 According to court testimony, the character "Superman" made his first appearance in comic books on April 18, 1938. It happened to be in the first issue of a title called Action Comics, a new anthology book containing several short stories about action heroes with Superman featured on the cover and in the opening story. Also debuting in that issue were the characters of "Clark Kent", Superman's alter ego, and "Lois Lane", both reporters working for a big-city newspaper called the Daily Star. The Daily Planet, editor-in-chief Perry White, photographer Jimmy Olson, arch villain Lex Luthor, even the name of the planet "Krypton" would not appear until later, added to the Superman mythos as his popularly grew, expanding into his own featured title Superman a year later and then beyond the printed page into other entertainment media: the Fleisher Brothers' animated shorts, a radio series, the Kirk Alyn movie serials and the George Reeves television series. So, today officially marks Superman and Lois Lane's 75th birthdays. Happy Birthday, you two!
Click this infographic to see the rest of it at Newsarama
 Teaser poster Perhaps not coincidentally, this week also marked the debut of the third and final official trailer of Superman's latest appearance on the big screen. This new trailer for "Man of Steel" runs three minutes long and features several new scenes including the debut of cinema's newest take on the world of Krypton and the major villain of the film, General Zod as played by Michael Shannon. And like the trailers before it, it continues to reveal a more grounded, intimate tone to Superman's character. While we certainly get the point that there will be lots of action in the film, we find that the the man who would become Superman has been growing up as a man who fears what mankind will think of him, a boy who is told he isn't even from this planet and at first doesn't realize how he fits in to this world. All he wants is to be his father's son.
 As a result of that scene revealed in the new trailer, featuring Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, much discussion among comic book geeks around the Internet this week has been about the film's screenwriter David Goyer (Blade, the Dark Knight trilogy) and a scene from a comic book story first published in 2009. Superman: Secret Origin was written by Geoff Johns, a superstar writer who's success crafting stories with heart and action for characters such as Green Lantern, Flash and Superman among others has garnered him a huge fan following, and drawn by Gary Frank, whose model for illustrating Superman in this story was obviously inspired by an actor who inspired generations not only for his portrayal of the hero fighting for truth, justice and the American Way but for his courage in his personal life. The next year, the six issues of Superman: Secret Origin were collected and released as a trade paperback, and Goyer wrote the foreward for it. What fans of the new movie trailer are keying in on are these words from that foreward.
There is a heart breaking moment halfway through the first chapter in which young Clark is told the truth about his heritage. He races out into the night, sobbing, stumbling through the cornfields. Eventually, his foster father, Jonathan, finds him.
“I don’t want to be someone else,” says Clark. “I don’t want to be different. I want to be Clark Kent.”
[And here's the kicker...]
“I want to be your son”
Right there in that moment, Geoff contextualized Superman in a way that I’m not sure has ever really been done before. I had an ‘aha’ experience when I read that. For the first time I was able to grasp how lonely Clark must have been when he was growing up. And what a sacrifice Clark must continually make by being Superman.
He goes on to say: As I write this, I am midway through my first draft of a new Superman screenplay. It’s a task that has stymied many talented fimmakers in the years since Donner’s film. And for all I know, it will end up stymying me as well.
But I’ve got one advantage that the screenwriters who came before me didn’t have– and that’s access to all the wonderful Superman stories written by Geoff Johns– first and foremost being the SECRET ORIGIN issues reprinted in the very volume you are now holding.
And the following pages from the first issue of Secret Origin are also being circulated with acknowledgments to Goyer's quote. Beautiful, huh. I love sharing this because it's given me an ideal opportunity to share with folks who may not read them or who even regard comic books with little significance of the quality, artistry and heart that this medium, occasionally loftily referred to as " sequential art", is capable of. I think it's awesome and among the reasons why I continue to read comic books enthusiastically every week that new issues come out. It's not everyone's cup of joe, but it is mine. And, just like he successfully did writing the screenplays for the Dark Knight trilogy, it looks like with "Man of Steel", which opens June 16, Goyer found inspiration from some of the best comic books out there to read.
 George Lazenby (in plaid) Remember my last blog about hiking to the Hollywood Sign? No, well go read it!For the rest of you, I headed back to the same area yesterday. I had a ticket to watch On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the third film in the Alex Theatre's five-week event series "James Bond 007 50th Anniversary" which featured an appearance by that film's Bond, George Lazenby. The trail leading to The Batcave is on the way to the Alex Theatre in Glendale. And since my New Year's Eve mission this month was to "Visit the Batcave", I did just that! The Batcave I'm talking about is the actual shooting location used in the 1960's Batman TV series starting Adam West and Burt Ward. It's located in an area just east of Hollywood called Bronson Canyon. I discovered this area last month while researching ways to get to visit the Hollywood Sign, my March NYE mission.
Where I went
Now I've been a Batman fan for practically all my life, through both comic books and the 60's TV series. Watching it as a little boy, the infamous camp humor of the show was nowhere to be found. Instead, all I found were the brightest colors of the Dynamic Duo fighting against the forces of evil. Caped Crusaders to the rescue!! So when I discovered where the actual Batcave was, where they shot the scenes of the George Barris-designed Batmobile roaring out of a secluded cave that was supposedly outside Wayne Manor, I was more than thrilled to check the place out for myself.  So nearly a month after I was here, I was back again! Back to the Camp Hollywoodland sign in Bronson Canyon to trek up the other pathway leading away from the Hollywood Sign and onto the bygone lair of Batman's secret underground headquarters.
Viewing the trail on Google maps, it was certainly a much shorter hike than the hike up to the Hollywood Sign. But I was surprised by how much shorter. It's about a ten minute walk from where I parked. Just up a curvy hill and you're there.
Panoramic shot
 Me and The Batcave I'll be honest. The entire moment was a little anti-climactic, not the least of which was due in part to the fact that there were a lot of cars parked in the area! Apparently, I showed up on a day when a music video was gonna be shot here. Also, it looked different than how I remembered it. I'd been told by a friend who'd been there that it'd be different, but it's a lot more striking to actually be there and see the difference.
I asked a nearby security guard if it was okay to roam through the area, and he said it was fine since they hadn't started shooting yet. I walked to the cave, walked through the cave, found more set ups for filming, and was pleasantly surprised to find a beautifully framed view of the Hollywood Sign from the other side of the cave. There's a road that circles around that leads you back to the front of the cave and that was the end of my tour.
I brought with me a small die-cast model of the 60's Batmobile and a DVD movie titled "Return to the Batcave". I had hoped to showcase them in the foreground of a shot of the Batcave somehow. But there were no rocks or low hills in front of the cave that I could use as a stand to put them on, the ground here being very level and plain. Plus there was production people walking around and the winds today were really gusty, so the notion went away fairly quickly. But I was glad I got here in the afternoon, with the sun was behind me and flooding The Batcave area with a lot of natural light. I'm sure I got better shots at this time than if I'd decided to avoid freeway traffic and get here in the morning. So that's my short visit to The Batcave. All told, I was there for probably just over a half hour. Nothing like my hours-long trek to the Sign. It was a productive little trip. And with some Adam West Batman action figures coming out this summer that might inspire better ideas for some pictures, methinks I'll be back...TO THE BATCAVE!
Mission accomplished.
To all my clients, friends and family, thanks for a great 2012.
Representing many of the movies I went out to see this year are - going clockwise from the lower left - an Engineer from "Prometheus", Merida from "Brave", the Amazing Spider-Man, James Bond from "Skyfall", Tinker Bell from "Secret of the Wings", Captain America from "The Avengers", Kitniss from "The Hunger Games", Batman and Catwoman from "The Dark Knight Rises", Barnabas Collins from "Dark Shadows" and Ted. Thanks too to Normal Rockwell.
 Last month, I entered a contest sponsored by SuperHeroHype for a chance to win a ticket to the West Coast premiere screening of the latest DC Universe animated film, The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1. Last week, an email arrived in my in-box, from one "Alfred Pennyworth". it said: Warner Home Video, MTV Geek and The Paley Center for Media proudly present the World Premiere of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1, the highly anticipated next entry in the ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movies.
Congratulations! You have been approved for one ticket to attend the West Coast premiere on Monday, September 24 at the Paley Center for Media (465 North Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills).Sa-weet! Now to be candid, I wasn't really too hopped up on this movie. I'm a huge Batman fan, and this was an adaptation of a highly-praised graphic novel that I read as each of its four issues were first published. It's influenced Batman stories written since its 1986 debut and Batman films from Batman in 1989 to this past summer's The Dark Knight Rises.
