Off the Cuff – Edition 16
By Eric Barrett
Comics, Cartoons, and all things related

*It’s a little sad, next week Cartoon Network will air the very last episode of Dragon Ball GT (Yes, I know it’s been cancelled for years in Japan). But here, in the US, it’s the last episode. Thus, marking the culmination of the Dragon Ball saga.

Dragon Ball GT never lived up to the success of either Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z. A good part of the reason for this has to due with what I call the “Exponential Growth Problem” (roughly: when characters rely on getting physically stronger than their opponents). Eventually this strategy has limits, and once those limits are reached it just becomes absurd. (See here and here for more).

And that was the sad fate of Dragon Ball GT. They just ran out of way’s to show Goku getting stronger. Once you can destroy a planet without breaking a sweat, how do you show a conflict that’s bigger than that? It’s hard to conceptualize really.

*Another strange thing that happened with GT is the lack of “outside” characters. The DB universe has always revolved around Goku, but it also dealt with his interactions with others. Being part of the ‘gang’ was an important aspect of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. So where did everyone go in GT?

Partly the group was left out because of the Exponential Growth Problem. Goku simply was too powerful for the others to “hang” with. But the other part of the problem was just poor storytelling. Part of what made Dragon Ball such an intriguing show was the relationship between the supremely powerful, yet eternally humble Goku and the rest of the characters.

When that link was severed in GT, Goku appeared to be more arrogant. He was no longer fighting to protect his family and friends. Instead, he was fighting to fight.

Up to this point, Goku had always had a level of humanity, and that was painfully missing in GT.

*Check out my review of Batgirl #59 (yes, I realize Batgirl #60 comes out this week – I’ve been busy!). One of the things I love about this title is it’s use of eyes. Part of what makes Batman, and therefore his Batminions, great is the way his eyes are drawn. The art in this book captures that perfectly. Definitely worth a read.

*Top 3 books for January:
1. Batgirl
2. Superman/Batman
3. Identity Crisis

Yet again, Marvel is frozen out of the list.

*I was a little disappointed in the conclusion of Identity Crisis. It’s just not the ending I was hoping for. And I suppose in some ways that makes it a “better” ending – at least in a literary sense. I suspect I’ll have more to say on this in a later column, but for now I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone.

*I just can’t get excited about the upcoming Fantastic 4 movie. Every time I look at a picture/clip from the movie, it just looks cheesy.

See? Does that picture instill confidence in you? Does it make you want to shell out $9 to watch the movie? Me neither.

*This item probably won’t last long, so you might want to check it out. But it’s a spork shaped like Batman. I’m sure you will want to buy it as much as I do!

*This month has been a tad on the light side for comic books. There just hasn’t been a whole lot out there that’s interested me. And that’s fine. In fact it actually worked out well because I haven’t had a ton of spare time.

But this next month, by which I mean February, looks like it’s going to be great. There are a couple of new series out there that I think I’m going to take a look at. And as always let you guys know what’s going on.

So have a good one and see you in two weeks!

The opinions stated in here solely reflect the opinions of the author. If you would like to comment on some of the items in this article, please feel free to post in the forum or send an e-mail. All characters, titles, and etc. are owned and ©; their respective publishers and creators- the author and StillontheShelf.com makes no claim towards them. This column is intended as an opinion piece only. Off the Cuff is ©; Eric Barrett. Please report any broken links!

Post your comments in the Forum!