Jab’s Builds! (Sword of Sodan! Nightmare Creatures/Circus! Lawnmower Man!)

[Jabroniville]

Finally finished all of the DC Card Set. Interestingly, the covers of their "Classic Covers" section indicates that comics maintained the EXACT SAME PRICE from 1937 (Superman's debut) to at least the 1960s, as the Golden & Silver Age Comics are all 10 cents each. And then the most-recent of the covers- 1971's The New Gods... is 15 cents.

Jesus, no WONDER people freaked when the price hit the 30-cent range. God knows what these fans would have thought hearing about $3-4 prices today!

Also, 1942's Wonder Woman #1 indicates the story's about a villainous, scoundrel Hercules who seduces Hippolyte and steals her magical girdle- so "Herc as Villain" has been the narrative of those books for over SEVENTY YEARS.

[catsi563]

Milestone was a solid attempt to add some more non-white heroes to comics, though it would have worked better like what it eventually became: merged with the DCU proper, adding their characters to the DCU.

Static was definitely the break out character and my favorite, though I also greatly enjoyed Icon and Rocket. Hardware was also kind of interesting, but more after character development set in and he realized how much of an ass he was being. Icon and Rocket was actually a better take on the "Hawk and Dove" concept, as the heroic duo almost always started on opposite ends of everything, but rather than one being shown to be right more often, frequently it was a compromise that worked best.

I really loved the show, it aired at just the right time, when the DCAU was at it's peak and the only other teen hero show that was part of the main canon was Batman Beyond which had a much darker atmosphere to it. The character was somewhat generic but it was rather interesting to see an inner city kid as a hero. There may have been comics with such things but I don't recall any cartoons before then that had that.

It's not as good as the other DCAU shows but, that's mostly because the other DCAU shows where just so amazing. It was a rather solid series and had quite a bit of heart in some episodes, I always like to think of it as "Fresh Prince of Bel Aire... but with super heroes!"

It was and it was one of thr better shows in any medium that portrayed the struggles many black people go through well.

[Jabroniville]

Finally watched all of Rent Live on Fox. Of course, Rentheads are annoyed at the changed lyrics (most of the swearing is gone). Some of the actors weren't great singers, either. I found it interesting they changed every instance of "he" for Angel to "she" and removed the term "drag queen" considering... well, Angel was a drag queen. This was obviously done to placate more-modern sensibilities of transgender people, but there's no way Jonathan Larson was attempting to be disrespectful in friggin' 1994-96 during the creation of the musical. People forget the general sense of "don't label me" that was omnipresent in 1990s sexual politics, compared to today's "No, you must use the exact label I use" sensibilities.

At least they took out all the references to the CLEARLY bisexual Maureen being "a lesbian". That one always failed to make sense. But hey- the mid-90s.

Funnily enough, their Roger broke his ankle during dress rehearsal, and I guess they didn't use an understudy (WTF? You ALWAYS USE AN UNDERSTUDY), so they had to air Rent Live... pre-taped, from the dress rehearsal. Except the final song, which has Roger awkwardly propped up on a table. But at least they got the whole original cast to perform, obviously with their biggest headliner (IDINAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA) singing solo first, though Collins' original actor has still got it, too.

Still, nothing will ever come off quite as poignant as Larson, writing a play in tribute to his dead friends and concerned with writing a chronicle of the time and the idea of legacies... dying mere hours before the show's Off-Broadway debut. Snarkers (including Randy Milholland of Something Positive) say this is a big part of why the show got popular in the first place- his death was a tragedy that kind of united people to the show... but its continued legacy kind of stands for itself.

MAN it's dated in a funny way, though- all the '90s fashions completely bleed all over it. Very curious how easy those are to pick up now.

[Ares]

Rent was one of those things where the music was great, but the story kind of annoyed me because the cast came off as basically a bunch of entitled freeloaders.

[Tattooedman]

Rent was one of those things where the music was great, but the story kind of annoyed me because the cast came off as basically a bunch of entitled freeloaders.

