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Post by Van Plexico on May 6, 2007 22:49:01 GMT -5
I know the '80s band "Level 42" (whose big hit was "Something About You") named themselves after the Hitchhiker's reference. Does that count?
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Post by Van Plexico on Apr 23, 2007 23:38:28 GMT -5
Holy crow, that's astonishing!!
I definitely want to do... something... with it. You guys help me figure out what!
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Post by Van Plexico on Apr 11, 2007 22:39:15 GMT -5
1. Iron Man Is an alcoholic. And now he's the biggest villain in the MU.
2. Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) Was dead for a long time, and then his resurrection sucked.
3. Ms. Marvel Is an alcoholic, and wasn't Ms. Marvel for a long time.
4. Nexus Hasn't been published for a long time.
5. Moon Knight Was basically dead AND not published for a long time.
But at least all five seem to be around again, for the first time in ages.
After these five, there are about three dozen all tied for #6.
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1000
Apr 1, 2007 16:43:01 GMT -5
Post by Van Plexico on Apr 1, 2007 16:43:01 GMT -5
I never dreamed folks would get such high message counts so quick, back in the fall of '05 when I set up the board. So I just went in and added a couple more rankings-- but much harder to reach! Though I'm sure DLW66 will be discovering them sooner than I had planned. haha.
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Post by Van Plexico on Mar 23, 2007 13:08:47 GMT -5
I usually prioritize them, more or less, in order of "how long it takes to read each one."
So the quick reads go first (anything Bendis-related, no offense), such as NEW AVENGERS or CIVIL WAR, etc.
Then I have the Marvel favorites that take a bit longer to savor, such as MS. MARVEL, MOON KNIGHT, IRON MAN, etc.
Next come the DC quick reads, such as JLA and SUPERGIRL/LEGION.
Finally, at the bottom, are the ones that take the longest to read, require the most concentration, or that I have saved for when I have a good bit of time to really read them through slowly. That would include CONAN, ASTRO CITY, SUPREME POWER stuff, and Fabian's TBOLTS, when he was writing it.
For example, I still haven't read ZEMO: BORN BETTER, because I'm thinking I'll need a good half hour, at least, to give it the proper attention.
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Post by Van Plexico on Mar 28, 2007 20:39:01 GMT -5
I'm really surprised by how many folks mentioned something from AVENGERS/JLA. I think of that as such a "recent" book... it has never exactly registered on my "nostalgic memories" meter, I guess.
Those of you who include it: Are you mostly younger fans, who weren't around for the stuff back before that? Or are you older fans, and simply thought it was that great of a story?
(Part of the reason I don't rank it as highly as I could is having heard from Kurt and from Tom Brevoort about how much they had to change the ending...)
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Post by Van Plexico on Mar 23, 2007 13:25:40 GMT -5
1. Thanos and his alien army vs the assembled Avengers, Spidey, the Thing, Captain Marvel, and Adam Warlock, in TWO IN ONE ANNUAL #2.
2. The Avengers smash into Ultron's Long Island hideout in AVENGERS #162.
3. The final battle between Baron Karza's forces and the Enigma Force and the Acroyear Homeworld, in MICRONAUTS #11.
4. Bullseye's escape from prison, in the DAREDEVIL issue where Elektra dies. Frank Miller at his best.
And here's a sappy but good one: AVENGERS #159. Jarvis sits alone in the mansion, thinking Graviton has killed all the Avengers, and he raises a toast to their memories. "They also serve, who only stand and..." (Then he goes and singlehandedly rescues the girl! Go Jarvis!) ;D
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Post by Van Plexico on Mar 1, 2007 14:21:40 GMT -5
Just last summer moved from Atlanta suburbs to rural Illinois, about an hour outside St. Louis. Quite a change!
That's after moving from Atlanta to Singapore and back in 2005.
So I've lived in cities of 4 million people (twice) and of 3500 people, within the last two years...
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Post by Van Plexico on Mar 6, 2007 20:11:32 GMT -5
I think so, actually. But Marvel does not. They think we represent a small (but vocal) minority and don't much care what we think, really. I have heard this over and over from the pros, over the years.
FWIW, I have a BA and MA in Political Science (IR and National Security) and three years of PhD work in History.
What plane upgrade do PhDs get, Daned? I've never heard that before!
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Post by Van Plexico on Mar 1, 2007 14:26:52 GMT -5
Turned 39 in January. That pretty much sums it up. Bought my first Marvel comic in 1977 (AVENGERS 162: The Bride of Ultron!). Stopped in 1983, in high school. (Nexus was all I was reading then. And maybe Dreadstar and Alien Legion. I was not happy with Marvel at that time. How things have changed! haha) Started again in 1992, while in grad school in DC, when I saw the INFINITY GAUNTLET, by Jim Starlin, whose work I've always liked (though not as much in the last few years).
