NO ARTICLES TODAY! SORRY!

"Make new friends,
but keep the old.
One is silver,
the other is gold."

((Expect our normal schedule of articles to resume on Sunday.))

WORD OF THE DAY! 12/27/12.

doom [doom]
noun
1. Fate or destiny, especially with an adverse or negative result that involves the termination of a person, place, thing, or idea; unavoidable ill fortune.
2. Ruin; death.
3. An unfavorable judgement, decision, or sentence.
4. Archaic/obsolete. A statute, enactment, or legal statement/precedent.
5. The end of the world; Doomsday.
verb
6. To be destined with an unfortunate fate.
7. To condemn.
8. To set the adverse fate/destruction of a person, place, thing, or idea.

EX. I'm sorry that I didn't get to entertain you guys during the week that contained Dec. 21st. It would've been amusing to share with you guys my thoughts on preposterous predictions by long-lost cultures dooming us all, but I was busy trying to drill to the center of the Earth to shoot a magnetic pulse into the core to move the Earth enough inches to move the Earth out of Celestial alignments, prevent the cataclysmic collision between Earth and a giant asteroid that would've caused a new ice age that not even Will Smith could outrun while riding on the back of a Chinese dragon.

I also helped Booster Gold defeat Doomsday. Once again, I apologize for my absence.

THE BEST OF WORD OF THE DAY & A NEW MISSION!

A portrait of your benevolent blogger

Starting this month, I will be trying to pull this blog back to some of its roots. Looking back to last year, I found that my Word of the Day's used to be a lot more in-depth and analytical. In order to continue to improve my blog, and to explore the world of science fiction, fantasy, and story-telling theory, I am going to pursue loftier heights with some of my Word of the Day Articles.

In the future, expect the articles to get a good bit wordier.

Also, expect to see more articles like this as the blog gets bigger to help bring new readers up to date and share some of the best content I have in my archives. Expect a round-up of the more touching/fantastic/bizarre Word of the Days in the future. For example a round up of Pokemon articles, Unicorn articles, and a round-up of my most creative uses of the Word of the Day.

To celebrate this new chapter or milestone or pointless moment in the march forward (or in any relative direction) here are links to some of the more interesting and intellectual Word of the Day's I've done. They are less about creative or funny flights of folly and more analytical. Check them out and make sure to leave comments. Expect the whimsical and the witty.

WEEKLY ROUND-UP! 12/19-12/25 2011

WEEKLY ROUND-UP:

 SUPERHERO CHRISTMAS WEEK!

7. WORD OF THE DAY! 12/20/11. Vandalism

Seriously, nothing is more jolly than Batman with a can of spray plastic explosives and a city of unsuspecting criminals to terrorize. Haven't played my new copy of Arkham Asylum but I am itching to get that sucked out of its box!

6. WORD OF THE DAY! 12/23/11. Horticulture.

Gojirra! King of Shrubbery Monsters!

5. WORD OF THE DAY! 12/22/11. Kaiju.

Gojirra: King of Shrubbery Monsters vs. Amerikajin Kurisumasu Deberu! OR

ゴジッラ　VS.　アメリカ人クリスマスデベル　！

4. WORD OF THE DAY! 12/25/11. Believe.

Dedicated to Terry Pratchett, my favorite author and believer in the power of believing.

3. MUSICAL MONDAY! DISNEY FANATIC! #3 THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

This film means so much to me and I probably have watched it about once a year (or major sections of it once year) every year since I can remember. For me, it is Christmas and Halloween wrapped up in a big bow with a card that says, "Yes, its okay."

2. WORD OF THE DAY! 12/21/11, Reimagining.

Between Blue Beetle and Booster Gold I hope I've managed to expose a couple of people to these awesome characters.

1. WORD OF THE DAY! 12/24/11. Man's Best Friend.

I thought it would be a fun Christmas article to write a little history about Krypto the Superdog but it touched me a lot. I have to admit, to my embarrassment, that when I was writing about Krypto's death, I had to stop myself from tearing up.

If Superman is a great role model and dogs are great role models, then Krypto is someone to be admired.

Epic Beard is Back! And I got a Sonic Screwdriver for Christmas!

WORD OF THE DAY! 12/21/11

reimagining [ree-ih-maj-jin-ing]
noun
1. a piece of work based primarily on a work of the same medium; a remake.

EX. The Blue Beetle  has seen as many, if not more, reiterations and reimaginings as most well-known super heroes. Like the last character I talked about last week, Blue Beetle's pal Booster Gold, Blue Beetle is no where near the same tier of popularity as heroes like Superman-- hell, he isn't even on the same tier of popularity as one of my favorite characters, Green Lantern. Yet, Blue Beetle does share one special trait with Green Lantern; both characters are Golden Age heirloom characters that have changed and evolved to become a Comic Book Guy's comic book character.

