This week, Linkara takes a look at Justice League #2, Green Lantern Corps #2, Batman #2, Nightwing #2, Wonder Woman #2, Blue Beetle #2, Birds of Prey #2, Darkwing Duck #17, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 9 #2.
NOTE: Okay, I think it's well established by now that I read EVERY comment you guys post in order to approve them. I've also asked before to please at least glance over the comments to make sure no one else has commented on the same thing you have. However, this is starting to reach the Schroedinger's Cat Incident level of posting the same thing over and over and over. As such, any other comments on the actual myths about Hera and Greek society without responding directly to another person's comments on it will be deleted. The point has been made and the information is appreciated. Thanks to all who wished to inform me.
Still, it's cool to hear your thoughts on the books.
ReplyDeleteJust saying, it's still cool to hear your thoughts, and we can bounce recommendations around.
Justice League #2: I liked this book overall especially the banter between the characters. I agree that it's slow, but this feels on purpose and not just poor storytelling to me.
ReplyDeleteGreen Lantern Corps #2: Pretty much the exact same feelings. One of the problems with Green Lantern is that it can overuse the colour green. A few panels were really washed out.
Batman #2: I really enjoyed this issue. I agree the use of Gotham as a character is great, and I am a bit of an architecture nerd so it was nice to read about. I do feel the Dick Grayson DNA cliffhanger was over rather quickly, even if it was inevitably going to be false or justifiable.
Nightwing #2: I was unimpressed by this one. Not sure what it is but it just didn't do anything for me. However I must say "Saiko Killer" is an awesome pun and I have The Talking Heads song on repeat in my head :p
I didn't read any of the others you picked up. I do have one I want to comment on.
Batman: Odyssey #1: This book was AWFUL! The art was meh, the dialogue was crap, the pacing was terrible and it was just awful. I couldn't believe how much I hated this book as I read it. Just wow. To be fair, I get the feeling it might hold up better when all 7 parts are read as 1. I won't be sticking around to find out though. God, I hated this.
If you're concerned about TAIS getting stale, then why not trim it back to once every two weeks? Still give your immediate opinions on that week's books, but also say "hey, I enjoyed this, this and this from last week, and I didn't think this or this were that great."
ReplyDeleteOr, if you want to keep doing it weekly, you could mix up your pulls - say, get one book a week (either digitally or in-store) that you wouldn't normally get, or get a trade or graphic novel and give your opinion on that, or whatever. It'd probably work best with standalone graphic novels or new #1's.
Or you could mix up the format every once in a while. Do text reviews if it's a boring week, maybe set up a stream and do it live, etc. Or post a few on TGWTG and see what they think (though you've probably already said why you're not putting them up on TGWTG, so forgive me for being stupid and lazy).
man that sucks to hear you maybe taking a break from That's All I'm Saying, but just from doing video editing as a hobby i know it can be very slow and time consuming. so i can understand your decision, but maybe it could become more of a monthly serial vs weekly. allowing you to do more of a monthly good vs bad (which to follow and which to burn)type format
ReplyDeleteHurr hurr.
ReplyDeleteHey, Linkara.
You said "I might have preferred dick."
AND NOW I WILL TAKE THIS VIDEO AND MAKE IT INTO A YOUTUBE POOP BECAUSE I'M A LOYAL FAN.
Of course considering that's the only material I'll have, I can't imagine it'll be very funny when I'm done with it anyway.
I'd honestly say don't do a new show of this for oh say three months.
ReplyDeleteEvery three months pick em all up do 4 quick shows that give us the good, the bad, the meh, and the recommended. Also as a bonus actual burnings would be cool.
That way its not stale you aren't feeling like your a robot and as a plus it gives new listeners your recommendations on the current books out there.
I picked up Birds of Prey #2, and it has me wondering if the direction that they are going is really a good one. I didn't read a lot of the original Birds of Prey, but it seemed like everybody in it before the relaunch was... well, happier.
ReplyDeleteI also picked up Supergirl #2. It was okay, but not necessarily a must pick-up. It still has a fairly slow pace, but maybe it's because I'm more used to trade paperbacks and the like.
I don't think anyone really expected you to keep this to the long format for more than maybe two months - you're not following the whole of the DC Comics line, so there's little to no point in an hour-long weekly format. It may be worth going longer if something especially interesting, important, or stupid is going on in comics at a particular time, but otherwise just keep the show the length it goes and keep geeking out.
ReplyDeleteAlso, on Wonder Woman - this type of behavior isn't really all that far out of character for...well, ANY of the Greek Gods. I remember you mentioning you're not exactly well-read in classical mythology, but really, the tale being implied would not only fit right in, it would probably be considered dull and uninteresting and compared to the actual stories. Not saying it isn't offensive to modern sensibilities, just that it fits.
I'm actually looking forward to when you finally do get things narrowed down to those books you're going to keep reading. It'll help me to know what to look for should I decide to try getting into comics again.
ReplyDeleteAs for TAIS as a show, it's entirely up to you what ultimately happens to it, but to me, it's always seemed like the sort of thing that would be moving to a bi-weekly or even monthly format at some point, with thoughts on which ones were or weren't worth it for the time period. But that's just my two cents, for what little it may or may not be worth
Nice seeing this agien. And don't worry, I'm sure you'll find someway to make this last.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I picked up Green Lantern Corp and Blue Beetle this week.
Green Lantern Corp: I didn't pick up the 'other beings who can use willpower' thing, though looking back it does explain some dialog. If that is the direction they're going, shold be intresting.
Blue Beetle: About the same as you thought, though it seems that Jamie litterally can't tell them. Yeah, he coulda tried during the chase scene with Paco, but when they landed outsided of Brenda's house, the scarab physically kept him from spilling the beans, by spilling his lunch. It does make scence based on the wording of the interview. Now, it makes me curious why the scarrib would even let Jaime change back.
As someone who has studied a lot of mythology, I can tell you that Hera has tried to punish Zeus for his infidelity, its just that in greek mythology Zeus was basically an unbeatable Marty Stue who can see the future and threatened to dropkick her off mount olympus if she ever tried that again.
ReplyDeleteBut she is also meant to be extremely petty and cruel, at least in comparison to goddesses like Athena or Hestia. So while you frustration at her actions is completely deserved, its nothing new for her character (at least as far as mythology; I don't know much about her history in the DC comics).
i think that for a new focus on the this show you could grab new comics every week, not necessarily talk about all of them but one of the good things of the first 4 weeks is cause you were focusing on all the new 52 titles, so you just need something new to talk about
ReplyDeleteand btw i was honestly expecting that you would grab LSH/Startrek #1 this week, it was pretty good and i never saw Star Trek
I'm equally disappointed that Darkwing's getting the boot, but I'm sad to say I'm not surprised. Like I said earlier, I figured it was only being bought by people in our age group who weren't embarrassed to grab comics from the kids rack, since there was just too many references to the old TV episodes. If Disney bothered to compliment these Disney Afternoon comics by actually AIRING THE SHOWS on one of their channels so today's kids could see how awesome they were, maybe they would sell better.
