# Ask the comic guy.. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 9, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415 "2003-01-09T01:53:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/201 "2003-01-15T18:36:45Z")
photopat: > [@](#): > > Also, regarding characters that stayed dead, Ferro Lad did stay dead, PreCrisis. Post-Zero Hour, no. The same goes for Lyle Norg. Well, actually, prior to Zero Hour, they were revived in the “SW6” Legion. Chaim Mattis Keller ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/202 "2003-01-15T19:23:10Z")
Who won Marvel’s Contest of Champions? I remember reading the middle issue of the three-issue series, but I have no idea who won. And did any of the superheroes introduced for the series (like the Australian Aborigine guy who could access “dreamtime”) go on to bigger and better things? ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/203 "2003-01-15T19:30:01Z")
In the Marvel and DC universes, who knows whose secret identities (major characters only, I guess)? Which characters are most successful at keeping their alter egos under wraps, and who might as well come out of the closet and live like the Fantastic Four? ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/204 "2003-01-15T19:45:49Z")
For Batman, the list of people that know is here: [http://www.mysecretshame.co.uk/bbb/faqs/comics.htm](http://www.mysecretshame.co.uk/bbb/faqs/comics.htm) It’s a bit out of date, since the new Batgirl (Cassandra) recently found out, and Sasha Bordeaux as well. ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/205 "2003-01-15T20:37:16Z")
When exactly did the 2099 timeline split from normal Marvel continuity? I’ve heard the answer before but it still didn’t make any sense to me. The only effect (if any) it had on the main continuity was the present day Spider-Man crossover with Spider-Man 2099 and 3099. How much of this is remembered in the current Spider-Man books? Some of the books started strong: Spider-Man and Doom to be precise, while others were terrible: Ravage and Punisher mainly. By the end, most became unreadable. I know the collapse was due to lack of sales and Marvel’s fat trimming due to bankruptcy. But why did they keep creating new titles (Ghost Rider, Fantastic Four, and X-Nation?) when the writing was already on the wall? At least they had the dignity to combine the books into one big book that lasted a year to finish up the storylines. ---
**Author:** ![TigoleBitties](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cab0a1/32.png) [@TigoleBitties](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TigoleBitties)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/206 "2003-01-15T20:49:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by photopat \* > \*\* > I really liked Foglio’s **Stanley and his Monster** from a few years ago, as well as his **Angel and the Ape** , incorporating the Inferior Five. I’d like to see those reprinted. \*\* You should really, really, REALLY get your comic book store to run Girl Genius, phil’s current book. Hilarious, great adventuring, memorable characters, and beautifully drawn. > [@](#): > > You have been endowed with supereditor power! This power enables you to choose any writer(s), and artist(s), from comics history and any book for them to work on. They can start over from scratch and reinvent the character(s), or take over from any given point in the book’s development. Your supereditor power ensures that they will work well together and will take directions from you without complaint. > > Who would your writers and artists be, what book would you have them write for you to edit, and at what point in it’s continuity would you have them start? Would you sketch out a basic story idea, a more detailed story line, or just set them free to do as they please? Ooo…I like this Garth Ennis on Punisher. His take on it revitalized a hack character (I mean cmon…magical guns?) and I think if he hit it back when he was an almost pure psychotic in Spiderman, it would have been a real character I would have liked to read. Hell, would have made the stories a LOT more interesting in the old regular series. Kurt Busiek to write for the Xmen (Maybe around Fall of the Mutants storyline). Xmen was extremely strong but I think with Kurt is simply would have become stronger. If anything, Kurt loves his characters and it would nto have slobbed over into multiple titles with confusion being the focus of a lot of it. I would have KEPT Chris Clairemont as writer and Alan Davis as penciler for Excalibur. Or at least Alan and penciler/writer. Thos two could do no wrong with Excalibur and they produced some great storylines (Cross Time Caper was excellent and one of my favorite ‘fun’ stories). Plus they had a way of interjecting a background character with a great ‘double take’ look at something weird or sexy that made me feel they were more human than standard superhero types. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/207 "2003-01-15T21:10:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wolverine \* > \*\*When exactly did the 2099 timeline split from normal Marvel continuity? I’ve heard the answer before but it still didn’t make any sense to me. The only effect (if any) it had on the main continuity was the present day Spider-Man crossover with Spider-Man 2099 and 3099. How much of this is remembered in the current Spider-Man books? > > \*\* 2099 basede itself on the rise of new heroes after what was apparently a huge super-powered battle that led to the fall of the age of heroes. They never gave any specifics about it or told why it would cause every single metahuman to go away (good and evil.) As long as the industry keeps itself afloat, we’ll never see this “fall of the heroes.” 