Propecia. Reversing the effects of propecia. Generic propecia.

And despite what Dan says, this was different than what Marvel generally puts out.

That's not actually contrary to what I'm saying. While it may be different from the majority of what Marvel publishes, it's very similar to the majority of humor books Marvel publishes.

Because at the time it started, Wally and Kyle weren't friends (I remember them bickering early on in the run), so maybe Ennis has actually stuck to the continuity of the time it's set.

That’s why I wasn’t sure what was going on with the aborgines. Why were they taken to England? It’s unclear. And I haven’t read the story in the back. It just screams “Read this all at once when the entire series comes out.”

Yeah, that really wasn't clear, now that you point it out to me. Maybe they'll tell us later?

I’ve been reading the stories in the back of Gutsville and enjoying them quite a bit. It’s basically an Arthur Conan Doyle pastiche with a sense of humor set in the Gutsville universe, and it’s an entertaining enough diversion. They’re not breaking any new ground or anything, but it is an interesting counterpoint to the main storyline with a considerably lighter tone.

I'll dive in, then. Big chunks of text inside comics always scare me, and the fact that the text pieces were written by a different guy than the writer made me wonder how important (and good) they were.

I really do like all the extras in the book, though. All the sketches and maps and text pieces make me feel like I'm getting a good deal for my three bones.

The other is inking my own work. In addition to inks, I'm toning and shading with grays. The work's fully rendered, printable uncolored, really. That said, I'm very, very pleased to have June coloring the book, she's terrific.

Thanks for asking, Brian.

That's also fine if you didn't give Ant-Man a chance, John. I don't try every new title that comes out, either. And despite what Dan says, this was different than what Marvel generally puts out. He can say it sucks, and that's fine, but I hope they keep trying different things. Some of them do catch on.

Same for books like Terror Inc or other Marvel Knights/MAX titles, they stick a cardboardy cover on it and charge you extra. It's sheer madness and greed in equal portions. It's not as if Marvel as a company need to resort to these high prices.

I don't think the Aboriginal people were necassarily slaves. I mean, why would you send your slaves back home?

But great fun. I liked this one a dozen times more than issue one.

And, hey, is the story in the back worth reading? I haven't got to it yet.

I hope you gave it a try, though, because I think it did a good job putting a humorous twist on the idea of someone who isn’t a hero. And most anti-heroes have a purpose; Eric didn’t even have that!

I didn't give it a try, actually, because I'm looking for non-anti heroes who do have a purpose. This book just couldn't have more blatantly advertised itself as "not what John Seavey wants to read" if they'd put that above the title. (Which, in a sense, they did. "Irredeemable" is not what I want right now.)

That's my real point; trying new things is great and all, but that doesn't mean I can't use my judgement when doing so. New Blue Beetle? Tried it, liked it, loved it, buying the trades as they come out. New Ant-Man? Looked like something I fundamentally wouldn't be interested in. Nothing wrong with that.

red-Ricky: On just a cursory glance, the Cap Omnibus looks fine, with nothing backwards or anything. I didn't go through closely, however, so I'm just going to assume all the word balloons and such are correct. They left the ads in, though. Strange. (Oh, I'm kidding!) It looks very nice, with tons of extra stuff.

Thanks, Michael, for the explanation. Dazzler, of course, is in New Excalibur these days, and Sleepwalker is in Ms. Marvel, so they're probably just angry they're on the cover at all!

I haven't been commenting at all on "Endangered Species," just because it's been doing its job, with varying degrees of goodness. I did enjoy this installment, though.

But yes, the whole thing stunk. I had Gus read it last night and he has no particular fondness for the characters but the writing alone made him chuck the book across the room upon getting to the big shock ending and mutter profanities about Winick for the next few minutes.

I was guessing mind control rather than imposter, based on the zoned out facial expression.

Re JLA/Hitman, I read the original team-up with Kyle just a couple weeks ago and Ennis was so much nicer to him this time. Wally did seem to go overboard on the insults, but there was some original tension and I'm going to assume this is set back then. Agree on the nice balance of hero-yet-jerk.

I've been on the fence about Umbrella Academy but may check it out now. Waiting to hear how 'weird' it was.

Completely didn't realize that was downtown Portland. Does Allred have a local connection?