The Justice League are on the loose…tracking down the bad guys from the Injustice League

There’s something to be said for a show that was never particularly good (tell my best friend I said this if you want to see me get punched in the mouth [!]) going to such great distances to grow and mature and suck tons less, causing in me the desire to throw CW’s Smallville props for being the crappy little program that could as the treaser for the upcoming Absolute Justice event is online.  Congrats, guys, on putting together the most ambitious story arc on the small screen in years, barring some science-fiction shows that are of higher ambition to start with as it concerns their general premise and concepts, such as the phenomenal LOST and recently with AMC’s The Prisoner, which I found thoroughly enjoyable (for more reasons than the new love of my life, Hayley Atwell).  How well it pans out for the show is another story as the writers seem to love throwing non-Superman  Clark Kent into full on Supes situations, and utilizing characters far earlier than necessary.  Not to mention the show is obviously shot in a crappy warehouse most of the time and is visually telling of this sad reality.  The fact that every opinion I hold on the show being 100% true is one thing but I know I’m not being completely fair, or fully accurate.  Obviously the show tapped into something positive with fans as only real comic geeks would continue to watch, and yet the show is on it’s 9th season, a huge accomplishment for any series, of any genre or format.  Having heard for years now that every subsequent season would be the last, I now see precisely that for as unsurprised as I will be if the show has a 10th, the same could be said for it’s 20th season or for the 15th anniversary of spin-off show Martian Manhunter: Darker Than Space.  As much as I used to desire the show to go away so that another comic book show could come on and actually be good, I now must root for Tom Welling and Erica Durance’s awful chemistry and the sometimes, but rarely, cool battles.  You win, Smallville.

PS: Thank you for getting Michael Shanks to play Hawkman in the upcoming Absolute Justice.  My man crush for him just doubled, and that’s saying something after his turn as Victor on S2 of Burn Notice.

DC JLU Justice League Unlimited Heroes and Villains are on the loose !

 

R.E.B.E.L.S. #10
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Andy Clarke

Okay I didn’t expect Vril Dox to get a Sinestro Corps ring at all! Bedard wove Blackest Night in with his own mega-story about Starro perfectly. Both people coming in for the Blackest Night stuff and previous readers will enjoy this issue. Clarke’s art is great to see again, let’s hope he stays around this time. I like that Vril’s son is now Brainiac 3. This was a good issue.

Booster Gold (Volume 2) #26
Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Jurgens and Mike Norton

Jurgens is by far one of if not the best artists DC has, why doesn’t he get any appreciation for it?! He is also just as good of a writer. You don’t have to have read anything with Booster Gold before and you would completely understand and enjoy this issue. If you know Booster’s history, you will enjoy it more but that means it is a good use of continuity. I loved every page of this issue. Pick this up if you are a fan or just someone getting into DC through Blackest Night.

Verdant as the grass,

Red and sandy are his thoughts,

His body, fluid.

Number twenty-three: Chinatown’s got somethin’ for everybody.

[VORTEX COMICS occur once per day Monday through Friday. VORTEX COMICS do not occur on weekends. VORTEX COMICS is made by selecting five images (photos I've taken, made grayscale, and inked after printing) and five phrases (taken from things I've written in the past), pairing it down to three phrases, and leaving the connection up to the reader. VORTEX COMICS have no defined story...for now.]

AND NOW! Because Halloween is tomorrow, and I know I’m not the only one who waited until the last minute, I present you all, ye faithful few procrastinators, with handy-dandy instructions on how to craft your very own Starro mask! (I’ll warn you, though, that these are VERY rough and VERY amateurish instructions, so I welcome any suggestions for improvement.)
	1. ASSEMBLE YOUR TEAM! To make this bad boy, I’ve gathered a few choice materials: purple and blue fabric; black and red nylon mesh material; blue, black, and purple thread; black elastic band; a needle; safety pins; and an old towel.
	2. YER EYEBALLS! Using a rough measurement of the distance between the far side of either eye made with my index finger and thumb, I cut four circles from the red nylon mesh (enough to provide a red color while still allowing for sight) larger than the measured size. I then made pupils out of the black mesh. Set these aside for later.
	3. FINDING YOUR INNER STAR! Next I traced a dinner plate on the back of the blue fabric. Finding the center, I used the same rough measurement to cut what would eventually determine what I couldn’t see while wearing the mask. Using that circle as a base, I cut a rough star shape out of the larger circle.
	4. WHEN STARS COLLIDE! Using the smaller, blue star as a base, I traced a larger star shape around it on the purple fabric. I then traced the blue star again onto the purple star, this time cutting it smaller than the blue star. I then pinned the smaller star beneath the larger one, so that the blue-lined eyehole is neatly tucked under the purple. The two were then sewn together around the inside edge of the purple star.
	5. I NEED BACKUP! Using the whole star, I once more traced the shape onto the blue fabric and cut a similar hole into the middle. Both shapes flipped around, so that what will be the messy, messy insides are now facing outwards, I sewed both together. Using the eyehole, I flipped the star right-side out and began stuffing the innards through the eyehole with strips of towel. The inside edges were then sewn shut as to keep all that stuffing in, the red nylon mesh sandwiched between each edge.
	6. ATTACHED! Using two seperate lengths of elastic, I fasted one between two opposite arms of the star, and one from the top-most segment to the other length of elastic.
	7. FINISHING TOUCHES! On the inside lower section of the mask, I stitched up loose parts of fabric to bring the lower “appendages” closer to my face. I also sewed the black nylon on top of the red in the center of the “eye” where it wouldn’t impede my vision.

And there you have it! A fairly easy-to-make (if you’re really pressed for time, you can skip the stuffing altogether) and VERY affordable (the fabric, thread, and elastic cost ~$6.50) costume with definite nerd cred.

Bonus? You can still drink your choice of holiday beverage, not to mention eat candies and breathe comfortably, without removing it.

Hello Smallville fans! This post is for you today–that’s right, every single one of you!

