# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/121 "2003-01-10T14:48:08Z")
You don’t want to know. You really, really don’t want to know what happened to the Metal Men. Bad, bad scene. I’m hoping Hypertime cleans it out. God, I love Hypertime. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/122 "2003-01-10T16:05:38Z")
Wasn’t there a Secret Wars issue where Doc Doom got all the Beyonder’s powers and finally took off his mask, revealing a perfect face? It was angelic and shiny and stuff. Is Grimjack ever coming back? ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/123 "2003-01-10T16:17:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by furryman \* > \*\*Looking at a Comic Book Price Guide from about three years ago I’d say a complete run of the Gold Key Dark Shadows would sell for approximatly $500 if it was in mint conditon. \*\* If there is anyone who can sell a set of comics (more than 2 or 3 issues) for 50% of the price guide value, i’ll take my hat off to them. The price guides (to the extent they have any utility at all, which is minimal) are written by retailers for retailers to set their own prices. When a collector wants to sell his collection, no retailer is going to pay anything near the guide price, as he has to expect to make a profit on the deal. –Cliffy ---
**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, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/124 "2003-01-10T16:20:01Z")
In that situation the good “doctor” had healed his face with the Beyonder’s powers. We’ve seen the unscarred Doom face on plenty of occasions. At the end of Secret Wars the Beyonder puts him back to hideously scarred. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/125 "2003-01-10T16:48:27Z")
Various points: Astro City: Local Heroes #1 ships in February. Kurt Busiek, the writer and creator of Astro City, has spent the last several years suffering from severe mercury poisoning which has limited his ability to write on the level Astro City demands. He’s been getting somewhat better and has managed to put together a handful of Astro City scripts which are being launched as a 5-issue bimonthly miniseries with more to come whenever he is able to produce it. According to Marvel continuity, the Patsy Walker who became Hellcat is actually the daughter of Dorothy Walker, the woman who wrote the 1950’s and 60’s teen comics “Patsy Walker” and “Patsy and Hedy.” Mrs. Walker used Patsy and her pals as the model for the main characters in those titles. This doesn’t exactly jibe with Patsy’s pre-Hellcat appearances in Marvel comics (such as the abovementioned FF Annual #3), but it’s close enough. (In the real world, the Patsy Walker comics were written by Stan Lee, among others.) As for the question about how fanboys turn their noses up at more “intellectual” comics, it is certainly true that many do. However, comics are a medium, not a genre. Superheroes are a genre, and a pretty damn narrow one at that. Without question the best comics being written today have nothing to do with superheroes (such as Judd Winick’s Barry Ween, Wood & Rolston’s Pounded, Greg Rucka’s Queen & Country, and Ted Naifeh’s Courtney Crumrin). However, due to the historical facts of the comics market, superheroes have the dominant market share. That’s changing, which is good, because superheroes are simply not that interesting to most readers, and if the industry hopes to survive it has to embrace the diversity that has been developing in the last decade. Many retailers are on the ball about this. Many are not – they will not last through this decade. –Cliffy ---
**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, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/126 "2003-01-10T17:04:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by E-Sabbath \* > \*\*You don’t want to know. You really, really don’t want to know what happened to the Metal Men. Bad, bad scene. I’m hoping Hypertime cleans it out. > > God, I love Hypertime. \*\* I too love Hypertime, but I disagree about the Metal Men. I think what they did was brilliant. Who’d have thought Tin would turn out to be the ghost of Leonardo da Vinci? (Kidding on the last bit, of course) ---
**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 10, 2003, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/127 "2003-01-10T17:54:09Z")
> [@](#): > > I think the writer and artist leaving half-way through spoiled it pretty well as it is. Good point. So the related “ask the comic guy” trivia questions: Who was Thriller? And can you name the members of the Seven Seconds? ---
