E-MAIL RYALL | E-MAIL TIPTON | ARCHIVES
MAIL SHOOT
December 26, 2005
Buttercup writes: I went to the library a few days ago and saw three Starman TPBs. I thought to myself "Hey, that comic guy on Movie Poop Shoot said these were great," so I checked them out. They were AMAZING, and as soon as I can afford to I'm going to buy all ten. Unfortunately, my library only has #2, #4, and #7, which left me a tad confused. Anyway, I am requesting a column explaining the history of
Starman, because it's just awesome. Oh, and thanks for the recommendation!
Tipton: Jack Knight is the motherf'ing man. Maybe my favorite
series ever. I've actually got original art from the
series hanging in my home and my office. Glad to hear
you're enjoying it.
###
Jimmie B. writes: I was wondering if you knew anything about the star comics company. i was recently looking through my large collection of old comics from when I was a child and found a bunch of comics maid by
them. including a #1 of a series called air raiders. I'd never heard of them befor so i thought maybe you might have.
Tipton: Yes, Star Comics was a short-lived kids' comics
imprint that Marvel published in the early '80s in an
attempt to go after the Harvey Comics "Casper" and
"Richie Rich" market. Didn't last too long.
###
Josh R. writes: hey there. i just read the huge mail shoot update, and i am compelled to write in and give my two cents of these here comic book things.
first and foremost, i love comics. that's no surprise, however i don't love their price. sure, inflation and rising paper costs had a hand to play, but it wasn't quite that long ago when those suckers costed a measly $1.00. so, anyway, while i'd love to buy and read the latest titles on a montly basis, i can't. luckily, i have a great library well stocked in trade paperbacks and the such. i love comics, but are the glory days behind us?
i say no, my friends. comics is a never-ending, fluctuating beast of an industry that has endured for countless decades and shows no signs of stopping. it changes with the times, and sometimes for the better, most times for the worse. what's happening now is a whole new generation of writers are getting their chance to play in the sandbox with all of their favorite characters. most writers think that in order for them to get noticed, they need to do something shocking that will change the lives of blankity blank man FOREVER!
two cases in point: avengers disassembled and dc:countdown. i haven't really read any of those issues, but i can come to a conclusion from what i know of them. what happened to the avengers will not last, and i'm hoping that the team put together by Bendis is his weird way of showing us what a avengers team shouldn't be. I'd hate to think he put together that team for any other reason than to have the real avengers come in to save the day. at any rate, it won't last and as far as dc:countdown goes, it was plain stupid. if dc wanted to make an impact on the comics world by killing off blue beetle, it failed in every aspect except to annoy longtime fans of the blue guy.
i'm not sure why comics writers nowadays think that every story has to be so important or controversial. what happened to the days when comics were about fun? if there's one thing i realized after reading all of your articles in the archive, scott, it was how much fun all of those silver age dc comics were. i used to be a fan of the streamlined dc universe, growing up in it as i did, thinking that the parallel earths was a ridiculous idea. it's funny that now that i'm an adult, i've come to love the whole parallel earths concept. it opens up an entire possibility of crazy, and fun ideas that any writer could exploit for a good story.
one last word on today's comics, promise. i did read identity crisis, and while the story was good, i thought it was unneccesary. if all the mini-series set out to do was show the jla as being human, then there were a million different ways to go about it. and i have to point out that there was already a great jla storyline that was collected into a trade entitled Divided we Fall that did the exact thing ID set out to do, but better. if anyone hasn't read it yet, do so now. it's a great read.
well, that'll do it for me this time. my only question is a matter of curiousity. i keep up to date on comics through wizard and sites like this, but it surprised me recently when i found out that flash is now married to Linda Park. my question to you, o comic god, is what superheroes are still married today in comicsland? what with cyclops doinking emma frost, and spidey's marriage problems in the past...love isn't in the air for our 4 colored friends of ours.
p.s. another reason i hate identity crisis? what they did to Batman. Doesn't that guy ever get a happy day once in a while? it's always one thing after another....sheesh.
Tipton: Major happily married superheroes today? Let's see...
Superman
Spider-Man
Mr. and Mrs. Fantastic
Flash
I think I'm out...
###
Miles J. writes: It's strange that even though I've been reading comics unenterupted since I was 11, that I still look forward to reading your column every week. You
tend to fill in the blanks for much of the silver age that I missed, and I
enjoy reading your comments on my favorite runs.
