Dark Horse’s Buffy-verse is beginning to heat up as the march toward the season finale (issue #30) begins in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 10 #21; DC has Batman and Robin Eternal going for it, so there’s that; Image comics gives us a couple of hits with Huck #1 and I Hate Fairyland #2; and Marvel’s comic portfolio is filled with some volatile stocks (even more brand new #1s) and stable bonds (Star Wars books).

UNSPOILED

1. Huck #1 (Image Comics), Unspoiled Edition

If Mark Millar had intended for Huck to be an ensemble piece, the title character would have ruined it and stole the show. Brave and Innocent, Huck represents everything good about humanity and none of the bad. His mission is clear: make sure you help somebody out every day. But stories begin when routines end, and Huck is about to learn that the world beyond his simply small-town utopia is far different than anything he has ever experienced.

SPOILED

1. Huck #1 (Image Comics), Spoiled Edition

Huck is a Superman devoid of nationalism, idealism, and pretences. In many ways, he is the true Superman for all seasons (not to be confused with Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s A Superman for All Seasons), a big, strong man with the heart and mind of a child, maybe more of a Shazam, in truth. He is a local legend like Paul Bunyan or John Henry. People have witnessed his feats of strength, stamina, and speed, but they don’t make much of it. They just know that they don’t have to worry, because there’s always a kind young man looking out for them. Huck has devoted himself to doing a good turn daily — and they called Superman a boy scout! — and he doesn’t ask for anything in return, because someone loved him instead of leaving him to die.

Whereas Superman came to Metropolis, it seems that the drama behind Huck is what happens when Metropolis comes to him. While pondering what to do as his daily good deed on a Friday, Huck notices that 200 girls have gone missing in Nigeria as a result of a series of kidnappings by the militant group Boku Haram.

What does Huck do? He gets on a plane and he saves every single girl. Just as Captain America (another good parallel for Huck) punched Adolf Hitler in the face, Huck took on one of the more insidious evils of modernity, and he won! In other words, he metaphorically punched Boku Haram in the face.

The result: Huck finds himself face-to-face with another militant group that may just turn into his arch nemesis — the American media.

I expect that I am not doing Huck justice in my review. It is just an all-around charming comic book and you ought to check it out.

* * *

We’ve seen a whole mess of new series and mini-series released by DC and Marvel comics both during and after Flashpoint and Secret Wars. What are your favorite new series? What are your thoughts on the current state of comic books? Are you more excited or less excited to pick up your comics every Wednesday? There’s no need to confine the discussion to the Big Two. What are you loving at Dark Horse, Image, IDW, and company? Let’s just put it out there: What are your favorite current comic series?

Thanksgiving is next Thursday and Black Friday is the next day, but the consumer holiday I am the most excited for is Comic Book Wednesday. After all, it only comes but once a week, so we ought to make the most of it.

I don’t really want to spend any more time on the Democratic and Republican Debate schedule. The only reason I originally broached the topic was because the Democrats sounded like they were taking student debt and crime on Wall Street seriously. After three debates, it sounds like the Republicans are willing to even give some air time to these issues as well. The reason I want to stop covering the debates is because it has been giving me some really negative feelings, and one of the reasons I started this blog was to bring some positivity into my life even as I face some of the more difficult topics like personal debt and predatory financial practices.

There have been a couple of debates since I started writing follow-up articles, and I am not going to cover them in detail. Rather, I want to wrap-up the whole concept by putting everything in perspective. In Michigan, the primaries for both the Democratic and Republican Party take place on March 8, 2016, and I want to be prepared when they happen.

THE REMAINING CANDIDATES

As of the latest debates, there are three Democratic candidates — Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley, and Bernie Sanders — and eight Republican candidates (with a 2.5% or higher in an aggregate of polls) — Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump.

This may not properly represent the candidates we are going to see on the tickets in March, and this is mainly because there are still four candidates campaigning in the Republican Party with an aggregate pole percentage of 1-2.5% — Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, and Rick Santorum — and potentially others in either party with lower percentages still.

We will deal with the undercards and misfit toys if/when it comes to that, but for now I want to develop a strategy of dealing with the eleven candidates who are in the running right now: Bush, Carson, Clinton, Cruz, Fiorina, Kasich, O’Malley, Paul, Rubio, Sanders, and Trump.

RED, WHITE, AND BLUE

As a show of my patriotic spirit, I have divided the candidates into three categories: red, white, and blue.

Red represents the candidates who I do not under any circumstance want to proceed to the general election. These include Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, and Carly Fiorina. The phrase I associate with this group is “In the Red,” because these are the candidates that I think would be detrimental to our country in the highest degree. Businesses don’t want their ledgers in the red, and I don’t want this election to go that way either.

White represents the candidates who I would not generally vote for, but who I would consider voting for if it is between them and one of the candidates from the previous category. These include Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush. The phrase I associate with this group is “White Elephant,” since they are both Republicans and the elephant is the symbol of the GOP.

Blue represents the candidates who I would vote for in the general election. This does not mean that I believe in everything that they stand for. Rather, it suggests that these candidates are relatively acceptable and with the push of activists they might actually get some good policy passed. These include Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O’Malley for the Democrats, and John Kasich, and Rand Paul for the Republicans. The phrase I associate with this group is “Out of the Blue,” mainly because I thought Paul and Kasich would have been knocked out of the running by now and they pulled it together enough to leap frog over Christie and Huckabee and stick around.

THE CANDIDATES

Hillary Clinton – There are some serious problems associated with Clinton. I have no problem admitting to that. Her email scandal suggests problems with government transparency and she leans a little too far to the side of the hawks for my taste, but with the exception of maybe Rand Paul I think the issues of aggressive war-mongering and dishonesty probably apply to all of the candidates equally. The fact of the matter is that we have a Republican majority in the House and the Senate, and as long as that is the case I am going to support a Democrat who actually has a chance. That’s who Hillary Clinton is to me. She is also, as Marco Rubio suggested, probably the most experienced candidate out there.

Bernie Sanders – There are plenty of people out there lining up to show that the numbers don’t add up when it comes to Sanders’ policies, but I am enamored by the fact that he approaches economics from the perspective of ethics first and foremost. The seemingly endless supply of Sanders Facebook memes proves that he has lived his platform for decades, and the excitement young people feel for him is reminiscent of the activist college movements to support Obama in 2008. Beyond that, the other candidates yap about their issues with special interest groups but Sanders has an average campaign donation of $33.51 with 99% of his funds coming in under $250.

Martin O’Malley – I think O’Malley would probably make a better Vice President than a President. In fact, a mock election at Western Illinois University boasting 100% accuracy since 1975 predicted that a Sanders/O’Malley victory in the 2016 Election. On his own, I think he would make a better candidate than most of the Republicans, so I wouldn’t mind seeing O’Malley as the Commander in Chief of this nation.

 John Kasich – Kasich feels like the old-school traditional Republican that we’re used to, with a reasonable distaste for big government but a natural tendency toward bipartisan solutions. He has a proven record for balancing some really tricky budgets on both the state and federal level, and that is something that nobody on either stage can claim. He spits in the face of trickle-down economics by presenting bottom-up solutions for the American people. I have been getting ready for the tragic moment when the Republicans oust Kasich — their best hope for a legitimate President — from the running, but it hasn’t happened just yet and I consider that a victory for democracy.

Rand Paul – Where I describe Kasich as bipartisan, I would call Rand Paul anti-partisan. Where does this place his allegiance? It would seem that he is in pretty tight with the Constitution and sensible solutions to world problems. Paul is one of a few candidates who appears to have a clear, well-researched plan for tackling most of the nation’s big ticket issues and his campaign against hypocrisy in his own party makes for some interesting debates. He turned the November Republican debate into an object lesson on what it does and does not mean to be fiscally conservative. SPOILER: Fiscal conservatism does not resonate well with ever increasing Defense Department spending.

Marco Rubio – Rubio has a terrible attendance record in congress, a fact that I overlooked from the get go but which bothers me more and more daily. I’m not worried that he would be an absentee President — in fact, I don’t think that is possible. My concern is that Marco Rubio has been accepting a paycheck for not doing his job. On the other hand, I see Rubio as a subtle politician who is much more progressive than he appears, especially in terms of immigration. If you read between the lines, Rubio is more concerned with reforming the legalization process and getting to the root of the issue than building any walls. I started out thinking Rubio might be the Republican for the job, but at this point in the Primary cycle his strongest qualification seems to be that he is not Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, or Carly Fiorina.

Jeb Bush – Jeb Bush is awkward as f*&$, but he may be the most qualified candidate on the current GOP Primary ticket. Though Trump and Carson have shown some early surges of support, the same Western Illinois University mock election that predicted a Sanders/O’Malley ticket to win the general election predicted Jeb Bush to win the Republican primary elections with Rubio as his running mate.

Donald Trump – If we have learned anything from the last several months, it is that Donald Trump is racist, sexist, he speaks at a fourth-grade level, and he has bankrupted four companies, putting thousands of people out of jobs. If you want someone who speaks his mind, vote for Sanders or Paul. The writers at South Park got it right when they said that Trump’s run for presidency was a joke that we all took a little too far.