But the trailer (at right), while including a lot of images inspired by the novel, didn't excite me for some reason. In hindsight, I was probably that fact it was just a quick-cut style of trailer, lacking a narrative and thus boring me. Geez, I've gotten really picky in my old age. :p But, free ticket? Sure, I'll go watch it! In fact, the afternoon of the screening, I popped in my Blu-ray of a previous DCU Animated Movie to warm me up. I watched Batman: Year One. It's another movie based on another Frank Miller-written classic from 1986. I wasn't very pleased with Benjamin MacKenzie's work as the voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman. I understand the character is lost, trying to find direction in his life. But it sounded too hollow, too dispassionate for me. That was the only fault I had with it. | |  I've never been to the Paley Center, but I have seen Q&A panels that have been held there for the TV shows Glee and Castle. I assumed it would be in the same screening room. My email from "Alfred" said to arrive no later than 5:45 p.m. I got there by 5:30 p.m. There was a line outside, but I soon learned a good portion of the line included Media who were allowed in twenty minutes before us. We finally got in after 6:00 p.m. Off to the side was a glass-walled room where we could see all of the Media grouped, assuming waiting for their individual chances to interview the evening's VIPs: voice actors Peter Weller (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Ariel Winter (Robin/Carrie), and Peter Selby (Commissioner Gordon), director Jay Oliva, writer Bob Goodman, voice casting director Andrea Romano, and producer Bruce Timm.
 I left briefly to move my car from one parking lot to the one across the street. The first structure I found charged nothing for the first two hours and then $3.00 each 1/2 hour afterwards. But both lots I found offered a flat rate of $5 if you enter after 6p. Since the one across the street closed at midnight, not 9pm like the first, it was well worth the car re-parking drama. (And the event didn't end until 9:45p!) I entered the screening room and was surprised at how small it was. Looked so much larger in the Q&As I'd previously seen. It had about 120 seats. The two front rows were reserved as were much of the back four rows. Estimating there were only about 40 or 50 of us in line out, I realized just how lucky I was when I won my free ticket! There was one brief announcement just after 7pm when the screening was scheduled to start to let us know that they were just finishing up with the Media portion and would begin running the movie soon. A marketing rep from Warner Bros. finally greeted us and acknowledged some folks from the Paley Center before the screening started. The lights were lowered and a short promo for the Paley Center played as the panel VIPs snuck in to take their seats in the front rows. The movie was amazingly great! The pacing, tone, voice casting, sound design, musical underscore and animation were all perfect! And I laughed out loud with the rest of the audience a lot through the movie. Most times they were with the movie. But there were a few, rare moments when the details in the original novel didn't play as well in a movie. The big, hulking Batman running effortless across a wire between buildings being one of those scenes. But the fight scenes were bone-crushing and well choreographed. There's a lot of firepower in the story, Batman battling a mob army armed with all sorts of military weaponry - automatic machine guns, grenades, bazookas - and seeing it acted and sounded out was incredible! And there was a moment when I teared up. I grew up watching Batman and Robin and reading about their adventures together. When Batman is introduced to his new Robin after a dicey battle that went wrong, I don't deny I got really choked up!
 As the credits rolled at the end, the sound was dialed down, the curtains were drawn closed and the lights came up. It was at this time that the VIPs were introduced as they took their seats at the front of the screening room for the panel discussion. And we were all allowed to take pictures, just without using any flash. Some of the things revealed: • The lines in the second scene between Peter Weller and David Selby were taken about a month apart. But viewing the film, you'd never have guessed that. • I did not know Peter Weller was a professor. He has a Masters in Renaissance Art and considers comic books an American art form. He said he grew up reading Batman comic books and was happy that he got the chance to add to Bob Kane's legacy. • I did not know that David Selby was in the original Dark Shadows series. • I did not know that Ariel Winter is some famous sitcom star. But since I don't watch Modern Family and missed watching the Emmys over the weekend, I can be forgiven. :) I also thought she was darn cute, but then later found out she's 14. • Peter Weller praised the film score and complimented the composer personally when he was told that the composer, Christopher Drake, was in the audience. He told us the music was inspired by the types of scores that came out when The Dark Knight Returns was first published in the late 80's. So it was done analog, including having to locate old, out-dated synthesizers to use on the recordings. • Bruce Timm told us the voice actor cast to play the Son