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Daily Nebraskan
Wednesday, September 3, 1986
Classes
University Health Center
SESSION I SEPT. 8 thru OCT. 17
Make A Positive Lifestyle Choice!
Classes Forming NOW!
Aerobic Conditioning Firmer Body
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AEROBIC CONDITIONING
M-W-F 7:00-7:45 Both Campuses
M-W-F 5:10-6:00
T-Th 4:00-4:50
Both Campuses
City Campus
FIRMER BODY
T-Th 12:10-12:50
T-Th 5:10 6:00
City Campus
Both Campuses
2 days a week-$10.00
3 days a week-$14.00
5 days a week-$22.00
AN ACTIVE WAY TO WEIGHT CONTROL
M 3:30-5:00 Health Center
(10 Weeks) $25.00
Registration forms can be picked up at the Community Health
Dept. in the Univ. Health Center lower level. Call for more
information at 472-7440.
D.C.'s "Watchmen" empty heroes;
Marvel's "Merc" mercenary madness
By Scott Wesely
Staff Reporter
"Watchmen," Alan Moore and
Dave Gibbons (DC Comics)
The last two years have been very
good for DC. Their "Crisis on Infinite
Earths" maxiseries was well-received
by both critics and fans, giving them
the confidence to promote still more
high quality format titles and specials.
Comics Now
Of these, "Watchmen" stands out as
one of the best. Expert writer Alan
Moore, noted for his work on "Swamp
Thing" and "Miracleman," scripts
"Watchmen," which deals with the
innate childishness of heroism, cover
ing an emptiness within an appearance
of courage. Moore's heroic reality is a
place where nothing you have ever
regarded as sacred in comics is safe.
Not even the virtue of the heroes.
"Watchmen" is, in a way, a treatise
on how truly unrealistic the standard
superhero comic is. The motivations of
long-underwear clad crusaders wouldn't
be in any possible 'real' world, nearly as
altruistic as they have been made out
to be. One character in "Watchmen,"
Nite Owl, simply saw someone being a
vigilante and decided it was for him.
Another, Silhouette, saw the hero biz
as a sexual turn-on. Still another, the
Silk Spectre, felt compelled to wear
outlandish costumes to appease her
mother, who had been the first to live
with that name. In many cases, the
figures the media labeled as most
heroic were, in fact, the most demented.
Moore's characters seem much more
human as a result of this downplaying
of out-and-out heroism. Which makes
their superpowers, for those that have
them, all the more frightening. "God
exists, and he is American," says one
commentor describing Dr. Manhattan,
a blue reconstructed man with seem
ingly infinite power.
The fictional world of the "Watch
men" is on the brink of a nuclear war in
their local year of 1985. The Keene Act
of 1977 prohibited vigilante activity
unless government-controlled. This put
many masked avengers out of work. All
had to face themselves and discover
what their role really was in society.
New For Lunch
GODM
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pi 77 A
Fresh, Hot Pizza by the Slice
Without the Wait.
Ready When You Are
Combo, Beef, Pepperoni
11:30-1:30 Mon.-Sat.
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Fast, fresh and hot!
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introduces
Free Delivery.
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Downtown 12th & "Q"
474-6000
North 48th & Vine
466-8264
South 48th & Hwy. 2
483-4129
Call location nearest you (Limited Delivery Area)
7
October 1 5, 1 986 is the Deadline!
All applications for the Student Health and Accident
Insurance must be received by October 15, 1986.
Brochures and information are available at:
UNIVERSITY HEALTH CENTER
or call 472-7437
Check thoso points:
o Am I still eligible for coverage under my parent's plan?
A Is there an age limit? Most policies limit the age for
dependent coverage to age 23.
B. Are you thinking of marriage? Most policies exclude
a dependent after he becomes married.
o
Have I declared financial independence from
my parents by receiving financial aid, and no
longer eligible as a dependent under their plan?
o Would a medical emergency deplete funds
set aside for my education?
Some of them just handled it worse
than others. Like normal people.
Dave Gibbons' art is perfect for the
mood of the story. A little dirty and
cynical, very precise, very measured.
The coloring is a mixture of brightness
and shadow, lending the world an aus
tere reality and covering a depressing
subtext. I've heard that Moore presents
his artists with pages upon pages of
explicit directions as to how the artist
should handle every little thing.
