Marvels: Eye of the Camera #1 (February 2009)

In 1994, Marvel Comics published the miniseries known as Marvels. Written by Kurt Busiek and with painted artwork by Alex Ross, Marvels told the tale of Phil Sheldon, a freelance photographer who witnesses the rise of the superheroes of Marvel's Golden and Silver Ages, ending at the death of Gwen Stacy (the event considered the beginning of the Bronze Age era of comics).

Marvels would be a critical and commercial hit. It would win the 1994 Eisner Awards for Best Finite Series, and Alex Ross would win the Best Painter award. The mini-series would be a boost to Busiek and Ross, skyrocketing them to fame in the comics world. The two of them would continue on the theme of "everyday life in a superhero universe" in the comic Astro City.

In 2004, with Marvels celebrating its tenth anniversary, it was suggested that a sequel be done. That is what led to Marvels: Eye of the Camera. With the original Marvels ending at the dawn of the Bronze Age, it was appropriate that the sequel show Sheldon witnessing the events of the Marvel Universe of the 1970s and 1980s.

Busiek had to do heavy amounts of research for this miniseries. He had made an outline of the six issues he planned the story to be, but he was starting to feel weighed down two issues in. Enter Roger Stern. Stern and Busiek had worked together in the past on Iron Man's book and the 1998-1999 Avengers Forever miniseries. The two would brainstorm, Stern would write a page-by-page outline, and then they'd go back-and-forth on revisions and amending. And from there, this sequel was born. Let's take a look at Marvels: Eye of the Camera #1!

The cover is pretty cool. A Jay Anacleto piece, it depicts a photograph of the Thing in traffic. It allows a reminder that Phil Sheldon is a photographer that caught many of the major moments of the early Marvel moments in the eye of his camera (heh). The photo makes the Thing look frightening instead of heroic, showing the theme of this series: Phil witnessing the Marvel Universe during its darker times of the 1970s and 1980s.

"Chapter One: Just One Little Thing"
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Penciler: Jay Anacleto
Inker: Jay Anacleto
Colorist: Brian Haberlin
Letterer: Richard Starkings
Editors: Tom Brevoort, Jeanine Schaefer
Editor-in-Chief:  Joe Quesada

The story begins with Phil Sheldon and his family (his wife Doris and daughters Jennifer and Beth) having dinner together.

Jen and Beth are fighting at the table, but Phil himself is a bit distracted. His photograph of the President emerging from an airplane to go to a United Nations meeting made the front page. It's a good thing, as front-page photos tend to get more money. However, he feels bored by the world. He puts the paper down, the paper showing a headline of Reed Richards' rocket flight [Fantastic Four #1 (November 1961)].

Doris asks Phil what's up. Phil's been feeling a bit tired lately, and he's got a lot on his mind. He has a family to support, and he's wondering if he should get out of freelance photography. He was happy with the job, but it's a young man's game. He's got an interview lined up to be a member of the New York Bulletin's staff, and he's considering going for it.

Phil heads out to an assignment for the New York Globe. He's photographing a workers' strike at a hotel. Afterwards, Sheldon heads to the Bulletin's offices, where he meets Harry Jager. The Bulletin's walls have framed front pages: "Living Colossus!" [Tales of Suspense #14 (February 1961)], "Gorgilla Sighted!" [Tales of Suspense #18 (June 1961)], "Has Earth Been Conquered?" [Strange Tales #90 (November 1961)], "Is There a Wizard in Greenwich Village?" [Strange Tales #110 (July 1963)].

The Bulletin specializes in "speculative journalism", and they need a photo editor. Jager thinks Phil is perfect for the job as he's seen some rather...Marvelous things during his time covering World War II. Phil got a rep for it, and it's made him trusted by the public.To demonstrate what Jager wants, the man holds up a newspaper showing a photograph of what looks like a group of Chinese mutants [Yellow Claw #2 (December 1956)].

Jager wants to do a scare piece about them. Sheldon is able to get through the interview, but it leaves him lamenting. Sheldon covered the Second World War. The Fall of the Third Reich. Stalin. He also covered the rise of what he called "The Marvels". The Original Human Torch. Namor. Captain America. Is this what is left? Glorified tabloids? He gets a couple of days to think about it. Much to his chagrin, Sheldon found himself considering the job. After all, it paid well, and there were benefits.

As he's considering the job, Doris tells him that Jenny is having trouble in school. She's had issues before, as she's a bit of a fighter, but in this case...it's schoolwork. Jenny won't do her classwork. It's interrupted by a newscaster reporting the events of Fantastic Four #1 (November 1961). Nuclear plants are being dragged underground, and Johnny Storm (the second Human Torch) was spotted flying through the sky. The crisis passes, and things seem quiet for about a day.

Sheldon gets a call from J. Jonah Jameson. There's a press conference in Washington, DC. He wants Sheldon to cover it alongside Ben Urich. The two witness a military helicopter landing near the White House, and its occupants introduce themselves.

The Fantastic Four make their public debut, and the Silver Age of Marvel Super-Heroes has begun. And with that, more heroes seem to rise. Some entertainer named Spider-Man [Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962)], and rumors of a big monster stomping around the Southwestern United States [The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962)]. Thor appears. It seems like Phil is encountering something new. Namor rampaging up Fifth Avenue [Fantastic Four #6 (September 1962)], Ant-Man making his debut. Later, at an amusement park, Sheldon gets to witness the Human Torch in action [Strange Tales #101 (October 1962)].

Phil is excited by all these new developments. After all, he's busier than ever. One day, he and his daughter Jenny is in his darkroom.

He's hoping that maybe getting her into photography will help her with her troubles in school. The radio in the darkroom mentions that the Fantastic Four are a bit strapped for cash [Fantastic Four #9 (December 1962)]. He asks Jenny to get a bottle of Perceptol for him. She fetches the wrong bottle, and he realizes her problem: She has trouble seeing. Phil himself was about her age now when he started needing glasses, too. Later, Phil and Ben are discussing a new strange phenomenon running around: Mutants.

The photos are of two incidents involving mutants: a kid in Nassau freezing a punk in ice [X-Men #44 (May 1968)], and a kid in Omaha shooting rays out of his eyes [X-Men #38 (November 1967)]. Ben states the theory that these "mutants" may be the next stage in human evolution, and that radiation is causing it. Ben's been asked to look into the idea of some massive mutant conspiracy to take over the world, even though he thinks it's nonsense.

Phil returns home, finding that the idea of mutants...frightens him to a degree...and he's not sure why. He's knocked out of his thoughts by Jenny and Beth asking him if they can join the Ant-Man Fan Club [Tales to Astonish #53 (March 1964)]. All the kids at school are joining it. They watch a news report of the Thing at Muscle Beach. He's there to promote a movie about the FF [Fantastic Four #9 (December 1962)].

That night, Beth has a nightmare. She got scared the Thing was going to get her, because Jenny compared him to the Golem of Jewish mythology. Phil assures Beth that the Thing would never harm her. He's just a man. Yes, he's very strong and tough, and has skin made of rock, but he's still a man.

It leads Phil to wonder...is this why people fear mutants and not other heroes like the Thing and Spider-Man? Those heroes were given powers by external circumstances, but for mutants...it's in their own genetic code. They're literally born with their powers. Mutants are perhaps a sign that humanity is going extinct...or maybe mutants and enhanced humans are two sides of the same coin. "Normal" humanity is going away...scary thoughts to have on a dark night.

A week later, Phil is leaving an optometrist, having gotten a nice new pair of glasses for Jenny.

He's also got a new assignment: An armored figure called "Iron Man" had shown up near the Stark Industries plant in Flushing. The Bugle's also been running pieces about Spider-Man being a menace. As Phil heads for the subway, he hears people debating mutants and heroes. Phil looks up at the sky, and realizes something: The world is changing.

Years later, Phil heads out to the rocket site where the Fantastic Four made their fateful flight, the one that transformed them into Marvel's First Family. The site is abandoned now, cordoned off. Phil had heard that the local government wanted to make it into a tourist attraction. He thinks about how things had changed since then. The rise of the X-Men and the Avengers. Captain America's return [Avengers #4 (March 1964)]. Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Girl's wedding [Fantastic Four Annual #2 (September 1964)]. Galactus's first appearance [Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966)]. Even the time that Phil and his family temporarily took in a mutant girl named Maggie (back in the original Marvels miniseries).

The photographer takes a couple pictures, then heads out. He has something to do. He and Doris arrive at Mercy General Hospital. Sheldon's been feeling ill lately, and the tests are back. Sadly, it's not good. Phil Sheldon has lung cancer.

This comic was pretty good. The best thing about the comic is the paralleling going on here. We see the world changing on both a big and a small scale. The changes in Phil's life parallel with the Marvel Universe. As shown in the original Marvels, his faith in the heroes was shattered with the death of Gwen Stacy, the event that in the real world, is credited with the beginning of the Bronze Age of Comics, a time when comics got more "dark" and "mature", for good and for ill. It's appropriate that in a time when the Marvel Universe witnesses the rise of monsters like Morbius and the Son of Satan, anti-heroes like the Punisher and Wolverine, and the heroes dealing with the consequences of their actions, does Phil Sheldon end up having to deal with a disease that has changed...and taken many lives.

I also have to give a special shoutout to Jay Anacleto for the artwork here. Alex Ross doesn't do the art duties for this sequel, but that's alright. Anacleto is a great artist, and honestly...I think his artwork is a better fit for this miniseries than Alex Ross would be. Ross is very good at making characters look bright and heroic. Anacleto's style is a great fit for this series as the style and muted color palette help push the idea that the world is getting darker.

For me, one of the fun things of this book, like with the original Marvels, is references to the various events going on in Marvel books. I'm a nut for history and continuity, and it's really cool seeing these events from another perspective.

Eye of the Camera is a criminally underrated miniseries, in my opinion. I think it's a very worthy sequel to the original Marvels, and worth checking out. If you want to check it out for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2010 trade paperback Marvels: Eye of the Camera. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, spread it around! See you next time, where we join the heroes of the Marvel Universe as they engage in a Contest of Champions...