As previously posted on DIH, producers are marveling that the typical death knell that is the Friday Night Move is proving to not be as lethal as expected for our resilient little show. Smallville’s pretty much kicking ass and taking names in the Friday night department (hardly a juggernaut evening, but still), and producers and other PTB are already talking about a 10^th season. Do I want this to be a show that lasts forever? I really don’t. I was actually seriously pushing to have it end during Season 7. But you know, Season 7 sucked. Massively. I was just ready for them to shoot the limping dog already.*

*I actually do not advocate shooting handi-capable animals.

But now Smallville has some great new characters, a glossy new look, and has taken the intriguing steps of developing Clark from a whiny, self-important farm boy into a charming and smoking hot Professional Man of Business–not to mention a man of business SUITS rather than that damned Member’s Only jacket. See the improvement?

Exhibit A: Lame Clark

Exhibit B: Sexy Clark

No comparison!

So yeah, now that the show has dropped all of the weak (*cough LANA cough*) storylines, embraced the Superman canon and suited up Mr. Welling, I find myself having absolutely no problem with the concept of a 10th season. 10 seasons…wow. This show is old.

But this is shaping up to be a pretty great season, no? I think Season 8 may peak as what I consider to be Smallville’s greatest season ever (excluding the inexplicable and utterly random finale, of course), but I’ve really enjoyed the darker, more mature approach Exec Producers Souders and Petersen have taken with Season 9. It’s wonderful to see Clark exploring his Kryptonian heritage in a healthy way, and undertaking his training at the Fortress of Solitude, the final step towards his becoming the Superman that we all know from the comic books (or perhaps from the Christopher Reeve movies).

So here’s what’s working about the season, beyond the above infallible bonus of dressing Tom Welling in some big boy pants.

(all pics from CW, and look at me, using legitimate photos and giving credit! I feel so lawful!)

1)

Brian Austin Green as Metallo was AWESOME. I’ve always loved that DC Comics evil version of Iron Man, and Smallville has puts its always intriguing twist on the canon. I know a lot of geeks hate that no DC character is ever exactly who he or she is in the comics, but I kind of dig it.  It means I’m never spoiled on these storylines, and I appreciate that. Metallo will definitely be back to eff some more shizz up old school, and I personally can’t wait.

2)

Callum Blue as ZOD, dude. ZOD. That’s right, the REAL Zod, not the weak-ass Lex Luthor-inhabited version who actually fell in love with Lana the way EVERY CHARACTER EVER DID ON THE SHOW BACK THEN. I’m sorry, but ZOD? In love with LANA?! I’m still a little touchy about it. Callum Blue plays Major Zod, before he’s been generalized (that’s probably not the proper terminology for someone becoming a general).  He’s going to look like this in his Kandor duds:

and it’s a good look,  yeah? And the iconic “Kneel before Zod” line was beautifully executed in the premiere—with a twist, of course, always with a twist.

Just for kicks, here’s Jor-El, another legendary character whose voice we’ve only heard in the past, and who we’ll apparently be seeing this season.

And he’s hot and…blonde? And he doesn’t look exactly like Tom Welling like he did in that one S3 ep where he had an affair with Lana’s grandmother or something, who looked just like Lana? Hey, if the producers want to pretend like that episode never happened, that is fine with me. Superfine.

3)

CHLOE!!!! I should have put this at the top of the list of things that work about this and every other season of Smallville. Chloe is such a fun, brilliant, charming and loyal character, and Allison Mack is a fantastic actress with the PRETTIEST HAIR I LOVE HER OMG! Okay, sorry, but I do, I really do.

And she’s KIND of a bad-ass this season (even more than usual, that is), finally fully embracing her Watchtower role in the Justice League by living in the super sweet literal watchtower Jimmy bought for her. *sob* Okay, we won’t talk about Jimmy (especially the stupid loophole of his not being the real Jimmy Olsen or something). I desperately miss Aaron Ashmore, one of my biggest crushes ever, but I can’t say I’m not picking up on the chemistry between Chloe and Alessandro Juliani as Dr. Emil Hamilton.  He’s certainly smart enough for her! And sweet Jimmy kind of…wasn’t.

Then (*sniff*):

Now (hmmm…):

Is Emil who the producers keep hinting about regarding Chloe’s new love interest? Interesting…

I’m ready for Chloe and Clark to renew their bestie-ship, because it’s one of my favorite aspects of the show, but I’ve appreciated the believably strained exchanges they’ve had at the beginning of this season. Chloe and Clark have been through a lot and not all friendships are solid all of the time. Although thank lordy this picture of an upcoming ep makes it clear they’ll be back to besties in no time!

4)

Clark is all grow’d up! He’s actually going out and saving people of his own accord and not just when catastrophes stumble onto his farm!

Granted, The Blur (his current nickname until he reaches Superman fame, as he blurs by to save people without ever being seen) started his journey in Season 8, but he’s seriously stepping up to the plate now, eye-burning the Superman emblem (a Kryptonian symbol of his heritage) as a lingering reminder of hope after each daring rescue.

5)

Okay, so I’d be remiss to exclude Lois (Erica Durance) from the kudos fest. I’ll be the first to admit that I violently hated her when she was first introduced to the show in Season 4, but you guys have to admit, she was vile, right? Outrageously obnoxious. I’m pleased to see that the show actually intended a journey for her, and she’s grown into someone I quite like—complex, stubborn, determined and occasionally vulnerable.

And I have to admit, yeah, I’ve always cherished a hope for the everlasting love of Chloe and Clark to flower, but I’ve accepted that’s never going to happen. Lois and Clark, right? That’s the story we all know. And lord knows, they do have chemistry.

Plus girlfriend can rock a pencil skirt! Chloe and Clark have bloomed into one of television’s greatest friendships (I’m including Willow and Buffy in there, so you know I’m serious), and Lois and Clark are well on their way to becoming the iconic twosome that are so familiar to us.  Plus, I’m shallow. Erica Durance used to have really bad hair:

and it’s improved immensely,

a trend which is directly relevent to my acceptance of her as Clark’s girlfriend. As long as Chloe has ONE ROMANCE THAT ENDS WELL, JUST ONE, MY GOD!, I’ll be happy.

