Power of Fishnets 28: Farewell, My Fishnets

FINAL EPISODE

Power of Fishnets returns for the last time. First, Ryan Daly and guest Chris Franklin discuss Black Canary’s team-up (barely) with the Batman in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #91. Then Ryan addresses listener feedback from last episode and explains why it’s time to end this podcast.

Let us know what you think! Leave a comment or send an email to: RDalyPodcast@gmail.com.

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Music: “Hold My Breath Until I Die” by Tegan and Sara.

Thanks for listening!

18 responses to “Power of Fishnets 28: Farewell, My Fishnets

  1. Wait! Did the Me Too movement just kill Power of Fishnets? Seriously though, I understand (and agree) that the toxic Green Arrow-Black Canary relationship of that era is incredibly off-putting, making it hard to find your joy in those stories any more. Still, I do want to thank you for providing this 28 episode window into the world of the fishnetted femme fatales of the DCU and beyond.

    1. Thank you for listening and enjoying them. I am proud of all twenty-eight episodes (except for the issue covering JUSTICE for the JLMAY crossover).

  2. Speaking of frustrating portrayals of BC, my first exposure to her was the Grell maxiseries – pretty f’d up in retrospect. But I agree she looks cool on a motorcycle. Only a superhero could pilot a UJM through a steeplechase haha. Also, B&B was cool and I used to grab them from the back issue bins.

    So long to this show and looking forward to what you guys do next.

    1. Thank you! Chris and I will have more Batman Knightcast episodes coming soon and (hopefully) monthly again. And I’ve got a ton of Find Your Joy specials in the works.

  3. YES! The KnightCast boys are back in Gotham! I miss you guys.

    When I was a kid THE BRAVE & THE BOLD (or B&B as we affectionately called it) was my favorite Batman title. Back then I took the Zany Bob Haney stories at face value and didn’t really consider them out-of-step with The Batman in other comics. You’ve got to remember that in those days Denny O’Neil, David V. Reed and whoever was writing JLA that month all had very different takes on Batman and nobody seemed to mind.

    As an adult I love to read the Haney stories for the inventively wacky plots and gonzo dialogue, but the characterization of the Guest-Stars is the thing that I often find cringe-worthy. Thank God for the artistic talents of Adams, Cardy and Aparo, who made the series a joy to read even when the stories are nonsensical.

    Now that “Power of Fishnets” is at an end maybe there’s room on the network for my new podcast “The Sheer Joy of Pantyhose.” Episode 1: Joyce DeWitt in “Nothing Beats a Great Pair of Leggs”

    Looking forward to the eventual, and long awaited, return of KnightCast!

    B&B Seeing You!

    “Groovy” Mike Decker

    1. That’s a good point, that for as bizarre as Haney’s stories often were, his portrayal of Batman as at least consistent for the most part. The guest stars, however, not so much.

  4. Good to have you back, sorry you’re going.

    Buying this issue as a kid, I hated how dopey Dinah was. Yeah, the move from Earth 2 would leave Dinah Jr with the memories of Dinah Sr emotionally vulnerable but it shouldn’t leave her brainless.

    Haney ignored that fact that – in her head at least, just look at that fox! – Dinah is 20 years older than bad Larry Lance. Black Canary? Black Cougar, more like.

    1. I think everyone ignored the fact that Dinah was decades older than her Justice League teammates, including Denny O’Neil and he’s the one who brought her over.

  5. Impressive podcast. Most impressive. Huh so Lance is the bad guy here? That’s weird. But, still a cool comic. But, as pre crisis this works. Though this Cannery is only with A for a bit…. wait is this the Cannery from the Satiate area? Ware we find out it’s her daughter that has her mothers memories but is trapped in space. Or some weird space thing. That happened in JLA. Ok Thanx Marv Wolfman for resetting this.

    So now she is in love with some one she thinks is her lover reborn, but not cause he’s…holly game of thorns Bat Man. Oh and he is evil here. Wait… Conway messed up the continuity Of a Haney story. How has… this ..is madness! The world is toppsy tervsie, Good is bad. Crazy is sane. Mass hysteria! Cats and dogs living together. Any way can’t wait to here the Hawk Woman and Dawn cross over. Er Pod cast. Sadly you’ll miss the Green Arrow stories written by Allan Moore. But, I understand they do write her badly here. And it wasn’t till Chuck Dixon got her in Birds till she got a chance to shine.