Ben Carson – When I heard Ben Carson was a highly accomplished neurosurgeon, I immediately liked him, but I liked him less and less with every word that came out of his mouth. I don’t know if his highly specialized training blinded him to the verifiable truths of economics, archaeology, and science in general, or if a misguided religious fervor is at fault here, but I cannot believe the things this guy can get away with saying. He makes a fool out of the Christians in America that he claims to represent with his caricature of the belief system, and that’s not something we should be rewarding him for. Also, the guy has no charisma. One of my most Conservative friends said he wouldn’t vote for Carson simply because he looks like he’s asleep even at lively public debates.

Ted Cruz – Cruz has a preacher’s voice and a car salesman’s attitude, and so far it has kept him in the race despite his supreme lack of substance. When I think of Cruz, I see him as a one trick pony. The nearest he has ever come to significance was the moment when he called out CNBC for trolling the candidates during their GOP Debate. That is not the makings of a President. It is the makings of an auto-tuned YouTube video.

Carly Fiorina – While I don’t think Fiorina would make for a good President, I also do not condone the ad hominem attacks that keep flying in her direction simply because she is a strong woman. Donald Trump doesn’t get accused of not smiling enough. Donald Trump does not get torn down because of his strong stances on issues. Donald Trump does not get judged by his wardrobe (his hairpiece, maybe…). Fiorina is a woman, and for some people out there this means that she is not a human as well. Shame on you. I have a problem with Fiorina’s politics, not with the fact that she doesn’t have a Y chromosome. While she will start many of her speeches with well researched details, sensible criticism, and much needed outing of hypocrisy of both parties, she always finds a way to tie these thoughts together with some scary iron fist policies that don’t actually benefit the people she claims to be speaking for. Is Fiorina better than Trump, Carson, and Cruz? Yes. But if that were a qualification for public office then there are probably at least a million people over 35 in this country I’d rather vote for.

* * *

The debates have already gotten out of hand, and the terrorist attacks in Paris are just going to turn this Primary Election into even more of a circus. As such, I don’t think I could have found a better time to step away from writing on politics. As you can see, there were a few people in the list of candidates that I didn’t have much good to say about, and that is exactly why it is time to back up and reassess. Once we know who is going to be on the Michigan Ballot, I think I might pick up on some of these themes once again, and if the topics of college education and Wall Street criminality don’t get completely dropped from the discussion maybe we can talk about each candidate’s stance on these issues. Until then, pay attention to what is going on and think for yourself.

DC has me wanting more Geoff Johns Justice League with all these spinoff short stories concerning the “new gods”; Image has me wishing Robert Kirkman would release a new issue of The Walking Dead every day (seriously the best current comic, better even than Saga, which is saying something); and Marvel delivered a heaping helping of #1s with a side of Star Wars. It was a hell of week for comics, so lets get into it already.

UNSPOILED

1. Batman and Robin Eternal #6 (DC Comics), Unspoiled Edition

The centerpiece of Batman and Robin Eternal #6 is a flashback to Dick Grayson’s first year as Robin in which the dynamic duo embarks on a strange international sortie in search of the Scarecrow. The overall plot of mind control and mayhem takes a short breather while Dick catches fellow former Robin Jason Todd up on the players involved in the current game, but this is not your usual “clip show” issue. In fact, Batman and Robin Eternal #6 is the strongest to date for the series, and hopefully a sign of what’s to come.

2. Constantine – The Hellblazer #6 (DC Comics), Unspoiled Edition

After a surprisingly human first story arc, Constantine – The Hellblazer #6 sets a tone for a John Constantine who is (hopefully) here to stay. Tynion and Doyle continue to write to Riley Rossmo’s artistic strengths, presenting a bright, fun Constantine who is tempted by a normal life but whose dark past threatens to swallow him whole. Constantine – The Hellblazer combines the positive tone of Marvel’s Amazing Spider-man with a pinch of darkness, mostly in the form of Constantine’s own self-defeating ways, and delivers what could be considered the most accessible John Constantine ever to grace the pages of a comic.

3. The Walking Dead #148 (Image Comics), Unspoiled Edition

The survivors have stood strong in the face of small-scale betrayals, modest committees who question Rick’s authority, and miniature insurrections, but they have never had to deal with rioting mobs with enough sheer momentum to take down experienced fighters like Rick, Michonne, and Jesus. This is the consequence of Alpha introducing the possibility of an imminent threat into a population no longer accustomed to keeping up their guard. The Whisperers have everyone scared, even Rick Grimes, but perhaps more frightening is the lengths Rick will go to in order to keep the peace. Things are about to get very interesting in The Walking Dead.

4. All New, All-Different Avengers #1 (Marvel Comics), Unspoiled Edition

All-New, All-Different Avengers #1 is comprised of two stories, the first following Captain America (Sam Wilson), Iron Man (Not-So-New, Not-So-Different Tony Stark), and (Ultimate) Spider-man (Miles Morales) as they battle an intergalactic conqueror (and, in Cap’s case, bad publicity), and the second following hormone-driven A-teens Miss Marvel (Kamela Khan) and Nova (Sam Alexander) as they attempt to determine how to act around fellow superheroes of the same age but of the opposite sex. Mark Waid injects fun into a tried and true storytelling formula — the classic “assemble the team” arc — promising that this volume is going to be a blast to read.

SPOILED

1. Batman and Robin Eternal #6 (DC Comics), Spoiled Edition

Batman and Robin Eternal #6 takes a classic no frills approach to its art and storytelling, something that feels like second nature to a publisher that’s been around as long as DC Comics, and yet the suspense is starting to build in a way similar to Brad Meltzer’s brilliant Identity Crisis mini-series (which is extra scary considering the fact that we just met Tim Drake’s parents last issue). We could talk about what happened within these pages in a little more depth and that would be a fun conversation, but I want to take a step backwards and discuss what the series Batman and Robin Eternal means for the Batman imprint and its future in the New 52. Many of the big event comics of the past few years have existed not just to make money but to facilitate various editorial changes (ex. folding Wildstorm characters into DC canon, resurrecting deceased characters, etc.). When poorly delivered, this editorial incursion can take the reader right out of the reading experience, but even at its worst it affords us a glimpse into the organizational side of our favorite comic companies. Here are a few things about the future of Batman that we can logically conclude from Batman and Robin Eternal.

Scott Snyder Isn’t Going Anywhere

Months ago, while Scott Snyder was blowing our minds with “Endgame,” the Batman writer made it clear in interviews that he and Greg Capullo’s future with the title was up in the air. The fact that the Bloom arc doesn’t look like it will conclude before Batman #50 certainly cast hope that we wold have more time with Snyder and Capullo, and Batman and Robin Eternal seems even more promising. We essentially have a guarantee that Snyder is going to be with the Batman franchise plotting stories for at least one more year (46 more weeks to be exact). That said, we can probably safely extrapolate that Snyder and Capullo will be paired up on Batman the entire time, and I base that on the fact that “Endgame” and Batman Eternal both concluded at approximately the same time.

Disclaimer: I read the comics but I don’t spend a lot of time checking up on comic news, so if these thoughts have already been either confirmed or denied, let me know.

Cassandra Cain as Batgirl

There is a theme developing in these “Eternal” titles, and that is expanding the bat family’s numbers in the New 52. Batman Eternal gave us Spoiler (Stephanie Brown) and turned Harper Row into Bluebird, and now Batman and Robin Eternal is porting Cassandra Cain back into continuity. In fact, now that I think about it, we’re really talking about expanding the ranks of the Batgirl family, as both Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain were Batgirls in the previous iteration of DC Comics. I’m calling it now: Batgirl Eternal is next. It’ll be plotted by Scott Snyder, thus renewing his lease on Batman for two years, and we’ll all be super happy.

Who else are we missing from the bat family? I guess there’s Azrael to consider, and I wouldn’t mind Damian Wayne playing a bigger role in Snyder’s bat books. We could maybe see Terry McGinnis under Snyrder’s loving care, or the female Robin from Frank Miller’s bat continuity. Am I leaving anyone out, fellow bat fans?

Doubling Down on Grayson

(NOTE: The original title for this subsection was much more alliterative but sadly it was also much more inappropriate so I scrapped it.)

When Snyder’s first couple of arcs involving the the Court of Owls were still new and we were getting a secret history of both Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, I felt like the New 52 was going to be kind to Nightwing. You could tell that DC was committing energy at that time to making Dick Grayson important, but it wasn’t long before it felt as if that energy had been diverted elsewhere. I understand Batman and Robin Eternal as a kind of renewal of vows between DC Comics and Grayson, a promise that he is once again going to feel like the quality of character we are familiar with from previous incarnations. Personally, I think Dick needs to put this spy thing behind him. What he becomes next isn’t what concerns me. I just want growth. I want to remember that Dick Grayson is like Bruce Wayne only with the power of hope, that when this circus boy flies through the sky it is not just a thing of duty but also a thing of joy, and I want to remember Dick as the brilliant tactician and leader who inspires respect rather than commanding it. Is that so much to ask for?

More Flashback Comics?

The New 52 debuted with a Justice League story that took place three years ago, and it was awesome. The following week, Action Comics #1 featured a flashback to a social justice Superman who couldn’t even fly yet, and it was awesome. Am I certain that Batman and Robin Eternal #6 signals a return to flashbacks in the New 52? No, but the issue was awesome. What these “period pieces” provide is depth and history toa  universe that used to be backed by decades of story. Not only that, but most people who love Batman, whether through comic book, TV, or film representations, fell in love with Batman (Bruce Wayne) and Robin (Dick Grayson). The New 52 suffers from a lack of the dynamic between the original dynamic duo, an ailment that could be cured by presenting more of these well-woven tales of real consequences that take place during Dick Grayson’s early years as Robin.

