World Whale and Dolphin Day

 Happy World Whale and Dolphin Day!

What is World Whale and Dolphin Day? Well, on July 23, 1986, this day was declared by the International Whaling Commission. This declaration also came with an international ban on whaling, helping end two centuries of the killing of whales. Whales still do face threats in this day and age, on this day, I thought to help raise awareness of whales and dolphins by showing some cool facts courtesy of NOAA: 

1. Blue whales have the biggest hearts of any known animal.

Blue whales are among the biggest animals on Earth. As such, it makes sense that they would have rather large organs. A blue whale's heart can weigh over 1,000 pounds. Yeah, try lifting one of those blood-pumpers!

2. Dolphins can swim very fast.

Dall's porpoises are among the fastest swimmers among their fellow cetaceans. They can reach speeds of 34 miles per hour for small distances. They are potentially to sea creatures what cheetahs are to land animals. Pretty cool.

3. Dolphins are intelligent.

Dolphins are among the most intelligent species of animals on Earth. Various species of dolphins and whales have been observed coming up with strategies to help catch their prey for lunch. One example is some bottlenose dolphins living in Australia use basket sponges to protect their beaks while they forage on the seabed. Humpback whales corral plankton and small fish near the surface of the water using a trick called "Bubble net feeding". This trick lets them swallow a whole lot of their prey whole.

4. Whales and Dolphins once lived on land.

Fossil records have shown that in the distant past, whales and dolphins once lived on land, before evolving into the aquatic creatures we know today. It's why whales and dolphins have blowholes. You see, like humans, whales and dolphins can't breathe underwater. When they move through the water, they're holding their breath. Blowholes allow them to take breaths. 

5. Whales could help combat climate change.

How? Well, during a great whale's life, their bodies accumulate carbon. When a whale dies, its body sinks to the bottom of the ocean. Depending on the whale's lifespan, it can accumulate as much as 33 tons of carbon on average. And when it sinks, it keeps the carbon out of the atmosphere for centuries. Great whales' bodies are better than trees at absorbing carbon. It's one reason why preserving these creatures is so important. 

6. Dolphins swallow their prey whole.

Dolphins do have teeth, but unlike humans, they don't use them to chew their food. The teeth are actually used to help grip prey so that dolphins can swallow them whole safely. 

So, yeah! Dolphins and whales are fascinating and important critters. 

World Brain Day

 Happy World Brain Day, everyone!

This day was established by the World Federation of Neurology, as it was founded on this day in 1957. It's an organization comprised of various neurologists from around the world. The Federation is dedicated to research and education about the importance of keeping your brain healthy. After all, the brain is the body's control center.

It's the most important organ in the human body, as without it, the body cannot do anything. The heart can't pump blood. The lungs can't take in air. The brain encapsulates who and what we are. So yeah, take good care of your brain, and enjoy this Brain Day! See you next time!

All-Star Superman #7 (June 2007)

It's that time again! It's time to join the Man of Steel on his grandest, and possibly his last adventures! Last time, we got a nice little heartwarming tale of Superman getting to see his father, the late Jonathan Kent, for one last time. We also got a tie-to DC One Million, so that was nice for those who have read it. I haven't, but I want to. So, where do we go from here? How about a new take on a classic Superman rogue? Let's look at All-Star Superman #7!

The cover is a Frank Quitely and Jamie Grant piece. I like it. It depicts Superman and Bizarro brawling in the streets of Metropolis. It gives the impression that we are in for a fight, and I am excited for it!

"Being Bizarro"
Writer: Grant Morrison
Penciler: Frank Quitely
Inker: Jamie Grant
Colorist: Jamie Grant
Letterer: Phil Balsman
Editors: Bob Schreck, Brandon Montclare
Executive Editor: Dan Didio

The story begins...somewhere very yellow. Leo Quintum and one of his assistants are looking for a missing Bizarro technician. They're near a micro-singularity. A little too close to one for comfort. They manage to flee, but something managed to follow them. Something alive, and it's growing.

"Alright! About time I got an arm!"

Elsewhere in the cosmos, Superman is dealing with this alien tentacled squid-like creature.

"For the love of GOD, stay far away from Japan!"

This creature is a Sun-Eater, presumably the very same one that we saw Superman feed in issue #2. The little guy is getting a bit big, and he's ready to go out on his own...and potentially go Galactus on some alien race's sun. 

But that aside, Superman finds himself getting attacked by...Clayfaces?

"Wait, I owe you guys money, too?!"

Well, not quite. They're sending Superman towards what looks like another Earth. One that is shaped like a cube.

Over at the Daily Planet, there's a Christmas party going. Jimmy Olsen spots the "Clayfaces" crashing into Metropolis. And then they attack the party, claiming one expendable staffer who talked a lot.

"Bizarro hate you face! Bizarro not take you face!"

The staffer rants that that she is Bizarro and attacks the others, but Steve Lombard sends her out the window like she was Axel Foley after meeting Victor Maitland.

Lombard didn't change when touched, and he's amazed by it. The Daily Planet gang flee to the roof, hoping Superman will come to save them. Over at a library, Bizarro arrives. Superman then arrives and tells the people to get inside. Bizarro blasts at the Man of Tomorrow with his fire breath, but our man responds with a new trick.

Superman showing why he's DC's Most Electrifying Superhero.

Superman notices that this is new. The Bizarros of Htrae ("Earth" backwards, if you don't get the joke) have never been this hostile before. What is going on? Bizarro, in his own way, explains that he wants everyone to become Bizarros like him. Meanwhile, the Daily Planet crew is boarding a futuristic blimp. Superman knocks Bizarro into orbit. Jimmy contacts P.R.O.J.E.C.T. with his signal watch, and Leo Quintum gives some exposition.

What they're dealing with right now is a planet-eater. I wonder if it's related to Galactus?  Anyway, it crudely disguised itself as Earth as a way of appearing less threatening. As for the Bizarros and what happened to that poor Daily Planet employee? Well, that's part of the planet consumption process. There is good news and bad news, though. Good news? They're sickened by sunlight. Bad news? In Metropolis right now, it's 9:30 PM. In December. WHERE ARE THEY GOING TO GET SUNLIGHT?!

Perry White points out to Superman that Steve Lombard is immune to the Bizarro infection. Superman examines him and it's discovered that he takes certain...performance pills. 

Since sunlight weakens them, Jimmy has an idea.

He suggests that a giant space mirror could be used to reflect sunlight to Metropolis. He admits that it's a nutty idea, and in the real world...he would be laughed off the roof. But this is a world homaging Silver/Bronze Age-era Superman, so it'll work here. But where can we get said big mirror from? Why, Htrae, of course!

Bizarro World has big oceans. If Superman could move the planet in the right position, the oceans can be used as a mirror. Supes is going to have to be fast. Bizarro World's presence is also causing further problems. Its position is affecting tides and the weather due to its gravity field. Bizarro World is a basically a big organism. Lois hopes Superman comes back to her, and he assures her he will as soon as he's done on Htrae. He gives her a card that contains an experimental formula for a Bizarro repellent. He gives her a little kiss on the head, wishes her a Merry Christmas, and flies off. 

The Metropolis Marvel heads towards the cubic planet and smashes a large mountain on it. A red light starts to appear over the planet. Olsen explains that Superman hurt it, so it's going back to the Underverse to lick its wounds. Superman tells Bizarro it's over and not to bother Earth again. Bizarro, in his own Bizarro way, says he doesn't want to go back to the Underverse, back into the cold and darkness of it. Superman notices that the gravitational pull of the planet is increasing as Htrae heads back, and the sunlight is turning red. The conditions of this world are becoming...like Krypton. Which means Superman...has lost his powers.

Superman is going to die here, and his world will be left in danger without him. Yeah, Supes, you mentioned Batman in one issue, and I think we can assume that other superheroes do exist here, even if it's only the classic Justice League roster. 

