mekdinosaur's Comic Book Blogs

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    mekdinosaur | Male | 54 years old | Port Moody, BC. Canada

Born in Vancouver, BC Canada...and after living in a lot of different places since then....has finally returned home.

December 2024

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MEK'S MONTHLY MISCHIEF-MARCH EDITION

2377 views • Apr 8, '19 • (0) Comments

DETECTIVE 1000

Hello there, fellow mischief-makers. I was just out getting some groceries this morning, preparing myself for a day full of domestic-like activity; when a sudden electrifying shock blasted through my brain and shivered all the way down my back. No, I was not the victim of some sneak-attack from Doctor Psycho. Also, I was not afflicted by some gut-churning after-effects of that less-than-sufficiently re-heated breakfast burrito either. Rather; this flash of panic in my mind was just a physical manifestation of my realizing I am, once again, late in writing my monthly blog! Yes, sadly, I have detected some derelict in my duty to you, my fine reader(s). Fortunately, at least, that burrito I ate did not cause any additional insult to this particular injury…because that’s a doody I wouldn’t wish to afflict on anyone. Derelict or not.

So, with bowels secured, and after returning home with bags in hand: I hastily stuffed the massive pile of pre-made chimichangas into the ol’ ice-box and settled into my favorite broken-spring couch to begin typing this latest entry of brain-busting vernacular treats. Why does it matter, you might ask? Wouldn’t the world be much better off if the Mekster just curled up in a nest of old comic books and disappeared forever? Why torture humanity with yet another installment of such inane ramblings? Ahh, yes: that does sound kind of nice, really…I could just drift away with the rest of my garbage, like some old has-been pirate in his hyperdrive-challenged Corellian freighter, twirling away from the back of a Star Destroyer…yee-s-s-s…

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MEK'S MONTHLY MISCHIEF-FEBRUARY EDITION

1899 views • Mar 17, '19 • (2) Comments

YOU ARE WHAT YOU DO

I’m a comic book collector and a comic book reader and sometimes I write about it, among other things. I have recently found new employment which is demanding much of my time and energy, so I haven’t had the focus to collect my thoughts (let alone formulate a coherent sentence) as much as I have in the past. Alas, life is changes. Try as you might to maintain some manner of consistency; there is likely some road-blocks that keep the journey a little more eventful than you would prefer. So, yes: this is some awkward attempt at explaining why I am late in presenting the February reviews. Paying the bills comes before self-imposed deadlines, you know. Anyway, I’m still reading comics and trying to keep to the fifty-issue per month schedule…the writing part might be the one thing that gets left out from time to time. We shall see. I read comics because I love them. Never going to stop unless my eyeballs wear out. Writing is just a by-product of that mysterious brain-thing called inspiration.

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ONG 1

“There came a time when the old gods died! The brave died with the cunning! The noble perished, locked in battle with unleashed evil! It was the last day for them! An ancient era was passing in fiery holocaust!” -opening text of New Gods #1.

What better way to ring in the new year, than with a nice long exploration of a brand-new world? It’s Jack Kirby’s Fourth World, to be precise. Hey there, brothers and sisters: it’s your friendly neighborhood Mek here for some more of your favorite amusing and confusing comic book reviews. This year, I’m wrapping up a re-read of all the good and not-so great DC Comics remaining in my collection. We start at the top with a magnificent saga featuring a family of awe-inspiring cosmic deities. After that it’s a long haul through some colorful cartoonish antics and then straight down into the depths of sullen disgrace and depravity. Sounds fun, right? If I stick to form, we should be able to go full-circle; back to the realm of higher beings, as I wrap the year up with the of vengeance himself: the Spectre. But before we shove off into such peculiar realms and otherwise unusual corners of the DC Universe; perhaps a more in-depth introduction to this year’s agenda is in order…

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LEGION OF SUPERHEROES: WEEK FIFTY-TWO

2435 views • Dec 31, '18 • (2) Comments

Face Front, True Believers…

This is the FINAL edition of the world famous and critically acclaimed Legion of Superheroes blog. People will be talking about this for generations to come, I’m sure. And when I say people, I mean nobody. But whatever. I did it! Three-hundred-sixty-five days of pure, unmitigated, futuristic, super-heroic joy. Notta-dream. Notta-hoax. True story. Reading through all my Legion of Superheroes comics this past year has been a highlight of my otherwise drab, unremarkable life. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Now, before I finish up, and wash my hands of the whole grock-bokkin’-shebang…let’s take a moment to review…

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LEGION OF SUPERHEROES: WEEK FIFTY-ONE

1979 views • Dec 24, '18 • (0) Comments

Tis the night before Christmas and on this hallowed eve…I stir through my collection for comics most esteemed.