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Post by Van Plexico on Feb 24, 2007 12:07:25 GMT -5
I disagree with many of your positions, W, but I'm tickled to death to have you here, excitedly reporting them. I suppose my advice is, "Don't get too discouraged, and also try not to lash out too much at those who disagree."
There will always be those who react negatively and cynically to anything someone else is excited about, particularly when they themselves don't care for it so much. That's just the way the world is.
I've gotten "squished down" among my personal friends on more occasions than I care to recall, when I'd be all excited about, say, SPACE: 1999 or BABYLON 5 or some new comic that they all hated. They always would make their disdain for it (and for my excitement and appreciation of it) very clear. That's just life; it's just people. They're still my friends.
I'd like to believe there's room here for everyone, regardless of each person's views on any given topic. I do hope we can all try to continue to respect one another as we converse.
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Post by Van Plexico on Feb 24, 2007 12:01:50 GMT -5
Magneto wins for one reason. While Graviton may well be even more powerful, in terms of raw strength, he has never had the slightest clue how to use that power. Magneto is not only the master of magnetism, but the master of the USE of the power of magnetism.
It's like a sports team with lots of talented individuals vs another team that plays well together. It's like the 80s Rockets vs the 80s Celtics. Magneto is Larry Bird. ;D
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Post by Van Plexico on Feb 13, 2007 19:56:16 GMT -5
You're probably thinking about the "Court Martial of Yellow Jacket" issue, where Hank builds a robot to attack the Avengers during his court martial. That would be #213.
Of course, there was also the story in which Hank, in the Ant-Man guise, singlehandedly took out several of the Avengers (while under Ultron's control)-- that would be #161.
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Post by Van Plexico on Feb 13, 2007 20:04:35 GMT -5
Moon Knight and Mar-Vell were two characters back in the late 1970s that knocked my socks off, at first, purely due to their cool costumes and looks. Then came Ms. Marvel's makeover (to something like what she's wearing now, though not quite as revealing). Woooooo! I agree that Mon-El has a cool look, and I have always thought that several of the Legion have great costumes. And that perfectly balances out the equal number that look utterly ridiculous.
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Post by Van Plexico on Feb 13, 2007 19:59:09 GMT -5
Havok is the perfect example of a costume that "sort of looks cool" in comic books... but in ANY other medium, looks atrocious. YIKES!!
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Post by Van Plexico on Jan 17, 2007 15:25:35 GMT -5
I would love for any artists who belong to this board to submit a drawing of one or more of the Sentinels characters, for consideration to be included in the hardcover book, coming out later this year. It will have a section of sketches from various artists, famous and not-yet-famous. If you're interested, email or message me. For more info on the SENTINELS, go to: www.whiterocketbooks.comThanks!
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Post by Van Plexico on Jan 11, 2007 12:20:04 GMT -5
Yeah, the Death of Captain Marvel surprised me. I thought they'd save him somehow.
The final showdown between the Avengers and Korvac...
The Scarlet Witch takes down Ultron in #171...
Kang takes over the earth in Kurt's "Kang Dynasty" and nukes Washington DC...!
The big finale of the first major Micronauts storyline, in #11...
The end of the Thanos/Warlock/Avengers conflict in MTIO Annual #2...
The opening sequence of the issue of Daredevil with the death of Elektra, where Bullseye escapes from prison. That was amazing.
Half the stuff that happened in NEXUS. What an under rated comic...
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Post by Van Plexico on Jan 3, 2007 1:57:30 GMT -5
Just a thought: Back in the day, we would have a pretty good idea of the various powers of all the characters in a comic we read, after maybe three issues, max. Maybe even just one issue. Today... If you started reading NEW AVENGERS today, would you have any idea about the powers of the various characters? Even after a year or more?? I mean, they hardly ever do anything, so how would you know??
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Post by Van Plexico on Jan 2, 2007 12:20:40 GMT -5
That wouldn't surprise me-- and I mean that in only a positive way. (I'm a member of Brian's board, but have never gone there, as of yet.)
Because the nature of the AA! site has always been one of standing up for the classic approach to AVENGERS, while I think the AF site's approach has always been more one of celebrating the positive aspects of the current issues at any given time.
(AF's more likely to have current interviews or reviews, for example, while AA is more likely to have comprehensive articles about classic storylines, criticism, etc.)
