Manhattan Offender

Yes, President Obama, we get that you're a badass and all, but we need you to stay alive.

Maybe it's the indoctrination of fear that permeated us throughout much of the Bush years still playing its tune in my mind, but I worry about our President these days.  Between the arrest of a terrorists that were allegedly targeting Fashion Week this past weekend* and the right-wingers taking guns on Amtrak to healthcare rallies, my worry isn't unfounded.

Hearing that Obama is at the David Letterman studio (RIGHT NOW!), a check-in was made with an editor at DC Comics.  As their office provides a view of the Ed Sullivan Theater, my curiosity was whether the Secret Service had swarmed the building, and, if so, if they were hot.  His reply?  "Nope! I'm surprised, actually." (Meaning that they hadn't been in the building, not that they weren't hot, as, well, he had no way of knowing if they were or weren't as THERE HAD BEEN NO CHECK OF THE BUILDING.)

Breath.

Anyway, your confidence and determination is appreciated Mr. President.  Really.  But protect yourself.  Please.

* - Watching the news of this over coffee with a friend Saturday morning, we decided the lead terror suspect was sort of hot.

Wonder Woman Wednesday: Warrior dieting

It's now minutes from "the season", and, in no uncertain terms, the body-image is just so-so.  A South-Beach style crash is in process and it always works, but this may be a chubby summer.

Which is why the adjoining image by Carla Speed McNeil is so awesome.  Think about it.  Can you imagine our girl Wonder Woman having a weight issue?  Fretting about her weight?  Pinching at her side?  Jogging that extra mile to "feel the burn"?

Nah.  Princess Diana is living the warrior lifestyle.  And girlfriend is a vegetarian.

Warrior lifestyle?  Means waking up at the crack of dawn on your mud-cot and doing calisthenics with your gal-warrior-pals.  Having some fruits and cheeses.  Weapons and combat training for a couple hours.  Maybe some yogurt and vegetables.  Then staving off the daemonic hordes of Darkseid for five or six hours before getting back to bed.

And although the image of Wonder Woman downing a side of deer makes sense at first, when you consider that she can talk to animals, that image sort of fades.  "Oh hai!  I eated ur couzin.  Srry!"  (This is assuming that animals all talk like LOLcats of course.)

Maybe she could write a diet book?  Do an exercise video?

Wonder Woman Wednesday: Girl, you better accessorize

Most women know that regardless of the clothes on a woman, any true assessment can be made from the way she accessorizes an outfit.  Could the allure of Wonder Woman be merely the fact that she accessorizes in a unique and utilitarian fashion?

Is it the tiara?  More than a mere sign of her Amazonian royalty, the tiara also serves as a boomerang with razor sharp edges.  Granted, with the edges being so well honed, there is the curiosity as to why it doesn't wreck her hair, but perhaps that is an indication of the her toughness, down to the follicular level.

Or is it the bracelets.  They deflect bullets.  Granted on a normal mortal this would be of little use, but because of her speed she can adequately protect herself with her bangles.

Even the earrings have been used as throwing stars, though rarely.

Clearly getting the maximum usage from every aspect of her wardrobe, she's a wonder of pragmatism.

New Feature: Wonder Woman Wednesdays

Wifebeater Wednesdays was, well, worrisome.  Despite soliciting models from social networking sites, no one wanted to bite, although many replied thinking my offer was to take their pictures.  As in come to their house and take their picture.  Yikes.  So stick a fork in it; it's dead.

Instead, something wholesome.  Or is it?  Stay tuned for a weekly aspect of a heroine that tends to be universally loved by the gays, misunderstood by creators, and ignored by most.

To start, just the iconic image of Lynda Carter.  (Which clicks up huge, by the way.)

More to come.

You're a wonder ...

A friend has been interviewed by WCBS for having a room in his apartment dedicated to his collection of Wonder Woman toys, records, books, games, lunchboxes, scissors, and other items.  As the first MO interviewee, only pride can be expressed here for Sam's on camera skills.  Where many have closets filled with secrets of lust and despair, Sam has a closet filled with golden bustiers and star-spangled shorts.

Check the full video here.

[Via Cultural Wasteline]

Wonder (who she is) Woman

Someone has been announced as having landed the role of Wonder Woman.  Rachel Bilson from "The O.C." is the someone announced, although there have been others speculated in the past.  The film has been "in the works" for a lifetime, with Buffy the Vampire Slayer main man Joss Whedon now at the helm.  Whedon had expressed an interest in finding an unknown to play the part a la Brandon Routh.  No doubt he's succeeded as Rachel Bilson is pretty much that.

A further wonder is whether the announcement is the real dea with a questionable press release announcing:

The brunette actress - best known for playing ditzy Summer Roberts in the hit teen series - will don the famous starred hot pants and wield her gold whip in the film.

Whereas the release cites a "gold whip" and not a "magic lasso" it's veracity is up for grabs.

(Via The Beat)

Breaking up with Wonder Woman

After over 25 years of regularly buying comic books the time has finally come to say goodbye.  A few factors influenced this decision:

• As time goes by, the stories are more marketing-driven and less story-driven.
• The fusion of art, graphics and the written word has influenced my tasted in art and it always will, but the continued purchase of books that at one time cost me 35 cents each and now cost at least $2.50 seems to now be at an end. 
• An under-the-bed clean-up/desperate attempt at finding space for winter clothes resulted in over 200 comics being put in shopping bags and left in my building's lobby, in the hope that some of the building's children would maybe start reading more.  Key in putting these in the lobby however was that there was no remorse, no sense of loss.  What did exist was a sense of release.
• Next in my sights is a gigantic eBay auction to relieve more of the many many books under the bed.  Comics from before, say, 1972 will remain, but the rest will need to find new homes under new beds.

So Diana, Clark, Bruce, Hal, Wally, Dick, Kori, Vril, and even my dear dead Nura.  Goodbye for now.  Maybe there will be an occasional visit, but it will have to be brief.  Monique, Millie, Gomez and the other characters from my own novel (which needs an editor, by the way) are taking up my time now.  They'll be influenced by some of you (especially Nura) and somehow proper respect will be paid to you all.

(This post of course goes against my personal rule of never announcing personal change, but this is really sort of a tip of the iceberg.)

Friday Funnies

It's more than just comics, but there are a lot of comics

Even Wonder Woman couldn't have handled crowd control at the New York City Comic-Con held this weekend at the Javits Center.  Even after closing off new ticket sales, thousands were still turned away or waited in long lines trying to reach the convention floor.

Just a bit of craftiness though was enough to land my handbags for the day, web-comic creator Chuck and Chino, along with me on the convention floor surrounded by art and artists, collectibles and collectors.  After the jump lots of four-color magic.

Weekend ketchup

• Coming soon to a limewire near you.  The Colin Farrel - Tatum O'Neal sex tape.
• Everyone knows that Wonder Woman is named Diana, which is in no way related to Diane.
• Slowly but surely, Kylie is coming back.  (Via Pink Is The New Blog)
• If your Mexican food contains ketchup you are so white trash, or, um, German.
• Forget Ciara, is that Elizabeth Hurley?  J'adore.
• Big Brother never really caught on in the U.S., but Norway seems to have figured it out.
• And lastly, Spongeback Mountain: