#and nope none of these babies take Alfred’s last name :3

[ask-thefiftystatesofamerica]

Do any of the states have names?

Yes, they do! They each have a human name that they use, and some have changed a bit here and there over time. But nonetheless, here are their human names with the states in alphabetical order!

Alabama - William Montgomery

Alaska - Enno Bragsy

Arizona - Matías García-Flores

Arkansas - Mason Chester

California - Carlos (Carlitos) Bernal-Hernández

Colorado -Charlotte Patterson

Connecticut - Lucius Stewart

Delaware - Olena Lieb  

Florida - Alejandro Carriedo-Hernández

Georgia - Giorgi Atlanta

Hawaii - Sinasamoa (Samoa/Sam) Kalawai’a

Idaho - Quinn Jenkins

Illinois - Emmett Brandeis

Indiana - Alicia Argos

Iowa - Bethany Baker

Kansas - Dean Lawrence

Kentucky - Crag Coleman

Louisiana - Louis Moreau

Maine - Olivia Augusta

Maryland - Evelyn Kayden

Massachusetts - Elijah Hawthorne

Michigan - Emma Lansing

Minnesota - Nora Tremblay

Mississippi - Imani Moore

Missouri - Terrance Smith

Montana - Paisley Helena

Nebraska - Liam Larsen

Nevada - Nūḥ (Noah) Kumar

New Hampshire - Ryan Concord

New Jersey - Alexander de Jersey

New Mexico - Valentina Rodriguez-Castillo

New York - Michael Averesch

North Carolina - Karen Brown

North Dakota - Warren Mortimer

Ohio - Lana Johnson

Oklahoma - Adsila 

Oregon - Shirley Yeh

Pennsylvania - Penny Miller

Rhode Island - Aaron Locklear

South Carolina - Leslie Barnes

South Dakota - Levi Mortimer

Tennessee - Taylor Knox

Texas - Jonathan Sandino-Fernández

Utah - Samantha Anderson-Martinez

Vermont - Ava Montpelier

Virginia - William Harper

Washington - Joshua Michaelis

West Virginia - Garrett Weston

Wisconsin - Owen Madison

Wyoming - Irene Tresler

Also, I would like to add that the states do have middle names as well (at least some of them) that they hold close to their hearts. Their middle names are taken from someone that they were close to once and cared for, and perhaps even loved. Theres really a story behind each and we hope to do them each justice so that’s gonna be for another time! :)

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1299

Monday, February 3, 2020

 I had a busy Sunday yesterday with hauling boxes of comic books back and forth from the Walkley Arena where Jee-Riz Comics & Appraisals had another successful day selling old comics. I want to thank my partner Penny for all her help and my other partner Chris for all his hard work organising everything and making my job of manual labourer and security so much easier. Then it was home to rest before a yummy chicken dinner with roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts while watching the Super Bowl. I stayed up way past my bedtime to see if the Kansas City Chiefs would win (SPOILER ALERT) and they did. I was happy for them as it had been 50 years since they had been to the big game.

Doctor Strange #2 - Mark Waid (writer) Kev Walker (art) Java Tartaglia (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). The Wrecker was introduced last issue and he's joined by his partner in crime Thunderball to battle Doctor Strange. This time Stephen has a surprise up his sleeve to help him defeat the bad guys. It seems that someone is giving super villains magical weapons and Doc is going to find out who. I like this new more assertive Sorcerer Supreme.

 Something is Killing the Children #5 - James Tynion IV (writer) Werther Dell'Edera (art) Miquel Muerto (colours) AndWorld Design (letters). I thought that this was the climax where Erica dispatches the beast. She triumphs but then it's uh-oh. The hunt continues. This new twist will keep me reading.

 Action Comics #1019 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) John Romita Jr. (pencils) Klaus Janson (inks) Brad Anderson (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). Lex Luthor and Leviathan (if you haven't been reading all the Event Leviathan books his secret identity is revealed here) team up to kill Superman. Their weapon of Superman destruction is none other than the Red Cloud. The art is really bothering me now. When I can't make out Lex Luthor in some pages that's just bad. John Romita Jr. should not be drawing costumed super hero comic books anymore.

 The Immortal Hulk #30 - Al Ewing (writer) Joe Bennett (pencils) Ruy Jose, Belardino Brabo & Cam Smith (inks) Paul Mounts (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Simple Hulk escapes from the belly of the beast just in time to see Xemnu coming to save the day. Roxxon is framing the Hulk for all the death and destruction so what happens next should be good.

 Jessica Jones: Blind Spot #2 - Kelly Thompson (writer) Mattia De Iulis (art) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Now I'm really hooked. There's a mystery within a mystery what with Jess waking up from a bullet to the head. Add Misty Knight and Elsa Bloodstone into the mix and this story is one I'd pay money to read.

 Avengers #30 - Jason Aaron (writer) Ed McGuinness & Francesco Manna (pencils) Mark Morales & Francesco Manna (inks) Jason Keith (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Yes, the Starbrand is reborn. The big fight is between the Avengers and everyone else that wants the Starbrand to be destroyed. It's a power equal to the Phoenix Force and must not be wielded. But nope, this baby is being delivered no matter what. I rolled my eyes when the three heralds gave gifts to the baby. Way to rip off the Bible Jason. I wonder who's going to raise this kid?

 Fallen Angels #6 - Bryan Hill (writer) Szymon Kudranski (art) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). Psylocke soars for the win. Apoth never had a chance no matter how much the villain gloated. X-23 gets handed the leadership of the team so if they go on another mission I'll be there.

