All right, every comics geek wants to be put in charge of their favorite company (or all of them). I'm no exception. So, maybe it's time to start thinking about what radical changes my firm, dictatorial but enlightened rule would bring to the world of comics.
#1 Nightwing Reboot
All right, I don't care what depths of Comic Book cheeze you have to go to. It's time to reboot Dick outright. The world doesn't need another sullen, angst ridden, hero. Yes, we know, Batman is a first tier jerk and no one raised by the Bat would ever be happy... blah blah blah.
Phooey. Dick as Robin was a character of joy. Too silver age? Not at all. I'm not saying make him a silly, lighthearted 1967 character. Just give him a bit of joy and exuberence. How do you retcon him to be that way? I don't care. Have Mr. Mind crawl out of his ear in a future storyline... find out that some telepath or another messed with him. Say that this Dick is a clone, or is from Earth-N... I really don't care.
#2 Joker on Vacation
Joker is hereby banned from appearing in any DC book whatsoever for two years. After that, he's banned for another two years from appearing in any book that's not one of the Batman titles, or Birds of Prey (though he hasn't been used much there, the Birds have a definite score to settle with him).
He's simply over used, and over exposed. Every writer wants to take a shot at him, every editor think's he'll "spice up" their book. Give him a well earned vacation.
3. Grace Choi goes back to her bar...
What exactly is Grace Choi's role in things? Sure, she provides muscle for the Outsiders, but really, what does she bring as a character? She's as cardboard as they get. She needs to either be given depth, or shoved to a corner. Her old bouncer job is still there.
4. No major full company events for at least five years.
At least from the point of view of storytelling, there are few things worse than these "big" events that keep coming along. A writer is building an interesting long term story when... zap, the crossover of doom either derails the plot for as long as it takes to deal with it, or deep sixes everything. Look at Marvel with the X-Men at the moment. "House of M" managed to gut Academy X and Excalibur forcing both books into major retooling, dropping major storylines, or even the entire concept of the book. Sure, using these to "shake things up" can be interesting, but let the writers tell their stories awhile. Once 52 is done, sit back and let things roll for a few years.
5. Shoot any writer who pitches a "hero goes to dystopian future" storyline.
Ho hum, it was interesting and innovative when "Days of Future Past" was written. "Future Imperfect" pulled it off nicely. But, now, it's just old and tired. Was seeing the Teen Titans in the future really that great? Nope.
I'm sure my reign of terror will continue, but that's it for tonight.
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Favorite Episodes
I've been ODing a bit on watching some of the Comic-Book adaptations. So, while I don't always remember names, lets see what my favorite episodes are.
Superman: The Animated Series. This is an easy call, I just watched it. The Late Mr. Kent. It has so many little freaky things. The "death" of Clark, everyone mourning over him, and then the actual execution of Det. Bowman.
Batman: The Animated Series: Pretty hard call here, as there are a number of very good episodes. In the end, I'd have to go with The Mechanic. It's harder to explain why I like it so well, but there it is.
Justice League: I don't recall the name of the two parter... but the one where GL and a few others go and meet up with a faux-JSA. It's really fun to see a Golden Age sensibility overlaid with a more "modern" comic.
Justice League Unlimited: Hm, since I don't have these on DVD, it's harder to say, but the end of Season 2, where Flash kicks it up a notch or three and dismantles Braini-thor. I always love scenes where a character is allowed to take their powers to the limit, and that's the best use of the Flash in all the seasons.
Teen Titans: I've only seen it once, but the episode where Kid Flash gets "captured" by Jinx and friends. Lots of humor, and some excellent character development of Jinx. (That said, when she shows up in the final blowup fight at the end of the season is a great moment.)
X-Men Evolution: There's a few good ones here, but I'd tend towards the one where Mystique kidnaps Scott and takes away his glasses. It has everything, excellent characterization, moving forward with plot (the relationship between Scott and Jean), a great fight seen, and Jean in a really, really bad mood. What more could you want?
Superman: The Animated Series. This is an easy call, I just watched it. The Late Mr. Kent. It has so many little freaky things. The "death" of Clark, everyone mourning over him, and then the actual execution of Det. Bowman.
Batman: The Animated Series: Pretty hard call here, as there are a number of very good episodes. In the end, I'd have to go with The Mechanic. It's harder to explain why I like it so well, but there it is.
Justice League: I don't recall the name of the two parter... but the one where GL and a few others go and meet up with a faux-JSA. It's really fun to see a Golden Age sensibility overlaid with a more "modern" comic.
Justice League Unlimited: Hm, since I don't have these on DVD, it's harder to say, but the end of Season 2, where Flash kicks it up a notch or three and dismantles Braini-thor. I always love scenes where a character is allowed to take their powers to the limit, and that's the best use of the Flash in all the seasons.
Teen Titans: I've only seen it once, but the episode where Kid Flash gets "captured" by Jinx and friends. Lots of humor, and some excellent character development of Jinx. (That said, when she shows up in the final blowup fight at the end of the season is a great moment.)
X-Men Evolution: There's a few good ones here, but I'd tend towards the one where Mystique kidnaps Scott and takes away his glasses. It has everything, excellent characterization, moving forward with plot (the relationship between Scott and Jean), a great fight seen, and Jean in a really, really bad mood. What more could you want?
Monday, July 03, 2006
More thoughts about Superman Returns
As I've said before, the most important people in the entire DC Universe are Jonathan and Martha Kent. I say this because they gave Clark (and I use that name consciously) a grounding and his essential humanity. With Superman's power, he'd be a nightmare for everyone if he were much different than he is.
In the movie, one very interesting thing though is that they seem to be robbing Superman of his humanity. It's related to the "religious" discussion in regards to the movie. Now, I could get really theological and talk about it in terms of the "two natures of of Superman"... Human and Kryptonian (though the Kryptonian does have some elements of divine... it's better not to use that term).
Where we see Clark's human nature most strongly is in his relations with Lois (even when he's in his costume). He's bumbling, vunerable and overall a mess. (Not to mention more than a bit creepy, the way he stalks Lois.) However, the movie really seems to slowly but surely reject his human nature in many ways. Even in the early scene with Ma Kent, he's obviously not comfortable with her, disappointed with the failure of his mission, unfulfilled to be talking with the woman that is his mother in most senses beyond genetics.
Notice, that one thing Clark does when he gets back is he never seems to try to set up his human identity again. He never seems to rent an apartment. He does go back to work, but it's an open question why he does that. Obviously, part of it is to be close to Lois, but you can also argue that it's the old "be where you hear the news" thing as well.
On the other hand, his Kryptonian nature is brought further and further to the fore. His great guiding influence is no longer Ma and Pa Kent, but is instead Jor-El. Instead of being raised as a decent human being by the Kents, he's now a Messiah sent to earth to show them the light.
The scene where he's floating in near orbit just "listening" shows this very well. He's separated himself from humanity, until the moment where he needs to show the hand of god...er, Superman.
Even at the end of the movie, we see this. It really struck me that his final visit to Lois' house was not about Lois at all, but to pass on the spark of Jor-El's wisdom to his son.
Honestly, I'm not entirely sure I'd be comfortable in a universe with this Superman. He's not all that far from being a Justice Lord, or even a Black Adam.
In the movie, one very interesting thing though is that they seem to be robbing Superman of his humanity. It's related to the "religious" discussion in regards to the movie. Now, I could get really theological and talk about it in terms of the "two natures of of Superman"... Human and Kryptonian (though the Kryptonian does have some elements of divine... it's better not to use that term).
Where we see Clark's human nature most strongly is in his relations with Lois (even when he's in his costume). He's bumbling, vunerable and overall a mess. (Not to mention more than a bit creepy, the way he stalks Lois.) However, the movie really seems to slowly but surely reject his human nature in many ways. Even in the early scene with Ma Kent, he's obviously not comfortable with her, disappointed with the failure of his mission, unfulfilled to be talking with the woman that is his mother in most senses beyond genetics.
Notice, that one thing Clark does when he gets back is he never seems to try to set up his human identity again. He never seems to rent an apartment. He does go back to work, but it's an open question why he does that. Obviously, part of it is to be close to Lois, but you can also argue that it's the old "be where you hear the news" thing as well.
On the other hand, his Kryptonian nature is brought further and further to the fore. His great guiding influence is no longer Ma and Pa Kent, but is instead Jor-El. Instead of being raised as a decent human being by the Kents, he's now a Messiah sent to earth to show them the light.
The scene where he's floating in near orbit just "listening" shows this very well. He's separated himself from humanity, until the moment where he needs to show the hand of god...er, Superman.
Even at the end of the movie, we see this. It really struck me that his final visit to Lois' house was not about Lois at all, but to pass on the spark of Jor-El's wisdom to his son.
Honestly, I'm not entirely sure I'd be comfortable in a universe with this Superman. He's not all that far from being a Justice Lord, or even a Black Adam.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Superman Returns
Well, just got home from seeing Superman Returns
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
Overall, I enjoyed the movie. It's certainly not as good as Batman Begins, though in some ways they share one flaw in particular.
Plot: I really liked the plot in terms of how the characters related to one another (I'll get back to that in a moment), but I didn't much like the "scheme" that Luthor was trying. It just seemed a bit unworthy of big Lex, and a bit silly. It was enough to keep the movie moving and give Supes lots of chances to flex his muscles though.
Characters: the strong suit of the movie.
Clark/Supes. I thought that by and large he worked pretty well, though I wasn't really all that fond of creepystalker!Clark. I guess when you spend five years in space dreaming about a girl, it's a bit hard to realize she's moved on. Still, if Lois had ANY idea of how much he'd been stalking her with X-Ray vision all movie, she'd shove that krypto-dagger back in.
Lois: Pretty good, though I'd like to see her a bit more brash. For instance, I'd have had her slap Supes on the plane first out. I think the read in Superman:TAS is a hair better.
Perry White: Pretty much dead on.
Jimmy Olson: Annoying as Gehenna. In other words, DEAD ON.
Richard White: I kind of feel sorry for James Marsdon here. He's had a rough summer for romance. In one movie, his girlfriend turns into the next best thing to a force of nature and obliterates him during a kiss. Now, he's competing against Superman. That said, he was an interesting character, and I thought Marsdon played him very well. A nice change from Cyclops. (Oh, btw, with my wierd sense of humor, I was waiting for a Shiar Cruiser to show up while they're in the seaplane *L*)
They really could have had some fun with him, though it may have opened up lawsuits. A bit of fanboying...
Richard: "What was Superman like? Can he really melt things just by looking at them? Wish I could do that..."
Lex: I'm so used to Lex from Superman:TAS and JLU, but Spacey did a pretty good job overall. I'm not entirely sure why Lex would have a total airhead like Kitty around, but that's minor enough.
The Big Issue: Wow. I'll admit, I was a bit blindsided by it. Early on, I thought that the kid's mop of hair was rather "Clarkish", but I never really followed through on that thought. It never really hit me fully until Lex started waving the kryptonite in his face. It does raise all sorts of questions.. (aside from the Larry Niven questions). First of all, either Richard knows the kid isn't his (which we're given no hint of), or Lois moved on AWFUL fast, for Richard to think it's his.
Second, what do you think? Are we going to see Superbaby in DC Continuity now? I'd imagine it's almost inevitable. Once an idea like that is breached, some writer will run with it.
Also, watching the previews (Venom... BLEAUGH), I was struck with a potential "short" preview for a movie (one I'd pay to see). Start off with a picture of a planet with massive tounges of flame coming out of it... Apokolips of course. Then just have the words "Sometimes even the greatest hero can't do it alone. Then just show the Superman Shield, followed by the Bat, the WW, the Lantern and the Lightning Bolt. Yep... JLA. Ok, I'm dreaming.
Overall, I'll give it a B-, but enjoyable. (Rather have a Capt. Marvel movie, but I'm wierd).
Note: I've not been inspired to get back to my "self-help" thing. I imagine I will, eventually.
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
Overall, I enjoyed the movie. It's certainly not as good as Batman Begins, though in some ways they share one flaw in particular.
Plot: I really liked the plot in terms of how the characters related to one another (I'll get back to that in a moment), but I didn't much like the "scheme" that Luthor was trying. It just seemed a bit unworthy of big Lex, and a bit silly. It was enough to keep the movie moving and give Supes lots of chances to flex his muscles though.
Characters: the strong suit of the movie.
Clark/Supes. I thought that by and large he worked pretty well, though I wasn't really all that fond of creepystalker!Clark. I guess when you spend five years in space dreaming about a girl, it's a bit hard to realize she's moved on. Still, if Lois had ANY idea of how much he'd been stalking her with X-Ray vision all movie, she'd shove that krypto-dagger back in.
Lois: Pretty good, though I'd like to see her a bit more brash. For instance, I'd have had her slap Supes on the plane first out. I think the read in Superman:TAS is a hair better.
Perry White: Pretty much dead on.
Jimmy Olson: Annoying as Gehenna. In other words, DEAD ON.
Richard White: I kind of feel sorry for James Marsdon here. He's had a rough summer for romance. In one movie, his girlfriend turns into the next best thing to a force of nature and obliterates him during a kiss. Now, he's competing against Superman. That said, he was an interesting character, and I thought Marsdon played him very well. A nice change from Cyclops. (Oh, btw, with my wierd sense of humor, I was waiting for a Shiar Cruiser to show up while they're in the seaplane *L*)
They really could have had some fun with him, though it may have opened up lawsuits. A bit of fanboying...
Richard: "What was Superman like? Can he really melt things just by looking at them? Wish I could do that..."
Lex: I'm so used to Lex from Superman:TAS and JLU, but Spacey did a pretty good job overall. I'm not entirely sure why Lex would have a total airhead like Kitty around, but that's minor enough.
The Big Issue: Wow. I'll admit, I was a bit blindsided by it. Early on, I thought that the kid's mop of hair was rather "Clarkish", but I never really followed through on that thought. It never really hit me fully until Lex started waving the kryptonite in his face. It does raise all sorts of questions.. (aside from the Larry Niven questions). First of all, either Richard knows the kid isn't his (which we're given no hint of), or Lois moved on AWFUL fast, for Richard to think it's his.
Second, what do you think? Are we going to see Superbaby in DC Continuity now? I'd imagine it's almost inevitable. Once an idea like that is breached, some writer will run with it.
Also, watching the previews (Venom... BLEAUGH), I was struck with a potential "short" preview for a movie (one I'd pay to see). Start off with a picture of a planet with massive tounges of flame coming out of it... Apokolips of course. Then just have the words "Sometimes even the greatest hero can't do it alone. Then just show the Superman Shield, followed by the Bat, the WW, the Lantern and the Lightning Bolt. Yep... JLA. Ok, I'm dreaming.
Overall, I'll give it a B-, but enjoyable. (Rather have a Capt. Marvel movie, but I'm wierd).
Note: I've not been inspired to get back to my "self-help" thing. I imagine I will, eventually.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
The Meaning of Big "Events"
Well, Infinite Crisis is gone, we're heading into 52... but what does it all mean? It's a bit early to tell.
One problem that Comics have had for awhile,and has gotten worse and worse is that story events just have little meaning any more. Events and happenings come and go, and things that you would expect to have long term effects are forgotten within a year.
As I've said, I've been reading more back-X stuff of late, and also reading up on some current things I don't have the book for. So, we have Marvel's big "event" in "House of M", where hordes of mutants lose their powers. Now, on the one hand, there's a part of me that really hates it, because it means that a number of interesting characters are likely going to get "written out" of things for the forseeable future (especially Moonstar and Wind Dancer). In fact, it's not impossible that they'll go the way of Stevie Hunter or Alaistair Stuart.
Yet, I've also read that they're already backtracking. It appears that Magneto has powers back, Iceman may have his powers back soon... This sort of thing happens far too often, it robs "events" of their meaning. Dead characters return, depowered characters get them restored. "Events" become a course of profound tedium, because people know that there's little chance of the effects being allowed to stand.
Jean Grey
Colossus
Psylocke
Rogue
Wolfsbane
Magneto
All have been dead, or depowered at one point or another, and they've all returned. I'm probably forgetting a bunch.
*yawn*
I'll return to my "self-help" book in a few days.
One problem that Comics have had for awhile,and has gotten worse and worse is that story events just have little meaning any more. Events and happenings come and go, and things that you would expect to have long term effects are forgotten within a year.
As I've said, I've been reading more back-X stuff of late, and also reading up on some current things I don't have the book for. So, we have Marvel's big "event" in "House of M", where hordes of mutants lose their powers. Now, on the one hand, there's a part of me that really hates it, because it means that a number of interesting characters are likely going to get "written out" of things for the forseeable future (especially Moonstar and Wind Dancer). In fact, it's not impossible that they'll go the way of Stevie Hunter or Alaistair Stuart.
Yet, I've also read that they're already backtracking. It appears that Magneto has powers back, Iceman may have his powers back soon... This sort of thing happens far too often, it robs "events" of their meaning. Dead characters return, depowered characters get them restored. "Events" become a course of profound tedium, because people know that there's little chance of the effects being allowed to stand.
Jean Grey
Colossus
Psylocke
Rogue
Wolfsbane
Magneto
All have been dead, or depowered at one point or another, and they've all returned. I'm probably forgetting a bunch.
*yawn*
I'll return to my "self-help" book in a few days.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Men among demigods!
{Note, some time back, I speculated on the idea of a book written from the perspective of the "normal" people in the DCU. Well... lets play with that a bit. Any details he gets wrong is intentional. I'll post it along slowly. Hopefully someone out there will be amused eventually}
Men Among Demigods: by Albert McCalvay
Introduction:
There's simply no avoiding it. No matter where we go, no matter what we do, we're confronted with the fact that we walk amongst demigods. Strange visitors from long lost planets, shadowy figured lurking in the nights of Gotham, intersteller policemen with magic rings and many, many more.
Daily we go about our business, wondering if these demigods are going to intrude in our lives. We can't help but wonder if a psychotic clown will decide that today is meant to be our last day on earth.
We could move to some obscure corner of Oklahoma, but would that really solve the problem? After all, even if there wouldn't ever be a metahuman, costumed crimefighter or criminal within a hundred miles of us, that wouldn't change the fact that they walk in our worlds. It wouldn't change the doubts that assail us ever time we turn on the television.
What place do we have in a world of demigods? Is there any room left for humanity? Yes there is! That's what this book is all about, living a fulfilled life in this world. I'm including all the hints and tips I've used for years at the seminars I've held in motels, bowling allies and fine drinking establishments nation wide.
Men Among Demigods: by Albert McCalvay
Introduction:
There's simply no avoiding it. No matter where we go, no matter what we do, we're confronted with the fact that we walk amongst demigods. Strange visitors from long lost planets, shadowy figured lurking in the nights of Gotham, intersteller policemen with magic rings and many, many more.
Daily we go about our business, wondering if these demigods are going to intrude in our lives. We can't help but wonder if a psychotic clown will decide that today is meant to be our last day on earth.
We could move to some obscure corner of Oklahoma, but would that really solve the problem? After all, even if there wouldn't ever be a metahuman, costumed crimefighter or criminal within a hundred miles of us, that wouldn't change the fact that they walk in our worlds. It wouldn't change the doubts that assail us ever time we turn on the television.
What place do we have in a world of demigods? Is there any room left for humanity? Yes there is! That's what this book is all about, living a fulfilled life in this world. I'm including all the hints and tips I've used for years at the seminars I've held in motels, bowling allies and fine drinking establishments nation wide.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Focus! Focus!
I've been spending some time trying to catch up with the X-Verse lately and I think that I've begun to see one of the "problems" that is stalking it lately. The same problem also hits Superman and Batman in some ways.
The problem, simply, is focus, or more properly, lack thereof. With so many different books and teams out there, everything just gets too diffuse and confusing. What makes it worse is the fact that those books are usually dragged into self-crossovers. So, instead of there being an Uncanny story, and an X-Men story, there's a story that pulls them together. Indeed, Marvel's been doing this for years, with things like X-Cutioner's Song and X-tinction Agenda.
Even if a book gets a fairly good run, it's really hard to have great focus when you're dragged into the annual crossover kicking and screaming.
I don't necessarily think it's the number of books in and of itself, but the way that they are forced to "work together." At one time, Marvel was running Uncanny, X-Factor, New Mutants and the original Excalibur all at the same time, yet there wasn't a great deal of crossing over between them. In many ways, that worked and worked well. Each book had a focus and theme. Even when they did have crossovers like Fall of the Mutants (of course, this is slightly Pre-Excalibur), they were set up in such a way that each book was focusing on their own little angle, and didn't directly interact with the larger scheme of things until afterwards. In that way, each book had their own focus and themes, and wasn't forced to abandon those things to get dragged into this years mega-super-duper-uber-crossover. Now, INMVHO, Uncanny was the weak sister of the books in that time frame, but that's another issue for another time.
While the crossover-o-mania may not be as bad now as it was in years past with the X-books, from what I can see, they still have the problem of being all piled on top of one another. For instance, I just read the Trade book of the first 12 issues of Whedon's Astonishing X-Men (good stuff). It actually is more focused than the other books, and holds up on its own pretty well, other than out of nowhere Elixir shows up. He was necessary to the plot, but if you weren't reading New X-Men of that era, you could be pretty confused as to what he was doing.
This is only one aspect of focus, and maybe later I'll talk more about focus in terms of the world and threats they face. Or maybe not. You know I'm unreliable.
The problem, simply, is focus, or more properly, lack thereof. With so many different books and teams out there, everything just gets too diffuse and confusing. What makes it worse is the fact that those books are usually dragged into self-crossovers. So, instead of there being an Uncanny story, and an X-Men story, there's a story that pulls them together. Indeed, Marvel's been doing this for years, with things like X-Cutioner's Song and X-tinction Agenda.
Even if a book gets a fairly good run, it's really hard to have great focus when you're dragged into the annual crossover kicking and screaming.
I don't necessarily think it's the number of books in and of itself, but the way that they are forced to "work together." At one time, Marvel was running Uncanny, X-Factor, New Mutants and the original Excalibur all at the same time, yet there wasn't a great deal of crossing over between them. In many ways, that worked and worked well. Each book had a focus and theme. Even when they did have crossovers like Fall of the Mutants (of course, this is slightly Pre-Excalibur), they were set up in such a way that each book was focusing on their own little angle, and didn't directly interact with the larger scheme of things until afterwards. In that way, each book had their own focus and themes, and wasn't forced to abandon those things to get dragged into this years mega-super-duper-uber-crossover. Now, INMVHO, Uncanny was the weak sister of the books in that time frame, but that's another issue for another time.
While the crossover-o-mania may not be as bad now as it was in years past with the X-books, from what I can see, they still have the problem of being all piled on top of one another. For instance, I just read the Trade book of the first 12 issues of Whedon's Astonishing X-Men (good stuff). It actually is more focused than the other books, and holds up on its own pretty well, other than out of nowhere Elixir shows up. He was necessary to the plot, but if you weren't reading New X-Men of that era, you could be pretty confused as to what he was doing.
This is only one aspect of focus, and maybe later I'll talk more about focus in terms of the world and threats they face. Or maybe not. You know I'm unreliable.
Friday, June 02, 2006
New X-Men Academy X
Well, since watching X-3 last weekend, I've decided to splurge slightly and pick up some X-trade books. I'm NOT going to be getting marvel books as a rule, but waiting until the trades hit I think. I need to do more of that in any case.
Well, today had a chance to read the 3 "Acedemy X" books (I have the Hellions one left), and have to say that I found them to be quite enjoyable. Since I've been out of X-continuity for awhile, a fair amount of the background is lost on me, but aside from trying to figure out how Scott and Emma are a couple, it holds together enough for me to follow it. (Note, I do have the New Mutants TP, so I knew a fair number of the characters already).
I will say that the first and third volumes were far better than the second. The second book's storylines (especially the "ghost") were rather weak and annoying. What I did enjoy though was the fact that until the Blob's appearance right at the very end, there wasn't a great number of supervillians running around. In fact, you can argue that there weren't any "bad guys" at all until big Fred (ok, the guidence counselor, but he's being set up for stuff later obviously... which I imagine has played through by this point). The Hellions are often the primary "antagonists", but they aren't evil, just a bit cocky.
What that really did was give the opportunity to get into some nice characterization and interplay. As I've said before, those are the things that tend to last for me far longer than the latest Cyclops 173 point bank shot to nail someone in the back of the head.
I have done a bit of reading on Wiki, and it's a shame that they decided to gut the New New Mutants in the aftermath of House of M. Wind Dancer is a good character, and I hope they bring her back at some point.
Well, as you see, even if I post I still don't have anything too brilliant to say. Just consider your boringblogreading quotent fulfilled.
Well, today had a chance to read the 3 "Acedemy X" books (I have the Hellions one left), and have to say that I found them to be quite enjoyable. Since I've been out of X-continuity for awhile, a fair amount of the background is lost on me, but aside from trying to figure out how Scott and Emma are a couple, it holds together enough for me to follow it. (Note, I do have the New Mutants TP, so I knew a fair number of the characters already).
I will say that the first and third volumes were far better than the second. The second book's storylines (especially the "ghost") were rather weak and annoying. What I did enjoy though was the fact that until the Blob's appearance right at the very end, there wasn't a great number of supervillians running around. In fact, you can argue that there weren't any "bad guys" at all until big Fred (ok, the guidence counselor, but he's being set up for stuff later obviously... which I imagine has played through by this point). The Hellions are often the primary "antagonists", but they aren't evil, just a bit cocky.
What that really did was give the opportunity to get into some nice characterization and interplay. As I've said before, those are the things that tend to last for me far longer than the latest Cyclops 173 point bank shot to nail someone in the back of the head.
I have done a bit of reading on Wiki, and it's a shame that they decided to gut the New New Mutants in the aftermath of House of M. Wind Dancer is a good character, and I hope they bring her back at some point.
Well, as you see, even if I post I still don't have anything too brilliant to say. Just consider your boringblogreading quotent fulfilled.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
X-3... I am fire and life incarnate
Spoilers ahead...
(of course)
(If you haven't seen it, go read something else)
(I warned you)
(Don't complain to me)
Well, by and large, I thought it was a reasonbly good movie, and a reasonably good adaptation of the overall themes of Dark Phoenix. There were a number of changes, most of which made sense within the relatively narrow confines they were allowed by being a movie. First, and most importantly, was that they elimanted the entire "cosmic" aspect of the story. No Sh'iar, no hint that the Phoenix was a truly cosmic force. At least the latter is actually more in tune with the story as originally written (though of course it's long since been retconned to being a cosmic force).
I did find it more than a tad odd that we never saw the firebird in the sky. With modern CGI, that graphic shouldn't have been any tougher than 73000 other things they did in the movie, it would have been impressive, and is part and parcel of the entire character of Phoenix.
So...
