The Fire and Water Podcast Presents: WHO'S WHO: THE DEFINITIVE PODCAST OF THE DC UNIVERSE, Volume VI
This time around we chat about WHO'S WHO: Volume VI, discussing characters such as Dr. Fate, Darkseid, Deadman, Doctor Mid-Nite, Despero, and many more! We wrap up the show with Who's Who Listener Feedback!
Be sure to check out our Tumblr site for a few pages from this Who's Who issue: FireandWaterPodcast.Tumblr.com!
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Monday, December 17, 2012
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5 comments:
Great episode as usual guys. This is special to me because I was 10 when this Who's Who was published, and the Super Powers toyline was a HUGE deal to me. To have so many of the characters from the then-hitting Series 2 in this issue gave me a lot of back story on guys like Darkseid and Desaad, who I only previously knew from the JLA/JSA/New Gods crossover in the early 80s. Dr. Fate is and was one of my favorite JSA characters, and I was also quite fond of Dr. Mid-Nite. I will agree with you and say Matt Wagner's portrayal of Doc here really brought out the character's inherent cool factor, although the great Jerry Ordway did a nice job with him over in All-Star Squadron as well. Just to show that a great visual is timeless, my 11 year old son is a huge Dr. Fate fan, and also likes McNider quite a bit as well.
I will say I missed George Perez when he didn't do the covers. A huge fan of his then as now, I felt everyone else was just a "fill-in". Paris Cullins certainly did some fun layouts, but these covers somehow seem less official to me, due to his cartoony style (which I normally like, but not so much here) and the lack of comics' greatest working artist.
Now, to make Shag cringe, allow me to defend the Composite Superman a bit. I was first exposed to the bisected baddie in a DC Digest that reprinted his first appearance (Rob knows which one I'm talking about). The cover showed a flesh-colored Composite Superman zapping Superman, Batman, Robin, Aquaman, Green Arrow and some character I'd never heard of (turned out to be Nova, Superman's temporary new identity from an imaginary tale also reprinted therein). Anyway, any character that combined Superman and Batman and could take on a good chunk of the JLA HAD to be pretty cool, right?
So blame Ross Andru and Dick Giordano for making a REALLY good first impression on me with this cover. The inside story was a bit too convoluted, but ol' CS really did have it over on the World's Finest team in a way most other villains didn't.
Chris
Another round of insightful commentary on the Who's Who podcast...unfortunately the issue in question was a disappointment for me when it first came out. The primary reason was the loss of George Perez as cover artist. With this type of art assignment I think Perez is one of the few, if only guys that can really pull this off and make it seem flawless. Paris Cullins (and the subsequent fill-in artists) just didn't cut it IMO.
As for the interiors, although there are some good entries and great artwork I didn't feel that it was a solid issue.
Daily Planet: Besides Atlantis as was mentioned by Shag, Arkham Asylum was another early "setting" featured in Who's Who.
Dark Destroyer: "Atari Force" was a fun read for me back-in-the-day. Although I feel it lost some of the magic when JLGL left the art and was replaced by Eduardo Baretto.
Darkseid: Kirby is often known for his dynamic poses but this picture of Darkseid has to be one of the least imposing I've ever seen. Ugh!
Dart: I always thought that a Dart and Blackjak miniseries would have been cool but unfortunately the whole Atari Force concept didn't even least two full years...
Dawnstar: If I recall, Dawnstar WAS around during the "5 Years Later" exploits of the Legion, but she had amnesia or something and was known as "Bounty". It's been awhile, I have to do a re-read of those issues.
Deadman: One of the highlights of the issue for me. I've always loved Boston Brand's ghostly alter ego. There was a Hembeck strip back in the 70s that featured the third Brand brother, "Hackensack Brand", LOL. JLGL did some nice work on Deadman over in "Adventure Comics" in the 70s and then also did the first Deadman mini-series (which I think was written by Andy Helfer).
Deadshot and Deep Six: I would have rather have had Floyd Lawton get the full page and have the Deep Six get the half page.
Detective Chimp: Infantino always had a thing for primates didn't he...LOL.
