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It's that time of year again... With November just around the corner it's time for National Novel Writing Month! Once again I will drive myself mad trying to write 50,000 words of a novel.

This year? Science fiction! I'm breaking out of my usual mode of "high fantasy" and am instead high tailing it to outer space. Waking gods, sleeping androids, and undead horrors in the darkest depths of the galaxy! Away we go!

There are many days when I don't know what to post on here. Tonight was one of those, so I did what I usually do when Doctor Polaris and Azrael aren't around: I started skimming other blogs.

And when that fails, I can usually find something on Newsarama that strikes my fancy. And boy, did I ever. I headed over to Newsarama's blog and what did I find but this little article about New Frontier. Including its voice cast.

There are some good names on there. But none made the eyes bulge out of my head like the person doing Wonder Woman. That's right, friends. Lucy Lawless -- Xena herself -- will be voicing Wonder Woman.

It should come as no surprise to anyone with even a passing understanding of how my geek-addled brain works that I love Xena: Warrior Princess. It has everything that anyone could ever want in a television program. I defy anyone to prove differently. I dare ya.

And most of what made Xena great was Xena herself. And what made Xena great was Lucy Lawless. I always thought she would make a great Wonder Woman. Now I'll get the chance to see if I'm right.

It has come to my attention that "Hollywood" is preparing to make a Green Lantern film This makes me feel alternating bands of white-hot rage and delicious anticipation.

The rage, of course, stems from that fact that I will not likely be in the film. Though I am one of Jordan's longest running adversaries, "Tinseltown" will undoubtedly feel that Sinestro will make a better villain on the big screen. So what we'll get is a pompous ass preening onscreen. While fighting another preening, pompous ass.

And my anticipation? Why, the opportunity to sit in a dark theater and heckle Hal Jordan on screen. Opportunities such as that only come along once in a great while. Be assured that Polaris will not miss the opportunity. I will be there -- front and center -- throwing those delightful chocolate-covered raisins at the screen.

So I finally got around to watching the animated Superman/Doomsday movie that I got as a gift for my birthday. I know there's been a lot of criticism on the Internet of it, and after watching it I can understand that.

It certainly bears very little resemblance to The Death and Return of Superman. But that's to be expected. A proper animated treatment of that story would take hours and hours. It just wasn't feasible.

Instead, the creators took a different route. They took the bare bones concept of a killer fight with Doomsday and then buitl their own story around it. By and large, it works. The voice actors are better than I thought they'd be, and the story is entertaining enough.

Still, there are a lot of problems. There are scenes that feel unnecessary, and some of the characters act in ways that just don't feel true to who the characters really are. So in the end, Superman/Doomsday never rises to the level of quality I've come to expect from DC's animation products.

But the Superboot was awesome! If you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about. Superbot stole the show and made up for any shortcoming the rest of the movie had.

I love Superbot.

Welcome to the twentieth edition of Thursday Night Thinking! As always, we celebrate the schemer, the plotter, and the common man with the uncommon plan!

This week... Something a little different! When you're an evil, space-faring, telepathic starfish you're always thinking. Even when it looks like you're saying it out loud:

What a kind thought. Thank you, Starro.

Well, I've been suffering from quite a cold these past few days. Of course, it's nothing that a weekend locked in a subterranean chamber bombarded by magnetic rays can't cure. Or so my doctor tells me.

Anyway, I'd like to talk about Death of the New Gods. I know that some people are touchy about the subject of a certain character's death. Without naming names, let me just say this: I'm glad he/she is dead. This may shock you. Yes, I liked the character. Heck, I liked the character a lot. But what I do not like are the New Gods.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: they don't fit in the greater DC Universe. They're too weird and wacky and I really, really want to see them all die. Call me bloodthirsty, but I wasn't pleased with the afore mentioned character's death because of the death. I was pleased because it is merely a prelude to the greater slaughter to come.

But I guess that means I am a little bloodthirsty after all. But the New Gods do something the the DC Universe. It's hard for me to articulate it, but I'll give it a try. To me, the New Gods seem to cheapen the DC Universe just a little bit. I know that doesn't make sense -- many people think the Fourth World enriches the DCU. I just don't happen to be one of them.

The New Gods are over the top and overpowered. They are supposed to be gods. And honestly, I'm not sure how keen I am about gods walking around the DCU. If gods really do walk around the DCU, then the things they do and say are automatically more important than the things that any other characters do and say. They're frickin' gods.

