No seriously, let me get this straight --

Countdown and Death Of The New Gods were sort of out-of-continuity and/or pointless?

???

"Again, bear in mind thatCountdown only finished last month so Final Crisis was already well underway long before Countdown and although I’ve tried to avoid contradicting much of the twists and turns of that book as I can with the current Final Crisis scripts, the truth is, we were too far down the road of our own book to reflect everything that went on in Countdown, hence the disconnects that online commentators, sadly, seem to find more fascinating than the stories themselves."

"Orion’s appearance on the docks and the Guardians’ response in Final Crisis #1 was written and drawn first. Jim Starlin then created Orion’s death scene in Death Of The New Gods to lead into the War God’s appearance in Final Crisis #1, so we refer back to Jim’s scene in Final Crisis #3. When I wrote that scene, Orion’s terminal injuries were a result of the mysterious bolt of light which Jim hit him with in Death Of The New Gods #6. By the time Countdown #1 came out, I was working on Final Crisis #4 and #5 and JG was drawing #3, so we were already well into our own story and unable to change it to match Countdown."

"What mattered to me was what had already been written, drawn or plotted in Final Crisis. The Guardians didn’t call 1011 when Lightray and the other gods died in Countdown because, again, Final Crisis was already underway before Countdown came out.

"Why didn’t Superman recount his experiences from DOTNG ? Because those experiences hadn’t been thought up or written when I completed Final Crisis #1. If there was only me involved, Orion would have been the first dead New God we saw in a DC comic, starting off the chain of events that we see in Final Crisis. As it is, the best I can do is suggest that the somewhat contradictory depictions of Orion and Darkseid’s last-last-last battle that we witnessed in Countdown and DOTNG recently were apocryphal attempts to describe an indescribable cosmic event."

I'm getting lunch.

My final question --

How soon does Grant Morrison pull a Straczynski in the face of this criticism and blame DCU editorial directly? How soon? I mean, he's already sort of doing it in this Newsarama article, but in a really nice roundabout way...

"I'm The Goddamn Mary Marvel"

I think this scene would have been perfect if she had a bottle of vermouth in her hand.

Remembering the old days:

Was The Payoff In Countdown #2 Worth It?

If you've read it, you know what I'm talking about.

Massive spoilers everywhere. It would be gauche to spoil it so early on my blog.

But, let me know what you think...

And if you think this is really "it" for this particular apparently dead character. And your thoughts on his demise in general.

(goodbye, funny man...)

WhapWhapWhapWhapWhap

"Assault with a deadly Rayner"

Ok, time to get off work and have a beer & a Cobb salad.

The Big Ten (Formerly Known As The Hot List)

Here are the ten biggest stories of the past week...

10. Tolkien Estate Sues New Line

9. Rogue Wolf Entertainment Acquires Cold Cut

8. X-Force #1

7. New Star Wars Cartoon

6. Tom Breevort's "Spider-Man Manifesto"

5. Matt Fraction On Iron Man

4. Fox Sues Warners Over "Watchmen"

3. DC Promises Never To Do "Countdown" Again

2. Writer's Strike Over

1. Steve Gerber & Stephane Peru

DC's Brand New Day: Have They Finally Learned The Lessons Of Countdown?

First of all, let me say that I had NO idea it was the big RRP DC/retailer focus group meeting this weekend. My previous DC-related posts this week were not a deliberately-planned assault on the character of the company's substantial line of mainstream superhero fare.

That said, I have not been the only person that has expressed concern with the direction of said fare over the last year or so.

One of the biggest criticisms has been in regards to Countdown and how it became the "spine" of the DCU and the rest of its titles. Further, many of DC's key relaunches and mini-series have had to be awkwardly tied to the 52-issue Countdown; so not only did you need to buy Countdown in order for everything to make sense, but there was not a storyline that was not impacted by Countdown (unless Grant Morrison said so).

