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Monday, July 31, 2006

Musings: Cassandra Cain

Okay, so I've been reading a lot of responses to Cassandra Cain's new role in Robin. (I'm personally eating crow for my interpretation, which was very very wrong.)

It really is nice to see fans mobilizing. Cass was a character that was a little too contrived for my taste, but I sympathize with the loss of a good character. The letter writing and other campaigns are a good sign.

But I think some of them are taking the wrong tactic.

See, a lot of them are focused on what Beechen "got wrong" about the character. About the Navajo and the speech and the rest. They're listing them as ways Cass is out of character.

Which she is.

But she also isn't.

This is New Earth. Infinite Crisis was designed in a way to allow writers/editors from this point on to cherry pick DC canon. We get some good things out of it...Leslie's no longer responsible for Stephanie Brown's death, Batman's more human, and a lot of dead characters have come back. We've got a Donna Troy with a workable origin.

But in the process, we got a different Cassandra Cain. Which means, I'd bet, that as far as DC's concerned, Mr. Beechen didn't get Cass wrong. This navajo reading maniac IS New Earth's Cass, and the one we remember from Batgirl either didn't happen as we remember, or something really screwed up happened during the last year.

This could actually be a promising sign though. Because enough people writing in about the original Cass might be able to do something after all.

Because this universe has duplicates. There was a funny example in the online 52 thing I referenced once.

We've got Power Girl and Supergirl. We've got an Aquaman that I've heard is tied to an earlier version, while the post Crisis one we know is still around...in some form. (I'm shaky on the details, I don't read Aquaman.)

Maybe there could be a better Cass roaming around out there. Or not. I don't know. I admit, I'm interested to see where they're taking this though.

34 Comments:

  • At July 31, 2006 2:37 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Yeah! Cass-8341.2 vs. Cass-Post-Zero-Hour-Pre-Infinite-Crisis! Woo!

    (Perhaps Jim Corrigan from Gotham Central is an alternate of formerly-Spectre Jim Corrigan... no, wait, he showed up pre-New Earth. Drat.)

     
  • At July 31, 2006 2:39 AM, Blogger kalinara said…

    Hey, Power Girl and Supergirl. :-)

    (I still have weird theories about the Question and Victor Zsasz)

     
  • At July 31, 2006 3:08 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I saw it suggested somewhere else, but if the thing about duplicate or "alternate earth" people being able to co-exist in New Earth is how it works, than the Batgirl who returned might be another Earth's Barbara Gordon...

    I dunno, the "duplicate" people on a mashed-up New Earth just seems to stupidly convoluted to work in the long run. If infinite worlds got too confusing, I don't see how Potpourri Earth would be any easier... each writer cherry-picking things from the Earth canons of their liking would eventually just muddy things up, especially for characters who don't have the benefit of a 52 origin. And it'd be like a soap opera twist; "No, that was my evil Earth-52 version! I'm the good New Earth version!"

    Unless I'm massively confused and wrong about how it all works...

     
  • At July 31, 2006 3:11 AM, Blogger kalinara said…

    Well, honestly, I figure having alternate versions (except PG and Supergirl) would be a short term storyline at best.

    I don't really think they're going there, except possibly with Donna.

    However with restraint it could be cool. Not to mention the last alt-Barbara Gordon didn't last for long anyway.

     
  • At July 31, 2006 3:38 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Yeah, short-term it could work fine, it's just I can see where it could be misused and driven into the ground...

     
  • At July 31, 2006 4:12 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    IMHO, infinite worlds never became too confusing. (From what I've read, there was basically one source for "They're so confusing!" complaints at DC: Gerry Conway.)

    And writers cherry-picking things from different canons... wasn't that how the Post-Crisis DCU was born?

    That said, yeah, it could become overused, but it's hardly been used at all at this point. Let's see what happens.

     
  • At July 31, 2006 4:19 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Yes. It's called Deus ex Machina, and used skillfully, can be a beautiful tool of expression. Used merely as a tool of convenience and it betrays your readers confidence, as well as their loyalty in whatever you're writing. If every work you write can merely be washed off the page at a moment's notice...

    It's also known as the "Bob Newhart." At the end of the second Bob Newhart series, he woke up as the character of the -first- Bob Newhart series, and talks about this crazy Dream that he had! It was a sorta funny gag. Then he did it in the third series, and you get yet another dream sequence thing. This caused quite a stir and pissed off a lot of people who actually sorta felt, despite it being a simple comedy, that they wasted their time.

    Then you have comics which are basically mythological soap operas. They -already- had a dream sequence, twice. CoIE, and then Zero Hour. They're doing it again.

    It's undeserved, and that's why it's a problem. Personally my feelings are manifold. It's no longer merely just about a character they ruined, but also my own enjoyment of DC Comics. I am having trouble connecting with anyone, anywhere, because I suddenly am wondering what's the point? No one, after all, is safe from poorly used literary devices... It's merely a sandbox, that lacks metaplot, meaning, or real -history- beyond what the people at the moment want of it.

    So, that's the problem.

    My humble opinion

    Keith (MrrarA)
    www.SaveCass.com

     
  • At July 31, 2006 5:15 AM, Blogger kalinara said…

    JLG: It can be overdone, but I'd like to see what they do with it for a bit.

    Ununnilium: Actually, I think the multiverse was very confusing. Not the basic concept, but trying to figure out what book took place where and how each knew each other and the interrelationships...

    I didn't like it. This I like.

    Keith: Who brought up a dream sequence?

    If you're referring to the re-establishment of New Earth, well, that's I'm afraid a part of comics.

    Personally I'm liking it. They're using this to correct a lot of mistakes (Leslie, Diana being made so much younger, Donna) and redeem characters like Batman. The jump has gotten characters like Diana out of storytelling ruts, allowing finally for forward momentum again.

    It's also managed to resolve many contradictory storylines and ill-conceived ideas. (Emerald Dawn anyone?)

    The Newhart finale and the Dallas dream sequence are completely different however. If only because the shows don't have multi-decade histories. It does however work fine in soap operas and has for many years.

    I'm sorry you're not happy about Cass, I can understand that even. But the story really isn't finished yet by all accounts. And even if it ends the worst...well then maybe in a decade she'll get brought back. It worked for Hal and Jason.

    Honestly, though, and I'm sorry if this is rude, but well...think about it...you have the Golden Age in the 40s. Then the superhero thing dies down for a long time and goes into sci-fi and shit. They revamp superheroes in the 60s, brand new. In the 70s, they retcon in an alternate Earth to use the older characters and to differentiate this Superman/Batman/Diana from the previous.

    In the 80s, there's Crisis. In the 90s Zero Hour. And in the 00s, Infinite Crisis.

    And sooner or later, it's going to happen again. I hate to say it, but if the big reset button ticks you off so, maybe DC comics aren't right for you.

     
  • At July 31, 2006 5:29 AM, Blogger Marc Burkhardt said…

    It's the same over at Marvel. I could rage at Spider-Man's portrayal in Civil War, but the whole series will be about as significant as Secret Wars in a few years.

    Nothing is ever constant in comics, which is why Superman can evolve from a New Deal crusader in the 40s to a patronizing dick in the 60s to a yuppie in the 80s. When characters exist for as long as 60 some-odd years, there are bound to be changes.

    I wonder if Cassie's heel turn may be explained away at any rate, given that Didio said her story has yet to be told at San Diego and that the DC panel seemed surprise by the venom of the crowd's reaction to the former Batgirl's new persona.

    Finally, I feel kinda bad for the Robin writer because he was only doing a storyline that was mandated from above.

     
  • At July 31, 2006 5:31 AM, Blogger kalinara said…

    That's a good sign really. I'm certainly not saying folks shouldn't write in and say they don't like this change.

    I just think that if folks write "Adam Beechen did it wrong because of this and this", DC will take it with a grain of salt.

    Where as "I don't like this change because of this and this" would probably get better results.

    Just my thought anyway.

     
  • At July 31, 2006 6:03 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    The difference between Power Girl and any new alternate earth characters is Karen was already an established character before the first Crisis back when alternate universe characters were all treated as equally legitimate. She was never a cheap copy created as a sop to nostalgia the way I suspect an alternate Babs Batgirl would be used.

    (And personally I loved the duplicate Earths but probably most of all because having two main continuties meant that they could actually let the big changes happen and yet still keep the comfortable status quo.)

     
  • At July 31, 2006 6:43 AM, Blogger kalinara said…

    There is that.

    As for the multiverse, I see what you mean, but I still prefer the single-verse.

    Multiverse let time continue, which was nice. But the single universe has a much better sense of legacy I think. Having the JSA directly inspire the Silver Agers, and having them lead into the Modern Agers. That appeals to me more. :-) It's still time progression, not as dramatic, but with a lot more sense of inter-character ties I think.

    I guess it's that, in the Multiverse there wasn't really a sense of passing the torch to me. It was, Jay as Flash. Then years later Barry as Flash. Hey, Barry crosses over to meet Jay!

    I like it better having Barry inspired by the Flash, then his death prompting Wally to take his place and try to live up to his legacy...stuff like that. It wasn't really a feature in the Multiverse, in my experience.

    I wouldn't be adverse to seeing alternate worlds, but I like the "line of descent" so to speak. :-)

     
  • At July 31, 2006 7:32 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    The sense of Legacy is why I love DC more than Marvel but it was really only after Zero Hour that they even seemed to realise that had all this history to work with it.

    The problem with Legacy is DC has to be willing to keep letting things change and for me the last Crisis didn't change enough. Sure, a couple of minor legacies like Blue Beetle and Atom changed hands and there was the expected Flash hand-over but by and large everything remained as is. I love the increasing efforts to present Tim as the boy who will grow up to be Batman, because if DC does want to keep this sense of progression going replacing the one mortal on the Big Three is going to need to happen, but I'm not sure if they actually have the courage to actually make the big changes anymore.

     
  • At July 31, 2006 7:43 AM, Blogger kalinara said…

    I admit, I get dissatisfied with the Batclan for that reason a bit. Especially because of Dick.

    With all of the other sidekicks (except maybe Donna who's problematic) they either inherited their predecessor's role, like Wally, or branched out to become something new like Arsenal, Tempest or even Sand.

    Dick though became Nightwing, which is essentially Batman-but-prettier-and-mopier. But with Batman still strong in place, there's nowhere for Dick to go.

    One of the things I really liked about the Cassie, Conner, Tim set-up in YJ/TT was that for the first time there was an active sense that yeah, the Trinity could be passed down. The characters all had elements of the first three rescrambled. Cassie had Diana's maturity and Clark's humanity. Kon had Diana's sense of alienation, and Superman's sense of righteousness. Tim had Diana's sense of necessary justice (of the three, he's more likely to snap Max Lord's neck, just sayin') with his Bat competence.

    They would work really well carrying on their mentor's legacies.

    (And I'm using present tense, because I still think the similarities between Kon's death and Clark's means the obvious. :-))
    --

    Actually though the legacy I most want is a Helena Kyle (Wayne) as Huntress fighting her evil older half brother, who's the grandson of Ra's Al Ghul.

    That, I think, would be *awesome*.

    (Provided of course Bruce is the father, though if he's not, I bet he gets retconned into it soon enough, like when they tried to make Barbara Jim's niece... :-P)
    --

    I'm fond of parentheses today. :-)

     
  • At July 31, 2006 9:21 AM, Blogger Elayne said…

    You're absolutely right that IC served as a get-out-of-jail-free card for any writer not wishing to get mired in past DC continuity. I haven't seen the "Navajo reading" issue yet, the latest comp box is probably still a few weeks away, but as long as the story's well written I'm more than willing to give the writer some slack in terms of characterization. What I don't like is when a writer takes someone just shoehorns them into a preconceived plotline that could have fit any character.

     
  • At July 31, 2006 9:25 AM, Blogger kalinara said…

    I tend to hate that too.

