The Brave and the Bold #184

 

Comic: The Brave and the Bold #184

Where Purchased: Funny Book Factory in Lebanon, New Hampshire

When Purchased: July 30, 2005

When Read: November 26, 2024

When I returned to collecting comics, I made several trips to a shop called Funny Book Factory in Lebanon, New Hampshire.  The owner was a rather personable fellow and books were reasonably priced.  Another store where I purchased exactly 100 comics.   I made several visits over an  8 year period, as Nan would take courses at King Arthur Flour and I would spend time here.  I didn't get my comic collecting software until sometime in 2004, so the details of my visits in 2002 and 2003 aren't precise.

Sometime after my last visit in August 2010, the shop closed.  There is very little information about the store but this quirky little site has some details and tidbits about the owner: https://bookfactory.tripod.com/index.html

The Brave and The Bold was a Batman team up book from DC.  Like its counterparts at Marvel, this was a hit-or-miss title for me.  I never collected it outright but I would grab issues with characters I liked or if I remembered the issue being at my grandparent's house when we'd visit when I was younger.

It also became an easy title to pick up as I shopped at new stores.  I'd plug little gaps and then connect mini-runs.  I've reached the point where I no longer have any issues on my want list, as I have amassed a solid 70 issue run, beginning with issue 130 and running right up to the end of the series with issue 200, which I did purchase right off the newsstand in 1983.

This was a really fun Christmas issue.  Solid writing from Mike W. Barr, who has written 162 comics in my collection, mostly Batman related (or at least adjacent) but also a few Star Trek issues and a great series called Camelot 3000.  

I think this is the first time that Batman thinks his father might've been dirty.  There are clues you can pick up on to solve the mystery before Batman does.  I didn't.

But the big draw for me is that this issue has some art by the incredible Jim Aparo and guest stars a character called the Huntress, who is from Earth-2 and the daughter of that world's Batman and Catwoman.

There is also a back up story feaaturing a character called "Nemesis"....but I didn't read that.

Marvel Two-In-One #23

Comic: Marvel Two-In-One #23

Where Purchased: Anytime Antiques in Wells, Maine

When Purchased: May 30, 2024

When Read: November 11, 2024

Another recent addition to our lives has been finding antique stores during our travels.  In all honesty, I don't think I ever really shopped at one until Nan discovered Five Corners Antiques in Essex Junction, Vermont before we moved.  

I can't remember why or when exactly she went but she texted me pictures of comics that she found there.  After that, we went somewhat regularly and I would try to find something worth picking up.

From there, and especially while we were house-hunting and after the move, antique stores have become a fairly regular staple for us.  On longer trips it gives us a chance to stretch our legs and get some steps in.  There is more than enough for Nan to search for and I can speed through to find any hidden cache of comics.

Most places are hit or miss.  Often times places will vastly overprice the most common or worthless comic.  Some times I will find something worth purchasing but it comes with a degree of impulsivity or regret later at the condition or price I paid.

But I do enjoy looking and the thrill of just finding some is always a treat...even if it is rare for me to find something that is actually on my want list.

All of which brings us to this past May where we decided to take a mini-vacation to Maine.  After checking in to our hotel and before meeting Haley and Brian for dinner, we found an antique store in Wells.  We arrived right before closing so I did a hurried search through the boxes of comics they had.  I was happy enough with what I found that we went back the next day before leaving the area.

This issue of Marvel Two-In-One was on my want list in that I was actively trying to complete the series at this point.  I found three MTIO in total here, in addition to a slew of Captain America issues and a Rom Annual.  This was one of three issues I probably overpaid for but it is balanced out by the deals I got on the Captain America issues.

As far as issues go, this one is actually the conclusion of a three-part story.  That is fairly unusual for this book, as I always thought part of the appeal of this series (and Marvel Team-Up) was to rotate guest stars and focus on one-off stories.

It isn't a bad story.  It is fun to see The Thing team up with Thor and have them visit the Egyptian gods.

Mock Squid Soup - February 12, 2016 - Chef

So if you read my wife's post on her website, Hungry Enough To Eat Six, (she has been giving me updates on the number of folks who have tried clicking over from her site to see my comments) you'll know the movie we watched this month is the Jon Favreau vanity project from 2014, "Chef".

