Saturday, April 25, 2015

Episode 9: Going to the Dogs

Reviewing backup strips from Action Comics #440 and #441 featuring Green Arrow, Black Canary, and a mysterious "super dog".  Also, listener feedback from Episode 8.

Flowers & Fishnets is available for download on iTunes by clicking here, or you can check out the show's RSS feed by clicking here.

You can read along with this story and see all covers and pages by checking out my reviews of Action Comics #440 by clicking here and #441 by clicking here.

Sample pages from Action Comics #440-441.




Music this episode:
"Hang Down Your Head"
Tom Waits
Island Records, 1985.


CLICK HERE TO PLAY EPISODE IN ANOTHER WINDOW.

5 comments:

  1. Great episode. As a big dog lover (as evidenced by our new puppy drinking water in the background of episode #7), I've always had a soft spot for Krypto. I'm now interested to see how this story arc resolves in the Superman titles. DC can poo-poo the Super Pets all they want, the idea of a Superman (or boy) and his dog is just too great to let go.

    Cute pooches!

    Chris

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  2. Not sure I have much to say on this episode, as it's such a simple story. But I'll take the opportunity to say that I've just binged the episodes of this podcast over the past few days and you're doing stellar work. I can't say that I'm a Black Canary fan. In fact I don't think I've ever read a single story she's been featured in or even seen any of the episodes of various TV shows the character was used in, but that hasn't stopped my enjoyment of this.

    Your enthusiasm for the character is infectious, but at the same time it's not a blind enthusiasm that glosses over issues with the character's history or usage (even in what would no be considered "classic" appearances.) It reminds me of how I got hooked into the TV show "Top Gear" even though I'm not now, nor have ever been, into cars. The enthusiasm that the hosts have for the topic rubbed off and made me enjoy the show, and I'm finding the same thing with this.

    I suppose the one other thing I'll note is that I keep hearing references from yourself and in the comments about how unnecessary "Crisis" was and how the multiverse wasn't hard to follow. Speaking as someone with a working knowledge of comics but who has never been a voracious reader of them, the multiverse was confusing as hell for very little clear benefit. I got (and still do get) the appeal of random Elseworlds stories, but maintained alternate universe continuities (particularly when they were created not by design but because it was the only way to try and reconcile decades of blatantly ignoring continuity) is just a ton of work for writers and readers for minimal return. I suspect that for long time fans of DC, you've just lived with it too long to see how it could be confusing. A bit like after you learn how a magic trick works, it boggles your mind how nobody else can figure out how it's done because it's so obvious to you now.

    Anyways. Keep up the great work!

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  3. Mister Fixit usually has a dog or two in the house. I’m more of a cat person, which should surprise no one. Illegal Machine is the big dog lover though, as in his pampered Great Danes.

    There was quite an audio switch between the main story and Canary Correspondence. Mixer?

    Dang, this was a short one. As a listener, I’m realizing the usefulness of implied obligation in listing all those favorites/retweets. I hadn’t been showing up in that department recently, so I made a point of scheduling a week’s worth of F&F promoting tweets @rolledspine, and expect I’ll do the same under my personal handle soon.

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  4. Love the story and the re-introduction of Krypto.

    We used to foster dogs in the house, taking in dogs from the south until they found there 'forever home'. We did this for several years but it became harder and harder for the supergirls at home to love these dogs for months only to have them taken away.

    We finally decided to have a dog of our own, our beloved Lucy.

    So I understand all your feelings!

    Great show as always.

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  5. Aww, I remember reading that story as a kid, loved it - and when Superman and Krypto were later reunited, it was just adorable.

    Hmm, I can't see that parallel worlds were confusing either, and they were there when I was a nipper. It seemed pretty clear - multiple worlds and you knew which you were dealing with because the story tells you. Maybe you need a peculiar mindset...

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