of the Batman, Yuri Lowenthal, brought him a photo of himself to show to Timm. It was from 1986 of Lowenthal dressed up for Halloween as a Son of the Batman, straight from the graphic novel. • Of the voice cast there, Peter Weller was the most vocal and enthusiastic about how great the film was. • One surprise visual gag in the movie is discovering a bookshelf in a shop with familiar DC Comics titles for sale on it. Director Oliva was asked about that and he said it was his idea, because that's how he remembered comic books displayed when he started reading them. He emailed his staff for suggestions of DC titles to show there from the late 1980's, and DC came back to him with clearances on the ones he could use. • The cast have already done their recordings for The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2. • Bruce Timm and the DC Marketing guy who hosted the panel strongly hinted that a release combining Parts 1 and 2 together is in motion. They said to watch for their 2013-2014 release slate to be announced during the New York Comic Con in October. • Peter Weller is friends with Frank Miller. Asked for what he thought Miller would say about the movie, Weller basically said Miller would just be pleased we were talking about him. • Bruce Timm said it wasn't very easy to come up with the final character design style for this movie. Studying the original graphic novel, they found that Miller had drawn Batman differently throughout the whole novel. But they did notice that when in combat, Batman was drawn leaner than when he's standing still and can made to appear like a giant of a man. We were told that anyone asking good questions would received a gift. Damn if I didn't raise my hand every time. But I just didn't get picked. Looked like winning questioners received either an autographed The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 poster or an autographed Blu-ray of the movie. Here are the rest of my photos from the evening. Can't wait for "early 2013" to come around to see Part 2.
 New poster debuts at Con At the last minute, I got the chance to attend Comic-Con in San Diego for my fifth straight year and probably my tenth visit overall. With rehearsals for Fiddler on the Roof every other night of the Con, Friday the 13th was my day for a day trip to Geekdom's Holy Mecca. And within three hours of being inside the Exhibit Hall, something happened that had never happened before. I was tired of it! For the first time that I've ever gone, the inherent amount of sensory overload that is Comic-Con really got to me. And not just me, but when I met up with friends there that morning, all of us seasoned vets of the Con, we all agreed this time it was a tiresome experience. But would we never go if given the opportunity to go? Of course not! We'd always go. You can't not go to Comic-Con if you have a pass. That's just silly.
Video of the Long Line of Hall H!
I also took video while at the Con. Every year, both the media and the fans talk a lot about Hall H and especially about the long line you have to wait in to get into Hall H. Hall H is the largest hall at the San Diego Convention Center and it's where all of the major studios have made their big movie and television presentations complete with cast and crew in attendence. Everyone from Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott and Joss Whedon to Harrison Ford, Robert Downey, Jr. and Charlize Theron to the casts of The Big Bang Theory, the new Star Trek film, Buffy and Firefly have shown up to meet and greet with the fans while talking up their new big films or TV shows.
With all that talent and the opportunity to ask them questions one-on-one, fans are willing to get in line very early in the morning for a chance to be let in and sit in one of those 6,500 seats inside Hall H. And because of the policy that folks can sit all day long if they desire without fear of being asked to leave at the end of each presentation, people will get in line at 3am just to see The Big Bang Theory cast that's scheduled for, say, 3:30pm. With that strategy to compete with, the ritual of getting and waiting in line for Hall H has become legend.
| For years, rather than just describe the line I've witnessed, I've always wanted to share with friends the scale of just how long the line is with video. This video to the left is my first attempt to do that. But even so after you watch it, it still only captures part of the line. There was more of the line that continued behind the Convention Center that I didn't even film! | |
 The Amazing Spider-ManMidnight July 2, 2012 IMAX 3D @ Rave Motion Pictures 18 + IMAX @ The Promenade @ Howard Hughes Center I'll give this 3 1/2 out of 4 web shooters. I might've given it only 3 except the teenage girl sitting next to me cried at all the right parts that a teenage girl's supposed to cry. So 1/2 point for that! The writing was wonderful, Garfield and Stone were GREAT as Peter and Gwen, and I especially like the tone of the first half of the movie. I even appreciating some of the risks and surprises they put in the story to keep us jaded and annoying comic book fans surprised. But I think The Dark Knight Rises in two weeks will be outstanding. And for the love of film scores, Mr. Horner, stop re-using your Star Trek II music in your new scores!!!! Those ten seconds pulled me right out of the film.
 TedFourth of July, 2012 Regal Marina del Rey 6 This movie went to so many wrong places! The kind that make you - or at least me - go, "I want to laugh, but is it okay to laugh; I don't know if other people in the theatre will be offended?" Every opportunity to make some racial, sexual, religious or socially stereotypical remark was not missed, which sometimes made several scenes run a beat or two too long. But I was entertained. And is Seth MacFarlane a geek or what?! I mean that seriously because I don't watch Family Guy regularly and the 1980 movie Flash Gordon is a major plot device in this film, to the point of re-creating scenes and using the score from that movie to move this story forward. Also loved the original score for Ted by Walter Murphy, of cool, swinging jazz like on MacFarlane's CD. Anyway, for a matinee price, it was good.
 Flash Gordon
July 5, 2012
@ home on DVD
I felt compelled to revisit this film after seeing it referenced throughout Ted. Loved it as a kid, but it hasn't aged well. On this viewing tho' I finally noticed just how game the British actors were playing their parts. I re-watched the interview with Lorenzo Semple Jr. too that's included on the DVD. He falls just short of saying people who take comic book characters seriously are stupid. I wonder what he thinks about the comic book films that've come out today.
 Batman (1989)
July 5, 2012
@ home on Blu-ray Disc
Starting my look back at selected Batman films before I see The Dark Knight Rises, I begin with Tim Burton and Michael Keaton's Batman. Amazing as ever on Blu-ray, this film will never fail to entertain me. Nostalgically, it reminds me of how grateful I was to finally see a successful tonal shift from camp to dark in the depiction of my absolute favorite comic book character. Then, it has Jack Nicholson brilliantly playing the life out of The Joker! I remember there were those who felt Cesar Romero had a better laugh. Pshaw! Jack's Joker hooked you in from the start and then kept you intrigued and amazed with the character throughout the rest of the film. This Batman wasn't the perfect Batman (that one arrived sixteen years later), but Burton and Keaton's take on Bruce and Batman fit fine in the world Burton created for The Batman, at a time when there were no other successful superhero movies but one, Superman: The Movie, and that had come out eleven years earlier at the time. Plus, the sentiment in '89 was that for all that could've gone wrong with Batman, the re-introduction of this dark creature of the night was a seminal moment for the cinematic Batman. On top of that, for better or worse, Tim Burton made it okay for Hollywood to tweak classic superhero costumes. That's a pretty big deal imo too (even tho' I wasn't 100% happy with the costume change at the time).
 The Flash (1990)
July 6, 2012
@ home on DVD
After watching Tim Burton's Batman, I followed it up with the pilot episode of The Flash which came out a year after the movie. Ugh, I was always able to look past the awkwardness of the pilot before, but seeing it immediately after the brilliance of Batman was a mistake.
 I discovered a wonderful place yesterday: the audio/visual section of the Katy Geissert Civic Center Library! :p While meandering around the lower level, I found the Documentaries and Special Interests section where there were many titles I'd never imagined existed, like Star Wars vs. Star Trek: The Rivalry Continues and Best of Filipino Food Vol. 1. I checked out Pioneers of Television Season 2 and watched the first of four episodes on it. Science Fiction covered primarily the 60's, interweaving the origins of Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, Lost in Space and Time Tunnel through new and archival interviews with the series' casts, some of whom guest-starred in popular episodes of the other shows. I was surprised how much time they spent delving into the creators of the shows, mainly on Gene Roddenberry and Irwin Allen with a little on Rod Serling, as well as material on Shatner and Nimoy's early acting days. There were a few things I learned from it (As a Trek and TZ fan, so much of it I'd already known), but the new interviews (the DVD was released in 2011) and several stills that I'd never seen before I enjoyed a lot. The rest of the 50-minute episodes are Crime Drama, Local Kids' TV and Westerns. I'm looking forward to seeing and enjoying them too before I have to return this disc back to the library next week!
I’m a DC Comics fanboy.
 What that means is that when it comes to choosing a favorite comic book, it’ll be one published by DC Comics. Batman has been my favorite comic book superhero for ever, so that explains it. DC Comics is one of the two biggest publishers of mainstream comic books in the US, the other being Marvel. The tone of Marvel superheroes is generally described as edgier and more relatable to readers than the heroes published by DC, whose characters’ lives tend to have less angst and team up with that “overgrown Boy Scout” Superman. Marvel publishes Spider-Man (always with the hyphen), Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, X-Men and the Avengers. They’re the ones doing awesome box office lately while DC Comics, who in the last few years has turned out the films Jonah Hex, Catwoman, Superman Returns, and Green Lantern, has decidedly not. But DC (and Warner Bros. which owns DC) can claim bragging rights for having the third best opening weekend grossing film, The Dark Knight, which could even be surpassed this summer by its own sequel, The Dark Knight Rises.
