Amazing Spider-Man Collection - Annual #6 1969

So, I just recently visited a comic convention here in my home town and while it's usually nothing too special I was able to snag some deals, including my new copy of Amazing Spider-Man Annual #6 circa 1969:

I just finished reading it and it's of course one of many classic Stan Lee, Steve Ditko team ups; also featuring the first appearance of the Sinister Six!  I love reading old Spidey comics and I can't help but hear Stan Lee's voice when I'm reading some of Spider-Man's more outlandish thoughts like, "The aura of villainy which he exudes is almost too strong to bear!  Whoever he is, he represents a grave danger!  I'd better tackle him NOW!"  Right?  Don't you hear Stan's voice?

Anyways, this is a great read and contains some amazing Steve Ditko full page portraits of Spidey battling each member of the Sinister Six!

The classics just never go bad.

Until next time,

~Steve

Green Lantern & Green Lantern Corps New 52

So, I am WAY behind in my reading.  You don't even want to know how many brand new comics are just sitting boxed and unread BUT I've finally gotten to my Green Lantern books and I have not been disappointed!  In the Green Lantern series Hal Jordan is basically at the mercy of his hated arch rival, Sinestro.  The blue and bald Guardians have kicked Hal out of the Corps for being "too emotional" and now he only ring slings at the whim of Sinestro who has created a ring for Hal which only works when Sinestro wants it to.

The story goes on from there and so far it's pretty cool.  I think Geoff Johns will be taking us deep into the mind of Sinestro as the story continues.  I've come to expect a lot from Johns so I'm hoping he takes this story into more character depth and doesn't give us yet another tale of two enemies who are "basically the same" except one wears crazy pants.

 Now on to my favorite of the two so far, Green Lantern Corps.  I love the Corps and not because of the other three human lanterns typically featured in this book but because of the multiple races and species of sentient beings that make up the Corps.  It's always so exciting to see what new Lanterns are in the Corps and each of the unique abilities and characteristics they bring to the story.

This first arch starts with John Stewart and Guy Gardner making an attempt to fit in to Earths society even though their identities are publicly known.  It doesn't go very well.  Dissatisfied, they head to OA looking for some action and immediately turn their attention to a sector where Lanterns have turned up dead or missing.  Now, I'm not typically a fan of the villain that stays in the shadows but Peter Tomasi has done a great job pacing this story and it's been a great mix of action and intrigue.  Everything comes to a head in issue 3 when our team of Lanterns finally goes head to head with this hoard of crazy willpower sword wielding ninja bad asses and the action ensues!

 Which in turn produces some pretty awesome splash pages:

That last one is currently my desktop background in which you'll find one of those unique Corpsmen I was talking about earlier.  His name is Porter and while things are looking grim for him at the end of the issue I really hope we see more of him in the future.  Anyways it you're a fan of Green Lantern you really can't go wrong with either of these titles.

Already digging into another issue,
~Steve

Spider-Man Reading - Good ole' Blue and Red

So, the original black suit doesn't last long!  In fact even before the Secret War is over (the timeless mini-series where Spidey gets the black suit) Spider-Man has returned to his iconic red and blue suit.  The issues during which this takes place are the issues I've probably read the most times out of all the issues in my collection.

Amazing Spider-Man #258 is one of my favorite Spider-Man issues, I just love everything about it.  Tom DeFalco wrote it and Ron Frenz drew it and it's by far one of the most memorable issues they did together in my opinion.  My absolute FAVORITE part is the nightmare sequence where Peter is being chased and attacked by his two Spider-Man outfits!  I think this is such an awesome concept and fits so well with who Spider-Man is and how he sees himself!  I want to read it again just writing about it haha!  Here see for yourself:

 Spectacular right?  Anyways this is what leads Spider-Man to have his suit checked out by none other than Mr. Fantastic himself leading to Spidey's wardrobe change but thanks to the Human Torch it gets worse before it gets better!  Meet the "Unknown Hero":

 So he goes on to break up a liquor store robbery in front of a news crew creating his super hero faux pas! (Don't worry it's only funny to comic geeks like me)  The next issue is the new beginning to Peter and Mary Janes relationship and we all know where that leads!  (If you don't know, wash the cheetos from your fingers, put some sunscreen on, head upstairs, crack open the basement door and have a chat with your folks)

Heading back to the real world *disappointed sigh here*,
~Steve

Federal Reserve on Inflation

This article is an interesting back and forth between statements made by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and House Budget Committee member Paul Ryan's response to his comments.


Bernanke is really just reaffirming the Feds commitment to continue keeping inflation low in the future and making sure it remains a key point when making future policy decisions.

Inflation appears to “be very well-controlled now,” Bernanke said, and should remain below the Fed’s 2 percent target “for the next couple of years.” This view is backed up, he said, by “more stable commodity prices and substantial slack in labor and product markets.”

 Ryan disagrees though, saying he:

“was greatly concerned to hear the Fed recently announce that it would be willing to accept higher-than-desired inflation in order to focus on the other side of its dual mandate, which is promoting employment.”

