Sass

Raven, Abyss and the Nest could have been hell of a heel group in '03. Just let Raven do the speaking for Abyss on how he found him in Puerto Rico and was going to destroy Jeff Jarrett with him. His pshysique won't be a problem. He'll be looking like Matt Morgan in no time.

Has Batista ever gotten any comparisons to Apollo before?

I think I'll see this. It could get to be interesting with Steamboat on talking.

When I was about 6 was when I wanted to be a wrestler. I use to wonder what it would have been like to be involved in something that has made people happy. I've watched it for so long that I can understand why these guys do it. But I don't condone it's office atmosphere. They're still stuck in some of the outdated carny ways.

The Sandman not showing up does neither side any good. Taz coming out of retirement to beat Kurt Angle again might help an ECW-themed card. Angle's 0-2 against Taz (except for a 3-way mach). Taz then retires again and Vince tells Angle to not touch Taz ever again after the match. Dictating to Angle that if he does go after Taz will result in his termination from the company, since Vince wants to protect Angle (and his neck) from getting crunched by Taz again and forcing him into retirement. Somewhere down the line the two can have their big grudge match (with Taz possibly being the heel). That or he can beat HHH.

The company can take some solace for drawing an decent buyrate in a typically crummy month for numbers. Sorta.

Batista beating Benoit isn't too bad for right now, with the Elimination Chamber match coming up, and he hasn't really gotten the best of any top star except for HBK and Benoit (but not really much though). Besides, Batista is 36 right now and has torn his rotator cuff twice. He probably needs to be pushed sooner rather than later since he's catching on with the fans, something rare nowadays. He might not be able to last with Orton, Cena, Benjamin and co. like the WWE would like him to for at least 5 more years.

I'm surprised. No one has mentioned Guns N' Roses. Axl's going to swoop in and save music once again. He'll be the savior for next year.

Moreno wants more ad and TV revenue. Having Los Angeles attached to his team's name will help increase his cash flow. Vlad the Imapler is going to become a monster celeb in the next couple of years. This name change hoopla can only help the Angels in marketing and advertising.

Hal's GL genocide run is in Trade Paper Back and can probably be found at a Barnes bookstore or your local comic shop. It's probably best you read the books for yourself rather than have people give you their opinions on how you should feel going into the book. The story changed Green Lantern forever. That's all you really need to know.

Damn, he was one of the best innovators in comics and how they appeared on page. So long Mr.Eisner, you will be remembered.

What I find funny about all of this Jason Todd mess is how the fans were the ones who wanted him killed in the first place. I doubt many people have changed their minds about Todd 15 years later.

Negative Zone = Skrull imposter

Terry Taylor, Ed Ferrara, Johnny Ace and other agents were the booking crew for WCW from the fall of '00 to the end in March of '01.

Jerry Sloan wasn't antagonizing fans like Artest was. Sloan got hit for doing nothing. Artest got hit because he was acting smug. Neither guy should have had anything thrown at them though. Other than that, I pretty much agree with everything said. Stephen Jackson did get shafted badly with his punishment. I never heard any of the talking heads bring up the point about Jackson's initial involvement in the ensuing scrap. It's something that no one seemed to recognize.

I knew about the GLC and Action Comics stuff. But I didn't feel the last issue of GLC did the characters justice. At least not like, as say, Pre-Crisis Superman's big "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" storyline. That's a fucking send off for someone. Byrne nabbing Donna Troy and inserting her into the black hole book of apathy that was Wonder Woman at the time was a lame, lame, lame thing. Issue #86 was where Rayner fought Jade's twit brother Obsidian after he didn't like what he saw between the two love birds. Donna was more interesting than Jade and it didn't hurt that she didn't look like She-Hulk's little sister. That was something I could never get over. The issue just turned me off from collecting the rest of Rayner's GL run. It was like reading Three's Company gone wrong. If I were to compare Hal Jordan to anyone, it would be Captain America. They are both soldiers first and foremost.

Before the crap, OJ Simpson was one of the best RB's since Jim Brown to come and play in the NFL. Running for over 2,000 yards in one season in the freezing tundra of Buffalo is not an easy feat. At least his line, the Electric Company, was one of the best O-lines to ever play. Jim Brown > Barry Sanders > Walter Payton > OJ Simpson. I doubt Walter Payton was on steroids too. He was like the football version of Pele. Their bodies were machines that could go after everyone else was tired out. Payton played sick and hurt while setting records. Running backs look to gain more speed, not add on more muscle mass of sorts. Reggie White probably died because he did not take good care of himself after he retired. He was always a big guy, even when he was a kid, and I think his weight was probably an issue for him after he retired. It sure ended up being one for him with his death. He might have taken steroids but I don't see him doing that. He was always a big guy and kept himself in shape during the off-seasons. Not a lot of ex NFL players are motivated to stay in shape after leaving the game.

