Actually, on the 'metatextual' thing: I'm pretty sure one of the issues of the newer She-Hulk had the issue of merchandising come up. Spider-Man brought J. Jonah Jameson to trial for using his image without permission... which would have worked, except Jameson tried to bring down Peter Parker with him (since Parker is actually selling a book of his best Spider-Man photos). I also remember it ended on a truly bizarre settlement...
Then again, She-Hulk also works for a superhero law firm that has a basement of 'legal files' that are all Marvel comics. She even reads through her own origin story, commenting on how poor it is! As you tend to say, comics are weird...
Wait, so Aqualad's reading Aquaman, Wonder Girl is reading Wonder Woman, and Kid Flash is reading... Superman? Wow, Wally West really was a dick when he was younger. I still miss him.
With a name like Jacob Farley, I would've expected a Chris Farley joke somewhere, or would that be too mean-spirited? (Pun intended)
At least in the different movie versions of the story, they tried to be a lot more creative with the depictions of the ghosts. I think the closest interpretation to what Dickens himself imagined would be the Jim Carrey version. Past is a candle that illuminates your past, Present is the jolly Irish version of Santa Claus, and Future is like a phantom that moves in the shadows. You don't see that in other versions of the story!
Now, I'm not a huge comic buff and I don't know Wonder Girl's character that well, but "Merciful Minerva"? Aren't the Amazonians supposed to be worship the GREEK Gods? Minerva is the Roman version of Athena, isn't she? Like, I'm pretty sure that Wonder Girl isn't Amazonian (at least in this context), but being Wonder Woman's "Sideckick", you'd think she would go to the same Gods that Wonder Woman does. Again, I'm not all that familiar with Wonder Girl's character, so if I'm wrong, feel free to correct me.
Hahaha another awesome video dude. Hey I saw that your next review is of Batman: Noel. I know your probably gonna comment on this in the review but what do you think of Lee Bermejo's artwork? I have to say that I really like it. Love your video's dude, keep up the good work.
Someone might have paused to say this already, Everyone in that cover has one boot off because they hung it on the mantle. Yeah Super Hero's back then didn't wear stockings so Santa has to deal with their foot sweat. Fun huh?
Now I want to know what happens to the characters when the commercials are playing...
"You magnificent bastard, I read your book!" Robin really did!
The junk is magnetized. Just like those handrails in This Island Earth.
The only thing I can think for it being smuggling is if they're selling the stuff as new, rather than restored. But if that's what they're doing, they're even dumber than they appear, going out of their way to be criminals for no reason whatsoever.
Oh man.. Um Any way to get the funds together to have The Prop Lady or another friend put together a copy of Scrounge's Magic Gun for when you get back to the Gun Slinger Arc? It could be really fun for it to have a cameo. Have it have a dial control, Polish, Restore, Upgrade.
I was also going to comment on the not that tiny bit but you got it in the end notes.
I guess they were still considering superheroes impervious to cold...
Great song at the end but not exactly my style when you listen to the lyrics.
I went back and looked at the scanned image for the alternate cover. Either that is a re-reprint or I'm remembering it wrong. You see when that version of the cover was first used everyone was missing one shoe even though not all the shoes on the mantle matched all the characters footware style. Saw that cover version in person at a yard sale maybe 9 years ago they wanted $50 I had $20 and ended up buying a snack tray or something like that... But that's a digression.
Can you please say something to Blip. I have gotten the same damn 1X commercial for all 4 advertising spots. Can a way be made to demand they alternate the commercials? I mean having it kick off the video then twice in the middle and end it. All just the same single video not even alternate takes on the advertising for the product. Its almost enough for me to want to demand you find another video host but I don't know any better ones.
The one boot thing was probably a reference to the boots that were hung above the fireplace as stockings, but I always thought that is was supposed to be socks that were hung there, not shoes. Even modern Christmas stockings tend to resemble socks more than shoes. Also, I have to wonder, due to the confusion in the origin of Wonder Girl, how many origin stories is Donna Troy up to now? I assume that something will be bringing Harvey to the future next week. Unimportant side comment, but I'm surprised that you don't watch Young Justice. You have previously mentioned having enjoyed super hero cartoons, such as the DCAU, and the show has a few things that you have pointed out you enjoyed, such as a living Lian, who had a cameo in season 2, and practical features to their costumes, such as a stealth feature.
For some reason, the only thing that bugs me about that first page is the fact that they're all reading comics featuring their mentors except for Kid Flash, who's reading Superman. Did he and Flash have a fight or something? Also, that Batman ad couldn't have done much good, considering the series was cancelled three months later. Oh well. :P
Well... at least Wonder Girl's Ghost costume distinguished her from the other two?
I'll recommend it again man, Justice League Dark! You would love that book with its new direction it is going in! Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes (the guy who will be writing two issues of Batgirl) are doing something marvelous over there with bringing in more high concept and superheroic nature to it. The next arc for instance has Constantine, Black Orchid, Frankenstein, Deadman, and Madame Xanadu heading to a highly technology advance civilization where magic is banned in order to resuce Zatanna and Timonthy Hunter who have accidently wisked there.
Also Detective Comics with the new writer John Layman aboard. It's like when Paul Dini was writing, short, individual one shots with an overarching storyline in it. It also focuses on Batman being a detective and shows him using his brain to figure out problems, like why is Clayface being controlled by Poison Ivy when he is techincally made of mud. Also, it has a comedic vibe to it, like how in Batman thinks to himself about how he doesn't feel as bad for beating bad guys up due to all the money he donates to the hosptials and medical colleges in the city. It's great!
Err... I'm getting off track (we ask you so much to recommend books to us, I feel it is best to recommend something to you that you could possibly enjoy). Good review as always and I look forward to what you have to say about Batman Noel. I bet you are doing this Christmas Carol mini story now so you can lead into that book.
In the 90s, after the Death of Superman, there was actually a big to-do about the licensing rights for the S shield and such; When Superman returned from the dead, he almost got into a legal battle with Rex Leech (Superboy's manager at the time) about it, but thanks to some comic book style hand-waving it was swept under ther rug.
So the Silver Age Teen Titans were basically just older versions of the KND?
Also, that device was obviously a hand-held version of SCP-914, he set it on "Fine" when fixing the wheelchair
Also, if there's something good that can be said about the Outlaws, it's that the series sent Jason on a route of character development that eventually re-united him with the rest of the Bat-family I mean, Bruce even accepted him into Batman Incorporated, and entrusted him with looking after Damian back when there was a bounty on Robin's head
First off, I thought the big name for crime bosses was King Pin not Mr. Big.
Also, I was raised in Alaska and, as you can imagine, living there does not come with a complimentary set of adimantium bones. As a result, we had our share of kids in wheel chairs and do you know what they did when the rest of us played outside or walked to school because we were too close or the bus broke down? The same things minus walking. Really being disabled sucks I'm sure, but I don't see any special reason Tom couldn't have been in the snow in a wheel chair. I'm pretty sure we even had snow ball fights with disabled kids. What do you expect, after all, they don't stop being kids cause they're disabled. And before you say "it was a storm", I went out in storms too when I was little. If we closed our schools every time there was an inch of snow on the ground in Alaska (like everywhere else) the kids would never go. Unless it's really severe, a snow storm isn't that terrible of a phenomenon. (And yes, when they were in fact severe, we WERE kept inside, but I don't know that the comic one looked that bad... hard to tell.)
You know, they only have Farley's word that his version of events is what actually happened.
And here's the thing about Aquaman in the newer cartoons. When he says things like 'Son of a whale shark!' he's SUPPOSED to be hamming it up. When the Aqualad of the comics sounds ridiculous even in comparison to the other characters and it's not supposed to be funny that's a problem.
In answer to why Robin only has one boot: I think it's because his other boot is hung up by the fireplace with the boots of other heroes in place of stockings.
