Friday, October 21, 2011

I wish I'd said that

Ralph Dibny, the World-Famous Elongated Man:
An ear -- In the Fireplace!: Reviewing "Ten Miles to Nowhere!"

To me, this is one of the greatest Elongated Man stories. Yes, it has some silly, far too coincidental aspects, but there's a lot of great characterization. I believe that Ralph was one of the earliest heroes to develop a personality (back then, heroes used to be distinguished just by uniform, hair color and powers).
Yeah, that and Carmine Infantino made Sue Dearbon Dibny so doggoned cute, and Ralph just the right blend of handsome and goofy.

1 comment:

Rafa Rivas said...

Totally! Sue, and that version particularly, is way too cute. And, I'm not talking about her look (that's a given), but her personality and the way she dresses. She's so much fun, specially compared with Iris, Jean and Lois. I'd imagine a contemporary version as a bit of a hipster and a bit of a "Gossip Girl".

Bwt, I'd like to bring this issue to your attention. It's only about the action figure; however, the bit that gets me is a source confirmed what I've been "They [upstairs DC, above DiDio] don’t feel Ralph is a significant character, not deserving of an action figure, and don’t want to invest any more money into him". And this is not the first time I read about this issue. It seems that Mattel collectors are starting to voice this concern in forums. I really wish this snowballs into something bigger. Ralph became obscure enough for this embargo to happen. However, tptb coming out and saying that Ralph and Sue ceased to exist and see light because of them, might be the right spark to awake fandom. People tend to want what they can’t have (I believe I became a fan this way myself).
I’ll put my grain of salt by handwriting the letter (asking for comic revival and TV appearances as well), respectfully voicing my concern (I'll post it in my blog soon) and by spreading the word (and links).