Well over a year ago, I started a series called Oh Karen! that was intended to chronicle the life and times of Karen Page, from the first issue until her death many decades later. This was all going nicely until I realized recently that I hadn't added any new chapters to Karen's story in well over a year. For shame! If you're new to this site, and are curious about what happened to Karen before issue #30, have a look at the first three posts in this series. When we last saw Karen, she had just been introduced to Matt's fictional twin Mike Murdock, whom Matt invented on the fly in Daredevil #25. Here, we see the Mike Murdock madness continue. So, with no further ado, I bring you Karen's meeting with Matt pretending to be Mike being … [Read more...]
Oh Karen! #3, guest-starring Mike Murdock
This episode of Oh Karen! looks at the early issues of the Mike Murdock era through Karen's eyes. I don't think I'll ever do a separate post about the madness that was this strange plot development, so what I do have to say about "brother Mike" will have to be said here. I'm sure he'll pop up again when I discuss an issue he was in, and quite possibly in Oh Karen! #4, but that's about it. If you want to read more about Mike, I direct you again to the links in this post, and this post. Completely unrelated, but apparently there's also a televangelist named Mike Murdock. The annoyingly colorful design of his website, found at www.mikemurdock.com, is only paralleled but the look of his fictitious namesake's clothes. I personally consider his … [Read more...]
Oh Karen! #2
Okay, so let's check in with Karen again, shall we? Or rather, Karen, Matt and Foggy, since everything Karen does for the next fifteen issues is tied up in what I jokingly dubbed the Love Triangle of Doom a few posts ago. While Dr. Doom was in no way involved, the love triangle itself was indeed doomed. Karen would end up choosing Matt over Foggy, despite Foggy's every effort. Foggy actively pursued Karen - to the point of pretending to be Daredevil (but there's enough goofiness in that storyline to warrant its own post somewhere down the line) - whereas Matt pined for her from a distance. Karen, meanwhile, had her eyes set on Matt. Well, except for slight jealousy she felt toward Debbie Harris when she was seeing Foggy. Apparently, Stan … [Read more...]
Oh Karen! #1
I wonder if Stan Lee, when he created the "gorgeous Karen Page" for Daredevil #1, had any idea that his innocent piece of eye candy would turn into a heroin addict and prostitute. Karen eventually broke free of her addiction and returned to normal life before she died of a billy club to the chest at the hands of Bullseye. Or Kevin Smith, depending on how you want to look at it. Either way, it's a terrible way to go. Oh, and I hope I'm not spoiling anything for anyone here, but this happened ten years ago (real time), so... Well, tough luck! While people who have only read Volume 2 may not be all that familiar with Karen, she has a long and interesting history, which I thought I'd explore in a number of posts, starting at the very … [Read more...]