Currently #526 on my flickchart list

After directing the first two Iron Man movies and producing the third, along with both Avengers movies, Favreau had, what I've often heard referred to as, "F you money."  I am not writing that in a dismissive way.  He had enough money to get this movie made.  He had an idea, researched it, wrote, directed, produced, and starred in a movie he truly believed in.

And it is not a bad movie.  It's just not my sort of movie.  It was enjoyable.  The soundtrack was fun.  But the movie is flat.

SPOILERS FOLLOW FOR A TWO YEAR OLD MOVIE FOUND ON NETFLIX

For me, the gist of the movie is as follows:  a relatively happy chef, Favreau, working at a dream job, suddenly realizes he is somewhat stifled creatively working for Dustin Hoffman.  This comes to a head when a food critic is dismissive of his current work.  The chef gets disproportionately upset by this, sleeps with Scarlett Johansson, and flies to Miami with his ex-wife (Sofia Vergara) and their son to rediscover what he loved about cooking.  Once in Miami, Vergara has her other ex-husband, Robert Downey, Jr., bankroll Favreau's mid-life "crisis" and allow him the chance to reconnect with his son.  The movie ends with the critic returning to visit Favreau and bankrolling a NEW restaurant for the both to run....and Favreau remarries Vergara.

Aside from a scene where the son burns a sandwich and is, at first, somewhat dismissive of the burned sandwich, this movie is relatively free from strife.  There is no real change to any of the characters.  The movie feels like it is missing its second act.  There is no conflict.  Every misstep by a character is rectified almost instantly.

I was also bummed because by trimming some of the language, this would have been a great movie for our "Family Movie Night".  I love the things my son and I share in common and those parts of this movie resonated for me.  But I can't share the movie with him because it was unnecessarily crass.

That being said, I'm late posting this and Nan and I just came back from our current favorite activity, drunk grocery shopping, so what do I know.

Mock Squid Soup - August 14, 2015 - Sleepless in Seattle

I am sitting in the last day of class and received a text from Nan that we forgot to do our posts!

I think everyone figured out I watched Sleepless in Seattle.  It was a big favorite, due to the soundtrack, to watch in the video store back in the day.  Last week, I put it on while I was starting to set up my classroom.

It does seem to be both a relic of its time but still holds up well enough to be enjoyable.

And now I must get back to class!

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The Cephalopod Coffeehouse: July 2014: Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks

I've seen all of the Bond movies and read a great deal of the "re-boot" books from the 1980s and 1990s.  I've never read a Bond book by Ian Fleming.  Sebastian Faulks claims to have written this book "as" Fleming.

Nan once told me she had read a Fleming Bond book that took place in Lake Placid, NY, where bond was in the story for all of two chapters.

I'm not sure what I expected.  I came close to abandoning this several times.  I actually completed three other books at the same time.

This book picks up from where Fleming left Bond...I'm not sure which book was Fleming's last but the setting for this one is the late 1960s.  There is some interest in reading a "period" Bond book but overall this one left me...unsatisfied.

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The idea is simple: on the last Friday of each month, post about the best book you've finished over the past month while visiting other bloggers doing the same.  In this way, we'll all have the opportunity to share our thoughts with other enthusiastic readers.  Please join us:

1.	The Armchair Squid	2.	mainewords
3.	Stephanie Faris, Author	4.	WOMEN: WE SHALL OVERCOME
5.	Cherdo on the Flipside	6.	Romance Under Fire
7.	Trisha @ WORD STUFF	8.	StrangePegs -- Secrets
9.	I Think; Therefore, I Yam	10.	Life of a Writer
11.	Katie @ Read, Write, Repeat	12.	StrangePegs -- The Shadow Lamp

Happy March!

I spent some time last month reading some comics and working in my comic book database.  It turns out that I purchased far fewer comics last year than in any year since I've been collecting.  Of the 97 comics I bought last year, only 68 were new issues, the remaining 29 were back issues.

I've set aside a number to donate shortly, which puts my current total of comics at 8785.

Here are some March cover comics!

Avengers 26 (1966)

My oldest March comic.  Cover pencils by Don Heck and inks by Frank Giacoia.  I've come to appreciate Heck's work as I've grown older.  He penciled 9 covers in my collection inked by others and 7 in which he inked himself.