6)

Justice ANYTHING. The show has slowly developed the Justice League, bringing in new members all the time. The two most regular?

Justin Hartley as Oliver Queen (Green Arrow)

and Phil Morris as John Jones (Martian Manhunter). Both are simply brutally hot, particularly Justin Hartley who LORD looks good in a tux!

and both are great actors and incredibly compelling characters, each of whom brings a different complexity to their relationships with Clark.

7)

And of course I love Oliver’s foil (and occasionally Clark’s foil…and sometimes Chloe’s foil…and often Lois’ foil…and lately Zod’s foil) Tess Mercer, or Mercy (Cassidy Freeman). She has definitely filled Michael Rosenbaum’s shoes as the resident stone cold bad-ass, but Mercy’s motivations are far less clear (and less clearly diabolical) than Lex Luthor’s. She’s intriguing as hell and her chemistry with Oliver burns up my screen every single week.

We’ve also had some legendary DC villains showing up, most recently the return of Chris Gaulthier as Winslow Schott (Toy Man):

 According to producers, we have loads more Justice League action and other DC characters in store this season, and I simply cannot  WAIT.

Obviously there are plenty of challenges this season, particularly with the departure of show-runners and writers since S1 Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer (for Melrose Place, WHAT?!), and I hope the tone lightens up somewhat and they tone it down with the wacky editing and futuristic montages. But all in all, as a lover from Season 1, someone who owns every season and created my own drinking game (with help from my fella, and I’ll publish that to DIH one day if there’s a demand for it. It’s kind of awesome), I feel I have the expertise to say: this is one helluva season, and I’m pleased as punch with the direction the show started last year and is continuing this season.

Link Drop!

Excellent IGN interview w/ Souders and Petersen here.

Smallville’s most prolific TV critic and spoiler, Michael Ausiello, gives all sorts of great news here. I love you, Ausiello! Thank you for not ignoring this show like all of your colleagues!

And The Hollywood Reporter marvels at Smallville’s sustainability here.

You can read hilarious and thorough recaps of all of Smallville’s eps here. Although the wonderful Omar is no longer recapping (SOB! Bye Omar, I’ll miss you!), this new Tippi Blevins is pretty cool, too.

Smallville is now on Fridays at 7pm central on the CW, which means if you have a life, you’ll never be able to watch it live, so Hulu the shit out of it, y’all.

Over at CBR Timothy Callahan has posted a list of the top 10 best Geoff Johns written comics for his “When Words Collide” column. JSA makes it to the number 6 spot. This is what Timothy has to say about the JSA:

Johns’s first major extended run on a series was the continuation of the James Robinson/David Goyer series which brought the “JSA” back into action in the DCU. Though Johns would later follow it up with a “Justice Society of America” comic in post-One Year Later continuity, it’s really his pre-OYL “JSA” that’s the comic worth reading. While the “Justice Society” comic suffered from a too-large cast and a focus on longer story arcs that didn’t lead to satisfying conclusions (like the Gog stuff and the Kingdom Come Superman stuff), Johns’s “JSA” had great moments with Black Adam, the man formerly known as Nuklon, and, perhaps best of all, a Per Degaton time-travel epic that epitomized the “old-school DCU meets the heroes of today” feel that worked so well in this series.

Speaking of Geoff Johns, he has been talking up the Smallville Dr. Fate costume on his twitter page:

Doctor Fate looks kick ass!

Doctor Fate’s look is beyond accurate. The Vancouver crew is unbelievably spectacular. You will not believe the lengths they are going to!!

Meanwhile Newsarama reports that the Martian Manhunter will also be appearing in those episodes. And they clearly see the result:

So between Superman (Clark Kent), Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) and Det. John Jones, and Hawkman (Carter Hall), Dr. Fate (Kent Nelson) and Stargirl (Courtney Whitmore), we’re looking at the first live-action crossover between the JLA and JSA!

Lastly we have previews around the Web of Justice Society of America #32 and Blackest Night: Titans #3.

Everything must go!

I know – this isn’t very professional – but nobody pays me to do this, so I’m going to do it anyway!  I’m moving house very shortly, and that means I have a lot of possessions I need to off-load.  Sadly, that includes a massive pile of comic books.  Naturally, I’m selling them on eBay, and now I’m flogging them off to you, Dear Reader.  Oh, and there’s also a Super Mario Galaxy Strategy Guide if you need as well…Here’s a list:

