On The Shelf: Firestorm goes rogue, and the Muppets go noir

 Dynamite's trying something, well, radical, with Muppets Noir, a miniseries that not only sends up old school detective mysteries, but paints the gang in completely new lights.

An accident leaves Kermit seemingly in a coma, where he imagines himself as detective Flip Minnow, Fozzie as a cop (!), and it goes from there. Writer-artist Roger Langridge is having some fun. 

Rating: A.

On the other side of the fence is DC's latest version of The Fury of Firestorm. Writer Jeff Lemire is crafting psychological thriller in which the nuclear man has gone completely rogue. Right now, I've got a good idea where this is going.

As a bonus, Firehawk returns to help the police get inside the complex mind of an entity that was once an ally.

Firehawk was introduced in the original Fury of Firestorm series in the 80's, and is a welcome sight.

Rating: A-.

When Ted Wolf pitched ThunderCats to Rankin-Bass back in the 80's, I don't think he'd ever imagined Lion-O and his tribe ever meeting the Silverhawks, who debuted a year later.

Writers Declan Shalvey & Ed Brisson seem to think the two teams belong as part of a shared universe, and the latest step is ThunderCats X Silverhawks, a 5 month event from Dynamite that also gives the 'Cats' arch nemesis, Mumm-Ra, his own series. There's also a scenario where some 'Cats are wearing Silverhawk armor. That may be pushing the envelope just a wee bit too far.

Grade: Incomplete.

After a recent miniseries from Mad Cave comes word that Lee Falk's legendary hero, The Phantom, will get a TV series, streaming on Netflix, I believe, within the next year. A challenge, to be sure, but then, Mad Cave took a chance on Phantom.....! Buffy The Vampire Slayer returns to comics in July at a new home, Dynamite (previously at Dark Horse). Kelly Thompson & Stephen Byrne are the creative team on the new series.....Buffy replaces Thundarr The Barbarian, as that series ends with issue 5 in June. Not enough interest in a 46 year old cartoon. Why am I not surprised?

Dunce Cap Award: Pete Hegseth

 "You can't fix stupid!"---Ron White.

It's clear that defense secretary Pete Hegseth hasn't read a Bible in some time. Why else, then, did he resort to using a Hollywood adaptation of Ezekiel 25:17, dating back some 50 years, at a conference the other day?

In 1994's "Pulp Fiction", one of the characters, played by Samuel L. Jackson, recites a line of verse that paraphrases Ezekiel. This paraphrase originated some 20 years earlier with Sonny Chiba.

The actual verse reads like this:

"I will execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes, and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon them." (New King James translation)

Because this gaffe, like every other mistake made by the current misadministration, has gone viral, Hegseth earned himself a Dunce Cap. All anyone needs do is Google the appropriate verse, or pull out their Bibles. It's that simple.

Believe me, even fictional preachers would have gotten it right.

If you want to know what a real preacher sounds like, check this Billy Graham sermon from 1982.

Unfortunately, Graham's son, Franklin, has also dined on the tree of stupid, supporting the blasphemy of ol' Mango Judas (Donald Trump) from earlier in the week. All Trump is doing, really, is admitting to the world that he is not, and never has been, a Christian. Preachers like Franklin, Paula White-Cain, et al, are pandering to the ego of this pumpkin skinned charlatan.

Just remember, God Himself warned that vengeance is His, and He will repay. Washington ain't exactly Sodom & Gomorrah, but, well........!

Native Americans are complaining about a change to the Washington Commanders' logo. The blame isn't entirely on the team, but rather a certain bloviating meddler

 So the Washington Commanders, a week before the NFL draft, unveiled an updated version of the logo that has been in place since they were the "Washington Football Team" from 2020-2.

Last year's model. Photo courtesy Yahoo!.

This is what the new logo looks like:

Current owner Josh Harris is looking to win back the fans who walked away when the team gave up its original nickname due to pressure from Native American activists six years ago. Two days after the new logo was introduced, comes the backlash from some Native Americans, but the anger should not entirely be on Harris and the team.

Remember, too, that president Trump has demanded the Commanders go back to their old name, and threatened to block them from building a new stadium in Washington (the team plays their home games in Virginia) if they didn't give him what he wanted.