    Her Judo skills are never shown. And these are pre Olympic Judo. Ware there bad a**. But, ah well. While Babs had great writing over the years. Including her joining the SS, Ware Canery was given the Magnum duck charctersation. (sorry Andy.)

  6. Well done, Ryan. Many years ago, probably near the end of my avid collecting days, I endeavored to do some research on Black Canary by buying old comics that featured her. I bought this one, and my reaction was quite similar to yours. This is a really dumb Dinah. She uses her physical powers and abilities well, but she’s too easily smitten with this younger version of her husband. I think I was impelled to seek older Black Canary stories because I was tired of seeing her as only a victim/hostage. It struck me that most of her then-contemporary writers just did not know what to do with her, except as an impetus/antagonist/sounding board for Green Arrow. I can accept her relationship with Ollie, but no one seemed to want to develop or explore it. They just stuck to the same trite kind of squabbling-making up story beats. Some couples thrive on confrontation.
    The 70s and 80s were not a time where a writer would delve into a character that 1.) was orphaned 2.) was widowed 3.) chose to emigrate and leave everything of her past behind. (Who were the Drakes? Were there photos? Relatives? Graves?) 4.) was a successful, independent business-woman. (She had a head for retail and the artistic touch of arranging flowers.) Some writers touched upon some of those elements, but it’s hard to do depth in a 6 or 8 page story. I don’t share your assessment of the stories in World’s Finest, but I haven’t read them in decades. Nevertheless, I recall being mostly underwhelmed. I am sorry I won’t hear you discuss the Eliot S! Maggin/Mike Grell stories from mid-70s Action Comics.
    Oh, well. Here’s to fishnets, blond wigs, and chokers!

    1. I did enjoy some of those backup stories from Action Comics, but it’s been years since I’ve read them now. I think I covered some of them on my old Black Canary blog Flowers & Fishnets before the days of podcasting.

  7. I first came across Black Canary as a member of the JLA (and JSA before that, in reprints). When I read her solo stories or her team-ups with Batman or Green Arrow, I , too was disappointed. Where was the cool professional from the pages of JLA!?!?
    Glad to hear that my opinion is close to yours and Chris’.

    Are you serious about a Hawkwoman and Dawnstar podcast!?! Pencil me in as a regular guest on that one if/when you are cuz those are two of my favorite characters!!!

    1. As cool as that show might possibly be, no, sadly, that was a joke. If anyone else wants to start that show, however, consider me subscribed!

  8. I can’t even get out episodes of podcasts about characters with oodles of good material that isn’t already being covered by others and that I have an abiding love for, so I can’t fault you for definitively ending F&F. Gail Simone did have some heartening words about Black Canary from her set visit, but that and a grain of salt will barely flavor french fries.

  9. Sorry to see the show go, but I can understand your frustrations with the Green Arrow/Black Canary stories from World’s Finest. While I always liked Dinah, I never became a huge fan of hers strictly because of her relationship with Green Arrow, whom I’ve always HATED. He was my least favorite DC character until the advent of Damian Wayne.

    Honestly, I am a HUGE Zatanna fan, she’s my third favorite DC Heroine after Batgirl and Wonder Woman, and I wasn’t really thrilled when she had a relationship with Constantine. Women always like the bad boys, I guess.

    As for her portrayal in this B&B, don’t consider it all that sexist. No one acted like a love struck idiot more than Haney’s Batman, be it with Queen Bee or Ruby Ryder. Batman willing to get Ocean Master’s mistress a lesser sentence even though she had tried to throw him off a building!

    Chris, I was glad to hear you mention your fondness for Cardy women. He did draw spectacularly beautiful women. His cover to Action Comics 445 is my favorite image of Lois Lane ever.

    https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/marvel_dc/images/c/c8/Action_Comics_Vol_1_445.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20070113180143

    I adored Cardy’s Wonder Woman covers, too, and wish he had been Diana’s regular artist at some point.

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