Joseph S. writes: Just wanted to say I was surprised to see (in one of your answers to reader mail this week) that you are reading, and apparently enjoying, New Avengers. I thought you had basically sworn off Bendis in general and New Avengers in particular after Disassembled. Nice to see you gave the title a chance and I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Tipton: I had a credit for a free trade or hardcover at my shop, and thought I'd give it a try, and figured if I hated it, I'd just give it away in a contest.

The first issue was as bad as I remember, with tons of continuity errors and lapses in logic, but I was pleasantly surprised at how fast things turned around. I was grudgingly amused by the time the new team caught Electro, and by the time they got to the Savage Land, I was on board, at least for the time being. It's pretty clear when Bendis is going out of his way to sell his favorite characters, such as having Spider-Woman take out Wolverine so easily, but there's been a strong progression of plot (which I didn't see in DISASSEMBLED), and he's got a real skill at utilizing Spidey in a team dynamic. And I've always loved the original Spider-Woman, so putting her front and center is fine by me.

It's not the Avengers I'd prefer to be reading about, but it's developed into a solid, enjoyable series.

Scott S. writes: Just wanted to drop a line and let you know how much I've been enjoying your weekly gospel. I've noticed that whenever I have a few spare minutes at a computer, I find myself veering to M.P.S. and flipping through your archives (a thankfully never-ending list it seems!) You've made some excellent observations and I won't waste your time patting you on the back, but I will just toss you a quick question. I just read your take on Animating Batman and I would love to get your opinion on the past season of Justice League Unlimited. I know you've remarked on some of the characters that have recently appeared like The Question, but the overall storyline of the season dealing with an ever increasingly powerful roster and the League's interaction with the government in general and Cadmus in particular.

I especially enjoyed Captain Marvel's appearance and the nod to his battle with Supes in Kingdom Come. I actually thought the last episode of the season, Epilogue, would be the K.C. storyline playing out with Amanda Waller giving the ok to drop the nuke on the heroes. Although seeing Batman comfort a dying Ace was well worth the storyline they went with. The underlying theme of the season, or at least the second half of the season, showing an underpowered government trying to deal with a collection of godlike protectors was very well written in my opinion. Anyhow, I would love to hear your opinion on it all and overall just wanted to say keep up the good work!

Tipton: This last season of JLU was absolutely amazing. I wish the comics were this well-conceived and well-written. New episodes started on Saturday, by the way.

Jonathan writes: I have a great question for you since you are covering Just League, and Alex Rosses Justice is going to be published sometime this year....I heard somewhere that The Joker could not be a part of Super Friends because of legal or they just thought he was scary...do you know why?

Jason writes: while reading your article on the Justice League my brother started talking about other leagues in print and on TV and I had a question maybe you can help. In The Challenge of The Superfriends, why didnt they have The Joker in the Legion Of Doom? Wouldnt he have made more sence than Scarecrow or The Riddler?

Tipton: I think I heard on one of the SUPERFRIENDS DVDs that they just wanted to use lesser known Batman villains that would work better in a team environment. I'll double-check, but I think that was the reason.

Doug L. writes: Thanks for the column, it’s always interesting reading.

You’ve mentioned a few of the good DC comic to cartoon adaptations, but I don’t think you’ve yet referred to the Spawn adaptation to cartoon. Infinitely better than the movie, I found this cartoon edgy and fun to watch. I don’t think it ran ultra long though, which was unfortunate. Originally on HBO, it concluded in late 1998 or 1999. I can’t quite remember when.

Last year it was mentioned that Image would be reviving the series and producing some new episodes but I lost track of that development and haven’t heard anything new. Would you be able to shed some light on this situation for me?

Tipton: McFarlane is reportedly developing a new SPAWN animated series, but production has not begun and no network has bought it, and HBO is reportedly not interested. There’s also the question of how McFarlane’s recent bankruptcy filing would affect it, so I'm not expecting it anytime soon.

Tim L. writes: Hey, your Comics 101 is good stuff!

Have you considered covering DC's Zero Hour?

Tipton: It's been talked about a lot in various columns (Green Lantern, Green Arrow, JSA) here and there, but the series itself was pretty uneven and, for me anyway, unsatisfying, so I'm not sure I want to devote a whole column to it. Especially since almost all of its big moments have now been undone, and the only good thing to come out of it was STARMAN, which I will be discussing in the fullness of time.

Taylor P. writes: I'm a big fan of your Comics 101 articles, and I make reading them a priority every Wednesday. As a long-time fan of the Justice League, I'm enjoying your current look at the team.

Today's article mentioned, in the section on Red Tornado, the planet Rann and its champion Adam Strange. I've been enjoying the current Adam Strange mini-series by Andy Diggle and Pascual Ferry, but other than that, plus an appearance in two issues of JLA by Mark Waid, I'm not too familiar with the character. I, and I believe other fans of Adam Strange, would appreciate the kind in-depth look into his history that only Scott Tipton could provide. Perhaps when you're done examining the JLA, you could take the time to shed some light on Adam Strange's past.

Tipton: Yeah, I'm on a big Adam Strange kick right now myself. In fact, there's an Adam Strange action figure next to my monitor these days. I’ll try to get a column in the rotation.

Nick W. writes: Is there any ties between the Android Red Tornado and the JSA Red Tornado (the big lady with a pot on her head)? Just curious as I wouldn't think they'd have the same name for giggles.

Tipton: The only tie is that the Red Tornado's creator, T.O. Morrow, used the name of Ma Hunkel's old identity for his android to confuse the JSAers and perhaps prompt them to trust the android a bit more. Mostly just a tip of the hat to the original by the writer and editor.

Frank B. writes: Confused about Red Tornado. Was he a member of the post-crisis JLA?

Tipton: Well, he was blown up in the CRISIS itself. When reality was reordered after the Crisis, yes, the Red Tornado joined up with the JSA and JLA in a similar fashion as was originally told, only without the parallel Earths aspect, and served until he was blown up in the CRISIS. His android body was later rebuilt and reunited with his "soul," leading to his tenure with Primal Force and Young Justice.

Shannon P. writes: Just wanted to give a big thanks for Comics 101. I read comics as a kid but never really read them seriously until midway through college, back in the early 90's. My roommate and one of my best friends, was a big comic fan and read X titles, JLA/JSA, Batman, Superman, well you get the picture. Well it inspired me to start reading Spidey again, around the time of Maximum Carnage. Well long story a little longer, while waiting in line to get some of the books signed I picked up and read Death: The High Cost of Living, I was hooked back. Of course next came Sandman and the rest is money well spent.

Now thanks to your weekly spot, I'm catching up on the older stuff I've never read. And it's helped a lot lately with backstory as I'm trying to get through two long boxes of JSA/JLA, X Titles, and various other DC and indy classics that a friend gave me because he was getting married... I guess he needed the room for bread makers and such. You've also reminded me of older characters I've forgotten about ones I should have known about. So thanks so much for all the hard work it seems you put into the column. Your column is the highlight of my Wed. Keep up all the hard work. And to paraphrase what Stan the Man says to Brodie in Mallrats, "You keep writing and I'll keep reading."

p.s. I know you've said something about a Sandman stint and I can't wait. any ideas on a Swamp Thing column?

Tipton: Thanks a lot, man. Glad you're enjoying it.

SWAMP THING column to come eventually, definitely.

Jenn S. writes: First off, I got a link to your columns on moviepoopshoot.com from someone on a message board while we were discussing "Batman: The Animated Series", with the sentence, "This guy really knows what he's talking about."

Boy, talk about an understatement. ;-)

I had a blast reading all of your old columns, reliving my childhood when my older half-brother let his little sister (who was probably way to young) read his comic books. Thanks for the memories! My only complaint is that I now have a list of trade paperbacks I want about a mile long. ;-)

Couple of questions, tho. The excellent series on "Crisis on Infinite Earths" made me remember that for a few to several years, DC (and maybe Marvel) would use the Annual issues of their comics to tell a sweeping story. Do they still put out annuals? And am I the only person who still vaguely remembers a story called "Eclipse" or something like that, about a alien who came and possessed superheroes?

Thanks for the great work. Even if you're going to make me spend hundreds of dollars on old memories. ;-)

Tipton: Marvel and DC both gave up on annuals a few years back, which is a real shame. It gave creators an opportunity to tell some longer, more epic-scaled stories every summer. I still miss 'em, to be honest. Marvel brought them back this year with their ULTIMATE imprint (the ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN annual being a can’t-miss issue, maybe one of my favorite comics of the year).

That's Eclipso you're thinking of, by the way. He's a DC villain that has been around since the '60s, and appeared in all the annuals one summer in the '90s. He even appeared on the new Justice League cartoon last year. And the new version of Eclipso, possessing the body of the Atom’s ex-wife Jean Loring (and boy, did I call that one wrong when I said the DC creatives wouldn’t go the cliché route of making her a supervillain…), has been all over the place of late, appearing in JSA and the miniseries DAY OF VENGEANCE.

TV RECOMMENDATIONS

Tom A. writes:
"CBS SNEAK PEAK -- 8 PM, CBS
You know all those annoying promos for CBS's new shows that you've been watching for the past few weeks? Now you can catch them all in one place, and be even more convinced that CBS's new shows don't look so great."

Oh boy, here I go, dating myself (no clone jokes, please) But do you remember when all three networks would put together these big promo shows, and had theme's for the season? The one I really remember was ABC's "Come on along with ABC" and the stars of the Love Boat (After seeing Gavin McLeod as Capt Stubbing, I could never deal with him as Murry from Mary Tyler Moore, but I digress) would chat among themselves about all the new shows that season?

The had one that ran on Saterday Mornings too, but I don't think the Love Boat people were involved.

Ryall: Hmm... I don't actually remember those old promo shows. Maybe I was too busy at the time reading the "Fall Preview" issue of TV Guide--I devoured that thing as a kid.

I DO remember the Saturday morning cartoon preview show, though--I was all over that. You had to sit through lame promos for, say, Smurfs to get to good stuff like Tarzan or Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, but it was worth it.

Ty P. writes:
"GILMORE GIRLS -- 8 PM, WB Season Premiere: Here we go again, me about to take more crap from guys all over for championing this show. Until they watch it and realize I'm right, that is."

Three things you've always been right on - the greatness of Gilmore Girls and Arrested, and Family Guy sucking.

Keep fightin' the good fight, Chris!

Ryall: I'm tryin', I'm tryin'. Now we'll see if people agree with me this season on MY NAME IS EARL and EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS, too.

Bastion L. writes: I suppose you would have received many a e-mail along the same subject. I caught the pilot for the War At Home last night (you don't know me so don't judge me pls). And I have to say that it was one of the worst sitcom pilots I've ever had the displeasure of watching. It just doesn't at all have the momentum to make it an even relatively moderate tv comedy. You're right, it's a swing and a blatant miss for Michael Rappaport. By the way, I thought it was Alec Baldwin who was making an appearance on The Simpsons?

Ryall: I just picked Baldwin as a goof, implying that he guest-stars on every show, and here he was on THE SIMPSONS' premiere--that was nice. Made me look smart. Couldn't quite figure out why his character looked just like Jon Stewart, however.

Gabriel E. writes: Long time/first timer here. I just wanted to ask you if you were serious when you made the comment in the Mailshoot "the last thing this faceless band wants is another arrogant asshole lead singer to steal all attention from them." Please say you were kidding. Come on, Michael Hutchence made INXS what they are. I'm sure the rest of the band all had an equal part in the creation of the music but it was the entropy of Hutchence's passion that was the fuel. You can hear it in his voice, man! I've found that my favorite singers are the ones that not only let you hear the lyrics but also make you feel it. Kurt Cobain and Bob Dylan come to mind. Both singers who made you feel what they were singing about. I put Bono and Hutchence in that same category. The difference is that Hutchence could really sing.

