A New Hope

No, it's not a Star Wars post. In my world, they never slapped that stupid label on Star Wars. The scrawl starts with. "It is a time of civil war."

The new DC has left me behind. I read Justice League #1 and it looked and sounded like a continuation of Miller and Lee's All Star Batman and Robin, which is not a good thing. Their best hope for retaining me as a reader came with Gail Simone's Batgirl. I was not persuaded. Marvel's editorial policy has perpetuated the view on public schools put forth, ironically, by "Waiting for Superman." I'm not amused and I'm not buying.

So, what is a lifelong comic book reader to buy?

There are still two DC titles I will buy. The first is "Young Justice." Based on the cartoon series of the same name, the story takes place between episodes and provides more background that is consistent with the story being told on television. It's been just great so far, and Sera loves it.

The other DC title, though it is that by publishing rights only, is "Astro City." I understand that it is being released with a new #1 like everything else, and that's just fine with me. I don't

care what number you put on the cover as long as Busiek and Anderson get to keep telling their wonderful stories.

"Invincible," by

Robert Kirkman and drawn by Ryan Ottley, published by Image, remains at the top of my comic book reading list. It's not appropriate for kids, certainly, but this is my personal reading list, not what I could hand to my students. Month in and month out, this is the best superhero book out there. It's got a fair amount of gore, and I've objected to it before, but it's just different somehow when it's in a book that I didn't grow up with. Because of this book, I also buy "Guarding the Globe" and "Super Dinosaur," also written by Kirkman. Super Dinosaur is very cool. It features a supergenius kid and a talking six-foot T-Rex who controls his human-sized robot arms with video game controllers. The best part of this is that Kirkman actually had a suit made that someone can wear, and their human arms fit inside the robotic ones that SD is supposed to have. Brilliant!

"The Bionic Man," from Dynamite, is Kevin Smith's treatment of the "Six Million Dollar Man," my favorite show from when I was a kid. It's unfortunately starting off at graphic novel pace. We're in the second issue and we' just gotten Steve Austin out of the wreckage of his aircraft. We'll see how this one goes.

"Game of Thrones," also from Dynamite, just had a first issue this week, and I picked that up, too. I love the HBO show and the novel, so I have high hopes for this one, too. They're not using actor likenesses, and they're using the character ages from the novel, so this one is going to be different. One advantage they have over the HBO show is an unlimited effects budget. We've already gotten to see White Walkers that are far more impressive than the ones on TV.

I'm really excited for IDW's "Star Trek." I read Gold Key Star Trek comics when I was a kid, and loved them. The later ones by DC and Marvel were just okay. IDW's version of Star Trek comics takes the new continuity created by the JJ Abrams movie and re-tells Original Series stories in the that context, under the supervision of the script writers. The first issue just came out this week, and starts "Where No Man Has Gone Before," with Gary Mitchell getting ESP enhancement. It looks like the pacing is for a three or four part story, which is fine with me.

What might have been the best read of the year for me, though, was the long-awaited release of the New Teen Titans graphic novel, "Games." What a pleasure to read! At times seeming a little bit dated, it was just like stepping back into 1989 to pick up where the "Who is Wonder Girl?" story left off. Marv Wolfman's scripting was never a favorite of mine, but combined with the storytelling power of George Perez and the moral debate over whether or not to kill an enemy, this book shines as a beacon pointing back to "a more civilized age."

Wow, maybe this was about Star Wars, after all.

Again...

Well, here we go again with a comic book archer drawn by someone who has obviously never shot a bow. Get ready to say "Ouch," Green Arrow. Your bowstring is about to hit the back of your hand.

Kalamazoo

We made our annual spring trip to Kalamazoo today. A little later than usual, but it was still a successful trip. You see, living down here in northern Indiana, you can walk into a store and have your choice of just a few sports team options when it comes to licensed merchandise. Typically, for spring stuff, you get to choose from the Cubs, the White Sox, or Notre Dame. You'll get an occasional Purdue or IU item, but for the most part, it's those three. But I'm a Detroit Tigers fan, so despite the fact that I live in their local broadcast market, our cable system doesn't carry their games, and I can't find Tigers merchandise for anything. Oh, sure, I could order it, but where's the fun in that?

