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52*

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15:02 / 23.08.06

Well, I dunno; I found some Wayne Quilliam photography that doesn't look massively different, and he's an indigenous Australian. Obviously that doesn't compare with the expertise conferred by viewing Crocodile Dundee, though.

15:13 / 23.08.06

Haha.

ONLY NICE THINGS

15:56 / 23.08.06

We're ignoring the possibility that they are in a state of undress because they have just done sex wiith the Red Tornado.

I don't see the problem. This is comics. First people have one look, and they stick with it. Native Americans have feathers in their hair (Danielle Moonstar, the various Thunderbirds), Australians have loincloths (Gateway). It's like Battle of the Planets.

I dunno. Let's give it a week and see how it goes, but I'd be more sanguine if the last tiime somebody tried to talk to the 52 editorial team about stereotyping it hadn't ended with somebody with a microphone shouting at somebody without a microphone, you know?

18:28 / 23.08.06

Dude, Warpath is feather-free. I just checked my Uncannys.

On the indigenous Australians' portrayal, I did some research on Google, and %am now the expert%. There I read 27% of the populace live in remote or very remote areas. I assume Uluru constitutes one of those? The chap on the left does a lot look like Gateway, it's true, and I agree it's a stereotype, but if - as my minimal research seems to conclude - a reasonable, albeit diminishing, percentage of native Aussies do live like that, why should such a depiction be avoided? I'm not seeing any information on why this need be, and I can understand curt posts when strong feeling is involved, but must confess to being something of a 'know-nothing' on the topic.

I do think it's a smashingly drawn pic; does remind me of the plot of The Gods Must Be Crazy, though; my white volunteer worker in Africa/African family, used to go on about that film. Can't remember it, personally.

09:53 / 24.08.06

I've been going off 52 for a few weeks now. I think the back-up features stink like feet and the storylines feel like they've been treading water. Montoya and the Question: half-baked Chandlerisms ahoy! Isis and Black Adam: I love you, I hate you, think about what you're doing. Elongated Man: roll around in Sue Dibny's corpse for a while, stranger. Adam Strange: why aren't you bonking Starfire, Buddy?

But the new issue really paid off. I wish they had had more pages for this issue. Nothing has given me a warm glow the way the new Marvel family gave me a warm glow and both of my hands were on top of the table the entire time. The wedding scene was actually suspenseful (despite being a little cliched) and the ending was really great.

My one regret is that you know they're setting up the Isis/Black Adam union to be shattered. And my question is: why can't they leave well enough alone. Does every marriage, relationship, love story have to end with someone dying or something bad happening? Is it such a struggle to have two characters be happy? People rarely get killed violently in real life. Love is statistically more likely to happen to you. So why can't comics show a little heart from time to time?

10:33 / 24.08.06

Montoya and the Question: half-baked Chandlerisms ahoy!

I'm rather enjoying this one myself. My only real experience of The Question has been the twitching paranoid incarnation of him in JLU. I like this super-cool zen ninja version. I'm thinking that the crime-solving is secondary, it's all about helping Montoya.

Isis and Black Adam: I love you, I hate you, think about what you're doing.

Well, Isis is trying to make Adam think about the consequences of his actions. I thought the discussion they had after she'd convinced him to re-direct a river to help a village made some very good points. Adam doesn't have to save the world Authority-style, he could concentrate on Khandaq.

I think, Adam knows this too, but being a surly supervillain doesn't want to admit it. Hence him giving her even more power than he holds.

Elongated Man: roll around in Sue Dibny's corpse for a while, stranger.

I found this whole part of 52 genuinely creepy actually. That burning doll. Very nasty. Almost like a Lovecraft story with all the resurrection of the dead and cackling madness at the end.

Adam Strange: why aren't you bonking Starfire, Buddy?

This one hasn't really gotten rolling yet anyway so I think it might be worth giving it a little more time.

Actually I was getting a little bored of the Steel storyline myself. It's not really doing much at the mo', I'm hoping it'll cross into the Supernova/Booster story at some point and pick up a bit.

18:31 / 24.08.06

What's going on with the Marvels now?

I'm not reading these books, but have an interest.

And has Mister Mind popped up again?

19:47 / 24.08.06

Mister Mind's not been on the go much, though I think the caterpillar-like fiend may be at the centre of this mass mad-scientist-kidnap.

The Marvels: not much really, the younger ones were just at Adam & Isis' wedding, Mary as maid of honour, and Cap senior's been contending with the seven sins at the Rock of Eternity, looking a bit batshit, but seemed quite well this week. He blessed the wedding in the name of the seven virtues.

Re: Strange, or indeed Buddy Baker, 'having it off' with Starfire - they're both married men with kids, dude! No way.

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

04:17 / 25.08.06

Supposedly, Jeff Smith of Bone fame is doing a Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil one-shot or mini or something. I'm excited about that.

This week's 52 makes me -really- want Renee and the Question to continue as a team, possibly as Batwoman's supporting cast. The Marvels were all right but while the idea of summoning the virtues for the wedding (why didn't they all become mortal upon saying SHAZAM?), it fell a bit short for me, much like Booster's demise last issue.

