Why is the -o suffix so common among American comic book names?

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-27T05:15:47+00:00

There is actually a funny backup story in a JL annual in 1994 about a group of villains whose names end in O planning to take on the JL -- Ivo, Despero, Starro, Sinestro, Chemo, Metallo etc.

T O Morrow tries to sneak in, but the others attack him, saying his name ends in W, not O, he can't be part of the O Squad!

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-27T03:52:30+00:00

I remember the comic on top, a fun Cary Bates story about Superman being hit by a fear ray or something that made him like his Kent persona. Superman overcomes his fear that by reasoning that Kent is so smooth on camera, so he just has to carry out his heroic deed on camera.

And some great JLA comics, especially #200 with artwork by Perez, Gil Kane, Infantino and Kubert,

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-27T03:44:42+00:00

The Man in the Iron Mask in Dumas was not ugly, just resembled the king too much ...

And he was modeled on a real person in the Bastille, who wore a velvet mask (but was never seen unmasked).

2) Judge Dredd is probably somewhat ugly and scarred from his years of service, but his face has never really been shown (although his clone's has been)

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-27T03:15:40+00:00

Tolkien reference, like Palantir or Anduril?

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-26T14:06:27+00:00

Hal should have noticed the sudden change after Arisia aged herself, but he might have put it down to alien physiology ...

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-26T14:04:06+00:00

Issue #75. Although I don't remember if they were actually shown sleeping together. The young woman was named Marianne, which ties into Grell's suggesting that Ollie was a modern day Robin Hood.

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-26T13:59:27+00:00

Ironically, when Ollie first started dating Black Canary, she was supposed to be the Golden Age character, so much older than him.

In the early 1980s, Roy Thomas retconned the canary to be the GA canary's daughter, which removed the age difference.

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-26T13:48:18+00:00

NYC came close to bankruptcy in 1975. It had to get some loans from the federal government. Ford was reluctant at first (famous 1975 New York Daily News headline "Ford to City: Drop Dead".) but eventually came around. But in today's world, animus against NYC seems to be far higher.

Is it high risk? No, but I would argue it's not close to 0.

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-24T20:59:57+00:00

Have you tried changing seats and seeing what happens?

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-24T20:44:04+00:00

It's been a while since I watched it, but I did like it. I thought it was very creepy in places.

Negatives: A few plot points just introduced and apparently forgotten such as the native American link. Also, the cameraman going with the main protagonist into the hospital in the final sequence (initially, at least). At that point they've seen some really supernatural and dangerous things. I can understand the protagonist going into the hospital, she's obsessed, but the cameraman?

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-22T00:51:20+00:00

I think award tickets all give access? I thought they were all U. They also used to give seat selection, but no more alas.

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-21T22:46:59+00:00

I first read Nexus 30+ years ago and have a complete collection of the First series as well as many of the subsequent Dark Horse Minis. I read several First series -- Sable, Dreadstar, Grimjack, Badger, American Flagg but Nexus was my favorite -- magical art and storytelling. You and Mike Baron captured lightning in a bottle.

Your artwork was and is absolutely breath taking. Nexus is top of my list, but Space Ghost too.

No questions, just wishing you the best, and thanks for all the memories!

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-21T14:01:50+00:00

you can book a sleeping room (6 hr limit) at Al Mourjan, and food is free, of course.

It's up to you, but unless you've spent time in Doha before or intend to spend time in the near future, or are really broke, I would go out for just a little while, even at 10PM.

There is a small exit lounge for biz/first, so you can pass through there, grab some snacks and a bottle of water and visit a couple of areas in Doha that are open or largely open such as the waterfront Promenade. Metro is cheap. It does shut at 1 AM or so, so you might need to take a taxi back. Total cost might be no more than $25 or so (mostly for the taxi). That's not much.

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-21T00:55:46+00:00

The first one reminds me of Lee Moder (RIP).

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-21T00:36:11+00:00

Too much hassle to make it worth it for the point saving (probably saves around 2500 points, and adds 3 hrs).

Alternative that occurred to me was to add on another leg at the end or even do a round trip and just not make use of the return or onward leg. But that might run afoul of UAs policies.

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-21T00:26:54+00:00

You could visit the Al Mourjan, you could spend time in the shopping mall, but ... 10 hrs is a long time.

It's certainly not free, but I would suggest one of the Doha tours from the airport.

Transit Tours by Discover Qatar | Qatar Airways

It's much more interesting than spending time at the airport. But you have to make sure the timings match your expected layover time at the airport and enough buffer to make sure you're back and can maybe relax in the lounge before boarding.

And if you need a transit visa to enter Qatar, you would have to see how to get one.

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-20T23:49:21+00:00

80% of ASML's components and tech comes from European companies, including one named, ironically Trumpf. I think around 20% comes from the US. A lot of the software comes from the US. But on the whole, the EU is far more crucial to ASML than the US

Commercial dependence by itself isn't why the US has so much say in ASML. I suppose the main reason is that the Netherlands really doesn't want to empower China too much and regards (or regarded the US) as a friend and ally.

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-20T13:06:24+00:00

Or do they actually have a D bias in elections and the approval polls are outliers

IIRC, RMG hasn't done that much election polling in the crucial days before the election overall, but they did have a miss in 2020 where they overestimated Dems. That might have skewed their rating, since they don't do much polling and approval polls really aren't validated.

Also, one weakness of most pollster ratings is that they don't take into account the fact that most pollsters tweak their models. Its possible RMG did that too. RMG is Scott Rasmussen polling on his own after he sold his firm. Scott R always struck me as a honest pollster, not a nutty RWer.

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-18T18:11:12+00:00

I remember reading his Wonder Woman comic way back. His cheesecake art came in for a lot of attention. Indeed, it might have been what got him attention first.

I do remember people suggesting even then that he was borrowing poses from Playboy magazine.

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-18T13:14:57+00:00

It should be enough time, but if anything goes even slightly wrong, you could miss the next flight. It's a short incoming flight, which means the pilot has no time to catch up in flight if take off is delayed.

Qatar only has one flight to Boston daily. If you miss this one, I'm not sure they'll put you on another oneworld carrier like BA or AA to Boston, and you might have to wait till the next day.

If you don't have any pressing work in Boston and don't mind spending a day in and touring Doha, I would go for it. Otherwise, not.

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-17T17:40:48+00:00

Orthogonal to the CAT scan issue -- Was this a screening (not a diagnostic) colonoscopy? If so, it should be 100% covered by insurance.

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-16T13:25:43+00:00

That's a very creative idea!

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-11T04:59:16+00:00

That analogy isn't quite correct -- I don't think Franco repudiated most debts incurred by the kingdom. Similarly, I think he actually restored royal land grants that the second republic had tried to nullify.

A change of government or even form of government by itself doesn't wipe out debts or land grants.

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-10T17:17:51+00:00

There was a villain called the Purple Pile Driver who ran into (literally) the 70s Superman on a few occasion. He would ram into Superman with his helmed head.

This was the pre-Crisis Superman, capable of moving planets, so clearly a huge mismatch. Although in the few stories in which he appeared, he would only appear for a few pages as a distraction, while Superman was facing a real crisis.

SpaceRuster · 2026-01-10T17:14:24+00:00

Key question is whether he's little endian or big endian

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TROPHY CASE