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Post by tolworthy on Feb 24, 2015 2:39:21 GMT -5
For the record, I love Moench's Fantastic Four. I prefer it to Byrne, which puts me in a minority of one. Most fans hate his FF run, and he is on the record as saying it didn't come out how he wanted. But his talent is clear. If you study the FF to an insane and unhealthy depth as I do, Moench's 12 issues are pure gold. I love the Sienkiewicz-Sinnott art too (another acquired taste) and put the Moench-Sienkiewicz run ahead of not just Byrne but Thomas-Buscema. OK you can flame me now.  |
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Post by tolworthy on Feb 21, 2015 7:45:41 GMT -5
Before I saw your post I thought "there must be one somewhere in Byrne's oeuvre" but I don't think I ever twigged this as an Action homage. The guy with his hands on his face in the foreground clinches it, though. Also, the story is set in 1936 (the date is mentioned several times). I know that Action 1 wasn't until 1938, but I presume Byrne would have known about the story being hawked around for years before. On a tangent, it's interesting how the official DC wiki describes this: Good way to turn round the "you took advantage of Siegel and Shuster" attack. |
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Post by tolworthy on Feb 10, 2015 14:30:39 GMT -5
A return of black and white magazine comics from various publishers. This. And a return of the Epic line (as it was originally, not like the half-baked comebacks that have happened over the years.) And cheap. Not these glossy heavy paper graphic novels for a niche market. I want to walk into a bookshop, and have the choice of text novels or graphic novels of the same length, on the same paper, the same literary quality, and the same price. Who wouldn't rather read a 500 page comic epic instead of some 500 page novel from somebody you never heard of? It seems insane to me that publishers have massive back catalogs, and just release them at a trickle at high prices for existing fans. No! There are millions (maybe a billion, with translations) of potential readers if the price and content are right. Take a ton of the best black and white stories for a general market, and sell them on the mass market, at mass market prices, same price per page as other books But this would take real guts. it would take years to build up awareness outside the comic world. You would need to keep producing these things for very little return, until there is a huge selection and gradually people catch on. But then it would be a completely new and enormous market. We have something related in manga paperbacks, but all the manga I have seen are more like TV, comics designed to be read quickly, so you don't get the same number of hours' enjoyment. I am talking about something different: a comic of the same depth as a book. A comic you would take to read on holiday, the same price as an airport novel, taking the same time to enjoy, at the same price. The closest thing I can think of was an old paperback of Marvel's Empire Strikes Back novelisation. That was a really great read on its own. Even if you had never seen the movie (and this was before the days of video so maybe you hadn't). It was a deep, rich story, well told, with great art, in a cheap little edition. I want more like that. LOTS more. Well like the title said, it's a project that will probably never exist. |
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Post by tolworthy on Jan 17, 2015 4:28:05 GMT -5
I've never been much of a fan of evil alternate/mirror universe versions of heroic characters. Blasphemy!  Bizarro. The CSA. Love that stuff. Oddly, can't think of any Marvel examples off the top of my head (Squadron Supreme/Sinister maybe). Doppelgangers were a recurring trope in the FF. Off the top of my head (I am sure there are more): issue 2: the Skrulls impersonate the team issue 8: Alicia impersonates Sue issue 10: Doom swaps bodies with Reed issue 17 (I think) Johnny creates flame doubles of himself (he did this a lot in Strange Tales) issue 51, "this man this monster" - a man impersonated the Thing the second Galactus story: the big G creates versions of the FF to keep them busy when Ben is kidnapped its a skrull impersonating Reed FF 118 and 162 feature a parallel reality version of the team 119 (or thereabouts) has thousands of copies of Reed 177-180 (the Brute) has counter Earth's Reed posing as our Reed 203 has an evil version of the FF FF 246 introduced the new style Doombots, taking doppelgangering to a whole new level (is it Doom or is a Doombot?) 226 introduces the clone team, who take over from the FF, and so on and so on. You can barely go ten issues of the FF in te early days without bumping into a doppelganger or four.. |
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Post by tolworthy on Jan 3, 2015 3:25:20 GMT -5
Continuity issues: - The stormtrooper whose armour Luke steals is designated as TX-421, instead of TK-421, as it is in the movie.
- Luke's excuse for being in the Death Star detention centre is a "prisoner transfer from Block TX-138", rather than Block 1138.
