Lark in the Park

I'm not sure if Theodor Geisel, A.K.A. Dr. Seuss, had ever been to Texas but he clearly has a lot of fans in the state.  Particularly in the West Texas town of Abilene, known as the "Storybook Capital of Texas."   That's where you'll find Everman Park which is home to six sculptures of the good Doctor's most popular work.

Let's take a stroll in the park and see what we can see.  Starting with...

Perennial trouble maker and world's worst babysitter, The Cat in the Hat is the first sculpture in the park.  His book was first published in 1957 and he is easily Dr. Seuss' most popular creation.

Next up is "Sam-I-Am" from "Green Eggs and Ham" which was published in 1960 and introduced a breakfast menu that kids all over the world would covet for years.

The Turtle Tower from "Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories" stands tall as the next sculpture on the tour.  The book was published in 1958.  It contained three stories but Yertle was clearly the break out star.

Appropriately, the Lorax stands surrounded by the trees for which he speaks.  The environmentally conscious character's book was published in 1971.

Seasons greetings are offered year round by the Grinch and his faithful dog Max.  Before the TV special, movie and merchandise onslaught, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" was published in 1957.

And finally there is Horton who is listening intently for all time to the tiniest of tiny friends.  His book "Horton Hears a Who!" was published in 1954.

All the sculptures were created by artist Leo Rijn and they fit in nicely in downtown Abilene.  The entire area is full of other whimsical works collectively known as the Storybook Sculpture Project.  It's worth a stop on your next West Texas road trip.  Don't forget to bring your camera.

Flash Fried

Freebie promotional comics have been common for years.  We all breathed a little easier when Captain America fought the Asthma Monster and it was an exciting roller coaster ride when the X-Men visited the State Fair of Texas.  Sure these books are a little cheesy and they are clearly part of the marketing monster we all live with but, intentionally or not, they can be fun.

Fast food restaurants have been taking part in the fun for years with Captain D's setting sail on the four colored seas a few decades ago, among others.  Not to be outdone by a Captain, Colonel Sanders recently decided it was time to jump from the chicken bucket to the comic pages, and thus, we get "The Colonel of Two Worlds" from DC:

I love that instead of the often overused Big Guns of the DCU (Superman & Batman) they used the Flash as the main hero.  It probably helps that he has a hit show on the air currently but, hey, it's his time to shine.

The story begins with the Mirror Master bringing Captain Cold up to date on his latest plan.  Tying in with the New 52 story Forever Evil, MM plans to bring over another ne'er-do-well from the evil Earth-3 to help them with their nefarious plans to rob banks and whatnot.  But instead of a member of the Crime Syndicate, or anyone that might make sense, he chooses the Colonel Sanders of Earth-3: Colonel Sunder!

It soon becomes clear to the two Rogues that this might not have been the best All Star Team-Up since Sunder's plan seems to involve doing practically nothing while the two of them are forced to take thankless jobs in his crappy restaurant:

Sunder steps up his game after awhile when he starts glory hounding for attention by bragging about how bad his chicken is and how little effort he puts into it.  It can be assumed that this is a common advertising method on Earth-3.  Possibly the Bizarro World as well.

Well that's about all a certain Southern Earth-1 gentleman can stand and so Colonel Sanders decides to enter the fray:

Hey, remember how the Flash was supposed to be in this?  Well, he finally makes his appearance at this point, complete with an all-new, unnecessarily redesigned costume that includes unnecessary extra elements.  The Flash costume has historically been revered for being sleek and streamlined but those days are over:

Green Lantern is also involved but he really doesn't do anything of any consequence.  He just seems to be hanging out, which I guess super heroes do from time to time.  In fact, the Flash really doesn't do much either.  The real hero of the story is Colonel Sanders and he proves he is a man of action as the two Justice Leaguers try to catch up.  It doesn't take long for Sanders to run afoul of Sunder and we get the Colonel vs. Colonel showdown we've been craving:

Not only does Colonel Sanders' military training immediately kick in but he seems to have an overflowing bucket of special skills and possible super powers: from hurling a table into Sunders' "Nugget Gun" defense system, to being able to withstand the dreaded "Pink Slime Ray."  He's able to shrug it off with what appears to be another white suit that he has on underneath his signature threads:

 As you can guess, good eventually triumphs over evil while the Flash is protecting bystanders from the deep fried fracas.  Captain Cold and the Mirror Master don't do a whole lot either.  At this point these seem to realize the error inherent in teaming up with an Earth-3 tyrant who only seems to be interested in bragging about how bad his food is.  So once things cool down they all head to their local KFC franchise to break biscuits:

And if that isn't a happy enough ending for you the Colonel shows why is he known far and wide as a compassionate warrior and offers the two Rogues the best fate ex-cons can have: full time employment at Kentucky Fried Chicken!

 I know we are all hoping that this story remains in continuity.  The potential is nearly endless.  I see a story line where Colonel Sanders is offered Justice League membership but he turns it down because he thinks they're all a bunch of jive turkeys.  Or maybe a spin-off title featuring Captain Cold and Mirror Master working their way up the chain to finally owning their own KFC franchise?  Once that happens...imagine the shenanigans!  Imagine them!!!