Hello, it’s Monday again.
Just a couple of follow-ups from the weekend:
First, on Sunday I just happened to be restocking the Batman graphic novels, and I took the opportunity to flip through a copy of Batman: The Cult to see if the monster truck shown here did indeed resemble The Cult‘s Batmobile.
And yes, the two do appear similar, though the comic book version’s tires are quite a bit larger.
That, my friends, is the kind of research you’ve come to depend upon here at Progressiveruin.com.
Second, I’m not intending any real criticism of Aqualad’s redesign in Teen Titans Year One with this post. I didn’t really have an opinion, one way or the other, aside from “hmmm, guess they changed his look, here.” The Innsmouth connection just came up at work, it made us laugh, and that’s good enough for website content, my friends.
Though, I suppose, this creepy look could be used to help underscore his outcast status, given his origins (rejected from Atlantis society due to his purple eyes…yes really). The more overt physical differences not only separate him from his people, but from the folks of the surface world as well, giving the character that extra touch of tragedy.
Or whatever. Doesn’t matter, since we’re not likely to see this character design again past the end of this series.
I’m not really reading this Year One series, though I kinda flip through it when it shows up at the shop. What bothers me more than Aqualad’s fishy makeover is the internet chatting, the cell phone (there was a cell phone, wasn’t there? I think so), and stuff like that. I see it and I think briefly “the Teen Titans first appeared in the ’50s, they didn’t have internet or cell phones then!” I realize of course with the sliding timelines, assuming the current DC universe is in 2008 (or 2009, I have no idea how “One Year Later’ futzed things up), then Teen Titans Year One takes place…oh, around 1999, 2000, or thereabouts, I guess.
That probably isn’t the sort of thing I should be thinking about. That way madness lies.
In other news:
- Hey, you all remember that Batman/Hellboy/Starman two-issue series from a few years back? I had a request for it on Sunday, and I don’t think it’s ever been reprinted. Someone pointed out this fact on the Dark Horse message boards, and apparently the official answer is “it’ll happen eventually” (as of early ’07).
Of course, two issues would make for an awfully thin paperback (though I believe they did one for the two-issue Ghost/Hellboy mini). What would be welcome is a trade reprinting all the crossover one-shots/minis (like with Painkiller Jane and Savage Dragon and the Goon), but given the number of rights-holders involved it may not be financially feasible. Still would be nice, though.
- Dr. K writes about the troublesome portrayal of the Blackhawks’ pal Chop Chop. Now, a long time ago, we had some old Blackhawks with the Chop Chop back-up stories, and flipping through them…well, Dr. K states that the back-ups “kicked up the caricature” of Chop Chop, which is almost understating it. My memory of those stories is that Chop Chop was barely even recognizable as human…it was one of the most offensive things I’d ever seen.
Dr. K also brings up the slow redressing of this problem, coming to a head in one of my favorite metatextual gags to ever appear in comics. I’ll let Dr. K tell you what that was, and you’ll know when you get to it because you’ll see the word “metatextual” again.
Anyway, Dr. K gives a nice, brief overview of the character’s history and its evolution into something a bit less politically incorrect, so go ahead and give it a read.
- Coming from Hollywood: Superhero Movie, a parody film in the style of Epic Movie. Check the link and tell me that guy in the green suit doesn’t look a little like Ambush Bug, if you squint a bit. (WARNING: page may generate a noise-making pop-up.)