Avengers 145 (1976)

One of my all time favorite covers!  Rated #80 in Wizard Magazine's Top 100 Covers of All Time (Issue 127).

Action Comics 469 (1977)

Just included to make Nan laugh...

Avengers 181 (1979)

Another on the Wizard list.  This one came in at 99.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns 1 (1986)

One of my all time favorites, for a variety of reasons.  Also on the Wizard list at #44.

In one of the art classes I had to take in college, I "reinterpreted" this and was quite proud of it.  However, it was one of the items that got "lost" during the dark times.

Fables 33 (2005)

Fables is one of three books on my pull list right now.  It is scheduled to end early next year with issue 150.  When it does, it will be the longest string of uninterrupted issues of any title I started collecting with its first issue.  It has some gorgeous covers.  This one was done by James Jean.

Green Arrow 46 (2005)

Also by James Jean!  In the same month! The diversity is impressive.

Saga 1 (2012)

Another comic on my pull list.  Vulgar, sweet, profane, heartwarming, hilarious, epic, intimate....the best comic book I have read in a long time.

Cinema Sunday: February 2, 2014: "Definitely not Swedish."

Cinema Sunday: The Lone Ranger, Independence Day (Special Edition), X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Star Trek: First Contact

Currently #186 on my flickchart list

It always seems like faint praise to say a movie was better than I expected.  That being said, despite the reviews, we actually expected to like this movie.  Nan and I are big fans of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but were disappointed by numbers 2 and 3.  The fourth was, for us, a return to form.

While we agreed this movie could have been a little more "light" in places, overall it was enjoyable.  We expect it to be added to our collection once we find a used copy.

Currently #113 on my flickchart list.

I saw this sooooo many times in the theater.  At the time, it led to the (short lived) public debut of both my Robert Loggia and Harry Connick, Jr. impressions.  Despite all of that, I've never seen this extended edition.  Well, I've a stack of papers to correct, two assessments to enter into the school grade book and a week's worth of lessons to plan, so why not bring up some movies to have on in the background.

I find it weird to type that this version added to the movie, but it actually did.  A few character motivations get fleshed out and there is nothing that feels padded.

Currently #132 on my flickchart list

Better than I remembered.  And the only portrayal of Gambit in any medium that I've liked!  I'm fine with the mucked up movie timeline and the changes to how things "really" happened in the comics.

Currently #65 on my flickchart list

Our last movie of the day was Logan's choice.  We watched it with the pop up Trek trivia which fired us both up to watch more episodes of ALL of the series.  It leaves the episode of Enterprise which deals with the fall out of this movie as the only Borg themed installment we haven't seen!

Happy February!

I was up for about two hours this morning before I realized it was a new month!  What a nightmare January seems to have been!  It ended nicely though....despite the cancellation of recess, my teaching partner and I threw on our jackets and got our students outside for twenty minutes.  We secured a bus in the afternoon and went to the high school to see a wonderful performance of "Guys and Dolls" (co-directed by The Armchair Squid) with all of the fifth grades.  And I ended the day with Nan, our boy, and a dozen friends at an impromptu gathering at our local Buffalo Wild Wings.

So here are some of my favorite comic book covers with February dates:

February 1963

My oldest February comic.  I found this on my desk last year but with no recollection of where it came from.  I am meticulous with my records and couldn't find any invoice or any indication as to where it came from.  It should probably bug me more than it does...

February 1966

Another issue from "The Riley Collection"...I probably should read it just to find out what's the deal with Susan!

February 1978

One of the best Batman/Joker stories of all time.  The writer, Steve Englehart, once wrote that the comics from this run "define the modern Batman franchise, and from that, the modern superhero film franchise."  

February 1981

One of the last great self-contained stories in the X-Men franchise.  The entire story that will be the basis of the next X-Men film was completed in two issues.  Today it would be a twelve issue mini-series with numerous spin-offs and no lasting repercussions...

February 1983

My comic book collecting software assigns numbers to everything.  If I had been thinking long term when I started using it, this comic would be number 1.  This is the one that started it all.  Not a terribly remarkable cover but this is the one that started my obsessi....hobby!  

I just mentioned to Nan this morning that someday it might be fun to get a piece of original art from this issue!  While looking to see what was out there, I found this image of the original cover choice:

I remember once seeing an image of the two covers combined but I thought it was done purely as a goof...I had no idea they had messed up originally and someone blended the two covers together!