		SALVATION RUN #1-7 Incl. Neal Adams Joker Variant Cover Postage cost: AU $4.99	1	0	AU $14.99	9d 20h	Sell similar
		Super Mario Galaxy Collector’s Edition Strategy Guide Postage cost: AU $6.99	0	0	AU $0.99	9d 16h	Sell similar
		BATMAN: Streets of Gotham #1 & 3 Comics by PAUL DINI Postage cost: AU $3.25	0	0	AU $1.99	9d 16h	Sell similar
		BATMAN UNSEEN #1 Comic by DOUG MOENCH & KELLEY JONES Postage cost: AU $2.50	0	0	AU $0.99	9d 17h	Sell similar
		BLACKEST NIGHT: TITANS #1 Comic FIRST ISSUE (Ed Benes) Postage cost: AU $2.50	0	0	AU $0.99	9d 17h	Sell similar
		COUNTDOWN to FINAL CRISIS #51 – 32 Comics (20 Issues) Postage cost: AU $4.99	0	0	AU $23.99	9d 17h	Sell similar
		ROBIN #169 Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul Part 5 Batman Postage cost: AU $2.50	0	0	AU $0.99	9d 18h	Sell similar
		ROBIN #173 & 174 Comics by CHUCK DIXON Spoiler Returns! Postage cost: AU $3.25	0	0	AU $1.99	9d 18h	Sell similar
		SUPERGIRL #37 Faces of Evil: SUPERWOMAN New Krypton Postage cost: AU $2.50	0	0	AU $0.99	9d 18h	Sell similar
		THE MIGHTY #1 & 2 Comics by Peter J. Tomasi (GLC) Postage cost: AU $3.25	0	0	AU $1.99	9d 18h	Sell similar
		BOOSTER GOLD #13 Comic (DC Comics) Postage cost: AU $2.50	0	0	AU $0.99	9d 19h	Sell similar
		52: The Four Horsemen #1-6 Batman Superman Wonder Woman Postage cost: AU $4.99	0	0	AU $6.99	9d 19h	Sell similar
		The Death of the New Gods #1-4 Comics by Jim Starlin Postage cost: AU $4.99	0	0	AU $5.99	9d 20h	Sell similar
		The Death of the New Gods #6 & 7 Comics by Jim Starlin Postage cost: AU $3.25	0	0	AU $2.99	9d 20h	Sell similar
		COUNTDOWN to MYSTERY #8 Comic by Mark Waid, Gail Simone Postage cost: AU $2.50	0	0	AU $1.99	9d 20h	Sell similar
		COUNTDOWN to MYSTERY #5 Doctor Fate & Eclipso Comic DC Postage cost: AU $2.50	0	0	AU $1.99	9d 21h	Sell similar
		Brave & the Bold #17 SUPERGIRL & RAVEN by Marv Wolfman Postage cost: AU $2.50	0	0	AU $1.20	9d 21h	Sell similar
		SUPERGIRL #30 Comic by Will Pfeifer (Catwoman) Postage cost: AU $2.50	0	0	AU $0.99	9d 21h	Sell similar
		SHADOWPACT #17 Comic by Matt Sturges & Doug Braithwaite Postage cost: AU $2.50	0	0	AU $0.99	9d 21h	Sell similar
		TITANS #1 & 2 Comics – Nightwing, The Flash, Starfire Postage cost: AU $3.25	0	0	AU $2.99	9d 21h	Sell similar
		Birds of Prey #119 – Oracle Black Canary Huntress Postage cost: AU $2.50	0	0	AU $0.99	9d 21h	Sell similar
		SUPERMAN: EMPEROR JOKER Trade Paperback by Jeph Loeb Postage cost: AU $4.99 High bidder: ertansteph ( 117)	0	1	AU $8.99	9d 22h	Sell similar
		COUNTDOWN: Search for Ray Palmer RED RAIN KELLEY JONES Postage cost: AU $2.50	0	0	AU $0.99	9d 22h	Sell similar
		COUNTDOWN to FINAL CRISIS #14 – 11 Comics (4 Issues) Postage cost: AU $4.99	0	0	AU $4.50	9d 22h	Sell similar
		TRINITY #1 by Kurt Busiek Batman Superman Wonder Woman Postage cost: AU $2.50	0	0	AU $0.99	9d 23h	Sell similar

		Rann-Thanagar Holy War – Starfire, Hawkman, Animal Man Postage cost: AU $4.99	0	0	AU $3.50	9d 23h	Sell similar
		GOTHAM UNDERGROUND #1-3 Batman Two-Face Riddler Postage cost: AU $4.99	0	0	AU $3.60	9d 23h	Sell similar
		BATMAN & THE OUTSIDERS #1; #3-7 (6 Issues) Chuck Dixon Postage cost: AU $4.99	0	0	AU $6.99	9d 23h	Sell similar
		Outsiders Five of a Kind Thunder & Martian Manhunter #1 Postage cost: AU $2.50	0	0	AU $0.99	9d 23h	Sell similar

Just click the links if you’re interested!  And even if you’re not, have a bid anyway – consider it a small donation if you’ve been enjoying the site thus far.

“Noi ci troviamo oggi sulla soglia di una Nuova Frontiera, la frontiera degli anni ‘60, una frontiera di sconosciute opportunità e ignoti pericoli, una frontiera di grandi speranze e gravi minacce” – J.F.Kennedy, 1960

Quando vinci 4 premi Eisner e 4 premi Harvey qualcosa vorrà dire…
Non capita spesso, anzi a mia memoria -che l’ho invero piuttosto buona- non è mai capitato.
Ecco se un fumetto avessi voluto fosse auspicabile per tale onore è proprio un fumetto come La Nuova Frontiera.
Non solo come fumetto ma come idea, come progetto.

Viene raccolta in due volumi dalla Planeta DeAgostini  quest’opera che , iniziamo dal senso della cosa, si propone di colmare in maniera molto narrativa il gap storico tra l’età dell’oro e l’età dell’argento della DC Comics, che è come dire poi del fumetto americano, ovvero quell’epoca che si colloca tra la fine degli eroi della Società della Giustizia e la prima chiamata della Lega della Giustizia… Il confine tra Il fumetto post-bellico e il fumetto moderno, il Superman dei fratelli Fleischer dal Superman con Krypto e la Fortezza della Solitudine… La barriera che il Flash di Carmine Infantino infranse incontrando il suo predecessore. Il confine che una volta superato portò gli Eroi e l’America tutta verso la Nuova Frontiera ipotizzata da Kennedy nel suo discorso di insediamento alla Casa Bianca.
E ci riesce, pagina per pagina, con una accuratezza storica impressionante, riesce a far filare il tutto Darwyn Cooke in un atto d’amore al comicdom classico che si vede di rado e solo in opere corali quali Marvels, Justice e Kingdom Come. E ci riesce tutto da solo: storia & disegni, senza contare le sue stupende copertine per cui varrebbe già l’acquisto.

Sembra di assistere ad un film sulla nascita della Silver Age, degli Eroi che amiamo. Tutto inizia da zero e assistiamo alla creazione dei vari personaggi come se fosse la prima volta. Il ritratto è adulto, rispettoso dell’originale ma conscio che per ri-raccontare certe storie oggi è meglio intercalarle nelle trame dell’epoca e senza ingenuità di sorta.

Il disegno è neoclassico, cinetico, elegante: debitore dei Caniff, dei Waly Wood, dei Dick Sprang e dei Kirby quanto dei Bruce Timm, degli Steve Rude e degli Allred. Oltre al disegno superbo, la cura e la documentazione sia stilistica che fumettistica è impressionante.