    Honestly I'm not sure which end the Cassandra plotline falls under. I don't really like it thus far, but from accounts from convention panels it's not over yet. And it does sound like some of the reasoning is taking Cassandra's particular circumstances in mind.

    Still, even though I'm not a big fan of the character myself I can definitely understand the frustration.

     
  • At July 31, 2006 9:27 AM, Blogger kalinara said…

    Oh and I'm sorry if I spoiled the story for you. :-(

     
  • At July 31, 2006 10:32 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I guess there's multiple ideas to respond to, if I may..

    The first... The story of Cassandra Cain focused on the idea of Redemption for 73 issues -- 6 years. That's a fairly substantial amount of time. That covers the time before, and after, my college life.

    Saying that 'the establishment of new earth' is merely part of comics -is- what I was talking about precisely... It's an excuse, a way out for writers, and the editorial team, to do anything they want.

    One of the things that bothers me about replies to my feelings about Cass is that people genuinely believe that I merely feel this way cause I loved the character, and that I can't bear to see anything happen to her. That's only a half truth. You see, my favorite creator is Joss Whedon, and I more or less hated the Star Wars books until New Jedi Order, in which main characters were killed, hurt, lost... and Whedon is known for his ability to create pain and tragedy for his characters. No, see, I love that. A lot. But see, all of those are -deserved-, pardon for spoilers but... Chewie dies saving Anakin, Anakin dies as an almost unbeatable warrior that the Vong love, Willow feels -deep- remorse for her actions and -comes back-, and in that particular sequence, most importantly, her -friend-. her best friend... is willing to -die- to bring her back.

    And maybe that's what bothers me most of all.

    Both Robin, and Batman, are treating this so cavalier. They -aren't- willing to die for her, to bring her back, they aren't stopping everything in their lives to fight for the person they supposedly loved. Could you imagine if Dick Greyson went 'evil?' Could you imagine Bruce just patting Tim on the shoulder with a big ol' grin, 'ah, don't worry, she's just a wacko.'

    I'm not -liking- these characters. They are showing no redeemable qualities, at all. They're just sorta going through the motions. They wear the same costumes, but they lack the same depth, and I -am- picking up Civil war, and I -am- getting so disillusioned with DC that you're indeed right. If DC is going to treat its characters this way, yeah, it's not the company for me anymore. (Speaking of Civil war, I noticed something interesting about Spiderman-- I think he's going to switch sides. His new costume's colors are Red and Gold-- Ironman-- but his -old- costume contains Red, White, and Blue-- Captain america).


    Mythologically they've messed up as well...

    How old was Batman when his parents were murdered? 8. Cass when she killed her first person? 8...

    She's the most perfect fit in the Batman mythology, and I think that's what Didio missed-- he wanted to eliminate redundancy (Why did he apply corporate theory to comics, I'll never know)... But she wasn't Redundant. Dick Greyson is Nightwing, Tim is Robin, and Cassandra... was the successor of Batman. It was clearly written throughout her series, her series focused on redemption..

    That's been completely turned on its head. Where before, she killed one person, accidentally... and it forced her to run away from everything she knew, and later in life she would kill another person accidentally and be brought to her -knees- with tears and guilt..

    A person who is, by all rights, an inherently -good- person, whose since of Justice was matched or even -surpassed- that of Batman's..

    She's not what she was in any respect, and it -was- a disservice to fans -and most importantly-... to the character.

    The writers, I feel, did not -deserve- this turn... and if they -really- wanted to do it, for whatever reason, they should have found a way to deserve it.. and also deserve making Tim and Bruce completely cold hearted about Cassandra *g*, which still baffles my mind.

    So, there's another long post for you to digest. Understand, I'm not a crazed fan that loves everything Cassandra. I wanted her to trip, and fail, just as I want Bruce to trip and fail, or anyone else to trip and fail. I want her to suffer, to pain, to mistake...

    But this is beyond the pale. This is not something one can be redeemed from.

    Game over, as it were ;)

    But yeah. Definitely losing interest in DC. Can't have connection to characters who lack meaning. *g*

    Keith (MrrarA)
    www.savecass.com

     
  • At July 31, 2006 10:45 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Well, as for confusingness, it's not as hard as it may seem when you read website lists of Earths like Earth-4 and Earth-B and Earth-Lincoln-Killed-In-2968.

    In the comics, only two Earths came up with any regularity: Earth-1 and Earth-2. (Earth-S comes in at a distant third, since it had the Shazam! ongoing series set there.) The Freedom Fighters came from Earth-X, but since their series took place on Earth-1 it wasn't mentioned very much.

    Most other Earths only appeared in storylines about that Earth. Earth-3 would only be mentioned when the Crime Syndicate of Amerika was around, Earth-Prime when the writers wanted to do something metafictional, etc. There were rarely more than three earths, at most, in any given story. (Though I remember an All-Star Squadron/JLA crossover arc that included Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-2 in WWII, Earth-3, and Earth-Prime. That could get kinda complicated, but A*S tended to attract the continuity-minded anyway.)

    Of course, you may already know this and have read all sorts of pre-Crisis comics with these stories in them, and still think it's confusing, in which case I should shut up now. ``v

     
  • At July 31, 2006 10:49 AM, Blogger kalinara said…

    Ununnilium: It's not so much that I find it confusing really anymore. Just that I like the combined universe better. :-) I wouldn't be adverse to new alternate worlds though.


    Keith:
    Interesting, I actually have to disagree with tht a LOT.

    I always thought personally, that Cass was set up as an extreme counter for Batman rather than his successor.

    For one thing, she lacks the intellectual gifts to be Batman's successor. She's a fighter not a detective. And certainly can't serve his role as tech wunderkind/token scary guy of the Justice League.

    She couldn't even read, that pretty much precludes Cass as successor right there.

    Cassandra was fascinating though because where Bruce was a victim at 8 and his goal is driven by dark emotions and fear/rage. Cassandra was a murderer at 8 and her goals were driven by hope and redemption.

    So the opposite of a successor really. (Tim has always been the real successor for Batman's role, in my opinion and even in Batman's words since Cataclysm, Cassandra is/was something else entirely)

    That said, I could never truely get into the Batgirl book because I actually thought that the relationship portrayed between Cassandra and Bruce was very disturbing and it wasn't until the last issue that I realized why.

    When Shiva goes through Cassandra's equipment and pointedly asks her which ones *she* used or designed.

    Cassandra was *trying* to be Batman's successor, but ultimately couldn't be. She's a fighter not a thinker. She feels and is intuitive but can't be a detective, and she has no need for nifty inventions or toys when her truth is in her living body.

    She was essentially replacing Cain as a guide/father figure with Batman and sublimating herself to conform to his values/beliefs/practices even when they didn't match with hers.

    That certainly wasn't healthy. That said, I found the ending of her walking away very satisfying. Cassandra finding her own path.

    This...is not what I had in mind I think. But I also think it's a bit much to judge Bruce and Tim so harshly. Cassandra had a seperate life from them, her own place and is of legal age. A year has passed since then, which means people drift apart. Not to mention, when we see Bruce and Tim talk, Bruce isn't confused, so it seems obvious to me that they'd spoken of it off-panel before and that was likely where the emotions were.

    I'd have preferred to see them on panel, but well, that's life.

    Still the story isn't over and we don't know Batgirl's been retconned out or anything. It really is too soon to judge her story until the end.

    *THEN* raise hell. :-)

     
  • At July 31, 2006 10:58 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    (BTW, Earth-2 was established back in the 60s.)

    Also, IMHO, what a writer does can have a lasting effect on a character, even a highly-entrenched one. It's just that it doesn't seem like it, because the change becomes the new "real, unchanging" version of the character.

    Look at Spider-Man, for instance. The Clone Saga was, at heart, an attempt to put Spidey back where he was 20 years before. This failed, partially due to huge amounts of editorial interference, but also because the readers no longer thought of the young, single Spidey as the "real" version. (And I'm betting whatever shenanigans they're using to break up Peter and Mary Jane again will meet the same fate.)

     
  • At July 31, 2006 11:18 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    >It really is too soon to judge her story until the end.

    I'm just not sure when one defines the 'end.' Also, imagine if there is some kind of surprise twist that was completely unbroadcast, and Cass is redeemed (How the heck? she's a mass murderer at this point *g*)

    With that said.. I don't feel I'm judging Bruce/Tim harshly at all. Tim seems to think they were best friends, and Bruce -did- become her father figure, something he recognized throughout her comics. They both, as did Barbara, fail Cass. I hope that some future writer is willing to let them take responsibility for their inaction, and not let them just treat Cass like they did Leslie or Spoiler.. but.. I think they will.



    In regards to your mythological observation, as Cass/Bats as opposites, I can sorta see that... But, I felt that Scott's Solo portrayal was how it was going to end up. Tim and Cass were perfect partners-- why? Because together, they equaled or surpassed Batman in terms of combat, and intellect.

    Together, they could have easily been the 'next generation' as it were... And you're quite right, Cass never had those Detective skills, or the intuition as Batman did. She tried, but except for that scene in Fugitive, mostly failed. Again, that's why she and Tim would have been good as teammates...

    Now they've just made her redundant by, strangely, making her the combat equal of Robin (??).

    And yeah, the Batman/Cass relationship was disturbing, complete with shades of incest. But I found it interesting mostly because it was so disturbing *g*... Instead of being this weird, happy go lucky I'm going to adopt you thing he suddenly has going with Tim-- what in the world? ;)

    And yeah, they had spoken of it off panel. It sorta seemed like DC is doing -everything- that's tough, off panel. Why is that?

    Keith (MrrarA)
    www.savecass.com

     
  • At July 31, 2006 11:20 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Ahhhh, I see. And I agree, actually; I thought it was a bad idea getting rid of the multiverse in the first place, but I wouldn't want to re-splinter it now. I still want a Tales of Earth-8 ongoing, though.

    As for Cass, I still think they should have at least shown Bruce showing some worry over her onscreen.

     
  • At July 31, 2006 11:30 AM, Blogger kalinara said…

    I agree with both of you about seeing Bruce show some emotion on panel. It's disappointing.

    Also, I did very much like the Tim/Cass teamup. They do balance nicely.

    As for why I think it's not the end, I'm really just going off of what the DC folks said at their panels. I was at Heroes Con, and they seemed genuinely surprised that anyone thought the story was over yet.

    Actually, and this might reassure you a little, Didio made a point of verbally equating her with the rest of the batclan. How it takes something big to get people to be crazy enough to take on the mask, and how they want to explore her past and her parentage as they take her into the future.

    When they spoke about her it was still in terms of a hero, so I'm thinking this is a (admittedly possibly ill-conceived) step on the way.

    They mentioned restoring Batgirl a bit more to the initial slightly scary concept. The silent dangerous weapon.

    From context, I think that means they plan to set her up the way she was at her introduction, with darkness to atone for.

    Odds are they'll use something like Lazarus craziness to explain this away and when she's in her right mind she'll be horrified and wanting to atone again.

    Which isn't perfect of course, but it'll leave a door open for another Gabrych to restore her completely I think.

     
  • At July 31, 2006 11:32 AM, Blogger kalinara said…

    Oh and thanks for the decade correction. :-) I'm always bad with dates.

    That's the one reason I like having Crisis, Zero Hour and IC so much. They give me a much better shot at remembering when the hell a series was...

    (Seeing how I'm reading them all far, far after the fact anyway)

     
  • At July 31, 2006 11:43 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    >(Seeing how I'm reading them all far, far after the fact anyway)

    Heh, me too. I was sort of disappointed with how they handled Infinite Crisis. It was like, Crisis on infinite earths, but less.. dramatic. Weird.

    It's interesting that you heard even vaguely encouraging words from Didio et al. I've only read really -bad- things *g*-- lots of it involving Didio laughing, heh.

