Three things.
1. So reader David was at a convention recently where he encountered Guy Gilchrist, one of the current creators of the Nancy comic strip. Well, he explained to Mr. Gilchrist my little Sluggo Saturday project — I can only imagine how that went! — and apparently it went okay, as Mr. Gilchrist presented David with the following sketch:
I am downright flabbergasted. In times of darkness and despair, I shall simply focus on this image and let its beauty shine over me.
Also, it’s been a while since I’ve done a Sluggo Saturday. I’ll try to cook one up soon.
2. Here’s a thought that crossed my mind when I read the recently-released Fury of Firestorm #13: the general status quo for the character, recently reestablished in the new title, is that two people would merge together to form Firestorm, with one person controlling the body, and the other person existing as a disembodied voice who can mentally communicate with the first person. Or, you know, something like that. You get the idea.
In the old Firestorm comics, sometimes Ronnie (the fella running the body) would be talking out loud to Professor Stein (the poor bastard stuck in the “disembodied voice” position) and someone would walk in on the conversation and would be all “hey, you talkin’ to yourself?” and Firestorm would be all “D’OH!” and embarrassed and stuff, since the Firestorm-is-actually-two-people thing wasn’t general knowledge.
Well, we got a scene like that again in the aforementioned #13 of the new series:
…and what I thought was “wouldn’t people nowadays just assume anyone talking to himself was actually using one of those Bluetooth ear-clip thingies?” That actually happened to me at the shop once, where a sole gentleman was in the middle of a very spirited conversation and I just assumed he simply had a Bluetooth headset on…until I got a good look at him and realized, oh, there’s no cell phone involved here.
Okay, in the panel up there, the dude isn’t explicitly saying that he thinks Firestorm is talking to himself…I mean, I think it’s sort of implied, but I suppose he could be thinking that Firestorm is just yappin’ on his cell. But anyway, I think modern technology may have taken away one of Firestorm’s running gags, and surely the world is poorer for it. (NOTE: Not actually sure of that.)
3. There is no third thing. I’m a big lying poopiehead.
Guy is good people. We met at a New York comics convention and, at the end of it, he surprised me with a gorgeous Fritzi Ritz drawing. I think his Nancy is one of the best strips out there.
I’ve always thought that donating one’s old cell phone to the homeless would be a worthy cause. Then they could carry on their internal dialogue and no one would think them nuts.
OK, I’m jealous now.
A free white button-down shirt and bluetooth headset for every homeless person! It’s the mother of all band-aid policies!
But I don’t think a bluetooth headset would suit Firestorm. It’d melt!
Mike Sterling triumphs through Sluggo.
They could keep a version of that gag by replacing “gee, Firestorm’s talking to himself, must be crazy” with “look at Firestorm yapping away on the phone during an important mission; what a douchebag.”
Then he can wonder why one of his teammates is so hostile over the rest of the story.