And I don't want that. I want Wonder Woman and Superman and Batman to be the most important characters in the DCU. I want it to be clear to everyone that the greatest evil doesn't have to be a distant, rocky-faced deity. It can be as simple as a bald man in a suit. Or a clown with a rictus grin.

But as long as the New Gods still run around in their garish costumes these things cannot come to pass. As long as these so-called deities hold court the real players of the DC Universe will be pushed the sidelines whenever the "gods" appear.

So kill 'em all, I say. Off with their heads.

My villainy was interrupted this past weekend when I was forced to make a house call. The proprietor of this blog has been gravely ill and in need of the services of a physician. A cursory evaluation revealed that he is suffering from the dreaded acute viral nasopharyngitis -- better known to quacks and charlatans as the common cold.

I prescribed a regimen of bed rest, orange-juice, and a daily dose of concentrated magnetism. Though he appears to be in better spirits, it is best that he remain shackled to his bed and under the watchful eye of a medical practitioner. Rest assured that I shall keep him locked in a dimly lit room for much of the rest of the week so that he may recover from his illness without distraction.

I am very excited by my imminent return in the pages of Gotham Underground. I hope that the artist takes time to draw my original costume properly. It is not an easy costume to draw, but I believe it to be worth the effort.

I also hope the the people of Gotham City will welcome me back with open arms. I can only hope that absence has made the heart grow fonder, and that they people of Gotham will accept my crazed, 90's style vigilantism. Additionally, I really hope that flaming swords are back in style.

Honestly, though. It's not the people of Gotham City I'm most worried about. It's the other crime fighters in Gotham. I've worked with them in the past, but it hasn't always gone well. Nightwing never liked me, and I think Robin felt sorry for me. And I'm something like twelve years older than the kid.

I just want them to let me back in the club. I liked being part of the "Bat Family." We all need some place to belong...

Once again... Thursday Night Thinking! As always, here we celebrate the thinking man (or woman). The schemer, the plotter, the mad genius, and the common man with the uncommon plan!

But one man who's anything but common is Scott Free... Better known as Mister Miracle! What're you thinking about, Scott?

Nothing like fifty floors of howling enemies to make you sit back and think about life...

Well, well, well. Things are looking up for a certain "Daughter of Cain." If my eyes do not deceive me that's Batgirl on a team with a bunch of characters who can all charitably be called heroes (with the exception of Geo-Force, who we like to call "incompetent").

The big question is, how are they going to get her back into working with Batman? I mean, in the past few years he has barely acknowledged her presence. He's ignored her almost completely. Not to mention the fact that DC's had her written so inconsistently recently that no two appearances are the same.

Ever since they canceled her book, DC hasn't had any idea what to do with Cassandra Cain. Hopefully Chuck Dixon will find something to do with her. And Batman as well...

DC's January solicitations are up. What caught my interest the most? That would be Countdown to Mystery #5.

The solicitations says that "the returns of Eclipso is bad news for the DC Universe." That would certainly be true... If an Eclipso of a sort hadn't been running around in Jean Loring's body. Thing is, she never felt like the real deal to me. The real deal was the guy with the creepy face and the weird hat who shot rays out of his eye with a diamond.

Oh, look! That's the guy I'm talking about on the cover. Seems to me that they're going to be stripping Eclipso away from Jean Loring. Possibly he'll be going back to a male host and returning to his original appearance. I'd actually be fine with that; I'm not certain the Jean Loring Eclipso was ever a good idea.

But then, this separation will unleash a terrible evil upon the world. Something filled with hate and insanity. But hopefully they'll be able to handle Jean...

I was just checking out the preview for Brave and the Bold #7. Looks like the start of an interesting story. But of course, the first thing that caught my eye was the artwork. And I was reminded again why George Perez is one of the greatest artists to ever work in comics.

I've seen Power Girl drawn in a lot of different ways. I've seen her drawn by Jim Lee, Phil Jimenez, and Amanda Connor (among others). But I just want to say that I think George Perez draws the most flat out beautiful Power Girl I've ever seen. She's gorgeous. I love it.

And she's beautiful without looking weak. Lots of artists seem to have a problem with that. They either buff Power Girl up too much for my tastes or they overdo it with the "sexy" and she stops looking strong. But George Perez (not surprisingly) hits it just right.

I hope he keeps drawing until he's a hundred.

