It’s the 2009 Year Ender Episode with not two… not seven… but FOUR Komikeros at the microphones.  Listen to EJ, Alex, John, and Migs recount the year’s best and worst comic moments, single issues, moments, and of course, ongoing titles.  Enough with the preamble — this episode’s jam-packed, so get to listening!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!

Download the episode here.

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Alright, I’ve been a bad little boy lately… well, to tell you the truth, due mostly to circumstances out of my immediate control, I did not go to the comic book shop for three weeks!  And yet, I’m one of those weekly people… Damn.  So, these are fairly recent comics.

They’re ordered from best to worse, once again.

Donatello: The Brain Thief #4 of 4

Wow, that’s all I can really say to sum up this miniseries.  Jim Lawson really fulfilled on his promise in the interview that I did with him (that you can read here: http://mechanisticmoth.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/an-interview-with-jim-lawson/ ) that this miniseries would show a much darker side to Donatello than ever seen before.  Frankly, I haven’t been this surprised with the character since he fell, broke his leg, and then used a gun to save Karai in City at War way back when.

The pacing on this issue is phenomenal with so many quiet, introspective moments that really emphasize the horrible lengths Donatello will go to for some sort of better good.  I read it so quick that I read it again… and then again… then I read all 4 issues again.  Expect to see this miniseries on a list at the end of the year!

I really have to refrain from going into too much detail about this book because it’s just one that you have to read on your own.  And, don’t fear readers, this miniseries is pretty easy to pick up without ever reading any TMNT stories before.

Batgirl #5:

You know what really makes me happy?  The best titles coming out of the Bat-Family right now are ones that feature Strong Female characters.  Batgirl and Detective Comics.  The characters are truly dynamic.  You get Barbara Gordon who is disabled and in a wheelchair but still empowered, sexy, intelligent, and playing the very important role of being Oracle.  Couple that with her working with Stephanie Brown who’s only been vigilante-ing it for a couple years (comic book time) who is sassy yet smart and fierce.  Not only that, out of any of the characters in the Bat-verse, Stephanie actually brings some much needed light to the dark of Gotham.

Plus, what’s this!? The women aren’t drawn with giant T & A in this book!  There’s even a stab by the writer at other books that do this (which was pretty darn good).

Any issue of Batgirl is great for first time readers because the stories are pretty issue inclusive, and they’re very attractive for first time readers because of the stories being fun, thrilling, and fresh.

Plus, there’s an Omen joke in here (connection between the boy in the movie and the son of Bruce Wayne-aka the new Robin) that I’ve been waiting for for quite awhile.

Read this, you won’t be disappointed… unless you get a copy like I did… which is when the colors bleed on a couple pages because the printer was off from the registration marks… which is really frustrating (especially when it happens multiple times a week) because it detracts from the art.

Invincible Iron Man #21:

This is the best comic coming out of Marvel.

Despite the somewhat contrived way of getting Tony’s knowledge back, this comic works really well.  Fraction does a great job of leaving some mystery as to what the hell is happening inside Tony’s subconscious as he tries to make it back too.

The art’s really neat.

There’s some pretty strong female characters in the book despite the occasional large boobs that they’re graced with.

There’s no reason not to read this book, really.

Red Robin #7:

You know, I have to say that I think it’s pretty darn funny that the only good books coming out of the Bat-verse post-(the atrocious)-Battle for the Cowl are pretty unrelated from Batman.

Here we have Tim Drake traveling around the world in search for the missing Bruce Wayne.  ‘Cept, he’s had to hit it up with the League of Assassins to go toe to toe with the Council of Spiders… sure, that sounds a bit confusing, but it makes sense when you read it.

I really love the new artist on the series Marcus To, he’s really showing his talent with this book.

I also enjoy how we experience the weirdness alongside Tam Fox since this is her Introduction to Super Hero-ing and Assassins/Ninjas… it gets pretty funny to read her reactions, but you still feel vested in the interests of the characters.

I have to admit, I was a little surprised by the climax of Ra’s Al Ghul being there the whole time to only be taken out by a touch by poison lady… Ra’s Al Ghul is the most dangerous man on earth, so… how could someone just walk up and put their hand on him?  Oh well.  It was  a good sport.

The Walking Dead #68:

Alright, it’s pretty easy for me to say that The Walking Dead is one of the best comics out on the market.  Hell, it’s really easy.  However, this issue is totally a transitional one, and it shows.  Nevertheless, Robert Kirkman pulls it off and makes it not entirely boring and hints at some other stuff in it.

After the (awesome!) Fear the Hunters storyline the gang has done some pretty terrible things and find out that Eugene who seemed like he had contacts with the government and was leading them to Washington D.C., was actually lying in order for him to survive.  Disgruntled and starving, a man just walks up to the group out of the woods and offers them a spot in the special community he lives in.

Very intriguing.  But, this issue is working in between the short run of Fear the Hunters and the story line once they end up in the community.  So, it’s meet and greet/ Rick’s kind of mean again.

I really enjoyed how in the couple of panels, Kirkman (heavily) suggested that the partners from the town doing the scoping for people to join the community Aaron and Eric are homosexuals.  They both seem very empowered characters and I hope to see more of them in the future of the series.

Green Lantern Corps #43:

You know, it would probably be helpful for me to go and read the reviews I did for the previous issue of a comic that I did before rating the newest one just to make sure there’s some consistency.  Oh well.

Kyle Rayner isn’t dead!  Big surprise since I already knew it with the Origins and Omens from last year.  However, it wasn’t a completely useless tool used by Tomasi because Kyle’s “death” basically gave the impetus for Guy Gardner to become a Red Lantern/aka complete badass.  Since he’s got two rings on his fingers, Guy can just go around “killing” the undead Black Lanterns in droves.  Other than that, though, the issue is kind of sad, in a way.  It had some cool ideas but there was this overall sadness to it that was strange.

Other than that, the issue was neat, but it didn’t completely flow.  This comic just seems to go by way too fast when not much is actually shown but you know there’s a lot going on.  I don’t know, maybe they could pull an Amazing Spider-Man on us and release three issues a month!

Tales of the TMNT #65:

Okay, I had a really hard time with this issue.  The overall premise of delivering a somewhat Holiday-time Tale along with everything else going on in this issue was really good.  I just don’t believe that it was carried out to the best possible degree.  This issue’s all Berger, and I believe that at times his writing can sway between okay and great which is the same for his art.  The Turtles sway between Archie style and Eric Talbot style which are pretty distinct differences.

The best part of this story, however, is the Rat King.  The Rat King is by far one of the best ever characters in the Mirage-Universe who is fairly underutilized (he died during or before City at War depending) because he’s the only person to have ever successfully messed with Splinter.  This issue gives us about 10 frames worth of Rat King, and all of them are classic.  I really wish more of the issue focused on the Rat King than the mystical guy and the snow oni.

