The Songs of Johnny Go

Note: I figure there are a couple people interested in the new Batman film here who also don't read about_faces, which is where I usually now post all my Bat-fan stuff. Just trying to make your skimming easier, my non-comic-reading friends!



So, a couple weeks ago, I finally started a fan project wherein I looked at every single appearance of Hugo Strange, Batman's first arch-nemesis and Moriarty equivalent.

In my first post, I expressed my belief that one of Hugo's most famous appearances--1990's Batman: Prey, by Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy, one of the best Batman stories ever--would make an absolutely perfect basis for Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises. Just pump up Catwoman's role as an origin, and boom, you have a great film that is pure Batman while not being in the shadow of Heath. Pure fantasy on my part, you understand. I figured and still do figure that Nolan wouldn't do that, because Prey and Hugo are just not well known to anyone but the most hardcore Bat-fans. Far as I know, I'm the only one to have this idea.

Literally days after I said that, rumors started popping up saying that Prey actually WILL be the basis for TDKR. In fact, aintitcool.com, which usually avoids most of the 99%-bogus sea of Bat-rumors, just ran a story today with a source claiming that it'll be Prey plus Clayface (wha? How the hell would that work? And Clayface? This guy is so rigid in his "realism" that he can't imagine using the frickin' Penguin, much less someone like Mr. Freeze! No way would he use Clayface unless it was original Basil Karlo without powers), which still sounds bogus to me.

But damn, this is nuts. Did I inadvertently start this rumor by someone reading that scans_daily post and spreading that idea around as truth? With s_d's readership of a couple thousand people, I suppose it's not beyond the realm of internet possibility. More likely, I probably wasn't the only one to remember that beloved but little-known (and long out-of-print!) storyline, and make the connection to Nolan's films. Or, just as likely, it's just a weird damn coincidence.

Tangent: Heh, Henchgirl's actually hoping that Hugo won't be in it. Not because she doesn't like Hugo, but because she fears it'll ruin the character in fandom, much like Spider-Man 2 ruined Doctor Octopus in fandom. Seriously, try to find anything about Otto, and it's all Movie!Otto. And while I absolutely adore Movie!Otto as one of the best takes on the character, these fans clearly have never and will never read a comic in their lives. You can't talk with them about anything, because the adapted version dominates and obliterates all stories that created it. It's very frustrating.

Either way, hopefully it'll encourage people to get interested in the character of Hugo Strange. If you'd like, please feel free to check out the three Hugo posts I've done so far on about_faces:

Part 1: The original Golden Age Hugo Strange trilogy, wherein his Moriarty influence is very apparent, and the character lays the foundation for subsequent villains like the Joker and Scarecrow later on.


Part 2: Hugo's return subplot in Strange Apparitions, one of the greatest Batman stories ever. It kills me that I had to edit out all the other great stuff from that whole story, including most of the Joker epic, "The Laughing Fish."


Part 3: the obscure Bronze Age classic, Interlude on Earth-Two, by Alan Brennert, a writer who I'm increasingly read to consider one of the best DC authors of all time, even though he only wrote nine stories, most of them just single issues. He deserves the Alan Moore treatment of getting a Complete DC Stories collection for tales like this one.


I have about seven more Hugo stories to come, particularly Prey. That's the greatest of those to come, but I have to work my way up, as every single Hugo story is directly influenced by the ones that preceded it. He's a character who seems to get dusted off and brought back only by the most hardcore, dedicated Batman writers, the ones who've read and clearly remembered his every single appearance, which I think speaks to what makes this character so great and essential to Batman.

So yeah. I don't think the Prey-for-Dark-Knight-Rises rumor is true, and I don't know if I'd want it to be. I've kind of liked Hugo as being a private joy shared by a handful of Batman fans and writers. But if they can do him justice, hell, maybe he'll finally get the status that geeks like me have known he's deserved for... well, seventy years.

THE WOLFMAN was terribly disappointing, particularly because I feel like I could just see all the good intentions scattered somewhere inside the horribly-edited mess of a film. Could a different cut salvage it? I'd love to think so, but I doubt it. Sigh. In fairness, the original WOLFMAN wasn't that great either, what with the stalker-tastic love story which could have easily been called--as Henchgirl quipped--THE WEREWOLF WALKED ON TIPPY-TOES. But still! Sigh.

That said, I'm still not sure if crushing disappointment is better than intense horrified loathing. Which brings us to my thoughts on ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

There are few words to describe just how much I loathed Burton's film (which he made, as I understand, without having ever read the actual books), and if I had the time/energy, I would rant about it wholeheartedly instead of doing this kind of cheap, unsupported drive-by complaint. But really, when it comes to a film that makes the Mad Hatter a badass revolutionary, tries (and utterly fails) to combine the Queen of Hearts and the Red Queen, and ends with a song by Avril Fucking Lavigne, what else do I really have to say? I mean, seriously.

That said, I want the soundtrack. The Hatter's dance music was the first time I've heard Danny Elfman write anything sounding like Oingo Boingo since even before Oingo Boingo broke up. Too bad it had to happen in the brain-meltingly-awful moment when the Hatter danced the Robot. I mean, seriously, do I really have to defend these points? Really? Whyyyyy???!?!

On the plus side, I now want to write my essay on why Batman's Mad Hatter, Jervis Tetch, is a woefully abused character who deserves more love.

Speaking of Bat-Rogues, I posted my first Two-Face Tuesday entry in two weeks, the first part of Harvey vs. the Robins, with a focus on the first appearance of Tim Drake. I'm kinda disappointed that it didn't get more attention at scans_daily, what with their adoration of the Robins and all, but hopefully that'll pick up with the next entry, focusing on Dick Grayson's ties to Harvey in PRODIGAL.

Last week's post on Harvey's sides(s) in NIGHTWING: THE GREAT LEAP provoked some absolutely awesome discussion over at scans_daily (as well as on this very LJ), which was so great to see after all the work I put into that'un. I realize that most of these posts are catering to a specific niche, and will usually just get a handful of comments.

But hey, I love the character. And besides, when it comes to being the best damn comics-discussion community in the world... well, what can I say? I believe in scans_daily (and, of course, all you fine minions--is that better, lillbet--here on my flist).

That said, this week's entry is gonna be much lazier. No essays or opinion pieces, just a two-fisted double-feature of Harvey-centric short stories, both of which s_d old-timers will remember from the original community. In the first one, Harvey and his old buddy Commissioner "Jimbo" Gordon briefly reunite to track down none other than "Boss" Moroni himself (still alive in this story, natch).





In the second, Harvey fights a werewolf in Arkham. Because sure, why the hell not?





( Unusual Two-Face pairings behind the cut! )


Finally, it seems only fitting to end this post with a preview of my upcoming entry on having finally seen Richard O'Brien's SHOCK TREATMENT, which I watched with Henchgirl. I find it hilarious to note that when this song happened, Henchgirl asked, "Do you know who this reminds me of?" And here I thought it was just me, the obsessed fanboy imposing his own fannishness into something that's not really there.





Why no, I didn't listen to this song (along with the rest of the SHOCK TREATMENT) soundtrack obsessively over my thirteen-hour drive back from Tuscaloosa. And I certainly didn't celebrate my memorization of "Duet Duel" by singing it as both Harvey and Two-Face. Heavens, no. *cough*

So I neglected to repost my Two-Face Tuesday entry for last week, which is the modern reinvention of the Paul Sloane character. I'm rather proud of that one, so if you want, please do check it out over here at scans_daily in two parts: Part One and Part Two. Sometime, I plan to use them as the basis for a whole separate rant, but there they are for now.



For this week, I'm included an expanded version of my scans_daily post for you, my dear sugarplums.

Three weeks ago (with my "JLA teams up with Two-Face... wait what?!" post), lamashtar asked if I was going to post this particular issue, or if it was "too schmaltzy." To be honest, I wasn't sure (of either)!

