Fantastic Friday: Just a little surgery

Posted on May 1, 2026 by Mac McEntire

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. In vol. 4 issue #14, we’ve got an alternate dimension, space battles, and life or death struggles for our heroes. You know, the usual.

Hit the brakes… again! One month after writer Matt Fraction abruptly left Fantastic Four to work on the Inhumanity crossover, this issue’s letters page reveals that superstar artist Mark Bagley is also leaving abruptly to work on the Cataclysm crossover. It makes you wonder if there’s more to the story. Anyway, artist Raffaele Ienco takes over for Bagley. At this time, he was best known for Image Comics’ Epic Kill.

Recap: Reed has taken the family on a year-long expedition through time and space, which was a front for him seeking a cure for a molecular disease of some sort that’s slowly killing him and his teammates. He’s recently come clean about his plan, just as his family’s powers start going haywire. Also, a version of Johnny from the future, who we’re calling Old John Storm, has joined them. This is of note because that same character has shown up in the concurrent FF series, where our heroes have disappeared without a trace.

Aboard the FF’s time ship, Reed has outfitted everyone with containment suits to keep their condition in check until he can find out the cause of this disease. Old John says he knows how to fix this, but he can’t say why because of time travel paradoxes and whatnot. Franklin points out that Old John previously said they were all doomed, and Sue points out that there’s no evidence to support that he really is future Johnny. Old John admits that he’s from another Fantastic Four in another timeline, and further admits that he’s one of the ones who’s caused the disease to happen. (!) For the cure, he says the team must go back to his homeworld. Except that his home is protected by Dr. Doom, Kang the Conqueror, and Annihilus.

Ben shows up, saying they’ll need a good pilot to reach the homeworld. He’s reverted back to human form and he’s looking in bad shape, but he doesn’t want to lie in bed. Reed uses Old John’s tech to follow the interdimensional trail back to the homeworld. Space appears to be empty, but Old John insists that the planet is hidden by a “chrono-dimensional shield.” They’ve not just gone to another universe, but back in time before the worst has happened. That’s why he ran to find the Fantastic Four, so things won’t end the same way.

The Four’s ship flies through a gap in the shield, putting them over the planet. They’re immediately attacked by defensive spacecraft. The heroes fly past the enemy ships and into an electromagnetic barrage. The ship shorts out, and the heroes can’t use their powers, so they flee to the escape pods. Old John flies out of the ship as it explodes.

Down on the surface, we see this world’s Dr. Doom having defeated the alternate Fantastic Four from the previous issue, horribly scarring Johnny. Old John survives the explosion, and flies toward Doom’s location. Doom deduces he’s come from the future. Doom sends Annihilus after Old John. Kang questions Doom’s choices, saying he and Doom need to work together.

Rewind to a flashback, when Sue pulled out a small device just before the ship exploded. Flashback again to before the FF left on this expedition, where Medusa gave Sue this device in case of emergency. It’s a dog whistle, and Sue uses it to summon Lockjaw, the Inhumans’ giant teleporting dog. Lockjaw brings them all to the planet’s surface. But it’s not in time for Johnny, who teleports down with a piece of shrapnel in his collarbone.

Johnny flames on to melt away the metal, but it doesn’t heal his wound. But now he can’t flame off and he’s bleeding. Reed suggests using his uniform as thread for stitches and Sue to create a force field needle. She’s concerned about losing control of her powers again, and she tells Franklin and Valeria to go back home with Lockjaw. She assures them that Ant-Man and the rest of the Future Foundation gang will take care of them. The kids teleport away, and Sue commences with the invisible force field surgery. Cut to later, when Sue succeeded in saving Johnny, and the four heroes fall asleep right there in the ruined city. Then they’re approached by the alternate Fantastic Four from this universe.

At Dr. Doom’s HQ, Kang gives a big speech about how the Negative Zone could connect all realities and dimensions, spreading across them. He proposes mastering the Negative Zone just as he has mastered time. Doom attacks Kang, only to reveal Kang as a hologram. Kang further says he will use Doom’s cosmic power siphon, which Doom had nearby, to steal the power of Annihilus. Doom finds Kang but not in time. Kang has already stolen Annihilus’ power, naming himself Kang the Annihilating Conqueror!

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Reed of course makes a point of stating that the team’s new containment suits are made of unstable molecules, because of course he does.

