Monday, January 02, 2006

LoC to Supergirl 14

This was in SG 14, 1983.

Dear People,
TDNAOS (I sure hate that acronym) gets better with each issue. The recent guest appearances by the New Doom Patrol were much appreciated by this reader, as was the visit by the Danvers. Don't forget Kara's biological parents though. You'll have to find some way to work them in. And Lena Thorul, too, please! [Y'know, typing this, I realize I'd forgotten about her; Lex's sister was a fun character]

It was a thrill seeing my letter back in #4. It was my first LoC to see print. Your answers to my comments then regarding Linda/Kara's age and return to school made sense, especially since the book has benefited by the decisions you had to make. However, you don't have to be a teenager to go to school. Linda enjoys school and can afford to go back full time. I think that's great. It's something I've done. But she can still be 24 or 25. Also, even at that age, she can still be called a girl. I'm 30 and I consider myself liberated (whatever that means) and i still think of myself as a girl. Linda Danvers has led a full life so far, so don't deny her any of it. End of lecture.

On to #10. [Yeah, that was the lag time between reading, writing the LoC, and getting it into print; 4 issues of a monthly comic. Seems so long in the age of the internet.] Really nice cover. Philip Decker has the most potential of any guy Linda has ever dated. Keep him around for a while. The story had good pacing and I can hardly wait until next issue to learn how Supergirl gets out of the mess you left her in.

The Lois Lane feature continues to be a wonder. It's a wonder how so much good stuff can be fitted into so few pages. Oksner's art is perfect; don't ever let him go. And Lois again demonstrated what a fool Superman was to let her walk out of his life. I hope the breakup isn't permanent.

As a long-time fan of Supergirl, I'm really glad to see her finally come into her own.

I'll post the answer, too, since it's short.

Thanks for the kind words and support [my name here]. And since you hate the TDNAOS acronym so much, we'll have to change the book's title to just plain old SUPERGIRL, which, if you'll check the cover and indicia beginning with last issue, you'll notice has happened.

Glad you liked the Doom patrol as guest stars. In fact, opinion on the guest-hero issue has been so overwhelmingly positive that we've decided to go ahead and plan for some more visitors to these pages, commencing real soon. Stay tuned!
_____
It's always interesting to look back, not just for what was going on, but for what I had to say and how I worded it, and for the answers I got. I really do miss the lettercols. Sure, folks post on the message boards (I was posting fairly regularly on many DC boards for a while til the juvenile behavior of too many folks annoyed me too much to overlook), and yes, sometimes, the creators pop in to interact with readers, but the lettercols were different. Someone had to read all the letters to see which ones would get printed. You knew your thoughts were read by someone. And you usually got answers, from the editor or assistant. Sure, it took 4 months, but it was worth it. And you got to see your name in print. Online, anyone can post their name, so there's no thrill, but to see your name, your letter, your words in a comic, to know your letter got picked (and that includes my negative last letter to New Titans which I will post here at some point), was a wonderful feeling.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:26 PM EST

    S.,

    You single-handedly got them to change the name of the comic--pretty impressive!

    Yeah, regular and healthy letter exchanges with fans, a selection of which were actually printed in the comics themselves -- that was a good thing. (Not to mention the hope of seeing your own name in print.) Like you, I wish it was still standard practice for all titles. And I agree about the DC Boards (*shudder*), they don't serve the same function.

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  2. heh. I like to think I had that kind of power. ;)

    If you are familiar with the DC Boards, I was posting mostly on the GA, Teen Titans, and Outsiders boards as fan44ever (formerly fan4ever). I met some cool folks there, including one who tracked down GA 75 for me (I'd quit that book with #49, so had missed Roy's appearance). But too much of the time there is wasted on petty bickering and trolling.

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  3. Anonymous1:41 AM EST

    S,

    I do kinda remember you from the Titans/Outsiders boards (at which I lurked.)

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  4. I hope they're good memories. :)

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