NWA Powerrr Episode 15, My Thoughts

It's time once again to feel the powerrr with the National Wrestling Alliance! Last time, we saw some advancement of the NWA TV Title Tournament, and Ricky Morton got a shot at Nick Aldis's NWA Championship! Let's see what happens next in this big show before the next NWA PPV: Hard Times!

Man, Dokken's "Into the Fire" is a great song for this show.

Get some tea, Joe. That might help.

We got a rematch from the Into the Fire PPV!

I like Rosa's purple gear.

Match #1 - Thunder Rosa vs. Tasha Steelz

What a dodge by Thunder Rosa!

Nasty shot to the head by Rosa!

Steelz trying to fight back, by Rosa downs her!

And Rosa plants Steelz like a tree!

Winner: Thunder Rosa

Hmmm, you'd think if Melina has plans for Rosa, she'd let Rosa in on them?

Nick Aldis is out to make a statement, and he's going to do it at Ring of Honor's expense!

Royce Isaacs thinks he's awesome now that he's got himself a girlfriend.

Royce is like, "That is a nice tie, sir. I would like that tie."

The STOCKS are rising!

Joe's got a point there, Royce-y Boy. Mae just may be distracting me...

Uh, nobody is talking about your virginity, Royce...

This commercial was pretty good. I love how they make the effort to make it look cheap.

Match #2 - NWA TV Title Qualifier Match - Thom Latimer vs. Trevor Murdoch

I'm rooting for Trevor!

Sneak attack by Latimer! Latimer trying to beat Murdoch senseless quickly!

Despite the beating, Murdoch's still in this match!

Murdoch with the quick pin! MURDOCH'S GOT IT! MURDOCH QUALIFIES!

Winner: Trevor Murdoch

MURDOCH WON WITHOUT LAYING A SINGLE SHOT! WOW!

Anything can happen in the NWA!

So, Melina thinks Allysin Kay needs her ego balloon punctured, huh? Well, Mel's antics seem to show maybe Allysin isn't the one with an ego issue.

Yeah, Allysin likes to fight, Melina. Letting her get her paws on Marti Belle in a No DQ match? Hope you got Marti's affairs all in order. And Kay vs. Thunder Rosa at Hard Times looks like it will be fun.

Match #3 - Allysin Kay vs. Marti Belle (No DQ match)

Belle TAKING it to Kay!

Leaving the ring will not save you.

There needs to be barricades

Brawling in the crowd!

Kay's got a chair!

Don't fall for it, Kay! Give her the chair!

Ha ha, Belle fell for it.

OUCH! A FACEFUL OF CHAIR! And Kay gets the win!

Winner: Allysin Kay

Huh. This "Power of Self-Hypnosis" stuff totally does not seem like a scam.

And we got Eddie Kingston with Da Pope!

Pope is searching for "superpowers"...has he checked out the Xavier Institute? No shortage of superpowers there.

Hope Homicide is okay, Eddie.

Time for Aron Stevens' Mongrovian Karate demonstration!

They're chanting "Question Mark", you dolt.

Dear God, does the National Championship need a redesign. I get that it's based on the old-school design, but it could use an update.

DA POWAH OF DA QUESTION MARK!

He made that poor Mongrovian masked man cry, brah!

Maybe they should, Aron. Karate is no good against nukes.

Aron can't break that board.

AWW, BOARD TO THE BACK!

Ricky Starks, you clever son of a gun! Got one up on Aron again!

Hey, CW Anderson! I remember that dude!

And Caleb Konley! He's been seen on Powerrr in the past.

Match #4 - Last Chance TV Title Tournament Gauntlet

Anderson and Konley get to be the (lucky?) men to start the gauntlet match! Who will get a chance to win the TV title?

Anderson and Konley seem evenly matched.

Hey, Jocephus! Haven't seen him sice episode one! Bye, Jocephus! Man, he was eliminated quick!

And here comes Colt Cabana! He looks a little nervous about entering the ring!

Entry number five! Dave Dawson! Dawson was eliminated from the tournament by his brother Zane, so you can bet he's itching to get this opportunity!

Entry number six! NWA National Champion Aron Stevens!

What is he doing?

Oh, he's hiding under the ring!

And Zicky Dice is here to get some attention!

Entry number seven! Sal Rinauro! He's racing into the ring like Popeye after a spinach buffet!

Konley nearly got eliminated! And Dawson ends Rinauro's house-clearing!

And everyone pins Dawson! Dawson is out!

Entry number eight! Ken Anderson! And he eliminated Rinauro with a Mic Check!

Caleb misses the moonsault! Konley crashes and burns! And Anderson eliminates him with another Mic Check!

CW is gone! We got Anderson, Cabana and Stevens left! Stevens been hiding under the ring like a coward!

What is Question Mark doing?!

Whoops! And Stevens is gone!

Rollup outta nowhere on Cabana by Anderson! And Anderson gets the winner!

Winner: Ken Anderson

I think was the best match of the episode so far.

