Friday Night Fights: Krypto vs. Alien Invaders

 

From Superman #670 (2007). Artists: Rick Leonardi & Dan Green. Writer: Kurt Busiek. Letters: Comicraft. Colors: Alex Sinclair.

Super-powered pets? It's a Free-for-All, dog-gone it!

Amazon Top 50

Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels on Amazon this morning. All the previous caveats apply.


1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth *
2 (+3). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
3 (-). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
4 (+2). Scott Pilgrim Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour
5 (-3). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
6 (-2). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
7 (N). B.P.R.D. Volume 1: The Plague of Frogs *
8 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
9 (+3). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
10 (-2). The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future
11 (+5). Odd Is on Our Side *
12 (+20). Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale *
13 (+8). Walking Dead Volume 12
14 (-1). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
15 (+9). The Cloud Searchers (Amulet)
16 (-1). Troublemaker Book 1: Alex Barnaby Series 3
17 (-3). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
18 (+15). Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
19 (-2). Kick-Ass
20 (R). Hetalia Axis Powers Volume 1
21 (-1). The Complete Peanuts Boxed Set 1975-1978 (Vol. 13-14) *
22 (-11). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
23 (+12). Lost at Sea
24 (+1). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
25 (+1). Watchmen
26 (-19). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
27 (-8). Dark Tower: The Battle of Jericho Hill
28 (R). Dilbert 2.0: 20 Years of Dilbert
29 (+8). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 7: Twilight *
30 (+17). Empowered Volume 6 *
31 (-8). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
32 (N). Naruto, Vol. 49 *
33 (N). The Walking Dead, Book 6 *
34 (+10). Batman: Hush
35 (-8). Batman: The Killing Joke
36 (R). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
37 (-19). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
38 (-). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
39 (R). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
40 (R). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
41 (-19). Blackest Night
42 (R). Tall Tales (Bone Prequel)
43 (-13). The Complete Peanuts 1977-1978 (Vol. 14) *
44 (N). Witch & Wizard: Battle for Shadowland *
45 (R). American Born Chinese
46 (R). No Future For You (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 2)
47 (R). V for Vendetta
48 (-12). The Walking Dead Book 5
49 (R). All Star Superman, Vol. 1
50 (-7). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)


Items with asterisks (*) are pre-order items.

N = New listing appearing on list for first time
R = Item returning to the list after having been off for 1 or more weeks


Commentary:

* Even the new deep discounts are not enough to push Scott Pilgrim ahead of the new Wimpy Kid at #1 (#8 overall). It does however push them up on the overall list to #17, #19, #20, #24 & #25.

* A surprise debut, with a highly discounted pre-order for a BPRD hardcover compendium coming in at #7 on the list and #85 overall. The other debuts this week belong to pre-orders for a new Naruto volume, a new Walking Dead hardcover, and a new Witch & Wizard graphic novel from James Patterson.

* The final item on the list clocks in at #3,293 overall, more-or-less on par with last week (okay, slightly less).

Eternal Life?

Bizarro is brought to you today by Reclaimed Souls.

To my surprise, there were quite a few readers who didn't understand this cartoon. I didn't get into a lengthy discussion with them so I don't know if it was because they are so unfamiliar with recycling that they don't recognize the triangle symbol, or if their minds were so anthropocentric that they could not make the leap between reincarnation/eternal life and recycling.

This cartoon idea came from my dandy buddy, Richard Cabeza, who has contributed some dandy ideas to Bizarro before. As I've mentioned on this blog in the past, my work is also offered in a strip format and since they usually don't entail much extra art – just a reconfiguration of the panel version – I don't bother posting them. This one, however, adds some punch to the church atmosphere, so I'm sharing it with you. Click it for a better view.

Of course, I particularly like the "Mountain Pie" soda bottle.

I've never quite thought of it this way, but our species' persistence in religious beliefs can be thought of as a desire to be recycled. Most people cannot bring themselves to believe that they will end when their body gives out. The way our brains work, it is difficult not to feel there is a difference between "us" and our bodies. I do not believe in any such difference and think that those feelings are a brain function, like everything else we think and experience. And that when I die, I die; that's it, no more me, no afterlife, no purpose. In contrast to the panic that most people seem to feel about an exclusively biological life with no divine purpose or destination, I find it comforting. I no longer fear dying except for whatever pain or fear might occur during the process; I won't exist to care. Much the way I cannot care what happens in another apartment across town when I'm asleep.

Sounds kind of nice, in a way. Not that I'm in any hurry.


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Thank You...

...for sticking with MYTHFITS during this pause in programming.

Woodstock Concert

It's a day of SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS. Apparently.

We have another of our stellar, outdoor, under the sky, above the ground, on the lawn, intimate concerts coming up this weekend at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. CHNW and I hope to see you there!

Yo, check it. Word to your mother.













All proceeds go to feed and care for the sanctuary animals.

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

By far the most talented and unusual comic genius I know is performing in San Francisco in about 10 days. I highly recommend you go see his show if you're in that area, or highly recommend it to your Bay Area friends. This guy does not disappoint and every one of his shows is a unique experience. He's some kind of strange performance art/comedian/philosopher/philatelist hybrid. He defies description. I'm not kidding.

WILL FRANKEN RISES FROM THE ASHES
TWO NIGHTS ONLY
The PURPLE ONION
140 COLUMBUS AVENUE, SAN FRANCISCO
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1st AND SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2nd
8pm BOTH NIGHTS
ONLY $20 AT THE DOOR

If I were within 200 miles of SF on those dates, I 'd see both shows. Spread the word.


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Radar Nudity

Bizarro is brought to you today by Naked Hikers.

I'm not sure how I feel about this air traffic control cartoon. It's completely unrealistic, of course, the dude at the radar would know that something was wrong long before it got to this point. But I suppose the visual is sort of fun, the big dot on the screen then the big dot on the plane's nose. Whatever. A cartoon-a-day for over 25 years, they can't all be classics.

This Adam and Eve cartoon from 2000 is a bit more fun, I believe. When I was a kid being indoctrinated by nuns in Catholic school, I noticed that all of the pictures of Adam and Eve "before the fall" had expertly-placed leaves to hide their naughty bits.

By the time I was eight years old I could see that nothing about that story made any sense but I wasn't confident enough to dispute it publicly until many years later. It's amazing the power that early programming has over a person. You can convince a small child of absolutely anything and it will follow them for life like the genital-hiding foliage of the Old Testament. If people weren't told about god until they were adults, religions of any kind would have almost no power. Imagine trying to talk an adult who did not already believe in an invisible magic guy in the sky that flying a plane into a building would be a good idea.


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