# 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:** 17
**Author:** ![MachineHead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@MachineHead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MachineHead)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/321 "2003-02-02T03:38:18Z")
Some questions from me… 1. Have their been any openly gay/bisexual characters? 2. What happend in the recent defenders thing? I remember it being about how 6 people would be drawn togther to fight evil and they ended taking up the MU? 3. In the marvel and dc universe, shouldn’t they be really really advanced compared to the real world? I mean they’ve had about 500 alien races come by, lose or wrech their equipment, where a human could easily pick it ad infinitium. ---
**Author:** ![SC\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@SC\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SC_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/322 "2003-02-02T04:19:50Z")
To take a stab at **MachineHead’s** first question, a few I can think of off the top of my head: Rainmaker from Gen13 Northstar from Alpha Flight Sunfire from Exlies And there’s that persistant rumor about Iceman, but I haven’t followed the core x-books close enough to know if they ever came out and confirmed it. ---
**Author:** ![Drastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/323 "2003-02-02T05:23:09Z")
In WWII, Superman and Captain America kicked quite a lot of Nazi ass. Awhile ago, I borrowed a friend’s newer Cap books, which covered an arc in which he killed Osama bin Laden (or, rather, someone with a different name who was otherwise a stand-in). What were superheroes’ involvements in wars in between? I saw somehwere pages back that the Flash was drafted for Vietnam. What went on during the Korean War? During Gulf One? Did any smaller real world brushfires make their way into the comics? ---
**Author:** ![MachineHead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@MachineHead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MachineHead)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/324 "2003-02-02T22:06:51Z")
Bump… ---
**Author:** ![MachineHead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@MachineHead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MachineHead)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/325 "2003-02-02T22:08:49Z")
Oh, and mockingbird, did you base your name off the comic character? ---
**Author:** ![MachineHead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@MachineHead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MachineHead)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/326 "2003-02-02T22:16:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Peyote Coyote \* > \*\*Actually, MachineHead, Ben would have to be around Reed’s age since he and Reed roomed together in college. \*\* I just remembered something… I saw a mini series starring wolverine and Ben during ww2. That would make him around 60+ years old… It must of been a what if or they ret-conned it…Although I saw it only a couple of months ago… ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/327 "2003-02-03T02:15:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MachineHead \* > \*\*Oh, and mockingbird, did you base your name off the comic character? \*\* To an extent. It was thoughts of Bobbi Morse-Barton and also that I whimsically mock some people. 😃 ---
**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:** [February 3, 2003, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/328 "2003-02-03T04:48:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mockingbird \* > \*\*To an extent. It was thoughts of Bobbi Morse-Barton and also that I whimsically mock some people. > > 😃 \*\* And I figure you like walloping people with sticks while exposing your legs to the world? How _you_ doin’? ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/329 "2003-02-03T05:33:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Max Carnage \* > \*\*And I figure you like walloping people with sticks while exposing your legs to the world? > > How _you_ doin’? \*\* Unless you forgot that I used to be Hastur, How _you_ doin’? 😃 P.S.: I wear shorts all the time, so I always am exposing my fine legs to the world. 😛 ---
**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:** [February 3, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/330 "2003-02-03T14:25:08Z")
[Some Like It Hot] Well, nobody’s perfect 🙂 [/SLIH] ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/331 "2003-02-03T16:41:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mockingbird \* > \*\*The reason the main members of the Justice Society remain spry and younger than they look is because of absorbing the chronal energy of Ian Karkull. All of the original JSA members who fought him absorbed his energy when he exploded, which has slowed down their aging process considerably. \*\* I’d classify that as the _main_ reason but not the only one. I know that event still happened in the current continuity, but remember some of the other things I mentioned are still valid too. Don’t forget, when Extant aged the JSA during Zero Hour, not all of them aged equally, and a couple even got younger again afterwards (Jay, Alan, Ted Grant and Ted Knight to a lesser extent.) As to Mr. Bones, I don’t think they’ve yet revealed exactly how he got his new postion. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/332 "2003-02-03T16:43:54Z")
Tangent on that war question: It always irks me a bit that historical “heroes” shown in comics or on TV are always on the “right” side of a war. (see Duncan MacLeod). Any comic book heros (not villians) that happened to fight _for_ and not against, the Redcoats, Nazis, or VC, etc… ??? ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/333 "2003-02-03T17:18:53Z")
During the 80’s there were various Soviet superheroes that were definitely heroes (Darkstar comes to mind, as well as the Oktober Guard from G.I. Joe). –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:** [February 3, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/334 "2003-02-03T17:21:53Z")
DC had the Red Rocket Brigade in the Soviet Union. ---
**Author:** ![Asylum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@Asylum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asylum)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/335 "2003-02-03T19:07:11Z")
DC’s Red Star, AKA Firestar, was pro-communist IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/336 "2003-02-03T19:14:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*_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!) \*\* **Fen** , I just finally grabbed a copy of **D’Arc Tangent** at **The Stars Our Destination** , at their store closing sale (sob). That was a great book. I wonder what happened? Also, who the hell is Pfeff? ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/337 "2003-02-03T19:17:24Z")
Oops. Sorry, I meant who the hell is Freff? ---
**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:** [February 4, 2003, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/338 "2003-02-04T00:18:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by photopat \* > \*\ ***Fen** , I just finally grabbed a copy of **D’Arc Tangent** at **The Stars Our Destination** , at their store closing sale (sob). That was a great book. I wonder what happened? > > Also, who the hell is Pfeff? \*\* Tell me. Freff was a pretty popular up-n-coming fan-turning-pro artist in the mid-'70s. His work appeared in Galaxy/Worlds of If magazine IIRC among other places. Then he vanished. I don’t know where/how/why. All I know about **D’Arc Tangent** is that Foglio has always used the “creative differences” type lingo to describe what happened and apparently the two of 'em shared copyright on the characters. Sigh. I’ve completely lost track of who said what, but you ARE reading Girl Genius, right? And you do have the two issues of Grimjack that have the prelude to the story. And you do know that DC’s Stanley and his Monster series had a tie-in (a very loose one but still), right? Fenris, Foglio Fanatic feels Phil’s Fine Linework would suit Fin Fang Foom. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2003, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/339 "2003-02-04T01:49:39Z")
Whatever happened to The Mad Maple anyway? ---
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2003, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/340 "2003-02-04T02:39:18Z")
You’ll have to excuse me, as I know this will be blatantly obvious to a lot of you, but in the upcoming movie, **Daredevil** , Kingpin is played by Michael Clarke Duncan, a black man. In the actual comic though, was he really black? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415.md?page=18)