For some reason I’ve caught a cold, which sadly means that we’ve got to forgo the regular Q&A format of the column this week. Instead it’s your time to shine.
But before that happens allow me to apologize. Y’see we used to have actual site email, which is where I stored every single email sent my way. But there was a mix up and before I had the chance to save them elsewhere they were deleted. So not only did I lose countless insightful email from you, but I also lost feedback from pros such as Ben Raab and Barry Kitson.
Anyway here’s where we turn the column over to you.
And me!
Coren commented on the list from the 3/9 column
Ok, so firstly I think I have to disagree with the list. Mostly because Batgirl has all the abilities required to beat Shiva, and has done so on more than one occasion due to her own merits, not something many (if anyone) else can claim. I’d rank her ahead of Shiva.
I’m not sure where I’d put Connor and Richard at on that list, but along with Shiva those are for sure the top four. Batman to round out the top five, and I’ll stop there (although Nightwing and Deathstroke would definitely be up there).
One thing you have to keep in mind though is that all meta powers should be tossed. Otherwise someone like Deathstroke might take hits that a regular fighter wouldn’t due to his healing (although your list seemed very light on metas).
Also, if Black Canary is getting a possible nod based on Shiva training, what about Vic Sage?
As far as Earth 8 goes, I don’t think Hawk and Dove belong there. I could see a rewrite allowing the whole Lord of Order/Chaos thing being on many earths, but I think they’re much like the JSA/Earth 2 legacy heroes.
I’m fine with Batgirl being close to the top of the list, but she doesn’t beat out Shiva. Just because she has beaten Shiva does not necessarily make her better than Shiva. My basketball coach (yeah, I used to play some roundball back in the day…what of it?) used to tell us that on any given day, any given team can beat any other team. I think that’s the case here. Batgirl pulled off an upset and good for her. However, 95-99 times out of 100, Shiva wins. I’m not trying to diminish Cassandra here…the fact is, Shiva’s better.
Neil also responds to a different answer in the same column;
No offense to Brendan, but this question always irks me. The main reason is that Batman and Lex Luthor are good inventors and great businessmen, to say nothing about their strategic minds, but can you really compare that against the physics background of Ray “Atom” Palmer or John Henry “Steel” Irons? How about the robotics background of Dr. Magnus. All three of those guys are part of the “brain trust” you see gathered around when there’s a problem science can fix.
And, while insane, no one can doubt the intelligence of Dr. Ivo or T.O. Morrow. Then there’s Sivana, who’s no slouch in the brains department.
Things like strength, speed, etc. can be easily measured. But intelligence? Can Lex really be smarter than Dr. Palmer if they are smart in two different areas of expertise?
My point is this, I need a strategic plan to defeat my enemy, I go to Bats or Luthor (depending on my allegiances). I need help closing a black hole, I’m sorry but Bats wouldn’t be on that short list, though Luthor might. I need a robot that is fully self-aware, capable of growth, etc. then it’s Magnus, Ivo, or Morrow I’m going to seek out, not Bats or Luthor.
But if I need weaponry, I wouldn’t go see Dr. Palmer, I’d go see Bats, Luthor, or John Henry.
A fine point, but I think when we talk “smartest†we are speaking most versatile intelligence. Sure, Lex or Batman might not have be specialized experts in physics or chemistry or robotics, but each of them has demonstrated that they have way above a layman’s skill in each. They’re jacks of all trades and therefore trump a Steel or an Atom who are experts in their field but lack versatility.
It’s like this. Lex and the Atom are on a quiz show together. Who wins? Lex, in a walk. Because, while Atom may beat him in depth of knowledge in one area, Luthor’s range of knowledge cannot be overcome.
Also, no one beats Batman. Sorry…just the way it is.
Admiral Snackbar has some silver screen DC ideas inspired by the 4/6 column;
My pick for Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) would be Sean Bean. He’s a great actor, and it’d be nice to see him not play the villain for once.
