NM State Aggies vs LA Tech Bulldogs Softball 4-27-24

Looking outside the window right now in the late afternoon, I’m pretty glad they moved up today’s Aggie Softball game against LA Tech to 11:00am.  There’s a hard gusty wind blowing and it’s surprisingly cold for a late spring day.  I’m glad they made a decision on this game last night and gave everyone plenty of time to know about it, as opposed to last time.  

 

I’m starting off this post with some familiar refrains.  After last weekend’s performance, I waved off taking Wednesday off to see the Aggie Baseball team play Arizona.  I figured it wouldn’t have been worth falling a day behind at work to see the team lose badly.  Unfortunately, I was right there. 

 

I also finally thought to check Aggie Soccer’s Twitter before this weekend to see if they were playing an exhibition today.  They did have a game scheduled, but canceled it.  I did see a couple of soccer players practicing on field when I pulled into the Softball Complex.  There was a game going on at the next door baseball stadium.  The Aggies are away, but the facility does get used by some local teams.  In this case, I don’t know who.

 

I ran into fan Danny before entering the stadium and finally got to repay some of his hospitality earlier in the season.  I bought him a coffee at the concession and some tea for myself.  I didn’t need the drink because it was hot, but I’d been fighting getting a cold all week and needed to keep my throat wet.  (Thankfully, I didn’t get sick.)  Danny had bought a new stadium seat.  Previously, he’d just been using a cushion, but he wanted something better for the upcoming tournament.  I was glad my sore back got better, so that I could sit reasonably comfortably today.      

 

A decent crowd came out for the game.  Danny said last night’s game was a full house with three high school girls teams present and they were non-stop enthusiasm.  Today, I saw a LA Tech dad wearing LA Tech branded shoes.  That’s commitment.  I also saw a guy in a Brooklyn Dodgers hat.  They’re spending enough that they probably could field and east coast version of the team.

 

Unfortunately, the Aggies lost the game, 11-7.  They made a late game comeback attempt to make the score respectable.  The Aggies had made some costly errors earlier, probably because of a stiff wind playing with batted balls.  Danny was not kind in this appraisal of the team.  He’d thought they’d really butchered it in the field and pointed out a couple of individuals.  

 

One player Danny didn’t have a problem with was Desirae Spearman.  She not only won another Freshman of the Week honor, but was also recognized nationally as a top freshman.  Danny said she was hurt last night, but Des was in the lineup as the DP today.  We were sitting in the center stand among the group of women that have been there all season rooting for Des.  One of them may have been her coach from Hanks in El Paso.  There wasn’t a softball stadium when I went there.  (Or a baseball stadium or a football stadium.) 

  

The early start time would mean that there’d be no chance of using the stadium’s new LED lights this weekend.  They didn’t use them last night, but did test them out the night before and posted a Twitter video.  The lights are like Soccer’s lights and can flash and do multi-colors.  The girls loved them.   

 

Today’s scorecards had several goofs on it.  I feel like somebody should take my pen away from me at the ballpark.  I actually had to resort to using white-out in several places.  I think my numbers add up at least.

 

During the LAT player intros, the non-starters all dabbed.  That was cute.  The team was also good and loud from their dugout in the first.  Jaileen Mancha started for the Aggies.  She got into quick trouble with a hit batter and a single to start.  (That might have been scored an error on third, but it was called a hit.)  Another shallow single sent the runner at second home.  But there was Jillian Taylor in center and she gunned down the runner easy.  That got the crowd going.

 

What also got the crowd going was the home plate umpire.  They were all over him early.  The next batter walked, which they blamed the ump for.  Brooke Diaz doubled next and drove in two.  Jaileen helped herself out on the next batter.  She took a comebacker and threw out the runner at third, who’d stepped off the base.  Jayleen Burton at short also helped out.  She smothered a grounder and glove-flipped it to second for the force to end the inning.  2-0 LAT.

 

The Aggies strung together a couple of two-out singles in the bottom, but did not score. In the top of the second, Krissy Boyd in right made a diving attempt at a dying liner, but wasn’t able to come up with it.  Danny wanted the scorer to give her an error on the play.  Sheesh!  Jaileen got two outs afterward, including a nice strikeout looking, but another single and a double drove in two more runs.  4-0 LAT.