I mean, how did the guy even find out about the Turtles?  It seems so arbitrary.

The thing that did it for me to bring this one down from a 3 to a 2.5 was because of the binding issues which have absolutely no connection to Mirage or the story.  It just really pissed me off when the pages of my comic were still perforated and attached together so I had to tear the tops of them apart which, in the process, bent all of my pages.  It was frustrating and a first.

How I view it, is that 3 stars is average, and 2.5 stars is squeeking just below the surface of that.

There are no Red Robins in Florida.

How is this possible?

Discuss.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Also: testing image geolocation.

Red Robin #7
Written by Christopher Yost
Art by Marcus To

Somehow I doubt that Ra’s al Ghul is dead – I bet you that wasn’t the real Ra’s. Anyways, this is good stuff and I am really liking Tam Fox – I hope Yost plans to keep her in Red Robin’s supporting cast. She is a neat character. I loved the conversation between Lucious and Alfred – I wonder if Lucious knows more about the Wayne Family then he lets on. Is this going in the direction of the Batman movies where Lucious knows that Bruce is/was Batman? I am not sure but I am interested to see where this is all going.

By Chris Yost (writer), Marcus To (artist), Dexter Vines (inks), Guy Major (colors)

The Story: Tam is hiding from the Council of Spiders as they chop up the league of assassins. Lucius and Alfred discuss Wayne business over tea. One of the Council guys who has been slaughtering the league’s assassins gets hit by a young woman and scared off when she pulls a gun on him. Vitoria is travelling the world, picking up dissatisfied, thrill-craving assassins.

What’s Good: Once Tim showed up and started slapping down with the Council guys, it was pretty good. To and Vines draw up some good art with expressive faces, splattering blood, raging monsters, leaping ninja and frightened young business women (all that on one splash page!). The faces, in fact, were expressive throughout and the action sequences were great. If you pick up the book, you’ll know what I mean when you see Tim’s splash-page ambush on the Council guys. Check out the blurred effect on his flying disks.

What’s Not So Good: The Council of Spiders was a pretty effective source of tension and dread for the last six issues, partly because they were hidden and partly because they had the world’s premiere assassin’s league wetting their pants. Now that they’re out in the open and cutting through that same league of assassins like Thanksgiving turkeys, I’m really feeling that mood of impending doom gone. To be clear, the tense mood hasn’t been replaced by the feeling of “dread has arrived” (like what Johns is doing with Blackest Night or how I felt when Flamingo appeared in Batman and Robin). It’s been replaced by a feeling of “Wow! That league of assassins is pretty candy-ass. No wonder they found it necessary to put an obsessive teenager in charge.”  This is sad, because up until now, they were great villains.

On a smaller note, for a few issues of Red Robin and Batman and Robin, the bat-writers have been laying some pretty obvious hints that the Wayne fortune is in danger. I really don’t care about the Wayne fortune, except insofar as it is an essential piece of the Batman identity (rich guy dresses up as vigilante). If you mess with it, you change something that was cool and essential to Batman. Anyway, this has been going on for about five months and I’m wondering when they’re going to drop the shoe. At this point, I’d just like them to get on with it and show the consequences to Dick, Damian and Tim instead of telegraphing something that is no longer a surprise.

Conclusion: This issue fell flat for me, because (a) I really don’t care about Tam and (b) the building of the Council of Spiders didn’t have much tension. Red Robin has dominated most pages of every previous issue, and an issue mostly without him, his angst and his obsession, is a letdown. Maybe Yost needed to bring together some threads, but the fact that I missed seeing Tim on the go means that maybe those threads weren’t that important and that maybe the less you see of the villains the better.

Grade: C+

-DS Arsenault

Santa’s got a big job — making and delivering toys to every good little boy and girl in the world. And as we geeks know, there’s a lot more than just one world out there. This week, we at Everything But Imaginary Global Headquarters have gotten special permission to peek in at letters to Santa Claus from all over the multiverse!

Everything But Imaginary #331: Dear Santa
Inside This Column:

One of our favorite restaurants where we take the kiddo is Red Robin, so I was happy to see the following info come across my inbox.

For the 4th Annual Kids’ Cook-Off, kids were asked to create their own unique Gourmet Burger complete with unique toppings and inventive flavors. Ten finalists were selected and will compete at the Championship event on December 3 tomorrow night (broadcast live via webcast) where their burger will be critiqued by a panel of judges, including Food Network Host Robin Miller. The grand prize winning burger will be sold at Red Robin restaurants across the U.S. next summer and 50 cents from every one of the prize-winning burgers sold will benefit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Three of the finalists are from Ohio:

• Tyler, who invented the “Awesome Cordon Bleu Burger” is from Mentor, OH.
• Tanner, who invented the “The Firey Clucker” is from Ashville, OH.
• Emma D., who invented the “Flamin’ Crispy Chicken Burger” is from Chillicothe, OH.

Visit http://www.redrobin.com/thefinalists for your last chance to vote  for your favorite Gourmet Burger or check out the live webcast!

Until next time,

Lorelei

This is the story of my adventure on the other side of group sales.  I was the group leader trying to book lunch for a group of kids.

Over the holiday weekend my daughter’s pee wee hockey team was in a tournament near Patriot Place.  For those outside the Boston market, this is the New England Patriots version of City Walk or Downtown Disney.  At Patriot Place they have shops, entertainment venues, and restaurants.  We all agreed this would be a great place for the kids to have lunch after their game.

The kids wanted to go to Red Robin for burgers. So a week before the event I called them.  The date of our event happened to be Black Friday.  They informed me they could not book our group because they expected a big crowd.  I received the same response from every other family restaurant also. 

I sent an email to Red Robin explaining our situation.  Guess what, they called and made it happen!  Red Robin explained to me that they don’t normally book groups or take reservations. When we got there, they were ready for us at the exact time we asked for.  The service staff was great!  They had all 35 of us feed and out in one hour.  That is very impressive with a group of 12 year old girls.  The kids were happy and the parents only have good things to say for Red Robin.  In the end, we had a good customer experience and I know they will get repeat customers from our group.

You should also know that Patriot Place management was very understanding and tried to help us too.  They get it. They want groups coming to their place. They also tried contacting a few restaurants for us.

Here is what I don’t understand.  Why would any organization turn down guaranteed business if they have the capacity?  All of these restaurants had no idea how much business they would get on Black Friday.  In fact the weather was really bad that day with heavy rain and chilly.  This was predicted.  Patriot Place is an outdoor area with indoor shops. As we walked around the area we saw how low the attendance was due to the weather.  If you can book a group, does it not help you when the walk-up customers stay away?  Is it not better to know what you have versus not knowing?  Why are some people still afraid of group sales?

So you’re heading down the interstate with a car full of hungry bellies and the endless neon lights of dozens of eateries are setting your retinas ablaze. Where do you stop to satiate the beast within? You no longer have to leave it up to your tired exhausted brain…with this helpful chart we’ll get you to the right calorie laden table in no time. Now the only decision you’ll need to make is whether or not to get the chocolate lava cake à la mode or not, but we know the answer to that America…don’t we?

