Escape Artists
PodCastle => Episode Comments => Topic started by: Talia on March 19, 2013, 04:41:27 PM
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PodCastle Miniature 75: Doctor Diablo Goes Through The Motions (http://podcastle.org/2013/03/17/podcastle-miniature-75-doctor-diablo-goes-through-the-motions/)
by Saladin Ahmed (http://saladinahmed.com/).
Read by Roberto Suarez (of the trailerclash (http://trailerclash.wordpress.com/) podcast).
Originally appeared in Strange Horizons (http://http//www.strangehorizons.com). Read the text there. (http://http//www.strangehorizons.com/2010/20100215/diablo-f.shtml)
So here I am again, sitting at a twelve-person steel table, going through the motions. The Society of Supercriminals’ new headquarters is impressive but not comfortable. You’d think that Overlord, with his ill-gotten dictator-industrialist billions, could afford some padding for these damn chairs. But as my Tío Cesar would say, assholes never shit flowers.
Rated R for language and hostility
(http://escapepod.org/wp-images/podcast-mini4.gif) Listen to this week’s PodCastle! (http://media.rawvoice.com/podcastle/media.libsyn.com/media/podcastle/PCFlash075_DoctorDiablo.mp3)
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This is fucking brilliant!
I want a full length story about these characters. Hell, I want a novel.
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If done well, I like stories that poke fun of the troupes of superheroes and villains, especially from the point of view of the villains, since they always seem even sillier than the heroes.
This was done well. Good writer, good reader.
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Was it done well? Honestly, I was so distracted by my annoyance at all the send-ups that I didn't notice. Also, the not-at-all-veiled agenda (even if I happen to agree with it). Throne of the Crescent Moon is still way high on my to read list though.
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Was it done well? Honestly, I was so distracted by my annoyance at all the send-ups that I didn't notice. Also, the not-at-all-veiled agenda (even if I happen to agree with it). Throne of the Crescent Moon is still way high on my to read list though.
Everyone has an agenda. It's a personal thing, and we were afforded a personal view of Dr. Diablo. It didn't hurt that I identified and agreed with him.
Crescent Moon has moved up on my list as well :)
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;) I loved this episode, I know it was short, but hey you get an idea on the characters right away and see the main villian is a complete sarcastic lovable guy who has to endure the rantings of a madman as a leader. Well I give this episode a 10. It was great! This is my first time on the forums and I love it. I'm even writing my own stories. You can find me at randyscifi@blogspot.com. Read my rantings, it'll give you something to think about. Love this podcast!
Sincerely Marsman1
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Just finished listening to his story and I have to say that I like it. Like others, I always enjoy when a story pokes fun at superhero tropes and I enjoyed the perspective of Dr Diablo. I enjoyed listening to it, just another reason to sit down and read Throne of the crescent Moon.
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This has already been audiod (is that a word?) on Drabblecast 158.
http://www.drabblecast.org/2010/04/09/drabblecast-158-dr-diablo-goes-through-the-motions-by-saladin-ahmed-drabble-dear-occupant-by-nathan-lee/
If you guys have been reduced to ripping off other podcasts then you really need to get out more.
Although if you're going to rip off anyone, then the Drabblecast is probably your best bet.
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Eh, as a primarily reprint podcast magazine, I'm not too worried about ripping anyone off.
That said, I heard it at Drabblecast when it ran there three years back, after I read it at Strange Horizons when it was first published. Keep in mind, DC and Norm are two of my favorite podcasting things, but I think Roberto's reading of this is absolutely inspired, and worthy of people's time - whether they've heard it before or not.
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I think Roberto's reading of this is absolutely inspired, and worthy of people's time - whether they've heard it before or not.
Totally agreed.
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That said, I heard it at Drabblecast when it ran there three years back
THAT'S why I recognized it!
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Saying "Rip off" implies that the story was illicitly copied or stolen. But, the story does not belong to Drabblecast, it belongs to Saladin Ahmed. If Saladin didn't have the audio rights, then Podcastle would not have published it. And I'm sure he was paid for it. So this isn't a rip-off, it's a case where an author gets to be paid multiple times for a story he wrote. And as Dave points out, that's what Podcastle always did and always does - it's an audio reprint market, which means it (usually) published stories that were already published elsewhere. Why in the world would Podcastle refuse to publish good stories just because they were already published in audio form in a different podcast?
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I tend to like all the batman I read and watch, but man I love hearing people rip into the batman story. I think it's because the whole story premise is so over the top.
Reminded me of this description by http://adventuresofcomicbookgirl.tumblr.com (http://adventuresofcomicbookgirl.tumblr.com), comparing batman to the Mary Sue trope.
So, there’s this girl. She’s tragically orphaned and richer than anyone on the planet. Every guy she meets falls in love with her, but in between torrid romances she rejects them all because she dedicated to what is Pure and Good. She has genius level intellect, Olympic-athelete level athletic ability and incredible good looks. She is consumed by terrible angst, but this only makes guys want her more. She has no superhuman abilities, yet she is more competent than her superhuman friends and defeats superhumans with ease. She has unshakably loyal friends and allies, despite the fact she treats them pretty badly. They fear and respect her, and defer to her orders. Everyone is obsessed with her, even her enemies are attracted to her. She can plan ahead for anything and she’s generally right with any conclusion she makes. People who defy her are inevitably wrong.
God, what a Mary Sue.
I just described Batman.
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This story, I rather enjoyed. The point of view of an evil minion, of sorts. Not just a grunt, but a 'lesser' member of a league of evil. But, the question to ask is: Is this the same sort of story we'd hear from the 'lesser' member of the league of good?
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FYI, I have moved the last couple of comments on the "stories on multiple podcasts" theme over here. (http://forum.escapeartists.net/index.php?topic=6988.0)
If you wish to continue on that subject, please fly/swim/amble/teleport/backflip/whathaveyou on over to that thread. Thanks :)
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Entertaining enough although I am not in love with the Superhero/villain stuff. A little too preachy but overall a decent read!
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Really? I love superhero/villain stuff! I'm afraid I prefer a good episode of the Venture Brothers (who also play with the havoc masked vigilantes would ACTUALLY cause in society) to this piece, but I'd definitely like to hear more stuff like it in the future.
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Did this XKCD comic cross the mind of anyone else while listening to this story? http://xkcd.com/610/
I liked this story even though it became a little pedestrian towards the end. The little jokes sprinkled throughout made it worthwhile.
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To me this story doesn't really stand out from other villain-as-protagonist stories. It's not bad, but it's not remarkable.
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Yeah, I heard this one on Drabblecast way back too, but I think it is much better with Roberto's reading, he was an excellent narrator here. Not that the DC version was bad either.
Really fun story, and yeah there are a lot of stories like this, but it did stand out a bit to me, mostly for the racial angle. Not just that it addressed race, which I know I've seen done before, but that it was really about the prison system and how that ties in with race. That and supervillians being idiots, which yeah, we've seen before, but it was done well here.