Parks and Recreation

I want to take some time and talk about the TV show Parks and Recreation or Parks and Rec as it's more commonly known. In the past month, I've kinda discovered the show. When it first aired from 2009-2015 I didn't watch it because A) my wife wasn't interested and B) it was supposed to be like The Office and I didn't like The Office. Maybe it was all part of God's timing to not watch the show then as currently I've most certainly needed it now. In fact, I think I can truly say that Parks and Rec saved my life. 

The return to school after Winter Break has certainly been grueling. I'm starting to think it's criminal to expect students to pick up after 2 weeks of being off from school and expect them to finish off the 2nd quarter and first semester. Both Q2 and S1 should end before taking time off for Christmas! Adding to the stress of trying to get students to 'finish hard', it's Cold-Flu-COVID-and-RSV season. Some days, I only see half of my class-load as they are either out sick or can't come to school because we don't have enough bus drivers. 

We also don't have enough teachers. Every day since after Thanksgiving we've had 10-15 teachers out sick. Our district can't get enough subs. So the teachers are expected to fill in. I'm trying to run a department and doing my very best to hold boundaries to saying no. Because if I don't, I'll never get my lesson planning and other class needs meet. But it makes me feel guilty. Budget concerns, threats of violence daily and everyone being angry has taken its toll. Yesterday, I started having chest pains.

I really think if I hadn't been watching Parks and Rec, I would have had a stress related heart attack or a stroke. The NBC series starring Amy Poehler (SNL), Nick Offerman (the voice of Axe Cop) and Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) has helped me laugh for one thing. It's also kept me out of a funk. There's been days I've gotten home, just wishing to crawl into bed and sleep. Instead, I flip on my Chromecast and I watch a mini marathon of episodes. Having my wonderful and warm gatos crawl up in my lap has been the icing on the cake. 

Parks and Rec is about the government in a bizarre, small town called Pawnee, Indiana. Everything and everyone in Pawnee is completely insane. Bureaucracy is literally a mishmash of bad ideas, outdated laws and the uneducated, superstitious and OBESE townsfolk allow this craziness to continue. There's a major employer, a candy company called Sweetums, that is polluting and poisoning the town with its delicious but poorly made confections. Add in the oddball town traditions, unusual businesses and attacking throngs of raccoons and possums. Everything makes Pawnee feel like a live action version of the town of Springfield from The Simpsons. 

I hear that the current ABC TV show Abbott Elementary is rather good. But being a teacher, I think if I watched that show it would feel too much like work and make me angry. Parks and Rec touches the public educational system just enough that the stupefying and unfair aspects of local government don't upset me. I can escape and laugh while watching this show. I can also relate, as my hands are tied with some rather silly sounding guidelines that basically prevent me from conducting a role as an instructor and instead place me in a position of an overpaid babysitter. In those regards, I feel like main character Leslie Knope, who for 6 years (so far!) still can't turn an abandoned lot into a community park.

I wish I was more like Ron Swanson. Played by Nick Offerman, Swanson is the Libertarian head of the Parks and Rec department. His laisse-faire and don't care attitude about things is something I need to do with my work. I'm putting too much into it and getting no return. (Okay- that might not be 100% true. But I sure feel this way a lot!) Plus, Ron Swanson steals the show!

I typically don't talk much about my work life on this blog as we've been warned that doing so can be a fireable offence. But I've not disclosed the name of the school system in which I work, I haven't lied or bad-mouthed it either. So I think this small thank you to a TV show that has helped me through a very tough time recently is okay therapy. Plus, I'm saving all the juicy stuff for my book that I write when I retire!

Oh. The chest pains! Saw a doctor today. EKG and other tests were rather promising. It's all stress related. Hopefully, a new, small dose of medication will help me out on that.

Episodes of Parks and Rec air regularly on IFC and can be accessed through YoutubeTV.

