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AICN COMICS REVIEWS GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY! ATOM! TOURNAMENT WINNERS ROUND THREE! AND MUCH MORE!!!

Popeye vs. Beetle Bailey by tonagan	May 21st, 2008 07:26:17 AM

Garfield vs. Bill the Cat by tonagan	May 21st, 2008 07:26:35 AM

Dick Tracy vs. Mary Worth by tonagan	May 21st, 2008 07:26:51 AM

Dondi vs. Little Orphan Annie by tonagan	May 21st, 2008 07:27:10 AM

Titans... by Sailor Rip	May 21st, 2008 07:30:05 AM
...tis a shame, I had hopes for this book.
Amazing Spider-Man by DuncanHines	May 21st, 2008 07:48:16 AM
I've been really staunch about not buying any of the Brand New Day stuff, but getting Marcos Martin to draw a Spidey story is really really really tempting. They're still not getting my money for that book though. Thunderbolts, on the other hand... This was the issue I've been waiting for...
Hellboy VS Buffy. by Gatsbys West Egg Omlet	May 21st, 2008 07:48:32 AM
DO IT!!!
Garfield vs. Heathcliff by Squashua	May 21st, 2008 07:50:55 AM
Ends in heat rape.
Why do Brubaker and Fraction have to leave Immortal Iron Fist? by messi	May 21st, 2008 07:51:53 AM
Just asking.
Damn You Michael Bay by MCMLXXVI	May 21st, 2008 07:59:34 AM
Damn You Michael Bay
Garfield vs. Healthcliff by rev_skarekroe	May 21st, 2008 08:06:46 AM
Garfield is a fatass. Winner: Heathcliff!
Betty vs. Veronica by Chaosinabox	May 21st, 2008 08:13:06 AM
The catfight to end all catfights.
Chaosinabox, thats a good one. by Gatsbys West Egg Omlet	May 21st, 2008 08:27:54 AM
yup.
Betty vs. Veronica? by rev_skarekroe	May 21st, 2008 09:06:10 AM
Winner? Me!
Captain Britian by ian216a	May 21st, 2008 09:26:19 AM
I can see no reason why Marvel shouldn't turn the book into an on-going. Most fun I had reading comics last week.
Oh yeah - and Marcos Martin on ASM... by ian216a	May 21st, 2008 09:28:39 AM
... was aces. Almost felt like Steve Ditko was drawing it again. Just look at that page with Peter going down the stairs. Lovely.
... by blackthought	May 21st, 2008 09:37:00 AM
fasting.
J. Jonah Jameson vs. Perry White! by MCVamp	May 21st, 2008 10:14:19 AM
Both combatants have heart attacks. DRAW.
Judd Winick is a hack a-hole... by expert_40	May 21st, 2008 10:29:29 AM
... who single-handedly ruined Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and now he's doing it again with the "Titans." This guy is the WORST writer in comic-dom. I wonder which Titan he's going to turn gay and give AIDS to. I think it'll be Cyborg, because then he can be a gay african-american robot guy with AIDS, which Winick's butt-lovin' ass would just love because he'd be a minority of a minority of a minority of a minority. Judd Winick makes Harry look like Barry Goldwater.
Chris Claremont should.. by AnakinsDiapers	May 21st, 2008 10:33:26 AM
..say he's retiring and come back a few months later writing under a pen name. Guaranteed his reviews are better.
But the gig would be up for Chris the first time... by rock-me Amodeo	May 21st, 2008 11:04:09 AM
...he says "No quarter asked or given." Or "With a speed that belied his massive bulk..."
It's Not Claremont's Name by optimous_douche	May 21st, 2008 11:18:15 AM
Were it any other writer my review would have been much harsher. I actually pulled punches because this was Claremont and the respect I have for his past work. They need to stop letting him write out of his age demographic and stop taking over titles. Exiles was one of my favorite books until he got his hands on it, then it just became a convuluted mess. I was truly psyched by the premise of GENEXT when I thought it would focus on the aged original class, instead of their unoriginal brats.
