T-shirt #278 - Three Wise Men? Be Serious

T-shirt #278 - Three Wise Men? Be Serious.

Happy Christmas Eve.

Today is the day I celebrate Christmas with my wife and kids.

If you have landed here before my update, you will see just one picture. I plan to update this after our Christmas celebration with pictures of me and of my family on our special day.

Merry Christmas! (If that's your thing, that is... I never assume that everyone celebrates Christmas, so I usually say "Happy Holidays" but even that seems off for some people because of the use of the word "holy" with days.)

The joke of this shirt should be self-evident. It was a gift from a former T.A. though I am not sure which one. It's a "feminist" joke. Get it? Huh? Do you?

Liesel, the kids, and I must celebrate on Christmas Eve because Liesel works on Christmas and the kids spend Christmas with their Dad, step-mother, little brother, and paternal grand-parents.

Our Christmas Eve was a bit unusual this year as Chris (the kids' Dad is also Chris), his wife Lisi, their son Fiver, dogs Jethro and Cofi, and three cats all spent the night because they had no power as explained in Liesel's status below. We all managed happy Christmas cheer as they packed up this morning, leaving us to our Christmas holiday gift fest. I have posted pictured below to our grand fun.

Love to all and to all a good night.

"God bless us everyone."

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE CELEBRATING!

Liesel with stocking stuffers
especially her eau de toilette
from Chanel No. 5

Me with my stocking, starting
with a special Kentucky bourbon.

Ivan with a Magic the Gathering deck.

Liesel super excited to receive her
gift card for laser skin care!
The blurry photo emphasizes the excited flurry.

Piper with a new sweater.
She may not look excited, but
she does love it. She's wearing it
as I type.

Piper cradling with love her
new iPad!

Liesel cherishes her Chanel No. 5 lotion.

Ivan received a big desktop, so
he can play League of Legends
as often as he wants (and we allow).

Ivan continues to open the computer
and monitor.

I am posing with a CD for the Jam.
A special edition of The Gift.

Ivan is still opening
his desktop and all its parts.

Piper receives make up.
Piper loves makeup.

A smidge blurry
but I am happy to receive
the Captain Action re-issue figure!

DR. EVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dr. Evil - Captain Action re-issue

DOCTOR WHISKY!!!
Before the end of the day
a prescription will be in order.

COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 87 shirts remaining

chris tower - original creation - 1312.22
first published - 1312.24 - 08:00
Final publication - 1312.24 - 11:40

T-shirt #277 - UPA Central Regionals 2001

T-shirt #277 - UPA Central Regionals 2001

I know I said no more Ultimate shirts for awhile, but this one has to be a quickie.

I had intended to work all day and write comic book reviews in between grading robot intensity, but like all good plans, that one went to waste. I spent quality time with the dear wife buying Christmas gifts for the kids but in so doing, I am now behind the eight ball. I even bought a special, new shirt for my Mighty Marvel (and DC and Image and Dynamite) review session. But you will have to wait for it True Believers, until after Christmas. This delay may help as I had wanted to address the burning question, which I do not feel I have well addressed yet on this blog: "why do I love comic books so much?" I have written a great deal about the comics I love and why, artists I love and why, characters I love and why, and yet I do not feel that I have written just about the medium itself. Why comics? Why do I love the medium itself? So that's a preview of what is in my head. Stay Tuned.

In these pictures, you see me featuring the shirt I bought at the 2001 UPA Central Regional Championships in Versailles, Ohio, in which I traveled south with my friend Greg "The Brewmaster" Kormelink when we played with the guys from Minnesota and few guys from Detroit, which was really the beginning of our Masters' team.

I am still a bit stung from yesterday's Lions game loss, but as you can see in the pictures, I am trying to be upbeat about tonight's Pistons game.

I had a good day reading comics yesterday. I read fifteen issues of Uncanny X-Force, so this was going to be one of my reviews. Again, there's a preview for a future post.

Yesterday's post is already set and due to be published first thing in the morning. I intend to add photos to it either later in the day or the next day as our family (my wife and kids) celebrates our Christmas tomorrow.

Happy Holidays everyone. Thanks for checking out my blog.

COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 88 shirts remaining

- chris tower - 1312.23 - 17:27

T-shirt #276 - Starman by Robinson and Harris

T-shirt #276 - Starman - Zodiac Logo, Long-Sleeve, and Watch & GAMING

This is my oldest comic book themed long-sleeve shirt. It was a promotional shirt for the Robinson and Harris Starman comic published by DC Comics from 1994 to 2001. As you can see, I also own a matching watch, and sometimes I am known to wear them together. I already blogged about Starman in T-shirt #138, in which I mentioned that I would return with more Starman content. I am not going to deliver a lot of Starman content today despite my promise from T-shirt #138. I will give a snapshot and a small cover gallery. But mainly, I wanted to share today about gaming, as seen in the older pictures of me playing Magic the Gathering with friends, and last night we watched Cloud Atlas as a family, and I really liked it, so I want to make some comments about it. This theme of various subjects mirrors the T-shirt #138 entry, in which I wrote about many things in addition to Starman: Valiant comics, Optic Nerve, Lazarus, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Gun Machine and Dead Pig Collector, and off-hand mention of Gilligan's Island.  I also briefly explored DESIGN FICTION. Actually, my original plan contained more subjects for today, but I cut it down. Comic book reviews that I was going to do today, I will do tomorrow.

So here we go.

STARMAN CONTENT

Jack Knight is the son of the original Starman, Ted Knight.

Jack Knight Wiki

Jack Knight on ComicVine

In my reading, I came across an interesting article on why superheroes disappear.

Top 10 Reasons that Superheroes Disappear

I like Tony Harris' art. I really liked the art deco look of all the Starman covers during this period. Harris' run on Ex Machina, written by Brian K. Vaughan, was also a comic I enjoyed immensely. Based on the strength of Robinson's writing for Starman, I was ready to anoint him as one of my favorite writers, but I have not liked his work lately. I very much enjoyed his Golden Age comic for DC. He wrote the Justice Society comic for years, and I liked that work. But his recent work on Justice League of America and more recently Earth-Two left me cold. Now, he is set to take over The Fantastic Four next year; see article here: WORD OF THE NERD. I am trying to keep an open mind, as I have liked much of his work in the past, but I am a bit worried. Still, Robinson wrote some Fantastic Four in 1997 with art by Mike Wieringo, in a forgettable crossover with WildStorm.

BACK TO JACK.

Jack Knight has been off the canvas for sometime at DC after retiring at the end of the series known as Starman Volume Two. James Robinson wrote an issue of Starman in 2010 during DC's Blackest Night crossover, in which dead comic book titles were revived for one month. Jack Knight did not appear in the issue.

Part of the allure of Starman Volume Two is that Jack Knight is a bit of an anti-hero, he has tattoos, he smokes, he's reluctant to wield the Cosmic Rod and be a hero, he has father issues, and both with his own father and in being a father. Jack reluctantly takes over the identity of Starman after the death of his brother, David, who appears in the series as a ghost. Jack's dad Ted also appears frequently, heroically sacrificing himself to save their home Opal City in the ultimate story arc of the comic.

Robinson wrote several compelling story arcs with deep roots, such as the long running storyline named for Alfred Bester's important Science Fiction novel The Stars, My Destination as Jack searches in outer space for the last Starman, Will Payton, who turns out is the brother of his girlfriend, Sadie. Jack encounters many of the space-faring characters of the DC universe, including one of my favorites, Adam Strange, who is DC's SF update on John Carter of Mars (see covers #52 and #53 below).

ASIDE: I even included a Christmas themed cover because of the time of the year.

The Robinson/Harris Starman saga remains one of the best DC superhero comics of the later period (since the 1990s). I love the and watch logo because it is such a great icon, mirroring the zodiac, in a smart, art-deco-ish design.





GAMING

I started playing Magic the Gathering in 1995. Just two years after it came out. I remember buying a box of ICE AGE cards in the summer of 1995.
By 1996, I was hardcore addicted to this game. My addiction for this game and computer games coupled with my propensity for depression ruined my relationship in which I was involved at that time. The loss of that relationship eventually prompted me to stop both frequent game play of Magic and of computer games. By 1998, I was no longer playing Magic every week. By 2002, I had quit computer video games completely because I could not even play a little without risking becoming addicted again.

This issue of my addiction has been discussed in my marriage as I cannot play XBox or computer games with Ivan without the risk of becoming addicted again. Plus, the learning curve to work the controller fro XBox is so steep that I would require so many hours of constant play that I am not sure I can even find the time to play to get functional let alone good.

As for Magic the Gathering, I stopped making decks in 1997-98 and just bought pre-constructed decks for the sets as they came out in the hopes of being able to find an occasional game: List of sets. Eventually, I could not keep up with buying the sets and play even more infrequently these days.

There was a period of time (2001- 2007) in which I played no Magic at all, and I missed it.


I had the good fortune to make some very good friends at WMU while teaching and eventually found someone, Stevie Pitts, pictured here, with whom I could play magic. His then girlfriend, Jenni Griesbeck (now Corwin) is also seen in the photos. The photos were taken by sometimes player Miranda Rosenberg (now Wolfe) in 2007 at one of our few (far too few) Magic gaming sessions.

Many of these good friends were at my wedding, though I wish all of them could have been. I remember well Stevie Pitts taking me aside at my wedding and telling me that I am responsible (he gives me too much credit) for changing the course of his life. He had been a student in my Technical Writing course, and I encouraged him (and convinced him) to take my women's studies media criticism course. Because of my course in media, he switched his major to psychology and the rest is history. He now has a good job, a Master's Degree (?), and is in a band TAKING OUR OWN.

I cherish his kind words.

We're overdue for a game of Magic.

See? I started with Magic the Gathering and came around to dear friends and a sweet memory.

I am due to play more Magic this holiday season.

CLOUD ATLAS

I liked this movie quite a lot. I found its intersecting and nested stories to be fascinating. I may read the book. But mostly, I loved the theme: EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED.


Other people can express thoughts and opinions about Cloud Atlas much better than I. And I am trimming back my content for the day. I hope you also know, dear reader, especially the regular and faithful, that I often put these links here so I can find them again and read them in more depth. My method, often, when sharing links is to share links that I find when searching for images. This method of searching often bears better results than the more engineered searches with straight up text/keyword.

This Geekyrant link below has a couple of good promo videos for the movie and a breakdown of the stories in the NOVEL by David Mitchell. The Wiki (linked to the word NOVEL in the former) also breaks down the six nested stories. The Wiki about the film also broke down the nesting stories. Apparently, critical reception to the movie was "polarized," but generally positive.

GEEKYRANT

I also found to great blogs about the movie. I like these a lot more than the top choices in searching for reviews. The Belbin includes some of the music.

DAVID BELBIN

WE BIRTH OUR FUTURE - PatriseArts

It's a long movie, nearly three hours, but its stories, images, and themes will worm their way deeply into your consciousness. Elements could have been handled better or focused better, but I would not have wanted too much overtly explained as it would have detracted from the way the viewer must construct the story in his or her mind.

In any case, some featuring of Cloud Atlas seems fitting and fits with today's shirt subject of Robinson and Harris' Starman. There are parallels.























 
COVER GALLERY

COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 89 shirts remaining

- chris tower - 1312.22 - 15:34

T-shirt #275 - Smokey the Bear

T-shirt #275 - Smokey the Bear

I love this shirt. I think it's iconic, and yet usefully informative.

SMOKEY THE BEAR'S WEB SITE

The website is pretty cool. Check it out. Tour through the Smokey memorabilia. I checked this post for the 1970s Nostalgia category because my best memories of my Smokey are from the 1970s especially during the years I was a Cub Scout and a Webelos Scout. I did not advance to Boy Scouts as they did things on Saturday mornings, and I prefered to stay home and watch cartoons. Had I grown up in the age of VCRs or DVRs, I would have recorded those shows and gone camping.

Today's shirt is a favorite. I consider it kind of "dressy" because of the collar. Imagine my consternation when, as a puppy, Satchel slashed a hole in the shirt. Hence, my "before" photo above left. I had a local seamstress patch the shirt, and thus, the next photo (directly left) is an "after" photo. If you are local and need seamstress work done, her name is Joann Wespinter. I have her contact information if you leave me a message or look her up. Beware, she also sells Amway but not too evangelically.

I am happy to have one of my favorite shirts repaired. You have to get your face right next to the fabric to see the patch.

This is another post that went up on its original day incomplete. I am finishing it the next day.

As for the hat, I unearthed it while packing up things during the move my parents made back in January of this year (2013). I had many T-shirts that I let go in that purge. I have mentioned this sequence of events before. I had the idea for the T-shirt blog in time to start it January 1st 2013, but I didn't think anyone would be interested, considered it overly narcissistic, and was not sure I could keep it going on a daily basis. Thus, when I was going through stuff for my parents' move, I let many T-shirts get away, old ones that I had not worn in a long time or ones that did not really fit anymore. Had I known I would reconsider the T-shirt blog, I would have kept the clothing.

Old toys also re-surfaced in this packing and moving enterprise. The Smokey hat came to my house and was soon propped on a light in my office where it has stayed all year. I believe it has been seen in the blog several times already. I have also written about letting go and growing up a few times, enough to justify a category. Keeping the hat in plain sight and wearing the shirt makes me feel connected to my childhood and keeps my parents alive for me. I really miss my mother. She's still alive, but she is not the same as she was before she contracted bacterial meningitis. I often wonder what our lives would have been like had she avoided that coma of 2000 and the resulting paralysis. This shirt and the hat symbolize these thoughts and these wonderings.

The picture above is from our Hazelwood house where we lived from 1969 to 1978, just northwest of Richland, near the Upjohn (not Pfizer) farms. It's possible that the Smokey the Bear hat is under that tree in one of those wrapped presents. This photo pre-dates the built in couch my father put in that living room, and so is probably from the early 1970s. My sister was probably 2-4 years old, I am judging, by the presents, and so I am guessing this photo comes from 1971-1973. I may update this part of the blog if I can get confirmation from my father on the likely year of the photo.

Given that Smokey the Bear warns of the dangers of forest fires, I thought I would share this photo from one of our Long Lake vacations in Traverse City. Given my hair and that awesome Tigers shirt plus the size of my sister, I am guessing this photo comes from 1973 or 1974. Again, I may update if my father gives more information. He should have named the photos with years.

I had an idyllic childhood. For that, I am forever grateful and blessed.

COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 90 shirts remaining

- chris tower - first published - 1312.21 - 21:12
final publication - 1312.22 - 9:41

T-shirt #274: Captain Mar-Vell Logo

T-shirt #268: Captain Mar-Vell

Greetings blog reader. T-shirt man here. Day 268. Let me repeat day 268. No, I am not stoned. I am stone cold sober, and I just like savoring my achievement thus far. Granted, 268 is not a significant number, but I am simply amazed that I have posted a blog entry every day for two hundred and sixty eight days. Okay, faithful readers. Yes, I know. Though I published yesterday's entry on U2 yesterday, it was unfinished when I originally published on Thursday. I finished it today, though, and notified the necessary social media outlets. Now, again, with today's, the original posting was "under construction." Believe me, the omnipotent... (um, okay, if I was omnipotent, I wouldn't have to publish blog entries in progress)... how about ever astonishing?


Okay, the ever astonishing and swashbuckling T-shirt blogger man does not like sharing his works in progress any more than a few of you (a very few) like finding them either via Google search (yes, you searcher bot) or because you have my blog book marked and check me frequently, a kindness for which I will always try to give you something interesting to read. How am I doing so far? More whimsy than usual, that's for sure.



Quality of content should be in the eye of the beholder but without too much knowledge of the beholder's interests, I just sally forth and meander around the forest of actual content.

You may notice that the logo of TODAY'S SHIRT matches the image in  the comic book cover to the left.

I happen to own this issue of Captain Marvel #1. It is among my earliest comics.

For those who like to peruse my blog, I am starting to collect a category for blog entries that feature images of some of my oldest comic books. Given that issue came out in May of 1968, I was six years old at the time. It may have been a reading material purchase for the move from Traverse City to Schoolcraft.

The issue is also special because it features the art of Gene Colan, who is so special to me that I devoted a category to him.

Checkout what Comic Vine had to say about this volume of Captain Marvel.