Let's start with the first iteration of our blue buddy in 1939's Fox Comics' Mystery Men Comics #1. (Side note: If you enjoy campy super hero action check out The Mystery Men movie). The first Blue Beetle was a guy by the name of Dan Garret, the son of a cop killed off by a crook. Dan Garret was a rookie cop who took on the guise of the Blue Beetle to fight crime He wore a special bullet proof vest and took a special vitamin "2-X" that gave him super-strength. He bounced around from company to company, until he ended up in Charlton comics where, eventually, he was reimagined into Ted Kord.

Originally, they tried to reboot Dan Garret by adding a "t" to the end of his name and making him an archeologist, but the Blue Beetle that most fans think of is Ted Kord. Created by Steve Ditko, Ted Kord was a genius inventor and a gifted athlete. He originally had no powers and his signature equipment was an insect themed hover-craft and a light gun that blinded his foes. (Side Note: This character was the inspiration for Owl Man of The Watchmen). This Blue Beetle eventually became part of DC canon and asserted himself as a great member of the Justice League. There he met and befriended Booster Gold.

Yet, Ted Kord became the victim of something I like to call UDS or  "Unnecessary Death Syndrome". UDS is one of the easiest failings of writing, especially in ensemble casts, and is extremely common in the comic book genre. UDS comes into play when an editor wants to ramp up the stakes of a comic book cross-over or event. Usually, they kill off a lot of D-List characters and even a few big names to create a sense that all the characters are in danger of some new threat and, most likely, to sell more comics. Don't get me wrong-- comic books are a business, BUT there are other ways to sell comics. I actually don't mind killing off characters, but they deserve to be given a hero's death. At least in Death of Superman, Superman 'died' fighting to save Metropolis from Doomsday.

In order to kick-off the Infinite Crisis event, Ted Kord tracks down a reborn Checkmate, an anti-super hero organization. He is captured and discovers that long time associate of the Justice League, Maxwell Lord, is behind a plot to control the super human populace. He asks Ted to join him and the hero replies, "Rot in Hell, Max," before being unceremoniously shot in the face like a dog. This "shot heard around the DC world". This also leads to Wonder Woman's reputation getting thrown under the bus when she kills Maxwell Lord at the end of Infinite Crisis. Boo!

BUT, Blue Beetle's character wasn't over and his next iteration would be a mix between Iron Man and Spiderman!

The entity known as The Scarab, a blue machine discovered by Dan Garrett, managed to make its way to a young man in El Paso, Texas. That young man was Jaime Reyes. Jaime Reyes was only a teenager when he found The Scarab. Unsure of what the object would do, Booster Gold tried to find it but, when he arrived, it was too late. The Scarab fused with Jaime's spine and transformed him into a new Blue Beetle. This reimagining gave its hero super strength, flight, energy projection, and so much more. It also opened him up to new alien enemies for him to contend with and, in a lot of ways, these powers have turned Blue Beetle into a real contender in the universe's rosters. Heck, Jaime was one of Batman's most frequent companions on The Brave and the Bold.

And where does the Blue Beetle go from here? Well, the character just rebooted, yet again, alongside many characters of the DC Universe in The 52 event. Jaime Reyes is still the current hero in the legacy of Blue Beetle and, arguably, the character is more popular than ever. In fact, talks have been bouncing around for either Blue Beetle to get its own TV show or movie. Only time will tell if this Beetle can survive in a market where Green Lantern's film reimagining was a mediocre failure.

All that glitters is not gold, but this character is a true blue hero!

TED KORD on BRAVE AND THE BOLD!

JAIME REYES on BRAVE AND THE BOLD!

WEEKLY ROUND-UP! 12/5-12/11 2011

WEEKLY ROUND-UP:

"WEASELS RIPPED MY FLESH" WEEK

7. WORD OF THE DAY! 12/11/11. Trifling.

It has been a month since we dived into Skyrim. I've put a day or more worth of hours into the game and I still haven't scratched the surface of the Nordic homeland. It is the most immersive single player game on the market, right now, and if you don't have it...WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!

WARNING! After a good six hour session of Skyrim you may look down at your hands, expect an inventory menu to pop up, and then expect to be able to equip an Elven War Axe in your right hand and a Conjure Atronach spell in the other.

6. WORD OF THE DAY! 12/7/11. Feat

Captain Strong needs to return to DC Universe tomorrow. If US-1 was good enough for an awesome cameo with a space-traveling semi, than I want to see an immortal sailor man who runs on "sauncha" and fights alongside Aquaman. Steal my idea theoretical comic book writer or artist reading this!

