tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28562368697245269742024-03-16T03:08:30.939-04:00EcocomicsWhere Graphic Art Meets Dismal ScienceShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.comBlogger236125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-63821218301602565132013-06-10T11:40:00.005-04:002013-06-10T11:40:50.605-04:00Does Anyone Still Subscribe to This?Hi folks! It's been a while. How are you all doing?<br />
<br />
If there is any demand, I will continue to regularly update this blog. Just let me know.<br />
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Also, what comics should I be reading?ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-32224736760713969472011-11-17T09:30:00.001-05:002011-11-17T10:06:15.445-05:00Can Wolverine Build a School?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPjIDgCAxOUeP4I-MUil-SrmcWDcjfe2juPKLSWtDtpgnMHqE4LNp_501esKFDteOn_YznJCZf5lUe-AXAgEEI_EBSeStrhdqjpB33-C8WJcX2nKMZRajiwPcTAZmwMlYOLyLwqt6Xt8/s1600/Wolverine17edit.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 365px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPjIDgCAxOUeP4I-MUil-SrmcWDcjfe2juPKLSWtDtpgnMHqE4LNp_501esKFDteOn_YznJCZf5lUe-AXAgEEI_EBSeStrhdqjpB33-C8WJcX2nKMZRajiwPcTAZmwMlYOLyLwqt6Xt8/s400/Wolverine17edit.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675790650638023650" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Wolverine #17</b> by Jason Aaron and Ron Garney</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Marvel Comics, 2011</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div></div><div>Where <i>does </i>Wolverine get his money from? If he has managed to save up enough to start a new school for mutants in Westchester, he must certainly have exercised <a href="http://eco-comics.blogspot.com/2009/06/wolverine-several-lifetimes-of-money.html">several lifetimes of prudent money management</a>. Here is what we had to say about this before:<br /><br /></div><div><blockquote>Throughout his long, long life Wolverine has shown very little interest in matters of an economic nature. He's spent most of his time living in cabins, hovels, and sleeping in the beds and houses of others. His worldly possessions seldom exceed the clothes on his back (usually a jumpsuit made of spandex or leather), a cache of cheap cigars, a motorcycle, and a six-pack of beer. This is the sum of the worldly possessions he has accrued in over 100 years of life. Granted, a large part of this life was spent being mind controlled and experimented on, but in the years since he's escaped from Weapon X, Wolverine has made a series of life decisions which placed him in financial jeopardy.<br /><br /></blockquote></div><div>We know Wolverine likes to live a life of modesty. Previously, I thought this was due to the fact that, despite living the equivalent of several lifetimes, he never took a job that was lucrative enough for him to splurge on things like mansions and jets. </div><div><br /></div><div>Evidently, this is incorrect. Turns out that Wolverine has been slowly saving for years and has now accrued enough funds to open a school. </div><div><br /></div><div>I haven't the fainted idea of what it costs to open a school. I doubt that the Xavier Institute was a charter school or received any sort of public funding. In today's Marvel Universe, mutants are still highly stigmatized so it is unlikely that Wolverine will be able to receive any sort of grant or government assistance, unless through nefarious means (snikt snikt). I do, however, know that it is extremely expensive, probably requiring initial funding of upwards of $500,000 to one million dollars. Westchester County, New York, also seems like it would be particularly costly. </div><div><br /></div><div>Is it possible that Wolverine managed to save up this much money? Actually, it doesn't seem that crazy. Let's assume all assets that he had saved up prior to his kidnapping by the Weapon X program had been wiped (it is unlikely that the sinister Canadian organization let him keep his money). Then, once Logan escapes the program (well after World War II), he had to start with nothing.</div><div><br /></div><div>He then met Charlies Xavier and joined up with the X-Men in the 1970s. I think it's safe to assume that he started his savings at this point. Assuming that he had been paid a salary for his service (something of which I am not sure, though I imagine he needed some form of income to, you know, eat) and that he served continuously through the present (a stretch, but it would be difficult to account for all the gaps in his time with the X-Men), it is certainly feasible that Wolverine had saved the amount required to at the very least put forth the initial funds. He had been actively working for four decades (longer if you count the time between Weapon X and the X-Men, where he was employed with Department K and probably earned some sweet government pay) and his expenses were minimal (for a while, he took up free residence at the X-Mansion and, as mentioned above, spends very little on material things). </div><div><br /></div><div>Therefore, it would appear as though Wolverine's modest lifestyle is evidence of prudence and thrift, rather than of having little assets.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hell, Logan might even be part of the 1%. </div><div></div>ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-71310619366967490202011-10-20T12:37:00.004-04:002011-10-20T12:41:56.089-04:00Disproportionate Response Man<div style="text-align: left;">A great entry from <a href="http://www.smbc-comics.com/">Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal</a>:</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Times;font-size:medium;"><img src="http://zs1.smbc-comics.com/comics/20111020.gif", width="400" /></span></span></span></div>ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-14579557924758878722011-09-07T09:00:00.001-04:002011-09-07T09:00:13.750-04:00Arkham City Part I<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-q7HD7lze1z9RwqwdxoZesnHAjRuiT4PJsygmZsExCAgOiuFAbPBiUh9xkig_Uz0R1Vbf21-D4ECbt21dOhS3IDj8vt-4_EDB-23hKClXT_wgKl7aN5D4HaOFP2aqtRiAwPOAXZVerU/s1600/arkhamcity2_edit.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 387px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-q7HD7lze1z9RwqwdxoZesnHAjRuiT4PJsygmZsExCAgOiuFAbPBiUh9xkig_Uz0R1Vbf21-D4ECbt21dOhS3IDj8vt-4_EDB-23hKClXT_wgKl7aN5D4HaOFP2aqtRiAwPOAXZVerU/s400/arkhamcity2_edit.jpg" border="0" alt="Mayor Sharp unveils Arkham City." title="Mayor Sharp unveils Arkham City" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649575691821267650" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><b>Batman: Arkham City #2</b> by Paul Dini and Carlos D'Anda</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">DC Comics (2011)</span></i></div><div><br /></div>What a bizarre concept this is. So, the Joker and his pack of ruffians take over Arkham Asylum, riots ensue, and then Batman has to save the day. There were many casualties. So now, Mayor Sharp decides to let these prisoners loose from Arkham Asylum and have their own, heavily policed section of Gotham City, where they can run around and, apparently, rehabilitate.<div><br /></div><div>The benefits of this plan are...let's say dubious. Yes, Mayor Sharp is being controlled by larger forces (which I will not reveal for fear of spoiling), but he still had to convince the City Council--and Gotham citizens--that this plan is not only economically feasible, but that it has any benefits at all. </div><div><br /></div><div>First of all, how many inmates does Arkham Asylum actually have? A quick count of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkham_Asylum#Inmates">notable (and other) </a>inmates on Wikipedia suggests about 60 inmates. And these guys aren't ever in Arkham all at once. But still, let's be a little liberal with our estimate, and say that we have about 75 inmates at Arkham at any given time. If anyone knows of a better estimate, feel free to let me know. </div><div><br /></div><div>Why exactly do these 75 people need <i>half</i> of Gotham City--one of the largest cities in the DC universe--all to themselves? It seems like an excessive waste of resources and space on 75 people. Couldn't he have just walled off a neighborhood? The equivalent of, say, the east village in NYC? And even that's being generous!</div><div><br /></div><div>While we're talking about space issues, I'm also a bit confused as to how the government acquired this space. If half of Gotham is being declared a war zone and sectioned off exclusively for Arkham prisoners, then what happens to the citizens formerly living in these areas? What about the businesses formerly operating in them? Well, they can't possibly still be there once Arkham opens, right? No one would willingly choose to reside in neighborhoods where the most dangerous villains in the world are free to roam. And, unless your business is selling death rays, no one would choose to continue to go to work in Arkham City. </div><div><br /></div><div>This means that, most likely, every citizen and business formerly operating in the now Arkham City has to pack up and move to another location. This has major economic implications. First of all, it is very likely that the government needs to subsidize the cost of moving for these guys. So that's an area of <i>half of Gotham City</i> that the city needs to finance. I suppose, alternatively, that Gotham could subsidize people for <i>staying </i>in Arkham City and willingly exposing themselves to danger. But then that would be more or less equivalent to just setting the prisoners free in society. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here's another thing: moving people from one half of Gotham into another would almost surely cause major congestion and overpopulation problems. Not only that, but I imagine that many citizens and businesses will simply be lost in the transition. Small businesses might close if not fully subsidized and individuals might simply move outside the city limits. Gotham is losing a chunk of its tax base by creating Arkham City.</div><div><br /></div><div>And that's nothing to say of the enormous amounts of money being spent to maintain this large prison. For one thing, Gotham needs to commission task forces and experts in order to determine the appropriate plans, and estimate the appropriate subsidies. Moreover, the wall needs to be constructed. The private military securing Arkham City's borders need to be paid.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh yeah, and let's not forget that the Mayor is also providing health care and essential social services to these former inmates. </div><div><br /></div><div>It has been clear for many years that politicians and citizens of Gotham City have been prone to panic and mass hysteria. They have been portrayed as corrupt, fickle, and ignorant. But even in the grand scale of Gotham's historical blunders, Arkham City almost surely nears the top. Maybe top five. </div>ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-89865895676106801492011-09-05T09:00:00.000-04:002011-09-05T09:00:15.273-04:00Happy Labor Day<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisc7C2j2J8_3QduYuru37tVGtTy9-1zR-R4ldfQiRgpJuOKxQuKLuTmJK0NX8LTTCot8SCfzCrhtTz5WHW1Q_IJHBUhDIWI_hz80cH2oXXOrdoNA6EY0ayCg0IuPSeCUNNKUOUXyLKyqM/s1600/batman-and-robin-on-vacation.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisc7C2j2J8_3QduYuru37tVGtTy9-1zR-R4ldfQiRgpJuOKxQuKLuTmJK0NX8LTTCot8SCfzCrhtTz5WHW1Q_IJHBUhDIWI_hz80cH2oXXOrdoNA6EY0ayCg0IuPSeCUNNKUOUXyLKyqM/s400/batman-and-robin-on-vacation.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648492825438058386" /></a>
<br />ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-31041948565854020352011-02-23T09:00:00.000-05:002011-02-23T09:00:11.768-05:00Zatanna and Behavioral Economics<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUCUtN5H2KzXQSn8m2Qv92R7_QJEhn4GuTZtl9DRmnpYCAJfmWHZ_Nd0RVcrkLkTuZoJewueGi04XhXaoSvcphe61U3oC6h-8y7HVLsxiUXZIOHsl5hIoL8xYDJyUgFVt_x7pUAJi-PBc/s1600/zatanna8_cropped.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUCUtN5H2KzXQSn8m2Qv92R7_QJEhn4GuTZtl9DRmnpYCAJfmWHZ_Nd0RVcrkLkTuZoJewueGi04XhXaoSvcphe61U3oC6h-8y7HVLsxiUXZIOHsl5hIoL8xYDJyUgFVt_x7pUAJi-PBc/s400/zatanna8_cropped.jpg" border="0" alt="Zatanna discusses her fear of puppets" title="Zatanna discussed her fear of puppets" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576735480589035122" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Zatanna #8</b> by Paul Dini and Cliff Chiang, DC Comics (2010)</i></div><div><br /></div><div>In a recent issue of <i>Zatanna</i>, we learn that our hero has been struggling with a paralyzing fear. A fear of puppets. This is due, for the most part, to childhood trauma with puppets (plus, they really are scary as all hell. See the classic <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Night-Living-Dummy-Classic-Goosebumps/dp/0545035171/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298348126&sr=8-1">Goosebumps</a></i> story on the subject).</div><div><br /></div><div>Zee has been largely unsuccessful in dealing with her fear throughout her adult life. However, as she points out, in situations where the stakes were high enough, she has been able to temporarily overcome her fear in order to realize greater social benefits. A specific example includes a recent adventure alongside Batman, wherein she helped the caped crusader defeat the second <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ventriloquist_(comics)">Ventriloquist</a> and a revamped Scarface. </div><div><br /></div><div>This beautifully illustrates how certain incentives and rewards can motivate individual behavior towards outcomes that our socially optimal, even when those outcomes come at their own expense. The right incentives can even cause Zatanna to overcome a crippling fear.</div><div><br /></div><div>Guiding behavior through incentives is a big topic in behavioral economics. Most of these occur to minimize behaviors that pose a significant negative externality on society. We see it all the time. For example, "sin taxes" on cigarettes are designed to curb a habit which has plenty of external consequences, including second-hand smoke, higher utilization of medical services, increases in medical care and insurance costs, etc. </div><div><br /></div><div>However, even mechanisms like sin taxes raise the stakes in terms of costs for the individual committing the behavior (not the social cost). The government, to my knowledge, doesn't generally come in and say, "Hey you better stop smoking or else 30 people will die tomorrow from second-hand smoke." Where Zatanna's situation differs is that the stakes in her situation actually refer to these social costs. She's motivated by the potential death of a large number of people that would result from her inaction to stop a bunch of puppets. </div><div><br /></div><div>This gets us into the notion of altruism. Is Zatanna behaving altruistically here by having her behavior be so amenable to social stakes? I would argue that this is not the case and that she actually reaps many hidden benefits that lay beneath the surface (though, no doubt, she is aware of). </div><div><br /></div><div>For one thing, if Zatanna had bailed on Batman because of her inability to face a puppet, she would have likely been ostracized from the superhero community. Well, probably not actually, since her and Batman have a kinda-sorta love thing. But she would have certainly been embarrassed enough to think this would be a potential consequence.</div><div><br /></div><div>Second, and on a related note, she is aiding one of the top superheroes of the DC Universe. There are definitely benefits to helping Batman. He is more likely to return the favor in the future and recommend Zatanna for future missions with the Justice League. So, her being able to shape up and spring to action regardless of the circumstance has professional implications. </div><div><br /></div><div>Third, she is saving herself the guilt of living with the knowledge that innocents may have died as a result of her hesitation. </div><div><br /></div><div>So, selfless superhero or not, it would appear there are plenty of personal benefits for Zatanna here. In fact, if one of her reasons is indeed reciprocity from Batman and the Justice League, there is a related concept in behavioral economics and evolutionary biology known as "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reciprocal_altruism">reciprocal altruism</a>" that deals with this idea. Reciprocal altruism basically refers to an act of selflessness towards another with the anticipation that the recipient of the benefit will one day return the favor. </div><div><br /></div><div>This can be thought of in the context of the famous <a href="http://eco-comics.blogspot.com/2010/04/prisoners-dilemma.html">Prisoner's Dilemma</a>. Recall that the basic lesson of this exercise is that the rational choice for the players was to defect, even though the pareto optimal strategy for each was to cooperate. There is, however, an alternative version of the prisoner's dilemma that is repeated infinitely, rather than played only once. In a repeated game, the Nash Equilibrium would still be to defect every round. However, in actual experiments, it has been shown that if players remember the actions of past rounds, cooperation fared as a potentially good strategy. The reason? Players would punish each other in subsequent rounds for defecting. In order to avoid this punishment, people would cooperate. </div><div><br /></div><div>Thinking back to Zatanna's situation, she might be doing something similar. The knowledge that her actions would determine future treatment towards her could be guiding her incentive to help Batman, and thereby face her fear of puppets. </div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, this isn't easy to hear. Sure the stakes of having innocents die on her watch is a big motivator. But it's not entirely altruistic. I'm betting that if Batman suddenly declared that she would be severely punished for inaction, while she would be handsomely rewarded for puppetry, Zatanna might become a great ventriloquist. Great strategy for dealing with fear.</div>ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com90tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-70447700742964858502011-02-22T09:00:00.000-05:002011-02-22T09:00:13.782-05:00Externalities: Invincible Iron Man 33 EditionSuperheroes fight crime and save lives. But by doing so they impose certain costs on people not directly involved. These are superhero externalities.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5huQtpX32xqOcCfZUxYMzYj-R21NfTPikzk2YrdQvJE7R2ONAD6hqDpueBA6PvUdNG5i2kIUOIBUmEua1mvKSLmfAeid2L9ytwsA4Ko1ZoCMxGaXrRGKIAZerwmjcz_dqVAqrmd7PAFQ/s1600/ironman33_cropped.