Nuclear power point! Was: Eat that, Grandpa!

2003-06-19T16:27:19+00:00

ROFL. I think my wife has been working too much.

I have pleasent images of Magneto wrecking his vengance on Microsofts next business presentation product.

Re: Eat that, Grandpa!

2003-06-19T15:52:29+00:00

:) I am flattered both by your pointing me out as a dedicated fangirl and by your holding me up as an intellectual sesquipedalian.

It’s interesting that that impression of comic books persists. I think that, of Marvel, DC, Dark Horse books, it’s entirely untrue. Of Archie Comics, maybe.

Let’s take a look at the possible brain-rotting effects of comic books. A common attribute of brain-rottage among young people is reduced attention span. I hardly think this charge can be leveled against comic books. While they have fewer words per page than a conventional book, the continuity aspect completely undercuts any “instant gratification”. You read almost any comic book out there, and you want to read more. That’s the basic premise of the whole industry. Small, cheap (once upon a time) books that bring them back next week/month. If anything, the fact that you have to wait for next month to find out if Magneto destroys the nuclear power point, if Empress’s dad is really dead, and who is behind the strange rash of killings in Gotham City encourages patience and delayed gratification—not something most stodgy “those’ll rot your brains” guys think the younger generation gets much of.

Hmm…other brain rottage. Violence. Well, there may be a lot of that in comic books. But a lot of it, especially in DC, which is my big fuzzy comic-book-publishing teddy bear, is decried, analyzed, and consequence-ridden. There’s violence, I’m not going to deny that, and I’m not going to say it’s a good thing for kiddies. However, good comic books have ethical and moral discussions that could quite possibly outweigh that - both about violence and other issues. There’s a whole issue of Robin where his girlfriend decides they should have sex, and Tim (Robin) turns her down. And none of it is preachy, and all of it is well-written and moving. You know in The Lord of the Rings when Sam wonders whether Gollum thinks he’s the hero or the villain? I grew up without strong religious beliefs, and my moral impetus could be summed up by that question - do you want to feel you’re the hero, or the villain? Comic books could instill that kind of morals, I think.

I don’t know. When it comes down to it, I could talk about why comics are good all day, and most of it would be boring. Here are a few of my most important thoughts, without pretending to respond to allegations of brain-rot:

They’re a visual medium that still leaves room for the imagination.
The pictures and words often tell a completely different story. Not only is this something you CAN’T easily do with a single medium, but as long as we’re talking about kids, it teaches critical thinking skills.
They create a world, down to minutiae. Apart from Sir Thomas More in his Utopia, most authors don’t dare to bore us with how wide the streets are and how the doors open—in comic books, you can have that and the kitchen sink, without being boring. Seldom has there been a world so horrifyingly detailed as that of Transmetropolitan.
They can take chances. One issue of a comic book is not a huge financial risk. You can do something different every month. You can respond to current events fairly quickly. You can try something new without committing.

I love comic books.

Eat that, Grandpa!

2003-06-19T15:16:57+00:00

And my grandpa always said comic books would rot my brain. Ha! Felicity, you’ve got to be the most dedicated fangirl I’ve ever met, and yet you still use big words like “palimpsest”. Kudos on the non brain-rottage. I’m sure Grandpa would be astonished.

Re: nice

2003-06-19T15:04:11+00:00

It’s the cheapest continuity I’ve ever seen :) They’re only through Essential X-Men Vol 4, and, as I implied, I’m worried they’ll never pick up the ball again. The TPBs they’ve come out with since then are all story-arc defined, full-color dealies. Color is nice (Lorna Dane (Polaris) having green hair I didn’t know about for AGES), but frankly, I like having the issue numbers on the front and the TPBs numbered and consecutive!

Someone’s made a nice Amazon List explaining which issues are in which TPB, but it looks like “sandwich” issues - between the story arcs - may be dropping out of the newer TPBs. Frankly, I like those! That’s when the jokes get made, the characters discuss what’s happened to them with less bombast, et cetera. I may be the minority here though.

nice

2003-06-19T14:53:04+00:00

Enjoyed the review. I’ll actually be picking this one up. Never was into the Xmen as much, but now I just might have to bite the bullet.

Comments on "Essential X-Men Volume 2" - Faerye Net

Nuclear power point! Was: Eat that, Grandpa!

Re: Eat that, Grandpa!

Eat that, Grandpa!

Re: nice

nice