Claremont and dealing with aged X-Men by krushjudgement	May 21st, 2008 11:28:59 AM
Remember Days of Future Past? It was a brilliant story right? Remember "X-Men The End." It was a steaming pile of poop. Poor Claremont is done for me. He has been for years. He almost started to shine on Excalibur, the one with Prof. X and Magneto on a destroyed Genosha... Almost.
Shiny Juicy Quesadilla Forum vs AICN Talkback by Greggers	May 21st, 2008 11:38:35 AM
In this fight, I'd have to give the edge to the AICN talkback, simply because AICN lets me register. What's the deal there, Jon?
This is what i mean... by AnakinsDiapers	May 21st, 2008 11:45:12 AM
"Exiles was one of my favorite books until he got his hands on it, then it just became a convuluted mess." Exiles was a convuluted mess was from word go. There has never been anything deep or even groundbreaking about the Exiles. Winick wrote some light popcorn fare about dimension hoppers, the premise of which didn't make much sense in the first place because it hinged on a group of alpha personalities being led by the nose for an extended period of time accepting truths which didn't make much sense if one just commited a little thought to it. How has Claremont done bad by the original run exactly?
Judd Winick vs Skeevy bike messenger dudes by Greggers	May 21st, 2008 11:50:47 AM
But back to the really important conversation: Judd Winick's batting average. I apologize to the friends and family of Judd Winick for saying this, but I've found everything Winick has written to be uniformly awful -- emotionally indulgent, treacly; in a word, pussified -- with the exception of his "Under the Hood" story in BATMAN. I liked "Under the Hood" a lot. In fact, I liked it so much that I vote that we remove it from Winick's oervre if just for the sake of consistency.
As far as Claremonts speech patterns go... by AnakinsDiapers	May 21st, 2008 11:54:31 AM
...Miller, Millar, Ennis, Bendis, etc., etc., all have their dialogue hang ups. They do. The thing with Claremont, is he doesn't conform to the trend that many of the modern writers have in writing as if the comic is a film. For Claremont, there's no reason not to give the reader insight into what the characters are feeling, we're reading a comic, it should'nt be in question. Where one of the current superstar writers would just place a scene in Venice, Claremont would give a little history to set the scene and atmosphere. Wordy? Yes. I for one appreciate it.
Greggers... by expert_40	May 21st, 2008 11:57:10 AM
... agreed. He's terrible in a way that gives terrible a bad name. I dare anyone to name a more overrated or worse writer in comic books.
It's not just the speech patterns by rock-me Amodeo	May 21st, 2008 12:09:49 PM
It's the abundance of cliches. So much of what he writes is not plot advancing, its just a collection of cliches as the characters eventually move the direction of a story. I reviewed his stuff when he first hit the Exiles, and it was the same mess. Plus, characters who have never met suddenly have these superdeep insights into each others souls. It's one thing when Storm tells Cyclops in the Savage Land that maybe what he felt for Jean Grey wasn't love at all. It's another thing for two people from different words to have a similar conversation after knowing each other for an hour.
Exiles by optimous_douche	May 21st, 2008 12:11:16 PM
I'm a sucker for alternate reality stories. And while certain team members would die off from time to time there was at least a consistent stable so you became emotionally vested in the stories. To be fair I only read the first few issues of Claremont's run, but I think I bailed when issue #1 was delivered before the prequel issue.
no mention of the deaths of rory root or will elder by bacci40	May 21st, 2008 12:13:36 PM
ambush bug has now lost all of his street cred
Modern comic action sequences.. by AnakinsDiapers	May 21st, 2008 12:19:06 PM
..mainly suck because of the same sparse dialogue and captions the fans of these superstar writers like so much. There have been complaints about leinel Yu's convuleted actions sequences in New Avengers, but thinking on it i don't think it's entirely his fault. He's not being given proper direction. I look at the way Bendis writes action scenes like wrestling. In wrestling, the performers know before hand what they need to do at certain key moments in the match, certain beats they need to do, but otherwise they're making it up as they go. Yu's making it up. "Draw huge battle scene", followed by "wolverine hits this guy". Claremonts use of the "whole being greater than the sum of it's parts" line seems corny, but in the execution of his battle scenes it is true. As a reader we need the captions and inner dialogue to help us understand what's happening because much of the time, characters aren't just in random battle poses until someone hit's a "beat", but are using their abilities in tandem to accomplish something amazing, something they couldn't do alone. really, take any huge fight scene in new Avengers and you'll see what i mean. A lot of characters in random fight pose until someone hits a "beat". It's lazy. You have all these big league characters as teammates, lets see teamwork in action then.
Agree Rock - Disagree Anakin by optimous_douche	May 21st, 2008 12:20:36 PM
It's not solely using cliches, the cliches he uses are outdated and tired. There is not a self respecting teenager alive that would use the phrase "you go boy" in 2008. I'm fine with verbose. I've been verbally eviscerated(sic) on this board for coming to the defense of Smith, who is one of the wordiest bastards alive. I write for a living, I LOVE words, hence why my reviews focus 95% on the story and dialogue and are sparse on art critiques. What I really want to know is what genius decided to name the book GENEXT. It sounds like something Merck would make to fight toe nail fungus.
rock-me amodeo.. by AnakinsDiapers	May 21st, 2008 12:24:20 PM
You don't like Claremonts "abundance of cliches" that's fine and dandy. But lets not prentend all the writers i have mentioned don't have their list of cliches they hang their hat on as well. It's just for whatever reason, theirs haven't worn out their welcome but Claremonts has.
Twelve by kungfuhustler84	May 21st, 2008 12:29:03 PM
really is one of the best comics out right now. It sort of reminds me of the Watchmen in how it focuses on the hero's own struggles with what they are and a study of their motives. And the art is well staged and incredibly detailed. I can't wait to see where this mini goes, but I hope the ending ties up everything neatly. It could be hard with a focus on so many characters.
I hate to nipick by optimous_douche	May 21st, 2008 12:46:33 PM
But hell that's why we're all here. A perfect case in point with a flaw in Claremont's writing. During one scene Storm’s daughter receives a phone call. First you have the “bring, bring, bring” action words in the panel. She then says oh great a call from the head master. Next panel, instead of letting us hear the conversation, we get to see her thought bubble about the phone call. This is not active voice writing, nor is it offering a lot of insight about her feelings. It’s a lazy way to avoid writing actual dialogue.
Even if the dialogue was good by optimous_douche	May 21st, 2008 12:50:12 PM
I still would have hated GENEXT because it didn't deliver on expectations. The book was supposed to be a "where are they now" or to speak clearly "where are they now that they are old." Instead this was all about the new new new mutants in such exciting and original locations as the Danger Room and Salem Center. The reason the trips to Salem Center worked for X-men proper is becasue it's fun to see charachters you know unwind sometimes. I don't know these charachters and after this issue I don't want to.
I think you hit the proverbial nail, Anakin by rock-me Amodeo	May 21st, 2008 12:53:35 PM
While I respect Clarement for his tremendous body of work, I've been reading his stuff right off the rack for 32 years. While we may be having the exact same discussion regarding Bendis in 2028, for right now, it's Claremont that has sort of worn out his welcome. He needs to pull a David Bowie and re-invent himself, somehow. He's not nigh-invulnerable anymore. Even when he's blastin'.
"He's not nigh-invulnerable anymore..." by AnakinsDiapers	May 21st, 2008 01:03:44 PM
"..even when he's blastin." Ok, that was funny.
Nick Fury should be the ultimate winner in this. by V'Shael	May 21st, 2008 02:05:04 PM
The dude took on Shield, A.I.M and Hydra all at the same time. And won. He's the perfect no-shit-taking anti-hero. I just loved that scene in Secret Invasion where he gives the girl one chance to tell him who she is... and when she starts blathering, he just puts a bullet in her. No hesitation.
