More NonSense: Comic-Con 2017 Edition

Go to: Comic-Con International

Comic-Con International in San Diego (at least until 2021) is the big comics-adjacent event this July. How did this year's super-massive convention go down? Here are a few links to get you started:

Words:
Moviepilot reports on DC's future publishing initiatives. Todd Allen reacts to the news that the comics industry is close to collapse.
John Lewis leads a march through the San Diego Convention Center.
Comics Announcement: The Terrifics by Jeff Lemire and Ivan Reis.
The 2017 Eisner Awards.
LA Times
Vox on the the film juggernaut that is Marvel Studios.
The Verge
The Beat, more, more, more,
io9, more, more, more, more,
Time
Tor
Women Write Write About Comics

Videos:
Comics Announcement: Superman: Year One by Frank Miller.
The Beat,
io9, more, more, more, more, more, more, more,
Lupita Nyong'o, more,
Estelle
Tested
Yellow Productions, more,
Hyper RPG

Trailers & Clips:
io9, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more,
Vox, more, more, more, more, more,

Photos:
Bleeding Cool
The Guardian
io9
Reuters
Space.com

Glen Weldon lists ten comics that changed the medium. It's a fairly conventional list since most pundits would agree with his choices.

Glen Weldon also lists his top 100 graphic novels.

Glen Weldon lists the most influential newspaper strips.

Matthew Thurber lists 10 cartoonists for art lovers.

Abraham Riesman on the rapidly expanding kids comics market.

Shannon Wattres, Tom King, And Veronica Fish list 17 comics to read at the beach.

Kelly Haircloth looks back at the 1950s boom in romance comics.

Amanda Shendruk analyses gender representation in comics.

Abraham Riesman on the fallout over Marvel making Captain America evil.

Christopher Butcher employs the somewhat unsatisfying "Marvel will be Marvel" observation when commenting on the publisher's recent woes.

Tom Holland trying to pass off as an American teenager in order to experience what life is like for students attending American high schools is cute. Then again, critics are going gaga over his portrayal of Peter Parker in "Spider-Man: Homecoming."

The "Marvel Cinematic Universe" version takes more liberties with the character created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko than the two previous Sony Studio incarnations. But the changes have actually resonated with the MCU audience because they still manage to tap into the character 's core appeal. Take his relationship with Tony Stark/Iron Man. Peter's classic Spider-Man suit being gifted to him by Tony would seem like a violation of the superhero's reputation for self-reliance and creativity. But the relationship also hones in on Peter's often troubled history with terrible father figures. And Tony, who essentially substitutes for Norman Osborne/Green Goblin as wealthy industrialist with dubious motives, is as terrible a father figure as any. Peter's rejection of his generous offer at the film's end is in line with the character's emerging maturity. In the meantime, his hacking of the suit's parental controls is what any overprotective adult should expect from a very bright, if not too experienced teenager.

Holland's dorktastic Peter isn't the lonely outcast of Lee and Ditko. But the bumbling hero who learns to rely on a supportive network is one of the more welcome changes of the Miles Morales/Kamala Khan generation. More importantly, Holland is the most convincing adolescent of any actor ever tasked to play Peter. And it is refreshing to see him interact with a similarly young (not to mention multiethnic) cast of actors after so many MCU films populated by serious-looking adults.

Alex Abad-Santos on the film's homage to the iconic scene in Amazing Spider-Man No. 33.

Pepe the Frog now has a lawyer in Kimberly Motley.

Sean T. Collins lists the top 40 "Game of Thrones" characters  and the top 25 episodes in anticipation of the series July return on HBO.

RIP Joan Lee, spouse of Stan Lee.

RIP Sam Glanzman (December 5, 1924 - 2017), veteran artist known for  his many war comics made for Charlton and DC in the 1960s and 1970s.

RIP Flo Sternberg (March 17, 1939 - July 23, 2017), Marvel's 'Fabulous Flo'. Tribute by Michael J. Vassallo.

