A New Year

I'm not one for year in review postings. Mostly, because I really can't remember what was in this year and not in the end of the previous year. Once I hit my 50s, things pretty much starting blending together in my memory center, a nice collage of memories, of comic books and books and movies and tv shows and music and art and my own creations, and well, I really don't want to bother teasing them apart.

I seem to have some folks reading this blog, so I thought I'd do something a bit different to start off the new year because I just got this week's comics on Friday and haven't had time to read them yet because I worked yesterday and then got a bit involved with my flickr account, uploading photos. Photography is another of my hobbies.

Anyway, during the '80s (and in 1991), I wrote LoCs to DC and 7 were published. There were some that didn't get published, but I did have a good track record. After 1985, I was reading only the New Teen Titans/New Titans comic, so the last 2 LoCs were for those books. I thought I'd post some of the letters I had published and if anyone goes scurrying to find them in the comics, please don't post my name anywhere. I try to keep a low profile online. And while they printed my address, I haven't lived there for many years.

I'll do the ones to the old Supergirl book to start things off. [] denotes today's commentary on the commentary.

The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl 4
Dear Julie, Paul, Carmine, Bob, etc. [Hey, I was nothing if not polite and didn't want to leave anyone out.]
Seeing Supergirl in her own comic is a dream come true and SUPERGIRL #1 was nicely done. Carmine Infantino's art (with beautiful embellishment by Bob Oksner) suited Linda/Kara perfectly. And I like Chicago as her new home. Joan Raymond is an electrifying supporting character (the best for Supergirl in a long time) and Psi holds promise.

However, some comments and suggestions. Please understand. i care a lot for Supergirl. She and Lois Lane were the first female characters I knew in the DC Universe (way back in the mid-60s -- 1962 for Lois!). If Lois's strip is up to par with the one she had in SUPERMAN FAMILY, I'll be happy. As for Supergirl, please don't forget her parents (both sets!). I also figure Supergirl is about 22-23 years old, since she's already a college graduate -- Stanhope, remember? -- and she's worked for a while. Besides, 23 isn't too old for a girl at heart. I figure DC's characters age chronologically, but not physically.

At first, I worried that she was moving around too much, but she's like me that way. I change jobs the way she changes cities. [That was true for me in the '70s and even the '80s when I changed library branches every few years.]

By the way, I don't like Supergirl's new logo. It doesn't hold the eye. But I loved the cover.

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There was a nice, long answer to me and 2 other letter-writers re: decisions that had been made about the book, including returning her to a college environment in order to avoid the "old Clark Kent routine of 'How do I create a diversion/come up with some lame excuse to sneak away and change?'" situation they had in the previous version when she worked for a TV station on the newscast. The retention of the name Supergirl as opposed to Superwoman was due to copyright considerations, according to the answer. Other comments about continuity and Kara's age just seem silly in a medium that had Robin the Boy Wonder for long enough for him to collect Social Security, tho he finally did get promoted to Teen Wonder.

I plan to post a few more of these published LoCs, unless there's an outcry in the comments for me to Cease and Desist. I still have the one from Supergirl 14, one from Swamp Thing 22, New Teen Titans 43, and my farewell to New Titans (NT 82). There were a couple of others, but I don't seem to have photocopies.