One Faith, Many Paths: Anonymous

Author’s Note: This month’s interviewee wished to be left anonymous. So I am not using the name.

1. What evidence do you use to support the existence of God?

 Well I suppose “evidence” I don’t know. I was raised Catholic, so as a child I believed what I was told–God created man, universe, etc., but evidence, per se, I don’t know, really. 

2. What is your current job and why?

I’m a psychiatric nurse. I always wanted to be a nurse and always had an interest in the mind and how it works. I like helping people also. I find my job interesting and neurological workings of the brain too.

3. Who is your favorite Biblical figure?

Moses .

4. What is your favorite Biblical passage?

The parting of the red Sea.

5. What was your childhood like?

I had a regular childhood, had a great imagination and was a tomboy. My friends were boys as no girls my age lived around me. So it was spent climbing trees and doing “boy stuff”.

6. What is your family like?

My family is your regular family, I’m the oldest of three girls. They drive me mad a lot of the time.  I’m the black sheep of the family. 

7. Who makes you want to be a better person?

What has made me a better person is my children. I have four and am blessed with them. 

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Couch Potato: The Flash

When Marvel came out with all their movies, I went to them, but I was secretly wondering how DC would react. Although I love the X-men and Spider-man, Batman was my first superhero and I’ve always leaned more to them than Marvel. I liked the Henry Cavill version of Superman in Man of Steel and Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern wasn’t that bad, I thought.  Then Marvel went on TV with Agents of Shield, and I wondered if DC would do a live-action TV show as well. They answered by giving Greg Berlanti the rights to Arrow and The Flash. After watching Arrow’s first season, I knew the DC Universe was in good hands. But I’m not here to talk about Arrow, I’m talking about The Flash!

The Flash has always been one of my favorite DC superheroes.  One thing I like best is the legacy of the character.  In the Golden Age of comics, you had Jay Garrick. In the Silver Age, Barry Allen became The Flash. Then in the 80’s after the Crisis on Infinite Earths, you had Barry’s nephew Wally West, who started out as his sidekick, Kid Flash.

When Barry Allen first appeared in Arrow’s season 2 episode, “The Scientist”, I had a feeling the upcoming spin-off had promise.  The writers remembered that Barry is a forensic scientist and worked it into the plot.  A few episodes later, the show introduced us to two supporting cast members for the spin-off, Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon.  When the spin-off aired, I gave it a shot. I always give every show I’m interested in a four-episode trial run. By the time I got to episode 3, I was hooked. Now that the first season has finished, I can’t wait for season 2.

The Complete Sandman V. 8: World’s End

“When a world ends, there’s always something left over. A story perhaps, or a vision, or a hope.”

World’s End is the final short story arc in Sandman, collecting issues #51-56. Among the artists is Mike Allred, best known for his original character Madman, published by Dark Horse under their Legend imprint, and X-Statix, a comic he did for Marvel.  It’s another story where the Endless take a backseat to the supporting cast, or as TV Tropes calls it, a “Lower Deck Episode”. It also loosely ties in to DC’s “Zero Hour” event of 1995, the only crossover event Sandman ever crossed over with.  Even so, it was published a year after the event, so it’s not that necessary to know anything about it.

The arc is inspired by Geoffrey Chaucer’s timeless medieval classic “The Canterbury Tales”.  In that book, a group of travelers stop at an inn and swap stories.  Because Neil Gaiman has a passion for folklore, it’s no surprise that he would choose to pay homage to Chaucer’s stories.  In fact, we even meet Chiron, a centaur from Greek mythology.  Let’s take a look at each story.

“A Tale of Two Cities” (no relation to the Dickens novel)–(Alec Stevens) A story influenced by HP Lovecraft, this story is told by a city-dweller on the verge of madness after discovering a forbidden truth. It’s the only story to feature Dream. Alec is best known for The Sinners, a comic he did for DC’s defunct Piranha Press imprint.

“Cluracan’s Tale”– (John Watkiss) This is a story told by Cluracan, the faerie introduced in Season of Mists, who is summoned to the city of Aurelian. It also features Nuala, who was last seen in vol. 5.

“Hob’s Leviathan”–(Michael Zulli/Dick Girodano) We once again meet Hob’s Gadling from the “Doll House” arc.

“The Golden Boy”–(Mike Allred) This story focuses on Prez Rickard, who in the DC universe was the United States’s first teen president and was created by Captain America co-creator Joe Simon. He’s appeared on and off since his introduction in the 70’s, and was even featured in DC’s “New 52”.

“Crements”–(Shea Anton Pensa/Vince Locke) The only story that ties into Sandman‘s main arc, and features Destruction, Destiny, and the first Despair.

This is the volume I like the least. In fact, unless you’re a completist, I’d say you should skip it. Even “Crements” isn’t that necessary in the overall story of Sandman. Next time, in August, we go back to the main story for the rest of the collection, starting with The Kindly Ones.

Legend of Korra Season 2

With season 2 such a surprise hit, Nickelodeon signed a deal for three more seasons of Legend of Korra. This was the beginning of the show’s struggle to be as successful as its predecessor, Avatar the Last Airbender. This was the first season to be subjected to the meddling hand of Nickelodeon, but in a minor form compared to seasons 3 and 4.

My main problem with Season 2 is its length. Nickelodeon gave Avatar the Last Airbender twenty episodes per season.  Their update of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles also has twenty episodes per season.  How many does Korra have per season? Fourteen.  That is too short. Most shows get anywhere from 20-26 episodes a season. By only giving the writers only half of a standard season, the show doesn’t have enough time to build up a story and it feels rushed.

In this season, only half of the story is set in Republic City, as we move away from the elements of season 1. We meet new characters, such as Tenzin’s sister Kya and his brother Bumi, a non-bender named after Aang’s eccentric friend who once ruled the Earth Kingdom.  My favorite of these new characters is Verrick, who appears to assist Korra by creating a new medium called “movers”, which are similar to the first moving pictures of old.  These “movers” are designed to help rally political support for Korra’s father while she tries to persuade her people to follow him instead of her uncle, Unalaq.  What she does not realize is that Unalaq is actually aligned with Vaatu, the spirit of chaos and the main villain of season 2.