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Dennis O’Neil: Rituals

flag-banner-6170462Our hearts are going out and it was a terrible tragedy and we’ll remember those innocent victims in our prayers and maybe a politician or two will make propaganda out of it but that’s what politicians do and did I mention prayers and anyway we won’t be bothered about it for long and it’ll be forgotten until the next one…

There are reasons we have rituals. They help us bond as a community – whatever that community happens to be – and they offer us comfort when we encounter the horrifying. In the earliest of human civilizations, rituals had survival value, helping people  cooperate and giving them the courage we needed to slog through another day, and maybe the our rituals still have some of that value. But I think we’ve begun to adapt them to another use that may not be beneficial. We’re going through our motions so we feel we’ve done something and that relieves us of the obligation to do more, to act meaningfully.

Here in the United States, there have been over a dozen mass shootings in the last six years.

No other advanced nation has this problem.

I could go on, but I won’t.

 

Comics Reviews (June 24, 2015)

From worst to best of what I paid for.

4430991-1-e-is_for_extinction_sw-9857252E is for Extinction #1

You can’t go home again, and certainly can’t by just hiring some Grant Morrison collaborators and hoping for the best. Perfectly adequate, I guess, if all you want is nostalgia. But you know what’s better? The Grant Morrison run on New X-Men.

Crossed Badlands #79 (aka Homo Tortor #5)

Not a bad comic, to be clear, but one that’s spinning its wheels a bit. There’s no new concepts to introduce, it would seem, but plot to resolve before the end, resulting in an issue that’s functional. I suspect coming out at the same time as the other “Crossed in a different time period” book is not doing Gillen any favors here, not least because the other one is written by Alan Moore. Really, one kind of has to pity Gillen; he must have assumed, starting his career when he did, that “having your book come out alongside an Alan Moore book with which it is inevitably going to be compared” was a fate he’d be spared.

Batgirl #41

Competent, fun, but man, Convergence killed the momentum here. I like the dynamic introduced for Batgirl by Gordon becoming Batman, though. That should be a fun story. And the scene where Gordon reveals his double identity to his daughter is delightful. Basically, a book I look forward to being excited about again.

Daredevil #16

Waid makes a slick turn into his final arc, setting up a suitably epic Daredevil/Kingpin showdown that doesn’t feel like any we’ve seen before. I admit, I’ve not sat down and watched the Netflix series, but I really do hope that Waid’s approach here reinvigorates the character in the long-term and gets him away from the banal and repetitive noir take that he’s been stuck in for decades.

Where Monsters Dwell #2

Garth Ennis at his hilarious best. This is not a complex or subtle comic, just a very funny one with lots of monsters and a ruthlessly mocked protagonist. The final twist caused the sort of intensive laughter that gets you weird looks at Starbucks.

Loki: Agent of Asgard #15

Pleasantly, this is increasingly obviously just ignoring the actual Secret Wars aspects of the plot and just sort of doing a side Norse apocalypse in which they react to Hickman’s. Verity’s life story is delightful in a classic Al Ewing way, and the cliffhanger’s solid. Going to enjoy the final lap here, I think.

The Infinity Gauntlet #2

Very glad I forgot to drop this, as this is absolutely wonderful now that it’s successfully trained the audience in how to read it. Ridiculously inaccurate cover, or, at least, one that ignores what most of the comic is. But family Nova Corps is a brilliant take. Is Zigzag the best new character of 2015? I think she is.

Annihilator #6

This frustrated me through much of its run, and I suspect that Morrison could have made it work better in four issues than six, but no matter; the finale is a triumph. LA noir bleeds into epic science fiction and a meditation on the craft of writing in the way that only Grant Morrison can do it. Funny, touching, exciting, and full of very pretty Frazer Irving art. Delightful, delightful issue.

Originally published on PhilipSandifer.com.

Molly Jackson: Still Shiny

serenity-2653737Being a geek can be hard. We all hear the stories about being bullied as a geek. We all have our favorites. Mine was when my boss at the time was asking me if I cosplay. When I said yes, she responded “So, you’re like a furry?” It was my facepalm moment for that day. (But I still love to tell that story.)

So, when an opportunity arises to just be me with a group of accepting geeks (not all geeks are), I jump at the chance. For the past few years, I’ve been a member of Browncoats of NYC. Yes, Browncoats as in Firefly/Serenity fans. It doesn’t matter that it has been over a decade, I still love that show.

I also love the people that are part of Browncoats. They are accepting of everyone, no matter what. We all love different and random things but our Firefly fandom brought us together in the best possible way. We sit around and argue about anything and everything geeky, with no repercussions. A good time is had by all. And these Browncoats have become great friends for anyone to have.