 X-Force #6 - Benjamin Percy (writer) Stephen Segovia (art) Guru-eFX (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). New plant based super villains are introduced this issue so you won't want to miss this exciting development. There will be no more stars and garters as Beast gets super serious. Could be a prelude of Hank becoming a bad guy.

 Amazing Spider-Man: Daily Bugle #1 - Mat Johnson (writer) Mack Chater, Francesco Mobili & Scott Hanna (art) Dono Sanchez-Almara & Protobunker (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). If you're curious about how the good old Daily Bugle is doing this 5-issue mini is for you. Editor-in-Chief Robbie Robertson makes some changes and they include Peter Parker. There are three weird elements in this first issue that intrigued me enough to want to read the second issue. One involves Koi Boy, a friend of Squirrel Girl's. I've never heard of him before. I want to see what other weirdness shows up.

 Ravencroft #1 - Frank Tieri (writer) Angel Unzueta (art) Rachelle Rosenberg & Dono Sanchez-Almara (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). The one-shots leading up to this 5-issue mini were good enough for me to want to read this first issue to find out where they were going with this Institute for the Criminally Insane. The good guys are Mercedes "Misty" Knight and John "Man Wolf" Jameson. The bad guys, well judge for yourself. Would you consider Grizzly to be insane? One of Misty's colleagues is a certifiable homicidal maniac. His alter ego wears green and throws pumpkin bombs. Even his presence didn't turn me off. It wasn't until Mayor Wilson Fisk introduces the rest of the staff that I decided to shut this thing down. Not even the mysterious dweller in the dark is going to get me to read the rest of this.

 Detective Comics Annual #3 - This $4.99 US issue is dedicated to the dearly departed Alfred Pennyworth.

The first story by Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Sumit Kumar (art) Romulo Fajardo Jr. (colours) & Tom Napolitano (letters) has an old MI-6 agent who worked with Alfred asking Bruce for help to bring in a traitor to the British Empire. It must be the week where we find out the real names of beloved characters. I didn't know that Misty Knight's real name was Mercedes and here we find out that it's Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth.

The second story by Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Eduardo Risso (art & colours) & Tom Napolitano (letters) tells the origin story of Batman's costume.

I am really disappointed that there hasn't been a proper funeral issue for Alfred in either Batman or Detective. I think the character deserved to be honoured more.

 Avengers of the Wastelands #1 - Ed Brisson (writer) Jonas Scharf (art) Neeraj Menon (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). This story takes place in the world where Old Man Logan came from. Don't get too excited, he's dead. I'm not familiar with these characters but you don't have to be to understand that they band together to fight Doctor Doom who is running rampant across the land with his army killing anyone who won't submit to his rule. A guy named Dwight has the Ant Man costume. Dani Cage, daughter of Jessica and Luke, has Thor's hammer and there's the son of Bruce Banner who is a Hulk. These Avengers will defy Doctor Doom. I liked the surprise appearance of another hero at the end so I'm going to keep reading this 5-issue mini.

 Deadpool: The End #1 - Joe Kelly (writer) Mike Hawthorne (pencils) Victor Olazaba (inks) Ruth Redmond (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). I read this because Joe Kelly wrote it. I like how he writes Deadpool. This one-shot has many endings and Deadpool doesn't die. I didn't know that Wade has a daughter named Ellie.

 Suicide Squad #2 - Tom Taylor (writer) Bruno Redondo (art) Adriano Lucas (colours) Wes Abbott (letters). This book is about trust. Trust between team members, all of whom are super villains. Some of them hate each other. Trust that the Squad does what their overseers want them to do. All that trust leaves plenty of room for plot twists and I love that. The team goes on a mission to free a politician and one team member is left out of the loop. This issue was a lot of fun.

 Hawkeye: Freefall #2 - Matthew Rosenberg (writer) Otto Schmidt (art) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). There's a Spider-Man cameo here that makes me think Matthew Rosenberg would be a good fit for Amazing. He does snappy banter well. The shocking twist at the end means I have to keep reading this series. I would anyways because I'm having fun too.

 Thor #2 - Donny Cates (writer) Nic Klein (art) Matthew Wilson (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). In order to save the universe, Thor must be Galactus's herald and guide him to worlds that he can feed on. Donny Cates proves he's a worthy writer this issue as Thor and Galactus fight over an inhabited planet before Galactus can eat. The planet eater must have five meals before he's strong enough to stop the coming universal catastrophe. Thor just wants to save any sentient beings before Galactus chows down. The surprise appearance of a friend to Thor and a foe to Galactus has me anticipating the next issue with relish and hot sauce.

 X-Men #5 - Jonathan Hickman (writer) R.B. Silva (art) Marte Gracia (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Cyclops sends three mutants on a mission into enemy territory and one of them is X-23. I know it's futile but I really hope they change her and Logan's costumes. I hate the pointy flaps on their head gear. The spies are going into The Vault which seems to have appeared out of the blue. I don't remember any reference to this place before. There's a big twist in The Vault as time moves differently there. By the end of this issue X-23, Darwin and Synch have been inside for three months and five days or five hundred and thirty-seven years Vault Time. I don't think they're coming out alive.

 Conan the Barbarian #12 - Jason Aaron (writer) Mahmud Asrar (art) Matthew Wilson (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). The Life and Death of Conan concludes. Does the King of Aquilonia die? Does the evil god Razazel walk the earth again? Read this to find out. I was happy with how this story ended.