…but will this week’s Justice League be enough to make whatever new readers pick it up come back for more?

The issue focuses on Batman and Green Lantern, most likely because they’re the two who’ve had the most media attention in the last few years, for better or worse. These characters are very early in their careers, and are characterized as younger and much brasher than regular readers may be used to. The dialogue gets a little ridiculous in some parts, mostly because of GL referring to himself in the third person a couple of times, thinking he can handle anything. Batman is back to being the urban legend that most people aren’t sure exist, and he doesn’t mind if everyone (good or bad) is scared of said legend. (I’ll probably be using the GL dialogue as a joke for the next few days. “BLANDY can handle anything…including this sandwich.”)

Superman and Vic Stone also pop up briefly, just to be introduced. I wasn’t really sure about Superman’s redesign before, but in one page, artist Jim Lee completely sold me on it. He’s also more confident than we’re used to, and possibly a bit less mature than the “ask questions first….and ask more questions, then maybe hit much later” that we’re used to these days. Vic Stone isn’t yet Cyborg, and his origin apparently will be told in subsequent issues.

For someone like me, who loves the characters and creators involved, this was a very good issue, except for the dialogue hiccups. However, for being the book that’s supposed to get newer and younger people into comics, there are soem things that maybe could have been done better. The main thing is, of the 7 people on the cover, 3 of them aren’t even mentioned. There is no League yet, just a couple of heroes who happen to meet and then events presumably roll on from there. A longer issue that at least took a little time to introduce everyone might have been better. Also, ending the book with a cliffhanger that won’t be resolved for another month might not be the best idea. I mean, does DC realize the attention span of kids today? Ideally, this probably should have been a longer issue, introducing everyone, and also self-contained, so that at the very least people could form an opinion on the complete story.

All that said, I’m definitely not one of those new readers, so I’m used to the pacing of comics from the last 20+ years. I might not be the best judge of these things. I can say, though, that I’ll be back next issue for more.

Mmmmmm….macho shooty stuff.

A man who told police that God told him to walk the streets naked to save his soul has been arrested. Thibodaux police responded to an obscenity complaint around 2 a.m. Thursday and found Shafiq Mohamed walking nude down the street.

via Man tells cops God told him to stroll in the nude.

Congrats, America, not only are you getting fatter than ever, you're also paying even more for it.—
Blandy Buchanan (@BlandyGB) April 06, 2011

First up is the Video Game Voter’s Network. It’s a non-profit that seeks to educate people on what’s going on with video games and politics, and tries to get people to speak out to politicians in order keep restrictions from being placed on what kind of games can be made and/or sold.

The second one is for a workout program that I started about a week and a half ago named P90X. You may have seen their infomercials. Again, I wouldn’t put this up if it weren’t something I didn’t believe in and support. I’m already seeing results after a week and a half, and I was dangerously close to being that guy you see waddling into Wendy’s to order a Baconator before. Or to put it another way, I was becoming my own Awful Nude. (hey, the name of the site might actually make sense now) I don’t want to be That Guy. Do you? No? Do us both a favor and click that link.

Zombieland is one of the raddest things that will ever be rad. Being where I’m at actually helped going into this movie, as it was virtually hypeless other than a few friends saying “It’s really good!” I had no idea about it other than that, besides the fact that it had zombies and was a comedy. You didn’t know about the cameo? Hell, I didn’t even know Woody Harrelson was in it. And he easily made the movie.

Where the Wild Things Are was, in the words of the ladyfriend, “sad and empty”. I realize the book wasn’t exactly joyful and full of warm fuzzy feelings, but this was a real downer for a kids’ movie. And nothing really stood out in the movie to make up for that. I suppose the creatures were well done, but they weren’t anything special. Just people in suits with CGI faces, and that’s exactly what it looked like.

UP, well, it’s Pixar. Not Incredibles Pixar, but definitely better than Cars or Finding Nemo Pixar.

There’s more to write, but I’m sleepy and it’s nap time before I go on duty.

Tenacious D references might have been played out a long time ago, but thanks to the videogame Brutal Legend, I’ve been listening to them a lot lately. And then last night, I dreamed I wrote this wicked, badass blog post that at least boosted me to internet fame, if not world fame, but I forgot what the post was about when I woke up.

I should be going home for two weeks of leave early next week. Movies will be seen, beers will be consumed, and karaoke will be rocked.

Also, I’m extremely late to the party on this, but I started listening to a lot of Led Zeppelin lately. This is the first time I’ve really dug into their music, beyond hearing the random song on the radio or whereever. While “Stairway to Heaven” and “Immigrant Song” are great, my favorite so far is “In My Time of Dying”. I still have the last three albums to get, though, and then a comprehensive listening, so we’ll see how it holds up overall.

Also, for all two of my friends that listen to country, George Strait’s newest album, Twang, is available for $5.00 on Amazon. More than worth it, at that price.

On April 5th, I’m to report at Ft. Benning, GA for medical processing, and if they decide I’m good to go, retraining followed by being assigned to a unit. I have an idea of what unit, but that could change along the way. And then I’ll be gone for roughly a year, barring shortening or extending of a deployment. We’ll see.

Also, while I’m gone, this blog could turn into something more than the random (and rare) smattering of stupid that it has been so far. I have a couple ideas, but it’s a bit too early for that yet. I’ll keep any news about the whole thing posted as it happens.