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 379px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5huQtpX32xqOcCfZUxYMzYj-R21NfTPikzk2YrdQvJE7R2ONAD6hqDpueBA6PvUdNG5i2kIUOIBUmEua1mvKSLmfAeid2L9ytwsA4Ko1ZoCMxGaXrRGKIAZerwmjcz_dqVAqrmd7PAFQ/s400/ironman33_cropped.jpg" border="0" alt="At least Tony Stark knows his recklessness causes damage." title="At least Tony Stark knows his recklessness causes damage." id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576373861340452114" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>The Invincible Iron Man #33 </b></i><i>by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Marvel Comics (2011)</i></div>ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com76tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-47886725372568918732011-02-02T12:01:00.003-05:002011-02-02T13:53:03.989-05:00The Comics Professor<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8WXSvkoHfBGxu0PgNRsexawJLTFAZMvicJXmShtkK8WIzDzJ9nlVHuGvhIPiQyFwobt33YWTT4hF0P68UoM2My07PbYupDkH3sU7JEHpc0qpoqWs64nqYpPWl_mME-jEZR6SqIyjlbQk/s1600/lantern.jpg"><blockquote></blockquote><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 262px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8WXSvkoHfBGxu0PgNRsexawJLTFAZMvicJXmShtkK8WIzDzJ9nlVHuGvhIPiQyFwobt33YWTT4hF0P68UoM2My07PbYupDkH3sU7JEHpc0qpoqWs64nqYpPWl_mME-jEZR6SqIyjlbQk/s400/lantern.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569081346064488066" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Here's a </span><a href="http://www.comicsprofessor.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;">blog</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> written by one of the editors of </span><a href="http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-324354.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;">Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> (including books such as </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470270306?ie=UTF8&tag=econoandethic-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0470270306"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;">Batman and Philosophy</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Watchmen-Philosophy-Rorschach-Blackwell-Culture/dp/0470396857/ref=pd_sim_b_3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;">Watchmen and Philosophy</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, and others). It features news, commentary, and reviews of current superhero comics, as well as insightful philosophical analyses. I've personally read the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Batman and Philosophy</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> book and learned a great deal about his deontological and utilitarian bents.</span></span></div></span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;">Here's a snip from a recent post about whether </span></span></span><a href="http://www.comicsprofessor.com/2011/01/should-superheroes-take-political-positions.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;">superheroes should take political positions</span></span></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><a href="http://www.comicsprofessor.com/2011/01/should-superheroes-take-political-positions.html"></a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span></span></span></div><blockquote><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;">Why did this concern me so? Contrary to what Mr. Rucka says, I don't think defining a superhero as liberal or conservative would imply that he or she would help some people and not others in an emergency (though examples do exist, such as Ollie early in O'Neil's run), but making a hero's politics explicit does reduce the appeal of that character to a significant portion of the fanbase.</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;">Furthermore, it contributes to the perception that our political affiliations define us. If Superhero A is conservative and Superhero B is liberal, many people will take those facts to determine much more about their characters than seems appropriate. There's a lot of room for widely different types of liberals and conservatives in this world (not to mention all the people who reject both labels). And I like to believe that most liberals and conservatives (excluding the ones on the extreme fringe of each group) have more in common than not.</span></span></span></span></div></blockquote><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', helvetica, arial, sans-serif;font-size:-webkit-xxx-large;"><p style="margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">More at the blog. </span></span></div></span></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com83tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-60332331684290822072011-02-02T09:00:00.002-05:002011-02-02T09:23:05.163-05:00More Wasted Tax Dollars<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbhvTJTp4BgaqySCoAdE9XAEzeiY-LijiS4m7xADWbOhWAXMap42V4-ZHEyD6RLMhcVKtIyAZd-xVi8CnO5iYdQfweLFOROREkpXgWcfk9_cADEg1LouoPZuGyhz7rvUDV-C1Q_O0MLY/s1600/asm647_part1_cropped.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 386px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbhvTJTp4BgaqySCoAdE9XAEzeiY-LijiS4m7xADWbOhWAXMap42V4-ZHEyD6RLMhcVKtIyAZd-xVi8CnO5iYdQfweLFOROREkpXgWcfk9_cADEg1LouoPZuGyhz7rvUDV-C1Q_O0MLY/s400/asm647_part1_cropped.jpg" border="0" alt="With great power, Spidey" title="With great power, Spidey" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568856584722785698" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"Another Door" in </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Amazing Spider-Man #647</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> by Fred Van Lente</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> and</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Max Fiumara, </span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Marvel Comics 2010</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I've been saying for years that the United States government should stop funding the Smithsonian. It poses an extreme risk to the taxpayers. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Also, when did the Spidey mobile get in there?</span></span></div>ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com74tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-21411936110572751272011-02-01T09:00:00.002-05:002011-02-01T09:00:19.791-05:00Innovation<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifSe-wX2QuVZw9SGhNh3p4UJniE1ajSao-v-vkEBt2hmfKeAPKVbS-6LoSW0jFWJaN1l_0fsoFP33w_RUlSInkn-d4HE7EG2o5WgVvI-7MOMDkY5iH0F-w2nn5Vm-wXLROaqUXWBJuxVE/s1600/irredeemable19_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 384px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifSe-wX2QuVZw9SGhNh3p4UJniE1ajSao-v-vkEBt2hmfKeAPKVbS-6LoSW0jFWJaN1l_0fsoFP33w_RUlSInkn-d4HE7EG2o5WgVvI-7MOMDkY5iH0F-w2nn5Vm-wXLROaqUXWBJuxVE/s400/irredeemable19_2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568527662069389442" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Irredeemable #19</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> by Mark Waid and Peter Krause, Boom! Studios 2010</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Another example of technology that's being kept from the general public. Innovation economists would accuse Qubit here, who seems aware that this technology existed and still hasn't shared this information, of </span><a href="http://eco-comics.blogspot.com/2009/05/alien-technology-and-economic-growth_29.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">hindering economic growth</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Aliens get all the cool weaponized teleportation devices, while we here on Earth still have to make due with nothing but </span><a href="http://articles.cnn.com/2005-06-28/tech/spark.toilet_1_toilet-toto-bathroom?_s=PM:TECH"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">fancy toilets</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. </span></div>ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com73tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-70044501347010320402010-12-13T09:00:00.003-05:002010-12-13T10:17:51.576-05:00Superheroes and Law<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuE_CMZ92UTwcyeyoW8HFlkmLeeI2nPvuXfAy0O-yY8oqhyphenhyphenCILlXRYx2QuFMZp5hOdYMXFaFUoSvH_BOOCcENdGLyMPHr7rQtTQdnv9V-63-ToIfjyw7F2vMxVM1zGUu95JX25w2o4eoE/s1600/Bat163.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 272px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuE_CMZ92UTwcyeyoW8HFlkmLeeI2nPvuXfAy0O-yY8oqhyphenhyphenCILlXRYx2QuFMZp5hOdYMXFaFUoSvH_BOOCcENdGLyMPHr7rQtTQdnv9V-63-ToIfjyw7F2vMxVM1zGUu95JX25w2o4eoE/s400/Bat163.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5549433957788550466" /></a><br /><div>Via <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2010/12/10/legal-analysis-of-th.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+boingboing%2FiBag+%28Boing+Boing%29">BoingBoing</a>, here is a blog that looks at <a href="http://lawandthemultiverse.com/">comic books and the law</a>. One of my favorite posts is about <a href="http://lawandthemultiverse.com/2010/12/08/supervillain-real-estate/">real estate</a>:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23px; font-family:Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif;font-size:medium;"><blockquote>Every supervillain or supervillain organization worth its salt needs a secret lair, and a location outside the jurisdiction of any government would be ideal. The legal benefits are numerous: no pesky employment laws or civil rights for henchmen, no local police, no taxes. But in the age of air travel and GPS is there anywhere left for a supervillain to set up shop? Here we consider three possibilities: unclaimed land, the high seas, and outer space.</blockquote><blockquote><br /></blockquote></span></div><div>Go check it out!