Happy Thanksgiving 2018!

Since Barney Bear and Jerry Mouse      (uncharacteristically sans Tom) can't figure out what to do next, I'm hoping they'll just sit down to a meal, and begin the tradition of Thanksgiving!  

Hopefully, it'll turn out better than THIS ONE!  

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you from Joe, Esther, and Averi!  

We'll talk about the future of this Blog on the other side of Turkey-Day and Black Friday!

...And just because my obsessive inner child is uneasy about Tom not being invited to the Thanksgiving table...

...Here's another OUR GANG cover, illustrating another uniquely American autumn affair (football), WITH Tom getting the business - as he most-often should!  

Remember all the persons, places, and things you are thankful for, and have a festive Thanksgiving Day!  

Good-Bye to Rex Ryan!

Monday, December 29, 2014, saw the departure of Rex Ryan as the head coach of the NFL’s New York Jets, after six seasons. 

As a Jets fan for many years, Rex Ryan was a personal favorite of mine.  His candor, swagger, and never-say-die spirit changed the culture of what was then a moribund franchise. 

His first two seasons (2009 and 2010) saw trips to the AFC Championship Game (just one win shy of playing in the Super Bowl), led by quarterback Mark Sanchez and shut-down corner Darrelle Revis.

Unfortunately, Rex Ryan’s next four seasons found the Jets missing the post season altogether.  Sanchez cooled-down from his earlier highs, and Revis departed.  For the last two seasons, Ryan was hampered by a new General Manager that some (including me) believe deliberately sabotaged his chances for success. 

Despite that, Ryan managed an 8-8 record for 2013, but could do no better than 4-12 in 2014.  For what it’s worth, the General Manager was given the (deserved) ax on the same day as Ryan. 

Rex Ryan will be missed in New York football.  No doubt, he will resurface somewhere else (or, perhaps, even as a broadcaster) and I’ll be there rooting for him once again.  

    

It’s STILL Time To Retire It: Roman Numerals!

On the eve of 2014’s Super Bowl XLVIII, let’s return to my post of February 07, 2012 – HERE! 

 

It’s just as true, two years later!    

 

Hey, It's MET LIFE STADIUM!  We've got a SUPER BOWL!

 

 

Superman Saves Christmas - Bonus Coverage!

Oh - My - Gosh!  it's BONUS COVERAGE!

I was once a prolific comic book letter hack, with over 330 published Letters of Comment in the titles of pretty much every publisher I followed with any degree of consistency, from the '80s into the mid 2000s. 

Some of you may remember the undertaking I'm about to discuss, most of you will not (...or, never knew in the first place), but...
 

...When DC Comics ended their letter columns, sometime in mid-2002, that didn't stop me.  

I simply began producing a series of what I called "NON-LETTERS", which commented on the same issues as they were released, but might have been more frank or satirical, as they were not tailored for publication.  

In those Pre-Blogging days, I distributed these via an e-mail list of persons I knew that were interested in DC Comics, and might have enjoyed the comments.  

Today, they would be "Comic Review Blog Posts" -- and now (thanks to the miracle of "Copy" and "Paste") one of them actually is!  

 

Below is my "Non-Letter" to ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN # 623, which was the subject of OUR LAST POST.  Enjoy it as some sort of "Bonus Coverage"...

Oh, and notice that the New York Football Giants were bad THEN, too!  It's amazing how much of this stuff even *I* forgot! 

------------------------------

Time for another (long overdue) "Non-Letter" to DC's nonexistent letter columns!

Dear Mis-Adventurers:

“Am I a hero?  A husband?  A role model?  Or am I just making things more complex than they really are…?”

“Probably.  Truth is, you’re ALL those things.  And MORE.”  -- Superman and Lois Lane, having another “heart to heart”, from ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN # 623. (Released December 17, 2003)

2003 has been an interesting year for writer Joe Casey and the ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN title.  In this year, editor Eddie Berganza dispensed with the “book-to-book” connected continuity, began well over a decade ago by former Super-editor Mike Carlin, and had each Superman title stand completely on its own – telling its own particular stories. 

"...Now, with more SUPER!"

 

Joe Kelly’s ACTION COMICS, despite the muddled and confusing “Supergirls” arc, fared the best under this approach with “The Harvest” (Death of General Zod) being perhaps the best of the run.  Other highlights include the “Creeper on a Cruise Ship” and “New Year’s Eve Around the World” stand-alone stories in the last two issues of the year.  Let’s not even discuss the horrors that were Steven Seagle and Scott Mc Daniel’s SUPERMAN! 

 

Joe Casey’s ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, however, was truly a “mixed bag”.  It started off far and away as the cream of the Super-crop with such great stuff as “The Hollow Men”, “Heroville” and “Funky Flashman’s Super Emporium”.  Then took a SHARP DIP with such substandard efforts as “The Candidate/ Cannibal Planet” and “Anti-Angelica” mini arcs. 

The Funky Flashman... Yes, really!

 

This issue’s “Bittersweet” falls squarely in-between.  Not the best, and far from the worst.  It’s the sort of “Supes takes Lois to a remote location(s) for some private soul-searching talks” thing that we’ve seen Dan Jurgens and company do so much better in the past.  

This one has an interesting twist, though.  Supes recounts some of his most recent “untold” adventures to Lois in the form of TEXT AND ILLUSTRATIONS.  Four stories, in all, are told in this format: “How Superman Saved Christmas”, “Secret of the Phantom Quarterback”, “Crisis on Earth-Mind”, and “The Day The Earth Divided”. 

 

All of these, in some way, would have made interesting stories in their own right (…and may have been resurrected from Casey’s “scrap pile” for this express purpose), but are somehow IMPROVED UPON by the brevity of the format – as opposed to devoting a minimum of 32 pages (less ads), or multiple issues, to each idea. 

The Christmas tale is my personal favorite, as, in recent years, I’ve become a sucker for stories that present the notion that “Santa Claus” is some sort of “real” supernatural being.  Examples of such stories occurred in the MEN IN BLACK animated series, and (…believe it or not) in a recent issue of SAVAGE DRAGON. 

 

“And there he [Santa] was, practically an amalgamation of all the various descriptions he’d been given throughout the ages.  I suspect he looks different to everyone.  To me, he had the warmest smile I’d ever seen…”  OH, ISN’T THAT GREAT?!  REALLY!!! 

When the reindeer come down with a mysterious virus on Christmas Eve, Superman “…guides the sleigh tonight” – and helps with the general delivery of presents. 

 

“Obviously, time passes much DIFFERENTLY for him on that night.  He’s never rushed.  I had to beg him to let me make a delivery or two…”.   JUST WONDERFUL!!!

As for the others:  If nothing else, “Secret of the Phantom Quarterback” conjured up images of the “Post Silver Age”, Julius Schwartz era for Superman of the 1970s thru mid-1980s.  The image of a helmet and a football uniform – with no body inside – running amok on a stadium field would have made a perfect cover circa the Schwartz era… and, somehow, big dumb jock sportscaster Steve Lombard (…anyone else remember him?)  would have been involved. 

“Crisis on Earth-Mind” involved Silver Age Green Lantern villain Hector Hammond, while “The Day The Earth Divided” might have been a company-wide, summer crossover series had it been published in the mid-nineties.  Both benefited form the “condensed overview” approach.

All in all, quite a bit better than we’ve gotten from Casey in the last few months – and, while I’m still glad he’s departing as part of the sweeping “Super-creative changes” to come in early 2004, I’m also glad he went out on something of a high-note. 

Joe Torcivia  (…composing this Non-Letter on Christmas Eve, 2003 – and hopes Santa Claus IS, in fact, a supernatural being.  Also figures that the currently 4-11 New York Football Giants must have a “Phantom Quarterback” – or could USE ONE!)   

 

A NYCC 2013 Moment # 5. Quarterbacking The Walking Dead!

 In previous posts I commented on the many good costumes on display at New York Comic Con 2013… but here’s my personal favorite, even more than the Green Arrow with a Boxing Glove Arrow! 

 

Zombies from THE WALKING DEAD were everywhere, but my funny-bone was particularly tickled by someone dressed as a “Mark Sanchez Walking Dead Zombie”! 

Combine this...

 

For those who may not know, Mark Sanchez is the embattled quarterback with the New York Jets, who had two great years to start his career (going to two AFC Championship Games), followed by two disastrous years that, combined with injuries, led to his losing the starting quarterback job.   

...with this, and you get a "Mark Sanchez Zombie".

 

So here comes a Walking Dead zombie, all torn and bloodied-up, in a Mark Sanchez Jets jersey, equally torn and bloodied-up! 

 

I can only guess that either (A) this was a Mark Sanchez fan who “died a thousand deaths” over the 2011-2012 football seasons and came back as a zombie…

Or (B) it was meant to be Mark Sanchez himself… before OR after the “Zombie Apocalypse”?  Take your pick!  Or, since we’re referring to Mark Sanchez… “Take your Pick-Six!” 

 

TV or Not TV! (…Should That Be a Question?)

As you know, our power, light, and heat was out for a period of 11 days, thanks to “Franken-Sandy-Storm”.


Now, thankfully, all is normal again… except our Verizon FIOS line came loose during the subsequent snow and ice storm, and is down across the back yard. It is scheduled to be reconnected to the house by Thursday or Friday.

