Green Lantern Corps #7

Now it's time for the sad.

Last issue, John Stewart killed a member of the Green Lantern Corps to keep the universe safe. He killed one person for the greater good so I think it's time for another John Stuart Mill joke! You'll have to come up with it on your own though. This is a participatory comic book commentary.

The first five pages of this issue show the ceremonial funeral honoring a Green Lantern killed in the line of duty. I don't know if this ceremony has ever been shown before but I'd imagine it has been since hundreds of Green Lanterns have probably been killed over the last sixty years or whatever. And I bet, at times, even important ones that readers liked have died! He's made into a Green Light Image and placed in the Tower of Green Images which is probably actually called something different and more reverential.

Who's the guy in the Burberry, tie, and kneepads?

Guy Gardner is called in to have a meeting with the Guardians of Oa. I guess they're taking a break from developing their new Universal Police Force. There's always time for a tongue lashing of the subordinates!

I like Gardner's reaction to his lousy superiors. At least, this first reaction.

The Guardians act upset that Guy killed two prisoners while using them as bombs. But the Guardians are actually upset that Guy went against their rules and took two prisoners from their science cells without their permission. Now, that isn't actually in the text but that's their fucking nature, the bastards. You know that's what's driving them crazy. But Guy's defense is just lame for all the reasons I explained earlier.

Really? Every child was going to fight against the American soldiers?

I already explained why the whole World War II analogy falls apart. I have to wonder if Guy would have made the connection at all if the stupid Sinestro members hadn't been calling themselves by the names of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He's not that bright. Until the writer needs him to be that bright! And then he's Mr. Smart Chops!

While Guy Gardner chose to end the lives of two murderous Sinestro Corps members to save the lives of many Keepers and Lanterns, John Stewart chose to end the life of one Green Lantern to save the lives of, perhaps, the entire universe. Of course the amount of lives he may or may not have saved is theoretical while the Green Lantern is actually dead. And that's what John is going to have to deal with. Guy seems okay with his decision though.

For the greater good, bitch!

John is busy packing up Kirrt's things to send home to his family. Kirrt is the name of the Green Lantern I've been refusing to learn. It's not like he's a real person who gave his life to help make the universe a better place! He's just a made up character! I don't have to learn his name if I don't want to! And so what if he was a Green Lantern! What the fuck are these Space Cops trying to do anyway? The universe is a big place being infinite and all. Every time they help somebody it's like they're helping nobody because it's just one good deed out of an infinite number of random accidents or catastrophic disasters or evil megolmaniacal space Gods killing innocent otter people! They can't stop sadness! John Stewart is a Green Lantern and he can't even stop his own sadness!

You didn't put it on the report because you didn't want others to see that Kirrt had been broken and shamed.

What if Batman were put into this situation? He wouldn't have killed Kirrt so how would he have saved the day? He would have let the Keepers get the code. Then he would have escaped as they were firing up the Stargate. And then he'd throw his Batarang into the control panel, shorting out the device! And after that, he would have delayed the Keepers long enough for Superman to come in and throw them all in a big cage.

Except Batman did shoot Darkseid with the intent to kill him, right? Or was the Magic Bullet supposed to just immobilize him? Oh, who cares! That was an entirely different universe. Kind of.

John Stewart escorts Kirrt's body back to his home planet of Lorror in Sector 1346. Kirrt's parents take the news as many parents have over many thousands of years and probably more if we're speaking about alien cultures on alien planets across the whole of time. But Kirrt's younger, mentally awkward brother thinks he can bring his brother back from the dead.

Of course he died a hero. He did everything the Green Lantern Corps asked of him to protect the universe. It's not like he ever killed an innocent man or a teammate!

And that's how that ends. John makes a grave for Kirrt that says, "Beloved Son and Best Brother Ever" It also mentions he was a Green Lantern but not that he was a coward that tried to betray the universe and get everyone killed. That's John and Vandor's secret!

Green Lantern Corps Issue #7 Rating: +1 Ranking. One thing I like is how different Guy and John are. I disagree with John killing Kirrt but everyone does what they think is best in the moment. Time is a ruthless bitch and we all do our best, moment by moment. Okay, not all of us do. Some of us do the worst. And others do as little as they can possibly get away with. But, you know, I think John did what he felt he needed to do at that exact instant. I also don't agree much with Guy. But then Guy is a marine and a patriot and a blow hard. I've always liked the character though! Tomasi is doing a pretty good job with both of these guys. I can't wait to see how he writes G'nort now!

Green Lantern Corps #6

If the most powerful weapon in the universe is ineffective, resort to guns.

Last issue, Guy Gardner put together a plan to rescue John Stewart and the other Green Lanterns held hostage by the Keepers of the Lanterns. The Keepers are pissed that their economy was destroyed when the Oans pulled out of their contract with them and now the Keepers want revenge. Until they can torture the Oans themselves, they've settled on murdering and maiming Green Lanterns. Guy Gardner put together a team of tough old fogeys called The Mean Machine and some of Kilowog's toughest new recruits and gave them a shit-ton of stolen guns. The plan is to drop a Fear Bomb on the Keepers (composed of two Sinestro Corps Members named Fat Man and Little Boy) and then follow up guns blazing. Finesse isn't really Guy Gardner's strong suit.

In high school, our English teacher, Mr. Borror, took our class to San Francisco to see a play. He would have fit right in with the Mean Machine. He also spent the entire play snoring away in the darkness.

The Green Lanterns offload far away from the aliens on their planet but still yell, "Lock and load!" as they fly from the ship. I don't know when they'll drop the fear bomb. I also don't know why they dropped off on the most uninhabited spot on the planet ready for war. Just drop the bomb and swoop in and kick some ass already! Geez. You're wasting my time!

Meanwhile, John and the other hostage Lanterns are being tortured so that they'll reveal some important key-code to disabling the force-field on Oa. But even after being tortured for days and on the verge of death, John Stewart still has the nerve to judge the victims.

This guy isn't really raping his people for power and immortality. Well, kind of. But his people were probably more than willing to give up their free will to power the stargate on the back of the frog that would get revenge on the Oans that destroyed their world. What else was their to live for when everyone was already starving anyway?

This conversation is pointless anyway. The only people who are willing to lead are people who want power and/or people who really care to make things better for everyone. And the people willing to make things better usually lose out to the people who simply crave power because they're not willing to fight dirty or use any unethical tactic to get the position. And even if they do get the position, there's always that thing about absolute power co-opting absolutely.

The weakest Green Lantern by the name of I'm not going to bother learning his name because John Stewart kills him in a second is killed by John Stewart before he can reveal the code to disable the force-field.

Just for anyone who is curious, John Stewart struggled out of his arm restraints and broke the neck of the weak coward hanging next to him.

After this moment that was spoiled for me by the cover of Issue #7, John wills one last charge out of his ring to fuel an escape for him and Vandor, the other Green Lantern with enough willpower to not rat out the Corps. Or at least more than that other dead guy. Which is just enough to seem like a hero! But this last charge lasts only long enough to bust them out of the prison and a few hundred feet away. John and Vandor are left powerless while dozens of Keepers attack.

Mutton Stew?

Oh yeah! Fire!

The bullets work much better than the Green Lantern Light since the Keepers didn't spend generation after generation gaining immunity to them. Sometimes simpler is better!

I just said that, Guy! Sheesh.

That last exchange reminds me of something I can't stand to hear people say: reading is active and watching television is passive. Bullshit. Reading is also passive. Writing is active. The only difference in watching television and reading books is time. People like to evoke the whole imagination concept and how that's so much better that you get to imagine the hero and the landscape instead of it being fed to you through visuals. But that's bullshit. Pictures are worth 1000 words and anybody who has ever read Fantasy Literature knows an author will spend at least that many words making the reader see what she wants him to see. The only real differing factor is time. Television comes at you relentlessly. And if you watch a continuous block of shows, you never pause to consider or reflect on what you just watched. Reading allows you to stop and contemplate as I just did in that last exchange. I pointed out what was going on and then continued reading to have Guy point out the same thing. If I were watching television, what are the odds that I would keep pausing the program to think about the show?

But that can be true of reading as well. How many people read a comic book in short bursts, thinking about what was just read and guessing what the outcome may be? Many just read the book straight through and enjoy it. Then they spend the time in-between the issues to discuss what may happen just as people discuss television shows between episodes. Obviously watching television is easier than reading. But they're both passive activities but they're only as 'passive' as the audience consuming them. Don't blame the media if you're not willing to use your own mind. If you want an 'active' activity, consider writing or punching some know-it-all asshole in the face for preaching to you about passive and active entertainment.

Enough with my preaching; let's get back to Tomasi's!

Stewart tries to confess to Guy that he killed a fellow Lantern but Vandor interrupts and tells Guy that all the other Lanterns were tortured to death and they only escaped because of John. Then the Stargate begins to act up and John tells Guy they need to rescue the people powering it. It's at this moment that the Mean Machine declare that the Keepers will not surrender. They're going to fight to the last man. And it's back to the World War II analogy and the old "we had to use the atom bomb to prevent more deaths" defense.

What will a Sinestro Fear Bomb be like? Big yellow mushroom cloud made of snakes, clowns, and public speaking?

No. It just looks like a giant piece of pollen.

DROP THE BOMB!

The fear bomb causes all of the Keepers to instantly surrender. Seems like it could have been dropped first! The innocent Keepers being used to maintain the Stargate were fine because they were hooked up to the life support running the system. All of the aggressive Keepers surrendered in fear. Seems like every life could have been saved if they'd dropped their fear bomb immediately. I think the World War II analogy breaks down since the fear bomb didn't actually kill any innocents. So it should have been done first and it would have saved the lives of all the aggressors shot by the Lanterns as well as any Lanterns killed in the raid.

The Guardians hold a tribunal and sentence the Keepers running the show to dig graves for all of their innocent victims. Which means they'll need to bury every being killed on the planet Nerro which is all of the beings that had lived on the planet Nerro. And like the Oans usually do, they disregard any part they played in this tragedy. Sure, the Keepers went about restoring their planet in a violent and ill-conceived way. But the Oans could have prevented everything by helping the Keepers maintain their civilization once they began pulling out the Green Lantern Batteries. Kind of like a pension for having kept the batteries safe for so many years. Oh well! The Oans serve some American Style Justice! All's well, right?

Green Lantern Corps Issue #6 Rating: +1 Ranking. I enjoyed this comic even with the heavy handed morality and analogy that didn't quite fit. Seriously, drop the fear bomb immediately and nobody dies! Dumb dumb Guy Gardner! What a lousy leader!

Catwoman #8

Catwoman and Spark are going to fight a Mind Flayer? Or a Mummy?

Catwoman and Spark have teamed up and have been going on a robbery spree. I don't know if Catwoman ditched Gwen to go on a crime binge with her new boy toy or if she's just doing these extra jobs on the side. I suppose if she's doing extra jobs that Gwen isn't a part of or doesn't approve of, then Selina has, in essence, ditched Gwen. Catwoman has fallen off the wagon. I think.

Whatever she's up to, her fifth job with Spark goes a little bit off the rails.

Several other panels I could have scanned had Catwoman in a bikini!

Catwoman and Spark get away with four Magic Daggers. The Daggers are supposed to be in a set of five and aren't valuable to anybody without the fifth dagger. Catwoman thinks she knows who has it.

Okay, so it turns out Gwen and Selina are still working together. Also, ANTARCTIC BIRD, you dumb cat loving cunt! My penguin told me to reprimand you that harshly. Thanks, Schnabel.

Gwen approves of Selina robbing Penguin for the fifth dagger. Spark is the only thing Gwen is really concerned with. She doesn't trust another thief and tells Selina she doesn't need a partner. But when has Catwoman ever listened to anyone? She's a cat! Don't tell her what to do! She'll just lick her crotch and pretend she isn't listening. And then she'll casually stretch and slowly saunter out of the room. Also, she'll continue to work with Spark no matter what Gwen advises.

While Catwoman and Spark are scouting out a dining establishment where Penguin will be dining the next night, they witness a hooker being drugged and dragged into a van. Last issue, two hookers were kidnapped by this same mystery person but I didn't mention it. The pervert was really into the hooker with red hair so maybe he's making himself a Batgirl Fuck Corpse. This is a teen plus rated comic! That's a possibility, right?! Catwoman has a thing for helping female victims, so she pounces.