</div>ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com68tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-18582896351193208312010-11-09T09:02:00.001-05:002010-11-09T09:04:18.914-05:00Externalities: Week of 11/8/10<i>Superheroes fight crime and save lives. But by doing so they impose certain costs on people not directly involved. These are superhero externalities.</i><br /><br />Eventually, these will be more current, but since I'm still catching up with a stack of comics from months ago, some of these will be a bit old.<div><br /></div><div>As always, feel free to send in some of your favorites of the week and we'll post them with credit to your name. ecocomics dot blog at gmail dot com.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywTOACk5VC15weNlT1HvS0aAcyEDS5b0iJ13ITc3U-equmHUR12JmUb0iQBGTfkqhLBSULJETim13Rz6q6UiQ2LRD9_Pf3cRcGWKsBTCBhcRvxaO6KaEzALtwL2faUwQWyUaD6L0DNtU/s1600/asm643.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywTOACk5VC15weNlT1HvS0aAcyEDS5b0iJ13ITc3U-equmHUR12JmUb0iQBGTfkqhLBSULJETim13Rz6q6UiQ2LRD9_Pf3cRcGWKsBTCBhcRvxaO6KaEzALtwL2faUwQWyUaD6L0DNtU/s400/asm643.jpg" border="0" alt="Spider-Man attempts to evade capture by some of his biggest foes. Cities get in the way." title="Spider-Man attempts to evade capture by some of his biggest foes. Cities get in the way." id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537546624000737058" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Amazing Spider-Man #643</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> by Mark Waid and Paul Azaceta</span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Marvel Comics, 2010</span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></div></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl74WxBpmcaMlishszRE3gs_m2hbwJ5YU15lghBw-MRYJgG-TX1exTZ16313L5r259An4qsuMnEE_t1z8K1ux97UpBs7GuZeXV0viEZuZYhkRx7mCbr57d-tjgz2baUhCCIE_oLck_xOo/s1600/zatanna+5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl74WxBpmcaMlishszRE3gs_m2hbwJ5YU15lghBw-MRYJgG-TX1exTZ16313L5r259An4qsuMnEE_t1z8K1ux97UpBs7GuZeXV0viEZuZYhkRx7mCbr57d-tjgz2baUhCCIE_oLck_xOo/s400/zatanna+5.jpg" border="0" alt="Zatanna battles the Royal Flush gang in Las Vegas. Cop cars and buildings get shattered." title="Zatanna battles the Royal Flush gang in Las Vegas. Cop cars and buildings get shattered." id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537548929829841810" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>Zatanna #4</b> by Paul Dini and Chad Hardin</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">DC Comics, 2010</span></i></div>ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com68tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-40092432140770219492010-11-08T09:00:00.000-05:002010-11-08T09:00:02.640-05:00Do Superheroes Act in Socially Optimal Ways?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEn3Cp2oxLsZhl95OHxpiTha-igIqnRn1LRk1yCkcWhDxG97WM0xRkqScs_0-YQY9ElGpMfe9j9Q1v6RYU6vGYkayhxm1pu3d4SLAYsnW_Rm_s_w5NVJh9R9MIZTPm82TDay-4EmSCFPg/s1600/superman-overlooking-metropolis.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 260px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEn3Cp2oxLsZhl95OHxpiTha-igIqnRn1LRk1yCkcWhDxG97WM0xRkqScs_0-YQY9ElGpMfe9j9Q1v6RYU6vGYkayhxm1pu3d4SLAYsnW_Rm_s_w5NVJh9R9MIZTPm82TDay-4EmSCFPg/s400/superman-overlooking-metropolis.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537052265741093906" /></a><br /><div>Microeconomic theory tells us that individual agents, be they consumers, firms, or even superheroes, act rationally. Basically, this means that any individual has a set of stable preferences--which generate a certain level of utility--and that this individual will always behave in a way such that his or her (or its) utility level is maximized.</div><div><br /></div><div>In other words, economists believe that people try to make themselves as happy as possible. Simple.</div><div><br /></div><div>Where things become a bit more complicated is when individual demands are aggregated. That is, how do we take the preferences of the individuals in society and design policies that are <i>welfare</i>-maximizing and "socially optimal?" </div><div><br /></div><div>Consider, for example, the health care market. Obviously, it would be great if every individual could have free, comprehensive coverage. Not only would it ensure lengthier lives, but more people receiving better health care would mean less external costs for society (such as taxpayer dollars going towards treatment of indigent care, lost productivity due to people with illnesses taking sick days, etc.). </div><div><br /></div><div>Why doesn't everyone have comprehensive health coverage then? Well, resources--including health care--are scarce! Comprehensive coverage for everyone would cost a considerable amount, not just in terms of monetary expenditures, but in time, provider supply, hospital beds, etc. This means that when health care policy is crafted, legislators and other stakeholders need to make hard choices to determine which course of action would benefit society the most. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are, of course, arguments about welfare enhancing policy. Is health insurance going to be primarily market-based or is there going to be a role for government? If we're going to offer subsidies for individuals to obtain certain services, which services do we offer the subsidies for? If there is a government insurance package, what are the minimum benefits covered by the package? Do we attempt to judge which individuals are more deserving of health care? If so, how do we judge? Severity of the condition? Do we make it first-come-first-serve? How do we perform the cost-benefit analyses to get these answers? </div><div><br /></div><div>Superheroes face this problem every day. Take Superman, for example. Barring the fact that Superman's duties extend beyond the scope of one major city, let's just limit this analysis to his role as the protector of Metropolis. Each and every day, there are people who need saving. Superman provides a very crucial public service (actually he pretty much has a monopoly on it): fighting crime and saving lives. He has a breadth of unique abilities that allow him to perform this service unlike any other agency, including the police or government. </div><div><br /></div><div>Yet despite his unique abilities, he is still a limited resource. Superman cannot be everywhere at once and he cannot stop each and every crime in Metropolis. This means that even Superman has to make choices. Each civilian he saves from being thrown off of a building means that a different civilian on the other side of town being threatened with dismemberment by Metallo is not receiving his help. In this sense, Superman can be thought of as a sort of social planner for a good that he just so happens to provide. He implicitly assigns weights to individuals in Metropolis, in effect judging who is deserving enough of his rescue. </div><div><br /></div><div>How does Superman do this? How does he assign these weights? And is this method socially optimal? </div><div><br /></div><div>Intuitively, we would think that the most imminent dangers are the ones most worthy of Superman's attention. And indeed, Superman does tackle the gravest of threats to an extent. Should there be a catastrophe that is bound to kill or injure hundreds of citizens, you can bet to see the Man of Steel there. Should Lex Luthor unleash some sort of robot warriors on the city, Superman will try and stop them. Should Darkseid attempt to enslave humanity again, Superman will take him on. </div><div><br /></div><div>But this system is obviously imperfect. What if Metallo is overturning cars on one side of town and Brainiac is creating robot-zombies on the other? Deciding on which threats are the most dangerous is a difficult task, even for Superman. It is a fact that many of his villains have taken advantage of in the past in order to thrust the Man of Steel into difficult moral situations. </div><div><br /></div><div>Also, let's not forget that this is only Superman's system to an extent. There isn't <i>always </i>a world-ending event in Metropolis. Most of the time, all you have are muggers, bank robbers, and lets face it, people who just accidentally fall off buildings. How does Superman weigh these people? Well, most of the time, we see him just dash after the criminals that are closest to him. We've seen Clark Kent sitting at his desk at the Daily Planet numerous times, only to hear a scream in a nearby alley. He then finds a phone both, changes, and it's up-up-and-away! </div><div><br /></div><div>It would seem that most of the time, Superman weighs simply on proximity. That means people within a five mile radius of the Daily Planet should be the safest in Metropolis. Of course, it is also a prime spot for villain activity. </div><div><br /></div><div>Answering the question of whether this "proximity, unless it's really really dangerous" policy is social welfare maximizing is tricky. We obviously want Superman to assist with the gravest threats, but we also don't want to trivialize run-of-the-mill muggings. </div><div><br /></div><div>Perhaps it is time for Superman to retire his one-man planner status. Should there be a government task-force delegated with the duty of allocating superhero resources to the citizens of the United States? </div>ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com69tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-30999911298183662772010-09-29T08:05:00.000-04:002010-09-29T08:05:00.174-04:00Lex Luthor Loves Land- The Great Gotham Swindle and How it Affects Our Lives<div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgih2_idIBzA-XP2fr-mrJkOZNgQx87mjx95zdm7-ex_utgngxWqUmazpbrfYmqVCyh6Vw6u1wG8ETKuRYHNH88hg8sPhyeJJt-4oNEdAYy_-J0RA4bQ-nLm4a22G6oY8sZGUJ2Lhdj8CQ/s1600/Luthor_Superman_II.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgih2_idIBzA-XP2fr-mrJkOZNgQx87mjx95zdm7-ex_utgngxWqUmazpbrfYmqVCyh6Vw6u1wG8ETKuRYHNH88hg8sPhyeJJt-4oNEdAYy_-J0RA4bQ-nLm4a22G6oY8sZGUJ2Lhdj8CQ/s400/Luthor_Superman_II.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522147937017851858" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor from Superman II, obtained from Wikipedia.org</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>We all know that Lex Luthor has a great interest in real estate. This was established way back in Richard Donner's first Superman film. In that movie, Luthor's plan was to sink California so the land he had purchased in Nevada and Arizona would be worth a fortune as beach-front property. Superman stopped that plan, but Luthor kept his fixation on land. In Superman Returns, Luthor went the other way in his schemes. He tried to grow an entire continent out of Kryptonian crystal. Planning to rearrange the surface of the Earth and get rich by renting his new continent, Luthor excitedly went along with his plan until Superman tossed his new continent into space.<div><br /><div>But the Lex Luthor of the comics also has a fondness for acquiring land. In the year-long Batman crossover "No Man's Land" that ran through the Bat-family books in 1999, Lex Luthor hatched a plan involving seizing control of all of Gotham. Gotham City had just been wracked by a massive earthquake which reduced most of the city to rubble. In the wake of this disaster, the US</div><div> government isolated the Gotham disaster zone and prevented anyone from exiting or entering. Inside the city, Batman and Commissioner Gordon tried to maintain control against the gangs and madmen who roamed the streets.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>In the midst of this chaos, Luthor identified a way to fill his own personal habit to get that real estate fix he had been needing. Using agents to destroy the original land deed records for Gotham, Luthor tried to gain ownership of the city without paying a cent. He offered to help Gotham's citizens rebuild without telling them that his assistance came with the price of ownership of their land. Eventually Batman foiled his plans, but I'm sure Luthor's desire for real estate has not yet been satiated.</div><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilNe4A8H1tL7Vq4EWIkF9shtlvaUmHIK20oTxGqfOCXVI-4G4jC10BzxrDtV-K3dVDALFxdU3A5T-BA609AtmBZ-cQANthFykwSArpzG_iTMtIRkpYa83UtL5Vs6nB3scwf2JuI2udsMo/s400/250px-NML1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 385px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522147807586610530" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Batman:No Man's Land Volume 1, obtained from Wikipedia.org</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Now, you may be asking why I bring this up. I do so because we are in the midst of a world financial crisis. A crisis so enveloping that it affects all of our lives. It almost seems like some criminal mastermind has orchestrated this recession. Someone who values ownership of property above else. Perhaps someone who would be interested in giving mortgages to high risk lendees who would not be able to meet their financial obligations once rates had been raised. Someone who would watch gleefully as he regained control of their repossessed properties while the world markets crumbled. </div><div><br /></div><div>That's right, LEX LUTHOR engineered the sub-prime lending crisis!!!!!!!!!!!</div><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNsni1oafqMT34f0BJG0fykVa50tkL0PZfyyovy1GIT10pz3qfjd2cOtbOy2fk0qxhtWIEV4MfUWg0DXcWthqYORwdcZHErbi5tP6FZlaLATY_qucZvVJpteDEzdKOWhfCnLcYyfMBsrk/s400/Luthor_Superman_Returns.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 318px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522147618662665362" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor from Superman Returns, obtained from Wikipedia.org</span></div><div><br /></div><div>I bet, if we look carefully at those mortgage agreements, somewhere on those forms we will see a monogramed "LL."</div><div><br /></div><div>Damn you Lex Luthor. Damn you!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10147921108883526924noreply@blogger.com75tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-15030391699154028062010-09-27T08:52:00.000-04:002010-09-27T08:52:00.605-04:00Competition Is Murder- Supervillains and Industrial Sabotage<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTVOHjyeVoigsL5IAwl3aX9qag8WL9ymJbJW4PmkGSQxsotLQWYQyB0mhpiyls2PFdGjMHOXYnyKb9VOpoOArw_U7aKxCHs7nTm22VFcMfBBlE1mhsLmvKg3XdyM5IlWacjE1UWvn3ATw/s1600/iron_man_legacy_1_variant.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 206px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTVOHjyeVoigsL5IAwl3aX9qag8WL9ymJbJW4PmkGSQxsotLQWYQyB0mhpiyls2PFdGjMHOXYnyKb9VOpoOArw_U7aKxCHs7nTm22VFcMfBBlE1mhsLmvKg3XdyM5IlWacjE1UWvn3ATw/s320/iron_man_legacy_1_variant.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521005472967314082" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Cover to Iron Man: Legacy #1, art by Salvador Larrocca</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div>While reading Iron Man:Legacy #1, I stumbled upon an interesting topic. The story opens with Stark Industries being attacked by environmental terrorists protesting Stark's arc reactor technology. Though it initially seems that a group of idealists armed with melting ray beams are trying to topple Stark's industrial power, a quick investigation by Tony Stark shows that the environment group is actually funded by an oil conglomerate. What had appeared to be an act of idealistic terrorism was actually good old fashioned industrial sabotage. And this is not a frequent occurance in the comic book world. It seems that the cost of doing business in a comic book is dealing with supervillain industrial sabotage. <div><br /></div><div>Iron Man (and his alter-ego Tony Stark) has been a frequent victim of this. Competitors like Justin Hammer, Roxxon Industries, and Obadiah Stane have often sent hired villains to damage Stark's property. In fact, Iron Man has had to deal with the likes of the Ghost, the Chessmen, the Beetle, Spymaster, and quite a few others who have tried to mess up his stuff.<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Q_4RsCE0t-2Qg-iUYoR8Xmo4XO6qJXACVCMm0u5y5IXOUsxfRiSeW-5zlqK0mLcGGi4dA7pM4KCU5YV_LWUc9uLhZBh_Wmn3aZS8QNKkh3zCdsfZuRHUujGNCyEmzy9LowrDxBt9tvY/s320/BobLaytonGhost.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 252px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521005258200594098" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Ghost, art by Bob Layton</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Bruce Wayne has also suffered industrial sabotage from the likes of Lex Luthor and Black Mask. He overcame these machinations with some quick work as the Batman.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKZW2X9KqODEDMgruHfpd1ZoyluHdc91hB1GZ0iToB-0iezo_NQTe3oMVJOuUP_g-yMgAbsCS5FK-zgSBgufvf6EH2PJwMtTp5c6MLjgB5T8phmLGIin-C00-gIkyHdqYhD_nunb030Xk/s320/LexLuthor.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521004755965320242" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Lex Luthor, art by Ed McGuinness</span></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm sure that there are tons of other examples throughout comic history of the cost of doing business. </div><div><br /></div><div>It just goes to show that you can't build something nice without a competitor hiring a maniac in spandex to blow it up. Or something along those lines...</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10147921108883526924noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-55843286933390433522010-09-23T10:26:00.006-04:002010-09-23T10:39:55.423-04:00Everything Has a Cost<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhee3Ab3B8IRHXLrnz1uNGHvR9ZmdUml8RXQ_1dZZjO-gAerEtNCJCid1aPYPXRL4R0ZYwfiS0Cp5xu3I76PM1cyUBN0p7cuRdwEbg1iZ7fFxy3lfI5IJdke2mLESW78ye38WmPHGloB_c/s1600/Shield+3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 303px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhee3Ab3B8IRHXLrnz1uNGHvR9ZmdUml8RXQ_1dZZjO-gAerEtNCJCid1aPYPXRL4R0ZYwfiS0Cp5xu3I76PM1cyUBN0p7cuRdwEbg1iZ7fFxy3lfI5IJdke2mLESW78ye38WmPHGloB_c/s400/Shield+3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520115477487126194" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Shield #3</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> by Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver, Marvel Comics (2010)</span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Galileo knew it. Newton knew it. But poor Nostradamus apparently doesn't get the idea. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Or he just figures the cost is worth it. </span></span></div>ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-20780439589049345392010-09-23T08:30:00.001-04:002010-09-23T08:30:02.473-04:00Marvel's Strongest War Economy- The Kree<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ87Pe93MfU7U9-AAvDLUy5z076C1Zx6-2-OJgvnK_qh1umXXbe0AcsxF-NZRpjRHPGhxAirXARj26zivli59QXuF9LnBaUR35VjQgVyA-F1iDvwhv-txb9lg5AjCCcJJK8beKGTEV0Hc/s1600/Kree.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 201px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ87Pe93MfU7U9-AAvDLUy5z076C1Zx6-2-OJgvnK_qh1umXXbe0AcsxF-NZRpjRHPGhxAirXARj26zivli59QXuF9LnBaUR35VjQgVyA-F1iDvwhv-txb9lg5AjCCcJJK8beKGTEV0Hc/s320/Kree.