Todd Klein's Blog, page 333

At the Phillies Game 9/7/11

Ellen and I had tickets for the Phillies game last night, and were wondering how wet it would be. Tuesday's game it rained throughout, but the Phillies are up against it now schedule-wise, and they played through the rain after a two-hour delay. The forecast for Wednesday was not much better, and all day, while I worked, I kept checking the weather map on TV. There was lots of rain, but it remained just west of Philadelphia, so things were dry thus far. After Ellen got home from work and fed the cats we drove to the stadium, about an hour and 20 minutes, arriving around 6 PM.

While we had our dinner outside in Ashburn Alley (veggie hoagie for her, roast pork for me), we saw two of the Phillies' TV broadcasters doing a live spot on the level just below us. Wheels and Tom are two of the three guys we see all the time on most Phillies broadcasts, so it was fun to see them. After we finished eating we went down for a closer look, but the broadcast was over by then. Tom was very friendly with the fans, posing for many pictures with them.

We walked around until nearly 7 PM, then took our seats on the third level. The rain was holding off to the west, and the sky was blue over the stadium as the game began, and fortunately it did not rain at all during the game. Oswalt was pitching, and we'd seen him do poorly on our last visit here, but he did much better this time. Raul Ibanez hit a home run early in the game, so we finally got to see one (our first live), but the Atlanta Braves played well, with a great performance from their pitcher Beachy. Late in the game the Braves pulled ahead 2-1, but the Phillies tied it 2-2 in the 8th. The top of the 9th Madsen kept the Braves from scoring, and in the bottom of the 9th, with two outs, Ross Gload hit a double that drove in the winning run. What a great ending to a fun game! Ellen declared Gload her hero, because his success meant we'd be able to leave the game at 10 PM instead of having to sit through extra innings. As always it was a long wait in the parking lot to get out and a long drive home, we got back around midnight. And today is a work day, so we were up at 5 as usual. We'll be sleep-deprived today, but it's worth it to see our team in person in this, their best year ever. Now 10 and a half games ahead of Atlanta in our division, the playoff spot is not far off. We'll probably face the Braves again then. Bring them on!

And Then I Read: THE FRACTURE OF THE UNIVERSAL BOY

Images © Michael Zulli.

Artist Michael Zulli has been working on this personal project, which he wrote and illustrated, for quite a few years, and thanks to fundraising efforts on Kickstarter it has finally seen print in a beautifully-crafted 200-page oversized hardcover. Thus far it's only available through comics shops, though Michael tells me it will eventually be sold directly from the publisher, Eidolon Fine Arts. The cover price is $27.99.

When I say this is a personal project, I mean that on every level. It's the comics equivalent of a one-man show (with important support from designer/letterer Ryan Graff). The story is episodic and somewhat dreamlike, the main character or characters are all visually Michael at different ages I think, with some supporting entities: gods, demons, harpies, angels, and others of a fantastic nature hard to describe. Though he takes pains to explain why he used himself as the main model in his afterword, having the artist as character reinforces the one-man show feel, and Michael the character is quite a good actor in his various roles from infant to oldster, very theatrical, just as the real person is. While there are action sequences, mainly involving Michael fleeing from tormenters of several kinds, this is really an internal story as Zulli explores themes and ideas from deep inside himself. There are not a lot of explanations, and plenty of room is left for the reader's interpretation (intentionally, Michael says). The dreamlike quality of the tale is at times full of unearthly beauty, at others the stuff of nightmares. Then things take a more down-to-earth tone at other times, becoming a series of monologues or conversations that I found even more interesting than the fantasy bits.

The other half of the show is, of course, the art, and it's truly breathtakingly gorgeous at times, as above. At others it captures a wide range of emotions and subtleties as well as rough, raw energy in the action sequences. The entire interior is in black and white on duotone paper, adding rich gray shading options, which Michael is expert at employing. The book itself is well-printed on great paper, and the large size makes every detail shine. For the lettering, everything is in caption form, even spoken dialogue, with different type styles for each character. Some of those work better than others, a few are hard to read, and at times it was not clear who was meant to be speaking, but that didn't bother me enough to impede my enjoyment of the reading experience. And, after all, every voice here is the author's.

I came away from this book feeling uplifted and enriched, though there are plenty of dark moments and self-destructive impulses within. I felt they were overcome by the sheer scope and beauty of the entire package. I also felt as if I had been invited into the mind and personal world of an artist worth visiting in such a way, a complex man of talent. In short, applause, bravo, well done, Michael. Hope it leads to more!

A Garden Murder Mystery

This afternoon Ellen called me out to the front garden where she had spotted a dead hummingbird in the tall flowers. When I got there we realized that it was in the claws of a large green praying mantis, who appeared to be eating from the bird's abdomen. On that female mantis's back was a smaller brown male mantis in the process of impregnating the female, or so it seemed.

