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Kid Nemo
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Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 1:38 pm |
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Hen Teaser
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Joined: | 05 Apr 2011 |
Posts: | 17966 |
Location: | on Floogle St.,at the Susquehanna Hat Company |
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..or is it?
If they ever met each other,would they get along or would they argue about who was more righter about everything?
_________________ What will be will be even if it never happens.
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Linda
IMWAN Admin |
Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 1:52 pm |
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Helpful Librarian
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I picked Mr. A because his stories have gone further, but I love both characters. They would be fast friends if they met.
_________________
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Bolgani Gogo
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Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 2:01 pm |
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Joined: | 11 Aug 2004 |
Posts: | 22582 |
Location: | Fredericton, New Brunswick |
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I went with the question, because the characters are so much alike, I had to go by who I thought had the cooler outfit.
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Jason Czeskleba
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Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 2:06 pm |
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Joined: | 03 Jan 2007 |
Posts: | 1645 |
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The Question has compromised himself by hanging out with Denny O'Neil. If you try to straddle the middle ground by associating with moral relativists, you end up on the side of evil. I chose Mr. A.
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Bolgani Gogo
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Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 2:10 pm |
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Joined: | 11 Aug 2004 |
Posts: | 22582 |
Location: | Fredericton, New Brunswick |
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Jason Czeskleba wrote: The Question has compromised himself by hanging out with Denny O'Neil. If you try to straddle the middle ground by associating with moral relativists, you end up on the side of evil. I chose Mr. A. IMO, Denny O'Neil's Question comics are probably the best work he's ever done. It sure ain't Ditko, though.
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Jason Czeskleba
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Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 2:19 pm |
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Joined: | 03 Jan 2007 |
Posts: | 1645 |
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I've never read O'Neil's Question stories, but I find the concept of them incredibly disrespectful. Why reboot a character in a manner that is completely antithetical its original concept, and to the values and beliefs of its creator? Particularly when the values and beliefs of the creator were such an important part of the character as originally conceived? Why not create your own original character to tell those stories, rather than trashing someone else's? It strikes me as a big f**k you to Ditko. And I say this as someone who is probably much closer politically to O'Neil than to Ditko. I just find it disrespectful to use Ditko's own character to attack his philosophy.
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Bolgani Gogo
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Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 2:27 pm |
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Joined: | 11 Aug 2004 |
Posts: | 22582 |
Location: | Fredericton, New Brunswick |
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You're offended on behalf of somebody else by something you've never read?
Last edited by Bolgani Gogo on Sun Mar 30, 2014 2:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Bolgani Gogo
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Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 2:33 pm |
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Joined: | 11 Aug 2004 |
Posts: | 22582 |
Location: | Fredericton, New Brunswick |
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But hey, I'm still irritated by Blue Beetle's portrayal in JLI, so I probably should shut up. 
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Jilerb
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Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 2:36 pm |
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Kind Of Close For One Of These Jewels.
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Joined: | 26 Jan 2009 |
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Location: | The Astral Plane, Usually. |
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Li'l Jay
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Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 2:38 pm |
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It scorched
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Joined: | 28 May 2006 |
Posts: | 68690 |
Bannings: | One too few . . . |
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I've never read Mr A except for IMWAN posts.
_________________ Rom's kiss turned Rogue a hero.
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Bolgani Gogo
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Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 2:43 pm |
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Joined: | 11 Aug 2004 |
Posts: | 22582 |
Location: | Fredericton, New Brunswick |
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Li'l Jay wrote: I've never read Mr A except for IMWAN posts. Imagine the Question, with denser art, less characterization and a lot more lecturing. It's really essays, only barely disguised as super-hero comics. Which makes it sound bad, but it's really quite incredible.
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Jason Czeskleba
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Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 2:49 pm |
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Bolgani Gogo wrote: You're offended on behalf of simebody else by something you've never read? I don't need to have read that series to know that the ideas it features are completely contrary to Ditko's values and beliefs. If I told you I'd written a story in which Captain America rejects American imperialism and decides to join Al Quada, I bet you'd feel confident in saying that it runs counter to the values and beliefs which the character was created to espouse, even if you hadn't read it. I'm not passing judgment on the quality of the stories themselves, which obviously I can't do without reading them. Maybe I'd even like the stories in and of themselves. But I'm just saying the concept of those stories contradicts Ditko's philosophies. And I'm not taking offense on his behalf. I have no idea if this sort of thing bothers him. I'm just saying that I personally find it offensive to use one of Ditko's characters to attack Ditko's value system, particularly when the character used was created primarily as a means to espouse that value system in the first place. Who knows whether Ditko would care about this, but I think it was a disrespectful thing to do.
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Bolgani Gogo
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Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 3:12 pm |
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Joined: | 11 Aug 2004 |
Posts: | 22582 |
Location: | Fredericton, New Brunswick |
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I don't remember any specific attack in O'Neil's Question that attacked or even addressed Ditko's beliefs. IIRC, it was more an exploration of eastern (and other) philosophy. Smart book, at least to the 18 year old small town kid who was reading it at the time.
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Beachy
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Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 3:26 pm |
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Mr. IMWANKO
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Rafael
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Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 3:27 pm |
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Traveler
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Jason Czeskleba wrote: I've never read O'Neil's Question stories, but I find the concept of them incredibly disrespectful. Why reboot a character in a manner that is completely antithetical its original concept, and to the values and beliefs of its creator? dennyoneilpeacesign.jpg
_________________ Are you ready? Are you ready to jump right off the edge of everything?
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Jason Czeskleba
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Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 5:16 pm |
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Joined: | 03 Jan 2007 |
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Bolgani Gogo wrote: I don't remember any specific attack in O'Neil's Question that attacked or even addressed Ditko's beliefs. Well, the primary message of Ditko's Question is that there is no such thing as moral ambiguity. Good is good, evil is evil. A person cannot be part good and part evil. There is no moral gray area, and there is an absolute Right and Wrong which can be determined objectively. If you associate with or work with evil people, you are corrupt by extension. A is A. And so on. My understanding is that O'Neil presents the Question as initially being an arrogant jerk who holds those absolutist views, but then after getting the sh*t kicked out of him and almost getting killed, he rethinks life and embraces a more complex and nuanced (as well as more uncertain) view of morality. That certainly strikes me as a deliberate repudiation of Ditko's views. It's quite possible I would enjoy those stories, since my own views run closer to O'Neil's than Ditko's. But it's a viewpoint that's diametrically opposed to the philosophy Ditko created the character to express.
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Jeff
IMWAN Mod |
Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 6:43 pm |
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The Modfather; Wizard of WAN
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Bolgani Gogo wrote: Li'l Jay wrote: I've never read Mr A except for IMWAN posts. Imagine the Question, with denser art, less characterization and a lot more lecturing. It's really essays, only barely disguised as super-hero comics. Which makes it sound bad, but it's really quite incredible. No, I think you nailed it pretty well all the way up until the comma in your last sentence, where you should have said "and it is". 
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Steve Kipling
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Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 6:54 pm |
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Joined: | 18 Jan 2006 |
Posts: | 6403 |
Location: | Canada |
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Jason Czeskleba wrote: but I find the concept of them incredibly disrespectful. Why reboot a character in a manner that is completely antithetical its original concept, and to the values and beliefs of its creator? Its kind of sad that almost all of Ditko 's creations have been rebooted in that fashion at one time or another.
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Bolgani Gogo
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Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 7:09 pm |
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Location: | Fredericton, New Brunswick |
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Steve Kipling wrote: Jason Czeskleba wrote: but I find the concept of them incredibly disrespectful. Why reboot a character in a manner that is completely antithetical its original concept, and to the values and beliefs of its creator? Its kind of sad that almost all of Ditko 's creations have been rebooted in that fashion at one time or another. Except for the ones he kept, like Static.
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Linda
IMWAN Admin |
Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 7:27 pm |
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Helpful Librarian
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Jeff wrote: Bolgani Gogo wrote: Li'l Jay wrote: I've never read Mr A except for IMWAN posts. Imagine the Question, with denser art, less characterization and a lot more lecturing. It's really essays, only barely disguised as super-hero comics. Which makes it sound bad, but it's really quite incredible. No, I think you nailed it pretty well all the way up until the comma in your last sentence, where you should have said "and it is".  
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Bolgani Gogo
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Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 7:29 pm |
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Location: | Fredericton, New Brunswick |
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Linda wrote: Jeff wrote: Bolgani Gogo wrote: Li'l Jay wrote: I've never read Mr A except for IMWAN posts. Imagine the Question, with denser art, less characterization and a lot more lecturing. It's really essays, only barely disguised as super-hero comics. Which makes it sound bad, but it's really quite incredible. No, I think you nailed it pretty well all the way up until the comma in your last sentence, where you should have said "and it is".   It's my East Coast Canadian accent. I write in dialect. Yeah, that's the ticket.
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Linda
IMWAN Admin |
Post subject: The Question or Mr. A? Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 7:33 pm |
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Helpful Librarian
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Jason Czeskleba wrote: Bolgani Gogo wrote: I don't remember any specific attack in O'Neil's Question that attacked or even addressed Ditko's beliefs. Well, the primary message of Ditko's Question is that there is no such thing as moral ambiguity. Good is good, evil is evil. A person cannot be part good and part evil. There is no moral gray area, and there is an absolute Right and Wrong which can be determined objectively. If you associate with or work with evil people, you are corrupt by extension. A is A. And so on. My understanding is that O'Neil presents the Question as initially being an arrogant jerk who holds those absolutist views, but then after getting the sh*t kicked out of him and almost getting killed, he rethinks life and embraces a more complex and nuanced (as well as more uncertain) view of morality. That certainly strikes me as a deliberate repudiation of Ditko's views. It's quite possible I would enjoy those stories, since my own views run closer to O'Neil's than Ditko's. But it's a viewpoint that's diametrically opposed to the philosophy Ditko created the character to express. I read some of the issues when they were first being published. Your assessment is on target. O'Neil basically tried to turn The Question into a platform for Zen philosophies, which was doubly odd, since he didn't seem to understand that school of thought either.
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