DCnu - Detective Comics #1 from DC's New 52

Here's a review I never would have thought I'd be writing. Detective Comics #1.

Tony S. Daniel handled both writing and pencil duties on this one. And Tony S. Daniel has a great feel for the Batman. And the Joker.

Daniel's Batman comes off as hyper-competent, but yet not the "BatGod" you sometimes see people complain about, who has a contingency for everything, and can never be surprised.

He does his homework, is in peak human condition, is smart and quick, but can still make mistakes. This is Batman the way I like to read him.

Daniel's Joker is... well... crazy, for one. But brilliant. And physically, he may not be Batman's equal, but his unpredictability still makes him dangerous. He is nearly impossible to track down, also due to his brilliance and unpredictability.

The first confrontation between the two in the DCnU was excellent. The pacing of the story and the action were spot on. Daniel gave us some insight into Batman's character (protecting the innocent is more important than punishing the guilty), showed us some of his relationship with Alfred and with Jim Gordon, and used narration boxes to show us how Batman's mind works.

In fact, it is interesting to compare and contrast these with Batgirl and Batwing, also both out in the first week. Batgirl thinks about more - there are more words, and definitely more doubt and questions in her internal monologue. Batwing, on the other had is more telling the story of what has happened. Part of that is necessity - while all of these are #1's, Batwing is the only truly new title. And it is set somewhere that most readers are not familiar with, with different customs and cultural mores. His narration helps those who don't know anything about where he is from understand a little better.

There is no uncertainty in Batman's narration. Even when he does err, he just vows "Never again. Never. Again." and moves on. No self-doubt. Only acknowledgement that he missed something and moving on. Batman is the confident, competent character he should be. And seeing him at a point where much of the police force is actively hunting him is fun.

And the ending of this book... well... let's just say, I am very curious to know what is going to be happening next. Several of the books this week have had real cliffhanger endings, and in most cases, it is accomplishing exactly what it is supposed to. I'll definitely be picking up the next issue of Detective Comics.

Oh, and our Lady in Red from Flashpoint #5? She shows up here as well, at the bottom of page 15 of the digital version, in the crowd shot. I still don't know what her purpose is in-story, but am having fun picking her out in all of these books.

DCnU - Batwing #1 from DC's New 52

Batwing, the African Batman. Written by Judd Winick with art by Ben Oliver.

I said in my preview entries that I thought this would be a good book, but also that I didn't have high hopes for it continuing to sell, since it was set outside of the USA.

If the quality of this book keeps up to the standard set by this issue, I can see it lasting quit a while. The story was strong, the villain, Massacre, is menacing and bad ass, and the art is absolutely beautiful.

Winick tends to take on social issues, and a book set in Africa is a wonderful place to do that. I also love that he sets up the fact that Batwing isn't the first hero Africa has had.

This book was tightly paced, with some good action scenes, and lots of good character stuff. I like that Batwing's secret identity of Officer David Zavimbe is one of the few good cops in Tinasha, a fictional city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Striving to get the system working by day, and working outside it by night, trying to accomplish good however he can. His admiration for the Batman is plain. And Batman shows him respect in the flashback appearances he has in the book.

Batwing's supporting cast is interesting. Officer Kia Okuru is a clean-ish cop in a place so dirty that "clean-ish" is the best you can expect. She sees the progress that has been made to clean up corruption in Tinasha and sees it as good, whereas David comes off as just as extreme as Batman himself on this issue. When a case is let to drop, David asserts it is because there were no bribes to be had. Kia says "It is better than it was," to which he replies, "That means nothing. Tinasha is one of the most crime-ridden cities in all of Africa. We need to do more than just 'better.'" This is nice bit of exposition that reveals both soething about the character, and about where he finds himself. Batwing also has an equivalent to Alfred in the form of Matu Ba. And the relationship is very different. As opposed to Alfred's hiding his caring for Bruce behind upper-class snark and disapproval, Matu Ba is unabashedly supportive of David.

Good hero, an engaging mystery, strong villain, supporting cast that draw your attention, and a shocking ending to the story, all beautifully rendered? This book is definitely staying high on my pull list.

DCnU - Batgirl #1 from DC's New 52

Batgirl #1 - the return of Barbara Gordon to the role of Batgirl.

This was one of the most talked-about relaunches of the New 52. Getting Barbara Gordon out of the wheelchair was a big move on DC's part. It had it's fans, and it had people opposed to it. There was a very poignant post called "Oracle is Stronger than Batgirl Will Ever Be," on Newsarama from Jill Pantozzi, a red-headed woman who is in a wheelchair due to Muscular Dystrophy, and who has a blog called "Has Boobs, Reads Comics."

Gail Simone has always been sensitive to all groups, and understood the weight of the decision that was made to have Babs walking again. She also did an interview with Jill months ago, and answered as many of her questions as honestly as she could.

Jill's post and Gail's interview show the emotionally-charged nature of this change. And it was made clear that "The Killing Joke," the story where Barbara Gordon was paralyzed, still happened.

Which wasn't at all ignored in this issue.

As usual, Gail's knack for characterization shines through. Even before her stint as Oracle, Barbara was among the most cerebral heroes. Here, her internal monologue shows it. She is always analyzing. In some ways, that is like Batman, but in others, it is pretty far removed - she is not only analyzing her surroundings and her opponents, but also herself, and her feelings.

The book starts off with a new villain who kills a man, in a rather unusual way - using a syringe-type device to drown him - and then crosses his name off a list. A list we see the name Barbara Gordon on.

We go right from that into a several-page action sequence. Well written, and beautiful to look at, we see Batgirl in action, and see that she might be a little rusty, but still very capable. There is also a line which nods to the fact that there are now two redheaded Bat-females running around Gotham, as the folks she saves say "Bless you, bless you Batwoman."

Some more quality character stuff, with Barbara telling her father that it is time for her to move out, and meeting her new room mate, who promises to be an interesting supporting character. The art is as great in these scenes as it is in the action scenes. I love the way that Ulises Arreola used such a completely different palette for these scenes as well, really helping delineate the Barbara vs. Batgirl worlds.

