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August 15, 2005

COMICS 101 is in Session

Remembering Jim Aparo

Joey K. writes: First let me say I am a loyal reader of your article every week. Hope you never stop. Secondly I just wanted to say that the Jim Aparo cover of the "Death in the Family" of a devastated Batman holding the battered corpse of Jason Todd always gets an emotion out of me. I was 10 or 11 when "Death in the Family" happened and I even called the 1-900 number 5 times (Dad was a Batman fan too in his youth) to save ole' doomed Jason Todd. When that issue came out I cried like a baby (and in a sense I still was). I never read Batman again until about 1999, partially because I lost faith in the book. A friend showed me the new Robin and I still can't stand him. But seeing that cover art on that TPB in your article rushed me back to that time (no tears this time) and I suddenly remembered all that I am just typing to you. No other picture in the thousand comics I have read can do that to me, and now I will never get to tell Jim Aparo what I am telling you now. RIP Jim, and thank you for the sip from the fountain of youth.

David S. writes: Great column on Jim. He will be missed.

Abdul Kareem B. writes: Just thought I'd correct what you wrote in the latest Comics 101 that Jim Aparo designed the Looker’s costume. Actually, it was Alan Davis who did, and I'm shocked at his lack of prominence in the article, especially since his run as artist is part of the most successful on the book. Just thought I'd clear that out. Please keep those articles coming.

Mela writes: Loved your Jim Aparo column - I know him largely from his work on Outsiders, and it was great seeing his early B&B/Batman stuff.

One correction, though - Looker and her horrible outfit aren't his fault. She was first introduced & designed by Alan Davis during his brief stint as the title's artist. It's proof that a great artist can produce some true eyesores. Just to let you know that Aparo was simply working with what he was given.

Tipton: Not true, my friends. Although Davis' rendering of the character appeared in print first, Aparo (based on input from writer Mike W. Barr) designed the character, as seen here:

Hey, no one can hit a home run every time at bat...

And Davis (whose work I absolutely love) wasn't discussed in the piece because it was a memorial to Aparo, and not an Outsiders retrospective.

Jason L. writes: Thank you for the moving appreciation of one of the most UN-appreciated comic book creators of the last thirty years, Jim Aparo. Like you, I grew up more with Aparo's Batman than Neal Adams' or Dick Giordano's because I still remember how my heart raced when I picked up my first issue of Brave & Bold whenthe Bat teamed up with Dr. Fate. If I remember correctly, Mr. Aparo only did the cover but that was enough for me and I was a fan for life after that. I enjoyed Mr. Aparo's style of Batman because he, Adams, Giordano, and the late Don Newton back then drew the Dark Knight as he would look in real-life: a lithe, lean character more at home in the shadows ready to strike out than just a massive, muscle-bound figure of darkness who barrels in to a sticky situation.

Mr. Aparo truly never did get the recognition he deserved and it probably is because he never did any Marvel stories because, as we both know, it was all about Marvel in the 70's and 80's. When Frank Miller came out with his opus, Aparo was given short shrift because Aparo's Bat was already a grim avenger and far from the camp of the Sixties. Miller did not make Batman dark again, that was Neal Adams and Denny O'Neill with Jim Aparo holding the line.

Mr. Aparo's work on B&B was the main reason why I've always shaded more towards DC. Month after month, I would see the Bat teamed up with a different hero I never heard of back in those days when I first started collecting comics and was ignorant to the diversity of the four-color creations. One month the Bat was down in the Louisiana bayou teamed up with Swamp Thing, bopping through space with Green Lantern, fighting Nazis with Blackhawk and Sgt. Rock, or going through the astral realms with the Spectre. That diversity rendered so skillfully by the late, great Mr. Aparo has me as a 35 year-old still getting excited whenever I pick up a comic book and lose myself in its enchanment so I can be that nine year-old kid who picked up a forty cent issue of B&B with Batman teamed up with a new hero.

Rest easy, Mr. Aparo, because you will be missed by those in the know who knew your contribution to comic book history.

Thanks for letting me ramble, Scott, because like you I'm one of of the ones who does appreciate Mr. Aparo's work.

