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Martha Thomases: Where Have You Gone Mr. Robinson?

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It’s not a secret that I’m a huge fan of James Robinson. I’ve loved his work since I saw preview pages of The Golden Age more than twenty years ago. Those first few pages gave me goosebumps. When I met James, I thought he was cute and funny and completely charming. I’m a sucker for an accent.

So you can imagine how upset I am that I seem to be on the wrong side of the most recent kerfuffle in comics, the depiction of transgendered characters in the second issue of Airboy. I read that issue, and I didn’t notice.

That’s on me.

I’m writing this because I think the reaction is overblown, and I think I might be wrong about that. I want to untangle my thoughts, and ask for advice on how to see this differently. Is this a failing of empathy on my part? Do I have a blind spot brought on by thoughtlessness or privilege or something else or all of the above?

(Note: I don’t want anyone to turn this around into some kind of “It’s their fault because they’re too sensitive” screed. I’m not blaming the victim. People read something and they have emotions about it. That’s what fiction is for.)

I read the first issue and thought it was hilarious. The depiction of James and artist/co-conspirator Greg Hinkle was so over the top and filled with self-loathing that I related immediately. With the drugs and the drinking and the indiscriminate sex, the story seemed to show a couple of middle-aged guys behaving in a way that I (and most of my friends) got out of our systems in our twenties.

And then (SPOILER ALERT!) Airboy showed up.

In the second issue, the one that upset some people, James and Greg try to figure out if Airboy is really there or if they’re hallucinating. Airboy is just as confused. They go to a bar. A gay bar that attracts drag queens (their usage) and transgendered women. James doesn’t let Greg explain that part to Airboy.

Hence, Airboy is upset when he discovers that the person who blew him in the bathroom has a penis.

In between, there is a two-page scene in which Robinson complains that he can’t get what he wants from writing comics for DC and Marvel. He says he’s pigeon-holed as the “Golden Age” guy. Rather than wondering where Airboy was at this time, I was too busy feeling guilty that perhaps I was part of the audience that contributed to James’ professional problems.

And when the story revealed where Airboy had been, I was more surprised that a comic book hero, already depicted as rigidly proper and straight, had participated in a sex act in a public restroom. At that point, his partner and her genitals seemed like the least startling element.

When I read about the controversy later, I felt terrible. Some people said they felt threatened. Others complained that the transgendered characters weren’t even characters. A few called for a boycott. A few demanded the scene be expunged from the trade paperback.

I went and re-read the story. I still didn’t get it. The transgendered characters aren’t developed, but neither is any other person in the story but our three leads. The bartender is there to serve drinks. The drug dealers are there to deal drugs. James’ then-wife, Jann, is there to show what James is pissing away. The point of view of the story is deliberately myopic.

To his credit, Robinson apologized. It’s a nice apology, heartfelt and contrite and gracious. He explains what he was trying to do, but he doesn’t try to weasel out of the hurt that he caused.

So, help me out here, members and allies of the LGBTQ community. What am I not seeing? I get that it’s thoughtless, but hurtful?

It seems to me that the solution is not to (only) bitch about this particular story (which every reader should do when so moved), but to enable more people to tell more different stories. A comic book medium with more transgendered writers and artists telling the stories they want to tell would lessen the impact of this particular comic book.

In the meantime, I’m grateful that my crush on James never came to anything. Clearly, I would have disappointed him.

 

Doctor Who Series 9 To Premiere September 19

In a continuing torrent of news and excitement from a regional comic convention on the west coast, BBC America announced the premiere date of series nine of Doctor Who – September 19th.

Having filmed in Cardiff since January, Peter Capaldi said:

“Soaring through all of time and space, series nine sees the Doctor throw himself into life with a new hunger for adventure. The Cosmos is there for the taking, thrilling, epic and enticing, and his to play in. But he’s almost reckless in his abandon. It’s almost like he’s running from something, something that if it ever catches him will turn his life upside down.”

Michelle Gomez will return as Missy, the latest incarnation of The Master, in the season’s two-part premiere The Magician’s Assistant / The Witch’s Familiar. Highlights of the series so far revealed include the return of Kate Stewart, U.N.I.T., Osgood, and the Zygons, an episode featuring Vikings in space, a city of Daleks, and a new race of mercenaries known as The Mire.

Mark Gatiss returns to writing for the series, as well as new contributors including Sarah Dollard and Catherine Tregenna.

New Die Hard Collection Comes in Nakatomi Plaza Package

unnamed (1)LOS ANGELES, Calif. (July 8, 2015) – Ever wanted to scale Nakatomi Plaza with John McClane, just like in the first Die Hard? On October 13, fans can do just that with the NAKATOMI PLAZA: DIE HARD COLLECTION! Featuring all five of the franchise’s action-packed films in a replica of the legendary Los Angeles tower, this limited edition collection is McClane-approved and like nothing you’ve ever seen before, making it the perfect gift for action and Die Hard fans everywhere.

Every limited-edition set comes with all five films on both Blu-ray™ and Digital HD as well as an explosive hour-long featurette that celebrates this iconic franchise with filmmakers and talent interviews. The Nakatomi Plaza also honors Hans Gruber and the vanquished villains from the series with collectible cards only found in the box set. And if that wasn’t enough, check out the 32-Page, behind-the-scenes book on all the secrets of the movies that even the most die-hard fans may not even know!

NAKATOMI PLAZA: DIE HARD COLLECTION FEATURES:

Blu-ray & Digital HD Versions

Die Hard
Die Hard 2: Die Harder
Die Hard: With A Vengeance
Live Free or Die Hard (includes Unrated Version)
A Good Day to Die Hard (includes Unrated Version)
Blu-ray Bonus Disc: “Decoding Die Hard”
5 Exclusive Villain Collectible Cards
32-Page Behind-The-Scenes Booklet on the Franchise

Tweeks: SDCC 2015

Greetings from San Diego Comic Con 2015!  Last night we attended Preview Night and Maddy thinks this is going to be the best Con ever (and as you’ll see, we have quite a history at SDCC).  We will be documenting the next four days full of interviews and panels and shopping on Twitter, Facebook & Periscope, so make sure to follow us. But until then, here’s our vlog where we eat animal cookies & talk about our most anticipate panels and what you can do here in town if you weren’t lucky enough to get a badge.  There’s actually a lot of great fun free stuff happening in the Gaslamp, like a Tumblr Welcome To Night Vale meetup, a Snoopy & Belle boutique, an X-Men fan screening and free breakfasts courtesy of Impractical Jokers.

Lego Unveils Doctor Who Playset

After numerous teases and sneak peeks, Lego released the official video for the Doctor Who playset for their contribution to the “Toys to Life” video game category, Lego Dimensions.

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It’s happening! Oh my God it’s happening!

In addition to the interaction with the starter set characters of Batman, Gandalf and Wyldstyle, the trailer features a tantalizing crossover with fellow Doctor Emmett Brown and the town of Hill Valley from Back to the Future. With the Daleks, the Cybermen and a few other friends at the end, the best advice for watching this video is…don’t blink.

At San Diego Comic Con, an event with the cast of the show revealed that not only will Peter Capaldi lend his voice to the game, but Jenna Coleman will appear as Clara and Michelle Gomez as The Master.  The playset as shown in previous photos features The Doctor, the TARDIS, and Baker-era companion K-9. No product information has been shared concerning physical figures of Clara or Missy, though Dalek and Cyberman figures will be made available as a Fun Pack, currently scheduled for January.

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Of all the properties appearing in Lego Dimensions, none more than Doctor has the potential to feature additional figures and playsets.  So far only the three-figure Dimensions set has been announced, and along with Portal, will be featuring a stand-alone playset through their Lego Ideas line.   An article at Gamespot.com reveals a staggering amount of screenshots and potential gameplay, suggesting that there may be more game available than first expected.

Lego Dimensions will be released on September 27.

Dennis O’Neil: The Grand Old Flags

captain-confederacyIt’s certainly flaggy out there, isn’t it. Flags in the news and flags in the environment.

That’s business as usual at this time of year, of course. The Fourth of July – time to celebrate our nation’s birthday and the way many of us do that is to stick what some call “Old Glory” onto porches and poles, if we can find them.

Then there’s that other flag, the one that’s been in the news. Call it the “Stars and Bars” and you can probably find someone who’ll nod in agreement. But that flag isn’t so much going up as coming down. It’s partisans say that although old S&B merely celebrates the south’s heritage and traditions, nobody can deny that the thing is the battle flag of an army that sought to overthrow the federal government and preserve the institution of slavery. Heap on all the genteel verbal niceties in your repertoire and you still won’t obliterate that nasty slavery business.

But isn’t the First Amendment the crown jewel of our national documentation and doesn’t it guarantee freedom of speech and isn’t flying the flag of my preference an exercise of that freedom? What happened in Georgia – that mass murderer perpetuated by a racist who presumably has no problem with slavery and posed for a photo with old S&B… sure, that was terrible, some would say, but remember freedom of speech! You can’t make me take down my flag!