However, Barbara's "getting to know the roomie" time is interrupted. She gets a text that was sent to her father, and heads off to stop the Mirror, the new villain of the issue, at a hospital, where he has headed to kill another person. We get a little more insight into the motives of the Mirror here, and it seems that he is killing people who had incidents that should have killed them.

Batgirl heads over on her motorcycle for a confrontation that did not go the way I expected. Once again, Gail manages to wrap character and action together very well, and leaves us with a "Holy crap" moment that also leaves Batgirl very firmly on my pull list.

I also love the fun that Adrian Syaf has with the bat-symbol in this issue. Even the tire tread of Batgirl's motorcycle is done in that motif, as well as the tops of her boots (quite evident when she is kneeing one of the home invaders).

He also did a nice job showing some armoring on Batgirl's costume, which I think is a nice touch.

Oh, and the mysterious character in red who has been showing up everywhere? This book is the hardest to spot the character in yet. So where is Waldo? Second to last page, bottom panel, there is a reflection in the window.

Oh, and one last thing: I don't intend to be a shill for Newsarama, but Jill Pantozzi does share her thoughts on this book in the "Hey, That's My Cape!" entry for week one.

DCnU - Animal Man #1 from DC's New 52

Here goes my third review of DC's "New 52," Animal Man #1. Full disclosure: As acclaimed as it was, particularly under the pen of Grant Morrison, I never really read Animal Man's previous series, although I know enough about it understand the character pretty well, I think.

The new series opens with a one-page interview by "The Believer" with Buddy Baker, Animal Man. I saw that, and immediately stopped reading on my Android, figuring this was one better read first on the larger screen of my home PC.

Appropriately enough for DC's Everyman Hero, the issue then moves to Buddy's home life, as he discusses the interview, finances and his daughter's desire for a pet dog with his family.

This part was charming, well written, and the art suited it very well. Jeff Lemire's dialogue has a very real feel to it, and Travel Foreman executes this well also. In fact, the slight smile on Ellen's face as Buddy kisses her before he heads out to play super hero at the hospital salvaged that character for me. In the rest of the scene, Ellen comes off as almost shrewish at times - giving Buddy a hard time no matter what he says. But that kiss just before he leaves looks to me like this is just the nature of their very loving relationship.

Then, Buddy reaches into the "Morphogenetic Field" and flies off. No mention of "the Red" in the whole issue. "the Red" was, later in Animal Man's last series defined to be what he taps in to to channel animal powers, and it was a field that surrounds a planet, much the way Swamp Thing taps into "the Green," representing plant life the world around.

I have to say. I am not a fan of Animal Man's new costume, although I think that might be mostly
due to the headband-hood thing. He looks better when he takes that off, which happens almost immediately.

Buddy faces a problem that suits his family focus. Someone has a gun on the children's ward of a hospital, and wants his daughter back. His daughter who was lost to cancer three weeks earlier. The man has had a break with reality, cannot accept his daughter's death and believes the doctors have just hidden her from him.

It's tragic, and resonates with family man Buddy, who still has to stop the man. He tries to talk him down, but still does have to use his powers, this time referring to reaching out to the "Life Web" but still no "Red."

As the situation winds down, Buddy's powers have an unexpected side effect. As a doctor is called to check him out, we see the mysterious figure in red who supposedly appears in all the New 52 #1s hanging around observing.

The side effect is temporary and seemingly non-threatening, so Animal Man heads back home to see his family. That night, he has a disturbing dream, all in grey of his family being hunted by someone. Then, in a shock of color added to the dream, he sees a river of blood, and the dream gets even weirder. He then wakes up to find Ellen missing from bed, and follows her and the kids out to the yard, where his daughter Maxine's desire to have a pet of her own has caused her to manifest some kind of power. Some fairly creepy kind of power.

Overall, this story is a significant change of pace from the first two I reviewed. Justice League and Action Comics were fast-paced super heroics. Animal Man is a much more dialogue-driven book. If you are looking for super-heroes battling it out, this is not the book for you. It is clear right from the get-go that we can expect Animal Man to spend at least as much time out of costume as in, and that his family will be tremendously important supporting characters.

Jim Lemire's writing fits the character like a spandex jumpsuit. He writes very good character interactions, and the priority that Buddy gives his family shines through in this book.

Travel Foreman's art for the most part is also well suited to the book. My only reservation was that sometimes his facial expressions are a little overdone. When Buddy is going to head off to help the police at the hospital, the expression on Ellen's face goes well beyond irritation at Buddy missing dinner into borderline homicidal rage. He seems to have a good grip on subtle facial expressions (particularly, as mentioned above, with Ellen) and dramatic ones, put to good use in the dream sequence, but maybe could work a little on the territory in between.

For now, Animal Man stays on the pull list. It is one of the books that is currently on an issue-by-issue basis. This is not because of any inherent flaw in the book, just that my preferred super-hero action to home life ratio skews more to super-hero action than it looks like this book will. If your taste skews more the other way, then this book could absolutely be your perfect cup of tea.

DCnU - Action Comics #1

Action Comics #1. A momentous title. Something pretty big happened the first time a comic was published with that name. Superman was introduced to an unsuspecting world. Perhaps the greatest of the modern myths. In his first appearance, there were no super-villains to be opposed. He took on a wife-beater, a gangster and a corrupt Senator.

In that comic, he extracted a confession from the Senator by leaping from building to building, terrifying the man into confessing.

Cue 2011's Action Comics #1.

This one starts off with Superman landing on the balcony of a corrupt business man named Glenmorgan and intimidating him into a confession by leaping off the building with the man in his arms. The parallel is clear, and great to see.

There are some differences, however. When Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1 back in June of 1938, he was also new to the world in which he existed. In this Action Comics #1, Superman is known to the world, having been around for 6 months. He is still working in jeans and a t-shirt, but he is known to the world.

