World Penguin Day

 Today is World Penguin Day!

This day is celebrated on April 25 because it's around this time of year that Adelie penguins migrate to their breeding colonies around this time every year.

Penguins are flightless aquatic birds that mostly live in the Southern Hemisphere. In fact, only one species of penguin lives north of the Equator: the Galapagos penguin. Penguin diets comprise of sea animals, like fish, squid, and krill. They spend half their lives waddling about being penguins on land, and the other swimming around. Penguins mainly feed on krill, squids, and other forms of sea life, swallowing them whole with spiny tongues and powerful jaws.

The word "penguin" started appearing in the 16th century as a synonym for another bird: the great auk. They are not actually related. There have been many theories about where the word "penguin" came from, from Latin, from Welsh, etc.

Most penguins live south of the Equator near the South Pole. Only the Galapagos penguin lives around the Equator itself. Penguins tend to spend their lives equally between the land and the sea.

In prehistoric times, penguins could reach the height of the average human. Nowadays, the emperor penguin, the largest species of penguin, can reach about three feet in height. Penguin wings are adapted to allow them to move through the water at great speed and agility. Their black-and-white bodies are also colored that way for the purpose of camouflage while swimming, making them hard to make out from above or below. They also have a thick layer of insulating feathers that help them stay warm in water (you lose heat faster in water than in air), and they have good eyesight for birds. They are also capable of drinking salt water because they have a special gland in their bodies that filters out the salt.

Most species of penguins form monogamous couples in large groups when it comes time to laying eggs. Penguins usually lay two at a time. Most penguin species have only one brood per year. Little penguins, though, lay up to three. 

Sadly, the penguin is experiencing a decline in population. Hopefully they can be saved. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! If you like what I write and want to give my blog some additional support, please make a donation to my Ko-fi! See you next time!

Supergirl #18 (April 1984)

With the Girl of Steel returning to the big screen, this time portrayed by Milly Alcock, I thought it would be a good time to look at a comic starring said Maid of Might. Also, it had been a while since I looked at a DC book here. I am a Marvel head, don't get me wrong, but I also enjoy DC. 

The comic we're looking at here is from the last series the original incarnation of Kara Zor-El had before her death on Crisis on Infinite Earths. I have looked at comics in this series before, most recently back in November of last year with issue #2. I've found the series to be pretty decent. I did enjoy the creators trying to give Supergirl her own life, adventures, and rogues outside of the Man of Steel. So, let's see the Girl of Steel take on the threat of the Kraken in Supergirl #18!

The cover is a Howard Bender and Dick Giordano piece. You may also have noticed that the masthead logo is different from the last issue we looked at. This logo first appeared in issue #13, and I admit...I'm not too fond of it. I preferred the first masthead logo as it had that link to Superman's but also looked distinctive. Yes, she's Kal-El's cousin, but she is still her own person. I think that first masthead logo captured that perfectly. This one looks...a bit more generic. But that's just me.

"Call me--Kraken"
Writer: Paul Kupperberg
Penciler: Carmine Infantino
Inker: Bob Oksner
Letterer: Nansi Hoolahan
Colorist: Ben Oda
Editor: Julius Schwartz
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

The story begins in Lake Michigan. We look in on an oil tanker going across said Great Lake. The Siren Song flies a Greek flag for the Northstar Oil Company.

"🎵Sailing, sailing, over the bounty main...🎵"

The tanker's sonar picks up something odd under the waves. The ship tries to go around it, as it doesn't want to risk a collision. However, a massive wave seems to prepare to crash into the ship...and it stops. Like someone hit the pause button on it.

The ship also ends up stuck in the water. A voice demands that the owner pay them $1,000,000 for passage. And that's not just this ship. Every ship or plane that goes over this lake must pay this person a million dollars as tribute, or they will destroy them. The head of the company, a Mr. Hogwilder, agrees to pay the mysterious being...while using taxpayer money to do so...and take a little extra for expenses, of course. Yeah, I have no idea how he's going to do that. But then again, I am not a corrupt greedy CEO, so...yeah. Maybe they cover that in the college course for it.

The being also demonstrates their new power by trapping a plane in a thunderstorm. So, where's Supergirl at? Well, she's in Chicago foiling a bank robbery.

"I hope I don't get blasted with antimatter wearing this spiffy new suit..."

Yes, this is the costume she will wear when she meets the Grim Reaper in Crisis on Infinite Earths. The costume itself debuted in issue #13, while the headband was added here. Since Supergirl is a Kryptonian, and these bank robbers are just, well, bank robbers in silly helmets, she is easily able to take care of them. A bystander remarks how Supergirl looks very trendy in her new headband and uniform, but it's actually traditional. Pre-Crisis, male Kryptonians wore headbands. But since Kara's on Earth, she decides she can wear one, too. It also helps keep her hair out of her face. She encounters Lt. Peters of Chicago PD, who is annoyed at her catching the criminals, which he sees as her interfering in police business. Kara reminds him that she was deputized as a police representative by the United Nations all the way back in Action Comics #285. I'm not sure how that works, so we should just assume the bureaucracy for that stuff in the DC Universe. 

As she flies off, a boat takes to the waters, only to be trapped on a waterspout, the voice of the being responsible demanding tribute. Meanwhile, Kara arrives at Symphony Hall in downtown Chicago. 

"People tend to get lost here. And never return."

From what I can look up, this is not a real place. There are actual places called Symphony Hall in some places in the US, most notably in Boston, but there isn't one in Chicago. There are concert halls in the Windy City, but none of them look like this from what I could see.

Anyway, Kara is there to meet Phil Decker, a concert musician. A man there tells her that today is Wednesday, and the musicians are off on Wednesday. This strikes Kara as odd as he told her he always rehearses on that day. She fears that maybe he's seeing someone else behind her back. She heads home, lost in thought about this. Unnoticed by her, a figure is watching her thanks to a security camera hidden in the trees. Good thing it isn't fall yet.

"Oh man, this is better than my soap operas!"

At her apartment, she gets a call from Phil who tells her he's still practicing. Kara is tempted to use her powers to spy on him, but she's never done it before, and has no intention of starting now. She needs to clear her head, so she decides to go fly. She decides to just ask the man about it. After all, better to get more facts before making a judgment. She finally notices the craziness in Lake Michigan and goes to check it out.

You'd think at the very least, the local news would have gone bonkers about this. I get it's the DC Universe, but you'd think they'd still talk about this. Supergirl finds the plane trapped earlier in the issue, having finally run out of fuel. 

"Mom was right. I should've been an accountant."

Kara is able to catch the plane. She ends up getting an energy blast to the back for her trouble.

Because of it, she has to toss the plane to O'Hare International Airport, hoping it can glide there. She tries to dissipate the storm clouds over Lake Michigan with some heat vision but gets an explosion to the mug for it. 

It's here the being responsible for this reveals themselves. 

"I...have been...RELEASED!"

Meet Kraken, a...sorcerer? He babbles about magic in the issue, so I can assume he is. He's obviously not an Earthman. He's not from the Milky Way galaxy. He's not even from Universe-One (this is still pre-Crisis). Many years ago, he came to this dimension to prove his might and power to his gods. As part of that, he figured "I know the best way to do this! I'm going to do some conquering!" And as such, he tried to do so. Key word being try. His first attempt to conquer a city in space resulted in him getting repelled. In fact, he got beaten so badly he nearly died. Not exactly his finest hour. 

He obviously lived, although he spent a lot of time recovering. Presumably in some kind of space traction. His desire for revenge helped keep him going through this. He would return to the city that originally repelled and whupped him...only to find it floating in space and utterly lifeless. It turns out that this was Argo City, Kara's original home. Kraken took this...well.

He could not redeem himself with the Argosians now all gone. Somehow, he learned of Kara's survival and living on Earth. That's really what he's all about. He wants revenge on Kara simply because she's from Argo City. 

Kara dives into the water and knocks Kraken into it. That was a mistake.

His power is greater under water. He claims his magical powers are invincible in the sea, demonstrating by firing water at her. Thing is, Kara may be no more immune to the effects of magic than anyone else but fighting foes who pack magic is nothing new to her at this point. She disperses the waterspout with a whirlpool. She grabs Kraken's wrists, but he's also strong enough to send her flying.

Kraken blasts at her with hard water bubbles, Kara counters with super-breath. He then hits her with some presumably magical lightning.

Kraken could never quite understand how "tag" works.

Kara notes that if it was really a magical blast, it could have easily taken her head off. Kraken follows Kara out of the water and creates a magic fist to crush the Kryptonian heroine. She's able to use her X-Ray vision on Kraken and realizes something. She then hits him with her heat vision. Kraken suddenly goes weaker. He topples to the ground, his watery creations collapsing...but Supergirl has him.

"You owe a lot of people a lot of apologies, fishface."

Supergirl's X-Ray vision allowed her to discover that Kraken wasn't really a magician. He was just using advanced technology that seemed like magic. She not only used her heat vision to dry him out and weaken him (presumably she assumed Kraken was like Aquaman at the time, that keeping moist helped maintain his strength), she used it to fry his devices, making him unable to use his "magic". If Kraken's idea of heaven is taking down Supergirl, then he's going to be stuck in "hell" for a very long time. Somewhere, the Anti-Monitor is laughing, and he does not know why...

I did enjoy this issue. Kraken is shown to be a powerhouse, worthy of being a threat to the Girl of Steel. We also get a little bit of mystery regarding Kara's potential main squeeze and the mysterious being watching her. So, there was something to think over. We don't get any hints that the watcher here is aware that Kara is Supergirl, but that doesn't mean they aren't aware of it. And since Supergirl has no shortage of enemies (considering her own adventures and her being Superman's cousin), it's not surprising that there's someone in the background plotting against her.  

Kraken is your basic "out to conquer and get revenge" villain. He's not really special, but I think if he did ever get more appearances and development, he could have grown into an interesting character. But still, kudos to the creators for trying to give Supergirl her own villains to fight. Also, I think he looks really cool, and his "magic" being advanced technology was a twist that would make Arthur C. Clarke proud. So, yeah. He was a bit basic, but he had potential.

I felt the bit with Hogwilder was unnecessary. I got the impression he was being set up to be a bigger player in things, perhaps becoming Kara's own Lex Luthor. But he gets one appearance and that's it. We don't see him try to enact the plan he seemingly has for embezzlement. 

Dick Giordano's art here hasn't quite reached the form it has later with The Flash, although I wonder if that was because of Ben Oda's inking here. It does the job just fine. 

If you want to read this story for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2017 trade paperback The Daring Adventures of Supergirl Vol. 2. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! If you like what I write and want to give my blog some additional support, please make a donation to my Ko-Fi! See you next time!

Arbor Day

Happy Arbor Day, everyone!

Celebrated on the last Friday of April here in the United States, Arbor Day is a day dedicated to celebrating, well...trees. Trees are the lungs of the planet. They absorb carbon dioxide in the air and provide oxygen. They give homes to various animals. When you have a bunch of trees in a forest, they can also help regulate climate and mitigate natural disasters. Not to mention trees are pretty to look at. I did talk a bit more about forests and the joys of them here. 

Arbor Day celebrations can be traced to Spain in 1594. The mayor of a Spanish town called Mondoñedo organized an arbor plantation festival there. Spain also gave the world what can be considered the first modern Arbor Day. In 1805, Juan Abern Santres, the local priest of the Spanish village Villanueva de la Sierra launched this initiative with the support of the local population. Santres was a bit of an environmentalist, viewing trees as important for health and beauty. 