I bought the full run of JLI/E on Ebay just a few years ago and fell in love
with them. I love comidic comics like these and the ones often writen by
Christopher Priest that uses word play more than anything. I feel more like
an old horse telling my friends who enjoy "Countdown" why I disliked it for
comprimising these issues when most people in my generation who never read
them (despite missing them by just a few years). With DC becoming more
continuty based this year, it feels almost like a steep pay off. It's great
that DC is finally mining the story potenial of these issues, but it's too
bad that they are taking them in the WRONG direction. With both DC and
Marvel making such ratical desicions, I find myself reading more indie books
like "Teenagers from Mars," "Scurvy Dogs" and "Sea of Red" for my comic
fixes.
Whether I'm maturing past super-heroes or just not liking what's going on
now remainds to be seen, but your column is a nice throw back for me.
###
Daniel W. writes: I'm sure you're by now sick of people e-mailing you to say how right you are (Yeah Right) in regards to DC's latest 'idea' of Countdown to yadda yadda
yadda, but i had to throw in my agreement as well,
Identity Crisis was bad enough when they did what they did to Sue and Ralph,
especially after I had seen them put to such good use in Formerly Known
as.... which was one of the only DC comics I had on standing order at my
local comic store (I say local even if its in another town to me while at
uni, but I was too lazy to cancel the orders) even if I missed the first
issue, not being a big DC fan at the time i knew little about these
characters and the term Giffen/DeMattis era meant nothing to me, however I
did a bit of research and learned how the Justice league used to be funny,
knowing they would be releasing a second mini i eagerly awaited it.
then along came identity crisis, thus scuppering my hopes of seeing the
series for some time if not at all, this annoyed me to no end as it meant
not getting to see more adventures of 2 of my new favorite comic characters:
Blue Beetle and Booster Gold,
thankfully I learned Justice League Classified would be running 'I can't
beleive its not....' and on a whim I had asked the store i regularily visit
here in Hull for comics not on the standing order if they had any graphic
novels relating to the original era, finding 'Justice League: A new
begining' (the thing that triggered said 'whim' was actually the end of your
101 of JLA Detroit) and thoguht things where good, But then...
along came Countdown, upon hearing of what had happened to my favorite
character I borrowed a friends copy, upon completion I must say I was glad
to have not bought a copy myslef 80 pence or not, killing beetle is bad
enough, but to have the culprit be Max, who claimed to be evil all along was
just the straw that not only broke the camles back but then sodomised it
while it couldn't run away (I apologise for the somewhat graphic not to
mention downright-bizarre comment but thats how strongly I feel)
The reasons for my dislike I believe have been covered by most but I think I
can list them:
Beetle: Killing him just seemed gratiutous, as Gruenwald indeed said "every
character is someones favorite" here it seems Beetle was quite a few peoples
favorite.
Martian Manhunter: I realise Beetle and others used joke about J'onn
becoming more like Batman every day, but I never thought they would be so
accurate,
Batman: nowadays too often have i found myself asking "What happened to you
Batman, You used to be cool?" the Dark Knight has gone from cool bad-ass
vigilante to a paranoid control freak wanker with a bug up his ass about
being mind-wiped, you'd think he was the only one, hell having your mind
wiped or tampered with is practically an initiation ritual in the superhero
community these days.
Lex Luthor: This is just a personal nitpick but I was sure the last time I
saw Lex Luthor was in Superman/Batman where he was in the sewers, raving mad
due to being hopped up off his head on kryptonite, empire in tatters after
being exposed to the world for who he really is and being soundly beaten by
Supes and Batman, now suddenly back in the suit leading a bunch of villains,
including Talia, the woman who just happened to have sold lexcorp to Bruce
Wayne while Lex was off being president. I realise this is the one aspect
I'm prolly the most innacurate on but something about that just doesnt sit
with me.
Maxwell Lord: ah yes, Max, the cyborg or mind controller or both who is
leading a shadowy organisation (yes another one of em) to 'defend' and I
quote, "regular people like us" which( comic book world or not where nearly
everyone and their neighbours dog have some sort of power) isn't exactly
regular (please feel free to make a joke about needing more fibre if you
must) and if that wasn't bad enough, he was 'manipulating the league all
along to make fools of them' (as I said before, straw-camel-back-sodomise)
which because your 101's deflty pointed out, to me makes about as much sense
as Superman wearing a kryptonite condom (come on, I had to use at least one
Kevin Smith reference given the site, may as well be a good one)
it was bad enough when comics started to get more darker, 'grim n gritty'
and just plain depressing, if i wanted to get depressed i'd read a
newspaper, but now they seem to be going after the comics that did have the
stuff needed to make us laugh as well as keep us haning on the edge of our
seats in eager anticipation of the next issue.
