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Reviews and commentary by Tony Isabella
"America's Most Beloved Comic-Book Writer & Columnist"
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TONY'S ONLINE TIPS
The After-Poll Report (03/05/02)
It's Tuesday and that means it's time to bring you the final results of the TONY POLLS questions which ran last week. Let's get right to them...
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WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE "BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER" ALLY AND/OR SUPPORTING CHARACTER?
Willow.....40 votes (31.25%)
Xander.....18 (14.06%)
Giles.....13 (10.16%)
Anya.....10 (7.81%)
Spike.....9 (7.03%)
Cordelia.....8 (6.25%)
Faith.....8 (6.25%)
Oz.....7 (5.47%)
Angel.....6 (4.69%)
Tara.....2 (1.56%)
Dawn.....1 (.78%)
Kendra.....1 (.78%)
Riley.....1 (.78%)
Jenny.....0
Joyce.....0
Wesley.....0
Other.....4 (3.12%)
Willow was a clear favorite from very nearly the start of the polling, but I went with the sorely-missed GILES. Had Anthony Stewart-Head not chosen to leave the series, I think it would have been interesting watching the father-figure forge new relationships with the now-adult Scooby Gang.
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OF THESE BUFFY BOYFRIENDS, WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE?
Angel.....54 votes (46.55%)
Spike.....44 (37.93%)
Riley.....18 (15.52%)
I deliberately worded the question this way so I could cast my vote for SPIKE. James Marsters is the best supporting actor on television today, even if the nitwits who hand out the awards can't recognize that. More than almost any other character on the show, he's the one whose future most interests me.
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WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE GREEN LANTERN?
Hal Jordan.....98 votes (57.65%)
Alan Scott.....41 (24.12%)
Kyle Rayner.....20 (11.76%)
John Stewart.....11 (6.47%)
As a son of the Silver Age, I went with HAL JORDAN on this one. However, for a moment or two, I did consider both Alan Scott and John Stewart. I don't dislike Kyle Rayner; I just like all the other Lanterns more.
After this question posted, several fans e-mailed to point out that I had left Guy Gardner, the title star of GREEN LANTERN for a mercifully brief time, off the list of choices. I never liked the character, but that's no excuse for leaving him off the ballot. To make up for the memory lapse, I re-posted the question this week with Guy's name added to the choices. It'll be interesting to see how/if that changes the final count.
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WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE FLASH?
Barry Allen.....83 votes (48.82%)
Wally West.....59 (34.71%)
Jay Garrick.....28 (16.47%)
For the same "Silver Age" reasons, I voted for BARRY ALLEN. Barry had a down-to-Earth quality that reminded me of my favorite uncles. He kept it real in the 1960s.
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STAR TREK OR STAR WARS?
Star Trek.....98 votes (56.98%)
Star Wars.....74 (43.02%)
I voted for STAR TREK because Star Trek could be the future of *my* world if Bush and his bunch don't ruin it. Star Wars takes place long ago and in a galaxy far away. I can't relate to that as well as I can relate to Star Trek.
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THE ORIGINAL DOOM PATROL OR THE ORIGINAL X-MEN?
X-Men.....83 votes (50.30%)
Doom Patrol.....82 (49.70%)
Close race. I went with THE ORIGINAL DOOM PATROL because, back in 1963, those heroes had more layered personalities than did the X-Men. Over time, the X-Men closed the gap, but, at the start, the Chief and his crew had more going for them.
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AQUAMAN OR SUB-MARINER?
Aquaman.....88 votes (51.76%)
Sub-Mariner.....82 (48.24%)
Aquaman's victory surprised me in this one, even though it was a close contest all the way. I voted for SUB-MARINER because, even when he wasn't written well, he was still this angry and cool and regal guy. That's probably why so many Aquaman writers try to write Aquaman *as* the Sub-Mariner.
Not that anyone asked, but, for me, Aquaman's best days were at the end of Bob Haney's run on AQUAMAN's first series, when his stories were semi-sophisticated and artist Nick Cardy was drawing the most luscious ladies in comics. I also liked the Steve Skeates and Jim Aparo tenure which followed Haney and Cardy; it was fresh and exciting without trying to mimic what Stan Lee and his artists were doing over at Marvel.
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GREEN ARROW OR HAWKEYE?
Green Arrow.....116 votes (69.88%)
Hawkeye.....50 (30.12%)
I voted for HAWKEYE. He's the underdog who manages to do great things. I like Green Arrow, but most of the obstacles he's had to overcome are of his own making.
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ARCHIE ANDREWS OR REGGIE MANTLE?
Archie.....105 votes (75.54%)
Reggie.....34 (24.46%)
If I were Veronica, I would pick Dilton or Jughead, but, realistically, Archie and Reggie are her two choices in Riverdale. I voted for ARCHIE and immediately regretted it. Sure, he would do his best to make Veronica happy, but she would eventually make his life a living Hell. It's probably a good thing we don't get to see the Riverdale teens become adults.
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BOB HOPE OR JERRY LEWIS?
Bob Hope.....100 votes (66.67%)
Jerry Lewis.....50 (33.33%)
These great comedians were the stars of long-running DC Comics titles. I went back and forth on this one, but, ultimately, voted for JERRY LEWIS for no other reason than I liked his movies better when I was a kid.
Digression. Wouldn't it be cool if American Classic Movies or Turner Classic Movies had a week-long battle of the cinema clowns? Each day's schedule would feature Bob Hope movies alternating with Jerry Lewis movies with the viewers being asked to vote on which of the movies they enjoyed the most.
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WE HAVE MAIL!
Now that the TONY POLLS have been up and running for a while, I'm starting to get comments from the voters. This week's letter comes from D.B. BENNETT:
I couldn't sleep, so I went web-surfing and ended up voting in this week's poll. I don't know if you wanted to hear the reasons behind the votes, but I *still* can't sleep, so...
XANDER took my vote for favorite Buffy supporting character. No powers, yet he's held his own through six years of supernatural insanity. Also, he cracks me up.
ANGEL is probably my favorite of Buffy's paramours. Compared to Riley and Spike, at least. While the latter two have fostered some interesting stories, it would've been fun to see where Buffy and Angel might have gone if they weren't forever separated by his curse, her job, and their network politics.
HAL JORDAN is my favorite Green Lantern. Given the frame-up he's received from DC, I would've felt like a complete rat if I hadn't voted for him. Alan Scott is also a good choice but I felt his character was never quite as well-rounded as Hal. I was a bit surprised that Kyle Rayner was ahead of John Stewart at the time of voting. To my mind, that must mean we haven't been seeing enough of John Stewart lately.
JAY GARRICK took the favorite Flash vote. I don't know why, maybe it's the way he seems wiser and more experienced, maybe it's the way he never seems to tire of being a super-hero despite his advanced years, but I always found Jay Garrick extremely likeable. Barry and Wally are also nice kids.
STAR TREK. I'm not sure I could explain why in just a couple of sentences. But I would like to point out that my friends and I always found it amusing when the press tried to play up a "rivalry" between the two fandoms. As one buddy put it, "Gee, since we like them both, I guess we're all consumed with self-loathing."
ORIGINAL X-MEN. The original Doom Patrol are a lot of fun, but X-Men had Stan, Jack, Roy, Werner, and Neal working to make sure we wanted to stick with those five crazy kids. I'm not reading either team's modern incarnation. Does that make me a bad person?
GREEN ARROW. Probably because it's so good to have him back again.
ARCHIE. For the simple reason that one would never be able to *trust* Reggie...
BOB HOPE. I've never read either DC book, but the house ads for Bob Hope always looked more interesting.
Okay, maybe now I can sleep.
My e-mailbox is always open to readers who want to comment on the polls, explain their votes, or suggest questions of their own. In the case of the last, I really love it when the suggestions come complete with no more than 20 possible choices. In another life, I may have been Tom Sawyer.
If you want to share your comments with your fellow readers, you're likewise welcome to do so at the official (but casual) TONY ISABELLA MESSAGE BOARD. If memory serves me correctly, you'll find a link to the board somewhere on this page.
Every Sunday, I post ten new questions on the TONY POLLS page. This week's batch feature Alan Moore, Green Lantern, the Oscars, Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Daffy Duck, Donald Duck, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, and Jennifer Connelly. Have fun with them.
I'll be back on Saturday with the usual "Tony's Tips!" reprint from COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE and, as always, I'll be expanding it with all-new material. See you then.
Tony Isabella
<< 03/02/2002 | 03/05/2002 | 03/09/2002 >>
Discuss this column with me at my Message Board. Also, read Heroes and Villains: Real and Imagined.
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THE "TONY" SCALE
ZERO: Burn your money before buying any comic receiving this rating. It doesn't *necessarily* mean there's absolutely nothing of value here - though it *could* - but whatever value it might possess shrinks into insignificance before its overall awfulness.
ONE: Buy something else. Maybe I found something which wasn't completely dreadful in the item, but not enough for me to recommend it when there are better comics available. I only want what's best for you, my children.
TWO: Basic judgment call. I found some value, but not enough to recommend it. My review should give you enough info to decide if you want to take a chance on it. Are you feeling lucky today, punk? Well, are you?
THREE: This denotes something I find perfectly respectable. There are better books out there, but I wouldn't regret buying this item. Based on my review, you should be able to determine if it's of interest to you. Let the Force guide you.
FOUR: I recommend anything earning this rating. Unless you don't like the genre, subject matter, or past work of the creators, I believe you'll enjoy this item. Isn't it uncanny how I can look right into your soul that way?
FIVE: Anything getting this rating is among the best comicdom has to offer. You should buy/read this, even if the genre/subject matter doesn't appeal to you. It's for your own good. Me, I live for comics and books this good...but not in a pathetic "Comic-Book Guy" sort of way.
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