In the USA, where I live, politician and newspaper editor J. Sterling Morton (who served as Secretary of Agriculture under Grover Cleveland) originated the American Arbor Day. Morton loved trees, and during his time as secretary of the Nebraska Territory in 1872, he called for a holiday dedicated to planting trees. It was believed that in response to this, on the first American Arbor Day on April 10, 1872, one million trees were planted in the state. 1885 would see Arbor Day become a legal holiday in Nebraska, and the date of its observance would become April 26. This would spread to 45 other states and territories by 1920. Nowadays, it's observed in all US states. If you want to learn more about the history of Arbor Day, you can do so here.

Many countries observe their version of Arbor Day at various times throughout the year. But the theme is the same: planting and appreciating trees. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! If you like what I write and want to give my blog some additional support, please make a donation to my Ko-fi! See you next time!

Night of the Wolf-Woman

Here's another short little tale from me. I hope you all like it.

"Werewolf Priestess" by CyberKaku. The inspiration for Sister Candace. 

Night of the Wolf

Night had fallen over the forest, a dark blanket with shining stars covering the canopy of the many trees there. From within the forest, the light of a campfire poked through the darkness of the forest floor. The fire popped and crackled as it burned the logs underneath it.

The end of a metal pole with a marshmallow impaled on it hovered over the flames, held in the hand of a lithe sandy blond-haired man. He wore a green flannel shirt, blue jeans, and brown boots. A smile was on his face.

Yes. Gary Pearson thought as he watched the marshmallow heat, carefully turning it in his hand. This is cooking wonderfully. A smile appeared on his face as he watched the small white foodstuff.

“You. Are. A. Child.” A woman's voice teased. Still smiling, Gary looked up and to his right. Sitting on the ground and wearing a red shirt, jeans, and brown cowboy boots was a woman whose frame showed powerful muscle mixed with feminine curves. Long curly black hair was spilling out onto her powerful shoulders, her head topped by a white Stetson. The fire cast orange light on her dark brown skin. She was drinking out of a small silver cup.

“You never toasted marshmallows over a fire before, Viola?” Gary asked.

Viola Renard snorted. “Never even been camping in my life before I started this gig.”

“The joys of bounty hunting.” Gary smiled. “You get to be your own boss, you get to make your own hours, and there's always an adventure.”

“You forgot getting shot at, nearly blown up, sliced up, and there was that one time I nearly got turned into a newt!” Viola retorted.

“But you didn't.” Gary grinned. “Good thing I was there. That dimwit didn't expect to get a firehose full of water to the face, heh heh. Besides, we know that's not a thing.”

Viola rolled her eyes. “You're an idiot, Gary.”

“I prefer to think of myself as 'pleasantly optimistic'.” The sandy blond-haired man chuckled. He noticed the marshmallow. “Ahh, perfect.” He put the toasted white foodstuff in between a pair of graham crackers. The bottom cracker also had a piece of chocolate in it.

“S'mores. You're making s'mores.” Viola noticed.

“Love 'em.” Gary said. “You want one?” He held his s'more out to her. “Come on, they're good.” He waved it at her. “Campfire made, the best way to make them.” Viola huffed and rolled her eyes.

“Alright...” She sighed in mock tiredness and accepted the s'more. She bit into and chewed the s'more. Her dark brown eyes widened. “Wow.” She said. “This is good.”

“Told you.” Gary smiled. The two then perked up when they heard the sounds of fighting. “The hell?”

“That doesn't sound good.” Viola scowled.

“No, it does not. We'd better take a look.” Gary suggested, getting to his feet. Viola did the same.

“Right.” Viola ran to the pickup truck lying nearby. She opened the back door, and opened up a long metal box on the floor of the passenger seat area. The dusky-skinned woman pulled out a dual-barreled shotgun, and a bandolier filled with shells. She put the bandolier across her chest. “Gary!” She pulled out a belt with a pair of futuristic silver pistols in twin holsters and tossed it to him.

“Thanks!” Gary said as he caught the belt and put it on. “The noise came from over there!”

“Right!” Viola grabbed a bucket of water and poured it on the fire, putting it out. “Let's go.” The two bounty hunters quickly and carefully made their way through the woods. As they went closer to the noise's source, the two's ears picked up some new noises: the sounds of hooting, laser firing, and snarling. “Gary, I'm not liking this.” Viola whispered.

“Neither am I.” Gary agreed, pulling out his laser pistols. The two continued making their way through the woods, careful to avoid making too much noise. The two bounty hunters made their way towards a clearing when they saw quite a sight: a pair of cyborgs fighting a wolf-woman.

She had tan fur, and orange-brown hair. She wore a white dress that did little to hide her curvaceous form. On her head was a white miter that was blue in the front with a golden crescent moon on it. Slung over her generous chest was a duffel bag. She held a golden staff in her hands, and she was panting.

“You will never have me.” The wolfwoman snarled, baring her sharp teeth. “Not alive, at least!”

“Trust us, woman. You are indeed quite beautiful, but we aren't after you.” One of the cyborgs said. He was tall and muscular, wearing worn blue jeans and a torn black shirt with a sleeveless leather jacket over it that had metal plates on it. His hair was styled into a green mohawk. His right arm was robotic, with signs of wear and rust in places, like he wasn't able to properly maintain it. The other was shorter and stouter. He wore a leather jacket, a red shirt, and black leather pants. He had a metal plate over his left eye, and wild blond hair. The ocular prosthetic glowed green.

“We know you got it in your bag.” The man with the blond hair and glowing green eye said in a smooth voice. “Just hand it over.”

