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 by Scott Tipton  by Chris Ryall  by Scott Bowden  by Joshua Jabcuga  by Jud Meyers    |  Ron Twoeagle |
Mailbag
Comics 101 Is in Session
Shawn K. writes: I've got to tell you, I've always found J. Michael Straczynski's work real hit or miss. Liked Spider-Man, hate Wonder Woman.
One of the hits, in my opinion, came a little while back with 'The Twelve'. I felt it was a decent "Hero misplaced in Time' storyline, that made me have to do some research into the history of comic books, and look for information on characters I wouldn't have otherwise knew existed. My only problem is that it ended after issue 8 (unless I've been missing the last 4 all of this time). Are there any plans to release the final four, or will I never find out who killed The Blue Blade?
Tipton: JMS promises it will be finished. I hope so; I loved that series.
Alan K. writes: Just finished reading your article about your favorite Klingon and the Origins of Comics 101. Seperate thoughts:
Those were some of the most memorable performances from the original series, for sure. Reminds me of Alan Rickman and his seemingly endless series of memorable performances, some in spite of his co-stars (looking at you, Costner in tights......) and how you never really think about how good someone like that is until you stack the performances together and look at the body of work.
The articles you wrote for your alma matter's paper, any chance they are available in an on-line archive or some such thing? Like to see how your writing style was way back then. Looks like some interesting choices of subject matter, too.
Tipton: Yeah, Campbell was great.
Nope, no online archives for the Nexus stuff, I'm afraid.
Mike W. writes: Good job summing the movie up as I had my doubts too but they more than lived up to expectations. Like you, I didn't believe they could ever nail the hammer spinning and flight so well and loved how they captured Asgard too. If Jaime Alexander doesn't become a huge star after this, I'll be shocked, she totally tore up the screen as Sif. I was truly impressed by Heddelston, the way he makes Loki the sly schemer, not going over the top but subtle in his minipulations of Thor and Odin and given a real understandable motive with his discovery of his true origins. Best part was when you see a gloved hand move from a rifle to a bow and I could hear guys yelling out "HAWKEYE!" I get the sense there was more stuff involving Asgard at the beginning, introing each of the warriors and more on Earth that was cut, which makes this a promising DVD. And loved the score, the part where Thor reclaims his hammer sensational with the amazing music. Overall, one of the best Marvel films yet and can't wait for it to play into Avengers.
Tipton: Yeah, Sif was a pleasant surprise - I liked her a lot.
Ray C. writes: Was Hogun bitter and grim [in the THOR movie]? He just sort of seemed like a cipher. I feel like Hogun is the unofficial leader of the Warriors Three in the comics – maybe that is something I arbitrarily invented in my head :) But in the film, he barely registered. I’m all for non-traditional casting. I thought Heimdall worked really well actually. But it bothered me that Hogun spoke in accented English. Did he grow up in a different part of Asgard? I guess that is just me being nitpicky and unhappy with all of the Warriors Three, in my opinion, being underwritten.
With all of that being said…Natalie Portman looked GORGEOUS. When she was supposed to be all a-flutter due to Thor’s manliness, her smile was luminous.
Going to see X-Men First Class this Saturday, dude!
Tipton: It's telling that Natalie Portman was more appealing here than in all three STAR WARS movies. Directors make a difference.
Let me know what you think!
Sane N. writes: I just wanted to shoot you an acknowledgement and a thank you for writing the column every week. I found your column on Poop Shoot (which I remembered from Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back) a few months ago and instantly began devouring every single article. I've always been a general fan of comics but didn't really know where to jump in (and still really don't). Your earlier columns were especially helpful in figuring out that I lean towards being more of a DC girl, but am a fan of Marvel as well. Unfortunately, I don't have the time (or money) to invest in subscribing to a whole host of books to keep up with and your columns help to at least keep some idea of whatever is going on in them now. I can't tell you how I look forward to your columns every week. It would be great to be able to see you post more often, but I know that you may not have time for that. Are there similar sites out there where someone can go to read about the goings-on (is that a word? probably not, but I'm okay with that) in the comic world? This request isn't necessarily one for the mail bag, but it's up to you if you'd like to print it.
Also, have you thought about adding a comments section to the Comics 101 column?
Tipton: Thanks so much for the feedback and kind words.
I'd like to post more often too, and go back to doing some of the longer historical columns I used to do in the early days of the site, but as I've gotten more and more freelance work in the last few years, my spare time has unfortunately decreased.
To keep up with what's going on in the world of comics, I recommend www.comicbookresources.com, www.newsarama.com, www.comicsalliance.com, and if you're willing to put up with a little rumor, www.bleedingcool.com.
I considered putting in comments or a forum when I first left Kevin's site and started my own, but ultimately decided against it, mostly for expediency's sake. I am talking with the readers directly much more nowadays on Facebook, on both the Comics 101 page and my own page, which has been a lot of fun.
Thanks for reading!.
Picture of the Week
Intriguing.
See you next week.