Screw the JLA movie, I’d go see Sean Bean in a Green Arrow movie any day. The plot would be so easy: Rich, amateur archer Oliver Queen is ‘accidentally’ stranded on a deserted island when his boat or plane or whatever has an explosion. He must perfect his archery over the next several years in order to survive. First he uses it to hunt, then he uses it to pass the time, making himself ‘trick arrows’ or practicing impossible shots. Eventually he’s found and returned to civilization, only to find that his city is now filled with corrupt officials, so he uses archery to fight for what he believes is right. The climax can be Queen discovering that his business partner arranged to have him killed (which lead to him being stuck on the island) and has taken sole control of the company, in order to finance his scheme, which involves selling high tech weapons, which Ollie is obviously opposed to. Heck, while Ollie is on the streets fighting crime, let’s say he meets a homeless girl who he eventually discovers has a hidden talent involving her throat. I’m really digging this idea, but I just have to interrupt here. A hidden talent involving her throat? I’m not sure the MPAA is going to approve of that sort of thing in a superhero movie. That is, she has a sonic scream. Ooooooooh. I see. Nevermind then. And just like that, WB has the outline for a movie. Throw $40 million dollars at it, sign a well respected, and well known name for the role of the villain and get McAdams as the Canary, and you’re good to go. It can be a fun, swashbuckling adventure like Pirates of the Caribbean, or it can be a dark, gritty noir movie. I’d prefer swashbuckling myself. (It’d have to be, if he dresses up in the actual green costume.)
Green Lantern: A young man in an alley meets a dying alien who gives him a strange ring, which grants him incredible powers to fight off a hostile alien intent on taking over the planet. There’s your movie. Jake Gyllenhaal stars. Or, if you prefer Hal Jordan, change the alley to an air field, same basic story. (Or, in my version, wait for the prequel.) The sequel would have him travelling to Oa and learning about the Corps, and facing a much larger intergalactic threat.
With the success of Harry Potter, you’d think a movie about a young woman who practices magic and saves the world after her father’s mysterious death would be a sure fire hit. And it probably would be. Guys would like seeing the hot girl in fishnets, girls would relate to a strong young role-model. Zatanna the movie, starring Anne Hathaway.
A smart-mouthed teenager is chemically bonded with his professor in an experiment gone wrong. It’s a buddy comedy, it’s a super-hero movie. Firestorm: The Nuclear Man. (It can’t just be called Firestorm, people would think Howie Long was in it, and that Jeph Loeb produced it.)
My point here is (and I’ve gone on a bit of a tangent) is that DC has all these great properties that could be made into movies. Since the characters are all owned by Warner Brothers, they could build up all of them in their own movies, and have a giant cross-over movie, or JLA movie. Which, let’s face it, would kick so much more ass if it feaured characters we’d seen before in other movies. Even cross over into tv, and have Detective John Jones solving crimes with his female partner, meanwhile hiding the fact that he’s an alien from everyone. I’d watch. Part CSI, part Smallville. It frustrates me that Warner Brothers has all these great properties, but beyond the big three (or four) we’ll probably never see a movie based on any of them.
Maybe WB was trying to branch out a bit with Catwoman, but failed because (aside from being a bad movie) it was too much of a departure from the character. (Like Jack Black as Green Lantern in a Mask ‘inspired’ comedy is also too much of a departure.) If they made a Blue Beetle/Booster Gold movie as a buddy comedy starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, that wouldn’t be too much of a departure, as long as they played it straight. (The comedy is in the material. The fact that Stiller and Wilson are in tights is not, in itself funny. More in the vein of Galaxy Quest, than, say… Mystery Men.) I’d go see that. So would a lot of other people.
Ok, I’m done my rant.
Good rant and good points. I’d definitely be interested in those films and you’re right about DC generally having a large resource of untapped movie ideas. But hey, at least they made moves to bring Wonder Woman to the big screen. Granted, it’s pretty obvious that one’s not coming to the screen anytime soon (and by that, I mean probably for not another 5 years, at least.)
