Flashback

A promotional flier (and ad) by artist Hugo

for my shop back in the day!

I love the intricate whimsy;

such a great visual!

***

Acts of Valor: Monny Shot

"Talking 'bout that Monny, Monny, Monny..."

I always thought that Mon-El was one of

those characters that just had an essentially 

sexualized quality.... 

not just because he was big and beefy and sturdy,

nor powerful and strong.

I liked his boy-next-door, good-natured quality

that came from his suffering and uniqueness,

giving him more depth than just old boy scout

Clark.

There's just something adorable and passionate and

alluring about him, and of course there's the

wounded soul thing which appeals to us care-takers!

He's hot but he doesn't really know he's hot.

He's an average, nice Joe College...with

a little something-something extra.

And, then too, pictures like this don't

hurt his station as sexy beast!

***

Who's Who (5-Year-Gap era)

Starting with Sprouse giving a lovely review of

what had come before, the 1990's "Who's Who"

focused on the transformation of the team in

the new storyline, preceded by the "Five Year Gap."

Giffen's take on the gathered team (although

they were consistently fractured in the series itself.)

                                               (Assists by Al Gordon and Tom McCraw.)

My fave, Luornu, had quite the role,

as ably co-written by Tom and Mary Beirbaum,

alongside Mr. Giffen. (They also produced the

gritty and engaging dialogue.)

Mekt (yes, another older, white-haired,

aristocratic, magnetism-wielding ex-villain!)

was given a great redemption, alongside the reveal

of his sexuality.

As with the post card set, these Who's Who

entries provided a lot more info on the characters'

behind-the-scenes doings both in the series and

in the interim since the last publication.

As such, they are indispensable as companions

for reading the series, which I heartily recommend!

Some bizarre additions dotted the landscape as

allegiances changed and characters matured...

and a lot of previously-written-off as

comic relief characters were given a chance to shine.

Other friends were taken to less-than-grand

logical extremes

in their character development.

Old code names found new usage...

mysterious transformations plagued others....

and new nerd-beefcake abounded!

(Anyone notice a certain SG1 resemblance?!?)

The next generation arrived

(as well as new races...)

...and old friends were put through the

wringer, only to find what they were truly made of.)

New roles provided a greater sense of

impact for some...

...and separation proved disastrous for others.

Old friendships turned into Body-Heat-level

'relationship-status-updates'...

...and interesting rewrites were done to preserve

history within the confines of editorial crucifixion.

Logical Spiritual awakenings continued, leading

 to new paths,

including open-minded love...

and further fall-out from the Crisis was met

with Glorith's wicked time machinations and

manipulations.

Old fan faves stole the spotlight as reinvented

bad-asses, (once again saving the day...)

...and  the Legion proved that even with a cast of

thousands, cool supporting cast is essential!

Anyone else think the 'Glory' character on Buffy

may have been based in part on ol' Glorith?

Full circle with Chris Sprouse's SW6 kids.

(By the way...anyone else notice the cool

swiping of the specifically Five Year Gap

that's occurred in other medium lately;

Desperate Housewives, Young Justice: Invasion,

Mad Men--well, they

did a 10 year jump; is that twice as cool?)

***