Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural

Doctor Voodoo has always been a character that I thought was cool. I am sure I have always felt that way, but I am not sure that i ever really read anything with him in it when I formed that opinion as a kid. I was excited about this series when it started, and I am pretty sure I picked up the first issue. I don't think any subsequent issues actually made the shelf at my LCS and that was that. Fortunately for me it is available through Marvel Digital Unlimited and I got to read it recently. I wish that it was more than five issues, but it as a complete arc and has an awful lot going for it.

Rick Remender wrote the series, which involves a plot by Nightmare to undo reality, and Jefte Palo turns in an amazing job with the art. Combined with Stunning covers by Marko Djurdjevic, this comic has everything you could want. In addition to always thinking Brother Voodoo was a cool character, I absolutely LOVED Nightmare When I was a kid. The story pretty much turns into Jericho and Daniel Drumm vs. Possessed versions of everyone else in the Avengers, etc. We get good back story on the brothers, and a pretty fun main conflict. I wish I had subscribed to this title, and I wish it was still running. Even occasional mini's of it done with the same team would be welcomed.

Marvel Digital, Thor, and Devil Dinosaur

Not too long ago I renewed my subscription to Marvel Digital Online . I had subscribed to it a while back and then under-utilized it. There was a decent percentage off for a year subscription that made me feel I should give it a chance again. Really, despite its shortcomings, the fact that I didn't take advantage of it previously was completely on me. That, and the fact that I saw a number of runs I was interested in reading, or reading again as is the case with Thor, made it easy enough to jump back in. I have access to a lot of good comics for just over the cost of most Marvel single issues. Yes, this is basically a countdown until I lose interest again, but my intentions are always the best in the beginning.

The Mighty Thor
I started with Thor this time. I was very interested in re-reading More of Walt Simonson's historic and acclaimed run on the title, and revisiting Beta Ray Bill, a character that I was very much on the fence about when I was reading the series originally around my freshman year in High School. I added a LOT of Mighty Thor to my 'Must Read' list, and started with issue 337. In this Issue, Thor is called upon by Nick Fury to investigate an alien spaceship on its way toward Earth. When Thor gets there, he finds his near match in the form of the ships guardian. Due to misunderstandings regarding motives, they end up fighting as enemies. Thor accidentally turns into Donald Blake and loses, losing Mjolnir in the process. Even worse, due to the Hammer's loophole about worthiness, and Beta Ray Bill's character, we end up with an Alien Thor. In this re-reading, I get it a lot more than I did as a kid. It's a pretty great twist, and it's really well written, and the art is great. I am looking forward to reading a lot more of Simonson's Thor.

Devil Dinosaur 1-9 - Written and drawn by Jack Kirby
I have this thing about Jack Kirby. I have a lot of respect for the man. Growing up, I didn't think I liked him, while at the same time (I now realize) absolutely loving a great deal of his work. This has made me reluctant to say too much about Kirby here. I decided that I wanted to start getting a better feel for the stuff of his I didn't think I liked, by actually reading a good bit of it. Hopefully I will eventually bring myself up to the level of the average person who has ever liked a comic, in regard to my regard for him. His distinctive style was never my favorite, and I didn't understand his having things that looked really similar in concept at both Marvel and DC, and I really got my strongest feelings for comics reading and collecting New Teen Titans and a number of very clean, more realistically drawn comics I guess, so it took me a long time to be able to really get art that had stylized elements, etc.

I know this goes back to when I was little, and I have mostly broken free from it. I can judge different styles based on their differences, their effect, and all sorts of things that can be conveyed in any number of wildly different ways through comics. Really, what I am saying here, is that I am not 10 anymore. I am over thirty years, not ten. This shouldn't be so difficult for me, right?

I searched Kirby, I wanted something I had very little experience with, and so I went with Devil Dinosaur, which came out around 1978. I am not sure I saw this comic when I was little. This may have been one I would have loved. In 9 issues, you get a red T-Rex, which is decidedly more bad ass than even the most bad ass of his non-red peers. You also get Moon Boy, who serves as our creepy little furry everyman, and who would be easy to identify with as a kid. I sort of hate him, but there is some necessity for him that would be hard to get around without making the dinosaur at least think, or become the bad guy in the book. You get alien robots, giants, giant ants, lots of dinosaurs, small folk, killer folk, a witch, time travel, everything you could ever want from a comic. The art is furious, the color is vibrant and lovely. The dinosaurs are fearsome and danger and peril is conveyed in every line. It was a more enjoyable and entertaining comic than it was a particularly good one. I think that is a fair enough exchange.

Moon Boy and Devil bond and grow up as brothers. He reminds me a bit too much of Chaka from Land of the Lost, so I have trouble liking him. He is brave though, and cares about his 'Brother". Devil is fearsome and very smart. The scenarios we are given are not just bad guy rolls into town and the dinosaur fights him, motivations vary, a few other heroic characters pop up, etc. It is a fun read if you enoy feeling like a kid when you read comics.

Plus the old school flowery language in it is kind of funny
...
And Thus Endeth The Chronicle

My Marvel Year (4/27/2009)

Here's what I have been reading lately on Marvel Digital Comics & a little lip service on the experience.

• Beyond #1-4 - Dwayne McDuffie, Scott Kolins -You need to note right away that this mini series is longer than four issues. It actually runs six issues, but only four are online. I still think there is a conspiracy to make you have to buy everything, rather than to allow you to finish things online, even though it's a pay service... (I like to say that, but I may not really believe it). This isn't a bad series so far, for being one that uses a 'beyonder' premise. I have a certain nostalgia for the contest of champions, secret wars style stories that throw a bunch of different folks together. This one does it, and you get Gravity and Firebrand and Medusa... Deathlok shows up, so does Dragon Man and Space Phantom, among others. It really isn't bad, and manages to be a bit of fun. I wish the rest was online.
• Ghost Rider #1-6 - Garth Ennis, Stan Lee, Clayton Crain - This comic is one I balked at a long time ago because I thought it was the type of comic that needs to have an angel force a child to poke his eye out with a pencil to show how edgy it was. I still think that part of the first issue is unnecessary and cheapens the thing, but upon reading the entire six issue mini, I pretty much love the thing now (minus that scene) It is funny and cool, it is over the top in a way that a Marvel Knights Ghost Rider title maybe should be, and the art justifies everything. Every scene with demons or fire or indeed Ghost Rider himself is the best one ever done. Every Ghost Rider panel should be a giant poster on the walls and ceilings of my dream office. I don't love the art when it is not being used to show fire and Ghost Rider, etc. Regular figures and scenes done in the style really aren't my favorite things, but holy crap can Clayton Crain draw/paint? the most awesome spirit of vengeance on the most awesome chopper with flaming wheels (yes, the flaming wheels are the most awesome.) His art captures everything I ever thought was cool about that character, in a way that no-one else has.
• New Avengers #37 - 44 - This run has the breakup of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones in it. It also has the scenes where the Skrulls are testing out clones of Mr. Fantastic in what seem like realistic scenarios. There is some pretty great stuff in these. My favorite bit in everything I read of this is when Spider-Man is convinced that Ka-Zar and Shanna are Skrulls and keeps calling her Sheena. I laughed a lot.
• She Hulk - I read some issues of She Hulk from around the time she slept with Hercules. I didn't note the specific issues I read, but I haven't read any modern She Hulk, and I kind of enjoyed what I read. I will need to make an effort to read more stuff, hopefully that predates civil war and secret invasion, etc.

Marvel Digital Comics - My issue this time is that it seems to forget that I am logged in more than seems reasonable. I have to log back in a good bit. It also has semi-annoying popup adds that tell you where to find the print version of what you are reading, and sometimes they sort of stay in the way. Otherwise, no real issues

My Marvel Year (4/14/2009)

I took a bit of a break from reading Marvel Digital Comics. No reason, really, I am just lazy about maintaining 'features' I start.

Here is what i have read recently, as well as a comment here and there on the service itself, etc.

X-Force #1-4 - Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost(w), Clayton Crain(a) - I really don't like the art in this comic. It just isn't something that works for me. I think the art is kind of cool for a cover or a poster, perhaps, and am not suggesting that the art is bad, just that it is not a style that works for me with this comic. The four issues I read, while not perfect, were WAY better than I thought they would be. I really enjoyed this book, and especially like the team dynamic and the character portrayal we get in it. Wolverine being protective of his teammates with regard to their relative humanity and innocence compared to his. It was really good in that regard. The plot is pretty cool as well. There are a lot of surprising developments in it. I look forward to reading more.

