Comix Weekly #005

Okay, so this column has been a little less weekly then I originally planned...but I got a family, so .

Anyway, last week the coup of DC Comics kicked off led by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee with Flashpoint #5 and Justice League #1. If you aren't into DC at all, but were curious, this is the absolute perfect palce to jump on. Here's the gist of what's happened: Geoff Johns brought Barry Allen back as the Flash, made him the center of a universe/continuity destroying event, and then basically reset the entire DCU. Heroes have only been around for five years and the general public doesn't really trust them yet. Mostly. Some more than others.

Superman is now the first hero to emerge, wiping clean away the JSA from WW2. Batman is sort of an urban myth again, although most of his continuity is supposedly intact. Wonder Woman is missing the pants that JMS tried so hard to give her, which led to lots of fanboy huzzahs. Green Lantern is a cocky douche. Cyborg is on the A-Team. Aquaman is still lame. Flash is cool, but only because of his powers and not because of who is in the suit (where the hell is Wally?).

The approach seems to be mimicking what Marvel did with the Ultimate line over ten years ago: modernizing the characters and making new stories easily accessible to new readers (and their wallets). However, they didn't really give us a clean start. As mentioned, Batman's past seems largely intact and that means he's gone through five Robins in five years. Dan Didio, geek-in-chief, has stated that Batman was operating secretly before Superman made his debut five years ago, and that Robin is more of an internship than a partnership meant to last.

It seems like they are picking and choosing the stories that are sticking around as problems arise, because no statements were issued about specific characters, like Robin, until there was a fan outcry (still waiting on that Wally situation!). If you don't care about continuity then there's no problem. But for those of us that stick to it like a fat guy to a Happy Meal without apple slices, it's annoying.

Superman and Lois aren't even dating, let alone married...so when he was killed by Doomsday, what exactly was her role in that story (which remains a part of contintuity)?

How about Damien Wayne, Bruce's son and the current Robin? He's around 13 years-old, but that means that Bruce would have had to have been raped by Talia al Ghul before he even donned the cape.

And what about Wally West?!?!?!1111

What's odd about the end of Flashpoint #5 is that Barry Allen seems to retain memories of how things used to be. So far, he's the only one. Will he be used as a dues ex machina to bring back the old DCU soon? I wouldn't been too surprised, but only time will tell.

BTW - If you happen to find yourself wondering what I'm up to all the time, make sure to swing by my new blog and find out: http://dave-golightly.blogspot.com

Located at 1509 Carson Street in Pittsburgh's South Side, this is the place to get some fatguy food.

Any usual item you could ever want on a hotdog, you will find here.

Over the last 3 days I have tried 3 of their hot dog selections.

1.) The Mac & Cheese Dog - a hotdog covered in Mac & Cheese, Frank's Red Hot and Onion rings. I'm pretty sure it shortened my life by a few years, highly recommended. The Red Hot on the Onion ring breading almost gave it a buffalo wing type of flavor, which just added to the deliciousness from the hotdog covered in Mac & Cheese.

2.)The Walking Taco Dog - a hotdog covered in chilli, cheese, Fritos and sour cream. I think I felt chest pains while eating this one. One word - Amazing!

3.)The Buffalo Dog - a hotdog covered in buffalo chicken dip. This one I was slightly disappointed with after throughly enjoying the selections. I did not detect much chicken or buffalo. This dog I'd rate OK at best.

Other choices include pulled pork, bacon, deep fried, cole slaw, pizza toppings, etc..

Also for you herbivores, they have a veggie dog.

Their menu also includes Nachos, Loaded Fries, Funnel Cake Fries and many other items you would crave after the bars close on the South Side (they also close at 3am on weekends).

I was also happy to see Throwback Pepsi in their cooler, woo hoo sugar!

Stop by, give them a try or you will be that guy!

I've been lazy and slacking. It's the summer and I've been busy.

Over the next few days I'll be updating the site with reviews of some hard to find sugary drinks and some unusual hotdogs at Boardwalk On Carson.

Until then!

Since our parent company, CTools Interactive LLC., is based in Pittsburgh, PA we thought we should attempt to do something for the community.

However, since we haven't made a cent in 11 years. we've decided to see if our readers would contribute to a few worthwhile causes.

If you don't want to, don't. But give this a read before you decide.

#1. The first is Public Television, in our area it's known as WQED.

How many of us grew up on shows like Mr. Rogers Neighborhood (if you're in Pittsburgh it's very likely you met him at some point before he passed away) and Sesame Street ?

How many of us even now watch the fatguy friendly documentaries of Rick Sebak (Breakfast Special, To Market To Market To Buy A Fat Pig, A Hot Dog Program, Sandwiches That You Will Like, etc..)?

Without viewer support this programming isn't possible.

If you have a few dollars to spare, send a few their way (or volunteer like my wife has done on a few occasions).

_{Their website can be found at http://wqed.org/.}

Since we mentioned Rick Sebak, we learned from a post on his Facebook page today that sadly his mother passed away a few days ago.

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette put together a very nice article about her life, which can be found here.

#2. Coming up on May 8th is the 19th Annual Susan G. Koman Pittsburgh Race for the Cure.

My wife put together a team, which can be found here.

Feel free to make a donation, it's for a good cause.

Guys, you like boobs. Girls, you have boobs.

If you don't like or have boobs you probably know someone who does.

So kick in a few $$ towards finding a cure.

PSA complete.