Tim, you’ve got any plans for Thanksgiving? Are you going to be spending it in His Royal Badness or what?
Nah. I’ll be in the great state of Minnesota, where it is even colder than my native New England. Janelle and I are visiting her parents (you know, my future in-laws) and honoring her grandfather’s 90 birthday. That means all sorts of Nelsons I’ve never met before. I’m wondering how many names I can remember until my head bursts.
Good times…good times.
Links
IP Music has plenty of interesting music news.
IP Movies has news on some of those big holiday movies.
IP Games has some games that might make interesting gifts.
IP Figures is mint on card.
IP TV has info on all of the hottest shows.
IP Sports has the latest in NFL gossip.
Moodspins is all over the map, literally.
IP Culture has nearly everything you need for Thanksgiving.
Our DC Forums is full of speculation on canceled titles, Suicide Squad, Nightwing, as well as thoughts on All Star Superman. Check it out!
Tim, what are you going to link this week?
Well, it is that time of year, so you just know I have to give everyone a refresher course on The History of Thanksgiving.
For those of you spending Thanksgiving on your own for the first time, here’s deal with your turkey start to finish.
For my poor (former) brothers-in-retail, here is why Friday is going to be so lousy for you: Black Friday or as some now call it, “Green Friday”. Please, to all perspective shoppers out there, do yourselves, your sanity, and the retail workers of America a favor, stay home and eat leftovers instead.
What I Read Last Week
All Star Superman #1 – Very Morrison, very Superman, very good. I dig Luthor. And Tim, I don’t really know if it’s fair to compare All Star Batman #1 to this book. If I recall correctly Morrison wasn’t doing the “arc” thing, making every issue a single story. Miller clearly isn’t doing that.
Supergirl #3 – Tim I hate Kara as much as you, but it was tough watching her get beat up. And when did Lex get a power ring? Oh, that was just a poor art decision. Got it.
Captain Atom #2 – Wow, I’m really liking what Pfeifer is doing here. I actually care about Captain Atom, which is something I haven’t felt in, well ever. I really liked how he noticed the missing cities.
Green Arrow #56 – What a thrilling read. I was scared for Mia, even if I didn’t quite understand what Light was doing to the people. I loved how Mia was played and how Connor knew it. I really can’t wait to see how this turns out. I’m kind of worried that everyone in Team Arrow isn’t going to survive.
Manhunter #16 – I love Kate. I love Bones. I love Dylan & Mark. I’m certainly curious what Director Bones’ has in store for Kate. I’m also really glad this book didn’t get the axe.
Green Lantern #5 – Dude, Johns has managed to make the Black Hand scary. But I am kind of upset with all the German being spoken, as I don’t understand it. Still, even the Shark was scary. Kudos Mr. Johns.
Hellblazer#214 – Poor Johnny. He’s going through a rough patch. I hope he doesn’t do anything rash.
Now, with all apologies to our international readers, we aren’t going to be answering any questions this week. Y’see it’s Thanksgiving, which means the United States is basically shut down. And since it’s Thanksgiving, we want to give thanks to/for our loyal readers who send us questions and always have interesting comments or viewpoints. So to show our thanks we are opening up the column to you the readers. This week we devote the column to your comments, theories, feedback and answers to the questions that I ask you at the end of every column.
So; Thank you and enjoy the column!
In response to my question about most disappointing book, from the 5/5/05/ column Dhaise wrote;
Green Lantern: Rebirth has become embarrassing to read. For all the top names attached to the project, it’s a thinly disguised excuse for two fanboys turned creators to ‘celebrate’ a character that is more famous for being the Super Friend held at bay with a banana than any memorable comics appearances. The ONLY Hal Jordan stories that have counted for ANYTHING since Crisis 20 years ago were just negated, with less class than the one panel screw job thrown to the JSA in Zero Hour.
Whether it’s the pandering ‘props’ to Kyle in Issue 5, or the Sinestro face off for the 4 billionth time, the creative team has taken the quickest route possible for their two #1 issues in under 6 months (scheduled) for a book that has traditionally sold like wet garbage. For the fan proclaimed ‘master of all continuity’ Johns to go with the ‘it wasn’t hal’s fault, it was the unbeknownst-to-all-of-us Evil brain cancer color yellow manipulating Hal while the rest of the Universe (re:Guardians) ‘enigmatically’ allowed it, or for the Spectre to show his compassionate, redemptive side and then leave the scene while the MASS MURDERER yellow impurity goes about it’s business might make sense to the 3 guys screaming holy hell on the DC Boards for 10 years, but it’s negated anything interesting about Jordan. He’s right back where he is always is before he’s inevitably replaced.
