Matt the Bruins

On 9/28/2021 at 10:50 PM, Hugh Neilson said:

 

That concept is often referred to as "work for hire".  Let's say DC Comics hires me to write a new series, and I create a brand-new Superhero.  I'm working for them.  They own the fruits of my creativity.  And I get paid whatever we agreed that I get paid for writing that series.

 

Who got the better deal?

 

Well, if I created, say, Cyborg, the I'd say they got the better deal.  But if I created Brother Power, the Geek?  Not so much.  I have chosen the low-risk approach, trading away the potential benefits if I create a real winner to still get paid if my work does not sell.

 

Maybe I really think my creation has potential.  I can always self-publish and reap all the rewards.  But I also pay all the costs, and take all the risks.  If it doesn't sell, I may be writing for DC for a long time after to pay off my creditors.  And don't think DC Comics will be promoting my indie creation with their house ads!

Well said. As an illustrator and graphic designer who does work for hire, I'm quite okay with the agreement that my employer (or their clients) own and control work I do on the job in exchange for a steady paycheck (and health insurance). I entered that agreement with eyes open, and could have chosen instead to create art on my own time and be responsible for all the costs, marketing, and so forth if I wanted sole ownership and control. Admittedly I've never created IP that became a major element of popular culture like Mickey Mouse or Superman did, but it's not as if comic book companies yanked those early writers and artists off the streets and impressed them into servitude against their will.

On 9/27/2021 at 2:02 PM, Tjack said:

   “I live for the one, and I’ll die for the one”, but everything the CW has rebooted has sucked......hard.  I’m having trouble believing that jMS’s slow, well thought out, character driven, mature style of writing could last at that network.  
    Netflicks, HBO Max, AMC even FX and I’d be cheering, but none of the characters of the original series were even in that channels age demographic, let alone be the stars of a new show.  Do we really want to see twenty year old versions of Sinclair, Garabaldi and Ivanova?  How about G’Kar?  Anybody want to see “I was a teenage Narn?”  

I'm hoping for the best, but dreading that we'll get THIS instead...

I wouldn't test that on coconut crabs.

Note to self: Drive to neighboring state if ever in need of medical care in Ohio.

Malignant

Marketed like another James Wan Conjuring-style ghost story, it seems to instead be an homage to Italian Giallo movies and 80s body horror slashers. Hold onto your seats kids, this one is quite the ride! The batshit crazy quotient is much higher than any other horror movie I've seen this year; Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar is the only thing that can compete.

On 9/12/2021 at 8:45 PM, Christopher R Taylor said:

 

Unless its changed, the Marvel Universe has earth as a Celestial Egg, which explains why all the superheroes etc.  Its part of the planetary defense mechanism

That was for Alex Ross' Earth-X dystopian future series, not the main in-continuity Marvel Universe. Which isn't to say that they won't use the plot line in the MCU movies. But the official comics explanation is that the Celestials tampered with human genetics about a million years before present, endowing them with the potential for super powers (both mutants and people who develop them in reaction to radiation accidents and such) just as they did on numerous other worlds. Whereas the Eternals offshoot of humanity are the actual Celestial-approved planetary defense system. And there are other factors in play like the earth being aligned with the Cosmic Axis, thus allowing people the opportunity to learn magic, encounter otherdimensional beings and be enhanced, etc.

Edited to add: Looking good, Shang-Chi!

My condolences, Dr. MID-Nite.

Yeah, regardless of how various people will react, that baby being home from the hospital and presumably over the worst is the most important thing. May she have no lingering ill effects!

On 8/26/2021 at 3:58 PM, Simon said:

side note: was highly amused that one of the concerns was with people that may argue the mask mandate in the building. My response:  we're blacksmiths.  We have 2000 degree steel and hammers, there is no argument.  Also, if they try to say that they have a medical condition that prevents them from wearing  a mask, they definitely should not be in a forge with coal smoke.  

