Friday the 13th!

Today is Friday the 13th! I hope you had a good day today! Just be careful of this guy.

He's weird. He likes to walk around slaughtering people all day long on this day GET SOME THERAPY MAN!

National Fossil Day

Today is National Fossil Day!

What is this day about? The purpose of this day is to promote awareness and appreciation of fossils and paleontology. The day was originally born as part of an Earth Science Week established by the National Park Service in 2010, but has become a separate celebration in its own right. 

Fossils are important because they give a record of what animals and plants were like in the distant past. The oldest known fossil is the cyanobacteria fossil. These fossils were found in the Archaean rocks of Western Australia. These fossils have been dated to around 3.5 billion years old.

The youngest known fossils are from around 10,000 years ago, around the end of the last Ice Age. When it comes to humans, some of the oldest fossil evidence of evolution into modern humans was discovered in Ethiopia, dating back between 195,000 and 233,000 years ago. 

If you want to learn more about his day, you can click right here on the National Park Service website. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Trailer, My Thoughts

In 2018, Warner Bros. released the film Aquaman. The sixth film in the DC Extended Universe (God, I hate that name), it was directed by James Wan and starred Jason Momoa as the titular superhero as he rises to take his rightful throne of the undersea kingdom of Atlantis. 

The film got mixed reviews from critics, but it was a box office smash. It was actually the first DCEU movie to make over $1 billion, and it became the 20th highest grossing film of all time. I personally liked this movie. Between this one, Shazam, and the first Wonder Woman, I felt the DCEU was taking a step in the right direction. Heck, I personally believed that the DCEU should have just restarted from those three movies. 

The success of the film guaranteed that a sequel would be in the works. Not to mention there was plenty of stuff the first film established that could be built on. Principal photography for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom began in June 2021, and ended in January 2022. Let's look at the trailer!

Man, that would have been an interesting job, carving the WB and DC logos in ice islands.

Four years ago, Arthur Curry didn't have a job. Now, he's King of Atlantis. Talk about turning your life around.

AQUABABY! ...he's gonna die, isn't he?

"HEY, THIS IS NOT A PARKING LOT! WE'RE GROWING CORAL REEFS HERE, YA FREAKIN' CREEP!"

It may be good to be the king, but it's not easy. To be fair, this actually makes a lot of sense. Remember, the Atlanteans didn't think too highly of Arthur when they first saw him in the last movie. It is reasonable to assume he won over some hearts and minds since then, but winning over a kingdom is not easy. 

I love that Black Manta's sub looks like a hammerhead shark.

Yeah, Aquababy's gonna die. 

Is Aquaman fighting Flora Colossi? As in, Groots?!

Orm's got that "haggard hippie" look. He became a Deadhead a few decades too late. And it appears that he's gone through a lot in the last couple years.

Heh heh, the statue bridge was funny.

I can imagine Orm mentally grumbling his disbelief he and Arthur are related.

The seven kingdoms thing was first established in Aquaman, and it was ripe for exploration. 

I do admit, I find the whole "Black Trident" thing a bit cliche, but hey, cliches are not bad.

I think Arthur will lose his hand here. 

Well, this looks fun. I enjoyed the first Aquaman movie, so I think I will give this one a shot. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

World Octopus Day

Today is World Octopus Day!

On this day, we celebrate the awesome sea dweller known as the octopus. Octopuses (yes, that's the correct plural, not octopi) are a member of the mollusk phylum, alongside cuttlefish, squids, and nautiloids. 

There are over 250 species of octopuses, living in every ocean. There are no known species of the critter living in freshwater environments, though. They tend to be solitary animals, and they are regarded as one of the more intelligent invertebrates. The legendary kraken of mythology is often portrayed and described as a very large octopus. All species are venomous, but only the blue-ringed octopus (native to the seas of Australia to the East Indo-Pacific) has venom strong enough to kill a human. People have been attacked by octopuses, but in general, octopuses tend to avoid humans. 

Octopuses are pretty cool. They can camouflage themselves by changing their bodies' colors, and regrow lost limbs. Their bodies are predominantly muscle. They have excellent eyesight. Many species of octopus can produce ink to escape predators...well, except for the ones that live deep in the ocean. They also have bluish-colored blood. That's because instead of hemoglobin (which is why human blood is red), their blood contains hemocyanin. Hemocyanin is better at ferrying oxygen than hemoglobin is in cold environments with little oxygen. You can learn more about these cool critters here. And also check out this cool infographic from Daily Infographic.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

Iron Man #215 (February 1987)

The superhero life can have its fair share of ups and downs. Tony Stark is definitely familiar with that. After all, he's been through a lot in his superhero career. He's battled the bottle, financial problems, his fellow Avengers...yeah. He's had a lot of battles in his day.

