cjp@vax135.UUCP (Charles Poirier) (07/05/85)
I agree with Gerry Santoro on Secret Wars II being better than SW I and even worth reading. I like the exposure they give to Molecule Man, the second most powerful being on Earth whose main concern is not missing sitcom reruns. I am certain of one thing about SW I. It was conceived explicitly as a means of hooking lots of kids on lots of comics characters which they didn't have the budget to read about before. THIS is the real reason for SW I's popularity, that kids thought they were getting a lot for their money. Never mind that the characterizations in SW I were more like character assassinations. SW II is using the same tactics, sending Mr. Beyond out into other titles. I am going to feel perfectly free to ignore his appearances in titles I don't read anyway. Charles Poirier (decvax, ucbvax, ihnp4)!vax135!cjp
scott@hou2g.UUCP (N. Ersha) (07/08/85)
But STILL not good enough.
boyajian@akov68.DEC (JERRY BOYAJIAN) (07/20/85)
> From: cjp@vax135.UUCP (Charles Poirier) > I agree with Gerry Santoro on Secret Wars II being better than SW I > and even worth reading. I like the exposure they give to Molecule Man, > the second most powerful being on Earth whose main concern is not missing > sitcom reruns. If there's one thing (the only) that I liked about the two SECRET WARS series, it's the concept of ultimate power being meaningless. Both Doctor Doom and Molecule Man realized, once they discovered they had infinite power, that if they can do literally *anything*, what difference does it make how you live your life. All of man's struggles for power over nature or his fellow men is so that he can live comfortably with minimum expenditure. If you can accomplish anything just by wishing it, then you don't need to conquer the universe to achieve your creature comforts. The Beyonder also realized this in SWII #3. Somehow, I feel that this is more philosophical than what Shooter intended, but what the hey. > I am certain of one thing about SW I. It was conceived explicitly as > a means of hooking lots of kids on lots of comics characters which > they didn't have the budget to read about before. THIS is the real > reason for SW I's popularity, that kids thought they were getting a lot > for their money. Never mind that the characterizations in SW I were > more like character assassinations. SW II is using the same tactics, > sending Mr. Beyond out into other titles. I am going to feel perfectly > free to ignore his appearances in titles I don't read anyway. Yeah, this is why the whole SECRET WARS business ceased to bother me. I don't have to like it (and I don't), but the kids are eating it up, so I suppose it has a purpose. The only problem is some of the fanaticism involved. The week that SWII #1 came out, I was in my local comic shop, and there were kids running around searching desparately for the other titles that tied into it (which of course, weren't going to be out until the next month). They were just being a tad overzealous, I think. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Acton-Nagog, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA