Slog - Comments on Apropos-of-Nothing-Lad Strikes Again http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again This blog spotlights a superhero known as the Vagabond. The Vagabond is a millionare socialite who dresses up as a hobo, named Chauncey Throttlebottom III, to fight crime. He's only had three adventures, and I'm pretty sure he's in the public domain, so all you cartoonists really ought to get to work reviving this gold mine. There's a factual error in the blog, though: The author refers to The Red Bee as the worst, or second-worst, superhero of all time. This is patently false: The Red Bee, who wore a pink, red, and yellow costume, fought crime using trained bees... Copyright 2008 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 13:21:08 -0800 Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:47:16 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by brappy Chauncey.
Throttlebottom... the third. Wow. What a bizarre name.

]]> brappy http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815538 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815538 What the Mon, 01 Oct 2007 13:24:26 -0800 Comment by Ivan Cockrum Personal note to Paul -

My dad drew the Legion of Superheroes in the early 70s, and redesigned most of the characters. Somewhere in my collection of his stuff is a copy of an in-house gag he drew while at DC. It features Matter-Eater Lad, eating a trophy labeled "Most Useless Power". (Though I would argue that Bouncing Boy deserved that trophy).

]]> Ivan Cockrum http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815547 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815547 What the Mon, 01 Oct 2007 13:28:02 -0800 Comment by Levislade Hear that? I think Paul's head just exploded. Nice one, Ivan.

]]> Levislade http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815556 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815556 What the Mon, 01 Oct 2007 13:31:42 -0800 Comment by monkey White Ninja is the best superhero EVER!!!

http://whiteninjacomics.com/comics/planecrash.shtml

http://whiteninjacomics.com/comics/disturbance.shtml

]]> monkey http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815569 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815569 What the Mon, 01 Oct 2007 13:42:11 -0800 Comment by Peter It's worth mentioning that Matter-Eater Lad is currently appearing in animated form on the Saturday morning WB cartoon "Legion of Superheroes" -- this past Saturday, he took a big bite out of the Emerald Eye and went a little crazy from having eaten some of its cosmic energies.

]]> Peter http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815578 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815578 What the Mon, 01 Oct 2007 13:49:08 -0800 Comment by Peter Wait a second -- the son of the late (great) Dave Cockrum reads Slog?

So cool -- Ivan, your dad was a hero of mine growing up.

]]> Peter http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815586 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815586 What the Mon, 01 Oct 2007 13:54:32 -0800 Comment by Paul Constant It's true. Dave Cockrum is one of the comic-book greats.
And, also, Bouncing Boy would entirely suck donkey balls except for he married Duo Damsel, who has the power to split into two girls, which means he gets hot threesome action whenever he wants.
(sigh)
I could talk about the Legion of Super-Heroes forever.

]]> Paul Constant http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815602 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815602 What the Mon, 01 Oct 2007 14:05:47 -0800 Comment by Ari Spool You should check out the "Absolute Power!" 5-minute comics by Joe Sayers. I think they run them in the Merc. He makes up really funny super-heroes like "The Man With X-Ray Pee!" and "The Man Who Can See Into the Past!" They are compiled in a tiny little book called "Teen Power!"

]]> Ari Spool http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815613 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815613 What the Mon, 01 Oct 2007 14:13:08 -0800 Comment by Levislade So is Triplicate Girl just like Duo Damsel, only she can split into three? Or is she just really good at typing on carbon paper?

Oh, and it's "apropos."

]]> Levislade http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815616 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815616 What the Mon, 01 Oct 2007 14:14:29 -0800 Comment by the man who couldn't blog Matter-Eater Lad used his superhero celebrity to become a public servant, just like this guy!

]]> the man who couldn't blog http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815669 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815669 What the Mon, 01 Oct 2007 14:42:35 -0800 Comment by torrentprime Sadly, Duo Damsel *is* Triplicate Girl, after one of her three forms was killed.

(There also appears to be "Una", a "the other two are dead" version, in the current JLA/JSA, but that whole thing is so retcon I haven't wrapped my head around it yet)

]]> torrentprime http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815679 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815679 What the Mon, 01 Oct 2007 14:44:50 -0800 Comment by elenchos Matter-Eater Lad's only problem is that his power was poorly marketed. He should packaged himself as Jaws: The Lad Who Can Bite Through Anything (TM). (Who can incidentally digest whatever he bites through.)

Biting through anything is not exactly a great super power, but it's no worse than a lot of them.

Don't laugh. Super heroes are utterly superficial: it's all about how you package it, not the content. What is Batman but The Vagabond with a gothy bat theme instead of a seedy bum theme?

]]> elenchos http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815782 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c815782 What the Mon, 01 Oct 2007 15:49:21 -0800 Comment by Kynn Ivan, big props to your dad for his LSH work, and my condolences, as a Legion fan, on his recent passing.

]]> Kynn http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c816765 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c816765 What the Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:24:09 -0800 Comment by Scotto Don't forget Speedball.

]]> Scotto http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c817460 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/approposofnothinglad_strikes_again#c817460 What the Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:47:16 -0800