This makes me really want to find my copy of that trade again. I really got to find that box. I found my other two boxes of christmas books. Just that one is missing. I never knew that there was page missing from trade version. Deck yourself part was really funny. Looking forward to see how the future thing works next week with Batman Noel. I know you don't watch tv but I cried of happeniness when I saw her on the Young Justice cartoon. Again why the cartoon better then the current comics and why dc and cartoon probably want gone as quickly as possible.
for what i know...no, they do not get anything from the use of their image unless they make their identities public. it's because, for what i know, there is no legal "owner" of the name. for example. superman does not "own" his image because, legally, he has no identity, and has no legal owner of the brand. unless he revealed himself as clark kent, he has no righ over the use of his image. if he did so, he would have a legal identity and ownership of the trademark "superman". i think he could also make someone, like say, lois, the legal owner of his name and she would get all the money from his merchandise. this actually was discussed in the "death of superman" event and the aftermath. with superboy(when he was just a brat who called himself superman), the stupid idiot he was back then, actually "selling" his image and having merchandise in his name...then a lawyer tried to sue one of the other three supermen for using superboy image...and nearly got killed for it. He later did it with the real superman(this time not getting killed, but hilariously scared about the possibility superman would be angry)...even tough i don't think he can do it since clark had been using the image of superman with no one making legal claims for the use of it for so long that they should not be able to make any legal claim anymore. but then again, i am no expert in the american legal system, so what do i know?
GRUMBLING GOLDFISH! I really enjoyed this episode. As you can probably tell by the first sentence of this comment, the parts of this comic I found hilarious were Aqua-Lad's crazy exclamations. This wasn't that focused on Harvey, but I'm awaiting Harvey's encounter with the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come. I wonder what Linkara will be like in the future. (by the way, is Linkara's future self going to be played by you or your dad?)
Oddly enough, this suddenly had me wondering... why do all the superheroes have Christmas Specials? Hasn't there ever been a Chanukah Special with a superhero or something? Or hell, even Kwanzaa? Festivus? Anything?
I know that on the Marvel side, at least, the explanation is that the comics *are* licensed by the heroes involved, and are retellings of their past adventures, with items not known to the writers (like secret identities) fictionalized to fill the gaps.
"Unless it's really severe, a snow storm isn't that terrible of a phenomenon. (And yes, when they were in fact severe, we WERE kept inside, but I don't know that the comic one looked that bad... hard to tell.)"
It just seems odd to me that, while they never established how far Ratchet's home was from the junkyard, that he would be traveling to and from his home in a wheelchair that was hand-powered during a heavy snowfall. He seemed ill-protected from the elements as it was, but I would imagine wheelchair wheels, like car wheels, would have similar problems of getting stuck while trying to move or slipping on ice or the like.
I don't know, I could be wrong about that, but it just seemed odd to me.
I think Mr. Big's magic gun operates on the same principles at the alchemy in Fullmetal Alchemist if it can turn a normal wheelchair into an electric one.
Methinks you protest too much about the DC Reboot. Look, I'm glad that you've given good reasons for not liking it, and I understand you've been hurt on a personal level, but it's starting to become annoying how you mention the goings on in the DC Universe whenever you talk about the Titans or especially Roy Harper. It's becoming a chore I have to slog through, especially for people who are neutral towards the reboot, or even like it. In fact, I think it's a good thing Speedy was gone, mostly because you weren't able to make jokes about it that I'd have to endure. I think we got it enough times.
Also, think about this sentence for a moment: "No offense, but it blows". It's pretty easy to take offense.
Otherwise, good review. Will your next review be handled by Linkara Prime? Also, someone should totally compile an album of parody Christmas songs, like the MST3K one or Christmas at Ground Zero.
I hope Harvey isn't visited by the Ghost of Christmas Future with the Mechakara hand...
I'm having a feeling with the way the storyline is going Harvey will be all right, can't help but worry a bit.
The Christmas lights behind you for the review are still awesome.
I always have to wonder what the conversations for Silver Age stories were before they get written. Must have been one hell of an interesting planning meeting.
Enjoyed the review and can completely understand your annoyance with most of the reboot.
"It just seems odd to me that, while they never established how far Ratchet's home was from the junkyard, that he would be traveling to and from his home in a wheelchair that was hand-powered during a heavy snowfall. He seemed ill-protected from the elements as it was, but I would imagine wheelchair wheels, like car wheels, would have similar problems of getting stuck while trying to move or slipping on ice or the like.
I don't know, I could be wrong about that, but it just seemed odd to me."
I'm in a wheelchair and I know that you are right Lewis. Moreover I would think that a junkyard would be difficult to get around even without the snow.
One thing that comes across from the early TT from what I've seen is how dated and bizarre the villains are, mostly due to being the Silver Age but not like as lasting or villain material as the stuff from the Perez/Wolfman era onwards. While the show did a fun job with ones like Mad Mod, it really just shows how strange they were and how it all just felt like it was about "teenage issues" when better teenage issues were being dealt with at the time with Spidey at Marvel. And the writing really dd feel like it was trying to be hip and failing miserably.
With that said, the episode was good and the comic was horrible. The commentary at the start really did demonstrate the disposability comics tend to have at the time; sure they were fun but ultimately they tried to be more relevant and had to learn a lesson about what really mattered and last over time. It was weird how they tried to sneak in these Dickens characters yet do stuff like "the junk-modifying machine" mostly for the ending. Though maybe the stuff you'll do with the Titans next year should be better...or at least prior to the mess of Roy and Donna's screwarounds.
Going to throw in another recommendation for "Young Justice". I'm genuinely surprised that you haven't watched it yet considering your love of the original "Teen Titans" show and the DCAU.
Seriously, you would love this show, and not just because it has Lian and Jaime in it (btw, Jaime is quickly becoming one of the most pivotal characters in the current season, just so you know). Its tireless dedication to consistent plot continuity, character depth, and affection for the source material (the Young Justice Universe has become a sort of melting pot of the best elements of various DC universe incarnations) have quickly elevated it to become probably my favorite running television series and probably my favorite animated series of all time.
Initially I was put off by some of the character quirks, but in some cases they grow on you (like Robin's tendency to change prefixes for words) or eventually become somewhat tragic (like Miss Martian's "Hello, Megan!" catch phrase... it's stupid at first, but they end up going somewhere really cool with that in Episode 21).
The only negative mark I have for the show is that they have a really shitty version of the Joker, but he's only been in one episode so far, so it's not really a big deal.
Anyway, give this show a watch. You seriously won't regret it.
"It just seems odd to me that, while they never established how far Ratchet's home was from the junkyard, that he would be traveling to and from his home in a wheelchair that was hand-powered during a heavy snowfall. He seemed ill-protected from the elements as it was, but I would imagine wheelchair wheels, like car wheels, would have similar problems of getting stuck while trying to move or slipping on ice or the like.
I don't know, I could be wrong about that, but it just seemed odd to me. "
I'm gonna explain something that has more to do with child politics and living in a cold area, than it does with appropriate winter attire.
Now, growing up in Minnesota as you I'm lead to believe you did, I'm guessing nine-year-old you, would see snow and either not want to go out, or bundle up so much he had to walk like a sumo wrestler just to get around.
Let's take nine-year-old Lewis and put him in Anchorage now. Don't worry, in this scenario you've been there a few years, so you're use to it. Lewis has a play date with his best friend. Here's your check list for going outside to go to his house:
"Is mom looking?" no "Do you have a whole shirt, shoes and pants on?" yes "Does your friend live under a few blocks away, maybe even next door?" yes "Does the snow look very deep?" no "Is the temperature above twenty degrees?" (That's pretty much the norm for 9 months) not sure... "Is it snowing outside?" yes -then it's probably around thirty degrees, (this is due to cloud coverage, but you don't know this, you're nine) "Do you see a lot of ice?" no "Do you see any other kids lying in wait to ambush you with snow balls?" no "Do you have general permission from both parents so you don't have to wait around outside?" yes
Out you run, (you're mom probably watches you go from the second floor window to make sure you're alright, and plans how she'll punish you for disobeying her coat policy when you get back). You feel the cold, but actually this gives you excess energy (this is because of adrenaline, but again, nine, you don't know that) so you like it. You don't really see the cold as that bad until you have to wait outside on your friend's front porch while he comes down stairs, tells his mom who you are, undoes three dead bolts (cause his mom is paranoid) and wrestles with the iced over screen door his dad forgot to remove.
How much do you suffer for this? If your mom is in a bad mood about the whole thing, maybe you don't get dessert that night... that's it. What do you expect though? You're nine, you recover fast and it really isn't that much colder than its been every single day for the last six months.
Was that move you made of running outside in a tee-shirt stupid?... Yes, but again, you're nine, you think McGuyver is realistic.
All this in mind... you're probably right artistically, even though you're wrong technically. The kid should be wearing a coat if there's snow outside in order to illustrate temperature, it's just expected.
Is ice a problem in a wheel chair? Ice is a problem if you stay inside. In a cold climate you get over it. Again, the disabled are still human beings so they have to go outside at some point, and if it's cold nine months out of the year, they go out when it's cold, in the chair.