Until then, we have no home phone, TV, or Internet.

Of these, I would miss the Internet most… if not for my ability to remain connected (and continue feeding the Blog-Beast) via smart phone. That also takes care of phone communications, leaving television as the only thing still completely lacking.

(…Though, there are some who would be quick to point out that “television was completely lacking” LONG before the storms!)

It is simultaneously surprising – and not surprising at all – just how much I DO NOT MISS TV!

Most of it is annoying noise, and it’s nice to sit around and TALK for a change! It was even fun to listen to the Jets and Giants football games on RADIO this past Sunday!

Beyond sports, anything I really want to see is on DVD anyway! …And Verizon’s downed lines cannot stop me from enjoying DVDs, anytime the “Entertainment –Jones” strikes at me!

Thus far, I’ve enjoyed programs from THESE DVDs, and do not give a hoot if TV EVER comes back!

   

These LAST TWO are particularly good for an "Entertainment-JONES"... Get it? 

Esther, on the other hand, can’t wait for TV's return… and that’s what makes the world (and marriages) go round!

You “Met” Your Life! …Or, “The Day We Met Met Life Stadium!”

The last time Esther and I went to a New York Jets football game, they played in a facility with the curious name of “Giants Stadium”. 

As best my research could determine, the stadium appears to have been named after the outsized antagonists of this classic Irwin Allen Sci-Fi TV series…

…OR, it could have been named after the reigning Super Bowl Champions!  Who can ever really tell for sure? 

Nevertheless, yesterday (September 09, 2012), the New York Jets beat the Buffalo Bills 48–28, on our first trip to the new football facility called “Met Life Stadium”!  …Possibly and incongruously named for Baseball’s New York Mets in some arcane connection with the classic Milton Bradley board game?    



...OR, maybe some big insurance company!  Again, can one ever really be certain?  

"MetLi" Stadium?  Where's the rest?

Scoring 48 points, quarterback Mark Sanchez and the Jets offense piled it on… and so did the Sun! 

Our seats, in the third level between the 40 and 50 yard lines, were in direct exposure to the Sun for the entire game.  There was nary a cloud in the sky to block the searing and penetrating rays.  (Why even Wayne Hunter could have offered better protection than did Mother Nature!  …Private Joke for Jets fans, sorry!)  When an occasional cloud DID appear, it was greeted with as many cheers as were Mark Sanchez and Darrelle Revis! 

Yay, Sanchez!  Yay, Revis!  YAAYY, CLOUDS! 

To make matters worse, a woman in an adjoining seat gave off a noticeable level of body odor – and, being the chivalrous husband that I am, I selflessly switched seats with Esther, providing her with as much cover and distance from the olfactory onslaught as could be.   

Was I watching “Le New Yorque Jettes” or sumpthin’? 

Former Jets and New England Patriots great Curtis Martin was honored by the Jets at halftime, on the occasion of his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Jets legend Joe Namath was a featured speaker – and only now has it dawned on me that I was actually in a stadium at a moment in which Namath was on the field!  …Wow! 

 Jets head coach Rex Ryan has lost so much weight in the off season that he was difficult to spot on the sidelines.  …If not for the fact that he still wears his trademark dark green sweater vest – even in the face of the unyielding sun (…albeit in a smaller size!) 

Highly touted Tim Tebow was a non-factor in the Jets’ offense this game.  With such a big lead built up by Sanchez and his runners and receivers, perhaps Coach Ryan is keeping Tebow’s wildcat a secret for another week!  Look out, Pittsburgh Steelers! 

The new Met Life Stadium is beautiful.  Indeed with this shrine for the Jets and Giants, the new Yankee Stadium, and the new Citi Field for the Mets – not to mention the soon-to-open Barclay’s Center for the Brooklyn Nets – we sports fans in New York are fortunate indeed! 

Finally, if you live on the New York side of the Hudson River and ever wish to travel to Met Life Stadium, (in East Rutherford, NJ) TAKE THE TRAIN! 

NJ Transit offers service from Penn Station (connecting shuttle from Secaucus Junction) that PULLS RIGHT UP TO THE STADIUM!  (Yes, as you see above, it's really THAT CLOSE! Click the Pic to Enlarge!) It is comfortable and easy to use.  I truly hated the ordeal of driving to the old Giants Stadium – and maybe went to fewer games than I wanted to because of that.  Now, with this great convenience, we’ll likely go more often. 

Indeed, the only unfortunate consequence of the day’s events (once I was again able to take-in a deep breath of clean fresh air) is the noticeable sunburn that continues to remind me that it’s there.  But, to see the Jets score 48 points, it was WOTRH IT! 

J-E-T-S!  …JETS! …JETS!  …JETS!