When last in a comic shop (a few days ago), I spotted something called "The Atlas of the DC Universe" - put out by the people who make the "DC Heroes Role-Playing Game". After perusing through it for a bit, it didn't really seem good enough to buy, but I thought I would check out a few facts that had been gnawing at the back of DC continuity for years: THE LOCATIONS OF THE MAJOR DC CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES!
Well, here are the ones I remember. Locations weren't specified too exactly, though:
METROPOLIS: In Southern Delaware! The map of the eastern USA shows it to be inland (near the SW corner), but the close-up map of the city shows kind of a "distorted" New York set-up - an island between two rivers.
GOTHAM CITY: In South-West New Jersey! (As a native Joiseyan, I was proud) 10 or 20 miles south of Carney's Point.
CENTRAL/KEYSTONE CITIES: In North-west Missouri - only a little bit above KC. A little city called St. Joseph's is there in "our" universe. These 'twin' cities straddle the river.
STAR CITY: In Northern California, I think. About halfway between San Fransisco and the northern edge of the state.
HUB CITY: Somewhere in Illinois.
Now, these are FAAAAAAR from being "official" or "canon" - as the DC people aren't willing to admit where these places are! But it was neat to see what the Role-Playing people thought. They have been relatively good about continuity, etc...
In article <10001.2822e...@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu> cran...@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu writes: > METROPOLIS: In Southern Delaware! The map of the eastern USA shows it > to be inland (near the SW corner), but the close-up map of > the city shows kind of a "distorted" New York set-up - an > island between two rivers.
> GOTHAM CITY: In South-West New Jersey! (As a native Joiseyan, I was > proud) 10 or 20 miles south of Carney's Point.
Now this may or may not have to do with DC continuity, but hasn't it always been obvious that Gotham City is supposed to be New York??? Gotham refers to New York (or at least part of it). In the Batman Tv show (please don't flame me), they always made plays on famous New York places, like New Guernsey for NJ, I think they had Lacy's (although that might be AllMy CHildren).
Ialways thought Metropolis was supposed to be NY too, especially after seeing the movies. But, I guess you can't judge by these adaptations can you?
In article <1991May5.021355.10...@midway.uchicago.edu> g...@quads.uchicago.edu (gary michael feldman) writes:
>In article <10001.2822e...@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu> cran...@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu writes: >> METROPOLIS: In Southern Delaware! The map of the eastern USA shows it >> to be inland (near the SW corner), but the close-up map of >> the city shows kind of a "distorted" New York set-up - an >> island between two rivers.
>> GOTHAM CITY: In South-West New Jersey! (As a native Joiseyan, I was >> proud) 10 or 20 miles south of Carney's Point.
>Now this may or may not have to do with DC continuity, but hasn't it >always been obvious that Gotham City is supposed to be New York???
Gotham City and New York are definitely different cities. The Justice League's embassy is in NYC, which is explicity named New York, while Batman "commutes" to JLI meetings from Gotham. I kind of always imagined it being in Jersey somewhere.
As far as Metropolis goes, I seem to think it was in Rhode Island, or at least, near Rhode Island. Here's why:
The JL just before they became the JLI were based in a cave outside of Metropolis. Later, they moved to New York, and the Doom Patrol moved into the cave after they left Kansas City, around issue #20 of _DP_. In the Doom Patrol, I remeber a blurb over one of the panels that said "A cave somewhere in Rhode Island..." So I just assumed it was that Metropolis must be in Rhode Island.
Granted, Metropolis and Gotham arer certainly _based_ on New York, as Hub City is based on Chicago, and Star City is based on LA I think. How did they start using all these fictional cities, anyway? As far as I know Marvel doesn't, right?
bullo...@itsgw.rpi.edu (John Bullough) writes: >Gotham City and New York are definitely different cities.
The best comment I've heard about the location of Metropolis, Gotham City, and New York is from Frank Miller. Metropolis is the good parts of Manhattan during the day, while Gotham is the bad parts of New York after dark.
>Hub City is based on Chicago, and Star City is based on LA I think. How did >they start using all these fictional cities, anyway? As far as I know Marvel >doesn't, right?
Not quite. Hub City seems to be based on East St. Louis, at least that was the net consensus the last time it came up. And Coast City was meant to be the DC LA analogue; Hal Jordan worked for Ferris Aircraft there, and the LA area has a number of aerospace companies (Seattle/Boeing would be another possibility, except that Evergreen City seemed to be that analogue). I think Star City was once set as being Boston, but I'm not sure. Given the Metropolis in Delaware bit, it sounds like the atlas went with the locations given in the issue of Amazing World of DC Comics (house fanzine) in the mid-70s. I believe that had Midway City as Detroit, and Ivy Town as New Haven. Central City was either St. Louis (which was Gateway City on Earth-2) or Chicago, and Keystone City was Philadelphia (as Pennsylvania is the Keystone State).
As for the reason DC used fictional cities and Marvel didn't, it's pretty simple. DC for the most part put each hero in a separate city (the exceptions being the Earth-2 Green Lantern and Batman both in Gotham, and the Earth-1 Hawkman and Doom Patrol both in Midway, and perhaps a few of the unpowered JSAers in New York; at least Roy Thomas set a number of them there. In retcons, Suicide Slum and the Guardian were put in Metropolis, and Gangbuster and Booster Gold were both put in Metropolis in the 80s). Instead of being constrained by the geography of a specific city (sorry, there's no river running through the middle of Manhattan...), they could use slightly disguised attributes of real cities but also add in any other features they felt were needed for the story. Also, it meant that an artist wouldn't have to either live in the city or have to accumulate large amounts of source material to draw from. As an example, in the first issue of the New Universe's Spitfire and the Troubleshooters, it appeared that a dorm room had somehow come to exist right in the middle of MIT's chemistry department since the artist was obviously working from a picture of the main MIT complex. Except there aren't any dorms in that complex...
Marvel got around this by setting everything in Manhattan. Huge amounts of source material, and until 1970 or so when Jack Kirby moved to California, every artist and writer for DC and Marvel actually lived in the New York City area anyway. However, you'll notice that they stop at the level of the city; Peter Parker went to "Empire State University", not Columbia or CUNY.
"I mean, it's got all sorts of tall, pokey building and some really large squat ones. So if you're fond of large urban areas, this one's by far your best bet." --Batook's Guide to Awfully Big Cities, Third Edition tyg t...@caen.engin.umich.edu
In article <1991May5.021355.10...@midway.uchicago.edu> g...@quads.uchicago.edu (gary michael feldman) writes:
} Now this may or may not have to do with DC continuity, but hasn't it } always been obvious that Gotham City is supposed to be New York???
Both Metropolis *and* Gotham City were intended to be analogs of NYC. As Frank Miller once put it, Metropolis is New York by day, and Gotham City is New York by night. At some point circa 1970, DC started de-emphasizing their fictional cities and started using real cities more and more (though obviously Superman and Batman were too entrenched in their respective fictional cities to be moved elsewhere).
DC geography has always been a thorny question, and it gets brought up here every so often. The basic answer is that DC itself has never made any canonical decisions (at least until recently) about it all.
There are references, for instance, that place Metropolis and Gotham City across a bay from each other, and at least one other that suggests that Gotham, Metropolis, and New York are all clustered together. Other references suggest that Metropolis is in New Jersey, or that Gotham is, or that Gotham is in Pennsylvania, or is near Boston. And so forth and so on.
In article <1z5g...@rpi.edu>, bullo...@itsgw.rpi.edu (John Bullough) writes... } Granted, Metropolis and Gotham arer certainly _based_ on New York, as } Hub City is based on Chicago, and Star City is based on LA I think.
Hub City is *not* based on Chicago, but a smaller city named East Chicago.
} How did they start using all these fictional cities, anyway? As far as } I know Marvel doesn't, right?
Right, but then DC started publishing a lot earlier than Marvel. All, or most, of DC's fictional cities were established parts of the mythos by the 40's.
--
"It flies like a truck." "Good. What is a truck?"
--- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, "The Mill", Maynard, MA)
boyajian%ruby....@DECWRL.DEC.COM or ...!decwrl!ruby.enet.dec.com!boyajian
In article <516351f33.000b...@caen.engin.umich.edu>, t...@CAEN.ENGIN.UMICH.EDU
>Not quite. Hub City seems to be based on East St. Louis, at least that was the >net consensus the last time it came up.
