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!
The Fat Nerdy Guy from Manchester, England asks:
Going back a few years, i would like to know thought of Marvel Vs. DC?My favorite part of your question is "Going back a few years..." as if people stopped debating this a little while ago. Unless you're talking about the Amalgam Universe (stupid), or JLA/Avengers (not worth the wait). Actually, you're probably talking about the mini-series that led to the Amalgam Universe, right? If that's what you're talking about, then I remember it being a bunch of fanboy service, ala the upcoming Countdown: Arena. It's the sort of thing I would love as a twelve-year old boy, and then not so much when I read it again later in life. That being said, there's nothing wrong with writing super-hero comics for twelve-year old boys now, is there?
LA Pereira from Portugal laments:
While watching the last The Stack, I asked myself why don't you talk more about other comic books besides super heroes from DC and Marvel and ocasionally Image and Vertigo. I would personally like to know your opinion of the new run on Tank Girl by Alan Martin and Ashley Wood. C'mon, the girl deserves all your love. Cheers and keep up the good work (we all know how hard it is to work on Mondays).Me, you, and Garfield man. Mondays suck. Anywho, we actually read a lot of indie comics, but end up not talking about them to keep the show as accessible as possible. However, you'll see us sneak in other things every once in a while, so just know if there's an indie title we recommend, we all really love it and are behind it. As for Tank Girl, I think Ashley Wood is a GREAT choice for continuing the series, and so far it's been a lot of classic Tank Girl fun. Personally, there's only so much Tank Girl I can take at one time without getting a head-ache, so I'm not completely caught up. But for those of you who love the classic, the new issues are more of the same, in the best sense of those words.
Mike muses:
Is it legal for artists to take commissions to draw copyright characters? I noticed that there was a Wolverine commission posted, and now you've posted that set of drawings by Serge Klablahblah. I'm planning to start up an art site soon and was wondering if you knew the details of how that would work?To be honest, Mike, I don't completely know the legal ins and outs of this. However, I would think as long as you are doing the drawings on a commission by commission basis, and not creating prints of the drawings, or the customers then going and re-selling the commissioned drawings, you should be fine. You also should be honest, and say that you have no connection to Marvel... Go and look at other artists sites, they usually have some note at the bottom, like "All characters are a trademark of Marvel Entertainment. None of these drawings are officially licensed." Do something like that, and you should be fine. That being said, if you post up a bunch of drawings of Wolverine, and Marvel politely asks you to take them down, you should do that as well.
Karen sez:
It's a question never to be answered, but in terms of art, DC does the job. The inventive powers and characters provide a lot of visual energy (recommending Alex Ross). It's best to collect DC stories in trades because there are some great stories. But for throughout quality, it's Marvel.It's looking like a DC vs. Marvel day here on The Letters Page. I would say that I don't completely disagree with you. I can certainly think of more stories with inventive and exciting art from DC (New Frontier pops to mind). And, I've often said that DC has probably some of the more classic stories, but Marvel has more consistent quality over the course of their runs. I could get nit-picky here, and start bringing up individual titles that prove or disprove these arguments, but I won't. Instead, suffice to say, as long as both publishers keep publishing good stories, we'll keep reading them.
Matt from Tennessee tells us:
Hey, guys! Love the show! Especially since you started doing The Stack! I've become a big Warren Ellis fan in the past month or so reading Fell, Black Summer, and most recently the New Universal hardcover. I was wondering if you guys read/enjoyed New Universal and if you know if Marvel has plans to continue the series. Also, what other Warren Ellis books should I pick up? Thanx guys and keep up the good work!Warren Ellis is a great writer, but perhaps a little too prolific even for his own good. New Universal is, I believe on hold for a little bit, and I have to say that while I was okay with what he was doing on the title, I wasn't blown away by it. Black Summer is excellent, Doktor Sleepless is enjoyably crazy, and if you have a chance, pick up his Crecy one-shot. It's a little pricey, but absolutely worth it. For non-Avatar titles, Planetary is one of the best things I've ever read, pick that up right now; The Authority is fabulous; and I'd get murdered if I didn't mention Transmetropolitan. Looks like you've got a lot of reading to do...
Nick from Melbourne, Australia needs to know:
I've been reading all the World War Hulk stuff that's out at the moment, and I just wanted to know what you guys have thought about the series as a whole so far and how you think it'll end.Oops, clearly I got to this letter a little late. Err... Haha. Cough. Anyway, a satisfying conclusion to the arc, with some great emotional beats throughout. I wasn't crazy about the last page or two, as I felt there was a little too much left unsaid. But really, what a great, great series. Cheers to Greg Pak and company.
Dingo from England demands:
Hello my fun comic geek fans! Could you by chance tell me if humberto ramos is doing any projects pleeeeease? Thanks and keep the stacks high :P ( haha now u have a new slogan)Nice! We'll start using that in promotion immediately. As for Mr. Ramos, you'll see his art on New X-Men, at least through issue #46 (which may or may not be the last issue. Sad.) If you want to keep on top of what Ramos is doing, be sure to check out his blog, here.
letters, page, The
"The Fat Nerdy Guy from Manchester, England asks:
Going back a few years, i would like to know thought of Marvel Vs. DC?"
Did they really stop speaking english in England?