ReplyDeleteI'm also equally concerned about how Wonder Woman's going to be treated in Justice League because of your warnings regarding Geoff Johns; however, given that in Blackest Night she was the only superhero to willingly break free of a black lantern ring and became a Star Sapphire because "no one else has more love of the planet," I'm willing to guess Johns may finally get her.
As much as I enjoy this little webcast, I would gladly do without if you were ever to stop having fun with it. Anything that would make more time for AT4W or HOPR can only be a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI scanned and didn't see anyone having hit on it yet, regarding Hera's character. You said you weren't a buff on Greek legends and then went on to commend sticking to the real-life goddess as well as feeling displeased that she directed her marital frustrations at the women rather than Zeus.
ReplyDeleteSo since I *am* a big fan of Greek and Roman pantheism, this struck me as particularly funny and contradictory because in Greek legend she does exactly that. Hera tends to punish all Zeus' mistresses she can find, as well as their offspring. Example, she sent snakes to kill Heracles (or "Hercules" if you're a Disney fan) when he was an infant. Later on, she in fact sent Amazons after him to impede him on one of his quests. If they don't stir ideas from that, I don't know what will.
(Fun fact: The reason you might hear tales of Zeus turning into Swans or Stallions or other animals to mate with human women is because he was trying to hide himself in those forms to avoid her catching him at his infidelity and knowing what mortals to punish.)
So basically, Hera going after Zeus' mistresses specifically is something she tended to do 'for real'.
Of course, if she goes after Wonderwoman that sort of suggests Zeus DID rape Hippolyta in her sleep. I am sorry for that. That really is just unnecessary.
I'm a study of Greek Mythology and Hera being angry about the women other than Zues is 100% completely Greek Mythology. Why ? Because Hera can't actually cross Zues...because well...he's the King of The Gods and he'd freakin' destroy her. At least that's how it's been in actual Greek Mythology.
ReplyDeleteGOOD STUFF!! LOOKING VERY FORWARD TO ATOP THE FOURTH WALL!! YAYS!!
You know you could try other new titles or what you think of some short series and make it monthly instead to save on time.
ReplyDeleteI mean since it started with a new character and all I'd like to see your reaction to Ultimate Spiderman. that Peguin book started up, and so did Huntress along with Hulk having that new stuff happen to him and Spider island in general.
If you make it monthly from now on you can make the show longer-with you just recording the mini reviews when you can in the month and catch up when you don't have as just editing. and you can just give a consistence of stuff like cross overs and even just having a run you suggest current or not each month so you don't have to make it an atop the fourth wall episode like you did with blue beetle.
As much as I hope for BB to succeed, I have bad feeling that current run is more of downgrade in many aspects.
ReplyDeleteTo begin with, JR is now first and only BB in this timeline which weakens (relatively) long heritage which he benefited from, the Reach looks more like traditional brain-dead warrior empire which just say "give us every thing and kneel before us, cuz we big and strong," oppose to highly deceptive super business beings which were smart enough to use diplomatic as their cover/shield, and finally, this whole origin which just says "some stuff fell from sky and some boy took it and became BB" which looks great downgrade from "ace in the hole to fight against Bro-eye" during Infinity Crisis.
Maybe it's just me, but the whole "reset" is bothering me, not only because, they are overhauling BB but for the possibility of change for Maxwell Lord. Maybe he's an asshole yet, he is highly threatening asshole with cause as Generation Lost greatly portrayed. Since the whole "time reset" (Flash Point) happened (For FF, I don't know, I think that Booster Gold series did better job for the similar subject)the only comic I saw him was OMAC which was quite weird.
Shame you're skipping Captain Atom, he was ultra heroic in this issue, saving a kid from cancer. Hello comics.
ReplyDeleteSnail's pace, Linkara?
ReplyDeleteI think you're giving it too much credit.
I found it to be a miserable, boring chore to read through and it's actively losing my interest.
I'll mention one of the books you didn't quickly.
Catwoman #2 is a good issue, that follows up on the previous by essentially reversing the plot, as in it starts with the pointless, shoehorned in sex scene and ends with her being attacked by the skull mask thugs in "her" apartment.
However, the one thing that did surprise the hell out of me was the artwork. It is amazing. The faces are SO impressively expressive and Selina's eyes are beautifully drawn.
It's worth looking at if for nothing else but the artwork alone.
DC was pretty good, but what I really enjoyed this week was the only Marvel book I follow: X-Factor! There are no words to describe just how much you need to pick this series up, Lewis. It is sooooo radical.
ReplyDeleteGREEK MYTH STUFF
ReplyDeleteI know several people have mentioned this already, but your grasp and understanding of Hera is... probably better than you think it is. She definitely is angry at Zeus, but his status as The King of Gods makes him above criticism; Hera has traditionally taken her anger out on Zeus's lovers and illegitimate children because she *isn't really allowed* to get mad at Zeus.
If that sounds chauvinistic or WRONG, then that's because you're a human being of modern times. Seriously, if you read Aristotle's Ethics, you might be appalled at woman's role in Ancient Greece.
I'm also a little puzzled while they call Eris by her domain ("Strife") in the comic, and I'm even less sure of her status as a child of Zeus and Hera. I always thought that Zeus's only children with Hera were Ares and Hephaestus, and I've only known Eris to be a low-tier goddess that hangs out with Ares and is kind of a bitch. You know, like inadvertently starting the Trojan War and stuff.
OTHER STUFF
Switching gears, I'm a sorry you didn't pick up Supergirl #2. I thought it was way better than #1 and for once I am actually interested in one of her reboots, which I haven't been since Superman: The Animated Series. Plus, I think they might bring in General Zod and/or Maxima into the New 52 through this title, so I am willing to shell out $3 a week for that alone.
Also, I'd agree that Justice League is getting more intersting (but is still slow) and that Batman was awesome. I think this new owl hitman guy is called The Talon, and I hope he is a human with an actual identity instead of some kind of manufactured meta-human or a robot. That said, Scott Snyder is such a boss that I'll trust his story direction.
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Thanks for doing these, Linkara! I'm the kind of person that will scour the internet for reviews of anything I'm remotely interested in, and TAIS is something I look forward to every week after I've read my own comics subscriptions. Keep on keepin' on!
C.L.A.W.S. & T.A.I.L.S. short edition at the morning :
ReplyDeleteThanks for the cool temper when talking about Red Hood and The Outlaws #2 Lewis, the crew appreciated and respectfully disagree with you.
Dr. Robotnick, seriously, facepalm on you ! There is a lot of less obvious and more ambiguous phrases coming out from Lewis discourse than this juvenile meme you are trying to create, shame on you Sir.
