tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2669531469217423923.post245555263145537865..comments2024-03-28T20:51:56.173-04:00Comments on Supergirl Comic Box Commentary: Amazing Heroes #78: Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 ReviewAnjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10023193805914075078noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2669531469217423923.post-7377168551341381852018-02-14T05:55:08.453-05:002018-02-14T05:55:08.453-05:00Great stuff about the Flash, Professor! Thanks!Great stuff about the Flash, Professor! Thanks!Anjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10023193805914075078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2669531469217423923.post-89888521663876564052018-02-14T00:20:55.641-05:002018-02-14T00:20:55.641-05:00Marvel Saga was a 25 issue maxi-series that combin...Marvel Saga was a 25 issue maxi-series that combined new and old art to tell (as the subtitle said) "The Official History of the Marvel Universe". It was written by Peter Sanderson.<br /><br />"(Jones) even takes a shot at Stan Lee as being the root cause of the continuity bugaboo."<br /><br />The Marvel Universe worked so well back in the day largely because it all came about naturally. Since Stan was writing and/or editing the entire line, it gave the Marvel books a single editorial "voice" that DC did not have. Instead we had the "Mort Weisinger Universe" and the "Julius Schwartz Universe", and the "Murray Boltinoff Universe" and so on...<br /><br />"If she nearly died, would a new Supergirl book with a hot creative team released post-crisis sell? We'll never know."<br /><br />It's too bad DC didn't consider that at the time. It worked for X-Men and Teen Titans. And for Daredevil with Frank Miller.<br /><br />And if DC was determined that Superman be the only Kryptonian, they COULD have gone the Power Girl route with Supergirl-having her survive the Crisis and then discover that she wasn't from Krypton after all. Like Power Girl, her Kryptonian origins could have been restored later, and in the meantime, they could have avoided all that Pocket Universe Matrix stuff.<br /><br />According to Cary Bates (interviewed by Jack Scott for "The Flash Companion" published by Twomorrows), "...word came down from the powers-that-be way in advance that Flash and Supergirl would not survive the Crisis. I'm not sure of the exact time frame, but I think I had at least a year's notice..." Bates goes on to say that with the Flash's days numbered he didn't want to start a new storyline<br />that "would be ended prematurely", he continued with the trial story and used it to bring Iris back and reunite her with Barry.Professor Feetlebaumnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2669531469217423923.post-36108272004841333322018-02-13T20:12:20.153-05:002018-02-13T20:12:20.153-05:00Thanks for great comments.
Agree that Kara being ...Thanks for great comments.<br /><br />Agree that Kara being forgotten added some insult to injury.<br /><br />Agree that we all have a little PTSD from her death, waiting for the shoe to drop. Unlikely given her popularity these days.<br /><br />Agree that launching a book from her death (or maybe near death) is brilliant.<br /><br />Thanks for letting me keep picking away at Crisis, 32 years later!Anjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10023193805914075078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2669531469217423923.post-53814692207945153102018-02-13T15:23:56.362-05:002018-02-13T15:23:56.362-05:00From my memories of the time we fans talked about ...From my memories of the time we fans talked about Barry’s death after CoIE partly because it was still in continuity. From a story standpoint it happened, and Wally was there to take on the legacy. But the talk eventually faded to background noise because the story was complete.<br /><br />Supergirl’s death was different. Not only did it not happen, but she never existed, so a lot of loose ends were left hanging out there to the point that it was hard to keep the fabric of continuity together. The Legion was hugely affected, writers had to dole out the Supergirl role to multiple substitutes to keep things going. Brainiac 5 is much less interesting without that other half to play against, so we got Laurel Kent, and Andromeda, and even Dream Girl was a stand in at one point. I don’t think the Legion ever entirely recovered from the loss of Superboy and Supergirl.<br /><br />And the 20th century stories had to bring in a new Supergirl in Matrix, then Linda Danvers, then Cir-El, because the role in the Superman mythos was just too interesting and useful to leave empty.<br /><br />As a reader you kept being reminded she used to exist because DC couldn’t help picking and poking at it, trying to fill the gap with something or someone. After awhile the notion that she was unnecessary, that Superman worked better as the sole survivor, started looking pretty hollow. And unlike Barry Allen, there wasn’t already a built-in Flash to hand things off to like Wallly. Barry’s story was complete, he had a legacy, and he could be remembered. <br /><br />Kara couldn’t be remembered, or even talked about, so naturally we fans remembered and talked about her. So the edict to writers that she never existed did the opposite, it make absolutely sure that she would be remembered. Like a missing tooth, you constantly notice it by its absence. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2669531469217423923.post-25806873191374744092018-02-13T12:46:54.761-05:002018-02-13T12:46:54.761-05:00One of the few benefits I derived from COIE#7 was ...One of the few benefits I derived from COIE#7 was the firm belief that "everyone has a favorite", that favorite may not merit a continuing book, but that doesn't mean that they are deserving a death designed to enlarge the profitability & creative prospects of some other character. The great ongoing existential dread that infected us all from COIE#7 onward is the suspicion that your favorite character is only a few thousands books sold a month and one pitch from a twitchy hot S**t creative away from being killed and expunged from continuity.<br />Back in the day I don't recall a lot of hue and cry from fans about Supergirl although Helen Slater was on some talk show a year or so later and expressed disappointment the character had been killed off. I myself recalled seeing two wretched teenagers laughing at the cover to COIE#7 in a local...It took the afiinity-group power of the internet to bring Supergirl back lets hope it can keep her alive.<br /><br /><br />JF<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2669531469217423923.post-37317641561465088622018-02-13T08:58:38.789-05:002018-02-13T08:58:38.789-05:00Since social media back then was barely existent, ...Since social media back then was barely existent, message boards were primitive and available to few people, the only way to "know" what other fans thought was mainly letter columns, which of course were biased. Hence, if DC's higher-ups claimed no one liked or cared for Kara Zor-El, they only printed letters agreeing with them and magazines printed "articles" like that one of Dwight Decker... well, then it HAD to be true, right? DC's decision was right or understandable, right? Everybody says it so it MUST be true.<br /><br />I've been a Marvel fan since my childhood, but even so I can't say I quite disagree with the dig at Stan Lee. Stan Lee -plus Kirby, Ditko, Thomas, Kane, Buscema, Romita...- created an universe where past stories counted. Fans wanted to know what would happen in the next issue, and how it'd affect future ones. Instead of outgrowing super-hero comics or embracing their inherent silliness, they kept reading. They grew up and demanded their comics "grow up" with them and stop being all-ages or children entertainment. They came to expect and demand "realism", "coherence", "continuity" and "progression". And they praised Marvel for giving it at the same time that derided DC for remaining "kiddie", "outdated" and "stuck in the past". Since they were older, they usually had a bigger income, which convinced Marvel and DC to abandon the newsstands and focus their efforts on the Direct Market.<br /><br />Thus, the Crisis. The destruction of the allegedly befuddling continuity. The pruning of the so-called kiddie elements like the Super-Family and the pulp-influenced Krypton. The obsession to distance themselves from the Silver Age and its characters (even though they had already done in the 70's). The darkening of Batman.<br /><br />Obviously it wasn't everything bad, and DC made large profits in the short term, but... the long-term consequences were disastrous. Inextricable continuity, low sales...<br /><br />Oh, well.<br /><br />"But this is what comic book fans are.<br /><br />Fan of Supergirl? How could you kill her? Who cares if she had a lousy book? Bring in the right people!<br />Not a fan of the Flash? How could you not kill him? His book was lousy? No one could bring him back."<br /><br />Hahahah. True.<br /><br />"I have derivative characters because they all are rip-offs with zero personality... unless it's a derivative character which I happen to like, of course. Of course."<br /><br />"Did having another Flash still around soften the blow? Was the major re-write of the Superman mythos a harder thing to swallow?"<br /><br />Good guess. Batman was also rebooted, but it was a soft reboot. Batman's mythos were changed and the sillier elements done away with, but they weren't retconned out and banned forever. Writers usually disregarded them but they were free to use them if they wanted. They didn't need to go to extreme lengths to reintroduce them or unusually convoluted versions. Thus, no mess and no fan complaints.<br /><br />"Are there Flash fans out there who can point me anywhere?"<br /><br />I don't know about Flash fans, but I've met long-time Barry Allen fans who were NOT happy. Some of them said they'd be okay with Wally remaining the primary Flash as long as Barry was back and an important character.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2669531469217423923.post-5592260123625847912018-02-13T08:30:32.953-05:002018-02-13T08:30:32.953-05:00I did enjoy Amazing Heroes, and RA Jones was a fin...I did enjoy Amazing Heroes, and RA Jones was a fine reviewer (remember his Granny scale, i lieu of stars?). And he certainly has all the right opinions here! That's an interesting point, using this book to launch a Kara series rather than kill the character... if only!<br /><br />I still loved Daring Adventures! That series was the epitome of MY Kara - the confident young Superwoman who had earned her super-stripes time and again. She'd long since outgrown the junior partner bit; I still miss her.Martin Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09574149543260175962noreply@blogger.com