One of my favorite things about this time of year is finding all the “best of” lists people come up with. There seems to be a tally cropping up for everything under the sun these days. Everything from mean machines to obscure cuisine is up for rating. Since this is the year for Legion of Superheroes reading, I decided to come up with my very own list of faves so far. Join me, will you: in reminiscing the highlights of our wonderous, magical journey…

 

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LEGION OF SUPERHEROES: WEEK FIFTY

2545 views • Dec 17, '18 • (0) Comments

LEGION 1

In many ways, L.E.G.I.O.N. is the antithetical flip-side of the LoSH. In the L.E.G.I.O.N., there is always just the one leader, they don’t stick to any rules, loyalty is always in question and they make no bones about killing. The group even exists in a totally different time-line from the LoSH, so there’s little chance of any cross-overs or team-ups. And even if the two teams did meet, I’m sure they wouldn’t mesh well. The only connecting thread to these teams is their historical relationship. Some of the Legionnaires like Brainiac 5 and Shadow Lass have ancestors associated with the L.E.G.I.O.N. and they both generally interact with the same sort of alien races. There’s usually a few Durlans, Khunds, and Dominators running around in both series. Otherwise, these two books could not be more different; especially in tone. LoSH is typically an optimistic group: meeting every threat with hopeful exuberance. The L.E.G.I.O.N., however, is full of disgruntled misfits and reluctant heroes usually trying to avoid trouble. The members are largely influenced by the disposition and selfish actions of their founder: Vril Dox. Much to his associates’ displeasure, his many schemes typically involve inflicting some pain and suffering on their loved ones as much as their enemies. Vril would probably even sell his own mother to the Psions, so long as he got a few crumbs of galactic control out of the deal.

In general, Vril Dox embodies everything I dislike in a person. He’s a smug, narcissistic, manipulative and condescending . I can’t figure out why I enjoy reading about the dude so much. Maybe it’s because, underneath all that cool demeanor, he really isn’t that bad of a guy. He just has a skewed viewpoint, compared to the usual heroic character. While he seems to care nothing for whatever individuals may be in his proximity, even so far as using them to further his own ends, Vril usually has a larger benefit in perspective…or at least he uses altruism as cover for the many dastardly deeds he endorses. One can never tell what’s truly churning around that flat-topped green dome of his. Just when you think the guy has gone off the deep end, he pulls out some explanation that shows him serving the greater good. Vril always has the big-picture in mind when he makes decisions. That and he always has-to be the one in charge, of course. Even when his team abandons him and the L.E.G.I.O.N. is torn from his megalomaniacal grip, Vril just becomes a rebel and still finds a way to claim victory from defeat. I can’t help but admire the guys’ intelligence and tenacity when dealing with all the outlandish challenges he faces. But, he’s still an insufferable .

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LEGION OF SUPERHEROES: WEEK FORTY-NINE

1664 views • Dec 10, '18 • (0) Comments

New Teen Titans 1

A brief history of the Teen Titans.

Back in the 1950’s, any hero worth his salt needed to have a sidekick. Batman had his Robin, Wonder Woman picked up Wonder Girl and the Flash-family gained another speedster named Kid Flash. Even Aquaman and Green Arrow sported their own teen-aged proteges. Not to be out-done, Superman gathered a menagerie of super-pets, including: Krypto, the Super-dog, Streaky the Super-cat, Beppo the Super-monkey and Comet the Super-horse. The only thing missing was Jimbo the Super-elephant! Following the success of the teen-aged super-team, Legion of Superheroes; all the various super-side-kicks finally ganged up to form the fabulous group called Teen Titans in 1964. Superman’s Legion of Super-pets, sadly, never took off. These Teen Titans, however, was apparently, a great success from the start. Originally formed by Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash and Wonder Girl, the team quickly grew to add various other kid-crusaders to their crew over the following decade. After 53 issues of their first incarnation, these Teen Titans finally disbanded in 1978. There might be some good stories in there or not; I don’t know. I’ve never read them.

