Category: Columns

Martha Thomases: What’s Up With The Future?

adam-strange-2207308Comic books and science fiction shaped my hopes for the future. I want to be able to live under the ocean, like Aquaman and I want to have a flying car, like <a href=”

Jetson.

It never ends, the things I want. Just this week, I started to want a personal jetpack with missile launchers, like I saw over the weekend in this.

The future, to me, was about technology. Technology that would make cool things for me.

In some ways, that’s working. I mean, I carry around more computing power in my pocket than they had on the Starship Enterprise. Television sets turn on and off, change channels and more with voice commands.

And now, technology is making life ever so much cooler for kids with certain disabilities.

This story describes how it is now possible to make inexpensive prosthetic hands for kids with missing fingers. These are not state-of-the-art instruments, in the sense that they don’t completely mimic human hands. Those cost tens of thousands of dollars, and a growing child would need a new one every year or so. Instead, these cost under $50, and can be made on a 3-D printer.

That is so cool I can barely stand it.

Instead of being teased for being physically different, these kids are now awesome, like superheroes they see in the movies — Iron Man, say, or Cyborg. They can get new hands in whatever colors they like, whenever they need them.

I got to see an enormous 3-D printer at the Youngstown Business Incubator a few months ago. They weren’t, at the time, making cyborg hands, but it was cool to see how a big model worked, and how much more the machine did than I imagined when I heard the term. One pass through the printer, and multiple pieces could be made and connected, which I would not have believed if I hadn’t seen it.

Perhaps it’s a limit of our imaginative fiction, whether in comics or in prose, that the first thing we think about when we imagine future tech is weapons or personal pleasure. I understand that these make entertaining story elements, with conflict and maybe explosions. I’m an adrenaline junkie. I like conflict and explosions in my fiction.

But we don’t, as a society, think about future tech and kids in need.

At least, not in the books I’ve been reading. If you know some that do, please suggest them in the comments. It’s winter and I could use a reading experience that feels good.

 

Tweeks: Experience The Marvel Experience

tweeksmexthumbnail-7923266Last week, we went to The Marvel Experience during its stop in San Diego.  Taking place in seven large domes, visitors become S.H.I.E.L.D recruits who undergo training in order to fight alongside the Avengers against Hydra in a final showdown. It reminded us of a Marvel themed amusement park, but is it worth the ticket price (ranging from $24.50 to $34.50) when it comes your city?  Watch our review to find out.

Dennis O’Neil: Gotham’s Doctor, Batman’s Saint

You may have seen it yourself: the scene a while back in which James Gordon and Dr. Leslie Thompkins stand in front of their police department colleagues getting very well acquainted. It happened during an episode of Gotham and although the television Leslie wasn’t the Leslie Dick Giordano and I introduced in Detective Comics #457, I didn’t mind. I know that television shows are not comic books: they have different techniques, strengths, weaknesses, and that the story being told there on the tube wasn’t our story and that serialized characters have to evolve if they are to survive for decades, as Leslie has.

In the weeks since the television Leslie was introduced, we’ve seen her become her own person – witty, intelligent, feisty. Independent. I’d happily watch her if her name were Honorifica Flabdiggle, especially if Bertha, like Leslie, were played by the talented and truly lovely Morena Baccarin.

She was created – Leslie, not Honorifica- to serve the plot of the particular story we were working on, to supplement Bruce Wayne’s biography, and to add an element to the Batman mythos.

I had a real person in mind when I was writing Detective #457, someone I’d once met named Dorothy Day. Dorothy began her professional life as a journalist, wrote a novel, lived the Greenwich Village life. In 1939, she cofounded The Catholic Worker, an organization located in a section of lower Manhattan not much frequented by the white shoe crowd. The Worker had three missions: to serve the poor by providing food, shelter and clothing; to help drunks get sober; and to protest war – all war, any war, and any violence.

We incorporated Dorothy’s pacifism into Leslie. There wasn’t much; I can’t recall any particular story in which it was a major element. But look for it and you could find it.

What the fictional Leslie did for Bruce Wayne was to serve as a surrogate for his murdered mother and to give him information; she told him that not everyone believed that violence solved problems. If Bruce had existed – these are fictions, remember – he might have been sympathized with Leslie’s convictions and regretted his own dependence on violence, while having nothing he considered to be another viable modus operandi.