You may also enjoy our other flowcharts:
Beer Edition
Fast Food Edition
Cereal Edition
Freezer Aisle Edition

Update: Just in time for Christmas, now you can purchase the Where Should I Eat? Chain Restaurant Edition (Flowchart) Poster, it’s the perfect gift for your food loving friends.

Reading the website, I was surprised to see that Red Robin started outside of the University of Washington in 1940. I would think that it is the brainchild of a self proclaimed corporate marketing genius that is trying to latch onto a gourmet burger craze. Btw, note it is their 69th anniversary.  Okay, I am immature.

What I Got:  Bleu Ribbon Burger $9.00
Burger, steak sauce, Bleu Cheese, Onion Straws, Lettuce, Tomato, Zesty Chipotle Mayo, Onion Bun.

Okay, so I love onion buns and burgers. I really like a true chipotle taste and I always have a puree of chipotles in Adobo sauce in my fridge, however…

I hated this burger! The Bleu Cheese should be Monterrey Jack. I think that this was added on to the menu to have a Bleu Cheese option. The bun tasted like a whole grain bun with little onion flecks inside of it. If I can’t pick off onions on the outside, it is garbage.

Condiments were fresh and it was a decent size, but there wasn’t a lot of quality going on here. I didn’t see advertisements talking about the quality of the beef either.

I ordered garlic parsley fries and it was served as regular fries. As you can see, they brought the wrong fries and there were only seven fries included. I know that it is all you can eat fries, but to start with seven is lame.

The garlic parsley fries were not all all that garlicky and riddle me this…where is the parsley?!?!? In fact, where is the garlic? I couldn’t find any minced pieces and I think that it was a chem lab garlic oil.

Would I Buy It Again? No. After tip and drink, I probably spent close to $15 for this and it was not good at all. Looking for an awesome burger?  Try Boogie Burger in Broad Ripple.  Looking for a quick burger?  Try Culvers, 96th St. Steakburgers or whatever else…

-WIBIA

Morning:

The day began normally for a Saturday. I woke up lazily and stretched myself into awareness. I smiled because I had finished my book the night before, which meant that I could now celebrate by buying two more novels. I eased myself out of bed and walked into the hallway. “Good morning!” my Mom sang from the living room. “She’s chipper,” I mumbled, then quickly remembered she had been paid the day before. I would be chipper too if I had money in the bank.

“I was at Hastings the other day and I saw a book you might like. It’s about this woman who was married to some guy who had a lot of wives and she left but then she came back…you would like it. Get dressed, I’ll buy it.” She smiled, knowing that was exactly what I wanted to hear. I might not get that book, but I knew that I would be getting “a” book…and if I played my cards right, I might be able to sneak in another.

3 hours later: Hastings:

The drive over was incredibly annoying, the heat was pelting down on the car mercilessly. The conditioned air blowing at high was not sufficiently cold enough and I needed to get out. “Lets go, lets go!” I urged quickly, knowing the refreshing coolness that awaited me inside the double doors. Not to mention the overwhelming feeling of purpose and excitement I felt upon seeing row after row of books. All waiting for me.

We entered the building, and as I expected the air was crisp and revitalizing. “Third table over” she called to me as she moved toward the bored looking barista. I nodded and walked in the direction of the book tables, eyeing them carefully as I passed. I let my fingers slide over the covers that caught my attention, I’ll be back, I told them silently.
I knew instantly which book she was recommending and knew it wasn’t one I would be adding to my collection. But, I grabbed it and started to thumb through the pages, looking at the dated pictures in the middle. “What do you think?” she asked, looking at me expectantly. “Hmmm, it looks good, but maybe I’ll wait until it comes out in paperback.” I smiled. She shook her head and chuckled, “Well, get something you like then. You always read such weird books. Get two if you want.” I grinned and headed for the Classical Lit section.

1.5 hours later: Red Robin:

“Will there be anything else?” the waitress chirped. “Nope, I think we’re good, thanks,” I answered. Today has been a great day, I thought to myself, free books, free lunch, great Mom. “Ready?” she asked, pulling herself from the booth. “Yep,” I said, following behind her. Making our way to the door I could tell she was tired and limping slightly. I remembered she had forgotten to take her pain pill before we had left the house. After her open heart surgery in February she had been taken off of her arthritis medication and had been in pain since then. We reached the door and I saw her struggling to heave it open, her small frame losing a battle against the metal and glass. I’ll take care of that, I thought. “Here, let me help,” I insisted. I pushed the door open above her head. I felt something under foot…

It all happened so quickly, yet I could see it unfolding in slow motion! I saw her stumble, her arms flailing to catch something, anything, to regain her balance. My arms stretched forward in an attempt to catch her. One knee went first, then the other. Her arms plunged ahead to brace the impact. “Maggie, help!” she cried. I could hear the pain in her voice as I bent to help her up. “Wait, wait!” she yelped. The grimace on her face told me all I needed to know. Panic swelled up inside and I found myself staring at her, sitting on the floor of the Red Robin vestibule. My mind started racing, who do I call, what do I do? “Is she okay?” a voice sounded behind me. I looked over my shoulder and recognized the hostess. “Ummmmm…” I didn’t know what to say. Should I tell her what happened? I could imaging the look on her face as I explained, “Well, hostess lady, I was helping my mom through the door and guess what, funny story, I stepped on the back of her flip flop and almost killed her.”

40 minutes later: Wenatchee Valley Clinic Emergency Room:

“I’msosorry, I’msosorry, I’msosorry,” I muttered as she sat in a wheelchair waiting for the nurse to take her in. I glanced at her knees, swollen and bleeding, crippled, all because I had stepped on her flip flop and had maimed her. I felt like a criminal. The worst kind of criminal. A criminal who beats up poor defenseless people and waits around to see the carnage. “So, what happened?” the nurse inquired. I looked down in shame, my face melting from the heat of embarrassment. “I tripped her walking out of Red Robin,” I disclosed softly. “I’msosorry.” My mom grabbed my hand and squeezed it, “Accidents happen.” I felt my eyes start to burn and tears began to form. My mother, so much the angel, the saint, that even in her pain and discomfort felt the need to make sure I was okay. The nurse smirked and teased, “Well, you could have had a worst last meal.” Bitch. This wasn’t a time for jokes. This was serious. I had done some irreversible damage. Her kneecaps could be shattered. She might have to have surgery…again! And this nurse was making jokes? My mom laughed, “ Then I guess I should have had the fries.”

