Bought/Thought 4/9/08

[spideyboy_1111]

o and i buy thor... gotta love thor

 

[Max J Power]

um i love my x-men and young avengers..... *angry face* i enjoy the initiative as well....

I think he was saying the bold ones sucked.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

o and i buy thor... gotta love thor

You really do.

 

[DoomJester]

I was actually a few minutes away from grabbing Scalped for a trip but I think I decided to just save my money.

 

[Dread]

Why the hell is Dread banned?

Elijya and I already explained it.

I actually am kind of embarassed and touched that discussion about the probationary ban got this kind of a response. I usually don't like distracting from the B/T.

The short end of the story is that it was a case of mistaken identity; my IP address matched that of a troll on the Hype. Because I use a cyber cafe for most of my posts (where I go after school/work), my IP address is rather common. But I explained myself to the mod and several people vouched for me. I don't know who exactly by name, but to all of you, thanks. It is appreciated.

Everything's cool now. Thanks for the concern.

I don't even know what the DPA is.

But the story is Dread's IP matched that of someone who was being an idiot. Another mod banned everyone under that IP. It looks like D's innocent, though, so he'll be back.

Superficial up there is banned because he's an old user who swore up and down he'd never come back, yet can't seem to stay away.

There ya go.

I'm back and my reviews were on page 2, but a lot of great ones this week. It seems to be a consensus that NOVA is awesome and THE LAST DEFENDERS is good fun.

 

[fifthfiend]

Quit harping on old news Dread. We've all moved on to why did PJ get (re)banned.

 

[GNR]

Superficial up there is banned because he's an old user who swore up and down he'd never come back, yet can't seem to stay away.

I find it pretty sad considering he made much a dramatic exit,large paragraphs,hatred and all,only to keep coming back.

 

[Darthphere]

You just hated him so you're kissing ass now.

 

[fifthfiend]

I find it pretty sad considering he made much a dramatic exit,large paragraphs,hatred and all,only to keep coming back.

Ha ha ha ha, oh man.

...Yeah, I've totally done that one.

You just hated him so you're kissing ass now.

Who hated who now?

 

[Darthphere]

I hate you, but I love you.

 

[fifthfiend]

Excellent.

 

[BrianWilly]

You know what sucks about actually having things to do? Not having time to write reviews. I missed out on last week, I'll be damned if I'm going to let silly things like job applications and auditions get in the way again.


The Titans #1
Well, we basically know by now that at least Winick is pretty equal opportunity when it comes to his exploitation. If you're gonna have Starfire get attacked naked by Spikey the Super Phallus, it's only fair for Wally to also get molested in the shower by...lasagna. It's just not a good week for the redheads.

I actually...sort of enjoyed the issue. As in Green Arrow & Black Canary, I actually think Winick is actually doing fairly well, actually, in avoiding the tropes that he's dug himself into being known for. You know the ones: GAY AIDS GAY AIDS GAY AIDS GAY gay. Characterizations are pretty clear; though I may not agree with every single one, I do feel that Winick is taking pains to not nerf anyone in his cast. So it's all starting off on an positive note.

But I also wonder -- as with GA&BC as well -- why in Blue Blazes did the road here have to be so painful?? I mean, look, this was for all intents and purposes an introductory issue. Not even that, but really a prologue. Its whole point was in setting up the setup of this series. So then...what was the point of that horrible Titans East issue? That gadawful waste of my life which ended up doing nothing but poking mean-spirited fun at some C-listers. We didn't need that sht at all, this issue could have gone pretty much exactly the way it went without a single acknowledgment of it. And yet that sht still came, did its thing; the fact that there was so much doubt directed at this series (and at Winick's recent skills in general, it has to be said) was due very heavily to that special.

Same with GA&BC. Recent issues have been genuinely charming and even funny in ways that remind me of earlier Winick work...so why did it have to start off with such a low note? With that crock of a marriage special that Winick admitted was supposed to be so over the top you don't take it seriously at all, leading to some pointless Shamazons nonsense, and finally into the that was Cloud Sniper. Why do we have to plow through such things in order to get to the good stuff? Why can't Winick just write acceptable material right off the bat?

And so, even though I had virtually no problems at all with this issue, I just can't help but feel trepidation for this series as a whole. Winick's own inconsistency as a writer forces me to.

(7.3 out of 10)


Booster Gold #8
...Hmm. The first issue that I felt was more filler than not. Why did we have to waste time with this "lulz let's make fun of D-listers" stuff, if the whole point was to get us to the JLI? This entire issue could have been skipped, and rightly so. And like I said, I'm just not really down with the mean-spiritedness of, y'know, all this D-lister bashing. If you're going to include these fifth-stringers, you should be doing everything in your power to make them feel special. And need I remind you, Johns and Katz, that not so long ago Blue and Gold were in this their exact shoes, which is really what got us into this mess in the first place. If it's some sort of commentary on that that you're attempting, I don't feel it came across very well.

Also I'm not sure about this whole "Superman not ever willing to kill anyone even under mind-control" thing. Uh, so what the heck was he trying to do to Batman in the OMAC Project? Did he just "accidentally" try to toss Wonder Woman into the sun?

(5 out of 10)


Justice Society of America #14
I really liked this. In spite of its large numbers, the team is actualy coming together really well and feels like a team, with its own identity and personality. Compare to, say, the JLA, which hasn't had a solid identity in months, or the X-Men, wherein if you gather everyone you just get a really awkward silence as they pose or whatever. Eaglesham is really to be commended for the work he's doing here on so many different characters, and also with the more personal, intimate moments with Sand. And also, last but not least, with the freaking kickass action scene we got here, probably one of the most dynamic we've seen in months. It actually came across incredibly believable that something like twenty-five people could dogpile one person...and yet things still don't go as planned.

