Hey Kids! Comics!

    I grew up with comics. From the time I was about three or four I was exposed to the graphical storytelling art form. It all started off with my older sister’s DC Comics collection. She had several comics but I remember her Superman and Justice League comics especially (I think she also had some Wonder Woman issues too).
    It was too long ago and I don’t remember any specifics of the comics but I know Superman and Jimmy Olson had some adventures together. I also remember the various Green Lanterns and Flashes from the old Crisis crossovers.
    Next up was Green Lantern. I had a few issues of that at a point where Hal Jordan quit the Green Lantern Corp for a bit and John Stewart took his place (and also quickly revealed his secret identity to the world). Around the same time, I also had a few issues of ROM: Space Knight. I remember an issue of ROM where he was changed back into a human and also his girlfriend took over his partner knight’s (Starshine) body.
    I also had a few scant issues of the old Marvel Star Wars comic. It was okay but even as a kid I felt it sometimes strayed too much from what made the movies so great.




    I got more heavily into comics with G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero. I loved the toys at the time and started buying the comic at issue #50. I enjoyed the stories as well as the art. Shortly after, I also started buying Transformers as well (also toys I collected at the time). G.I.JOE was a gateway drug that got me heavier into other comics such as Captain America (during Mark Gruenwald’s long run) as well as X-Factor (Simonson run) then later comics such as the Avengers, X-Men and several others.
    I also got into Batman for a while around the time Tim Burton’s movie came out (I actually preferred the comics interpretation more). At some point I took a long break then came back years later, picking up with Batman again and a few others.
    Eventually, all the gimmicks got on my nerves and I slowly dropped away from comics entirely. I’ve gone back every so often time and again over the years but it seems like newer comics just don’t have that same spark the older ones did.
    I like old school comics best. One and done stories. Or ones that are multi-part stories that actually entertain you with a good story. Too many modern ones do nothing to entertain you or change anything. I read a six issue Justice League origin (new 52 one) where barely anything happened! For $5 an issue I expect better.
    There’s also too many events and other dumb gimmicks (remember the foil and holo covers of the 1990s? Or the trading cards?) Just tell me a good story! Why is that so hard now? Are the writers incompetent or do the companies not permit them to do so, focusing instead on immediate cash grabs instead? Either way, it’s just not the same.
    The lack of quality in the comics from the Big Two are a part of why I think the MCU movies are so popular. They’re generally more concise. One and done (while being part of a bigger story arc with the Infinity Stones. But that doesn’t usually overwhelm the individual movies). Sadly, as time goes on, I think the big over-arcing stories might eventually ruin the MCU and DCEU as well. It’s inevitable somebody somewhere will think they’re a storytelling genius and attempt some ill-advised mega story that loses the audience in the process.
    Anyway, just give me a good story and I’ll be happy.

DKA

Continuity is Everything/Nothing.

