A mere phone call won’t do for techie Darin; he receives his bestie Pete’s consolation via videoconferencing! And providing a straight answer to the straightforward question “How’s he doing” is simply too much to ask.
Tag: Pete
For Cryin' Out Cloud
sourbelly
September 13, 2012 at 1:14 am
So…Black Cloud vs. Good Cloud. Superman helps Good Cloud (he’s the good guy, I’m guessing, based on his name) defeat Black Cloud (bad guy) with The Silver Lining (what?). That sounds really stupid, folks!
Oh, wait, it gets even better! The Silver Lining appears from out of nowhere! In a flash of light! Now that’s what I call “writing!” Incredibly lame, puerile, crappy writing. Even the Lord of the Late is appalled.
I Really Don't Know Clouds at All
Who’s got it better than Mopey Pete? He got to sit staring at his laptop while his friends schlepped all his worldly goods down those rickety stairs. Then Darin’s offhanded comment magically unblock’s Pete’s creativity.
The "Grounded" One
Wondering exactly what today’s strip is all about? Me too. So I Googled “Superman walk across America” and read about “Superman: Grounded“, a story arc in the Superman comic series. ComicsAlliance.com put “Superman: Grounded” at the top of its list of the 5 Worst Comics of 2010:
It’s the Superman story that J. Michael Straczynski abandoned to write a different Superman story, one that’s more lucrative and targeted to a wider audience. Straczynski ended up managing four – #701, #702, #703, and #705 – and then called it a day.
One wonders why Tom Batiuk would relate to such a despised series in the Superman canon…
I have no idea what Straczynski ultimately intended to say with “Grounded,” and since he isn’t finishing the story, I’ll never know. But Superman #701 reads like a mini-thesis of its own, and it has a very clear message: Anyone who criticizes this comic is stupid and shallow and should shut the hell up…
The comic is crazy defensive from the get-go, obsessed with boxing out its inevitable critics by devoting four full pages and parts of three others to condescending to belittling or humiliating reader stand-ins who dare to question the wisdom of the story Straczynski has chosen to write. Reporters ask Superman questions and get disdainful, witheringly minimal non-answers in return.
OK, now I think I see.
John
September 10, 2012 at 1:18 am
For a guy with buddies in the industry, Tom continues to show a marked ignorance for something he purports to love so very much.
That ignorance would extend to the comics industry’s retail arm as well. Last month we saw John taking a pass on Pete’s sizeable and no doubt profitable comics collection. Today we have a comic book seller talking a kid out of buying a comic book.
You Move Me
Pete is a disorganized, dysfunctional wreck. He’s arguably Westview’s most successful writer (sorry, Les), and was already established in his field when he inexplicably moved back to town nearly five years ago. Does a professional at this stage of his career not understand how deadlines work? Pete has no girlfriend, wife or kids, and friends who only appear when he’s moving in or out. What distractions could he have from his writing? It might be plausible and amusing to have him deal with writer’s block once, but Batiuk has gone to this same well several times.
And now he’s supposed to sit on the floor to do his work? I guess Darin, Montoni’s Chief Technology Officer, never installed WiFi in the pizzeria.
Son of Stuck Funky 