2099 can safely be called an alternate timeline, despite Stan Lee’s claims that this was the actual future. Spidey 2099 has never been mentioned again since that perfect-bound crossover a couple of years ago. BUT in Peter David’s excellent Captain Marvel, Rick Jones was taken to the future where he met up with the old wheelchair bound Rick Jones from Hulk: Future Imperfect, and the Spider-Man 2099 villain Thanatos who was revealed to be Rick Jones. So while 2099 is alternate future, it is definitely continuity. ---
**Author:** ![Psycho\_Pirate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Psycho\_Pirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Psycho_Pirate)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/208 "2003-01-15T21:27:40Z")
I’m really enjoying this thread, even though I jumped in pretty late. My comic knowledge is semi-limited, but I know my Grant Morrison pretty well, as well as my Silver Age DC and Giffen/Dematteis Justice League. I’ll contribute to the post by posting a few questions, stumpers, and comments. I have more of each of these, but I will piecemeal them out for fear of throwing monkey-wrench into this thread. **Legitimate Questions** LQ1. Where is the Psycho Pirate now? Last time I saw him was Animal Man #24 (I think). Can’t somebody bring him back and explain it away with Hypertime? Not that I’m biased, of course. LQ2. Where is the sequel to “The Golden Age” miniseries? Seems like I heard about a sequel, and then…nothing. I want “The Silver Age”, folks! **Stumpers** S1. Who/what is Super Duper? S2. What is Clark Kent’s Social Security Number? **Comments** C1. I find it frustrating that Kurt Busiek can churn out a bunch of crap on a regular basis (Outsiders, Power Company, later Avengers) but can’t write ONE issue of Astro City for over two years. This is just wrong. PsychoPirate 🙂 ☹ ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/209 "2003-01-15T21:32:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TigoleBitties \* > \*\*You should really, really, REALLY get your comic book store to run Girl Genius, phil’s current book. Hilarious, great adventuring, memorable characters, and beautifully drawn. \*\* You are correct sir or madam! I have, in fact mentioned in other threads that **Girl Genius** is an excellent book. As far as the SW6 Legionnaires, I don’t count them as “coming back from the dead,” rather, as imports from a different time line. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/210 "2003-01-15T22:28:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Psycho Pirate \* > **I find it frustrating that Kurt Busiek can churn out a bunch of crap on a regular basis (Outsiders, Power Company, later Avengers) but can’t write ONE issue of Astro City for over two years.** Kurt finds it pretty frustrating, too, given how much better Astro City pays. But you said it yourself – this stuff is crap (at least IMO and compared to Astro City), and it seems obvious that the one is a lot easier to write than the other. He’s up for the easy one. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/211 "2003-01-16T00:07:58Z")
[QUOTE] IMHO, both…but with an emphasis on the writing. Englehart’s “Celestial Madonna” series in Avengers is one of the all-time great stories with abysmal art.[/QUOE] Huh, I don’t think it’s that bad with the exception of Iron Man’s nose. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/212 "2003-01-16T00:21:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by photopat \* > \*\*You are correct sir or madam! I have, in fact mentioned in other threads that **Girl Genius** is an excellent book. > > As far as the SW6 Legionnaires, I don’t count them as “coming back from the dead,” rather, as imports from a different time line. \*\* Factoid: if Giffen hadn’t been fired/quit his plan was that the SW6 was the original Legion and the ones we’d grown up with were the clones. The…um…Dominiators, IIRC had secret mind-control devices in the grown-up clone Legion and when the SW6 originals woke up, they were going to flip a switch to make the grown-up clone Legion kill the originals: The storyline was called the “hat trick” 'cause his plan was to make the deaths random by throwing everyone’s name in a hat and drawing out the pre-determined number of characters who would die and write the story around that with no-one being given a free “stay alive” pass (so conciveably we could end up with 2 Element Lads and no Dream Girls, for example) DC…um…wasn’t fond of the idea. I find it interesting in a horrible, fascinating way. Like a traffic accident, sort of. And “ditto” on Girl Genius. I only wish they came out faster. And double-ditto on Angel and the Ape and Stanely and his Monster. And I want Foglio to do a Sugar and Spike series too. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/213 "2003-01-16T00:29:24Z")
Interesting Fenris, I hadn’t heard that about the Legion before. Are you in the industry? I too wish Girl Genius would come out faster. I’m always concerned that it will suffer the same fate as Buck Godot and we’ll end up waiting a year for the next issue. Foglio is an excellent writer and artist, but as a publisher I feel he…makes a great writer and artist. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/214 "2003-01-16T01:50:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by photopat \* > \*\*Interesting Fenris, I hadn’t heard that about the Legion before. Are you in the industry? > \*\* Nah, but I worked in a comic store from the time I was 13 to 20-some (part-time) and I obsessively read all the fan mags, the CBG, newsgroups, etc… I had the coolest boss in the world: he was of the opinion that I was useless as an employee if I didn’t know the merchandise so he insisted I read as much as I could before/after work, during lunch, during quiet times, etc. And I’ve got a weird memory for stuff like this, so I know all these weird factoids and my best cite is “I dunno. I read it somewhere.” Yeah, I know. Worst. Answer. Ever. 