The entire DCU is now second fiddle to the guy whose ‘unbelievable will’ and determination generates Giant Boxing Gloves and pines for Carol Ferris. That big Green Arrow push kicked off in Identity Crisis? He’s a chump that can’t even generate G’Nort’s ‘force of will’ to use a ring, but Hal can! John Stewart? He might sit pretty on the cartoon, but I wouldn’t renovate my Watchtower space if I were him …because the ONE TRUE GREEN LANTERN IS BACK!. Kyle’s being tossed together with Gardner to form a new corps? Yay, more GL’s more interesting than boring ‘nothing happened to me that mattered’ Jordan to sit around and be obsolete while the fanboy stroke machine spins spins spins.
This should have been a sure bet to get people interested in Hal Jordan who were ‘on the fence’. Instead it reads like the bad fanfic I’ve been
subjected to since Emerald Twilight. It all goes away, nothing permanent can happen, and it’s never the ‘good guys’ fault…why exactly are we pushing towards a ‘darker DCU’ anyways?
Continuing my Blind, Unobjective Hatred of all Things Hal Jordan.
As a Hal Jordan fan, all I can say is; ouch. I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of what Johns is doing on the Green Lantern title (Tim echoed many of my complaints in his latest DCNV) but damn, you were harsh.
Yes, that is way harsh. I’ll agree that Hal is a bit flat and dry for me these days, but I hardly think you can throw his whole history in the same boat. I’ll agree that I wish Kyle had the spotlight rather than sharing it (although not so much on the Guy front), but, again, I do not think you can rule out Hal’s relevance past present and future because of the decisions DC is making right now regarding the GLs.
Kevin Mahoney responded to the same column different topic;
I had a comment about your latest column though, regarding natural fields (like the red and the green). I seem to remember Aquaman talked to the animals (alive and dead) in something referred to as “the clear”. So I guess land animals have the red and oceanic types have the clear (which seems close to blue). Blame Peter David, I guess.
Oh, I will. I always find a way.
Chaos questions some things from the 5/12 column;
Are u sure it’s Rag Doll in Villains United? No one calls him Ragdoll in the whole issue, but they do refer to him as Crazy Quilt…explain…
Oh, and I think the last panel of page four is Winnick’s new Sabbac, not whoever you said…
Talowolf also points out my folly;
Last column when naming the names of the villains from VU you said the last character was Lord Satanus. I was under the impression that it was the new Sabbac who debuted in Outsiders a few issues back. It was the suit that threw me.
And RevAladdinSane makes three;
The final villain on page 4 isn’t Lord Satanus. It’s the new Sabbac (Ishmael Gregor). He gained the power of Sabbac by stealing it in a ceremony and murdering the previous Sabbac (Timothy Karnes)
I messed up. I think that my mind didn’t register the image with the new Sabbac because an orgy wasn’t involved. It’s a simple error to make.
Jake L responds to my question in the 5/26 about the Countdown minis;
Rann-Thanager, with Villains United a distant second.
Glen Davis answers the same question, different take;
I gotta say the mini series that stands out is OMAC.
Why? Because it is a completely mediocre run of the mill abc spy plot that could have taken place in any of the Bat titles with no trouble whatsoever. Anybody who has been reading DC for more than a couple of years could come up with a much more creative take than Batman standing at a computer and whining, while Max Lord acts like every other evil leader of a secret spy organization in comic books. He might as well be wearing a Nehru jacket.
All of the other minis took creative chances, and all of them paid off, but not Rucka. I really disappointed.
While I don’t necessarily agree with your sentiments about OMAC, I will concede you have a point with the Nehru jacket. That is always a strong fashion choice.
