Sr.Ghost

redtha:

srghost:

redtha:

My question in the Batfamily’s ages post doesn’t just apply to Jason Todd but every character that has died and revived.

When they return, are they considered the same age they were when they died or the age they would be if they hadn’t died? It might not be as big of a concern for older…

You wouldn’t be alone in “over thinking” things - I was reminded of a blog that tackles the legal issues of superheroes. There were some relevant posts involving resurrection and property law and resurrection and other crimes.

I’m not sure of any comics that really delve into the nitty-gritty details of being resurrected. Most writers don’t seem to really want to think much about it beyond the shortest route to reviving the character. Depending on the method of resurrection, I figure everyone would regard the age of the resurrected character to just be what it was before they died (age as a measure of length of physical life).

(And there would have to be some sort of clarification in conversation. “Oh, I was born in ‘82…” “You only look 16!” “Oh, yeah, well, I died back in ‘98 and just recently came back to life…”)

With Jason Todd it’s a bit more convoluted because of time shenanigans, I guess. Time hiccuped so he aged as if he never died, but history still played out that he was dead and buried, or something.

I thought a bit about the issues you linked to as well. I’d assume superhero universes have special laws for deaths/revivals. Though I have a feeling trying to use those laws may require some people to reveal their secret identities because not many (if any) civilians get revived so someone’s bound to realize someone is a superhero once they return to life.

Yeah, I get why they skip over stuff like this but it’d be nice to see at least one writer try to sort through it all or whatever.

Time hiccup? I knew it had to do with Prime and some other things but since I never actually read it, I wasn’t sure how it all pieced together. I always thought it seemed more complicated but that explanation kinda makes sense in an odd sort of way so thanks for clearing that up. :D

That’s why I always like stuff like Venture Bros. that does delve into the more mundane or unexamined side of things. I think Alan Moore’s Top 10 also did something similar. Sometimes you can’t get away with A Wizard Did It explanation, and many times there’s fun in working out a whole otherworldly universe works.

I haven’t read the whole Todd thing either beyond people talking about it, so I’m not sure if they did put more thought into it other than punching walls of time, but I always like tropes that involve messing with time and history. :)

redtha:

My question in the Batfamily’s ages post doesn’t just apply to Jason Todd but every character that has died and revived.

When they return, are they considered the same age they were when they died or the age they would be if they hadn’t died? It might not be as big of a concern for older…

I’m not sure of any comics that really delve into the nitty-gritty details of being resurrected. Most writers don’t seem to really want to think much about it beyond the shortest route to reviving the character. Depending on the method of resurrection, I figure everyone would regard the age of the resurrected character to just be what it was before they died (age as a measure of length of physical life).

(And there would have to be some sort of clarification in conversation. “Oh, I was born in ‘82…” “You only look 16!” “Oh, yeah, well, I died back in ‘98 and just recently came back to life…”)

With Jason Todd it’s a bit more convoluted because of time shenanigans, I guess. Time hiccuped so he aged as if he never died, but history still played out that he was dead and buried, or something.

For an industry that feeds on its own past to go 20 years without fresh characters or concepts is death. The most telling sections in “Leaping Tall Buildings” are thus those written about industry powers like Brian Michael Bendis, Joe Quesada, Grant Morrison and Dan DiDio. These are the men most responsible for the failure of the big publishers to take advantage of the public’s obvious fascination with men in capes.

But by far the most charming and enjoyable parts of the book are those that present substantive artists like Mr. Ware, Jaime Hernandez (“Love and Rockets”) and Jeffrey Brown (“Unlikely”). By a quirk of the comics industry, artists like these, who deal with the stuff of real life and whose work is treasured by people who read books that have spines, are tagged as “alternative” or “underground.” It’s amusing to see how, in “Leaping Tall Buildings,” such artists come off as normal, thoughtful people, while contemporary superhero creators tend to come off as pretentious autodidacts or failed cult leaders. If anything is “underground,” it’s their insular, indecipherable comics.

—

Tim Marchman, Wall Street Journal

The article lets Geoff Johns off the hook (who I think is way more responsible than Grant Morrison, but then again Morrison’s recent disappointing public persona leaves him wide open for criticism), but other than that it’s spot on.