After all, the AA! site got its start back when we fans were disliking the Crossing-era stuff and looking back to the grand old days of Thomas/Englehart/Shooter etc... and the site really took off during Heroes Reborn, because it gave those who hated the Liefeld approach somewhere to go and vent!
And, as I have always said, that difference in approaches between AA and AF is good-- because we each serve Avengers fans in different ways; or perhaps rather because we each serve different segments of Avengers fandom.
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Post by Van Plexico on Jan 1, 2007 15:36:36 GMT -5
That's not remotely what I was suggesting, Bob, but that's up to you, of course.
Your karma comes from the other members, when they decide to hit the "exalt" or "smite" button for you. Clearly, you're underestimating the esteem the other members hold you in.
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Post by Van Plexico on Dec 31, 2006 11:42:34 GMT -5
I suggest we simply agree to disagree about Bendis-- I think all the valid points about why he sucks/rocks have been made (to borrow a phrase from RevolutionSF.com), and made more than once. Or fifty times. At this point, all that can happen are (more) hurt feelings, and that's not good. An old rule of thumb of internet discussions is that things have pretty much reached an end when Hitler gets involved. So I think we've hit that point now. As far as the karma thing goes... It means nothing. I was afraid it was a bad idea to even have that on the site, from the beginning-- it came built-in, and I left it. I hope I'm not seeing evidence that I should just remove it as a feature. Because that would mean some of the kiddies have abused something meant to be "cute fun" and so we all lose it as a result. Go register for updates on the Iron Man movie site, soak up that cool logo, and feel the love, brothers (and sisters). www.ironmanmovie.com
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Post by Van Plexico on Jan 3, 2007 1:28:26 GMT -5
I saw one tonight at Wal-Mart and bought it. They had quite a stack of them in all sizes.
It's not so much a sweatshirt as, yeah, a thermal underwear top. Strange. But I like the dark-olive drab color (even though, or perhaps because, it causes the Avengers image to blend into the shirt a bit.) Not sure why Thor's helmet wings are blue, though.
It's Perez's rendering of the statue of the Founders, so it's the big 3 plus Hank, Jan, and the Hulk, with the Avengers logo. Cool.
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Post by Van Plexico on Dec 24, 2006 13:41:50 GMT -5
I've never bought into the whole "people in the MU hate Mutants because they're Mutants" argument (at least not while believing they'd love Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm at the same time!!), and I really don't buy into the public turning totally against super-heroes because of one bad incident.
I mean, these people watch the news, right? They know the dangers that lurk in 616. They know about Galactus and the Skrulls and Thanos and whatnot. If not for the marvelously numerous and diverse super-beings of Earth-616, the whole planet wouldn't even be here.
I would think the folks of the MU-Earth would get that, and would "put up with" the hazards of super-beings running around, given the far greater benefits they reap in the long run, rather than doing something that could result in the heroes being all locked up or done away with.
And I also have to ask, where is the US Supreme Court in this? Wouldn't they strike down the Registration Act? Unless the 616 US Supreme Court is so ridden with fear and loathing for others who are different, that they have upheld the Act... Wow.
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Post by Van Plexico on Dec 20, 2006 22:15:08 GMT -5
She changed her name to Pulsar in that issue of TBOLTS (I think) where she and Genis were at a bar, and Genis was giving up the Captain Marvel name and taking "Photon" for himself, so she agreed to give that name up to him, and took "Pulsar." (Which aggravated me, because "Pulsar" is the name of my main character in the Sentinels books!!) www.whiterocketbooks.com/lyn_mitch_smallest.jpgFabian said at the time that he thought it would be funny for Genis to have stolen her superhero name TWICE. Ha.
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Post by Van Plexico on Dec 15, 2006 10:40:14 GMT -5
First thought: Monica is way more powerful than Carol. Really, Monica is more powerful than a lot of the MU.
Second thought: Carol would just absorb her and fire her off into the sun or something.
I mean, I like Monica just fine (though she's been chronically misused/underused and generally abused during her years in the MU).... but Carol is Carol and that's that.
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Post by Van Plexico on Dec 15, 2006 0:51:51 GMT -5
Inasmuch as I think Kurt's KANG DYNASTY is one of the great comics sagas of all time... and as much as I adore his portrayal of Kang in AVENGERS FOREVER... I really don't much care for Kang himself in the pages of KANG DYNASTY.
And I'm not quite sure why that is. Having just re-read the whole thing for the cards project, it struck me again-- something about Kang in that story was somehow, ever so slightly, off. He was almost too dark. Too ruthless. Not fun enough.
I like Kang because he has a lot of Dr. Doom's fun, over the top comic book villain arrogance (to go along with his more futuristic, sci fi aspects). But in that story, Kurt almost made him too real. Y'know?