And then that last page? So badass? So badass. Obsidian's "redesign" is a thing of beauty, and goes surprisingly well with Alan's angry Saiyan flare. It seems like an odd thing to applaud, but I really like how Alan's fire looks here, sort of like Eaglesham took a visual cue from the "Virtue and Vice" mini that Johns also wrote, which contains my favorite visual style for the green fire.

(8.9 out of 10)


Much more, later.

 

[Dread]

Quit harping on old news Dread. We've all moved on to why did PJ get (re)banned.

He did? That sucks.

 

[Anubis]

He'll be back. And then they'll ban him again. Then he'll be back again. and so on, and so on.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I find it funny that the mods are so vindictive that they're literally gonna keep re-banning him every time he comes back just because he got pissy the first time he was banned.

 

[BrianWilly]

I don't really see it that way. The whole point of a ban is that it's supposed to last, not be circumvented. Or else why don't we just allow all the banned users, all the Horrorfans and the whatnot to just make up new screennames and keep on posting? And none of us were under any illusions that he was breaking rules when he made new names, or we would have openly called him PJ right off the bat.

Now, if we're contesting the original ban, then I agree; from what I could tell he should never have been banned in the first place.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

That's the case with a lot of people who've been banned here. But whatever, water under the bridge.

 

[iloveclones]

I have to disagree with you guys. He was openly challenging the mods. I know everyone under the age of 30 believes that the internet was written into the constitution, and that complete freedom there should rule the day, but the rules is the rules. I would never start a site where I allowed people to openly and defiantly challenge the people I "hire" to run it.

I mean, if you got pulled over for going 62 in a 55 mph zone, and you called the cop a fat *****bag, do you really think he's going to give you a warning?

PJ had many opportunities to back off and he didn't. Hell, I even wrote a mod on his behalf. (Mostly because I felt that too much bandwidth was freed up without all of his incessant, meaningless, one-sentence posts. And too much bandwidth, as we all know, is the internet equivalent of idle hands...) But if someone doesn't want to be helped, well.....


Side Note: I thought for sure that the filters would take out ***** bag. I had to do it myself. Twice actually, now.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

*****ebag? That's barely even offensive. No need to block it out, as far as I'm concerned.

Anyway, I was never entirely clear about what went on with PJ's initial banning in particular, but I know several other posters who were banned for next to nothing. I've seen other mods admit that people their cohorts banned did nothing to warrant the banning, too. The impression that's given me is that modship on the Hype really comes down to how vindictive the particular mod in question is feeling more than any violation of rules.

 

[BrianWilly]

I completely agree that rules are rules, which is why, like I said, I think making up new name after new name to keep on posting after a ban is just silly. But, okay, what rule did PJ break to get banned at all? "Openly challenging the mods" does not count as violating the rules; if it is, I must have missed it in the ToS or the FAQ. I just think it's ludicrous that, months after the fact, not a single person here can name the exact reason or even the specific post that got PJ booted.

 

[Darthphere]

I completely agree that rules are rules, which is why, like I said, I think making up new name after new name to keep on posting after a ban is just silly. But, okay, what rule did PJ break to get banned at all? "Openly challenging the mods" does not count as violating the rules; if it is, I must have missed it in the ToS or the FAQ. I just think it's ludicrous that, months after the fact, not a single person here can name the exact reason or even the specific post that got PJ booted.

He worked up a series of infractions that eventually caused his banning. I mean, all he had to do was be cool for 30 days and allow the infractions to expire, apparently, that was too much for him.

 

[iloveclones]

I'm not going to look it up. It was basically some mean-spirited comment about a mod. Dew maybe. Have we become so dense and entitled as a society that you actually have to tell someone that they cannot piss off the person who's holding the ban button?

All I'm saying is, if you go to someone's house and start acting like a jerk to everyone, you may or may not be allowed to stay. If you start being a jerk to the hosts, well, no-one is going to be throwing any pity parties when you're booted to the curb.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I don't disagree in principle. I don't go around picking fights with mods because I'm well aware that they can ban me for pretty much anything.

But I don't think that analogy is quite apt. The Hype isn't set up as a house party. We weren't invited under the assumption that we'd all get along. It's set up as a forum that's free and open to the public so long as they abide by certain rules. Not being obnoxious to the mods is, as BW pointed out, not one of those rules. By the same token of what you said, I would hope that the people holding the ban button have a thicker skin than banning someone over an offhand insult would imply. They're the authority and, by virtue of human nature, they're going to be a hated by some of the population. They can't respond to that hate every time with a ban because, frankly, they'd be proving themselves worthy of hate if they did.

Granted, if what Darthphere says is true, this is all moot because the insult to Dew (I think you were right on that) would've just been the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back for him. Being on probation implies, if not explicitly states, that you're meant to be on your best behavior for a certain amount of time. If you actively try to start trouble when you're already on probation, you're asking for severe repercussions.

 

[iloveclones]

But I don't think that analogy is quite apt. The Hype isn't set up as a house party. We weren't invited under the assumption that we'd all get along. It's set up as a forum that's free and open to the public so long as they abide by certain rules. Not being obnoxious to the mods is, as BW pointed out, not one of those rules.
.

Yes, it's not written down. But the rest of us don't really need to be told this. I blame it on poor upbringing. (When PJ comes back as ******bag365 he's going to verbally and seriously kick my ass)

 

[BrianWilly]

He worked up a series of infractions that eventually caused his banning. I mean, all he had to do was be cool for 30 days and allow the infractions to expire, apparently, that was too much for him.

Okay, so a single person can.