Suspended Animation Classic #501 Originally published July 26, 1998 (#29) (Dates are approximate) Scatterbrain By Michael Vance Is Scatterbrain "Funny Ha-ha" or "Funny Strange", as touted on the cover blurb of its first issue? No. Does it matter? No. Why? Because Scatterbrain is unfunny strange but very good. Sure, some of the artwork is odd, and the subject matter in the wild variety of this anthology is certainly out of the ordinary. But, funny? The only "unfunny strange" in Scatterbrain is an editorial slant that seems to equate this new miniseries with Mad magazine. It ain't so, Moe. The best feature of the first issue is "Tales of Red Erchie the Bold" is which an old man exaggerates a heroic adventure as the art reveals the mundane truth. "The Cluck of Fear", however, is a poor mix of unfunny animals and jokes about flatulence. "The Misadventures of Tommy T-Rex" ties for best feature with "Erchie" in the second Scatterbrain. The robot in a single page "Mud Monkeys" is a waste of space. Although the third issue opens with an interesting "Bronco Teddy" funny animal and cowboy parody, its manic energy dissipates in unsatisfying short pieces. "Kid Cyclops", a one-eyed boy, and the cat in "The Poet Who Loved Tea" feature oversimplified, uninteresting art popular in some children's publications. A gentle dinosaur, "Tom", suffers from cuteness. An untitled piece on germs is well-drawn but pointless as is a silent, one page study of the child's game, "Rock Scissors Paper." "Pip and Norton", quirky and well-drawn, has an interesting premise as an inhuman and his squat companion struggle to possess worthless junk. Regrettably, it spins nowhere quickly. Each feature lacks either the wit, interesting art or cohesive plot that make for memorable comics. On the strength of its first two issues and the potential of its fourth, Scatterbrain is still recommended. “Scatterbrain” #s 1-3 (of 4)/26 pages, $2.95 each from Dark Horse/various artists and writers/sold in comic shops and by mail.

Captain Tiff of the Regatta team and Captain D from Team Vodka Penne joined forces to suss out another trivia venue for weekly events, as the Regatta trivia has fallen through... mostly because it sucks. So we came together as Team Reccy, with sometimes guest appearance player Carsten, for our reconnaissance mission. We started with me being carded and my friends giggling at me. I'm noticing a trend where it used to be me AND my friends being carded to just being me. :/ Our assessment: PROS: - Good venue - Good food - Accessible tables / not too crowded - Easy access for me and Tiff to walk to, parking for the others CONS: - Omg, the paperwork. It's serious trivia. (which can also be a pro) - 8 rounds of 10 questions - The quizmaster was annoying me with his monotone voice, word for word reading off his powerpoint questions and inability to pronounce French author Alexander Dumas. It's pronounced "Du-ma" and he kept saying "Du-mas". NO. Me: -halfway through- I'm not ranking this, Tiff. Tiff: Really? Hrm. I dunno. Me: Where are the dad jokes? Where's the seedyness? Where's the rock, scissors, paper decider? Where's the PK love? NONE. Tiff: -laugh- PK Is dodgy... I think I like it better than that. It's serious trivia. Me: Hey, it's not my team that's failed. :P Tiff: Ever notice it's only ever you and me at BOTH the trivia events and the teams change? :P Me: Yeah... that's 'cos we're awesome. :p Quiz Master: What band had this hit in the '90s? -play song- Me: M-People... I'm so sorry I know that. Carsten: Is it fair to call this a hit? Me: Is it fair to call them a band? Carsten: Touche`. So, because we can't just handle once a month trivia, we need weekly trivia on top of my once a month trivia. Hahaha, we're such trivia snobs.