I would have gone with, "Not like the PROS TO TOOT their own horns but I'm a cat that doesn't use the litter box. I FUCK UP JOHNS, BITCH!" Okay, that was really bad but at least it had something to do with the action. Why the fuck is Catwoman bringing up take out food?

The guy pulls two guns and fires them both simultaneously at Catwoman. She dodges all of the bullets but not because she's faster than bullets. The pervert probably misses all of his shots because he's firing two fucking guns at once! I bet he could have killed her if he just drew one gun and aimed for half a second! Spark joins in the battle and the hooded pervert tosses a grenade in the van with the hooker. He gets away while Spark saves the prostitute and he and Catwoman take cover as the van blows up.

Looks like the mystery pervert has been busy.

Selina wants to help the prostitutes but they currently have the penguin job lined up. So she files it away for something to look into in the future. As for now, she has to concentrate on robbing The Penguin next issue. But it looks like some other people are going after Cobblepot as well!

I was wondering who was going to care enough to save Cobblepot from the Talons. I guess he got lucky this time and Catwoman will be there since I didn't see him being a priority to anyone in the Bat Family.

Catwoman Issue #8 Rating: +1 Ranking. The comic continues to bring the fun. And each issue isn't filled with a sense of overwhelming odds needing to be overcome! I like that Judd Winick doesn't feel the need to ratchet up the tension at every turn.

Catwoman #7

Guillem March is only doing the covers now. That's too bad.

Catwoman begins the story by stealing a Ferrari from some Greek guy. But she's not just a thief; she's also a gigantic liar!

This is her lie.

These are the buns.

 

I never took Catwoman for a car thief. She's always been such a, what's the phrase, cat burglar? But I guess Big Titty Miss Kitty of Gotham City runs the pretty red car stealing committee. Also itty bitty and shitty and whatever else you can stick in there.

Oh, and speaking of rhyming. Fuck all the press that Eminem gets for rhyming "orange" with "door hinge". I thought that one up on my own as did one of my poetry professor's friends as did Kurt Fucking Vonnegut. He also rhymes "purple" with "burp'll"! And even if nobody wants to believe the nobodies like me and my professor's friend about coming up with the rhyme, Kurt Vonnegut's was published in Welcome to the Monkey House, you fucking fucks. Eminem is a hack with some pretty catchy songs. But he's not the God of rhyming. Rhyming is fucking easy, you morons. It doesn't denote great intelligence.

Where was I? Oh yeah! Catwoman stole a car! And she doesn't usually do that! But apparently she likes stealing cars because she says so later. Some other guy with eyes out of a 90's Image comic also likes stealing cars!

He's got ANGRY EYES! One look at you and I can't disguise!

Oh, and here is where Catwoman says she likes stealing cars! Just because it's fucking cute and I'm always complaining about stupid comics not being fun and then Judd Winick who I don't want to like at all starts writing a comic that I enjoy reading! Life just isn't fair at all! I bet Judd and I could be really good friends. You should e-mail me, Judd! GrunionGuy AT placesandpredators DOT com, dude! Next time you're in Portland, I'll buy you a beer and apologize for all the jokes I've made at your expense. AGAIN!

Yay! Stealing cars!

Catwoman needed someone to help tone down her recklessness so she hit up this Gwen woman who is a fence and possibly someone I kind of remember Catwoman talking about in a past issue but who can keep all these people straight? I'm reading 52 different DC titles! I can't be expected to remember the names of people without super powers! Selina is supposed to listen to Gwen at all costs because Gwen plays it safe and checks out all the leads. But then this one night, some really expensive cars need stealing and Gwen doesn't have enough time to check out the situation. So Catwoman goes in all by herself without any leads and immediately remembers why she made the deal with Gwen.

He's not finishing that sentence in that speech bubble so I suspect he's going to be interrupted by that guy with the Angry Eyes when I turn the page.

That was an easy one.

This guy uses the name Spark and isn't here to steal cars. He's here to save Catwoman's ass (mmm, Catwoman's ass) and ask her to team up with him. She thinks he's cute and she's manic and crazy so she readily agrees! It's the team-up of the century!

Catwoman Issue #7 Rating: +1 Ranking. Decent story and far too many cute Catwoman moments. Plus, it's only moving ahead of an empty space where one of the new titles will debut.

