Batman Made Me Feel Icky
By Allison Eckel
Editor’s Note: Contains spoilers. Be sure to read Justice League #5 before continuing!
Cover to Justice League #5, art by Jim Lee. Image from dccomics.com
Five months into Geoff John’s reboot of the Justice League, I am still enjoying the ride. The characterization tweaks of these icons are fun to discover. But there’s a moment in Justice League #5 (on shelves now) that actually turned my stomach and left me feeling icky.
It wasn't gore such as can be found in Animal Man. It was a character moment so incongruous with my expectation that I almost put down the book.
As the heroes rush off to face Darkseid, Batman pulls Green Lantern aside for a quiet talk. GL has been rushing at Darkseid full force, and each time has been beaten senseless. So, Batman tries to talk GL into a different tactic. Ok, that makes sense. But then, he pulls off his cowl, introduces himself as Bruce Wayne, and gives a quick synopsis of the parental tragedy that drove him to vigilantism. He ends with a gentle, well-crafted moral: "This is bigger...than you are. Get out of your own way. Focus on what's important here".
WHAT?!? The most closely guarded secret in all of the DCU is Batman’s true identity. The Bat family would sooner die than expose their own identities simply because they could then be traced to Bruce. That must still be true in the New 52. Nightwing mentions this in last week's new issue #6, when he worries that his clandestine activities may be realized by his circus folk, and Nightwing's connection to Bruce Wayne will be revealed.
But, here’s Bruce, taking off his cowl in the middle of the street and easily revealing himself to Green Lantern. No, it’s wrong. I don’t like it.
Poor photo of an interior page of Justice League #5 (2012), written by Geoff Johns, art by Jim Lee, published by DC Comics
Plus, Bruce summarizes his origin story in such a well-adjusted way I have to wonder why he still feels the need to wear tights at all. Part of Batman’s milieu is that he’s driven to a vigilante life by this childhood tragedy that he does not discuss. His Bat family all know it, they know why Bruce secretly guards the dilapidated alley and theater location of the end of his childhood, but no one lets on – it is topic non grata. Batman is left alone to be angry, driven, secretive – and deserving to stand as an equal to Superman and Green Lantern.
Yet, here’s Bruce succinctly rattling off this story as if it’s a tale of a childhood week at camp that taught him a valuable lesson in leadership.
I understand that this scene is meant to show Batman’s ability to strategize and manipulate his teammates – in a good way – while working in his origin story for all the new readers. Plus, for some reason yet unveiled, he wanted to remove the cape for transport through the boom tube. But, through the past 60-plus years, he has found other ways to be a field commander. Some New 52 changes I can live with (no Nightwing finger stripes, more than one Firestorm, etc.), but this touchy feely sensitive Batman is a step too far.
Defenders 101, or What Are You Smoking???
By Glenn Walker
The Defenders by artist Kevin Maguire
If you watch the All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast regularly, you know that the new Defenders comic is one of my favorites for 2012 so far. Written by Matt Fraction with art by Terry and Rachel Dodson, the new Defenders features Doctor Strange, the Sub-Mariner, the Silver Surfer, the Red She-Hulk and Iron Fist as they fight a threat to the entire Marvel Universe, one so powerful that they cannot even verbalize its existence. Sounds like a lot? Sounds like a lot of mumbo-jumbo, too cosmic, or just too messed up for a comic book? Welcome to the world of the Defenders.
Whether it was purposely orchestrated or just dumb luck and coincidence, the characters who were soon to become the core members of the Defenders - Dr. Strange, the Incredible Hulk, the Sub-Mariner, and the Silver Surfer - kept bumping into each other in pairs and trios of varying combinations in the early 1970s. Someone, I'm guessing Roy Thomas, decided to just throw them together as their own team. And 'thrown together' is the operative term. By no means are any of these four team players, nor should they even get along by any stretch of the imagination, and thus the concept of the non-team was formed. They weren't really a team, they just worked together when needed.