The comic we are looking at this week is depicting a time of recovery for Tony Stark. At this point, he's been through arguably one of the toughest battles of his time as a superhero. He had lost his company to the manipulative Obadiah Stane and spent time as a vagrant. But Stark would rise again, with a new company and a new suit of armor: The Silver Centurion suit, which he would use to help bring Stane down. So, let's see what further adventures Tony goes from here in Iron Man #215!

The cover is Mark Bright and Bob Layton piece. It's pretty cool. It depicts two Iron Men flying out of a space station. It gives me the vibe of a movie poster. I also have to say, I love the masthead logo here. It's in big bold angular letters with rivets on them. I always liked this masthead logo, and not just because it was my first exposure to Iron Man (it was used in the 90s cartoon). I feel it fits the character perfectly. 

"The Shattered Sky"
Writers: David Michelinie, Bob Layton
Penciler: Mark Bright
Inker: Bob Layton
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Editor: Mark Gruenwald
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with Tony Stark at the doctor's office, getting himself a checkup. However, our man Stark doesn't quite have a clean bill of health. You see, the doctor has discovered that Tony's nervous system is deteriorating, and if it continues...Tony will be heading to the great blacksmith's forge in the sky.

The news is not all bad, though. It was detected early, so there's a chance it could end up correcting itself. The doctor recommends staying at the clinic for a few days for further testing, but Tony is a busy man. He'll keep an eye on things, and alert the doctor if things get worse. As the genius billionaire playboy industrialist heads out, he theorizes that something in his then-new Silver Centurion armor is causing it. It's not an unreasonable assumption. After all, he's always tinkering and upgrading his suits. It's perfectly plausible that some new system or component is causing the problem, considering the Silver Centurion suit has some new tricks his previous armors did not. 

Despite this, Tony is in a great mood. Why's that? You see, he's building his new company up: Stark Enterprises.

All it needs now is the arcade and bowling alley. 👍

Tony's on the comeback trail after Obadiah Stane, the Iron Monger, took over the old Stark International in Iron Man #173-200 (). Stark also got his fortune back, so he's been working hard at building his new company. He also has got himself a space station going. 

Tony meets up with his friends Jim Rhodes and Clytemnestra "Cly" Erwin. They report that the shuttle that will take the final components the space station needs is almost ready to go. Unknown to the group, one of the shuttle's workers overhears them, and is doing a bit of plotting of his own. We then briefly look in on the Caribbean island of Boca Caliente, which is under the grip of the group of mad scientist/beekeeper cosplayers known as Advanced Idea Mechanics, aka AIM. We look in at one of those beekeepers, a Yorgon Tyykio.

The family Thanksgiving dinner that year was very awkward…

Yeah, I know. His parents must have been on something when they named him. Anyway, he'd been busted down to doing menial work thanks to his trying to overthrow his brother, the Scientist Supreme. Basically, he tried to do a supervillain version of a corporate takeover, but it blew up in his face.

Yeah. But that hasn't stopped Mr. Tyykio from trying again...

Meanwhile, back in California, Stark has been getting ready for the launch. Jim Rhodes is going to be flying the Stark Shuttle. And the launch is a success.

Man, I love when a plan comes together.

Stark slips out and changed into his Iron Man suit. He doesn't anticipate trouble (which he really should, considering he's a superhero and all), he's just flying alongside the shuttle as a way for Tony to build publicity for his new company. The Stark Shuttle makes its way to the new space station.

“Eat your heart out, Skylab!”

Rhodes is hard at work, but he does wish he could listen to some tunes while he's there. Don't blame him. I wish I could listen to videos on YouTube while I work, too. Unknown to him, some of AIM's beekeepers had managed to sneak on board. Why are they there? Well, Tony Stark's satellite has powerful sensors on it. Sensors that allowed it to detect the weaponry that AIM used to take over Boca Caliente. Basically, they want to eliminate any evidence of their takeover. Tony and Rhodes discover this and engage them in combat.

AIM's standard weaponry has no effect on the Armored Avenger, but they still have one nasty little surprise in a vial for him. 

“My blood! It sucked up all of my blood!”

