Sojourn In Chicago, Part One

I'm sitting in my mom's home office, typing this blog on her brand new mega-cool computer with plasma screen...and I'm in Chicago.

Thanks to some real last-minute upsets, I ended up dead last getting on the plane, dealing with some drunken yuppie frat boys (hey, here's a clue - when the flight attendants ask you to turn off your cell phone, and you don't do it, you deserve to be called a term that rhymes with brass mole...but I digress.

Got in last night, got my car, and I can heartily recommend staying at Extended Stay America - you get a little kitchen area, the rooms are immaculate, and it's relatively no-frills. Read some of my comics stash, which I had picked up from my favorite comics place; pretty much a mixed bag:

• JSA # 67: I'm glad I read this first; it's one of the few cross-overs that actually *gasp* reflects on the main book. Great "use" of Power Girl, both thematically and contextually. (Read: she realizes her past is just as "screwed up" as her continuity). Great lead-in to the "JSA/JSA" crossover. (Will we see the Starman of 1951...and I don't mean Ted Knight?). Only quibble - Dr. Mid-Nite looks a little too much like Nite-Owl for my tastes, but since Dave Gibbons is doing the art, I can forgive it.
• Avengers Finale - You mean to tell me trees were cut down to publish this travesty? "Let's all sit down and reminisce before the obvious we-loved-you-anyway-money-shot". Worthless. No wonder I rarely read Marvel.
• Green Arrow # 44 - Winick lays it on a little too thick here. He has experience with this, and...well, this is no Pedro and Me, that's for sure.
• Flash 215 (backordered from last week) - another cool Identity Crisis crossover, but with a great twist on the main theme. I won't spoil it for you - find this book. Hunt down whomever to get it. It's that good.
• Identity Crisis # 6 - I'm one of the few people in the middle on this book - it's well-crafted, but I don't think it's Watchmen quality, nor do I feel it's garbage. (I think those who hold the latter view are more upset about their childhood memories being tarnished than on the story's merit). Well, bad news is that it proves my past speculation wrong. Even though it has an interesting, didn't-see-it-coming moment, the hints toward the killer strongly imply some of the mind-switching stuff from issue 1. Good thing it's only 7 issues long.
  

Have only been in town almost twelve hours, so I'm splitting this post in two.