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519945018018424354" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Kree, obtained from </span><a href="http://marvel.com/universe/Kree"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://marvel.com/universe/Kree</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>In the world of cosmic Marvel, the Kree are a warlike race of aliens who have been very prominent in comic books lately. <div><br /></div><div>In Annihilation, the Kree were the primary adversary of Annihilus and his alien invaders. The massive armies of the Kree held Annihilus' forces at bay until Nova, the Silver Surfer, and Galactus were able to defeat them. This conflict left much of the worlds controlled by the Kree devastated.</div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3XuG5u5NwTIPDqWNQZon-UmCsDNq4vAsjLtUOfI4yecTg5mnjeI-eihx6FLkK96dAKESbvo2VZiF29zeJApDNy25CTWByw_M6FihXUOJIv073sMlGht-ogHz2LT-NWKYdwujc_l9BQ4/s320/406px-Annilhus.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 253px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519944769104456674" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">Annihilus, obtained from </span><a href="http://marvel.com/universe/Annihilus"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://marvel.com/universe/Annihilus</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Then in Annihilation: Conquest, the Kree tried to resist the Phalanx with military force but were eventually overwhelmed. Even though the battle with the Phalanx ended, the Kree people were ravaged and much of the Kree empire was devastated.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Kree then joined forces with the Inhumans in order to restore some of their strength. But only days after this union, the Kree went to war with the Shiar. Now, the Kree are part of a multi-race coalition of forces battling invaders from another dimension.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>It's hard to imagine the war force that could sustain this level of conflict for so long. But the Kree are that force. In fact, though it seems like they have recently been thrown through a wringer of conflict, the Kree have always been at war. For hundreds of years, the Kree have battled the Skrulls. </div><div><br /></div><div>They clearly know how to run a war. The level of production and construction shown in the Kree is truly something impressive. Looking at the Kree in a Keynesian perspective would lend us to believe that the state of a permanent wartime economy would increase spending, up product demand, dramatically advance technology, and raise productivity. And the Kree certainly seem strong.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, this has also led the Kree to become a completely militaristic society. They would be unable to function under any other system since their economy is centered entirely around war. </div><div><br /></div><div>And it's hard to tell whether this is a bad thing. On one hand, the Kree kill a lot and die a lot. On the other hand, the Kree were responsible for holding off forces which could have destroyed the universe. The Kree are unique in their ability to destroy, but their economic and military strength is truly something wonderful to behold.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10147921108883526924noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-17352311169645929502010-09-16T08:44:00.000-04:002010-09-16T08:44:00.640-04:00Respect Your Assets: Two-Face Doesn't...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVXeANq2VboiautCXUEcsUmHEGh-NW_vYe1rJGM1v7_4qMLfuhGx6PigpFkIFDoEwEMUZhS_epaindYtLogTzFmxfei_7eLTDWtqYGC3BHyDv8csEnXZCsaNH5UmqMqOPj4JlPAmADhxA/s1600/15348_400x600.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVXeANq2VboiautCXUEcsUmHEGh-NW_vYe1rJGM1v7_4qMLfuhGx6PigpFkIFDoEwEMUZhS_epaindYtLogTzFmxfei_7eLTDWtqYGC3BHyDv8csEnXZCsaNH5UmqMqOPj4JlPAmADhxA/s320/15348_400x600.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517371069651754322" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Art by Dustin Nguyen from the cover of Streets of Gotham #15, obtained from </span><a href="http://www.dccomics.com/go/?15348"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.dccomics.com/go/?15348</span></a></span></div></span><br /><div>In a recent issue of Batman: Streets of Gotham (issue #15 actually), we see what happens to a crime boss who isn't aware of the resources available to him. <div><br /></div><div>Two-Face has had some trouble maintaining his criminal empire recently. Since Battle for the Cowl, Two-Face has had to face gang wars with both Penguin and Black Mask, as well as the forceful intervention of Batman himself. In Streets of Gotham, Two-Face has also had to deal with the fact that he has an undercover cop in his ranks. </div><div><br /></div><div>Streets of Gotham #15 shows Two-Face dealing with the ramifications of these events. Most of Two-Faces gang has been murdered or arrested, leaving Two-Face with only two hired thugs supporting him and very little money. This is a dire state of affairs for the crazed crime boss, yet Two-Face refuses to acknowledge the limitations that are placed on him. </div><div><br /></div><div>When Two-Face continues to expect unreasonable things from his rapidly deteriorating "organization," his last two henchman turn on him. Realizing Two-Face is out of touch with reality, the thugs fill Two-Face with lead rather than continue to risk their own lives for a madman. Naturally, they dump Two-Face into the river and leave him for dead.</div><div><br /></div><div>Let this be a lesson to all of us. When resources are limited, we need to recognize what we (and the organizations with which we involve ourselves) are capable of. It is important to pay attention to your available assets whether they be property, stock, or murderous henchmen. Don't over-extend yourself (like some recent financial institutions) or you may find yourself floating in a harbor (or bankrupt at the very least).</div><div><br /></div><div>Food for thought.</div></div>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10147921108883526924noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-47484397231277513182010-09-14T08:09:00.002-04:002010-09-14T08:09:00.967-04:00Steve Rogers Reinvents The World- National Deficit Soars<div style="text-align: left;">Now we've all heard about the "Heroic Age." Norman Osborn was smacked down, the Sentry was killed, Steve Rogers is back, the Avengers are reinstated and everything is fantasti-awesome in the Marvel Universe.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjwV2ALoEhblldE5GkpaMz6kD2AalxnilnildVLMzF17qN6X9QOr4AuBHjDPKyf7wWIcZEQkHABBvN_qYLgr-N8TTswh7BS0YoWHtTWJP_hA9IN0zz5XXm8c0GgXbyDXnmG2EVqRUbExg/s320/406px-DragynWulf--CaptainAmerica(Rogers).jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 274px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516196578469546450" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Steve Rogers art by Mike Deodato and others, Image obtained from </i></span><a href="http://marvel.com/universe/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>http://marvel.com/universe/</i></span></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Yup, H.A.M.M.E.R. (Norman Osborn's perversion of S.H.I.E.L.D.) has been disbanded and the good guys are back in charge. Everything has been fixed. Only one thing hasn't been accounted for... the goddamn cost of it all. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Lets examine whats been happening in the last few years of the Marvel Universe, shall we? First there was a superhero Civil War, during which S.H.I.E.L.D. was restructured with super powered battle suits (called "cape-killers") to hunt down heroes. </div><div><br /></div><div>In addition, Tony Stark became the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. and started building new devices and heli-carriers left and right (including a red and gold heli-carrier ala his Iron Man armor). I'm sure these changes (both substantive and cosmetic) came with a fairly hefty price. But that was just the beginning.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then when Norman Osborn took over national security, he dismantled everything Stark had created and replaced it with his own version of hardware and manpower. This includes new soldiers and new weapons (granted they were created using stolen technology). He also reinvented the Avengers and revamped the super hero initiative by training and paying villains as personal hit squad. The massive amount of government funds appropriated for Osborn's "Dark Reign" should have shown up to even the most oblivious of congressional oversight commitees. But somehow, Osborn was allowed to continue employing supervillains and redirecting funds.</div><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-kai8gYdexHRNAM1Yd_rY6lsI9t-mgzF5dhnsUKpOE8pK92dVB7B9xcQZeW2SWS_e_MFDBT3BPgoYAzi6lGKN1btS-xltHtnsnYetkquhSTNZyVBPV2utOJYHA_6stxBe_riFuH4z7A/s320/406px-MikeFichera--NormanOsborn-GG-main.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 275px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516196343722047714" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><i>Norman Osborn, art by Mike Deodato and others, obtained from </i></span><a href="http://marvel.com/universe/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><i>http://marvel.com/universe/</i></span></a></div><div><br /></div><div>But that's all over right? Osborn got his butt kicked. He was removed from his position as head of the nation's defense and has been replaced with Steve Rogers (the man who was formerly Captain America). And with the new heroic morality that Steve Rogers brings to the position, surely fiscal responsibility will follow. Right?