I may be over-reacting but once the current Justice League Classified run
finishes I plan to not buy another DC comic until I see the situation fixed
(Albeit in a sort of protest I have bought nearly every issue of JLA & JLE
from the Giffen/DeMattis run, all I need are most of the JLI, a few missing
JLA issues and the entire Breakdowns story, maybe I should change it to not
another DC comic published recently?), to do this DC should:
* Have the real Maxwell Lord return and take on his evil doppleganger in an
epic kung-fu fight
* Have someone state that "Batman needs to get laid"
* Release a Gorilla City version of Gotham Central,
* Have Zauriel the angel and Etrigan the Demon in a road trip style comic
similar to the Green Lanter/Green Arrow series
* explain where all the heroes get those mask lenses that can change shape
along with their eyes without impeding vision (actually scratch that, some
things man was not meant to know)
* prover whether Lex Luthors head can deflect Supermans laser vision
* Release Blue Beetle: Rebirth and establish the Blue Beetle corps
Although to be honest I'll be happy to settle for just bringing Ted Kord
back and Maxwell Lord not being evil though (prefferably in a non Dallas
manner)
In closing I would like to thank you for constantly putting out such
informative articles on a regular basis, even if now I will always see Sam
Neill as Maxwell Lord (now whenever i watch Jurassic Park and the dinos get
loose I will always expect Dr Alan Grant to yell "BEEEEEETLE!")
keep up the good work and thanks again
###
Tom P. writes: I know you're not a fan of Countdown to Infinite Crisis, but does it seem to you that Infinite Crisis is going to be similar to some of what happened in "Breakdowns"? That whole storyline seemed to be predicated on the idea that the team would fall apart if too much came at it at once. Personally, I've always wondered why the heck villains didn't keep better tabs on heroes and use that to their advantage. Like, why didn't the Riddler ever go after something while Batman was preoccupied with the Joker? That's a simple example and I know the question's been addressed before, but this is the type of thing that has me actually buying these Countdown comics (the "meh" factor of it all has me hawking them on eBay when all is said and done).
What I would have loved for you to mention, though, is how the JLA and JLE annuals that were part of the Armageddon 2001 crossover were two of the best crossover issues. The JLA played out like one of those classic "many years later" episodes of a well-written TV series; the JLE had something to do with the embassy's cat and the whole team being thrown back in time. Those annuals are flat-out hilarious, especially when the rest of the crossover issues were a lot more serious with their power-hungry Superman/broken Batman/missing Titans stories. Not to say they weren't good, because I thought that the crossover was one of the better ones ... until the ending, anyway.
So, any plans on giving some mention to the in-between years or are you going right to Morrison?
Tipton: I don't know that I'll put a lot of coverage toward the Jurgens/Priest/Vado JLA, but I'll definitely mention them.
###
Blue S. writes: In between the Giffen/DeMatteis era of JLA/I/E and the Morrison/Waid
era there is the Dan Jurgens run of somewhat lesser quality (that was
still somewhat good, if a little watered down between what Jurgens was
a capable of, and an obvious pressure to make stuff that resembled his
predecesors' work), the Dan Vado run and Gerard Jones' stuff.
The thing is, of course, is that Jurgens deserves recognition,
especially for "Destiny's Hand", and tying the Death of Superman into
the League's status quo so well (although I'm not sure how even-handed
his portrayl of Superman being in the then-modern League was). The
other thing is that most of the readership isn't really aware of the
goings-on between the Giffen and Morrison eras.... even the most
interested... it's kinda obscure.
I know Ice died and Mike Carlin regrets killing her but he did it for
the right reason. it was still the wrong thing to do. In a way it
was the right thing for the story but the wrong thing for the
characters. I know that some Extremists returned against Max merged
with... what's his name? Ack. Lord Havok. The whole thing is
rather odd, of course.
