~Just look at this sickening display from Deathlok #17 (by Gregory Wright and Walter McDaniel):
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Okay, okay- I added the heart- BUT IT WAS IMPLIED!
I really do love this little Nick Fury confrontation from that same issue, though:
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"My STOGIE!!!"
Man, I miss when characters who smoked could smoke in comics.
Oh, speaking of ol' Fury- a funny thing I noticed a couple months ago, when I was re-watching the awesome X-Men: Evolution cartoon on YouTube; four of the episodes had Nick Fury in them and their comment-sections were FULL of casuals/kids commenting along the lines of: "Why the fuck is Nick Fury white?"
-It made me laugh, but also made me feel sad for the future of comic book nerddom.
And, speaking of feeling sad for the future- damn, this letter in the back made me cringe:
I don't have the issue in question (#13)- but it was written by the late, great; Dwayne McDuffie- so you know it was good. I assume it was Tom Brevoort who replied, as he was the editor... I don't know because whoever it was did not sign-off at the end of the letter-column, but I would have loved to read McDuffie's response to that.
On to The Sensational She-Hulk #3:
Ruby Thursday of The Headmen is such a fun character.
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...and that's one of my absolute favorite scenes from The Holy Grail! I had made my computer (way back in the day) say "I got better!", with the audio from the movie, when you booted it up!
Ruby Thursday and DC's Emerald Empress, from the Fatal Five, should be besties...
-Just because.
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The self-awareness, New Universe reference, laying out of how comic-book-time passes, Tom Defalco reference (him being the Editor-in-Chief at the time)- it all just works.
Another great example from issue #3:
Yes, John Byrne was doing it before in was cool! *cough*Deadpool*cough*
oh man the response to that letter was awesome even though there was a grain of truth to that letter and from what i've seen in your past Deathlok postings the social commentary in the writing was a bit heavy handed. i gotta tell ya i've had mixed feelings about 4th wall humor even when it gets a chuckle out of me it just doesn't feel write in the Marvel Universe unless it's in some kind of spoof back story or one shot special kinda thing. but that John Byrne art, damn it's amazing look at those facial expressions in those She-Hulk panels! i would have given anything for Byrne (or just about anyone else for that matter) to having taken over the penciling on ROM after Sal left the book. speaking of art i've got some awesome shit ready to go first thing tomorrow on the ROM blog stay tuned.
ReplyDelete"A grain of truth in the letter"? -I don't know about that. Broad generalizations are bound to have some truth in them, I suppose... But casting a wide net for tuna is how dolphins get killed.
DeleteAnd yeah, you're right- I've said before; as an adult- some of Dwayne McDuffie's stuff comes off as a little preachy... But I still think what he did, and the messages he put out there, for kids reading those comics at the time was VERY important. And even if you are an adult reading- a slightly heavy-handed message, that's not even targeted at you, is no excuse for such a strongly worded letter...
As for the 4th wall breaking. I think it takes the combination of the right character with the right kind of writer... She-Hulk with John Byrne is just perfect. It works on so many levels- it's such a fun book to read... AND look at- you're right there too- his art is fucking phenomenal! He's in my top ten favorite artists, for sure.
I've seen the self-aware humor work in Deadpool books, and I've seen it be annoying as hell in them. The justification for it works, though- because he's bat-shit-crazy. So he can break the 4th wall and still fit into The Marvel U with no problem...
She-Hulk on the other hand...... well, when I was a kid it was way over my head. It did not make sense to me- how is this happening in the same world as Spider-Man, or Avengers West Coast? She-Hulk did not break the 4th wall in other comics she'd appear in... It just confused me. Plus there were a lot of characters and references I didn't know and didn't get at the time. But when I was older and had been reading comics longer, and realized it was just Byrne fucking around and having fun- I was able to appreciate it.
Byrne would have been good on ROM... I like him best when he pulls double duty, though. -Babe (by Dark Horse) was really fun. My favorite of his is Superman & Batman: Generations.
John Byrne's She-Hulk was indeed Deadpoolin' long before Wade even thought about it. I say despite what Shlomo said, I think 4th wall humor works well in either company, provided it's done in a manner befitting it.
