War of the Independents again: Now I'm psyched!

A week ago today I had reviewed War of the Independents #1, and my main criticism was that there were too many characters trying to get your attention, and also that it didn't make sense to have superhero-style characters and cartoony characters all together. 

Well, on the WotI FB page, I heard from one of the creators that they are indeed going to make the rest of the issues as I had suggested in my previous blog entry about WotI.  There's even going to be an issue of the super ladies, and I am very curious on how that one will go.  Sheesh, I wish I could be in that one!  LOL  Anyway, now that I know of the upcoming format, I'm officially psyched!  You go, dudes!  Bring it on and make it happen like I know you can!  :-D

Comics talk: Fear Itself, DC's 52 reboot, and War of the Independents

Lately I’ve gotten heavy into the political talk and not so much on comics talk, so today let me try to balance the scales a bit. 

Marvel’s Fear Itself storyline.

Fear Itself was one of the better blockbuster storylines that Marvel has done in recent years.  Ever since the dreadful Civil War, I tend to be leery of Marvel’s blockbusters, but this one helped redeem their cred a bit.  If they keep this up, then they could get back into my good graces.  :-)  I pretty much ignored the tie-ins, as I usually do with the tie-ins to the blockbuster storylines of both of the big comics companies, because tie-ins to me are what 3D is to the movie industry:  A pretty and unnecessary accessory. 

However, I did read Fear Itself: Home Front, because I was curious to see how they would play out the whole story of Speedball and his return to the city that was the scene of his fall from grace a few years back.  This was nicely done and the responses from the different characters – especially from the woman who lost a child from the tragedy that triggered the Civil War storyline in the first place.  Without giving away much of what happens in the story, let’s just say that her response to his assistance redeemed him a bit in her eyes, but she still can’t forget that she lost a son because of him.  “Forgive, but not forget”, in other words; which is completely logical.  Kudos to Marvel for this one.

DC Comics 52 “reboot”

I’m still reserving judgment on this.  While there is a kind of novelty to rebooting familiar characters, I’m still not sold on what they’ve done so far.  My thinking is “why fix what’s not broken?”, especially in rebooting the whole line of comics, instead of testing it out as an “alternate universe”.  I guess what’s tainting my thinking is their recent Brightest Day series – one so bad and convoluted that I stopped buying them, representing the first time I’ve ever stopped reading a limited series before it was done.  Those who know my love for comics know that this is a rather shocking development on my part!  My fear is that they are taking what they did with BD and expanding it to the whole DC franchise.  I hope I’m wrong about it, but if the whole of DC gets infected with this BD virus, then I might have to stop reading DC altogether – which would be an even greater shocking development.   Let’s hope that it doesn’t come to that!  

War of the Independents limited series

I really wanted to love War of the Independents, since it’s a collection of characters not with the “Big Two”, but what should be its strength is actually its weakness.  There’s just too many characters to keep up with!  Plus, having superhero characters together with cartoony characters like Gumby just doesn’t make sense.  Granted, it’s a comic book and pretty much anything goes – “suspend your disbelief” and all that - but the overabundance of characters means that too many characters are trying to get your attention, so it ends up that none of them do. 

Also, the different styles of art virtually with every page can sometimes get jarring, and it’s really a distraction from the story flow.  Anytime you have to remove yourself from a story to notice something like that is not good.  I do appreciate the effort and I am totally down with the idea and concept – I just think it needs to be worked a little differently. 

You all know that I am nothing if not opinionated, so here’s my take on what they might try another time:  Same idea, same concept, but try to create stories of characters that are similar; for example, pair Gumby with Usagi Yojimbo, Bone, Cerberus, Milk, Cheese, and the other cartoony looking characters.  Have one of the artists used to drawing in this cartoony style to do the artwork. 

Then another story can be done in an oddball style using Too Much Coffee Man, Zippy the Pinhead, The Flaming Carrot, and perhaps Megaton Man, The Tick, and The Maxx; again by an artist used to drawing in that style. 

Yet other stories could be built around the superheroes who have certain common themes, like the ghost/zombie/otherwise undead, or those built around a patriotic theme, or perhaps an all-girl story.  Tying them all together can be an overall theme, perhaps all of them saving the universe in their own, special way. 

Anyway, by using this pairing up method of the similar style characters, it gives each of them more of a chance to show what it is about each of them that appealed to their fans, and in the process, perhaps they can attract new fans.  With a little organization, this can really work, and pulled off in the way that I think it can be done, it could do well enough to make the big guy comic companies at least take momentary notice.  With that, you guys would have your own little Occupy moment in the comics world, and that would be an Occupy movement that I could totally support.  :-)

 

The hypersexualization of women in comics

I think discussing the issue of the hypersexualization of women in comics in a blog titled "Busty Superhero Chick" is probably a good place for such a discussion. :-)

Let's go ahead and start with an explanation of the name of my blog. First, it's meant to be something easy to remember, and I think it is.  Next, it's also a play on you guys and how you generally like your superhero women - with big boobs.  :-)

As for the issue of hypersexualization of women - in short, comics are largely geared to male readers, and the artists tend to be male - so basically it was an inevitability that women would be drawn in such a way as to have proportions that were impossible for a woman to have in real life.  Having female artists helps somewhat, since they would be familiar with what would be realistic and unrealistic in regards to women's body proportions, but the expectation of skimpy or otherwise degrading costumes is such that it's what they draw as well.

And since this question is likely going to come up - what about my costume?  Isn't it rather skimpy as well?  And the cleavage hole isn't exactly what most women would wear in their everyday clothing.  First, keep in mind that it is a superhero costume, so it's supposed to stand out from your regular everyday attire.  Also, I cover up more than most.  You'll note that most of my legs are covered, and my arms are covered entirely.   Initially, the costume design was going to have me wearing just shorts for bottoms, but we decided that the skirt adds a nice feminine touch.  I still wear the shorts that were intended all along, it's just now worn under the skirt.  As for the cleavage hole, it's meant to be a distraction - and the smiley face an additional distraction as well as being a memory device.  So as far as superhero costumes go, I think it's rather conservative, especially when compared to the sorts of costumes that are out there.

For instance, look at the Phantom Lady.  Her top is basically glorified suspenders!  She's a "wardrobe malfunction" waiting to happen.  Every. Single. Time. she goes out to do her hero thing!

Then there's impossible proportions, such as Rob Liefield women.  Most of his women have such strange, oddly proportioned torsos and limbs, and those impossibly tiny pinched-in waists!

And speaking of impossible proportions, consider the character Red Monika of Battle Chasers and her enormous boobs.  For a real woman to have such proportions, her boobs would literally have to be the size of watermelons!  Try strapping two watermelons to your chest and then see if you can get anything done - much less the expected superhero action stuff!

So yes, the hypersexualization of women gets very bad.  No woman can look like these superhero women - not through exercise and dieting, not through surgery, and certainly not through the combination of both.  I'm not sure how to say this without sounding like some mushy feminist, but these kinds of depictions sets unrealistic expectations of how women should look, both to boys and girls.

And yet, consider the market.  Very few readers, both male and female, want superhero women who are fat and ugly.  In order to attract - and keep - readers (who again, are mostly male), then the writers and artists need to make the female heroes attractive and their costumes flattering ("Flattering" can be done without being skimpy, BTW).  

There's also the question of their personalities.  How tough and badass can a superhero woman be and still be womanly?  When is she a woman, and not just a man with a hot bod and boobs?  You understand what I'm saying with that previous sentence?  What I mean is, if she walks like a man, talks like a man, can kick ass like a man, then what makes her a woman?  And yet, do you guys really want a "real" woman for your female superhero character?

That is, do you want her to be complaining about her "female problems" such as periods, cramps, hormonal imbalances, yeast infections, and the like?  Do you want her to be whining about her relationship problems with her significant others, her parents, her GFs, etc?  How much female "whinyness" are you willing to put up with?  Not much, I would bet.  My guess is that you would say, "I have that in real life with my wife/girlfriend/etc!  Why would I want it in my comics?"

So that presents a challenge to both the writers and the artists.  It's a balance to find the right amounts of what would be considered realistic vs the expected exaggerations of the superhero elements in a typical comic book story.  In other words, the unrealistic is expected in a comic book story.; after all, how many women do you know in real life that can lift fully loaded semis over their heads?  But I would also say that reading comic books isn't so much about seeing Wonder Woman lift boulders over her head and the reader expecting to be able to do the same with the right about of dieting/training/exercise; instead, the story is about the message that comes from the story.

We read comics not to learn how to imitate the super abilities of the heroes, but instead to absorb the lessons that are taught from their experiences.  Perhaps that's what the writers and artists should be concentrating on when it comes to the female characters - that is, what lesson will the reader come away with about humanity in general, and if applicable, women specifically?

I tend to believe that most of you won't be interested in stories in which hypersexualization is the message.  Yes, there's always going to be the weird perverts who get off on these hypersexualizations, but there aren't enough of them for most comic companies to make the kinds of profits that eventually finance blockbuster movies.  Instead, I think that most of you want good human interest stories with clear, understandable messages about the human condition, as well as giving the message that "with great power comes great responsibility" - which applies not just to those with super powers, but all of us. 

There's always going to be the hypersexualizations of women in the comics, but as a free-market advocate, I believe that those comics are always going to inhabit the margins of comic book sales, while the more realistic depictions of women are always going to be the bread-and-butter of comic sales.  So fear not, my friends.  But it also doesn't hurt to have the occasional reminder that these hypersexualizations exist, especially when these reminders come from men.  If it gets to the point that you guys can see it, then it must be pretty bad!  LOL

I was trying to think of some way to end this particular blog entry, but instead, I think I'll leave this open-ended in case I get some responses from you all.

Comics Talk: Flashpoint #5 and Justice League #1

In today's Comics Talk, I will discuss both Flashpoint #5 and Justice League #1 since they came out together earlier this week on Wednesday, but before I continue, time for the obligatory:

***WARNING!**

Spoilers ahead! 