RIP George Romero (February 4, 1940 - July 16, 2017), director of "Night of the Living Dead". the film that spawned the modern zombie genre. Reactions from his colleagues.

RIP Martin Landau (June 20, 1928 - July 15, 2017), veteran Hollywood actor, whose credits included "Space: 1999", "North by Northwest", "Mission Impossible", and "Ed Wood".

RIP June Foray (September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017), celebrated voice actress. Tribute from Matt Zoller Seitz.

More NonSense: Dawn of the Civil War

Critics and fans have observed that a common theme connecting the much-derided  Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice ( leading to a corporate reshuffling) and the more well-recieved Captain America: Civil War is how both comment on the current political climate in the U.S., namely the issue of America's descent into authoritarianism. Some have noted, with some dismay, that the titular hero Steve Rogers has now become an un-American douchey libertarian/unilateralist. It's also a 180 degree turn from the days when Tony Stark was the jerk telling Congress and the military to kiss his @$$, but is now willing to work with more government oversight because he once unintentionally created a genocidal AI called ULTRON who almost destroyed the world. On the other hand, unwieldy bureaucracies (the U.S. army, World Security Council, S.H.I.E.L.D.) have consistently let Steve down, and the government tossing his pals into a maximum security prison located in the middle of the ocean without due process isn't helping him change his mind. Good or bad, it's not entirely out-of-character for Captain America's cinematic incarnation. For all the hype, the filmmakers doesn't necessarily side with him on this.

Superheroes may not be real. The Manichaean world view the genre espouses doesn't quite fit the real world. But their central themes of authority and violence seem to have struck a familiar chord with film viewers. Or maybe it's the cool special effects that only the studios can afford.

Some have noted that with the release of X-Men: Apocalypse, the X-Men film franchise has not kept up with superhero movie trends. With Civil War's reveal of a dorky, bright spandex-wearing Spider-Man and the unexpected success of fourth wall breaking Deadpool, there's greater pressure on filmmakers to be faithful to the source material. Alas, Superman's red trunks will probably not be making a comeback given that they've been banished from the comics.

One of the more noteworthy features of Civil War was the number of Black superheroes on screen. Particularly important was the introduction of Black Panther. Unlike the Falcon and War Machine, he's clearly a hero who goes through his own character arc, and not just a sidekick. This primes the audience for the upcoming Black Panther movie, which reportedly has now cast Michael B. Jordan and possibly Lupita Nyong'o. That's a pretty strong cast. There's also an article on how Nate Moore, the lone African-American producer in Marvel Studios' film division, helped bring these characters to the screen.

DC Comics released a statement regarding their sexual harassment policies. While not addressing specific incidents, this is clearly an attempt to address regarding the allegations against Eddie Berganza and the firing of Shelley Bond. Honestly, the banal wording feels like an attempt to downplay/bury the controversy over DC's less than ideal workplace culture. It's the kind of culture which finds it acceptable that Berganza can be the editor for Wonder Woman: Earth One, a book about a feminist icon created by an all-male team.

R.I.P. Darwyn Cooke (1962-2016), who lost his battle to cancer. His family has indicated that donations can be made in Cooke's name to the Canadian Cancer Society and Hero Initiative. Cooke's distinctive style didn't ape trends toward more complex and murkier art, but often evoked a more classic age, making him one of the most recognisable artists working in mainstream comics. He's perhaps best known for DC: The New Frontier. and his adaptations to the Parker book series.

R.I.P. Maurice Sinet, a.k.a. Siné (1928-2016), French political cartoonist and activist known in his home country for his anti-colonialist, anti-capitalist, anarchist views. He founded the short-lived journal, Siné Massacre, in 1962, and L’Enragé in1968. He worked for a time at Charlie Hebdo until he was controversially sacked after being accused of anti-semitism (Siné was a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause). Siné died after undergoing surgery at a hospital in Paris on May 5th.