Kalamazoo has a special place in my heart. It's the first real city that I ever lived in. It's where I lived when the Tigers won the World Series in 1984. I went to college there. I started my teaching career there. It's essentially where I made the transition from being a teenager fresh from high school to being a man. Every time we make this trip, my mind wanders back to those days. Today, as we were driving along a detoured route, I played Huey Lewis and the News's "Sports," an album I used to play quite a bit back in those days. It's funny how memories can be triggered by music, and those memories were certainly strong.

We were headed to Fanfare first, which meant we had to travel north up Westnedge Avenue. It was closed, and it was funny to think that I didn't even need to see the detour signs to know where I had to go. North on Oakland, east on Kilgore, and there we were, like it was yesterday. Fanfare was the first comic book store I had ever seen, or even heard of. As I wrote about here, I discovered it when I was a college freshman, and it's still there, 28 years later. We stopped in and picked up a Power Pack book that Sera will love to read, a short comic book drawer box that I can use in my classroom, as well as a used art portfolio and a couple of cheap trade paperbacks, also for my classroom. Then, we were off to find Tigers stuff.

Our first stop for Tigers stuff was a flop. While Magi went to Old Navy to find clothes for Sera, Sera and I went to Office Max. I was looking for note cubes and folder. Struck out looking. Bed, Bath, and Beyond, on the other hand, had just the item I was looking for. If you've never used a Tervis Tumbler, you've missed out. They keep stuff cold, and they keep stuff hot. Down here, of course, there were a million tumblers with teams I didn't want, but in Kalamazoo, I found one with my Tigers logo on it. I added a handle and a lid, and now I have the perfect cup from which to drink coffee and iced tea.

We were also successful at finding stuff at Meijer. The Meijer on Westnedge Avenue is where I worked in the summer of 1985. It was a good job. I worked my way up from bagger to cashier, over a summer, and the only reason I left the job was that I couldn't work my schedule around classes at Western. I had a budget for food that summer, and it consisted of a very simple formula: Every day, I would eat four hamburgers and drink a Coke from Hot 'N Now Hamburgers. Back then, (imagine an old man's voice here) they charged $0.39 for everything. $0.39 for a hamburger, $0.39 for a Coke, $0.39 for fries. So, basically for $2.03 (4% sales tax back then), I would eat each day, and that was typically my only meal. Anyway, Meijer had the Tigers stuff I was looking for. I got a pair of sleeping shorts and a new lanyard for work. We passed by the old Hot 'N Now on the way out of town, and it's still closed and not occupied.

On the way home, we stopped in Three Rivers, and the Meijer there had some pens and a luggage tag that will come in handy. So, all in all the trip was successful. It wasn't really about shopping for Tigers stuff. It was about something like baseball, though. It's always good touching base, and for me, Kalamazoo was my second base.

Ultimate Hawkeye

From the Pet Peeves Department:

Given these two images of the cover of Ultimate Hawkeye #1, I'm going to guess that Adam Kubert (left) has never shot a bow, and that Neal Adams (right) has. Kubert's Hawkeye just got a taut bowstring across the back of his hand. Maybe that's why Hawkeye looks so irritated and his arrows are flying off in different directions.

So Far, So Good...

Well, it's a new year and nothing catastrophic has happened to us yet.

That sounds a bit on the negative side, but if you had been in our position for the past 18 months, you would be a bit more understanding. It's been nothing but one disaster after another, financially, healthwise, and otherwise. The one saving grace for Magi and me has been our wonderful daughter, Sera.

It's almost been like having a fever for a year and a half, and just before winter recess (Christmas break to us old folks) the fever broke. I finally sold off the inventory of my comic book business, as well as the bulk of my personal comic book collection.

I worked all summer long, like I usually do, and then with 12 days off between summer school and the beginning of the normal school year, I used the time to prepare to sell comics at Wizard World Chicago, the large comic book convention that used to be the Chicago Comicon. I had part of a large booth, and I brought every box of comics that I have had in my garage for the past five years. Unfortunately, for the first time in over 20 years, the convention was going to start after my school year began. I had to take two personal days during the first week of school, something I never wanted to do, but I had no choice. It was either that, or be out all of the money I had put down for the booth space. So, on the day in question, I loaded a rented U-Haul with 60 boxes of comics weighing about 50 pounds each, and drove to Chicago. I unloaded all 60 boxes of comics and then re-stacked them all like a fortress of boxes at the booth. So, basically I moved 9,000 pounds of comics in about three hours.

