T-shirt #358 - Mage shirt (old)

TODAY'S COUNT: 07 blog posts remaining in the T-shirt year!!
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

T-shirt #358 - Mage shirt (old)

I am writing about "today" tomorrow. As in I posted an incomplete message originally for today's blog, which is Friday. I was engaged in a long day of running errands today, and then had to speed off for dinner with my parents and a show I had to review, a very unusual and wonderful production of Shakespeare's The Tempest, which will be the subject of tomorrow's blog.

This is the original MAGE shirt (and hat). I have posted about the comic book Mage three times before. I have a newer and better (clean and unaged) Mage T-shirt left to share, which I will do in the blog's future, the blog's extended run. This was my first MAGE shirt, and when it began to show its age, and I decided to wear it out playing Ultimate, I retired it from the "dressy" shirt service and upgraded to a newer, nicer "mint" version of the MAGE shirt.

HERE'S MY PREVIOUS MAGE CONTENT:

T-SHIRT #206 - MAGE - WHAT COLOR IS MAGIC

T-SHIRT #140 - JOE PHAT - the nice one

T-SHIRT #229 - JOE PHAT - the work shirt

Here's some of that previous content:

 T-shirt #206: Mage: What Color is Magic?

Today's shirt is one of the oldest in my closet. I believe that Matt Wagner released this shirt far in advance ofMage: The Hero Defined, for which we Mage fans waited A VERY LONG TIME.

I submit for consideration that Kevin Matchstick is one of the coolest names for a hero and main character ever created.

As for the shirt's subject matter, I first wrote about the Mage series in T-shirt #140, and intrigued some comic fans that a Joe Phat shirt existed. As I warned then, I own two Joe Phat shirts plus two of the Mage lightning bolt shirts (unless I purged the old one), and so I have plenty more chances to write about Mage, which is an important disclaimer as today I am restricting myself to four short topics, none of which are directly Mage-related.

Though the second Mage series was finally released in 1997, I suspect that this shirt was released sometime between 1988 and 1992, hence my claim of its elderly status among the shirts in my closet. In fact, given its age and how worn it has been, I have all but retired it, allowing it languish in the depths of the extended closet.
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

OFFICIAL BOILERPLATE TEXT OF THE LAST TWENTY POSTS COUNTDOWN: Hi. Thanks for reading. I am posting this "boilerplate" text everyday for the last TWENTY posts in the T-SHIRT blog year, which started on March 22, 2013. I will close out daily transmission on March 21st, day 365 of my T-shirt blog-tastic extravaganza spectacular. I will give myself a short hiatus of total non-transmission or  publication for an as yet undetermined period of time, though I am estimating about two weeks. After my blog vacation hiatus, I will resume T-shirt posts on a regular basis, also as yet to be determined (weekly? Twice monthly?) to finish blogging about all the T-shirts that were not featured in the blog year. At some point, once I feel I am rolling along nicely, I will begin regular posting through my main blog: SENSE OF DOUBT. T-shirt posts will direct to the T-shirt blog from SENSE OF DOUBT. I will continue to post THE WEEKLY COMIC LIST, the features of occasional T-SHIRTS I AM WEARING THIS WEEK, book reviews, comic book reviews, and other popular culture nonsense as I have been for a year now but all will go up at SENSE OF DOUBT and some will direct back here to 365 T-SHIRTS. Ultimately, I will begin Internet publication of my fiction, primarily the comic book satire episodic story called POP! among other projects. So, in summary, 365 T-SHIRTS will continue though intermittently. SENSE OF DOUBT will host my main blog presence and fiction writing as well as links to any T-shirt posts shared here. I hope you will continue to follow me in my journey as a writer and a content provider. Thank you for your kind attention and time you have spent with me on this and/or any other day this year. I am humbled and blessed by your readership. - chris tower, blogger, originated 1403.02
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

MORE CONTENT

The previous label can be read two ways. One way refers to the content I am delivering. The other way refers to a feeling and having more of it: feeling more content.

MAGE and his magic, glowing baseball bat reminds me of people who need that magic baseball bat upside the head.

