I have spoken before about the Marvel Comics superhero named Rogue.  Her powers are a sort of mega-empathy: She absorbs the abilities of anyone she touches. 

I can relate.

Lately, my empathy powers are really hauling ass.  We have been working pretty obsessively for Barack Obama’s campaign, and we have found a wonderful community of like-minded Americans that are totally energized and ready to bring hope and healing back to our glorious nation.  We are all absorbing each others’ powers, and focusing our heroic efforts.

This morning I found those three Marvel Masterpieces sketches to share with you, and they seem rather fitting.  Empathy magick is a very messy business.  There are always doubts, fuzzy boundries, and a large patches of chaos.  Many times I feel like that Dr. Strange drawing.  I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

That is Barack and Michelle Obama, with their two beautiful daughters.  I apologize in advance to anyone who has a different view of politics, but I need to gush today about the hope I have for our country at this transcendant moment in American history.

1. Barack Obama embodies the “American dream” in ways that usually only get exposed in fiction.

2. He had a black father from Africa and a white mother from Kansas.

3. His father left when he was two years old.

4. His mother raised him to participate in the world, changing his community for the better, and he was always an inspirational leader to the kids around him.

5. For a while, the family was on food stamps.

6. He struggled against the racism of the times, just like the rest of us.  He was born almost exactly one month after me, in 1961. 

7. His father died in 1982, in an automobile accident.

8. His mother died in 1995, of cancer.

9. He worked his way through college, graduating from Columbia University and Harvard Law School.

10. He became a United States Senator.

11. He decided to run for president, against all odds.

12. He inspired a huge movement in America, most of it arising on the interwebs and then spilling out into the actual cities of each and every state.  His background as a community organizer taught him that people are willing and able to build America back up from the ground floor.  He currently has over 1.5 million individual financial supporters, with an average donation of $96 each.  

13. He is on the verge of winning the nomination of the Democratic Party, and proving that nothing is impossible in America.  He has started a New Voter Registration Drive in all 50 States, which we will be attending this Saturday.  He gives me real hope for the future, and I thank you for allowing me to share my excitement for this historical moment with you today.  No matter what your political perspective, it is a glorious time to be an American. 

Sorry for taking a couple days off.  Between Cinco De Mayo and the results of the Indiana primary, my feet have not touched the ground since my last post. 

Now this.

Promethea is my favorite comic book of all time.  If you ever want to do me a favor, track down #12 and check it out.  It is the coolest thing ever printed on paper.

Thanks to Omega Red on Realms, I just found out that I am not alone in my admiration of Alan Moore’s greatest masterpiece.  It is mad satisfying to know that REAL comic geeks agree with my assessment.

I love that book.  It’s one of those New Age mumbo-jumbo gumbo things.  It takes the exact number of bricks in the hallways of the Great Pyramid in Egypt, divides them by some funky myths of the Illuminati, adds it all up with a dash of environmentalism, and proves that the world will end on Cinco De Mayo.  In the year 2000.

So, whether we are just imagining this blog during our extended death vision or not, it’s party time.  Chomp down on a jalepeno for me.

Viva Mexico!

The movie was excellent.  Gripping, outstanding acting by Robert Downey Jr.  Fun little supporting roles by Terence Howard and Gwyneth Paltrow.  Jeff Bridges’ best performance since The Dude.  Marvel hit a home run with their first completely in-house movie, and they even slipped in a sex scene!

I loved the effects, and I dug the quirky little origin story that explains the color choice on the suit.  I didn’t catch it at first, but Nina said “So Terence Howard is gonna be War Machine in the sequel, eh?”

She was right, and it made my night.  Highly recommended.

I was just laughing, out loud, a lot, at some lame troll over on Daily Kos, right? Well, what pops up as a trance breaker in one of the responses? Yep. You guessed it. The ObamaSquirrel! I guess I cannot escape my destiny, and I freaking love it.

It’s the last day of Crime Lords Month.  It’s been seven months straight for this blog, non-stop documenting the verities of my existence.  It’s time to take stock.

I don’t think we ever really “get there”.  Even on the days we win the trophy, or preview the Squirrel Girl, or hear the final bell at the end of the last day of school…

It starts all over again. 

We carry the parenthesis around in our heads.  We select certain sections.  We choose a portion of the immeasurable thing called life, and we glorify it.  It feels good.  It gives us a reason to carry on.  It shapes the self.

When all seems lost, when I cannot get a handle on the endless demands of modern life, I make myself into a legend.  I realize that no character in the history of mankind has ever lived a life exactly like THIS.  I remember certain times and places in my life when it seemed like I had “arrived”.  I revisit the sensation of accomplishment and satisfaction I had whenever I reached a certain pinnacle, and I stand on the mountaintop again right where I am sitting here now.  Returning to the scene of a great triumph in the past always makes me feel better about the present and gets me fired up for the future.

Whether we ever get there or not.

BREAKING NEWS: Mike Watt sent me an email, with that amazing photograph. In case you don’t know Mike Watt, he is only the greatest bass player who ever lived. If you have been here a while, you have seen me blog about him before.

This was the spiel. Remember what Vs. System card we just previewed, and connect the dots…

hey, my old friend nanny works at a children’s zoo here in pedro and animal control brought her two squirrels they found over on fifteenth street that fell out of their nest in a tree. they’re baby albino ones - very rare, maybe three weeks old! their nails felt trippy on my hand and they were very friendly for being wild… it was hard to get this shot cuz I’m not left-handed but I just went for it…

That is another fabulous example of the hand-painted sketch cards that are inserted into the new Marvel Masterpieces packs.  Those are by Chris Ortega.  Six random examples that hold some fairly profound connections to our upcoming Marvel Universe expansion set.  And, most importantly, they call to me as a beacon in the night.

Storm tells me to re-connect with Mother Nature.  The entire Cosmos is ready to support our efforts, we just need to shut up and listen.

Captain America tells me to continue in my quest to help elect a candidate that can bring real change to our country.  It is getting rather scary, and it will get worse, as the old guard clings violently to their power.

Scarlet Witch tells me to keep the faith.  I know that every single random leaf that I kick into the air when I walk home today could be the trigger for global healing and joy.

Iron Man tells me that there will be a killer movie opening this weekend.  I can’t wait.

Dr. Strange tells me that there are forces beyond normal comprehension that can be embraced and engaged in the quest for Coolness on Earth.  Those forces are waiting at all times to be summoned.

Nick Fury tells me that the new Vs. System cards are going to be a party of the most fantastic kind.  I have never been much of a fan of the man with the eyepatch, in fact we have ragged on him for decades.  Now he is a hero in our house, and the future will never be the same.  No one is ever beyond the forgiveness of the human heart, and every dark day can be transformed into a full scale celebration.  Onward!

That’s Angelina Jolie, as a member of the Fraternity of Assassins, in this summer’s Wanted. It opens on June 27th, smack dab in the middle of the greatest single season in cinema history. Since our beloved Squirrel Girl is now an assassin herself (see below), I plan on calling that sizzling Tattooed Woman “Doreen”.

And, the BIG NEWS. Guillermo Del Toro, the genius behind the film versions of Hellboy, has moved to New Zealand to begin filming on The Hobbit. After the amazing work he has done with Liz Sherman, I predict some seriously awe-inspiring action in The Shire.

It’s a great time to be alive, meet me in the comments and we will gush about the upcoming crop of movie magick.