“I don't know what 'item' you speak of.” The wolf-woman growled. “Whatever it is, you shall not take it from me!”

“We don't want to harm you, but we will if we must.” Green Eye said.

“Speak for yourself, Anders!” The green-Mohawked man snarled. “I want to skin this hairball and make her hide into a rug!” His cybernetic arm sprouted a chainsaw blade. The saw whirred, and the man's face formed a wide grin. “I'm going to cut you slowly, you fleabag...”

The Lycan woman's crimson eyes narrowed. “You may try.” She twirled her staff. “But I will not go down easy.”

“Trenton, no!” Anders snapped.

“I'm done waiting!” Trenton yelled. “I want this fuzzbrain's hide, and I will have it!” The sound of a shotgun firing got the two cyborg and wolfwoman's attention. They turned their heads and saw Gary and Viola.

“What is going on here?” Viola demanded, pointing her shotgun at the three.

“Back off, broad!” Trenton yelled. “This ain't your business!”

“Yeah, we heard some of your little...conversation with the wolflady here.” Gary smirked, gesturing to Candace with one of his laser guns. “I believe she told you lot to back off.”

“You think you scare us, pal?!” Trenton mocked. “I'll slice off that big mouth of yours!” Anders put a calming hand on his shoulder. Trenton growled, but he backed down.

“This is none of your concern.” Anders told Gary and Viola. “I take it you two are bounty hunters?”

“What's it to you?” Viola asked.

“I'm sure you can appreciate that we are on a job ourselves.”

“Yeah, this is our payday!” Trenton snapped. He growled at the wolfwoman. “She got something our boss wants!”

“Who's your boss?” Viola gestured at the furry priestess with her shotgun. “And what's she got that you're after?”

“You understand that our client wishes to remain anonymous and his reasons the same.”

“Yeah, that smells fishy to me.” Viola scowled.

“Yup. Nothing ever good comes from a client making those kinds of conditions.” Gary agreed.

“That's it!” Trenton roared. “I'll have your heads!” He screamed as he charged the two bounty hunters, raising his chainsaw arm. Gary quickly blasted at it with his laser pistols. The energy blasts smashed through the cyborg's chainsaw blade, completely wrecking it.

“You'll have what now?” Gary taunted. Trenton snarled at the blond bounty hunter.

“You son of a-GAH!” The cyber-psycho gasped as he was kicked in the back by the wolf-woman. It made him fall flat on his chest.

An amused Gary smirked at the she-wolf. “I thought there was some kind of rule against attacking people from behind.”

She merely shrugged. “They wished to fight without rules. I was merely accommodating them.”

“Fair enough.” Gary nodded. Trenton snarled as he got to his feet. He looked at his ruined chainsaw, and saw that it was reduced to a sharp shard of metal. The cyborg grinned widely as he jumped up to his feet.

“I'm gonna gut the both of you like fish.” Trenton snarled.

“Not if I put a laser between your eyes.” Gary retorted, pointing his laser guns at the green-mohawked cyborg.

“You think you can blast me?!” Trenton laughed. “Come on then, you goof! Let's see what you got! Come on!”

The wolf-woman looked at Gary. “May I handle this?” She offered.

“What do you plan to do, wolfie?” Gary asked.

“Come on, fleabag.” Trenton taunted. “Come on! I'll skin you and take it from you!” The glaring wolf-woman twirled her staff. Meanwhile, Anders was engaging Viola.

“Take another step, and you'll eat buckshot.” The dark-skinned woman growled.

“You do not frighten me.” Anders said. “We just want the wolf-woman.”

“Why? She's a priestess. You need a blessing or something? Go to a church.”

“She has an item we need.” Anders explained.

“What kind of item?”

“That is none of your concern.” Anders answered. “She gives it to us, we'll leave.”

“Yeah, I want answers!” Viola snapped.

“Unlike my more...crazed comrade, I have no desire to fight you.” Anders said. “I just want the item from the priestess.”

“You ain't leavin' until I get some answers!” Viola sighed.

A sigh escaped Anders's lips. “Very well. I guess we'll have to do this the hard way.” His cybernetic eye's jade glow intensified. Viola was faster. She realized what that glow had meant.

“EAT BUCKSHOT!” She yelled, firing her shotgun. Much to her surprise, the cyborg lifted his organic arm, a silver band around it glowing. The band sprouted a series of interlocking glowing blue hexagons that formed a shield. The energy shield blocked the buckshot. “What?!”

“Energy shield.” Anders smirked.

“I know what that is!” Viola snapped. She fired again, only for Anders to block it. “I know you can't maintain that blasted shield forever!” Those things are effective, but they eat battery power like acid through metal.

“I don't have to.” Anders smirked. He started firing his eye laser at Viola. She cursed and leapt out of the way. The energy blast destroyed the trees behind her.

Sweet goodness, what is he packing in that eye?! Viola gaped in horror.

“Impressive, isn't it?” Anders smiled in amusement. “Cost a pretty penny, but pays for itself.”

“I've seen better, pal.” Viola scowled. She whipped out a small black grenade from her belt. She pressed a button on it as she dodged another eye blast from Anders. “This'll give you a bit of a shock, you jerk.” Viola tossed the grenade at the cyborg. The projectile exploded, shocking the man. He roared as the electricity ran through his body, forcing him to his knees.

“Anders!” Trenton yelled. “GAH!” He yelped as he got blasted in the knee by Gary. He fell backwards into his comrade. The snarling wolf-woman then slammed her staff on the ground, her eyes glowing a brilliant white. She growled out a spell, and then a big tornado kicked up, sending the two screaming cyborgs into the air.

“Whoo...” The priestess huffed as she went down to one knee. Air magic was the easiest form to learn, but calling up big tornadoes out of a calm night still could be draining. If she were human, she likely would have fallen asleep right now.

“You alright, Wolfie?” Gary asked in concern, running over to her.

“I am well, I just need a moment.” She assured, giving the blond bounty hunter a warm smile. She got up to her feet, thanks to her using her staff as a support.

“What was that all about?” Viola asked as she walked up to the two.

“I wish I could tell you, but I am just as lost as you are.” The shewolf answered, picking up her miter and dusted it off. She smiled and bowed towards the two. “I thank you two very much for your aid today. I am Sister Candace, priestess of the Sisterhood of Luna.” She bowed humbly to the two.

“Gary Pearson. And this is Viola Renard.” Gary introduced. Viola gave her a wave. “We were camping in these here woods when we heard the fight. If you want, you can join us there.”

“You sure about this, Gary?” Viola frowned at her partner.

“She's a priestess.” Gary shrugged. “Besides, I wonder what those two half-clankers wanted with that girl?” The woman sighed.

“Ah, I hate it when you have a point.”

“I have no intention or desire to intrude on you.” Candace assured warmly.

“It's fine.” Viola assured with a waving gesture. “Besides, Gary's right. No offense, but those two may not be the last to come after you.”

“I can take care of myself, but a wise person knows their limits, and there is no shame in having aid.” Candace agreed. A rumbling from her stomach could be heard.

“Yeah.” Gary snickered. “We got food.”

The three made their way back to the campsite, where Viola worked to reignite the bonfire.

“At least we won't have to worry about seeing those two cyber-idiots again.” Gary noted as he fished out an item from his backpack. Viola scowled and stomped over to him.

“Don't say that, you fool!” She snapped, lightly punching Gary's arm. “You'll jinx us!” She went back to her previous position.

“And she says I am a child.” Gary muttered as he rubbed his arm. He noticed Candace was looking at the item in his hand. “You ever had one of these?” The blond man asked as he held out a wrapped foodstuff to Candace after sitting down next to her.

“No, I don't think so.” A curious Candace answered as she accepted the item. She gave the wrapped bar a sniff. “I smell blueberry.”

“Yeah, it's a blueberry fruit bar.” Gary nodded. “I love those. Give it a try.”

“Gary loves those.” Viola chuckled. “They're the only flavor of those things he'll eat.” Candace looked at the bar, then opened the wrapper. She took a small bite of the bar, and chewed it tentatively.

“Mm! It's good!” Candace said. She ate the rest of the bar.

“Yeah, I love 'em.” Gary chuckled.

“Nice to see you two finding something to bond over.” Viola remarked as she took her own seat after restarting the bonfire.

“I do apologize for intruding on you.” Candace said. “I won't stay too long.”

“Yeah, don't worry about it, fuzzy.” Viola waved.

“So, how did you two meet?” The wolf-woman asked.

“We met in the military.” Gary explained.

“Really?” Candace noted.

“Yeah.” Viola nodded. “We were both serving on the Ironside.” She then let out a snort. “I was a grunt.” She then pointed at Gary. “This nerd was working the computers.”

“I helped maintain the starfighters on the ship, and I was an engineer. It wasn't just 'working the computers'.” Gary rolled his eyes.

“The Ironside...” Candace blinked. “Wasn't that one of the ships that was involved in that battle on Selzon III?”

“Yeah, that one.” Viola nodded, sipping from a bottle of water. “Ye gods, it was a mess.”

“No kidding. I was stuck helping repair starfighters for a week.” Gary nodded. “Viola was part of the ground forces.”

“I would be happy to never set foot on that planet ever again.” She shook her head. “You could not pay me enough to go there again.” She sighed. “Lost some good friends there.”

“I met Viola in the medbay while she was recovering from some injuries she suffered on the planet.” Gary recalled.

“Gary, the dork he is, like to entertain the people in the medbay on his off time.” Viola explained. “He would do all kinds of stuff. Tell jokes, do dances, wear silly costumes, the whole nine yards.”

“I was always a creative sort.” Gary preened a bit. “Viola laughed her head off at my antics.”

“Because of how terribly bad you were.” Viola retorted.

“I think it's quite wonderful that you worked to aid in raising the spirits of your comrades.” Sister Candace smiled at the blond man.

“We all did our part there.” Gary sighed. “And Viola loved it, she just didn't want to admit it.”

“Sure, Gary.” Viola shook her head. “If you say so.” Both the blond man and the wolf-woman noted the small smile that briefly appeared on the woman's face. “We're getting off track.” She looked at the priestess. “I would like to know what those two were after you about. One of them mentioned you had an item they were after.”

“I assure you, I have no idea what they were talking about.” Candace said. “I am just as confused as you.”

“Those two clowns clearly thought that you had something.” Gary noted. He looked at her duffel bag. “Maybe there was something in that bag of yours.”

“This?” Candace blinked, patting her bag. “I just keep my few possessions, some extra clothes, and a travel kit.”

“Includes a comb for that fur?” Viola teased.

“And shampoo. Have to keep the fur neat and shiny.” Candace grinned.

“You sure that's all you got? Someone may have slipped something in there.” Viola suggested. Candace blinked at the taller woman.

“I'm...I'm sure it is.” She said. She opened up her bag and rifled through it. “No, nothing I did not have packed myself in here.”

Gary eyed something at the edge of her bag. “Yo, Candy. There's something funny poking at your bag there.”

“There is?” Candace blinked.

“Yeah. It's right there.” Gary pointed at the end of her bag. Candace held up her bag, noting the bulge the blond man was pointing at.

“Huh?” The brunette she-wolf blinked, her crimson eyes showing confusion. “That's odd.” She unzipped the compartment the bulge was in, and put her hand in. She then pulled out a small yellow device from her bag.