Epilogue:

Every person who walked into my mom’s room today asked what happened. It was my burden, my punishment, that I had to answer them honestly and incriminate myself as a potential murderess. The guilt was palpable as I looked at my mother on the hospital bed. The more she laughed, the worse I felt. But as I see at her now, limping around the house, knees bandaged up, back hunched over, her sternum scar peaking out from the top of her shirt, I realize that as dangerous as I might be, it’s going to take more than a flip flop debacle to take this woman down…

Received this after eating a designer veggie burger at Red Robin Restaurant in Monona, Wisconsin. I love the little cartoon robin’s facial expressions.

I enjoyed writing the last column about Challenging Conventional Wisdom so much, I realized I have a couple more arrows in my quiver. Please, keep in mind, I’m having fun here.

Without further delay, here a couple more etched-in-stone restaurant industry standards that I think are pretty much BS.

‘Never Scoop Ice With The Glass!’

I’d like to apologize: To my first trainer at Red Robin. To all subsequent trainers at every new job along the way. To my managers. To my restaurant’s owners. To my mom. And to anyone who’s generally just a tight-ass about safety.

I’m sorry.

I always scoop with the glass. I only use the ice scoop when it’s faster and more convenient (say it’s a big scoop and I’m filling multiple glasses), or else when the glass I’m using is something unusually delicate, like a wine glass.

For the non-waiters reading this (are there any?), you are never supposed to fill glasses with ice by digging the glass itself into the ice well – an act which is, of course instinctual. Instead, you’re supposed to used an ice scooper, and transfer the ice from the scooper into the glass. So that’s one reason for the rule, correcting what’s otherwise natural behavior.

Others reasons/justifications are:

• Sanitation, supposedly. Your hand goes into the ice, possibly transferring waiter germs.
• Eliminating time-consuming accidents. ‘Oh, shit! A glass just broke in the well! Now we have to burn the well (melt the ice with volumes of hot water till the well is clean and the glass is picked out).‘ If it’s your only well, you’ve got some serious hoops to jump through to keep serving – never mind the labor and time involved with burning the well and refilling it. Even if it’s not your only well, it’s a big pain in the ass.
• Finally, probably the biggest reason (or at least the most politically correct) is safety. It’s virtually impossible to spot broken glass in a sea of ice cubes. You think you found all the pieces . . . well if you’re wrong, you might end up serving a piece of glass in someone’s drink. I believe swallowing a shard of glass would be very harsh on the digestive system.

But I still do it. You know why? Because modern glasses do not break in ice anymore. Today’s water glass is approximately as durable as stone. Have you ever examined a well-used water glass? It is a serious piece of engineering. The lip is beaten and scuffed and worn down, but not chipped or cracked. It is probably made with some silicone or plastic mixed in, much like shatter-proof windshields. Yes, it can be broken – for instance if you dropped one from 10 feet onto a cement floor (I say 10 feet, because I’ve dropped many from 5 feet – shoulder height – or less and had the damn things simply bounce). I’ve actually had dropped water glasses break plates.

Over the years, in my career as an irresponsible, selfish, public-endangering waiter, I’ve broken maybe five or six glasses ‘in the ice.’ I’ve been waiting tables since 1986, and I’ve certainly been a glass-scooper since at least ‘88. That is not a lot of broken glass. In the interval, I’ve saved tons of accumulated time and movement . . .

‘. . . and made my guests happier with my prompt service and in the process . . . made more tips!’ – This message brought to you by every script-reciting, ‘motivational,’ monthly-Saturday-afternoon-Staff-Meeting corporate manager I ever had.

[Incidentally, I just mimed both actions: 1) grabbing a glass and scooping. 2) grabbing a glass, grabbing the ice scoop, scooping, dumping scooped ice into glass. Using the scooper (#2) takes twice as long. It took about 2 seconds to complete #1. How many iced teas, sodas, and waters do you think I've served over the years?]

How To Be A ‘Safe’ Glass-Scooper

There is a technique to glass-scooping, but I hesitate to espouse that if everyone learned proper technique we could, as a nation – as a planet – eliminate all dedicated ice scoopers. Instead, I say simply that this works for me:

1. With a supple and not-firm wrist, slide the glass into the ice. Take care to dip into the center of the well, not at the metal edges of the bin, where you might encounter . . . the metal edges, or else refrozen and hardened blocks of ice. The center is where the loose – safe – ice resides.
2. Do not scoop boldly. Think ‘dip,’ not ‘plunge.’ Consider it more like gathering ice, almost as if it were liquid you were collecting.
3. Do not scoop two glasses at once as they might bang into each other.
4. When you’re done, glance at the rim of the glass. If something has broken or chipped, you should be able to notice it.
5. If there is a crack or a chip on the glass, step away from the well and be very quiet. Wait till the area clears of personnel, then tell the next busser you see that someone has broken a glass in the ice, and ‘we’ need to burn the well.

But, as I say, a beaker has been known to break in the dark practice of glass-scooping. What happens? Well, I catch it. I examine the glass, see that it has broken, and, damn! . . . where’s that busser?

And then I wait another four or five years for it to happen to me again.

**I would also add that I’ve seen many a glass broken by the heavy lead (or aluminum) ice scooper itself. Are we actually saving, net, any broken-glass-over-ice incidents here?

Now, were I a bartender, and that was all I was did – make drink after drink after drink – I would use the scoop. A busy bartender doesn’t have time to be doing visual checks on all her work. It’s like a touch-typist copying a letter – you don’t keep looking at the screen to check your work, you just trust your fingers and go.

Regarding the sanitation aspect of the rule, I have no patience for the idea that putting your skin in contact with ice is much of a health risk . . .

. . .

. . . hmm . . .

(I’m just debating whether to go on a rant about the suspension of disbelief the general public, and perhaps corporate restaurant honchos, engage in concerning the pristine path of hygiene that restaurant food travels before it ends up in front of the guest . . .)

Okay, I’m gonna do it. And I might as well make it my next item challenging conventional wisdom:

‘They Wouldn’t Do That At Home!’ – Round Two

Wherein the general public rails at exposés of poor restaurant kitchen hygiene. We’ve all seen the local news Hidden Camera reports showing Bill’s Bistro dropping food on the ground, picking it up, dusting it off, and starting all over again. And all the other stuff.

Some of us have seen the movie Waiting…, which is actually pretty funny and quite honest in most ways. It is, however, overly-weighted towards the disgusting and filthy apocryphal (kind of) tales of restaurant worker revenge (spitting in food, etc.).

Indeed, egregious and dangerous habits are practiced; there’s no limit the depths of human carelessness and disregard. This is not about those dregs. Instead I refer to the average or better Bill’s Bistros who are just going about business as usual, where mistakes are made.

I’m not here to say all restaurants are cesspools and people aren’t willing to acknowledge it. I’m saying that, yes, We Would Do That At Home!

• We’re at home, breading a chicken breast and it slips – oops! – and hits the floor. Yes. We’re picking it up, rinsing it off and getting back to the business of making dinner.
• We’re at home, and notice some lamb chops have been in the freezer quite awhile, probably too long, but we can’t be totally sure . . . Well, better hurry up and cook ‘em. And make sure to slather on a lot of sauce. Even mint jelly!
• We’re at home, ready to toss a salad (this is before dinner, remember), and the salad tongs are in the dishwasher. Hey, no kidding, we actually grab it with our hands and toss it up!