**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, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/128 "2003-01-10T19:05:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\*Nexus, right? > > (And if it was NEXUS, you have excellent taste! 🙂 ) \*\* Yep… found it in a bargin bin, heard good things, and read. And liked. I wonder where to find the other reprints-- I have Volume Two only. There’s a big comic question I wish I knew the answer to: Is Hunter S. Thompson aware of the existance of TRANSMETROPOLITIAN? Does he care? I heard he was mad about Doonsbury’s Uncle Duke being based on him, and Spider Jerusalem is a more blatent rip. Oh, and [www.comicbookresources.com](http://www.comicbookresources.com) is a great site. The boards are filled with utterly obsessed continuity freaks… at least some of them… ---
**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, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/129 "2003-01-10T19:36:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LoN \* > \*\*Yep… found it in a bargin bin, heard good things, and read. And liked. I wonder where to find the other reprints-- I have Volume Two only. > > There’s a big comic question I wish I knew the answer to: Is Hunter S. Thompson aware of the existance of TRANSMETROPOLITIAN? Does he care? I heard he was mad about Doonsbury’s Uncle Duke being based on him, and Spider Jerusalem is a more blatent rip. > > Oh, and [www.comicbookresources.com](http://www.comicbookresources.com) is a great site. The boards are filled with utterly obsessed continuity freaks… at least some of them… \*\* I don’t know if he knows, and I wouldn’t know if he was based on uncle duke. [CBR.com](http://CBR.com) is a pretty good site. I jst love that column called you’ll all be sorry. hilarious stuff. ---
**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, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/130 "2003-01-10T19:45:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BrightEyes \* > \*\*I don’t know if he knows, and I wouldn’t know if he was based on uncle duke. [CBR.com](http://CBR.com) is a pretty good site. I jst love that column called you’ll all be sorry. hilarious stuff. \*\* YABS ended a year ago, alas. Oddball Comics rocks, though. Uncle Duke was based on Hunter S. Thompson, the gonzo journalist who wrote the “Fear and Loathing” books, among others. Apparently, he was pissed off at having a comic strip character based on him. Spider Jerusalem, the main character of Transmet, is cleary based on Hunter. Speaking of which, who did Kevin Smith obliquly attack in BLUNTMAN AND CHRONIC? ---
**Author:** ![Arrimus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Arrimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrimus)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/131 "2003-01-10T20:18:00Z")
Up until a few months ago there was a woman in Detective Comics, her name was Sasha Bordeaux. Wayne Enterprises hired her as a bodyguard to Bruce Wayne. In subsequent months, Bruce is framed for murder. Sasha was arrested as an accomplice and imprisoned. To make a long story short, Mr. Wayne was cleared and freed, Sasha on the other hand was seemingly left to languish in prison. As far as I know, that was the last time she was mentioned. So, My question to you is, did Bruce Wayne just let an innocent woman rot? If not, did the writers just forget about her, or did I just miss something? ---
**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, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/132 "2003-01-10T21:05:35Z")
Arrimus: You missed quite a bit. Bruce went to the prison with a good lawyer to try and get Sasha out, but Sasha, in the mean time, had gotten injured in a fight with another inmate. Bruce was told that she died of those injuries, but he (and obviously, we the readers) suspect she’s been taken by persons unknown for reasons unknown and sinister, and Bruce is searching for her. As far as I know (I only glance at Batman occasionally), this plot thread is ongoing. Chaim Mattis Keller ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/133 "2003-01-10T21:18:22Z")
Nay – Eventually, Bruce tracked her down after letting her languish in prision for months. He discovered that her death had been faked when she was recruited by the government spy agency Checkmate. It looked like they might begin a romantic relationship, but Sascha knew that Bruce would drive her away like he does everyone else, so they parted on essentially amicable terms. This was in Detective #774-75. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Fiat\_Lux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Fiat\_Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiat_Lux)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/134 "2003-01-10T22:21:28Z")
Ooh… I have a question: Is it _actually stated_ anywhere in the DC Vertigo line that Matthew, Dream’s raven, is the same Matthew Cable of the Swamp Thing series, and if so where? ---
**Author:** ![TigoleBitties](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cab0a1/32.png) [@TigoleBitties](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TigoleBitties)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/135 "2003-01-10T22:27:40Z")
Fenris…Wasn’t it Banshee and Jean Grey that were surprised that Wolvie’s claws were part of his body? I cant remember since it has been a while since I looked in my classic Xmen’s -What the hell happened to Liefield? Does anyone even hire him anymore? Hope not…but thats just me. -Has there ever been a true Marvel superhero (at once had his own comic could be a good rule of thumb) that has died and stayed dead? Captain Marvel comes to mind but I dunno…Longshot? -What happened to Power Pack? Cloak and Dagger? -What the fark is happening to Frank Miller? I used to worship this guy as a god but sheesh did DK2 stink! ---