Isn't the difference between art and reality fascinating?
Hahahahaha great review, I can't wait for you're review on the culling! Also after reading the latest Justice League Dark issue im really excited for Trinity War.
Also I'd be wary of Young Justice, season 2 is great and interesting, but you need to watch season 1 to understand it... But season 1... Is kind of like a really annoying stupid teen soap opera with superheroes.
Green Lantern the animated series has been awesome though, season 1 was good... BUT OMFG SEASON 2 IS EPIC BEYOND WORDS!!!! Seriously I haven't liked a cartoon as much as season 2 of Green Lantern in YEARS. Definitely one of my all time favourites and set to get better with larfleeze, sinestro alongside the already revealed antimonitor, manhunters, blue lanterns and star sapphires!!!
you do realize that if lian gets popular in the show they might bring her back to the comics right? like how they created the black aqualad,or mr. freeze's origin or Harley queen... also... whay don't you make a top 15 things that are worng with the new 52?
"you do realize that if lian gets popular in the show they might bring her back to the comics right? like how they created the black aqualad,or mr. freeze's origin or Harley queen... also... whay don't you make a top 15 things that are worng with the new 52?"
Yeah, that doesn't really happen anymore. The black Aqualad? Lost in the reboot. Mr. Freeze's origin? Altered in the reboot so he's instead a stalker and not trying to get his wife back. Harley Quinn? The latest in a long string of murdered Harleys and wearing a stupid costume.
And if they were actually more interested in the animated versions of the characters, they would have the New52 MORE reflect their animated counterparts, but instead they push them further and further away. There's a lack of synergy present with their various incarnations and they reject the more popular versions of those characters.
That would be cool but I wouldnt think so. The original version is really long and ends on a cliffhanger. Also, Lewis would have to explain a lot of backstory to the history of the thing. Such as Herge being bullied around by his Nazi-esque editor at the time.
At least the New 52, with all it's flaws, is still allot more enjoyable than Marvel Now
the Marvel Now books generally fall into two categories awful, and boring as hell the only exceptions to the rule so far are Deadpool (who is as always good fun), and Thunderbolts (largely saved by the artwork of Steve Dillon, and the great chemistry between Thunderbolt Ross and Frank Castle, not to mention the scene where Ross is recruiting Deadpool, and finds him, in this otherwise serious comic, fighting evil mimes)
"you do realize that if lian gets popular in the show they might bring her back to the comics right? like how they created the black aqualad,or mr. freeze's origin or Harley queen... also... whay don't you make a top 15 things that are worng with the new 52?"
A) Young Justice is doing terrible in ratings. B) The most popular new character was Artemis, and they introduced her and KILLED her the same issue she was brought into comics.
Nate: If he ever decides to cover Tintin, that's the most likely option. (If he wants to review the colour version, he needs the help of a Brit or Canadian.) As for number of content drops if he decides to do it? I'm guessing 2 or 3, due to the book's length (62 pages) and Herge's dialogue driven nature.
Unlike you, I really enjoyed the twists about Harley and Mr. Freeze
I mean, Victor still THINKS he is working to revive his wife, so his motivation isn't all that different But the added factor of him being completely delusional makes him much more threatening
And I do think that Harley's ability to rise above her predecessors, and succeed where the others failed, does make he a much more respectable character (and honestly, I couldn't care any less about the costumes, as far as I'm concerned, everyone could just be running in their street clothes)
The Fantastic Four and the Avengers (via the Maria Stark Foundation) license out their likenesses to "Marvels Comics". The FF don't have secret identities, and I'm sure that the Avengers provided aliases for their members who do. (Which right now is pretty much just Spider-Man.) In the Dan Slott run on "She-Hulk", comic books are considered admissable as evidence in New York state courts, and Jen Walters got to bill hours reading comic books with origin stories for one case: including her own origin from She-Hulk #1!
How this would work in the DCU makes no sense. The Post-Crisis Superman did license out his image for t-shirts or hats and donated the money he got to charity, but a comic book? And Batman, with his "urban legend" thing would not be amenable to licensing out his identity to anything.
"Unlike you, I really enjoyed the twists about Harley and Mr. Freeze
I mean, Victor still THINKS he is working to revive his wife, so his motivation isn't all that different But the added factor of him being completely delusional makes him much more threatening"
If that works for you, fine, but personally I find it unnecessary and I found as a villain, his status as "threatening" is less appealing than his drive to restore her or gain revenge for her. A character's evil or status of being threatening is less appealing than simply an interesting character, which was moreso when he actually was just a dedicated husband trying to save the woman he loved but things took a tragic twist.
I really get annoyed about that "not looking at the cover because I'm reading from a trade" thing. The fact is that once, the comics WERE sold individually, and their covers were as important as in other single issues at that time. Therefore, I always think the cover is something relevent to look at. You could make the case against it for a graphic novel, but even with that it's dubious, because looking at the cover is part of the buying experience for any book. Still, I've mentioned my feelings on this before and you don't seem to share my opinion. I still want to mention on these things.
But to shift gears, because it would be nice to know your opinion: the new series Superior Spider-Man has a new guy in the spider-suit, as Peter Parker is no longer Spider-Man. Now, I don't read his books and therefore have no idea the circumstances or who it is in the suit, but I know that I personally don't like the new guy from the preview pages I've seen. But it would be nice to know what, if anything, you think of this development.
To Ave, if you want to know the info's below. Be warned that there are major spoilers and that this may cause you to feel compelled to crush something once every five minutes.
Spoilers: Based on alleged leaked information, apparently the new one is Doctor Octopus or some weird mix of Doctor Octopus and Peter's memories or some weird thing like that. He switched bodies with Peter (leaving Peter in his dying body), broke out, acted like a jerk (to put it mildly), hid Peter's family and friends away, fought Peter, somehow learned the value of life through Peter's memories, Peter dies begging him to be a hero and he decides he will be one. A hero he subtly calls the 'superior Spiderman'.
So apparently he doesn't need to try to serve time for his many crimes or suffer for the de facto murder of Peter Parker or anything of the sort. He just needs to learn how precious human life is. GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
I think Holo-kara had the right idea. Can we bring him back for a few months Linkara?
"I really get annoyed about that "not looking at the cover because I'm reading from a trade" thing. The fact is that once, the comics WERE sold individually, and their covers were as important as in other single issues at that time. Therefore, I always think the cover is something relevent to look at. You could make the case against it for a graphic novel, but even with that it's dubious, because looking at the cover is part of the buying experience for any book. Still, I've mentioned my feelings on this before and you don't seem to share my opinion. I still want to mention on these things."
I actually have had similiar feelings about it myself. I mean I can understand it if we're going through a whole miniseries or storyline and thus don't have a lot of time or are doing the full book anyway. When it's a single issue in a trade, it stops making sense for me cause it feels like your just reviewing a single chapter of a book. Heck, in this one you included a page that was kept out of the version you were reading, at that point you might as well act like it's the actual issue. If there isn't much to talk about on the cover then just say that like you have previous times.
Sorry about the rant, I did enjoy the episode, this is just a 'just bugs me' thing that I felt I needed to get off my chest.
So... a Christmas Carol copy in the middle of a Christmas Carol copy... that kinda works :)
As much as I love the storyline parts, I'm glad it was played down this week. Don't know if it was deliberate or not, but it probably wasn't the best timing for a story about a dead kid and a grieving parent. That one little word said enough, anyway - poor Harvey, it looks like he's dealt with his son's death because he's got his life back together, but really all he's done is substituted another son. I'd take a guess that he's really finally at his son's grave, except that this would imply some kind of coming to terms with it. The slips with 'my kid', and 'Charlie' last week, don't really point to that happening.
about the whole in-universe superhero merchandising thing, I always thought that groups like the Justice League had some official sponsors (there were for example several hints that Bruce Wayne is paying for the repairs of damage caused by the League), and so it would only makes sense for those companies to hold the copyrights I also assume that there are some laws for secret identities in the DC universe, seeing how I do remember Wonder Woman (as her super self, not as Diana Prince) being on trial at lest once Also, there was a running joke in the Brave and the Bold TV series about Booster Gold constantly harassing people about buying his merchandise Then there was also a one-off comic (think it was an anthology series)about how Alan Scott ad Jay Garrick signed a contract with a candy company, and how Hal Jordan and Barry Allen, and afterwards Kyle Rayner and Wally West were then legally bonded to work as spokespeople for that company
And seeing people arguing about re-boots an artist on Deviant Art has created a series of concept arts about how the Justice League, the Avengers, and the X-Man would turn out if the stories took place in feudal Japan I'm actually MORE interested in reading about THOSE versions of the characters than I em in their mainstream versions, and I'm not even into anime http://genesischant.deviantart.com/art/Chambara-JLA-The-Full-Roster-183252126 http://genesischant.deviantart.com/art/Sengoku-Avengers-Full-Roster-323578009 http://genesischant.deviantart.com/art/Jidaigeki-X-Men-Core-Roster-332952464
And in spirit of the season, he also did a Christmas Carol http://genesischant.deviantart.com/art/Edopunk-Christmas-Carol-343276764
Great review. The main failing of the story for me was (as you pointed out) that the Titans posing as the Christmas Ghosts was over and done with in just a few panels.
