Good morning friends and Happy Sunday!
This morning is a great one here in the valley. Last night we heard thunder and saw lightning. Lightning is cool but also bad because it starts wildfires. But I woke up to a wet driveway. Rain is good because it puts out fires and it cleaned the air of smoke.
Before jumping in this edition of Pocket Dimension, I want to invite you to watch the trailer for my new Comic Book!
You can get your copy of this comic book here.
Yesterday we went to watch The Odyssey movie. As usual, the best approach is to ignore any hype or chatter and just decide to watch the movie yourself or not. I enjoyed myself, even though it was a mixed bag of a movie. There were even some parts that were so bad they made me laugh, which was enjoyable.
Overall? I mean it’s a Christopher Nolan movie. He is probably the greatest living director. So it’s only common sense to expect a good movie. He made some other movies I think are a lot better. I don’t think in 10 years we’ll be talking about The Odyssey as the crown jewel of Nolan movies. But it is 100% worth the ticket price. I usually recommend the book over the film. In this case it is. But also, the book is not an easy read so the movie maybe the better option.
I think my opinion on the movie can be boiled down to: it’s good and there’s depth there. But it didn’t move me enough to care about putting the effort to make an in-depth analysis of it. The depth is there, but I’m not super compelled to explore in blog form.
There is new Legion of Superheroes title launching soon. So I decided I would read all these old Legion comics I’ve been collecting over the years. I have a spotty run starting in the late 70s going into the 90s. I definitely prefer reading an unbroken run but books written in the bronze age were very careful about catching up readers every issue. There’s always someone dumping a bit of exposition to fill in gaps. The editor even adds footnotes to the reader, informing them which issue the character is summing up in dialogue.
It’s interesting how the tone noticeably drops its Silver Age tone from issue to the other. Writer Gerry Conway is clearly influenced by the Golden and Silver Age. His caption boxes read with a radio play tone. And the stories carry a still some of casual whimsy with them. The entertainment factor is in the melodrama and the unpredictable wackiness. The plots often read like he doesn’t know the resolution to them until the last few pages.
When Paul Levitz takes over scripting duties, his tone, coupled with Keith Giffen’s artwork decidedly take a turn for the more serious. The plots are more intricate and strategic. The artwork more textured and rendered. There is a sense that the books are the result of about 30% extra effort.
I have to say, the charm of the late Silver/early Bronze ages stays with you. The books are entertaining and fun. But the cavalier approach to the books also undermines the sense that these stories matter.
When the proto-Bronze age starts, one immediately gets drawn in more deeply by the sense of care put in the books.
St Lawrence was a 3rd century Deacon of the Church.
From Wikipedia:
As a deacon in Rome, Lawrence was responsible for the material goods of the Church and the distribution of alms to the poor. Ambrose of Milan related that when the treasures of the Church were demanded of Lawrence by the prefect of Rome, he brought forward the poor, to whom he had distributed the treasure as alms."Behold in these poor persons the treasures which I promised to show you; (…)" The prefect was so angry that he had a great gridiron prepared with hot coals beneath it and had Lawrence placed on it, hence Lawrence's association with the gridiron.
It is said that on the gridiron, he taunted his tormentors with a joke: “Turn me around, because this side is already well cooked.” They turned him, and after a time he said: “It is done and ready to eat.” Then turning his eyes to Heaven he prayed to God for the conversion of Rome and expired.
This is why St Lawrence is the patron Saint of cooks. He is also the patron of Rome, of students, miners, tanners, the poor and of firefighters. The river from which Canada was founded is named after this St Lawrence.
For more on the significance of the St Lawrence river for Canada, you can read this article from the Comics Odyssey archives.
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