"WAAAH! They never should've changed the name! WAAAAH!"

So, yeah, Harris commissioned a new logo as a compromise to the oldest baby in America to get Trump off his back. That's the best way I can describe it. And I'm part Native American in heritage. A small percentage, sure, but it's there. Trump thinks being president gives him license to meddle in everything not associated with him. He's wrong, and always has been.

My advice to Harris is simple. Put it to a vote, then make it official.

Polident represents its target demographic (1985)

 While I know people sometimes have to get dentures before they reach "retirement age", Polident, in this 1985 ad, shows how some of Hollywood's seniors use the product.

Featuring Martha Raye, Scatman Crothers (ex-Chico & The Man), Henny Youngman, Yvonne DeCarlo (ex-The Munsters), and Danny Thomas, whose last series, I'm a Big Girl Now, was 5 years earlier.

No truth to the rumor that Youngman & his violin had actually recorded any of the background music......

Sports this 'n' that

 What is wrong with the Mets?

The team has dropped 8 in a row, having been swept by the A's and Dodgers over the last six days, and the offense has all but vanished, scoring just 3 runs in the Dodger series.

Part of it, of course, is psychological in the absence of star slugger Juan Soto, on the IL with calf issues. Then, utility man Jared Young tore a meniscus, and he went on the IL on Wednesday. Pitcher Clay Holmes made his start on Wednesday after experiencing hamstring tightness on Friday vs. the A's.

Unsurprisingly, Mets fans on reddit are predicting manager Carlos Mendoza, in his 3rd season, may be gone before the season is over. You can't predict injuries, however, and there are those fair weather types who will hold the front office accountable for letting Pete Alonso (Baltimore), Jeff McNeil (A's), and Brandon Nimmo (Texas) leave after last season, taking away a large chunk of the offense before Soto went down.

Proof that fans in NYC are a finicky bunch.

Is this the final season for the LIV golf tour?

MSN reporters seem to think so, as players are leaving the tour, bit by bit.

The Saudi-backed tour changed networks last year from CW to Fox, hoping the wider reach of the latter might help, but it hasn't helped player morale, it seems.

Stay tuned.

If it was theatre NYC fans wanted the last three nights, they got it at Yankee Stadium.

The Bronx Bombers walked off the LA Angels twice, but the highlight of the series was an epic duel between sluggers Aaron Judge & Mike Trout, who combined for 7 home runs in the 3 games. 4 for Trout, 3 for Judge.

I'd say Mike Trout is finally healthy.

The two outfielders, with 6 MVP awards between them (3 each), and their teams will meet again in Anaheim later this season. If you thought this series was wack, wait for the sequel.

And you know Hollywood loves sequels.

Wide World of Sports signed off ABC years ago, but the way smaller, niche sports are starting leagues, and getting TV deals with ESPN, you'd think Disney would want to revive Wide World.

Like, major league table tennis, anyone? You do know pickleball is a hybrid of table tennis, aka ping pong, and regular tennis, right?

Dumb Donald's latest scam didn't fool anyone. DoorDash should sue

 "Dumb Donald is really dumb!!"--Gene Rayburn, 1973-84, on Match Game.

By now, you've read and/or heard about the DoorDash courier showing up at the White House, bypassing security, etc., to deliver some McDonald's to President Junkfood on Monday. Even a DoorDash courier has to go through security checks just to gain access. That's how it works.

And that was Donald Trump's 1st mistake after the imbroglio over the AI picture, recycled from a couple of years ago, of him dressed like Jesus, that he found and posted on Truthless Social on Sunday.

Turns out that "DoorDash Grandma" is known to Trump and his team.....

I get that Trump was trying to, ah, overcompensate for offending his base on Sunday, but, instead, he made things worse for himself.

Given the prospect that the courier doesn't really work for DoorDash, I'd say the company can consider some kind of litigation for fraud, false representation, etc., but then, they'd have Mango Judas whining and threatening them in return.

Come 2029, however, it's a different story. File it away 'til then. It'll come in handy.

Musical Interlude: Treat Her Right (1965)

 From Hollywood A Go-Go comes singer-dancer Roy Head with "Treat Her Right":

Yowza!