 

The Aggies went down in order in the bottom of the second.  Jayleen was given an error on a bad throw to first to start the third.  Jillian helped her out.  On a liner to right center, Jill made the catch and then threw out the runner at first, who strayed from the bag.  What an arm!  After the inning, Marketing Director Nicole Sack came out with a pile of hats to toss to the crowd.  It was a lot.  Danny said they had a bunch of giveaways last night.  I guess they’re clearing out the storeroom. 

 

Jessica Carreon hustled out a bunt single to begin the bottom of the third.  Jill followed that up with a single.  Des came up and blasted a line drive shot over the centerfield wall for a three-run homer.  Right after she rounded the bases, a big cloud passed in front of the sun like an eclipse.  I’m sure there’s a metaphor to make here, but I don’t know what it is.  The Aggies got a couple of two-out singles, but weren’t able to add on.  4-3 LAT.

 

A little toddler wearing a t-shirt identifying her with Krissy Boyd’s family tottered up and down in front of the crowd possibly trying to rally the crowd during the inning.  It was adorable.  Nicole came back out and tossed C-USA Softball tournament t-shirts to the crowd.  I remember paying $25 for a tournament shirt in 2018.  That was also the price of my all-tournament pass.  Now, it’s $60.

 

The top of the fourth began with another bad play at third.  It was ruled a hit.  Next was an attempted sac bunt, but was hustled into another hit.  Finally, a walk loaded the bases with nobody out.  A big flyball followed.  If the wind hadn’t been blowing, it might have gone out, but instead it worked as a sacrifice to bring in a run.  Jaileen came back to get the next two outs, including another big strikeout looking.  5-3 LAT.

 

There was a foam finger giveaway to the crowd.  The Boyd toddler got one and didn’t quite know what to do with it.  The Aggies went down in order in the bottom of the fourth.  It ended with Jill striking out.  On the previous pitch, she was about to toss her bat for a walk.  The crowd also thought it was a ball.  The top of the fifth began with a strike call and a sarcastic cheer from the crowd.  Jaileen got out of the inning with only a single given up.

 

The wind caused a flurry of spilled popcorn to fly over the stands.  With two outs in the bottom of the fifth and a new Bulldog pitcher, Devin Elam hit a liner that deflected off the LAT third baseman into the outfield.  She made it to second, though the throw got there at the same time.  Dev was left stranded.  Another cloud passed over and dropped the temperature with it.  It was dark enough that I took off my shades for a while.

 

For the top of the sixth, LAT only singled.  Their defense shined in the bottom.  Paris Endris (what a name) at first grabbed a grounder and dove at the bag to get the out.  Caroline Easom then made a running catch on a popup at second with her back to the infield.  Jaileen was still in to pitch the seventh.  The Aggie defense was stout again.  With two outs and a runner on first, Claire Raley doubled to deep right center.  Jill threw to Jess, who hit Kendal Lunar at the plate to nail the runner and end the inning. 

 

Jessica came up first in the bottom of the seventh.  She hit a looper to left that deflected off the fielder’s glove after a near collision with the centerfielder.  The ball went to the wall, as Jess tore around the bases and flopped across home for an inside-the-park home run.  What a thrill!  Unfortunately, that was all.  Des did hammer a massive foul during her at bat, but the Aggies would come up a run short.  5-4 LA Tech wins.

 

The right side of the stadium erupted with the final out.  I did not realize how many LAT fans were there for the game.  I’ll toss out the Gameballs.  For LA Tech, Mattison Buster came on in relief for the save going 3 innings with only one run allowed.  Kylie Neel and Brooke Diaz both went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI’s. 

 

For the Aggies, Desirae Spearman had that big three-run homer.  Jessica Carreon had that incredible home run the hard way and threw out a runner at home.  Jillian Taylor was worth the price of admission as usual with two great plays from the outfield.  While she didn’t have a great performance, Jaileen Mancha pitched a gutty game.  After two rough innings, she held the Bulldogs down and gave her team a chance.              

 

It was hard to be too disappointed by the loss after seeing those great plays on the field.  It was a hard loss given the series loss to a team with the same conference record.  Hopefully, the Aggies can salvage one tomorrow.  In the meantime, I took advantage of a large two-topping pizza deal for $7 from Dominos after the game and shared it with dad.  Thanks for that.   