Jones didn't even consider going off on his own and reforming the big
guns JLA and still felt nonexistent (editorially nonexistent anyway)
pressure to continue the way of Giffen and DeMatteis and follow in
their footsteps and not in Englehart and Conway's. I know this from
an interview in Fanzing.
Granted a lot of this stuff is unworthy of a poopshoot article but it
has to be said.
It's even neccessary for an adequate contrast with Morrison's JLA run.
Of course, I didn't mind Extreme Justice. Bad title aside it was Blue
Beetle, Booster Gold, Maxima, Captain Atom and a bunch of other
Giffen-era Justice Leaguers acting as a Justice League. Alright, it
wasn't. But at the time Wonder Woman, Flash, and Hawkman was starting
to pop up in the JLA title. I still think it's a great idea, under an
adequate writer, to have a super-hero team title with Beetle, Atom,
Gold, and other great super-heroes with a heavy load of character
development, adequate humor, and super-hero action. I want the
Manhunter from Mars and the Blue Beetle together in a League comic
book. The characters, written correctly, work well together. I only
have a few issues, so my exposure wasn't to total suck, I'll point
out.
The next articles should be League stuff casting the stories in the
proper light.
I'm also surprised that people today are so ignorant that that past
League was so popular saleswise. Five years ago, I swear, people were
talking about that one of the things that doomed that JLA franchise
was having a franchise spreading it all so thin with so many titles of
any sort of incorporation. They also were resistent to Morrison's
title facing that, fearing it would cause its doom. Ah well, later.
Tipton: Yes, I remember the "Destiny's Hand" storyline being quite good -- the rest of that run was, I felt, kinda unremarkable. And to be honest, the only reason I found "Destiny's Hand" interesting was because of all the callbacks to the Satellite-era League.
I don't think I'll be spending that much time on it, but you make a good point that those who followed Giffen/DeMatteis clearly felt a pressure to follow in their footsteps, at least to some degree.
###
Anthony S. writes: Tonight myself and a friend and fellow Comics 101 fan were talking about "Tales of the Black Freighter" from Watchmen and how we wish there were
more actual pirate comics around.
We decided we should probably seek out the EC horror comics from the
1950's, but we had little luck finding any collections. We figured you
would be able to help us in our quest. Are there any collections of that
material available?
Thanks, and keep up the great work.
Tipton: There really weren't a great number of pirate comics ever published, which was why Moore and Gibbons invented the trend for WATCHMEN, as a logical comics fad that seems convincing yet never really happened.
EC had a series called PIRACY, one of the series they tried after being forced out of the horror business. Reprints are few and hard to find, I'm afraid.
###
Christopher P. writes: I've dropped you a note a couple of times asking questions, and thought I would drop you a mail again. First of all, thank you sooooooo much for
writing such great articles about Justice League in all of its forms.
For a little history, which you may not care about, but it is
relavent I swear :D. When I was a young'in I read DC almost exclusively.
While I read Spiderman and X-Men I LOVED DC characters. They felt like
living gods to me. A buddy bought Teen Titans, I bought Batman, Superman
and Justice League. Sadly, all of these were sold off for 10 cents an
issue in a garage sale.
In third year of university, my girlfriend (now my wife) saw that I was on
the verge of a nervous breakdown. Knowing how much I loved comics, she
picked up X-Men for me, the issue following Onslaught and the following
issue where Angel got his wings back. I was hooked, I loved the stories
again, and I began collecting. Well, after about 3 years I ran out of
money still being a student (something i still am 10 years after the
fact), and the stories became too dark and not fun for me.
Well, that brings us up to a year ago. After 5 years away from comics I
picked up Quiver and BOOM I was right back into DC. I ate up everything I
could get my hands on. I have dumped dollar after dollar buying up
graphic novels and I have been so in love with comics again.
Then came Identity Crisis. What the hell? Then came Countdown, once
again, what the hell? Why oh why is Max Lord moving from friendly guy on
the street to cartoony supervillain?
This is exactly what drove me away from Marvel 5 years ago. The whole
universe went dark, Angel started carrying a gun, Cyclops was dead, and I
was going bonkers, because you know what ... my life is dark. Everyone's
life is dark. We watch the news at night and see poor guys caught in the
wrong place at the wrong time. People are terrified of everything from
identity theft to their carb intake. I have friends tell me they are
getting divorced, or that they are on anti-depression meds (more and more
it seems too). Or what have you. I don't know why the following fact is
so hard for comic companies to understand:
LIFE IS HARD ENOUGH!!!! HEROES SHOULD BE HEROES!!!!!