Fade out: Because of the still-unnamed molecular disease that’s affecting the team, Sue turns invisible while she sleeps.

Clobberin’ time: Ben often fills in the pilot/astronaut role for this team, but in this issue he boasts about being the “best rocket jockey” in the entire universe. We can assume he is exaggerating.

Flame on: When Johnny is injured and cannot flame off, he bleeds not regular blood but “hyper-oxygenated hemoglobin” which looks like little flames spurting out of him. Weird.

Four and a half/Our gal Val: Reed encourages Franklin and Valeria to tell everyone at the Future Foundation about all their adventures across space and time. Could this be setting up a future plot point?

SUE-per spy: The 2019 Invisible Woman miniseries revealed Sue had a double life as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent all along. Could this be where she learned these expert surgery skills of hers?

Trivia time: Yes, the cosmic siphon device is the same one from way back in issue #57, the classic tale of Dr. Doom stealing the Silver Surfer’s power. This issue suggests that he always keeps it nearby, which I find hilarious.

Fantastic or frightful? I was enjoying this dual series experiment when it started, yet I felt some frustration at waiting for the main plot to get going. Now that it has kicked off, I’m frustrated because it’s the usual confusing Marvel alternate universe/multiverse stuff. I’ve had a hard time writing these recaps because it’s both hard to follow and kind of uninteresting.

Next: Man with the plan.

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Reading the dictionary: dictionary-dragon

Posted on April 27, 2026 by Mac McEntire

Reading the entire dictionary front to back! It’s something I’ve always wanted to try. As we continue through the letter D, we’ve got more fun with animals, some fun obscurities, and an excuse to make Spaceballs references.

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Here’s a question: How does the dictionary define… itself? A dictionary is “a reference book containing words usually alphabetically arranged with information about their forms, pronunciations, functions, etymologies, meanings, and syntactical and idiomatic uses.” What are the writers saying by adding the word “usually” in there? Is that in case they make a mistake, or is there such a thing as a non-alphabetical dictionary?

It’s dictionary-ception!

Only the last definition under digital has to do with computer technology, the others are “using calculation by numerical methods or by discrete units” and “relating to or done with a finger or toe.” You’d think that using your fingers would be more analog.

The dictionary keeps things simple with dimension, defined as “the physical property of length, breadth, or thickness.” My fellow sci-fi/comic book fans will no doubt be disappointed that alternate universes and alternate timelines aren’t included.

But I read the book.

What is a dinosaur? It’s “any of a group of extinct long-tailed Mesozoic reptiles often of huge size.” Use of the word “reptile” is curious, since it’s been the last thirty years or more of science weirdos banging the drum about dinosaurs actually being giant birds. I did some googling, and it seems experts split the difference by arguing that dinosaurs were reptiles with birdlike qualities. Also, does every dinosaur really have a long tail? I can’t think of one that doesn’t.

Everybody walk the dinosaur.

A dishabille is the “state of being dressed in a casual or careless manner.” I would’ve thought that there’s a big difference between casual and careless, but maybe I’m not up to the dictionary writers’ fashion standards.

She looks all right to me.

Then we get argumentative with disputant, which is “one who is engaged in a dispute.” It’s a funny sounding word, though, and I imagine it can be used as an insult. Dude, stop being such a disputant.

Diurnal is “relating to, occurring, or active in the daytime,” with the word “animal” in parentheses. The dictionary doesn’t say, but I imagine this is the opposite of nocturnal.

There are twenty-three definitions for the word do. But a lot of them are stuff like “to bring to pass,” “happen,” “act,” “get along,” “carry on,” and so forth. Feels a little repetitive. I again wonder what sort of discussions the dictionary writers have when deciding how finite each definition should or shouldn’t be.

Nope.

 A dobbin is a “farm horse,” or a “quiet plodding horse.” But it’s also somehow a “nickname for Robert.” If you know a Robert, I dare you to call him “Dobbin” the next time you see him.

 More animal fun with dodo, which is “an extinct heavy flightless bird of the island of Mauritius related to the pigeon and larger than a turkey.” I never knew dodos were restricted to one island. The way people talk about them, you’d think they used to fly around all over the place. A dodo is also “a stupid person,” and “one hopelessly behind the times.” Kind of like me not knowing about dodos.

Is a funny name cause for extinction?

The dictionary gets religious again with dogma, “a doctrine or body of doctrines formally proclaimed by a church,” and “a tenet or code of tenets.” Now I want Kevin Smith and Christopher Nolan to collaborate on a crossover, Dogma vs. Tenet.

“Mistakes were made.”

A doll is “a small figure of a human being used especially as a child’s plaything,” as well as both “a pretty woman,” and “an attractive person.” Nobody tell Dark Helmet that this means his action figures are, in fact, dolls.

Merchandizing.

Again, part of the amusement of the dictionary is how antiquated it sometimes is. Case in point is dot matrix, defined as “a rectangular arrangement of dots from which alphanumeric characters can be formed (as by a computer).” There’s no mention of having to tear off the sides of the paper that had those holes on them. But it does give me a chance to make another Spaceballs reference.

“Can we talk?”

We did dinosaurs, so it’s only natural we follow up with dragon, “a mythical animal usually represented as a huge winged scaly reptile with a crested head and large claws.” They left out breathing fire, but every Dungeons and Dragons player can tell you that only certain dragons breathe fire. Others breathe acid, frost, or even lightning.  

Tiamat had every type of breath at once.

Next: The big drop off.

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Reading the dictionary: cybernetic-devil

Posted on April 20, 2026 by Mac McEntire

Reading the dictionary front to back! It’s something I’ve always wanted to try. We start another new letter this week, and things get devilish.

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There’s almost a half a page of words with the cyber prefix. The most interesting is cybernetic, defined as “the science of communication and control theory that is concerned especially with the comparative study of automatic control systems.” That seems a lot more than just a sci-fi cyborg. But, weirdly, the dictionary has no entry for “cyborg.”

“I am a cybernetic organism.”

And we’re into the letter D! The first proper word in this section is dab, defined as either “a gentle touch or stroke” or “a sudden blow or thrust.” Seems like two opposites to me. This is followed by dabble, which is “to wet by splashing” or “to work or involve oneself without serious effort.”

Is there a dictionary writer with a gambling problem? Because daily double is defined as “a system of betting on races in which the bettor must pick the winners of two stipulated races in order to win.” I assume the rest of us know it from Jeopardy.

Pure class.

Date has several definitions, the most amusing of which is “a social engagement between two persons that often has a romantic character.” We should bring back the phrase “of romantic character.”   

Dead doesn’t just mean lifeless or unresponsive, it can also mean “lacking in elasticity,” “unerring,” “exact,” or “complete.”

Everybody’s gettin’ dead!

Date plus dead equals Dear John, defined as “a letter (as to a soldier) in which a woman breaks off a marital or romantic relationship.” Is that really a thing mostly for soldiers?

They don’t look like soldiers to me.

There are nine different definitions for degree, as you can imagine. The most unusual one is where the dictionary gets all math-y again, “a unit of measure for angles that is equal to an angle with its vortex at the center of a circle and its sides cutting off 1/360 of the circumference.” With the typeface in the dictionary already being very small, they made that 1/360 fraction really, really tiny to get it to fit.

What’s the difference between demon and daemon? According to the dictionary, there isn’t one. They’re both “evil spirit” or “an attendant power or spirit.” That latter definition helps explain Lyra Belacqua and Pantalaimon.

Still waiting for that sequel.

Then we get all criminal with designer drug, “a synthetic version of a synthetic drug that has been chemically altered to avoid its prohibition.” That’s probably as specific as the dictionary’s lawyers let them get.

To detest is to “loathe, hate,” but it also means “to curse while calling a deity to witness.” Can we get some epic fantasy tale where that happens?

Along that same line is devil, defined as “the personal supreme spirit of evil.” That’s totally metal. And this is another of those definitions that has a bunch of business about the origins of the word, stating it comes from Old English and other languages meaning “slanderer” and “to throw across.” Across what? The lake of fire?

The prince of darkness.

Next: What a doll!

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Fantastic Friday: Deep purple

Posted on April 17, 2026 by Mac McEntire

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Has it really been a whole month since I last did one of these? Sorry about that. Here’s FF vol. 2 #13.

Here’s the recap again. The Fantastic Four went on a journey throughout time and space, leaving behind a replacement Fantastic Four – Ant-Man, Medusa, She-Hulk, and newcomer Darla Deering – to run the Future Foundation in their place. They disappeared, leaving the new team on their own. An older Johnny Storm, now known as Old John Storm, arrived from the future with a tale of an all-powerful Dr. Doom, called the Conquering Doom, who killed the Fantastic Four in the distant future. But then, present-day Dr. Doom has made a deal with Alex Power to spy on the new FF, holding Alex’s parents hostage.

