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Post by zaku on Apr 8, 2024 8:55:52 GMT -5
It occurs to me that The New Universe suffered because it came FROM Marvel comics. If it was something introduced by Eclipse or Pacific Comics, it might not have been rejected the way it was. That and also Marvels bosses took all the funding away from the line. It's interesting how many of these "new" universes share the same end: a mega-event to relaunch them, but which actually becomes their tombstone. Ultimatum for the Ultimate Universe, The Pitt for the New Universe, World's End for the Wildstorm universe etc etc...
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Post by zaku on Apr 8, 2024 7:40:14 GMT -5
You know What didn’t hold up? A good chunk of the Superhero comics of the 90s, both in terms of art and content. I swear, there isn't a decade in this genre, either before or since, that I consider quite as unreadable as this one. I think that readers at that time were gripped by a fit of collective madness, because I can't find any other plausible explanation. And these were the typical superheroines of the 90s And comic book readers even complained when they were stereotypically portrayed as sexually repressed nerds! In that age and every other, sex sells. You might be amused to learn that the Avengelyne character is having a movie made and Margot Robbie is attached to the production. There is "sex" and there is "sex". There is "sexy" and "sexual objectification". It's so obvious that they're drawn this way just to satisfy the (immature) male gaze that it's almost embarrassing.
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Post by zaku on Apr 8, 2024 7:30:03 GMT -5
I never had much time for Trimpe's 60s-80s work, a journeyman at best, but holy hell that FF artwork is horrible. The things people will do to keep a job. But at least he drew decent feet. No person at Marvel ordered him to draw that way, he wanted to explore that type of style. Well obviously they didn't ask him, there was no need. Why ask an "old" artist to radically change his style when there are I don't know how many Liefeld clones emerging on the market. He must have rightly thought that if he wanted to survive he had to adapt
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Post by zaku on Apr 8, 2024 3:37:52 GMT -5
The stuff didn't hold up at the time let alone now, but Rob is a cool dude. No need to pile on. Agreed.. everything I've ever read and seen about him he seems like a good guy and a fan of comics in general.... Not his fault people in the 90s thought that stuff was 'dynamic' and 'exciting'. Man's got to make a living. That said, those ARE terrible comics... embarassing really. I remember that more "classic" artists tried to, well, "imagining" their art just to survive. Like Herb Trimpe. Before the 90s: in the 90s. Edit: found some Trimpe's journal entry published on The New York Times:
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Post by zaku on Apr 6, 2024 18:40:33 GMT -5
The stuff didn't hold up at the time let alone now, but Rob is a cool dude. No need to pile on. I have absolutely nothing against him, let's be clear. He did what readers liked. From his point of view and that of the business he did nothing wrong.
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Post by zaku on Apr 6, 2024 11:32:08 GMT -5
Translation: if you’re going to be sexist, “do it right”! Well, it was the 40s. Seeing the same thing in the 90s, and done wrong, it was a little jarring.
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Post by zaku on Apr 6, 2024 9:40:57 GMT -5
And comic book readers even complained when they were stereotypically portrayed as sexually repressed nerds! Yeah, but bondage "good girl art" from say the 40's somehow becomes respectable Pretty sure Phantom Lady was "creatively inspired" similarly. Were, at least they were a little more anatomically correct!!!
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Post by zaku on Apr 6, 2024 7:19:22 GMT -5
You know What didn’t hold up? A good chunk of the Superhero comics of the 90s, both in terms of art and content. I swear, there isn't a decade in this genre, either before or since, that I consider quite as unreadable as this one. I think that readers at that time were gripped by a fit of collective madness, because I can't find any other plausible explanation. If you are just talking superheroes, then I would tend to agree, with certain caveats. Anything from James Robinson was gold, in that period, Mark Waid and Kurt Busiek did some good stuff, and there are some really good one-shots and mini-series. beyond mainstream superheroes, though, there is a ton of fantastic material, in all kinds of genres. Yep, absolutely, superhero comics. Let's everything that can be stereotypically defined as "90s Image style", both in terms of art and contents.
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Post by zaku on Apr 6, 2024 7:07:40 GMT -5
You know What didn’t hold up? A good chunk of the Superhero comics of the 90s, both in terms of art and content. I swear, there isn't a decade in this genre, either before or since, that I consider quite as unreadable as this one. I think that readers at that time were gripped by a fit of collective madness, because I can't find any other plausible explanation. And these were the typical superheroines of the 90s And comic book readers even complained when they were stereotypically portrayed as sexually repressed nerds!
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Post by zaku on Apr 6, 2024 2:33:05 GMT -5
I imagine that the best choice narratively would have been for Robin to simply retire from superhero life, so Batman would have remained a "loner", as in the case of the death of the Boy Wonder. Having been there when this happened, a major concern we all had was whether or not it would "stick". If Jason simply retired, someone was eventually going to bring him back. To repeatedly whack him with a crowbard and then blow him up? That MIGHT stick. ...and it ultimately didn't. Well, they live in a world with Lazarus pits and cloning technologies. It actually doesn't make much sense for someone to remain disabled (or dead) for long. I remember it was one of the criticisms of Oracle's character.
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Post by zaku on Apr 5, 2024 10:41:29 GMT -5
I imagine that the best choice narratively would have been for Robin to simply retire from superhero life, so Batman would have remained a "loner", as in the case of the death of the Boy Wonder.
And by the way, he got beat up with a crowbar. In real life if he doesn't die he will probably remain in a wheelchair.
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Post by zaku on Apr 4, 2024 4:02:41 GMT -5
It is very strange, especially with DC putting out a Deluxe Edition of Starlin’s Batman: The Cult at about the time this mini is slated to end. But then again, there is not a current Batman group editor at the moment, so there could be several factors. 35 years is a very long time...
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Post by zaku on Apr 3, 2024 11:51:24 GMT -5
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Post by zaku on Apr 3, 2024 8:13:36 GMT -5
Ugh. I missed the start of Eclipso: The Darnness Within in July. Looks like the intersecting Superman annuals were not written by the regular teams. Is it worth pausing the regular reviews to go back and cover this crossover? Nope. (IMHO)
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Post by zaku on Apr 2, 2024 16:22:04 GMT -5
I've never read the series, but I remember they tried to retcon it with the protagonist being delusional or something. After how many issues? They did exactly that, but I had stopped reading by then. I think it happened shortly before Starbrand blew up Pittsburgh. Of course I had to google it, and it happened in the issue #15, with the new creative team of Peter David and Lee Weeks.
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