We Make Holes in Teeth!

January 14th, 2005

Filed under: Comics

  • The dental adventure chapter in Sgt. Frog, Volume 4 is really nothing more than a Japanese update of the Crest Team. Of course, if Marvel had published the comic, it would be Crest Team Mangaverse
  • Laura brings up some good points in regards to Aquaman and his lack of great villains. I think the whole “great villains make great heroes” statement is overused and oversimplified. It would be better phrased as “great threats” or “great challenges make great heroes.” Think back to some of the great early classic Spider-Man tales. When Spider-Man has to summon all his strength to lift that heavy block or when he throws his costume in the trash, it’s not because of a super-villain. Good heroes face threats from within as often as without. More recently, most of the Vertigo series lack “great villains” but are still captivating comics with compelling heroes. Too many writers try to create an iconic villain too soon in their run on a character, and it never works.
  • She’s also right about the damage done by the Superfriends cartoon show. Let’s not forget Aquaman’s own Filmation series, though. Heroes with flippered sea-mammals as sidekicks have a hard time with credibility.
  • I spent the last couple of nights catching up on some trade paperbacks and graphic novels.
    • I had picked up the first issue of Killer Princesses when it came out and enjoyed it, but moved and missed the rest. Last night, I read the trade cover to cover in one sitting. It is a perfect fusion of Gail Simone’s writing with Lea Hernandez’s art. But be warned: there are simply too many laugh-out loud lines and situations in this book to read it in public.
    • The third volume of Hopeless Savages is my favorite so far. The plot is more down to earth and believable than the previous volumes. There are some excellent character moments, particularly for Arsenal. As a bonus, there is less Skank Zero, which is good, because I can only tolerate her in small doses. I would like to see more Rat Bastard though. (That should bring me some interesting internet searches.)
    • Metabarons Volume #1 and Volume #2. Beautifully painted. Very European feeling science fiction, like it stepped out of Heavy Metal. There is a little too much “tell” rather than “show”, and sometimes when they do show instead of tell, it’s difficult to understand what’s going on. Still, it’s epic science fiction, something we don’t see enough of anymore. I’m looking forward to the new edition of The Incal
  • Captain America: The Return of the Asthma Monster. Must. Read. This. Comic. (Link courtesy of the Precocious Curmudgeon)
  • Battlestar Galactica begins tonight.

8 Responses to “ We Make Holes in Teeth! ”

  1. H
    January 14th, 2005 at 5:56 pm

    I was with you right up to the moment you dissed Tusky. You, of all people Scott!

  2. matthew rossi
    January 14th, 2005 at 6:06 pm

    To be honest, I think Aquaman needs better powers. I’ve always thought they should play more with the idea that he’s literally monarch of water, that his Atlantean heritage (especially once Peter David made him the bastard son of an Atlantean High Sorcerer) should be played up and he should be able to do stuff like control the water around him, cause it to move at his will, change states from liquid to gas to solid at a thought, even use the water inside his enemies to his advantage (imagine how much it would hurt to be forcibly dehydrated as Aquaman commanded the water in your body to leave).

  3. David
    January 14th, 2005 at 6:42 pm

    You really must read this comic. E-mail me, and I’ll be happy to send it your way. I feel strangely unworthy of it.

  4. Scott
    January 14th, 2005 at 7:56 pm

    Now H, you know that as a founding member of S.P.L.A.S.H. I am a big fan of Tusky. We are hang out whenever I visit the coast. However, for viewers of less discriminating tastes, I think that all they remember of Aquaman is 1) wears a glaring orange shirt, 2) talks with fish and 3) pals around with a walrus.

  5. Jer
    January 15th, 2005 at 8:22 pm

    The problem with blaming the Superfriends show for the “Aquaman problem” is that without the Superfriends, Aquaman would not even be as close to as big a character in the fan’s minds as he is now. Think about it - he’s one of the major characters that folks think of when they rattle off DC Universe characters, one of the major guns that sits up there next to Green Lantern and Flash on that “second tier” under Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman for “icon recognition.” Without the exposure of Superfriends and the key role he played there, Aquaman would be on the next tier down, with Green Arrow and Hawkman[*]. Aquaman is one of those heroes that 30-something non-comics fans KNOW by name because of his place on the Superfriends. The fact that DC hasn’t been able to do something with this in either the movie or (better yet) TV series realm astounds me, considering all of the “nostalgia tripping” the folks of my age are doing right now (not just in the comic realm - its that whole “I Love the 80’s” vibe.

    [*] Yes, yes. I know I’m going to get the hate directed towards me for this statement. I’ll live with it.

  6. Scott
    January 15th, 2005 at 9:21 pm

    That’s a couple of good points. But it also merges well with Laura’s point is that Superfriends may have made him known to the public, but also made the public feel that ehy know all about him (”talks to fish”), and for the most part DC seems content to leave it at that.

  7. Jer
    January 15th, 2005 at 9:53 pm

    Scott,

    True, but that’s more because DC’s marketing, frankly, sucks. They can’t generate any interest in MOST of their heroes anymore, outside of the “easy-to-market” Superman and Batman. Maybe the Flash movie coming down the pipe will generate interest in the “lower tiers” of characters and DC will think of pushing an Aquaman TV show/Movie - but I’m not holding my breath that the Flash will be a great movie.

    And, really, Aquaman would be perfect for a TV series. He’s got the whole political “King of Atlantis” vibe going for some good political struggle. He’s got the Mera romance angle. He’s got the “man of two worlds” angle. You could even do it as a younger Arthur, finding out who he is and what his place in the world is if you really MUST go for the younger viewer Smallville vibe.

    Aquaman would actually be one of the easier heroes to transition to TV - no costume that looks great in a four-color drawing but horrible on a real person, no terribly over-the-top outlandish superpowers, a collection of rogues who also wouldn’t look terribly stupid as real people, a “job” as ruler of an entire fantasy kingdom, no need to look for a criminal of the week to take down. You’ve got romance and intrigue soap opera, political drama, AND over-the-top action rolled into one. I mean the series practically writes itself. As long as they didn’t turn it into a remake of “The Man from Atlantis”, of course.

  8. Lea
    January 18th, 2005 at 9:32 pm

    Glad you liked KP, Scott! Happy!

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