Here 'tis. 52 was interesting this week - very much so. A touch on Booster’s story, a touch on Q and Montoya and the Family Marvel - but the centerpiece is Ralph Dibny and the Helm of Dr. Fate.
Interesting issue. So are we in for The Elongated Doctor Fate?
And I’m not as familiar with the DC Universe as I could be. What’s the story on the hyper-intelligent talking Chimp in the deerstalker hat?
That’s Detective Chimp, from the Shadowpact (part of the team formed in response to the Spectre going batshit insane, and currently together in their own series now).
Yes, his name is Detective Chimp. Next they will put a top hat on a lizard and call it
1920’s Style Iguana."
52 Week 18: It’s not quite fair to have a character semi-recover from insanity and not show who helped him.
Detective Comics #823: The concept is good, and Harvest is pretty creepy, but this story didn’t quite “click” for me.
The All-New Atom #3: Oh, hell yes. The train finally pulls in to crazytown. Puritans worshipping a cancer God at the drive-in? Yes, please.
Jonah Hex #11: Ah, so that’s what El Diablo is about. I thought he was just a Zorro knock-off. This is actually pretty cool.
Y The Last Man #49: Hey, Rose got interesting! I would have sworn she was being fitted for a red shirt.
Mystery in Space #1: This is pretty cool. Good space opera for the Captain and the Weird is indeed plenty Weird (love his overblown narration). The two stories work together nicely, too.
Justice #7: I think this is a good book, but I can’t appreciate it issue-by-issue. Should have waited for the trade, but oh well.
Shouldn’t Shadowpact be trapped in a big red bubble during 52?
Yes, Shadowpact has a continuity problem. The folks at DC are aware of it, and hopefully it will be addressed.
52 - I don’t know that Ralph’s as recovered as he seems to be.
Detective - The story felt a little… overly compact. Maybe I’m just used to something like this being turned into a 4 issue arc these days.
Nightwing - Sucked.
Atom - Yes, the plot thickens, and we get a Call of Cthulhu RPG reference! Gail Simone is my hero.
Mystery in Space - I like this so far. Captain Comet’s story particularly.
Serious miscommunication between various editorial departments. Ignore the Phantom Stranger parts of the first 3 Shadowpact issues, and it all works out.
Anyhow…
52 - Take one of the top 5 detectives in the DCU*, mix with the #1 (semi-)mortal mystic, and you’ve got a recipe for something real fun. I hope they really run with it.
Someone needs to shake Renee out of her deathwish before someone actually grants it.
Booster’s casket was covered in ads? I’m not sure what part of that seems less likely - that nobody involved with the funeral would have nixed it as tacky, or that Booster still had enough ad contracts to give his coffin that much coverage. Loved his pallbearers - obscure characters always give me glee. Even when I can’t identify them (as is the case with 3 here - Beefeater and Yellow Peri were identified by a friend…I still don’t know who the Abe Lincoln guy is).
Mystery In Space - Damn good read. My major comment, though is that The Weird (whose series I did not read, or even know about until now) bears a STRIKING resemblance to Quislet.
Jonah Hex - Getting hanged by circus freaks has got to be a humilliating way to die.
The Next - I love Tweet. I want a Tweet. Plot’s moving along apace, which is good, but we’re half finished, now, which is bad. I hope these characters are kept around.
All New Atom - I also love Ryan. I want to BE Ryan. Yowza. Serously, though, a Call of Cthulhu RPG ref and a hentai anime reference in the span of 3 panels…you have to love that. At least you do, if you’re me.
1602 - Fantastick Four - I have gone on record as thinking Peter David is horribly over-rated. If more of his books were like this, I wouldn’t think so. This was great stuff. I do have some problems with the Shakespeare part, but they’re minor.
American Splendor 1 - An odd addition to the selection above, I know. But I became rather a fan of Pekar with The Quitter, so when I saw the new American Splendor from Vertigo, I jumped on it. I don’t quite get the point he was making in ‘Delicacy’, but the rest of the stories were wonderful. Something about Pekar keeps me sympathising with him, despite the fact that he shows himself in a rather unflattering light. Perhaps it’s the level to which I identify with him**, or perhaps it’s just the level of honesty that that unflattering light implies. Probably a little of both.
- I’ve gotten into some lively discussions about where Ralph fits in this hierarchy, so I feel it’s safer just to rank him like this.
** And I do identify with him, despite that identification occasionally coming with a cringe, and the fact that our life experiences overlap so little.
It’s not new, but I just read Heroes for Hire #1. In addition to the Legion, Shang Chi and Richard Dragon were two of my favorite books way, way back when. I haven’t kept up with ol’ Shang; I thought he died, but when did that ever stop anyone. Anyway, the artist in this book seemed to want to draw Bruce Lee, and it just ruined it for me. I couldn’t get by the resemblence, and it pretty much turned me off to the whole book.
In another older title, Wolverine, our title character skewers Namor. Whilst Namor mentions that Wolvie should have hit vital organs, there was an extraordinary lack of injury to Namor. Did I miss where Namor has a healing factor to rival Wolverine?
I also picked up Outsiders, which is actually starting to intrigue me - glad I stuck it out.
And two Starman TPBs.
How variable is the list you use? I can see it including, in no particular order, Batman, Ralph, Slam Bradley, Martian Manhunter, and Detective Chimp. OTOH, you have Nightwing, Robin, and Dr. Thirteen who are all right up there. (Although Thirteen may be too specialized to really be in the top tier.)
I don’t really have a top five ranked. If forced, I’d go with Bruce Wayne, Ralph Dibney, Hamilton Drew, Jason Bard, and Roy Raymond, in that order - the latter two mostly because of Bruce’s respect for them. I wouldn’t give Dick, Dr 13 or J’onn a look-in on the top 10, but the others I’d say could fit in there - Tim has the potential to someday supplant Bruce, even.
The relative placement of Ralph and Drew are the point of debate. I tend to consider Ralph the number two detective in the DCU, a friend supports Drew (although he acknowledges Ralph would be #3 in this case). So, as a comprimise I just call Ralph one of the top 5, and leave it at that.
Can’t believe I forgot Jason and Roy Raymond. My brain must be melting faster than I though. 
But I don’t remember Hamilton Drew off the top of my head. Looking on Google I see he is from Starman, but while I think I remember the stoy, I don’t remember the character. Looks like I will have to reread my Starman trades. Bummer. 
While Drew is supposedly almost as good as Holmes, how much has he really done? On that basis, you have to pick Holmes as number 1, since he has appeared in modern times still alive in DC Comics. Admittedly it was in Brave & Bold in the 70s, but we are talking super hero comics. 
As for Dick, while he is definitely not top 5 material, he was trained by Batman. When he is written moderately well, i.e. not the current run of Nightwing, he has shown above average abilities. I would place him in the lower half of the top 10.
52 Week 18: A question regarding… um… the Question: the origin summary specifies that his mask is made of an artificial skin-type material, which conceals his identity while allowing him to see and breathe normally. However, it only does this when “exposed to a certain gas” dispensed from a change machine on his belt. Is there a point to this peculiarly binary arrangement? From a storytelling perspective, the gas seems fairly unnecessary. Is it presented in the nature of a weakness, or what? Do the Question’s adventures contain numerous instances where he gets into trouble because he runs out of his special gas, like Spider-Man’s web-fluid?
Also, what is the deal with the backup origin features in 52? I originally thought they were intended as a vehicle to address continuity changes from Infinite Crisis, but so far I haven’t noticed anything of the sort. If they’re just supposed to renew familiarity with the various characters in 52, then it seems kind of pointless to be summarizing the Question, for example, over four months after he first showed up in the story.
Mystery in Space: Captain Comet first appears in “the 1950’s,” before the appearance of Superman or the JLA. When “that gang” came along to defend Earth, Comet takes the opportunity to journey into space. “Thirty years later,” he returns to Earth in “The Eighties.” What continuity is Captain Comet from?
I never read the Weird’s original miniseries. However, I somehow suspect that an extradimensional superpowered ninja with the eyes of Bill the Cat is no more viable a character now than he was back when ninjas and Bill the Cat were still popular.
The original series tanked, despite the involvement of the then-popular Justice League International.
I haven’t been reading Atom, but I glanced at #3 just out of curiosity about the CoC reference, and it was exactly what I thought it would be!* This gives me renewed hope that I may actually be accepted as a member of at least one subculture before I die.
*–allowing for the unconventional phrasing, which I presume was an intentional fig leaf to avoid potential copyright problems.
From what I remember, the gas actully bonds it to his skin - and nothing gets it off but another blast of (I’m assuming) a different gas. So the gas IS necessary, because the mask won’t stay on without it. The gas also changes the color of his clothes (or at least, if je’s wearing special clothes that react to the gas. I don’t think a T-Shirt from K-Mart will change).
The advantage of the gas is that you can’t just rip the mask off of him to find out who he is. Only the knowledge of the gas and how to apply it will work.
Hmm… Honestly, I find it difficult to appreciate this feature as an “advantage.” When I go shopping at the superhero store, and the guy behind the counter says, “Check out this mask here; it permanently fuses to your face and can’t ever be removed without special intervention,” I don’t think that’s the mask I’ll wind up buying. It’s an interesting gimmick, but on balance I think it’d ultimately be more trouble than it’s worth. Sure, I’d be worried about losing my mask during a pitched battle, but I’d probably be a lot more worried about losing or breaking the only gadget that could get the mask off afterward. I note also that other masked superheroes seem to get along fine without such extreme measures. Even Batman feels comfortable with lesser precautions such as knockout darts and tasers in his cowl, and if Batman rejects a strategy for protecting his identity as needlessly paranoid, it probably is.
The color-changing clothing seems like a nice, reasonable feature, though. Thanks for the information, both of you!
They get along without such measures only because we suspend our disbelief about all the times they’ve been captured and no one bothers to unmask them while they are unconscious.
Seriously: the gas is pretty weird science, but is Batman carrying around automated defense measures in his mask any LESS ridiculous? Not to mention that it would seem like Batman’s technological defenses would be easy to disable: at worst, you have one goon get hit by them and then have the next goon succeed.
The only problem with the Question’s system is that I doubt anyone really cares what his secret indentity is.
It’s been canon since the 60s that if there’s any kind of fish or undersea creature with a weird ability, Namor can mimic that ability (Stories have hinged on him imitating pufferfish and electric eels). I’m sure he could take the recuperative ability of, say, a starfish, sped up for dramatic purposes.