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So, it’s December already. The days are getting shorter and nights are getting colder. ‘Tiss the season to bust out the ugly-sweaters, prepare some nice hot chocolate, and hustle over to your favorite comic shop to purchase a gift for your old pal, Mekdinosaur. Check out my current “want list” on my home page if you need a hint. Wink. Might as well grab a hammer for the old piggy-bank too…cause by January that credit card shall be maxed-out. Ho-ho-HO! Aw, it seems like the year just got started not too long ago. I remember this time last year: picking through all the great Legion of Superheroes issues in my collection; excitedly anticipating all the neat runs I would soon be poring over. And now, here we are…almost done. Just a few short weeks until completion.

All that reminiscing gets me to wonder: what shall I be reading next, after I’m done with the Legion? Hmm…let’s see. Oh, you thought I was totally-finished with comics at the end of 2018? Far from it. I’ve still got more picto-perusals left in store than my eyeballs could ever handle. Reading stacks is what I plan on doing until the grim-old reaper comes a calling. So, for better or worse: I’m in for the long haul. Now, as I look at the remaining DC comics I have left to read, I see that there are about 365 issues in the Miscellaneous pile. Perfect. Another one-a-day challenge is neatly set-up for me. What fortunate happenstance! Let’s have a peek at what might be in store for 2019…

Well, there’s Ambush Bug, Anima, Atari Force, Bad Girls, Blackhawk, Camelot 3000, Captain Carrot, Fallen Angel, Flintstones, Giantkiller, Gilgamesh…gasp…Hard Time, Hawkworld, Hex, Kinetic, Omega Men, Ronin, Shadow, Skreemer, Solo, Time Warp, Twilight, Warlord, Wednesday Comics...gasp…and a good handful of others…Whew. A few on that list are even half-way decent, if I remember correctly. Not to compete with my favorite blogger, Atom (plugity-plug), or anything, but it does look like I will be doing my own version of Longbox Junk in the next year. But, wait: there’s more! In addition to running through all my miscellaneous DC Comics, I will also be throwing in a few other side-runs, special features and a bunch of other odds and ends to make the year even more…miscellaneous. Just to mix things up even further, I plan on changing the format of my blog: returning to a monthly schedule, rather than keeping to the weekly grind. Let’s say…the first Wednesday of every month will be Misc-Mek day. I don’t expect to pick every single story over, like I have here with the Legion, so relax. The 2019 blogs are not going to be as-long as your X-mas shopping list. The idea is to limit reviews to only the “best of the month” and keeping them brief…

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LEGION OF SUPERHEROES: WEEK FORTY-SEVEN

2633 views • Nov 26, '18 • (0) Comments

In a perfect world, everything would be cool. Everyone would have absolute affirmation and contentment about everything in their lives, all the time. Sounds great. But whose concept of perfection is ideal? Yours or mine? Who gets to choose? In a perfect world, I’m sure morality wouldn’t be a factor. Neither would those pesky concepts like scruples or ethics. There would be no more difference of values. No challenges. Everything would be great because everyone would agree on what was best all the time. But who would set the standard? You or me?

In my perfect world, everyone would have everything they could ever ask for. In my perfect world, there would be no need for bigger, better or more. In my perfect world, there would be no hunger, aggression or fear. In my perfect world, there would be no need for war. Also, there would be no such thing as pickled pigs’ feet…because that’s just gross. Does all that sound good to you? No? Well that may be a problem once I evolve into the supreme master of the universe….

…that’s the plan anyway.

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LEGION OF SUPERHEROES: WEEK FORTY-SIX

1961 views • Nov 19, '18 • (0) Comments

YOU think therefore I AM…

Hello! Welcome to another mek-tacular installment of dinosauric delights. Since it’s Thanksgiving weekend in the United States (sooorry, Canada), I figure it would be a good time to mention all I have been thankful for over the past year. I don’t know about anyone else, but it’s been another roller-coaster for me: life being the usual mixed-bag, full of triumph and tragedy. There’s a ton of things I could be down about right now, for sure. But instead, I’m staying positive and infusing the world with some good old holiday cheer. So, here it goes…

Thanks to Mother Nature for not burning, flooding or otherwise disastering my over the past twelve months. I know there have been a lot of folks facing life-changing conditions thanks to your vengeful wrath. My heart goes out to all those who have suffered. Now, Momma: keep it down for a little while, will you?

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