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Post by String on Sept 6, 2017 11:38:26 GMT -5
I hate that nearly 60 some years after acquiring him, DC still struggles to merge the innocence, charm and fun of Captain Marvel/Shazam into their overall universe. Say what you will about the need for Crisis but at least Earth-S gave the Captain a good home to continue those type of fund adventures. I hate new #1s. It's a cheap sales gimmick, only providing brief bumps in sales. If fans didn't buy them in higher quantities publishers wouldn't put them out. If you don't like them, aim your ire at the fans who give postive reinformcement for these practices by voting with their wallets for more of this type of stuff. Comic fans get the comics their buying habits deserve. -M It takes two to tango and publishers are just as much at fault for enabling this vicious cycle as fanboys. There's no concrete law saying they have to release new #1s but knowing the fans will buy them, they settle for the short-term sales gains instead of planning long-term. Rinse and repeat.
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Post by String on Sept 6, 2017 11:33:56 GMT -5
Some folks love this story, and I do not understand why. I'll tell you exactly why I love it. For starters, this isn't about Lex Luthor the 'master criminal' or even the 'mad scientist'. This is Lex Luthor the One-Percenter, the billionaire. He's got the Money, the Power, the Influence and the Ego. He apparently salves that ego by playing occasional mind games with regular people, in this case by offering Jenny the waitress an indecent proposal. He's testing the moral fortitude and fiber of these people through such offers. If they refuse, as he said at the end of the story, the doubt over what-may-have-been will linger and haunt these people for the rest of their lives. If they should accept, then he knows that he has someone with whom he can manipulate/corrupt further over that month till the point of would they even want to go back to their former homes and lives when all is said and done? Either way, it's a win-win for him and bolsters the image of his ego and his own importance. As for Jenny, she's symbolic of rural small-town America. Growing up in the shadow of the big city, she had a good popular childhood but then real life sets in. Get married, get a job, get a house with a mortgage, have kids. There's nothing wrong with that life but it's the unrealized dreams and potential of youth that Luthor preys upon with these choices. You can do quite a bit with a million dollars, all you have to do to get it is make a moral sacrifice for one month. Would she have done it? Bryne hints that yes, perhaps after listening to her co-workers about what they would do and then calling and hanging up on her husband at his work. But we don't know since finding out Luthor left takes away from any choice she would have made. Does she regret it? Or should we feel glad that she didn't fall prey to his tactic? It's callous, manipulative and sad and speaks to some truths about the human condition and the compromises of life. I also think it's a great sampling of Luthor's pride and egotism.
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Post by String on Sept 5, 2017 16:12:09 GMT -5
I hate that nearly 60 some years after acquiring him, DC still struggles to merge the innocence, charm and fun of Captain Marvel/Shazam into their overall universe. Say what you will about the need for Crisis but at least Earth-S gave the Captain a good home to continue those type of fund adventures.
I hate new #1s. It's a cheap sales gimmick, only providing brief bumps in sales.
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Post by String on Sept 5, 2017 16:01:20 GMT -5
I hate that Norman Osborn raped Gwen Stacy. Just to nitpick (and it's an important nitpick), Norman Osborn did not rape Gwen Stacy. She willingly had sex with him and then bitterly regretted it. Not the same thing as rape. True but that only goes to show how reprehensible Osborn's heinous actions were in this instance. It's become a pointless retcon. If JMS had been allowed to follow through on his original intentions here by making Peter the father of Gwen's twins, then that would be a totally different thing. But NOOOOOOO, Editorial decides that Peter having near-adult kids would age him too much. Peter can't be married, Peter can't have children, so we poor readers are left with rubbish like this.
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Post by String on Sept 5, 2017 15:44:28 GMT -5
Foxley
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Post by String on Sept 3, 2017 17:06:07 GMT -5
Well that's not good. Wonder Woman won't drop down onto pay-per-view till later this month so was thinking about renting this instead.
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Post by String on Sept 3, 2017 16:54:42 GMT -5
Mint pristine condition? There's only one choice for me in that regard:
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Post by String on Sept 3, 2017 16:43:45 GMT -5
To start with:
I hate Aquaman.
