tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post7688727891433913790..comments2024-03-19T10:41:35.976-05:00Comments on Bronze Age Babies: Getting Down Underground: Captain America 174Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-73562213853207987592014-03-26T02:56:01.305-05:002014-03-26T02:56:01.305-05:00Ha! Osvaldo gave us his e-mail address! Speaking o...Ha! Osvaldo gave us his e-mail address! Speaking of spamming, prepare to be bombarded with endless photos of my cats! Ha, ha, ha!!!<br /><br />And back to the matter at hand: Prowler's observation about the Foom! sound effect made me go back and re-examine all those panels. Besides Foom, there's also Bom! Pow! and Tunk! It's almost like an episode of the Batman TV show.Edo Bosnarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-68304692113009059982014-03-25T13:44:17.776-05:002014-03-25T13:44:17.776-05:00David, you should not have to put any more info to...David, you should not have to put any more info to comment on my blog than you do here! I am confused.<br /><br />But enough spamming this post with my stuff - email me if you ever have any questions/problems themiddlespacesATgmailDOTcommr. oyolahttp://themiddlespaces.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-59959803784030405232014-03-25T11:13:10.490-05:002014-03-25T11:13:10.490-05:00Doug, about your "hypocrite" comment: do...Doug, about your "hypocrite" comment: don't feel bad. I also frequent some of the "bloggers of a similar brain" but don't comment like I should. I mean, there's only so many minutes in a day. Then, there's that pesky matter of that 4-letter word "work".<br /><br />So before any of you BABers of a similar brain get all "schmucky", thanks for all you do too. :-)<br /><br />TomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-88960024821888845482014-03-25T06:45:00.454-05:002014-03-25T06:45:00.454-05:00Osvaldo, I'll give it another look.. I just pr...Osvaldo, I'll give it another look.. I just prefer the Blogger style of posting (like here at BAB..), I've seen many sites use it and I'm most familar with it.<br /><br />Working at a government site, I'm not comfortable when a site asks to 'share' information from either my Yahoo or Google accounts. I don't do facebook, twitter, and others. For the average IT guy, I'm a pretty low-tech, high-tech person.<br /><br />No worries sir, I can always enjoy without commenting.david_bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00218727673816200051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-88570097445959909752014-03-24T21:49:02.981-05:002014-03-24T21:49:02.981-05:00I think I speak for many here when I say that some...I think I speak for many here when I say that some of your reviews are so good, there's not much I can add!J.A. Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15800901321134394272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-14074392025154902192014-03-24T21:36:05.749-05:002014-03-24T21:36:05.749-05:00Quite enjoying this series of reviews on the Secre...Quite enjoying this series of reviews on the Secret Empire arc. The time , effort and heart you both put into these reviews really shows. I'm guilty for not posting so much on weekdays; but I'm always lurking out here reading...Redartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08221459636234713619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-56008986705203716302014-03-24T20:31:47.175-05:002014-03-24T20:31:47.175-05:00Hot Pants Guy --
Every time I see that Superman c...Hot Pants Guy --<br /><br />Every time I see that Superman cover with Supergirl's, um, hot pants, I think of that comment you made on that post.<br /><br />You need to comment more often, fella!<br /><br />DougDoughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-29235473231349777342014-03-24T20:30:45.742-05:002014-03-24T20:30:45.742-05:00"...we average around 370 unique users during..."...we average around 370 unique users during the week, less on the weekends."<br /><br />Yup, that's what I said -- pretty clunky of me. What I <i>meant</i> to say was that we average around 370 unique users on weekdays ("during the week"); on Saturdays and Sundays we'll get around 320-340 each day. So that's over 2400 unique users in a week.<br /><br />Sheesh, if it was 300 for the week I'd feel like a voice in the wilderness!<br /><br />Clearly confusing,<br /><br />DougDoughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-51172284974788427522014-03-24T20:05:18.186-05:002014-03-24T20:05:18.186-05:00That shield under Cap's civvies struck me as u...That shield under Cap's civvies struck me as unrealistic too, Doug, but just one of those things we old style comics fans had to accept as there wasn't any good solution, unless Hank Pym gave his pal Steve a gadget to shrink the shield with Pym particles anytime he needed to hide it. (do I get a No Prize???) <br />This Secret Empire yarn is the sort of thing that was a fun, dramatic read for my 40 years younger self and which is still rather fun to pore over now, not just to laugh at some of the typical silliness but also to pick up on some things that would have gone way over my head when I first read the mags hot off the spinner racks at my favorite convenience store. I recall the coverage of Watergate seemed to go on forever, taking up so much time on all three networks (my 20-something nieces & nephews would be horrified at how deprived their fathers and I were back in the day, with only 3 tv channels to choose from even in a big town like Salt Lake City, where I lived when these comics were new, and no internet or cable!).