the heist. I thought that it was an amateur imposter trying to steal the artefact. Catwoman should never look like she's afraid. I hope the next issue is better.

The Unstoppable Wasp #5 - Jeremy Whitley (writer) Gurihiru (art) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). This is a wonderful issue dealing with mental health. Nadia needs help but will she reach out before it's too late? Read this great issue to find out.

Stronghold #1 - Phil Hester (writer) Ryan Kelly (art) Dee Cunniffe (colours) Simon Bowland (letters). Meet Michael, just a cog in the wheel of life. Or is he? The Stronghold is a sort of cult and their mission is to protect Michael from the Adversary. The mystery of what Michael really is and what happens if he is awakened is more than enough to make you want to keep reading. This is a good comic book about people with super powers without the spandex posturing.

Auntie Agatha's Home for Wayward Rabbits #2 to #4 - Keith Giffen (writer) Benjamin Roman (art). I fell in love with the art and the quirky characters after reading the first issue and I want to thank my Jee-Riz partner Chris for lending me his copies to read so that I can finish this story. There aren't many funny animal comic books on the racks other than the Disney stuff so this one is a rare gem. It's a great David versus Goliath story.

Hulkverines #1 - Greg Pak (writer) Ario Anindito (art) Morry Hollowell with Andrew Crossley (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). It's good to see Weapon H back on the racks and a classic Hulk villain being their evil self. This new book is blatantly targeted at die hard old Marvel Zombies like me but it's well written and well drawn. Read the title page to catch up with what's going on in Clay Cortez's life and then jump right in to watch as Hulkverine and the Hulk duke it out in a battle to the death. The last page surprise made me pine for the next issue.

Naomi #2 - Brian Michael Bendis & David F. Walker (writers) Jamal Campbell (art) Carlos M. Mangual (letters). I like how the mystery of Naomi's true self is progressing naturally. There aren't any leaps and cuts in the origin story that I find annoying. Please give this book about an adopted daughter looking for answers a try. You won't be disappointed.

Sharkey #1 - Mark Millar (writer) Simone Bianchi (art & colours) Peter Doherty (letters). I can't pass up a comic book with those names in the credits. This sci-fi series is about an interstellar bounty hunter. The art is out of this world. Sharkey is going after a huge bounty but the competition is fierce. It's going to be fun to see who wins.

Love Romances #1 - This $3.99 US anthology of "love stories that can only be told in a comic book" should have hit the racks February 13 in time for Valentine's Day but it's still worth reading. All stories were lettered by VC's Travis Lanham.

"The Widow and the Clockwork Heart" by Gail Simone (writer), Roge Antonio (art) & Jim Charalampidis (colours) takes place in a Steampunk future where robots mend broken hearts.

"Heartbroken from Beyond" by Margaux Motin & Pacco Dorwling-Carter (story & art) & Lee Loughridge (colours) is a haunting ghost story of love and loss.

"French Quartered" by Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum (writer), Annapaolo Martello (art) & Jim Charalampidis (colours) is about an overprotective father in old New Orleans.

"Gone Like the Wind" by Jon Adams (story & art) & Tamra Bonvillain (colours) is a love lost and found story.

Each story has a clever twist that makes them special. Give this to your sweetie as a belated gift.

Guardians of the Galaxy #2 - Donny Cates (writer) Geoff Shaw (art) Marte Gracia (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). The Final Gauntlet part 2. Team books can be unwieldy but this isn't a real team book anymore. There are many factions trying to either stop or facilitate the resurrection of Thanos. This involves either killing or saving Gamora. There are many good guys and bad guys to keep track of but Donny and Geoff do a great job of keeping everybody straight. I'm happy to put this book back on my "must read" list.

Batman #65 - Joshua Williamson (writer) Guillem March (art) Tomeu Morey (colours) Steve Wands (letters). The Price part 3 of 4. This story is all about Gotham Girl wanting to resurrect her dead brother. I didn't read part 2 in the Flash and didn't feel like I missed anything. I don't care what happens to Claire Clover/Gotham Girl so I'm not going to read part 4 either. I'm sure some of the buying public doesn't like being coerced into picking up a couple of extra comic books off the racks that they don't normally read to get the full story. DC should have spun this story off of the Heroes in Crisis books instead of interrupting the Tom King story. I can't wait to get back to that.