After I settled in and the show opened, I was selling comics for $1.00 each, but I soon discovered why business wasn't more brisk. Another dealer was selling at 5 for $1.00 on the very first day. It was pretty much the same stuff I had, so I was forced to lower my prices far sooner than I planned to. I hadn't seen so much as a quarter box at that show for about five years, so this came as quite a shock. I planned to economize as much as possible. I had a discount hotel room that I shared with a couple of friends that cost me $120 total for all three nights. It even included a free continental breakfast, which I took advantage of. I brought canned and boxed food and my own bottled water to eat and drink at the convention so that I wouldn't have to pay $7.00 or something for a sandwich and $3.50 for a bottle of water. The only thing I splurged on was $20 on both Friday and Saturday nights for a nice dinner out with new friends that I made at the show.

It was a long four days, as the dealer across the way from me was like a carnival barker. He kept shouting about how they were going out of business after 30 years. It's an old trick, and it was not the truth. He ended up going home with virtually the same number of boxes that he arrived with. He bought stuff left and right from people.

I ended up lowering my prices again and again, until on Sunday, I was literally giving away the unbagged bulk comics that no one wanted. I had rented the U-Haul truck for a one-way trip and Magi and Sera came to pick me up on Sunday. At the end of those four days, I was so happy to see them that I teared up. And the bottom line at the end of the show? I lost $100.

The good news was that on my way out, I met a convention organizer who took an interest in Sera, who was dressed up as Wonder Woman. He was now working to acquire comics for another venture. We struck up a conversation while Magi took her to the restroom, and when I told him I had sold 60 boxes but had at least that much better stuff at home, his eyes lit up. He was interested in buying it all! He told me he'd be there at the end of the week, and I worked nights to get the stuff ready. I went through it in detail, so I'd know what I had and what to ask for. I organized comics all week, and at the end of that week...he didn't show. He had even called and said that he was out of small bills and asked me to go get $40 in twenties for his tolls and he'd bump the check up by $50. Now this guy is well known in the comics world. I'm not a sucker. I knew he was good for it. I stayed up until midnight waiting for him to show up on Friday night, and then he called. His truck was full and he didn't have enough room for it. But he promised he'd be by in a few weeks to get it. Meanwhile, our air conditioner had stopped working and we didn't have the money to fix it. We'd used our mortgage money to get the car fixed and we were in a bind. Medical bills were starting to pile up too and then I had a scare with what doctors thought might be an aneurysm. One $3700 test later, we knew it wasn't, and the doctor suggested that it might be stress related. I said, "Hmm, I think it's possible."

We were getting promises from the guy to come and buy all the comics, but he kept reneging. These promises came and went every week. He said he'd be there, and then he'd have a reason why he couldn't come. A trip to China. A sudden illness. Then the promises were once a month. He'd make an appointment and cancel. I'd return his call because he'd always call when I was in class and couldn't answer. And when I'd return his call, his voice mail would pick up and the mailbox was full. It started getting ugly. So we scrimped and started paying off stuff as fast as we could. Waiting for this guy was looking dimmer and dimmer. Well, he finally showed up in mid-December. He paid far less than what I would have liked for the rest of the comics and tried to pull the "Well, these will sell for only a dollar" stuff on me, but I knew better and said so. I finally got him up to a fair price, almost double what he had intially offered, and breathed a sigh of relief. We were able to at least catch everything up, pay our medical bills, get reimbursed for our flex spending accounts and buy a few Christmas presents for Sera and the rest of our families. I had my first vacation since spring break during the first week of April, and did it feel great! The stress was gone, thank goodness. I still owe Magi's dad and stepmother for the inital outlay for the comic collection, but I can make progress on that during summer school.

Just after we went back to work, Magi got some great news. She got the Culinary Arts instruction job at the career center that she had applied for in October! This is her dream job. I am so happy for her, I can't begin to say. It was a struggle to get the people who interviewed her to see that she was the best candidate that they were likely to see, but after meeting her at the school, they have already learned things that they didn't know about her that show them just how perfect she is for this job.

When I returned to work, I found a fresh perspective on things. I'm not using the nightmare of a textbook that our corporation adopted for math. We are teaching the Indiana standards, like we should have been doing the whole time, and have been released from the cookie cutter recipes of the Connected Math Project. We can use whatever materials we'd like to get the job done, just like we should have been able to do the whole year. Some damage has been done to the kids by forcing that text on them early on, but I'm confident we can target their weaknesses now and vary our instructional strategies beyond fake context that they can't relate to.

I'd really been down on the teacher bashing that's become part of the national conversation for some time. Reviewing some of my blog posts from last year, it was getting ugly. My solution was to stop reading it. I made the mistake today of reading a presentation by state superintendent Tony Bennett, and I slid backward. I only read it because it was embedded in an email. I won't make that mistake again. Instead, I'm working on my comic book project, which will be published shortly. I will at least have an ashcan printed by C2E2 in March, with a full-color, actual comic book done by Wizard World Chicago in August. The next time I go to the convention center in Rosemont, I won't be carrying thousands of pounds of boxes. I will be sitting in a whole different section of the convention floor, carrying the hope for a brighter future for my family and me.

This is going to be fun!

Well, Now We Know

In this post, I wondered aloud how the new DC Explosion was going to turn out. Now we know: Pretty much like the last one.

Best Back to School Sale EVER!

Yes, that really is a spiral-bound notebook and a two-pocket folder with Neal Adams' cover for Batman #251 on the front. Got them at Wal-Mart and I'm not ashamed to release my inner nerd over this!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Wild Cards Begins Again!

I am a big fan of the Wild Cards books. I have been since the late 80s when they were originally published. So, here's some great news from the author.

In November, Tor is releasing the Wild Cards books from the beginning with a new version of Volume I that includes three new short stories!

If you've never read a book from this series, and if you like superheroes in any way, here's a great place to jump on!

Batman: Under the Red Hood (NO SPOILERS)

"Batman: Under the Red Hood" is the latest of DC Comics' direct-to-video animated features and I think it's one of the better ones to date. Note that it is not appropriate for children at all. The level of violence and bloodshed is once again high.

I didn't read most of the source material, so I can't claim to be an expert on the character or the comics, but for all of the faults of the retroactive continuity that leads to the appearance of the Red Hood, the writer of this movie, Judd Winick, avoids all of it and makes it work well.

The first thing I noticed about the movie is the different styles used to animate Batman and Nightwing. There is a scene where the former Dynamic Duo are pursuing the Red Hood on foot in a style reminiscent of Casino Royale's opening parkour chase. Where Batman tends to take direct routes, Nightwing often takes the lead, bouncing acrobatically from structure to structure. This is a nice attention to detail, since Nightwing is a former circus acrobat. Then, when the Red Hood actually makes his escape, Batman uses his memory of the chase and research to uncover the Hood's identity. That's right, Batman does detective work!! That alone is something to be happy about, but the fun doesn't stop there.

Through a series of flashbacks we learn the history of the Red Hood and his true identity and how it relates to Batman. Without giving it away, it is touching, well done, and emotional. Emotion in a Batman movie is generally limited to rage, so this is a refreshing touch that humanizes a character who for about the last 20 years has desperately lacked humanity.

There are some slick moments and some nice fight scenes, which I have come to expect from the DC direct-to-video movies, but this one had actual story beats that went beyond the typical large-scale earth-shattering superhero events. The interconnectivity of the characters and the concept of family play large roles and that, to me, makes this movie a winner.

Bruce Greenwood does the voice for Batman in this movie, and he's pretty good, though no Kevin Conroy. To be fair, though, I can't imagine why anyone would ever hire anyone but Kevin Conroy to provide the voice of Batman. John DiMaggio does a pretty good Joker, part Mark Hamill and part Heath Ledger (if you can imagine that) but the guy who stole the show for me was Neil Patrick Harris as Nightwing. He simply nails the part as the not-so-dark knight.

The special features on this disc include two documentaries, which are so-so, and an animated short featuring Jonah Hex. I'd be willing to bet that this Jonah Hex was 10 times better than the live-action movie. It left out the horse-mounted Gatling guns and the occult and told a straight Western tale that I really enjoyed.

Also included were four episodes of Batman the Animated Series, but they were in standard definition and the picture quality was actually worse that that on the DVDs that I already own.

I recommend this disc!

Astro City--A Movie!

W00t! My favorite comic book of all time is going to be made into a movie!

Neal Adams

Neal Adams now has a blog.

