InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Why did it have to be clowns?"

arbre_rieur (arbre_rieur) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-07-05 16:12:00

Entry tags:

char: superboy, creator: cary bates, creator: joe staton

"The Shadow of Jor-El"

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sistermagpie
2009-07-06 12:22 am UTC (link)

I love Pa Kent in the beginning and then he goes insane. I feel totally sorry for him when he's acting like he's anything other than Clark's real father. Then he has this bizarre instance where he's like "Of course I knew if I called you you would come straight to me, but after this that's a bad thing to do!" Um, Jonathan? That's not just about Clark caring about you in a special way because you're his father (which is a good thing) but because he trusts your judgment. You called him to something important and he listened.

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psychop_rex
2009-07-07 09:26 pm UTC (link)

The problem with a lot of these stories - both in the Silver Age and the ones that harken back to them - is that they start out with a strong hook, but then don't know how the hell to wrap things up. There'll be a terrific beginning that grabs your attention ('Oh, no! Lex Luthor has siphoned away Superman's powers for himself! How will Superman beat his superpowered arch-villain with no powers himself?'), then the story ambles along for a bit ('I, Luthor, shall turn Mount Rushmore into a GIANT MONUMENT TO MYSELF! Just try and stop me, EX-Superman!'), and then we get to the last page, and plot points scramble all over themselves and trip each other up in order to be resolved in the very last panel ('You see, Luthor, I was only PRETENDING to have lost my powers, and you didn't really gain mine - it was all the result of a comet giving off unknown radiation passing too close to Earth. As it happened, you happened to be stroking Mr. Diabolical, your persian cat, at the exact moment you pulled the lever and the comet's rays struck you. The combination of energy from your fizzled experiment, the comet's radiations and the static electricity generated by the cat's fur gave you powers that were a remarkable simulation of mine - and that you would have kept, if you'd just kept stroking cats! But since you refused to do any good deeds with your superpowers, such as rescuing cats from trees, you came into contact with none of them - and you've lost your powers for good! Ha ha, the jokes on you!') This would seem to be a less extreme example of the same thing.

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	sistermagpie 2009-07-07 09:35 pm UTC (link)
	That was some brilliant Silver Age storytelling right there. Well done! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	psychop_rex 2009-07-07 09:46 pm UTC (link)
	It's not all that difficult - you read enough of those stories, and they practically write themselves. Thanks, though! (Reply to this) (Parent)

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