You're half right. Exactly half right. According to Denny O'Neil himself (he spoke at Penn State last year) when I asked him at a local shop book signing session, Hub City is a combination of two Illinois cities. He made me swear secrecy and said he'd deny all of it if anyone ever asked for proof, but since you guessed one half, I'll at least acknowledge that much.
Yes, one half IS East St. Louis.
The two cities are places that Denny once worked in, one as a bottler, one as a writer. About East St. Louis, he said the following...
-It's where he went as a college student to drink underage. -It's so poor, they can't afford stoplight replacements once they broke. -The main major road through that area was modified to completely bypass ESL. -If your car breaks down there, you're dead. -It's most junkies living there now. -It's across the river from a town he and his wife now frequent.
Of the other city (which shall remain nameless out of respect for his request), he said that when he was around there, the Principal of the high school told the graduating class that the best thing they could do is get out of town as soon as possible.
Can anyone verify or refute the stuff about East Saint Louis, i.e., is the city actually like that?
-Akbar
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In article <1z5g...@rpi.edu>, bullo...@itsgw.rpi.edu (John Bullough) writes:
|> |> As far as Metropolis goes, I seem to think it was in Rhode Island, or |> at least, near Rhode Island. Here's why: |> |> The JL just before they became the JLI were based in a cave outside of |> Metropolis. Later, they moved to New York, and the Doom Patrol moved into |> the cave after they left Kansas City, around issue #20 of _DP_. |> In the Doom Patrol, I remeber a blurb over one of the panels that |> said "A cave somewhere in Rhode Island..." So I just assumed it was |> that Metropolis must be in Rhode Island. |> -- |> John Bullough |> bullo...@rpi.edu
Metropolis was modeled after Providence, R.I.. At least the Daily Planet building was modeled after an insurance building in downtown Providence. This building has a type of beacon which I can see outside my dorm room window.
Mark
-- _________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark Prince >>>> Bitnet: st102207@brownvm (/OO\) Internet: cs012...@cs.brown.edu \__/
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In article <4...@ryn.mro4.dec.com>, boyaj...@ruby.dec.com (Cisco's Buddy) writes... }} Hub City is based on Chicago, [...] } Hub City is *not* based on Chicago, but a smaller city named East Chicago.
Ah, make that East St. Louis.
--
"It flies like a truck." "Good. What is a truck?"
--- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, "The Mill", Maynard, MA)
boyajian%ruby....@DECWRL.DEC.COM or ...!decwrl!ruby.enet.dec.com!boyajian
In article <91125.220546JCS...@psuvm.psu.edu>, JCS...@psuvm.psu.edu writes: > In article <516351f33.000b...@caen.engin.umich.edu>, t...@CAEN.ENGIN.UMICH.EDU
> About East St. Louis, he said the following...
> -It's so poor, they can't afford stoplight replacements once they broke. > -The main major road through that area was modified to completely bypass ESL. > -If your car breaks down there, you're dead. > -It's most junkies living there now.
> Can anyone verify or refute the stuff about East Saint Louis, i.e., is the > city actually like that?
It is so poor that they couldn't afford to pick up garbage for several months at a time. Some sidewalks abruptly open up into deep pits, and they aren't even marked by construction "flashers". Most of downtown is boarded up. Everyone locks their doors when driving through, and I certainly would fear for my safety if I had car problems. The populace is mostly those who can't afford to move away - single parent black households. The one beacon of hope is a perenially nationally ranked high school sports program. It has the highest tax rate in the state, and two of its neighborhoods recently appeared at the top of a national list of poor cities. It's right across the Mississippi from the Arch.
In article <91125.220546JCS...@psuvm.psu.edu>, JCS...@psuvm.psu.edu writes: >In article <516351f33.000b...@caen.engin.umich.edu>, t...@CAEN.ENGIN.UMICH.EDU
>>Not quite. Hub City seems to be based on East St. Louis, at least that was the >>net consensus the last time it came up.
>You're half right. Exactly half right. According to Denny O'Neil himself (he >spoke at Penn State last year) when I asked him at a local shop book signing >session, Hub City is a combination of two Illinois cities. He made me swear >secrecy and said he'd deny all of it if anyone ever asked for proof, but since >you guessed one half, I'll at least acknowledge that much.
>Yes, one half IS East St. Louis.
After someone mentioned this as a possibility in a lettercol, I *knew* he was right.
