He really should have just replied to the first question with “yes.”

That Veitch thing was retconned out. Josh should have known this.

At least he knew not to mention the short period of time Hal Jordan was the Spectre.

Funny strip, funny comments so far, but something needs to be done about “Well, in the 90′s”. It looks like “Well, in the 905″, which I at first thought was some series I never heard of.

You wouldn’t use an apostrophe when talking about the “90s”

i thought the question became zen when denny o’neil wrote him in the 80s

so is josh going to read one of her books and have to have her explain all the weirdness there?

Orthography aside, didn’t the Zen-like take on the character start with the O’Neil/Cowan run in 1987?

stealthwise, I understand that the way it is used isn’t as a possessive of the decade. You wouldn’t apostrophize “nineties”; however, I thought the convention when mixing numbers and letters was to use the apostrophe.

In either case, my point was that the capital S looks like a 5, and it would have been clearer either spelling it out or using an apostrophe.

I’ve had to reread many of these strips to catch the joke or some other nuance. This is the first time when the font style has made it unclear.

Man, I just got the FC hardcover, and I’m finding it a confusing read.

I actually read 52, and I still feel like the book is missing pages…

that whole jim corrigan thing bugs me, why do people feel the need to recycle names of old characters? if new versions of heroes post-crisis just used different names i feel it would be a lot less confusing

But then it wouldn’t be as dramatic when Allen’s son kills Corrigan for killing his dad, then the Spectre, Crispus Allen has to punish Allen’s son for killing Corrigan!

That happened, right?

@Capt USA: To be fair, art comics do not generally require the kind of explanation superhero comics sometimes do. That isn’t to say they may not contain all kinds of weirdness, be poor at relating a comprehensible narrative, or just generally be bad. However, they usually are self-contained (or are part of an easily identified series of self-contained works).

And really, the stuff she is asking about isn’t necessary to comprehend the book. You can easily understand what’s going on even if you don’t know how Montoya became the Question. I think Josh’s best response would just be to tell her not to worry about it and enjoy the book, then he can fill her in on all the background DCU goings-on she’s curious about later.

The apostrophe goes in front of the 9, connoting abbreviation. ’90s.

@joshschr I noticed that too, but that it was funny anyway, since 905 is the area code for the suburbs around Toronto… it still works in context.

Damn, you got me there, Michael. I should have remembered it goes in front, and ” ’90′s” would not look right. Neither does ’905 ” ’90S”, even if it is correct.

Michael wins the Golden Grammar Monkey Award for correct usage of the apostrophe!

When they were talking about Jim Corrigan, I thought they were referring to the Smartest Kid on Earth. Incidentally, I’ve been trying to figure out: in Ware’s book, everyone knows the date of the old timey stuff (1893), but when does modern-day Jimmy stuff happen. I had presumed mid-to-late ’90s (circa publication), but then timewise it falls apart if the kid from 1893 is Jimmy’s grandfather. I could see it working if thekid is the great-grandfather but all the reviews say grandfather. Does the book take place in the ’70s or something?

I love how her face gets progressively more disgusted and annoyed.

This is the exact reason why I avoid continuity of any x-overs of any publishers.
Too much grief, and too much money to spend on.

I just read the x-over and forget the rest.

It’s sooooo much easier that way.

@Capt USA

Based on the people who generally read Comic Critics, I’d say there’s a better chance they’ll get the references or at least can relate to how convoluted superhero books are. I don’t think the joke would be as funny to as many people if it joked about how incomprehensible indies are.

“Indie book” is such a broad label and two people who declare themselves as indie comic fans could still be reading very different books. I mean, Scott Pilgrim has very little in common but both tend to fall into the “indie” category.

Re: joshschr — yeah, but it was a pretty underwhelming story. Good artwork by Cliff Chiang, though.

Now that I think of it, the whole story was pretty well a bust until the Crispus Allen Spectre brought it up during the Final Crisis: Revelations series, all cheesed off about having to kill his son. I think he got to bring him back to life in the end though, but the whole Final Crisis is still a blur at this point for me.

Have a good day.
John Cage

“Scott Pilgrim has very little in common with Walking Dead”

Wow. That was a pretty big omission. I’m going to step away from the computer now…

It seems like I’ve been doing this for a year or so.

Oh wait, I have!.

Be sure to look out for something special on the 18th.

But then it wouldn’t be as dramatic when Allen’s son kills Corrigan for killing his dad, then the Spectre, Crispus Allen has to punish Allen’s son for killing Corrigan!

That happened, right?

But if it’s not the same Corrigan, there’;s not even fake dramatic irony…

I could be wrong, I but I get the feeling that when they intro Jim Corrigan, we’re supposed to see it as foreshadowing to him becoming the new Spectre, but it turns out to be a not just a red herring, but a massive feint as he’s the criminal force which brings the Spectre about.
After the fact, it’s just dumb, though. Dumber than most after-the-fact comic book plots, even.

But if it’s not the same Corrigan, there’;s not even fake dramatic irony…

Which matched my fake excitement over the superficial appearance of irony.

Will someone bring back the real version of the Question by Steve Ditko, with his Objectivist ideology in tact.

I’m talking to you Morrison, you may not like Rand but please write the character as he was ment to be presented and not a bad Rorshach imitation.

For leasons on how to write smart characters well, whose ideologies you disagree with turn to Robert A Wilson, he was alwasy the best.

The Spectre couldn’t be more fucked up if they tried.

“Damn, you got me there, Michael. I should have remembered it goes in front, and ” ’90’s” would not look right. Neither does ‘905 ” ‘90S”, even if it is correct.”

Well, all he has to do is make the “S” a small “s”.

…which is tough, since it’s an all-caps font, but at that point, just choose a smaller point size for the S. Please. It’s an easy fix.

@squashua: When did the Vietch shaman thing get retconned out? I mean, I understand Rucka pretty much ignored it in 52, but was there a part where they explained the shamanism away within the story?

Also, for that matter, can anyone explain to me why The Question went by his middle name “Charlie” instead of “Vic Sage”? That drove me nuts, but I’m not sure I want to plow through 52 just for that one answer.

Oh, yeah – this was a very funny comic. Well done. “No, he just had the same name as The Spectre. The old Spectre” is precisely why explaining DC books to friends is such a chore.

I believe that both 90′s and 90s are considered correct – though personally I prefer the latter. As Richard says, the easy solution is to use a small ‘s’ – or alternatively, write out “NINETIES”.

I believe that both 90’s and 90s are considered correct – though personally I prefer the latter. As Richard says, the easy solution is to use a small ’s’ – or alternatively, write out “NINETIES”.

Just about every professional proofreader I’ve worked with would disagree with you on “90′s”. It’s grammatically incorrect. The correct forms are ’90s or 90s.

Here’s CMS on the ’90s issue: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/CMS_FAQ/PossessivesandAttributives/PossessivesandAttributives23.html

Just about every professional proofreader I’ve worked with would disagree with you on “90’s”. It’s grammatically incorrect. The correct forms are ’90s or 90s.

hmm…. maybe I’m getting it mixed up with the “DVDs” vs “DVD’s”. I’m sure there’s some situation where an apostrophe is considered to be correct for doing plurals.

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