Who here has read the Hal Jordan SPECTRE series (which ran 27 issues from 2001 to 2003)? I'm genuinely curious as to what anybody made of it. Personally, it was one of the more frustrating reading experiences I've ever had.

Issue #5--the topic of this week's post--is no exception, namely because it features the unlikely meeting of my two all-time favorite characters. And the results are... well... I'm still not really sure even now.





Here's the thing: when I was a teen, I loved Hal Jordan. Not as Green Lantern (although that would come later), but rather as Parallax. Considering that Two-Face is my number one favorite, I loved the idea of a fallen hero striving for redemption and justice but always screwing it up by being so darn crazy. I wanted him to actually grow as a character, to be redeemed, even exonerated. Then they killed him off in a "heroic" manner to pay lip service to his fans, then get him out of the way so that Kyle could be a special little pumpkin.

So I was very excited by the prospect of Hal!Spectre. The character would finally get some development and redemption, and be a hero again! And it would be written by the great J.M. DeMatteis! Even better!

But the actual series was... well, I'm still not quite sure what it was. For one thing, Hal just doesn't work in this kind of context. But mainly... look, I'm an agnostic who loves the stories of religion but has no personal grasp on concepts like souls and karma beyond a layman's utilitarian knowledge. And reading THE SPECTRE, I felt bogged down in all the metaphysical wankery DeMatteis was packing into every issue. Just like with so much philosophy, I responded with a mixture of "so what?" and "SO BORED."

This was made especially frustrating when my two favorite characters actually met in the pages of THE SPECTRE #5. Surely, such an unlikely pairing-off was possible only in my fanboy imagination! At least, that was before Hal became the Spectre.


( Crazy murderous ex-heroes, the question of redemption, alien ghost cop spirit guides, and metaphysical theological jibba-jabba behind the cut! )


Okay. So what do you make of this? Me, I just can't make heads or... I mean, I still don't know.

Like, the actual metaphysical stuff about karma meant absolutely nothing to me, but just flew right over my head. It all seemed so maddeningly vague: what old debts? We don't even know why poor Harvey has to suffer through this? What debts does he have to pay? How could he possibly have chosen this from a spiritual standpoint?

It was all so frustratingly unsatisfying. I suspect this could have been interesting if DeMatteis had paced it out over two or more parts, really explored what it meant for the sides to be separated like that.

If "good" Harvey (note the quotation marks) is still capable of violence, what would "big bad Harv" be capable of doing if he were unleashed? Really, it could be the Gotham version of Italo Calvino's THE CLOVEN VISCOUNT, wherein a man is split into his good and evil sides, both of whom are themselves capable of good and evil acts.

(forgive for the snobby literature reference; once I heard about the story in Mazzucchelli's brilliant graphic novel, ASTERIOS POLYP, I felt it was perfect for Harvey insight)

But no. Ultimately, this story feels too rushed, with only one insight to offer: "No, really: It Sucks to be Harvey Dent."

All that said, between this and their meeting in that JLA story, I'm in agreement with nymphgalatea when she expressed a wish for a proper Hal/Harvey teamup. Because, she said, "Hal is so very pragmatic, and has no patience for the crazy, and Harvey would take a deep and abiding delight in fucking with his head."

Seriously, I would pay good money to see J. Michael Straczynski write this as an issue of THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD, considering how he wrote Two-Face in the TEEN TITANS story and Hal in the most recent issue of TB&TB (with Dr. Fate).

Got it just under the wire! For North America, anyway! Nya-ha!


Y'know, back when I was but a wee fanboy, I actually used to wonder if there was any feasible way the JLA could go up against Two-Face. It seems far-fetched to say the least, but I suppose the Joker's done it several times. So imagine my delight when, a couple months ago, I discovered this story existed!





In this two-part JLA story from 1975, our favorite bisected anti-villain teams up with the JLA to save the world from aliens inhabiting statues of Julius Caesar, Ben Franklin, and Napoleon! No, really.