Addressing the elephant in the room : "That All I'm Saying" must survive by it's own merits and of course you can't read 52 comics per month without consuming all the will power you need to continue producing other cool elements of this show (the crew still is trying to keep the Square operational but they are more like "A Kink Night At Hold's" than any MST3K version you can imagine, it's more like Strip Club Frat House at this point) and of course most of this "New 52's" barely deserves your attention so there goes a humble suggestion for the T.A.I.S. monthly structure to fit in your schedule :
*This month Top 5 : not just DC but anything that really deserves your attention and comments;
*Brief catwalk for the candidates begging to be burn in a future edition at the top of the fourth wall;
*and OH GOD FOLKS PLEASE HELP US TO SAVE THIS COMIC BECAUSE IT'S DAMN GOOD SO FAR praising of the month because good comics must overcome their bad editors and let's face it "I" love Demon Knight too and the team cheers for anything made of sword and sorcery;
Keep it monthly, keep it simple, keep it short, quoting Shakespeare immortal words Brevity is the wit of the soul, so don't waste your time with comics you don't like and focus on the fun part of this section of the job : your discourse and commentary, do it like a 30's classic journalist giving the news fresh and just the way they come from the streets, i know i will appreciate this even if eventually became just a Blog.
Video is fine, Spoken is best but Written is priceless, even brief comments can give some inside in the write direction, keep your note book small and your pen ready for anything worth write, go back to origins if you need but don't diminish yourself : supplementing the lines above *KEEP DOING WHAT YOU DOES BEST, DON'T GET TIRED, RELAX AND DON'T WORRY : "WHEN WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY IS IMPORTANT DOES WHO CARE CAN WAIT YOU TAKE A BRAKE AND START TO TALK AGAIN!
You are the only character that should never be missed on this show, take care of yourself first Lewis, Liz second, the bills third, the show fourth and everything else at the wall where you can see it.
Good luck at Youmacon Top Cat!
I'm not a big comic reader (well wasn't until i found this site and the "new" 52) and to really show my appreciation for that, I have a suggestion of a book for you to check out. It came out this week, H.P. Lovecraft's The Dunwich Horror #1. While not especially scary (to me anyway) It certainly has a great build, with a weird ending. It comes with a second story The Hound which I haven't read yet.
ReplyDeleteWarning though, There is gore, comic horror being what they are.
I was really hoping that Red Hood and the Outlaws was going to be good and I was really looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteI am a big fan of Jason Todd but he only seems to have been written well in Under the Hood and The Lost Days (both written by Judd Winick)
I'm still going to give it a chance as I'm behind on my reading and haven't read any of the relaunch myself yet, but if it is as bad as everyone says or Jason Todd isn't written well enough to save it then I will cancel it.
Oh well, if Demon Knights is as good as you claim it is at least that will comfort me.
With your comments on Hera you are right, she should blame her husband. This is something that a lot of women also do in real life, it is almost like adulterous men have a divide and conquer strategy.
I've been thinking about reading Buffy but I've read about the season finale of season 8 and that makes the idea less appealing to me.
I think you are ok with sticking mostly to comics that you like because your main show (at4w) sticks to comics that you think are bad.
However, if you do find that you want to mix it up you could try buying one comic each week completely at random, kind of like a mystery box. That way you still have the benefit of more nuance to the formula of the show than "this is good", at one comic a week it doesn't cost you much extra and you might find something completely new that you like.
Alternatively you could devote a couple of minutes for a quick run through of an issue you might like to review on at4w but for one reason or another will probably never get to do so.
Linkara - Any chance of a text TAIS for the next couple weeks... just a quick, first thought so you don't take too much time from AT4W/the con.
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested in hearing what books that were cancelled in the relaunch do you wish stayed...
ReplyDeleteBooster Gold is probably on both our lists (especially since there were previews that never happened, such as the Black Beetle's reveal, and the thing with Brainiac 5 and Booster fighting over his flight ring that was previewed in Issue #1)
I'll preface this with the fact I haven't read any other comments on here yet.
ReplyDeleteMy initial thought on that closing, regarding longevity, is that you could plausibly drop this to a longer monthly show, expand the comic content covered, such as webcomics you read, and restrict the criticism to just specific areas of major impact, such as the really well handled elements and the elements that most people will "WTF" at. On the DC side this would be fairly useful if the lower price they offered to start this month on the "New 52" #1s will be a regular monthly offer, as the lower cost will help any of us trying to share our comic interests with neophytes or those who haven't read in a long time.
My other thought was that you could take this to being irregular, and just make one when you do have specific comments or either drop or pick up comics from or to your pull.
The reason Justice League #2 is out now is that it's a third week book. Except that #1 was moved back from third week of September to last week of August, to kick off the reboot.
ReplyDeleteJust to reiterate about he Hera taking it out on the mistress. Hera would love to take her anger out on Zeus but as stated Zeus is a bad ass and can not be defeated by the other gods when he has his thunderbolts.
ReplyDeleteYou mention that this was a time before divorce and that is true but the more important thing is this is a time when beating your wife is totally ok in the eyes of society. Hera did try to get even with Zeus once and in punishment for the plot Zeus hung her. She didn't die being a god. But Zeus kept her up there for a day constantly in constant pain. He only let her down because her sobs prevented him from getting a decent nights sleep.
The point is in the myths Zeus is a right royal bastard with a lighting temper and the attention span of a fruit fly and 10 times the power of any other deity. You don't attack him if you have any survival instinct at all. But you can take your frustration out on his mistresses because he probably has already forgotten about them and moved on to the next piece of toty.
The Greek gods are not like the Juedo/Christian god. They are personification of forces that could be helpful or destructive. They are not icon to emulate but explanations of why the world is so crappy. A normal greek myth is someone is just living their life and then the gods take interest and their life goes to hell. No reason the world is just brutal and unfair that the point of it.
Why do I get the feeling that this is the last episode of That's All I'm Saying that we're going to see?
ReplyDelete"Well, there probably won't be an episode next week. And there DEFINITELY won't be an episode the week after that. And I have no idea what I'm going to say about any of the comics the week after that, or any time in the future."
Oh, well. I would have kept watching, but you did cover the first month of the relaunch, which was more or less the main event. It's been fun, but I think we'll understand if you decide this show is an experiment you're not up to continuing.
I got almost nothing this week:
ReplyDelete1) Justice League 2
2) Legion of Superheroes 2
3) X-men books
4) John Carter of Mars
On the DC stuff, Legion is way too confusing with the number of characters. I think they should concentrate on 3 - 5, tell a story for 4 - 6 issues, then move on to others. It would really help out. This is on my consider for cancellation list.
Justice League is slow, but could be cool. I am not as upset by this one for being so slow, because I can see what it is building towards. It was handled better with the Justice League Cartoon, but still neat.
As for the show, you could dive into small amount of why you like this title. For example I will rave about OMAC at the drop of a hat . . . ok no takers, sigh. However, I wouldn't mind hearing about why you like Green Lantern. You don't need to do a dissertation, just things like. . . "The over arching plot is cool and I noticed how it ties back to issue Y". A few sentences to give context on why the book is cool.
Why do this? Well, I am not picking up Demon Knight, because I am not a huge fan of medieval type fantasy. However, if the spirit of the comic is less about epic fantasy I may be interested. So, a bit of description around your praise could give some impetus to branch out. You don't have to do this with every comic, just the one or two each week.