    Once upon a time there was the DC Universe...
    And it was good.
    But after decades of history it became harder and harder for the writers to reconcile the facts that characters like Superman and Batman had been created in the late thirties and were still young and vibrant in the seventies. Additionally, some characters had more then one version–there was two different Green Lanterns and Flashes with different personalities and origins.
    In order to keep using everyone, they hit upon the idea of using parallel worlds. The modern heroes lived on Earth-1 while the older versions, such as Jay Garrick and Alan Scott lived on another world that was similar to our own called Earth-2.
    That sufficed for a time. And as the comics continued, gradually other worlds were introduced–Earth-3, where everyone was evil instead of good. Earth-S, Earth-X, Earth-Prime and so on. After a while, it got confusing to keep it all straight.
    The solution? Destroy everything and reboot the DC canon as one singular Universe with one definitive version of each hero, villain, etc.
    And so, in 1985, Marv Wolfman set about to do just that with the maxi-series, Crisis on Infinite Earths. After twelve issues, everything was rebooted and the stage was set. But, due to publishing schedules and lack of coordination among the writers and editors, every comic did not immediately reboot at issue #1 and start anew.
    This eventually caused problems. Some characters (Psycho Pirate, Animal Man) could remember the original continuity while most couldn’t. Some characters origins were botched up while other errors slipped in–like Superboy’s contribution to the Legion of Super Heroes (despite not supposed to having existed in the new continuity). Over time, the errors piled up and fans got annoyed.
    This called for a fix. Enter 1994's Zero Hour: Crisis in Time. This new event would fix everything! Except it didn’t. Later on, we had Hyper Time (parallel realities/timelines), Infinite Crisis and also Final Crisis.
    At one point, Dan Didio, the DC Co-Publisher explained that his company was going to stop fixating on continuity and just try to tell good stories. An excellent choice. Indeed, some characters have had multiple origin stories since the original Crisis. Superman has had several as has Batman.
    Continuity is important in storytelling. In fact, it’s essential. Completely ignoring it leads to utter chaos. And yet, sometimes it does get overemphasized. In DC Comics case, there were too many cooks in the kitchen. They needed to pick an origin story after the original Crisis and just get on with it.
    If they’d done as Marv Wolfman intended and done a coordinated reboot of everything all at once the following mess could’ve been easily avoided. Alas, that was not the case and readers had to suffer the consequences for decades afterward.     
    Ultimately, it’s the stories that matter not the minutia. Yes, Superman is an alien orphan from another world. So what? Where do you go with that? What will Bruce Wayne do once he dons that Bat costume? What will Barry Allen or Diana of Themyscira do when faced with wielding incredible power?
    People complain about the storytelling in comics today–and with good reason. We want tales of heroism and villainy. Of sacrifice. Of loss. Of triumph. Nobody ultimately cares how you get there or which Green Lantern you use as long as they get that emotional and intellectual fix.

    Perhaps dropping the monthly comic issue scheme all together and focusing exclusively on telling stand-alone stories would ultimately work better. Yes, the monthly floppies are a long-standing tradition but maybe it's time to move to a new model in the interests of telling better stories?
    Forget about continuity fixing events. Forget about mega-crossovers that ultimately make no difference. Stop searching for schemes to sell us monthly comics and increase your short term profits. Just tell us a good story and we’ll be there...

DKA

Playing Favorites...

Just for the heck of it I thought I'd list my favorite comic book movies of all time (hey, everyone else does it! :) The films here are the best of the best, in my opinion, regardless of if they're superhero flicks or something else in the genre.

Here they are now, in no particular order...



Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

The original live action interpretation of the popular indie comic. This film borrowed heavily from the early comics to great success. It was my introduction to the TMNT and I've had a fondness for the concept ever since. The subsequent efforts missed the mark and even the more recent Michael Bay produced films just aren't as special.

Superman: The Movie (1978) and Superman II (1980)

I consider Superman: The Movie to be the granddaddy of them all. Sure, there were a few superhero movies before that but this was the first to go big budget in its era and transcend the genre. Superman showed us studios could take men in capes seriously from a budgetary and storytelling perspective.  Superman 2 was half done by Richard Donner as well before he was fired by the film's producers and replaced with Richard Lester. Regardless, his efforts shine through in the sequel as well.



Transformers: The Movie (1986)

Technically, Transformers was a toy line first but the comic dates back to 1984, well before the first big screen effort. Transformers: The Movie is what got me seriously into Transformers. It raised the stakes for the characters, killing several off and introducing new ones. The animation was top notch in its day and the music was both great and fun.



Spiderman 2 (2004)

Sam Raimi's Spiderman film was very good. It was an excellent proof of concept but ended without Mary Jane discovering Peter's secret and their love going unfulfilled. Spiderman 2 changed all of that while introducing us to Alfred Molina's excellent Otto Octavius. All of Raimi's Spiderman films are simultaneously realistic and fantastic. Spiderman 2 is the best of the series and hits all the right marks.













Captain America (2011) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

What impressed me about Captain America was how they got the character totally right. Chris Evans nailed the portrayal of the character and the story was very good. Haley Atwell was both gorgeous and capable as Agent Carter, a great counterpoint to the idealistic boy from the Bronx who just wanted to make a difference.

The first film worked great as a period piece but could the sequel match it? Fortunately, yes. The Winter Soldier is an action movie and a spy film at the same time. A juxtaposition of Steve Roger's classic American morals versus the modern cynicism that has seemingly permeated our society. Cap's unwillingness to give up on his friend, despite his programmed killer tendencies, is touching and powerful. The film also expands upon the Black Widow in meaningful ways, proving she's a complex character and not just another pretty face.



Iron Man 3 (2013)

People loved the first Iron Man film. The second? Not so much... the third film, written and directed by Shane Black, proved polarizing. Many loved it however some did not (mostly because of the whole Mandarin plotline). I've seen it a few times now and the writing is excellent. Tony Stark has to deal with post traumatic stress, without his armor and out on his own while dealing with an incredible new enemy. This film, while relying on technological enemies, avoided the cliche of the second film's need to have more Iron Man-like villains. In Killian we also get an intriguing antagonist. He's out to cause chaos but we wonder if things could've gone another way if Tony had helped him initially (contrast this with IM2's largely forgettable foe). Tony is still whip-smart and fun despite his predicament and the story is interesting.


X2: X-Men United (2003)


Pretty much every X-Men movie is "Wolverine and friends" but this film got very close to the best of the X-titles Marvel has done (while still spotlighting Logan). The film is involving and we get to see Magneto (sort-of) on the good guys side. Magneto is a complex grey character and I appreciated this nod to that aspect of him. He's a man who thinks he's doing what's best for his people as opposed to a cartoony super villain (sadly, X3 got this really wrong, among other problems).


X-Men: Days of Futures Past (2014)

This film was Bryan Singer's triumphant return to the X-series. And it works very well...again, spotlighting Wolverine but it works well in the context of the story. Both generations of actors come together to tell a past-future tale with the fate of mutant and humankind alike in the balance. Despite Wolverine's presence this is more a tale of Charles, Magneto and Raven with Mystique coming to terms with her own conflicted loyalties. And Quicksilver was awesome too! (Sadly, Apocalypse just wasn't as good by comparison).

The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005, 2008, 2012)

Batman Begins started this trilogy and is a solid film, introducing a Batman set in a much more realistic world. Bruce Wayne needs justice from the world and goes to extraordinary lengths to attain it. The second movie introduced us to Heath Ledger's amazing Joker and the third film wrapped up the storyline with Bane and Catwoman. All three films are long and packed with story. A lesser filmmaker might have not been able to make it work but Christopher Nolan does an amazing job of each film. The movies are dark in tone but each have an aura of hope. In the end, Gotham can be saved and Bruce Wayne will find his peace and his vindication.

The Rocketeer (1991)

This movie came out at a time when cgi was barely even in its infancy but they managed to pull off some amazing special effects. It's also set during the 1930s and is an entertaining period piece. In many ways, it's old fashioned in its approach (compared to today's films) but it's well done with a good story and characters.


Batman (1989)

It's a film of its era, but the Tim Burton film is an interesting and entertaining pulp superhero film. My only real complaint is that Batman is more of a killer then he should be. Despite this, it works very well overall. Nicholson's Joker is unique, scary and entertaining all at the same time. I also love both Danny Elfman's instrumental score (one of the best superhero ones. Period) and also Prince's music. 

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

It's a movie about a lot of characters I'm not that familiar with and despite it all works better then it should. The comedy really sells this film. We like the characters and their journey as they slowly become a team. Also, some of the visuals are amazing (like the bazaar world they go to inside the dead Celestial's head). Also, 99% of the film is not about Earth, which is a welcome change.

The Crow (1994)

When it was released, this film got a lot of press due to Brandon Lee's tragic death during the filming. This was the first time I'd ever heard of the Director, Alex Proyas. This is a simple revenge story with a supernatural twist. But Proyas' vision of this dark, ethereal world is fascinating and really sells the story. It's a fairy tale and a horror story, combined with an action movie.



Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)


My initial reaction to this movie was that it was unlike anything I'd ever seen. Watching it again several times, I can see the clear video game influences here. This movie is full of great characterization and some truly entertaining fights. It's a unique entity in its own right and deserves to be seen!

