You can listen to the episode by clicking: Episode 110
This is it, the end of the Loners….well, sort of. We still have a couple more appearances of this team, but this is the final issue of this crazy run, so we should reflect on what we have learned.
I think we can say that this series is not complete, and is a little strange. It was experimental and challenging, and unexpected. And whether you like it or not, you have to appreciate the ambition of it’s creators. Experiments are not always successful, but they can be interesting
So what failed in this series. Probably some of the re-characterization of Julie. You can see some of the characterization that Weezie originally conceived, but there are some changes that are uncomfortable. She is an underage woman who has been sexualized. While I am glad that it is not more than just the eye candy view, and her response to being attacked was great, it still felt strange.
Speaking of which, there was a definite effort to make this more of a teen+ book with the more adult themes. More relationships, discussions of addiction and trauma, and sex. There is a lot of meat that the creators where sewing into the story in order to build a future story. They just did not make it.
I would not punch this series and call it bad. I would say that the series is not for everyone, and it is not complete. But I want to recognize some of the great beats the story provided, and the discussion we had. And it is always about the journey….right?
Sometimes we read some content that leaves us feeling a couple of different ways, possibly fighting feelings about how we will land on the material. That can be good. It is always helpful to challenge the status quo. We need some growth and change…and we need to see two Darkhawks beat each other up.
We are going to see these cats in a a few more issues, but this is the end of The Loners series. Bye The Loners!
You can also subscribe and listen to us on YouTube!
We also have some merchandise over at Redbubble. We have a couple of nifty shirts for sale. https://www.redbubble.com/people/jeffrickpresent/?asc=u
Our show supports the Hero Initiative, Helping Comic Creators in Need. http://www.heroinitiative.org/
Eighties Action by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3703-eighties-action License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Clenched Teeth by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3517-clenched-teeth License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Jeff and Rick Present 
Hey there Jeff and Rick!
What a miniseries eh? I’m in the same opinion as you both regarding it as a read overall. Hearing more of how this was designed to be a maxi-run and truncated to six issues gives a bit more clarification. I am saddened by the fact that the comics market is such that the life expectancy of a book is pretty much determined by pre-sale figures. Long gone are the days when a title could have a longer run, not necessarily setting sales records. In my much younger years I remember that happening more often.
Your take about Julie’s overall characterization is right on. Yes, silly enough I too have a fictious character perpetually young and more interested in books and school. I know that there are stories which you could bridge the age gap and goodness knows there are creators out there today who seem to genuinely be more attuned to diversity. I could get behind a one shot that deals with those character beats and I’m pretty sure you would as well. Who knows?
To the part about being surprised this title hasn’t been turned into some other entertainment. In a way I am glad we haven’t gotten there. Yeah, I know it reads tailored made for some Disney Plus miniseries, but its still got a modicum of stealth cool to it as a title. A moment that makes me smile is when you see comics creators or some fans talk about the book via social media. Invariably that leads to a handful of people wonder who is Power Pack? As cool as it would be to see an animated show announced, its even cooler that a “baby” book is still out here hitting older readers in the feels. Plus the current Marvel movies at least feel like their diminishing returns for me as of late. I lamented on twitter last night I wished my hobby would revert to a niche market. The room has gotten too crowded for me anymore.
I hope you and your families are doing well. Until the next thrill packed interview I remain..
Jeremy Dawe
a prince
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jeremy!
I am curious as to what the original plan for this series was in its long form. That said, I think that it was probably going to end up in round about the same parts. No reason for this other than personal intuition.
We like what we like, don’t we? My mine problem with aging the kids up is the simple fact that it isn’t being done to fill any holes. There is a near infinite number of teen and above aged heroes already. Sure, aging them up does give you more storylines that you can do, but it wouldn’t be much of anything new. Romance, sex, relationships, dependents…all tropes that can be re-regurgitated out on celluloid for the masses to consume. The Power’s don’t need that. You can still touch into these topics with them being kids, it would just take a little bit of work. Work that I would like to see be done. There. I’ll get off my soapbox now.
I get your take on wanting to keep it indy. Not everything needs to be made for the mass market. And having your stealth cool thing that only the cool kids know about is a nice feeling if you are in the in crowd. That said. I would still like to see it made for mass consumption. Some of my reasons for this are altruistic because I think it is a property that people would really like that could appeal to kids as well as adults. Some are less altruistic in that the more exposure it has, the potential more exposure we have. I love the listeners that we have, and we have no plan on stopping this journey anytime soon, but I have to admit to the truth that my own vanity means that I would like a broader audience. That said, I have a hard enough time keeping up with the correspondence with the people that due write to us, so if there were more I would be disappointingly overwhelmed. 🙂
You getting any summer fun in your life? I personally am listening to contractors tear my house up right now, so my focus has been all about the remodel and not fun stuff.
Later,
-Jeff
LikeLike