Dial "H" for Hero: When Robbie Reed turned into Plastic Man I believe that was his first Silver Age DC appearance and DC was using it as a test for his subsequent revival series. And besides the plethora of characters, Dial H may have got a double page because I think Marv Wolfman was the writer on the 80s revival.
Dr. Alchemy: Originally Albert Desmond was BOTH Dr. Alchemy AND Mr. Element. He eventually reformed and they created his psychic twin Alvin. Later still it was revealed/retconned that Alvin was just a mind construct of The Philiospoher's Stone and since then Albert has maintained both identities (pre-New 52...I have no idea what goes on now)
Dr. Light II: I don't have the issue at hand but "The Crisis On Infinite Earths Index" pointed out that the info in Who's Who and the info in Dr. Light's origin in "Crisis" #4 didn't jive.
Dr. Occult: Dr. Occult's costumed appearance in "More Fun" has long been considered an early Superman prototype from Siegel and Shuster.
After his last appearance in 1938, he went into a long hibernation until Roy Thomas brought him back around the time of "Crisis" over in "All-Star Squadron" (somewhere around #50)
Composite Superman: I will admit I don't understand why he's Composite SUPERMAN or why half of him is dressed up like Batman. But any villain that is a One-Man Legion is ok in my book. He's not any goofier than Amazo or Marvel's Super Adaptoid.
rob! and Shag:
RE: Dr. Occult as the first costumed hero-
Dr. Occult first donned a short-lived "super hero" outfit in May of 1936 (Thank you MIke's Amazing World of Comics!). The Phantom debuted in February 1936.
When you were reviewing Dial "H" for Hero, I was once again reminded of the similarities behind that time-honored feature and Ben 10. Especially when you mentioned the 80's version where one of the kids has a dial as a wrist watch. Does anyone know of any specific or acknowledged connection between the two properties?
Detective Chimp deserves a two-page spread!
Really enjoying these episodes. Looking forward to the DOOM Patrol!
Aaron- The Ghost Who Blogs
WB owns both Ben 10 and DC, and "Man of Action" that created Ben 10 is comprised of several comic pros. That's the only connection I know of.
When Ben 10 was first advertised my first thought was "Dial H ripoff". My son has loved it from the start, though.
Chris
A few random thoughts....
1. How do you know the cover was by Paris Cullins? I couldn't find any credit anywhere in the issue.
2. I also find the layout of this cover to be not as good as the past five. I would have played up Dawnstar per Shag's comment and even put Darkseid on the front instead of Deadshot and Destiny. And maybe my version's colors are off, but I *never* realized that Doc Mid-Nite was throwing a smoke bomb until I heard you guys talking about it!
3. I don't think there was a lot of good art this issue. Seems like too many people were contorted all out of whack (arms, fists, hands all over the place...)
4. I jumped to the same conclusion as Shag when you guys were talking about Dr. Double X being recreated as Dr. Double D. Rob's idea about chromosomes went right over my head. Now that you mention it, though, I would like to see a gender-bender Dr. Double X. That would be cool!!!
5. I disagree strongly that the Dr. Fate pic is good. I think it's another weak one; the figure itself is too small, the tower and whatever else that is on the right is boring. Plus too much shading on Dr. Fate himself and why are his feet glowing?
6. I also disagree strongly that Dr. Light is a loser. (Every villain is a loser; that's the point!) I always liked Dr. Light and will never forgive Marv Wolfman for making him into a laughingstock. Re-read his JLA appearances and tell me he's a loser! I'll never forgive Johns for making him into a rapist, either, but never mind about that...!
7. Never liked the new Dr. Light or understood why she would call herself that. Besides, her real name in Japanese is stupid: Kimiyo Hoshi = Royal One Star. NOT a real Japanese name!! :-P
8. I DO agree with you about Doc Mid-Nite, though. Best pic in the book, hands down. You'd have to be blind to think otherwise.
9. Are we sure that Dr. Alchemy was by Mike Vosburg and not just listed as such? His face looks SO much like Don Heck to me...
That is all from Des Moines, Iowa, Little Russell Burbage signing off...
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