2. Constantine – The Hellblazer #6 (DC Comics), Spoiled Edition

What is not to love about the sleeper success that is Constantine – The Hellblazer? In a universe obsessed with invented locations (Metropolis, Gotham, Coast City, etc.), this series takes place in a believable New York City with a hero who needs to pay absurdly high but believable New York City rent.

John Constantine’s neighbors are demons that he vouched for to help them overcome the stigma of jail time served (in hell), and his clients’s needs range from exorcising the strip club’s buffet to live trapping a completely natural (as opposed to supernatural) mammalian foe. But all of Constantine’s “ghost busting” adds up to nothing more than an excuse to keep him away from his feelings.

While the premiere issue probably could have handled Constantine’s romantic hopes more subtly — John is not exactly the type to wear his heart on his sleeve — the initial sharpness has rounded its edges over time and become a new status quo for the character. In fact, with the re-murder of the ghosts of Constantine’s past, the obvious symbolism points to the possibility of the first appearance of an emotionally available John Constantine.

By the end of the issue, I found myself rooting for this relationship between John and his broad shouldered beau to work out even in spite of Constantine’s demons.

In 2011, the first issue of Catwoman featured a romance scene between the titular anti-hero cat burglar and her sometimes “ally” Batman which had so much promise for a theme that was never fully developed. Later, Geoff Johns was slightly more successful delivering a short-lived tryst between Superman and Wonder Woman both in and out of the pages of Justice League. What both of these stories flirted with but never fully committed to was a superhero story where romance (and all of the self-realization that comes with putting yourself out there) was the ultimate goal, a bold new direction that we might just start heading toward with Constantine – The Hellblazer.

3. The Walking Dead #148 (Image Comics), Spoiled Edition

Right after Rick defeated Negan in single combat, The Walking Dead took on a utopia / dystopia feel. The survivors had created the perfect civilization with one dirty secret — its success depended upon the imprisonment of one man, Negan himself. When summarized this way, it feels like Rick and company are actually the antagonists in this New World Order, but Negan is the kind of villain who makes the Governor look like a boy in short pants. After all, the Governor’s reign of terror ended with the deaths of Lori and Judith whereas Negan’s reign began with the far more brutal murder of Glen. Now, Rick wants to loose this monster for the sake of the community? We’ll go into the details about this turn of events later, but for now lets dive into an in-depth discussion of the problems posed in The Walking Dead #148.

THE LORI AND JUDITH ANALOGY

In my review of The Walking Dead #147, I pointed out that this issue (#148) is the 100-issue anniversary of the deaths of Lori and Judith Grimes during the war with the Governor. I further indicated the threat this parallel might imply for either Andrea and Carl or Lydia and Carl’s hypothetical unborn child. Luckily, I was wrong. Andrea, Carl, and Lydia resolved their emotionally charged dispute with peace, love, and understanding. However, the theme of losing your family that was introduced in the previous issue is still a live grenade of sorts. The survivors want a sacrificial lamb, so heading into issue #150 I wouldn’t assume any of these characters are secure. The only safety net we have is that we don’t have much distance from the latest Great Tragedy (the deaths of Ezekiel, et. al.) so it might be another 50 issues, give or take, before Robert Kirkman makes us truly ache with sorrow once agan.

ALPHA AND HUMAN NATURE

In culling the population of Alexandria and its sister cities, Alpha was essentially placing a bet. She wagered that Rick’s strategy for survival — walling survivors off into well-policed communities — not only is weaker than hers — living among the zombies with just a few simple rules and a clear pecking order — but that it fundamentally misunderstands human nature. The events of The Walking Dead #148 suggest that Alpha might just be right. By killing a few select individuals from different communities, she has created the conditions for an all-out riot and brought Rick to his knees. All this, and Alpha hasn’t had a single casualty in her ranks for her treachery.

For the most part, I think that Alpha is right in her analysis of civilization and human nature. In the years since 911, I’ve witnessed a wholesale abandonment of  personal freedom for strong, overreaching security programs, and that is just one example. I don’t think this is the end of the discussion between Alpha and Rick’s methods, though. First of all, Alpha’s belief system is descriptive whereas Rick’s is prescriptive. Hers speaks to the cold calculus of dispassionate philosophy whereas his speaks to the undying hope of a beating human heart. Second, Alpha is currently experiencing a crisis of her own due to her daughter Lydia’s decision to join Carl and the survivors, which forces the question — can Alpha’s Whisperers fare better without Alpha than Rick’s survivors would without Rick? I would have to say no. The burden of proof is still on Alpha, and it is far from the only burden she is carrying.

RICK’S COMPROMISE

Some police these days are giving the rest a bad name, and this is unfortunate. One of the most endearing qualities Rick Grimes brings to The Walking Dead is that he has never abandoned his duty. Though law went away while Rick was in a coma, Rick became a monument to order in a world consumed by chaos, but disorder is winning and things haven’t felt this bad since after the Governor’s war left Rick wifeless, daughter-less, deathly ill, and delirious. The current issue was about as foreboding as a George R.R. Martin novel where a Stark is separated from his / her direwolf. Rick is without his wife (Andrea) and his child (Carl) again and there is danger everywhere.

Rick’s decision to solicit Negan’s help seems insane, but stepping back there is a classical ideal from over 2500 years ago that predicts this exact tactic. Plato believed that, in search of greater freedom, a sovereignty would go from tyranny (ruled by one) to oligarchy (ruled by few) and eventually to democracy (ruled by the many / all), but when threatened by a strong enemy this democracy will embrace its own strong leader and revert back to tyranny.

As a Kirkman loyalist, however, I don’t think the results of Rick’s decision to seek Negan’s assistance will be quite so black and white. Negan is much more complicated than we tend to give him credit for, and if that’s not enough, Rick’s decision not to kill him has likely lead to some sort of transformation. Furthermore, Rick himself is more of a compassionate tyrant than a democratically elected president, and that inverts the darkness that we assume is on the horizon. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Negan’s solution was to call for an election. Maybe even a constitution. This dude is just insane enough to restart the experiment of democracy.

4. All-New, All-Different Avengers #1 (Marvel Comics), Spoiled

As I mentioned earlier, All-New, All-Different Avengers #1 is just a straight-forward story that with a perfect delivery. I want to discuss each of the two story arcs that take place in this issue.

ALL YOUNG, ALL-AWKWARD

Before we get into the main story of this issue, I want to say that I have a lot of love for the tone of the backup story featuring young Miss Marvel and Nova. Some of the best comic stories of all time came out of the 1963 X-Men title, and much of the appeal for Stan Lee’s early X-Men writing came from the fact that he laid bare the thoughts of Scott Summers and Jean Grey for any reader (or nearby telepath) to read. The interplay between Kamela and Sam had that same feeling. Lee used this technique to humanize his mutant superheroes, and there is no reason Waid can’t use the same technique to get us on board with unfamiliar heroes like Kamela Khan and Sam Alexander. In fact, I think he should be applauded for it.

NO AVENGERS

It is hard to tell if Marvel intended to roll out their All-New, All-Different line of comics before Secret Wars concluded or if it happened as a result of delayed publication or bad planning, but the confusion behind the whole debacle makes getting into these comics a little weird. Are we to assume that nothing has changed since pre-Secret Wars continuity? Amazing Spider-man and Uncanny X-Men seem to suggest this, but All-New, All-Different Avengers features Miles Morales, the “Ultimate” Spider-man of Earth-1610 interacting with Earth-616 characters.

However everything plays out, All-New, All-Different Avengers takes place, as Tony Stark implies, during a period where there are no current Avengers teams. This is actually pretty nice because the post-Civil War continuity was infested with Avengers teams.

The narrative gives us an Avengers roster of Captain America (Sam Wilson), his pet falcon Redwing (who Tony Stark rightly suggests should be replaced by an eagle), Iron Man (Tony Stark), and one of the many Spider-persons (Miles Morales), the backup story (which we will talk about shortly) adds Miss Marvel (Kamela Khan) and Nova (Sam Alexander) as likely future members, and the Alex Ross cover completes the ranks with Thor (who is the female Thor? — I stopped reading that comic pretty early on…), and The Vision. It has been a while since I read a comic that didn’t feature its entire advertised team in the first issue, and to tell the truth it was refreshing. Devoting the whole first arc to the assembly of the team fees very ’90s, but there is one artistic principle that should be kept in mind while judging the merits of All-New, All-Different Avengers — it doesn’t matter how it is done so long as it is done well.

* * *

I was hoping to give you an update on my read-thru of Image’s Revival, but I haven’t gotten caught up yet and I think maybe that review is the sort that I should save for a rainy day. (In other words, it is likely to be long.)

In the mean time, I have a question for all you comic book readers. Are any of you reading The Amory Wars, published by Evil Ink Comics? This series, from what I have read, is written by Claudio Sanchez of the band Coheed and Cambria, and it attempts to reinforce the story told by the band’s music. A friend of mine asked if any of the comics are any good, and since I didn’t have an answer for him I thought I would throw the question out to all of you. Have you read The Amory Wars? What did you think?

Now for the obligatory questions — what did you think about this batch of comics and what awesome comics have I clearly missed the boat on? I’ve gone back and caught up on I Hate Fairyland and Constantine – The Hellblazer because of great suggestions, and I’m working through Revival with Invincible Iron Man and Extraordinary X-Men on deck. I have no problem adding a couple of more titles to that list if you have any in mind.

This week: Dark Horse Comics delivered perhaps the most exciting issue in Whedon’s most recent Buffy volume with Angel & Faith Season 10 #20 where we see another side to Nadira and the power she represents in Magic Town; Darkseid War takes center stage at DC with Justice League: Darkseid War: Superman #1 and Justice League: Darkseid War: The Flash #1; Image Comics gives us a double-shot of bridge issues with Paper Girls #2 and We Stand on Guard #5; and Marvel Comics presents a pair of winners from the architects of the last four years of X-Men comics, Jason Aaron’s Doctor Strange #2 and Brian Michael Bendis’s Uncanny X-Men #600, which also happened to be my favorite comics of the week.

UNSPOILED

1. Doctor Strange #2 (Marvel Comics), Unspoiled Edition

In what could only be described as a mystical open house, Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo expertly introduce audiences new and old to Dr. Strange, Wong, and the Sanctum Sanctorum through the eyes of a woman named Zelma Stanton who has an other-dimensional parasite growing out of her head. Aaron has hit his stride with a clever balance of comedy, intrigue, discomfort, and terror (though Bachalo’s cartoonish art often sacrifices the latter for the former, and we’re OK with it because is is Chris Bachalo) and establishes Doctor Strange as a must read.

2. Uncanny X-men #600 (Marvel Comics), Unspoiled Edition

It could be argued that this book not only concludes Brian Michael Bendis’s tenure with the X-Men but also ties together the thematic threads set up for the X-verse during Jason Aaron’s schism (schism starts with the cancellation of Uncanny X-Men; ends with the return to the original numbering). Despite all of this, Uncanny X-Men #600 feels like less of an ending than a beginning. Each tied up loose end creates another path for readers to traverse in a post-Bendis X-verse. This may not be the wraparound foil cover milestone issue you are used to, but if you’re concerned with a good story this is just what the doctor ordered.

SPOILED

1. Doctor Strange #2 (Marvel Comics), Spoiled Edition

Doctor Strange #2 plays into the strengths of both writer Jason Aaron and penciller Chris Bachalo. In a chaos of moving parts, Aaron is able to duck away from traditional, often boring, linear storytelling and instead embrace rapid anecdotal character development. In the process, Aaron’s native humor is liberated, resulting in interactions with flirtatious serpents and pornographic insinuations regarding the good doctor’s mustache, just to name a few of the short comedic asides.

The same flux gives Bachalo a sandbox of impossibilities to draw, enabling him to essentially turn in a sketchbook of misfit shapes and figures and call it a finished product, Hunter S. Thompson-style. I am reminded of Aaron and Bachalo’s vision of the Jean Grey School in Wolverine and the X-Men #1 with its floating Shi’Ar buildings, its ice tower, and its very own living landmass, though Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum might take the cake for weird locales.

It is possible that the myriad meanderings of Aaron and Bachalo’s Doctor Strange #2 have set up for every story line Aaron intends to tell during the span of this volume, or maybe he just wanted to have some fun in one of Marvel’s more interesting hot spots. Either way, there were five moments in this issue that I want to give a second look.

Guys, Where Are We?

The splash page that starts this issue features a quaint picture of a residence on Bleecker Street with a brief history of arcane significance (briefly written, that is; this haunted house has been around for a long time). The residence in question is the Sanctum Sanctorum of Doctor Strange, and I would argue that this building is actually the main character of this second issue. Re-reading this issue, I noticed two interesting factoids about Strange’s spooktacular home — 1) that it is unclear who or what first built the Sanctum Sanctorum of the Sorcerer Supreme, and 2) that the building has actually regrown itself in the past after its assumed total destruction. It would be easy to skip over the significance of this page, but it is highly likely that we were just educated about a main theme (if not the main theme) of Aaron’s unfolding story, namely, the nature and purpose of the Sanctum Sanctorum.

Velma, I mean Zelma

By the end of this issue, Zelma the librarian is established as a regular character and Aaron sets up a new normal in which Zelma will return weekly to the Sanctum Sanctorum in order to organize Doctor Strange’s disheveled (UNDERSTATEMENT!) library. However, it is immediately revealed to the reader that Strange has ulterior motives for Miss Stanton. While the Doctor (and Aaron is clearly playing with the word “doctor”) here is clearly going to be giving Zelma a weekly checkup to make sure she is rid of her inter-dimensional parasite, I’m actually rooting for our gateway character to experience a transformation of Cronenberg proportions (Altered States, The Fly).

That said, if we skip over the symbiosis between Zelma and the beasties from beyond only to have a trained librarian discover undiscovered country (possibly literally) amidst Strange’s various tomes and grimoires, I would be equally happy.

For the most part, I trust Jason Aaron in this sense. Perhaps she might stumble across a certain history of the Sanctum Sanctorum in one of these piles, and perhaps we might get to learn more about this charnel (I’m digging into the Lovecraftian lingo for this one; maybe next issue will give me a chance to use the word “cyclopean” or “bas-relief”) residence that keeps “popping up.”

I’ve Lost My Mojo!

Early in the battle against other-worldly infestation, Doc attempts to cast the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak spell, but it does not work. There is a hint that Strange believes that Zelma is connected to this supreme lack of mojo, but it is unclear if she is seen as a direct cause or just an element entangled in the same situation. The big cliffhanger ties into this plot point when a green-tinted portal-jumping sorcerer enters the Sanctum Sanctorum looking to warn Strange about a trans-dimensional threat called the Empiriken which is characterized as a dangerous force looking to eradicate sorcery from the macroverse.

It sounds like Jason Aaron may be rebranding The Purifiers of X-Men fame as some sort of psychedelic Harry Potter Haters. However, if Strange’s powers were already failing, there might be something much more insidious at work than the force that gobbled up Gandalf the Green at the end of this book.

Cellar Door

Strange and Wong are not exactly subtle in suggesting that there is something truly disturbing in the cellar of the Sanctum Sanctorum. At this point I’m not sure we have enough information to even guess what it might be, but knowing Jason Aaron it could be something huge and earth shattering, or it could be Doop.

I guess only time will tell.

The Room

W. T. F.

2. Uncanny X-Men #600 (Marvel Comics), Spoiled Edition

Through a series of flashbacks, Brian Michael Bendis expertly (if a little awkwardly near the end) tied together five separate short stories that represent major themes in the post-Schism Bendis X-Men world. While I haven’t read anything about the future Uncanny X-Men creative team, judging by the initial direction set by Bendis, the future may be quite bright.

The Trial of Henry McCoy, Part I

The central part of this milestone issue is the idea that Henry McCoy (the Beast) needs to be confronted regarding his reckless disregard for the laws of physics, the space-time continuum, and genetics, and this intervention / trial was lead by Jean Grey School headmistress Ororo Munroe (Storm).

As an X-Men classicist, I was initially alienated by how Schism turned the rivalry for leadership into a battle between Cyclops and Wolverine while the traditional rivalry in terms of leadership (the rivalry between Cyclops and Wolverine is over love for Jean Grey and masculine ego) was between Cyclops and Storm. I’m not sure if I can put the responsibility for the mishandling of Storm since Schism squarely on Jason Aaron’s shoulders, but except for Chris Yost’s volume of Uncanny X-Force Storm has been underutilized for four or five years now. Whether or not Uncanny X-Men #600 signals a return to prominence for Storm is unclear — Storm was a vocal critic of Cyclops when she was on Team Utopia and she even began the headmistress when she returned to the school and yet she still didn’t get any significant character development — but a guy can hope.

White Wolf in the Fold

When I came back to reading X-Men comics in the early 2010s, it was difficult to see Piotr Rasputin (Colossus) transformed into this evil, anger-driven prisoner of Cyttorak, and it was nearly as difficult to see him fall completely off the map. However, as he is reunited with Kitty Pryde and his little sister Illyana, it is easy to remember the young Russian who would exclaim “By the white wolf!” in surprise, spend hours sketching butterflies and panoramas, and who pulled his punch against the Dark Phoenix because he knew his friend Jean Grey was in there somewhere. It was sweet when Colossus (former demon of anger) responded to Kitty’s (his long-time true love) engagement to Peter Quill / Star-Lord by saying that he only wants her to be happy. That story will no doubt get further developed under Bendis in Guardians of the Galaxy. It was also touching when Illyana wanted to make right with Piotr but her big brother demanded neither an explanation nor an apology from her.

Illyana explained that she would be training to become a responsible magic user under the tutelage of Doctor Strange. I would love to see her in the pages of Jason Aaron’s Doctor Strange: it was a whole lot of fun when she showed up in Aaron’s Wolverine and the X-Men, after all, and Aaron seems to be one of the few writers who can pen convincing dialogue for a woman who is both young and Russian-born. As for Colossus, I think he needs some time at the Jean Grey school among friends (Storm and Nightcrawler would do just fine!) so he can sort through his life and gain some degree of peace.

