LNH: An Important Public Service Announcement!

[Martin Phipps]

On Jun 10, 11:53 am, Tom Russell <milos_par... at yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Jun 9, 10:38 pm, Lalo Martins <lalo.mart... at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Actually, you may have a fair point here.  I love world-building.  But it
> > can be argued that it's not "how the LNH works".
>
> I also love world-building, and people will be seeing more of that in
> the Eightfold Universe (to a degree), for example.  One of the big
> draws of Dave's ASH universe is-- perhaps more-so than its plotting or
> characters-- the universe itself and the way it works.

> > On the other hand, IMHO the "way the LNH works" is actually authors and
> > readers having fun.  If everybody enjoys it, then it's right.  And
> > anything that doesn't work so well, can get reversed later.
>
> I agree with your definition.  And again, to be clear, I'm not saying
> that there's anything wrong with this story, or that it shouldn't
> happen-- I'm just expressing my own personal opinion/misgivings, which
> are probably unfounded.
>
> It's kind of like the Ewoks story.
>
> Hubert Bartels did this story in TALES OF THE LNH (somewhere in the
> 330s), in which Panta met up with some ewoks.  You know, the little
> furry guys from the Star Wars films.  In flagrant disregard for all
> known copyright laws.
>
> Now, was it a good story?  Was it funny and enjoyable?  Of course!
> Hubert Bartels wrote it!
>
> But he didn't create the ewoks.  And so it makes me, well, a little
> queasy.
>
> Because I love the LNH.  I love it passionately and I'm constantly
> trying to promote it whenever it seems I have a way in which to do
> so.  It's a vital part of my life.
>
> When something shocking happens, I actually ask what Gamer Boy would
> think, and when someone points out the obvious, I dub them Sister
> State-the-Obvious-- or, now that Martin's told us how to pronounce it,
> wReanna.  I've actually mixed Coca-Cola with Paprika and, yes, it _is_
> a man's pop.
>
> But there have been people-- no, not people, but insiduous vipers--
> who have denigrated the LNH with the hideous and undeserved label of
> "fan fiction". ::shudder::
>
> And we're not a fanfic group.  The LNH is its own entity, and one that
> I feel is deserving of serious scholarly attention.  It is important
> and unique and original.
>
> But when Panta hunts down an ewok, or when Spider-Man shows up to give
> Easily-Discovered Man a pep talk, or when someone plays quidditch, or
> when Golden Man dies and is resurrected as four different Golden
> Men... (and I'm very, very sorry for that last one, and for all the
> other stories of that type that I'm responsible for)
>
> It makes my job as advocate that much more difficult.  I think it
> detracts from the truly original and brilliant thing that is the LNH.
>
> Now, again-- I'm not saying that's the case with this story, which I'm
> sure is going to be brilliant.  I'm just stating my reservations about
> a certain tendency, and my own personal opinion about the LNH, and
> since I am _not_ Opinionated Lad, my opinion is not necessarily always
> right. :-)

You're right when you say you're not always right.

The LNH began with a whole bunch of bad jokes.  The R-Men.  The Z-
Team.  Spoon.  But Cheesecake Eater Lad, Irony Man and Lagneto were
all funny, not just because they remind us of the originals, but
because they -especially Lagneto who is blissfully unaware of the fact
that he is fictional - are their own characters independent of their
inspiration.

The reason why this sort of thing didn't usually work in the main
stream is that you can easily go too far and be too injokey (see
Bewitched or The Last Action Hero; or, better yet, don't).  Sometimes
it has worked: both Scream 1, 2 and 3 and Galaxy Quest relied on
characters suspecting they were in a fictional situation but then
dismissing it, sort of like when we briefly break the fourth wall
without tearing it down.  Heroes, likewise, (and even the first X-Men
movie) had a reference to how silly they would look in spandex and
yet, come on, we all know that Peter is the hero and Sylar is the
villain.  Part of the fun is having the characters deny their own
fictional nature.

So, Ewoks in the LNH?  Bad.  Lost Cause Boy meeting Superman in
Heaven?  Bad.  Lagneto trying to be a good guy?  Funny and especially
funny because he doesn't know why it is funny.  Irony Man being a
republican?  Wild coincidence: he was a republican in the LNH before
the Civil War story started.  (Mind you, Iron Man had been established
as a republican in the comics and even worked as the government's
secretary of defense but I can honestly say I never saw the Iron Man
issues in which that storyline was played out.)  It actually fits in
with Irony Man's established character to have him working with Hex
Luthor.  Marvel copied us.  Those bastards. :)

Oh, and by the way, Tom, um... the Journey Into... Fleet Feet story?
Fanfic. :)

Martin