The One True GL

If DC had given me the job to re-imagine The Mighty Crusaders...

2011-04-28T03:08:00.000-07:00

My obsession with proposing four-hero teams that aren’t the Fantastic Four is well documented within this blog. In a previous post, I reported on the revival of The Mighty Crusaders as a four-strong force for justice consisting of The Shield, Hangman, Inferno, and The Web.

Sadly, they are no longer with us, but that just gives me an excuse to re-imagine another team...

Anyhow, if I had gotten the gig, the first order of business would be to read every origin story of every incarnation of the original 15 heroes. There were versions from the Pep Comics, Zip Comics, Radio Comics and Impact Comics imprints. The reason for going back to the well is inspiration and sometimes for a laugh and sometimes both as is illustrated by...

The origin story of Captain Flag

Like The Shield, Captain Flag was another flag-draped, patriotic hero. When a nazi kills Tom Townsend’s father and attempts to do the same to junior, Tom is saved by a huge eagle carrying off to the safety of a mountain where he sees the American flag. That’s when he’s inspired to become Captain Flag! Seriously, I’m not joking here.

The misleading nature of Firefly

When I first heard mention of this hero, I thought I had him all figured out. Not so. Firefly was really scientist Harley Hudson who was obsessed with insects and in particular how they managed to lift several times their bodyweight. In time, Harley figured it out how he could do the same. Of course, he could also fly, right? No. What would make you think that? Of course, he had fire or illumination powers, right? Well, no. So, lacking those powers, Hudson logically chose the name Firefly. Btw, Firefly is now in the public domain if anybody’s interested in writing a few Firefly stories.

Okay, enough with the laughs at the expense of those two upstanding heroes. Let’s get back to how I would’ve revamped The Mighty Crusaders as a four-hero team (including an old proposal of mine for one of the characters).

My team would be:

Hangman (Yes, keep him)

I would dump the immortality bit and go back to the avenging the death of his superhero brother, The Comet (who was Cyclops before there was a Cyclops). Hangman was also the original ‘the only good criminal is a dead criminal’ vigilante (long before Marvel’s The Punisher and 2000AD’s Judge Dredd). Also, Hangman often got the bad guys to off themselves by scaring the heck out of them – Batman’s got nothing on Hangman when it comes to scare tactics and psychological warfare.

The Web (Yes, keep him too)

I love the new redesigned costume, but I’ll dump the new billionaire playboy persona. A return to the Criminology Professor (and consulting authority) by day / Vigilante by night dichotomy is needed in my pinion. A hero needs a reason to fight crime/evil and The Web (a.k.a Professor John Raymond) had a pretty good one that also explained his career choice: It was all inspired by his brother’s lifelong criminal behaviour. How come I turned out so awesome while my bro is a career criminal? From a motivational perspective, The Web was good enough to substantiate my Great Spider-Hawk Paradox. During the 1990’s Impact Comics, The Web referred to a group of spies connected by an information network. My version would make use of a back-up network of peeps who would occasionally stand-in for The Web – even wearing the costume when required.

The current Web has a website called ‘Summon the Web’ that peeps can use to call him for help. I would slightly tweak that, so that The Web uses some sort of web crawler and pattern recognizer for internet sourced cases.

Now here’s where my proposal gets a little weird as I infuse it with an idea for The Web I came up with in the 90s. I’ve noticed a trend in my proposals for new characters: I like to create ‘slightly powered heroes’ (heroes who are essentially non-powered in having to have fighting skills like Bats but have one power that won’t directly help them in any fight). In that tradition, my addition to The Web is such a power. Basically, my version of The Web is able to mentally access something a hybrid of what Jung called the ‘Collective Unconscious’ (that repository of shared memory traces of humanity’s ancestral past) and ‘Gaia Theory’ (you know, every living thing on earth is part of one giant organism). The problem is that this access to what John Raymond pictures as a web comes and goes.

The Fox

No, I'm not Terry "Batman Beyond" McGinnis!

Okay, in a previous post I mentioned that both of the Shield’s earliest incarnation predated the highly similar Cap America and Iron Man. However, I’m going to replace The Shield with the original newspaper photographer moonlighting as a non-powered superhero, The Fox! The Fox’s...er...fox-head insignia hid a small automatic camera with which he snapped some pics to sell. Wow, who else did something similar later on in the 60s? Starts with ‘Sp’ and ends with ‘idey.’ In terms of his look, I wouldn’t change a thing about his costume. It’s black and thus cool. I include the Fox, because Fox is the most socially conscious hero created by MLJ (although, a little less outspoken than say the early Green Arrow) and he would make a great foil for the absolutist Hangman.

Fireball

the preferred Impact Comics costume

the 'not-so-preferred' older costume...with skirt or really short shorts or tunic or ? Please don't bend over to pick up something, Mister. Please.

I would replace Inferno with Fireball, who can start fire via touch, melt bullets, absorb flames, all without going “flame on!” Aesthetically, his Impact Comics costume has potential to be slightly updated. He’s a bit more interesting than the angry cueball-looking, flame-surrounded Inferno. Of course, I’d have to think about his origin, one of which involves a swamp, magic and strange balls of fire. That particular origin story screams “ball lightning” (a natural phenomenon used to explain sightings of UFOs around swamps and other bodies of water) without actually mentioning “ball lightning.” With some tweaks here and there, all the elements are there for an interesting origin story and a “story engine”

Anyway, that’s my four-hero version of the team. However, DC could compromise and test the waters by creating two teams: Ten heroes calling themselves The Crusaders and a smaller 4-hero team calling themselves C.R.U. (Covert Reaction Unit or whatever), divided along worldview (e.g. follow Hangman or follow The Shield or follow The Web).

Honestly, I can come up with three or four versions of this four-hero Crusaders team. I mean, I haven't even touched on the 3 versions of The Comet or Black Hood or The Jaguar or my favourte version of The Shield. That's the major draw for me: There are multiple versions of each hero. So, as a writer you can cherry-pick elements you like (granted you have editorial approval, of course).

Speaking of The Comet, check last year's re-design of The Comet over here.

DC, you know where to reach me...Are these characters even still licensed to you? If not, forward this link to the lucky parties.

Call for Superhero Romance submissions - no, the word "submissions" doesn't mean this is Bondage-related...well, actually, it could be...I think...Not that I'm writing a bondage story...

2011-04-23T02:50:00.000-07:00

I am totally submitting to this. I'll have to combine several stories and germs of story ideas rattling around my head though.

But hey, this is superhero stuff and I don't have a shortage of ideas for stories or heroes.

Okay, it's romance and it's novellas...So, that's new for me, but I think I'll give it a shot. I think Samhain is flexible with regard to amount of romance and other elements such as action.

Anyway, check it out.

If DC ever created their own FF - The Mash-up with a Singular Purpose Edition

2011-03-17T08:17:00.000-07:00

To see my three previous proposals for DC’s own Fantastic Four, click here, here and here.

This post was inspired by this post over at MGK. The crux of MGK’s post was that Firestorm is too powerful and too stupid (when Ronnie Raymond is in charge) and has too any lame villains to be great.

Of course, because of this post the fact that I like Firestorm is well known. Also, let me make it crystal clear to everyone that I like Firestorm the way he is (except for the puffy sleeves), but this is just a proposal…

Anyhoo, I didn’t agree with the Firestorm is “too powerful and too stupid” bit and as creative person, I thought to myself: “Self, Firestorm is not too powerful and is not too dumb, but what if…”

So, here’s the team. The first pick is…you guessed it…

1] Firestorm

However, this isn’t the normal Firestorm familiar to fans. This is one is slightly different – a third at most. After teaming up with the JSA to fight Dr. Alchemy and a JSA big evil, ol’ flamehead is accidently (?) merged with Michael Holt a.k.a. Mr. Terrific. This new Firestorm now also possesses Terrific’s power of being invisible to technology as well as having Terrific’s intelligence (when he’s in the driver’s seat which is pretty often). Unbeknownst to the new Firestorm, the merger (and combined power set) has some dangerous consequences by putting him in the crosshairs of a new enemy that may be unstoppable): A Superior Artificial Intelligence (SAI) from a far-future possible post-technological-singularity timeline.

Okay, what’s a SAI? Well, nobody knows for sure, there are a gazillion different interpretations/definitions and the truth is I haven’t kept up with these debates in some years. Anyway, this is comic book writing and not Hard Science Fiction writing. In other words we can make a lot of crap up as we go along.

Theoretically:
· SAI will be more intelligent than any human being (think of it as an unfathomable mass of computing power or intelligence);
· SAI will be extremely unpredictable (to us, because we’re only human);
· SAI might be able to upload every human consciousness and if “friendly” it might invite us to this big upload – like being friended or poked on Facebook;
· SAI might be able to improve our intelligence after uploaded (if it so chose);
· SAI will be able to self-replicate (specifically build a better version of itself to replace itself);
· SAI might be able manipulate physical space on a large (e.g. terraform the earth on a molecular level)
· SAI will be uncontainable once it is “born.”

There is one big requirement (at least in my funny book story), the technological singularity must first occur. This is the point where our technological development reaches the point where a SAI can be created or simply develops from the critical mass of technological advancement.

So what is it about the NEW Firestorm that has this uber-powerful intelligence / techno-god so spooked? Is the SAI more scared of Firestorm with Terrific’s IQ or of Firestorm with Terrific’s power or all of the above? There may be some solid theoretical clues earlier in this post…Anyway, the SAI sends a probe (or portion of itself) to the present to go after Firestorm and 3 other heroes.

Funny thing about probes sent by SAIs, if they re-unite in future they might be speaking totally different languages, because they would develop exponentially in different ways…

The other members of the team:

2] Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes)

I solidly believe that the Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle would be best served on a four member team. I’m still a Ted Kord fan, but Jaime really fits this story since The Reach’s objective will prevent the post-singularity SAI from occurring (being born / created). Yeah, this story is kind of a reverse Terminator story in a way…

3] Hawk

Maybe it’s the fact that Hawk represents Chaos or it maybe it’s the Extant time-travelling stuff, but for some reason the SAI really hates Hawk. Maybe it just finds Hawk obnoxious...

4] Green Lantern Raker Qarrigat

Ha! You thought I was going to say Dove, right? Where Hawk goes, Dove cannot be far behind or vice versa. Well, Dove is part of this story but NOT part of the team, because Dove represents Order and the SAI has identified Dove as a potential collaborator (say what?!).

Anyhoo...Raker Qarrigat – Green Lantern of Apokalips – is also another target of the SAI. Remember, the SAI can cut through many foggy logic swamps to come to the most elegant of conclusions.

The biggest threat to any earth-based SAI developing is the prior development of an alien SAI. The assumption is that another SAI would be hostile toward other SAIs or On-the-verge-of-SAI civilizations. Surveying the universe (and other dimensions), Apokalips is a prime candidate for the development of a rival SAI but for one little impediment: Darkseid and the gang. While Darkseid is in power an Apokaliptian SAI will not be allowed to develop for the simple reason that heads cannot bow when part of a SAI and there can be no Great Darkseid when SAI of Apokalips encompasses everything and everyone. There will be no hunger dogs.

The SAI has identified Raker Qarrigat as the biggest threat to Darkseid’s rule. So, it follows remove Raker, remove the possibility of a rival (probably more advanced) SAI that could come along to destroy Earth’s SAI.

The name game:

So, what do I call this team? Any Ideas?

Write what you know: A short primer for comic book writers writing long-existing characters or screen writers developing works based on comic books featuring long-existing characters

2011-02-21T23:30:00.000-08:00

Write what you know. This is advice that’s almost as old as writing itself. By writing, I’m referring to writing for yourself AND others, but we’ll get back to this point later.

There are generally two main interpretations of Write What You Know (or WWYK, an initialism that should not be confused with World Wide Year One Thousand, DC Comics’ upcoming 1000-issue mega event crossover event where the first 499 issues will be written by Geoff Johns minus any editorial oversight and the last 499 issues by Grant Morrisson minus any editorial oversight with the middle 2 issues co-written by Geoff and Grant after they learn what happens in each other’s 499 issues). SPOILER ALERT: Maxwell Lord gets into the Barber Shop business. Solomon Grundy and Bizarro are the narrators for all 1000 issues. Batman reveals his final contingency plan (you know, the one he would use if and when all of contingency plans were needed at the same time).

Sorry, I was rambling…Back to the two interpretations of Write What You Know…

1] Superficial Interpretation

Write What You Know means write from your own perspective and/or life and/or frame of reference. There is nothing wrong with this and it is in some respects easier. The problem comes in when Write What You Know means ONLY write from your own perspective and/or life and/or frame of reference. The result: A boatload of stories with settings similar or identical to your home town or place of employment, characters similar or identical to yourself or friends, opinions and life philosophies limited to your own…You get the picture.

2] Deeper Interpretation

Write What You Know means doing research before you write anything outside your field of knowledge / frame of reference while applying creativity to avoid thesis-like stories. The deeper interpretation is crucial in writing existing superheroes.

Steps for comic book writers writing long-existing characters or screen writers developing works based on comic books featuring long-existing characters:

1] Read the character bibles (these typically contain character bios, what a character is about [his/her motivation] and the most important events in his life). Of course, some comics companies sometimes misplace these… Black Adam J'onn the whole 52 someone out there have a lozenge or something?

2] Read the different writer’s runs with special emphasis of character portrayal. Let’s say, you’re planning on writing Green Arrow. Green Arrow has been written as the “Liberal Socially Conscious hero”, but during another period he was written a “Night Hunter” type vigilante. Another reason for reading these runs is the smaller story threads that were forgotten about or cut short due to a Mega Crossover Event.

3] Decide which portrayal to use. This could be one specific portrayal or a hybrid (Can you marry the “hyper-prepared Batman” with “the one who is regularly flummoxed by the on-again-off-again residents of Arkham"? Okay, bad example. The big rule here is to figure out which version can help you write the best story you can while not alienating all of that character's fandom. You are going to alienate some - there's no avoiding that. Back to Bats: "Batman: The brave and the bold" version of Bats is great, because it mixes many versions of Bats (e.g. “hyper-prepared Batman” meets "fat-headed, self-satisfied looking silver age Bats" meets "Bats who just loves punching people" meets "Grumpy Bats" meets...)

4] Be CONSISTENT in characterization. We can't blame evil Maxwell Lord or red kryptonite for every out-of-character moment. Inconsistent characterization is jarring to readers. Being consistent also helps you with plot in a "What would Batman do?" kind of way. So, charaterization is sort of mildly uber-important...I think.

So ends the sermon.

Mary Pickford - the hero remix...

2011-01-12T07:21:00.000-08:00

I while back I came across this weirdly listenable song called Mary Pickford. It's about United Artists...You guys do watch movies, right?

Anyway, here are some of the lyrics:

Mary Pickford used to eat roses
Thought that they'd make her beautiful and they did,
One supposes.

Douglas Fairbanks, he was so handsome,
He wore a moustache,
Must-a had much cash, too,
Worth a king's ransom,

Charlie Chaplin, he was invited,
When these artists became united.
When these artists became united.

David Griffith worked as an extra,
Then as a stagehand,
Until they let him be
A director

Dave was brave, a mover and shaker,
A true pioneer,
He seemed to show no fear,
A real film maker

Just like Chaplin, he was invited,
When these artists became united.
When these artists became united.

They tied the knot together,
Groom and bride couldn't hide their pleasure.
They tried to pick fair weather,
But love died, didn't last forever.

I don't know about you out there, but I immediately thought about doing a JLI remix. Enjoy (and try singing it). Better yet, try to compose something better.

Martian Manhunter used to eat Oreos
Thought that they contained no lard but they did,
One supposes.

Michael Jon Carter, came from the Future
He wore a gold suit,
Must-a won much loot, too,
Worth a jackpot,

Ice Maiden, she was invited,
When these heroes became united.
When these heroes became united.
Theodore Kord worked as an sidekick,
Then as a hero,
Until they let him be
A martyr

Ted was brave, inventor and acrobat,
A true pioneer,
He seemed to show no fear,
Swordless musketeer

Just like Tora, he was invited,
When these heroes became united.
When these heroes became united.

They banded together,
Heroes and teammates couldn't hide their pleasure.
They tried to pick fair weather,
But they were disbanded, didn't last forever.

Yes, please compose better lyrics...sigh

Deadline for submissions: 31 January 2011...

2010-12-09T07:16:00.000-08:00

Hi to everybody in 1truegl-space!

Ive come across the Beta City anthology, which is looking for superhero short stories set within their own continuity but still allowing your own superheroes to feature. In fact, original heroes are encouraged.

By the way, it's the follow-up to POW!ERFUL TALES (An anthology that was featured way back when 1truegl was all spritely and not so jaded...over here).

I've got an idea for a submission already. Its funny that playing in an existing universe such as the Beta City one is NOT as restrictive to the writer in me as one would assume. No More Heroes and its existing universe had the same effect. Strange.

The Missing Link: Why there's so much superhero prose stuff on this blog...

2010-11-08T07:20:00.000-08:00

So, why is there so much superhero prose stuff on my blog?

Well, I could go into a lengthy essay-type answer, but this missing link (from my speculative fiction blogosphere reading days) covers a big chunk of the answer and, well, I haven't done a "missing link" post in a LOOOOOOONG while.

Remember, the missing link posts also serve to prompt you to go out and rediscover some forgotten little joys of your life. I'm all sunshine and rainbows today.

Who’s in the market for Superhero Prose?

2010-09-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

As you’ve learned from previous posts, 1truegl’s alter ego’s alter ego’s short story is soon to be published in the No More Heroes anthology. This is a thrill, I admit, and has led me to the following question: Are there any publications both online and in print looking to publish your superhero prose?

To answer that question, let’s limit ourselves to short fiction and start with anthologies, because that’s 1truegl’s bag.

Powers: A superhero anthology
I picked up on this antho pretty late, but there’s still time to whip up a story and submit it before 31 October 2010 or when filled. Btw, it is non-paying anthology.

Matters Most Extraordinary
This is an anthology that spotlights historical fiction with a super-powered twist. The hero aspect of superhero fiction is a little tangential here. This too is a for-the-love anthology.

Now we can focus on the Zines:

This Mutant Life
A zine from Oz focusing on the fiction related to the daily lives of the super-powered. Also a non-paying gig.

Metahuman Press
This online venue is quite unique in that it deals almost exclusively in serialized superhero fiction, ranging from 2-to-12-part limited series to ongoing series.

iHero Entertainment
This online magazine was previously incarnated as Cyber Age Adventures (from 1999 to 2006) and is about to make its return. Based in a shared universe, rights granted by the author can get a little complicated. It pays 5 cents per word and has a 3000 word limit.

A Thousand Faces
Of course, we shouldn’t forget A Thousand Faces: The Quarterly Journal of Superhuman Fiction, an online zine and print publication that is regularly promoted here.

My...power...is...draining...power...gone.

As previously interrogated out of me by the Purple Menace...

2010-09-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

I confess...I've joined the other side.

A story I've spun has made it into the soon-to-be-published No More Heroes anthology, edited by Wayne Goodchild & Bill Tucker. I'm still not revealing my story's title, because self-hype is my kryptonite (although I try to encourage others to promote their talents).

Anyway, the good editors have given us an advanced look at the front and back covers. Just use your heigtened internet vision and take a gander at the late bronze agey coolness below...

You'll never take me alive, O Purple One!

Latest issue of A Thousand Faces is online!

2010-08-19T08:07:00.000-07:00

Hello loyal reader,

Long time no post...I know...forgive me?

Issue # 12 of A Thousand Faces: The Quarterly Journal of Superhuman Fiction, a magazine that is available to read online for free. Story-wise, this issue is double-sized. So, there lots to read or skip (if some stories don’t match your sensibilities).

I have only read one story so far, Brand X: Double Play. It’s part of a series, but it features a story so far section to catch up / remind readers of what has happened. [Hint to comics companies]

Instructions to read A Thousand Faces webzine for free:
1. Click on the cover of A Thousand Faces (They should really have “Click Here to enter” on that cover – See, it’s not our fault.) This will take you to the Editor Frank Byrns’ column called “Thinking outside the longbox” (clever name) which gives little blurbs about each story contained in the current issue.
2. Click on "New Fiction" on your left.
3. Click on the Story you want to read and enjoy!

Short Fiction about Superheroes: An anthology by another name...

2010-07-28T04:20:00.000-07:00

A while back I wrote this post about “With Great Power”, a superhero short fiction anthology edited by Lou Anders. It features stories from the keyboards of Gail Simone, Peter David, Mike Carey and other comic book writers.

Well, while I was being a bad blogger (and had my back turned on the superhero comics / prose worlds), Spider-man’s owners did what they do best and said: “Hey, that’s what Uncle Ben told Peter...Well, half of it at least...Anyway, where were we? Oh yes, Mister Anders, you can’t name your anthology that...Everybody knows that Marvel owns those three words in that order. Bottom-line: You are hereby instructed to rename your anthology something else and preferably nothing starting with the uppercase letter “X” as Marvel owns that as well. Have a nice day.”

Peter and his Uncle Ben uttering copyrighted...um...utterances

Anyway, the anthology is now entitled “Masked”. Here’s a short article about it, which doubles as a great teaser (stories like “Cleansed and set in Gold” and “A to Z in the Ultimate Big Superhero Universe (Villains Too)” sound even more intriguing to me having read this write-up). I also found the comments to the article spot on with regard to the benefits / risks to superhero prose (especially those proffered by commenters 214w, Tina Sena, Lou Anders himself, and Powerful Lamp).

Random Research Question: Cool runnings from a bad blogger...

2010-07-12T07:59:00.000-07:00

Yes. I've been a woeful blogger of late, but I have an excuse...I've been saving the world. Kind of.

Anyhoo, I thought I'd pop a trademarked 1truegl comic-related Random Research Question to the one or two UBER-PATIENT readers of this blog.

Question:
Was freerunning (which is a form of urban acrobatics in which participants, known as free runners, use the city and rural landscape to perform movements through its structures, according to Wikipedia) inspired by what is sometimes known as roof-running (as practiced by Batman and the Bat family as well as several non-powered heroes across many comic book universes)?

JLA: The Movie - Notes on the soundtrack

2010-06-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been quite some time since I’ve done a JLA: The Movie post. Check out all the links here. The other musical post related the movie can be read here.

Many of the tracks you’ll see here will be rearranged (and in some cases made more symphonic) by the original artists in collaboration Hans Zimmer. I’m going to avoid making a movie where the music is playing ALL THE TIME. Basically, we’ll hear music only during montages and portions of selected super-fight scenes or when we introduce one of the characters (Booster).

Mercy by One Republic

I thought this one would be good “showing the heroes saving folks” montage that should kick off the entire trilogy.

All fall down by One Republic

As mentioned in this movie trilogy, the heroes aren’t going to have it their own way all of the time. I thought that All fall down would be appropriate during or after some of the more powerful members are defeated, leaving the less powerful leaguers (e.g. Blue Beetle, Booster, Green Arrow, etc) as the last line of defence. There will be moments of doubt intermingled with damn the torpedoes during this montage.

Welcome to the black parade by My Chemical Romance

Similarly to All fall down, this track will play when “the rest” realize that “the best” (Superman and the league) can’t just punch the bad guys really hard and actually need the rest’s help. Here, I plan to use only the first minute-long monologue-like intro, which has always reminded of a cool superhero origin story...

When I was a young boy
My father took me into the city
To see a marching band
He said, "Son, when you grow up
Would you be the savior of the broken
The beaten and the damned??

He said, "Will you defeat them
Your demons and all the non-believers
The plans that they have made?
Because one day, I'll leave you
A phantom to lead you in the summer
To join the Black Parade"

Clocks by Coldplay

I’ve chosen this track as Booster’s introductory theme, because being a time-traveller from a future where he basically had to steal the details of the league’s demise to try and help them, there’s going to be a lot of doubts for him.

Yes, he wants to help the JLA, but has he gone about it the right way? Then there’s the fact that he doesn’t have all the details of the fall of the league. In addition, there the secret time travel aspect that he thinks he has to keep from the JLA. Booster also feels the sense of home in our era, even though he’s “accepted” only because there’s a crisis before he can get rejected...Then, there the destiny / phantom stranger aspect (mentioned in one the links above). All in all, an apt song for one of our three central POV characters (Flash and Martian Manhunter are the other two if you were wondering).

Princes of the Universe by Queen

I can think of few better songs that embody the collective feeling of superiority the Apokalips Champions feel toward our little mudball.

Carry on wayward son by Kansas

This one I swiped from Supernatural, but I thought it would be great for our Superman-Batman (World’s Finest) scenes. Both Bruce and Clark are doing things (be it a never-ending battle or an obsessive crusade) their parents would not have wished for them, but on some level they’d be proud.

Fix you by Coldplay

A plot point I haven’t mentioned is that Barda dies (or is believed to have died, again I’m not telling which is true) somewhere in the middle or near the end of the second movie.

Now, to put this into perspective you should realise that when the league realises that it’s Darkseid they’re facing, they send J’onn to recruit Scott and Barda’s help. Initially they refuse, citing how content they are in their semi-retired life in suburbia. Throughout the first movie the audience see their happy existence increasingly being intruding upon by media reports from people like Billy Batson questioning the dangerous happenings. Soon, it becomes clear to them and the audience that they’ll have to get involved.

So, flash-forward to right after Barda’s death in the second movie where we find Bats remarking that “someone as gifted as Scott, who reluctantly joined the mission in the first place and has suffered such a great loss because of joining, may be dangerous to team.”

Cue the excerpt from Fix You. We cut to Scott feverously working on a device. There is some speculation that it’s a bomb. It isn’t, but Scott is silent about its exact nature.

I saved the world today by Eurythmics

This is one of the anthems for a temporary victory where the team is pretty banged up but successful in what they’ve tried to achieve. Nobody has the energy to high five anyone else.

Grace Kelly by Mika

Can you picture Booster and Beetle singing along to anything else while flying around in the bug. Of Course, J'onn sneaks up on them in the middle of their performance...

The world's most controversial Avengers dream roster - DC fan, don't look away...

2010-06-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, some of you are DC exclusive, but there are some easter eggs even for you in this post as well. In celebration of Marvel's relaunch of Avengers, I decided to reveal my current dream line-up of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

It's controversial for a number of reason. Chief among these is the fact that I have omitted these guys:
Captain America
Iron Man
Thor
Hawkeye

Some might call me a hypocrite for picking a non-classic Avengers line-up, since I’ve said that you can’t have a JLA without Supes, Bats, WW, Flash, Martian Manhunter, and a GL.

Here's my current Avengers dream roster:

Vision

My love for the synthezoid Avenger is well-known. On this roster, Vision will be the team's co-leader.

Black Panther

My pick as the other co-leader of the team: Master strategist and someone who thrives when he has to pull his team out of the fire. Where Captain America is the inspirational leader (as "we'll follow this guy to hell and back.") and Iron Man is the Charismatic leader (as in "what shellhead said really appealed to me...let's do what he says..."), the pair of Black Panther and Vision are pragmatic leaders.

Black Knight

Dane Whitman is probably the most popular under-appreciated superhero in the Marvel U. Yes, he's been an Avenger before, but the writers haven't capitalized on his awesomeness. I mean he's a scientist whose origins are locked up in Arthurian lore. That, and Black Knight genetically engineered himself a flying horse - more than once!

Spider-woman (Jessica Drew)

She's a current fan fave and pretty useful in a tight spot. Spider-woman I is actually my second favourite person to assume the identity, which brings us to my next pick...

Spider-woman (Julia Carpenter)

I knew of her before I knew of Jessica Drew, even though Jeesica is the original Spider-woman. Okay, now you realise that I've got two spider-women on my roster. Look, the characters hit different notes for me. Hey, psionic webbing is much better than Spidey's real webbing, which looks gross while it dissolves and poses a slip hazard. Spidey is going to get sued one of these days. Back to Julia: Every team needs a government operative and Spider-woman II is one of the cooler ones around (think more and less Captain Atom).

Darkhawk

Darkhawk is another underappreciated hero who fought his way onto this roster. I've always liked the character and he's always looked so menacing. Here's an extremely summarized version of his life story.

Nova

Why isn't Nova running the Marvel U? Here's a hero career summary for your conveniance. Like GL, but not. And that's a good thing. In addition, check out some snazzy Nova covers brought to us by the biggest Nova fan in the entire comics Blogosphere. By the way, Marel has just made this dude a Secret Avenger. About time, I say.

Paladin

If your name is Lissbirds, you should propose to this guy. Now. What? You mostly go for non-powered guys? Well, Paladin has superstrength and superspeed, but only slightly more than Captain America. Oh, did I mention he's detective/mercenary (weird combo, but you like weird). Paladin will flirt with any woman who moves. Any woman who moves. All comic blogger gals are mad for that type, aren't you? It gets better. He wears purple. Nuff said. Another satisfied customer of the internet's premier superhero matchmaker. No thanks needed.

Argent (of Clan Destine)

This team needs a long-lived member, but not an arrogant one like Thor. Samantha Destine is a loner and every team needs one of those as well. Then every team needs a character with family baggage. Check. And then some. Argent's also a real artisit. I dig artistic women. I think GL Kyle Rayner would dig her too. Wow. That's two in one day. The matchmaker is on fire!!!!

Intra-team relationships:

Black Knight dislikes Paladin (ever so slightly), because while team mates Paladin has been a Master cock-blocker (what with getting in the way of Black Knight hooking up with Wasp and others).

I can’t wait to see Paladin and the ladies of the team interact. Some will of course find his charm endearing while others are likely react negatively to his attentions.

Darkhawk and Nova are former teammates from The New Warriors (which was a teen superhero team that was different to the Titans in that none of its members were sidekicks. These guys built their reps on solid heroing and didn't have sidekick passports

Darkhawk and Spider-woman (Julia Carpenter) are close friends and former founding teammates of the Secret Defenders. Darkhawk has also been a reserve member of the West Coast Avengers of which Spider-woman had full membership.

Argent is a bit of an outsider here, but every team needs an outsider or at least a detached observer. In addition, her longevity gives her a unique perspective. To those of you who are anti-superteam-member-hook-up, I don’t think Argent would join the Avengers with a hook-up in mind. However, there is a built-in “hook-up that will/can never be” that I have in mind between her and Black Knight, because Dane has been burned by the magical type before in the past. Maybe I’m being a little too Elektra in my thinking with Argent’s dad being a knight and Black Knight being…well…a knight.

I’m curious to see if Argent makes any friends – she’s artistic. Is there someone she’ll be drawn to as a friend or confidant? Which Spider-woman will she like best or tolerate? My money’s on Julia Carpenter, but I could be wrong.

I'd be interested to see how Panther and Vision deal with such an unpredictable line-up. Knowing them, they could make it work.

Controversial post to follow...

2010-05-28T07:32:00.000-07:00

Controversial...post...to...follow...in...the...next...few...days...Stay...tuned!

Young troublemakers can become explosive older troublemakers, sometimes in a good way...

2010-05-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

Inspired by this post from The Cool Kids Table about Damage, which reminded me about Arsenal’s (Roy Harper’s) “You’re not good enough to be a hero/titan!” mentoring treatment of Damage.

Given what has happened to Roy in recent time (specifically his arm), wouldn’t it have been interesting if Damage were alive, suddenly popped up in front of Roy, pointed at his robo-arm and said, “ Haha!” (ala Nelson from the Simpsons).

[Of course, this scene could be extended to include the following: “Or that’s what I could’ve said, but I’m better than that. Remember that, old mentor. I could’ve kicked while you were down, but I chose not to…”]

Okay, I said interesting not nice or mildly appropriate.

Heck, I only mention this weird scenario, because that what I saw Damage as back in the Titans days: A young adult, ever so slightly more mature version of Nelson with the power to explode.

Compare…

This is Damage's original look:

This is Nelson:

There a few similarities. Both have explosive personalities. There’s the brown hair thing and bit about their dads not being around.

That’s seals it: DC owes Matt Groening some dough!

More DeviantArt stuff: Six different takes on the World’s Greatest Heroes...

2010-05-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

It’s time to show the artists of DeviantArt some love. Click and enjoy!

A good line-up is featured in the artwork presented by Adamwhithers.

This piece by genesischant makes me want to say, “Those cats are cool.”

Those readers with Unlimited love, I’ll direct to this, courtesy of Apollorising. No, the ‘Unlimited love’ remark doesn’t mean that it’s slash fiction-inspired.

Laurie B give us a slightly stunned (or just a little wide-eyed) interpretation of the Justice League. Only Batman seems to be unphased by developments...as usual.

Some might say that Douglas Shuler gives the JLA more depth in this special work.

This work by DeaviantArt user JPRart is just plain beautiful, in my opinion.

The Firestorm Revelation...

2010-05-03T08:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, here goes...I’m a Firestorm fan. In fact, Firestorm may actually have been the first in-comic-book-discovered DC hero that I found awesome.

For some inexplicable reason, I’ve only mentioned Firestorm once in passing on this blog and equally as worrisome is the fact that one of my few comics-loving offline friends had no idea I was a Firestorm fan. We’re talking about friends since the early 90s here...Strange.

Firestorm and Human Torch, dynamically drawn by Adam Kubert.

This little disclosure session was brought on by Firestorm’s...er...Ronnie’s return to the ranks of living heroes. Basically, I’ve always seen Firestorm as a hero with a lot of promise and someone who should always be on the shortlist for Justice League membership.

Speaking of which, if we ever get a JLA (the big guns) and JLI (Booster and co) co-existing on a permanent basis, Firestorm should have membership on both teams (in an “inter-team liaison” capacity).

Just bear with me out for a minute while I attempt to explain my thinking.

Some of you might rightly point out that if such a situation came about, J’onn would be the natural choice for inter-team liaison since he has history with both incarnations.

Such a point has merit, but Captain Atom will likely lead the JLI and he has never seen eye to eye with J’onn on League matters. That won’t be a smooth relationship and will likely be seen by Cap as some elitist interference from on high.

Okay, so why Firestorm? Well, it has to do with Firestorm’s new status (both Jason and Ronnie being Firestorm) and the way both are being written (so far). Since Ronnie is a frat boy-ish, brash dude now and Jason is more mature, Ronnie should take control while at JLI and Jason should take the wheel at JLA. Sure, Batman didn’t exactly make Jason feel at home when he was on the team, but at least he didn’t get one-punched. Ronnie might not be so lucky. Also, Ronnie didn’t cover himself in glory when he last followed Captain Atom’s orders. Maybe Ronnie has something to prove to Cap? Of course, I’m assuming Ronnie and Jason will be able to do the “You like it there, so you drive” thing. Big assumption.

Another thing, I liked Martin Stein as the floating head, but the Jason-Ronnie combination presents a lot of possibilities in terms of commentary. Firestorm is one of the characters that can get away with saying one thing while thinking another on a continual basis and not be thought of being disingenuous, because it’s two people in there. Add to that both Ronnie and Jason are opinionated (although in different ways) and a comic writer has got Firestorm-other-interaction gold. I mean, I get the feeling that Ronnie and Jason admire or dislike or are indifferent to different leaguers.

Of course, they have a lot of fall-out to work through before any of this could happen...

I’d like to dedicate this song to Seafire...

2010-04-26T08:25:00.000-07:00

As mentioned before, Keane is my all-time favourite band. So, I was taken aback when my local radio station featured ‘Somewhere only we know’ (incidentally Keane’s most covered song) in their Old School, New School segment (where they compare songs by the original artists with covers done by other artists and open the phone lines to listeners).

Anyway, my first reaction (before even listening to the New School version by Laura Michelle Kelly) was “Sacrilege!” (I’d never heard the two versions played back to back before)

By the way, Miss Kelly has gotten rave reviews for her role in the production of Mary Poppins on London’s West End and that’s no mean feat. So, she's not talentless...

Anyway, judge for yourselves.

First listen to the Old School version (by Keane):

Then, listen to the New School version (by Laura Michelle Kelly):

My thoughts afterwards: I still prefer the original, but I’m biased.* I liked parts of Miss Kelly’s performance, but it sounds more like the opening number of a musical than anything else. In addition, she may have had really good musicians and arrangers working with her, but Keane consists of a lead vocalist with a very distinctive voice who’s also a great songwriter (Tom Chaplin), a genius composer/songwriter on keyboard/piano (Tim Rice-Oxley), and a talented drummer who knows how to elevate a song with his contribution (Richard Hughes).

Okay, so what does this have to do with comics or Seafire for that matter?

I just realised that considering Kelly’s musical theatre background plus my opinion of the three members of Keane, it was tantamount (at least in my eyes) to taking DC’s Trinity (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman) as a collective and comparing the group with Marvel's Dazzler.

Seafire, as you may or may not recall, was a commenter who really came out to defend Dazzler when I got down on her a while back nad I'd like to read seafire's blog. So, this is an attempt to say, "Seafire, dude or dudette, you defended Dazzler with such passion that I'd like to read your comics blog."

Trading Card Regrets and random thought linkages

2010-04-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

I have a few trading card sets lying around the house and one of my big regrets is that I didn’t buy more of the DC vs. Marvel collection, because (a) they were awesome, (b) they were drawn by a variety of top-notch artists, and (c) some of those two-character images might never be seen again due to respective continuities (characters dying or being replaced).

Case in point:

Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) and Spider-woman (Julia Carpenter), as drawn by Jim Calafiori.

Speaking of Spider-woman, in a post in which I referred to the Jessica Drew version of Spider-woman, I misquoted the Great Spider-man Paradox. By the way, both Spider-women exist at the same time on the same Earth with no trouble at all and there is/was even a third Spider-woman in the Marvel U – hint, hint, DC? Cough...Blue Beetle...cough...

Anyway, I went through an old file (really a big collection of pieces of paper) and discovered the Hypothesis’ original formulation. For one thing, it’s not called the Great Spider-man Paradox, but rather The Great Spider-Hawk Exception. There are extra hawk bits that I omitted.

Here is The Great Spider-Hawk Exception:

Spider-man is a great (some say iconic) spider-themed character. Hawkman is a great (some say iconic) hawk-themed character. Once a great themed character exists, it is nearly impossible to create a similarly themed character (whether related or unrelated to the original great themed character) that works at even a minimum level. However, the vast majority of spider-themed and hawk-themed superheroes (of just about every comic book universe) work exceedingly well.

Until next time, make mine multiple heroes with the same name!

Novels and Short Fiction about Superheroes: A Universe-building detour

2010-04-20T07:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, another post about superhero novels so quickly? Yes, it’s unusual for me, but I’ve done readers a bit of a disservice by not pointing them to Michael Carroll’s Young Adult works set in his ‘The New Heroes / Quantum Prophecy’ universe.

I felt that it was important to highlight Mister Carroll’s work, because (due to the time-consuming nature of writing novels) novelists general don’t stick to building and expanding universes when it comes to superheroes. George R. R. Martin’s Wildcards is a notable exception.

The New Heroes or Quantum Prophecy series began with the novel, The Quantum Prophecy a.k.a. ‘The Awakening’ (2006). There were two follow-ups entitled Sakkara a.k.a. ‘The Gathering’ (2006) and Absolute Power a.k.a. ‘The Reckoning’ (2007). You can find abridged information about the trilogy here.

The author has also released Superhuman, a collection of short fiction focusing on untold stories taking place in the decade spanning the three novels. No reviews. pity. Here is some info on from the author's website. Strangely, this short story collection has the same name as the fourth novel in the series.

From Justice League Titans to Justice League Kinda Sorta...

2010-04-16T02:57:00.000-07:00

So, now the JLA will be Batman (Dick Grayson), Supergirl, Donna Troy, Jade, Starman (Mikaal Thomas), Congorilla and Jesse Quick? Then, Doctor Light and Gypsy join up later? Congorilla and Starman are the new Blue and Gold, with the former getting a Scottish accent as well as some Wolverine (healing factor) and Maul (emotion-based size*) powers? Who created Congorilla and is he/she okay with these changes? Are these just retcon-later-if-don't-like-it changes? Why am I asking so many questions relating to Congorilla? Robinson didn't know he couldn't handle a large roster beforehand? Did Robinson know what he was getting into with a Didio-sanctioned league?

*Note: Those refer to Congorilla growing to King Kong's size...

The Real Didio-Johns Conspiracy: Whose line is it anyway? (a.k.a. Base Pairs of Evil)

2010-04-13T03:36:00.000-07:00

Three or four years ago, if you googled Geoff Johns AND Green Lantern, a good third of your results would be of the ‘Johns mistreats Kyle Rayner to prop up his dreamboat Hal Jordan’ variety. While there is some merit in such assertions of conspiracy, those speculations were in reality mere misdirection.

The truth is that everything that’s happened over the last four or five years is part of a much bigger (misguided and ultimately doomed to fail) conspiracy. Call it slight of arc, if you will.

Now, I’ll keep this brief. To understand the conspiracy, you must follow these steps:

1. Close your eyes. Note: Only do this step if your Zen is strong!

2. Picture three different JLA group photos (the original line-up; the Big seven roster; and a mash-up between the original line-up and the Big seven roster). There’s considerable overlap, right? Also note: keep legacy characters “generational secret-identity neutral” (for the Big seven and Mash-up pictures).

3. Now focus on the two or three heroes at the centre of the Big Seven and Mash-up pictures.

4. Now focus on the blond guy with the green pants front and centre of the Original line-up.

5. Now focus on the two heroes just left or just right of those heroes referred to in Step 3 (in the Big Seven or Mash-up pictures).

6. Now focus on the same two heroes. Again, take note of their positions.

This is the essence of the conspiracy....drum roll please:

Medium Term: Didio and Johns want to move the heroes referred to from Step 5 and 6 (Barry Allen and Hal Jordan) to where the heroes from Step 3 (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman) are standing. Basically, it involves removing those standing at the centre of all 3 photos as well as those who might organically slip into those spots or steal the show (as we see below).

Green Lantern: Rebirth (It began)
Identity Crisis (Step 1 in Ralph’s downward spiral, because the conspirators galled by the fact that he has a rather surprisingly prominent spot in the Original line-up. If you got outshined by elongated man...Well, you couldn’t come back from that)
Flash: Rebirth (It continued)
Countdown (Killing a hero who was popular, independent of Baal...er...Barry and Hal)
52 (Another Step in the removal of Elongated Man)
Final Crisis (Getting J’onn and Aquaman out of the way temporarily)
One year later (We need the Trinity! What? Out to lunch?)
New Krypton (I wonder where Supes is? He was supposed to be on monitor duty...)
Batman (gone)
Wonder Woman (not in the picture anymore – excuse the pun)
Cry for Justice (temporarily discredit the only other remaining [read: not dead or not missing/displaced] senior member – a guy who actually doesn’t feature much in as many JLA photos as you’d think...Travelling hard is for suckers, anyway.)
The New JLA line-up (Who are the only senior guys left here? Hmmm, lemme think...I give up)
Blackest Night (The Hawks out of the picture for most of it...Another opportunity for Baal...er...Barry and Hal to shine.)

Before I tell you why, here’s the low-down on my classification system:

In terms of this particular classification system, there’s a first string and then there’s second string of heroes. Nothing new here.

First string are your top heroes, your JLA and some JSA, and be divided into first line (basically DC’s Trinity) and next line and sometimes even line after next (the latter two subcategories are the rest of the first string or top heroes).

There are no subcategories under second string, because once you’re second string, your life is over :)

Okay back to the conspiracy:

Barry and Hal (or rather Flash and Green Lantern) are the next line, but the conspirators think “next line” would sound better if there were no other candidates for that subcategory.

Although the Long Term objective was never to replace the Trinity (in terms of heroic status), it was to make the “next line” (Barry and Hal) more elite in the minds of readers. That’s easier to do with no competitors for next line slots or, put differently, a greater divide between next line and the line after next.

It is doomed to fail in the long term, because three regimes down the line there may very well be people at the reigns of DC who don't worship Hal and Barry quite as much. In fact, such a scenario is extremely likely.

Transmission over.

The Missing Link: Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Popularville...

2010-04-09T02:09:00.000-07:00

I was planning on putting up this Missing Link post anytime between now and July, but then bumped it up to the front of the line when I remembered the common animal-related thread between regular commenter LissBirds’ About Me section and the neat little description of her blog (Philosophical Inquiry and...Yes, that’s it). The final push came when I read the comments to Lissbird’s A Guide For Writing the Rebooted Martian Manhunter Part 10 and, in particular, her own comment:

You should've seen me when I tried to read an X-Men comic. That I did give up on, because even a cursory peek at Marvel's database showed that the histories of all those characters is way too complex and convoluted for me to keep straight, and there wasn't any character that I cared enough about to go through all that research.

Well, Liss, maybe you were a little hasty in giving up on mutantkind. Check out who’s mentioned last on this list. In addition, I was going to do a separate post for this link, but then I saw the character both posts have in common. So, I just had to include it. It’s funny what overlook when you’re not specifically looking for it, isn’t it? I would love to see number 6 and 9, by the way.

Enjoy!

J’onn, I am your...brother a.k.a. Separated at birth (a.k.a. The Battle for the Pants and the Right to wear a Chest Gem thingy)

2010-04-07T02:38:00.000-07:00

In the blue corner, I give the Alien Atlas...now sporting long pants...J’onn J’onzz!

In the red corner, I give Majae Mauler...leader of the Primortals...Primaster!

Funny thing is I had predicted a convergence in fashion styles between these two characters years ago when Primaster first appeared in Leonard Nimoy’s Primortals form the now defunct Tekno Comics. Of course, J’onn’s green skin and blue cape appeared more than 35 years before, so he was the original.

However, I managed to call the fact that JJ would some day want Primaster’s long trousers and chest gem and that the Man-hunter from Mars would (regrettably) lose the trademark ‘pimp daddy’ collar.

It sucks to be right 15 years on. Just to be clear, I’m just sad about the collar...Now only Alan Scott has a pimp-worthy collar.

Some Post-Blackest Night observations

2010-04-07T01:49:00.000-07:00

I’ve purposely waited a week to make any comment on the Blackest Night finale and the series as a whole. But now that I’ve gathered my thoughts, I can reveal my major peeves about the crossover:

1] Hal Jordan is the ultimate hero of this piece.

I saw it coming before Blackest Night started, but I had hoped Geoff Johns would surprise me. However, he still views Hal Jordan as the coolest guy in the universe and probably has several t-shirts to prove it. At this stage Johns needs a Hal Jordan blow-up doll really bad and I might spring for a hotel suite so he can it out of his system.

2] Deputizing Lex Luthor and co into the rainbow corps.

