Johanna Draper Carlson & Comics Worth Reading

I knew Johanna back when she was a fixture at just about every convention and could usually be found dancing the night away in short skirts with various comics pros & fans. At one point she and I had a disagreement (about what I really can't recall) but we have been in touch via e-mail since and put all that behind us.

In my opinion, Johanna is one of the brightest comic reviewers currently online. As I've said before, I'm not reading many comics myself but it's fun to see what others are finding in the shops. Plus, Johanna looks at a wide range of stuff and not just what's hot at the moment.

You can go to her site by clicking on the above headline or on the link to COMICS WORTH READING over on the side.

Daily Planet give away!

I was coming out of the subway this morning and got my copy of METRO from the guy who generally stands at the entrance. Imagine my surprise when he also asked me if I wanted a copy of the DAILY PLANET!

There beside him were several stacks of tabloids with the banner headline "BULLETS BOUNCE OFF MAN!" with the article beneath by-lined Clark Kent.

Seems the New York Daily News was giving away promotional copies of the Tuesday paper, sponsored by Warner Bros. Nice ad on the back for the new release of the original ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN television series on DVD.

Is this Chicago's time?

I felt bad for the Angels, but have to admit that even though I'm not a Chicago fan it is nice to see them finally get a shot at the Big Time. I certainly don't care who they face in the WS, but will probably watch at least some of each game.

I know Kristina had been rooting for the Angels, since one of her friends has season tickets for the team and they had plans to take in some games. Speaking of the child, I'm curious to know how she and her gal pal made out on the Mexican Riviera cruise. They were celebrating Kristina's 24th b-day.

So now what!

George Steinbrenner hasn't come out and blasted Joe Torre yet, but we can probably expect something to come down from on high in the next week or so. Torre cancelled his usual end of season press conference and has been keeping a low profile. On the other hand, George came out and praised the manager of the team which beat his highly paid Bombers, while not mentioning his own manager at all. As you can guess, this has caused quite a bit of speculation in both print and on-air here in their hometown.

The New York Daily News had several good articles on Wednesday going over the situation. Mike Lupica was his usual entertaining self and gave a good overview of what had gone wrong and you might be to blame. The News also ran a poll where readers could vote for which team member should be dumped and who kept on. Don't know the results yet, but it will be interesting to see if the newer acquisitions like Randy Johnson, A-Rod & Giambi stil have big fans in the Big Apple.

Is the season over yet?

I guess my only consolation is that the Damned Yankees aren't getting an invitation to the big dance, either. It has been nice watching the final games of the New York/Anaheim series with Kristina (known as The Child around here). She's in from California for a week and has been spending time with her mom and I, along with the rest of the family. It will be sad to see her go back on Thursday.

To be honest, it just didn't seem that Boston was really putting their hearts into the game during the series. Perhaps they felt that having proven themselves last year they could just go through the motions. Oh, well! It was a fun season while it lasted and it will be interesting to see what changes are in store by Spring training.

So what now?

I suppose I should be more optimistic and believe that the Red Sox may still come from behind as they did last year. However, I think that it's the White Sox who are fated to end their long time 'curse' and have a World Series chance this year. Believe it or not I have been feeling worse about the Damned Yankees winning than I have over Boston's failure to come out on top.

Still there are games left to be played and the dark clouds have not covered Mudville, as yet.

Cracked Up!

I had heard that new publishers were going to re-start the humor magazine CRACKED, but until today's METRO I didn't know much more about it. There is a story in the daily paper interviewing the new publisher on what he and his staff may have planned. They have set up a website (which you can check out via the link on the side, or clicking on the headline above) and will be publishing the first print issue this coming January.

I haven't had a chance to really check out the online version, but I'm going to wish them luck.

When I was a kid, CRACKED was always my second choice if I had extra money after buying my comics. Naturally, I would try and pick up the latest issue of MAD, but if I already had it I'd check out CRACKED. It seems as if they are going to try for a more mature audience, according to the article, aiming at folks who used to read the NATIONAL LAMPOON or SPY.

I'll probably have more to say once I've checked out the site more.

The AL Wildcard & the Red Sox

Had mixed feelings about the games at Fenway this past weekend, as you can imagine. I was hoping for a Boston sweep, but was happy that they went 2 out of three. Still the Damned Yankees got the AL East top spot. I really don't think that New York is good enough to beat the Angels and whomever comes out ahead after the Boston/Chicago series.

Naturally, what I would love to see is a repeat by the Red Sox this year, but will settle for them just being in the WS at the end. If, on the other hand, the Yankees find themselves as AL champs I'm going to be rooting for whatever NL team they face. (Didn't see that coming, did you?) :-)