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Post by bobc on Apr 9, 2009 10:30:45 GMT -5
I'm laughing. Freedomfighter--I feel your pain. I would happily overlook Wolverine regenerating from a single cell.
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Post by bobc on Apr 9, 2009 10:25:32 GMT -5
Well Hawkeye has been "developed." He apparently isn't Hawkeye anymore--he is some grade Z character named Ronin and uses swords. Remember our Lord and Saviour Bendis said "every team needs a ninja--you gotta have a ninja." Doesn't matter who it is. Even if they aren't a ninja. Even if their ninja sword skills have been craftily hidden from Marvel readers for 40 years. You MUST have a ninja.
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Post by bobc on Apr 8, 2009 20:16:20 GMT -5
well you can thank idiot Bendis for the Sentry having "the power of a exploding million suns." It's just one of his contributions to ruining Marvel. It is beyond me how anyone can like him.
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Post by bobc on Apr 8, 2009 12:47:15 GMT -5
Oh. My. God.
Spiderwasp you have got to be kidding--PLEASE tell me you made that crap up. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
I could itemize how bad every plot development you listed is, but what's the point?
You know I was just thinking why hasn't anyone, over the years, delved into the fact that Hawkeye was an expert with swords? It's long overdue. Maybe Bendis can do a miniseries on the Black Knight where he just uses hammers?
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Post by bobc on Apr 7, 2009 16:52:23 GMT -5
Tana you are ruining our lynch-mob fun with your reasoned arguments!
I have to grudgingly agree with you that there are some good writers still around these days and yeah most of the 90's sucked.
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Post by bobc on Apr 6, 2009 9:09:10 GMT -5
Spiderwasp--that made me chuckle!
Are you guys saying that Ronin is really Hawkeye? I haven't read New Avengers in probably four years. I remember some crap about a mystery character who turned out to be Echo (whom no one cared about) but then I read something on the forums about Ronin (whom no one cares about) --but I thought Hawkeye was dead. Can someone explain this immense waste of time and paper to me in a sentence or two?
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Post by bobc on Apr 6, 2009 8:57:12 GMT -5
What do you expect from a guy who said "writing New Avengers is like taking a giant dump?" "Class" isn't exactly a word that comes to mind.
Over the last two years I have mistakenly purchased a couple of Bendis books, not realizing he was the writer--and I use the term loosely. It was like getting stun-gunned. I'd read a few pages and when the suckage rose to a certain level, I'd freeze in horror and then look at the cover to see who wrote this crap and yup--it was Bendis every time.
Is anyone even defending this hack anymore?
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Post by bobc on Apr 6, 2009 8:40:22 GMT -5
"The art today is often prettier than ever, but across the board, the writing BLOWS."
Redstatecap--Unfortunately, truer words have never been spoken. I picked up Ultimatum last week and was struck by how good Finch's art was, and the coloring was good as well--but the STORY was just lying there like a bored hooker. Flat, dull, cheap shock value, zero chartacter interaction. To sum it all up, The Blob eats the Wasp, then Hank Pym bites the head off the Blob and then blows himself up.
If the bitchball is firmly in my court, let me also say that Mystique taking on the Scarlet Witch's likeness served no purpose other than to bring up the tragedy of all that happened during Disassembled. How much longer will that dead horse be flogged? Is Wanda dead or is she alive? Does anyone care anymore? It's so hard to tell with the complete chaotic mess that Marvel has become.
Thank God for Mark Millar.
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Post by bobc on Apr 5, 2009 19:22:49 GMT -5
Yeah I agree about the art. It's kinda cheesy. I was just trying to stay happy and fluffy.
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Post by bobc on Apr 3, 2009 13:02:55 GMT -5
That has been Photoshopped!
On the serious side, to be clear--all snakes have rows of teeth---but constrictors don't have two venom producing fangs as Princess Python's pet is drawn. That's all I'm saying. Rows of fangs are fine.
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Post by bobc on Apr 3, 2009 9:44:10 GMT -5
I'm reading it! I really like it. It's goofy and fun--and has some very funny lines in it. Don't pick it up expecting Alan Moore, because it's a light read, has tons of our favorite villains in it, and definitely has a classic Marvel vibe about it. The current issues have The Circus of Crime in them--and that group has always been ripe for harpooning.
I have one gripe. Why can Marvel artists not get it through their pointy little heads that pythons and other constricting snakes DO NOT HAVE FANGS? They kill by constriction, not by envenomating. So please stop drawing giant fangs on Princess Python's frikkin snake. Even my beloved John Buscema drew fangs on a python. I was devastated.
That is all from the Reptile Art Police.