Sean B. writes: Just finished reading your overview of Mr. Aparo’s career. Well done! I was introduced to comics through my brother’s Marvel collection so I never encountered any of Aparo’s work until I started collecting Batman shortly after the Year One reboot. I really enjoyed his work on the title during that late 80’s period, especially the Jim Starlin written issues. My only other exposure during that time was the 4 issue Wrath of the Spectre reprints of his Spectre tales. Great stuff. I never realized the level of involvement he had in The Brave & the Bold. I’m looking forward to checking out some of those stories. Have their been any trade collections of B & B that you’d recommend? Thanks!

Tipton: Unfortunately, there are no B&B collections at all available. Got to go for the back issues.

Roy T. writes: Thank you for your lovely and eloquent column. To me Aparo will always be The Batman artist the way Curt Swan will always be The Superman artist. His renditions of all DCU characters were always clean but never boring. I did always feel he had one weakness and it became more noticeable as he grew older and that was sometimes his characters hands seemed slightly out of proportion. A small nit I know but only glaring because everything else was so perfectly proportioned (at least to my admittedly non artists eye). Personally I think the artist who comes the closest to matching his level of clarity right now is Mike McKone. Anyway, thanks for a great column. Take care.

Bill G. writes: Hey that was a great article on Jim Aparo. He was the classic Batman artist in my day- my favorite was the Brave and the Bold mystery guest Superman disguised as a henchman- and of course his Joker as UN delegate!

David L. writes: Thank you so very much for the tribute you wrote to Jim Aparo in your latest column. It brought back so many great memories for me. I remember reading a lot of Jim Aparo's work in trade paperbacks like 'The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told' and loving his work. Everytime I think of Batman, it's Aparo's vision of Batman that lingers in my mind's eye. Along with Norm Breyfogle, he's one of my favourite artists in the Batman comics.

David H. writes: I just read your article about Jim Aparo. I'm sad he passed away, since it was his Batman which has gotten me into reading comics.

My all time favorite artist is John Buscema though, i love his Thor work and he did a great job on Conan the Barbarian. He also passed away a few years ago, but i'm proud to own some original (small) sketches from him. I hope you will do an article about him someday.

Tipton: Yeah, Aparo was a lot of people's introduction to Batman, and comics, for that matter. Buscema was an all-time great as well. Thanks for reading.

Charles E. writes: When Jim Aparo died, I was one of your readers to request a tribute to one of the industry’s greats. You did a wonderful job of showcasing his career and his contribution to comics. Like yourself, I took notice of Jim Aparo when I was a kid and grew up reading his Batman tales in B&B. Thanks for the affectionate look at Jim’s legacy.

Frank E. writes: Agree with your assessment of Aparo as one of the greats. The stories moved so quickly, with Haney's breakneck plots and Aparo expertly guiding us from panel to panel, that I'd race through them as a kid, only to realize later how much story was in there.

Aparo drew action and fight scenes in a manner scarcely duplicated. It was more angular than the fury of a Kirby fight, but just as effective.

Hard to believe Aparo himself picked B&B 178 as his fave. I love Batman, love the Creeper but don't like that story at all. Couldn't believe it was picked for DC's best team-up stories trade a few years ago. The art's great, but the villain - both in conception and design - is ridiculous to the point where I can't enjoy the tale. Anyway, to each his own.

At times, I feel like an Aparo purist. I love his B&B, Phantom Stranger and Aquaman, but felt when he was inked by others - even by Decarlo in Death in the Family - that his art lost something. He even trailed off a little in his BATO run, almost as if he was rushing or if age was setting in. (By that time, he'd been a fulltime comics artist for almost 20 years.) Some of his depictions of Looker were silly even in spite of the costume. He'd make her look anorexic, which maybe was in line with the fashion model thing.

But this is all nitpicking, really. Jim Aparo's run on B&B - and the many great covers he did - is a treasured part of my comics memory.

Tipton: I agree, Aparo was at his best when he pencilled, inked and lettered his own work. He probably liked that Creeper story so much just because of the visual challenge of the Origami Man.

Brad writes: Before I even understood anything about comic book writers and artists I bought anything that Jim Aparo drew.

His art is the perfect art for a comic book page. His Batman defines the look of Batman-I still judge every Bat artist by comparing them to Jim's version. I remember when Lee, Liefeld and Mcfarlane were all being praised and patted on the back for how amazing theri art was, I was saying look at Jim Aparo, he does ten time the work and looks even cleaner. And, he never sold out or resorted to sex appeal, even though he could draw gorgeous women, he had class and standards.