Captain Marvel Volume 1
A Marvel series featuring Mar-Vell, a former Kree soldier turned The Protector of the Universe. Captain Marvel Vol. 1 is Mar-Vell's only long running solo series. The series was launched following the success of Captain Marvel's debut in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 and picks up the story arc from Marvel Super-Heroes #13. The series started in 1968 and lasted until 1979. However due to low sales figures, it was put on hiatus after issue #19 (December 1969). The volume resumed in 1970 for 2 further issues (June and August) but another break ensued until September 1972 when the series returned with a bi-monthly release.
The creation of the Captain Marvel character led to Marvel attaining the rights to the "Captain Marvel" name and forcing DC to rename their Captain Marvel series to " Shazam!". To retain their trademark, Marvel has published a Captain Marvel title every few years since, leading to a number of ongoing and mini series' as well as one-shots featuring a number of different characters using the Captain Marvel identity.
Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan, Captain Marvel Vol. 1 also saw the introduction of Carol Danvers a.k.a. Miss Marvel, who would eventually go on to take the title of Captain Marvel (ComicVine, 2013).

The original Marvel version of Captain Marvel seemed more iconic and cool. He was a military officer of the Kree Imperial Militia. Gene Colan's amazing art carried the book, but it was not a big mega hit outside hardcore comic book fans. In 1969, Marvel re-vamped the character with a variation on the version of the character at DC--who became known as "Shazam," when DC lost the trademark to the name Captain Marvel (though the wizard who gave him his powers is Shazam and the "Big Red Cheese" into which Bill Batson transforms is often referred to as Captain Marvel)--and with Mar-Vell exiled to Negative Zone, linked with "Nega-Bands" worn by Rick Jones, could only "come out" to play when Rick clanked the bracelets (Nega Bands) together. I liked the concept much more than Billy's magic word and lightning bolt. This was something a child could mimic. I spent a lot of time knocking my toy Nega Bands together as a child. Goodbye Rick Jones. Hello Captain Mar-Vell.

The revamp gave the good Captain a different costume, which I like, but I love the original much more.

Eventually Marvel brought on board Jim Starlin to helm the comic. He is the creator of Thanos. I have already written about him and since I gave him his own category, obviously, there is more content to come. For now, if you missed it, check out T-shirt #260: Stark R&D.

One of the resources below is a crazy fan page for Captain Marvel in all incarnations. Damn, I love the Internet. Weird, wild stuff.

CAPTAIN MARVEL (MAR-VELL) RESOURCES

CAPTAIN MARVEL COMIC VINE

CAPTAIN MARVEL WIKIPEDIA

CAPTAIN MARVEL (MAR-VELL) MARVEL WIKIA

CAPTAIN MARVEL CULTURE


BOOK REPORT

Having finished these two audio books since my last update (reviews below), I am on to the audio book for Dune Messiah, second in Frank Herbert's DUNE CHRONICLES.

The Shining 
I want a better rating system here in Good Reads. I would give the book a 4.45 and the audio book edition a 5/5. I read this book a long time ago but did not remember well the differences between it and the Kubrick film, which I love. I had been meaning to watch the supposedly more faithful TV adaptation and never have (but I plan to now). I would argue that as frightening as the Kubrick film is, the book is more frightening by far. Jack Torrance's descent into madness is horrible to watch, even if it is more possession than madness. The idea of a family snowbound for the winter while the husband and father loses his mind and becomes a homicidal maniac is truly terrifying just as an idea let alone the story in its execution. Stephen King is exorcising demons here, tackling alcoholism and anger, violence and self-control, in ways that must be fueled by his own personal life, which makes the story all the more compelling. The book is more hopeful than the Kubrick film in its ending, which is appreciated, though the use of the mallet instead of the axe may be contrived solely to allow for the survival of the characters. I hesitate to give the book five stars because I find some of the plot elements a bit hokey, such as the hedge animals, which do not fit with the rest of the story. Their animation seems more out of a Harry Potter type story than this one. This one thing Kubrick wisely eliminates and replaces with the hedge maze, which is more plausible and more frightening. But I do give Campbell Scott's narration an unequivocal five stars. He's brilliant with just a few hints, a few notes, of Nicholson sprinkled into his vocals for angry Jack. I wanted to reread this book in preparation for King's sequel, _Doctor Sleep_, and I am glad I did. Profoundly disturbing. A MUST read.