<br />Assuming that Englehart intended Number One to be Nixon at the point when he wrote this, I suspect he figured he had to have him make some reference to Watergate but he couldn't figure out an apt way to do it under the circumstances. Of course, it would have been highly amusing if Number One turned out to really be Nixon's former Number Two, Spiro Agnew!Fred W. Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07602124919964053532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-16348502332085872382014-03-24T19:46:40.457-05:002014-03-24T19:46:40.457-05:00Karen (and others), I am sorry if you've had a...Karen (and others), I am sorry if you've had any trouble commenting on my blog! I am not sure what to say/do about it - this is the first I have heard of any problems, but that doesn't mean there haven't been any. The "Sympathy for the Devil" post was a weird case, b/c I was linking to a post I made on another site where I am a contributing writer - Are you sure you tried to leave the comment on The Middle Spaces and not on the other site (Hooded Utilitarian)?<br /><br />Regardless, as someone who comments on various blog frequently and have had more than one set of comments disappear into the ether, I have gotten into the habit of doing a CTRL+A and CTRL+C for my comments so I can repaste them easily if something goes wrong and I need to do the whole thing again. Kind of a pain in the tuchus, but part of price of participating on blogs I think.<br /><br />Doug, around 300 a week? That is actually less than I imagined. I always try to do my part to spread the word about this place and I know I have at least one friend who is shy about commenting, but is a regular lurker, since he talks to me about topic. :)<br /><br />I just signed up for Comic Blog Elite, but have not put the code on my site yet. I'll let you know how it goes. One of the things I love about Wordpress is that it gives great stats on views and unique hits and where traffic is coming from.mr. oyolahttp://themiddlespaces.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-72301622321989183702014-03-24T19:16:10.580-05:002014-03-24T19:16:10.580-05:00Al Milgrom's art.
I'm a huge Avengers fan....Al Milgrom's art.<br />I'm a huge Avengers fan. Those were tough years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-409121958802916442014-03-24T19:13:19.892-05:002014-03-24T19:13:19.892-05:00Hot Pants Guy here...
I hit this page every mornin...Hot Pants Guy here...<br />I hit this page every morning like coffee. Sure, some topics interest me more than others. A Zany Haney or Avengers review makes my day. A music topic? Eh, not so much. More often than not a review will get me interested in something I never considered. <br />I also like when people disagree on creators. Who was that guy that liked Al Milgrom's? <br />Man, that's brave.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-51530837198617761312014-03-24T17:50:59.344-05:002014-03-24T17:50:59.344-05:00Oh, and just for the record, I've never had pr...Oh, and just for the record, I've never had problems leaving comments on Osvaldo's blog...Edo Bosnarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-25697667994295103762014-03-24T17:42:45.796-05:002014-03-24T17:42:45.796-05:00I should apologize for being a schmuck earlier. I ...I should apologize for being a schmuck earlier. I know our readers are out there every day -- and those of you who comment regularly are the best. I was just crying in my coffee earlier, nothing more nothing less. And I'm a hypocrite, because I don't ever leave as many comments on other's blogs as I should.<br /><br />Osvaldo, it's hard to say how many readers we get daily. Google tracks page views, but we also use a site called the "Comic Blog Elite" which is supposed to track page views as well as unique users on a daily basis (so you might come by here and be counted as a unique user, but then come back three other times, which would up the page view count side of things). We had a spike when we ran that big Vision/Torch post a few weeks ago, but have returned back to "normal" lately. I'd say, if you believe the CBE, we average around 370 unique users during the week, less on the weekends. But really -- I have no idea.<br /><br />DougDoughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-57544270008736577362014-03-24T17:28:40.377-05:002014-03-24T17:28:40.377-05:00Sorry, man, I was mostly away from my computer all...Sorry, man, I was mostly away from my computer all afternoon and evening (my time). Otherwise, need I even say that - as usual - I thoroughly enjoyed your review.<br /><br />Anyway, concerning the robots: Kane's doesn't really look much like a robot, while I kind of like Sal's. He may be bloated, but he still looks pretty menacing.<br />And Doug, I totally agree with you about Cap's shield and the way he could wear it under his civvies and nobody noticed. Yeah, right - that was one of those things that really pushed the limits of my suspension of disbelief.<br />And I kind of like the floating heads on the opening splash page. It's a pretty effective visual...Edo Bosnarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-48308995370380933322014-03-24T17:17:08.246-05:002014-03-24T17:17:08.246-05:00Karen, I just tried the same with Osvaldo's si...Karen, I just tried the same with Osvaldo's site, confusing. Not tracking what to do, would prefer a more easier format like this.., for commenting.<br /><br />I have some wonderful insights on my enjoyment of 'Sympathy'..<br /><br />david_bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00218727673816200051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-10200449819011946262014-03-24T16:19:57.055-05:002014-03-24T16:19:57.055-05:00As I've stated before, I was never a big reade...As I've stated before, I was never a big reader of Capt America but as I read through your (youse guys?) review of this story arc, it gets harder to remember why? <br /><br />Jumping back quickly to the cover, was this one of those rare Gil Kane covers that lacked an up the nose angle? It is interesting that there are two different renditions of the robot. I'm assuming (and we all know what happens when we assume) that the artists had an outline that simply said Cap and Falc fight a robot. <br /><br />I can understand the frustration with the rubber masks. It would explain Roger's brown hair and Willie's stache but, this being pre-internet and in the middle of the southwest, where do you get one? Then again, it was always a cool reveal in Mission Impossible when one of the characters would reach down and pull the mask off. Chaboni (?) is still using that trick in their yogurt commercials. Bob Sagat has his glasses on UNDER the rubber mask!?!<br /><br />The re-introduction of the X-Men. Marvel girl has her old blue and yellow costume but keeps her GREEN mask? This has to be men with no sense of fashion or it was drawn one way but the colorist knew the character and colored the mask correctly? <br /><br />But that's not my biggest problem with the story. Why did Prof X have to go down into the underground? It has been demonstrated not only in this story but in others that he can communicate telepathically as well as project his aura on the astral plane. For all intents, this was a rapid raid into a facility to rescue and recover captured comrades. There was no need for a guy in a wheelchair to be down there. And when you got into a pitched battle, you were going to have some of your resources tied to defending the Prof. david_b can do a better job explaining this than I but tying assets to a fixed spot that must be defended at any costs just spells disaster. <br /><br />What I loved about the Atomic Annihilator - FOOM!!! Our heroes are felled by Friends Of Ol' Marvel??? I would think that anything atomic would have to go Kra-Kow or Ka-Toom or ZZZZZT at the least. <br /><br />Just an aside, Avengers 161, another great Ultron story, the introduction of Jocasta and Hank going a bit crazier.<br /><br />The Prowler (the fashionably late poster-er).<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-91872914278268528752014-03-24T16:05:42.971-05:002014-03-24T16:05:42.971-05:00I want to thank you guys for jumping in here to he...I want to thank you guys for jumping in here to help make Doug and I feel a little better about the lack of posts. Once again, you folks have shown you are the best comics community! We realize that not every post is going to be everyone's cup of tea. I think it's just that we get a little frustrated at times when we see this inverse relationship to the level of effort put into a post and the amount of comments it generates. But your explanations make a lot of sense. Thanks.<br /><br />Osvaldo, I had been meaning to remark at some point that I had tried to leave a rather lengthy comment on your blog (regarding your Sympathy for the Devil post) and after I had written my response and filled out the little form and hit submit, it promptly gave me an error message saying it couldn't be posted! I don't know what went wrong, and frankly I had other things to do, so I didn't try again, but I wonder if anyone else has had issues leaving comments on your blog? I did enjoy reading your observations, by the way.Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17032477453891087135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-76141918124002210412014-03-24T15:53:24.749-05:002014-03-24T15:53:24.749-05:00It is also harder to comment on comics I have not ...It is also harder to comment on comics I have not read unless something particular strikes me as weird or cool or bad, or if I have a particular relation or memory to it as apocrypha like Kree-Skrull War or something.<br /><br />I think Tom may be right (not about how hard it is sometimes to prove you are not a robot, though that is certainly true, too), and a pointed question helps. Maybe these reviews can end with 1 to 3 specific questions for readers, asking for a comparison, or how you'd handle something, or about the art, etc. . .<br /><br />Anyway, I get almost no response to my blog posts (except for re-tweets and the like), so I feel you. . But let it be known, your work is appreciated and I may be wrong, but even w/o comments I am sure your traffic must be pretty good. About how many people visit BAB a day?mr. oyolahttp://themiddlespaces.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-52734397300522949622014-03-24T15:49:14.421-05:002014-03-24T15:49:14.421-05:00Another great review, thanks.