A new voice tells Superman that Bizarro will be no help. But he can, as he is a flaw. He's something that appears in every 5 billion copies of Bizarro. He's unique, self-aware, and suffers in a world that nothing is right to him. He introduces himself as...Zibarro. 

"...I am not cut out for architecture."

I enjoyed this issue, even though it is primarily set-up. It's one of those issues that is best read as part of All-Star Superman as a whole instead of on its own. That's something I have seen plenty of in my experience looking at 12-issue maxi-series like these. That is not a bad thing. This was still a good read. Morrison and Quitely provide a rather interesting, unique, and a terrifying take on the Bizarro concept, a giant organism that basically wants to make everything just like it. And the reveal of Zibarro being a "flawed copy" makes a, well...bizarre bit of sense. If so many copies get made at once, flaws are going to pop up. I also got a good laugh out of how Steve Lombard ended up immune to the Bizarro infection. 

I have talked about Quitely's art in the past, and my views of it. I think his style does work for the Bizarros, though. 

World Chimpanzee Day

Today is World Chimpanzee Day!

Chimpanzees are mammals native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. They are great apes, and they are the closest living relatives to humans. 

Chimpanzees are social animals, living in male-dominated groups that can range from about 15 to 150 members. The word "chimpanzee" first was recorded in 1738. One possible origin of it comes from the African Tshiluba word "chimpenze", meaning "ape" or "mockman". 

Chimpanzees are omnivorous (meaning they eat both meat and plants), but they are frugivores, which means they prefer fruit. But they have been known to supplement their fruit diet with things like honey, insects, birds (and bird eggs), small mammals, and even other primates. In the wild, chimpanzees tend to live less than 15 years. In captivity, male chimps tend to live around 31, and females around 38-39. The oldest known chimpanzee, Little Mama, nearly reached 80.

Chimpanzees are also known for being rather intelligent. They've been observed making tools for helping to catch prey, like using sticks to get ants out of anthills, and cracking open nuts with rocks. They are able to cooperate with each other, and various troops have even been observed passing down techniques for tool-making down the generations. That's pretty neat.

Sadly, chimps are an endangered species, mainly thanks to habitat loss, poaching, and disease. There are efforts at conservation, and they are protected in national parks. 

These are fascinating critters, and may be the closest we ever get to seeing an actual pre-evolution of man. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! See you next time!

International Rock Day

Today is International Rock Day!

The history of how this day came about is rather vague, but the goal of the day is clear: the celebration of rocks! Because, well...they rock, ha ha!

Yeah, sorry. All rocks on earth come in three main forms:
- Igneous: These rocks started out as molten magma and are formed when it cools. Naturally, you mostly find these around volcanoes. Granite is an igneous rock, for example. It's comprised of magma with a high silica content.
- Sedimentary: These rocks are formed by sediments (like minerals or organic matter) basically being cemented together thanks to the effects of erosion. Sedimentary rock covers over 70% of the Earth's land mass, but it only comprises a small amount of the Earth's crust. It's basically a covering. One example of sedimentary rock is sandstone, which is rock formed, naturally, from sand.
- Metamorphic: Metamorphic rock is formed when a rock is changed into a new form thanks to heat and pressure, hence the name. Igneous and sedimentary rocks can be changed into metamorphic rocks. Marble is an example of metamorphic rock, formed when limestone (a sedimentary rock), undergoes the metamorphic process.

Rocks are also rather important to human development. It's believed that humans and earlier hominids started making tools from rocks in the Lower Paleolithic Era. Stone tools found near Lake Turkana in Kenya from 2011 to 2014 have been dated to be about 3.3 million years old. As time went on, these stone tools would evolve further, until the development of metallurgy caused rock tools and weapons to be superseded by metals like bronze and copper.

So, yeah. Rocks are pretty darn neat. Check out some today! Thanks for reading this blog entry! See you next time!

DC Comics Presents #85 (September 1985)

When you're a superhero in the DC Universe, one can say you did not have it made until you got to team up with the "big guns". In said universe, that usually means meeting with a member of the Justice League, like say, Green Lantern, or Wonder Woman, or perhaps...Superman.

