11 O'Clock Comics Episode 176

[LoadofBS]

i thought that the last few episodes weren't the strongest. with this new one they're back in form.

on the ny/chicago front - why does chicago style lasagna have bread instead of noodles, and why is it being compared to pizza? just messing with neseman. i love different types of pizza. pizza and comics are my two great loves.

oh, and regular show rocks.

[GarrickGreathouse]

I love Chicago style pizza. Granted I also love NY//thin crust, but to me NY style is just really good Pizza Hut style, you know? Crust, sauce, cheese, topping. Fancy it up with all the spices and top quality stuff all you want, it's still the same tired experience. Deep dish is unique and a treat for my family.

[glwarm76]

Wood delivered the goods in this episode. He put the spotlight on one of my favorite ongoings, Avengers Academy, and defended Flashpoint. If your looking for some fun superhero stories that take place within the Marvel Universe but don't require more than a passing knowledge of the current status quo, Avengers Academy is a great series to check out. Its one of the few Marvel titles that remains on my monthly reading list. In regard to Flashpoint, I really enjoyed the series. I didn't read any of the tie-ins, which made the reading experience better because there was never any doubt that this was a flash story. Everything else was clearly background, so when the final issue focused almost entirely on Barry, that made perfect sense. I didn't care about the war between Aquaman and Wonder Woman or the heroes getting together because Johns didn't focus on these elements in the main series. The focus of the series was getting the DCU back to normal, not winning the war. What really made the ending work for me was Johns use of dialogue to comment on the end of the old DCU and the creation of the new DCU. When speaking with his mother Barry says, "I won't let this life be erased" and his mother responds, "It won't be. It happened, Barry. One way or another, the life we had together happened." Johns is telling DC fans that no matter what the DCNU brings nothing can erase the stories that came before it. Later Barry says to Bruce, "I remember every single moment I spent with my mother ... I'm guessing it could be a temporal aftereffect or the result of chronal residue still in my bloodstream." Bruce responds to Barry, "Or it could be a gift, Barry. A gift to make it all a little easier." Johns has fun with some comic booky reasons why Barry remembers the old timeline but it really doesn't matter why, all that matters is that those memories, the old DCU stories, will always be there and that is a gift. One final note. Some have criticized Bruce crying at the end of the issue. I understand the criticism that Batman doesn't cry but Batman doesn't cry in this issue. Johns and Kubert have Batman remove his cowl and transform into Bruce Wayne and only then does the reader witness a son crying after reading a letter written by his dead father. 

[VinceB]

The focus of the series was getting the DCU back to normal

You must have read a different series than I, 'cause the DCU at the end of Flashpoint is anything but normal. 

[David]

...and defended Flashpoint.

Judging by the way things lean around here I didn't realize Flashpoint needed defending.

The focus of the series was getting the DCU back to normal, not winning the war.

But it didn't end with the DCU back to being "normal".

[JimN]

I love Chicago style pizza. Granted I also love NY//thin crust, but to me NY style is just really good Pizza Hut style, you know? Crust, sauce, cheese, topping. Fancy it up with all the spices and top quality stuff all you want, it's still the same tired experience. Deep dish is unique and a treat for my family.

Karma.

I just want to point out that there's more than one Chicago style of pizza. The style commonly referred to as "Chicago style pizza" is the deep dish approach to making pizza that is a.) delicious and b.) apparently controversial among those who love pizza from a certain region of the east coast. However, another style of pizza is arguably more prevalent in this region and that's Chicago-style thin-crust pizza. It's actually my favorite style of pizza although I like deep dish pizza and I like NY-style pizza too. One of the very best pizza joints in Chicago, Nick and Vito's serves fantastic Chicago-style thin-crust pizza. It's on the south side and it's worth a trip next time you're in the windy city.

Wikipedia gives an accurate description of Chicago-style thin-crust pizza:

Chicago-style thin-crust pizza known in the Chicago area as a "Tavern Pizza", has a thinner crust than Chicago-style deep dish, and is baked flat rather than in a deep dish pan. The crust is thin and firm enough to have a noticeable crunch, unlike a New York-style pizza, yet thick enough to be soft and doughy on the top. The crust is invariably topped with a liberal quantity of southern-Italian style tomato sauce, which is usually quite herbal or highly spiced, and typically contains no visible chunks of tomato. Next, a layer of toppings is added, and a layer of mozzarella cheese which frequently separates from the bottom crust due to the quantity of tomato sauce. Chicago-style thin crust pizzas are cut into three-to-four-inch (8–10 cm) squares, also known as "party cut", as opposed to a "pie cut" into wedges. The small size of the squares makes it unnecessary to fold the slices. Chicago-style pizza is prevalent throughout the Midwestern US. In fact, most of the neighborhood pizza parlors in Chicago and the rest of the Midwest serve Chicago-style thin crust, not deep dish as is commonly assumed.

[Lawrence]

Pizza = 

[glwarm76]

You must have read a different series than I, 'cause the DCU at the end of Flashpoint is anything but normal. 

I cannot argue with that Vince. What I meant was that Barry's focus throughout the series was getting the Universe back to "normal" not saving the Flashpoint Universe, but his actions had consequences. Even though he stopped himself from creating the Flashpoint Universe, his actions still changed the DCU into the DCNU. My point in making this distinction is that I can see the series being completely unsatisfying to those that focused on the events in Flashpoint Universe because there was no resolution, but because I never saw that as the focus I enjoyed the series a great deal.

[slurmo]

Pizza = 

Tenderized horse on pizza? sounds delicious.

does it go best on NY style or Chi style for that deep down horse taste?

[bean6344]

Tenderized horse on pizza? sounds delicious.

does it go best on NY style or Chi style for that deep down horse taste?

There's more than one style of pizza?  Bob, please tell me more about my options.

Bean

[JimN]

There's more than one style of pizza?  Bob, please tell me more about my options.

 

[Chris]

i thought that the last few episodes weren't the strongest. with this new one they're back in form.

I thought your last few posts were rubbish, but it's good to see you rounding back into form.

[Lawrence]

So does a pizza have to be a rectangle to be considered a "real Italian" pizza or is a circle okay?



Might as well join in.

[slurmo]

So does a pizza have to be a rectangle to be considered a "real Italian" pizza or is a circle okay?



Might as well join in.

it's only real if it has that little plastic table for your GI Joes in the center of it.

Gosh Lawrence, this is America, learn the rules.

[Andrew Tom]

I thought your last few posts were rubbish, but it's good to see you rounding back into form.

This wins the award for "Post of the Day". Congrats Chris

[Wood]

Chicago pizza is where old jars of Ragu and recycled pillows go to die.

 

[LoadofBS]

I thought your last few posts were rubbish, but it's good to see you rounding back into form.

well done, sir. well done.
thanks for my new forum signature.

[evaD]

Just catching up on the episode and had a thought about what you guys were saying about who DC chose to head the relaunch. Is there any field of endeavor where the "old guard" successfully reinvigorated things? You guys make an excellent point, if DC really wants to draw in new readers by changing things dramatically, they should be looking to new people with new ideas about what comics are and how they should be done. Instead they picked a writer who has become more popular as readership has dwindled to the point where they feel a need to do this and an artist who was most popular and innovative almost 20 years ago. I'm not saying they aren't immensely talented, I'm just saying they might not be the guys to go to for fresh ideas about what comics are and how they should be done.

And I gotta side on the NY style pizza. Chicago is a great city, but the pizza? Sorry Chris...

[leafinsectman (Dan)]

You guys make an excellent point, if DC really wants to draw in new readers by changing things dramatically, they should be looking to new people with new ideas about what comics are and how they should be done.

Bendis and Millar (when they were new) heading up the Ultimate Universe come to mind. I'm not saying they should do it for DC, just supporting the opinion that it should be done by the new guys.

[JimN]

Chicago pizza is where old jars of Ragu and recycled pillows go to die.

 

You're dead to me.