Catwoman #6

Cat claws can penetrate anything, even Batman body armor.

Catwoman ends up in a Gotham Police interrogation cell after being caught spending the cops' dirty money. They want their money back but Catwoman knows better than to make herself useless to a bunch of filthy, murdering, robbing police by giving up everything she knows. Most of what she knows is the location of the rest of the cash. Since Catwoman won't give up the location, they bring in a special interrogator.

This interrogation is about to get sexy! In a really violent and bloody way.

While Catwoman is busy getting her face rearranged, the good cop that wanted to investigate Catwoman for a recent string of robberies is told that Catwoman escaped while bringing her back to the station. But he's not as dumb as he's drawn. He realizes all of the bad cops have suddenly disappeared and has a sudden realization.

It must be a tough gig being an honest cop in Gotham. Constantly fighting on two fronts while they cripple your ability to do your job. Why does anybody live in Gotham? Low cost of living and high wages?

Meanwhile, in the back room, Reach continues to interrogate Catwoman. As I was typing interrogate, I made some air quotes because she's not really interrogating Catwoman at all! She's just beating the crap out of her.

This fight didn't turn out to be very sexy at all!

Reach is a giant moron because her name is Reach which implies she has the ability to keep at a distance while fighting someone. And then she goes and gets nice and close to Catwoman so Reach can have her ear bit off. It's like all those stupid fools in movies who have a gun and feel the need to stand one foot away from their enemy so that their enemy can remove the gun with a chop or kick. The main advantage of having a gun is that you don't need to stand next to the person to keep control, you stupid mongrel jerk-offs! Writers can be such lazy assholes.

I'm not really complaining about why Reach got close here. She was just a stupid overconfident green Super Villain who thought she had the upper hand and Catwoman was confessing quietly because of broken ribs and maybe a punctured lung. But any story where a guy gets his gun knocked out of his hand because he didn't keep his distance was written by a lazy writer. Unless the scene took place in an elevator. Then it's acceptable.

The good cop breaks into the interrogation and knocks Reach out with a riot stick. He then lets Catwoman go because he believes if he tries to arrest her in the normal, legal way, he and Catwoman would be killed. Boy, being a cop in Gotham really does suck! So instead he lets her go and probably goes back to his desk to push papers around and look innocent. I'm sure there's a good reason why no other cops were watching behind the one way mirror since, you know, two hot women were going to rough each other up a bit. No need to watch that. I'm sure the reason was probably doughnuts.

Catwoman escapes and finally (FINALLY [FINALLY!]) comes to the conclusion that maybe she should leave Gotham for awhile with her money. But some other guy has a different Bat-idea.

Someone's Bat-horrrrrrnnnnyyyyyy!

Batman and Catwoman have a big tussle (a violent one, not a sexual one. At least not sexual for Catwoman) because Batman thinks Catwoman shouldn't be a thief. He seems to think she should wear a pantsuit and work in Human Resources down at the Gotham Bank. Or something less dangerous. I'm sure it's because he'd be too embarrassed to face the rest of the Justice League if they knew he was boinking a criminal and allowing her to get away with it. Doesn't Batman care about Gotham?! So he yells at her like she's his teenaged step-daughter and forces her to give up the money.

Batman is totally co-dependent.

So Selina lets Batman keep the money which he'll probably return so that the Gotham Police will stop hunting for her. But that just means Batman sent her back out to commit more crimes. Because she's now a broke thief. What does he expect her to do? Sign up at Gotham Temp Agency? They'd probably just send her out to be a henchman to the Mad Hatter or The Riddler anyway! So Selina tracks down a new fence to find a new job to piss off Batman in new ways!

Catwoman Issue #6 Rating: +1 Ranking. This comic might be good for Catwoman (or it might not be depending on how sexual you like your Catwomen) but it's definitely bad for Batman! He just comes off as a sexually frustrated control freak. I think Batman and Bruce Wayne are such different people that Batman doesn't get any kind of gratification or release from Bruce Wayne's sexual escapades. So Batman needs to get laid too! And he doesn't know how to handle that. It's not in any super hero guide book! How do you remain dark and grim and terrifying while trying to score some tail? Apparently you have to find someone as beat down and broken as Catwoman which is why he allows her free reign of Gotham. She was right about buying time by having sex with Batasshole. Boy does he come off as a creep in this book! It's pretty awesome, actually.

