TechNoir

February 17, 2012 10:10 pm So... I don't post often. As a result, I find it odd I am about to post about this particular subject, but there you go. I think the fact that Pym, did hit his wife and that he is remembered for being a wife beater, is what makes the character one of the more interesting ones in Marvel comics. Flawed characters are interesting. I don't mean, "I have a fatal weakness" flawed, or "gee, I have to keep a secret identity" flawed or even "how am I going to make rent" flawed, but actual character flaws. Oliver Queen is a fuck up when it comes to relationships. Sherlock Holmes is an arrogant twat who is addicted to drugs, despite these problems, they still manage to be heroes. Pym, is a screw up and he lost his temper and hit his wife. Sure, the writer never meant for that to be there, but hey it is there on the page and they have acknowledged it since in continuity. Stories where he is trying to make up for that fact, to try and earn respect, when he can never have it, are actually very compelling. He had a very human and real character flaw. It is compelling for the contrast. In a world where you have Thor, Spiderman, and Captain America, three guys who are about as moral idealized as can be, you can paint an interesting tale with the guy who is counter point to them. Pym wants to be loved and he will never be loved, not even by himself. He wants to be a hero, but he keeps creating more problems than he fixes. I think Marvel should embrace him as a constantly tragic character who will always try to be redeemed, but will always fail. Of course, they should also bring back the Wasp. That story of Pym, is mainly interesting only if he has the reminders of it in his life. Don't get me started on the Ultimate universe version. There he is not tragically flawed, there he is just a shit head.

November 11, 2011 8:08 pm Yes, blkassassin106, Apokalypse is a common enemy of the Forever People. They were from New Genesis which is the home of the good New Gods. Apokalypse is the home of the evil gods including Darkseid.

November 11, 2011 6:39 pm The Forever People are a group of heroes from New Genesis. They were created by Jack Kirby during his famous New Gods run at DC comics. They were inspired by the hippy movement and were very odd as superheroes go. It is an old school call back.

October 21, 2011 11:35 am As a convention goer from way back before it was cool(my first convention was in 1988), let me say that I loved your editorial here. I don't often post in the comments, but I felt I should this time, of only to give you my hearty agreement, Josh. We all have joked about folks wearing costumes they probably shouldn't, due to body type, but there is big difference between that and this sort of cruel public mockery these guys ran. That said, it made me more aware of my own comments in the past. I don't think I will make fun of people wearing costumes based on the persons fitness in the future, even in private. People deserve better than to be made fun of for showing their love of something, especially when I usually share that fandom.

January 6, 2011 2:40 pm Am I the only person that still likes JMS?   I mean the things you site him for in this article, are all stuff other creators have done over the years and not been singled out.  He still does manage to tell some good stories out there.  He makes the mistake of committing to many things, but honestly he is not the first and it hardly makes him one of the worst things in comics.  

Your spot on with the rest of the article, for the most part.   The whole tying of movies and comics is a mixed blessing and curse.  It brings a lot of interest to comics, but everyone is so busy looking for the next big movie property that a lot gets lost I think. 

April 23, 2010 1:18 pm

As to a Dr Strange film,  this has been tried once. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104115/ 

 

Doctor Mordrid was originally going to be a Dr. Strange movie staring the lejendary Jeffery Comb's.  I have seen the film and outside the names of the characters it kind of still is.  This level of film making is sort of what I thought of when they mentioned low budget film making.  

 Films like the awesomely bad original Punisher(with Dolph Lundgren), the aborted Fantastic Four and Captain America films from Roger Corman's productions are good examples of how bad it can be.  

 I can see some real possabilities with Luke Cage and Iron Fist.  Both of them are classicly street level and you could so do two films and have them link together when it was done as Heroes for Hire. 

Dazzler is very doable, but likely would end up being more of a cross between Glee and a superhero film.  Not sure if that would be a bad thing though. 

March 31, 2010 5:07 pm

Dakota North

Jamie Maddox and Current Xfactor

Ben Urich

Jessica Drew(Spiderwoman)

Daredevil

Aaron Kearse and Catherine Gray of the FBI Mutant Task force

and the most interesting man in the Marvel Universe, Rick Jones. 

 

The thing is, detectives tends to be relagated to people without the powers and abilities of superheroes.  Does Captain America do a lot of detective work? Or Iron Man?  Not generally, they either have tools to do it or call on people like Shield to do the leg work. The few exceptions are kind of exceptions to prove the rule.   

Jessica Drew took up detective work after loosing her powers.  it is in that mode we saw her during the Wolverine series.  After regaining her powers, no more detective work for her. 

Daredevil is a lawer in Hell's Kitchen and up until recently had no one to turn to for doing the leg work for him.  He did it himself. 

 Xfactor as a detective agency is even with in it's own structure, seen as an oddity.  I  happen to think it is a cool notion, but even in the early issues of the comic there was a sort of admission this is odd.  

 

Everyone else is for the most part, ordinary people living in a superhero world trying to figure out whats going on.  They are the sort of folks the heroes turn too for answers or the folks who confront the heroes and villains with truths they don't want to hear. 

 

January 26, 2010 2:03 pm Pretty damn good.  Just dry enough.   I look forward to seeing where you go with it.