Twice.
Twice Captain Comet says something to the effect of "I've dropped the Captain, just call me Comet now."
What the Hell?!!
You can't take the Captain out of Captain Comet!
It's just Not Done.
Starlin, what are you thinking? What is he, a super-horse now? He loses so much of his early 50s Sci-Fi charm if you drop the Captain. That charm is what makes the character! You may as well turn Captain Marvel into a serious... mystical... *Ahem* Nevermind Captain Marvel.
My point is that "Comet" is way too modern a name for a character that belongs in another decade, and is supposed to be writtern as though he belongs in another decade.
And the de-aging? He's cute, but I preferred the other version. More of that early 50s placement. he should be a bit old-fashioned and crotchety. Played well off of Kyle in Rann-Thanager War. (The mere idea of the early 50s perfect person and the mid 90s everyman working together made the book worth reading to me. Could have been handled a bit better, of course, but I liked it.)
This whole thing seems like you'tre just trying to make Captain Comet seem young and sleek and sexy, and he's not really supposed to be that way. He's supposed to be like your genius Uncle who could do anything that your Mother told stories about.
"You'll never guess what Uncle Adam did now -- He industrialized a small tribal society in six months just to get a ride off the planet! He's such a character!"
Modernization isn't for everyone you know. Some heroes are period heroes. A flashy new name, a streamlined costume and a twenty-something body takes away the nostalgia factor that a period hero needs. Period heroes set in the modern era are quirky characters, and that's a lot of fun to read. Any attempt to update them risks losing the quirkiness. This issue had a lot of attempts to update Captain Comet. I swear, even the dialogue seemed less corny this issue. That's just not right.
On the other hand, the gold eyes are a pretty cool idea. The art made it tough to tell if his irises are supposed to be gold, or if his comments were just about the glowing effect. This book could use a different inker on the first part.
I just got done readin' this joint. I can't claim to be a fan of Captain Comet by any stretch of the mentals -- I did think he was pretty solid in the Rann/Thanagar run. Genius really. I dug the old style flavor to him.
ReplyDeleteNot being too familiar with Starlin though, it's not clear what his mindset is. He may be going for the more streamlined version. My guess is that he'll want to settle in as old Captain Comet before the end of the series.
Diggin' the new suit and the glowin' eyes forreal. I could have used some more of his campy internal dialog from issue #1 -- all of a sudden he's rockin' the verbiage like a mid-twenties cat..."later" when flyin' off after seeing Star.
BTW -- it was Adams ol' body that tried to do him in at the docks, isn't it? :) Be easy, Ragnell!
I believe I remember Starlin stating in an interview that he dropped the "Captain" because he doesn't care for characters who go by "Captain" without having earned the rank in a military capacity. I'm not sure where it was, however, so I may have just made it up.
ReplyDeleteIt's like Adam Strange dropping the "Strange"...
ReplyDeleteAnd the Jet pack...
And the funky uniform...
and...
Well you'll never change Adam Strange.
Well, they actually keep referring to him as Captain Comet right on the cover of the comic, so maybe it's an internal thing that'll be reversed by the end of the storyline. (Hope so!)
ReplyDeleteMaybe he'll get a captaincy in some organization before series end? That'll fix Starlin's problem and keep the Good Captain's name.
ReplyDelete