tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post3886716514246779316..comments2024-03-27T11:32:34.392-07:00Comments on NOT A HOAX! NOT A DREAM!: CAPTAIN AMERICA #254Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-91602009690240818632022-07-08T16:15:24.989-07:002022-07-08T16:15:24.989-07:00It's funny; I've read this story numerous ...It's funny; I've read this story numerous times and for whatever reason never read any homosexual relationship between Ken and Joey -- though the relationship between Ken's uncle Brian and Roger Aubrey. Though I think the difference is that I was maybe 20 when I first read these Cap issues, and pretty naive. Now I'm in my forties and understand the subtext much better!<br /><br />To your second point, this was indeed the time where Jim Shooter made his "done-in-one (or two)" rule. John Byrne has stated that he and Stern left the book over that, as their next story was going to be a multi-part Red Skull epic.<br /><br />(Though, that said, I believe Stern has said in later years that he quit for health reasons. In either case, Byrne left when Stern did, and the "no multi-part stories" thing was at least a factor in his departure.)Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-74466334804167604192022-07-05T18:45:08.570-07:002022-07-05T18:45:08.570-07:00The introduction of a girlfriend for Ken feels lik...The introduction of a girlfriend for Ken feels like another editorial dictat. Marvel's position on homosexuality (and I think it has to be viewed as a corporate position rather than the personal outlook of Jim Shooter) in this period seemed to vary from hint-strongly-but-don't-actually-say to avoiding the subject completely. But the effect is to make Joey stand out even more. He seems an extremely unlikely art college student and it's not really clear just why Ken's brought him home. Ken does not really come across as someone as a student rebelling against his own class or choosing friends as a means of rubbing his family's face in it.<br /><br />Was it around this time that a rule against stories having more than two parts came in? That might explain the short circuiting of some of the mysteries here.<br /><br />But overall this is a good tale. I first read it before I read the Invaders stories but it works to explain who Lord Falsworth and Jacqueline are and just why this final showdown is so significant as the last of the Invaders (as was thought at the time) stand together.Tim Roll-Pickeringhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12589024696145675963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-76060568919574198552022-01-21T23:38:32.728-08:002022-01-21T23:38:32.728-08:00Agreed with pretty much everything you say.Agreed with pretty much everything you say.Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.com