Tuesday, January 05, 2021

2020 Remains : Justice League of America

As usual the last post has become much too long to further work on it so I will have to cut some stuff from the bonus section if I want to finish it. Thankfully there is always an abundance of posts I didn´t get to write so we have an impromptu Justice League of America post on our hands.


Now while this is an unplanned post this doesn´t mean that it is inferior to other posts. All the stuff in here is material that I wanted to post but there was not enough for a full blown post so I put it on hold. And granted the opportunity to not only shorten another post but also pay homage to some of the unsung comicbook stalwarts who don´t get the limelight in my other posts I said to myself this is the best time this could happen.


Which doesn´t mean that preparing this didn´t have problems. Posts seldom go off without a hitch and this one was no exception. Longtime visitors know that I always try to give my readers the best art pages but with material that is so old where there have not been any reprints yet it can be difficult to find scans of good quality. As someone who has to rely solely on what he finds on the internet I depend on the work of others so please give me a bit of leeway if some pages don´t have that good quality.

Because the whole purpose of this post is to make the previous one shorter I am not including any birthdays but there are a few links that I want to put on the blog in the meantime. The first one is for my german readers : while writing these last post I was looking for some covers from the german publisher Condor Verlag which led me to the page of MARVEL COMICS ONLINE which not only has its own listing for the Condor Verlag but basically EVERY company that published Marvel Comics in Germany.


Speaking about german comicbooks I may have posted parts of Christoph Roos fantasy / science fiction saga Shayaway but here you can find the whole shebang all of the issues with the complete creator commentary.

Kid over at the CRIVENS ! COMICS & STUFF blog regales us with the tale how he finally finished finished the gap in his Thor collection with issue 387 of The Mighty Thor after 32 years while I have to get rid of most of my Thor comics. As longtime readers know one of my favorite runs within the Thor series is the one by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz ( Issue 387 is the first part of the story in which Thor goes up alone against the Celestials and just does not stop even after he had to sacrifice his hammer. I still refuse to believe that this is the same guy who felt he was not worthy to lift Mjolnir just because a mortal whispered something in his ear. That must have been some alternate Thor from the new Multiverse after the old one was destroyed. ) and I hope I get to keep at least the new Epic Collections as well as the issues that lead up to the whole Thunderstrike series. This was my favorite version of a Thor replacement. Anyway, I will have to wait and see but if I know how things usually turn out for me I will be lucky if I can keep my Artist´s Editions of Walter Simonson´s Thor .


Speaking of Artist´s Editions, something I only found AFTER finishing my feature on Michael J Moorcock´s Elric and other books is this exclusive preview of P. Craig Russell´s Strange Dreams Artist´s Edition on 13TH DIMENSION which also happens to have a preview of Dave Cockrum´s X - Men Artist´s Edition. Over at MAN OF BRONZE we have a sad post about the passing of andalusian artist and colorist Jose Luis Rio just two days ago as well as one with some sketches of the late Mike Wieringo for a Legion of Super - Heroes project that never came to fruition plus one ringing in the new year . RANDOM HAPPENSTANCE has a post about issue 3 of Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett´s Section Zero from Image Comics Gorilla imprint that was canceled after the second issue but finalized recently as a Kickstarter. On one side I am glad that they got to finish the project but on the other side it is just one of many recent buys that I now have to get rid of. As for a Justice League of America tie - in there is also a post about the comicbook adaption of Superman IV - The Quest For Peace.

TALES FROM THE KRYPTONIAN stalwarts know that I like to have a theme in my bonus section whenever I can so let´s start with some videos about the Justice League Of America. Of all comicbooks that came out from DC Comics the best known is Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons´ Watchmen but there was another comicbook series that preceded it and that already tackled some of the real world topics within a superhero universe. For some unfathomable reason you have never heard of it but as my readers can attest I have always rated Squadron Supreme higher than Watchmen.


For one because it is so widely underappreciated but also because it left the characters and story open for further use. One of the reasons why Alan Moore has always been against continuing the story of Watchmen is that there is nothing more to tell since all he leaves future creators is scorched earth. Yes, there have been more stories in this universe but - as the name says - the Before Watchmen saga takes place before the events of the famous maxi series because you can´t really continue the story.


There is also Doomsday Clock but I´m not sure if this is a continuation of Watchmen or much rather a clever homage retreating the entire story beats but with the added bonus of explaining away a few glitches of the transition between the New 52 DC universe and the Rebirth DC universe with the presence of Doctor Manhattan as the Deus Ex Machina. I will have to re - read that story but if you are thinking about buying it this manages to have a much more optimistic finale than Watchmen and the simply stunning art by Gary Frank alone is worth the price of admission.


Coming back to Squadron Supreme while it was published by Marvel Comics it is really a Justice League of America story since the team was made up of only thinly veiled versions of the Justice League members.


We continue with the recap rap for season one and two of The Flash which for me still are the best seasons of the series. No offense to the later seasons but they did have some problems and some were uneven.

The first season on the other side laid the groundwork and you knew that they were going to blow the roof off that sucker in the second season as soon as Jay Garrick´s Flash helmet came flying through the vortex in the final episode of season one. Or in other words : " This house is bitchin´. " 


One thing you have to recommend the CW for is how they have integrated all the different DC tv series, especially in Crisis On Infinite Earths and the shows that debuted since then like Stargirl which is basically a Justice Society Of America show. But since not a lot of people know who the flark the Justice Society of America is they just went with Stargirl which also appeased the SJW since it has the word " girl " in the title. And on the sly we also got a Seven Soldiers Of Victory backdoor pilot. Anyway, with all the shared universes on tv and in the movies I only wish they would have done something similar with the DC movies in the 80s because with those actors we could have had one hell of a Justice League of America movie.


Speaking of the 80s, I haven´t had time to see Wonder Woman 1984 but so far I have heard only negative things. Which is a shame because the first one was the only good DC Comics movie in a long time. Do we really have to hope that the second Suicide Squad movie will save the cinematic DC universe´s butt ? Anyway, as bad as the new Wonder Woman might be there are other things that may be if not worse than at least on the same level of cringe like the korean animated unofficial Wonder Woman movie.


One of the things that writers always seemed to struggle with was the depiction of a society of women that lives on an isolated island without any men which´s name sounds a lot like " miscarriage ". What should be an easy feminist message has become difficult to transmit over the decades as feminists have made the transition from just wanting the same rights for women to blaming men for everything. Which is basically what the SJWs are doing right now so that should not be a problem. In the comics on the other hand there have been different approaches from instances where Wonder Woman was baffled that some of the female members of the Justice League of America didn´t seem to like her although they were all women to the animated version where it was hinted that Diana was prejudiced against men through decades of indoctrination by her mother and all her teachers and outright had an underlying hate against all men.


Time for another video with the rack - tastic Angie Griffin, one of the few female cosplayers on the planet who can give walking blow up sex doll Yaya Han and her huge hasian sexsation 40D porn implants a run for their money with her giant - sized ( and 100 percent all natural ! ) 41E double airbags.


Daimn, no disrespect to Scarlett Johansson but Angie is my choice for Black Widow and I bet her huge melons would turn Bucky into Fucky.


If the Black Widow had a body like that in the comicbooks it´s no wonder that Captain America insisted on interrogating her himself after she defected to the West to find out if she was still spying for the russians.


In an undisclosed motel. For a few months. Daimn, maybe it´s just me but Natasha Romanoff lost a lot of sex appeal when she stopped being a russian spy who used her special KGB sex techniques to get intel from hapless american studs with huge horsecocks. It´s the same with figure skater Katarina Witt ( and what a figure : 36C - 24 - 36 ). Ever since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany she lost a lot of her sex appeal. On the other side she has done a few PLAYBOY shootings since then which we would not have gotten if she was still in East Germany.

Coming back to Angie Griffin, Today´s episode of Cosplay Kitchen has her decked out as the charming Zatanna who has gotten a lot more cosplay love since she changed her attire from her satellite uniform to the simpler magician outfit although I have to say that I´m happy that she exchanged her long boots for fishnets. And for a different take head on over to CRIVENS ! COMICS & STUFF and check out Babe of the Day Valerie Perez.


One of the most underrated members of the Justice League is the Martian Manhunter ( basically he has Superman´s powers plus shape shifting plus mind reading and telepathy plus phasing through walls but without any weakness for kryptonite ) and while he has only been adapted to the tv in recent years thanks to the Supergirl series there was a tv show about a martian when I was a kid. The main lead was played by a young Bill Bixby before he portrayed the Hulk´s alter ego Doctor David Banner and the martian uncle was played by Ray Walston - who guest starred on the Hulk - who also has some comicbook movie credibility since he appeared on the Superboy tv show from the 80s and starred in the Popeye movie with Robin Williams everybody forgets about now when they are talking about comicbook movie adaptions. He also was part of the cast of Stephen King´s tv mini series The Stand but we will come to Stephen King later.


Even if you are completely new to the blog you might have caught on to the fact that I like things that are underrated or underappreciated so here is another overlooked cineastic gem of the 90s worthy of more attention.


NO CREES QUE SOLO PORQUE ENSEÑO MIS BRAGAS SOY UNA PUTA !

Longtime readers know that one of my pet pevees on this blog is celebrating all the brave actresses who turn insufferable dreck into bearable entertainment by taking their clothes off or at least show what their Mama gave them and who don´t get enough recognition for that .

But as much as I like to feature these squirtstorm guaranteeing sweaty skin flick sensations, born - for - porn leg spreading dicktamers, stripper pole polishing professionals and talented tittilating torrid teenage teasers I don´t always have the time, space or even necessary material to feature them properly and have to console myself with re - visiting them on the few occassions where I get to mention them or on their next birthday.