But I digress. This blog isn’t about DC or Marvel’s movies. It’s about DC’s comic books, specifically the ones they published in the last seven months.
Back at the end of August and the month of September, DC Comics rebooted its entire line of comic books. DC called it The New 52, referring to the 52 titles they were publishing. Numbering of all their continuing titles were reset to No. 1. For example, August 2011’s issue of Batman #713 became the last issue of the title that ran continuously since 1940 and in September 2011, Batman #1 was released. Also, the universe of DC’s stories was chronologically reset so that stories were told in a world where heroes were introduced just five years previously in the current time. For some characters, like Superman, Batman and Green Lantern, many popular storylines told over DC Comics’ 77-year history still happened somehow somewhere in that five year timespan. For other characters, like Cyborg, Harley Quinn and even the Justice League, their origins were overhauled and rebooted completely. And virtually every hero received a costume makeover. DC Comics was trying to reinvigorate their brand and also revive their flagging publishing industry that now exists in a world of Kindles and Nooks. As a creative type, I was intrigued with the whole notion while at the same time cynical of the marketing hype. Would it be successful? Would the changes really enhance the legacy or be a failed gimmick in Batman’s history? As a DC fanboy, I had to give it a shot. That September, I chose 16 of the 52 books to follow: Justice League, Action Comics (featuring Superman), Batman, All-Star Western (featuring Jonah Hex), Wonder Woman, The Flash, Superman, Birds of Prey (featuring an all-women super team including Black Canary), Batgirl, Batwoman, Justice League International, Men of War, Aquaman, Justice League Dark, Voodoo, and I, Vampire. Some of these, like Batman, Batwoman, Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman, I chose because I was already a regular reader. Others, like All-Star Western and Justice League Dark, I chose because the descriptions of their stories intrigued me. And others, like I, Vampire and Men of War, I chose just to try something out of my norm. These days, stories are mostly told in arcs that run from two to seven issues, so my plan was to try these first story arcs out and decide which titles to continue reading and which to give up on. This month, the seventh issue for all DC titles were released. And I was still buying 9 of the original 16: Justice League, Action Comics, Batman, All-Star Western, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Superman, Batgirl, and Batwoman. Except for Justice League and Superman, I’m really happy with the stories told in these titles. Are they better than they were before the reboot? In most cases, yes! Below I share my thoughts about all 16 DC titles, presented in relative order of least favorite to most favorite. If you’re into comics, you’ll be interested. If you’re not, I do hope this makes them interesting! STOPPED BUYING
Voodoo – This is a character DC inherited when it bought Wildstorm Comics. It’s a character I wasn’t familiar with. And I bought the first issue because, frankly, the sexy heroine was drawn really well and I love good girl art. I gave up on it after Issue 2; the story didn’t grab my interest at all.
Justice League International – JLI was a popular satellite team of the Justice League back in the 80s and 90’s. They were brought back in the last few years in a mini-series. I was reading the Booster Gold title before it was cancelled with the debut of The New 52, so I bought this because Booster was gonna be the team’s leader and I’m a fan of Aaron Lopresti’s art. Brought together as a government-affiliated super team, the story in the first six issues didn’t measure up for me.
Men of War – I don’t usually buy war comics so I gave this a try for that reason, to try something new. The first issue I really liked. But after three issues, for a guy who played with Mego Superheroes rather than G.I. Joes as a kid, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
I, Vampire – I really enjoyed reading this title and the artwork in it. But reading issue 2 came at a time when I felt I had to make some financial cutting and this one became a victim. And seeing Twilight everywhere on the ‘net probably didn’t help.
Aquaman – Writer Geoff Johns and artist Ivan Reis try to bring the same reboot success they enjoyed with Green Lantern’s rebirth to Aquaman. I liked the adventure and artwork the first four issues delivered. But this Aquaman’s loftiness didn’t hook me like daredevil pilot Hal Jordan’s swagger did. I might pick this up again later tho’ or as a trade paperback.
Justice League Dark – I loved this concept of a super team collecting heroes who delve in magic. And the artwork by Mikel Janin is just right. I enjoyed the first story arc in issues 1-6, telling how the team is formed yet not revealing all the answers. I will probably continue reading more JLD, but I can wait for the collected trade paperback to do that.