Disliking Lex as a Lantern isn’t surprising to me, since I hate most of the non-green ring-wielding variety of corps. There, I said it. I only like the Red and Yellow lanterns, but I think there should only one red ring and one yellow ring. Maybe red and/or yellow rings could it seek out different wearers on different occasions. The red lantern story could not only be a ‘who is the angriest hero/villain in the DCU at a specific moment in time’, but could also explore ‘why hero/villain is so angry’ and that’s already two sides of a story. Ditto the Yellow ring. Alternatively, maybe DC could make The Quest for the One True Red Lantern their next big event and then The Quest for the One True Yellow Lantern could follow that.

Back to Lex: I thought they tried to make him relevant to a story that was a bit beyond his circle.

The other deputies? The thing with Scarecrow becoming a Yellow Lantern is perhaps an interesting idea, but it could cause DC more problems than they can handle if made permanent. The Star Sapphire Wonder Woman seemed really unnecessary.

3] They didn’t resurrect Ted Kord.

This was also predictable since bringing Ted back would reverse what That Writer has done and whatever That Writer does is considered DC canon the instant he does it. Johns is smart enough to not undo anything That Writer writes or suggests to others to write, because that would be heresy and threaten to split DC in two.

Also, while alive Ted Kord was one of the heroes who spent the least amount of time on-page with Hal Jordan EVAR. Go back through your back issues. You’ll see I’m right. Now, if Ted had begged to be on Jordan’s JLE way back and sucked up to Hal, Hal would’ve talked to him more and in turn Johns might’ve liked Ted more. Since Hal is the cool kid and doesn’t talk to Ted, Ted must not be cool enough to resurrect in Geoff John’s opinion.

Although, Ted is back in some form in Booster Gold...

4] The whole Kendra-Shayera thing

I’m not going to say a lot here. I shall however say this: I love Kendra and have always sort of hated Shayera. Don’t ask me why, because Shayera isn’t anywhere as annoying as Donna Troy. Kendra's got so much spunk while (for me) Shayera is just sort of there.

Here’s hoping Brightest Day pans out well.

The Missing Link: A Nostalgic Look back at a Universe lost...

2010-04-01T01:54:00.000-07:00

The year was 1994. A year or so before, the comics industry had been turned on its head by ‘greedy little punks of Image’ or ‘the second coming of comic creativity’, depending on who you asked.

The dominant player in the market, Marvel, was seeing evil shadows in every obscure corner. Smaller publishers were springing up everywhere Marvel bosses looked, but one of Marvel’s eyes was ever aimed in DC’s direction to scope out their fiercest competitor’s next move.

Fear makes even market leaders do strange things and Marvel was no exception. The Marvellous Ones found out that DC had been in negotiations to buy the Ultraverse line of superhero comics (originally started around 1993 by Malibu Comics). So, in a move motivated by the threat a combined Ultraverse-DCU would represent, Marvel scooped up the Ultraverse.

For those who don’t the Ultraverse from a bar of soap, their most recognizable character was Prime.

I'm number one

at...body-building!

Some of you may also remember a Nightman television series, which was pretty dodgy. Well, his comic book incarnation (created by Steve Englehart) was a lot better that the minimal budget version from tv-land.

There was even a short-lived animated series based on their flagship superhero team, Ultra-Force.

Better yet, the Ultraverse created their own unique four-hero team called The Solution that was quite far removed from the Fantastic Four. Their members included Tech (their leader), Dropkick, Shadowmage, and Outrage. See, really different from Stretcho and co. It can be done.

There was also Strangers, a team or group whose premise and origin is strikingly similar to a recent hit tv show as this post explicitly suggests. It also gives us insight into why these heroes haven't graced any comic pages again.

Anyhoo, when Marvel took over, they arranged crossovers and new titles (including a new Marvelized version of Exiles).

Key to doing the REVAMPED titles was filling the Ultraverse with Marvel hero expatriates for some reason. In fact, they went really overboard in a lot of instances.

Of course, they hadn’t anticipated the collapse of the funny-book market around 1995. In typical Marvel fashion, a decision was made to euthanize the Ultraverse (even though sales were reasonable).

A while back, I came across this post, which REALLY mirrors my experiences with and sentiments about the Ultraverse. Of course, I lost the link some time ago, but now I've rediscovered it. It’s a bit of fanboy nostalgia about a universe gone too soon.

Of course, the the fact that Mickey Mouse and the gang have taken over Marvel, has some people wondering if we'll see the Ultraverse again.

More DeviantArt Fun: Public Displays of Bromance

2010-03-31T02:36:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of DeviantArt User jimmymcwicked, I present the ultimate bromance or the bromance that stood the test of time...

Output from the MFET (Masked Facial Expression Translator) - worldwide patent pending:

Not here. Not in front of everyone. I have an image to protect! I’m tough and scary. A hug is so not happening...

Using the UPM (Utterance Predictive Module) of the MFET (Masked Facial Expression Translator) - worldwide patent still pending - this is what Batman will say next:

"Who am I kidding? Despite all your super-powered buffoonery and there's been a lot of that over the years, I still love you, man. Bring it on in for a hug!"

More DeviantArt Fun: Hal is a perfect fit...

2010-03-29T02:54:00.000-07:00

This is where Hal Jordan truly belongs. This ultimate truth is brought to us by the GL-fanclub on deviantArt.

The Missing Link: On the Origins of the Forgotten...

2010-03-29T02:17:00.000-07:00

No, these my musings on the fossil record, but rather a quest inspired by you (the comics blogosphere at large). Sometimes discussions on the interwebs will remind me of some internet geek fare for which I no longer remember the location. The Missing Link is a sporadic (don’t expect a consistent release schedule as it’s dependent on my memory and my Google Fu) series of posts highlighting the results of my search...my continuing mission and never-ending battle to bring you the long-misplaced corners of internet awesome.

First, there’s this link that I have referenced in one or two posts but never supplied, because I lost the link. It is really on point. My only question is: Where is Dazzler?

Then, there’s this more scholarly work that I rediscovered. I don’t agree with all the rules. In my opinion, rule 1 is merely one way to go. Rule 3 is optional (although, Pa Kent, Lucius Fox, Uncle Ben and others might beg to differ). I would amend rule 5 to say that if you do explain, make it a really short explanation (2 sentences at most) or have little bits drizzled throughout a series (if you absolutely have to). Rule 8 can be broken whenever you like, IMHO.

For more previously missing (or forgotten) links, watch this space.

Solving the Hal Jordan problem, because the ladies demanded it!

2010-03-25T02:06:00.000-07:00

I solve hero problems, a least that’s what I’d like to put on an ad. So, when the heroines of the DCU hired me to rid them off a pesky skirt-chasing Hal Jordan who, as the ladies put it, “creates to an over-sexualized DCU” and “isn’t all that, anyway.”

Now, I’m not an assassin. Nor am I a lawyer. So, I can’t kill him or get a restraining order that prohibits Hal from coming within 2000 feet of planet Earth’s female population.

What I can do is come up with a solution to the problem, which I think I’ve done.

First, I boiled the problem down to its essence: In terms of relationships with the opposite sex, Hal Jordan is somewhat of a dog. Looking at this from a Pop Psychology Perspective, commitment-phobia is the term that comes to mind.

Dog...Commitment-phobia...Dog...Commitment-phobia...How do you teach an old dog new tricks? Commitment-phobia...Dog...Why is the old dog afraid to commit? Maybe he and Carol aren’t really meant to be? Maybe, he has too much of a roving eye?

Here’s what I was thinking....

Set Hal up with someone else.

Requirements? Must love dogs! Just joking.

Okay, here I went with the suggestions of DCU heroines. Firstly, she should be a superheroine, because a lot of Hal’s flirtatious behaviour occurs while on the job. Secondly, she’s got be able to put Hal in his place when he gets out of hand. Thirdly, she should hold Hal’s attention. Lastly, they suggested that she should love drama, because Hal’s a bit of a drama queen in the “I quit!” or “This is over!” and then leaving in a huff department.

Or

MH = S + PIP +A + LD, where:
MH = Match for Hal
S = Superheroine
PIP = Ability to Put him In his Place
A = Attention-holding
LD = Loves Drama

But the formula was only half completed. It needed to be a weighted formula and I felt some of the DCU ladies lacked the objectivity with regard to Hal. For example, they wanted to give the PIP factor a weight of 60 per cent, because they wanted to see Hal put in his place constantly.

Huntress especially didn’t hide her distaste for the guy. Heck, given the rumour Hal spread her participation in a threesome with Lady Blackhawk and Hal, I didn’t blame her. I managed to calm her down by showing her the tape of who was actually involved: Some blond guy called Maser and Ralph Dibny. Yeah, that was some bottle of Grappa. I mean, Ralph?

After we finished laughing about Hal’s taped escapade and lack of creativity* in replacing the names of those involved, I managed to convince them of the following weighted formula:

MH = S(20%) + PIP (20%) +A(40%) + LD(20%),where the factor called Attention-holding (A) has the greatest weight (40%) and is thus the most important factor to consider.

*Note: Oracle did a wonderful skit on Hal’s suspected thought process (which was hysterical in more ways than one) the morning after, “OMG, did I?? Did we??? And they weren’t even Barry or Ollie! Think dammit. I have a rep to protect. I can’t just swear these guys to secrecy. No, I have to make something up that’ll make me the envy of every red-blooded straight guy...again...Think, man...Think!...That’s it! I’ll say I had a girl-girl-boy threesome. Lemme see...Maser is blonde. What woman do I know who’s also blond? Lady Blackhawk. Yes! Ralph wears Purple. What woman do I know who wears Purple? I know, Huntress! Or is it supposed to Lavender or Violet? *facepalms* OMG, maybe I am gay. I mean, I knew the names of those the colours on the gay side of the spectrum, didn’t I?” *slaps his forehead*

Who knew Babs was such a barrel of laughs (or is it venom)?

Anyway, I fed the formula into the computer and let it run.

The results indicated that I needed to look outside of the DCU. Specifically, Hal’s perfect match lives in the Marvel Universe. We’re going to need Access to help out on this one...And DC hardliners, please don’t hate the researcher or his methodology, hate the results (if you must).

Without further ado, I give to you Green Lantern Hal Jordan’s perfect match:

Jessica Drew (a.k.a. Spider-woman)!

Below, is how she did factor-wise...

Factor #1: (S or Superheroine)
Jessica is that and so much more. Her powers are superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, endurance, heightened senses, sticking to walls (useful for keeping an eye on a flirt like Hal Jordan), an immunity to poisons, drugs, and radiation. She can’t fly, but she can glide. It should also be noted that Spider-woman is so super that she is another example of what I call the Great Spiderman Paradox that states:

Spider-man is great (some say iconic character) spider-themed character. Once a great themed character exists, it is nearly impossible to create a similarly themed character (whether related or unrelated to the original great themed character) that works at even a minimum level. However, contrary to expectation, the vast majority of spider-themed superheroes (of just about every comic book universe) work exceedingly well. Sadly, this is not true for non-spider-themed heroes.

Factor #2: (PIP or The ability to Put him In his Place)
Spider-woman possesses a “venom blast” (a focussed blast of bioelectric energy that can stun or kill normal human). I can picture Jessica hitting Hal with a zap to the back of the head when he gets out of hand.

Factor #3: (A or Attention-holding)
Jessica can hold any guy’s attention, because she’s a knock-out (even with the mask that’s evident). She’s also had her own solo animated series back in the seventies, voiced by Joan van Ark. So, she’s a celebrity of sorts and Hal strikes me as the type to lose his mind around celebrities. Then there’s her title of officially having the best-looking hair in the entire Marvel Universe. That right there should make Spider-woman a match for the guy who thinks he has the best-looking hair in the DCU and acts (read: poses over-the-shoulder with hand in hair) accordingly. However, as unfair as those advantages seem, she still has an ace up her sleeve: She can secrete pheromones that make any man attracted to her. Sniff around Jessica and you might never want to sniff anyone else.

Factor #4: (LD or Loves Drama)
She lives in the Marvel Universe and those Marvel heroes really love their drama. She’s been on a Marvel Universe team or four in her time and Marvel teams are like soap operas sometimes. So, drama is inherent in her life. More specifically, she’s been on a team with Iron Man and one side to the multi-faceted Iron Man can be best described as “Drama Queen Hal Jordan with WAYYYY more follow-through.” If Iron Man were a member of the JLA and didn’t like how they were doing things (like Hal ranted about in James Robinson’s Crying Shame), he’d quit and actually create his own Justice League. In fact, he’s done this twice or thrice over the course of his Avengers career.

But why would Jessica Drew even give a guy like Hal (with his rep) the time of day?

Perhaps, it’s out of feminist solidarity? This is reaching on my part, but Jesssica is a member of the all-girl Lady Liberators (which include Sue Storm, Storm, Hellcat, Tigra, Black Widow aand others). Is there a greater act of liberation than liberating an entire universe of purportedly the biggest manwhore there is in said universe?

Maybe Hal reminds her of Nick Fury (a long time friend / boss / supporter), who in terms of looks is a more tough-looking, eye-patch-wearing, version of Mister Jordan (back when he had the white highlights)?

Maybe it’s because Jessica is a Private Investigator in civilian life and is therefore more DC than even she knows? DC Comics is really Detective Comics Comics, remember?

Okay, I really don’t know why. This is just fanboy spit-balling here, people.

Novels about Superheroes - a rare detour for me...

2010-03-19T02:13:00.000-07:00

Novels are generally neglected by 1truegl, but there are three that are somewhat intriguing to me.

First, there’s “Black and White” co-authored by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge. It features two female former BFF superheroes as its protagonists who are forced to team up. Black and White is the first in something called the Icarus Project series of superhero novels. Here’s a review from SFsignal. The next novel in the series “Shades of Gray” will be available June 2010.

The second novel I’d like to direct your attention to is “Devil’s Cape” by Rob Rogers. It’s a story about revenge with some “pastichey” characters spanning 35 years. Here’s a review from Sfsite.

The one I’m most excited about is “Ex-Heroes” by Peter Clines. It’s cross-genre novel that actually features a superteam of sorts. Here’s more information.

Throughout this post, you may have noticed my subtle reference to team-ups and superteams (it’s the subtle bolded and italized text). It’s surprisingly rare to have a team-up or superteam novel, considering all them pages that make up them novels. The non-solo aspect is probably a big part of the reason I’m intrigued by above three offerings, because I'm crazy about superteams.

Yet another cut scene from JLA: The Movie (inspired by a discussion on art)

2010-03-17T02:19:00.000-07:00

A comment I made a while back (about “fallen angel art”) at Comics Make Me Happy inspired the following scene (provisionally entitled “Underfoot”) from JLA: The Movie...Yes, sometimes I find MY OWN comments to be such a source of inspiration I feel the need to link to them.

When and where?
This is near the end of the first movie...The setting for this scene is Earth (Do we have to use NYC?)

Superman, J’onn, and Wonder Woman had just left for Apocalypse via boom tube a minute before. Booster and Beetle are relaying this fact to the rest of the league, who arrived after Supes and company had left.

The camera slowly cranes up at an angle that captures the league looking up at the sky above them.

Suddenly, there is a huge explosion in the upper atmosphere. In the wake of the explosion, we see a giant open Boom Tube and three figures falling from the sky (all fallen angel-like).

We also see an armada slowly flying out of the boom tube. Near the front, we see Darkseid standing on the deck of the main destroyer (in his typical “I shall crush this world underfoot” dead-stare-and-hands-behind-the-back manner).

“Ted, those three...It’s Supes and the other big guns,” Booster says, a shocked look in his eyes.

CUT TO:
A closer shot of Superman, Wonder Woman, and J’onn still falling from a dizzying height. It seems as if their falls are taking forever.

CUT BACK TO:
A medium shot of the ground and the rest of the JLA looking up. The camera then zooms in on Booster and Beetle.

“Superman!!!” Beetle screams.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll survive the fall,” Booster says. “You know, super-dense molecules—”

“You don’t understand,” Beetle says. “Look at his trajectory - he’s coming down right where I parked the bug!”

The Mighty Crusaders are coming back (using a series of posts by yours truly as inspiration????)

2010-03-17T02:00:00.000-07:00

From what I’ve read here, the DC bigwigs have read my “If DC ever created the own FF” series of posts (collected here, here, and here). Please leave your “way to go 1truegl!” or “You are so awesome...” or “You truly ARE the One True GL...” in the comments, to which I will modestly reply “Why thank you, commenter, I was merely doing my blogger’s duty and you’re awesome for telling me that I’m awesome.”

This Mighty Crusaders line-up will feature The Shield, Hangman, The Web, and Inferno. Yup, that’s four. Choke on that, Marvel! You don’t own the rights to the four-hero team as concept like your propaganda says you do.

I’ve been aware of the Red Circle characters for many years and even red the backend of DC’s Impact comics back in the 90s, so I’m familiar with previous incarnations of the Crusaders that have traditionally featured larger rosters. In fact, in Final Impact (the swansong of DC’s Impact Comics imprint), there were a lot of cool developments with the The Shield (two brothers share the persona at the time).

I didn’t read the JMS one-shots, but I’ve heard that they quite different from the originals and the Impact Comics versions.

Of course, Didio has said that they were going back to the original versions or use them as strong inspiration for the new titles. So, I thought the heroes might turn out to be vastly different...

The heroes are they were and as they are now:

The Shield:
Basically, the source of his powers (his suit) was similar to Iron Man in one of his incarnations (decades before Iron Man existed) and his origin (serum experiment) was identical to Captain America (a year or so before Cap existed) in another incarnation. The Impact line of the 1990s went the suit-powered hero route. Now, he’s nanite-powered techno version of the Detroit-league Steel.

Hangman:
Hangman is creepy guy who carries a noose (not a lasso, a noose). Now, he’s more supernatural and immortal.

The Web:
Originally, Web was a criminology professor who fought crime in his spare time, all in an attempt to understand the behaviour of his bad seed bro. Now, he’s apparently a do-gooder who gets his missions from the internets.

Inferno:
I was never really into Inferno (hardly remember the character), so I can’t really make any comparison. I hear that the present day version has fire powers and a mysterious past.

Of course, 1truegl would have gone a different way in terms of reworking of the characters’ origins (and powers and motivations) as well as the roster.

The big question on my mind: Where is Blackjack and will DC keep his much adored origin?*

For those of unfamiliar with Blackjack (a non-powered vigilante) or his origin, I’ll repost my thoughts from a comment thread right here:

Blackjack has a dull origin (that I’ve tried to mentally block out, so this could be wrong): Dude gets locked up by robbers but manages to escape by using a playing card [Ace of Spades, i think]. Dude goes, “Ace of Spades saved my life...I think should become a masked hero as a tribute...” For real, I think that’s the gist of it...

Maybe I should look up Blackjack’s origin, because I might’ve been hard on him...

Short Fiction about Superheroes (Part 5)

2010-03-15T02:58:00.000-07:00

If you haven't read them yet, here are Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this series.

Today, I want to divert your attention to anthology called Lords of Justice, which differs from other anthologies I have spotlighted as is comprised of four novellas. Novellas usually start at 17500 or 20000 or 25000 words, but can go up to about 40000 words. However, these word count limits aren't universally agreed upon (and any ensuing arguments are arbitrary at best).

Here’s an interview from Static Movements with three of the four authors. There is a lot more in this short interview than self-pimpage, including the revelation of each author’s favourite superhero and their take on comparing comics and prose. By the way, the other author is actor Michael Boatman (probably best known for his role in Spin City back in the late 90s).

Then there’s the upcoming anthology called Chicks in Capes, written by chi...er...women about female superheroes. Lori Gentle has more on this project here.

The truth about Dan Didio...

2010-03-11T00:55:00.000-08:00

Years ago, when a comic book writer whose writing I dislike (present tense, because I still do) became way too influential for my liking, I left the whole comic book reading thing all together. And that was just a writer.

What am I to do when I see the bloody fingerprints of The Boss of my favourite superhero comic publisher on everything I don’t like about said publisher?

I don’t know yet, but the first step in my process is to research the problem.

Question:
Who is Dan Didio?

Answer:
Dan is OBVIOUSLY a Marvel plant. A sleeper saboteur, if you will.

How do I know this?

Exhibit A:
The one thing Marvel has over DC is far less complicated continuity. Didio knows this, yet he green lit several major events that seemed to have the primary function of loading another level of complications onto DC continuity (Infinite Crisis, Countdown, and Final Crisis, I’m looking at you). And then, last I heard, Dan got the same writer I mentioned at the start of this post to pen something called Multiverse (which could be disastrous knowing how great Final Crisis turned out). Be afraid, people.

Exhibit B:
Before Didio’s reign, DC killed off about one popular character per decade. During this Didio age, characters with big, small, and medium-sized followings are getting killed off every six months. This type erosion of intellectual property and fan base is exactly what I would want if I were the Marvel bosses.

Exhibit C:
This is one is the most conclusive piece of evidence I have and that is: His name is Dan Didio. Who chooses names like that? Marvel. That’s who! Here are some examples: Bruce Banner, Peter Parker, Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Rich Rider, Scott Summers, Matt Murdock, Warren Worthington, Victor Von Doom, Wade Wilson, and many others.

I rest my case.

Calling all prose writers who like superheroes...

2010-03-11T00:39:00.000-08:00

I came across this yesterday: http://nomoreheroesanthology.blogspot.com/

At the very least, their prologue and character profiles (running the gamut from serious to not serious) are worth reading through. I’ve come across similar non-superhero projects like this before where a story and characters have been set up for writers, but usually they restrict you to say five characters (not the sixty of superhumans available here). In addition, you may choose to create your own and have one or more their creations along for the ride, which sort of makes it more like a comic universe.

MGK raises some legit points about a crying shame....

2010-03-08T01:41:00.000-08:00

So, I’m guessing James Robinson isn’t a Roy Harper fan. Seriously, rip off a guy’s arm and kill his daughter??? Really??

Even if you liked the first six issues of the series, the last instalment is... well, I think Mightygodking said it best here. Be warned, folks, some of his language is not for the sensitive, but given issue #7’s subject matter...

The comment that summed up ‘The Making of Cry for Justice’ and the general state of DC’s decision-making best is this one by Lister Sarge:

“I’ve known for a long time now that trusting DC editorial is like putting your sexual organs in a tiger’s mouth. Sure there’s a chance it won’t bite, but do you really want to take that risk?”

Amen to that, Lister Sarge.

Another comment that gave me something to think about was this one by Brian T:

“This stuff isn’t going to end as long as the inmates responsible for Graduation Day, Infinite Crisis, Identity Crisis, Countdown, Titans East and too many other gratuitously violent and rape-y comics are running the asylum.

Unless Jim Lee somehow manages a hostile takeover, expect crap like this to continue being the status quo.”

Yeah, the same group of peeps are responsible for all of those “masterpieces.” Jim Lee? Hmmm, well, that’s an idea isn’t it?

Another option would be to petition Warner Bros, citing how the Didio reign is seriously eroding their licensing and movie / tv feasibility of DC’s core brands by way of the overall tone of the current source material. The thing to remember is that some pretty tame movies have lost box office dollars as result of the public’s views on the more extreme source material.

Pretty soon Dan Didio will be coming out with a little self-congratulatory statement at the back of all DC’s comic books:

Kids, this is the story of how Cry for Justice mini series came to be and how I rediscovered the talent that is Mister James Robinson. Remember that name - it becomes important later on...

