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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 15, 2023 11:18:41 GMT -5
The kind of plotting featured in so many late 60s / early 70s Cap comics were so far ahead of other Marvel titles in terms of sociopolitical relevance, despite the presence of super-villains and their schemes. Steve Rogers took a realistic amount of time to come to terms with his role in the image of Captain America and as a "servant" of American identity. That, along with the Wilson plots I mentioned before were not going to be found in other Marvel titles careening toward the next "THIS IS IT!" battle. I think maybe I do need to go back and re-read all of that sometime...
I have been very happy with DeMatteis Cap (even made and gave up on a review thread about it) and to me that's where the character peaked. You finally had Steve having something of a life outside of his super hero identity and even had a lady love after coming to terms with the loss of Sharon. Frankly I was kind of mad when Gruenwald kind of had her and Jack Monroe move on with there lives, but it was realistic and added to the bittersweetness
Losing Bernie was a mistake. She made a great love interest for him; someone who wasn't involved in spy work or vigilante activity. I like certain bits and pieces of Gruenwald; but not broad stretches. DeMateis was better and I liked Roger McKenzie's run on it; and, of course, Roger Stern. Cap was a character I always loved, but read sporadically and for short runs, when I had the cash to buy regularly. More often than not, I got ahold of issues in the Whitman bags (and other Marvel packs, as I picked up non-Whitman ones, on a trip to Florida, at a Stuckeys). I read some earlier issues via Marvel Super Action, though I missed the Steranko reprints. I read that later. For my money, the book had trouble finding its footing, then settled in for a good run, for a bit, with things like the Cosmic Cube and Sam Wilson becoming the Falcon, Englehart's run of stories, with the 50s Cap,. The Steranko stuff I find to be more of a visual delight and more spy pulp than any real sociological or political comment, like Englehart. Visually, I really enjoyed Gen Colan's run on it, as he is just fantastic with swashbuckling action and his Cap was filled with that. Romita was slick; but I prefer Colan's dynamism. Steranko was cinematic and moody, which helped the fact that his dialogue was a bit pulpy and the story doesn't really pull together well. Stern & Byrne were a nice mix of nostalgia and where Cap is today, while McKenzie and DeMatteis really worked on the man, Steve Rogers. Still, my favorite Cap is seeing him plow into hordes of Nazis and pseudo-Nazis, punching, kicking and flipping his way through their ranks, at breakneck speed. The Kirby Tales of Suspense fights, the WW2 stories, the Invaders fights, etc. In fact, I am on record as loving Frank Robbins' take on that material and that includes his Captain America issues, even with the lamentable "Snap" Wilson stuff (it did give us Dr Faustus). His faces are a bit weird; but, I liked the rubbery nature of his action, as it seemed more dynamic to me, less illustrated. For a character like Cap, who is poetry in motion, it works. I know others hate his run; but not me and I don't care what others think. |
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Post by badwolf on Mar 15, 2023 15:32:05 GMT -5
I have zero interest in watching a youtube video of someone talking at me about... anything really. I'll take an article any day, videos take too long, and 1/2 to 2/3 of them are generally identifying themselves, begging for views (I know why, I just am not interested in participating in that economy), etc. I'll watch things I need for instruction (fixing small things around the house, board game demos/instructions, etc) but that's it... and even then there's alot of hopping around to find the content and skip the nonsense There, I said it. Agreed. I hate the way things have shifted from text articles to videos. I can't think of anything more torturous than watching someone talk. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2023 15:43:15 GMT -5
I am with you, badwolf and wildfire2099. I put a YouTube video up recently as my gas boiler was showing an error code. I wouldn’t mess with gas pipes or do anything that an engineer should do, but the error code was easily rectifiable - and simply a case of turning the dial anti-clockwise and resetting something. Thank goodness for YouTube. But I hate how things have shifted from text articles to videos. There’s a lot of wasted time in a video. Suppose I put on a 15-minute video with a fan talking about, say, WWE. 20% - if not more - of that video might be the fan telling you to hit that subscribe button, telling you how he’s sorry he hasn’t uploaded a video for a while but he’s been busy with work, how you can check out his blog for this and that, etc. Too much triviality. Most of the time, an article will get to the point. I’ll gladly read an article for ten minutes about the latest Dr. Who episode, but a 30-minute video discussing the latest episode? No thanks. Not with the wasted time. |
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Post by badwolf on Mar 15, 2023 16:36:13 GMT -5
Oh, if it's demonstrating how to do something then that's fine. Sometimes I might have trouble visualizing what an article is referring to. But someone just sitting and talking...uggggh.
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Post by impulse on Mar 15, 2023 16:41:02 GMT -5
I can't think of anything more torturous than watching someone talk. Then you have lived a very charmed life, so far.  |
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Post by tartanphantom on Mar 15, 2023 17:08:25 GMT -5
I can't think of anything more torturous than watching someone talk. Then you have lived a very charmed life, so far. K
badwolf has obviously never been to any sort of insurance seminar or time-share pitch presentation. It's worse than death.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2023 17:22:09 GMT -5
I have zero interest in watching a youtube video of someone talking at me about... anything really. I'll take an article any day, videos take too long, and 1/2 to 2/3 of them are generally identifying themselves, begging for views (I know why, I just am not interested in participating in that economy), etc. I'll watch things I need for instruction (fixing small things around the house, board game demos/instructions, etc) but that's it... and even then there's alot of hopping around to find the content and skip the nonsense There, I said it. Agreed. I hate the way things have shifted from text articles to videos. I can't think of anything more torturous than watching someone talk. Reading something written by someone who is a native speaker but still has absolutely no clue how the English language works is much worse, and most modern articles qualify for that. It may just be the editor and the ELA teacher in me, but reading most articles these days is an excruciating experience and I would rather just zip through a short video than subject myself to that. It's one thing when I was getting paid to endure it, another when it's by choice. -M |
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 15, 2023 19:47:27 GMT -5
Agreed. I hate the way things have shifted from text articles to videos. I can't think of anything more torturous than watching someone talk. Reading something written by someone who is a native speaker but still has absolutely no clue how the English language works is much worse, and most modern articles qualify for that. It may just be the editor and the ELA teacher in me, but reading most articles these days is an excruciating experience and I would rather just zip through a short video than subject myself to that. It's one thing when I was getting paid to endure it, another when it's by choice. -M Try reading corporate speak. It's part of why I generally ignore most of my e-mail, at work and almost all memos. It's bad enough when it is disingenuous and full of jargon, but half the time it isn't even coherent, under any definition. I had similar troubles with military message traffic, allegedly written by officers with college degrees. I used to have to compile a daily report, for a morning staff meeting, relating to ongoing repair work on our ships and often felt like I was trying to translate hieroglyphics. Math be hard, too, especially ratios and geometry, as witnessed by how many times a day and days per week I spend explaining to people why we can't print a square image at a rectangular size, unless we add blank space as framing or distort the image by stretching it. I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't keep explaining it to the same customers again and again. That and explaining to people that only the US Postal Service can deliver packages to PO Box addresses. Would have thought the name Post Office Box would have been a pretty good clue. Turns out, I gave too much credit for people to work things out for themselves. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Mar 15, 2023 21:00:16 GMT -5
Counter argument, videos are good for when you're doing chores or otherwise not able to stop what you are doing to sit and read something. My wife does that... she listens to an audio book during household chores. I tried it, it turns into background and I have no idea what happened... actual music is much better for me for background. |
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Post by tonebone on Mar 16, 2023 6:52:51 GMT -5
Reading something written by someone who is a native speaker but still has absolutely no clue how the English language works is much worse, and most modern articles qualify for that. It may just be the editor and the ELA teacher in me, but reading most articles these days is an excruciating experience and I would rather just zip through a short video than subject myself to that. It's one thing when I was getting paid to endure it, another when it's by choice. -M Try reading corporate speak. It's part of why I generally ignore most of my e-mail, at work and almost all memos. It's bad enough when it is disingenuous and full of jargon, but half the time it isn't even coherent, under any definition. I had similar troubles with military message traffic, allegedly written by officers with college degrees. I used to have to compile a daily report, for a morning staff meeting, relating to ongoing repair work on our ships and often felt like I was trying to translate hieroglyphics. Math be hard, too, especially ratios and geometry, as witnessed by how many times a day and days per week I spend explaining to people why we can't print a square image at a rectangular size, unless we add blank space as framing or distort the image by stretching it. I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't keep explaining it to the same customers again and again. That and explaining to people that only the US Postal Service can deliver packages to PO Box addresses. Would have thought the name Post Office Box would have been a pretty good clue. Turns out, I gave too much credit for people to work things out for themselves. I've got one for both of you... try watching someone speak in a heavy foreign accent, while they speak Corporate Speak. THAT is unbearable, and is how we get corporate info at my company. |
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Post by impulse on Mar 16, 2023 8:57:22 GMT -5
Counter argument, videos are good for when you're doing chores or otherwise not able to stop what you are doing to sit and read something. My wife does that... she listens to an audio book during household chores. I tried it, it turns into background and I have no idea what happened... actual music is much better for me for background. I alternate between audiobooks/podcasts and music. I prefer a story as it takes me out of the chore more than music, but sometimes my brain is too worn out form work to pay attention to the story, so those times I do music. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2023 9:12:37 GMT -5
Counter argument, videos are good for when you're doing chores or otherwise not able to stop what you are doing to sit and read something. My wife does that... she listens to an audio book during household chores. I tried it, it turns into background and I have no idea what happened... actual music is much better for me for background. I put on a YouTube video while cleaning my kitchen one Saturday. It was a video about creationism vs evolution. That’s a topic I needed to listen to carefully. By the time I’d finished with the mop and floor wipes, I realised that I’d become immersed in the chores and hadn’t taken things in properly. Damn! |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2023 9:46:40 GMT -5
Living in a one-bedroom apartment, I have to think about space when it comes to graphic novels, DVDs, comics, etc. So it does mean I have to get rid of stuff now and again, so as to make way for new stuff. I usually give to a charity shop or pass it on.
I wish I still had so much stuff, though, I am not alone in that.
I mean, there are now 41 volumes of The Judge Dredd Case Files. I only have the first 15, bought over many years. Do I get rid of them to make way for other stuff? Hmmm…
I wish I’d kept my late 80s/early 90s Eagle comics.
But, hey, we all declutter now and again, eh?
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Post by Batflunkie on Mar 16, 2023 10:20:14 GMT -5
Living in a one-bedroom apartment, I have to think about space when it comes to graphic novels, DVDs, comics, etc. So it does mean I have to get rid of stuff now and again, so as to make way for new stuff. I usually give to a charity shop or pass it on. I wish I still had so much stuff, though, I am not alone in that. I mean, there are now 41 volumes of The Judge Dredd Case Files. I only have the first 15, bought over many years. Do I get rid of them to make way for other stuff? Hmmm… I wish I’d kept my late 80s/early 90s Eagle comics. But, hey, we all declutter now and again, eh? I came to the realization the other day that when it comes to my single issue comic books, there's very few of them that I want to get rid of. I think I told this story before, but I had my original comic book collection taken away from me because of bad grades in middle school only to never see them again. So I think my new one is kind of a way to mend old mental wounds
The fact that I work at goodwill doesn't help when it comes to my addiction to physical media. I have so many more books, movies, audio cassettes, cds, and video games now, more than I ever did, but I am better when it comes to trimming the fat in that respect. I used to buy stuff if I thought it looked interesting, now I only get something if it's something that I really and truly want
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Post by Icctrombone on Mar 16, 2023 17:17:11 GMT -5
Living in a one-bedroom apartment, I have to think about space when it comes to graphic novels, DVDs, comics, etc. So it does mean I have to get rid of stuff now and again, so as to make way for new stuff. I usually give to a charity shop or pass it on. I wish I still had so much stuff, though, I am not alone in that. I mean, there are now 41 volumes of The Judge Dredd Case Files. I only have the first 15, bought over many years. Do I get rid of them to make way for other stuff? Hmmm… I wish I’d kept my late 80s/early 90s Eagle comics. But, hey, we all declutter now and again, eh? I came to the realization the other day that when it comes to my single issue comic books, there's very few of them that I want to get rid of. I think I told this story before, but I had my original comic book collection taken away from me because of bad grades in middle school only to never see them again. So I think my new one is kind of a way to mend old mental wounds
The fact that I work at goodwill doesn't help when it comes to my addiction to physical media. I have so many more books, movies, audio cassettes, cds, and video games now, more than I ever did, but I am better when it comes to trimming the fat in that respect. I used to buy stuff if I thought it looked interesting, now I only get something if it's something that I really and truly want
I have to get rid of Maybe 50% of my comic collection. It looks to be a slow tedious process if I go through eBay , but I don't think I want to sell it to a dealer and get pennies. |
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