Episode 428

[RSS]

Something happens in Electric Ant, but neither host can say what. Is Absolute All-Star Superman a modern classic, or does Mike have another anti-Grant Morrison rant ready to dole out? And Daredevil takes a trip into madness with Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's Daredevil: Born Again. [ 1:11:33 || 33.1 MB ]

The above is from: http://www.earth-2.net/theshow/episodes/e2ts_428.mp3

[SuaveStar]

Glad you are back to the old format. DADOES is not on my radar, and now I know not to really care about it ever.

Absolute All-Star Superman...I also can't justify the price, no matter how awesome the book is, and it is, the price is too high for me. Also, I have the hardcovers, and just don't like double dipping.

Shake and Blake is an awesome name, I have to say that.

[slothian]

Shake and Blake is an awesome name, I have to say that.

Many thanks! That was one of the hardest things to decide upon.

In that Frank Millar used to be quite good and now isn't, when exactly did he jump the shark?

[Stavros]

Shake and Blake is an awesome name, I have to say that.

Many thanks! That was one of the hardest things to decide upon.

In that Frank Millar used to be quite good and now isn't, when exactly did he jump the shark?

Sin City was the last great thing he wrote, Dark Knight Strikes Again was the point where he tipped over into suck. Well, not exactly suck exactly but it was the point where his constant self-indulgence really harmed the story.

[Donomark]

Shake and Blake is an awesome name, I have to say that.

Many thanks! That was one of the hardest things to decide upon.

In that Frank Millar used to be quite good and now isn't, when exactly did he jump the shark?

Sin City was the last great thing he wrote, Dark Knight Strikes Again was the point where he tipped over into suck. Well, not exactly suck exactly but it was the point where his constant self-indulgence really harmed the story.

Agreed. DKSA was in '01, ans it's abysmal. Sin City was where I think he broke, but that type of insanity really worked well for the story. It did NOT for Dark Knight Strikes Again.

Cool episode, althought I think Mazuchelli's art was better in Born Agin compared to Year One. Just a difference of opinion, but I found it much cleaner and dynamic. Totally agree about the end of Born Again though, it did derail after Cap shows up. But until then and even after it's still brilliantly written.

[Stavros]

Got around to listening to this, and was sad that you guys didn't like Electric Ant. Obviously I can't speak for the comic, but the original story is one of my favourite little experiments by Dick, messing perception and reality on a level that I'd not seen before at the time I first read it. Not sure it would work in a comic format, Dick's more adventurous material really benefits from the reader exercising their own imagination. I'll skip this and stick with the original.

[Dread]

Great episode:

IN response to your emailer, I think she may have missed the point a bit. This is "All-Star" Superman. Morrison did not disregard the current storytelling of who Superman "is," this is its own Superman. Not that disregarding that is a bad thing anyway considering every writer has their own perspective on the character.

Morrison has gotten the closest out of probably anybody to writing a Superman that matters. Superman Beyond and All-Star Superman solidify that for me.

[Molly]

Yes. Morrison gets Superman more than any other writer I can think of.

[Dan]

One of my favorite Superman moments comes from Morrison's run on JLA; angels were coming down from Heaven to basically fuck everyone's shit up, and Superman wrestles with the leader, screaming "How DARE you come here like this?!?" Gave me goosebumps at the time.

[Koete]

Morrison has gotten the closest out of probably anybody to writing a Superman that matters. Superman Beyond and All-Star Superman solidify that for me.

Yes. Morrison gets Superman more than any other writer I can think of.

I second these sentiments. The moment that solidified it for me was Superman comforting Regan in issue 10. That he had Superman affecting the life of one ordinary person, in an issue where Superman cures cancer and creates life, emphasized what Superman is truly all about.

[Koete]

For those interested, the Thor: The Mighty Avenger Vol. 1 TPB came out this week.

[You Know Who]

Just finished reading the last issue of All-Star Superman for the very first time and frankly I'm rather underwhelmed by the whole thing.

(SPOILERS!)

I won't claim to know what the Silver Age was all about since I didn't read Silver Age stories as a kid, and that may have compromised my enjoyment of the two trade paperbacks somewhat. I did find the stories with Superman competing with Atlas and Samson for Lois and the one where Jimmy essentially became Doomsday quite fun. I also liked for the most part how Luthor and the Daily Planet staff were written, how Superman turns the other cheek when dealing with the Replacement Supermen, Lois initially chews him out for keeping his true identity secret to her for so long, and Kal showing up incognito to see his father one last time. I wasn't as crazy about the Bizarro World story, if only because the backwards-speak thing was overdone and occasionally confusing.

The main thing preventing me from really digging this book, however, was Frank Quitely's artwork, which for the most part I HATED: The faces had lots of unnecessary lines on them and far too many panels had over-rendered people and objects but vast, almost empty backgrounds that looked lazily-drawn in comparison. Also, for the most part, I didn't like the way he drew open mouths--whether people were yelling in pain or had them slightly open--and thought Clark Kent was drawn way too pudgy. Did Superman steal a Green Lantern ring and create a porkier projection of himself to hide his identity?

All that being said, I do think I'll keep the two volumes and re-read them a few years later rather than selling them on amazon. I also look forward to seeing how Timm & company adapt it next year.

Those are my two cents, spend them as you will.