From the reviews I've read, Red Hood #2 seems to be a HUGE improvement over the first
ReplyDeleteSeeing as I'm a fan of Jason Todd ever since his return in Under the Red Hood (and enjoyed some of the older stuff with him as Robin as well) I may actually pick this one up! (alto I probably skip issue 1)
Also interesting to see how Jason basically seems to be picking-up the old TT crew
I'd say the direction to take this series is exactly the opposite of AT4W. List series you enjoy either new or old. Showcase your favorites of all time. Highlight good stuff that lots of people aren't checking out. All of that makes this a more entertaining series.
ReplyDeleteAnyway Birds reminds me a lot of Gotham City Sirens which is nice but doesn't at all fit with the tone Birds ever had before so disappointing.
Just gonna throw this out there - you asked if people would prefer this as mp3 instead of video that they should pipe up - I'm one of those people. This is excellent podcast fodder, and with a proper XML feed to get it onto my mp3 player that'd be nice too.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you need to go on for 10-20 minutes to make this worth listening to - but I do think you should embrace your spoiler warning. Don't be afraid to point out significant plot points.
Personally I'm at odds with you re: Blue Beetle. I understand that this is a total re-tread, but as someone who missed the old series I'm happy to be able to start fresh with this one. Also, with the time reset and Jaime being younger than the bulk of DC heroes this was more or less unavoidable. I do wish it was more lighthearted - but I find myself wishing that of every comic anyway so I don't really feel right singling it out for that.
Justice League #1 I think was suppose to come out in September and they moved it up. That is what I thought. Geoff Johns writing Wonder Woman is not a good thing but after reading what they have done with her book it can't be any worse. I will agree with that slow pace. I said that with issue one.
ReplyDeleteI also got Catwoman, GLC, Batman and Odyssey, Wonder Woman, Nightwing, Darkwing Duck, Birds Of Prey, Buffy last week.
I didn't get Red Hood or Blue Beetle. I mention my dislike for Jamie Reyes as blue beetle and how we disagree on the character. The new DCU treading old ground? Funny the reboot seems to be doing a lot of that.
Darkwing Duck is getting canceled so Marvel get the license so they can do nothing with it. Just like they have done with all the former Boom Disney titles. I do agree with you on Darkwing Duck.
Now quickly to wonder woman. I hate re designs of the costumes or the gods. I am glad actually appears in the book more then first issue. The whole Zeus thing may turn me off from this book.
"That's All I'm Saying" doesn't need to be a long series at all. As far as I can see, it started out as a way to read and tell the viewers what you thought about the D.C. Relaunch of 2011, and once that becomes old news and stabilizes, then this series will not need to exist. Considering that relaunches happen more often nowadays, you can resurrect the series when needed.
ReplyDeleteHowever, you can probably launch a companion series irregularly that talks about the comics you are currently reading, whether it's related to the relaunch or not. It would also allow you to summarize your opinion about multiple issues of a series without having to analyze every detail of it or having to do every week.
If "That's All I'm Saying" ends, the last episode should probably recap every series that you read VERY briefly and give a single-word grade ("good", "bad", "average", "mediocre", etc...). That way people who are waiting for trade volumes of relaunch titles can know which to buy in bulk and which ones to avoid. If you only read one or two issues of the title, you can say that and mention that they did not make good first impressions.
Random thoughts:
ReplyDeleteI imagine Hera getting mad at Zeus might be futile as he'd probably say, "The whole incest thing got boring about a millennium ago. Sorry, sister." Hera came off as a bit of a hypocrite as well, since it was implied she and her daughter might have had a sexual relationship in the past.
Batman is a fantastic book. It only solidifies the point that you talented writers on the flagship books instead of letting a moronic artist try to write. Finch and Daniel are good artists but they write like 12 year olds. As if taking away Joker's face and turning Two-Face into a Bane clone with an accurate name won't totally be ignored in the future. How dumb do you have to be to think any of it will stick?
Sorry Darkwing Duck got cancelled. Did Disney drop the axe? They did that to the awesome Gargoyles comic from a few years ago.
I agree with you about the longevity of the show. One idea might be to check out one comic a week you don't normally read. Like a Marvel Point One (Point One just referring to it being reader friendly) issue. Or the Wolverine and the X-Men comic from the X-Men relaunch. Or trying some indy comics. At worst, if it sucks, you can rip it apart.
Darkwing Duck is being canceled?!?! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! *cries* Dammit, if only Disney themselves would stop treating the old Disney Afternoon shows and all of their popular older properties like forgotten garbage. If only they reaired the old show on TV to get new people interested. In fact, if it wasn't for the folks at Boom and how they fondly remembered and loved the show, the comic wouldn't even exist.
ReplyDeleteAnd its not like I wasn't buying it! Granted I was waiting for the trades, as it is such a pain for me to collect the monthly issues where I live, buying the trades online was much easier, (and look better along side my manga collection).
You would think that with the success of the comic, the Disney company would attempt to bring Drakwing back on a larger scale, especially with how superhero stories are in again right now. I guess the comic didn't make enough money to satisfy them. Or perhaps they are only canceling it just so Marvel can take it over?
Either way, i'm sad to see it end, and I just hope it ends well...and i'm also happy I finally got my long awaited offical/non-fanfic DW/Ducktales crossover before it ended.
At least Buffy season 6 brought us Once More With Feeling.
ReplyDeleteAnd--wait, Giles is dead? NOOOOOOOO!
While I do like the show, I must admit that I thought this show was for the new DC Relaunch/Reboot/whatever. I just want you to do whatever will make you happiest. If you drop the show, that is fine by me. If you keep at it, then I'll continue to watch. I know I am little to no help right now but that is just how I feel.
ReplyDeleteSolution to Longevity Problems:
ReplyDelete1. Pander for donations
2. Try out more #1's/.1's (via what ever's cheapest)
3. Pick up more Marvel/Indie Titles (via what ever's cheapest)
If the show is getting too little material, I can only think of two things for improvements.
ReplyDelete1) Cut the show back to once every two weeks. On the off-week you can take down your first reactions, and at least you'll have some added time afterwards to also build on for the show the following week. Maybe you could even on the on-week you could wait a day or two to also get the initial reaction plus a little bit of second-thoughts.
and
2) You'll hate this..... but keep buying the bad comics, at least as much as your budget and time allows. You are a reviewer and unfortunately subjecting yourself to the horrors and depravity of the shlock may be unavoidable - even beyond AT4W if you want to cover current releases. Those few purchases will give you enough to tell others to STAY AWAY with more detail beyond "I didn't care to follow it, so what more can I say?"
Plus we like it when reviewers are pushed to the point of ripping their hair out and turning violent. We're sick bastards that way.
Anyway, so far I've only read Nightwing #2, and I loved it. I really liked how much Dick was enjoying things - including being attacked by villains... but as soon as those he cared about (or even random civilians) were endangered, the humor was dropped like a switch. The fact Dick can keep perspective without being moody is making him very enjoyable to me as a character. He's not one-note.
Time for me to go check-out Batman #2.
That about Wonder woman is something that botters me a lot.
ReplyDeleteIs so hard for the writers to get a jump in the wikepedia and give a look in the greeck mithology?
Ok that incest was kind of usual in the Greeck mithology, but things change.
Hypholita was his grandaughter, have a child with his own grandchild is b ad, for lack of a better word.