>The two cities are places that Denny once worked in, one as a bottler, one as a >writer. About East St. Louis, he said the following...
>-It's where he went as a college student to drink underage. >-It's so poor, they can't afford stoplight replacements once they broke. >-The main major road through that area was modified to completely bypass ESL. >-If your car breaks down there, you're dead. >-It's most junkies living there now. >-It's across the river from a town he and his wife now frequent.
St. Louis, I would guess :-)
>Can anyone verify or refute the stuff about East Saint Louis, i.e., is the >city actually like that?
Well, I've never lived in ESL, but I did spend 4 years of undergrad at Washington University in St. Louis (tm and patent pending) and got to see news from ESL as well on local news. Yeah, my impression is that it *is* that bad. The number killed there a year is pretty high, and per capita I'd guess among the top ten in the nation. It is remerkable badly managed fiscally, and as a result there are relatively frequent losses of public services. There is a lot of poverty on the personal level, which breeds the vices that are depicted in The Question ( drugs, corruption, etc.). Some of the problem may be that it's got all the population problems of being near St. Louis, but no way get its cut of the higher tax bases that are just across the river. The result is pretty grim.
As an indiction of the guy at the helm, a few years ago the Mayor of ESL was going on a trip to Africa ( don't even ask me how he got selected ) and he gave this quote to the papers: "I'm bringing a supply of my own blood along so I don't get bitten by a monkey and get AIDS." I *swear* I read this quote. It sounds unbelievable, but I really saw it.
As a disclaimer, I never lived directly there, but like I say I got to see four years of news.....
>-Akbar
"This calls for a special blend of applied psychology and extreme violence" -Vyvian
In article <mumble> paut...@ils.nwu.edu writes: |In article <91125.220546JCS...@psuvm.psu.edu>, JCS...@psuvm.psu.edu writes: |> Can anyone verify or refute the stuff about East Saint Louis, i.e., is the |> city actually like that? | | It is so poor that they couldn't afford to pick up garbage for |several months at a time. Some sidewalks abruptly open up into deep pits, |and they aren't even marked by construction "flashers". Most of downtown |is boarded up. Everyone locks their doors when driving through, and I |certainly would fear for my safety if I had car problems. The populace |is mostly those who can't afford to move away - single parent black |households. The one beacon of hope is a perenially nationally ranked |high school sports program. | It has the highest tax rate in the state, and two of its neighborhoods |recently appeared at the top of a national list of poor cities. It's |right across the Mississippi from the Arch.
Some guy got beat up in jail, sued the city, and won a settlement. The city couldn't pay and had to _give him City Hall_ as part of the settlement. Ow.
gam...@arcadien.rice.edu (Ben Gamble) writes: >| It is so poor that they couldn't afford to pick up garbage for >|several months at a time. Some sidewalks abruptly open up into deep pits, >|and they aren't even marked by construction "flashers". Most of downtown >|is boarded up. Everyone locks their doors when driving through, and I >|certainly would fear for my safety if I had car problems. The populace >|is mostly those who can't afford to move away - single parent black >|households. The one beacon of hope is a perenially nationally ranked >|high school sports program. >| It has the highest tax rate in the state, and two of its neighborhoods >|recently appeared at the top of a national list of poor cities. It's >|right across the Mississippi from the Arch. >Some guy got beat up in jail, sued the city, and won a settlement. >The city couldn't pay and had to _give him City Hall_ as part of the >settlement. Ow.
Being from East St. Louis myself, I can say that it's all true, and worse. The aura of depression and waste there is overwhelming; noone really thinks they can get away from it. Noone really tries, and it's a damn shame when I go home on break and see some of my friends just wandering the streets aimlessly. That's why i want to have a write a comic book with characters based there. 8-O :)
How did the topic of my hometown come up in r.a.c. anyway???
-- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- "Hand in hand is the only way to land..." The Cure "The Lovecats" Japanese Whispers -------- --------
>In article <1991May5.021355.10...@midway.uchicago.edu> g...@quads.uchicago.edu (gary michael feldman) writes: > Now this may or may not have to do with DC continuity, but hasn't it > always been obvious that Gotham City is supposed to be New York???
O how complex a question, over such trivialities. Gotham is definitely a port city; too much plot has depended on it. New York is as good a guess as any.