Ryall: Maybe my point came across wrong--I agree with you, totally. That band WAS Michael Hutchence. What I meant was, this faceless, Hutchence-less band that they are now will never want another lead singer that commands all the attention the way Hutchence did. You can hear it in their comments--they like the singers that stand back and let the band do their thing (never mind that most people go see bands for the singer's presence). So I didn't mean that Hutchence was an asshole (JD, one of the contestants on the show, was who that comment was aimed at), I just meant that he was the showy frontman who took all attention away from the band. And this band obviously craves attention now. I liked Hutchence a lot (although not as much as he liked himself, evidently).

I agree that the band without Hutchence and with a new singer is just a sham. At this point, the new singer should tour with the House Band on the show, since they seem better than the old INXS guys at this point. INXS-Mania.

I've caught only 2 episodes of Rock Star and it made me sick. INXS died when Hutchence died. Not one of those singers have the heart or passion in their voice. All those singers "sound" good but you're kidding yourself if you don't think it'll be nothing more than the world's best INXS cover band.

Jeez, I'm not even that big of an INXS fan. I'll get off my soap box now.

PS. Have you checked out "Extras" yet? Fucking genius. Ricky Gervais is a comic treasure. Well written and acted. Kate Winslett had me in stitches. Lovers of "The Office" will be proud. I must beg the question, why can't American TV shows be this funny?

Ryall: I'm dying to check this out--haven't seen it yet. Although, in defense of American sitcoms, I point to Everybody Hates Chris, My Name is Earl and even the Steve Carell-led version of The Office. I also point away from the terribly unfunny Lisa Kudrow show, The Comeback. Ugh.

Gabe responds: Gottcha! I totally understand what you mean now.

I'm still on the fence about The Comeback. I mean, I really don't think it was a comedy. It was like watching a train wreck in slo-motion. My morbid sense of...whatever...kept me coming back. She was such an unlikable character but she was supposed to be...wasn't she? You also got glimpses of the stuff in her life that made her that way but they came so late in the series that I think a lot of people tuned out by then. What do I know, you also talking to the guy who thought "Unscripted" was an underrated show. I know that I'm in the minority. Being a no name actor in LA, I really identified with a lot of it. Situation: Comedy was ok but I hate what NBC has done to Bravo.

Looking forward to Everyone Hates Chris and Earl. I'm interested to see if Four Kings is any good. They had a hell of a time casting it. The Carell "Office"...man, I have such a love for the British one that I just can't like it. The differences just get me like nails on a chalk board. Everyone I work with loves it so I know it's just me.

Ryall: I'd recommend giving NBC's THE OFFICE another shot--it really became its own show last season with the "basketball game" episode. I do love the Gervais show, but the cast on the NBC show is so good. And I'd watch Steve Carell in most anything (except for BEWITCHED).

"HARLEYSTMAN" writes in regarding CBS's THRESHOLD: There are many people in the world that are common workers and common thinkers therefore they do not give there focus to one type of learning thus is the reason we have factory workers (i.e.; as in the show when they heard the sounds of Allen town, steel mill once more they returned to work) the thinking's behind this show and the creative play on the depictions to enter into the corp{past center, memory} of the human mind without being obvious to provoke and express the will and want of the people to prosper and work is excellent!, many people will only see the surface show but as the past sounds and associated actions {from there life's}translate in the night in there sleep it should and will help in more ways then just ratings for the show.

PS. Would be great to meet one of these writers.

Ryall: If only so they could re-write the above paragraph so I could understand it. I think you're trying to say the show's star, Carla Gugino, is very cute, and if so, concur.

And We All Know How Painful That Can Be

Adam J. writes: Just wanted to send you a quick line letting you know what a kick I got out of the image you picked to accompany the news article about David Letterman's ex-house painter. While I had read many comics before it, that issue of the Avengers where they visit the David Letterman show is what made me start collecting comics. A friend had brought that issue in to school, and after reading it I asked him where he got it. He told me the comic shop it came from, and thanks to that I am tens of thousands of dollars poorer. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Your site always brings a smile, and this time it brought back some fond memories as well. Thanks for the fantastic work.

Tipton: All credit for that one goes to Ryall -- he pulled the images there, and for nearly all of the news stories. Although I, too, loved that issue as a kid. The whole bit with Hawkeye not wanting to wear his hearing aids and just answering the questions from memory still kills me.

Ryall: Overall, the Assistant Editor's Month stunt Marvel did back then was a big bust, even if some stories still worked despite the gag (John Byrne inserting himself into FANTASTIC FOUR 262 could have gone so much worse than it did), but that AVENGERS issue always stuck with me. Usually those "real TV show appears in comic form" stories don't work (anyone else remember when Spider-Man met the "Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time-Players in that issue of MARVEL TEAM-UP?) but this one did. And I just love that grinning mug of Letterman on the cover of the issue.

McGROWL'S PUPPY TALES

Beth writes: are there any movies from the famous mc growl dog coming out anytime soon or are you keeping the dog in the books?

Ryall: Hey, Bob Balaban, if you're reading, maybe you can answer this one.

Pearl Jam vs Creed, Cont'd

Leslie writes: This morning I found myself thinking about the Creed fan who wrote in to you a few weeks back.

I live in Canada, and last night was lucky enough to catch Pearl Jam in my home town on Kitchener, Ontario. It was the fourth time I'd seen them, and as usual they were fantastic. They usually hit maybe 3 Canadian cities, but they seem to really like us Canadian fans. The last time they were in Toronto they promised to spend more time here, but when someone says that during a concert you're not really sure if they mean it. They did - they played 16 shows in 15 cities this time around, all of which sold out.

Apparently they are in the early stages of recording their next cd, so they had no real reason for the tour. I guess they just felt like playing some live shows. They didn't play any new songs, just a great mix from their amazing song list. I'm glad they chose us!

They played for two and a half hours, covering over 30 songs. To this day I have never seen any band play as long as they do, and most charge twice as much.

I am a member of their fanclub, which allows me prime seating at their shows for a low cost, all before the tickets are available to the general public. It also allowed me to meet other fanclub members at the show. There were many fans who were following them for the whole Canadian tour (they are also hitting 3 American cities). This is dedication I don't have the time or money for, but I found myself a little jealous of them. They play a different set list every show, so it's always a new experience.

After the show I went home, logged onto the internet, and paid $10 for the bootleg copy of the show, which was ready a few hours after the concert. Along with this I received artwork for the cd and case, plus about 20 photos from the show.

So why did I think about that Creed fan? Because I can't imagine Creed did for their fans even once what Pearl Jam does for their fans on a regular basis.

The quality of the music is not even in question. The thought that the number of words in a song is a measurement of how its worth is laughable.

Pearl Jam is a band that has continually fought for their fans, and has done whatever they can to make us happy. When is the last time Creed took on a big corporation (Ticketmaster) or the government (Bush and company) for you? Instead we get a blowhard who preaches about Christianity, then gets his mom to drop him off in a Denny's so he can try to get laid. When I think of Scott Stapp I just feel sad for him. I certainly don't admire his music or what he stands for.

Ending on a positive note, if you get the chance to see one of these shows, by all means go. No matter how many times I see them, I always leave even more excited than I went in. They deliver every time. This is a band with staying power. Take that, Creed.

Ryall: Well said. Our own Joshua Jabcuga tried to get me to go to last week's PJ show in Canada with him and it just didn't work out, but I'll definitely catch them again when they play locally.

The thing with the PEARL JAM rip-off bands is, usually no real good comes of their efforts to co-opt someone else's sound. Sure, they might sell a few records, but they're either quickly forgotten, like the CANDLEBOXes and SEVEN MARY THREEs of the world, or mocked, like our man Stapp here, or they mary Gwen Stefani. Meanwhile, the original band, like the Dude, abides.

Photos of the Week

Ryall: Well, JD had my vote early on to take over singing chores for INXS (and I do think it's gonna be a chore), since he had the right "obnoxious lead singer" attitude all along. And here he proved that with this shirt that somehow slipped past all of CBS's censors. [Hint: look at it sideways]:

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