The Good: The "younger" X-Men. Iceman, Rogue and Kitty Pryde all showed well in this movie. I'm not surprised by Rogue's choice, and Kitty was a very nice "young" Kitty (c UXM 155 or so). Heh, a battle of wits betwen Juggy and Kitty? There's an unfair fight for ya. Peter didn't get nearly the time to shine that the others did though.
The Bad: Some of the changes in characters. Both Psylocke and Multiple Man are now evil mutants? There were lots of mutants they could have worked in as flunkies. Maybe they couldn't have used the "sat-image" bit, but that was a minor enough thing that it was no great gain. For that matter, bring in Wanda and Pietro.
The Ugly: Ok, this is by far my biggest gripe with the movie. It's really two fold. First of all, why did they get rid of Scott like that? I'll admit, since we never had a body, I kept expecting him to pop up in the ending fight, but he didn't. Why did some bonehead Hollywood director decide that they had to shift Wolverine into the prime role in the movie? What's more, is that they missed the fact that in the original story, Jean found the strength within herself to take her own life, knowing the stakes that were at hand. Instead, it's Wolvie, Wolvie, Wolvie.
Still, I'll give it an overall recomendation. It's not perfect (and not as good as X-2), but it at least understands the overall themes of the X-Books. For recent comic movies, not as good as Bat Beyond (haven't seen V yet... we have a very limited theater selection here, will be forced to wait until the DVD comes out I think). Hopefully, Supes will be better.
(On a side note: My Ex-Girlfriend's a Superhero has a very amusing premise. May be a waste of film, but the premise has serious potential.)
(of course)
(If you haven't seen it, go read something else)
(I warned you)
(Don't complain to me)
Well, by and large, I thought it was a reasonbly good movie, and a reasonably good adaptation of the overall themes of Dark Phoenix. There were a number of changes, most of which made sense within the relatively narrow confines they were allowed by being a movie. First, and most importantly, was that they elimanted the entire "cosmic" aspect of the story. No Sh'iar, no hint that the Phoenix was a truly cosmic force. At least the latter is actually more in tune with the story as originally written (though of course it's long since been retconned to being a cosmic force).
I did find it more than a tad odd that we never saw the firebird in the sky. With modern CGI, that graphic shouldn't have been any tougher than 73000 other things they did in the movie, it would have been impressive, and is part and parcel of the entire character of Phoenix.
So...
The Good: The "younger" X-Men. Iceman, Rogue and Kitty Pryde all showed well in this movie. I'm not surprised by Rogue's choice, and Kitty was a very nice "young" Kitty (c UXM 155 or so). Heh, a battle of wits betwen Juggy and Kitty? There's an unfair fight for ya. Peter didn't get nearly the time to shine that the others did though.
The Bad: Some of the changes in characters. Both Psylocke and Multiple Man are now evil mutants? There were lots of mutants they could have worked in as flunkies. Maybe they couldn't have used the "sat-image" bit, but that was a minor enough thing that it was no great gain. For that matter, bring in Wanda and Pietro.
The Ugly: Ok, this is by far my biggest gripe with the movie. It's really two fold. First of all, why did they get rid of Scott like that? I'll admit, since we never had a body, I kept expecting him to pop up in the ending fight, but he didn't. Why did some bonehead Hollywood director decide that they had to shift Wolverine into the prime role in the movie? What's more, is that they missed the fact that in the original story, Jean found the strength within herself to take her own life, knowing the stakes that were at hand. Instead, it's Wolvie, Wolvie, Wolvie.
Still, I'll give it an overall recomendation. It's not perfect (and not as good as X-2), but it at least understands the overall themes of the X-Books. For recent comic movies, not as good as Bat Beyond (haven't seen V yet... we have a very limited theater selection here, will be forced to wait until the DVD comes out I think). Hopefully, Supes will be better.
(On a side note: My Ex-Girlfriend's a Superhero has a very amusing premise. May be a waste of film, but the premise has serious potential.)
Monday, May 15, 2006
Runaways
Well, after leaving the Trade Books (including the big hardbound of Vol 1-3) of Runaways sitting around for a month or so with a busy life, I've finally taken the time to read them. I have to say, that they are as good as I've heard. Interesting characters and intereactions. The Pride themselves are a bit wooden (how many shadowy take over the world groups do we really need, anyway?), but the characters are pretty good.
That said, it in a way shows something that I'm not always terribly pleased with in comic books recently (and overall in our culture). There's the constant drive and desire to rip apart, to tear down. Most of all, the ongoing concept that "innocence" is to be discarded as something that is worthless.
Now, my beef is not so much in terms of the main characters themselves (though the book is a bit post-modern for my taste, it's not bad, but isn't in my top 10 list either). The place where it really struck me was when "Excelsior" showed up, and you have this "intervention group" of former teen heros. The appearance of Julie Power (Lightspeed) was more than a little bit grating. The author either had never read Power Pack, or more likely, despised it. In one page, he managed to piss all over the book, and try to bury it. The charm and fun of that book was the innocence. A wide eyed sense of adventure and looking at the world. New York may be a nasty place at times, but they survived it. Sure, they were siblings, and they had spats and problems.
Suddenly, the entire run of the book gets reduced to being nothing more than an excuse for the most together character of the four kids to have years of therapy. She's so badly out of character for what Julie was (or any of them really) it's not even funny. Yet, of course, you cannot have books about innocence, because that's not hip, or cool, or post-modern. Innocence is something that is to be driven from our world, mocked with a post ironic sneer, and discarded like yesterday's sushi.
I'm not saying that Julie shouldn't grow up, of course she should. Indeed, if you really know Power Pack, you know that she was growing up in a very certain direction. In one page, they destroyed that, and just piled offal on the memory of the book. At least she still retained a bit of book-geekiness in the end. That's something.
That said, it in a way shows something that I'm not always terribly pleased with in comic books recently (and overall in our culture). There's the constant drive and desire to rip apart, to tear down. Most of all, the ongoing concept that "innocence" is to be discarded as something that is worthless.
Now, my beef is not so much in terms of the main characters themselves (though the book is a bit post-modern for my taste, it's not bad, but isn't in my top 10 list either). The place where it really struck me was when "Excelsior" showed up, and you have this "intervention group" of former teen heros. The appearance of Julie Power (Lightspeed) was more than a little bit grating. The author either had never read Power Pack, or more likely, despised it. In one page, he managed to piss all over the book, and try to bury it. The charm and fun of that book was the innocence. A wide eyed sense of adventure and looking at the world. New York may be a nasty place at times, but they survived it. Sure, they were siblings, and they had spats and problems.
Suddenly, the entire run of the book gets reduced to being nothing more than an excuse for the most together character of the four kids to have years of therapy. She's so badly out of character for what Julie was (or any of them really) it's not even funny. Yet, of course, you cannot have books about innocence, because that's not hip, or cool, or post-modern. Innocence is something that is to be driven from our world, mocked with a post ironic sneer, and discarded like yesterday's sushi.
I'm not saying that Julie shouldn't grow up, of course she should. Indeed, if you really know Power Pack, you know that she was growing up in a very certain direction. In one page, they destroyed that, and just piled offal on the memory of the book. At least she still retained a bit of book-geekiness in the end. That's something.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
It should be obvious
My ability (and inclination) to post is kind of hit and miss here. I haven't found a regular "rhythem" or focus that gives me posts every day, or even every week. As such, I'm just going to not even bother trying.
Does this mean that this thing is dead?
Nah, I'll post here on those occasions I have something to say. I doubt that it'll be worth checking in here on a regular basis, but if you follow it on a feed, or the like, then you'll see it when it does pop up.
That is all.
Utter boredom, that's what I do.
Does this mean that this thing is dead?
Nah, I'll post here on those occasions I have something to say. I doubt that it'll be worth checking in here on a regular basis, but if you follow it on a feed, or the like, then you'll see it when it does pop up.
That is all.
Utter boredom, that's what I do.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Starfire vs Toonfire
The adaptation of Teen Titans to TV had some rather interesting character changes. There are two in particular that I find interesting. Next post, I'll talk about Terra. Tonight though, maybe a few thoughts about Starfire vs "Toonfire".
It's really fun the way that they kept so much of he essential nature of the character, and yet made such a fundamentally huge change in the nature of the character. Starfire has always been an elemental character, a character who was always about her passion. I don't think it's an accident that her first true storyline had her kissing of Robin as such a key element of the story.
Now, on the other hand, Toonfire is equally passionate as Starfire, and seems to have much the same temper (view her fights with Blackfire, or Killer Moth's daughter). However, they took her and added a layer of deep naiveite. She feels her passion so strongly (and the ep where she bodyswitched with Raven shows it), but she's essentially an innocent. Sure, she has her goofy habits (keeping odd pets, celebrating Blorthog, and the like), but the character is just much more endearing in the end. I don't know, maybe it seems that underneath all that passion, Starfire's most essential emotion is anger, while Toonfire's is joy. That's probably unfair to Starfire, but that's the feeling I get from them.
It's really fun the way that they kept so much of he essential nature of the character, and yet made such a fundamentally huge change in the nature of the character. Starfire has always been an elemental character, a character who was always about her passion. I don't think it's an accident that her first true storyline had her kissing of Robin as such a key element of the story.