Un fumetto che può incantare nello stesso modo chi non ha mai letto una storia della DC prima così come il fan più accanito, che pagina dopo pagina ripercorrerà quasi un album di famiglia in cui ogni cammeo, ogni citazione è un tuffo al cuore

Questo è un fatto importante, la trasversalità dell’opera permette a JLA:La Nuova Frontiera di poter essere magari il primo passo per molti lettori che possono così approcciare gli Eroi classici senza incappare in orribili rinumerazioni da zero e restyling che lasciano il tempo che trovano. Qua ci sta tutto quello che c’è di bello nei Supereroi classici della DC, rivisto, distillato e consegnato a una nuova generazione.

Comperatevela, sono una ventina di euro per tutti e due i volumi e avrete un nuovo classico nella libreria. Non fate i pulciari.

Written by Stan Berkowitz
Directed by Butch Lukic
Original Airdates: February 24th & March 3rd, 2002
DVD: Justice League, Season One

Summary: A space accident causes J’onn and Superman to be captured and forced to fight in a gladiatorial arena for the pleasure of their captor, Mongul. If you were paying attention to films that won Academy Awards around the time this aired, all of this should seem pretty familiar.

Featured Character: Superman

Debuting Characters: Mongul, Draaga

Other Team Members: J’onn J’onzz, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl

Background:

As previously noted, Superman’s rogues Gallery isn’t the greatest. In the last episode, we saw the usage of the Fourth World characters as more powerful antagonists for Superman than what was previously used in the animated series. This episode is another example of using a more powerful character to combat Superman, who’s a problematic character to write because he can be depicted as such a powerful hero. Bruce Timm explains:

Superman’s a hard character to do, period, because he’s so strong. You don’t want to depower him to the point where he’s not Superman anymore, but at the same time, if he’s too strong then the stories don’t make sense. If he can turn back time and undo anything horrible that’s happened, then there’s no drama. If he’s so fast that no one can ever sneak up on him, or so powerful that nobody can ever knock him down, then, again, there’s no drama, there’s no conflict. It’s always a struggle to find that right balance, to put him at just the right peak of power.

Bruce Timm, Modern Masters, p. 55

Here, the Mongul is introduced as a Superman-focused villain. Although his visual is perfrect for a Green Lantern bad guy – a giant, yellow-skinned alien – Mongul’s most significant comics appearances have generally been in the anti-Superman role. It’s no surprise that he’s a creation of cosmic comics guru Jim Starlin, who’s most famous for his space opera style (others have accused Mongul of being a Thanos rip-off, but that’s a little unfair) and godlike antagonists. This episode is largely based around the “Gladiator” arc in Superman, so maybe it’s more that the movie ripped off the comic, hmm?

Thoughts on the Episode:

Although this episode has a legendarily awful reputation as the lowest point of the first season of Justice League (and one of the worst in DCAU history), it’s not that bad, especially with it no longer coming right on the heel s of Gladiator’s Best Picture win at the Oscars. The plot is, at least, a fairly eventful one – beyond the three main battles, this is the first episode that really puts Hawkgirl and Green Lantern in close proximity to one another. Timm explains what’s going on in their B-plot:

(T)he “War World” episode was the first time we really started hinting at it, when they were stranded together on a foreign planet with no way of getting back home, getting on each other’s nerves – “meeting cute.”

-Bruce Timm, Modern Masters, p. 80

The larger problem is more that you don’t really need to have episodes focusing on Superman as part of the Justice League if all you’re going to establish is that he’s tough, won’t give up, and will always make the choice to protect the innocent – HE’S SUPERMAN! All but the most clueless will know that, so the viewer will always be ahead of everyone else in this episode. There’s never any doubt as to what the conclusion will be, which renders most of the episode pointless as it just doesn’t have new to say about Superman. Later Superman-focused episodes would centre more on what exactly would make Superman stray from his ideals, but that’s just not an issue here.

On the other hand, as noted above, there is something new with Hawkgirl and GL being together for most of the time in this one. Hooking up two of the cast members was probably inevitable, even without the conclusion of Hawkgirl’s story arc in the finale meaning a romatic entanglement would make things more interesting when everything hits the fan. Putting these two together is a bit of classic comic team storytelling – if you’ll notice, it’s rarely the most prominent team members that receive the romantic plotlines (the best example would be Vision and the Scarlet Witch in the classic days of the Avengers). The pairing makes sense and the first signs of it provide something of a spark to an otherwise trite episode.

However, this one really suffers from a lack of both Batman and Flash. Even though Hawkgirl has some decent lines, taking those two out of the picture takes away a good deal of the League’s humour (Batman IS funny, largely because the character’s personality is so well-established). An episode without much in the way of comedy, character conflict, or a strong villain – Mongul is quite generic here – just doesn’t have much to talk about. At least Paradise Lost was a failure to find enough plot to fill an otherwise promising scenario – this one’s got a decent subplot and nothing else.

Overall Grade: D. Probably the lowest score I’m going to give in these reviews.

Random Thoughts:

• From a continuity standpoint, this is the first episode that really establishes Hawkgirl as a Thanagarian (like the Silver Age version) rather than a human (as the Golden and current versions are) – the “tell” is that her wings are actually part of her, rather than a harness made of gravity-defying Nth metal.
• Have you ever wondered how everyone assumes Superman, as a Kryptonian, is some sort of legendary warrior? He doesn’t have any superpowers if he’s not under a yellow sun! You’d think that J’onn’s Martian status would make him more likely to impress whomever captured him than the last survivor of a race of scientists and artists who are dependent on technology to tame a rather insane planet.
• One of the aspects of comic Hawkgirl that was lost in the translation to animated form was that she’s proficient with just about every weapon possible – the brief usage of a pot lid as a shield here is a decent little callback to that.
• The usage of the spacesuits by the League is really random – they all wore them in “In Blackest Night”, but Hawkgirl doesn’t bother with one here when she ventures out with GL.

Line of the Episode: None, really – the dialogue is flat, which is another problem.

Next Justice League: From one of the worst episodes to one of my favourites – Flash, GL, and a whole bunch of apes in one of the funnier DCAU episodes of all time. “Brave and the Bold” time – and let me tell you, narrowing down the line of the episode is going to be really tough.

