My taste in artwork is very simple, especially when it comes to comics... What I want mostly, is to be able to recognize the characters that I'm familiar with when I read an issue of their story... If the character is Peter Parker, I want to be able to look at a picture of Peter Parker and know that it's him without having to guess...
With that in mind, take a look at the following picture. Is this really what some would call "good" art? Is it perhaps vogue, avante garde, or stylistic?
Here's an image from X-Force 25 during the Necrosha arc... I guess a bad story deserves bad art. But, can you tell who is in the pictures? The one with claws is likely Wolverine, but who else is there? Any idea? Shouldn't one be able to tell?
I HATE hate hate hate HATE crap like this. Perhaps it's some sort of style that I'm not enlightened enough to appreciate, but I HATE it... As Dr. Nemesis would say, "It sucks a whole herd of goats."
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So... Recently I gave some thought to the amount of damage that occurs to public property in comic books... Well, I guess quite a bit of damage happens to private property as well... And it hit me that there is a concept in Thermodynamics that, to my knowledge, isn't really used in comic books, that could address the problem...
A new super hero tapping into a potential source of power that is, for the most part, over looked by comic books...
I think it could honestly be interesting and address a number of things that readers have to sort of suspend belief about, in order to enjoy comics...
I've probably said too much as it is... Because if anyone in comic vine has ever discussed a new idea for a super hero, then this topic has been done before and well.... This gets locked as fast as it was made...
I know the Schism just came out, so I'm not going to give away spoilers just yet...
Let me just summarize my overall impression with, "Are you freaking kidding me?"
We've had four issues of Prelude to Schism in which we sat through:
X-person: Where's Scott? Other X-person: He's in the other room standing by the big windows looking pensive and trying to decide what to do. another X-Person: Well, it can't be easy for him.... It's going to be bad. X-person: Yep, Bad. Really Bad. Other X-person: Bad's the word. It's going to bad. another X-Person: So freaking bad. X-person: Couldn't have said that better myself. Other X-person: So, I guess it's going to be bad. another X-Person: Yeah. I wonder what Scott's going to decide.
And so we're expecting something BAD. REALLY REALLY BAD....
And what do we get??? Surely not an OLD TIRED OVERUSED AND REPEATED THEME..... Right???
This time it's something SO BAD even Wolverine wonders if they can win. It MUST be bad. REALLY bad. Like CELESTIALS bad, right?
Sigh... Instead, we get THESE freaking things again??? Really? REALLY?!?!
I was thinking about talking about something green lantern once did with his power ring, but I'm pretty sure someone in here has a thread about green lantern, so if I talk about green lantern, it'll just be locked/blocked...
I also wanted to rant about Spider-Man in Future Foundation, but I'm reasonably sure someone has started a thread about Spider-Man or the Future Foundation, so that would be locked/blocked as well...
And I actually had an idea for a new type of super team, but I'd bet hard cash that someone in here has already talked about new types of super teams, so THAT would get me locked/blocked as well....
Now, I'm thinking I could just say something like "Hi, how's it going?" but there's a thread for that, right? So that's off limits....
So.. Um....
How bout those Braves, eh? Um... Unless someone in here once asked in here about the Braves, in which case I take it back!
First of all, let me state for the record, I absolutely HATED Prelude to Schism... It served virtually NO PURPOSE whatsoever... He's my breakdown of Prelude to Schism:
X-person: Where's Scott? Other X-person: He's in the other room standing by the big windows looking pensive and trying to decide what to do. another X-Person: Well, it can't be easy for him.... It's going to be bad. X-person: Yep, Bad. Really Bad. Other X-person: Bad's the word. It's going to bad. another X-Person: So freaking bad. X-person: Couldn't have said that better myself. Other X-person: So, I guess it's going to be bad. another X-Person: Yeah. I wonder what Scott's going to decide.
Now, multiply that by four and you have the entire Prelude to Schism set... Except you have to add one line.
Scott: We're going to stay and fight.
There, now if you haven't read prelude to Schism, I've just saved you money and time....
FOUR FREAKING ISSUES and all we get is, "It's going to be bad. Really bad. SOOO freaking bad..."
