Comments on: The Comic Book Alphabet of Cool - Y

By: DanCJ

DanCJ — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:51:50 +0000

How many other charatcers can so easily make their wayinto just abotu any comic that they want? Nick Fury, maybe.

Batman, Wolverine, for a while, Lobo.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:14:06 +0000

"I always thought that Meltzer’s upgrading of Calculator to the walking job board of the DCU was setting up an Anti-Oracle, someone any villain can call to get any dumb criminal jb, or any weird crossover-demanded appearance."

Simone and the follow-up writers ran wit this concept quite a bit in BoP.

By: Jeff Ryan

Jeff Ryan — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:36:35 +0000

I always thoguht that meltzer's upgrading of Calculator to the walking job board of the DCU was setting up an Anti-Oracle, someone any villain can call to get any dumb criminal jb, or any weird crossover-demanded appearance. How many other charatcers can so easily make their wayinto just abotu any comic that they want? Nick Fury, maybe.

And Quasar. Although mostly I have to draw him in mself, because the aritst forgets to.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:18:59 +0000

Nice retrospective. Might have to track down a copy of that Black Canary issue, as it really does seem like a neat prelude to the Dixon era of the Batman family books that I love so much (and with Huntress there, it ties into Simone's tenure on BoP, as well).

By: joshschr

joshschr — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 03:07:44 +0000

Incredible choice for Y. It is so important to show that the stories of the creators can be more inspiring than what they create. Thank you for this one.

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 03:00:55 +0000

If Yale and Ostrander hadn't created Oracle, some yahoo would've undid the crippling by now...either through some convoluted story that ended with her being healed or by simply rebooting the character. Barbara would not have disappeared forever.

That said, I'm glad Yale created Oracle. The evolution of Barbara from crippled former Batgirl to Oracle is a far more compelling story than any attempt to put her back in the tights could have possibly been. I haven't read any Birds Of Prey but love the role she has played in the Batman comics. And LOVED the BofP tv show. Shame that one only lasted a season.

By: Mike Loughlin

Mike Loughlin — Sun, 31 May 2009 23:39:54 +0000

I have to track down that Batman Chronicles issue, now. Ostrander's work, especially with Yale, is always worth reading.

By: chad

chad — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:54:44 +0000

great history lesson there for always wondered whose idea was it to have barbera become oracle and glad to see yale will always live on in her work espically in reprints.

By: Dean

Dean — Sun, 31 May 2009 17:12:20 +0000

Really, the single most over-looked aspect of comics creation is that the creators work together. I mean, how many times has DC or Marvel signed some big name away from the competition and gotten much less than you would think based on the body of work?

The early Marvel were flat-out amazing. However, you had a tight group doing almost everything. Stan Lee or his brother Larry Lieber did pretty much all the scripts. Either Jack Kirby, or Steve Ditko, did almost all the early issues. When those writers and artists left, it was mostly to folks they'd trained. Marvel got a lot more inconsistent in the Bronze Age when they started pulling in outsiders and losing their homegrown talent to DC.

By: Dean

Dean — Sun, 31 May 2009 16:40:25 +0000

The Batgirl-to-Oracle transformation is the pretty much the best argument in favor of continuity and a shared universe in DC comics. It is important to note how a creator like Kim Yale was able to keep the torch alive as Barbara Gordon moved from title-to-title until the concept caught fire. As an aside, Ostrander and Tim Truman worked on "Grim Jack" at First Comics. Truman and Chuck Dixon worked together on "Airboy" at Eclipse Comics. It seems likely that Dixon knew Ostrander and Yale through either Truman or directly. Also, Karl Kesel was the original inker on "Suicide Squad" and designed the logo. So, it is not like either Dixon or Brabara Kesel picked up Oracle randomly. They probably all exchanged ideas about how to use Barbara Gordon post-"Killing Joke". It would be interesting to know how that worked behind the scenes, but it really boils down the "Suicide Squad" being an awesome team both on the page and behind the scenes.

By: Brendan T

Brendan T — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:29:56 +0000

"Years later, Barbara had a rematch with the Joker, where she got in one good shot and was then pushed down a flight of stairs. This was all part of destroying her self-worth so she could disband the Birds of Prey for no reason, setting up a bold new era for the character!"

Do you honestly think she should have been able to take him?

He's gone toe to toe with Batman and nearly beat Cassandra Cain. He's considered one of the most dangerous men in the DCU. I'd say it was handled pretty well.

By: Michael

Michael — Sun, 31 May 2009 14:50:52 +0000

Years later, Barbara had a rematch with the Joker, where she got in one good shot and was then pushed down a flight of stairs. This was all part of destroying her self-worth so she could disband the Birds of Prey for no reason, setting up a bold new era for the character!

By: Kris Bather

Kris Bather — Sun, 31 May 2009 14:33:48 +0000

Great article Brian. Oracle is one of those great characters who I assumed was always around, but it sounds like if Ostrander and Yale weren't committed to her, then Barbara Gordon may have just disappeared. And that would've been a huge shame.

By: Crash-Man

Crash-Man — Sun, 31 May 2009 11:34:51 +0000

Great retrospective. Learned a lot, thanks.