Birds of Prey – I’ve been reading BoP for years, since the original one-shots that introduced a team up of Black Canary with Oracle (aka the former Batgirl Barbara Gordon now operating as a secret information broker to the superhero community). So picking up the new No. 1 was a no-brainer. Artist Jesus Saiz really knows how to draw women in a minimalist fashion that I really envy. But I gave up on BoP after the sixth issue mainly not because this is a bad title but because I missed the old Barbara Gordon-Black Canary dynamic.
STILL BUYING
Superman – Sorry, but what a mess. First, Superman’s new costume, sans the red trunks and now with a military Nehru collar added, hasn’t lent itself to appearing all that appealing to me when drawn. I think the artists are still trying to figure out how best to depict this armored look on a man of steel. (For the record, Jim Lee seems to do the best job, which makes sense since he designed it.) And second, this initial story just got too wordy to follow and enjoy. DC ended up replacing writer-artist George Perez with Dan Jurgens, but after reading his issue 7, it hasn’t gotten better for me. It’s written for a younger audience and I’m old. I may continue for a few more issues to complete this next arc and then be done with it.
Justice League – The artwork by Jim Lee is amazing. But the first story arc, telling how the heroes were brought together five years ago, is busy with action for great action spreads but seems to breeze through telling the story points too fast, especially in the finale. Another title that I think seems to be written for younger audiences. But I will stick with it for another four or five issues because they’ve just added a back-up feature that will tell the origin of DC’s reboot of the hero formerly known as Captain Marvel, Shazam! And being written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Gary Frank, I’m curious.
Batgirl – As I mentioned earlier, Barbara Gordon was a hero known as Batgirl who became a hero known as Oracle. This was after she was paralyzed by a shot to the spine she received from The Joker. Now she’s back to being Batgirl, where her disability was cured in the past two years and she’s returned to her Batgirl costume fighting crime again. Writer Gail Simone, who is one of my favorite comic book writers, continues to use Barbara’s memories of being a parapalegic in her storytelling. It might be a bit of kowtowing to old school fans of the wheelchair-bound Oracle, but I’m enjoying the stories.
Action Comics – Telling the introduction of Superman to Metropolis five years ago, I’m not really sure I’m as enthused about this title as I should be, but the artwork by Rags Morales is fantastic and the writing by Grant Morrison is miles better than the Superman title (and more appealing than his work on Batman earlier).
All-Star Western featuring Jonah Hex – Not a regular western comics reader, I bought the first issue because Jonah Hex was going to be in 1880’s Gotham City. That Batman reference hooked me in and the stories and artwork by Moritat keep me hooked every month.
Batwoman – I’ve been reading Batwoman stories since this version of Batwoman (there’ve been two now) was introduced some years ago. A former police officer, this character has a chip on her shoulder. But perhaps the biggest reason why I’ll continue to buy this title is the artwork and especially the panel layout design by J.H. Williams III. He’s really all the reason I need to continue buying this book.
THE BEST OF THE BEST | The Flash – This Flash is younger and hipper than the past version of the Flash. But again, the art on this book by co-writer Francis Manapul has been outstanding. He, with co-writer Brian Buccellato, have delivered some fun action with new interpretations of his super-speed powers that could lead to tragic consequences. Cool! I can’t stop buying this title.
| Wonder Woman – I was a big Xena fan when it was on TV. So I’ve always wanted Wonder Woman to enjoy that kind of success in comics and TV and film. I think this reinterpretation of Wonder Woman’s origin, who’s now not just a character formed from clay but revealed to be a true demigod, makes complete sense. Also, as drawn in a simplistic but iconic style by Cliff Chiang, Wonder Woman is less cheesecake poses, which I'm a big fan of but admitedly can be an unnecessary distraction, with more focus on her as the hero. Love it!
| Batman – I am so relieved and excited to call Batman the best thing I’m reading from DC today. He’s my Number 1 hero, and what writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo are doing in the first seven issues is building an incredible foundation on Batman’s history and legacy that I cannot wait to keep reading about. Hint about the latest revelation: Robin was initially bred to be a bad guy! And how this storyline is set up in the first seven issues makes beautiful, poetic sense. Could they have done this before the New 52? Yes, definitely. But any new readers gained from The New 52 publicity push jumped on at an ideal starting point.
|
|
RSS Feed