Greg by JonQuixote	May 21st, 2008 02:16:37 PM
I dunno. It says you're registered. That's where the JQ forum migrated when the official one died. I'm not really involved too much. I'll see what's up. If there are issues, you can also swing by talkcomicbooks.com and we can get this stupid email thing sorted out on the blog. Or just email me! jonquixote@ hotmail or gmail
Gargamel vs. Papa Smurf by fiester	May 21st, 2008 02:29:40 PM
That ought ot be in there as well.
Amusing running gag vs. Tepid joke driven into ground by Greggers	May 21st, 2008 03:40:41 PM
Jon, your old email address still works? That's the one I'd written to before! Let's try again. And I always wondered what happened to the JQ forum. One day it's there, the next day there's a page that's promising a migration to a new server, and that page has been there for the past year. Wait a minute...was I was ditched!?!
The All New Atom ends with issue #25 by I. Ratzkywatzky	May 21st, 2008 04:49:21 PM
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but The All New Atom #25 was solicited as the final issue of the series. It's a good book, and it will be missed.
Somebody illustrate that Hex/Snake Eyes Fight! by Sherman_Lives	May 21st, 2008 06:02:56 PM
Even just the panel with SE walking off wearing Hex's hat... man, would that be badass! Be like Phantom Rider (AKA Ghost Rider I) but in black! And no silly cape!
I liked some of Judd Winick on GREEN ARROW... by stones_throw	May 21st, 2008 06:09:24 PM
He was doing a story heavy on action with Green Arrow and Connor Hawke fighting big, mutated monsters in whatever city Green Arrow lives in. Subplots involved Oliver Queen trying to stop a major corporation buying up land or businesses or something like that, and a new love interest for Ollie was introduced in the form of Black Lightning's spunky niece. (See, Black Lightning was involved in his then role as aide to President Lex Luthor, leading Queen to label him a "sellout".) I remember Winick's characterization of Ollie being amusing and refreshing and being impressed with his action scenes. Phil Hester and Ande Parks on art didn't hurt either. Then the interesting, new female character got hanged by a villain and I kind of lost interest. I haven't read much else of Winick's work, and I don't really have much inclination to either.
Also, Quixote! by stones_throw	May 21st, 2008 06:22:03 PM
Really enjoying your Hulk marathon. What's next? Spider-Man would be an interesting choice what with Marvel's recent changes to the character to take him "back to basics". Like, how does the Clone Saga, the marriage etc. look in the context of the whole ouevre, as the French or a French Canadian might say? But then maybe you'd have to take in the various tie-in titles to get the full effect and I think the Marvel DVDs only cover the main series.
Self-referential absurdism vs. Postmodern irony by Greggers	May 21st, 2008 06:52:53 PM
Actually, I haven't read enough of Judd Winick's body of work to write a full analysis; only enough to write a smart-assed message board post (of which this will be #2, if you're counting). I glanced at his GREEN ARROW once or twice, picked up a few of THE OUTSIDERS with the best of intentions; nothing dazzled, and the characterization seemed a bit overwrought. No, his most heinous crime was GREEN LANTERN, a book which I really wanted to like, but whenever I picked it up, featured (forgive the cliche here) people standing around talking about their feelings and coming to terms with stuff. I don't necessarily mind people standing around talking about their feelings and coming to terms with stuff, I just don't want to be so aware of it; I don't want it to be so heavy in tone, almost didactic, and yet somehow precious at the same time that I feel I'm reading fanfic; I don't want this kind of pussified emotional indulgence trying to pass itself off as emotional reality; and I especially don't want it in my comic books. The politics stuff I was actually okay with. In fact, if he wanted to make Cyborg gay with AIDS, the only reason I'd only mind because he'd be repeating himself. But to get back to what I said before, I'm being pretty hard on the guy here, and I've only read a sampling of his work. I may have picked up the wrong issues of GREEN LANTERN, and missed some really outstanding stories in GREEN ARROW, EXILES, etc. And like I said in an earlier post, "Under the Hood" was nowhere near as godawful as it had every right to be; in fact, it turned out to be one of my favorite Batman stories of all time. (There, I said it.) But if I were to figure the average of what I have read, Winick doesn't do so hot, and if I were running things, I'd probably stick him on a title like NOVA or DEADMAN where he couldn't hurt anybody.