Based on the current BATMAN storyline, it's pretty clearly *NOT* in California or anywhere in the West.
Metropolis, now, is wherever the current writer needs it to be.
It is fairly well fixed as a seacoast town in most versions; but the Byrne Superman comix seemed to put it in the midwest, something that a kid from Kansas like Klark Kent would think of as "the big town" -- maybe Chicago or St Looey. On the other hand, the 30th-Century Metropolis (at least in the old-but-post-Crisis-timeline as featured in WHOS WHO IN THE LSH) was definitely coastal: it was, approximately, Boswash.
Frank Miller makes it NYC -- he claims that "Metropolis is New York in the daytime, while Gotham is New York at night." Slightly confusing since the DC universe also has a New York (e.g., the site of Titans Tower).
The WORLDS FINEST miniseries seemed to establish Metropolis and Gotham as about two hours' drive apart.
In article <6...@pbhyc.PacBell.COM> djda...@PacBell.COM (Dan'l DanehyOakes) writes: >>In article <1991May5.021355.10...@midway.uchicago.edu> g...@quads.uchicago.edu (gary michael feldman) writes:
>> Now this may or may not have to do with DC continuity, but hasn't it >> always been obvious that Gotham City is supposed to be New York???
It clearly began life as a thinly disguised New York. Now, though...
>O how complex a question, over such trivialities. Gotham is definitely a >port city; too much plot has depended on it. New York is as good a guess >as any. Based on the current BATMAN storyline, it's pretty clearly *NOT* in >California or anywhere in the West. >Metropolis, now, is wherever the current writer needs it to be. >It is fairly well fixed as a seacoast town in most versions
There are, however, port cities that are not seacoast cities-- I should think there are several of these along the Mississippi, or along the Great Lakes (though none spring to mind right now-- apart from the coasts, I have a pretty poor sense of US geography). Is it definitely an ocean port?
>but the Byrne Superman comix
(along with the Siegel and Shuster, by the way)
>seemed to put it in the midwest, something that a kid from >Kansas like Klark Kent would think of as "the big town" -- maybe Chicago or >St Looey.
I believe the winning answer was... Cleveland? (Definitely somewhere in Ohio; I remember giggling over the fact that Metropolis was in what was from a New Yorker's perspective the middle of nowhere...)
>On the other hand, the 30th-Century Metropolis (at least in >the old-but-post-Crisis-timeline as featured in WHOS WHO IN THE LSH) was >definitely coastal: it was, approximately, Boswash.
Who knows? Were our Metropolis and the 30th century one necessarily the same city? (I honestly don't know-- I don't know anything about Legion continuity that I haven't read here).
>Frank Miller makes it NYC -- he claims that "Metropolis is New York in the >daytime, while Gotham is New York at night." Slightly confusing since the >DC universe also has a New York (e.g., the site of Titans Tower).
The remark was only meant to describe the character of the two cities; Metropolis has the same character as the "daylight" bustling side of New York, while Gotham has all of the seedy/dangerous/menacing/dark elements of New York at night. The remark was not meant to suggest that New York *was* either of these cities.
I seem to remember seeing a map once that clustered Gotham and Metropolis somewhere near New York, but I don't know where-- probably browsing some friend's collection, back in college...
It's interesting that Mayfair Games (the makers of the DC Heroes RPG) decided to come out with this. The locations of most of the DC cities have been known for years, since E. Nelson Bridwell created the "map" for the DC universe sometime in the mid-seventies. Some cities have moved, like Star City (used to be where Boston is) and Central City (used to be where Athens, Ohio is), but the overall locations of the cities now make much more sense. BTW, does anyone else spot the "interesting" Rhode Island skyline whenever the old JLA cave HQ is shown? It's been officially stated that the location of this is "Happy Harbor, RI'" but the closest city with a skyline like this is Providence. Unless Metropolis has been moved to RI too...
In article <1991May9.125021.18...@odin.diku.dk> kl...@diku.dk (Klaus Ole Kristiansen) writes:
>According to the Dark Knight series, Gotham city is "the >country`s second largest city." This seems to rule out NY.
