P.S. Namor’s a pussy! He got taken out by a whale! – DC vs Marvel in ’96!

I left comments on Killer Frost on Firestorm Fan. I have to disagree wit Shag about the Deadshot issue. I much prefer his original origin of rich socialite boy raised in crazy family with a penchant for being a marksman. If you haven’t ever read the Ostrander/McDonnell Deadshot mini-series from the late 80’s, I highly recommend it.

My real reason for writing is about the ‘reading comics in public’ discussion. Like Rob, I have very little opportunity to read comics in public. But since becoming a dad and especially raising three daughters, I have gone out of my way to show them that I am happy with who I am and have little use for people who would judge me superficially.

So while I might not be reading comics, they see me out in public wearing Supergirl and Red Lantern shirts. They bought me a Superman lunch bag which I use when I pack a lunch. They bought me a Superman tote bag to bring to the comic store so I don’t use plastic bags. I walk with them proudly. My office has original comic art on the wall. And everyone in my office knows I am a huge comic book/sci-fi/etc geek.

I let them know that if someone thinks less of me because of the shirt I wear or because I like comics, that isn’t my problem … it’s theirs.

As a result they don’t hide that they like comics as one of their hobbies. They are just as likely to wear a Wonder Woman shirt as they are to wear something from Justice. And I love hearing when they say they needed to join into a bus conversation about Green Lantern, quote The Rocketeer to their friends, etc.

Holy crap, is Siskoid right about this. This book is a perfect example of how to have a not-nice-guy as your lead. And it freaking rocks, to boot.

Siskoid’s point about Vril Dox is well made, as is Kyle’s point about Namor’s lack of oversight compared to Aquaman.

I thought Stuart Moore did a good job handling Namor in his last solo series, and even though the title was strangely tied to the X-Men stuff going on at the time, Namor got to acquit himself nicely. One bit which I really enjoyed in that series was that Moore explored the complicated friendship between Namor and Doctor Doom, which I think is ripe for more stories.

Very true. I remember how I felt at the end of Blackest Night — all fistpumps and “Yeahs!” and all that — over the return of the Hawks, Aquaman and Mera, the Martian Manhunter, etc. And I remember how I felt at the end of Brightest Day — all fistpumps and “Yeahs!” and all that once again — now that Johns, Tomasi, and company had re-established all of these classic B-list folks, priming them for solo runs. Heck, when the New 52 was in rumor stages, the title of “The Savage Hawkman” had me nearly convinced that Carter’s savagery was going to be due to the loss of Shiera at the end of Brightest Day.

Needless to say it did not happen, and while I still have very much enjoyed the New 52, I agree that this functioned as a complete loss of momentum for Hawkman, Firestorm (who had a FANTASTIC cliffhanger in Brightest Day), Deadman, and even Hawk & Dove, all of whom had been built up to feature-star status by BN/BD.
Tellingly, 3 of those properties had launch titles which are now cancelled, with two of them folded into team books but not really getting much to do (Firestorm being more visible than Hawkman by a good margin even at that). Deadman had a launch feature in DCUP, but at least found a nice niche in a team book.

Back to the podcast: “…like the last bite of a cookie” is not a metaphor. It’s a simile.