Up next for an interview is HCrealm's foremost comic reviewer:

DarkCrisis

DarkCrisis joined HCrealms on 10/10/02.


When did you start reading comic books?

DC: Sometime in the mid-80's my Grandmother bought a box of comics at a garage sale. It had a whole bunch of Firestorm issues. The earliest being #2. It had some Conan and some early X-Men as well. I took more of a shine to the Firestorm stuff.

What or who got you started?

DC:As I mentioned, it was my Grandmother. After that box I started buying Uncanny X-Men, and pretty much stuck to Marvel stuff, mostly X-related.

What do you like most about comic books? Least?

DC: I like that it's an escape from the everyday life into a world or great people doing great things. Who wouldn't like to have fantastic powers? Problem is this escape costs $3 a pop. And if you buy 10+ comics a week it get's expensive.

What is your favorite title? Why?

DC: A like a lot of books. JSA, BoP, Fallen Angel, Runaways, etc. I like them all for different reasons. Runaways has been consistantly good through it's run. Not one issue has dissappointed. All the characters are interesting and the writing is really good. It's different from the maority of the sutff out there. I mean, it's a Marvel book not set in New York. So it's kind of self-contained.

Who is your favorite/least favorite comic character? Why?

DC: My favorite character would have to be... hhmm... my normal response would be Supergirl but I haven't been to keen on the new Kara. She's written great in LoSH though. Deadpool has been great. Green Arrow. I have a soft spot for Elektra. Molly of the Runaways is a great character. Mary Marvel is fun. My least favorite, eh... lots of characters have things I ddon't like. Cable has been getting on my nerves lately. His whole "I know everything cause it's my past" thing is lame. And I have to say I really dislike how Wolvie has been made so Uber-powerful.

If your favorite comic book character is a hero, who is your favorite villain? If it’s a villain, who’s your favorite hero? Why?

DC: I think Magneto is a good villian, cause you can't be 100% sure he's wrong. Plus I like that his archenemy is also his best friend and that off the battle field they can act as friends.

What is your favorite/least favorite hero team? Villain team? Why?

DC: My most favorite hero team is probably the JSA or the Runaways. Both for different reasons. The JSA has those interesting legacy characters that seem to have fun superhero adventures. The Runaways are more of the "still learning the ropes" types. Plus they have personal drama as well. Least fave hero team.. hhmm.. I'm going to say the X-Men. Why? Cause the roster changes every 3 months/whenever a new writer comes on. I liked the old days when the team was a team. Not to say the X-Books are bad but they need to stop switching members every 5 minutes. Fave villian team would be the Secret Six, Gail Simone took a bunch of C-list villians and made a fun interesting team/book. Least fave villian team is the Thunderbolts, which USED to be awesome but Marvel messed it all up.

Who is your favorite/least favorite comic writer? Why?

DC: I like alot of writers. Geoff Johns does good work. McKeever. Vaughn. David. Simone. They all do good work. Least fave: Chuck Austen, is the devil. He can't write women at all. He comes u with stupid ideas that complete mess up continuity. Horrible horrible writer.

Who is your favorite comic artist? Why?

DC: I love Adam Hughes stuff. He likes drawing his women sexy.

How many comics do you read on a monthly basis?

DC:Far to many. Like around 40 if not more. I usualyl get atleast 10 comics a week.

How much do you spend on comics monthly?

DC:40 times $3 = #120. So about that much though probably more.

About how many comic books do you own?

DC: About 15 Longboxes worth. Mostly Marvel.

What is your favorite comic era- the Golden Age (1930’s-1950’s), the Silver Age (1950’s-1980’s), or the Bronze Age (1980’s to present)?

DC: Bronze. The older stuff is just to "out of touch" with today. Don't get me wrong, I like reading the older stuff but I like a bit more "meat" to my stories.

What changes would you like to see in the comic book medium?

DC: I would like to see the cost reduced. But yea right like that's going to happen.

What is more important to you: good stories or continuity? Why?

DC: A story can be good and still hold to continuity. Now I don't mind if they change some minor things for the sake of the story but making a massive change will just take away from the story.

Do you only read comics from one company? If so which one and why?

DC: Nope. I started with a DC title but eventully read only Marvel. Started picking up some Indy, eventually some DC. And here I am today.

Pitch 5 comic series, Graphic Novels, or trades to members of HCrealms.