08:23 / 25.08.06

Okay, I think this is the wrong place to carry on a discussion of stereotyping in comics and/or wrt indigenous Australians, but I figure I will just quickly try to reply to some questions thrown my way.

I wasn't particularly bugged by the cover - more (my assumption) that the comic will contain fairly numpty-headed portrayals of The Aborigines.

The (briefly glimpsed) indigenous dudes in the Invisibles were not well-portrayed well. In general, I doubt anyone who hasn't spent a significant chunk of time living in Australia could even understand the most obvious things to avoid in representing indigenous folks. Those of us who have (I mean, settlers of descendents) still find it incredibly complex and difficult to navigate.

In general, I can do without ignorant, stereotypical representations in my comics. I don't think that's a very controversial position.

13:51 / 25.08.06

1. I realize it was probably an accident, but "settlers of descendants" is a lovely phrase. You should use that in something.

2. See my prior comments about the Chinese hero team. We're fairly equal opportunity with the ethnic shoehorning in this series, we are.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

13:49 / 28.08.06

So I made a terrible mistake.

I picked up JLA #1 yesterday and it was a good read but, well,

SPOILERS FOR THINGS THAT MIGHT HAPPEN IN 52 :

The big three are desciding who to recruit into the new JLA and when they mention Vixen there is an almost throwaway comment to the extent of "I wish we had Buddy with us, we really should see how Ellen is doing"
Buddy in space for over a year? Dead? Run off with an alien princess?
The issue also had some Doc Magnus action. I am not sure they will be able to avoid major spoilers in their own titles for the next 35 or so weeks...

15:15 / 28.08.06

Along those spoilery lines...

Has the new Batwoman shown up in any OYL titles? because this morning I was thinking that she hadn't, and if true, that seemed to indicate to me that she must go away/retire/die at some point during 52...

09:19 / 29.08.06

that seemed to indicate to me that she must go away/retire/die at some point during 52...

Another option is that they're keeping her low-key OYL so that it doesn't spoil the 52 storyline and she'll pop up once it's complete (or at least more developed, she only hung around in costume long enough to beat up some manimals and now Montoya/Question have sodded off to Khandaq).

09:28 / 29.08.06

DC is doing a frighteningly good job of keeping the mystery of 52 intact. OYL, we've seen neither hide nor hair of any of these main characters:

Question, Montoya, Black Adam (& Isis?), Ralph Dibny, Steel, Booster (or Supernova), Adam Strange, Animal Man, & Starfire.

Even the JLA comment could be spun a lot of ways.

15:37 / 29.08.06

Another option is that they're keeping her low-key OYL so that it doesn't spoil the 52 storyline and she'll pop up once it's complete (or at least more developed, she only hung around in costume long enough to beat up some manimals and now Montoya/Question have sodded off to Khandaq).

That's very possible-- probable, even-- but, if they go that way, I really hope that theres some sort of plausible in-story justification. If all of the 52 protagonists are invisible for a year just to maintain suspense, that's understandable but really clumsy.

Dan Fish - @Fish1k

21:47 / 30.08.06

There's some nice Animal Man dialogue in #17... I wonder if he's going to leave comic-book reality by the end of the story?

22:26 / 30.08.06

I found myself thinking the same thing. That Dialogue could apply to GM's run or the whole Vertigo version of that run.

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

22:39 / 30.08.06

I liked the extensive sequence with the space heroes. Buddy ... sigh. I'd love to see him get a regular title with Ellen and the kids. Some villains. That plot line has a lot more going for it than Natasha's dull-soulless-corporate-heroes story.

23:19 / 30.08.06

Agreed. The whole Steel and Black Adam plots have been pretty much poop from start to finish, with the only highlights, respectively, being: the Great Ten, and maybe a bit of the superhuman arms race stuff in general which appears back-burnered, and - uhhm - I thought the hallucination Steel had was decently done. But mostly the stamp of GEOFF!! JOHNS!! is upon them.

Anyway, yeah, Buddy and Adam (also Koriand'r, but I'm not really so moved by her.) I love Adam Strange, just been rereading the Swamp Thing and Starman space adventures with him, and may go through the initially very promising but latterly co-opted for an 8C tie-in Diggle/Ferry book shortly.

Starro?! I'm just trying to think of massive-eyed villains.

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

23:59 / 30.08.06

I'm hoping that's not Solaris the Tyrant Sun - who has a giant eyeball, if I recall my One Million correct-like - who needs to be in All-Star Superman, dammit. Maybe they meet up with the New Gods but they don't go through a Boom Tube to do it, and consequently are at the wrong scale for the Fourth World?

Yotsuba & Benjamin!

00:30 / 31.08.06

may go through the initially very promising but latterly co-opted for an 8C tie-in Diggle/Ferry book shortly.

Do so, and do it quickly. It's really great and, honestly, it doesn't really feel railroaded at any point. And Ferry is just phenomenalating.

In other news, 52 keeps rocking my socks off.

07:43 / 31.08.06

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that the Emerald Eye of Ekron? Normally seen floating around the Emerald Empress?