Their first official appearance was in a comic called Marvel Feature #1, eventually graduating after a couple issues to their own self-titled book The Defenders. Thomas wrote the first couple stories before handing over the reins to Steve Englehart, and that's how I first became aware of the Defenders. Englehart was writing both Defenders and Avengers at the same time, and conceived a plan to have the teams battle each other. This was a time and age when superhero slugfests were not the norm, mind you, and this fight had a slightly darker edge.
Loki frames the Defenders from Avengers #116, words by Steve Englehart, art by Bob Brown
If you take a close look at the ranks of the Defenders, adding in new members Valkyrie and Hawkeye to the equation at the time of the clash, the team looks like some sort of anti-Avengers - quite possibly even a group of villains! In the plot of the story Loki manipulates the mighty Avengers into fighting the dynamic Defenders easily saying that they were in fact villain intent on taking over the planet. They had all stood against the forces of good at one time or another, and the Avengers had just had an uneasy encounter with Dr. Strange - Loki didn't even have to mentally push them at all to believe him, the Avengers had to take down the Defenders.
Imagine for a moment the joy of this little fanboy in the summer of 1973 as the battle of the century raged from one title to the next. Yes, it was one of the first crossovers, taking up almost a dozen issues of two titles, yet still affected the entire Marvel Universe, and costing less than two and a half dollars. If only they could do that these days. I watched old friends and older enemies like Iron Man and Hawkeyeslug it out, Captain America and Namor join forces against a third foe, Sunfire, the Vision attack the Silver Surfer thinking he meant to harm the Scarlet Witch, and the biggest baddest battle of them all - Hulk vs. Thor. Yeah, baby!
Hulk vs. Thor from Defenders #10, words Englehart, art by Sal Buscema
It was a good summer, the heroes cleared up any misunderstandings and departed friends at the end. And much to the glee of Marvel Comics, this Avengers fan became a Defenders reader too. They hooked me. I watched as Hawkeye, the Surfer, and Namor left, but Yellowjacket, the Son of Satan, and former Squadron Sinister villain Nighthawk wandered in. It should be stated now, this was the nature of the non-team concept. There may have been a core membership, but this was not a team with rules, headquarters, membership cards, or anything like that with the Defenders. People came and went as they pleased. Notably, Dr. Strange, the Hulk, Valkyrie, and Nighthawk always seemed to be around.
The anti-Avengers vibe continued in that not only was the members always suspect or of questionable morality, either to the public or even to each other. There was also something else, something that reared its head big time when writer Steve Gerber took over the book. The Defenders didn't really fight super-villains and menaces like the Avengers did. There was no Kang or Ultron or even Hydra on their docket. The Defenders fought weird stuff. Really really weird stuff.
The Headmen as rendered by artist John Byrne
They fought Xemnu the Titan. This white furry alien monster first appeared during the 1950s when Marvel was still called Atlas Comics (formerly Timely Comics), and at that time, Xemnu was called the Hulk. The Defenders also fought one of their greatest battles against the Headmen, almost completely composed of minor one-shot threats from the pre-Marvel horror/scifi days. They were led by a twisted woman named after a Rolling Stones song with a red plastic spherical organic computer grafted to her neck instead of a head - Ruby Thursday.
Gerber also brought the Defenders to the future to fight Badoon along side the Guardians of the Galaxy (this story also introduced Korvac, a villain who later succeeded in killing the Avengers, ahem, they got better), but that's almost normal compared threats like super-villains in motivational therapy, an army of Bozo the Clowns and the Elf with a Gun. That last one was an unsolved, and inexplicable mystery for years. Gerber also brought the new Red Guardian, Patsy Walker as Hellcat from Avengers and even his own creation, Howard the Duck, in, just to add to the madness. Truly, one has to wonder what Gerber was smoking.
David Anthony Kraft, a force missing in comics for decades, and one I wish would come back, next took on the reins of writer for the title. Kraft was formerly a rock journalist, later founded Comics Interview, and also wrote some of my favorite all-time Defenders stories. He also brought the weird big time. After introducing the Soviet nuclear menace of The Presence, Kraft brought back Nick Fury's brother Scorpio who in turn brought with him a twisted new android version of the Zodiac just in time for the fiftieth issue.