At the end of the day, the guys in the white hats should win. There is a
reason that shows like Matlock and Walker Texas Ranger ran for umpteen
years. There is a reason that CSI is the number one show in North
America. Whatever bad things happened to the character, at the end of the
show, the hero won, the villains were punished and the sun shines on the
world. It is not a problem to have bad things happen, hell characters
like Batman are driven by it, but what the hell is so wrong with having
these guys win? It is escapism at its best, it is supposed to be about
... fun.
Anyways, I've rambled on and on. I am so frustrated with where this
nightmare is headed. They give me back Hal Jordan in a brilliant series,
and take away Ted Kord for no reason. I feel cheated.
DC should be forbidden from using the words infinite or crisis in a title
for the rest of its existence.
Cheers man. Love the column.
PS - One final thing before I forget. I've seen a few mails complaining
about your commentary on things in the comic industry. You damn well keep
doing what you want with this column, they can go @#$#@ themselves.
Tipton: Thanks a lot, man. Glad you're enjoying the column.
Ever read ASTRO CITY, by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson? Sounds like it'd be right up your alley. You should check it out.
###
Eji writes: Hey there. I just wanted to say what a damn fine column you have...
and it's really educated me about comics, particularly lately with all
the impending Infinite Crisis stuff.
I've always been a Spidey fan (shunned for liking Ben Reilly) and had
never really read much DC ever, but I had picked up Countdown on a
whim and, well... totally fell in love with the Blue Beetle (which is
pretty unfortunate... I have bad timing). Thanks to your great info
on the JLI comics and such, I was able to track down a lot of that
Giffen magic (especially the Formerly Known As series and the current
JLA Classified) and the Beetle is now my DC favorite. I realized
after the fact it was no surprise how much I liked him considering his
parallels to Spidey... both touched by Ditko, similar personalities,
and definitely how issue #54 of JLA where Beetle's tossing his costume
is a bit too eerily similar to Spidey's own costume dump image in ASM
#50. The more I learned and enjoyed the Beetle, the more I was
heartbroken by the recent events. I can only hope that perhaps
there's still something in store for Mr. Kord... perhaps that magic
scarab could finally work for him? After all, in egyptian mythology,
scarabs stand for rebirth, renewal and resurrection....
I do have a non-Beetle related question for you, though. I was
reading the Batman Knightfall/quest/end series the other day and
noticed that Bruce was interested in a woman named Shondra Kinsolving
(seemed like a refreshing change from his usual ladies) whose mind was
unfortunately reduced to a child-like state by the end of the arc.
Imagine my surprise, then, as I was reading the Hush miniseries and at
the part where Bruce needs medical attention, Shondra's name popped
up... Alfred stated she wasn't in the right mind to help, to which
Oracle responds "she got better".
.... what the hell???
So now her brain's working normally. Apparently. Is there any rumor
or clue as to why Loeb might've inserted this bit? Very odd to have
that in there, especially after it was stated in Knightquest that she
would never recover. Even weirder (and a bit of an insult to her)
that Bruce apparently never acted on this information, considering
that he owes her so much and was about to propose to her originally.
Is Loeb perhaps trying to open a door for any writer that might
someday want to rekindle this romance, or maybe he himself might try
it? Any thoughts would be more than appreciated...
Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to do such a wonderful,
thorough job, and I look forward to future articles.
Tipton: Last I heard, Shondra Kinsolving was "slowly recovering" from the brain damage. I have no idea why that was included, as the character was never remotely popular enough to warrant a comeback.
###
Chance M. writes: Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane with the Rocketeer. Hadn't thought about him in years, and I loved that movie.
I did have one observation. In the comics, the inventor of the pack wasn't Hughes at all - it was Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze. Doc couldn't ever be identified as such due to obvious copyright issues, but it was pretty clearly him. Peevey mistakes him for Howard Hughes and mis-identifies Savage's supporting cast (the gorilla is Monk, but I can't remember who the Dapper Dan fella is) as Hughes' associates. That's why Monk looks so satisfied when Peevey tells them that he's figured it all out.
When it came time for the film, they went with the easier Hughes explanation.
In any case, great column. Look forward to the next installment.