Every year, we hold a Can’t Stop The Serenity fundraiser to raise money for Equality Now. This event honors fans getting Serenity made after the show was cancelled and Joss Whedon, the man who created this universe for us. Think of it as a big Firefly love fest, but with toy revolvers and donations. Our NYC event was this past weekend, and as always, was a fantastic time. It was the 10th anniversary of these events, so we had many staffers from Equality Now join us, which meant we could share our passion with more and more people. When the event was all over, I left with the feeling of joy because I spent the day hanging out with awesome people doing something we all loved.

Go check out the Can’t Stop The Serenity global page. You might find an event happening locally and you should check it out. You’ll meet a fine bunch of ruebens who may change your life for the better.

Mike Gold: A Simple Twist Of Fate

Doctor Fate 1

For the past several weeks my friend and comrade Paul Levitz has taken to the so-called social media to promote his brand-new comic book, Doctor Fate.

Of course, this is his right and more power to him. But I don’t recall Paul doing so much promotion for his work during a writing career that goes back to when he was a small child. Now that he’s well into being a small adult, I’m taking this effort as a sign of his pride and enthusiasm for his latest project. I would have read this book anyway as the lead character has long been a favorite, but I really wanted to see why he’s so enthusiastic this time around and so the book took the top position on my week’s reading pile.

Doctor Fate 2Doctor Fate #1 is capped by an interesting and unusual mosaic-pattern cover, drawn by interior artist Sonny Liew in DC’s newer, looser style. If the idea of the cover being drawn by the interior artist confuses you, there’s a variant cover available if you can wrestle it from your retailer. I stared at it for a while, found the hidden bunny rabbit head, and moved inside.

The story is a continuation from the Sneak Peak giveaway made available last month, although if you haven’t read that and you’re not interested in reading it on DC’s website, that’s cool. The story makes perfect sense without it. It is properly apocalyptic, with Anubis, the jackal-headed Egyptian Lord of Dead with the Greek name, preparing his own personal sequel to the big wet Noah Event. Only one young Brooklynite of Egyptian heritage can save the day – or so we presume; it’s a continued story and not a mini-series – and he wants no part of it. He’s about to start pre-med classes and he’s got a girl friend or something. But… dare I say it… Fate has other plans.

I’ll admit I was disappointed that they fussed with the traditional Doctor Fate costume. This did not come as a surprise as I actually pay some attention to the New New Fifty-Two as I eagerly await the inevitable Newer Still New New Fifty-Two reboot. But, who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky and we’ll see some sort of return of what I find to be one of the most interesting and distinctive superhero costumes of the past 75 years. Right now, we get the helmet – to be sure – and the amulet, which seems to have been stolen straight out of Tony Stark’s chest. Not to worry; Tony’s got plenty more.

Paul is one of those writers who carefully plots out the inter-relationship of each story element. This is what made him a superlative Legion of Super-Heroes scribe, a trait he shared with his predecessor, Jim Shooter. It’s clear that he put a lot of effort into this story: damn near every I is dotted, every T is crossed, and the tale is properly nuanced – not an easy trick in a story that, otherwise, could suffer from originitis. To me, it seems Paul is playing to the strengths of his collaborator, the aforementioned Sonny Liew.

Liew has a fluidity of style that makes the story move at a brisk pace. A veteran of Vertigo and Marvel and sundry indy projects, I am told the two met at a toy fair in Singapore. Sonny went to school there. He also went to school in Cambridge, England and Providence, Rhode Island. He’s quite the bon vivant. He’s also one of the best storytellers I’ve seen in a decade.

Doctor Fate #1 places the oft-revived hero on the top shelf of current mainstream superhero comics, right where, my inner fanboy screams, he belongs. I hope DC waits a long, long while before the next reboot.

 

Emily S. Whitten: Heroes Con From Afar

PhoenixEven though I get to go to a lot of fun conventions, I can’t make them all. One that I particularly hate to miss, because I’ve been before and know how great it is, is Heroes Con. Like the Baltimore Comic Con, Heroes Con retains a strong focus on the comics creation part of a comic con; including by holding a great art auction every year.

The auction features amazing, quality work from the pros who attend, and I had a blast when I went a previous year, both for the atmosphere (they keep the auction moving with a fun, energetic pace) and because seeing so many quality originals by artists I love hanging in one place was super-cool. A lot of the artists create, or at least finish work on, their pieces during the con; and of course they’re also generally doing commissions throughout the con while hanging out at their tables in Artists Alley. I love walking through a con like Heroes Con and seeing the amazing things these talented artists can produce in a loud, chaotic exhibition hall amongst crowds of people with just the art supplies they brought with them.

