I remember as a teenager going somewhat out of my way to get my hands on JLA 1 (Grant Morrison edition) at the height of my Morrison obession and being thorougly entertained by a) the storyline and b) the notion that DC's premier team actually had the company's iconic characters in it. Don't get me wrong I loved the JLI bunch of also-rans and the humour that emerged.
But it felt proper that the League had the big stars in it.
Which brings us onto this week's relaunch of not just this title but the entire DC comics universe.
I am not a huge fan of Jim Lee's art and it did kind of prompt memories of the horrors of Heroes Reborn, Marvel's mid 90s small-scale precusor to what DC are now doing.
And like, the HR characters, I do find it hard to like the new younger "edgier" heroes. Hal Jordan comes off as too much of a cocky sod.
Batman's greener than normal but entertaining enough. And Supes is barely in it.
I know this is relaunching the DCU and comics as a medium but personally I would hope that out of seven coverstars we get more than four in the actual book.
Going from the preview I have seen of Morrison's edgier man-of-the-people take on Superman maybe DC should have started with that. Or at least shown more than a page of him in this issue of Justice League. When Marvel started the New Avengers seven years or so ago, the first issue had the full roster. They weren't a team as yet but they were all in the book and it was a stronger story than this...
'Tis selling well though and it's available for download on Comixology so it's giving a shot in the arm to the industry. Time will tell if it succeeds.
Showing posts with label DC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DC. Show all posts
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Revamp : the late 80s Superman
So, those of us that care (and some that don't) know that in September DC is relaunching their universe.
Books by new creative teams (mostly) and a general desire to freshen things up.
Clearly it's too early to tell if it'll be any good. Whether we have Heroes Reborn (dire) or Ultimates (somewhat better but not flawless).
Though it's made me think back to the DC of the late 80s. In the UK, London Editions reprinted recent DC stories, often with articles explaining characters and storylines. It was through these that I first learnt of Crisis On Infinite Earths. Crisis (just in case you didn't know) was an epic story arc that allowed DC to tweak characters and their history in an effort to make the comic universe more accessible.
And few were more tweaked about with than Superman.
You know what? It excited me to know that I was reading about a fairly new Superman. (I did find myself looking down the nose at some pre-Crisis material as, for Supes, most of that stuff now hadn't happened.)
DC had entrusted John Byrne with reinventing the Man of Steel. And his version was very much of its time. Luthor was a corporate crook with underworld connections as opposed to a mad scientist. The sillier trappings like the Fortress of Solitude and Krypto the superdog were gone. And Supes was not all powerful. Also stripped back was a lot of the Kryptonianess. Supergirl no longer existed. Clark was on his own. And all the various different non-green colours of Kryptonite (and their different effects) were gone too.
Probably one of the strongest ideas was the doing away with Clark's time as Superboy (seriously, any crook with a brain would compare Smallville phonebooks of the Superboy era with those from Metropolis - yeah, it would take a while then but the rewards would pay dividends.)
Another strong idea was having Superman and Batman not get on. The grudging respect they showed made more sense given their vastly different attitudes and approaches.
But possibly the most crucial change was the overall grounding of Clark in his humanity. Ma and Pa Kent were now still alive, allowing us to see his human side. (Some of my favourite scenes were Clark hanging out back home.) Yes, this was a powerful being but he was relatable. See the issue of Man Of Steel when Clark comes home after his first heroic feat, saving a space-plane. He is overcome by the public reaction. "They all wanted a piece of me, Ma".
Byrne and fellow writer Marv Wolfman had modelled a fair bit on the Christopher Reeves films, to be sure. Though the paring back paid dividends. We were allowed to discover a hero who whilst morally strong could fail. And that could make for interesting reading.
The first issue of anything that I definitely remember having is Superman 9. It features the Joker attacking Metropolis. The Joker-smiles on his gassed victims scared my 8 year-old self but what really terrified me was the Joker's response when ultimately asked why he'd attacked another city. "Why ever not?"
That isn't the best part of that issue. The best part is a back-up story featuring Luthor appearing in a diner 900 miles from Metropolis. This is small-scale evil. He asks his waitress if she wants to give up her life, her husband and come with him for a month. She has ten minutes to decide.
There's no super-heroics at all. Just a moral dilemma and a great character-piece.
It's the characterisation that makes this era.
