Bullet Points

* It should come as no surprise to anyone that Ghost Rider was very close to my platonic ideal of what a superhero movie should be. At no point during the proceedings was I at all tempted to throw something at the screen. I can't remember a movie since the original Superman that has done such a good job of communicating a character's specific visual appeal. With Ghost Rider, the visuals are a huge part of the appeal, and once they had that part nailed, well, they could fill the rest of the plot with salt-water taffy and I'd have been content.

* But man, they should really change the name of the movie to Eva Mendes' Breasts with Ghost Rider. If you know what I mean. And I think you do.

* So, yeah. Civil War. Heh. I was quite amused by Augie De Blieck's advance review of the final issue. Now, De Blieck is a Marvel fan. You know if you've lost Augie, you've lost the plot, because in the past he's shown a very generous willingness to give Marvel the benefit of the doubt. But his reaction seems to be a big fat shrug, never a good thing for such an enormous initiative. And it is extremely telling to me that after discussing the issue his very first thought is what Marvel is going to be like when the current leadership is gone... could be just a coincidence. But never a good sign for the Powers That Be if your most popular product instills such yawning indifference in your target audience that the idea of replacing the Boss is the next logical thought.

* I'm going out of town for a little bit starting tomorrow. So if there's anything important anyone needs to ask before I go . . . well, good luck with that.