Classic Anime

While I haven't been getting much anime in recent years, I collected a great deal in years past. Now, it's mostly grabbing selected things that really jump out at me, like the Crest/Banner of the Stars series.

Some of my tastes run towards the rather odd, and I'll admit it. For example, I'm fond of Harmegeddon and Toward the Terra.

One that I really like is Goshogun: The Time Etranger, which has been re-released under the name of Time Stranger on DVD.

What's it all about? Fate and Death.

Yep, that's what I said... Fate and death. It is not a "light" anime by any stretch of the imagination, but it's interesting, and it makes you think. The anime is an interleaving of three entirely different time periods within the life of the heroine, Remy Shimada. They've arrived on a planet where people get visions telling them that they will die. Can she and her friends save their life? Can fate be defeated?

I suggest you get it, it's worth it.

Greatest Evil Plots

All right, the world of comics is littered with evil plots and plans. Generally, they don't work, because one hero or another manages to stumble over them. Still, sometimes you have to admire them for their sheer cunning.

So, what are the greatest evil plots of all time? I'm sure that I'll miss some, but at least, over the next week or two, we'll get to see some of the classics.

For the first of them, a nice "simple" plan. Nothing fancy. Lure Storm of the X-Men out where the White Queen can "body switch" with her. Have Emma waltz into the X-Mansion, and invite in the rest of the Hellfire Club.

Sometimes, simplicity is the best. Sure, you can always add layer upon layer of complication, but the more things you try to do, the more things that can go wrong.

Of course, the real problem with the plan is that they weren't ruthless enough with it. Foolish villains left Kitty and Storm alive... and well




It was a good plan while it lasted.

(Uncanny X-Men 151-52)

Authors are "running out of ideas"

You know, thinking about the "fall of Honor Harrington" as I said in my last post, I'm reminded of the fact that so many of my favorite authors have begun to "lose it."

Tom Clancy: Done lost it.

L.E. Modesitt... getting into a severe repetitive rut.

David Eddings... fading fast

Raymond Feist: On life support

David Weber: midair over a shark.


This does seem to point out the fact that what's even harder than writing interesting books, is to keep drawing stuff from the well that's fresh and interesting.

Take Modesitt... still the author I look forward to the most. The sad part is that he's so deep in a rut. You see it in all of his Spellsong books, all the Corean, and most of the Recluse books. The hero learns who he is, and what his powers are. Fights a desparate battle against forces that badly outnumbers him/her... usually at a nasty cost, both in friends dead, but also in terms of what it does to their body (blindness, et al). They keep getting asked to do more and more, and eventually manage to win out at the end.

You know, my favorite "bit" of Modesitt is still the way that Lerris "discovers himself", not in using his powers, but in becoming a woodworker. That's something you just don't see any more.

It makes it all the more impressive when you consider authors who have a long series of books that haven't "fallen apart".... too bad it's hard to name many.

The Shark's been jumped

All right, going off of comics for a bit, into books.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Honor Harrington has jumped the shark. She's been threatening to do it for a couple of books, but it's official now.

I just got done reading the latest volume, and I have opinions!


(spoiler zone)













(spoiler zone)

Aaaanyway.

I'm not sure which bugged me more... the lost opportunities, the "bigger is better", or the "personal" stuff.

Actually, yes I am. The personal stuff, so I'll get to that last.


Let's start with the first.

I enjoyed War of Honor more than most people I talked to. Yeah, the politics got a bit overwhelming on occasion, but I still thought the book was quite good. However, my main "beef" with that book was that it was taking us back "over old terrain." This latest book is just more of that. We've had book after book after book of Mantis vs Haven. It's time to move up, and move on. Now, this time, there big difference was that the Havenites were actually competant. That said, all we really see is just "more of the same," from what we've been seeing. Yeah, Mesa and Manpower are lurking around, but they are still in the background. Yeah, they're set up to be major protaginists in the next book(s), but it's really time to not just set that theme up, but to run with it.

Also, how do you kill off the character who can easily be called the major villain of the last 2 books in a drunk driving accident? That was totally random. Yeah, he used it to show the idiocy of this war... but it still left me flat.

There were so many things that could have been done in this book, but it was just "MOTS" (more of the same). Not to mention, Weber ran the "Sidemore special" into the ground. (BTW, he copied that one from Isaac Asimov in Foundation.)




2) Bigger is Better.

This was getting silly by Ashes of Victory, and this book just took it yet further. Manties keep deploying bigger/better/smarter systems. Deus ex machina abounds.

Even worse, he decided to do the "big battle". Bleh.


3) The Personal Stuff.

You know, in teaching Bible Class, when people goggle slightly about the way that the Old Testament allowed polygamy, I always make a point. Look at the examples we are given. Rachel and Leah, David's wives, Solomon's wives, even Samuel's parents. These things never end well. You always get some pretty nasty emotional cross currents going. Whether it is "dueling utereses", or "I wanna rape my step-sister," these things always end up being first tier disasters.

So, now we get the institution of Grayson marriage, and the only examples we see (Benjaman's family, and now Honor's), and well... they are nice, and sweet and blissful.

Bleh.

I've been hoping that Hamish Alexander would "pull a Tankersley" for 3 books now. So much for that fond thought.

I'll get the next book, and I truly enjoy the two side series (Saganami and Crown of Slaves), but at this point, Honor Harrington has moved way down on my list of "must reads."

Hope the shark's teeth aren't sharp Mr. Weber.

Final thoughts... War Games

Got my War Games pt 3 Trade paperback in the mail, and finally figured out what exactly has me bothered by the book.

It's not simply the "cranky, loner Batman" effect, which has been getting depressingly regular of late. It's not even the fact that it was over written, over complicated, and confusing.

The entire story gives me the impression that it was written to achieve a goal, rather then letting the story dictate the effects.

Does that make sense? It just gives me the impression that one day, the DC types (not sure who cooked up the idea) said, "We need to come up with a way to make Batman more of a loner, with the Police against him, and the Gotham gangs united."

It wasn't... "hey, how about we play around with Spoiler accidently setting off a major gang war," it was "how do we get this result?"

At least to my mind, that ends up with a more artificial sort of story. Now, many stories are written at least with the conclusion in mind. I'm sure JK Rowling has a really good idea how Book 7 will end.

Yet, in many ways, War Games was not a story that was written for a conclusion, but instead one that was built to set up "more to come." Now, by their nature, comics will rarely come to a true conclusion. You can't have a "happily ever after" ending, and then say "come back next issue" very easily. However, this story seemed to be a bit too extreme.

Thoughts on Infinite Crisis #1 (rambling)

All righty, lots of thoughts about IC #1. Up to this point, I'm not sure what to do with the story. Mostly, it's just a matter that there are lots of things in there, and it's really going to depend on how they play them through in the following issues. I don't think it was a brilliant start, (not nearly as strong as Identity Crisis #1 IMNVHO), but it leaves room for alot of interesting stuff.

However, what intrests me about the story is that it's playing around in some territory that comic books have long "winked" at, though the last few years, as comics have gotten "grittier", we've seen more of it.

The very nature of comic books creates one of the largest "problems" or weaknesses. Of course, the problem is created out of one of comic's greatest strengths (isn't that the way that it always goes?) The problem really comes out of the nature of the conflicts in the books. Superhero comics, are, by definition, about heros and villains. As such, good villains are vital for a book, and can make or break a given issue. That pretty much calls for having villains return again and again. You could have an unending series of baddies who die at the end of their arcs (excuse me, did I just hear Frank Castle's nurse call for another drool rag?), but you really lose a lot by doing that.

However, recurring villains create their own problems. While the great villains, like Dr Doom, Magneto, Lex Luthor or the Joker have stood the test of time, it raises the inevitable question of how they keep coming back. There are several different ways to handle it.

1) Even when beaten, the baddie always manages to escape... (Dr. Doom has a degree in this one)

2) The threat is not an individual, but a group. Take the Skrull. Sure, you can beat a Skrull squad, but that doesn't mean that another squad can't show up in 15 issues.

3) The threat is too big to be stopped, but only pushed aside for the time being. Galactus is an example of this... though his first story really should have kept him away for good.

There are others as well. However, the "breakdown" in the DCU of late is in many ways based upon one of the other possibilities. For all intents and purposes, the legal system in the DCU is absolutely worthless. The Prisons can't keep villains in, and they don't rehabilitate them either. So, after 15-20 issues, the baddie is back at his old tricks. Likewise with Arkham. Has anyone ever been cured there? So, when the heros do the "heroic" thing, and turn baddies over to the authorities for justice, everyone knows it is absolutely worthless. Soon enough, they'll be back on the street.

That's the tension they are using in the DCU to set up IC. Wonder Woman knows that there's no place to put Max Lord where he won't b able to take control of Superman again, so she decides to kill him. Dick Grayson has been a headcase ever since Blockbuster died. People always wonder when Batman (or someone else) will jsut flat out kill the Joker and end his rampages.

There's a huge amount of storytelling meat in there. On the other hand, it is a bit risky, since it's nibbling at one of the primary areas of Willful Suspension of Disbelief that's required to read those kinds of stories. Time will tell how they pull that out.

Of course, it is also opening up the larger ethical questions. "Would it be right for Batman to execute the Joker?" Now, Bats won't, just because of his nature, but the argument is out there now. If Diana is justified killing Max, then surely Bruce can kill the Joker. Those are some heavy questions, and things that are going to be sitting in the foreground of IC.

Combine that with Black Adam's coup, and it's easy to see how the Supers in the DCU are putting themselves into a very "Days of Future Past" situation. I didn't get OMAC (I'll get the Trade), but from what I saw of the crossovers, it's drawing from the same well as the Sentinals, and Max isn't all that different from Senator Kelly.

Oh, my vote for the Baddie in IC?

Earth 2 Superman. I just have a gut feeling that he's going to try to restore order the hard way, and go over the top. Though, it's possible that Alex Luthor will be pulling the strings on him.

Comic Day

At last my books came, and I can say some somewhat intellegent things.

The biggie of course is IC #1... but I'll leave that for a post unto itself.

THE GOOD: Probably the highlight of my order was Batgirl, with Green Lantern Corps:Recharge a close second. This isn't to say that it was my best month... it really wasn't that great. A fair number of average books, and a few rather weak ones. I really liked seeing Nora come out of the Lazarus Pit... I'm not a big fan of Victor, but this has the chance to make him somewhat interesting.

The Bad: Well, aside from the art in BoP 86 (the Black Canary substory especially), probably the worst was Robin. The "shadow government orginization" thing is overused, and frankly, Tim's a rather poor fit with this batch of guys. Then, they go to all the trouble of setting up Johnny Warlock as a serious villain for Robin, and suddenly... *poof*. I imagine he'll get out of the shadow dimension, but really, that was a pretty weak victory. Darla may end up being interesting... Might be worth writing a story with her and Raven.

The Ugly: The Return of Donna Troy. The entire series was just pretty chaotic, and didn't grab my interest at all. I have to admit, that the "resolution" to her backstory was fairly clever. However, everything else in that story was just plain... eh.


Other thoughts. Villains United had been my favorite book of the "prequal series," but the ending left me a bit flat. Double-Lex just doesn't grab me for Mockingbird. Vandal Savage would have been more interesting. For that matter, any of the "core" members of the Society, using the Six as a counterbalance to Lex would have been good. Of course, all of this is building towards IC, so there will probably be some point to it. On the other hand, Day of Vengance ended pretty well for me. I'd be willing to buy a continuing series with this group. I'm a bit unclear how Capt. Marvel can still exist with Shazam killed and the Rock gone... but maybe they'll explain that in time.

Making changes

"Change in comics" is (as usual actually) a hot topic of the moment. We have the drastic changes in the DCU that are all tied up in the current Infinite Crisis, then on the other hand, I had the opportunity to read Avengers Disassembled. That's the only Avengers I've read since my last major collecting period. In fact, near as I can recall, the last major Avenger's storyline I read was Sersi's insanity. That dates it a bit.

Of course, AD was a pretty deep "earthquake" of Avengers continuity. Also, it is needless to say, that it's been an extremely controversial book. All of this raises the question, just how much should creators be "allowed" to make changes in books? Whether you are talking about Barbara Gordon (hopefully, I'll have my copy of BoP #87 on Monday), the changes to Wonder Woman, or the changes to the Avengers, the changes have been more than a bit controversial.

In a very real way, change is absolutely necessary. Fiction and storytelling (at least interesting storytelling) are all about the changes in characters. Frodo Baggins is not the same in "The Scouring of the Shire" as he was ithe day of the Party. Likewise, Garion the kitchen boy is far from being the same person as Belgarion, Overlord of the West.

Comic Books should be the same way. The development of the books should also develop the characters. The constant grind should wear on Batman a bit, especially when the Joker is on another of his murderous rampages.

However, those changes should be reasonably organic. Generally, the seeds of what a person will become are found in what they were already like. The essential courage of Frodo can be seen all the way back to Weathertop (or earlier). So, while you can make changes to characters and books, they really need to grow out of who that character has been protrayed as. Superman suddenly growing grim and "batmanish" would be a violence against what the character has been.

The real problem that comics have is that their characters ultimately go through far more than the characters in most novels. Even if you look at characters in continuing novel series (say Honor Harrington) their overall personal arc tends to be shorter. That is what makes comics difficult. If you change characters too quickly, they become unrecognizable too quickly.

So, what of the current changes? I can't say much about Avengers. I've not read enough of the book recently to see if the changes are organic or not. However, I would hope that Wanda's breakdown was foreshadowed. If not, that would be bad storytelling.

Wonder Woman makes good sense to me. I'm not familiar with 1938 style Wonder Woman, but the way she's drawn now, her choice to execute Maxwell Lord is organic to the character.

Barbara on the other hand is a different case. Here, we are not talking about a change in who she is, but a change in her circumstances. It is that change that will shape her future change, so this bears watching.

I don't mind changes, but they do need to be done with respect to what has gone before.

More Downsides

Yeah, I'm still alive, just have been out of town again. Not like anyone noticed.

Since I don't have any brilliant ideas, and won't have my next shipment of books for a few days, I can't say anything new or interesting, so back to beating my dead horse again.

The Downsides of living in the DC Universe

1. That annoying question in your Atmospheric Science class where you are to calculate the amount of kryptonite that "evaporated" into the air upon reentry, and what the total background K-rad is at any given time.

2. The great taste of Booster Gold's Special High Fiber Cereal

3. Trying to figure out why anyone would want to deface Wonder Woman's book by taking Occam's Razor to it.

4. Finding out that your financial advisor sold all your Waynetech stock and put it into Kord Industries.

5. Endless debates on alt.fan.reporterbabes: Lois or Linda?

Whither Heros

A discussion on a friends LJ has gotten me to thinking about something, a bit different than his discussion, so I'll move it over here.

What do heros believe in? What is their vision? Why are they in the hero biz?

Naturally, considering the great number of books that are out there, there's lots of room for individual variations. However, what got me thinking in this direction was the question of "the passion of superheros". How many "modern" heros are really passionate in what they do, and in what they believe in? Yes, many of them are, but it's still interesting to look at the way it plays out.

You have heros like Captain Marvel or Superman who are almost considered "relics", that the things they stand for and are passionate about are "bygones of a lost age." Then, you have Batman, who may be the most passionate person all of comics in what he does. On the other hand, he's also growing darker by the issue, and growing more and more out of control in many ways.

That still leaves many heros, especially the more recent ones that you have to ask "what are they there for?"

Now that I think about it, that strikes me as one of the flaws in Outsiders. What are they really in it for? You have Nightwing who is in the middle of a crisis of faith. I'm not a big Arsenal fan, but I honestly can't figure what he's in it for other than "babe access." Annissa has sort of said she wants to help people in her arguments with her dad. On the other hand, Grace and Shift? No real clue with either. There's no passion in what they are doing, and that's why the book fails in my eyes. The only character to this point who really seemed passionate about what they were doing were Psimon and Dr. Sivania.

Part of being a hero is a belief in something. A belief in a better world, or a belief in helping people now. That needs to be expressed more strongly. Otherwise, you just have a bunch of adrenlin junkies or ill tempered revenge seekers.

Gimme the small stuff

One problem that I think the common style of telling stories in comic books has is "cosmic overload." In other words, it's the simple overload of stories that have absolutely immense stakes. If the hero loses, the earth will be either destroyed, or at least conquered by the resident baddie. (Think another visit by Galactus)

Yet, story after story like that, and yet the world remains, it's still free, and even the USA is free (or as free as it ever is, but lets not get political). It pretty much has to be that way. No matter what else may happen, we know that the good guys are going to win. After all, could you imagine that the chaos if the latest "conquer the world" plot in Outsiders were actually to play through? (Think when they had to stop a demon horde from entering the world). You know they are going to win out in the end. Those sorts of stories just end up being... ho hum.

On the other hand, if the villians have smaller goals, the writers can afford to let them "win," now and then. For instance, take the good ol bank robbery. Can you have a story where the baddies hit a bank, and then manage to ditch Spiderman, and keep their loot? Sure. You figure you'll end up seeing them again, and Spidy will haul em in, but because there is a real chance of their scheme working, there's actual tension in the story.

Of course, the flip side of that is that with the real over-powered heros (Superman, Wonder Woman, Iron Man or the like), they really need big time threats to go up against. Can you write a decent story with non-metahuman bank robbers in Batman? No problem. They can even be total ciphers. Utterly "normal" villians, not a wierd color or the like in sight.

Now try doing the same thing with the Flash? Hm, gets a whole lot harder fast, doesn't it? There are super-powered characters I like (Capt. Marvel for instance), but as a rule, I prefer the unpowered, or the "medium" powered heros, just because there's more room to give them stories with real tension.

What role villains?

As you probably noticed, I have some fairly strong feelings about villains. I started this whole thing off with my listing of ten painful villains, and it's been a recurring theme since then.

That said, I'm not really "about" villains. Not at all, I'm all about the heros. You'll never find a poster of Darth Vader, or Magneto, or the Joker around my house. They just don't interest me in that way. A good villain provides a chance for the hero's to show their mettle. Not only in terms of their combat skills, but also in showing what makes them a hero. A good villain is there to create interesting conflict.