Captain Atom #8

The word "de-evolved" gets this song stuck in my head. Also, awesome video.

Future Captain Atom drags Present Captain Atom (or Past Captain Atom?!) outside of time so they can talk. Or fight.

Or maybe he's dragged into time! Mind blown!

And then I turn the page....

If I were schizophrenic, I would believe the comic book and I were having a discussion.

Captain Atom has been pulled into the time stream to see how events ripple across time. He sees how small events with small waves can eventually lead to big events that cause massive waves which affect many things throughout the time stream. Future Captain Atom knows that the event that led to the destruction of Earth happened sometime around Present Captain Atom's current time. But he's not sure what the event was because the giant wave of Earth's destruction blocks out the smaller waves preceding it.

That's the moment, the tiny wave, where J.T. Krul's analogy falls apart. Because now he's saying that events in the time stream can't be viewed from any direction? They can't watch a small wave gather up and turn into a big wave? Dumb. But even dumber, the Time Stream is chock full of Captain Atoms!

But still just one Captain Atom! Mind blown?

The Future Captain Atom's want to stop Earth from being destroyed. But they can't change the past because it would destroy themselves in the process. But they've contacted Present Captain Atom because he can stop Earth from being destroyed!

Same thing, dillhole.

See? This is what I was talking about last issue. The problem with people viewing time in two distinct ways. Believing that a person can change the future. That's an illusion because the future is just tomorrow's past. Once it's come to fruition, that's it. Forget about changing it. Unless you want to deal with multiple time lines as in the movie Primer. But if that's the case, then it doesn't matter what Captain Atom does anyway. Because, in theory, a timeline exists for every action and choice that Captain Atom makes. So the Earth will always be destroyed in some timelines and it will never be destroyed in others.

But these Captain Atoms make a point of telling Present Captain Atom that they are all from one universe, one timeline. No parallel dimensions here. Which means they're changing their past by telling a Past Captain Atom to change his future.

Like I said. This can only end in stupidity.

The Future Captain Atom's send Past Captain Atom to the day before the end of the world so that he can stop the world from ending. Is that going to work? Are the Future Captain Atom's saying that the big wave that caused Earth's destruction began the day before? No. Captain Atom probably isn't here to stop the destruction of the Earth the day before it happens. He's probably here to learn how the Earth is destroyed so that it will give him a clue as to the moment in his time that set the Earth on this path. So he checks on the people from his past to see how they're doing.

Nope, Scott Scott Alexander Scott isn't causing trouble.

General Eiling seems to have calmed down twenty years in the future as well. So Captain Atom doesn't believe he's a problem. Next he visits the Continuum and Dr. Megala.

Well, he's become a Super Villain but he's not going to end the world.

Captain Atom asks Dr. Megala where Ranita is. And while Captain Atom doesn't find her in this issue, the reader gets to see what's become of her.

Uh oh. I think we've found the problem!

I guess that means Captain Atom is going to have to return to the present and take Ranita's hand back. That might not go over so well with the whole trying to make her fall in love with him plan.

Captain Atom Issue #8 Rating: No change in the ranks. Again, the comic was told much better than many of the initial comics. But I will never allow a comic to move up the rankings for telling stupid out of time future possibility stories. Any plot based on the character deriving his motivation from a future event and acting on that knowledge to deal with the present is bullshit. It's crib sheets for writing a story. Much easier to come up with a story if you have a problem at hand (pun!) and you can make the protagonist react to that problem. But it's just dumb when you choose to make the conflict a problem from the future.

Captain Atom #7

Did J.T. Krul not get the memo about time travel not working anymore?

Just looking at the cover of this issue, I'm already annoyed. Last issue ended with the Earth being destroyed in 20 years. And now this cover shows a futuristic Captain Atom killing the current Captain Atom. Please people, stop with the time travel stories. Nobody ever does it well. The television show Lost did the "whatever happens happened" version of time travel really well. The movie Primer did an superb job dealing with multiple timelines resulting from time travel. But most movies, Back to the Future included (although it was still a terrific trilogy), get it wrong and fuck it up. Perhaps this will be the one area where J.T. Krul is proficient.

