...Or is it just evocative of something so spectacularly bad that it "haunts me" still?
We close out "Batman Week" with this little nugget that I couldn't help but throw in for the regular followers of this Blog!
From the pages of THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD # 116 (DC Comics, Cover Date: December, 1974 - January, 1975) comes the following bits of dialogue between Batman and The Spectre (in his "mortal identity" of Detective Jim Corrigan)! ...It won't take long for my regular readers to figure this one out!
Okay, good so far... OH, NO...WAIT! EEEEK!
Ohhh... The Haunting Nightmare has returned!
Would that "Mr. Valentine" had stolen THIS "pickax" instead!
Grab it, Mr. Valentine... Grab it NOW, and end this madness!
YES... HE GOT IT!
WOW, Scrooge! Mr. Valentine (God bless him, whoever he is!) just stole your prized possession... AND THAT'S ALL YOU CAN SAY?!
No wonder I'm not buying your comics anymore! That's terrible dialogue!
...It's terrible dialogue, even if your "Legendary Super-Pickax" were only broken (and NOT stolen) as occurred in an infamous story billed by its publisher as "Fresh and Modern"!
Won't you please start talking the way you used to, Uncle Scrooge? ...You know, like your "Old Self"!
This just ISN'T YOU, Uncle Scrooge...
...Or, maybe it IS someone who just doesn't know how you should be written! You know, with HUMOR and EMOTION, and CLEVER TURNS OF PHRASE!
If you'd only start speaking like your old self again...
...Not only would I come back...
...But, I'd ask Batman and The Spectre to get your "pickax" back from Mr. Valentine!
And, since people rarely refuse a request from The Spectre, I'd say it's a good bet!
DEAL?
6 comments:
This is a great post, Joe! I have read it over and over. It's extremely clever, packs a wallop, and has a very valid "point." In fact, I would say it has a definite "edge." I admire your talent for juxtaposition. Items that to me would be as apples and oranges are to you orpples and appronges. (Land of Wuz, anyone?) I would not tend to think of Batman or The Spectre in the same arena as Scrooge, but your "sharp" insights bring them together logically--or at least thought-provokingly! That is a great concept of The Spectre taking Scrooge's pick-axe. And how incredibly symbolic! Scrooge has lost his "edge" through having his dialogue reduced to flat, obvious, and quite banal sentences. And the truth of the matter is underscored by the comparison of earlier quotations and "now" material. Yes, you manage to "strike" a "blow" for a cause that many of us support. Heartfelt, powerful--and hysterically funny!
OK, I just noticed I got it wrong...it was Mr. Valentine who got the pick-axe. I think I wrote "Spectre". Anyway, whoever got it, Scrooge's "Edge" was blunted. Cheers!
“This is a great post, Joe! I have read it over and over. It's extremely clever, packs a wallop, and has a very valid "point." In fact, I would say it has a definite "edge." I admire your talent for juxtaposition. Items that to me would be as apples and oranges are to you orpples and appronges.”
Thank you for those VERY kind words, Scarecrow! You always make the most interesting points, from the stuff I spew out.
I guess that’s why I’m no longer needed for the tepid and childish English translations of stories packaged in Italy for American consumption.
“And how incredibly symbolic! Scrooge has lost his "edge" through having his dialogue reduced to flat, obvious, and quite banal sentences. And the truth of the matter is underscored by the comparison of earlier quotations and "now" material. Yes, you manage to "strike" a "blow" for a cause that many of us support. Heartfelt, powerful--and hysterically funny!”
Symbolic, and indeed ironic, that, by gaining his (all together now) “legendary super-pickax” in a now-infamous issue labeled by its publisher’s own promotional materials as having “Fresh and Modern” translations, Scrooge has lost all traces of his uniquely crafted personality and character. That which the former translation team worked very diligently to preserve – in every character, treating them with the greatest respect… and, yes, love!
Hopefully, things will “swing-back”, as they often do. But, for the duration, I am gone! No more purchases of a product I’ve supported very regularly, literally for decades! And, per some of the reactions I read online, so are many others!
Yes, it was Mr. Valentine who swiped the pick-axe. But those disjointed individual panels, from a complex story can’t be too easy to follow.
…But, The Spectre WILL get it, and return it to Scrooge… IF he starts speaking like his old “classically characterized self”!
Sadly, I think I'll ask my comic shop to stop my subscription box for Scrooge next time I go by. I've been getting it anyway, but with a price hike now to 4.99? I really can't justify that for the way the line is going now. I'll go back to focusing on picking up back issues I guess.
At least Fantagraphics is still rolling out Barks and the Disney Masters line. I'm usually a bit behind on them, but I can always look forward to getting them.
Good to hear from you, Abe!
Um… 4.99? REALLY? For stuff like THAT?!
Glad I bailed long before that happened! From the feedback I get, you have lots of company in abandoning the “Good Ship S.S. Bland”!
And the sooner the right people notice the decline in sales, perhaps we can get something worth reading once again!
My primary focus now is on back issues, and I am having a wonderful time revisiting past greatness, and discovering wonderful new (to me) things. You will, doubtless, enjoy similar experiences! And you can get so many great older issues for LESS than that outrageous 4.99!
Just keep supporting Fantagraphics, as they seem to know a thing or two about what made the American Disney comic book great!
Oh, one more thing, Abe...
Very sorry for not getting to your comment sooner. I just noticed it in my Spam Folder. And I don't get notified upon receiving what "some internal code thingie" regards as Spam.
That has never happened before - a Blog comment going to the Spam Folder. I'll watch to see it doesn't happen again.
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