Monday, October 28, 2024

Justice Society of America #2 (September, 1992)

"As senior statesmen... or mystery men, we should have a role in society-- as mentors or advisors or helping hands in an emergency. I've worked with some of the Justice League and they're good... real good. I'm proud to say that maybe my experience made them even better... but they're not invincible-- no one is! And God knows there's plenty of trouble to go around in the modern world." -Carter Hall
I did that thing where I missed a week again. In my defense, I had a couple of doable posts in mind and had time set aside to get them done, but circumstances changed throughout the week. I kept having to push things back a day at a time, until Friday approached, and I figured, why bother? So to make it up, I intend to do a longer post on Wednesday. I have to say that 2024 has been full of exciting challenges, both good and bad. It's made me one poor correspondent, so if I owe you an email, I'm sorry and hope to catch up in November. I have to say that I'm in the safest, most comfortable place of my life. But also, time changes everything, I'm not one to just sit on a lilypad, and even if I could, a lot is simply outside my control. Thankful as I am, I was looking forward to enjoying Halloween this year, but there's been too many horrors this October to feel like seeking any more out. I'm sure we've all been extra tense this month, but whatever happens in November, I'm set on shoring things up on my end. 2024 has been defined by self-imposed degrees of drowning, and I need to find healthier ways to blog, podcast, and pursue other creative endeavors. Hopefully, that will include fewer skip weeks, but you've heard that before...

Monday, October 14, 2024

Jack Reed

"In my secret identity of John Jones, I'm an accomplished detective with the Middleton police force-- but Jack Reed set the standard there. He was as brave and skilled an officer as I've ever known. If only that had been enough to keep him safe. Jack made plenty of enemies. Vengeful mobsters murdered Jack and his wife. Their son Robby was barely two-- not old enough to realize what had happened-- only old enough to feel a great and inexplicable sense of loss. Not long after, Robby's maternal grandfather moved the boy to nearby Littleville. I can see now that I should have stayed in touch-- since i can't fathom what could have turned the boy into a-- super-hero?"
See Also: Silver Age: Dial H for Hero #1 (July, 2000)

Monday, October 7, 2024

2015-2017 Martian Manhunter Comrades Jam

Another funny one where all the individual parts have been posted online since 2019, but I waited a half decade to offer the combined piece as a whole. My explanation is that I intended this to be the "front cover" for the second volume of Who's Who in Martian Manhunter, with 2014-2016 JLI, Saturnians, & Other Friends Artist Jam on the back, but that's simply never going to happen. It's been eight years. I'm calling the time of death. Anyway, it's also amusing because this jam only took two years to complete, a short turnaround for such a long delay. It spanned an awful lot of conventions though, including a HeroesCon and a couple of Comicpaloozas, but the majority was done at just one of two years' worth of the now defunct Amazing Houston. Here's another cute thing: in the years between efforts, I had the same artist do two different Green Lanterns on as many jams without realizing it. On the plus side, the colors on the original FedEx Xerox were all washed out, but the direct scan from tonight improves on it. In the no laughing matter department, contributing artists Allen Bellman (a Golden Age great) and Adrian Nelson (one of my favorites and most oft-requested over the years) have passed away in the interim.

2015-2017 Martian Manhunter Comrades Jam