There's an article on why Kate Beaton recently decided to return to her hometown of Mabou, on Cape Breton island, and how the move has changed her perspective. This piqued my curiosity about her planned book about Fort McMurray.

Here are some photos and panel recordings from the Toronto Comics Arts Festival (TCAF), which took place from May 13 – 15.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Image via Collider

Spider-Man, Gwen Stacy, Aunt May, Green Goblin, and Electro created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Rhino created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a bloated sequel that harks back to the superhero films of the nineteen nineties, mainly because watching it caused me to make unfortunate comparisons with the Avengers-centric Marvel cinematic universe. Every entry of that series has pulled-off the feat of building off the momentum of the previous outing. Take the recent Captain America: The Winter Soldier which manages to draw together narrative threads that began way back in Iron Man, it comes across as a crucial middle chapter of a much grander tale as it does a Captain America story. But when Spider-Man confronts the villain tag team made up of Electro and the Green Goblin, I was uncomfortably reminded of the random villain pairings from Batman Forever and Batman and Robin. Then, and now, they didn't make much sense as partnerships other than coincidentally sharing a common foe.

It doesn’t help that this film’s villains are so flat. Heath Ledger's memorable turn at bat as the Joker and Tom Hiddleston's fan-favorite portrayal as Loki helped enliven their respective hero-villain conflict. But Max Dillon/Electro (as played by Jamie Foxx) is your standard loser/obsessed fanboy who simply gets caught up in the whirlwind of events. He also looks like a poor man’s Dr. Manhattan. And while Dane DeHaan struggles mightily to impart some pathos into the sickly Harry Osborne/Green Goblin, he’s hampered by a script that that has his character grow increasingly loopy. Throw in Paul Giamatti’s overacting in his bit part as the Rhino/Aleksei Sytsevich, and the whole thing begins to feel very cluttered. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone might be a charming couple playing star-crossed lovers Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. Unfortunately this isn’t an indie romantic-comedy, but a big, noisy action blockbuster with way too many subplots to keep track of. Even the central mystery of the disappearance of Peter’s parents, clumsily introduced in the first movie, never quite succeeds in inspiring the desired emotional catharsis, and kinda gets lost in the film’s massive fight scenes.

As for the fight scenes themselves. They’re spectacular and colorful, and make for pretty desktop wallpapers. There's something to be said for using New York as the stage for all those superhero battles. And it's fun to see Spidey interact with the locals (even if Stan Lee's requisite cameo is more pointless than usual). But they still can't totally eliminate that annoying weightlessness to Spider-Man whenever he swings through the city streets, a side effect of heavily depending on CGI to animate the action.

All this material is being crammed into ASM2 because of Sony’s hasty attempts to catch up to Marvel. They’ve already announced their intention to ramp up their Spider-Man film output. ASM2 in particular is burdened with conveying the message that OsCorp is the big bad behind most, if not all of, Spider-Man’s rogues gallery. The tactic might work out for them in the long run, but for now the audience has to contend with this hot mess.

Superior Spider-Man #1

Writer: Dan Slott
Art: Ryan Stegman
Colors: Edgar Delgado
Letters: Chris Eliopoulus

Spider-Man created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
[Spoilers Ahead]

So longtime nemesis Doctor Octopus/Otto Octavius is Spider-Man/Peter Parker now? That's an unexpected development, especially for a lapsed reader like myself. But it's no sillier than any of the other recent attempts to shake-up his comic book status quo. And frankly, it's pretty obvious from page one that this won't be permanent. Otto is such a barely disguised bad guy that it's a wonder his cover hasn't been blown yet.

For one, this Peter being secretly possessed by Otto's mind is such a douche towards his colleagues, friends, and Mary Jane Watson. That's really the heart of what makes this arrangement so objectionable to Marvelites, isn't it? That the dirty old man is now sleeping with their hero's main squeeze. The dinner scene where Otto's not listening to a word M.J. says because he's too busy monitoring criminal activity while leering at her cleavage... Isn't that the very image of fanboy creepiness? And it's kind of odd that none of the cast seems to comment on the change in Peter's behavior. He uncharacteristically calls someone a "dolt". He also grins, sneers, snarls, and lurks in the shadows like so many a miscreant. He wears a darker shaded version of his uniform, and he's rendered with rougher-looking art, just in case the reader still doesn't get it.