You can rule out everything if you select your evidence carefully enough. I think this is in the regular welcome-to-r.a.c postings: it is quite impossible to solidly identify Metropolis and Gotham City as specific real cities, because even simple things like the distance between them change from one story to the next. Historically, Metropolis was almost certainly 1930s Cleveland (yes, really; that city has changed a lot...) and Gotham City was almost certainly New York. These days both of them tend to be viewed as New York clones, whence Miller's famous comment. -- And the bean-counter replied, | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology "beans are more important". | he...@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry
>On the other hand, the 30th-Century Metropolis (at least in >the old-but-post-Crisis-timeline as featured in WHOS WHO IN THE LSH) was >definitely coastal: it was, approximately, Boswash.
I seem to remember that in WWitLSH Metropolis had expanded to engulf all of the cities stretching from Boston to Baltimore or some huge area. I bet the idea was a continuation of something I heard in grade school, that all of the northeast coastal cities were expanding to the point that it was believed that soon it would be undistinguishable where one city ended and the next began.
I'll have to go home and look this up. Also, I think an Elliot S! Maggin Superman annual had hints on the location of Gotham/Metropolis when Superman is transported to "Earth Prime" ("our" Earth) and comments on the difference in location of various cities and the abscence of certain others (i. e. the DC universe ones).
In article <1991May9.174312.19...@parc.xerox.com>, rom...@parc.xerox.com (Antonio Romero) writes: > In article <6...@pbhyc.PacBell.COM> djda...@PacBell.COM (Dan'l DanehyOakes) writes: >>>In article <1991May5.021355.10...@midway.uchicago.edu> g...@quads.uchicago.edu (gary michael feldman) writes:
>>> Now this may or may not have to do with DC continuity, but hasn't it >>> always been obvious that Gotham City is supposed to be New York???
> It clearly began life as a thinly disguised New York. Now, though...
>>O how complex a question, over such trivialities. Gotham is definitely a >>port city; too much plot has depended on it. New York is as good a guess >>as any. Based on the current BATMAN storyline, it's pretty clearly *NOT* in >>California or anywhere in the West. >>Metropolis, now, is wherever the current writer needs it to be. >>It is fairly well fixed as a seacoast town in most versions
> There are, however, port cities that are not seacoast cities-- I should > think there are several of these along the Mississippi, or along the > Great Lakes (though none spring to mind right now-- apart from the coasts, > I have a pretty poor sense of US geography). Is it definitely an ocean > port?
>>but the Byrne Superman comix > (along with the Siegel and Shuster, by the way) >>seemed to put it in the midwest, something that a kid from >>Kansas like Klark Kent would think of as "the big town" -- maybe Chicago or >>St Looey.
> I believe the winning answer was... Cleveland? (Definitely somewhere in > Ohio; I remember giggling over the fact that Metropolis was in what was > from a New Yorker's perspective the middle of nowhere...)
>>On the other hand, the 30th-Century Metropolis (at least in >>the old-but-post-Crisis-timeline as featured in WHOS WHO IN THE LSH) was >>definitely coastal: it was, approximately, Boswash.
> Who knows? Were our Metropolis and the 30th century one necessarily > the same city? (I honestly don't know-- I don't know anything about > Legion continuity that I haven't read here).
>>Frank Miller makes it NYC -- he claims that "Metropolis is New York in the >>daytime, while Gotham is New York at night." Slightly confusing since the >>DC universe also has a New York (e.g., the site of Titans Tower).
> The remark was only meant to describe the character of the two cities; > Metropolis has the same character as the "daylight" bustling side of > New York, while Gotham has all of the seedy/dangerous/menacing/dark > elements of New York at night. The remark was not meant to suggest that > New York *was* either of these cities.
> I seem to remember seeing a map once that clustered Gotham and Metropolis > somewhere near New York, but I don't know where-- probably browsing some > friend's collection, back in college...
> I know in one pre-Crisis issue of the Legion of Super Heroes, Batman goes >into the future to find that Metropolis "swallows up" Gotham city. So, >at least back then they must have been pretty close. Of course, that WAS > pre crisis.