I don’t expect to hear Dr. Leslie Thompkins endorsing Dorothy Day’s convictions. Gotham is a venue for action/melodrama, after all, and not a pulpit. And there are reasons why we respond to this sort of entertainment and they’re not too distant from the reasons our wonky species hasn’t gone the way of the dinosaurs. But still…what would be wrong with giving the video Leslie a pacifist leaning or two? She could maybe slip them into a subordinate clause where nobody would notice them anyway. And they would give the character Ms. Baccarin and her cohorts are so ably creating a nuance uniquely her own.

Just asking.

 

Mike Gold: Who Needs Comic Books?

disney-marvel-mickey-2262303Are you reading more comics now but enjoying them less? Worse still – if you happen to be a comics publisher – are you reading fewer comics now and still enjoying them less?

If the Internet is any indication, plenty of people are cutting back, bailing out, and getting highly more selective about their purchases. I realize the Internet has but three purposes: 1) as a medium for obtaining free porn, 2) as a platform for spirited anonymous bitching, and 3) to prove to the world that your cat is cuter than everybody else’s. Only #2 is relevant here, but you can’t use the Internet’s bitchy overtones to dismiss everything you don’t like. I think there’s a real problem here.

Part of this response is due to the fact that Marvel and DC have been making it exceptionally easy to rocket out of their universes by rebooting, refurbishing, and retconning their family jewels. Good lord, if you’ve been reading any of their major product lines for more than a decade and you know what’s going on and what was going on and look forward to what will be going on – those are three separate things – then William Shatner was correct: get a life.

Donate some of the money you’re spending on comics you don’t like to the CBLDF.

I think there’s another contributing factor, a big one. Forget about the plethora of superhero movies; your “television entertainment media” systems have been invaded by latex costumed nano-bedbugs. Right now, this week, there are at least five original broadcast series based upon Marvel and DC superheroes, six if you think Agent Carter is a separate program. In two months we’ll be getting another show, this time on Netflix, and they’ve got at least four more in active production. Powers, published but not owned by Marvel, will be appearing on Sony’s entertainment network pretty soon. And next season, which is only about seven months away, we may see several more as the broadcast nets are churning out superhero pilots as if they have no other ideas with commercial potential.

Here’s the rub. Of the five weekly series currently on broadcast teevee, people seem to like at least four of them. Constantine may or may not make it. I’ll bet, based on 100% presumption, that those who do like it include a hell of a lot of comics readers.

So, let me ask you this: how much time do you have to spend on spandex adventurers? Teevee, movies, comic books, e-books, trade paperbacks… the whole enchilada. Personally, I enjoy Arrow, Agent Carter, Agents of SHIELD, Constantine, The Flash, and Gotham and I’m looking forward to Daredevil. Add four superhero movies this year and I’d be spending at least 120 hours in the next twelve months watching comic books. Is it any wonder why I bought a new TiVo?

Comic book teevee shows used to be pretty stupid, shallower than the pretty stupid shows that surrounded them. A great many baby boomers were greatly embarrassed by the 1960s Batman show. I know one major comics writer/editor/producer who wanted to kill Lorenzo Semple Junior, who developed and wrote or story edited the show. I don’t quite share that feeling: Semple also wrote The Parallax View and Papillon.

But I digress (hi, Peter!). Today’s superhero shows are much, much better. Not Citizen Kane better, but they’re entertaining and they don’t condescend.

In a good year comics do not make enough money to impress the stockholders of Time Warner and Disney. Comic book movies make those same stockholders giggle like piggies (hi, George!).

So, I ask you: who needs superhero comic books? Well, honestly, not the conglomerates who own DC Comics and Marvel.

 

Box Office Democracy: “Kingsman: The Secret Service”

Kingsman: The Secret Service is, hopefully, a watershed moment for spy action movies. Much in the way The Bourne Identity did in 2002, Kingsman has such a fresh new take on the genre that it begs to be the new standard these films are compared to. Kingsman could have so easily been the lazy bit of satire I feared it would be in the run up to the movie and it avoided nearly all of the pitfalls that could have felled it. It did step in to one big pit and while it put a bit of a crimp in my enjoyment of the movie it was at least a spectacular and bold piece of failure and I suppose tasteless and vexing is always better than boring.