When You Were A Kid (or Even Now) You Pick This Up, Don't You?

The short-hand justification I’ve heard most recently (from waiters inside the restaurant) is, ‘They want me to make their martini extra dirty with the same olive juice every waiter in the restaurant is dipping his fingers into?’

Even if your restaurant uses ‘virgin’ juice (kept in the well by the bartender, as Carney’s does), you can still get the general sensation of disgust by considering any bar garnish dropped into the cocktail you’re drinking. Fingers, fingers, fingers!

Well, I’d like to give the finger to anyone who has a problem with mine or any of my co-workers fingers. Please, people, release the clutch on your sphincter and instead grip reality:

People are handling your food. Why does it not bother you watching Iron Chef? You know it happens.

Even if in some hermetic dream you are in a place where the chefs all use tongs and spatulas, change rubber gloves after handling each new item, and use hand sanitizer after they snap their fingers (after all, the Thumb might have infected the Middle Finger!) . . . even if . . .

What do you think has been going on further up the ‘Food Service Chain?’ How ’bout the guys at Sysco? Or the meat purveyor? Or the truck drivers who might or might not have cleaned their semi-trailer properly between shipments? Or the boys and girls in the slaughterhouses in Kansas City and Chicago? Or even the damn cow or chicken or pig or head of lettuce itself?

Food is prepared by humans. (And if it’s not, then it’s a plant that’s probably been pissed on by animals.) It’s been that way since the dawn of man. Somehow, civilization has advanced lo-these-many-years with human beings touching the food all the time.

How have people survived?

I have no idea. Must be some sort of built-in defense system in the human body . . .

Action Comics #883

Chris and Thara continue to hunt Zod’s sleeper agents.  Chris spontanteously grows old.  In the backup story, Captain Atom arrives back in the real world and is immediately attacked.  Mon-El comes to the rescue.  Not a bad issue, although kind of slow.  I don’t know, it just feels like it’s hard to care about these characters.

Batgirl #4

Stephanie’s first run through with the new suit has her facing off against Livewire as Barbara tries to help Wendy deal with her anger.  Easily one of the best series to come out of Battle for the Cowl, this is just an enjoyable read.  I would say this could be the best series to come out of Battle for the Cowl.

Batman #693

The second part of the Tony Daniels written story where the mob is starting to move back into Gotham.  With Dick working as Batman, he teams up with Huntress to keep an eye on Falcone and keep things from falling apart.  I think Daniels has a very solid grasp of this and is doing something good here.

Batman and Robin #6

Jason Todd is attacked by the Flamingo as he leaves Batman and Robin to be unmasked once one million people go to the website to activate a webcam.  They escape, just in time to save Jason and Scarlett from the Flamingo.  Robin gets shot, Jason arrested, Flamingo is apparently killed, and Scarlett just runs off–apparently losing the face that Professor Pyg forced onto her face.  I’ll be honest, this has been a weird story so far.  I like the angle with Jason where he’s primarily dealing with the fact Bruce wanted him to be another Dick Grayson.  It’s a pretty obvious point, but I think an explicit statement worked nicely.  The story itself was kind of screwy though.  Can’t really explain what it was about it.  I don’t know, it just doesn’t feel right.

Booster Gold #26

Well, once Blackest Night Started, we knew this one was coming.  Black Lantern Ted Kord.  Features Jamie Reyes in a story where Booster’s disappeared to go back in time to Ted’s funeral.  Back in the present, Skeets is looking for Booster, eventually picking up the current Blue Beetle who decides to help.  Then they get attacked by Black Lantern Ted Kord.  This is going to be a part of Blackest Night I’m going to watch closely, as I think it’s going to be a good angle.

Cable #20

So Bishop and Cable are duking it out as Hope tries to figure out a way to escape from the Brood.  Solid issue, this leading into what will be Hope’s big story in the near future.  Really want to see where it goes, what impact she has on the X-Men.

Dark X-Men #1

So Mystique is leading a team of Dark Beast, Mimic, and Omega.  And Mystique looks like Jean Grey.  They are sent on a goodwill mission by Osborne, and things go crazy from there.  Only the first issue so I’ll wait to see what happens next, but I’ll admit this didn’t get me terribly excited.  Girl Called Hope backup feature where Cable is training her.  These short segments are kind of hard to judge, but it looks interesting so far.

Deadpool #17

Domino is afraid of chickens.  That’s about all I have to say about this.  Entertaining issue.  About what you’d expect for Deadpool.

Fables #90

Frou Totenkinder is gone, so Ozma is now the big magic user in Fabletown.  Still trapped with Baba Yaga in the offices, Bufkin and his small group of fighters continue to fight and torment her.  Fables is doing good stuff.

Green Lantern Corps #42

Fighting the Black Lanterns, the Green Lanterns pull out all the stops.  Kyle and Guy release the Red Lantern Vice on them, which works briefly before they get overwhelmed again.  When the Black Lanterns overwhelm an Alpha Lantern, Kyle grabs the battery and detonates it, killing himself and the Black Lanterns.  This was a particularly sad moment for me, as I read Green Lantern when I was younger and Kyle was the Lantern then.  It was just a sad moment.

R.E.B.E.L.S. #10

Blackest Night tie-in here.  Basically everybody is gunning for Vril Dox.  And he gets a yellow power ring.  Last page was amazing.

Red Robin #6

Set after the Blackest Night: Batman mini, Tim is helping Ra’s Al Ghul and the League of Shadows take down this second group of assassins.  Not a bad issue, as Tim starts to see the conflicts of the path he’s chosen.

I’m finding that I’m more and more dissatisfied with the Superman books. While I’ve not entirely enjoyed the stories (the writing’s been good, though), the art on the various books have really put me off. As such, I haven’t paid much attention to details, as I just try to enjoy what I can of the stories.

This past week’s Action Comics issue presents Flamebird and Nightwing in new costumes, it seems–the duo having given up the “Iron Man meets Sandman” getups for a more super-heroic look. The next sleeper they’re tracking has also been revealed, AND we see Chris age yet again, providing a fairly worrisome cliffhanger.

Though I’m interested in what happens, and find the stories to be well-written (if not likeably-illustrated)…my interest on the whole continues to decline.

Also, while this week’s Booster Gold issue brought Blue Beetle into the main story (foregoing the backup/”Second Feature” status of BB) quite effectively, I doubt this title will do that anywhere near as effectively with Captain Atom, whose “Second Feature” story seems to have brought him into the current status quo.

I have particularly mixed feelings on the Red Robin title–the sole Bat-title I’m continuing with at present. This latest issue has some nice imagery (the cover resembles that Jim Lee cover of Batman on the Gargoyle, overlooking the city, giving Tim Drake a similar “iconic” image).