Neil also had some casting ideas;
Bats- C. Bale
Supes-Without seeing Superman Returns, I’m not too enthused about Routh. But, for lack of a better choice, yeah, we can go with Routh. It’s better than Dean Cain any day of the week.
G. Lantern- Don Franklin (Stewart–Ford was a good second banana to both Bridger and Hudson on seaQuest and like it or not, that’s the role they’ve put Stewart in. But I think Franklin has the chops to portray Stewart as a strong hero on his own.), Jordan (older–Richard Dean Anderson, who has played an airforce Col/General on Stargate and has a cockiness to him. Younger either Battlestar Galactica’s Jamie Bamber–I guess I’m a sucker for actors who have portrayed pilots or Lost’ Matthew Fox. Both have taken on leadership roles on their respective ships, but have also been shown to have a darker/shaded side to them), Rayner (Veronica Mars’ Jason Dohring. Cocky, brash, but oddly loveable) And if Ganthet gets a cameo, I’d love to see Lost’s Terry O’Quinn in the role
Flash- Another one I’m not sure of
Hawkgirl- BSG’s Katee Sackhoff has the pure balls to play Carter Hall’s squeeze. This would be a Hawkgirl similar to JL/JLU’s Hawkgirl, kicking ass and taking names.
Martian Manhunter- I’m with Tim, Carl Lumbly or, if not him, then Stargate SG-1’s Christopher Judge. Chris Judge has played Teal’c excellently and could pull off the alien who is trying to figure out humanity. He’s got great faith in them, but still worries if they will pull through
Wonder Woman- If she’s not arrested Lost’s Michelle Rodriquez can bring the fire to the role and is built better for it than C. Zeta Jones or Charisma Carpenter (Wonder Woman should not be too skinny). Besides, who better to play this Diana than someone who played Diana Guzman in Girlfight?
Aquaman- Tim, John C. McGinley would be perfect, I tip my hat to you.
Green Arrow- Lost’s Josh Holloway. Ollie needs to be argumentative and someone who we hate to love and love to hate. Sawyer is all of those and more.
Black Canary- keeping with a Lost heavy cast, why not Evangeline Lily?
Zatanna- Not sure, but no one from Charmed pu-leese!
Capt. Marvel- Brandon Fraser has the build and can pull off all of the the “golly, gee-shucks” stuff. But from The Mummy Returns, I’ve thought The Rock would make an excellent Black Adam.
Plastic Man-Jim Carrey, yeah, I guess.
Blue Beetle- Wilmer Valderrama. This new guy, maybe, but not for Ted
Hawkman- Stargate: Atlantis’ Jason Momoa might do it, but this is one of the tougher ones to cast.
Coren offered his two cents;
Flash should be Ryan Reynolds.
From your lips to the cinema gods’ ears.
Admiral Snackbar wasn’t quite done;
My pick for Plastic Man is, and always will be Bruce Campbell. Look at Army of Darkness to see how it wouldn’t be much of a stretch.
Ok, you can slap me for that pun.
Oh I will…believe me…I will.
Kyle Litke had some thoughts on the 4/20 column;
Good stuff as usual. But I’m not sure I agree that they’d wipe out the Eradicator. It’s possible he won’t appear anymore, but you can’t wipe his history without screwing up a lot. The Death of Superman played a huge part in Infinite Crisis, by being viewed as the point in time everything went wrong. Eradicator was heavily involved in the Return of Superman storyline. He may not make any more appearances unfortunately, but I don’t think he’d be removed from continuity.
I’m on your side on this Kyle. I just hope its not wishful thinking on my part.
And Mark Poa had a correction;
Yeah, well Mark Poa should mind his own damn business.
I mean…
Nevermind.
Just a correction in the new column. The Zamarons went back to OA with the Guardians to take care of the Guardian babies. This happened during Kyle’s time in OA. However, there’s been no trace of them since GL:Rebirth… so it’s up in the air if they’re still in OA.