Matthew Vaughn directs action sequences in Kingsman that are nothing short of brilliant. He shoots action with wider angles and without cuts like they’re musical numbers from back in the era when Hollywood stars could actually dance. He does this without sacrificing the complexity we’ve come to expect from a modern fight scene, something from the post-Tarantino, post-Yuen Woo-Ping era. Kingsman makes 54 year-old Colin Firth look like the baddest man alive at 54 years old. He looks like he would pick Liam Neeson out of his teeth. The fight sequences are exhilarating to watch and should be the new standard for any director looking to make something visually interesting but not too proud to crib an existing style. (I’m looking at you, 98% of directors working today.)

(more…)

Emily S. Whitten: Comics, New and Old

new-comics-1-8599330There’s a peculiar trait about the comic book industry that I never noticed until I was enmeshed in it enough to be aware that it was “the comic book industry.” Back when it was just “buying and reading comics I like, often in trade paperback or compilation formats” I never was aware of it – but once I became an active part of comic book fandom and started reporting on comics and trying to keep up with all the latest news, without even noticing that it was happening I embraced this trait, until after awhile it felt like it had engulfed me.

And no offense to the way the industry is set up, but I think it’s time for me to un-embrace it. The trait I’m referring to: The idea that the most important thing in comics, the thing to talk and care about, is always the newest thing; the latest thing; this week’s issue. The belief that what is worthy of discussion is something everyone’s buzzing about because it just came out; and that if you’re not up on the latest (book, new creative team, industry news) you are somehow not in the know about comics, or maybe not a true fan.

I get it; I really get why comics are pushed on readers with this angle, and why readers are willing and even eager to embrace and support the setup. And I get why the creators of comics support that structure as well. The way the industry is structured the longevity of many storylines, or the writers or artists assigned to those storylines, is only as secure as the numbers of latest issues being sold, or as the immediate feedback from fans (or haters). If you are a publisher, you want your newest creations to succeed, because that’s what keeps the money coming in. As a fan, if you like the current arc or character you want it all to keep going so you can keep reading. As a creator, you want to keep on working. Yes, it all makes sense. And given the way comics developed and continue to be sold, none of that may ever change.

I get all that, and I’m also not saying that there’s anything wrong with being excited about the latest thing or wanting to keep up on it, or that I don’t frequently experience excitement at the latest news. In fact, as a person who’s currently in the midst of writing a comic which I sincerely hope will someday see the light of day in the greater world, I’m sure that if my story does make it out there, I’ll be just as hopeful and concerned about the excitement over it and its immediate success. And as a comics journalist, I realize the irony of someone who is probably expected to be up on the latest news not wanting to always be talking about that (and the likelihood that my editor is shaking his head as he reads this).

But as a reader, I kind of abhor this mindset. After all, it’s never, ever been the way I’ve enjoyed reading or the reason I’ve read. Generally, I enjoy being able to consume whole stories; or at least whole chunks of stories that give me enough of the tale to satisfy for awhile. And what I love about a good read is that you can pick it up anytime, whether it’s a day or a hundred years after it was written, and enjoy or get something out of it. What I love is strongly developed characters; a driving plot; a new world of experience or thought opened before me; or some combination of these things. What I also love is the idea that these creations are spurred first and foremost by the desire to tell the story or the drive of creators to put their views to paper; not by marketing or the sheer need to secure a book’s continuing spot in the upcoming roster.

It’s weird that it’s taken me this long to figure it out, but I’ve realized that one of the reasons I’ve generally disliked crossovers, reboots, reimaginings, and the like is that even if a good story comes out of it (and sometimes that is the case), the impetus for the action is marketing; not storytelling. Granted, occasionally the story is served by it, if for example a character has been around so long that there doesn’t seem to be a new place to take him or her without rearranging some of the past; but in that case, honestly, sometimes I’d prefer to send a character quietly to the back of the queue, at least for awhile; and see a new creation take his or her place.

I realize I may be in the minority on this. After all, when you have, e.g., a Batman or a Spider-Man, who has had so many adventures and is beloved by all (including me), it can be hard to say goodbye. But on the other hand, even if we miss the characters when their adventures are done, there is something deliciously satisfying about whole stories with definitive endings; something we can find in good literature, but rarely in comics. There is also something satisfying about never having to see a favorite character diluted for the sake of stretching success.

