Devon writes: OK, since you were being a stickler about "27QRX" or whatever I did have to call you on this (and believe me, I didn't want to be the one snotnose punk to call out the Professor):

20. Name the only member of the Legion of Superheroes to die in the CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS.

Kid Psycho had an unfortunate encounter with the waves of anti-matter, and was the only Legionnaire to do so. (Yes, I suppose Supergirl qualified, but she wasn't really a member at the time, so Kid Psycho was really what I was looking for)

Kid Psycho was also most definitely not a member at that time. You'd never know from the way the scene was set up, though. He hadn't been a member for nearly 10 years (since Superboy #125), when they found out his powers were killing him. He only even made a few cameo appearences in the intervening years. The only disaster that warranted Kid Psycho's participation was The Crisis and sure enough it did cost him his life. Supergirl on the other hand participated much more than Kid Psycho (and was mourned more too).

No one even remembered the poor bastard when the dead Legionnaires rose up and attacked the Legion years later.

So, anyway, I'm going to have be a stickler here and insist that Supergirl and Kid Psycho were both equal members of the Legion at that time. 27QRX might be the formula (is this a retcon? or what?) and Solomon Grundy may not be half the swamp monster that The Heap is (I was reading Starman at the time, they kept referring to Swamp Thing and Solly like they were almost the same thing half the time) but Supergirl is at least as much (if not twice as much) Legionnaire that Kid Psycho is.

Maybe it's time for a Comics 101 column on the LSH?

Tipton: Well, if you really want to get technical about it, it's clear from the context that Kid Psycho, when he was killed, was serving as a member of the Legion, being in contact with the team, following team orders, and utilizing a Legion flight ring. However, the Supergirl who died in the Crisis was a grown woman, years past any association with the Legion. I would submit that of the two, Kid Psycho was clearly much more of an active Legionnaire at the time of his death.

I still need to do a lot more Legion reading before writing a column. I've got a stack of the Archives in my to-be-read pile, but I still need to buy like 8 or 9 more.

Will writes: First, let me say I really enjoy your column a great deal and like the idea of your quizzes. With that being said, I must protest two of your answers, one on a technicality and the other being just flat wrong. The technicality is regarding question 21 stating "There's only one superhero who can't say his own name." There is, in theory one other super-hero who cannot say his own name or anything else: Black Bolt. According to marveldirectory.com, his quasi-sonic scream would cause a whisper to rock a battleship and a scream to turn a mountain into rubble. While not on the level of losing powers like Mr. Freeman, it is still within the realm of how the question was phrased.

The other answer that was off was 25, which stated Dan Garrett the archaeologist was the first Blue Beetle. While Dan Garrett was indeed the first Blue Beetle, it was Officer Daniel Garrett who served as the first Blue Beetle back in Mystery Men #1 in 1939. This was also the character, if my memory severs me correctly, that inspired the original Owl Man in Alan Moore's Watchman as he too was a police officer who got involved in the costumed crime fighting business, albeit without the help of Vitamin 2-X which assisted Garrett in his adventures.

Again, I truly do enjoy your column and I hope you keep up the good work. Thank you very much in advance for your time and consideration.

Tipton: Here's the thing, though. Black Bolt could say his name whenever he wanted, it just meant that the neighborhood around him would be reduced to rubble. Captain Marvel, Jr., couldn't, because once he did, he'd no longer be Captain Marvel, Jr.

As for Dan Garrett, if anyone had come up with the answer “Officer Dan Garrett,” they would have gotten credit for it, certainly. No one did. Since most people are more familiar with the Charlton version than the Fox, I referred to that one. I certainly knew about it, though, as evidenced by the next week's column. And just to be precise, neither of these questions cost anyone the grand prize.

Nick S. writes: Most excellent article on Jim Aparo. His art got me in the Spectre article you did (that splash of the plane flying towards a giant Spectre is a beauty even by today's standards...). However, this is only slightly related to that article. In nearly all DC issues you've made, Green Arrow, Batman, and now Aparo, you show Brave and Bold 129. As a fan of the 70s Bats, and an eternal fan of Green Arrow (sans Winnick's run), I was wondering if I should put my efforts into finding this issue. It looks amazing, the story is funny in premise, but deathly serious with "Joe Kerr" and good old Two-Face. So, should I scour the Earth for this or not?