(thumbs up)

Aww, a nice friendly hug between tag partners MIC CHECK TO CABANA! That was completely unnecessary! Why, Anderson! Why?!

James Storm giving a shout out to Ricky Morton!

The Cowboy's definitely been drinking.

Eli should have given Ororo Munroe a shout-out!

It's kind of neat to see NWA working with other promotions.

Stevens vs. Steiner? That's...interesting.

Main Event Time! And Billy Corgan himself will be here on commentary! Yeah, he's a big wrestling nut, and he owns the NWA now.

Match #5 - NWA Championship Match - Nick Aldis (c) vs. NWA Tag Team Champion Ricky Morton

And of course, Nick Aldis has his Strictly Business cronies with him.

Count on Stu Bennett to deliver some news! And everyone is banned from ringside!

This has been quite an epic match!

Aldis grabs the tights!

Winner: Nick Aldis (Retains NWA Championship)

Looks like we may get that confrontation between Aldis and Marty Scurll down the line...

This was a fun episode! My favorite part was the Gauntlet match! I can't wait for the next episode!

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, spread it around! See you next time!

Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time Announcement Trailer, My Thoughts

On August 10, 2001, the animated series Samurai Jack premiered on Cartoon Network. The series told the tale of a feudal Japan-era prince who was brought to a dystopian future by a demon named Aku. Now Jack must travel this future world to stop the demon and return to his native time.

Samurai Jack would last for four seasons. In 2017, a fifth season would arrive. Set 50 years after the past four seasons, this season would allow the series to get a proper conclusion. The series would get critical acclaim and win several awards, including Emmys. Jack's adventures would be chronicled in other media, including comic books from IDW Publishing, and video games. And there's a new announcement trailer for an upcoming game starring Jack: Battle Through Time! Let's take a look!

Run, Jack! Run!

Rated T for Teen. Haven't seen that rating in a while.

I have to admit, this game reminds me of those 3D cel-shaded games from the 2000s.

I wonder if this game will be an adaptation of the show or an original story. I mean, it's not like there wasn't a big gap of time between seasons four and five to explore. Would make for some great comics or even novels?

Combat looks fun. I'm a sucker for some hack-and-slash fun.

Looks like you get Classic!Jack and his 50 years later look as well.

I am wondering if you only use the gun at certain points, or if it's a weapon that can be used at any point in the game.

I also wonder if you can change up Jack's look at various points in the game.

Not a whole lot of things to say, considering that the trailer is so short. But it did get me hyped. I loved the show, so I am excited to play this game.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, spread it around! See you next time!

Text Play: Pokemon Zeta #6

Hello, and welcome back to the Vesryn region! This is my sixth entry in my Text Play of Pokémon Zeta!

As always, I want to warn you all that I will be spoiling this game here. As such, if you want to play this for yourself, I recommend that you download the game at its wiki right here. And with that, let's begin!

I've been doing quite a bit of grinding getting ready for Thor at the Pokéhadron Collider. I chose to add Diglett and Geodude to my team, replacing my Weepinbell and Seadra. Seadra had the type disadvantage, and Weepinbell was out because...well, space reasons. I can only have six Pokémon on the team, after all. After all the grinding, I'm going to hit the Pokéhadron Collider.

We can't get into the Collider from the front door, unfortunately. We'll have to pass through a couple of routes (306 and 307), as there's an alternate entry point at the remains of Nyasa Town. Ahhh, God. Team Olympus just destroyed...everything, didn't they? That awesome arcade down on Rawlins Street...that barber shop with the nice lady that always knew how I liked my hair cut...man, all those memories...all just gone.

I said this in the last entry, and I'll say it again. Be prepared before entering the collider. Because if you go in...you cannot leave until you beat Thor. So, yeah. Make sure your Pokémon are ready for a fight, and you have plenty of healing items and the like. I bought a bunch of Potions and Paralyze Heals for my Pokémon. Thor uses Electric-types, so it's good to prepare for paralysis.

I've also been doing a ton of grinding of my Pokémon in preparation for this whole thing. Once they were powerful enough, it was time to hit the Collider. I traveled through a tunnel to get to the Collider. It was just a tunnel. Just a plain old tunnel. Nothing special. It was at the end of the tunnel that some action went down.

"Not responsible". Yeah, I call BS on this. Team Olympus was swarming Nyasa and had the town quarantined. If they didn't blow up Nyasa Town, then who did? What, did it blow itself up?! Well, according to Thor, it was the scientists at the Collider's fault. They caused some epic screw-up, and Team Olympus evacuated the town. But it wasn't a complete loss. The Time Caller, enhanced somehow by the Collider, was able to summon a being called "Divaevus, the Traveller".

I think Divaevus is a new Pokémon created for this game. There's nothing on Bulbapedia about it. Anyway, Thor (the game calls him Apollo. Yeah, I talked about this in the last entry) claims they can now use this new Pokémon to move anything through time. I was confused for a moment. Wait, didn't they already have that ability with the Time Caller? Why did they need the Collider? Well, you see, the Time Caller can only summon things through time to the present. It doesn't allow its user to travel through time. Naturally, one can assume that Team Olympus somehow used the Collider to enhance

Thor spots me, and we end up battling. He wants a bit of payback for my beating Athena in Onega Town. Let's do this.