There really isn’t a big problem here. I can’t, and would not, insist you strike the Stars and Bars that flies on your property, even though I despise its meaning. But flying it on state property is another matter. The conflation of flag and government has to mean that the government approves of what the flag stands for, that it represents national ideals, and the Stars and Bars was created to signify an approval of slavery.

As for Old Glory…if you’re in uniform, you’d better salute it. There might be an officer watching. Treat that flag with reverence, mister!

Or don’t. I never quite understood flag worship. When I was a nipper, I learned (from the Boy Scouts?) that the flag should be accorded almost as much reverence as we proffered to the consecrated host at Mass. There were rules about when it was to be raised and lowered, how it should be folded – and never, never should it be allowed to touch the ground, any more than the host would be accorded such indignity. I don’t think wearing a Scout uniform obligated one to salute Old Glory. But I dunno..better safe than sorry?

What about superheroes? Do they have to salute? Their work clothes are sometimes called “uniforms,” after all. But no. Those aren’t uniforms. “Uniform,” after all, means a style of dress worn so members of an organization – usually a military or law-enforcing group – can identify one another and the status of the wearer within that group. Although there are exceptions, most superhero suits are unique, intended to signify the also unique individuals wearing them.

As for those exceptions: do you really think you wouldn’t be able to tell Superman from Supergirl because they sported similar threads? Or the Thing from the Human Torch?

No, those aren’t superhero uniforms. They’re costumes. Really different things. On behalf of English majors everywhere, I implore you to get it right.

Still, if you’re a superdoer and you happen to be passing a flag…better safe than sorry?

 

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Comics Reviews (July 8th, 2015)

First of all, these reviews are now being cross-posted to ComicMix, which means I should possibly introduce myself for the people who just clicked on a link there and found themselves here. So, hi everyone. I’m Phil Sandifer, this is my blog. It’s a geek media blog, running a history of British comics called The Last War in Albion on Fridays, a rotating feature (currently a Game of Thrones blog, switching over to an occultism-tinged take on the Super Nintendo in a few weeks) on Mondays, and occasional other features, currently including weekly reviews of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. It’s also got the archives of TARDIS Eruditorum, a sprawling history of Doctor Who. And, obviously, on Wednesday, new comics reviews.

We keep the lights on here via a Patreon , and if you enjoy the site, I ask that you consider kicking a dollar a week my way.

Reviews tend not to involve giving a letter or number grade to things, but instead ranking them relative to each other. So these, as with every week, are ordered from the worst to the best, with the caveat that I paid my own money for all of them, whether out of an expectation of quality or out of the bleak pathology that is comics fandom. Except that’s a lie this week, which we’ll get to. But first:

The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #2

The problem – which was present in the first issue, but largely overshadowed by the sheer energy of the thing, is that this book gives every sign of trying to have it both ways. It’s unabashedly aimed at the still-vocal chunk of comics fandom who appreciated that our version (and yes, I just gave away my allegiances) of Spider-Man was married; who thought that was an interesting way to set the comics version of a pop culture icon apart from all the others. But it’s also seeming to set up a critique of the structure, being based on how having a family necessitates reconceptualizing Peter as the sort of person who says, “that’s what daddies do. We do anything to keep our families safe. ANYTHING.” And who then has nightmares about the awful things he’s done already. As I said, in the first issue of this things moved fast enough that you could avoid dwelling on this contradiction. Here… they don’t, resulting in the unsatisfying spectacle of a comic that’s primarily about the tension of whether or not it’s going to be an insult to the readers it’s marketed to.

Archie #1

I got an advance review copy of this, and it was not purchased. I might have picked it up, especially given that this was a light week, but we’ll never truly know.

In any case, it’s pretty good, but unable to escape the gravity of its own futility. Which is to say that, quite aside from any ethical issues about the relationship between Archie Comics, the direct market, and crowdfunding, let’s not forget the fact that the abandoned Kickstarter for these Archie books was never going to meet goal. Which is to say that, culturally, we do not give a shit about Archie right now. He’s an archetypal example of the popular culture icon famous for being famous. Nobody actually likes Archie.

So here we have Mark Waid and Fiona Staples writing a comic that’s trying desperately to change that. It’s a good team. Staples is a great artist, as Saga proves, and she does well here. It’s going to be very depressing when her three issues are done and whoever replaces her suddenly whitewashes Riverdale. Waid writes a competent high school romance. But… at the end of the day, you’re still stuck with a property defined by the fact that it established many of the cliches of its genre many, many decades ago, as opposed to by the fact that anyone has come up with anything interesting to say about it today.

Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor #14

I admit, I’ve not been thrilled with the arc on this book since ServeYouInc was defeated. The lack of a villain leaves it feeling a bit directionless. Here the plot meanders through some sort of inchoate cosmic crisis, with the emotional heft coming from the idea of the TARDIS getting mad and abandoning the Doctor, deeming him “unworthy.”

Sadly, one does not expect Matt Smith to regenerate into a woman in response to being deemed unworthy. The final page cliffhanger is interesting, but one doubts the licensing will let Titan actually explore its implications in a meaningful way, so the result is a sort of reversion to the mean for Doctor Who comics, as opposed to the sort of thing that has in the past made this an extraordinary run of them.

Saga #30

I actually followed what happened in this issue, which is a pleasant change from my usual “wait, who are all these people that aren’t Marko, Alana, and their daughter again” reaction to this comic. The ends of arcs tend to do that with Saga for me – it gets flabby in the middle sections, but any time the narration kicks up I tend to be pretty happy with it. So basically, a rare case of Vaughn not writing for the trade.

Injection #3

It’s increasingly clear that Injection is one of those periodic Warren Ellis comics that amount to him creating a narrative container for dumping his current cultural and intellectual obsessions into. These are often a bit narratively messy, and this is no exception; Ellis is being willfully leisurely introducing his cast (this is the first point there’s any sort of roll call, such that I now want to dig up #1 and #2 with an eye towards actually knowing who these people are), and most of them are just standard Ellis characters anyway. And, of course, Ellis has now released most of the underlying ideas here as an ebook collection of his recent lectures.

Doesn’t matter. Warren Ellis in a philosophical mood is just one of those things that always works in comics. And this is a prime example.

Providence #2

The methodical slow burn of this continues, with the supernatural finally making its first decisive interjection (and note the way the panel layout shifts as Robert goes underground). This is very much a late career Alan Moore masterpiece, long on allusion and philosophical digression, requiring an hour or so of Googling to fully appreciate, and with a lengthy text piece to boot. Which is good. I mean, this is actually a comic one will plausibly get its cover price ($4.99) worth of value from, which is more than you can say for anything else on the list this week. If nothing else, it’s a comic where Lovecraftian horror is a metaphor for being gay and also for horrifying and impossible caverns beneath the earth full of unfathomable monsters.

Originally published on PhilipSandifer.com.

Iron Giant gets Dusted Off, Gains New Scenes for Theatrical Run

 

The_Iron_GiantThere is a ton of coming out this week now that Comic-Con International is here. But this news release has us very, very excited considering this underrated animated classic is getting a chance to enchant a new generation of viewers.

 

Burbank, CA, July 8, 2015 – Warner Bros. Pictures is proud to announce that the animated action adventure The Iron Giant will be re-released this fall, remastered and enhanced with two all-new scenes as The Iron Giant: Signature Edition.  It will be released in theaters for a limited engagement through Fathom Events.  The Iron Giant: Signature Edition arrives to theaters for a special event screening on Wednesday, September 30 at 7:00 p.m. local time, with an encore event in select markets on Sunday, October 4 at 12:00 p.m. local time.

The ticket on-sale date and theater locations for The Iron Giant: Signature Edition will be announced this August online atwww.FathomEvents.com. The event will be presented in select movie theaters around the country through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network.

When The Iron Giant arrived in theaters, it was hailed as an “instant classic” (Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal).  “Imagine E.T.as a towering metal man, that’s the appeal of this enchanting animated feature” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times).  And the world soon learned another “giant” had arrived as well: filmmaker Brad Bird, who made his stunning directorial debut with this film and has gone on to win two Oscars, as well as worldwide acclaim for his work on both animated and live-action features.

Winner of nine Annie Awards, The Iron Giant is the tale of an unlikely friendship between a rebellious boy named Hogarth (voiced by Eli Marienthal) and a giant robot, voiced by a then little-known actor named Vin Diesel.  The voice cast also included Jennifer Aniston and Harry Connick Jr.

The film was produced by Allison Abbate and Des McAnuff from a screenplay written by Tim McCanlies.  Adapted from poet Ted Hughes’ book, The Iron Man, The Iron Giant was first released in the summer of 1999 by Warner Bros.

Following the re-release of the film in theaters, a high-definition version of The Iron Giant: Signature Edition will be available to purchase from digital retailers in the fall of 2015.

Molly Jackson: Bummed Out

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The San Diego Comic Con starts today, and I couldn’t be happier that it will all be over soon. For the past month all I’ve been getting are emails inviting me to events, panels or to get exclusives at the world’s big geek event. And guess what? I’ll be stuck at home, not attending any of them.

It’s a bummer to see all the amazing things happening without me. Yes, the entire event is covered completely on the web. Any big announcement or reveal is up for the world to see in a matter of seconds. Even so, being there in the center of things is a much different story.

I’ve been to SDCC a few times, and each time has been a remarkable experience. While, yes, I do get to go to NYCC (now the largest comic con in the US) each year, it just isn’t the same. San Diego literally becomes the convention hall. Outside the con, you are still completely surrounded by geeks day and night. Going to this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to being one of the cool kids at spring break. The experience of attending SDCC is unlike anything else.

It’s not just about the 24/7 party. As I have written before, I see people at cons that I never see at any other time. Friends who that I might only see at cons or chat with online on occasion. And every year, I always seem to meet someone new.  I could spend the whole con just booth hopping from one to another, chatting it up with the staff and fans and have a grand time.

Starting today, throughout the country (or maybe even the world) Not At Comic Con events will be happening. I am not the only bummed out fan. These events are just a shadow of the craziness that ensues at SDCC but still a great way to get some quality geek time.

So here I’ll be, bummed out and stuck in humid NYC. At least I will have plenty of time to clear out my inbox. And, just maybe, next year I’ll be back in San Diego.

 

Mike Gold: Buying Comic Books

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For most of those of you who are lucky enough to have grown up near a comic book store, you may be unfamiliar with those hallowed days when we had to go to our local drug store, candy shop), grocery store, and/or newsstand to get our four-color fix.

Right there among the legitimate journals, next to the “men’s sweat” magazines that cover-featured well-dressed Gestapo agents torturing hapless well-endowed American women who somehow got caught up in the war effort, beside the farm magazines and the science monthlies and the news weeklies, awaited our favorite comic book characters ripe for the plucking. We didn’t have fanzines, let alone the Internet, to tell us what was coming out each week. New titles and new characters simply appeared at one or another outlet – no one place had them all – and that element of surprise was vital to our bouillabaisse of comic book entertainment.

Each Saturday my friends and I would hike down Devon Avenue from Kedzie to Western Avenue on Chicago’s north side, stopping at seven or eight different stores that met our needs. Mind you, some of us – most certainly yours truly – had already gone to as many as three different drug stores located nearer to our school. Oh, sure, we did lots of other things kids did back then, like lag baseball cards and scarf down Vienna hot dogs and mock the adult passersby and wise off to the police who seemed to hate us kids (I wonder why?). But that part of our itinerary varied from week to week. The constant was gawking at all those comic book racks.

Afterward we would go to one of our sundry abodes to read our stash, often sharing purchases with one another. Then we would discuss what we read. I remember when my best friend declared he did not think my favorite artist, Joe Kubert, actually knew how to draw. Another in our group declared he was uninterested in the embryonic Marvel Comics line because they were all written by the same guy. “If Stan Lee got hit by a truck,” my pal surmised, “they’d be up shit’s creek.”

Well, I certainly would have been. Fantastic Four #1 came out right when I turned 11 and I was just beginning to tire, just a little bit, of DC’s domination of the superhero genre. Marvel’s continuous growth stoked my interest in the medium.

As Flo and Eddie informed us, before too long those sing-along days were lost to us forever. Contrary to the popular belief of the time, it wasn’t television that really killed comic book sales. It was the slow death of all those mom’n’pop stores as families bought cars, moved out to the suburbs, and shopped in malls and chain stores where the profit margin on a ten or twelve-cent comic book was way too thin to justify retail floor space. Comic books that had been selling a half million or more copies drifted downward to maybe 100,000, and then even lower. Sell-through percentages spiraled down from 70% or more to 40% or less.

Cast-off from the growingly elitist science-fiction fandom, comics fans got organized. Comic book stores started popping up and the wondrous Phil Seuling cut deals with the publishers to get their wares directly into those comics shops. Phil saved our beloved medium’s ass.

The sad by-product of this was if you didn’t live near one of those comics shops, you were out of luck. The average age of the average reader went up as you pretty much had to have access to a car to get to a direct sales store… assuming there actually was one within driving distance. For most… no soap.

It was a deal with the devil but the comic book remains alive in America. Unfortunately, those kids today who live within walking distance of that one-mile stretch of Devon Avenue have exactly zero places to buy comic books and those other three drug stores are all out of business.

Life changes for better and for worse. But it was really fun to be surrounded by all those newsstands.

 

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