On another note, when's that Nightwing article I asked about months ago coming out? : P Any mention of the awesome rivalry with Deathstroke, his amazing rogues gallery, and the death of those rogues and pretty much the series thanks to Devin Grayson would make me ecstatic. Not to mention that glimmer of hope in Dixon's NW: Year One...

Tipton: Well, I think it's a great comic, but that's most likely because it was one of the first comics I ever bought, so I'm wildly biased. As the saying goes, "The Golden Age of comic books is seven."

Nightwing is definitely on my to-do list, but I'm just now getting back into the groove of the longer columns…

Andy writes: No questions, just a comment.

Thanks for your article on Jim Aparo. Whenever my comic buddies and I discuss our favorite artists from when we were kids Jim Aparo's work on "Brave & The Bold" is ALWAYS in my top 3. No matter how silly the plot was or how differentl the hero was that teamed with Batman for the issue Jim Aparo always brought energy, fluidity and emotional urgency to his work.

And, if you'll allow me the fanboy comment - Aparo's Joker ROCKED!

Tipton: Emotional urgency. Precisely.

Luis writes: Hi, great article. By the by, what's the deal with Snapper Carr nowadays? Is he dead? Amnesia? Retired? turned villian? Something? That's it. Did I say great article by the way?

Tipton: Snapper was last seen acting as a mentor and advisor for the teen heroes of Young Justice a couple years back.

Ben S. writes: I've noticed something ever since you've started the column. I've noticed the constant bitching and complaining about your column... which usually starts with "Great column, but....". I mean come on... this is a FREE column, written by a guy who LOVES comics and is not driven by ad sales, or a biased agenda. All you want to do is just talk about comics, in a serious manner. Something that mainstream media really doesn't do, and with the possible exception with Wizard Magazine, and some sites like thefourthrail.com do on a regular if not consistent basis.

Hey, I know you got ideas down the pipeline, and do more, than just this column, and I for one, appreciate that every Tuesday, I can log on to Moviepoopshoot.com, and read your column. So what if you don't cover Cerebus, Watchmen, Bone, independent comics, or image? The fact that you show respect and love in talking about the history of characters, good, and in a rare bad occation, is great. PLUS, you answer so many emails, that the mailshoot section of Moviepoopshoot.com gives you the top of the column!

I think people should just lighten up, and be patient, 'cause I never a column I didn't like.

But just before I forget I wanted to ask you this question my friend asked me and I couldn't answer, and I quote "What is the big deal with Rob Liefield? Why do people hate him so much? So, he can't draw that good, and wrote some bad comics... many more people do the same thing and more often than he does, what makes him such a target?" end quote....

Keep the love coming Scott....

Tipton: Thanks, man.

I think what most rubs people the wrong way about Liefeld is his repeated inability to finish products he starts. It's one thing to make bad comics, but at least finish the books and get them out on time.

John writes: love your lessons about comics history. Especially since they become multiple part-lessons.

It was great when the [DC Silver Age] editors said that Batman & Superman are overused. I love this. I wonder if they have still discussions like this at Marvel or DC :-). ("Hey Bendis, please do not use Wolverine in New Avengers") Keep up the good work.

Wade B. writes: Great column. Look forward to it every week. Any plans for a Kingdom Come column? KC is my favorite comic storyline ever, (DKR a distant second. Something about those coming-back-to-set-things-straight stories, huh?). I’ve been reading Bryan Singer’s comments regarding the new Superman movie, saying that Superman has been gone for a while and now he is coming back. Do you think there is any KC connection there, or simply a coincidence? I realize he’s not making a KC-based movie, but wouldn’t it be cool if there were some elements incorporated? Like possibly Supes imposing a self-exile after thinking the public didn’t want him anymore?

Tipton: I doubt there will be much KC influence on the new movie, just because so much of KC is about heroes aging, and the new Superman looks pretty young to me, so it wouldn't have much meaning.

A KC column is definitely coming this year.

Jeff M. writes: I was recently explaining to my wife who everyone was in the Formerly Known as the Justice League trade, when I wondered how I was going to recommend Identity Crisis to her. She was just meeting Ralph and Sue Dibney for the first time, I would hate for her second dose to give her the wrong impression of the types of stories they generally occupy. I pondered Sue's fate at the hands of Jean Loring, and the revealed past of a brutal rape at the hands of Dr. Light. With the final twist of Identity Crisis showing that there was no need for the story of the rape to be told at all, I was stressed and flustered. At that point I happened to look down and see something I had completely forgotten. On the page numbered 13 in the trade, in the second-to-the-last panel, Ralph and Sue are contemplating a reunion with old "friends." In this particular panel, Sue has gone all misty eyed with fond remembrance, and mutters under her breath, "I wonder what Metamorpho and Dr. Light are doing. . .?"

Wow.

It all suddenly became clear to me. There was no rape. Sure, Sue and Dr. Light had (very rough) sex, but it was consensual. It seems to me that Sue just had a moment of weakness, or perhaps pity. After all, Norman, uh, I mean Dr. Light has always been portrayed as a charismatic, strong-willed guy.

But look, can we get real here for a moment? Anybody out there who hasn't known at least one young woman who -- in or out of a relationship with somebody else -- hasn't made a mistake and slept with an older, possibly charismatic guy...raise your hand.

I suspect there are very few raised hands right now.

Gwen (oopsie! I mean Sue), was not a perfect person as others portrayed her. She had an on-and-off relationship with Peter, she was a flawed person...who became perfect after her death in the minds of many fans. And in some ways, she has become almost irrelevant to anyone outside Peter, I mean, Ralph.

Obviously Ralph knew about this, and had promised Sue to leave the issue alone. With her dead, he finally got his chance to get some revenge for being cuckolded.

What do you think?

Tipton: Well, first off, she's talking about the female Dr. Light. And secondly, don't give them any ideas...

David L. writes: In regards to Mia from Green Arrow, looks like there are quite a few other people who think Mia is a bigger threat than any supervillain:

"On the other hand, I don't buy that Mia suddenly gets to be a sidekick because she's HIV positive, as it is arguably irresponsible to put her into a role where she's likely to spill blood and have blood spilled pretty frequently, and more to the point, it has the unfortunate side effect of making her story look forced, which is the worst thing you can do when you've got something with real social issues."
http://www.thefourthrail.com/reviews/snapjudgments/011005/greenarrow46.shtml

As you've pointed out before, it's difficult for someone to get AIDS merely from "spilled blood". If this review is any indication, AIDS awareness education isn't quite there yet.

Tipton: Pretty much. It's also a misrepresentation to say that Mia "gets to be a sidekick because she's HIV positive," when the character has clearly been building to her becoming a sidekick since the series began, while the HIV angle was a more recent decision.

Mark W. writes: Enjoyed the first part of your Justice League column, but was surprised that you've just kicked off what should be a 3-6 installments, instead of presenting your usual movie-tie-in column when a Superhero flick is released.

I was interested in learning what's been happening with Elektra since she died (for the second time) in Miller's 'Elektra Lives', which was the last story I read featuring our favourite assassin.

I'm sure you'll get to her eventually.

My request for a future column would be the five or six DC books that Paul Dini and Alex Ross produced over the past few years.

Tipton: You can usually tell when I suspect a superhero movie will suck -- I skip the tie-in column...

Good idea on the Dini/Ross books, too.

Jeremy B. writes: Hiya. I only discovered your column about three months ago, but have managed to work my way through your archives since then, and found the writing and research to be excellent. I'm an admirer of your work as a comics historian, and was wondering if you could maybe help me out.

See, I've been reading the great new Adam Strange series by Andy Diggle and Pascal Ferry, and when I saw the "Adam Strange: Man of Two Worlds" trade at my comic book store, I decided to pick it up. It was a good read, but it left me confused about a few things, the foremost being the life and/or death of Strange's wife, Alanna. At the end of MoTW, she's dead, and he's stranded on Rann with a human doctor and a completely insane Sardath, but in the current series, he's been on Earth for awhile, and claims that both Alanna and his daughter Aleea are still alive, and I'm wondering: Did I miss something? Was there another series in the decade between the two books?

I'd greatly appreciate your help in at least pointing me in the right direction, but if you can fit it into your schedule, I'd actually love to see a full column on Adam Strange. If not, a reply email will still be great. I realize you're probably very busy, so I'll wrap up.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and thank you for the work that you do. Very few people chronicle superhero history quite as well as you do.

Tipton: I loved that new Adam Strange series too, so an Adam Strange column is definitely coming.

I believe it was during Mark Waid's run on JLA that it was revealed that Alanna wasn't dead, and the classic Adam Strange status quo was returned. Later when Adam appeared in STARMAN, he was living on Rann but periodically still being zapped back to Earth.

Corey T. writes: In a recent mail shoot letter, someone wrote in about a Spider-man Musical. I hadn't heard anything about this, but I am clueless about this. However, you were discussing whether a Spider-man musical could be any good. Well, this wouldn't be the first attempt at this. Along with the horrible Spider-Man Rock! stage show you reference, there was also a Spider-man Rock Opera called Reflections of a Superhero. I have personally never seen a performance of this, but I haven't been able to find many negatives write ups about it. Here's a link to some more info, just kinda FYI. I don't know if this proves more towards whether a spidey musical is impossible or possible.

http://spiderfan.org/audio/reflections/index.html

Tipton: I think it was just an album, and never actually performed anywhere. Personally, I preferred the 1970s Spidey "Rockomic," which featured Spidey fighting the Kingpin while singing groovy 1970s pop.

TV RECOMMENDATIONS

Our "Ozchick," Emma F., writes: Just been reading your TV reccies and noticed you guys are getting Little Britain. I can’t recommend this show enough. Its completely crass and crosses every line imaginable but I haven’t laughed so long and hard (so much that a little bit of wee came out!) in a long while. I dare you to try not using the phrase “But I’m the only gay in the village!” after you’ve watched a couple of episodes. Also, keep a look out for my fave character – the leader of “Fat Busters”. It’s bringing a smile to my face just thinking about it as I’m typing. I hope we don’t have to wait too long for Season 3 here…

Ryall: Good to know... after a summer of bad reality TV, I'd like some shows that are intentionally crass.

Greg S. writes: What is your opinion on Entourage? I started watching it based on glowing reviews from one of my friends (though it seems to be because his misguided goals are to live like they do on that show) and it is pretty good considering the crap that is regularly on television. I was even more surprised that I liked it considering I have a strong distaste for the HBO series. People praise Sopranos to the end but I found it to be nothing more than an overhyped representation of America’s sad infatuation with anything mafia related. Piven is pretty good (man I see this guy everywhere, I just realized he played the George character when they did the tv show on Seinfeld) and I find Johnny Drama and Turtle to be the best parts of the show (mainly because I have two friends who are identical to them).

Ryall: I like ENTOURAGE a lot. Actually, I need that show to make me feel good again after a dour hour of SIX FEET UNDER. But I also like it because I still miss living in LA, and while I might not have been living the life those guys are, it still gives me a good LA "fix." And yeah, Piven's Ari and Kevin Dillon's Drama are the two best parts of that show. I can see it descend quickly into obnoxiousness, with them feeling the need to force in "let's hug it out, bitch" or "that's the way we roll" catchphrases each week -- guys, forget the t-shirt sales and just do a good show -- but I dig it. And the Aquaman subplot is funny to this comics fan, too.

I also have to recommend the director’s cut of Daredevil. I always thought the movie was a decent effort but that considering its short runtime could have been much better with an added 20 min or so. The director’s cut does improve it a good bit. I always thought it got a bad rap, for comic book movies they are all either Spider-man or Catwoman. People don’t seem to be willing to accept a comic movie as decent, instead of great.

