Discworld Read-Along #28: The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents

Continuing my occasional series as I work my way through the late Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, one novel at a time.

Today’s entry is the 28th book, The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents.

Podcast Reation: The “Do I Really Wanna Go There?” Edition

Technically, I haven’t done a whole reaction-to-Watson article yet. That will not change today.

This week on the podcast, the podcast was late and I did not get to listen to it until Monday.  My non-geek wife wanted to spend the extended holiday weekend down the Jersey shore, which is not that much like that awful MTV show depicted it to be.  We go to a nice, working class vacation town, whereas that show was filmed in a place my wife has been calling “Sleezeside” since well before anyone with a stupid nickname, no discernible talent, and a camera crew ever stepped foot in the place.

But, my parents’ tiny house down there has terrible internet connections, so while I was able to download the podcast, listening to it while trying to do stuff with the missus wasn’t in the bag, and there was a good chance any attempt to post anything here would have been a disaster when the connection cut in the middle of the write up.  So, I gave the show a listen this morning and now, well, now I need to react because it is my (self appointed) job.

In fact, my parents’ unreliable wi-fi connection there means I am a bit behind on my DCAU rewatch and don’t know if Jimmy and I will get through our required three episode discussion before the week is out.

What will I react to?  The fact I probably would have lost that trivia game badly, too?  Or something else?

Gabbing Geek 44: Freedom, Freed ‘Em, And Free Dumb!

Gabbing Geek 44: Freedom, Freed ‘Em, And Free Dumb!

Episode 44 of the Gabbing Geek podcast covers Back to the Future reboot news, the new Apple Music service, and the just revealed Spider-Woman #1 cover.  Then we discuss some influential LGBTQ characters from geek properties before launching our toughest trivia contest yet!  Find out who wins by listening right now or jump after the break to find out more!

Slightly Misplaced Comic Book Heroes Case File #11: The Alpha Centurion

Imperius Wrecks!

Superhero supporting casts can oftentimes change from creator to creator.  Its not that uncommon.  Yes, some aren’t going anywhere.  Superman will always have Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White.  Batman will always have Alfred and Commissioner Gordon.  Spider-Man is going to be weighed down by Aunt May and J. Jonah Jameson for all eternity.  But lesser supporting cast members can come and go, sometimes without warning.  When writer William Messner-Loebs was working on The Flash, Wally West had a huge supporting cast of friends that succeeding writer Mark Waid decided were only sporadically useful at best and largely ignored aside from the Pied Piper.  Loebs had Wally and Linda Park say hello to each other at a mutual friend’s wedding on his last page, and aside from her and Piper, Waid built a new supporting cast made up more of various other speedsters.  More egregious would be how Judd Winick gave Kyle Rayner a gay friend, Terry, during his Green Lantern run.  At the end of one issue, Kyle appeared to die and Terry got his power ring…only for returning writer Ron Marz to come in the very next issue to see Kyle alive, well, and with the ring on the very first page, and some dialogue how sometime between issues Terry had simply returned the ring and that was that.  Terry was never seen again.

Then there was the Alpha Centurion.   No one really knows what happened to that guy.