Now, there isn't much to a hummingbird. They weigh only 1 ounce, and in length are about the same size as the mantises, but I'd never heard of one being brought down by this insect. A quick web search found THIS article and pictures of a similar case on the Birdwatcher's Digest website. So, it certainly can happen, and there's the evidence. The hummingbird was clearly dead, not moving at all, and the female mantis had a firm grip on it.

Here's a view from the other side. The green mantis is still hard to pick out, as it blends in so well with the green leaves, but you can see the brown male more clearly. Mantises are fierce hunters, laying in wait next to inviting flowers, as these are, and pouncing on prey with catlike speed, but it's still amazing to me it was able to make this catch.

Here's where the real mystery comes in, though. I went out about an hour later to find the mantises still there, but no sign at all of the hummer. I searched the ground below these flowers, and found quite a few butterfly wings (previous catches I'm sure), but no hummingbird or parts thereof. I went back with a flashlight later and searched again, but still nothing. Clearly these insects could not have consumed a hummingbird entirely: wings, beak and all, especially in an hour. Did some other predator come along and take it? The most likely one I can think of would be a blue jay, which are around the yard, but I don't see how one could grab the hummer and leave the insects undisturbed, which they seemed to be. I also saw a flying hummingbird of the same type as the dead one: an immature male. Could the bird have been merely stunned or fainted and come back to life? Ellen doesn't think that's possible. "The bird was DEAD. The mantis was EATING IT," she insists. And I have to admit it was so.

There you have it, a murder mystery with classic elements: sex, death and a disappearing corpse. Where's Sherlock Holmes when you need him…?

And Then I Read: LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES 12

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

This issue is rather fragmented, following a lot of storylines, but all pointing toward Saturn Queen, whom most of the Legion are unable to track down, as she keeps one step ahead of them in her somewhat mysterious quest through disparate realms of power. I've just noticed that the character tags are helpfully color coded now, black for the baddies and yellow for the Legion, which helps me keep the two groups straight. Among the baddies, Lightning Lord seems to be trying to follow his own agenda while still nominally obeying Saturn Queen, so we're heading for a face-off there. Meanwhile, Brainiac 5 is draining power from Star Boy, something that seems likely to backfire eventually. I'm not sure where all this is going, but I'm enjoying the ride.

The art by Cinar and Glapion is quite good, especially in the action scenes this time. Cinar seems to have found his feet in LSH and is getting more creative with layouts and fighting poses.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: ADVENTURE COMICS 525

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

It occurred to me while I was typing the title of this post that DC's long tradition of high-numbered titles is about to go away with the New 52. I'm not really a collector anymore, but even so that makes me a little sad. I have fond memories of filling in a want list, or finding old issues at some used book store or flea market. That could still happen, of course, but fewer and fewer will be looking for them.

This issue continues the training of a new batch of Legion Academy recruits, under the guidance of Legionnaires Night Girl and Cosmic Boy. (And the fact that those names are now inappropriate when much younger heroes are the focus is slightly amusing.) They're tackling some of the baddies in the gang led by Saturn Queen on Phlon, a world I don't recall seeing before. It's an entertaining exercise with real danger involved. Then there's a backup whose point escapes me featuring The Black Witch resurrecting the deadly Legion foe Mordru, only to apparently destroy him again. Perhaps that will make sense later.

The lead story art by Phil Jimenez looks great, and the backup art isn't bad, either. The storytelling is fine, and the character tags are helpful as always, but even with those I find myself getting confused at times as to who's on which side.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: GREEN LANTERN 67

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

The final chapter of the "War of the Green Lanterns," and for once it was an epic that didn't seem padded or driven into weird places by plots from other books. Geoff Johns and his co-writers kept the focus, gave us a good mix of action and character development, and enough surprises and big moments to make it seem worth the length and breadth of the exercise.

That continues in this issue, as Hal and his fellow GLs face down Krona and his twisted versions of the Guardians in what would seem on the surface an impossibly uneven match. As you can guess, it turns out not to be so, but the payoff worked for me, and the actions of a few characters were effectively surprising and yet satisfying. And the end? Another surprise, and a good one.

The art on all the GL books has been excellent for some time, and is particularly good on this flagship title, with penciller Doug Mahnke and a quartet of inkers bringing great images to the page. And here's the perfect example, showcasing one of the best things about the Green Lantern Corps: they're a team, they have a uniform, but they're also a vast variety of unique individuals. When they work together it's a beautiful thing. And I think the spirit of Gil Kane's silver age GL is still alive in these images.

Highly recommended, both this issue and the entire storyline!