I use to collect GL. He's a character I've always been frustrated with. The stoic ones like Hal and Captain America are always the ones that writers can not seem to figure out how to write for. This has made for some horrendous stories. In about one year, both Hal Jordan and Tony Stark (Iron Man), two of my favorites characters, were turned into murdering sociopaths and then replaced with some younger guy who happened to be wearing their outfits. I could no longer get myself to buy either character's book after that. I gave Rayner a chance since his intro wasn't as bad as young Stark's. I kept collecting the book until issue #86. That was when it became clear to me that Rayner was never going to get the full backing from DC that he needed in order to thrive. GL Rayner was never going to have the upper hand on guys who Hal would obliterate in fights. Nearly getting killed by Sonar and Dr.Light in back-to-back issues was awful. Both of those guys had no business giving Rayner trouble after being DC's doormat super villains for years. The people from HEAT were harrassing writer Ron Marz and DC to the point where personal information of theirs was being leaked out to them. Like what sweaters Marz' wife was wearing when she went out for groceries or what she bought. These freaks finally managed to get DC to bend over with issue #100 when Hal made his big return in the regular DCU and sales for GL went up like nearly 70% at the time. That said it all. The Rayner experiment was given a half-assed effort by DC and the character never did manage to find that breakout story. Rayner limped on for another 7 years after issue #100 while always being in Hal's shadow. He never did step up like the writers had Wally West do in the Flash after he took over for Barry Allen, post-Crisis. The character was totally mundane and could have been a dead ringer for Joey from the show Friends. No one gives a shit about Joey. Rayner never had the chance he needed to succeed. Now Hal is coming back. Again. This time, people are saying he's going to stay around for good. That's what DC was saying when they brought his book back in 1990 after his first book ended on a whimper (224 issues too). Hal is just not a very interesting character because he has never had a good writer, like Peter David on the Hulk, be able to tap into the character's strong points and build on them while manipulating his weaknesses into smart plot twists. Ron Marz was a very good writer but he turned Hal into a super hero with issues instead of doing the right thing and tapping into the GL Corps and going with that. Like Spider-Man, it was always Hal's supporting characters that brought out the best in him as a person and a character. His interaction with his fellow GLers was always a bright spot in the book. It carried a balanced dose of super hero and stoic soldier. That just never became the case though with Kyle Rayner. His supporting cast was a gang of low lifes or troubled misfits who forced their secrets and problems onto Rayner a tad too easily. They held back but they always left something for Rayner to dwell on without giving him the full scoop on what was happening (Terry) until it was too late and they found themselves in trouble. It always looked too obvious to me. I felt like I was watching a Bret Hart match on SNME or something. Hal's supporting cast never had cookie cutter stories. Rayner's cast did have those types of stories and that was one of the books big downfalls that occurred at the start and never changed. Green Lantern is one of my favorite super heroes but his book is also one of the most frustrating runs I've read in comics. No one can get it right. I'm just tired of being burned with GL. I've been scorched too many times. That's all. This was a guy I grew up on reading. It sucks to see a favorite character of yours get misused or abused by fools. I apologize if I came off half-minded or delusional in my post above. It's just, this is a character I've always liked. I am just weary of finding myself getting attached to the book again but only to get burned once more by the hacks. That's all. I hope this story turns out well.

Marvel needs to stop trying to kill Magneto all the time. It's like the X-Men can't keep him locked up in a prison or something. Instead, Mags always has to look like he's about to die after the story ends.

Hal Jordan lost it. He killed innocent people. No justification. It was not out of self-defense. He killed his fellow GL cohorts in cold blood. All for the selfish reason of bringing back his town after it had been destroyed. He was told "no" and even after he cut his way through the GL Corps, the city still did not come back. "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions." This book is doomed because you are trying to put a positive spin on a mass murderer along with setting him up with his soon to be released monthly series. Wiping the slate clean so to speak. There's another slap. No one can ignore what Hal did. This is why I feel this story has been a slap in the face to fans. He killed his friends. He developed the traits of a super villain and did not look back. Coast City never was brought back. Hal did not even fulfill the mission he set out on when he went rogue. He "died" in his last act by trying to save the DCU from getting blanked out by the Matter Eater but can that really be enough to atone for something like incinerating Killowog? I don't see either guy sharing a drink with one another over that. Geoff Johns is writing with a double-edged sword here. The only people who win here are the HEAT goons and their blind ilk. Judd Winnick scores again though. Had DC not let Winnick sink GL Rayner as badly as he did on his run as writer then there would have been no need to bring back Hal or let a mass murderer of heroes have his own monthly series. Of course some people were probably licking their lips over Rayner getting dumped as GL. The book stunk and Rayner became the scapegoat instead of taking Winnick to task for writing a crummy book. That *is* the thing that I find most disgusting in this debacle. Instead, the knee-jerk reaction becomes to replace Rayner and to finally "atone" for past mistakes 10 years later. I am just tired of the GL merry-go-round. It's been 10 years. I think it's time to get off this ride.

At the time, Thunderbolts revealing themselves to be the Masters of Evil in disguise was a great twist. Issues #1 to #13 were good stuff.

Batgirl Birds of Prey Catwoman Gotham Central Aquaman Fables Flash JSA Outsiders Wonder Woman Y: The Last Man on Earth Astonishing X-Men Captain America & Falcon Invaders She-Hulk These are the only current shelf books from the Big Two that are worth your time and money to check out. Usagi Yojimbo is also worth picking up too.

TSM's early Christmas present has arrived.

I was referring to the unhealthy obsession with kids from Malibu. You're going to get into trouble for that some day. Saved by the Bell should have stayed on the air for 4 years and then transfer into the college trip for 3 years. That way Slater wouldn't have looked like a ringer on the high school wrestling team when he was like 22 in real life. The dude was big. On the topic of Trish: She has not gotten ripped to hell like Chyna, Jazz or even Lita. But her body has grown a *considerable* amount since she debuted in 2000. Her body is much more filled out and her arms are a lot bigger now than they were before. She's just not cut up like the girls I mentioned above. Thank goodness for that though. Even JR was pointing out how "little" Trish was when she debuted, which is usually the WWE's way of telling someone to get bigger. Her knees are going to go out on her like Victoria's have at some point though. They'll be a mess. Female bodies are not made to support so much mass, especially when they are taking as many bumps as the girls do today. That's a recipe for a broken down body. Ivory is probably going to be in the best condition out of any of the wrestling girls in 10 years. And she's old enough to be the mother to some of them. Lucky woman.

Hey's it's 1995 all over again. ... That's not like a good thing. Talk about going back to the well...