Out

There are a couple of reasons I think Bobby Drake / Iceman’s coming out scene was probably the best in comic book history. First of all, it not only fills a 40-something gap in significant character development, but it explains that gap, casting his incessant joking as a diversion and his history of short-lasting male-female relationships as a cover. In fact, Bendis makes it feel like Stan Lee conceived of Bobby Drake as a young gay man back in 1963. Second, the coming out storyline was organic and well-founded. The seeds for this scene were planted in All-New X-Men #1, which came out in 2012 after all. This method made Bobby’s transformation feel less like an executive decision to arbitrarily make an important gay and more like good, old-fashioned story-telling. Third, the amount of sci fi that was required to bring Bobby out — transporting young X-Men from the past, travelling across the Universe for a Shi’Ar Trial of Jean Grey, encountering future X-Men who are trying to change the past, Jean Grey’s ESP-assisted thought-snooping — was really fun. Finally, Bobby’s explanation that he would just wait until life was easier as an “outed” mutant before coming out as gay was the bit of honesty and reality that put a bow on this significant moment in Bobby Drake’s history. What breaks my heart is the fact that Bobby’s father passed before he could see what he thinks. Perhaps this is a theme that will be explored in the future of Uncanny X-Men.

Revolution-X

The fact that Scott Summers concluded the mutant revolution by bringing every single mutant on the face of the planet to the steps of the White House and then nothing happened feels odd. There are international terrorists like Mystique and the Blob who I’m not convinced are completely against exploiting not only their kind (like they did when they kidnapped and harvested Dazzler’s mutant growth hormone) as well as the humans (too many examples to list). There are mass murderers (Magneto, et. al.) whose powers amount to deadly weapons and whose presence outside the White House would be enough in anyone’s eyes, human and mutant alike, for them to be arrested. And where are all the people? Is Bendis suggesting that this gathering wouldn’t draw a crowd of humans or that the secret service or other Washington authorities wouldn’t intervene? My hope is that this is just a teaser of a much larger story that explains Cyclops’ motives (and how he transported the entire mutant race) and that concludes with more than just — here’s the mutant race all together, your biggest fear, and nothing bad has happened.

The Trial of Henry McCoy, Part II

Ultimately, Henry McCoy leaves the X-Men. Where he plans on going is anyone’s guess. I believe that he might be secretly harboring a desire to find Jean Grey once again. After all, young Henry McCoy and Jean Grey admit their love for one another in this issue and the outing of Bobby Drake proves that what holds true for the youth is also true for the adults.

When Avengers vs. X-Men originally concluded and Cyclops was imprisoned, I had imagined that a crazy Scott Summers would kidnap his old buddy Hank and they would travel the universe as new Star Jammers looking for relics of Phoenix cults throughout the universe. This plot would work fantastically for a Henry McCoy who no longer feels like he belongs with the X-Men. Logically, he knows that Jean is tied to a universal force of rebirth and that there is a history of interactions with the Phoenix as old as the universe itself — why wouldn’t he use the universe as his laboratory in order to find his friend and potential lover? Of course, Marvel probably has something else in store — likely a return to the Avengers — for Beast, but like I said in Part I, a guy can hope.

* * *

Is it just me or have the recent events in Amazing Spider-man and Uncanny X-Men set a new path for Marvel Comics marketing? Each issue of the former has concluded with the set-up for a potentially huge story-line, while each flashback in the latter screams killer character development on the horizon. When you tie this together with the feeling that Secret Wars is the event comic to end all event comics — it literally made a mini-series out of nearly every event comic published since the original Secret Wars in 1984/85 and then concluded those mini-series — I wonder if Marvel has run a risk assessment on shaking the foundation of the entire universe/multiverse every summer and found their current modus operandi lacking. What I would like to see more of is a Marvel Comics with big events that are limited to a specific portion of Marvel-616 like either X-Men, Avengers, Fantastic Four, or Spider-man Diaspora (Dan Slott’s “Spider-verse” is a good example) or smaller crossovers that intersect the four corners of Marvel (Bendis’s crossovers between the Guardians and the X-Men in “The Trial of Jean Grey” and “Black Vortex” come to mind). I’ve done a lot of wishing in this post, but this should be seen as a plea for the sake of good stories. I’ve seen too many fantastic runs get cut short or forcibly prolonged to align with the timeline of an event comic, and that really needs to stop.

Steps off soap box. I don’t read every single comic book that is out there, though for the major publishers I at least attempt to read the first issue of every comic. I read more comic books than most people you know, but I have already run into two pretty fantastic comics that I have overlooked in the past. If you think I’ve missed a good issue, series, or mini-series, either because it started slow or is by an independent publisher that I don’t pay enough attention to, let me know. I plan to get around to all of these suggestions, and as you saw last week — some of these suggestions are great to delve into on those off weeks where nothing is really inspiring me.

Because it took a while to piece together this post, next week starts tomorrow. See you then.

There was a really great kitchen battle scene in Batman and Robin Eternal #4 (DC Comics), an intriguing concept to Tomasi’s Justice League: Darkseid War: Batman one-shot (DC Comics), some great situational humor in Chewbacca #2 (Marvel Comics), and a lot of heart in Kanaan: The Last Padowan #7 (Marvel Comics), but I didn’t encounter one book this week that was fantastic from cover to cover.

Luckily, I’ve received some recommendations from personal friends and friends of the blog for just such a rainy day as this (both metaphorically and literally: as I draft this post, it is pouring outside in Grand Rapids, Michigan). I want to thank my friend and former supervisor Kyle from Texas for recommending that I give Constantine – The Hellblazer a second chance.

Constantine – The Hellblazer #1-5 (DC Comics), Rainy Day Edition

Antiheroes (think: Deadpool, Grifter, etc.) can be really difficult to get behind. You usually need one of two things to drive the type of morally ambiguous story that usually surrounds such scoundrels: 1. a character with an incredibly relatable backstory and motivation (The Punisher, The Crow, for example), or 2. a truly fantastic creative team (which, if I’m being honest, solves all problems, so maybe it isn’t even worth mentioning). Constantine – The Hellblazer doesn’t have either of these qualities to the nth degree — Doyle, Tynion, Rossmo, and Del Rey are unarguably talented, but they have yet to reach the status of Alan Moore and Alan Davis (Captain Britain FTW!), for example, and John Constantine’s guilt over past sins can only drive you so far — but it does have enough of each quality to make Constantine’s antics quite enjoyable.

The writing team of Ming Doyle and James T. Tynion IV start John Constantine’s story intelligently. Rather than vaguely giving lip service to the people who have died as a result of Constantine’s arcane hubris, the first arc of this new volume gives The Hellblazer’s self-loathing a place and time of origin, and three names: Gary Lester, Georgiana Snow, and Veronica Delacroix. As a proper English bloke — with proper English parlance to boot — the only time Doyle and Tynion’s Constantine shows any emotion (aside from his longing to be with the attractive man in issues #1 and 2, which showed a “heart on his sleeve” side of Constantine that felt somewhat out of place) was when he breaks down in issue #4 and gets proper drunk. Overall, the writing for this book is strong.

I do have to admit a slight bias when it comes to Constantine: The Hellblazer. I am a big fan of independent horror writer Dirk Manning’s Nightmare World series of short comics that was originally published on Image’s Shadowline Comics online hub before the web host was taken down, and Constantine artist Riley Rossmo was a regular contributor to this series prior to his work with Marvel and DC Comics. In other words, I’m a little bit of a Rossmo fanboy. While Rossmo’s sketch-driven, cartoonish figures aren’t as dark as those of Bill Sienkiewicz’s during his famous run on The New Mutants (“Demon Bear” FTW), I don’t personally believe that the 2010s need a goth Constantine as much as the late ’80s/early ’90s did. This is not Vertigo Comics. John Constantine is a full-fledged, card carrying member of DC’s New 52. e has the wit of Spider-man and he’s on a first name basis with many of the heroes of the light. With a character like this who exists in the margin between good and evil, versatility and grit are now preferred to moodiness and the macabre, and this plays right into Rossmo’s drawing wheelhouse.

A convincing Constantine is difficult to deliver, and that is why the team at Constantine: The Hellblazer ought to be applauded. Here’s to hoping the second arc is at least as good as the first.

* * *

Was there anything this week that blew your mind? Is there something that I ought to be reading and writing about? Give me some feedback already. I may need it for a rainy day. Next week’s comics are November comics already, and I say bring on the November comics.

Before I get into one of the more disgusting Stinky Lessons, I wanted to say that I experienced a great deal of joy this afternoon when I discovered the most blessed Stinky Lesson of the autumn season: Any consistency of dog poop is easier to pick up when there is a bed of autumn leaves for it to fall on.

In other words, I now love the fall.

Now, without further ado, we must press onward into stinkier matters. The following discussion and accompanying video are really gross. You have been forewarned.

Sometimes your dog does not know how to express itself, and I am not talking about creative angst. When your dog’s butt starts to smell strongly of fish, this means its anal glands have filled with fluid and must be emptied or, in veterinary jargon, “expressed.” If a dog cannot express itself, it risks infection and severe pain unless someone else — a vet or groomer, perhaps — steps in and does the expressing.

When it comes to issues like this, Amy and I are rugged individualists. The first time Tiberius had this problem, Amy sucked up her pride, watched the following YouTube video, and, as I described it to my work friends the next day, “milked my dog’s butt.”

I was supportive. I distracted Tiberius with peanut butter while cradling his abdomen to keep him from sitting down, and when it was over I promised that next time I would do the dirty work myself.

“Next time” happened this past Monday. Like Amy, I watched the YouTube video. I visualized the operation ahead of time in hopes of getting it over with as quickly as possible. When Amy had expressed Tiberius previously, the fluid, which ranged from dark to yellow-brown to clear, squirted all over our living room floor. We had the benefit of a hard wood floor, but the room still smelled like a fish market even after I scrubbed every lick of anal fluid off of it. Having learned from our mistakes we set Tiberius up in the bathroom and I stripped down to my undies in order to prevent cross-contamination.