Defenders #62, cover art by John Romita Jr. and Bob Layton
Kraft's two greatest and weirdest achievements for the non-team were "The Revenge of Vera Gemini" and "Defenders for a Day." The first storyline brought much of the rock and roll imagery from various albums of Blue Oyster Cult to life to bewitch the Defenders, a real treat for BOC fans and a great supernatural tale featuring the cool but obscure Devil-Slayer passing through. "Defenders for a Day" had a documentary airing on television explaining the non-team concept badly - causing multiple heroes (and villains) to show up and declare themselves Defenders so the real non-team has to clean up. Great fun.
The title passed in a variety of hands after that, with Dr. Strange, the Sub-Mariner, and Son of Satan returning to the ranks, as well as the Beast, Iceman, new hero the Gargoyle and a whole bunch of former Avengers. In the hands of writer J.M. DeMatteis, who would later the next decade bring the weird to the post-Crisis Justice League along with fellow Defenders alumni Keith Giffen, the non-team continued to defend the world from the most bizarre threats known to man.
The cover of the newest Defenders #1 by Terry and Rachel Dodson
If it's the Masters of Evil, call the Avengers. If it's the Six Fingered Hand, the Dragon of the Moon, Yandroth, the Mindless Ones, or the dreaded Elf with a Gun - call the dynamic Defenders. After several reboots and variations on the theme in recent years, the team has been reborn in the fires of Fear Itself. It's a non-team of both old and new, and has got lots of weird, including secret messages in the borders of the pages. Matt Fraction is definitely channeling Gerber and Kraft in this new version. If you're not reading the new Defenders, you should be, check it out!
The Modern Age is Dead
By Allison Eckel
Cover to Justice League of America #205 (1983), art by Mike DeCarlo and Geroge Perez
I should leave articles like this to my colleague Glenn Walker, the Vast Storehouse of Useless Knowledge. He commands more details about comics stretching back decades than anyone I know. But I have this idea I just can’t shake. This vague impression of a sea change is tugging at the edge of my consciousness. We mark phases in comic craft in the history terms of Ages – Golden Age, Silver Age, Modern Age, etc. And as with history, the designation of an Age can’t come until we’ve passed through it and can look back with discerning eyes. But I believe that we can see a new one beginning now, that we will find 2011 as the beginning of a new Age in comics.
I know what you’re thinking: I’m saying this because I am a DC Comics fan and have savored the mind-numbing punch served by the New 52 marketing engine. Not exactly. One publisher’s clever re-boot is not itself cause for an Age. But with the New 52, we see on a large scale how storytelling in mainstream comics has changed.
In the All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast of January 11, I started my preview of DC by separating the books into two categories: single character and team. The stacks were tall and about even, which an odd experience for me: so many stories, about so many characters.
I began reading comics in the Bronze Age, when the team books in DC’s lineup were few, but they were anchors. The Justice League of America has a “battle royale” with the Royal Flush Gang in July 1982, then battles Hector Hammond one month later. No arcs or events, just whiz-bang action. A few of the team also had their own titles on the side in which we could explore the heroes’ alter egos, relationships, civilian workplace dramas, etc. Oh, and a chance to cultivate a gallery of villains all their own. Life with these comics was relatively simple.
Cover to Batman #497 (1993), art by Kelley Jones
Then came the age of the endless cross-over, in which you had to read the individual books to follow the events of the team. As an example, I offer the Knightfall story line in which Batman suffered a broken back at the hands of Bane in 1993. Plus the tie-ins and wrap-ups of KnightQuest, KnightsEnd, KnightMare, and whatever. Many stories in the 1990s and early 2000s arced into other books, so if you read only Action Comics and Superman, you had no idea what was going on. Many of us complied with the new structure, buying more books than we wanted, grudgingly, feeling played by our drug dealer (I assume; I don’t actually know what that feels like). In this way, I followed one very long, very expensive, printed soap opera.
With the New 52, this dynamic has changed. So far, these titles are very much character-driven, instead of event driven. I am very thankful for this; I knew I was suffering Event Fatigue when I couldn’t tell the difference between Final Crisis and 52, or even when one ended and the other began. This new focus on the dramatic journeys of characters is a more compelling reason to buy a comic than the need to complete my collection.
