Superman and Majestic

One of the weird (and off-putting) things about the DC Reboot is the idea of "Superman is more Kal-El than Clark Kent". And the reason why is that if you need a character who is sort of Superman-like, but without the humanity, you've got Mr. Majestic right there.

(And no, the Martian Manhunter does have quite a bit of humanity in him, so he doesn't count).

Your Moment of Funny

2010 Year in Review

BLOGGING: Well, I manged to get in an average of one post per day, even if it was just a single poster. That's not too bad - but at the same time, it's probably not something I'm going to continue to do because I expect things to pick up for me in real life in the coming year, so I won't have as much time to devote to making and posting posters.

REAL LIFE: It's going pretty well and I'm happy, but I'm also going to be very busy in the coming year, and I'm looking forward to that.

COMICS AND FANDOM: Bleh. I'm sorry, but I can't be the only to have found this year to be pretty boring as far as that's concerned. Yes, there have been islands of good stuff in the "Big Two", but I think more than anything else, it's convinced me to start really weening myself off of that and devote more time to the action/adventure and superhero comics OUTSIDE Marvel and DC - because Marvel and DC don't OWN the concepts (much as they would like us all to think otherwise). Not that I won't continue to use the material for posters or to talk about it, but I think maybe it's time to start really looking at getting myself off this train in the next year. What do you think, would you like to see me refocus this blog to all the good super and action stuff outside the Marvel/DC ranches?

So, what were your thoughts on the year?

Kinky

Things I don't get

OK, so this is one of the new promo images for the current status quo in the Wildstorm-verse, and I have a few questions to ask to anyone who is still reading the books (which judging from the sales is pretty much no-one).

1. Spartan's new look there - Ok, I can sorta get the pseudo-Greek helmet (even if it looks more Roman than Greek, but I'll let that slide), but it doesn't look like it offers much in the way of face protection which strikes me as sort of the point. Also, weren't the Spartans more into spears and swords? What's with the Axe?
2. So, that guy on the far far left - is that supposed to be Hellstrike? Did they really stick him back in his old costume from, what is it? 1993? Because that is ugly.
3. Isn't it weird that everyone is now wearing tights? Wasn't the whole point of the Wildstorm endeveour to get away from traditional silver-age costumes and go for something a little more militaristic/real? Yet there's GEN-13, who's main selling point was that they were teens who just happened to have superpowers (instead of superheroes who happen to be teenagers), in Dave Cockrum -style Legion of Superheroes outfits. Talk about stepping backwards

Alright, answers if you got'em.

Hey, look at that

My review of the last issue is Planetary is at the Comicbookgalaxy blog. Neat-o!

Out of town for about a week or so. Will post more when I can

Honest reactions

Plot Devices that Need to Go Away #8

Yes, you lucky ducks you, you get a double dosage this week of "Plot Devices that Need to Go Away"!

Plot Devices that Need to Go Away #8

RIP-OFFS OF MORE FAMOUS SUPERHEROES

Also known as: Analogues, Knock-offs, Homages, etc.

What is it? When you can't use say, a big name hero, but want to use him/her as an easy means of identifying your character's situation, you file the numbers off and call him "Photonus" or "Apollo" if you need Superman, or "Mister Dark" or "Winged Dark" if you need Batman, etc.

Why do Comic Companies do it?

Two reasons: usually it helps as a means of contrasting "your guys" vs. the competition and how different characters operate. The other reason you might do it is because you want to do something with a big name character that because of their 'iconic status' that you couldn't get away with if you had the real deal (i.e., say you wanted to show Batman as a pedophile, or you wanted Spider-Man to go on a six-day drunken bender and hook up with Paris Hilton).

Recent Offenders include but are not limited to:

Half of Wildstorm (this was a huge stock in trade of theirs for a while), Squadron Supreme, The Ultimates (wait, I can explain this one), The Sentry (he keeps popping up on these lists. Funny, huh?), Every character in "The Boys", Half of Image (but only half, they are getting better at it).

Patient Zero

As much as I hate, hate, hate to admit it, the blame goes to Mark Gruenwald's Squadron Supreme Mini-series. This was the first (and perhaps, most successful) attempt at showcasing what you could do with these characters without worrying about the long term implications. However, this has been taken to extremes by all the comic companies.

Why does it have to go away?

OK, turn on your TV, watch an episode of Lost. OK, how would you describe it? Would you say "It's Gilligan's Island except with non-stupid people?" or "It's the Twilight Zone on an island?" No, of course you wouldn't. You aren't stupid. Now, try that with most other TV shows or movies or what have you. Notice the pattern there? See, that's what's called ORIGINALITY. If you have nothing new, you have nothing new to draw in new people, and you have nothing new to say.

Look, this entire device only works because it sends out an entirely false resonance. Yeah, we know that in "true continuity" Captain America wouldn't use a flamethrower to melt down some innocent Vietnamese civilians, but by having a stand-in do that, well, it sort of jogs the perception of "oh yeah, that's what their going for". The Ultimate Marvel Brand (and its incestuous cousin, the JMS-rebooted Squadron Supreme franchise) owes its entire existence to this feature. "Hey, here's Captain America! Except he's much more HARDCORE!!!!" (and again, I have to reiterate - how the hell is it people say Mark Millar's version is more "realistic" when the creator, Jack Kirby,who did several years of work with the character after the war, actually SERVED IN WORLD WAR II?) or "Here's Wolverine and Jean Grey sleeping together, just like you always wanted but we could never have done before!!!!" etc., etc. Now granted, there are facets of all mass medium that produce familiar "comfort food" entertainment, such as the Law & Order Franchise, the CSI franchise, and there's a new "underdog sports hero film" currently starting production....now, let's say. The point remains; these mediums do produce that sort of material, but even then there is some semblance of variety, and it isn't just "OK, let's just make the lead character from this show exactly like the lead character from the other show, but make him just slightly different enough that we can get away with calling it something new", and it certainly doesn't depend on you getting the "larger significance" by contrasting the two leads in such a direct and blatant manner.

Angles for Redemption of the Device. NONE.

COLD BASTARD #2 - TAO

WHO IS HE?

Tactically Augmented Organism. A genetically engineered supergenius who created a criminal empire.

WHERE IS HIS PROOF OF BASTARD?

Alan Moore's run on WildC.A.T.s, but a better showcase is the Sleeper series.

COLD BASTARD LESSONS LEARNED?

Everyone's a toy waiting to be broken.

THE STORY

TAO was created to be a weapon, but he decided that he didn't like that, so he went ahead and became someone who just fucks with people to show them how easy it is for them to destroy themselves. He engineered a superpowered gang war to show that it could be done. He then created a global criminal enterprise, and used it as a means to undermine every form of social order on the planet. Why? Well, he thinks that as an artificial creature, he has no soul, but he also has no illusions about the true operation of the world. He's thus concluded that he has to destroy every soul to show them how the world is, and he'll undermine any structure, even his own, in order to achieve it. He even allowed a knowing double-agent in, and then toyed with him using his hopes and fears just to break him and show him how hopeless it all really is. A true bastard.

But not the greatest.

NEXT UP: A mystery man in black

COLD BASTARD #3 - ELIJAH SNOW

WHO IS HE?

Elijah Snow, 100+ year old super-powered mystery archaeologist and founder of Planetary, the group that collects and studies the secret history of the world.

WHERE IS HIS PROOF OF BASTARD?

The Planetary series.

COLD BASTARD LESSONS LEARNED?

Historical treasures that can change the world must be protected, even if I have to use them and the people who carry that secret history as weapons.

THE STORY

In all fairness, you could put just about any Warren Ellis written main protagonist into this role, but I chose Elijah because A) he's the one I'm most familiar with, and B) I get to make the "Cold Bastard" joke that much more of a groaner. I'm lazy sometimes.

Now, Elijah has a history of being manipulative and distant; keeping details of his plans to himself, not trusting his friends and the people he employs and supposedly cares about. He has secret meetings to figure out his true plans and how far he wants to go, but once that is settled, he goes straight for the jugular, and nothing is off limits. Whether its the sadistic torture of a helpless prisoner (no matter how much of a baby-killing monster said monster is known for being) or betraying a long standing friendship in order to gather the information he needs, to destroying some of the very precious artifacts of the secret histories that he is desperate to save from the rapacious greed of others. When he goes all out, his impact is global and it is devastating to everyone, including those near and (supposedly) dear to him.

NEXT UP: a twisted genius

Wildstorm comics: 1992-2008

(Note: I'm giving out a spoiler for an upcoming book, and I'm not even going to try and hide it, so if you actually care, you better avert your eyes NOW).

Ok, there you go. Moving on.

WILDSTORM: A LIVING OBITUARY.

First, I'd like you to go to Newsrama or CBR or wherever it is you go for the latest comic soliticiations. Look up the latest batch for DC, then scroll on down to the WildStorm section and check out the cover for "The Number of the Beast". Or just look below. Take a look at the figure at the bottom of the cover.




See anyone familiar on the cover?
Yes. Yes it is.


John Cumberland. The High. The guy who became a two-mile wide stain on Skywatch's forcefield at the very height of Warren Ellis' Stormwatch run.
And so it is now that the last of Ellis' noteworthy and poignant contributions to Wildstorm has been removed. This to me is the final sign: Wildstorm is effectively dead as any kind of coherent universe; it has become a marginalized ghetto of the DC universe: Earth-50 or whatever; a tiny little place that other creators will occasionally go to do some beta-testing on their ideas before bringing them to a "real" comics imprint. Like Malibu became to Marvel. Like Impact comics and Milestone before them at DC.
Now you may ask, how did this happen? Well, honestly, the handwriting was on the wall when Wildstorm went to DC in the first place. Yes, yes, going to DC did free up Jim Lee...to draw Batman every few months. Oh, and it gave them access to some DC's name talent that they might not have had otherwise. Maybe. On the other hand, it ultimately cost them Alan Moore and the entire ABC line.
However, the final nails in the coffin can be contributed to the following:

1) the Loss of Scott Dunbier: Clearly, the heart and soul of the franchise: A guy who rigidly kept track of the universe's coherence and kept it's creators striving to do their creative best. And generally, they did. But since he left, it's not hard to see the quality drop-off in titles. What little remains. Looking at the sections of Wildstorm comics in previews, you can see two patterns emerging; lots of wild grasps at using D-list characters to try and make something cohesive (which is failing) and successive apocalyptic scenarios (Let's see: we have "Wildstorm: Revelations", "Apocalypse", "Armageddon", "Number of the Beast". Lots and lots of new and old characters and rehashes of what has come before, but not a lot of it that was true to what made the Wildstorm universe UNIQUE: that the superhumans who existed in the WSU were generally not NATURAL phenomena: They were the products of conspiracies and covert government ops and secret cabals and rare things. All of this is now gone, expunged from Wildstorm cannon. It's just another super-verse where these things just sort of happen. Which brings me to my second point:
2) Everything that made the WSU "sexy" and "Daring" has since moved on to the bigger names of Marvel and DC proper. Let's go down the list, shall we?

-Graphic Violence? CHECK
-"Widescreen Action"? CHECK
-Warren Ellis (who remember, was in the Wildstorm ghetto for a long time)? CHECK.
-Jim Lee? CHECK.
-Provocative, Sexy Superheroine costumes? CHECK.
-Grim, gritty, realpolitik superheroics? CHECK.
-Superhumans that are under the control of government operations or large corporate interests? CHECK.

I could go on, but I think my point is made: There's nothing left that's truly singular to Wildstorm anymore. Except massive delays on flagship titles (The Authority, Wildcats).
And so it is, that I do make this declartion. To be fair, some of Wildstorm's satelite titles that aren't tied to the "Wildstorm Universe" will probably still be published for a long time to come. Ex Machina, Kurt Busiek's Astro City, the World of Warcraft comics, to name a few. But I feel very confident in saying that come 2010, you shouldn't be expecting to see any new issues of "Stormwatch" on the stands.

Unless a miracle happens.

I'm not holding my breath for one.