Since when did a chimpanzee alone make the book worth reading?
On a topic at Comics Ate My Brain that I once responded to, another person responds with a very superficial argument in which he says about Day of Vengeance the following:
No really, this is a joke, isn't it?
Sure, a protagonist like a talking chimpanzee and Detective Chimp, in and of itself, can be very inventive. And Julie Schwartz must have a world class record at making monkeys fun. But simians alone and solely - do not make the book worth reading. And judging by how the numbers are falling off for DOV, ditto the talk of it, it would certainly appear that I'm not alone in feeling that way.
The Titans Tower webmaster had the best thoughts on things like this last December:
What the person I'm quoting is doing is implying that good writing does not matter; rather, it's the fact that there's "cool" characters in the book that does. Sorry, but cool characters - and chimps - alone do not a story make, and they most certainly don't make it entertaining by themselves. No, it's good writing that does.
Sure, I'd like to read a book sometime with Detective Chimp, and see just how enjoyable a monkey mage can be, but only when a really good story that isn't built upon a travesty like Identity Crisis and isn't editorially mandated either comes along. If it hadn't been for the way that this crap was all put together as part of the umpteenth needless crossover, it could have some potential to it, but being the x-over material that it is, and given how grimy the miniseries it continues its premise from was, no sale.
On another note: no offense to the person who wrote the above in response to the topic posted last June, but IMO, he's writing almost like a vagrant, and, it should be noted that he ignored what I linked to from Columbus Alive when I wrote my own thoughts on the subject at the time. Not a very good way to conduct an argument, if you ask me.
Update: let me post that up front here too, now that I think of it: something that could very easily weigh even more heavily against DC's credibility. On April 27, Columbus Alive published a review of Day of Vengeance #1, and isn't that something: the book contains dialect that sounds almost like a woman being sexually harrassed:
And in case I didn't mention...the woman in the story being reviewed by the weekly newspaper I've linked to here is none other than Jean Loring, still suffering misuse at the hands of DC's knee-jerk advocates. And the role she's being forced into here is that of Eclipso, a crooked character few have ever really found interesting.
The publishers have a lot of apologizing and explaining to do for coming up with this gratuitous beginning for Day of Vengeance.
"I love the characters who are fun (c'mon it's a talking magical chimp!) and despite of feeling they have no chance in hell to pull things off, they give all that they have."This is a joke, right?
No really, this is a joke, isn't it?
Sure, a protagonist like a talking chimpanzee and Detective Chimp, in and of itself, can be very inventive. And Julie Schwartz must have a world class record at making monkeys fun. But simians alone and solely - do not make the book worth reading. And judging by how the numbers are falling off for DOV, ditto the talk of it, it would certainly appear that I'm not alone in feeling that way.
The Titans Tower webmaster had the best thoughts on things like this last December:
"The most galling thing is this is being praised. DC Comics and Wizard can’t say enough superlative things about it. It is being lauded as 'adult, mature' comic books. Well, as adult as a CineMax movie maybe. With about the same level or writing. Only instead of stringing together 'gratuitous sex' so no one cares, there are 'fanboy moments' strung together. "Wasn't it cool when Deathstroke beat the JLA?" "That was awesome when Green Arrow told off Batman!" well, yeah... But cool moments do not a story make."Absolutely correct. Since when exactly did Slade Wilson alone make the book a must-read/buy? For crying out loud, even I don't buy the Flash just to see Captain Cold do his freezer thingie on the Scarlet Speedster every month.
What the person I'm quoting is doing is implying that good writing does not matter; rather, it's the fact that there's "cool" characters in the book that does. Sorry, but cool characters - and chimps - alone do not a story make, and they most certainly don't make it entertaining by themselves. No, it's good writing that does.
Sure, I'd like to read a book sometime with Detective Chimp, and see just how enjoyable a monkey mage can be, but only when a really good story that isn't built upon a travesty like Identity Crisis and isn't editorially mandated either comes along. If it hadn't been for the way that this crap was all put together as part of the umpteenth needless crossover, it could have some potential to it, but being the x-over material that it is, and given how grimy the miniseries it continues its premise from was, no sale.
On another note: no offense to the person who wrote the above in response to the topic posted last June, but IMO, he's writing almost like a vagrant, and, it should be noted that he ignored what I linked to from Columbus Alive when I wrote my own thoughts on the subject at the time. Not a very good way to conduct an argument, if you ask me.
Update: let me post that up front here too, now that I think of it: something that could very easily weigh even more heavily against DC's credibility. On April 27, Columbus Alive published a review of Day of Vengeance #1, and isn't that something: the book contains dialect that sounds almost like a woman being sexually harrassed:
While we only hear her half of the conversation, with the diamond’s half apparently occurring in her head, it sounds nauseatingly like a woman being sexually harassed. Writer Bill Willingham’s dialogue: “Oh, no, I could never do that! What kind of woman do you think I am?… Because I was raised better than that—that’s why!… If I did agree—we’d only have to do it once?… And you’d never tell anybody?”That's quite likely to weigh against not just DC, but also against Willingham's (and even Dan DiDio's) own credibility as well, and to cost them even more potential readers with good sense.
Ick. She gives in, at which point her top blows open, the diamond plants itself in her breast, and voila! She’s now a super-powered villainess.
And in case I didn't mention...the woman in the story being reviewed by the weekly newspaper I've linked to here is none other than Jean Loring, still suffering misuse at the hands of DC's knee-jerk advocates. And the role she's being forced into here is that of Eclipso, a crooked character few have ever really found interesting.
The publishers have a lot of apologizing and explaining to do for coming up with this gratuitous beginning for Day of Vengeance.
Labels: dc comics, misogyny and racism, moonbat writers, violence, women of dc