If you have not read Flashpoint #5 and Justice League #1 

and don't want what's in it spoiled for you, 

then STOP READING NOW! 

You have been warned!

Okay, first things first, I enjoyed them both.  FP#5 had an interesting twist in that it was not the Reverse Flash that had caused all the chaos that had been going on for the whole FP limited series, but instead it was the result of something The Flash (Barry Allen) had done; which was to go back in time to save the life of his mother so that she lived to see her son Barry grow to adulthood and to succeed.  However, this one act caused a series of events to change how his "universe" had turned out, which ended up turning it inside out from what Barry had remembered.  

He still remembered how things were, but even those memories were slowly being "retconned" to reflect the changes in the universe.  So his mission was to fix things back the way they were before he forgot how things used to be.  So Barry had to fix things by going back in time to stop himself from fixing things.  Confused yet?  LOL  In other words, he stopped himself from saving his mother.  This meant, of course, that his mother was now dead when she was supposed to be (when he was about 10), but in an odd little twist, he still remembered the times he spent with her when she did live to see him grow to adulthood.  Don't think too much on this; it'll mess with your head  LOL

What this is, ultimately, was a reboot of the DC Comics franchise on par with the one they did waaay back in 1985 with Crisis on Infinite Earths, which sought to clean up a lot of continuity issues by having all the various "earths" - Earth One, Earth Two, etc. - compacted to just one Earth.  So this time around, all the major characters will be meeting each other for the very first time in an environment that seems to be DC's answer to Marvel's Ultimate universe, with the exception that what DC is creating is their "mainline" universe rather than an alternate universe like Marvel's Ultimate line.

So - is this whole universal reboot idea gonna work?  It's a very large change to the franchise, and thus it's a big risk.  I think it might increase sales in the short term, but how things eventually turn out will depend on what they end up doing with the characters.  And that's where my fear comes in.  I'm afraid that they are going to make a kinder, gentler, more PC universe that's more in line with liberal ideology than with making a good story. 

I got concerned about this when I heard the "women wear trousers" rule that was supposed to take place in the new universe. It made me wonder what else they might do to the women to make them and their attire less feminine.  Whenever discussions come up about making characters more "relevant", it's not generally a good thing, because it's almost always code for making them more liberal.  In other words, I feared the whole lot of the DC superhero ladies becoming a superhuman branch of the National Organization of Women.  If they become a bunch of  the stereotypical whiny, "empowered" feminists, then I am dropping DC faster than Keith Olbermann at a Tea Party rally!  Or at least until the next franchise reboot!  LOL

I did notice that Wonder Woman lost her ugly pants.  Well, I mean that she now wears her bikini bottom again.  Not only that, it's not the wedgie-wear that had been drawn on the super ladies in recent decades.  While I may not desire bland costumes for the super ladies, I likewise don't want something that is more suited for a prostitute.  Practicality when it comes to costumes is not a bad idea.  For example, low heeled boots for super ladies are practical.  Fighting in high heeled boots is a great way to either break off the heels in a fight or to twist your ankles.  But just because something is practical, it doesn't mean that it needs to be ugly!

I also find it odd that DC initially had WW in pants because it was "practical", but she still had that strapless top.  Strapless tops may be sexy, but they are mucho impractical.  It's way too easy for some supervillain to simply flip her top down so as to distract her.  Well, now she is back to the bikini bottoms, but she still has the strapless top!  LOL  I am going to use how they depict WW as an indicator to the direction that DC is going to go with this new reboot idea.  If WW becomes an advocate for Planned Parenthood, then that will be a clear sign that DC will be going down the path of its ultimate demise.  Trust me on this.

As for JL#1, I found it hilarious when Green Lantern was asking Batman what his powers were.  Then when he figured it out, he blurted "Don't tell me that you're just a guy in a bat costume!"  Making me laugh like that is a good sign.  :-)  My only complaint is that they made the book too short.  Something that is meant to be the starting point of a franchise reboot should have been a double sized issue.  Otherwise, I think JL#1 was a good starting point. 

So if you haven't bought Flashpoint #'s 1 thru 5, then I suggest buying them this weekend before the new stuff starts showing up starting next week, and I also suggest getting JL#1.  They will be a good point of reference on where DC is now, and we can refer back to them once the franchise starts going down the road.  And then we can see if they deserve our lauds or our jeers. 

Man, I love comics!  :-D

Comics Talk: Marvel's Fear Itself

Over the weekend I purchased the first two issues of Marvel Comics' Fear Itself (one series is titled Fear Itself while the other is titled Fear Itself: Front Line)

 My dread fear: I am so afraid that Marvel is going to make this another Civil War; that is, something that has an enormous buildup and a total flop as an ending.  Civil War was such a disappointment for me that it was outdone in epic fail-ness only this year by DC's horribly bad Brightest Day (BD was so bad that I quit on the series!).

After having read both FI and FI:FL, I am cautiously optimistic so far on how this will turn out.  Make that VERY cautiously optimistic.  CW started out well enough, so that's why I have this hesitancy with FI - I don't want to be that disappointed again. 

I think the direction that this series will go will largely depend upon who is selected as "worthy" for all those magic hammers that have dropped out of the sky. 

So for now, I'll reserve judgment until we find out this stuff.  Stay tuned, folks, and be prepared to hold your nose in case this turns into another stinker!  LOL

Joanne Siegel, the model for Lois Lane, passes away

I posted on Facebook about the passing of Joanne Siegel, who was the model for Lois Lane and also the wife of one of Superman's creators, Jerry Siegel. I want you guys to notice something about how Jerry drew Joanne as Lois. Check it out!

Here's an excerpt from the article below, and there's a point that I want to bring up afterwards:

"Shuster’s drawings reproduced her hairstyle and her facial features, though in the most famous of the original drawings, Lois is considerably more voluptuous than her model was." “Joe might have taken a few liberties,” Ms. (Laura Siegel) Larson said with a laugh."

Laura Larson, by the way, is the daughter of Jerry and Joanne.

Anyway, check out the drawing below. Know what this means? It means that comic book artists have been drawing women as busty since the beginning! You guys are incorrigible, you know that? LOL

Obama's health care plan: Coming soon in a comic book!

Yes, that's right, folks! Since we're too dumb to understand why Obamacare is the best thing since Karl Marx invented Communism, now some brilliant genius is going to explain it to us all - with pictures! And you can bet your superhero costume made with unstable molecules that I'll check it out and review it here! ;-)

Man, and here I thought nothing that liberals do would surprise me - I gotta admit that this surprised the hell outta me! OMG! They're now going to explain it to us with pictures! PICTURES!! I can't believe this! And if we STILL don't want Obamacare, what are they going to do then, huh? Since we'll be so stupid as to still not want Obamacare even when it's explained to us in pictures, can we then get one of those waivers that others have been getting? :-D

The libs have hit rock bottom, and have now started digging! LOL X-D

Comics Talk: DC's Brightest Day and Marvel's Chaos War

I began the month with comics talk, so I'll go ahead and end it with comics talk. :-)

Before I start, let me go ahead and put my spoiler warning, because I’m going to discuss the following recent comic books:

Brightest Day #18
Chaos War #5

If you haven’t read these books yet and don’t want what’s in them spoiled for you, then

STOP READING NOW!

You have been warned!

Those of you on Facebook saw me call DC Comics’ Brightest Day storyline as: Worst. Storyline. Ever.

That is, at least so far. In my mind, it’s actually surpassed Marvel’s Civil War in regards to high level suckitude, and judging by what I’ve seen in the most recent issue, I don’t see a lot of hope for improvement. In fact, I give up on this series; I’m not buying any more issues, because I so badly do not want to see a very disappointing ending and know that I spent good comics money buying it when I could have bought something more entertaining and inspiring – like Mickey Mouse or The Smurfs.

What exactly don’t I like about it? It’s going nowhere! Blackest Night, at least, was entertaining, even if they got carried away resurrecting every freakin’ dead hero and villain ever created by DC. But Brightest Day has had no focus, no direction and no logic to what it’s doing with the resurrected characters. And geez, I am so sick of seeing the stupid, dumbfounded expressions of shock on the resurrected characters just about every damn issue. I thought there was some point as to why these particular characters where resurrected by the White Lantern entity, but so far I have not seen it. Instead, we are treated to more and more plot twists that do nothing to help explain or clarify what is going on.

The recent issue of BD#18 was it for me. In it, Hawkman and Hawkgirl had completed whatever goal that the White Lantern Entity had set out for them to do and they were rewarded with the Entity’s “Life Restored” command. They were finally able to get their life back, and they were free to live as they had always wanted to do over the thousands of years that they had been living. And as might be expected for lovers, they were about to engage in some passionate love-making. So what happens? The Entity comes in and disintegrates them! I was there yelling “WTF??” I mean, seriously man! WTF??!!?

This is an especially insane and even cruel way to end their lives when you consider that the resurrected bad guys of Reverse Flash, Captain Boomerang, and Max Lord were all able to go on with their lives once they completed the goals that the Entity set out for them! It was then that I also knew what I had to do: I had to blog about it! LOL So gang, I am done with Brightest Day. I am saving my money for other comics.

As for Chaos War #5, at least it didn’t stretch on forever like recent comic company “blockbuster” storylines have done as of late. And the ending, in which the Chaos King was tricked into a parallel pocket universe to complete his goal of totally absorbing the universe into nothingness, kinda made sense. But it also made you wonder why anyone didn’t think of that sooner. Consider that you had Bruce Banner and Amadeus Cho, two of the smartest people on the planet, who didn’t think of doing that until the end. Pocket parallel universes have been well-known and even visited by Marvel characters for ages, so it’s not like it was a brand new concept to them. I mean hell, they even knew about the parallel universe that they sent the Chaos King to!

After the gang finally puts the Chaos King away, Hercules – who had been given a promotion of sorts by being elevated to a “skyfather on steroids” - gave up his powers in order to put things back the way they were. The extent of his gift was such that he is now mortal and powerless. So basically, what this makes the ending is a "deus ex machina" - in other words, kind of a cop-out giving the kind of buildup that had been going on to get to this point. Oh well, it was still an enjoyable read.