**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, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/136 "2003-01-10T23:15:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fiat Lux \* > \*\*Ooh… I have a question: > > Is it _actually stated_ anywhere in the DC Vertigo line that Matthew, Dream’s raven, is the same Matthew Cable of the Swamp Thing series, and if so where? \*\* > [@](#): > > H I S T O R Y > U.S. government agent lieutenant Matthew Cable was assigned to protect Alec and Linda Holland while they worked on their bio-restorative formula deep in the Louisiana swamps. But Cable was unable to save them from the machinations of the Conclave – a sinister organization that wanted the couple to work for their own nefarious ends – and the Hollands were killed. When Swamp Thing rose from the bayou, Cable believed it responsible for the Holland’s deaths and set out in pursuit, intent on avenging his friends’ murders. Cable’s search took hm through the Balkans where he met Abby Arcane, who joined him on his quest. > Eventually, Swamp Thing revealed his true identity to Cable and Abby, and the trio became close friends. Cable and Abby married and settled in Houma near Swamp Thing. But Cable began to drink heavily, subsequently developing vicious misogynist tendencies, which put tension on his five-year-long marriage to Abby. Worst was to come, though, when Cable (who learned he had the power to control illusions) became caught up in the ongoing battle between Swamp Thing and Abby’s uncle, Anton Arcane. Cable was injured in a drunken car crash and was forced to make a deal with Arcane to save his life. Arcane possessed Cable’s body, using it to wreck havoc – including killing Abby. But with his last remaining strength, Cable overcame Arcane and restored Abby to life – but at a price; Cable was left comatose, and condition he would remain in for three years. > > Following his eventual death, Cable was reincarnated as Matthew the raven and took up residency in Eve’s cave in The Dreaming. There, he became the trusted servant and confidant of Morpheus, the Sandman, even accompanying the Dream King and his sister Delirium, on their search for their missing brother, Destruction. Shaken by Morpheus’ death, Matthew was initially reluctant to accept his successor, Daniel. However, he remained faithful to The Dreaming, accompanying the nightmare known as The Corinthian into the waking world, an act that initiated a chain of events with tragic repercussions for Matthew. After briefly assuming his human form again – and having one final, emotionally charged meeting with Abby – Matthew was accidentlly shot and killed by Lucien, the Sandman’s first raven, while pursuing a rogue nightmare, Echo. > – Michael Bonner from Vertigo Secret Files & Origins: > Swamp Thing 1, Nov. 2000 Yup. ---
**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, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/137 "2003-01-10T23:23:01Z")
> [@](#): > > After briefly assuming his human form again – and having one final, emotionally charged meeting with Abby – Matthew was accidentlly shot and killed by Lucien, the Sandman’s first raven, while pursuing a rogue nightmare, Echo. When did this happen? In The Dreaming? Didn’t that come after 2000? And shouldn’t there be spoiler tags around all this? But if we’re doing Sandman trivia, give me a hard question… sadly enough, I have the Companion. ---
**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, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/138 "2003-01-10T23:30:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TigoleBitties \* > \*\*Fenris…Wasn’t it Banshee and Jean Grey that were surprised that Wolvie’s claws were part of his body? > \*\* It coulda been. I really thought it was Scott, but now you’ve got me wondering. One sec…lemme check You’re right. It was Jean and Sean. 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, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/139 "2003-01-10T23:31:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TigoleBitties \* > \*\*Fenris…Wasn’t it Banshee and Jean Grey that were surprised that Wolvie’s claws were part of his body? > > I cant remember since it has been a while since I looked in my classic Xmen’s > > -What the hell happened to Liefield? Does anyone even hire him anymore? Hope not…but thats just me. > > -Has there ever been a true Marvel superhero (at once had his own comic could be a good rule of thumb) that has died and stayed dead? Captain Marvel comes to mind but I dunno…Longshot? > > -What happened to Power Pack? Cloak and Dagger? > > -What the fark is happening to Frank Miller? I used to worship this guy as a god but sheesh did DK2 stink! \*\* I coudn’t find anything about current liefeld projects. Bucky(he was the sidekick in the cap book, kinda counts), Captain marvel as you mentioned… hmm… Power Pack- heh. i have the final issue buried somewhere in my collection… Powerpack had a miniseries a little while back… I think they moved to NJ or something and everything was back to normal. Apparently Dagger is in Marvel knights and is currently searching Cloak. ---
**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, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/140 "2003-01-10T23:33:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TigoleBitties \* > \*\* > > -What the hell happened to Liefield? Does anyone even hire him anymore? Hope not…but thats just me. > > \*\* He’s probably got gainful employment flipping burgers. I hope so, anyway. Shame to let a guy like that starve. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415.md?page=8)