No Broomball ::sad trombone::

I'm sitting at my school working in a class towards my Masters Degree and decided to take a break.

When I first started working with my teaching partner, about 5 years ago now, he invited Nan and I to join him and his now fiance their Broomball team.  I enjoyed the game and the camaraderie.  While Nan lasted just that first game, I haven't missed a single game.  I'm not the best goalie in the league (let alone on our team) but I am the only one stepping up for us (doubly so because I can't play any other position!)

It all ends tonight.

Yesterday morning, at our grade level math meeting, I stood up to get a piece of paper, pulled my chair back to me with my right leg and fell to the ground.  The weld holding the front legs together snapped off.

Ego bruise! And I'm down 5 pounds this month!

I jumped up and laughed with my colleagues but my knee hurt.  It got stiffer as the meeting continued so I went to the nurse before the kids arrived.

Given the state of my knees normally, the nurses were alarmed.  My leg was wrapped and iced.  They made me call Nan and I was sent to the school's contracted care facility to be checked out.

Waiting in the Nurses' Office was kinda fun, as I got to interact with all the early morning kids who came down for a variety of reasons.  And I got to spend some extra time with Nan.  But there is some damage.  The knees are fine but a lot of the ligaments and muscles are strained.

My new best friend!

I have a cane for a week or so and four PT appointments.  I feel a whole lot better today but have taken it really slow.  I've had two sessions with this device, too.

What the hell do these settings do?!?!

Part of the therapy involves some electro-therapy while my leg is wrapped in ice.  It's kind weird but I have to admit I feel better after.

And it all boils down to no Broomball tonight.  If we win tonight, we'll end up third seed and in good shape for our playoff run.  Our captain thinks the rest will help and get me healthy for the playoffs.  While I agree, I'm still kinda bummed.  My student teacher wants me to go and act as coach.  

I'm not even going to root them on, as if I do, I know I'll try to get out there...

The Cephalopod Coffeehouse

I had intended to be back in the saddle for this month's meeting but I just don't have my act together.  My Masters' class is meeting this week...lots of birthdays in the house and the Sox are in post season play.  Also a bummer because I'm still reading a book by a Coffeehouse member AND received a book from our host!


All that being said....why not check out the folks who actually have their act together!!

The Cephalopod Coffeehouse

Please join us for a bloggers' book club. Next "meeting" is Friday, October 25th. Check out the details here.

1.	The Armchair Squid	2.	Subliminal Coffee
3.	The Beveled Edge	4.	Blue Sky Gazing
5.	Hungry Enough To Eat Six!	6.	Servitor Ludi
7.	V's Reads	8.	Julie Flanders
9.	Trisha @ WORD STUFF	10.	Rebecca @ The Dusty Cellar
11.	Scouring Monk	12.	The Writing Sisterhood
13.	The Random Book Review	14.	Wikes! Hikes on the Long Trail
15.	Ed & Reub	16.	M.J. Fifield
17.	StrangePegs -- Fortunately, the Milk	18.	StrangePegs -- "My Killbot Buddy"
19.	Katie O'Sullivan	20.	Gladiator's Pen
21.	Em Dashes and Ice Cream	22.	StrangePegs -- Fahrenheit 451

Happy Birthday...To Me!

Our blogs are all about us, right?  Sure we want to make connections and make someone chuckle or what have you, but when push comes to shove they are about US!  After all, the topic we most enjoy discussing is usually ourselves.

What a great birthday weekend I just had!  I stayed late for the last two weeks at school to have Parent Teacher Conferences and to get Friday off!  Friday is my wife's birthday!  Saturday we were the same age for the day.  Today is my birthday!

Thursday night saw some Doctor Who and a Red Sox victory!  I even wrote a lesson plan for my Master's Class!

Friday was a lazy day...but Friday night we had a nearly a dozen friends over for drinks and appetizers.  It was such a pleasant affair.  Everyone seemed to laugh and have fun.  The Armchair Squid brought gifts (I'll review mine on Friday!)  My teaching partner brought my wife a HUMONGOUS pumpkin, hoping she could use it for her recent spate of pumpkin themed recipes.  Alas, it was a carving pumpkin, not a cooking pumpkin

We had a Broomball game and we won!  It was quite an effort but we prevailed.  After the game most folks came back to the house for some more drinks and some carving of the pumpkin

. 