Steel and Sugar

            There are three characters in DC Comics who are considered the seminal ones over all others. One is Superman, one is Batman and the other, Wonder Woman. Together, they are often referred to as “The Trinity”. Batman is hands down the most popular of the trio. Superman is a close second and then Wonder Woman is somewhere in third place.

            Of course taking these three characters above all the others in the DCU and casting off the rest is an insult to gems such as Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, Hawkman and so on. While some are difficult to keep up a regular series (Hawkman comes to mind) it implies an undeserved second tier status.
            Batman’s popularity is obvious. He’s just a man with a burning vendetta–he seeks justice above else and will do anything to see it done. Superman is a being of great powers who dedicates himself to protect the lesser human among whom he dwells. He is a source of inspiration by his very existence, a reminder mankind can rise to bigger and better things.
            And then there’s Wonder Woman.
            What exactly the most popular female character at DC stands for exactly has always been a subject of debate. The great champion of the Amazons from the isle of Themyscira, the answer should be obvious. Princess Diana is a role model to women everywhere, a character who demonstrates aptly that a woman can stand to any challenge a man can and meet it head on.
            Yet, the creator of Wonder Woman (William Moulton Marston) often depicted the character in those early years, subdued by her own Lasso of Truth, strapped helplessly to a phallic image, such as a surging missile as it rocketed through the skies. Early Justice Society stories also portrayed her in the role of the Society’s secretary. But that was then, right?
            Wonder Woman enjoyed a run of popularity in the 1970s as her TV show aired and brought her national attention. Even though the show only lasted two seasons, feminists immediately embraced the character as an icon of strength and female independence.
            Wonder Woman has been portrayed as a strong woman, with great strength, ferocity, beauty, grace and compassion. But she’s also been contradictorily made into everybody’s girlfriend at the same time. The Justice League cartoons had her with an interest in Batman and stories such as Kingdom Come and the more recent New 52 stories have had her as Superman’s lover.
            Batman is Batman, first and foremost. He’s not defined by his relationship to Catwoman, Talia Al’Ghul or whoever. He is Batman. And sometimes he has a love interest. Contrast this against Wonder Woman, who has to be Superman’s girlfriend first and a character second. This is not to say she can’t have a love interest but why must it seem to be such an integral point to making her character interesting to modern readers? There’s now a Superman/Wonder Woman comic series–but no one make such accommodations for Batman/Catwoman, for example. Why was Wonder Woman okay as a character on her own when George Perez reinvented her in the 80s or John Byrne wrote her comic later--but not now?
            Sadly, the answer would seem obvious. The current crop of comic writers is bereft of good ideas. Someone doubtlessly put as much thought into the matter as “hey! Superman’s really strong and Wonder Woman’s really strong too. We should make them boyfriend/girlfriend! That would be so cool!”

            Female characters can be interesting on their own without being someone’s damsel in distress or an accessory for accessory’s sake. Look at Batgirl (any iteration), the Huntress, Ms. Marvel, Spider Woman, She Hulk... it’s all in the writing. Someone with half a brain and a granule of talent is able to carve personality and drama out of a female character. It’s the lazy hacks with very little understanding of what makes a character interesting who manage to fail time and again, resorting to making the girl a trophy for the boy character. It’s the same mentality that automatically equates “gritty” with “dramatic”.
            Given the large number of female comic readers and geeks out there one would assume the comic companies would try a bit harder to pander to them, making consistently interesting female characters, regardless of the characters various slant on the world (villain, hero, saint, sinner, etc).
            Let’s be honest too–a strong, intelligent female character is just as appealing to a male reader as to a female one. It’s their journey ultimately not their gender that is interesting. (Likewise, if the female character is weak willed and vacuous they can still be made interesting–in the right hands).
            It seems DC Editorial should take a good long hard look at itself and realize the terrible mistake it’s making by allowing Wonder Woman to be shuffled off to be somebody’s girlfriend instead of allowing her to stand on her own. It seems like they don’t understand what to do with her when given her popularity, she should be a marquee character with several books out–like Batman and Superman. Also, get a movie or TV script that works and get it out there! Why waste such a great marketing opportunity for the character.
            After all, if DC won’t take the character seriously why should anyone else?

DKA