boyajian@akov68.DEC (05/01/84)
Boy, a guy goes away for a week and a half, and look what happens!
SECRET WARS:
I'm sorry you were so upset by my SECRET WARS comments, Dr. Horton, but
I can't really sympathize with a "if you can't say anything nice, don't say any-
thing" attitude like yours. First of all, if you re-read my comments, you will
see that I *like* the basic plot and ideas in the series, but think the writing
rots and the art is disappointing (for the record, I thought Zeck & Beatty did
wonderful work in CAPTAIN AMERICA, but it looks too rushed in SW). I find WARS
frustrating because I *want* to like it, but it just doesn't cut the mustard.
Secondly, why do you think that my review is not objective? Do you think I'm
a DC-only fan who thinks all Marvels aren't worth diddley squat no matter what?
Nonsense! Personally, I prefer Marvels to DCs, though I take each comic on its
own merits, not according to what company publishes it (I'll have more to say
about this later).
Thirdly, I never said anything about Shooter being "just out for money". I
never even said a damn thing about him, except in that I think his scripting for
SW sucks Galactic Moose (I don't think that I can recall anything by him that I
particularly cared for, but I can't recall that any of his work has been this
bad, either). I don't think he has any grasp whatsoever on any of the characters
(and you're right, if I read you correctly in your use of "semi-humanistic",
Marvel heroes are usually well-characterized and often seem like real people,
which makes Shooter's off-base characterizations even more annoying --- they
don't act like they should).
Fourthly, you seem to have inferred from my comments that because I personal-
ly don't like SW, that I think anyone who does is brain-damaged. I never said
that, and I don't think that. You're free to like it if you wish, and I make no
personal judgements about you for doing so (Moriarty likes BATMAN & THE OUT-
SIDERS, and I despise it, but I don't think he's a schmuck because of it). If
you and I agreed on everything, one of us would be redundant. On the same token,
however, you should acknowledge my right to dislike it.
Fifthly, as far as giving a damn about DC characters: if you want to pass up
DC comics, that's fine by me, but you're doing yourself a disservice. I'll go on
record as saying that the scripter on SWAMP THING, a Brit by the name of Alan
Moore, is THE BEST, MOST LITERATE WRITER IN THE COMICS FIELD TODAY! Bar none.
SWAMP THING isn't his *best* work, but it's terrific stuff nonetheless.
Sixthly, the Teen Titans spoiler was an aberration. I am usually in the habit
of announcing spoilers, but I slipped up this once. I sent a letter of apology
to Betsy, and I promise to not do it again.
MORIARTY'S LATEST (well, not so latest) REVIEWS:
"Slade and God knows how many Hivies...know about the TT's secret identities..."
Actually, this seems to be a trend that's been going on for at least the
last ten years. More and more people are finding out the secret identities of
more and more super-heroes, and the latter (except possibly for Superman and
Spiderman) don't seem to be all that concerned about it.
Well, I haven't seen FLAMING CARROT or REID FLEMING yet, so I can't say
yay or nay. I took a skim of HONKEYTONK SUE once, and it didn't grab me at all.
I may try another look, since you recommend it, as well as BLUE DEVIL (I *was*
turned off by the first issue).
MIKE CIARALDI'S "SMALL PRESS" REVIEWS:
I've been following DOMINO CHANCE since the beginning, but am not all
that impressed. The Ringworld take-off was amusing, but the rest is rather lack-
luster. I think Kevin Lanagh (did I get the name right?) has quite aways to go.
I've been thinking of dropping this one.
I pretty much agree with you on SOUTHERN KNIGHTS. I confess that I was put on
to it by a fellow Guice fan, but I've rather enjoyed it on its own merits. Even
the Guice issues (Guice just did breakdowns, the pencils were by Sam Grainger, a
highly underrated inker, but not as good a penciller) weren't terribly good art-
wise, but the latest artist (whose name I forget --- it's even more unspellable
than "Sienkiewicz") looks promising. The writing won't win any awards, but I
find the characters engaging.
MY TRIVIA QUESTION:
Apparently no one tried answering this. Are there no AVENGERS fans out
there? Well, the other episode that was banned from network tv in the US was
"Honey for the Prince", in which Diana Rigg appeared in a harem outfit [be still
my beating heart!] with her navel exposed (Gasp! Horrors!)
