Here’s to the “changes,”
the things that we do
to keep doing the same things
but make them feel new.
Here’s to the reboot,
re-skin and retcon,
the dead who are dead
but not actually gone.
Here’s to the Mogos,
Magogs and Hath-Sets,
whose upcoming returns
seem like fairly safe bets.
Here’s to Cable
whose fabled undeath is quite near
and Mystique, who gets stabbed
through the chest twice a year.
Poor Nightcrawler, “dead”
from an arm through the chest…
though that’s not what
a preview I saw would suggest.
Here’s to Gwen Stacy
and old Uncle Ben
and Bucky, and Cap,
and then Bucky again.
Here’s to the costumes
that change willy-nilly
and are going for “bad-ass”
but end up with “silly.”
Here’s to shoulder pads,
pocket-belts, headbands and dusters
that give way to leather
when The Matrix has luster.
Here’s to Daredevil, dressed
like a black behorned ninja:
you didn’t think that look
would last a year, didja?
Here’s to the Armor,
once so ubiquitous,
meant to say, “We Mean Business,”
not “we look ridiculous.”
It gave us that Cap suit
that looked like a robot
(which I never read
but still laugh at a whole lot)
Spidey may be
the king of them all;
remember the armor
that screamed “disco ball”?
(For Spidey,
a wardrobe explosion’s the norm.
that’s why they say “costume”
and not “uniform.”)
Here’s to DC’s reboot
and taking a chance,
though the changes we’ve seen
concern mainly the pants
Here’s to the retcon
of what you thought happened:
the Sentry was there
all along, shoving crap in
Here’s to Magneto,
a villain next Monday
who’s killed and reformed
seven times since last Sunday
Here’s to Daredevil
as Mark Waid reconciles
Shadowland giving way
to a Matt who’s all smiles
Yes, here’s to the changes
we make, even though
we have been here before
and it’s all status quo
Sure, we know it’s
a shell game; we’ve
been to this show
we have an idea
of how all this will go:
Superman has a mullet.
Clark is split, Blue and Red.
Superman is electric.
Superman’s dead.
Gnash your teeth at the change?
In a year, they’ll call “backsies”
and you’ll get your guy back.
Everybody relaxies.
Don’t pull out your hair!
Don’t tweet out your wrath.
The whole point of these comics,
Like a nice, long, warm bath,
is to give the fans comfort
and newness at once
without making the reader
feel like he’s a dunce
for buying the same story
time and again;
so, yes, they must change
the thing up now and then.
It’s not a bad thing,
though of course it is scary.
Change is good!
Mullet Superman was necessary.
Til the industry dies
and everyone leaves,
let’s see what surprises
they have up their sleeves
Can they show us a thing
we have not seen before
even as they’re on
issue three hundred and four?
I’m betting they can.
Somehow they always do.
And we will be here
to tease and preview.
So enjoy this new site
you’ve been reading for years!
Continue to post
All your comments and fears
And enjoy the new books,
the new looks, the events,
the new costumes,
the retcons that never make sense
And have fun, would you please?
That’s the whole point, you know.
Have fun, and share it with
iFanboy 4.0.
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Awesome.
Jimski you rock
Thank you, Jim. Thank you.
Also, “everybody relaxie” is going to be my new go-to calming phrase.
Cool.
Wow.
As eloquent as always Jim. great job.
The Spider-Armor alone makes this article awesome.
Fantastic. Oh, and great new site!
Did they really make spider-man wear that?
For an issue. But don’t judge the Spider-Armor!
I remember loving it in a video game as a kid now. Silver Spider-man was awesome.
Any chance of a Mike Romo reading like jimski’s beyonder poem?
This article isn’t complete without an audio version.
Please! That would be awesome.
Third the motion! It would be awesome.
Fourth in the motion! Can we get it as a bonus in this week’s POTW podcast?
That’s brilliant. totally made me smile.
Seriously Mr. Jimski if you’re not writing kids books professionally you most definitely should be.
see, “pants” is a funny word as it is. but amid that hilariously true context, it really made the whole piece for me.
Really great Jim. Made me smile after a rough day.
After your last couple of months of articles I don’t see how anyone can say you “always” have to give the negative opinion.
Hooray!
nice….
everyone wins when jim writes poetry!
Thank you, Jimski! Made my day!
The thought that mullet Superman was necessary is kind of scary. Awesome job Jim.