I wasn't as bothered by the "evil" plan of the villains being something that wasn't actually illegal. They did have a throwaway line about not paying any duty when they brought the junk into the country before transforming it into working equipment. Perhaps in a comic book universe--where all sorts of super-scientific things exist--there are laws that cover this situation.
Then again, why smuggle in junk from elsewhere? Why not transform home-made junk?
I'm joining the argument on comics that don't suck. You should DEFINITELY check "JSA: Liberty Files - The Whistling Skull" that just came out this week
Perhaps this shouldn't be a long conversation, but in re. to Tim deForest:
They're explicitly buying used machines from a junkyard and fixing them. They aren't illegally bringing them into the country from outside (which is the definition of smuggling), they are taking vehicles that were legally imported and sold in the country, worn out and thrown away and they fix the vehicles and resell them.
You might be able to get them on charges of false advertising or something of the sort since the vehicles aren't new ones but rather old ones that are just as good as new, but even then that's definitely not smuggling. If you aren't committing a crime you can't be guilty of said crime.
I agree the issue over whether the bad guys were actually breaking the law shouldn't be a long conversation--but is there any sense in being a comic book geek if we can't have long conversations about such issues? Heck, I do a blog myself (Comics, Old Time Radio and Other Cool Stuff) just to have an outlet to talk about things like this.
Anyway, one of the thugs says that Mr. Big is "importing junk from overseas and them turning back into brand-new expensive stuff that he can sell at big profits--without paying any duty!"
So apparently you can import junked cars into the States without paying the same import fees you would have to pay on a new car. The story tries to claim this is smuggling.
But even if you infer that the DC Universe has a law against bringing in a foreign car in pieces, then fixing it up, the plan still makes no sense. You can buy junked cars (foreign or domestic) and fix them up with the magic fix-it ray gun, then sell them at a legitimate profit. You don't have to import the junk first--there's plenty of wrecked cars already here.
Actually, I would have been forgiving of this and of the terrible "teenager" dialogue if the story had concentrated most of its time on the Titans using their skills and powers to impersonate the Christmas ghosts. That might have been a fun (albeit still silly) story that would have been justified in using Christmas Carol as part of its title.
Good review on this cheesy excuse of a Christmas Carol adaptation. Looking forward to your retrospective on the Titans next year.
I think I'm starting to get an idea where this is going. I think Harvey's actually at his son's grave, passed out from drinking too much booze. When he sobers up, he find the Grim Reaper/Ghost of Christmas Future and assumes he has died or being shown a vision of his death.
The notorious one-booted Robin cover looks like it was John Byrne's work. Was it? Anybody? Bueller?
I'm surprised you didn't pick up on the caption about snow falling silently and in secret on a hilltop! Secret snow? That stuff is kind of hard to cover up!
Marvel actually printed a series of 'Marvels Comics', which were supposed to be the comics people in 616 read about their characters. Some were decent, most really didn't work; they didn't come across as that kind of comic, and were more 'we're doing an alternate reality so we can do whatever we want... I know, we'll go dark and kill off our main characters!' over and over.
Oh, Linkara, I will never get tired of you picking on the reboot. Also, that sounds like a insult to Mr. Freeze. His biggest strength is his inherent humanity which he can still retain while still being threatening. Why are so many comics trying to be dark and violent?
Okay...what the hell is up with the woman in the Red Hood picture? I think we've got our Nightmare Fuel for the evening.
I don't think that's what they meant by decking with garlands but...that was awesome.
Wasn't there a whole story in the Ultimate's universe where Spiderman lost the rights to himself? Or they were going to make a movie about him without telling him?
The "smugglers" have a magic gun? Where'd they purchase that?
I can't decide if I think it'd be your father coming back to play future you or to play the ghost of Christmas Future...or if that'll be the robe with the mechanical hand...or if this is all in Harvey's head and he's in an institution with a doctor.
As far as the Mr. Freeze change in the new DCU, I'll admit it was a creative twist in changing his relationship to Nora but I don't like it. It makes Freeze seem less tragic and just...sad really. Plus when he talks about freezing parts of animals to see what happens, I loose sympathy for him and when Batman: The Animated Series created his backstory, he was a villain you could sympathize with...well excluding the episode where he was a severed head. The only upside to the change for me personally is the fact that it seems to imply that Freeze is from my home state of Nebraska, making this potentially the first time Nebraska has been used in DC comics.
Has anyone else noted that they sort of gave Mr. Freeze origin to Captain Cold but instead of trying to save/avenge his wife, he is trying to save/avenge his sister? That also means that he no longer needs his ice pistol, as he now has ice powers. Odd.
I made the argument that you should be happy about the reboot removing Lian Harper myself and I agree that it was a poor argument to make.
At the time I assumed that it was good because it would be easier to reintroduce a character than ressurect her.
However as you point out the character of Arsenal is nowhere near what he was and when combined with the fact that DC has erased the families of many superheroes that had a family it seems unlikely that they would ever bring back the character and that my belief that they would was misguided.
13th Doctor said... "Why are so many comics trying to be dark and violent?"
Partly, I think, to be taken seriously. Partly because people keep heaping praise on the dark comics - the darker, the more praise. Yes, that includes people who don't like dark for dark's sake (I'm guilty...)
Dark Patrician said... "The "smugglers" have a magic gun? Where'd they purchase that?"
LOLs! Now that you say that, I can't believe it took this long for somebody to say that!
"making this potentially the first time Nebraska has been used in DC comics."
Really? My home town was used before your entire state? That's pathetic. Poor effort, DC!
(Also, like your name. Pratchett reference, I figure?)
Gareth said... "DC has erased the families of many superheroes that had a family"
I've figured out recently that there's a huge disparity there - only children and orphans are in the vast minority in our culture (I haven't done a survey), but in the vast, vast majority in superheroes.
Actually, on the 'metatextual' thing: I'm pretty sure one of the issues of the newer She-Hulk had the issue of merchandising come up. Spider-Man brought J. Jonah Jameson to trial for using his image without permission... which would have worked, except Jameson tried to bring down Peter Parker with him (since Parker is actually selling a book of his best Spider-Man photos). I also remember it ended on a truly bizarre settlement...
ReplyDeleteThen again, She-Hulk also works for a superhero law firm that has a basement of 'legal files' that are all Marvel comics. She even reads through her own origin story, commenting on how poor it is! As you tend to say, comics are weird...
Wait, so Aqualad's reading Aquaman, Wonder Girl is reading Wonder Woman, and Kid Flash is reading... Superman? Wow, Wally West really was a dick when he was younger. I still miss him.
ReplyDeleteWith a name like Jacob Farley, I would've expected a Chris Farley joke somewhere, or would that be too mean-spirited? (Pun intended)
ReplyDeleteAt least in the different movie versions of the story, they tried to be a lot more creative with the depictions of the ghosts. I think the closest interpretation to what Dickens himself imagined would be the Jim Carrey version. Past is a candle that illuminates your past, Present is the jolly Irish version of Santa Claus, and Future is like a phantom that moves in the shadows. You don't see that in other versions of the story!
Now, I'm not a huge comic buff and I don't know Wonder Girl's character that well, but "Merciful Minerva"? Aren't the Amazonians supposed to be worship the GREEK Gods? Minerva is the Roman version of Athena, isn't she? Like, I'm pretty sure that Wonder Girl isn't Amazonian (at least in this context), but being Wonder Woman's "Sideckick", you'd think she would go to the same Gods that Wonder Woman does. Again, I'm not all that familiar with Wonder Girl's character, so if I'm wrong, feel free to correct me.
ReplyDeleteHahaha another awesome video dude. Hey I saw that your next review is of Batman: Noel. I know your probably gonna comment on this in the review but what do you think of Lee Bermejo's artwork? I have to say that I really like it. Love your video's dude, keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteYou know, most people would have tried to save kids from death, so Scrooge's redemption was kinda pushed more than a realization for his soul...
ReplyDeleteAlso, this happened today, and I think you'll laugh.
http://24.media.tumblr.com/8444a8f0db91c1fcbf6d5f0429e61133/tumblr_mf6oohdd471rll8v1o1_1280.png
Someone might have paused to say this already, Everyone in that cover has one boot off because they hung it on the mantle. Yeah Super Hero's back then didn't wear stockings so Santa has to deal with their foot sweat. Fun huh?
ReplyDeleteNow I want to know what happens to the characters when the commercials are playing...
ReplyDelete"You magnificent bastard, I read your book!"
Robin really did!
The junk is magnetized. Just like those handrails in This Island Earth.
The only thing I can think for it being smuggling is if they're selling the stuff as new, rather than restored. But if that's what they're doing, they're even dumber than they appear, going out of their way to be criminals for no reason whatsoever.
*insert obligatory comment about Young Justice immediately after hearing your Teen Titans commentary*
ReplyDeleteOh man.. Um Any way to get the funds together to have The Prop Lady or another friend put together a copy of Scrounge's Magic Gun for when you get back to the Gun Slinger Arc? It could be really fun for it to have a cameo. Have it have a dial control, Polish, Restore, Upgrade.
ReplyDeleteI was also going to comment on the not that tiny bit but you got it in the end notes.
I guess they were still considering superheroes impervious to cold...
Great song at the end but not exactly my style when you listen to the lyrics.
I went back and looked at the scanned image for the alternate cover. Either that is a re-reprint or I'm remembering it wrong. You see when that version of the cover was first used everyone was missing one shoe even though not all the shoes on the mantle matched all the characters footware style. Saw that cover version in person at a yard sale maybe 9 years ago they wanted $50 I had $20 and ended up buying a snack tray or something like that... But that's a digression.
Can you please say something to Blip. I have gotten the same damn 1X commercial for all 4 advertising spots. Can a way be made to demand they alternate the commercials? I mean having it kick off the video then twice in the middle and end it. All just the same single video not even alternate takes on the advertising for the product. Its almost enough for me to want to demand you find another video host but I don't know any better ones.
I am beginning to suspect Captain Haddock is just Aqualad all grown up.
ReplyDeleteThe one boot thing was probably a reference to the boots that were hung above the fireplace as stockings, but I always thought that is was supposed to be socks that were hung there, not shoes. Even modern Christmas stockings tend to resemble socks more than shoes.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have to wonder, due to the confusion in the origin of Wonder Girl, how many origin stories is Donna Troy up to now?
I assume that something will be bringing Harvey to the future next week.
Unimportant side comment, but I'm surprised that you don't watch Young Justice. You have previously mentioned having enjoyed super hero cartoons, such as the DCAU, and the show has a few things that you have pointed out you enjoyed, such as a living Lian, who had a cameo in season 2, and practical features to their costumes, such as a stealth feature.
(OMG MST3K Christmas song! Yay!)
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, the only thing that bugs me about that first page is the fact that they're all reading comics featuring their mentors except for Kid Flash, who's reading Superman. Did he and Flash have a fight or something? Also, that Batman ad couldn't have done much good, considering the series was cancelled three months later. Oh well. :P
Well... at least Wonder Girl's Ghost costume distinguished her from the other two?
I'll recommend it again man, Justice League Dark! You would love that book with its new direction it is going in! Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes (the guy who will be writing two issues of Batgirl) are doing something marvelous over there with bringing in more high concept and superheroic nature to it. The next arc for instance has Constantine, Black Orchid, Frankenstein, Deadman, and Madame Xanadu heading to a highly technology advance civilization where magic is banned in order to resuce Zatanna and Timonthy Hunter who have accidently wisked there.
ReplyDeleteAlso Detective Comics with the new writer John Layman aboard. It's like when Paul Dini was writing, short, individual one shots with an overarching storyline in it. It also focuses on Batman being a detective and shows him using his brain to figure out problems, like why is Clayface being controlled by Poison Ivy when he is techincally made of mud. Also, it has a comedic vibe to it, like how in Batman thinks to himself about how he doesn't feel as bad for beating bad guys up due to all the money he donates to the hosptials and medical colleges in the city. It's great!
Err... I'm getting off track (we ask you so much to recommend books to us, I feel it is best to recommend something to you that you could possibly enjoy). Good review as always and I look forward to what you have to say about Batman Noel. I bet you are doing this Christmas Carol mini story now so you can lead into that book.
In the 90s, after the Death of Superman, there was actually a big to-do about the licensing rights for the S shield and such; When Superman returned from the dead, he almost got into a legal battle with Rex Leech (Superboy's manager at the time) about it, but thanks to some comic book style hand-waving it was swept under ther rug.
ReplyDeleteSo the Silver Age Teen Titans were basically just older versions of the KND?
ReplyDeleteAlso, that device was obviously a hand-held version of SCP-914, he set it on "Fine" when fixing the wheelchair
Also, if there's something good that can be said about the Outlaws, it's that the series sent Jason on a route of character development that eventually re-united him with the rest of the Bat-family
I mean, Bruce even accepted him into Batman Incorporated, and entrusted him with looking after Damian back when there was a bounty on Robin's head
I feel the need to point out two things.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I thought the big name for crime bosses was King Pin not Mr. Big.
Also, I was raised in Alaska and, as you can imagine, living there does not come with a complimentary set of adimantium bones. As a result, we had our share of kids in wheel chairs and do you know what they did when the rest of us played outside or walked to school because we were too close or the bus broke down? The same things minus walking. Really being disabled sucks I'm sure, but I don't see any special reason Tom couldn't have been in the snow in a wheel chair. I'm pretty sure we even had snow ball fights with disabled kids. What do you expect, after all, they don't stop being kids cause they're disabled. And before you say "it was a storm", I went out in storms too when I was little. If we closed our schools every time there was an inch of snow on the ground in Alaska (like everywhere else) the kids would never go. Unless it's really severe, a snow storm isn't that terrible of a phenomenon. (And yes, when they were in fact severe, we WERE kept inside, but I don't know that the comic one looked that bad... hard to tell.)
You know, they only have Farley's word that his version of events is what actually happened.
ReplyDeleteAnd here's the thing about Aquaman in the newer cartoons. When he says things like 'Son of a whale shark!' he's SUPPOSED to be hamming it up. When the Aqualad of the comics sounds ridiculous even in comparison to the other characters and it's not supposed to be funny that's a problem.
Wow that was beautiful man. That last bit with MST3K actually brought a tear to my eye in both laughter and heartwarming.
ReplyDeleteIn answer to why Robin only has one boot: I think it's because his other boot is hung up by the fireplace with the boots of other heroes in place of stockings.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me really want to find my copy of that trade again. I really got to find that box. I found my other two boxes of christmas books. Just that one is missing.
ReplyDeleteI never knew that there was page missing from trade version.
Deck yourself part was really funny.
Looking forward to see how the future thing works next week with Batman Noel.
I know you don't watch tv but I cried of happeniness when I saw her on the Young Justice cartoon. Again why the cartoon better then the current comics and why dc and cartoon probably want gone as quickly as possible.
That might have been the greatest fit of inexplicable rage I've ever been party to. You were good but that was the funniest part there.
ReplyDeletefor what i know...no, they do not get anything from the use of their image unless they make their identities public.
ReplyDeleteit's because, for what i know, there is no legal "owner" of the name. for example. superman does not "own" his image because, legally, he has no identity, and has no legal owner of the brand. unless he revealed himself as clark kent, he has no righ over the use of his image. if he did so, he would have a legal identity and ownership of the trademark "superman". i think he could also make someone, like say, lois, the legal owner of his name and she would get all the money from his merchandise.
this actually was discussed in the "death of superman" event and the aftermath. with superboy(when he was just a brat who called himself superman), the stupid idiot he was back then, actually "selling" his image and having merchandise in his name...then a lawyer tried to sue one of the other three supermen for using superboy image...and nearly got killed for it. He later did it with the real superman(this time not getting killed, but hilariously scared about the possibility superman would be angry)...even tough i don't think he can do it since clark had been using the image of superman with no one making legal claims for the use of it for so long that they should not be able to make any legal claim anymore.
but then again, i am no expert in the american legal system, so what do i know?
