Tagged: Justice League

Interview: Grant Morrison on ‘Final Crisis’ and ‘Doctor Who’

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  • April 29, 2008

grantmorrisoncomic-3297974As I wandered around the press gathering at the New York Legend Award ceremony for Stan Lee, I saw a familiar face — a face I first saw in an issue of Animal Man many years ago.

It was, of course, Grant Morrison, who is currently wowing folks in All Star Superman and weirding them out in Batman.

Known for cosmic-scale work in such titles as The Invisibles and various stories during his run on JLA, Morrison seemed the perfect choice to handle DC’s upcoming crossover mega-event, Final Crisis.

I spoke with Morrison about the influences and potential ramifications of Final Crisis, as well as his future as one of the primary architects in the DC Universe. We also chatted a bit about another series that has us excited: the reinvigorated hit BBC science-fiction classic, Doctor Who.

COMICMIX: First of all, you have to settle a bet for me, Grant. In the weekly series 52, the villain called "The Ten-Eyed Man" was re-introduced for the first time since Crisis on Infinite Earths, except now it was a whole cult of ten-eyed warriors who were very creepy and seemed to be mystical and demonic. That revamp had to be your idea, right?

GRANT MORRISON: Yes, yes it was.

CMix: I knew it! I said, "That is pure Morrison!"

GM: Wait ’til you meet "The Nine-Eyed Man" in Batman. He’s a renegade who cut off one of his fingers and is crazy now.

CMix: That’s just so weird, I love it.

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The Weekly Haul: Reviews for April 24, 2008

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  • April 24, 2008

This week in comics was all over the map, a schizophrenic jumble of thrills, idiocy, fun and pulp. The good books were great, and the bad ones were terrible. At the very least, it was entertaining from start to finish.

micetemplar-1-7644301Book of the Week: The Mice Templar #4 — After the third issue of this series came out a couple months back, I wrote that while it was a good read, I was still waiting for the story to diverge from the rote fantasy plot. Writer Bryan J.L. Glass sent me a note saying just wait for issue #4, when things take a big turn.

Sure enough, the latest issue marks the point when The Mice Templar went from good to great. This isn’t just a fantasy tale featuring mice, it’s an intricately detailed epic and one of the best stories on comics shelves today.

In issue #4, Karic and Pilot continue their journey, with Karic showing both his potential as a great Templar and his youthful uncertainty. As they go along, Glass draws readers deeper into the massive mythos he has created, a back story that is mysterious but not confused. The issue ends with a too-good-to-spoil moment of "nothing will ever be the same." My only complaint is having to wait two months for the next issue.

Lastly, Mike Oeming’s art on this series improves with every issue, and it started out strong. He manages to make scenes of fighting mice into tense, dramatic moments, and his watercolor work in the concluding pages expands on the perceptions of what comic book art can be.

The Runners Up:

The Mighty Avengers #12 — Those of us who bailed out on the end of the horrifically delayed Secret War finally have an answer to the question of "Where the hell did Nick Fury go?" In this potboiler of an issue, Brian Michael Bendis diverges from the boring Mighty team to trace Fury’s movements while in exile, starting with the one-eyed wonder finding out about the Skrull infiltration.

From there, a paranoid Fury pushes forward as covertly as possible, investigating anyone and everyone to determine who the Skrulls are. The issue ends with an exhausted and uncertain Fury standing before a wall of photos of heroes, some marked as Skrulls. The issue follows in tone the great Gene Hackman thriller The Conversation, and is perhaps the best Secret Invasion lead-in yet.

Fall of Cthulhu #11 — This Lovecraftian tale from BOOM! Studios has been up and down over the first storylines, but the latest (The Gray Man) starts off like a perfect blend of Lovecraft’s stories and an old issue from EC Comics. A mysterious girl — you know trouble’s brewing when her nickname is Lucifer — is pulled into a sheriff’s office, and the authorities struggle to figure out how she’s connected to all the recent trouble in Arkham.

Michael Alan Nelson’s script work because he perfectly sets up the sheriff and his deputies in the role of the unknowing everymen who’ve stumbled into some ugliness far beyond their comprehension. This is a genuinely creepy book.

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ComicMix Six: The Worst Superhero Names in Comics

whizzer31-9999669You know you’ve talked about it with your friends. "Mr. Fantastic? He’s got, like, 17 doctorates… Shouldn’t he be ‘Doctor Fantastic’ by now?" And let’s not forget "Captain Marvel, Junior." Captain Marvel’s not his father. What gives? And what’s the deal with that Golden Age aquatic hero who called himself "The Fin?"

No matter how much we love comics, there are some superhero aliases we just can’t get behind. So we did our best to compile some of the worst superhero names in existence.

By the way, members of the Legion of Super-Heroes have been omitted from the list, because… well, it’s just too easy to pick on Matter-Eater Lad and Bouncing Boy.

 

6. KID MIRACLEMAN: In the U.K., he was originally called "Kid Marvelman." That doesn’t change the fact that it’s a lame name. Why?