Enough can't be said about his contributions to comic books, especially his long time companion Batman. He did not seem to seek out recognition, he seemed content to ply his trade quietly out producing two decades worth of hot young artists and enjoying the satisfaction of a job well done.

The comic book world will be a little less pure without you, Jim. Thanks.

Todd H. writes: Thanks for giving much deserved recognition to Jim Aparo, an extremely talented artist who really has gone unnoticed by many fans. As my first favorite artist, his dynamic take on Aquaman, Spectre and particularly Batman pulled me into comics as a young kid and has never let me go. He really had a knack for telling a story. You really gave a nice overview of his talents and I look forward to the book that TwoMorrows will be publishing on Mr. Aparo this fall.

He was a talented artist - and I have read that he was a really decent man. His kind and his professionalism will always be missed. I really hope some of his Brave and Bold stuff will be reprinted in the new Showcase paperback form at some time.

I must say however that I enjoyed his work from the mid-70s the most. Either my tastes completely changed or Aparo's work seemed to lose much of that spark shortly after "Untold Legend of the Batman" in 1980. Look over the "Wrath of the Spectre" TPB and look through from the beginning to where the newer stories. Tell me what you think. I often looked at Aparo's work in the late 80's and early 90's with the wish that he would return to his old form. By gosh those old B&B books were fun.

Sadly, I think Marshall Rogers, another GREAT Batman artist, lost some of his creative spirit during the 80's as well (see Dark Detective for proof) - but now I'm just getting crabby.

Chris writes: Thanks for the piece you did on Jim Aparo's passing & his work @ moviepoopshoot. You've put a name to an artist whose style I followed wherever I could find it on a rack pretty much as you described it some 30-odd years ago. Well, the one I bought from was flat & the shop was the News Stand, but, sure, the same.

And back to the letters...

Mark W. writes: Now that the Identity Crisis is over will you be doing an in-depth article on the series. I have read parts of it but your articles usually help illuminate things I don't normally catch and always make rereading the comics more enlightening. (Plus I just don't know if I really agree with the story and who the killer was.)

You have some great insights and you knowledge of comic history is astounding. Keep writing, I really enjoy reading your stuff.

Tipton: Thinking about it. I want to take some time to kind of let it settle in my head first. Maybe when we get closer to how the story resolves in INFINITE CRISIS.

Andrew writes: I enjoy your column and your encyclopedic knowledge of comics, so I figured you are the for this question. Just how many damn times have Magneto and Phoenix [or any other manifestation Jean Grey takes] died? And how many times have they come back? I have been trying to figure this out, but am coming up short. please help!

Tipton: I think Magneto is still at only one actual death (the other times he was assumed dead, which isn't quite the same thing), and Jean Grey is at two, with a resurrection undoubtedly coming at some point.

Kevin M. writes: I'm sure you'll get to this question with your current JLA story (yay! by the way), and I think I know the answer but I'll ask it anyway as it relates to some other stuff I've been wondering about.

In Waid's "JLA: Year One" Black Canary is there instead of Wonder Woman, is this because of that continuity gaff that John Byrne fixed up with his Wonder Woman run a few years back? I mean, does it have something to do with one of those DC style "continuity fixin's" that seem to come around with increasing frequency these days?

Also, on the Black Canary question I was wondering if she was the character that Moore based the Mother/Daughter crime fighters (I can't remember there name at the moment....Silk Spectre was it?) in Watchmen? From what I understand Moore was asked to use new characters instead of the established (recently purchased by DC) Charlton characters so I've always been curious about what characters they were analogous to. I tend to think I've got it more or less nailed down with:

Black Canary = Silk Spectre
Blue Beetle = Nite Owl
Captain Atom = Doc Manhattan
The Question = Rorschach

But I'm completely guessing with these and any others. Any info on this or, if you're going to go into that on the inevitable Watchmen story don't worry about answering it, I can wait.

Tipton: Black Canary takes the place of Wonder Woman in post-Crisis DC history because it was decided when Wonder Woman was reintroduced in 1986 that she would be a newcomer to the DC Universe, and be meeting everyone for the first time, and therefore couldn't have a history as a JLA member. Because there clearly needed to be a woman in the earliest days of the League, Black Canary was selected for that role, and since her original League origin no longer made sense with the parallel Earths gone, it was just as well, really.