Although of course I wish I could have experienced Heroes Con first hand this year, at least thanks to Twitter I was able to see some of the fun art auction pieces and commissions that have come out of the weekend. Today, I’d like to share some of my favorites. So here we go!

DeadpoolTwo favorite con pieces I saw in the Twittersphere were the work of Skottie Young. Skottie’s style appeals to me for possibly the same reason it logically shouldn’t; where so many artists’ work has a finished, polished look to it, Skottie’s art has deliberately rough edges and lines. Done badly, this might make the work ugly; but done well, this style makes his art stand out; and despite the roughness, it’s somehow still playful. This really adds to the feeling of creepy pieces like this one of Death, who looks both pretty scary and like maybe he’s appreciating a private joke in between reaping souls. I love it.

But I won’t lie, my favorite works of Skottie’s are his adorable baby comics characters. Which I know is really shocking – me, liking cute things? Cute things that retain a slightly snarky edge? Nevahhh! I like the baby superheroes so much that I even made a clay version of the Deadpool one. So that’s probably why Skottie’s baby Spider-Gwen, done for the Heroes Con art auction, makes me so happy. Lookit iiiiiit!! It’s darling.

Of course, Skottie’s not nearly the only artist who was posting fun art on Twitter. One of my consistent favorite artists, Reilly Brown, posted a great Disapproving Colossus. I always love the expressions and attitudes of Reilly’s characters, and this one’s no different: in Colossus’ Russia, art disapproves of you! (I feel like this needs to be a meme.) Disapproving Colossus makes me happy.

Speaking of disapproving, Chrissie Zullo’s Scarecrow clearly disapproves of all of us. He is disappointed in our niceness, and is probably thinking up ways to kill us in our sleep. Beware!

Ryan Lee had a couple of cool pieces I encountered. This one for the art auction, of Hellboy “charging into a demon with reckless abandon” is great; and I am absolutely in love with this Rocket Raccoon and Groot. The energetic plunging-into-the-fray that is Groot! That joyful face of destructive glee on Rocket! I want this.

Comics artists are used to team-ups (both in the stories and in creating them!) and sometimes they’re super-awesome. This Super pair done by Babs Tarr and Joe Quinones is one of those times. There’s a lot of life in this piece, despite it not being an “action” pose. Nice!

In a completely different vein, Francesco Francavilla, king of pulp and retro style, posted this great Ghost Rider; and his Swamp Thing is a thing (pun intended?) of intricate, twisty beauty (beauty being relative when we’re talking about Swamp Thing, but still).

And again in a different turn of style, we’ve got Jamie Cosley’s small and menacing but also cute Darth Vader. He’s got big cute eyes and little guy swagger – you can almost hear him thinking, “Look at me and my light saber. Oh yeah! I’m so cool.” Bless.

I already know well that Sanford Greene is a talented guy, so I’m always happy to see what he’s working on. I liked his Batgirl from this weekend, for her expressive face and the great shading. And also that moon. It’s just cool.

Speaking of cool, Deadpool is always cool (always!), and this Deadpool piece by Shawn Crystal and Brian Reber is totally rad (that’s like, old-school cool). Deadpool is definitely about to take all of us out. I love the attitude and action.

One great thing about cons is that I encounter the work of artists I’m not already overly familiar with, and then I often become a fan. On Saturday, Christian Ward’s Silver Surfer caught my eye, and his other work is pretty great as well. This piece is eye-catching for the attitude of the Surfer (I get a kind of proud/defiant/determined vibe off of it) and the colors and space-y feel.

I also like seeing more from folks whose work I’ve seen in passing before. This Jean Grey/Dark Phoenix piece by Dan Govar and Tony Moy is an excellent reminder of why I need to seek out more of their work. I love the concept and the execution. Stellar!

And finally, both because the work is marvelous and the plan for it was way more than 12% awesome, I adore this Guardians of the Galaxy joint effort from Ryan Stegman, Mike Rooth, Ryan Browne, Skottie Young, and Dave Marquez. It looks like whoever commissioned it had everyone add a character to the mix, and the result is amazing! I’m very jealous.

I’m also sure there were many other amazing pieces which I didn’t happen to see; but at least I (and now you!) got to share in some of the fun thanks to the posts. That’s the good part of social media like Twitter.

So until next time, feel free to say hi (or send me links to more cool art) on The Twitters, and Servo Lectio!

 

James Horner: 1953-2015

ap1203271472741-4311146The two-time Oscar winner, 61, worked on three James Cameron films, two ‘Star Trek’ movies and classics like ‘A Beautiful Mind,’ ‘Field of Dreams’ and ‘Apollo 13.’James Horner, the consummate film composer known for his heart-tugging scores for Field of Dreams, Braveheart and Titanic, for which he won two Academy Awards, died Monday in a plane crash near Santa Barbara. He was 61.

