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Jon Godson
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Joined: 05 January 2005
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Posted: 07 October 2006 at 3:37pm | IP Logged | 1  

To have the characters call each other by nicknames and abbreviations is
fine. People do that in "real life", so for, say, the Thing to call Iron Man "Shell
Head" is in character for both.

When the readers start doing it, however, it creates a subtle and unfortunate
undercurrent. Can you really have respect for characters you diminish in this
way? Can you expect anyone else to?

***********
Fortunately for me, I was given permission by the Justice League to call them
by their nicknames when they were stuck here on Earth-Prime and I helped
them defeat T.O. Morrow and find their way home. Reddy was awesome.
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Rafael Guerra
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Joined: 21 September 2006
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Posted: 07 October 2006 at 3:58pm | IP Logged | 2  

Except from Batman. Unless you want to use "Bats" to annoy him.
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Hugh Cherry
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Joined: 10 September 2004
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Posted: 07 October 2006 at 4:29pm | IP Logged | 3  


 QUOTE:
Comics are fun, right?

They SHOULD be!
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Jon Godson
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Posted: 07 October 2006 at 4:43pm | IP Logged | 4  

As much money as I have spent on DC and Marvel products, I'll call the
characters whatever I damn well please.

Not here, of couse. It's JBs rules here.
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Wallace Sellars
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Posted: 07 October 2006 at 7:40pm | IP Logged | 5  

On this morning's episode of THE BATMAN, a former police officer kept referring to Batman as "Bats."  (He wasn't doing it to annoy him; that's just the name he used.)

I cringed every time I heard it.
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Mike Norris
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Posted: 08 October 2006 at 1:39am | IP Logged | 6  

If its in the story as dialog, it depends on the character. Mister Mxyzptlk calling Superman "Supes" or "Supie" makes sense to me.
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Christopher Arndt
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Posted: 08 October 2006 at 2:36am | IP Logged | 7  

This reminds me of the  Heroes Reborn comics and the crossover story where HR Hulk finally brawled with the heroes.

HR Hulk's dialogue read as off to me because in the regular comics the regular Hulk would assign people nick names according to the simplest reference, generally monosyllabic stuff.

Sometimes their real names, but usually Hulk would call them whatever is simplest.

Which is why HR Hulk sounded really wrong calling Thor "Hammer Man" and Thing "Orange Man".  Really, if "Thing" and "Thor", with one syllable apiece, are so much harder and slower to go through than "Hammer Man" and "Orange Man"...

the comics were bad mostly.  Fun to look at though.

CJA
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John Byrne
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Posted: 08 October 2006 at 5:25am | IP Logged | 8  

Yeah, I know that's the way I feel when I say/type "Bats".  I want to annoy him, or maybe it's that I loathe myself and the characters.  Or it could just be in fun.  Comics are fun, right?

***

If you have to call the characters by goofy and even degrading names in order to have "fun", you might be due for a new hobby, Lommie.

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Jeff Lommel
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Joined: 07 July 2006
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Posted: 08 October 2006 at 6:58am | IP Logged | 9  

I don't "have to call the characters" anything special in order to have fun, so I think I'm ok with continuing to enjoy my comics.  I simply don't see certain nicknames as degrading.  I think "maggie" and "ghostie" are pretty bad for instance.  I wouldn't go so far as degrading, but I think those nicknames detract from the stigma of the character.

btw, it's interesting you chose "Lommie", because that's what I was called by most of my fellow enlisted friends when I was in the navy.  Didn't bother me. :)


Edited by Jeff Lommel on 08 October 2006 at 7:37am
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Stephen Robinson
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Posted: 08 October 2006 at 7:18am | IP Logged | 10  

I remember when I was a kid -- probably no more than 7 or 8 -- and everyone was into STAR WARS. There were almost hushed tones about the characters -- even when kids would "play" STAR WARS with action figures. No one would ever say "Darthie" instead of Darth Vader or "Hannie" instead of "Han Solo." In fact, "getting it right" was critical: "It's not Obi-Wan (rhymes with "ran"). It's Obi-Wan (rhymes with one)."

I do think the nicknames -- especially the cutsie ones -- indicate that the characters are less "real" to you. Yes, I know they aren't real. But I think it's more an issue of taking a step back and looking at how the 8-year-old you felt about those characters. In many ways, retaining that feeling is crucial to retaining part of the love for the genre.

 

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Jonathon Thezler
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Joined: 22 September 2006
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Posted: 08 October 2006 at 7:30am | IP Logged | 11  

If you have to take comics so seriously, perhaps it's time for a new hobby?

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Matt Linton
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Joined: 13 December 2005
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Posted: 08 October 2006 at 7:38am | IP Logged | 12  

I do think nicknames -- especially the cutsie ones -- indicate that the characters are less "real" to you.

*****

If we're talking about nicknames that you, as a fan, are making up, then maybe.  But in the case of things like Cap or Spidey or Shellhead, I think the opposite is true.  Then, you're just using the nicknames that Stan gave them.
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