tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post4658477714208706539..comments2024-03-18T10:41:09.242-05:00Comments on The Idol-Head of Diabolu, a Martian Manhunter blog: Justice League DetroitDiabolu Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04685199809207954223noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post-80506721091609909892007-10-10T22:28:00.001-05:002007-10-10T22:28:00.001-05:00Dear God, my own comment was likely longer than th...Dear God, my own comment was likely longer than the original post. Oy.Diabolu Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04685199809207954223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post-16537672517442659452007-10-10T22:28:00.000-05:002007-10-10T22:28:00.000-05:00My feelings about the Detroit League remain mixed,...My feelings about the Detroit League remain mixed, but I've only reread up to the Tuska issues so far. I didn't really get into the book until after the icon-friendly Chuck Patton left and Luke McDonnell came on to give the newbies street credibility. <BR/><BR/>My latest reading has been more in-depth and analytical, so I'm getting more out of it. By breaking down the issues by character (starting with my next post,) Vibe being intentionally green instead of embarrasingly lame becomes more apparent. The awful accent disappears almost immediately. <BR/><BR/>Meanwhile, Steel was a solid performer right out of the gate, and really felt like a young Captain America-type in training. If he'd been the sole new inclusion among veterans, ala Firestorm, I think he might have ended up with a respectable following. Instead, I must confess that even I've slagged off on the guy, based on association more than lack of merit. Having Vibe come off as the smarter of the two doesn't help, though.<BR/><BR/>I misremembered the extent of Aquaman's abuse of power, as well. There were really only two egregious occurances, and both directly tied to his emotional distress regarding his marriage. It was little more than a subplot laced within two arcs, but it sat in my memory as a serious black mark for years.<BR/><BR/>Also, Vixen rocks. I'd forgotten what a bright spot her presence was in the early going, as her influence on the book waned mightily over time. Not a popular opinion, but especially in light of the new direction, I'd say Vixen rendered the Hawks redundant. Ollie and Dinah should have stayed, however. Their departure made exactly 0 sense.<BR/><BR/>If nothing else, Detroit made people more accepting of the Giffen/DeMatteis League, so I'm grateful.<BR/><BR/>I can't imagine Vibe or Gypsy as conceived in the League under any other circumstance than the one Conway and Patton presented. I still can't see Gypsy joining as she stands today. I'm glad they were members in their incarnation, because that was the only point in time their inclusion made the slightest sense. Part of the point of Vibe was that he didn't have the stuff, so it seems to me being weak was the point. <BR/><BR/>Gypsy was always more interesting than she's ever been given credit for, and I thought it a shame Gail Simone of all people would so mishandle her. I can't think of any other writer on the character to so totally under-utilize her potential.<BR/><BR/>Oh, and since you mention them Rob, I'd take the JLD over the Outsiders any day of the week. I remain clueless as to the appeal of that bunch, beyond the Batman association and Aparo/Davis art chores.Diabolu Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04685199809207954223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post-77994619343389961922007-10-10T14:34:00.000-05:002007-10-10T14:34:00.000-05:00i meant to say "FAIRLY" weak characters, sorry. :(...i meant to say "FAIRLY" weak characters, sorry. :(<BR/><BR/>and one more thing--it never made sense to me how abruptly Aquaman quit the team--if i hadnt been a fan, i'd think he was a big jerk, too, as written--and once Batman came in it pretty much became Batman and The Outsiders mk.2.rob!https://www.blogger.com/profile/17556471244882205031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post-65867454185938327842007-10-10T14:32:00.000-05:002007-10-10T14:32:00.000-05:00i think the idea was fine, but the execution was f...i think the idea was fine, but the execution was faulty.<BR/><BR/>i saw no good reason why the "B" team of the JLA--the Hawks, GA/BC, Red Tornado--couldnt have stayed with the team. yeah yeah, some of them had their own strips, but they were always just back-ups and hardly anything that couldnt have been halted to keep them exclusively in the JLA.<BR/><BR/>i think a book with Aquaman, MM, Zatanna, Elongated Man, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Vixen, and Steel couldve worked well, and not have been so jarring a change.<BR/><BR/>Vibe and Gypsy were just fairy weak characters, and having them both on the team at the same time was hard to swallow, i think. maybe just one of them wouldve worked, or if both of them had been drafted into the family with the other more established members it mightve been a better balance.rob!https://www.blogger.com/profile/17556471244882205031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post-22428224295111129652007-10-10T07:23:00.000-05:002007-10-10T07:23:00.000-05:00I'll always have a soft spot in my fanboy's heart ...I'll always have a soft spot in my fanboy's heart for the Detroit League, if only because of the inclusion of Aquaman, Steel, and of course MM. Like you say, the series was creatively stagnant by the early 80s. The Detroit shake-up may have failed in the long run, but it paved the way for the "franchising" of the League in the late 80s and early 90s, which in turn prompted the reutrn of the "Big 7" -- and both of those eras produced some really fun League adventures. The Detroit League opened the door to wide-scale changes to the Justice League, which was really pretty unheard of before then.Lukehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07352646370918575626noreply@blogger.com