Superman teaming up with other heroes is nothing new. The DCU is full of them, and Superman even had his own book dedicated to his teaming up with other superheroes: DC Comics Presents. Going from 1978 to 1986, the book lasted 97 issues and got four Annuals. 

The issue we're looking at this week is a rather...unusual team-up. After all, Superman and the Swamp Thing are two characters that really did not have a lot in common. After all, one is an alien refugee (Yes, Superman is a refugee), and the other was a scientist-turned swamp monster. But that doesn't really matter when it comes to facing a common threat. This is DC Comics Presents #85!

The cover is a Rick Veitch piece. It depicts what looks like an angry Superman blasting away at the Swamp Thing with...white energy circle vision? I think it's meant to be depicted as using maybe his X-Ray or heat vision, but they tend to not be portrayed that way. The cover has that painted look to it. I like that. It gives the impression I'm looking at the cover of an old paperback novel. 

"The Jungle Line"
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciler: Rick Veitch
Inker: Al Williamson
Letterer: John Costanza
Colorist: Tatjana Wood
Editor: Julius Schwartz
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

The story begins on Interstate 55, a road that goes from Illinois to Louisiana. A car is making its way southwards, the hot sun baking it like it was a delicious muffin. Mmm...muffin...

A man is driving down this road, sickly and sweating. But this man is no regular driver with a bad head cold. This is a man who should not get sick. Who should be immune to all Earthly disease. 

The Man of Steel swore he would never go on a bender on Thanagar ever again.

As Moore himself said, the Man of Steel is heading down south to die. As he drives, he starts seeing bizarre hallucinations. He sees blood-soaked forests, with all sorts of strange animals. So, what is going on here? How did one of the mightiest heroes in the DCU end up in this state?

No problem, you're getting one. We go back a bit earlier, when Clark Kent and Lana Lang were sent to cover a discovery made in a meteorite.

"The fungus seems to enjoy cursing us out..."

The meteorite itself is not the big deal. After all, they hit Earth all the time. But this particular meteorite has a strange alien fungus on it. It's quite a find, even though they're in a world that has its fair share of contact with alien life, Superman being one of the main examples of it. However, unlike the Man of Steel, this fungus won't resist thorough research. As Lana asks the scientist, a Dr. Everett, about the fungus, Clark secretly uses his microscopic vision on it, discovering that the fungus is Kryptonian. He feigns dizziness to leave the conference. Using his superhuman memory (remember, this is pre-Crisis Superman), he identifies the fungus.

"By Rao, Thanagarians used to make cheese with this stuff!"

The Kryptonian scientific name for it was avarel uthotis, but its common name was the bloodmorel. Native to the Scarlet Jungle on Krypton, it's a dangerous little fungus. It can permeate the skin and grows in the bloodstream. Symptoms of exposure include fever, bouts of incapacitation, hallucinations, chronic overexertion...and in 92% of all cases of infection...death.

The next day, Clark notices his powers are going haywire. They fade in and out. He takes the subway home instead of flying because of this. That night, he starts having hallucinations.

"Your underwear kept making dirty jokes, so we didn't invite them."

Yeah, imagine your clothes arguing over what you should do about your fate. Dr. Everett lets Superman take the meteorite to examine. I can imagine that Superman told him he wanted to make sure the fungus wasn't dangerous to humans. Superman tries to examine the meteorite with his microscopic vision until it cuts out. He accepts he's a dead man walking and tries to head somewhere to let the illness take its course, so...he goes down south. According to the comic, there are no superheroes based in the Southern US. That sounds so weird to me. He also takes the meteorite with him for...some reason. 

Clark falls asleep at the wheel, causing the car to crash. Thankfully, our man's invulnerability was working, so he survives it. He stumbles out of the car, still clutching the meteorite. He hallucinates that he's in the Scarlet Jungle on Krypton. Hey, this was supposed to be a teamup between Superman and Swamp Thing, right? So, where's the other half of this teamup? Where's ol' Swampy?