But, the news from the latest DC/retailer confab has had the optimistic, "Brand New Day" feel of official comic convention announcements.

To summarize:

* DC Universe #0, positioned as a "reintroduction" to the DC universe that, while hinting at events to take place in Final Crisis, can be enjoyed as a separate entity away from F.C. and Countdown. The Grant Morrison/Geoff Johns-penned book will sell for 50 cents, be released in May, and feature a number of high-profile artists.

Quoteth Johns:

For me, #0 is putting the stake in the ground and saying, “Okay, we move forward from here.”

* Trinity, a new weekly debuting in June starring Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Written by Kurt Busiek and pencilled by Mark Bagley, it has also been curiously positioned as a book not dependent on Countdown or Final Crisis. Says DiDio:

We don’t want to have that “locked in stone” continuity line that a lot of people seemed to react negatively to during Countdown. This is a chance to open up each concept and allow them to breathe in their own right, so that a fan of what Kurt and Mark are going to bring can really enjoy the story that’s featuring Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

* Finally (or at least as of this writing), there are the miniseries Rann/Thanagar: Holy War and Reign in Hell. Once again, as has seemingly become the theme of DC's presentation to the RRP, "no dependence on Countdown/F.C." As DiDio once again remarks:

Again, we’re trying to provide as many options to our fans who want to see as many things going on as possible, without feeling like they have to buy everything across the line. We’re basically taking everything that we’ve got and turning the heat up a notch or two. The other storylines and miniseries and weekly may not be connected to Final Crisis, but they will feel as important as Final Crisis.

So it would seem that DC is attempting to learn the lessons hard-won from Countdown. Of course, the proof is in the pudding; all else is talk.

If indeed DC wishes to have its "Brand New Day," there will be a few things for them to consider within the mix:

* Put an end to the writer "musical chairs" fiasco. Stability on a title is important. Even if the title is kind of half-assed, readers appreciate stability in creative line-ups.

* Learn to do a better job retaining talent. This includes giving writers more creative freedom, keeping the aforementioned stability going in lineups, and improve communication between editorial and talent.

* While giving the creators creative freedom is important, it is also key that they be edited. Storytelling should flow, dialog shouldn't ramble. No matter what the name, there are certain standards in good editing that should be followed -- this helps the creators and the company. If there is something sloppy or unclear, take the extra time to fix it.

* Continue searching out new talent. Case in point: Mark Bagley. Now, this was a good find! It brings a level of excitement to Trinity. But, there still needs to be a pool of new names in the mix. There are so many talented people out there either working or looking for work that it is inexcusable to have mediocrity.

As for myself, I am willing to give DC's Brand New Day a shot. This entails, somewhat, trying to ignore some of what is already out there, as I feel some of it is "lame duck" and just filler until the summer. Honestly, I'm sure DC has a list of the books that they would prefer people continue buying and the ones they hope you forget.

But whatever the case, we will all know starting in May.

Show us the money, DC.

Fangirl Fridays: Where Is DC's Matt Fraction? (And Other Questions)

" I actually had a different approach to the character. I had an opening four-issue arc that was very, very different that I was going to do, and I took way too long to come up with it. I was right on time getting it in before my first issue deadline -- and of course I didn't tell anyone what I was going to do. [Laughs] Then I turned it in and found out that there was a very specific continuity problem with the core aspect of what I was going to do, and so I had to start over and go really, really fast to come up with something for the first issue. So I'm not where I should be with the character and what I want to do with her. "
--Kelley Puckett on his current run on Supergirl

The question popped into my mind as I entered the comic store the other day:

"Who is DC's Matt Fraction?"

Matt Fraction is of course the writer on The Punisher, Iron Fist, etc., the originator of the "kicksplode" school of comic writing. His style is very distinct and he is, what they refer to in the current nomenclature, as a "hot young writer" [Fat Cobra = Character of the Year!].

