WLG #216: Back From Pittsburgh!

By Michael A. Diaz

Yes, I survived my trip to Pittsburgh and back. For those of you that missed it my day job sent me off to Pittsburgh, which is fine. I go wherever I am needed. The only thing is that I HATE flying.

HATE it.

It's not that I am afraid someone is going to take the plane and crash it into something; I mean, that has already happened and I don't foresee it happening again anytime soon (knock on wood); for me, I think it is the lack of control. If the pilots would just let me up into the cockpit and hold the controls for a bit I think I would be fine.

But they don't.

So, I sit there white-knuckling it the whole flight expecting the plane to rip in half mid-air.

Irrational fear? Yeah, I know this. I wish I could make the fear go away, but barring the option of taking the controls what choice do I have?

The answer, my friends, is better living through chemistry. I'm not usually into taking drugs, but I freak out when flying, simple as that. So, while in the air 2mg of Xanax is all I need to feel all right.

So, I've flown, and I'm back, and no, the plane did not tear apart mid-flight.

But enough of me being a wuss.

The first thing I wanted to do, other than bore you all with my whining about flying, is say THANK YOU to Kelvin Green for filling in for me last week. I knew that there was going to be a guest columnist, but I didn't know who, so I checked the column last week Tuesday night when I got back to my hotel and was very surprised and happy with the job that Kelvin did.

I think the thing that I liked most about last week's column is that Kelvin did not try to be me. GOOD. All writers have their own distinctive style; I couldn't try to be Kelvin very well, so it was nice that he stayed true to his own personality and writing style.

When I write WLG I do my best to maintain a positive vibe. I don't always succeed, but that mantra is really just a personal choice. I LOVE that Kelvin stayed within HIS own parameters and wrote his version of WLG. No fooling, I quite enjoyed it.

So, thanks Kelvin for stepping in for me. If you ever need me to step in for you, I'm there.

Also, expect me to bother you again the next time I'm out of town, if you're ever interested in playing in my sandbox again.

Hopefully you enjoyed Kelvin's column as well; I know I did!

Now this:

Standard Disclaimer: For those of you new to the WLG experience, here's how it works: Every week I check out the release schedule from the Diamond Comics Shipping List and decide which comics that I am going to spend my hard-earned money on. Yep, my money. That's good, because it helps to maintain my objectivity. If I spend money on a comic book and it turns out to be crap I'm going to be upset.Because of all how busy I've been with my day job (again) I am slightly behind on my comics reading, so this week I've only got a couple of books that have me particularly excited, so let's just jump right into What Looks Good...

DC

Green Lantern #28 $2.99 (Geoff Johns / Mike McKone)

I think I've said it in the past, and I am going to say it again here. Yes, I know that the big three of the DC Universe are Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. They're the holy trinity of DC comic book heroes. I get that. So yeah, I know that the “Final Crisis” event coming up is going to have to have a fair amount to do with them. That said, I think that if one REALLY wants to get a glimpse into everything that is going on in the DC Universe one should look no further than both Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps. Anything that affects the DC Universe is probably going to touch the GLC first, simply because the GLC spans the entirety of said universe.

Plus, I like these hints of collapse that we're already seeing within the GLC. I don't know if a lot of people realize it, but I think that Sinestro WON the Sinestro Corps War. Yes, the GLC saved Earth and kicked some butt, but what did they have to do to accomplish this? The Guardians rewrote the Book of Oa. Mind you, I've only recently gotten back into the whole Green Lantern thing (I was obsessed with them in the late 80's thanks to a friend of mine), but as far as I know this whole rewriting the book of Oa thing is kind of a big deal. Green Lanterns can kill now? What's up with that?

Also, there are these new Alpha Lanterns, which really, are these emotionless cyborg things, part GL and part Manhnunter. Again, I don't think that this is a good sign for the Corps as it tries to rebuild itself. It seems wrong, tainted.

All of this, of course, is leading up to “Blackest Night” in 2009, which in comic book terms is just around the corner (especially when you consider the lead-in time that some of these books have; I wouldn't be surprised if Johns is writing the script for the book we're going to be reading in nine months). As “Blackest Night” has to do with death and such I'm thinking there are going to be STRONG ties to the “Final Crisis” event as well.

Like I said, i f you're into the DC Universe I think these are the seats you want for what is going down.

'Nuff said.

MARVEL

Logan #1 $3.99 (Brian K. Vaughan / Eduardo Risso)

Eduardo Risso of 100 Bullets fame coupled with Brian K. Vaughan, fresh off of his AMAZING run on Y: The Last Man taking on Logan, aka Wolverine, a man who recently recovered all of his memories from the past 100+ years of life on this planet: seriously, what ISN'T there to get geeked about concerning this series.

OK, maybe at first I thought to myself “do we NEED another Wolverine book?” Already there is Wolverine and Wolverine: Origins, the latter of which I think is meant to mine the same territory, but this book, Logan, is just a mini-series. I look at it like this: if I was Marvel and Brian K. Vaughan wanted to play with MY toys I wouldn't care how many titles I had on a certain character. You let the man play because he knows what he is doing.

Michael couldn't be happier.

And also, check that cover out? It's excellently Risso with some classic Frank Miller overtones.

SWEET!

Once more I wanted to say thank you to Kelvin for filling in for me last week; I really do appreciate.

Now, your picks! Was there anything that looked good to you this week? Your thoughts on anything else to do with comics? Share them! Just check out theWhat Looks Good message boards (see link below) and spread the love, my friend, spread the love.

Until then,

Peace!

-Diaz