Cable & Deadpool #1 - 7 - Fabian Nicieza & Mark Brooks(#1,2), Patrick Zircher (#3-7) Covers mostly by Rob Liefeld. - I liked this more than I thought I would. I have made no secret of the fact that I just have no love for a certain stable of characters in the Marvel Universe. In fact I plan to say that again in a minute. Neither Cable nor Deadpool have ever done anything for me until recently. I liked Deadpool in the Hulk vs Wolverine animated feature that was released recently. That made me want to read more with him in it. At least Deadpool is sort of funny. Cable is one of those very 90's type creations that seems to have every power, and a design that seems to include everything any 10 year old might consider 'bitchin' Glowy eye, metal arm, big guns, tk, telepathy, teleportation(maybe) just lots of powers and lots of stuff that doesn't seem to go along with anything. Granted, he doesn't have Blood or Dead or Death... in his name, but he does have a name (maybe 8 names) that doesn't seem related to anything either. This was a fairly fun, not entirely mindless run of issues. The story is about a church that wants to use a virus to turn everyone blue... yeah... but regardless, there is something unabashedly comic book about that, and there is lots of action and banter and interesting twists and turns, and a sort of buddy dynamic, if your idea of buddy dynamics is trying to shoot each other constantly. It mostly works, and I enjoyed it and will read more to see if it develops.

X-Calibre #3-4 - I read the first two, and posted about them in a previous post . These next two were OK, and while again, it wasn't terrible, and I imagine people that dig the setting probably liked this a lot. After reading this, and thinking about it a lot, I really just can't love Age of Apocalypse, Apocalypse, or anything even related to Apocalypse. It turns me off and shuts me down. It all looks the same to me, generally has a self-indulgent feel to it, and is all about edginess and enormous hair. The edginess isn't real edginess, either... It's generally more of that ten year old boy stuff I mentioned earlier.
X-Men Omega #1 - I read this because X-Calibre #4 told me to read this for the conclusion. I am not saying it is impossible to write really good stories that make these characters compelling, I'm just saying it must be really difficult with how little of this stuff actually pulls it off.

Astonishing Tales: One Shots (SpiderWoman) - I thought I covered this previously, but who knows. Jonathon Greene, Fiona Staples - I liked this a LOT. It's a nice little story about Jessica Drew on the job in LA, and it reads well. It moves quickly, and most importantly!!! the art is BRILLIANT. For the record, I thought the art was brilliant before I saw the artist's profile picture. She is absolutely stunning, but while there are lots of pretty people out there, there are way less who are really talented artists, and she certainly qualifies. Here is my favorite SpiderWoman pic possibly ever. The art makes this in my opinion, and I don't know why she isn't drawing every comic on the shelf right now. There is a great style to her work, but also some realism. SpiderWoman's costume actually bunches up in places an actual garment might bunch or wrinkle... There is humanity in her Jessica Drew. It's just perfect stuff in my opinion. The picture to the left is cut to not show dialog or spoil anything, but to get the full effect of the image it is best to see the whole panel I think.








Marvel Digital Comics - Smart panel can still be pretty wonky. It is not uncommon for it to take you to the next page without showing you the rest of the page you are on.

No real new issues or problems with anything. It does at least seem like they are working everyday to get more stuff online, so that's good.

My Marvel Year (3/15/2009)

The following is a list of comics I have read online at Marvel Digital Comics, as well as some lip-service on my experience with the service since my last update:


AMERICAN EAGLE: JUST A LITTLE OLD-FASHIONED JUSTICE #1 - This is labeled as a 'digital exclusive'. It is penned by Jason Aaron with art by Richard Isanove. I love Jason Aaron's writing. I base that mostly on Scalped, but I think that can stand on it's own as a sign the guy can write. I am hoping to read at least some of his Ghost Rider soon (in addition to the most recent issue that I picked up and enjoyed last week). This is a 9 page story featuring American Eagle and the Villain CottonMouth. It features some on and off Rez interplay, and was enjoyable with a little twist to it.