That's probably one of the reasons I prefer to see my villains as being recognizably evil. I'm not saying that every one of them has to be some Joker clone, where his madness is obvious to all. Not in the least. I am saying though that it should be clear that a villain really is "the bad guy (or girl)." I don't want the books to sit there and try to make them sympathetic, or that we say "it's not really their fault." Nope, they're evil. Even if they are trying to do "good", they're evil (see Ozymandias).

This is one of the reasons that Toon Terra bugs me, as I mentioned. In the Judas Contract, Terra was your proverbial "bad seed." No explanation what made her such a head case, or why she hated the Titans so badly. Sure she said a few things, but they didn't really answer the question. That worked. Sure, you'll find some more complex, even conflicted villains, but every now and then, it's nice to have a straightforward "bad seed,"

Now, we get to Toon Terra, and they went entirely the other direction. She was entirely conflicted. She was manipulated, yet she knew what she was doing, and did it willingly (for the most part.) Yet, in the end, she "redeemed" herself. An entirely different sort of villain, and one that is, to me at least, less satisfying. I know, the "real" villain in that story is Slade, but it just never quite connected to me as well.

Now, there are two types of villains I truly like to see in a bit "more depth," and those are the villains on the "way up," and those on the "way down." Comics are full of heros who got their start as villains. I'm not going to say Hawkeye was the first, but he's an obvious example.

I'm sure that there are some examples of the opposite as well, heros who have gone bad, bad, bad. Other than Ozymandias, I can't think of any offhand. That's something I'd like to see more of. Especially heros who are fairly "long term." I mean, a hero who shows up, and then five issues later starts to "fall"," is one thing. I'd like to see a hero (even if not a huge name), who has a fairly long history go "down the tubes," some time. Now that'll create conflict for our heros.

My kinda villain

Yesterday, while I was eating lunch, I happened to turn my TV over to a Sci-Fi network rerun of the original Battlestar Galactica. In the episode I was watching, John Colicos (Baltar) was being his usual smug, evil self, and that got me reflecting on something.

I've not been watching the "new" BSG. I watched the miniseries when it came out, and found myself sadly disappointed. Part of it was my "purist" point of view. However, honestly, I can deal with Lady-Starbuck, humanoid Cylons, and even Cylon-Boomer-Asian-female.

Wierd, but all right, I can buy it.

What couldn't I get past? Baltar.

Perhaps he's been changed in the ongoing series, but I found him enormously disappointing.
"So, Baltar, why exactly did you betray humanity?"
"Well, actually, I didn't think I was betraying humanity. Anyway, she was a REALLY good lay."

Yay.

I know that there will always be fools and patsies about. Villainy requires that there be those sorts around. However, in the original, Baltar was both at the same time. Yes, he was a fool and a patsy, but he was also a villain in his own right. He knew exactly what he was doing, and was trying to reach his own goals. Sure, he was outmanuvered by the Cylons, but that's his bad luck (or idiocy showing through.) That's what a villain should be, one who has his own goals and is trying to follow through on them. He may not think of himself in the terms of being a villain, but he is, pure and simple.

In alot of ways, the "old" Baltar was much like the Enron folks. Willing to destroy countless lives for their own gain and purposes. Yeah, Baltar was willing to go the extra mile to genocide, but the overall mindset was the same. A supremely self-centered desire to gratify ones self, willing to run over anyone or anything in your path.

Isn't that better than a goofball who gets caught thinking with his hormones? To me it sure is.

I have much the same problem with Toon Terra from the Titans as opposed to the one from the Judas Contract. If I'd never read the Judas Contract, I would like Toon Terra alot more. As it stands, it's always a touch grating.

Perhaps some day I'll get the new BSG DVDs. I probably will. Still, unless they've improved greatly over the miniseries, I'll always be a touch disappointed over Baltar the hormonal weeine.

The Confessional

As a preacher, I'm encouraging people to confess, so I may as well admit it


I'm looking forward to Infinite Crisis

There, I said it.

I'm not sure why, I've been burnted again and again on these crossovers. The only crossover I can recall that I really liked was the Mutant Massacre storyline across the X-books (and a few others). I round Crisis on Infinite Earths interesting a few weeks ago in terms of understanding how the DCU got to that position, but I'm not really *that* enthused by it. I found Inferno, Onslaught, Age of Apoclypse, Zero Hour and the like to be painfully bad.

Yet, there is something in all the setup that's going on that has my attention. I'm not sure if it's the appearance of the Psycho Pirate, or the return of something resembling the pre-Crisis Supergirl, or what. I just have a feeling that something actually interesting is going to come out of this.

I may end up being disappointed in the long run, but I can hardly wait for book #1.

In Defense of the Boy Scouts

A few months ago, Justice League Unlimited had an episode that featured Captain Marvel, and at the time I found the episode both enjoyable, yet a bit frustrating.

On the one hand, Billy's nobility came out well, especially in his ending speech, where he left the League because he couldn't agree with their tactics. On the other hand, he was played as something of a naive fool in the course of the episode. Of course, there was a much worse example of that in Kingdom Come where he's entirely buffaloed by Lex Luthor, until that one last "redeeming" moment. Aside from the small question of "um, what about Solomon's wisdom..." in both of those circumstances, it bothred me because there seems to be less and less respect for "the boy scouts."


Now, while things are not as bad as they were a few years ago, where we were buried under Wolverine, Lobo, the Punisher and Venom, but it still bugs me. I'll admit, I also like some "harder edged" books, but even then, it's not so much a matter of wanting to see "grittier" heros, as seeing heros stuck in some pretty nasty circumstances.

The essential optimism and decency of the "boy scout" characters is something that really appeals to me. It points us to the hope for a better world. I recognize that not everyone likes them, but I do grow tired of having those characters pushed further and further to the edge, and becoming the butt of jokes. I'll admit, I'm not a gigantic Superman fan, but that's not because of the his being "the big blue boy scout," but because he's just too powerful. It makes it hard to consistantly write good stories for him. I've liked some, been less fond of others.

Anyway, give me Billy Batson over Frank Castle every day of the week.

Book Recomendation

Among other things, I'm also a fan of Fantasy Novels, and if you haven't read it, I'd highly suggest the Crown of Stars series by Kate Eliot.

What's fascinating is the world she's set up. In alot of ways, it's an inversion of the actual Middle Ages. She has renamed the nations/religions and the like (and reimagined them. The "vikings" are now seafaring lizardmen). The "Daisanite" church is fairly close to the Roman Catholic Church in many ways. While the church is still very powerful and prevelant, it's also
1) Matriarchical
2) closer to gnostic than anything.

On the other hand, one of the ongoing subplots is the rise of a heresy which is more or less akin to orthodox Christianity.

It's a bit dense, difficult reading, but very, very rewarding. It takes three books to even begin to get a sense of what's "really" going on.


On comic notes... it's coming... you've all feared it. I'm not sure when, but the pieces are falling in place. I shall prove to you all why I love Power Pack!

More downsides

Well, I'm back from vacation...

but, on the bad side, I'm too tired (drove 480 miles today) to make a coherent post... so y'all get "treated" to more downsides.

1. Being one piece short of the Booster Gold Gourmet Cooking set that the grocery store is offering. (You missed the Dutch Oven)

2. Being voted "Most likely to work for the Joker" in your highschool yearbook.

3. Your wierd neighbor who keeps putting a lead cowboy hat on your head, telling you that it will keep Superman from seeing your thoughts.

4. You're out walking and see home products Icon "Mr Clean" You no more than yell out his name and find a stiletto heeled foot heading right for your nose.

5. Having the regular meeting of your local chess association (the Checkmate Club), invaded by seventeen low rent superheros.

6. Watching with mounting horror as a news story records that thousands of teens are having major cosmetic surgery just to get the "Psimon look"

7. Endless debates on alt.fan.psycobabes "Harley Quinn or Shimmer"

RIP Power Girl (I think)

Still on vacation, and not much time to post, but thought I'd throw a short one out, so people knew I still live.

I picked up Crisis on Infinite Earths (finally), and while it strikes me as another fairly standard overblown crossover (ok, the first one), there are some interesting things in there.

However, I'm not in the least bit changed in my thought that Power Girl isn't gonna make out out of Infinite Crisis.

1. Parallel to Supergirl in CoIE
2. Her recent line (forget where, and don't have books here), that it was unfair for Sue Dibney to die, since she had so much to live for... the person who died should have had nothing to live for (no family, et al)
3. The recent appearance of the Psycho Pirate in her book.
4. Pure, unadulterated gut feeling.

My only concern with this theory is that.. it's too obvious.

Still more downsides

Going out of town in the morning, so you probably won't hear for me too often for the next 10 days. May have some connect.

So, still more downsides of living in the DC Universe


1. Finding out that Booster Gold has bought out Ron Popeil.

2. Your girlfriend asking you, "Do you think Wonder Woman is pretty?"

3. The irrational fear that one mistake in chem lab will leave you with three arms.

4. Finding out that the wierd kid you used to pick on made that very mistake in chem class.

5. Your best friend dragging you to the Gar Logan all night movie marathon.

6. Wondering when your home town in California will be next to go... (Coast City... Sub Diego...)

7. Endless debates on alt.fan.goldenbabes "Liberty Belle or Phantom Lady?"

JLU Returns

Have to say, I was pretty pleased with JLU tonight

The first episode was on the whole pretty good. Was great to see the old HQ in the swamps again. Still, it won't feel right until Lex is calling the shots, not Grodd. The only real dissonent note was the stuff with Brainaic. I'd be just as happy if they dropped that.