Metal Men

My first experiences with the Metal Men was reading about them as the backup feature of  issues of my dad's comic book collection. I remember my dad telling me that they were all humans that died and had to have their consciousness inserted into robots. (I've never found evidence of this. But for a few issues, the Metal Men wore human disguises to protect their identities. So maybe this is what my dad was thinking about.) 

Anyway, I really enjoyed the fantastic adventures of Dr. Magnus and his Metal Men: Gold, Platinum, Lead, Tin, Mercury and Iron. They fought a lot of science based villains and used their imputed knowledge of science, physics and chemistry to save the day. The Metal Men also had the ability to mold their shape and join as a kind of early version of the Transformers into large pieces of equipment or flying machines. Knowing even at a very young age that all metals except Mercury are pretty rigid and solid was the only fanciful downside to my complete enjoyment. What can I say? I was an early realist, much like Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Just not as annoying.

This hardcover collects the 2007-08 miniseries that continues Magnus and his Metal Men's story from DC's weekly series 52. Along with the addition of brand new team member Copper, the Metal Men are under the microscope thanks to Dr. Magnus' corrupted actions with the mad scientists on Oolong Island. (What do you expect when you almost cause a third World War?) 

In the present day, the Metal Men have been captured by Checkmate. They will remain under quarantine until the covert agency can determine if the Metal Men are threats to humanity thanks to a techno-virus that is corrupting anything with a microchip and a CPU. Meanwhile in the ancient past in the waning days of the Roman Empire, a nameless evil seeks revenge for the loss of a primitive version of the device that powers the Metal Men, as well as enables these solid titans to mover like a fluid. (Finally, I have an explanation for this!)

Anyways, the thief of this device has repercussions in the not too distant past during the early days of the creation of the Metal Men. Having bidden its time for centuries, the Nameless seeks a genius who can reconstruct the missing machine. People like Da Vinci, Edison and Einstein weren't brilliant enough to rebuild it. Only Dr. Will Magnus had the foresight to take the fiend's blueprints and make life out of nothing!

Written and illustrated by Duncan Rouleau (Ben10), this miniseries' storyline is taking place essentially during 3 points in time, at the same time. We also get glimpses of an apocalyptic future that may or may not be at the hands of the Metal Men. There's even some parts taking place out of time. This all makes for a very confusing storyline. Thankfully, I still had a vague recollection of what occurred in 52. I think without that I would have been a lot more lost than I was. 

With the time travel part aside, this was still a confusing book. Duncan Rouleau adds a lot of technobabble, science talk and chemistry into this story. Did he forget that this was supposed to be a work of science FICTION? I'm sorry. But anytime you add letters to numbers, my eyes glaze. When it came to these parts of the story, I glossed over as much as possible. 

The artwork was amazing. I've no complaints there. And the new character and the origin story of the Metal Men were great. I felt that there was finally a good explanation as to why the Metal Men can change shapes. Plus, to explain that the robots are also not 100% made of the metals of which they are named explains how Dr. Magnus could afford to build them. Unfortunately, this just wasn't enough to combat the mind-bending quantum physics and min-numbing science and math that overtakes the majority of this miniseries. 

I think you can blame story plotter, Grant Morrison for this. He tends to overreach with his ideas. I guess Duncan Rouleau wasn't able to reign that overactive imagination in too much with the final product. 

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

The Tick 20th Anniversary Special #1(2022 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

One bright shiny day at the Brockton, Massachusetts location of New England Comics, a lanky young man places a sketch on the store wall. At the request of one of the store managers, Ben Edlund submitted a portrait of an all-new costumed character called The Tick. Is he a hero? Is he a villain? Nobody knows because this was a character that Edlund came up with spur of the moment. 

A few weeks later, Edlund is asked to flesh out the character into a 3-page tale that would appeal the 14th and 15th volume of the New England Comics Newsletter (July-August & September-October 1986). The character was a hit with customers who quickly demanded more adventures. 