KID COLT #1 - This is another thing labeled as a 'digital exclusive' I am not sure if this is some extra thing, or just the first part of the first issue of the mini series. The art is not my favorite, but it's a pretty good read so far. Kid Colt is wanted for a crime that isn't what it seems. He needs to find an eye witness who will testify to his account of the incident and get to trial before hired killers stop him dead. Sounds like a decent western to me.

SUB-MARINER #1 - 4 of 6 - I wish the whole mini-series was online. I am generally indifferent about Namor, but I thought this was pretty good, and definitely want to finish it some day. The art is solid, and the plot is good. The fights (especially Namor v Venom) are really good as well.

Avengers Fairy Tales #1 & 2 - This is written by CB Cebulski, and features Avengers themed takes on Childrens story classics. Issue 1 is Peter Pan, with art by Joao Lemos. It has Wanda, Pietro, Captain America, Hawkeye, Thor, Iron Man and Klaw. Issue 2 is Pinnochio with art by Nuno Plati. It has the Vision, Scarlet Witch, Henry Pym, Wasp, Ultron and Jocasta in it. I think Cebulski is pretty great at doing funny or quirky/interesting well written stuff. In my opinion, while this is cute and well done, I think the art is what really sells it. Beautiful work on both of these by 2 different artists. I own at least the first issue of this, but read both online in the past week.

X-Calibre #1 & 2 - This is a mini series written by Warren Ellis. I actually kind of like this, despite loathing all things apocalypse related, and not liking the art all that much either. I promise it's because I think there is some actual good and interesting stuff here, and not just because it's written by Ellis. It takes place in the Age of Apocalypse setting, and is at least so far about the safe-haven Avalon. I think it's weird to think of Nightcrawler throwing around the word Mom as much as he does in the second issue, but it really isn't awful.


Marvel Digital Comics - My only real complaint or comment this time isn't much of either with regard to the actual service itself. In fact, it is a bit of a compliment to the Marvel offering. I have found myself several times since I subscribed thinking... I'll just look that up and read it... only it's been DC comics that I have thought that about. I really do wish I could just pop on line and read old Green Lantern and Superman and Batman and Wonder Woman stuff. I think as a public service, DC and Marvel should make everything prior to a certain point in time available for free online. They could do it in conjunction with like... Universities? The Smithsonian? um... Libraries... Ok , I haven't thought this through, but for my purposes it would be way better than having to buy a ton of Showcase volumes so that I may better know my history...

My Marvel Year (3/03/2009)

The following is a list of comics I have read online at Marvel Digital Comics, as well as some lip-service on my experience with the service since my last update:

Deadpool #1 - Deadpool has never been a character I have had the least bit of interest in. He lives in a special category for me that includes Cable and Mr. Sinister, and some other X- type folks that came out in a period where comics were dead or dying for me, and when I got fully immersed in them again, Those sort of characters just made me think of the bad old days, and generally failed to make me care about them at all. I watched the Hulk VS video(s) recently, and loved deadpool in it, so I thought I would use this cool service I am paying for to dive right in and catch up on some deadpool... This comic is Secret Invasion related, and despite that, I thought it was pretty great, and funny. More on my Deadpool quest below.

All-Winners Comics #1, 2 - I worry sometimes that people will call me out about all the comics and beloved notions that I just have no real affection for. Golden Age comics in general are just another thing on that list. All Winners is a quarterly compilation of stories from other comics that were being published (as far as I can tell). You get a ton of stories in each issue, and mostly it isn't the worst stuff I have ever read. I am interested in them to some degree as these are just prior to WW!! and in Issue 2 the Destroyer gets a story in it. Otherwise, you get Captain America and Bucky, Human Torch and Toro, Namor, and more! I was most surprised by how un-Namor-like the Sub Mariner was at first. It's strange to see him running around more or less like all the other heroes in the books. He has the same accent and uses all the same expressions that the rest of the gang does. In my opinion there is a sort of lazy sameness to most of the characters. That doesn't mean the stories are bad, but they aren't really my cup of tea.

Amazing Spider-Man: Extra! (the Spartacus Gambit) #1 - This supplemental piece to the last Amazing Spider-Man issue was kind of neat. You certainly didn't have to see it to get what was going on in the print series, but it did give you a glimpse in-between panels to see a bigger version of events than you got in the issue alone. I think supplemental material is a nice thing to throw into the subscription service

Avengers Forever #5 - I read this in my pursuit of all things related to Agents of Atlas. The story in this features the same lineup of 1950's Avengers as the What-If story did. I love how that What-If was just blended right into continuity without seeming hokey or bogus.

