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Costumes, by Dennis O’Neil

  • News
  • October 16, 2007

My beloved has just been pushed out of a fourteenth story window and is plummeting toward certain doom. I must rescue her and I will – as soon as I change clothes…

We were discussing, last week, how superheroes are evolving and we agreed – didn’t we? – that, on the whole, with a few notable exceptions, they’re getting grimmer.

They also seem to be changing their taste in wardrobes. None of the current television superdoers wear anything more than normal clothing, albeit sometimes very spiffy normal clothing. Time was, and not so long ago, when…shall we call it unconventional garb was an indispensable part of the superhero thing. Capes, masks, tights, all kinds of bizarre raiment, often in the primary hues that were friendly to the aniline dyes and rather primitive printing presses used to color them.

It began, as did so much superheroish stuff, with Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s Superman. To the best of my knowledge, these pioneers never went on record regarding exactly why they chose this particular visual strategy, but it was a good idea. It gave the their character and immediate and utterly unmistakable image and it separated him from his ordinary brethren as a police uniform or priestly vestments separate the wearers from plain joes and janes, at least when performing unique services. As Peter Coogan wrote, Superman’s outfit “does proclaim his identity.” The costume was obviously a part of Superman’s appeal, and immediate success, and, being no fools, Siegel and Shuster’s army of imitators copied it.

Consider that, for now, the why of superhero costumes. As to the whence…

(more…)

Study in contrasts: Shazam! and Simon Dark, by Charlie Meyerson

  • News
  • October 15, 2007

Arriving in one press kit from DC, a couple of comics as different as day and night: The deluxe edition hardcover collection of Jeff Smith’s four-issue miniseries SHAZAM! The Monster Society of Evil and the first issue of Steve Niles and Scott Hampton’s Simon Dark, promoted as Gotham City’s other protector.

 

SHAZAM! is Smith’s brightly colored love letter to the original Captain Marvel comics, a new take on a storyline first presented in the 1940s. It’s yet another relaunch for a character DC has proven unable to handle with any consistency, but it brings Smith’s clear sense of storytelling to a plot that is, in the end, a little too simple. It’s a handsome volume – with a dustjacket that unfolds into “a giant-sized poster!!!” (to quote the enthusiastic cover blurb), and elaborate production notes and sketches. But longtime fans may be disappointed. The story itself is better suited for parents looking to introduce kids to the adventures of the Marvel family. (more…)

On this day: flu epidemic shut down the movies

  • News
  • October 15, 2007

If you think the pending Writers Guild of America strike could throw Hollywood into a tizzy, just imagine how much worse it’s been in the past.

89 years ago today, the leading film studios announced they would stop releasing films due to the 1918 flu epidemic. It’s good to know that if this happened today, we would take equally cautious measures. But to be extra safe, we’d close the supermarkets. And have a curfew. And invade a country. Because after all, they gave us the flu because they hate our freedom. Today, at least we can pretend to have Jack Bauer saving us from biological threats.

And think how happy certain Tinseltown types would be to have something to blame the weekend grosses on.

Who’s Who for Hallowe’en

  • News
  • October 15, 2007

The Guardian reports on a "must-have" item among British children for the upcoming holiday season: a mask modelled on the Dalek-human hybrid which appeared in the Doctor Who episode "Daleks in Manhattan" and which "changes the voice of the wearer to the metallic scream of the doctor’s mortal enemies."  Parents everywhere will no doubt be thrilled.

The mask featuress two play buttons; the first activates a Dalek question, followed by Dalek Sec Hybrid’s reply, and the second activates the Dalek Voice Changer Function.  The product was mentioned in the context of many other TV-based toys available for Christmas which are expected to be best-sellers, but what about those who need to have it for Hallowe’en?

Never fear, it’s available now, at least in the UK.  Sure beats "Anna Rexia," if you ask me!

All Ages Night

  • News
  • October 15, 2007

All Ages Night is a new film about the cool kids who reject the Britneys and Timberlakes for the classic joys of Patti Smith and the Ramones. Written by former Marvel editor (and Wolverine / GI Joe scribe) Larry Hama and his writing partner, Gabrielle Kelly, it’s the story of a London punk who comes to Los Angeles and meets kindred spirits. You can find out more at the film’s MySpace page or by checking out this story in the Los Angeles Times.