( God, I love the Silver Age )

Some of the most interesting superhero stories occur when characters are taken out of their usual circles. Like, Ra's al Ghul being revealed as the big bad guy in a LEGION OF SUPERHEROES story! Or EMPEROR JOKER! It's a simple, engaging, and underused trope of comics. They're the kind of stories that require a bit of imagination and originality on the writer's part, which is probably why they're not done that often.

Me, I'd love to see more of characters like Two-Face being used outside of Gotham, pitted against characters who aren't part of the Bat-Family. We already got a taste of the possibilities between this and the TEEN TITANS SPOTLIGHT issue where he faced off against Cyborg. For one thing, I'm hoping that JMS actually does the Two-Face/Hawk&Dove issue of THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD that he talked about back in May 2008. That'd be a great start.

First off, GIP, courtesy of the amaaazing disc_sophist




ITEM: WEDNESDAY COMICS STILL LOOKS FUCKING AMAZING

( Behold... the cover of WEDNESDAY COMICS, plus *tons* of previews of the bloody amazing comic book goodness it shall contain )

I'm so nervous that this is going to flop, though. Response from fans has been a lot of concern about the oversized format and the price, capped off with this report from a recent convention:

At Saturday’s DC Nation panel, editors Ian Sattler and Brian Cunningham provided fans with a first-ever look at a printed copy of “Wednesday Comics.” The weekly, star-studded, 16-page comic produced on massive newsprint pages, was described as one of the most unusual, impressive, projects in DC’s recent history, a “Kramer’s Ergot” #7 with superheroes.

But DC Nation, or at least the cross section attending the panel, showed more interest in the tedium of DC continuity. Not a single question was asked about “Wednesday Comics.”

DAMN IT, FANDOM. DON'T RUIN THIS FOR US.





ITEM: I DON'T WANT THE HAL JORDAN HATERS TO BE RIGHT, BUT, UH, IS HE ACTUALLY BEING A DICK HERE OR WHAT?


Holla at my GL flist buddies--particularly nymphgalatea, kali921, and kagome654--What think you of James Robinson's depiction of Hal in these preview pages of JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE # 1?

I mean, I've been a bit unimpressed by Geoff Johns' take on Hal, so this suddenly proactive take on Hal is rather cool. But is it in character? It definitely seems to be more in keeping with the Hal that Parallax exploited, but that Hal wasn't really in character in the first place.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is, when you look at this page, do you think, "BADASS" or do you think, "Wow, what a dickhole"?

( Judge for yourself )

On one hand, hey, awesome, he's actually showing off leadership capabilities, and it's keeping with someone who has crazy huge amounts of willpower! On the other hand, even Scott Summers might think Hal should cool it down a little.

I look forward to seeing how this storyline pans out. Either way, I want smart-ass fun-loving wise-cracking Hal Jordan back. My ideal Hal is like the bastard child of John Crichton and James T. Kirk with liberal dashes of Bruce Campbell thrown in for good measure.




ITEM: ONE OF THE MOST INTRIGUING PAGES FROM A GOLDEN AGE COMIC EVER

( How Zatara brought peace to two warring kingdoms. )

... huh.

I can't even call crack on it, like Golden Age Wonder Woman, because damn, it actually seems damn well straightforward! So to speak.

And damn, Zatara is a sharp motherfucker. But then, he's the father of Zatanna, so he'd have to be. We need more dash and top hats in comics, says I.




FINAL ITEM: COMICS THAT MADE US CRY

The Robot 6 blog did a piece on "The 6 Comics That Made Us Cry," and folks have been responding with their favorites. For me, there have been several, but only one gets me choked up just thinking out it: the one-two punch of that issue of I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S NOT THE JUSTICE LEAGUE, when they find Ice in Hell.

First, when Guy Gardner, of all people, just keeps whispering, “Please come back, Tora. Please come back. Please come back.”

And second, at the end, when Bea and Guy hold each other, sobbing.

There was more genuine, heart-wrenching emotion in this silly comedic B-list superhero spin-off than in all of the INFINITE CRISIS titles going on at the same time. I’m getting misty just *thinking* about that issue.

What about you, folks? What comics have made you mist up or sob?