The single-character titles follow a now-well-known formula, albeit each in its own way. We watch each character deal with his or her condition of “otherness,” with respect to the normal people around him, and the eternal struggle between self-preservation and self-sacrifice. Knowing this structure does not diminish my enjoyment of these books, because their creators are at the top of their game.
What is really exciting for me is to see this formula applied to the team books. Instead of the team of known characters rallying to fight a central bad guy like Hammond or Starro – with their character defined by their quips mid-battle – we have actual dramatic situations and character journeys. The team books have become primetime TV dramas with more Kevlar.
Cover to Demon Knights #5, art by Mike Choi
Demon Knights continues to be my favorite team book of the New 52. It would make a fantastic television series. It opened with a bang, a rush of action and a jumble of miss-matched people reluctantly becoming a team. Over five issues, we’ve learned more about each while new questions are asked and side mysteries deepen. I would love see four seasons and a movie, but since this is comics, I will hope that creator Paul Cornell stays with it at least 12 issues.
From the high-action Blackhawks, which stays a hair’s breadth away from G.I. Joe copyright infringement, to the clandestine Stormwatch, the large stable of team books is more varied than ever for DC, but they all eschew done-in-one team battles in favor of characterization.
We see this in Justice League, which is a special case within the team books. This is the New 52’s tent pole, its main anchor, its flagship. The roll-out of this team may be unprecedented. It is certainly stealing from the modern TV drama playbook. We get to meet one, maybe two characters each issue while they uncover a few details of a huge mystery that will lead to the main bad guy of season 1 – I mean the first arc. I think this was a brilliant move by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee: To take the most known of their stable of characters, withhold them from the fans, and dole them out a little at a time in their new forms. In this, the creators have informed us that the rules in comics have changed; that we cannot compare these new books to what has come before (we will, though). As a fan, I love this new trend. It gives me a reason to invest myself (oh, and my money) in these characters, not just in their actions and exploits.
Of course, establishment of a new Age of comics requires more than a shift in storytelling methodology. There should also be changes in the industry such as distribution methods, censure guidelines, and the maturity level of most content. Oh wait, that all happened in the past year. So, we find ourselves in a new Age of comics. The Modern Age is dead. Long live… what should we call it? Maybe Glenn will have a few suggestions.
Rated E for Excellent, Part 1: Snarked! and Cow Boy
By Allison Eckel
Cover to Snarked! #1 by Roger Langridge, depicting Lewis Carroll's characers of the Cheshire Cat, the Walrus, and the Carpenter
Artist Pete Woods recently asked the Twitterverse this simple question: What do you want to see more of in comics? Of the responses he retweeted, most included the words “all ages.” Given the wide spectrum of “all-ages” content in comics, I decided to begin a review series on the topic: “Rated E for Excellent.” In each installment, I will present a title currently available followed by one waiting in the wings, waiting to land in your sub box.
First, allow me to establish my view of the E rating, or the designation “all ages.” An E rating does not mean “the same story, but watered down.” The rating does not negate dramatic and powerful storytelling; it just means that the writer and artist need to be a little more clever in their methods. Now, plenty of all-ages books are simple kiddie fare (like Ape Entertainment's Richie Rich and Strawberry Shortcake), offering nothing more complex than a vehicle for licensed character interaction. Marvel Adventures Super Heroes falls into this category; although, it has the potential to offer more complex, nuanced stories.
But there is a great pool of “all ages” content that offer satisfying stories for grownups as well as kids. Kung Fu Panda turned out to fall into this category when everyone expected it be vapid. Another fantastic surprise is Roger Langridge’s Snarked! from Kaboom! Studios.
Usually, a writer’s name above the title in comics is a red flag, a sign that publishers are trying too hard to recoup money on an over-budget project with a diva creator. So when “Roger Langridge’s Snarked!” crossed my desk, I admired the artwork and concept, but put off reading it. Apparently, you all put off reading it too, because my local comic shop (All Things Fun!) has one subscriber for this book, and it’s me.
Issue #3 of Snarked! is on sale now.
