Greatest Blog Entry Ever Meme

SallyP tagged me for this meme. But to be honest, my memory isn't that good. I've read hundreds, thousands, of blog entries in the last 4 plus years since I discovered blogs and blogging and scores of them were wonderful, and not just about comics. But do I remember any well enough to tell you about it. Uh, hmmmm.... Tho there was the time SallyP, herself, posted pics of her Green Lantern action figures posed doing stuff. Those were fun.

I'm supposed to tag folks, I guess, but I don't like doing that, so if you haven't done this yet and would like to, consider yourself tagged!

Ooo, A Comics Meme

From Rich at Comic by Comic. He put in the usual bit about tagging 5 folks to do this and I'm not one of them, but I always do what I want when it comes to memes. If they interest me, I do them. I don't tag. So, feel free to keep this going, if you so desire.

Post the questions below and three covers that answer to these questions; no need to comment unless you want to:

1) What was the first comic you remember reading?

2) What was the first comic that made you realize that you might be in this for the long haul?

3) If you had to make a snap decision to take one comic or one comic run to a desert island, what would it be? Don't think too hard!

My answers...

Post the questions below and three covers that answer to these questions; no need to comment unless you want to:

1) What was the first comic you remember reading? Uh, it was close to 48 years ago. I'm not sure. Probably a kid's comic, ie Nancy and Sluggo or Richie Rich or a Disney comic. Other early ones are Archies and Classics Illustrated, Katy Keene, and Millie the Model, but those, along with the romance comics and DC superheroes, came later, although there was a fairly early issue of Batman in my early reading days. The dentist had a batch of comics in his waiting room and I read them there. Sometimes, he let me keep the older ones.

2) What was the first comic that made you realize that you might be in this for the long haul? None in particular. I was a collector from the very beginning. Inherited that trait from my father. I started getting comics when I was 7. By the time I was 10 or so, I had stacks on shelves in the basement. A finished basement, nice and dry. Long boxes came later, when I was in college and discovered comic book shops and comicons where long boxes were sold.

3) If you had to make a snap decision to take one comic or one comic run to a desert island, what would it be? Don't think too hard! I'd grab my Roy Harper short box. (I have short boxes now. Easier to handle and stack.) These include the original Teen Titans, the runs of Titans that don't include him plus the issues he was in, Action Weekly, the Arsenal one-shot, and other comics that featured him. In the case of the new JLA, for example, I bought 2 of the first issue so I could store one in the Justice League box and one in the Roy Harper box.

I Been Tagged!

Sally over at Green Lantern Butt's FOREVER has tagged me with the 8 things meme. I 'm supposed to tell you all eight things about myself, and then tag another eight people. I'll do the first, but those of you who haven't done it yet should feel free to feel tagged.

1. I've been reading comics since 1960, when I was 7.
2. My favorite comics character is Roy Harper.
3. My first actor crush was Edd "Kookie" Burns from 77 Sunset Strip.
4. My second actor crush was David "Illya Kuryakin" McCallum from The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
5. I've been wearing glasses since I was 3.
6. I don't need my glasses all the time anymore, not for the past 2 years.
7. When I was in high school, whenever I lent someone a book, I put a due date card in it, in a pocket I made with index cards. I guess I was fated to be a librarian.
8. I majored in psychology in college and minored in philosophy.
   

Blog Rating

Mingle² - Online Dating

From the site: This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

• dick (5x)
• rape (3x)
• murder (2x)
• dangerous (1x)

I found this out thanks to Rich. Perhaps if I'd discussed Dick Grayson more, I might've gotten to R or X. Too bad no characters are named Cock or well.... you get the picture.

I might be too tired to get reviews up tonight, but I loved loved loved Justice League 10. Got all misty-eyed, damn it. And Catwoman 68.... another Wow there. Still got loads to read from this week, plus a stack from my vacation time, plus all the unread ones from before that.... *sigh*

Fifty Things and a Link

First, I really enjoyed this blog post. Mark Engblom looks at Superhero Fashion Disasters. I didn't know all of them, but I sure agree that the Black Canary turtleneck look was atrocious. I never got those things sticking out of her tunic. What the hell were they supposed to be?