GRUMBLING GOLDFISH! I really enjoyed this episode. As you can probably tell by the first sentence of this comment, the parts of this comic I found hilarious were Aqua-Lad's crazy exclamations. This wasn't that focused on Harvey, but I'm awaiting Harvey's encounter with the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come. I wonder what Linkara will be like in the future. (by the way, is Linkara's future self going to be played by you or your dad?)
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, this suddenly had me wondering... why do all the superheroes have Christmas Specials? Hasn't there ever been a Chanukah Special with a superhero or something? Or hell, even Kwanzaa? Festivus? Anything?
ReplyDeleteso many puns. I hate puns. Can't wait for next week.
ReplyDeleteI know that on the Marvel side, at least, the explanation is that the comics *are* licensed by the heroes involved, and are retellings of their past adventures, with items not known to the writers (like secret identities) fictionalized to fill the gaps.
ReplyDelete"Unless it's really severe, a snow storm isn't that terrible of a phenomenon. (And yes, when they were in fact severe, we WERE kept inside, but I don't know that the comic one looked that bad... hard to tell.)"
ReplyDeleteIt just seems odd to me that, while they never established how far Ratchet's home was from the junkyard, that he would be traveling to and from his home in a wheelchair that was hand-powered during a heavy snowfall. He seemed ill-protected from the elements as it was, but I would imagine wheelchair wheels, like car wheels, would have similar problems of getting stuck while trying to move or slipping on ice or the like.
I don't know, I could be wrong about that, but it just seemed odd to me.
I think Mr. Big's magic gun operates on the same principles at the alchemy in Fullmetal Alchemist if it can turn a normal wheelchair into an electric one.
ReplyDeleteI've read 2 issues Red Hood and the Outlaws and I don't find it bad, just boring, but I will say this however, I think Arsenal's trucker hat is cool.
ReplyDeleteMethinks you protest too much about the DC Reboot. Look, I'm glad that you've given good reasons for not liking it, and I understand you've been hurt on a personal level, but it's starting to become annoying how you mention the goings on in the DC Universe whenever you talk about the Titans or especially Roy Harper. It's becoming a chore I have to slog through, especially for people who are neutral towards the reboot, or even like it. In fact, I think it's a good thing Speedy was gone, mostly because you weren't able to make jokes about it that I'd have to endure. I think we got it enough times.
ReplyDeleteAlso, think about this sentence for a moment: "No offense, but it blows". It's pretty easy to take offense.
Otherwise, good review. Will your next review be handled by Linkara Prime? Also, someone should totally compile an album of parody Christmas songs, like the MST3K one or Christmas at Ground Zero.
I hope Harvey isn't visited by the Ghost of Christmas Future with the Mechakara hand...
ReplyDeleteI'm having a feeling with the way the storyline is going Harvey will be all right, can't help but worry a bit.
The Christmas lights behind you for the review are still awesome.
I always have to wonder what the conversations for Silver Age stories were before they get written. Must have been one hell of an interesting planning meeting.
Enjoyed the review and can completely understand your annoyance with most of the reboot.
"It just seems odd to me that, while they never established how far Ratchet's home was from the junkyard, that he would be traveling to and from his home in a wheelchair that was hand-powered during a heavy snowfall. He seemed ill-protected from the elements as it was, but I would imagine wheelchair wheels, like car wheels, would have similar problems of getting stuck while trying to move or slipping on ice or the like.
ReplyDeleteI don't know, I could be wrong about that, but it just seemed odd to me."
I'm in a wheelchair and I know that you are right Lewis. Moreover I would think that a junkyard would be difficult to get around even without the snow.
One thing that comes across from the early TT from what I've seen is how dated and bizarre the villains are, mostly due to being the Silver Age but not like as lasting or villain material as the stuff from the Perez/Wolfman era onwards. While the show did a fun job with ones like Mad Mod, it really just shows how strange they were and how it all just felt like it was about "teenage issues" when better teenage issues were being dealt with at the time with Spidey at Marvel. And the writing really dd feel like it was trying to be hip and failing miserably.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, the episode was good and the comic was horrible. The commentary at the start really did demonstrate the disposability comics tend to have at the time; sure they were fun but ultimately they tried to be more relevant and had to learn a lesson about what really mattered and last over time. It was weird how they tried to sneak in these Dickens characters yet do stuff like "the junk-modifying machine" mostly for the ending. Though maybe the stuff you'll do with the Titans next year should be better...or at least prior to the mess of Roy and Donna's screwarounds.
Going to throw in another recommendation for "Young Justice". I'm genuinely surprised that you haven't watched it yet considering your love of the original "Teen Titans" show and the DCAU.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, you would love this show, and not just because it has Lian and Jaime in it (btw, Jaime is quickly becoming one of the most pivotal characters in the current season, just so you know). Its tireless dedication to consistent plot continuity, character depth, and affection for the source material (the Young Justice Universe has become a sort of melting pot of the best elements of various DC universe incarnations) have quickly elevated it to become probably my favorite running television series and probably my favorite animated series of all time.
Initially I was put off by some of the character quirks, but in some cases they grow on you (like Robin's tendency to change prefixes for words) or eventually become somewhat tragic (like Miss Martian's "Hello, Megan!" catch phrase... it's stupid at first, but they end up going somewhere really cool with that in Episode 21).
The only negative mark I have for the show is that they have a really shitty version of the Joker, but he's only been in one episode so far, so it's not really a big deal.
Anyway, give this show a watch. You seriously won't regret it.
Going on Wackd's comment, is Tintin in the Congo on the review pile?
ReplyDelete"It just seems odd to me that, while they never established how far Ratchet's home was from the junkyard, that he would be traveling to and from his home in a wheelchair that was hand-powered during a heavy snowfall. He seemed ill-protected from the elements as it was, but I would imagine wheelchair wheels, like car wheels, would have similar problems of getting stuck while trying to move or slipping on ice or the like.
ReplyDeleteI don't know, I could be wrong about that, but it just seemed odd to me. "
I'm gonna explain something that has more to do with child politics and living in a cold area, than it does with appropriate winter attire.
Now, growing up in Minnesota as you I'm lead to believe you did, I'm guessing nine-year-old you, would see snow and either not want to go out, or bundle up so much he had to walk like a sumo wrestler just to get around.
Let's take nine-year-old Lewis and put him in Anchorage now. Don't worry, in this scenario you've been there a few years, so you're use to it. Lewis has a play date with his best friend. Here's your check list for going outside to go to his house:
"Is mom looking?" no
"Do you have a whole shirt, shoes and pants on?" yes
"Does your friend live under a few blocks away, maybe even next door?" yes
"Does the snow look very deep?" no
"Is the temperature above twenty degrees?" (That's pretty much the norm for 9 months) not sure...
"Is it snowing outside?" yes -then it's probably around thirty degrees, (this is due to cloud coverage, but you don't know this, you're nine)
"Do you see a lot of ice?" no
"Do you see any other kids lying in wait to ambush you with snow balls?" no
"Do you have general permission from both parents so you don't have to wait around outside?" yes
Out you run, (you're mom probably watches you go from the second floor window to make sure you're alright, and plans how she'll punish you for disobeying her coat policy when you get back). You feel the cold, but actually this gives you excess energy (this is because of adrenaline, but again, nine, you don't know that) so you like it. You don't really see the cold as that bad until you have to wait outside on your friend's front porch while he comes down stairs, tells his mom who you are, undoes three dead bolts (cause his mom is paranoid) and wrestles with the iced over screen door his dad forgot to remove.
How much do you suffer for this? If your mom is in a bad mood about the whole thing, maybe you don't get dessert that night... that's it. What do you expect though? You're nine, you recover fast and it really isn't that much colder than its been every single day for the last six months.
Was that move you made of running outside in a tee-shirt stupid?... Yes, but again, you're nine, you think McGuyver is realistic.
All this in mind... you're probably right artistically, even though you're wrong technically. The kid should be wearing a coat if there's snow outside in order to illustrate temperature, it's just expected.
Is ice a problem in a wheel chair? Ice is a problem if you stay inside. In a cold climate you get over it. Again, the disabled are still human beings so they have to go outside at some point, and if it's cold nine months out of the year, they go out when it's cold, in the chair.
Isn't the difference between art and reality fascinating?
I read this comic a few years back in a Showcase volume. I wonder what Bob Haney was smoking back then. It was 1967, after all.