After seemingly disappearing in a portal in an attempt to rescue the Fantastic Four, everyone appears in a sort of strange purple world. Ant-Man is gigantic while everyone else is ant-sized. He traps Alex and Maximus in jars, having figures out their plot from previous issues. He says this place is somewhere Dr. doom cannot track them. We cut to Latveria, to show that’s true, as Kid Immortus tells Doom he doesn’t know where the heroes have gone. Doom has Ravona locked up to give Kid Immortus more motivation

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Back in the purple world, Ant-Man and the alien Julius Caesar explain that they’ve shrunken down onto the surface of the Impossible Man’s purple underpants (!). After joking about that for a bit, Impossible Man teleports everyone to the blue area of the moon, just outside the Watcher’s house.

The Watcher threatens to throw everyone out of his home, but Ant-Man threatens him with what appears to be the Ultimate Nullifier. He surrenders, as does Ulana, his female… companion? Partner? Girlfriend, even? But then he convinces everyone to let him go on “parole,” and the kids are let loose to explore the breathable air in the Blue Area. Ant-Man and Alex Power have a talk. Ant-Man says he understands that Alex was under duress, but he nonetheless disappointed the younger kids who look up to him. “Rather like being a parent,” he says.  

Cut to (the surface of) the moon, where the Future Foundation kids run into the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes, along with a second Red Ghost and Super-Apes from a different timeline, also here. (This is very confusing.) There’s some joking around for a bit, and then they all fight. The Watcher and Ulana, meanwhile, have their own heart-to-heart chat, about how the cosmos is in danger, and only the heroes of Earth can affect the outcome. The Watcher questions about what must done, whether the Watcher Council approves of it or not.

Alone, Ant-Man ponders his own words to Alex, saying he’s come to the think of himself as a father figure to the FF kids as well. He says he’s been letting his anger at Dr. Doom get to him. With that in mind, he sends a message to the others, saying it’s time to take down Dr. Doom, once and for all.

To be continued!

Fantastic fifth wheel: When Ant-Man is remembering the good old days, there are what appears to be globes with images floating around him. I thought they were comic panels, but then he holds one.

Darla knows Ant-Man well enough to call him by his full name, Scott Edward Harris Lang.

Medusa uses her hair to keep everyone from being separated while in the purple space.

Foundational: When exploring the abandoned Kree city in the Blue Area of the Moon, the Moloid kids find a machine that produces nothing but bananas. This is what attracts the Super-Apes to their locations. Okay…

Adoplh Impossible shows his genius by quoting directly from the dictionary he’d memorized. (Not that I’d know anything about reading a dictionary.) He and Luna are seen holding hands again.

Trivia time: This is the first appearance of Ulana the Watcher. She’ll be around for a bit, and she’ll later return in Exiles and Mighty Avengers.

Fantastic or frightful? You can tell this is someone else working off of writer Matt Fraction’s notes, because this issue feels half-finished. The Red Ghost business is confusing, as is the business with the Watcher and the Ultimate Nullifier. The good stuff is the character moments with Alex and Ant-Man.

Next: The old whistle test.

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Reading the dictionary: controvert-cute

Posted on April 13, 2026 by Mac McEntire

Reading the entire dictionary front to back! Something I’ve always wanted to try. As we get near to wrapping up the letter C, it’s a real cornucopia of words.

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New words! We all know what controversy is, but there’s an accompanying verb, controvert, meaning to deny or contradict. Then there’s contumacious, meaning “stubbornly disobedient” And contumely, which is a noun and not an adjective, meaning “contemptuous treatment” or “insult.” Words with the con- prefix go on for pages, and a lot of them are negative in nature.

A coroner is a “public official who investigates causes of death possibly not due to natural causes.” That makes them sound kind of cool. The second definition is merely “an officer of the crown,” which also sounds a little cool.

Cool… and cancelled.

A corset is a “stiffened undergarment worn for support to give shape to the waist and hips.” Interesting that it doesn’t specify female or male. Also nice use of the word “stiffened.”

She taught us all an important lesson about wearing a corset.

Would you believe a corvette is not a car? It’s “a naval sailing ship smaller than a frigate,” and “an armed escort ship smaller than a destroyer.”

But I saw the movie.

Time to get technical with coulomb, defined as “a unit of electric charge equal to the electricity transferred by a current of one ampere in one second.” I must admit I can’t picture what this is based on that definition. The internet informs me this relates to Coulomb’s law, about the electrical force between two charged objects. The dictionary chose not to add this.

This explains it.

Part of the amusement of reading the dictionary is how antiquated it often is. But here comes our modern times with Covid-19. This one gets a whole dang paragraph, “a mild or severe respiratory illness that is caused by a coronavirus, is transmitted chiefly by contact with infected material (as respiratory droplets), and is characterized especially by fever, cough, and shortness or breath, and may progress to pneumonia and respiratory failure.” What is the dictionary trying to tell us by using the word “respiratory” three times in one sentence?

Of course we have to see what it says about a cow, which is not just a female bovine, but also “the mature female of cattle of an animal (as the moose, elephant, or whale) of which the male is called bull.” We’re all living in one big cow town.

They should’ve teamed up with the Street Sharks.

Cro-Magnon is defined as “a hominid of a tall erect race known from skeletal remains found in southern France and usually classify as the same species as present-day humans.” There are going to be some people who don’t like the idea of the human race originating in France.

Freakin’ Kromaggs.

More animal fun with cuckoo, a “largely greyish brown European bird that lays its eggs in the nests of other birds for them to hatch.” It’s not an adjective meaning crazy, and there’s no cuckoo clocks in the dictionary.

Going cuckoo.

Cute gets an appropriately cute definition, “daintily attractive, pretty.” But the word also means “clever” and “shrewd.” You’ve got to watch out for the cute ones.

Would you trust her?

Next: D minus.

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Reading the dictionary: code-constellation

Posted on April 6, 2026 by Mac McEntire

Reading the entire dictionary front to back! Something I’ve always wanted to try. Let’s all have a Coke while we read comics on our computers.

Code has multiple definitions, mostly related to systems and symbols, but it also has to do with a document formed of wooden tablets from the trunk of a tree. Is somebody out there collecting these things?

The dictionary loves animals! A coelenterate is “any of a phylum of radially symmetrical invertebrate animals including the corals, sea anemones, and jellyfishes.”

Science!

A coin is obviously a piece of metal used as money, but did you the image on a coin is also named… the coin? I wonder if this gets confusing down at the mint.

Coke is not a soft drink, but “a hard grey porous fuel made by heating soft coal to drive off most of its volatile material.” For the soda, you’ve got to go down on that same page for cola, “a carbonated soft drink usually containing sugar, caffeine, caramel, and special flavoring.”  

Volatile material, indeed.

Combat has an unusually short definition, either “to fight” or “to struggle against.” Odd that it’s only a verb and not a noun.

Not spelled with a K!

Once again the dictionary raises the question of how to define the undefinable. In this case it’s comedy, which gets a very old-timey definition. It’s “a narrative that ends happily,” “a play with a happy ending,” “a light amusing play with a happy ending” (these two definitions couldn’t be combined into one?), “a literary work having a comic theme or comic style,” or “a humorous entertainment.” It’s not until we scroll down to comic for a more telling definition of “provoking laughter or amusement.”

Somebody get Scott McCloud on the line, because it’s time to define comic book. It’s “a magazine containing sequences of comic strips,” which doesn’t strike me as wholly accurate. But then a comic strip is “a group of cartoons in narrative sequence.” Now that strikes me as appropriately McCloud-ish.

When are lightning bolt T-shirts making a comeback?

Commonweal is short for “commonwealth.” How much time are you saving by dropping the “th” at the end?

To complain is to “express grief, pain, or discontent,” or to “make a formal accusation.” Which of these best describes everyone online complaining about Star Wars?

The Holdo maneuver, though.

The dictionary keeps things simple with computer, “a programmable electronic device that can store, retrieve, and process data.” How many years has the dictionary been using this one over and over?

Master Control demands inclusion.

Consanguinity is merely a “blood relationship” with no other details. That’s one for the vampires, I guess.

A constellation is “any of 88 groups of stars forming patterns.” I had no idea there’s only 88 of them. Isn’t space supposed to be endless?

This explains it.

Next: Cow town.

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Reading the dictionary: chaos-cockroach

Posted on March 30, 2026 by Mac McEntire

Reading the entire dictionary front to back! Something I’ve always wanted to try. We’re still in the letter C, with an eclectic assortment of little discoveries.