BRAD BALFOUR'S DC/MARVEL OPINIONS:
"DC is now producing comics that consistently outshine those of Marvel... and
the average DC title is better than the average Marvel." Well, I can, ah, see
where you're coming from, man, but I can't quite agree. Actually, I think it's
the other way around: the average Marvel is better than the average DC. HOWEVER,
in general I think DC's best are better than Marvel's best (with one exception
--- THOR). In my top ten comics are two DC's (TEEN TITANS and SWAMP THING) and
only one Marvel (THOR) [all the rest are alternates]. On the other hand, I think
that DC's worst are worse than Marvel's worst, and that Marvel has more "good"
comics than DC does.
LOUISE SIMONSON:
Well, I was aware that Louise Simonson was the former "Weezie" Jones,
Mutant and Jedi editor extraordinaire, but I didn't recall that she'd *written*
anything before POWER PACK. She's also taking over as writer on MARVEL TEAM-UP.
ELFQUEST:
I've been buying ELFQUEST faithfully from issue #1 (I even have the real
first issue --- FANTASY QUARTERLY #1) as well as the color reprint volumes from
Starblaze, but it's been mostly out of loyalty to the Pini's (whom I've known
since before all this elf business --- I've got a beautiful Pini non-elf origin-
al hanging on my living room wall). This type of fantasy just isn't quite my cup
of tea (not that I have anything against it, it just doesn't excite me much). I
will probably read through the whole set once the last color volume is out (I
believe the color volumes are slightly revised from the regular comic), but un-
til then, they'll just be going on the shelf.
MORIARTY'S (real) LATEST REVIEWS:
Gee, maybe we're not so agreeable after all. We seem to be somewhat,
though not totally, at odds on POWER PACK and SUN DEVILS (not to mention MYTH
ADVENTURES). Just so we don't lose face, though, I thoroughly agree on DR.
STRANGE; once again this up-and-down book is on the up.
I haven't had the chance to pick up that COMICS JOURNAL yet, but I in-
tend to. I would definitely like to see a discussion of this on the net. I am
anti-censorship in general, but I have to agree with the position that some
comics aren't really suitable for kids. The current awareness of this situation
in the fan press has been surprising and intriguing. I wish I had the time to
go into it more now, but I'll have to put it off till later. Basicly, I'm for
a rating system similar to that for movies.
BRAD'S REVIEWS:
You're right, the Superman/Phantom Stranger/Joker team-up was rilly,
like, ya know, totally tubular. The things I buy for my Phantom Stranger fixes.
Can't really agree on DETECTIVE [/BATMAN], though. Moench did some great stuff
on MASTER OF KUNG FU and MOON KNIGHT, and I though he'd be great on BATMAN, but
I just can't get into it. I keep buying the book (I love the Batman character,
and have *always* bought BATMAN/DETECTIVE, even if I don't keep every issue),
but I find it rather hum-drum. Not nearly as good as the Frank Robbins *detec-
tive* stories from 10 years ago (not to mention the classic O'Neil/Adams or
Englehart/Rogers stuff).
ERIC'S REVIEWS:
"I could get tired of tough, cigar smoking women warriors..." A recent COMIC
BUYER'S GUIDE editorial addressed this. the problem as they see it (and I agree
with them) is that there is a unfortunate tendency in comics to reinforce the
image of smoking being a cool, macho thing to do, and that this could be dele-
terious to impressionable young children (think about it, two of Marvel's most
macho heroes, Ben Grimm and Nick Fury --- not to mention Howard the Duck ---
are cigar smokers).
"I give up. Would someone care to explai just where this [MARS] is head-
ing?" When I figure it out, I'll let you know, but it sure has me puzzled, too.
I've liked the book all along, but this "World War" storyline is damn confusing.
NEW TEEN TITANS (BAXTER):
I was rather disappointed, artwise, in THE NEW TEEN TITANS #1. Strange
as it may seem, I don't think that Perez has quite the feel for his own pencils
that Romeo Tanghal had. He has the tendency to overink with thick, heavy lines
that don't go at all with his fine pencils.
As far as the "bedroom scene" goes, I was quite taken aback by so blat-
ant a scene. Not that I objected; it's about time that extra-marital sexual
relations are acknowledged in mainstream comics. Of course, it's been obvious
that Dick and Kory have been "fooling around" --- remember the issue shortly
after the Citadel War stuff where Dick comes to pick up Kory? The scene leaves
off with them deciding to stay home for the evening instead of going out, and
when next we see them, Dick is wearing only his pants, and Kory her bathrobe.