The device was rectangular, with rounded corners. The top of the rectangle had a pair of short gray parallel antennae, making it look almost like it had little ears. The small machine had a large screen, and on the bottom were five buttons. Each of the buttons were triangular in shape, forming a five-pointed star. The top button was red in color, the two side buttons were green and blue, and the bottom two were yellow and white. On the top of the device above the screen was a solar panel. On the sides of the colored buttons were a trio of small gray dials forming a “V”.

“I take it that isn't yours.” Viola deduced.

Candace shook her head. “No. It's not.”

“Do you know what it is, Gary?” Viola asked. “I know you're a geek for this kind of stuff.”

“May I?” Gary held out his hand. Candace gave the device to the blond man. He turned it around and over. “Hmmm...”

“You think it's some kind of phone?” Viola suggested.

“I doubt it.” Gary said. “The keypad is weird. Let me try to turn it on.” He frowned as he continued examining it. “That's odd. There's no power button...oh here it is.” The man found the button by opening a panel on the side. “Yeah, no phone would hide a power button like this. You're supposed to easily access them.”

“Turn it on.” Viola ordered. Gary nodded and pressed the button. The screen powered on, showing a green grid with yellow lines on it. “What in the name of...?”

“Maybe it's some kind of video game?” A frowning Candace scratched her head. Viola choked out a laugh.

“Wolfy, Pong didn't look like this!” She laughed.

“Oh.”

“Hmmm...” Gary frowned as he looked the device over. “If I didn't know any better, I'd say it's some kind of detector.”

“If it is a detector, what is it made to detect?” Viola wondered.

“Maybe it's made to find treasure! Like in the old adventure books!” Candace offered with a big grin on her face.”

“You a big reader, huh?” Gary chuckled.

Candace nodded happily. “I love reading old adventure books!” She pulled out a couple old paperbacks from her bag. Viola took one and looked at the title.

“...Treasure?” She blinked. “That's...not a very imaginative title.”

“Can I see?” Gary held out his hand. Viola handed the book to him. “Hey, a fellow Clive Cussler fan!” He grinned and gave the book back to the wolf-woman. He then went back to fiddling with the device. “Nice to see you got some good taste in books.”

“Give me a good Trek novel any day.” Viola remarked.

“That reminds me, you still need to give me back my copy of Strike Zone.” Gary said as he continued fiddling with the little yellow gizmo.

She quickly shook her head. “We're getting off track here. What is that little gizmo for?”

“I think I may have figured something out.” Gary announced. “Check this out, you guys.” Viola and Cadace gathered around the screen. “Look at this.” He pressed the buttons, and certain icons would appear on the screen. The red button showed an icon of a flame. The blue showed an icon of a waterdrop. The yellow button showed an icon of a bolt of lightning. The green button made an icon of a green tree. The white button showed an icon of a white tornado.

“What the...” Viola blinked.

“I recognize those symbols.” Candace pointed at the screen. “Those are the symbols of the Five Magical Arts: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Lightning.”

“Magical Arts?” Viola frowned. “That crud meant nothing out in space.”

“Because those magics require a person to be on a planet to be used.” Candace explained. “I myself am pretty good with the Wind Art, although that's arguably the easiest to learn because, well...” She smiled and gestured everywhere. “We are surrounded by it.”

“Considering how you blew those half-clankers away, I say you're more than 'pretty good'.” Gary complimented.

Candace blushed. “I was merely repaying you for aiding me. Nothing special.”

“So, this gadget is made for detecting something magical.” Viola frowned. “But it doesn't exactly indicate anything.”

“No kidding.” Gary frowned. “Whoever made this display is an idiot, or in a serious hurry. There's no details given.”

“What I don't understand is how can someone build a gadget to detect magic?” Viola frowned. “Magic is...weird.”

“Magic is weird, but energy is not.” Gary smirked. “Magic still has to follow certain rules of science. At least, that's what the ladies at the Luna Temple told me.”

“For example, you can't use fire magic underwater.” Candace illustrated. “Because water puts out fire.”

“Ah.” Viola nodded. She sighed. “You sure you have no idea how you got this?”

Candace shook her head. “I am just as confused as you.”

“Well, we're not going to find anything out here.”

“Too bad we didn't ask those guys where it came from. They may have had an idea.” Gary remarked as he continued fiddling with the device.

“Yeah, too bad they were more interested in trying to kill us.” Viola reminded.

“Yeah, that sucked.” Gary agreed. He looked at Candace. “Hey Candy, you don't mind hanging out with us a little longer?”

“I have no intention of intruding on you...” The wolf-woman said.

“Naw, it's not an intrusion.” Gary assured. “Think of it as paying us back for helping you out against those half-clankers there.”

“I didn't help you guys because I wanted a reward.” Candace said. “I helped you guys because it was the right thing to do. I have no desire to be a burden to you.”

“Eh, there are worse people that we can end up around you, fuzzy.” Viola said.

“Hmmm...” Gary frowned at the device. “I think I may know a guy that could give us an idea who built this thing.”

“You do?” Candace blinked.

A nod from Gary. “Yeah. And in fact, I think he lives near here. You know that tavern we passed by on the way here?”

“He lives in a bar?” Viola frowned.

“Yeah. He has an apartment there.” Gary nodded. “He helps maintain the place, so he's allowed to live there.”

“Oh yeah, that tavern had an inn as well, huh?” Viola recalled.

“I hope he can help!” Candace smiled.

“So do I, kiddo.” Gary smiled back at her. Little did the three realize they'd end up having an epic adventure...

Thanks for reading!

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Earth Day

 Happy Earth Day, everyone!

What is Earth Day, you may ask? Well, Earth Day is a day to celebrate the Earth's natural beauty and to call for protection of the environment. The first Earth Day was celebrated on this day in 1970. One year earlier, a peace activist named John McConnell had proposed a day to celebrate the concept of peace that would be held on March 21, 1970. That day was considered the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. He proposed this day at a UNESCO conference. This proposal would be made into a proclamation that was written by McConnell and then signed by then-UN Secretary General U Thant.