One thing I'll ...Another great review, thanks.<br /><br />One thing I'll add, it was nice the way Englehart tied this to his Beast stories in Amazing Adventures. I haven't read those in years, but I remember the Beast dealt with the Secret Empire. The SE helped turn Johnny Horton in to the Griffin, one of my favorite B-level Marvel villains. <br /><br />Maybe the "Watergate" references were forced by editors, or it was just #1 hiding his identity. Or "the stainless one" could've been making it up as he went along, Harderman/Haldeman notwithstanding.<br /><br />And thanks for reminding us that a story can be great even if it contains devices with names like "Atomic Annihilator"!J.A. Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15800901321134394272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-5615787092780408012014-03-24T15:36:21.157-05:002014-03-24T15:36:21.157-05:00Man...some days it's really hard to prove you&...Man...some days it's really hard to prove you're not a robot.<br /><br />Tom againAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-18832723490547436912014-03-24T15:33:43.362-05:002014-03-24T15:33:43.362-05:00Doug, my 2 cents on this phenomenon: I think it...Doug, my 2 cents on this phenomenon: I think it's just the nature of reading an in-depth review vs. being asked a pointed question. I think I can speak for the majority... nay, ALL of the BAB community and say that Karen's and your efforts are greatly appreciated. It's just that on a lengthy review of a multi-part epic all I can come with a lot of the time is "Wow!"<br /><br />So...<br /><br />Wow!<br /><br />Thanks for a great review. And thanks again for the "reading list" (whose idea was that anyways?). I happen to have all of these issues and finally got around to finding them last week. I just finished reading through #175 a few days ago and am looking forward to your wrap-up.<br /><br />Maybe I'll have something intelligent to say by then. But, don't count on it. ;-)<br /><br />TomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-3399393657599964952014-03-24T14:28:40.966-05:002014-03-24T14:28:40.966-05:00It's a point Karen and I have never reconciled...It's a point Karen and I have never reconciled. A post that takes us four hours to produce elicits far less love from our readers than does some question we cobble together in 30 seconds. Those go for 40+ comments sometimes.<br /><br />Just.<br />Don't.<br />Get.<br />It.<br /><br />DougDoughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-53780370716287368472014-03-24T13:58:58.894-05:002014-03-24T13:58:58.894-05:00Whaaat..., no love for even the 'Atomic Annihi...Whaaat..., no love for even the 'Atomic Annihilator' today..?<br /><br />david_bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00218727673816200051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-67233261015250833522014-03-24T08:13:27.955-05:002014-03-24T08:13:27.955-05:00Great review, folks. Here's where the pace is ...Great review, folks. Here's where the pace is stepped up for a multi-battle/confrontation epic, worthy of some Silver FF tale against Doctor Doom or what have you..<br /><br />Doug, I found nothing wrong with the floating heads, as we all know, there was a lot of that going on during these years, and it was a somewhat heavy-handed reminder to new readers that YES, these guys are Cap and Falc. <br /><br />I still cringe about the 'hiding the shield' explanations when Cap's in civvies. Painfully true obviously, but sometimes just a tad too convenient, and there's NO 'story device' to adequately describe just how it's on his back when wearing loose clothes. Readers just gave up asking the Bullpen and decided to accept it, I guess.<br /><br />I don't have the page in front of me, but one of the all-time favorite life-quotes is in this book. Specifically when Falc and Cap are pressed up against the wall after the alarm is sounded, and Falc thinks something like, "I can't believe Cap..!! When all the odds are against and the chips are down, he never gives up!" I have always carried that with me my entire life, and I have Mr. Englehart to thank for that.<br /><br />This issue is also key for me because for 10some years, I never had ish 175, so it was just this issue, then 176. So this was kinda the 'last chapter' of the actual saga for most of my teen years. <br /><br />A somewhat generic cover, an improvement over 173's cover. Overall, a great battle issue.david_bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00218727673816200051noreply@blogger.com