Tagged: Wonder Woman

The Many Lives of Supergirl

  • News
  • October 1, 2008

supergirl-35-5013179There’s been a lot of confusion about Supergirl recently. Since her re-introduction by Jeph Loeb in the pages of Superman/Batman, she has had a few conflicting stories concerning her nature and origins. And even then, she (and readers) had to deal with the fact that she wasn’t the first to bear that name. Today, Supergirl #34 was released, featuring the new creative team of writer by Sterling Gates and artist Jamal Igle, who promised they would start a new, interesting direction with the character, clearly establishing who she is and what she’s all about.

People, listen to me. The hype is true. This issue is a fantastic jumping-on point. It is written in a way that if you have never read a Supergirl comic before, you will understand what’s going on and who is up to what. There is a small blurb on the title page explaining that Kara Zor-El is Superman’s teenage cousin who came to Earth and tries to fight for "truth, justice and the Kryptonian way." There is an editor’s foot-note by Matt Idleson telling you exactly when this issue takes place in relation to Supergirl’s appearances in other comics (God bless you, Matt).

And for anyone who hasn’t been reading the comic so far, there are quick conversations characters that bring you up to speed on Kara Zor-El and how, ever since she arrived on Earth not too long ago, she has been making a lot of mistakes and stumbling in her journey to become a hero worthy of the legacy of her cousin Superman. To compliment the impressive writing, Jamal Igle’s art, as always, is clean, pretty and very emotive. You completely understand what’s going through the character’s heads even if you don’t look at the dialogue.

If you have any interest in the character or are curious about a young, fun girl with powers, this issue is a must-read. You even get to learn some Kryptonian insults!

Next month, Supergirl #35 is supposed to recap the basic origin of Supergirl, just to clear up things for anyone who’s still confusing her with the previous incarnations who were running around. As Gates said recently at the Baltimore Comic-Con, "Supergirl should be simple. She’s Superman’s cousin. Boom."

But I know you readers out there are curious about past continuity. Some of you remember a Supergirl who wore a t-shirt and mini-skirt or a Supergirl who had wings of fire and claimed to be an angel. And you’re thinking, "Hey, Jack! What’s the deal here?"

Well, look no further, faithful readers! At ComicMix, we enjoy indulging such questions. So, in the same vein of my Road to a Crisis article, I present to you a rundown of the various Supergirls who have graced the DC Universe. Please note, I will be dealing with the Supergirl characters who actually stayed on through multiple stories. I will not be going into detail about how one time Jimmy Olsen wished a Supergirl into existence, etc. (more…)

Official Roster Announced for MK vs DC

  • News
  • September 30, 2008

943567_20080820_screen007-8040276On the heels of last week’s big release of LEGO Batman: The Videogame, Midway has announced the final characters for their newest game; Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. The story takes place after the two franchises collide during a universal "crisis" (probably not the same one). Now fanboys (and fangirls) can finally their aggression on the Justice League like it’s their job. Here’s the complete list:

      DC Comics Universe:

  •  Batman
  • Superman
  • Catwoman
  • Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
  • Shazam (Captain Marvel, not wizard)
  • The Flash (Barry Allen)
  • Deathstroke
  • Wonder Woman
  • The Joker
  • Lex Luthor
  • Darkseid

      Mortal Kombat:

  • Scorpion
  • Sub-Zero
  • Sonya
  • Jax
  • Shang Tsung
  • Liu Kang
  • Raiden
  • Kitana
  • Kano
  • Baraka
  • Shao Kahn

The game is currently slated for a November release on the PS3 and XBox 360, and for the real gaming fans, you can see a complete list of achievements to unlock here On the page, there is reference to a character only called "JF". No word on who this can be, possibly another cameo? You decide.

 

 

Everything I Need To Know About Politics I Learned From Superman, by Martha Thomases

  • News
  • September 20, 2008

For the last few weeks, most ComicMix columnists have been writing about politics. I can understand how you, Constant Reader, who came here to read about comics and movies and games, might think this is self-indulgently off-topic. Most of us have an intense interest in politics, and we think this is the most important election in a long time. People’s lives are at stake. But I can understand you frustration.

And then I had an epiphany. Not only did I grow up in a household where we discussed politics over the dinner table (and walking the dog, and taking in the dry-cleaning), but even more important, I gained my political perspective from Superman. The goals, strategies and tactics I discovered reading comics shaped my view of the world. Here’s what I know:

• You never know what you’ve got until it’s gone, whether that’s the planet Krypton or the ozone layer.

• Solar power makes you stronger.

• Drilling for oil in the ocean can upset the homes of your dearest friends, including your first love.