Yost continues to add a bit of depth to the League of Assassins, and seems to be telling a very capable tale of Tim Drake and his journey to find Bruce Wayne. I also appreciated the acknowledgement of the Blackest Night: Batman mini and Tim’s “break” to go back to Gotham and having faced the Black Lanterns.

Unfortunately–for the title, if a single reader matters–I’ve been losing interest overall. With rumours out there that Bruce will be brought back as early as Summer 2010, I’m hesitant to “invest” in this title not knowing if it can survive long-term…but I’m banking on payoff in the form of this being where any “Return of Bruce Wayne” story might kick off.

Both Action Comics and Red Robin faced stiff competition this week, with 3 Blackest Night issues out, and two Deadpool-related issues. I’m rather disappointed to say that Action Comics actually earned the “Bottom of the Stack” status this week–though I chose to buy it, the issue went straight to the bottom when I was sorting comics by order I planned to read. (Booster Gold #26 was top of the stack).

The fact that both these titles went to the bottom in deference to the Blackest Night and Deadpool issues out of hand rather than winding up there by necessity of SOMETHING being at the bottom gives me something to think about in terms of buying vs. not-buying.

On another note, Radical Comics had a preview book out this week. My local comic shop was giving it away “free” with any $5 purchase. I nearly didn’t grab it, but figured I was already buying at least $5 in product, so might as well take a look-see.

This book is basically a bunch of double-page ads for various upcoming titles Radical is putting out. The art has its merit with all of these, putting a great foot forward. Each title has a premise given with the art as well as the creative/writing talent behind ‘em. Most of these seem pretty interesting in concept…but I’m not willing to–at $2.99 or more per issue–invest in these mini-series.

I find that for the most part (Blackest Night stuff being an exception offhand) I have near-zero interest these days in any mini-series. The projects put forth in this preview all read like something I’d be MOST interested in reading in their “graphic novel” or “collected volume” format. That way, even if there’ll be ongoing/serialized minis, I’d be assured a more full story.

On the other hand, an anthology with a few pages of each of these stories per “issue” might be something I’d be interested in giving a try. As-is, I get the impression that Radical’s output is largely to “sell” the concepts as movies moreso than any ongoing story universe, which adds to my disinterest in any single-issues they might put out, at least while I have no real track record to follow by way of their past output.

Thank god for the new artist on this issue!  Marcus To brings some life back into one of my favorite characters.

Click to read on:

So, we’ve got Marcus To on as the new penciller for Red Robin, and I’m super glad for it.  Sure, his pencils are sort of in a typical comic book style and I’ve never heard of him, but it’s nice to Tim Drake looking just the right age again (not too young, not too old).

Chris Yost makes some actually relevant remarks to Blackest Night in here, but I find that the whole playup of The Council of Spiders being super badass on levels that rival The League of Assasins falls to pieces when you see the main guys of the Council of Spiders… I mean, how many four-armed people do we have to see in comics!!!  Mortal Kombat (the first movie) sort of expended my taste for it.

Nevertheless, Tim Drake’s acting super cool and smart and clever and… oops he forgot about something, and I like it.

I’m still not sure how this is going to play out after Tim’s done joining Ra’s Al Ghul’s posse and defends off the Council of Spiders. 

The comic marks an improvement for the series, but it may not necessarily make it the best.

Did you know that there’s a lot of Blackest Night comics that I haven’t reviewed?  I mean… really.  I guess it’s time to play catch up on our fun mega event of DC.

There’s a lot of zombie bashing both positive and negative after the click.

So, the first batch of miniseries tying around the Blackest Night event ended within the last couple of weeks.

I have to say that really… it wasn’t too much of a success.  Sure, some parts were nice like seeing Deadman for a bit… and then not… and then having Dove suddenly becoming a surprising (even to herself) player in the event.  But, overall, it just didn’t all flow to me.  I think part of it was just that it was all too ridiculous for me. 

Batman was a big stupid stupid fest of stupidness in the last issue where The Flying Graysons and Tim Drake’s dad recreate their deaths in an incredibly elaborate way to get some sort of emotions out of the Big B and Red R.  Then, the whole Mr. Freeze gun/last ditch effort to hide themselves from the Black Lanterns was way too contrived.

Superman was just a big brawl fest.  Plus, the characters were pretty flat.  Sure, it was nice to learn that Superboy’s arm could have fear in it, and to see the Psycho Pirate back (and then his semi-useful mask used as a tool against the Black Lanterns… which crumbles in two frames which took a lot of rereading to figure out).  Overall, the miniseries just accomplished me feeling really bad for Smallville.  Poor one-dimensional stereotypical hickish townsfolk…

Titans was a love affair, hate affair, okay affair.  Part of me could see past the T&A fest when the story was okay, but then the other part of me was super offended.  I like Dove’s new role, but that’s about it.  Plus, it would have been cool to see Raven in this… but she wasn’t there.  Oh well.

Overall, the first batch of miniseries get an okay out of me… not really satisfying but not really terrible… they just don’t equal the power in the main feature.

The next grouping is the first two weeks of the ring promotional deal!  You know, when this was first announced (you’d get a promotional plastic ring with one of the Lantern Corps symbol on it for buying a certain comic) I thought it was a great marketing ploy but I wasn’t too excited to buy some comics that I wouldn’t normally get.  Well, each one of them proved me wrong in their own little ways.

Doom Patrol #4:

Now, I’ve been meaning to read some of the classic Doom Patrol stories, but I just haven’t had the time.  I know there’s a giant mythos behind the group, but I can honestly say that I don’t really know any of it.  Now, all of the promotional books (thus far) have included a memory download for the Black Lantern ring to sort of bring new readers (as in the people just buying the comic for the ring) up to speed.  I don’t really feel that this one completely accomplished that unlike the other two.  Sure, it definitely helped a hell of a lot, but not completely.  Part of me liked the art in this comic and part of me didn’t… It looked good in some instances (most notably how the Black Lanterns have sort of a mummified look to them and the representation of emotions through the Black Lantern’s eyes now used as a common device in all of the Blackest Night books), but bads in others (I didn’t too much like the inking or coloring, really).  The reveal at the end was super interesting with Clifford Steele and has me considering picking up the next issue.  To tell you the truth, I didn’t read the back up feature… I really like J.M. Dematteis especially after Savior 28, but to have a back up feature and then a preview for an upcoming book sort of steals away from the flow.

R.E.B.E.L.S. #10

First things first, I really loved the art in this comic.  The highly stylized use of a thin line and the super cool inking with dashed lines to show texture (especially on faces) was just way too neat.  The facial expressions are over the top and yet spot on.

Anyway, this issue follows Braniac 2 and 3… I knew a little bit about the different Braniacs, but the Memory Download beginning was a nice refresher.  My question was why does Vril Drox (Braniac 2) still hang out with a giant posse (including Kanjar Ro) when he has robots to do his shit for him?