NM State Aggies vs FIU Panthers Baseball 4-21-24

I took off for today’s game in a t-shirt.  It was very pleasant out.  After a five-minute drive to the stadium, I got out there was suddenly hit with a cold, stiff breeze.  It was over 60-degrees, but probably colder with the wind chill blowing across the stands.  Most of the fans seemed like myself and were unprepared for the sudden shift in weather.  Fan Michael had grabbed a windbreaker from his car.  He was also listening to the game today on the radio, like I was.  I’d made a convert.  (It’s the best way to take in a game at the ballpark.)

 

Fan Ken sat out today’s game to watch the Indycar Long Beach Grand Prix.  Yesterday, he was a little miffed that he was missing the IMSA race at the same venue.  I admit, I would have liked to have seen those races myself, though the races there tend to be more glamorous than dramatic.  (And they’re on cable, which I don’t have.)  I was still missing the Looney Tunes marathon this weekend on TV.  What I’d seen after yesterday’s game had been hysterical.  This included three cartoons worth of “Duck Season/Rabbit Season.”  Need I say more? 

 

There was a first pitch from a university professor.  His family chanted, “Daddy,” during the pitch.  There was a second pitch, but this was actually a putt with a club from a member of the Aggies’ Women’s Golf team.  (She left it short.  Disappointing.)  The Aggie Baseball team photographer had her hair down today and was dressed a bit more conservatively than usual.  She looked beautiful, but she disappeared early in the game.  The Hot Pan Am Girl was not tossing out souvenirs today.  I felt a bit cheated in entertainment today.  (Crowd-watching is part of the baseball experience.)         

It’s hard to imagine with all of the scoring, but everything added up on my scorecard with the scoreboard.  Of course, I’m not checking all the numbers with the official scoring.  That might damage my ego. 

 

So was the wind a factor in today’s game?  Definitely in the top of the first.  Yesterday’s cycle-hitter, Armando Becerra for the FIU Panthers, hit a flyball to the outfield that blew straight out.  I think that was the only shot today that the wind was responsible for.  The wind wasn’t really blowing out; it was blowing uncomfortably on the crowd.  1-0 FIU. 

 

The Aggies struck back in the bottom.  Keith Jones singled and stole second.  Mitch Namie doubled him home.  He was called out at second, but the second baseman dropped the ball.  Coach Angier complained and umps had a conference and reversed the call.  Who needs replay?  Local player, Steve Solorzano is off the IL and had been playing this weekend without much luck.  With two on, he hit a liner to first, which was caught and turned into an unassisted double play by doubling off the runner.  1-1.

 

Hayden Walker was the Aggies’ starter.  He was pitching well, but the wind was hurting him.  With a runner on, Kishon Frett hit a popup that just drifted out of the infield into No Man’s Land.  Three Aggie defenders dove for it, but the ball fell in for a bloop double and a run.  2-1 FIU.  Damone Hale led off the bottom of the second.  He walked, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and was driven in on a sac fly by Edwin Martinez-Pagani.  The Aggies tied it at 2, however, the Aggies left the bases loaded.     

 

Hayden worked out of the top of the third with a strikeout and a double play.  Alex Ulloa threw his helmet after hitting into the DP.  The umpire gave him a warning and the FIU coach pulled him from the game.  In the bottom, Logan Galina was robbed of a hit on a sliding catch by Frett in the left field.  Solorzano hit another liner straight to first for the second out.  The Aggies rallied and loaded the bases on two singles and a walk.  KJ was hit by a pitch to drive in a run.  Once again though, the Aggies would leave the bases loaded.  3-2 Aggies.

 

Then the wheels started to come off in the fourth.  A walk and two singles drove in a run.  Brylan West doubled in two more.  5-3 FIU.  It is worth noting that no one was warming up in the Aggie bullpen in the inning.  Mitch struck out to start the bottom of the frame.  He said something to the ump and got a warning.  Logan was hit by a pitch and Solo finally got on base via walk, but they were left stranded.  Frett made a jumping catch in left for the final out.  He dropped the ball after the catch.  Coach Angier argued the hit with the ump to no avail.

 

Then the whole Aggie vehicle exploded to continue the car analogy.  Hayden pitched to six batters in the fifth without getting an out.  EMP made a couple of hustling plays on defense to no avail.  After five runs had scored (including a three-run homer by Frett), finally Aaron Treloar was brought in.  He gave up a two-run homer to West.  I was at least comforted that sunlight had finally crept over to where I was sitting.  It made it a lot more comfortable in the cool breeze. 