ReplyDeleteStill waiting for the FUNKY WINKERBEAN review.
Hahahahaha great review, I can't wait for you're review on the culling! Also after reading the latest Justice League Dark issue im really excited for Trinity War.
ReplyDeleteAlso I'd be wary of Young Justice, season 2 is great and interesting, but you need to watch season 1 to understand it... But season 1... Is kind of like a really annoying stupid teen soap opera with superheroes.
Green Lantern the animated series has been awesome though, season 1 was good...
BUT OMFG SEASON 2 IS EPIC BEYOND WORDS!!!! Seriously I haven't liked a cartoon as much as season 2 of Green Lantern in YEARS. Definitely one of my all time favourites and set to get better with larfleeze, sinestro alongside the already revealed antimonitor, manhunters, blue lanterns and star sapphires!!!
you do realize that if lian gets popular in the show they might bring her back to the comics right? like how they created the black aqualad,or mr. freeze's origin or Harley queen... also... whay don't you make a top 15 things that are worng with the new 52?
ReplyDelete"you do realize that if lian gets popular in the show they might bring her back to the comics right? like how they created the black aqualad,or mr. freeze's origin or Harley queen... also... whay don't you make a top 15 things that are worng with the new 52?"
ReplyDeleteYeah, that doesn't really happen anymore. The black Aqualad? Lost in the reboot. Mr. Freeze's origin? Altered in the reboot so he's instead a stalker and not trying to get his wife back. Harley Quinn? The latest in a long string of murdered Harleys and wearing a stupid costume.
And if they were actually more interested in the animated versions of the characters, they would have the New52 MORE reflect their animated counterparts, but instead they push them further and further away. There's a lack of synergy present with their various incarnations and they reject the more popular versions of those characters.
@Volvagia
ReplyDeleteThat would be cool but I wouldnt think so. The original version is really long and ends on a cliffhanger. Also, Lewis would have to explain a lot of backstory to the history of the thing. Such as Herge being bullied around by his Nazi-esque editor at the time.
Linkara, I've been wanting to ask you these questions for a long time, so if you can please answer I'd appreciate it:
ReplyDelete1. Have you ever read the Star Wars Thrawn Trilogy and, if so what did you think of it?
2. Have you ever considered doing a Dark Horse Star Wars comic? (my personal suggestion would be Tom Veitch's Dark Empire)
At least the New 52, with all it's flaws, is still allot more enjoyable than Marvel Now
ReplyDeletethe Marvel Now books generally fall into two categories
awful, and boring as hell
the only exceptions to the rule so far are Deadpool (who is as always good fun), and Thunderbolts (largely saved by the artwork of Steve Dillon, and the great chemistry between Thunderbolt Ross and Frank Castle, not to mention the scene where Ross is recruiting Deadpool, and finds him, in this otherwise serious comic, fighting evil mimes)
You obviously haven't read FF, All New X-Men or Wolverine and the X-Men
Delete"you do realize that if lian gets popular in the show they might bring her back to the comics right? like how they created the black aqualad,or mr. freeze's origin or Harley queen... also... whay don't you make a top 15 things that are worng with the new 52?"
ReplyDeleteA) Young Justice is doing terrible in ratings.
B) The most popular new character was Artemis, and they introduced her and KILLED her the same issue she was brought into comics.
Keep dreaming.
Nate: If he ever decides to cover Tintin, that's the most likely option. (If he wants to review the colour version, he needs the help of a Brit or Canadian.) As for number of content drops if he decides to do it? I'm guessing 2 or 3, due to the book's length (62 pages) and Herge's dialogue driven nature.
ReplyDeleteUnlike you, I really enjoyed the twists about Harley and Mr. Freeze
ReplyDeleteI mean, Victor still THINKS he is working to revive his wife, so his motivation isn't all that different
But the added factor of him being completely delusional makes him much more threatening
And I do think that Harley's ability to rise above her predecessors, and succeed where the others failed, does make he a much more respectable character
(and honestly, I couldn't care any less about the costumes, as far as I'm concerned, everyone could just be running in their street clothes)
The Fantastic Four and the Avengers (via the Maria Stark Foundation) license out their likenesses to "Marvels Comics". The FF don't have secret identities, and I'm sure that the Avengers provided aliases for their members who do. (Which right now is pretty much just Spider-Man.) In the Dan Slott run on "She-Hulk", comic books are considered admissable as evidence in New York state courts, and Jen Walters got to bill hours reading comic books with origin stories for one case: including her own origin from She-Hulk #1!
ReplyDeleteHow this would work in the DCU makes no sense. The Post-Crisis Superman did license out his image for t-shirts or hats and donated the money he got to charity, but a comic book? And Batman, with his "urban legend" thing would not be amenable to licensing out his identity to anything.
"Unlike you, I really enjoyed the twists about Harley and Mr. Freeze
ReplyDeleteI mean, Victor still THINKS he is working to revive his wife, so his motivation isn't all that different
But the added factor of him being completely delusional makes him much more threatening"
If that works for you, fine, but personally I find it unnecessary and I found as a villain, his status as "threatening" is less appealing than his drive to restore her or gain revenge for her. A character's evil or status of being threatening is less appealing than simply an interesting character, which was moreso when he actually was just a dedicated husband trying to save the woman he loved but things took a tragic twist.
I really get annoyed about that "not looking at the cover because I'm reading from a trade" thing. The fact is that once, the comics WERE sold individually, and their covers were as important as in other single issues at that time. Therefore, I always think the cover is something relevent to look at. You could make the case against it for a graphic novel, but even with that it's dubious, because looking at the cover is part of the buying experience for any book. Still, I've mentioned my feelings on this before and you don't seem to share my opinion. I still want to mention on these things.
ReplyDeleteBut to shift gears, because it would be nice to know your opinion: the new series Superior Spider-Man has a new guy in the spider-suit, as Peter Parker is no longer Spider-Man. Now, I don't read his books and therefore have no idea the circumstances or who it is in the suit, but I know that I personally don't like the new guy from the preview pages I've seen. But it would be nice to know what, if anything, you think of this development.
To Ave, if you want to know the info's below. Be warned that there are major spoilers and that this may cause you to feel compelled to crush something once every five minutes.
ReplyDeleteSpoilers:
Based on alleged leaked information, apparently the new one is Doctor Octopus or some weird mix of Doctor Octopus and Peter's memories or some weird thing like that. He switched bodies with Peter (leaving Peter in his dying body), broke out, acted like a jerk (to put it mildly), hid Peter's family and friends away, fought Peter, somehow learned the value of life through Peter's memories, Peter dies begging him to be a hero and he decides he will be one.
A hero he subtly calls the 'superior Spiderman'.
So apparently he doesn't need to try to serve time for his many crimes or suffer for the de facto murder of Peter Parker or anything of the sort. He just needs to learn how precious human life is. GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
I think Holo-kara had the right idea. Can we bring him back for a few months Linkara?
"I really get annoyed about that "not looking at the cover because I'm reading from a trade" thing. The fact is that once, the comics WERE sold individually, and their covers were as important as in other single issues at that time. Therefore, I always think the cover is something relevent to look at. You could make the case against it for a graphic novel, but even with that it's dubious, because looking at the cover is part of the buying experience for any book. Still, I've mentioned my feelings on this before and you don't seem to share my opinion. I still want to mention on these things."
ReplyDeleteI actually have had similiar feelings about it myself. I mean I can understand it if we're going through a whole miniseries or storyline and thus don't have a lot of time or are doing the full book anyway. When it's a single issue in a trade, it stops making sense for me cause it feels like your just reviewing a single chapter of a book. Heck, in this one you included a page that was kept out of the version you were reading, at that point you might as well act like it's the actual issue. If there isn't much to talk about on the cover then just say that like you have previous times.
Sorry about the rant, I did enjoy the episode, this is just a 'just bugs me' thing that I felt I needed to get off my chest.
I'll admit that I was more interested in your mini Christmas Carol based storyline starring Harvey than the Teen Titan comic.
ReplyDeleteSo... a Christmas Carol copy in the middle of a Christmas Carol copy... that kinda works :)
ReplyDeleteAs much as I love the storyline parts, I'm glad it was played down this week. Don't know if it was deliberate or not, but it probably wasn't the best timing for a story about a dead kid and a grieving parent. That one little word said enough, anyway - poor Harvey, it looks like he's dealt with his son's death because he's got his life back together, but really all he's done is substituted another son. I'd take a guess that he's really finally at his son's grave, except that this would imply some kind of coming to terms with it. The slips with 'my kid', and 'Charlie' last week, don't really point to that happening.
On a lighter note, best commercial bumper yet!
about the whole in-universe superhero merchandising thing, I always thought that groups like the Justice League had some official sponsors (there were for example several hints that Bruce Wayne is paying for the repairs of damage caused by the League), and so it would only makes sense for those companies to hold the copyrights
ReplyDeleteI also assume that there are some laws for secret identities in the DC universe, seeing how I do remember Wonder Woman (as her super self, not as Diana Prince) being on trial at lest once
Also, there was a running joke in the Brave and the Bold TV series about Booster Gold constantly harassing people about buying his merchandise
Then there was also a one-off comic (think it was an anthology series)about how Alan Scott ad Jay Garrick signed a contract with a candy company, and how Hal Jordan and Barry Allen, and afterwards Kyle Rayner and Wally West were then legally bonded to work as spokespeople for that company
And seeing people arguing about re-boots
an artist on Deviant Art has created a series of concept arts about how the Justice League, the Avengers, and the X-Man would turn out if the stories took place in feudal Japan
I'm actually MORE interested in reading about THOSE versions of the characters than I em in their mainstream versions, and I'm not even into anime
http://genesischant.deviantart.com/art/Chambara-JLA-The-Full-Roster-183252126
http://genesischant.deviantart.com/art/Sengoku-Avengers-Full-Roster-323578009
http://genesischant.deviantart.com/art/Jidaigeki-X-Men-Core-Roster-332952464
And in spirit of the season, he also did a Christmas Carol http://genesischant.deviantart.com/art/Edopunk-Christmas-Carol-343276764
Best. Bumper. Ever.
ReplyDeleteGreat review. The main failing of the story for me was (as you pointed out) that the Titans posing as the Christmas Ghosts was over and done with in just a few panels.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't as bothered by the "evil" plan of the villains being something that wasn't actually illegal. They did have a throwaway line about not paying any duty when they brought the junk into the country before transforming it into working equipment. Perhaps in a comic book universe--where all sorts of super-scientific things exist--there are laws that cover this situation.
Then again, why smuggle in junk from elsewhere? Why not transform home-made junk?
Shoot. Now I am bothered by it. Never mind.
I'm joining the argument on comics that don't suck.
ReplyDeleteYou should DEFINITELY check "JSA: Liberty Files - The Whistling Skull" that just came out this week
It's everything superhero comics SHOULD be
Perhaps this shouldn't be a long conversation, but in re. to Tim deForest:
ReplyDeleteThey're explicitly buying used machines from a junkyard and fixing them. They aren't illegally bringing them into the country from outside (which is the definition of smuggling), they are taking vehicles that were legally imported and sold in the country, worn out and thrown away and they fix the vehicles and resell them.
You might be able to get them on charges of false advertising or something of the sort since the vehicles aren't new ones but rather old ones that are just as good as new, but even then that's definitely not smuggling. If you aren't committing a crime you can't be guilty of said crime.
oh i didbt know you knew of Improbable Island what do you think of it
ReplyDeleteI agree the issue over whether the bad guys were actually breaking the law shouldn't be a long conversation--but is there any sense in being a comic book geek if we can't have long conversations about such issues? Heck, I do a blog myself (Comics, Old Time Radio and Other Cool Stuff) just to have an outlet to talk about things like this.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, one of the thugs says that Mr. Big is "importing junk from overseas and them turning back into brand-new expensive stuff that he can sell at big profits--without paying any duty!"
So apparently you can import junked cars into the States without paying the same import fees you would have to pay on a new car. The story tries to claim this is smuggling.
But even if you infer that the DC Universe has a law against bringing in a foreign car in pieces, then fixing it up, the plan still makes no sense. You can buy junked cars (foreign or domestic) and fix them up with the magic fix-it ray gun, then sell them at a legitimate profit. You don't have to import the junk first--there's plenty of wrecked cars already here.
Actually, I would have been forgiving of this and of the terrible "teenager" dialogue if the story had concentrated most of its time on the Titans using their skills and powers to impersonate the Christmas ghosts. That might have been a fun (albeit still silly) story that would have been justified in using Christmas Carol as part of its title.
Good review on this cheesy excuse of a Christmas Carol adaptation. Looking forward to your retrospective on the Titans next year.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm starting to get an idea where this is going. I think Harvey's actually at his son's grave, passed out from drinking too much booze. When he sobers up, he find the Grim Reaper/Ghost of Christmas Future and assumes he has died or being shown a vision of his death.
The notorious one-booted Robin cover looks like it was John Byrne's work. Was it? Anybody? Bueller?
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised you didn't pick up on the caption about snow falling silently and in secret on a hilltop! Secret snow?
That stuff is kind of hard to cover up!
Marvel actually printed a series of 'Marvels Comics', which were supposed to be the comics people in 616 read about their characters.
Some were decent, most really didn't work; they didn't come across as that kind of comic, and were more 'we're doing an alternate reality so we can do whatever we want... I know, we'll go dark and kill off our main characters!' over and over.
Speaking of the Teen Titans animated series, what did you think about the character Red X?
ReplyDeleteOh, Linkara, I will never get tired of you picking on the reboot. Also, that sounds like a insult to Mr. Freeze. His biggest strength is his inherent humanity which he can still retain while still being threatening. Why are so many comics trying to be dark and violent?
ReplyDeleteOkay...what the hell is up with the woman in the Red Hood picture? I think we've got our Nightmare Fuel for the evening.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that's what they meant by decking with garlands but...that was awesome.
Wasn't there a whole story in the Ultimate's universe where Spiderman lost the rights to himself? Or they were going to make a movie about him without telling him?
The "smugglers" have a magic gun? Where'd they purchase that?
I can't decide if I think it'd be your father coming back to play future you or to play the ghost of Christmas Future...or if that'll be the robe with the mechanical hand...or if this is all in Harvey's head and he's in an institution with a doctor.
As far as the Mr. Freeze change in the new DCU, I'll admit it was a creative twist in changing his relationship to Nora but I don't like it. It makes Freeze seem less tragic and just...sad really. Plus when he talks about freezing parts of animals to see what happens, I loose sympathy for him and when Batman: The Animated Series created his backstory, he was a villain you could sympathize with...well excluding the episode where he was a severed head. The only upside to the change for me personally is the fact that it seems to imply that Freeze is from my home state of Nebraska, making this potentially the first time Nebraska has been used in DC comics.
Anyway, great episode Linkara!
Has anyone else noted that they sort of gave Mr. Freeze origin to Captain Cold but instead of trying to save/avenge his wife, he is trying to save/avenge his sister? That also means that he no longer needs his ice pistol, as he now has ice powers. Odd.
ReplyDeleteI'M SO HOOD!
ReplyDeleteI'm buying a trucker hat just for you Lewie ;)
Also, I wasn't aware there were many recovering Alcoholics who bum around with Jason Todd who wear Trucker hats.
Keep up the hate Hood will keep up the sales.
@Dark P
That's Suzie Su, a big wig Chinese Triad girl....she and Jaybird have some history.
I made the argument that you should be happy about the reboot removing Lian Harper myself and I agree that it was a poor argument to make.
ReplyDeleteAt the time I assumed that it was good because it would be easier to reintroduce a character than ressurect her.
However as you point out the character of Arsenal is nowhere near what he was and when combined with the fact that DC has erased the families of many superheroes that had a family it seems unlikely that they would ever bring back the character and that my belief that they would was misguided.
13th Doctor said...
ReplyDelete"Why are so many comics trying to be dark and violent?"
Partly, I think, to be taken seriously. Partly because people keep heaping praise on the dark comics - the darker, the more praise.
Yes, that includes people who don't like dark for dark's sake (I'm guilty...)
Dark Patrician said...
"The "smugglers" have a magic gun? Where'd they purchase that?"
LOLs! Now that you say that, I can't believe it took this long for somebody to say that!
"making this potentially the first time Nebraska has been used in DC comics."
Really? My home town was used before your entire state?
That's pathetic. Poor effort, DC!
(Also, like your name. Pratchett reference, I figure?)
Gareth said...
"DC has erased the families of many superheroes that had a family"
I've figured out recently that there's a huge disparity there - only children and orphans are in the vast minority in our culture (I haven't done a survey), but in the vast, vast majority in superheroes.
Probably because they're easier to write.
~ Mik