So glad I'm not the only one who thought that.

[Ares]

Rent was one of those things where the music was great, but the story kind of annoyed me because the cast came off as basically a bunch of entitled freeloaders.

So glad I'm not the only one who thought that.

According to TV Tropes, you know you're no longer in the shows target demographic when the "villain" of the piece makes more sense than the main "heroes". The reason Benny is a villain isn't because he cheats on his wife, but because he actually wants the people living on his property to pay their rent, and wants to use said property to both make money and support the arts. Meanwhile the main cast come off as "I'd rather be poor and rely on the kindness of others than get a job to support my artistic endeavors because doing normal work is selling out".

[Tattooedman]

Rent was one of those things where the music was great, but the story kind of annoyed me because the cast came off as basically a bunch of entitled freeloaders.

So glad I'm not the only one who thought that.

According to TV Tropes, you know you're no longer in the shows target demographic when the "villain" of the piece makes more sense than the main "heroes". The reason Benny is a villain isn't because he cheats on his wife, but because he actually wants the people living on his property to pay their rent, and wants to use said property to both make money and support the arts. Meanwhile the main cast come off as "I'd rather be poor and rely on the kindness of others than get a job to support my artistic endeavors because doing normal work is selling out".

Apparently I've never been target demographic - I'd never heard of Rent until I started dating my wife (about 8 years ago) & she loves it. So I ended up watching the movie version.

About halfway through I asked why Benny was the bad guy for the reasons you listed & was told that wasn't the point. So I guess I'm just to old to get "it".

Don't get me wring, the music was alright but it just doesn't do anything for me.

[Jabroniville]

LOL, yes- Benny is probably the most sympathetic character after a point. I think the Live version even took out the bit where it mentions Mark & Roger's parents as having money, so them living in a slum is actually DELIBERATE. They're characters from Common People. Rent has to be seen through the eyes of young punks in their early 20s- unfortunately, they often cast people as much older. It's more prominent in the movie, because they used the original cast, almost ten years older.

Apparently I've never been target demographic - I'd never heard of Rent until I started dating my wife (about 8 years ago) & she loves it. So I ended up watching the movie version.

Best part of the movie is Elsa's glorious white ass .

[Jabroniville]

KID ETERNITY I ("Kid", aka Christopher "Kit" Freeman)
Created By: Otto Binder & Sheldon Moldoff
First Appearance: Hit Comics #25 (Dec. 1942)
Role: Summoner
Group Affiliations: None
PL 5 (205)
STRENGTH 1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Arcane Lore) 5 (+8)
Expertise (History) 8 (+11)
Insight 3 (+6)
Investigation 2 (+5)
Perception 3 (+6)
Stealth 2 (+5)

Advantages:
None

Powers:
Insubstantial 4 [20]
Flight 6 (120 mph) [12]
Concealment (Visuals) 4 [8]
Movement 2 (Dimensional Travel 2- Afterlives) [4]
Immunity 1 (Aging) [1]
Summon Historical & Mythological Figures 10 (Extras: 8 Minions +6, Heroic +2) [100]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +7

Complications:
Motivation (Doing Good)- The Kid's mission is now to do good deeds for the next seventy-five years of his second chance at life.
Relationship (Mr. Keeper)- The record keeper whose mistake cost the Kid his life now assists him on his journey.

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 0 / Powers: 145 / Defenses: 9 (205)

Quality Comics' Kid Eternity:
-Kid Eternity was a Golden Age character debuting for Quality Comics, with one of the big old-school writers, Otto Binder, creating him. Quality was getting rid of the old cover characters in Hit Comics (including the Red Bee & Neon the Unknown), dumping them for acts like Kid Eternity. The character proved popular enough that he got his own solo book in 1946- you had to be a pretty big deal to survive AFTER the War! However, the post-War bust of the era soon hit, and his book was cancelled three years later, and he lost his role in Hit Comics to Jeb Rivers, a... riverboat captain? Jesus, a RIVERBOAT CAPTAIN comic? They really had EVERYTHING back then. Hey, it was big in Twain's day, and The African Queen was around then- it might have been a big thing. Who knows, if the business had changed the right way, my thread would have included like fifteen riverboat captains, with all of us debating which Creator's Pet riverboat captain sucked, and which riverboat captain should have been a bigger deal.

