The Letters Page
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!
Benjamin begs:
I love comics, but can't stand the monthly format. I collect only trades. Could you maybe review a trade or a OGN per episode?Good suggestion Ben, and it is something we've discussed in the past. One of the problems with reviewing trades is that, to properly discuss, we need to make sure that all three of us have read it, which takes longer than reading a monthly, which means the show isn't quite as current. However, we have done a trades episode before, AND we have another one coming up in the next few weeks. If you guys like these sorts of episodes, let us know, and we can do 'em more frequently.
Alex from London, England asks:
After your recomendation I picked up the first issue of Mice Templar, and absolutely loved it, it's been the type of comic and story I've been yearning after for a while. But where oh where oh where is issue number 2. It seems to be well over a month late, is this typical or is this just the lazy boys over at Image twiddling their thumbs instead of putting pen to paper???!!!Ding! Just came out last Wednesday, so head over to your local comical book store and pick it up. From talking to Mike Oeming, I know that this is a labor intensive book that they are definitely NOT just twiddling their thumbs over. Mice Templar is a labor of love that he's been looking forward to writing for years. So no worries, as long as Image wants to publish it, the title will come out on a semi-regular basis.
Afronerd argues:
What is going on with my favorite book on Earth (31916) Squadron Supreme? I was always under the impression that the Straczynski/Frank series sold fairly well. Please tell me that it will be returning. I have been chomping at the bit when we left at the precipice of another Redstone battle.That's a complicated answer, Afronerd, but boiled down, if I was a betting man, I would say it's not returning any time soon. For those of you who haven't read it, pick up the trades of the MAX version of Supreme Power. The series was excellent, and just not the same once it moved over to Marvel Knights. For Afronerd, the deal is this: The "plan" was to continue the Squadron Supreme series after the conclusion of the Hyperion/Nighthawk series, followed by the conclusion of the Ultimate Power cross-over. Granted, Ultimate Power still has to conclude, but in the interim, Gary Frank has moved over to DC. As Frank was such a part of the re-boots creation, and given how busy JMS is, my guess is that we won't be seeing the regular series returning, unfortunately, any point soon. Which is a shame, as it was rather well done. At least we still have our trades, right?
Jim MacQ jabs:
I'm pretty sure Groo never appeared in Mad. He's a totally creator-owned property, and Mad doesn't do creator-owned. I don't know what you were remembering, but it wasn't Mad.Did we err? I know Groo never appeared as a main feature in MAD Magazine, but I could swear I would see him occasionally turn up in Sergio Aragones' border doodles. If anyone can prove that I'm not crazy, e-mail me and let me know.
Moeez muses:
I had read Batman & Son recently. I found out, for the first time as a huge Bat-fan, that Batman now has a son! So, I got Son of the Demon to catch up on all the events. And then you find out Batman and Talia willingly took up marriage and had sex. It wasn't like last time where Batman was tricked into the hand of marriage. Here, he genuinely wanted to be together. Then they have the baby. And the cliffhanger is, does the baby die or survive?And that, my friends, is why comics continuity doesn't work. You're correct about everything, Moeez, and no, you didn't miss anything. What happened was this: Batman: Son of The Demon was published. DC didn't want to have to deal with Batman being saddled with a son, so they essentially erased it from continuity. Grant Morrison, being Grant Morrison, thought it was an interesting plot point, and enough time had passed that Batman's son could be grown up, and not just a prop piece (which he would have been as a baby). Hence the return of Damian to continuity. So, essentially, what you have is: a story where Talia and Batman fall in love, get married, and have a baby; twenty years of continuous stories that go out of their way to ignore that previous story; and then a story arc that purposely tries to reconcile both of those plots. So bully to Morrison for trying, but clearly in order to do so, he has to entirely ignore some other plot points. And that, again, is why continuity is impossible to deal with, and can only please some of the people some of the time. My suggestion? Enjoy Morrison's story on its own merits, as every writer that follows Morrison on any title ends up destroying everything he's built up, anyway (see: his entire run on New X-Men).letters, page
And clearly, now as Batman & Son shows, he survived and he's called "Damian". Talia's an evil megalomaniac, and is a complete shift from her personality in Batman: Son of the Demon. Did Grant Morrison miss the continuity and their emotional states, or has there been more to the son scandal between that 20 year gap of story arcs I've completely missed? 'Cause it's just kinda weird how Batman would be angry now, as if he was forced in some "eugenics" experiment, but he willingly wanted a baby in Son of the Demon. What gives?
Am I missing more arcs from the "...Demon" arcs? I'm just confused on the unwanted baby deal.
Well according to wikipedia, and the official Groo site http://www.groo.com/faq.html he's never appeared in Mad, basically because Sergio wanted to retain creator ownership. I loved Mad marginals. it was often the funniest thing in the magazine and the collections were priceless, but I dont remember if I ever saw Groo in them.