From there it was just a matter of in, up, squeeze, out, repeat.

Expressing Tiberius was much less nauseating the second time. In fact, having overcome the initial hurdle of doing it myself, I started to feel pretty jazzed about my new found ability. I felt confident enough in my utility that I started thinking about offering to express dogs for other people. Maybe I could advertise that I could match or beat competitor offers and go into “expressing” as a side business.

Sure, Tiberius hasn’t been able to look me in the eye since Monday, but that’s not exactly something I’d have to worry myself with once the expression money started rolling in.

Now, if only there were a secondary market for canine butt milk…

It was clear to me after watching the first Republican Debate from August that the next debate would need fewer people speaking and more details about actual perspectives and policies. CNN, as if reading my mind, decided to do the EXACT OPPOSITE and up the roster from ten to eleven with the addition of Carly Fiorina. Luckily, not long after this debate Scott Walker dropped from the Republican Primary Election, but he was the only one; so there are still ten Republicans that we have to talk about.

Using my method from my previous post on the Republican Debates, I have decided to remove those who are clouding this pool of candidates in order to find some clarity. I have also upped the ante. Though CNN wasn’t willing to make any cuts in their candidate lineup, I certainly am. In the previous post, I reviewed the five candidates that came off as remotely electable; well, in this one I am cutting that number down to four. Goodbye, Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Scott Walker, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, and Chris Christie.

Here is the full video of the event:

Also, don’t forget to check out the Fact Check of the Debate. There’s only one this time!

JOHN KASICH

 

As I’ve mentioned before, my knowledge of these candidates stems solely from what I have gleaned from watching the debates. Armed with that information alone, it seems pretty clear to me that John Kasich is pretty clearly the best that the Republican Party currently has. He’s probably the only one who can claim any knowledge on how to balance the budget in a time where the government gets shut down left and right because we don’t seem to have any money for anything. Furthermore, he comes off (despite the obvious difference in age) as a remnant of the old guard of post-War Republicans and Democrats who believed in bipartisan cooperation. The importance of a Republican who can enter into a dialogue with Democrats should not be lost on an audience watching fellow Republicans who cannot even have a discourse without resorting to ad hominem attacks and bickering. In his closing statement, Kasich spoke of an America unified not by top-down “trickle down economics,” but by investing in the lower and middle class. Not only is this the Republican who stands a chance in the general election; this is the Republican who could restore legitimacy to the party. Sure, he does little to nothing in order to excite minority voters, and this is a serious concern for the party, but what he does bring to the table is a Republican identity that isn’t straight out of the funny pages.

RAND PAUL

 

Near the beginning of the debate, Donald Trump, with no prompt from the moderators or candidates, decided to start attacking and insulting Rand Paul. It was then that I decided that anyone who gets under Donald Trump’s skin like that is somebody I wouldn’t mind seeing as the next President of the United States of America.

I have said this before, but there is something to like about someone who doesn’t duck away from answering a question, someone who has clearly done his research and has some plans for the nation’s problems, and someone who has the courage to say something that is contrary to his party but may be right in line with America’s needs. Rand Paul can somehow say what is on his mind without transforming immediately into an egotistical bigot. Who would have thought that was possible?

You can follow the hype machine or you can stand by what it means to be a Republican, and one of the central tenets of the party has always been making sure that the Federal government does not legislate issues that the State government ought to. While I loved the fact that Paul called out drug legislation that tends to arrest minorities much more often than white people, his true shining moment was revealing the hypocrisy of these so-called Republicans who want to override the 10th Amendment for so-called moral reasons. I’ll let Mr. Paul speak for himself on this issue:

MARCO RUBIO

I have a lot of trouble finding video segments on YouTube in which the Republican candidates are saying sensible and meaningful things. I don’t actually mean that as a criticism of the GOP candidates, but rather to condemn us for only focusing on the sensationalism. Just as I had problems finding John Kasich’s closing statements, I had some trouble finding the clip in which Marco Rubio explains that both parties are out of touch with the people. This was a rare insight made even more rare by its scarcity on the Internet.

While Kasich and Paul may be more bipartisan, Rubio actually embodies a bipartisan solution, possibly without even knowing it. He appeals to conservatives in that he toes the line with the strange brew of traditional- and neo-conservative ideals floating around in Washington, and yet he appeals to progressives in that he speaks intelligently and neither treats the American public like idiots nor feeds upon them as such.

Why do we need Marco Rubio if we have John Kasich and Rand Paul? Because at the end of the day, neither Kasich or Paul are getting the numbers needed to be the Republican candidate. I have seen three scary figures roosting at the top: Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, and Carly Fiorina, and if any of you find these individuals as unacceptable as I do, Marco Rubio might just be the hero that the Republican party needs even if he is not the hero it deserves.

JEB BUSH

That’s right. For the second debate straight, the Republican party has made Jeb Bush look like a legitimate candidate. As I mentioned earlier with Ron Paul, there are few things that make someone stand out as a candidate more than being Donald Trump’s punching bag. Perhaps this had everything to do with proximity, but it seemed like Trump ragged on Bush probably more than anyone else. In addition, and this seems to be a refrain we keep returning to, I feel inclined to defend Jeb Bush against some bogus argumentation. As an extension of the dynasty argument (“I don’t want another Bush or Clinton in the office…”), Jeb Bush was criticized because many of his foreign advisers are the same as those held by his brother and his father. Once again, this is not a family issue; this is a party issue. If elected President, every person on that stage would appoint foreign advisers from the ranks of those who served under a Bush or two in the past, and they all know it. Rather than admit to that fact, cheap Republicans reach for low hanging fruit and start cheap fights.

* * *

I want to keep this balanced so I talk about the same amount of Republicans as I do Democrats, so in my conclusion I want to talk about the curious case of Mike Huckabee.

I need to congratulate Huckabee for making a push for fraternity at the beginning of the debate, while giving Trump an underhanded compliment by comparing him to Mr. T. (I wonder if Trump knows that Huckabee is making fun of him…) Here’s the video:

Of course, the Republicans on stage couldn’t adhere to this spirit of respect and decency for more than a minute or two, but you gotta give to Huckabee for attempting to combat the idea that the Republican party is imploding. Not only did Huckabee mention the excesses of Wall Street twice, but he gave perhaps the most sensible quote of the night when he suggested committing to a War on Heart Disease, which is America’s #1 killer (not terrorism or universal healthcare, surprisingly). Unsurprisingly, this incredibly sensible sound clip is nowhere to be found online…

At the same time, some of the things Huckabee says just sound so absurd that I cannot believe he is the same person. We might need to start calling him Jekylbee and Hydabee. Though I am not sure Mike Huckabee actually believes half of the things he says, he might just perfectly represent the current state of the Republican party. They are superficially unified in that they will strike down any legislation that has Democrat names attached, but they are ultimately at odds. We have ultra-conservative Newt Gingrich Republicans who are at odds with astroturfing Tea Party “activists.” Neither face of the GOP wants to concede anything to minorities despite their importance in the future of the party.

This is a confused party, and something needs to be done about it. We need to vote for the Republican reformers and forget about the loudmouthed obstructions. This is our future we are talking about.

Over at DC, Justice League #45 starts a new chapter of the “Darkseid War” with the huge implications of the events of issue #44 and Titan’s Hunt #1 continues DC’s odd post-Convergence attempt to reincorporate select portions of previous continuity into current continuity. Meanwhile, Marvel is continuing their second wave of new first issues that are hopefully going to stay around for more than 2-4 issues and define the current continuity with some pretty strong performances in The Amazing Spider-man #2 and Karnak #1.

UNSPOILED

1. The Amazing Spider-man #2 (Marvel Comics), Unspoiled Edition

As some of the best Spider-man writers of the ages — Stan Lee, Brian Michael Bendis, and Dan Slott, among others — have proven time and time again, the best Peter Parker stories are not always the biggest epics. The Amazing Spider-man #2 is no exception. In this issue, Spider-man teams up with his personal bodyguard (What? Did you forget that Peter Parker is a CEO of a multinational corporation now?) Hobie Brown / The Prowler against the campy cosplay criminal organization known as Zodiac. Silly villains, amusing hench-people, and everyone’s favorite quipster make for an entertaining dialogue-driven romp.

2. Karnak #1 (Marvel Comics), Unspoiled Edition

With the rise of The Inhumans both in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Agents of SHIELD, proposed 2019 film) and in Marvel-616, we were bound to get more titles exploring the diaspora of Kree experimental superhumans. Karnak is a surprising choice for protagonist in an ongoing series, but under the creative control of Warren Ellis and Gerardo Zaffino the series is promising to become a slam dunk. The world of The Inhumans is much more vast than we might have thought a few years ago, and Karnak looks to be the most promising exploration of this relatively untouched goldmine of ideas.

SPOILED

1. The Amazing Spider-man #2 (Marvel Comics), Spoiled Edition

I can think of issues of Dan Slott’s The Amazing Spider-man / Superior Spider-man run that have made me cry, but to be honest I think his most memorable issue has been The Amazing Spider-man #690. In this more run-of-the-mill issue (every series has to have them), Spider-man’s infamous foe Dr. Connors / The Lizard is human in form but lizard in mind, a fact that he is trying to hide from Carlie Cooper, Spider-man, and the Horizon Labs staff who now see him as an ally. This is difficult because Curt Connors is missing an arm, but the Lizard’s brilliant healing power keeps regenerating the missing limb, so Connors must repeatedly hack off his own arm in order to maintain appearances. The story comes to a head when Detective Cooper notices that Dr. Connors is missing the wrong arm. I was cracking up and telling friends about this scene for months following its release, because to me there are fewer things more funny than an obsessive masterminded scheme that falls apart because you accidentally sawed off the wrong arm.

