DID COMICS BREAK THE SOX CURSE?

[MattBrady]

In the coming days, everyone will be citing everything that was supposedly responsible for moving the team one step closer to breaking the decades-old curse on the Boston Red Sox, so why not comics?

Answering the call of Larry Doherty of Larry’s Comics in Lowell, Mass, three comics with variant “Reverse the Curse” covers were produced earlier this month: Johnny Raygun by Rich Woodall and Matt Talbot, Ant by Mario Gully of Arcana Studios, and Samurai Raccoon by Kay Cornello of Diversity Comics.

Last night, the Boston Red Sox beat their arch rivals, the New York Yankees 10-3, breaking at least part of the 80-plus year old curse that according to staunch fans, began when Sox owner Harry Frazee sold the rights to Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920.

"Truth is that Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man is a Boston Red Sox fan,” Doherty said in a release. “He’s a hero of the oppressed, always rises up against insurmountable odds, and is the every-man’s hero. But Spidey would get himself in hot water if he was webslinging the New York canyons while wearing a Red Sox hat, so we had to look elsewhere for our Red Sox support.”

”Reverse the Curse” covers are still available at Larry’s Comics of Lowell, MA and The Paperback Bazaar in Somersworth, NH.

Meanwhile, the World Series starts Saturday night in Fenway Park.

[Egg]

Mario Gully and Arcana Studio would like to thank Larry Doherty (of Larry’s Comics in Lowell, Mass) for helping spread the good word about ANT! We genuinely appreciate Larry choosing us over a number of other great comics that are floating around out there!



Thank You,

Egg
Copy Editor - www.ArcanaStudio.com
Writer - www.KamenComic.com

[SpyGuy]

I don't know if comics "reversed the curse" on the Boston Red Sox, but I do know that the Sox/Yanks Game Seven probably killed the ratings on SMALLVILLE last night, which probably killed any chance of a FLASH spinoff series.

But hey, at least the Yankees are out of the World Series, so that's some good news...

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

I love the way Red Sox fans lowered expectations for the curse on this one. The Red Sox still haven't won a World Series since 1918. The curse is hardly broken, unless you're saying Bill Buckner in Game 6 of the '86 World Series wasn't a Curse issue.

If the Sox win the World Series, then I'll be convinced. Until then -- keep trying. It ain't broken yet.

-Augie

[Darth Presley]

Originally posted by Augie De Blieck Jr.
I love the way Red Sox fans lowered expectations for the curse on this one. The Red Sox still haven't won a World Series since 1918. The curse is hardly broken, unless you're saying Bill Buckner in Game 6 of the '86 World Series wasn't a Curse issue.

If the Sox win the World Series, then I'll be convinced. Until then -- keep trying. It ain't broken yet.

-Augie

What he said!

and let's not forget the World Series debacles of 1946, 1967, and 1975!

[Matt Talbot]

Hey folks!

Here's our contribution to the Red Sox madness:



Thanks to Larry for letting us contribute!

And, of course we still have work to do in the World Series... but you'll have to forgive us for getting excited about giving the Yankees a spanking of historic proportions over the last four days! For Sox fans, it's like conquering a major demon (no pun intended).

Matt

[taintedlunch]

This article is bogus. The curse is NOT broken until they beat the Astros/Cards. Maybe fate has set up the Sox to be beaten twice by former Sox Roger Clemens. How painful would that be?

Plus, I doubt a science nerd like Parker would watch baseball, and, if he did, he'd be a Yankee fan.

[BaronZito]

1) Peter Parker has been shown on multiple occasions to be a baseball fan. Being a "science geek" has nothing to do with it. If anything, it would make him more of a baseball fan - baseball more than any other sport is about numbers, and I know quite a few "science geeks" that love baseball, including a writer on my site that was recently awarded a presidential honor for his work in the sciences.

2) Peter Parker is from Queens. Peter Parker grew up a Mets fan, not a Yankees fan. Not just geography, but there have been stories written about him going to Mets games.

3) If you like the Mets, you hate the Yankees. Besides rooting for the downtrodden underdog, Peter, like any good Mets fan, would love seeing the Yankees lose.

[clyde&princess]

Baseball?!? Don't be such GEEKS! I mean, really... what kind of NERDS are into sports?

Get into a real hobby like comics or dungeons & dragons along with everyone else in the world. Then no one will make fun of you anymore...

[OM]

Originally posted by Augie De Blieck Jr.
If the Sox win the World Series, then I'll be convinced. Until then -- keep trying. It ain't broken yet.

...And although I'd sworn off of Major League Baseball until every one of the bastards who were involved in the Centennial Strike *and* Albert Belle is given the Pete Rose treatment and deservedly barred for life, I actually paid attention to this playoff when it became apparent the Yankees were going to blow it. Which brings us to this hyopthesis:

Given that the Red Sox have their curse, and given how the Yankees choked as bad as they did, odds are is that the Yankees got cursed as well, and the curse envoked simply contained more power behind the retribution energies and therefore overrode the eight-decade curse against Boston.

ObComics: Having the Supreme Deity in charge of Curse Fullfillment choosing between which cursed team gets to lose to the other cursed team is like trying to decide who'd win in a battle between Nemesis Kid and Duplicate Boy.

[pmpknface]

Originally posted by Augie De Blieck Jr.
I love the way Red Sox fans lowered expectations for the curse on this one. The Red Sox still haven't won a World Series since 1918. The curse is hardly broken, unless you're saying Bill Buckner in Game 6 of the '86 World Series wasn't a Curse issue.

If the Sox win the World Series, then I'll be convinced. Until then -- keep trying. It ain't broken yet.

-Augie

Augie - Sox fans know the score. We haven't lowered expectations on anything. Life will be grand for 24 hours and THEN everyone in Sox Nation will be focusing on bringing home a World Championship. That - and only that - will make everyone happy.

Beating the Yanks, in NY, in game 7, after dropping the first 3 games is certainly something to be proud of. And if they don't beat the NL winner they will still be able to hold their heads high, but the curse (if you believe in it) won't be broken until they are World Series champs and everyone knows it.

[taintedlunch]

Originally posted by BaronZito
1) Peter Parker has been shown on multiple occasions to be a baseball fan. Being a "science geek" has nothing to do with it. If anything, it would make him more of a baseball fan - baseball more than any other sport is about numbers, and I know quite a few "science geeks" that love baseball, including a writer on my site that was recently awarded a presidential honor for his work in the sciences.

2) Peter Parker is from Queens. Peter Parker grew up a Mets fan, not a Yankees fan. Not just geography, but there have been stories written about him going to Mets games.

3) If you like the Mets, you hate the Yankees. Besides rooting for the downtrodden underdog, Peter, like any good Mets fan, would love seeing the Yankees lose.

It's scary that you know this much.

As a rule, 'science geeks' don't like sports, including and especially baseball. I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't the lowest rated thread in Newsrama history. LOL And please don't cite the Spider-Man issues where he's wearing a Mets cap. That would be too much.

And I understand that if he's a Mets fan, he'd root against the Yankees, even in a post-9-11 world. It's sad that the hatred runs so deep.

Just for the record, I was rooting hard for the Sox. Even down here in KY, the 'Evil Empire' is hated and despised. That being said, I wouldn't be shocked if they laid down against the NL. I'm a Braves fan, so I've gotten quite used to letdowns.

If the Sox win, how depressed will Cubs fans be? They'll be all alone in this cruel world. Or maybe a Sox win would give them hope that their Cubs could someday win.

I bet Nomar is kicking himself in the ass right now.

[Michael C Lorah]

"Truth is that Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man is a Boston Red Sox fan,” Doherty said in a release. “He’s a hero of the oppressed, always rises up against insurmountable odds, and is the every-man’s hero.

The Red Sox, oppressed, every-men?!?

C'mon, the only thing that's prevented the ridiculously rich Red Sox from being the Evil Empire was the Yankees being even richer.

I was still happy to see A-Rod sulking in the dugout during the ninth, but I'm all for Houston (or St. Louis) taking it all this year.

[Michael P]

Originally posted by taintedlunch
It's scary that you know this much.

As a rule, 'science geeks' don't like sports, including and especially baseball. I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't the lowest rated thread in Newsrama history. LOL And please don't cite the Spider-Man issues where he's wearing a Mets cap. That would be too much.

Peter Parker: Spider-Man 33 (V. 2) explains Peter's Mets fandom in detail. Long story short, Uncle Ben got him into it. He was definitely rooting for the Sox.

[pmpknface]

Originally posted by taintedlunch
It's scary that you know this much.

As a rule, 'science geeks' don't like sports, including and especially baseball. I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't the lowest rated thread in Newsrama history. LOL And please don't cite the Spider-Man issues where he's wearing a Mets cap. That would be too much.

And I understand that if he's a Mets fan, he'd root against the Yankees, even in a post-9-11 world. It's sad that the hatred runs so deep.

Just for the record, I was rooting hard for the Sox. Even down here in KY, the 'Evil Empire' is hated and despised. That being said, I wouldn't be shocked if they laid down against the NL. I'm a Braves fan, so I've gotten quite used to letdowns.

Knowing that Pete grew up a Mets fan is just common Spidey knowledge, as poster Michael P points out. I think in a recent issue (w/in the past month) of some Marvel book where someone asked where Spder-Man was. The answer - probablly at Yankee Stadium because "he likes giving A-Rod a hard time" (someone feel free to clarify this for me).

I know it cheezed off a bunch of people in the first movie where they show a picture of a young Peter and Uncle Ben in Yankees hats!

Otherwise, thanks for rootin' for the Sox! They may be on a roll, but can still use all the help they can get!

[Michael C Lorah]

As a rule, 'science geeks' don't like sports, including and especially baseball. I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't the lowest rated thread in Newsrama history. LOL And please don't cite the Spider-Man issues where he's wearing a Mets cap. That would be too much.

If the Sox win, how depressed will Cubs fans be? They'll be all alone in this cruel world. Or maybe a Sox win would give them hope that their Cubs could someday win.

For the record, I was a baseball fan almost a full decade before I started reading comics regularly, so there's at least one Newsarama reader who couldn't be happier to see such a thread!

Cubs and Red Sox fans are hardly as exclusive a group as they like to pretend. Chicago fans, imo, have it far worse than Boston fans.
Bad enough to have one team not win a Series since 1918- Chicago has two teams and NEITHER has won since 1917, so even Boston has a title since either the Cubs or White Sox won it all.

And we Phillies phans aren't that much better off. Sure, we've won a Series in my lifetime (though I was too young to appreciate it), but we did go the first 97!! years of our existence without a title. And we hold the exciting distinction of being the losingest team in all of sports.
But there's always next year

[SpyGuy]

Originally posted by taintedlunch
As a rule, 'science geeks' don't like sports, including and especially baseball. I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't the lowest rated thread in Newsrama history. LOL And please don't cite the Spider-Man issues where he's wearing a Mets cap. That would be too much.

If the Sox win, how depressed will Cubs fans be? They'll be all alone in this cruel world. Or maybe a Sox win would give them hope that their Cubs could someday win.

Yeah, I know that "science geeks" especially hate baseball, considering all those baseball examples that appear in physics textbooks...

And don't feel too bad for Cubs fans. They still have us Indians fans to keep them company...

[cncoyle]

Originally posted by taintedlunch
Just for the record, I was rooting hard for the Sox. Even down here in KY, the 'Evil Empire' is hated and despised. That being said, I wouldn't be shocked if they laid down against the NL. I'm a Braves fan, so I've gotten quite used to letdowns.

Welcome to Newsarama, taintedlunch! I grew up and lived in KY (Campbellsville) for 28 years, but never understood why there are so many Braves fans when the Reds are closer by...

[Agent Wax]

People who dont follow the Red Sox just dont get it. These arent just a group of baseball players. These are guys with personalities that LOVE the game and pour their hearts out for each game and give everything they have. The Yankees are the exact opposite, just a bunch of guys in it for the paycheck, yeah they are Good, but they expect to win. They are a bunch of cookie cutter baseball players and half of them have no respect for the game. Yeah im talking about AROD slapping the ball away from Arroyo the other night. You just dont do that, but alas, its something you should expect from Yankees. They start getting scared that they will lose the big one and they break out all the dirty tricks they can.
Not to mention their fans throwing stuff on the field. Unprofessional. Especially when your team is the one that messed up blatantly. If nothing else, this series being won was worth it to see the look on their faces when they figured out that the sox had taken them down and that they, THE YANKEES had just dropped a 3 game lead and lost a chance to go to the World Series. It was a quiet night in NYC last night boys and girls......
_WAX_
XXX

[Woolam]

The Curse is still alive. Huston will win tonight, and go to the World Series for the first time ever and beat the Sox.

Here's my conspiracy theory as to why the curse is still alive. Two words: Roger Clemens. It has been 86 years since the Sox won the series, and what year was it that Clemens won the MVP with the Red Sox? Yep, 1986. 1986 was also the last time the Sox were in the series, and they lost then too.

So with Clemens on the Astros, he will carry on the legacy of the curse.

Go STROS!!!