The same in the animated movie, they search that Thraz is the son of ARes, but they don't know that the own Hypolita was their daughter too?
Hyploita was daughter of Ares and Otrera the first Amazon.
Really, those guys who wrote comics and cartoon don't give a crap for what they are doing.
I hate the fact that there's no more Justice Society in the New 52.
ReplyDeleteThat was my favorite book. I collected all of the JSA trades (10 in all) and the relaunched Justice Society after Infinite Crisis.
Alan Scott and Jay Garrick became my favorite versions of Green Lantern and The Flash through that series.
My enthusiasm for DC was already dampened by this reboot, so getting rid of my favorite book doesn't help matters.
I won't beat the mythology thing because I'm sure there's a line to whip that horse.
ReplyDeleteI will say a couple things though, mainly focusing on divorce in BC Greece. It did exist, but from what I can dig up, it was mostly the right of men with women only able to get a divorce if her birth family called for it. This would be a problem for Hera, given that Zeus is also her brother (all together now... EW). Additionally husbands in Greece had the right to have other sexual partners, there were state run brothels in Athens and a class of educated women called hetaerae who functioned as mistresses or high class call girls. The children of Hetaerae even if she was monogamous were always legally bastards. Then there's the issue of slavery, which I'm not going to delve into expect to note that female slaves were common and had few if any legal rights.
Now Hera did try to overthrow Zeus once and got her ass kicked for her troubles and tortured a bit besides. Protip, Zeus is a dick. So really the human victims of Zeus and their children are the only safe targets she has. You kinda feel sorry for her honestly... Well I feel sorry for the whole pantheon having to put up with Zeus. Expect for Ares, he's a chickenshit.
Yeah, I think that's going to be the problem with Blue Beetle for the next couple of issues. Because a lot of mainstream fans don't really know Blue Beetle or Jaime, so we have no choice but to go over the origins. Still, I want to hope that once Bedard finishes this lukewarm origin story, he comes up with some clever storylines.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am going to say something that may seem blasphemous...but I think I'm liking Snyder as a better Batman writer than Morrison. I know. "Le Gasp" and all, but Snyder seems to be pulling off compelling Batman stories (The Court of Owls and Gates of Gotham) without having to bog it down with tons of Continuity Porn.
And really, the only thing stopping me from reading Wonder Woman is the art. When I first saw the cover for issue one, I couldn't help but thing of some bizarre combination of mosaic and colored pencil. I don't know.
Nah, Hera was always like this-even in the myths. She hated Hercules iirc.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure it would be cooler if we were kept in the shadows about what the scarab was saying until he became friends with it.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be sad to see Boom Studios' Darkwing Duck run coming to an end. I should probably note that Disney and Marvel have been reprinting Boom Studios' Pixar and Muppets comics in magazine format. Perhaps we will see reprints of Darkwing Duck and other Disney comics as well, along with new stuff (still waiting for Incredibles vs. Unforgivables . . .)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I understand the long hiatus from That's All I'm Saying. Perhaps, instead of a weekly series, you can make it into a bi-weekly or monthly, where you list what you liked and what comics will end up on Atop the Fourth Wall.
I promise this comment will not talk about Greek myth, except to mention that Eris/Discord is indeed sometimes depicted in mythology as Hera and Zeus' daughter. Seriously though, other commenters, some of you mentioned you had read the other comments and still said basically the same thing! What's the point?
ReplyDeleteANYWAY. I'm still really enjoying this show coming out each week and so would be very sad to see it end. However, I think since you are cutting back on the number of books that maybe just doing the show once a month would probably be enough. Also maybe be a bit more lenient about spoilers (as someone waiting for trades, I don't mind knowing a bit of what happened, to try and figure out if I want to read myself). But that's just my thoughts and in the end, you should do whatever feels right to you. And I do love AT4W so I'll still be able to get my comic fix ^_^
I know a bit of Greek Mythology, and sorry to say Linkara, rape was VERY common back then, and what Zeus(possibly) did was IN-character. Everyone raped back then, even the amazons.
ReplyDeleteI believe Hera doesn't divorce Zeus because she enjoys the power that comes with being the Queen of the Gods. She takes her anger out on the women and kids Zeus has because it's more pragmatic than attacking her more powerful husband.
Hope this helps with the WW-origin. Still think Poseidon would have been a better choice for her father if they wanted to go that route.
PS Don't worry about not being able to do the review in 2 weeks. You have to travel for a conventional and we'll understand. Thanks for the heads up. If you can't do the TAIS that's cool too, but I actually enjoy it. Your voice isn't annoying, but you could always use the Harvey voice if you think it is;)
Its rather odd hearing Linkara liking the aspect that Dick Grayson is a Killer and a Criminal now compared to well...the reveal Dick is the Joker in The Dark Knight Returns(I think that is the comic I'm thinking off) I'm sorry I GOT TO CALL BULL CRAP ON THIS,this is a reboot of the previous universe and kept a BUNCH of History of some of the titles(Batman and Green Lantern).Dick Grayson while I was growing up was and still is one of my favorite characters in Batman..I can Understand if Bruce never raised Dick after his parents Murderer and that's what drove Dick to be a criminal but NO this is not the case sense its the same but altered universe from the last one...we have one Robin all ready as a Criminal and that's Jason,NOT DICK GRAYSON! Unless something happened to him and he's being framed,that's fine. But how this is going it doesn't look that way...
ReplyDeleteRereading Wonder Woman, I think the lightening theory is most plausible. In both myth and in the book itself, a pregnancy by Zeus would be the normal length. While Zeus isn't above rape (albeit disguising himself as a woman's husband, like in the case of Hercules' mother) why would the baby be there in the morning? If he's an untouchable god, why try and hide what he did?
ReplyDeleteSo either Wondy is the clay baby enbued with the lightening or the story is a lie. Hypolyta and Zues might have been lovers at some point and Hypolyta might have feared Diana being hated by the other Amazons if they knew the truth. This isn't likley, because if Hypolyta was pregnant/missing for 9 months how could she hide it from the others?
The only other plausible theory is Diana is the daughter of Zeus and some other woman. That could be a reason Hypolyta lied about the story, as a cover for taking the baby in. Or the Hypolyta's story is true and Zeus or the mother stumbled upon the perfect way to hide the baby from Hera by replacing the clay baby with Diana.
TAIS should be a show you do occasionally like HOPR or a vlog. Good review today anyway The final issue of Fear itself came out today ah that poor mess of an okay story I'm not going to be a DC purist or Comicvine commenter but I'm one of the few that enjoyed Fear itself I like the premise anyway. So I gotta ask about Geoff John writing Wonder Woman see I own JSA "Thy kingdom come" and Infinite crisis both of which John wrote one of which Wonder Woman was a big part of can you give me a example on how it was bad? Just saying I'm not deep in WW mythos as you were/are so kindly reply and lets hope he writes her right.
