Marvel Comics blabbery

Guess that is how it manifests on the most recent cover (blur of hammer in downward motion). Thought I noticed it before more as a "depth of field" / camera-out-of-focus effect. Either way, it looks fake and, indeed, cheesy.

This was a very good issue, btw (#20). The parallels being drawn with the war in Syria were clear, but effective (and affecting) -- not always the case with such "torn from the headlines" maneuvers.

One other note -- I actually agree with sentiments of the final letter in the letterpage (from "Kevin in Columbus, OH"): as great as this series has been, Thor/Foster is not as richly developed a character as the hero of a series usually is. (Think I said something similar above.) The assoc. editor sort of brushes it off, saying "Jane's cancer has been a theme since issue #1"... I assume she's not suggesting that giving a character cancer is a substitute for depth/complexity(!), but is rather saying that Jane's struggle against her disease should be providing what Kevin is asking for (character development via "overcoming an adversary"). Regardless, I just wish Jane's personality came through more strongly. Especially in a book with so many strong (Asgardian) personalities, Thor tends to fade into the background of her own book.

Yep agree. Aaron doesn't write Jane as well as he writes regular Thor, or even Roz.

imo Jane-as-Jane is harder to write -- Roz is the charismatic, sarcastic secret agent, Jane is holding on for dear life to that hammer and thinks, for some reason, that she needs to have both human frailty and act as Thor, and I feel like that's been leaned on a little heavily

the whole ongoing bit with the history of mjolnir and her special relationship with the hammer has been pretty good

imo the letter you mentioned (and to an extent, the response) are kind of garbage in that the response just mentions the cancer, and the letter itself never directly states it but has the implication "hey, I like this, but if Jason Aaron wants to sell why a WOMAN is Thor then he's doing a disservice by not making her character more compelling"

as if a woman has to be twice as enigmatic as a main character in order to sell the fact there's a female lead, and to justify it. no one's going to say "why does <censored> get to be the War Thor?"

the reason Jane Foster is Thor is pretty simple -- Thor lost the hammer because deep down, he believed the enemy in that Godkiller storyline was right -- the gods do not deserve their status because they can't fulfill their responsibilities

Jane deserves the hammer because she's completely devoted to the job, and does it with humility. it's lot of fun to be Thor, boast and preen, but she's the anti-hubris Thor

I read the letter more as saying, "When this particular woman character is only *half* as charismatic as a typical lead (male or female), you guys run the risk of seeming like you just 'checked a box' by making her Thor, and didn't feel the need to do the usual work of developing her personality...."

But I don't want to put words in "Kevin's" mouth, or really argue this particular point. I don't think Aaron is sexist or anything; and Jane as Thor is great, without any need for "justification." I just wish I "knew her better"...

(But I do also get the logic of the retort, "Would you be saying the same thing if it were a male 'replacement' character with an allegedly underdeveloped personality?")

they should give her an angry dad

Or, in the Mighty Marvel tradition, a Troubled Past that she is Working To Leave Behind Her...

I'm reading THE SAVAGE SHE-HULK #1 (Feb. 1979)... Stan the Man (and an uncredited letterer) get things off a crackling start by doubling up on the "(UN)TIL TODAY" schtick in the first panel of pg. 1:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DEBm_5jWsAIfS_e.jpg:small

(Also -- "a monster a'borning!"? Stan must have been eating a ham salad sandwich with one hand, and approving promo Spidey merch with the other, as he scribbled this script between bites. Not long afterward, Banner gives Jessica a blood transfusion at her kitchen table; which is pretty badass of Dr. David/Bruce/Bob.)

(Sorry, *Jennifer* -- I tend to get her name mixed up with Lucille Bluth's)

several years late, but damn, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is the bee's knees

You guys, I must correct the record -- Bruce doesn't perform the self-to-cousin transfusion in Jennifer's kitchen. I cleared failed to read the text with Talmudic attention. Instead, he observes a "doctor's shingle" at the house next door, and breaks in to find the necessary equipment. (For a sort of Self-No-Prize, the doctor next door does remain a plot point in subsequent issues.)

Issue #2 finds the series' permanent creative team coming on board - David Anthony Kraft (w) / Mike Vosburg (p). The plot of said issue is absolutely gonzo; one of those "Whatever, the kids won't notice" '70s storylines driven by absurd coincidences, impossible events, and improbable character choices. It is fun, though!

Flipping ahead in this fat collection (Essential Savage She-Hulk, Vol. 1), I am struck by how radically Vosburg's art appears to change over the next few years... his line seems to become much more "mature" / refined. Stay tuned for (hopefully no further) updates!

David Anthony Kraft wrote a beloved-by-young-me issue of the defenders which was literally just the defenders and the zodiac beating the shit out of each other from cover to cover

I just went poking around for that on Marvel Unlimited. Was it one of the issues between 48 - 50? Looks like they have those on the service because of a Scorpio plot

It’s not really comics related, but every time I use the MU app I’m tempted to see if they still have a software developer/architect position listed (they did at one point) for their service because I have a guess of why it takes so long to load issues and I have some ideas about how to alleviate it.

Issue 50

excellent, thanks

Also -- "a monster a'borning!"? Stan must have been eating a ham salad sandwich with one hand, and approving promo Spidey merch with the other, as he scribbled this script between bites.

Stan used this "a'borning" construction several times, it's also in some Galactus origin story in Thor towards the end of the Kirby run

https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F--KC_KJxTUj8%2FUIfD4tXSfVI%2FAAAAAAAAStk%2FbO8WmYjgea4%2Fw1200-h630-p-nu%2Fgalactus-origin-thor-162-001.jpg&f=1

So funny. Merriam-Webster has an entry for "aborning"; but it's an adverb that seems to be used differently: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aborning

(Sorry, *Jennifer* -- I tend to get her name mixed up with Lucille Bluth's)

― face it, tiger... you just hit middle age (morrisp),
Or Spider-Woman's.

"Jessica" and "Jennifer" definitely big '70s names.

Interestingly, Wikipedia sez that She-Hulk was the last character that Stan Lee created (until "Ravage 2099," in '92).

You guys, I'm starting to think that Stan Lee makes up words that he thinks sound impressive!

his grammar is a'borning

Excelsi---i'm outta here!

several years late, but damn, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is the bee's knees

The character is comin' to the small screen - http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/marvels-new-warriors-squirrel-girl-cast-milana-vayntrub-derek-theler-topline-freeform-comedy-1019588

I can get behind that casting choice. She always seemed like she was slumming it in those AT&T commercials.

oh god i love that girl. she was also good in little-seen Yahoo Screen series Other Space with Karan Soni

I read the first few issues of the original New Warriors series (from early '90s); I recognize Speedball and Night Thrasher from there, but not some of these others.

The only thing that looks good about this is Lockjaw: https://youtu.be/xU9Z6cKsbY0

Oof yeah. Medusa looks straight up silly

Lockjaw looks awesome! Christ the acting though

Is there anyone, anywhere who likes the Inhumans? Do they have some weird fan cult like Legion of Super Heroes? It's like trying to get excited about a Shi'ar show

i've heard they keep pushing inhumans bc they don't have the film rights to x-men

yup

Kirby-era Inhumans are some of his best comics

xp

xpost

I love the Inhumans! One of my favourite 'supergroups' - great Kirby character design and unusual personalities/powers.

yeah they're a great kind of "cousin" family to FF

Completely off-topic... I came across a ref. to this book today in a Wikipedia footnote. I had it as a kid (this exact edition), and must have read it cover-to-cover 4 or 5 times. Anyone else?: https://www.amazon.com/Comic-Book-Heroes-Silver-Present/dp/0517554402

Yep

Author is a pedophile btw

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_Jones

uh.... :/

I dig the Inhumans, and I think a Shi'ar show could be great in the right hands. So there.

I have wondered why Marvel hasn't introduced an MCU version of Kamala Khan, considering how popular a character she is (and not just in the comics world). Like why not include her among the "New Warriors" discussed above, instead of some of those other randos... Squirrel Girl and Ms. Marvel, on TV together, c'mon... everyone would luv it.

But I take it they're introducing the Inhumans as a general concept, before moving on to Terrigen Mists, etc.? Maybe they even want to wait until after the Capt. Marvel movie, so Carol Danvers can still serve Kamala's hero/inspiration (and the mainstream audience will know who she is). So, gonna be awhile, LOL...

Also, maybe her funky powers would be hard to portray convincingly on a TV budget... but that apparently isn't stopping them with "Speedball."

The Inhumans (excluding the royals) have been a central element of Agents of SHIELD for several seasons now.

Terrigenesis, their Kree origins, etc. have all been pretty fully fleshed out at this point.

Well there you go. Terrigen Mists and all? One less excuse...

I wonder if they're not planning on doing something with Kamala in the upcoming Captain Marvel movie, given her popularity.