Captain Marvel vs Superman always stirs up comments as Roger responds to the 5/26 column;
On the Captain Marvel/Superman thing, In the Superman/Batman Public Enemy story, Supes admitted that the Big Red Cheese had the advantage. CM even said during the battle that he had beaten Superman in the past. In that story Supes admitted that they had to blindside CM and Hawkman to beat them. I think they are very equally matched, but based on the nature of their powers, if they fought 10 times Captain Marvel would win about 6 times. Kinda the same with Thor against Superman. Thor is the much better fighter and a god with a magic hammer, but Supes array of powers would give him all sorts of problems for a few fights. As a pure fighter, Thor is close to Captain America’s level. Combine that with his powers Thor would adjust to him and hammer the heck out of Superman. It would go back and forth, but Thor would have the advantage the more fights they would have.
Love the column. Thanks for letting me vent.
Hey that’s what we’re here for.
Kevin Mahoney had his theories about Mockingbird, (which I solicited in the 6/2 column)
I think Mockingbird is T.O. Morrow and Scandal is Tomorrow Woman 2.0. Something about Scandal’s dialogue and the responses to the Secret Six’s questions. Scandal mentions built to love or some such and spitting on the Villains United’s graves might not mean besting/killing them it might mean outliving them all. And wasn’t Morrow’s big shtick immortality? I admit I did see but not recognize the gauntlets in Scandal’s room.
Kobiej also had a theory
As for who Mockingbird is? It goes back to the old Secret Six series. One of the team was Mockingbird and sending the others on missions. This one, I believe has a tie in to the Secret Society.
Now, all signs point to Scandal being Mockingbird. Her tie in? Talia
Al-Ghul.
Problem is, that’s not Talia in the Secret Society. Its Nyssa, her sister introduced in “Death and the Maidens”, taking Talia’s place.
Talia herself? There’s your Scandal. A little bit of makeup, or a hair change, a bit of an attitude adjustment, and there you have her.
As for WHY the sisters are doing this? Maybe a powerplay for underworld supremacy? Maybe its a strategy issue to play both teams. Maybe they want to 3 way Catman. Lucky bastard. But the thing about the Secret Six, is that they are not being “secret” at all. They’re loud, they draw attention, and whereas the heroes are gonig to be chasing around after the people blowing up things in harbors, and taking out HIVE nests?
They’ll completely ignore the REAL planning and happenings. Reads like a Slade scheme to me.
Paul Peterson had an idea as well;
Either no one read or remembers Batman: Death and the Maidens, or more likely, a lot of people are holding back in an effort to appear clever, but it seems that a good choice for Scandal, or Mockingbird or both is the Nyssa character who took over for Ra’s Al Ghul. It would make sense with her and Talia playing both sides, not to mention that Rucka (who created the character) is very involved with the whole Infinite Crisis thing. Additionally I’d assume DC wants to give a more high profile role to the Al Ghuls considering the Batman movie coming out.
Chaos dug my initial theory, yet rejected it;
I think Sivana is a really good guess, I’d forgotten about him when he ran off on his new island… but I honestly think it’s Talia’s sister, playing all corners of the field as the demon’s heads should… the known villain in with the Society, the unknown villain playing with strings…
So, as you see Tim, while their theories on the identity of Mockingbird were more grounded in reality, they were no less wrong than I was.
Conor has a correction for Tim from the 6/15 column;
Why was Metamorpho v.1 in ancient Egypt? Quite simple. Metamorpho got his powers from a mystic object called the Staff of Ra. Ra’s an Egyptian god. So it seems logical that there would be a Metamorpho-esque guy hanging around back then.
Neil hoes the same field.
Metamorpho was created by Ra (the Egyptian god). Back when the Egyptian gods were en vogue (meaning when they reigned, not when they sang “My Lovin’ (Never Gonna Get it)” as a three act female group…), Ra battled against his nemesis Apep (or Apophis).
To aid in his battle, Ra created the Metamorphe, a group of soldiers whose bodies were composed of elements, and they had total control of those elements. Ra eventually won, but the means to become a Metamorphe still existed.
Rex Mason happened upon an “Orb of Ra” and was transformed into the ultimate soldier for a war that had already been fought. [This, among other sources, is per “The Sandman” #20).
So it’s not a blood relative we saw in “JSA, B.C.” but rather another soul who had been changed by Ra.
Tim, our readers are an eagle-eyed bunch. Your “A” game in necessary.
Bah, nothing is necessary! They will accept the information I provide and like it. Whelps!
Michael W 6/15 gives us his take on Batman Begins
First, off, on the “Grayson” trailer, while that was good, it pales in comparison to this “Superman/Batman” mock trailer that almost puts Batman Begins to shame with perfect acting and love of the characters and packs more class into a three minute montage than most half hour “fan films.”
Great stuff.
Now, for Batman Begins. I’m sure you’ll have guys going left and right on all the big stuff but to me, it’s the details and smaller things that made it shine. There’s the cameos by guys like Zsaz, complete with the cuts he gives himself to mark his kills. There’s all the shout-outs to Miller’s “Year One” like Gordon’s corrupt partner, Flass and when Batman summons a flock of bats to cover his escape. Those little details made the movie feel like Batman, even more than Burton’s version.
I know some of the more rabid fanboys will quibble of course. There’s the big stuff like the Ducard/Ra’s angle and smaller stuff (like a piano instead of grandfather clock activating the entrance to the Batcave and that the Waynes are killed leaving an opera instead of “Zorro.”). The movie isn’t perfect but comes damn close enough to it.
As good as all the performances are, to me, the most true is Gary Oldman. He IS Jim Gordon, not just in the look (which is so close to the comic it’s absolutely stunning) but also in the way he carries himself, an honest cop in a crooked town who sees a sign of hope coming but is also wary of it. The final scene where he and Batman talk on the rooftop and Gordon worries over how Batman will escalate things, is utterly perfect for the character. And he even manages to show the annoyance Gordon has when Bats vanishes on him. Don’t get me wrong, Bale, Caine and Murphy all bring their characters to life well but Oldman is the one who nails it dead on.
The other great point that lifts the movie is the way Bruce Wayne is handled. Not the boyish but good-headed man of the first films but the comic version as the bored socialite with no cares and no whims, the last person in the world anyone would suspect of being Batman. The most telling moment is at the end, when Rachel points out that Bruce Wayne is the mask, not the man, a point Schumacher and even Burton never quite got.
Any comic book movie can capture all the big moments of characters, powers, etc. But only a few films (X2, Spider-Man 2, Rocketeer) have put in all the details that make the film shine and resound with both fans and the common viewer. So hats off to Goyer and Nolan for taking the time and effort to get all the little things in right. It’s that, not the big set pieces and stars, that has allowed the Bat-franchise to finally get back off the ground.
Amazing heartfelt review. I think that he perfectly captured how I felt about the flick.
Not to be outdone by Michael, Andrew steps up to the plate too.
Batman Begins rocked, best Batman movie ever and the best comic book movie I’ve seen in a while. Couple that with the most excellent Crisis stories and this may very well be the year for DC to take back the number 1 spot from the other guys.
The year is almost over, and DC has made some strides.
Jason won’t be left out.
Did you mean it is the best superhero movie you have seen? Also my Batman knowledge is not extreme but is Ducard and Ra’s Ah Gul the same person. There seemed to be subtle things that are not a big deal, but I would still say that Spiderman is a better movie hand down.
I really enjoyed both Spiderman flicks, but the Goblin mask in the first one was too much for me. Batman Begins took minor liberties and really stayed true to the characters and themes. It was nearly pitch perfect.
Glen takes me to task on the 6/23 column
Hoppy the Marvel Bunny made an appearance in the Power of Shazam series during the nineties, so he is still around. Maybe he’ll figure in a Captain Carrot revival down the road or something.
When I heard about the new Vigilante series I was somewhat excited, but if it ain’t the cowboy, I’m not gonna buy it. The cover art of the new series looked like it was going to be yet another dark murky book, probably tied in to OMAC somehow. With the heightened visibility of the cowboy on the JLU cartoon series, this just seems dumb.
I believe the Creature of the Plants is actually a reference to the Heap, the original Swamp Monster who made his debut in Airboy back in the Golden Age for Hillman Comics. He reemerged in the eighties revival from Eclipse.
Hector Hall has reunited with his wife, Lyta. There is a new Hawk. She is Dove’s sister, who went to live in England with her father, and seems to be a soccer hooligan in a costume.
My bad. That Heap thing was out of my scope of reading, not that that’s any excuse.