Seeing an opportunity in the burgeoning Indy comics craze of the mid-80s, NEC signed a deal with Edlund to create a new comic series based on the Tick. Originally, Tick was designed wearing a furry brown costume. But a fan vote updated the character into a sleek, navy blue uniform with animated antenna. Ben's dad helped to design the logo while the minuscule printing company Associated Printers (later Morgan Printing Inc.) jumped into the realm of comic book fabrication for the very first time. It took about 2 years, and with the Indy comic bubble having burst, about a dozen distributors, but the Tick #1 was shipped out to fans and nationwide comic sellers in 1988. Fingers were collectively crossed.

And the Tick was an immediate hit!

Jump forward to 2006 (or 2007 according to the publication date) and New England Comics was celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the creation of the Tick! A beloved animated series on Fox Kids, a cult-classic short lived live series on Fox, a secret fan club, and dozens of comic books and tons of merch later and the Tick still thrived. Naturally, it was time for a tribute one-shot. 

With The Tick 20th Anniversary Special, NEC culled from the numerous talented writers and artists who had previously worked on the character as well as other members of the Tick universe. The Man-Eating Cow, the Chainsaw Vigilante, and sidekick Arthur are among those who make appearances. (But where's Paul the Samurai?!) Creator Ben Edlund along with his dad, crafted a new 4-page center spread story that some consider the epilogue of the long-delayed Tick #13. And non-associated talent such as Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT), Scott Shaw! (Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew) and Fred Hembeck (Dateline: @#$%) make contributions as well!

While the grab bag of work is a mix of brilliant tributes and sorely-lacking fantasy, the price of admission is the lengthy articles that dig into the early history of The Tick. I really learned a lot and since the print was ultra small, I felt like I read a coffee table book's worth of comic book history. And eye strain to boot!

While I wasn't a big fan of the tributes, I definitely want more Tick. I also want to complete my collection of Tick back issues. If this book was meant to be an smorgsabord of Tick bites, it definitely whet my appetite and a trip to NEC's online Tick store is in my future.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #7 (Already in Your Collection) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

In the 1990s when Marvel re-obtained the rights to the Star Trek franchise, they created an all-new series about the cadets of Starfleet. Titled Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, the book was set during the time of The Next Generation. Nog, the Ferengi child from DS9, was one of the main characters. But other than he, it was pretty much an original concept. The series ran for 17 issues before being cancelled. 

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy from IDW Publishing is a continuation of that 90s series. That was my first thought when I saw this trade paperback at a recent swap meet. On this cover of this book is a Vulcan and an Andorian. Both species were main characters in the Marvel series. So with the faces of Kelvin timeline Spock, Kirk and Uhura, I assumed that this was the new timelines reboot of the book. Turns out, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy from IDW Publishing is NOT a continuation of that 90s series.

In this 2015-16 miniseries, the adventures of Kelvin timeline Kirk and company are intermingled with an all-new class of cadets. The new students' storyline takes place 3 years just after the events of 2009's Star Trek, in which the planet Vulcan is destroyed by Nero. 

A young Vulcan cadet struggles with the decision to continue her studies at Starfleet or to resign and help the founding of New Vulcan. Her faculty adviser tries to persuade her to stay until the completion of a Starfleet competition against other academies of higher thought spread across the universe. Usually an Academy loner, the Vulcan cadet now must learn to work as part of a team of misfits. Meanwhile, three years into the past, Uhura uncovers a dark secret about the founding of Starfleet. What she uncovers and the adventures of the new class combine to make an epic storyline that I thoroughly enjoyed.

There's lots of great Easter eggs in this book. Mike Johnson (Star Trek/Green Lantern) crafts an intriguing story that spans 'generations'. But really, the magic of this book is all thanks to artist Derek Charm. The illustrator of the Star Wars Adventures series, also from IDW, Charm loves to add characters and elements taken from other parts of whatever franchise he is tackling. It really connects the story so perfectly. I'd love to share a few examples, but if you were to decide to read this book, I'd be spoiling quite a bit of fun.

One thing that irritated me was a small level of story inconsistency. In the first two issues, the story jumps back and forth 3 years. In issue #3, the story is said to occur back and forth only 2 years apart. If that was the natural progression of the story, I would be fine with this. However, in the fourth issue, it's back to a 3 years distance between Kirk's class and the new cadets. 