1st Pokémon: Elekid (Lv. 22) - Defeats Diglett. Defeats Gible. Defeated by Magmar.
2nd Pokémon: Carvanha (Lv. 24) - Defeated by Luxio.
3rd Pokémon: Luxio (Lv. 24) - Defeats Luxio. Defeats Butterfree. Gets defeated by Confusion's after effects.

Thor is furious. He uses the Time Caller to bring his Pokémon back. However, I get a savior.

We meet at last, Mr. Wilson. And he's a member of the Elite Four! He specializes in Dragon-type Pokémon. Thor does the smart thing and backs off, but warns that Zeus will hear of this. With him exiting stage left, Wilson congratulates me for beating him, as Team Olympus is no joke. I wonder if he knew about my previous encounter with Athena. And Thor was the only member of the team that actually gave me a challenge so far.

Wilson has a past with the Collider. He was a former worker there, specializing in...creating synthetic Pokémon. Hoo boy, there's a mountain of issues with this. Anyway, he came by to see me. Why? Well, the Legend Researcher claimed to him I was a great trainer. Looking at me, he is reminded of someone he once knew...maybe he knew Aria. He wonders if I can run an errand for him.

He wants me to go to Ladoga Town, over in the Chrome Circle. To get there, I need four badges, and a Pokémon that knows the Surf technique. I believe I only have two so far. No problem, I can get those badges at the Gyms in Fianga City and Agassiz City. Well, the Collider is right in Fianga, so we can go hit that Gym first.

The Fianga Gym specializes in Steel-type Pokémon. And the Gym leader is a unique one...because their leader is a robot.

Yup. It's bizarrely appropriate that a gym specializing in Steel-type Pokémon be led by a robot. The robot's name is PK-096. And we'll have to solve a puzzle at the gym to get to it. However, there's a problem. You see, there's a branch you have to use Cut on in front of the Gym. I don't have any way to Cut said branch, so I can't just go inside the Gym.

Aw, well. I still have a bit of unfinished business at the Collider, anyway. The scientists inside are hard at work making crimes against nature. Most of them are very thankful for clearing Team Olympus out of the Collider. One even offers to teach my Pokémon Return. There is always one Grumpy Gus, though.

Heh heh. There are more scientists upstairs, and one of them claimed that they were unaware of the commotion downstairs.

...How were you all not aware of the Pokémon battle going on downstairs?!

Anyway, one of the scientists reveals he used to work for Team Rocket, and was involved in the creation of Mewtwo. He showed me one of the results of the research that was done that led to Mewtwo's creation...and it's a Ditto. The idea that Ditto is an artificial Pokémon is an interesting one. The first Pokémon games had a theme of genetic engineering, and Mewtwo was a Pokémon created through genetic engineering. Whose to say there weren't other Pokémon created in the process?

I have to admit, I was a bit nervous going into this. I only had a couple of Pokéballs, and if I failed to catch Ditto here, I would not get another chance until later in the game. Thankfully, I managed to catch it easily thanks to Butterfree and its Sleep Powder. It was surprisingly easy. Must've been lucky. Huh. I'm not going to complain. If I failed to catch this Ditto here, I'd have to wait a very long time for another shot at one. Having a Ditto is also great, as I can now breed Pokémon. That's pretty much all I use Dittos for. Now I have to find a Day Care Center...

I had been thinking about what to do when battling PK-096. The common strategy to battle Steel-type Pokémon is to use Fire-types. Unfortunately, they're in short supply in my case. I only have a couple of those: Magmar and Ponyta. Maybe Route 308 will have some more. Route 308 leads to Agassiz Town, so maybe there's some Fire-types to get there.

On Route 308, I fought a Trainer armed with a Ivysaur, Wartortle, and Charmeleon he claimed to have gotten from Professor Oak. Yeah, I doubt the man would give a trainer all three original starter Pokémon. I'll have to ask him next time I see him. Maybe he knows somebody who breeds starters for beginner trainers?

I also fought another Trainer who wanted to brag about how beautiful her Pokémon were. After I beat her, she called me awful. Hey, not my fault you cared more about making your Pokémon pretty instead of making them good battlers. Also, I found another goof-up on this Route.

Yeah, the Pokémon you encounter is called Espurr, but that sprite there? That's not Espurr. That's Goomy. Whoops. And it's happened a couple of times. Whoopsie. Route 308 is not a very eventful route. Just travel through, catch a couple Pokémon and battle some trainers. I did discover an item on the way.

It's a pair of Super Potions! Those could come in handy! Never know when you'll need a Potion in this crazy world. Route 308 is a rather long route, one

Partway through, we get a nice surprise.

Welcome to Kariba Town! And yes, it's named after another lake. Lake Kariba is another African lake, located on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. It was created by the building of the Kariba Dam. The town is essentially a giant rest stop on the way to Agassiz Town. As such, it's a very basic town. It has some houses, a Poké Mart, and a Pokémon Center. If you talk to an old man in the Center, he'll give you a Lucky Egg. It's a handy item for grinding. Give it to your Pokémon, and if you battle with it, it'll get more experience points than normal, allowing it to get stronger faster. It can be useful if you're making adjustments to a team, and you want to get new members caught up with the Pokémon you already have.

Interestingly, the town is built on top of the Pokéhadron Collider. It's not as implausible as you think. Check out the Large Hadron Collider in France/Switzerland. It has a ring 17 miles in circumference. It's plausible to have towns around and on it.

I did get a chuckle from one moment. There's this wannabe fisherman who is...having some issues with catching some fish.

...Dude, there's no water there! No wonder you can't catch any fish, man! Come on!

Kariba Town does seem like a glorified "rest stop", but it still has a couple of things to do here. If you have an extra Rapidash, you can trade it to this kid near the Poké Mart for an Absol.

This trade is hilarious. You see, you can get Ponytas pretty easily in this game. Absols are hard to come by. I do have a Ponyta and a Ditto. I can just breed one, raise it until it evolves, then trade it for the Absol. I hope this region has a Day-Care Center. Can't see why it would not have one. There also is a home that has a Corsola.

Unfortunately, the poor critter has seen better days. You're probably wondering why the Corsola's owner didn't take it to a Pokémon Center? Well, it's hinted the Corsola is a wild Pokémon the old man found, and that it has an illness the Pokémon Center can't treat. You can try to catch it, but you need an item called a Medical License for it. It's obtained via the Mystery Gift feature at the game's select screen.

There is one other interesting thing here in Kariba Town...

I got a bike. I'm sure it's fine. Totally fine. I just got a free bike from a stranger hanging around the woods. I'm sure there's absolutely nothing shady about that.

Kariba is a cute little town, but I can't stay forever. I have Badges to get, and Team Olympus is still out there. Got to give them more beatings, too. And thanks to my new bike, I can do it a little faster now!

So far, the bike seems to work perfectly fine. And it allows me to go at a very good speed. Kariba Town splits Route 308 in half. The part of Route 308 that connects Kariba and Agassiz Town is known as Route 308.5. I'd have personally gone with Route 308 North and Route 308 South, but that's just me. The grassy area of 308.5 has a Trick house nearby.

Unfortunately, the door is locked at the moment, so there's no exploring it for now. We continue on the route until we reach a large desert area...and we get a faceful of sandstorm.

You know, geographies of Pokémon regions can be pretty weird. I mean, Route 308.5 has a grassy area that goes straight into a desert, and you get hit by a sandstorm the second you step foot in it. Anyway, there's plenty of Trainers to battle in this place. Fighting them here can be tough due to the perpetual sandstorm. Unless your Pokémon are Rock, Ground, or Steel-type, they will get battered by the sandstorm while fighting Trainers here.

Sounds intimidating, right? You may be thinking, "Is there any way to prevent this happening?" Well, yes. There is. In the desert there is a big ol' rock formation. On the top of it lies a special item that can help with the sandstorm: A pair of Go-Goggles.

What are Go-Goggles? Well, Go-Goggles are an item that when you put them on, they can dissipate weather effects in the overworld, like this here sandstorm. Two questions. One: Who left these goggles here? Two: ...how do the Go-Goggles do that? I mean, I get that the goggles would protect a trainer's eyes from sandstorms, but how do they dissipate it. ...I'm putting too much thought into a game about catching monsters and making them battle each other, aren't I?

The desert area is rather big, but there's no wild Pokémon here to catch. This is odd as desert areas in previous games have had Pokémon dwelling in them. This would have been a great place to catch Darumaka, for example. It's a Fire-type, and dwells in deserts. Not to mention given us something to use against PK-096.

At the entrance to Agassiz Town, there's trouble afoot.

Yup, Team Olympus is up to something. I know they blew up Nyasa Town. Just because they say they didn't doesn't mean they didn't. And is...is that Jake?! What is he doing here? Evidently, he's claiming to be part of...Team Yoloswag? Seriously?! Hey jerkoff, these clowns blew up Nyasa Town!

Funny enough, Team Olympus and I are on the same page regarding Jake. They think he's a moronic clown, too. So they decide to just go up and leave. That. Is. Hilarious. Jake himself is rather mad about it. So, he decides to take it out on me. Yeah, sure pal. I wish the Team Olympus guys were still here just so they could see me whup you. He says if he loses, he'll give me an HM he has.

Vs. Jake
1st Pokémon: Charmeleon - Defeated by Seadra
2nd Pokémon: Aron - Defeated by Magmar
3rd Pokémon: Seadra - Defeated by Weepinbell
4th Pokémon: Scraggy - Defeated by Butterfree

Seadra and Scraggy were pretty tough opponents, but I still managed to pull off the win. Kicked Jake right in the swag, ha ha. Jake rants that Team Yoloswag will be the greatest team ever! Yeah, greatest at making people laugh themselves silly unintentionally. But to be fair, he did keep his promise regarding the HM. I now own HM01: Cut. I can go into the Gym in Fianga now...once I beat the Gym in Agassiz Town.