I read to enjoy a story; and yet with comics, so often I find myself feeling an overwhelming pressure to read all the newest things no matter what they are; or to keep reading books I’ve stopped enjoying because they contain faint echoes of a character I once loved. I find myself stacks behind on the comics I think I might want to keep up on, or feel like I ought to be reading. And maybe the fault of this is with me, in that I’ve accidentally bought into the idea that I’d better read the thing everyone else is liking or keep reading what I once liked; but I think it’s also built into the structure of what comics are, and how they are published and marketed.

Whatever the case, in the end, comics are, like any other stories, for enjoying. And I’ve decided (as I stare at the stacked backlog of recent comics I’m meant to be reading for various and sundry of the above reasons) that I’m going to stop worrying about knowing all the latest, or what the industry or fans think I should be reading, and revert in practice to the way I’ve enjoyed every literary work I’ve ever read; by simply picking up whatever I’m in the mood for, no matter when it was put out or who created it, and enjoying the hell out of it for its own sake.

And at the moment, that means re-reading, for the umpteenth time, Joe Kelly’s Deadpool.

So until next time, beware of evil villains named Deathtrap and three-ton teddy bears, and Servo Lectio!

 

Michael Davis: Milestone 2.0 – I Was There, I Didn’t Get It.

There’s much more to this story at Bleeding Cool.

On January 21st of this year, the Washington Post broke the story of the return of Milestone. Missing from the Post and every article since about the new Milestone 2.0 was any mention of me. I’m a founder and co-creator of the original Milestone’s best-known property, Static Shock.

There was to be a statement from Milestone explaining my absence, but in the three weeks since the story broke, Milestone 2.0 has not issued any statement.

Because there was no statement, comic book fans, Milestone fans, and my fan (I had two, one died) took to social media speculating as to why I was missing. Missing from news stories and missing from interviews, which was curious. I was no longer a part of the new venture, but in all the interviews, I was missing from the history of Milestone 2.0.

When I did begin showing up in the news about Milestone 2.0, the articles were about me…missing.

I assumed I was left out because when interviews took place I was no longer involved with Milestone 2.0, even if I didn’t know that. Deciding not to mention me at all was a mistake. If consulted, I would have pointed that out. I did point out what a mistake it would be not to issue a statement once the story broke. I was told they would, but they didn’t. As it turns out, I was right.

I should clarify “right” in this instance. I think not mentioning an original founder, more active than all of the partners combined in keeping the Milestone brand in the public eye in the four years since we decided to re-launch, was a bad idea. It became a distraction, which could have and should have been avoided.

Milestone just may not see things the way I do, and “may” is a bit of a stretch. I think it’s safe to say “does” in place of “may” – all things considered. For their purposes, perhaps it was a good idea. Although what purpose that could be is beyond me. I freely admit I’m a different type of bird. Three weeks ago for a bit I wished I wasn’t – I wished I could just go with the flow. I did this wishing while crying like a little bitch. I actually started to wonder whether or not I’d made a mistake.

Before I continue, I think it’s wise to address my new readers I know are out there. I know this because of the massive amount of emails being forwarded to me since this started.

I write with few inhibitions – I am who I am. I cry when in pain. My favorite movie is My Best Friend’s Wedding. I collect Barbie dolls. When I met Barbara Streisand, my first words were “Now I can die.” She gave me this huge hug and I wept.

Yes, I’m gay. I’m a lesbian. I like women.

I also grew up in what’s now considered, one of, if not the worst housing project in New York City. Two of four of my immediate family were murdered. My sister Sharon Davis, the real life inspiration for Static’s sister Sharon Hawkins among the two. The last two people who stepped to me regretted it instantly and I ended up in jail, see theme song below.

My life can be summed by my motto: Each One, Teach One, and my theme song is Ice Cube’s, “Wrong Nigga to Fuck With.”

But I digress. Peter David owns that line. I stole it; I had to – look where I’m from. Many people think my bravado is from the hood I came from. It’s not. I get that from my mother. It was because of my mother that I thought for a few days that perhaps I should adapt my outlook.