Happy Birthday, I Love Lucy!

On this day in 1951, CBS first aired the hilarious classic, "I Love Lucy," and it’s never been off the air since. We must also honor the memory of Lucy for inspiring countless cosplayers across the country.

Where would they be without her?  Forced into the likes of Barbra Streisand and Cher? Is that really the world we would want to live in? Thanks Lucy, we owe ya.

Teaching Behind The Eightball, by Mike Gold

  • News
  • October 15, 2007

I’ve lived in Connecticut for the past 22 years, and I’ll admit I’m hardly the most loyal of Nutmeggers. It’s very pretty up here, once you get out of its typically American cities, but some of the people tend to be a bit self-absorbed and snooty. But before this past week, I could not say I was actually embarrassed to live here. Here’s the story.

29 year-old teacher Nathan Fisher used to run an English class at Guilford High. As we all recall, part of an English teacher’s job is to assign various types of reading assignments. He assigned one of his students – a girl, which I think is significant to the story – a comic book, Daniel Clowes’ Eightball #22. Another student freaked, the parents started a crusade, the board of education got involved, the police were called, the state Department of Children and Families was called in, and the comic book was labeled pornographic. In short order, Mr. Fisher was forced to resign.

He was, according to the Hartford Courant, a well-respected teacher who previously had received praise from his superiors. Loren Sterman, a Guilford parent who coincidentially works as a school counselor in New London, told the Courant’s Rick Green "He is someone who cares deeply about children’s literacy and who looks for ways to hook them into reading. That’s what he did for my daughter."

The police found no cause for hysteria. The Department of Children and Families found no cause for action. This is significant; I’ve worked with the Connecticut DCF on Head Start and related issues, and to my experience it would be difficult to find a prissier or more bureaucratic bunch of ass-coverers. They’ll fine you for hiccupping in a swimming pool, and they found nothing. (more…)

Happy birthday, ABC!

  • News
  • October 14, 2007

On October 14, 1943, Edward J. Noble bought the Blue Network for $8,000,000. So what, you say? A bit of media history to explain first…

In the 30’s and 40’s, the National Broadcasting Company was a radio network and its big star was Jack Benny. NBC was made up of two separate units, the Red Network and the Blue Network, which were created in 1928 to better manage the company’s increasing number of radio affiliates. By 1938, the Red Network was producing roughly 75 percent of NBC’s commercial shows, with the only big hit on the Blue Network being Amos and Andy.

A few years later, the FTC was wary of monopolies taking over the industry, so they mandated that companies would no longer be allowed to control more than one network. NBC was forced to sell one of its divisions and, of course, chose the weaker Blue Network to put on the auction block. The aforementioned Edward Noble, who had already earned millions from sales of his popular Lifesavers candy, bought the network, promptly renaming it American Broadcasting Systems. And a year later, Noble changed the name again, this time to what has become a more familiar title… the American Broadcasting Company.

More fall classics

  • News
  • October 14, 2007

Our readers aren’t the only ones falling for ComicMix‘s new format. We Phase I-ers are really excited over Phase II as well; that handy-dandy Latest News search box has made doing these weekly wrap-ups easier than ever!  And the powers that be aren’t done tinkering yet!  Here’s what our columnists have offered you this past week:

And don’t forget to click on Mellifluous Mike Raub‘s latest Big ComicMix Broadcasts over there on the right!

Get ‘Em While You Can! Free!

  • News
  • October 14, 2007

In our on-going effort to help you avoid getting sucked into the baseball play-offs (or worse yet – the World Series) here is the quick list of cool things we found this week:

If you want to grab those limited edition variants of Return To Wonderland from U.K. retailer Fantastic Realm, go here. Remember, there are six issues and each exclusive edition will be limited to 1000 copies apiece. Here in the U.S., the standard Return To Wonderland #3 hits stores on October 17th.

Those two new Nickelodeon-branded digital versions of classic Hasbro board games, Monopoly: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition and Candy Land: Dora The Explorer Edition can be down loaded here; there are versions for both PC and Mac.

This year’s big December mini-series from SciFi will be a Wizard Of Oz based project called The Tin Man and you can not only preview it here but you can also "step" into scenes from the show. It premieres December 2nd on the SciFi Channel. (more…)

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