Glenmorgan is doing business with a very short man who gets away when Superman arrives, taking a elevator down away from the action, with what I must say was a very devious-looking smile on his face. I cannot help but wonder if we have just seen the first DCnU appearance of Dr. Psycho, although I may be reading too much into this. He has, after all traditionally been a Wonder Woman villain.

Superman is perhaps a little edgier here than most recent interpretations, but clearly still motivated by doing the right thing. And like the first Action Comics #1, he faces no villains who bring super-powers to bear against him in this issue.

Instead, once he makes a public appearance, he is lured into an attempt to capture him by the military, it seems, with an adviser. Yes, it is only fitting that Lex Luthor makes his first appearance alongside Superman.

Grant Morrison does a great job here. All the characters have personalities that stand out. Lex Luthor's motivation is almost sympathetic, if his "ends justifies the means" way of achieving his goals is not. Lois Lane and Jimmy Olson are already established as being the kind of characters who are going to find their way into trouble every chance they get, and there are some great nods to old continuity as well. I love that Jimmy's cell phone makes a "ZEE ZEE ZEE" sound, just like his signal watch for Superman did in the old days. I love the prominence the line "Sombody save me" was given on the page, and again, I may be reading too much into this, but that very line is the beginning of the chorus to Remy Zero's "Save Me" which was the theme to Smallville.

And somehow, he makes the whole "Superman hunted by the law and the military" feel entirely natural. Which, given the departure from the typical view of Superman )and the one Morrison wrote so effectively in All-Star Superman) seemed to me like it might be hard to make me buy into it. Kudos to Morrison for doing so.

And Rags Morales' art suited the book perfectly. It had everything you could ask for. Beautifully dynamic action panels mixed with some great still poses. The story and action were easy to follow, and each character looked distinct.

Action Comics is definitely staying on my pull list.

Oh... and about the mysterious character in red mentioned in my review of Justice League #1, look on page 28 of the digital version - in the panel with the passengers on the train.

Let the reviews begin! - Justice League #1

Sorry for my two-week-or-so absence. I did post on Google+ about my feelings about Justice League #1, but this post will officially begin my reviews of the New 52 from DC.

Just so everyone knows, I have decided to go digital when it comes to these books. I have 22 long boxes currently stored at my home, and cannot justify filling up too many more unless the books really resonate with me. I may well go back and buy some of the titles I really loved, but for the most part, my initial reviews will be based on digital reading.

That said, the primary screen on my home system actually allows me to see the comics a tiny bit bigger than the paper copies would be, so I don't feel like I am missing out on quality of the image. Some of the titles I also read with the Comixology/DC Comics apps on my Android phone. But all have been read at least once on my home system.

All of that said, let's begin with the first title.

Justice League #1.

It starts off looking like a Batman book. A well-drawn, action-packed Batman book. Is that Killer Croc he is chasing? I don't think so... but there is some change to continuity so maybe? Wait... weird energy in his eyes and mouth? Probably not Croc. Energy blast? Weird armor, flaming energy flowing off the creature, and starting to beat Bats down? Definitely not Croc. Something bigger and scarier to completely catch Batman off guard and start to slap him around.

Then Green Lantern shows up. And runs over the flaming energy creature with a ring-created fire truck. I love it. A little of the creativity Hal used to show, and less of the "just blast it" we have seen more of recently.

Some good character stuff here - In just a couple of lines, we cover that Batman is an urban legend, and that he uses fear as a tool, while we also see Hal's cockiness and desire to be liked. Then, flaming energy, winged beast strikes again. It distracts the heroes by knocking a few helicopters out of the air, changes form somewhat and takes off.

We get some more interaction between Batman and Lantern, and then we see the creature sticking something to the wall. It makes a "Ping" noise, and looks kind of familiar... could it be a Mother Box? The creature turns on them and shouts "For Darkseid!" So, then, yes. Mother Box. Nice to see the New Gods back in their glory.

Batman and Green Lantern decide to go talk to Superman. Batman mentions that his power levels make him dangerous. Hal responds that it won't be a problem for him and his ring... Foreshadowing?

We then get a subplot of a character who will eventually be Cyborg playing in his high school football game, which his father didn't show up to. We see how this might affect his prospects as a football player. We also get (on page 18, in the crowd shot of the stands) our first look at the mysterious character who shows up in all the #1s this month. She's the one in the hood with the serious expression in the stands.

Finally, our heroes meet up with Superman, and we get to see where Green Lantern's cockiness gets him.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It doesn't really feel like a Justice League book yet, as it focuses only on a couple of characters.

The advance copy said that it would focus on Batman, so that was certainly no surprise. Given the characters that Geoff Johns loves, it was also no surprise to see Green Lantern Hal Jordan as the second focus character.

Jim Lee did a nice job with the art. I like the new interpretations of the characters costumes, and he has a very dynamic style that lends itself nicely to action scenes. His work on Batman has always been some of my favorite stuff that he has done, and this did not disappoint.

Batman's dark sense of humor came out well in the comic at several times. Green Lantern was a little one-dimensional (there wasn't a lot to him besides cockiness, but there will be time to develop him further) although he, too displayed something of a sense of humor. They played well off of each other. There was a touch of Kyle in the way that Hal used his Green Lantern ring in this issue.

Superman's brief appearance was a great introduction to the character, and we get a good look at his costume minus the red briefs.

And I have to say... no disrespect to Grant Morrison and his body of work, but I am happy to see Darkseid back as a big bad. I didn't like Final Crisis as much as many did, and it was partly because of the way that Darkseid was portrayed. And they made the creature, which could well be a Parademon, that served Darkseid sufficiently impressive.

So far, the start of the "DCNu" is strong in my opinion. I look forward to the next issue, and am even more excited for the rest of the titles this month.

Comixology Sale on Superman Comics

ComiXology is doing a sale on Superman comics this week, just like they did for Wonder Woman several weeks ago. The sale is only good for today and tomorrow.

Lots of Superman comics available for $0.99. Unfortunately, the site isn't easy to navigate to find a collection of the titles available for that price. I ended up clicking through to the DC Store and found them available there. That also includes the free Superman 101 title, which gives you a grounding on the Man of Steel.

I highly recommend Matt Wagner's Trinity: Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman series. An excellent series, and tough to beat at the price. The Man of Steel by John Byrne is also an excellent series, and was fundamental to the modern-day interpretation of the character. If you are interested in interpretations of the character that stray from the standard DC Universe, but are still excellent reads, then look into Kingdom Come by Ross and Waid, as well as All-Star Superman by Morrison and Quitely.

Myself? One of the things I have never read and always meant to was the critically- and fan-acclaimed Superman: Red Son. An "Elseworlds" tale of Superman's rocket crashing in the Ukraine instead of in Kansas, set in the cold war era. It was written by Mark Millar and has art by Dave Johnson, Kilian Plunkett, Andrew Robinson and Walden Wong. At less than $3 for the series, I have already started enjoying it on my Android phone. So far, so good.

A lot of the stories here are iconic, and you really can't go too far wrong. Not to mention, the first appearances of Superman, Jimmy Olson and Lex Luthor, each for less than a buck.

Ripping the Covers

Marvel has started a promotion where if retailers send them 50 covers from a group of Flashpoint titles (all number 1's, first printings only) then Marvel will send them a variant cover to Fear Itself #6.

Marvel clearly seems to be in the driver's seat in the comics world right now. Fear Itself #2 sold more than Flashpoint #1.

In a way, this isn't too surprising. Flashpoint is very cool for those of us steeped in DC continuity, but might be a little too inside for general consumption. That and the fact that Marvel generally makes up around 45% of all books sold, compared to DC's 25-30%.

Marvel is also dominating in the theaters this year. Green Lantern has been a financial disappointment for DC, and, in my opinion just flat out was not as good as Captain America, which is the best comic movie since Iron Man. Marvel is in the catbird seat, and is looking to stay there.

This promotion is an interesting gambit - taking comics off of the back issue shelves (none of the books on the list are new releases) that might not be likely to sell in return for something they can sell to a collector for a much higher price point. Hmmm... less shelf space for a competitor, combined with buzz for themselves. Sounds like a good promotion.

My only issue is this: I don't really like the idea of one publisher encouraging destruction of another's product. It makes sense financially here (probably for both Marvel and the Comic Book Shops) to do so, but it feels... dirty to me. And not as in "that's dirty pool" but instead as in "unclean."

I am torn, though - I do approve of the benefit to the Local Comic Shops. They have inventory that they have already paid for, and may not be able to move ever. And they can render this inventory legally unable to be sold, send the covers to Marvel and recycle the actual books. Marvel will then send them something they can sell, hopefully for enough to make up for the "unsellable" inventory they destroyed, or at least close to it.

But again... that destruction of comics just seems so... needless. I would much prefer a promotion where Marvel sends out similarly rare variant covers in exchange for receipts from non-profits that show that some unsold Marvel comics have been donated. Same benefit to the local comic shops, adds benefit to the community, and doesn't involve destruction at all. Of course, that is less of a one/two punch from a "we're up and our competition is down" perspective, so I see why this is being done as it is.

At any rate, I think it is a clever move on Marvel's part to solidify their relationship with comic shops even as some of those very same institutions start to resent DC's "Day-and-date digital" approach to comics. The next 6-12 months are going to be very interesting ones in the world of comics. Here's hoping that all of the attention helps everyone involved, and the industry comes out better for it.

DCnU and DC Universe Online

I'm sure it isn't a surprise to anyone that I play DC Universe Online, the MMORPG set in the DC Universe.

It's a fun game, though it doesn't have as much depth of content as I might like, and after Sony Online's hacking issues, the number of players has decreased, so it is harder to find a decent pick-up group to run missions with.

It makes up for the lack of depth by having all of that content be DC content. You are helping the heroes you read about, and you are fighting the villains you read about (or vice-versa if you choose to play a villain). My speedster villain, Velocicrat is about to go on a raid on a JSA safehouse. Taking on the JSA - that's just cool. So is putting Harley Quinn away, or battling Lex Luthor to save Superman from a kryptonite force field.

What makes this game so much fun is that it is, most definitely set in the DC Universe. So what happens in September? Already, it's a little weird to be buying things from Cass Cain Batgirl. One of my characters regularly buys from Power Girl, Jay Garrick Flash and Hawkgirl. I've seen no mention of any of those characters in the DCnU come September. As mentioned, my villain is about to take on the JSA, who will not be part of the DCnU.

I am concerned this could actually impact my enjoyment of the game. Not that it makes the game any less fun - and it is a well-designed game in my opinion. I love the fact that all power sets have two roles they can take on - a damaging one and another one that helps to round a team out. There are certainly improvements that could be made. When I switch from one role to another, the powers available to me switch automatically - why do I have to go in and manually switch my equipment piece by piece? But overall, the game play is pretty balanced, and can be a lot of fun.

But will that fun be impacted when I run missions centered around Black Adam - whether trying to save his love, Isis or entering his sovereign land, Kahndaq - knowing that he currently doesn't exist in the DCnU? I really hope not, but I fear it might. A huge portion of this appeal is playing with and against the characters that I read about regularly. I'm not sure playing in an "Elseworlds" version of the DCU will have as much appeal to me. And, possibly as much of a concern, after recent beatings to the player base, if I find it doesn't impact me, but it does impact others, how much harder will it be to find people to share my adventures with, and how will that impact attracting new users if the two settings don't match?

I'm hoping this quality game weathers the storm, and can gradually tweak characters, costumes, etc. to better reflect the DCnU. I'll definitely be watching with interest the post-September impact on the game.

Review of Captain America: The First Avenger

Time to sit back and review the fourth and final Super Hero movie of this summer. So far, I have enjoyed the first three (Thor, X-men: First Class and Green Lantern) to varying degrees. Each had their strengths, and their weaknesses.

