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Post by jkcarrier on Jan 9, 2011 7:06:35 GMT -8
In a tough fight with high stakes, the players may be forced to make a choice between winning and behaving unheroically, not because it's appropriate for their characters but because the rules force the choice upon them. Sure, but making the choice between what's expedient and what's moral is itself a big part of the genre. The only thing stopping Superman from vaporizing Luthor with his heat vision is his moral convictions. If doing the right thing is always easy (i.e., gives you optimal results under the rules), then where's the challenge in being a hero?
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Post by jkcarrier on Jan 4, 2011 13:50:52 GMT -8
I'm just saying that IF you have problems with the players not adhering to the tropes of the genre you're playing in, THEN maybe you should have a look at the system you're using and what sort of behavior it encourages. If the players are rebelling against the tropes, it may just be that they're not that interested in the genre, at least not the version they're being offered. You can try to bribe and/or coerce them into following your vision, but I'm not sure how productive that will be in the long run. If the players want to play superheroes with lots of "super" and not much "hero", then the GM might be better off to just let them, and adjust his plans accordingly.
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Post by jkcarrier on Oct 25, 2010 8:27:53 GMT -8
When I first read Super-Folks, it was like finding the Rosetta Stone...pretty much every great superhero comic of the late 20th century can be traced right back to it. It's like that old joke about the Velvet Underground: "Only 1000 people bought the first album, but every one of them formed a band."
I know there was a new printing of Super-Folks out a few years ago, but I'm surprised no one has ever tried to do a comics adaptation. "The story that inspired Miracleman/Astro City/et. al." seems like it would sell a few copies.
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Post by jkcarrier on Oct 14, 2010 20:21:36 GMT -8
I dunno, I never got the whole "Gwen was a boring saint" riff, because it was obvious to me that she had huge Daddy Issues, and that hang-up drove a lot of the drama in those years. Comparatively, MJ in that era was paper-thin; her whole identity was "That chick who flirts a lot". Later writers had to do a lot of retconning and back-filling to turn her into a viable life-partner.
(Gwen's major was science, BTW, but it's true they never did much with that angle.)
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Post by jkcarrier on Oct 14, 2010 12:14:50 GMT -8
Are you kidding me? Gwen freakin' Stacy? Even, even if you count "Sins of the Past" or whatever that first lazy fuck retcon was, you still, still can't get past the idea of "Saint Gwen" who had FUCK ALL ZERO personality, and anyone who has spent any amount of time reading that original era of Spider-comics would know that. Gwen had a very distinct personality. She was good-hearted and intensely loyal (watch the claws come out whenever Flash or Harry take a shot at Peter, or when anyone threatens her father), but also insecure, possessive, and moody. The only time I've ever seen her treated as a "saint" was by Busiek in MARVELS, and he was using her as a metaphor for the way the Marvel Universe lost its heart and optimism and became all grimdark (personally, I think the death of Jean Grey makes a better "tipping point" in that regard, but Gwen works better in MARVELS because her death was more public). Claims of sainthood tend to come from MJ/Peter shippers, who (like Rose/Doctor shippers) can't stand the idea that someone else got there first.
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Post by jkcarrier on Oct 7, 2010 10:24:26 GMT -8
The fact that someone will inevitably come along later and fuck it up is no reason for Morrison not to do it. By that logic, no one should ever try to do anything interesting or good in mainstream comics. If he pulls off a winner, enjoy it for it's own sake.
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Post by jkcarrier on Sept 24, 2010 14:06:35 GMT -8
Thank goodness they're only vaguely referencing Quitely's art. Seeing those doughy, deformed monstrosities actually moving and speaking would cause more brain seizures than that one Pokemon episode.
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Post by jkcarrier on Sept 24, 2010 13:59:45 GMT -8
I see that and raise you Hal asking what the fuck Aquaman is thinking saying that shit, by reminding Aquaman that he once FIRED the entire league because "they weren't committing to it full-time" and putting in a rule to the charter that you had to commit to the league full-time, only to jump ship within a WEEK for the same commitment issues he blasted Superman, Wonder Woman, etc for. Plot-Induced Stupidity in Gerry Conway stories? I'm shocked. Shocked, I say.
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Post by jkcarrier on Aug 22, 2010 7:57:28 GMT -8
Green Arrow's financial fall from grace covered this: he ditched his gimmicks and started using real arrows when he lost his fortune. Not really, no. GA lost his fortune around 1970, and kept right on using the gimmick arrows until The Longbow Hunters in '87. And that was due to Grell wanting to make him more gritty 'n realistic, not anything to do with his financial status.
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Post by jkcarrier on Jul 15, 2010 10:46:29 GMT -8
Let's face it, "The Dark Knight" proved that yes, you could actually pull off the actual Gwen Stacy story without losing the audience. The reaction might've been different if Rachel hadn't been such a non-entity anyway. As it was, I pretty much thought, "Cool, more screen time for the characters I actually give a shit about!"
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Post by jkcarrier on Jun 18, 2010 16:29:22 GMT -8
How come? Tapping the hammer twice should, instead, change him from Thor to Don and back... Maybe it's like double-clicking a mouse? ;D
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Post by jkcarrier on Jun 18, 2010 11:41:58 GMT -8
Heh, when you lay it all out like that, it sure sounds like it ought to. But somehow, it never felt that way. One of the (many) things Simonson did well was managing to give other characters the chance to be awesomely badass -- Bill, Balder, the Executioner, even Volstagg -- without it ever diminishing Thor in the slightest.
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Post by jkcarrier on Jun 6, 2010 9:08:10 GMT -8
Comic Nerd Me Reaction: Don't be Thanos Don't Be Thanos Don't Be Thanos... Really Old Comic Nerd Reaction: Please be Saturn Girl in the pink bikini Please be Saturn Girl in the pink bikini Please be Saturn Girl in the pink bikini... ;D
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Post by jkcarrier on May 6, 2010 5:53:19 GMT -8
DC is probably relieved that Batman is being portrayed as hetero for a change. I am surprised that they can use the trademarked name "Batman" in the title, even with the disclaimer "A Parody" added.
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Post by jkcarrier on Mar 7, 2010 10:00:56 GMT -8
Moore seems to have a pretty cozy relationship with Top Shelf at the moment, so I could see him taking the book there as a show of good faith/gratitude. On the other hand, Watchmen would be a huge feather in the cap of any mainstream book publisher's graphic novel line, so I can easily imagine an epic bidding war among the likes of Doubleday, Harper-Collins, et. al.
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