We have a problem with people not paying attention and thinking they are the center of the universe.
Yesterday, I was at the bank, exiting the parking lot, some lady in an SUV was entering, driving through a narrow lane that only allows one car, each way, to pass. She stops and is futzing with her phone, she looked like she was writing a text. Meanwhile, two cars have to stop behind her. Was her text or whatever she was doing so important that she had to make those two other drivers wait? I see a lot of this behavior, which seems to have only become worse with technological devices that people regard as more important than basic decency and considerate actions.

For the next bit, I am not sure who needs the baseball bat upside the head, the president or Mark Zuckerberg.

Then later, I am reading the BOING BOING feed, and I find this news item:

ZUCKERBERG CALLS PRESIDENT OBAMA.

You can read the whole content there, but I am going to steal some of it.

The internet works because most people and companies do the same. We work together to create this secure environment and make our shared space even better for the world.

This is why I've been so confused and frustrated by the repeated reports of the behavior of the US government. When our engineers work tirelessly to improve security, we imagine we're protecting you against criminals, not our own government.

The US government should be the champion for the internet, not a threat. They need to be much more transparent about what they're doing, or otherwise people will believe the worst.

I've called President Obama to express my frustration over the damage the government is creating for all of our future. Unfortunately, it seems like it will take a very long time for true full reform.

So it's up to us -- all of us -- to build the internet we want. Together, we can build a space that is greater and a more important part of the world than anything we have today, but is also safe and secure. I'm committed to seeing this happen, and you can count on Facebook to do our part.

By the way, Mr. Zuckerberg, the Internet is a proper name, and thus it is capitalized.

I am not sure that Mark Zuckerberg's intentions here are entirely altruistic, but I do like the cause he's chosen to champion.

The article is worth looking at, the accusations against the NSA are kind of frightening.

+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

WEEKLY COMICS LIST

 I am a sucker for a good cover. See that alluring David Lopez Captain Marvel cover? NICE.

I have not ever taken a picture of the Weekly Comics Stack. I think this is very good thing to do.

As you can see Fantastic Four hit the top of the stack followed by Black Widow and The Walking Dead as you can read in the list below. The Captain Marvel issue, despite its awesome cover, is somewhere in the middle. Nearer the bottom, though I am kind of excited about the issues, there's STRAY BULLETS, which is an excellent comic book. Lapham finally finished his previous run, and so that's the last issue (#41) of the previous run, and then the first of the new issues. Though obviously inspired by the film, Pulp Fiction, have been a fan for some time now. And you may also see a T-shirt, one of the last ones I ordered before I cut myself off (and back when I was worried that I would run out of shirts).

Here's the list. Those Stray Bullets issues may move up. Sometimes my mood shifts and other things become priorities.

COMICS FOR 1403.12

Fantastic Four #002
Black Widow#004
The Walking Dead #123
All New X-Men #024
The Superior Spider-Man #029
Batman #29
Mighty Avengers #008
Secret Avengers #001
Uber #10
Hawkeye #017
Captain Marvel  #001
Batgirl #29
Justice League of America #13
Superman/ Wonder Woman #6
Nightwing #29
Avengers Undercover #1
Stray Bullets #41
Stray Bullets: Killers #1
X-Force #2

BACK LOG

Astro City #10

SPECIAL PURCHASE

Inhumans T-shirt

I am sure I will be reviewing many of these comics in future blog posts.

+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

COUNTDOWN TO END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 08 shirts remaining

- chris tower - first published - 1403.14 - 19:10
final publication - 1403.15 - 19:15

T-shirt #229: Work shirt - Joe Phat

T-shirt #229: Work shirt - Joe Phat & "Don't bother me when I am writing" hat


See the hat? Seems pretty self-evident, but more on it farther below, but first my preamble to today's entry.

I write about comic books a lot. This is quite an under-statement. Once again pulling on stats, comic books have been the subject focus of 70 of my 229 entries so far. The majority of the entries in the comic book category are shirts with comic book art, but not in every case, as I use the category for any comic book content. Though it's the dominant subject of my blog, 70 of 229 is no where near half the blog. Top subject though it may be, there's still a lot of variety. In terms of subjects, sports, TV and movies, Ultimate, and music are the next largest subject categories, not counting things like logos, shirts by color, and gifts. I know you faithful readers tune in just for these blog re-caps, so there you go.

