DC Comics October 2019 Review

Introduction

Welcome, finally, to my DC Comics Review for October 2019. Both life and technology have been working against me recently. Still, I’m not ignoring articles like I used to. It might be a couple of weeks late, but it’s here. Plus, Liam is getting the new Pokemon game this week, so that gives us something to discuss next week.

Finally, I’m pretty excited about the prospect of Pioneer. That’s what I meant by technology. Chris and I were all set to record last week except my phone wasn’t delivering messages for some reason. Nevertheless, I’m going to record something this week to get us to the Pokemon discussion next week. Who knows, maybe doing so will inspire us to actually record more. The goal is still to get to consistent content by the end of the year. Now, let’s get to the DC Comics Review for October 2019 so that I can read November’s books!

The Forgetable (Eff Superman)

Eff Superman…

Superman #14 and 15 (Brian Michael Bendis and Ivan Reis)

There are two books this month that made me finally break out “The Forgettable” category for these reviews. I will discuss the other briefly. All I can say about this one is Eff Superman. Maybe I should elaborate. I’ve never liked Superman as a hero. The only time I ever read the book was during the death story. My brother really likes him for some reason, but I just can’t get into the character.

I gave it a chance when Bendis came and very much enjoyed the Man of Steel lead in series. Ever since then, though, the book has gone back to the same old formula that just isn’t that interesting. I will continue to collect, but until the story gets better, I’ll probably just skim rather than reading.

The Decent (More Bendis and Justice League is on the block)

Time for a change?

Justice League 31 and 32 (Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Howard Porter)

This book is such a mess right now. I texted Chris about it and he mentioned that he gave up on it a while ago. There are already so many of my books being killed that I don’t want to stop collecting, but this one is definitely on the block right now. I mean, they have Tynion cowriting for the Doom War books, but as Chris said, “Not even he can save it.” There are some good things. I enjoyed the Wonder Woman speech and Aquaman coming in at the end. Otherwise, these issues were just another war for the fate of mankind as Kamandi said in exasperation. Also, Braniac 1 million? Ultra Monitor? Good lord.

More Bendis…

Action Comics #1015 (Brian Michael Bendis and Szymon Kudranski)

Action, for what it is worth, has been worth reading, at least. This issue had some distracting artwork with the lightning border for the initial Naomi panels. Also, the parallels of her story to Superman and Batman were nice to read. Otherwise, again, Bendis isn’t making me enjoy Superman any more.

Detective Comics 1011 (Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke)

This was a one shot (?) issue about some Japanese soldiers on an island being rescued by Bats from Deadshot. He’s my least favorite villain, so this issue was just okay the end seemed to finally set up for the Mr. Freeze show down that has been teased for the last 3 or 4 issues, so I’m excited about that.

The Good (Aqua, Wonder, and Cats, oh my! Oh, Detective, too)

Love is dead. Not the most subtle of metaphors.

Wonder Woman 78 and 79 (G. Willow Wilson and Tom Derenick)

Cheetah has the God Killer. She’s already used it to off Aphrodite. This means that love is dead. It’s not the most subtle metaphor for what’s happening in real life right now. Then again, maybe I’m just extra sensitive to that sort of thing. I will say that this particular writer is doing a good job with the story and I can’t wait to see where it goes next.

Not as strong as recent issues, but still fun.

Aquaman 52 (Kelly Sue Deconnick and Robson Rocha)

This issue was a bit weaker than some of the recent issues. I even pushed this book into the great column in my last article. Ultimately, this is just a fight issue against a big dumb monster. Most likely, it is a set up issue for the big Mech Black Manta show down coming.

Detective Comics 1012 (Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke)

Okay, this is more likely. Finally, we get Mr. Freeze. The intro showing the dichotomy of Batman and Mr. Freeze set the mood perfectly. Then, comes a decent set up story explaining what Mr. Freeze is up to and why Batman is getting involved. Spoiler Alert: It has to do with Freeze’s wife. I hope this story continues to pick up.

Ram V is growing on me

Catwoman 15 (Ram V and Mirka Andolfo)

I admit to being salty when Joelle stopped writing the title and I couldn’t get into Ram V’s version of the character. I’m not sure if it getting better or if I’m just getting used to the writing style. Either way, Ram V is starting to grow on me. This story, like the Freeze story in Detective, is gaining steam. Also, this one is building to the Tom King’s upcoming Bats/Cats book, which I’m here for.

The Great (Batman stands alone…as usual. Oops, forgot Justice League Dark)

Justice League Dark 15 (James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez Bueno)

Sure, James Tynion IV is working on the main Justice League title. But, you can tell that he is much more in his element on this title. This is another great set up issue where things are just falling apart for our intrepid “heroes”. Swamp Thing has lost his connection to the green. Wonder Woman is lost (?) on her way to the moon to fix magic. How can things possibly get worse? I can’t wait to see.

Batman 78 and 79 (Tom King and Clay Mann)

Tom King pissed off a lot of people with Batman 50. That’s been discussed here and elswhere. But, come on, that was at least a year ago now. How long are we going to stay pissed off? Okay, before City of Bane, things were slow, too, but there has to be some set up. Yes, I’m an unabashed Tom King stan. Still, this most recent story has been nothing short of amazing.