Marvel seems to be developing a whole stable of these new voices, it seems, not content to merely rest on the laurels of Bendis and Brubaker. Here are a few names just off the top of my head: Matt Guggenheim, Greg Pak, Brian Reed, Dan Slott, Daniel Way, Jason Aaron. The actual list is far longer than this.

On the other hand, DC's writing lineup hasn't really changed all that much in the last 5 years. Grant Morrison is still the guy All Hopes Are Hung Upon. Geoff Johns and Keith Giffen are still the emblematic DC writers. Judd Winick is still the guy nobody understands why he is still writing these books but somehow he is.

Around the time Countdown launched, DC seemed to have an influx of new writers, and the anticipation was great. Tony Bedard, Sean McKeever, Dwayne McDuffie. And yet, what has happened?

Bedard gets caught in a (to my mind) a particularly cruel game of "writer musical chairs." I haven't been able to read a long enough run of his DC work to formulate an opinion of it.

McKeever & McDuffie get their debuts tangled in the editorially-driven clusterf**k.

Veteran writers like Tom Peyer, Kelly Puckett, and Chuck Dixon are without warning suddenly plopped into existing titles, forcing them to hastily come up with a new storyline and direction. Bedard is now added to that mix with Birds of Prey.

A great writer like Will Pfeiffer gets crucified by readers for a miniseries that was largely out of his control, a slave to editorial dictates.

Mark Waid & Greg Rucka are for the moment out of the picture.

Pete Tomasi might be considered as part of the mix of DC's hot new crop of writers, but frankly the fact that he was so very recently an editor there and now suddenly has two high-profile titles makes it slightly harder for him to prove himself. Personally, I have not read enough of Nightwing to make a determination one way or the other.

Gail Simone is the great writer who has proven herself for years -- but if her current run on Wonder Woman doesn't do fabulous, DC will use her as an internal example of why "woman books don't sell, and women writers don't sell" (I've heard this argument before).

And then there is DC's most high-profile writer of all: DCU Editorial.

Case in point: Countdown, which reads like it was put together by robots, by the same manatees that write Family Guy. No humans actually wrote that series. It was just a bunch of post-it notes strung together. That series was written by overworked, jaded editors, not Paul Dini, McKeever, Bedard, et al.

So what is DC's game plan in terms of writers? Can it be that all the DCU books are lame ducks anyway because Final Crisis will change everything? Should I even bother buying another DCU book until that time?

If I was sitting in the DC executive seat (sometime around when pigs fly and that The Dark Knight Heath Ledger talking doll with a pull-string comes out), I'd probably look to get Brian Michael Bendis & JM Straczynski . I have no inside information on that, I'm just trending this out.

And if I was at Marvel, I'd find a way to complete my collection of the best and brightest and look up whatever young DC talent is left. Including Brian Wood, who would be the biggest prize of all. Again -- no inside information, I'm just trending this out. I'd also find a way to get Neil Gaiman doing more projects. Call it the Morrison Vs. Gaiman free-for-all.

That said, 2008, in my estimation, will be interesting. Because whatever the situation at DC, if it doesn't improve it will change. And for Vertigo this goes triple (tho Will Dennis on the whole seems like a good developer of new, "kicksplody" books).

The answer to a lot of these woes is to get editorial staff who can seek out aggressively new talent. And retain them. The best they have right now is Mike Marts. He was the result of a strategic investment on DC's part, poached from Marvel. And Joey Cavalieri is like their quiet talent hunter, especially for indy talent, though I don't think he gets the recognition for it that he deserves.

That "strategic investment" aspect should drive everything DCU does from this point forward. This industry is entirely too competitive to do otherwise. There is a whole wide world of talent out there. And there is talent under their own banner that have been mishandled.

Anyway, those were just some things that popped into my head as I was buying comics the other day. Have a great weekend!

Countdown #13: An Objective Review

"Why'd you have to come here?! Aren't there enough fake Earths to mess up?!"
--Evil Fanboy Superman

I actually purchased Countdown #13. I tossed my dimes onto the counter of Forbidden Planet and said, "yes! this one! me -- I am wanting it! bag it up!"

