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a greater subject fitteth Faustus' wit
Mar. 10th, 2007 04:36 pmI've never heard of Tom Foss, who strikes me as just another geek with a blog (not that I'm in any position to judge), but he wrote a rather interesting essay commenting on the recent big Marvel news. That said, the only part that particularly interested me was the very end:
The tragedy is that in trying to make superhero comics exciting and cool, Quimby has sacrificed Marvel's soul, the ideals and values that make superhero comics worth reading. In return, they get an overdose of excitement until even genuine mystery and suspense feel cheap and boring. They get MySpace and Nascar and Guiding Light and press coverage and movie deals. And, like Marlowe's Faustus, the fruits of this bargain are empty, hollow shells. Quesada can continue on, sporting himself, playing pranks on the Pope and wooing his soulless Helen, but eventually the fans will tire of the game, the burn-out will settle in (if it hasn't already), and Mephastophilis will return to collect his payment. And what will Mr. Quesada have to show for all his events? What will Editor-in-Chief Faustus have to take the place of Marvel's soul?
I'll burn my books--ah, Mephastophilis!
--Doctor Faustus, 13:113.
...
Dear Lord, does anyone out there have any designing capabilities to help me make an "I KILLED CAPTAIN AMERICA" T-shirt?
There are pitiful few pictures of Doctor Faustus out there, but I found a couple here, in one of his rare recent appearances and a pretty awesome vintage one here. And hey, it's not like there ain't many pictures of Marvel's resident devil, Mephisto. Scans from the infamous issue in question can be found here, so perhaps there's something that can be done there... or maybe, when all's done, perhaps elegant simplicity is best.
Any T-shirt design ideas would be most welcome. All for the sake of amusing ourselves.
The tragedy is that in trying to make superhero comics exciting and cool, Quimby has sacrificed Marvel's soul, the ideals and values that make superhero comics worth reading. In return, they get an overdose of excitement until even genuine mystery and suspense feel cheap and boring. They get MySpace and Nascar and Guiding Light and press coverage and movie deals. And, like Marlowe's Faustus, the fruits of this bargain are empty, hollow shells. Quesada can continue on, sporting himself, playing pranks on the Pope and wooing his soulless Helen, but eventually the fans will tire of the game, the burn-out will settle in (if it hasn't already), and Mephastophilis will return to collect his payment. And what will Mr. Quesada have to show for all his events? What will Editor-in-Chief Faustus have to take the place of Marvel's soul?
I'll burn my books--ah, Mephastophilis!
--Doctor Faustus, 13:113.
...
Dear Lord, does anyone out there have any designing capabilities to help me make an "I KILLED CAPTAIN AMERICA" T-shirt?
There are pitiful few pictures of Doctor Faustus out there, but I found a couple here, in one of his rare recent appearances and a pretty awesome vintage one here. And hey, it's not like there ain't many pictures of Marvel's resident devil, Mephisto. Scans from the infamous issue in question can be found here, so perhaps there's something that can be done there... or maybe, when all's done, perhaps elegant simplicity is best.
Any T-shirt design ideas would be most welcome. All for the sake of amusing ourselves.