And it was because of my mother I was crying so fucking hard. The Milestone decision piggybacked onto her death, still as fresh as the day it happened. Don’t misunderstand me, I was crying over the Milestone decision, but the severity of my outburst had much more to do with pain I was already in.

Otherwise, it never would have hit so hard because I saw it coming.

I knew years ago it might turn out like this. In fact, I documented my thoughts in writing and in person. I shared my apprehension with some of the biggest names in the industry.

In emails, phone calls and face-to-face meetings, I’ve had the, “It seems the way this is moving may prevent my involvement” talk with 10 people. If ever something I claim is questioned I’m not going out like some bitch, I’m providing proof. Brian Williams, I am not. If I say a bomb hit me, out comes the videotape.

And a bomb did hit me. Believe that. I keep telling people I see the future, but no one listens. Pity.

I’ve wanted this (Milestone 2.0) and worked towards it for 16 years. On Bleeding Cool I wrote 15 years, but that was wrong – I double-checked and it was 16. Yeah, I keep everything, and I keep it forever.

16 years ago I met with Bob Johnson, then CEO and owner of Black Entertainment Television (BET), and one of outcomes of that meeting was BET’s interest in funding Milestone. Also present in that meeting was Debra Lee, who is now CEO of BET, and my producing partner E. Van Lowe. The meeting took place at Mr. Johnson’s suite at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills.

That night I was on the phone with all three Milestone founders, but not together.

I talked to two on one call and spoke to another separately. We were all to sleep on it and decide whether or not to pursue it. Founders were knee deep in their own careers, so it wasn’t an easy decision.

The next day I was again on the phone, first with two founders, then with the other. On one of those calls, the idea was floated to do the BET deal without one of the original founders. This was a business decision, for whatever reason.

I said no.

It was my deal; once I said I wouldn’t do it unless we all did, the deal was dead. For a long time I was conflicted on whether I’d made the right choice.

Nah. I wasn’t. I was fine with it.

16 years later, here we are again, kinda. Dwayne’s gone. The big guy was more Milestone than all of us put together. There’s some talk that Dwayne and I were on the outs when he died and that’s just bullshit. I’ll be addressing that in an article fairly soon. Like I said, I keep everything, and there’s a lot of history Dwayne and I shared few people know of.

Dwayne’s gone and Reggie Hudlin has joined Milestone. There’s talk that Reggie is replacing Dwayne. More bullshit. Reggie has been interested in being a part of Milestone for as long as I can remember. In fact, Reggie was on our short list when Denys and I went over names to invite in. That was the very weekend when Denys came up with the idea for Milestone at the San Diego Comic-Con 22 years ago.

I don’t remember if we asked him and he said no, or we didn’t think he’d be interested because even then Reggie was making big movies. Whatever it was, it does not change and no one can deny that Reggie has always been a major supporter and fan of Milestone. Thinking anyone could replace Dwayne is as stupid as thinking Reggie would even try. Before Dwayne died there was talk of Reggie becoming a part of Milestone.

That would have been something – really, really, something.

Denys Cowan and Reggie Hudlin have been a team on a few projects, all great. Partnering to do Milestone is a motherfucking throw down to the rest of the industry to look the fuck out. Yes, the rest of the industry. Not just those who do Black Comics.

Milestone never did “black” comics. Milestone is and has always been a black-owned company, yes, but producing comics that feature but is not limited to people of color.

Three weeks ago, I was sad at first. Then I was livid. Livid because of things that were said to me and how they were said. Now? Now, I’ve moved past all of that. I can do that because I see the future and I can prove it. Remember how I was left out of the Milestone 2.0 announcement?

Kinda like this:

All the Milestone partners, save one, will receive credit. 

Let the name of Davis be stricken from every book and tablet

Stricken from all press and news

Stricken from every mention of Static.

Let the name of Davis be unheard and unspoken,

Erased from the memory of Milestone, for all time.

So let it be written, so let it be done.

I wrote that for a ComicMix article last November. Scary eh?

Like I said, I’ve moved past anger and sadness, like Jay Z: I’m off that. 

I’m off that, but I’m on a path, both creative in practice and righteous in my mind. It was right for me to make a stand for all four founders in 1999. To me that wasn’t business, that was the right thing to do. That was my mother’s influence and I’m my mother’s son.