The reason was -- with so much DC product and future plans still tied into the weekly series, I thought I could not get a full understanding of the company's superhero output without at some point revisiting this title.

So here we are. Get comfortable.

Pro: The art is rather open, and the action moves fairly faster than I anticipated.

Con: The storytelling is jagged and abrupt. Think a movie where there is a splice in the film -- how did Action A get to Action B? The narrative flow, at parts, is rather poor.

no narrative flow

Pro: The cover by Stephane Roux & Karine Boccanfuso is attractive.

Con: This title SORELY needs a recap page.

Pro: The staples were all intact, and well affixed to my copy. They were not loose, but rather all surely placed.

Con: The book as a whole, story and art, seems rushed. Too much exposition, not enough heart.

The question comes to mind -- could a good enough editor have been able to raise this book up a few levels?

There is no excuse in this series not to have a recap page. This series is the spine of the DCU. It cannot be assumed that its only readership is people who have been following the book from the the first issue. This book is leading into one of the biggest DC events of the year -- or the decade. Wouldn't they want to attract new readers and get as many people on board as possible?

The art in this issue was touch and go for me. Some panels were good, others were not. Again, this book is the spine of the DCU. The art on this series has moved from "meh" to "yuck" to "inoffensive" to "serviceable." I want an answer why this has been so. Is it merely time constraints? Or poor planning?

At this point, I see Countdown as a lame duck series, and I would assume DC editorial feels the same way. It's just a weekly inconvenience to shove out the door to lead into Final Crisis. I do not think the idea of the book was bad in-and-of-itself, but the execution was poor.

That said, I can see how this book would be fun to a hardcore DC fan with a yen for continuity & nostalgia. Too bad the characterization of Superman Prime is poking fun of them.

But more than that, Superman Prime, with his infantile, self-centered attitude and black "edgy" costume, represents everything that is wrong with the current DCU. As Grant Morrison might say, he is the symbolic "totem" that encapsulates all this negativity, and it will be good for me as a reader to see him put to rest once-and-for all. If the real purpose of Countdown was to exorcize this particular quality from the DC Universe, then perhaps it was all worth it.

Uhhhhh...Am I Supposed To Care About This Batman Death?

Help me out here. Am I supposed to care about this death? This Batman #500,000 from Earth Pi, right? Or is this a Batman I'm supposed to feel emotion for?

Is this one of the old Batmen? Kingdom Come? Is that it? Is that why he looks so fat in this issue?


And Jason Todd finally got his revenge on the Joker...


Wow, this is really emotional. Let's have a moment, shall we?
...
...
...
...
...
...

In all seriousness, this series could have been much better, could have moved past the more cartoonish elements, had the art not looked so rushed. The art on this series has looked continually rushed. DC was better of just literally having 20 different artists working on issues at the same time, 20 different artists.

And, as someone on scans daily pointed out,
"Brain punching does not work that way!"

First There Was Goddamn Batman...Now There Is ZOMBIE GORDON!

Zombie Gordon!

Zombie Gordon!

Zombie Gordon!

Robin Olsen?!

Zombie Gordon!

From Scans Daily

Synopsis of Countdown #17 (Spoilers)

"Barrrrrrrry!!!!"

Kathooom!

Brokk!

Croooom!

"Jeann!!!"

Sssszzzzzark!

"Shazam!"

Booooooom!!

Fssssssssshhhh!!

"This can't be happening!"

"Nooooooooo!!!!"

"Ray! Look out!"

Fzzzzzzark!

"Rayner!"

Thuk!

"What?"

Fraaaakkk!!

"See how the multiverse corrupts us all?"

"The Monarch!"

"Oh, snap!"

Fangirl Fridays: The "Thank You For Buying Countdown!" Edition

What is it with comic book fans using the word "rape" and "sodomy" in connection to storylines and reboots they don't like?

