I watched the Avengers all the way through for only the second time, including its cinema debut the summer of 2012, where we went opening day in Horton Plaza, a reliable ways from our first shawarma experience later that afternoon over on Fourth Avenue. Me being my best friend and band mate, Anji Bug. I love how that one post-credit scene, of any of them, does no more previewing than simply showing they socialize. Now, I’m recalling the first of my Marvel Super Heroes. When I’m three, there’s already Spider-Man, and soon after, the Incredible Hulk, who I probably started watching in his first season. I already could read the TV Guide well enough. G-Force is already my favorite superhero team when I’m four, and I love Goldar from The Space Giants, and will meet the Superfriends just before Ultra Man and Spectre Man. Avengers is so great because at its core, it’s got the four of the first five Marvel heroes I found: Hulk, then Iron Man, Cap, and Thor. I’m less sure about Thor, b...

I gotta be honest. There is definitely an appeal to having an indefinite canonical origin for The Joker. It's just better if he comes out of nowhere, really. Now, Venom is from an era when villain origins could be built to last, and his had a lot of build-up. It's sorta cool that in 1984 you have the first half before you even know you'll have a second half: I'm talking, of course, about Spider-Man's black costume, and the symbiote from space it was revealed to be. In our discussion, aside from a distaste for the inconsistent depictions in Todd McFarlane's earliest issues, my partner Anji was more perturbed at how the alien costume only had a 'heel turn,' because Marvel intended to dispose of the design. Before it was really in any stories, the new black design had evoked a vocal backlash. A few months in, and seeing Spider-Man in action in the new costume was grabbing new fans. Her point though: In Web of Spider-Man #1, the costume/ symbiote h...

It's not where I first noticed it, but going back across Stern's run, this is the first place you see it, when the Black Cat targets purveyors of black market high art. ASM # 232 Mister Hyde stalks the Cobra Then you have Tarantula picking up where Cobra left off. Cobra chasing down Nose Norton was yet another instance: ASM #231. Ned Leeds and Marla Madison are caught in the middle of this one! Then, Ben Urich's caught up when Tarantula picks up the trail. So Norton is sort of the second hunted villain in a story line, in that someone besides the cops or Spidey is tracking a character who we'd agree is not deliberately on the side of angels. But the next storyline has even more villains chasing each other. Will O' the Wisp returns for revenge against Brand and ends up fighting their latest, fatal experiment. Tarantula's transformation scared the heck out of me! I just got to peep a few pages while I waited on Mom at the grocery store. I didn...

Join in the summer fun! Before we go check out the movie, here's a number from Stray Kids, including skits with the stars of Deadpool/Wolverine!

I think this may be, by some slim margin, the best cover of Amazing Spider-Man, the Marvel title that began publication in 1963. I'm going to include cover credits, where I know them. This one's by John Romita, Jr. I hope this brings back so many memories, or is at least very fun for fans of Spidey and comics in general! ASM #226 This has got to be one of Marvel's best covers of the decade! From 'Daydreams'- isn't this hilarious? Jonah in a track suit AND smoking a cigar. It's John Romita, Jr. again. You just can't leave out this dramatic second part of the most famous single Spider-Man storyline of the 80s, Kraven's Last Hunt. The mini-series was drawn by Mike Zeck and, I believe, inked by Bob Wiacek. It ran across all three Spider-Man titles, each week! Early Frank Miller cover href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ADdv9Nhod6AHxpJSSWIHvCuVfdO_McIK0qJQ2DFHZ_hoz2tQXnjIpplC_3Rvfi1mXo3BD...

Well, never forget you can fall in love with your future, and that future only exists where you can reach it, Now. So think of how you feel, prioritize your belief in feeling good. You always have Jesus and the Holy Ghost and all sorts of benevolent possibilities for company. Think of yourself as creating your own reality, and suddenly, the happiness you feel really sticks out as central. It's a relief to try to breathe out, let go of the contents of your ind. Let peace and tranquility reveal themselves as quantities and qualities already present in your life. We only need touch'em. Just give yourself a break as a creature. Turn off the fight or flight. Reward yourself with the bliss found in inner quiet. IF it feels like post-partum or something, any reason is OK to seek out therapy. But everything you'll use to feel like the comfortable, whole version of Yourself is right there, inside. And she'll inspire others to find theirs. If we can do more than co...