I’ve gotten quite a few emails from people telling me they won’t support Milestone without me.

No. Wrong. Don’t do that. The world needs Milestone 2.0.

The world needs Darryl to keep on making comics, DMC, Mad Square Enterprises, Boondocks, Aaron McGruder, The East Coast Black Age Of Comics, Brandon M. Easton, N. Steven Harris, Watson and Holmes, Paige Tibbs, The World Of Black Superheroes, Ryan Fraser, Erika Alexander, Tony Puryear, Concrete Park, Joe Illidge, Walter McDaniel, David Walker, Shaft, Maia Crown Williams, MECCAcon, Reggie Hudlin, Denys Cowan and Derek Dingle. Hell, the world needs Ania and Big City Comics. The former did horrible books and hated me then; the latter does fantastic books and hates me now.

And the world even needs Tyrone Cash, if, for no other reason, than to show how not to do a black character. We need as many African American comics, creators, and publishers as we can get. We cannot let anger, righteous or not, keep our eyes off that prize. Although there are some who don’t think so, they need Michael Davis. They will find that out soon enough. I do big things and what I’m about to do is the biggest.

Like I keep saying, I see the future. To be fair, I was wrong, once. Nah. That’s bullshit. I’m never wrong.

Those who are interested, watch this space. Those who doubt me, watch me work.

 

Mindy Newell: Up, Up And Away In My Beautiful Balloon

word-balloons-9480680I wanted to write about word balloons, which I’m pretty sure hasn’t been talked about here at ComicMix before, at least since I arrived here, is it coming on three years already? And now I’m incredibly frustrated and possibly going crazy.

I got the idea from seeing a piece in Entertainment Weekly featuring an interview with Scott McCloud in which he talked about the use of word balloons in comics. I thought I set the magazine aside to use as a reference – and I’ve been tearing about the house for over an hour looking for it. Can’t find it anywhere…and I even went through my recycle bin. And I went to EW’s website, but have you been there recently? It’s H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E! Supposedly it was “redesigned,” but it looks more like it was hacked into by The Onion’s staff, or maybe the same goons from North Korea who hacked into Sony. I mean, what kind of website doesn’t have a search engine icon?? Go ahead, go try searching the site for an old article… even a recap of Downton Abbey from two weeks ago. Unless I’m blind, it just ain’t there, folks – and if I am, please let me know how to search the EW website down below in the comments!

But back to word balloons.

If I could get a nickel for every time someone, upon learning that I’ve written comics, has said something like so you put the words in those little balloons, I’d be a rich lady. Maybe not part of the 1%, but at least a member of the 7%. Well, I do, actually. Put the words in the balloons, I mean. Only it all starts on the written page, whether it’s done as a full script or in what’s often called “Marvel style.”

I think I’ve said this before, but for me, when I’m really in the zone as I’m writing a story, it’s like watching a movie unfold in my head and all I’m doing is transcribing. As Scott pointed out in that article and in his brilliant Understanding Comics, the trick is, since it’s a visual medium, to convey the emotion behind the lettered words. And by using the art of the balloon, not only in its lettering, but in its presentation and placement within the panel. For example, if I were writing a key scene in a story between Clark Kent and Lois Lane in which Lois Lane has had enough of the bullshit, my script would look like this:

Lois: Well, you know what, Clark….

Lois: (big, bold letters in a big, bold balloon, because she’s done with the whole situation) GO FUCK YOURSELF AND THE ROCKET YOU FLEW IN ON!

Not that I could ever get away with that particular terminology in DC land. Well, I could if it was Vertigo.

If you’re lucky and you’ve got a great artist and a great letterer who really get it – and I have been – the final result will really hit the reader. If you’re not lucky, and you’ve got a hack artist and a hack letterer – and I’ve been there, too – the final result is just another panel among many, and that key moment will leave the reader skimming the page and feeling nothing.