As for WATCHMEN, the female Charlton character that was originally available to Moore was Nightshade, and when he wrote the series in 1985, the mother/daughter dynamic of Black Canary really hadn't been explored that much by JLA writers, so I don't really think that was any influence. Sally Jupiter seems more like a take on the concept of Hollywood stage mothers.

And don’t forget the Comedian replacing Charlton’s Peacekeeper and Ozymandias replacing Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt.

Eric M. writes: First, I wanted to say thanks for the swift reply to a previous question I had a while back. But something else has been nagging at my curiosity of late. I have been looking at some recent issues of JLA and notice that Aquaman seems to have a hand made of water. Now I know that he somehow lost his hand a while back and had replaced it with a harpoon thingy. But what is the deal with his, for lack of a better term, "water hand"? Can you give a brief rundown of how he lost his hand originally and what exactly is the deal with this new water hand?

Also, one other small question if it's not too much trouble. I just started reading JSA a couple issues back and this doesn't seem to be covered in your fabulous JSA articles. I was just wondering how Stargirl of the JSA came to possess Starman's gravity rod? What happened to Starman?

Thanks again for the consistently interesting and well-informed articles.

Tipton: The hand was lost during the excellent Peter David run, when Aquaman was fighting Charybdis, who held Aquaman's hand under piranha-infested waters. It was explained that when pirahna are in a feeding frenzy, they're too excitable to accept Aquaman's telepathic commands.

The water hand was a less clever idea from the recent Rick Veitch run, in which he got his mystical water hand from the Arthurian Lady in the Lake. Eh.

When Jack Knight retired from the superhero life, he passed on the cosmic rod to Courtney as his successor.

Pete S. writes: I don't know about you, but I'm loving the new "Adam Strange" mini-series that DC is publishing now. I've always been more a fan of the superheroes that aren't endowed with superpowers but rather humans that push themselves to the mental and physical peak. I was wondering if there are any "essential" stories for Adam Strange that you know of or any other recommended reading for the character. Also, do you know of any Marvel characters outside of the Punisher and Iron Man (drunk, less-serious Batman) that are just smart or physically gifted human heroes?

And no, I'm not anti-mutant!

Tipton: Indeed, that new ADAM STRANGE series was excellent.

You can't go wrong with the original Adam Strange stories from MYSTERY IN SPACE, which were recently collected into an Archive Edition.

My favorite Marvel non-powered hero would have to be Hawkeye, who gets by among gods, monsters, robots and aliens on pure skill and wits alone.

Pete S. replies: Thanks for the response and the suggestions! Hawkeye does seem like a cool character, but since he's "dead" in the MU for now, do you have any recommendations for him?

Tipton: Don't worry, he'll be back. (Whether or not his supposed return in HOUSE OF M will stick still remains to be seen.) In the meantime, check out the Busiek issues of THUNDERBOLTS in which he appears, as well as the first 50 issues or so of WEST COAST AVENGERS, the Busiek/Perez AVENGERS ASSEMBLE hardcover and his '80s Mark Gruenwald miniseries for some prime Hawkeye goodness.

TV RECOMMENDATIONS

Robert M. writes: No, I'm not here to give you crap about this. I love both shows and wouldn't want to do without either one.

But wow, talk about comparing apples and oranges. It's like saying, "what show is better, Desperate Housewives or The Simpsons?" Come on. I know they're showing the reruns at the same time, but intelligent people should've been watching both shows when they were originally on during the season anyway. People who would rather watch American Idle or The Arrogance have only themselves to blame.

Ryall: Well, for people without TiVo, despite how different they are, it still comes down to making a choice if they're on at the same time. I've watched more VERONICA lately, and I do think it's great (Joss Whedon said recently it's his favorite show and maybe the best TV show ever), even if my sensibilities are more in line with ARRESTED.