That would be a mistake, Ryan said, because “the Fed’s tools for promoting employment are limited, imprecise, and can have highly undesirable consequences.  [It] runs the great risk of fueling asset bubbles, destabilizing prices, and eventually eroding the value of the dollar,” Ryan said. “The prospect of all three is adding to uncertainty and holding our economy back.”

Check out the rest of the article on Portfolio.com 

A huge non-fan of inflation,
~Steve

New Ultimate Spider-Man Cartoon

YES!  More cartoons for me to watch!  Hopefully Disney wont make it too soft but I'm really looking forward to it!

Read more about the upcoming cartoon on Disney XD here.

Setting the DVR,
~Steve

Spider-Man Reading - Black Suit!

Yes,  I am currently on a mission to read all of the main title Spider-Man issues (and lots of non-main title stuff) available to me in order.  Now you might be thinking no big deal but when you have well over 1000+ issues of Spider-Man it's kind of a daunting task.  Ok, who am I kidding I LOVE it!  So, I just finished reading Amazing Spider-Man #251 and Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #89:

You might ask: Ok, so what's so important about these issues?  I in turn would answer:  WHAT'S SO IMPORTANT ABOUT THESE ISSUES?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?  Unless of course at the time we happen to be anywhere but a comic shop or a place with a population greater than two; in which case I would calmly tell you that these are the last two issues that Spider-Man dons his classic red and blues before heading off to the Secret Wars and getting his Black Spider Costume!  Which means?

VENOM IS COMING!

 Exciting right?  No?  Just me?

Oh well (I'm stoked),
~Steve

Stan Lee Is My Hero!

Stan Lee is my HERO!  I got the newest book out on his life and contribution to comics for Christmas and it's AMAZING!

But today I found myself over at The Real Stan Lee and found this:

I didn't think it was possible but now I like him even more!

Obsessed,

~Steve

U.S. Military Goes Nimble?

News from yesterday reads:

“We’re turning the page on a decade of war,” President Barack Obama said today at the Pentagon. 

For the Pentagon, that means reducing its number of conventional ground troops and moving away from old weapons systems that don’t make much sense in an age where our biggest threats may not come from another nation, but from terrorists who operate on their own. 

The new military will be “smaller and leaner,” [Defense Secretary Leon] Panetta said...

 I'm not really sure how I feel about this yet. I'm used to a big scary U.S. Military not one that jumps around all nimbly bimbly from tree to tree. This next part I'm on board with:

...but it “will be agile, flexible, ready, and technologically advanced.” 

The Pentagon will continue to invest in science and technology and will balance budget cuts “with the imperative to sustain key streams of innovation that may provide significant long-term payoffs,” the strategic report states.

We are an advanced civilization and keeping our military on the bleeding edge of technology will give us the best possibility of defending against attack or prompting attack in response. This next justification is just kinda BS:

“We’ll continue to get rid of outdated Cold War-era systems so that we can invest in the capabilities we need for the future, including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; counterterrorism; countering weapons of mass destruction; and the ability to operate in environments where adversaries try to deny us access,” Obama said.

What are you going to do, have a big ass garage sale? Getting rid of Cold War-ear systems is not going to make us more able to invest. Sure, maybe if you melt down the copper wire and sell it to the guy with the storage container in a Wal-Mart parking lot; but other than that we're still in the same boat. Most likely this will cause a huge sucking black hole into which the defense budget will be thrown into, but that is business as usual.

They close with economic impact:

This will present new opportunities for innovators. The Pentagon will be looking for better ways to protect national security in both space and cyberspace... the new strategy calls for development of a new stealth bomber and improvements in missile defenses,

The old military-industrial complex is undergoing the process of creative destruction. There will be losers, just as there is in the civilian economy...but winners will emerge as well from this shift to a more nimble military.

I'm pro business, so I was happy to see the promotion of good ole' American capitalism in this process but I'm not sold on this plan yet.


Skeptical, Hopeful and Uncertain,
~Steve

Read the full article on portfolio.com

Rare Photos of Elvis aka The King

Here are some cool rare photos of Elvis from 1955.  If you love Elvis you've got to "like" the Elvis Facebook Page because they are constantly updating with both old and new Elvis info.

Check out the great interview with Chris Kennedy about Tommy Edwards and his role early on in Elvis's career.

Always building my Elvis library,
~Steve

Hawkman #22 v4 2004

I never really cared much for Hawkman.  I've always kind of thought he was a shallow character but I was reading Hawkman issue #22, as part of a cross over with JSA that I'm reading, and I came upon this gem:

Typically when a scene like this appears in a comic it's really just a lame intermission with the purpose of showing that in a world where superheroes typically only face Armageddon like situations they still take time to help the normal citizenry; Hawkman takes a different approach to this situation.  This is officially my favorite random act of "kindness" by a superhero.

Wondering what Spider-Man would do if he carried a mace,
~Steve