DC:

• Alias - Bendis at his best. He created a very human character is Jessica Jones. Though it probably had a lot to do with this was a Max title and he could tackle more adult issues. Jess is a PI who is trying to get over her failed career as a Superhero. Her investigations usually lead her to some of the more interesting people int he Marvel U.
  
• Poison Elves - If you like D&D, you'd probably like this book. The series is about an elven assassin named Lusiphur, trying to make his way in the world. Having to deal with his friends, imps and fairies in his brain, finding love, not to mention all the nemies he's made. The writer based the early stuff off his old D&D campaign. Only real hick-up now-a-days is it rarely gets a new issue as the writer has been sick. Luckily there are like 12 TPBs out there to go through.
  
• Runaways - What would you do if you found out one day that your parents are part of a secret organization out to destroy the world? These kids runaway from home and join to together to fight thier parents and any other bad guys that come to thier city. Pretty traumatic for a bunch of teenagers. This book is written very well. You really "get" the characters. They seem "true". The art is great as well. This is one of the best books on the market.
  
  
• Fallen Angel - The original pull of this book was that Lee might really be Linda Danvers. This has been shown to be false (cause the book got moved from DC to IDW). The story revolves around a woman with super powers who lives in a town of the damned. People come to her for help to deal with thier problems. While somewhat uncaring on the surface, Lee really does care deep down. Lots of supernatural stuff goes on in the damned town she dwells in, plus it hosts a lot of interesting characters. Is the bartender really Hitler? This is some of Peter Davids best work.
  
• : JSA - They restarted this series and it's started off really well. Some new characters like Maxine keep it fresh while still having some of the older characters to keep it rooted. Geoff Johns does great work on this series.

What is your favorite comic-related movie to date?

DC: Lots of good movies have been coming out lately. V for Vendetta was fantastic. Although, nothing will top Superman 2. Superman vs Zod and the criminals is just to awesome. Zod is a great villian.

If you watch comic-related cartoons, which has been your favorite?

DC: Justice League (Unlimted) was great. The stories were all good. The art was good. Plus we got to see characters in action we normally wouldn't have.

What do you like about the comic forums of HCrealms? What do you dislike?

DC: I like reading the discussions people have about the stuff that happened in that weeks comics. I dislike that ther are so few people. A whole site based on comic book related stuff maybe only 10 people actually discuss the comics. Lurkers stop lurking!

How can HCrealms improve the comic forums, to better suit the needs of the comic book readers who used the site?

DC: They can put my weekly comic threads up on the main page heh

What would you like HCrealms comic readers to know about you, in regards to you as a comic reader/collector?

DC: I read mostly Marvel, but I like DC characters better. I also read some Indy books but not enough to really post about them.


Thanks DC, and keep those weekly reviews commin!

Woohoo! I'm famous!

Let me take some time to say thanks for your weekly reviews, they really are appreciated.

DarkCrisis, now you're famous!

DarthSabre, defend your .sig file.

If Supes can feel what we feel, that allows him to identify with us. Our inability to feel the warmth of the sun - while flying in deep space and carrying the International Space Station with one hand - prevents us from identifying with him.

Go.

--wyld

What do you mean "our inability" ? Speak for yourself.

Oh, wait... I just figured it out, wyld is the nazi love child of Bradgelina... RUN!!!

I can feel the love.

The 2 of 3 replies are about the sig that Saber has.

I too, enjoy these threads.... Keep em coming!

You're famous, you don't need love anymore.

--wyld

In a way, I discovered comics thanks to my grandmother too (both my grandmothers in fact). The Dr. Strange/Dr. Doom GN is one of the few comics from my young days I was able to save, and it was my grandma who offered it to me .
Kudos to all grandmothers .

Would you prefer we comment about your sig? How about, "Maybe the Runaways will be the Chase Figures for Avengers?"

OR, how about;



"The art for Runaways will now be done by Rob Liefield."

That'll work.

Okay, I thought mine was mean, but that's evil

And you know, considering that Runaways is a Marvel title and the fact I would put almost nothing past Joe Q...

Good points. That really typifies why I've always like Magneto as a villain as well. When written well (wow what wonderful alliteration ), Mags is a very believable character in that you can definitely see his motivating factors.

Keep the dream alive, brother. And keep those reviews coming. It just wasn't the same when you took your brief hiatus there a while back.

And another interesting installment to your series, Darth.

Yep.
Still waiting on the nazi's, dammit.