"You raped my childhood!"

"They committed sodomy on the fans!"

"They're asking the long-time readers to bend down and take it!"

Now, I totally understand the rage and anguish fans have over seeing beloved characters retconned out of existence or shot in the head. But why this reoccurring sexual imagery?

Then there is the phrase "continuity porn" -- one I tend to favor myself.

How did "porn" get in there? It's just Booster Gold talking to that little damned robot.


I'm going to play Devil's Advocate and lay out some online PR strategies I think comic book companies might use to their advantage.

1) Sure, by all means have somebody from your team go on message boards as "fans" and counter the bad press. That should be part of your overall PR strategy. It happens all the time. But make sure they are people versed somewhat in actual PR training or methodology. And I'm talking current PR methodology. You can't go on a thread with your brand new spanking "Newbie" Comic Book Resources persona and counter the sea of negative reactions by posting: "No, BLANK COMIX is awesome! I'm so excited about it! You should buy it!"

First of all, you have no cred in that online community whatsoever. Very few to none posts, not so much as a "hello!" on the Introductions thread. And so you carry your unpopular opinion with you to this board or blog, and just drop it in their laps. It's the equivalent of farting in a crowded room, folks.

Such PR needs far more subtlety and a conversational tone. You should gently explain why BLANK COMIX! is, despite popular opinion, worth buying. Create a slight doubt in the naysayer's mind. Be respectful. Above all, be human.

2) Shutting down threads and fan websites is pretty much the worst PR you could possibly create. I know you feel you are "controlling" the publicity flow. But you control the publicity flow (to the extent it is even possible) by interacting with the fans, especially those who are negatively regarding your comic. Silencing and remaining silent never ever helps. By dialogue you defuse.

3) Some editors and talent are natural PR people themselves. They have sparkling, jovial personalities, are popular with fans, and possess a certain instinct as to what and what not to say. Others, however, are trainwrecks. Learn to distinguish between the two. You give a trainwreck their own unedited editorial page or sprawling Newsarama interview at your own risk.

4) Today's consumers don't like to be "sold" to. They are bombarded by sales pitches in the form of 1 billion commercials and ads every day -- on TV, in the newspapers, pasted on taxis, flashing all over their computer screen. They come to their comic book media outlet to get away from all that, to derive a little bit of pleasure from their favorite hobby.

After a while, your numerous previews on Newsarama, Wizard, and Comic Book Resources lose all impact and meaning. The readers think you are in bed with these websites; that is their perception. This perception hurts both the website and your product. It produces apathy.

You would be far, far more successful by approaching Scans Daily or a specially-selected group of personal blogs and write them a personal e-mail inviting them -- asking if they would be so kind -- to post these exclusive pages.

And then use your connections with Newsarama and the rest to run a completely different type of story on your book. Use an interesting angle. Tie it in to current events. Make a poll or contest. Something. Just make that "something" intriguing and unique.

5) Admit when you've failed. Don't get defensive. Whatever you do, don't get hostile or defensive. Or arrogant. Acknowledge popular opinion and then explain how what you are doing from now on differs from that. Try the "It's A Whole New Era" approach. Even if the distance between eras are a few issues apart.

6) Yes there is a big untapped female market out there, yes you have no clue, yes you've continued to alienate and horrify them, yes even when they buy your superhero comics they are often ashamed to be seen with them in public. No I'm not giving you free insights on how to change this.


Here is a Zen parable for you to consider:


There was a time when this was the biggest selling comic book in the world. Meditate. Then take a bath.

Occasional Links: The Jack's Back Edition

I still like Jack...

************************************************************************************
Best Butt Forward


Lady, That's My Skull thinks that this Mary Marvel pose from Countdown #22 is bit exploitative. Well, I don't know about that, but...


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

It's Beyond Me

Hey, if you had an appearance by this fellow in the latest Countdown...


