Discovery of Neptune

On this day (or the 23rd), the autumn equinox of the planet Neptune was discovered.

How this planet was discovered may seem quite strange to the casual person. That's because Neptune was discovered mainly through predictive calculation before it was really formally observed. The naked eye can't pick up Neptune in the night sky because it's far too dim. With the advent of the telescope, observation of distant bodies, including Neptune was possible. 

Neptune was first discovered in observation during the autumn equinox of 1846, by German astronomers Johann Gottfried Galle and Heinrich Louis d'Arrest. Yes, d'Arrest was his actual name. Thing is, others had spotted the planet in the skies before, like Galileo Galilei in 1612 and 1613. However, those astronomers didn't realize that it was another planet they were observing. There is no clear evidence he thought it was a planet, though. It's why he's not credited as the discoverer. 

English astronomer John Herschel (son of William Hershel, who discovered Uranus) said he had observed Neptune in July 1830. His telescope was more powerful and advanced than Galileo's, but he thought it was a star. 

September Equinox

Happy September Equinox, everyone!

Due to differences between the calendar and tropical years, the autumn equinox often happens between September 21-24. This year, it's on September 22.

Where did the term "equinox" come from, you may ask? Well, the word "equinox" is descended from Latin words meaning "equal nights". That's because for most latitudes, as shown in the diagram, the duration of the day and the night is about equal. This is because of the Earth's rotation axis becoming perpendicular to the Sun's light. It's not tilting towards or away from the sun at all. The equinoxes are the only time the sun appears to rise in the East and set in the West.  

Here in the Northern Hempishere, where I live, this is the autumn equinox. This equinox marks the end of summer and the start of autumn, in astronomical terms. This is because after this, the Earth's tilt will start to change. For the Northern Hemisphere, the tilt will take us further from the sun, causing colder temperatures. For the Southern Hemisphere, the tilt will be towards the sun, leading to warmer temperatures. As a result, the September equinox marks the beginning of summer for them.

Captain America #398 (March 1992)

If there is one Marvel superhero that could be described as interlinked with the Avengers, it's Steve Rogers, the original Captain America. It's not hard to see why. In the comics, he was revived from ice not long after the team was formed (even though he isn't a founding member in the comics, he still is considered a founder due to how shortly the Avengers discovered him), and he arguably has served with them longer than practically any other Avenger member. 

It would be with the Avengers that ol' Stevie got his first taste of cosmic-level adventures. The 1970s were a high point for Earth's Mightiest, as their adventures would take on more cosmic and even multiversal scopes, with their first meetings with the alternate-universe JLA expies called the Squadron Supreme and the Kree-Skrull War. The Kree-Skrull War would have a major impact on the Avengers, impacts that still resonate with the team nearly 50 years later. 

One of those impacts would be the storyline Operation: Galactic Storm. A spiritual sequel to the Kree-Skrull War, this storyline got the Avengers involved in a war between the Kree and the bird-like aliens called the Shi'ar. You can read more about the origins of this crossover here. And considering that Captain America is so linked to the Avengers, it's only right that the crossover start in his book. So, how did it happen? Let's take a look at Captain America #398!

The cover is a Rik Levins and Danny Bulanadi piece. It's a bit basic, but still pretty cool It shows Captain America and Rick Jones being ambushed by an alien robot. There's something I have noticed about this cover, though. The masthead logo. It takes up nearly a third of the cover. Why is it so big? 

"It Came From Outer Space"
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Penciler: Rik Levins
Inker: Danny Bulanadi
Colorist: Christie Scheele
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins with what looks like someone looking in on a planet.

This planet is actually a pretty significant one in the Marvel Universe's cosmos. This is the planet Hala, the main homeworld of the alien race known as the Kree. The voice describes a bright flash in the sky, seemingly bathing the planet in white light.

The flash is intense, but it is brief. The Kree start collapsing, dying en masse. There is seemingly one survivor: Captain America. The narrator is very confused. Earth is his traditional stomping ground. What is he doing on Hala?

Cap looks horrified at this carnage. Then, something weird happens. Tentacles sprout out of his head.

WHAT THE-?!

Thankfully, it all turns out to be a dream being had by Rick Jones, who was the narrator here.