Finally, we have a format wear Marv and George can be adult about this. What I
am curious about is how this scene will be changed when this issue is reprinted
in the Mando book.
As to what books do not carry the Code sticker: I noticed quite some time
ago that the direct-distribution copies of all of the Marvel titles did *not*
carry the seal, though the newstand copies did. This wasn't true of the DC's
at the time, though I haven't checked them recently. In general, though, books
that are *only* directly distributed are not sent through the Code authority
for approval.
RACHEL:
This is getting curioser and curioser. I'm not sure whether my guesses
about her are right or not. She's obviously from an alternate future, though I
think that "rayssd!m1b" is incorrect in that she's from *the* alternate universe
universe where Illyana was rescued from Belasco and all the X-Men died in Limbo.
Rachel mentions knowing Storm, who would have been trapped in Limbo.
<aside: did anyone other than me notice that when "Storm" has her big battle
with Belasco in MAGIK #4, she was the be-mohawked Storm and not the Limbo one?>
She must,
however, be from *a* such universe. Here's what we know about her time-line so
far:
(1) Senator Kelly was killed by the Brotherhood and not saved by the X-Men.
This could mean that this Rachel is from the same alternate time-line as issues
#141-142, but "younger" than the one that appears in those issues (ie, those
issues haven't happened yet, relative to her). It also means that "our" Kitty
and Pyotr don't necessarily have to get back together again, even though they
were shown to be married in those issues.
(2) Rachel remembers Illyana as being fifteen when she (Illyana) died. This
could mean that, as said before, that in that time-line, Illyana (and the X-Men,
too) were rescued from Belasco, or perhaps she was never kidnapped at all. On
the other hand, maybe Illyana simply *didn't age* because of her sorcery, and
Rachel hadn't been around her long enough to notice that.
(3) Professor X never regained the use of his legs.
(4) Rachel's mother appears to have been a telepath (she refers to herself be-
ing trained by the Prof and her mother). And in the flashback scene in TNM #18,
Sienkiewicz manages to draw her to look quite a bit like Paul Smith's version of
Jean/Maddy.
It's quite possible that in Rachel's time-line, Jean Grey never died, or even
never became Dark Phoenix, and that Rachel is her daughter (as Claremont *orig-
inally* intended), or that Maddy *did* turn out to be Jean reincarnated (I'm
still not convinced that she isn't).
MARVEL NEWS FROM PETUNIACON:
Sigh! That Marvel has asked A-V to stop using Wolverroach is silly and
sickening and petty. I suppose I'm not surprised, but I really would have hoped
for better from Marvel. Why didn't they complain about Captain Cockroach or the
Merely Magnificent Moon Roach? Besides, isn't satire considered "fair use" of
trademarked characters? What's next, asking Valentino to stop using Marvel take-
offs in NORMALMAN?
Gee, I can't wait to see what Marvel has in mind for material aimed at a
"young female audience". Another NIGHT NURSE we don't need.
THE CEREBUS RADIO SHOW:
Since the people involved in this are friends of mine, I'll give you all
some background on it. The scripts are adapted from the comics themselves by a
woman named Kara Dalkey. The show is done as a part of the sf-oriented "Shock-
wave" program on Minneapolis' [*not* Cinncinnati, as reported in CEREBUS and THE
COMIC READER] KFAI-FM. The scripts are roughly 20 minutes long, and cover a full
issue of the comic. I don't know how far they've gotten with the show ("Shock-
wave" is broadcast weekly, but "Cerebus" isn't done on every show). At last
year's Minicon (the Minneapolis regional sf con, not the Chicago area comic con
by the same name), where Dave Sim was artist Guest of Honor,
<aside: you should see the t-shirts from that con --- Cerebus wearing a bubble
helmet, saying "Cerebus feels like an idiot!">
there was a live
performance of a "Shockwave" show, including a "Cerebus" episode adapting issue
#6. Sim was in stitches. [Oh, I just remembered that he gave a brief report on
that con some issues back.]
As far as I know, the Radio Show will go as long as it can. A-V plans to
release the first couple of episodes on tape Real Soon Now. If they do well,
they'll probably do the rest. Off-hand, I don't recall if the recordings to be
released are the original broadcast recordings or re-recordings done for the
release.