I know you only saw a few episodes of Veronica here and there, as you reiterate. But if you had seen the entire season, you might have had a more difficult decision to make on that one. I'm not saying you wouldn't still prefer Arrested, but again, they are two very different shows. It's hard to really appreciate the brilliance of Veronica (both show and character) from just a few episodes. You really have to see most of the season to truly "get it". You can't appreciate the brilliant choices made in the last two episodes if you haven't experienced the build-up to them. For the die-hard fans, by the end of the season we were freakin' DYING to know "who killed Lilly Kane?" and "who raped Veronica?" in much the same way Twin Peaks fans (of which I was one) were dying to know who killed Laura Palmer. And Rob Thomas and company actually DELIVERED,

Ryall: Tom Cruise agrees with you. Wait, I think I'm getting my Rob Thomases mixed up...

giving us completely unexpected answers to those questions (and unlike Lost, they actually ANSWERED those questions rather than just leave us hanging), answers that actually made logical sense while catching us off guard. For my money, it was the most satisfying entire season of any show in quite some time. Not to mention the fact that Kristen Bell gave the most incredible performance I've seen on television in many years (and it's not just my crush on her either - she really did some excellent work, every single episode). Yes, the supporting cast is terrific, but Kristen carried the show and did it amazingly well. She kinda rocks! I feel sorry for the Emmy voters, how truly sad they must be not to recognize such greatness.

Ryall: Even more sad, they still think WILL & GRACE is a good show.

I urge you to check out the Season 1 DVD release when it comes out Oct. 11. I guarantee you, you will kick yourself for not watching it more often. And get in on the second season Sept. 21! I can't wait to see what comes next. As another fan put it, "this show is like crack covered in chocolate". I consider that an understatement.

None of this is meant to downgrade Arrested, which I think is easily the best sitcom on the air (and would be even if there were other good sitcoms on the air). But if I had to make a Sophie's Choice kind of deal...I'd go for Veronica in a heartbeat. Let's just cancel Joey and call it even...

Ryall: I'm also all for cancelling the lame JOEY, but instead the producers seem to want to turn it into NBC's version of ENTOURAGE.

ONE HAND CLAPPING

Grant C. writes: (Wow, who’d have thought I’d end up writing you two weeks in row? Odd, that.)

I tuned into Rockstar: INXS a couple times. It’s a pretty harmless show, by all indications… it’s essentially the rockin’ version of American Idol.

But allow me my chauvinism for just one second here – because I still don’t understand why the decision was made to allow an equal number of male and female singers.

Ryall: To appear democratic, of course, and to try to pull in the greatest number of viewers possible. I just don't quite expect the guys from INXS to pick a female to win, even if Jordis is the best singer on that show.

Let’s look at it from the other side, just so you can understand where I’m coming from. If the Go-Go’s were to reunite, and Belinda Carlisle gave them all the finger and said she’d rather live on her Playboy residuals, I wouldn’t want a guy filling her shoes. “Vacation” and “Our Lips Are Sealed” were meant to be sung by a woman. Just like “The New Sensation” and “Mediate” were meant to be sung by a man. That’s it, story over, roll credits.

Instead, I was taken aback at how much more favorably the women were received by the audience, and even the INXS band members. But of course, that’s because they’re singing songs done by bands other than INXS.

Who-whaaa?

If the point is to be the new INXS singer, then shouldn’t they at some point be performing INXS songs? Maybe they’re waiting to thin the herd out a little bit before inundating the home audience with repeated shabby renditions of “Suicide Blonde” but it certainly would help to know whether or not the potential future star of INXS could actually belt out some tunes written by the band.

I do, however, agree that Dave Navarro is the best part of the show. Maybe he can step into Paula Abdul’s shoes on American Idol after her next boy-toy scandal.

Ryall: I don't think I ever said Navarro was the best part. I mean, I like the guy, and he comes off as likable on this show, too, but he's far from being good at giving real critical advice to the people trying out on this show. He's a bit too Paula Abdul and not enough Simon Cowell. Some of the singers seem solid enough and could potentially have good careers if they had some more guidance. But the show seems more concerned with just building everyone up.

Theron N. writes: I've been watching Rockstar: INXS since it began. Of course, it's total fluff, but I enjoy it as an anti-American Idol. It's nice to see a reality music show with real rock music. That's one of the good things about the show - they've forked over enough money to get great songs for the contestants to sing: the Beatles, the Kinks, the Stones, Nirvana, David Bowie, Queen, Foo Fighters - something for everyone, rockwise.

Personally, I think Mig is the perfect fit for INXS. He's not the best singer, but I can see him fronting the band (for at least one CD and one tour, as is always stated in the manner of "your mileage may vary" or "void where prohibited"). My favorites are Suzie (she had a great voice and the air of a pro about her) and Jordis (she has a great voice but is still a neophyte performer).

