tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22073066.post116397407689775113..comments2023-06-03T06:16:38.027-04:00Comments on Estoreal: Another Kirby memeRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714171897239398438noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22073066.post-1164734354693799482006-11-28T12:19:00.000-05:002006-11-28T12:19:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22073066.post-1164116387651027162006-11-21T08:39:00.000-05:002006-11-21T08:39:00.000-05:00Done!And now I need an HTD Treasury write-up! Nee...Done!<BR/><BR/>And now I need an HTD Treasury write-up! Need it hugely, RAB! Spit-spot! No shilly-shallying!<BR/><BR/>If you prefer to decline, I'll do it, and no problems. But to make things up to me, you'll have to write a big essay on how Morrison got Kirby right!<BR/><BR/>But without any reference to <B>SSoV #1</B>, because I haven't read it yet!<BR/><BR/>Ooooh...it's too complicated...I ask too much...<BR/><BR/>Yes I was drinking when I wrote this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22073066.post-1164084787283546222006-11-20T23:53:00.000-05:002006-11-20T23:53:00.000-05:00Oops! Forgot to tag more than just RAB!Just a sec...Oops! Forgot to tag more than just RAB!<BR/><BR/>Just a sec...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22073066.post-1164030049536330392006-11-20T08:40:00.000-05:002006-11-20T08:40:00.000-05:00I agree that Black Bolt's up there in my top Kirby...I agree that Black Bolt's up there in my top Kirby design choices as well. A very solid arguement there, RAB. <BR/><BR/>One of the things that repeatedly strikes me when working on the Kirby Collector is how the best Kirby designs are still being used decades later. Black Bolt, Thing, Silver Surfer... all great examples, I think. I wonder, then, if that should be a <I>qualification</I> for great Kirby design: that other creators have kept Kirby's designs (largely) unchanged. Or is that perpetualness just a by-product of what is unilaterally considered good design? <BR/><BR/>Oh, and for as much respect for Gruenwald that I have, I also wholeheartedly agree with you about him.<BR/><BR/>Hey, this is turning into a great meme, IMHO. Who's next?Sean Kleefeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10492399469370737192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22073066.post-1163986060762696702006-11-19T20:27:00.000-05:002006-11-19T20:27:00.000-05:00"Blackagar Boltagon" was probably coined for the O..."Blackagar Boltagon" was probably coined for the <I>Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe</I> -- that's certainly where I first saw it -- and based on my intimate familiarity with the production of that series, the blame would fall squarely on the shoulders of the late Mark Gruenwald. Mark's love for the characters and the medium was utterly sincere...but he often had a tendency to overthink and overrationalize things that were better left undisturbed.<BR/><BR/>And I must disagree with you on one point: it <I>is</I> a totally stupid name. Though "Black Agar" is a thickener used in cooking and biochemistry.<BR/><BR/>(How could I not know that Black Bolt has his own <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Bolt" REL="nofollow">Wikipedia entry</A>? Worse still, how could I know so well but still forget to mention that Black Bolt is #149 in John Hodgman's <A HREF="http://www.e-hobo.com/hoboes/149" REL="nofollow">list of Hobo Names</A>?)Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01714171897239398438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22073066.post-1163983675152983442006-11-19T19:47:00.000-05:002006-11-19T19:47:00.000-05:00Yeah, that's why I've always just been slightly un...Yeah, that's why I've always just been slightly uncomfortable with the justification for his name being Black Bolt - I hear "Blackagar Boltagon" or whatever it is, and it feels like somebody's backing off. Mind you, I have no real problem with "Blackagar Boltagon" (in that I don't think it's stupid or anything), it's just that it feels like a bit of reaching. A bit of embarrassment?<BR/><BR/>For all I know, that's a Kirby bit anyway. But I still feel it calls my attention to something that would be better off if left unremarked-on.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22073066.post-1163978902612500562006-11-19T18:28:00.000-05:002006-11-19T18:28:00.000-05:00Nonsense. My immediate response to seeing your ex...Nonsense. My immediate response to seeing your excellent musings on the Thing was "Crap, he's tagged me but once again he's already done the best choice!" Which thought was followed by "And he's done such a good job of explaining it that once again I have nothing to add!" Followed shortly thereafter by "Maybe I should get drunk before blogging, that seems to work for some folks."<BR/><BR/>And you're exactly right: it really is odd for the longtime reader to step back and realize that you never think about Black Bolt having that superheroic look. In <I>New Gods</I>, Orion's face-concealing mask was actually somewhat functional in character terms, i.e., he had a reason to go for something that would hide his changeable face. Kirby seemed to go back and forth about whether Lightray also sported an eye-mask, eventually deciding that he didn't...and I definitely noticed that decision at the time. Not so with Black Bolt. His look is just there, and you just accept it.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01714171897239398438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22073066.post-1163977162599792882006-11-19T17:59:00.000-05:002006-11-19T17:59:00.000-05:00What a great choice! See, I would never have been...What a great choice! See, I would never have been able to articulate that "lines radiating from his body no matter the pose" thing, but I was <I>just thinking</I> about the strange energy of the Black Bolt character, and how for some reason we accept a lot of things about him that we'd probably question in another character. For one thing, his name should sound dumb, not sonorous: every other Inhuman has a modern-day one-syllable X-Men name, but BB's name...has nothing to do with anything! In fact I think it probably has less to do with him than any other character's name, anywhere in the MU. Also. it's impossible to imagine him without his mask - I don't <I>want</I> to imagine him without the mask! And I don't want to know where the mask even came from, I don't want to <I>question</I> the mask! Because I sense that only bad things can happen, if I start doing things like that.<BR/><BR/>Your point about the incorporation of superhero elements into a different genre explains why, I think: Medusa and Karnak and Gorgon might be explained away pretty easily as uncoventional dressers out of a different culture, but Black Bolt is wearing a <I>full-on superhero suit</I>, and daring me not to notice. And, weirdly, I don't: somehow, in amongst all the wildly individual characteristic design styles of the different Inhumans, this one hits the hardest...as if all the other Inhumans were only set-up (as of course they were!) for a massive design punchline that says "don't even <I>think</I> that he has to be a superhero just because he looks like one and has a name like one!"<BR/><BR/>Well, it worked on <I>me!</I><BR/><BR/>Suddenly my choice looks rather poor in comparison with yours and Sean's. Nice one!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com