Well, Now What?

The Universe taught me a lesson today.

Oh, hi, nice to see you all - sorry I've been away so long.

Today I decided to cancel a couple of credit cards that I have sitting around. I've come to understand, at the tender age of 47, that it's not good for one's credit rating to have empty cards sitting about. I've never had a very good head for those sorts of things. But one thing I absolutely hate, in deep, dark, unfathomable ways, is sitting and waiting on hold and listening to the awful (and that's coming from me who tries to appreciate all) music and the intermmitent assurances that your call is important, and would you like to try this product and then when you talk to someone, they inevitable try to sell you something you absolutely don't need.

Especially if you're trying to cancel your account.

So today, I smoked a bunch of weed, got Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (about which I'm having a couple of interesting thoughts) on the TV, and made the calls.

I didn't get a chance to watch any of it. Both HBC and PC Financial simply (that's a pun) asked me for some information and then said thanks. I actually thanked both of the people profusely, as this sort of transaction is something that causes me stupid amounts of anxiety. Really dumb amounts.

I cried a little after the second call, when I realized that the shitty expectations I had of these interactions came from inside my head, from me, and not from anywhere else.

I've let the project slide for the last month or so. I'm behind, not even sure what day I'm on. One of the things on my list for this week is to try to catch up. We'll see. Sage has given me four volumes of Chainsaw Man to read, a series they liken to Morrison's seminal Doom Patrol. Intrigued.

So I'm going to go watch the rest of GoGv2, a grand Cthuloid romp if ever there was one, and reflect on the fact that expecting the worst out of everything is a terrible way to be.

More to follow...?

Look What I Just Found! - Man-Thing Appears in Guardians of the Galaxy!

Maybe someone else has seen this, but I couldn't find anything online about it. In the end credits sequence for Guardians of the Galaxy, we see one of my favourite characters, Howard the Duck. Howard first appeared in the series Adventure Into Fear when it was the primary vehicle for Man-Thing, a character that's far more interesting and far less sexual than he sounds.

Here's what he looks like:

In the post-credits sequence, we pan down on the Collector sipping a drink and getting licked by Laika. But have a look at what's in the top left of the screen:

Here's a closer look:

(Note - edited May 22 - tried to enhance the picture a bit.)

I don't know about you, but that certainly looks like Man-Thing's eyes and nose, and it definitely looks like a plant.

Both Howard and Man-Thing had their heydays under the auspices of the amazing Steve Gerber. His runs on both titles are near the top of my recommendation list. Actually, the Guardians' first substantial run was written by him too, though they were a very different team. Definitely a writer worth checking into.

Keep Reading?

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 1234: Giant-Size Man-Thing #4, May 1975

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 1248: Howard the Duck #9, February 1977

Weird Worlds: The Minor Mainstream Works of Steve Gerber, Part 1 – Dr. Fate