At the same time, over in Adventures of Superman, Marv Wolfman and Jerry Ordway created two of the more interesting recent additions to the supporting cast. Cat Grant (a bolshy single mother colleague of Clark's, who had designs on him) and Jose Delgado. Yeah, Jose's got a bit of a stereotypical name but his introductory storyline was great. Gang Wars focussed on turf wars between gangs and Superman's realisation that this was a problem that couldn't be punched into submission. Jose eventually becomes Gangbuster in an effort to help police his neighbourhood. Which led to another issue that I adored, Adventures of Superman 437. There are two narrators, on facing pages. Lois Lane and Luthor. Lois is discussing her date with Jose and how it is interrupted by a hired thug called Combattor. Luthor (who has funded said thug) tells his dinner-date of a hypothetical fight between Combattor and Superman and how neither are really the good guys. It's narratively daring (for a comic) and I remember being shocked that Combattor crippled Jose. It also made me hate Luthor even more.
To conclude, yes, this brave new world of 1986 had a few mis-steps in its first 2-3 years but it entertained the hell out of my kiddy self. And took risks when doing it.
Books by new creative teams (mostly) and a general desire to freshen things up.
Clearly it's too early to tell if it'll be any good. Whether we have Heroes Reborn (dire) or Ultimates (somewhat better but not flawless).
Though it's made me think back to the DC of the late 80s. In the UK, London Editions reprinted recent DC stories, often with articles explaining characters and storylines. It was through these that I first learnt of Crisis On Infinite Earths. Crisis (just in case you didn't know) was an epic story arc that allowed DC to tweak characters and their history in an effort to make the comic universe more accessible.
And few were more tweaked about with than Superman.
You know what? It excited me to know that I was reading about a fairly new Superman. (I did find myself looking down the nose at some pre-Crisis material as, for Supes, most of that stuff now hadn't happened.)
DC had entrusted John Byrne with reinventing the Man of Steel. And his version was very much of its time. Luthor was a corporate crook with underworld connections as opposed to a mad scientist. The sillier trappings like the Fortress of Solitude and Krypto the superdog were gone. And Supes was not all powerful. Also stripped back was a lot of the Kryptonianess. Supergirl no longer existed. Clark was on his own. And all the various different non-green colours of Kryptonite (and their different effects) were gone too.
Probably one of the strongest ideas was the doing away with Clark's time as Superboy (seriously, any crook with a brain would compare Smallville phonebooks of the Superboy era with those from Metropolis - yeah, it would take a while then but the rewards would pay dividends.)
Another strong idea was having Superman and Batman not get on. The grudging respect they showed made more sense given their vastly different attitudes and approaches.
But possibly the most crucial change was the overall grounding of Clark in his humanity. Ma and Pa Kent were now still alive, allowing us to see his human side. (Some of my favourite scenes were Clark hanging out back home.) Yes, this was a powerful being but he was relatable. See the issue of Man Of Steel when Clark comes home after his first heroic feat, saving a space-plane. He is overcome by the public reaction. "They all wanted a piece of me, Ma".
Byrne and fellow writer Marv Wolfman had modelled a fair bit on the Christopher Reeves films, to be sure. Though the paring back paid dividends. We were allowed to discover a hero who whilst morally strong could fail. And that could make for interesting reading.
The first issue of anything that I definitely remember having is Superman 9. It features the Joker attacking Metropolis. The Joker-smiles on his gassed victims scared my 8 year-old self but what really terrified me was the Joker's response when ultimately asked why he'd attacked another city. "Why ever not?"
That isn't the best part of that issue. The best part is a back-up story featuring Luthor appearing in a diner 900 miles from Metropolis. This is small-scale evil. He asks his waitress if she wants to give up her life, her husband and come with him for a month. She has ten minutes to decide.
There's no super-heroics at all. Just a moral dilemma and a great character-piece.
It's the characterisation that makes this era.
At the same time, over in Adventures of Superman, Marv Wolfman and Jerry Ordway created two of the more interesting recent additions to the supporting cast. Cat Grant (a bolshy single mother colleague of Clark's, who had designs on him) and Jose Delgado. Yeah, Jose's got a bit of a stereotypical name but his introductory storyline was great. Gang Wars focussed on turf wars between gangs and Superman's realisation that this was a problem that couldn't be punched into submission. Jose eventually becomes Gangbuster in an effort to help police his neighbourhood. Which led to another issue that I adored, Adventures of Superman 437. There are two narrators, on facing pages. Lois Lane and Luthor. Lois is discussing her date with Jose and how it is interrupted by a hired thug called Combattor. Luthor (who has funded said thug) tells his dinner-date of a hypothetical fight between Combattor and Superman and how neither are really the good guys. It's narratively daring (for a comic) and I remember being shocked that Combattor crippled Jose. It also made me hate Luthor even more.