A month later, United States Senator Gaylord Nelson (yes, that was his name) proposed an idea for a nationwide teach-in to be held on April 22, 1970. Nelson was inspired by witnessing the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill from an airplane. He hired an activist named Denis Hayes to be the teach-in's National Coordinator. The event became "Earth Day". Hayes took the idea national, and 20 million Americans participated in the protest, making it the largest single-day protest in human history.

Over the next 50 years, the event would grow. In 1990, Hayes would organize Earth Day events in 141 countries. In 2020, over 100 million people amassed online to celebrate Earth Day's 50th anniversary, the largest mass-mobile gathering ever.

On this day, we should do something we should do every day, think about our natural world. Enjoy its beauty, appreciate it. And also, stand to protect it. We only got one planet, better take good care of it. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! If you like what I write and want to give my blog some additional support, please make a donation to my Ko-fi! See you next time!

Damage Control #2 (June 1989)

All the way back in 2022, I took a look back at the first issue of the first Damage Control miniseries. Basically, in the Marvel universe, Damage Control is a group dedicating to repairing the, well, damage and destruction caused by superhero battles. I think the concept is really neat, and the Damage Control miniseries that have been done over the years are hidden gems, underrated bits of Marvel output, and I wish they got more love. As such, I wanted to look at the next issue. What further adventures do these brave fixer-uppers get up to? Let's find out what happens when they cross paths with a certain Latverian dictator in Damage Control #2!

The cover is an Ernie Colon piece. It's one of the outright funniest covers I have ever seen. It has Dr. Doom looming over Albert Cleary, who declares that Doom will pay his bill. It's such a dramatic cover for something seemingly so mundane as paying a bill. But this is Dr. Doom. He does nothing in a mundane manner.

"In It Up to Arrears." 
Writer: Dwayne McDuffie
Penciler: Ernie Colon
Inker: Bob Wiacek
Colorist: John Wellington
Letterer: Rick Parker
Editor: Sid Jacobson
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins in Manhattan, in particular on the Upper West Side. A group of German-speaking scientists are working on a new weapon. And as it goes in these things, something is about to go horribly wrong. 

"I told you not to order those parts off Temu, Hans!"

The overloading cannon caused the brownstone and everything inside to be turned to glass. This gets the scientists worried, as it turns out, ol' Doctor Doom gave them this project to work on, and this is not supposed to be the result. 

This gets the attention of, naturally, our heroes of rebuilding. Robin Chapel calls in a meeting of the main characters of the team: Account Executive Marie Leahy, Senior Foreman Lenny Ballinger, R&D Director Gene Sailors (I accidentally said his last name was "Strausser" in my look at the last issue), and fellow Account Executive John Porter. Sailors gives the group the 411 on what Doom's new weapon did to the brownstone. Ballinger has no clue how to fix it, as evidently the transformed building is putting out vibrations that shakes any equipment that comes near it to pieces. 

Comptroller Albert Cleary points out that Doom has not paid his bills to the company in six months. Why on Earth should they fix this? I mean, it's not like people lived in that brownstone or anything. But to be fair, Damage Control is a business, and they can't stay in business if people don't pay their repair bills. Hoag asks Cleary to send the bill over as the company doesn't have a collection department yet. He agrees, even though Porter is quick to point out that Doom is a killer. 

We get the skinny on who Doom is, because evidently, Cleary has no idea who he is. Does he live in a cave with no TV? Victor Von Doom in universe is the dictator of a nation. He's fought various superheroes for years. How can Cleary not know who Doctor Doom is?!

The rest of the gang realize Cleary can't go alone, so they draw straws to see who goes with him. And guess who "wins"?

"Ha ha ha ha...I'm gonna die."

...John Porter is a dead man. Nice knowing ya, Johnnie! Well, not really. An intern named Bart Rozum wants to come along, as he never gets to do anything. There is a good reason for that. Kid hasn't even graduated from college yet. Cleary decides to bring him along anyway, much to Porter's relief. 

Cleary and Bart head out to the Latverian Embassy. After all, when he's not battling American superheroes, or crushing Latverians with his iron-covered fists, that's where he likely hangs his green hood. But Doom is not the only one with issues with Damage Control right now. Here's the Thing!

"THE BEER WAS WARM!"

You may have noticed that Ben is a bit...spikier than normal. That's because of the events of Fantastic Four #310 (January 1988). In that comic, during a battle with a villain called Fasaud, Ben Grimm got exposed to cosmic rays and they mutated him into this new spiky form. Fun fact, the animated series Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes paid homage to this form in the episode "Annihilation". 

Benjy Grimm is in a Karen mood today, as he demands to see the manager about the FF's own bills to the company. So, the secretary throws Porter under the bus. Well, Porter's able to handle himself just fine. Ben has an issue with the FF's insurance, but Porter's found the problem.

It turns out the FF's insurance only covers the original roster of the FF, but not their current roster. Yeah, like any long-running superhero team, the FF have had their fair share of roster shake-ups over the years. If you know of the Scott Lang Ant-Man and She-Hulk from the MCU, in the comics, they both served as members of the FF for a while. Not at the same time, but yeah. 

Porter is able to clear that up, with a little help from Ben's angry growling. Meanwhile, Cleary and Rozum arrive at the Latverian Embassy. They are greeted by a Count Gunter Flounder, who is supposedly speaking on behalf of Von Doom. He announces that Doom is not only discontinuing the usage of Damage Control's services, but that the bills will not be paid. However, Doom himself is seemingly in the house.

"No, Dr. Doom! We didn't see you playing with your dolls again!"