Thor #337 - I wanted to read Walt Simonson Thor. I didn't dig the idea of the alien Thor at the time, and because of that I totally skipped one of the best regarded runs of a creator on a single character book. Because I am not all knowing... sadly...

X-treme X-Men #13 - I think this was listed as an issue that Deadpool was in. I was trying to snatch up as much Deadpool as I could, and I ended up reading this, and pretty much loving it. It's a big giant against all odds kind of set up, and in this issue Sage fixes Rogue so she can access the powers of everyone she has ever absorbed. There is some joy in the sequence of her kicking butt using a wide variety of powers.

Marvel Digital Comics - I have this nagging suspicion that is growing within me about this service. I like it, I think the browser is decent. I think even as it stands, the value is there at 5 dollars a month. I really wish I knew their actual vision for the service, though. It would help me control my expectations, and it would also change some of my opinions on it, I think. If this is just a way to get 5 bucks a month from people and not offer up digital as an option for people to choose for delivery of their comics, if this is not a serious endeavor for them, then I have an issue. My inclination at the moment is that they don't intend to give up much with this service. I have found what looks like a trend where they have broken up runs of comics so that you are missing key pieces of story lines, broken up so that you don't get an entire trade worth of story. Exceptions may exist with something like the Agents of Atlas mini series. One might argue that they are giving you that because there is a new ongoing series that just started. I don't know. My ONLY issue if that is the case is that they shouldn't be charging for a service that just let's you read the odd handful of issues in sequence, or a historical collection that lets you see the publishers rich heritage without eating into their trade sales in their minds. Ifit is just a taste to get people into specific storylines they will buy in print, then make it free.

If there is truly a goal of filling things out over time and filling in storylines, etc., and they aren't just being sneaky by cutting some of the guts out so that if you want to read it you have to buy the trades, then I don't have so much of an issue. I am not even suggesting they should put full runs of everything, up to this past Wednesday's shipment online for 5 bucks, but right now I just can't get a feel for what they want this to be. Are they taking it seriously? Are they giving their subscribers what they think they are getting?

I sent in feedback through the channel the say to, and I was a bit disheartened to receive a form email that didn't actually address anything I had put forth in my email. I had 4 very specific and very different points/questions. One about partial issues, one about gaps in series, specifically the seaming surgical removal of some big storylines, one about character indexing, and one about issues with 'smart panels'. Here is the response I got:

Thank you for contacting Marvel Entertainment Inc.'s Online Support
services.

We are constantly updating the site and there will be a variety of
classic and new titles added to the site every week. We are aware that
there are gaps in the series and we want to make sure that we offer a
satisfying reader experience to our subscribers, so this is an issue we
are bearing in mind as we make improvements to Digital Comics Unlimited.
Please let us know if there are any specific titles you would like to
see on the site in the meantime.

Also, every Thursday, we do a feature on Marvel.com called Storyline
Spotlight, which features complete digital comics story arcs. Here is
an example:

http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.4002.Digital_Comics_Storyline_Sp
otlight~colon~_Wolverine

We are constantly striving to make sure that users have an exciting and
entertaining experience with our site. We appreciate your loyalty to
Marvel Entertainment. For more information on our characters and any
upcoming news or events, please continue to visit www.marvel.com.

Best regards,

Jill

My Marvel Year

I am hoping to detail everything that I read from Marvel Digital Comics during the year that I am a subscriber. I also plan on giving any thoughts I have on the service, or issues I perceive with it, etc.

Fantastic Four #347, 348, 349 (Simonson, Adams, Tanaka) - This is a three issue run where the Hulk (in his 'Joe Fixit' phase), Wolverine, Ghost Rider & Spider-Man basically sub in for the FF after the team is incapacitated by a Skrull fugitive come to Earth to find a skrull artifact she sent there. The Skrull D'Lila disguises herself as Sue Richards and uses some mind control to get things rolling. A group of Skrulls hunting for D'Lila attempt to draw her out somehow by releasing giant monsters from Monster Isle and setting them loose on the world's population centers. MoleMan becomes involved as well, since the giant monsters are sort of his people as well. This is a terrific little run. It is a lot of fun. It's well written and well drawn. The plot works perfectly, and it still feels very much like a Fantastic Four comic, even though you have four different heroes stepping in to help. I was not reading FF when this came out in 1991, and it is nice to get a chance to read this.

