The Batlord

Not yet, though they are on my list, as is just about anything by Alan Moore. Todd McFarlane never ceases to find ways to make himself look like a douche, does he? I like how Neil Gaiman wrote a comic to raise money for the legal dispute, and dedicated it, "To Todd, for making it necessary".

Gaiman > McFarlane.

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The Batlord

Pictured above are the seven founders of Image Comics*, who broke away from the mainstream comic industry in 1991-92 (although they all actually came solely from Marvel) to form an independent publishing company that would allow artists and writers to maintain pretty much complete control of their own creations.

This was a revolutionary concept, not so much because they were the first independent comic publisher -- alternative comics had already been around since at least the 60s -- but because many of the artists to jump ship were the top selling artists of their time, regularly setting and then breaking records for all-time comic book sales figures (Jim Lee's X-Men #1 is to this day the highest selling comic book of all time at 7 million copies, followed by Liefeld's X-Force #1 at 5 million, with Todd McFarlane's Spider-Man #1 at fourth place with 2.5 million) ... and they all left at the same time.

These were "rock stars" of the industry at a time when creators were gaining more respect and visibility than anytime before in comic history. Imagine if the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, the Who, the Doors, the Beach Boys, and Bob Dylan all decided to leave their respective labels and join forces to self-publish their own music, with all the sensationalist media coverage that would generate.

The craptastic quality of many of Image's 90s titles is infamous these days, but I just watched an interesting documentary on the founding and history of Image Comics, The Image Revolution, that gave me a new appreciation for that whole period. Image's negative impact on the creative quality of 90s comics as a whole, its roll in the speculator boom and subsequent collapse, and the dubious writing abilities of its founders, are unquestionable, but I have a new, grudging respect for the basic idea behind the company.

No matter how much Youngblood sucked, or whether Spawn's execution partially squandered a good idea by focusing on flashy but cheap artwork at the expense of the story, Image's impact on the industry in terms of the rise of creator-owned properties that aren't subject to the demands of monolithic corporate entities (i.e. Marvel and DC), is clearly important beyond the scope of its original incarnation.

The modern Image era, with titles such as The Walking Dead, Fatale, Saga, etc, seems to have finally realized the company's initial promise. It will likely never entirely escape the taint of The Liefeld Legacy, but perhaps credit should be given to a good idea, even if its early history is rightfully treated with derision.


* Chris Claremont, the legend who, along with artist/co-writer John Byrne, made the formerly cancelled Uncanny X-Men into arguably the most successful comic of the 70s and 80s, almost jumped ship along with the above seven, but the deal ultimately fell through.

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LoathsomePete

I think Image could have worked if McFarlene had gotten into it for the love of the craft rather than merchandising. Also if they had lawyers draft up proper ownership contracts. Better writing obviously would have helped, but when most of your staff comprises of superstar artists... well you get what you pay for.

I still hold that The Maxx was the best thing to come out of Image back in the beginning.

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The Batlord

I think the obvious, huge problem with the original concept, was that it was founded by seven ARTISTS who for the most part, as far as I know at least, had never really shown any talent for writing. If they hadn't been such egomaniacs even by the point they all left to form Image, and realized that perhaps they should spend as much time courting actual writers as they did artists, then maybe the original line of Image comics would have been more than just birdcage liner.

It sounds like when Jim Valentino, a guy who'd been doing creator-owned stuff even before Image, became publisher, that was when the company started doing things other than just uber-derivative superhero drivel.

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The Batlord

I probably won't be updating for a while, as I'm currently writing an in-depth thing on Poison Ivy, and it's gonna take a good minute. Multiple entries spanning decades. TL;D-****in'-R to the max. On the plus side, it may very well end up being the most comprehensive piece on her ever written. So suck on that professional writers.

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The Batlord

Alright, while I am currently slacking on my Poison Ivy feature*, I've got an idea to keep this alive for the time being. You give me two superheroes/villains from any company, and I shall decide who would win in a fight.

I will endeavor to make sure that my decision makes as much sense as can be expected considering inconsistencies in continuity, is articulated enough to be interesting, and is a least mildly entertaining. I might even do my own little mini-story to describe the battle, but no promises. I am lazy, after all.

Any combination of superheroes and/or villains is acceptable, even non-heroes/villains if you really want, just so long as they are in superhero comic continuity (f.ex. Lois Lane v. Mary Jane Watson catfight). If you want specialty match-ups, like who is stronger between the Hulk and Superman, rather than who would just win in a fight (cause we all know it would probably being ****ing Superman anyway), or a dance off between Spider-Man and Nightcrawler, or whatever, I will do my best. Just, keep it to one-on-one for now, though I might have team battles, like the X-Men v. the Avengers, if I decide I'm having enough fun with this.

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* I'm well into it with the Ivy entries, but to take the next step I'm going to have to read almost the last twenty issues of the original Suicide Squad series, and I haven't even read issue #1 yet. That's gonna be a serious pain in the tuchus, especially since she'll only be a supporting character, probably with very few stories focusing on her.

Unfortunately though, the series has the fourth largest amount of appearances from Ivy (18) -- after Batman (30), Gotham City Sirens (25), and Detective Comics (20) -- and they're mostly consecutive, which means it's by far her highest concentration of appearances, after Gotham City Sirens (which will likely require a few separate entries all its own, AND I HAVEN'T EVEN READ THAT EITHER!!!)

And that's not even counting her part in No Man's Land (which sounds like one of her most interesting storylines ever), her two graphic novels, the numerous issues expanding on her origins that I still need to get through, her animated appearances (which are easily some of her best portrayals, and simply cannot be ignored), a smattering of stuff from the regular Batman series, and then of course her appearances in Birds of Prey from the New 52.

I'm quickly discovering that this is a project with at least as much scope as TH's Metal Month or Tom Waits discography. Thank god I didn't start with the Joker.

/end rant

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Black Francis

I got one, Quicksilver Vs the Flash, who would win?

Bonus Matchup, The Silver hawks Vs the Thundercats, who wins that one?

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The Batlord

Since you didn't specify a Flash, I'm going to use Wally West, the third Flash, as he seems to have been the most powerful.

Disclaimer: I know next to nothing about either of these characters, outside of cartoons, so I have had to rely on the Marvel and DC Wikis for much of my information.

Apparently, the both of them have had varying levels of speed, but have been shown to be able to run faster than the speed of light (whether this is normal, or due to some temporary, special, comic book voodoo I don't know), so I can't say for certain who is faster, but I might give the edge to the Flash (especially since it is hinted that Flash's speed is potentially limitless, so long as he believes that he can achieve it). Still, inconclusive.

One obvious point in the Flash's favor is that his stamina can last for days, as opposed to hours, like Quicksilver. Depending on how long the battle lasted, this could clearly be a deciding factor.

Another thing that would seem to give Flash the edge would be that the semi-mystical "Speed Force" which grants "speedsters" their abilities, also gives him invulnerability to an extent, so he might be able to dish out damage that Pietro wouldn't be able to return -- and even if the Flash were injured, the Speed Force can heal almost any injury instantly.

It's not mentioned whether Pietro also has this ability -- though if he can run past the speed of light, then it would stand to reason that he might have an equivalent -- but when the Flash is moving past light speed, he is capable of using an "Infinite Mass Punch", which has "a force greater than that of 'a white dwarf star'". Assuming that Flash's invulnerability and healing would make him immune to Quicksilver doing the same, then it may well be a very short battle indeed.

The deciding factor for me however, is that the Flash can use the Speed Force to "steal" the speed from anyone or anything (even Superman) to the point where they become an actual, living statue. Apparently it doesn't work on other speedsters, but since the defining characteristic of a speedster is that they have access to the Speed Force, and with Quicksilver being merely a superfast mutant, I imagine it would work on him.

So, even without all of these other advantages, the Flash's ability to steal Quicksilver's speed would make him the clear front runner in a battle between the two of them. Flash wins by a mile.

First of all, comic books only, douchebag, and secondly, no teams.

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Unknown Soldier

But Quicksilver's a mutant so that should give him a +1, but the again he was kind of dopey as Magneto tricked him into joining the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

You really need to read these early X-Men and Avengers issues, classic stuff. I'm assuming you don't know them as you stated you didn't know too much about Quicksilver.

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The Batlord

Why would it give him a +1? Being a mutant just gets you in the superhero door. It doesn't grant you any special privileges over the others.

Yup, two series I need to read. I still need to get back into 70s/80s Uncanny X-Men too.

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