"Alright, who's making all this goldarn noise in my goldarn forest?!"

There he is! Swampy notices that Clark seems to still be alive after all of that which leads him to wonder who this man is. Meanwhile, Superman's long strange trip takes a turn for the darker.

"We're actually the most beautiful creatures here!"

Yup, the creatures taunt our man, saying that he's lived too long. He was supposed to have died on Krypton. He should not have outlived his world. Which is hilarious as by this point in the pre-Crisis continuity, he's not the only survivor. Supergirl, all the criminals in the Phantom Zone, etc. The creatures become skeletal and demand he join them in death.

Back in the real world, the former Alec Holland examines the alien fungus on the meteorite. Naturally, he doesn't recognize the species. He tries to establish contact with the fungus, only to get painful sensations. Sensations of a burning red sun. Sensations of crushing gravity. He realizes, "Yup, this thing ain't from Earth". Swampy looks at the downed Clark and realizes he may know who this man is.

Back in Hallucination Land, Superman tries to fight the skeletal monsters, screaming that he is not dead, nor does he belong there. They can't keep him here, as he is Superman. Swamp Thing opens Clark's jacket, revealing the Superman costume underneath. It's then that the Man of Steel wakes up and gives Swampy a warm greeting.

"AUGH! MY GLUBOK!"

Thankfully, the ex-Alec Holland is made of swamp muck, so he'll live, and the hole Superman blasted in him will heal up. While he heals, he watches the feverish Superman yell and scream, lost in his hallucinations. His screams knock trees down, wild heat vision melts boulders. His body is going into overdrive, which will burn him out and kill him.

Swampy has to help Superman, calm him down, and find a way to cleanse his system. But the fungus got the Metropolis Marvel all messed up. There's no way to get through to him, unless...the fungus!

Swamp Thing touches Superman's shoulder with one hand, and the fungus with another. This allows the former Alec Holland to get into Clark's mind, see his hallucinations.

"Oh man, Lois is going to murder me for forgetting to clean this basement."

Superman crushes his hand, naturally thinking that Swampy is another hallucination. He tells Superman he is dying. The Man of Tomorrow tries to fight Swamp Thing, but Alec is able to get through to him, pointing out that he's overexerting himself, burning himself out. Alec tells Superman to touch his hand and uses...the color green to heal him.

Ecto Cooler can cure anything! Even alien fungi!

His job done here, Alec leaves to let Superman rest. He's going to be just fine now. Yeah, the forest looks like a warzone, but he'll be fine.

Superman wakes up, feeling right as rain. The fungus has been purged from his system, and his powers are back in working order. He flies off, feeling refreshed and renewed. Swamp Thing is happy about this, the story ending with him wandering back into the swamps, as the sun rises to signal a bright new day. 

I did enjoy this issue. What I did like about it is that it's not your typical team-up story. Yes, it does use the formula of old-school team-up stories (The heroes meet, fight, then join forces), but it uses them in a unique way. 

The one main thing about the story that confuses me is how Superman got infected by the Kryptonian fungus. He didn't touch the meteorite, he presumably did not breathe any of the fungus, so how did he get infected? And also, how come nobody else was infected by the fungus? Did it just ignore humans? Also, how exactly did Swamp Thing heal Superman? Did he just...use the color green? Yeah, the story is a bit vague in places, if you couldn't tell. I did get a good chuckle out of the scene with the Clark Kent suit and 

I also liked the artwork. It had a good sense of storytelling, and the renditions of the hallucinatory monsters are terrifying. 

If you want to read this for yourself, check out the 2011 trade paperback DC Universe by Alan Moore. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Se you next time!

Capybara Appreciation Day

Today is Capybara Appreciation Day!

Capybaras are a species of rodent native to South America. They are the largest species of rodent, able to reach 3.48 to 4.40 feet in length, and can weigh between 77 to 146 pounds in weight as adults. They live near bodies of water in savannas and dense forests. 

The name capybara comes from an amalgamation of words in the Indigenous Brazilian Tupi language, meaning "grass-eater".