Now, on the other hand, Toonfire is equally passionate as Starfire, and seems to have much the same temper (view her fights with Blackfire, or Killer Moth's daughter). However, they took her and added a layer of deep naiveite. She feels her passion so strongly (and the ep where she bodyswitched with Raven shows it), but she's essentially an innocent. Sure, she has her goofy habits (keeping odd pets, celebrating Blorthog, and the like), but the character is just much more endearing in the end. I don't know, maybe it seems that underneath all that passion, Starfire's most essential emotion is anger, while Toonfire's is joy. That's probably unfair to Starfire, but that's the feeling I get from them.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
JLU
Well, I've been quiet the last few days. Partially I've just been busy, but I've also been thinking/looking at some health issues. Never get diabetes, it's a bad thing.
Anyway, I imagine that tonight's JLU will be popular, but I found it a bit flat. As I've said before, I'm not someone who is incredibly into big big brawls. The fights play a role, but the story that's carried behind the fight is far more interesting.
That said, what story there was here was pretty superficial. Dinah and Helena are still at one another's throats, and they get dragged into Roulette's arena.
I guess the thing that bugged me the most was the ending. Why did the writers feel that they had have the ladies "prove themselves" with a two out of three falls match? If they'd ended by going out for a burger or something, it would have been far better. Still, seeing those two working together is a good thing. Too bad JLU is ending. This would be a good introduction to start setting up the true Birds. They just need Babs.
I really think that the Birds would be a very good place for WB's next animation (more so than the Legion). It would work well as something for the Adult Swim timeblock, and start off with a version of "The Killing Joke". Maybe interleave Babs' recovery with Dinah and Ollie's breakdown.
Oh well, I can dream I guess.
Anyway, I imagine that tonight's JLU will be popular, but I found it a bit flat. As I've said before, I'm not someone who is incredibly into big big brawls. The fights play a role, but the story that's carried behind the fight is far more interesting.
That said, what story there was here was pretty superficial. Dinah and Helena are still at one another's throats, and they get dragged into Roulette's arena.
I guess the thing that bugged me the most was the ending. Why did the writers feel that they had have the ladies "prove themselves" with a two out of three falls match? If they'd ended by going out for a burger or something, it would have been far better. Still, seeing those two working together is a good thing. Too bad JLU is ending. This would be a good introduction to start setting up the true Birds. They just need Babs.
I really think that the Birds would be a very good place for WB's next animation (more so than the Legion). It would work well as something for the Adult Swim timeblock, and start off with a version of "The Killing Joke". Maybe interleave Babs' recovery with Dinah and Ollie's breakdown.
Oh well, I can dream I guess.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Power vs Wisdom
It's getting to be that awkward time of the month for me again. Since I get my books in a monthly box (that generally shows up midmonth), I'm well behind on things. I know there is a pretty major IC issue out there, so it's really hard to discuss things.
Now, I've read some interesting posts (Kasiedo, I'm looking at you), that are dealing with the different philosophical backgrounds of the two Supermen. However, unless it's something that's just popped up in since my last box, there's another question that hasn't really come up.
The two Supermen are discussing their different approaches to using their power, and their ways of dealing with crime and criminals. On the other hand, have they really gotten to the next step? Certainly, Superman has the power to do pretty much whatever he wants. However, does he have the wisdom? Do any of the metas have the wisdom to try to direct or shape society in the E-2 Superman manner? That's the other question that is lurking. Sure, Supes can pick up a planet, and Batman can use the pebble you just kicked to figure out that you jaywalked 13 years ago in Cleveland, but does that give them the wisdom to take a controlling role?
I'd imagine that will be one of the points that comes out in the resolution of the story, but it's the question that needs to be asked.
Now, I've read some interesting posts (Kasiedo, I'm looking at you), that are dealing with the different philosophical backgrounds of the two Supermen. However, unless it's something that's just popped up in since my last box, there's another question that hasn't really come up.
The two Supermen are discussing their different approaches to using their power, and their ways of dealing with crime and criminals. On the other hand, have they really gotten to the next step? Certainly, Superman has the power to do pretty much whatever he wants. However, does he have the wisdom? Do any of the metas have the wisdom to try to direct or shape society in the E-2 Superman manner? That's the other question that is lurking. Sure, Supes can pick up a planet, and Batman can use the pebble you just kicked to figure out that you jaywalked 13 years ago in Cleveland, but does that give them the wisdom to take a controlling role?
I'd imagine that will be one of the points that comes out in the resolution of the story, but it's the question that needs to be asked.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Turning Point: Black Reign
As my recent posts should have made obvious, I'm getting to be more and more interested in the "man on the street" aspect of comic books. There's lots of different directions you can do it. I really enjoyed the novelization of Kingdom Come which really fleshed out the preacher character well. In that book, one of the recurring themes was "what place do normal people have in a world of Olympian Gods?"
As I've said, I really think that looking at the DCU from that point of view, JSA: Black Reign should be an absolute turning point. While I prefer large universes to one or two books that define everything, this is a weakness. In the DCU (or MU), there are so many books that important, or even key, developments in one book can get "washed out." These are not only key developments in that one book, but also in the larger flow of the universe.
If you stop and think about it, there should be no way that Black Reign should not have been a "universe turner". Not only do you have a splinter group of the JSA going "rogue", but the JSA itself seems to be an "accomplice" to that. They went there, and they came back without finishing the job. It certainly would appear to the ordinary person that the Society is sympathetic to Black Adam (as opposed to the no-win situation they were in).
I really hope that Johns (or whoever is going to write JSA in the future) returns to Black Adam's situation. What kind of ruler is he going to be? In a sense, I can see him as an almost Dr. Doom type ruler. He'll do his best to develop the nation in a very paternalistic way. However, woe betide anyone who has a different vision of the country, even if it is a fair and valid one. Can you really see Adam allowing an election on any meaningful point? What will he do the first time someone asks to elect the dogcatcher?
Even more important, how has the world reacted? How will they continue to react? Are they screaming for Superman or someone to go in and "clean out" the baddies? Metahumans taking political power by force has got to be a recurring nightmare for political leaders. For that matter, it's entirely possible that some group like Checkmate could be ordered to "deal with" Adam. There's alot of potential there, not only for JSA, but for the entire DCU, and I really hope that they finally pick up on it and use it.
Oh wait, I forget. Earth-2 Superman is a better story.
*sigh*
As I've said, I really think that looking at the DCU from that point of view, JSA: Black Reign should be an absolute turning point. While I prefer large universes to one or two books that define everything, this is a weakness. In the DCU (or MU), there are so many books that important, or even key, developments in one book can get "washed out." These are not only key developments in that one book, but also in the larger flow of the universe.
If you stop and think about it, there should be no way that Black Reign should not have been a "universe turner". Not only do you have a splinter group of the JSA going "rogue", but the JSA itself seems to be an "accomplice" to that. They went there, and they came back without finishing the job. It certainly would appear to the ordinary person that the Society is sympathetic to Black Adam (as opposed to the no-win situation they were in).
I really hope that Johns (or whoever is going to write JSA in the future) returns to Black Adam's situation. What kind of ruler is he going to be? In a sense, I can see him as an almost Dr. Doom type ruler. He'll do his best to develop the nation in a very paternalistic way. However, woe betide anyone who has a different vision of the country, even if it is a fair and valid one. Can you really see Adam allowing an election on any meaningful point? What will he do the first time someone asks to elect the dogcatcher?
Even more important, how has the world reacted? How will they continue to react? Are they screaming for Superman or someone to go in and "clean out" the baddies? Metahumans taking political power by force has got to be a recurring nightmare for political leaders. For that matter, it's entirely possible that some group like Checkmate could be ordered to "deal with" Adam. There's alot of potential there, not only for JSA, but for the entire DCU, and I really hope that they finally pick up on it and use it.
Oh wait, I forget. Earth-2 Superman is a better story.
*sigh*
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Quixiotic Heros
A few days ago, I happened to hear the old standard "To Dream the Impossible Dream". For some reason, I decided to order the "Man of La Mancha" cd (original Broadway cast), and boy am I glad I did. While driving today, I listened to it no less than three times. Even better than the music is the story that's lurking in there.
Now, I'd seen the play many years ago, when a traveling troupe played it one night at my college. I'll be honest, I wasn't deeply impressed at the time. However, after listening closely to the music, and reading the story summary in the notes, I'm enthralled with it.
What struck me as I was driving home though was the way that some of the themes in the music are echoed in my favorite comic book heros. No, not that my favorite heros are all loons
(though some might say that). It's that so many (not all, but many) of my heros are "Quixiotic" in a sense.
In the notes, it talked about the Don's way of "seeing the world as it should be, not as it is." That really resonated. I love heros who are deep seated idealists, who will not lose their ideals no matter how dark and ugly the world may get.
Heros like Captain Marvel.
Couldn't you see the big lug singing "Impossible Dream", especially the phrase "To fight for the right, without question or pause, to be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause"
You can have your Punishers, Wolverines and Lobos, I want a hero that's more than a bit Quixiotic
Now, I'd seen the play many years ago, when a traveling troupe played it one night at my college. I'll be honest, I wasn't deeply impressed at the time. However, after listening closely to the music, and reading the story summary in the notes, I'm enthralled with it.