</div><div><br /></div><div>Noooooooooope.</div><div><br /></div><div>The first thing Steve Rogers does upon taking control of America's superheroic defenses is to dismantle H.A.M.M.E.R. He immediately, arrests the vicious H.A.M.M.E.R. soldiers and disable the institution itself. Rogers then reorganized S.H.I.E.L.D. and reformed 4 teams of Avengers. That's right 4 Avengers. The regular Avengers, the New Avengers, the Secret Avengers, and created an Academy for young Avengers who desperately need training. Rogers also re-did the Thunderbolts program under the guidance of Luke Cage.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, a revamp of national security obviously needed to be performed. Norman Osborn had spent a year perverting the nation's defenses into something awful. Steve Rogers had to make some changes. But it's the sheer volume of his changes I can't help but object to. One group of Avengers was enough for most of the history of the Marvel Universe. Then two were around, and they dealt with problems just fine. But here Steve Rogers has created multiple government-funded Avengers teams to protect the world. This on top of disbanding the superhero initiative (and thereby dismantling the very expensive infrastructure underlying the initiative) while trying to replace the gap in protection that initiative teams provided surely could tax the national budget. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now, being a resident of New York State (where the schools are in desperate need of funding and services are constantly being cut), I've taken issue with Steve Rogers' willy nilly spending party. I think he needs to scale back his changes and take things slowly in light of the massive spending that the two previous men in his position indulged in.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>No wonder the economy is tanking. We're all subsidizing a Secret Avengers trip to Mars.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1S8ULZt1lnC4qBfcAz9GoRdJZ2ee55gGj1JQVgDtFxK_eW27r31KkK1ceTpVNbA9gzE7K4QqZmWaE6tBvFj5O2RP7Ek8WSNbPdlVKvqr0uQwxEdc3QP1-a2fydR-2OEYX0cdSBcQFiHI/s320/406px-Acotilletta2--Secret_Avengers442.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 275px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516196009849346754" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><i>Cover to Secret Avengers#1, art by Marko Djurdjevic, obtained from </i></span><a href="http://marvel.com/universe/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><i>http://marvel.com/universe/</i></span></a></div>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10147921108883526924noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-45469195206944174882010-08-27T08:29:00.003-04:002010-08-27T15:54:44.133-04:00Ecocomics Week in Review 8/27/2010<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH86_s70XefmLovCiaf2-AYhQxyJb9drM4wM-68pmEc2ZVgXoaRghHXM3ZFyeovHCY7aHeylaDn0u2B6Q4gDzcR-gRqDWKGrJKvfvV-_vNQWRoJYEcSxGi34rKNgCC-3PZ0YvBdqIRZfs/s1600/b528a89ab4464cc3a42613f83c0edb1b_0.jpg"></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Part of our job at Ecocomics is to inform readers of the latest ecocomics news stories. With that in mind, we present to you, straight from the editor's desk of THE DAILY BOGGLE, the WEEK IN REVIEW, a summary of the week's most important events.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510180023341262978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 427px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj791i21WjvPpxmnwQmZqWd9APXWrJ96IPBFOyYnFJf-62MBA2iV4934W9aCV13OZ1ooP6K6qU2YGj_fDiEzwLuhScb_3lY1F9oHHjLzc11z4FJAjiGhL93f2Aw52P4tAnYdzg-GQn1qN0/s400/b528a89ab4464cc3a42613f83c0edb1b_0.jpg" border="0" /></span></span></div><br /><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></span></div><br /><br /><div><em>(note: Sorry for the resolution problems on the earlier posting of this. -Mark)</em></div><br /><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></span></div>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10147921108883526924noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-55134275554545772802010-07-28T11:17:00.003-04:002010-07-28T11:21:01.964-04:00The American Way<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQHZJpSK6fyd2aR2O9rKdM6PHPDrDqD1eGdaT4gH71KTkPnnfSgNegT3EAGZHFKkZtDQINbVn2QStnMcQRDQ-EuywIG-zS9bSR7TOxT9aTFJtJ4eb4QAs3VAifZCch44-BMOZ7eqjooLs/s1600/asm638.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQHZJpSK6fyd2aR2O9rKdM6PHPDrDqD1eGdaT4gH71KTkPnnfSgNegT3EAGZHFKkZtDQINbVn2QStnMcQRDQ-EuywIG-zS9bSR7TOxT9aTFJtJ4eb4QAs3VAifZCch44-BMOZ7eqjooLs/s400/asm638.jpg" alt="The American way" title="The American way" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498976673061238578" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Amazing Spider-Man #638 </span>by Joe Quesada, Paolo Rivera<br />Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 by Jim Shooter, David Michelinie, and Paul Ryan<br />Marvel Comics, (2010)<br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;">Spectacle for profit. The American way.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div></div>ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-48871132079268265112010-07-27T09:00:00.000-04:002010-07-27T09:00:04.505-04:00Iron Man is Impressed With Barter Economies<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_5nX85v6_uonZujhQXvBbkkUFQaUZ-45JubUCc1ZbQwjgfKvG4Rmxro3EDwAOWxhRFbiyljkSdAw1CebD_0w7C1Km9JO_WEv-24TTLY55rjoPNsr-gvZs0PoJ4YJxvmgT4W9-IQ8Fdwk/s1600/ironman28.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 145px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_5nX85v6_uonZujhQXvBbkkUFQaUZ-45JubUCc1ZbQwjgfKvG4Rmxro3EDwAOWxhRFbiyljkSdAw1CebD_0w7C1Km9JO_WEv-24TTLY55rjoPNsr-gvZs0PoJ4YJxvmgT4W9-IQ8Fdwk/s400/ironman28.JPG" alt="Mr. Macken starts a barter economy" title="Mr. Macken starts a barter economy" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497557423571206514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Invincible Iron Man #28</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"> by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca, Marvel Comics (2010)</span></span><br /></div><br />Stark Resilient is officially underway as Tony Stark tries to piece together his life, build a new Iron Man suit, <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> kickstart his new company, with the goal of creating the <a href="http://eco-comics.blogspot.com/2010/06/repulsor-technology-for-all.html">first ever electric car powered in full by repulsor technology</a>. First step? The interview process. <br /><br />Here, Stark interviews a Mr. Macken. He ran an electronics repair shop in Detroit, fixing televisions and such primarily for senior citizens. However, the community he worked in was poverty-stricken and faced as astonishing 88% unemployment rate. This meant that most of his customer base were out of work and could not actually afford to pay for their repairs. So, Mr. Macken decides to fix the televisions anyway in exchange for direct goods and services, such as a nice home-cooked meal and some plumbing in his home. This apparently "created a kind of running barter system in lieu of cash. An underground economy." And it impressed Tony Stark.<br /><br />First, which community is this that is running an 88% unemployment rate? And how small is this community? I did a quick search and couldn't find anything. Maybe the community is a few blocks populated mostly by senior citizens, who likely would have been retired anyway. Though, that wouldn't even count in the unemployment statistics since unemployment refers to those actively looking for work. The people who Mr. Macken tends to serve seem to be just good, old-fashioned poor.<br /><br />Second, how big could this barter economy have possibly been? Tony makes it seem like Mr. Macken launched an entire system where everyone in this community just swapped <a href="http://eco-comics.blogspot.com/2010/06/trade-and-barter.html">chickens for checkups</a>. That might be, but my guess is that it was really more along the lines of a barter system relegated to television repair. I doubt this would have made a major impact worthy enough to gain Tony Stark's attention. <br /><br />Plus, I doubt this economy's sustainability. As we all know, there are several problems with barter economies, the least of which is not having a standard by which you measure value. For instance, someone with a particular skill or trait could exhaust it after one use. Take, for instance, the case of the repair man offering to fix Mr. Macken's plumbing in exchange for TV repair. Suppose the gentlemen later needs his radio fixed. He's already fixed the plumbing, so what else does he have to offer?<br /><br />I don't know about you, but I don't trust this "Mr. Macken" and his crazy get-rich-quick schemes. Not the kind of employee I envision for Stark Resilient.ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-10997518589795659872010-07-26T09:00:00.000-04:002010-07-26T09:00:11.573-04:00Beast Gets Statistical Significance Wrong<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgCLdYkMg65jvvpmn1pYQwXYtburj_MUEcDe-KWxe-MW62m_mKjVbf7rm4GJBqzid9fofkgLNR6Kozc8BqQBlaNk8Eo6KuRVnoQH40fAcPjf0tcNm5EopkZ_jBGm2YmlvrwGi5rfTOpk/s1600/beast_statsig.