ReplyDeleteByrne could draw any title he wants, and it'd be good, provided he doesn't skim out on the artwork and backgrounds and doesn't do any unnecessary reboots.
Good point on that letter column, I feel bad for the future of our youth as well, in regards to Black Fury. Not that he's black, just that everyone will soon forget Nick Fury from the 60's on, and only remember Sam L. Thanks Mark Millar, you bastard.
Finally, just saw you pimpin' my brand, Grindhorse.
Thank you sir for the show of support. Love what you did to the rendering of our mascot, Rasputin. He and we, all approve;)
Thx King.
Yeah, I like the meta humor now...
Delete-Did not get it as a young'un... but you know how that goes. Deadpool pulls it off sometimes... but I've read some of his stuff that just annoys the shit outta me too.
I've been reading Carnage Vs. Deapool, that's been pretty fun so far.
Unnecessary reboots? Are you talking about Spider-Man: Chapter One, or The Man of Steel? -Because I actually liked the latter... The former can go fuck itself, right in the ear!
Yeah, I've never minded Black Nick Fury either... because Jackson IS awesome. And I like that they made him his own character in the regular continuity comics instead of just palette-swapping the original and undoing all that history. It just blew my mind to see SO many young fans who ONLY know the movies, new cartoons, or Ultimate comics who think Samuel L. Jackson IS the character. Some were getting mad about it too- like "Why did they change him to a white guy? That's racist!" -They'll never know the Steranko.
Oh, yeah- that's been there for awhile. -It's just a link to the Facebook page. It's literally the least I could do.
Either way, very mich appreciated.
ReplyDeleteYeah I don't always read DP either, usually just the flashback issues, since they're fucking hilarious. I do however regret spending 10$ on his wedding issue. Not worth it. Funny in some parts, but overall, meh.
-No problem, man...
DeleteYeah- you were saying that wasn't very good. I'ma give it a read here soon- I'll let you know what I think. I'm reading Avengers Academy now- I don't know what all the hate about that book was for- it's fucking awesome! I checked out the first two issues of the new New Warriors, and Original Sin #0 too. Very much enjoyed the former, and the latter actually choked me up a bit. Marvel has just been CRUSHING it.
That last panel makes me think of the headshrinker in Beatlejuice. Man I haven't seen that in ages. I miss old school John Byrne just as much.
ReplyDeleteOh and "casting a wide net for tuna is how dolphins get killed." is my new favourite phrase. Nicely, nicely put. As for breaking the 4th wall, I agree it's got to be right character, right moment and not overdone. Joe Kelly nailed Deadpool, but other writers over do it. I alwasy thought Doctor Strange or Fate should be able to see out too but thats just me.
I'm really keen on seeing how Marvel handles the Fury thing going forward. I don't think they should have created Fury Jnr in the Marvel U, just kept it with Nick, and told headscratchers to get over it, kinda like Fox and the Fantastic Four. But now with two characters rolling round... yeah interesting stuff.
Last new John Byrne thing I read/bought was an Angel mini he did a few years back. It was alright... nothing too special, though. I know he has been doing a lot of Star Trek related stuff. And I love me some Star Trek- but for some reason have not been compelled to seek those out.
DeleteKelly did nail Deadpool! ...wait, that don't sound right......
Hahaha- well, feel free to use that bit of wisdom anywhere. I do what I can to slap racism in the face.
Has there never been a Doctor Strange story where he is trapped in a book and talking to the reader? Because that seems like a no-brainer.
Admittedly- I have not read anything with Fury Jr. in it... so I can't really speak on anything other then I liked the idea of him. Because just flat-out replacing the standard Nick Fury with the new one is also totally something Marvel would do. -They fit their comics to match the movies more all the time... Telling the head-scratchers to 'get over it' is something I wish would happen more in comics, though- for sure!
Oh, and I haven't seen Betelgeuse in years either! Shit, I know what I'm putting on next time I'm drinking, though!
I just realized it must have been the Clippers owner Donald sterling who wrote that letter under the cover of a pen name.
ReplyDelete-HA!!!
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