Next Side Story: I’m actually going to split these up because of the background pieces being so divergent, but since B&B is the first episode to really focus on Flash, first up will be his DCAU debut in “Speed Demons”, an episode that makes much more sense watching it in retrospect. After that – well, if we’re talking about apes and comedy, it’s time for a Superman episode focusing on both those things, via “Monkey Fun.”

Los amigos argentinos de la web de Mondo Zombie me compartieron este Fan Fic de la Liga de la Justicia llamada “JLA The Lost Years”, saga ambientada después de la muerte de Superman, o sea, en los noventa. El primer recopilatorio, en formato CBR, está escrito por Falcioni y dibujado por Churin, Poherty y Peralta, todo en blanco y negro, salvo las portadas.

La historia protagonizada por muchos de nuestros personajes favoritos resulta ser muy interesante para quienes tuvimos la oportunidad de coleccionar la Liga de la Justicia que sacó Perfil, o sea, la clásica formación surgida tras “Legends” y escrita por Giffen y DeMatteis. Lo lindo es que “Lost Years” retoma todo ese espíritu y resulta ser my divertida.

Fue un gratificante reencuentro con Guy Gardner, el Bicho Azul, Astro Dorado, Fuego, Batman, el Detectivo Marciano y… G’nort. Sin duda, el guión tiene humor, aventura y el carisma de la llamada “Liga de Giffen y DeMatteis”. Además, retoma el estilo de traducción de Editorial Perfil, que le ponía mucho cariño a la original americana. De hecho, los nombres de los héroes son “Bicho Azul” o “Astro Dorado”, por ejemplo.

Los invito a descargarla, está muy divertida.
Acá está el primer tomo.

Este tomo de 256 páginas es una verdadera joya. Se trata del libro que recopila los números 1 al 9 de la Justice League of America escrita por Grant Morrison y dibujada por Howard Porter en una edición de tapa dura y de lujo.

En aquellos números, hoy clásicos, la JLA se enfrenta al Hyperclan quienes se posicionan como un nuevo súpergrupo de héroes. Pero ellos algo traen entre manos  así que los más grandes superhéroes de la Tierra (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Green Lantern y Martian Manhunter) deberán enfrentarlos y, claro, salvar al mundo.

Más información acá.

There is a mystery in Geekdom.

DC Direct has been producing some pretty neat action figures in relation to the Blackest Night mega-event that is taking place in the Green Lantern titles (and, soon, the entire DCU… my wallet is already crying).

In the first batch of toys, we were treated to a “mystery figure” in all the promotion:

Soon enough, we learned it was Kal L, Superman of Earth 2 as a Black Lantern:

In the next wave, we had another mystery figure:

Turned out, it was Black Lantern Martian Manhunter:

The next wave included Black Lantern Aquaman, but I don’t think his promo was blacked out. It might have been, but I don’t recall. The wave of figures after that, though, is where the real mystery is.

In that image, we see the Black Lantern Firestorm, but there is another figure blacked out. The solicitation for this wave says:

“This series includes Wonder Woman, who is surprisingly transformed by the happenings of the Blackest Night (Read the comics to learn more!)”

What makes this figure so mysterious is that, unlike the previously blacked-out figures, this one hasn’t been spoiled. Kal L and Martian Manhunter were uncovered within weeks of the initial promo. This figure… it is well over two months now.

Don’t get me wrong, it is nice to NOT be spoiled… but it raises a lot of questions. All of the previous mystery figures were Black Lanterns, does this mean Wonder Woman will be a Black Lantern? But, each wave up until this one only has one Black Lantern, and this wave already has Black Lantern Firestorm.

Which leaves us to wonder (get it? wonder? ha!) if Wonder Woman will be getting a ring, and if so, which one?

A lot of folks are thinking that Wonder Woman will become a Star Sapphire. This is based on an image tucked away in the massive two page spread found in Green Lantern #25:

See it? No? Down in the left hand corner. Still no? Okay, how about blown up a bit:

As far as I can tell, the only thing that people are going by to connect this image and Wonder Woman is the mystery figure:

Looking at the figure, it seems to have the same skirting that is seen in the drawing. And, thus a lot of folks seem to make a massive leap to say that the figure must be that Star Sapphire, and since the solicitation for the figure says it is Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman will be a Star Sapphire!

That… is a pretty flimsy reason to make that leap.

The whole “Power of Love” (man, I love Huey Lewis and the News) thing the Star Sapphires have going on doesn’t mesh with my idea of Wonder Woman.  Plus, the ouline of the figure doesn’t really match up with that Star Sapphire costume.

A lot of folks think Wonder Woman may become a Blue Lantern. But, as passive as those Lanterns are, I don’t see that either.

Green seems unlikely. Red? An angry Wonder Woman is a thing to behold, and might work. Yellow is possible, but less likely. Sure, she can inspire fear, but as an ambassador to the world, it seems against her nature. Orange? Nah.

Which leaves Indigo. And, while attaching an Amazon Warrior to the Indigo Tribe seems like a more natural fit, I’m not buying it either.

I’ve never seen Wonder Woman as a mercy killer.

Then what? Well… I propose that the solicit is deceiving. (That’s right, solicit! I’m calling you out!)

After all, Diana Prince isn’t the only woman ever to be Wonder Woman.

Alternate option #1: Wonder Woman of Earth 2

She was seen again back during Infinite Crisis, so maybe she is coming back to take care of the Black Lantern Superman of Earth 2.

Alternate option #2: Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, and Mother of Diana

That’s right – for a time, Diana’s mother served as Wonder Woman. She even traveled back in time and served with the original Justice Society of America. I’m not sure if any of this has been retconned, but it is a possibility.

Alternate Option #3: Artemis

Ah, the 90’s, when superheroines all had gravity-defying hair and broken backs! Yes, Artemis, the grim-and-gritty version of Wonder Woman! She served as Wonder Woman after Queen Hippolyta called for a new contest for the title of Wonder Woman in an effort to protect Diana. Could be her… and, she’s already dead, so she’d be able to slip into a Black Lantern costume pretty easily… which is necessary with that back condition.

