Marvel Unlimited: Signing Off

I have come to the end of my Marvel Unlimited subscription.  By conservative estimate, I would say I have read over 600 comic books over the past two years, average cost to me at 25 cents per.  That's a bargain by any standard.  I could hardly have asked for a better vehicle for my immersion in the Marvel Universe - got to spend some quality time with Star Wars comic books, too.  A big thank you to the Comic Book Herald for their reading guides as well.

To wrap up, a few awards...

Most Dependable Marvel Series: The Amazing Spider-Man

Most Dependable Star Wars Series: X-Wing Rogue Squadron

Best Story Arc: Daredevil: Born Again

Best Single Issue: The Amazing Spider-Man #121

Best Character: Wolverine

Best Team: X-Men

Best Writer: Frank Miller

Best Artist: Alex Ross

As I am dropping this feature, The Armchair Squid will have a new posting schedule, beginning next week:

Tuesdays: Family Adventures

Fridays: Star Trek

My Recent Reads

Age of Apocalypse One Shot

Cover Date: May 2005

Writer: Scott Lobdell

Artist: Alvin Lee

via Marvel Database

Blink #1

March 2001

Lobdell/Trevor McCarthy

via Comixology

Star Trek: The Perfect Mate

Episode: "The Perfect Mate"

Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Season 5, Episode 21

Original Air Date: April 27, 1992

via Wikipedia

Captain Picard and his crew are put in a complicated diplomatic position.  While transporting Kriosian ambassador to peace talks, they are surprised to learn they are also delivering Kamala (Famke Janssen), the promised bride in an arranged marriage with the Valtian ambassador.  First, there is the question of whether or not Kamala has a choice.  When she assures Picard she has accepted the role assigned to her, there is the matter of whether or not the men on board will be able to resist her considerable charms.  Most complicating of all is the fact that Kamala has taken a particular shine to our dear captain.

There have been many well-warranted criticisms of the sexual politics of the episode but even the harshest dissenters agree on one point: Janssen is outstanding in the role of Kamala.  Executive producer Rick Berman described her as the most beautiful women any of them had ever seen but she brings so much more to the part.  Her chemistry with Patrick Stewart, in particular, is undeniable.  Sure, he deserves some of the credit for that, too, but the Picard love stories are rarely so convincing.

Romance is a powerful narrative driver in television.  It always has been: Lucy/Ricky, Sam/Diane, Ross/Rachel, etc.  We as the viewers are meant to root for every coupling, no matter how dysfunctional, to succeed.  Every once in a long while, a pairing comes along that I actually believe.  There's a chemistry between the actors that allows for genuine, plausible affection.  Friends, for instance, briefly included a recurring character, Kathy, an ex-girlfriend of Joey's who ended up with Chandler instead.  I believed the Chandler/Kathy attraction more than I ever believed Ross/Rachel, Monica/Chandler or any other romance on the show.  I'm inclined to give all credit for that one to the actress, Paget Brewster.  Believable intimacy is definitely not Matthew Perry's strong suit.

I believe in Kamala/Picard.  The ending is deliciously Casablanca-esque and I feel the pain of both parties.

This will come up again with my favorite DS9 episode.  Stay tuned.

Acting Notes

via Disney Wiki

Famke Janssen was born in Amsterdam in 1964.  She started at the University of Amsterdam in economics - "the stupidest idea I ever had," she has said - but transferred to Columbia to study creative writing and literature.

Her professional career began in modeling.  Physically, she's drawn comparisons to Hedy Lemarr, though for me, that Dutch accent could only evoke Audrey Hepburn.  "The Perfect Mate" was her first television acting job.  She was offered the role of Jadzia Dax in DS9 but she turned it down, not wanting to tie herself down to a series.  It turned out to be the right move as her film career took off soon after.  She was a Bond girl in GoldenEye then the big break came in 2000 when she signed on to play Jean Grey in the X-Men films.  That gig, of course, reunited her with Patrick Stewart.  She's taken a turn in the director's chair as well, leading 2011's Bringing Up Bobby, a movie she also wrote and produced.

She's been active in charity work, too, particularly in animal rights.  In 2008, she was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime.

Squid Mixes: The D-Day Swizzle Chronicles

It's been a while since I've done one of these, mostly because of a delightfully crowded liquor cabinet.  But for this one, at least in the beginning, it'll be more a matter of fridge space...

One of our recent favorite cocktails is the D-Day Swizzle.  The most prominent flavor player is the cider so that is where our exploration begins.  At least in the beginning, I intend to limit our scope to Vermont-produced cider.  Delightfully, that gives us plenty of high-quality options to choose from.  First up...

Lo-Ball 16 oz. "Tall Boy" vs. Woodchuck Rosé

Woodchuck Cider, based in Middlebury, is the granddaddy of Vermont's mass-marketed cider industry, in operation since 1991.  The Rosé incorporates purple carrots for color.  The Lo-Ball "Tall Boy" is a collaboration between Shacksbury, a cidery based in Vergennes, and WhistlePig, a whiskey distillery in Shoreham.  It's advertised as a "barrel-aged highball cider."  

First we tried the ciders on their own...

Neither was especially appley.  The Tall Boy was drier.  I was hoping for more whiskey hints from the barrels but they weren't there.  The Rosé had more of a cherry flavor.

Winner and Current Champion, Sipping Cider Category: Woodchuck Rosé

In the cocktail, however, it was a different story.  We both preferred the Tall Boy.  With less sugar, the other ingredients featured better.