Someone who always seems to fall through the cracks is ASSential latin mASSita Jennifer Lopez and the lASSt I heard of her wASS that even at age 50 she still can spread her legs better than a fillipino hooker which she impressively demonstrated in Hustlers ( which I still haven´t watched ).

She got some backlash from the usual gang of idiots on the internet saying that ASS a woman of a certain age ( which is what exactly ? ) she is way too old for these kind of stunts ( she did get injured while shooting the pole dance scene ) but I say that´s nonsense. Jlo still looks better at 50 than most actresses in Hollywood half her age and ASS long ASS she can do it and is doing it because she wants to and not because somebody wants her to I say go for it. And that´s not only the usual pervert in me talking.

Too many celebrities never grab the chance to do nude pictures when they are in good condition, when their banging bodies are in their prime.


Then, twenty years ( or thirty years ) later their biological clock starts ticking, they want to prove they still look good and do some pictures.


Well, how are we supposed to come to a qualified decision ? We don´t know how she looked when she was young and sexy. So please girls, do some nude shots while you look good. Otherwise there is no proof.


Others celebrities like hasian fitness guru Kiana Tom did it the right way because she not only posed naked for PLAYBOY, no, she also confessed that she is such a perfectionist that she had to wait until the right time in her career where she felt her body was in the best shape it has ever been in. So it´s no wonder her PLAYBOY issue sold completely out in one month.

Daimn, this does not look like the ASS of a 50 year old woman ! And to think that P. Diddy used her as his blow up sex doll when her body was at its physical peak. No wonder he tried to dicktame her in the worst way.


Cardi B also put her stripper skills to good use co - starring with Jennifer Lopez in Hustlers which also helps her get more recognition for strippers since she wants everybody to know that strippers have nothing to be ashamed of. Cardi B makes no apologies for who she is and she wants other women to do the same no matter what the world thinks of them.


So the reason why I mentioned Jennifer Lopez´ pole dance in Husters is that first I wanted to give her props for this incredible demonstration of flexibility but also because I didn´t get to mention her this year on her 51st birthday on the 24th of July as I did not have a good video for her.

Yesterday I was looking for more GIFs of Jlo on a whim when I came upon another GIF that piqued my curiosity. And after a bit of research I found out that it´s from her music video Medicine - which apparently came out before Hustlers so you know how far out of touch I am with things - and it´s one of those " blink and you miss it "  moments because in the video you almost can´t see her flashing her panties which only barely cover her.


Well, actually there are two of those moments but because in the other one she is wearing no underwear and you can see her unmentionables for a split - second I didn´t include the GIF. While I may bend the limit as to what I post I still try to keep it somewhat SAFE FOR WORK for my readers.


As promised earlier we come to horror master Stephen King with another documentary from arte titleg Stephen King : The Necessary Evil. Mind you, these documentaries are broadcast on german local tv program.


We are staying with Stephen King movies, in this case Creepshow which features 36D - 25 - 36 cult siren Adrienne Barbeau who was in such classics like The Fog, Swamp Thing, Escape From New York and Cannonball Run where she plays one of the busty Lamborghini Babes with Tara Buckman.


Now I don´t think I have to explain the Lamborghini Babes whose main trick to avoid getting hassled by the cops is flashing some cleavage .


You can read more about Adrienne Barbeau in this new spin - off post which also touches on Brian Michael Bendis´s Superman and Swamp Thing - in comicbooks, movies and tv. Coming back to Creepshow, we already have two videos about movies so this one is about the comic adaption.


Which was done by none other than horror master Bernie Wrightson with whom Stephen King collaborated again in his novel Cycle Of The Werewolf.


As usual I found Gus Backus Geisterstundentango ( Witching Hour Tango ) too late for Halloween and while the name probably doesn´t sound very familiar at least my german readers should be familiar with Gus Backus work which includes such famous 60s Schlager songs like Da sprach der alte Häuptling der Indianer, Bohnen in die Ohren, Honolulu Baby, Rote Lippen soll man küssen, Ach wär ich doch Old Shatterhand as well as the aforementioned Geisterstundentango which was featured in the movie Ohne Krimi geht die Mimi nie in´s Bett which also starred Bill Ramsey.


Finally Cristina Pedroche revealed her dress for 2021 which has gotten a lot of flack. For one because of the lack of fabric and on the other side because of the homage to facemasks. No matter what you think you have to acknowledge the amount of ingenuity and craftsmanship that went into making the dress and I think it´s another Cristina Pedroche classic.


One staple of Stephen King´s stories is that the monsters are often the protagonists which is not that surprising since kids have always been fascinated with monsters. This connection has never been more apparent than in the many cartoons with monsters as pets or pocket inhabitants.


New to the blog ? Everything you need to know about TALES FROM THE KRYPTONIAN : top ten posts / more posts of interest / best of the best


I can´t speculate as to why Oliver Queen would kidnap a baby.

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