# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/81 "2003-01-10T00:09:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BrightEyes \* > \*\*3) Buzz? I’m sorry I don’t know what you mean… \*\* Clarity: How do these types of comics rank amongst the usual costumed do-gooder types? They are usually well-written. Transmetropolitan & Preacher were, for the most part, pretty damned good, albeit crude and extremely violent. Do fanboys snub their noses as such fare? ---
**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 10, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/82 "2003-01-10T00:15:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BrightEyes \* > **Doctor Doom does not atually have a degree for any sort of medical career. He was going to be a doctor, but when the machine(or was it a spell) that he was using to get his mother’s soul back from Mephisto exploded he was expelled. It scarred his face only slightly; the real face burning would come when he put his still molten hot faceplate.** Actually, this is a subject of great debate. Kirby (or Lee) wanted Doom’s face mangled by the experiment, the burning mask was just the icing on the cake, arguing that Doom may be proud, but not stoopid. Lee (or Kirby) wanted Doom to have just a little scar on his cheek, but he was so proud that he thought his face disfigured and put on the burning mask. At least a few later writers have implied that the mask was warm, but not hot and _ALL_ Doom has is the little scar under one eye. Which contradicts far too many stories where we’ve seen part of his face. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![BrightEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@BrightEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightEyes)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/83 "2003-01-10T00:18:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Blue Sky \* > \*\*Clarity: > > How do these types of comics rank amongst the usual costumed do-gooder types? They are usually well-written. Transmetropolitan & Preacher were, for the most part, pretty damned good, albeit crude and extremely violent. > > Do fanboys snub their noses as such fare? \*\* Not really, I revel in it. Intellectual comics that make you think about something you couldn’t discuss in regular comics. I just love Preacher, transmetropolitian… I was turned off kindof from the invisibles because of one issue(we all fall down I believe it was called). From what I’ve read the “mature” themed books are pretty popular among us “fanboys”(I hate that word.) ---
**Author:** ![BrightEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@BrightEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightEyes)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/84 "2003-01-10T00:21:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\*Actually, this is a subject of great debate. > > Kirby (or Lee) wanted Doom’s face mangled by the experiment, the burning mask was just the icing on the cake, arguing that Doom may be proud, but not stoopid. > > Lee (or Kirby) wanted Doom to have just a little scar on his cheek, but he was so proud that he thought his face disfigured and put on the burning mask. > > At least a few later writers have implied that the mask was warm, but not hot and _ALL_ Doom has is the little scar under one eye. Which contradicts far too many stories where we’ve seen part of his face. > > Fenris \*\* That’s the way I’ve intreprted. So, other than issue#281(?), where have we seen his face? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/85 "2003-01-10T00:28:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Actually, this is a subject of great debate. Don’t know why that would be since it’s pretty clear. 1. The story from FF #4 clearly has Doom’s face scarred by the explosion. Let’s face it, it was a huge explosion and he had his head in the dead center of it. FF #10 and that appearance in Thor bear this out, his face is incredibly, hideously scarred so that even a medical doctor (someone who could at least finish school) reacts with horror. 2. Kirby by the end of the FF run starts telling people that the real deal is the explosion just gave him a little scar and Doom couldn’t stand the idea of inperfection. Kirby went as far as to do several sketches of Doom lacking the mask (none ever published in the comic, of course) showing this. There are a few secondary publications where they can be found, though (I know I’ve got a copy of it in the FF Companion). 3. Around issue #200 Marv Wolfman did a retelling of Doom’s origin that has him getting hideously scarred by putting on the red hot mask. 4. Issue #279 has John Byrne recount Doom’s origin and it goes from the explosion in college giving him the tiny scar and Doom putting on the red hot mask. This is currently considdered the definitive origin at Marvel. And I still want to know how Victor von Doom goes around calling himself “doctor” when he never got his PhD… ---
**Author:** ![LoN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@LoN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoN)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/86 "2003-01-10T00:31:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Blue Sky \* > \*\*Clarity: > > How do these types of comics rank amongst the usual costumed do-gooder types? They are usually well-written. Transmetropolitan & Preacher were, for the most part, pretty damned good, albeit crude and extremely violent. > > Do fanboys snub their noses as such fare? \*\* Usually the other way around. I’m a huge Sandman fan, and I know many fellow fans at my college. However, they turn their noses up at mainstream comic fans-- i feel no shame in mentioning my love of Vertigo stuff, but feel the need to explain my Spider-Man fandom. It dosen’t help that Warren Ellis (writer of Transmetropolitian, The Filth, and currently X-Men) once raged against them… ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/87 "2003-01-10T00:31:53Z")
BrightEyes, you’re either thinking of the origin story where we do get to see the small scar before the really bad scarring or the next issue where they wind up ripping the mask off of Kristoff. ---
**Author:** ![BrightEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@BrightEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightEyes)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/88 "2003-01-10T00:34:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Just Some Guy \* > \*\*BrightEyes, you’re either thinking of the origin story where we do get to see the small scar before the really bad scarring or the next issue where they wind up ripping the mask off of Kristoff. \*\* I believe it was the one where on the cover doom was ‘ripping’ the cover off the page. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/89 "2003-01-10T00:38:57Z")
How many different universes/lines of continuity/whathaveyou exist in MARVEL comics? What somewhat ignoble distinction do Skeletor and the Transformers’ Circuit Breaker both share? ---