I am sure everyone knows this already, but "TX" and "1138" are references to George Lucas' first movie, "THX 1138". It's an in-joke, used several times in the Star Wars universe and in early LucasArts adventure games. For example, I'm a Zak McKracken fan, and when Zak gets a phone bill he naturally owes $1138. starwars.wikia.com/wiki/1138_%28number%29 |
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Post by tolworthy on Jan 1, 2015 13:16:11 GMT -5
You know that the Scots and the Irish are different nationalities, right? Not originally. The Scots were an Irish group who invaded Caledonia, and finally gained the upper hand at the battle of Stirling, AD 800 IIRC. I know that's a bit off topic, but I like to think it's the sort of detail that Claremont might have used. |
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Post by tolworthy on Dec 27, 2014 15:24:32 GMT -5
He wasn't fat, he was just barrel chested. Large ribcage and a big strong pelvis with a lot of muscle packed on. Same sorta thing as the Iron Sheik:  Looks kinda flabby but the strength in his core was massive. I prefer that look for Supes over the typical small pelvis'd bodybuilder look. I like it when Superman looks like a big burly farmer who wakes up and loads a half dozen eggs, a slab of bacon and a stick of butter into a big 14" cast iron skillet, then dumps the whole thing on a thick stack of high protein wheat cakes. I agree. Remember those incredibly narrow waists and inflated shoulders that Buscema used to do in the Avengers? I was always afraid they would snap. Real weight lifters have thick waists. |
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Post by tolworthy on Dec 26, 2014 2:31:59 GMT -5
(EDIT: I agree with the hulk fans who say the Omen story is a candidate for best Hulk story ever. I loved those Englehart/Trimpe Hulk stories. That one was republished in big hardcover British annual with thick paper... just superb.) I've still got that annual! Not immediately accessible, but I think it's this one:  I envy you. Didn't the year before or after reprint the Zaxx story? Such a great run. |
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Post by tolworthy on Dec 23, 2014 4:54:22 GMT -5
I even remember scenes in various underwater Atlantis buildings that had stairs. Why in the world would people at the bottom of the ocean have stairs? They could just swim up or down to the next level. This is one area where the "denser muscle" thing would actually make sense. The OHOTMU used to say that a hero was stronger because their flesh was more dense. But that would just make them heavier. Which would be useful for an Atlantean, otherwise they'd just float to the surface. So I'm guessing that Atlanteans they have to walk for the same reason we do - being so heavy, it takes less energy than swimming/flying. I'm guessing that on the surface world the average Atlantean would leave craters in the sidewalk. Or... would suffer the same fate as Captain Omen's crew.  (EDIT: I agree with the hulk fans who say the Omen story is a candidate for best Hulk story ever. I loved those Englehart/Trimpe Hulk stories. That one was republished in big hardcover British annual with thick paper... just superb.) |
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Post by tolworthy on Dec 21, 2014 15:02:49 GMT -5
Even the tiniest details bother me. So I gain pleasure from finding explanations. Now obviously they are still fiction: as far as I know Skrulls do not exist. But fiction can be internally consistent, and serves a useful purpose for exploring real world ideas, so harmony is maintained.
The down side of this (if it is a down side) is that finding explanations takes ages. For example, on my web site i have a rather long page covering the major objections to Fantastic Four issue 1, and I have barely scratched the surface. The only way I can have any hope of making sense of the comics is to restrict myself to a fixed number of issues of a single title.
To that extent I suppose I must agree with Slam Bradley: the only way to read superhero comics in any quantity is to accept the silliness.
Real life is like that. To understand life in a non-silly way you need to analyse it scientifically, and that means focusing on some tiny area. But life as a whole is so complex, so impossible to embrace all its details, thet the only way to do so is to say "life is crazy!"
