Saturday, July 28, 2007

The Nitpicker #32.

DISCLAIMER (angry creators, please read)

[[WARNING! THIS COLUMN MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS!]]

Sorry this column is a couple of days late, it's just that... you know what? I was going to keep apologizing, but nah, I spent some time reading comics instead of writing it, and there's nothing to apologize for. Not like I actually get paid for this thing....

This week's column, now that we're back to our weekly schedule (what's a couple of days late, huh?), marks the end of my vacation. I go back to work on Monday, and boy, I don't want to. Like I have a choice... this week's column is certainly loaded with stuff, not really on nit amount (15), but on text. Yes, part of it is quoted from somewhere else, but I wrote me up some nice nits too.

Before we go on to the nits, I just came up with a new feature that I'll do weekly. Nitpicker's Picks Of The Week! What's that? Well, nothing less than the best and worst comic I read the week before. In this case, the worst book I read last week was Superman/Batman #38. While it wasn't as bad as previous issues have been, it's still a boring book. Why do I read it? God only knows. And the best book last week was Knights Of The Dinner Table #129, a book that never fails to satisfy me, and this week's issue was chockfull of funny moments and plot advancement.

Let's go on with the nits, shall we?
<-------------------------------->
"COUNTDOWN TO CONTINUITY!"

TITLE: Countdown.

ISSUE: 41 (I'm tired of this little "yup" or "you know it" game...), but it's actually the whole series so far.

CULPRIT: Mike Carlin & Mike Marts (editors) and Jeanine Schaefer & Elisabeth Gehrlein (assistant editors).

NIT-TO-PICK: The continuity fuck ups (because there's other no way to call them) that happen in Countdown never seem to cease. I think it's a good book, with very inconsistent art, but still good. The art is something that should get better once Giffen starts in the book, and it does, as we can see in issue 40, is first full one (he did some breakdowns in issue 41, but refused to be credited). It's taking more time for the book to shape up, longer than it did for 52, but I still think it's a good read, although changes need to be made.

The changes I'd make would be cutting back on inserting scenes referring to other storylines from all over the DC Universe. Karate Kid stopping by to see Batman when he supposedly couldn't even walk after taking a glancing blow from the lightning; even his earlier scenes with other legionnaires and Red Arrow were completely unnecessary. The Bart Allen funeral is also out of sync with the rest of the DC Universe, there was no need to do it in this book instead of in Flash, JLA or Titans...

These things are what cause the largest continuity problems, showing a complete scene, where a simple reference, a comment by a character, would do. If you didn't waste pages and pages on those needless scenes, you could use those pages to tell the stories that are actually specific to Countdown (Mary Marvel, Piper and Trickster, Jimmy Olsen, etc).

Removes those scenes, and not only you get the extra pages for the Countdown-specific stories, but you can work the continuity better. To mention the worst fuck up, the Amazons attack on the US can't be taking two months, yet it's shown as happening during this week of Countdown, and it was first shown in Countdown 47. Superman would be out there, giving a 150% to save lives and stop the war... and even if by any chance he didn't have his powers, he'd be out there as Clark Kent, reporting on the war. But no, Clark Kent is lounging in the Daily Planet's offices, making jokes about global warming.

The coloring errors on Monarch's face, Holly Robinson's hair length, even the horrible art, all those things can be forgiven. But the continuity fuck ups are simply outrageous, and when the book's editors (namely Mike Carlin) are asked about this by Matt Brady, from Newsarama, they just brush the questions aside, in a way that's even insulting.

Matt Brady is usually accused of brown-nosing creators and editors of the comic publishing companies, particularly Joe Quesada of Marvel, and although he sometimes seems to ask only the questions that the interviewee approves of, it's mostly a matter of him having cordial relations with these people. In this case, however, he completely did away with the brown-nosing accusations, and completely grilled Mike Carlin. He was so on-point, that I couldn't do less than quote fragments of the interview here:

Newsrama: Fair enough. Back to that point about the editor's boxes – as it was revealed on the news, Amazons took down the President's plane? Where did that happen? Why isn't there a pointer for readers to find it?

Mike Carlin: Countdown won't match every week but do check out Amazons Attack this month.

NRAMA: Timing things out, it's on the news as a recap, so it's already happened, and Clark is just sweating the day away in the Daily Planet? Can we discuss how time is presented throughout this series? Is everything that we saw, scene-by-scene meant to be taken...at least...sequentially? It seems like this raises more issues that it settles - the Amazons are attacking and killing people, yet we see Clark Kent...just hanging out? It seems that, by inaction, he's at most endorsing, and at least, allowing the Amazon's actions...

MC: It's on the news later in the issue... you really should give things some minute-to-minute time to unfold, no? This is an age old problem in a shared universe, though, why doesn't Superman intervene in every issue of Blue Beetle or Birds of Prey or everywhere in all titles...

Sometimes when all is said and done, you can piece your year of all DC publications-- and figure a kinda place for everything...

or you can just relax and enjoy the comic you're reading!

(...)

NRAMA: Yeah, but still - Clark's blase attitude while his adopted country is under attack and its citizens dying due to a friend's nation kind of goes to the larger question - what's the mood like in the DCU now? Sure, readers can see the larger threads, but does the average hero (okay, aside from Batman) realize anything big and bad is going on?

MC: Again... at least let the timing in the issue you're reading dictate when things are happening...even Superman can't predict the news!

Newsarama Note: The effects of Amazons Attack were first seen in Countdown 47, which, if going by the original explanation of time in this series, suggest that the Amazons have been attacking the U.S. for over a month. We still wonder how Clark can justify sitting around, but we’ll move on.

NRAMA: Speaking of that "sense of something going on" something that was a hallmark of 52 was it's separate plot threads that, despite many readers' predictions, remained virtually separate through the entire story. Given the canvas is much larger for this story, will we be seeing that happen in Countdown, or will storylines weave in and through each other and reach their own conclusions?

MC: These stories will criss-cross and meld to the end... at least the threads that don't end suddenly-- and tragically! Here's a way to look at Countdown... it's not 52. 52 covered a lost year-- 52 literal weeks. Countdown is several stories that play out in their own time... not a year's worth in the DCU.

Nothing that happens in the DCU happens in real time... Lois & Clark have known each other for maybe 8 or 9 years in real time-- but they've celebrated twenty Christmas issues since 1986 alone!

If you think about it too much you will die!

NRAMA: Okay, well that’s one way to handle it. Again, back to the editor's box comments - the Karate Kid scene...when we last saw him in Countdown, he was fine. Nothing bad happened. Now, they're carrying him...what happened, when, and where?

MC: Dude, give up on the editors' boxes.

NRAMA: Never. Thing is, if you're going to say that Countdown #42 was before “The Lightning Saga,” and this scene in #41 was after, that doesn't wash, as All-Flash #1 showed clearly that Wally got back within an hour of Bart dying - but we already saw Bart's funeral in #43...which Wally apparently skipped out on for his own reasons. Time and events can be fluid, sure, but the events don’t seem to be matching up to the actual books that have been published. So what's the order of events here?

MC: Good thing I didn't say "Countdown #42 was before “The Lightning Saga"...honestly the whole universe is-- and has to be-- fluid... some things do happen off camera. And in the super-hero biz you sometimes end up getting carried.

But, frankly, it looks to me like buddies trying to hustle to a small opening-- and Karate Kid is standing pretty firmly for the rest of the page. Not like he was on a stretcher suddenly!

Newsarama Note: Not to nit pick Mike, specifically, but in discussing Countdown #43, he said “So it’s my vote that this happened before Wally was back,” speaking of the funeral, while All-Flash #1 showed that Bart died and Wally returned within the same hour.

Likewise, the “carrying” of Karate Kid is a recreation of the scene from JLA #10, where Kid’s teammates were helping him to walk due to the injuries suffered when Wally came back – time, apparently is very fluid - the Karate Kid scene is happening at one time, the Piper/Trickster at another (stemming out of them attending Bart's funeral) at another, and the Amazons' activities at a third
.



So, for his work, I've awarded Matt Braddy the first ever Honorary Nitpicker Scout badge!


NIT-O-METER: 10 Bazzars. It could not be lower.
<-------------------------------->
"JIMMY OLSIN, SUPERHERO."

TITLE: Action Comics.

ISSUE: 852.

CULPRIT: Kurt Busiek (writer) and/or Jared K. Fletcher (letterer).

NIT-TO-PICK: On page 4, as part of a scene mirroring one from Countdown 42, Lois Lane catches Jimmy Olsen sketching costume designs, and she calls him on the corny names, but in this issue she says "Human Porcipine" instead of "Porcupine".

NIT-O-METER: 1 Bazzar, just a typo... my my, how long ago has it been since we had a 1 Bazzar nit?
<-------------------------------->
"AND TONY STARK IS THOR!"

TITLE: Avengers Classic.

ISSUE: 02 ("The Avengers Battle The Space Phantom", story originally printed Avengers V1 02, 1963).

CULPRIT: Stan Lee (writer).

NIT-TO-PICK: I must say that it pains me to no end to feature Stan "The Man" Lee in this column as a culprit for the first time... But somebody has to do the ugly work, and that somebody is yours truly. On page 10, panel 1, Rick Jones tries to calm down the Hulk, in that old dance that has been going on for more than 40 years. However, Rick must not be a very good friend, because he says "(...) make sure you're able to turn back to Doctor Don Blake (...)" Uuh.... Rick, my man... Don Blake is Thor's alter ego, I think you were looking for Dr. Bruce Banner...

NIT-O-METER: 10 Bazzars. Stan, I'm sorry, but if it had been later in the history of the Marvel Universe, I would have let it go, but this early on, this would have confused readers to no end.
<-------------------------------->
"GAMMA MUTATIONS AMOK!"

TITLE: Avengers Classic.

ISSUE: 02 ("The Avengers Battle The Space Phantom", story originally printed Avengers V1 02, 1963).

CULPRIT: Jack Kirby (penciller).

NIT-TO-PICK: Oh my God!!! I mean, "Oh Hashem!", since it's King Kirby I'm nitpicking on now. I'm really sorry Jack, but you left yourself wide open to this one... Hulk, from the first page of the story, up until page 14 is portrayed as having three toes on each foot.

Now, this, as well as his original grey color, and his intelligence (while he wasn't Banner smart, he wasn't all Hulk smash, he spoke in complete sentences), all those changes, can, and probably have been, chalked up to the gamma mutation process. However, on page 14 he has four toes, until the end of the story... come on Jack, where you multitasking? See below for the comparison.


NIT-O-METER: 10 Bazzars for blatancy.
<-------------------------------->
"FLUID SEATING."

TITLE: Black Canary V3.

ISSUE: 02 of 04.

CULPRIT: Paulo Siqueira (penciller).

NIT-TO-PICK: This book is off to a good start, with both a look at Green Arrow and Black Canary's early interactions, and Black Canary's life today with her adopted daughter, Sin. Tony Bedard, who is a competent writer at the very least (his Exiles and Legion of Super-Heroes, while not as good as Winick's and Waid's, are enjoyable) spins the tale, while penciller Paulo Siqueira provides beautiful art, in conjunction with inker Amilton Santos.

Like most of their fellows in this recent Brazillian invasion of the American comics scene (I assume they are Brazillian from their names, and it's doubtful they're not), they can draw some very hot women (Ed Benes, anyone?), and when they draw faces, you can actually tell someone's age (look at the page below, number 14, and you'll see the teenaged Speedy, the child Sin, and the adult, somewhat mature, Green Arrow).


However, not all is perfect... and remember when I sometimes mention that I take note of a page in a book I'm reading because it has a nit and then forget what it was? I've started putting a note about what the nit is about next to the page number... but apparently, I don't do it always, and when it's not obvious, I can read and re-read the page over and over, looking over the art and trying to spot that little detail I spotted the first time I read it.

In this case, I got nothing... or at least, what I found I'm certain is not what I found the first time, and it's not something I'd caught reading this book (I really don't obsess over each page trying to find a nit, they just become apparent to me). Look at the page below carefully, you'll see, in panel one (which is kind of a juxtaposition of two images, or rather, the background is not complete to let us center on Ollie and Dinah), and you'll see the two adults are sitting on one side of the table, and the teen and child on the opposite side across the table.

Ollie's left arm, the one with his watch on the wrist, is on the far side from the table. That holds true for the next panel, and we can see the two girls still on the opposite side of the table, with Ollie's right arm facing them. The "camera" shifts for panel 3 and 4, and you can see Ollie facing the reader. It's quite clear that they're all still seated in the same positions, however, on panel 5, Sin tugs Ollie's sleeve (and I just found a different nit, more on that on the following entry) and all of a sudden she, and the table are to his left, watch on his wrist and all.

And no, it's not that Siqueira drew the watch on the wrong arm, because on panel 6 you can see Ollie facing Sin, and from the way the seating arrangement was show on the first panel, you can see facing her like that would be impossible, they are now seating next to each other. Even in panel 5 you can see Sin and Ollie "sharing" one corner of the table, when Ollie was sitting directly across Speedy, and Sin across Dinah.

NIT-O-METER: 10 Bazzars, it's not story-affecting, and it's not blatant, but it's a show of sloppiness on Siqueira's part, when he can't even keep track of the seating arrangement for one single page.
<-------------------------------->
"IT'S SPANDEX, WHAT ELSE DID YOU EXPECT?"

TITLE: Black Canary V3.

ISSUE: 02 of 04.

CULPRIT: Paulo Siqueira (penciller).

NIT-TO-PICK: Look at the page again, you'll see that Ollie's shirt has very short sleeves (nice guns man!) that end about three inches down from his shoulder, and is tight; but when Sin tugs at his sleeve, it reaches his elbow.

NIT-O-METER: 2 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"COLOR-SHIFTING BLING!"

TITLE: Black Canary V3.

ISSUE: 02 of 04.

CULPRIT: I.L.L. (colorist)... International League Of 'Luminators?

NIT-TO-PICK: I just found a third nit while going over the seating arrangement thing, looking at page 13, Ollie's watch and Dinah's bracelet are silver, and Sin's shirt is a very light blue. Then on page 14, the one above, the jewelry is golden, and Sin's shirt is distinctly white. This is what happen when you need more than one person to color a single issue...

NIT-O-METER: 5 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"BLOW THAT FUNKY BUGLE!"

TITLE: Marvel Illustrated: Treasure Island.

ISSUE: 02 of 06.

CULPRIT: Hard, read below, but I'm saying it's Roy Thomas (writer), with a little responsibility on part of Mario Gully (penciller) and VC's Joe Caramagna (letterer).

NIT-TO-PICK: I read the novel when I was a kid, around 8 or 9, and it was fun... so I naturally picked up this comic series, with more reason when I learned it was to be scripted by Roy Thomas, a giant in this art (not to mention the beautiful Greg Hildenbrandt covers). Still, isn't the name of the line "Marvel Illustrated" kind of redundant... I mean, Marvel is primarily and traditionally a comics publisher... so it's a given that it's illustrated!

Anyhoo, look at this panel, number 2, from page 10. The guy is obviously blowing on a bugle of some sort to announce himself. How can he blow it and speak at the same time?


NIT-O-METER: 4 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"MUCHA LUCHA!"

TITLE: Super-Villain Team-Up: Modok's 11.

ISSUE: 01 of 05.

CULPRIT: Fred Van Lente (writer).

NIT-TO-PICK: This book started alright, but without much of the humor I would expect from Fred Van Lente, writer of the infinitely funny "Action Philosophers!" comic (what, you don't know it? Go look for it, dammit!

Anyway, Mr. Van Lente, after showing us Modok's origin, continues the story with Armadillo wrestling in Acapulco against "El Chupacabra" (who I don't know if he is a Marvel villain, or just a fake wrestler, or a real wrestler, that Van Lente put into the story). The Spanish dialogue of the guy commenting the fight is perfect at first, showing that either Van Lente knows Spanish, or took the time to consult with someone who does.

As you can imagine, I was ecstatic! The dialogue is perfect, even having tildes in some words, and using opening exclamation points (in Spanish you don't say "Yes!" or "What?", you say "¡Si!” or “¿Qué?”)

However, not all is perfect... I like Mexican wrestler, and while I'm by no means an expert on the subject, I'm pretty sure that they don't use English names for the wrestler's moves, like they do here with "brain-buster", "roadkill slammer", and even the word "finisher" to describe this last move.

NIT-O-METER: 3 Bazzars, since the rest is practically perfect and shows Van Lente is diligent.
<-------------------------------->
"MEXICO IS SO POOR, THEY DON'T HAVE PLURAL FOR THEIR CURRENCY!"

TITLE: Super-Villain Team-Up: Modok's 11.

ISSUE: 01 of 05.

CULPRIT: Fred Van Lente (writer) and/or Blambot's Nate Piekos (letterer).

NIT-TO-PICK: On page 8, Big Papi, the guy who set up the fight for Armadillo, says the wrestler's purse for the fight is "ten-thousand-peso"; when it would be "pesos", since it's plural, like "dollar" and "dollars".

NIT-O-METER: 1 Bazzars, it could just be a typo.
<-------------------------------->
"ANYWAY, IS IT MODOK OR M.O.D.O.K.?"

TITLE: Super-Villain Team-Up: Modok's 11.

ISSUE: 01 of 05.

CULPRIT: Francis Portela (penciller).

NIT-TO-PICK: I'm pretty sure I didn't mark this page because of the nit I just found while I was reviewing it, but it's still a nit. On page 15, panel one Rocket Racer (yes, Rocket Racer!) is standing next to a sign with a Daily Bugle front page, with of course, Spidey on it. The headline says "Spiderman still menaces New York." Thing is, the character's name is "Spider-Man", and it's something every red-blooded comic fan knows... and any professional working at Marvel should know too!


NIT-O-METER: 4 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"I'M EXPLORING OTHER CAREER CHOICES."

TITLE: World War Hulk: X-Men.

ISSUE: 02 of 04.

CULPRIT: Andy Schmidt & Nick Lowe (editors) and Will Panzo (assistant editor).

NIT-TO-PICK: I found this one while checking out the credits to see who the culprit was for the nit below, the one I had originally spotted in this book. So, on the credits page, VC's Joe Caramagna is credited as colorist, when he's the letterer. And it's not like they switched the colorist and letterer credits around, no, they credited two colorists and no letterer.

NIT-O-METER: 6 Bazzars, because I just checked and they did it last week. It's important to credit people properly.
<-------------------------------->
"HE'S USING HIS TELEPATHY TO DISGUISE HIS EYE COLOR!"

TITLE: World War Hulk: X-Men.

ISSUE: 02 of 04.

CULPRIT: Laura Villari (colorist).

NIT-TO-PICK: She did it again. Laura, check references, Professor Xavier's eyes are blue, and not brown. Oh, page 3, panels 1 and 3.

NIT-O-METER: 8 Bazzars, and it'll keep growing.
<-------------------------------->
"THE HAND OF FATE."

TITLE: Teen Titans Go!

ISSUE: 43.

CULPRIT: Whoever digitally composed the cover for printing (added logos, etc).

NIT-TO-PICK: This book came out some time ago, and I don't even read it, but this nit was reported to me by my friends Roy and Bea from Dragon Comics, so here's an Honorary Nitpicker Scout badge for them!


Look at the cover below, I'd challenge you to "find the nit", but Roy and Bea already sent the error circled out in red, so... Hey, now that I mention it, who would like a "find the nit" contest every week? In this case, as you can see, Raven is on the lower right corner of the cover, and both her hands are there... however, at the top left side, next to Starfire (or Fakefire, because those breasts are too small for Starfire, sorry), lo and behold, a disembodied hand of Raven!


Some research on the net allowed me to find out that the hand came from the cover to the previous issue (see below), and it was left there due to some computer glitch when they composed the cover, as confirmed by writer J. Torres on this TitansGo thread. The error only affected the copies sold to the public, because according to Torres, none of his comp copies had it.


NIT-O-METER: 10 Bazzars, this is stupid, but blatant. Oh, following recommendations from Roy and Bea, as well as Ziplizard and others, I actually read this issue and it was okay, I guess, for kids, or reading with them... but nothing that makes me want to keep reading the book. And I totally hated those cutesy chibi-style interlude/side note things...
<-------------------------------->
"YEAH, I'M A WHIZ WITH ELECTRONICS... SAY WHAT, YOU CAN PLAY MUSIC ON AN IPOD?"

TITLE: Teen Titans Go!

ISSUE: 43.

CULPRIT: J. Torres (writer).

NIT-TO-PICK: The dangers of making me read a comic... you know I'm gonna spot a nit. In this case, on page 15 Jinx says she can open the door to Titans Tower with her Titan communicator, to what Gizmo says that he had one of those and didn't know it was a key. Come on! It's Gizmo, who's a genius with electronics and all that stuff!!!

NIT-O-METER: 8 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"BOB, WE THINK YOU'RE SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME WITH WEIRD PETE."

TITLE: Knights Of The Dinner Table.

ISSUE: 129

CULPRIT: Jolly R. Blackburn (writer/artist/letterer, because of the latter, in this case).

NIT-TO-PICK: On page 31, panel two, dialogues that, by context, should be Weird Pete's, actually are said by Bob.

NIT-O-METER: 3 Bazzars, it still kind of makes sense. And I know I said I stopped reporting typos on KODT, but this is not a typo. The mag still has several typos per issue...
<-------------------------------->
As meaty as the column was, in text amount, the average went down from last week (tough not to go down from that 8.1!), since there were many low-ranking nits this time. We have a 6.3 Bazzars average this week, and who knows what'll happen next week?

Let me know what you think about the two new things we have, the Nitpicker's Picks Of The Week, and the Honorary Nitpicker Scout badges... and it you want me to have a "spot the nit" contest each week (the prize will be a badge, like I have budget for anything else... oh, whoever has the time, disposition, and skills to design a better badge, knock yourself out!). That's it for now, until next week, I'll be on the outlook for more nits, because (almost) nothing escapes...

THE NITPICKER!

Thursday, July 19, 2007

The Nitpicker #31.

DISCLAIMER (angry creators, please read)

[[WARNING! THIS COLUMN MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS!]]

Alright, so I'm back from my vacations... well, I'm still on vacation from work; I have until the 30th off... so, enjoying myself. I am, however, back from the trip I took with the wife and kid. Wife and kid who have already started job and school, so I'll have a week on my own during daytime.

I'll miss them, but I'll catch up on some stuff I had to watch. Believe it or not, I had not been hooked by "Heroes", even though I had the first eleven episodes in a DVD, and I had watched half of the first episode. I finished that episode, and I was hooked. Really good show, not only because of the good plot and acting, but because of the fact that it homes in us comic book geeks with a lot of clichés that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Well, sorry for rambling, let's get on with this week's nits! Actually, I was going to comment on how awful Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Space Between's ending had been, with more awful character faces, and a rushed plot that felt like it was missing several pages... but never mind...
<-------------------------------->
"IT DOESN'T COUNT, HE CAME BACK TO LIFE."

TITLE: Countdown.

ISSUE: 43 of 52 (y'know?).

CULPRIT: Paul Dini (head writer) and/or Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray (writers).

NIT-TO-PICK: Page 3, actually, the double spread of pages 3 and 4... Jimmy Olsen says about Bart Allen's wake "(...) public... on a scale I've never witnessed before."

Uhm... Jimmy... what about your pal Superman's funeral?

NIT-O-METER: 6 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"IT KINDA GROWS ON YOU... THEN IT RECEDES... AND GROWS... AND SO ON..."

TITLE: Countdown.

ISSUE: 43 of 52 (yes, yes...).

CULPRIT: Manuel García and David Lopéz.

NIT-TO-PICK: Soooo... this book's art is so irregular, it makes 52 look like it was done by a single artist. Not only it is irregular, but in this issue, it also sucked ass, to put it in technical terms. Look at these:


Is Ravager holding a dildo? Has Batman been replaced by Dick Tracy villain Prune Face? Is Jay Garrick played an elderly Nicholas Cage? Luckily, it gets kind of better by next issue, and Keith Giffen's first issue doing the layouts is soon, I think.

But that's not the nit, although it is related to the irregularity of the art. Look at Holly Robinson, feeling some deja vu?


Yes, exactly. From left to right, issue 45, with short hair, then issue 44, with long hair, then issue 43, with short hair again. People, please!

NIT-O-METER: 8 Bazzars, due to repetition.
<-------------------------------->
"I DON'T THINK HE'LL ACTUALLY SAY SOMETHING IMPORTANT..."

TITLE: Countdown.

ISSUE: 43 of 52 (a-yup!).

CULPRIT: Paul Dini (head writer) and/or Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray (writers).

NIT-TO-PICK: Bart Allen's funeral, a funeral like only a Flash (or Superman) can get, and Robin plays a video Bart left him in case he died... but he never watched it before, so he does not know if it reveals anybody's secret id. Good job Robin!

NIT-O-METER: 8 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"I'VE BEEN USING THAT SAME CREAM THE JOKER USES IN THE BATMAN MOVIE."

TITLE: Countdown.

ISSUE: 43 of 52 (a-yup!).

CULPRIT: Pete Pantazis (colorist), Mike Marts & Mike Carlin (editors) and Jeanine Schaefer & Elisabeth Gehrlein (assistant editors).

NIT-TO-PICK: On page 21, Monarch removes his mask, and his skin is human-colored, not the silver hue of Captain Atom, who supposedly wears the Monarch armor to contain his breached quantum armor, since he can't turn human or he'll die from his injuries.

Mike Carlin confessed in Newsarama: "Yes, folks... It takes four editors to make a color error of such magnitude.", so I'll credit the editors and the colorist.

NIT-O-METER: 8 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
SHE'S SO BADASS SHE BREAKS HER BOOTS KICKING ASS!"

TITLE: Countdown.

ISSUE: 42 of 52 (si!).

CULPRIT: Carlos Magno (penciller).

NIT-TO-PICK: Two issues ago, Mary Marvel's boots have heels, almost stilettos (as you can see in the picture on the left), and this issue the boots have no heels... granted, in issue 44, on some panels, you can't see the heels very well, or you can doubt they're actually there, but in this case, it's very clear they're absent.


NIT-O-METER: 7 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"THIS ONE HAS ME STUMPED."

TITLE: Countdown.

ISSUE: 42 of 52 (mhm).

CULPRIT: Dan Jurgens (artist) and/or Norm Rapmund (finished art).

NIT-TO-PICK: Look at the image below... on the right, you have Superboy's death from Infinite Crisis #6, and on the left, you have the History Of The Multiverse backup in Countdown, page 25 of the book.


