I’d imagine that he’d have enough money to not have to work for a while.
As you are aware, Jim Lee is doing a stint on Batman. I’m sure sales have increased which is good for the title and DC. But what happens after Lee leaves? Will DC just pocket the dough made from Lee’s fans who have followed him to this book and not worry about the drop off after he goes or do they think Lee can boost sales and keep the new readers? Or do you think some fans of the book will see this as a publishing gimmick, get pissed off and leave?
I’d leave. But were they hyping it as a huge thing? That pisses me off. My favourite writer writing only writing for 2 issues hyped as a huge thing isn’t going to be a title i’ll read unless i have interest in the actual; title.
It was made into a semi-big thing since the whole deal was a bet made with Lee. Apparently, Lee is not known for his ability to get things done on a deadline. So someone made him a bet ($1000?) that he couldn’t do eight issues of a book on time.
I happen to like Batman, so having him on the book is neither here nor there.
Yeah, I was disappointed when YABS indeed. i’m glad oddball is still running.
So, why the crown?
Let me explain… During the Golden Age, when artists like Kirby, Wood, etc. had to depict groups of plucky streetwise kids to admire their respective heroes, these kids were always cut from the same mold. There was the clean-cut leader kid, the four-eyed bookworm, the runt of the gang, and generally also a stocky, pugnacious fellow who spoke with a Brooklyn accent, to wit: “Let’s moider the bums!”
This last fellow was always depicted wearing one of two types of headgear:
- The derby.
- The crown.
The first I can understand, but what was the deal with the crown? What was that about? Was this a common thing, during the Depression, that tough kids roamed the streets with little crowns? Because I can think of no more likely way to get beaten up than trying to join a street gang while wearing a crown. And it’s not just in one issue, you see the crown a lot in comics from that period. Even today I think Jughead from Archie Comics still wears one. So what is it from?
Maybe this isn’t, strictly speaking, a comics question. You probably have to have some knowledge of the pop culture of the day. But every time I see one of those old stories, I wonder about the crown… Why? Was it from some movie serial character that the kids admired? Was it made of felt, cardboard, tin? Sometimes it’s drawn with little gems appliqued to it, is that accurate?
I could probably get an answer from any of the Golden Age comic creators at the conventions, but so far I’ve never been able to work up the nerve to approach them and stutter out this goofy, trivial question. Once I almost got near enough to ask Harlan Ellison; I bet he would know.
Any thoughts?
I can’t really think of a reason they would wear a Crown or a derby hat.
Terrifel: have you seen Chasing Amy?
I think a good example of the type of group you’re talking about is the Guardian’s Newsboy Legion…but I think the Brooklynesque member of that gang wore a derby…
Yup. And apparently their clones of themselves from the 1940s with memories of the 40s while being in the 90s.
I forget in what issue, but Matthew comes back to talk to Abby, flying in as the raven and is transformed into his old self.
Not only did Patsy and Hedy attend, so did Millie the Model.
MadDog was what Buzz became.
He was SO sad.
I think I have the avengers(?) annual about her inclusion in the normal continiuty(back then I though the writer was just making it up about tose millie the model comics) Ah, the memories of 1 and a 1/2 years ago…
Kids today… 
When one’s derby starts to wear out or get old and money is scarce, one takes the hat, cuts off the brim and throw it away. THen turn the thing upside-down, cut the ///////\ into the part of the hat that used to attach to the brim, push in the top of the hat in and up (as though one was trying to turn it inside-out, and stopping half way) to give the little “beanie” look that’s inside the crown (if you look at a top down shot of Jughead in the '40s and ‘50s, you’'ll see that the “crown” is actually a crown attached to what looks like a yarmulke so that the top of his head is covered, as opposed to a Burger-King style crown), and poof : new crown-shaped hat. Hmmm…I don’t think that was clear. See the diagram below.
My grandpa told me that and we made one once of one of his old derbys.
Why the kid was wearing a derby hat in the first place, I dunno.
Take bad ASCII drawing of a bowler hat
/------\
-----/ \-------
cut off brim
/-------\
/ \
push top of hat inside
_ _
/ \____/ \
Turn upside down, imagine that you cut the /\/\/\/\/\ out of the rim and voila!
____
\_/ \_/
Fenris
Huh. That looked fine in preview. Oh well.
See also Goober Lindsey of The Andy Griffith Show for a fiiiine example of the crown/derby.
Hey thanks, Bright Eyes! I have a second question involving another seemingly lost/forgotten Batman character from a couple years ago. This time I’m wondering what became of Nicholas Scratch. He figured prominently in turning Gotham’s earthquake-induced ruin into No Man’s Land, but he’s been noticeably absent since then. Am I missing something, again?
The derby hat was noted for its strength. They were favoured by workingmen before hard hats were developed. Witness its ability to protect its owner from bricks dropped from a tenth-floor window in any number of Laurel and Hardy films. (Yes, I know that Stan rarely showed a reaction when a brick was dropped from a tenth-storey window onto his bare scalp, but work with me here.)
Your typical Brooklynite ganim brawler would wear a derby to help protect his head in his street fights.
Well I’ll be a son of a buck! Thanks, Fenris. I owe you one there, pal.
So the derby/crown correlation was even closer than I ever would have possibly suspected! Doggone, the wonders, they never cease.
Well, that’s one more thing I can stop worrying about.
Hey, I was thinking this morning, when is Livewire going to return in Legion? I refuse to even assume he’s actually dead.
Has anyone noticed that the one who started this thread hasn’t really answered too many of the questions? Myself, I’m just thrilled that I was able to answer a question for resident comic geek Fenris 