8FOLD/META: About the Author # 1: Tom Russell

[Tom Russell]

>
> Anyway, did you actually read any of the LNHY stuff?  There were
> analogues of Lethal Lawyer and Exclamation Master and there was a
> mention of a Sister State-the-Obvious analogue but otherwise it's a
> completely separate universe.  I think the name "LNHY" is misleading.

I'm trying to catch up on all RACC stuff, having been offline for quite
some time.  My little rant on alternate universes wasn't intended as a
slight on LNHY or LNH2 or anything else.  I wasn't specifically
singling out any writer or series, and I certainly wouldn't do that to
you, Martin-- I have quite a bit of respect for you and I really click
with your sense of humour.

I guess it breaks down like this: I hate the general idea behind stuff
like Marvel's 2099, or Batman Beyond, but good things came out of both.
 Personally, I'd rather see those characters or stories worked into the
fabric of the universe, in-continuity, which, unfortunately, it can't.
Because if you do anything to change Spider-Man, the fans will kill
you.  (Hell, I just about killed a few people during the clone saga.)
So, you have a different sort of story to tell, you have to tell it on
the side, in another pocket of reality-- where it doesn't "count".
That's what irks me about "future" imprints, alternate imprints, and
the like.  This Ultimate line from Marvel is a really retarded idea,
but, from what little I've read, a good story comes out of it here and
there.

Perhaps I was a little harsh in my denouncement of alternate universes
-- again, I wasn't thinking of anyone in particular and I wasn't trying
to hurt anybody.  Perhaps what I should have gone into more detail
about how it didn't count, at least within the universe proper, and how
that irks me.  A story without consequences is the bane of serial
literature-- a story without consequences means that Spidey will never
really be hurt, no matter what situation he's in.  It's supremely
emasculating.

And that's what the alternate universe always struck me as: a story
without consequences.  But, as you said, everything is an alternate
universe, so it doesn't really have a consequence, does it?

Maybe it's just a personal preference, a bit of nit-picking: I like to
have my universe nice and tidy, and I like to know that the story I'm
telling has a bearing on others.

So, anyway-- those are my thoughts.  Again, I didn't mean to slight
anyone, and I'm sorry if it came out that way.

--Tom