###
Doug N. writes: I enjoyed your review of the Rocketeer graphic novel and the excellent movie adaptation, but I am curious as to why you didn't tell readers who may be unfamiliar with the story just who the inventor of the rocket really was. Peevy may have "deduced" that Howard Hughes built it, but it was actually pulp hero Doc Savage who was the inventor. This was another great cultural reference that Stevens put into his story, just like his use of Bette Page's image.
Also, did you ever read the second Rocketeer adventure? I seem to remember
that I had to wait for a year between the penultimate and final chapters of this story, in which Cliff follows Bette to New York (and meets The Shadow, another pulp hero). But the wait was worth it. This was another fun story!
Tipton: I really struggled with whether or not to mention the
Doc Savage connection, but it just came down to time
and space -- explaining Doc Savage and Ham and Monk
would've probably taken another five hundred words,
and I was fighting the clock. Luckily, you guys in the
Mail Shoot will cover that for me.
I haven't read the second adventure in a while, but I
remember it being very cool.
###
Drew K. writes: Love your column. It's been fun reliving the glory days of the JLA
with you. And I was quite happy to see some focus on one of my
favorite comic book movies ever - The Rocketeer.
I didn't read the comic til I was older, but the film was very
instrumental, along with the classic Indy Jones films, with my
affiliation with pulp adventures and the like. I'm always on the
lookout for new Pulpish adventures, whether in roleplaying format,
such as the D7D campaign setting Iron Kingdoms or White Wolf's
upcoming The Secret Of Zir'an; to books like Doc Shidhe, which follow
the adventures of a Doc Savage-like Elf in a parallel 30'sish fantasy
world; to films like Sky Captain.
And speaking of Pulp Classics, perhaps you missed the reference (or
perhaps did not bring it to light, so as to let us noble readers make
the connection) of the REAL creator of the rocket pack.
http://www.moviepoopshoot.com/comics101/images/2005/may11/hughes.jpg
If you look carefully at the two people Peavey is talking to, you
might see a resemblance to two compatriots of a well known Pulp Hero.
The Apelike brow of the one and the Dapper style of the other, as well
as the craggy face of their Employer, seen only in lower profile, make
it obvious that Peavey was mistaken and that the Rocket Pack was not
created, as he supposes, by Howard Hughes, but in fact by Man of
Bronze himself, Doc Savage. And that the two men he is speaking to are
not the bodyguards of Hughes, but best friends Brigadier General
Theodore Marley Brooks, known as "Ham", and Lieutenant Colonel Andrew
Blodgett Mayfair, known as "Monk"!
Anyway, thought I'd pass that on. Keep up the good work.
And maybe you could do an article on one of the most unique ideas of
the 80's, Damage Control?
###
Jeff N. writes: Great article. I've loved the Rocketeer since I first came across the graphic novel in college. Ironically, I found it a few months after first encountering an article about Betty Paige (1987). It was her photo in the graphic novel that caught my eye. Soon afterwards, I had also picked up the original comic appearances.
I noticed a few omissions in your article, which may have been deliberate. With that said, The Rocketeer first appeared as a back-up story in Mike Grell's Starslayer comic (also published by Pacific) I believe there were two appearances before the Pacific Presents issues, of which there were also two stories. Eclipse published the concluding chapter and the collected graphic novel. The graphic novel actually expanded the story from the original issues, adding a page here and there.
Also missing, was the identity of the creator of the rocket pack in the original story. The character, although never named, is in fact Doc Savage, the pulp hero. The two men who burst in on Betty at the photo shoot are Monk and Ham, two of Doc's assistants. I believe the photographer is n part based on Eric Stanton, the fetish cartoonist, and part on a ptographer that Stevens' ex-wife, Brinke, used to model for.
There was a follow up story, started at Comico and finished at Dark Horse. This series takes place in New York, with Cliff following Betty. Cliff ends up working for a man who bears a strong resemblence to Lamont Cranston, aka The Shadow. The villain is based on Rondo Hatten, who also inspired Lothar in the movie. Dark Horse collected the second series in a graphic novel.
I, too waited in anticipation for the movie and hoped it would be a blockbuster. I wanted to see a whole series of pulp/serial adventures with Cliff and Betty, seeing as Dave Stevens worked at glacial speed on the comics. Oh well, maybe someday.
Anyway, if you were aware of this info, then please forgive my lecture. If not, maybe you can add an addendum. I really enjoy your columns, especially when they cross my eras (early 70's and up). Loved the JLI articles; one of my personal favorites.