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Post by bobc on Apr 2, 2009 16:52:55 GMT -5
That is a great point, SW--I never thought of that but you are right. Marvel traded the complexity of its own history for the complexity of fifty million current crossovers. So maybe that suggests that the change at Marvel had more to do with making quick money by forcing readers to buy twenty books a month to understand what the hell is going on, than shedding decades of continuity. ahhhh welcome to Fastfood Nation America!
I know I'm getting old, but it seems like nothing is meant to be permanent anymore. It's sad.
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Post by bobc on Apr 2, 2009 13:27:16 GMT -5
I agree freedomfighter, I think you can evolve a character over time, as Tana points out above, and that's cool. And yes, after nearly 50 years of continuity, it is hard to come up with fresh stories and ideas--but that's what these guys get paid to do, or at least they used to. As I work in a related field, I have friends who work on and off for Marvel and they all say that a few years ago it was decided writers could just write stories with these characters anyway they cared to. Continuity and history are completely off the radar and it's not by accident. So what we are seeing these days are basically what we used to see in "What If?" years ago--just random stories that may or may not have any connection to Marvel history.
You see the biggest problem Marvel has been seeing in the past decade or two, is that young kids stopped buying and reading comics. One theory was that Marvel Continuity had become so complicated that the stories were confusing to kids unfamiliar with Marvel history. So Marvel more or less just chucked their own history to make stories less imposing I guess. From what I can tell it hasn't made much of a difference. When I go to the comic store, I rarely see kids. It's all late twenties to fifties. Granted kids' attention spans get shorter with each generation, but that is never going to change. If I were Marvel, I'd be more concerned about losing diehards.
Man I think Jeff Loeb has just surpassed Bendis as my most hated writer. He is everywhere these days and everything he writes is just so lame and tacky. Yuck. His version of Hawkeye is dreadful. Zero charm, zero likeability, zero nobility.
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Post by bobc on Apr 1, 2009 9:06:00 GMT -5
Wow--great cover! I don't know who this Salvador guy is, but he's really good. I thought it was Alex Ross!
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Post by bobc on Mar 31, 2009 20:58:57 GMT -5
Oh my dear Lord...You said it was bad, BUT YOU DIDN'T SAY IT WAS THAT BAD!!!! Gwen Stacey was knocked up and Peter Parker didn't know? I'm pretty sure twins would come up in conversation. This is all so Octomom. I am, for the first time, sorry I asked a question on this forum.
AND ANOTHER THING!!! Why would Mephisto give a d**n who was married to whom? That is just plain STUPID. STUPID!! I wouldn't accept that storyline from a retarded 5 YO.
Spiderwasp--PLEASE don't tell me anymore. I could join a sleeper cell...
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Post by bobc on Mar 31, 2009 9:03:57 GMT -5
uhhhh Gwen stacey is back? Since when? In what book? What does BND stand for?
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Post by bobc on Mar 31, 2009 8:59:21 GMT -5
Shiryu--I understand what you mean. Marvel is so incoherent these days that it does seem like there are fifty Valkyries running around and it's really hard to care about a character when that happens. The "new" Valkyrie in the Hulk/She Hulk world speaks old school Asgardian, which is something the original Valkyrie never did so I guess this is just another example of Marvel not giving a d**n about its own history. Also--that Loeb clown has another version of the Valkyrie in one of his books. Uhg
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Post by bobc on Mar 30, 2009 8:39:40 GMT -5
Ignore Me--I'm so old I actually remember when that aired.
Kill me. Now.
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Post by bobc on Mar 30, 2009 8:38:01 GMT -5
I agree about She-Hulk, Kiddo. She is one of the few spin-off characters that really worked and stuck around---and if anything she's gotten better over the years. Remember that awful She-Thing? OMIGOD that was a really, really bad idea. Almost as bad as Rage and Doctor Druid.
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Post by bobc on Mar 26, 2009 12:58:42 GMT -5
Hey Starfoxx--I have been enjoying the Legions of 3 Worlds as well--although I must confess that because I'm not really very familiar with all the Legionaires, having multiple sets of them gets confusing to my dim and sausage-like mind. Especially with George Perez's intricate art--it sets my mind a-whirl! Kind of like when I went to NYC's Museum of Natural Science in December--after about 3 hrs I had to flee in terror because I just couldn't take in anymore information.
So Guardians of the galaxy is good? Haven't checked that out yet but I will.
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Post by bobc on Mar 26, 2009 12:49:01 GMT -5
Tana you really should look up those early Defenders stories--they are excellent. Particularly the issues right before and after the Valkyrie joined. It was pretty much mediocre after then. If you are a John Buscema fan, you will be shocked at how similar his brother Sal's art was at the time.
