About that Smallville Episode

An episode of the long-running Smallville, written by a DC Comics scribe, directed by one of the show's stars, and featuring a classic DC character.

No, not "Absolute Justice." That was something of a train wreck.

Instead I refer to last night's episode, "Warrior." It was written by Bryan Q. Miller (recent scribe of Batgirl & Teen Titans), directed by Allison Mack, and featured the return of Zatanna in a supporting role.

And it was a good deal of fun.

The plot involved a cursed comic book that turned an eleven-year-old kid into an adult super-hero (shades of Captain Marvel). While Clark & Zatanna try to find the comic and restore the kid to normal, Chloe crushes on the new hero in town. Oh, and Lois Lane dresses up as both a Storm Trooper and Xena at the Metropolis Comic Con.

One of the themes of the episode was that you need a bit of whimsy in your life and not be so serious all the time; a lesson the show itself could stand to learn. If only Smallville were this much fun more often, it would be a much better show.

Best Music of 2009

Here are four mixes on 8track.com with my picks for the best songs of 2009:











For those of you reading this anywhere other than Yet Another Comics Blog (e.g. a feed reader or Facebook) here are some handy links to the mixes:

• Best of 2009, Part 1 (A-E)
• Best of 2009, Part 2 (F-K)
• Best of 2009, Part 3 (L-N)
• Best of 2009, Part 4 (P-Z)

Believe It!

(To see this cartoon in a bigger-sized way, click on the xkelrtoi stabilizer switch on the wall)

Bizarro is brought to you today by Miracles.

I never know how many people will be confused by a given cartoon but I'm guessing this one caused its share of puzzlement. What I'm referring to here is the Church of Scientology, which has followers all over the world but is headquartered in Los Angeles, and whose faithful believe something similar to ancient space aliens are living inside them. Yes, it sounds like a strange basis for a "religion," but then it was devised by a science fiction writer, so what do you expect?

I often wonder how otherwise rational people can believe these things, but then again, all religions are pretty outrageous when you look at them objectively. They usually involve virgin births, half-man/half-gods, resurrections from the dead, magical healing, evil creatures who can get inside you, and eternal beings who float around the universe. You might think these are Judeo-Christian concepts but they are found in the vast majority of belief systems throughout human history. They are ubiquitous concepts in many faiths that predate the Bible and they persist today.

I finally saw Bill Maher's film, "Religulous" and although I fully expected to enjoy it, it was far more entertaining and enlightening than I had anticipated. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys the rational examination of human behavior and a good laugh, regardless of their faith or lack of it.

BIG NEWS!!

Very exciting, HUGE news about Bizarro to be announced on this blog on Monday! Don't miss it!

I'd tell you now, but you'd just forget it over the weekend with all of your drinking and partying and cruising for sex and household chores and napping and disco dancing and snow shoveling and playing with the dog and gambling and carousing and hiding in the bushes outside your ex's house to see who they're dating and experimenting with new hair color products.

So Monday it is.

In the meanwhile, if you have some time and are into this kind of thing, here is a long interview I did last week for a podcast. Grab your pod and put on your headphones.

http://talltalefeatures.com/2010/02/12/episode-73/

The New West

Bizarro is brought to you today by Safety.

For those readers who have not visited a state in which it is legal to carry concealed weapons, this is a sign that you see with some regularity. It is alarming to people like me, who are not used to seeing this kind of thing.

CHNW (my Crazy Half-Nekked Wife) was visiting family in South Dakota recently and we were chatting via cell phone one day while she was out shopping. She read a sign like this one to me as she was entering a store and I offhandedly asked if there was a pile of guns next to the door. Hence, the cartoon.

I don't usually get cartoon ideas from real life situations since most of my cartoons are more surreal than reality. But in this case, not much exaggeration is needed to make this surreal. If I lived in a community in which a lot of people were toting guns, I'd likely be tempted to get a gun to protect myself from all the guns. Seems like a slippery slope.

Without getting too political, if you look around the world at countries where guns are plentiful and unregulated, it is hard to find one you'd even want to visit, much less live in.

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 *
2 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
3 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
4 (+6). Fables Vol. 13: The Great Fables Crossover
5 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
6 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
7 (-1). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
8 (-). Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead
9 (-2). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
10 (N). The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11 1/2 Anniversary Edition *
11 (-1). Watchmen
12 (+4). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
13 (-2). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
14 (-1). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
15 (N). Kick-Ass *
16 (+13). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
17 (+10). Batman: The Killing Joke
18 (-1). Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
19 (N). Star Wars: Legacy Volume 8 - Tatooine *
20 (+6). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
21 (-2). V for Vendetta
22 (+3). Asterios Polyp
23 (-14). Naruto, Vol. 47
24 (+10). Batman: Year One
25 (+12). Marvel Encyclopedia
26 (-2). Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5)
27 (R). Footnotes in Gaza: A Graphic Novel
28 (-14). The Complete Persepolis
29 (R). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
30 (-6). Seekers: Toklo's Story
31 (+5). Stitches: A Memoir
32 (+6). Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Volume 8 - Destroyer
33 (+8). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
34 (R). Wolverine: Old Man Logan
35 (-5). Vampire Knight, Vol. 9
36 (+12). Black Bird, Vol. 3
37 (R). The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country
38 (+2). Tales from the Crypt #8: Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid
39 (-18). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 6: Retreat *
40 (-5). The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks
41 (-26). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
42 (R). The Sandman Vol. 4: Season of Mists
43 (+4). The Arrival
44 (-22). Thor, Vol. 3 *
45 (R). Serenity, Vol. 1: Those Left Behind
46 (R). Fables Vol. 12: The Dark Ages
47 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become
48 (-15). Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume
49 (-18). Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned
50 (R). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)



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:

* Twilight: The Graphic Novel stays pretty steady, at #53 on the overall chart and on top of the comics chart. We're still a month away from its release though, so expect it to rise up on the overall chart once it actually comes art.

* I'm quite surprised to see The Great Fables Crossover rise all the way to #4. It appears that Fables continues to add readers and each successive collection seems to do better than the last.

* Also debuting high are The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade and the Kick-Ass collection. No doubt the interest in Kick-Ass is due to the upcoming movie; the question is will interest remain in the comic after the movie is released? It's probably good news for comic sales that the movie's release date has been pushed back...

Contest #18 Winners

Our winners this week are:
1. Phillip Crow
2. monsterzero
3. Randy

Congrats to them and many thanks to all of you who played. Even if you don't win, it's SO MUCH FUN, RIGHT?

Another cartoon puzzler contest thingy next Thursday and daily posts of various types of shenanigans most days until then.

Winning answers: