Jon's Blog

Gallup did a phone survey to see how many Americans are gay married and came up with this:

Approximately 0.3% of adults in the U.S. are married to a same-sex spouse, and another 0.5% identify as being in a same-sex domestic partnership. In examining the total population of 243 million U.S. adults, these survey estimates suggest nearly 2 million adults are part of a same-sex couple, of whom 780,000 are married.

These data are based on 80,568 interviews conducted on Gallup Daily tracking from Jan. 28-April 19, 2015. Overall, approximately 0.3% of all respondents during this time period both identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) and said they were married, and in a follow-up question, they indicated that they were married to a same-sex spouse. An additional 0.5% of adults identified as LGBT and reported being in a same-sex domestic partnership...

The 780,000 American adults who are estimated to be married to a same-sex spouse translates into approximately 390,000 same-sex married couples in the U.S. Similarly, the estimated 1.2 million adults living in a same-sex domestic partnership translates into 600,000 domestic partnership couples. Thus, there is a total of almost a million same-sex couples in the country, of which nearly four in 10 (39%) are married.

At 990,000, Gallup's estimated number of same-sex married or domestic partner couples in the U.S. is significantly higher than past estimates derived from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS), which in 2013 put the number of same-sex couples at roughly 727,000. Of this group, more than 250,000 reported they were married. The Census Bureau, however, has cautioned that the ACS estimates of married same-sex couples may not be reliable as they have determined that a large portion of recorded married same-sex couples may actually be married heterosexual couples who miscoded the sex of one of the spouses.

In other words, social conservatives are freaking out over the existence of roughly 2,000,000 partnered gays and lesbians.

THE FOX: FOX HUNT #1 was published a couple weeks ago. This is a sequel series to the first mini-series featuring THE FOX. This is the second in Archie Comics' new Dark Circle line of comic books. It features Paul Patton, Jr. AKA the Fox. He's a husband, father, professional photographer, and reluctant superhero.

Both series have spotlighted Paul's desire to give up the tights and become a regular guy. The problem is that he's become a freak magnet. It doesn't matter what he does. He still manages to attract hostile villains of all sorts!

But first...

This blog entry contains spoilers. If you don't want to know what happens in THE FOX: FOX HUNT #1, then stop reading now. You have been warned.

Back to the show...

This series begins in Patton's hometown of Beaver Kill. The town has been bought out by a corporate CEO named Mister Smile. He plans destroy this deserted community and turn it into a river basin for nearby Impact City. Patton and his son Shinji have traveled to Beaver Kill to photograph what's left of the community before it's all literally washed away.

Remember when I told you that Patton is a freak magnet?

Patton discovers that his "Smilephone," which giggles each time one takes a picture, keeps capturing images of an otherwise invisible green-haired woman -- one with a mean punch! He figures out that this mystery woman hiding out in the old fortune parlor. He dons his Fox costume and -- promptly gets knocked unconscious by his mystery woman.

Soon enough, Patton discovers that his assailant is a Mighty Crusaders villain known as Dream-Demon. Dream-Demon is a witch who used to belong to a group called the Eliminators. We learn in this story that she was Patton's childhood girlfriend. A girl named Linda.

Like Patton, Linda is not happy that her hometown is about to be destroyed. Unlike Patton, she's not content to settle for memories. She plans on using her powerful magicks to spread a toxic black mold throughout the community, effectively destroying its ability to become a river basin for Impact City.

Fox does his best to convince Dream-Demon that Impact City needs the water. She needs to realize that these empty buildings are just memories and that it's time to move on and make new memories.

Unfortunately, his best isn't very good. He completely fails and the black mold plague is released upon Beaver Kills -- effectively killed Mister Smile's river basin plan.

Unfortunately for the Fox, Dream-Demon still loves him. Not only did she release the mold, but she left at least two patterns in his likeness -- apparently as some form of tribute towards his childhood sweetheart. Of course, she inadvertently implicated the Fox with her sabotage efforts.

Now Mister Smile has issued a $1 million reward to the super-villain who brings him the Fox's head!

It looks like FOX HUNT brings back all sorts of classic Mighty Crusaders villains, including Gasser, Brontosaurus, Owl, Gadgeteer, Dragonfly, Iron Fist, and Mighty Man -- plus a couple others whom I don't recognize! Either way, things aren't looking good for our resident freak magnet!

"The Situation" is written by Dean Haspiel & Mark Waid; with art by Dean Haspiel; lettering by John Workman; and colors by Allen Passalaqua.

Robert Oscar Lopez is a bisexual man who opposes same-sex parenting. His parents split when he was young and he was raised principally by his mother. They spent most weekends growing up with his mother's longtime girlfriend and eventually moved in together when he was in his late teens. His mother subsequently died and he spent a period of his late teens/early 20s experimenting sexually and prostituting himself. He eventually reconnected with his father and settled down. He now works professionally to oppose same-sex marriage because of his experience as a man whose mother had a girlfriend -- even though they never married or even lived together for most of his youth.

Lopez published an article in American Thinker anticipating reparation awards for the children of same-sex couples within 15 years should the U.S. Supreme Court rule in favor of nationwide recognition of same-sex marriage:

Over time, there is no doubt that there will be at least 100,000 citizens, probably well over 500,000, placed into same-sex homes entirely or predominantly because of the state’s response to demands for expanded marriage rights from gay lobbying organizations.

These citizens will not have chosen to be deprived of a parent of one gender and subjected to the authority of an additional guardian of the other gender – these are citizens for whom the choice will have been made by the government (a government run by an older generation), when they were infants, or not even born yet, and had no way to consent to or understand what was being done to them.

A sizable number of these citizens could come together and document losses, damages, or “pain and suffering” incurred because they were forced to grow up in a same-sex parenting home as opposed to a home with a mother and father. (Picture how “pain and suffering” was just used by a lesbian couple to levy a $135,000 fine on Sweet Cakes by Melissa.) If so, there will be grounds for later Congresses, Supreme Courts, and presidential administrations – ones that aren’t as cowed by the gay lobby as our current leaders – to go back and investigate how gay marriage passed, how it led to depriving children of a mother or father, and who has to pay up...

This year, much of the Supreme Court’s decision about gay marriage will hinge on the case of Ms. April DeBoer of Michigan. She and her lesbian partner adopted children individually but claim that the state of Michigan needs to issue them a marriage license so that each can become a legal parents of her partner’s children.

The DeBoer v. Snyder case insists that children should be subject to the parental authority of gay adults who are sleeping with one of their parents, rather than the authority of their father and mother. In many adoption cases likely to be affected by this scenario, the birth parents decided to surrender custody to an individual without knowing or agreeing to the fact that the individual would get into a gay relationship and then place the child under the gay lover’s power, too. Should DeBoer end with a gay SCOTUS victory, birth parents will be given cold comfort if the children they consign to adoption end up playing Cinderella to gay stepparents.

But on an even more basic level, if the Supreme Court sides with Ms. DeBoer, they will be giving gay adults the right to force children to grow up without something that the vast majority of their peers have: a mother and father. On top of that will be added the problem of denying citizens their heritage. If this ends in a reparations trial decades down the line, we can’t say there weren’t ample warning signs of what was to come.

I don't doubt that not all children are happy with their gay or lesbian parents and wish that fate had placed them elsewhere. In fact, I have worked with a handful of children who were removed from a lesbian parent because of abuse and/or mental instability, as well as a handful of now-adult children who have reconnected with their birth families instead of their adoptive families for a variety of reasons.

To be fair, my son's birth dad also has no contact with his own adoptive parents; choosing instead to connect with his birth parents. His adoptive parents were married heterosexual parents. Heck, his adoptive father was a strict Lutheran pastor.

In fact, I know several adults who were removed from their birth families -- usually as older children -- and cared for by others as foster children and/or who were adopted and then later reconnected with portions of their birth family. Which isn't to say that some don't maintain relationships with their adoptive families. I'm just staying that there are people who feel like they missed out on something when they were adopted or placed in foster care.

Then again, there are children who were never in foster care or adopted or the product of IVF treatments or surrogacy or who didn't have step-parents who nonetheless grew up disenfranchised from their parents.

This is all part of the emotional complexities of family life and hardly likely to result in financial reparations.

But it should be interesting if someone ever does try to use their same-sex parents to justify financial reparations. My guess is that the effort, assuming it happens, will be orchestrated by a legal firm connect with right wing political causes.

I have been struggling to write about Archie Comics' CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA #2. It's terribly good, but it's also terribly dense. Dense with goodness, but dense enough that it's difficult to write much without spoiling too much -- and I'm seriously struggling with cutting back on my spoilers.

But here was an interesting revelation within the comic book. Apparently, Ann-Margret-- famed actress, singer, and dancer who's known for roles in movies such as "Bye Bye Birdie,""Tommy," and "Viva Las Vegas" -- is a witch. At least, she's a witch in the dark world of Archie Comics' Archie Horror imprint!

Sabrina the Teenage Witch has plans to try out for a lead role in Baxter High School's production of "Bye Bye Birdie." Her audition piece? Why the title song from the movie version of "Bye Bye Birdie," of course!

Before auditioning, she goes to the woman originally sang that title piece, Ann-Margret, and to get her permission to perform the song. She gets Ann-Margret's permission, as well as her blessing:

We also learn something new about Ann-Margret a couple panel's later. It seems that she's a witch! At the very least, it seems that she knows Sabrina's aunt and socializes with them during witchy holidays!

Ann-Margret performing "Bye Bye Birdie"

How interested is that??

"The Secret History of Madam Satan" features Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's words, Robert Hack's art, and Jack Morelli's letters. I will likely do a follow-up blog post about Madam Satan herself, because she has a really creepy storyline in this book!

This is the fifth in a series of blog posts dedicated to the 40th anniversary of BBC's "Survivors" television series. Survivors followed a core group of characters who managed to survived a devastating viral outbreak -- one which managed to kill off somewhere between 95-99% of humanity. Society has crumbled and now those who remain must relearn the old way if they have any hope of surviving much longer.

Our last episode ended with our core group of "survivors" (Abby Grant, Jenny Richards, and Greg Preston) meeting up with what initially appeared to be an ideal survivalist community. But they ultimately got turned off by the leader's obsession with "free love" and repopulating, so they left. We return in this episode to Abby's obsession with finding her lost son, Peter Grant. They decide to return to his boarding school in hopes that Peter had returned there.

They don't find Peter. In fact, the old teacher who had survived the plague (seen back in Episode #1) is now gone. Abby is privately mourning in the school chapel when she is introduced to two new survivors: John and Lizzie (played by Stephen Dudley and Tanya Ronder, respectively).

John Milton // Lizzie Willoughby

John had been sent to ride out the plague with his grandmother, but she died. Lizzie had been sent away by her dying father. She eventually ran across John and the two quickly teamed up.

Interesting digression: Stephen Dudley (AKA "John") is the son of Surivors producer Terrence Dudley and Tanya Ronder (AKA "Lizzie") is the daughter of Jack Ronder, one of the show's writers. These aren't my favorite characters, but they were probably key to solidifying our group of "survivors." It's a lot harder to disband as a group when you have a pair of dependents foisted upon you.

Abby learns that John and Lizzie had met a boy named Glynn at some point in the recent past. He'd been driving a bus and was looking for the "Angels." Our group finds the bus -- with an empty gas-tank -- filled with news articles about a group of three "Angels" who had left for the wood at the earliest signs of the plague. Our group also finds a map and decides to track down these Angels themselves in hopes that Peter might have gone there with Glynn and the other boys.

Our survivors were transferring their belongings from Abby's car to the larger bus when they had a brief fright:

Ben

Fortunately for Jenny and Greg, this growling dog turned out to have befriended John and Lizzie. Hence, our survivors gained their first four-legged member: Ben.

Our group finds a farmhouse and decide to camp out there for the night -- or perhaps longer. Things seem to be going well until Greg is suddenly threatened by a gun-toting man named Lincoln. Greg is accidentally injured by Lincoln, who had assumed that Greg was part of a roving militia band who'd disrupted his earlier group.

It is clear early on that Lincoln has mental health issues -- probably schizophrenia compounded by mental trauma brought on by the Death. He's socially awkward and friendly, but then goes through brief periods of paranoia accompanied by threats of violence. Everyone is leery of him, but they allow him to remain with the group while Greg heals from his gunshot wounds.

While the others wait for Greg to heal, Abby decides to search for the Angels. Quickly enough, she finds them. Jack is their leader and they have started their own self-sufficient farm out in the wilderness. They spend their days and nights tending to the earth and praying. They are actually very pleasant men -- especially when contrasted with Lincoln.

Abby reveals that she is not a believer, but Jack gladly allows her to remain at their cabin so that she can rest and figure out what to do next.

Meanwhile, Greg gradually discovers that their current house isn't terribly secure. It's somewhat far from the water, but it's also visible from far away. They are fearful of what might happen should another band of raiders target them and their supplies. He recommends that they move on.

This doesn't sit well with Lincoln. Who finally goes a step too far with his threatening behavior.

Fortunately for Lizzie, Ben is nearby. The dog attacks Lincoln and subdues him long enough for our group to leave without the unstable man. Quickly enough, they track down Abby and the Angels. The men are delighted to have company around -- especially the children.

Abby has decided to remain -- just as Matthew begins showing the first signs of illness (fever and glandular lumps under his arms). Soon enough, all three men are ill and that's when our group makes a startling discovery. They are carriers of the Sickness.

This brings up the question, will the survivors of this plague infect any previously uninfected area of humanity should they travel? And for how long?

Shortly after this, Lizzie and John discover that Matthew and Robert are dead and Jack is bedridden. Lizzie is shaken, but John is fairly cold towards Jack's situation. I guess that's what happens when you're eight-years-old and the world dies around you:

Jack soon dies, while Abby reads from his Bible.

Our group then moves on towards their next adventure. Will they find Peter? Will they finally find a place to call home? Find out next week when we watch Episode #6 ("Garland's War").

Figuring that "Avengers: Age of Ultron" would be around for a while, I instead took Husband Mark to FilmScene to watch "Who Took Johnny," a documentary about the 1982 kidnapping of 12-year-old Johnny Gosch. I was a few years younger than Johnny when he disappeared without a trace back in the early 80s. The official circumstances behind his disappearance are still a mystery.

West Des Moines police have always treated this case as a runaway case. His parents and several witnesses -- including a former judge -- have asserted from the beginning that Johnny was abducted off the streets one Sunday morning while delivering newspapers.

His mother, Noreen Gosch, has continued to search for clues related to his disappearance over the past 30+ years. She believes that Johnny and several other boys and girls throughout the Midwest (including two other missing boys from that same time period) are victims of a powerful ring of pedophiles.

If you get the opportunity, you really should check out "Who Took Johnny." It provides a basic timeline surrounding this missing persons case, plus provides interviews with various law enforcement and media personalities who had previously been involved with his search as well as the family. And then there is a large portion of the film dedicated to the Nebraska prison inmate that admitted to being directly involved with Johnny's kidnapping and molestation.

One of the most controversial aspect to the Johnny Gosch story is Noreen's claim that he came to her home back in 1997. He had threatened to bolt if she contacted anyone, so she says that she chose to listen to what he had to say instead. I know many people who believe that she's nuts for not locking him in a closet, calling the police, or even secretly taking a picture. I tend to be less skeptical about this story that other people.

I didn't realize that she would be there, but Noreen Gosch attended this weekend's showing of "Who Took Johnny" and then provided a lengthy Q&A for the audience. She offered more background to some of the timeline issues from the film -- including her contentious relationship with local law enforcement agencies, as well as informant details related to statewide human trafficking groups. It's pretty scary, creepy stuff.

The Des Moines Register reported today that cases of new HIV infections dropped by 19% last year in the state of Iowa. In total, 99 Iowans were diagnosed with the disease last year, which was down from 122 new infections in 2013:

The numbers are fairly small, so they can jump up or down by relatively large percentages from year to year. But the state’s top AIDS expert said he’s optimistic the decline is meaningful.

“I don’t think what we’re looking at here is a one-year anomaly,” said Randy Mayer, chief of the Iowa Department of Public Health’s Bureau of HIV, STD, and Hepatitis.

Mayer said state officials and AIDS-prevention groups decided a few years ago to focus almost exclusively on people who already were diagnosed with HIV. In the past, prevention experts also focused on people who hadn’t yet contracted the virus but were in groups that had relatively high risks. Mayer said research showed that transmission could be drastically reduced if experts honed in on making sure people with HIV received treatment and took their medication daily.

Modern medications can drive the virus to undetectable levels. When that happens, it’s nearly impossible for a patient to transmit the virus to another person, Mayer said. He added that results so far this year don’t show new HIV cases going back up after last year’s decline.

Of the 99 new cases of HIV infection last year, 55 people contracted the disease from sex between men, 20 people contracted the disease from sex between a man and a woman, six people contracted the disease from intravenous drug use, and two people contracted HIV from a combination of homosexual sex and intravenous drug use.

I went to Free Comic Book Day at my local comic book shop this past weekend and picked up a couple freebee comics. While there, I decided to check out a childhood favorite of mine: IDW's new JEM & THE HOLOGRAMS comic book. I loved this cartoon back in the 80s. Heck, I still love the show. Did you know that you can watch all three seasons of "Jem & the Holograms" on Netflix?

Here are the basics for those who never followed the show. Jerrica Benton inherited a few basic items from her father when he died. She inherited an orphanage called the Starlight Foundation. And she inherited an advanced holographic computer with an AI mind called Synergy. She uses Synergy to transform into her alter ego, Jem. Jem founded the Holograms with his sister Kimber and their friend Aja and Shanna. Everyone loves the Holograms -- except for a rival band called the Misfits (Pizzazz, Roxy, Stormer, and Jetta). Oh, and there's this handsome guy named Rio who helps out with the band and who constantly flirts with both Jem and Jerrica. Each episode of the cartoon was filled with original music and exciting MTV-styled rock videos. It was a great show.

I purchased the first two issues of IDW's JEM & THE HOLOGRAM and really loved it. It seems that the Misfits have organized a "Misfits VS..." contest. Amateur bands are encouraged to submit music videos and fans are encouraged to vote for their favorites. The winning band will compete against the Misfits and -- if they end up beating the Misfits -- they win a lucrative recording contract. And apparently the Misfits are out of a corporate job.

The Holograms are all very good musicians and are preparing their submission on the final day of the contest. Except that Jerrica cannot sing in public. She keeps freezing up. Without her, there is no submission. Not that Kimber is holding it against her!

Jerrica rushes home and is introduced to Synergy, a holographic computer that was created by her father as a gift to the girls. The computer had been lying dormant, but apparently rebooted during a thunderstorm. It was very good timing. Part of her father's gift was a pair of ruby-colored earrings. The earrings are actually remote projectors.

Jerrica suddenly realizes that she can use Synergy to overcome her shyness. Using her new holographic cloak, she can become Jem. And, as Jem, she is able to overcome her fears and rock!

Issues #2 introduces the Misfits. They are reviewing entries for the "Misfits VS..." contest. Most of the entries are rubbish. Pizzazz finds herself hoping for somebody good to compete against, but not too good so that she ends up losing the competition.

We learn that Jem & the Holograms managed to get their entry submitted before the deadline and the fans absolutely love them. Pizzazz is freaking out -- which, judging from how things always turned out in the cartoon, means that she will be doing her best soon to sabotage the Holograms!

Meanwhile, we meet the kids from the Starlight Community Center and Rio starts making the moves on Jerrica.

Oh, and it seems that Kimber is into girls. And so, apparently, is Stormer. And each are into each other. They're really cute together. Unfortunately for them, Pizzazz doesn't think they're cute together and all and is about to make a huge scene in the next issue!

I really like this comic book. The last thing I need is a new comic book every month, but this is a great comic book. It's faithful to the 80s cartoon, but original enough to be exciting and new. Plus, the art is beautiful and the girls have all sorts of body types. I know that's a silly thing to highlight, but this is comic books. Most comic books feature women with tiny wastes and huge breasts. Some of these girls are thin. Some of them are chubby. And others fall somewhere in between. I really like that in a comic book.

JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS #1 is written by Kelly Thompson, with art by Ross Campbell, colors by M. Victoria Robado, and lettering by Robbie Robbins. JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS #2 is written by Kelly Thompson, with art by Sophie Campbell, colors by M. Victoria Robado, and lettering by Shawn Lee.

ARCHIE'S FUNHOUSE COMICS DOUBLE DIGEST #14 features a lot of great classic stories featuring Archie, Reggie, Betty and the rest of the Riverdale Gang. Plus, there's this one reprint story towards the end featuring Archie, Nancy, and Chuck that I really enjoyed. But this digest features a brand new lead story that a whole lotta fun!

It seems that WRIV-FM is a local radio station and they are sponsoring a contest. Listeners have been given clues and they are to track down a winning pennant. The first person who brings the winning pennant to the radio station gets to host a pizza party for the winner's 20 closest friends, compliments of WRIV-FM!

Archie has been feeling like a mooch for way too long. He learned of this contest and figures that it's his big chance to give back to his many friends. The only problem is that he's got his eye on the prize, but isn't paying much attention to those around him.

Case in point...

This type of scene repeats throughout the story and affects pretty much all of Archie's pals and gals! You'll need to pick up the digest to see if Archie wins the contest -- and if he has any friends left after this contest!

"The Hunt Is On" is written by Paul Kupperberg, penciled by Jeff Shultz, inked by Jim Amash, lettered by Jack Morelli, and colored by Digikore Studios.

Incidentally, I really miss Kevin Keller. I miss his old series and he doesn't show up enough in Archie Comics' current batch of comic books. Hopefully, we'll learn about KEVIN IN THE CITY pretty soon. I keep worrying that this promised comic book series is going to fade away into the ether.

In the meantime, I really want to see a new Kevin Keller feature in an upcoming digest. I know that we will seeing new digest stories featuring Josie & the Pussycats, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Pat the Brat, and That Wilkin Boy. Why not Kevin Keller??

You know about Kiss Cams, right? That's when sports watchers are randomly spotlighted by a stadium during a lull in the game. Couples are encouraged to smooch for the others. It can be sweet. I can be awkward. It's often silly. But it's almost always heterosexual.

A video is making the rounds involving a May 2nd baseball game at Dodger Stadium. The Kiss Cam kicked off and the couples began smooching.

Then about 30 seconds into the festivities, a male couple was captured by the Kiss Cam. The couple promptly smooched and the Kiss Cam moved onto the next couple.

Multiple sources have noted how positively this couple's inclusion was received by those at the Dodgers Game. It's a sign that things are quickly changing for the positive.

Earlier today, Marvel Comics published the Pet Avengers' first adventure in roughly four years. The Pet Avengers are the greatest super-hero team that I never knew I needed. They are a team of super-powered animals that originally banded together in order to keep the Infinity Gems away from Thanos the Mad Titan.

The Pet Avengers consist of Lockjaw (the Inhuman Royal Family's teleporting bulldog), Thor Frog (a frog who was given his own Asgardian hammer), Hairball (Speedball's kinetically-charged cat), Redwing (Captain America's pet falcon), Zabu (Ka-Zar's sabretooth tiger), and Ms. Lion (Aunt May's lap-dog). Lockheed (Kitty Pryde's fire-breathing dragon) normally appears with the Pet Avengers, but sadly doesn't appear in this story -- though he does make an appearance on the cover!

This time around, the Pet Avengers are joined by two members of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket Raccoon and Cosmo!

You have to check out GUARDIANS TEAM-UP #5, which was published earlier today. Our favorite furry, feathered, and/or flippered animal super-heroes find themselves walloped by a new team of villainous pets. I'm talking about Vulture Von Doom and the Pets of Evil Masters! Vulture Von Doom plans to capture the Pet Avengers and drain them of the cosmic energies that they soaked up from the Infinity Gems way back when.

Let's start from the beginning:

The Pets of Evil Masters include:

Vulture Von Doom: A lab animal who spent years in Castle Doom absorbing all sorts of strange energies.
Thori: One of Loki's hellhound pups.
Falconia: One of Falcona's familiars. You'll be forgiven if you don't know who Falcona is. She is a villainous Inhuman who hasn't been seen in years.
Mikhol: One of the Red Ghost's super apes. He has super-strength.
Tiger Wild: He is apparently Doctor Doom's attack tiger. This was his first appearance.
Cuddles: Princess Python's giant snake.
Bitey McSpidey-Bite: He's a giant spider -- apparently with connections to a certain Web-Slinger!

You really need to check out GUARDIANS TEAM-UP #5. It's written by Andy Lanning & Andy Schmidt, with art by Gustavo Duarte, colors by Marcelo Maiolo, and letters by VC's Cory Petit.

THE FOX: FOX HUNT #2 was published this week. It's easily my favorite comic book featuring Paul Patton, Jr. (AKA the Fox). Patton is a former superhero who cannot get the Fates to understand that he is a former superhero. After years of superheroing, the Fox has become a "freak magnet." It doesn't matter if he's photographing something for work or, in this case, going to the bank with his son. If there's something freaky out there, it's inevitably drawn to him!

Last issue, Patton was mistakenly blamed for a ruined water project. Mister Smile, an evil corporate CEO with lots of money but little morals, has issued a $1 million bounty on the Fox's head. Now all sorts of old Dark Circle/Red Circle super-villains have come forward to claim the money.

THE FOX #2 starts out with Patton and Shinji lying face down in a bank during a robbery. Patton is content to let the police handle things. That said, Shinji has different plans! He has chosen today to unleash his own superhero identity: Ghost Fox!

Fox // Ghost Fox

Unfortunately, Ghost Fox's debut triggers a metamorphosis. The robber begins contorting and explodes a giant hulk known as Brontosaurus! Brontosaurus' appearance then triggers the appearance of two other villains from last issue -- not to mention the Mighty Crusaders' past!

I understand that the various Archie/Red Circle/Dark Circle villains aren't terribly familiar to your average reader. You get what you need by reading this story, but maybe I can offer some basic back story:

Brontosaurus is a sort of undead behemoth who was once a member of a team of villains known as the Eliminators. He appears to insert himself into human hosts. And then, when the moment is right, he explodes out of his host. He is very large and very strong.

The Fox originally planned to assist his son against Brontosaurus, but got sidetracked by another villain known as Elasto. Elasto is a former FBI scientist who became rubbery and evil after being exposed to a mysterious chemical. He has pretty cool stretchy powers, that also allow himself or parts of himself to grow really large.

And then we met up with the Gadgeteer (AKA the Mad Gadgeteer). He is a crook who found a supercomputer and used it to create all sorts of weapons and gadgets.

The Fox and Ghost Fox eventually come out on top. Now Patton finds himself struggling to get Shinji to quit his costumed identity before he begins -- and Shinji wants NOTHING to do with that plan! Meanwhile, Mister Smile -- upon learning of the others' defeat -- prepares a new wave of villains for their second assault of the Fox!

Once again, this is a very fun series. There is tons of action and plenty of banter. You definitely want to check it out. "The Other Side" is written by Dean Haspiel & Mark Waid; with art by Dean Haspiel; lettering by John Workman & Rachel Deering; and colors by Allen Passalaqua.

There were rumors a year and a half ago that Marvel Comics was going to elevate the collective profile of their Inhumans characters. It goes way back to Fox Studios owning the movie rights to the X-Men and those assorted mutant characters. That prevents Marvel Studios and Disney from capitalizing on those characters when it comes to movies and crossovers.

But then there are the Inhumans, who are a bunch of part-alien people who transform into superhuman monsters when exposed to the Terrigan Mists. Back in 2013, the Terrigan Mists were unleashed on Earth and we discovered that there are a whole lot of sleeper Inhumans living among us -- which, of course, unsettles the general public! Now there are two Inhuman-related comic books, plus the Inhumans have been showing up on ABC's "Marvel: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Also, the Inhumans are scheduled to get their own movie at some point in the future.

So the rumor was that the Inhumans were to be Marvel Comics' new mutants.

Meanwhile, Marvel Comics just started its new SECRET WARS event, which shows the Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe converging on each other in an explosive fashion. It's believed that the two universes will ultimately merge together at the end of this event. Some things will stay. Other bits of continuity will be wiped away.

One of the rumor, prompted by a statement made by Marvel Comics Editor-In-Chief Axel Alonso suggested that the X-Men and related characters will be shunted into a new pocket dimension divorced from the rest of Marvel Comics' characters:

The X-Men office is taking the opportunity of "Secret Wars" to build an entire new world for the characters -- to create a shared universe within the X-books that's set off by a huge event/incident/surprise. At that point, they're going to introduce a new team that feels unlike anything you've seen before. It'll be... "extraordinary."

Yesterday, Bleeding Cool revised the "mutant pocket dimension" idea. It seems that the X-Men are heading out into space!:

What we have now been told by multiple sources is that the X-Men will discover that the Inhuman Terragenesis mists kills mutants. And with it circling the globe, the X-Men and mutantkind choose to leave the Earth, go onto space, and found a brand new world.

Same reality, different planet. X-Men In Space. “An entire new world.”

We have already seen the effects that the Terrgan Mists have on former mutants -- it gives them back their powers, but severely effects their health. So the idea that the Terrigan Mist kill mutants is not unprecidented. I'm just imagining a space ark filled with Cyclops, Storm, Magneto, Toad, Ghost of Wolverine, Squirrel Girl, Sabretooth, etc.

Can you imagine if you got left behind? Random-Mutant-X dies. Everyone calls a truce and boards the X-Ship. Everyone leaves. And then Tween-X goes through puberty and suddenly manifests her brand-new mutant abilities. And then dies because all of the other mutants are in space escaping the poisonous mists. Hopefully this concept gets addressed -- assuming that the mutant space colony actually happens!

An Iowa City man was arrested early this morning after local police accused him of streaking through Kirkwood Community College:

According to Iowa City police criminal complaints, officers were called to the school, 1816 Lower Muscatine Rd., around 3:30 a.m. for a report of a naked person hiding in a bathroom stall. Police said the school was closed at the time and the only people who were supposed to be in the school were the two staff members who reported the naked man.

Responding officers were directed to the bathroom stall in question. As they approached, the subject... “burst” out of the bathroom stall, police said. Officers said Davies was “completely nude” and running and screaming.

Police attempted to get ahold of Davies and they fell down two flights of stairs to the ground level of the building, where Davies was taken into custody.

Needless to say, this man had a BAC of .110%. According to reports, he told the police that he was "just streaking." He apparently found an unlocked door to the building and felt the urge.

Sadly, no images of the actual streaking incident are publicly available.

The 28-year-old man was arrested and charged with public intoxication and trespass. These are simple misdemeanors with maximum sentences of 30 days in jail.

I took Husband Mark and the boys to watch "Avengers: Age of Ultron" earlier today. This is the latest in a string of interconnected movies featuring Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the rest of the Avengers (and, to a lesser extent, the Guardians of the Galaxy).

This latest movie teams Cap, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Hulk, and Hawkeye with newbies Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Vision and pits them all against a nasty robotic menace known as Ultron.

Here is what I learned. Tony Stark just needs to be contained. He has lots of money and inventive abilities, but left unchecked causes nothing but trouble both on personal and global levels. This time around, he decides that Earth needs a planetary system that will protect humanity from alien menaces while also allowing the Avengers to retire. He talks Bruce Banner into helping to create this massive artificial intelligence, names it Ultron, and immediately regrets it.

The rest of the movie consists of their efforts to contain Ultron, as well as lots and lots of anguished retrospection. Seriously, these guys have a lot of personal angst. Oh, and everyone took turns lecturing Iron Man about being a thoughtless dick. Eventually, Ultron is defeated, at least one hero is killed, several heroes seemingly retire, and a new team is born.

Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were interesting. I'm not sure that I like what they did with Wanda's powers. She went from having chaotic hex powers to telepathic and telekinetic abilities. I guess it makes sense. The latter powers are easier to define for a movie audience. Still...

Also, J.A.R.V.I.S.'s transformation into Vision was an interesting development. I'm not sure what's going to happen to this character once Thanos eventually assembled all of the Infinity Gems and loads them into his Infinity Gauntlet. I guess that's a a story for another time.

It was also nice to see some other heroes in this movie, including War Machine and Falcon.

This film had its moments, but it was probably my least favorite of Marvel Studios'"Avengers" movies. It wasn't horrible. It just dragged way too often. Hopefully this summer's "Ant-Man" movie will make up for this one.

Five years ago, I wrote this blog article about D'Angelo, his first post-TPR Mother's Day, and why we tend to keep to ourselves on this day. I thought I'd re-post it today for Mother's Day 2015:

MOTHER'S DAY WHEN YOU HAVE NO MOTHER

Mark and I exercised a lapse in judgement a few years ago this weekend when we decided to go to church with our boy. The parental rights had recently been terminated between D'Angelo and his birth parents. He was still our foster child and we were gradually working towards adopting him. It didn't occur to either of us that we should avoid church on Mother's Day weekend. In retrospect, that should have been a big "Duh".

The kids were all called to the front of the sanctuary for the weekly "time with the children" moment. The children messager started out by reading a sappy Mother's Day story for kids and relaying fond memories of her life with her mother. She then asked each of the kids to share their Mother's Day plans for that day. It wasn't until she asked a shell-shocked D'Angelo to start off the discussion that she remembered what was going on in his life. To be honest, if I were in her shoes, I don't know how I would've reacted if I had realized that I'd asked a freshly TPR'ed kid about what special things he was going to do with his mom. What happened was the woman panicked a bit. She began to babble and awkwardly shifted the discussion to past Mother's Day experiences, which didn't help. D' just shut down. She could tell. We could tell. Everyone in the room could tell. It was very sad and uncomfortable. Mark ended up leaving in the middle of church service with D' so that he could privately grieve.

Later that day, Mark and I decided that we would stay away from church every Mother's Day weekend from that day forward. It is unrealistic to ask our church family to refrain from acknowledging the role that motherhood has played in their lives, but it's also not fair to D'Angelo to force him to celebrate something that still reminds him of loss and grief.

Adoption can be a marvelous thing. It creates families for those who have none. But most adoptive parents intuitively realize that our gain comes from others' loss. We couldn't adopt our boys without them first losing their birth parents. We can never erase their past connection to their birth families, nor should we want to. D' will always wonder about his birth parents. Are they safe? Are they alive? Do they think about him? What would life be like if he had stayed with them?

Mark and I have often told D' that we cannot (and will not) ever replace his birth parents. They will always be with him, in one form or another. We are his parents, but so are they. He want him to be able to talk about them, to remember them, and to keep them alive in his memories. We will not force him to make them into his dirty secret.

Anyway, we decided three years ago that we will create our own Mother's Day ritual. We sleep in. We call the grandmothers. We go to IHOP for brunch. We see a movie. And we invite D' to share stories of his mom if and when the moment strikes him. And those moments will come at his beckoning and on his terms. And that's a good thing.

2015 POST-NOTE: Much has changed since this piece was originally written (not to mention this 2011 re-post).

D'Angelo was reunited with both of his birth parents in early 2011. He has had multiple visits with his birth dad and has spoken to his birth mother a few times on the phone. We all keep connected via Facebook. He knows much more about his birth family and his early childhood. He also has a much more nuanced understanding of why he came to live in our home and why he was not able to return to his birth family.

Meanwhile, church is not an issue anymore. D' has grown into quite the skeptic, something that can be simultaneously refreshing, annoying, and concerning all at the same time. He chooses to stay home from church and we have opted to honor this choice.

This is the sixth in a series of blog posts dedicated to the 40th anniversary of BBC's "Survivors" television series. Survivors followed a core group of characters who managed to survived a devastating viral outbreak -- one which managed to kill off somewhere between 95-99% of humanity. Society has crumbled and now those who remain must relearn the old way if they have any hope of surviving much longer.

Our last episode ended with our group of "survivors" (Abby Grant, Jenny Richards, and Greg Preston) being joined by two young children (John Milton and Lizzie Willoughby). Our group also learned that they are carriers of the Sickness and inadvertently infected three men who had literally gone to the hills to avoid the plague.

This episode (titled "Garland's War") begins with our group arriving at a farm. Abby had heard that a a man and a boy were living there and she needed to see if her missing son Peter was that boy. She was temporarily elated when she heard that the boy is named Peter -- and then crashed when she met the boy and discovered that he is not her son.

Jenny learn of a settlement called Waterhouse that has a few young boys while Abby is away moping. Increasingly impatient with Abby's obsessive search for Peter, Greg encourages Jenny to wait a while before telling her about Waterhouse. Jenny doesn't listen and Abby ends up slipping away into the night to see if Peter is there.

Almost immediately, Abby finds herself in the midst of a war between a young earl named Jimmy Garland and a man named Knox. Knox and his men expelled Garland from his ancestral estate and Garland wants back his property so that he can lead the community in his own way. He now lives off the estate and performs frequent acts of sabotage to keep Knox rattled.

Jimmy Garland

Abby spends the night with Garland, treating his wounds and learning about him. The sparks between these two are quite evident.

The next day, Abby is captured by Knox, who informs her that Peter Grant is not living at Waterhouse. He also tries hard to convince Abby that Garland is aggravating an already tense situation. He tells her that he wants to end this battle. In the meantime, Garland kidnaps one of Knox's women in an effort to barter for Abby's safety. Knox releases Abby and asks her to persuade Garland to negotiate with him and his men.

Abby does a good job of convincing Garland to talk with Knox, but it was all a ruse. He and his men immediately ambush Garland. They plan to torture him for the location of the missing woman and will then execute him. Abby is expelled from Waterhouse and told to never come back.

Garland eventually relents and agrees to lead him to the shed where he's stashed the missing woman. Once there, Knox and his men are ambushed by Greg. Abby had found her two friends and convinced them to help Garland. They originally planned to barter for Garland's release with the missing woman, but decided instead to go with the whole armed ambush approach. Fortunately, this was an effective strategy.

Garland is released and Abby assumes that the homeless earl will join her little band of roving survivors. But Garland is committed to his war. He remains determined to regain Waterhouse from Knox and his men.

Which leaves a lonely Abby Grant and her friends traveling off for parts unknown. No fears. I anticipate that this isn't the last we've seen of Jimmy Garland...

I really enjoyed "Garland's War." I like Jimmy Garland as a character and wish that he could have been more of a presence within the overall series. Second, I really like Jimmy Garland with Abby as a couple. They make a great pair. And he provided Abby a focus besides her haunting quest for her son. For her own sanity, Abby really needs a new focus.

Next week, we look at Episode #7 ("Starvation").

Archie Comics launched a $350,000 Kickstarter campaign earlier today. The goal is to use the money to seed three new comic book titles for six issues each. These titles are...

BETTY & VERONICA #1: This new series would presumably supplant the existing BETTY & VERONICA series and place them within the revamped Archie Comics Universe. BETTY & VERONICA #1 will feature writing and art by Adam Hughes.