Please don't shit on DEADMAN again! by SleazyG.	May 21st, 2008 07:20:58 PM
I love Deadman, and he needs somebody who knows what he's doing, fer cryin' out loud. Besides, they already gave Winick a book full of characters nobody gives a shit about. It's called TITANS, and it was reviewed here this week! Your small sampling is wholly indicative of the guy's work, Greg. I've spent literally hundreds on his stuff, and it's absolutely wretched. If there were any way I could recoup my losses, I'd be overjoyed, but I'm pretty sure if I checked a price guide I'd be lucky to get pennies on the dollar. His stuff stinks on ice, and it has since the minute he hit DC.
GREG! by Ambush Bug	May 21st, 2008 08:03:27 PM

JQ! by Ambush Bug	May 21st, 2008 08:03:42 PM

Good to hear from the both of you!!!! by Ambush Bug	May 21st, 2008 08:04:53 PM
Yay, O@'s! Could Corm and Superninja be far behind? Maybe The Comedian or Lizzybeth?
I LIked Both GA & Exiles by optimous_douche	May 21st, 2008 08:21:36 PM
I collected both to the bitter end (yes, I consider Exiles officially over). Did they have low points, sure, but all books do. I couldn't agree more though with the popular belief on the atrocious soul raping that is Titans.
someone! by blackthought	May 21st, 2008 08:25:41 PM
...
Runaways Relaunched again? by loodabagel	May 21st, 2008 09:04:22 PM
Ah well. I can deal with a volume 3. And say what you will about Ramos, at least his kids look like kids.
Blackthought vs Shout-outs in subject lines by Greggers	May 21st, 2008 09:16:54 PM
You may have won this round, Blackthought... Hey Bug! Great to be heard! It's funny to find myself talking about comics while I'm not actually reading any. As for poor Lizzybeth, I'm pretty sure we scared her out of cyberspace for good. Sigh. But Sleazy, as for Judd Winick, if YOU know he's bad, and I know he's bad, and we're both reasonably intelligent people, how do you explain his career, where what I'd assume to be reasonably intelligent people are giving him work on high profile assignments? He must have his fans somewhere, right?
Greggers by Cybyer	May 21st, 2008 11:52:11 PM
"But Sleazy, as for Judd Winick, if YOU know he's bad, and I know he's bad, and we're both reasonably intelligent people, how do you explain his career, where what I'd assume to be reasonably intelligent people are giving him work on high profile assignments? He must have his fans somewhere, right?" 'Tis true, but Winnick's runs on books do seem to be getting shorter and shorter. Plus, he's now had at least one book cancelled out from under him (GA) with Titans not far behind, from the looks of it. Methinks the DC Powers-That-Be are starting to catch a whiff of the foul wind in their midst. Can't comment on GA-BC as I haven't read it yet. Can't bring myself to after suffering through issues of GA and Outsiders.
Dammit!! by Cybyer	May 21st, 2008 11:53:43 PM
Fucked up the paragraph breaks in my last post. EDIT BUTTON!!!!!!!
AnakinsDiapers on Benidis' action sequences by krushjudgement	May 22nd, 2008 12:33:56 AM
Wow. You really hit that on the head. I didn't realize how lazy he was being. I just read one of his scripts and it sort of sucked. Funny thing is I like the guy. New Avengers is pretty entertaining. But I knew there was something wrong with the action scenes I just hadn't taken the time to focus and figure out what it was. I think you may have ruined Bendis for me.