Once again, we raise the question of how to define something that is undefinable. In this case, the dictionary describes chaos as “the confused unorganized state existing before the creation of distinct forms” and “the inherent unpredictability in the behavior of a complex natural system.” Someone must have decided this was not specific enough, because next there’s a little diamond symbol (why?) followed by a list of synonyms, “confusion, jumble, snarl, muddle, disarray.”

It’s not flirting, it’s chaos theory.

You’d think a chapel is a place of worship, right? Not yet, because the first definition is “the cloak of St. Martin of Tours preserved as a sacred relic in a chapel built for that purpose.” Can you use a word in that word’s own definition? Feels like there should be a rule against that. I looked up this St. Martin person, and it’s a lot. Let’s just move on.

No mention of this Chapel.

More mythology stuff with chimera. It’s “an imaginary monster made up of incongruous parts.” Interesting that the dictionary doesn’t specify which parts. It’s also “an illusion or fabrication of the mind.” You know, like an imaginary monster.

Then we get festive with Christmas, “December 25 celebrated as a church festival in commemoration of the birth of Christ and observed as a legal holiday.” I know they can’t include everything, but you can feel the lack of gift-giving and Santa.

“Bumpy sleigh ride, Jack?”

A chronograph is “an instrument for measuring and recording time intervals with accuracy.” I’ve clearly read too much science fiction, because that sounds like sci-fi to me.

A cicerone is a “guide who conducts sightseers.” That sounds a lot cooler than just calling someone a tour guide.

It’s geometry time with circle, which is “a closed curve every point of which is equally distant from a fixed point within it.” I’ve got to admit, that describes it pretty good.

“I AM the Cricle!”

Here’s a new one. Civet is “a yellowish strong-smelling substance obtained from a catlike Old World mammal used in making perfumes.” You’ll have to forgive me for not being well informed about perfume terminology.

This is a civet cat. Cute, or creepy?

A cliffhanger is “an adventure serial or melodrama usually presented in installments each of which ends in suspense.” Curious that this is a type of story and not a story mechanic.

Turns out it was just Lupin III.

Clock has an oddly short definition, “a timepiece not intended to be carried on the person.” Is that really the most pertinent aspect of a clock? I want to jump ahead to see what the book says about wristwatch now, but I’ll wait.

Clone, on the other hand, gets a lengthy entry, “the collection of genetically identical cells or organisms produced asexually from a single ancestral cell or organism, also an individual grown from a single cell and genetically identical to it.” Then the dictionary adds, in parentheses, “(a sheep).” What does the dictionary know that the rest of us don’t?

Whatever happened to Dolly the sheep?

Cockfight somehow made it into the dictionary, defined as “a contest of gamecocks usually fitted with metal spurs.” This is not a subject I’ve researched heavily, yet I’m surprised I’d never heard of the metal spurs part. Also, do cockfights actually take place somewhere, or are they an urban legend?

This is a real movie.

Animal definitions continue to be some of the most interesting. A cockroach is “any of an order or suborder of active nocturnal insects some which infest houses and ships.” That last part is once again someone at the dictionary who just has to point out that bugs are gross.

Comrade Cockroach!

Next: Cow town.

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Reading the dictionary: Cab-centipede

Posted on March 24, 2026 by Mac McEntire

Reading the entire dictionary front to back! It’s something I’ve always wanted to try. We begin the letter C this week, with insults, math, and felines.

The first full-length word in C is cab, which is a horse-drawn carriage, a taxicab, or “the covered compartment for the engineer and controls of a locomotive.” This is followed by cabal, defined as “a secret group of plotters or political conspirators.” The gang from Clive Barker’s Nightbreed doesn’t get mentioned.

Justice for Babette.

Cable television is defined as “a system of television reception in which signals from different stations are sent by cable to the receivers of paying subscribers.” Do you think they added the phrase “by cable” in there just so readers would know why it’s called cable?

“I’ve got cable.”

Looking for a new insult? Of course you are. Caitiff is an adjective meaning “wretched,” “despicable,” “cowardly,” or “being base.” Dude, quit being so caitiff.

And now we’re back in school dealing with calculus, “a branch of mathematics concerned with the rate of change of functions and with the methods of finding lengths, areas, and volumes.” What’s interesting (hopefully) is that it’s also “a concentration of mineral salts especially in hollow organs or ducts.” Sure, why not? And then there’s the third definition, which is just a “pebble used in reckoning.” I guess this is, like, really old math.

Campanology is “the art of bell ringing.” Nobody tell Edgar Allen Poe about this.

So very tintinnabulous.

A caravan is a “group of travelers journeying together through desert or hostile regions.” Sounds good to me, but then we get caravanseral and caravansary which are both “an inn in eastern countries where caravans rest at night.” This can apparently also be used to describe any inn or hotel.

Carry has fifteen definitions. Most of these are what you’d expect for such a common word, but a few are odd. These include “to influence by mental or emotional appeal,” “to publish, print,” or “to involve, imply.” Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that one word carries many meanings. Huh? Huh?

A cartoon is “a drawing intended as humor, caricature, or satire.” Surely the art of cartooning has grown beyond this definition over the years, yes?

The dictionary writers seem to struggle with a proper definition for cash, coming down to just “money or its equivalent.” Cashier is not a person or occupation, but it’s also a verb meaning “to dismiss from service,” and “to dismiss in disgrace.” Just imagine getting cashiered for being too caitiff.

Where’s Tango?

Are you a cat person? A cat is a “a carnivorous mammal long domesticated as a pet and for catching rats and mice.” How old-timey is the dictionary that a cat’s ratcatching is that important to include? A cat can also mean “a malicious woman” or just “a man.” I suppose that’s meant to cover the phrase cool cat.

 

The coolest cat.

The animal descriptions have been among the most fun things in the dictionary so far. A centipede is “any of a class of long flattened segmented arthropods with one pair of legs on each segment except the first which has a pair of poison fangs.” I must admit I had no idea centipedes were poisonous before reading this. I’d better watch out.

It’s segmented, all right.

Next: Commit to the bit.

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Want more? My ongoing series THE SUBTERKNIGHTS is back on the Kindle store! A man searches for his missing sister in a futuristic city filled with far-out tech, strange creatures, and secret magic. Only $0.99 or free with KU!

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Fantastic Friday: A Fraction of a second

Posted on March 20, 2026 by Mac McEntire

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Here’s vol. 4 issue #13, where the experimental dual run of Fantastic Four and FF starts tying everything together… in its own way.

Hit the brakes! The issue’s letters page announces that writer Matt Fraction is abruptly and unexpectedly leaving both this series and FF to work on the Inhumanity crossover. Writers Karl Kessel and Lee Allred are taking over the two series to conclude this storyline based on Fraction’s outlines.

Recap: Reed has taken the family on a year-long expedition through time and space, which was a front for him seeking a cure for a molecular disease of some sort that’s slowly killing him and his teammates. He’s recently come clean about his plan, just as his family’s powers start going haywire. Also, a version of Johnny from the future, who we’re calling Old John Storm, has joined them. This is of note because that same character has shown up in the concurrent FF series, where our heroes have disappeared without a trace.

Speaking of that disappearance, that’s where this issue begins, back at the start of this storyline, with the Fantastic Four taking off on their yearlong trip that’s only a few minutes on Earth time, with the replacement Fantastic Four – Ant-Man, Medusa, She-Hulk, and newcomer Darla Deering – taking their place. Only the Fantastic Four don’t return on time. Then there’s a twist, a portal opens, and Dr. Doom, Kang the Conqueror, and Annihilus appear, along with an army of aliens and high-tech soldiers.

Cut to the present, where we’re in a new timeline. New York has been all but destroyed in battle. Bentley-23 is on the run from Annihilus’ insect soldiers, but he’s rescued in a huge fight by the Fantastic Four – except this isn’t the FF we know, but an alternate version of them. The heroes regroup at an abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. base, along with members of the Future Foundation, Namor, and Jean Grey. Alt-Reed, whose name in this world is Stevenson, says Doom has put a temporal shield around the Earth, hiding it from the rest of space. He says they can call for help only after the shield is down. And that means a frontal assault on Doom’s headquarters.

Stevenson gives a big speech about how there are certain constants throughout space and time, events that must happen, and this is one of them. Then we cut to Doom’s HQ, which is… the Baxter Building! Doom, Kang, and Annihilus debate on how to find the Fantastic Four, who have kept themselves hidden. Annihilus wants them to forget the FF and continue with their plan to conquer not just Earth, but the whole multiverse. Doombots arrive, thinking they’ve captured Stevenson, but it’s really Ant-Man. He grows to giant size, breaking a hole in the wall that allows the other heroes to fly in.

While everyone fights the villains’ soldiers, the alt-Fantastic Four make their way to the building’s power core. The power core has multiple defenses, including a bomb. Reed says they’ll only a second to shut down the planet’s shield and send out a cosmic distress signal. They set off the device, sending the signal. But the bomb goes off. Rather than destroying them, it removes their powers. Doom shows up saying he saw through their plan and was ready for them.  

Doom says he knew the heroes’ plan because he put a traitor in their midst. Stevenson argues that Kang and Annihilus will not so easily bow down to Doom. Johnny makes a joke, comparing Doom to the pig from Animal Farm, and Doom zaps him in the face. Cut back to “our” timeline, where Old John Storm wakes from a nightmare, and we see now that his scarred face originated from Doom’s attack.

He’s aboard the FF’s time ship, and he hears commotion from outside. Ben’s rocky exterior appears to be melting (!). When Reed tries to help him, his stretchy arm just flops to the floor. Johnny and Sue try to help, but their powers also go haywire. Old John then says his memory is returning. He knows what’s wrong and how to fix it. He says, “If you don’t die, you’re all doomed!”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule/fade out/clobberin’ time/flame on: Apart from their physical appearances and the name Stevenson, we don’t get any information as to how this Fantastic Four differs from the one we know. The Marvel wiki says to assume their powers and histories are similar.

Four and a half/our gal Val: Franklin and Valeria freak out when everyone’s powers go nuts, thinking they’re all about to die.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Namor is fighting alongside the FF in the new timeline, referencing how he fought similar battles in the ocean. Johnny pokes fun at his feelings for Sue.

The alternate Ant-Man has similar height and build as Stevenson, to better fool the Doombots.

Foundational: In the other timeline, Bentley-23 is a full-fledged member of the team, flying around on hover discs and using a laser gun to fight the henchmen. Dragon Man is also here, doing science stuff in the lab and adding muscle during the fight.  

Trivia time: This version of Jean Grey is the time-displaced teenage one from All-New X-Men. The idea was that the Beast brought the original five X-Men into the present in hopes they could straighten out the rest of the mutants. It didn’t go as planned. This Jean has some time tech with her, which is what keeps Stevenson and the rest hidden from Dr. Doom.

Fantastic or frightful? This is not a comic for first-timers, but in the overall context it works as finally giving us an origin for Old John Storm, and sets up the “Conquering Doom” thing that was set up so many issues back. It’s a great way to kick off the final act!

Next: Into the purple.

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Want more? My ongoing series THE SUBTERKNIGHTS is back on the Kindle store! A man searches for his missing sister in a futuristic city filled with far-out tech, strange creatures, and secret magic. Only $0.99 or free with KU!

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THE SUBTERKNIGHTS are back!

Posted on March 13, 2026 by Mac McEntire

It’s been a long time coming, but THE SUBTERKNIGHTS are back! The former Kindle Vella regular is now back as an ongoing serial.

THE SUBTERKNIGHTS Episode 1: Simon is now available at the Kindle store for only $0.99, or free with Kindle Unlimited.

Simon Marshall’s sister Lisa is missing. Now Simon must leave behind his repetitive job and his one-bedroom apartment to explore the planetwide city beyond, where flying cars soar among gleaming skyscrapers while shadowy creatures practice secret magic in back alleys. The investigation leads Simon to the subterknights, vigilantes fighting the oppressive Comosus Corporation. The subterknights make Simon one of their own, and he learns the truth about the world around him while joining their fight.

On his first mission with the subterknights, Simon tags along on their hunt for a magical emerald, which Lisa was also looking for at the time of her disappearance. Simon ends up chased from the rooftops down to the sidewalks by reptile gangsters, goblin bikers, and a red-cloaked stranger wielding incredible supernatural power. The question remains, where is Lisa?

Join the subterknights and Simon on this first episode of the ongoing series, a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid filled with action, romance, thrills, and laughs!

Call to action: If only TEN folks link to the book on your socials, I will post an excerpt from the upcoming episode 2 on this blog. Ten is not a lot!

Round of applause for the excellent cover art by Scarlett Bordeaux (BluSky: @scarlettdraws2.bsky.social)

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