In Captain America: The First Avenger, a very personal story is told against the epic backdrop of World War II. The acting is excellent, the pacing good, and the use of effects was right on. In fact, the pre-Super Soldier Serum Steve Rogers was probably the best CGI I have ever seen.

I was talking to a colleague on Friday, and we were speculating how much of that CGI they would have vs. how often it would be a close-up of Chris Evans' face, or him behind something, or other tricks to reduce the need for the effect. I have to say, it didn't feel like there was much of that kind of trickery, and if it was there, it was masterfully executed.

This movie has a hero who is more than his heroics. By showing us Steve Rogers back when he was a 98 pound weakling, we see what will make him a great hero. He wants to go fight in the war. He talks about other men putting their lives at risk to support the country and says "I have no right to do any less." After being rated 4-F (not fit for duty) 5 times, he is approached by someone who asks him "do you want to kill Nazis?" Steve's response is telling: "I don't want to kill anyone. I just don't like bullies." To me, that was one of the defining lines of the movie, along with the interaction between he and Peggy Carter, where he names all the places he was beaten up as they drive through Brooklyn on the way to make him into a super soldier. Peggy asks him, "You have some kind of problem with running away?" and Steve answers "Once you start running, they'll never let you stop."

After the application of the Super Soldier Serum, we get a Captain America who is a blend of the classic one, and the Ultimate Universe one. He carries a gun, and is even willing to use it, but it isn't the first thing he goes to. He has the more pragmatic approach of Ultimate Cap, but none of his propensity for violence. In this film, Captain America doesn't shy away from violence, but he also doesn't revel in it. He got beaten up enough before he was Cap to enjoy hitting other people.

Chris Evans is close to perfect in his role. He plays Captain America as a man who believes in and wants to help his country. Whether that means selling war bonds or being a one-man rescue mission. Evans was also surrounded by other strong performances - Haley Atwell was very strong as Peggy Carter, Stanley Tucci turned in a strong performance as Dr. Erskine, Dominic Cooper was great as Howard Stark, the eventual father of Tony "Iron Man" Stark. We see in him the showmanship and love of women that is even more pronounced in his son. Tommy Lee Jones was outstanding as Colonel Phillips. And Hugo Weaving, as always, turned in a top-notch performance as the Red Skull.

Despite my recent entry about heroes being defined by their villains, and that being one of the weaknesses of the Green Lantern movie (the enemy being a CGI "force" as it were), here Captain America and the Red Skull don't interact much. The climactic fight of the movie is, of course, between them, but for me, the important part of the movie was the character development of Steve Rogers, and him taking his role as a true super hero.

That said, the "opposite sides of the coin" was done well, and Weaving made you believe in a character who thought he was walking in the footsteps of gods and that all the earth should be his.

Captain America: The First Avenger opened on 3,715 screens. This compares to 3,955 for Thor. As of my typing this, estimates put Cap at $65.8, just a rounding error higher than Thor's $65.7 on opening weekend. The difference being Thor didn't have to cede as many 3D screens to a certain teen wizard. Thor made about 60% of its opening-weekend revenue from 3D, while the good Captain was below 40%. I saw it in 2D. These days, I pretty much only watch 3D movies that were shot in 3D, not that were converted in post-production.

All-in-all, marvel seems really well set up for next Summer's Avengers movie. A teaser for which comes after the credits of Captain America are done rolling. I found it definitely worth staying for. It's short, but definitely got me excited for the movie, the first of the Marvel movies to be released by Disney without another company involved. Less than 10 months before I get to sit down to this one.

Comics Events

Okay, so we are part way through both Marvel's Fear Itself and Flashpoint. I've read only the core Fear Itself books (plus the lead-up, "Book of the Skull"), and have read most of the Flashpoint tie-ins.

The truth is, I am a little weary of cross-over events. And so is my wallet. So, my early impressions of both of these cross-overs may be tinged by that, but I will try to be objective.

Overall, both are interesting. The Asgardian corner of the Marvel Universe has never been my favorite, so Fear Itself has its work cut out for it to pull me in. The main book's focus on Thor and the Asgardians as well as Odin's opponent, The Serpent, contain the bare minimum needed to drive the story forward. Each issue of Fear Itself ends with a page or two telling you what other books you should pick up.

So far, by my reckoning, Fear Itself has been a little slow moving. I'm not sure why... there seems to be a lot of story, but it doesn't seem to be moving. It might be because some of it is a foregone conclusion to me - Steve Rogers is going to come back to being Captain America. Three issues of him warring between being a SHIELD administrator and a field operative do not hide that. So, when Bucky Cap gets killed, and Rogers steps up, it doesn't feel like a significant development, it felt a little more like "finally." Not to mention, I am never a fan of "good guys gone bad" stories, like with the Thing becoming one of the Worthy. Overall, this is not my idea of a great event, but I still have hopes for it.

Flashpoint, on the other had is moving at a breakneck pace, as suits a story that focuses on Barry Allen. I have always loved Marvel's What If and DC's Elseworlds. Flashpoint is like one of those, so it is right up my alley. I love watching Barry piece together what is different about his new world. The nice job of having Cyborg stepping up as the primary hero in a world where there is no Superman, and where Batman is even less social than in the familiar DCU. And I haven't felt like I needed to read anything other than Flashpoint itself to follow the main story, and understand the scope of it.

I have to say, in the battle of the event books for 2011, so far I feel like the decision goes to DC's Flashpoint. And, of course, the payoff is bound to be bigger on the DC side - Flashpoint is leading up to big September relaunch.

I don't think either of these would be welcoming to someone new to comics, and I think that is an issue. Yes, in the current environment, events sell. But they sell to the existing audience, and probably not to new readers. If I didn't already know Deathstroke the Terminator as he exists today, how much would I care that he is now a pirate, and how significant would it be that he was killed by Aquaman? Similarly, with Fear Itself, the Asgardians are such a significant part of the story, and they are converting characters to the Worthy, Thor-like powerhouses. Using characters like Titania, Absorbing Man, Attuma and the Grey Gargoyle. Is this the right approach? Maybe the next Marvel crossover should feature in starring roles the characters who are in the movies - and be self-contained.