I finally read all three of the first issues and have developed a healthy crush on Landgridge’s wit. So have my kids (ages 10 and 5), who are both smitten with this series. Snarked! borrows heavily on the characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, principally the Walrus and his buddy, the Carpenter. These two find themselves the reluctant heroes to little Queen Scarlett and her even littler brother Prince Russell. The Cheshire Cat is working in the background, and we are treated to many references to Snarks and Jabberwocks. The story narration is written in meter, a nod to Carroll. But the characters speak to each other quite normally – well, except the Walrus, who is hilariously haughty.
Now, I may crave a high level of storycraft in my comics, but that does not mean I am literary. I have not actually read Carroll. So I must admit that I do not know a lot about the characters involved in Snarked! So don’t let the Carroll connections scare you away. The comic is completely enjoyable as it is, without using it as fodder for a high school English paper.
Also great fun is Langridge’s other works, accessible on his Web site, hotelfred.com.
Coming Soon: Cow Boy
Cow Boy by Nate Cosby and Chris Eliopoulus is slated for an April 2012 release
Coming in April 2012 from Archaia Press is Cow Boy by Nate Cosby and Chris Eliopoulus. This is the anti-Snarked!: spare, simple, reserved. Ten-year-old bounty hunter Boyd is tracking down his family, to collect the bounty on their heads. He looks like Calvin without Hobbes, if he was in the Old West, alone, on a mission beyond his years.
The presentation is so arresting, so captivating, that the few digital pages available on Tumblr and scant dialog were enough to hook me. I’m in. I want more. Go here and check out the digital sample of Cow Boy. Make sure you are ready to focus. It’s quiet and powerful. I need to go hug my own ten-year-old boy because I can’t hug Boyd.
All the Wrong Reasons
By Glenn Walker
Ad to promote James Robinson's Starman series in 1994. Art by Tony Harris.
People are talking about The Shade, from James Robinson's Starman, recently, but in my opinion they're talking about it for all the wrong reasons. Folks are talking about sales figures and cancellations and the state of the comics industry – but what they should have done is read the new Shade comic and talked about that instead. The book is really good, sales be damned.
James Robinson's Starman is not only one of my favorite comic book series, it is, I dare say, one of the best comic book series ever. Back in the 1990s when most superheroes were being Image-sized and replaced by newer, "kewler" versions of the originals, writer James Robinson and artist through most of the run Tony Harris turned that concept on its ear with the creation of Jack Knight. Jack was the black sheep son of the Golden Age Starman – a legacy character who did not want to take up his father's mantle as a costumed superhero, but chose to do it on his own terms.
Jack Knight was a Generation X cipher that many of us identified with, and he was thrust into a superhero universe that we all both knew and loved – and was yet to discover wild and amazing things about – all at the pen of James Robinson. Robinson and Harris created a fictional city in the DC Comics tradition, Opal City, which became a character in itself throughout the series. They also adapted many already existing characters into his new web of elaborate continuity. Among them were the second Starman from the legendary First Issue Special #12, as well as every other hero to go by that name, such as the Mist, Solomon Grundy, the Ragdoll, Alias the Spider, and most of all: The Shade.
The Shade is front-and-center on the cover of the 1996 Starman Annual (art by Tony Harris).
The Shade was a super-villain foe of the Golden Age Flash, created in the 1940s as a rather dapper man in black with a top hat and a cane that manipulated shadows. He returned in the Silver Age fighting both his old enemy and the new Flash. Later he joined one of the Injustice Societies and fought both the Justice Society and Justice League on several occasions. James Robinson redesigned the villain as a morally vague Victorian immortal named Richard Swift, a native of Opal City, who in the protection of his home, mentored the new Starman, Jack Knight.
In this new light, The Shade quickly became a fan favorite and even got his own four-issue mini-series at the height of Starman's popularity. Whereas previously he was a throwaway super-villain whose only redeeming quality was his Golden Age vintage, Robinson gave him depth and a vast background that made him intriguing and exciting to a whole generation of comics readers. And now The Shade is back in a new twelve-issue maxi-series written by James Robinson, and is unfortunately in the midst of a whirlpool of controversy.
I saw the Tweet that sparked some of the mania. I follow James Robinson on Twitter and saw this on November 26th. The story was further picked up at The Savage Critics, The Beat and Comics Should Be Good at Comic Book Resources. I'll let you read those links if you want, but the gist is if sales don't get better for The Shade, DC Comics may pull the plug on it before it's done.