To conclude, yes, this brave new world of 1986 had a few mis-steps in its first 2-3 years but it entertained the hell out of my kiddy self. And took risks when doing it.
Thursday, 9 June 2011
DC's revamp and the Oracle question
So DC are relaunching their universe.
This was always going to bring in some changes.
Most probably Clark Kent becoming unmarried (kinda like Spidey but without the whole deal with the devil).
Bruce Wayne being the sole Batman wasn't a surprise. Sad but not a surprise.
Though I was stunned by Oracle-gate.
In the 80s Barbara Gordon was shot by the Joker, crippling her. Whilst this meant she couldn't be Batgirl anymore, it wasn't the end of her as a character. Instead she became a tactician, showing that wheelchair bound characters can be just as heroic. And also be romantic.
Yes, deaths get undone but there was no way Babs would suddenly get better. That would be too tacky.
Erm, well.
We've got a new Batgirl series starting in September, starring a Babs able to swing over rooftops and all that jazz.
At least it's being written by Gail Simone who did such a good job writing Oracle in Birds of Prey. And maybe it will be good.
Change will always upset some and geeks can be conservative with a small c. And change can be beneficial.
But this particular change doesn't seem the smartest of moves by DC, especially when they have publicly stated that they are trying to make their universe more diverse.
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Flashpoint : DC's bold gamble
DC comics is currently going through one of its universe shaking storylines as is its wont.
To be honest, I was only paying a little bit of attention as it is an alternative universe story and those are a hard sell for me as I find it hard to care if the giant reset button is going to be pushed.
Which is slightly ironic given one part of DC's announcement yesterday.
They are apparently relaunching all their titles with an issue one. (I say apparently as I doubt they'll reset the numbering on Detective or Action Comics which have run uninterrupted since the 30s - Action is 8 years off an issue 1000)
This is said to boost sales. It certainly acts as a jump-on point to buyers in the store.
They are also reworking some if not all of the characters. Clearing out some of the clutter will help. It worked a treat for Wonder Woman and Superman in the 80s who were controversially but brilliantly reinvented. It hasn't been done on this sort of scale before though.
And you have to be so careful with this. Witness the varied attempts to relaunch Hawkman in the 80s/90s with vastly different interpretations, turning the concept into a bit of a mess. Also if you lose some developments, in a bid to simplify the saga, it reinforces the notion that DC resets all too often back to the 1970s. It removes any sense of growth and also puts off those who grew up with the next-generation heroes. For me, The Flash is Wally West, who was the 80s/90s incarnation, rather than Barry Allen who was, ahem, dead but recently revived (Barry always seemed to be a more interesting character dead than alive and I've yet to change my opinion on that).
And it'll be an absolute shame if Dick Grayson is stripped of his joint-Batman-hood. (That depends on the whim of current Bat-writer Grant Morrison).
Another announcement of note was the creators, or specifically what has been announced for Superman. That Morrison man again.
Why so thrilled? Morrison wrote All Star Superman, an out-of-continuity tale of Kal-El that was stunning in both spectacle and emotional power. You must go sample it on Comixology now.
I am waiting to see where they put Paul Cornell though... And Chris Roberson.
The biggest thing though is that new issues will be available to buy online on the same day they reach the store. This is a bold move. Great for consumers but damaging for retainers. Especially British ones given that digital is cheaper than paying for printed copies to be shipping over. It was only this year that UK retailers got issues on the same day as the states. DC govern and DC gaiety away.
Yes the convenience could increase sales.
But, crucially, the new issues need to be good and genuinely feel fresh.
Here's hoping....
To be honest, I was only paying a little bit of attention as it is an alternative universe story and those are a hard sell for me as I find it hard to care if the giant reset button is going to be pushed.
Which is slightly ironic given one part of DC's announcement yesterday.
They are apparently relaunching all their titles with an issue one. (I say apparently as I doubt they'll reset the numbering on Detective or Action Comics which have run uninterrupted since the 30s - Action is 8 years off an issue 1000)
This is said to boost sales. It certainly acts as a jump-on point to buyers in the store.
They are also reworking some if not all of the characters. Clearing out some of the clutter will help. It worked a treat for Wonder Woman and Superman in the 80s who were controversially but brilliantly reinvented. It hasn't been done on this sort of scale before though.