Incoming: NEW TEEN TITANS OMNIBUS VOL. 1

Some days UPS delivery is like the Fairy Godmother of my life: poof! A new book appears that I knew nothing about but I like immensely. So it was today when I received this handsome (and heavy!) hardcover reprinting of Wolfman and Perez' NEW TEEN TITANS series from the early 1980s. The book is two inches thick, and has 650 pages, all printed on thick, white, glossy stock comparable to the Absolute editions, and far better than any of this work has ever seen print on before. Included are the first 20 issues of the series, plus the preview, a short story, and a four-issue miniseries.

I didn't have a lot to do with the contents. I lettered one issue of the mini-series, which was enough for DC to send me this copy (they're really good about that!) and I also designed the team and character logos, that's about it. Later volumes will have more of my lettering, I expect. This was a favorite series of mine when it came out, and I'm going to try to find time to reread the contents of this volume. It's priced at $75, which is a lot, but I feel there's good value to be had for that. And, of course, you can get it for much less at the link below. Thanks, DC!

And Then I Read: JOHN BYRNE'S NEXT MEN 5

Images © John Byrne.

Things are becoming clearer now in this tricky tale of time travel, punishment and madness. The figure in the black armor is revealed as another Bethany from a different time, who blames her former teammates for the terrible ordeal she went through: being buried alive for centuries. She's taking revenge on several of them by putting them in times and places that will make their own lives hellish, and more of that is shown here, with Antonia in the pre-Civil War slaver South and others in equally bad situations, or going from one bad one to another as Bethany switches things up. Meanwhile, more versions of her team arrive, also from the future, intent on stopping this mad plan, but will they succeed?

Byrne's art continues to impress me on this series. I see no signs of the kind of shortcuts he was taking for a while when working for other companies. This is good stuff. Recommended!

Our Hurricane Irene Story

We'd been following the approach of Irene in the news all week, but any sort of weather event is usually overhyped, and turns out to be nothing much, so it wasn't until Thursday evening that we started to take it seriously. Friday morning I turned on the TV to find our entire county was under a mandatory evacuation order. That made up our minds, and we decided to relocate to my mother's condo in central New Jersey for the duration. We spent several hours packing our two cars and preparing the house and yard as best we could, then with our three cats in their carriers headed northwest. I decided rather than going north up the Garden State Parkway we should head toward Philadelphia, then north from there. It worked okay until we hit route 206 in Princeton, a very busy and congested highway that slowed us down a lot. I'm still not sure if we'd have been better off on the Parkway or not.

We arrived at my Mom's without incident, and in beautiful though humid summer weather, around 2 PM Friday afternoon. We had brought crates (the new word for folding metal cages) for the cats, and kept them in there the first day, but that night there was lots of meowing and noise from Tigger and Leo, so after that we put them in our bedroom, as seen above, where they had more room and a few familiar things to play with.

They made good use of the scratching post, and were mostly content in there, watching the storm through the sliding door. Meanwhile, in the main room of the condo, which is kitchen/dining area/living room all in a row, our older cat Katie was allowed to walk around from time to time, and seemed quite happy there without the other two.

The storm played its slow game of approach, heavy rain, wind, and gradual retreat through Saturday and Sunday, and we stayed in and played games, read, watched TV, and I did some work on my laptop. Luckily the power never went out, though we were prepared for that.

Monday the all-clear was given to return to Cape May County, so we packed everything up again and headed home on the Parkway, where there was little traffic, and we made good time driving.

As we approached our house, we saw this broken tree in the small island of trees at the center of the road in front of our driveway, a mini-circle. It looked bad, but the tree fell onto other trees and not the road.

Another tree next to it had snapped off near the top…

…dropping a good-sized limb into the road, but someone had cut it up with a chainsaw and moved it out of the road onto the verge in front of our house, where I'll have a go at removing it later. We were a little nervous now about seeing our house, and as we pulled into the driveway I had to get out and move some large branches to get through.

But, happily, there was no damage, just lots of branches and leaves in the yard. We lucked out!

We've actually had more storm debris after some winter Nor'easters where ice and snow add to the tree damage.

Before we left I had carried all my signed prints to the upstairs back hallway, which has no windows and is probably the best-protected place in the house, as well as my desktop computer, monitor and backup drive. That meant taking everything on the desk apart, pulling wires, and so on, so it took me several hours to get everything back in place and working correctly, but now that's done, and I'll be back to work as usual tomorrow. Not sure when I'll get the yard all cleaned up, but certainly by next weekend. Good night and good riddance, Irene!

We're back and all is well!

Back home at last, and no damage from the hurricane. Lots of branches and leaves down in the yard, but nothing big on the house, and the power seems to have been on the whole time. It'll take me the rest of the day to get things back to normal here in the studio, and then I'll put a few pictures up.