Getting To Know...Us: The Answers Pt. 1

So you asked and we have answered. Actually we had such fun answering the questions that we are splitting the responses up over two days. So without anymore introduction:

Devon: it is rumored that thou errest not, and in fact I think you even predicted that Superboy Prime was responsible for Infinite Crisis long before anyone else did, so I guess the rumors are true. With that in mind, can you give us five startling predictions about upcoming DC events?

Devon Sanders: I have no clue. The DC Universe is a very disjointed place right now and things point to it staying this way for a while.

Three Legions really don't help this along either.

Worst comic or trade paperback you've ever read?

Jon Carey: Mighty Mutanimals. I don't know if y'all remember this, but it was a Ninja Turtles spin-off starring all the other non-turtle mutants and, oh my golly, even Very Young Jon knew it was bad news.

Ben Hatton: Usually when something is the worst my brain tends to block it out like it never existed. But if I had to dredge something up it would have to be Ultimates 3 #1. That comic was without redemption and I love Joe Madureira’s art. I don’t know if it just was the contrast with the rest of the line but I really hated that book.

DS: I can't remember what it was but it was one of those Rob Liefeld “Awesome Comics” titles and it was written by Warren Ellis. It was so awful that I tore it to shreds for being so bad.

Mike Pellegrino: Green Arrow Showcase vol. 1... he's my favorite character and it's still like watching a car accident in slow motion.

Best comic or trade paperback you've ever read?

DS: Daredevil: Born Again. I break it out at least once a year to re-read. The most perfect example of “The Hero's Journey” I've ever read. Joe Kelly's Superman story “What's So Funny About Truth, Justice And The American Way” is another favorite as well.

BH: Mage by Matt Wagner, both “Hero Discovered” and “Hero Defined” are amazing. To this day I attribute that and the “Quiver” storyline by Kevin Smith that got me back into comics after three or four years of not reading.

JC: Whatever issue of Starman had Ted Knight's funeral in it. I can't recall the number offhand, but it's choked me up like a little girl every single time.

MP: Hard question... but the issue of Planetary about Superman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman... well, let's just say it gets to me.

Favorite Fiction novel?

BH: Changes daily, but right now it is Death of Sweet Mister.

JC: Catch-22.

DS: The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead. It is the perfect first novel. My favorite short story is “Eve's Diary” by Mark Twain. It let's you known that if you ever adored someone you've truly lived.

MP: The Razor's Edge.

# of long boxes/short boxes owned?

BH: 15 drawer long boxes. That’s right, I said drawer boxes. You may be acceptably jealous.

JC: Four-ish? I don't know. A solid amount of my books live in not-long-boxes in my parents' house, so I really haven't the foggiest.

DS: 18, down from 24. I hope to have it down to 10 by the end of the year.

MP: 5 Long but I just started collecting again in 2005. I have stuff at my mom's house rotting away in drawers and shoe boxes.

360/PS3/Wii?...all/neither?

MP: I am the Danica Patrick of Mario Kart Wii... except that I'm not a hot chick.

BH: Wii. I have clocked an almost marriage ending number of hours in Super Smash Bros. Brawl recently.

JC: I have a GameCube, a half-functioning PS2 and my girlfriend's old DS.

DS: I have neither. I suck at every video game I've ever played. From Pong to Mario Kart, I suck. Wanna laugh? Watch me get upset as my seven-year old nephew runs up and down the field on my ass in Madden. Oh, he laughs and laughs. I did get a perfect score singing “Creep” by Radiohead on Rock Band but I do have the voice of an angel so that may not count.

Gorilla Robots or Gorilla Ninjas?

JC: I have absolutely no idea what you're getting at.

BH: Orangutan Cowboys

DS: Grant Morrison.

MP: Nazi Gorilla Vampires

Zombies or Werewolves?

DS: Is this Robert Kirkman again?

BH: Mummies

JC: Are zombies passe yet? Could they be? I guess werewolves, but only because I'm so sick of Goddamn zombies.

MP: Werewolves. Zombies can't fetch.

Transmetropolitan: Love it or just "meh" about?


MP: Only read the first trade... but I did love it.

BH: Love it. I don’t read it too often because it makes me want to go out and start some shit. That and get a tattoo on my head.

JC: Love it.

DS: I've never been a big fan of gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson or dystopian futures so...”meh.”

Emerald Twilight story, worst idea ever or BEST?

JC: I am wholly indifferent. Never been a big Latern fan, even though I'm apparently the Earth Prime Hal Jordan.

BH: It was the best of storylines. It was the blerst of storylines.