What struck me as I was driving home though was the way that some of the themes in the music are echoed in my favorite comic book heros. No, not that my favorite heros are all loons
(though some might say that). It's that so many (not all, but many) of my heros are "Quixiotic" in a sense.In the notes, it talked about the Don's way of "seeing the world as it should be, not as it is." That really resonated. I love heros who are deep seated idealists, who will not lose their ideals no matter how dark and ugly the world may get.
Heros like Captain Marvel.
Couldn't you see the big lug singing "Impossible Dream", especially the phrase "To fight for the right, without question or pause, to be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause"
You can have your Punishers, Wolverines and Lobos, I want a hero that's more than a bit Quixiotic
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
The Common Man's perspective
You know what would be interesting? A book from the "common man's" perspective in either of the major comics universes. I don't mean a comic book. I mean, a book written as if it were meant to be sold in WayneBooks or the like.
The ordinary person would have such a strained perspective on things. Of course, even for us in this mundane, spandex free world, can have sudden destruction come down on us. However, in a super-hero universe, there's always that nagging fear that this will be the time that your house gets flattened by a hero recoiling from the villain of the week's punch, or indeed, far, far worse. What Gothamite doesn't live in secret fear of the Joker? Would there be an entire field of psychology for those afraid of running into a "costume?"
That's only the beginning of the questions. What place does a plain, ordinary accountant have in a world where Superman will buzz your officebuilding every morning at 8:58? Some of these things have been dealt with in one book or another, but to see how the normals would try to cope? The idea itself is just fascinating.
The ordinary person would have such a strained perspective on things. Of course, even for us in this mundane, spandex free world, can have sudden destruction come down on us. However, in a super-hero universe, there's always that nagging fear that this will be the time that your house gets flattened by a hero recoiling from the villain of the week's punch, or indeed, far, far worse. What Gothamite doesn't live in secret fear of the Joker? Would there be an entire field of psychology for those afraid of running into a "costume?"
That's only the beginning of the questions. What place does a plain, ordinary accountant have in a world where Superman will buzz your officebuilding every morning at 8:58? Some of these things have been dealt with in one book or another, but to see how the normals would try to cope? The idea itself is just fascinating.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
What role baddies?
For all the focus I've given to villains over the course of my history with this thing, you'd think I'm a major Villain fan.
Actually, I'm not. I'm all about the heros. I don't even much like Anti-heros. I find Wolverine, the Punisher and that ilk to be annoying and pointless.
That said, I do think that Villains in many ways define stories, and even define the heros that they are associated with. I've joked that the true role of Villains is to provide a jaw for the hero to punch, but it really does go deeper than that.
It's obvious, but they provide the tension for the story. After all, does anyone really want a comic book were Batman and Alfred spend all their time in the Batcave playing Canasta?
There are few villains who "define" their hero better than the Joker. The whole "order vs chaos" thing is pretty potent. However, he's a bit of an exception really. In many ways, the best villains for helping to define heros are the true "masterminds." They are characters where it is very believable that they have their "fingers" in the heros life at nearly every moment. Lex Luthor is an obvious example of this. In his role as "richer than Trump," he's able to be involved in nearly every Superman story, at one level or another. He's always there, weaving his web, shaping the world around Superman. Kingpin was able to do much the same for Daredevil.
Now, there are some great villains who are "crosses," in that they are both "masterminds" and direct threats to the heros. Magneto and Dr. Doom would be good examples of this.
Oh well, I'm tired, and rambling, so I'll shut up and leave y'all alone.
Actually, I'm not. I'm all about the heros. I don't even much like Anti-heros. I find Wolverine, the Punisher and that ilk to be annoying and pointless.
That said, I do think that Villains in many ways define stories, and even define the heros that they are associated with. I've joked that the true role of Villains is to provide a jaw for the hero to punch, but it really does go deeper than that.
It's obvious, but they provide the tension for the story. After all, does anyone really want a comic book were Batman and Alfred spend all their time in the Batcave playing Canasta?
There are few villains who "define" their hero better than the Joker. The whole "order vs chaos" thing is pretty potent. However, he's a bit of an exception really. In many ways, the best villains for helping to define heros are the true "masterminds." They are characters where it is very believable that they have their "fingers" in the heros life at nearly every moment. Lex Luthor is an obvious example of this. In his role as "richer than Trump," he's able to be involved in nearly every Superman story, at one level or another. He's always there, weaving his web, shaping the world around Superman. Kingpin was able to do much the same for Daredevil.
Now, there are some great villains who are "crosses," in that they are both "masterminds" and direct threats to the heros. Magneto and Dr. Doom would be good examples of this.
Oh well, I'm tired, and rambling, so I'll shut up and leave y'all alone.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Review: Avengers the Movie
Just watched the new Avengers movie, and I have to give it an overall thumbs up. Now, the animation is rather uneven. On the one hand, the designs and colors are quite good, but the movement seems to be a bit rough.
I've not read the Ultimates, so it's a bit disorienting for me to read. Lots of things that just seem slightly off (like Prof. Betsy Ross). Still, enough of the touchstones are there for me to follow it in good form.
Probably the highlight is the bickering between Hank Pym and Janet. Is there a more disfunctional couple in comics?
I should say more, but I'm a tad tired, so I'll let it be.
Still, a night with Captain America can't be all bad.
One can never have too many boy scouts.
I've not read the Ultimates, so it's a bit disorienting for me to read. Lots of things that just seem slightly off (like Prof. Betsy Ross). Still, enough of the touchstones are there for me to follow it in good form.
Probably the highlight is the bickering between Hank Pym and Janet. Is there a more disfunctional couple in comics?
I should say more, but I'm a tad tired, so I'll let it be.
Still, a night with Captain America can't be all bad.
One can never have too many boy scouts.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
JLU
Pretty good episode tonight. I'd missed the first Stargirl episode, so this was the first time I saw her and Pat. I can't say that I'm fond of her voice, but oh well.
It's interesting to see this storyline pushed across at the same time as some of the themes in IC that I mentioned last night. In alot of ways, it strikes me as a "truer" story than IC.
I think they pushed the "non-powered" thing a bit too far this time though. It was quite funny to see Speedy, and near as I can recall this is the first time that we've seen someone from the Teen Titans cartoon appear in JLU (other than maybe Kid Flash... is that Wally or Bart in TT?) The byplay between him and Ollie was pretty good, and I liked the way that they pulled out the Silver Age wierd arrows.
Overall, a solid episode, and it's good to see them putting focus on some of the secondary characters. I really think that it's been getting better (though the animation isn't as good as it was to my mind). Too bad the series is going by the wayside.
It's interesting to see this storyline pushed across at the same time as some of the themes in IC that I mentioned last night. In alot of ways, it strikes me as a "truer" story than IC.
I think they pushed the "non-powered" thing a bit too far this time though. It was quite funny to see Speedy, and near as I can recall this is the first time that we've seen someone from the Teen Titans cartoon appear in JLU (other than maybe Kid Flash... is that Wally or Bart in TT?) The byplay between him and Ollie was pretty good, and I liked the way that they pulled out the Silver Age wierd arrows.
Overall, a solid episode, and it's good to see them putting focus on some of the secondary characters. I really think that it's been getting better (though the animation isn't as good as it was to my mind). Too bad the series is going by the wayside.
The role of the "origin" Story.
Comic books have certain patterns. When a new comic comes out, either the first or (sometimes) second story will be the ever popular "origin" story. In some ways, it's almost gotten to be a cliche.
However, I think that these stories are really a major part in defining a character, and have great value. The odd thing is that I think that people usually look at the "wrong part" of the story. The classic OS consists of two parts. First of all, is how they got their powers, and the second is what led them to become a member of the spandex set. A great deal of the time, the focus seems to be on the way that people got their powers, but I think that's misplaced.
Who are the most important people in the DCU? I think you can make a great case for Ma and Pa Kent. When people talk about Superman's origin, they focus on all the things related to Krypton. Indeed, that story has a great deal of pathos, and the writers have gotten some very good stuff out of there over the years. However, what has really defined Superman is not the powers that he has, but the essential decency of the character. If it weren't for the values that the Kent's raised Clark with, he could have easily become the greatest nightmare the earth had ever seen, rather than the iconic hero that he is. The values he was raised with are part and parcel of answering the question "Why is he a hero?"
You see the same thing with Batman's OS. Here the two parts of the origin are tied pretty closely together. He got his "powers" because of his determination to be a hero (in this case powers being defined as the physical and mental training to fulfill his chosen role.) While the very early stories didn't have his essental aversion to ever killing another human being, even that was an organic outgrowth of his OS. What really defines Batman is the thing that decided he wanted to be a hero.
Much the same is true with the X-Men. The OS of the various characters are varied, and it's gotten to the point that describing how they got their powers is an exercise in handwavium. "They're mutants! And don't think too much about how ruby quartz would actually stop the eyebeam of doom!" However, what unites them all is "the dream." The characters all approach the dream somewhat differently. Charles is the Apostle, Cyclops the Paladin, Wolverine the rather unpleasant cousin that keeps coming to dinner. However, that dream is what defines them as a whole, and their individual relationship to the dream is a major piece of what defines them as individual characters.
On the other hand, we can look at a case where there is no real OS and see how badly it's lacking. Look at Grace in Outsiders. What makes her tick? Why is she a hero? She's been revealed to be a number of things. I'll tempered, cynical about the whole hero thing, seemingly satisfied with working as a metahuman bouncer, and the like. What led her to take Arsenal's offer to join the Outsiders? It's got to be more than the money. She's so cynical about the whole hero "biz" (as has been shown in some of her conversations, such as the one with Thunder after Indigo died), why did she willingly jump into it? There may have been some hints in the "missing child" story, but in many ways, she's a cipher, and because of that, pretty boring to me.
Now, you don't have to reveal all (or even much) at the beginning. The introduction of Raven in Teen Titans would be an example of that. It was clear there was something going on, and that she had a history she was trying to deal with. So, what made her interesting was watching that mystery develop. Grace (at least in my not very humble opinion) hasn't been given that sense of mystery. She's just thrown out there as a "bad girl" with powers.
Oracle is another interesting story, as she in a real way has two OS. I'm going to work under the assumption that Batgirl: Year One is the OS for Batgirl, for the sake of simplicity. There, her origin is really a touch shallow. She wants to be a cop, but when she's blocked from doing that, she practically "falls" into becoming a costumed hero. Still, there seems to be a certain ambivalence about it, even after she takes her "oath" with Batman. She's there for the thrill and the fun, not out of a deeper commitment. On the other hand, her maiming by the Joker forced her to focus, and turn into a deeper and more profound character.
Stargirl is another good example. Her reasons to become a hero are about as shallow as they get, but really the entire run of Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E is her OS, as she's gone beyond her initial silly reasons, and allowed her to grow into something far more. She has an understanding and commitment to who she is and what she's doing.
I don't really care about how someone "got" their powers, I care about why they do what they do.
However, I think that these stories are really a major part in defining a character, and have great value. The odd thing is that I think that people usually look at the "wrong part" of the story. The classic OS consists of two parts. First of all, is how they got their powers, and the second is what led them to become a member of the spandex set. A great deal of the time, the focus seems to be on the way that people got their powers, but I think that's misplaced.
Who are the most important people in the DCU? I think you can make a great case for Ma and Pa Kent. When people talk about Superman's origin, they focus on all the things related to Krypton. Indeed, that story has a great deal of pathos, and the writers have gotten some very good stuff out of there over the years. However, what has really defined Superman is not the powers that he has, but the essential decency of the character. If it weren't for the values that the Kent's raised Clark with, he could have easily become the greatest nightmare the earth had ever seen, rather than the iconic hero that he is. The values he was raised with are part and parcel of answering the question "Why is he a hero?"
You see the same thing with Batman's OS. Here the two parts of the origin are tied pretty closely together. He got his "powers" because of his determination to be a hero (in this case powers being defined as the physical and mental training to fulfill his chosen role.) While the very early stories didn't have his essental aversion to ever killing another human being, even that was an organic outgrowth of his OS. What really defines Batman is the thing that decided he wanted to be a hero.
Much the same is true with the X-Men. The OS of the various characters are varied, and it's gotten to the point that describing how they got their powers is an exercise in handwavium. "They're mutants! And don't think too much about how ruby quartz would actually stop the eyebeam of doom!" However, what unites them all is "the dream." The characters all approach the dream somewhat differently. Charles is the Apostle, Cyclops the Paladin, Wolverine the rather unpleasant cousin that keeps coming to dinner. However, that dream is what defines them as a whole, and their individual relationship to the dream is a major piece of what defines them as individual characters.
On the other hand, we can look at a case where there is no real OS and see how badly it's lacking. Look at Grace in Outsiders. What makes her tick? Why is she a hero? She's been revealed to be a number of things. I'll tempered, cynical about the whole hero thing, seemingly satisfied with working as a metahuman bouncer, and the like. What led her to take Arsenal's offer to join the Outsiders? It's got to be more than the money. She's so cynical about the whole hero "biz" (as has been shown in some of her conversations, such as the one with Thunder after Indigo died), why did she willingly jump into it? There may have been some hints in the "missing child" story, but in many ways, she's a cipher, and because of that, pretty boring to me.
Now, you don't have to reveal all (or even much) at the beginning. The introduction of Raven in Teen Titans would be an example of that. It was clear there was something going on, and that she had a history she was trying to deal with. So, what made her interesting was watching that mystery develop. Grace (at least in my not very humble opinion) hasn't been given that sense of mystery. She's just thrown out there as a "bad girl" with powers.
Oracle is another interesting story, as she in a real way has two OS. I'm going to work under the assumption that Batgirl: Year One is the OS for Batgirl, for the sake of simplicity. There, her origin is really a touch shallow. She wants to be a cop, but when she's blocked from doing that, she practically "falls" into becoming a costumed hero. Still, there seems to be a certain ambivalence about it, even after she takes her "oath" with Batman. She's there for the thrill and the fun, not out of a deeper commitment. On the other hand, her maiming by the Joker forced her to focus, and turn into a deeper and more profound character.
Stargirl is another good example. Her reasons to become a hero are about as shallow as they get, but really the entire run of Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E is her OS, as she's gone beyond her initial silly reasons, and allowed her to grow into something far more. She has an understanding and commitment to who she is and what she's doing.
I don't really care about how someone "got" their powers, I care about why they do what they do.
Friday, February 24, 2006
More IC thoughts
While out on my walk today, I think I realized what has disappointed me about the way that IC has been playing out. I'll admit that this aspect probably has been played up to an extent in some of the titles that IC is spilling into (I'm only getting the books I normally do, and then a few of the specials that go with it, like Day of Vengance).
In many ways, the "run up" to IC was playing around with the idea of "trust." Think about the "psychology" of living in the DCU (or any superhero universe really). The ordinary people have to show a high level of trust in their heros. These are people who have the power to destroy them at the blink of an eye, and if they ever want to take control, the options of the "rest of us" will be very limited. This vunerability can easily lead to a sense of paranoia on the part of the people. This is hardly a new idea in comics. X-Men has practically lived in this margin, especially in the glory days of Claremont. Likewise, in the DCU, Kingdom Come got into this very heavily. That said, it's still a vibrant place to mine stories.
Now, in the last couple of years, the buildup of storylines in the DCU have begun to "erode" the trust that the common people would have in their heros.
1. Identity Crisis It's a bit unclear how much the man on the street know of the lobotomization of Dr. Light... but it's still an ongoing issue. The next two are clearer.
2. Black Reign(JSA)- When a "hero" goes rogue and takes over a nation by main force.
3. The killing of Max Lord by Wonder Woman.
These elements have come together and would have formed the backbone of a good storyline, of how the heros have to deal with a situation where the trust has begun to erode. In a way, it's the converse of the old X-Men situation, in that they were feared for no good reason, while the DCU heros are starting to give reason to fear them.
In a way, the Black Reign storyline in JSA is the key to my mind. You have two heros from the most "respected" of the teams (if not the most powerful) becoming the nightmare that everyone had to fear in the back of their heads. Now, this story does have some mitagating circumstances. Black Adam was a "reformed" villain, so people could just shake their heads and say "they never should have trusted him." Likewise, Atom Smasher "repented" and is doing his jail thing, so the people can breathe a sigh of relief. The others involved were "minor players" and didn't have the cachet of the JSA.
Still, that could serve as a "floodgate" for an expansion of this theme. It's not that the people are afraid of superpowered people doing bad things. Well, they are of course, but they also know that the heros are there to protect them. The nightmare is if the heros begin to abandon the side of good.
There are elements of all of this in the runup to IC, and some of the side stories. Sadly, IC has become tied up with rehashing COIE, and this focus has really been pulled to the side. Instead of dealing with the nightmare of falling heros, we are instead just treated to platitudes by Earth-2 Superman and Earth-Prime Superboy about how this world is the "wrong" one, that leads heros to fall. It doesn't carry the power or the impact.
To really have a "payoff" with the groundwork that we've seen, we've got to have something that I don't recall in the history of comics. We are going to have to have a major hero fall hard. There have been low and mid range heros fall (Hawk for instance), and there are times that major heros have been framed or misunderstood (Batman every 20 issues or so), but I don't recall a first or second tier hero in either the DCU or Marvel (the ones I know best) who truly fell. Even Black Adam was pretty enigmatic in his hero phase, so he doesn't fully count. I realize that DC would be afraid to have someone as iconic as Superman or Batman fall, but they could have one of the second tier characters fall all the way.
I hope that IC ends up doing just that... but I don't see it, the way the story is developing.
PS: Even if you say Hal Jordan fell, they then turned around and redeemed him... I want a story where a hero falls, and stays fallen)
In many ways, the "run up" to IC was playing around with the idea of "trust." Think about the "psychology" of living in the DCU (or any superhero universe really). The ordinary people have to show a high level of trust in their heros. These are people who have the power to destroy them at the blink of an eye, and if they ever want to take control, the options of the "rest of us" will be very limited. This vunerability can easily lead to a sense of paranoia on the part of the people. This is hardly a new idea in comics. X-Men has practically lived in this margin, especially in the glory days of Claremont. Likewise, in the DCU, Kingdom Come got into this very heavily. That said, it's still a vibrant place to mine stories.