JUGHEAD #1: Not much is known about this new series, but it will feature writing by Chip Zdarsky. I'm not familiar with his SEX CRIMINALS series, but I love his work on Marvel Comics' HOWARD THE DUCK. No artist has been linked yet to this series.

And then there is LIFE WITH KEVIN #1 (Formerly known as KEVIN IN THE CITY): This series has been floating around for several months and will feature an older Kevin Keller (along with BFF Veronica Lodge) as they move to New York City. This series will be written and drawn by Dan Parent. Frankly, I prefer the new comic book title.

Fans are encouraged to pledge anywhere from $1 to $9,995 and the campaign is scheduled to last for one month. As of this writing, the campaign has raised nearly $19,000.

Response has been mixed to the Kickstarter campaign. The Comic Reporter reached out to Archie Comics co-CEO Jon Goldwater to get more information. He basically says that they are investing a boatload of company money into a deal that will allow them to sell their digests at both Wal-Mart and Target. As a result, money that was being invested internally towards these three titles is now being delayed.

He says that they don't want to miss out on the buzz created by the launch of ARCHIE #1, hence the Kickstarter campaign. Goldwater noted that these three titles will eventually be released even if the Kickstarter campaign isn't successful. But the launch of these three titles will be delayed without the Kickstarter campaign.

Follow this link if you wish to contribute towards the #NewRiverdale Kickstarter campaign.

I need to vent...

I received a call from one of my clients today. She is a disabled woman who has no income. She cannot maintain employment due to the nature of her disability. But she has been struggling for years to get approved for Social Security Disability because, despite the perception that you can claim disability for anything and everything under the sun, she cannot get the Social Security Administration to accept that she has a disability that is severe enough to negatively affect her ability to obtain gainful employment.

In the meantime, her only income is a monthly EBT card (i.e., food stamps), which only pays for food. She asked for a one-time annual voucher from the county to pay for toiletries and was approved for a small amount of money (more than $10 and less that $50). She took the voucher to one of the box stores in the Iowa City/Coralville area to redeem.

And now she is in tears. And this is why...

The cashier could not figure out how to redeem the voucher. I don't blame her for that. She likely does not receive those forms of paper vouchers very often. So she called the manager to help out.

The manager then LOUDLY and VERY PUBLICLY shamed my client. "The state gave you this. That's my money. Why did they give this to you? What did you do to deserve money?" It was loud enough that another customer actually came forward and got after the manager for making a scene at my client's expense.

Keep in mind that this is a voucher made out directly to the business. It's not some cash reward that my client could use to purchase drugs or booze or whatever. And she used it to buy tampons and toilet paper.

But she needed a very public lecture about using a voucher from the county to purchase tampons.

Keep in mind that she has applied for employment twice at this store, but has been rejected both times because she has poor credit. Because poor people cannot be trusted to hold down the very jobs needed to rebuild their credit.

I personally shop regularly at this box store. Now I really don't ever want to return because of the way that this manager treated my client.

I really hate poverty-shaming.

Iowa's residential care facilities keep getting closed. I could go on and on about the need for residential services for the state's most severely mentally ill residents, but that just gets me steamed. Fortunately, Iowa has found a better use for these buildings: paranormal investigations!

Case in point, it was reported yesterday that Linn County's Abbe Center residential care facility -- which closed back in 2013 -- was recently accessed by the Johnson County Paranormal Team last month, with plans for future paranormal training opportunities:

The group was first granted access to the facility in April. That visit resulted in a single piece of evidence, an audio clip known as an Electronic Voice Phenomenon or EVP. These are sounds typically not heard in real time by people on site, but present on electronic recordings. According to Reisner, the captured EVP was short and clear but otherwise benign.

“This facility is an unknown, a curiosity,” he said. “We don’t know a great deal about its history and it hasn’t been thoroughly investigated. So, getting the one EVP makes it all the more interesting to go back again.”

Built in 1976, the structure has long been used as a residential treatment facility. It was originally built to replace the Linn County Home, which sheltered people with no other options. County homes were known earlier in history as poor farms, but were given a more politically correct name as society’s thinking changed in relation to the population they served.

The Johnson County Paranormal Team is using the Abbe Center as a training opportunity for new investigators.

Gallup: 780,000 Americans Are Gay-Married; 1,200,000 Are Civilly Unionized

The Freak Magnet Returns in THE FOX: FOX HUNT #1!

Robert Oscar Lopez: Same-Sex Marriage May Lead to Financial Reparations for the Children of Gay Parents

CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA #2: Is Ann-Margret a Witch??

"Survivors" 40th Anniversary: Episode 5 ("Gone to the Angels")

Noreen Gosch Makes Appearance at Iowa City Showing of "Who Took Johnny"

New HIV Infections Dropped by 19% in Iowa in 2014

JEM & THE HOLOGRAMS #1-2: Outrageous!

Archie Wants to Win a Pizza Party for his Friends in ARCHIE'S FUNHOUSE COMICS DOUBLE DIGEST #14. Will They Appreciate His Efforts?? // Plus: I Miss Kevin Keller!!

Dodgers Stadium Kiss Cam Captures Gay Couple!

Rocket Raccoon & the Pet Avengers Battle Vulture Von Doom & the Pets of Evil Masters in GUARDIANS TEAM-UP #5!

The Ghost Fox Makes his Debut -- Just as the Fox Hunt Begins!

X-Men in Space?

Iowa City Man Accused of Streaking through Kirkwood Community College Campus

Thoughts on "Avengers: Age of Ultron"

Classic Jon's Blog: Mother's Day When You Have No Mother

"Survivors" 40th Anniversary: Episode 6 ("Garland's War")

Archie Comics Launches #NewRiverdale: $350,000 Kickstarter Campaign

#PovertyShaming

Ghost Hunters Investigating Abbe Center Residential Center in Marion, IA