My favorite part is how whenever the band refers to itself, it comes out as "...our band INXS." "I'm sorry, you're just not right for our band INXS." Or, "Remember, you'll be fronting our band INXS." Marketing 101, baby - now that's modern-age rock and roll!

Ryall: I love that, too. It was never their band. It was only ever Michael Hutchence's band.

Peter D. writes: I watched the first ten minutes of the first episode and became enraged. I was a huge INXS fan in the day and felt like the show was a complete abomination. I'll stop myself now before the rant.

I must say that I am surprised Tara Sloane was in it. She had some success in a band up here called Joydrop. I am even more surprised that she didn't do better. She was kind of working the sexy thing here a few years back. I interviewed her for a website and she was very rockstar/sex-kittenish.

Alfred R. writes: just some things for clearing up-

The band wanted the show not viacom.

Ryall: Well, Viacom is the one who spent millions on the show, so they evidently wanted it, too. They wanted it to do better than it's doing, however.

I read an article that they had thought about doing this in the late 90's, while privately audtioning singers. also, Michael Hutchence did not die of a freak masturbating accident.

it was actually a suicide.

Ryall: Er, no, it wasn't just a suicide. Ultimately, he died from his own hand, so if you want to call that a suicide, than that's probably accurate. But Michael Hutchence didn't intend to die that day.

while he was known to be involved with that, there was no link.

also, I have seen the show and you can really tell it's a "had to be there" experience. All of the rockers seem fake and overdone.

I expect them to be called "rawkers" actually. They are facing the same problems that I'm guessing A.I. had. How do you make a song your own if it has had such a memorable way of sounding?

It's not easy but the real singers can make it their own, but that's not the case with this cast.

Ryall: Well, I suppose is past bands like JOURNEY and FOREIGNER, bands whose original songs are known by fewer and fewer people, can find someone new to sing their stuff, so can a band like INXS. After all, fewer and fewer people remember the original versions of their songs, either.

Rob S. writes: I'm with you on this one. I turned it one Sunday (where I am, coz there are a number of Canadians on the show, one of our networks shows all 3 episodes back-to-back every Sunday) expecting a chuckle, a guffaw, maybe even a pee-in-the-pants-laughing moment. I mean, this is INXS. The Farris brothers and the other guys had a good run with Hutchence (sp?). And since he croaked while he choked they have been through more singers than Spinal Tap had drummers. These guys played with Terrance Trent D'arby for Christ's sake. At the Olympics. Shit.

So, yeah, I was expecting a total and complete and utter disaster. Something that would force Navaro back to music. Something that would cause folks in my age group (old enough to remember the first time Original Sin was on the radio) to collectively heave our INXS stuff out the door and into land fills. And if Terrance Trent D'arby didn't provoke us enough, I really thought this show would...

Anyway, the first half-hour was pretty funny. Nothing like pretty people who are pretty vacant telling you what you just saw on the screen. Gotta love the reality show formula. And then I saw the performances. Oh, yeah. Some serious badness there.

But as I sat there it grew on me. Coz there was also some goodness, too. Some of these people are real musicians. And songwriters. Like Tara. She was in a band called Joydrop. Not-awful stuff that girls seem to like. And Tommy Lee was in one of their videos.

And then I heard Jordis. I really hope that, no matter what happens, this girl puts together a band. Love her voice and her presence. There's a small (wee and tiny, really) chance INXS could pick a girl to front for them. They've done it before. I hope its Jodis. And then, after the album and the world tour she'll tell these geeks where to find a good investment consultant and split. I'd watch her for two hours.

Ryall: Yeah, she's good. A few of them seem decent, if not captivating. The David Spade clone, who previously seemed pretty lame, did a nice acoustic version of that KILLERS song. And so far, I totally agree with all the people they've kicked off, especially the big puppet-head from last week.

Stapp the Insanity

Ryall: In Joshua Jabcuga's SQUIB CENTRAL column from November 25, he talked up a PEARL JAM release while pointing out how bad the idea of CREED, a PJ cover band, getting a greatest hits, was. In last week's MAIL SHOOT, a CREED fan defended his beloved poseur band with a long diatribe that took shots at PEARL JAM. As you can imagine, the PJ fans were not quite in agreement...

Matthew B. writes: You know, I survived the whole Family Guy vs. Arrested Development debacle in the Mail Shoot without ever having to feel the need to write in. My fiancée and I absolutely adore Arrested Development and we try to spread the word to our friends. We were also thrilled when Fox (much to my astonishment) picked the show back up. However, the whole argument just seemed too pointless to bother with – though it was incredibly funny to read about as it dragged on.

I don’t know how you managed to put up with that much e-mail idiocy, but my kudos to you. However, I hope it didn’t wear you out too much, as I sense another sh*t-storm is about to begin. Originally, I was going to write a response to the young man who wrote the letter you titled, “Stapp the Insanity”. However, I realized it would be a wasted effort – just like it would have if I would have written in extolling the virtues of Arrested Development. Some people will always prefer the likes of Family Guy and Creed, no matter that Arrested Development and Pearl Jam exist. Good luck dealing with what is sure to become the latest flame war in the Mail Shoot.

Ryall: Thing is, I don't expect any real fight to go on. I think the majority of the world knows PEARL JAM is worlds better than CREED. But I'd love some more defenses of that lame band. I then also welcome people to defend SEVEN MARY THREE and CANDLEBOX as original bands, too.

Damn it. I thought I could write this e-mail without responding to the author of “Stapp the Insanity”. Alas, I cannot, so I will make two very brief points. 1.) The number of records a band sells does not make them superior, just as a great number of books sold does not guarantee a Pulitzer and a great number of movie tickets sold does not guarantee an Oscar. The fact that The Celestine Prophecy sold over one million copies does not make it a great book. The fact that Fantastic Four made approximately $50 million in its opening weekend does not make it a great movie. The “fact” (I am not willing to find out for sure) that Creed has sold almost as many albums as Pearl Jam in a shorter time does NOT make them a better band than Pearl Jam. 2.) You’ll never go broke appealing to the lowest common denominator. 3.) (Sorry, I couldn’t stop at two.) More words do not necessarily make a better song, nor do longer words. Check out any Beatles album for proof.

Anyway, Mr. Ryall, you showed considerable restraint in answering the e-mail from “Mr. Stapp”, who is clearly knows 10000000000000 times more about music than the poor, misguided musical genius that is Mr. Vedder.

Rodney S. writes: Sweet Sassy Moe Lassy! Does that boy actually see who’s been around for 12+ years and who were just a flash-in-the-pan?? Ughgh.. I shutter for the future of music because of people like this.. The horror!! The horror!! Stapp went off the deep end because he couldn’t live up to being Rob Thomas, let alone the legend that is Vedder. And thus Creed is over. If this twerp actually played guitar, he’d know that Mike McCready was one of the very best if not the best to ever come outta the whole “Alternative/Grunge” era!! I can’t stand the pure ejaculate of bile that this dude had put out onto your site, let alone for you guys to print it, but I guess everyone has to share their opinion. But I guess it doesn’t matter that everytime Pearl Jam goes on tour they sell out.. their albums still sell moderately well, let alone the countless number of “Bootlegs” they had in the Billboard Top 100.. or any of that. But here’s the final straw.. Pearl Jam is still giving the fans what they want.. Creed is now defunct and thus those fans are left with nothing.. (with the exception of Alter Bridge).. so I can see why he’s so upset.. If Vedder walked away from music forever because he was an egotistical, womanizing alcoholic jerk, then I’d be looking to take it out on something, too.. Thank god Music and the Fans matter that much to Pearl Jam...

Ryall: An egotistica, womanizing, alcoholic CHRISTIAN jerk. That's what makes Stapp's disappearance so nice. The guy set himself up to somehow better than the rest of us. Nope.

Mike G. writes: I have no idea if this is true, but you should send this to that idiot creed fan from a week or too ago.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/tomluv/13923.html

Is there ever a more pathetic celebrity story than this? I doubt it.

Jeff L. writes: Reading the Mail Shoot about Creed/Pearl Jam and just thought it'd be funny to note that this Adparaiki dude has been posting his thought on a Pearl Jam forum, creating quite a funny string of replies:

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:E-60BoJqZNgJ:forums.pearljam.com/printthread.php%3Ft%3D100465%26pp%3D40+adparaiki+pearl+jam+creed&hl=en

Enjoying your Mail Shoot thoroughly. Keep it up!

James D. writes: after reading the rantings of that rabid creed fan, i was wondering if you could pass this link along to them.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/tomluv/13923.html

p.s. pearl jam sucked too.