Have a great weekend! :-D

Book Review: Felicia Day's The Guild

Last time I ended the year with comics talk, so it only makes sense to begin this year with more comics talk. This time I'm going to review Felicia Day's graphic novel, The Guild. The book is based on her wildly popular Internet series of the same name, The Guild. If you haven't watched the videos or read the book, then just know that both of them are largely about the social interactions between people who know each other through a World of Warcraft-style game. I had purchased the first issue of the comic, but never saw the ensuing issues until I saw the graphic novel on the shelves earlier last week. Since I enjoyed how the comic started out, I purchased the graphic novel so that I can see how the rest of the story played out. Before I continue, I must note the following:

******WARNING!******

Spoilers ahead! If you haven't read the book and don't want what's in it spoiled for you, then STOP READING NOW! You have been warned!

***************************************

With that out of the way, now I can continue.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, because I think Day captured the feel and the environment of a WoW-style guild to perfection; namely, that of the differing personality types coming together and seeing real life through a WoW lens by living vicariously through their gaming avatars. Some disclosure: I have seen very few episodes of The Guild on YouTube, so what I know about it is based mostly on the graphic novel. I'm letting you know this, because what I'm reviewing is the book, and not the YouTube series.

Anyway, when it came to depicting the social interactions of her guild, Day was spot-on. Nailed it to perfection. I literally LOLed at some of the stuff she brought up. However, I was disappointed in the story of Cyd Sherman's (the protagonist in the story) life outside of the WoW-styled game. I hesitate to say the following term because I don't want to make this sound as bad is it's about to sound, but I think I should just go ahead and use the term that defines my opinion of the writing in regards to the protagonist's real life: It was so formulaic.

What I mean is that the story of the poor little bright, intelligent and witty young woman who keeps wondering why her life is so screwed up is so done to death. Cyd Sherman as she is depicted in the book is a modern-day Cathy from the comic strips. The only thing Cyd didn't do was go AAACCKKK!!! I actually flipped through those scenes the first time I read the book just because I already knew what Cyd was going to say and do, and I wanted to get back to her depictions of the guild and guild life. However, to be fair, I went back and read the parts I skipped the first time around, just in case I was wrong. Unfortunately, I was not. I predicted what Cyd was going to do before she did it, and for the most part I was on the mark.

Okay, enough bashing of the depiction of Cyd's life outside of the guild, because as I said, I don't want to make this book sound as bad as I seem to be making it sound so far. On the contrary, I enjoyed the book very much, and I highly recommend it for your reading enjoyment. I will also go so far as to say that Day's book should be used as reference to understand the phenomenon of cyber social interactions (which is unique to our day and age); especially when it comes to online role-playing games. If this book hasn't already been used as a source for some grad student's thesis on cyber social interactions, then that grad student should do it. That's how highly I think of this book.

I must also mention how much I liked the idea of drawing Cyd's real life and her virtual life in different art styles so as to reflect the differing lives she is living. Note also that her cyber self has big boobs! LOL But most importantly, her depictions of her guild mates is so much like how it is in real life that it is no wonder that the YouTube series was such a hit. In that regard, the book was a faithful translation to what Day was doing in the YouTube series. Oh, and I especially like the fact that she has not one, not two, but three female gamers! Just in case you're curious, when I played, I was most like Tinkerballa. Ha!

So on a scale of 1 to 10 in which one is a bomb and 10 is THE bomb, I put Felicia Day's book The Guild as a 9. Despite my criticisms above, I think it is that good.

Year-end Comics talk!

Here we are at year's end, so what better way to end a blog largely about talking comics than to talk comics? Here we go!

In May of 2009, I had answered a question here in regards to whether I had ever given a shot to the nuts of any super dudes I fought. Here is my response from that previous time. In short, I said that us super ladies do nutshots mainly as a last resort, and almost never as the first strike, because the super strength dudes can shake it off fairly quickly (but it still does hurt, judging by their reactions!).

Anyway, in the recent Power Girl, (#19), it shows her giving a nutshot to a giant killer robot, with devastating results! So what happened? The lower half of his body blew up, leaving just bare metal legs in their place! Ouch! See, folks? Us super ladies aren't above such hits if it has the desired result! You shouldn't go around using your superior strength to go beating on ladies anyway, even if they do happen to be super as well! I can honestly say that I have rarely resorted to such a - er, low blow - but I can also say that in no instance did any of the dude's lower torsos explode! Although I'm sure it felt like it did, judging by their reaction!

Next comic! On the last page of this week's Incredible Hulks (#619), Bruce Banner's adult daughter from the future, named Lyra, has just explained why she is not interested in pursuing a father/daughter relationship with him; namely (and to make a long story short), back where she is from, having a father was a reason for shame, because in her future world, women ruled (a feminist dream come true!), and were able to have children without the aid of men. Lyra was brought into existence by way of her mother Thundra going back in time to acquire the Hulk's DNA and using it to create Lyra.

If you will note on the last page posted below, Bruce acknowledged the difficulties Lyra is going to have in this new world of hers, and that she would be better off getting guidance from Bruce's cousin, Jennifer Walters; AKA the She-Hulk. I have to disagree with Bruce's arguments on the last page. If he really wants Lyra to have a better understanding of the world she has chosen to live in, then she should work on establishing a relationship with her father. In the process, she could see why her future world's attitudes towards men were wrong. If Bruce really wants her to accept her new circumstances, then chucking aside a big part of that - having a relationship with her father - is a mistake. Girls in our present time have relationships with their fathers. I'll keep a tab on where this goes, but the writers are missing an opportunity to demonstrate the benefits that daughters can have with a healthy relationship with their fathers.













And speaking of Marvel Comics, I am not sure I like the direction of the recent storyline of Chaos War. I'm not sure what it is that I don't like yet, but it just seems right now to be the Marvel version of DC Comics' Black Lantern storyline. Oh yeah, and speaking of that, I have no idea where they are now going with this Brightest Day storyline. It's all over the place now! There seems to be no real focus or theme going on - it just seems to be moving along looking for a storyline, and it's this close to losing my interest.

I suggest to Marvel and DC to resolve to wrap these grandiose storylines up in 2011!

Okay, I gotta wrap this up for now. I hope you guys all have a great New Year's! See you next year!

El Gato Negro a stereotype? I think not!

Okay, when I read this piece titled Four Crazy Spanish Stereotypes in Tights, I just had to comment on the inclusion of a one El Gato Negro (by Richard Dominguez). While I think the author makes a case for the other three characters, I think to include EGN in this mix is a huge mistake! And of course, I'm about to explain why! LOL ;-)

Below is an excerpt from that article linked above that makes reference to EGN:

“El Gato Negro was not created by DC, but by Richard Dominguez who owns Azteca productions. El Gato Negro, The Black Cat, first came out in 1996, went on hiatus and came back in 2005. He is a pretty awesome character in the fact that he knows about every form of hardcore martial arts known to man. The only problem that makes this a stereotypical characterization of Latinos, in my eyes, is that it’s the same plot line as Zorro but with a different name. There is more to Latin hero stories than Zorro, as cool a character that he is—there is more to life than him. Also, El Gato Negro’s main enemies are drug smugglers and drug cartels. Yup, were there are Latin’s there are always drug cartels or smugglers. Let see Vibe is an ex-gang member and drug runner, Scarface is a coke king, and in every movie that has to do with Latin America there are Narcos. I am not trying to deny or even downplay drugs as a real problem for Latin America, my mom works for DEA, but it gets trying when it’s the only problem worth mentioning. Anyway other than those trite conventions, it seems like an interesting comic book from the excerpt I looked at. It has potential to being something more than Zorro fights of drug smugglers. In fact El Gato Negro is a social worker when he’s out of his cat suit which makes him seem like a really sensitive guy. He also seems to have an engaging relationship with his grandfather who was the former Gato Negro and now is his mentor. He even started his crime fighting streak not because his parents were murdered like most superheroes but because his best friend was killed by drug runners. Now if Dominguez is able to flesh out this character and give him more of an edge I think this will be a pretty interesting series."

If EGN ran around in a sombrero and a serape, and broke into Spanish song and dance in the presence of every pretty lady that he meets, then he would be a stereotype.

If EGN had a fat belly and a thick moustache and drank beer and spoke in a broken accent, then he would be a stereotype.

If EGN wore a mariachi suit and did the Cucaracha before each fight, then he’d be a stereotype.

If EGN ate “magic burritos” (or tacos, or enchiladas, or… you get the point. By the way, I just made myself hungry!) before each fight to temporarily give himself super powers, then he’d be a stereotype.

If EGN took “siestas” after each fight, then he’d be a stereotype.

What the writer had in mind by including EGN into the mix of the other obviously bad stereotypes is beyond me, because he was actually praising EGN and basically giving him an “incomplete”. So if the issue is not settled in his mind as to whether EGN is a stereotype, then why include him in this article?

Again, he made a very good case as to why those other guys are bad stereotypes (and I have to agree with him about those other guys!), but having EGN in this just looks wrong – and that’s because it IS wrong. So with that, here’s my case as to why EGN is NOT a stereotype.

First, let’s hit the fact that EGN fights drug smugglers and drug gangs. When Dominguez had this as one of his main themes for his book way back in the early 1990’s, he wasn’t perpetuating a stereotype; in truth, he was actually prophetic as to what eventually ended up happening in Mexico. I will make one concession in that yes, the Latin drug king storyline is a common one in most crime and superhero stories, but the character El Graduado in the EGN stories is an eerie precedent to a lot of the drug lords that exist nowadays. And on top of that was the fact that El Graduado, whose name translates to “The Graduate”, was an intelligent and well-educated man who could have achieved his profits legitimately, but instead chose the faster and easier path of having a hand in running an international drug organization.

