Don’t have much time to get this one together, thanks to some serious goings-on in my rassafrackin’ off-blog life. So you know the drill — Friday night’s alright for fightin’, and Bahlactus demands FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS!

Tonight: from 1983’s Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew #19 by Scott Shaw!, Joey Cavalieri, Rick Hoberg, and Larry Houston: Felina Furr, alter ego of Alley-Kat-Abra, demonstrates her mastery of the ancient art of kat-fu by unleashing on a bunch of arcade thieves at a mall.

Mee-yow! Looks like a cat-astrophe for the robbers, but just purr-fect for the kitty…

Let’s take a quick break from comics. Let’s focus on the real world for a few moments.

We got the presidential election coming up in just over a month, right? Election Day is on Tuesday, November 4th, and I expect y’all to git out there and vote. I don’t particularly care who you’re voting for, but I do expect you to head out on November 4 and do your civic duty.

And that means, for a lot of us, the deadline to register to vote is coming up very soon. For most states, the deadline is this upcoming Monday, October 6th. Some are later than that, some are even earlier. There are a few states where the deadline is tomorrow. Holy moley, that’s early. But for most of us, including those of us here in Lubbock, the deadline is this Monday.

If you’re not sure about the registration deadline in your state, click here for a handy table that’ll tell you when you gotta register.

You can register lots of different places. City hall, the county courthouse, the post office, libraries. You have tons of options. But seriously, go register. Even if you don’t know if you wanna vote, go register, just in case you change your mind.

Git going — time’s a-wastin’!

Batman #680

Okay, the Black Glove has invited a bunch of wealthy creeps (most wearing domino masks) to watch him destroy Batman. Batman is still wearing his hyper-garish costume and talking to Bat-Mite. Commissioner Gordon is trapped in a booby-trapped Wayne Manor and getting rescued by Damian and Talia. The Joker is being the Joker, which is bad news for everyone. Jezebel Jet is being held captive. And Bats is getting betrayed by someone he never expected.

Verdict: Thumbs up. There’s plenty of cool stuff here, some of it just amazingly cool, thrilling, wild. But a big chunk of this is about re-emphasizing what an absolutely freaky guy the Joker is. How freaky is the Joker?

The dude gave himself a forked tongue. With a straight razor. For the fun of it.

That’s freaky.

1985 #5

Toby, a little kid from our superhero-less world, has made his way to the Marvel Universe, pursued by the terrible Trapster (who promptly gets hit by a car). He can’t get the Avengers or the Fantastic Four to listen to him, but hey, he knows Spider-Man’s secret identity, so he’s able to have a nice long chat with him. Meanwhile, the psychotic villains of the Marvel Universe have invaded his world, slaughtering everyone they can. Toby’s mom and dad are trying to survive, but can anyone survive… the Coming of Galactus?

Verdict: Thumbs up. I shouldn’t be enjoying this as much as I am. Still, Toby is fun, his dad is fun, the unleashed villains are fun. I even like the vaguely cheesy contrast between the sunlit Marvel Universe and our own dim and shadowy world.

She-Hulk #33

Shulkie battles the Super-Skrull and tries to convince him not to kill Jazinda, his daughter. Meanwhile, Jazinda is fighting the Skrull Talisman. Is there any way to stop Jazinda from getting killed?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Yes, it’s a nice, simple, straightforward plot, but I really did enjoy it. Lots of excellent brawling and action, lots of great dialogue, a primo plotline. It’s not Shakespeare, but it’s a good story. I approve — I wish they could all be this good.

Hulk #6

Green Hulk fights Red Hulk. Thor comes along for the ride. A bunch of other superheroes don’t really do much. We’re promised an answer for who the Red Hulk is, but we don’t get one. Though it’s apparently not Doc Samson (who’s somehow grown his hair long again) or Thunderbolt Ross.

Verdict: Thumbs down. Utter and complete garbage.