Lots of people are doing the 50 Things I Love About Superhero Comics meme, including Amy Reads. I assume this is supposed to be current things and I suppose I should do it, too. So, here's my attempt at listing my favorite things about the current superhero experience. And it isn't easy. And my answers mostly revolve around the DCU because DC publishes pretty much all of the superhero books I read.

1. Still the cheapest way for me to get reading thrills.
2. They're illustrated!
3. Roy Harper under any name: Speedy, Arsenal, Red Arrow.
4. Dick Grayson under any name: Robin, Nightwing.
5. Birds of Prey
6. Justice Society of America
7. Justice League of America
8. The multiverse is back!
9. The old Legion of Super-Heroes may be back!
10. Geoff Johns.
11. Gail Simone.
12. Weekly comics. First 52, now Countdown.
13. New approaches to the superhero field, especially Welcome to Tranquility.
14. Something for everyone.
15. Fun titles: All New Adventures of Atom, Blue Beetle
16. Action figures for my favorite characters.
17. They're still here.
18. Ralph and Sue Dibny, united in eternity.
19. Kate Spencer, Manhunter
20. Roy Harper in the JLA, finally.
21. Cool, scary villains. The Joker!
22. Catwoman. Selina Kyle, doer of good but not a do-gooder.
23. Darwyn Cooke's resurrection of The Spirit.
24. Colorful costumes.
25. So many well-rounded characters, including many more females than when I was growing up.
26. Lois Lane and Superman marry, on 2 Earths.
27. The current version of the Huntress became a character I could like. (Thanks, Gail Simone!)
28. Role models. Barbara Gordon as Oracle is one of a very select group of disabled heroes who prove that anything can be possible. And she's also a strong female role model because she isn't a meta, but she sure is "super."
    
29. Kid-friendly titles like Blue Beetle.
30. More minority characters than ever: Hispanic (Blue Beetle), Asian (Grace/Outsiders, Katana, the new Atom), Jewish (the new Batwoman, Ragman), black (Steel and his niece, Natasha, Black Lightning and his daughter Anisa), along with lesbians and gays.
31. Flash's Rogues Gallery, an ornery, complex group of baddies.
32. The Secret Six, baddies who do good in spite of themselves.
33. Sexy heroes and anti-heroes: Animal Man, Catman.
34. Loony characters, like Ragdoll and the Mad Hatter.
35. The long history of the DCU with second generation characters I grew up with.
36. The way stories connect, especially with titles like Countdown and Amazons Attack.
37. JLA/JSA Crossovers.
38. Magical heroes.
39. Talking chimps and gorillas.
40. Dead isn't always dead, death isn't always permanent.
41. Ollie Queen, the hero you love to hate and hate to love.
42. Characters who are parents: Roy Harper, Selina Kyle, Jefferson Pierce, Kate Spencer...
43. Really nasty female villains: Cheshire at the top of the list.
44. Hal Jordan back as his old, good guy self and the return of the Guardians of the Universe.
45. The fact that the Guardians aren't the ultimate overseers/protectors of the universe and must share with Monitors and others.
46. No one group of deities. There's the Marvel Gods, the New Gods, the Greek gods, etc.
47. Time travel and Rip Hunter.
48. Soap Opera type storytelling with continued stories, the whole slice-of-life feel that these are "real" characters living their lives and saving the world/universe many times a day.
49. The return of Kara Zor-El, even if she still isn't being written well or with full respect as a teen character and role model.
50. And finally, because they're simply FUN.
    

Why I Blog

Heidi, in true play the meme forward fashion, asks why we blog. So, here are 5 of my reasons. Hmmm.... I hope I can come up with 5.

1. It's fun.
2. I love to write and this is a great way to share some of my writing.
3. I can learn html and css by playing with my blog templates.
4. I can socialize online with cool folks who share my interests. On this blog, it's a love for comics.
5. Unlike message boards, I can be as cranky as I want and I get to decide what comments get to stay here.

Okay, that ended on a kind of negative note. The truth is, the sharing and fun and educational aspects made blogging very appealing and I got hooked and I don't think I could stop if I wanted. So I'm not planning on trying.

Next? I don't feel like tagging anyone, so blog your own reasons if you feel like it.