I love what King is doing with Batman and Catwoman now. This “interlude” is a great story of redemption and a great story of revenge. I know that King will be leaving Batman soon and I’m sad to see him go. But, he will be working on Batman/Catwoman and I can’t wait for that book.

The Verdict

DC Comics had been fading a bit for me recently. I found that I was skimming more books than I was reading. I’m still skimming some (Superman and more recently Justice League), but I am enjoying most of them. Batman is back to the amazing form that Tom King brings. Justice League continues to be amazing. As long as those books are great, the rest can be sort of middling and I’m a happy camper. Thanks, as always, for reading my DC Comics October 2019 (even if it is a couple of weeks late) review and join me in a few weeks for November.

Completely Ignorant 2019 NFL Week 9 Picks

Introduction

Welcome to my completely ignorant 2019 NFL Week 9 picks. This past week got away from me again, so it’s another week of just picks. Hopefully, I can get this Pioneer podcast off the ground and then I want to record with Liam about the new Pokemon game. Also, I need to do my DC review for this month. But, if you are here for my terrible picks only, none of those things has anything to do with football.

Last week, I won 7 or 8 games. Not entirely sure. As I probably mentioned, this year is just about getting the picks in before the week starts (oops, thanks Obama!) and I’ll try to figure out how to keep better track next year. So, without further interruption, let’s get to the 2019 NFL Week 9 Picks

Toilet Bowls (The usual suspects)

Houston at Jacksonville at London? – Again, I could look up that this game is actually in London and not just scheduled for early in the morning to prevent anyone from accidentally witnessing this horror. Halloween is over, NFL, come up with some less scary matchups. Houston wins.

Detroit at Oakland – Are the Raiders actually in Oakland? I know they’re moving to Las Vegas soon, but are they actually in Oakland? Or are they in LA? Not that it matters. Detroit is just good enough to beat them no matter where this game is.

New York Jets at Miami – Speaking of horrifying games. Ye gods, bad teams in the NFL are painfully bad. I take nothing away from the Pats (eff the Pats and yes, I take everything from this cheating team), but playing a third of your schedule against this division, any team would be historic. I guess the Jets win?

If they’re on, I’ll watch (As usual, not really, but there are some slightly compelling games)

Washington at Buffalo – Right after I texted Chris that Buffalo was still looking legit they got lit up by the Eagles. Whoops. I still think that they are a decent team this year and should be able to make the playoffs. They’ll bounce back against the racists

Tennessee at Carolina – This is one of those in between games. I don’t think I’d actually watch the game if it was on. However, I don’t think it quite reaches the status of toilet bowl, either. Carolina is decent this year even if Tennessee is snake bitten. Panthers win.

Indianapolis at Pittsburgh – I’d definitely not watch this game if it was on. The Steelers are terrible this year. Indianapolis is only interesting because of how Andrew Luck started the season. Seriously, everyone other than the Pats are irrelevant in the AFC this year. *sigh* Indy wins.

Cleveland at Denver – I was one of those who were on the Cleveland bandwagon at the beginning of the year. All I saw was the talent. I never realized that Freddy Kitchens could be a coach that caused these guys to regress so much. Denver wins and my ego takes another bruising.

Okay, Now I’m Interested (Genuinely in some of these games)

Chicago at Philadelphia – The Eagles surprised me by whipping the Bills last week. I’m still on Chicago’s defense even if they aren’t actually as good as they were last year. Let’s go with the Bears in an upset.

Dallas at New York Giants – I became a fan of the Cowboys when Dak and Cooper carried my shared fantasy football team into the playoffs before disappearing. I like what the kid in New York is doing, but not enough to pick them.

Green Bay at Los Angeles Chargers – Aaron Rodgers is playing up to form. Phillip Rivers is playing like he never sleeps because he has 22 kids. Packers roll.

New England at Baltimore – I heard a stat that Tom Brady is 9-3 in games where the Patriots play the Ravens. I must only remember the 3 losses because it feels like Baltimore is one of those nightmare teams against the Pats. Doesn’t matter this year since the Patriots defense is absurd and winning games by itself. *sigh*

Game of the Week (Even without Mahomes, the Chiefs are entertaining)

Minnesota at Kansas City – Patrick Mahomes suffered from the Madden curse a couple of weeks ago. The Vikings defense is smothering (or it is sometimes). Something’s gotta give here, but I really want the Chiefs to be there to challenge the Patriots in the playoffs, so let’s go KC!

The Verdict

Overall, the 2019 NFL Week 9 isn’t a terrible week of football. There are the requisite terrible games, but in all honesty, I might be keeping an eye on more than one of the other games and not just for daily fantasy purposes. Thanks, as always, for reading and we’ll see you next Sunday. Oh, before I forget, I’d have picked the 9ers, but not in a close one. This Thursday, let’s take the Chargers. But, I kind of want to take the Raiders since home teams are usually good on Thursday. No, I’ll stick with the Chargers.

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