Rick had never had a dream like this before, and he can't help but feel it's important. He goes to talk to the Hulk, but he's sleeping and he doesn't want to be disturbed. After all, at this time, Bruce Banner may still have his mind as the Hulk, but he's still The Hulk. When the Hulk wants to sleep, you let him sleep. Also at this time, Rick and the Hulk have been working with the Pantheon, a group of near-immortal beings dedicated to doing benevolent works for humanity. There's someone here he can talk to: Delphi.

Like her mythological namesake, Delphi already knows about Rick's dream. She suggests that Rick talk to Captain America about it. It would do some good. Rick is reluctant, as he was once Cap's partner, but it didn't work out too well. This was shown in Captain America #110-113. 

Speaking of Cap, he's at Avengers Headquarters in New York City.

He's checking up on Peggy Carter, who was one of the Avengers' Support Crew at the time. I always liked this concept. It makes sense that a group like the Avengers would need a crew to help them out with maintaining the headquarters and the like. Anyway, Peggy reports that Rachel Leighton, aka Diamondback, never returned from a computer class. John Jameson had taken her there, but Cap wonders why he never picked her up. It's also not like her to stay out all night...

But that issue gets tabled for now, as Rick Jones comes a calling. He briefs Cap on his strange dream, and true to Delphi's prediction, Cap is the man to help. He is aware that the Kree Supreme Intelligence is capable of affecting people's dreams from a galaxy away. This certainly would not be beyond that gestalt AI. 

Cap heads to Benson, Arizona. He meets up with Rick in a truck stop.

The two then order some food. Hey, why not? Go to a truck stop diner, get some food. Mmm...diner food...

Anyway, Rick tells Cap that he doesn't want to be involved with this cosmic stuff anymore. He's had his fill of being, in his own words, a "cosmic puppet". However, before they can enjoy some yummy truck stop breakfast, a big green robot attacks, grabbing Rick.

Meet Warstar. Warstar is a member of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, basically Marvel's answer to the Legion of Super-Heroes: a group of superpowered alien beings that protect the Shi'ar Empire. Warstar is actually two robots: The big one called C'cil, and the smaller robot riding on its back called B'nee. Fun fact, their names are in homage to the titular characters of an animated series called The Beany and Cecil Show. 

Cap, being Cap, naturally faces the robots in battle. He has a tough time against them, thanks to C'cil's robotic strength and B'nee's ability to electrify anyone he touches. He tells Rick to get out of there, giving him his communicard, whish is also the ignition key to his skycycle. 

Rick does try and flee, but then he gets captured by a spaceship.

We next look in on the real Hala, in a city-state called Harfax. In this place, there is a metal salvaging center, Inside the center, its supply of metal and plastics has been used to build a special new robot. A special robot for a special purpose...

The Supremor shall be the first of the new Kree Starforce. The Starforce will be like Earth's Avengers, a gathering of the Kree's greatest champions. Such a gathering will be needed, as a war is coming. A Galactic Storm, if you will...

I enjoyed this comic, but then again, I love Mark Gruenwald's Cap work. It's a fun issue with the main event being Cap vs. an alien robot. Nothing wrong with that. I admit, I would have liked to have seen a bit more discussion of Rick and Cap's previous issues, as I'm a sucker for character development. But I'm happy with what we got. Levins and Bulanadi's art is really good, too. It does feature some of the cross-stitching you do see in early-90s superhero comics, but it doesn't reach the levels the likes of Liefeld will later on. It also manages to walk the line between fantastical and realistic very well.

If you want to read this comic for yourself, I suggest you track down the 2006 trade paperback Avengers: Galactic Storm Vol. 1, or the 2017/2022 trade paperback Avengers Epic Collection Vol. 22: Operation: Galactic Storm. Thanks for reading this blog entry! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!

21st of September!

I hope everyone had a wonderful 21st of September! Hit the music!

May the rest of your month be great as well!

Day of Judgment #1 (November 1999)

In the DC Universe, the phrase "Hell on Earth" is not thrown around lightly. Why? Because Hell is a real place in the DCU. And sometimes, Hell decides to come throw a party on Earth. And by "party", I mean invade and wreck stuff. In 1999, the DCU did get such an invasion, and it was not helped that one of their earliest heroes was corrupted and led the invasion. This is Day of Judgment #1!

The cover is a Matt Smith piece. It depicts a group of heroes in what looks like a plain pin-up. It's nothing special. I do like the detail of the Spectre's face being shadowed. Nice subtle bit of foreshadowing. I wish he was shown looming over the heroes. And of course, Batman is front and center because it wouldn't be a modern DC story starring a ton of heroes without having Batman all up in it.

"The Summoning"
Writer: Geoff Johns
Penciler: Matt Smith
Inker: Steve Mitchell
Colorist: James Sinclair
Letterer: Comicraft
Editor: Kevin Dooley
Executive Editor: Mike Carlin

The story begins in Hell. And naturally, since this is Hell, there's some torturing going on.

Hell really needs arcades.

Meet Asmodel. First appearing in JLA #7 (July 1997), he was once one of Heaven's Army. However, he grew fed up of his position, decided to pull a Lucifer and try to conquer Heaven. This led to his battling the Justice League, and as a punishment for his actions, the Prescence (Basically the DCU's version of the Judeo-Christian God) banished him to hell in the 1998 miniseries JLA: Paradise Lost. 

His torturer is a demon named Neron. First appearing in Manhunter #11 (October 1995), Neron is a fallen angel. He can be seen as a Satan analogue, and he was allied with Asmodel during the Paradise Lost affair. The demon decided to take a break from torturing the angel, saying he has other souls to buy. After all, he's not worried. Asmodel is totally not going anywhere, right?

Exactly. Asmodel is rescued by a certain famous DCU demon.

"There's no need to pout! I'm just hanging about!"

Yup, gone gone the form of man, it's the demon Etrigan. The demon rhymes with Asmodel, saying he can help Asmodel not only escape, but get revenge on Earth and Neron. How? Well, in the form of...the Spectre.

You may be familiar with the Spectre, if you've read my review of the first issue of his 1992 series here. Basically, the Spectre is an angel of vengeance who was bonded to the soul of a policeman named Jim Corrigan. But that's no longer the case. He's now without a host, thanks to Jim Corrigan moving on to heaven. As such he needs another soul to bond to. A soul that is touched by the Presence. And although the Presence denies him, Asmodel is one such soul. Asmodel is suspicious about this. Demons do not help out of the kindness of their hearts, even ones who have been known to hang around with superheroes like Etrigan. Etrigan does have reasons of his own, but he wants to help. Etrigan summons the Spectre.

"Whaddaya want! I was watching my stories!"

The Spectre, being a vengeful sort, angrily slices off Asmodel's wings. 

There's just angel blood and feathers everywhere now. Neron is not going to be happy about this because this was the janitor's day off, and he promised to keep the place clean.

Anyway, Etrigan wanted this to happen. And contrary to what you all think, it wasn't because of raging wing envy. You see, Etrigan said Merlin (yes, the Merlin of Arthurian legend) once claimed that the ashes of an angel's wings can bind a heavenly soul to just about anything. Yup, angel wing feathers are the supernatural equivalent of Gorilla Glue. He gets proven right as Asmodel ends up bonded to the Spectre.

"THIS WAS A BAD IDEA! THIS HURTS SO BAD!"

The Spectre bonded to an angry fallen angel with a raging power lust.

What's happening on Earth in the meantime, you may ask? Well, one Zatanna Zatara is finishing up a performance. A bartender named Eric asks her out on a date, but she turns him down, as she fears the dangers of his being involved with a superheroine. She senses the merging of the Spectre and Asmodel, and heads out. 

We next head to New Jersey. In particular, the Ostrander Mental Institute (Heh). A sudden storm has kicked up, and it's made one of the patients go nuts. That patient is one June Moone, aka the Enchantress. The wild magic the storm is kicking up causes her to transform into her Enchantress form.

"With great power comes a great bod!"

Problem is, Moone's Enchantress persona tends to get a bit...drunk on magical power and when that happens, she goes bad. It's why they called her the "Switcheroo-Witcheroo" back in the day. She busts out, only to encounter the Kyle Rayner Green Lantern. Over in Hell, the Asmodel Spectre gets in Neron's face, saying that he will get control of the place, freezing Neron. He rampages through Hell, causing it to literally freeze over.