 

By this point, even the FIU dugout was tired of cheering.  The eighth batter of the inning was the first out.  After just three batters and a second home run given up by Treloar, Matt Romero was brought in.  Third baseman EMP made an extreme shifted play on a liner, where he was playing next to first base for out #2.  14 batters came up in the inning and the Panthers left the bases loaded.  13-3 FIU.  

 

By this point, Adam Young and Marcel Renteria on the radio call were relieving the old days doing blow out coverage.  The Aggies weren’t able to score in the bottom of the fifth and the Panthers didn’t score in the top of the sixth.  In the bottom, FIU put in their fourth pitcher of the game.  Yes, their coach was giving an early hook when his pitchers were getting in trouble.  The Aggies got three runs trying to stave off the run rule next inning.  Pinch hitter Preston Godfrey singled in a run and EMP tripled in two runs.  13-6 FIU.

 

Cho Tofte came on in the seventh.  He pitched to one batter and walked him.  Coach Angier came out and got him.  The radio said it was for walking someone in that situation.  Kade Benevidez came on and ended up giving up five runs, including a three-run homer to West (and he walked a batter).  18-6 FIU.

 

Not only were the Aggies facing a run rule loss in the seventh, Adam said that it was now 2:00pm and the game was under a travel curfew and this would be the end of the game regardless.  KJ walked to start the inning.  He was thrown out trying to take second on a wild pitch, but then this was overruled when the second baseman dropped the ball.  There was some delay on the call, which explains my scorecard scribbles.  Titus’ groundout was interesting in that the second baseman was playing next to the shortstop.  His throw to first probably wasn’t in time, but let’s get it other with.  FIU wins 18-6 and sweeps the series.

 

For Gameballs, FIU gets two.  Brylan West went 4 for 5 with 7 RBI’s and two home runs.  Kishon Frett went 3 for 4 with 4 RBI’s and a home run, but was pulled from the game late for some reason.  (It’s a bad sign that the Panther 9-hole hitter, Brendan Roney, had 5 plate appearances in a 7-inning game.)  For the Aggies, Mitch Namie went 3 for 4 with an RBI, and Edwin Martinez-Pagani went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI’s and really hustled on defense.  Your stat of the game is 14.  That’s the number of runners the Aggies left on base.  They had their chances today.

 

It was three hours of crushed hopes and dreams for the 456 in attendance.  And I thought the fans were dispirited after the last game.  The team photographer reappeared during the team meeting on field.  I did end up behind the Hot Pan Am Girl on the way out.  I had no idea she was here.  I assumed she was a player girlfriend, but she left and did not go to the “kiss and cry” where the players were.

 

Yesterday, I’d gone out with dad to Subway for lunch and to the bookstore.  (I’ll have another comic review at some point.)  Today, I went to Jack-in-the-Box to use a two free taco coupon.  It wasn’t the most filling meal, even with large curly fries, but it tasted really good, especially with an orange Coke.  From there, it was back home for more classic cartoons and the marathon.  (And a side trip for a chocolate-covered paleta.  So much for the diet.)  At least my back was feeling better for this game, though I may have re-aggravated it writing this.  (Not from the results of the game, just from sitting at the computer.)  

NM State Aggies vs FIU Panthers Baseball 4-20-24

Darn it!  I missed another Aggie Soccer exhibition.  I discovered this as I pulled into the parking lot.  Maybe just as well.  If I’d been out in the sun for another couple of hours today, I’d have cooked.  Still, I wished I’d known.

 

At the next door Softball Complex, there were a couple of high-rise platforms working the lights.  As I looked closer later, I realized they were actually replacing them.  They were setting up new LED lights.  The Diamondbacks have done this at their field and I’m told they’re great.  I found out later from Fan Michael that Coach Rodolph had been given the option to use booster funds for new lights or backs for the seats.  As a fan, I would have appreciated some shade at the facility.  The rumor is that next season will be Coach Rodolph’s last here. 

 

Speaking of shade, Presley Askew Field has lost a few more panels in their canopy and functionally has no shade.  It was a beautiful day, but the sun got warm with no cover.  Fan Ken brought an umbrella and was worried he was blocking my view.  I just moved over.  There was a big tailgate going on in front of the stadium and lots of cars I the lot, but the crowd inside turned out to be just okay at somewhere around 500.

 

Aggie Baseball played some road games since their last home series.  They took two of three from Middle Tennessee in conference.  Out of conference, the Aggies beat Tarleton twice, including an 11-10 victory in extra innings.  Logan Galina had two home runs in that game.     Friday night, the Aggies started their current home series versus FIU.  The Aggies made a huge comeback from being down 10 and actually took a slim lead late.  The Panthers would tie it and take it to the 11-th and win 13-11.      

That brings us up to first pitch today.  Get comfortable.  This may take awhile.  Trey Meza started for the Aggies and immediately yielded a triple and a run-scoring double.  Titus Dumitru made a sliding catch in right field between two other fielders for the first out.  The damage was limited to a 1-0 FIU lead.  The Panthers pounded the padding on their dugout rail with the run and all throughout the game on hits and runs.

 

Keith Jones didn’t take long to answer, as he led off with a home run.  It went out just inside the right field pole.  Titus came up next and hit a grounder to third.  The ball hit the third baseman, but Samuel Fischer managed to collect it and throw out Titus at first, maybe.  Coach Angier argued the call, but it stood after an ump’s conference.  Mitch Namie knocked a surprise bunt single.  Michael identified a hot girl in the crowd as his GF.  Well done again.  Nick Gore singled after, but both were left stranded.  Tied at 1.

 

The senior guy at softball last week, who only got to see one play of the game, was here.  He got to see plenty today.  A double started the top of the second.  After a sacrifice, the runner came around on a bad pickoff throw to third by Meza.  A walk and a two-run line drive homer by Armando Becerra added to the Panthers’ score.  The major shift that was put on before he came up was unnecessary.  There were two more singles afterward, but Meza got a strikeout to end the inning.  4-1 FIU.

 

Oh my goodness, she was back.  The Hot Pan Am Girl sashayed out in a tank top and shorts to tease and work the crowd for a t-shirt toss.  She was summer stunning in her sunglasses and long blonde ponytail.  Her teal fingernail polish even matched her top.  I was missing a Looney Tunes marathon on TV for this game.  I was feeling a little better about my decision. 

 

The bottom of the second didn’t go as well.  After a leadoff walk, a hit up the middle was deflected to the second baseman, Roylan Quevedo, who turned a double play.  Romeo Ballesteros then smashed a liner to Quevedo that bounced square into his chest and knocked him to the ground.  He was okay.  Romeo was not, as he was the victim of an easy pickoff right after.

 

A guy came in wearing a new Cleveland hat.  Why?  They no longer have a baseball team.  I was styling in my Ranger hat and shirt.  In the top of the third, Meza was chased from the game after a walk, a double, and two singles for three runs.  On one of those singles, centerfielder Damone Hale mishandled it and the runner went to second and a run scored.  Conor Wylde came on in relief and a cheering section of girls went wild.  His first pitch got sent over the fence for a two-run homer.  I could hear players in the FIU actually laughing.  9-1 FIU.

 

The Hot Pan Am Girl came by tossing souvenir sunglasses to the crowd.  I told Ken his umbrella was blocking my view.  She ignored his request for glasses.  There was Keith Jones again to start the bottom of the third.  He jacked the first pitch for another home run.  HPAG came out for a t-shirt toss for the homer.  Even more awesome.  She even came out again between innings.  Going up and down those stairs to pressbox every time, she was probably getting winded.  9-2 FIU.

 

In the top of the fourth, Wylde gave up a single and a double for another run to make it, 10-3 FIU.  I noticed at some point that Damone wasn’t in centerfield.  Michael guessed he was probably pulled for that error earlier.  Jadon Arakaki, who’d taken his place, led off in the bottom with a walk and advanced on a wild pitch. 

 

Edwin Martinez-Pagani came up and hit a deep double to the centerfield wall.  Becerra bobbled it there and EMP made it to third and drove in Jadon.  This was scored a triple.  (Seemed like a double and an error to me.)  Romeo next hit a high popup to right, which was lost in the sun and dropped.  This was scored as a run-scoring single, though the ball did hit the fielder. 

 

KJ came up.  Some kids started chanting, “Home run!”  He hit a foul that nearly took out his third base coach.  After a fairly titanic battle of fouling off more pitches, KJ finally took a couple of close pitches for a hard-earned walk.  The Aggies then pulled off a risky double steal, which ended up being unnecessary after Titus took a walk.  This set the stage for Mitch.  He took full advantage of it with a grand slam home run and pounded it off the scoreboard.  10-8 FIU.  At least it was a game again.   

 

In spite of the dramatics, I was hearing the lady behind me rant about . . . Herbert Hoover?  Why is this person at the ballpark?  Cade Swenson started the fifth for the Aggies and worked a blessedly scoreless inning.  The kids were chanting, “Strikeout,” for him.  The Panthers brought out a new pitcher in the bottom and also had a scoreless inning. 

 

Cade had another scoreless inning in the sixth.  He did it at risk of personal injury, as three batted balls came right back at him.  On the first, Cade ducked and EMP dove and smothered the ball behind him and then got the out.  The next went by him for hit, but the final one did actually hit Cade.  He stayed with it and got the out.

 

The Soccer team was here after their game.  They got their picture taken for Aggie social media.  KJ came up to start the bottom of the sixth.  On that matter, I noticed the bottom of his pants were ripped.  Sunday, they were still torn.  I mentioned it to Michael and he said they’d been like that since Friday.  (His lucky pants perhaps?)  KJ struck out, but Titus picked up the slack with a big home run make it closer, 10-9 FIU.  Later, Gore tossed his bat for a presumed walk, but was called back by the ump for a strike.  How embarrassing. 

 

Unfortunately, Cade worked into some trouble in the seventh.  He gave up a double and then a triple to Becerra, which made it 11-9 FIU.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but that gave Becerra a cycle for the game.  A remix of The Outfield’s classic, Your Love played between innings.  I sang out, “Tonight!” like Charlie Blackmon was coming up to bat.  The Aggies came back in the bottom.  They got two on via a single and an error on the pitcher bobbling a comebacker and overthrowing first.  Romeo cashed in a run on a single.  11-10 FIU.  It was still a game.

 

Cade gave up two more hits up the middle to start the eighth.  He was living dangerously.  After a sacrifice to move them over, Mitch grabbed a grounder, stepped on first and threw home for a double play.  Titus started the bottom of the eighth with a single.  The second baseman bobbled a probable double play ball to get Titus, but let Mitch on.  Gore made that mistake payoff with a two-run homer and put the Aggies up 12-11!  We go to the ninth with the lead.

 

Forget it.  I’m not even going to bother with play-by-play for the top of the ninth.  The Panthers scored 7 runs to take an 18-12 lead.  Cade started the inning giving up two hits.  You could hear him in the stands grunt after giving up that second hit.  After a talk, the coach left Cade in for another batter, but he ended up hitting him to load the bases.  Zach Zwaschka came in and gave up a double and the lead and it went downhill from there.  The FIU dugout was laughing again.

 

That half inning was painful, but EMP got the worst of it in the bottom.  He was plunked hard enough you could hear it in the stands.  He fell straight to the ground.  Somehow, he got up and took first.  Regrettably, that was the only threat of the inning.  FIU wins 18-12.               

 

Michael and Ken were having flashbacks of yesterday throughout the game.  I guess that was appropriate.  The only thing that worked out well today was my scorecard.  I matched with the scoreboard, so that’s good enough for me.  A quiet and dejected crowd left the stadium (and I’m not kidding).  It was a long three-hour trip to a bad destination, but it was interesting.

 

I’m just going to toss out two Gameballs and both for hitting.  Armando Becerra for FIU hit for the cycle.  He went 5 for 6 with 7 RBI’s!  For the Aggies, Mitch Namie gets the nod for going 3 for 5 with 4 RBI’s off that big grand slam.

 

I’ve been nursing a bad back all week.  Sitting down was making it worse, so I was actually suffering a bit during the game.  Taking the loss was insult to injury.  We’ll try it again tomorrow.

Comics Review: JSA, WITCH, Archie, and Amber

Continued from Part 1.

 

JSA #2

Certainly this was the most traditional of the comics I picked up.  The Justice Society of America splits up to find a special baby somewhere in the world.  There’s some personality shown in the characters, but it’s mostly a very functional story.    

I will say this issue has a heck of a final page reveal, especially since Mordru is a Legion of Superheroes villain from the 30-th Century.  I suspect next issue would be more interesting than this one.  

Archie and Sabrina #4

Another decompressed book.  Very decompressed.  Basically nothing happens in this.  There’s some kind of mystery going on.  Issue #5 is the last issue of the series, so I hope they tie everything up quickly.  I’d sort of like to see the beginning of this story just to see how Archie and Sabrina got together.  Harvey must be furious.  Of course Archie has just about dated everyone, except for Josie (who might be his cousin) and Melody (I have no explanation for this oversight).    

This was very much a girl’s comic.  The female characters were pretty, but he male characters were beautiful, even Jughead.  Weird, but good for him.  I can see why Big Ethyl is trying to get with this guy.      

W.I.T.C.H. Halloween Preview

Okay, okay, I know this looks bad for me.  This comic isn’t just for girls.  It’s downright girly.  Then again, there’s some casual nudity, but its under-aged.  Wow, suddenly I’m not feeling good about having this in my possession.  This is a Disney property.  I shouldn't have been surprised by some grooming.  

This was an impressive giveaway from Zia Comics in 2017 for Halloween.  It is 48 pages on thick bright white paper with a glossy cover.  It’s in black and white, but with lots of shading and wash tones. 

 

The story is completely derivative of any other magical girl story.  If you like the genre, this will be extremely familiar material.  It’s more of a Disney marketing effort than a story and a low-effort one at that.  I wasn’t expecting much, but I think I can use this for my drawing practice.  There’s a lot of interesting facial expressions in the Disney/anime style to learn from.

 

Amber Blake #1, #2, #4

These three I picked up at Zia Comics, while the other comics were used from Coas.  Zia Comics doesn’t have a Dollar Box (which is a mistake), but I found these in a box and they were at cover price and not marked up.  They are magazine-sized and surprisingly full-color inside.

 

I was hoping for a female spy story like Nikita, Modesty Blaise, or Alias from what was on the cover.  I was also looking forward to Butch Guice’s fine detailed line work.  So, this is what you get from this, but at the absolute minimum in story.  There is some complexity to it, but the backstory and set up feel like wasted pages.  This would have been better as a known work in the genre, so that the setting and character could have been described in a couple of text boxes and then it could gone on with the story immediately.  There’s not enough originality in the setting or characters to make it more interesting than the other works that inspired it.

 

Basically, this is a revenge story.  Amber is an orphan raised in a special institute.  She finds out her friends are being abused by the headmaster.  Amber is forced to escape after trying to expose it.  She ends up getting recruited by a mysterious organization that goes after powerful, corrupt people.  Issue #4 seems to resolve the story and the character. 

In any case, there is some really great artwork. 

 

Sorry if this wasn’t much of a review of these comics, but after reading them, I had very little enthusiasm for doing it at all.  Overall, this load of comics was big strikeout.  I need to just buy stuff I’m sure I’ll like or stop buying comics. 

Comics Review: Batman 66 and Friends

After going to work way early one day last week, I decided to go to the Downtown Mall for lunch at the Rad Retrocade.  As implied by the name, it’s an arcade, but also a bar and grill.  We’d had a company dinner there last year with nachos and other snack food and all the video games you could handle.  The food was pretty good and was it fun.  I’d wanted to try the burger on their menu, especially since they offered sweet potato fries with it. 

 

Nearby Day’s Hamburgers was the only other place I knew of that served those kind of fries.  Unfortunately, Day’s closed down last year.  I was there the day after they announced they’d be closing at the end of the month.  It was me and a restaurant full of other patrons who wished to pay homage to the decades-old establishment.  It took an hour get served, but it was the best burger I’d ever had there (and their burgers are great to begin with).         

 

The Rad burger and fries were great, too.  The burger was thick and juicy, though it took awhile to get it.  I don’t think they were expecting someone to come in in the middle of the afternoon for lunch.  For eating at what was essentially a restaurant, the price was reasonable, as well.  I told the waitress to thank the chef, since the meal was really good.  She gave me a puzzled look, “It was?”

 

I still had plenty of time before work, so I walked over to Zia Comics and Coas Used bookstore.  I ended up picking up a pile of older comics from both places.  I couldn’t find anything new on the rack that interested me or any books or graphic novels.  There was an older Conan trade that I was interested in, but not for $40.  In retrospect, I should picked that up and not bothered with the rest.

Batman ’66 Meets Wonder Woman ’77 #4

I remember quite a while ago, I bought the original Batman ’66 revival trade paperback for a friend.  I read it before giving it to him and was fairly impressed with it.  Later, I found a few issues of Batman ’66 meets Archie.  My review of that was mixed mostly because the story felt very unnecessarily decompressed.  Still, it was fun.  What I did not know was that this concept has been turned into a full franchise of nostalgia. 

 

I’ve seen the Wonder Woman ’77 comic based on the Lynda Carter show and a Superman ’78 comic based on the Christopher Reeve movies.  I suppose the teamup would be a natural.  (They could also do a 70’s Shazam comic with Isis.  There could also be a 40’s Superman from the cartoons and a 50’s Superman based on George Reeves.  Why not?) 

 

The guest villain for this issue is Ra’s Al Ghul.  He seems a little intense for Batman ’66.  His daughter, Talia, is there simping for Batman.  Catwoman is on Team Batman in this issue, too.  At the end, Catwoman gets asylum from the Amazons to avoid Batman taking her back to prison.  And, she blames the patriarchal society for her being bad.  I think tongue was in cheek there.  Then, Batman credits Wonder Woman to inspiring him to be hero.  (Maybe Catwoman was being serious.)   

 

We do get the obvious pairing of Robin and Wonder Girl.  Him teaching her the “Bat-tusi” is the best part of this issue.

 

The second best is this F-4 Phantom Batjet.  I would love a model of this. 

 

Batman ’66 Meets Steed and Mrs. Peel #1 & #3

I don’t know why they didn’t call this Batman ’66 Meets the Avengers? 

Oh, wait. 

Okay. 

 

I showed this to a co-worker and she had no idea who the English characters were.  That’s understandable.  The first time I encountered the British Avengers in the 80’s, I had never heard of them either.  I only got to see them a few years ago when episodes were shown on the Charge network briefly.  They showed them uncut.  As it was an English show and ran longer than an hour, they had to show two episodes to even it up.  (Space: 1999 had the same issue when they were shown on the Comet network.)        

 

The first page of issue #1 was all feminist Agenda, as Bruce endures a lecture from a modern woman, but plays along in hopes of getting some.  In issue #3, it turns out that she’s the villain.  It sort of feels like a mixed message to the comic’s presumed young female audience.  (Of course, they’re not actually reading this.  They’d have no interest in 60’s superhero nostalgia.) 

 

The villain woman even had the cheek to tell Mrs. Peel she’d be replaced and that Mr. Steed has had other partners.  This is all actually true.  The show is only identified with Diana Rigg, but there were ***three other women partners*** on the show, including Honor Blackman, who was a Bond Girl (as was Rigg).   

 

The artwork is like it’s traced and painted over photographs.  I don’t think it is, but I can’t say for sure.  It’s odd, but not unappealing.  It’s certainly distinctive. 

 

Catwoman appears in issue #1.  I’m surprised both of these series feature the Julie Newmar Catwoman.  You’d think they’d do the obvious race-swap with Eartha Kitt, just to be annoying.  Issue #3 just features an Avengers villain, I think. 

 

Steed and Mrs. Peel are reasonably witty, which was a hallmark of the Avengers.

I was admittedly pleased to see Aunt Harriet make an appearance.  The characters are much more in-character in this series than the other two series I’m reviewing.  While the other two series are aping; this one is a genuine homage.  I liked this series the best of bunch, but I’m not entirely sure I recommend it, even if you’re a fan of both shows.      

 

Batman ’66 Meets the Man from U.N.C.L.E. #2

This issue suffers from way too many characters.  It reminds me of the teamup with Archie in that respect.  There’s a whole menagerie of villains and Batgirl.  Also, this was a bit of an odd pairing.  Batman and the British Avengers works as the Avengers was a fairly surreal kitschy show at times.  UNCLE wasn’t hugely realistic, but was a bit more grounded and known for its gunplay, which Batman doesn’t deal with.  Being a 60’s TV show was, I guess, enough of a connection.    

 

There’s some action in this and some dialogue interplay, but this one left me disappointed.  Maybe it was the artwork.  I thought Batman was smarter than that.  I almost want to read the rest of this series just to see if there’s a NCIS reference somewhere.  (UNCLE and NCIS share an actor, if you don’t know.) 

 

Overall, these comics seemed to be aimed at kids, which is an odd choice.  Granted the Batman and Wonder Woman TV shows have been in constant syndication to where kids might have watched them, but UNCLE and the British Avengers are much more obscure.  I’d have gone for an older audience. 

 

I feel like this concept would have worked better as a continuing series, rather than six-issue limited series.  Like the classic TV show, every story could be two parts with a special guest villain and maybe a hero.  These comic stories were suffering from decompressed storytelling, which only has a chance of working with really great artwork.  Tightening up the stories and limiting the guests would have helped.  The best choice DC made was with the Michael and Laura Allred covers on all these issues.  They are very eye-catching. 

Also cool were the ads for Batman: The Animated Series action figures.  

Here’s more nostalgia.  Now this would have some kid appeal.

 

Continued in Part 2.