Now, in the last couple of years, the buildup of storylines in the DCU have begun to "erode" the trust that the common people would have in their heros.
1. Identity Crisis It's a bit unclear how much the man on the street know of the lobotomization of Dr. Light... but it's still an ongoing issue. The next two are clearer.
2. Black Reign(JSA)- When a "hero" goes rogue and takes over a nation by main force.
3. The killing of Max Lord by Wonder Woman.
These elements have come together and would have formed the backbone of a good storyline, of how the heros have to deal with a situation where the trust has begun to erode. In a way, it's the converse of the old X-Men situation, in that they were feared for no good reason, while the DCU heros are starting to give reason to fear them.
In a way, the Black Reign storyline in JSA is the key to my mind. You have two heros from the most "respected" of the teams (if not the most powerful) becoming the nightmare that everyone had to fear in the back of their heads. Now, this story does have some mitagating circumstances. Black Adam was a "reformed" villain, so people could just shake their heads and say "they never should have trusted him." Likewise, Atom Smasher "repented" and is doing his jail thing, so the people can breathe a sigh of relief. The others involved were "minor players" and didn't have the cachet of the JSA.
Still, that could serve as a "floodgate" for an expansion of this theme. It's not that the people are afraid of superpowered people doing bad things. Well, they are of course, but they also know that the heros are there to protect them. The nightmare is if the heros begin to abandon the side of good.
There are elements of all of this in the runup to IC, and some of the side stories. Sadly, IC has become tied up with rehashing COIE, and this focus has really been pulled to the side. Instead of dealing with the nightmare of falling heros, we are instead just treated to platitudes by Earth-2 Superman and Earth-Prime Superboy about how this world is the "wrong" one, that leads heros to fall. It doesn't carry the power or the impact.
To really have a "payoff" with the groundwork that we've seen, we've got to have something that I don't recall in the history of comics. We are going to have to have a major hero fall hard. There have been low and mid range heros fall (Hawk for instance), and there are times that major heros have been framed or misunderstood (Batman every 20 issues or so), but I don't recall a first or second tier hero in either the DCU or Marvel (the ones I know best) who truly fell. Even Black Adam was pretty enigmatic in his hero phase, so he doesn't fully count. I realize that DC would be afraid to have someone as iconic as Superman or Batman fall, but they could have one of the second tier characters fall all the way.
I hope that IC ends up doing just that... but I don't see it, the way the story is developing.
PS: Even if you say Hal Jordan fell, they then turned around and redeemed him... I want a story where a hero falls, and stays fallen)
Thursday, February 23, 2006
The Good Stuff
As I mentioned, last month's issue of JSA was very, very good (I forget the number offhand, it's the one with the Ross cover of Stargirl).
Now, it's not perfect by any means. The entire Jesse Quick/Liberty Belle subplot was a bit of a mess, and was really used as a Deus ex machina to set up the real focus of the plot. However, that focus was excellent.
As I've mentioned before, I thought Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E was a very good comic that got killed before its time. The very last issue ended with some very strong family dynamics, and this issue really picked up from them.
It's nice to see that things between Courtney and Michael are still somewhat messy. In fact, if anything, they are becoming very brother and sister like. They'll fight, and even drag their parents into it. That said, you just know that if anyone outside the family crosses either of them, the other will be all over that person.
What does Courtney's real father represent to her? At first, a hope. A hope of belonging, of something better than the life she had before when she and her mother were alone. It was a bit surprising to see her as an "outsider" at her old school, but it fits in a way. For all of her trouble with Pat Dugan early on, her home and her life is developing into a place where she fits. She's found her place in life, and is comfortable in it, and is confident in it.
It's a sign of her fundamental decency that she's so badly shaken when she found out about her real father. What did she really want? She had her place with her mother and Pat, so it wasn't that any more. Did she want redemption for him? Did she want to understand him? We don't know, but as angry as she'd been when she'd seen him in jail, she obviously hadn't cut him out of her heart, even though she "knew" she was "supposed" to.
Stargirl is one of the best characters going, there's just no other way to say it.
Now, it's not perfect by any means. The entire Jesse Quick/Liberty Belle subplot was a bit of a mess, and was really used as a Deus ex machina to set up the real focus of the plot. However, that focus was excellent.
As I've mentioned before, I thought Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E was a very good comic that got killed before its time. The very last issue ended with some very strong family dynamics, and this issue really picked up from them.
It's nice to see that things between Courtney and Michael are still somewhat messy. In fact, if anything, they are becoming very brother and sister like. They'll fight, and even drag their parents into it. That said, you just know that if anyone outside the family crosses either of them, the other will be all over that person.
What does Courtney's real father represent to her? At first, a hope. A hope of belonging, of something better than the life she had before when she and her mother were alone. It was a bit surprising to see her as an "outsider" at her old school, but it fits in a way. For all of her trouble with Pat Dugan early on, her home and her life is developing into a place where she fits. She's found her place in life, and is comfortable in it, and is confident in it.
It's a sign of her fundamental decency that she's so badly shaken when she found out about her real father. What did she really want? She had her place with her mother and Pat, so it wasn't that any more. Did she want redemption for him? Did she want to understand him? We don't know, but as angry as she'd been when she'd seen him in jail, she obviously hadn't cut him out of her heart, even though she "knew" she was "supposed" to.
Stargirl is one of the best characters going, there's just no other way to say it.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
I live!
Well, I'd apologize for the long delay since a post here, but it would be kind of pointless. It's not like anyone was waiting with baited breath for me to actually post or anything.
In any case, life has been rather insane, and while I've been reading comics, I've not been that moved to post. I'll probably post at one point or another on the Star-Spangled Kid issue of JSA from last month one of these days.
In any case, one of the reasons for the delay is the difficulty of posting in the middle of a long, overwrought company wide crossover. Sad to say, that's what it's turning into. Since I only get my books one time a month, I've been avoiding blogworld to avoid spoilers, but I'm not really joying IC all that much. I'm not going to say that it's down to Zero Hour level, but it's not that good either.
I think part of the problem is that I much prefer focused stories. Even if they are sprawling (like some fantasy novel series I've read), if the focus that underlies the story is clear. Well, to this point, IC is rather shotgunned. The Alex-Superboy-Superman thing is somewhat interesting, but the rest of it is just sort of floating on by. I'm still not entirely sure why they had to scrag Bludhaven (at least it's not in California this time, after Coast City and Sub Diego, I'd be leaving that state...). I'm probably a bit behind, but I sure how that Capt. Marvel doesn't get stuck on the rock. He needs to be an active character, not stuck out there.
Anyway, I've only gotten into a bit of this months shipment, but the highlight easily is Nightwing. I'd really thought that he would eventually go the other way in this. Nice to seem I'm wrong. I still think that Babs can do better, but hey, what do I know :)
Batgirl was fairly interesting. A bit too much use of "bringing back from the dead" for my tastes (and you know that Shiva will fall into the pit soon), but still interesting. I'm glad to see they didn't kill Cassie outright. Whether she uses the name "Batgirl" or whatever is immaterial to me, she's finally growing into being an interesting character. Her original "mute" form was an interesting idea, but not something that can be carried off in an ongoing series.
Oh well, time marches on.
In any case, life has been rather insane, and while I've been reading comics, I've not been that moved to post. I'll probably post at one point or another on the Star-Spangled Kid issue of JSA from last month one of these days.
In any case, one of the reasons for the delay is the difficulty of posting in the middle of a long, overwrought company wide crossover. Sad to say, that's what it's turning into. Since I only get my books one time a month, I've been avoiding blogworld to avoid spoilers, but I'm not really joying IC all that much. I'm not going to say that it's down to Zero Hour level, but it's not that good either.
I think part of the problem is that I much prefer focused stories. Even if they are sprawling (like some fantasy novel series I've read), if the focus that underlies the story is clear. Well, to this point, IC is rather shotgunned. The Alex-Superboy-Superman thing is somewhat interesting, but the rest of it is just sort of floating on by. I'm still not entirely sure why they had to scrag Bludhaven (at least it's not in California this time, after Coast City and Sub Diego, I'd be leaving that state...). I'm probably a bit behind, but I sure how that Capt. Marvel doesn't get stuck on the rock. He needs to be an active character, not stuck out there.
Anyway, I've only gotten into a bit of this months shipment, but the highlight easily is Nightwing. I'd really thought that he would eventually go the other way in this. Nice to seem I'm wrong. I still think that Babs can do better, but hey, what do I know :)
Batgirl was fairly interesting. A bit too much use of "bringing back from the dead" for my tastes (and you know that Shiva will fall into the pit soon), but still interesting. I'm glad to see they didn't kill Cassie outright. Whether she uses the name "Batgirl" or whatever is immaterial to me, she's finally growing into being an interesting character. Her original "mute" form was an interesting idea, but not something that can be carried off in an ongoing series.
Oh well, time marches on.
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