And speaking of Agassiz, we have arrived!

Also, the humor is dry, too. And before you ask, yes. Agassiz does share the other towns and cities' lake naming theme. This time, the name comes from Lake Agassiz, a glacial lake in North America. It's between Canada's Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario, and the U.S.'s Minnesota and North Dakota.

And I think that's where we'll end this entry for now. Next time, we'll explore Agassiz Town, this little desert oasis, and then face its gym. I hope you'll join me then! Wish me luck!

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, spread it around! See you next time!

Pokémon Obtained:
Pokéhadron Collider
- Ditto
Route 308
- Helioptile
- Espurr
Route 308.5
- Sandshrew
- Sandile
- Hippopotas
- Phanpy
- Gabite (evolved from Gable)

Wonder Woman #213 (September 1974)

It's time to rejoin the Amazing Amazon as she undergoes her 12 labors! To prove to the Justice League that she was worthy of rejoining the ranks of the World's Greatest Heroes, she would undergo her own version of the Herculean Twelve Labors in the form of her next twelve adventures. Each of those adventures would be monitored by a member of the League. Last month, Superman chronicled her first Labor, saving the life of a dignitary from the overly-ambitious sword-wielding Musketeer-wannabe known as the Cavalier. It was...rather stupid.

But that was last month. This month, we're going to join the Scarlet Speedster as he takes over chronicling duty. He's going to regale us with the tale of the robot that caused the end of war. Will it be better than the last issue? Let's find out as I look at Wonder Woman #213!

The cover is pretty neat. A Bob Oksner piece, it depicts a mob trying to stop Wonder Woman from stopping a strange robot from smashing a house into the ground. A house with a woman trapped inside it. The Flash is holding up the image like it's a painting or a giant blown-up photograph, saying the world has gone mad...and he's going to explain how. The cover is very Silver Age, with the Flash talkin to the viewer. I like it.

"The War-No-More Machine"
Writer: Cary Bates
Penciler: Irv Novick
Inker: Tex Blaisdell
Colorist: Unknown
Letterer: Unknown
Editor: Julius Schwartz

The story begins with Barry Allen, aka the Flash, racing across the countryside.

He's heading to a tape recorder so he can make his report about Wonder Woman's second labor. His report will tell the tale of Wondy and two regular humans as they stand up against a crazy machine. It was a dark and stormy afternoon in New York City. However, this night would give rise to one of the craziest cosmic coincidences ever.

On this day, Diana Prince would bump her foot on the sidewalk on the way to her new job at the UN's Crisis Bureau. A graduate student named Angie Blake would get a splinter in her finger as she was participating at a protest. A gangster named Marty Tragg (No relation to Arthur Tragg from Perry Mason) ends up crashing his car into a lamppost after it skidded on the rain-slicked pavement. At that very same moment, a robot lands on Earth thousands of miles away, and it starts emitting unearthly radiation.

A couple of days later, Diana is summoned to the Crisis Bureau. Something big has gone down. A massive outbreak...of peace.

No joke. Everyone's suddenly gotten...peaceful. Diana doesn't see an issue with it at first. After all, isn't world peace a good thing? However, this peace...is problematic. This was a peace forced on people. It's fine for people to not want to fight, but...

As shown here in this panel, having no aggression can cause problems, too. Brazilian farmers run away from locusts. In Japan, a martial arts exhibition ended in disaster because the fighters refused to fight. And the Inuit in the Arctic won't hunt for food. Yeah. It's too peaceful. A Dr. Hans Krissen is flying into Kennedy for a strategy meeting, and Diana goes to meet his plane.

Up above the airport, Krissen's plane is getting skyjacked. The man responsible? One Martin Tragg. He points his gun at the pilots, and they're so frightened that they won't even grab the plane's controls, causing it to go out of control and dive. Diana spots the plane while on the freeway, and summons her invisible plane. The plane drops some smoke down on the freeway, allowing Diana to change into Wonder Woman. She joins her plane, and uses her magic lasso to bring the plane to a safe landing.

Diana is able to stop Tragg, and get Krissen. It's odd, because with everyone forced to be super-pacisifistic, Tragg should not have been able to even hold up the plane. He's somehow immune to the forced peace. Why him, some random guy? Krissen and Diana arrive at the UN Plaza, where Angie Blake is still protesting war. Uh, Angie? Have you been watching the news lately? Anyway, after Krissen arrives and starts the meeting, Diana heads off to Paradise Island.

She believes she might find some answers to why she and Tragg are immune to the peace wave at the Amazons' home. It's there that she finds a beast called a Rhinotaur on the rampage.

The Amazons, normally fierce warriors when the time calls for it, show their own lack of immunity to the forced peace. They're panicked, and terrified of the beast. Wonder Woman tries to stop the bizarre beast with her lasso, but the Rhinotaur sends her tumbling into a column. She then grapples with the Rhinotaur, forcing it down into the ocean...where it turns out salt water is able to calm it. Huh.