I'm usually the last person to get on editors for mistakes in comics. It's just not something that's in my nature. But I did see something in Booster Gold #3 that made me twitch. Something inexcusable:

Take a look at that gravestone. It says Lionel Luther Junior. Anyone who knows anything about DC Comics should immediately see the glaring, unconscionable error.

The name is Luthor. It's been Luthor since the beginning and it'll always be Luthor. Spelling it Luther isn't just inexcusably wrong -- It's potentially life-threatening.

See, certain types of people take the spellings of their names very seriously. I know I get a little annoyed when people spell my mysterious, unknown surname incorrectly. And I'm a pretty reasonable guy. Most people would agree that Lex Luthor is not.

So how do you think the most dangerous man alive is going to react when he finds out someone has misspelled his name? Chances are, he ain't gonna take it well.

Y'know, Azrael's not the only one who noticed this post about Gotham Underground. It got me to thinking. I've never really weighed in on whether or not Stephanie deserves a memorial case. But I know a lot of people are really passionate about it.

Which got me wondering... Why has nobody ever petitioned for Azrael to get a memorial case? I mean, he may not have been a Robin, but he was a Batman. That's gotta be worth something, right? Apparently not. C'mon, DC! Where's Jean Paul Valley's memorial case in the Batcave?

Know that I have returned to Gotham City. No longer must I languish in hiding, looking over my shoulder every moment for beetle-browed, bearded brutes. I can once again freely slink through the shadows and engage in brutal, violent vigilantism.

"But Azrael," you may ask. "Why have they stopped hunting you? Aren't you one of those crazy anomalies everybody is talking about?" Perhaps I was... But no longer!

See? See? There I am, right on the cover of one of the issues of Gotham Underground. And if I am featured on the cover, then surely I am in the comic. And if I am in the comic, then surely I am not dead.

After all, astute readers know that my body was never found. Did anyone really believe that I was dead? You all thought I was merely gone. You thought no writer was willing to bring me back and do something with me. Well, know that you were all wrong! I am coming back! And I'm ready to hit the ground running. Let the 90's style vigilantism commence!

Last week I was remiss in my duties. But sometimes Thursday Night Thinking takes a backseat when you're traveling. Apologies to all!

But no worries... I'm sure the thinking continued without me. Just as it continues this very night:

Ah, that little blue ox is always good for a think. How about you? What forgotten dreams are you thinking about?

Greetings loyal readers. I, Doctor Polaris, have returned.

You may wonder where I have been for the past few weeks. It is, after all, a valid question. Some of you may assume that I have been on vacation just as the gracious proprietor of this blog has been. But know this: villainy never takes a vacation.

Rather, I have been traveling through time. This is not in and of itself unusual. After all, my torrid, 31st century affair with the Emerald Empress is a matter of public record. But this time, Polaris has not scoured the time stream for love... He has scoured it for revenge.

Indeed, I seek the interminable Booster Gold so that I might slay him. The fact that he has received his very old solo series fills me with fiery rage! While I and others like me languish in obscurity, Booster Gold is given his own solo series? Truly there is no justice in the world. Or injustice, as the case may be.

But Booster Gold is as unctuous as a Japanese eel. Whenever I think I have him within my magnetic grasp he eludes me. But I will find him. And I will destroy him. Though I admit that he is a convenient target upon which to take out my frustrations, that is not my sole reason for attempting to end his life. If I kill one of the the stars of 52 they won't be able to ignore me any more.

And I'm not sure even I could take on Black Adam. So Booster Gold it is.

Any of you still there? I know I am. I'm back, and I'm feeling good. Nothing like five days in a miserably hot country where I don't speak the language during the worst typhoon in years to recharge my juices. Oh yeah.

So I'm feeling better and I think I'm ready to resume blogging. I imagine I won't be the only one showing up. I haven't heard from Doctor Polaris in awhile, true. But you know you can't keep that man down. No matter how hard you try...

You may have noticed that I haven't been around a lot lately. To the five of you who read this (that includes you, Mom!) It's just because I've been a little bit burnt out. Work's been hitting me and things are as they are. You know how life gets.

And I won't be posting much (read: at all) this week either. Because tomorrow (after some thinking) I'm flying to Taiwan for a five day vacation. It should be an interesting experience as it'll be my first time visiting a country where I don't speak the language.

So. I'll see y'all when I get back. G'night.