-Kid Eternity was a nameless boy (just called "Kid" by his Gran'pa) who was killed in a U-Boat attack, which sank his grandfather's fishing boat. Due to a supernatural mix-up, however, he was killed seventy-five years TOO EARLY (copying a 1941 film Here Comes Mr. Jordan)- the solution- bringing him back to life for another 75 years, with the mission of upholding good in the world. He was given the VERY unique ability to summon any good historical or mythological figure in world history, or any animal, just by saying the word "Eternity!".

-His enemies included Her Highness, an old lady, and Silk, her attractive assistant- their humorous antics and get-rich-quick schemes were a central part of the stories, and even led to their own feature in Kid Eternity! His Mirror Image Villain was Master Ma, who was given the Kid's powers by the Devil- saying "Stygia!", he can summon any EVIL historical or mythological figure!

Earth-S Kid Eternity:
-The character disappeared after 1949, but DC being DC, they gathered up all the Quality Comics characters and tried to get SOME use out of them- the early 1970s saw him retconned into the MARVEL FAMILY of all things, and he ended up on Earth-S instead of Earth-X like the other Quality characters (the Freedom Fighters). This was, due to the similarity in their "Magic Word" powers. Now, he is retconned in as the BROTHER of Freddy Freeman- "Kit", and the accident that killed him was now the same one that crippled Freddy!-As Kid Eternity, he assisted the Marvel Family in Shazam! stories, but didn't appear all that much, though Her Highness, Silk, and Master Man all showed up. Kid Eternity vanished after the Crisis on Infinite Earths- the Marvel Family were slotted back into the DC Universe, but Kit didn't make the cut. Despite that, he appeared in my one DC Who's Who comic alongside Kid Flash, Kid Devil, Kole, Kamandi and others, which is why I always found it odd that Freddy was an only child in the modern DCU.

Kid Eternity's Stats:
-Summon is, rightfully, one of the most expensive powers in the game if you have any kind of decent amount of it, especially with Extras. And so this PL 5 kid with nothing-to-write-home-about stats costs more than most PL 12 PCs, by virtue of that ridiculous power. There is apparently a big feat list at ComicVine including scenes of him just doing any old outlandish thing, like summoning the ENTIRE Light Brigade to aid him, which would boost his cost to literally hundreds more points (adding hundreds of Minions).

[Jabroniville]

KID ETERNITY II (Real Name Unknown)
Created By: Grant Morrison & Duncan Fedrego
First Appearance: Hit Comics #25 (Dec. 1942)
Role: Legacy Character, Annoying Braggart
Group Affiliations: None
PL 6 (116)
STRENGTH 1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Arcane Lore) 5 (+7)
Expertise (History) 8 (+10)
Insight 3 (+5)
Investigation 4 (+6)
Perception 3 (+6)
Stealth 2 (+5)

Advantages:
None

Powers:
Summon Demons as Historical & Mythological Figures 12 (Extras: Controlled, Heroic +2) (Flaws: Limited to One Minute Per Summon) [48]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +5

Complications:
Power Loss (Magic)- Zachary needs to speak backwards to utilize his magical powers. Loss of confidence or over-using her powers can also slow him down.

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 0 / Powers: 48 / Defenses: 12 (116)

Vertigo Kid Eternity:
-Grant Morrison would re-use a new version of the character in the 1990s- wearing a rather striking, if plain, costume, his power was to summon DEMONS with the names and powers of historical figures instead. The continuity here would change for a Vertigo series written by Ann Nocenti of Daredevil and Longshot fame. It lasted for 16 issues. Here, the Kid's "grandfather" is actually a sexual predator who abducted him, and the U-Boat killing them brought up to the attention of the Lords of Chaos, who use him as their servant- his "you died too early" thing was revealed as an Everything You Know Is Wrong bit. The Lords responsible are actually trying to better the human race, hoping this will allow them to get into Heaven. This Kid Eternity is the one who dies in the opening pages of JSA #1, as one of many agents of Order or Chaos slain by the forces of Mordru- he runs out of ideas of beings to summon, and he's slaughtered by the Dark Lord. He appears in the Amulet of Fate later on. Man, I forget ALL of that- I just remember Jared Stevens, largely because he looks WAY more silly and '90s.

