The Rock's "Captain Marvel" Identity Crisis

The MTV movies blog reports that The Rock is in talks to play not only Captain Marvel -- but Black Adam as well!

It's unclear whether he will play one and not the other or both in the proposed "Shazam!" movie -- but on the MTV blog he puts the matter up to a vote for the fans.

Tall, Dark, And Evil: "Black Adam" #1

Wildcat: "...but yer forgettin' most of Europe and Japan looked like Godzilla just got through dancing the jitterbug across it after we handed the Krauts and Nips their asses in April and August of '45..."

Mr. Terrific: "The Germans and the Japanese, Ted?"

"Black Adam" #1, aside from a pretty two-page introductory spread at the beginning that would have been put to better use as an ugly one-page Marvel "text recap," is a pretty good comic. Sales at the major metropolitan comic store I frequent were brisk, and I predict that at least the #1 (both covers) will sell out.

Peter Tomasi's writing is strong and unflinching; his portrayal of Black Adam savage, cynical, and relentless.

Doug Mahnke is a solid penciller with a virtuoso illustrative style tempered with what can only be described as eye-popping madness. In my opinion he's never really got his due respect with the fas, but "Black Adam" serves as a portfolio of the heights his work can soar.

I just have one quibble with "Black Adam," and to address it I must go back to the quotes at the beginning of this post.

Because we are at war, PC-ness regarding Arab & Arab-American people is the last great frontier. As a society, we publicaly pay a lot of lip-service to it (political figures having photo-ops with Muslim leaders, etc.) but in pop-culture especially we kinda fall flat.

But hasn't it always been this way?

Black Adam, for all his elusiveness and grand villainy, is cast in the mold of this fellow:



And also of this fellow:



He is the wily and ruthless Eastern villain. He slits the throats of UN workers (sure, later on they find out they weren't really from the UN -- but that's what he thought initially when he killed them), he has mindless suicidal Arabic minions who worship him, he eats people...


The cast of Middle-Eastern "extras" and incidental characters in this story are, with the exception of an older gentleman with his little son, murderous, primitive, and possessing almost a hive-mind. This is made all the more uncomfortable by Mahnke's renderings, especially of faces, which are so haunting and disarmingly realistic.


The argument can be made that this is only reflecting the grim reality of the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. It should be underlined, however, that the U.S. helped created those smoking streets; a point explored (metaphorically, at any rate) to great effect in "World War Hulk."


What we have in "Black Adam" is the stark contrast between the JSA members in their colorful circus-outfits strolling through the village of Hanjar and a mob of angry citizens hanging a brutally beaten man from a tree. Yes, a villager accuses the JSA of being a "blight" on their country. But the mob is still the Germans, still the Japanese. We never get so close to them to really know them any more than a mob.

The only character of ostensible Middle-Eastern descent we get to know in "Black Adam" is Black Adam. He is styled in the grand Fu Manchu/Dracula/Kabai Singh manner, a throwback to a genre of adventure story that personified the nation's military adversaries as over-the-top ethnic abstractions.


When I worked at DC we received a "suggestion" (read: directive) from on high to include more positive depictions of Middle Eastern characters in our books. For the JLA, that meant some sort of military dude that worked with the team; we couldn't quite get a superhero out of it, but hoped that this strong, heroic character would suffice.


For all I know, this first issue of "Black Adam" is just setting up some background and the rest of the series will be a fantasy slugfest between Adam & the JSA with a bit of "eternal romance" elements thrown in w/Isis. The book may never revisit the gritty storylines concerning his "countrymen" again. But if it does...maybe throw in a Middle-Eastern counter-balance to Adam or something. Or something. Or is that a "PC" mandate again?

Fangirl Fridays

I first want to really thank all the people who have signed up for the message board. You've contributed some good topics and fine debate. Before we know it, it might even be as good as The Engine, or-or-or as...The Byrne Forums. Just something to work towards.

Strange Days

Let's see...freak pipe explosion in Midtown NYC, bridge collapse in Minneapolis, NY subway trains grounded because of flood, tornado in Brooklyn, my SO's co-worker hurt when elevator cable snaps...

Time to break out the "The End Is Near" sandwich board?

Or is life always this weird and unpredictable and this is just going over it with a neon yellow highlighter?

We've got the case in Pittsburgh of the comic shop owner/convention organizer accused of murdering his wife execution-style on his birthday. Not going to dwell on it, as the facts are not all out and the gentleman seems to be well-liked and respected in the comics community. But I'd be lying if I said that this story doesn't creep me out. And while I think the outpouring of support for the accused is awesome and justified, let's not forget that whomever the murderer, there is a woman dead -- most likely forced into a kneeling position before she was shot in the head, terrified, pleading for her life. And she died in a f**king comic book store.

Rounding out strange news, I turn your attention to the latest YouTube viral video: "Reptile Girl." This video supposedly depicts a normal-looking woman hanging out in her kitchen who suddenly morphs into a snake-like creature. Doubtful? Yes. But I only got about ten seconds into the vid before I saw an eye expand and I just the damn thing off. I don't know, maybe I don't want a call on my Blackberry saying, "7 days!" But if you have the stones to watch this whole thing, let me know if you think we are being invaded by Skrulls.

"Mars needs comics!"