Starman Matt had to take issue with something in the 5/11 column;
Granting that’s true (although I blame Judd Winick’s piss poor writing of Roy for that), I can think of ONE worse team, if for no other reason than that for all his faults as a leader, Roy at least got his people home alive.
The Justice League Europe under Crimson Fox II. Not only did they get punked on their very first mission by a rookie supervillain in a cheesy disguise (Mist II), but the only person who survived the carnage was Firestorm.
Hmm…perhaps. I think Roy has proven a lousy leader with several teams though and thus gets the edge. You can chalk up one terrible stint as a leader to editorial edict or “ends justify the means†storytelling (which I believe is the JLE situation) but Roy has been fairly lousy fairly consistently.
Admiral Snackbar also has some comments;
BTW, I’m disappointed in the column, specifically when you answered my questions. I mean, a picture of a bulldog instead of a hot librarian? It didn’t even have to be a naughty pic, it could have been Barbara Gordon. But that probably stems from the fact that I’ve had a huge crush on a fictional character since I read Batgirl Year One… wow, that’s really sad when I actually write it out like that… Some thoughts are best left in my head.
Also, I think that Cyborg Superman being a traitor is one of those shocking moments in comics that we don’t have much of anymore. It’s up there with Thunderbolts #1 in my opinion. Although I guess they are both the same surprise, now that I think about it… Wow, the similarities are uncannily close. Replacement(s) for recently deceased hero(es) turn out to be villains. Hmm. Well, both were awesome and blew me away, so I’ll forgive it. Much like I forgive X2 for having the same ending as Wrath of Khan. (Main character sacrifices him/herself to save the ship from a giant wave, then has a voice-over from a previous installment in the series (X-Men 1 or original Star Trek series) as camera pans to their ‘final’ resting place (Genesis Planet or bottom of a lake), and we leave the theatre knowing they’ll most likely be back for Part 3.)
Kyle Litke shared Tim’s views from the 6/1 column;
Incidently I agree with Tim on Doomsday. I loved Infinite Crisis, but the beginning of Issue 7 really annoyed me. Gail and the Villains United Special had me so pumped up for this big showdown between the heroes and villains, with Doomsday there, and the entire thing was handled way too quickly and thrown to the side to get to the big stuff. Doomsday goes down in 2 pages after getting punched a couple times, everyone else just gets dealt with quickly…sigh. I wanted to really see this battle.
Neil also showers Tim with praise from the same column;
Kudos to Tim for remembering how Superboy Prime escaped the Phantom Zone in Teen Titans, where we learned Mia’s Blue Arrow was a Phantom Zone arrow.
I agree about Doomsday, he was the cliffhanger to the Villains United Infinite Crisis Special, but like most things in all four specials, was only touched on briefly in the actual series. I’m of the opinion that DC could have saved us some money by combining the major aspects of the four specials and just added an issue to IC.
Thematically, I guess it was important for E2 Superman to take on and defeat Doomsday, but it could have been handled better.
Dhaise answers my question from the 6/8 column;
Which OYL book has been the biggest disappointment in your eyes?
Nightwing.
Holy crap! from bad to reaaaaallly bad. Bruce Jones has made me do the unthinkable- which is reminisce about the Grayson run like it was ‘the good old days’.
Oh, come on now…Amoeba Jason rule!
And Neil also shares his thoughts on the same column;
Renee Montoya: This is, perhaps, the one death that DC could pull off with the least amount of controversy.
Booster Gold: I’m still not convinced that there aren’t two Booster’s running around. It seems very much in Infinite Crisis that the Booster who arrived in issue #2 could be a different version of the character than the one who left in O.M.A.C. Project #6. It’s very likely that one Booster will die and the other will become the permanent Booster. In fact, it’s quite possible the Booster we read for the past 20 years will die so that the Booster they’re featuring now, who I dub “New Earth” Booster will survive. On the other hand, folks at the ComicBloc seem to think that Booster will be Supernova. So, maybe Booster “dies” and becomes Supernova?