Now, I've noticed a similar theme happening in the 'New Mutants' series and now the X-Men series... They seem to be taking about four to five issues to cover virtually NOTHING... It breaks down like this:
Part 1: Something bad happens, the X-Men must fight/take action. The reader is left hanging. Part 2: The X-Men get their heads kicked in. The reader is left hanging. Part 3: The X-Men get their heads kicked in some more. The reader is left hanging. Part 4: The X-Men get their heads kicked in a little more, and then SUDDENLY win in a less than satisfying way... Questions are left hanging in the air...
Consider X-Men 14 (The issue that triggered this rant) "First to Last PART FREAKING FOUR." It began in Giant Sized X-Men 1 and continued in X-Men 12, 13, and now 14.
I don't want to give things away in case anyone who reads this has not yet read this long, boring, tedious, dragging arc.... But, apparently about 3 million years ago some primates were rapidly evolved so they could watch over mutants and protect them so they could keep on living and evolving...
You sort of have to throw out the idea that the process of new species evolving is dependent on adaptation and overcoming challenges or selective pressures, because now there are super-apes that kill anything to opposes mutants... (not sure where they were while the sentinels were attacking, or during the decimation, or during the attack of the purifiers but...)
Anyway, there's been one GIANT sized issue and three regular issues and... We're still basically where we were at the beginning!!! There's a secret that Scott has been keeping (apparently) since the early days of the X-Men... And the writers are just KICKING THAT DEAD HORSE for all it's worth. So basically we're getting. - Scott has a secret - Scott must know something - Wonder what it is - I don't know... it's a secret...
And in the latest issue on the very last panel we get:
Magneto: I KNOW THE SECRET!!! I KNOW WHAT IT IS!
sigh...So, maybe in about another 3 or 4 issues we READERS will be let in on the 'secret.'
These four issue arcs that basically do nothing REALLY need to either stop, or reduce the nothingness down to one issue.....
I actually wrote this for one of the threads in here. "Why are they still on Utopia..." I think it makes a good point, and I think it's a keeper so I'm going to put in here in my blog...
Anole: Mr. Summers, could I talk to you about something? Cyclops: Of course, Anole. You're one of the few younger mutants who are stable, intelligent, and actually read the files I prepare on villains. Anole: Actually, that's sort of what I wanted to talk to you about. One of the files I read. On a villai...FORMER villain. Cyclops: Oh? Which former villain. Anole: Magneto. Cyclops: Ah, you're probably wondering how we got lucky enough to have him on our side now, aren't you? Anole: Well, SOMETHING like that. I couldn't help but notice his history with the places he's ruled... Cyclops: Uh-huh? Anole: You know, like, what happened to those places...Like Asteroid M, for example. Cyclops: (Big laugh) Oh, I see. How did we get so lucky to have it as our very own ISLAND. Anole: um..It's a ROCK... But I was thinking of what happened BEFORE we took up residence here. Cyclops: (looking puzzled.) You mean, how we raised it out of the ocean? Anole: Well, more specifically, how it got IN the ocean... Cyclops: (Still confused) What's your point? Anole: Well, Magneto used to rule Asteroid M...While it was in space...and look what happened to it? Cyclops: We X-Men sort of destroyed it... Wow, you really DO read those files... Anole: Yes, asteroid M was destroyed... Cyclops: Of course, Magneto repaired it after that. Anole: Yes, but it was destroyed AGAIN. Magneto let it get destroyed TWICE> Cyclops: You can't blame magneto for that! WARLOCK flew into it as he was trying to escape from his father... These things happen when you're a mutant. Anole: Okay...Well...Twice I could maybe understand... But he built a THIRD Asteroid M and ... Cyclops: Now, you can't blame magneto for what happened to THAT asteroid M, can you? I mean, Cortez fired nuclear missiles at it... What was Magneto supposed to do? Put up some king of SHIELD and stop them? COME ON!?!? And actually, that worked out pretty well for us because, well, here we are living on it. Anole: Yes...but...I mean... He built a FOURTH asteroid M and it ends up floating into the freaking sun! I mean..." Cyclops: HEY! Be careful, young man. My wife DIED on that asteroid just before it hit the sun. That's a very painful memory for me. That was the next to last time she died! Anole: Second