De-powering female characters was the rule back then. I said this a long time ago on this forum, but it bears repeating: when a Marvel writer took over the Avengers in the 70's (I can't recall which guy it was), the previous writer actually warned him never to make the Scarlet Witch "too powerful." I found that really interesting in a sociological sense--a sign of the times I guess.
But yeah--the Valkyrie was capable of going one on one with the Hulk and the Sub-Mariner early on. She was capable of ripping a truck-sized chunk of machinery out of the Omegatron and throwing it at the Hulk & SM.
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Post by bobc on Mar 26, 2009 12:38:38 GMT -5
Yeah--bad idea!
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Post by bobc on Mar 25, 2009 13:07:03 GMT -5
You should have fought her anyway. He has attitude.
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Post by bobc on Mar 25, 2009 11:05:11 GMT -5
This is a bit off topic--but have you guys seen the animated Fantastic Four movie on Marvel.com? It's really funny--I like it! They fight Namor.
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Post by bobc on Mar 25, 2009 9:38:18 GMT -5
Hi DL--I remember one of the Marvel artists telling me that at some point the cost of paper went waaaaay up in the 90's and that was the real reason that the cost of comics went up so high at that time.
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Post by bobc on Mar 25, 2009 9:34:42 GMT -5
I liked the Hulk when he could never understand what was happening around him, and he'd just attack his own team-mates at the drop of a hat
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Post by bobc on Mar 24, 2009 9:39:44 GMT -5
I love Mark Millar. If not for his stuff, particularly his FF run, I wouldn't be buying Marvel anymore.
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Post by bobc on Mar 24, 2009 9:34:39 GMT -5
Hey Guys. I just bought the Essential Defenders #1 the other day and was amazed how good the first ten issues of the Defenders was (with the exception of the first issue). The art is top notch and there was something really, really exciting about having four of Marvel's most powerful characters (Hulk, Dr, Strange, Sub-Mariner, and Silver Surfer), every single one of them on the outskirts of the Marvel mainstream, all together in one group. The Hulk made every issue unpredictable, which made it exciting.
Beyond that, in re-reading this stuff for the first time since I was a kid, I was struck by what a great character the Valkyrie was when she first came out. She was TRULY Marvel's first awesomely powerful super female. The Valkyrie came along waaaaay before Storm, way before Phoenix and way before the Invisible Woman got her powers upgraded.
People have forgotten that in the early days of this character, the Valkyrie was on a power level close to the Hulk and the Sub Mariner--and I remember how exciting it was to see a female super-hero actually take on both the Hulk and Sub-Mariner at the same time, and give them a run for their money!
But as was the case with ALL female characters at Marvel in the 70's, the Valkyrie was quickly de-powered and d-listed to the point that after a few dozen issues she was getting in a "sword fight" with a human magician with a cane, and losing. This was a long drop from the days when she almost single-handedly fought the Sub-Mariner and Hulk to a standstill and then cut the head off the Omegatron.
But for a while there she was really, really exciting. It kind of reminded me how the Scarlet Witch went from fighting and almost beating the Enchantress by herself in the mid sixties to passing out after two useless hexes in the late 60's. UHG! thank GOD Marvel writers in the mid seventies got on the ball and brought out truly formidable female characters like Storm, Phoenix and She-Hulk--and GASP these women became as popular as the male characters!!
I really hope someone does something with the Valkyrie. She deserves some respect. Thoughts?
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Post by bobc on Mar 24, 2009 9:11:06 GMT -5
I agree that it's a good thing that the Panther is now a major player these days. I think overall the changes in his character are good but I think he's lost all his catlike abilities--which is why I loved him in the first place.
I think the she Hulk is one character who has pretty much stayed the same over the years--which is good. Praise Allah that Bendis hasn't gotten his filthy hands on her. Same thing goes for the Falcon.
I have no idea what is going on with Luke Cage these days so I can't say.
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Post by bobc on Mar 24, 2009 9:04:29 GMT -5
I couldn't vote for Hawkeye because whatever that thing is in Ultimates3 isn't Hawkeye. As soon as Hawkeye reappears I'll consider voting for him.
I gotta say that after 25 years or more of buying Marvel Comics, I have totally lost interest in just about everything they put out. I agree that the Wasp has been in a nose dive since the late 80's, the Vision has been ruined, blah blah blah. Now we have a Black Panther with breasts. This is all so low-rent.
If not for Mark Millar's current stuff and the Lady Liberators re-emergence in She Hulk, I'd stop buying Marvel altogether. And the She Hulk is just pretty good IMO.
The truth these days is that Marvel is no longer about comics, it's about comics supporting whatever Marvel movie characters are in the public's recent memory. Nobody gives a crap about the characters we have loved over the years. It's sad.
I have my snout in the Essential editions these days.
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