ASK... THE QUESTION! Column Submission Thread

Still in all, gotta admit, that planned campaign against magic-users, might’ve made for some awesome crossovers and interesting guest-stars! Looks like, we may never know.

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" Hercules, hero of song an story, Hercules, winner of ancient glory " I wonder how many fans out there remember those opening lyrics, sung by Johnny Nash, to a very memorable little tune. It preceded and closed a series of his animated adventures in the early 60s. Kudos if you do. Heck, he even had a short lived tie-in comic title, published by Gold Key. But, I digress, this time only a little. The first Hercules character I remember from DC (but not the first to appear, obviously), was seen in Superboy and Superman stories. Back when they were still a dime, natch!

He had red hair (like the animated Disney version), clothed in a leopard skin tunic of sorts, a head band, wore gladiator like sandals, and was clean shaven. He appeared many times in different titles, from the late 40s on into the 60s. At some point he underwent a remake. That image was replaced by at least a half dozen different versions of the demi-god, over the decades. One even getting a short lived title, all his own, that would guest star the Atomic Knights!

So sir, my query for you today, is this. Can you update us on the latest number, and first time appearances of said variants? As always, I 'preciate your time, and thank ya kindly!

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Good evening Question, hope you are doing well.

How often does the Overstreet comic book price guide change significantly excluding hot books, just fillers? If it doesn’t change significantly how far back can I go before I get something irrelevant and obsolete?

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Functionally, all versions of Hercules are intended to be the same guy – with the exception, by some accounts, of the Hercules who makes up the “H” in “Shazam,” who may just be a magical entity with the characteristics of Hercules as opposed to his mythological history. Like all mythological figures in the DC Universe, Hercules’ physical appearance changes regularly, as noncorporeal beings defined by belief tend to be transient in nature.

Hercules has appeared in some capacity over hundreds of DC comics, figuring particularly heavily into the history of Wonder Woman, and it’s rare that two artists draw him exactly the same way. But while they all look different, they can safely be considered to all be permutations of the same character.

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It’s difficult for me to put a number on this, because market trends vary over time. There’s no constant rate of change, and if I knew what it was then perhaps I’d be a much wealthier man. That said, this is not really a DC Comics question, so I don’t have access to the various editions of the Overstreet guide in the same way that I’ve gathered resources for researching the DC library. In the time it would take me to answer this question- which could be many months, requesting and comparing various editions of the guide over the years from archival libraries which may not even be complete- it would really just be easier to pick up the latest Overstreet edition.

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Makes sense

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: touché

Fair, I didn’t know if there was a no-brainer answer I just didn’t know about or not.

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Supergirl is portrayed as stronger than Superman in some comics and media, which I believe wais because she spent more time on Krypton, however, I seem to recall that other Kryptonians have been portrayed as being weaker than Superman due to his longer exposure to yellow Sun radiation, which is right or does it just depend on the writer.

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I’m no expert but it would seem that the longer you use what gives you powers, the more powerful you will be. thats what makes sense to me but comics dont always make sense, and thats sometimes what makes them fun.

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There’s no real scientific explanation for any of Superman’s powers, but I’ll try to stick to the script here. To begin with, there’s a ceiling to how strong a Kryptonian can get just from solar radiation on Earth. 10 years from now, Superman won’t be any stronger than he is now. It takes time for a Kryptonian to fully absorb enough solar energy to get to Superman’s level- just how much time varies- but it all levels out at the top end, at this distance from a yellow sun.

Supergirl is typically depicted as tougher than Superman, particularly in modern media, but it probably doesn’t have anything to do with her physiology. Some have suggested that Supergirl was able to adapt better to Earth’s solar radiation due to her arrival after she had already physically developed, but that claim seems dubious to me. It may be Supergirl’s strength of character and determination which sets her apart, along with perhaps a willingness to tap into more of her power than the typically cautious Superman.

Silver Age comics suggest another explanation, one I personally think is pretty neat. In her original stories, Supergirl is a lot more scientifically curious about her powers than Superman, who’s always taken them as a given. Because of that, Supergirl is prone to experiment with them more, testing her resistance to Kryptonite and the scope of her abilities under various conditions. It’s not just grit that makes Supergirl stronger than Superman, but the applied scientific rigor which she inherited from her people.

