Off the Chest

Doug:  Today we're looking at superhero insignia, as found on the chests of our favorite characters -- shoot, even if they're nasty, we can talk about those types as well.

Doug:  Part of this conversation will certainly include the iconic Superman "S" (our reviews of Byrne's Man of Steel begin tomorrow), and maybe the spider on our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.  Perhaps we should lead off with your thoughts on just why certain chest emblems are the best, or most well-known.  And what of those emblems that have been tampered with through the years?  I recall being pretty ticked off when, in the 1989 Batman film, the Dark Knight's chest emblem showed up with two extra points on the tail.  Say what??  Similarly, I was a bit put off by the costume revamp in this summer's Amazing Spider-Man.  Why mess with an icon?  So, what are the properties of these designs that make even non-comics fans take notice?

Doug:  But what are some logos off the beaten path so to speak?  Are there characters that you really like, and part of that love is embedded in their costume's color scheme or logo?  Let's hear your thoughts on this important aspect of longjohn fashion.

Doug's Favorites: Daredevil Annual 1

Daredevil Annual #1 (September 1967) -- Giant-Size Daredevil #1 (1975)
"Electro and His Emissaries of Evil!"
Stan Lee-"Adam Austin" (Gene Colan)/John Tartaglione

Doug:  So I'll start this one off by saying I'm mad.  For the life of me, I cannot find my beat-to-Hades copy of DD Annual #1!  I'm sure I never sold it, as there isn't a soul out there who'd have paid me money for it - it was in that bad of condition!  But, as a save for the day, I do have a copy of Giant-Size Daredevil #1 which reprints in full the aforementioned missing tome.  So, the covers above are just references -- no sense in scanning the G-S, which is in decent shape after all.  And a programming note -- since I've not read the G-S issue until right now, I will put this on the sidebar under DD Annual #1.  With all of that out of the way, shall we...?

Doug: This story is the epitome of "jumping on point".  Despite the fact that Daredevil had been appearing for four years when the Annual hit the shelves (and 12 years ahead of the Giant-Size reprint), Stan Lee and Gene Colan provided a story that could instantly immerse a reader of any experience deeply into the DD mythos.  And even though I'd dabbled in a few DDs by the time I obtained the Annual (I cannot recall how I got it, either -- it may have been at the same yard sale I acquired the Thors we looked at a couple of weeks ago, as well as a coverless X-Men #58 and half of Silver Surfer #4 -- yes, half...), I always found this story to be a treasure.  Part of it is due to Stan's very light-hearted script -- the wise-cracking Marvel heroes were always my favorites -- and of course the remainder is due to Colan's energetic/frenetic art treatment.  Plus I just always like super-teams, even if they are comprised of bad guys.  Although one could argue that this wasn't the greatest collection of DD foes, they are colorful characters.  Below, as they show up I've given the reference to their first appearance in a DD mag.

Doug:  We open in Matt Murdock's in-home gymnasium, as an unmasked Daredevil puts himself through his paces.  Stan used the first five pages of the story to describe Daredevil's personality, powers, marital status, employment status, living status, billy club properties...  you get the picture.  And as I said above, I felt this was an invaluable resource.    So Daredevil takes to the skies, looking for a little trouble.  Well he finds it plenty soon enough!  Overhearing heartbeats, then voices, he recognizes, his attention is drawn below to an alley.  And who should be plotting and scheming but the Matador (see DD #2) and Electro (see DD #5)!  Colan's art is sure-fire throughout most of this book, but there are some misses along the way.  I'll add that Stan often puts way too much dialogue into a page where the action would literally take a split second.  I offer you the splash of Daredevil making his attack to illustrate my point.  Great page at first glance, but there are nine word balloons on a page that in real time would have lasted less than 2-2 1/2 seconds.  Additionally, and we don't see it, but wasn't DD going to land hard on his butt?  Ouch!!  Our combatants brawl for a bit, with Daredevil getting the better of it -- until Electro manages a clean shot that wings DD in his right shoulder, knocking him out.  Rather than finish it -- because no super-villain in his right mind would ever a) unmask or b) kill a fallen foe -- our do-badders flee so that they can organize the rest of their partners in crime.