You know, a year ago when we first wanted to rip off Roy’s arm and kill his daughter, it didn’t quite feel appropriate at the time. In the wake of my disappointment, I found out that James Robinson (who’d just been given the writing duties on Superman) was just stoked as I was about physically and emotionally torturing Roy Harper.

Really, if you think about it, no-one wanted Roy to be the red version of Green Arrow. I didn’t. James didn’t. So, logically all of DC fandom didn’t either. That’s how in touch we are with our core fan base. Indeed, it was the fans who decided that things had to turn out this way for Roy and we’re all about the fans...

You’re welcome.

Yes, Didiot strikes again.

Short Fiction about Superheroes (Part 4)

2010-03-05T01:26:00.000-08:00

If you haven't read them yet, here are Part 1 and Part 2 as well as Part 3 of my posts on Superhero short fiction.

In my continuing search for short fiction anthologies about those heroes with superpowers or those without powers who are just super, I’ve come across Super-Human: An Anthology by Dan Membiela.

That’s right, it’s by Dan Membiela, not edited by Dan Membiela. Yes, if we want to get technical, it should’ve been called Super-Human: A Collection, because Membiela is the sole author of all eight stories collected.

That said, it’s probably a pretty clever naming strategy, since the author is more known for penning superhero comics. In addition, the name avoids the slightly odd yet popular collection naming convention that takes the form of ‘Story X and Other tales’ that to my mind limits the market to the author’s existing audience and pins all hope on Story X. In fact, putting aside the relative fame of the author within his or her genre for a moment, the success of the collection depends on Story X being the author’s most well-known or most award-winning or best story (in his or his publisher’s opinion). Another thing that the ‘Story X and Other tales’ titles have going against them is the product info aspect of names. For example, Story X may be a superhero story called The Cat in the Mad Hatter’s Hat, which doesn’t scream capes and cowls. That’s where multi-author themed anthologies have always had the upper hand on single-author collections – the former are “theme-explicitly” named or strongly allude to a specific (sub)genre or trope. The anthology version of The Cat in the Mad Hatter’s Hat would be The Purr to Action: A Feline Superhero Anthology or Cat versus Hat: A Feline Superhero Anthology or something better. You get the idea, though.

Nuts. I just thought of a pseudo-technicality that allows Mister Membiela to call his collection an anthology. Never mind, I’m not deleting the above paragraph. No, I...am...not.

Anyway, here’s a review from the Silver Soapbox.

As previously mentioned, in terms of prose fiction, I prefer short fiction over novels. In terms of short fiction, I prefer anthologies (books) over monthly magazines. So, for the last couple of years I’ve only kept up with anthos and have neglected the (monthly and quarterly) zines.

Subsequently, I’ve only recently discovered A Thousand Faces: The Quarterly Journal of Superhuman Fiction, a magazine that is available both for sale in print or online for free on the interwebs. I’ve already read a pretty entertaining story online involving a Mister Brass.

Instructions to read A Thousand Faces webzine for free:

1. Click on the cover of A Thousand Faces (They should really have “Click Here to enter” on that cover – See, it’s not our fault.) This will take you to the Editor Frank Byrns’ column called “Thinking outside the longbox” (clever name) which gives little blurbs about each story contained in the current issue.
2. Click on "New Fiction" on your left.
3. Click on the Story you want to read and enjoy!

Another cut scene or dvd extra from JLA: The Movie...

2010-03-01T23:34:00.000-08:00

The scene opens with a steamed up bathroom mirror...

Cue this song:

The mirror gets wiped clear, revealing Hal Jordan’s bare upper body. Comb in hand, he’s lip-syncing and pointing at his reflection...He’s singing to himself about himself.

CUT TO:
The Watchtower hallway.

This is from the back shot of Hal.

Hal, now fully uniformed and sporting his Ipod, quietly sings along ("We made our connection...") while shuffling rhythmically down the hall, twirling around every half a dozen steps, on his way to transporter / teleporter room. He’s got a hot date.

"Hal!" Suddenly, J’onn ghosts through the wall a foot in front of Hal.

Hal falls over from being startled and plucks off his earphones. “Damnit, Martian. When will stop doing that??”

J’onn turns awayin the direction of the conference room, and telepathically answers, When it no longer amuses me. "Hal, It's an emergency. We're needed.”

More GL user icon fun from the Interwebs...

2010-02-26T00:51:00.000-08:00

Here’s a user icon, courtesy of someone with a lot of time on their hands (well, more than me).

It proves that there IS good taste on the net, people.

It also reminded me of how I can reduce the special effects budget on JLA: The Movie, so I can spend it on my stellar cast and, of course, catering.

To refresh everyone’s memory, for the Green Lantern’s ring constructs I intend using a state-of-the-art special effects hardware I call Luminous Effect Geometric Objects combined with another tip I picked up from the FX masters at Industrial Light and Magic called Practical Application of Incandescent Noticeable Tint.

If DC ever created their own FF – The Smarter than Batman Edition (Now with extra IQ Points!)

2010-02-23T01:12:00.000-08:00

I’ve written two of these posts, here and here. Without further ado, here’s my third DC FF proposal:

1] Doctor Light

No, not him. Her. Kimiyo Hoshi. Light powers and an advance understanding of Physics are both extremely useful. Also, she’ll stop this team from becoming a “Sausage fest” (Can’t believe I just typed that :)

2] Mister Terrific

Michael Holt is listed as the 3rd smartest guy on the planet. He possesses significant martial arts skills and uses loads of techno-gadgets. Mr. Terrific also wields an uber-cool power of being invisible to technology.

3] Mister Miracle

Yes, this is a repeat of the original post. My reasons given in my previous DC Fantastic Four post still hold. Inventive genius and all that...

Semi-unrelated rant:

Although Ragman isn’t on this team, I still haven’t given up on Mr. Miracle and Ragman potential BFFdom (that’s Best-Friends-Forever-dom...You know, like fandom but with best friends and it has nothing to do with dominance which seems to be a recurring theme with Scott Free on this blog :). Call me a sucker for hero bromance, but where are the NEW hero friendships these days? There is a long tradition in the DCU* of great friendships: Supes and Bats; Hal and Barry and Ollie; Blue and Gold; Arthur and Katar; J’onn and Captain Marvel; and even Kyle and Wally (and Conner) to a degree. When did heroes stop needing fellowship or camaraderie with other heroes? It’s not like they can log on to a hero blogosphere and talk about their heroic lives...And their civilian wives/husbands or girlfriends/boyfriends can’t really fill that void.

*There is a relative absence of such strong friendships in the Marvel Universe. I can only thing of 2 or 3 comparable friendship pairings off the top of my head and none reach the mutual admiration of the Supes-Bats dyad or the intensity of the Hal-Barry-Ollie threesome. There are actually more examples of the Hawkman-Green Arrow constant disagreement dynamic. It’s actually quite weird.

4] The Atom

Ray Palmer is the perfect guy to be on this team. He’s a physicist and general sub-atomic tinkerer and, believe me, this team is all about tinkering.

5] Steel

I know this is supposed to be a four-hero team, but I felt the team might be a little light on muscle. In addition, John Henry Irons is a great mix of brains and brawn.

Okay, so what are they about?

At first, I didn’t have a name or specific mission/purpose for the team, but after looking at the assembled team (beyond just their intelligence), I may have come up with both.

Basically, we have heroes who can get in just about anywhere unseen (Mr. Terrific and Atom), a guy who’s impossible to trap/contain (Mr. Miracle), a scientist who has control over light (Dr. Light), an armoured butt-kicker-inventor with a big hammer (Steel), and a guy who can examine machines without taking them apart (The Atom). All of them are super-smart.

Team name: Omega Annex

Mission:
To build me a star ship and then serve as my crew.

No, seriously, here’s their true Mission/Purpose:
To commandeer and protect or disable potentially dangerous (or classified as Omega-level) technology from super-powered threats.

Their first (team-up) storyline:

It begins with each hero receiving a letter informing them of the death of the justice league villain, the Weapons Master, as well as the names of the recipients of the other letters. Huh? Some of them had never met the Weapons Master. So, why are they receiving these letters? The letters request them to see his lawyer (or executor of his will) for more detail. Scientists and inventors are nothing if not curious, so after a few conference calls, they decide to see what’s what.

Once there, his lawyer shows them a video from the Weapons Master – it looks a few years old. WM tells them that although he was a villain, he was basically just in it for himself and not super evil. Bottom line, the Weapons Master bequeathed “keys” to his dimensional armoury, because they were the only ones he trusts. They’re heroes and scientists. Begrudgingly, they accept their inheritance, because as the WM asked in the video recording, “What if it were to fall into the wrong hands?”

On their first or second visit to the armoury, they discover dossiers (including histories, enemies, and psych profiles) on several bad guys and worse guys who are in possession of extremely destructive (planet-killing) weapons plus their intended targets. Of course, the heroes decide to disarm the bad guys and take possession of these weapons for global safe-keeping. Fast-forward to just after their last and most dangerous mission, when the Weapons Master shows up very much alive and “ejects and locks” the newly formed Omega Annex out of his dimensional armoury. Yeah, WM can do that. “Thanks for procuring these weapons. I felt it was too dangerous to risk my own life for them...They’ll make great additions to my collection.”

Of course, it doesn’t end there. These are five super-smart heroes, after all.

Fun facts about Omega Annex:

1] During their free time, they watch a continuous loop of Big Bang Theory re-runs and Discovery Channel documentaries.

2] They have free time, because they built two dedicated computer systems to handle tedious chores like monitor duty (complete with monitor duty banter settings for the team's amusement in case they ever run out of Big Bang Theory re-runs).

Other insights from this fanboy exercise:

I’ve also considered calling them “The thinkers” or “Brains Trust” or “Think Tank” or “Mindworks” or “Heroes Who Think”, but that may have been somewhat insulting to the rest of the DCU.

It was pretty hard to compile this team once I went the Science and Technology hero route. It seems that DC Comics is the universe of detectives (Batman, The Question, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, and several others) while Marvel is the universe of scientists (Reed Richards, Professor X, Beast, Hank Pym, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and others).

In the DCU, even those not prone to investigate as heroes have investigative civilian careers such as reporters (Clark Kent) and social workers (Guy Gardner). This is perhaps understandable since the DC in the name DC Comics refers to Detective Comics (the company’s first most popular title). So, DC Comics is really Detective Comics Comics.

In the Marvel U, it’s hard to lob a rock into a bush without hitting a hero with a scientific background. Heck, even Peter Parker was an inventive and scientific genius in high school! It’s also not uncommon for Marvel’s (on average seven or eight member) teams to have three scientist or inventor heroes. It must’ve been the influence of the space race. So, Marvel Comics is really Scientific Marvel Comics.

All of this should make parents happy, because both universes promote asking questions (DC through detection and Marvel through Science) and that is some of the best life advice you can give kids. Superhero comics as life skills tools...Believe it.

Of course, this is off-set by several larger-than-life heroes who are former career-military or law enforcement types who never really question orders until it’s too late (Captain America, Hal Jordan, Hawkman). Hey, no educational material is ever perfect...

JLA: The Movie – How it should be done (Part 7)

2010-02-19T01:10:00.000-08:00

This post is sort of supplemental to the series in the sense that there are some things we could include or not. Click here to read Part 6 and find links to all of the other posts in the series.

I give you Evangeline Lilly (our #1 pick for the role of Wonder Woman) who has recently shocked us with the “I’m done with acting” announcement.

Now, I give you Anna Friel (from Lands of the Lost).

Is it just me or could Evangeline and Anna be sisters? Not twins, but there's slight resemblance, right? No, I’m not trying to replace Miss Lilly as Wonder Woman. Nor am I envisioning a role for Donna Troy in this movie – that ship will never sail...

No, this has to do with a scene that could make it into the movie or could be done as an extra for the dvd special edition. Bear in mind that this is a movie, so we’ll take some liberties with the source material accuracy and such...

Our scene sees the league (minus Scott and Barda who are missing at the point) landing on Paradise Island (Themyscira) to learn more about “the source” from Earth’s resident expert, he Amazon Queen, wonder woman’s mama. The JLA have been granted access under Diana’s auspices. Booster Gold (Sean William Scott) and Beetle (James Roday from Psych) are also along and are the only two that aren’t up to date on Amazon custom.

Blue and Gold are at the back of the party as they make their way to the palace under the watchful eyes of Diana’s Amazon sisters.

Beetle sees a beautiful Amazon warrior and remarks to Booster, “Wow. She’s beautiful, tall and looks like she could handle herself. I’m in love.” He sees another Amazon sentry. “I think I’ve just fallen in love again.” He sees another five along the path, all taller than him.

Booster says, “It’s weird, they look super-aggressive. Then again, it must be their way of showing how super-interested in us they are.”

“I think you’re probably right. I am loving the boy-girl ratio on this island. Man, our odds must be off-the-charts here. Too bad, we’re here doing the hero thing.”

"Yeah, hero stuff comes first, but next time I’m definitely checking out the nightlife...”

CUT TO:
The Amazon royal palace.

Wonder Woman embraces her mother (played by you guessed it...Anna Friel). Yes, Evangeline and Anna look of simlar age, but that’s the point here. Well, you'll see in a minute. Anyhoo, Diana introduces the rest of the league to her mother.

After being introduced, Booster Gold (played by Sean William Scott) blurts out, “Wonder Woman, your mom is hot.”

The palace hall goes quiet. The rest of the league, Diana, and her mom give Booster brief looks ranging from annoyance (Batman and Hawkman) to judgment (Supes) to disappointment (J’onn) to embarrassment (Flash) to superiority (Hal) to thankfulness (as in thankful that it wasn’t him who made the slip up -Beetle).

I think this extra will be called “Paradise Bust” on the dvd.

If DC ever created their own FF – The Super-powerful Superhero Oversight Edition (Now with extra eyes looking over and hands tapping on shoulders!)

2010-02-16T01:33:00.000-08:00

A while back, I wrote this post to propose DC’s very own Fantastic Four. I still like my first DC’s FF proposal, but I know I have more than one in me. It occurred to me that a four-member super team is as much about how the team relates to outsiders as they do with each other and this team’s genesis has to do with exactly that.
This is my most radical proposal for DC’s very own Fantastic Four (I think).

Team name: Vigil

1] Dr. Fate

The current Doctor Fate becomes both the founder and leader of the team. As different versions of Doctor Fate have been members of the JLA and JSA, he knows how influential both teams are in terms of opinions/behaviour of even non-members. Most heroes in the DCU believe them to be morally infallible and some hero-worship the JLA and JSA. However, Fate has "seen" the moral failures of especially the JLA (including the events of Identity Crisis) and knows how difficult it is for any hero to oppose them. In the same way, teams such as the Outsiders and the Doom Patrol operate under such shadowy circumstances that destructive effects from their actions may only be felt when it’s already too late. “Batman’s Brother Eye satellite was pointed in the wrong direction, but who has enough character and is powerful enough to stop or ‘course correct’ a JLA when they’ve crossed the line?”

2] Green Lantern Sodam Yat

Sodam is brash and inexperienced, but not afraid to ruffle some fellow GL feathers. He’s also a Daxamite, so he’s just about as powerful as Superman. His weakness is lead, though. Did I mention he’s a Green Lantern? Anyhoo, Fate shows Sodam how easy it is for Superman to become a Superman Prime of sorts and how the GLs from Earth (Hal, John, Guy, and Kyle) aren’t objective when it comes to the JLA or JSA...

Next, Fate uses a spell to snatch an underappreciated hero from the 30th century...Hey, there’s a lot of that going on...

3] Wildfire

Seriously, what was DC doing with this hero anyway? I don’t think that this is ever stated explicitly, but I don’t believe Wildfire is as onboard with the “Superman’s heroism is the continued inspiration for the Legion” business as some other Legionnaires and that’s a big part of Fate’s pitch to this legionnaire. In fact, Superboy was his greatest rival in original continuity and the two fought each other to a standstill on one occasion. Wildfire is a former Legion leader, known for his hot-tempered yet decisive and tactically sound leadership. Unlike Cosmic Boy, Wildfire didn’t lead by popularity.

It’ll be interesting to see how he works with Sodam Yat, seeing that one of the fellow legionnaires that clashed with Wildfire most frequently was also an arrogant Daxamite.

4] Ragman

This is a repeat from the first post, but I don’t think I stressed just how powerful Ragman potentially is. Let’s just focus on one of his powers, strength: He could suddenly have the combined strength of a few dozen people or up to a few hundred people. Then, there’s his ability to absorb souls into his costume...Oh yeah, his first Vigil mission is to infiltrate the JLA and assess how ethically the world's greatest heroes operate. Of course, Rory is the most conflicted member of the team and not sure that they're doing the right thing.

Well, that's it for now. Be keeping an eye on you... (That's Vigil's comic tagline. Like it?)

An Early Valentine's Day Message...

2010-02-12T00:44:00.000-08:00

I know this is a few days early, but I'd like to talk about that comics topic that cannot be avoided...Valentine's Day. In comics, I can only really think of one couple who have the sort of love that everyone should want:

Barda and Scott Free

For the guys, here are my reasons:

1] Every guy deserves someone who'll stand by him no matter what the odds and fight for their relationship, like so...

2] Every guy deserve someone who won't take crap from the in-laws, be they yours or hers (or people who are just as interfering), like so...

For the ladies, here are my reasons:

1] Every woman deserves someone whose ‘forever’ actually means forever, who will always slip out of even the heaviest chains of everything else and find his way back to her...

2] Every woman deserves someone who’d love nothing more than be tied up with her or next to her or by her...

So much so that he’ll teach others to surrender to their respective partners in the same way...

“Remember, Superman, ‘spandex’ is our safe word...”

"Yes, Mistress Lois."

Of course, it helps if you have a song with sentimental value you can call 'our song' like Scott and Barda do. In fact, they have two faves...

The one is Escape by Enrique Iglesias. Scott likes the sing the high notes of this section of the song:

You can run, you can run,
You can run, you can run,
You can run, you can run,
You can run, you can run,
You can run, you can run,
You can run, you can hide
But you can't escape my love...

The other song is Young Hearts Run Free by Candi Station. Barda is particularly good at singing this song while wearing this outfit:

Young hearts, run free
Never be hung up, hung up like my man and me (oooh)

Here's wishing you a great Valentine's Day from me (and the Frees).

Call me a JLA elitist...

2010-02-08T22:52:00.000-08:00

I can stay silent no longer.

As a lifelong Justice League fan, I’ve always enjoyed liking and disliking the various league incarnations. Sometimes it’s even been enjoyable when three or four of my favourite characters leave at the same time and are replaced by some new blood.

During the last few years, a trend has developed where a grouping of former league members team up for a random adventure and either think of themselves as or refer to themselves as “Justice League.” I’m sorry, but they are NOT Justice League. They are FORMER Justice League.

I thought that was bad enough, but DC is making an even bigger mistake with their new JLA roster (which I thought was a practical joke up to a few months ago):

1] Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
See objections below
2] Green Arrow
See objections below
3] Dick Grayson (as Batman)
Always looks like a great idea on paper (he’s led a team before, better social skills than Batman, moderately popular), but somehow Grayson never delivers...
4] Donna Troy
I’ve had a bit of a tolerate-hate relationship with Donna Troy...only briefly liked one of her incarnations and that was because her personality had been changed 100% during a transformation. If you say you like the Titans, some people assume you’re a Donna Troy fan for some reason and when you reveal that you’re not those people will have these bewildered facial expressions. To me, she’s really like someone who is friends with one of your friends and you can never figure why your friend likes her (or people in general for that matter).
5] Starfire
If you have Dick, Starfire won’t be far behind (that didn’t sound good when I read it)...Are Dick and Starfire the prototypes for Edward and Bella? Does Stephanie Meyers read comic books?
6] Cyborg
At least he’s not a sidekick
7] Mon-el
The new Superman or Superman analogue, plucked from the Legion where this character actually worked...
8] Guardian
He was more interesting as a supporting character to Superboy of the 90s
9] Congorilla
WTF?
10] Atom (Ray Palmer)
This guy needs a hug more than he needs JLA membership
11] Doctor Light
EDIT: I'd forgotten to add the good doctor...Maybe, she and Atom were added last to try to please fans of different incarnations of the league and to make the league smarter. Also, she's Guardian's girlfriend (??) and they're both in the current Superman books (That's a Morrisson move, isn't it? Adding charcters to the JLA that you write in other titles...)

Reasons for my dislike of this roster:

1] I absolutely hate the idea of the JLA as “graduate school for Titans.” Most of The Titans were former sidekicks of Original Leaguers, right? All of them have reached the level of their mentors, right? Oh wait, no, most of them haven’t. Doesn’t this make the JLA easier to defeat (collectively or individually)? And experience doesn’t seem to be the big factor here, because the Justice League Titans have plenty of experience. They’re just not as good as their mentors and in some cases heroes with less experience are actually better than them. Fine, graduate, but do it somewhere else! Make your own way – don’t trade on your mentor’s reputation and good standing...

2] Having heroes with the same powers or skill sets as former members makes the team pretty easy to plan against. You need one or two dark horses in your team to make villains go, “Don’t really know anything about this guy...At least, I can use one of the 212 strategies that work against Nightwing, but this other guy he’s an unknown quantity...He’s not even a legacy hero, so I can’t even use Google him to read up on his...”

3] Aren’t these Titans sick of each other yet? They’ve spent more time together than some of the original leaguer BFFs. There’s a reason the Big Seven of the JLA aren’t in every incarnation of the league.

4] Whenever the league creates a new roster or holds try-outs (isn’t there a better, more prestigious term to use?), I prefer the line-up with well-known or incumbent league faces plus three or four heroes who are totally new to the league AND to each other. So, ONE non-sidekick Titan would have been acceptable to me, but not half of the former tenants of Titan’s tower!

5] We don’t need a Batman analogue (Dick), a Wonder Woman analogue (Donna), or a Superman analogue (Mon-el). If Supes, Bats, and WW aren't there, pick other heroes who don't have their powers.

I came across this article. I totally disagree with the article itself (especially the author's proxy definition of "iconic heroes") and some people rightfully objected to the line-up. There’s even a commenter called 3GP...I think we share a mind or something. Another guy called Captain Silver Age also made a sensible suggestion. General themes in these comments: Hal is Boring; Hal is tainted by his past actions and has been forgiven too easily; People miss Steel (John Henry Irons, not the Detroit league guy); Get Red Arrow or Connor Hawke instead of Ollie; People miss Firestorm and say he should replace Starfire because his name has the word “fire” in it; People think Atom is going to be the book’s only saving grace; and WHAT, No Flash?! They make a lot of fair to good points, IMO.

My current (subject to small changes) dream JLA line-up (irrespective of death or membership to another team) would be made up of 9 or 10 members:

1] Superman
2] Batman
3] Wonder Woman
4] Martian Manhunter
5] Flash
6] Green Lantern [Kyle or John]
7] Metamorpho
8] Hawkgirl
9] Ragman [He’s the only NEW member in my line-up AND my current mystical obsession]
10] Mr. Miracle (Scott Free) [Vote Bromance with Ragman!]

I think the JLA should more often than not have most of those first 6 heroes (at least 4), the rest is up to the individual fan...The only good thing about the Justice League Titans team is that it’s 10 members strong instead of 12 or 14. I can think of 6 or 7 other heroes who would be a better fit that Mon-el and the Titans...

Hey, if the league creative team and editorial staff want to steal the members associated with other teams, why don’t they go after Dr. Fate (JSA) or Geo-Force (Outsiders)? You know, they would at least be in the same league (excuse the pun)?