The second episode? I'll admit it, I should have seen that one coming. I saw the episode descrip that said Shayera would meet an archeologist. How could I forget... Carter Hall was an archeologist. Sheesh. I honestly thought that the big movie with the Thanagarian invasion had pretty much written canon Hawkman out of the picture entirely.

Both eps are better for promise of what is to come, more than what they had themselves.

Comics Day!

Well, my monthly comics shipment showed up today. (The joys of living 150 miles from the nearest direct market store).

Overall, I find myself a tad... disappointed. Nothing really grabbed me as brilliant, and a few real stinkers.

The Good

JSA Classified 2
All right, this book doesn't get a total pass on my part. I find the artwork a bit distracting. For instance, Mr Terrific has a facial expression in one panel that would be more fitting for Spicolli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Much the same happens to Superman during the discussion at the end.)

That said, the story itself was quite interesting, and while I'm not hugely familiar with the Psycho Pirate, his presence does begin to make sense of all the wierdnesses that have been happening in Power Girl's life. However, it doesn't shake me from my conviction that Power Girl isn't getting out of Crisis alive.

Day of Vengance 5
I'd have liked to see a bit more Dectivtive Chimp, but overall, I liked the story, and they managed to make Black Alice's powers make sense. What's been best in this title has been the character interaction, and that's a bit weaker this time around. Still, a solid entry, and one that sets up the big finale fairly well.

Villains United 5
Well, just when you think this group is actually getting their act together, it falls to pieces. Nice plotting here. I'm not a big villain fan, so I'm not filled with sympathy for them, but it's been an enjoyable read. A touch surprised to see Captain Nazi back. I thought they'd blinded him good. My vote for Mockingbird... Vandal Savage.

Outsiders 28
I'm a sucker for these introspective books. If anything, the "old Outsiders" arc from 26-27 got in the way of this very necessary issue. The team took a gut shot,and they need to react and deal with it. Now, while I love Capt. Marvel and Mary Marvel, Freddie just plain gets on my nerves. Thus, I'm less impressed with the promise of him joining the team. Oh well.

The Bad

JSA 77

Yuck. Normally I like JSA, and I didn't have any real problem with the way OMAC popped up in the last book. However, this mess just derailed everything of any interest. Goodie, a character I could care less about is going nuts, so they have to drag in Hal. The book is more about Hal and Airwave than Alan, and Alan is the only real JSAer in the group. Yay. Let's put it this way, the highlight of the book was Dr. Fate and Fury.

The Ugly

Teen Titans 27

Okay, I remember back in the days where Liefield was one of the names that was supposed to propel Image to the top level. Trying to read this book, all I can wonder is why anyone ever thought he was that hot. I didn't like his artwork in the old New Mutants/X-Force run, and honestly if I were to dig up my trade book with the story where Cable joins the New Mutants, I'd see his art hasn't progressed at all. Indeed, there were some scenes and poses that strick me as exactly the sorts of things I'd seen back then. I kept expecting Shatterstar to show up, and that's not a good thing. The story was somewhat interesting, but not up the standards Gail has in BoP or VU.


I got a few other books, and I may comment on them in the next few days. (Robin is one that gives me very mixed feelings. It was enjoyable, but it also twigged my "stupid plot point" alert. Not to mention, this entire thing with the Veteran bugs me.)

Otherwise, I'll be out of town for about a week and a half, so I probably won't post much (will have some access).

Opportunity Lost

Moving away from the narrow realm of comic books for a moment, into the newspaper comic strips.

I'm not sure if you read For Better or For Worse or not, but in one of the recent storylines, Liz (the middle daughter of the family) was attacked at work. In many ways, I see it as being an opportunity lost.

I'm not one of those people who says that Johnston shouldn't have written the issue of attempted rape. (Note, they keep using the term "sexual harrasment", but the way the comic shows it, attempted rape fits far better.) However, I just don't think it was smoothly handled. In particular, in two ways.

To give you an idea what happened (it all plays together). One of Liz's co-workers was starting to show some very strong stalking behavior, and eventually, at work, he attacked her. (See the Aug 10-11 strips )

She's rescued by an old flame whose marriage is on the rocks. He then chooses that moment to try to rekindle things with Liz.

From a storytelling point of view, I have two major problems.

1) The Anthony angle really intrudes on what is going on. It removes the focus from the attack and sends it in another direction. It could have worked, but it would have been tricky. If Johnston was creating a situation where Liz was being shown two very unhealthy relationship "styles" (for lack of a better way of saying it), it could have worked, but is rather iffy. Add to that, Liz has a history of bad relationships (at least one doozy).

2) The whole attempted rape thing largely has been dropped. They may come back to it, but aside from one little "side point" where Liz said she'd talked to the cops, we haven't seen any of the consequences play out. Now, in the "letters" on the FBOFW website, we find out that Liz has also seen a counselor, and that the attacker is looking at serious jail time. That's great. That's what I want to see, but those things should be in the strip, not somewhere that maybe 5% of readers will see it.

I don't have a problem with doing the storyline. Stories like this can bring light onto important issues that aren't addressed often enough. My complaint is that it hasn't been followed up on. Show Liz talking to the cops, the counselors, all of those things. Don't just create a situation and then drop it.

As I said, maybe it will come back later in the story, but even so, too much momemtum has been lost.

Review: Superman Red Son

Picked up this TPB the other day at a store, and had the chance to read it yesterday.

Interesting, and an interesting look at the use of A/U or "elseworlds" sorts of books.

For those who haven't read the book, the premise is that Superman landed in the Ukraine, instead of Kansas. He's raised as a good socialist (and stands for all that is truly good in socialism), and how the world would be different from that point.

The story is interesting, and a strongly concieved A/U. The writer absolutely did homework,and thought things through beforehand.

Probably the single biggest flaw was the usage of Jimmy Olson. I can see trying to work all the primary supporting characters into the mix (and seeing Lana as a Ukranian peasant girl was interesting). However, this idea that Jimmy Olson suddenly becomes this high powered Secret Service agent/Presidential Advisor? I can see where you might argle the lack of Supes would lead Jimmy to move on from his photog job, but I think that's a bit much.

On the other hand, Lois works. Her relationship with Lex is canon, and seeing her move into the editors desk at the Planet works fine. No problems.

There is one really interesting question that comes out of the book, and I'll have to reread it. What is it that allows Superman to keep his perspective in "mainstream" canon, where he loses it in Red Son? Superman has managed to avoid the incredible paternalism that we see in the latter part of Red Son. Is it something with Ma and Pa Kent? Or has Lois kept him grounded to his humanity?

That is what a good A/U story should do, it should make you think about a character in ways that canon won't let you.

It isn't as good as Golden Age as elseworlds type tales go, but it is very good.

More Downsides

Too tired to make an intellegent post tonight (Sundays are incredibly long), so I'll force you to deal with more downsides. Let's pick on the Marvel Universe this time.


1. Buying stock in a tech company the day before Reed Richards liscences another amazing discovery that makes your companies product look like a horse n buggy.

2. Having to do list every member of the Avengers (active, reserve, retired and deceased), on a test.

3. The lines at the store for the Lockjaw plushie

4. The sad realization that J. Jonah Jameson is considered an icon of journalism.

5. Headaches induced by the psychotic camera angles that the Daily Bugle publishes of Spiderman.

6. Being picked on as a loser because you wore a Captain America T-shirt to school.

7. Endless debates on alt.fan.ffbabes "Susan or She-Hulk"


Yeah, I know, I need new ideas.

Comic Book Characters as athletes

Some time back The Comic Treadmill talked about an old DC comic book where the heros and villains of the DCU played a challenge baseball game.

In that spirit, what are some sports/positions that major comics characters would be ideal for? (Note, unlike the baseball game, assume that powers are legal.)


The Flash Ok, you could put this guy in any one of about 150,000 things. As they say, you can't coach speed. That said, football wide reciever it is.

Superman Again, you name it, he can do it. I'll make him my running back.

That means that we need a quarterback, and while they may not like playing with villains on their team, is there a better quarterback out there than Bullseye?

Aquaman Of course, he's the captain of the Water Polo team. Poor guy, no one ever watches Water Polo any more.

Cyclops the guy is all about angles... it's not a sport per se, but let him go hustle Jackie Gleason over a pool table.

Spiderman I wonder of being bitten by a radioactive spider would be enough to disqualify him from the Olympics in gymnastics?

We have to have some baseball players... so

Batting leadoff, in Center Field... Quicksilver not as fast as Wally... but fast enough.
Batting second, at Second Base... Nightwing fast, agile, great hand eye coordination. Bet he's good with glove and bat.
Batting Third, in Right Field... Wonder Woman that's a slot you want a good mix of power and average, and good bat control.
Batting fourth, at Third Base... Captain Marvel (DC) Power, speed, he has the complete package
Batting Fifth, in Left Field... Wolverine Every team needs a fireball, Lenny Dykstra type. Besides, no risk of his ever being on the Disabled ist
Batting Sixth, at Shortstop... Brianna Diggers of course, she may be a bit error prone.. but hey
Batting Seventh, at Catcher Solomon Grundy Ok, I don't much like Grundy, but no one is going to steamroll him at the plate.
Batting Eigth, at First Base Rhino ok, he won't hit for average, but great power.
Batting Ninth, Starting Pitcher... Mr. Terrific of course, he wouldn't be allowed to use a T-sphere as a ball.

Manager: The Taskmaster


Finally, one last one

Hockey Goalie... the Blob.

You try getting a puck past him.

Miranda Warnings- Gotham style

You have the right to remain silent (though you are already bound and gagged)

Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. (Of course, you'll probably be out within three issues anyway, so don't sweat it)

You have the right to be speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. (At least the questioning done by the cops... I rather doubt that your lawyer was around while you were hanging from your heel on a 33rd floor balcony)

If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense. (along with a chiropracter, massuese and crisis counselor, after you were hung from said balcony)

More Downsides

More Downsides of living in the DC Universe


1. Leading people to their seats at a Banquet dinner.
"Sir? You are the Flash. But that distinguished gentleman with the metal cap said he was the Flash."
"Sir, you are the fourth person claiming to be Green Lantern here today, and you're wearing red, not green."

2. Mongoose Rights activists wondering on public access cable why they don't have a superhero named after their favorite animal.

3. Wondering if that puzzlebox you just bought your kid will be a part of the Riddler's latest insidious scheme.

4. The lingering fear that the guy you honked at on the freeway during rush hour will show up at your house with a disintegration ray.

5. Seeing the certificate on your therapist's wall that shows he did an internship at Arkham.

6. Finding out that the "mineral spa" you built your house on is something called a "Lazarus Pit"

7. Endless debates on alt.fan.evilbabes "Knockout vs Blackfire"

random musings

Just sort of free associating here.

Does anyone remember Todd Marinovich? He was a football player for USC, and had a short pro career. What was notable about him was the way that his father tried to "program" him to become an NFL quarterback from his days in diapers. Almost every step, every meal was choreographed in an attempt to become a great football player. Well, he was a pretty good player in college, but a major bust in the pros, and if you follow football, you may know that his life has been pretty much a train wreck since then. There are other examples in sports of that. There are accusations that the father of the Williams sisters in Tennis, or Tiger Woods' dad did that as well (obviously with much more success, both in terms of their sports success, as well as not turning their kids into head cases).

That might make an interseting hook for a superhero book, or more than one of them. Now, there's been variations of that already. Azrael and the current Batgirl have elements of that in their backstory, but there are major differences in both. Now, it's possible that it's happened and I've missed it, but it would make for an amusing story.

It would work better if played with a slightly lighter touch. However, flashbacks of combat training, intensive strategic training, the whole works, with a more that slightly manic father in the background.

Hm... there may be something there... I'll have to think on this.

Power Mismatches in fights

Of course, last time around, I mentioned the problems when you have team ups that are just flat "mismatches." You can also have the same with mismatches between the hero and the villain.

It can work on occasion. James Meely over at the Comics Asylum highlighted a fight between Spiderman and Juggernaut some time back, and I'll agree, that fight worked. However, it does push the writers ability to do it.

One variation of this is when a villain is just entirely too weak to stand up to the hero. Now, there are ways to make this work. Even if a villain isn't able to outfight the hero, if he can outthink (or at least make it challenging) the hero, it can make for an interesting story.

An interesting variation of this was the appearance of the Joker in the Kingdom Come storyline. Now, matching Supes up against the Joker isn't something you want to do so often, but in the Joker's absolute chaotic method, he's capable of doing damage (murdering innocents), before Supes is able to track him down. So, while you know that Supes will "get him" in the end, there is legitimate fear that the Joker will do something awful first. Like killing the entire staff of the Daily Planet.

Again, like so many other things, that's a well you don't want to go into too often. That's one of the problems the industry has though. With so many books out there (just between the big two, not to mention any indies), things just tend to get run into the ground.

On the other hand, you can also have a situation where the hero is badly outclassed. Now, again, on occasion this can work. Spiderman suckering Juggy into a thing of wet concrete works. For that matter, Batman going up against Croc also works, even as a regular villain (though I find Croc boring.) However, what happens when Batman suddenly finds himself up against Sinestro? (Not sure it ever happened, but we'll take it as a for instance.) Sinestro is no one's fool, he's very powerful, way, way out of Batsie's weight class.

Probably the worst instance of this that I know of was the "legendary" Dazzler vs Dr. Doom battle. Like Dazzler or not (in her later X-Men days she got tolerable), she had no business playing tag with a villain who is a good matchup for the assembled Fantastic Four. All it did was cheapen Doom.

Wierd Power matches... aka Nightwingus Titanus

Yeah, I know, it's obvious I never did Latin. Whee.

Anyway, one thing that's always made me feel just a tad uncomfortable is teamups where the powers are too widely mismatched. Now, that may seem odd, with my well known love of team books, but it does bother me.

Now, I'm not talking about having very different styles of power. Those sorts of things can be complimentary. No, I'm talking about having very different levels of power.

Take the Old School Teen Titans. You've got a bunch of characters of pretty impressive power. Cyborg, Starfire, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash. Then, you have Robin (or Nightwing). Certainly, well trained, well disciplined, but he just doesn't have the power. Now, the approach that they used was to make Dick the natural leader of the team. In many ways, that works. However, the problem with that idea is that it can start to be run into the ground. You had a de-powered Storm running around as the leader of the X-Men for a long time, you've had Capt. America as a long time leader of the Avengers.

You can just go to the well a bit too often. The worst example of this though is trying to mix Superman and Batman. Now, I've read the first TBP of the "modern series" and it works fairly well, mostly in the contrast between the outlook and style of the two characters.

However, it is still a very awkward and difficult mix. Here you have Superman, with all of those powers... and there you have Batman. Perhaps the best trained ordinary human alive, but that is all. What he does bring to the table is his detective skills (though Supes is no fool). I'm not saing it cannot be done, but merely that it makes for difficult writing.

More Downsides of living in the DCU

Ok, I'm gonna run this bit into the ground.


1. That nagging fear that the geeky kid you harassed in High School Chem is going to be the next "great" mad scientist... and that he'll remember you shoving his head into the toilet.

2. Telemarketers trying to sell you "Booster Gold's 25th Century Multivitamin"

3. "Celebrity Fear Factor" with "yesterday's news" heros like Argent, Arrowette and Gunfire.

4. Crowds outside of Barnes and Noble lining up to buy "My night with Huntress" by Josh

5. Talking heads on Television saying that if Batman would just stay in his hole, there would be no supercrime in Gotham.

6. Following in the footsteps of Wonder Woman, a slew of books on personal philosophy by superheros... culminating in "Fragging for Fun and Profit" by Lobo (ghostwritten of course)

7. "Hey, wait a minute... I thought Hawk was a guy? Who's this british lady?"

8. Endless debates on alt.fan.teensuperbabes "Wonder Girl or Stargirl"

(I told you I'd run it into the ground, and I'm sure I'm not done yet)

Downsides of living in the Marvel Universe

Continuing with my theme from the other day...


1. You can't walk more than 5 feet in New York without being run over by the Paparazzi following one superhero or another.


2. If you are anywhere other than New York, you can't get a superhero when you need one. Period.

3. The incredible humiliation of joining an anti-mutant hate group and waking up some morning to find you can bench press your mom's Yugo

4. Ghost Rider sitting in a Non-smoking restauraunt

5. 20/20 Presents... Bucky Barnes, where is he now?

6. Finding out that the Infinity Gauntlet made an evil twin of your mother in law.

7. Not realizing what bar you are in until you hear a guy walk in and say "Justice is Served"



Hm, I'm reaching, so I best quit.

Villain that works: Dr. Sivana

Celebrating what's good in villains (now that I evicerated my 10 Painful ones), we come to the gleefully evil Dr. Sivana.

At first, I wasn't that deeply impressed with him. After all, ho hum, if you've seen one mad scientist, you've seen them all. Yeah, Dr. S has roots that go back to the Golden Age, so you can't exactly call him a copycat, but even so, whoop de do.

Then I started reading him in the Power of Shazam books, and then his recent appearances in Outsiders. Color me much more impressed.

The story in Power of Shazam that really impressed me wasn't his first appearance, or even when he helped (sort of) defeat the mindworm swarm on Venus. No, it was clearly the story of what he did when he finally got a chance to mess around in the time stream.

Now, most villains, you dump them into the time stream, and give them a chance to pull a Biff Tanner, they'll be glaringly obvious. You see, the good Doctor went back and gave his past self a message about Billy Batson. Most mad scientists would have gone back and said "Make sure that Theo tracks down the Batson brat too. Oh, kill the girl to be sure." Not our good doctor. Even though it would be a couple of years before the Wizard gave the powers to Billy, Dr. S had another idea. His message to his past self? "Whatever you do... DON'T TOUCH THE BATSONS!" Even though the adult Batsons became Capt. Marvels in their own right (interesting timeshift story), he manages to coexist with them, and leave them alone. Because of that, he doesn't lose his wealth, his prestige or his business. A bit wimpy, to just say "hide from your foe," but it worked. Too bad the wizard decided to fix the timeline *L*

Then, his gleefully evil run in Outsiders. This is the way an evil mastermind should work. He's got a team that has given a decent challenge to the Titans in the past, and he's 3 steps ahead of them all. He's blocked Psimon from trying to control him, and the first time the team gets at all restive, he has a remote control laser give Gizmo a fatal lobotomy. His plan? He was having "the boys" attack Lexcorp holdings so he could manipulate the stock. With that, he bought his own tropical island, for his official mad scientist hangout. I could only laugh. Now, that's how a Supervillain is supposed to act.

In a way, I'd like to see the good Doctor as a member of the six, in place of Deathstroke (I like Slade, just think he's misplaced there.) On the other hand, not sure how well he and Lex would coexist.

Downsides of living in the DCU

Years ago, I did a "downsides of living" in various anime series

While casting around for an idea to post about tonight, I thought this might be worth a small chuckle or two.

So, without further ado, the downsides of living in the DCU


1. No Steroid Controversies in baseball. You think that's an upside? It would be, except it's been replaced by "Is that pitcher a metahuman?"

2. Wal Mart fashions inspired by the latest Superhero outfit crazes.

3. Replacing the windows in your house at least once a year after they get shatted by sonic booms created by Superman, one of the Flashes or the like.

4. Flashbacks to when you caught a "Joker Fish" on vacation.

5. Whenever the Weather Wizard is out of jail, forecasts are "20% chance of sun, 20% chance of rain, 20% chance of snow, 20% chance of sandstorm and 20% chance of absolute chaos"

6. Trouble getting into the mall because Booster Gold is selling autographs ($5 a pop)

7. Endless debates on alt.fan.superbabes "Power Girl or Wonder Woman"

8. Watching a giant gorilla carry a brain in a jar into the house next door.

9. Mysterious lightning bolts in Fawcett City blowing up your computer system... again.

10. Wondering why a mad scientist can easily whip up a device that will vaporize half of Australia, but no one can make a faucet that doesn't drip after a few months.

Good Villain,,, Black Adam

I'm not going to be as "formal" as I was with the "painful villains", but lets face it, there are not only bad villains, but also good ones, some really, really good ones, and now and then I'll pop up and say why I think they work.

Black Adam is one of them. I'll be honest, right now, I'm a touch worried about Adam, due to overexposure. That's always a danger with any villain, that once it is seen that they work, and work well, they get dragged into everything.

Still, Black Adam works, and it's rather odd. It would be easy to dismiss Adam as just a variation of the "evil twin" theme. He is, and he isn't.

What works with Adam is the way that he contrasts with Cap't Marvel. In many ways they are alike, and it is easy to "see" why the wizard would have chosen both of them. For both of them, justice, honor and taking care of your people are defining concepts. The difference is that they just don't match up on what those concepts mean... especially that first little word... "justice."

You could simply say that Adam hearkens back to an earlier day, but not really. Yes, his concepts of justice are very, very direct and a touch brutal, but the difference isn't really "new versus old." It is the old saw "do the ends justify the means?"

Billy says no

Adam says yes

I'm not going to say that is the sum total of the differences, but it is indeed a large chunk of them. It is that contrast that defines Adam, and what makes him interesting.

His current plotline is also interesting, because it plays in much the same turf that recent episodes of JLU have been playing in. Why did the world react so strongly when Adam invaded Khandaq? There are lots of debates about "was it an invasion, or a coup or what?" However, that's missing the point.

The real issue is this. A running fear among the nations of any world with Superheros has to be "What will we do if they decide they want to run things." Of course, villains have either run (Dr. Doom) or tried to run (1,000,000 examples) countries at one point or another. However, when it is the heros that do it? (And Adam's status is a bit vague at that point) What happens when Superman decides to take over? Is the Justice League the great defenders or the greatest threat?

The Khandaq storyline opens up all of those questions, and more (how WILL Adam reign anyway?), and all of those questions provide a great deal of meat for some really interesting storytelling, and I look forward to seeing it.

I do find it interesting, that with the development of Black Adam, there's probably more people out there really interested in him than in Capt. Marvel himself, though I'm actually not one of them. I'm fascinated by both of them, and hope that we get a new Capt. Marvel book coming out of the Crisis.

Birds of Prey 85

Yep, you know, spoilers and all that.


Aside from the Spoiler/Leslie stuff that's going, the biggest "issue" in the books I even remotely follow is the big last page reveal in the latest issue of BoP.

I have to admit, that I have deeply mixed feelings about it. Babs being in the wheelchair is so deeply iconic for her, I think that there is a risk of losing a great deal if they let her back onto "her feet" as it were. We've seen more of her grit and determination in her relearning to live her life, than we ever saw in her kicking around baddies (though I'd like to find the issues where Cormorant nearly killed her). She's not only learned to survive, but to thrive, and she's found herself a place in the world.

I'm not going to be preachy and say that she should stay there, as a "inspiration to all of those who have physical issues." That's really beside the point.

My deepest concern, is that if they do indeed get her out of her chair, that she doesn't suffer from Xavieritis. In other words, the never-ending stream of taking someone out of the chair, then putting them back, then taking them out, then putting them back. Whichever they decide, make it stick.

I'm willing to sit back and "enjoy the ride," the book has been good enough lately that I'm more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Talkingout my ear (or something)-Batman spoilers

Have a couple of minutes before I have to leave on a very long day, and I've been thinking about the big "news" with the death of Spoiler in the Bat-books.

Now, I haven't read the book, and don't plan to do so until it comes out in TP form, but I'm troubled by this story, and it finally struck me why.

Stephanie's story in War Drums and War Games was a very nice little tragedy, not in the common maudlin sense, but in the formal literary sense. Perhaps her pride was not to the level of Oedipus, but in her pride, the seeds of her downfall were sown. Not a pretty death, but it gave her entire story structure and meaning.

Now, with one little revelation, the entire story is transformed, away from being about "the fall of Spoiler" to being about "the relation between Batman and Leslie." The entire "fall of Spoiler" is pushed to the side and made secondary.

Now, you could argue that the "Fall of Spoiler" is just a prelude to the "Fall of Batman", in a greek sense, and that might not be so bad, but at this point, I just find myself bothered by the marginalization of Spoiler and her death.

"Those who the gods would destroy, they first make proud," had such nice resonance.

Problems in storytelling- time travel

My naming of Extant as the #1 Painful Villain brought to mind one of the problems that Time Travel can bring into writing comic books.

Now, there are a few different types of time travel.
1) Distant Past travel. Basically, this is going back to any time before the grandfather of the character was bone (for the sake of argument). This can make for an interesting story. Imagine dumping Jade into a Ducal court in Medieval Germany for instance. However, this type isn't really want I want to focus in.
2) Recent past time Travel. As it sounds, basically any time since the grandfather of the character involved was born. Now, in this you can play all sorts of games. Anything from a Back to the Future inspired "you cannot meet your counterpart" idea, to actually working with them, as we saw in the recent Degaton arc in JSA. Also interesting, but not really want I'm interested in.
3) Distant Future travel. Pretty obvious, duck into the far future and look around. Nifty, but not my concern either.

4) Near Future Travel. By this, I mean any future where the overall shape of the world is recognizible. This is what I want to focus on a little bit.

It seems that most books have done some form of a "near future" storyline at one point or another. They can range from the Brilliant (Future Imperfect in the Incredible Hulk, or Days of Future Past in X-Men), to somewhat less than brilliant (The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix).

The problem with writing these kinds of stories is that they can begin to "limit" the future shape of the book. If you plot a future story, you are almost forced to push your story in that direction, even if better ideas come to the fore.

Yet, the bigger problem I've seen isn't so much of "handcuffing" writers, but that any future story you may see, you can write off as "well, in a year or so it will be forgotten." The characters who got the glimpse of it will obsess over it for a time (as the Teen Titans are now), but then as the writer moves on to new interests, it gets left behind.

Take X-Men for instance. When I quit reading X-Men five years ago or so, there were at least three major "future" timelines floating about,that were at least somewhat contradictory. There was the one all the way back from X-Men 137, which is one of the classic stories in comic history. Then you had the Bishop inspired XSE future, and finally the Apocalypse inspired stuff we see with Cable, Stryfe and the Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix. Which of them are we supposed to pay attention to? Or are we supposed to try to shoehorn all of them together?

Writing a "future" story for a book can be a very exciting idea, but it is also a dangerous one. Too many of these stories have been left behind over the years for us take them seriously. It can leave us more than a bit jaded. I'm not sure what needs to be done, but I think a bit more care and thought needs to be spent before writers go digging into that well.

The Worst of the Worst, Painful Villain #1

Imagine you were sitting around at a high-powered creator's conference, and decided to create the ultimate painful villain.

What sorts of things would you put onto your list?

1. Former hero
2. Time Travel based powers
3. Incomprehensible powers
4. Spawning copies of himself off into the time stream
5. The "star" of a massive, company wide, crossover "event"

Our last, and worst, is all of those things and more. With Infinite Crisis impending on all of us, it is time to hearken back to the last time that DC tried to clear up continuity. The incredible, incomprehensible, indescribable.... Zero Hour! Oh, the pain that those words create, and a great deal of the pain starts with this buffoon.

Yes, you knew he had to appear at one point or another... and I give you...













Extant!

Is there any way to desribe the utter pain that this fool brings about? Take a 4th tier hero, and drive him nuts. Suddenly, he comes up with powers that have no relation to anything that he showed back in his heroic days, and have him run amuck in the time stream.

Build a gigantic, incomprehensible storyline around him, and then, in a classic bait and switch, reveal that he wasn't even the big cheese, that he was nothing more than a Flunky of Parallax

Then, just to top the whole thing off, he is given the lamest villain death on record. Okay, lets see, this is a guy who dismantled the "old" JSA, was a major threat to anyone and everything that he came across, and you kill him by.... dumping him into an airliner that's about to be shot down.

Um... yeah.

The worst part, is that there is no reason to assume that we'll never see him again. Just because he's dead doesn't mean he's dead. After all, remember the two rules of dead comics characters.

1) Unless you have a body, he's not dead. If you have a body, he may be dead. Oops... no body.
2) The only character to die and stay dead is Bucky Barnes. Considering the rumors coming off of Marvel readers, this rule may need to be expunged as well.

So, for all of these reasons and more, I present to you the worst of the worst, the toast of the town, the pathetic, the painful, Hank Hall, Hawk, Monarch, Extant... loser.

Painful Villain #2

The great comic book heros are known by their villains. I say Batman, you say Joker. I say X-Men, you say Magneto. I say Superman, you say Lex Luther. What sets the truly great heros apart isn't just that they have a good villain, but that they have a great rogues gallery. Batman doesn't only have the Joker, but then you start looking at people like Ras al'Ghul, his always enigmatic relationship with Catwoman (though she's turned of course), Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and of course, the always fun Scarface.

Now, you look at Spiderman, and he seems to be the exception that proves the rule. I mean, yeah, he has one great villain. I'll tip my cap to the Green Goblin. I also like Kingpin, though I'm never sure if he's a Spiderman or Daredevil villain. After that though? You have Kraven the nauseating, a guy who is dressed up with a gigantic star for a hat, a moron who grafted a bunch of clumsy metal arms to himself... and then the great "revolutionary" villain was his old suit, after it grafted to a reporter. When they turned that buffoon into one of the never-enough-to-be-cursed anti-heros, they then found some way to spawn another version onto a psycho. When that wasn't enough, they made even more, for "Maximum Carnage".

Huzzah, huzzah. Now, that Rogues gallery is going to turn Batman green with envy.

Yet, as lame as all of them are, none of them compare to the horror that is the flying geezer himself... the Vulture

I'm sorry, he's got an ugly green costume, and looks like he should be resting on the porch of the Shady Acres Rest Home rather than trying to trade blows with a superhero. At the worst, he should be the guy who yells at the neighborhood kids for daring to ride their bicycles past his house. The indimidation factor just isn't there.

There's "suspension of disbelief," but that can only go so far. Put this idiot on a prune juice IV and send him his Social Security Check.

Tomorrow: The Worst of the Worst. He's incomprehensible, he had an awful "death", and with another "reboot" about to start, it's time to remember the worst of them all. Can any of you guess what buffoon is about to make an appearance?

Painful Villain #3

We're coming into the home stretch, and the villians are just reeking with boredom.

If you've been reading this, one theme that we've seen a few times is "one trick ponies." Those are the villians that can make a good storyline. Sometimes, with good writing, you can drag a couple of more stories out of them. After that, their abilities, or motivations, or nature just make them absolutely redundant.

What's even worse, is when you get "one trick ponies" who are stupid to boot. I mean, if a guy who only has one gimmick in his bag is at least a bit clever, you can put a little variation in that way (we're talking about you) . However, when you start getting into the characters that even Gilligan thinks are idiots, there's only so much you can do with them.

That's where you end up with Number three on our list To find this schmoe, you have to go hunting in the rogue file of the Big Blue Boyscout himself. I'll be honest, it's got to be pretty tough to come up with decent Superman villains. Sure, Lex is top shelf, and Brainiac isn't bad either. It's after that when things get a bit tetchy. So, why not come up with a villain that can suck the power/life/knowledge out of our hero? Sounds like an idea, right? Well, it might have, except that they also made him an utter idiot. On the one hand, that makes him beatable, but it also making him boring. Yep, our exercise in tedium today is the Parasite.

It's not that the idea is bad. It really isn't. It's that, once you've told the story, what else is there to do with him? Sure, you can then send him off to do the superhero circuit. "Ok, I couldn't beat Superman... I'll try Wonder Woman... er Flash...er Black Lighting, er, Green Arrow, er Speedy!", but even that would get old.

So, someone give the DCU a nice deworming and put this parasite out of my misery.

Tomorrow, #2, and we're dipping into Spiderman's rogues gallery. A group I've always found to be sadly overrated. I'd live to make Kraven #2, but frankly, I get violently ill every time I even see that character, so it's another one. Bring the drammamine!

Painful Villain #4

Never has any villian managed to do less with so much. Such incredible power, such potential, but a never ending run of losses.

He could kill almost any enemy he comes across with just a thought, but he manages to keep losing. I haven't seen it, but I wouldn't be surprised if he even managed to lose to Rick Jones (without Mar-Vell).

Lame, pathetic, and you just know that any story he's in is going to leave you screaming...

"OH COME ON! JUST TURN THE AIR IN THEIR LUNGS TO CONCRETE AND BE DONE WITH IT!

Yes, kiddies, I'm talking about the Molecule Man

After all, he only has near absolute power over any non-organic molecule. Lots (LOTS) of ways to frag pretty much any hero short of the Silver Surfer without even trying. (Against the Surfer, he'd have to try).

He just keeps losing.

And Losing.

And Losing.

Ok, that can make an amusing story... once. Like so many of the Painful 10, this is a guy who makes a single good story. Yeah, chuckle at the moron. But he shows up again, and all you can do is cringe. Another round of idiocy. Huzzah. Nice when you give these incredible powers to a guy who can't outthink a 1957 Studebaker Coupe.

Up next... another "good for one story" sort. Off to the land of Superman...

Painful Villain(s) #5

All right, I'm going to "open" things up a bit here, and pick on an entire class of villians. A type of villian that it seems that every hero has run into at one time or another. People must think that they make for interesting stories, but in all the years I've read these, I can remember exactly one storyline that I found remotely diverting.

What are these villains of boredom? These pointless malefactors? Well, can you smell the brimstone? Yes, it's demons. (Sabbac being just one example of the horde of them that are out there).

You either get this gigantic powerful thing that goes burning/thrashing everything in sight (see Sabbac's recent appearance in Outsiders. Or, else you get these overused Faustian plots where the demon comes along and starts making offers to villains who are always willing to make a deal. Um, guys, hasn't anyone heard, "never trust a demon?" On occasion, you'll get a Silver Surfer esque storyline where the demon is trying to devour some pure soul for their own fiendish purposes. Now, those stories make the theologian in me cringe. No pure souls out there for the demons to play with... but that's another topic for my regular LJ, not a comics blog.

I mentioned that there has been one "demonic" storyline that I found at least interesting, and that was the long ago limited series about Illyana Rasputin's time in Limbo. That was wierd, and almost enjoyable. That said, as I hinted back in Villian #10, I did enjoy the "fall" of Illyana, but as the story got more "demonic" it annoyed me more and more. I mean, her armor growing, and having more trouble restraining her more troublesome impulses? That was working great. Then they started giving her goat's legs (and worse). That storyline went downhill from there. Of course, considering how little use I have for demons as a whole, I consider Inferno to be one of the most painful X-storylines I ever read.

I'll admit, that in some books (like something with Dr. Strange, or Dr. Fate), the demonic fits better. Of course, I don't actually read those books.

You show me a demon story, and you'll be lucky is if all I do is yawn. Cringing is far more likely.

Tomorrow.... Painful Villain #4... and he's another loser from the pages of Fantastic Four


ETA: Yes, I finally realized that I've been making a moron of myself by misspelling "villain". *sigh* I've gone back and edited some, but it's not complete.

Painful Villain #6

All right, I've never seen this guy do a good story. Not one. The only thing that keeps him from being far higher on the list, is the fact that his daughter is actually an interesting character, and has added quite a bit to the books over the years.

Yes, it's the Puppet Master Another guy, all you can do is wonder why authors just keep dragging him back, and back, and back, and back and back and back and back. Not only are mind-control stories weak, but this guy just brings the ugly to my comics pages.

I'm sorry, but mind control stories do absolutely nothing for me. Yay, all we do is make the hero look like a buffoon, have people wonder if they are really heros or not, and when all is said and done, you get some third rate angst.

I'm trying to think of a good mind control story, any comic... and while I may be forgetting something, I really can't come up with a good one right offhand.

It's not so bad when someone like Mr. Mind is using meaningless unknown cameos to pull off their stuff, but when the worm actually crawls into the head of a name character for 3-4 issues? I'll pass thank you.

Still, I do like Alicia...so be thankful Puppet Master, you at least managed that much, or else you'd be lurking in the top 5.

Tomorrow... an entire class of "villians". It's a hot topic.

A villain that works

Well, I'm working my way through my list of "painful" villains, so I need to step back and give kudos to one that really works.

He's really kind of pathetic in a way, when you think about it, but it makes him even nastier/creepier in his own way.

Who am I talking about? Per Degaton (note, the page hasn't been updated of late, but pages on this guy are lacking) I got JSA TBP Vol 9 today, and it has the opening of the Degaton arc. I'm impressed and amused.

This is one seriously warped puppy. With the ability to travel through time, he shows up outside of Stargirl's window and watches Capt. Marvel break up with her. Then he sits there and watches her bawl her eyes out.

So, when she's done crying, what does Degaton do? He goes back in time so he can enjoy the whole show over again. Now, this is a piece of work. Spending his time rattling through the time stream, watching the members of the JSA die, just so he can enjoy it the show. Sick, sick puppy. I'm looking forward to seeing much more of this guy.

On the other hand, in his sickness, he's still kind of pathetic. He decided to become the Chronal Voyeur, simply because he finally figured out, that he'd never be able to actually beat the JSA. He can't do it, so he at least wants snapshots of when someone else did the job for him *L*

Great fun, and beats a whole host of Solomon Grundy Appearances, any day of the week (btw, Green Arrow #52 loses 100 enjoyment points for not only bringing the goof out, but then making a "new" one. Yay.

I'll be back later with my painful FF villian, I won't string you along much longer.

Big Day

Well now, big, big day in the old mailbox. Not only did my monthly comics shipment come in, but some other things I'd ordered also found their way here. A few TPB's in particular, as well as the Countdown special. I'll have comments on all of those at some point. Suffice it to say, that this is probably more proof that my tastes don't run quite the same as most. I really liked Countdown... at least Ted had a good death.


Anyway, the first book I'd like to talk about is JSA #76. Now, I've read a fair amount of kvetching about this book since it came out, but I'm not nearly so negative with it as many. I can see where they were annoyed, especially with the OMAC appearance, but I can look past that. It certainly wasn't good, but it wasn't exactly mind-numbingly bad either. It was just sort of there.

I'm not sure where Booster finally found out about Beetle's death (I assume JLA, but I'm not sure), but that's a scene I don't mind in the least. While it's not "central" to the plotlone that JSA is pushing, it does bring out the humanity of Power Girl, and deals with her as a character. That works. One reason I like the "big" companies is the ability to have those sorts of interconnections. I realize that crossoveromania drives people beserk, and I appreciate it, and will even agree much of the time, but there are things, like the death of a character, that really should resonate across all the books.

The "main" storyline works for me until the very, very end. Atom-Smasher is a mess, and I think it is admirable that he's decided to take responsibility for his crimes (though I have no idea what he's doing in a US court, or a US prison...) One thing that's not been touched on in this storyline isn't simply that he killed people, but that metahumans had decided to take the law into their own hands and take over a country. Sure, the villians try that all the time, but it's something different when the heros do that. That's got to be an ongoing fear in the minds of many. What happens on the day that Clark decides he can run things better? Atom-Smasher taking responsiblity for being part of that is a very worthwhile thing.

What annoys me is that they really seem to be going back to the old Atom-Smasher/Stargirl romance that was hinted at way back when. The whole idea leaves me flat, but the last pages really push in that direction. Courtney says "I'll be waiting", and while that can be understood "as a friend," it's a bit of a stretch. Then Al is sitting there looking at the picture of the JSA, and he's focusing on Courtney.

What's my problem with this? Simply stated, there isn't really any chemistry between the two of them. Yeah, you can see signs that Courtney had a teenybopper crush on him early on. That's cool, no problem. Since then though? There's been very little established. Yeah, they were friends, perhaps closer than they were to anyone else on the team (though especially with Courtney that's arguable).

What's even worse, is when you contrast that with the Billy/Courtney thing that they teased us with. It's really wierd that they "broke up" that couple, using the age issue. The age thing was an illusion with Billy, but it's very, very real with Al.

However, the chemistry that was lacking with Al? It's there with Billy, in spades. From the moment that Billy's identity was revealed, you could see it. Billy's shyness, and Courtney actually being a bit more "aggressive," in pushing the relationship. It just felt natural, and "right." I also got Vol 9 of the JSA Trade books today, and there's more chemistry in the 3 page breakup scene then there has been in all the interaction between Al and Courtney. She even understands how badly Billy's being messed up by being Captain Marvel. She begs him to change back to being Billy. It works, it really, truly works. Is the door slammed on those two? I'm not sure, recent issues have rather "hinted" towards something coming up, but that's up in the air. It certainly works far, far better than Atom-Smasher, at least up to this point. Normally, I'm not a huge "shipper", but there will be times that certain things will reach out and grab me, and this is one of them.

Painful Villain #7

All right, not all of my "painful villain" list come out of the world of Marvel Comics. Actually, #1 will be a DC character, but his/her/its name will be revealed.

Anyway, one type of character that annoys me is the "big, idiotic muscle" sort of villain. (BTW, no I've never been a real Hulk fan either. Only run of Hulk I ever collected was one stretch where you had Bruce's brain in the green body. That was the first time I was ever remotely interested).

Anyway, there are lots of these kinds of villians around. Of course, Marvel has good ol Juggernaut, but honestly, he's too smart for this. Yeah, he has some telepath issues, but at least he has a chance of adding 2+2 and being right. I know, that doesn't explain the whole Black Tom thing, but give the poor goof a break. You'd be messed up too if you lived with lil Chuck.

Then, Batsie has the ever "popular" Killer Croc, but even so, he just doesn't quite rate.

No, painful Villian #7 is so bad that they had to use him in the rather painful Supergirl #1. Yes, #7 was born on a Monday...

Yes, it's Solomon Grundy

A big mound of muscle, with no real character. He exists solely to give the artist something to do while the writer does character exposition on the hero (again, see Supergirl #1, or the JSA issue where Grundy attacks Stargirl and Jakeem Thunder).

*yawn*

Tomorrow, the most painful of all Fantastic Four villians

Painful Villain #8

All right, our next contender isn't so much a bad villain as one that's truly a "one trick pony."

There are certain things that work once, but just shouldn't be repeated. Home Alone was a sort of clever movie. A bit of a stretch conceptually, but not entirely unreasonable. Now, make a second movie of the same kid getting left behind again? Bad idea.

The same hold true in comic books. There are villains that can make a single story, and make it work. The problem is that any attempt to bring them back starts stretching the point.

So, our award winner, is none other than...





















Yes, indeed, Galactus.

His first story? Brilliant. After that, there's only really been one story that worked... the entire John Byrne "Trial" storyline.

Otherwise, it's just "same old same old." Truly, a one trick pony. Great trick, but that horse has been beaten to death.

Painful Villain #9

Staying with our X-theme for the moment (face it, aside from Magneto, and then Mystique's version of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the X types have had a lack of high quality villains, and some of the good ones they had, they ruined )


We come to this fool

Yay, we get someone who is even more feral, more brutal, more of a scrapper than Wolverine. Woo! Someone, stop the presses.

I have to admit, he has had a few good moments. Getting KOed by Jack Power (yes, of Power Pack) was an awe inspiring moment. If I had a scanner, I'd share it with you, just for the fun factor. Kitty Pryde did a number on him as well one time. Heh, kinda hard to rip apart a woman who is intangible, right Sabes?

Anyway, they tried and tried, gave him kids and partners and dragged him into the X-Mansion, but you just can't make this guy any more than he originally was. He makes a usable sidekick. He's not bad at going and being a real villian's dumb muscle (see his role in the Mutant Massacre), but as a villian unto himself?

He just oozes boringness. Typical Sabertooth "story"

Eeek! Sabertooth is here!

*menacemenacemenace*

Hero shows up, gets into knock down drag out fight, beats Sabertooth. Sabes is unable to say anything more intellegent than "I'm going to feast on your entrails."

Woo.

The Ten Worst Villains #10

All right, who are the worst of the worst? The vilains,that as soon as you see their names in the "coming next issue" blurb, you cringe, and write off that issue as having any entertainment value?

Now, by this, I'm not talking about lame villains that only appear in one or two storylines and then fade into the woodwork... (like this bozo) but, the ones that you see again and again. The ones you just wonder... "Why doesn't grab these authors and tell them, that this guy is an automatic -50 points in enjoyment factor?"

So, #10 of "painful villians".

Stryfe

Now, I don't really recall what his mutant power was, (I've tried to forget this joker), but I think it may have involved having super-neck muscles. That helmet is enough to make my neck start throbbing just looking at it.

Can anyone name a single good Stryfe story? That's what I sort of thought. Still, he is a prime example of one of the worst cliches in all comicdom. The evil twin/clone/alternate version of a hero.

I recall, back in the early 90's, Marvel was gearing up for one of their annual crossovers (I think it was one of the Infinity ones, not positive), and at the same time, the short lived Marvel UK imprint was getting ready for their own "blow out" event. Oddly enough, both focused on having large numbers of evil twins around. In one of their house mags, one of the editors said "evil twins are always a good idea."

Nope, they are almost always a bad idea. A truly bad idea. If you want someone to go fight their Id, let them do it the old fashioned way, a bit of soul searching and all that. While it ended badly (and we'll see why later on in the 10), Darkchilde Magik (Illyana), was a far more effective way to play in that bit of territory than any number of evil twins.

So, Stryfe, take that Buick Hood Ornament you call a helmet, and set up chairs for the other nine.