Perhaps an origin story for this bit of evil bling?

15:22 / 31.08.06

Do so, and do it quickly. It's really great and, honestly, it doesn't really feel railroaded at any point. And Ferry is just phenomenalating.

I meant 'go through again', Ben. I'll respectfully disagree; the last 2-3 issues kinda, nngh. But it is, over the piece, great stuff.

Phex: Dorset Doom

14:27 / 01.09.06

Potenital SPOILERS

It looks as though everybody's fears about Buddy not making it back home from space (see Justice League of America #1) might be founded: In Teen Titans #38 Red Star runs through a list of Titans who have fallen in the line of duty: "Pantha, Wildebeast, Superboy, Jericho" and last but not least "Starfire".
Also in 52 related spoilage from the issue: it seems Black Adam has his own Captain Marvel Jnr: Osiris, who was briefly a Titan during their year during their year of going through members like Courtney Love with a jumbo sized perscription of painkillers. There's also some cool former Titans who may or may not be appearing soon: Young Frankenstein (!), Little Barda (!!) and Mas y Menos (!!! if you've seen the Teen Titans cartoon).

Professor Silly

19:22 / 01.09.06

Lobo?!? Joined "the Church"? Which church? Huh?!?
...regardless, it didn't stop him from doing what he does to Devilance--ick! Especially the head! Double ick! Also didn't stop him from stealing a peak at Starfire's...assets...and drooling a lot.

I noticed that the link above to the Emerald Empress mentioned the knowledge on how to kill any form of life. Might this be why Lobo needs help?

Also, I've got a sneaking suspicion that the Question is training Renee to take his place. I'm not sure why the thought is bouncing around in my head, but there it is.

07:10 / 03.09.06

"Who the hell is lobo? And why is there a huge biker dude standing in the vacuum of space smoking a cigar?"

That cracked me up.

20:00 / 03.09.06

The eye thingy reminds me of the ring on Luthors finger when he injected/infected Steel with the meta gene thingy. Is all.

20:16 / 03.09.06

It's Kabala!

20:34 / 03.09.06

Also, and I apologise if this has been said before but I'm just reading up and have finished the first 10, but Supernova is Booster Gold, right?

21:06 / 03.09.06

Supernova is Booster Gold, right?

It's a theory. There's not a whole lot of evidence for it yet though.

21:52 / 03.09.06

Not a lot no. In fact not really any at all. But I've just for that fimbling feeling.

BrianFitzgerald

01:53 / 04.09.06

I didn't catch it until a rereading this weekend, but Buddy literally gives Starfire the shirt off of his back after Lobo grabs (and apparently keeps?) her top. I really like that.

The little bits of Animal Man that've been doled out in 8C and 52 have really made my life just a tad sunnier this year. There's a nice moment in Meltzer's JLA #1, where the Big 3 are discussing who they want in the new lineup, and Batman nominates Captain Marvel, and Wonder Woman questions whether that's just because Bruce thinks he can control Billy, and Superman realizes that it's honestly because Marvel is "good. Not just a good fighter, but truly good." There's no barely-contained psychosis, no angsty I'm in man's world, but not of man's world hang-ups; Capt. Marvel is just a purely good person. And that's always been Buddy's thing, too. He's just a really good guy. Given the talk about how Waid and Morrison are bringing the joy and the optimisim back to DC, it's neat to see characters like Animal Man and Captain Marvel getting more attention.

I just really, really hope that whole "maybe it's pheremones, or cosmic rays, or maybe this week's plot really is a pretty blatant rip-off of Empire Strikes Back and I just got saddled with the Han Solo part, but Starfire is driving me crazy," thing with Adam Strange isn't leading to some hacky "I hate you so much! So why can't I fight this lust? I must have you now!" romance between Adam and Starfire, because that would just be creepy, I think.

09:30 / 04.09.06

Umm, any chance that OYL references are kept to a minimum please? I'm only reading 52, and whilst they're keeping the revelations of it to a minimum in the other DC titles there are still things which might spoil the plot.

I don't have a problem with wild speculation, but confirmed "Who lives? Who dies?" stuff I'd rather not know.

11:54 / 04.09.06

At the risk of sounding somewhat facetious Scientist, can I just say that firstly (and as we all know), this is comics and the dead rarely stay that way. Secondly, who wants to bet that the space heroes are not dead but simply not home yet and therefore missing in space for more than one year? I like the idea that I've heard elsewhere online that they'll arrive in an issue of Legion or something, thanks to the time dilation effects that Adam mentions.

Also, does that fact that Starfire is reported dead (or not home yet) suggest to anyone else that Buddy survives? I can't see them killing off more than one of a specific 'team' over the course of the story, and if Starfire is the goner (and I don't think she is dead), surely that assures Buddy's survival. Recent interviews suggest one more big 52 character is to die, not two.

Although, Buddy's speech this issue did have the whole "When I getout of this mess, I'mgoing tomarry my sweetheart.Say, whn the war's over, let's allgoout for a drink together, to celebrate no-one dying..."

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