NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: X-Men, Gary Glitter and Batman: Hush
Oct 11, 2019, 5:38 am
ART BY JESUS RODRIGUEZ
Born with a comic book in one hand and a remote control in the other, Cory DLG is the talent of Conroe's very own Nerd Thug Radio and Sports. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
This week I've been focusing on Extra Life which will be November 2nd. Donations will be going towards the Children's Miracle Network of Hospitals as they have every year. Extra Life is this great charity that we've worked with for the last few years at Nerd Thug Radio and I love it. We game for twenty four hours and we literally just have fun and raise money for a great cause benefiting the local branch of the Children's Miracle Network of Hospitals. Check it out.
THE X-MEN ARE COMING
Next Wednesday marks the debut of X-Men #1. Hickman has done an amazing job changing everything but keeping it familiar and this is a great time to be a fan of Marvel's mighty mutants. Like in sports, the NBA is better when the Lakers and the Celtics are good, Marvel is better when the X-Men are good. They've struggled in the last few years to find a nice rhythm and this is such a great moment for this stable of characters. Here's hoping this leads to a many great things as this initial line up is incredibly intriguing.
NEW ANIMATED FILMS
Batman and Wonder Woman both recently had animated releases. Batman: Hush, the storyline made famous for Jim Lee's return to monthly art and to mainstream comics after being in an executive role for the past few years and Wonder Woman: Bloodlines based on a storyline from the comics written by Gail Simone. Gail was a blogger made good, who after a few years of writing a popular pop culture blog (*ahem*) was hired to try her hand at comic books, she is now one of the most prolific writers in modern books and is getting a lot of credit for the plot of the upcoming Birds of Prey movie. Hush was a big deal at its time and is getting strong reviews but as comic fans watch it they are commenting on the lack of solid storytelling, but what's funny to me is that I'm not sure that isn't all that different from the pretty comics with a lack of storytelling. Wonder Woman has lower reviews but is from a much better story, interesting to me.
MR. GLITTER
So there's a guy named Gary Glitter, from the 80s obviously, he was a UK based pop star. His music is everywhere here in the United States and he makes over $250k a year in royalties from his tunes, including the one that plays in every sporting event that goes "nah nah nah nah HEY!" (Actually called "Rock and Roll Part 2"). So far this isn't a big deal, except the song, like every other Gary Glitter song, is blacklisted in the UK because Gary is a repeat offender pedophile. He famously got caught after bringing his computer tower to a computer fix it guy who went through it and found all the horrible stuff and turned him in. He then made the world tour of suspicious countries with sex tours and laid low until eventually getting arrested in Vietnam and deported back to the UK. So in the UK, everyone knows these songs are by this terrible guy and for years they've totally ignored them but here in the States, we gleefully play his music and continue to fund his sad, pathetic living. Most recently using Gary's music in the dark hit Joker. It's time we had a talk about Mr. Glitter.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
So earlier I wrote I was in the running for a new secret gig. I got it. It's weird and unconventional but it's an opening for a reoccurring project with these guys if it works and I'm excited. Everyone stay tuned, just saw the cover for the second issue of Another Day at the Office and it's great.
Feel free to check out my brand new comic book Another Day at the Office or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help people struggling with cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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*ChatGPT assisted.
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