I'm still home internet-less, but I had to pay a bit to mention this. The GLC preview is up. Check it out.
You did not just dream that.
That's a beheading, followed by cutting a woman in half, followed by the loss of a finger, followed by a reference to an infamous Leni Riefenstahl film.
For those of you who are new to the Internet and it's population of history snobs, Leni Riefenstahl was an early 20th Century pioneer who made inroads for women in the field of Evil. She did a Nazi propaganda film called "Triumph of the Will" which to this day is still inspiring horror of authoritarian power in film classes and museums.
It is probably not the best choice of titles for a book where the main heroes are fueled by willpower.
Not that it couldn't be done. With a delicate eye for history and a gentle handling of the subject--keeping in mind that there are still people alive who fell for this propaganda and there are still people alive who were persecuted by the makers and followers of this propaganda--you could use that title and not be horribly offensive. Provided it's meaningful, respectful, and subtle.
Thing is.. and I say this as someone who's enjoyed a lot of Green Lantern since Rebirth... This isn't a subtle franchise.
And I'd say the over the top violence in the opening scene justifies my pessimism here.
Showing posts with label The Hype Death of the DC Universe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Hype Death of the DC Universe. Show all posts
Friday, September 16, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
I'm not angry.
Heh.
So, they came out and said it, the target is 18-34 year old males.
We all knew this. This is why what they say and some of the business decisions they make seem so stupid. However, I have to note some things:
1) This doesn't really make me want to drop anything. I liked stuff they thought wasn't for girls before, I'll continue to. They know about women like me, and will continue to rationalize us away as off and not significant enough to market to, but their sexism ultimately doesn't change that I'm into the genre and sometimes stuff I like comes out of it.
2) If that's the end of their plans, this is a stupid idea. It's the same demographic they've always marketed to, it's the safe demographic. If they think they can just make everything look sexy and exciting to bring them back to comics when their problems run much more deeply into distribution and pricing, they are taking a serious risk.
3) If this is the beginning of their plans, that's understandable but still cowardly. The culture believes this is the comic reading demographic, and they are trying to expand outside of insular fandom to the larger culture. So, they're gonna start with the safe demographic. Maybe if they get enough and get a foothold they'll go for a different gender or age grouping, but I have my doubts.
2 vs 3 all depends on whether this is a smart WB exec's master plan or if this is the corporate leadership giving the comics division leadership one last chance to get it right before they fire everyone and bring in their own people. If it's the former, I'd say they plan to expand. If it's the latter, I'd say they have no idea how to market outside the 18-34 male demo and don't have the imagination to do so. They'll fail spectacularly, and I'll point and laugh.
4) And this is the important thing. This changes nothing about what they should consider in their writing.
Men and women, boys and girls all need a decent representation of all kinds of people from all aspects of the media. Our culture is pushing a poisonous gender binary, where everything strong is male and everything weak is female. Our culture is pushing suffocating assumptions about race and class and sexuality. These ideas get into our heads early on and the only way to fight them is with thought.
You need to think about what you say, what you do, what you read and what you write. You need to think about the images you see and the images you show. You need to think about what these things say, and teach, and mean overall in the context of our culture.
The context of our culture doesn't ever go away, and upholding bigoted stereotypes because your intended audience is the majority just reinforces those bigoted stereotypes and all the social ills that come with them.
So, no... I don't care if it's for the boys. They're still accountable for what they write.
So, they came out and said it, the target is 18-34 year old males.
We all knew this. This is why what they say and some of the business decisions they make seem so stupid. However, I have to note some things:
1) This doesn't really make me want to drop anything. I liked stuff they thought wasn't for girls before, I'll continue to. They know about women like me, and will continue to rationalize us away as off and not significant enough to market to, but their sexism ultimately doesn't change that I'm into the genre and sometimes stuff I like comes out of it.
2) If that's the end of their plans, this is a stupid idea. It's the same demographic they've always marketed to, it's the safe demographic. If they think they can just make everything look sexy and exciting to bring them back to comics when their problems run much more deeply into distribution and pricing, they are taking a serious risk.
3) If this is the beginning of their plans, that's understandable but still cowardly. The culture believes this is the comic reading demographic, and they are trying to expand outside of insular fandom to the larger culture. So, they're gonna start with the safe demographic. Maybe if they get enough and get a foothold they'll go for a different gender or age grouping, but I have my doubts.
2 vs 3 all depends on whether this is a smart WB exec's master plan or if this is the corporate leadership giving the comics division leadership one last chance to get it right before they fire everyone and bring in their own people. If it's the former, I'd say they plan to expand. If it's the latter, I'd say they have no idea how to market outside the 18-34 male demo and don't have the imagination to do so. They'll fail spectacularly, and I'll point and laugh.
4) And this is the important thing. This changes nothing about what they should consider in their writing.
Men and women, boys and girls all need a decent representation of all kinds of people from all aspects of the media. Our culture is pushing a poisonous gender binary, where everything strong is male and everything weak is female. Our culture is pushing suffocating assumptions about race and class and sexuality. These ideas get into our heads early on and the only way to fight them is with thought.
You need to think about what you say, what you do, what you read and what you write. You need to think about the images you see and the images you show. You need to think about what these things say, and teach, and mean overall in the context of our culture.
The context of our culture doesn't ever go away, and upholding bigoted stereotypes because your intended audience is the majority just reinforces those bigoted stereotypes and all the social ills that come with them.
So, no... I don't care if it's for the boys. They're still accountable for what they write.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
And now, a lesson in avoiding the question.
Comic Alliance interview with Bob Harras and Eddie Berganza:
They do the same dancing when it comes to the timeline too.
CA: I had heard a rumor that after the relaunch that all the female characters would involve pants, although the recent Supergirl costume change seems to debunk that. Was there any consideration given to changing the costumes, particularly in terms of the disproportionately large amount of skin exposed on female characters in comparison with male characters?
EB: We looked at every hero, analyzing what's realistic within the realm of wearing a costume. Now, more and more people are being exposed to them on film. Look at what Green Lantern's wearing. Really, the sky's the limit. And that's not limited to gender. It's about what makes practical sense for a hero to put on.
CA: Sure, but I think that we all know that costumes for female heroes are significantly more revealing in terms of skin. Was there ever a conversation about have a more equal and proportionate approach to men and women's costumes?
BH: All the characters were looked at... That was across the board for all the 52 [new comics]. So I don't know where the pants thing came from because it was a very comprehensive look at what we were doing in September.
EB: And for Hawkman, we kept the shirt off.
They do the same dancing when it comes to the timeline too.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Wonder Woman, Architecture and Mortality
Full September solicits are up:
As I said on Tumblr, this makes me feel a lot better. Remember the opening to the 90s Kevin Sorbo Hercules? That's what this sounds like, and that's what Wonder Woman is supposed to me. She's supposed to be a modern Hercules in female form.
Not only that? No man-hating. Nothing about fearing Diana's wrath. Nothing about having to learn how men aren't evil. Nothing about the Amazons making war on humanity. Even the fluff on the end for the new readers to be intrigued about her origins doesn't imply anything bad about her personally, just puts her origins in question. Basically, a complete departure from the past year of "Will Wonder Woman be evil?" and the whole Flashpoint angle of "How did Wonder Woman go evil?" Hell, there's not even anything about having to adjust to men or teach the isolationist Amazons that men don't suck. She is straight up presented as a protector of humanity from the wrath of the Gods.
After the trajectory of the past year? I'm elated.
They'll emphasize the warrior, I'm sure. Azzarello doesn't shy from violence, and his portrayal of Diana in Superman #210-211 was heavy on the warrior side with a extra helping of cold restraint. It didn't bother me there, because of the stress of the "You really have to fight your best friend Superman and stop him from hurting a lot of people" setup on her side. It also didn't present Diana as a danger to humanity, just an opponent that would be able to defeat Superman. He gets her away from him by asking her to save two lives. If that's Azzarello's take here? If she's a dangerous woman, but not to humanity and her primary focus is saving lives? It's a lot better than what we've seen lately, and this solicit suggests that's what we'll get.
Really, the only solicit that could make me happier would be "Grant Morrison contacted WM Marston and Elizabeth Holloway with a Oujia Board, and will be presenting his masterpiece once Greg Rucka is finished editing all the inadvertant sexism out of it. See you in September!"
The other thing that has me optimistic is that I got Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang's Doctor 13: Architecture and Mortality in the mail today. I am shocked that no one has ever recommended this to me. This is a story where the DCU's most stubborn skeptic, his daughter, and a crew of unused comic book characters team up to battle the combined might of Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid. Inside, Azzarello writes an argument for the reboot 4 years before the reboot.
It's also a great story that uses first-person narration to maximum effect. You get a look at how Dr. Thirteen sees himself and the people around him, and a sense of what he's in denial about and what he feels but won't narrate. You also sympathize with someone who is a wholly stubborn and often rude character, and want him to succeed and survive. That takes a little skill. The rest of the cast is peppered with people who are, at their concepts, completely ridiculous. They are the silliness DC often tries to sweep under the rug, and Azzarello digs them up for a meta-commentary made for adults. He uses them as characters with natural emotions and complex reactions without losing that commentary, and puts them in a serious situation where we actually worry about them without dropping the innocence or charm inherent in the characters. Chiang's simple, classic style is a big part of this, because we get an old comic book feel with modern artistic techniques.
This is very good sign for a Wonder Woman reboot team, because that's actually exactly what the Wonder Woman franchise needs. It needs someone to take some of the old silly concepts and bring them into the modern era without dropping the innocence or charm to them. It needs someone who can present Diana as a serious hero, and even emphasize the aggressive and active parts of her nature, without losing her humanity. And make no mistake, that is what we constantly lose in the endless rush to badassify Wonder Woman. We lose the little touches of her as a person, the impulsive young woman who lept into the ocean because someone needed her, the healer who worked tirelessly to save a sick man, the daughter who went behind her mother's back in order to earn her place in society, the hopeful explorer that was the first person to leave home for three thousand years, the woman who doesn't quite understand how men work, the visitor to a foreign land... All of these traits that surface off of the battlefield that are increasingly lost as writers emphasize the warrior in Diana. They tell us they do this because it makes her more flawed, more human, but really every time they take her from those soft moments they take her a little further away from her humanity and her relatability.
I'm not going to pin my hopes on seeing all of the potential in Diana's character in this reboot, but the subtle and complex characterization of Dr. Thirteen in this book tells me that this creative team has the skill to write her on the battlefield without completely abandoning the softer facets of her personality. And the use of the other characters in this book tell me that they can take franchise elements that aren't often taken seriously and use them as story elements with enough humor that they aren't warped but don't detract from the seriousness of the story. All with some obvious metacommentary because Wonder Woman is built on metacommentary about the genre and adventure stories in general.
If anything, this little book may have set the bar a bit high for this team. Still, this is more optimistic than I've felt about a Wonder Woman comic all year.
WONDER WOMAN #1
Written by BRIAN AZZARELLO
Art and cover by CLIFF CHIANG
On sale SEPTEMBER 21 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
The Gods walk among us. To them, our lives are playthings. Only one woman would dare to protect humanity from the wrath of such strange and powerful forces. But is she one of us – or one of them?
As I said on Tumblr, this makes me feel a lot better. Remember the opening to the 90s Kevin Sorbo Hercules? That's what this sounds like, and that's what Wonder Woman is supposed to me. She's supposed to be a modern Hercules in female form.
Not only that? No man-hating. Nothing about fearing Diana's wrath. Nothing about having to learn how men aren't evil. Nothing about the Amazons making war on humanity. Even the fluff on the end for the new readers to be intrigued about her origins doesn't imply anything bad about her personally, just puts her origins in question. Basically, a complete departure from the past year of "Will Wonder Woman be evil?" and the whole Flashpoint angle of "How did Wonder Woman go evil?" Hell, there's not even anything about having to adjust to men or teach the isolationist Amazons that men don't suck. She is straight up presented as a protector of humanity from the wrath of the Gods.
After the trajectory of the past year? I'm elated.
They'll emphasize the warrior, I'm sure. Azzarello doesn't shy from violence, and his portrayal of Diana in Superman #210-211 was heavy on the warrior side with a extra helping of cold restraint. It didn't bother me there, because of the stress of the "You really have to fight your best friend Superman and stop him from hurting a lot of people" setup on her side. It also didn't present Diana as a danger to humanity, just an opponent that would be able to defeat Superman. He gets her away from him by asking her to save two lives. If that's Azzarello's take here? If she's a dangerous woman, but not to humanity and her primary focus is saving lives? It's a lot better than what we've seen lately, and this solicit suggests that's what we'll get.
Really, the only solicit that could make me happier would be "Grant Morrison contacted WM Marston and Elizabeth Holloway with a Oujia Board, and will be presenting his masterpiece once Greg Rucka is finished editing all the inadvertant sexism out of it. See you in September!"
The other thing that has me optimistic is that I got Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang's Doctor 13: Architecture and Mortality in the mail today. I am shocked that no one has ever recommended this to me. This is a story where the DCU's most stubborn skeptic, his daughter, and a crew of unused comic book characters team up to battle the combined might of Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid. Inside, Azzarello writes an argument for the reboot 4 years before the reboot.
It's also a great story that uses first-person narration to maximum effect. You get a look at how Dr. Thirteen sees himself and the people around him, and a sense of what he's in denial about and what he feels but won't narrate. You also sympathize with someone who is a wholly stubborn and often rude character, and want him to succeed and survive. That takes a little skill. The rest of the cast is peppered with people who are, at their concepts, completely ridiculous. They are the silliness DC often tries to sweep under the rug, and Azzarello digs them up for a meta-commentary made for adults. He uses them as characters with natural emotions and complex reactions without losing that commentary, and puts them in a serious situation where we actually worry about them without dropping the innocence or charm inherent in the characters. Chiang's simple, classic style is a big part of this, because we get an old comic book feel with modern artistic techniques.
This is very good sign for a Wonder Woman reboot team, because that's actually exactly what the Wonder Woman franchise needs. It needs someone to take some of the old silly concepts and bring them into the modern era without dropping the innocence or charm to them. It needs someone who can present Diana as a serious hero, and even emphasize the aggressive and active parts of her nature, without losing her humanity. And make no mistake, that is what we constantly lose in the endless rush to badassify Wonder Woman. We lose the little touches of her as a person, the impulsive young woman who lept into the ocean because someone needed her, the healer who worked tirelessly to save a sick man, the daughter who went behind her mother's back in order to earn her place in society, the hopeful explorer that was the first person to leave home for three thousand years, the woman who doesn't quite understand how men work, the visitor to a foreign land... All of these traits that surface off of the battlefield that are increasingly lost as writers emphasize the warrior in Diana. They tell us they do this because it makes her more flawed, more human, but really every time they take her from those soft moments they take her a little further away from her humanity and her relatability.
I'm not going to pin my hopes on seeing all of the potential in Diana's character in this reboot, but the subtle and complex characterization of Dr. Thirteen in this book tells me that this creative team has the skill to write her on the battlefield without completely abandoning the softer facets of her personality. And the use of the other characters in this book tell me that they can take franchise elements that aren't often taken seriously and use them as story elements with enough humor that they aren't warped but don't detract from the seriousness of the story. All with some obvious metacommentary because Wonder Woman is built on metacommentary about the genre and adventure stories in general.
If anything, this little book may have set the bar a bit high for this team. Still, this is more optimistic than I've felt about a Wonder Woman comic all year.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
September Green Lantern Covers
They've released the cover for the John and Guy book. Look at all the Lanterns who made it through the reboot:
I'm pleased to see Soranik, Brik, and Arisia still around. Less pleased to see Arisia's costume still around, but what can you do?
And I can't remember all the names for the guys on Kyle's new team but I've narrowed down everyone but the Star Sapphire. (Because the Star Sapphires all conveniently look alike in silhouette.)
Spiraling from Kyle in the center, we have the reptilian yellow lantern who fought Kilowog in Sinestro Corps War climax (Akrillo, thank you!), Bleez (thankfully, she avoids being drawn by Ed Benes), the Indigo Lantern who showed up on Oa during Blackest Night, Glomulus the orange lantern, a Star Sapphire and Saint Walker.
I'm pleased to see Soranik, Brik, and Arisia still around. Less pleased to see Arisia's costume still around, but what can you do?
And I can't remember all the names for the guys on Kyle's new team but I've narrowed down everyone but the Star Sapphire. (Because the Star Sapphires all conveniently look alike in silhouette.)
Spiraling from Kyle in the center, we have the reptilian yellow lantern who fought Kilowog in Sinestro Corps War climax (Akrillo, thank you!), Bleez (thankfully, she avoids being drawn by Ed Benes), the Indigo Lantern who showed up on Oa during Blackest Night, Glomulus the orange lantern, a Star Sapphire and Saint Walker.
The Star Sapphire silhouette does not look like Miri, unless her redesign has really lengthened her hair and changed her headdress. Because Kyle is the sort of person who puts together a team of people he knows and trusts, Miri would be his most likely pick. Second most likely? Actually Fatality, since he knows her and can predict her and is kind of a sucker. That would also make the best drama. Then Carol, based on Hal's recommendation.
It doesn't look like Miri, and I don't think Johns is giving up Carol Ferris to Tony Bedard. Silhouette-wise, that character looks like Dela Pharon (the blonde version) to me. But again, all of the Star Sapphires are nearly impossible to tell apart in silhouette. If I wanted the most volatile team possible? Fatality, so she's probably the one there.
Either way, this book just went up on my want list from this image alone.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Only you can stop Donna Troy.
All right, DC, we do have a big problem with the reboot so far.
You started out strong and took care of Hawkman right away. That was good. Thing is, most of us saw the cover to Justice League International and assumed that was Donna Troy in the black.
Turns out we were wrong.
Since this interview, Donna Troy has not been mentioned in any of the reboot announcements. It is entirely possible that they have put her on the shelf because she is too confusing. A number of people have suggested, based on Cassie's Teen Titans costume, that Donna has been folded into that character.
I think this could be extraordinarily dangerous.
Now I'm not fan of Donna Troy. (In fact, I despise the character.) But a lot of people, including your writers, are. And if you don't settle this character's origin immediately, you are setting yourselves up for failure.
Seriously, this woman is a menace. Donna Troy is a reboot killer, more powerful than the combined willpower of your creative directors. You absolutely must have her origin established with the opening salvo of the reboot. If you do not, you are sowing the seeds of your own destruction because she will pop up and it will lead to several "Who is Donna Troy?" stories that will grow in complexity and number until they have eaten both the Titans and Wonder Woman franchises and threaten the whole universe. And all this could be averted with a simple cameo on Paradise Island in Wonder Woman #1.
You only have one shot at this. Her one weakness is actually making sense in continuity, and in order for that to happen she must be a contemporary of Dick Grayson and Roy Harper. Your window of opportunity will be short, and you must grasp it if you are to avoid another reboot.
You started out strong and took care of Hawkman right away. That was good. Thing is, most of us saw the cover to Justice League International and assumed that was Donna Troy in the black.
Turns out we were wrong.
Jurgens: Some have speculated that it's either Wonder Woman or Donna Troy.
Both guesses are wrong.
Since this interview, Donna Troy has not been mentioned in any of the reboot announcements. It is entirely possible that they have put her on the shelf because she is too confusing. A number of people have suggested, based on Cassie's Teen Titans costume, that Donna has been folded into that character.
I think this could be extraordinarily dangerous.
Now I'm not fan of Donna Troy. (In fact, I despise the character.) But a lot of people, including your writers, are. And if you don't settle this character's origin immediately, you are setting yourselves up for failure.
Seriously, this woman is a menace. Donna Troy is a reboot killer, more powerful than the combined willpower of your creative directors. You absolutely must have her origin established with the opening salvo of the reboot. If you do not, you are sowing the seeds of your own destruction because she will pop up and it will lead to several "Who is Donna Troy?" stories that will grow in complexity and number until they have eaten both the Titans and Wonder Woman franchises and threaten the whole universe. And all this could be averted with a simple cameo on Paradise Island in Wonder Woman #1.
You only have one shot at this. Her one weakness is actually making sense in continuity, and in order for that to happen she must be a contemporary of Dick Grayson and Roy Harper. Your window of opportunity will be short, and you must grasp it if you are to avoid another reboot.
Friday, June 10, 2011
I had a thought.
This is a big strange, but I'm going to go ahead and put it out there. The Action Comics solicit says "their first super-hero" and some of the speculation on Twitter is that means the JSA is erased.
Certainly, they that team didn't get a reboot book. But that doesn't mean they were erased.
I've been talking on and off to people on Tumblr and Twitter over the last few months about Wonder Woman. One thing that keeps getting brought up is how cool it'd be if Diana was REALLY old and actually had been the WWII Wonder Woman. She's basically ageless and immortal, after all.
Well, Superman's an alien with enhanced physiology. Morrison has him survive within the sun until the 853rd Century. Maybe the huge, radical change for Superman is that they're going to backdate his first appearance to 1938 and make him have been active that long.
It's a longshot, but it is something they can do with Superman and Wonder Woman that allows them to bring in any flashbacks they want for their stories, and any supporting cast members they want. It also lets them keep their inspirational status and their WWII cred. And they made one thing clear to the press:
That's a pretty big change without actually changing Clark's personality, and it is the same sort of change they could make with Wonder Woman. I'm not going to commit to this as my Grand Theory of What They Are Doing, but I do want to put it out there now that I've had the idea.
It would be gutsy, creative, change the way we look at the characters without truly changing how important they are or dropping all of their character evolution, and it works within the rules of their world. I wouldn't be too upset with it.
Do I think they are brave enough to do this? I don't know, we'll see what happens when the interviews start. I do think it's a possibility, and it has not been a possibility to have Superman and Wonder Woman as themselves in the JSA for years now so that right there is a big change.
Certainly, they that team didn't get a reboot book. But that doesn't mean they were erased.
I've been talking on and off to people on Tumblr and Twitter over the last few months about Wonder Woman. One thing that keeps getting brought up is how cool it'd be if Diana was REALLY old and actually had been the WWII Wonder Woman. She's basically ageless and immortal, after all.
Well, Superman's an alien with enhanced physiology. Morrison has him survive within the sun until the 853rd Century. Maybe the huge, radical change for Superman is that they're going to backdate his first appearance to 1938 and make him have been active that long.
It's a longshot, but it is something they can do with Superman and Wonder Woman that allows them to bring in any flashbacks they want for their stories, and any supporting cast members they want. It also lets them keep their inspirational status and their WWII cred. And they made one thing clear to the press:
Among the top heroes, none of them will change more than Superman and Wonder Woman.
That's a pretty big change without actually changing Clark's personality, and it is the same sort of change they could make with Wonder Woman. I'm not going to commit to this as my Grand Theory of What They Are Doing, but I do want to put it out there now that I've had the idea.
It would be gutsy, creative, change the way we look at the characters without truly changing how important they are or dropping all of their character evolution, and it works within the rules of their world. I wouldn't be too upset with it.
Do I think they are brave enough to do this? I don't know, we'll see what happens when the interviews start. I do think it's a possibility, and it has not been a possibility to have Superman and Wonder Woman as themselves in the JSA for years now so that right there is a big change.
Big Changes. Right.
I'm going to crosspost a little bit from my Tumblr because it's pretty much in line with stuff I've been posting here. Skip ahead to the Superman stuff if you've already read it.
I was answering this dcwomenkickingass post:
We've known a reboot was coming to Wonder Woman for a full year now. They've been hinting at bringing Steve back as a steady love interest, and that in itself is a HUGE change. Perez took out so much of the pre-Crisis elements that returning the jet and tech to Paradise Island would be a huge change too. We've got two worries:
1) They overemphasize the warrior side so much so that they cut out saving the pilot and replace it with her coming to the US on a mission other than "Return this injured party to his home" because then we won't get the merciful aspect of her personality coded into her from the start. The absolute worst case scenario (which they pretty much did in the animated movie even though they kept a bit where she saves him first) is if she captures the pilot rather than rescues him, like in Flashpoint. Since Flashpoint is supposed to be a perversion, I'm hoping this means the decided upon origin will be the normal one.
2) They lose themselves in trying to make her relatable by adding the trappings of American culture and forget that she was created to be a visitor from a foreign land free of our cultural (sexist) hangups who can COMMENT on our culture's weirdness.
Fingers crossed the big change they refer to is just a full reversion to classic origin/setting and not yet another JMS-style way of making her more like an average woman. No being raised in the states, PLEASE.
All that said, I don't buy for a second Superman's personality is changing much. They're mucking with the setting to revert to something Pre-Crisis (the marriage is probably gone), which will mess with the franchise as much as it does with Wonder Woman's. But Superman as a character? Too iconic to mess with his behavior too much. In fact, that Action Comics #1 cover?
(I'm going to make you sit in the corner with a dunce cap if you think that's his new costume. We've already seen the dumb without-red-trunks costume all over the place.)
Half Clark Kent farmboy clothing, half Superman clothes. A visual that focuses on his down home roots is exactly like the sort of thing to emphasize Superman's humanity and his connection to the Earth. I wouldn't be surprised if that's the focus of this issue.
Oh, so the whole issue is the world changing their attitude about Superman... and him trying to continue acting like he always does. Huh. Sounds like a pitch that explores Superman's relation to humanity, and his own humanity in turn. That's cover and solicit, and the sort of thing Morrison would write.
Out of today's books, I'll try out Action Comics, going to pass on anything George Perez writes and not too interested in Superboy yet. I'm iffy on Supergirl. Sounds like they're doing a just-arrived from Krypton and must learn to connect to humans thing. Don't know those writers, don't know if I care for that story.
I was answering this dcwomenkickingass post:
The reveal of the cover of Action Comics #1 was accompanied by an article where DC executives talk about the DCnU. This one stood out.One thing that is clear: Among the top heroes, none of them will change more than Superman and Wonder Woman. The changes, such as a notable but still-secret shift in the status quo at the Daily Planet, will be met with fan ranting, but of course that’s part of the relationship here. The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s apathy, and DiDio and his team will be more worried when fans aren’t debating comics and their true or proper mythology.
In a reboot that has Barbara Gordon going from Oracle to Batgirl, the idea that there an even bigger change for Wonder Woman makes me nervous. And “still-secret status quo at the Daily Planet”? We see it looking destroyed on the cover of Superman #1, is that what they mean or is something else?
We've known a reboot was coming to Wonder Woman for a full year now. They've been hinting at bringing Steve back as a steady love interest, and that in itself is a HUGE change. Perez took out so much of the pre-Crisis elements that returning the jet and tech to Paradise Island would be a huge change too. We've got two worries:
1) They overemphasize the warrior side so much so that they cut out saving the pilot and replace it with her coming to the US on a mission other than "Return this injured party to his home" because then we won't get the merciful aspect of her personality coded into her from the start. The absolute worst case scenario (which they pretty much did in the animated movie even though they kept a bit where she saves him first) is if she captures the pilot rather than rescues him, like in Flashpoint. Since Flashpoint is supposed to be a perversion, I'm hoping this means the decided upon origin will be the normal one.
2) They lose themselves in trying to make her relatable by adding the trappings of American culture and forget that she was created to be a visitor from a foreign land free of our cultural (sexist) hangups who can COMMENT on our culture's weirdness.
Fingers crossed the big change they refer to is just a full reversion to classic origin/setting and not yet another JMS-style way of making her more like an average woman. No being raised in the states, PLEASE.
All that said, I don't buy for a second Superman's personality is changing much. They're mucking with the setting to revert to something Pre-Crisis (the marriage is probably gone), which will mess with the franchise as much as it does with Wonder Woman's. But Superman as a character? Too iconic to mess with his behavior too much. In fact, that Action Comics #1 cover?
(I'm going to make you sit in the corner with a dunce cap if you think that's his new costume. We've already seen the dumb without-red-trunks costume all over the place.)
Half Clark Kent farmboy clothing, half Superman clothes. A visual that focuses on his down home roots is exactly like the sort of thing to emphasize Superman's humanity and his connection to the Earth. I wouldn't be surprised if that's the focus of this issue.
This September, New York Times bestselling writer Grant Morrison (ALL-STAR SUPERMAN) joins with sensational artist Rags Morales to bring you tales of The Man of Tomorrow unlike any you’ve ever read before in ACTION COMICS #1. This momentous first issue will set in motion the history of the DC Universe as Superman defends a world that doesn’t trust their first Super Hero.
Oh, so the whole issue is the world changing their attitude about Superman... and him trying to continue acting like he always does. Huh. Sounds like a pitch that explores Superman's relation to humanity, and his own humanity in turn. That's cover and solicit, and the sort of thing Morrison would write.
Out of today's books, I'll try out Action Comics, going to pass on anything George Perez writes and not too interested in Superboy yet. I'm iffy on Supergirl. Sounds like they're doing a just-arrived from Krypton and must learn to connect to humans thing. Don't know those writers, don't know if I care for that story.
Thursday, June 09, 2011
How I learned to stop worrying and love the Reboot.
I understand that this blog has gone quiet since Monday, but that's because DC's Tuesday announcements contained an amazing and unique book.
A book that left me so giddy I couldn't bring myself to write a longform reaction to anything since.
A book I read when I was in High Scool.
A book that stood out among all of the DC offerings.
A book that couldn't even be saved by the main character's involvement in DC's best company crossover.
A book that I haven't even seen referenced in a very long time.
A book that I never dared hope to see again.
A book that is weird, and morbid, and seems to be written specifically with my dark sense of humor in mind.
A book that justifies the entire reboot. No matter what they do to Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Batman, the Teen Titans, Sgt. Rock, Lois Lane, Superman... all of it is worth it even if this book is cancelled at the six-month mark because even then for six sweet, sweet months we'll have all been able to enjoy...
RESURRECTION MAN!!!
That's right folks, this September a character from the above image will DIE!
And then again in October... and then again in November...
A book that left me so giddy I couldn't bring myself to write a longform reaction to anything since.
A book I read when I was in High Scool.
A book that stood out among all of the DC offerings.
A book that couldn't even be saved by the main character's involvement in DC's best company crossover.
A book that I haven't even seen referenced in a very long time.
A book that I never dared hope to see again.
A book that is weird, and morbid, and seems to be written specifically with my dark sense of humor in mind.
A book that justifies the entire reboot. No matter what they do to Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Batman, the Teen Titans, Sgt. Rock, Lois Lane, Superman... all of it is worth it even if this book is cancelled at the six-month mark because even then for six sweet, sweet months we'll have all been able to enjoy...
That's right folks, this September a character from the above image will DIE!
And then again in October... and then again in November...
Monday, June 06, 2011
They decided not to even TRY to top Grant Morrison here.
So DC's posted the Big Franchise, the Batman books for September, and I am beyond underwhelmed this time. The sad offerings for their flagship franchise make the Green Lantern announcement seem rather optimistic and serve to soothe any anxieties I may have had about Azzarello's Wonder Woman.
Because damn it, even if he goes totally over the edge to make her edgy at least they gave Wonder Woman to top notch talent.
The Batman franchise announcements are weak.
They've said that Morrison is involved, but I suspect his involvement stopped at making a list of everything he'd created for the Batman universe and circling one random item. Then the editors instructed the other writers to undo everything but that item.
The good news is, we've gotten to keep Damien. Thing is, he'll be Bruce's Robin. I think Morrison established quite nicely that the two didn't quite work out together and I really liked the dynamic with Dick, but there are unexplored avenues with his real father. Also, Batman and Robin will be the Tomasi-Gleason series making it the second most interesting title to me and putting it on the maybe pile.
The bad news? The three other books starring Bruce Wayne don't look the slightest bit distinctive or intriguing. They seem generic and none of the writers appeal to me.
The next announcements were the female-led books. Now, it is a good idea to have as many female-focused Batbooks on the market as you can because Batman has a huge female fanbase and they love Extended Gotham. This announcement was where the one must-buy book came in for me: Batwoman by J.H. Williams III, Haden Blackman and Amy Reeder.
It seems that the last push-back was to coincide with this reboot, so finally we will get our promised Batwoman solo series, five years after the first rumors spread about a Rucka-penned series. But who cares, we finally get Batwoman.
The Catwoman cover was annoying but not a turnoff on its own. She's leaning backwards, unzipped to the navel. BUT since she's wearing pants, apparently she's tastefully done. Ugh. Still, I freaking love Catwoman even though they cheesecake her up all the time so I was intrigued... until I saw Judd Winick was writing it, and it had the following solicit:
Yeah, screw going from the Robin Hood of Gotham to that. I'll be rereading my old Catwoman comics instead.
Batgirl I knew I wouldn't want at first look. The cover was a redhead. Now, Barbara Gordon has always been a fine character even thought she's not one of my favorites. I'm not even half as interested in her as Batgirl as I am in her as Oracle though. Oracle is a unique and powerful character that serves as Batman's chief lieutenant. Oracle is one of the few disabled superheroes in comics. Batgirl is just another martial artist on the level of Nightwing and the Robins.
Other writers have covered the wheelchair better. She's a disabled hero, and that means a lot more in terms of diversity than another female Bat-sidekick.
I speculated that it might be an origin story, and someone on Tumblr is suggesting she'll be Oracle again soon but... Gail Simone is writing. Read that post, that excitement. And we all know from every interview she's wanted this since she did WiR. I really think the intention in this case is to keep her as Batgirl.
Disappointing. Not enough to chase me out of the DCU, but I've no reason to pick up this book, or the revamped Oracleless Birds of Prey, which interests me as much as... something so uninteresting I can't even call it to mind. I don't even care who the creative team is there. Nor do I give a damn about 3 characters I have no interest in or more Judd Winick writing.
Last, and actually the least, Nightwing #1. The initial cover leak had us all asking "Could it be Dick Grayson?"
Yeah, it's Dick Grayson.
These are the worst offerings yet.
ETA: Fortunately, they're continuing Batman, Inc in 2012 as Batman: Leviathon and I'll read it, but really, that doesn't make the September Batbooks any less pathetic.
Because damn it, even if he goes totally over the edge to make her edgy at least they gave Wonder Woman to top notch talent.
The Batman franchise announcements are weak.
They've said that Morrison is involved, but I suspect his involvement stopped at making a list of everything he'd created for the Batman universe and circling one random item. Then the editors instructed the other writers to undo everything but that item.
The good news is, we've gotten to keep Damien. Thing is, he'll be Bruce's Robin. I think Morrison established quite nicely that the two didn't quite work out together and I really liked the dynamic with Dick, but there are unexplored avenues with his real father. Also, Batman and Robin will be the Tomasi-Gleason series making it the second most interesting title to me and putting it on the maybe pile.
The bad news? The three other books starring Bruce Wayne don't look the slightest bit distinctive or intriguing. They seem generic and none of the writers appeal to me.
The next announcements were the female-led books. Now, it is a good idea to have as many female-focused Batbooks on the market as you can because Batman has a huge female fanbase and they love Extended Gotham. This announcement was where the one must-buy book came in for me: Batwoman by J.H. Williams III, Haden Blackman and Amy Reeder.
It seems that the last push-back was to coincide with this reboot, so finally we will get our promised Batwoman solo series, five years after the first rumors spread about a Rucka-penned series. But who cares, we finally get Batwoman.
The Catwoman cover was annoying but not a turnoff on its own. She's leaning backwards, unzipped to the navel. BUT since she's wearing pants, apparently she's tastefully done. Ugh. Still, I freaking love Catwoman even though they cheesecake her up all the time so I was intrigued... until I saw Judd Winick was writing it, and it had the following solicit:
Meet Catwoman. She’s addicted to the night. Addicted to shiny objects. Addicted to Batman. Most of all, Catwoman is addicted to danger. She can’t help herself, and the truth is – she doesn’t want to. She’s good at being bad, and very bad at being good. Find out more about what makes Catwoman tick in CATWOMAN #1, written by Judd Winick and illustrated by Guillem March.
Yeah, screw going from the Robin Hood of Gotham to that. I'll be rereading my old Catwoman comics instead.
Batgirl I knew I wouldn't want at first look. The cover was a redhead. Now, Barbara Gordon has always been a fine character even thought she's not one of my favorites. I'm not even half as interested in her as Batgirl as I am in her as Oracle though. Oracle is a unique and powerful character that serves as Batman's chief lieutenant. Oracle is one of the few disabled superheroes in comics. Batgirl is just another martial artist on the level of Nightwing and the Robins.
Other writers have covered the wheelchair better. She's a disabled hero, and that means a lot more in terms of diversity than another female Bat-sidekick.
I speculated that it might be an origin story, and someone on Tumblr is suggesting she'll be Oracle again soon but... Gail Simone is writing. Read that post, that excitement. And we all know from every interview she's wanted this since she did WiR. I really think the intention in this case is to keep her as Batgirl.
Disappointing. Not enough to chase me out of the DCU, but I've no reason to pick up this book, or the revamped Oracleless Birds of Prey, which interests me as much as... something so uninteresting I can't even call it to mind. I don't even care who the creative team is there. Nor do I give a damn about 3 characters I have no interest in or more Judd Winick writing.
Last, and actually the least, Nightwing #1. The initial cover leak had us all asking "Could it be Dick Grayson?"
Yeah, it's Dick Grayson.
These are the worst offerings yet.
ETA: Fortunately, they're continuing Batman, Inc in 2012 as Batman: Leviathon and I'll read it, but really, that doesn't make the September Batbooks any less pathetic.
Sunday, June 05, 2011
Damn: Green Lantern Edition
DC announced the Green Lantern creative teams for September and to be honest, I've spent the last couple days in stunned disappointment.
It was my fault for getting up my hopes. I thought a reboot would bring in a new set of creators who haven't had a chance to mess with Green Lantern since all of Johns sweeping changes, but it seems that the writers will be the same as before with the addition of Peter Milligan. (Who is paired with Ed Benes, and nothing on Earth could make me want to see how Ed Benes draws Bleez.)
It will also take place a few months in the future, after the completion of the "War of the Green Lanterns" storyline.
Fortunately, we won't see a clumsy attempt to fit everything created in the past few years into the origin story again.
Unfortunately, we won't see a creative attempt to fit everything created in the past few years into the origin story again.
Really, this is wise because it is one of the best selling titles, and there is a lot of appeal to it that would be lost in a reboot. We won't have to wait as they slowly roll out Guy, John and Kyle again, after all, and they have no excuse to run through the Blackest Night and War of the Green Lanterns crossover plots again. We can start at the status quo, with four Earth Lanterns and seven Color Corps.
I'm just disappointed, because I was getting the impression that Johns had run out of interesting stories to tell in this franchise. I was hoping at least he'd be moved to a character other than Hal, and someone else could give us their interpretation. I loved Johns's Hal right after Rebirth when he was reviled by everyone. Once he became the golden boy again, he lost his shine. There's an excessive masculinity in Hal Jordan that's hard to sympathize with unless his personal life is somehow in the crapper. Johns keeps pushing home how exciting his life is and how much he gets laid along with the impression that he's the go-to guy on the superhero world. The text supports his macho character flaws rather than mocks them, when Hal's character is best when the writer makes fun of his alpha maleness. Basically, he needs a good humiliating conk on the head every issue or so and he hasn't been getting that enough from this writer.
The other irritation of course is that Carol Ferris, the main Star Sapphire, will remain under Johns's dubious control. Honestly, I don't like a thing he's done with the Star Sapphires other than give us an excuse to make thousands of them. This whole angle on love is just mean-spirited and cynical. There's a spark of a chance that the energy is good at the core of it, but things have been set up so that it completely takes over a woman's mind. She turns into a nightmare stalker. She lives only for love and captures others in crystals. They brainwash villainesses into becoming this way. The name of the Violet Entity is The Predator.
And oh yes, this is all based on taking every bit of continuity into account and explaining away Carol, Debbie, and Dela's behavior as Star Sapphire. And using the Predator, which Englehart used to explain why Star Sapphire's behavior was so completely over the edge, to explain that the violet energy is difficult to control. All in the canon, after all.
Carol is presented as the good Star Sapphire because she resists control and has the most experience. That way she can be a hero now but have been a villain then, and the Violets can be a menacing threat.
What I don't get is why the Violets must be a menacing threat overall. Why can't it have been a problem with Carol or even a problem with EARTH as a location somehow causing the violet energy to be unbalanced? Why is Miri the exception of the ones we've seen for being noble and helpful? why is Carol played as special for having some control? And why couldn't the Predator have been the red entity taking control of Carol and mucking with the violet energy like Parallax took control of Hal and mucked with the green?
Why is Love bad in Green Lantern?
And why are they all scantily clad women, except the dude who gets some armor? What the hell? Do you just not want women reading Green Lantern?
I suspect Johns thinks this is a creative, fascinating take on things since Love is supposed to be a virtue. Except that since the Star Sapphires are conflated on every level with sex (another aspect I hate about them) it's not a new take. It's an old take on sex as all-consuming, addictive, and dangerous. It's an old take on women as the wicked temptresses who would distract the hero from his noble duty.
And it's an incredibly shallow view of Love.
Really, the only thing that even mildly redeemed this take on Star Sapphire was Tomasi and Gleason's Miri. She should be the template for Star Sapphires. Carol should be like Hal, someone who messed up badly.
I had some hope in a reboot that we'd see the Star Sapphires revised to something less horrible, but seeing the exact same writers on the books kills that.
Though maybe we can count on losing the pink nightmare outfit if the Pants for Everyone! trend continues. That's something I suppose, even if it's a wrongheaded something.
It was my fault for getting up my hopes. I thought a reboot would bring in a new set of creators who haven't had a chance to mess with Green Lantern since all of Johns sweeping changes, but it seems that the writers will be the same as before with the addition of Peter Milligan. (Who is paired with Ed Benes, and nothing on Earth could make me want to see how Ed Benes draws Bleez.)
It will also take place a few months in the future, after the completion of the "War of the Green Lanterns" storyline.
Fortunately, we won't see a clumsy attempt to fit everything created in the past few years into the origin story again.
Unfortunately, we won't see a creative attempt to fit everything created in the past few years into the origin story again.
Really, this is wise because it is one of the best selling titles, and there is a lot of appeal to it that would be lost in a reboot. We won't have to wait as they slowly roll out Guy, John and Kyle again, after all, and they have no excuse to run through the Blackest Night and War of the Green Lanterns crossover plots again. We can start at the status quo, with four Earth Lanterns and seven Color Corps.
I'm just disappointed, because I was getting the impression that Johns had run out of interesting stories to tell in this franchise. I was hoping at least he'd be moved to a character other than Hal, and someone else could give us their interpretation. I loved Johns's Hal right after Rebirth when he was reviled by everyone. Once he became the golden boy again, he lost his shine. There's an excessive masculinity in Hal Jordan that's hard to sympathize with unless his personal life is somehow in the crapper. Johns keeps pushing home how exciting his life is and how much he gets laid along with the impression that he's the go-to guy on the superhero world. The text supports his macho character flaws rather than mocks them, when Hal's character is best when the writer makes fun of his alpha maleness. Basically, he needs a good humiliating conk on the head every issue or so and he hasn't been getting that enough from this writer.
The other irritation of course is that Carol Ferris, the main Star Sapphire, will remain under Johns's dubious control. Honestly, I don't like a thing he's done with the Star Sapphires other than give us an excuse to make thousands of them. This whole angle on love is just mean-spirited and cynical. There's a spark of a chance that the energy is good at the core of it, but things have been set up so that it completely takes over a woman's mind. She turns into a nightmare stalker. She lives only for love and captures others in crystals. They brainwash villainesses into becoming this way. The name of the Violet Entity is The Predator.
And oh yes, this is all based on taking every bit of continuity into account and explaining away Carol, Debbie, and Dela's behavior as Star Sapphire. And using the Predator, which Englehart used to explain why Star Sapphire's behavior was so completely over the edge, to explain that the violet energy is difficult to control. All in the canon, after all.
Carol is presented as the good Star Sapphire because she resists control and has the most experience. That way she can be a hero now but have been a villain then, and the Violets can be a menacing threat.
What I don't get is why the Violets must be a menacing threat overall. Why can't it have been a problem with Carol or even a problem with EARTH as a location somehow causing the violet energy to be unbalanced? Why is Miri the exception of the ones we've seen for being noble and helpful? why is Carol played as special for having some control? And why couldn't the Predator have been the red entity taking control of Carol and mucking with the violet energy like Parallax took control of Hal and mucked with the green?
Why is Love bad in Green Lantern?
And why are they all scantily clad women, except the dude who gets some armor? What the hell? Do you just not want women reading Green Lantern?
I suspect Johns thinks this is a creative, fascinating take on things since Love is supposed to be a virtue. Except that since the Star Sapphires are conflated on every level with sex (another aspect I hate about them) it's not a new take. It's an old take on sex as all-consuming, addictive, and dangerous. It's an old take on women as the wicked temptresses who would distract the hero from his noble duty.
And it's an incredibly shallow view of Love.
Really, the only thing that even mildly redeemed this take on Star Sapphire was Tomasi and Gleason's Miri. She should be the template for Star Sapphires. Carol should be like Hal, someone who messed up badly.
I had some hope in a reboot that we'd see the Star Sapphires revised to something less horrible, but seeing the exact same writers on the books kills that.
Though maybe we can count on losing the pink nightmare outfit if the Pants for Everyone! trend continues. That's something I suppose, even if it's a wrongheaded something.
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Reboot Madness! Everything Must Change!
Sure enough, right after I posted my concerns about the reboot the news went up about the next ten series that are getting rebooted. They seem very nonthreatening. I've already made some buy choices.
Of course, barring Dave Sim (and honestly, I think I'd pick that up just to see how fucked up it was) or Frank Miller I knew I'd be getting Wonder Woman. I had my fingers crossed for Grant Morrison, but DC handed the pen to someone else:
Right away my heart sank. A lot of the big problems with Wonder Woman seem to derive from this ridiculous idea that she needs more of an edge. (I suppose being the personal enemy of the God of War and Violence himself just isn't impressive enough.) Brian Azzarello is known for 100 Bullets and just having the dark, edgy element to his stuff. No only that, bloodied sword on the cover.
But... Rucka was known for edgy street crime, and he was one of the best. The complaints I've heard about Azzarello's women seem to stem from bashing the supporting cast around, so a franchise like Wonder Woman that is purposefully gender-swapped might shake up his habits a little.
He's written Wonder Woman before in Superman #210-211, and David had some reassuring things to say about that. It's been a long time since I've read any of For Tomorrow (I only remember some heavy bondage with Kyle Rayner), but it's one of three Azzarello series on Comixology so as soon as I get my account straightened out I'll check the Wonder Woman parts out for myself. A couple people have recommended Doctor Thirteen so I've ordered that out of curiosity.
Not that not liking any of this will stop me from getting the next Wonder Woman origin retelling. I freaking love that story, and this is a character I usually give anyone a chance with.
Also, that is the best the pants have looked yet.
The other surprise I got was a Mr. Terrific solo series, just as I was worrying about the character's fate:
In the meantime, I'm relieved to see Johns leave the Flash:
On the maybe pile I have JLI and Justice League. Johns and Lee are setting the stage for everything and Justice League used to be one of my staples, but I'm honestly getting tired of those creators. Lopresti on JLI is solid, and I like the lineup but I'm still deliberating on Jurgens. He's hit and miss for me.
In the meantime, Yan's keeping a list of books and creative teams as they get officially announced in case someone wants a scored.
Of course, barring Dave Sim (and honestly, I think I'd pick that up just to see how fucked up it was) or Frank Miller I knew I'd be getting Wonder Woman. I had my fingers crossed for Grant Morrison, but DC handed the pen to someone else:
New York Times bestselling writer Brian Azzarello, author of The Joker and 100 Bullets, teams up with the immensely talented artist Cliff Chiang (Neil Young’s Greendale) for WONDER WOMAN #1, an exciting new series starring the DC Universe’s greatest superheroine. The cover to issue #1 is by Cliff Chiang.
Right away my heart sank. A lot of the big problems with Wonder Woman seem to derive from this ridiculous idea that she needs more of an edge. (I suppose being the personal enemy of the God of War and Violence himself just isn't impressive enough.) Brian Azzarello is known for 100 Bullets and just having the dark, edgy element to his stuff. No only that, bloodied sword on the cover.
But... Rucka was known for edgy street crime, and he was one of the best. The complaints I've heard about Azzarello's women seem to stem from bashing the supporting cast around, so a franchise like Wonder Woman that is purposefully gender-swapped might shake up his habits a little.
He's written Wonder Woman before in Superman #210-211, and David had some reassuring things to say about that. It's been a long time since I've read any of For Tomorrow (I only remember some heavy bondage with Kyle Rayner), but it's one of three Azzarello series on Comixology so as soon as I get my account straightened out I'll check the Wonder Woman parts out for myself. A couple people have recommended Doctor Thirteen so I've ordered that out of curiosity.
Not that not liking any of this will stop me from getting the next Wonder Woman origin retelling. I freaking love that story, and this is a character I usually give anyone a chance with.
Also, that is the best the pants have looked yet.
The other surprise I got was a Mr. Terrific solo series, just as I was worrying about the character's fate:
The world’s third-smartest man – and one of its most eligible bachelors – uses his brains and fists against science gone mad in MISTER TERRIFIC #1, the new series from writer Eric Wallace and artist Roger Robinson. The cover to issue #1 is by J.G. Jones.Not familiar with the creative team, but I will be checking out the first issue unless someone drops something ridiculous in the lead-up interviews.
In the meantime, I'm relieved to see Johns leave the Flash:
Rising superstar Francis Manapul, fresh off his acclaimed run on THE FLASH with Geoff Johns, makes his comics writing debut in THE FLASH #1, sharing both scripting and art duties with Brian Buccellato. The Flash knows he can’t be everywhere at once, but what happens when he faces an all-new villain who can? The cover to issue #1 is by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato.I'm unfamiliar with Bucellato but I'll definitely give Manapul's writing a shot for his art.
On the maybe pile I have JLI and Justice League. Johns and Lee are setting the stage for everything and Justice League used to be one of my staples, but I'm honestly getting tired of those creators. Lopresti on JLI is solid, and I like the lineup but I'm still deliberating on Jurgens. He's hit and miss for me.
In the meantime, Yan's keeping a list of books and creative teams as they get officially announced in case someone wants a scored.
All right, the serious reaction to the reboot.
J. Michael Straczynski:
(H/T)
Yeah, I feel so much better knowing you planned your big Wonder Woman storyline from the start with the attitude of "It won't count anyway." (That pisses me off more than anything. Who cares if it counts? It needs to be worth reading. I've said some bad things about JMS's writing but I didn't have him pegged for the Cult of Continuity before. I'd assumed he'd at least TRY to do his best work whether a reboot loomed or not.)
In all seriousness, this makes it seem like they're serious and it's not just another mass retcon frenzy in the midst of the continuing storyline. In that case, it is remarkably brave, especially since they've clung to the continuity-focused stories as their main events for so long.
I'm trying to keep an open mind here because it could be pretty good, but really whether or not this works all depends on what they're willing to put in at the beginning through the launch. The DCU started out as an all-white, assumed straight, mostly male universe and slowly evolved to something more inclusive. It didn't become perfect, but it had stuff that we liked and a lot of those characters are dependent on being somewhere down the timeline. We know from the last few years that very few of the diverse characters are prioritized. Unless they consciously try to include them at the starting point, changing the company story to be genuinely diverse from the start and not just giving lip service in the form of one white woman and one black guy (both established as straight) in the Justice League, we're going to have to wait a while until the appeal comes back.
I don't doubt that if characters like Todd Rice, Cass Cain, Kyle Rayner, Michael Holt, Ryan Choi and others are neglected in the first wave they'll all return in some fashion after time passes, but it could take a long while. They'll need writers who remember them and want to use them. Their origins will have to be redone in order to use them and fit them into the universe. More waiting on the part of the fans that see themselves in these characters.
I'm not ready to completely write off a chance we'll have a more diverse universe than we do now, but things look bleak. If Didio had gotten to do this 5 or 6 years ago when they were creating characters like Ryan, Jaime and Kate I'd be more optimistic. I don't know who's pushing what and what personnel changes brought on what we've seen since around Blackest Night, but things aren't as hopeful in this area as before. (Also, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with Geoff Johns having the first word on Star Sapphire.)
Once again, it all comes down to wait and see. This is a tremendous opportunity for them. I'm hopeful for Wonder Woman, I'll check out Green Lantern, I'll definitely look into whatever they've put my favorite writers on, but my expectations aren't particularly high overall here.
When Dan DiDio comes out to the West Coast, we tend to get a bite for dinner to discuss projects, ideas, books and just hang. Dan is a great guy and an energetic speaker, chockful of ideas and aspirations for DC. As part of that, he shared repeatedly on and off for really more than a year his dream of rebooting the DCU and starting over.
So I felt confident that it was coming soon (which is one reason why I felt there wouldn't be a problem in the long run leaving the monthly books, since most of the things done in Superman and Wonder Woman would be erased by the reboot anyway, so ultimately it didn't matter whether I stayed or left. I just couldn't say anything at the time because I wanted to respect Dan's privacy and his desire to do what he thought was right when he thought it was right to do it.
To a degree, I think the success of Superman: Earth One was very helpful in showing that you could reboot a major character in a very personal sort of book and have it become a real hit (27 straight weeks and counting on the New York Times Bestseller List for graphic novels).
(H/T)
Yeah, I feel so much better knowing you planned your big Wonder Woman storyline from the start with the attitude of "It won't count anyway." (That pisses me off more than anything. Who cares if it counts? It needs to be worth reading. I've said some bad things about JMS's writing but I didn't have him pegged for the Cult of Continuity before. I'd assumed he'd at least TRY to do his best work whether a reboot loomed or not.)
In all seriousness, this makes it seem like they're serious and it's not just another mass retcon frenzy in the midst of the continuing storyline. In that case, it is remarkably brave, especially since they've clung to the continuity-focused stories as their main events for so long.
I'm trying to keep an open mind here because it could be pretty good, but really whether or not this works all depends on what they're willing to put in at the beginning through the launch. The DCU started out as an all-white, assumed straight, mostly male universe and slowly evolved to something more inclusive. It didn't become perfect, but it had stuff that we liked and a lot of those characters are dependent on being somewhere down the timeline. We know from the last few years that very few of the diverse characters are prioritized. Unless they consciously try to include them at the starting point, changing the company story to be genuinely diverse from the start and not just giving lip service in the form of one white woman and one black guy (both established as straight) in the Justice League, we're going to have to wait a while until the appeal comes back.
I don't doubt that if characters like Todd Rice, Cass Cain, Kyle Rayner, Michael Holt, Ryan Choi and others are neglected in the first wave they'll all return in some fashion after time passes, but it could take a long while. They'll need writers who remember them and want to use them. Their origins will have to be redone in order to use them and fit them into the universe. More waiting on the part of the fans that see themselves in these characters.
I'm not ready to completely write off a chance we'll have a more diverse universe than we do now, but things look bleak. If Didio had gotten to do this 5 or 6 years ago when they were creating characters like Ryan, Jaime and Kate I'd be more optimistic. I don't know who's pushing what and what personnel changes brought on what we've seen since around Blackest Night, but things aren't as hopeful in this area as before. (Also, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with Geoff Johns having the first word on Star Sapphire.)
Once again, it all comes down to wait and see. This is a tremendous opportunity for them. I'm hopeful for Wonder Woman, I'll check out Green Lantern, I'll definitely look into whatever they've put my favorite writers on, but my expectations aren't particularly high overall here.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Deja vu all over again
So.. anyone hear any big news this week?
Okay, these rumors have been flying for quite a bit and as we've know that Wonder Woman was likely to get a complete reboot I was mentally prepared anyway. Really, what with Green Lantern Corps #60 I was anxious for one for Green Lantern. A full universe-wide reboot is a great way to undo all of those deaths they SHOULD have undone in Blackest Night (but somehow forgot to), and clear some of the ickier circumstances out of their product. They can bring back Ralph and Sue and Ryan Choi and Mogo and Katma and Hawkgirl and so on. Then they can weave together the stories from the start and make wise use of their character stable. At the very least, if they're out of ideas they can kill the next few years reintroducting all the characters again from the starting point. It's a great opportunity.
Or it could be, if they have the brains to do it right or the guts to do it all the way.
Blackest Night gives us reason to doubt they'll introduce a diverse cast from the ground up.
They also plan to keep some of the continuity. Heaven only knows what this means for sure, because a proper linewide reboot would mean everyone goes back to the same spot and there is no continuity. Possibly September is just Origin Month and we get back to business in October. They'll use those #1 issues to set out what the new character history is and/or setup the new storyline. Some continuity will change, some fat will be trimmed, but a lot of stuff will be the same. New series will be launched, old series will be cancelled.
Hmm... Where have we seen this before?
No, not there. That was half-assed, but they are organized now. Getting them all on the same track in one month. Real jumping on points for new readers. Hell, they may not actually reboot, they may just fudge the backstories.
Hmm... Nope. Not that either. We're beyond rumors and they said it was changing the past rather than jumping ahead. Also, they're renumbering. Granted, they might just renumber September's issues and go back to normal the next month for some series... Oh!
That's the one.
Okay, these rumors have been flying for quite a bit and as we've know that Wonder Woman was likely to get a complete reboot I was mentally prepared anyway. Really, what with Green Lantern Corps #60 I was anxious for one for Green Lantern. A full universe-wide reboot is a great way to undo all of those deaths they SHOULD have undone in Blackest Night (but somehow forgot to), and clear some of the ickier circumstances out of their product. They can bring back Ralph and Sue and Ryan Choi and Mogo and Katma and Hawkgirl and so on. Then they can weave together the stories from the start and make wise use of their character stable. At the very least, if they're out of ideas they can kill the next few years reintroducting all the characters again from the starting point. It's a great opportunity.
Or it could be, if they have the brains to do it right or the guts to do it all the way.
Blackest Night gives us reason to doubt they'll introduce a diverse cast from the ground up.
They also plan to keep some of the continuity. Heaven only knows what this means for sure, because a proper linewide reboot would mean everyone goes back to the same spot and there is no continuity. Possibly September is just Origin Month and we get back to business in October. They'll use those #1 issues to set out what the new character history is and/or setup the new storyline. Some continuity will change, some fat will be trimmed, but a lot of stuff will be the same. New series will be launched, old series will be cancelled.
Hmm... Where have we seen this before?
No, not there. That was half-assed, but they are organized now. Getting them all on the same track in one month. Real jumping on points for new readers. Hell, they may not actually reboot, they may just fudge the backstories.
Hmm... Nope. Not that either. We're beyond rumors and they said it was changing the past rather than jumping ahead. Also, they're renumbering. Granted, they might just renumber September's issues and go back to normal the next month for some series... Oh!
That's the one.
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