Claremont etc and Guardians by Homer Sexual	May 22nd, 2008 12:35:15 AM
Claremont wrote the first comic I read, the first encounter between X-Men and Magneto with Byrne illustrating. But he's horrible now. And I WANT to like him. I loved Exiles under Winick, and I actually even enjoyed Austen's run. Bedard...not so much..but still entertaining...had to drop it last month, though. Total hack. On another note, after the awesome Annihilation run, the new Guardians book is a serous disappointment. It doesn't suck, but it's very "meh." Gamora and Drax are not themselves, Phylla-vell isn't special. Only Rocket Raccoon seems in character. Probably won't continue to read it. It seems trivial and the humor doesn't work in this instance.
by DarkCouncilus	May 22nd, 2008 12:36:05 AM
AWWW YEAAAAH!~ Found it on yahoo Movie news by Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, I can hardly thinks, go here! http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/new s/va/20080522/121144099400.htm l Don't you DARE to take it back Marvel Studios, I'm a Runaways-loonie, mess with my fanboyism and I'll cut you all! I swear!
Yahoo Movie News: Marvel Studios says RUNAWAYS movie! by DarkCouncilus	May 22nd, 2008 12:38:21 AM
Found it on yahoo Movie news by Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, I can hardly thinks, go here! http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/new s/va/20080522/121144099400.htm l Don't you DARE to play with me Reuters/Hollywood Reporter... Don't you DARE to take it back Marvel Studios... I'm a Runaways-loonie, mess with my fanboyism and I'll cut you all! I swear.
Last night I dreamed I got a gig writing BPRD. by rev_skarekroe	May 22nd, 2008 06:43:19 AM
Call me Mignola. Make my dreams come true.
Barbara Gordon should never be Batgirl again by Steve T	May 22nd, 2008 09:24:10 AM
You have a fantastic character that is more useful and developed than nost and adds diversity, and all people want to do is stick her back in costume, it's rediculous. it would be one thing to have her go through a slow rehabilitation, but anything you did that put her back in costume would just be lame!
I hear ya, Steve T--Barbara Gordon IS Oracle. by SleazyG.	May 22nd, 2008 12:08:42 PM
I don't ever want to see her as Batgirl again. I don't want to see her out of the wheelchair, for that matter. She means far more this way than she would any other. She's somebody for the differently abled to be able to point to with pride, and using bullshit comic book science or magic to give her the ability to walk again would be an insult. She's an interesting, inspiring, powerful character the way she is.
How Winick keeps getting work, Greggers: by SleazyG.	May 22nd, 2008 12:34:44 PM
Powerful friends. Very, very powerful friends, some of whom work for DC and some of whom work for Marvel and each of whom he shares studio space with to work. Look, maybe he's a nice guy, and maybe he's charming, and those things go a long way in an industry full of a-holes. And I'm not trying to bag on his friends for helping the guy out or hanging out with him. But I honestly think if he wasn't grouped together with a couple of other major, major creators at the Big Two in many industry peoples' minds he'd get a lot less work. I mean, sure his run on BATMAN sold--it's BATMAN. And sure, GA is doing so-so--GA has a lot of long-time fans. But of newly-launched series, I can't help but wonder if any of 'em have ever sold well enough to sustain the title for any length of time.
I'm kinda glad ATOM got cancelled. by SleazyG.	May 22nd, 2008 12:54:21 PM
Now I won't feel like as bad about dropping it from my pull list. Which I woulda, very soon. I can't stand Remender's run so far. He's over thinking the science, leading to major plot holes. It's a major risk with fake science in entertainment: get too detailed and you actually make things worse--you're better off glossing over the science to avoid looking dumb. He's taken a funny, charming, relatable comic relief character and transformed him into yet another boring, buff, overly serious bore. He's made it way too angsty. The book always had its heavy moments, but Simone balanced them with humor and charm, two elements that are now severely lacking. Remender may be great on other titles, but I think he's a poor fit here.