While The Amazing Spider-man #2 does not reach quite so high as the instant classic I just described, it certainly treads similar ground. It is hard to take Zodiac seriously. They look much more like Power Ranger villains than they do legitimate first rate arch-rivals, and yet Dan Slott likes to remind us that in the 1960s when Spider-man was created there is no difference.

Sometimes to treat characters like these seriously and lovingly, you have to depict them in all of their silliness and let the classic Spider-man wit become a voice for the readers. While Hobie didn’t pull any punches during this issue when it came to Peter Parker’s overabundance of quips, it was actually a bored, somewhat disenfranchised Zodiac goon who provided the greatest source of levity. As Spider-man and The Prowler infiltrate the undersea Aquarius base in a whale-camouflaged submarine vessel (I told you it was campy!), this lackey criticizes everything about the Zodiac operation from the fact that their patrol vessels actually draw attention to their secret base to the more fundamental issue that Aquarius, the Water Bearer, is actually an air sign and not a water sign.

Each time Spider-man uses one of the technologies invented by Parker Industries, we see another facet of Dan Slott’s comedy in his use of flashbacks. A good example would be when Spider-man uses one of his new and improved Spider-trackers and the reader is shown a flashback to a Parker Industries commercial promoting the same technology in use for finding missing keys, phones, and TV remotes.

I would be careful not to dismiss this device as strictly for laughs. Dan Slott expertly introduces the multiple divisions of Parker Industries — consumer technologies, SHIELD law enforcement solutions, and gadgets with super secret Peter-Parker-eyes-only applications — and in so doing characterizes Peter Parker as unexpectedly shrewd. In the previous issue, we learned that a multinational corporation can have a heart; in this issue, we learned what Peter Parker can do when he’s thinking ahead of the game rather than responding to the newest threat. Knowing the luck of Peter Parker, this house of cards is likely to fall apart in an epic way, but it is fantastic seeing this adult Peter Parker with adult responsibilities.

I want to return to the flashback device one last time, because despite my love of the lighthearted nature of this issue there was something dead serious going on behind the scenes. The final flashback that Peter Parker experienced felt incredibly awkward. After several installations featuring comical scenes involving Parker’s technology, we get a dead serious memory of Spider-man leaving Silver Sable to die at the hands of Rhino in The Amazing Spider-man #687. I am of the opinion that the entire use of flashbacks was only included in this issue in order to lead up to this moment. While it felt like a strange meander in the flow of this issue, the issue’s epilogue justified the tangent. In this scene, Aleksei Sytsevich appears to have abandoned his life as Rhino. However, he is interrupted from drowning in his sorrows by the appearance of a man in a red suit who wants him to come back to action. Rhino, as always, will not be budged. However, the stranger sweetens the deal, revealing that Sytsevich’s dead wife Oksana is apparently still alive, and this monument of a man is moved.

At first I was kind of bored with this conclusion. The man in the red suit looked most like Matt Murdock in his maskless Daredevil costume from his most recent adventures on the West Coast, but the most likely suspect is Norman Osborn. The reason this doesn’t feel particularly exciting to me is because it feels like a not-so-well-disguised ploy to promote the upcoming Spider-man film featuring the Sinister Six. But that was just my first opinion. Thinking about the scene more, I thought of another possibility that would be much more fruitful, namely that the mysterious gentleman was, in fact, Mephisto.

As soon as Doctor Octopus hijacked Peter Parker’s body during the Superior Spider-man storyline, I had this half-baked idea that Dan Slott was slowly setting up a much bigger plot. What I imagined was that the mind-swapping and -warping was going to reveal a memory that was sacrificed during the “One More Day” storyline, the memory of the marriage of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. I was, of course, wrong at the time, but I have good reason to believe that this reversal will come about in the near future, probably during this volume of The Amazing Spider-man. Perhaps the most lasting consequence of Otto Octavius’s tenure as Peter Parker / Spider-man is that his baby, Parker Industries, has forced Peter Parker to take on more adult responsibilities than he ever has before. This sets the stage perfectly for the adult responsibility associated with being a husband and a partner to Mary Jane Watson. There is further support in the Secret Wars Spider-man mini-series titled Amazing Spider-man: Renew Your Vows. While the current volume does not appear to share continuity with this mini-series, Dan Slott’s decision to depict Peter Parker as a husband and father broke open the concept of great responsibility, explored it for four issues, and then attempted to close the door on it. I say attempted because this is not a genie that you can just put back in the bottle; the responsibility of being a father is something that Dan Slott clearly wants to return to. “Renew Your Vows” was not even the first time Slott has referenced this concept this year. During Spider-verse, one of the key characters was Mayday Parker, the daughter of Peter and Mary Jane from Earth-982 (Marvel Comics 2). Finally, the appearance of Rhino’s deceased wife would suggest (perhaps as a red herring, but it suggests no less) that the man in the red suit has the power to make deals that involve resurrection. It is no stretch to think that any such character in a Spider-man comic might be Mephisto, the villain who saved Aunt May from doom.

While I am excited at the possibility of Peter Parker as a CEO of a multinational corporation who is married to Mary Jane and who may soon be expecting a daughter in Marvel-616, this leaves one likely and incredibly sad consequence: Aunt May, who has built a great second marriage and who has lived life to the fullest for the last few years, is going to die and this time it is for good. I might be wrong, but I don’t think I am.

2. Karnak #1 (Marvel Comics), Spoiled Edition

Karnak is an example of both the best and worst that Marvel Comics has to offer. On the one hand, Warren Ellis and Jorge Zaffino immediately make it clear that there are unexplored portions of the richly developed Marvel Universe that they wish to focus on in this volume. In this sense, Karnak immediately reminds me of Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction’s classic The Immortal Iron Fist. On the other hand, the inclusion of Agents Phil Coulson and Jemma Simmons into this tale of Inhumanity almost immediately discredit this book as propaganda meant to promote the more profitable Marvel Cinematic Universe.

As a reader, we exist in the tension that exists in-between, and though Ellis has been established over the years as a name you can trust, the uncertainty is further exacerbated by the fact that he is journeying from his wheelhouse of controlled story-telling (limited series) into the unfamiliar grounds of perpetual character development (ongoing series).

Ultimately, I was a strong supporter of this comic because of a couple of important factors, namely, that it is fresh and has a lot of promise. When you are reading a comic by a big name like Warren Ellis, you know that the author is going to have a lot more freedom to develop the characters and story than any up-and-coming author would. With the further addition of a non-central character, the sky is the limit. If you’re writing a series involving Wolverine, Captain America, or Thor, you are going to find yourself in a strange situation when the big shots at Marvel decide that Wolverine is going to be encased in adamantium and killed, Captain America is going to start looking his age and pass the torch on to Falcon, or Odinson is no longer chosen and Thor becomes a woman, but it wouldn’t shake the status quo if Marvel announced tomorrow that any of those things happened to Karnak. As such, I find myself excited that a name like Ellis is in charge of further developing the Inhuman biome.

The main reason I am excited for Karnak is because I am enamored with Jorge Zaffino’s art style. While some of the ins and outs of close quarter conversation sometimes seem visually a little uninspired, when Zaffino is afforded a Stanley Kubrick-esque long shot on a scene the effect is just breathtaking.

The art is often simple and gritty, like a composite of Jeff Smith’s cartoonish work on Bone and the dark and gritty imagery Ben Templesmith’s 30 Days of Night. There is also a bit of homage in this series already to the pixilated coloring of early comic books and if I’m not mistaken the credit for that point of ingenuity goes to colorist Dan Brown (who I assume has nothing to do with The DaVinci Code. I think I was convinced, upon looking at the first panel of Karnak #1 (above), that I would go on to read Karnak #2 next month.

Before I sum up my feelings about Karnak, I want to point out a clever Easter Egg that Ellis planted in this issue. Writers at Marvel don’t pull any punches when they make fun of all of the acronyms involved with many of the bigger organizations within the universe like SHIELD and AIM and later SWORD. In this issue, Ellis introduces a splinter cell of AIM scientists dedicated to making life hard for The Inhumans titled IDIC (International Data Integration and Control). While it is certainly entertaining that yet another acronym has found its way into our Marvel espionage dictionary, learned science fiction fans will recognize the IDIC as the ultimate statement of Vulcan philosophy from the hit series Star Trek: “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.”

In the next couple of months, we will know for certain if Karnak was worth our attention as a comic reading community. It is my hope that the inclusion of Agents of SHIELD was just meant to be a kick-off so the community who knows Marvel from what they see on their television will get into this comic, because the further Karnak journeys from his tether to Coulson and Simmons, the more interesting his story becomes and the more vivid and exciting the art is to behold. That is not to say I want to see Karnak completely disconnected from the profane world. In fact, one of the most entertaining moments was the introduction where Karnak is guided by monks through the hallowed Tower of Wisdom only to find that he is needed to answer a ringing satellite phone. What I am saying is that Karnak needs some space to blossom into its own unique entity without its creative vision becoming too thoroughly diluted by elements that force you to think outside of the pages of the book. I think Ellis and Zaffino can deliver this, and I think that Karnak #1 serves as one heck of a promissory note, but ultimately this is an issue that only time will tell.