• Billionaire industrialists should not be trusted with positions of power. At best, they are obsessive loners with a mission to avenge their parents. At worst, they try to take over the world and destroy you and everything you believe in. (more…)

‘Blackest Night’ stealing ‘Final Crisis’ thunder? by Alan Kistler

  • News
  • September 8, 2008

flash-three-generations-7506952

The major event in DC Comics in 2008 is Final Crisis, written by Grant Morrison. Unlike many summer crossovers, Final Crisis is not its own event so much as the third story of a trilogy (the first two stories being the crossovers The Crisis On Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis).

The opening premise is that all of the New Gods (celestial beings who inhabit a higher dimension) recently seemed to die, except for Darkseid, leader of the evil New Gods. Darkseid has found a way to survive through human hosts, his power fueled by the faith of his new followers under the prophet Libra. Determined to become ruler of reality, he has been resurrecting his sinister forces (an ability Kirby established decades ago) by placing their life-forces in new bodies as well. And since he has now learned the powerful "Anti-Life Equation", a prize he has sought for centuries, he is able to destroy free will in any who hear the equation, thus creating a new army of slaves.

So evil god-like forces have been freely walking among us and because the super-heroes didn’t realize it, they’ve been vulnerable to sneak attacks and manipulations. In short order, John Stewart, Hal Jordan, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman were all removed from the game board in one way or another.

But this is a Morrison story so that means there are usually layers to be peeled away. There are other things going on as a result of Darkseid now attempting to break the universe down to serve his will. There is, of course, the matter of the Multiversal Monitors, beings charged with maintaining the structure of the multiverse, one of whom is also living among us as a mortal man, unaware of his true nature. And there is the return of Barry Allen, the second Flash, a hero who became energy and merged with the universe even while saving it during the first Crisis over twenty years ago. Barry’s sacrifice saved the universe during that story and in DC Universe #0, it’s implied that the universe itself has brought him back so that he can save it again. It’s also possible he is here as a reactionary force to Libra, who is his opposite number in the sense that this a villain who also seemingly died years while merging with the cosmos.

And Libra and Barry are not the only dead men to show up in this story.

  (more…)

What’s Wrong With Wonder Woman, by Mike Gold

  • News
  • September 8, 2008

ww-1-3961715In this space on Friday and Saturday, my esteemed colleagues Mr. Davis and Ms. Thomases waxed on about the political situation of the day. Whereas there is no more important issue facing us as Americans in this moment in time (and it has considerable impact on non-Americans as well), I will not follow in their wake this week. I’m sure I will in the future.

Instead, I’m going to take a point central to their themes, and those expressed to a somewhat lesser extent by Ms. Riggs last week, and talk about comic books. Specifically, about Wonder Woman.

Since I’m in a name-dropping kind of mood, I should point out that my comments have been heavily influenced by recent conversations with Ms. Adriane Nash, a frequent commenter here at ComicMix, as well as our new editorial proofreader (for those items that come in early enough to be proofread…). And, oh yeah, she’s my savvy and opinionated daughter.

So what’s wrong with Wonder Woman? Positioning. Not unlike what many people think the McCain campaign did by selecting a fundamentalist book burner as their vice presidential candidate, under the theory that women are so stupid they’ll simply vote for one of their own no matter what her position is on the issues. You know, just like the conservatives.

Ahem. Sorry. Back to comics.

Back in the 1940s, Wonder Woman was fabulously successful. She had as much exposure as any DC/AA hero (but not as much as, say, the real Captain Marvel). She had her own title, she starred in a monthly anthology book, she starred in a regularly published giant-sized star-studded superhero thing, and she briefly had her own newspaper strip. All she was lacking was a cheap movie serial.

By the time the 70s rolled around, DC had a hard time giving Wonder Woman away. As of this date, she’s undergone more revisions, reboots (one, quite literally, brought her original boots back), reinterpretations, and make-overs than Madonna. What happened?

(more…)

normal-greenlantern-render-00-7075831

“Mortal Kombat vs. DCU” Adds Wonder Woman and Deathstroke

  • News
  • August 22, 2008

normal-greenlantern-render-00-7075831JK Parkin over at Blog@ reports that Midway Games has released the identities of two more characters in the upcoming Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe videogame: Wonder Woman and Deathstroke the Terminator. A preliminary rendering of Wonder Woman is available on the site, as well as a rendering of Green Lantern (seen here) and a series of screencaps from the game featuring Green Lantern in battle, as well as other DC characters (including Joker, Superman and Catwoman).