Stone by JonQuixote	May 22nd, 2008 04:42:36 PM
I don't know what's next. You're right that the Spidey disc only does ASM. That's too bad because I think the Marathon (at least, the blog portion) works better when the comics are stinkaroo. If I can get the IRON MAN disc in time (waiting, waiting...) I might go for that. If I have to stick to my current collection, there might be an FF disc calling to me.
Bug! Sleazy! Greg! by JonQuixote	May 22nd, 2008 04:45:06 PM
Hiya! "In fact, if he wanted to make Cyborg gay with AIDS, the only reason I'd only mind because he'd be repeating himself." I think that's probably half the reason expert 40 made the joke. The other half could be how it lends itself to "pussified emotional indulgence."
shout-outs... by blackthought	May 22nd, 2008 08:13:43 PM
i do what i can...where my cogs at? indy VI? as far as winick's big two career...probably a deal with mephisto...that's been popular with the kids lately.
Winnick by Redmantle	May 22nd, 2008 09:10:04 PM
I have to admit I liked his Batman run, and I liked his Green Lantern run- he was my intro to Kyle Rayner. Titans 1 was okay. Otherwise- hmm... I'm not so sure. I picked up Outsiders, then they had the friggin America's most wanted dude in an issue- with a photo cover of the dude, and I didn't pick that up. WTF was that dude doing on the cover?! And that run on Outsiders got progressively lamer even before the photo of that dude.
Dr. Howard! Dr. Fine! Dr. Howard! by Greggers	May 22nd, 2008 09:22:29 PM
Thanks for the clarification, Jon. I just thought expert 40 didn't like Winick using mainstream comics to forward Winick's tolerance agenda. Or maybe expert 40 didn't like gay people. In any case, from what I've read, Winick doesn't need a major social issue to engage in "pussified emotional indulgence," all he needs is for a character to break up with his girlfriend. The mists of time may be playing with my memory here, but I think there was a GREEN LANTERN issue where Kyle spent most of it talking to his mom in her kitchen about relationships. That's 1) Talking to his mom, 2) In his mom's kitchen, 3) About relationships. I'd call that a pussified trifecta right there.
You know what? by Greggers	May 22nd, 2008 09:35:47 PM
That bit about him talking to his mom in the kitchen sounds just too horrible to be true. I'm going to have to do the unthinkable and dig into the archives to find that issue. I mean, I feel like I'm hitting Winick pretty hard here, and as long as I'm doing that, I'd like to make sure I'm not talking out my @$$. Well, not completely talking out my @$$.
Ahem...GREEN LANTERN #153 by Greggers	May 23rd, 2008 10:34:03 AM
Realizing that even the very last few people who were sticking around in this talkback have probably moved on to discussing the latest poster for SPACE CHIMPS, my OCD demands that I following through on my threat of tracking down the GREEN LANTERN issue with the "pussified emotional indulgence trifecta," which turned out to be GREEN LANTERN #153. Let me try to be as fair here. The issue is probably one of those calmer interlude issues that takes place between more action-oriented story arcs. As it turns out, Kyle wasn't dumped by anybody; he's simply going back home for his high school reunion. But most of the issue is page after page of Kyle talking to either his mom or Jade about his insecurities, whether it was insecurities about the reunion, or insecurities about his estranged father, or insecurities about Jade and his mom meeting each other. Dig this: "The two of you...you re the most important people in my life. I wanted you to meet in the best possible way. I wanted it to be perfect. Forgive me. It was stupid and neurotic to wait for an ideal moment. But if you don't get along, I'm not sure how I would handle that... So. I wasn't taking any chances. Okay. I love you both so much. Now shut up and get off my back." And that's just the capper to a scene that had been going on for about 5 pages. And of course, at the end of the book, we're treated to another 5 pages of Kyle 1) talking to his mom, 2) in his mom's kitchen, 3) about Kyle's relationship with his estranged father. Lots of talking, lots of loving and learning. And I didn't like it very much. Moreover, I'd come to recognize this same kind of loving and learning, this indulgence of the emotions ala pussification, in varying degrees in Winick's other work. And thus, I'm not a fan.

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