And you have to be so careful with this. Witness the varied attempts to relaunch Hawkman in the 80s/90s with vastly different interpretations, turning the concept into a bit of a mess. Also if you lose some developments, in a bid to simplify the saga, it reinforces the notion that DC resets all too often back to the 1970s. It removes any sense of growth and also puts off those who grew up with the next-generation heroes. For me, The Flash is Wally West, who was the 80s/90s incarnation, rather than Barry Allen who was, ahem, dead but recently revived (Barry always seemed to be a more interesting character dead than alive and I've yet to change my opinion on that).
And it'll be an absolute shame if Dick Grayson is stripped of his joint-Batman-hood. (That depends on the whim of current Bat-writer Grant Morrison).
Another announcement of note was the creators, or specifically what has been announced for Superman. That Morrison man again.
Why so thrilled? Morrison wrote All Star Superman, an out-of-continuity tale of Kal-El that was stunning in both spectacle and emotional power. You must go sample it on Comixology now.
I am waiting to see where they put Paul Cornell though... And Chris Roberson.
The biggest thing though is that new issues will be available to buy online on the same day they reach the store. This is a bold move. Great for consumers but damaging for retainers. Especially British ones given that digital is cheaper than paying for printed copies to be shipping over. It was only this year that UK retailers got issues on the same day as the states. DC govern and DC gaiety away.
Yes the convenience could increase sales.
But, crucially, the new issues need to be good and genuinely feel fresh.
Here's hoping....
Sunday, 1 May 2011
On media and Action Comics (but bear with me)
The caravan has recently returned from an excursion to the Mediterranean island nation of Malta.
There is nothing worse than someone gassing on about how they had a lovely time on their hols (but we did and you should try to go if you like sun, sea and churches but with a relaxed non-pushy attitude to tourists)
So to the point.
The main island of Malta is a small place. It takes 45 minutes to cross by car. The airport takes up a fair bit of it.
And the media there makes the country's size quite clear. Page 3 of Wednesday's Times of Malta (the national paper) had a piece on a postbox being damaged but the mail inside being ok. It also named and shamed an employee who had just been convicted for what seemed to be minor fraud against his employer.
Yeah, it's easy to point and laugh at such a parochial media.
But maybe this contributes in some small way to why the place is so safe. If you're a local and you get caught, not only will your friends and family know about it but so will the whole country.
That might seem a bit scary. A bit 1984.
It's symptomatic of being such a tiny country, I guess.
Though it also shows that the media can be a positive influence kind of.
I needed to remind myself of that when seeing the coverage of Action Comics 900.
DC decided to celebrate 900 issues of the comic that Superman first appeared in, which is a great achievement (even if they did slightly cheat by having it weekly for a while in the late 80s).
So in addition to their regular writer Paul Cornell (he who wrote the two stone-cold classic Dr Who stories Father's Day and Human Nature ), they brought in other writers for back-up stories including David S. Goyer (who wrote Nolan's Batman movies as well as the upcoming Superman movie).
Goyer's story appears to feature Supes renouncing his US citizenship saying that he is getting tired of being mistaken as an agent of American foreign policy.
Now, I haven't read this but nor have various other commentators who seem to have created a mini-storm. Here's potential Presidential candidate Mike Huckerbee being asked about it on Fox.
The Weekly Standard also jumped in. Admittedly their writer is clearly a comics fan (I disagree that the only thing interesting about Superman is that he's devoted to America though it's a theory) but as he acknowledges, the media is taking a back-up story far too seriously. There's a lot of angry comments on Comics Alliance's coverage.
DC have now made efforts to clarify that the character is still committed to America.
Which they kind of needed to, given the heat generated.
But it does make me wonder what DC were thinking. In the 90s they released Superman : Red Son, an imaginary story (aren't they all - to quote Alan Moore) in which his rocket landed in the USSR instead. Here in the UK, I remember reading articles implying that this would be the new status quo. (Which was never going to be the case).
So maybe DC should have thought that this would be a THING.
Ach well...
There is nothing worse than someone gassing on about how they had a lovely time on their hols (but we did and you should try to go if you like sun, sea and churches but with a relaxed non-pushy attitude to tourists)
So to the point.
The main island of Malta is a small place. It takes 45 minutes to cross by car. The airport takes up a fair bit of it.
And the media there makes the country's size quite clear. Page 3 of Wednesday's Times of Malta (the national paper) had a piece on a postbox being damaged but the mail inside being ok. It also named and shamed an employee who had just been convicted for what seemed to be minor fraud against his employer.