The Booster as Supernova theory was espoused all over the place and was so obvious many of us more or less talked ourselves into other ideas. It was like Hush all over again.
The Question: Justice League Unlimited did a lot to make me interested in him. Then again, maybe Tim has something with him dying and Renee Montoya becoming the Question.
Yeah, I just might be onto something.
On the other hand, am I the only not convinced by Sage’s demise? It feels like DC was trying to hard with all the dialogue mentions when the easiest thing to do would’ve been to show us the body and have a funeral. I’m wondering if Vic faked his death, Dragon and that other guy were in on it, and the reason was so Renee would finally step up and re-embrace herself.
Certainly, at the least, I think it is an avenue to bring him back when Nalyd begins to write for DC.
Steel: It’s been done before (actually, so has Booster dying and they both stuck about as long). As much as I like John Henry he’s got two strikes against him, for one, DC could easily see him as “the dude who wears Superman armor and whose origin comes from “The Death of Superman,” which has many ties to the Byrne origin, something they’re trying to get away from. The second strike is that Natasha is waiting in the wings for her shot and has served as a replacement Steel for the past 3-4 years.
Ralph Dibny: Actually, I could very well see this “resurrection” subplot requiring Ralph to die so that Sue can live again. In that case, I think Ralph would give his life in a heartbeat.
That would’ve been a good twist…alas.
Black Adam: I think Judd Winick is going to turn Billy into the new Shazam and CM3 into the new Captain Marvel. And, while that does leave Black Adam out of the loop, I think his role is too important to have him die. Besides, there’s just so much story potential for him to die. He’s the one I see the least reasons to kill, and therefore, the one most likely to die.
As far as Superman goes, I have to say Mathan, those are all things that I was afraid of, going into the story, but Geoff and Kurt have made those things work for me. Diff’rent strokes, I guess.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Jared Stevens and Bloodwynd hook up and form a new magic team of dead and/or forgotten magicians.
Sadly, my cousin Jared remains waaaaaay dead. But we’ll send your kind words onto Bloodwynd. He’ll appreciate it.
As for Mr. Miracle, I used to have a few issues of his series and I thought Shiloh Norman was a decent guy, so while I do hope we see Scott Free again, Mr. Miracle being Shiloh Norman is a good deal. Could be worse, we could be reading about Ms. Miracle, Shiloh Nouvel.
You say “worse†but I think you mean “awesomeâ€.
Neil also had some thoughts on the 6/16 column;
Like Tim, I am curious as to what you, Mathan, think of Comet’s new costume (and the dropping of the faux-rank of Captain).
And I’m with Tim again, I think El Diablo’s costume was perfect for him. I think non-Western heroes with bolos are a no-no, but Western heroes with them is fine with me.
I understand what you’re saying about Ralph’s grey and white number, but when you think about it, all of his costumes are pretty ugly.
And again, what of Lorraine Reilly’s new costume? And for the record, I liked her second costume and her flaming hair, when it’s not a ‘fro. More like when it resembles Starfire’s.
Guy Gardner? Really? Now you’re getting out of hand. Here’s the thing…in the 80’s it was the perfect look for him. But, the trouble comes with the fact that I can’t picture him in any other GL costume. If he’s GL, it has to be this one. Overall for him, I liked his first Warrior Costume (the black leather jacket, jeans, and cowboy boots never did it for me and despite my love for Beau Smith’s writing, his tatoo look was everything that was wrong with the 90’s in terms of costumes, even moreso than Azrael’s.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let’s not say things we can’t take back. Azrael’s costume was cool. Deal with it.
Oh, and no, Guy’s costume was never acceptable. Regardless of era.
Jericho…I’ve got nothing. From his mutton chops to his vest, it’s horrible.
Thank goodness for Nearly Nude Jericho.
Extrano…1.0, 2.0, any .0 is just a fashion disaster.
I also was not a fan of Black Canary’s Giffen look. And what the hell is up with the headband (I never understood that fad).
If Olivia Newton John did it, who are we to question it?