The mystery of Captain Atom's clock is revealed at the beginning of this issue. The clock started the moment man's first stone calendar was invented.

This one, of course, was accurate to the second.

The 'it' of "it all changed" was man's concept of eternity. They lost the sense of the cyclical returning and renewing seasons, year upon year, and began to see time as a line stretching out to some endpoint. I think this is a good summation of how many people have chosen to see time from some point in our history. It's why every generation has a new group of end-timers. But mankind's view of time did not change once he erected some sort of stone calendar to keep track of specific times in the year! Those were erected when the year was everything. I would say the concept of eternity as a straight line would have begun once modern dating began. That's when time becomes a timeline. The people who made this ancient calendar were obviously just concerned with the sun's movements and how it related to them and their crops.

Of course, J.T. Krul could simply be stating that this is the moment of inevitability when mankind was put on a course to see time as a road with a destination. After the panel with the beginning follows a panel with the ending.

The Earth has already been dead a full day. This is the moment Future Captain Atom probably goes back in time, Flashpoint be damned.

My concept of time is that free will both exists and doesn't exist. We perceive time differently depending on if we're looking forward into the future or backward into the past. When he look to the future, we see possibilities. We are free to do anything we choose. The past contains inevitability. What happened happened and we can't change it. In essence, we have two different versions of time. But what the future holds is simply illusion. What we will do, we will do. Everything else is theoretical. Once we act, it cannot be changed. Thus the present changes possibility into inevitability and we see our options truly weren't options at all. Free will is an illusion.

Yet nobody knows what the future holds. And thus every action we make, even if it is the only action we were ever destined to take, is our own and our choice. It is our free will. Just because something is an illusion it doesn't mean it can't be the most important illusion there is.

Back to Captain Atom of the present, he spends some time Narration Boxing about how great a super hero he is to be able to save one person's life by getting rid of his brain cancer.

Yeah, yeah, you're awesome.

A-ha! Let me take a guess at where this is going even though a lot of my suppositions late have been for crap. In Issue #3, Captain Atom was wondering if he was working for or against a master plan. Once he helped this kid Mikey, he began to believe he was helping some kind of master plan. Or he couldn't perceive how this kind of help could be bad. But twenty years in the future, the world is going to explode. Is this going to be because Captain Atom fiddled with too many things? Perhaps he made things unstable with his powers. Is Mikey's head going to explode?! And because of his interference, Future Captain Atom needs to come back in time to bitch slap some sense into Captain Atom and tell him to tone it the fuck down before you ruin everything.

Or he'll just come back in time to try to kill his past self.

Back in the Continuum, Captain Atom asks Dr. Megala if he wants to be helped. Seeing that Dr. Megala is just a comic book version of Stephen Hawking, that means Captain Atom wants to know if he Doctor wants his body fixed up. But he declines.

He's talking about masturbation!

Captain Atom leaves Dr. Megala to his dreams to help Ranita with the particle accelerator. While observing the atoms smashing together, he is overwhelmed with memories. This part is told much better than most of this comic mainly because J.T. Krul cuts way back on the Narration Boxing. He flips between memories with just a minor Box to sort of book end the memory and place it within a point in time. Flying free from his father. Coming back to his father. His first contact with his first love. His last contact with her before leaving everything forever. But then once he's back together in the present, it's back to all Narration Boxes all the time.

Captain Atom stalks Ranita while she's out on a dinner date with Scott Alexander Alexander Scott. And while staring at them eating, he's confronted by Future Captain Atom!

No you don't. Go back to your stupid future. This can only end in stupidity.

Captain Atom Issue #7 Rating: No change. This may have been the best issue of Captain Atom so far. Sure, the cover, once again, was out of sync with the comic. This cover probably should be for Issue #8 since that last panel I scanned was the last page of the comic and the first meeting of the two Captains. So, you know, no murder. While the comic was still very heavy on the Narration Boxing (which is why it doesn't gain a rank), it had a few well done moments where Krul held back on the Narration Box Explication. These moments work far better than the rest of the book. More of this, Krul. The Boxes make the comic like reading a text book. These are the things you need to know about my story. But I don't want to read a text book! So, you know, stop it, Krul.