ReplyDelete"Its rather odd hearing Linkara liking the aspect that Dick Grayson is a Killer and a Criminal now compared to well...the reveal Dick is the Joker in The Dark Knight Returns(I think that is the comic I'm thinking off) I'm sorry I GOT TO CALL BULL CRAP ON THIS,this is a reboot of the previous universe and kept a BUNCH of History of some of the titles(Batman and Green Lantern).Dick Grayson while I was growing up was and still is one of my favorite characters in Batman..I can Understand if Bruce never raised Dick after his parents Murderer and that's what drove Dick to be a criminal but NO this is not the case sense its the same but altered universe from the last one...we have one Robin all ready as a Criminal and that's Jason,NOT DICK GRAYSON! Unless something happened to him and he's being framed,that's fine. But how this is going it doesn't look that way..."
ReplyDeleteErm, Kaibaman, what are you talking about? The mystery is in why people think he's a killer. It IS a misdirection, since we all know he isn't like that and they're not going to do something as moronic as that. After all, someone got it into their heads that Dick is a danger to everyone around him, so the plot is why they have that idea, is there some sort of basis in it (mind control or the like), and what is necessary to resolve it. They're not literally turning Dick Grayson into a murderer.
"So I gotta ask about Geoff John writing Wonder Woman see I own JSA "Thy kingdom come" and Infinite crisis both of which John wrote one of which Wonder Woman was a big part of can you give me a example on how it was bad? Just saying I'm not deep in WW mythos as you were/are so kindly reply and lets hope he writes her right."
ReplyDeleteGeoff Johns has this bizarre concept in his head that Diana needs to be "more human" or that she sees herself as perfect, which is not and never has been the case. Wonder Woman IS human, despite what anyone claims. Lots of writers try to make her into a golem or that she's a magical being who is only one spell away from being clay again and that's groan-worthy, but fine, whatever, but with Johns in Infinite Crisis he basically set out to slam down Wondy as being hated and feared by everybody else because she was too far removed from humanity, and given she's the most compassionate heroine of all of them (possibly more so than Superman), that's just dumb. The storyline of her being wanted as a murderer is even more laughable considering she HAS killed on national television before. She was engaged in a fight against a Medusa and literally beheaded the Medusa in front of millions and wasn't punished for it by anyone else.
Frankly, the best time Johns ever wrote her was in Countdown to Infinite Crisis, where she showed concern for Ted Kord and wanted to be kept in the loop on his investigation, but even then was subsequently dismissed by Martian Manhunter as being too trusting.
I'm actually very interested to see where Red Hood goes. I mean granted, it will take a lot to fix up Starfire and Roy Harper but I'm actually liking what Jason Todd is becoming. He's slowly changing from a kid set on revenge to a man similar to Batman, like he always wanted to. When Batman died and they needed to find a replacement I had a good idea that it'd be Dick getting the cowl, but part of me wanted Jason to get it and become Batman. But his history ruined it and his character at the time was just dreadful. But now with this reboot, Jason has a chance to show himself becoming a better character and a better hero. Roy just needs to go back to the way he was before Cry for Justice and Starfire honestly doesn't interest me. Mainly because I haven't read many of books and what I've seen of her comes from the Teen Titans tv show. Right now I'm considering Jason Todd an experiment for comics right now. Do we want to see him go back to the way he was and be a painful reminder for Batman of his greatest failure? Or do we want to see him become part of the Bat-Family again and be a much better character? I'd prefer the latter honestly.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to say this, but Zeus impregnating a sleeping woman without her consent sounds pretty in-character for him.
ReplyDeleteWhile he never used force, by our legal system he would be considered a rapist seeing as the majority of his conquests happened without the woman even realizing.
And Hera taking out her rage on the women and their children is also not only in-character for her, but also in-line with ancient Greek law, where rape was considered to always be the woman's fault (similar as in Christianity and Islam), except in Sparta (seriously, for being the more militant of the two big city states, Sparta didd much more in the direction of women's rights than Athens ever did)
It's probably already been said, but I feel I might as well say it again. Hera gets mad at the women who sleep with her husband because of the cultural status at the time. Women were expected to be pure, while men were pretty much expected to try to get laid as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteThe story of Medusa is a perfect reference to this. Medusa was supposed to be a priestess of Athena and then the god of the sea came and raped her. Instead of the god of the sea getting in trouble Medusa was cursed to be the gorgon that we all know and love. So that is why we can look at why Hera gets mad at the women and not her husband, it was all in their culture to do so.
*KEEP DOING WHAT YOU DOES BEST, DON'T GET TIRED, RELAX AND DON'T WORRY : "WHEN WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY IS IMPORTANT THOSE WHO CARE CAN WAIT YOU TAKE A BRAKE AND START TO TALK AGAIN!
ReplyDeleteGeez i hate my lack of concentration when editing my own writings.
Anyway, i check Red Hood and The Outlaws #2 again and seriously - no pushing things or ranting anything about but - what you mean by copious amounts of T&A ?
Me and my friend are proud about our expertise in matters of T&A and frankly Lobdell and Rocafort were pretty moderate on the sexploitation this time and for a few pages Starfire is even more dressed than Roy Harper.
Everybody has the right to keep their own opinion but don't you think you overreact on that issue ?
What do you think about this article Linkara?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=35044
It's about the reader retention rate for the DCnU. Seems a lot of people are doing the same thing you are of coming in consistently for the really good books and dropping the really bad ones. But it seems DC miscalculated a bit, the October #1 aren't getting any renumbering benefits. Also, the books that lost sales have gone far below statistical expectations.
So I guess the lesson to be learned is...just make good books.
"Everybody has the right to keep their own opinion but don't you think you overreact on that issue ?"
ReplyDelete...I said issue 2 DIDN'T have copious amounts of T&A. That was one of my problems with issue 1.
Sorry Lewis, i think i misheard that part. ;-) I hope you don't give up the TAIS as a tool necessary to improve your critic skills in the future.
ReplyDeleteMaybe a journal format is easier to keep on a weekly basis but the preference is always yours.
Never became a cheap artist, improve yourself.
"Erm, Kaibaman, what are you talking about? The mystery is in why people think he's a killer. It IS a misdirection, since we all know he isn't like that and they're not going to do something as moronic as that. After all, someone got it into their heads that Dick is a danger to everyone around him, so the plot is why they have that idea, is there some sort of basis in it (mind control or the like), and what is necessary to resolve it. They're not literally turning Dick Grayson into a murderer."
ReplyDeleteO-o Oh..I see, I havn't been able to find any issue of Nightwing around anywhere and hearing your perspective on it kinda got me thinking otherwise.I sometimes over react like that, I apologize for that.
So Linkara, out of curiousity, how was Reserection Man #2 anyway?
ReplyDeleteWho needs T&A when female characters want to jump your bones for no good reason?
ReplyDeleteBy the way, that's something that's been bothering me with the Batbooks. Yeah, DC, Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson get a lot more pussy than I'll ever get in a lifetime. You don't need to remind me of that. It's embarassing.
You call that escapism? I call that patronizing.
I've yet to read any of these and I dought I ever will this year as the only comics I've been buying recently are older trades. But I can't wait to get the trades of these in like a year or so when they're out.