😉 Anywat I did a bit of searching to see if I could dig up a cite for this, and there’s dozens of web-pages that confirm it, but no hard sources. But I learned something new: after the big battle, the adult Legion was going to leave U.P. Space and rename themselves “The Omega Men”. Hmmm… \*\* > [@](#): > > I too wish Girl Genius would come out faster. I’m always concerned that it will suffer the same fate as Buck Godot and we’ll end up waiting a year for the next issue. Foglio is an excellent writer and artist, but as a publisher I feel he…makes a great writer and artist. \*\* Bwah-ha-ha!!! Or…worse, worse! Waiting um…( :: counts :: 23 _ **YEARS** _!!!) for [issue two of **D’Arc Tangent**](http://cyberspace-market.com/chrisclaremontchecklist/darc-tangent-001.html) :: sob :: I _loved_ that book.\* And if I am the EDITOR OF DOOM and can command time and space, I want a 12 issue “Growf Dragon” vs the Entire DC and Marvel Universe maxi-series. 😉 Fenris \*“I am NOT a huguenot”! (Bwahhahaha!) ---
**Author:** ![dead0man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@dead0man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dead0man)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/215 "2003-01-16T01:52:24Z")
How was Kevin Smith’s Green Arrow revival written compared to the past Green Arrow writers? How do you rate his other books? Daredevil (1 issue??) and Black Cat (4 and counting). I’m not a comic book guy so I really have no basis for comparrison. I DID enjoy the books though and thats all that really counts I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/216 "2003-01-16T02:25:57Z")
IMO, his Green Arrow was good but not great. Keep in mind that A) I don’t like the character all that much and B) I don’t like what he did with as supporting character (although he _completely_ faked me out. I thought I’d figured out who it was an issue or two early (I was partly right) and was all set to write an outraged fan letter. ) Stanley and his Monster, of course. Or Stanley’s uncle or whoever he was. His Daredevil was _excellent_ but sadly f\*cked up by Byrne Per Byrne, Mysterio didn’t die, that was just a robot or something :rolleyes: I don’t read Black Cat so I dunno. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/217 "2003-01-16T02:49:07Z")
Black Cat is good so far. Of course, Felicia now has apparent bi-sexual leanings, but I’m ok with that 🙂 What I really like is Smith’s pitch perfect dialog for Spider-Man. Kevin Smith banters the same way I always felt Peter Parker would, so it works out nicely. Doesn’t hurt that I always thought Black Cat was the perfect girlfriend for Spider-Man. I always wished she’d learn to love Peter (get your minds out of the gutter) as much as the Spider. Ah, l’amour. BTW, Fenris, your spoiler is not necessarily true. At least I like to believe it’s not. Think of it the opposite way (with the DareDevil story being the truth) and the story works much better and still makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/218 "2003-01-16T03:05:22Z")
> [@](#): > > How was Kevin Smith’s Green Arrow revival written compared to the past Green Arrow writers? Seeing as how GA generally sucks, it’s pretty good. I like the character, but the mid 90’s were not entirely kind to him. I wish he would have kept Ollie dead and worked on Connor as a character, however. ---
**Author:** ![bafaa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@bafaa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bafaa)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/219 "2003-01-16T03:16:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Interrobang!? \* > \*\*I read Byrne’s _Alpha Flight_ long enough to see Vindicator/Guardian (James Hudson) supposedly come back from having been disintegrated, having been saved by ancient Jupiterian aliens and merged with his suit. What’s his story lately? > > (Also: I had one huge crush on Aurora at the time. Mrrrrrr.) \*\* That wasn’t really him. The next issue they revealed that it was some robot pretending to be him. :rolleyes: The guy on the team that could control metal turned the robot inside out. I can’t for the life of me remember that guy’s name but I think the robot was called Courtney?? I may wrong, it’s been a long time. I picked up the new Alpha Flight series a few years ago and they had brought James Hudson back as a clone or some damn thing and made him Guardian again. I think he was a teenager. I don’t remember too much about it and I don’t know his current status. Ain’t I a big help? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/220 "2003-01-16T03:16:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Max Carnage \* > \*\*BTW, Fenris, your spoiler is not necessarily true. At least I like to believe it’s not. Think of it the opposite way (with the DareDevil story being the truth) and the story works much better and still makes sense. \*\* I agree, but I think it was during the period where Byrne undid 20 years of characterization revillianizing Sandman ('cause he wanted Sandman and Osborn to be cousins: they have the same hairstyle after all :rolleyes: ) and brought back Osborn, and similarly broke a number of other Spidey-villians. I’m pretty sure the story point-blank said that the Daredevil Mysterio was the fake/robot/whatever and Byrne’s was the real one.. I agree strongly with **Shy Guy** about Connor, too. He’s a much better character than Ollie _ever_ was. Oh: and to clarify one thing regarding the mystery character in GA While I was relieved that he _didn’t_ make Stanley into the killer, I didn’t like that his uncle was ('cause it’s too damn dark for that character) and I didn’t like the way he was plunked into the middle of the DC Universe. Yeah, I know the Foglio mini played around with the DC Universe, but this is orders of magnitude greater, somehow. Fenris [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415.md?page=12)