I add all of this content as preamble because yet again I have more comic book content, and I am featuring another comic book shirt. Today's shirt is my original Joe Phat shirt from the Mage series. I originally featured Joe Phat in T-shirt #140 in August. I bought a second Joe Phat because this one developed a hole, not that you can see it in the pictures. When I put the shirt on for the pictures, it got stuck on my huge nose, so I left it that way and took the shot. Trying to mix it up. Anyway, after its damage, I bought a new Joe Phat shirt and relegated this one to "work" shirt, not caring if it gets soiled (which so far it has not).

I also decided to feature the hat that my sister embroidered for me many years ago. I am wearing my Fantastic Four shirt today, so I left it on to get it more exposure. It's a new shirt and was featured in T-shirt #207. I want to dispel the notion that I wear a different shirt each day and that it is always the featured shirt. This is not true. And as I am loving my new FF shirt, it's getting worn frequently. So, the hat. I do not wear the hat much, but I have worn it in the past to indicate that I cannot be spoken to when I trek down to the kitchen (which in the West Gull Lake Drive house was down two flights of stairs) for coffee or water. The hat has always been on display in my office, ready to top off my head if I want to be left alone. Not sure if I would want to try this tactic with my wife. But I think it's a neat hat. Often, I am writing in my head, even when I am not actually typing, which is what makes the hat so useful and true.


Today's blog is dedicated to quickie reviews of recent comic book reads. I am not going to indulge in reviews that are too long, but I wanted to get some thoughts down as this is my purpose in life, apparently.

Oh, so back to the preamble. Comic books have become more important since I started the blog. Don't get me wrong. I have always loved my comic books. I have been an avid reader and purchaser (not sure if I am really a collector in the strictest sense) of comics all my life.

My purchasing of many main titles has been consistent and uninterrupted since around 1985. And though comics have always been a part of my life, they have taken on a new and special importance now that I am writing about them more often. Back in the mid-1990s, I wrote about comics in small press and in the Kalamazoo Gazette, where I penned a weekly column about comic books for two years. I think some of this content may have to make its way to the blog.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS 
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS 
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS 

Read on at your own risk.

Anyway, I am rejuvenated in my attraction to comic books and how seriously I regard them than I have been in many years, simply because I feel that I must produce content about them, and I am deeply honored to learn that I have readers who actually read this content. With that in mind, here are some thoughts about some recent comic books in short (I hope) pithy sound bites of not enormous length.

Guardians of the Galaxy #008 (Bendis/Francavilla) - I raved about Francavilla's art in T-shirt #206 in my review of Afterlife with Archie, for which his art is perfectly suited. I do think his art is gorgeous, but it's not the right art for the Guardians of the Galaxy. He does a wonderful job with the art in his style, but there are so many better suited artists for this book that I am a bit puzzled as to why Francavilla was selected. I suspect Bendis manipulation. As for writer Brian Michael Bendis, this is not his best work. So far, I am under-whelmed, and issue eight is definitely one of the best in terms of characterization.


In part, the problems with this book are due to the team. The original Guardians had more engaging characters. These Guardians are not very interesting as a group (though individually they are).

X-Men: Battle for the Atom #2: (Aaron & various) - I am very disappointed in the wrap-up of this series. Originally, I reviewed the opening salvo of this series in what has become one of my most popular blog entries: T-shirt #176. I liked the premise, though it was a retread of the famous "Days of Future Past" storyline. But here, there were some interesting twists: intriguing X-Men from the future, three versions of Iceman (four if you count his current old and young self twice), Jean Grey in the Xorn helmet, and the imperative that the original X-Men MUST go back to the past, their time, to save the future.

The series has been worth reading, so much so that I picked up one of the X books I am not buying just to read the whole story. The art is a let down alone as Frank Cho drew the original capstone book. These artists are not bad. There's a whole bunch of them, which indicates to me that Cho failed a deadline and Marvel had to scramble to get this book out on time with whomever could be cobbled together.

