The shirt off my back.

§ June 16th, 2011 § Filed under question time, swamp thing § 8 Comments

A few more questions from you, the loyal Progressiveruin.com readers:

  • Thelonious_Nick wonders

    Why do all these big events that the comics companies are always pushing on us sound so awesome ahead of time but end up being so god-awful when they actually occur?

    Well, we’re only human, and we’re comic fans (two states of being that are not mutually exclusive, despite popular belief)…it’s pretty easy to buy into the hype and excitement, or at least absorb a small bit of it, ahead of time, which perhaps inflates expectations beyond any point the event in question can possibly satisfy.

    Or maybe they just end up being terrible. (The true answer is probably somewhere between these two options.)

  • Moonrock rockets off

    “Having just picked up some back issues of Secret Wars II, which I hadn’t read since it first came out years ago, I was curious if I was the only one who thinks the Beyonder looked like Jim Shooter with a jheri(sp?) curl? Mike, do you think Shooter was egotistic enough to write himself in SWII as an omnipotent being?”

    If I remember correctly, there was some thought at the time that the Secret Wars II Beyonder was indeed a “Mary Sue” of sorts for Shooter, and the Secret Wars page on TV Tropes even refers to the Beyonder as “Self Insert Fic” in regards to the character’s relation to Shooter.

    I don’t know if it was an intentional thing, but, to be frank, had I been in his position, I would have done the exact same thing. I totally would have made myself the main character of Sterling W–er, Secret Wars II. Except I wouldn’t have had to change my hair, since my hairstyle has already achieved beautiful perfection.

  • Roger Green inquires

    “Did you see this Swamp Thing item?”

    Actually, I did not see this amusing alteration to Steve Bissette’s drawing of Swamp Thing and Man-Thing palling around until you pointed it out. Thanks! Also learned at the link: there’s a Facebook application which allows you to make your own Life magazine cover, which could result in some mischievous fun.

  • Professor Booty is about to be partially disappointed in at least one answer to his two questions:

    Are you watching Game of Thrones, Mike? On a scale of 1 to 10, how awesome is it?

    I haven’t seen one single frame of Game of Thrones, nor have I even read any of the books. However, I understand Peter Dinklage is involved in the TV show, and Mr. Dinklage always…always…gets a 10 on the awesome scale. (Yes, even in Underdog.)

    Do you wear any clothes with Swamp Thing on them? Did Mike Sterling ever dress as Swamp Thing for Halloween (or just to work or something!) and are there pictures of it? If so, how come I never seen them here?

    The only piece of Swamp Thing clothing I’ve worn is this 1994 t-shirt, which I couldn’t find a pic of online so, in a Progressive Ruin first, I scanned the actual shirt from my own closet:


    It…shows a little wear, and I haven’t worn it in a while, but I can’t bring myself to get rid of it. And yeah, it’s a bit of a peculiar design, what with Swampy ‘n’ Abby’s daughter Tefe sittin’ up there.

    You know what Swamp Thing shirt I’d love to have? One with this cover. I would so pay money for that.

    I never dressed as Swamp Thing for Halloween, unfortunately. Nor do I dress as Swamp Thing for the shop, nor do I dress as him while just hanging around the house, vacuuming or something. Because I know you were wondering. However, I have had two employees dress as me for Halloween…only one of whom was male.

  • The Mutt shouts

    “Henderson!”

    “HENDERSON!”
     
     
     
    (Listen to a few of these for further explanation.)

8 Responses to “The shirt off my back.”

  • Happenstance says:

    Big Events end up awful because they are committee-created, committee-executed, soulless Sales Events that have to shoe-horn in every character in the DCU/MU/WTFU with a monthly title, often interrupting ongoing REAL stories in favor of “Because NO ONE requested it! And EVERYONE saw it COMING!! Bung-Man and The Skudge PUNCH each other in the FACE! Someone will DIE! Or NOT! Really, NOTHING will CHANGE…FOREVER! We’ll RETCONN it all AWAY within a YEAR!!!! BUY it! Or FART trying!!!1”

    Favorite individual-title example: the World War Hulk tie-in issue of “Ghost Rider.” Oh my God, just go find it. It’s the “Monster-a-Go-Go” of comic books. NEVER has so much time and effort been expended to accomplish absolutely nothing.

    By the time we got to Secret Invasion, the pattern was obvious. Cool idea–so cool, that if it were executed the way it sounded, everything WOULD change forever, so instead the Skrulls publicly broadcast their “secret” before they came even close to controlling the situation, and thus soundly got their asses beat down by everyone with a title book. The only questions that remained were: (1) which major character would take a dirt nap, and (2) which previous dirt naps and other unsavory questionable editorial decisions would be retconned?

    (Minor applause for sticking with a few of them, though. I really thought “Hank Pym, /co/’s Favorite Wifebeater” would be sent packing down the memory hole. And even the worst Event can generate a few good sub-stories; I really pitied poor Skrull-Jarvis.)

    See also Dark Reign. How many times did Osborn simply walk away from victory when he had so-and-so in his clutches? Sure, he wrecked a few C-listers, but everyone else squirreled away from him with minimal effort (except Frank Castle, who was scheduled to go through a “rebirth” slate-cleaning anyway).

    And there’s where it really comes apart at the seams. It doesn’t matter if your Skrulls or Osborn or The Hood: once you’ve failed THAT often in such rapid succession, the Grand Scheme is no longer Grand, and the whole one-upmanship of Events finally collapses in on itself like a Superboy Prime interdimensional puncheroo, leaving only disappointment and butthurt.

  • Happenstance says:

    Oh! How could I forget! The “Captain Marvel Reborn” miniseries from Secret Invasion was a wonderful jawdropper. …Too bad the whole thing came to absolutely naught in a couple of pages in some other title, like watching a minor character you’ve always liked get their neck snapped or lungs shot out in a throwaway panel from the seventh issue of some “Crisis.”

  • Shooter created/wrote several all-powerful characters, most of whom could have done great things for mankind if only people had trusted in them or most of whom ended up being betrayed by people they loved and/or trusted. I think he might have some issues.

    On the other hand, what does this say about me? A ex-Roman Catholic Italian who has created or written several African-American characters and who has also written a number of comic books with religious/spiritual themes, including, but not limited to, GHOST RIDER, GRIM GHOST, and SATAN’S SIX.

  • Nate says:

    Who drew that Swamp Thing shirt? Corben? Biz?

  • Shinwell Johnson says:

    Swamp Thing has teeth?

    More: He has really, really white teeth?

    Who knew a plant creature that lived in a swamp would be so diligent about dental hygiene?

  • I’d buy one of those shirts, too…that ST #9 cover has always been a favorite of mine.

  • Happenstance says:

    Swampy’s got teeth for the same reason he has two eyes, two arms, and so on; that’s what he “remembers” having, so he makes ’em out of what he’s got. (Also, not having teeth would probably make any speech issues even worse.)

  • Jon H says:

    The only problem with the Beyonder=Shooter theory: doesn’t the Beyonder experience sex for the first time?