Think of that: A man such as he could have been a success in legitimate fields of business, but instead chose this path. Why? For one, it was something of a family tradition. But also, the money - especially the potential for a lot of it – was probably such that greed overtook his common sense. Also, no doubt the thrill of running such an underground operation probably was addicting. Why else do those in real life with such advantages choose such a path, if not partly for the thrill of it? And friends, this is a common human trait, and not just a Latino one. That El Graduado happened to be Latino was just a fact about him, and not the cause of him turning to such a life of crime.

Next, think of what EGN does: He fights crime, risking life and limb in the process. This is not a Latino stereotype, but what many true, dedicated superheroes do. Not only that, he does it with no powers beyond his own wits and strength, along with the support of his grandfather. Also, consider that EGN is following in the footsteps of his grandfather, the previous EGN. That makes the current EGN a legacy, and I really like this part of the series, because it emphasizes family as well as tradition. None of this is a Latino stereotype. I think any comic reader, Latino or not, will be able to understand and appreciate the kind of selfless dedication that EGN puts into his superhero work.

I do agree with the writer that when Dominguez fleshes out EGN more, than the EGN series will be an interesting one to read and follow. However, I actually think it’s an interesting series NOW. I imagine if the EGN stories didn’t include ANY Latino elements, then EGN would be called “too white”, so writers like Dominguez will always be caught in the bind of trying to balance making a character - for example - to be recognizably Latino, but not so “Latino” that he or she is a stereotype. However, I think Dominguez does a better job than most in striking this balance.

So in summary, I think the writer of the article did a very good and informative and yet entertaining job to make his case, and he made his case very well. It’s amazing that DC Comics got away with such obviously bad stereotypes! But I can’t agree to the inclusion of EGN, for the reasons stated above. Dominguez does too much that is right with EGN to be included in such gaudy and tasteless company, and he deserves better than to have his creation to be included among them.

Now @ the San Diego Comicon: Girls who read comics!

YEAAAAH, BABBBYY!!!! Girrlz Rool! We are making our presence known at the San Diego Comicon, and in your local comic shops! There is no escaping us! Bwahahahaha! It's great to see that we are at last being recognized. Progress, my friends, progress!

One day, I hope to go to the Nerd Nirvana that is the San Diego Comicon. Sigh...

Thor vs. Green Lantern: Who would win?

So who would win in a fight between Marvel Comics' Thor and DC Comics' Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)? Yesterday the USA Today asked that very question, and today you will hear my take on this battle of titans!

I say that it will be Thor. This is not to take away from GL, but in a battle of wills, I feel that Thor wins out simply because he is that much more experienced in battle than GL is. Thor can come so hard and fast on GL that he probably has very little time to react.

Yes, GL can do things like cut off the magic that makes him super strong, or could cause him to change into his alter ego, Donald Blake, or he could do something like teleport Thor into space where he would suffocate and be weakened to the point that GL could beat him (I can't see GL actually killing Thor, but only using the space strategem to weaken him).

However, I don't think GL would have any time to employ any sort of strategy, because GL has to summon up whatever energy he is going to be using, while Thor is already good to go. It will be a short, quick fight with the god of thunder left standing in triumph.

New Wonder Woman costume! Yuccckk!!!

The monstrosity to the right is supposed to be Wonder Woman's new costume! Geez, where to begin??

Nope, sorry Diana, the pants do not work! It's so 70's! And the jacket? Back to the 90's where it belongs! The bodice and the arm bracers might work, but a starry short skirt or the classic starry hotpants are what this needs to save it, and the sooner, the better. I do have to ask though, is how those bracers are supposed to stop bullets?

This, friends, is an example of an epic fail in superhero woman's fashion!

Has Boobs, Reads Comics

I'll need to check this out some more, but I like the title! LOL

Has Boobs, Reads Comics

Geek Girls Unite!

Geek Girls Exist
Now on Facebook.

Whoohoo! Recognition at last!

Local comic shops in the news, and correcting a mistake

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has a news story today on the local comic shops and what they are doing to get and keep in business, and apparently the comics biz ain't too shabby. I know that some comic shops have come and gone in this area, and I miss some of them, because they were where I had spent quite a few coin getting the latest from Marvel or DC (and indies too, of course). However, I am glad to see that the comics industry has managed to tough it out, and I am also glad to see the indy comic shops persevere too; just like I like seeing the mom and pop stores and restaurants do well despite the presence of franchises in those respective retail and dining areas. I guess rooting for these indy places is where I show some of my liberal side. And yes, I have a liberal side, even if it's not plainly obvious. :-P

Also, I notice that the linked article above is written by Scott Hinze, who just happens to be based here in Fort Worth with his nationally known Fanboy Radio show, which broadcasts from the Texas Christian University campus. You know what? It's a bit odd that, here I am based in Fort Worth and I write a blog about comics, and here Scott is based here with a radio show also in Fort Worth, and yet I have never mentioned him on my blog until now!

Well, permit me to correct that now by including a link to Fanboy Radio on my list of cool links on my blog's sidebar. My apologies, Mr. Hinze! While I am not surprised that you don't know about me, I have known about you, and yet I never thought to talk about you on my comics-related blog until now!