...would you put Bea Arthur on the cover? I'm just asking.

**********************************************************************************
Hey, He's F**king Batman!

Kevin Smith agrees with the idea of casting relative unknowns in the new JLA movie:

"It’s not like you can put Brad Pitt in it and he’s gonna be more important than f**king Batman. Or Superman. Like the characters themselves are the f**king stars of that movie."

His pick for the casting of Batman?

Michael Keaton. Because he's F**king Batman.

**********************************************************************************
Assorted Bits...

Comic Mix points out on the Suicide Girl website what might be considered the original Suicide Girl...

You might want to chase that with The Largest Bottle Of Wine In The World...

Keep up with all the arcane intricacies of the Dark Knight viral marketing campaign at Superhero Hype...

Ben Affleck & James Gandolfini's Surviving Christmas rated #1 worst holiday movie of all time by Entertainment Weekly...oh c'mon, how bad can it be?

Honey? Are you reading this? I know you didn't want to see "Christmas With The Kranks" the other night, but this might be a good one...

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

The Best Superhero Toys In The Universe

You can keep your DC Direct & Marvel Universe action figures...

The best superhero toys in the world were made by Mego.

TwoMorrows Publishing is offering a free 32-page preview of their magnum opus on all things Mego, Mego 8-inch Super-Heroes Worlds Greatest Toys.

But for me the most awesome Megos are the wacky overseas editions, such as faux Robin...


...and crappy Spidey

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

Just add Yakkity-Sax!

Video: Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong. Simply wrong.

Warner Bros: The Batman Smackdown!

The latest word from LITG:

"Oh and Dead Batman/Todd Batman/God Bruce Wayne? So not happening. You can still expect a status-challenging new scenario, still expect Alex Ross covers and designs, still expect some intricately complex yet instantly entertaining Morrisonia, just, expect something else. Did Internet reaction affect this? Not one jot it seems. All decisions are taking place at a much higher level, and Warner Bros. have made their feelings known."

All this flip-flopping is getting rather ridiculous, isn't it? And yet, it's completely plausible.

Batman -- with its core mythos intact -- is a cash cow for Warner Brothers.

You can't f**k it with it.

My impression? The corporate higher-ups applied the Smackdown.

These smackdowns, in the interest of "brand purity," happen all the time.

I would argue that you have less leeway to f**k with Batman than you do even with Superman.

And then there is the whole "brand confusion" angle. You can't have Dark Knight in theaters and Jason Todd as Batman in the comic book.

And you can't have Jason Todd as Batman because thematically, it's all wrong. And Todd hasn't earned it.

But basically, the fans would have rioted. And so the Smackdown was most likely applied.

While I agree that the Internet buzz didn't directly kill the Todd/Wayne Death storyline, I'm sure it might have underlined it a little to Those Who Know.

Bruce Wayne tells his fans:
(God, it's too late at night to be reading or writing these posts...)

Countdown to...Change?

It's the mid-point for the weekly extravaganza Countdown, and apparently -- according to this interview with Newsarama, at any rate -- some changes might be on the horizon...

1. “Let every book be itself.”

The oft-awkward pacing of other DC Comics to fit in with the overarching Countdown storyline had been somewhat of a disaster. Maybe Dan DiDio agrees? He says in the interview:

"Let every book be itself.” Let every story have its own pace. If someone feels, correctly or incorrectly, that their “experience” has been revealed in Countdown or revealed in say, Sinestro Corps War, that’s reflected in another series…I’m willing to make that sacrifice because at the end of the day, I’m confident that Countdown is better because Superman Prime appears at the moment he does, or more importantly, the Superman Prime storyline plays out in the way it does in Sinestro Corps War, and we don’t alter one story or the other."

Will this mean that writers will have more freedom to develop/structure their plots and storylines outside of the iron-clad dictum of Countdown-Countdown-Countdown?

I think that some writers have been alienated by that level of control and capitulation to the needs of the larger event. I don't just mean that the writers have been merely "inconvenienced." I mean, some might have been alienated, disgusted, straitjacketed, frustrated.

And the problem with taking so much independence from said writers is that post-Final Crisis success is going to be measured by how many skilled writers besides Grant Morrison is writing DCU.

2. Adding editorial boxes to clarify continuity and crossover issues.

See, I think the utter pomposity of DC in interviews regarding their refusal to add the editorial boxes in Countdown did a lot to cheese off readers. I mean, obviously there was a problem, there was confusion. But instead of responding to that, DC got defensive. They were like: "you said we made a mistake but we didn't and just to show we didn't we will not change one iota."
But in the inteview DiDio says:

"And this is where we’re going to be adding in editorial boxes that will tell readers what’s up if a character’s appearance or actions don’t reflect their actions or appearance in any other issues at the time, it will say something like, “Read Green Lantern #25.” Again, I don’t want any individual story to suffer just to make things line up perfectly."

This is rule one not only of interacting with comic book readers but with today's consumers in general: get off the high horse. Have a dialogue with them. Respond to their feedback. Adapt.

3. The "bounce" towards the Final Crisis.

C'mon, who wouldn't guess that there would be an effort to make the last issues of Countdown better in an attempt to maximize sales for Final Crisis?

"I believe the series has leveled off, and I’m hoping that we see a little bit of a bounce moving towards the conclusion, because I feel that people will start to respond more to the things that are going on in the series itself in the sense of they’ll feel that things are occurring at a much more rapid pace. I’m also suspecting that we’ll pick up more readers as we get closer to Final Crisis because people are going to want to see what the line is between Countdown and Final Crisis itself. And I think that if anyone is coming to this series curious to see what’s going on, they’re going to be excited by it, because rather than being exhausted at this point, everyone is pushing as hard as they can, and there’s a lot of energy on those pages."

Which is a noble sentiment, I guess, but the proof will be in the execution.

In closing, I'll leave off with Dan's description of why Superman Prime has captured the imagination of readers:

"Sure, he’s the Anti-Superman, but more than that, some of the greatest villains you can face are the ones who are single-minded, and above all, who don’t see that they’re a threat or a villain in any way. No villain wakes up in the morning, spins their moustache, and says, “I’m going to be villainous today.” They have incredible justification for all of their actions, no matter how horrific they are. That’s what makes Superman Prime great – he believes he’s working towards something better. He believes he’s doing the right thing, and he truly believes that the ends justify the means. He is so adamant about his beliefs that he is completely combative with anyone who disagrees with him. He has complete belief in his convictions, and is willing to do whatever it takes to implement them."

It's Another Vidcast!

"The Occasional Superheroine Show"

This week on the show:

Wolvie gets pwned!

The Illuminati get off the hook!

Supergirl brushes her teeth!

Lower-level superheroes die!

Inappropriate laughter at a New God's expense!

And plenty more!

Hoo-boy!

Superman Primedickery

Okay, let's analyze these latest "Superman Prime" pages and see once again if the character isn't a critique on the so-called "fanboy mentality."

1. "I can't believe I found an Earth even lamer than the one I was stuck on." -- "Worst Earth Ever!"

2. "Cyborg shouldn't be a member of the Justice League." -- lingering institutionalized racism. Liked Black Panther when he wore the full mask and didn't have the African overtones.

3. "Or another fake Aquaman." -- though, to be fair, to really complete the "extreem fanboy" stereotype, he would have snuck a gay joke in there.

4. "This Wonder Woman's not that pretty. Not like my girlfriend Laurie." -- Dude is in denial. Uses insert from picture frame as photo of supposed girlfriend. Would have sex with WW in two seconds. Would have sex with WW's photo insert from picture frame in two seconds.

5. "The perfect universe is out there. Mine is out there. And if I had to rip apart the entire Multiverse..." -- Isn't this how we got in this "Countdown" mess in the first place?