Cleary plays with Doom's ego a bit, telling the mad monarch that he and Flounder were discussing the money that Flounder was embezzling from Doom. Flounder tries to tell Doom is a lie, but he's not hearing it. Gunter Flounder, you are fired!

Back at Damage Control HQ, Ben Grimm is amusing the employees by telling some stories of his misadventures. He has one for every occasion. He's about to leave as the insurance issue is settled (just needed to write a check for the deductible) until Robin remarks that she hopes Cleary is doing well trying to get Doctor Doom to pay his bills. Ben thinks he's in danger (this is Doctor Doom after all), and so, calls in the FF. 

"Oh my God, that meteor has the FF logo on it!"

At the time, the FF is not comprised of its classic roster. Instead, we got Ben, Johnny, Crystal Amaquelin of the Inhumans, and Sharon Ventura, aka She-Thing.

Sharon Ventura, aka formerly the second Ms. Marvel. Yes, in the comics, there was a Ms. Marvel between Carol Danvers and Kamala Khan. First appearing in The Thing #27 (September 1985), she first met Ben during his time as a pro wrestler. She joined the FF in Fantastic Four #306 (September 1987), and then was mutated into the She-Thing in Fantastic Four #310 (January 1988). She would appear on and off over the years. In her most recent appearance as far as I know in Astonishing Avengers #17 (June 2025), she somehow gained the ability to switch between her human and She-Thing forms at will. 

Anyway, the FF fly into action, however...it turns out that Cleary and Rozum are just fine. Doom not only willingly pays the bill, he even offered Cleary a job. 

So, yeah. The FF can go home, although Ben does wonder if that's the actual Doom or it's just a Doombot, robotic doubles Doom's been known to deploy on occasion. I believe the concept was introduced by John Byrne in Fantastic Four #258 (September 1983) as a way to explain inconsistencies in Doctor Doom's characterization over the years. 

With that taken care of, Damage Control can get back to work. There's still one problem, though. Lenny and his crew have no idea how to approach repairing the building. Thing is, Porter has not only a knack for insurance law, but he also has a knack for finding the simple solution to a problem. He picks up a rock. He throws the rock at the glass building, and...

John Porter unintentionally ruined a piece of art.

Just sweep up the glass and rebuild the building. Porter even found the original blueprints. Lenny tells him he should ask for a raise. Porter agrees, as he feels overworked. 

This was a fun issue. I always loved the concept of Damage Control as a way of exploring the Marvel Universe from the perspective of a regular person. It makes sense that in a universe like this, there would be an organization dedicated to cleaning up the messes caused by superhero battles. I also loved this miniseries as it's a way for Marvel to tell a more comedic story than in their standard titles. The characters are a delight.

I know some would count this appearance of Doom as a Doombot, but I actually would personally prefer if it was the actual Doom here, as having it be the real Doom would not only be much funnier, but I can imagine that Dr. Doom, petty as he can be at times, would do this if only because I can imagine him thinking he can rub this in Reed Richards's face somehow. "DOOM ALWAYS PAYS HIS BILLS, UNLIKE THAT DEADBEAT RICHARDS!" 

I can imagine that the late Ernie Colon was having quite a good time drawing this comic. He has said growing up that he wasn't fond of superheroes outside of the Billy Batson Captain Marvel because he found him fun and willing to be silly. Makes sense a more humorous title would be right up his alley. His art is fun to look at. It does remind me of the style the (sadly recently passed) Sal Buscema would adopt in the 90s, only less heavy with the lines and angular. 

In a way, I think Damage Control was ahead of its time. If this came out when the US version of The Office started broadcasting, I can imagine it would have become an ongoing series that would have lasted quite a while. If you want to read this story for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2015 trade paperback Damage Control: The Complete Collection. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! If you like what I write and wish to give my blog some additional support, please make a donation to my Ko-fi! See you next time!

International Bat Appreciation Day

 Hello, everyone! Welcome to International Bat Appreciation Day!

This day celebrates a little flying critter that is rather misunderstood: The bat. It's celebrated in April as this is the time of year bats start to emerge from hibernation. Bats are often misunderstood creatures, associated with witchcraft and vampires. But bats are actually rather important to the ecosystem. Not to mention, bats are pretty cool.

Bats are mammals, just like humans. They are also the only mammals that are capable of true flight, thanks to their forelimbs being adapted into wings. In fact, what could possibly be considered the smallest mammal is a species of bat: the Kitti's hog-nosed bat, native to Thailand and Myanmar. These little guys have a six-inch wingspan, are around an inch in length, and weigh less than an ounce. The biggest known species of bat is the giant golden-crowned flying fox. Native to the Philippines, this bat can weigh about 3.5 pounds and has a wingspan of over five-and-a-half feet. 

There are about 1,400 species of bats, and they can be found in every continent except for Antarctica. They are the second largest order of mammals, only beaten by rodents. Most bats are nocturnal, and they feed mainly on fruit, nectar, and insects, depending on the species. There are bats that do feed on other things, most famously the vampire bat. 

Despite the reputation bats have in the West, bats are actually very important to their ecosystems. Because many species of bats eat insects, they can help reduce the need for chemical pesticides. In fact, one bat can eat up to one thousand mosquitoes in an hour. Bats are also expert pollinators. Many plants in tropical regions need bats for this purpose. For example, you like tequila? Well, tequila is made from the agave plant. The agave plant needs the lesser long-nosed bat to pollinate.

In some cultures, bats are associated with protection from disease, long life, and even rebirth. 

So, yeah. Bats are awesome critters and deserve a lot more love. They are fair more than an inspiration for a certain superhero and a form a certain vampire can assume. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! If you like what I write and want to give my blog some additional support, please make a donation to my Ko-fi! See you next time!