cleome46
or you can do the confusion 'til your head falls off
posted
Where did people ever get the idea that Levitz was "weak" on new characters? I always liked the move to get less human-looking, more "alien" sentients into a prominent place on the team. I thought it was a shame when that idea got discarded later on.
-------------------- Hey, Kids! My "Cranky and Kitschy" collage art is now viewable on flickr. Drop by and tell me that I sent you.
From: Vanity, OR | Registered: Dec 2008
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I think Quis was adorable and Tellus immensely likable. I'm glad I haven't read any of Tellus' appearances in TMK, because from what I understand he joined the Dark Circle or something? WTF?
cleome46
or you can do the confusion 'til your head falls off
posted
According to both Wiki and Hero History, the Dark Circle wasn't so 100% evil during that time. But I only own three TMK issues, scooped from the 2-buck bin at the CBS last month. He wasn't in any of those, so I can't really comment.
There's this mutual reluctance about more nonhuman looking sentients, I guess. Artists have a hard time giving them qualities that viewers are inclined to think of as expressive. But readers, too, can be very rigid about what we'll accept from a character whose meant to have a 3-D personality. We've got to meet each other halfway (viewer and artist) for the whole thing to work.
Ironically, appearance matters less if it's a villain, since they're generally not meant to elicit sympathy from the viewer.
-------------------- Hey, Kids! My "Cranky and Kitschy" collage art is now viewable on flickr. Drop by and tell me that I sent you.
From: Vanity, OR | Registered: Dec 2008
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
quote:Originally posted by cleome:
Where did people ever get the idea that Levitz was "weak" on new characters? I always liked the move to get less human-looking, more "alien" sentients into a prominent place on the team. I thought it was a shame when that idea got discarded later on.
For what its worth, Steve Lightle is actually responsible for Tellus and Quislet.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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Set
There's not a word yet, for old friends who've just met.
posted
quote:Originally posted by Eryk Davis Ester: For what its worth, Steve Lightle is actually responsible for Tellus and Quislet.
I miss his art, the lines were so clean (kinda like Byrne, but the figures weren't as 'thick' looking and he did better backgrounds).
Everyone looked so sexy when Lightle drew them (well, except the aforementioned alien characters).
Registered: Aug 2006
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Plot (1st story): The mystery of Sensor Girl threatens to tear the team apart and she appears to quit, just as the Emerald Empress is in the process of assembling her new Fatal Five, now including recently escaped fugitive pyrokinetic criminal Flare. Meanwhile, Mentalla disappears from the Academy.
Thoughts (1st story): Close to perfection. Emerald Empress is reborn as a star villainess. Lots of great character moments for lots of characters, a Levitz specialty. LaRocque is really picking up steam, most notably in the staging of Flare's escape from the Science Police. Even though I don't really care for Mahlstedt inking LaRocque (Mahlstedt's not smooth enough for me, although he worked beautifully over Mark Bagley on New Warriors in the early 90s), I can't deny that LaRocque's John Buscema influence is much more visible under Mahlstedt than under DeCarlo.
Plot (2nd story): Timber Wolf teams up with Lightning Lass on a simple mission helping the SPs; he hopes for a reconciliation, but she rejects him roundly.
Thoughts (2nd story): I love Ayla, but I've never cared for her taste in mates, be they male or female, so this story doesn't affect me that much. As for the art, DeCarlo makes Breyfogle (in one of Breyfogle's earliest penciling assignments) look pretty much the same as DeCarlo makes just about anyone look. Good if you like DeCarlo (I do), bad if you don't.
This is his only appearance in 5YL. The people of Orando had begun to embrace Black Circle views while suffering through a famine, so Projectra was a bit hostile to accommodating opinions.
posted
Tellus expressing support for the Dark Circle was used to illustrate how effective the Circle had become at gaining influence through political means, at that point. It wasn't a matter of Tellus "going bad". The people of Orando and Carggg embraced Circle beliefs because of dissatisfaction in their own lives. There was another scene where Projectra implored Valor for assistance. He refused because he saw the Orandons acceptance of Circle beliefs as an act of free will.
-------------------- No regrets, Coyote.
From: Missouri | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
FC, thanks for clearing that up. I'm glad it was his only appearance in TMK.
Jerry, you can try to convince me that it wasn't a wrong-headed idea to use the previously sweet, kind, gentle Tellus to make that point until you're blue in the face, but it would all be in vain, so save your breath. The same goes for any other defense of TMK. I hate TMK, and that's that.
Credits: Paul Levitz, writer - Greg LaRocque, penciller - Mike DeCarlo, inker - Karen Berger, editor
Plot: At Emerald Empress' sanctuary on the planet Stratus, the new Fatal Five is finally completed by Caress and by the mysterious fifth member. One large team of Legionnaires tracking Sensor Girl makes a stop on Shanghalla where, after a brief confrontation with Mano, they realize who Sensor Girl is. A smaller team of Legionnaires is shot down over Stratus and battles the Fatal Five; when they see Sensor Girl approaching, they think she's joined the Fatal Five, but she's on their side; the real traitor is Mentalla, and after Emerald Empress knocks Sensor Girl down, Sensor Girl lies revealed as Projectra.
Thoughts: Last issue was nearly perfect. This issue is absolutely perfect. LaRocque is now a full-fledged dynamo, without a single awkward or sketchy moment in the whole issue. The action is non-stop and thrilling, and the three-fifths female Fatal Five is a concept that should have been given a lot more mileage. Nice of Levitz to think of fans of the classic Fatal Five and throw in Mano, just as we'd previously been treated to Validus during the destruction of Takron-Galtos a few issues earlier. And now...bring on the climax!
cleome46
or you can do the confusion 'til your head falls off
posted
quote:Originally posted by Eryk Davis Ester:
quote:Originally posted by cleome:
Where did people ever get the idea that Levitz was "weak" on new characters? I always liked the move to get less human-looking, more "alien" sentients into a prominent place on the team. I thought it was a shame when that idea got discarded later on.
For what its worth, Steve Lightle is actually responsible for Tellus and Quislet.
Was the non-human idea all his? I figured that at least some of it was Berger's and/or Levitz's impetus, as well.
Regardless, I miss it.
-------------------- Hey, Kids! My "Cranky and Kitschy" collage art is now viewable on flickr. Drop by and tell me that I sent you.
From: Vanity, OR | Registered: Dec 2008
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
You might be interested in this thread, which has detailed information on the creation of Tellus. I believe there's a similar one for Quislet, as well.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I don't think anyone ever said Levitz was 'weak on new characters'. What has been said, even by Levitz himself, is that he wasn't so great at creating new *villains*.
And since he pretty much dispatched most of the major LSH foes, that left the opposition pretty thin.
From: Knoxville, TN | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Mystery Lad: I don't think anyone ever said Levitz was 'weak on new characters'. What has been said, even by Levitz himself, is that he wasn't so great at creating new *villains*.
And since he pretty much dispatched most of the major LSH foes, that left the opposition pretty thin.
I think Levitz is correct in his self-assessment. Throughout his long tenure, and certainly after The Great Darkness Saga, his focus seemed to be on the Legionnaires themselves: developing relationships, expanding characterization, and evolving the team. He spent a lot of time on minutiae and references to past stories. Villains seemed almost an afterthought.
-------------------- The Semi-Great Gildersleeve - writing, super-heroes, and this 'n' that
From: The Stasis Zone | Registered: Jul 2003
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