Then there's the ruthless approach he displays when battling the new Sinister Six. Once a mastermind, always a mastermind? There's a point in the confrontation when he acts like the villain revealing his masterplan while cackling at his own brilliance. And like many villains, he has to share his triumph with the public. Only now, he's boasting about capturing super criminals. So it's apparent that this Spider-Man is no selfless do-gooder, but the vainglorious vigilante Peter has been accused off being so many times in the past. While the world gawks, it takes the supervillains to notice that Spidey isn't acting like his usual self.

And finally there's the twist ending which reveals that whenever Otto's better nature gets, well, the better of him, it's actually Peter's disembodied spirit pulling the strings. So in a way, Peter's still the true protagonist of the story, with Otto playing Jean-Paul Valley to his Bruce Wayne. This isn't about Otto adjusting to his new role as hero, it's about Peter finding his way back. I'd like to say that coming back from the dead is harder than coming back from a broken spine, except that this is superhero comics we're talking about.

It took Bruce more than a year to make his way back to donning the familiar cape and cowl. So in the meantime, get used to the idea of Otto brandishing those web-shooters. Breath deep. Relax. Maybe even try to enjoy the transition. Then witness the eventual unravelling of his new life.

More NonSense Followup: The Miles Morales Backlash

In Ultimate Fallout #4, it was revealed that the new Spider-Man within the Ultimate universe is a half-black, half-Hispanic teenager named Miles Morales. This may not be the mainline version, but Spider-Man is nonetheless the most recognizable Marvel superhero to undergo such a major revision. Given how difficult it is to establish new characters/ideas within the traditional shared universe, this is a significant attempt to create a viable non-Caucasian superhero who already possesses the cachet of a core property.

Disappointingly, if not surprisingly, the move produced an eruption of fan backlash. Most accused Marvel of being unnecessarily "PC", or having a case of "killing of whitey". Dan Harmon characterized them as a "... previously unknown demographic of racist comic-book readers...” Rich Johnston noted some of the more negative commentary on the Web, including the infamous twitters of Larry Doherty, owner/manager of Larry’s Comics.

Kevin Melrose covers the impact of writer/actor Donald Glover's campaign to be cast as Spider-Man.

David Brothers expresses the most positive outlook on the news, seeing the creative possibilities of finally having a character not saddled with 50 years of Peter Parker's continuity:

I don’t necessarily think Marvel should be patted on the back, but this is a pretty cool move. No other major character–and the major characters these days are Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man, make no mistake–have been replaced by a non-white. In this case, the one, true Spider-Man, or Ultimate Spider-Man, or whatever, is a black guy. What’s more, this’ll pull the Ultimate universe away from pantomiming the past, which is what the last murderfest and reboot was supposed to do. You can’t do a retread of Venom with Miles Morales. They don’t have the history, and there are no expectations.

Heidi McDonald quotes the explanations of writer Brian Michael Bendis and editor-in-chief Alex Alonso, as well as the official Marvel PR on the relaunched Ultimate Spider-Man series.The comments section has the opinions of comics professionals like Kurt Busiek and Andrew Farago.

In another post, Heidi wonders if Marvel and DC are getting left behind by a changing market. She questions the old adage that non-white characters don't sell.

On the topic of minority representaions in superhero comics, J. Caleb Mozzocco points out the dubious portrayal of African-American charcters Cyborg and real-life president Barack Obama in DC's crossover event Flashpoint. Yeah, it's been a hell of a week for DC.