Wolverine: Infinity Watch #1 - Gerry Duggan (writer) Andy MacDonald (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). These new Infinity Stone stories hurt my head. I read the first one where Thanos got them all with the Gauntlet and the Avengers stopped him from killing everything but after that, every time these gems showed up things got more confusing. Now the stones all have souls thanks to Adam Warlock and they are inside humans. The Time Stone is still on Earth and that's not good. A big bad alien named Warbringer has landed and wants the stone for himself. Cue Logan's involvement. He's supposed to protect the hapless human. The appearance of Loki and Phoenix Force Wolverine was fun and since Logan was dead during the Infinity Wars, this will be a way for him to get caught up with Marvel continuity. If you're a fan of Wolverine being the best at what he does then you'll want to get in on this 5-issue mini.

Doctor Strange #11 - Mark Waid (writer) Jesus Saiz with Javier Pina (art) Jesus Saiz & Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). The Dread Dormammu, what a doofus. Stephen defeats the demon again and all is well. The Doc had a little help from his friends with one friend returning as a big surprise. I'm looking forward to the bad guy on deck in the next issue. He's big, he's red and he's hungry.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3 - Tom Taylor (writer) Juann Cabal (art) Nolan Woodard (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Mother of Exiles part 3. Wow, talk about an underground society. Welcome to Under York, miles below New York City. Spider-Man and the Rumor mount a rescue mission which is sort of successful. I can't wait to find out what happens next.

Avengers #15/LGY #705 - Jason Aaron (writer) David Marquez (art) Erick Arciniega (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). The team is caught in the middle of a Vampire Civil War and one of their own has been forced to switch sides. Can the Ghost Rider break his evil bondage? I'm guessing yes. I loved the devil dog riding in the ghost car with its head out the window. It's artistic touches like that that adds enjoyment to reading a comic book.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #3 - Saladin Ahmed (writer) Javier Garron (art) David Curiel (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). The team-up with the Rhino and Captain America ends with fighting a new super villain. Snatcher is a lame super villain name but the good guys still have a tough time taking him down. There sure were a lot of expletives deleted in this issue.

Avengers LGY #709: No Road Home #2 - Al Ewing, Jim Zub & Mark Waid (writers) Paco Medina (pencils) Juan Vlasco (inks) Jesus Aburtov (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). It's the big fight issue with Voyager and her team trying to beat Nyx, goddess of darkness. She just killed all the gods of Olympus so good luck with that. Fortunately for the good guys, Nyx reveals her plans, which saves the heroes from certain death. This issue has a running narration by Hawkeye and it takes a surprising turn in the last few pages. This twist makes me glad that the next issue hits the racks in a week.

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gokinjeespot · 6 years

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off the rack #1202

Monday, February 26, 2018

Way to go all the Canadian athletes that competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics. You made us proud. Now we get ready for some March Madness. It might seem like I'm a big sports fan but I'm not. It's just that it's less annoying than a lot of the stuff happening around the world these days. Sure I was sad when the Canadian Women's curling team skipped by Ottawa's Rachel Homan didn't make it to the medal rounds and the Canadian Women's hockey team lost the gold medal game in a shoot-out but I didn't get angry and upset. No one was killed by some idiot.

Archie #28 - Mark Waid & Ian Flynn (writers) Audrey Mok (art) Kelly Fitzpatrick (colours) Jack Morelli (letters). I only keep reading this book because Betty is in it. I don't like the walking disaster area that is Archie. Nor the smug Jughead. I really hate that big fat jerk Reggie who should be someone's plaything in prison. The fact that I feel so strongly about these characters means that the creators are putting out a very good comic book but I would stop reading if there weren't any likable characters. Classic Catch 22.

