JB wrote:

For the most part, it's best if the name and the costume tell us who the character is.

I agree with this, but yet I still think Puck, Northstar, and Aurora all work and I don't necessarily think their names infer their characters (and for Northstar and Aurora, their costumes either).  While I know the explanation for Puck was that he rolled around like a hockey puck, I always took his name as an allusion to Shakespeare.  And really, does "Puck" infer great dexterity?  And Northstar and Aurora, while that infers their nationality (to a certain extant), I never thought that tranlated to super flying speed.  But, I always thought the names and characters worked.  And thier costumes were awesome.  In fact, I didn't like it when Puck's outfit got modified, or Aurora changed to the yellow outfit.

A different take on this is Kitty Pryde's names . . . they just never worked "Sprite, Ariel, Shadowcat".  I just liked Kitty to be Kitty.  Her personality superseded her super ability.  And Vindicator or Guardian?  Those names didn't cut it for me either, even though the costume was incredible.  Perhaps Captain Canada was taken or was too derivative of Captain Canuck, Captain Britain, and of course, Captain America?

Charles Nago:  And really, does "Puck" infer great dexterity? 

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Puck's condition make his hide as tough as neopreme, hence the moniker?

John Byrne wrote: (3) You refer to superhero costumes as being made of "Spandex". (4) When you are with your "civilian" friends, you make fun of superheroes whenever they do. (9) You never worry when the hero is in a "death trap" because you know the company has to come out with another issue next month, and anyway you read spoilers about three issues beyond this one in WIZARD

(3) This one, I don't understand.

(4) Hmm, I have made fun of superheroes with my "civilian" and "government" friends. As a kid 7 - 10 years-old I did this a lot with my friends, many of whom read comics. All in good fun; nothing is above parody.

Well, I am, but that's me.

(9) Should this be on the list? When Marvel began producing the Masterworks series I bought and enjoyed each one even though I knew from my latest trip to the spinner rack that Spidey, the FF, The Avengers, and everyone else survived every threat they encountered in those books. I may know that they will escape, but the question is HOW they would escape/survive.I would reword this one. If the stories are well written and can really draw me into the world of Spider-Man, Batman, or Superman then even publishing schedules are a non issue.

Jason Schulman wrote: If DC comics were still written in the old fashion -- short stories, often done-in-one stories, that take place over a very short period of time -- then sure, why should the characters age. But don't have all this time pass and then tell me that Tim Drake is still only 17, guys. It doesn't work.

It doesn't work...for you.  It's not an absolute that it doesn't work, period. Color me weird, but I never think of the passage of time in mainstream superhero books.  Ever.  I never think "Well, X amount of time has passed in Batman's life because of the events of NO-MAN'S LAND, so Tim Drake must be Y old."  That doesn't even cross my mind in the least.  I really couldn't give two shits and a rat's ass if a story lasts six months or two years and none of the characters have aged accordingly.  That's the conceit of mainstream superhero comics, especially from Marvel and DC.  I think it speaks more about the person reading them that they expect any passage of time** after a certain number or length of story than it does about the characters and company that produces them.

***Let's face it, it doesn't matter if it's a long story like NO MAN'S LAND or 20 short anthology-like stories, a ton of fans today wonder why their favorite characters aren't aging.  I don't buy it for a second that publishing shorter, self-contained stories would stem the tide of the idiots who would proclaim "But it doesn't make sense how he could cram that much adventure into a single year."