ALL THE GOOD GIGS ARE FICTIONAL

So, as the comics fans among the F-list may be aware, DC Comics has this longstanding (as in, premiered back in the 1940s) character called The Spectre. The Spectre's deal is a bit different than your standard Golden-Age or Silver-Age superhero, those aliens rocketed from dying planets or the millionaire-philanthropists driven to deal out justice or the folks irradiated by cosmic rays/white-dwarfs/gamma rays/hapless-spiders/blablabla. Nope, the Spectre was not only a bona-fide ghost (of a murdered cop) ... he was an instrument of divine wrath, with a license to smite. Which he did, dealing out lethal justice for years in the pages of various comics, sometimes his own title (though not very often) ... and I mean lethal. The Spectre didn't mess around. He was, essentially, an Avenging Angel.

Might still be, of course. I haven't kept up with what DC's current deal is with the Spectre; I understand he's changed hosts a couple times -- a disgraced A-list superhero, another murdered cop -- and who knows what the character's status will be after the crossover-crazy company's current round of Countdowns to Final Crisis of Infinite Crises Or Whatever. Doesn't really matter. I'm more of a Phantom Stranger guy. Truth is, I never even liked the Spectre.

But his job -- that's another story. I could really get into the Avenging Angel gig.

I want a license to smite!

I wouldn't even deal out lethal justice. I would just, y'know, smite miscreants in nonlethal ways that still would hurt enough to make them rethink that miscreanting. Maybe I could hit 'em with bags of bricks. Or just tase 'em. I could roam the planet, with full cosmic authorization to tase people who desperately need tasing. Not the big-time, recognized crimes and sins: I leave those to the legal system and to Providence. I mean the other stuff. Corporate bean counters who screw over employees, customers and even (in the long term, though they're often don't realize it) shareholders. Politicians who obfuscate, misrepresent, demagogue and just plain lie. People who discuss their personal lives loudly and publicly on their cell phones. Net discussion trolls. Whiners.

Basically, people who p___ me off.

Sadly, I don't think that job opening is becoming available any time soon. But one can dream.

Besides, I wouldn't mind being drawn by Jim Aparo. *smiles*

Words: Just finished Arthur by Stephen Lawhead
Sounds & Images: Tonight's Lost. Whew. The Oceanic Six?
State O'Mind: Maniacal