For a story that did some really amazingly unexpected things with the Star Trek franchise, that small error is a huge blotch! It's like someone put a pink mole of the Mona Lisa! Despite this, I'd really like to see these characters again. Another miniseries would be great. Since Chris Pine is supposedly done with the Star Trek films, a movie based on this new group would be freaking awesome!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Jessica Jones: Alias, Volume 1

  The ground-breaking series that inspired Netflix's Jessica Jones. 

   Retired from the superhero game, Jessica Jones still has powers and still wants to do some good. So she becomes a private detective, but not before burning quite a few bridges in the superhero community. When Jessica accepts a case to find a missing sibling, she stumbles upon the secret identity of one of the pillars of the Avengers- Captain America. This case just got interesting...
    Then Jessica is hired by a woman claiming to be the husband of Rick Jones- the Forrest Gump of the Marvel Universe. As she searches for Rick, Jones will uncover some uncomfortable truths about not only the superhero community and herself as well.
     Originally published under the title Alias from 2001-2004 under the MAX imprint, Brian Michael Bendis pens this series that puts the Max in Marvel Max. It's some very edgy stuff- not just for it's time but for the entire Marvel Universe. I don't know what was more unnerving; hearing your favorite superheroes use the F-word like a Tarantino character on an epic monologue or seeing your favorite Marvel characters have hardcore sex. 
     Just like the live-action series, this is not for kids. And no- this series is not based on the Jennifer Garner series, either!
     
     An intriguing series, very well written but not your dad's comic book by any sense.

    Worth Consuming!

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Gotham Central: Book One: In the Line of Duty

   Explore the series that inspired the FOX series GOTHAM. Written by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka, Gotham Central focuses on the men in blue who keep Gotham City safe when Batman is busy.

    I love this series, it's like Law & Order meets Batman. In this volume, the night and day shifts of the GCPD work together to bring down Mister Freeze for killing one of their own before the sun sets and the Dark Knight clocks in for his shift. Then the night shift works overtime to solve a kidnapping ransom gone sour in the midst of a fire bug's reign of fiery terror. This volume wraps up with the day squad and Rene Montoya being outed as a lesbian. But things get even worse for the detective when the creep who is blackmailing her ends up with a bullet in the back and all evidence points to Montoya as the prime suspect. 

    I just recently completed my run on this groundbreaking series. It's been on my radar for quite some time after  I read a couple of issues reprinted in a Batman 100-Page Spectacular a while back. Plus, I am such a huge fan of Brubaker's work on Captain America and his ICON crime series Criminal. I'm not so familiar with Rucka's body of work, but that's actually going to change as I recently bought the Han Solo tale he wrote for the 'Journey to the Force Awakens' series of novels published in time for next month's release of Episode VII.

    One of the neat things about this series is that not only are the stories  separated by night and day shifts at Gotham Central, but each shift is written by just one author. Brubaker writes the night shift tales while Rucka tackles the day shift adventures of Montoya and partner Crispus Allen. The writers did manage to join forces in the opening storyline that joined the two squads together and introduced all of the major players. 

    Though the two squads are as different as night and day, the title's transitions appear seamless thanks to the striking artwork of Michael Lark. His gritty style looks like a series of courtroom sketches were married with the timeless design appeal of Darwyn Cooke's 'New Frontier.' It was both classic and modern at the same time, much like how the sets and costumes on the TV series GOTHAM is designed.

     If you like Gotham for its superhero-less approach, you'll love Gotham Central which has limited amounts of Batman Family sighting. On the flip side, if don't like that elements of classic and new Batman stories got melded together then you'll love this series which has Gordon as an old man instead of a rookie cop under the tutelage of Montoya and Bullock.

   A great series that didn't get much love when it first came out in 2002. Find it now in bargain bins before the popularity of GOTHAM and next year's Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice sends this sleeper into the stratosphere. 

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.