ReplyDeleteSo, I really can't voice an openion of the comics and their content here, but on the subject of Hera (sorry, if you've heard it a million times on here in the comments but here it comes again) in Greek mythology and she really couldn't do much to Zues when he cheated on her because by all acounts he was the most powerful being iin all excistance! (Zues is basically the Superman of anceint Greek pantheon except he was more of a dick than Clark. In that he could kick every one else's asses in combat if you wanted to. The only other real differince is because all the gods are immortal! Don't let God of War the video game give you the wrong idea gods can NOT die no matter what. They can only be contained nad trapped. Mostly in Hell!) There is only one story I can think of inwhich she along with all the other gods tried to over throw Zues, and managed to bind him in some divice but he managed to talk some one into freeing hm and he was pissed. Yada, yada, blah, blah, he threatend them that i they ever tried to do that crap again he'd send them at to Tartus with the Titans!
So, yeah in Greek Mythology Hera was mostly played as an angry bitch on wheels that if she couldn't make Zues himself pay for his infadelity she'd hurt him threw punishment on is offspring and lovers and yes even if they were bsically completely innocent of everything. And, that's where the story of Hercules comes up a lot!
But, also it was mostly because back in ancent times of the Greeks and Romains wives didn't have much controle over their husbands. Back then if a wife didn't like the fact her husband was sleeping with another girl the best she could do was kill or disfigure the other woman.
Basically you need to watch that old series off HBO called Rome it'll give you a better understanding of how they worked back then. And even though they were gods and high ranking ones they fallowed the same basic pecking order as humans.
Sorry, again for the lecture but I love to share what little I know with another who openly admit they don't know!
:D
So, you're basically cancling this show until further knotice!?
PS: Also, Zues has had children with mortal women with out actually having physical sex with them like in the Story of Persious from thazt myth that the moves Clash of the Titans is loosely based on! In that legend the girl's father was warned his grandchild whould cause his downfall so he locked his only daughter up inside a tall tower with no doors and only one window(yes like in that other fairy tale) at the very top so that food could be thrown up to her. And Zues impregnated her by coming to the girl one night and "Bathed her in golden light" and 9 months later one of the towers gaurds heard the cries of a baby they king had the tower door tore open and found she'd given birth to a son. And if I go on I'll tell the whole freaking myth.
ReplyDeleteBasically Zues can be Wonder Woman's dad without him actually puttin' the moves on her momma! :D
Maybe you should make this show monthy as opposed to weekly I appreciate you going over the new 52 as it allowed me to figure out what I wanted to read from the new 52. But now that the first wave is done give it a rest.
ReplyDeleteI do have one request for you the new Ghostbusters ongoing by IDW.
"Monthly instead of weekly"
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't suggest that. I like this as a quick and dirty look at what you just got. A single episode would be too long.
OK so I am watch Buffy The Vampire Slayer on Netflix, on season 3 on the episode where Buffy looses her powers. Loving the show, just surprised that the show stopped at 7 seasons but the comics are continuing it. O well, might get the comics digitally.
ReplyDeleteAlso...Gailes is dead!? When did that happen?
To echo what others have said; Just keep it short. It doesn't have to be a long series. It can just be something you add when you have a little free time to talk.
ReplyDeleteI am a study of Greek mythology and this does follow Hera's personality. Hera was the goddess of the family, every time Zues would find a new lover she considered it a blight on the family, so in order to punish Zues she would torture his new loved ones or whatever child he fathered.That is Hera's usual portrayal in mythology. More often than not, Hera was usally the bad guy in greek myths, it wasn't Ares or Hades (though both were usually up to no good) it was Hera that was evil.
ReplyDeleteHey, if it means anything I actually really enjoy That's All I'm Saying. It's really cool that you take the time to comment on new stuff as it comes out.
ReplyDeleteThen again I'm a total dork for comic book news.
Wish you the best with this podcast thingie. No matter what happens I hope MOST of your fans will understand if and when you decide to drop this because of the reasons you talked about at the end there.
ReplyDeleteDo you just stop responding to your comments after a certain amount of time has passed on a post?
ReplyDelete"Do you just stop responding to your comments after a certain amount of time has passed on a post?"
ReplyDeleteNope, since I still have to approve comments for old posts, too. Just sometimes there are questions that require longer answers that I don't have time for, questions I don't want to answer, or questions that will be answered soon or eventually.
There is a reason why she goes more after the women than Zeus. She tried to get at Zeus for his crap once before, with two other gods helping her. It went very, very badly, and Zeus made it clear if they did something like this again, bad things would happen to them. Also, at least in the myths since I haven't read this issue yet, Hera is more jealous than anything else. It's meant to be ironic, as Hera is the goddess of marriage, and jealousy can often ruin one.
ReplyDeleteAs for the whole Zeus fathering Diana thing, yeah this could get a bit squicky. I have my own ideas of how to handle it if Zeus has to be her biological father, but I still like the original much better.
hey linkara if your worried about this show getting stale how about trying a new comic every episode (one weak it's a sonic comic, the next weak a hulk comic etc.) not only would it be fun for you but for the viewers as well
ReplyDeleteI'm really hoping you do continue doing this series, whether in video, audio or however you can (hell smoke signals would be good enough for me).
ReplyDeleteFor me, I'm still fairly new to comics. I mean I grew up on the DC and Marvel cartoons so I got a basic grasp of how the different worlds work but up until late 2009 I never really read comics. I mean I watched your show because I think you are funny and I do end up getting most of these comics myself to see if they really are that bad (a decision I slightly regret but sorta stand by) but new comic wise I didn't really start reading issue to issue until most new people did with the New DC 52.
And I've picked up the first 2 issues of about 30 or so of the 52 and definitely have developed some tastes when it comes to the different comics (some favorites being Demon Knights, Batwoman and Animal Man) I'm hoping the more I read the more interested I'll become in the older stuff, but right now I'm happy to have conversations with other comic lovers about the new 52, as well as Ultimate Spider Man.
The reason I want this show to go on in some form or another is I really do respect your opinion. Even if it's just going on Twitter and saying "BUY THIS" I'd be happy. You are who I look up to when it comes to comics so here's hoping this goes on. All the best.
Is it sad that, if you don't do the That's All I'm Saying this week, I already have the in universe reason all figured out.
ReplyDeleteHmm, does this mean that it was actually Missing No. that was writing the Obscurus Lupa fanfic in the Simon Sez review? Poor girl just attracts the wrong type of guy... er, being.
ReplyDeleteGood show this one, although I personally think it should be the last "TAIS" you do about the relaunch (or any stuff you like, for that matter)
ReplyDeleteIts given me a good idea of what's good and bad about the relaunch, and now you can go back to what we all enjoy: You tearing really bad comics a new one (you are kind of like the "Mystery Science Theater" of the comics world ^_^)
I've been listening backwards from here to the end of last month and just caught the listening, not watching question--I'm not sure if the vote matters now, but I listen. It's a good series to listen to when I'm not someone who complains about inconsistencies or whatnot.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I hope you keep doing these for at least a little while longer, until you've filtered the new 52 down to what you feel should be stuck with.
I think you should do another episode of That's All I'm Saying. Deadpool has started a new story arc, and I want to know if you think it's funny again.