Peace,
Doug

[mdhprime]

Originally posted by Agent Wax
People who dont follow the Red Sox just dont get it. These arent just a group of baseball players. These are guys with personalities that LOVE the game and pour their hearts out for each game and give everything they have. The Yankees are the exact opposite, just a bunch of guys in it for the paycheck, yeah they are Good, but they expect to win. They are a bunch of cookie cutter baseball players and half of them have no respect for the game. Yeah im talking about AROD slapping the ball away from Arroyo the other night. You just dont do that, but alas, its something you should expect from Yankees. They start getting scared that they will lose the big one and they break out all the dirty tricks they can.
Not to mention their fans throwing stuff on the field. Unprofessional. Especially when your team is the one that messed up blatantly. If nothing else, this series being won was worth it to see the look on their faces when they figured out that the sox had taken them down and that they, THE YANKEES had just dropped a 3 game lead and lost a chance to go to the World Series. It was a quiet night in NYC last night boys and girls......
_WAX_
XXX

You could not be more wrong. First off, there is no curse. It is just a Boston excuse for not winning the World Series since 1918. (Having lived in Boston for 16 years, I can attest to this.) Secondly, the Yankees, surviving injuries to half their starting pitching staff and one of their biggest sluggers, made it all the way to game 7 of the ALCS. That takes a lot of heart in my book. To say that the Yankees are just in it for the paycheck shows that you do not follow baseball, let alone the team.

To give the Red Sox their due, they stepped up and played very well when in a impossibly desperate position. However, their comeback and level of play doesn't mean that they had more heart. They won two extra inning games, one with a bloop hit....not exactly a dominating performance.

As far as New York fans being unprofessional, I guess you do not remember a few years back (October 17, 1999) when fans at Fenway, through garbage on the field for a long time during a playoff game against the Yankees. The police lined the field for an extended period of time and had to issue a warning the next day saying that the Red Sox fans behavior would not be tolerated.

I am not taking away anything away from the Red Sox, but putting them on a pedastal above the Yankees is just ignorant. You need to check your facts and actually know somethng about the game before you voice your opinions, at least if you want to be taken seriously.

[HighMe84]

As a huge baseball fan and comics fan, I think this is awesome. Both are vital bits of pop culture in America, and when they overlap it brings a smile to my face. I tip my hat to the Red Sox and say good show. However, all that said....GO 'STROS! That is all.

[Jason Seaver]

Originally posted by Augie De Blieck Jr.
I love the way Red Sox fans lowered expectations for the curse on this one. The Red Sox still haven't won a World Series since 1918. The curse is hardly broken, unless you're saying Bill Buckner in Game 6 of the '86 World Series wasn't a Curse issue.

the 80-plus year old curse that according to staunch fans, began when Sox owner Harry Frazee sold the rights to Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920.

It is just a Boston excuse for not winning the World Series since 1918.

I love the way non-Red Sox fans act like the so-called curse is anything but a way for Dan Shaughnessey to sell books. Very few New Englanders put any stock in it, and most just roll their eyes when someone From Away brings it up.

[jayb00gie]

My how the mighty have fallen. Just remember… we are STILL mighty. And the BoSox still have to show and prove. But just like Super Red Sox fan Denis Leary said "It doesn't matter who from the AL goes to the World Series, this is St. Louis' year." So please… go to the World Series and lose… AGAIN!

29 World Championships. Damn! I like the sound of that.

Originally posted by Agent Wax
People who dont follow the Red Sox just dont get it. These arent just a group of baseball players. These are guys with personalities that LOVE the game and pour their hearts out for each game and give everything they have.

If game two is an example of Pedro giving everything he has, he needs to give the Yanks some more, 'cause I'm his DADDY!

The Yankees are the exact opposite, just a bunch of guys in it for the paycheck, yeah they are Good, but they expect to win.

I'm sorry… I thought that was the point. It's a competition. You play to win. Shit… that's life in a nutshell. That's why Boston will always be second to the Yankees.

Although I gotta say the smartest thing they ever did was to get rid of Nomar. What a sucker! Derek Jeter runs face first into the stands for a ball, but Nomar never got his uniform dirty. Reminds me of Corbin Bernsen's character from "Major League."

29!

[Kurt Busiek]

"LET IT BE KNOWN, in the County of Middlesex and all the civilized lands beyond, that on this day and in this place, a proclamation is made, issued by the good citizens of the City of Boston and the surrounding region, and most particularly by enthusiasts of the Red Stockings athletic club, to the worthies of the Borough of the Bronx, the City of New York and contiguous areas, and in specific those followers of the sporting organization known as the Yankees, offering those greetings and felicitations common to well-mannered discourse, all good wishes for continued health and prosperity, and an inquiry as to the identity of their father."