Convention sketch of The Shade by Tony Harris, 2010
Part of the sales problem (if there is one; reports vary) is that that wonderful Starman series I talk so lovingly of was almost a generation ago. No one remembers it, and those who do, might not be aware of this new series with it being released amongst the flurry of DC Comics' big New 52 relaunch. There also might be the problem of James Robinson's most recent work, Justice League of America, which I talked about here on the All Things Fun! Blogs. It's notable that while I really dug it, not many other folks did. James Robinson's Justice League left a bad taste in a lot of mouths. If they see his name on a new comic, they might not pick it up because of his run on Justice League of America.
The shame of it is The Shade is a terrific book that you should be reading. With art by Cully Hamner, this new series has something for folks both familiar and new to the character. If you're looking for connection to the old Starman comic, there are appearances by Mikaal Tomas, Hope O'Dare and everybody's favorite, Jake 'Bobo' Benetti.
On the new side, we are introduced to new villains Les Diaboliques, and the new character that I have fallen in love with: William Von Hammer, a private detective related to Enemy Ace, the Hammer of Hell. If you dig Slam Bradley, The Goon, or just good old fashioned hard boiled detective stories, you will love this new Hammer. And there's also a must-not-miss battle between The Shade and Deathstroke.
The cover of The Shade #2 shows William von Hammer. Issue #3 (of 12) is on sale next week.
Bottom line, comics industry rumors and cancellation threats aside, you should be reading this title. If you're adventurous so far with DC's New 52, or if you're disillusioned with the never-ending events at Marvel, or if you just feel like trying something new, I highly recommend The Shade. Try it, read it, and you might like it. And talk about it for all the right reasons.
Action Comics: One of the Smartest Books in the DC New 52
By Allison Eckel
The cover to new Action Comics #1 (2011), art by Rags Morales
I found Action Comics no. 1 off-putting. It is set in a different time from the rest of the New 52 (an ambiguous “five years ago”). The Superman we all know so well acts very un-Superman-like – in fact, he’s kind of a jerk. He even pulls a page from Batman’s playbook (although he doesn’t yet realize it) and suspends a bad guy upside down in the air until he confesses. Most of the issue is action and kinetic energy, with our T-shirt-wearing super-hero getting the tar beat out of him by a wrecking ball and a speeding train. Exciting, but as a fan of Superman of the past 30 years, I felt like Alice following that darned white rabbit down its hole. I wrote about my apprehension of this re-jigger, and after reading issue no. 1, I was not optimistic for the future of DC Comics.
Then I read issue no. 2, including the pages at the end of the book on which the creative team explain what they did. Now, usually, if a comic book needs the creators to explain it, then I say something went wrong in the storytelling. However, in the New 52, many things are different. Reading these explanatory pages kept me reading Action Comics, and then, the comic made sense.
What follows is my deconstruction of what I think writer Grant Morrison and artist Rags Morales are doing with Action Comics, and therefore, why I think it is among the top books of the New 52. I must confess, most of this has been laid out for me (and all of you) to find by Morrison, who seems to work hard at ensuring his readers never take comics as easy, light fluff.
With DC wiping its editorial slate (mostly) clean and re-launching their characters in the New 52, Morrison is seizing his opportunity to bring Superman back to his beginnings, a character he describes in his book Supergods:
Cover to Action Comics #2, art by Rags Morales
“The Superman who made his debut on the cover of Action Comics no. 1 was just a demigod, not yet the pop deity he would become,” Morrison writes on page 4. “[T]his Superman was unable to fly, resorting instead to tremendous single bounds. He could neither orbit the world at the speed of light nor stop the flow of time. That would come later. In his youth, he was almost believable. [Creators] Siegel and Shuster were careful to ground his adventures in a contemporary city, much like New York, in a fictional would haunted by the all-too-familiar injustices of the real one.”
Morrison and Morales are working closely together to deliver at least three distinct-yet-seamlessly entwined levels to Action Comics to achieve this modern re-set of Superman: the action, the canon, and the commentary.