Teen Titans Kid Eternity:
-The MODERN version of Kid Eternity appeared in the 2006 Teen Titans run, when Brother Blood opens the doorway between life and death, freeing him inadvertently. He helps the Titans defeat Blood, then joins the book. Now, the Kid has more limits- he can only summon one soul at a time, and only for sixty-six seconds. He is later abducted by The Calculator, who forces him to resurrect his son Marvin repeatedly, so they can have some father/son time. Kid Eternity is then murdered OFF-PANEL, in more of that weird, excessively-brutal run on the book- Calculator implies he "burned out", THEN we learn he may have been beaten to death, and THEN the Titans learn that it was against a robotic duplicate (??) of the Calculator. UGH that book.

Kid Eternity's Stats:
-This Kid Eternity is a pretty fragile guy- he's easily beaten a couple of times, and he has one of the most limited Summons I've ever seen. That said... he can often resurrect dead TEEN TITANS, which is actually a remarkable ability.

[Ares]

Hey look, it's that guy we already talked about.

I first encountered Kid Eternity in those old World's Finest issues with the Marvel Family, and then in a collection of Golden Age stories. Then I got a 90s version of Who's Who, which was designed more like a binder, and saw that he'd been re-imagined as a demon summoning servant of Chaos. The only cool thing was the idea that Chaos was portrayed in a positive light, granting freedom instead of Orders tendency towards oppression.

The long hair and shades look is kind of cool, but I'd retcon his classic origin and connection to the Marvel Family first chance I'd get.

Minor correction Jab, but classic Kid Eternity could also fly and travel between Earth and various afterlives.

[Davies]

Since I don't believe the original Kid Eternity was caught in suspendium like the rest of the Marvel Family, and yet seemed to be the same age as they were when they met in the 70s, he should probably have Immunity (aging).

[Hoid]

Since I don't believe the original Kid Eternity was caught in suspendium like the rest of the Marvel Family, and yet seemed to be the same age as they were when they met in the 70s, he should probably have Immunity (aging).

Not necessarily. Magneto’s ridiculously old—-as he was a child during WWII—-and yet not noted as being unaging. It’s just hand-waved away.

[Ares]

Kid Eternity was a spirit tho, one who could use his powers to assume human form. So unaging would actually fit.

[Ken]

Finally finished all of the DC Card Set. Interestingly, the covers of their "Classic Covers" section indicates that comics maintained the EXACT SAME PRICE from 1937 (Superman's debut) to at least the 1960s, as the Golden & Silver Age Comics are all 10 cents each. And then the most-recent of the covers- 1971's The New Gods... is 15 cents.

Jesus, no WONDER people freaked when the price hit the 30-cent range. God knows what these fans would have thought hearing about $3-4 prices today!

Also, 1942's Wonder Woman #1 indicates the story's about a villainous, scoundrel Hercules who seduces Hippolyte and steals her magical girdle- so "Herc as Villain" has been the narrative of those books for over SEVENTY YEARS.

Well, I was born while comics were still $0.12 apiece. The first comics I owned were from the era (circa 1974), when regular comics were $0.20, and the 100 pagers (1 or 2 new stories, but mostly reprints) were $0.50 and then $0.60.

By the time I was purchasing them, they went up from $0.30, $0.40, $0.50, and even $0.60. By my college days, they were $0.75.

So, I think that I am one of those fans. And on the one hand, I actually understand about inflation and costs of living and what not. On the other, I think toilet paper is cheaper and more useful.