5. WORD OF THE DAY! 12/6/11. Voracious

I always wondered if Link ate the hearts of his enemies to regain his strength, but always assumed the faeries healed him in exchange for being released. I am a big fan of fantasy from the monster or minion perspective as you can see in the little short vignette provided as an example.

4. WORD OF THE DAY! 12/10/11. Dark horse.

You can tell I am psyched about the article writing that I'm going to get back to over break. Its been a while since I wrote entire articles about my words of the day, and the two big ones I did this week were a lot of fun to write. If there are any heroes you'd like to see me research and feature, leave a comment below.

And Booster Gold is the man.

3.  WORD OF THE DAY! 12/9/11. Facade.

The world needs more Superman. The character has received a lot of flak for two primary reasons: he is not as a cool as Batman and he is a big target. The golden standard of super heroism, Superman is as timeless a character as Batman, and deserves to be given the same treatment that Batman has received in his various evolutions. 

Some cynical people out there want gritty and dark super heroes and claim that the altruism of older super heroes is ridiculous. But to quote Superman, "What's so funny about Truth, Justice and the American Way?"

2.WTF WEDNESDAY PRESENTS MAN'S LIFE: THE FRAGILE MALE EGO OF THE GREATEST GENERATION

It really was a lot of fun finding all these ridiculous magazine covers and captioning them for you guys. Perhaps I was a little hard on the men that subscribed to these magazines, because I think if they reissued these into a collection I would buy it in a heart beat. Is it ridiculous, chauvinistic, and basically socially wrong in every sense? You bet. But it's also hilarious.

1. MIXED BAG. MY POKEMON FANART!

I am pretty proud of silly little scribbles that I drew last Thursday. It was a lot of fun drawing pocket monsters in my cartoonish style. If you're wondering why I didn't color them-- its a mix of laziness and a oddball pleasure in grayscale art. I'd like to draw more of these pokemans over break and maybe I'll color some of them. Heck, maybe I'll make it a challenge to post at least one pokemon a day on my blog. Just gotta wait to get a head start. Also, pokemon themed christmas cards for my friends. Huzzah!

WORD OF THE DAY! 12/10/11

dark horse [dahrk-hawrs]
noun
1. an unexpected and relatively unknown combatant, who is usually chosen as part of a compromise, for a contest.
2. an unlikely contestant or winner in a struggle; underdog.

Ex. Booster Gold is one of the most underestimated, underplayed, underutilized heroes of the DC Universe. He is often depicted as a doofus dark horse, a real out-of-towner from the future, and a hapless underdog. But really, who is Booster Gold?

Born in 25th Century Gotham City, Michael Jon Carter was born in a poor neighborhood where he found his talent in football. In fact, he became a star quarterback, nicknamed "Booster", for the Gotham University and a had a bright future--that is until he gambling addicted father reentered his life and convinced him to throw some games for his benefit. Unfortunately, Carter was caught and disgraced, his future falling by the wayside. So, Carter ended up working at the Metropolis Space Museum, as a security guard, alongside a security drone, Skeets. It was in the museum that Carter was inspired to become a super hero.

After becoming obsessed with the Super Heroes of the 20th Century displays in the museum he developed a dubious plan; he stole several super hero inventions and uses a time machine to go back to the past, become a super hero and, by making a fortune through a company he would start, live comfortably.The artifact he stole gave him the powers of flight, power blasts, nearly indestructible energy shields, enhanced strength, agility, and dozens of other useful technology based abilities.

His first outing was to save the President from being assassinated, along with his robot sidekick Skeets, as "Goldstar". A mix up happened in the press of the event and from that moment on he became Booster Gold. Booster gained a reputation as a glory hound and wannabe celebrity, because he used his name and identity for advertising. He has a bad reputation amongst other heroes, some even calling him "Buster" and often treating him like an idiot. Is Booster a bad hero?

Dozens of times, Booster has been written as a glory hound, but this is not a fair interpretation. Most of the time, Booster comes through as a true-blue hero who has saved the world on multiple occasions, sacrificed his own life/safety for others, and shown great generosity. He is actually a powerhouse in the DC Universe thanks to his knowledge of future events and super technology borrowed from other heroes.Superman is nearly defeated by an ANDROID (pictured above) of Booster Gold and is only saved by the help of Booster Gold. He won me over in DC's 52 (2006-2007) run where he not only proves to be a competent scientist, time traveler and hero, but also saves Metropolis and the world several times. It is in fact, implied through several stories, that Booster is destined to do more great deeds in the near future. And yet...

And yet, the New 52 resets a lot of characters, including Booster who is portrayed as his old glory hound self. It's frustrating, but I remain optimistic that this character has a bright future, some might even say "golden".


Here is a link to his Justice League episode. Did I mention Billy West plays Skeets?

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED-THE GREATEST STORY NEVER TOLD

Next week? Booster's best friend, The Blue Beetle.