    If you end up recalling what precisely was said, I'd love to hear. Regardless, I'll be in wizard world this coming weekend, so maybe I'll hear something myself, and if so, I'll certainly be posting it...

    I have trouble seeing this as merely a misstep on the way. I hope it turns out as such.. until then, remain skeptical, and will fight for Cass, because.. after all, if no one -did- fight for her, and it turns out she -will- be a hero again, I certainly can't take credit, but I'll feel good knowing that I made the writers know it was worth something ;)

    Keith (MrrarA)
    www.savecass.com

     
  • At July 31, 2006 11:53 AM, Blogger kalinara said…

    Well...Didio's a weird guy and laughs at a lot of stuff, really. And he talks a lot.

    But he was actually quite serious when he spoke about the plans for Batgirl. Seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the plans from where I was sitting.

    You can take that as a good or bad sign I suppose. :-)

    I think a lot of it is that Didio seems to have a personality very similar to an old friend of mine. A bit hyper and tactless, not a bad guy and with a good sense of humor, but it's really easy to read what he says worse than he intends it. Especially if you're already in a bad mood/defensive.

    And on paper, it can be really easy to read him as a jerk.

    Honestly though, Dan Didio was really nice in my experience. He even stayed a good twenty minutes after the Friday panel to take pictures and chat with some friends and me.

    Of course that might make me predisposed to like him and immediately give him the benefit of the doubt. I'm easily influenced. :-)

     
  • At July 31, 2006 11:54 AM, Blogger kalinara said…

    Oh! You're going to WizardWorld too? Maybe I'll see you there! :-)

     
  • At July 31, 2006 12:02 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Perhaps so ;) You'll see me, or my friend, or any denizens-- I mean people who wants one of the Tshirts we're making. .. Assuming I can iron. ::glance iron:: I did it once... For this wedding, thing...

    and Yeah, I can see Didio that tactless. He seems a corporate type to me, however. Not in the stereotypical "pff, corporate" but moreover, from an insider's perspective. Profit chasing, wants to be everyone's friend, tries to keep things light.. Hopefully he'll be better in person, and I can gain some perspective.

    Have fun this weekend!

    Keith (MrrarA)
    www.savecass.com

     
  • At July 31, 2006 3:28 PM, Blogger kalinara said…

    I'm not sure I'd define Didio as a corporate type per se. He's definitely primarily centered around sales and profit. But he does also have a genuine liking of the characters.

    He does also threaten to tell "dead Nightwing jokes" though.

    Well, you'll get to decide this weekend. :-)

     
  • At July 31, 2006 10:56 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Wait, I missed how Leslie is no longer responsible for Stephanie's death. While I applaud such a move, when was this declared?

     
  • At July 31, 2006 10:59 PM, Blogger kalinara said…

    Obliquely in the History of the DCU, Stephanie Brown was described as having been tortured and killed by Black Mask.

    Apparently Mary at Girl Wonder managed to get confirmation from an insider that yes, Leslie Thompkins is no longer responsible for Steph's death.

    I'm inclined to believe her, as she called the Manhunter un-cancellation before anyone else too. :-)

     
  • At August 01, 2006 3:13 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    This is somewhat related to your post, and I figure it's worth linking to you since we're talking about similar things at the same time. I was actually in the process of writing this when you made this post.

    Over on my blog (shared between me and two other guys), 4thletter!, I made a post called "On Ninja Girls, Dames, and War Games." Cassandra, and my feelings on her heel turn, features heavily in it, and the relatively recently revamped Selina Kyle does as well. It's more about how I feel that DC screwed up one narrative zig-zag and almost managed to knock another out of the park. You might find it interesting, or you may find it absolutely insipid.

    I try to keep a light-hearted tone on my blog, because the internet is so saturated with snark, so you may find a few other posts there that you like. I also have a complete inability to avoid digression.

    Thanks!

     
  • At August 01, 2006 6:42 AM, Blogger kalinara said…

    It looks like a nice blog, I can't wait to check it out!

     

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