Doug:  After coming to his senses, Daredevil tries to get home to sleep off his wounds.  Trouble is, the shock has made his right arm virtually useless as well as made him dizzy.  He begins to lose it mid-swing and tumbles to a rooftop.  In another scene that I'd question, DD uses his left hand to cushion the blow as his face was about to drive into the roofing material.  Hey, wouldn't that shatter all the little bones in his hand and wrist, in addition to breaking his neck?  But who am I?  It's a cool visual...  DD ends up walking back to his brownstone and enters right through the front door -- and you thought New York was the "city that never sleeps".  Apparently not in Matt Murdock's neighborhood!

Doug:  We cut to an airplane carrying the Gladiator (see DD #18) across the Atlantic, back to the States.  He muses to himself how DD's about to get it from a new-and-improved Gladiator, and then we cut to Electro dragging the Stilt-Man (see DD #8) from a river.  In his best Dr. Frankenstein (that's Fronk-un-steen...) impression he uses his electrical powers to bring Stilt-Man back among the dastardly.  Cut again to the law offices of Nelson & Murdock, where we see the ever-lovely Karen Page lamenting the no-show of Mr. Murdock -- and without a call.  Foggy tries to tell her that Matt can look after himself, but you know how Stan writes angst.

Doug:  After a night's rest, DD's awakened by the phone, as Foggy placated Karen with a call.  Matt says he's dealing with a "personal issue" and excuses himself from the day.  Taking again to the skies, he comes across the Matador out causing trouble, doing so in an effort to lure our red-clad hero into the open.  Well, three pages of butt-kicking later, the Matador is tossed in the drink and disappears under the water.  DD exits the scene and hits it high again with his billy club.  And speaking of that wonderful weapon, we're shown an interesting side of superhero life -- part of the club is hollow and contains some nutritional pills DD pops to avoid having to eat while super-heroing.  While this is news-you-can-use, I'm not sure in 1967 I'd have glorified any sort of pill-popping.  Oh, well -- Stan must have been oblivious to the implications.

Doug:  DD's continued searching for Electro pays off (in a way), as rounding a corner he comes face-to-face with the Stilt-Man!  And, four pages of butt-kicking later, DD's off for home, one tuckered-out swashbuckler.  Here's a funny bit of out-of-time for you:  on Matt's doorstep is a cassette tape.  In the days before answering machines, voicemail, etc. Foggy dropped by a recorded message to let Matt know of his concern for his well-being -- after all, there's been a Stilt-Man sighting.  Don't we know it!  After patching up some wounds and bruises, Matt sets out as himself and walks to Central Park.  But what lurks in parks, especially those with lagoons?  Frogs!  Big ol' Leap-Frogs (see DD #25)!  As you may have already guessed, two and a half pages of butt-kicking have the Leap-Frog on the jump, and right into the hands of the Gladiator!  DD takes a hard chop, then a kick to the chops, and is now in the presence of the full roster of the Emissaries of Evil!

Doug:  Not to sound like a broken record, but seven pages of butt-kicking later and the E of E are all tied up!  As Karen and I have often discussed, team books avoid that sense of omnipotence due mainly because the team members never fight together, pooling their powers and resources.  Here it's a combination of that, and the fact that these villains are just plain dumb.  And who ever thought Electro showed any leadership potential at all (other than Bendis)?  DD has a nifty trick at the end to keep the baddies at bay -- he loops them together and then uses Electro's powers to keep the other four knocked out!  Back at the law offices the next day, Matt by necessity acts bruskly toward Karen -- because that's what comic book lovers do to protect that secret identity!

Doug:  Loved this issue then, and in spite of its obvious flaws (only revealed to me as an adult -- when I was 10 this was highbrow fare!) I still like it a lot now.  As I remarked, the entry level writing is well done, and comics in general would do themselves a favor if they were more accessible these days (and dropped the price, what, a couple of bucks?).  The villains, while never too threatening, are colorful and comical in their push to defeat our hero.  And said hero -- what a guy -- all of those handicaps yet he barely breaks a sweat against what should definitely be stacked odds!  This book is just a nice 30-minute diversion that delivers a smile.  What more could we want?

 

Discuss: The Benny Hill Show

 

Bracketology: Final Thoughts

Doug:  To close out the consolation/correction poll that had been running over the past four days, I thought we'd revisit the eight stories that comprised our "Elite 8".  Late last night (for me, anyway) I tossed out a question in yesterday's comments section.  I'll move that over to this new post, along with the replies that had already come in.  We'll move forward with the topic here.  I said:

Shifting gears:

The Bracketology "fix that screwed up final poll" exercise is now over. Any thoughts on any of the arcs in the final 8 combatants?

Doug

There have been two replies, and we'll use these comments that follow as our "writing prompt" for today's conversation.  Thanks for chiming in on these points.

Edo Bosnar said:

Doug: the new poll results certainly seem to correspond more to what one would expect.

William Preston said:

Doug,

Regarding the latest version of the poll, I think there needs to be a discussion of "great stories that crapped out in the third act." For my money, the Kree-Skrull war has a lot of great build-up but a disastrous, deus ex machina–filled ending. And the Korvac saga ends with poor artwork--and a whole lot of deuses going around! In fact, the Korvac saga made me think, at the time, that the Avengers was no longer a good comic. The whole Gwen Stacy clone/Jackal storyline is more coherent and has a more satisfying ending (was that ever on the list); ditto the Defenders' "Whatever Happened to Scorpio," which features some of the best artwork ever. I'm wondering if people are remember the K-S war and Korvac as better than they really were. 

 

Discuss: The Far Side

Catching Up With Our Readers' Thoughts

Doug:  Today the Open Forum is wide open.  You can toss out anything you'd like on the floor for others to comment about.  We've had some recent fodder come up within other posts' comments sections, so if anyone wants to further those discussions or even start new ones, by all means help yourself.

Doug:  In case you just stumbled in and are wondering, "Wait, what?" here are some of the topics from the past couple of weeks:

• the passing of legend Joe Kubert
• the Olympics
• comic book conventions
• shopping lists/want lists
• meeting creators
• the lay-out of this blog and/or how it is created
• trying to find truth in our poll about the Greatest Story of the Bronze Age of Comics

Doug:  There -- if you didn't come with an idea, that list should give you something to think about and make a comment on (always a great idea to think before commenting...).  Have a good day, and we look forward to the conversation.

Melt With You: Defenders 14

Defenders #14 (July 1974)
"And Who Shall Inherit the Earth?"
Writer: Len Wein
Artists: Sal Buscema/Dan Green

Doug: Welcome back to the conclusion of our Defenders/Squadron Sinister 2-parter. You can refresh your memory of Defenders #13 by clicking here. When we left our heroes, the non-team had been encased in a transparent globe. The alien Nebulon had come to the rescue of his allies, the Squadron Sinister, who had been dispatched by the Defenders. We pick it up here.

Doug: Nebulon wants to off the good guys, but strangely Hyperion talks him out of it. Doc Spectrum and the Whizzer think he's crazy, but Hyperion insists that the Defenders must live long enough to know why they are going to be killed. We then get a look into the muscled one's backstory. He was from a subatomic world which was destroyed. Sent adrift across the cosmos, he was captured and enlarged by the Grandmaster to be a pawn against the Avengers. Fighting the mighty Thor, Hyperion was defeated when Thor used Mjolnir to imprison the Grandmaster's champion. However, the process reverted the growth process and Hyperion was shrunk back down. Again adrift in space, he floated along until encountering the ship of Nebulon. Nebulon sent a "grapple-beam" to haul in the globe imprisoning Hyperion. Once inside Nebulon destroyed the globe, and Hyperion reverted once again to his full human size. They then had a conversation.

Karen: Boy, Hyperion is a real cold-blooded killer, isn't he? Not only does he want all of Earth to die, he wants to make the Defenders suffer by seeing it all happen! I also like the backstory and the fact that once again, Thor's hammer can do just about anything. Shrink a guy and encase him in a snow globe? No problem!

Doug: Yeah, Hyperion's a real doozy; that is, until you get to the Whizzer. Nebulon described himself as an intergalactic prospector, searching for materials that would ensure his world's continued existence. Having thus far failed in comparison to his co-workers, he was interested when Hyperion offered to sell him a world that would suit his needs -- Earth. The Defenders protest loudly, as does Nighthawk; Hyperion scoffs and explains that he does not care. Nebulon, he argues, is powerful enough to transport the Squadron to other-dimensional worlds untold. And here is where I somewhat cryptically questioned Nebulon's goals in last week's post. Now that we know he needs certain mineral resources to export to his own planet, it seems strange that flooding the Earth would be the solution to that issue. It just seemed like a lot of work, and I additionally wondered why Nighthawk was needed to create the big laser-deal. If Nebulon can create these impenetrable globes, transport people across dimensions, and travel inter-stellarly, then what the heck did the Squadron "need" Nighthawk for? Because it sets up his redemption and transformation, I suppose...

Karen: Realistically, once Hyperion showed Nebulon the location of Earth, I wouldn't think the alien would need any of the Squadron. He could have cast Hyperion back in his globe and just destroyed the icecaps himself. But yes, then we wouldn't wind up with Nighthawk's change of heart.

Doug: As Nighthawk pops off to Hyperion, Nebulon takes matters into his own hands and transfers Nighthawk to the Defenders' spherical prison. The Whizzer, who comes across as a total wingnut, moves forward and demands the heroes' blood. He's rebuffed again by Hyperion and when he says that one more word, he gets "Buscema-blasted". Nebulon then sends the prison sphere into the atmosphere at Hyperion's request for suffering. Once aloft and rising, the Defenders struggle to break out. Spells, punches, Dragonfang strikes -- none of it works. It's Nighthawk who suggests that all power be concentrated in one spot, and lo and behold -- it works! But, once free our heroes notice that it's a long way down! Dr. Strange envelopes everyone in an aura of his making that preserves their oxygen supply (is there nothing the good Doc cannot do?), and the team gets back on terra firma.

Karen: "Buscema-blasted" - nice! The Whizzer is definitely a loon, and Hyperion's back-hand is properly dismissive. The whole "let's hit it together" idea was one you used to see a lot of in comics, but perhaps not so much any more. I noticed that Sal's outer space backgrounds look like his big brother's, with all the little crescent moons floating around. It doesn't make much sense but I always bought it!

Doug: Once down, the primary goal is the destruction of the laser cannon. The Defenders attack, but Nebulon creates an icy giant (looking an awful lot like Ymir). He creates two pages of havoc for the Defenders, who attack singly (will these hero-types never learn?). Valkyrie discovers that hacking off a limb does no good, as it just grows back. Finally, the Hulk picks up the giant and hurls it right into the path of the cannon. End of giant. Nebulon realizes that he's taken the Defenders far too lightly, so decides he must face them alone. Hyperion protests, but is rebuked. Nebulon metes out some punishment to each Defender, but once the Doc gets hold of him... Nebulon's knocked off-balance, then down, and says he's starting to lose his concentration. Wait, what? Ah, all is not what it seems...

Karen: It's ironic, after their escape from the bubble, which required team work, that these heroes all go back to fighting solo. I guess some people never learn! Then again, Dr. Strange isn't exactly leading them. I mean, Cap would've been telling them where to strike and when and that giant would have been done in minutes. But in any case Hulk does eventually get the job done. And what was Nighthawk thinking? Hulk and Sub-Mariner both crash into the thing and get swatted away, so he, powerless, tries the same tactic? Doc does redeem himself a bit when the team goes after Nebulon himself, but being the Defenders , they don't really listen to him!

Doug: Last week I commented that Nebulon was a "good-looking super-villain" -- by that I meant he had that David Lee Roth thing going with the hair, the Doc Savage skin, and the Cockrum-era Star Boy costume. What says "1974" like that? Well, all is not what it apparently seemed. Suddenly Nebulon morphs into the nastiest worm/octupus-looking thing -- he's just flat-out U-G-L-Y!! Calling himself the "Celestial Man", he's drooling like Jabba the Hut. However, he does clear up my mystery-of-motive (see above): In this form, we learn that Nebulon is from an aquatic people, hence the need to flood the Earth before he could make use of it. Ah -- good work then, Len Wein! Nighthawk surveys the situation and quickly determines that there is no way the Defenders can defeat the combined might of this new Nebulon and the Squadron. Feeling that Nebulon is the greater threat, Nighthawk ascends the laser cannon and unleashes it on Nebulon. The power is too great for him to absorb and he succumbs -- in a big way. The Squadron turns tail to collectively run, but as they do Nebulon implodes, apparently killing them with him. Nighthawk is hurt in the blast, and lies near death.

Karen: Nebulon in his true form reminded me of every H.P. Lovecraft story I've ever read. That was fairly trippy stuff coming from Sal. I was happy to discover that the plot to flood the Earth did actually make sense and was not Len Wein having a brain fart. Despite seeming ineffectual earlier in the story, Nighthawk shows his value here by swiftly deciding to use the laser cannon against Nebulon. Although he is gravely injured, the blast did destroy his costume, so that has to be counted as a small victory.

Doug: But why would anyone lie near death when Dr. Strange is around? In one of the "we've got to use all of our life-energies" scenes, Strange draws the Defenders near him, and requests that each person will part of their life force to him. He, in turn, channels this energy into Nighthawk. Nighthawk quite suddenly awakens, and after shaking off the cobwebs offers to join the Defenders (as you said, we are the beneficiaries that Strange chose not to revive the costume!). Strange explains that it's not like that, but is interrupted by the always-diplomatic Namor. Subby says "let him join" because he's out, and when he returns, yada yada yada. So as Namor flies off in a huff, Hulk, Val, and Strange welcome Nighthawk into the fold. Question -- does he become the first permanent member of the non-team?

Karen: The life force stuff, another comics cliche. But I didn't mind it, not really. But wasn't it silly at this point for Dr. Strange to keep protesting that the Defenders were not a team? Come on! Namor's rant is just so typical of him and another reason why he al ways straddles that hero/villain line. He just doesn't play well with others. But Nighthawk, despite his lack of power, will become a vital addition to the team. As for your question, I'd say Valkyrie probably gets my vote as the first permanent member of the Defenders. She was around from issue 4 and put up with all of their crap and hung in there for years!

Doug: This was a quality story from start to finish. Good plot, interesting and challenging villains, a new hero joins the team, and superb Bronze Age art. I really liked reading this, for me the first time ever. These early issues of the Defenders are a lot of fun, with an out- of-the-ordinary cast and offbeat baddies, to be certain. Fun, fun!

Karen: Agreed, these two issues were the best reviews we've gotten to do in a while. My only wish is that Klaus Janson had inked this issue too; it didn't have the flair of the previous issue. But still, a great Bronze Age read.

Rest In Peace, Joe Kubert.  Thanks for the memories.

Jackpot!

 

Doug:  If there was ever a time when one felt like it was financially lucrative to drop $120 on comic-related goodness, today was it.  I got back from Wizard World Chicago about an hour ago, with a HAUL!!  How does a 67% discount on ALL purchases sound?  I thought so.  Below is the rundown; even further below that you can see my original shopping list.  You'll see that I was actually quite successful, and picked up several other surprises along the way, often with you the BAB reader in mind.

Marvel Masterworks Captain Marvel vol. 3:  Cover $55, paid $20 (still in shrink wrap)

Legion of Super-Heroes Archives vol. 13:  Cover $60, paid $30 (still in shrink wrap)

Deadman Book One tpb:  Cover $20, paid $10

Wonder Woman by George Perez vol. 2:  Cover $20, paid $5

Crisis on Multiple Earths - the Team-Ups vol. 1:  Cover $15, paid $5

Crisis on Multiple Earths vol. 3:  Cover $15, paid $5

The Chronicles of Conan vol. 3:  Cover $16, paid $5

The Mighty Thor - the Eternals Saga:  Cover $25, paid $5

Hercules - Full Circle Premiere Hardcover:  Cover $20, paid $5 (still in shrink wrap)

Guardians of the Galaxy - the Power of Starhawk Premiere Hardcover:  Cover $25, paid $5 (still in shrink wrap)

The Adventures of Red Sonja vol. 1:  Cover $$20, paid $5

The Avengers Defenders War tpb:  Cover $25, paid $5

Captain America and the Falcon - Nomad:  Cover $25, paid $5

Essential Man-Thing vol. 1:  Cover $17, paid $5

Essential Defenders vol. 2:  Cover $17, paid $5

Doug:  I took $200 with me and brought $80 back home, primarily because I filled one of our reusable grocery bags to the brim.  It was a very good day...

Doug:  Under the category *Saw but either didn't have a paid ticket for an autograph or didn't feel like waiting in line* were Stan Lee, Neal Adams, George Perez, Arthur Suydam, Angel Medina, and Michael Golden.  In hindsight, and given that I had the Deadman book in my bag, I wish I'd given the 30-40 minutes to wait and meet Adams.  I'd never seen him at a con before.  Carlos Pacheco was around, but I never saw him.  I guess I've moved out of the autographs phase.

Weekend Nonsense

Doug:  Things have been "lulling" around here lately, both in the amount of posting coming from your favorite Bronze Age hosts, but also in the amount of comments we've been receiving.  Maybe it's just the "dog days" of summer -- I don't know.  Anyway, here are some random thoughts based on recent concepts that have come up, my life, travels, etc.  Do with this what you will.

Doug:  Tomorrow the 20-year old and I are going to take in the last day of Wizard World Chicago, located in Rosemont, IL -- just a stone's throw away from O'Hare International Airport.  It's been several years since we've gone, and here's the skinny on why that is:  our tickets were $35 apiece, and it will cost us probably $20 to park.  So for the low, low cost of only around $100, we get to walk in the front door.  I know these sorts of things obviously have huge expenses in their venue rentals, expense accounts for the big-name stars who will appear, advertising, etc.  But c'mon...  We have a great time being together on those days, and the 80-minute car rides to and fro are always a highlight.  But I can get about the same deals I'll find tomorrow on Amazon.com without the exorbitant entry fees.  I don't buy comics any more, just trade paperbacks and hardcovers.  Here's a peek at my shopping list, which I've brought over from my iTouch --  it will be in my pocket for quick reference.  You'll see I've made notes on cover price and the Amazon or In-Stock Trades price where applicable.  I'm hoping to spend around $150 or so -- it's a good idea to have a budget at these things!  Additionally, I try not to buy before 3:00, as I feel there are better deals when the dealers are thinking about packing up and making that one last sale (or lightening the load for their own ride home).

Legends of the Dark Knight: Marshall Rogers $50 ($35) -30%

Legion of Super-Heroes Archives #13 $60 ($37) -39%

Essential Defenders volume 2

Daredevil by Frank Miller Omnibus

Daredevil Visionaries Frank Miller volumes 2, 3

Chronicles of Conan (have volumes 1 & 5)

Capt. Marvel Masterworks #3 $50 ($33) -40%

Conan the Rogue GN $20-100 (?)

Guardians of the Galaxy: Power of Starhawk $25 ($15) -40%

Deadman Book One $20 (IST $12) -40%
Deadman Book Two $15 (IST $9) -40%

New Teen Titans Omnibus:
#1 $75 ($46) -39%
#2 $75 ($46) -39%

Secret Society of Super-Villains hardcovers:
#1 $40 ($31) -23%
#2 $40 ($30) -24%

Legion of Super-Heroes: The Curse $50 ($48) -3% {IST - ($30) -40%}

Marvel DVD-ROMs:
X-Men
Hulk
Captain America

Doug:  RE: the flap over the way our voting turned out in the Greatest Story of the Bronze Age brackets.  I don't know what to make of it, other than to say we'd never run a poll before that had over 100 votes, and we got nearly 350 on that championship round.  Additionally, as the totals were changing so quickly, something was definitely going on.  Karen and I had planned to begin another round of Bracketology around the first of September; now we're not so sure.  Unlike what Donny Osmond sang, one bad apple could spoil the whole bunch, girl!  Anyway, as a test, a means to stick my toe back in the water and see if it's safe, I've set a consolation poll on the sidebar.  Who knows how much controversy was secretly raging in our brackets voting?  So check it out, and vote only once -- I mean seriously -- we're just having fun with it.

