Talking about comic books, TV shows, movies, sports, and the numerous other pastimes that make us Gentlemen of Leisure.

Friday, July 30, 2010

X-amining X-Men #47

"The Warlock Wears Three Faces!"
August 1968

In a nutshell: Beast and Iceman fight Maha Yogi.

Editor: Stan Lee
Plot: Gary Friedrich, Arnold Drake (2nd Story)

Scripter: Gary Friedrich and Arnold Drake
Layouts: Don Heck 
Penciller: Werner Roth
Inker: John Tartigalone, John Verpoorten (2nd Story)
Lettering: Artie Simek, Joe Rosen (2nd Story)

Plot
Depressed following the breakup of the X-Men, Iceman and Beast meet up with their girlfriends. The performance by the Maha Yogi the girls want to see is sold out, so they go to the Cafe-A-Go-Go instead. Inside the theater, Maha Yogi is brainwashing the entire audience into becoming his unwitting servants. After Beast's opinions of the poetry being performed at the coffee shop start a fight and gets the group chased out, they discover four openings to the next Maha Yogi show. As the show starts, Beast and Iceman recognize him as their one-time foe, the Warlock.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Retro Review: Lisa's Pony

Or the One Where: Homer buys Lisa a pony.

The Setup: After failing to bring Lisa the saxophone reed she needs for the school talent show, Homer buys her a pony to repair their relationship.

Notables Notes: Lisa's desire for a pony was established before this episode (it's actually mentioned in the very first episode, Simpsons Roasting on a Open Fire) but it comes to a head here.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Teebore's Favorite Words

During conversations with Dr. Bitz regarding the Lost finale a couple months back, he commented on my apparent affinity for the word "gestalt" (I kept referring to how the Flash Sideways was ultimately revealed to be a purgatorial gestalt). He was right: it's definitely one of my favorite words. Being a writer, an English major and a nerd, I have several. Here's a few more, in no particular order (all definitions courtesy of Merriam-Webster.com)

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Retro Review: Treehouse of Horror II

Or the One Where: Lisa's nightmare (a wish-granting Monkey's Paw leads to alien domination), Bart's nightmare (Bart is an omnipotent being who grows to love his father) and Homer's nightmare (his brain is transplanted into a worker robot by Mr. Burns).

The Setup: Following trick-or-treating, Lisa, Bart and Homer all gorge on candy, which gives them all nightmares.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

X-amining X-Men #46

"The End of the X-Men!"
July 1968

In a nutshell: Juggernaut returns and the X-Men disband. 

Editor: Stan Lee
Writer: Gary Friedrich
Layouts: Don Heck
Penciller: Werner Roth, George Tuska (2nd Story)
Inker: John Tartigalone
Lettering: Artie Simek

Plot
Following the defeat of Magneto, the X-Men gather at the grave of Professor X, faced with uncertainty over their next move. Fred Duncan, Xavier's liaison within the FBI approaches the team, asking to speak to them in private. They return to the mansion, where Foggy Nelson, of the law firm Nelson and Murdock, is waiting to read Xavier's will. After the reading and Nelson's departure, the X-Men investigate a disturbance in the mansion's basement. They discover Juggernaut, seemingly returned from the Crimson Cosmos by an automated device of Professor Xavier's.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Retro Review: Like Father, Like Clown

Or the One Where: Bart and Lisa help Krusty the Clown reconcile with his estranged father.

The Setup: Krusty attends a "thank you" dinner with the Simpsons, which reminds him of how much he misses his father.

Notable Notes: Krusty's father, the Rabbi Krustofski, appears for the first time, voiced by Jackie Mason. The character will appear infrequently from time to time, usually voiced by Dan Castellaneta, though Mason returned to voice the character for his appearances in seasons fifteen and twenty-one. Mason won an Outstanding Voice-Over Performance Primetime Emmy in 1992 for his performance in this episode.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

X-amining X-Men #45

"When Mutants Clash!"
June 1968

In a nutshell: Cyclops fights Quicksilver

Editor: Stan Lee
Writer: Gary Friedrich
Layouts: Don Heck
Penciller: Werner Roth, George Tuska (2nd Story)
Inker: John Tartigalone, John Verpoorten (2nd Story)
Lettering: Sam Rosen, Irving Watanabe (2nd Story)

Plot
Worried that Angel has been gone too long and may have been recaptured, Cyclops strains his power against his bonds and manages to break free. He comes across the imprisoned Marvel Girl, but is unable to wake her from unconsciousness. Knowing he can't face Magneto alone, Cyclops moves on, hoping to locate and free Beast and Iceman. Meanwhile, Angel arrives in New York City and proceeds to Avengers Mansion.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Retro Review: Homer Defined

Or The One Where: Homer earns unwanted fame after averting a meltdown.

The Setup: By sheer luck, Homer manages to push the right button to stop a meltdown of the power plant.

Notable Notes: Basketball player Earvin "Magic" Johnson guest-stars as himself in this episode, becoming the first pro athlete to appear on the show.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Lost Mysteries

The series finale of Lost aired over a month ago. So things have finally settled in. After a lot of thought I've figured out most of the mysteries the show presented. I'll admit, most of my theories involve Macguffin the Magic Gnome who uses spells to manipulate reality in order to create interesting scenarios for the Losties, but whatever.

Anyway, despite the fact that I figured out most of the mysteries, there are still some remaining. So here are my top 5 mysteries not answered in Lost: