A mainstream columnist's swipe at Civil War's detractors only succeeds in making me feel honored

The Comics Buyer's Guide's Capt. Comics wrote an interview with Joe Quesada about Civil War in issue #1619 that took a swipe at the detractors of the company wide crossover:

CBG: With “Civil War” coming on the heels of DC’s successful “Infinite Crisis,” the online cynics are snarking that Marvel’s crossover is a “me too” response, and even the fair-minded wince at the timing. What would you say to counter this perception?

Really, is that so? And who might those "online cynics" be or include? The blogosphere, for example? I don't know, but all the same, as an online writer myself, I'm honored to be called a cynic! LOL, I'm sure he didn't intend to, yet that's what he succeeded in doing - making me for one feel honored by the implication of cynicism! Ha ha!

Seriously now, the interview still misses the bigger picture, such as the mass interruption of the natural flow for only so many once great titles at Marvel, continuing the assault on Spider-Man's ability to be entertaining, the misuse of Captain America, Iron Man, X-Men and the Fantastic Four, and just plain pitting everyone against each other in a contrived, forced storyline that nobody really needs. Except of course, for those who couldn't care less that they're insulting the intelligence of the readers who can't resist making a habit out of collecting.

And Quesada's reponse to the above question is rather laughable too:

Quesada: Well then, I suppose we could make the same claim, and say that DC’s event was a “me too” response to our big event of last year, “House of M.” But in all fairness, the actual answer is “no” for both parties; they’re just trying to keep interest up in their comics as we are with ours. It’s not like big events are some strange new thing to comics. Marvel has a tradition of doing yearly events, beginning with the mother of all events, Secret Wars (1984). Truth be told, if we wanted to take the steam out of DC’s event we would have shipped it concurrently, instead we’re shipping “Civil War” in May, which several months after DC’s event is over.

Here's the thing: Marvel refrained from crossovers for almost five years before boomeranging as hard as they did, first with House of M and now this. That's even more time than DC was willing to allow with their own stable of series.

And Secret Wars, as some might tell you today, was really nothing to crow over; just a kid's absurdist power fantasy in the guise of the Beyonder mixed with a silly fanfiction. The 1985-86 sequel though, is what really scraped bottom, right down to the Beyonder's hilarious costume (see below), which looked almost like a pair of airplane engines for shoulder pads! (Can anyone say "engine trouble"?) It's things like that which, from a current perspective, have pretty much frightened me away from company wide crossovers altogether. Especially when they turn out to be overly-political platforms, something that even comics from the Bronze Age didn't go overboard with, and usually had more sincere ideas involved anyway!
If comics cannot be allowed to flow freely and naturally, without being subject to editorial mandates at almost every turn, then it shouldn't be too hard to figure out why they could end up as ruined as they are now.

DC follows Marvel by letting propaganda company abuse their products

Some time ago, Marvel gave a Kuwaiti company called Teshkeel the rights to translating their products into Arabic, but it wouldn't come as a surprise to me if they allowed for more than just that. Now, DC follows suit by letting the same company go and fiddle with theirs:

KUWAIT CITY, July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Teshkeel Media Group, KSC announced today a comprehensive agreement with DC Comics -- the American-based publisher of Superman and Batman comics and one of the foremost publishers of comics and comics-related products in the world -- to bring Arabic, Arabic-English and Arabic-French versions of DC comics, trade paperbacks and magazines to the Middle East and North Africa. The agreement was announced by Naif Al-Mutawa, CEO of Teshkeel, and John Nee, Vice President-Business Development, DC Comics.

Under the terms of the agreement, Teshkeel will engage in a multi-year publishing program which will return DC's comic books to the Middle East and North Africa regions, beginning with publications tied in to this summer's blockbuster movie, Superman Returns. Plans call for additional titles featuring DC's world-famous library of characters to debut in the coming months.

"We're honored to be working with DC Comics," said Al-Mutawa. "DC practically invented the comic book format and characters like Superman and Batman have defined the superhero genre. They are a company that has long enjoyed a reputation for excellence, innovation and creativity -- something we are proud to pass on to our audiences in the Middle East and North Africa."

Nee added, "Through comic books, television and film our characters are recognizable worldwide. We're excited to have our publications available in the MENA region once again and to continue our long tradition of publishing in these territories. It's a great opportunity for a whole new audience to discover the magic of DC's characters and stories. With the variety of formats and languages they are offering readers, Teshkeel has presented us with a great opportunity to reach the widest possible audience in this rapidly growing territory."

Headquartered in Kuwait, Teshkeel is a publisher of comics and other children's entertainment in the Arab world. Planned publications will feature some of DC's most popular characters, including Superman, Batman, Teen Titans and the Justice League.

Teshkeel's program will begin in late July with a special publication tied in to the regional release of the Superman Returns film. The company will also publish four other Superman Returns-related titles before launching monthly Superman and Batman titles.

In addition to DC, Teshkeel also publishes local versions of Marvel Comics and Archie Comics and its own original title, The 99. "The addition of DC's fantastic range of titles to our publishing program is a superhero-lover's dream come true," concluded Al-Mutawa. "We're extremely proud to be bringing the world's greatest heroes to the children of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond."

The article is really insulting in its gushing, ditto that DC would be willing to give them the rights to potentially abuse their products. Why do I get the feeling that they won't even inspect what Teshkeel is doing? As great as it'd be for many Arab communities to be reading comics, I simply don't trust Teshkeel to translate them into something honest and faithful to the original scripts, and that's a real shame.

An online comic taken down because of death threats (update: it's back up again!)

I'd wanted to write about this earlier, but was so busy I was unable to, and ended up forgetting until now. From Infidel Bloggers Alliance, here's an entry about an online webcomic site called IslamComicBook.Com that was taken down some time ago because of death threats (update: but which, fortunately, as I just discovered, is back again now!).

The text from the site:

Greetings,

It is with great regret that I must go into hiding.

This is a result of the multiple death threats I have received for my comic book, which depicts the truth about the teachings of the prophet Mohammed. I am earnestly confused about this matter. I have spoken honestly and truthfully about Islam and its teachings. All quotes in the comic book are directly from the Qu'ran and the agreed Hadiths.

Why does a religion of peace seek to kill me for being honest? What do they have to hide?

I hope to return when I am free to speak once again.

Abdullah Aziz
(Author or the World Renowned Comic Book, "Mohammed's Believe It or Else!"

So there you have it, an example of how Islamofascism sought to deny free speech for a webcomic. Fortunately, FaithFreedom.Org has a copy of it available which I recommend for reading.

There's an important lesson to be learned from this, that, comic books too are one of the forms of communication that radical Islam is targeting in its attempt to silence free speech. Anyone who's a devoted comics fan would be well advised to be on the lookout for if Islam tries to target even American comic books, both in print and online.

Update: whoa, now this is fortunate to learn! The website is now back up, and it looks like an additional one is in the works too. I'm glad to see that they didn't let those cannibals scare them. Bravo, infidels!

The flaccid outlines of a comic book adaptation of the 9-11 commission report

It's all part of the showbiz industry's refusal to live in reality. The Washington Post recently reported about "The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation", which is supposedly a straightforward telling of the 9-11 commission report in comic book format. However, as a letter writer to the WaPo told them on July 25:

As a pilot for American Airlines who captained Flight 77 on Sept. 8, 2001, and who attended five memorial services in the aftermath of the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, I am outraged by the attempt to depict the horrific events of Sept. 11 in a comic book format ["The Bold Outlines of a Plot; Adapted as a Comic Book, the 9/11 Commission Report Hits Home Anew," Style, July 16].

How anyone can portray the following excerpt found on Page 9 of the Sept. 11 commission's report as a "soft, translucent tan mood" is inconceivable: "The hijacker pilot then advanced the throttles to maximum power and dove toward the Pentagon." Even more disturbing were the narratives appearing in this comic book; its casting of the individuals carrying out these evil acts as "newcomers" and "Hamburg pilots," not terrorists, is unconscionable. Additionally, these terrorists didn't "settle in the United States," they infiltrated it. While shielding children from the details of this horrific tragedy is appropriate, telling the rest of society about it in a comic book isn't.

This could also serve as a good point to make about marketing comics to anyone, no matter what age they are: propaganda and filthy lies are something that NOONE should have to have foisted upon them. And while I can't remember exactly who it was who said the following, "Without knowledge, there is no defense."

Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon, the veterans who worked on this book, should be ashamed of themselves for whitewashing the whole subject. Did they even consult with the relatives and friends of the victims of the tragedy on 9-11?

People like these can/will tell you that they're trying to avoid "offending" anyone. Problem is that it usually includes even the criminals who carried out these vile crimes, ditto their followers, as was the case involving Spielberg's Munich, and we all saw how well that did in the end. Just what do these phonies expect to accomplish by not giving an honest description of the scum and what they are, which is a gang of Islamic terrorists? Simply put, only if they're willing to understand that, in order to put together a successful storyboard, they'll have to run the risk of offending, will they be able to impress upon the audience. That's exactly why United 93 (which interestingly enough, is mentioned in the WaPo report) worked as well as it did, because it was honest about who and what the criminals who hijacked Flight 93 in my native Pennsylvania, and even in its efforts to figure out how the passengers heroically fought back against the hijackers and prevented them from making a third suicide strike in the Pittburgh area. If Colon and Jacobson are going to be as dishonest as they apparently are, then all they've done is to mark themselves as cowards.

It really makes me sick thinking about any and all of the people who could get tricked into reading this propaganda and get the wrong impressions of what went on during 9-11. Colon and Jacobson say in the main report that they're aiming it even at children who may not get to read the regular report, which shows that they're no better than any of the mainstream schools. I think that a television interview with Colon, Jacobson and company is in order here. Repeat after me: "televised debate, televised debate, televised debate, televised debate..."

Topps plummets to Bottoms

Oh yes, even a comic strip found inside a chewing gum wrapper like Bazooka Joe can fall victim to bizarre ultra-political correctness, including stereotypical multiculturalism. From the Detroit Free Press:

What have they done to Bazooka Joe?

Experts in the study of bubble gum had some bad news for the folks who make Bazooka bubble gum: Today's youth preferred softer chews than those hard little pink Bazooka squares.

Bazooka Joe was an out-of-date nerd at 53.

So Bazooka softened the gum and swooped in to remake Joe. Out with his rolled-up pants. In with a backward hat and ripped jeans.

Out with his old friends. In with a multicultural gang who will appear in Bazooka comics: tomboy Casey McGavin, German exchange student Wolfgang Spreckels, greenie Cindy Lewis, sci-fi fan Kevin Griffin and DJ Chen, who loves mixing records.

The new look was revealed at the recent All Candy Expo in Chicago.

Okay, I can understand why anyone might want the gum to be softer and easier to chew on. As someone with vast experience in chewing on Snickers chocolate from Hershey's Inc, I can tell you that even the peanut butter based chocolate could use an easier-to-munch list of ingredients (the Twix chocolate, assuming that it IS chocolate, I will absolutely NOT touch, because it's so running the gauntlet of breaking one's teeth, it'd be a stinker anytime). But since when did the comic strips the Topps company put into the package get mixed up in all this? The premise they present here looks as though it was scrawled on - what else? - a gum wrapper.

Let's see, a German exchange student? I think I've heard that cliche before, and I wouldn't be surprised if stereotypical jokes will soon be on the horizon in BJ's strips. In any case, if European characters are needed, why not French, Armenian, Greek, Danish, Swedish? Are those really that hard to get the hang of culture-wise?

A tomboy? Alas, from the pictures I've seen, this looks to be very unfeminine.

A sci-fi fan? Quite worn out.

When they say "greenie", they mean an environmentalist. But beyond that, I don't see much humor in it.

And what's so new about being a dee-jay? Nada.

If they think they're clever, they've only succeeded in putting me for one to sleep. The ideas they have here for a new cast to supplant the old are ones that I've seen already, and multiculturalism is already being looked upon as more a curse than a blessing, because it signifies a hatred of one's own native culture. Not that I was ever much of a gum muncher, if at all, but this certainly won't encourage me to open their wrappers to look for the Bazooka strips if they intend to go along with it.

The National Post of Canada says that the Topps company's stocks have plummeted considerably in recent years, but from what I read here, I can't tell if it has anything to do with a food-to-readership audiences' loss of interest in the BJ character. I guess Topps just decided to take their anger out on poor ol' Joe while going down with the sinking ship.

Funny Mallard Fillmore strip about DC's steps with Batwoman

I'd thought of posting this earlier, but because of breakdowns I've encountered in Blogger's photo uploading systems, it took some time. Here's a very funny take on the Batwoman controversy from Mallard Fillmore from July 7:

Thanks to Bobb.

Topic linked with: Conservative Cat, Mark My Words, Point Five.

Unpublished issue of Fantastic Four is now going to be published

I've heard of how there are unpublished scripts abound, and now, it looks like even the Fantastic Four had something of the sort, that Marvel is now going to be publishing,* though as you'll notice at the bottom of this paragraph:

While some details are known about how this issue slipped through the cracks, Brevoort admits, "Many of the specifics are lost to the pages of time. But as I understand it, this story was originally intended for 'Fantastic Four' #102, right at the end of Jack's tenure at Marvel. At that point, relations were at something of a low between Lee and Kirby, and on this particular job, Stan apparently had something specific in mind for the story, and he felt that Jack went too far afield. So the job was set aside--and later, portions of it were used as an extended flashback in a later issue of FF to kind of salvage the material."

So then again, it looks like this isn't quite as previously unpublished an issue as one might've thought. But I guess this means that any panels/pages that weren't used hitherto will be shown now. Hmm.

* Strangely, all three of the JPGs of the panels that were supposed to be on the CBR page this came from were broken.

There, that's it! The perfect template

The template called Soleil (French for sun), which I tried out first, was great but still had problems with it that I could not get past. The Stevenson template, which I'm trying out now, is much more successful.

So there we go, the perfect template with which to update the blog! Bravo!

Trying out a new template

I thought to try and add something to spruce things up a bit, and this is what I found. It was difficult in deciding what template to use, but I guess this'll do. (Though for now, it seems like the template has a way of defaulting the quoted text to italic, so I'll need to see if there's any way to rework that.)

I'd sure like to add some "iframes" for this, if I were to put in Haloscan comments, but if I do, it'll need some time until I can figure it all out.

Spider-Man 3 trailers now online

The downloadable trailers for the third Spider-Movie are now online, in 4-5 versions from Apple.Com, including small, medium, large, high definition, and even one for the Ipod. My brother and I saw the first and second one at least twice, and maybe we'll see this movie more than once too.

Islamists are apparently afraid of Superman!

Democracy Frontline (via Always on Watch) found this most side-splitting news involving childish superstition from a Dubai news outlet:

Published on: Monday, 17th July, 2006
7DAYS would like to point out that the four-page ‘Daily Planet’ supplement carried in yesterday’s paper was an advert for the release of the new movie ‘Superman Returns’. Superman has not really been spotted flying down Sheikh Zayed Road nor has he been seen swooping over Luxor in Egypt. 7DAYS would like to thank those readers who thought otherwise for their concerned telephone calls.

I just keeled over laughing when I found this! Though it does seem to suggest that there aren't that many true Super-fans there, certainly not among Islamofascists.

(Interesting aside is that the city of Luxor in Egypt evokes the planet Lexor from pre-Crisis Superman, the world that gave Lex Luthor safe haven many times when he was more a mad scientist outlaw than a corrupt businessman who evaded the law through diplomacy.)

Topic linked with: Conservative Cat, Is it Just Me, Point Five.

Geoff Johns must be trying to rip off Young Avengers

That's certainly what it sounds like when I look at this thread he posted on ComicBloc (via Titans Tower Monitor). First, though, I gotta take issue with the following:

First of: Eddie, Tony, Jeanine and Kevin rule. They are my partners on this book and without them it wouldn't be the book it is. I couldn't be more happy with how TEEN TITANS is turning out.

Except that the issue where he smacked Captain Carrot's Amazing Zoo Crew in the face is what's frightened me away from that book almost entirely.

Despite the loss of Conner (choke) and Bart (sigh) from the team, Tony and Eddie and I wanted to take a risk. We wanted to try and do something totally DIFFERENT and NEW, create NEW characters and update ones few have heard of. For a long time, I think some people saw our new TEEN TITANS book as being an amalgam of NEW TEEN TITANS and YOUNG JUSTICE. I think we're finally out of the shadow and I think with all of the mythology we're laying, the numerous storylines and members that are being created, the book has come into its own completely.

It's really amazing to think when I first got offered TEEN TITANS everyone said "Why do it? It's been cancelled twice!" More than three years later, we're still one of DC's highest selling books. Our sales have been as solid as they've been since we launched. I thank all the readers for that and for letting us add what we can to the Titans world. I'm super psyched for everyone to see what we've got coming up next: TITANS AROUND THE WORLD, the mystery of KID DEVIL, the power of ZATARA, the strangeness of MISS MARTIAN, the fears of RAVAGER, the troubles between ROBIN and WONDER GIRL, the lost friend, the new enemy, the new member, the old member, BATGIRL, KID DEVIL's arch enemy, the TITANS EAST, the other TOWER, the loud girl with the crush on CYBORG, the missing "book" and plenty of insanity.

I can certainly figure out one, and maybe two, of the newcomers here. Zatara is probably going to be Zatanna's kid cousin, taking up a super-career of his own and the name of his uncle as well, and Miss Martian, besides being meant to evoke (and joke) Ms. Marvel, is going to be a long lost relative of J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter. And the other Tower is going to be the one they once had in New York City. And Wonder Girl is now starting a love affair with Robin, now that Connor Kent's been shafted without even trying to make anything really convincing out of that previous relation (it was so half-hearted when I read it, that it had very little impact for me).

Sorry, but, I'll pass. And besides, when I look at this under a microscope, it doesn't take much to figure out that this is all just intended to be a Young Avengers ripoff, to cash in on any success their rival company could be having with that specific title.

And does he really think he can fool anyone with his "sniffling"? I figured that one of the reasons why Superboy got killed in Infinite Crisis and Bart Allen got tossed from the TT cast was because he simply doesn't have any interest in them, and the way he wrote them, mechanically or symbolically, could attest to that.

This sounds like a lot of artwork talent, far more than scriptwriting

Mark Waid is to write 2-page origin stories for some of DC's superheroes in 52:

Starting with #12, 52 co-writer Mark Waid will begin painting a picture of New Earth’s history in the form of two-page origin stories featuring some of DC’s key characters, including Wonder Woman and Power Girl by Adam Hughes, Elongated Man and Adam Strange by Kevin Nowlan, Black Adam by JG Jones, and Animal Man and the Joker by Brian Bolland. Other artists slated to contribute to the weekly installments include: Eric Powell, George Perez, Dan Jurgens, Joe Bennett, Dale Eaglesham, Ivan Reis and Jerry Ordway, with many more to come.

“In addition to the weekly dose of excitement that is 52, we’re always looking for ways to add a chunk of ‘extra’materials for the fans,” said 52 editor Stephen Wacker. “And with so many questions coming up about just how different ‘New Earth’ is after ‘Infinite Crisis,’ this was a perfect opportunity to present exactly what we know for sure about these characters' back stories and showcase them in the best light possible thanks to some of the most talented artists in the business.”

Trouble here is, with all this talent featured, I find myself forced to wonder if it's more their own show than it is Waid's. Still, it remains to be seen if he's got any more respect for the accepted origins of the many characters than say, Geoff Johns does, or did. And if he actually goes along with what Dan DiDio decided upon, than I'd have to figure that he's lost it.

Also, how can one really credit a year-long limited series with as numbingly bizarre a "history" as what issue number 9 features?

The History of the DCU backup is great because it helps to show how awful the how Identity/Infinite Crisis stories were (and Jurgens does a GREAT job of making his art look like Rags Morales’!).

So, not recommended!

I'd say that's a perfect way of describing it. And recalling that "Prime" was what the real-life Earth was called in the DCU (Gardner Fox, Cary Bates and Elliot Maggin were some of the most notable writers to come up with it, and even put themselves into the scripts along with Julius Schwartz), I think that should help give a clue that Superboy-Prime is meant to be - what else? - a display of the writers' (Johns' and a few others) own astonishing contempt. (It should also point out an important rule: don't try to literally copycat other artists' styles, certainly not one as questionable as Morales, because it only makes your own turn out sloppy. Make the art good, but always your own ideas and design.)

I never knew it before, but...

Mickey Spillane, who just passed away, first began his writing career in comic books!

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Mickey Spillane, the macho mystery writer who wowed millions of readers with the shoot-'em-up sex and violence of gumshoe Mike Hammer, died Monday. He was 88.

After starting in comic books, he wrote his first Mike Hammer novel, "I, the Jury," in 1946. Twelve followed including "The Killing Man,"The Girl Hunters" and "One Lonely Night," and sales topped 100 million.

Many Hammer books were made into movies, including the classic film noir "Kiss Me, Deadly" and "The Girl Hunters," in which Spillane himself starred. Hammer stories also were featured on television in the series "Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer" and in made-for-TV movies. In the 1980s, Spillane appeared in Miller Lite beer commercials.

He also wrote a dozen other books, including some award-winning volumes for young people. Nonetheless, by the end of the 20th century, many of his novels were out of print or hard to find. In 2001, the New American Library began reissuing them.

Well how about that. He first began in comics. Though in fairness, I do have to wonder if he was as violent in writing there as he was in his own suspense novels.

So just how many attend the San Diego Comicon?

Reading this report today from the San Diego Union Tribune, it certainly does pose some interesting questions. First:

“People come to San Diego prepared to spend tens of thousands of dollars on artwork,” Apatoff said. “They store up over the year, like squirrels gathering nuts for winter.”

Artwork but not the fun of reading? There, that's what's been bothering me: some people still haven't shaken the habit of just collecting for profit, which may have caused the market to collapse as a result. Or, this is the segment of the public that the companies are still pandering to.

Despite high rollers like Apatoff, the Con has an old reputation as a cheapskate confab. On paper, it's still an economic underperformer. Compare it with the Health Information Management Systems Society, which held a convention here in February. Con-goers outnumber this group 4-to-1, but the HIMSS crowd laid out $82 million, 2½ times what Con-goers are expected to spend.

But the Convention Center vice president insists that the Con's numbers are artificially low. Most of the HIMSS attendees are members of the society who book their hotel through their organization. Most Con attendees are – well, who knows? Again, there hasn't been a survey in 10 years. Moreover, they're an independent lot.

“They use the Internet,” Steven Johnson said. “People book on their own.”

The center calculates the Con's economic clout by looking at the number of people who book hotel rooms through Comic-Con International – a service that many, if not most, attendees ignore.

So the official figure, $32.1 million, is based on incomplete numbers. “It has enormous impact,” Johnson said. “But we can't say quite how much money this brings in. We're not good enough to do that yet.”

If I'm reading correctly here, they don't for sure how many people are, or still do, attend the convention? That's a shame. And with the way sales are going, who knows if they'll ever have the chance to figure out how to calculate? Sigh.

Update: the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says that comic book COVERS and their heroes are going to be honored:

Half of the pane of 20 features portraits of the characters, and the other half shows individual comic book covers highlighting the heroes' exploits.

Are these to be old covers or new ones? Because having seen quite a few very indifferent covers in the past few years, that almost sounds like a joke. Why not panels from the actual stories? Let me guess. Because some of them just weren't exciting enough? Hmm...

Wally West being shafted for Bart Allen tells that it's time for fans to get tough and show some muscle

First, the good news: Marv Wolfman is going to write Nightwing's adventures again (H/T: Titans Tower Monitor). He'd already written some stories for Dick Grayson and Roy Harper, aka Speedy/Arsenal back in 1988-89 in Action Comics Weekly, which were some of the strongest features in a whole mix of different character entries, including where Roy found out that he was father to Cheshire's child, Lian.

...Didio said that Marv Wolfman will be making his return to the character, along with Dan Jurgens penciling for a four issue arc, beginning with issue #125 of the ongoing series.

Now, the bad news. As told in the same article, they're shafting Wally West in favor of Bart Allen as the Flash.

Responding to a question about the Flash and Bart Allen becoming the new Flash as a result of Infinite Crisis, Didio said that he felt a change was needed with the character as he stood because, as he said, there was something very generic about the Flash. Themes were repeating, he said, and he wanted to bring a new generational aspect to the forefront again. In noting that Bart is the Flash for this new generation of the DCU, Didio added that Wally West is gone, but not forgotten.

So that's his little game, eh? I'm not impressed. The whole argument that the Flash was generic is laughable due to the fact that, they'd actually done something like try and "develop" characters like Wally in the late 80s, but while there were some high points to that, people got tired of the whole notion after awhile, and so they turned to nostalgia without making too much of a fuss over development. But then, if there really was something generic, well then, why didn't they just hire some writers who could actually do something about it? Or, why didn't they leave Wally and Linda and the twin children around so that the parental theme could be explored as an example of trying to break the generism? I'm sorry, but DhimmiDio makes no sense, as usual, and I strongly disagree that the Flash is "generic".

And when he gets around to the meaning of fun, he once again tells everybody what to think and believe:

Didio said they’re thinking about doing more with Captain Carrot, although, as he’s said before, doing “fun” comics is a hard sell because simply, they don’t sell. Didio noted that there is a strong core audience that wants “fun” and lighter themed comics, but by and large, the audience is not big enough to support a book. “People tell me that I hate fun books,” Didio said. “And that’s not true – I hate books that don’t sell.”

Translation: he knows there's a strong core audience, yet he'd rather not listen to them.

Using an example, Rucka pointed out that Kyle Baker’s Plastic Man series wasn’t cancelled because it was bad – it was cancelled because no one was buying it, even though it’s a fun book.

I think it's more likely that it was cancelled because a]they weren't making any genuine efforts to promote it, and b]Baker, as the artist on Truth: Red White and Black may have turned off some people, certainly me. His job as an inker back in the late 1980s actually strikes me as very unappealing, and given his own apparent political positions, I have no interest in doing him any favors, that's for sure. But that aside, DiDio was trying to confuse details by making it sound as if nobody wants to buy a brand new book they'd launched, because it was fun. What about Action Comics, Flash, Wonder Woman, JLA/JSA and even Teen Titans? Has anyone else ever shunned them because they were fun? Not to my knowledge, and something tells me that the devoted fans most certainly wouldn't.

So here's an interesting question that DiDio might want to answer: have you ever tried putting "fun" into some of the flagship titles, such as Superman? Something tells me that Geoff Johns, whom I lost faith in when I realized he was going along with the company's viewpoint, isn't going to do that so easily.

The rest of this article is pretty laughable too, with DhimmiDio and even Paul Levitz repeating some of their laughable arguments of recent that Vertigo should remain separate, because "Levitz does not feel that it is appropriate for mature-audiences characters, or characters that are and have been used predominantly in mature-audiences stories to appear in all-ages titles, or titles aimed at a more general, or younger crowd." Oh, I see, so Levitz is also clowning around? Figures.

In fact, as Photon Torpedoes indicates, this does seem to be a sales stunt:

Didio must think he's going to pull off the same trick as DC did in the 80s with Wally appearing in Flash #1. There are some parallels--Wally wasn't a very likeable character in the first two or three dozen issues. He took money to deliver a heart to the West Coast and slept with every bimbo in sight. As the series went on, Wally became a better person and a more reliable hero. I think we stuck with Wally as readers, because we had a two decade history with him. We had already invested a certain amount of time, from Wally as a teenager in the Flash to a college student in Titans. Bart has had only a decade or less. I could actually see sticking with Bart if they hadn't made him into a sucky dude drinking in pubs. It might have been better to have him learn how to control his Impulse-nature into something more mature. The big question is whether this new Flash will lure in any new readers than Wally West.

Very true. Something tells me that this may not go over as easily as Wally's ascension to Scarlet Speedster due to the fact that, as enjoyable as Bart's own solo book (Impulse) was for a time when Mark Waid first launched it, Bart's popularity may have plummeted since then, maybe ever since Geoff Johns used him rather half-heartedly in his take on Teen Titans, and now, what have we here, he's no longer using him as a cast member in that one due to his new starring role in Flash! Also, Wally is actually more down-to-earth as a character than Bart, one more reason why for him, being in the lead is more easily managed. Do I detect that Linda Park West is going to be turning up again soon, this time in her mid-40s, as the mother to some now grownup twin teenagers, one of whom will take up the mantle of Kid Flash?

In any case, this news tells why fans of DC and Marvel are going to have to start showing that, if they don't approve of this increasingly forced attempt to replace older characters with newer ones, then the antagonism will just go on and on.

And that's why I've got something to say to all those who care: enough turning the other cheek! You find the steps taken at one point bad, yet you're willing to continue buying the books nevertheless. If Identity/Infinite Crisis was meant to affect the DCU as a whole, ditto Avengers: Disassembled and House of M with the MCU, then what's the point of continuing to buy the books that end up getting soiled? Barry Allen's legacy was embarrassed by the whole IC fiasco, yet you continue to buy it when the editors do something crass to tarnish his history?

Maybe comics grew up, but the audience didn't. We make comics into a literal obsession and a habit, to the point of ridicule, buying them no matter the quality, letting the editors and publishers lording over our favorite characters and titles get the idea that they can just go and slap the stuff in the face and nobody will put a struggle, and even going so far as to attack and harrass the critics of these steps, because we're so terrified of if the series were to just end in the gutter of cancellation. Grow up! It'd have to be better than to let them continue getting subjected to editorial and scriptwriting bias and abuse.

That's not saying nor even suggesting that you and I should just give up comic book reading. Far from it. But if you can't boycott certain series and perhaps even a major company to send them a message, or even try to criticize the editors and their apologists, then what have you accomplished? Nada. I wouldn't be surprised if even Superman and Spider-Man, if they existed in real life, would argue that it's foolish to let yourself get finked every Quesada and DiDio out there, and tell you that, if editors like those are going to insult your intellect, that you shouldn't have to put up with it any longer.

Look at the Hollywood box office scene, and you see that Tinseltown is floundering of recent, because moviegoers are getting tired of their attempts to foist a stream of worthless biases on the public. Even comic readers might be among those fed up with Hollywood's dishonesty. And if moviegoers can show the film producers that they're not going to be hoodwinked so easily now, then comic fans can do the same.

What's really needed now is to get the news columnists and analysts who might care to notice. Most syndicated news and magazine columnists, like Michelle Malkin, Peter Beinart, Diana West, Mark Steyn, et cetera, are pretty good, yet they may not consider comics important enough to write about in depth, so is it any wonder that you don't see them writing about the state of the comics industry or even interviewing the writers, artists and editors on TV so far? But maybe there is a way to persuade them AND their publishers, if necassary, to take up some interest and see what's going on. They may also need to take into account whether or not children read comics today and if it's good or bad for them today, but that aside, if comics were taken more seriously as a subject for research by the mainstream writers in the news, THEN maybe it'd be easier to deal with the problem. How to get them to sit up and take notice is a challenge, I'm sure, but it may be possible.

Until then though, what needs to be done is to send a message to the companies that, if they're going to go and screw around with our favorite heroes, that we're not gonna take crap from them anymore. And we could also send a message if say, Sword of the Atom were to be published in trade format, all four parts of the miniseries plus the three specials, and buy that to show that THAT'S the character history we want for the Ray Palmer and Jean Loring to have. It may be possible to call out and ask if it'll be published in trades, so don't just stand there, do it! The same goes for a whole bunch of other, better comics from both DC and Marvel too.

If you can't break the habit of buying and reading comics no matter the cost, what have you accomplished?

Topic linked with: The Mudville Gazette, Point Five, Stop the ACLU, Third World County, Wizbang.

Darkseid is by far the most effective adversary in the DCU

Howling Curmudgeons and Not the Beastmaster (via the Newsarama blog) have been discussing if Darkseid is the best of the DCU villains.

Rest assured, OF COURSE he is! One of the best and most challenging indeed.

Has Peter David lost it?

That's what I'm starting to wonder after reading this press-phone conference report from CBR, which leads me to figure that the guy who wrote some of the best Hulk adventures in his time has become little more than a knee-jerk setpiece at Marvel.

Peter David hasn't tackled the "reveal" in his storyline, as he wanted to wait a bit after the "juggernaut" of the initial reveal to tell his story. In a couple of issues we'll see if Peter Parker can retain his job as a teacher, as some parents may not seem him as a role model, and David promised that parents will have good reason to worry, including "several Mysterios converging around the school." While some might say that Parker should just quit his job, but David acknowledged that villains could still terrorize his former students, and he'll have to deal with a tell-all book written by a former flame (familiar to Marvel fans). David promised lots of fun mixed with the very serious ramifications of the story being told in all the Spidey titles.

Let me guess. It's MJ, right? Or is it Betty Brant Leeds? I don't know. What I do know is that just because David says it's going to be fun is no garuntee.

In fact, the whole notion of the students finding themselves in danger of villains encroaching on the school, I hate to say, is not very entertaining when looked upon in light of what's going on in real life. Let's be clear here, schools under threat of criminals is not fun, and it's most definately not funny.

As to the writers' reactions to the reveal of Spider-Man's identity, Peter David felt it was an interesting change and thought about a lot of new directions and ideas, which he didn't mind at all. He knows that a character like Spider-Man is big and writers may have to "roll with some punches." David loves the "exciting" possibilities that have come out of the story. Sacasa added, "How did I get so lucky to be on the Spider-Man books when the most momentous thing in his history is happening?" He's glad to be part of something so large, that is a bit frightening and exciting at the same time, and he's even gotten contacted by an old college roommate. "It's going to be really cool," said JMS.

So you say, Straczynski. But I grew tired of your own writing style long ago, and will not touch your work on Spidey's books with a 30-foot pole.

As for David, while I realize that he's likely afraid of being booted were he to say what he really thinks, if he does, I'm still disappointed in him for just going along with this the way he is. Currently, I'm reading two Visionaries trades of his work on The Incredible Hulk from the late-80s, in which he wrote some of the most enjoyable conspiracy thrillers combined with a throwback to the first few issues from 1962, when Bruce Banner only turned into the Hulk at nighttime, and even turned him grey at first, which was meant as a nod to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's initial idea of making the Hulk grey, until a printing error* turned him green, and it's some of the best stuff from David's early career. When David first began writing and editing at Marvel back then, one of his first works, on Spider-Man at the time, with Ned Leeds revealed to be the Hobgoblin, was considered a disaster, but when given the Hulk, he made it his own for 11 years, and the humor worked pretty well there too. One of the best parts for me was when the Hulk kicked the crap out of a corrupt, wife-beating police chief in New Mexico, much to the pleasure of the townsfolk who felt betrayed by this jerk in uniform. And there was even a rematch between the Hulk and Wolverine! David also featured some pretty good rogues gallery members such as Half-Life, Mercy, and even Sam Sterns, the Leader, in all his cunning, crafty glory.

Now, alas, David seems to have been reduced to a hack writer in Marvel's editorial board, where he seems to be stuck ever since DC shafted him when they cancelled his run on Supergirl in 2003. Actually, I can't say I find what he's done on Fallen Angel very appealing, so maybe even then, he was going down the drain.

I've found it almost impossible of late to read/enjoy anything Spidey related, and I feel really bad about that. And David and company aren't making it better by going along with what's doubtless an editorial mandate.

* Actually, as was the more exact story, the publishers opted for coloring the Hulk green soon after his debut because gray was a very difficult color to work on at the time, as printers had very limited color pallettes, and gray was not an easy color to use. Nevertheless, it ultimately worked out well after awhile, and the rest is history.

TV's Superman attacks the approach to parental responsibility in the new cinematic one

Dean Cain, formerly the Man of Steel on Lois and Clark (with the great Teri Hatcher in the Girl Friday role) on NBC, came out against the way Lois Lane's handling of her child was depicted in Superman Returns in an interview with USA Today (via Debbie Schlussel):

Q: How does Kate Bosworth compare to Teri Hatcher as Lois Lane?

A: Teri's Lois had a hard exterior with a real soft interior. The whole thing with Lois having a child (a 5-year-old son, Jason) in the film was a little unsettling. I have a child (Christopher Dean Cain, 6) and that changes things. Lois Lane is always going to be an intrepid reporter, but I would never bring my child to a place where he could possibly get in danger — yet she does, which was kind of surprising.

Okay, that does it, I'm not wasting my money on a movie that does something as slapdash as that.

They seem to be discontent with heat vision too:

Q: What was the biggest difference between your series and the film?

A: I wasn't in the water as much as Brandon. And the film's special effects were a lot better than ours. It ups the credibility when it comes to flying. They also changed the heat vision. I had little laser beams that came out of my eyes, and his are more like heat waves.

Sounds like excess to me. What next, Superman as a human flare cannon?

For the record, here's Debbie's transcript from her discussion of the movie on MSNBC's Scarborough Country.

Happy Fourth of July to everyone!

It's the Fourth of July today, and I'd like to wish everyone a happy and joyous celebration!

The problem with the mainstream media's focus on Superman

Well how about that! I managed to find a copy of that Time article on Superman from two years ago (May 17, 2004) that told the readers what to think/believe is the problem with the Man of Steel these days. And I can't say I'm happy with what they did here. First, the subtitling:

The Man of Steel is looking a little rusty. He's not tragic. He's not cool. Can America's original superhero find a way to reconnect with us?

A better question might be - can the MSM find a way to reconnect with the consumer? Because this dud certainly doesn't. Man of Steel is uncool? Please. And who needs more tragic than what we've already got? Gimme a break.

Superman is still the company's flagship icon, but Batman outsells him...

Superman may not sell as well as he could, but I'm not sure if Batman sells that well either. In fact, last time I looked, Supergirl was the one selling really high on the charts, showing that a lot of people uphold the return of Kara Zor-El these days.

For America's multimillion-dollar Superman industry, it's a serious problem. This is a guy who's from outer space--he was born on the planet Krypton, let's not forget--but he's also from another time. He debuted in the 1930s, when Americans liked their heroes like they liked their steaks: tough, thick and all-American. Nowadays we prefer our heroes dark and flawed and tragic. Look at the Punisher (wife and kids dead), or Hellboy (born a demon), or Spider-Man (secretly a nerd). Look at Batman: his parents were killed in front of him, and he dresses like a Cure fan. Now look at the big blue Boy Scout, with his cleft chin and his spit curl. He's just not cool.

Sigh. This article is what's really uncool. I'm sorry. And who sez that Americans don't like their heroes tough and all-American anymore? Very cynical of Time, I must say.

They also interview/get some quotes from the writers assigned at the time to the three current series. But lo and behold, only two out of three writers are actually featured here, and the second one mentioned is one many would rather forget:

Jim Lee, who's taking over the art on Superman, is fresh from a run on best-selling Batman, so he's in touch with his dark side. But he admits it's a challenge. "Batman is a more modern-era type character," Lee says. "He's fueled by vengeance; he's the boogeyman. Superman is the altruistic alien hero that protects us all. It's difficult to make that believable in this day and age." In their first issue, Lee and writer Brian Azzarello have Superman in a church pouring out his heart to a priest. While Superman's back was turned, a million people vanished from earth, including Lois Lane, and he's powerless to do anything about it. He's a brooding, angry, heavily shadowed Superman, riddled with self-doubt. "For the first time, I was really afraid," he says. "Lost, without my rhythm." You get through the entire issue before you realize not a single punch has been thrown.

When writer Chuck Austen got handed Action Comics, another Superman monthly, he knew punches would be thrown, what with the title and all. But Superman is on the receiving end for a change. "As someone who loved the dark side for a long time, I had little or no interest in Superman for years," Austen says. "He was perfect--his powers left him with no vulnerability. So I requested DC allow some cosmetic changes--make him a bit less powerful, a lot more vulnerable physically." Austen's Superman can take a joke as well as a punch. He rags on his sparring partners for their lame trash talk: "What's next? 'Mindless cretin!' Or 'Had enough?' Or my personal favorite--'No one can stand before the might of--(your name here)." The tone is light and fresh and surprisingly funny. "Much of it is the fun of playing against his type," says Austen. "But much more of it is, without question, to upgrade him a bit. He's the greatest superhero ever created! He needs to be cool!"

This part made me want to belch. Yet it doesn't surprise me at all that, of all people whom they could interview, it'd be the one who's now considered the joke of the industry, the one whose writing is astonishingly distasteful and sloppy, Chuck Austen. He exaggerated, of course, considering that Superman does have more vulnerabilities than just Kryptonite (giant robots and apes, for example), and the dialect Austen put into the book back then was simply annoying. Mainly because - while the Man of Steel most certainly can wisecrack, he's still not Spider-Man, and what Awful Austen, now gone to Obscureland, put into the scrips he wrote then was simply not the Man of Steel at all.

The third writer assigned to Superman at the time whom they don't mention is Greg Rucka, who, while not without his faults, was fairly better in his own efforts two years ago. And given that's he's considered by some to have more talent than either Azzarello or Austen, that's probably why he was virtually blotted out of this puff piece for darkness altogether. (Update: since the time I'd initially written this, I've had to reevaluate some of the work by Rucka, and must conclude he's actually one of the worst writers to get his hands on both Wonder Woman and Superman since the turn of the century. If anything, Rucka's only minimally better than Austen, so it's actually best if he wasn't mentioned in the puff piece, though if he were, I'm sure they'd sugarcoat his writings too.)

This also brings me to point to one of the biggest complaints I have today about DC comics: they lack a genuine sense of humor. That's probably one of the reasons why I enjoy Gail Simone's work on Birds of Prey much more, because she hasn't allowed DC's alarming editorial sabotage to get in the way of her talents. Thank goodness.

The Time article I've dissected above is but one example of what's wrong with mainstream media coverage of comics today: they emphasize exactly the same thing without mercy: darkness. People do want and need mirth today, and if Time and their ilk are going to keep on with this, all they're doing is showing why the MSM is not worth reading today.

Update: and while we're on the subject, here's a recommended article by James Lileks that ponders why the screenwriters of Superman Returns deliberately ommitted The American Way from the movie (Hat tip: Betsy's Page).

Update 2: speaking of Azzarello, here's an older item I thought worth noting: From the sugarcoated pages of the NY Times, we have an article all about comic book movie adaptations, including the upcoming Sin City, and frankly, it appears that once again, we have a case of Room 101 talk on our hands regarding what the audience likes in terms of characters. Cases in point:

''Characters with questionable morals are sexy,'' says Brian Azzarello, whose ''100 Bullets'' is an ink-dark crime series about consequence-free revenge. ''They get away with things we would be afraid to try.'' This could explain why so many hard-boiled antiheroes are heading for multiplexes, with not a cape among them.

Is that so? Have all the superheroes in capes really become passe that fast? Gee, I didn't know that! Not to mention that Constantine doesn't seem to have made much of a splash either.

Indeed, the moral relativism of ''Constantine'' may be a more appropriate fit for today's world than the moral absolutism of Captain America.

But like I said before, the adaptation of Hellblazer (which doesn't seem to be anything big these days either) doesn't seem to have made much of a splash, has it? Their assertion that Capt. America's standings aren't appealing is another grave turnoff.

...it wasn't until the 1980's that a market for mature readers of action comics took off -- and it's been growing steadily ever since.

While the one for the younger crowd is dwindling even as I speak. Ha ha ha.

As for Karen Berger, what does she say in this article?

The comics industry may be notoriously guarded about sales figures, but Karen Berger, the executive editor of DC's adult imprint Vertigo (the publisher of noir titles like ''Hellblazer,'' ''100 Bullets'' and ''Preacher''), confirms that Vertigo's numbers have significantly grown for the last five years. The reason? ''It's more interesting to read characters with shades of gray, that have a closer connection to your own life,'' she says.

Is that so? I do wonder what she'd say if she knew that personally, I don't put personalities and having a chip on the character's shoulder too high on my value list? Me, I've never been the overly-demanding type, and when it comes to superhero comics, I don't go out of my way to beg for such things. Nope, what matters to me is to have fun, which some new-age thinkers, which seems to include the builders of this article here, seem to consider a crime.

Not being so interested in movies these days, I guess that's why I won't be in such a hurry to check out Sin City anyway. And besides, didn't Miller's Dark Knight help to destroy Batman in terms of portrayal in his own flagship books?

Update: on the other hand, I also found the op-ed that Alex Rose wrote last year in which he discusses Mark Millar's Superman: Red Son last year on National Review Online. Finding it again, I can most certainly say that it's quite interesting to read, and better than the hack job Time performed. And here's something that really flattered me:

"Traditionally, Cap was a World War II warrior who enjoyed stoutly biffing erring Nazis, but who was frozen and then re-animated in the 1960s, when he joined the Avengers. Captain America, as Michael Medved pointed out on NRO last year, has suffered the indignity of being reinvented as Captain Anti-America by Marvel's in-house team of Chomskyites, but that sort of wholesale, mea culpist revisionism is not quite what I meant by writing an "alternate history."

Whoa, man, do I love that term "Chomskyites". It's the first place where I actually came upon the phrase, and let me just say that Rose really impressed me with it. Mr. Rose, you rock!

Besides that, here's what I found eyebrow-raising:

"Unfortunately, there's an unnecessary pompousness to the proceedings. Mark Millar makes no secret of his Leftie views — he changed the storyline, he says, to genuflect on "unethical American foreign policy" (yeah, right on); Superman the Sov "is an allegory of George W. Bush and very like America," you get the picture — and doesn't bother mentioning the Gulag even as he paints Stalin as an avuncular fellow."

Which is exactly what bothers me about Mr. Millar's approach to the material. If he's really trying to write it that way, then all he's done is yet another unasked for political bias in comic books of the modern era, and stuffed an already overloaded boat with more than it can float.

I'm not a Bush supporter, and I don't think most Israelis are either, due to his willingness to view the PLO as legitimate, but even so, that doesn't mean that I enjoy the kind of biases Millar and his Red Son seem to be sinking into, which, if they disagree with the Bush administration, are not for the same reasons that I might disagree with the administration for.

If Millar were to criticize the Bush government for reasons that could really make sense, then he'd have an argument to go by. But if all he can do is slam the goverment simply because it's not a leftie one, then he's really making himself look like a joke.