Judged by Their Villains?

I have always believed that a great hero can be judged by their villains. I think this is one of the challenges that new books starting off these days have. Many of the great heroes have villains that fans love to see appear.

Spider-man has his menagerie of animal-themed villains: Vulture, Rhino, Doctor Octopus, Tarantula, Puma, Scorpion, Chameleon, Lizard, Jackal. And I probably missed a few. You could also include Venom and Carnage here, as they are at least somewhat spider-based. In fact, if you go to the wiki page on his villains, it is amazing just how many are themed after animals. And those are not even necessarily the best - Green Goblin has always been my favorite Spidey foe.

There are similar lists for all kinds of heroes. Think through Batman's gallery of rogues. Joker, Two-Face, Riddler, Poison Ivy, Hush, Bane, Scarecrow, Mr Freeze, Ra's Al Ghul... a great group of villains. And just like many of Spider-man's villains are animal-themed just like he is, many of Batman's villains are suffering from "one bad day" syndrome. On one bad day, Bruce Wayne lost his parents. Two-Face was scarred for life. Joker was disfigured. Mr. Freeze's wife was frozen. Many times, a villain is a dark reflection of the hero.

Spider-man and Batman have two of the greatest Rogue's Galleries in comics. Flash isn't too bad either. Some other well-known heroes are kind of passable (Superman, for instance. Lex Luthor is a good villain, but some of his others just aren't that memorable. The Hulk is the same way) and still others have real challenges in this area. The Punisher has problems because he keeps killing his villains. So, either he doesn't get recurring villains, or he really sucks at his job.

I think this concept might have been part of the problem with the recent Green Lantern movie. As I have mentioned, I still liked it, but I don't know that Paralax was the best villain to feature. A kind of embodiment of a concept might not be the best villain, and Hector Hammond wasn't really given enough screen time to be a proper villain. I actually think that once upon a time, Hal had a really good group of enemies. Some of them relied a little too much on the color yellow, it's true, but even so, Goldface, The Shark, Doctor Polaris, Sonar, Hector Hammond, Black Hand, Major Disaster, Star Sapphire and of course Sinestro. I think for the first movie, something a little more human would have made for a better opponent.

X-Men first class went classic - the big bad worked with the Nazis. The opposing characters had clear motivations, and some of them looked downright sinister.

In many cases, a hero is judged by his villain. Having a great villain is the difference between emotional investment and intellectual detachment, in my opinion.

A Long Weekend!

I'm out of here for the long weekend. I hope my readers in the USA and in Canada both enjoy your respective long weekends as well.

I'll be back early next week with some more thoughts on the world of comic books.

Justice League Revealed

So, glass maker 'Toom Tumblers released an image used on an upcoming glass to their Facebook page. The image was of the Justice League.

Over on DC Women Kicking Ass, they identify most of the characters, with one exception. The mystery woman on the right, second from the bottom. They do speculate on who it could be.

I posted before that I didn't think it made sense to have Firestorm and Captain Atom on the same team, and I am glad they didn't do that. I can't tell which Atom that is from the picture (2nd down on the left). And Deadman? He's already on the cover of Justice League Dark as well. And seems a better fit there.

So, it looks like the 15-member JLA is going to be Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern (Hal), Cyborg and Aquaman as the "Big 7." Joining them will be Deadman, Atom, Element Woman (from Flashpoint... kind of a female Metamorpho), Firestorm, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Someone, and Mera. Interesting that Geoff Johns is writing Aquaman, and two characters from that mythos make it into the League.

This is also a good look at Jim Lee's version of some of these costumes. I like his take on Superman's boots better than George Perez'. And I see he hasn't completely done away with the "underwear on the outside" look... now they just are all the same color as the pants. And Lee really does have a thing for the downward angled belt, doesn't he. Even characters not actually having real belts like Flash and Green Lantern have the "pointing to my groin" look.

I also have to say that I think he over-did the beak on Hawkman a little.

And my own 2 cents on the mystery woman? Power Girl. From an interview on ComicVine:

CV: Will we be seeing Power Girl in the future?
Bob: Yeah, she'll be around.
CV: But not in her own title?
Bob: No, she won't have her own #1 title, but Karen Starr will appear in one of the 52 titles.

I think it is odd that he uses her real name and not her code name when he refers to her directly - it may be that the character is changed somehow. If that is her, they have definitely changed her outfit. But that would make sense - no more JSA, no more "Cousin of the original Superman who doesn't exist anymore." Really, what I like about the character is her personality and attitude, with her power level as an added bonus. If she retains those things, even if the powers and origin are modified, I can live with it.

The One Challenge Super-Heroes Cannot Overcome? Marriage.

Inspired by Captain Elias over on Superpowers That Be, I was thinking about marriage in superhero books.

What is it about married super-heroes that some find so challenging? Not that there are not characters who are married. There are some that have had long marriages, such as Reed and Sue Richards, Flash (Jay Garrick), Flash (Wally West) and Animal Man. But it looks like Superman will not be once DC's Relaunch happens in September. Spider-Man's marriage has been cosmically erased due to the events of "One More Day." Not to mention that as they worked their way through the morass of Hawkman's continuity, one of the things that didn't survive was his marriage. Elongated Man's wife was killed, and Atom's wife turned into Eclipso. Flash (Barry Allen)'s wife was killed. Some of this veers into "Women in Refrigerators" territory, and it is easier for me to come up with examples where the marriage went away than where it became the new status quo.

Why do creators not want these Superman and Spider-Man - in many ways the flagship characters for each of the companies - married? I have a few theories. First off, back to a recurring theme I have hit on several times here: the inter-media status quo.

In his movies, Superman isn't married. The same is true in Spider-Man's movies, most of his cartoons, etc. So, as a reader moves from one medium to another, from a practical, "we've hooked 'em, now we've got to land 'em" perspective, I can see wanting the character on the page to be as close as possible to the character on the screen. This does present challenges, of course. Amazing Spider-Man is a three times a month book. Superman is in a number of titles every month. There is bound to be a lot more development at that pace than at one movie every 2 or 3 years, and now they are looking to reboot the franchise. To keep the comics looking like the movies, then there can be no real character advancement, and those romantic relationships these characters have will have to be in a constant state of romantic comedy-like misunderstandings and making up to have a good reason to never move the relationship forward.

This also gives the characters an easy sub-plot. Many writers are comfortable writing conflict in a non-married relationship. But they don't want to do the same within a marriage. I'm not sure if this is a cultural taboo, or what, but most marriages that do exist in comics are generally shown as being supportive and harmonious all the time. I am a happily married man. Very happily. But that doesn't mean that my wife and I never have any kind of conflict in our relationship. The dynamic changes, but there are as many interesting stories to be told about married couples as dating ones. At least I think so.

Of course, there is a third aspect to my theory. In many ways, super heroes are wish fulfillment for their fans. Maybe on some level, writers think that the fans want the freedom of not being tied down? I don't know. That may be true for some. For others, part of being a good person is making real connections with other people. Marriage is, perhaps the ultimate expression of that. I feel like super heroes should be role models. Finding the perfect person in your life, and committing to spend the rest of your life with them? Working through problems with them, supporting each other through good times and bad, in sickness and in health? Well, that is a role worth modelling.

Which is not to say that all characters should be married. Just that I wish that characters who are married off are not seen as having closed off creative options. Instead, maybe, that they have opened up some new ones.

There are some things I will really miss post-reboot at DC. The JSA, Babs in her wheelchair, and Superman's marriage.

Green Ronin Ready for Pre-Orders of DC Adventures Heroes & Villains, Vol. I

For those of you who are role playing gamers as well as comic fans, You've probably checked out Green Ronin's DC Adventures. The system is basically the same as Mutants and Masterminds 3rd edition, which is a solid system.

The original book came with X characters in it. On the hero side, there was: Aquaman, Batman (Bruce), Black Canary, Captain Marvel, Flash (Barry), Green Arrow (Ollie), Green Lantern (Hal), Martian Manhunter, Nightwing, Plastic Man, Robin, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Zatanna. And the villains were represented by Black Adam, Black Manta, Braniac, Catwoman, Cheetah, Circe, Darkseid, Gorilla Grodd, Joker, Lex Luthor, Prometheus, Sinestro, Solomon Grundy, and Vandal Savage. Additionally, there was a quick start PDF that had stats for Superboy and Knockout. Overall, I thought the stats were good, but not perfect.

Green Ronin has the license to create two books of characters from the DC Universe. The books are named, cleverly enough Heroes & Villains Volume 1 and Volume 2. There have been challenges in getting these out. I think everyone expected them out a little sooner than they have been, but they are now taking pre-orders. They have also put a PDF preview up on their site, showing this book will cover from Abra Kadabra to Kobra & the Kobra Cult. I'm quite pleased to see that they have included multiple version of characters where applicable (including Golden Age versions of these heroes) for instance, all three versions of Batgirl are present in the book, as well as entries for the Blue and Indigo Lantern Corps. There is also a good cross section of villains, and team entries.

The price point is a little high - $49.95 for the print version (from Green Ronin - Amazon is selling it for much less). It's $27.00 for the PDF. Personally, I will pony up the money - I like to support any efforts to create RPGs based on existing comic book universes. There are a lot of characters here that will give players a good look at how to create some interesting abilities, and will also help GMs with letting players interact with the DC Universe.

Wonder Woman Digital Comics Deal Today and Tomorrow

For two days only, those interested in seeing how DC handles its digital comics on the cheap can check out some Wonder Woman stories for just $.99 each today and tomorrow.

Details on which comics are available are in the DC blog post here. Strangely, clicking on the image promoting the sale just takes you to... that image. But there is a link in the blog post that takes you to the page where you can buy the books or you can just click here.

If you are not familiar with the work George Perez did with the character, I highly recommend looking in to Wonder Woman volume 2. That has been my favorite take on the character to date. Deeply steeped in Greek mythology, a butt kicking warrior princess, and a truly good and caring person, all in equal measure. This interpretation of the character is the one that I automatically go to when I think Wonder Woman.

Also note, there are a few comics in the list that are free! All Star Comics #8, her very first appearance, as well as Sensation Comics #1, where her origin story continued from All Star Comics #8. Also, DC has put together a Wonder Woman 101 book that brings people up to date on the character, and that is also free.

But I'll be checking out some of the books here that I have not read myself, just to get a feel for DC's digital comics delivery system. A preview of what to look forward to with their day-and-date delivery in September.

The Death of Ultimate Spider-Man

It's happened: the death of Spider-Man. Sure, this isn't Marvel's mainstream Spider-Man we are talking about, but it is Peter Parker, and it is a version of the character who has been consistently published for over 10 years. Marvel is killing Ultimate Spider-Man.

And to be honest, I think this is a long time coming.

Don't get me wrong. I love this take on the character. But I think this is what the Ultimate Universe should be about. Being willing to take chances. Being willing to kill a character if it means better stories. Spider-Man kicked off the whole Ultimate Universe, and now they are going to be experimenting with what happens when he dies.

Spider-Man is perhaps an even more influential figure in the Ultimate Universe than he is in the mainstream Marvel Universe. He has crossed over with just about everyone, and his power level feels a little more impressive to me in that universe. Maybe that is just me, but I always love seeing Spidey being thought of as in the upper tier of heroes. In this world, where there are fewer cosmic-powered types running around, Spider-Man really is a very impressive hero. He deals with the same challenges that the mainstream Spider-Man always has, but there were also changes. Like the movies, he generates his webs organically. Also like the movies, he shares his secret with Mary-Jane Watson early on in his career. Many of his rogues have made appearances as Ultimate versions of themselves, and some of the classic stories have been touched on or re-told with a more modern twist. All of this has been a great ride. But now, that ride is coming to an end.

