Guy – I see your point about Captain America’s characterization, but I’ve reached the point where, if Marvel doesn’t give a shit about internal logic and consistency, why should I? Therefore, this Cap and Brubaker’s Cap and Millar’s Cap, all ostensibly the same person, act completely differently. Joey Q doesn’t care, and he’s much smarter than I am, I guess.

Not to mention, I’ve now read ‘Essential Moon Knight’, so I know who the Midnight Man is and why it’s significant that there are no smashed clocks in the room, but…man, that was some bad exposition for the non-MK fan.

And I didn’t mind the gratuitous appearance of Cap, but I did mind Marc’s attempt to seize the moral high ground there. Cap is not “settling a grudge match” with Iron Man; he’s refusing to obey a law he believes to be unjust. (Essentially the EXACT same thing Moon Knight is doing; he ain’t registering, is he?) If Iron Man had showed up, then I think the comments would be more valid; CW has always seemed to be Tony Stark’s dick-measuring contest, which is one of the distasteful things about it. But to have Marc Spector mock Cap as “unheroic” while his personal hallucination of Faceless Guy tells him to kill, well…I realize the intent of the scene might have been to make me think Moon Knight’s a crazy prick, but that gets back to c), now doesn’t it? (And b, as well, just a tiny bit…Faceless Guy is very weird to just have “hanging out” in the background of scenes.)

Glad to see you went with Franklin Richards over Buffy, though I do agree that it works better in smaller doses. I still recommend that you check out Death Comes to Dillinger. The story wraps up satisfyingly, and there’s a “deleted scenes” extra that offers some insight into the not terribly efficient process of retro-fitting a graphic novel into serial form and some of the artistic compromises they had to make in doing so. Good stuff!

I’m the opposite with Franklin Richards – I’d rather they were given a title of their own, as I always end up reading them when they turn up in the back of books, no matter how inappropriately they clash with the main strip (adverts I can skip, but I can’t seem to skip back-ups, no matter how flimsy). There’s something jarring about going from the violent cliffhanger of one story into some whimsical very-slightly-funny strip about HERBIE being turned into a toaster. Still everyone else seems to love them, so what do I know?

Sam Noir – Greg’s description sold me on this. Pirates?! Must buy.

As for Moon Knight – I understand your objections, John, and that’s fine, but I don’t mind a) and c) when they’re done well, and I don’t think it falls into b). But that’s okay. I also don’t mind the gratuitous appearance of Captain America, even though it’s a shameless reader grab. It makes sense, to me, that Cap would go around and talk to heroes about the situation. And I tend to suspend disbelief in the Marvel and DC worlds a bit more, because, you know, I have to. Cap visiting Spector makes a hell of a lot more sense than, say, someone developing a “super-soldier” serum and turning someone into a perfect human.

You’ve probably explained your mini-series policy before, but why do you buy them and then read them all at once, rather than just getting the trade? The tpbs are certainly going to be cheaper, and then you get the book all at once, instead of buying something that will sit until you read the entire story. I guess there are a few minis that won’t get collected, or take forever to be put into a trade, but it doesn’t make much sense to me.

Hell, it almost makes as much sense to buy a monthly book and wait until you have all six issues that are written for the trade, and then read that entire arc.

I’m lost.

Chronicles of Wormwood #2 was excellent as usual, and Pope Jacko is probably one of Ennis’s most inspired creations in a while.

You should have bought Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse #6 though. It was hilarious all around, and the translated leprechaun dialogue was by far the highlight of the issue.

Richard
http://1rightopinion-comics.blogspot.com

I know you’re a big MK fan, and I see where you’re coming from with that, but this…this just ain’t working, and there’s no getting around it.

Thank you.

You brought a tear of joy to my right eye.

-Manny