"How's that mask sounding now, Sparky?"

At least DC solved that problem by having reboots so frequently no one knows if a given character is still supposed to be dead or not! 😆

(I kid, but I was very glad to see Ma & Pa Kent return with the one at the end of Doomsday Clock.)

I don't think Mysterio would even know who Dr. Strange is, much less be capable of impersonating him around Wong for any length of time.

On 8/25/2021 at 1:45 PM, Logan.1179 said:

Who was that even made for? It it something you drink on a dare? 

On 8/20/2021 at 8:40 PM, Duke Bushido said:

I can't say for certain (seriously; I can't.  Yes: I am that one guy out of a thousand who has zero interest in porn.  My wife actually thinks it's hilarious.  Sue me), but I am pretty certain that this is a crock of crap, and that Visa and Mastercard (Good God!  Does Mastercard still exist?  Or is it just a division of VISA now?) funnel tons of money from all the other porn sites on the internet....

My understanding of the issue is that OnlyFans is not the actual producer of the content it hosts, unlike the various adult studios with their dedicated websites, and that it would be prohibitively expensive for them to provide the kind of oversight/moderation for thousands of individual content providers that would quickly take down anything illegal before it became a problem.

23 hours ago, Pariah said:

Funny, but Diet Dr Pepper is my go-to caffeine source when I need a little pick-me-up in the morning.

 

I call it "liquid motivation".

I call it my life's blood.

Whatever gets done with his story in the near future, I'm fairly certain that long-term Clark Kent as Superman will be around as long as the DC Comics IP—and indeed, the superhero genre in general—is. He's just too iconic for that not to be the case. Besides, we're almost two years out from the last DC reboot at the end of Doomsday Clock, so another line-wide retcon is probably overdue.

Wild turkeys, sure. I think those giant-breasted farm turkeys can only flap hard enough for hops though, not real flight.

23 hours ago, archer said:

Hospitals in North Texas have "quietly developed" a plan to allow doctors to take vaccination status into account when deciding how to triage intensive-care beds if the coronavirus pandemic overwhelms ICUs.

 

https://www.rawstory.com/texas-hospitals/

 

So basically the plan is that in North Texas if two patients need an ICU bed and only one bed is available (like is happening in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and perhaps elsewhere), the person who got vaccinated will get the bed.

 

I have to say that sounds 100% fair to me: the more responsible person gets the bed and the irresponsible person doesn't.

I wonder how that interacts with consideration that unvaccinated patients who lost a game of Covid roulette mostly won't be competing with vaccinated Covid-19 patients for ICU beds; they'll be competing with people who need treatment for heart attacks, strokes, traumatic brain injuries, cancer, etc.

I'd think it would be a fairly minor Distinctive Features Complication, maybe a bit more for an actual vampire since it would be a clue to identifying them (and their traditional weaknesses).

Quote

To readers, he's been straight for 32 years regardless of how old he is supposed to be in continuity.

Only to the readers who, unwittingly or as a choice, have failed to pick up hints and indications over the years that Tim might not be so straight.

So did my mom, which is something of a relief to me even as I gulp at the implications for my own vaccination (team Pfizer here).

Most of the Tim Drake fan comics readers I know are women, and have been noting subtext between him and Conner Kent for ages. This didn't strike me as an out-of-the-blue development and I don't even read Batman comics.

I wanted to love it, but while the animation was beautiful and they somehow got most of the principal cast to return for voice performances, the story didn't wow me. Too much cutesy fanservice, too tethered to the original movie's narrative rather than striking out in a new direction (including too much parroting of lines from it, something I despise when I run across it in AU fiction).

I'd rather see the legislature compromising on bills meant to benefit the country as a whole, with neither party being entirely thrilled with the results, than so devoted to sinking the opposition's every proposal that nothing gets done.

I'm not going to take recommendations about where to buy sandwiches from someone who doesn't eat bread or processed meat.

It was lots of fun, and totally bonkers.