MikeZ goes into more detail
The WWI German pilot who went down and became a plant-monster-thing that resurfaced in the 1940s was none other than The Heap, from Airfighter Comics:
Baron Eric von Emmelman is a German ace who is shot down during World War One. He lands in a swamp and merges with the “dreary vegetation” to become a vampiric humanoid. But he’s a good guy, though, and ends up flying a fighter against the Germans and going to Japan and China to fight against the Japanese, and then making his way to America to fight crime here.
He’s re-appeared in Spawn, stemming from Todd McFarlane’s acquisition of the Eclipse Comics characters. I believe there’s an action figure coming soon, or already out.
MikeZ always has the facts.
Superman vs Anyone is guaranteed to bring feedback as Chase illustrates from the 6/30 column;
Superman beats Silver Surfer for the perfect reason: he’s Superman.
I mean, isn’t that reason enough? I think it’s sad how everyone rags on him, but to me, he’s always been the embodiment of the things we, as humans, should desire to be, on every level (OK, I base this more on the 1978 movie than the comic, so sue me), and I’m tired of angsty characters; I think we need to get back to basics and put the Spider-Mans, Batmans, Daredevils, and Hulks in there place (as much as I love the first three), and show a little appreciation to a superhero who actually lives up to that title in every sense of the word. Superman is more than a character; he’s an ideal. If you aren’t a God-fearing man, no biggie, just think “What would Superman do” instead of “what would Jesus do.” Yes, I can see the obvious “use his laser vision” answer there, but I mean, situationally. If you’re not sure if you should do something, ask if Supes would do it; you’ll undoubtedly do the right thing.
Cheers to Superman Returns, 2006!
Roger disagrees;
The Silver Surfer would beat the crap out of Superman. He could blast away for a few hours until Clark wore down, but he would go a different route. With the Power Cosmic at his command, he has all sorts of energy manipulation powers at his command. He would do a quick analysis of Supes and realize his power comes from solar radiation and then suck all of the yellow rays out of him. Such a quick drain of all his power would be enough to win the fight. Norrin then would just leave after lecturing Supes about how he shouldn’t try to lay hands on one that was a former Herald of Galactus. He’s also faster than the Flash, so there is no evading him. Just my $.02.
We appreciated and I deposited it in my bank account. Thank you Paypal.
That same column I asked for feedback out DC’s new logo Joe responded with;
This weeks question was about the logo. I really don’t like it. It just doesn’t look right on the comics. Maybe I’m just used to the old bullet logo, but the new logo just looks plain ugly. It doesn’t seem to blend in on the covers like the old one did. The thing is when I went to see Batman: Begins the logo looked like right. So I guess keep the new logo for the movies and bring back the old one for the comics.
Kevin Mahoney likes it, sort of;
I think the new DC logo is an improvement. At the very least is gets rid of the tautological DC Comics comics thing that has annoyed me for YEARS.
Jason agrees, kind of;
And in response to your question DC’s new logo is pretty bad. I didn’t notice it until I picked up and started reading VU#2. So yeah it’s pretty boss and I hope they stay with it.
Glen foresees a problem with it;
As to DC’s logo, I don’t really care one way or the other, except that the new logo doesn’t ever seem to change color the way the “bullet” did. Still, it’s early days yet.
Funny isn’t it? This was a huge thing several months ago and now? I hardly even notice the new logo anymore. I am so fickle in my attentions.
Jon has an idea that sprung from the 7/7 column;
Something occurred to me whilst reading you and Tim and that, um, other reader talking about Robin in a movie. I agree that, if done right, Robin can and should be included in the movie, precisely because of the public perception of the “Dynamic Duo”.
‘Cept I think the only way it could be done right would be as an almost direct adaptation of Loeb and Sales’ Dark Victory.
The sad part is that I know it could never be done right, mostly ’cause there aren’t any people in the generic “Hollywood” that have any vision beyond seeing themselves rolling around in a bed of cash. Now, it might be different if the studio heads knew more about art as they do about marketing, but, by and large, the people who run the business are hired as number-crunchers.
Right now, no good could come from Robin being reintroduced to the movie series, because they’d design the action figure line first.
Yeah, I’m still way anti Robin. I don’t want it to happen.
Talowolf responds to my question about the (then) prospect of the Post Infinite Crisis DCU titles;
As for year one, I’m excited and nervous at the same time. I like my change gradual, having hit me like a ton of bricks is gonna be a challenge. I guess I’ll just have to see if gives what the comic reader community constantly asks for: good stories.
Glen has some comments from the 7/14 column;
Peacemaker had a pretty good series from Charlton comics, before DC bought him and turned him into a schizophrenic. In the LAW miniseries, which may or may not be in continuity, a new corps of soldier types took over the name.
On the double page spread on Villains United, I coulnd’t figure out why Captain Nazi was giving the Nazi salute, or why he was doing it incorrectly.
Neil catches a relative error on my part from the same column;
I thought Alex Montez was Yolanda’s cousin, not brother…tsk, tsk.
I messed up. It was late, I knew they were relatives. Stupid error on my part.
Jon points out another miscalculation for me;
I’m sure someone else has pointed this out, but the Hyperclan had seventy other Martians held in reserve, stopped by the combined efforts of bits of paper lit on fire and J’onn mindwiping them into think they were human. So there’s a whole bunch of white Martians on Earth now, but they all think they’re firemen and such, so as to keep them in line.
That’d bring the Martian count to roundabouts ninety.
Um, my major was English. I’m no good with the figurin’.
K9 a self described JL Detroit Survivor has this to say about our debate over Gypsy
I believe Gypsy was actually inspired by the Stevie Nicks song & tour that were popular around the time of the character’s creation. The gypsy “look” (while not quite as garish as the character’s outfit), were all over the early mtv videos up until the mid-80’s. It was just the thing (briefly) that was popular at the time and it makes sense because Vibe was inspired by the break dancing “craze” that hit the same year.
Kevin Mahoney shared his most memorable Jim Aparo image upon the passing of the legend, which we noted in our 7/21 column;
I thought immediately of Aparo’s image of Jean Paul Valley doing push-ups on only two fingers of one hand in the bat cave. It was most likely one of the first few post-Knightfall issues. What a great way to learn, visually how brutal, and simple minded Az-bats would eventually become.
Ben Morse (you remember him, right?) also the Jim Aparo image that stuck out in his mind;
Sure it’s the obvious answer, but that darkened silhouette of Batman cradling Robin’s lifeless body on the cover of the “Lonely Place of Dying” trade is still the best.
JPDavis clafiries the death penalty for us 7/28
If one is put to “death” and the state stops the chair and the person survives the state cannot reignite the prisoner. I believe they have to stay in prison for the rest of their lives, but I think it would fit under cruel and unusual to try and kill them twice.
Hopefully this bit of knowledge will never come in handy.
I cannot even remember what the heck this was in reference to. Did we ever talk about the death penalty?
Anyway, what JPDavis says is a bit of a wive’s tale or urban myth. If the first time does not kill the individual, they may (or are required, I cannot recall) stop at that point. However, it is only delaying the inevitable. An almost execution is not a ticket off death row. The executioners get another shot.
Nalydpsycho has some thoughts he wants to share on the very same column
About the no bagging, I’m also a reader, not a collector, but I bag because I find it makes searching for a book easier because everything I flip past is a cover. I find searching through unbagged issues I have to figure out where I am based on an interior page most of the time. I board all self contained stories, and I put arcs that are 6 issues or less all in one bag. I only change the tape if it no longer holds, because again, untapped makes searching a pain.
I would buy, “Alan Scott: Head of Gotham Broadcasting”. But that might just be because my fears of the Wildcats relaunch have me desperate for a superhero in a corporate setting.
I think Ollie is the player of the DCU but Dick is the best catch in the DCU.
I agree. Man, that Grayson sure is dreamy!
Dhaise added his voice to the debate.
Anything I view as a waste of cash doesn’t deserve a bag and board. EFF Them!!
Oliver Queen will chase anything in a skirt, Nightwing is about 3 more defeats from wearing a skirt…..I sense a plot point on the horizon!
Neil also chimed in
Somehow, I don’t see a radio station Alan Scott is the head of having problems with the FCC. I don’t see Alan as the type to employ a Howard Stern or Opie & Anthony or Bubba the Love Sponge. Hell, he’d be more likely to employ those two women from SNL who do the skit of the NPR type show (often with Alec Baldwin talking about his Schwetty Weiners, though maybe that’s what’d get him in trouble with the FCC…).