DC's ARENA: "Fan Fiction At Its Finest"

C'mon, like you never asked yourself, "If Rorschach went up against Dark Knight Batman, who would win?"

Other battles I'd like to see in DC's "Arena":

Neil Gaiman's Sandman Vs. Jack Kirby's Sandman

The cast of "Camelot 3000" Vs. the cast of "Ronin"

Jim Aparo Commissioner Gordon Vs. Tim Sale Commissioner Gordon

Evey from "V For Vendetta" Vs. Arrowette

Grant Morrison's cat from "Animal Man" Vs. Power Girl's cat from "Justice League Europe"

Jacques Derrida Vs. Mother Teresa

REM's Peter Buck Vs. Rico Suave

Fangirl Fridays: The New Kitchen Edition

Hi-ho. I'm stuck for the greater part of this day at home while my kitchen is being torn out and replaced. I didn't think that in a small space like an apartment you could "dig up" things and find artifacts like old newspapers from the 1960s and queerly-shaped metal hooks but apparently you can.

This seems like a good time to talk about Change. I think I've talked about it before. But I feel strongly that there is Change afoot in Comics and figured it's as good a topic as any to chat about on a Friday afternoon as the rubble of a 50-year-old structure floats about me in a nice splintery haze.

The last time I think things were "normal" in comics -- the way "they have always been" -- was 2000, 2001. Things seemed still predictable. The phrase "oh, women don't really read comics" still had some currency. Manga was still very off-the-radar of the mainstream, though Marvel gave it an early shot with their brief "Marvel Mangaverse" and DC editor Andy Helfer was crying in the wilderness about these strange books he got in Japan that he swore were going to take over the industry. Sure, Andy. "Soon everybody will be reading manga." Right.

Back in 2000, Vertigo Comics was still synonymous with "comic books that adults read," and "Preacher" and "Sandman" had a dead-lock on the bookstore market. The Internet was mainly a place to engage in flame wars and read episode spoilers; the apparent failure of the e-book helped ease our fears that print was in any danger from the digital format. We were sure that "people want to read on paper."

And comic book movies, after a brief respite with Tim Burton at the beginning of the 90s, still sucked.

I'm not sure I can pinpoint when everything exactly changed. It might have been the success of Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man." It might have been when a big crater was blown into my city. Who knows? The important thing is, things changed.


Events like "House of M," "Identity Crisis," "Civil War," "Infinite Crisis," "World War Hulk," and "Countdown" are all responses to this change. It certainly seems as if nothing has been stable in either the Marvel or DC Universes in quite some time, hasn't it? It sometimes feels like as readers we are in danger of having the floors pulled out from the narratives and structures of our favorite comics at any second.


By next Summer, more than likely the structures of at least some of our most beloved characters are going to get a massive facelift. Whether those facelifts will be permanent, merely flash-in-the-pan gimmicks, or changes that receive early abortions when the public balks remains to be seen.

But I think, on the part of the publishers, the desire to change and present heroes that are not so much "legacies" as "peers" is strong. I think the publishers want to change. I think they are making active efforts to "keep with the times," even though there might not be a consensus as to what those times are and where they are leading us.

2008 will be a very key year for comics. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd predict major changes of status quo in the Marvel, Marvel Ultimates, DC, Vertigo, and Wildstorm Universes. I'd predict the Spring and Summer comic book conventions as the major staging areas for rolling announcements of relaunches, reboots, and "universe integrations."

I know sometimes we bitch about this comic creator and that, this editor and that. But in the end, for better or for worse, they are the mythmakers and "world-shapers." They are, most likely, furiously laboring away at the future plans and reshapings of many of our favorite characters right at this very second.

I, for one, am very curious as to what's in store.

Well, it looks like they're just about done with my kitchen. Cherry oak on particle-board...very nice. But the fridge and the stove really need to go.

Oh...and I need a floor.