skasion posted:

skasion posted:

skasion posted:

Sydney Bottocks posted:

Supes got a weird mix of "Charles Atlas" and "1950s dad bod" going on there

Drunken Baker posted:

Yeah. I can't remember but I THINK they kidnapped him specifically so they could get infinite foreskins.

skasion posted:

Gay City

skasion posted:

There's now two of them, actually! Fletcher Hanks is amazing, his works sum up basically everything stupid and insane about superhero comics ad absurdum, with a complete lack of self awareness, right in the foundational years of the medium before any modern revisionist took ironic issue with the idea of godlike manchildren dealing ghoulish death to petty crooks.



It also has the first female superhero

Bob James posted:

The one where Spiderman is gay.

man nurse posted:

I'd like to see Robin being killed by Joker with a crowbar adapted to the silver screen.

I also want a Spiderman movie that has Venom and Carnage in it.

That's basically it.

Bogus Adventure posted:

What if they bring the gooniest moment in DC comics to the silver screen?

Neurosis posted:

A lot of people hated this and Infinite Crisis in general (general theme of the comic: the idealistic silly old comics aren't coming back, stuff is hard and comics are better for it) but I found Superboy Prime - basement dweller funny.

Troposphere posted:

when the elongated mans wife was raped and then her memory was erased about it and then she was murdered when she was pregnant and her corpse was burned

a real heart warmer

8-Bit Scholar posted:

This is a really good comic, of due note, and it explores the importance and nature of secret identities in really great ways. People deride it for being "dark", which it is, but I've always found this seems to be out of objection to the fact that there's rape and women get murdered rather than objection to the story, which really raises some serious grey area questions about the nature of the Justice League, the power they wield, and of course the importance of memories.

Cornwind Evil posted:

The point is, the murder, and ESPECIALLY the rape, are completely and utterly superfluous to the story. They're NOT NEEDED. Hell, there's a rumor that supposedly the only reason there was a rape in the story was some guy in the planning stages just out and out said "We need a rape". The villain could have just as easily menaced the rape victim and threatened to do worse, and you'd have gotten the same result.

Really, the biggest example of how toxic the rape was (besides all the obvious stuff) that the idea was "this villain has become lame, we need to make him not lame any more", but once they did that, later writers didn't have any idea what to do with him except have him constantly talk about rape and do creepy sexual poo poo. It got to the point where this was even referenced IN THE COMICS THEMSELVES (one hero said of his now constant rape-talk "It's like it's his POWER now."). It did nothing to fix, improve, or bring anything new or interesting to the villain. It was just pointless "THIS IS ADULT AND MATURE AND EDGY" and in retrospect, it shows, big time.

Cornwind Evil posted:

The point is, the murder, and ESPECIALLY the rape, are completely and utterly superfluous to the story. They're NOT NEEDED. Hell, there's a rumor that supposedly the only reason there was a rape in the story was some guy in the planning stages just out and out said "We need a rape". The villain could have just as easily menaced the rape victim and threatened to do worse, and you'd have gotten the same result.

Really, the biggest example of how toxic the rape was (besides all the obvious stuff) that the idea was "this villain has become lame, we need to make him not lame any more", but once they did that, later writers didn't have any idea what to do with him except have him constantly talk about rape and do creepy sexual poo poo. It got to the point where this was even referenced IN THE COMICS THEMSELVES (one hero said of his now constant rape-talk "It's like it's his POWER now."). It did nothing to fix, improve, or bring anything new or interesting to the villain. It was just pointless "THIS IS ADULT AND MATURE AND EDGY" and in retrospect, it shows, big time.

8-Bit Scholar posted:

This is a really good comic, of due note, and it explores the importance and nature of secret identities in really great ways. People deride it for being "dark", which it is, but I've always found this seems to be out of objection to the fact that there's rape and women get murdered rather than objection to the story, which really raises some serious grey area questions about the nature of the Justice League, the power they wield, and of course the importance of memories.

basic hitler posted:

every time I think "i'm going to get into comics", something happens. Either I read a ridiculous loving panel from the silver age or some cheesy grimdark poo poo that should only appeal to a certain kind of angsty 13 year old and I just think, naaah.

One time I went to north carolina to visit some friends and take a week of class at their wackadoo bible school. One of the 6 men i shared a doube-wide with in the hills of north carolina was way into planet hulk, he was in his early 30s, and after dinner every night he would read a page and go "HAHA OH WOW..." and then relay the full page of events, not even paraphrasing but painstakingly explaining every frame without really ever letting anyone actually look at the book.

So i've never even read a comic that didn't come bundled with a video game box set.

Is there a reason to try and get into the medium at 27 or is this something you have to grow up reading to like?

Troposphere posted:

look at this stupid, stupid poo poo

Vakal posted:

A woman with a gun, Batman's ultimate trigger.

Neurosis posted:

This needs full context. They were in Iran where Robin's mother was performing illegal abortions. Joker found out and threatened to tell the authorities, so Robin's mum told him where to find Robin. Joker then brutally beat him with a crowbar until a cliff hanger ending with whether Robin lived or died being voted on by callin. Overwhelmingly the vote was to kill him, although a lot of the calls were traceable to one guy's auto dial in machine. I think Robin's mum might've watched it happen and just ignored it. Later, Joker became the ambassador to the UN for Ayatollah Khomeini, meaning he could publicly go on US soil without being arrested.

basic hitler posted:

every time I think "i'm going to get into comics", something happens. Either I read a ridiculous loving panel from the silver age or some cheesy grimdark poo poo that should only appeal to a certain kind of angsty 13 year old and I just think, naaah.

One time I went to north carolina to visit some friends and take a week of class at their wackadoo bible school. One of the 6 men i shared a doube-wide with in the hills of north carolina was way into planet hulk, he was in his early 30s, and after dinner every night he would read a page and go "HAHA OH WOW..." and then relay the full page of events, not even paraphrasing but painstakingly explaining every frame without really ever letting anyone actually look at the book.

So i've never even read a comic that didn't come bundled with a video game box set.

Is there a reason to try and get into the medium at 27 or is this something you have to grow up reading to like?

Sunswipe posted:

It's important to remember why Green Lantern called his friend "Pieface."

Tacky-rear end Rococco posted:

This one time, Wally West ran really fast and punched a guy, and it was cool, so no, superhero comics are not garbage. You must be thinking of your face.

Cornwind Evil posted:

Really, the biggest example of how toxic the rape was (besides all the obvious stuff) that the idea was "this villain has become lame, we need to make him not lame any more", but once they did that, later writers didn't have any idea what to do with him except have him constantly talk about rape and do creepy sexual poo poo. It got to the point where this was even referenced IN THE COMICS THEMSELVES (one hero said of his now constant rape-talk "It's like it's his POWER now."). It did nothing to fix, improve, or bring anything new or interesting to the villain. It was just pointless "THIS IS ADULT AND MATURE AND EDGY" and in retrospect, it shows, big time.

Bogus Adventure posted:

When I first read Identity Crisis, I liked it because for the same reasons. However, the more I thought about it, the more I changed my mind. It would have made for a fantastic Elseworlds story, like Kingdom Come or The Nail, but it completely FUBAR'd DC's continuity by taking a stinky dump on the lighthearted history of those characters. It's something that they've been reeling from ever since, as evidenced by DiDio & Co making GBS threads out a new Crisis or retcon every couple of years.

It also goes without saying that the comic didn't need a graphic rape scene. I'm in the camp that agrees that artists should have the creative license to delve into the darker areas of human nature, but that was disgusting and in poor taste.

Nckdictator posted:

8-Bit Scholar posted:

I am not sure it's entirely fair to blame the work for what it inspired.

DC's continuity has always been its biggest strength and weakness and the fact is is that due to the massive length of the print history of these characters, pretty much every conceivable thing has been done and ultimately retconned at some point. DC's continuity matters until it doesn't.


Similarly, I'm not sure what "lighthearted history" this story is making GBS threads upon. It's a dark story using familiar characters to tell it. The purpose of superhero stories, in the grand lexicon of human expression, is to serve as modern day sources of myth. DC's heroes are as much concepts as they are people, and so they're ideal for a story where they explore the potentially horrifying consequences of a superhero lifestyle.

I can't argue taste or no taste; all my life I've basically been consuming media filled with tons of violent and sexual imagery so I guess I've a tolerance for it now, but to my understanding the rape is portrayed as a horrific action and not just some sort of excuse for titillation. I might be misremembering, it's been a long time since I read it. As I recall also, it is the crime that causes the protagonists to make the instrumental choice about the memory wiping, isn't it? So it's not completely superfluous, though again, I may be misremembering some points.