See folks, even superpowered superhumans who can throw tanks like a child throws a water balloon can still make mistakes! Anyway, today's lesson is to go support your local comics shop, folks. They need the business just like any other business, and unlike your 7D-Elevens or Barnacles and Ignoble's Bookstores, your local comic shop owner not only sells comics, he or she is also most likely a fan, so go show some nerd love for a fellow comics nerd. :-)

Ramón Pérez coming up in an issue of Marvel's Dazzler

Hey, guys!

Just so you know, the artist formerly known (and still known as) Ramón Pérez will be featured in part of Marvel's upcoming Dazzler one-shot that comes out on May 26th. If you recall, I brought up Mr. Ramón in a previous blog entry of his stunning webcomic, Kukuburi. Here is further info on his upcoming Dazzler gig from his website. Below is one such example of his artwork from the Kukuburi website. Isn't it awesome? Can you see why now that I still hope that he can find the time to do a pin-up of me? :-)

So anyway Mr. Ramón, I will certainly buy Dazzler when I see it come out! :-D

My review of the Kick-Ass graphic novel

As you know previously from my Facebook page, I bought the graphic novel, “Kick-Ass” (KA) so that I can check out the story and decide whether to go see the movie while it was in the theater. Today is my review of the book. It is my guess that KA was meant to be to today’s comic nerd generation what The Watchmen (WM) was to their comic nerd generation; that is, a high-minded intellectual work that challenged various ideas and de facto dogmas on what superhero stories should contain.

But before I continue, let me lay out the usual spoiler alert: If you have not read the graphic novel or seen the movie Kick-Ass and don’t want what’s in it spoiled for you, then…

*******STOP READING NOW!******

You have been warned!

First, I think the graphic novel Kick-Ass is misnamed. It should have been “Hit Girl”, because pretty much the focus of the story is of the vicious and violent little girl who dealt bloody death by slashing away at the bad guys ninja-style. I think the fact that a little girl doing all this bloody death-dealing was meant to be the main draw of KA rather than the idea of a comic nerd so desperate to become a superhero that he’ll do anything to become one, no matter how stupid it is.

Hit Girl was vicious and violent and knew several ways to kill someone, and yet, she was this sweet and innocent little girl wondering when her daddy was going to be done getting revenge so that they could live a normal life together. And then later, after the climax of the story when her father is killed, she is somehow able to blend right into being a normal little girl when she went back to her mother. This just does not seem logical or credible. In order to build up a girl that age (I am guessing 8 or 9 years old) into the violent killer that Hit Girl was, her father would have had to put her through what would have qualified as child abuse in most of the U.S. In fact, there is one flashback scene in which her father is trying to “get her used to being shot” by shooting her while she is wearing Kevlar.

And yet, despite the grossly abnormal childhood Hit Girl would have had in order to become the violent killer that she is, she still becomes a normal little girl at the end of the story like nothing ever happened. No therapy, no anti-social tendencies or other violent behavior when her mother doesn’t give her what she wants – nothing. She also seemed to reason like someone twice her age; this despite nothing in the story that implied or indicated that she was a prodigy.

This “child doing adult things” idea was meant to be the main draw for the story, and it’s what makes me wonder if this is going to be the next “new thing” in comics and in movies; that is, having children doing these adult things. If so, then let say here right now that I don’t like it; I don’t like the idea of making child abuse into entertainment. Hit Girl could have easily - and more credibly - been a young teenager doing these things, but apparently even being a young teen isn’t enough of a draw; no, in order for the drawing power to work, Hit Girl had to be much younger. I just hope that no one else tries to “run with the idea” of making entertainment out of child abuse.

Having said all that, as for the rest of the story, I think KA relied too much on overkill of the violence and bad language, which is basically the comic book equivalent of a movie relying too much on special effects. I get that the violence and bad language was meant to make the story “realistic”, but I think if more attention had been paid to the story itself and not so much on trying to sell the “realism” (despite the fact that a ninja-level assassin of a little girl is very incredulous), then this could have been a much better story.

The storyline of a comics nerd trying so hard to be a real life superhero is very appealing to me, because I am also a comics nerd. Because of that, I really wanted to enjoy this story, but the unbelievable little girl assassin along with the gratuitous blood-spilling were needless distractions that got in the way of what should have been a very enjoyable and entertaining story.

If you take the same basic story, but made Hit Girl into a young teen, and tried less to insert gratuitous blood and bad language, then this story could have been so much better. On a scale of 1 to 10 in which 1 is a bomb and 10 is THE bomb, I give KA a 6, and I’m being generous because I really wanted to like the story.

So with that, I can’t see myself justifying the expense of going to see it in the theater, which seems to be a moot point anyway, because it seems to be dropping in gate receipts and probably won’t last much longer anyway. There was an implication on the final page of KA that a sequel is coming. If so, then I hope that it’s better than this work.

The Weekly World News comic! LOL

I came across the above comic, and boy is it nutty! In its universe, there is actually a bat boy and alligator man and all the kinds of strange creatures that you see on the front of WWN! I'm still not sure where the book is going other than to stereotype conservatives, but it's been a fun read. I'll let you know how it goes.