KID MiracleMAN.

You can use the word "kid" in your name or you can use the word "man," but you can’t use both! With the power of contradiction comes great responsibility!

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Happy Birthday: John Ostrander

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  • April 20, 2008

Born in 1949, ComicMix creator/columnist John Ostrander loved comics from early on but initially followed a different love: religion. Raised Roman Catholic, Ostrander wanted to become a priest and attended a year of seminary before deciding it wasn’t right for him. Instead he turned to acting.

Ostrander was part of a Chicago theater company in the early ’80s, and in addition to acting he co-wrote a play called Bloody Bess with William J. Norris. ComicMix Editor-in-Chief Mike Gold was starting First Comics at the time and had seen and liked the play—he knew Ostrander was a big comics fan and invited him to try his hand at writing comics. Ostrander wrote several stories for First’s Warp series before creating the character of GrimJack.

By the time First Comics closed in 1991, Ostrander was working for other comic companies as well, and he continued to do so. He has written The Spectre, Firestorm, Justice League of America, and Wasteland for DC, X-Men, Heroes for Hire, and The Punisher for Marvel, Lady Death for Chaos!, Eternal Warrior for Valiant, Star Wars: Republic for Dark Horse, and many many others. Ostrander has also written audio plays and short stories, and he currently writes for ComicMix, producing both a regular column and new issues of  GrimJack and Munden’s Bar.

‘Mortal Kombat Versus DC Universe’ A Reality?

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  • April 18, 2008

There were rumors back in Fall 2007 that the next Mortal Kombat game would pit the Kombatants against superheroes from the DC Universe, but they were quickly scoffed at and ignored.

After all, how could these two universes possibly come together? Would DC really allow Scorpion to rip Batman’s head off? Foolishness!

Well, all those people look like the fools now. Mortal Kombat Online has gotten wind that Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is a reality.

The Mortal Kombat series is good at violence but poor when it comes to the comic book universe (see Malibu’s Mortal Kombat comics). On the flip side, the DC superheroes are great at comics and poor when it comes to fighting games (see Justice League Task Force on the 16-bit consoles). Can these two great tastes combine and taste great together?

Not many details about the title are known at the moment. Future details (and an official confirmation from Midway) may be forthcoming on developer Ed Boon’s website, Noob.com.

 

(via Joystiq)

DC’s Killing Fields, by Mike Gold

  • News
  • April 14, 2008

chp-9129134How many times can you run a stunt into the ground in one month before you just look like you’re totally bereft of originality? DC Comics’ June, 2008 solicitations, as published in Diamond Distributing’s Previews catalog, offers no less than six phony death and/or resurrection stunts.

Gotham Underground #9 asks the musical question “Will Penguin pay the ultimate price?” Well, who cares? If he’s dead, he’ll get better. Death has no sting in the DC universe.

Batman #678 is the third part of their “Batman R.I.P.” arc. “Is it truly the end for one of the world’s finest heroes?” the solicitation asks.  Forgive me, but how many times have the sundry world’s finest heroes R’ed in P? Hell, I’ll bet if you ask them they would have wanted to stay dead at least a bit longer in order to get some rest in peace. I should add Robin #165 to this list as it ties in to Batman #678 and has Robin holding a dead-looking Batman on the cover. Maybe – probably – the old buzzard isn’t dead. The fact is, it doesn’t matter.

Booster Gold #10: “Someone from his past must live and someone must die!” My wife informs me (happily) that Ted (Blue Beetle the Second) has already been resurrected. The death – if it actually happens – well, again, who cares? If it was somebody important, he/she/it wouldn’t be killed off in Booster Gold. Unless the stunt has grown so lame that DC is willing to bury it in a title such as this.

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The Weekly Haul: Reviews for the Week of April 10

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  • April 11, 2008

A good range of comics this week in style, but there wasn’t too much substance, and a surprising dearth of Skrulls, what with Skrullapalooza going on (Thanks for that one, Brian!) Still, some interesting books, so let’s discuss.

lk-3-jp-5100892Book of the Week: Locke & Key #3 — In Hollywood, this century so far has been dominated by horror films, an endless line of creepy or violent flicks that closely imitate either The Ring or Saw. It would be easy to look at a project like Locke & Key, which is published by horror house IDW and written by Stephen King’s son, and think it’s just another creative property hopping on the horror bandwagon.

Writer Joe Hill is crafting a very distinctive story, though, and one that’s made strong by the characters. In each issue so far, Hill has mostly featured one of the three children whose father was murdered by a teenage psychopath. This issue it’s the daughter, Kinsey, and the bulk of the story is a completely convincing look at how she struggles to fit in as "the girl whose dad got killed."

The little side moments then are used to further develop the supernatural mystery of the family’s home – Keyhouse – and to bring the villain back into the picture, as the murderous and insane Lesser makes his bloody escape from lockup. No surprise then that the series has already been optioned for a movie.