Source: James Horner Dead: ‘Titanic’ Composer Killed in Plane Crash – Hollywood Reporter – The Hollywood Reporter

At ComicMix, we’ve always been fond of his work on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but we absolutely loved his pure Americana score for one of the greatest comic book movie adaptations, The Rocketeer.

Our condolences to his family, friends, and fans.

The Point Radio: Aaron Ashmore Could Use The Force

Aaron Ashmore joins us to start our coverage of the new SyFy series, KILLJOYS and to talk about his wish for a role in STAR WARS. Then THE TODAY SHOW’s Tamron Hall talks about the third season of her series, DEADLINE:CRIME on Investigation Discovery.

 ComicCon is coming! Follow us on Twitter now here.

Mindy Newell: Gaiman, Luthor and Trump, Oh My!

lex luthor trump

 “But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before, and we will make America great again. Because I don’t need anybody’s money. It’s nice. I don’t need anybody’s money. I’m using my own money. I’m not using lobbyists, I’m not using donors. I don’t care. I’m really rich.”

Who said that?

This being ComicMix, and you being a comics fan, I wouldn’t be surprised if you said it was Superman’s arch-enemy, Lex Luthor.

This being ComicMix, and you being a comics reader, I wouldn’t be surprised if you picked up on the interesting concept of life imitating art as you witnessed Barak Obama’s arch-enemy, Donald Trump, announce his candidacy for the office of the President of the United States on Tuesday, June 16, 2015.

Yesterday, out for a stroll with Alix, Jeff, and little Meyer, we browsed an outdoor celebration of Jersey City’s multi-cultural milieu, which included a terrific, mesmerizing, head-nodding, toe-tapping “Bollywood” dance performance by a professional Indian theatre group. What would “the Donald” say about that? Oh, wait, they weren’t Mexicans, so I guess they’re okay.

Anyway, continuing our stroll, we went to Jersey City’s greatest (and only) independent bookstore, The Word. While browsing the shelves, I picked up Neil Gaiman’s – and please don’t tell me that I have to remind you who Neil Gaiman is, this being ComicMix and you being a comics reader – new collection of short stories, Trigger Warnings: Short Fictions and Disturbances. Here’s some of what the New York Times had to say about it (and about Neil):

“One of the most enjoyable pieces of writing in Trigger Warning, which assembles a range of previously published material from the past seven or eight years, along with a new story that revisits the world of Gaiman’s best-selling novel American Gods, is the author’s introduction, delivered in the chatty, generous and digressive style familiar to readers of his blog. He supplies contextual anecdotes for every story or poem in the book, apologizes (unnecessarily) for its inherent shagginess and lack of thematic clarity, and expends rather too much effort explicating his title, a puckish reference to the Internet-spawned notion that all potentially provocative material should be flagged in advance, lest it engage latent trauma in its audience.

“I wonder, are fictions safe places?” Gaiman writes. “And then I ask myself, should they be safe places?” He means to suggest that his fiction may indeed prove disturbing and that we’re on our own, but that last part isn’t quite true. We have a guide. In practice, Gaiman’s writing answers the introduction’s questions both in the negative and in the affirmative. In his fictional worlds, reality is frequently subject to disturbing or hilarious slippage: A moonlight stroll in search of a defunct local attraction shifts without warning into a Shirley Jackson-style murderous ritual (“A Lunar Labyrinth”); a talkative woman in a small-town pub turns out to be a spectral jilted lover with a gruesome secret to reveal (in ‘Black Dog,’ a new adventure of Shadow Moon, the hero of American Gods); a teenage girl’s addiction to tanning lotion may result in the creation of a shimmering orange entity known as ‘Her Immanence,’ or to her sister as ‘the Great Oompa-Loompa.’ (That story, ‘Orange,’ is skillfully constructed as a litany of unsatisfying answers to official questions.)

One of the things I love about Neil is that he embraces his own fan sensibility and geekhood; Trigger Warning not only includes the afore-mentioned Oompa-Loopa, but also stories featuring Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who.

I was also amused – well, I’m not sure if “amused” is the right word, unless it’s used in the ironic sense – to find G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Aphona’s Ms. Marvel series in the “Graphic Novels/Comics” section of the bookstore. I couldn’t help wondering if Kamala Khan, who lives in Jersey City, sometimes comes into The Word. (Um, that’s the “ironically amused” part.)

And I also couldn’t help wondering if “the Donald” would be okay with her. But she’s not a Mexican, so I guess he would be.

Wait a minute, she’s Muslim!

Just like President Barak Obama. Right, Donny?

 

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