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Post by Randle-El on Apr 19, 2021 22:04:37 GMT -5
Don't forget your correct phonetics folks
For real... although TBH, this has been going on a long time and most Asian Americans have just accepted the mispronunciation at this point. Chinese and Korean surnames like Chang, Jiang, Kang, Tang, etc. all get this treatment. Most folks I know with those last names don't even both correcting people.
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Post by Randle-El on Apr 12, 2021 23:56:12 GMT -5
I would just like to say how much I loved watching {Spoiler: Click to show} the Dora Milaje kick ass and take names. There were so many things I loved about that scene:
NuCap getting his ass handed to him, and getting a serious reality check about the people he's trying to hang with. I also loved that it looked like they were going to walk off with the shield for a second, pause, and then give it back to him with a "we'll let you off this time" look.
Bucky realizing that the people who gave him his arm also know how to take it away.
There was something visually powerful about watching two black women stand up to and physically dominate a white man wearing the Cap suit. Knowing the history of the U.S. and how white men have treated black women, often while acting as an agent of the state, made that scene especially compelling to me.
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Post by Randle-El on Apr 10, 2021 9:35:30 GMT -5
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Post by Randle-El on Apr 7, 2021 9:17:05 GMT -5
Any fans of Neon Genesis Evangelion out there? I've been watching the series on Netflix, but I'm having trouble getting into it. I'm about five episodes in, but I'm finding it a bit slow. Anyone have any thoughts on this show?
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Post by Randle-El on Mar 26, 2021 9:33:02 GMT -5
I could see comic shops going both ways about this. On the one hand, it's probably more work and headache for them to deal with multiple distributors. And Diamond has been around forever, and whatever feelings owners might have about their service, there's something to be said for having a longstanding business relationship with a partner that knows your industry really well. On the other hand, it was a monopoly, and there are always downsides to a monopoly. I've heard it was common for smaller stores to get overlooked when it came to things like late books, returns, or damages because Diamond spent a lot of time keeping big accounts like Midtown or DCBS happy.
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Post by Randle-El on Mar 23, 2021 21:51:57 GMT -5
Nagging thought coming out of the first episode of Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and it isn't much of a spoiler. We learn in this episode that the Avengers do not receive a paycheck for what they do. They even joke about the idea of Tony Stark cutting them a check (like in the classic comics). Here's where I struggle with this idea -- The Avengers were created by SHIELD. Nick Fury personally recruited each member. Nick Fury gets a paycheck. Everyone who works for Nick Fury gets a paycheck. Why are the Avengers exempted from this?
They probably were paid while Nick Fury was head of SHIELD. In that era, they were technically a government agency so I'm assuming they were paid just like any other employee.
After The Winter Soldier, it appeared that the Avengers were a wholly private enterprise funded by Tony Stark. I imagine that he paid for HQ and operating expenses related to their missions, but they had to seek outside funding for their personal expenses -- which, if you assume most basic living costs are covered by living at HQ and all the Avengers are unmarried without kids, are probably much less than average.
I assume this was still the arrangement after Stark died. I could see him setting aside a charitable trust in his will that generates income to cover Avengers operating expenses, while team members receive a stipend via donations or some kind of foundation. I doubt a group of celebrity superheroes would have a hard time attracting donors. Besides, doesn't he mention that he has "government contracts" that indicate he has a source of income? I had assumed that's what the opening mission was, since it seemed he was operating within the military chain of command.
Personally, I'm more mystified by 1) how Wakanda is such a wealthy nation when they are supposedly completely isolated (meaning no trade) from the rest of the world, and 2) how Coulson's agents continued to operate on the Agents of SHIELD TV show when they were pretty much a rogue group for just about the entire run of the show without any apparent source of outside funding.
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Post by Randle-El on Mar 23, 2021 9:29:15 GMT -5
Sam Wilson's losing the family business. I don't really care about Sam yet, so this didn't mean much to me. It felt a little like pandering to all of us struggling during covid, but not tactfully. Bucky's characterization was a little stronger, but we've been there and done that with tortured anti-heroes by this point. The final twist with USAgent didn't leave me begging to watch more the way Wandavision did either.
I think one of the themes the show is going to explore is the idea of Captain America's shield being wielded by a Black man, and all the baggage and complexity that image conjures. I think the writers are trying to prime us for that by showing some of his non-superhero life, including everything associated with being Black in America. That's probably a necessary stepping stone, since up until now we've only seen Sam Wilson in his role as Falcon in the MCU, but I agree that it was a little ham-fisted in its execution.