to last. Cyclops: How's that? Anole: That was the second to last time she died before she died the last time. The LAST time she died she was brought back by Quentin Quire or some such thing... And the time before that she was killed by Xorn...and just before THAT Wolverine killed her on Asteroid M just before they entered the sun... To spare her from burning up and all that... Cyclops: What? WHAT? You mean THAT'S how she died? And Logan killed her?! Anole: Yes, but it saved her life so.... Cyclops: Oh... Okay.. So what we're we talking about? Anole: The fifth asteroid M getting destroyed. Cyclops: Yes, but that was XORN'S fault...So.... Anole: Yes, but...But... Okay, okay... What about Avalon?! Cyclops: The legendary home of King Arthur? Anole: Um... No Sir... Magneto's space station that the Acolytes lived on... Cyclops: Oh, I see... What about it? Anole: It ALSO was destroyed... Like asteroid M was... FIVE times... Cyclops: Yes, but look how well THAT worked out! I mean, CABLE built PROVIDENCE from pieces of Avalon! and look out how well that worked for him!!! Anole: (Stunned silence for a moment) Um... Providence was destroyed and sank into the ocean.... Cyclops: Well you can't blame Magneto for that, can you? Anole: Okay, fine. What about GENOSHA? I mean, it was completely freaking TRASHED. Nuked and attacked by sentinels and what not. Everywhere Magneto takes up residence gets destroyed. Asteroid M ALWAYS gets destroyed! Cyclops: Well, it's not an ASTEROID anymore, now is it? (looking rather clever and smug) "It's an ISLAND now." Anole: PROVIDENCE WAS AN ISLAND? Cyclops: What's your point? Anole: (sighs in frustration) "EVERY TIME Mutants gather to live in ONE location, whether it's an asteroid, or a spacestation, or an island, it gets DESTROYED. ESPECIALLY if Magneto has anything to do with it!!! Cyclops: (Quietly ponders Anole's words a moment) Where are you going with this? Anole: (Drops his head in defeat) Would you mind if a few of us moved back to Westchester? Cyclops: OH! A vacation! Why didn't you just say so! I bet Logan would LOVE to take a group of you back for a visit!!!
There's a quest suggesting I fill in my "about me" section... I have NO IDEA where it is or how to get to it.... I don't know where in comic vine to go with questions such as this... If you happen to read this for whatever reason, can you help me out?
There's actually an article in Comic Vine which states that it's time for the return of Jean Grey...... I'm afraid they were being serious...
Bringing back characters from the dead doesn't just make comic book deaths cheap, it makes them pointless...COMPLETELY pointless. So a character dies, who cares? They'll be back back soon and their death will make room for interesting changes.
The Human Torch died recently... Who cares... He'll be back. Even if Marvel says he won't be back, he WILL... They ALL come back. It's almost a requirement now for a character to have died AT LEAST ONCE to be an X-Man. The following video says it rather well: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/218160
Look at a list of X-Men who have died an come back at least once:
Jean Grey, Scott Summers, Wolverine, Angel, Colossus, Psylocke, Cypher, Magneto, Strong-guy, Mirage, Karma, Cannonball, Sunspot, Wolf-bane, Magma....... There are more.
The X-Men aren't alone in this trend.
Superman, Batman, Jason Todd, Captain America, Captain Mar-Vell, The Thing, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Thor, Odin, Hawkeye....... I'm sure there are more.
Now, let's look at a list of significant characters who have died and STAYED dead.
Uncle Ben...
That's about it... Uncle Ben is in a list by himself. Oh sure, The Human Torch and Banshee are dead and haven't come back.... YET... but they've not been gone that long.
Coming back from the dead isn't supposed to be a 'right' or privilege that people stand in line for. Do people imagine dead comic book heroes standing around in limbo shouting, "Hey! It's MY turn to come back from the dead! I've waiting long enough!"
When coming back from the dead because as easy as getting out of bed for these characters, then there's no real danger when they face supposedly 'deadly' situations. So then, who really cares if they die. And if there's no fear or worry about them dying, then there's less tension in the story overall. For those that continue to come back, death is no longer a sacrifice; it's merely an inconvenience. The entirety of the comic book universe becomes more and more of a joke each time a character is brought back to life...
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