Another trick I’ve used when writing scripts is what I call the “Howard Hawks” method. Film director Howard Hawks (The Thing from Another World, His Girl Friday) was known for his ability to have his actors talk the way real people talk, i.e., interrupting each other, overlapping, talking to themselves while the other person is continuing to talk, conversations going on in the background – he was so good at directing his actors in this that quite often you have to watch a scene at least twice to get everything. (Watch those two movies I reference above, and this time don’t pay attention to the main action– listen for what’s going on in the background. It’s quite a kick– for instance, did you know that the leading man and the leading lady in The Thing from Another World were sleeping together? I bet the censors didn’t catch that either, which is probably why it got through the finished cut. And of course Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell were superb at talking over one another in Friday.

The way you do this in comics is to have the balloons themselves overlapping and trying to crowd each other out. In that EW piece, a panel from one of Scott’s comics – I believe it is the upcoming The Sculptor, for which he is getting tremendous praise – has his character walking through Times Square, in his own world – but Scott gives you the sense of the thousands of people crowding and walking through the area with word balloons “floating” everywhere – bits of conversation that are going on around the main character which he doesn’t really hear except as the “buzz” of the city. Again, as a reader, because of the placement of the balloons, the number of balloon, the art of the balloon, you are with the character, not just a casual bystander.

Mindy: (faintly lined balloon with small letters, she’s whispering to herself) shit, it’s 6:27. mike is gonna kill me. better wrap this up.

Mindy: Let me know if any of you find that EW piece, okay, guys? See ya next week. And thanks.

 

John Ostrander: Handicapping the Stewart Sweepstakes

jon-stewart-5325496The day after Jon Stewart announced he was leaving The Daily Show, he plaintively asked his audience, “Did I die?” Lots of people are bemoaning the fact that he’s going, myself included. His show has been the counterpoint to the bilge spewed by Faux News and he’s been wonderful at showing the absurdity in politics.

Yes, he and I share very similar viewpoints on most topics and, while I’ve seen him skewer the Left, he’s more likely to skewer the Right and that’s just fine by me. He’s a comedian doing a fake news show; he doesn’t have to be “fair and balanced.” He simply has to have a consistent point of view and express it with wit and humor. However telling the point, he needs to get a laugh. That’s what he does. It’s what he is supposed to do.

However, The Daily Show must go on. Craig Kilbourn sat in the same seat before Stewart and someone else will come after him. The trick for Comedy Central is to bring in someone who won’t alienate the current audience while making the show their own. They have to be the head Jester while at the same time be the straight man (or woman) for the group of loons that are or will be the “reporters” on the show. (How many of the current team will stay after Stewart leaves is beyond my guess.)

Lots of people online have been giving odds on this candidate or that one. Whoever wins the slot will have a tough job. Lots of people will not like whoever comes next because they simply won’t be Stewart. Any changes that are made will be suspect by some because, again, they’re not Stewart. I might become one of those people myself.

Let’s explore for a moment who won’t be replacing Stewart. At one time, it would have been Stephen Colbert but now he’s replacing Letterman. John Oliver replaced Stewart for three months while Stewart was taking a sabbatical and did a good job. However, he’s at HBO with a show of his own and I don’t think contractually he can come back even if he’s so inclined.

Will Comedy Central go with someone who is already on the show? Jason Jones has filled in for Stewart and was, I think, surprisingly successful. Partner him with his wife Samantha Bee and you could have a very interesting format and show. Both of them are fearless and shameless (especially Bee) but I don’t know if either of them are material for the anchor’s chair on a regular basis.

I think it’s very possible Comedy Central will pick someone who has had experience on SNL as the news anchor for Weekend Update. The most interesting name I’ve heard mentioned is Amy Poehler. Her own show, Parks and Recreation, has just wound up and she has the background and chops for the job. I know there’s a lot of pressure to have a woman or a minority take Stewart’s place; there’s no one else on late night who is like that.

Except one. Larry Wilmore who used to be The Daily Show’s “senior black correspondent” has taken over Colbert’s spot following Stewart as the host of The Nightly Show. Yes, he just began his run in January but Stewart isn’t leaving until July or maybe December (it hasn’t been yet determined). Wilmore has shown himself to be sharp, funny, quick witted, and a good interviewer. He’s a good host.

If Wilmore went to the The Daily Show, that leaves a vacancy on The Nightly Show but I think that slot would be easier to fill. Jason Jones and/or Samantha Bee would kill in that position. Or scrap the current show and bring on something else; doing a sports show with the same sensibilities as The Daily Show might work very well.