Fantastic Four #245 (John Byrne w/a) This comic came out in 1982. As I was browsing I saw the cover and was compelled to read it again. I picked up FF a good bit during this time period, and I have always loved this story. As stories go, I am not sure how great it actually is in a critical sense, but for whatever reason it is a sentimental favorite of mine. This is the 'Childhood's End' Issue where Franklin's crazy awesome powers manifest and he turns into his older and fully bearded self and kicks some butt in his confusion until Sue realizes who he is, etc. I have this issue, but it is tucked away in a long box, so it was nice to read it again.

Wha... Huh? #1 - This is a 'What If' spoof that came out in 2005. It is written by a ton of people, and has art by Jim Mahfood and Steve Ditko(by way of reprinting). The writers include Bendis, Brubaker, Waid, Vaughn,Millar, and more. Unlike most of Marvel's past spoof attempts, this is an incredibly funny book. There are tons of gags in it, and the art is brilliant. I honestly don't know when it happened, but Jim Mahfood has become one of my absolute favorite artists. I am absolutely transfixed by his style. This comic works absolutely with his art. Some of the bits appearing in this volume: What if the Avengers all had beards?, What if the Ultimate Universe got Ultimized?, and the BRILLIANT What if Black Panther were actually white? It's just good stuff all around.

Agents of Atlas #1-6 (Jeff Parker/ Leonard Kirk) This is the 2006 Mini Series. I read all six issues of this yesterday. It is a perfect comic in my opinion. It introduces us to characters we may or may not have ever heard of, and it makes each of them profoundly interesting, while at the same time making them equally compelling and interesting as a team. I raved a bit about issue one of the ongoing series that just started, but I had no idea that the mini series I missed was going to be this good. Jimmy Woo, Ken Hale(Gorilla Man), Marvel Boy, Venus, Namora, M-11(the human robot), and Wakanda born Agent of Shield, Derek Khanata are the primary players in this, and all of them are full and intriguing characters. I Can't believe I didn't read this when it came out, and I feel my collection is lacking by not owning a trade of this. It is Action and Drama and Humor and Intrigue, all just perfectly done.

Marvel Digital Comics - Well, so far I am really enjoying this. I think the interface could be a little bit better, but it's not bad, and it's easy enough to use. Here are some problems I have found so far.
1. On the Smart Panels view mode there are sometimes portions of text that are not brought into focus. This mode allows you to move through the comic as though you are reading it. It enlarges parts of the page so that you can easily read it on screen without having to do any scrolling. I have found a couple of places so far where I have to switch to another mode in order to read the text.
2. There are comics listed that are not the entire comic, and as far as I can tell, there is nothing indicating that they have been abridged. I found this out when trying to find a story with Jimmy Woo in it from Strange Tales. When I went to the issue, it was only the 10 pages of Dr. Strange story that were available. The half of the book that was a Nick Fury story was not there. There needs to be some kind of notation of this somewhere that makes it clear you are not being given the entire issue.

Taking a plunge (in the digital end of the pool)

I would say taking THE plunge, but as plunges go I'm not really sure if this is THE one.

A few minutes ago I plunked my money down for a one year subscription to Marvel Digital Comics.

I have been reading a lot of the free samples in the past week or so, and trying my best not to subscribe. Keeping me from spending money I am determined to spend is really an impossible task. So for 60 bucks I get 1 year of unlimited access to the digital content that Marvel makes available online. I am skeptical, and previously I was thinking that I would probably never do this. I don't know what changed, but I started thinking of the service as being a cheaper way than even the various archive/showcase type volumes for me to get access to a bunch of good old comics and probably tons of mediocre ones, but all in color and served up in something pretty close to their original format. I mean, the walt Simonson Thor Visionaries was just rereleased at something pretty close to 30 dollars, so this seemed like a fairly economical way for me to get access to some things I missed the first time around, etc.

Almost none of the big name comics available are full runs, but I think I am ok with that. I am not sure what this will mean in terms of content here, but if I'm reading it, chances are good I will get around to talking about it.

So... Has anyone else made this leap?