Day: January 9, 2003

I posted the following on the DCU Supergirl board in regards to a review in “Ain’t It Cool News” which was, on the whole, quite positive, but mentioned the eternal “Peter riffs Joss Whedon” song fans always sing, particularly vis a vis the development of Linda and Kara at the high school. So I thought I’d post it here as well:

In regards to the “parallels,” one should keep in mind that when I developed the story, the sixth season of “Buffy” (you know, the one that openly and aggressively riffed “Dark Phoenix” because only Hollywood is original and the rest of us just swipe) hadn’t even ended yet. A glance at a calendar and an understanding of the roughly six month lead time of comics should tell you that. So obviously I had no clue that the new season would involve Buffy at Sunnydale High with Dawn.

Did I figure fans would draw parallels once I learned of it? Yes, because fans are always anxious to draw parallels, since they have no clue how ideas work. The truly sad thing is the lack of comprehension of something very obvious: I’m not ripping off Joss Whedon. I’m ripping off (if one must use that phrase) the introduction of Kara from fifty years ago. Although she was Superman’s cousin, the real dynamic was much more big brother/kid sister. So in bringing Kara back and substituting Linda for Superman, it is the most natural thing in the world for there to be a big/little sister relationship.

And the much discussed high school locker room scene (following the volleyball game) was obviously a tip of the hat to “Carrie” since the girls regarded Kara as a freak. Kara? Kara-ie? Get it? I mean, jeez, do I have to spell *everything* out?

Now…if Kara were actually a blob of energy, that would be something else. But it’s not. Furthermore, I can one hundred percent guarantee that issues #78 and #79 take the story off in *such* a bizarre direction that only the most tortured stretches could possibly find any “Buffy” parallels, and probably not even then.

PAD

At my martial arts class today, the teacher (Sifu) was teaching me a form called the “Small Wheel,” and in the course of doing so demonstrated a blocking technique which is called “Heaven and Earth.” One hand angled straight up, the other down, crossed at the wrist.

And I did the block and stared at it, and then said, “Wait a minute…isn’t this ‘King Kong Palm?’ Drew Barrymore used that…”

And he sighed and said, “Yeah. It’s King Kong Palm. When I was a student, we’d recognize things from ‘Enter the Dragon.’ ‘Hey, that’s from ‘Enter the Dragon!’ Bruce Lee!” So now what does everyone say? ‘Charlies Angels!'” He shook his head, looking a bit disappointed. Just not as cool somehow, I guess.

PAD