Argonaut Fleecey comments on the 7/6 column;
I thought (and perhaps this is my own interpretation of an admittedly ambiguous scene) that Gordon has known that Batman and Bruce Wayne are one and the same since the end of Miller and Mazzuchelli’s Batman: Year One, when an uncostumed Bruce rescued his infant son. Now, in that scene he claimed to be unable to see Bruce’s face because he had lost his glasses, but is he really that blind? I like to think not.
Admiral Snackbar also chimes in on this;
I always thought that Jim Gordon, Perry White, and Jimmy Olsen knew a lot more then they’ve let on. I’ve kind of thought that ever since the real Aunt May died and said she had known for years that Peter was Spider-Man.
Also, I think that Joker has known for years. After he killed Jason Todd, he meets up with Bruce Wayne, pauses, and just starts laughing. (Part 4 of Death in the Family, I think. The scene is in the UN.) I think Joker recognized him then, and just found the idea of the great Batman trying to pass himself off as a billionaire playboy to be very funny. Of course, he doesn’t want Bruce, he wants Batman. At least that’s how I’ve seen it.
The 7/13 column got Coren’s attention;
Is comparing a comic to Showgirls supposed to make me think it’s any good at all? Because with that comparison…it makes me not want to touch the book. (Not that I am anyway, but that’s beside the point)
As far as the silent story bit…I’m pretty sure it was Dan Slott who did a Batman Adventures story (it wasn’t a full book, I don’t think, although certainly possible) that had no dialogue, only bubbles with symbols in them to indicate what was going on. I’ll look that up later if you really care.
I think at one point, every book Marvel put out that month did it…at least, I seem to remember reading that in the Exiles book w/that gimmick.
Yup. The Marvel “event†was called ‘Nuff Said. Cool for some titles, but overall the idea of an editorially mandated month where all the issues were silent proved just as problematic as it sounds.
Kyle Litke was also stirred to comment on the same column;
I get the point about cohesiveness, but what bugs me about the Marvel Universe is I very rarely feel that the stories are connecting at all except when they have a big crossover.
Let me put it this way…when I’m reading a DC book and someone blows up a city, I fully expect to see that mentioned in another book, even if it has nothing to do with it. Doesn’t have to be a crossover, no big storyline, just a quick “Wow, I can’t believe what happened to Coast City”. Maybe a newspaper headline in the background, or a news story on TV.
As opposed to Marvel, where Magneto takes over New York City and nobody else overly cares about it except the X-Men, including the guys who LIVE IN NEW YORK.
Just throwing crossovers at me doesn’t make me feel like the universe is more cohesive. What does make me feel a universe is more cohesive is the little things, the comments on something that is not part of a huge crossover. The fact that when something happens in Batman, I actually feel like it happened in the same universe while reading Superman. I don’t feel that at all when I read Marvel books. I don’t feel like Spiderman and the X-Men are in the same universe outside of crossovers unless they’re actively acknowledging each other.
But I don’t read enough Marvel to fairly judge, I don’t read most of the books they put out like I do DC. But it bugs the heck out of me when something big happens such as Magneto taking over New York City, and Marvel actually says “Yeah we’re not gonna acknowledge it in the other books”. Sorry, but that doesn’t work for me. Some people don’t care…I do. I like cohesive universes, and the second you start doing stuff like that, you lose me.
I guess that’s another one of those different strokes for different folks sort of situations. For some, the level of consistency you advocate is not really necessary. In fact, sometimes, it can be more of a put off. Feedback usually depends on what’s more in vogue at time. Take a look at any message board and see that as DC has gotten more and more interlaced, the number of complaints about the universe being too closely drawn together has risen. When the pendulum swings back the other way, watch as more people of your opinion come out of the woodwork to complain about the lack of universe cohesiveness. It’s just the nature of things.
I am far more concerned with consistency of characterization and general tone of the universe. You nail those, I could give a damn if Hulk knows that Nick Fury is dead or Lex Luthor got the memo about Green Arrow getting engaged.