###
Mike D. writes: First off, I've been reading since day one. Half the reason I love DC
Comics now (lifetime Marvel Zombie) is because of your columns. The
other half is the new DC Encyclopedia, which is the best thing of its
type, ever.
Anyways, I wanted to thank you for The Rocketeer column. I totally
forgot how great that movie is, and am currently racing to find the
DVD. I thought I'd send along this eBay link, since you mentioned you
couldn't find much merchandise. It's for a movie press pack:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?
ViewItem&category=60357&item=7514996252&rd=1
P.S. I've been to Disneyland 5 times in my life, and have yet to see
the Popcornteer. Which is obviously a damn shame and I should be shot.
Tipton: I'm always relieved to see that the Popcornteer is still there.
Yeah, that DC Encyclopedia is really cool.
Nick B. writes: In the Futurama episode entitled "Three Hundred Big Boys", Professor Farnsworth is seen making out with an extremely obese woman, much like when Comic Book Guy was with Agnes Skinner on the Simpsons. What the hell is Groening's problem?
Oh, what would I do without Adult Swim to keep me up with this insane bullshit?
Ryall: Not sure I'm with you on this one. First, Groening didn't write those episodes. But let's say he did, or he approved the eps, and go with that premise. You're saying Groening has a fetish that involves a senior citizen and a plus-size person? First, don't we all? Second, it seems to me more that it's just an amusing visual, which drives a lot of the jokes on both those shows. I'd be more concerned with his Nixon fetish...
I think what you're really getting at is that it's great that Adult Swim keeps FUTURAMA on the air every day, allowing you or anyone to make such inane observations. In which case, I totally concur.
###
Jerry U. writes: Have you been watching Masters of Horror on Showtime? The episodes are hit or miss (Don Coscarelli's-Great...Tobe Hooper's-Keerap!). I just got finished watching John Carpenter's episode and I thought it was his best work since In the Mouth of Madness.
Ryall: I liked the script for that one quite a bit--it was co-written by Drew "Moriarty" McWeeney from Aint It Cool News. Solid effort. Haven't seen the finished product.
It suddenly struck me that I was watching the series because of the director and not the story or actors. Don Coscarelli, Stuart Gordan, John Landis, Joe Dante (his episode haunts me), John Carpenter...
Quentin Tarantino aside, I wish more movie directors would look at the tv medium as a way of expressing themselves creatively.
Ryall: I think they do, actually, just not as visibly. Look at McG and Brett Ratner, and producer Bruckheimer, among others. Sure, some would argue these aren't all great examples, but others, too (Bryan Singer worked on THE TRIANGLE recently) are spending some time on the small screen.
Speaking of Masters of Horror...
Hollywood, give Mick Garris a movie and a budget to match!
One of the best movies never seen by most people (going on a limb) I've watched this last year was Riding the Bullet.
Low budget effects aside, the story of the boy and his mother moved me.
Forget what you know about Sleepwalkers and the Stephen King miniseries' he's directed.
Give this man a movie!
Ryall: Concur--Garris is really talented. Although he's back with King on the NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES miniseries coming next Summer, too...
Caged Heat 2
Nick B. writes: No, really, what the hell is up with the Nicolas Cage joke? Isn't it in a Kevin Smith film? Dammit. I can't remember...
Ryall: It started innocently enough. Cage was rumored, and then cast, as Superman. And he spoke openly of wanting to be in a comic book movie, since he's a huge comic fan. So when another comic movie was announced, we went with a goofy headline that we heard Cage wanted to be in that one, too. And it all grew from there, taking on a life of its own. And now, the more ridiculous character associated with a comic project that we can link Cage's name to, the better.
Hope it doesn't lose any mystique, explaining the joke like this... I just know it never gets old for me, and is one I hope keeps on going and going.
Incidentally, the entire "I hear Nic Cage wants to play..." thing started with Scott Tipton here, not Kevin Smith.
Unglaublitch!
Iman C. writes: In a recent issue of Game Informer, the creators mention
Nightcrawler's absense will be explained in the upcoming X-Men game.
Ryall: Yeah, I don't care WHY he's absent, I just care that he's not in the movie.
# # #
Gino E. writes: I can't believe all the Gambit hating I saw in the
Mail Shoot! (Although, to be fair, it was just you and
one other person.) Is there something I'm missing that
would make me hate this guy?! He was one of the X-Men
I looked forward MOST to seeing in one of the X
movies...