The Kang in DYNASTY doesn't make me go, "Cool! Kang!" He makes me go, "Kang... Ack!!"
I'm not sure if that's making any sense, but I feel it very strongly.
Again, that doesn't detract from how great of a story I thought it was.
(For a totally different take on Kang, read David Michelinie's novel, "The Man Who Stole Tomorrow!")
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Post by Van Plexico on Dec 15, 2006 0:30:22 GMT -5
BING BING BING!!!!!This, IMO, is the key to Kang. And, also IMO, it has never, ever been properly explored about him. He wants to conquer not just every where but every when. But, to do that, you would have to be immortal. Thus Kang's greatest desire should not be conquest of territory or of enemies (he takes that as a given) but of DEATH.I thought this theme was wasted when it was used as the motivation for Count Nefaria (as Super-Nefaria in 164-166). He was far too minor a foe, even given his power there. That storyline should have been saved for Kang, which would have made it much more consequential and effective. I think it's the one great Kang story that has yet to be told.(And, man, I really hate doing this, but...) Here's where I attempted to touch on that whole "Kang is not immortal and that's killing him, you'll pardon the pun" theme: I: KANG Part 1 www.avengersassemble.net/ffic/kang01.htmlPart 2 www.avengersassemble.net/ffic/kang02.htmlPart 3 www.avengersassemble.net/ffic/kang03.htmlHope my MV-1 links aren't annoying you folks too much, but this stuff keeps coming up! Next someone'll mention how Carol Danvers changed back from Binary to Warbird to Ms. Marvel, and I'll have to refer you all to that story, too!
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Post by Van Plexico on Dec 13, 2006 20:50:03 GMT -5
Man, what a tough call. Two of my favorite heroes! Um... I mean... villains, of course. ;D Even though Galactus can do everything Kang can do, plus lots, lots more... He's just a "force of nature," while Kang is a scrapper who will fight dirty and find a way to win. (In some ways, I see Kang as almost the Captain America of villains, in that way... though Doom fans will probably argue.) Speaking of showdowns with Galactus, here's a story I wrote quite a while back, with GALACTUS vs the CELESTIALS...!www.avengersassemble.net/conflagration.html
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Post by Van Plexico on Dec 12, 2006 19:40:21 GMT -5
I voted for Firelord simply because he's sort of cool, and I find Silver Surfer to be ever so slightly more interesting than watching the grass grow.
Now, I love the cosmic characters, y'all-- Galactus, Thanos, Warlock, what have ya-- but Surfer? Gaaah. Zzzzzzzz.....
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Post by Van Plexico on Dec 12, 2006 19:50:40 GMT -5
....Aaaaand today what should be sitting outside when I got home than a big box from Rittenhouse. They sent me the full set of yearly cards (with my text--sort of; more on that in a second), along with three different sets of foil cards that seem to feature the original cover art from the current run, mostly. Also included were a 4x6 inch, hand-drawn and colored Iron Man card , sealed in a little frame thing; a bigger framed thing containing an original page six from AVENGERS (vol. 1) #1 (with Tony suiting up in the Iron Man armor), and the really spiffy binder to hold the cards, with its cover coming from Avengers (vol. 3) #1. Not too shabby. (And I guess they figured out I'm an Iron Man fan.) This is all really nice stuff, no doubt about it. But I have a couple of observations. They did change a good bit of my text, including switching it all from present-tense (I wrote it that way, because it's a summary of fictional story events) to past tense. IMO, this makes it read really strangely, but it wasn't my call. *shrug* I also noticed a few typos that I didn't have in my original text, such as changing "Triune Understanding" to " Tribune Understanding." So, if you read those cards, please note that I didn't quite write 'em all this way! Another observation I have: The Web site for this project lists lots of sorta C-list artists (I say it with love, guys), with bunches of samples of their Avengers characters art. But none of that is here. I'm not sure whether that means they didn't use it, or I simply didn't get a copy of it. Not that I'm complaining, mind you-- I'm grateful they sent me what they did-- I just don't know what the deal is with that. And finally-- they did give me a credit "by-line," but only on the first card of the "yearly" set. And, ironically enough, that's the only one of that set not to contain at least some of my writing. Instead, that card features the old masthead text. Based on that, it now appears that I wrote those famous words that began, "And there came a day..." I'm not complaining about that, either. haha Ah well. The set looks just spiffy, I have no complaints about the card fronts (if you're, y'know, into actual art on your cards, rather than the really cool text-- joking, joking), and in general it seems to be a worthy product. And, of course, it'll all be printed the way I intended it, in the ASSEMBLED! book, in a few months.
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