Alternate Option #4: Donna Troy

During the year that Diana took off for 52, Donna served as Wonder Woman in this far-superior costume! (Yeah, personal opinion, but, c’mon! That IS a much cooler costume!) Plus, if you are reading the Blackest Night: Titans comic, you’ll know that there is a real possibility here. Plus, she seems to be wearing the correct skirt (or possibly the sword) that is seen in the mystery figure.

Which is why Donna is my odds on favorite for this figure – a Donna Troy as Black Lantern Wonder Woman. Why as Wonder Woman? Well, her other costumes have been generally unremarkable. The Wonder Woman outfit is more distinctive, and should mess with the minds of the other heroes quite a bit, too.

To give an idea of what the figure might look like, I took this image:

And, with a quick, not too detailed mock-up, I came up with this:

I know – not the best, but it gives the idea. I could be completely off base here, but we’ll see!

In the spirit of the superhero films The Specials, My Super Ex-Girlfriend and  Zoom, a new superhero pilot surfaced at ABC in 1997. This time they would take the broader approach to superheroes and try to reach a wider audience. To keep comicbook geeks interested they used popular unused DC comic heroes like Flash and Green Lantern and to reach a wider audience they went with zany comedy and sitcom style relationships.

The pilot opens with the evil The Weatherman scaring the city of New Metro by creating a hurricane over it. Each of the Justice League is called in to stop the hurricane from forming. Guy Garder, Green Lantern (Gossip Girl’s Matthew Settle) has to break off a date. Barry Allen, The Flash (Kenny Johnston) is thrown out of his apartment and jobless. BB DaCosta, Fire (Law & Order: SVU’s Michelle Hurd) misses an audition. Then during the crisis, we also see The Atom (John Kassir, who also happens to be the voice of Tales from the Crypt’s Cryptkeeper) who ends up shrinking down so he can go under an old woman’s and get her cat.

Aside from the JLA trying to stopping The Weather Man, the pilot is also the origin story of another Justice Leaguer “Ice” (Kimberly Oja), who becomes the victim of an experiment and become a hero.

There is also the mysterious Martian Manhunter, played by MASH’s David Ogden Stiers, who helps the Justice League scout out baddies.

The best parts of this pilot are, well, Matthew Settle’s Green Lantern at least looks heroic, Kimberly Oja is credible and you also have Miguel Ferrer as the villain and he is always a perfect baddie.

The costumes in this pilot looks like somebody raided the SNL sketch wardrobe department. They are down-right appalling. And this is a shame since this is also the first time we have ever seen a live-action version of Green Lantern or any of these heroes except The Flash. Flash had his own series back in 1990. If you havent seen it I highly recommend you pick up the Flash TV series on DVD if you like superhero TV. It is a cut and above other shows and it is a shame it didn’t last longer.

The production design is appalling and well the script is a huge stinker. With all the effects, this pilot must have cost quite a bit. Who spends that kind of money on this? The script must have been a huge hint to how bad this was going to be.

What I don’t get about this show was why use established heroes that people actually have a lot of affection for. Why not go the route of completely original heroes and then up the humor like they did for The Tick live-action series. This series could have been really interesting if they did go in the style of The Tick.

Pilot Score: 1.5 out of 5

So Says the Soothsayer

Aquaman se retira de la Justice League of America dejándola en manos de The Martian Manhunter… y la JLA está nuevamente en problemas mientras los héroes del Universo DC se enfrenta al Antimonitor en la Crisis de la Tierras infinitas. Invitados: Harbinger y Batman con las apariciones de una gran cantidad de superhéroes. Y además, una histora complementaria de The Flash. Prosigue JLA Incarnations en un episodio de mucha acción!!

Descárgalo desde acá (4shared).
Muchas gracias a la traducción y la maquetación de Froiking.

La Justice League es una agrupación que ha pasado por evidentes altibajos a lo largo de su larga historia. Pero sin duda, desde que Grant Morrison tomara las riendas del título, agrupando a los pesos pesados de la DC (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter y Aquaman) la JLA volvió al sitial que le correspondía, después de una etapa marcada por ideas mediocres y alineaciones con liderazgos olvidables. Sin embargo, como antecedente no debemos olvidar la gloriosa etapa “Post Legends” de Giffen y DeMatteis, más conocida como la etapa “humorística” de la Liga. Si bien aún despierta simpatías y antipatías, este servidor la encuentra un clásico absoluto.

Sticker Design, que por cierto hoy ya no publica DC Comics, no podía dejar de publicar este título. Los primeros dos libros de SD/DC  recopilaron la saga “El Sufrimiento de Los Dioses”, escrita por Chuck Austen y dibujada por Ron Garney, un tipo al que conocí en la “etapa Waid” del Captain America.

En total ambos tomos, de 80 páginas cada uno, abarcan los números 101 al 106 americanos. Si bien no me volví loco con ella, la edición argentina es espléndida y como historia plantea un tema que es elogiable. Acá asistimos a una fábula de los más poderosos héroes DC ambientada en situaciones terrenales. No hay súper villanos y no hay eventos macro cósmicos que amenacen la vida tal como conocemos.

Atendiendo una amenaza cotidiana, Superman llega a ayudar a un incendio. Viéndose algo apremiado para salvar a los bomberos, tiene la oportuna ayuda de un héroe novato. Sin embargo, éste muere, lo que deja muy mal al kriptoniano. Tal evento, dará arranque a una seguidilla de escenarios en los que los héroes más grandes de la Tierra se verán enfrentados a tomar decisiones de vida o muerte, las cuales pueden traer impensadas consecuencias con las que deberán vivir y cargar para toda la vida.

Seguido a lo sucedido a Superman, Flash, Green Lantern (Steward), Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter y Batman, coincidirán en una serie de escenarios como el enfrentar la muerte infantil, la violencia intrafamiliar, las crisis internas y las consecuencias de escoger una vida superheroica gracias a la obtención de superpoderes con una familia detrás.

En suma, Austen relata una historia aparentemente liviana, pero que tiene fortalezas en su ritmo narrativo y en la concatenación de situaciones que conectan eventualmente todo. La gracia de la saga son los diálogos adornados por un Garney algo desprolijo.

