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!
Jon asks:
Wanted to say thanks for the many laughs and tell you the show is great. I was wondering what you all thought about the direction Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are taking with Nova, and also wanted to see what you thought about the character as a whole? Take care and have a great holiday!Nova is one of those really good, solid titles that I just don't read regularly. I know, given the immense amount of crap I read on a weekly basis that sounds ridiculous, but it is true. Every time I pick up an issue, I'm surprised at how solid the art, characterization, and story are, but there's just something about Nova's character that doesn't grab me. In general, I'm not crazy about the Space Cops thing (though I'm sort of a sucker for Green Lantern), so that may be it. However, if you have any interest in cosmic stories that are also very down to Earth, you certainly could do worse than Nova.
TheNextChampion sez:
This is a question to you, Alex, as I now know you like to buy Wonder Woman comics. Don't get me wrong, I think Wonder Woman is a great heroine, and she should be used more then just as a third wheel to Superman and Batman. But why is it that so many writers have failed miserably to make a good, and coherent story for her? Gail Simone has done a decent job so far, but I just think it'll end up the same for her just like anyone else writing this 'doomed' superheroine. Please give me a reason to not feel like this forever with her please!This is going to be a long one, so hang in there, kitty. First of all, if you want to read two very good, consistent runs on Wonder Woman, check out George Perez's 25 issue run, which is collected in trade volumes. Probably the definitive take on ol' Lasso Lass. Greg Rucka's more recent run is also excellent, though was unfortunately completely derailed by Infinite Crisis. Pick up the first few volumes, but be prepared to have your plot threads left dangling. Now, on to your main question: why can't people write her? I think it breaks down into several parts: origin story; continuity/tone; and writing female characters in comics. Let's address them one at a time, shall we?
1) Origin Story: Essentially, every hero or villain is only as good as their origin story. Very few comics characters have more definitive stories in their histories than their origin (The obvious exception is Spider-Man, who is defined by the death of his Uncle, and the death of Gwen Stacy. And his alien costume. Whatever. THIS ISN'T ABOUT YOU, SPIDER-MAN! You're as selfish as they said you were...) If I asked you what Batman's origin was, though there have been different takes, you would definitely tell me that his parents were killed, and he became Batman to avenge their memory. Same with Superman, he's the last survivor of Krypton, sent to Earth, adopted by the Kents, and found he had fabulous powers under the Yellow Sun. So, what's Wonder Woman's origin story, everybody? Easy, right? She's Princess Diana, of the Amazons, who live on an island... Somewhere... And she... Decided to... Come to America? Maybe? For some reason? But she's a warrior. And she has a truth lasso she got from... Oh wait, her mother made her out of clay, forgot about that. Anyway, I think you get the point. There are definitely ways of succinctly boiling down WW's origin, and many writers have done so. But, there's no crisp, concise origin that's been drilled into our collective unconscious over the years like with other "A List" super heroes.
2) Continuity/Tone: This is relatively similar to Origin Story, but is way more based in consistency. There's no way, over fifty or sixty years, even with the same author (which is impossible) that you can have monthly stories consistently hit out of the park. There's also no way, with a character that's cross-company, appearing in multiple books, that any character will be written exactly the same way. Look at Batman... He used to be totally goofy before Frank Miller got to him. And there's the crux. Most writers aren't writing a character they've pulled out of the ether. Beyond whoever originally wrote a character, any writer is, to some extent, copying the style of the writer(s) that came before. With Batman, almost every writer for the past twenty years has been writing Frank Miller's Batman. With Wonder Woman, there hasn't been one continuity, one consistent tone for the character to follow. She's been a warrior, a warrior for, um, peace, a Queen, a Princess, a love-sick puppy who followed Steve Trevor to Man's World, a part of Man's World, not a part of Man's World, and the list goes on. There's no definitive version of Wonder Woman that writers can draw on when they come on the title. Hence, every writer is writing what they instinctively remember what Wonder Woman is. As mentioned, though, what we instinctively remember about a vague character is an amalgam of various elements various writers have pulled from various other writers. If there was one definitive take on Wonder Woman, one story that defined her for generations, ala Frank Miller on Batman, we wouldn't be having this problem. But, as I've said, we don't have that yet.
3) Writing Female Characters in Comics: Hey, here's some shocking news: most comic book people don't understand women. WHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTT??????? I know, everybody calm down. I think I just broke the internet in half with this news, but we'll continue as if it's working fine. Not that male characters in comics aren't broad caricatures, but at least they often get a little more emotional range than "character in love with main male character," or "character about to be tortured (which will emotionally affect main male character)." Writers can think of a lot of plot points for their male characters, but female characters are broken down into very, very few possible plots. So take a character like Wonder Woman, who has no concrete origin story, and no definitive continuity to draw upon, and that doesn't lend itself to sparking a lot of instant plot ideas. Vague+Vague=More Vague. That's not Wonder Woman's fault, though... That's the fault of non-creative writers taking short cuts in their story-telling, and not thinking about the emotional under-pinnings of a story. Story should come from character, not plot, and the sad fact is that most comics writers just don't take (or maybe have) the time to think about their female characters.
The crazy thing about all this is that, to those writers who have done their research, there's a HUGE well-spring of stories to draw upon: Greek Myths. Both Perez and Rucka knew this, and instantly went to that gigantic well-spring. However, just to contradict myself: they were playing off the characters that are crisply defined, Greek Gods and Monsters, rather than having the conflict come from Wonder Woman herself. I think, and granted, we're only two issues in, but Gail Simone's run is so exciting already because the conflict is based in WW's history, but also coming out of who Wonder Woman is, and not who the people around her are. Time will tell.letters, page
Wow...thanks for answering my email Alex...didnt think it would be that long ^^; but you summed it up nicely lol
But I can see why its so hard to write her since her origin is so wonky...She is made out of clay? WTF...I dont remember that. Not only that but your right, it's more easier to write a male then a female..cause females are a bit more complex...I dont wanna sound like a sexist but its true, women are harder to judge and write for then us males..
Why hasnt anyone made a definitive Year One or Origin story for her? If Miller can make a Batman one; if someone can make an updated version of Spider-Man (ultimate), then why wont anyone do a one-shot or mini-series of her origins? It wouldnt sound too bad to do..hell I'd like to read more comics with Greek mythology on it..That's why I like Hercules as part of the Hulk storyline.
Thanks for the answer again Alex!
Also Wonder Woman needs to be presented as more than just beautiful and busty. Shes an Amazonian and a warrior theres more to her then looks. But thats another huge issue i have with the way women are portaryed in comics.
The invisible man says, "I don't know but, damn, is my ass sore."