Oh well, the reveal at the end was priceless and shows that something done before in the Sinestro Corps War can be done again and still have a kickass effect.

Plus, Black Lantern Harbinger’s in here… and she’s not that whiny!

I’m definitely considering picking up the next one, and this review’s sort of sparse because the comic mostly speaks for itself.

Booster Gold #26

Now, I have a love/hate relationship with Booster Gold… He’s a showboat who’s now on the right track, but that still doesn’t forgive for his past mistakes of being sort of a stupid character.  Like everyone else (mostly), I feel like 52 definitely vindicated him a lot (which makes me think… are we ever going to see how Animal Man is dealing with Blackest Night?), but there’s still some problems in his comic now.

Despite having an unbalanced relationship with Booster Gold, I’ve always liked Ted Kord Blue Beetle… mostly because the first issue I read with him in it was Infinite Crisis and him being all badass with Max Lord and getting his brains blown out.

Overall, I came out of reading this comic saying aloud “Holy shit! That was a lot better than I thought it would be.”

From Booster revisiting one of his failures to the relationship with the new Blue Beetle, I really thought this issue excelled, and there’s no doubt that I will buy the next comic.  Part of the reason this comic works so well is that we know Ted Kord’s going to come bursting in at some point, but Dan Jurgens holds it off until the end and instead works on developing/reminding the reader of Booster and BBs friendship and characters.  That makes the sickening reveal at the end so much better.

Does anyone else find that Ted Kord’s nose looks really weird and a little uncharacteristic of him in life despite being all decaying…?  Also, couldn’t they have made his costume on the head sink in just a bit to represent the head wound…?

Nevertheless,

Our next grouping is the actual main event players a la Green Lantern, Corps, and Blackest Night.

Green Lantern #47

You know, I really don’t care much about Hal Jordan anymore.  Sure, he’s cool, but he’s just a Batman in space with a ring…  The stars of this book are the other players: Sinestro, Larfleeze, and Atrocitus.  Holy shit do I still want them to stay around when this is all over.  They’ve had such little screen time (excluding Sinestro) that I really want them to play out for much longer.  Hell!  Atrocitus gets his heart ripped out by the Inversions (who look super neat) like everyone else and ends up still living because he doesn’t need a heart because he’s such a badass.

Too bad Abin Sur doesn’t stay around for a bit longer… I guess he’s more important for the ideal and the standard of being the best Green Lantern ever than actually an interesting character.

Unfortunately, this comic doesn’t accomplish what it’s meant to, and that’s making Green Lantern seem interesting… it’s a bit of a sign of bad tidings when your lead character’s outshined by others.

Still, a respectable:

Green Lantern Corps #42

Stuff on Oa increases the shit up… there’s a lot of characters and I feel like only Kilowog gets a decent amount of treatment.

Sure, Kyle Rayner’s sacrifice at the end is pretty neat, but after just seeing something similar with Sodom Yat, the effect is lessened.  Plus, in the whole Origins and Omens thing that came out to get people excited about Blackest Night, Kyle was all painting a mural… So, I know that this isn’t going to last.

I don’t know… this comic just sort of felt like a placeholder in the event to find out what’s happening elsewhere.  Hmm…

Blackest Night #4:

Do the Justice League villains on the front of this cover really play much of a role on the inside… no… but they look cool.

Wow, but isn’t the part in Gotham so neat… Scarecrow just walking around and stares down Black Lantern Azrael (who looks super cool with that hood even if it’s a bit like Black Lantern Hawk).

Then, Luthor’s being a badass.

Then, Mera is suddenly a power player with the Flash and Atom… the new Big Three.  Then, Jason fights Ronnie and makes me want to see what happens.  Then, Atom gives a pep talk that sort of back fires (sadly) but rips a guy apart.

Then, in two pages in creepy near silence, Nekron rises… as does all of Coast City.

by Christopher Yost (writer), Marcus To (pencils), Ray McCarthy (inks), Guy Major (colors)

The Story: Council of Spiders, Part II: Yost keeps us jumping in space and time, showing us Red Robin’s operational leadership of the League of Assassins, more of the international past of Vitoria and the present of Vicki Vale in Gotham. Red Robin is playing a pretty dangerous game by discovering all he can of the League of Assassins for his later use, by searching for traitors in the League and by setting traps for the Council of Spiders. In the background is his search for Bruce Wayne.

What’s Good: Red Robin the series continues to feel like a summer blockbuster and this issue keeps up the pace and fills in the gaps in the story. The tension is palpable as the plot threads converge. I’m glad my faith in Yost paid off and he explained more of Vitoria in this issue. I also can’t stop watching Tim take on the League and the Council by himself. It’s a dizzying high-wire act, making this one of my favorite books in my pull stack.

The art, shading and color are all well done. The characters are all cleanly shown and well proportioned. The layouts keep up with Yost’s frenetic scene switching and all of the action sequences. To give you a feel of what the art team pulls off, they bring Yost’s story to life as it jumps from philandering wives, killer ninjas, international assassins, monsters, gunfire, and dizzying rescues to a final confrontation with the villain.

What’s Not So Good: Neither a toxic Brazilian babe nor spiders crawling over my eyeballs could get a complaint out of me this month. (Check out the book if you want to see those things)

Conclusion: Red Robin is pulling ahead of the competition and it is now the first thing I read. Tim has a mystery quest on his hands and has only his wits to save him from the danger besetting him on all sides. Check it out!

Grade: A-

-DS Arsenault

Red Robin #6
Written by Christopher Yost
Art by Marco To

I didn’t expect Hush (who is still posing as Bruce Wayne) to become involved in this series but I did like the scenes between him and Vicki Vale. I have had minimal exposure to the character of Vicki Vale. She was already gone from Bruce’s life when I started reading comics so I know her most from Kim Basinger’s portrayal in 1989’s Batman. I always thought she was interesting though and I hope Yost explore her past relationship with Bruce further. Tim’s fight with the Council of Spiders is interesting and I like how Yost is adding more to the rich mythos that are the league of Assassins. We really are learning how powerful of an organization this is. I see that this takes place after Blackest Night or at least after Blackest Night: Batman. I like that they clarified that. I also highly doubt that Tam Fox is going to get killed.

Schools all over Siouxland face barriers raising money for educational programs, new school equipment, bands, sports teams and school clubs.  Red Robin here in Siouxland has come up with a plan where they can help relieve that burden and break down those barriers.

Schedule an “In-Restaurant Fundraiser!”

If you don’t want to rely solely on raffles, selling candy, or auctions you can come down to Red Robin and have an in-restaurant fundraiser.  Through this fundraiser a percent of the proceeds will be donated to your school.

