The Banner Bore a Strange Device: Excelsior!

[the_gneech]

So, since my new comic is using the traditional comics layout, I've been trying to cultivate my comics knowledge and tastes-- which is to say, I've been reading comic books and studying how they're put together.

I've commented before on the vast depths of my comic ignorance, and it still holds true, although gradually becoming slightly less so. Since I started reading the new Captain Marvel (♥) and Avenging Spider-Man (in trades) and with the general coolness of the Iron Man, Captain America, and Avengers movies, I have slowly been getting up to speed with the Marvel universe, at least some of the broad strokes. For instance, I have now learned:

• J. Jonah Jameson is apparently the mayor of NYC these days. I guess that's probably the best way to keep him bedeviling Peter Parker, who presumably isn't a struggling photographer just out of school any more.


• There is a "Red Hulk," whose last name is Ross (I assume related to Betty Ross, Bruce Banner's original GF, and her father General Ross, if not actually Gen. Ross himself, which would be ridiculous but this is comics). My assumption until now had been that the various color Hulks were just Banner under the influence of changing radiation effects.


• Who the heck this Deadpool guy is that people keep talking about. Basically he's a badass version of Ambush Bug, which leads me to wonder why Deadpool is a fan fave while Ambush Bug is obscure. Is it really because of the "I'm so badass and want to die but I can't" wank? Ugh. But whatevs. (And in fairness, it might just be timing... if Ambush Bug had been created when there was an internet, he might have gotten a lot more attention.) [1]

Compare/contrast to the DC universe, which I've been semi-actively avoiding due to all the shenanigans I keep hearing about from the current editorial diktat. (Supes dumping Lois for Wonder Woman? Seriously? And WW being okay with this? I don't think so.) I'm enjoying Amethyst, but that's only tangentially related and is pretty much its own thing (and keeps having rumors of cancellation). I'm having fun watching Batman: The Brave and Bold and fully intend to pick up Batman '66 when it comes out, but those can hardly be considered actually "in" the DC Universe, as much as anything is.

-The Gneech

[1] Side note: I played Ambush Bug in a CHAMPIONS campaign once and really enjoyed it. He had extra-dimensional teleport so that he could jump around to different points in time (by going to different "pages of the comic") or completely out of the story all together (by going to the letters page to read the comic's mail until the fight was over, etc.).

Comments

[bailiff.livejournal.com]

Red Hulk *is* General Ross, as far as I know. -_- And the Red She-Hulk is Betty!

What Amethyst series do you mean? I just bought the Showcase Presents paperback (it has "disposable" written all over it: poor quality paper, B+W artwork originally meant for colour), and it's a fun nostalgic romp! I also found the animated shorts on Youtube (just search for "Amethyst Princess of Gemworld"), which recasts the heroine as a manga Magic Girl. Is there a new Amethyst comic series out?

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

"Sword of Sorcery, Featuring Amethyst." It's a New 52 title. :)

And... what you tell me about the Red Hulk(s) is a terrible, terrible thing. -.-

-TG

[bailiff.livejournal.com]

Ah! I may want to check this out. :3 I've a weakness for girls who're really princesses of magical dimensions.

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

If that's your thing, you will definitely like Amethyst. ;)

ETA: Here's a taste... http://www.themarysue.com/an-exclusive-preview-of-sword-of-sorcery-3-featuring-amethyst-princess-of-gemworld/#0

-TG

[jayblanc.livejournal.com]

Deadpool is... Okay, let's rewind to the 90s. Remember the 90s? Remember Rob Lifeld? Yeah, he originally created Deadpool, as the Gritty Angst Pouch Muscle Guy for the Marvel universe. And, no one really cared about him. And Liefeld departed and left Deadpool behind, where he got a few mini-series but was never a big focus.

And then the Big Comics Crash happened, and some of the editorial and writers at Marvel decided 'Screw it, let's just parody ourselves and what happened'. And they picked Deadpool, and dropped him into a series that was mainly venting about the gritty anti-hero stupidity of the 90s, which they expected to cancel once they'd let of steam. So the writers pretty much went all out. Deadpool became the butt of cosmic jokes. He started breaking the fourth wall, and having arguments with the narration box text. For a time he hung out with Squirrel Girl. There's a series where Deadpool attempts to kill all super heros in all dimensions, in order to put Marvel into bankruptcy (again). Deadpool is an unstoppable force of HEY LETS RIDE BIKES.

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

I'm terrible at knowing biz names, but I looked up Liefeld. Seems an... interesting... dude.

-TG

[mausmerryjest.livejournal.com]

Rob Liefeld was a train wreck couched in a natural disaster. And the man had no grasp of anatomy whatsoever: http://www.progressiveboink.com/2012/6/14/3085169/40-more-of-the-worst-rob-liefeld-drawings-numbers-20-through-11

And yet he was the hottest comic artist during the early 90s until it all came crashing down on him.

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

Oh, god, please don't. Liefeld is a terrible, terrible hack.

See http://www.progressiveboink.com/2012/4/21/2960508/worst-rob-liefeld-drawings for more info. There are HUNDREDS of these pages floating around, dedicated to how terrible the guy's art is.

Honestly, I have no idea how he gets any work at all.

Deadpool, on the other hand, has been reinvented by talented writers like Joe Casey, who took Deadpool's tagline "The Merc With a Mouth" and turned him into someone considerably more interesting. Proof that even from crap beginnings, a decent character can be found.

cheers,
Phil

Yeah...

[mausmerryjest.livejournal.com]

The DC universe has ruined my favorite hero--- Wonder Woman. I don't buy their comics anymore :/

Re: Yeah...

[jayblanc.livejournal.com]

DC just confuse me. So much wonderful stuff coming out of Warner Bros. Animation under the DC brand. And then there's the actual comics... which... I just don't know. I mean, there's the occasional bright spark of light, but they tend to just get buried under DC's next blundering miss-step. And then there's how they decided to try and ape Marvel in cross-over movie production, and it now seems they're going to retcon the Nolan Batman to existing in the same world as Superman. Which. Makes. No. Sense.

Re: Yeah...

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Well, they're also trying to make a dark and gritty Superman, which also makes no sense. :-`

-TG

[radbaron.livejournal.com]

Showing my age here...

I can remember reading Amethyst wayyy back in '82..'84. And for the $3.99 cover price for one comic now, I probably could have bought the whole series!

[graveyardgreg.livejournal.com]

The Red Hulk is Thunderbolt Ross.

Betty is a Red She Hulk.

While I approve of turning Betty into something other than a football to be kicked around by any villain who wanted to bedevil the Hulk...sometimes I think making red hulks to be ridonkulous.

[graveyardgreg.livejournal.com]

And also, Supes in this New 52-verse isn't together with Lois, so there was no dumping.