Purchase of the Week

I just ordered Brian Andersen's inaugural "Reignbow & Dee-Va" comic, which has generated a lot of good Web buzz recently. The indie title is described thusly:

"Reignbow & Dee-Va" is a Kung Fu action comic about a hyper gay secret agent (Reignbow) and his sassy butt-kicking partner (Dee-Va) trying to locate and rescue missing Treasure. Nothing is ever easy of course, as these two drama queens have to battle their way through a sea of vicious and evil vampires to get to the Treasure! This comic is a hilarious (I hope), mega action packed, cheeky comic about two secret agents who will stop at nothing to achieve their mission - except to apply the occasion lip gloss.

I generally don't go for Anime-esque illustrations, but this looks like a campy delight. I haven't encountered many gay characters in comics, and the ones who do exist tend to be women straight out of the Heterosexual Male Fantasy Encyclopedia. Nothing wrong with that, but am I to believe that all of the ripped, spandex-wearing males in the DC and Marvel universes are straight? Really?

Would You See This Movie?

This is a nifty, fan-created poster for the the live-action Wonder Woman movie, which, apparently, is never going to be made. The image is a little static for my taste, but the poster is proof of WW's passionate fan base. Meanwhile, Hollywood yawns.

Warner Bros. is releasing a direct-to-DVD animated Wonder Woman movie in February, and while I'll probably buy it, my excitement has waned considerably. Stiff-looking animation and a reheated storyline (From princess to warrior!) are a long way from "Dark Knight."

I admit that much of my affection for Wonder Woman is rooted in childhood nostalgia and the fact that she's a positive female character in a genre not known for its progressive treatment of women. I still feel like I don't know much about her beyond her fierce warrior status, beauty and desire to protect mankind. But for the right writer, that could be a good thing. Wonder Woman lacks the baggage of characters like Superman, who is tethered to an annoying love interest and a back story most people could recite in their sleep. (Maybe the next Superman flick can focus on the implosion of the newspaper industry, which forces Clark to take a buyout from the Daily Planet!)

At this rate, Hawkman will have a big-screen film before Wonder Woman does. Not that I'm bitter or anything.

Protest Song Of The Week

Back in the late '80s, an all-star group of rappers released the pioneering, anti-violence single "Self Destruction." It was preachy and kind of a drag, but nevertheless a responsible and much-needed message. I doubt aspiring Detroit rapper T-Baby was even born when that song made its debut, but she, too, has had enough of the madness! If only this passionate, profane commentary had been released 13 years earlier, Tupac and Biggie might still be alive.

Thanks, Crunk & Disorderly, for sharing this with the world!

Stepping Down From The Ledge

I keep trying to write about the good comics I've read or my kids' lack of enthusiasm for whole wheat pancakes, but all I can think about is politics. And I don't want to.

While I think it's every citizen's responsibility to be informed, an election season can suck you into a bottomless pit of blogs, CNN updates and grassy knoll conspiracy theories. It's a slippery slope, so I've tried to stick to the basics. Last week, I decided to tune in to the highlights of the Republican National Convention. I knew I wasn't voting for McCain, but I wanted to be fair and at least hear what the GOP had to say.

Something weird happened to me after listening to Sarah Palin's speech. I've managed to keep it together pretty well the last couple of years, but the more I listened to Palin, the angrier I became. I can't remember the last time a political speech left me sitting on the edge of the couch, wondering where I could purchase a torch and a pitchfork. Attractive and personable, Palin unleashed the most cynical, low-rent stream of red-white-and-blue-coated crap I'd heard in ages. And I remember the Reagan years.

I'm not saying it wasn't an effective speech, and God knows many of the speakers at the DNC plucked my nerves by constantly playing the "Bush sucks" card. (We know, but he isn't running again.) And as much as I liked Obama's speech, he made me nervous by promising too much.

What made me angry about Palin's speech is that it pandered to the people who helped drag the level of political discourse in this country down to 3rd grade level in the first place: Attack the liberal media (check); attack "elitists," which, apparently, do not include GOP millionaires such as John and Cindy McCain or Mitt Romney (check); take cheap shots at the opponent instead of talking about your ideas (check).

As I predicted, certain members of the base are beside themselves with glee. Online comment boards are full of messages like, "U LIBERALS R RUNNING SCARED! Sarah Rulez and She is HOTT." and "Palin is a real patriot, unlike the radical Barack Hussein Obama, who wants to turn us all into members of al-Qaida!!!!"

I don't like being this mad, but I've had enough. I am tired of hearing about fetuses, patriotism, 9/11, "protecting marriage" and religion in government. I am tired of hearing people having to defend the teaching of science in public school classrooms. I am sick of hearing people who made horrible jokes about Chelsea Clinton — who was a child at the time — bemoan the "media hatchet job" on a grown woman who is running for vice president of the United States.

I grew up in a small town. I consider myself a Christian, and I am raising children in a "traditional" middle class, two-parent household. But nothing in Sarah Palin's shout-out to small-town folks and hockey moms resonated with me. If anything, it made me want to write Obama a check. A couple of checks.

Suddenly, Nov. 4 seems very far away.

Lego Batman: Awwww, Yeah!

My 8-year-old will have to pry this from my cold, dead hands.

Back to High School

A few scattered thoughts following my (surprisingly fun) 20-year high school reunion:

-I'm getting soft in my old age. When I was 18, I couldn't wait to slam the door on that chapter of my life. Twenty years later, I was downright nostalgic.
-I remember every word of the "Alma Mater."
-No one looked good in acid-washed denim. No one.
-It's great to have a chance to say things you wish you had long ago. A particular classmate, easily one of the most well-traveled and accomplished of us all, endured a lot of nonsense for being so conspicuously different back then. I told her how much I'd admired her courage and wished I'd had it at the time. She seemed genuinely touched — and delighted. It certainly made me happy to tell her.
-Apparently, you can judge a book by its cover. Within minutes, my husband — who went to high school elsewhere — was able to figure the cliques people originally belonged to. He could also spot former Alpha Mean Girls from 20 paces.
-I guess I wasn't as much of a nonentity as I thought. Again, my husband: "Are you sure you weren't popular? Because everybody here sure seems to remember you and like you."
-The prettiest girl in our class is still pretty — and just as nice as I remember her.
-It's probably best that I didn't know about all those motel room parties.
-Nothing quiets a room like a video featuring pictures of classmates who have died.
-"Eye of the Tiger" is still a freaking awesome song.

'Strategic And Fly'

I love Diddy. His ego knows no bounds, and he doesn't bother with niceties or things like, say, proper grammar. He doesn't have to. He's Diddy! Here, he weighs in on Sarah Palin as only he can. I don't know why Jim Lehrer isn't blowing up this man's cell phone.