Doctor Strange: Damnation #1 - Nick Spencer & Donny Cates (writers) Rod Reis (art & colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Stephen may not be Sorcerer Supreme anymore but he's still pretty powerful. Remember how Las Vegas was destroyed during a recent mega crossover? Well now the whole city plus its citizens is back on terra firma. Guess where it's been before being resurrected? Hey, they don't call it Sun City for donuts. There's a glitch in Doc Strange restoring all those lives and landmarks and that's where this 4-issue mini takes off. This is a high stakes game between the Doc and Mephisto and the players will be familiar to Marvel Zombies far and wide. Doc's team is on the cover but you'll have to read this first issue to see who's playing for Mephisto.

The Brave and the Bold #1 - Liam Sharp (writer & art) Romulo Fajardo Jr. (colours) A Larger World's Troy Peteri (letters). DC's old team-up title is back on the racks with a murder mystery featuring Batman and Wonder Woman. There's a strong fantasy element since the murder takes place in Tir Na Nog, the mystical land of faerie. Liam Sharp drew me back into reading Wonder Woman when he did the Cheetah story and here he gets to go all Irish myths for us with runes and rugged faeriescapes. I like a murder mystery as well as the next Batfan but the profuse flowery prose turned me off. It's a tough decision whether I read the rest of this 6-issue story because I really love the art.

Mata Hari #1 - Emma Beeby (writer) Ariela Kristantina (art) Pat Masioni (colours) Sal Cipriano (letters). This 5-issue mini comes from Dark Horse's Berger Books imprint. I'm glad Karen is still editing comic books. I met her at a DC Retailer's conference over twenty years ago. I was lucky enough to share a group dinner table with her at a steak house in Fort Worth, Texas. I can still remember how happy I was when I asked if I could order a second steak dinner after the first one failed to fill me up and she gave me the go ahead. She thought I had a hollow leg. This book is beautifully drawn but I found the storytelling a little confusing with it's jumping back and forth in time to show us how the lady spy ended up in her current situation. Mata Hari is a very compelling historical figure so I will keep reading this to learn more about her life and death.

Infinity Countdown Prime #1 - Gerry Duggan (writer) Mike Deodato Jr. (art) Frank Martin (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Flip the cover and you get an info page quickly telling you about the 6 Infinity Stones and what powers they bestow to whoever possesses them. The story starts promisingly enough with the guy who is the best at what he does fighting off some bad guys and then the new Sorcerer Supreme, for the Infinity Stone that he has. Unfortunately the story deteriorated for me when it came to introducing the other stones. It got way too convoluted what with other dimensions involved and what looks like every dang super hero and super villain to ever exist thrown in. I think I have mega event fatigue. Keeping up with the weekly Avengers: No Surrender story with all those heroes and villains to keep straight makes trying to follow this massive story harder to do. I hope nobody dies.

Batman: Sins of the Father #1 - Christos Gage (writer) Raffaele Ienco (art) Guy Major (colours) Josh Reed (letters). This 6-issue mini is based on the Batman: The Telltale Series video game with a different back-story than the Batman that we are all familiar with. This Batman's father, Thomas Wayne, was a villain who experimented on people. Bruce is trying to right that wrong and save Wayne Enterprises. You can expect lots of action and the first protagonist is easily recognised. I was super impressed with the art here. Kind of reminded me of Frank Quitely. If the rest of this story looks this good it will be a joy to read.

Hit-Girl #1 - Mark Millar (writer) Ricardo Lopez Ortiz (art) Sunny Gho (colours) Melina Mikulic (letters). Hot on the heels of the new Kick-Ass book is this 4-issue mini featuring Dave's old partner Mindy. She's looking for a new partner and who she picks is a real winner. This story goes international as the purple-haired perp pulveriser goes to Colombia to deal with the gangs there. I want to see if her new sidekick survives.

Avengers #681 - Al Ewing, Jim Zub & Mark Waid (writers) Kim Jacinto with Mike Perkins (art) David Curiel (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). No Surrender part 7. It's Kree Captain Glah-Ree's turn to narrate an issue as his Lethal Legion team fights the Falcon's Avengers team for the prize. Some surprise characters pop up right at the end that will make fans clamour for the next issue. Mike Perkins's pages were only subtly different from the rest of the art and that surprised me too.