This is like the third time they do this, and the second Jurgens is involved... I'm not gonna talk about the poses, the rips in the uniforms, or the bruises on Superboy's face and body... but this is once more a double nit.

First, and for this entry, it's the right hand. In the original image, it's obvious he lost it, it's a stump... but he has the hand in the retelling?

NIT-O-METER: 10 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"LEAVE ME ALONE, I'M IN MOURNING!"

TITLE: Countdown.

ISSUE: 42 of 52 (da!).

CULPRIT: Dan Jurgens (artist) and/or Norm Rapmund (finished art), and maybe even David Baron (colorist).

NIT-TO-PICK: Same image shown above, originally, Wonder Girl is depicted in her all red costume, but in the retelling, she wears her jeans and t-shirt costume, which she did not debut until after Infinite Crisis.

NIT-O-METER: 10 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"ROSES ARE RED, VIOLETS ARE NOT BLUE..."

TITLE: Exiles

ISSUE: 96.

CULPRIT: Wil Quintana (colorist), who I renamed "Will" on column #29. Sorry Wil!

NIT-TO-PICK: No Brecht, I'm not going to bitch about Spider-Man 2099's mask.... but about Psylocke's eyes again. In each and every page you can see them, they're blue, instead of purple, as they should be.

NIT-O-METER: 10 Bazzars, for repeat nit.
<-------------------------------->
"A.G.A.I.N."

TITLE: Omega Flight.

ISSUE: 4 of 6.

CULPRIT: Andy Schmidt & John Barber (editors) and/or Will Panzo (assistant editor), or whoever writes the recap pages.

NIT-TO-PICK: USAgent no, it's U.S.Agent, I've said it about each issue of this otherwise good book.

NIT-O-METER: 8 Bazzars, it keeps growing.
<-------------------------------->
"ZOMG! IT'S A KNOCK-OFF!"

TITLE: Omega Flight.

ISSUE: 4 of 6.

CULPRIT: Michael Avon Oeming (writer) and/or Scott Kolins (artist).

NIT-TO-PICK: On page 24, panel one, U.S.Agent's shield rebounds and crumples on Sasquatch's head... yes, Sasquatch is mystically turbocharged and possessed by some evil creature... but a Vibranium shield (like U.S.Agent usually carries) should not crumple on his head.

NIT-O-METER: 6 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"THE BOOTS DON'T FIT WELL, I KEEP HAVING TO TAKE THEM OFF..."

TITLE: Sub-Mariner V2.

ISSUE: Phil Briones (artist).

CULPRIT:

NIT-TO-PICK: Last issue, Namor dons a costume (thank you for not going around naked), actually a sort of armor, which includes boots, with openings for his ankle-wings.

During this issue, there's no boots on his feet, yet on the preview for the next issue, he's wearing boots again!

NIT-O-METER: 8 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
We barely made it to the 10 nit minimum, in fact, there's only 11 nits up there; which is sad, since this column has the nits gathered over the past two weeks, instead of the usual one. Actually, it's not sad, it's a sign that people are paying more attention to their work...

However, what caught my eye was, and I had to triple check my math to be completely sure, the fact that this week's average was 8.1 Bazzars!!! That's the highest average ever, topping column #20, which had a 7.8 Bazzars average.

Like I said, I triple checked my math, and then I went over the nits again, to see if I could take the rating on some of them down, but I kept wanting to actually up the ratings on some of them, so I left it alone... That's it for now, until next week, I'll be on the outlook for more nits, because (almost) nothing escapes...

THE NITPICKER!

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

The Nitpicker #30.

DISCLAIMER (angry creators, please read)

[[WARNING! THIS COLUMN MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS!]]

Well, I'm back after skipping a week, as I said in my last column, I was working on something. I've been invited to take part in a book of essays celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Legion of Superheroes. It's taken me more than I expected, but it's to be expected, since I've never written such a long article. My essay ended up being 17 pages long!

I'm very happy with the result, and as soon as the book is on sale, I'll let you know. As for this week's column, it's certainly beefy, both in amount of nits (35), and in content, with several fun things I spotted.

Now, on two personal notes, I was reading the Sinestro Corps Special, which, whoa, is one of the best single issues I've ever read, don't miss it, and on page 27-28, when they show the spread of the whole Sinestro Corps, I found... MY DAD!!!! Look below, and tell me if it ain't him!


Man, I know he's a lawyer, but this is too much... maybe he can get me one of them rings? And the second not is, that while write this, sitting on my shoulder is the newest member of my family. No, I didn't get a parrot, and no, I didn't have a second kid and sit him on my shoulder. I'm talking about Baudelaire the cat, a one month old kitten we've adopted. Here he is:


Ain't he cute? And as much as I like Charles Baudelaire the poet (in fact, I don't like poetry, yet his book The Flowers Of Evil is one of my favorite books), he's not named directly after him. Who can tell me who I named him after? Hint, it's comic book related.

Now, before going to the nits, lemme show you a pic of my two year old, Gabriel, so he doesn't get too jealous.


Isn't he a cutie as well? He's a comic fan already, and Green Lantern is one of his faves (granted, I kinda forced it upon him, but well). He can recite Hal Jordan's oath and make his daddy very proud.
<-------------------------------->
"I'M THE BATMAN, YOU'RE THE LADY."

TITLE: The Brave And The Bold V3.

ISSUE: 04.

CULPRIT: Mark Waid (writer).

NIT-TO-PICK: On page 3, panel 2, Batman says "La Dama, run!"; "La Dama" means "The Lady", and you would never call her "La Dama" when talking directly at her, it's like saying "The Lady, run!"

I was going to give this just 5 Bazzars, but since Blue Beetle does the same, it goes up.

NIT-O-METER: 8 Bazzars
<-------------------------------->
"IT SMELLS LIKE POOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

TITLE: Checkmate V2.

ISSUE: 15.

CULPRIT: Greg Rucka & Judd Winick (writers).

NIT-TO-PICK: On page 15, our heroes (that is, Checkmate operatives plus most of the Outsiders) access the bad guys' hideout through a waste disposal pipe, and they even acknowledge it smells like shit.

Then why is Fire flying around in her full "human torch" form, and the (methane-filled) place is not blowing up to hell?

NIT-O-METER: 7 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"WE DON'T LIKE YOU TONY!"

TITLE: Countdown.

ISSUE: 45 of 52 (you know the drill by now).

CULPRIT: Mike Marts (editor) and/or Jared K. Fletcher (letterer).

NIT-TO-PICK: As Marts himself admitted in this Newsarama piece, Tony Bedard, who was Paul Dini's co-writer for this issue, wasn't listed in the credits.

Instead, Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti, who co-wrote issue 46, are listed.

NIT-O-METER: 6 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"OR MAYBE IT'S THE ZIGGY MARLEY SONG?"

TITLE: Countdown.

ISSUE: 45 of 52 (you know the drill by now).

CULPRIT: Jimmy Olsen, after all he MUST DIE... err, no... sorry... Paul Dini (head writer) and/or Tony Bedard (writer), possibly even Jared K. Fletcher (letterer).

NIT-TO-PICK: On the double spread made by pages 7 and 8, Jimmy Olsen recaps about the New Gods (where did he learn so much about them?), and refers to the Forever People as the Tomorrow People, which was actually a British TV programme.

NIT-O-METER: 10 Bazzars, don't fuck with the King.
<-------------------------------->
"I CHANGED WHEN NOBODY WAS LOOKING!"

TITLE: The Invincible Iron Man.

ISSUE: 19.

CULPRIT: Butch Guice (penciller/inker) and Dean White (colorist... funny, a colorist named White).

NIT-TO-PICK: Iron Man's new Hulkbuster Armor, as first shown on page 18 (shown below, right), looks different from the one shown in World War Hulk (left). Dammit, can't these guys coordinate the designs?



NIT-O-METER: 8 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"THIS IS POWERGIRL, AND THATS BAT MAN..."

TITLE: Justice League of America V2.

ISSUE: 10.

CULPRIT: Brad Meltzer (writer) and/or Rob Leigh (letterer).

NIT-TO-PICK: Now, the Lightning Saga was a fun read, especially for us Legion fans, but there were quite a few errors. That, and the fact that after the long-assed decompression hellfest that this book's been this past 10 issues, with Meltzer writing the contents of barely 6 issues into 10 full books; has made this barely readable.

We're gonna start with an easy one... on page 5, Nura Nal refers to herself as Dreamgirl, when her name is Dream Girl.

NIT-O-METER: 3 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"YEAH, AND GUYS FROM XANTHU HAVE FOUR TESTICLES!"

TITLE: Justice League of America V2.

ISSUE: 10.

CULPRIT: Brad Meltzer (writer).

NIT-TO-PICK: On page 7, Superman confronts Sensor Girl and scans her "TWO HEARTS" to make sure it's her... what? Orandians have never been physically different from humans, there's never been any indication that they had two hearts before.

This might not be a nit per se, since there's no actual reference that ever said her race had only one heart, but, in any case, it's shoddy writing.

NIT-O-METER: 8 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"I THOUGH HE WAS RAISED IN KANSAS..."

TITLE: Justice League of America V2.

ISSUE: 10.

CULPRIT: Brad Meltzer (writer).

NIT-TO-PICK: And then, on the same page, Superman says "Rao..." Dammit people, this isn't Pre-Crisis!!!

NIT-O-METER: First time this happened, in Superman/Batman Vs. Alien/Predators, I gave it a 6. Then it happened in Countdown, and I gave it a 7. Now it's getting 8 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"JUSTICE HEAGUE OF AMERICA."

TITLE: Justice League of America V2.

ISSUE: 10.

CULPRIT: Rob Leigh (letterer).

NIT-TO-PICK: Last page, on the credits, the title of the story is written in Interlac font, to simulate the Legion's future language. However, when translated with this chart, it becomes clear that they've made a goof.

See, the title is undoubtedly meant to be "The Villain IS The Hero In His Own Story", but they wrote "Tle Villain Is tle Lero in lis Own Story", confusing the "l" with the h". Granted, they are similar, but they didn't have to do this by hand, dammit, since there is a freeware Interlac font, made by Kashif Khusain, back in 1994. Props to Kashif, it's a great font to have.

NIT-O-METER: 10 Bazzars, just because this is a stupid mistake to make.
<-------------------------------->
"EKS-MEN."

TITLE: X-Men: Endagered Species.

ISSUE: One-shot.

CULPRIT: Mike Carey (writer) and/or VC's Joe Caramagna (letterer).

NIT-TO-PICK: On page 23, Sebastian Shaw mentions Magneto by his "first name" of "Eric", but it's Erik, as I have pointed out in the past, and as Marvel has it on their website.

NIT-O-METER: 6 Bazzars, since it keeps being happening.
<-------------------------------->
"GEE MARTHA, EVER HEARD OF SECRET IDENTITIES?"

TITLE: Amazons Attack.

ISSUE: 03 of 06.

CULPRIT: Will Pfeifer (writer) and/or Travis Lanham (letterer).

NIT-TO-PICK: Superman flew last issue to put out the fires in Kansas' fields, and on this issue, on page 2, after doing so, he gets a kiss from Martha Kent, who, IN FRONT OF A LOT OF PEOPLE, and without any indications that she's whispering, says "You've done enough Clark.

Way to go Martha, even if she is whispering (and the speech bubble doesn't have a dotted outline, nor is the font in it smaller than other bubbles; just by kissing Superman, she is compromising Clark's secret. Hey, at least the Kents look kind of old here...

NIT-O-METER: 8 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"HYUK, HYUK, AH RULE 'LECTRSHUTY!"

TITLE: Amazons Attack.

ISSUE: 03 of 06.

CULPRIT: Will Pfeifer (writer) and/or Travis Lanham (letterer).

NIT-TO-PICK: Then on page 3, one of the Kents' neighbors calls them over to his truck to watch the news on a TV hooked up to the lighter of his truck (because, you know, Kansas cars don't have radios, and the people there have never heard of batteries), and he says "This TV hooked up to the lighter in my truck--check it out!".

It's like he's saying that the TV hooked itself up to the lighter, shouldn't he say "This TV is hooked (...)"? And it's gotta be a crappy TV, 'cause there's no image on the screen.

NIT-O-METER: 3 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"BEING SHAZAM THE WIZARD DON'T PAY MUCH..."

TITLE: Amazons Attack.

ISSUE: 03 of 06.

CULPRIT: Pete Woods (penciller/inker) and/or Will Pfeifer (writer).

NIT-TO-PICK: On page 14, panel 3, Captain Marvel is seen battling some monsters with other heroes. It's not entirely clear, like it was on the cover of last issue, if this is supposed to be Billy Batson or Freddy Freeman, but it can't be either.

Billy is no longer Captain Marvel, he's now Shazam (long white hair and white uniform), and Freddy, who's still undergoing his trials, doesn't yet have the power to fly, like this Cap seems to be doing, he doesn't have a cape yet, and his hair is longer than what can be seen her.

NIT-O-METER: 10 Bazzars, as this is clearly happening at the same time Countdown is (though I don't know how the heroes are here and at other places at the same time, it's worse than it's ever been).
<-------------------------------->
"RUBBING IT IN BATMAN?"

TITLE: Amazons Attack.

ISSUE: 03 of 06.

CULPRIT: Will Pfeifer (writer).

NIT-TO-PICK: On page 17, Batman asks Oracle to connect him to Green Arrow (Oliver Queen), referring to him as "the Mayor of Star City". Uh... Bats... Ollie is not Mayor anymore, y'know?

NIT-O-METER: 7 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"EYE SEE YOU..."

TITLE: Amazons Attack.

ISSUE: 03 of 06.

CULPRIT: Brad Anderson (colorist).

NIT-TO-PICK: On page 19, Grace Choi's (from the Outsider) eyes are colored blue. Her eyes, while being dark-colored, are usually covered with purple contact lenses.

Yes, she could be wearing blue ones, but methinks it's actually the colorist not checking references.

NIT-O-METER: 1 Bazzar.
<-------------------------------->
"OH D?OS M?O!"

TITLE: Blue Beetle V7.

ISSUE: 16.

CULPRIT: Phil Balsman (letterer), and maybe also John Rogers (writer).

NIT-TO-PICK: When I pick up Blue Beetle, not only do I know it's going to be a good read, I also know it's going to have at least one Spanish language related nit!

In this case, on page 10, panel two, Paco starts reciting the Hail Mary in Spanish, but he says "Dios et salve, Mar? a (...)" instead of "Dios te salve María(...), which means "God save you Mary", the equivalent of "The Lord is with thee".

Two things are wrong here, the first is "et" instead of "te"; and the second one is the tilde on "María" being replaced by "? ". This is something that happens sometimes with fonts or programs with character sets that don't include Latin characters such as the accented vowels (I think that's the reason).

In any case, I'm going to give props to John Roger for trying to get this right. In this case, it seems like an honest error. It's still funny, so I'm gonna show you the image. Even if you don't speak Spanish, you can notice there's something wrong there:


NIT-O-METER: 5 Bazzars (it's an honest error, but still, how could you not notice there's a question mark in the middle of a word?).
<-------------------------------->
"SO, NOW I'M NOT IMPORTANT ENOUGH FOR CAPS?"

TITLE: Blue Beetle V7.

ISSUE: 16.

CULPRIT: John Rogers (writer) and/or Phil Balsman (letterer).

NIT-TO-PICK: I caught this nit while working on the one above. On the panel before the Hail Mary debacle, Paco says "oh god.", which, contrary to normal comic book speech, is not capitalized, maybe to show the low tone he's saying it (instead of the usual effect of just making the font smaller).

However, "God" should be capitalized, since, as a Christian (as shown in the following panel, he's at least raised as a Christian), you'd refer to God, not god.

NIT-O-METER: 2 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"YEAH, IT DON'T PAY GOOD, SO I'M LEAVING IT TO FREDDY..."

TITLE: Countdown.

ISSUE: 44 of 52 (yadda, yadda).

CULPRIT: Paul Dini (head writer) and/or Adam Beechen (writer).

NIT-TO-PICK: On page 6, Billy Batson (formerly Captain Marvel, now Shazam) tells Mary Marvel (or is it Black Mary now?) that Freddy Freeman is undergoing the Trials of Shazam to "(...) be the new Shazam."

WTF? Billy, don't you remember the difference between Shazam and Captain Marvel? Come on, you can call Freddy Captain Marvel, Joe Quesada's not watching!

I'd like to thank TobiasJeth from #comic-scans for bringing this to my attention, although I'd already spotted it coming from miles away.

NIT-O-METER: 10 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"BAD HAIR DAY."

TITLE: Countdown.

ISSUE: 44 of 52 (yadda, yadda).

CULPRIT: Carlos Magno (penciller).

NIT-TO-PICK: Holly Robinson (formerly Catwoman II) gets invited to what looks like Amazons or the kind of porn movie I like on page 15. However, her hair (not to mention her attire), looks nothing like it did the week before. See below, on the left, we have Holly from issue 45, and on the right, from this issue:


Mike Marts explains on Newsarama that, having several artists on one book, changing almost weekly, can cause things like this. I think it shouldn't, I mean, I can understand character's faces looking differently (Holly looks like two different women from 45 to 44), but editors should make sure artists stick to the "extensive database of visual reference" Marts says all artists work from. Then he says "(...) in Countdown #45, Holly was having a bad hair day". Pfft!

NIT-O-METER: 4 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"I DIDN'T CUT MY HAIR, I SUCKED IT INTO MY SKULL."

TITLE: Black Panther V4.

ISSUE: 28.

CULPRIT: Francis Portela (penciller).

NIT-TO-PICK: Johnny Storm, in this issue has very different hair than he had in this week's Fantastic Four V1 547, see below. Below, left, Johnny's hair on Black Panther, and on the right, his hair on Fantastic Four. See?


NIT-O-METER: 8 Bazzars, time can have passed but not that much.
<-------------------------------->
"BUT WE DON'T LIKE THE BLACK ONES!"

TITLE: Fantastic Four V1.

ISSUE: 547.

CULPRIT: Paul Mounts (colorist... hehe... mounts).

NIT-TO-PICK: See below, at right, the black uniforms Johnny and Ben are wearing to match the ones worn by their current teammates (Black Panther and Storm). At left, you can see the wrongly colored blue ones, as in their classic ones. Last issue of FF, they were wearing the black ones...


NIT-O-METER: 2 Bazzars, yes, they could be wearing their spare uniforms or something...
<-------------------------------->
"THE JUSTICE LUEAGUE IS COMING UP."

TITLE: JSA: Classified.

ISSUE: 27.

CULPRIT: Pat Brosseau (letterer) and/or Frank Tieri (writer).

NIT-TO-PICK: On page 8, the newscaster says "(...) Justice Socoiety (...)" Uuuuh....

NIT-O-METER: 2 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"THIS BOOK IS WRITTEN BY DAN SLUT & TY TEMPLETONE."

TITLE: She-Hulk V2.

ISSUE: 19.

CULPRIT: Dan Slott & Ty Templeton (writers) and/or Dave Shape (letterer).

NIT-TO-PICK: We've been over this before, haven't we? Back when I trudged through Civil War: Battle Damage Report....

She-Hulk, or more precisely, Jennifer Walters, works for law firm Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway. The first three names come from the names of the founding fathers of Marvel Comics: publisher Martin Goodman; publisher and writer Stan Lee, (born Stanley Lieber) and writer/artist Jack Kirby (born Kurtzberg).

Now, any good Marvel fan knows this, and any writer or letterer intending on spoofing this, needs to know this as well. Then why, for the second time in a few months, is this spelled wrong? On page 7, panel one, the caption says "Kurtzburg". DAMMIT!

NIT-O-METER: 10 Bazzars, repeat, and fucking with the King. At least this time just got one name wrong.
<-------------------------------->
"UH... IT'S OVER ALREADY?"

TITLE: She-Hulk V2.

ISSUE: 19.

CULPRIT: Dan Slott & Ty Templeton.

NIT-TO-PICK: On page 10, the newscaster talks about New York recovering from "(...) the Hulk's recent attack on Earth!"... uhm... I know this is not a very serious book, but could it at least pretend to follow the company's overall storyline?

NIT-O-METER: 4 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"SHHHH, IT'S A SILENT WAR!"

TITLE: Silent War.

ISSUE: 06 of 06.

CULPRIT: David Hine.

NIT-TO-PICK: Good miniseries, bad last issue, horrible ending. But where does this whole thing fit with World War Hulk? Black Bolt leads the Inhumans, and Attilan is still standing in World War Hulk, but in this comic, Maximus takes over the Inhumans government, and the city is destroyed.

I mean, I like big storylines, but editorial needs to coordinate this better.

NIT-O-METER: 8 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"I SHAVED."

TITLE: (Supergirl And) The Legion Of Super-Heroes V5.

ISSUE: 31.

CULPRIT: Kevin Sharpe (penciller).

NIT-TO-PICK: Tony Bedard is no Mark Waid, but his Exiles wasn't bad, and this book is not going downhill, for the moment. However, I do hope Kevin Sharpe is only a fill-in penciller, because he's awful... well, not so much, his faces suck.

In this case, the first nit is his; on page 5 (during a dream sequence), Brainiac 5 sports his usual circuit lines on the right cheek, but then on the first four panels of page 6 he doesn't have them, only to have them, appear on panel 5.

Yeah, I guess they could be retractable or something, and while he was sleeping (he's woken on page 6 by Star Boy) they're withdrawn... but... I don't think so.

NIT-O-METER: 4 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"THIS ARGUMENT IS SO OLD, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE SAYING ANYMORE."

TITLE: (Supergirl And) The Legion Of Super-Heroes V5.

ISSUE: 31.

CULPRIT: Travis Lanham (letterer).

NIT-TO-PICK: On page 10, the speech bubbles for Lightning Lad (Garth Ranzz) and his brother Mekt Ranzz are switched between the two. It's even more noticeable because Mekt says "Seriously, Mekt!" and Garth goes "You were always a sore loser, Garth."

NIT-O-METER: 6 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"MATH IS DIFFERENT IN THE FUTURE."

TITLE: (Supergirl And) The Legion Of Super-Heroes V5.

ISSUE: 31.

CULPRIT: Tony Bedard (writer) and/or Travis Lanham (letterer).

NIT-TO-PICK: Legion of Super-Heroes election results (page 9): Brainiac 5: 7%, Cosmic Boy: 23%, Lightning Lad: 26%, Supergirl: 54%. So, it adds up to 110%! What?

NIT-O-METER: 8 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"THEY'RE SPITGUARDS."

TITLE: Teen Titans V3.

ISSUE: 48.

CULPRIT: Al Barrionuevo (penciller).

NIT-TO-PICK: See below, where the hell did those Spaaaaaaace Amazon helmets come from!?!? Not in any issue of Wonder Woman or Amazons Attack have helmet like this been show, nor do they look anything like what an Amazon would wear.


NIT-O-METER: 6 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"I'M BLEACHING IT FOR THE WEDDING."

TITLE: Wonder Woman V3.

ISSUE: 10.

CULPRIT: Alex Sinclair (colorist).

NIT-TO-PICK: Black Canary is not platinum blonde, yet on page 10, as you can see below, her hair is clearly that color, instead of matching Nemesis' hair color, as it should.


NIT-O-METER: 4 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"NEXT UP, THE AMAZON CALLED BRITNEY."

TITLE: Wonder Woman V3.

ISSUE: 10.

CULPRIT: Jodi Picoult.

NIT-TO-PICK: On page 12, Nemesis, disguised as Hippolyta, orders an Amazon to bring "her" something. He calls the Amazon "Marta", which is a Georgian Italian, Spanish, Polish and Portuguese from the Hebrew/Aramaic language.

Some people claim it's been around longer than that, meaning dedicated to Mars, Roman god of war. Still, the Amazons are Greek, not Roman. And how the hell does Nemesis know the Amazon's name? Does they wear nametags?

NIT-O-METER: 4 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"IT'S THE HULK MAN, I JUST SHITTED MYSELF UP TO MY EYEBALLS!"

TITLE: World War Hulk: X-Men.

ISSUE: 01 of 03.

CULPRIT: Laura Villari (colorist).

NIT-TO-PICK: On the last panel of the last page (23), Professor X's eyes are colored brown, and his eyes are blue, as you can see on Marvel's site. Good book, by the way, mostly a fight, but a great fight.

NIT-O-METER: 6 Bazzars, it's minor, but you could check your references, couldn't ya Laura?.
<-------------------------------->
"BUNCHA CRACKERS AIN'T GONNA TELL ME NOT TO EVACUATE MA 'HOOD!"

TITLE: World War Hulk: Front Line.

ISSUE: 01 of 06.

CULPRIT: Paul Jenkins (writer).

NIT-TO-PICK: The book shows poor neighborgoods like Harlem not being evacuated after the Hulk's threat. Are we supposed to believe that Luke Cage, who's team is working in the evacuation under a temporary amnesty, would not make sure his 'hood is evacuated?

NIT-O-METER: 6 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"IT'S A FINGER TRICK..."

TITLE: X-Men V2.

ISSUE: 200.

CULPRIT: Chris Bachalo (penciller) and/or Edgard Delgado & Antonio Fabela (colorists).

NIT-TO-PICK: Gambit's gloves have been traditionally depicted as having the thumb, index, and pinky fingers uncovered. Here, when he is first show in full view, on page 19, his thumb is covered.

Well, he's been shown sometimes with gloves that have naked thumbs, so that's not the nit. On page 22, his thumb can be seen uncovered, only to be covered again on page 23. And there it is, free again on page 24, and apparently too on page 30!

NIT-O-METER: 8 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
"I'VE ALWAYS BEEN VERY IMMATURE"

TITLE: X-Men V2.

ISSUE: 200.

CULPRIT: Mike Carey (writer).

NIT-TO-PICK: On page 20, Rogue's shown remembering her past in her room at Mystique's house. Problem is, she's shown as a child, when she ran away and was taken in by Mystique when she was a teenager already.

Granted, this could be Rogue's screwed up memories, or it could be that Humberto Ramos' (penciller for this page) style makes her look like a little kid when she's supposed to be a teen. Hell, Mystique looks like a kid here... just look:


NIT-O-METER: 5 Bazzars.
<-------------------------------->
See, didn't I tell you this week was beefier? And the average of 6.1 Bazzars isn't bad either; lower than last column's 6.3, but not by much, and way better than the 5.1 before that. Well, as for next week, I might miss that week as well, since I'll be out of the country for a few days. So I'll most likely see you on the week after, until then, remember nothing escapes...

THE NITPICKER!