Equal Partners in a Mystery

The stabbing pain in my right shoulder’s gone, finally. I must’ve over-exercised Monday night, but the pain recurred every time I’d move my arm a certain way, and that lasted till late Wednesday. I felt some muscle stress in my legs and abdomen also last Tuesday morning. But they didn’t last as long. Anyway, I’m feeling so much better now, and I’m hoping that I’m done with that emo-boy phase for good. I’m more optimistic, now that I’m outta the funk. To the people who helped cheer me up or asked me about it, my sincere thanks.

I’m also glad that there were a few things that distracted me these past few days. Most have been good diversions, while others have been barely passable time-killers. I finally saw the season-ender of Desperate Housewives, and sadly, while there have been really good moments with some of my favorite characters these past months, I’m just not that impressed by the show anymore. I can still relate to some of them (Andrew! Bree! And, to some extent, Edie’s nephew!), which is always a good sign that something’s being done right, but it seems that the storyline outcomes have gotten much easier to predict and there hasn’t been anything to match the mysteries that made its initial season riveting. Still, it’s good to just listen to Mary Alice’s narration and how that ties up a theme every episode. As for the cliffhanger, well, too bad, I like that particular character. But knowing her final fate, admittedly, is something that I can’t wait months for.

Oh, by the way, last Saturday, Benedicky and I picked up my stuff at DK. I got a few action figures, some characters that starred in the comic book 52. The finely sculpted and painted DC Direct toys are lovely, especially Animal Man and Booster Gold, which are equally handsome and sexy figs. They’re great additions to my expanding JLA set, and the good thing is, I got ‘em at a much, much cheaper price (almost P400 less than the mall store price each!). Hey, I just noticed that Booster and Animal Man resemble each other a bit (they both have goggles/visors which connect to similarly cut headgears, are blond, and don’t wear belts). Oh, and yeah, Booster has a Skeets accessory! I didn’t expect that.

One of the recent comic books I got from the shop was issue three of Illuminati. Boy, that was disappointing. The first two issues were actually good, but to retcon the Beyonder’s history in such a way that contradicts every story that made plausible sense of the character’s existence is just a case of fixing what ain’t broke. This was really unsatisfying. The Beyonder was an interesting character, and to disregard so much of the old stories is just wrong. But I’m hoping that this confusing secret origin isn’t final.

Also read the latest Buffy issue, which has gotten really weird, art-wise. But oh my god! The story’s typically Joss Whedon. Questions were raised (What’s Ethan up to? Who’s Buffy's secret admirer?) and previous enigmas were answered (Oh my god! He’s alive! He’s Amy’s boyfriend?!). Oh, if only this came out every week. I still remember how excited I got, every time a new ep aired over a local channel every Monday night.

Whedon’s also currently writing Runaways. I liked the way Molly confronted the Punisher in the latest ish, heehee. Hmm, I wonder who those two new characters are. I'm guessing that they’re probably related to the team somehow, maybe future versions of some currently dead characters? There’s a time travel angle in this new story, so maybe that’ll eventually explain if or how they’re kindred.

Beer Guy lent me Gail Simone’s second to the last ish of Birds of Prey too. Love this series, and the Secret Six guest appearance. I have yet to see the conclusion of the arc, which resurrected a female Justice Leaguer. I think it’s available now, though. I love the fact that this all-girl team book has been an enjoyable, unique ride during Simone’s run, and after she leaves, I hope it won’t lose any of that consistently strong female characterization or the series’ fun spirit.

Ah, it’s the sixth month of the year already. Note to self: reorganize, you fool! Take a break when you need to, yeah, but get on with it. There's a list of things to do, and a calendar to mark.