Also, beware of the “this is a DC thing, this is a Marvel thing.†By now, I’ve learned that there truly is only one consistent difference between the two companies: DC has pencillers, Marvel has pencilers. Besides the presence or lack of a double “lâ€, the differences are fluid. Some years, Marvel has the cohesive universe, some years DC does. Some years DC is all about elevating b-list characters, some years Marvel is. However, through thick and thin, DC will always use the double “lâ€, Marvel won’t.
Neil also shared some thoughts from the same column;
Rotating Creative Teams: What a good choice for your first of DC’s “sins.” I agree wholeheartedly. I loved Rucka’s early take on The Adventures of Superman, but I thought his second year on the title suffered greatly due to Identity Crisis. His first year was brilliant, what with new Parasites, seeing John Henry again, his use of Mr. Mxyzptlyk, Lois getting shot, and, of course, Ruin. At the point where Ruin was revealed to be Pete Ross, the run lost steam. But credit where credit is due, he did a decent job with “Sacrifice” and the aftermath, etc. It just wasn’t up to his previous work.
The problem DC had is that, I don’t doubt all creators who work with the “Big Two” have stories for the main characters/teams. Problem is (a) it doesn’t mean it’s a good story and (b) it doesn’t mean it’s a story that should be told in the number of issues DC said it should be. I think Kurt Busiek mentioned his original idea for “Syndicate Rules” was not 7 issues and it shows in the final product.
It also hurts that by putting your effort into one of the titles, stacking it with a creator and artist that you’re really pushing, means that the other titles fall by the wayside. Certainly, as I said before, I’ll argue that Adventures was the best Superman title in 2004-2005, but the big push by DC was for Superman with Azzarello and Lee.
Lastly, any kind of character development relies on someone with a long-range plan for the character. Of course, you get the guys who burn out, but at least they are invested in furthering the character, not solely in telling their story.
Rejecting Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Tom Peyer and Mark Waid’s pitch for Superman: I e-mailed you a question for next week and it made me remember a great Superman storyline that occurred in 1996. For the month of May (cover date July), DC handed over the Superman titles to Mark Waid and Tom Peyer who told an awesome story about Brainiac switching minds around, taking Superman’s body, and leaving Kal-El in the body of child psychiatric patient who thought he was Superman. It was a great story, featured a good bunch of the Superman cast (though, due to the story, by the second or third issue, they were around, just not in the proper shape to contribute), a great plot, and a few twists and turns.
I admit, I worship at the shrine of Morrison and I love his stuff. As for Mark Millar, I lump him with, the Marvel bunch, but a few stories I’ve read by him tell me I’m not giving him enough credit and that maybe, I think he’s actually more suited towards working with DC’s characters than with Marvel’s.
Abandoning Letters Pages: You didn’t mention Steven Grant, Todd McFarlane, Dave Cockrum, Ed Brubaker & Tony Isabella, also a former letter writers.
As a writing teacher, I also feel I have to mention how letters to the editor had to be coherent, grammatically correct, and actually have a point (save for the few that were printed solely for the purpose of being mocked and on the other side those from kids–which were always great to see some kid write in to say how great Superman was, usually with a picture attached as well).
Internet posts, on the other hand, can be rambling, grammatical nightmares, and people just post for the sake of posting. It’s a sign of the gradual lack of caring about mechanics in our society.
Breevort’s Comments: I’ll say this, expecting Ben Morse to swoop down any second…but growing up in New York, I became a Yankees fan from a very young age. In New York, there were rivalries with the Mets, yeah, but loving your team meant supporting them, and no one really cared about the other teams, other than wanting to see them lose. Sure you might here disparaging things about other teams, the Red Sox in particular, but nothing major is made of it.
But when I moved to Boston, I was in for a shock. They have the “Red Sox Nation” there, complete with tons of “Anti-Yankees’ stuff, including hates, etc. Even when the Yankees aren’t playing there, it’s not uncommon to hear “Yankees Suck” chanted in Fenway Park. The hatred of the Yankees even went as far as “Yankees Suck” billboards, which, if I remember, were sponsored by one of the newspapers.