The longest shot to replace Jon Stewart would be… Jon Stewart. In this scenario, he comes to his senses and changes his mind about leaving. Yeah, I know – not going to happen. A guy can wish, can’t he?

 

Marc Alan Fishman: DC’s Newest – A New Hope or Phantom Menace?

section-8-6204625Well, it’s been a while since I’ve been snarky. And I use that italicized denotation to declare to you that my right eyebrow is fully engaged and riding high, whilst its partner is floating low. There is a smirk across my mouth that clearly tells you that I’m excited. These are the announcements Internet op-ed folk dream of reading – and then immediately speculate, rant, and blather about.

The New 52 is dead. Long may you rot, New 52.

Following up from the soon-to-pass “Convergence” epic-to-end-all-epics-except-that-last-epic crossover event, DC will be overhauling its monthly title list to include 25 currently running series, and a newly announced (well, like, a week ago announced) set of 24 new titles that may just be rebrands, or retitled series they still are putting out. So, be prepped for yet-another-batch of #1s to flood your racks and drain your wallet. And I say your wallet because in spite of all the good karma DC is attempting to gain by admitting some present-day faults with this stunt, I have yet to be impressed. If anything, this current PR initiative leaves me even more tepid regarding mainstream comic bookery.

Dan DiDio’s press release declared the shifting sands of the line as “allow[ing] us to publish something for everyone, be more expansive and modern in our approach and tell stories that better reflect the society around us.” All in all, that’s a great sentiment. It clearly rides the line between apology and promise for the future. Something for everyone hits right in the bread basket. As the average comic shop goer continues to diversify – both in who goes to the shop as well as what those in the shop are looking for – declaring that a motif of the line was to expand beyond the norm of capes and cowls is a great thing to strive for.

Of course if you then look at the line being offered, tt’s a big fat lie.

The rest of the quote deals with incorporating a modern approach in telling stories that reflect the society around us. This leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. They said the same thing with the New 52 and all we got were angsty superheroes and an abundance of Nehru collars. Oh, and the death of a ton of worthwhile continuity and legacy. But I digress.

Be that is it may, there’s glints of hope peering out in between the predictable. The Bryan Hitch written and drawn Justice League of America gives me the hope from last time I gave a crap about DC’s biggest team – the Morrison years. We Are Robin takes what appears to be a street-level justice bent, likely set in Gotham. It harkens back perhaps to GCPD, a series that I wish there were more of in any incarnation of the DCU. And for those who like to celebrate the odd, well, Bat-Mite or Bizarro might take typical cape-and-cowl crud and give us something unexpected.

Peering further down the list though, we get series that seem to be dusting off concepts the modern reader isn’t going to know. Prez, Omega Men, and Section Eight: I’m looking at you. Seeing these titles amongst the noobs has me scratching my head. Pair those What the-? titles with lame ducks like Black Canary, Martian Manhunter, and Cyborg and I’m no longer scratching… I’m shaking it in sadness.

Not because I don’t want these series to succeed, mind you. But the truth of the matter is none of these books are on the tips of the tongues of those seeking new books or concepts. And while DC may hope some jazzy art, or a modern concept will instantly enamor the geeks at large with the new books… someone somewhere should denote that one simply can’t “Batgirl” their way to victory. It will take heavy lifting by the respective creative teams to lure the initiated into the fold – and then it will take near perfection of execution to keep those books alive. If they want a hint, they should go back to New York and ask Marvel about Hawkeye.

The truth of the matter is that it will take an amazing leap of faith for any of the new series to be more than just another attempt at making buzz. While putting great talent on a book (like Ennis and McCrea on Section Eight – a series tied to their old hit, Hitman) is never a bad thing… putting out this many number one issues in succession makes it infinitely harder to see the kind of success DiDio is hoping for. It’s not enough to hack and slash your way through the catalog and dump a ton of new books on the public under the guise of the shifting tides.

The announcement on the whole reeks to me of boardroom politics and analytic-based commodity profiteering. Simply put, the powers-that-be figured out that #1s spike sales. So, fuck all… flood the market again, wrap it up in some nice PR about diversity, and save the line for another two years.

Mark my words: if half of the newly announced series are still being published at issue #13, feel free to shave my face.

 

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