I think the major problem is how DC editorial and as result the characters and some fans view the Justice League and the Titans as teams – the former being a step up from the latter. You would never see one of the X-men joining the Avengers thinking that way. No, such a switch would be viewed as a lateral move. Even members of other DC teams (Doom Patrol, The Outsiders) would think of a move to the league as a step into a different direction (for example, into the spotlight) rather a HUGE improvement of status. Maybe, it was the whole sidekick team thing back in the day?

Rant over for now...

JLA: The Movie - How it should be done (Part 6)

2010-02-05T01:33:00.000-08:00

This is simply a cast stock-taking post for our movie (trilogy which takes the form of one big adventure ala Lord of the Rings). Subsequently, I won’t ask the new readers to read the first five parts before reading the rest of this post. No, since this is a summary post, I’ll ask the newcomers to read the previous instalments AFTER reading this one.

So far, this is our cast:
Superman (Tom Welling) SUPPORTING CHARACTER
Batman (Christian Bale) SUPPORTING CHARACTER
Wonder Woman (Evangeline Lilly) CENTRAL CHARACTER
Flash – Barry Allen (Chris Pine) CENTRAL POINT OF VIEW CHARACTER
Green Lantern - Hal Jordan (Nathon Fillion OR Ryan Reynolds) CENTRAL CHARACTER
Martian Manhunter (Hugo Weaving – via either FX make-up OR voice, motion capture, and CGI) CENTRAL POINT OF VIEW CHARACTER
Hawkman (various candidates) SUPPORTING CHARACTER
Hawkgirl (Jessica Biel) SUPPORTING CHARACTER
Green Arrow (various candidates) SUPPORTING CHARACTER
Black Canary (Jamie King) SUPPORTING CHARACTER
Mister Miracle (James McAvoy OR Jake Gyllenhaal) SUPPORTING CHARACTER
Barda (Lucy Lawless) SUPPORTING CHARACTER
Booster Gold (Sean William Scott OR Jenson Ackles) CENTRAL POINT OF VIEW CHARACTER
Blue Beetle (James Roday) SUPPORTING CHARACTER
Orion (Jaoquin Phoenix) OPTIONAL SUPPORTING CHARACTER
Highfather (Anthony Hopkins) OPTIONAL SUPPORTING CHARCTER
Darkseid (Clancy Brown - via either FX make-up OR voice, motion capture, and CGI) CENTRAL CHARACTER
Desaad (Willem Defoe) SUPPORTING CHARACTER

Aquaman INCLUSION DOUBTFUL
Blue Devil INCLUSION DOUBTFUL

Okay, so both Aquaman and Blue Devil have INCLUSION DOUBTFUL stamped next to their names. What gives, you ask?

Here’s the deal with Aquaman. I’m not sure how to capitalize on Aquaman in a cinematic sense without doing what Marvel would do with Namor the Sub-mariner in a movie. Yes, I could figure it out, but I don’t want to force it.

The Blue Devil case is more complex. Firstly, I initially included Blue Devil in Part 1 (which was a post on directors and done tongue in cheek) to serve as a shaky-cam viewpoint character. Secondly, I included the original incarnation of Blue Devil – the stuntman with the FX exoskeleton mystically fused to his body. That version of Blue Devil goes on to join the JLA to secretly film their missions for profit. That was the direction I was thinking of when I included him. However, the current incarnation is a real demon and when playing with some else’s toys, you should use them without damaging them. DC would probably want any film version of Blue Devil to be more faithful to the current (and probably more marketable) version.

This is different to the Blue Beetle situation as that was different guy, different powers, and the same name. The Blue Devil situation is same guy (vastly changed), different powers, and same name. Also, the three incarnations of Blue Beetle (three different guys) all had distinctly different personalities and subsequently different followings while Blue Devil (the same guy) had the same personality (modified by events) throughout his career. So, with Beetle, I cherry-picked the version I liked (and I think is the most popular, anyway).This is fanboy guilt and remorse talking here. I'm not decided either way...Some help?

By the way, my initial pick of Jensen Ackles as Blue Devil works on an acting level, but I had forgotten how tall Blue Devil is (6 foot 8 inches compared to Ackles’ 6 foot 1). Such a height and muscle mass probably makes Vin Diesel more suited to playing a screen version of Blue Devil...Jenson I like for Booster Gold

At this point, I’d like to thank LissBirds for her invaluable input to these casting decisions. I could not have gotten this far without your perspectives, Milady.

After reading the recent Comics Alliance feature on the GL Corps, I’m tempted to expand the cast with one hero (some might say this omission was a HUGE oversight on my part): Green Lantern Raker Qarrigat.

It occurs to me that we DON’T really need an Emerald Twilight situation to force Raker to “seal his ring in a time bubble, relying on it only in case of emergencies lest his final 24 hour charge run out and leave him powerless to battle” Darkseid. We could do a little tweaking and it would tie into the very nature of the planet Apokalips and the technology of the GL Corps rings.

Apokalips is impossible to get to (kind of like the island on Lost) without a boom tube, which would point to a trans-dimensional shift one has to make. One of the often glossed-over parts of GL science is the link between a Green Lantern’s battery and the central battery on OA. In the movie, we could theorize that the barrier that makes Apokalips such an “exclusive destination” may also (for the most part) sever the link between the central battery on OA and Raker’s battery. Therefore, Raker would have to use his ring’s (and battery’s) diminishing charge sparingly.

Raker would only appear near the end of the second movie or in the third movie when Hal would lead a small team to Apokalips. Hal knows about Raker and that the Guardians have lost contact with him for almost a year (meaning his ring is running on fumes). What Jordan doesn’t know is that Darkseid has manipulated them into coming, because it will draw a rapidly weakening Raker out into the open (to make contact).

After meeting Raker and other resistance members, Hal’s team realizes their mistake. After activating a boom tube with Barda’s help, Hal asks Raker to come with them. A near powerless Raker refuses to leave, rather opting to continue helping the resistance on Apokalips instead.

Raker gets captured by Darkseid, but what the ruler of Apokalips doesn’t realise is that Hal and Raker switched rings before they parted. Ouch!

Casting note: We should cast an unknown as Raker Qarrigat.

Having our cast set (for the most part), you’ll see that it’s mostly JLA classic (Big Seven) with some additions plus a smattering of the Giffen JLI and a pinch of the modern league era. Sadly, no members exclusively from the Detroit league found a spot in the movie. There are some heroes who were unlucky not to be in the movie (e.g. the Atom and, one of my personal faves, Metamorpho).

It might not be obvious, but with such a large cast of heroes our JLA can split up into three groups at any given time. This will come in handy as most of the action takes place on Earth and Apokalips and New Genesis simultaneously.

A very late after-though:

After nailing down most of the cast, it was ONLY THEN that it occurred to me to look for other fan attempts at casting a league. *facepalm* Here are the most notable of these:

The most comprehensive cast was compiled by THEHAWK. I had come across this months ago, but lost the link. So, I’m pretty glad that I’ve rediscovered this little gem (hehe). The one that gets me is Ben McKenzie (from The OC who is super-puny) as the Detriot League’s Steel (who is super-muscular) and as you’ve read that character isn’t even in my movie, so the mere strength of my disagreement compels me to mention it here.

Another cast list was proffered by The Faust. The Faust is a pretty prolific “fan-caster” of comic book movies and makes some interesting choices. On the positive side, he includes a synopsis of his proposed plot and I’ll admit that next our Apokalips plot, his is my second choice. In fact, if we went in that direction, I’d go further a step and suggest a plot involving The Joining (from Batman: The Brave and Bold). However, I can’t agree with his picks for Aquaman, Hal Jordan, or Superman.

I found a pretty reasonable cast list from Comics in Crisis as well. This is a pretty sober list, except for suggestions of who should play Wonder Woman and Hawkman. The blogger also picked a cool non-JLA hero as the plot catalyst for the JLA to team up, although I don’t agree with the actor chosen to play this hero.

I also came across three other single-author lists. This one gets Superman wrong (I’m forever biased against this choice, I know), Hawkgirl incredibly right, and gives us an Aquaman I don’t recognise.

The other one has the perplexing suggestion of Leonardo Di Caprio as Aquaman! Yup, some choices are pretty insane.

Then there's this list with the same title but different actors.

Of course, even insane choices can remind you of another actor in a Kevin Bacon game sort of way. You know, you read the fan choice of Actor X as Superman. This guy’s nuts, you think. Actor X doesn’t look like Supes and none of his roles gives any hint of him being Kal El or Clark Kent material. But just as quickly, you think about a co-star of Actor X as the perfect Aquaman. Fantastic! I would have never thought of him if it weren’t for the crazy intertubes guy who suggested Actor X play Supes. So, we should pay attention to lists that in our opinion get it wrong.

I’ve also come across a non-movie-related, cast-the-league-into-the-archetypes discussion. Might help anyone involved in writing a superhero team movie where the source material (and membership) is vast and you’ve got no clue which heroes to include.

Another Justice League movie fan plot summary can be read here where one of the commenters even outlines his preferred plan for a four-part series of JLA movies.

All in all, I hope future JLA screenwriters would explore the interwebs for some inspiration. They don’t have to adopt the plots and casts in a wholesale manner, but they could always borrow a few clever angles. It’s pretty easy to do. All I did here to find all the above lists was Google JLA movie and the word cast and a few variations. Not hard to do at all.

Here that obligatory notice I usually put at the start of these posts:

For those first-time readers, please read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5 to see the rest of this fanboy thought experiment.

JLA: The Movie – How it should be done (Part 5)

2010-02-01T01:02:00.000-08:00

As per usual, first time readers are directed to please read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 before reading the rest of this post.

Okay, so we’re missing some actors for some of our supporting roles (Booster Gold and Mister Miracle most notably). Hey, it’s a trilogy, remember? We’re introducing characters gradually. So, we don’t have to have a MASSIVE roll call in the first scene of the first movie.

When you’re stuck in any creative endeavour, a great piece of advice is to work backwards. In casting terms, this is just offering up names of actors you’d like to see in your movie without thinking about specific parts. After you have the names, think which open slots fit which actors.

Here’s what I dreamt up:

James Roday (from Psych) has a talent for one-liners, intellectual humour, and sarcasm. How about giving him the Blue Beetle role? That is, if Ted Kord makes it into the movie. His hair colour is a lot closer to Ted’s than other actors I know.

If Blue Beetle did make it into the movie, it would go down a little something like this...You remember the fact that Booster is a time-traveller, right? Goldie wants to save his heroes the JLA, but doesn’t know how. Well, that’s not the only bit of info about which he’s not 100% confident. It turns out that where (or when) he’s from, this info isn’t freely available. Yup, Booster had to steal it (in data-form) and flee to the past almost immediately without reading it. Unfortunately, it turns out that time travel isn’t like clicking your ruby shoes together. No, it’s more like riding a rollercoaster into the ocean where an undertow violently unseats you. Bad news: Skeets was damaged in the time jaunt. Now Booster has the when but not the how or where of the JLA’s demise. Part two of the stolen data (which was derived from a simulation*) gives him a name of someone who could help and the coordinates of this person’s nearest (temporally speaking) confirmed location. The name and coordinates are corrupted somewhat. So, midway through the mission, Booster sneaks off to find “Ted K----” in the now larger search area and meets Blue Beetle. Booster finds this out much later, but he was supposed to find Ted Knight (a.k.a. Starman).

* The simulation’s purely academic purpose was (or will be :) to discover how the deaths of the JLA members could have been prevented, but any real attempt would be illegal. The future has its own irony.

Another casting option would be to give my initial Mr Miracle candidate (Ray Park) the role of Blue Beetle purely for his acrobatic prowess, but we’d lose the Beetle humour (or so we think).

Jensen Ackles (from Supernatural) has a talent for anything not mundane, physical acting, can come off as cocky, and delivers hilarious lines. I suspect he would make a really great Blue Devil. In fact, he might elevate the character. Alternatively, you could cast him as Booster Gold, if only for the fact that initially both characters try (too hard) to prove that they belong in the league. That's where his talent for playing up cockiness comes in handy.

As an unrelated aside, I’m totally straight when I say that I’d love to Mister Ackles in a Green Lantern uniform, but not in this movie and not necessarily playing a well known GL. I just think a classic GL mask would suit his face and clean-cut look.

Blue Devil meeting Blue Beetle – great dialogue is a must. This point could be moot if it’s nay to the Beetle’s inclusion.

How about James McAvoy (from Wanted) as Mister Miracle? Remember, there’s supposed to be a bit of a size difference between Scott and Barda. Lucy Lawless is 5'11 tall. I’ve always pictured Barda as say five years older than Scott as well. Perhaps McAvoy (Height 5'7'') looks too much like a wimp to play Scott...

Jake Gyllenhaal (Height 5'9'') could also be a good Mr Miracle.

Some other casting options:

Sean William Scott as Booster Gold could work, because Booster comes off as someone who’s in it for himself (at least to some of the JLA) and the actor always strikes me as semi-weasel-esque ambitious type (just his face).

Joaquin Phoenix as Orion might work. I think Phoenix has sadness in him - a sadness that a son would carry when he realizes that he will never experience peace as long as his father is around...

This Joaquin could pull off the son of Darkseid...

But not this Joaquin (below)

Are there any objections to Rebecca Romijn (from the X-men movies) or Jamie King (from Sin City) as Black Canary?

Jessica Biel is the PERFECT Hawkgirl. Yeah, I wasn’t exactly planning to have Hawkgirl in the JLA movie, but Miss Biel is just a great fit in terms of attitude and looks that you could work her into the plot. I mean, Hawkman and Hawkgirl are two totally different personas. Maybe, we’ll go with how their relationship is portrayed in JSA or maybe we’ll let the audience infer it during the story’s most dangerous scenes (when they are split up).

How about Clancy Brown as Darkseid (or the voice of Darkseid)? Okay, he does Lex Luthor's voice in animated DC movies, but he could pull off Darkseid.

"Superman, you have no concept of forever!"

Next time: A shocking surprise called...Part 6!

And now, ladies and gentlemen, without the girdle-construct...

2010-01-29T00:39:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of DeviantArt user spunkywulf, I present this emerald warrior as you never seen him before.

He's still working it, though...His trademark face-hand proximity pose is still fierce!

Organically created major comic events and webcomics…

2010-01-29T00:24:00.000-08:00

My comments on Blackest Night have been sparse, because I’ve been so excited by the event that I didn’t want to jinx it. The reason for my excitement lies in the fact that Blackest Night premise seems organic to me.

Allow me to explain. If you know the history of the guardians (who they are and some of the stuff they’ve done) and the GL Corps (how they operate) only superficially to mildly well, you would believe premise of Blackest Night. It’s even believable that Nekron would try to exploit the above. Blackest Night seems to be the product of organic extrapolation in that sense.

Yet more organic creation for your enjoyment:

A while back, I came across a superhero team webcomic called Awesome Storm Justice 41, which was created via spontaneous organic collaboration: an internet forum discussion turned into a webcomic with multiple collaborators. It all started when internet forum members were just playing around with superhero ideas when a commenter noted that it sounded cool and came up with the name Awesome Storm Justice 41 right there. The peeps on the forum loved the name and adopted it for actual webcomic project. They even had an open call for character concepts (hero name and proposed powers) to be used in webcomic. It must’ve been quite a feeling to be part of this type of spontaneous event. It’s a comedy webcomic, by the way.

Please note that this post was NOT meant to suggest that Organic is always better, as is illustrated with this image:

As lifted from Chris's Invincible Super-Blog...

2010-01-28T23:44:00.000-08:00

GL fans go here. Now!

Really. Go now and come back to read my other post.

Yup, there'll be another post today.

JLA: The Movie - How it should be done (Part 4)

2010-01-25T01:46:00.000-08:00

The obligatory notice for first-time blog readers: If you haven’t yet, please read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

The above has reminded me that I picture “JLA: the movie” not as a single movie but as a trilogy. However, not as three adventures in three movies but rather ONE huge adventure/mission cut into three movies (ala Lord of the Rings). Except that our third movie won’t be four hours and change long.

Some omissions from previous installments of this fanboy daydream:

Desaad

I kind of forgot about this guy when I thought about who could play Desaad…

Willem Defoe kind of sounds like Desaad (Check out Spiderman 1 if you don’t believe me) and wearing a hooded cloak he’d probably look like him as well. Desaad is a pretty interesting character from the perspective that he revels in chaos but he serves Darkseid who forges order in an absolute way.

Barda

How about Lucy Lawless (from Xena Warrior princess fame)? Can you picture anyone else playing the former fury?

Mr Miracle (Scott Free)

Obviously, it has to be someone shorter than Lucy Lawless and someone who’s into BDSM. Scott loves to be chained up. Barda has punched him on occasion and his typical reaction is to kiss her.

Okay, time to get a little more serious.

Ray Park may be a good choice, since Scott could be wearing a mask for most of the movie. Also, Mr. Miracle is a pretty graceful flyer (he needs to be flying standing or crouching upright most of the time) and Park has loads of physical grace. Lastly, Ray Park seems to be connected to a dozen masked superhero roles at any given time. So, what’s one more?

Who is XXXX?

I haven’t really decided yet, but there are some options with major implications for the story.

OPTION 1: XXXX is Orion

This may dovetail quite nicely with Darkseid being the villain of the story. I picture one or two Darkseid-Orion face-off scenes: the son defying the father. This choice will also allow us to explore the whole Apokalips-New Genesis history. Oh, and I’m not sure that Orion is known to the league before his try-out…

The same could hold for Apokalips – perhaps the heroes should be as shocked by the planet of the evil gods when they see it. Perhaps, they only have a vague notion of the planet. However, whatever we decide, Apokalips knows all about the league.

Who should play Orion? I have no clue, but let’s go Brit for this one.

OPTION 2: XXXX is Booster Gold

Who’d have thought Goldie would play such an important role. Booster knows the leaugue is about the face the Apokalips champions before he ‘tries out.’ He knows this, because he’s from the future and he’s a huge JLA fan…and history tells him that the JLA dies during the battle with Apokalips. Booster doesn’t know how they die exactly, but he wants to stop it from happening. Of course, he doesn’t how to stop it and he doesn’t share any of this with anyone on the team until the near the end of the first movie. Thanks a lot, Booster!

Who should play Booster Gold? There’s really no actor that screams Booster…Any suggestions?

I’m kind of leaning toward Option 2, because of my science fiction bias for time travel stories. I’m also of the opinion that a time traveler with only half of the whole picture would open up great story ideas. That and I don’t think Orion was well-written in the JLA comic. I know it’s not the character’s fault, but still Booster is more of JLA-fan favourite than Orion ever was.

Of course, choosing this route, we would still be able to introduce Orion in the second movie when some of the leaguers ask for some help from New Genesis, but are turned down for the most part. This is still open for debate.

Who should play Darkseid?

I know many might be screaming Anthony Hopkins, but who would play Highfather in the second and third movie? Unless Darkseid is all CGI motion-capture, that is. Then, he can do both roles. He’d probably want a dramatic scene between the both characters…could be arranged.

Again any suggestions for this uber-important role?

As promised, here’s some Hal Jordan DeviantArt Icon fun…

2010-01-19T23:28:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back I mentioned an image I came across featuring Hal Jordan. Scroll down to 'Webcam' section on the left. Only Hal could get away with saying that.

He’s kind of like Austin Powers in that way.

Or like the Love Guru.

Maybe I'm just indecisive from the neck up.

Novel about superheroes raises more questions...

2010-01-19T01:29:00.000-08:00

A while (almost two years) ago, I heard about an original superhero novel called Soon I will be invincible authored by Austin Grossman. I’ve been undecided about to buy this novel, because (i) I prefer both comics and short fiction to novels and (ii) I’m unclear what to make of the title...

Seriously, what does Grossman mean?

A] Soon I will be invincible (as in: “before you can say Shazam!”)

B] Soon I will be invincible (as in: “That’s right. Me. I’m the one who’ll become invincible. Not you. I!”)

C] Soon I will be invincible (as in: “All you haters that’ve been hating on my ambitions of power can take my future invincibility to the bank. And. Cash. It.”)

D] Soon I will be invincible (as in some sort of existential statement)

E] Soon I will be invincible (as in: “You want to know what I will be in the near future? I’ll be invincible, that’s what!”)

But if you’ve gotten past ‘the mystery’ of the title, check out this review by Karen Healey of Girls read comics. While you’re there, take a look at the cover. The helmet combines the headwear of Magneto and Thor. Is the Grossman or his publisher trying to tell us something? Egomania and Megalomania are a great combination in the same person?

Here’s another review for your enjoyment. I do however differ regarding this reviewer’s opinion about the character named Elphin’s comic book origins.

Here’s yet another from January Magazine.The column title forced me to include it.

Now, go forth and make up your own mind if novels are your thing and superheroes are your other thing.

Follow-up OPINION piece post may be indefinitely delayed...or not

2010-01-19T01:18:00.000-08:00

Some of you may remember this post. I had planned to do a follow-up about pros whose work I have less strong opinions, but for many reasons (including blogging safety) I decided against it...

Specifically, I remember what happened in the comments of this post and the fact that M to the A to the R to the K to the SPACEBAR to the W to the A to the I to the D googles his own name once every hour for about 21 hours of out every 24. I haven’t even included his name in the labels to this post, because he doesn’t just use Google. No, he whose name shall not be typed uses other search engines that use other algorithms that rank web pages differently.

Wait-a-minute! Maybe it wasn’t the brightest idea to include that link in this post. AARRRGGGHHH!!!!

JLA: The Movie – How it should be done (Part 3)

2010-01-15T00:59:00.000-08:00

If you haven’t, please read Part 1 and Part 2 first.

Most pressing issue: We don’t know who’s playing Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, or Flash.

But before we get to these decisions, we have to make casting choices for our alternates. By alternates I’m referring to those heroes who might make it into movie:

Hawkman:

Gerard Butler comes off tough and Hawkman (in his post JLA days) is one really tough, ruthless, and uncompromising geezer. But maybe, part of Butler’s tough persona comes from his Scottish accent which sounds pretty rough and earthy. Don’t believe me? Get a Scotsman to say the words, “The Earth.” It’ll sound like he’s saying, “the airrrth.” And, no, Sean Connery doesn’t disprove this, for the simple reason that many native Scots can’t place his accent. No really, where’s Connery from?

I'll save the airrrth!

Viggo Mortenson could also do the tough Thanagarian flyer. Think of Aragon from Lord of the Rings. Yes, Viggo is Katar!

Carl Urban (as seen in Pathfinder and other movies) could also pull it. Perhaps I’m just nominating too many dudes who are used to having facial hair on screen.

Sam Worthington (Terminator: Salvation; Avatar, and Clash of the Titans [upcoming]) is an Australian, so we know he can act. In addition, he has this understated toughness that just screams bad ass! It’ll be Katar with shorter hair if he gets the nod.

Green Arrow:

Bradley Cooper strikes me as Ollie in his heyday (ladies’ man-wise, anyway). He would make a goatee work. I could picture him clashing with Flash.

Daniel Craig (best known as the current James Bond) might be a good choice. He resembles Green Lantern Alan Scott more strongly to me, though.

Josh Holloway (from Lost) may have Oliver’s verbal explosiveness down and gets many resemblance points (with the possible exception of his longer hair).

I’ve actually just thought of how Green Arrow can be used to greater effect on the Apokalips part of the mission. Picture this: Wonder Woman is fighting about half a dozen Furies and is going all Amazon warrior on their butts. It’s not every day, Diana can unleash like this, so she doesn’t hold back. She knocks out a couple. One particular Amazon K.O. victim catches Oliver’s eye (not in that way!). Her name is Artemis. She has a bow and arrow that Oliver simply must have. After Barda or Mr. Miracle checks that it doesn’t have that nasty ‘Darkseid is Love’ subliminal turn to the dark side effect, Green Arrow takes it to use in their battle. Now, for those of you are unfamiliar with Artemis’ weapon, her arrows are called synapse shafts and with good reason. She once shot Superman in the back and, although I doubt it pierced his skin, he fell from the sky screaming like a little girl that got startled by a spider. Yes, Ollie is going to have fun with them arrows!

Black Canary:

Scarlet Johannson? Cameron Diaz? But do they have the moxie / spunk / attitude to play Black Canary?

A slightly younger version could be Kristen Bell (former Veronica Mars)– she’s got that sass that Black Canary should have. You know, someone who isn’t afraid to put even legendary heroes in their place.

Aquaman:

Aquaman would only work if the movie had a JLA home team and away team structure. In other words, there would have to be crises to averted on Earth as well as battles on Apokalips. Arthur would have to on the home (Earth-based) team, because if hunger dogs (slaves) have been made to fight over water on Apokalips, then I’m pretty sure that there isn’t enough of the stuff in which to swim.

Brad Pitt? Hey, if Brad signs up and demands to play Arthur, it might the only reason Aquaman is even in the movie.

Josh Holloway is also candidate for this role. Well, he did that aftershave ad for television that involved him diving into water and isn’t that what Aquaman does best?

The Atom:

We couldn’t an actor small enough...

NEXT, WE HAVE TO CAST THE SUPPORTING CAST:

Desaad:

Lance Hendriksen (Bishop from Aliens, Frank Black from Millenium) or that creepy actor from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers whose name I can’t recall.

ON TO THE BIG CHOICES:

Martian Manhunter:

He is the soul of the League. In terms of character, he’s a calm influence, a good leader, but also has other sides to him. Sometimes he comes off ‘all ET, but other times he’s straight out of aliens.’ This only occurs when necessary.
Hugo Weaving – Mister Weaving is a talented actor, but he’s also been mentioned as a possible Sinestro in the upcoming GL movie. Is there a rule about superhero double-dipping? Do the masses of make-up and CGI sequences required for both roles exempt him from such a rule?

David Boreanaz – As mentioned in Part One.

Zachary Quinto (Sylar from Heroes, Spock from Star Trek) – He might have the character-acting chops to pull it off.

Flash (Barry Allen):

Jason Statham looks like he should wear the Flash costume. I’ve never heard him speak in another accent, though.

Timothy Oliphant (from Hitman) might also make the grade. I can see him clashing with a Bradley Cooper Green Arrow.

Ben Affleck. No, seriously. When Mister Affleck emotes, he primarily uses the bottom half of his face and with flash’s mask covering the top half *...Yes, with Affleck we’ll need to add in Wally West eye-shields as well...

*Through the 1truegl’s independent study, he has found that Affleck uses the bottom half, Clooney uses the top half (special emphasis on eyebrow motions) and, by far the most confounding result, Keanu Reeves uses NEITHER top or half of his face to emote.

Chris Pine (Kirk from the latest Star Trek movie) could also do it.

After a quarter-minute of thought, my eye-shields comment made me realise that close-ups of the Flash’s eyes will be an important emotive device in our movie and Mister Pine brings a subtlety to the art of using the windows to the soul to bear his soul (can't believe I just wrote that!). I’ve never really thought about this until now, but in the comics Flash is often used to focus the attention of readers. Maybe, it’s his red costume. Perhaps, it’s the idea that when someone who can skim a room as fast as he can simply focuses on a single image, the reader knows that whatever Barry sees is important. When Superman or Batman is featured in such a comic panel, it’s generally a single emotion such as terror or shock, but Flash is usually given a multi-tonal emotion to convey. Or at least I’ve seen more Flash shots like this...

Barry Allen as Flash presents requirements of its own. For example, you need to cast an actor who would have great chemistry with Hal (Nathan Fillion).

Bloggers note: Actually, Mister Fillion has great chemistry with everyone. Heck, I don’t know a single person that doesn’t instantly like the characters he portrays. The man made brown a cool colour. Brown! He’d do the same for green, if given the chance.

Flash (Wally West):

Where are all the red-haired actors? Okay, so if Flash is Wally West, the speedster never takes off his mask.

Ewan McGregor?

Me play Flash?

I can’t seem to think of any fiery topped actors. Weird.

How about Robert Pattinson (from Twilight)? That’ll get another demographic in movie seats. Truth be told, I kind of see him as Gambit if they ever make X-MEN ORIGINS: GAMBIT.

But will my hair fit under the mask?

Question: What happens when Darkseid’s Omega effect collides with Speed Force inside a boom tube?
Answer: For one thing, Hal Jordan screams, “Barry!”

Wonder Woman:

Jennifer Connelly is the front runner here. Flowing, black tresses are a must for WW and Ms Connelly is blessed in that department. This may seem like a superficial requirement in many respects, but may I point to Blond Kate Bosworth as Brunette Lois Lane in the awful ‘Superman Returns’ or Jessica Alba’s dye-job in Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Cobie Smulders (Robin from How I met your mother) has also been mentioned as a candidate. Smoulders...er...I mean...Smulders plays a sweet Canadian in that show. Can she portray the role of ‘the amazon ambassador to man’s world’?

Evangeline Lilly (Kate from Lost) is quite familiar with physical acting, which Wonder Woman actress will have to do in spades. When I saw her on the very first episode of the first season of Lost, I remember thinking...There’s Wonder Woman in her ambassador / visiting lecturer outfit...folowed by...Wait, they crashed on Themyscira? The cleaned-up, off-the-island, Evangeline has an even greater resemblance to Diana. [Note to producers: Get the stylist from Lost (season 4 and 5)]. In addition, there’s a groundswell of support on the internet for her to be cast in the role, including petitions and fan sites. Did I mention Jennifer Connelly as the front runner? Maybe, there should be a rethink...

Morena Baccarin (Inara from Firefly and Serenity) might have actually been in contention for the Wonder Woman movie while Joss Whedon’s non-period movie script (as required by the Powers that be) was under consideration. However, then those same Powers decided to go with a period script. Last I checked, that is. Rambling a bit...Anyway, with Morena we’d have built-in chemistry with Nathan Fillion! That, and I have a MASSIVE crush on her – reason enough for any casting decision.

Actually, I have a crush on all the WW candidates.

The stylistic inconsistency in the artwork of Wonder Woman’s solo comic title has resulted in many varied looks over the years and may, to a small degree, explain the vast number of actress nominations one comes across for the role.

Question: Are we going to see any of the badass Wonder Woman who while fighting Medusa blinded herself and lopped off the Gorgon Queen’s head with an axe? For those not into mythology, looking into medusa’s eyes would turn someone into stone or some other sort of a statue (not 100% sure on that detail). Still, bad-ass, right?

In screenplay-related news:

I’ve had to fire a screenwriter yesterday, but I’m sure you’ll agree the transgression warranted such action. Here’s what happened (or rather what he wrote in the script):
HAL: “Barro’s back and streakin’ days are here again!”

Now, first of all, Hal would never call Barry ‘Barro’. Secondly, ‘Barro’ sounds like barrow (as in wheel-barrow). Lame. Lastly, and worst of all, I instantly recognised the line “Barro’s back and streaking days are here again!” as a deliberate cut-and-paste job from “Stretcho’s back and clobberin’ days are here again!” as said by Ben Grimm (a.k.a. Thing from FF) referring to Mr. Fantastic. Yet another Marvel infiltrator...The last time a Marvel fan screenhack got passed vetting, the Joker wound up killing Batman’s parents. Never again! Why do those ‘nutso true believer red team’ people always try to sabotage our efforts?

We’ve decided to have the movie’s opening set in Gotham, where the audience sees a chase scene from 1st person perspective as Batman (the chaser). Batman is running across the rooftops chasing the chasee (a running thug carrying a rectangular box under his arm in the alleys below). Batman jumps the dude from above, knocking the box from him and sending the guy crashing to ground. We cut to 3rd person perspective. Dude pulls a weapon on Batman. Batman evades and throws a batarang in one motion, dislodging the weapon from the thug’s hand, but not before the shot goes off. Not a gun, a laser or energy blaster. Luckily, as a result of the batarang, it goes high, only slightly touching the alley wall. Batman proceeds to lay this guy out, picks up the weapon, opens the box (marked with a weird insignia) to find an even deadlier-looking weapon inside, and turns around to see the alley wall completely scorched from the shot that barely touched it. We get a close-up of Batman’s face, which says it all: Can’t have that...not in my city!

Meanwhile in Central City, Barry Allen is processing a crime scene: Incinerated bodies, same insignia on a similar empty box, and general signs of mayhem. Hey, it’s movie. We’re expected to take some liberties.

While in Metropolis, Superman helps defuse a stand-off between the Special Crimes Unit and operatives using the same advanced weaponry. We find out that they’re Intergang members.

Later, at the JLA watchtower / orbiting retreat / JL embassy / JL satellite (take your pick of HQs), Blue Devil and XXXX have shown up for membership try-outs. We meet J’onn and then Wonder Woman. Superman, Bats, and Flash arrive and call a meeting to discuss the increased Intergang activity and where they could’ve gotten the advanced weaponry. Blue Devil and XXXX get brushed off by Batman. J’onn apologises and offers to reschedule, but Blue Devil offers his help. So, does XXXX. J’onn tells them that it won’t be necessary. That’s when the trouble starts...

Teaser: There are also a few scenes where J’onn sees the Martian god of fire (and death), H’ronmeer, in the fire pits of Apokalips. Is it real or in his head or is it part of a new gods attack strategy? I’m not telling...

In part 4: We find out who XXXX is and who’s playing that role as well as who should be cast as Darkseid!

More DeviantArt fun...

2010-01-07T03:37:00.000-08:00

Here's a political message from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

Short Fiction about superheroes (Part 3)

2010-01-06T06:51:00.000-08:00

If you haven’t, please check out Part 1 and Part 2. Hey, I was only planning to do one of these superhero short fiction posts, but it’s amazing how you find things when you’re not looking. Besides, it seems that the non-comic book readers also like superheroes.

Today, I’ll point you to an anthology called, The Darker Mask: Heroes From the Shadows (2008), edited by Gary Philips and Christopher Chambers. This anthology aims to highlight ethnically diverse superheroes through 18 noir stories written by science fiction authors, urban fantasy scribes, and a few comic writers..

Here's a short review. If you only trust comics bloggers, then here’s another review you’ll be more inclined to believe.

Another good deed (now for a new decade). Happy (belated) new year, everyone!

Review blurbs taken from comic book character autobiographies?

2009-12-28T00:04:00.000-08:00

As anyone can read from my full profile, my favourite band (by a long way) is Keane, followed by Coldplay and The Killers and maybe My Chemical Romance or Snow Patrol. So, you can see that my tastes fall firmly within the cluster of musical genres of alternative pop rock / synth rock / modern punk rock.

Occasionally, I’d see a television ad for a band that has been on the periphery of my music radar. Such was the case the other day, when an ad for Muse graced my eyeballs.

Like another periphery band, Kings of Leon, the little I heard sounds promising. However, it is Muse’s review blurbs that have really got me curious, because they read like superhero self-promotional dialogue or excerpts from the autobiographies of comic book characters:

‘The best live band in the world...’

Wow! That’s hyped and not too original. Still, it reminds me of the Hulk saying, “Hulk is the strongest one there is!” Probably untrue, but who cares? Someone said it. It’s out there now and just maybe you’ll gain an extra fan or two as a result of it.

‘If only more bands had this level of ambition...’

If you replaced the word ‘bands’ with the word ‘leaders’, you would have a line from Lex Luthor’s future autobiography, Bald Eagle: How Lex Luthor saved America from Superman (written by Lex Luthor).

Of course, ‘Muse’ didn’t write these blurbs themselves, so I’ll cut them some slack...Besides, they seem to fall into the Alternative Rock + Symphonic Rock subgenres and they like toexperiment with Electronica as well as Classical music.

Still, does anyone remember the time (a decade and a half ago) when a movie studio invented a reviewer/critic? I think he was called ‘Paul Wonder’ or something benign-sounding. Every comedy got a ‘hilarious!’ from Mr. Wonder. Every thriller got an ‘electrifying!’ Every drama got a ‘riveting!’ The best part, as I recall, was the studio head’s reaction to this when the critic’s non-existence was confirmed. The studio boss said something to effect of “Wow...don’t know how that happened,” with the perfect ‘heck if I know...must’ve been an accident’ facial expression and body language.

I’m sure if I looked hard enough, I could find other review blurbs for albums, movies, and books that would remind me of some superheroes and villains. How about you?

Random things I discovered by sifting through deviantArt

2009-12-22T02:13:00.000-08:00

Those of you who read this blog (commenters and lurkers alike) know that I’m busy looking for an artist or more realistically artists (as in a penciller, an inker, a colourist and a letterer) for my comic WIP. One of the first and largest venues I’m exploring is deviantArt.

The other day I came across this particular work, namely the back cover of Chris Irving’s The Blue Beetle Companion (2007). It’s sweet since it shows Dan Garret, Ted Kord, and Jamie Reyes in one image. Is it my imagination or is it only Green Lantern and Flash books that get to feature this kind of intergenerational or multi-incarnation images?

Another interesting thing I discovered in the comments section to this artwork is that DC did indeed create a scarab-esque Blue Beetle character called...well...Scarab. He’s the Blue Beetle of Earth-27 and he’s a mass of scarabs that takes on the shape of a man. I came up with a similar yet slightly more heroic and less monstrous version (called Blue Scarab) in my Why I should’ve written Ted Kord: Rebirth post.

On the same thread, I found the account of http://gl-of-cybertron.deviantart.com/ who, as the name suggests, has created images of autobots as Green Lanterns. There’s even a Sinestro Corps bot, if I’m not mistaken. As mentioned previously, I have a sort of ‘like-hate’ relationship with the Transformers franchise that can be summarised in timeline form as followed: Various lukewarm (often reboot-centric) animation series; One watchable CGI series called Transformers: Beast Wars, One fantastic CGI series called Transformers: Beast Machines; the first Transformers live action movie scoring an unspectacular yet passable 6 out of 10; a second Transformer live action movie called Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen that was 2 out of 10 awful. So, I liked this idea more from a ‘yeah, I bet the guardians of the universe would’ve given one of these giant robots a ring if they’d encountered them. Hey, if they can make a planet a GL...Also, I’ve always said that Hasbro (the toy company that owns the Transformers property) wishes that Kyle Rayner worked for them (judging from the wicked cool ring constructs that only Kyle can whip up and the freelance concept art he has done in his ‘normal’ life as a graphic designer/illustrator).

Some deviantArt news related to my comic WIP:

I’ve discovered a possible artist for my comic WIP. Well, at least someone who can make the short-list for the job, that is. I have to scout other venues on the Interwebs such as Digital Webbing, Penciljack, Concept Art DOT org, Getafreelancer, and Comics-hookups.

Hint to DeviantArt administrators: DA users should really be able to have sub-categories under “comic artist” category (e.g. anime, fantasy, cartoon, science fiction, and superheroes). It would also help if there was some demarcation between published comic pros (who I assume are way out of my price range) and up-and-comers as well as between pin-up artists and artists who can also do comic page panel-art. That would make my search much easier.

I’ve also discovered that a user on deviantArt has created a fanfic character with the same name as an organisation in my WIP. It’s a coincidence, but still it’s a little jarring. Perhaps, both of us are auditory namers (a term I just made up (but could already exist in science), meaning people who choose names for creations / children / places / days / whatever based on how it sounds to them).

Some non-deviantArt news related to my comic WIP:

I’ve discovered that DC has an obscure villain with nearly identical powers* to a hero I’ve created for my WIP. This is also the one character that I haven’t decided on a look for yet. So, I’ll do a Google and Google Image search for their character to make sure we don’t come up with identical looks.

* Note: I say nearly identical, because both my hero and their villain have two powers that should IMHO give rise to a third power that my creation possesses, but theirs doesn’t.

My writing for my WIP has ground to a halt for various reasons, including some festive season distractions, reworking the story length, editing and rewriting the pages already written, and most of all writing a Superhero team short story that was inspired by a current non-superhero horror anthology submission guidelines as well as a long expired set of non-superhero fantasy antho submission guidelines. I chose the short story format, because it’s much quicker for me to write and that’s the best thing to do when a story idea is dominating your thinking ahead of more important writing ‘assignments.’

Some non-deviantArt, non-comic-WIP news:

If you haven’t yet done so, go see Avatar. It’s one of the best Science Fiction movies I’ve seen (this year and possibly ever) and scores and 9 out of 10 on my opinion-meter. It blends Science Fiction with Fantasy in such a perfect mixture that the movie studio should be banned from making a sequel or a remake in 30 years time. I’ve always been more of fan of Science Fiction than of Fantasy, but have always had to admit that Fantasy’s world-building is often more instantly immersive and that is exactly what Avatar is. The 2 hours and change fly by (pun intended) and I was left marvelling at James Cameron’s ability to tell a science fiction on two levels. On a deeper level, you can appreciate the obvious themes in all their relevance (without being hit over the head with it ala District 9). On another level, Avatar has drama, characterization, awe-inspiring scenery, and lots of jaw-dropping fantasy and Science Fiction-style action. It also reminded me of the risks of what social science calls ‘participant observer’ research, media calls ‘embedded journalism’, and elements of what law enforcement calls ‘undercover assignments’...Mister Cameron*, take a bow. Also, Sam Worthington (Terminator: Salvation) and Zoe Saldana (Star Trek) are starting to reach my This-sci-fi-movie-can’t-be-bad-if-this-actor-is-in-it list. Miss Saldana said something very cute in an interview when asked whether she had preference for Science Fiction roles, where she answered, “Jane Austin is good, but Jane Austen in space would be great...”

* Note: James Cameron has a great talent for science fiction as director or creator-director (The first two Terminator movies, Aliens, Dark Angel) and I wish that he pursued projects in that genre exclusively. Unlike a lot of filmmakers, Cameron never includes 15-minute-long superfluous scenes where the audience is left thinking: That was 15 minutes of my life I’ll never get back...Way to break the momentum and tension...What the fudge was that about?

That’s all I have for you all. If I don’t post here anytime soon, happy holidays!

Holy eveningwear, Batman!

2009-12-17T00:34:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, Gotham City...

The boy wonder has been sitting in the batcave for over an hour, staring at the screen. So much so that he almost doesn’t sense that he is no longer alone.

Before his assailant can strike, Robin launches into a summersault, snaps his fighting stick to its full extension, and without looking takes a hard swipe at his would-be attacker.

His strike is blocked.

Robin spins around and faces his adversary.

Robin: You?!

Batman: Why so surprised, Robin? This is my cave, after all. Was that another one of those ‘no-look’ strikes you like to use? I keep telling you: Don’t fight blind. You won’t be able to see.

Robin: Sorry, Batman. I was just so engrossed in –

Batman: Engrossed? That’s a big word for...What is that?!

Robin: What’s what?

Batman: The screen.

Robin (sits back down): That’s what’s so engrossing, Batman. It’s the Miss World pageant!

Batman: A beauty pageant?

Robin: Not a. The. And they’ve just announced the seven finalists. Hope you don’t mind me crashing down here. I mean, the cave’s got the biggest screen and it’s HD. Ooh, Miss Canada is soooo cute. Not only that, but she even won the talent competition a few days ago. She’s got a soprano voice like an angel’s...She’ll be on stage in a few moments!

Batman (wants to give a judgemental stare, but his cowl is already stuck that way): Who are those women on screen?

Robin: Oh, they didn’t make to the final round...I think they’re the roommates of the finalists. They’re asking them about their experiences with the finalists. See, there’s Miss Australia. She’s Miss Canada’s roommate and...What the?!

Batman (settling in on the chair next to Robin): Is something wrong?

Robin: Didn’t you hear Miss Australia’s snotty answer to thequestion, ‘Did you get along with Miss Canada?’ And she’s like, “Well...um...uh...guess she’s such a special person.” What the fudge is that supposed to mean? What a b--

Batman: Robin! Calm? Discipline? Fear leads Anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to etcetera? Have I taught you nothing?

Robin: I apologise, Master Sensei Batman. Don’t know what came over me. It’s just that I hate it when someone who lives with someone else constantly salts the game of the first someone. Do you understand?

Batman: I can relate. Believe me, I can relate.

Robin (confused): Can I ask you a question, Batman?

Batman: Of course. I’d love to say ‘shoot’, but I don’t like guns...So, fire away and wonder no more, Boy Wonder.

Robin: Why don’t we get judging gigs at beauty pageants? I mean, Nightwing is always telling me how you and Superman were always at charity events back in the old days...

Batman: Nightwing is from the circus, so he possesses warped circus thinking and memories...So, those charity events never happened. I mean really, why would I, the super-mysterious dark knight show up at public events? And for charity no less! Bah! If I wanted to be charitable, I have any one of the Wayne subsidiaries make a donation...That's if I wanted to, which I don’t...Robin, let me say this once and not twice. As I’m always trying to tell everyone that works with me: Real heroes are above trivialities such as beauty pageants. I’m Batman and I’m both realer and more real than real. As such, I’ll leave the beauty pageant judging to the less real heroes or posers such as Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen. To recap: I’m the real deal. I. Am. The. Night.

Robin: Batman, from what I’ve heard of those two, they would really enjoy judging beauty pageants and being involved in some judging scandals...I still say Miss Australia just totally cost Miss Canada the crown...Just you wait.

Robin says Miss World Canada (Lena Yanbing Ma, a model/soprano from North York, Ontario) is Cute and Talented

Robin says Miss World Australia (who shall remain nameless) is Blond and Evil

Just a link

2009-12-11T00:18:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Here's a link to a post that made my day (so far). If you enjoyed my DC-FF-centic post, you'll see two of the heroes mentioned at their worst.

Enjoy!

Why I’m seriously considering leaving any future fortune I may amass to start a “Give a hug to every British child” foundation...

2009-12-10T02:20:00.000-08:00

Inspiration props for this go to LissBirds for her comment that mentioned The Question.

In 1983, DC Comics acquired heroes from Charlton Comics (Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, Nightshade, Peacemaker, Peter Cannon, and, of course, The Question). Just so you know, I’ve long been of the opinion that ANY AMOUNT that DC may have paid was a bargain.

Two years later Alan Moore pithced an idea for an end story for these Charlton heroes (including killing at least one of them).

Huh? Why would DC pay good money for these characters (or at least the rights to these characters) just to kill them off?! Jeez! What was Alan Moore on?

I thank the comic book gods that Editor Dick Giordiano had the sense to halt such obvious madness.

As everyone knows Moore went on to create Watchmen (keeping the story and replacing the charlton heroes with derivative, pastiche characters).

But what if DC didn’t stop Mad Moore?

Just look at the character key below and let your mind wander:
Captain Atom = Dr Manhattan
Blue Beetle = Nite Owl
Peacemaker = The Comedian
Thunderbolt (Peter Cannon) = Ozymandias (Adrian Veidt)
The Question = Rorschach

Before Captain Atom, most (if not all) of DC's male heroes (other than Green Lantern) were completely free to do what they wished whenver they wished. Cap is both hero and government super-operative. So, he's almost never has that luxury.

What would the JLI have been without Blue Beetle?

What would have happened if Peacemaker was killed off in DC continuity?

The answers get worse once you compare the characters (in a Charlton vs Watchmen fashion). The Charlton characters are superior hero for hero. For example, Rorschach is easily the most popular of the Watchmen, but The Question is leagues more complex than Rorschach. In typical Moore fashion, he overcooks the Rorschach character by taking the slightly paranoid (in a suspicious way) Question and morphing him into a Paranoid Schizophrenic. Rorschach is just the Punisher in a coat and fedora with a sock pulled over his head. No wait, it could be Judge Dredd in a coat and fedora with a sock pulled over his head, couldn’t it? Didn’t Moore work for the 2000 AD imprint in merry old England? Even at Vic Sage's most 'things are black-and-white', he was never as one-note.

But that’s the problem with the Watchmen characters. They all suffer from the Alan Moore’s premise delusion: What if Superheroes really existed? Okay, if they really existed, they would be either depressed or depraved or cynical or disillusioned. Just plain dark. All of them.

This is simply NOT LOGICAL, because it doesn't allow for REALISTIC individual differences in personality, cognitive resources, and coping skills across INDIVIDUALS. [It also doesn't help that Moore views characters he didn't create as mere props.]

But Moore isn't alone in this ERROR. Garth Ennis and Warren Ellis also suffer from variations of this view and it could have been avoided if they'd been hugged more often during their formative years.

That's why I’m seriously considering leaving any future fortune I may amass to start a “Give a hug to every British child” foundation.

Short fiction about Superheroes (Part 2)

2009-12-10T00:43:00.000-08:00

If you haven’t read it yet, see Part 1 here.

Here’s some advanced news -if you haven’t heard about it already. With Great Power is a Superhero short fiction anthology, edited by Lou Anders and featuring some names in its Table of Contents that you might be familiar with...Peter David, Gail Simone, Mike Carey...Yes, that’s right! Comic book writers!

For further details, here’s a few words from the editor as well as the complete TOC.

Oh, it’s only due out next year (that’s 2010 for the disoriented time travellers out there), but the 2010 release isn't really a problem for time travellers, is it?

If DC decided to create their own Fantastic Four...

2009-12-08T01:36:00.000-08:00

This topic was inspired by the discussion in the Dazzler post’s comments, where a reader called Seafire came out to defend Dazzler as well as Nightwing. It must be jarring to come across a post where people are dissing heroes you like.

Anyway, it got me thinking about heroes who are not necessarily lame, but were either (a) only moderately popular or (b) so polarizing to fans that they either love the character or hate the character. Sometimes I call the latter the Robin Williams category. This, in turn, got me thinking about another idea I had about creating DC’s own Fantastic Four, which contained characters from categories a and b.

To clarify: By Fantastic Four, I’m not referring to a clone version DC could create. No, I mean a team consisting of four pre-existing / established characters that come together to form a team.

I’ve also observed – in both cyberspace and ‘real space’ – that when asked to name a fan choice 4-hero team, fans invariably struggle and cite it’s extremely difficult to limit themselves to four heroes. One True GL, a self-admitted hero slut (meaning someone who knows and likes a ton of heroes) who is referring to himself in the third person at the time of writing this, had to alter his profile as result of similar indecision.

Another observation I’ve made is the tendency of any original or fanfic created superhero foursome team to receive the comment, “Too much like Fantastic Four.” That’s even the case when the only similarity is that there are 4 members on the team. I’ve even heard of creators opting to expand their original team ideas to include 6 members to avoid opinions such as the above.

Note to fans, the internet, and creators: Marvel doesn’t own the copyright to the concept or word ‘four’ in any way whatsoever!

Besides, you can get around those concerns if you have a different enough genesis story for the team and if you use characters that are far removed from Reed Richards and the gang.

With that, let’s get back to my team idea, starting with the roster:

Captain Atom

Nate falls in both (a) and (b) categories to varying degrees, depending who you ask. The good captain is both the genesis and leader of this team.

The team’s origin and how Captain Atom is instrumental in it:

Throughout his time at DC Comics, Captain Atom has straddled the line between superhero and super-powered government operative. Sometimes CA has gone toe-to-toe with former team mates and long-time allies at the behest of his government controllers. However, in some crossovers CA has made cameo appearances and usually helped the heroes (by leaking classified information, for example). At times, his motivation for some of those actions is fuzzy but seems to be directed at preventing the government’s aggression toward the heroes of the DCU from escalating.

It’s at this stage that I recalled that I’ve only seen the government send a few fighter planes or super-powered operatives after the heroes. I’ve never seen the government go after them FULL TILT. What would that involve? Does Captain Atom know what the government’s ultimate hero takedown protocol would entail? Is that why Cap is always covertly interfering?

While Captain Atom has succeeded in preventing that scenario from being realised, it may also mean that others have failed in making that scenario come to fruition. What if those persons are part of a shadow organisation within the government that have been banking on the FULL TILT SOLUTION (for which I can’t recall the original name I gave to it)?

The story is moved forward when the aforementioned shadow organisation puts Captain Atom on trial and finds him guilty of treason. Oh yes, forgot to mention, CA is tried in absentia and without his knowledge. In addition, the sentence passed is death.

The shadow organisation gets even sneakier and pulls some strings to get Cap assigned to an all-new, ad hoc assembled Suicide Squad due to depart on a mission within 48 hours. The fact that Amanda Waller isn’t involved raises some red flags in CA’s mind and picks up on a few other clues that everything isn’t 100% with this mission.

In the run-up to the mission, Cap gets a tip-off that the mission is a ruse to allow one of his team mates to eliminate him ‘in action’ on behalf of the shadow organisation. Furthermore, the source reveals that this is somehow related to the FULL TILT SOLUTION.

It is then that Cap decides to do two things: One, fly off to ask Oracle (Barbara Gordon) for a favour. Two, recruit his own team to help him defeat the Suicide Squad and go after the shadow organisation responsible.

He reveals to Barbara exactly how the government’s information on Earth’s heroes is organised: Separate databases for government super-powered operatives, non-powered heroes, super-powered heroes, and super-powered villains – each housed within server farms located hundreds of miles apart. In addition, he explains that the knowledge contained within these databases is much more comprehensive than most suspect. He wants Barbara to temporarily sever the connection between these server farms and a covert installation called Project Gridview.

He has limited time to recruit his team and has to settle for only three heroes. Having had some experience with government shadow organisations, Cap knows how dangerous such groups can be when challenged and decides on some criteria to use:

(i) Recruit outside of his “known associates” circle for the most part. Since he’s the target the bad guys will have special tactics worked up for his closest friends and allies. This criterion carries a 20% weight.

(ii) Recruit loners and aliens, because they tend to have fewer family members and friends for the shadow organisation to target. If recruits have family, make sure that said recruit’s family have kick-ass powers. This criterion carries a 30% weight.

(iii) Recruit mystical heroes, because although databases contain information such as power lists on many heroes, the databases are deficient in terms of how mystical powers work. On the other hand, heroes with Earth science-based, technology-based, and biologically sourced powers are easier to work up special tactics for. This criterion carries a 50% weight.

The rest of the team:

Nightshade

She was originally created as a heroic partner for Captain Atom (back when both characters were owned by Charlton). Notice, I said partner and NOT sidekick. Her selection ignores the criteria somewhat, because of her past work with suicide squad. However, her powers (darkness manipulation, being able to transform into 2D shadows, and teleportation via the land of nightshades) are mystical in nature (iii).

Ragman

Ragman has always a bit of weird hero as he is at home both among non-powered vigilante types such the bat-family as well as among those who are just as mystically powered (iii) as he is. And if anyone is wondering, I mean weird in a cool way. Drawing upon the physical powers of defeated corrupted souls that have become part of his costume to increase his speed and strength between dozens (or even hundreds) of times is a pretty cool power to have in a pinch. Of course, he can absorb new corrupted souls whenever he defeats enemies. Rory can also do things with his costume that are similar to what Spawn does with his cape (e.g. morphing it into weapons that are still capable of absorbing an evil soul).

Another bit of trivia is the fact that both Ragman and Nightshade were members of Shadowpact, DC’s mystical superteam. Rory had also developed some feelings for Nightshade, which were never fully explored. Another interesting aspect to the team dynamic is the fact that Captain Atom and Nightshade were once romantically involved (during the Charlton days, I think). There’s definitely potential for a love triangle or at least a line between two points and disconnected point adjacent to that line, if you get my drift.

Mister Miracle

DC has underutilised Mr. Miracle over the years. Known associate (i), you say? Well, not so much really. Cap and Scott - Yes, Scott Free and NOT Morrison’s Seven Soldiers (Shilo Norman) version - have both been in the JLI, but have rarely spent any significant amount of time together (i). Scott’s an alien and his wife, Barda, can take care of herself (ii). Have Mega-rod, will blast bad guys. Besides, Cap really needs MM’s techno-savvy mother-box tricks to pull off the mission. Furthermore, Scott Free possesses some other pretty useful powers: Immortality, Superhuman Strength (not Superman-level but enough to get by), Agility, Coordination, and the Alpha effect. He’s also inventive and an expert in martial arts, but most of all he’s the greatest escape artist EVAR (in part by using devices that embody Arthur C. Clarke’s quote: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.) Yes, I’m using quotes, so you know I’m not playing...

Small costume redesign: Change all yellow parts of MM’s costume into a slightly darker shade of gold.

One another level, I can see Scott and Rory (Ragman) becoming good friends and being able to play off each other. The two also represent the balance of mystical and the technological within the team.

Question: Does DC ever look at the heroes’ personalities to see who would make good combinations, friends, team mates? If not, they should. At least sometimes (like with Scott and Rory).

Btw, if you were wondering how Cap convinces Barda to let Scott join, he cites the one-off nature of the team-up. Barda doesn’t buy it and mentions how many one-off team-ups become permanent teams – the world is always in trouble. Cap manages to win Barda over by agreeing that if the team does become permanent, it wouldn’t be like the Justice League (in terms of the time commitment, etcetera). If there’s one thing Captain Atom can write a thesis on, it’s what’s wrong with how (various incarnations of the league) have been run.

With his team and plan in place, Cap heads off to lead the Suicide Squad (not knowing who his would be assassin within the squad is or if there’s more than one within the team). The last minute addition of Major Force to the squad roster makes Cap believe that MF is the assassin tasked with taking him out. However, this was only done to mislead and divert his attention from the true assassin – someone he doesn’t suspect.

Flashback time:

At this time, Cap recalls the previous time a similar scenario had played out when he was the assigned betrayer. It is here that we learn of the purpose of Project Gridview and the fact that Cap had previously witnessed the FULL TILT SOLUTION being used on a much smaller but no less devastating scale. We also see how Cap and Wade Eiling (before he becomes The General) actually agree that, even on a small scale, the FULL TILT SOLUTION is too dangerous to ever implement. Cap had sincere reasons for his protest while Eiling’s objections came from his inability to see a way for him control and benefit from the FULL TILT SOLUTION.

However, the people that ran Project Gridview didn’t work for Eiling and ignored his advice. They just went ahead with testing it during the mission for which they had asked for Cap’s assistance. A fellow super-powered g-man and friend of Cap’s learned that he had three months to live and that his ‘acquired’ power was the cause of his fatal illness. I used the word ‘acquired’, because he got his power in a government experiment. Since the aforementioned revelation, he’d gone on a mad rampage and Gridview bosses volunteered to take him down.

But let’s get back to what the mini-full tilt solution is, what the FULL TILT SOLUTION would look like and Cap’s objections with regards to it:

At the core of the FULL TILT and mini-full tilt solutions is a free-floating, mirror-like, energy ‘portal’ similar to the stargates featured in Stargate (the movie and subsequent tv series), except without the metal chevron-coordinate locking metal structure around it. In addition, you cannot step into it. However, ‘stuff’ can come through it into our world - notably doppelgangers.

This was where things got weird for Captain Atom: The Gridview brass ‘simply knew’ how to create a doppelganger of Cap’s friend. The method they used didn’t seem scientifically rational for people that only studied the strange energy portal for a day - they download Cap’s friend’s file from one of the previously mentioned databases and displayed it in front of the portal. After half a minute, a doppelganger stepped through and without instruction went after CA’s real friend (with Cap in tow). What was even more bizarre to CA was that Gridview didn’t research or create or discover the portal. It just appeared and they brought it inside their gates.

Cap suspected that there was some form of intelligence inside the portal and that it was ‘psionically influencing’ Gridview’s leadership. So, he called in help that didn’t arrive before Cap faced both his friend and the doppelganger in three-way battle...

His friend perished in the battle and then the doppelganger simply flew back into the portal, despite Cap’s attempts to capture it.

When the higher-ups eventually contained the situation, the Gridview brass were detained and sent away for psychological and psionic evaluation. However, the higher-ups then decided that the portal has too much strategic importance to destroy. So, they allowed it to be monitored at Gridview within a psi-shielded room and limited access to scenarios where they would need to activate the FULL TILT SOLUTION (which means downloading all their hero database files to the Gridview servers, displaying these files en masse, and creating an army of doppelgangers who naturally [or supernaturally] want to kill the originals).

Back in the present:

Cap knows that the FULL TILT SOLUTION must be avoided at all cost, but he also knows that there must be an agenda beyond it...If you want to know what happens next, petition DC to publish this comic. I’m just joking. The truth is that I’ve forgotten some of the specifics of what happens in the rest of this story.

What do you call DC’s FF?
I can’t recall what I called the team, which isn’t such a great sign and probably means the name was forgettable. So, I’ve thought up some new possible names.

Gridbusters? There have been Hulkbusters and League Busters in comics. So, there’s a historical precedent for using the word Busters in team names.

Gridbreakers? Gridstorm?

Maybe it should be named something with the word ‘four’ in it?

I’m also partial to having a name that includes the word Equinox, because the team consists of two heroes with science-based / technological powers (symbolized by the light of day) and two heroes with mystical powers (symbolized by the darkness/mystery of night). So, how about Equinox Four (too much like Fantasic...never mind) OR Equinox Guard OR Strike Force Equinox OR Task Force Equinox (Okay, there’s JLTF and the Suicide Squad’s real name is Task Force X, but who cares?) OR Equinox Watch OR Equinox Vigil (being alert and keeping watch and acting only when necessary would be the later MO of this team)? I'm partail to Equinox Vigil at the moment.

Which team name is the best (in your opinion) and why? Any other team name suggestions?

Do you have another FF-like DC team you’d like to see? It doesn’t matter if you only have the names of four heroes and you don’t have the genesis / reason for their team-up or a name for the team. Just fire away!

Bendissed, Spindled, and Morrisonated (a.k.a. My OPINION concerning “great” and/or “hot right now”, contemporary comic writers: An OPINION piece detailing my OPINION from a suitably OPINIONated perspective, not be mistaken with your OPINION, which is yours and also an OPINION...)

2009-12-03T02:03:00.000-08:00

I know many peeps are going to disagree with many things I say and they’re going to say so via private messages or links to this post, but what I have to say has to be said...Okay, I’m way too much fun repeating the same word in run-on sentences. :)

Writers:

Alan Moore:
Is he good? Yes, he’s not hate-worthy, but...Is he great? Alan Moore likes to deconstruct the superhero. Someone once said – I think it was in reference to Watchmen – that ‘to deconstruct’ actually means ‘to take way too seriously’ and I think that person hit the nail on the head concerning Moore’s pre-occupation with deconstructing subject matter that needs at least a thin veneer of escapist fun. Personally, I find Moore’s writing (especially his dialogue) pretty wordy. It’s almost a universal writing rule: To write well, write tightly. Say as much as you with as few words as you can. In some of Moore’s comics, he uses 26 words where 16 would have done the job and better word choice would have imparted more meaning trough those fewer words. Another gripe I have Moore’s writing is illustrated in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, where I’m sure I’m wasn’t alone in asking: Why do we need this character? Yes, I’m looking at you, Alan Quatermaine. However, as troublesome as those tendencies are, Moore really lets rip when he gets a run on comic he didn’t create. If you love a comic, Moore will warp it. Not just a different direction, but near-reboot level changes. Unfortunately, he is not alone in this compulsion (see below). Moore earns 5.25 out 10 on my opinion-meter.

Warren Ellis:
Mister Ellis can be a real douchebag at times (e.g. doing a parody of a celebrity death), but sometimes he can be right on the money (when blogging). Okay, on to his writing. Like some of the other Brits on this list, Ellis loves to take established comics into unexplored territory. Unfortunately, like his countrymen, he transforms a comic for the sake of making an impact or leaving his mark or as a friend of mine put it ‘marking his territory.’ I like some of his work – Planetary comes to mind. On the other hand, he once killed a favourite comic of mine to create his own comic and not only did kill my sweetheart, but he did it with an inter-company cross-over one-shot! I wonder how Spiderman fans would feel if Batman killed Spiderman in a cross-over and Spidey was really dead after the crossover ended. On the third hand, I seem to have some random things in common with Ellis and I find it impossible to totally hate anyone who likes the same stuff that I do, because that would be like hating myself and I’m adorable. Still, Ellis isn’t my cup of tea. Ellis earns 5.75 out of 10 on my opinion-meter.

Grant Morrison:
Turning the DCU into the Morrison-verse is an impressive feat, indeed. Other writers at DC seem to ask him if he thinks an idea is cool before they start writing. This can never be good. Is he good? Yes, at times. One of my main problems with the Scotsman is that he can give you something really cool and then pair it with something so HOKEY that instantly causes the story to lose all of its immersive quality (for me). Another problem is that eventually every comic will be Morrisonated (read: mutilated Morrison-style or marinated in Morrison crazy juice), then he’ll lose interest, and finally the downward spiral will occur. On occasion, he’s also shown only a scant knowledge of the comic he was writing (in terms of history and previous arcs created). Final Crisis – that’s all I’m going to cite if Morrison Die Hard fans start singing his praises. Final Crisis was the most disjointed events s that I have ever come across and there have been some doozies over the years. Really, it was like every character or group whose name popped into Morrison’s head got put into the script at the exact second he was thinking about them. Some of the characters that play microscopic parts in the entire series actually dominate the final issue. Actually, I could also mention his runs on JLA and X-men as well. In JLA, Grant roped in every flavour of the month DC hero that he was involved with to become a member or guest star. In addition, Batman villains became JLA villains and ditto for Superman villains. Now, as a writer, if you don’t knock it out of the park with JLA, it is rather easily fixed by the next writer. He or she can change the cast of heroes quite easily. With X-men, however, his successor was pretty much stuck with what Morrison had done for a spell and what Grant created there was just awful. Another Morrison trait seems to be that he gets progressively worse the longer his run on a comic is and this usually occurs when the particular run is longer than 6 to 8 months. A final observation/query concerning Morrison: Is this dude spread too thin at times? Morrison earns 4 out of 10 on my opinion-meter.

Brian Michael Bendis:
Turning the Marvel Universe into the Bendis-verse is even more impressive. Bendis is in many ways the ‘Anti-Morrison’ of comics and for that he should be applauded: He doesn’t feel the need to warp everything beyond the point of recognition. It seems as if Bendis understands that when working on an established title he is the custodian or steward of shared history and present experience. Even in his Ultimate universe, you’ll recognise Spiderman. Sure, he’s been modified, but he’s still recognizable.* He does really good dialogue (if slightly wordy at times) and if Marvel had any sense they’d get him to do Captain America or write a ‘Dialogue guideline for writers writing Cap’ so that character’s awful way of speaking can be tweaked/improved to a less annoying level. The name Brian Michael Bendis may sound like Chad Michael Murray, but unlike a ‘teen dream’ actor he’ll outlast a lot of his red hot peers. The seeds of greatness are here, both within his attitude and his craft. Bendis earns 6.5 out of 10 on my opinion-meter.

[*Another difference between DC and Marvel: DC reboots, retcons, and rebirths characters and concepts in and out of continuity while the red team will create parallel universes for such ideas to see which (the original or the modified) is more popular.]

Writer-artists:

Frank Miller:
Frank Miller is perhaps the most technically proficient guy on this list (in terms of pencilling and writing). Heck, Frank Miller comic scripts are often used as teaching aids, because Frank uses most (if not all) scripting techniques known to comic writers. Miller reminds me of the sports expression: form is temporary, while class is permanent. Just to clarify, in this context ‘class’ refers to how good your game is. Professional athletes and comic pros who possess great technique come out of slumps in form a lot faster than those with weaker techniques. Yet, being technically proficient does not a genius make. You have to bring it all together. Sometimes, Miller does. Sometimes, Miller overdoes the grittiness of his stories so that he has the opportunity to do dynamic panel art – Daredevil, anyone? Miller earns 6 out of 10 on my opinion-meter.

Alan Davis:
Alan Davis is the ONLY genius on this list. There, I said it. Mister Davis is a writer who embodies the following axioms of comic writing: One, know every rule/convention before you break said rules/conventions. Two, know the comic and its characters before you start to write. See JLA: The Nail to see someone who is a great writer who knows all the tiers of characters connected to a comic as steeped in history as the JLA and can write an alternate history tale at the same. The latter is rarely done well in superhero comic writing, because it requires an in-depth knowledge of characters and their actual histories. His Clandestine series (now collected as a trade) is awesome and again shows how Mister Davis rolls with characters (and indeed teams) with baggage. And how does he roll? Better than anyone else. When comparing his writing to his art, it’s really difficult to tell which is better and that, my friends, is saying a lot. Davis earns 8.5 out of 10 on my opinion-meter.

Some general observations:

Only two or three of the pros – Davis, Bendis, and Miller – mentioned above get solid to great passing grades from me and there seem to some similarities between the ones did not.

1] They seem to lack an internal editor* (at different levels). Quite literally, Moore doesn’t have a dialogue editor in his head who can pare down dialogue to a more efficient number of words per balloon. Morrison seems to go with his first idea for every story he writes and predictably...unique...stuff is created.

* Note: Having an internal editor, does NOT mean self-moderating or self-editing the creativity out of your ideas. No, having one goes hand in hand with being able to switch your internal editor on and off.

2] Maybe it’s predominantly a UK comic writer thing, but Moore, Morrison, and Ellis are all guilty of this: Only being able to write an established title by totally changing (read: revamping or redesigning or hacking or warping) the hero as well as the supporting cast and/or the feel of the book.

Here’s a hint, guvnahs: It is possible to write NEW STORIES for a comic WITHOUT REINVENTING the CHARACTERS.

That’s just my opinion. As always, your mileage may vary.

Taken from the ‘Heroes need love and understanding’ forum...

2009-12-03T01:42:00.000-08:00

TOPIC / THREAD: Changing perceptions after the fact

Anna_taz:
Here’s my problem. I only date other heroes, because normals just wouldn’t understand my crazy life or why I’m always in my stage outfit even on my day off. A long time ago I did some morally frowned upon stuff and it’s since resurfaced in the present. Now it seems that every guy I meet already has a tainted perception of me. I used to have a kind of fun, harmless life of the party image, but now...How do I change their minds without REALLY changing their minds?

Magic_redhead:
I had a similar experience, although I’m not really in the dating scene. I’m still trying to make up for it and make the one who matters understand that I was only motivated by love.

Pale_majesty:
I’ve always been considered a bit of a bitch in professional circles. I was the other woman and to make matters worse my powers are similar to his then wife and she’s (almost universally beloved). So, people like to compare her ‘saintly’ use of her powers to my perceived ‘borderline ethically questionable’ use of my powers.

Anna_taz:
Thanks guys. Is there anything more specific I can do?

Flying_quiver:
Anna_taz: I don’t know you and lack enough details about your situation, but here’s my two cents. There are a lot worse deeds than posing for a playboy spread.

Pale_majesty: I don’t know you either, but judging from your username (majesty?) you have a HUGE opinion of yourself. So, my advice to you is simple: Get over yourself. Yeah, you’re borderline alright...

Magic_redhead: You, I do know. It’s my life’s greatest regret that I never caught on to how unquestionably batshit crazy you were and possibly still are!

Cap_amorous (moderator):
To Flying_quiver: Son, the user who owned that moniker died once and never renewed his membership. I don’t know who you are, but you’re NOT him. I’m going to lock your IP address out of this forum permanently. God bless America.

Lime_cupid:
'...died once and never renewed his membership.' Huh?
Cap_amorous, I don’t think that death isn’t quite the impediment to forum participation you think it is. Trust me.

Raving_bAD:
Lime_cupid: Actually, Cap should know you’re right as well, considering what’s gone on with him...

Anna_taz: As someone who has also done more than his share good intentioned misdeeds, I can tell you that Magic_redhead (hi) is right. Btw, are you new here? I haven’t seen on this forum before and I’m always trawling for topics. I’d never judge you. Can I send you a private message to set up a coffee date? I know this café in Paris with the best espresso. Maybe we can fly there for a cup...together?

I_Malone:
Anna_taz, don’t be so mysterious. Give us more detail. Please be as specific as you can about everything. Use this as ‘practice run’ for when you tell your next partner your side of the story. That’s the only way to change perceptions about you. Say what you are thinking. I always try to do this in my relationships.

Anna_taz:
I_Malone, do I know you?

Lime_cupid:
Raving_bAD, does Anna_taz really need to know you? You sound like a capitalist tyrant who thinks that you can buy everyone. Grab a clue card: You can't! Trawling, indeed.

I_Malone, you’re scaring everyone on this forum with your thinly veiled fascist interrogation tactics.

Random Comic Book Research Question # 2

2009-12-01T01:13:00.000-08:00

Question 1: What is it with the American comic book reader population and super-powered apes?

Happily skipping along, gun in hand and brain tucked under arm...That's how I like to think of Monsieur Mallah!

Seriously, you have Gorilla Grodd, Monsieur Mallah, Detective Chimp, Bat-Ape (no, not Nightwing), and Beppo, and a host of ape versions of Marvel’s heroes residing in The Marvel Ape Universe.

Interesting Finding: Marvel has most of their apes in a pocket universe, while DC has them running loose in DCU proper. Huh?

Furthermore, it seems that shapeshifters like Changeling are most popular when they morph into chimps, gorillas, monkeys, etc. Hey JJ (J'onn to those not hip to my new starting a trend initiative), want to be more popular than Supes and Bats put together? Just morph into a chimp or a gorilla every few issues.

And it’s not limited to comics, either. In television, there’s Mojo Jojo from The Powerpuff Girls and the gorilla-themed Optimus Primal from Transformers Beast Wars and Transformers Beast Machines television series from the 1990s.

There also seems to a boatload of fannish websites and blogs with the words ‘monkey’, ‘gorilla’, ‘chimp’, and ‘ape’ in their URLs.

Of course, the vast majority of the DC primates are products of early Silver Age insanity, but that leads me to my next question (marked Question 2 for your convenience :).

Question 2: Why are the super-powered apes still popular with readers and some writers?

I couldn't resist this rather apt image...

Perhaps I should scrap my work in progress and write an ape script instead...

This is scary Zoetrope-like stuff in the manga world...

2009-12-01T00:32:00.000-08:00

Previously, I spoken about my exposure to how things work in Speculative short fiction market and have referred to a rather prestigious publication called Zoetrope All-story, the brainchild of Francis Ford Copolla, who is a pretty famous movie director and mogul. I’ve mentioned Zoetrope All-story because of their protocol of acquiring All Rights for the stories they publish.

Just for some background, for short stories you can sell First North American Rights, Reprint Rights, Anthology Rights, First British Rights, First European Rights, First Australian Rights, and First Electronic Rights, One-time Rights, Archival Rights, Excerpt Rights, Translation Rights, and Audio Rights to the same story to a publication at different times depending on the contracts used.*

Alternatively, you can sell (grant) First World English Rights, Reprint Rights, Anthology Rights, and First Electronic Rights, One-time Rights, Archival Rights, Excerpt Rights, Translation Rights, and Audio Rights to the same story to different publications at different times depending on the contracts a used.* [Here, selling First World English Rights implies that you cannot sell First North American Rights, First British Rights, First European Rights, or First Australian Rights.]

*Many of these rights may be granted on an exclusive or non-exclusive basis. Exclusive means that you guarantee that your story will not appear anywhere else while the publication that bought the exclusive rights are exercising their right to the story. Non-exclusive means that your story may appear elsewhere at the same time (or something like that).

In the example above, you could theoretically sell between nine and twelve different rights to the same story and I don’t think I covered all of the possible rights. Of course, some publications ask for more than one sort of right...But still, there is more than one sale/ rights licensing opportunity [read: pay day] for the writer.

Another option is to sell All Rights, which means that it no longer belongs to you. You can NEVER sell it EVER AGAIN. You will NEVER be paid any money for the work EVER AGAIN. The only thing you can do after selling All Rights is say that you’re the author. But what if Mister Copolla decides to make a movie out of your story? Too bad! You’ll have to buy a movie ticket or the dvd and sob quietly as it rakes in the box office gold. Okay, that’s the worst case scenario, but it could happen. So, I would never encourage anyone to sell All Rights.

An even worse abomination is the Work-for-hire contract. It’s like selling All Rights, except that you are not even considered the author. So, you lose your copyright to the story. Cue the same movie, only you have no right to cry. This is understandable when you are working on an established, company-owned characters and you're not the creator of a property. But when you create something? No way. Don't do it.

Rant ended.

What does this have to do with comics and Manga?

Well, as mentioned in other posts, I’m researching possible independent publishers for my comic book limited series. So I decided on a whim to do a search on Google, like so:

Google: “bad experiences” AND “independent comic publisher”

This is what Google delivered.

I think the contract referred to in the link should be reworded as a Work-for-hire or an All Rights contract to remove all confusion/ambiguity. Who came up with the language used in the contract? It comes off as a “if we could take it all from you, we would...You're welcome!” contract.

Just makes me determined to learn how comic book publishing contracts work and be wary of small print or friendly(?) legal double-speak.

Green Lanterns are unique...

2009-11-25T01:20:00.000-08:00

There are two mirrored lines at the end of DC versus Marvel cross-over referring to Batman and Captain America that go something like this:

He became one among many, but remained forever unique...

To me, this more accurately describes every Green Lantern. The concept of GL and the GL Corps exemplifies the notion that the powers don’t make the hero.

There’s many ways of proving this, but I’d like to limit this post to a look at how some of the more prominent emerald warriors view sacrifice and self-sacrifice.

Kyle Rayner is the Buddhist guru of self-sacrifice. On more than one occasion, he has volunteered to make the ultimate sacrifice – most recently during Blackest Night. Kyle doesn’t hesitate to make such decisions, because he’s content with no longer living as long as his friends survive (to fight another day). He wasn't Ion for nothing.

Hal Jordan views self-sacrifice as part of his duty. Only after Kyle was able to reason with Hal (as Parallax) during Final Night* and appeal to his sense of heroic duty, did Hal help defeat the sun-eater.

John Stewart sees self-sacrifice as a form of redemption and as making a difference. With his Darkstar exo-suit torn to shreds and being essentially powerless, John took on Grayven (Darkseid’s kid) to help Kyle. This sacrifice left him paralyzed for quite a while.

Guy Gardner views self-sacrifice as a way to validate the sacrifices of others. Guy loves his friends and comrades – he really couldn’t stand it if the sacrifice of a friend turned out to be in vain. To Guy, sacrifice has to mean something and may use it as a ‘karmic comeuppance’ for any villain who disrupts his life, which has been disrupted many times before. Guy's self-sacrificial streak can be surprising to those who only known as the once obnoxious GL.

Alan Scott isn’t a member of the corps and in this distinction we find his take on sacrifice. Unlike Hal, he doesn’t see sacrifice as part of his (formal) duty, but as an example to be set. Alan realizes that any sacrifice he makes can (and will) inspire other heroes to do the same during our darkest hour. I guess it’s a golden age heroic ethic.

The powers don’t make the Emerald Warrior...

* Blackest Night? Final Night? What is it with DC and darkness?

True origin of Dazzler?

2009-11-23T00:34:00.000-08:00

A comment from SallyP with regard to my last post mentioned Dazzler as let’s say a ‘questionable’ superhero. This made me think about the character.

I have to agree with Sally and just about anyone who nominates Dazzler for inclusion on such ‘lists of honour.’ However, I don’t want to get into the merits of the character, because ‘disco queen as mutant’ speaks for itself and Scipio has already done a wonderful job here, here and perhaps most tellingly here.

I do want to hypothesize about Dazzler’s genesis as character. In other words, what led Dazzler’s creation? What inspired such a memorable character?

As a mildly creative person myself, I often wonder how comic creators come up with characters and concepts. I am constantly entertained by the answers I find. For example, it was interesting to discover that the X-men were not named after Xavier, their founder and patriarch, but for the eXtra bit of power they possessed. Huh? What now?

I think I may be able to pinpoint the exact trigger for the temporary insanity that afflicted the minds of Tom Defalco and John Romita Jr. (and others*) when they created the mutant dancer in the late 70s (1979 or so).

*Jim Shooter, Louise Simonson, and Roger Stern [who came up with the name] may also deserve some of the ‘credit’ for Dazzler – creation via Marvel committee. See how everyone is trying to spread the credit around on this one? Initially, no one wanted any part in Dazzler’s creation. How could anyone NOT want to be part something as high concept as Dazzler?

To fair, Dazzler was supposed to be a HUGE media tie-in character with a Graphic Novel, possible Movie, and definately a real-life singer styled after her. Things didn't go as planned - there were a lot of reworkings of the character. Today I really want to talk about the second or third reworking (out of a possible baker's dozen reworkings Marvel have approved over the years).

When a character isn't working after reconceptualizing, what do you do? You say, "Damn the torpedoes. Full steam ahead!"

Is it just me or is Dazzler starting to do 'the robot' here? That unique sparking thing really gives the dance the freshness it needs. Dazzler, you're a true artist.

Dazzler at her disco best!

Here’s what I suspect happened:

The year was 1981. Defalco and Romita (or whoever the creative team were at the time) were hanging out at the Marvel Bullpen, wondering how they were going to rework the character whose original power was a voice with the same effect as Wonder Woman’s lasso (Bad guy: “I’ll tell you the truth. Just stop singing!”). I kid you not.

They decided to turn the radio on for some inspiration. Their favourite segment was on - the one where they play the song that was number one two years earlier to the day. The Bee Gees were singing a song called “Tragedy” (released in1979). That’s the instant when they came up with Dazzler’s mutant power getting in the way of her singing career, because that’s a tragedy.

Here are a few lyric excerpts from the song in question:

Tragedy
When you lose control
And you got no soul...

[That little bit sounds like Dazzler in a nutshell, doesn’t it?]

Tragedy
When the feeling’s gone
And you can’t go on
It’s tragedy...

[Apparently, she quit the whole hero gig at one stage. It was interfering with her vocal, musical, acting, and modelling ambitions. Our loss, I guess...]

And this little gem of an excerpt is kind of prophetic of fan reaction to Dazzler:

It’s hard to bear
With no one to love you,
You’re going nowhere...

Poor Dazzler. Her career as a superhero is the stuff of tragedy. [Cue the Bee Gees track. Then let the track fade out just as the spotlight fades on Dazzler.]

Serious Superhero Team Webcomics

2009-11-20T01:09:00.000-08:00

I’m always on the look-out for serious, action-packed, superhero team webcomics. By ‘serious’ I mean NOT a parody. Comics can have a Blue Beetle character or a Guy Gardner character. That’s fine. As long the stakes in each story are serious. Okay, they have titles like that in print form, but I should be able to get part of my fix online, right?

First up is Alpha Gods (previously known as Young Gods*), which isn’t really a webcomic. It’s a digital comic. Scroll down to read Part One and Two for free.

The second offering is a webcomic and is up to several episodes. It’s called Magellan (think Legion with a smaller cast meets New Mutants)

*Blame Master Artist Barry Windsor Smith who apparently holds the copyright over something called Young Gods, which is a pity ‘cause this creator was inspired by an obscure song either called or containing the words ‘young gods.’ Just love those kind of behind-the-scenes creative stories.

Some evergreen laughter-inducing stuff

2009-11-20T00:44:00.000-08:00

Whenever I need a pick-me-up for the soul, I head to interwebs to explore the comics blogosphere for some laughs. Sometimes I find new hilarity, but other times I visit some older fare. The following is such evergreen scholarship and, considering my current superhero project, it might be required refresher course reading...

I present 2005's The top ten lamest superherheroes of all time and its sequel.

More recent is this: The crappiest comic superhero.

I don't agree with every hero on the list, though. For example, Vibe (as noted on the Absorbascon) is NOT lame and doesn't belong on any such list.

I could do a list of my own, but it would mirror my “Why I should write a single issue of Legion” post that I’ll refrain from ever posting. Hint: Bouncing Boy and Matter Eater lad DIE on page one.

True origin of Hal Jordan?

2009-11-18T01:59:00.000-08:00

There must be other comic scholars who have posed this question, but...Did they create the characters of Hal Jordan and Captain James T. Kirk from Star Trek from the same mould?

You know, the charismatic hero who traverses the spaceways, has relations with many a human and alien female, doesn’t believe in no-win situations, and gets away with breaking various rules and directives while still being regarded as a great?

There are a pretty staggering number of similarities between the two... For example, I seem to recall Kirk also having to resort to the old “a-space-parasite-made-me-do-it” defence at some time.

Exhibit A: Both seem to share the same stylist.

Exhibit B: Both wear ridiculously tight uniforms (without benefit of a cape to divert the attention gawkers away from...um...assets).

Exhibit C: Both men have been called “a man among men and a hero for the ages.” Again, wearing ridiculously tight outfits will create such impressions.

Exhibit D: Hal Jordan has Barry Allen and Oliver Queen as both best friends and colleagues. Barry and Ollie have had many arguments (read: thinly veiled attempts to trump each other for Hal’s favour) over the years, which Barry could easily win/end in two seconds, but he admires Ollie’s passion for Hal too much.

Question: How does it feel to work with your best friend?

Answer: Much like working with your other best friend...

James Kirk has Spock and Doctor Leonard McCoy as best friends and colleagues. Spock and McCoy have had many arguments (read: thinly veiled attempts to trump each other for Kirk’s favour) over the years, which Spock could easily win/end in two seconds, but he admires McCoy’s passion for Kirk too much.

Seriously, Spock could end it like so...

...or like so...

...or even like so...

...but that's when he often sees McCoy's passion...

Exhibit E: Both Hal (Green Lantern: Rebirth and beyond) and Kirk (in Star Trek: Generations) were ‘reborn’ and fought alongside their successors.

Exhibit F: A river runs through it. Not only is this the name of a movie in which Brad Pitt looks disturbingly like the love-child of his director, Robert Redford, but also another compelling ‘coincidence’ shared between a particular Green Lantern and a Starfleet Captain. Allow me to elucidate...Hal’s surname is Jordan, the name of a river. Captain James T. Kirk’s middle name is Tiberius, which means ‘of the Tiber’, which is also the name of a river.

This is disturbing and off topic...

Exhibit G: Both work or have worked for people who’ve taken style tips from French Cardinal Richelieu.

One of the Guardians

A Starfleet Admiral wearing an outfit that makes his personality pop!

Cardinal Richelieu as style icon

Exhibit H: Both are prone to an unnaturally high incidence of grappling or wrestling with opponents and friends... Hal has the most powerful weapon in the universe on his finger and Captain Kirk’s phaser is set to stun anyway. So, there really no need to get physical. I could have shown a few images here to illustrate, but let’s keep this workplace-safe.

Random comic book research questions

2009-11-16T02:50:00.000-08:00

Question 1: How much do comic readers miss letters columns? [This fanboy misses those columns a lot. There was always an interesting comment or question from a reader.]

Question 2: Have some of the letterhacks (peeps who wrote to letters columns) migrated to having comic blogs? If so, to what degree has this happened?

Question 3: What became of those letterhacks who did not make the trek to the comics blogosphere? Did they buy fewer comics becuase of this turn of events?

I ask these questions, because I remember that some folks enjoyed the columns more than the comics themselves (at times). The wholesale elimination of these columns always struck me as the equivalent of a blogger who becomes a published author and then decides to shut down his blog. Damn the marketing and fan interaction opportunities.

I also recall that some editors and assistant editors actually gained quite a following because of their witty responses contained within these columns.

How someone else should tie it all together...

2009-11-13T01:45:00.000-08:00

As long as I can remember, speculative short fiction has been in trouble. Okay, that’s not really accurate. It’s short fiction’s print magazines that have (for the better part of last decade or so) been in trouble. Much of this is a reflection of the aging of their consumers and their inability to attract new (and younger) audiences.

A few years ago, when I was still worried about the survival of speculative short fiction, I came up with this idea. I use the past tense since I no longer equate survival of short specfic magazines with the survival of the form. No, I think themed anthologies are the lifeblood of the speculative short form.

Sorry about the rant. Back to the idea, which I can outline, because to pull it off would require lots of capital and it borrows from some of what’s currently being done. But...but...but...if you succeeded in making the numbers work , you’d actually attract new readers to the form (as a sort of a cross-pollination of forms...more on this later).

Let’s say, you focused on the genres of Military SF, Sword and Sorcery, and Supernatural Horror and were interested in minmalist short stories between 2000 and 4000 words. I chose these genres and sub-genres (off the top of my head) because they normally have a lot of visual punch, but you could use others as well.

You could produce online ezine, a print magazine / antho, a podcast series, a comic book antho, and a manga antho from the same stories by asking for a combination of exclusive first print, electronic, audio rights, translation rights, archival rights as well as rights to produce derivative works. Heck, we could go the route of Francis Ford Copolla’s Zoetrope All-story and request all rights, but as a sympathizer with all writers I’d never advise any writer (or publisher) to go this route. I mean, imagine they make a movie based on your work and you find yourself out in the cold.

The key would be that a print story = podcast story = audiobook = online / downloadable story, while comic book + manga would differ by 30 to 35% from the original short story (and from each w.r.t. visual communication and amount of dialogue used) in terms of say the ending. This is where the derivative rights would come in. The Comic and Manga versions would already differ (in a legal sense) just because the forms are so different. Again, I'm not a lawyer and am only really familiar with rights usually granted with prose short fiction, so I could have omitted other necessary rights.

Back to the cross-pollination aspect: If a person buys the comic book, they could receive the podcast or audiobook (which is 30 to 35% different) for free. This could be applied to various other buy-one-form-get-one-free combinations.

Since a Pro rate for a short story comes in at 6 cents a word (last I checked) and taking into account all the rights the writer would be granting, a fair payment might be US$360 (max 4000 @ 8 cents a word) upfront PLUS some % on the back end. Again this depends on the capital available.

Of course, the real cost would come from labour: slush readers, editors, webmasters, digital artists, mangaka (or rather pencillers who can draw manga style since mangaka are usually one-person acts), comic pencillers*, inkers, letterers, colourists. The comic dudes above would work on a work-for-hire to simplify copyright issues, etcetera. You could add comic writers to alter the story for comic form, but some consultation between editors and artists should take care of that.

*An important requirement for pencillers is to be able to draw from a short story instead of a full comic script. It occurs to me that doing this is closer to Marvel Style than Full Script.

General comic script formats (at least, the ones I’ve heard of):

1. Full Script
This is the format for writer-control-freaks, which is why I opted to learn this format! Basically, this is a page-by-page, panel-by-panel, break-down of what the writer wants to see. It involves panel descriptions (what must appear in each panel, including setting, action, captions and dialogue). The artist uses this as a guide to pencil the story.

2. Plot Script (a.k.a. Marvel Style a.k.a. Plot First a.k.a. Plot-art-dialogue)
This format involves the writer creating a synopsis of the plot, breaking it down to the page level, supplying action and setting. At this stage, the writer mentions only some of the dialogue (if any). Then the artist pencils the comic and, as a side effect, has the most control over the pacing and panel composition of the comic. Only afterwards, does the writer add the captions and dialogue.

Looking back, a lot of the Marvel’s internal story logic makes sense now... “There’s not enough space for Iron Man to explain his actions fully. Maybe, I can delete this section of dialogue and let reader’s imagination fill in the rest. Of course, this is a trial scene and he’s defending himself by giving a minute-by-minute account of actions, which the reader didn’t see, on the night in question. And there aren’t any witnesses or closed circuit cameras. What’s worse, the next page is splash page Avengers-S.H.I.E.L.D.-Skrull slugfest...Damn you, Bendisverse!”

3. Kurtzman Style
This involves drawing rough thumbnail sketches and scribbling down all the dialogue and captions inside these sketches. Then, the real artist transforms these sketches into real pencilled comic panels.

I only mentioned this tiresome-sounding format, because of Kurzman’s association with EC Comics and their association with horror comics and my idea’s reliance on supernatural horror. I can’t draw, so this format isn’t for me. Best left to writer-artists, maybe?

Anyway, see how a Marvel-style proficient artist would be better for translating short stories to comics or manga?

I even thought of a catchy name B.O.S.S. [Based On Short Stories]. Hopefully, Hugo Boss wouldn’t have problem with the name. This idea requires a lot of money to realise and may be slow to turn a profit, so only millionnaires and media conglomerates need attempt it.

Sometimes the interwebs surprises you and you're forced to rename a blog post

2009-11-10T02:07:00.000-08:00

This is what this post was supposed to be named: Stuff the graphic novels industry lacks or seemingly lacks...

I’m at the very start of writing my comic one-shot / graphic novel script and I’ve started to research some possible publishers for my labour of love.
I knew that my best bet was to check out independent publishers (Not DC, Marvel, Image, or Dark Horse), but I didn’t know where to start. Well, actually, Dark Horse is a pretty good bet.

There are some publisher lists on the net, but these are either devoid of detail or hopelessly out of date, often listing many historical but defunct publishers. In addition, there aren't any live links to active publishers on these lists

This is where my experience as a reader and wannabe writer of short fiction has spoilt me: Speculative short fiction has market databases like Ralan and Duotrope that are not only updated regularly, but tell you which publisher / publication is interested in which genre or sub-genre at which length. In addition, links to submission guidelines are added to each publication listing.

As far as I know, there aren’t any comparable websites for comics and graphic novels. As far as I know.

In the meantime, I’ve slogged m way through a few outdated lists just to get started and have found some potential publishers. Still, would be nice to do a refined search, such as superhero comics only.

Okay, this is where this post was supposed to stop...until I discovered Caleb Monroe's Submission Help page. It is awesome to have all those links in one place. Thank you, Sir.

EDIT: There's also dragonberry.