I am happy to see the original creative team back together for this. Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley worked on 111 issues of Ultimate Spider-Man together, the longest run ever on a Marvel comic by two people. They passed Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's work together on Fantastic Four. Bagley's art suits this character so well. I'm thrilled that Bagley came back to help write the end of the version of Peter Parker that he helped to define for so long.

As much as I love this character, I hope they leave him dead, and I hope that the lack of a Spider-Man has far reaching consequences for the Ultimate Universe.

Making Sure Digital is Done Right

DC is going to be releasing digital comics day-and-date with the print versions as of the release of the New DCU in September. Marvel has a plan where for $5 per month, you get unlimited access to all Marvel’s digital comics – around 8,000 at the time of this writing.
Are they doing enough? Are they doing it right?

What I would want out of a digital comic plan is access to a database that helps me make the best use of these comics. Use image and text recognition to make these as searchable as possible. And keep a list of characters that appear in each book. If I am suddenly interested in Sabretooth, let me search all your comics for him. Let me select if he is present in the comic, if he has a fight in the comic, or if he is just mentioned.

Allow me to search for all times that two characters fight each other – whether it is Batman vs. Deathstroke or Spider-Man vs. Venom. Allow me to get a list of all the characters you can show me Captain America interacting with in your group of digital comics.

If you are not going to be doing a lump sum subscription like Marvel is, then consider packages whereby I can buy, for a reduced rate, access to all appearances by a specific character or team. Want to drum up interest for a new upcoming series? Offer discounted access to the character’s back issues, origin and most important appearances. And story arc discounts as well - give me a reduced rate on all issues of "Kraven's Last Hunt" or "Brotherhood of the Fist."

At least as importantly, allow people to follow creative teams. Fans develop favorite writers and artists who they enjoy no matter what book they are working on.
Also, allow easier sharing of these books. In order to help bring in new readers, allow those who have a subscription a limited number of free “shares” of books, and a sliding scale beyond that, getting more expensive the more they are shared, particularly of the same series.

There are also promotional possibilities. Include a free download of a comic with a cereal box, or in the DVD/Blu Ray case for Disney or Warner Brothers movies. Give people a taste for free, and see if you can get them interested. I think there are a lot of possibilities.

Moving to digital is important, and is a great thing for these publishers to do, but they really need to take advantage of all the tools that are available in the digital world. In order to truly make digital comics come in to their own, it isn’t just a matter of transitioning the existing experience onto another platform, but instead, it is important that digital is viewed as a whole new medium, and the powers that be at Marvel and DC think in some detail about how to make their product as strong as it can be in this medium.

Pants? Pants Are a Big Deal?

Okay, so there was a rumor going around that in the new DCU, there was an edict that female characters were not to be exposing leg. That they were expected to be wearing pants. And I was surprised by the uproar this caused. Yes, it would mean changing some classic costumes. Many super heroine and villains tend towards cheesecake. Especially in the hands of some artists.

That's the work of Ed Benes. I think he is a realy good artist, and he clearly does love the female form. In fact, he does work on commission, including pin-ups. That picture is, in some peoples' opinions, what is wrong with comics today. New fans are not coming in because they see things like that and think that comics are all about fanservice, and that they are for pubescent teens or dirty old men to get their rocks off.

That's not all that comics are about, of course, although it would be disingenuous to claim that fanservice of various sorts is not present in comics. But honestly, I don't think pants are going to help. Even in the picture above, look at Hawkgirl. Pants... check. As highly sexualized as any of the other characters in the picture? Pretty much, yep. The only character who doesn't come off that way is maybe Vixen. And it isn't hard to find images where she is being handled that way, despite the pants.

If DC believes that decreasing the level of fanservice directed at people who like the look at the female form will truly help sales, I'm in. I have no problem with Wonder Woman now wearing pants, as long as they match the rest of the costume, and suit the character. Honestly, I'd rather see Diana in the kind of skirt that a Hoplite wore, as it seems to fit her origin and character better. But I have no particular attachment to Supergirl or Mary Marvel wearing skirts. I'd be happy to see those characters in tights, or even baggier pants if the costumes were designed well.

As it turns out, there was no such edict from DC editorial. This can be pretty clearly seen on the cover of the new Suicide Squad title. Harley Quinn is not what I would call modestly dressed on that cover. And even if she were wearing pants, that top is not helping. But here is the thing. I don't think women mind sexy, for the most part. Growing up reading comics, I wanted to be able to see myself in the role of Batman, or Spider-Man, or whoever. I imagine female fans feel the same way. And I don't think they the escapist alter-egos of women are typically bland, any more than I would want to look like a schlubby, overweight version of Batman if could be as impressive as he is.

What I think is important is to make sure that women's presence in comics is more that just fanservice. That the characters are strong, capable of looking after themselves, and have depth to them. If all that is true, then I think people will enjoy reading about the character whether she is wearing pants or fishnets. However, if a character is present only for fanservice purposes, then it hurts the overall integrity of the comic. It's important to me that this industry carries on, and if having less cheesecake is part of the way to do that, so be it. But let's also address the idea of creating characters that girls and women will want to be, or at least admire and look up to. Then dress them appropriately for that character. I love the fact that Zatanna's costume calls to mind a stage magician or magician's assistant. I think it suits the character. I'm sad to see it looks like that costume is gone in Justice League Dark. That said, if the white top Zatanna wears buttons all the way up to her neck and there is no cleavage, I am fine with that - it is still appropriate to the character. And that, to me, is really where these decisions should be coming from.

Worth mentioning, by the way, that Ed Benes does a lot more than just cheesecake. I don't want to be seen as picking on him. The man does great work on all sorts of characters. Here are a couple of examples of his work that I really like.