But aside from the art let down, the story is not very good. The issue begins as the five bands of X-Men (two teams of future X-Men, Wolverine's current team, Cyclops' current team, and the original X-Men) all face off against a SHIELD Heli-Carrier and new SHIELD Sentinels. The story starts off well as one of the Beasts gets killed. There's a great splash page of the coming of a mammoth Sentinel. But then, the plot tries to do too much with too few pages. Significant story elements are rushed. There's more good character stuff, such as future Jean Grey blaming the Wolverine-Cyclops feud for the awful future she's from and suggesting they stop being stupid and work together, which is an excellent point.  But the death of this future Jean Grey is poorly handled and completely anti-climactic. The reason she is in the Xorn helmet is never fully established. The whole thing does not live up to the promise of the nine chapters and the massive cross-over that preceded it. The epilogues are equally rushed and abbreviated. A future son of Xavier and other "evil" mutants from the future are still loose in the present? And then, the capper is Kitty Pryde quitting the X-Men with no lead up or dramatic tension at all. What? This is nonsense. And like this is the first time someone has quit the X-Men. Whatever. Hardly a fitting climax. It's also boring. YAWN.

Kick-Ass Volume 3 #4 - (Millar/Romita, Jr.) - On the other hand, Kick Ass continues to be excellent in both writing and art. I am not one of the many crazed mutant zombie legions of Millar fans, but I do like his stuff (though I do not buy it all). This issue is excellent and a great next installment in the series. I can't wait for the rest. Wonderful stuff. If you like comics and are not reading Kick Ass, get to it. Ignore the movies. Read the books!

Superior Spider-Man #20 - I have done no investigation to learn the prevailing fan opinion of Doc Ock's mind in charge of Peter Parker/Spider-Man's body, but I have loved it so far. I appreciate Marvel's willingness to mix it up. Peter Parker had a good run of 50 years. Time to give someone else a try. We all know that Peter will be back in his own body eventually (actually by the end of the year), but the stories have been engaging anyway. In issue #20, either unaware of their history or not caring, the Doc Ock/Spider-Man punches out the Black Cat and leaves her for the police after one of her heists. There's also good development of the ongoing stories, including a mysterious coma patient who will have something to do with the return of Peter Parker. Most interesting is the culmination of Octavius/Parker losing his bid for a doctorate when someone claims he (seemingly Parker) plagiarized Otto Octavius!

Wonderful!!

The Trial of the Punisher (Two issue one shot) (Guggenheim/Yu/Suayan/Gho) - I have always liked the Punisher, and I owe Andrew at Fanfare for helping me obtain both issues. This story developed from Guggenheim asking a smart question: how come the Punisher has never been on trial? He has been in prison several times, but he has never been in a court room. The story developed from that excellent "what if" question. The story is tight and well written. The first issue was drawn by Leinil Francis Yu, whose scribbly art I usually do not like, though I think I just dislike him as an artist on the Avengers. With a comic like this one, Yu's art works very well and is beautiful. Mico Suayan draws issue two. Though his rendering of the Punisher's face looks nothing like the Punisher, the art is very good. I strongly recommend this two-issue series for lovers of the Punisher.

That's all for today. I am going to review more of my recent likes and dislikes tomorrow. Stay tuned.

- chris tower - 1311.05 - 9:10

T-shirt #108: Powers Division

T-shirt #108: Police Athletics: Powers Division: Grilling and more

Here again in Blog Central, things are changing and always in flux. After two days (July 4th and 5th) of going completely nuts with long, drum solo, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" -style, lengthy blog entries, I am trying to dial it back. Yesterday, I sketched out the next week's worth of blog entries (#s 108-113), but then things happened, such as grilling some steaks: change of plan.

This picture comes from yesterday about 19:30. Piper's friends from college are here to celebrate her birthday. Adding her boyfriend and Ivan's girlfriend to our group, I was grilling for eight people. Piper and Olivia were handling potatoes and zucchini indoors, so I was grilling on the deck, while listening to the Detroit Tigers pound the Cleveland Indians 9-4. Now, as I compose today's blog entry, I am watching Andy Murray play (and I hope beat) Novak Djokovic in a live TV broadcast from Wimbeldon. GO MURRAY!

This shirt is one of those fictional creations for what would be available to the characters if the Powers Police Division actually existed and provided employees who work out with Athletics shirts. I am rather fond of these faux Athletics Division type shirts, so expect to see others. However, I am not as crazy about this comic or this shirt, so it's perfect for grilling. I don't care if it gets soiled.