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Post by tolworthy on Dec 16, 2014 22:32:37 GMT -5
I have a lot of sympathy for that approach. My own cut-off point is 330 (it used to be 321). I really want to believe in continuity between writers if at all possible. Even if it takes some mental gymnastics. The idea of an epic story created by hundreds of minds over many decades really appeals to me. But yeah, getting past Kirby is quite a drop. What they did to Crystal is probably the single worst thing in comics for me. I don't know if you've read much of Grant Morrison, but, from what I understand, this is very similar to his approach to continuity. I think I've seen interviews where he talks about Batman along these lines, for example - taking every single Batman story ever written by anyone as a different take on the character or even a different era of the same character's life. I think it works better for a popular character like Batman because, though all those various versions can differ from one another quite drastically, I don't think writers feel they're free to take the same kind of liberties some of them do with less popular characters such as Crystal. I agree. The "different takes" approach is the mainstream one I think. As you say, it works best for iconic characters like Batman and Superman and the Hulk: they each represent a strong concept that doesn't have to change. They work for short stories. But I think other characters (like the FF) work better as soap operas and friends: so how they evolve over the years really matters. |
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Post by tolworthy on Dec 16, 2014 15:43:59 GMT -5
I always enjoy reading Tolworthy's theories but can't go along with this one since I don't think of the post-Kirby Crystal as the same character. I have a lot of sympathy for that approach. My own cut-off point is 330 (it used to be 321). I really want to believe in continuity between writers if at all possible. Even if it takes some mental gymnastics. The idea of an epic story created by hundreds of minds over many decades really appeals to me. But yeah, getting past Kirby is quite a drop. What they did to Crystal is probably the single worst thing in comics for me. |
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Post by tolworthy on Dec 15, 2014 23:19:49 GMT -5
Why I love comics: efficient story telling.
Art and pictures can get more stuff into your mind more quickly than text alone or pictures alone. And unlike movies you choose your pace and how much to see.
Comics are just the most efficient medium in the world. It breaks my heart to see them try to copy movies. Decompression plus glossy paper and small print runs are economic suicide: it's killing comics. If you want a movie, watch a movie. Comics can be so much more, but nobody sees their potential.
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Post by tolworthy on Dec 15, 2014 23:10:18 GMT -5
Inhumans - Crystal
 Mate the Medusa picture was sweet, most of his women folks are gorgeous, but that Crystal(normally one of the sexiest women in comics for mine) looks rather creepy, those eyes are disturbing. I like to read a lot into Kirby's "bad" art. In this case, Crystal is adorable (I still have a crush on her) but she is also Inhuman: like a cat, she is cuter and beautiful and delightful but there is a hint of psychopathy. And I adore cats. There is a theory (not by me, but I like it) that Crystal's role is to spread the genes of the Inhumans. The Inhumans are obsessed with genetics, but are extremely insular, which in a small race means inbreeding. So every few centuries an outlier appears who has an urgent need to leave the Inhumans and find an alpha male to improve the gene pool. it explains a lot of Crystal's behaviour. Occasionally you see a hint of something creepy and disturbing, and that's good. Another example is Doom's face on Kirby's last Marvel cover(?), FF200. At first it seems like Doom isn't threatening, like he's distracted and just going through the motions. But look closer into the story and Doom's history at that point and it all makes sense: Doom is having self doubts but cannot admit it to himself. He can see a wider context that Reed at this point cannot. That vacant look becomes very poignant.  EDIT: I also see this picture as reflecting Kirby's own disillusionment with Marvel: didn't he then leave comics, the thing he loved, and do cartoon storyboards instead? Isn't this around the time when he was saying that comics break your heart? |
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Post by tolworthy on Dec 3, 2014 14:23:43 GMT -5
The problem with marrying long-standing characters off is that it messes with the integrity of those characters. ... Imagine Bruce Wayne settling down (mentioning Robin is a stretch, and anyway he was part of the lifestyle, Bruce didn't have to be home by 8pm to tuck him into bed.) Sorry for jumping in here, but I think I agree with both sides. Yes, change is good. But after years of reading superhero comics I think modern superhero writers don't know to do it. They seem woefully unable to write good stories with married couples, children, older people, change, basically anything that isn't the same narrow range of twenty something singletons. It's a funny thing: other art forms have no problems with these things. The ancient gods and heroes were often married, Harry Potter was a kid, heck in the early days of Marvel even, change was possible: Reed and Sue got married, Nick Fury retired and got another job, and so on. But today's writers? I think they must lead boring lives and not read many real books. Outside of superheroes they cannot imagine anything beyond nine to five then retiring. I think their marriages must be extremely dull, as they cannot conceive of marriage as anything other than bland contentment. Modern superhero writers in the main grew up on superhero comics and seem to have very limited imaginations, and I think we have to accept that. Sorry if this sounds condescending. |
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