Ward Sutton on "Turn Off the Dark"

Go to: Spidey Super Theater Stories - Broadway's Tangled Web by Ward Sutton

Short Pamphlet Reviews

Pissing All Over The Superheroes


Invincible #60-65
by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, Cliff Rathburn, Fco Plascencia

One of the pleasures of reading Robert Kirkman's comic series Invincible is watching him construct a universe through interconnected story arcs that feels both straightforward, but multi-layered. His characters aren't complex, but he manages to balance the ever growing ensemble by deftly switching between the the interactions of main character Mark Grayson a.k.a. Invincible - The son of an extremely powerful superhero who was revealed to be an agent for a world conquering alien race called the Vitrumites, and his supporting cast. Much like the best of the nascent Marvel titles of the sixties, there's an engaging naivete to the cast, and a sense of wonder watching a new world unfolding. But I have to wonder how long Kirkman can keep this up before his creation becomes too byzantine, or too weighed down by its own internalized status quo.

There have been recent moves to connect the title to a larger shared universe that could be said to have culminated in issue #60. Lex Luthor stand-in Angstrom Levy has gathered an army of Invincible's villainous alternate Earth versions and unleashed them on the world. This provides an excuse for cameos from all of Image Comics superhero lineup. Much bloody chaos ensues. The whole thing turns out to be one gratuitous gimmick and a prelude to a knock down drag out fight between Invincible and a Vitrumite soldier sent to keep him in line. The superhero population is largely incapacitated. People die, including an important supporting character. Another's boobs get bigger, literally. But her powers start going all wonky. Half a dozen plot points for future arcs are sprinkled throughout. Mark reaches an important turning point, and suddenly this series has gotten a lot more complicated. Oh boy.


Power Girl #1-4
by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, Amanda Conner, Paul Mounts, John J. Hill

And speaking of gratuitous there's Power Girl. Is there any superhero so obviously derivative with such a convoluted history? Female characters possessing superpowers and ample cleavage should be easy enough to sell. Just look at Cutey Honey. But at DC she's ranked lower on the totem pole than Superman, Wonder Woman, and Supergirl. Given how DC sometimes treats even marquee properties like Wonder Woman like shit, what chance does Power Girl have of moving up from being a magnet for puerile big boob jokes? Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray attempt to develop her civilian identity and supporting cast. But the battle between her and the Ultra-Humanite feels indifferent despite the over the top scheming from Humanite. Actually I'm put-off by the attempt to update the classic supervillain with a more distasteful violent origin. More humor is used in issue four, but it's not enough to block-out the bad taste from reading the last three issues.

Batgirl #1
by Bryan Q. Miller, Lee Garbett, Trevor Scott, Guy Major, John J. Hill

Hey, another derivative character. This is a passing of the Batgirl mantle from Cassandra Cain to the often abused Stephanie Brown despite the latter girl's reservations. Meanwhile the original Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, broods as if she's trying to be Bruce Wayne. The issue's pretty confusing as the reader is simply dumped into the story mid-stride without prior explanation. But then, who cares about Batgirl outside of the rabid Bat fans.

Ultimate Comics Avengers #1
by Mark Millar, Carlos Pacheco, Danny Miki, Justin Ponsor, VC's Cory Petit

First, that's not what the title on the cover says. Second, they aren't called the Avengers in this issue. Oh look, they've bought Mark Millar back along with his trademark wit, or what passes for wit in these pages. In fact he picks up from where he left off determined to ignore as much as possible the intervening events. But then again no one seems to care. The Ultimate line hasn't been around that long, but this already feels like a reinstatement of some long-standing status quo.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1
by Brian Michael Bendis, David Lafuente, Justin Ponsor, VC's Cory Petit

This is even more insistent about the return to the status quo. Six months since a massive tsunami submerged New York and things have returned to normal? Then again Spider-Man's public cred has never been higher, so maybe that counts for something. Brian Michael Bendis is still writing the title, and this has given it a consistency not found elsewhere in the Ultimate line. I haven't kept up with it lately, and this relaunch has yet to convince me to return to the ongoing teen soap opera that is Peter Parker's life.