I hate Deadpool.
I hate Bendis' concept of the Illuminati.
I hate that Wolverine was ever an Avenger (and the very reason that he was).
I hate that Norman Osborn raped Gwen Stacy.
I hate that death is a completely meaningless concept in the Big Two books.
I hate that thought balloons are not longer used.
Same for footnotes.
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Post by String on Sept 3, 2017 16:29:22 GMT -5
Tom King's Mr. Miracle #1 has pretty much sold out everywhere and a second printing in on the way. A lot of retailers under-ordered because they didn't foresee the demand for this book. I don't know how good it is, I haven't read it, but in terms of being hot and in demand right now, it is one of the hotter books to come out recently. -M It's really good. I've even subscribed to it on Comixology, because I don't buy singles and I don't want to wait for the tpb to come out. I was blown away by the first issue. King's premise (as it appears) seems wholly original to a character such as Scott Free and Gerads' art was incredible. I would imagine that King has more twists upcoming so if the rest of this series matches the tone and feel of this first issue, this is going to be huge.
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Post by String on Sept 3, 2017 16:15:12 GMT -5
So three major deaths have apparently been reversed and one villain summarily executed, that about right?
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Post by String on Aug 30, 2017 17:12:49 GMT -5
Fantastic Four #67-70, #500 'Unthinkable' arc When you're dealing with characters that's been published for over 40 years, sometimes it's hard to find new ground to explore. One would think that by now, the tension and drama between the rivalry of Reed Richards and Victor Von Doom will have been played out but talented writers find a way and WOW, did Mark Waid ever do so here. Victor renounces science and commits one of the most heinous crimes I've seen yet by a villain in acquiring vast magical power. So empowered, he launches a vicious assault on the FF, with Franklin and Valeria squarely at the center of it. Reed's science is little match and the man himself is at a loss faced with forces he cannot comprehend. To spare his family's lives, he surrenders. But Doom's pride allows Reed the chance to save himself and his family, if Reed can only intuit any part and parcel of sorcery. With a little help, Reed can but it'll involve personal humiliation and acceptance of his limitations. This is a story of pride, ego, vanity, obsession, hatred, and doing what you've always considered impossible to save your loved ones. Ringo's art is fabulous throughout, perfectly capturing the fear, anger, and stark resolution of Reed and Sue as they seek to save their children from this unthinkable attack.
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Post by String on Aug 30, 2017 16:40:00 GMT -5
Finally saw this on pay-per-view and quite enjoyed it. As fun as the first film though some of the humor was rather crude. But the building of relationships here was exceptional, among the family of the Guardians, Gamora and sister Nebula, Drax and Mantis, and especially Rocket and Yondu, there was some great character beats throughout the film. Though I kinda kick myself for not recognizing Ben Browder as the Admiral of Sovereign's forces (the wife pointed it out to me. Sheez). I don't know what you all think of CGI de-aging but I love the hair on young Ego.
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Post by String on Aug 30, 2017 16:29:39 GMT -5
Just robots?
Robotech tops the list for me. Then there's Tranzor Z, Voltron (Lions and Vehicle), Transformers, Challenge of the Go-Bots, Gundam Wing, Patlabor, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Big O, Escaflowne, Hades Project Zeorymer, Robotix, all of the Macross sequels series.
Then there's the forgotten and overlooked gem of Mighty Orbots:
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Post by String on Aug 30, 2017 10:32:06 GMT -5
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Post by String on Aug 30, 2017 10:26:17 GMT -5
Still, despite pushing further than most books, Squadron Supreme fell under most radars. It did respectable, but not spectacular. The difference is that Marvel treated it as just another Marvel title, while DC treated things like Swamp Thing and Watchmen as big deals. That did more to influence others. That's a fair point I think. Promotion certainly influences perception. I don't recall much of any large promotion of the Supreme maxi-series at that time while DC's promotions for Watchmen at the time made it feel like you were witnessing something special and classic. I'm not sure how fanzines and comic news publications (like Amazing Heroes) covered each series back then but I would think that their reviews and opinions would also help contribute to any disparity between the two series as well.
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