DS: It was what it was. No one was paying any attention to Green Lantern at the time anyway and you know what, it got people's attention. We got Kyle Rayner out of it and got some really good stories that lead up to the eventual return to greatness of Hal Jordan and The Green Lantern Corps. So, yeah, I'd say Emerald Twilight was definitely for the best.

MP: Honestly? Never read it.

Have any of you paid over 35 bucks for a single issue of a comic? If so what was it?


BH: The Amazing Screw On Head by Mike Mignola. When I bid on Ebay I wasn’t paying attention to the fact that I was paying in pounds. Stupid British currency.

JC: I think I paid twenty for the first appearance of Cloak and Dagger back in the day, thanks to a shady comic shop guy snookering a young me out of a gift certificate. That's probably the most I've paid.

DS: No, but if you did I'd like to invite you over to my apartment where I have thousands of comics going for just $35 a piece.

MP: No...most I paid was 12 bucks for the second issue of 'Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow'... it was not near mint as advertised..

Ted Kord: For or against his demise?

BH: Totally for, everything good that has come out of DC has been because thought of giving a B-list character an important death.

JC: Whacking him was sort of a cheap ploy, but there're few things I enjoy more than nerdly wailing and gnashing of teeth, so I guess I'm pro-death in the long run.

DS: I'm sorry to say it but Ted Kord, in the way that he died, said more about the way he'd lived. He died a hero and we sort of forgot that while living for his next “BWA-HA-HA!” So, “for.”

MP: If the only good thing that ever came from his death was the last issue of 52, it would be enough. And that's not a knock against Ted.

First comic you ever read?


BH: I have no idea. My guess it was like a Tintin, Bugs Bunny, or Uncle Scrooge story or something. As for the first comic I remember reading and being like, “Holy Crap! I am a comic fan.” It would have to be the Lobo’s Big Babe Spring Break Special for obvious reasons.

JC: Some random issue of Batman, I'd wager.

DS: I don't remember the first comic exactly but I do remember the first one that left an impression on me, Daredevil #166, DD vs. The Gladiator. My first exposure to Frank Miller. It was the first time I ever felt “wild-eyed” while reading a comic.

MP: Issue of X-Men from my cousin's collection... it was from the 'In the Power of Proteus' storyline.

Last comic you just finished reading?

JC: Hand to God, an issue of Rom. The one where the Dire Wraiths punch a hole in the sun. Ditko was totally phoning it in by then, but his finish penciller was Jackson Guice, and that's such a bizarre combination that it blows my mind.

BH: Robin #174. Read below for my response to it.

DS: Amazing Spider-Man #560, my first Spidey in nearly 4 years and only because of the Marcos Martin artwork. One loses a love for Spidey once he realizes he's older than Peter Parker.

MP: The most recent issue of Robin. Spoiler Alert! (Ba-dum-ching)

Digital comic distribution vs brick and mortar comic stores: Thoughts, opinions?

BH: I buy my comics on the web now. It is just super, super cheaper. I am kind of an all or nothing sort of guy. I am buying everything or I am buying none. The discounts of DCBS allows me to participate in the pastime as I want to but without breaking the bank.

JC: The idea of an online comic shop interests me, but I end up snap-judging so many books on the fly and walking out with crap I'd never've thought I'd pick up that I think I'm pretty much stuck with a brick and mortar for the time being.

DS: To me, nothing will ever replace the tactile nature of the comic book. I have a ritual where I keep them near the bed and read them until sleepy. I can't see myself doing this via laptop.

Although with the average comic pricing out at nearly $3 and the comics companies' need to tack on more and more “must-have” tie-ins surrounding “event” books and lot of us feeling burned on them, I can see why people are turning to downloading to fuel their habit.

Doesn't make it right though.

The companies and retailers themselves really aren't doing anything to further their own cause right now.

THAT is another post for later this week, actually.

MP: I miss having a local comic book shop a lot. It was nice to have something special to look forward to every Wednesday. I miss socializing with friends and so on, and I'd be lying if I said I kept in touch with everyone from my old shop. But I spend a lot less money using an online service, and I have a community of comic book geeks that I still socialize with. But ultimately, the 'Cheers' aspect of a good LCS is irreplaceable, so if you've got it, hang onto it and do what you can to make it better.

Who is more powerful? Mork from Ork, Jeanie, or Samantha.

DS: Benson.

BH: Samantha. The Orkians are goof balls and Jeanie is basically by herself. But an army of crotchety witches backs Samantha.

JC: Samantha replaced her freaking husband with a more different guy and nobody ever noticed. Winner.

MP: I wouldn't know because I'm not freakin' old!

And on that note we are done for today. Come back tomorrow for PART TWO.