**Author:** ![BrightEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@BrightEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightEyes)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/90 "2003-01-10T00:43:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ranchoth \* > \*\*How many different universes/lines of continuity/whathaveyou exist in MARVEL comics? > > What somewhat ignoble distinction do Skeletor and the Transformers’ Circuit Breaker both share? \*\* In all likelyhood marvel probably has the most alt universes, I’ve read countless stories indicated theres more worlds than humanly imaginable. But say, for example exact number of **introuced ones** , around a thousand as a estimate. ---
**Author:** ![BrightEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@BrightEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightEyes)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/91 "2003-01-10T00:45:20Z")
I don’t know much about skeletor or transformers much… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/92 "2003-01-10T00:46:15Z")
I got back into comics with the “Death of Superman” arc (yes, DC, you’re gimmick worked :D). During that time, whenever I’d go to my ylocal comic shop, other customers would ask me who my favorite artist was. To which I replied, “Artist?” Oh, I knew each comic had its own artist(s), but it never occured to me to have a favorite. I actually bought the comics for the story! Granted there were some styles I didn’t care for, but I didn’t let it interfere with my enjoyment of the story. I didn’t care for the recent anime-style Superman, for example. If I had to pick an artist right off hand, I’d pick Sam Keith. Alex Ross’ artwork is stunning. Specifically, I enjoyed Brent E. Anderson’s work on the _Astro City_ mini-series. Speaking of which, when is _Astro City_ coming back? ---
**Author:** ![BrightEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@BrightEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightEyes)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/93 "2003-01-10T00:55:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Blue Sky \* > \*\*I got back into comics with the “Death of Superman” arc (yes, DC, you’re gimmick worked :D). During that time, whenever I’d go to my ylocal comic shop, other customers would ask me who my favorite artist was. To which I replied, “Artist?” Oh, I knew each comic had its own artist(s), but it never occured to me to have a favorite. I actually bought the comics for the story! Granted there were some styles I didn’t care for, but I didn’t let it interfere with my enjoyment of the story. I didn’t care for the recent anime-style Superman, for example. > > If I had to pick an artist right off hand, I’d pick Sam Keith. Alex Ross’ artwork is stunning. Specifically, I enjoyed Brent E. Anderson’s work on the _Astro City_ mini-series. > > Speaking of which, when is _Astro City_ coming back? \*\* I believe it’s on hiatus currently. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/94 "2003-01-10T00:58:40Z")
That’s actually #256, probably my second favorite Doom story with only #350 and #352 beating it (#351 was a fill-in). It’s an all Doom issue without any of the FF in it at all. You see his head from behind and there is hair on it. No face, though. Might as well answer the just posed question too: > [@](#): > > How many different universes/lines of continuity/whathaveyou exist in MARVEL comics? Avoiding things that were their own continuity in and of themselves we have: The Marvel Extended Universe - The superheroes we know, the What If?'s, and other things like that. Also, curiously enough, contains the Conan and other fantasy books. New Universe - The attempted launching of a second superhero line in the mid-eighties. Marvel UK - The line of stories featuring British creators that was briefly run in the US. Technically some characters crossed over to mainstream Marvel U, but the events in the Marvel UK line do not correspond to things in the regular Marvel U. Ultimates - The current restarted continuity. Razorline - Short lived Cliver Barker based line. Transformers/GI Joe - They shared a continuity. Transformers, despite the Spider-Man appearance in #3, is not in mainstream Marvel U.Heroes Reborn - The previous attempted flushing of continuity. X-verse - Due to some very bizarre discontinuities between the things in the X-books and the rest of the Marvel universe some people theorize that they take place in their own continuity. Ultraverse - Malibu’s line of comics purchased by Marvel and then dropped. Epic-verse - Marvel’s line for odd comics that didn’t fit in. Not all Epic books are in the Epic-verse (Akira being the obvious one that isn’t), but there were certain creator owned properties that had a loose cross over. I think that’s everything, though I’m likely forgetting a couple. Night Nurse and Millie the Model, FWIW, are part of normal Marvel Continuity. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/95 "2003-01-10T01:02:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by photopat \* > \*\* > 11) Circe? If so she wants the Amazons, particularly Wonder Woman, dead. > \*\* In the current run of Wonder Woman, Circe was on the island of Cephelonia and went by the name Cassandra Colchis. Later on she submerged herself into the identity of Donna Milton and got close to Wonder Woman while forgetting her actual identity and became Wonder Woman’s friend. Of course, this was later undone. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/96 "2003-01-10T01:04:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BrightEyes \* > \*\*I believe it’s on hiatus currently. \*\* Nope. It is currently a five issue miniseries. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/97 "2003-01-10T01:15:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hastur \* > \*\*In the current run of Wonder Woman, Circe was on the island of Cephelonia and went by the name Cassandra Colchis. > > Later on she submerged herself into the identity of Donna Milton and got close to Wonder Woman while forgetting her actual identity and became Wonder Woman’s friend. > > Of course, this was later undone. \*\* I know about the Donna Milton episode. I haven’t always been a regular WW reader so I wasn’t familiar with Circe’s early appearances. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/98 "2003-01-10T01:17:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hastur \* > \*\*Nope. It is currently a five issue miniseries. \*\* :eek: When? Where? ---
**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 10, 2003, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/99 "2003-01-10T01:41:45Z")
Just Some Guy: > [@](#): > > That’s actually #256…It’s an all Doom issue without any of the FF in it at all. 1. I was very into FF during the Byrne era. Chaim Mattis Keller ---
**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 10, 2003, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/100 "2003-01-10T01:43:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Just Some Guy \* > \*\*That’s actually #256, probably my second favorite Doom story with only #350 and #352 beating it (#351 was a fill-in). It’s an all Doom issue without any of the FF in it at all. You see his head from behind and there is hair on it. No face, though. \*\* Which contradicts the story from around #197 where we see his head from the back which is a lumpy, scarred, misshapen, hairless mess. Marvel? Inconsistant? InconCEIVEable!!! 😃 Fenris [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415.md?page=6)