<"If you love CEREBUS the comic, you'll reasonably appreciate CEREBUS -- THE
RADIO SHOW!">
--- jayembee
(Jerry Boyajian, DEC Maynard)
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ARPA: (decwrl!rhea!akov68!boyajian@Shasta)boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian) (05/15/84)
Marvel Continuity:
Well, of course, making more money by getting readers to buy more of the
titles is one reason for cross-book continuity, but so what? Is it really more
dishonest than advertising?
The reason that I like some of the cross-book continuity is that it
makes all of the titles part of one big happy universe. Things that happen in
one book *should* affect others (if it's a major enough event). In something
like what's coming up, all that's really crossing over is the effects of the use
of the Casket of Ancient Winters, it's not as if Thor, the Avengers, and the
X-Men are going to be teaming up to fight an alliance of Malekith and the Dire
Wraiths.
Let's look at something that's about 10 years old. Back when Englehart
was writing CAPTAIN AMERICA, in the "Secret Empire" storyline, he had a sequence
in which Cap was accused of murder. At the beginning of this sequence, in a con-
current issue of THE AVENGERS, Cap showed up, explained the situation he was in,
and said, "Until I can clear myself of this charge, I can't (and shouldn't) be a
part of any Avengers missions." The rest of the Avengers agreed, and so Cap did
not appear in THE AVENGERS until the resolution of his predicament.
Now, at about the same time, Len Wein wrote a sequence for DETECTIVE
COMICS in which Ras al Ghul and Talia frame Batman for murder. This "Batmurder-
er" storyline ran about 5-6 issues, but in concurrent issues of JLA, there was
no mention of that storyline (except to say "This story takes place before/after
the current storyline in...), and Batman takes part in JLA missions as always.
It's my opinion that DC wimped out by not wanting to sacrifice Batman's presence
in JLA for the sake of half-a-year's worth of DETECTIVE COMICS.
I still prefer Marvel's method. And I don't feel that seeing, say a Dire
Wraith story in THE AVENGERS means having to buy umpteen issues of ROM, any more
than having, oh, say Nightmare show up in HULK making one have to buy umpteen
issues of DR. STRANGE.
ALPHA FLIGHT #13:
Actually, I felt rather cheated by this issue. I really expected that
Heather would have given Logan a call when Jamie had died (especially since they
were in New York), considering that Jamie and Heather were probably Logan's best
friends. Having Wolverine show up in AF to slice Gamma Flight up into Steak-ums
was a natural, and I felt ripped off to see Wolverine on the cover, and have him
show up in the story only in a dream sequence.
IRON MAN and DAREDEVIL:
Gee, to be honest, I've really been disappointed in the way Denny O'Neil
has been handling these books. I thought his "Dark Wind" story circa DD #200 was
relly good, but his stuff since then has been pretty lackluster. As for IRON MAN
I thought he dragged on the alcoholic bit a little too long, and to this day, I
still can't figure out how Stane managed to screw Stark out of his money, let
alone his company. I figure that I'll stick with this one until Stark and Rhodey
have their fight for the armor, and then I'll probably drop it. I'll probably
drop DD, too, one of these days.
Frank Miller and RONIN:
I suspect that Miller changed his art style for RONIN just to try some-
thing different. I admire him for this at the same time that I despair that it's
not to my taste.
--- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC Maynard, MA)
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*NOTE CHANGE IN ADDRESSING*moriarty@uw-june.UUCP (05/17/84)
Actually, Jerry, I don't mind the co-issue continuity at all... I, too, Organization: U. Washington, Computer Sci Lines: 20 rather enjoy it (I remember the Avengers/Defenders teamup of years ago with much affection). What I object to, in many cases, is the declining quality of the writing during these cross-overs. It's as if the writers have trouble making their styles compensate for each other, and also they seem unfamiliar with the other character's writing. The Englehart issues you mentioned are one of my favorites, but Englehart was scripting BOTH titles... it was easy for him (not to mention natural) to make the issues compensate for one another. Also, Englehart (Coyote or no Coyote) is one hell of a writer. In the end, it really depends on the writer(s) (doesn't it always?). Trivia Is My Business | Currently residing in | UUCP: -jwm- | {ihnp4,decvax,tektronix}!uw-beaver!uw-june!moriarty | ARPANET: AKA MORIARTY | moriarty@washington