Mike Sterling's Progressive RuinEspousing meaningless platitudes since 1969

Just wait ’til Ultimate Slapstick hits the stands.

§ December 4th, 2024 § Filed under question time § 9 Comments

Am I answering more questions? Sure, I’m answering more questions! (And don’t forget to check back in on this site tomorrow!)

King of the Moon shines down on me with

“Is anyone under college age interested in the new Ultimate titles?”

Marvel’s relaunch of the Ultimate line has been very successful so far, bringing us yet more new interpretations of their classic franchises:

Ultimate Spider-Man remains the top seller for me, with Ultimates close behind. Ultimate X-Men and Ultimate Black Panther have okay numbers, selling about 1/2 to 2/3 of the Spider title. The forthcoming Ultimate Wolverine feels like it may outsell them all, at least at first.

But, Your Moonjesty, that’s not what you asked. You asked if any kids are interested. And the answer is…yes, I do have some high school and younger children seeking out these books. Well, mostly just Ultimate Spider-Man, but Spider-Man just has kinda universal appeal and I have a pretty sizable kid clientele, so that helps. Plus, it’s been getting new customers through my doors, which is always welcome.

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John wonders

“The Eternal Query: Who would win in a fight – Dennis Dunphy, or Bibbo Bibbowski?”

Dennis Dunphy is, of course, better known as the Marvel character Demolition Man, who always looks like an off-model Wolverine to me:

And Bibbo is a pal and admirer of Superman, and also owns a bar in Metropolis:

Now, Demolition Man has actual super powers, in that he’super-strong. Bibbo is a normal human, though likely stronger and more imposing than most, but his strength is within norms. By all rights, the winner in such a conflict should be D-Man, but I think Bibbo would win by inviting D-Man to his Ace O’Clubs to hang out and have some milk or something. Bibbo’s a good guy who patterns himself after Superman and would probably find a way to resolve any conflict that would make “his fav’rit” proud.

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LouReedRichards stretches in with following

“s there a property that you once wanted to see adapted into another media that you now hope is never touched, so it remains in its ‘purest’ form?”

I’m going to say the George R.R. Martin-edited Wild Cards novels, which, in short, comprise an all-prose multi-author series of novels that have been going on, with occasional breaks, since the late 1980s.

Now these have had comic books based on the characters, with the most recent mini from Marvel adapting the initial story from the first book. The comics have been…interesting, usually okay, but the thought that keeps coming to mind is a comment in Amazing Heroes #185 (November 1990) by Adam-Troy Castro in his column “Infernal Gall.”

He goes on to say that the comic itself is fine, but just..redundant.

So that colors the comics for me, though I’m sure I’ll keep reading them if they keep doing them.

What I don’t want to see is a live-action adaptation of the books. Well, okay, I’d see it anyway because I’d be wondering how they’d do it (see also me with anything Watchmen not by Moore and Gibbons). But, really, I’d be okay if they never attempted to make the translation. It’s been threatened once or twice over the decades, but hasn’t yet made the jump. The Great Superhero Movie Scare of the 2000s I thought for sure would have unleashed a Wild Cards movie on us, though none is impending, I think. I haven’t Googled to check, and I’m not going to. I shall live in ignorance.

Anyway, the stories are so much a “prose” thing, thick with detail, that are part and parcel of the Wild Cards experience. Paring it all down to fit into a film feels like cutting away too much of what makes the books appealling. I imagine something at least entertaining could be made this way, but I don’t think I’d be missing anything if a Wild Cards movie never happened.

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Okay, that’s enough typing for today. Hopefully you’ll all come back tomorrow for a rare Thursday post!