Forever Annoying

So, this was the second week of the villains month at DC called "Forever Evil."
As far as I can tell, so far it's Forever Boring.

 Last week's "Forever Evil #1" by Johns and Finch was ok. It was pretty to look at, and the Dick Grayson reveal was interesting, but it was otherwise predictable, if not ridiculous, with Ultraman pushing the moon in front of the sun, and Luthor kneeling wondering where is Superman to save him. Cute, having Lex get religion when the chips are down. Never saw THAT before. (Note to self: Sarcasm looks like everything else in type)

I confess, I did not read everyone of the tie-ins. I am not millionaire Bruce Wayne, or even Hundredaire Phil McKlosky. And the gaul of DC comics to make 3D covers?! REALLY?! Did I fall asleep and someone turned the clock back to 1985? If so, call my stock broker! I have some investments to make. But, seriously, you want us to buy these freakin' things, then you jack the price up a buck for a dumb gimmick? So I grabbed a few non-3D books that I would have read anyway.

Last week I read:
Cyborg Superman #1 Ridiculous and convoluted story and the art looked rushed.

Count Vertigo #1, on the other hand, actually worked. Even the 3D cover made sense, since they all made me dizzy and gave me a headache. The story was a nice background piece on the Count and really fleshed out his character, and the art was consistent with the current team of Lemire and Sorrentino providing both. I've been pleased with the current situation at Green Arrow since #17 when Lemire and Sorrentino took over, doing their best to wipe away the horrible taste left in our mouths from the first 16 issues of GA in the New 52.

This week so far I've read:
Lobo #1... uh... what the actual fuck is going on here? As redesigns go, this one is incomprehensible.
What was wrong with Lobo? He was a great character just the way he was. Over the top violent and equal parts comedy and sci-fi. Now he looks like he was redesigned for a Twilight movie franchise. Stupid.

Black Manta #1 Not great. Overall unnecessary story about Black Manta's POV when the Crime Syndicate gathers the criminals in "Forever Evil." The only important part of the story is that when Ultraman moves the moon in front of the sun he causes a massive tidal disruption that wipes out part of Massachusetts. The part where Black Manta's dad is buried. So now, his anger is aimed at Ultraman instead of Aquaman.  Meh.

Honestly, if the big comics companies want to engage us in these multi-faceted crossover events, they really should be more concerned with creating well written stories instead of stupid gimmick cover treatments. These books cost a lot of money for a 10-15 minute read. They need to remember that, in this economy, 'disposable income' does NOT exist, and the only thing disposable here is their product.

As for Marvel, their big event is "Infinity." Ok, so Thanos, the mad Titan, the avatar of death, the purple guy at the end of the Avengers movie that non-comics fans thought was Hellboy, is once again after the infinity gems/infinity gauntlet. Again I am left wondering if I missed out on some time-travel experiment. But, I will say that this event is far more contained then the DC event. Sure, there are a bunch of crossover mini-series, but you can easily avoid them and get the main story from three book: Infinity, Avengers and New Avengers.
The story is big and a bit unwieldy, but it's got a nice, classic cosmic Marvel feel, and plenty of over-the-top Alien/God characters to make it entertaining.

The books I'm actually interested in these days are "Kings Watch," "Superior Spider-Man," and "Batman '66."

Kings Watch #1 by Parker and Laming is a nice update of the "Defenders of the Earth" team of The Phantom, Flash Gordon and Mandrake the Magician. If my Dad were here, this is a book I'd have to share with him, and I would do it gladly. It's well written, the artwork is beautiful and it's got some good solid classic characters that are treated well in an update. Highly recommended.

Batman '66 #1-2 So far this book has been great. The story, also by Jeff Parker, is quirky and campy, the characters retain their 1966 voices, and the artwork is perfect. The first issue art by Jonathan Case is trippy and wacky, and the second issue, by the amazing Ty Templeton is, well, amazing! Also highly recommended.

Superior Spider-man #17 Dan Slott has taken a LOT of shit for what he's done to Spider-man/Peter Parker, and I am among those who gave it to him. Now, I am intrigued by this book and the odd turns it takes, especially the latest turn where a time vortex brings the Spider-Man from 2099 to 2013. I will say, I am compelled to read each issue... BUT ... I am only doing so, hoping that Peter returns SOON. I mean, Ock is really destroying his life! Spider Island? Minions? What the hell more can he do? I probably shouldn't ask. This I can only recommend to fans that know and love Spider-man, and if that's you, you are probably already reading this.

Ok, enough. Let me know what you're reading.
Thanks,
-Rickman

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... some guy I barely recognize?

Hey there!
See? I told you I'd post again soon!

Well, this here post is about Superman. Yep. I got opinions just like everyone else.

So, I went to see "Man of Steel" yesterday.

And, while it's a perfectly fine movie about a super powered man saving the Earth from an alien invasion, it's not Superman. At least not the one I know. Not the one that has been published in comics for the last 75 years. And not really even resembling any of the other media depictions of the character either. So, while this certainly isn't your father's Superman, it's no Superman we've ever seen before. Sadly.

These days it's all about the re-boot. Change it all up. Make it new and different. Dark and edgy. Push the envelope. Well, bravo. You pushed it so far it fell off the desk and turned into something almost unrecognizable.

I am going to start discussing points of the movie now. So if you haven't seen it, and you don't want it spoiled, now's your chance to leave.

Ok. I can nitpick. I hated the costume from the minute it leaked. I despise the fact that Warner Bros.  made DC comics let Hollywood dictate the New 52 look for Superman as well. And why discard the spit-curl in his hair?

But that's all superficial. My real problem is with Superman's character... or lack thereof. Who the hell is he? We never really find out. This movie is too busy blowing crap up and destroying both Smallville and Metropolis to care about character development. Ok, we see Clark, or whoever he's pretending to be, save about a dozen guys from an oil rig that is in the process of exploding. (Who does Zack Snyder think he is? Michael Bay?) That's, I guess, enough to let us know that he has great powers and will sacrifice himself for the safety of others. Sure he does a few things like this through his childhood, too, but all we see him do is whine about it. You'd think with Kevin Costner AND Russel Crowe as Dads, he'd have a little more character.

But that's the problem. We never actually meet Clark. He never gets a chance to BE Clark. It's been said, I'm sorry I can't remember who said it, that with Batman, Bruce Wayne is the mask, but with Superman, Clark Kent puts on the suit to help people, but he takes it off to live his life. Superman is his mask.

That's not the only thing that bothered me. I'm going on about character here, and Superman's character is one of great moral fiber. In 75 years Superman has killed once in the comics and once on film. In John Byrne's run, after his "Man of Steel" reboot, Superman was "forced" to kill Zod and crew with kryptonite. After which, because of his grief, he went on a self-imposed exile into space.
In the movie "Superman II," he saps the powers of Zod and crew and they fall into an abyss. We assume they died. In this new movie Superman apparently feels there is no other way to deal with General Zod, so he snaps his neck.

When I saw this I had to stop myself from getting up and walking out of the theater. I have done that only once before. Halfway through "Batman and Robin." I'm sure you can't blame me for that.

This scene really offended me. Here are a few reasons why:

As a rule, Superman does not kill.
This is a character created to be the best possible version of a man. A man that does everything he possibly can to help. Like a doctor, his first rule is 'do no harm.' Even before Stan Lee gave us Peter Parker's mantra: "With great power comes great responsibility," Superman was there, living this creed. Superman is supposed to be what we aspire to. We can't be him. Ever. But we want to. and that is what drives us. If he becomes no better than we are, then where are we? If we can't have fictional characters that have a greater moral standing, what the hell have we become?

Superman does not kill.
If you are a writer, and you feel the need to "update" or fundamentally change a character... especially a character that is an icon... excuse me.. THE icon... then you should do one of two things: create a new character, or stop writing all together... it's not your thing.
The fact that almost every character in mainstream comics has undergone a radical change recently is a sign of laziness in the writers. Not to mention the fact that quite a bit of the crap coming out these days is barely more than "fan fiction." You don't need to kill your character to make it interesting. You don't need to radically change the fundamental nature of a character to draw an audience. You need to write a good story. If you can't do that, find a new job.

SUPERMAN DOES NOT KILL.

And he's not supposed to be so shiny.

Full disclosure: Scott vehemently disagrees with me on this. He loved the movie, loved the scene, and thinks this is among his favorite superhero movies. Everyone's entitled to their opinion.
What's your's?

-Rickman

Hey Folks!
Yeah, I know, it's been a while. Sorry.

SO! Comics! I wanted to talk a little about a comic that I am really excited about, "The Wake," by Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy. Snyder has been pumping out some interesting work recently, i.e.: "Batman: Year Zero" and "Superman: Unchained," but "The Wake" has me really psyched.

As some of my friends know, I am a BIG fan of The Creature from the Black Lagoon. I created a comic character many years ago, "Fishman," that you may have seen if you've been in the store in the last few years, and I have an extensive collection of Creature memorabilia. This book almost made my head explode. First off, I absolutely love Sean Murphy's artwork. I was introduced to him with "Joe the Barbarian," written by Grant Morrison, and then with "Punk Rock Jesus," (and if anyone knows where I can procure a copy of issue #2, I'd really appreciate it!) where not only his artwork AND writing, but the packaging was awesome. "Punk Rock Jesus" was printed in black and white on the pulpy news print we used to see during the indy boom of the 80's. The texture of the artwork and the paper gave that book an incredible, nostalgic feel, and the story gave you a punch in the gut, like the best of the books from the 80's. All around an amazing read. I highly recommend it.

In "The Wake," Snyder and Murphy are treating us to a sea creature story that, from the very first page, draws you in with a fine tuned, cinematic flair. We are introduced to the main character, Dr. Lee Archer, who seems to be in some far-flung future where there has apparently been an apocalypse of some type, and the city is practically under water. We are then brought back to the present, where Dr. Archer meets Agent Astor Cruz, who looks like Jean Reno from "The Professional." I can't help reading that character in "Leon's" voice. The story continues to include a few more characters, it dives deeper into the intrigue and has an awesome reveal at the end. Go find the first issue NOW! It will be gone soon and you will kick yourself for missing this.

I'll be back soon (no, really... I MEAN it...) with more. In the meantime, what have you been reading? Tell me about it in the comments or on our Facebook page.

Thanks for reading,
-Rickman