You can listen to the episode by clicking: Episode 103
We are back with another exciting issue of comic books to talk about. We are also back with another story of teen drama and angst.
To quote Jean-Paul Sartre; Hell is other people. And that is so on the nose for this episode.
There are so many people in this book that are trying to be hell to other people in this book. You have the Runaways, Excelsior, Vic and his mom, and of course the daddy issue. And all of these people are really making Vic’s life a living hell.
The poor boy was dealing with acne and keeping up with the popular music, now he has his future life of being a big bad to drag him down. People are pulling him into traps, or using him to power big guns. It ain’t cool man.
OK, I will concede that the big gun is pretty dang sweet. I mean, who would not like to wield a big old cannon to shoot fools in the face? That is taking back the power and showing others what hell is. But we digress, we need to keep talking about the angst and feelings of Vic. This is his book and he is the one who has to deal with this insanity. How would you feel if your dad turned out to be an incredibly powerful villain and a robot? You would lash out, right?
Fire, violence, angry words…. these are all strong options. Angst and teenage confusion can lead to poor choices, leading us down the path to a different lifestyle or living choices. Things like loving and stroking flying vehicles.
The other big issue is family. If people are hell, then family is the cherry on top. No one can rattle your cage more than your parents. They know your buttons, especially if you are a robot.
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Jeff and Rick Present 
Good afternoon guys from the wilds of southeast Missouri where your friends and acquaintances can take a history altering act of aggression and break out the self pity house band for online residency because their taste in vehicles has gotten pretty expensive in their poor selection.
But I digress…
Rick, the movie Jeff referenced at the beginning of the episode is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. I, too, have not seen Runaway BUT I have seen Buckaroo Banzai listed on Prime as well and have not seen that in decades. I remember the episode on your other show Monthly Monday Movie Muckabout last year which struck a few dissonant chords in the grey matter. I’m smelling a double feature watch on my week long break.
This issue had more than a few surprises for me on my re-read, and they were quite pleasant. The Doom reveal at the end of #4 felt like something you give to the Marvel fan in passing. I have known people who don’t read any comics, but have a vague recollection of the evil doctor. The reveal of Ultron was somewhat expected, but, I give props to Vaughn in the reveal happening when it did. I understand the position of having it occur in the last part, but, I felt this would probably overstuff that issue. Sometimes it is hard to delineate what is padding for the trade and general characterization with some books. I did like the fact that this particular issue is centered on Victor. It is pretty funny how the group executes the escape of Victor’s mom (RIP) because to me it felt more like teenage kids winging a plan with no idea of what to do afterwards. Part of the fun for me in reading along with you both is that the title Runaways really threads the needle for me in combining heroics with adolescence. Brian Vaughn and his collaborators really have a knack of making the characters pretty relatable to the audience with the high concept idea.
I think it was pretty cool on Carrie’s part to dive into vol 1 of Runaways. One of the deserved dings on this title to me is when Marvel stops and re-starts titles, for maybe sales goosing, it feels predicated that the audience remains in tact, ergo there is no reason to recap for new readers.
Well, I am looking forward to your next episode friends. I hope you and your families are continuing to do well and are remaining healthy.
Jeremy
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Here is an example of the sad state of the world right now, I don’t know what you are talking about here. The…(waves hand at everything)… is so overwhelming that I can’t keep up on all of it. There are some news things that have occurred lately where I have had to just put my head in the sand and walk away from it. Care to elaborate?
I will be surprised if Rick actually watches Runaway. I watched the bejezzus out of that film back in the day and might try to do a nostalgia watch of it again sometime. That said, my media consumption time is massively limited and I have to try and squeeze it in when everyone else is asleep…protecting little eyes from stuff she isn’t ready for.
Doom is a great drop in. Most everyone knows him in some fashion, where as Ultron isn’t going to be as iconic. The Runaways’ plan was very laughable, and could have been thought out a lot better. Still, it was very consistent with the characters. Yes, I mean that as an insult to them. 🙂 I feel like BKV really gets these characters though, which is cool. So even when they are being dumb, it doesn’t feel wrong. The guy has chops and just might make a name for himself one of these days.
Yeah, the “New! First Issue!!” thing that marvel does is frustrating. It is also frustrating when they do it and change up what came before for dramas sake…looking at you The Loners.
Hope your break was a good one.
-Jeff
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