Tagged: Superman

More Characters Confirmed For ‘Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe’ Videogame

  • News
  • June 26, 2008

Comic and videogame fans have long speculated who’s going to be in the Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe videogame coming later this year. The only confirmed superheroes have been Superman and Batman. Now add the Flash to that list, as PlayStation: The Official Magazine subscribers got the news first when the latest issue arrived in their mailboxes.

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Mortal Kombat head honcho Ed Boon followed up with an interview over at Gamespot.com. He discusses fan reactions from the comics and games factions, teases the lineup, and reveals that DC villains will indeed perform the infamous fatalities from the series — but not the heroes. Heroes never kill… except Hal Jordan. He was possesed by the Parallax Fear Anomoly, so what’s Liu Kang’s excuse?

Comic Book Market Farces, by John Ostrander

  • News
  • June 26, 2008

How’s this for a concept of a superhero? A guy who is strong, can leap maybe a mile but doesn’t fly, and only a bursting cannon shell can puncture his skin. He is on the outs with the government, the local representatives of whom may be corrupt. He’s on the side of the “little guy” who otherwise may not have a chance against the Big Interests. He dangles neer-do-wells by one foot high in the air and threatens to drop them unless they co-operate – and he laughs while he’s doing it. The guy may be more than a little crazy.

Like the sound of this guy? Readers during the Depression did when they first started reading Superman. You ever go back and read those initial stories? In one, Superman decides that one slum area of the city needs urban renewal, which, of course, the city is disinclined to do. Superman then provokes the army who tries to drop bombs on him. He rushes in and out of abandoned tenements and the bombs level those buildings instead. The army fails to capture Superman and the tenements are leveled. The city now has to rebuild public housing, given the attention on the area.

That Superman today would be labeled a terrorist.

Or how about Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner over at Marvel when it was called Timely Comics. He was at war with the surface dwellers – us – and, in one story, deliberately flooded the Hudson Tunnel into New York. The tunnel is shown full of cars and there is no doubt in my mind everyone in them drowned. (more…)

Happy Birthday: William Woolfolk

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  • June 25, 2008

Born on Long Island, New York in 1917, William “Bill” Woolfolk once claimed that he didn’t create many comic book characters but he did coin many of their most famous lines.

He was responsible for Captain Marvel’s exclamation of “Holy Moley!”, among other well-known lines.

Woolfolk started writing comic books in the early 1940s after he graduated from New York University. His first jobs were with Will Eisner and Jerry Iger’s company but he also wrote for Police Comics, DC (Superman and Batman), Timely (Sub-Mariner and Captain America), and Fawcett (Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., and Bulletman).

When Eisner went off to fight in World War II in 1942, Woolfolk and Manley Wade Wellman took over writing The Spirit. Woolfolk also served as chief scriptwriter for the 1961-65 courtroom drama The Defenders and wrote more than a dozen novels, including the 1968 bestseller The Beautiful Couple.

Woolfolk won many awards over the years, including a Scribner for short-story writing in 1940, two Emmy nominations for The Defenders, and an Inkpot in 2002. He died in 2003.

 

Happy Birthday: Clark Kent

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  • June 25, 2008

On June 18 (pre-Crisis version), a tiny spaceship crashed in a field outside Smallville, Kansas. Jonathan and Martha Kent happened by and discovered the spaceship—and its black-haired, blue-eyed infant occupant.

They took the baby in and decided to raise him as their own. One week later, on June 25, the adoption was made official and “Clark Kent” was born.

The last son of Krypton would keep that name, and his humble mortal identity, even after he grew up and came into his full powers as the Man of Steel, the mighty Superman.

 

iPhone: Your New Comic Shop?

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  • June 22, 2008

iphone3g-8536299Ever since the Apple iPhone’s debut, tech-minded comic fans discussed it as the ideal platform to read comics in the 21st century. When your friends talk about it, it’s utopia dreaming. When the suits talk about it — especially if they can make money — it’s a step closer to becoming reality.

A recent Reuters story detailed how the downloadable cell phone comic business could explode in Japan when the Apple iPhone debuts there for the first time on July 11th. Manga have caused the mobile publication market to double in the last year to a $204 million business. The iPhone would allow for even more natural reading of comic pages, with a large screen, the ability to zoom on different panels, and turn pages. The latest version of the iPhone will be cheaper, faster, and most importantly, include 3G technology for faster Internet connections. With an emerging business model already in place and ideal technology being introduced, a “perfect storm” for cell comics could emerge.

If cell phone comics become successful overseas, expect American comics to follow the trend. With print publishing continually under pressure, don’t be surprised if the big four comic publishers in the U.S. start meeting with Apple (if they’re not already) to have digital comics offered in the App Store.

Superman on your iPhone might even make reading comics chic.

Review: This Week in ‘Trinity’ – Part 3

trinity3-6010381It’s time we talked about Kurt Busiek.

He’s the brain behind this weekly operation and, in case you’re new to comics, he’s one hell of a writer. And there’s one particular quality that sets him apart.

His comics matter.

I don’t mean this in the sense that he does event comics (although Trinity certainly qualifies as such). What distinguishes a Kurt Busiek comic book has always been that he immediately instills the material with a sense of importance.

His big projects, like Marvels and Astro City, are perfect examples, but even in his post-Infinite Crisis take on Aquaman Busiek quickly remade that book into one that had to be read, and had to be taken seriously.

I say all this because, for a few reasons, I don’t get that sense from Trinity. So far, DC’s latest weekly series does not feel important. So far, it doesn’t matter. 

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The Weekly Haul: Reviews for June 19, 2008

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  • June 19, 2008

Let’s get this out of the way up front: Not a great week for comics. A few good eggs, but a whole lot of blah hit the shelves this week. So it goes.

In other news, I’ll be in Charlotte at Heroes Con this weekend, so if you make it there, give me a shout. Or, if you’re the creator of one of the books I just called "blah," you can punch me in the face.

Book of the Week: RASL #2 — As usual, the only complaint with Jeff Smith is that he and deadlines are like oil and fire. And yes, oil and fire is worse than oil and water. Trust me.

This issue was supposed to come out last month, but it’s here now and it’s a dandy of an issue. I’m a fan of Bone and Shazam!, but without pause I’d call RASL his best work yet.

The dimension-hopping lead’s troubles continue as he learns an organization of some sort has caught onto his little exploits and is in hot pursuit. Smith throws in a lot of sci fi, but with his unwavering command of the medium he never lets the story out of noir territory.

This is the most serious and adult story Smith has done, which is certainly of note, but I find more interesting his experimentations with story structure. He’s pushing himself to new levels, and we get to enjoy the ride (stop-and-go as it is).

Runner Up:

X-Factor #32 — This issue doesn’t have that usual snap-crackle-and-pop of Peter David’s dialogues and monologues, but that’s by design as we see the fallout of Arcade’s near-complete destruction of Mutant Town.

It’s one big exhalation of an issue, with Madrox crumbling mentally (as ever) and the team rallying (sort of). David uses the moment to make a big paradigm shift with the team and the series, set up brilliantly with a series of reverses involving government stooge Val Cooper.

Really, though, the big draw is David’s intro update on his family. Those always kill me. Someone pay him to write a third person memoir, please!

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Review: This Week in ‘Trinity’ – Part 2

Two weeks down, and things are already heating up in DC’s weekly series Trinity.

We left off last week with [[[Superman]]], [[[Wonder Woman]]] and [[[Batman]]] all under the gun from mysterious forces: A dwarf solar system appears in Metropolis, giant robots attack Washington D.C., and Gotham… becomes Olde Timey?

The main point of interest is the nature of the attacks, and the way in which each hero handles the threat. Superman saves civilians and acts tactically. Batman wills Gotham back to normal by refusing the vision. And Wonder Woman smacks the crap out of some robots.