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I am trying something different today for the conclusion, but I expect that it might become the new normal. Last week, my friend Zac, who had a hand to play in bringing me back into reading comics after a few years, pointed out that I missed out when I neither read nor reviewed I Hate Fairyland #1. Zac was right. I managed to catch up pretty quickly — which wasn’t hard because there is only one issue to catch up on — and by way of apology for not being on my toes about everything comics, I thought I would give you a little bit of a review here. No spoilers, though.

The premise of I Hate Fairyland is pretty simple. Rather than your usual lighthearted romp through fantasy with the occasional difficult decision like in Alice in Wonderland or The Labyrinth, I Hate Fairyland reads much more like The Monkey’s Paw. The protagonist Gertrude lives a common life, playing in her room and parading around as a princess, but when the fantasy becomes reality she immediately wants nothing to do with it, fighting tooth and nail against getting sucked into Fairyland.

Thus the moment that most children would love to experience — the welcome to Fairyland — is turned on its head and becomes something of a dark comedy.

No worries. Gertrude need only find the key and she can be returned home. Just as soon as we find out how easy it ought to be for Gertrude to go back home, we flash forward 27 years and Gertrude is still stuck in Fairyland.

I Hate Fairyland is a complicated story and it is unclear exactly where it is going. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this tale is the fact that either because of natural childish cruelty or some notion that murder in a dream is not actually a crime (after all, there are no bodies left over when you wake up), Gertrude transforms into something of a villain. She is the protagonist, yes, but the reader is just as often hoping that she can be stopped as wanting her to find her way home.

Skottie Young is a fantastic human being. I actually got to meet him at a convention a couple of years back and at that time I don’t know if anyone knew him for anything other than the graphic novelization of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Since then, he has become a common name at Marvel, and just about any comic that has an alternate art cover these days has Young’s signature on it. Young delivers a fantastic concept, the idea that maybe fantasy should remain fantasy and not become reality. If you look into any of the greats — The Neverending Story and Peter Pan come to mind — there is always some degree of danger and a feeling that the young hero just wants to go home, but Young turns the volume on this concept up to 11. Young is also fantastic on the anecdote level, as many of the scenes in this comic will prove. I especially liked the riddle scene with Gertrude and the Slug Lord. Though the concept and scene-by-scene execution is spot on, Young’s storytelling direction is not entirely clear by the end of the issue. My expectation: Things are going to fall apart in a very Coen Brothers kind of way, characters are going to have unexpected interchanges in the process, and readers are going to have a really fun time experiencing the whole thing.

Hit me up if I missed any fantastic comics this week. Otherwise, you’ll be hearing from me once I get through the October 28 releases.

I went to Fountain Street Church on Sunday, October 11, 2015, and Reverend  W. Fred Wooden preached one of the best sermons I have ever heard about, among other things, becoming. Wooden is committed to justice and compassion for the hurting. The sermon that week was titled “Heartaches.”

I wrote about the Democratic Debate so, in a spirit of fairness, I will put down some words about the first Republican Debate. This is really against my best judgment because while everyone over on Team Democrat seemed concerned with student debt and crime on Wall Street, there were only two Republicans who even gave mouth service to these issues — Marco Rubio regarding student loan debt and Mike Huckabee regarding Wall Street — and those words were only said in passing. The debate began divisively with Donald Trump’s declaration that he will support nobody but himself in the general election, and the evening was peppered with ad hominem attacks and aggressive infighting. (It is worth noting that these attacks tapered near the end, perhaps due to some commercial break urging for the candidates to at least pretend that they can work together as a united party.) The loudest majority skirted the questions posed them, avoided policy altogether, and wasted our nation’s time and money by only speaking generally about truth, intelligence, Ronald Reagan, and the Christian faith.

A mentor of mine once said that if you want to calm down a group of teenagers and get something done, you have to remove the volatile elements one at a time until you reach a place of relative stability, and since I only discussed five Democrats I also thought it prudent to narrow the Republicans to the five most sensible candidates. Getting rid of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee and Scott Walker, that left us with the following five representatives of Republicans nationwide who might actually be able to keep this party together. Might.

Here’s a full video of the Debate. It has been up since August so maybe it won’t be taken down very quickly.

As always hit me up if the video link is down.

As with the Democratic Debate, it is always important to check the facts about what the candidates had to say. It just so happens that there were two volumes of corrections from FactCheck.org for the Republican Debate, which probably reflects the number of candidates and not the amount of obfuscation. Here is the Early Edition and the Late Edition of the fact checked GOP Debate.

MARCO RUBIO

In my previous post I mentioned that a candidate with true vision would make for the best president, but lacking anyone with true vision the Republican Party ought to look to the minority of candidates who are truly presidential in terms of presence and concern for policy details, people who are professional enough to resurrect the legitimacy of the GOP. Of all the men on this stage, these qualifications are most easily seen in Marco Rubio. Keep in mind, my opinions are based on what the candidates brought to the Debate, and not on any amount of research or keen insight into political science.

While it is unfortunately true that Rubio’s rise to prominence has paralleled the party’s need to combat allegations that the GOP is a white men only group and Rubio’s potential to become the first Latino president would be on par with Hillary’s historical first woman presidency, his status as the Republican token minority should not deflect voters from his qualifications. For example, Rubio expertly avoided angering a tough conservative crowd by hinting at some really progressive policies regarding immigration and he was one of the only candidates who attempted to explain complex issues to the audience rather than generate sound bites. A voice who seeks to bring the public up to a higher level of discourse is always going to appeal to me.

RAND PAUL

The difference between Rand Paul and the rabble is that people like Trump attack to deflect further examination of their own records, because ultimately people like Trump don’t know what the hell they’re talking about, but Rand has a tendency to hone in on hypocrisy and there is something genuine to the man in this sense. He is engaging the issues at the same time he is attacking the person who opposes him, but this isn’t the reason I took Rand Paul seriously while I tossed the other five out. When Paul speaks it is not from the pulpit of one party or another, and it is this characteristic that makes him one of the most likely candidates to engage in honest and caring bipartisan dialogue. I’ve said it before, but lest we forget, the Independents — (clears throat) THE PEOPLE WHO DECIDE ELECTIONS — like that kind of stuff. (Sorry, had to make sure the rowdy kids in the back heard what I was saying.)

BEN CARSON

Ben Carson didn’t get a lot of air time, and this won’t make the GOP look any better when it comes to winning over minority voters, but when he did get to talking I heard a lot of words I absolutely did not agree with. That said, as a renowned retired neurosurgeon, he was the one person in the room who had proven that he is intelligent and hard working. I will take that over Donald Trump’s hot air any day of the week.

The most interesting part about Carson’s air time is that Fox News was obsessed with framing his answers with photobombs or Scott Walker nodding. In fact, I was sure that in the two or so months since the debate I would have found a YouTube sensation made from video of Walker nodding in the background to the tune of Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack” or some similar beat driven song. Alas, this GIF is the best I was able to find:

Maybe Carson actually gets some air time at the next debate, and maybe I’ll see a different side of him when I do.

JOHN KASICH

Kasich may not stand a chance. He isn’t exactly the style of candidate the GOP is looking for right now. This is a race for mavericks, and Kasich comes off as more of a working, thinking man. It is likely that he was only added to the roster because he’s the governor of Ohio and the Cleveland crowd present at  the debate seemed to really like him. Like Rubio, Kasich seemed to be concerned with educating viewers on the issues and distanced himself from verbal attacks. I wonder what might have come about if soft-spoken candidates like Kasich were given the mic-time of loudmouth candidates like Donald Trump. In fact, compare Kasich’s participation in a bipartisan balanced budget push during the (Bill) Clinton administration with Trump’s non-cooperative stance and exploitation of corporate bankruptcy to avoid actual financial responsibility issues. Which one of these people do you honestly think would be better at running the country?

(ANSWER: It is not the one who is popular for “speaking his mind.”)

JEB BUSH

 

Nobody on either side of the aisle seems to want to associate with yet another Bush, and yet the circus that is the Republican primary crowd makes Jeb look like a real contender.

I’ll be honest. If you showed me the policies of George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush side-by side I would have no idea that they were related. In fact, the “dynasty” argument makes much more sense as a criticism of the bipartisan system than it does as a measure of whether or not Hillary or Jeb are electable candidates.

At the end of the day Jeb Bush, like his fellow Floridian Marco Rubio, just comes off as if he is taking this whole thing seriously rather than attempting to lampoon the party.

* * *

I should take this moment to clarify something that many of you who viewed the debate are probably wondering. Why did I get rid of Mike Huckabee and not Rand Paul? Rand Paul is clearly one of the free radicals that is exciting the GOP to a fever pitch, an act among acts in the side show, while Huckabee is careful, thoughtful, and well-spoken. At the same time, I was put off by how everything with Huckabee seemed to come back to his common sense tax policy. This framed him as a travelling apothecary trying to sell the masses on the idea that quinine is a cure for all that ails you. However, just as Martin O’Malley summed up the Democratic Debate, I think Mike Huckabee was the prescient individual who summed up the Republican Debate when he criticized Donald Trump Hillary Clinton in his closing remarks:

Next up, the Second Republican Debate. No spoilers, people. I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet.