tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post5775401623629532706..comments2024-03-14T08:38:28.518-04:00Comments on J.M. DeMatteis's CREATION POINT: FIRE FROM HEAVENUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-76497168735868463442016-04-15T08:26:11.951-04:002016-04-15T08:26:11.951-04:00Okay, that's in, too! This is going to be one ...Okay, that's in, too! This is going to be one amazing comic book! : )J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-66669961770518619252016-04-14T18:55:26.555-04:002016-04-14T18:55:26.555-04:00Not if Kirk doesn't learn a lesson. I mean he...Not if Kirk doesn't learn a lesson. I mean he's hanging around with the Seinfeld crew... they don't exactly exude nobility. Maybe they even p[rove him right.<br /><br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-25013801314186911122016-04-14T11:12:02.822-04:002016-04-14T11:12:02.822-04:00Clear as a bell, David! No worries!Clear as a bell, David! No worries!J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-48373339747530961942016-04-14T08:30:52.682-04:002016-04-14T08:30:52.682-04:00That's a very serious, insightful and intellig...That's a very serious, insightful and intelligent idea, Jack. It has no place in a story as stupid as the one David and I are talking about! <br />: )J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-66713055343998940022016-04-14T08:26:33.521-04:002016-04-14T08:26:33.521-04:00BTW, it occurs to me my comments might be misconst...BTW, it occurs to me my comments might be misconstrued as minimizing the accomplishments of writers on ASM, which would NEVER be my intention. <br /><br />Maybe it would be more accurate to compare Spider-Man to tv detectives like Adrian Monk, where a lot of the joy comes from the character's reaction to the world around them. <br /><br />Peter Parker has always been my favorite Marvel character, and it really didn't matter what he gets thrown into, I just enjoy seeing him react. There are, to my mind, very few 'bad' Spider-Man stories, and the ones I'm not fond of generally involve him acting in a way I perceive to be out of character. <br /><br />I also think Spider-Man has stories whose brilliance equal anything that's ever been done with superheroes, like KRAVEN'S LAST HUNT, "The Boy Who Collected Spider-Man," the Sin-Eater Saga, "Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut," the Harry Osborn Saga, "The Gift," THE LOST YEARS, and too many others to mention.<br /><br />Just wanted to clear that up, in the unlikely event that my passion for the character wasn't documented well enough! :)<br /><br />--David<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-48874820413651292072016-04-13T15:33:50.330-04:002016-04-13T15:33:50.330-04:00What about having the Denny Crane persona being ba...What about having the Denny Crane persona being based on stereotypes Kirk believes to be true of the era in human history?<br /><br />Just a thought.<br /><br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-85594053628239674092016-04-13T15:32:15.348-04:002016-04-13T15:32:15.348-04:00Personally, I haven't read my ol' pal Spid...Personally, I haven't read my ol' pal Spidey regularly (with a few very minor exceptions) since a little after they undid the marriage. As much as I head it, it wasn't that. They just felt like they were pushing the youth button a little hard, with the first page of the comic reading, "It is so unfair to show me macking on this chick."<br /><br />The whole youth angle they tried so hard to get with the dissolution of the marriage seemed self-defeated with the choice of writers.<br /><br />While, yes they were talented, they were also all in their 40s and 50s. So when they are told to really make it seem like he's young, it just came off as forced. Peter just came off as a caricature of who he was... and Mark Waid wrote one of those stories I believe. It just seemed that they wanted an idea more than a character.<br /><br />The only reason it worked for Gerry Conway to do it was because he was 18 at the time. Its not to say a middle-aged man can't write a younger character, but they should probably pump the brakes a bit. <br /><br />The few issues I picked up here and there didn't really feel like Peter (or Betty Brant for that matter). As I always say though, its their character and they can do what they want with him, and I can not buy it.<br /><br />Personally, I would recommend "Renew Your Vows." That is classic Peter Parker. Another good comics, though before One More Day, is a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man comic by Peter David here is a link to a review http://spiderfan.org/comics/reviews/friendly_neighborhood_spiderman/005.html . <br /><br />I personally disagree with the writer's analysis, but it has a description of the plot<br /><br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-89788402812103463132016-04-13T13:57:38.509-04:002016-04-13T13:57:38.509-04:00I recommend Avengers A.I. to start. Great series t...I recommend Avengers A.I. to start. Great series that deserved many more issues.Douglas A. Waltzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02312801885609153510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-58524999772045266222016-04-13T13:33:11.310-04:002016-04-13T13:33:11.310-04:00That was pretty fascinating, Douglas. Thanks for ...That was pretty fascinating, Douglas. Thanks for sharing it!J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-12011233551869005852016-04-13T13:21:12.851-04:002016-04-13T13:21:12.851-04:00Thanks, Douglas: I'll check it out!Thanks, Douglas: I'll check it out!J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-23043429116169163542016-04-13T13:17:46.344-04:002016-04-13T13:17:46.344-04:00You call Paramount, I'll call NBC!
--DavidYou call Paramount, I'll call NBC!<br /><br />--DavidAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-91677365060278038922016-04-13T13:17:36.863-04:002016-04-13T13:17:36.863-04:00Haven't read any of the "hi-tech Spidey&q...Haven't read any of the "hi-tech Spidey" stuff, Douglas—but I do have tremendous respect for Dan Slott. I think he's a terrific write and a very nice guy.<br /><br />Don't know Sam Humphries' work. Sounds like it's worth checking out!J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-19678582795600184032016-04-13T13:08:45.740-04:002016-04-13T13:08:45.740-04:00I am not a fan of the new hi-tech Spidey with all ...I am not a fan of the new hi-tech Spidey with all his money. I really didn't like when he was Doc Ock for a year or so. As I get older I find writers that I don't care for and just stop buying anything with their name on it. I also have writers I adore and search for their work outside of the two big publishers. <br />A good example would be Sam Humphries. His work on the now defunct Avengers A.I. led me to Planet Hulk and, quite possibly the new incarnation of Green Lantern coming with REBIRTH. His event comic The Black Vortex was the first time in many years I bought an entire run of an event comic. Douglas A. Waltzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02312801885609153510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-85078054013046315682016-04-13T13:08:13.623-04:002016-04-13T13:08:13.623-04:00We're an amazing team, David: I see a major m...We're an amazing team, David: I see a major motion picture here!J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-77894884092673858582016-04-13T12:52:11.990-04:002016-04-13T12:52:11.990-04:00The Kramer/McCoy matchup is GENIUS!
--DavidThe Kramer/McCoy matchup is GENIUS!<br /><br />--DavidAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-27232915710791288232016-04-13T12:08:55.045-04:002016-04-13T12:08:55.045-04:00Perfect! But you forgot the part where George eat...Perfect! But you forgot the part where George eats some bad sushi, goes mad and almost destroys time itself! It's only a heroic stomach-pumping by both McCoy and Kramer that saves Creation!J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-57534036151928642562016-04-13T11:51:52.896-04:002016-04-13T11:51:52.896-04:00Kirk falls in love with Elaine, fakes bar credenti...Kirk falls in love with Elaine, fakes bar credentials because she's going through a phase where she's into lawyers, and calls himself Denny Crane. Spock makes up reasons why Elaine must die because even a Vulcan has limits, but "Denny Crane" comes up with a more creative solution, inciting events that will lead her to be arrested for failing to aid a carjack victim. <br /><br />The timeline is not changed in any way whatsoever....<br /><br />--DavidAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-2934476553332443592016-04-13T11:28:11.654-04:002016-04-13T11:28:11.654-04:00And now I want to write a SEINFELD-STAR TREK cross...And now I want to write a SEINFELD-STAR TREK crossover comic:<br />"City on the Edge of Constanza!"J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-50088851033602198562016-04-13T11:06:34.653-04:002016-04-13T11:06:34.653-04:00Hey, I wasn't going to name any names. :)
THO...Hey, I wasn't going to name any names. :)<br /><br />THOR and FF strike me as very difficult books to write. I'm not saying writing Spider-Man is EASY, mind you, but I think the character is so well-defined that you can plug him into nearly any situation, and then let things play out from there. You don't have to come up with something brilliant to make the story work. He goes out to buy milk for Aunt May, hijinks ensue. Typical Parker luck!<br /><br />But with FF and THOR, brilliance IS the formula. You have to put the characters in situations worthy of Kirby's cosmic scope.<br /><br />It's kind of like the difference between writing SEINFELD and STAR TREK, or at least that's the way I imagine it. I guess I'll never know for sure until Marvel asks me to write them! <br /><br />--DavidAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-46614365510734036782016-04-13T10:40:57.945-04:002016-04-13T10:40:57.945-04:00Spider-Man put himself in a web-cocoon and cut him...Spider-Man put himself in a web-cocoon and cut himself off from his family? What idiot wrote that?!<br /><br />Oh. Right. : )<br /><br />Very good points, David. <br /><br />I think, at its peak, Thor may have been...at least in terms of sheer imagination, sheer Kirbyosity, if you will...the best Marvel book of the 60's. Spider-Man (and, as I think you know, Lee-Romita is my favorite era, not to take anything away from Ditko) was character-driven storytelling at its finest and FF at its best combined great characterization with cosmic imagination. A perfect brew.J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-21045990534946778862016-04-13T10:27:25.887-04:002016-04-13T10:27:25.887-04:00Random thoughts about Stan's chemistry with ar...Random thoughts about Stan's chemistry with artists on various books:<br /><br />--Ditko injected Spider-Man with an essential awkwardness, but I can't say I like the direction the book went as Ditko took more and more control. <br /><br />I think Jack is dead-on about Ditko and emotion, with the most glaring example being when Peter cold-bloodedly picked a fight with Betty to push her into Ned's arms and be done with it. <br /><br />If the book had continued in that direction, I doubt Spider-Man would be such a popular character. It was the Lee/Romita Sr. chemistry that perfected the tone of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. <br /><br />They're the ones who made Peter a truly likeable character, so much so that you understand why the college gang liked to hang out with him even though he had a tendency to flake out on them for reasons unknown. <br /><br />Lee/Romita's Peter is a social creature, and the tension comes from having to balance his secret life with his relationships. And Peter is not a rational person, but tends to react emotionally to every crisis he finds himself in. <br /><br />Also, I think history has kind of shown that readers and audiences don't like Peter when he's being intentionally dickish. So it's understandable when he basically tells Harry to go to hell because Gwen died like five minutes ago, but not so much when he puts himself in a web cocoon and cuts his ties to family and friends because of robo-parents and clone stuff. And audiences tend to sympathize with Peter turning his back on the mugging in SPIDER-MAN 2, but not using Gwen to make MJ jealous in SPIDER-MAN 3. <br /><br />So as much as I respect Ditko's role in Spider-Man's creation, I've got to say the foundational aspects of the character aren't all there until Romita Sr. <br /><br />Because I tend to think with Ditko, we'd have gotten a lot characters intentionally alienating themselves from the world, rather than trying to find their place in it. <br /><br />--Lee and Kirby. <br /><br />Let's start with THOR, where Lee's grounded approach would have absolutely sunk the book. The first ten or so issues of THOR are terrible. The premise of a lame doctor who can transform into a god is promising, but he spends his time fighting aliens and commies. The problem is that Lee doesn't approach Thor as a real god. He's just another super-guy, and the magic hammer could just as easily be a scientific invention. <br /><br />The Kirby backup features are when things start cooking, the ones where he delves into Asgardian history. And then something weird happens and the book gets good. <br /><br />With absolutely no explanation whatsoever, Odin appears and we not only find out that Donald Blake IS a god, but that he's ALWAYS been one. Now you're cooking with gas!<br /><br />FF is probably the book where Lee and Kirby just seemed to click from the very beginning and get better for their entire run. Then of course you get the rift over Silver Surfer's true origin, and the very creative tension that makes them so brilliant tears them apart. But good grief, the first hundred issues of FF are the most consistently brilliant material they ever produced. <br /><br />Now getting back to Jack's point about Stan's knack for characterization and drama, I think ASM wasn't ever the best-written Lee book, but Spider-Man is his best character. <br /> <br />--David<br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-9612529056557222962016-04-13T08:23:03.409-04:002016-04-13T08:23:03.409-04:00When you have a minute, if you want to read someth...When you have a minute, if you want to read something fascinating about the editor of Castle of Frankenstein, Calvin Beck; go here<br />http://www.bmonster.com/horror29.html<br />Reality is always stranger than fiction.Douglas A. Waltzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02312801885609153510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-32766947972665015602016-04-13T07:28:21.931-04:002016-04-13T07:28:21.931-04:00I wasn't a regular reader, but I remember buyi...I wasn't a regular reader, but I remember buying that Stan issue off the rack in my local Brooklyn candy store when I was a kid.J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-64606694953094619612016-04-13T07:24:49.680-04:002016-04-13T07:24:49.680-04:00I love Castle OF FRankenstein. Still have a few of...I love Castle OF FRankenstein. Still have a few of them in a box somewhere.<br />Douglas A. Waltzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02312801885609153510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-37934817047872126492016-04-12T17:48:08.380-04:002016-04-12T17:48:08.380-04:00If you've never seen this CASTLE OF FRANKENSTE...If you've never seen this CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN interview with Stan, form 1966, it's a good one where he gets into the mechanics of how the stories are put together. He talks specifically about Kirby doing most of the plotting on the book. <br /><br />http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/dynamics/2012/05/08/stan-lee-interview-from-castle-of-frankenstein-12-1968/J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.com