The Woman in Black
This is a quick read in the Victorian style. It sounds like Dickens in its prose and its rhythms and the audio edition is brilliantly narrated. The description of the setting of the remote Eel Marsh House out the Nine Lives Causeway is definitely the best part of the book. The haunting itself and its subsequent mystery along with the final shocker are all rather predictable, though not unenjoyable. For fans of ghost stories and period pieces, it's worth a read. Though I am not inspired to read more by Susan Hill despite her deft touch and skill as a writer. Perhaps I am simply jaded and expect too much from my books.

OKAY, JUST ONE MORE WORD ON CAPTAIN MARVEL

In the cover gallery I am sharing, I will end with the most recent incarnation of Captain Marvel as Carol Danvers, the long time Ms. Marvel, Warbird, and Binary finally assumes the mantle of Captain Marvel long ago implied. A new comic features Carol as Captain Marvel. I am not reading it but maybe that will change. Here's two good articles on hero upgrades or "titles to watch" in MARVEL NOW.

TOP FIVE TITLES TO WATCH IN MARVEL NOW

TOP TEN SUPERHERO UPGRADES IN MARVEL NOW

WEEKLY COMIC LIST

Again, I want to point out the ever-shrinking back log as I get caught up on more comics. Even with catching up somewhat, I am falling behind as well because I did not read all the comics that came out last week before fetching this week's comics.

For the next two weeks, comics will come out on Tuesday. I doubt I will deviate from presenting my lists on Friday, though. I am unlikely to go fetch comics on this coming Tuesday, Christmas Eve, as that's a day for family, with my wife and kids. And given that the following Tuesday is New Year's Eve, I am unlikely to fetch comics then either, though I know better: never say never.

I would also like to point out some other changes to the weekly list. Please note (if this interests you, otherwise why are you reading this) that not only has Codename: Action broken out of the back log, it has jumped to fourth!! Daredevil enjoys a higher slot this week.

Not surprising to see Fantastic Four in my top slot, given the books that came out this week, even though Fraction and Bagley have left the book.  Uncanny Avengers jumped up some spots on the strength of the last issue. Even though Stuart Immonen did not draw All New X-Men #020, it takes the second slot on the strength of the story alone. Thank you Brian Bendis. Okay, I am lying. It jumped to number two because of the cover in the image above. Geez. I am such a stupid fan boy.

Of the list below, I have read through Young Avengers so far. I almost brought forward a book from last week, but I changed my mind after I leafed through it. all of the top eight comics were good reads, though I must say that the one with the biggest impact was The Superior Spider-Man #024. This comic had a lull in its run, but it has consistently delivered quality story lines, and as it gears up to issue #25, get ready for a blockbuster!

I decided to return one comic because I am not reading it. It's a difficult thing to order comics two months in advance and then have them fall into the back log.

COMICS FOR 1312.18

Fantastic Four #015
All New X-Men #020
Daredevil #034
Codename: Action #4
X-Men #008
Uncanny Avengers #015
The Superior Spider-Man #024
Young Avengers #014
FF # 015
Thor: God of Thunder #016
Avengers Assemble: Inhumanity #021
Avengers Assemble: Inhumanity #022
Secret Avengers #013
Red Sonja #6
Saga #17
Mind the Gap #16
Birds of Prey #26
Wonder Woman #26
Indestructible Hulk: Inhumanity #017
Black Science #2
The Amazing Spider-Man #700.4
The Amazing Spider-Man #700.5

BACK LOG
Cataclysm Ultimate X-Men #002
Uncanny X-Force #015
Ten Grand #6

OTHER
Locus v.71 #6

RETURNED
Max Brooks' Extinction Agenda

CAPTAIN MAR-VELL COVER GALLERY

This was my second Captain Marvel comic.

Oh yeah!
Did I mention that Captain Marvel died of cancer?

COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 91 shirts remaining

- chris tower - first published - 1312.20 - 20:44
final publication - 1312.21 - 13:40