The Four Color Media Monitor

Koimoi gives a sugarcoated, unobjective description of some new Captain America stories that continue the modern degradation of the Star-Spangled Avenger that began as far back as the time Joe Quesada was Marvel's EIC in the early 2000s:

For over 80 years, Captain America has been the beacon of justice. But what if I told you this legendary weapon conceals a dark secret—a symbol of wickedness hiding in plain sight? In Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #3, fans were taken aback by a shocking revelation that challenged the very essence of Steve Rogers’ legacy!

Rogers is rarely seen without his shield. It’s not just a weapon; it’s an extension of his identity. Even Sam Wilson, the new Captain America, carries his version of the shield. Yet, recent story arcs have hinted at a deeper, more sinister connection tied to the shield’s origins.

[...] In Sentinel of Liberty #3, written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly with art by Carmen Carnero, Steve Rogers investigates a seemingly clean-energy plant in Germany, only to uncover its true, sinister purpose. Deep within the installation, he stumbles upon a shocking message from his shield’s creator, Doctor Boka Agbote. It read: “They’re called the Outer Circle.

The revelation unveils that the Outer Circle has orchestrated not just World War II but potentially every conflict since then. The three rings surrounding a star signify a hierarchy—two inner circles influenced by an outer force. The symbol represents Captain America, a weapon wielded by forces far darker than anything he’s ever fought against.

We've heard enough. So now, even Cap's famous shield, developed by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, is apparently tainted, because Mr. Lanzing and Mr. Kelly say so. This retconning is disgusting, as is the news site's failure to acknowledge it's just that, and just a piece of paper.

When will Marvel's publishing arm ever close down? This has long become utterly unendurable.

Labels: bad editors, Captain America, marvel comics, moonbat artists, moonbat writers, msm propaganda, politics

The Wrap says there's a new movie project in development based on one of Stan Lee's later projects:

Stan Lee’s “The Excelsiors” is set to be developed for TV and film by Kartoon Studios, the studio announced Monday. The company, also the controlling partner of Stan Lee Universe, plans to launch the project with a graphic novel published by indie comic publishing label Legible Comics.

The project is being produced by “Batman” film series executive producer Michael Uslan, on board with the DC franchise since bringing the 1989 film to the big screen.

The studio describes the project as “one of the largest initial superhero ensemble creations by the legendary Stan Lee,” featuring a 10-superhero team working for near future corporation “Amaz-Ing Tech LLC.” The team’s name is inspired by Lee’s famed “excelsior” catchphrase. The story is set in a world with global corporations running the world rather than governments (perhaps not too unlike what some see as happening in our own world).

If they're depicting corporations in a negative light, that's certainly surprising, considering how badly Stan's own creations were mangled by corporate wokeness by the time he passed on. But if most conglomerates are run by leftists, that's something they likely won't dwell on, even though there's potential to such a premise, and the producers of this film project are likely to be leftist themselves too. Ultimately, who knows if any finished project will be worth the celluloid it's filmed upon? If the Eternals movie wasn't a success, it wouldn't be surprising if this too ends up just as botched.

For now, we can only wait and see where a movie project like this goes, and it wouldn't be surprising if in the end, the film project is cancelled before any filming officially begins, if they decide the viewpoint doesn't conform to modern PC standards.

Labels: good writers, history, indie publishers, marvel comics

Forbes is paying lip service to a collective of far-left comics writers and artists who're against Donald Trump's policies for if and when he's reelected POTUS:

If you’re having trouble facing the prospect of making your way through Project 2025, the 900-page blueprint for a second Trump administration drawn up by the conservative Heritage Foundation, a loose-knit consortium of cartoonists has made it a bit easier. Last week some of the top creators in the comics industry launched Stop Project 2025, a free website featuring “highlights” from the plan in comics form.

The effort reflects the concerns that many in the comics community are feeling about the impact of a potential second Trump term on issues affecting the lives of ordinary Americans. Stop Project 2025 provides information about the document, its connections to many once-and-future members of a Trump administration, and its implications across a range of policies including education, climate, reproductive freedom, immigration, government administration and more.

“A lot of us were thinking about ways to make a difference,” said comics editor Scott Dunbier (Act 4 Publishing, IDW). Dunbier had previously worked with creators on a book to raise funds for Ukraine and saw the potential of comics to shed light on what he called a “heinous document.” He connected with artist Steve Lieber over Facebook, and eventually a collective of about 50 people began pitching in scripts, art, production and editorial services.

The list of contributors credited on the site includes best-selling and award-winning creators such as Andrew Aydin (March), Denys Cowan (Milestone comics), Matt Fraction (Sex Criminals), Lilah Sturges (Lumberjanes, Fables) and many others, including some who did not want to be listed.

Ah, now if memory serves, "Lilah" is actually Matthew, and this comics propaganda he and Dunbier are working on includes support for transsexual ideology. Also, if Dunbier's trying to use his support for Ukraine as a shield for supporting perverse ideologies, that's very appalling (I wouldn't be shocked if he's not in favor of Israel by contrast), and based on his anti-conservative propaganda, that's why I won't be sorry when IDW goes out of business. Since we're on the subject, one must wonder what Dunbier and Sturges think of Ukraine's opposition to LGBT ideology being exploited for ludicrous privileges, since they don't allow men claiming to be women to just cowardly flee the country after Russia's attack. Or, what do they think of the Muslim world's far worse hostility to LGBT ideology? No doubt, this insulting propaganda project of Dunbier's isn't altruistic, and their attack on Trump is clearly just a lot more selfish embarrassment for the sake of upholding unhealthy practices and other bad influences.

All that aside, Sturges has pretty much tainted the Jack of Fables spinoff he once contributed to as a writer. A comic developed by a conservative, Bill Willingham, who's probably not considered acceptable company by every leftist in the industry, at this point. What Dunbier's doing only makes clear why it's better Hasbro's GI Joe and Transformers franchises are no longer published by IDW, a company which clearly was consumed by selfish leftists who, no matter what they say, only care about western conservatives and aren't really concerned about issues like Islamic terrorism. And when the Religion of Peace is the one espousing homophobia, the left's complaints grind to a screeching halt. One of the best ways to send a message to Dunbier and company is to cease buying any more comics from IDW. Whatever licensed merchandize is still there would be best published elsewhere.

Labels: bad editors, Europe and Asia, golden calf of LGBT, islam and jihad, moonbat artists, moonbat writers, msm propaganda, politics

Much like there's been comics based on Aliens for nearly 40 years past, there's also been quite a few based on 1987's Predator, which starred Arnold Schwartzenegger (and the movie did have at least a few sequels in the years ahead). SpaceCom listed several examples, mainly published by Dark Horse, which they consider the "best" of another horror-themed franchise. There's at least 2 examples here that show just how sad the influence was on comics in terms of darkness becoming a marketing tool:

Having a Predator face off against a renowned superhero isn't a novel idea. On top of the Yautja species' many crossovers with the Xenomorphs, Dark Horse Comics already ran collaborations with other universes/publishers. According to most Predator fans and comic book readers, chief among these is the original, three-issue Batman vs. Predator series written by Dave Gibbons.

DC and Dark Horse's 1991 collaboration was a great success and spawned two sequels years later. You could say the story almost wrote itself, as having the Predator show up in Gotham City felt remarkably natural. The galaxy's greatest hunter against the world's greatest detective and vigilante? This one was an easy win for everyone involved.

It's not like Batman's world never saw elaborate sci-fi storylines emphasized before (The Brave and the Bold served this purpose quite a bit when it became a Batman team-up title in the latter part of its 1955-83 run), but that doesn't make this such a big deal. And seeing they linked to an earlier item about Marvel's crossovers with the Predator franchise adaptations, that too is the kind of merchandize mashup that fails to excite these days.

Another addition to the list is "Deadliest of the Species", written, most fascinatingly, by the man most known for X-Men:

We're of the opinion that the Predator IP benefitted from crossovers much more than Alien, perhaps because of how remarkably simple and easy-to-digest the core premise behind the Predator franchise is. That's why several Alien vs. Predator crossovers are very easily among the best Predator comic books of all time, and Deadliest of the Species continues to be a must-read.

The 12-issue series, written by none other than Chris Claremont, takes place after the events of Aliens: Outbreak and its sequels, that is, after Earth was overrun by aliens and later liberated. Much has changed for mankind, and the story follows a genetically engineered 'trophy wife' named Caryn Delacroix as she unveils her past as well as surprising connections to both Yautjas and Xenomorphs.

Deadliest of the Species has everything you'd want out of an AvP comic book, plus it's got a surprising storyline with several crazy twists and even a female Predator known as 'Big Mama' (really).

I wonder why Claremont thought this was such a big deal either, to pen a story coming from the horror genre, and just shortly after he left X-Men? This decidedly is another example of how Claremont lost his way in later years as a writer, and anything he's written for the Big Two since was nothing to write home about. To pen a Predator story as much as an Alien story is decidedly pretty cheap, when here, he could've tried to jazz up the comedy genre along with anything else considered an optimistic theme. Unfortunately, as this suggests, Claremont could not break free of the theme of darkness even his X-Men stories built upon, and that apparently led him to work on what would definitely be an obvious choice of writing today. Too bad. I'm not impressed by the addition of a female Predator either. It sounds like Claremont's ideas for villainesses from X-Men gone too far. Besides, what's so easy to "digest" about something drawing on jarring violence as the movies did?

If there's too much of the Aliens franchise today, then there's also too much of Predator to boot. We could honestly do without it.

Labels: dc comics, history, indie publishers, licensed products, marvel comics, msm propaganda, violence

Comic Book Club Live wrote a fawning review of Tom King's take on Wonder Woman, which resorts to an awful cliche, along with Diana doing something that's hardly new at all:

I’m going to get into those spoilers here, so fair warning. Yes, Steve Trevor, the love of Wonder Woman’s life is killed by The Sovereign, the King of America, who WW has been fighting since issue one of this volume. And yes, Trinity, the daughter of Wonder Woman, is born by the end of this issue. But the point of the comic, pointedly titled “What Is The Point Of Steve Trevor?” is to prove why the two characters mean so much to each other, and why characters like Steve Trevor are important to the DC Universe as a whole.

Sure, there’s a fair bit of trolling here, and at times it can seem like Tom King is writing this purposefully to poke the bear on internet message boards. And the eventual conclusion about Steve Trevor will likely be as hotly debated as some of the choices here (don’t worry, there are plenty of surprises in between those two major plot points). [...]

What’s most laudable though is the idea King plays with that grief, the loss of a loved one, is a universal feeling. This is not about knocking Wonder Woman down to a human level… For the past 13 issues, The Sovereign has been aiming to do that, and failing at every turn. Diana is not human, Steve Trevor is, and there’s still very much a contrast there. But even gods can rage and cry, and that’s what we see as Wonder Woman goes through every possible stage of grief in a mystical way that only a descendant of Greek Gods can.

The other laudable part of this? Despite having the same team on the book, and continuing a story that began over a year ago, this DC All In issue really does feel like a fresh start. It’s deeply tied to continuity, both in terms of the greater DC Universe and the Wonder Woman title. But it’s impressive how accessible it is, despite all that. The Sovereign story will continue, but at times this feels like a tour of the DCU post-Absolute Power. You get plenty of cameos and Easter eggs, and it’s setting up big things going forward.

Gee, this is just so somnambulent. As if WW and other deities were never depicted crying or written feeling miserable about anything before. The idea of Steve dying isn't new either; if memory serves, there was a similar story way back in 1968, and shortly after, Denny O'Neil and Mike Sekovsky, who may have originated that plot point, took WW in the direction of all but losing her powers and becoming a martial arts practicing secret agent in plainclothes until about 1973. Steve would eventually be resurrected, and that'll probably be the case here too, though if they intend to do something truly awful with Steve later, that's why one can validly wonder if he'd be better off in comics limbo till the closure of DC.

And IIRC, wasn't the Sovereign penned as a metaphor for right-wingers? So why must we care about a story that's a political allegory the reviewer doesn't even have the courage to acknowledge or address? I'm sorry, but all that aside, King has been writing these dreadful allusions to "emotion" far too often, and there's no point in financing a story that's bound to be yet another form of contempt for the fanbases, something the reviewer gallingly downplays, and doesn't have the courage to admit is wrong, and has long gone way too far. With that kind of disrespect from the writers and artists, there's no point giving this story an audience. The Amazon princess deserves far better.

Labels: dc comics, golden calf of death, moonbat writers, msm propaganda, women of dc, Wonder Woman

Superhero Hype announced the 1980s Silverhawks cartoon, much like the Thundercats, is now being adapted to comicdom, by Dynamite Entertainment:

Wings of Silver. Nerves of Steel. The SilverHawks were never quite as popular as their feline counterparts, the ThunderCats. However, the Rankin/Bass animated series still built up a small but loyal following in the 1980s. Yet despite being produced by the same team, the two cosmic series never saw an official crossover. That may change, however, with the SilverHawks joining what Dynamite Entertainment has dubbed the ThunderVerse. [...]

SilverHawks a passion project for writer Ed Brisson

The decision to bring back SIlverHawks was not directly born of Dynamite Entertainment and their successful partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery. The publisher has found critical and commercial success with some licensed cartoon comics in 2024, including Space Ghost and Jonny Quest, but the push to bring back Silverhawks was due to one insistent fan: Predator writer Ed Brisson. [...]

Brisson promises that the new series will delve into the origins of the Silverhawks, which were never revealed in the original show. An “inventive procedural approach” will be used to explore incidents, events, and locations only hinted at by the cartoon. This will build to the larger story of Mon*Star and the looming cosmic mob war. This will presumably eventually extend to Third Earth and the ThunderCats, kicking off a long-awaited crossover.

Here, I have to take issue with "revealed" and I guess even "delve". What's there to reveal when these are fictional characters? It's only a matter of origins never having been officially written/created/developed for the original TV cartoon almost 4 decades ago. Go ahead and develop some for this new take if you must, but as I've made clear before, it's insulting to the intellect when these press sources and even writers make it sound like these are real people here, when they're only fictional characters.

I'm sure there's potential to producing more comics based on licensed merchandize, but let's remember that, if they're held to political correctness, they won't be worth the wait.

Labels: animation, history, indie publishers, licensed products, msm propaganda

The Straits Times announced a rapper from Hong Kong is adding himself to the list of musicians making comics:

Some 150 lucky fans got to meet Hong Kong rapper-singer Jackson Wang in the flesh at a book-signing session on Oct 13 for a comic book, which he had a hand in creating and has big plans for. [...]

The comic book, Under The Castle: The Birth Of Pumpkie, is credited to TWD.

It is meant to be the first in a series, titled Under The Castle, of eerie tales within a castle. The first title focuses on Pumpkie, a little pumpkin character. The 31-page work also introduces a playful ghost called Spookie and the friendship between the two could be explored in future titles.

For the next two years, TWD will focus on creating the official launch for a full comic series and animation series related to Under The Castle. It is also looking at creating kids’ clubs related to the brand.

Wang said: “Why do we know Mickey Mouse? The Simpsons? It is because that was what was introduced to us when we were kids. For the next generation, I hope they can watch this.”

A huge fan of anime and cartoons, he told The Straits Times that he has always wanted to create a comic book. He said: “I hope it will entertain you and your kids.”

There's only one problem: let's not forget Hong Kong, since the mid-1990s, was handed back to China by the British government. So who knows if this isn't a government-approved comic, with the commies determining whether it's approvable? After all, no chance anything remotely critical of China's commies would be cleared for publication on their soil.

