 |
| "Ralph Dibny vs. the Wurstwaffe" from Elongated Man #4 (DC, 1992) by Gerard Jones, Mike Parobeck and Ty Templeton |
One of the nice things about the Justice League's success in the late 80s and early 90s is that the Elongated Man finally got his own (mini)series. As a member of Justice League Europe, he got to travel to various countries and fight some amusing local villains, as well as a refurbished Sonar. Mike Parobeck made the book a delight, even though I was never sold on Ralph's new purple and white costume (but the worst was yet to come). Parobeck made Sue Dibney look like Dr. Girlfriend, which is a plus for today's reader. The Dibneys weren't treated very well in the 2000s, but you know I would have read a book where they starred as ghost detectives, you know I would.
Absent the credits, I would've guessed that was Templeton solo.
ReplyDeleteI can spot Parobeck in the villains' smiles.(?)
ReplyDeleteEgad, I didn't even know that this existed...but now I mus find it. Parobeck, Jones and Ty Templeton? Fabulous!
ReplyDeleteRalph and Sue's European tour is a lot of fun, right up your alley I should think.
ReplyDeleteI picked this up a couple of years ago (having heard nothing but good things), and I wasn't disappointed. I hadn't thought about how much Sue looks like Dr. Girlfriend, but you're definitely right about that.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was funny the only place I ever saw the Ghost Dibnys was Chuck Dixon's Batman & the Outsiders, of all places. He used them like a Married Couple version of Deadman, but perhaps if he'd stayed on the book longer, they'd get to do some detecting.
You say you'd like a "ghost detectives" comic, and it certainly sounds engaging, but think how well it wouldn't work.
ReplyDeleteDetectives are interesting because they have all the limits and vulnerabilities we all have, yet they spot the clues and brave the dangers the rest of us could not or would not. Being unfettered by physical obstacles, and also being unkillable, would cause much of the detective fun to fizzle.
Now the problems in the other direction. Consider how difficult it would be for our ghost detectives to interrogate a suspect or take a fingerprint. Or, for that matter, bring the bad guys to justice and explain to the cops who did it and what the evidence is.
I want to like the idea of ghost detectives, but I don't think it would turn out so well.
Then I guess you wouldn't like Neil Gaiman's Ghost Boy Detectives.
ReplyDelete