Death of Beloved
DC Character Rocks Fandom
by Albert
When the news broke, the reaction
among comic book fandom was shock. This shock turned into sadness,
and the sadness turned into melancholy, which was quickly replaced by a
bountiful supply of lachromisty, which was than transformed into general
discontent. DC's
controversial "Our Worlds
At War" story line has reaped its first major casualty of war. An
iconic DC character for years, a legend in his own right. It is with
an extremely heavy heart and deep, painful regret, that I announce to you,
as of July 16th, 2001, at...1:35 AM... "Shrapnel" is dead.
Now, this newsman is going
to be honest with you. Frankly, I have no idea who or what "Shrapnel"
is. But what I do know, is that the massive and tragic boulder that
is "Our Worlds At War" has mercilessly rolled over one of the DC Universe's
Best And Brightest. Touched by the seemingly endless fan support
for this character, I decided to branch out
and see how the general populace
reacted.
This was an interview I conducted
at a local comic book place of sale:
| ALBERT: Hello, gentlemen,
Albert, The Daily Now. I'm putting together a piece on fandom's
reaction to the shocking death of beloved DC icon, Shrapnel. Any
thoughts?
COMIC BOOK STORE EMPLOYEE
#1: So how strong IS Spidey's webbing?
COMIC BOOK STORE EMPLOYEE
#2: I dunno, man, I've seen Venom break
through it.
COMIC BOOK STORE EMPLOYEE
#3: Venom? I dunno, but Ben Grimm
definitely could!
COMIC BOOK STORE EMPLOYEE
#2: The Thing? Are you on crack?
I mean, Thor, maybe. MAYBE.
COMIC BOOK STORE EMPLOYEE
#3: Still, though, you gotta love the
Thing. I mean, the Thing, man! He rules!
COMIC BOOK STORE EMPLOYEE
#1: Hey, at least we can all agree that
biological webshooters suck ass!
COMIC BOOK STORE EMPLOYEE
#2: Yeah, totally.
COMIC BOOK STORE EMPLOYEE:
#3: Hey, are you buying something?
ALBERT:
Yes. (Casually hands employee copy of Astro City: Confession TPB)
COMIC BOOK STORE EMPLOYEE:
#1: Hey! What the hell took you
so long?
COMIC BOOK STORE EMPLOYEE
#3: Yeah, hey, why don't you check out
this hot new comic book called WATCHMEN, huh? I heard that this Alan
Moore guy is a real up-and-comer!
ALBERT: Hilarious!
So, what about Shrapnel?
COMIC BOOK STORE EMPLOYEE
#2: WHAT ABOUT SHRAPNEL???
ALBERT: Well, as a
result of the shocking causalities in "Our Worlds At War," he's passed
away...
COMIC BOOK STORE EMPLOYEE
#3: WHY NO SHRAPNEL WE BARELY KNEW HIM
COMIC BOOK STORE EMPLOYEE
#1: Wow. I guess I was wrong.
I guess there IS something worse than "Batman & Robin."
COMIC BOOK STORE EMPLOYEE
#2: But still, you gotta love Wally's
costume more than Barry's. It just makes more sense, y'know? |
Truly, even the great comic book
retailers of America, the people that perhaps famed DARKCHYLDE creator
Randy Queen himself could have dubbed, "The Last True Heroes", were rocked
to the core by this announcement. The attitude was barely different
at a prominent DC Message Board:
Subject: Shrapnel dead???
Posted by: Tempest
Fan
What the heck? Is shrapnel
dead or what. That kinda sucks
- TF
come visit my awesome
site for tempest scans and bios
Subject: Re: Shrapnel dead???
Posted by: Carol
Ferris
Yeah, I guess he is dead!
I know who won't miss him - his ENEMIES! :) :) :)
I wonder what this means for
the guys over at the "Shrapnel Society" message board? They're probably
pretty upset right now. <g>
At least it was a truly triumphant
and fitting death for such a phenomenal character. Let's face it,
no one can write a Shrapnel death scene like Jeph Loeb, folks.
Carol!
Subject: Re: Shrapnel dead???
Posted by: Matthew
The Raven
Ugh. This kind of behavior
is typical of you vapid DC Universe fans. How appropriate that the
idiotic DC editors have to resort for such bizarre shock tactics to drive
the sales of their pitifully inferior product. You didn't see Garth
Ennis resort to shocking people in PREACHER. Fools.
Matthew the Raven
"Caw" |
Finally, I decided that I craved
a more personal interaction with the DC Fans, so I headed over the DC Chat
Room to see how they were dealing, in their own personal ways, with the
untimely passing of Shrapnel.
You have entered chat room
"DC Comics 1"
DanteRandal12:
Man, GREEN ARROW RULZ
AlbertTDN: Good evening,
ladies and gentlemen.
TomlovesSum41:
a/s/l check
KyleJade4Eva:
ILUVDEVON, did u read the new gotham nights?
DanteRandal12:
30/m/nj
ILUVDEVIN:
no was it good
ILUVDEVIN:
devon looked SO cute in wizard this month!
AlbertTDN: 18/m/AZ.
Anyway, how about the tragic loss of Shrapnel to "Our Worlds At War"?
TomlovesSum41:
OMG, i cant beleive theres an actual fucken comic book chat
MarkLWaid:
I saw those pictures in Wizard. Can you say airbrush?
TmpstFan78:
shrapnel died?
DanteRandal12:
MAKE ME A HOLY BARTENDER
ILUVDEVIN:
totally
ILUVDEVIN:
i was all :'(
TomlovesSum41:
hahaha, geeks
DanteRandal12:
GREEN ARROW FUCKING OWNS!!!!!
KyleJade4Eva:
i can't believe shrapnels really goone
TmpstFan78:
this sux
DanteRandal12:
I WASN'T EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE HERE TODAY
AlbertTDN: Indeed. |
As you can see, the reactions
to Shrapnel's death have been varied, but have all shared the common bond
of expressing true distress and grief over a tragic loss of such a universally
identified DC comic book hero. Or villain. Really, I'm not
sure what he is. I probably should have asked someone.
On a related note, DC will
be releasing a "Best Of Shrapnel" Trade Paperback, a collection that some
are already calling "The Best Of Shrapnel." The hardcover will be
released in October, along with commemorative black arm bands.
© 2001 |