I've been a fan of Neal Adams since I was a kid and didn't know who he was. He did the cover to the first comic book I can clearly remember, Batman #203. He did the covers to several comics that are burned into my memory from childhood, and stayed with me even after my stepfather literally burned all of my comic books. Neal drew this iconic image that you see at left, which has been recreated from a full-page splash in Batman #251.

Back then, though, I couldn't tell the difference between Neal Adams and Irv Novick. I just knew that Batman suddenly didn't look like Adam West. He had long ears, an impossibly long cape, and didn't drive a fancy Batmobile anymore. He was visually responsible for what is now my favorite era of Batman.

Adams also drew a treasury book that I absolutley adored in Superman vs. Muhammad Ali. I don't care how stupid the story seems. I have read my copy dog-eared. My brother, sister, and I recorded an audio version of it when I was in junior high. I had a tape recorder and we had assigned parts to read. I wish I still had a copy of that tape! This glorious book is being recolored and about to be re-released in hardcover form. I can hardly wait.

Last week saw the release of Batman: Odyssey, written and drawn by Adams. The writing is a bit muddled, but it is a beautifully drawn book. I'll stick with it just because I would buy drying paint if it were painted by Neal Adams.

I got to meet Adams when my wife arranged a special treat for me in 2005. While we were visiting her sister Jessica and Jessica's husband, Jeremy Cook, in San Francisco, I knew that Jeremy would be going to Comic-Con International in San Diego in the middle of our visit. What I didn't know is that Magi (happy birthday, by the way, Sweetie!) had conspired with them so that I would fly with Jeremy to Los Angeles, where we would rent a car and drive the rest of the way down to San Diego. It was fun for me, because at the time, Jeremy was working at Industrial Light & Magic, and was a big-time digital matte artist. Do you remember the ship encased in ice at the end of "The Day After Tomorrow?" Yeah, Jeremy digitally painted that. But when we walked in, he was impressed because I was on a first-name basis with a lot of comic book artists who actually recognized me, a nobody! But on that trip, I got to meet a number of artists who never frequent the midwest shows that I normally attended. I got to meet Brent Anderson (Astro City), Chris Claremont (X-Men), Steve Rude (Nexus), and my artistic hero, Neal Adams! It was the best surprise I have ever received, and I don't think it can be topped.

To the Batmobile!

Neal Adams is drawing Batman again! I have something in pop culture to live for now that Lost has ended!

Go here if you are on Facebook.

Insane Heat Vision Eyes, Redux

Here we go again, only this time, it's part of the new Earth One graphic novel series: "Set in an all-new continuity re-imagining DC's top heroes, Earth One is a new wave of original, stand-alone graphic novels produced by the top writers and artists in the industry."

It seems to me instead of being a model of what humanity aspires to be, Superman is becoming even more of an alien whose appearance is intended to either intimidate or look cool. Take your pick.



Here are some more:

Crossover Hell

I’m not especially fond of the company crossover event in comics these days. I still remember when I was in college, and I discovered that you didn’t have to be a complete nerd to read them. There were even girls who read them! Those were the heady days of the Secret Wars, when the status quo was being upset. For too many years, the Marvel universe was incredibly stable and no one really changed. I remember the excited conversations people were having. “There’s a new guy in the Iron Man suit! And the Hulk broke his leg! And Spider-Man is –gasp—getting a new costume!”

Then we had the Crisis, which crossed over through every DC book. Then Secret Wars II, which crossed over through every Marvel book. And then it just started getting ridiculous. Every so often, there’s a new “event” that is intended to start new books and shake things up. Whatever happened to simply putting together a title that has ongoing stories that someone can enjoy without having to be involved in every facet of these so-called universes? It’s not even that anymore. Now, every subset of the comic book company gets its own crossover, too.

I had really enjoyed this new run of Detective Comics featuring Batwoman, including the backup feature with the new version of the Question. I liked the creative teams and was enjoying the stories immensely. And then, I was removed from the story for a crossover event. Oh, look. Batman's coming back. No one could have predicted that! I stopped buying the title. I was reading and enjoying Batgirl with my daughter. And then, the crossover story came in, interrupting the flow. I stopped buying that title, too. Adventure Comics, with both Superboy and the Legion? Same deal. I don’t know exactly how many times this has happened recently, but I know I don’t like it. I’m not even going to start buying the Flash, even though I enjoy Francis Manapul’s art, because I know the same thing is going to happen.