Saturday we went to visit my brother and his wife in Worcester.  Nan and the kids hadn't met the baby yet.  My folks came down.  We had a great dinner and a fun visit.  My folks got us all hotel rooms to save a long drive home.

My beloved Red Sox won a return to the World Series, just after midnight, officially on my birthday!

We went to a Panera near our hotel for breakfast.  I entered announcing it was my birthday.  Our cashier, Amy, said it was hers as well and she bought my breakfast after I told her if I was a girl, my parents wanted to name me Amy!

Our ride home was filled with a backlog  NPR's Sunday Puzzle...we had an impressive success rate!  We went to one Target and used our birthday gift cards!

I'm just feeling happy and babbly!  

Happy Sunday to all!

This Day In The Future: 7-15-15

I'd wager that this is not an official poster.  I can't recall where I found it.  However, it reminds me that I need to find a way to convince my wife we want to spend our 15th wedding anniversary at the movies.

Oh, which means today is my 13th wedding anniversary!  Happy Anniversary, Nan!

This Day In History: Happy Anniversary!

As of today, I have spent more than half of my adult life married to this woman!

Y is for Young Frankenstein

Young Frankenstein is #155 on my flickchart list.

I have a fondness for 1970's era Mel Brooks movies.  This is among his best.  And that's saying something...look at his output:

Blazing Saddles 1974 (#253)

Young Frankenstein 1974 (#155)

Silent Movie 1976 (#507)

High Anxiety 1978 (#380)

History of the World: Part One 1981 (#511)

He didn't direct another movie until Spaceballs (#935) in 1987.  It's been a long time since I've seen it, and at the risk of upsetting Nan, I'm going to refer to it as "over-rated".  It certainly lacked some of the cleverness of his earlier work.  It always seemed to me he started to feel the pressure of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker juggernaut and couldn't get his form back.

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I am using my flickchart list and blogging about the highest ranked movie for each letter of the alphabet.  

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Why not jump around the Blogging from A to Z Challenge and find some new blogs to read!

K is for A Knight's Tale

A Knight's Tale is currently #170 on my flickchart list.

The highest letter by far to this point.  I was scrolling and scrolling through flickchart looking for a "K"!  I think my "Q" is much higher!

I remember this being a fun movie.  What a great cast!

Nan and I have talked about this being our next "Family Movie Night Movie"...perhaps this weekend?

"You have been weighed, you've been measured, and you have been found wanting."

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I am using my flickchart list and blogging about the highest ranked movie for each letter of the alphabet.  

Click HERE and become my flickchart friend!

Why not jump around the Blogging from A to Z Challenge and find some new blogs to read!

I is for It's A Wonderful Life

It's A Wonderful Life is currently #6 on my flickchart list.

Growing up, mine was not a terribly sentimental family.  We loved each other and I felt loved.  However, I battled some minor teen angst (like we all do) and there have been a few moments in my life where I had some real doubts about everything.

I discovered this movie on my own at the perfect time.  I think it does have some unfair labels attached to it.  It REALLY isn't a Christmas movie.  It really isn't as cloying or simple as some might intimate.

I am not sure how I would articulate what the movie means to me.  I keep typing something and deleting it.  Suffice it to say, I think it resonates so strongly for me because I, too, want to make a difference.  I want everything the movie offers in my own life.   

And I think the scene between George and Mary while on the phone with Sam is one of the most passionate,  explosive, romantic scenes I have ever seen.

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I am using my flickchart list and blogging about the highest ranked movie for each letter of the alphabet.  

Click HERE and become my flickchart friend!

Why not jump around the Blogging from A to Z Challenge and find some new blogs to read!

A is for The Avengers

The Avengers is currently #3 on my flickchart list.  It was the culmination of nearly 30 years of my geekiness coming to fruition.  I also got to see it with one of my closest friends, The Armchair Squid, who has become a recent comic book convert, at a midnight showing opening night.