It's called the Omega Bascillus, a special little bio-weapon. As you can see in the panels, contact with it tends to end fatally. The Bascillus is spreading rapidly, and Tony seals off the lab it's growing in an attempt to contain it. Tony's repulsors can burn it but said weapons can't blast wide enough to completely destroy it. The Unibeam is useless. Sonics are also useless. And the Bascillus is still spreading. Tony gets Rhodes out of the station, but AIM made off with the Stark Shuttle.

There's a spare Iron Man suit in the shuttle, and Tony needs it. He rockets out and breaks into the shuttle. But the AIM men aren't going to let him capture them, so they blow themselves up real good.

Obligatory villainous one-liner here.

Tony has not time to ponder the madness he just witnessed. He has to get that suit and get out of there.

Once he does, Rhodey armors up and the two get out of the station. 

In case you’re wondering, Rhodes is on the left.

Stark realizes that the Bascillus has contaminated the whole station. Unless it's cleared out, nobody will ever be able to work or even live on the station again. Well, that's $200 I'm never getting back.

Tony and Rhodey head back to Earth. However, Rhodey's having a bit of trouble breathing. Tony realized Rhodes's armor somehow got damaged. Tony tries to get his friend through the atmosphere, but the heat keeps damaging the man's suit further. The story ends with Rhodey screaming...because he's burning.

I enjoyed this comic. To be honest, I think that in the late-1970s-1980s, Iron Man's book was one of the sleeper hits of the Marvel lineup at the time, despite this era spawning two storylines that would be very influential on the character: Demon in a Bottle and Armor Wars. This was a fun story. I do think there was potential for some real horror here with the bacillus making its way through the station, nothing being able to stop it, and Tony's weaponry barely being able to do any real good against it. Rather appropriate I look at this comic in October, huh? 

Bright turns in some spectacular art here. It's very clean and detailed. I also always liked his rendition of Iron Man's armor. He makes it look shiny. His art is also rather expressive. 

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2010 trade paperback Iron Man: Armor Wars Prologue. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves, and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

Loki Season 2 Trailer, My Thoughts

In 2021, the television miniseries Loki premiered on Disney+. Set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it told the tale of a variant of Loki that managed to escape the events of the first Avengers movie as he is made into an agent of the Time Variance Authority. Alongside his partner, Mobius M. Mobius, Loki must hunt down an alternate version of himself. 

Tom Hiddleston reprised his role as Loki for this series. Alongside him, the cast included Owen Wilson as Mobius, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as TVA judge Ravonna Lexus Renslayer, Tara Strong voicing Miss Minutes, and Sophia Di Martino as Sylvie. The series was directed by Kate Waldron, whom I believe was the first woman to direct an MCU series. On October 6, the gang returns for six new episodes of time-bending action. Let's look at the trailer!

Man, TVA employees need to learn how to keep their office spaces tidy.

It's nice to see Ke Huy Quan in things again.

I have heard people theorize that Loki's "timeslipping" was similar to the effects of staying in a dimension that's not your own for too long in the Spider-Verse movies, but that makes no sense. For one thing, the "seizures/attacks" they suffer is much more...colorful.

"Timeslipping" has to hurt.

Oh, I think I'm going to like OB. 

Well, not anymore, OB! 

Yeah, when the filth of your workplace starts to float around and come alive, it's time to quit.

That'll hurt!

Mobius has it nailed. He's the brain, Loki is the brawn.

You know, since Loki's been blasting his way through time, maybe this can hint towards various other characters from the Marvel Universe's fictional history. I mean think about it. We could see heroes from the Wild West like the Two-Gun Kid. More Golden Age heroes like Miss America and the Whizzer. Heck, maybe even hint at the existence of the First Line! 

I don't blame Loki. That is clearly either a pistachio or a key line pie. I'm a pumpkin pie man myself. Mmm...pumpkin pie...

Wait...the ZANIAC?! AW YEAH! OBSCURE CHARACTER SHOUT-OUT! 

...yeah, Mobius is a dead man.

GHOST MISS MINUTES! 

Hey, I know that scene with Victor Timely! That was from Quantumania! Never got why people disliked that movie, it was fun.

Oooooh, taxicab to the face!

Yeah, the TVA is going to get royally wrecked. 

He's a god, Mobius. He's going to go a bit over the top. 

Well, this looks fun! I enjoyed the first season of Loki, so I can't wait to see what insanity erupts next. Not to mention I've seen photos of Sylvie working at a McDonalds. That's a funny short film in itself. I'll definitely be watching!

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

October

 It's October!

That's right, the time of fall, and spooky season! Which means I have some special plans for this here blog...