Doug:  We'd like to welcome several new commenters and followers who've chosen to check us out over the past several weeks.  Many of our "long timers" have said we're a regular stop on their Internet start-up, and Karen and I certainly appreciate it.  Of course we do this blog for ourselves, but we'd lie if we didn't say that our satisfaction is directly derived from your satisfaction.  It's difficult for us (and for all bloggers, I'd imagine) to gauge if what we're doing is "working" or "good" or even "satisfying" to you if you don't tell us.  Now, having said that, I'll stand before our blogosphere friends and say that I don't always do a good enough job of dropping a compliment or getting involved in other conversations away from the BAB.  But I do check our blog roll every single day, and appreciate the variety of what gets posted.  It's obvious that some of our colleagues are putting in a tremendous amount of time providing all of us a little recreation.

Doug:  Karen alluded to (in Friday's comments section) the amount of time we spend on our posts.  Now might be a good time to provide that "jumping on point" for new or relatively-new readers.  Karen and I met over at the Avengers Assemble message boards six years ago.  Along with several other users, we kept threads on writers, artists, comics from the Silver and Bronze Ages, etc. going for years.  But as that board a) had some nasty folks on it that b) caused many long-time users to drop off, we decided to satisfy our comics-discussing by starting a blog.  Our first effort was short-lived, but we've found a long-term home here at the Bronze Age Babies.  I live just south of the Chicago suburbs, and Karen lives in the Phoenix area.  We have never met; not even spoken on the phone.  Our relationship has been purely electronic -- all of the posts we do together are done either via email or composed right here on the blog.  We choose topics for review based on what we own; occasionally we will make a purchase based on what we'd like to do, but for the most part (thus far) we've worked out of our own collections/libraries.  We tell it like we see it -- those of you who have been around know we don't always like what we choose to comment on, and sometimes that's frustrating for us.  Time is, in some cases, not kind to our perceptions of certain books we treasured as children.  But that's the role of a critic, and I hope we do honor to that.

Doug:  We really, really want this to be an interactive place and part of the reason we spend so much time writing our reviews is we hope to spur some conversation, even debate.  I don't want to give off the air that we cry in our coffee, but there have been a few times this summer when we've put the finishing touches on a post, added the art samples, and then playfully suggested to each other that we've written a 20-comment, or 30-comment post.  And when that doesn't happen, we wonder where we missed the mark.  We're not trying to manipulate anyone by "making" our readers comment; but we are undeniably trying to be in that huddle at the racks in the comic shop.  That is what this blog is all about -- friends meeting to hash out questions and thoughts in regard to the wonderful pop culture we all grew up with.  The foci here lands on two things:  1) the writing of reviews of comics is what we do -- we don't just scan entire comic books.  We want to be conversational and have you react to our opinions, and 2) the topics we throw out in our Discuss and Open Forum genres are meant to elicit your own reactions and opinions -- really, it's you the reader who is expected to take the lead on those days and provide the criticisms and reactions.  When you don't, the post has failed to do what it was meant to do.

Doug:  Last thought for today:  My family did what we do in the summertime -- we saw a game in a Major League ballpark and then (usually) took the tour of the park while there.  Due to the boys' work schedules (as well as the 11 days I spent in Washington, DC in July) we were limited on when and how long we could get away.  So we took a quick-hitter to St. Louis Wednesday-Friday and saw the Cardinals play the Giants on Thursday.  Here's my question to you:  We've been to over 15 MLB parks for games and/or tours (tours of Busch Stadium III, Wrigley Field, Miller Park, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Kaufman Stadium, Fenway Park, Citizens Bank Ballpark, and Jacobs Field).  Do any of you have venues that you "collect", like ballparks or theaters or museums or national parks or Civil War battlefields?  I'd just be curious to know what other families do on their vacations.  Thanks in advance!

Doug:  Have a great rest-of-your-weekend, and come back on Monday for the conclusion of our Defenders/Squadron Sinister tilt!