Yeah, it's easy to point and laugh at such a parochial media.
But maybe this contributes in some small way to why the place is so safe. If you're a local and you get caught, not only will your friends and family know about it but so will the whole country.
That might seem a bit scary. A bit 1984.
It's symptomatic of being such a tiny country, I guess.
Though it also shows that the media can be a positive influence kind of.
I needed to remind myself of that when seeing the coverage of Action Comics 900.
DC decided to celebrate 900 issues of the comic that Superman first appeared in, which is a great achievement (even if they did slightly cheat by having it weekly for a while in the late 80s).
So in addition to their regular writer Paul Cornell (he who wrote the two stone-cold classic Dr Who stories Father's Day and Human Nature ), they brought in other writers for back-up stories including David S. Goyer (who wrote Nolan's Batman movies as well as the upcoming Superman movie).
Goyer's story appears to feature Supes renouncing his US citizenship saying that he is getting tired of being mistaken as an agent of American foreign policy.
Now, I haven't read this but nor have various other commentators who seem to have created a mini-storm. Here's potential Presidential candidate Mike Huckerbee being asked about it on Fox.
The Weekly Standard also jumped in. Admittedly their writer is clearly a comics fan (I disagree that the only thing interesting about Superman is that he's devoted to America though it's a theory) but as he acknowledges, the media is taking a back-up story far too seriously. There's a lot of angry comments on Comics Alliance's coverage.
DC have now made efforts to clarify that the character is still committed to America.
Which they kind of needed to, given the heat generated.
But it does make me wonder what DC were thinking. In the 90s they released Superman : Red Son, an imaginary story (aren't they all - to quote Alan Moore) in which his rocket landed in the USSR instead. Here in the UK, I remember reading articles implying that this would be the new status quo. (Which was never going to be the case).
So maybe DC should have thought that this would be a THING.
Ach well...
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Bialyan nights
I remember in the 90s reading a DC letter column in which an editor explained that the reason why increasingly comics characters visited fictional foreign locations was not to upset the locals if there was a research failure.
Which kind of means laziness.
However fictional countries do allow creators to world build and create gems.
In the late 80s Justice League, writers Kieth Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis did that with Bialya, a Middle Eastern country ruled by Colonel Rumaan Harjavti, a military dictator who had a habit of trying to rile his public against the US.
This era of the League was notably more humorous than previous versions but was unafraid of delving into more serious storylines from time to time.
Harjavti fitted right in.
He was inspired by figures like Gaddafi and Saddam. This being the 80s, Harjavti was allies with the USSR, who seemed to barely tolerate his antics.
Harjavti was only in the comics for a year or so before being overthrown in a coup. However, during his brief run, he would pop up as frequently as, say, the pirates in Asterix.
The Bialyan storyline took a darker turn in the aftermath of the coup with his successor, Queen Bee, using a Leaguer as a Trojan horse for an attack on the team. It sounds hackneyed but Giffen and DeMatteis make it extraordinarily tense and the Queen Bee, being a youthful female leader, opens up more story opportunities and gives a freshness that a military dictator can't supply.
Nowadays it would be hard to imagine a mainstream comic using a character like Harjavti as a figure of fun. Which is understandable, especially this year.
But his appearances were fun back in the day
Which kind of means laziness.
However fictional countries do allow creators to world build and create gems.
In the late 80s Justice League, writers Kieth Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis did that with Bialya, a Middle Eastern country ruled by Colonel Rumaan Harjavti, a military dictator who had a habit of trying to rile his public against the US.
This era of the League was notably more humorous than previous versions but was unafraid of delving into more serious storylines from time to time.
Harjavti fitted right in.
 |
| Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire |
 |
| Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire |
 |
| Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire |
Harjavti was only in the comics for a year or so before being overthrown in a coup. However, during his brief run, he would pop up as frequently as, say, the pirates in Asterix.
The Bialyan storyline took a darker turn in the aftermath of the coup with his successor, Queen Bee, using a Leaguer as a Trojan horse for an attack on the team. It sounds hackneyed but Giffen and DeMatteis make it extraordinarily tense and the Queen Bee, being a youthful female leader, opens up more story opportunities and gives a freshness that a military dictator can't supply.
Nowadays it would be hard to imagine a mainstream comic using a character like Harjavti as a figure of fun. Which is understandable, especially this year.
But his appearances were fun back in the day
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