I woke up aching this morning. If I had gone to the gym last night or this morning, I would have an easy explanation. My best guess at this point is that I must have slept in an awkward position last night.
I’m supposed to be getting together with and this evening. I’m looking forward to that.
Update: We are not going to be able to get together because of the weather. It’s snowing here, but it’s SNOWING in Utah Valley. *BAH*
Stray Toasters
- I was listening to Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me on NPR this morning. They were asking the guest (whose name escapes me…) questions about Paris Hilton. I laughed many times.
- Codename: Kids Next Door
- There are a few things that I want to do today – along with a few things that I probably need to do (or at least “should” do) – yet I am having a hard time mustering up the motivation to do them.
- I’m craving salmon cakes again.
- http://www.livejournal.com/community/linux/701668.html
- The Great Grape Ape
- Virtually too real from Rocky Mountain News
- I wonder what the cats are getting into. They have been “too quiet” for too long.
- So long, Webmonkey.
Not-Quite-a-Rant of the Day
There’s talk of another retcon of Superman. Or, at least, some changes. I’ve also been reading a newsgroup about the LSH (“Legion of Superheroes” or “Legion” or “LSH,” for the non-comics readers). That book’s had more makeovers than Madonna’s image. (Not really, but I needed a good analogy.) I understand getting attached to certain characters, but there comes a time when you have to realize “It’s just a book” (or movie or TV show) and move on. I have been a fan of one LSH character for… over 20 years now. Wow, I hadn’t realized that I’ve been a comics fan for so long. They killed that character a couple of years ago. I wasn’t thrilled about it, but it happened. Life went on. So did the book. And I still enjoyed the book.
I’m a fan of continuity, but I’m not so much of a stickler that I can’t take a few “course corrections.” The Superman reboot after DC’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” in the late 80s, made the character more… human. He had to put some effort into doing some of the things that the pre-Crisis Superman could have done with no problem. And Clark Kent became more of a character than a caricature. Yes, some things changed, but the character was still “Superman.”
There have been various changes in the Legion books and some of them derived from the changes in the Superman books. In the 60s, the writers created the LSH as a group of super-powered teens who were brought together to fight crime… inspired by the adventures of Superboy. One problem: After “Crisis,” Superman had never been Superboy. So, DC did some tweaking and revised the LSH history to follow another hero’s lead. And it worked. Yes, there was much gnashing of teeth (and commensurate bitching and moaning), but it worked.
People on the Legion newsgroup are upset because… *sigh* Let’s just say that there are a lot of reasons. A lot of them stem from a storyline that combines a retelling of the 80s The Great Darkness Saga and some mucking about the timestream and Superman (and the current Superboy – a clone of the Big S).
One of the problems that I have with fans is that they don’t seem to be able to “let go” and allow a storyline – or even a title – to grow and evolve.
You can’t kill off so-and-so…
…or…
I can’t believe they chose Character X to get those powers…
… or …
This character was much better as Hero/Villain Y than this one…
And some writers/companies aren’t much better. I understand not wanting to kill off popular characters, but sometimes… just sometimes… shit happens. People die. I will give DC Comics credit for sticking to their guns in the early 90s when they let readers decide whether or not Robin (Jason Todd, not Dick Grayson) died in a story. The readers overwhelmingly wanted the little git to bite it. And he did. Explosively. And, also to DC’s credit, they had that experience unhinge Batman for a while. He got reckless. He got clumsy. He was a danger not only to himself, but also to those that he had sworn to save. They brought in both the old Robin (Dick Grayson, who had stepped out of Batman’s shadow and was now known as “Nightwing”) and a young kid who had deduced Bruce Wayne’s secret, Tim Drake (who became the new Robin) to have an “intervention.” Of course, that takes on an entirely new meaning when you’re talking to a man who dresses up like a giant bat… but I won’t delve into the psychological aspects of that. This time. Most importantly, the story evolved.
I’ll even throw a stone or two at Marvel Comics… Heaven knows that they have been loathe to kill off characters. Captain America. Phoenix. Reed Richards. Madelyne Pryor-Summers. Magneto (although, he may stay dead this time). All of them died. All of them came back. It can be argued that with a name like “Phoenix,” reincarnation is inevitable; I will even admit that I was happy when they brought Jean back in the 80s to reteam with the original X-Men in X-Factor. But, you see my point: The characters died and came back. I just remembered Colossus… He died a few years ago. The way that he died was quite in keeping with his character. So far, they have allowed him to rest in peace; I hope that they have the fortitude to allow him to remain that way.
I started writing a story a few years ago; I created five main characters. And I created specific ways to kill them all. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the characters, nor did I need to eliminate them all. It was part of the story. And I was fine with that. Sometimes, you have to shake things up a bit to make sure that people are still paying attention. If they like the changes, good. If not, you can hope that they will keep reading and come to understand why certain choices were made. They may even come to like the way that the story unfolds. This holds true for comic books, novels… and television – I’m sure that many of you recall the debacle of the “Dream Season” on CBS’ Dallas.
I’m waiting to see what happens with the Superman books. Will it be a return to a more pre-Crisis-like Superman? Will they retain the current feel? I don’t know. As long as they stay true to the basic character, I’m sure that I will be able to deal with the change.
To the fans of the Legion: Let the story run its course. If they tweak “The Great Darkness Saga,” so be it. If you still find that the book isn’t “the same” as when you were younger, maybe it’s time to let it go and to find a new series.
::: steps down from soapbox :::
And that’s all for now.
Namaste.