Apart from that, I do wish the guy good luck selling this comic. But if there's something sad in all this affair, it's the realization China's communist regime limits what you can write there, et cetera.

Labels: animation, censorship issues, Europe and Asia, manga and anime

Wired did a report about DC making a deal with Global Comix to produce digital editions of their comics output:

Comics are due for a reboot and the old guard knows it. DC Entertainment, the elder statesman of the business, has been trying everything to get young eyes on its familiar characters, from Monday’s surprise announcement of DC Go! webcomics, to a recently-launched kids’ line, to a licensing deal with teen favorite Webtoon.

Today, the company announced a partnership with even more potential to reshape the medium: a distribution deal with GlobalComix, a digital platform that has raised millions in funding to optimize traditional comics to be read by scrolling vertically on a smartphone.

Starting today, fans will be able to read 400 DC, Vertigo, and Wildstorm books, including story arcs from Batman, The Joker, and Doom Patrol, on GlobalComix’s subscription-based app, with many free to sample. The comics will be in standard panel-and-page format, but given GlobalComix’s investment and strategy around verticalization, DC’s move suggests a clear trend. That’s because the deal follows yesterday’s unveiling of DC Go!, a new mobile-optimized initiative on its DC Universe Infinite (DCUI) digital service. It won’t roll out until November 20, but when it does, it’ll allow readers to flick through original Harley Quinn, Nightwing, and Raven series—as well as some archival material—in a style familiar to anyone using apps like TikTok or Instagram.

Gee, haven't they noticed there's been a million "reboots" in terms of continuity, and none of it worked? And again, interesting they keep pushing Harley Quinn on us in all directions. What is so special about her that isn't so special about Black Canary and Huntress? And what's so special about the Joker, lest we forget? Pushing even a veteran villain creation like the Clown Prince of Crime upon the audience at this point has long been reprehensible too, because again, there's been far too much emphasis on villainy, much like darkness, for too long a time. And again, they make a big deal out of Batman, but not Superman. The only "clear" trend here is marching through the darkness, most likely without even any comedy to alleviate the frustration.

Seems simple, obvious even, but it’s a shift the traditional comics industry has been slow to make. When comics first made the migration to digital formats, they largely resembled the same multipanel pages that comics readers had been looking at for years, optimized for the screens of iPads or other tablets. Vertically-scrolling comics, on the other hand, allow readers to follow the story top-to-bottom, like reading a feed on their smartphone. With all the other things now available on those screens—mobile games, social media—old-school publishers have to keep up.

That point was hammered home this summer when Webtoon, the South Korean mobile platform that has popularized vertically scrolling comics worldwide, went public in the US based on a valuation of $2.67 billion. DC’s plans, announced in the lead-up to New York Comic Con, which begins Thursday, indicate that the comics giant is ready to advance on a number of fronts.

“The legacy American comic publishers seem to have reached the limits of new customer acquisition through media,” says Milton Griepp, publisher of ICv2, the trade publication of the comics industry. If they want to grow, he adds, they’re going to have to embrace vertical scroll comics, “which are bringing in tens of millions of new, mostly younger readers worldwide.” (Disclosure: This writer has written for ICv2.)

The legacy publishing has long reached the limits of what it can accomplish through artistic value. So why does he think this is going to do much to change any negative perception they've acquired since the early 2000s, when DiDio/Quesada brought down DC/Marvel's artistic cohesion, to say nothing of continuity? Sorry, but this farce of digital marketing is coming far too late. If there's any front DC's not advancing on, it's mending their continuity, respect of legacy characters who were marginalized and humiliated, and moving away from the kind of woke politics they've been shoehorning into their output over the past decade. Marvel's tried this digital approach in the past, and it hasn't led much of anywhere, mainly because the artistic quality was bad. Why should we be expected to care about DC taking a similar direction?

Labels: bad editors, Batman, dc comics, Europe and Asia, golden calf of villainy, indie publishers, marvel comics, msm propaganda, politics, sales, technology