Once Upon A Geek – Blue Devil #1 (June 1984)

11 responses to “Once Upon A Geek – Blue Devil #1 (June 1984)”

1. A great episode Frank seems to work well with sense humor not sure if that’s good or bad thing shag . (Que Frank song from Mst3k ) don’t if you’ll do that or not . Speaking of devils have read any of original Golden age dare devil comics ?
   Also have you seen the Dc 13 episode swamp thing series I’ve only seen a few episodes but some one said blue devil is in it. Is he ??

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2. All of the comparison images posted on the site formerly known as Twitter show the digital versions being quite bright and harsh to look at. It reminds me of the vinyl vs digital debate: the halftone dots on the printed page are similar to the crackles and pops of listening to vinyl and have a way of softening the end result.

   Current comics can handle it better because the software makes it easy to blend with shadows and highlights, but the samples shared show a reproduction which, although faithful to the original, doesn’t work as well.

   Which opens another can of digital worms: in the digital version, can the colorist listed on the splash page still be considered the colorist?

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3. Didn’t realize I had a bit of gimmick going with the Mst3k and swamp thing reference I’ll see if I can at least keep the Mst3k thing going . On a random note has any on seen the movie the monster club as Halloween is coming I’m thinking of reviewing it as my brother and are fans of Vincent price .
   Random question favorite Vincent price movie mine is last man on earth my brother likes the bat what’s yours ?

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4. I am so glad you’re finally getting around to doing blue devil. I love this comic is a kid. I read it again about ten years ago on comicsology, Is still greatness. On a side note, shagg, how do you always find the absolute worst intro Music?

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5. Loved this episode.

   I must admit that I don’t quite understand how Blue Devil missed me when it came out.
   It was 1984 and the ‘Anj should be reading ‘mature comics” phase was just about to emerge. I wonder if I thought this might be too silly for me at the time. Funny how now all I want is quippy, silly, more classic super-hero fare. But still, not quite sure since I was reading Firestorm, Legion, and other books that are within reach of what Blue Devil was doing.

   So I’ll be listening along and might keep my eye out for the issues or read them on the app.

   Lastly, I’ll state that Blue Devil had a second change to grab me. I bought 17 and 18 just for the Crisis Crossover stuff. I am volunteering to be a third guest for one of those issues to discuss what works now versus what didn’t work then to lure me into the book.

   I think Gal Gadot would be perfect as Marlo based on her visual look and the need for a ‘take action’ girl boss actor to fit the bill.

   Thanks for sharing your joy.

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6. Great show, even with the hosts involved and me being called out personally.

   Fancasting of Marla Bloom: My first thought went to Sarah Rafferty, who plays Donna on Suits. She can play a woman comfortable being in charge and who every man wants to be in charge of them.

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   1. I love Sarah Rafferty, so I can’t complain.

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7. Since the previous Blue Devil episode I’ve put together a run of the first 6 issues of his series. I had a blast reading them.
   At first I kinda wished Blue Devil resided in a separate universe all his own. But after his adventures with Zatanna I was glad he was able to interact with the rest of the DCU.
   The book reminded me of DC’s Impact! line that came out a few years later. Fun comics aimed at a wide audience.
   Great stuff. Looking forward to finding more issues

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8. Oh wow the year is 2023 and finally we’ve reached Issue Issue 1 !?! of Blue Devil. I look forward to listening to the coverage of #37 in my retirement home. In the meantime this was a great blast with both hosts (because lets face it Frank isn’t a guest on this episode he’s a co-host) having fun talking about a truly fun comic, I’d say you’ve made podcasts fun again but you know that’s normally the case on F&W anyway.

   I was going to comment on the suggestion that Frank could just be another persona that Shag does but honestly I don’t think Shag has that acting range – unless maybe it’s going through a voice changer or something.

   Anyway good to hear such in depth coverage of this run because it has been sorely overlooked by far far too many people (also completely missed by others due to me getting to the newsagents first but that’s a story for another day).

   As for casting Marla if it’s 80s Retro I’d have thought about choosing Bonnie Bedelia or Virginia Madsen, mind you Madsen might be too young. Mary McDonnell might actually have been perfect.
   If it’s now however for the upcoming James Gunn DCU – it depends on how old you expect Dan to be as Marla would need to be mid 30s I would suggest Katrina Law, you don’t want Marla if we were aging her up a bit to be late 40s or early 50s with an older Dan (which might be an interesting dynamic) my first and possibly only choice would be Catherine Tate. To me Marla is someone who isn’t a prototypical Movie Star look more Character Actress who didn’t get the breaks and ended up behind the camera.

   That all being said I forget Marla’s current DC status (I’m not even sure of Blue Devil’s if I’m honest) considering the last I recall of seeing her was in Underworld Unleashed – which I suspect we are putting in the Countdown to Infinite Crisis Ted Kord Box right?

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9. Also I hope Shag does a once upon a geek on a ultraverse comic because I have a story to tell how with Just on issue of Hardcase 2 I made some a fan of both the ultraverse and the Kamen rider franchise specifically decade . There go shag find once upon a geek Hardcase it writes it self .

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10. I’ve been looking forward to listening to this one, and it didn’t disappoint. Your discussion is thorough, insightful, and funny, so thanks for starting this segment-within-the-podcast.

    I started Blue Devil with issue #12, pretty late I know, but scared up the back issues quick as I could. His look, supporting cast, fun stories, great artwork, it all clicked for me. In fact, I remember getting that issue from Waldenbooks. Ah, memories.

    For issue #1, it’s a delight and a great launch for the series. It does everything it should to draw new readers in. But I always struggled to find #1’s back in the day, such is my life. On re-read, there’s something magical about Cullins art that still makes me smile. The energy. The acrobatics. The monster. So much to love.

    As for the artwork being “straight” and the story being humorous, the only exception is when Wayne lassos Nebiros’s neck and he pulls off the ground with a GAKK! Nebby’s tongue sticks out like Homer choking Bart, and it cracks me up!

    I liked Frank’s suggestion that Wayne plays the Herb Tarlek of this series. I’d also put him as “rival” rather than antagonist, in competition with Dan, but not necessarily working against him. There’s times when I don’t like Wayne, and times when I do. It’ll be great to revisit that with the series.

    Maybe you guys said this and I missed it, but it praising the trident design, I also thought it resembled Dan’s horns. The cover definitely evokes that, placing them almost in parallel. So cool and such a unique element for BD.

    Till next time, guys! (At least, I think there’s 2 of you. Yes, I thought I met you both at Boston Fan Expo, but maybe that was a ruse!)

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