Winner and Current Champion, Swizzle Mixer Category: Lo-Ball 16 oz. "Tall Boy"

Marvel Unlimited: Age of Apocalypse Omega - Finally

I have reached the end of the main body of the Age of Apocalypse story.  Despite all my griping, it's not terrible.  Faint praise, I know.  But you have to understand how much the story structure drove me crazy: too many characters, too many threads going at once.  Now that I've gotten to the end, I'd rather have read each individual series separately, then read Omega at the end.  But I realize I am not every reader.

I prefer an overly complicated X-Men story to an overly complicated Avengers story.  Even with the cast of thousands, the X-Men franchise is built around a unifying concept in a way that the Avengers are not.  It always comes back to Charles Xavier, even when he's been removed from the narrative, and the mutant/human dynamic.  The characters have defined relationships with each other - enough for some soap opera romance elements, and I mean that in a good way.  The Avengers, on the other hand, always feels like a hodgepodge, a landing platform for every superhero - and villain - they want to keep but don't know what else to do with.  Sure, there's always the core trio: Iron Man, Thor, Captain America.  But even they don't play a prominent role in every story.  What else holds the overall concept together from one arc to the next?  

The Fantastic Four?  Reed Richards is way too annoying for them to ever be my favorite Marvel team, even though so much good has come out of FF: the Inhumans, Galactus, Silver Surfer, Jack Kirby's best artwork, the whole Marvel Silver Age philosophy, etc.

I only have a few days left in my Marvel Unlimited subscription.  Expect a wrap-up post next week.

My Recent Reads

Weapon X #4

Cover Date: June 1995

Writer: Larry Hama

Artist: Adam Kubert

via Marvel Database

The Amazing X-Men #4

June 1995

Fabian Nicieza/Kubert

via Marvel Database

X-Universe #2

June 1995

Scott Lobdell and Terry Kavanagh/Carlos Pacheco and Terry Dodson

via Marvel Database

X-Men Omega #1

June 1995

Lobdell and Mark Waid/Roger Cruz

via Marvel Database

X-Men Chronicles #1

March 1995

Howard Mackie/Dodson

via Marvel Database

X-Men Chronicles #2

June 1995

Mackie/Ian Churchill

via Marvel Database

Star Trek: Cost of Living

Episode: "Cost of Living"

Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Season 5, Episode 20

Original Air Date: April 20, 1992

via Memory Alpha

Lwaxanna Troi is getting married!  To keep herself amused while en route to meet her intended for the first time, she takes young Alexander Rozhenko underwing.  She encourages the boy to adopt her own carefree ways, directly undermining both Worf's parenting and Deanna Troi's counseling.  Meanwhile, parasites are devouring the ship.

A Lwaxanna episode and an Alexander episode combined into one?  What's more, they're enabling one another's most annoying tendencies?  Oh, joy!

Nope, I'm not a fan of this one.  Worth noting, though, it won two Emmys: costume design and makeup.

Acting Notes

via Wikipedia

Brian Bonsall (Alexander) was born December 3, 1981 in Torrance, California.  Trek was actually his second high-profile television gig.  In 1986, he was cast as Andy, the youngest Keaton child in Family Ties.  He won three Young Artist Awards for that part.  He made his big screen debut in 1992, starring in Mikey.

Bonsall retired from acting at the ripe old age of 14.  Since then, he's been active as a musician, most prominently as lead guitarist for the Ataris for a few years.  He's had more than his fair share of legal troubles, both assault and drug charges.  He is married with one child, born in 2019.

Squid Mixes: Champagne Julep

A champagne julep combines cognac, sparkling white wine, simple syrup, bitters and mint.  I got my recipe from the Cocktail Party app.  I used Prosecco for the wine.  The bitters choice offered: aromatic, chocolate, lemon, orange or Creole.  I went with lemon.

We love mint.  We even have some in the garden - easily harvested in warmer months, not so much now.  And we love whiskey.  So, you'd think we'd drink juleps all the time but not so much.  The champagne variation provides a brighter option than the standard - quite nice.  I can't say the bitters were much of a player.  Again, it might be fun to experiment with the different options.

On the Coffee Table: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

Title: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

via Wikipedia

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes collects short stories originally published in The Strand Magazine, 1892-93.  Some but not all editions include "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box."  Mine did not.

Mycroft Holmes (Mark Gatiss) via Baker Street Wiki

There's some decent character development for Holmes in this run.  We learn he is a master of both boxing and fencing.  We learn he has a brother, Mycroft, every bit as brilliant as he is, though not as keen for the fieldwork required of an expert detective.  So he's an accountant instead.  My favorites of the collection are "The Adventure of the Silver Blaze," in which a race horse figures prominently, and "The Adventure of the Yellow Face," in which we see a rare attempt at Victorian Era social commentary.

Moriarty (Jared Harris) via Baker Street Wiki

Most important for the overall franchise is the book's last tale, "The Final Problem."  Holmes's greatest nemesis, Professor Moriarty, is introduced - an arch-criminal whose legacy includes Kingpin, Jabba the Hutt and Keyser Soze.  I like Moriarty and I appreciate his importance but at least in this initial appearance, I don't think he gets enough development.  In fact, to this point, I prefer the Star Trek character.  Worth noting: neither Holmes nor Data could best Moriarty.  But Captain Picard could...