We haven’t done a new Nerd Talk here in a while so here we go (Nerd Talk is where SWN answer questions from you, the fans, about Nerd culture.) This week we answer the question “What is our favorite comic character?” We will try and get these back on schedule with doing a new Nerd Talk every two weeks. Thanks for reading and if you got a question to ask the Nerds you can email us at Snarfkris@somewhatnerdy.com.
Raz
Favourite comic character? What a f**kin’ hard question that is! Batman, The Punisher, Hulk, Ash, Mulder & Scully, Kiss….. The list goes on! So I decided that I couldn’t pick any character that has been in a movie or based on a TV series, after that it was quite easy, EVIL ERNIE! Ernest Fairchild’s story is a great one and his transformation into Evil Ernie is one I’ve always felt is under-rated, plus his psychotic partner Smiley is just so much fun to read. The characters have a very ‘yin-yang’ relationship with Ernie retaining some compassion and Smiley trying to push him into doing awful things. The character recently got a reboot by Dynamite Comics and I have to say I really enjoyed seeing him back on paper for the first time in years! If done properly Evil Ernie would make a great film, but not a live film, an animated one would be so much better.
Derf
For those of you who know me personally or have followed my blog for years, you should already know who my favorite comic character is. For those of you who don’t know, my favorite comic character is none other than Frank Castle aka the Punisher. I cannot explain my fascination with this anti-hero but it has been this way since I was a child.
In the 70’s I was first introduced to the Punisher while reading a Spider-Man comic at a K&B Drugs store in Baton Rouge, LA and I have been hooked since. Whether its the skull on his chest or the way he treats criminals, something has always drawn me to this character. I know the Punisher has “evolved” through the years, but one thing stays constant and that is if you are a criminal and you cross his path you are a dead man walking.
My love of the Punisher runs deep. I have statues, comics, shirts, posters, prints, video games, and I even have some movie memorabilia from the Punisher movie that starred Tom Jane and John Travolta. Hell in my Nintendo days, I made sure to have the Punisher game. No matter what gaming system I owned, if there was a Punisher game for it, I had it.
What makes the Punisher so cool to me is the fact that he takes no shit. He is the average man fighting the good fight with a little help from an arsenal, LoL. I could talk about the Punisher forever but I need to leave some room for the other Nerds at somewhatnerdy. Until next time, Unleash your inner NERD.
Ben
My favorite comic character is hands down Frank Castle. I grew up in a fairly rough area of Cleveland, Ohio. Lots of drug dealers/ shootings etc. The police almost seemed powerless. Once, when I was 12, I was walking home from a friend’s house only a couple blocks down the street when I was jumped by a gang of 5 or 6 guys and mugged. I was beaten up pretty badly. Well I went home bleeding out of my nose and mouth and my mother rushed me to the hospital. I was okay minus a broken nose ,some bruised ribs and a really fat lip. When we got back home my mother immediately called the police. They said officers would be there shortly. Three hours later came a ten minute visit with the cops who basically said there was nothing they could do even though there was a few businesses in the area with fixed cameras that likely recorded the incident and even though I provided fairly decent descriptions of the perpetrators. The police told us it could have been anyone and if we hear anything to give them a call.
I was already a big Punisher fan at this point but that story pretty much sums up why. I would daydream about a pissed off and scarred war vet storming into my neighborhood guns blazing and cleaning up the streets. Yeah any superhero takes on the badguys en force but none that are truly just a guy. Ok, Batman is just a dude but he dresses like a bat with all these bat themed gadgets and vehicles. The Punisher just brought guns and lots of them. He didn’t ask questions or leave criminals beaten to heal up and commit crime again he shot them dead, to me it seemed like much more of a final solution. Comic purists will point out some of the Punisher gadgets or even the Punisher motorcycle from back in the day but that’s not how I envision Frank. I always see him as more of a realistic character and when he is written correctly (such as Punisher Max or even some of Warzone) he is the most bad-assed comic character ever created.
Snarfkris
What’s my favorite comic character … pretty hard question to answer. Got tons that I really like: Iron Fist, Rick Grimes, Punisher (which seems very popular today,) Hercules (Marvel Comics,) Green Lantern, Joker, and really … I could go on forever here. If I had to just pick my favorite it would be a tie with Luke Cage and Wolverine (yeah I know everybody loves him or I know he is over used.) I have this uncontrollable urge to buy everything with them on it … prints, comics (own pretty much every comic they have ever been in, including first appearances, but still missing Giant Size X-Men (shakes fist in the air,)) action figures, statues, paintings, model kits, tooth brushes, soap … yeah its gotten a little weird. Plus I’m running out of room … first world problems I guess.
Wolverine just being a badass short hairy ninja that didn’t take shit from nobody and Cage was a streetwise guy protecting his neighborhood, for money most of the time, some reason spoke to the kid me … I’m weird like that. And like I said liking them two is nothing new, one of the first few comics I ever remember owning was a old school Frank Miller mini-series Wolverine and a old issue of Power Man and Iron Fist. It continued over the years and something that has stayed with me for more than 20 years now. I well continue to love them even if they have had craptastic stories over the pass few years. Plus they have two of the best catchphrases in comics: “I’m the best there is at what I do. But what I do best isn’t very nice.” and “Sweet Christmas!” So Sweet Christmas to all the Cage Nerds out there.
ServBot 5000
Comics are a great distraction for an active mind. They’re full of intriguing figures conceived and developed with incredible imagination for us to explore, learn from, and identify with. Plastic man is my pick for favorite comic character because every unfolding involving him, both in relation to power set and personality, is presented in fantastic fashion and leads to further questions. As there are no known limits to his abilities, it seems what inspire his crazy antics are his only limitation; his own imagination and self image. Is there a mind controlling, super-strong, shapeshifting, flamethrowing monolith dominating the JLA? Better call Plas and ask him to man up. Got smashed to bits 3000 years in the past? Wouldn’t be a major problem for Plas, he just needs a vacation after he pulls it together. Batman’s not the only stealthy sleuth on the block, either; Plastic Man’s capable of incognito gumshoeing, too. While unhindered by chemical agents(this and temperature quick temperature change are his main weaknesses), Plastic Man has risen to every task he’s been convinced needed accomplishing. I feel we can all identify with him in some way, because of this nature. We all want to rise to our challenges, but how do we behave on a typical day? We’re just goofing around. No different from Plas. Who doesn’t love his shenanigans …