Back on Earth, Enchantress engages Rayner in battle, her dialogue implying that she is unaware of the events of Emerald Twilight and Final Night, as she not only doesn't recognize Kyle, but she also still thinks Hal Jordan is the Green Lantern. Kyle demands to know what she's up to, but the Enchantress points out she's not the perpetrator here. She wishes she was, but she's not. The two witness Etrigan and Hell's hordes burst out of the ground. Well, I guess the office party is cancelled. A shame. 

In Boston, Zatanna meets up with a rather obscure DC character: Doctor Occult.

"Zatanna, this had better be good. I'm busy tombstone-gazing."

Fun fact, he was created by the same guys who created Superman: Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

She next goes to pick up Deadman in St. Louis. At the JLA Watchtower on the Moon, the Justice League girds for battle, calling in all reserves as well. 

The Justice Society battle Solomon Grundy in Blue Valley. Members of the Quintessence find themselves unable to enter Earth thanks to Asmodel. Zatanna grabs Sebastian Faust (the... more heroic-leaning son of JLA villain Felix Faust) in Detroit, and Madame Xanadu in Greenwich Village. The Phantom Stranger also arrives, saying he's gathered some others as well. 

The heroes try to fight the demonic invasion, but they're not doing so hot. They should call the X-Men. They've dealt with this kind of thing before.

Asmodel is confronted by the JLA's angelic member Zauriel...and he just gets his wings turned to stone. The Enchantress decides it's time to hit the ol' dusty trail, much to Kyle Rayner's fury. Alan Scott, aka the Sentinel (Yeah, at this time, DC was pushing the whole "Kyle Rayner is the Last Green Lantern" gimmick, forcing creatives to have Alan, the original GL, go by Sentinel) tells him to just let her go. Asmodel is the bigger problem right now. He also laments about letting the Spectre be released without another soul to bind him to in JLA #31.

The heroes try to take Asmodel on, but now that he has the power of the Spectre at his command, it's naturally ineffective. Asmodel does some pretty horrifying stuff to the heroes. He turns Superman into salt. Argent and Wildcat's eyes are turned into fly larva. Kyle Rayner is turned into wood. Asmodel gloats over this, saying that nothing can stop him from wrecking heaven now...until another group makes themselves known. 

Zatanna. Madame Xanadu. Sebastian Faust. Alan Scott. The Phantom Stranger. Ragman. Raven of the Teen Titans. Meet the Sentinels of Magic. And they are going to make Asmodel's day a very rough one.

I enjoyed this issue. We got a big bad set up, we got some action, and Geoff Johns's love of the DCU really shines. I love  Matt Smith's art bring a nice bit of moodiness to the story, especially with the usage of shadows in the Hell scenes. He also seems to be channeling his inner Mike Mignola for it. I do think it was forced to hold back on the horror a bit, but otherwise that, the art is really good. 

If you want to read this comic for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2013 trade paperback Day of Judgment. Thanks for reading this blog entry!

Friday the 13th

I hope you all had a very pleasant Friday the 13th today! 

Yeah, I hope that you managed to avoid this guy. He's a weirdo. Likes offing teenagers for some reason. I don't know. People are crazy.

World Dolphin Day!

Happy World Dolphin Day, everyone!

Dolphins are aquatic mammals. There are 40 extant species of dolphins, and they're rather common critters, depicted in numerous cultures. Many of them prefer the warmer waters of the tropic zones, although some don't mind colder waters. 

They have very strong senses of hearing. They also breathe through blowholes, much like whales. In fact, so they don't suffocate in their sleep, dolphins only take short 15-20 minute naps. Dolphins also sleep in a way that makes them still aware of potential threats. 

Male dolphins are called bulls, while female dolphins are called cows. Appropriately enough, baby dolphins are called calves. Like all mammals, the babies are raised by their mothers. Dolphin calves can take between 9 and 17 months to be born. They are nurtured between about one to two years, and they stay with their mothers for about another one to seven years. 

Also, believe it or not, dolphins are most closely related to hippopotami. Yeah, they shared a common ancestor that branched around 40 million years ago. 

Dolphins are known to be rather intelligent. They have been known to make friends with other dolphins. They are social creatures, speaking to each other with clicks and whistles. They live in pods that can comprise of up to about a dozen individual dolphins each. They have also been known to make plans, use tools, teach and learn things, and even grieve lost friends and family. They are presumably the most like humans among all sea life in that aspect.