Powers is a fine comic by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming published as part of Marvel Comics' Icon imprint after leaving Image Comics. It was launched in 2000 and has published around 70 issues so far. I bought some of the collected editions and enjoyed the "Who Killed Retro Girl" storyline and some of the other stories. But it's just not one of my most highly rated comic books even though many others love it.

The dinner was very successful. After grilling these round steaks, which do look a little pale, I grilled chicken drumsticks. The grill did well with fewer flare ups than in the past, though as you can see I have the water bottle handy. Also, in this shot (above), you can see the "Official Tower Grilling Table" given to me by my Dad, the Big Guy. There are grilling implements on the table and on the deck below is the box in which I keep them and the corner of a Frisbee that I use to keep them covered and dry. This is only my second time grilling this year. I am not as proficient as my father, but I did manage to grill without burning anything to a crisp.


After dinner and cleaning up, Liesel and I watched Identity (2003)  with John Cusak, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, and more. It's a good twist on the slasher type film and was a good and relatively short end to the day.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Closing today with various random thoughts.

A friend of Liesel's brought us yummy pumpkin bread yesterday in exchange for a gift. Piper also made yummy cookies in the middle of the night. Luckily, we are running our bedroom fans on high for plenty of white noise.

I find that I am noticing other people's T-shirts more and more as I am out shopping. On two different occasions yesterday, I was tempted to ask strangers if I could ask them about their T-shirts and maybe take a picture. One kid had a "Sub Rosa" T-shirt. Was this for a game? A brand? Or was it for the concept itself ("under the rose")?

I realized after finishing yesterday's set of lists that I had not provided a list of comics I would recommend and have enjoyed recently. But then, I probably write about comic books too much, and you are all sick of hearing about them. When I was in Fanfare yesterday, I sung the praises of Green Arrow (which I have sung here), Captain America (ditto), and others that I have not praised here or not praised at length, such as Hawkeye, Daredevil, Aquaman, Iron Man, and Thor. The Matt Fraction and Aja Hawkeye is freaking brilliant, especially the most recent "Pizza Dog" story. As a new dog person, I loved that story especially. I also noted to the employees that I was distracting from work with chat that I had just caught up on Detective Comics recently and found it to be much better than I expected.

As of right now, I have T-shirts 108 (today) through #115 (next Sunday) planned and drafted. I am tempted to make a "Coming Soon on 365 T-shirts" list, but since I keep changing my mind (as I did by inserting today's shirt) and I think that the unexpected nature of the blog is better, I will refrain.

But you tell me. I am always whoring myself out for comments and attention.

Previews or no previews?

Another hesitation I have for previews is that I have had an entry in the works for about 20 days, and I keep pushing it back. It's currently scheduled for #114, if I do not push it back again. I have mentioned that it is upcoming twice already if you need further hints as to its identity.

My page views are on the rise. I peaked at near fifty views twice last week. Granted several of these views are blog-rating bots, but still, they are views. I know that most of my readers come from Facebook and Twitter, and yet my top traffic sources are blogsrating, vampirestat.com, and google.


I really want Murray to win Wimbeldon.

I want to see the Tigers sweep the Indians. I am ecstatic that after some recent losing struggles, the Tigers have exploded for 40 runs during the recent five-game winning streak. I hope I did not just jinx them with these hopes.

I just finished reading the first issue of Comic Book Creator magazine with great articles about Jack Kirby (which I have mentioned before), Alex Ross, Kurt Busiek, and an interview with the legendary Dennis O'Neill and Neal Adams. I think I may subscribe.

I want to see the Superman movie. That may have to happen today.

I may grill again today. I had a beer and a mixed bourbon drink yesterday. Today may need to be whisky, single malt, straight. My wife bought me a nifty Robert Burns branded whisky (though a blend) for Father's Day. It is very yummy. I do not discriminate against blends. It is pictured here from the day I chose to sample it for the first time: June 30th, 2013 (two days after I received it).

This is my wish for all of you as well: drink scotch, single-malt whisky.

- chris tower - 1307.07 - 10:29