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 370px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgCLdYkMg65jvvpmn1pYQwXYtburj_MUEcDe-KWxe-MW62m_mKjVbf7rm4GJBqzid9fofkgLNR6Kozc8BqQBlaNk8Eo6KuRVnoQH40fAcPjf0tcNm5EopkZ_jBGm2YmlvrwGi5rfTOpk/s400/beast_statsig.JPG" alt="Statistical or Practical Significance, Hank?" title="Statistical or Practical Significance, Hank?" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497506261343485410" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Uncanny X-Men: The Heroic Age</span> by Matt Fraction, Whilce Portacio,<br />Steve Sanders, and Jamie McKelvie, Marvel Comics (2010)</span><br /></span></div><br />In the wake of the major "Second Coming" event, the return of Hope, thought to be the mutant messiah, has resulted in the appearance of at least five new individuals with the X-gene across the globe. Or at least that's the theory. After all, correlation is not causation.<br /><br />Why is this important? Well, there hasn't been a single mutant birth since the "M-Day" event, and for the past several years mutantkind has been living in fear at the prospect of its own extinction. As Molly mentions above, the return of Hope (the first mutant technically born after M-Day) and the appearance of these five new mutants could signal a potential resurgence of the species.<br /><br />In response to this, Beast tells Molly that, as a scientist, he is skeptical. After all, there were only five mutants. Compared to the mutant birth rate before M-Day, a mere five mutants is inconsequential. He refers to this as being "statistically insignificant."<br /><br />I'm surprised to see such a renowned scientist fumble the concept of statistical significance. When economists, statisticians, scientists, etc. say that something is "statistically significant," they mean that the results they observe are extremely unlikely to have occurred by mere chance. <span style="font-style: italic;">Even if the results are small</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">they can still be statistically significant</span>.<br /><br />In this case, what we're testing is whether the appearance of these five new mutants was just pure coincidence, or whether it was actually caused by some event (i.e. the return of Hope). There is really no way to get a firm answer on this. As readers, we pretty much know that Hope was responsible. But it's a bit harder to prove empirically that it <span style="font-style: italic;">wasn't</span> coincidence.<br /><br />Nevertheless, this is not what Beast was referring to. He was referring to the <span style="font-style: italic;">number</span> of mutants, which is not what statistical significance actually is.<br /><br />In actuality, Beast made a common mistake, which is to mix up <span style="font-style: italic;">statistical significance</span> with <span style="font-style: italic;">practical importance</span>. Beast was implying that whether or not Hope actually caused the birth of these five new mutants, it didn't have any real implication yet, since five mutants is a relatively small number compared to the current mutant population and the previous birth rate.<br /><br />The funny thing is that it's even too soon to tell whether it has any practical significance as well. It's been a matter of days since "Second Coming" ended. It is highly likely that given some more time, the X-Men would find some more mutants on the radar. I know scientists are supposed to be skeptics, but I'm truly shocked to see Beast be so dismissive about this. And I'm stunned to see him blame his empirically-trained mind for the phenomenon.<br /><br />Maybe Hand McCoy should enroll as a continuing ed. student in the local college and re-take statistics.ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-55716577755189937002010-07-22T09:00:00.001-04:002010-07-22T09:00:13.200-04:00Ecocomics Recession Watch: Hellboy Edition<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOBqbgDk0KzUzaYjkRRnUMhXiu1fdpPTm_uK9pZNvgsty_LjTil1C-P4RTQYZIM9fJp1FSBFZzjLwRpFnqAVU4rQuj6lnGi7Am8IkrGzNQxtcfqfqjCr93cqh7EGl9zlD8EfdqpWFSJI/s1600/hellboythestorm1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 337px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOBqbgDk0KzUzaYjkRRnUMhXiu1fdpPTm_uK9pZNvgsty_LjTil1C-P4RTQYZIM9fJp1FSBFZzjLwRpFnqAVU4rQuj6lnGi7Am8IkrGzNQxtcfqfqjCr93cqh7EGl9zlD8EfdqpWFSJI/s400/hellboythestorm1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496460559962255202" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hellboy: The Storm #1</span> by Mike Mignola and Duncan Fegredo, Dark Horse Comics (2010)</span><br /></span></div><br />The economic downturn is, by far, the most dangerous evil in all of comics. It can hit in the most surprising of ways. It can hit people and places you never thought possible.<br /><br />For example, here we see how bad credit has forced Hellboy to travel around with his newly acquired magic sword in nothing more upscale than a crummy rental car. Pretty modest for the King of Britain.<br /><br />(Hellboy also says he quit drinking to avoid making bad decisions. But we know he just can't afford another bottle).ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856236869724526974.post-75112371806301210392010-07-21T15:55:00.008-04:002010-07-21T16:22:42.408-04:00Externalities: Week of 07/16/10<span style="font-style: italic;">Superheroes fight crime and save lives. But by doing so they impose certain costs on people not directly involved. These are superhero externalities.</span><br /><br />--<br /><br />#1) Amazing Spider-Man #636-- Breaking the Web of Life.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKOLSK2euEpXfnjNiNL1w8hd7uWhqrVCigeqoE7G6NhYhCvo2OTBOcKXYza5xKRFoxSkcgKx1kd9CXRjZqq03BexKjpvdbi4-XRaNUIS8hmMaBfrv05rzucGuqZuSJmECZzzoVPz5b-8I/s1600/asm636.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 313px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKOLSK2euEpXfnjNiNL1w8hd7uWhqrVCigeqoE7G6NhYhCvo2OTBOcKXYza5xKRFoxSkcgKx1kd9CXRjZqq03BexKjpvdbi4-XRaNUIS8hmMaBfrv05rzucGuqZuSJmECZzzoVPz5b-8I/s400/asm636.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496450856391042978" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Amazing Spider-Man #636</span> by Joe Kelly (w/Zeb Wells), Marco Checchetto,<br />Michael Lark and Stefano Gaudiano, Marvel Comics (2010)</span><br /></span></div><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><span>The "Grim Hunt" continues as the Kravinoffs intensify their extermination of spiders. Unfortunately, according to Madame Web, these spiders play an important role in a delicate ecosystem (or something). By hunting them, the Kravinoffs have accidentally disturbed the balance of nature, forcing a bunch of angry rats, gorillas, birds, lions, and others to respond by killing more humans. </span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />#2) </span><span>Irredeemable #15 -- Accidental Earthquakes<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2eQyk6LCN2HM5S3taHU5l6KG4pkK911nSumhuSBGcKMcwIbRNpgTzK-6pqokQZRiTHXIThH-uFIF-Z5XSauGHQUjwG7Kqc4caUk8Lz_9w8ZzmY2oGVHqnPNH9LOadarZh9sJcQN30bFc/s1600/irredeemable15.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 202px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2eQyk6LCN2HM5S3taHU5l6KG4pkK911nSumhuSBGcKMcwIbRNpgTzK-6pqokQZRiTHXIThH-uFIF-Z5XSauGHQUjwG7Kqc4caUk8Lz_9w8ZzmY2oGVHqnPNH9LOadarZh9sJcQN30bFc/s400/irredeemable15.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496453039880757698" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Irredeemable #15</span> by Mark Waid and Diego Barreto, Boom! Stuidos (2010)</span><br /></span></div><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><span>It's bad enough that the Plutonian destroyed Singapore, along with several other major cities in the world. Now in his fight against him, Cary has impetuously driven the Plutonian into a fault line, causing a 9.8 quake that's spread as far as 221 miles away to Phoenix. Incidentally, in the last issue the Paradigm (former eminent superhero team in this universe) specifically picked the Grand Canyon as the location of the fight to avoid causing damage and externalities such as this. Whoops.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span></span><span>#3) X-Force #28 -- Golden Gate Bridge</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyrH-Hoq2SWDTGpsDUnEcZXQj9m6jG9QPUmKMNyrjYNxdC4Ttv4t9TgFuWF12b_VuHeRvNWoTCR5K6vv7jLkiF3969woCw0rKrYEdsk2e6lwvqNmdw_wajt3mUsK_t5CPhn4TNnyWQnVI/s1600/xforce28.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyrH-Hoq2SWDTGpsDUnEcZXQj9m6jG9QPUmKMNyrjYNxdC4Ttv4t9TgFuWF12b_VuHeRvNWoTCR5K6vv7jLkiF3969woCw0rKrYEdsk2e6lwvqNmdw_wajt3mUsK_t5CPhn4TNnyWQnVI/s400/xforce28.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496455427898215922" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">X-Force #28</span> by Craig Kyle, Christ Yost, and Mike Choi, Marvel Comics (2010)</span><br /></div><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><span><span>When last we checked in on "Second Coming," the Golden Gate Bridge had been surrounded by a mysterious dome, engulfing the new mutant haven, Utopia, along with a good chunk of San Francisco. We later discovered that the dome was actually a portal, sending "mutant-slaying Nimrod sentinels" back from the future to, well, slaughter mutants. Now it seems the battle is over and the Nimrods are all but destroyed. Except...yeah. </span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />--<br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Feel free to send us your favorite externalities of the week. We'll throw them up on next week's post and credit your name. </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span>ShadowBankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18253883719460683589noreply@blogger.com16