Sinceramente, no creo que “El Sufrimiento de los Dioses” sea un clásico, pero se le agradece en demostrar que los héroes pueden verse envueltos en situaciones fuertes y emotivas sin que por ello deba estar en crisis la delicada tela de la existencia o el vasto universo.

Publicado originalmente en el Diario del bicho Azul

Before I go on any further, I must make a disclaimer..

I Trade wait.

And I suppose this is the only reason why Fables and Ex Machina had not made their appearances on this list yet. I try very hard not to get any spoilers, so yes, I don’t read the individual issues.

Having said that, brilliant though Fables and Ex Machina might be, I’m wondering if they would be good enough to unseat the best books the awesome Blackest Night and the sometimes brilliant Dark Reign had been serving up so far.

Blackest Night has yet to hit a false note (discounting Blackest Night: Teen Titans, but Teen Titans had not been a heavyweight contender for a very long time), serving up suspense, horror, mystery and superb story telling in fell swoop.

Dark Reign, no matter what critics had been saying, managed to massively shake up the status quo in the Mar-verse. The sheer volume of work and the number of characters shaken up by the mega event is truly mind blowing.

True, some of the not so good (ok, horrible) issues of this mega cross over stinks strongly of geek-xploitation, but even the staunchest critics have to admit that the best issues of Dark Reign features some of the best story telling and intriguing character development in the medium for a very long time.

Which brings us to the 2 contenders for the Comic of the week for the week of 17 Sep.

First up, we have Dark Avengers #9. Nick Fury and his “Caterpillars” seems to be everywhere this month.And in Dark Avengers #9, they had a confrontation with Phobos’ Dad, Ares, the @#$% God of War with his “No @#$%” Axe given by Zeus.

By all accounts, it is an inevitable face off. I mean, Nick Fury all but kidnapped his @#$% kid and pitted him against the Dad. What would’ve turned out to be a mindless slugfest in lesser hands became a real character exploration of the various (ok, Ares and Phobos) characters featured in the issue.

Quite a lot of people had been complaining about how the Dark Avengers series had been missing one crucial ingredient, namely…. The Dark Avengers. The Dark Avengers rarely feature in their own monthly, preferring to pop up in other Dark Reign Titles – to the extend of seeming to have the ability to be at multiple places at the same time ( I am looking at you, Dakan). But I prefer to think of each issue so far as Bendis adding layers to each of the Dark Avengers individually.

Dark Avengers #9 certainly shows Ares to be more than a mindless war mongering piece of meat at Norman Orsbornes’ beck and call.

Contender 2 for this week, is of course, Blackest Night #3. Besides continuing the slug fest between the Black Lanterns with Hal Jordan and Barry Allen, (adding the Ray and Firestorm to the lineup for good measures), this issue shows the first movement of the mysterious Indigo Lanterns.

Below is the cover for Blackest Night #3.

With this, I declare Blackest Night #3 the winner of the Comic of the Week for the week of 17 Sep.

No, you did not miss any paragraphs.

The cover is that Awesome.

Out.

By Geoff Johns (writer), Ivan Reis (artist), Oclair Albert with Joe Prado (inkers), Alex Sinclair (colorist)

The Story: The Green Lantern and the Flash are fighting a losing battle against the Black Lanterns, Elongated Man, the Martian Manhunter, Firestorm, Hawkman, Hawkwoman and Sue Dibny. In the meantime, the new Firestorm (Jason and Gen) respond to a distress call from the JLA HQ, which they really shouldn’t have done. A few characters and forces we thought dead make some surprising appearances, but things continue to get worse.

What’s Good: Ivan Reis is always awesome. He blew the doors off this barn. Albert, Prado and Sinclair are solid as well, and between the four, they really deliver. Sinclair must be doing some especially serious lifting too, because between the speed effects around the Flash, the transparency effects of Gen in Jason’s head as Firestorm, the glow on Firestorm’s chest, and the bursts of light around the Indigo Tribe, he’s pretty busy, and that’s nothing to say of just keeping up the coloring job on the regular line art. Oh, and one word about the speed effects around the Flash: Awesome…

Johns delivers lots of good character work as well. Despite the enormous cast, I felt like every character not only had something to say, but they said something emotionally meaningful. In one page, he does the A to Z of a tiny romantic fight between Jason and Gen. Over two pages, he has the Green Lantern and Flash argue some pretty heat-of-the-moment stuff and then reconcile. Ronnie Raymond kicks butt as a Black Lantern. He’s ridiculously creepy, especially when he says stuff like “There’s a big empty spot in my head….I’ve got a vacancy that needs to be filled.” And with just one panel, we get to see the dramatic plot reason that the Atom is here at all. Fine, fine writing with lots of tension, action and character moments.

What’s Not So Good: Black Lantern Elongated Man doesn’t work for me. I was pretty happy with him quietly dead, to be honest. He comes off in this issue a little too much like Jim Carrey with manic faces and lines like “Oh! Anger! IIIIII like it!” Not very scary. But that’s a minor point in an otherwise flawless comic book.

Conclusion: We’re getting really close to epic-level here. If you’re not following Blackest Night, check with your doctor; you might have an enzyme imbalance.

Grade: A

-DS Arsenault

Beautiful, Terrifying, Chilling, Obscene, Creative, Phenomenal.  Perfect?  Maybe.

I just typed up a dazzling review of this comic and how it succeeds so amazingly, but I somehow lost it when I went to “Publish Post.” So, there goes 30 min. of work and a couple hundred words.  Now, I’ll just some up some thoughts on the comic and let you decide.

- Indigo Tribe Revealed
- Ray Palmer = A New Favorite
- How to “kill” a Black Lantern revealed?
- Visual Spectrum
- Mera’s becoming super important rather than a footnote
- Intruders?
- Barry and Hal call each other out
- Stark
- Ronnie Raymond’s fucked up
- Wonderful
- Accessible
- Why the dead rise

Geoff Johns is doing a wonderful job.  I love it.  I reread it just because I was in the gobbling up core story mode.  Rereading it provided many detailed nuances I missed before.  This comic is thick with layers of goodness.