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Post by Randle-El on Mar 22, 2021 20:51:01 GMT -5
I hate to second shaxper emotion but I don't care if both the big two go away. Maybe I'm being a grumpy old man but I feel they told all the stories they can tell with the characters that debuted before the 2000's. I don't see a Watchmen or Dark Knight type story in their future, just more of the same. Nobody saw the Watchmen or Dark Knight coming in the 80s or the impacts they would have. That's the thing with groundbreaking generational works, they aren't predictable or foreseen, they kind of explode on the scene and take everyone by surprise. So it could certainly still happen, the question is is there enough of a customer base left for such a project to make a blip on the radar if it does come out or are they all chasing the next spec book they think will make them a fortune flipping it in a few weeks. In the current "I only buy books that matter" the the overall universe continuity mindset of the customer base, a groundbreaking book like those two would fly under the radar, have lackluster sales, and go pretty much unnoticed in the grander scheme of current comic culture. It's not that they can't be done, it's that no one would likely notice if they were. -M
I agree with your basic premise, but as a counterpoint -- didn't Sean Gordon Murphy's Batman: White Knight do pretty well? I'm not saying it was a DKR or Watchmen level of book, but I was under the impression that did it pretty good sales -- enough to warrant a sequel and his own little Murphyverse Batman sub-franchise. It's not in continuity either, and from what I understand (I haven't read it) it was pretty different from your typical Batman story.
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Post by Randle-El on Mar 22, 2021 11:44:13 GMT -5
I look at a price like $5.99 for a single issue, and I think about all the convention longboxes that will inevitably be filled with those same issues in a couple months selling for $1-$2. And right next to them, the trade paperbacks selling for $5 that have six of those issues.
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Post by Randle-El on Mar 20, 2021 13:05:32 GMT -5
I haven't seen it, but based on reactions I've read, my sense is that if you weren't a fan of Snyder's DCEU films in the first place, the new cut of JL is not going to change your mind. It's more of the same, but without the obvious glaring inconsistencies from having two directors with completely different visions for the film.
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Post by Randle-El on Mar 19, 2021 16:13:24 GMT -5
Black Vulcan and Apache Chief seemed more 'present' in the episodes I recall from my youth than the others. Of the two, I always liked Black Vulcan best, and long before I understood that he was a token member. He seemed a little more human/accessible. I looked it up on superfriends.fandom.com/wiki, and according to that, Samurai was in 30 episodes, Black Vulcan 20 episodes, Apache Chief 17 episodes, and El Dorado just 9 episodes. I'm surprise that Samurai was in that many more episodes than the others.
I heard that Samurai's mom, upon hearing that he was only in 30 episodes, said "Yes, but why only 30 episodes? Why not all the episodes? You have to work harder!"
#tigermom #thingsasiankidsheargrowingup
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Post by Randle-El on Mar 14, 2021 23:30:09 GMT -5
Agreed with all the positive comments. This show thus far is well-done. Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch are extremely likable as Clark and Lois. We've only had them for a few episodes, but I already think they are the best live action Clark and Lois we've had in over 30 years.
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Post by Randle-El on Mar 9, 2021 21:39:59 GMT -5
That sounds a lot like the Jon Cryer Luthor. From the little of the John Cryer version I've seen, he seems less meticulous. Then again, I haven't seen much of Smallville. Jon Cryer plays Lex Luthor in the current CW Supergirl series. Michael Rosenbaum was the Smallville Lex.
Cryer's Luthor is only sporadically used the show, which I suspect has a lot to do with how he is portrayed. He is basically the evil, unconflicted Lex Luthor that wants to kill Superman and Supergirl, lacking any remorse, without any nuance or complexity. But since he's been limited to guest appearances, he doesn't need to be anything more complicated than that. Rosenbaum's Luthor definitely had more of an arc. Initially presented as a well-meaning fellow with a dark side and daddy issues, his progression to the villainous Luthor was not unlike Anakin's turn in Star Wars. Rosenbaum Luthor is a villain, but we are also meant to pity him for the tragic way he fell. There were more than a few episodes that explored the idea of nature versus nurture and whether Lex would have turned out to be a decent guy if only he had better parents.
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Post by Randle-El on Mar 8, 2021 23:45:08 GMT -5
I think the show ended on a strong note. I wasn't a big fan of how it started -- I think the first three episodes could have been condensed down into one hour-long minute episode that would have still hit all the same beats. But I think it answered enough questions and set up what it needed to and ended things in satisfying way. I think the ending is intriguing and leaves the door plenty open for Wanda to have a Dark Phoenix type of story later on, or at the very least be a very big wild card in the good/evil balance of things.
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Post by Randle-El on Mar 8, 2021 12:04:32 GMT -5
Kirkman wasn't always monthly. I recall The Walking Dead and particularly Invincible being late multiple times. Kirkman was always apologetic about it and discussed what happened and what to expect/plans to address it going forwarded in the letters columns, though, which was a great way to respect the emotional, time and financial investment of fans without forcing the creative team to an unattainable monthly schedule. He did more or less get TWD back to monthly-ish after getting behind. I believe Adlard use to ink his own work, and to finish out the series on time they brought on another inker to keep the art consistent and schedule roughly on time.
OK -- I didn't follow TWD or Invincible for the entire runs, but during the time I did he was pretty monthly. I do remember when the All Out War storyline was releasing that they went bimonthly and he had to get an additional inker to make sure the book released on time. In any case, I still appreciate the fact that he still focused on his regular comics output when he could have chosen to play Hollywood big shot.
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