I am down to buying Invincible and Astro City. One big reason I buy both of those titles is that I know I’m getting the whole story and it won’t be interrupted by some artificially created stunt that derails it. I don’t care about the return of Bruce Wayne. That ship sailed when they brought Jason Todd back to life because Superboy punched a wall. I don’t want to know about the Care Bear Lanterns. I don’t care about a civil war in the Marvel universe if I’m enjoying a Fantastic Four story.

I think one time when this was handled particularly well was when Walt Simonson was writing and drawing Thor. The casket of ancient winters had been shattered and the world was plunged into ice. Even in other titles, the characters were saying stuff like, “Hey, how about that? The world is covered in ice and snow. Oh, well, back to work.” That’s how a crossover should happen. Notice can be taken of a larger event because the characters do exist in a shared universe, but it doesn’t have to be a worldwide catastrophe involving every character who has their own comic book title.

I’m really curious about the new Legion of Superheroes title that Paul Levitz will be writing. I’ve always liked the Legion. One of the nice things about the Legion, for the most part, is that they can be left alone outside the normal continuity of the DC universe. They exist in the future. To them, these earth-shattering events have already happened. But I can almost guarantee that when the next event happens, someone’s going to get sucked back through time. I hope that’s not the case.

DC, can you give me one title that I can read without it being involved in the latest character-killing, dead-raising, rape-and-dismemberment fest? Please?

It's Been Awhile...

It's been awhile since I did a full character sketch. As I draw more, hopefully I'll get back to at least the level I reached in the 90s!

It's About Time!

Soon, we'll have the flying car.

Captain Tea Party

I wonder if Marvel will now be justified in showing a Tea Party crowd scene in one of their Captain America comics. Look what this guy wore to the Tea Party gathering in Washington today!

Comic Book Villain Attacks Minority Whip

From the Washington Independent:

"The Richmond Police Department is investigating an act of vandalism at the
Reagan Building, 25 E. Main St., Richmond, Virginia. A first floor window
was struck by a bullet at approximately 1 a.m. on Tuesday, March 23. The
building, which has several tenants including an office used by Congressman Eric
Cantor, was unoccupied at the time.

A Richmond Police detective was assigned to the case. A preliminary investigation shows that a bullet was fired into the
air and struck the window in a downward direction, landing on the floor about a foot from the window. The round struck with enough force to break the windowpane but did not penetrate the window blinds. There was no other damage to the room, which is used occasionally for meetings by the congressman.

The Richmond Police Department is sharing information about the
incident with appropriate law enforcement agencies."

The only reasonable explanation is that the bullet was fired by master marksman Deadshot. Who else could have fired a bullet upward into the air, and have it hit its intended target on the downward arc? We can only hope that Batman is on the case.

Someone's Never Shot a Bow

Yeah, the arrowhead should be on the other side of the bow, Hawkeye. The arrow will kind of fall to the ground if you hold it that way. I knew that archery class I took for a cheap credit in college would come in handy someday.

Make Mine Marvelaaaaugh!

Just like the Marvel Comics I grew up with:
From Siege #2, available at your favorite abattoir.

I once ran a roleplaying campaign that had this level of violence. It was a superhero-style campaign with adult themes. In the world that I created, there were no pre-existing superheroes. The meta-theme that I used for the heroes was that they wore the same costumes as comic book heroes so that the public would not be as frightened of them as they should be. After all, comic books were just for kids, right? The characters were mature, but very pragmatic in the treatment of their enemies. There was no superprison available to contain the extremely powerful criminals and some of them were quite horrible. Imagine a Hannibal Lecter-type serial killer, only with powers that make a straitjacket as effective as wearing tissue paper. In a setting such as that, it would be understandable to see someone in tights and a cape tearing someone in half.

In the Marvel Universe, it just seems incongruous to me to see someone clad in what is more or less a variation of Superman's costume, bathed in the blood of another humanoid being, while his victim's intestines literally spill out on-panel. At this point, let's abandon the costumes. They're not superheroes. There's no reason they should dress as superheroes. In a setting like this, there's certainly no purpose for them to wear the costumes. Masks to hide their identities would be appropriate, because I wouldn't want to show my face if I behaved that way.