A bunch o' junk...

Lots of new stuff on the comics shelves today, including STREETS OF GOTHAM #12, written by me, Derek and Dustin, the STREETS hardcover collecting the FACES OF EVIL Catwoman and Hush stories from Batman and Tec, along with the first four issues of STREETS, and last but not least, ZATANNA #1. This one has been a long time in coming, and I think it looks real sweet. Stephane Roux and Karl Story did an amazing job on the artwork, and if you dug Zee's appearances in B:TAS, JLU and ZATANNA - EVERYDAY MAGIC, you will probably like this, too.

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TOWER PREP is looking real sharp. I can't wait to run a whole episode for a live crowd. Maybe that'll happen over the summer sometime. I'll check with CN and see what their promo plans are.

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Saw IRON MAN 2 on a double bill with BABIES. Misty and I took my mom to the movies for Mother's Day, and she said she'd see IRON MAN if we sat through BABIES first. Have to admit, I mostly slept through BABIES. Turns out mom only so-so liked BABIES herself. She really loved IRON MAN, as did I. Once again Robert Downey Jr's charm and smarm win the day. Mom says Bruce Wayne would be a lot easier to take if he loosened up and had fun sometime, like Tony Stark.

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Speaking of movies, in about a month the new Toy Story movie will open, and I'll see it and I will most likely like it, and it will make tons of money and probably win the best animated film Oscar, and all that's well and good.

Except, except...

I have this one nagging problem with the Toy Story movies, and #3 will probably not address it any more than it was addressed in the previous two films before it. In Toy story #1, Woody tells some toys they will have to "break the rules" in order to rescue Buzz. So they come to life in front of the bully kid and throw a big scare into him and that helps rescue Buzz and after a few more twists and turns all ends happily.

Except...

I keep wondering about those "rules." Who sets the rules? Is there some all powerful toy king or god who has decreed toys can't come to life in front of people? Is this toy god Santa or Geppetto or some other enchanted toymaker? And what are the consequences if toys break these rules and communicate openly with humans? Do Men In Black action figures show up and mindwipe the humans? Are the toys sent to toy prison or melted down or restuffed into other toys? And the biggie, if toys routinely watch their fellow toys being abused and destroyed, why do they not mount a toy rebellion against mankind and take the planet for themselves? There are certainly more of them than there are of us, and I'm sure if a workable alliance could be devised, quite a number of household appliances would join in as well. All the toys need do is capture the kids, hold them in a secure place and demand the surrender of humankind. That's the Toy Story movie I'd like to see.

I'm probably the only one, though.

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Here's another pointless thing I'm cranky about. I went to Las Vegas last week and dang it, I really miss those coin-dispensing slot machines. They still have slots, but now they give out tickets instead of coins. Gone is that trilling jingle of the nickel slots paying out, and the rich, heavy "plabb, plabb, plabb" sound of dollar coins hitting the metal tray. There was also that little burst of anxiety in your stomach when you realized there were no dollar coin trays or plastic buckets nearby in which to collect your hoard, and you had to quickly dart over to another machine to get one. And you had to be quick, lest some varmint jumped your claim. Damn, when I hauled a few hundred coins in stacked racks all the way across the casino to the cashier, I had the feeling I really worked for my money. All that latter day gold rush feel is gone.

Yeah, the machines are still there, and in most cases more elaborate than ever. I almost broke off and stole the molded figure of Jeannie on her magic carpet off the top of the I Dream of Jeannie machine, I wanted it so much. Our fandom favorites are there too, with Star Wars machines in the shape of R2-D2, and Indiana Jones Sankara stones machines. Just as we when we were kids and teens, Lucasfilm stands by us in our adult years to relieve us of our disposable incomes.

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What else, anything? LOST ends this Sunday. I haven't watched the show much since I stopped working on it around the middle of season two. Still, I'm interested to see what kind of a rabbit they pull out of their hat at the end. I knew what the rabbit was once, it's probably been many rabbits since then.

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Still working on ARKHAM II. That's really all I can say about that.

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Not sure about Comic Con this year. I'll go if we do a TOWER presentation, otherwise I might skip. I have to skip it at least once or twice a decade so I can look forward to it again.

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Oh, and lastly, Misty and I have new podcasts recorded and coming soon. Should have them up on the Dinicartoons site in about a week.