Ryall: I would've made your link live but I couldn't disagree with your postscript more, so no soup for you.

Daredevil: Murderer?

Joseph S. writes: I read the comment in the Mail Shoot today about the DD movie, specifically the scene where DD lets a guy die on the subway tracks. I'll preface this by stating I am almost a professional apologist for this movie. Like Hulk, it was far from a perfect movie but I really don't think it deserves the scorn and comtempt a lot of people show for it. I thoroughly enjoyed it and appreciated what Johnson was trying to do, even if he wasn't always successful.

Anyway, Johnson discusses this scene in his commentary on the DVD (and I would urge anyone who hasn't already to watch the Director's Cut). From what I recall, he admits he struggled with the scene and whether or not to include it, but ultimately did because he felt it was needed for the character arc (i.e. Daredevil goes from a ruthless vigilante to a righteous crime fighter). His arc begins when he lets the guy die in the subway (and he doesn't actually kill him, he just doesn't save the guy) and is complete when he refuses to kill Kingpin at the end and leaves him for the cops. Typical Hollywood I know, and I'm sure there was a way to have a satisfactory character arc for DD without him letting someone die, but hopefully Grant C. will take some consolation in the fact that Johnson struggled with the decision and had a (arguably) legitimate reason for including it. Anyway, Grant C, you should watch the Director's Cut. It's a much better film.

As an aside, have you ever listened to an Avi Arad commentary? Oy. I appreciate what the guy's done for Marvel in Hollywood, but he is almost unbearable to listen to.

Ryall: I haven't seen the director's cut (yet?). But I'm much more apt to watch that a few times than I am to listen to Arad's commentary. I understand Johnson's logic for that opening scene, that Dardevil was a lost soul who found some sort of redemption through love blah blah, but I still think there are ways to show this more effectively and stay true to the character. Frank Miller spent years showing the dueling sides of the character's personality without ever having him resort to letting someone die. He got close, but never quite crossed that line.

Paul W. writes: I'm a long time reader of the site, since you changed from the old one at least, and just read this weeks mail shoot. So, having read Grant C's point about Daredevil killing Quesada in the movie (I liked the house of M crack) it reminded me of a thought I had at the end of Batman Begins.

Batman's put Ducard down, the monorail track's gone, word's are exchanged (I can't quote exactly) and Ducard says something like "You won't kill me," to which Batman replies "I won't kill you. But I don't have to save you."

Isn't that something a lawyer would say? I think from a moral standpoint, actively not saving someone from death is pretty much murder. It just didn't quite sit right with me, though it wasn't as glaring as shoving him in front of an oncoming train.

In comparison Batman as written has taken years of shit off the joker without "not saving" him. I accept movies are an entirely different business, and you can bump people off without anyone batting an eyelid. And aside from this minor quibble, I thought it was an amazing film and a faithful adaption.

I've copied this to Scott as well, and just wondered what your thoughts are...

Ryall: I didn't have a problem with the scene in BATMAN. Tipton might have a longer and more well-reasoned reply, but I didn't think it was so out of character for the movie BATMAN. After all, this is the guy who refused to kill one guy while at Ra's monestary, but ended up burning down the entire place and killing a lot more people.

Tipton: That was the one thing in BATMAN BEGINS that felt a bit out of character, as by my reckoning, Batman's moral code would still force him to save Ra's's life. Still, it didn't ruin the movie for me. Definitely not as bad as Daredevil killing the rapist in the DD movie.

Paul W. replies: Yeah, I concede your point on the monestary burnings, but that's just reminded me - when Ra's is stood over Bruce, having set fire to the manor, he says "You burned my house down and left me for dead - I'm returning the favour,"

Err, no Ra's, Bruce carried you down a mountain on his back and left you in the fine medical care of a toothless peasant, which is better than having a large burning log dropped on you.

Which is a slightly skewed view of balance, but then maybe that's the trouble with Ra's - he overreacts.

Ryall: Not anymore... at the end of the movie, I was mostly curious why Bruce was out there trying to rebuild stately Wayne Manor by his lonesome. Dude, you're a millionaire--just call up a construction company. Although maybe he was looking for any reason to stay away from Katie Holmes' character. In which case, I approve.

Photos of the Week

E-MAIL RYALL | E-MAIL TIPTON | ARCHIVES