Hulk Buzz

If you want a healthy, narcotics free buzz akin to 50 cans of Red Bull with a steroid chaser, read issues 1-3 of "World War Hulk" really fast at 1:00 in the morning. It's beyond mere comic entertainment; with sledgehammer-impact renderings by John Romita Jr. and effective (not gratuitous) use of motion-blur color effects, "WWH" is an experience.

As for the tie-ins...yeh & meh. Some a good. Some are clearly filler. I like the "Iron Man" crossover issues because Christos Gage and Butch Guice put out a good solid old-school read on the level (IMHO) of Brubaker & Lark's "Captain America."

Personally, there is a lot on "WWH" that reminds me of an extended 911/Iraq metaphor. If and when I decide to touch that metaphor with a ten-foot-pole, I'll let you know.

Zudammit?

Is "Zuda"' a dastardly plot by DC to co-opt & destroy the webcomic market while at the same time greedily stealing IPs like a coked-out Grinch under a Christmas tree decorated with lapsed "Valiant Comics" trademarks?

I understand the anti-Zuda points about creator's rights and all that. But DC is a business. The argument "they should morally know better than to want to control rights to characters they didn't create" and so on is really nice, but ignores the fact that DC is a business. I know a business asking "what's in it for me?" sounds evil and greedy. But if you were sitting in the chair of Paul Levitz and staring at stacks and stacks of financial reports and had Time Warner periodically checking in with "hey dude, whassup," I guarantee you would ask on behalf of your company, "what's in it for me?"

A lot of this is perspective. Yeah, DC & Marvel are real evil corporate monsters until you get that deal to write for them. Then they are ok. "Blah-blah-blah sexist" until you get that deal to write "Cottoncandy Lady" for Marv-DC. Then they're ok.

It's not hypocrisy. It's just that this industry is too f**king small. I'd rather see the good as well as bad in the corporate comics rather than just build myself a bamboo tower on the "Lost" island, and damn any comics publisher bigger than Top Shelf.

Telling an aspiring webcomics creator or female writer/artist to eschew Zuda or DC right off the bat "on principle" is like telling them to cut one of the arms off of their personified career.

That said, when travelling it always helps to carry a flashlight.

"Black Adam" the "Titus Andronicus" of the DCU?

There seems to be a bit of negative buzz surrounding DC's "Black Adam" mini-series, especially concerning its depiction of cannibalism, grisly murder, gore, and nudity.

I haven't read the book but I'm picking up a copy today. I've worked with both the series writer Pete Tomasi and artist Doug Mahnke, and I've enjoyed their work in the past. So I'm giving the book a chance.

However.

Issues surrounding "tainting" the Captain Marvel franchise with dark topics aside, for DC not to put "mature readers" labels on a book like this not only does a disservice to its readers but to its creators. Tomasi and others have every right to pen adult material like "Black Adam." And there are readers who cotton to that sort of book -- me included. Heck, I'm a horror movie fan. But horror movies have ratings so (in theory) a seven-year-old doesn't watch a woman pulling out some guy's intestines in "Saw."

If DC really wants to compete with Marvel -- put some $%@#$@ ratings on the covers of your books!


Supergirl in: "NO MORE CAMEL TOE FOR YOU!"

Whatever happened to the good old days of superheroine upskirt shots where the naughty bits were clearly defined underneath her sheer undies? Why must DC continue to "punish" their "hardcore" Supergirl fans by not offering up her nubile young flesh to the altar of the same crowd that types search terms like "Dakota Fanning barefoot?"

Luckily, Mary Marvel is there to pick up the slack. Maybe she's not as high-profile as Kara. But she has boobies. And she's a little "slow."


And There Is A "Johnny DC" Comic Coming Out About The Marvels, Too!


Yayyyyy!!! Great timing!


Girl-Wonder Auction

As I've mentioned in an earlier post, Girl-Wonder.org is having an auction in October to help fund the organization and possibly get a scholarship started.

They have an open call for donations of art and etc to help with the auction.

If you're reading this and a comic artist and you might have time to knock out a piece for the auction or donate a piece of original art, contact Girl-Wonder and let them know.


One-Shots

Yeah, I know I supported those Jenna Jameson "Porn Star" graphic novels last year, but I have to be honest and say that reading about her collaboration with Virgin Comics really knocked the publishing company several pegs down for me.

Um..things don't look that great for MJ right now, do they?

I really want to buy that Captain America Omnibus. But I want to buy a lot of things.

You know, if DC decided to put "Countdown" out of its misery now, I don't think the retailers would hold it against them.

Batman #667 Cover:
Alright, alright, I get it -- "childhood's end," life is darker now, our candy-colored illusions of yesterday are splattered with the cruel reality of the world we live in. Got it.

The real reason the new "Dr. Who" is so popular is because he's hawt. (runs)

And lastly, I want to take this opportunity to publicly say how much I adore my Sweetie, and how I hope we stay together forever in happiness and bliss -- though of course if he was a superhero most likely we'd be divorced or I'd be killed off in one of several interesting ways or I'd be a drug addict/prostitute or I'd turn evil and kill other spouses of superheroes or turn evil and become an alien nymphomaniac or have imaginary babies and go insane.

That's why I like real-life. Don't you?

Black Adam: EMO!