Hopefully it knows how to swim. With that crisis solved, Diana heads to an ancient temple on the island. Contained within was the Magic Sphere, a gift from the goddess Athena given to Diana's mom Hippolyta eons ago. The sphere was evidently some kind of ancient artifact...that looks more like a washing machine.

Seriously. It looks like the Amazons use it to do their laundry! The sphere's power may have dulled with age, but hopefully it can still help Diana get the answers she needs.

Two days pass. Marty Tragg finds himself released from jail. Man, the justice system works quick in the DCU. The failed skyjacker finds himself in the custody of Wonder Woman. Hey, it could be worse, Marty. She also picks up Angie Blake. The Amazing Amazon then takes the two to a hill in New Jersey. She wants them to gaze into the Magic Sphere. The sphere shows that recently, a robot had landed in the middle of the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Upon landing, the robot started emitting waves of energy that reached across the world. This is the cause of the crazy peace everyone's been feeling lately. So, why were Diana, Marty, and Angie unaffected? Well, at that moment, there was a thunderstorm in New York, and all three of them were near a freak lightning bolt that hit the street. Marty theorizes that the electricity in the lightning bolt interfered with the robot's energy waves.

Marty's half-right. It wasn't just the electricity. Remember earlier in the story? Marty crashed and hit his head. Angie got a splinter from a sign she was holding. Diana stubbed her toe on the sidewalk. It was the pain they felt combined with the electrical exposure that made them immune. Marty points out that if the Magic Sphere could reveal the cause of this mess, then it could show how to stop it. However, the Sphere's power has faded over the years, so it can't. How convenient.

Diana needs their help to stop the robot causing this. They both refuse. Angie is a pacifist, and Marty feels he doesn't owe the world anything. Also keep in mind this. Marty's a gangster. He's probably the last criminal left on Earth. He can literally do whatever he wants and nobody will be able to stop him. Not even Superman. So, I can see why he'd refuse to help from that angle.

Angie, though...I would find it more understandable if she said that she's reluctant to do this because in way, this is what she wanted. No war. No violence. She wanted peace. Then Wonder Woman can convince her that this peace is false, and that it's causing harm to people because they have zero aggression whatsoever.

Anyway, Diana is desperate, so she uses her magic lasso to compel them to help her. The three head to the Grand Canyon, where they find the robot. When they arrive, Wonder Woman tells them to stay with her robot plane. If she can't stop this thing, they'll take the plane and warn the world.

...What good will that do?! Thanks to this robot, people are literally TOO AFRAID TO FIGHT! THERE ARE ONLY THREE PEOPLE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD THAT HAVE THEIR MINDS FREE! Anyway, Wonder Woman tries to engage the robot...and it goes well.

"Just because I create pacifism, does not mean I am a pacifist!"

Mighty warriors indeed, those Amazons are. The robot is able to smash the Amazing Amazon into the ground. Barry Allen tries to rush in to help. Remember, he's been observing this whole thing. However, he discovers that he was forcibly pacified, too. Gee, you think, Barry?!

The robot is about to stomp Diana's face into Wonder Hamburger. Luckily, Tragg and Blake somehow manage to shake off Diana's mind control lasso, grab said lasso, and use it to trip up the robot. Barry notes the irony of a violent criminal and a pacifist working together. The distraction allows Diana to dig herself out of the ground. The two civilians toss her the lasso, and she gets to work. Diana loops the lasso around the robot, knocking it down.

With that, the three celebrate like they were friends. Barry Allen disassembles the robot, and Wonder Woman then makes like the Third Doctor and reverses the polarity of the robot's peace-making device. And everything is back to normal.

As Barry Allen recounts the case to a recorder, he adds that Diana discovered a message in the robot. It's from the creator, a scientist whose world was ravaged by a massive nuclear war. The scientist created and sent the robot to another world, hoping it would save another world from the terrible fate of their own. The scientist's intentions were noble, but if humanity is to truly ever get world peace, they're going to have to work at it. He's also looking forward to learning about Wonder Woman's next labor, which will be monitored by the Hal Jordan Green Lantern.

This issue... was significantly less stupid than the last one. It still was pretty dumb, though. There were a lot of moments that made me ask plenty of questions. Like Angie Blake, for example. Why was she still protesting war when there was no more war? I would have liked to see more interaction between Wondy and her new allies. Tragg's violent nature and Angie's pacifism would have made for some very interesting character interplay. There was potential there.

I actually think the idea of Wonder Woman facing a robot that forced peace on people was actually rather cool. The robot was a great foil to Wondy in a way. Diana wants to bring about peace on Earth as well, but her way is through inspiring others and being a negotiator. The robot doe it through subjugation, making people so pacifistic that they can't even defend themselves. That's pretty scary when you think about it.

Irv Novick turns in some fine artwork. It's wonderful to look at, and it does contribute to the very Silver Age feel of the story. At this point, comics had entered the Bronze Age. As such, the story feels like a bit of a throwback.

This issue was better than the last one, but it's still pretty goofy. If you want to read it for yourself, I recommend that you hunt down the 2012 trade paperback Wonder Woman: The Twelve Labors. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, spread it around! See you next time, where we look at a hidden sequel to a classic Marvel miniseries...