Murd's Time Bubble: The Twenty-Eighth Time Talkback
Adam_Murdough
Posts: 506
Just in TIME for Easter, the Time Bubble comes hippety-hopping down the timestream with a big basket of back-issue reviews, from Murd to you! Among the plastic grass and marshmallow chicks, you'll find reminiscences and ruminations on Harley Quinn in wartime, the origin of Wolverine, a cosmic adventure of the Avengers, an off-brand incarnation of the Suicide Squad, and the debut of Jessica Jones, among other goodies. (2:18:51)
Listen here.
Listen here.
Comments
I've never read Wolverine: The Origin. Personally, I don't want his origin to be defined. Kind of like the Phantom Stranger, I think he works best with a murky past of which we only get brief glimpses and hints. Maybe that's just me.
Re: Suicide Squad, I was right there with you. I really wanted to like that series, but had to give up after three or four issues. And I didn't mind the military angle per se, and I wasn't expecting a quirky comedy, but the tone just felt off. Not to mention I thought Gen. (né Sgt.) Rock was mishandled. I read a lot of Sgt. Rock stories as a kid, and I don’t think he would have ever agreed to be part of the operation. (Frankly, I don’t think he would have stayed in the service after the war either.) “Almost a Good Idea” is indeed the perfect title.
Alias was outstanding, still the best thing Bendis has done for Marvel as far as I’m concerned. The follow-up, Pulse, fell off a step or two, but the new Jessica Jones series is just as good as Alias ever was.
Tangled Web had some really good stories, and I recall that Rhino story being one of the better ones.
Been smiling from ear to ear ever since I started to listen to TB#28 last night, and after finishing up the podcast today I raced to this here Vanilla Forum to voice my appreciation to the wonderful wizard of Murd. Thanks, man! - for your acknowledgments, and also for another grandly entertaining episode of your timely, Easter egg-shaped Time Bubble.
And now, a question:
Does anybody out there know the origin story behind DC Comics' fascination with the number 52? As Murd points out, it certainly appeared in DC books before the famous _52_ weekly comic series. Shortly after that series finished, as the number started popping up in other DC titles, I'd heard that the company's esoteric use of the number came from Grant Morrison; that while pitching story to the DC brass sometime in the 1990s, he also explained his views of our universe in general, including a take on the natural, historical power behind the number 52. And apparently, Morrison's talk so wow'ed the DC folks that they adopted the number as their brand's lucky totem. I don't recall the source of all this, though. It very well could be apocryphal. Can anyone refute or confirm it?
As for the veracity of the Morrison story, Grant did write Aztek back in 1996, and the Mayan and Aztec calendar consists of a 52-year round, where the New Fire ceremony must be performed in the 52nd year in order to prevent the end of the world. Surely Grant would have seized on that during his research. So speaking in Myth Busters terms, I'd say the story is “plausible”.
[Edit: For that matter, Kirby was very familiar with Aztec mythology as well, and it shows throughout his work, even in his costume designs, from the late ’60s on. Now, the BMT had a station on 52nd St. in Brooklyn, which Kirby probably used many times before it was demolished in 1940. But it’s quite possible his choice of subway stations was a dual reference.]
Your two examples have only poured more mystery onto the topic of DC's reverence for the number 52.
Suddenly, I can see a becloaked Julie Schwartz sacrificing interns to Quetzalcoatl while chanting "fifty-two... fifty-TWO"
A quick note re: Midway, the location showcased in the Harley Quinn issue. You mentioned you would enjoy seeing more of the place, and you are in luck !
Midway - in particular the Midway Orphanage plays a central role in the World's Finest miniseries from 1990. The story was written by Dave Gibbons, with art from Steve Rude and Karl Kesel (who obviously also liked the place which is why he included it in the Harley issue !!).
Here's a great look at Rude's art in the first issue;
http://www.cbr.com/year-of-the-artist-day-283-steve-rude-part-3-worlds-finest-1/
Thanks again for the great episode @Adam_Murdough !
As for the veracity of the Morrison story, Grant did write Aztek back in 1996, and the Mayan and Aztec calendar consists of a 52-year round, where the New Fire ceremony must be performed in the 52nd year in order to prevent the end of the world. Surely Grant would have seized on that during his research. So speaking in Myth Busters terms, I'd say the story is “plausible”.
[Edit: For that matter, Kirby was very familiar with Aztec mythology as well, and it shows throughout his work, even in his costume designs, from the late ’60s on. Now, the BMT had a station on 52nd St. in Brooklyn, which Kirby probably used many times before it was demolished in 1940. But it’s quite possible his choice of subway stations was a dual reference.]
Wow, conspiracy 52! I'm lovin' it! I mean, even after the house number in Jay Garrick's address, you get the street 78 which is (26 + 52). That's just weird. And that Kirby cover? Aw, man! I've had that for YEARS without even noticing the 52's all over it. I'm hoping there's more of that in comics from 1961 to now. Now, I wonder who has the time to look through all of their comics to find such occurrences (Heheh...)
Anyway, Murd! Thanks for the episode. I haven't gotten through even half of it yet, but I'm looking forward to the rest. Oh, by the way, I thought naming the Wolverine series "ORIGIN" (on the cover but not the official name) was a great marketing campaign (ploy? scheme?). Almost guaranteed to rake in the bucks and wasn't the cover "gold"en?
The combination of the name, the clawed hand, and the color made it stand out amongst the other comics, I thought.
I'm going to start seeing it everywhere in old DC books now..aren't I? I'll be like Jim Carrey in the movie The Number 23.
I agree with your comparison of the Alias Netflix series and the comic. In fact, I think the Alias series is my least favorite of the Marvel Netflix shows.
Looking forward to the NEXT time...
--Arthur Schopenhauer