Based on what we’ve seen so far, the central notion of this series lies in exploring the identity of these three main heroes (in the first issue, this came up in how each saw variations of the same dream). Clark is a protector, Diana is a fighter and Bruce is…

So far, writer Kurt Busiek is leaving that one open, as the bizarre transformation of Gotham could imply a lot of things about Batman. It’s also interesting that Bruce is the only one of the three to remark on the strangeness around him.

Why would Busiek only hang a lampshade with Batman? Maybe it has to do with him being the lone human of the Trinity, and thus a stand in for readers. Food for thought.

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Interview: Geoff Johns on the Return of Brainiac in Action Comics

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  • June 11, 2008

action-comics-866-200-8349182Writer Geoff Johns is best known for re-imagining some of the most beloved heroes in the history of the DCU.

With his work on such books as Infinite Crisis, 52, Green Lantern, Booster Gold, Teen Titans and Justice Society Of America, Johns has “re-booted” some of DC’s most beloved classic heroes, including Hal Jordan, Booster Gold, Power Girl, The Teen Titans and The JSA.

But Johns’ ability to restore characters to their original glory does not stop with DC’s greatest heroes. No, he has left his mark on the villains as well, creating and revamping some of the scariest villains in DC’s arsenal. From his work on The Sinestro Corps War, and his run on The Flash he has placed Sinestro, Superboy-Prime, Cyborg Superman and The Rogue’s Gallery of The Flash back atop DC’s roster of its most dangerous bad guys.

Now Johns is reintroducing the most evil super computer of all, Brainiac, in the pages of Action Comics. Along with artist Gary Frank, the new arc, entitled “Brainiac” begins in Action Comics #866, in stores today.

First appearing in Action Comics #242 as a bald, green-skinned humanoid, Brainiac is the machine responsible for destroying Krypton and shrinking the city of Kandor down to bottle size. This five-issue arc will attempt to reintroduce the character who is arguably one of Superman’s most dangerous enemies back into the DCU.  

I had a chance to speak to Geoff Johns about the new arc in Action Comics and the experience of working with his mentor, Richard Donner.

COMICMIX: For starters, tell us about the upcoming “Brainiac” arc in Action Comics. What can fans of the book expect?

GEOFF JOHNS: Gary (Frank) and I are reintroducing Brainiac. The character has been around for a while now but he’s kind of been in a lot of different forms. Our goal was to create a villain that represents… well, we actually say it in one of the issues. For us, Luthor represents the worst of humanity and Brainiac, for us, will represent the worst in extraterrestrials. So we’re building off that. We want to introduce a Brainiac who is frightening, powerful and a little bit mysterious. We also wanted him to be very unsettling, very alien and feel different then the other adversaries that Superman has. The idea is to make Brainiac one of the villains that Superman dreads when he has to face him, rather than just another slot in a long line of villains. I think our first issue has a real creepy vibe to it and Gary did a really great design on him.

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Yes We Can…by Michael Davis

Yes We Can… unless we are stupid.

I’m always amazed at just how stupid, petty and small-minded some people can be. Remember the onslaught of bad press and savage criticism Barack Obama had to deal with because of Jeremiah Wright? The millions of TV news stories, the billions of You Tube hits, and the zillion chat room comments? Jeremiah Wright’s antics almost torpedoed Barack Obama’s shot at the Presidency. Rev. Wright’s sermons were broadcast recently but they were old sermons that someone found and put out for the entire world to see long after they were first spoken.

The furor had all but gone away making Rev. Wright’s recent TV news tour the worst possible moment for him to defend himself with regards to the Senator.

The title of Senator Obama’s book was The Audacity Of Hope. The Rev. Wright gave that title to the Senator. I hear that the Rev. Wright is writing a book; you think the title will be The Audacity Of A Dope?

Nah.

Rev. Wright has not made any other comments lately. I would like to think that he realized that there is something bigger out there than his attempt to get his side of the story out. I know a few people who know the man and from what I hear he’s a real decent and very smart guy. But we all have moments of bad judgment and I’m sure that was all it was, a bad judgment call. As I said we have all had those moments. I have had a few… thousand. (more…)

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