tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post7266994777043700150..comments2024-03-21T06:36:04.196-05:00Comments on The Idol-Head of Diabolu, a Martian Manhunter blog: Black Adam: The Dark Age #6 (March, 2008)Diabolu Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04685199809207954223noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post-88358611474021827782010-03-31T18:36:24.971-05:002010-03-31T18:36:24.971-05:00If only the Big Red Cheese had thought to make the...If only the Big Red Cheese had thought to make the new magic word Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! It might have taken Black Adam years to get the reference -- although perhaps the threat of a lawsuit from Disney might have been more frightening than the damage that Black Adam caused.will_in_chicagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01468337654400802576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post-42469891992894863382010-03-30T19:48:52.940-05:002010-03-30T19:48:52.940-05:00MC, I like your observation about "magic as u...MC, I like your observation about "magic as undiscovered science." The gratuitous nature of comic book magic has really ruined its use for a lot of readers. I just find it objectionable that the answer to arcane mysticism is something just shy of mindless brute force. Bullets are better defined than spells, but their unimaginative overuse hurts my appreciation. Between this and Bendis at Marvel, the answer to bad magic writing seems to be dragging it into the gutter and "demystifying" it into a joke. Can't we just figure out a way to show that magic isn't a limitless supply of deus ex machina? Like a Spawn-O-Meter or something?<br /><br />I think I've enjoyed all of Tomasi's Martian Manhunter stories, but there's something "off" about most of them, as well. The excessive violence of the cop serial killer story from <i>Showcase</i> popped up in Ostrander's series, and Tomasi ignored pretty much any J'Onn J'Onzz material not represented in the book he edited while eulogizing the character in <i>Requiem</i>. I think my main problem is that J'Onn's got a strong humanist streak in his best stories, while everything Tomasi writes is too cynical to capture that sort of idealism. Also, I've read a trade and several random issues of Tomasi GLC, and it wasn't my bag, despite being fond of Guy (& Mongul.)Diabolu Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04685199809207954223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post-62885604828452847952010-03-30T12:04:34.118-05:002010-03-30T12:04:34.118-05:00I dunno, I've not read the showcase stuff, but...I dunno, I've not read the showcase stuff, but rather enjoyed Requiem (not sharing your total aversion to the ongoing) and have really been digging his GL Corp work. While his editing was cleary a presence, I feel the Ostrander/Mandrake team were the main sources of weakness. Their work on Spectre and Batman both share the same brooding grossness that soured their manhunter work.<br /><br />The eternity bullet makes sense in the fight magic with magic theory. I rather like "magic as undiscovered science," not being one to enjoy uncertainty without end. And I thought Chocolate Egg Creme excellent. I mean, changing it to kblarglfznp would make more sense, but where's the fun in that?mathematicscorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15439579069513071094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post-46285990556903092662010-03-30T00:42:04.119-05:002010-03-30T00:42:04.119-05:00Liss, I assume the bullet had something to do with...Liss, I assume the bullet had something to do with the Rock of Eternity, which I mention because when I started typing I thought that might make sense, but it still doesn't. It's just inherently stupid to shoot magic with a bullet, unless your whole point is to prove the worthlessness of mysticism. Since the character and series pivots on the value of mystical power, it's self-contradictory. "He shot god... with a bullet. That's cool. Huh-heh. Heh-heh. Cool."<br /><br />"They obviously lifted this right out of that Animaniacs episode..."<br /><br />Isn't it "ironic," don't 'cha think? A little too "ironic," and yeah I really do think...<br /><br />M.C. Tomasi was another guy I appreciated for just that, going "hey, Martian Manhunter should be here." What sticks in my craw is that between his editing the Ostrander series and his odd outings with the character over the years, I don't think Tomasi quite "gets" J'Onn J'Onzz. He's obviously interested in the character, but he can't seem to wrap his brain around the concept, or else is only interested in imposing his own interpretation.Diabolu Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04685199809207954223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post-23854559302349625802010-03-30T00:05:43.299-05:002010-03-30T00:05:43.299-05:00"Black Adam was shot by one of the wounded wi..."Black Adam was shot by one of the wounded with an "Eternity Bullet," which could penetrate even the flesh of a "god."<br /><br />*world's biggest eyeroll*<br /><br />Are you sure Grant Morrison didn't write this?<br /><br />"Teth-Adam ordered what a young patron was having, "one of these... Chocolate Egg Creams."<br /><br />Oh, come on! Couldn't Captain Marvel make up a word or at least pick an obscure one? They obviously lifted this right out of that Animaniacs episode when The Brain gives a post-hypnotic suggestion to some guy with the key word being "repugnant" and then of course the guy hears the word "repugnant" out in public and goes on a rampage.LissBirdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17059648604602469375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620698560611640068.post-12731565243368464612010-03-29T23:48:52.775-05:002010-03-29T23:48:52.775-05:00I enjoy Tomasi's considering the larger DCU. ...I enjoy Tomasi's considering the larger DCU. MM's thing for so long was being in the JLA, so when he wasn't around, not even in the background, it felt silly. Tomasi gets my vote for most things.mathematicscorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15439579069513071094noreply@blogger.com