Runners Up:

Nova #12 — This series is lightyears ahead of every other outerspace series right now, and every issue can be counted on for epic battle, a thoughtful plot and some cool interstellar weirdness. This time it’s Richard finally besting the Phalanx infection, only to end up in a too-big fight with a Technarc (a giant alien robot from Warlock’s family tree).

A special credit goes to the art team of Paul Letterier and Rick Magyar, who manage to make the robot aliens believable and expressive, no easy task. Now, if only the conclusion to this story was actually in this series, not Annihilation: Conquest.

Batman: Death Mask #1 — I have something of a painful secret to admit. I don’t read manga. I just can’t get into it, no matter what I try. I really hate to admit then that it took a manga version of Batman to hook me. But aside from some introductory pages that rehash Batman’s history (I’m assuming for readers who like manga and not Batman), Yoshinori Natsume’s American comics debut is a strong one.

The questions raised of Batman’s true identity (whether he’s Bruce Wayne or Batman) are nothing new, but the deeper story of Batman’s history in Japan and the mask-wearing, face-cutting-off villain are set up quite well in this first issue.

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ComicMix Six: Why Marvel’s ‘Secret Wars’ Was Better Than ‘Civil War’

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  • April 9, 2008

 

[EDITOR’S NOTE: In last week’s edition of ComicMix Six, we told you why the Skrulls’ "Secret Invasion" probably isn’t worth losing sleep over, given our list of the worst moments in Skrull invasion history. This week, we’re playing in the sandbox of big events yet again, with a list of reasons why Marvel’s recent  Civil War event doesn’t stack up against one of its popular predecessors, the 1984 series Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars. -RM]

Just over a year ago, Marvel shook up their universe with Civil War, a series-spanning event wherein the U.S. government decided, after a tragic accident involving super-powered heroes and villains, that anyone with superhuman powers would be required to register and become official federal operatives. Costumed crime-fighters picked sides, Marvel picked a slogan ("Whose Side Are You On?"), Spider-Man unmasked, and Iron Man’s pro-registration camp hunted down the anti-registration crowd led by Captain America. In the end, Cap tearfully surrendered, only to be "killed" for his troubles a few issues later.

Throughout the series’ seven issue (and countless tie-ins), the Merry Marvel Marketing team hailed Civil War as the most mind-blowing storyline since, well… ever.

Here at ComicMix, we’re not quite sure we agree. After re-reading Civil War and comparing it to one of the first epic Marvel crossover events, the ’80s action-fest Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, there’s a good argument to be made for the superiority of the earlier project.

Oh, and remember, what’s being discussed here is the 12-issue Secret Wars series, published by Marvel in 1984 (and featuring the first appearance of Spider-Man’s famous black costume), not to be confused with Secret War, the 2004-2005 five-issue series written by Brian Bendis.

Got it? Good. Now let’s begin…

6. REMEMBERING THE LESSONS ‘SESAME STREET’ TAUGHT THEM: In Civil War, heroes who fought alongside each other for years decide that the best way to debate the merits of a new law is to spy on one another and brawl at each and every opportunity. In Secret Wars, heroes who don’t necessarily trust each other decide that, despite their differences, teamwork and cooperation will improve their situation.

Sure, Spider-Man had a skirmish with the X-Men and the Hulk was shouting at everyone, but they still came together in the end. Wolverine and Captain America shared a heart-to-heart, and the heroes even accepted Magneto’s help, knowing that the greater good was more important than issues of mistrust.

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Happy Birthday: Sargon the Sorcerer

sargon_the_sorcerer1-1849177

John Sargent became fascinated with magic at an early age—and also gained fearsome powers. This was thanks to his discovery that his mother’s old ruby pendant actually contained the ancient artifact called the Ruby of Life, which let him control anything he touched.

As he grew older, Sargent focused his attention on stage magic in particular, eventually developing his own stage act as "Sargon the Sorcerer." Most of his “tricks” were real magic, however, and off-stage Sargent battled evil for real, eventually becoming an honorary member of the Justice League of America.

Unfortunately, possessing the Ruby of Life affected Sargent’s mind, and he temporarily became a villain. He later shook off that change, but died valiantly aiding Zatara, the Swamp Thing and others fending off a powerful evil.

‘Justice League’ Film Delayed Again

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  • April 9, 2008

ComicMix previously reported that the Justice League film currently in production was having a few problems with tax breaks in Australia. Alas, the combined might of superheroes is no match for the tax system and the production of the film will have to move elsewhere.

Previously, Canada was cited as the likely destination of the film. However, now New Zealand is being floated as a possible candidate. Not only is it closer to Australia than Canada is, but special effects studio Weta Workshop is located there. Weta is responsible for designing the costumes for the film.

The film already has actors cast and a script ready, but the the inability to find a suitable location for filming could prevent Justice League from ever taking off. If the SAG ends up striking, it could be the final nail in the coffin for this troubled production.

 (via Comic Book Movie)

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