Anyway I have to agree that the subway scene in Daredevil always confused me, and I always have to rationalize it as "he let him die, he didn’t kill him". When I was a kid my brother loved Daredevil and I loved Punisher. We would argue over who was better and he would always say that since Daredevil didn’t kill he was infinitely better than Punsher. Considering I was like 7 or 8 years old at the time I really didn’t understand why that mattered but it was ingrained in me that Daredevil never killed people. So that, aside from the Electra parts, was really my only big complaint.

Ryall: And speaking of complaints about the DD movie...

Daredevil 2: Electric Boogaloo

Greg G. writes: I see the discussion has moved on to Daredevi's moviel...it's interesting that someone wanted to note that opening scene with Daredevil, Quesada and the oncoming train. Personally, that wasn't one of the things that actually stood out to me as far as things that was wrong with the movie. The story is okay at best, but a lot of the problems I had with it had to do with other choices in execution that bothered me a lot more than that one scene. For instance:

  Casting: didn't that seem a bit weird right from the start, as though there was a conscious attempt to manufacture a blockbuster? Ben Affleck, Colin Farrell, and Jennifer Garner...I don't know if they were the right choices for this movie. I think they nailed Foggy Nelson and Ben Urich, but those three just didn't feel like a right fit to me. Heck, even putting Robert Iler in the movie as a bully seemed a bit dumb.

Ryall: The casting didn't seem weird to me--I mean, they wanted big-name stars to attract a non-comics crowd--but it did seem wrong to me in places. Notably Garner, who's just too cutesy wholesome (and non-Greek) to be a convincing Elektra.

  Costuming: I actually wrote Tipton about this one a few months back, but I don't know why they felt the need to change Daredevil's costume so much. The beauty of his suit, especially as drawn by Joe Quesada for "Guardian Devil" (I don't know WHAT he's thinking in "Father") is its simplicity. And if there's any character for whom there's a strong, implicit, psychological undertone to having a simple skintight outfit as they go out and deal regularly with an urban underworld, it's DD. Matt Murdock isn't Bruce Wayne - Batman armors up because he WANTS to be able to continue his war on crime and keep on kicking ass for years. Daredevil truly does not CARE what happens to him on this earth, which I will credit Ben Affleck for capturing on screen as he munches down painkillers like they're trail mix, and cavalierly rips a tooth out of his mouth. And why should he? He's a CATHOLIC. 

  And just a coupla fanboy nitpicks...if I gotta put up with Daredevil leaping across rooftops in heavy-assed biker leathers, fine. But they couldn't be bothered to put the "DD" in the center of his chest?!

Ryall: Eh, the costume didn't bother me. Spandex looks pretty bad on-screen. And while that look might work for the younger, thinner Spider-Man, it just wouldn't have worked for this movie.

However, why a woman who trained as a ninja chose to wear squeaky leather, too, I'll never know...

  And then there's Colin Farrell as Bullseye. Sorry. Pew. He is another character blessed with one of the simplest, coolest costume designs and it deserved to be seen. Even if he decided to start wearing a costume AFTER meeting Daredevil, that's okay, but I wanted to see the suit, didn't you?

Ryall: Oh, yeah. The forehead tattoo was pretty ridiculous, but I liked Farrell's crazy-ass, over-the-top portrayal, anyway.

  The Cute Little Things: They weren't all that cute. the name dropping in the Fixer's office (and why wasn't he seen again?) - "Colan, Miller, Bendis..."  Naming the rapist Quesada? I cringed inside. And talk about misuse of CGI. I hope Roger Ebert had a quibble or two about THAT one.

Ryall: Those name mentions didn't feel as much like tributes to me as they did just glad-handing for friends, yeah. And I agree that the quick cuts and bad CGI didn't really help the movie.

  All told, Marvel Films would've been served the property a lot better if they treated Daredevil more like the first Blade movie. Not just a strong story, practical casting and excellent cinematography (the washed-out colors is one of the strongest elements of that movie), but the under-the-radar treatment that was no doubt viewed by Marvel as a necessity due to the nature of the film industry's attitude towards comic book movies at the time. I dunno - maybe I just think too much. I'm just glad I saw it on HBO.

  Ah fuck it, Dude. Let's go bowling.

  Anyway, til Stephen Sommers takes a crack at The Shadow, Make Mine PoopShoot!

Ryall: That's not even funny to joke about... but at least you didn't say "Brett Ratner" and "The Shadow" in the same sentence.

TRAILER PARK

Bernard T. writes: The page is called Trailer Park... where's the fuckin' trailers? This is the 3rd time I've seen this page with some stupid article instead of the damn previews. I know you love having your own column, but this is like having a sportswriter commenting about the Iraq war. Get some fuckin' trailers next time, geek. By the way, Dane Cook seems like a funny guy... I might just buy that CD. Thanks for the interview.

Christopher Stipp responds: Had I known it was going to be this explosive of an issue to the readership I would've been back to the five trailers a week a long time ago.

Now seriously, the column is indeed called TRAILER PARK. I give you that. The ethos of this column as I stated a year and a half ago was that it was a place where I could talk up those things which were up and coming, hence why it's called Trailer Park. Now, Dane Cook, he has a new movie coming out soon...V for Vendetta, that's coming out soon....Corpse Bride, that's coming out soon: movies that aren't immediately coming out that week which deserve some electric ink. This all falls under the purview of what a column of this nature should be about. If people are interested in reading my quips about trailers, I figure, then they would be equally interested when I am able to talk to those people who are BEHIND all that magic. The reason why I haven't run more of these interviews in the past is because people, namely those with proverbial power in "The Establishment" have said, essentially, "Yeah, that dip-shit knows how to string a few nouns and verbs together in a way that's interesting. The site doesn't get as much traffic as other places but I'll let him talk to my client..."

I've wrestled with wondering whether or not the interviews really have their place here. I have. In fact I have more interviews still to go from the Comi-Con. I still have my one-on-one with Harold Perrineau Jr. from LOST (who has the LOST DVD coming out), ditto for Maggie Grace from LOST, Mark Steven Johnson and Eva Mendes from GHOST RIDER, Stan Lee from, well, almost every Marvel comic produced in its glory years, Jon Favreau from ZATHURA, Kyle Gass and Jack Black from Tenacious D from PICK OF DESTINY, newcomer Julian Morris from CRY WOLF and I even got an interview with Darren Aronofsky and Rachel Weisz for THE FOUNTAIN.

I don't have to run them. I can sit on them for my own pleasure if enough people don't like reading about these things. I completely value readers like yourself who have an honest beef about my trailer-thin offerings as of late. I agree. I haven't been true to form for a few weeks but I supplemented with some of this stuff because I figure people would like a change-up. Since I don't hear from a lot of people anyway, only really happens when I misspell something or to tell me "I rock," I didn't think anyone was out there.

I'm not getting defensive, I totally agree with your sentiment and I honestly appreciate the feedback. You took the time to write and so I figured I owed you the same...

Thanks for letting me know you're out there.

SQUIB CENTRAL

Andre B. writes: Man, it's funny how the same things can happen in different parts of the world. I graduated high school in 1994 in Brazil and discovered Black Sabbath just like you.

In that time i was listening Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Faith no More (one of Ozzy's favorite in that time)and Sepultura (Brazil's best) but when i started listening Black Sabbath I discovered where all these musics had started. Black Sabbath is much more important to music than Led Zeppelin. Well, i can't go to US to see their show but its great to know that they are still doing their black masses... 

Photos of the Week

Ryall: Evidently being an obnoxious prop comic wasn't a quick enough path to obscurity for Carrot Top. Now he's taken to modeling himself after absentee comedian Joe Piscopo, who's own obsession with bodybuilding signaled an end to a barely there career. Still, I'd rather have Top lifting weights than phone receivers in 1-800 commercials.

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