If this sounds like a “slam dunk” of an idea to you this is what your school will have to do…

• Select a date with the Red Robin General Manager at least 30 days in advance to secure the event.
• Promote and publicize your event to ensure a great turnout.
• Tell your guests to bring the Red Robin fundraiser flyer to the event.  Then, they will hand it to their server the night of the event and this will ensure the school receives accurate funds.

Don’t worry, you won’t have to go it alone, Red Robin will….

• Help you complete the necessary paper work.
• Provide your school with a flyer template for advertising purposes.
• The store will be well-prepared, fully staffed and organized for your event.
• Promptness is key and Red Robin will send a check to you including  the funds raised during your event withing 45 days after…

Student Rewards:

Apart from the in-restaurant fundraiser, Red Robin aides in commending students all over Siouxland for their excellence with school related activities.  Furthermore, they provide certificates of excellence that can be given to students monthly or quarterly by a teacher and/or staff members for achievements.  These certificates of excellence will recognize students who have performed notable academic achievement, perfect attendance, good citizenship, acts of kindness, good sportsmanship, club participation, and music and arts excellence.

Once the student has that certificate of excellence they can come on down to the Red Robin here in Siouxland and receive a free kids meal if they are 10 years or younger.   Now if they are 10 years or older they can be granted a free Monster Milskhake!

Having trouble getting kids excited to read?

Red Robin has also came up with a program to give kids an incentive to read.  Red, the Red Robin mascot, can visit your school upon request and will provide “Reading with Red” certificates to encourage our youth to read.  The program will require a student to read 10 books and then list those books on the certificate they receive.  If they do that their completed certificates will be good for a free kids meal for students 10 years and younger.

Those three great neighborhood programs by Red Robin are all great incentives to promote reading, extra-curricular activities and overall excellence in and out of the classroom.

If this has sparked your interest please contact Steve Hill at Red Robin by calling (712) 266-8505 and if you would like to go in and talk you can find Red Robin on 4900 Sergeant Road here in Siouxland.

Have a great day Siouxlanders!

-Ian Banks, Social Media Intern

First I will like to thank you for coming to my blog, you are not looking at your average blog, but you are looking at mine. I’m not going to hold you up with me explaining a bunch of stuff, but pretty much this blog is about me and my love of food. I will like to take this blog and do something that nobody else is doing, and take it to a level where I can get people to check on my blog every time there is a update. I’m going to give it my all to make sure that I bring something new to the table, I want to do something that nobody else is doing, and that just been me and nothing more. Trust me, this blog will be different from many other blogs that you have seen. So be on the look out for me, thanks for coming to my blog and to keep in contact with me, follow me on my twitter @ www.twitter.com/IamSticksworth

wow jam packed past few days. hung out a lot with anthony! on thursday we watched land of the lost. love that movie. and attempted to watch this one called wedding slashers…it was crap. and then we watched tamara. stayed up til like 4 in the morning and then woke up at 9:30 oh gosh.

friday…picked up kenny. punk ass wasn’t awake when i went grr. haha. we listened to some music and watched up. such a cute movie. and then we went and got my check and to pick up anthony from work. we talked for a bit in the car. he opened up to some things that are quite personal. and i to him. it’s interesting what you learn about someone and how far in sometimes that they’ll let you go. or how far you will let them dabble in your life.

then we went to red robin. yum. and saw final destination, it was alright. i think kenny and i are going to go see paranormal activity on monday. i’m really excited to see that. went down to the lobster shop for a minute, then went to anthony’s and watched the number 23, i really liked it. there was quite a bit of sex in it though, not that that’s bad or anything and then we went to wincos where i stole 2 pounds of candy on accident. no seriously it was an accident! i would have paid! and we started watching skeleton crew but that again was terrible. the cover looked good and it sounded good but terrible quality. anthony and kenny both suck at picking movies.

woke up at 1, haha and smoked and talked. brian and leanne came to get kenny for disney on ice tonight. got super irritated. came home. ate some dinner and watched the ugly truth with my dad and brother. got my first letter from brandon! so super excited about that, gonna write him back tonight after work!

then went to julena’s for a bit, went to walmart and we went back to her house and watched some tv and she made me an amazing mix. she makes the most awesome mixes ever. love that girl.

got super irritated today because i’m so fed up with people pretending to be my friend. if you don’t want to be my friend then fucking tell me so i can stop trying. tell me and i swear i’ll leave you alone and go away like you want. just man up for once in your fucking life. quit being so pathetic it makes me sick to my stomach. i’ve had a lot of shit already happen this year i don’t want or need any more drama.

World’s Finest Book One: Nightwing & Red Robin

Writer: Sterling Gates
Penciller: Julian Lopez
Inker: Bit
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Assistant Editor: Harvey Richards
Associate Editor: Sean Ryan
Editors: Elisabeth V. Gehrlein & Michael Siglain
Cover: Phil Noto
Publisher: DC Comics

Granted, Tim Drake/Wayne lives in a world of the fantastic, where men and women with powers and abilities beyond those of Mortal Man abound. But in the half-year of comics (presumably far, far less than 6 months’ in-continuity time), this is AT LEAST the second time he’s up and jetted back home for one crisis (Black Lanterns) or another (helping Chris Kent in this issue). Seems somehow a bit disjointed to me.

This issue sees Red Robin dealing with a motorcycle gang, with a last-minute assist from who he assumes to be Connor (Superboy), but turns out to be Chris (Nightwing). Chris convinces Tim to return with him to Gotham to free Flamebird from Penguin’s captivity. The two have to work together to deal with this foe, who is aided by the Kryptonite Man (I do long for the days when Kryptonite was rare and precious commodity in the DCU!).

This is but the first issue of four, spotlighting interactions between the various characters that make up the “Superman family” and the “Batman family.” It’s a bit early (too soon, really) to know for sure where the overall story is going to go. As-is, I can’t help but wonder if this will read more as a series of one-shots than a single direct narrative.

The writing itself is quite solid, though–Gates seems to have a good feel for the characters of BOTH “families,” within the current status quo (though it’s beginning to seem like Flamebird and Nightwing are spending almost as much time being knocked out and one, the other or both being taken prisoner as Adam West and Burt Ward’s Batman and Robin did in the 60s tv show!)

The art’s good stuff here, and captures much of the feel of the characters involved as I’d tend to expect them based on reading them in their respective series of late. I do like the art, and find it a good fit for these characters in and of itself. Really no complaint there.

Since World’s Finest is here purpoted to be a mini-series–and thus one should be able to assume self-contained to the mini’s run–this would seem to be a good point to jump aboard and get a look at the various characters in the status quo of late, without having to invest in multiple lengthy, over-arching stories. Just four issues, peek in, get a feel, and go from there.

Based on that, this is worth giving a look-see. The creative team is strong, and we are given a glimpse at the potential held in bringin the characters from both “families” together. In some ways, this might just be “Superman/Batman Lite,” teaming the characters up without hijacking the individual titles.r

Story: 6/10
Art: 8.5/10
Whole: 7/10