As for the bag debate, I keep most of mine in bags. My LCS bags them, so if I took them out, I’d have a ton of plastic lying around in piles. Hell, they even board them, so I keep the boards in. I do not tape them, but I do fold the floppy part in.
For those of you who do keep them in bags, which way do you keep them? For me, I use the floppy part as the back (so when you fold it over to tape it, the floppy part would need to be taped to the front). I think my childhood LCS did it this way, but most shops I’ve been to recently seem to do it the opposite way.
You see what you miss out when you don’t visit the Our Thread?
Starmatt took an extreme issue with my characterization of Ollie
I liked the new column with one exception; you got the Ollie stuff WAY off, though you are right that Ollie has bagged more babes than Dick.
Take this line by line.
he’s impregnated two women (Shado and Connor’s mom)
Shado’s pregnancy happened during Ollie’s time with Dinah as a married-in-all-but-ceremony couple in Seattle. Lots of people ask why Dinah didn’t dump him for that. The reason is Shado didn’t tell Ollie for several years that the kid was his and Shado explained to Dinah that he was half-concussed and delirious when she forced herself on him. So it was not a willing affair on Ollie’s part.
As for Connor’s mom (Moonday Hawke), she and Ollie met back sometime during Ollie’s college days. Green Arrow: The Wonder Year showed that Ollie was something of a player with all the hippie chicks back in the day. Unfortunately, Brad Meltzer muddied the waters here by implying that Ollie was a deadbeat dad who ditched his college sweetheart. While this certainly fit the irresponsibility of the Young Ollie, who was more Bruce Wayne than Bruce Wayne, it suggests that Ollie deserves an Oscar for his performance in being unable to believe Connor is his son back in GA 97.
he bagged Dawn, Manitou Raven’s widow
I didn’t read past the first two issues of “Elite” so I can’t comment on this, save that part of the reason I dropped the title was Ollie’s being written badly out of character.
he also cheated on Black Canary with Marianne, her assistant at the floral shop
Lies and slander, sir!
Marianne WAS trying to get Ollie’s attention, but he was stead-fastily loyal to Dinah… even in the face of the 19 year old Marianne undressing with her door open when he was in eye-shot.
The incident that tore it was when Marianne forcibly kissed Ollie at a New Years Eve party as Dinah was walking in the room. That set off all Dinah’s fears that the affair with Shado WASN’T an unwilling thing, that Ollie’s past (which they had talked about) was behind him and that he was in fact playing around with a girl who looked like her when they first met.
Yes, Ollie did sleep with Marianne but that didn’t occur until AFTER Dinah dumped him and kicked him out of the house.
cheated on Black Canary again with Black Lightning’s niece Joanna Pierce
Actually, thanks to the shifts between Green Arrow writers, we really don’t know if they were even technically dating then much less steady. So technically speaking, he may not have been cheating.
End of the Kevin Smith run seemed to suggest that they were back together. End of the Meltzer run seemed to suggest Ollie was ready to get married but Dinah didn’t want a relationship, much less marriage. And then Winick has Ollie just up and out of the blue has Ollie with the niece and everyone giving him a hard time about cheating on Dinah.
I think a case could be made that Ollie was cheating on her in the sense that he thinks she is The One and that by even considering anyone else he is cheating. But then again, the continuity on this point is so fractured (Dinah muttering about the cheating archer in Birds of Prey despite the fact that no one ever told her about the affair in Green Arrow or elsewhere) that there’s really no easy answer.
Personally? I think it’ll all be a moot point after the continuity gets rebooted. And make no mistake- sooner or later, it will be rebooted.
and rumor has it he hooked up with Catwoman in Green Arrow #86.
An issue that both Green Arrow AND Catwoman fans wish would disappear from the world. Actually, since it came out right before Zero Hour, it could have. So let us speak no more about it.
The point is that until Judd Winick and Joe Kelly, DC had always been faithful to the idea that while Ollie had been a womanizer in his youth, the responsibilities of heroism and his meeting Black Canary finally made him grow up.
I must say that was a very spirited defense of the arrow slinger. I leave it up to you the readers to make your own minds about the verdict on Ollie.
That’s it everybody. Enjoy the holiday (if you celebrate it) and we’ll see you back here in a week. Do keep it real in the interim for us, won’t you?
“Sometimes, before you smile you’ve got to cry.”