Ryall: Dude. Gambit speaks pidgin French and those explosive playing cards. And he calls himself "Gambit." There's not much lamer a character in the X-Universe. (Note: I don't count Husk or that guy with the nuclear reactor in his mouth)
As for Beast not looking right, alongside Juggernaut
and whatnot, but I actually think he looks alright.
Considering some of the liberties they've had to take
with other heroes/villains and the fact that they'd
have to look somewhat realistic, I actually see no
problem in either of them. I think Beast is going to
look a hell of a lot better in motion, and Juggernaut,
although not huge, got his power from the helmet
anyways... That, and the only person properly
qualified to play Juggernaut is a much younger Big Van
Vader (AKA Leon White). I think, being the Obsessive
Internet Critics (OIC for short) that most of us are,
need to stop being so quickly judgmental on
everything. I hate the idea of bringing Ratner in as
much as the next guy, but we can't change that, so
let's wait till the movie comes out and then
completely shit on it.
Ryall: I never shit on it. I wasn't knocked out by those initial images, but that doesn't mean anything. Of course, having read the script, I can at least speak to my thought that the movie will be inferior to the last one, and Brett Ratner's ham-handed touch doesn't really defer me from that. But I'll still see it and then make up my mind.
Also, any word on the Magneto and Wolverine movies?
IGN.com had a little blurb up about the Magneto movie,
about how it's going to start with Magneto getting
sent to Auschwitz(?), getting his parents killed, then
getting revenge. Just seeing if you know something we
don't.
Ryall: Unless the Magneto flick is a prequel, I don't know that I see that one happening... then again, didn't X-MEN start with Magneto getting revenge on the Nazis in a concentration camp?
Super, Man
Nicholas B. writes: WTF!! Familiar with those initials? If not it shouldn't take long to figure out their meaning. Riddle me this!! How is it that Tom Welling and Micheal Rosenbaum have flawlessly played the roles of Clark Kent and Lex Luthor for the last few years but in the upcoming film Superman Returns the role of Clark Kent/Superman is played by some unknown douchebag and the role of Lex Luthor is played by...KEVIN SPACEY??! When I saw the teaser trailer which was aired following Smallville...I didn't notice that the man in tights wasn't Tom Welling. I just assumed it was. However I just viewed the official site of the film and much to my suprise and dismay its NOT him! Thats HUGE!! Even from a money-making standpoint this makes no sense...in fact it makes even less from that standpoint. Tell me you read the story for this film. Its on the official site...and it is ridiculous! I'm all about comic book films...and was in full support of Batman Begins and even imagined a Micheal Rosenbaum as the Silver Surfer! That still sounds perfect! Anways, what is your take on this Superman film? Why not just use the Smallville cast in the film and start the franchise a new. Much like Batman Begins did. Seriously...did Warner Bros. find that this made too much sense?! I've never been so upset over a movie role before but COME ON!! I for one will be boycotting this movie. Seriously...this movie makes no sense from the story to the casting! Grrr! Grrrr baby! Grrr!
Ryall: Hey, it's okay to talk badly about X3, but give Bryan Singer and company a chance... I agree that Welling and Rosenbaum are great on SMALLVILLE, but I can't see a studio willing to pony up $200M for a movie version of a TV show people can get for free. They have to recoup that investment, you know? So while Brandon Routh looks a lot like Welling (and also like RUSHMORE's Max Fischer, when he's dressed as Clark Kent), he's an unknown, and that's what the studio wanted: a Superman that is seen as the character, not as "X actor PLAYING Superman." Spacey, a proven commodity, might be older than Routh and therefore change the Clark/Lex dynamic from what it is in SMALLVILLE, but he's also a great actor who will help draw people to the movie.
Boycott? Just don't see it. But don't begrudge others who want to give it a look.
Photos of the Week
Buddy L. writes: Dude, if any a weird pic needed to be in the "Mail Shoot Photo of the Week", it's gotta be that one brief frame of Mel Gibson in the trailer for "Apocalypto". JoBlo.com has the frame itself, and if I hadn't searched for it at the Apple.com trailer site, I wouldn't have believed it existed.
Ryall: Ask and ye shall receive... that Mel really knows how to get people talking about his wacky movie one way or another, doesn't he?
Ryall: Appearing in this movie might drive me to rehab, too:
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