The ORIGINAL plans for Bat-Rogues before NML (plus: Wizard mag's "report: on Arkham Asylum)

[about_faces]

While I was recently spelunking through the world's most awesome hellhole of a comic shop, I found a copy of Wizard Magazine's all-villain issue, The Dark Book. Specifically, Dark Book '98, their follow-up issue.

I used to be an avid Wizard reader, but gave up due to a combination of the internet and the fact that they were doing shit like this

Comments

[box_in_the_box]

Dark Book '98 was brilliant. I actually created an entire reformed JLA-style superhero team out of the 10 worst supervillains that they listed.

[about_faces]

That was the closest the book came to the mean-spirited nature of Wizard that turned me off the magazine in general (being a Hal fan at the time didn't help either). Even then, it was still a good feature, but I have to raise issues with them including Clock King. Yes, his costume and methods were silly, but his origin is excellent. Henchgirl was reading their description of his origin, and going, "What the hell, this is a great origin! I want to see somebody actually explore this!"

Kite-Man and Turtle Man, on the other hand, I cannot defend. Nor the Duke of Oil, but I still love him anyway.

[box_in_the_box]

Bullshit. I can defend all fucking three.

The Duke of Oil? He's a regressive redneck oil tycoon who's just found out that, to paraphrase RDJ, he went full Deckard a while back and didn't even know it. How does a guy who, if his character was created today, would be a full-fledged Randroid Tea Party member, cope with knowing he's merely an AI copy of an actual human being, when he doesn't even believe in evolution, or anything else other than the Invisible Hand and bootstraps? Robots have even less civil rights in superhero comics universes than blacks or Muslims have in a post-9/11 world, so now HE'S the minority.

The Turtle? Yeah, he's slow, but if we give him the advantages of his namesake, without making him a mutant or some other such genetically derived superhuman, he's a dude who Tony Starked his own goddamn armor, capable of withstanding undersea pressures, and judging from the meager resources we see that he possesses, he might as well have built it IN A CAVE!!! WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS!!! Oh, yeah, and it also alters the

[about_faces]

You're so awesome, Box. Why can't more actual comic writers have your kind of imagination? I've always said, there are no bad characters, just bad writers.

[lego_joker]

Ah, yes. The "Joker as Lex Luthor" gig. If anyone could've made it work, it would've been Chuck Dixon, god of Joker stories.

Dixon has, at various times, had Joker don a stupid 90s ponytail, save the life of a little girl, and become the diplomat to a terrorist-harboring Middle Eastern country AGAIN. And made all three scenarios work.

And from what I hear, Last Laugh was (once again) the editors' fault. Dixon never wanted it to expand as far into the DCU as it did.

Also, dig the "Unhealthy attraction to Batman" part in Ivy's profile. Nice to see SOMEONE remember that particular quirk of her psychosis.

(And aww. Eddie didn't make The List. Neither did Croc. Or Arnold.)

Finally, for the record, the two scenes that Dixon gave Joker in Road to NML ("Just a hometown boy. Back home to stay." and "Crazy world, ain't it?") kick the crap out of every single Joker appearance in NML itself.

[about_faces]

"Joker as Lex Luthor"? Was that the idea?

The stupid ponytail only worked, IMO, in that story with Az-Bats. It gave the Joker a sense of 90's movie producer, and every page with that Joker was pure gold. That's perhaps the only truly good story to come out of the Az-Bats era. Or at least, the only one I can recall off-hand.

Yeah, that aspect of Ivy's been forgotten. I wonder why? Perhaps because it was downplayed or ignored by TAS? Man, that gal really needs a proper origin. What's her motivation? It's never really been explained. If she's a crazy eco-terrorist, why? What drives her? If she's got a Batman obsession, how did this happen? What does he mean to her? Problem is, her character is all over the place, to the point that no one seems to know how to write her. She's worse off than even Selina in this regard.

I wonder what Eddie's treatment would have been? I love that one Dixon story, where on the outside of his cell is scawled, "DON'T ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS!!!"

[abqreviews]

OHMYGOD, I've been to the very same shop. Don't remember the owner being like that, but hey, people change(or get their friends to run shops for them). Back when I owned an antique mall, I tried to make the comics section as easy to browse through and private as possible(even though it was LOADED with tons of comics) for people stopping by, not once was there a shoplifter

[about_faces]

He was much friendlier when I saw him again this year. He was also having a 50% off sale. I wonder if his shop's doing all right? I can't imagine how he's hanging on, unless he owns the property outright. Seriously, I'd love to find a way to organize that place. It'd take a month, and I'd need air masks, but damn it, it's a job that needs to be done!

I haven't had a ton of problems with trolls, but it seems like another one pops up anytime I try expressing an opinion on anywhere that's not here or scans_daily. I'm not aggressive, I go out of my way to avoid confrontation, but some people are downright insulted by an opinion that doesn't reflect their own. It's the kind of thing where I really do need to develop a thicker skin if I want to create any kind of internet fan presence, but at the same time, one little "You're/your an idiot" can sour my whole afternoon.

So I appreciate your saying so. :) I'm just trying to do the sort of thing I want to see more of from superhero comics fandom.

[lego_joker]

As a veteran of CBR's Bat-forums, I can confidently say that the boards are generally civil... as long as you're not discussing Morrison.

I don't trust CBR's top 10 lists, though. Not since they put Morrison's "Clown at Midnight" on a top 10 Joker story list.

[surrealname]

John, Road to no man's land is our 2 man show. Oh man is it ever.

[surrealname]

I think this issue may have been the first time i saw THE PANEL.

It was definitely an issue of wizard from 98, and i was obsessed with that panel.

well, you know where things went from there.