It is sometimes interesting  to me that my love of comic books doesn't always translate to their movie counterparts.  Leading up to this movie, the only one I saw with these characters, in the theater, was Captain America: The First Avenger.  Nan and I saw X-Men on our honeymoon and did go to the two sequels.  Then I didn't go to X-Men Origins: Wolverine nor X-Men: First Class, but I'm pumped for The Wolverine.

And don't even get me started on the DC Comics movies!!!

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Why not jump around the Blogging from A to Z Challenge and find some new blogs to read!

"Argo f*ck yourself."

#42 on my flickchart

I am taking a personal day tomorrow to deal with some family issues.  Nothing too major, but the timing during the day end up necessitating a full day off.

Knowing that, I decided to rent some movies just for myself.  Nan made it clear that she was not interested in seeing this, so I figured I'd give it a go after she went to bed.

Argo is the first Best Picture winner I have seen since The Departed in 2006. (The last Best Picture I saw in the theater was 1997's winner....I went to see it during the worst ice storm and prolonged power outage in Vermont's history...it was a long movie and I needed somewhere warm to be...I also saw Costner's The Postman for the same reason!)  .  I've seen some of the recent nominees, but none of the winners.

I liked Argo.  I have recollections of these events.  I was in third or fourth grade and beyond reading items on Wikipedia, I've not really delved into what happened.  This was a harrowing film.  And the look of it felt very much of the time...on screen fonts chosen felt sort of 1979/1980 retro.  There was a slightly washed out look to the movie.  

My complaints would be minor.  I think I would have preferred the opening narration to be replaced with on screen lettering.  The movie might have been a shade too long.  But all in all, Affleck has yet to direct a movie I didn't like.  And I still like him as an actor, too.

My only two Affleck connections...we attended the University of Vermont at the same time (though I did NOT know him).  And once my family was camping at a semi-remote location and the campground owners were convinced I was Ben Affleck incognito.  I claim NO resemblance at all...it was all them!!!

In all honesty, I usually "get" Ed Helms....

It's like looking in a mirror!!

My 800th Post!!

After a particularly stressful event in our family recently, Nan suggested I stay up and watch a movie to calm down.  However, several hours later, I knew WAY too much about "Hall & Oates" as well as the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

....the stress, thankfully....was gone.

Film Festival Friday: November 30, 2012

I realize that I had two double-feature days this past week!  And I spent more time in the theater this past Saturday watching movies than the rest of the entire year ("The Avengers" notwithstanding!).

We did a double-date lunch and a movie with one of my cousins on Saturday.  After an underwhelming lunch at The Essex Bakery and Cafe, we braved the crowds and went to see "Skyfall".

Currently #108 on my flickchart list

I did enjoy the movie but I struggle with it as a "Bond" flick in general and this new "realistic" Bond in particular.  I am an unabashed fan of Pierce Brosnan.  I am fine with the quips and gadgets of the past.  There was not enough "secret agent double O-7" in this.  And the villain seemed to harken back to the Roger Moore era.  But all in all, it was a satisfying "man movie".

When we went to pick up our kids, both Lars and I thought there was a chance our only cousin-in-common would be free and interested in seeing "Red Dawn".  When Lee proved to be unavailable  perhaps saving himself for a guy's night of "Jack Reacher", Lars and I went ahead on our own.

Currently #214 on my flickchart

A fun, if predictable, updating of the movie from my youth.  It hit all the right notes and most of the cast was pretty good.  I continue to enjoy Chris Hemworth's non-Thor roles and Josh Hutcherson hasn't disappointed me yet.  The secondary lead, Josh Peck, is a former child actor trying to get his bearings.  He left me slightly under-impressed.

Yesterday, while I was recovering from my night out, I hit Redbox for two different sort of movies.

Currently #91 on my flickchart list

I had intended to watch "Quantum of Solace", which Lars had loaned me, but saw this when I went to rent my second feature.  I always enjoy Denzel Washington and he did not let me down here.  It had a certain gritty-realism and believe-ability.  My next movie...not so much.

Currently #199 on my flickchart list

Nan and Wikes went to see "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" during a Girls' Night Out when it opened.  It had piqued my interest and I zeroed in on it for my day off once I scheduled it.  So I toasted up my Stouffers French Bread Pizza (my work day off staple) and popped this one in.

I got what I expected...a fun romp that takes it self just seriously enough (in terms of characters and acting....not so much the action, especially the horse stamped scene!)