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I thought your answer might be something like that. DC simply giving their artists more artistic freedom over time, and less demands to conform to a " house look, or style." But moving on, all the weather threatening the country with greater intensity these days, got me to thinking about the GL Corps single planetary member, Mogo.

Has his origin story ever been told? I quit reading Green Lantern titles years ago, so that question may well have already been answered, some time ago. If not, why not? I’d love to know how a sentient planet becomes a living power ring. How does it charge itself? That and so many other questions I’d love to find answers for. So please direct this inquisitive one to that source, if it exists, good sir. Thanks!

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Let’s clear up some misconceptions first: Mogo is not a living power ring. Like all Lanterns, Mogo has a power battery and a ring, which is located on his “person” at all times. In Green Lantern: Godhead, in fact, the New Gods steal Mogo’s ring, eliminating his ability to directly communicate with his fellow Lanterns.

The story of how Mogo acquired his Green Lantern ring has never been told, but he is not the only sentient planet. As seen in Green Lantern: New Guardians, planets across the universe may eventually develop their own consciousness. Certain titles even suggest that Earth itself is a living being, temporarily wielding the White Lantern ring in Scott Snyder’s Justice League.

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Veeery interesting sir. Especially the part about living planets. Certainly Swamp Thing would attest to that, no matter what religious titles have been given to Mother Earth, be it Gaia or anything else. I don’t know how something with such abundant and various life forms upon it, could be seen as anything else! :slightly_smiling_face:

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The status of Sgt. Rock has been very fluid in the DCU. He died in the war. He survived the war but was killed in a later crisis. He lived a long happy retirement. Among certain comic fans it has long been known that his creator Robert Kaniger thought the perfect ending for DC’s top war “topkick” would be for him to be shot as he’s about to leave for home. The last man to die by the last bullet fired during WWII.
We got to see that scenario play out when the Rock and Easy Company made a recent guest appearance. So was this the first time we got to see the Rock die in WWII? Also, was the blond woman kneeling at his corpse supposed to be anybody or just some random character representing the reader?

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I believe the “recent guest appearance” you’re referring to is DC Universe: Legacies #4, Len Wein’s tribute to DC’s war heroes in 2010. Not sure I’d call a 13 year old comic recent anymore, but maybe we’re talking on a decades-long time scale.

Before this story, Sgt. Rock’s death in the war had actually never been depicted on the page. When Sgt. Rock’s eponymous series was canceled, writer Bob Kanigher was often asked in interviews and letter columns from fans of the series how he would have ended the book on his terms, and that’s where the “last shot fired in World War II” story came from. Although Kanigher dutifully repeated his intended ending whenever he was asked, it wasn’t until Wein’s Legacies issues that it finally came to print.

As for the blonde girl, she’s no specific character in particular. Just an innocent girl who stands in for every life Sgt. Rock symbolically fought for in the heat of battle, giving him a chance to see- or maybe, at least, the reader to see- a rare direct effect of his heroic actions before his death. So often in the midst of war, it can be easy to forget what you’re fighting for.

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Thanks to the most recent Solid JJ Video I have a question about your favorite superhero.

Other than Batman the Brave and the Bold has The Question ever been portrayed as speaking entirely in questions?

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Oh dear God, I hope not!

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Now I just know he will answer my question with a question. Then he will answer all future questions here with more questions.

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No, and he also doesn’t really consistently do that in Batman: The Brave and the Bold either. It was really just a gag for his appearance in the cold open where they introduced Equinox. Although he does often introduce himself with a question.

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Actually, the recent guest appearance I’m referring to occurred in a book that was released this week. I didn’t want to use the name because I know some people don’t like spoilers. I personally don’t mind them. It appears to have used a flashback to Legacies #4 but Easy Company did get to see a couple of pages of action. I pretty much figured the blond was a representation. And you did answer my question. Yes. We did see him die in WWII before.

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Ah, I see. Sometimes I’m not able to get to every issue that comes out the week of release. In the future, if you’re wary of spoilers, you can use spoiler tags under the gear icon when you post.

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