"Mark Hazzard: Merc," Peter
David and Gray Morrow (Mar
vel Comics)
Marvel's New Universe titles have,
with few exceptions, proven to be
bombs in quality, if not sales. "Merc" is
one of those exceptions. I've always
liked Peter David's work and he's done
another good job in his portrayal of a
butt-kicking jerk of a mercenary by the
name of Mark Hazzard. Hazzard has
combat sense, but no consideration.
His tactics are two-sided: Be reasona
ble and therefore weak, or go full out
and deal with the consequences later.
Can you guess which one he usually chooses?
Hazzard is enough of an asshole to
foul things up for any reasonable char
acter the writer might throw into the
book, so they are left out of "Merc"
entirely. Oh, they aren't all jerks, but
they're all very self-centered and un
compromising. David handles all these
idiots in such a way that you can clearly
see their faults for what they are and
still have a good time watching them
make mistakes. That's the sign of a
good comic writer.
"Electric Warrior," Doug Moench
and Jim Baikie (DC Comics)
Another of DCs new Baxter $1.50
titles, "Electric Warrior," makes an
effort to be stylistic and realistic like
"Watchmen," though it is obviously not
on the same order of genius. Moench is
a very consistent writer, tending to
produce good material everywhere you
look, but little truly great material.
When "Electric Warrior" first came
out, I bought the book mainly because
of Moench's name, having admired his
writing on "Aztec Ace" a year or two
back and on the Batman titles which he
has done for several years. I wasn't too
impressed upon actually reading the
book, though. He seemed to have taken
many SF cliches and comic cliches,
merging them into something that only
seemed fresh and new. The plot, in
short, was not very interesting. The
characters, on the other hand, were
whole and individual, as all of Moench's
are.
Now the comic is on its eighth issue,
and I find myself growing more and
more fond of it. The story seems to
finally mean something more than a
cliche fusion, and the characters have
undergone drastic changes that the
reader has witnessed, giving us an
understanding of what the characters
are actually going through. I wonder
. . .was this Moench's intention?
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
CALL 472-2588
$2.75 minimum charge per day on commercial ads.
Ten words included.
$2.25 minimum charge per day on individual student
and student organization ads.
$.75 billing charge on noncommercial ads. All
personal ads must be prepaid.
NO REFUNDS ON PRE-PAID ADS.
NO RESPONSIBILITY ASSUMED FOR MORE THAN
ONE INCORRECT INSERTION.
FOUND ads may be submitted free of charge.
DEADLINE:
1 p.m. day before publication (Monday through
Friday).
The Daily Nebraskan will not knowingly accept help
wanted ads from businesses that are not equal oppor
tunity employers.
VISA
MASTERCARD
FOR SALE
GOVERNMENT HOMES from $1 (U-Repair) Delinquent
ISiJ3Per,V- Repossessions. Call 805-687-6000 Ext. H
9636 lor current repo list.
t 3.000 GOVERNMENT JOBS List. $16,040-S59,230yr.
Now Hiring. Call 805-687-6000, Ext. R-9636.
TRY AGAIN Second Hand Store
14th & B . Records, books, glassware, furniture and
miscellaneous. A second nana store with second hand
prices. 12:00-8 00 M-S. 6-10 Sun.
1983 YAMAHA 250 Exciter. Excellent condition, sharp!
Todd Wheeler. 464-0288.
1973 MAVERICK, excellent condition. Great school car.
S475. call 475-8134 after 5:00 p.m.
TUNER AN0 STEREO processor can be yours CaTAl
466-7945.
CASIO ELECTRONIC typewriter. AC adaptor, case.
extras. Less than one year old. $150. 477-7012 after 4 p.m.
MOVING! Must sell cheap. Bed. TV, bike, chair, kitchen
table, more. 474-2030.
SIGMA CAMERA lens 400 mm. Canon Mount. 489-0197"!
EXCELLENT VIOLIN. Special for student. Call during
morning. 466-1128.
REBUILT SCHWiNN 10-speed. New paint. Call to look
474-3470
LEATHER COUCH and two chairs for sale. Call 466-8834
after 5:00.
J HOT TRANSPORTATION
yi !or sale ln verV 9ood condition. S65. Call
476-1542 after 6.00. Ask for Pat.