META: The Greats

[Tom Russell]

When I'm trying to tell people about the LNH, there are a few
characters I mention as quintessentially LNH-like.  Cheesecake-Eater
Lad is one of them; Sister State-the-Obvious is another.  And when
someone says, so they don't have any actual powers, do they?, I take
umbrage and provide a further example:

Easily-Discovered Man, the glowing net.hero with the superhuman ability
to be easily-discovered!

(And it's around this time that they stop listening.  But:)

Easily-Discovered Man (and his sidekick, Easily-Discovered Man Lite)
have had some of the funniest (and most polished) adventures in the
history of the Legion.  I say polished because a lot of LNH stories--
and some of my favourite LNH stories, by the way-- seem to lack the
technical prowress one associates with good writing.  (An unjust
charge, I'd argue, pointing the viewer to my discussion of golden age
writing in my wish fulfilment essay.)  But not so the Adventures of
Easily-Discovered Man.  It is one of the best-written of the classic
LNH series.

So much of the humour in EDM is a matter of tone, of _how_ Lite
describes it and reacts to it.  It's probably the best use of
first-person on RACC, and every word of his narration does some heavy
duty work: it advances the plot, sets the tone of the series, carries
some of the gag weight, *and* it tells us something about Lite.

The thing that's interesting about this series is that we don't really
form our own opinion of EDM so much as we form our own opinion _about_
Lite's opinion of EDM.  The title character is kept at somewhat of a
distance, and I think that's about right: Prof. Wong, though more
complex than a "simple gag character", would not sustain our interest
if, say, he was narrating his own adventures.  He's more interesting
for the distance, and having Lite narrate really focuses our attention
on the relationship between the two (rather than focusing our attention
on two separate, static characters).

Of course, one can't recommend Easily-Discovered Man without mentioning
the pre-story gag section.  From tips on how to pick up girls to his
post-9/11 Supervillain Comparision Chart (bin Ladin needs a haircut;
Darth Vader was beaten by Ewoks), it's almost worth the price of
admission itself.

Well, actually, it's free, so there is no price of admission.  But if
there was, then it would be worth it.  You get the idea.

Next time, I'll talk a bit about the underappreciated masterpiece of
Kyle Lucke, the CHEEEZ CORPS.  In the meantime, what are some of your
favourite series and storylines?  Don't be shy.  Hardyites, tell us all
about LEGION OF OCCULT HEROES!  If it's as legendary as they say, tell
us why!  I know for a fact that we're all a bunch of Mistlock
groupies-- so someone tell us why MISFITS is one of the most incredible
series to ever hit RACC!  And Willey, tell us about your long-held
slobbering-wet-kiss of a crush on THE INDY!  Let the love-fest
continue!

--Tom