Yeah, lots of sports team have this tradition. At Devils games, they always yell “Rangers suckâ€, Boston University Hockey disparages Boston College, etc. It always struck me as odd tradition.
I see a similar thing with DC and Marvel. DC has people (executives, editors, creators, etc.) who will make a few off-hand comments about Marvel. But Marvel, hell, it seems like a company mandate that you have to slam DC. I just don’t see the venom on DC’s side. Does Joe Quesada ever miss a chance to throw a “zinger” at DC? J. Michael Straczynski has also been known to say some harsh things about DC. Bill Jemas, well, ’nuff said.
And I know Paul Levitz and Dan Didio do say things against Marvel at times. But nowhere it’s nowhere near was vicious.
I’ll admit, maybe I’m biased in both cases and I may have blinders. But, I really think I’m trying to be fair in looking at these situations and to me, it seems largely one-sided in both cases.
I don’t know…most of them stories are old, old, old by now and seemed more a product of Marvel having new young Turks in power while DC’s guard had been at it for years. (Remember, the majority of these stories preceded Didio’s arrival). Plus, having gone to conventions, believe me when I say that no one has more cutting remarks for the competition than Bob Wayne, DC’s VP of Sales. Again, I’d reiterate that the differences between DC and Marvel are fluid year to year, era to era, editorial board to editorial board.
Plus, in using your analogy, Marvel would be the Yankees as they consistently top DC in total sales. Just saying.
Bizarro: Which comic does Doomsday come with? As Tim said, you have to realize that Post-Crisis, there have been several Bizarros. Introduced (Post-Crisis) in Man of Steel #5, he was an imperfect and fairly quiet clone of Superman, who didn’t say much.
This version was seen again in the “Bizzaro’s World” storyline and in Superman: Forever and was a darker character, played more seriously than Pre-Crisis.
However, in the “Arkham Asylum/Emperor ?????” storyline, we are introduced to a new Bizarro, darker than the Pre-Crisis version, but similar in speech patterns. This Bizarro really does not have an origin, at least none that we are told about (as long as you disregard “Birthwrong!” in Superman: Secret Files and Origins 2005).
After his introduction, he was played mainly as a character to pity, especially since he was abducted and used as a punching bag by General Zod (another character who has had many Post-Crisis incarnations).
That is the Bizarro in Superman #181, the comic which comes with Bizarro (not Doomsday) in the DC Superheroes figure line. While backward, we are meant to pity Bizarro.
However, being a member of the Society, I think Infinite Crisis called for a more bloodthirsty Bizarro. But you can’t go by IC, since his appearance there was short.
Silent Issues: Guy Gardner #3 was mostly silent and it made sense. For one, it is Guy fighting for a whole issue. Guy, aside from his loudmouth, has always done a lot of his “talking’ with his actions and in this issue, we really get to see that. For another, it’s a fight in space and they, rightly so, decided there are no sounds in space, so why have a character spout dialogue when the other person couldn’t hear it (unless Guy extended his power bubble around that being). It was a great issue, lots of fun, and probably the best Gerard Jones ever wrote Guy Gardner (I hated the Guy of the late 80’s/early 90’s. I’m a Beau Smith–Guy fan and I hated Guy under Gerard Jones’ auspieces. Chuck Dixon and Beau Smith really did a lot to make Guy a great character and not just a common jerk.)
I’ll take your word on it. My home is a Guy Gardner free zone.
And that’s it for us. See you next week for a feature length column and a no longer sick Mathan.
On a personal note, you must pick up the Daily Bugle in stores this Wednesday. It’s free and I, yes ME!, am quoted in it. I didn’t actual say the words coming out of my mouth, but, nonetheless, I’m the Tim Stevens talking about Thunderbolts action figures. Anyway, be sure to snag it now as you know it’s going to spike up in value!
