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Underground > Comic Books >

Help!: begging Morrison info from the groupmind

05:11 / 08.06.06

So: I'm in the boyhood-dreamed position of having a chapter on Morrison accepted for a new anthology of critical work on superheroes to be published next year. But, of course, I have a few comic-book quotes floating round in my head that I'd swear were real, but goddamn if I can find them on paper. (Especially as some are memories from titles that I can't get my hands on right now.) So if anyone out there could help me pinpoint the issues in question, I will be forever in your debt. I promise, at least, to speak highly of you to strangers who will have no idea who you are.

1. I would swear that I remember the line "With powers like ours, you have to think like a science fiction writer" (or words to that effect) that Morrison wrote for the Flash... but I can't seem to find it in his brief run with Millar on the title. I'm hoping I didn't make it up.

2. In the post-Morrison Veitch run on Animal Man (#33-50), someone pointed out to Buddy that he didn't have 'bird powers', because birds have to flap their wings, so whatever power this is, birds don't have it. It's early in his run, I think. Does anyone know the issue?

3. In Grant's run on Doom Patrol, Cliff at some point says "There's less and less of me all the time." I know this is in there, but I think I have developed Morrison-blindness, and have no idea where.

I'm sure there are others, but those would be a great, great help. Anyone? Thanks!

D Terminator XXXIII

05:26 / 08.06.06

3) It's been a while since I last read DP, but I could swear to Rao that this qoute came post-58, where Cliff wakes up from a techno nightmare only to find that his brain has been squashed by the Candlemaker.

06:10 / 08.06.06

Aha! Indeed... that was all I needed to rub my eyes for a moment and find the "less and less" quote in DP #60. (I have flipping through these things for quotes... all this traumatic stuff is going on right there on the page, and I feel like I'm doing the characters a disservice by skimming...)

But thanks! Okay. Two to go. Pace yourself, Barbelith. Be the ball!

The Natural Way

06:41 / 08.06.06

Well, there's all the Flash Facts stuff in New World Order. Are you talking about the bit in the 3rd(?) issue when the Flash is racing Zum?

Probably not, eh.

08:09 / 08.06.06

Hmm... he does think "I need to remember my science or I'm history" in that race in #3, which I'd forgotten about, so thanks. I might use that! But I would swear there's something specifically about thinking like a "science fiction writer" somewhere out there...

Man, I'd forgotten how much I loved Morrison's JLA! Ahem. Anyway.

09:38 / 08.06.06

I think the Flash quote's from the first issue of George's run on the series. I couldn't tell you the number, but I'm pretty sure it's there.

09:48 / 08.06.06

I, officially, am a moron. That issue was the first one I checked and I'd swear the Flash/sci-fi quote must've restitched itself back into the story since then, because I just looked again and there it is. Too much research has made my eyes slide off all these issues. So thank you. And I hang my head in shame.

For the record: "My uncle Barry, the second and, in my humble opinion, greatest Flash, gave me some advice - 'Wally,' he said, 'with powers like ours, you need to learn to fight the way a science fiction writer writes.'"

Three for three? I don't have the Veitch/Animal Man issues with me, annoyingly, so I was hoping to take someone's word for it if they could find that quote. Or was I the only one who collected that book right through to the end?

D Terminator XXXIII

14:28 / 08.06.06

If nobody can remember offhand, why not ask him directly? I'm quite sure this could lead you directly to him.

D Terminator XXXIII

14:33 / 08.06.06

My my, I'm an idiot. Thought you meant Rick and not the Tom-boy, whoever he is. Note to self: google often.

14:37 / 08.06.06

>> that Morrison wrote for the Flash... but I can't seem to find it in his brief run with Millar on the title.

When oh when will they print this year-long run (preferably excluding Millar's not-very-interesting "Black Flash = death" 3-parter at the end) in paperback, esp. given the current marketability of reprinting things with Millar and/or Morrison credits?

21:48 / 08.06.06

My my, I'm an idiot. Thought you meant Rick and not the Tom-boy, whoever he is. Note to self: google often.

Google-free answer: the Tom and the Rick are brothers, though said to be estranged. Googling will no doubt fill in the details, or perhaps expose me as utterly misinformed.

00:15 / 09.06.06

Hmm... I hope not too estranged, as I just emailed Rick for Tom's contact details, and have subsequently just sent off that Animal Man enquiry to him. Any potential wounds were only salted for the purposes of enlightenment...

16:10 / 09.06.06

I emailed the friend I recalled telling me the Vietch brothers estrangement story, and he directed me to Tom Vietch's website Lightmind.com. It's not a comics site and Vietch's name doesn't appear anywhere, but site proprietor "Elias" is clearly Vietch, as his bio page, which includes his email address, confirms (click on "The Nazz" and read the author's name on the large-sized cover image).

Kind of an interesting site, actually...

21:07 / 15.06.06

Well... Tom Veitch is a gentleman and a scholar, and just rifled through his backissues to find the issue number of that Animal Man quote for me. And thanks to those who helped me find those others, too - much appreciated.

(And there's something very sweet in writing about a medium where you can just email the writers in question when you're discussing their work. It does my heart good...)