The announcement was made at the Leipzig Games Convention, and along with the DC characters, Midway also announced the return of Mortal Kombat characters Raiden and Kano in the new iteration. The game is scheduled for release this fall. 

Watching the Train Wreck of “Final Crisis”

  • News
  • August 21, 2008

9672_400x600-4073908I may as well just get this out of the way up front: in my opinion, Final Crisis #3 is one of the worst comic books I’ve ever read.

Coming into this event season, I had high hopes for DC to regain some of the Infinite Crisis magic, but after three issues (sorry for the delay, but I was away from comic shops and the Internet) the latest and likely not last Crisis has clearly entered the realm of train wreck.

And yet many comics critics posted some largely favorable reviews. "I can’t wait to see what happens next!" said one not atypical reviewer.

Throughout many reviews, the critics looked at writer Grant Morrison’s approach of stringing together flashes of disparate stories into making a larger narrative and praised how new and challenging it is. There didn’t seem to be a single bizarre element he used that couldn’t elicit a glowing remark.

When reading those comments, I immediately recalled this quite-good essay by B.R. Myers on The Atlantic Monthly Web site. Writing about contemporary literary fiction, Myers complains that today’s writers have become obsessed with style at the expense of substance.

We are supposed to have entered a golden age for fiction, he writes, and yet readers don’t pick up literary fiction en masse, or much at all. Myers offers a simple explanation: the books are all self-absorbed fluff, and the nuts and bolts of telling a story have been left by the wayside.

Which brings us back to Final Crisis.

(more…)

Final Crisis and the Supergirl Cover Critique

  • News
  • August 18, 2008

Over at The Beat, Heidi MacDonald ignited quite the debate (to the tune of more than 50 comments, last I checked) when she posted a cover image from the third issue of Final Crisis, featuring a midriff-and-miniskirt Supergirl looking very uncertain about something, and headlined "Math is hard."

The post has prompted readers to weigh in on everything from Barbie dolls and Olympic uniforms to what the popularity of the post might mean for the industry and its fans. In fact, there’s all sorts of meta-analysis going on over there, folks — so if that’s your thing, hop on over and check it out.

Here are some of my favorite comments from the thread, though:

stan p. Says:

hey Beat—do you really find this cover problematic as opposed to, say, the grotesquely ultra-violent KICK ASS, which you promote below with none of your snark? just curious how this works with you…

Kate Willaert Says:

“not half as hard as superheroing with an exposed midriff.”

I’d say, not half as hard as superheroing in a skirt, when one of your main powers is flight. ;-)

Lea Hernandez Says:

Will you guys be quiet? Can’t you see the nice girl is ordering pizza using Wonder Woman’s invisible phone? She’ll never decide on a crust with all the racket around here.

Head over to The Beat to add your own thoughts to the discussion… IF YOU DARE!

Movie-Style Trailer for DC Comics’ Trinity

Imagine if comic books had trailers like movies and TV shows to build up buzz and get mainstream audiences excited. Now imagine no more! DC Comics released a movie-style trailer for the new weekly comic Trinity. Starring Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, the series is being written by Kurt Busiek and drawn by Mark Bagley. Check out the video for yourself below.

 

Video: Trinity Animation

New Gods Breakdown: An Illustrated Guide to Jack Kirby’s Creations

  • News
  • August 4, 2008

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Back in June, comic book historian Alan Kistler provided ComicMix readers with a Countdown Breakdown, an illustrated guide to the 52-part event that preceded the Final Crisis storyline currently unfolding in the DC Universe. This feature was so popular that we convinced him to flex his creative muscles once again, and provide an analysis of one of the key groups of characters receiving the spotlight in Final Crisis: the Jack Kirby-created New Gods. Where do they fit in and what should you know ng-kistler_new_god_breakdown-6890502about them in order to understand Final Crisis? Read on and find out! -RM]

Well, readers, some of you have no doubt been checking out DC’s crossover Final Crisis. Personally, I’ve been enjoying the heck out of it. But I can understand that some of it might not have as much impact if you’re relatively new to the DC Universe.

For instance, a major part of the crossover revolves around those Jack Kirby creations known as the "New Gods of the Fourth World."

So who are these New Gods? How are they related to the Greek gods who speak to Wonder Woman on a regular basis? What do they have to do with that powerful giant called Gog who’s been appearing in the pages of Justice Society of America? Why does Darkseid say he’s from the “Fourth World,” whereas Gog claims he’s from the “Third World?"

Well, look no further, faithful fans! ComixMix is here to oblige! So, because you folks requested it after seeing our illustrated Countdown Breakdown, here are the New Gods in a nutshell:

(more…)

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