The Letters Page

POSTED BY Alex Zalben, 07 November 2007

As we've mentioned before, there's way too much mail for us to answer in the shows, so we'll be answering some of it right here on the blog. As always, thanks for sending in your questions, and please keep shooting them over to tips@pulpsecret.com, call them in to 888-841-7549, or post a video response on YouTube!

---

Josef from Sweden writes:

I saw this question in the comments on YouTube, and I thought that I might as well mail it. Do you have any comic book characters that you really, really hate and just want to see dead? Which ones?

You ready for a cop out, Josef? I've asked a lot of creators this question, and most of them give the same answer: There's no such thing as a bad character, just a badly written character. Meaning, as long as you come up with a unique spin on a character, you can make them interesting. So there are characters I hate, but if a good writer figured out what to do with them, then why would I want them dead? As an example, take a look at what Fred Van Lente is doing over in Super-Villain Team-Up. None of those characters are A-List villains that I would care one whit about, but Van Lente infuses with humanity, and makes me want all of them to end up okay (they're NOT going to end up okay, which is what makes it all so sad). That all being said, to completely contradict myself, I'd totally kill off any all-powerful, super-serious characters. There's nothing more boring than a guy who can do anything and has no personality. I'm looking at you, Silver Surfer.

---

Brendan asks:

I love the show. Are there any plans to lengthen the episodes by reviewing more books?

Yup! Speed Round! Done! That was easy! We love you! YAY!

---

Jason wonders:

Just found out about Pulp Secret on my TiVo, and it's already my favorite TiVocast. I plan to be submitting videos like you asked as soon as I get my new Mac (it's got a built-in camera, don't you know). Anywho, my question. What ever happened to Back in Black? I thought the point was that Pete was going to be in the black threads for some time, and while he's still sporting them over in New Avengers and other books, he's back to the reds and blues in One More Day. So, are we back to classic all the time, or is this something Quesada decided because OMD was going to "make comic book history"? Thanks!

That's a very good question, Jason, and certainly something we've talked a lot about... I think it comes down to Back in Black was a little over-hyped. Honestly. They say it's something they planned for a while, but it probably was pushed bigger to coincide with the movie; and then the whole storyline only played as a prelude to One More Day. Which is unfortunate, because it held a lot of potential on its own. i think it comes down to the constantly shifting stories, editorial directives, and shipping deadlines inherent in the comic book industry that led to this particular storyline fizzling a little more than it should have. Unfortunate, but true. I like to get over the sadness of this by dressing in my own black costume, and brooding on top of my apartment building.

---

Raph raps:

I just went to your Comic Book Club show last night with Mike Marts and Steve Wacker. I'd heard about the show over a year ago, but with night classes, going to it wasn't all that likely. I gotta say I enjoyed it a lot and I'll be trying to go more often. I've been watching Pulp Secret since the beginning and I've been a fan of the video show also. Keep up the great work guys and I look forward to more good stuff.

Thanks for coming to the show, Raph, and keep watching! You rock!

---

Colleen considers:

Howdy guys! Around the time of the release of the most recent Superman movie (Superman Returns) there was some talk on the success of the film related to whether or not people still needed Superman. Most of the popular superheroes, at least in film, are all wounded and very human characters who grew up in relatively realistic worlds (Spider-Man was in New York), which makes them very easy to relate to. However, Superman is almost the opposite and is so perfect and lacking so many flaws that it's harder to empathize with him. Is is the same in the comic world as it is in the film industry?

Oh, and people might mention Smallville, but that to me doesn't count because it's more of a teen drama than a superhero show. It's like "One Tree Hill" meets, well, Superman. Thanks guys!!! Love your show!!!

Honestly, that's always been my problem with Superman... I'm not a big fan of all-powerful serious dudes (see above), and Superman is usually played that way. Forgetting about his Byrne induced magic problems, any Superman story has include some sort of over the top way of incapacitating him that is, usually either ridiculously complex, or stupidly simple. Because he can do almost anything, it's silly to think he can't overcome any problem. However, given that I've read and seen some good Superman stories, it is possible. I do think that in Superman Returns (and I'll say I'm one of the few people who unapolagetically likes that movie), they fell into that trap you mention above... Making him too human. It's a double edged sword, right? People didn't like the fact that he was a wussy, but if he was too perfect, they also wouldn't have been interested. Walking that almost impossible line is what makes Superman a very difficult character to write, and makes his adversaries even more difficult to write. I think you can make a good Superman film, but it needs to be bright, cheery Americana. I would have been very interested to see, say, a similar take Michael Bay took to the Transformers movie: over the top, jingoistic, flag waving gloriousness that makes you gleefully drunk on its non-stop silliness. Superman needs to wow you, not mope and lift progressively heavier items.

letters, page