Batman #41 - Tom King (writer) Mikel Janin (art) June Chung (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). Everyone Loves Ivy part 1. I was naïve to think that Joelle Jones was the best artist for this book because there are lots of artists that I love out there. Mikel Janin made me gasp after I flipped open the cover and saw the first page. Page 10 made me sigh. His Poison Ivy will haunt your dreams. The Cat and the Bat face a daunting challenge in this new story. This is a great issue to start to find out why I've been raving about this title every issue.

Moonshine #7 - Brian Azzarello (writer) Eduardo Risso (art & colours) Cristian Rossi (colour assistant) Jared K. Fletcher (letters). Boy was I surprised when this issue hit the racks. I thought #6 finished the story of Lou Pirlo, mob enforcer. Plus, it's been almost a year since #6 came out. This supernatural tale continues with the location changing from the hillbilly hills to New Orleans. I'm thinking some voodoo be due.

Superman #41 - James Robinson (writer) Ed Benes (art) Dinei Ribeiro (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). The Last Days part 2. I was tolerating this story about Superman and a native scientist trying to save a planet from a Jonestown massacre until the science guy explains how he's going to save his species. He sure didn't take any genetics classes. I do not suffer foolish science gladly. The good news is that this story is over and Jon learns a lesson in tolerance.

Defenders #10 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) David Marquez (art) Justin Ponsor (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Ah Jessica, Luke, Danny and Matt, we hardly got to know you. I don't know if this team book will continue after this but it won't be the same. This sure looks like Brian Michael Bendis's last issue. David Marquez made me sigh on page 11 panel 5. I'm glad Felicia is okay.

Incredible Hulk #713 - Greg Pak (writer) Greg Land (pencils) Jay Leisten (inks) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Return to Planet Hulk part 5. Hulk faces off with the Warlord in the fifth and final gauntlet. The final page had me singing Chuck Berry's Maybellene in my head. Now that we've gone back to Sakaar it's time to revisit another old Hulk story. Get ready for World War Hulk II.

Damage #2 - Tony S. Daniel & Robert Venditti (storytellers) Danny Miki (inks) Tomeu Morey (colours) Tom Napolitano (letters). I can't say that I am enamoured of the title character since he's just a one hour Hulk but the guest stars are worth the read. Here we have the Suicide Squad and next up is a real hero that I am certainly interested in.

Amazing Spider-Man #796 - Dan Slott & Christos Gage (writers) Mike Hawthorne (pencils) Terry Pallot & Cam Smith (inks) Erick Arciniega (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Threat Level: Red part 3. The art and writing this issue was very wooden to me. Kind of stiff and predictable. I don't like Peter and Mary Jane getting cozy again either. If it wasn't for what's happening to Norman Osborn I would consider benching this book.

Super Sons #13 - Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Carlo Barberi (pencils) Art Thibert (inks) Gabriel Eltaeb (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). The Parent Trap part 1. Damian's mom, Talia al Ghul, needs his help for a hit and she's not going to take no for an answer. The boys find themselves in even more trouble when one of the targets is revealed. Robin and Superboy's friendship may not survive. As much as I love Carlo's art I wasn't happy that Talia looks more like Damian's slightly older sister than his mother.

Astonishing X-Men #8 - Charles Soule (writer) Paulo Siqueira (pencils) Walden Wong & Roberto Poggi (inks) Edgar Delgado (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). A Man Called X part 2. Y'know, I don't think that the guy in Fantomex's body is Charles Xavier. He keeps saying trust me, I can fix this and then he screws things up royally. So, another comic book with amazing art. Psylocke made me sigh on page 3.

Mighty Thor #704 - Jason Aaron (writer) Russell Dauterman (art) Matthew Wilson (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). The Death of the Mighty Thor continues. Wow, I snagged a larger than usual pile of comic books off the rack to read last week and inadvertently saved the best 'til last. The writing and art was as powerful as can be. The build up to the last page made it a spine tingling experience. This story is going to be another highly recommended collection when it comes out in trade paperback.

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