ReplyDeleteOnly do it another TAIS if you have fun doing this kind of thing.
ReplyDeleteThe actual TAIS's lost strength because the task of reading and following 52 comic book plus anything else you like is unbearable.
Diversity in this show is cool but the real problem is this : "There is only one Lewis Lovhaug for too much Fourth Wall to cover and since everybody wants to read/hear/listen/watch/etc... what you have to say i think it's time to hired the services provide by Kamino cloning facilities if and when available.
I do hope you'll review this week's comics as part of the next week's video
ReplyDelete"I do hope you'll review this week's comics as part of the next week's video"
ReplyDeleteErm, there is no next week's video. I'm going out of town next week. XD
It's too bad you won't be doing a TAIS this week. I really wanted to hear your thoughts on what happened with Ganthet in Green Lantern: New Guardians, but I understand. You have a lot to do for the next episode.
ReplyDeleteBesides, I doubt you'd be able to get anything this week considering the Entity's already got your local comic shop owner, the people who deliver the comics and everyone at DC. XD
Scott Lobdell did a Q&A about his "Red Hood and the Outlaws" series, and addressed some of the issues people had with the series so far
ReplyDeletehttp://www.comicvine.com/news/scott-lobdell-answers-your-questions-even-ones-about-starfire-october-edition/143746/
Where's your TAIS for October 26?
ReplyDelete"Question: Why should we like your memory/sensory-deficient version of Starfire?
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting question. I don't necessarily write a character to be liked or disliked. Personally, I find her fascinating -- an alien woman who is stranded on Earth (it is not as if a ferry leaves for Tamaran every twenty minutes) who is trying to do her best to adapt to a totally different culture. And while she has a lot of affection for the human race in general, the truth is that humans are not particularly enamored of aliens.
(Superman and Supergirl at least have the fact they look like models going for them. Kori has orange skin, green eyes and oft-flaming hair. She'd stand out even in West Hollywood. She isn't an alien that can slip into a pair of reading glasses and fit right in -- so the challenges she's going to face are different than the Superman and the shapeshifting Martian Manhunters of the world.)
For the past 40 years, Mr. Spock from Star Trek was an emotionally "deficient" alien who probably taught us more about human emotion than a lot of other characters in science fiction. Similarly, I think there is a lot for Kori to reveal to us about the nature of memory than we might initially perceive from the first issue.
I've read the sixth issue, which reveals the story of how she and Jason met -- and he learns exactly what she does and doesn't recall from the past. I think everyone who is dismissing her as a "goldfish" (with tongue often planted in cheek) is going to be disappointed that their snap judgement about Kori hasn't played out.
In short, I love Kori -- I have since her very first appearance. I love that she's the strongest member in a team of bad asses, I love that her perceptions will often challenge Jason and Roy's, I love the fact that she doesn't think the way humans do. I am forever fascinated by her and I can only hope that love for the character is contagious.
Follow-up: What would you say to those who did not like her in the first issue of Red Hood and the Outlaws?
I'm not sure what to say, to be honest.
Maybe there is a book that has been written or a move that has been made that everyone who has read it or everyone who has seen it can all agree that it is the ultimate book or movie -- that it is flawless in its depiction or every storyline and every character introduced. Maybe. But it has been my experience that most books and movies have their fans and their detractors.
I kind of think that is the way it is supposed to be.
There is a saying that goes something like "If you write something that no one hates, then you've written something that no one will love."
Honestly, Fodigg, I don't want to write a book that everyone who picks it up universally agrees is brilliant, or perfect.
While there has been a vociferous response from people who didn't care for issue 1, I've similarly heard from a lot of people who loved it to pieces -- sometimes for the very reasons people who hated sighted.
I guess I could apologize to people that didn't like it -- but that seems odd to me. It feels like a betrayal to the growing number of fans that liked it."
So, he's... completely INSANE from what of that I could understand! He thinks of her as Mr. Spock, but a really screwed up Mr. Spock!
And thinks if 1-2 people out of a few 100 like it it's gold!
NICE!
"Where's your TAIS for October 26?"
ReplyDeleteAs I said in this very episode, I may have to skip it to work on AT4W, which is what happened. On top of editing Monday's AT4W, I also have to work in advance on the Live Show for Youmacon and November's first review, since I'll be out of town for half a week.
I don't know if it is just my imagination but having read Nightwing right after Batman, I'm thinking The circus might somehow be behind the Court of Owls. The timing would be about right in terms of this being the first time they've been back in Gotham proper since the death of the Graysons.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry if anyone else already mentioned, but unfortunately I don't have time to check the comments to thoroughly.
ReplyDeleteIf you're looking for a bit of a change in the Hera dynamic, you might want to check out what Marvel is currently doing in the series Herc. In this one, Zeus is still cheating on her, but instead of taking out her frustration on the girl he seduced, she figured out how to punish Zeus by making him a mortal instead. The real fun part is watching Zeus hanging around Hercules drunk and with a beer gut.
Are you going to review the weeks you missed next time you make a TAIS video?
ReplyDeleteThis is just about the Hera thing, from what you've describe that actually sounds very accurate for her. She was well known in the mythologies for being an angry and jealous woman. She couldn't actually do anything to Zeus because he was easily more powerful than her and he was a god, who couldn't be killed. (I do realize you weren't suggesting she kill him but that's really the way she handled everyone, either killing them or cursing them) Instead she would try to hit his heart by killing his human lovers and the children who were the consequence of their affairs.
ReplyDeleteAs for divorce, she's the goddess of marriage, among other things, as such she would never get a divorce and by the logic of her faith it would catastrophic if she ever did, just as it would if Aphrodite ever turned her back on love or Ares ever denounced war.
Once again you give the gail run was too much credit it was lame, boring, and didn't do anything with the Diana character or even explain it. She did interesting stories around her but they were so removed from the character it was boring and it could have been a book about anything.
ReplyDeleteShe also threw away all the stuff that was added after one year later. She didn't bother with the new human aspect at all, or she completely F'ed up the secret identity bit, and also completely failed to make nemesis a character(or explain him, or anything at all with him... God the writing was awful with him...)
As for Jamie(or however its spelled), I think people outside of comics with knowledge of the conventions seem to think not hiding the secret ID should be a given despite the fact that parents could ban children, and that friends are usually people that talk, betray you, or you grow apart from. Not to mention the superhero possibility of them just going flat out evil. Unless you want to write a story where everyone is so virtuous and super nice, then you don't go around tell people every little thing about you. Just look at Daredevil, Two of his girlfriends have spilled the secret to freaking villains, and if there was proof, he'd lose his job.
I thought the Blue Beetle was nice but as it went on I did notice some problems. They weren't establishing. They weren't establishing Jaime's villains, or purpose, or niche. Outside from the reach which hardly ever interceeded. The comic at first had a learning to be a superhero vibe exemplified with the Giganta fight but it really did fail to put the Blue Beetle in his own world or give him something unique to fight, and it did kinda make a lot of characters overly good, like a crime lord that needed to be in jail(or at least shut down).
how is it that batman gets 4 comics, and captain marvel doesnt even get 1?
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