-Michael Sullivan Masul...@Ecs.Umass.edu (I hope this works this time)
These locations have changed as needed for a story and with the post-Crisis effects thrown in. Star City was shown on some map way back to be where Boston is, but I always placed it on the West Coast, somewhere near Coast City and LA, so Arrow and Black Canary could show up towards the end of Green Lantern. Also, their back-up series in Detective had Ollie living in a city, hot climate, and maybe Hispanic. They moved to Seattle, where Dinah sewed Ollie a new, warm costume for that "colder climate". Green Lantern shuffled between LA and "Coast City" (actually, I'm not really sure). Guy Gardner was a gym teacher in "East City", later retconned to Baltimore. John Stewart was from Detroit. Keystone City was probably a Philadelphia clone, and Roy Thomas put it "near" Philly. Post-Crisis, Keystone and Central City were made "twin cities". Midway City (Hawkman II) was somewhere in the Midwest.
Yes, as Continuity Cop for DC's Who's Who series, I have found proof that Gotham is NOT in New Jersey! In the 'Joe Potato' entry of the latest issue, Joe (who kindly wrote his own entry) says something about a certain group of people going over to Jersey (or something like that). There -- in a Gothamite's OWN WORDS! Now put those damn Mayfair Whatevers down, and read REAL comic-books! 8-]
Also, at the end of the letter page, it is stated that 'Mazing Man won't be used because he's not in "The DC Universe". Does this mean that EVERYTHING in "Who's Who" IS in the DC Universe. I didn't realize that "Monster in My Pocket", "Angel & the Ape", and "Shade the Changing Man" were all in the same universe as Superman and Batman! Hey ... that puts the Inferior Five in the same universe too, since Angel is related to Dumb Bunny!
And in other news ... anyone know what's going on with Zatanna? Is she still getting "God"head, so to speak? Was she in The Books of Magic? Can't wait to see her in WW!
In article <5...@media-lab.media.mit.edu.MEDIA.MIT.EDU> ol...@media-lab.media.mit.edu.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Paulo A. Pereira) writes:
> Also, at the end of the letter page, it is stated that 'Mazing Man won't be > used because he's not in "The DC Universe". Does this mean that EVERYTHING > in "Who's Who" IS in the DC Universe.
That's what I thought they meant, too.
> I didn't realize that "Monster in My Pocket", "Angel & the Ape", and "Shade > the Changing Man" were all in the same universe as Superman and Batman!
Is MONSTER IN MY POCKET getting a WHO'S WHO entry? (Heck, is it even from DC? Something says no, but I haven't paid attention to MIMP.) It hasn't gotten one to date.
ANGEL AND THE APE have long been part of the regular DC universe, having made appearances in CRISIS (after the Great Smooshing Together Of Worlds) and SWAMP THING. Even if they weren't before, they are now, now that Sam is related to Gorilla Grodd.
SHADE is nominally in the DC universe, but since the current author doesn't want to be bound by past continuity, that's a tough one to call.
What surprises me is that Wild Dog is apparently part of the DC universe, too. I'm not aware of anything else to date that has made such a claim.
> And in other news ... anyone know what's going on with Zatanna? Is she still > getting "God"head, so to speak? Was she in The Books of Magic?
She played an important part in BOOKS OF MAGIC #2. She's been back from Godhead, so to speak, ever since SPECTRE #7, which was a year or so after CRISIS. -- Yog-Sothoth Neblod Zin,
Chris Jarocha-Ernst UUCP: c...@elbereth.rutgers.edu BITnet: JAROCHAERNST@ZODIAC Rutgers University Computing Services, Piscataway, NJ 08855-0879
In article <May.17.15.23.38.1991.8...@elbereth.rutgers.edu> c...@elbereth.rutgers.edu (Cthulhu's Jersey Epopt) writes: In article <5...@media-lab.media.mit.edu.MEDIA.MIT.EDU> ol...@media-lab.media.mit.edu.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Paulo A. Pereira) writes: > I didn't realize that "Monster in My Pocket", "Angel & the Ape", and "Shade > the Changing Man" were all in the same universe as Superman and Batman!
Is MONSTER IN MY POCKET getting a WHO'S WHO entry? (Heck, is it even from DC? Something says no, but I haven't paid attention to MIMP.) It hasn't gotten one to date.
MONSTER IN MY POCKET is published by Harvey, who I believe now has three imprints. I think the one that comes out under will soon be publishing a BACK TO THE FUTURE comic. The other two are the one under which the traditional Harveys (CASPER, RICHIE RICH, etc.) are published (Harvey Classics, maybe?), and the Harvey Rockomics label which puts out the NKOTB sh^Htuff. -- R David Francis fran...@cis.ohio-state.edu
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