For action, Morrison has already stated that Clark’s powers are now less than most of us are used to. He cannot yet fly and he can be hurt, just not easily. In the back of Action Comics no. 2, Morrison explains that he is, “constantly putting Superman up against very physical objects.” Indeed, the first three issues of this new run have been packed with scenes in which Clark meets the seemingly immovable object, and does not always win. He comes out battered, bruised, bloodied.
The quiet moments are still filled with detail. Morales has made a point of differentiating Clark-in-cape and Clark. Morales explained that he “put [Clark] in baggy clothing to hide his muscles. Maybe stoop his posture a little bit, make him slack-jawed … so he doesn’t look at all like a hero …. He’s a very good actor, which is a super power I don’t think many other superheroes have.”
Cover to Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #1 (1954). Credits: Stan Kaye and Curt Swan. Their relationship is now quite different.
While Morrison re-sets Superman’s powers, he is taking every element of his canon – no matter when in the past 73 years they were introduced – shaking them up, and tossing them on the table like Yahtze dice. What they spell is the mother of all retcons. Ma and Pa Kent? Yes, they found him, but they died, prompting his move to Metropolis. Lois? She’s there, but they barely know each other, and barely like each other. Jimmy? They seem to be about the same age now; Clark thinks they’re pals, but Jimmy seems annoyed by him. The Daily Planet? Lois and Jimmy work for it, but Clark doesn’t (yet?). Lex Luthor? Still brilliant, still scheming, still sees “Superman” as an affront to his Humanism (he seems fairly unchanged, actually). This is all unrolling organically with the stories, so readers get to put the canon pieces together whenever Morrison lets us.
The third level I can see in these stories is commentary. Morrison has already written that Superman originally appeared in a fictional city as flawed as a real one. And so, Action Comics no. 1 launches us into the new Metropolis, complete with business tycoons who may do good turns on the surface, but make shady deals under the table. In this Metropolis, people are thankful to be saved, but pissed that their homes were taken out in the process.
Cover to Flashpoint: Project Superman #2 (2011), art by Gene Ha, who also worked on new look for Krypton, as seen in Action Comics #3, on sale now.
In this version of the DC universe, the government gets its hands on Superman early in his crime fighting career, and experiment on him to test his limits and learn his weaknesses. This is new for the DCU of my youth. The first I remember seeing this in the DCU was this summer’s Flashpoint: Project Superman, written by Scott Snyder. In this alternate reality story, the government found baby Kal-el’s rocket, not the Kents. The alien baby was raised in a protected cell, the subject of endless scientific research. This is probably a more realistic outcome to the “what if” of an alien baby falling to Earth. I don’t know what inspiration Morrison is drawing from Flashpoint, but the similarities are striking to me. The post-Flashpoint DCU is not the idealized place I knew in my youth. Now, the government tortures Superman, and the people he once saved will picket for him to “go home.”
I see this as a level of social commentary that is not exactly meta fiction, but more subtle. Morrison lets Metropolitans react to Superman in a way that might be consistent with how New Yorkers might react to a man in a silly little cape suddenly leaping buildings.
Now that I view Action Comics through this lens of seamlessly entwined action, new canon, and social commentary, I am excited to read more. Beginning with issue no. 4, on sale December 7, readers will be treated to back-up stories by guest creators. Reportedly, these stories will be approved by Morrison in order to fit within the context and framework he and Morales are building in the main story. First up is Sholly Fisch, who has been writing whip-smart stories for The All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold. I love smart comics, and the new Action Comics is among the smartest titles DC Comics is currently publishing.
Ace Kilroy Wants You!
By Glenn Walker
Rob Kelly is a guy who understands passion, and the concept of the phrase "labor of love." Not only is he the man behind The Aquaman Shrine, he is also the writer of the smashing new webcomic Ace Kilroy, along with artist Dan O'Connor. This is his newest labor of love, and with just a few clicks of the mouse, you can help make this adventure last a good long time. It's worth it!
Ace Kilroy is a loving tribute to the high adventure comic strips of yesteryear. My first glance at the work, which started on Halloween this year, conjured memories of Steve Canyon, and sure enough, that's one of the strip's inspirations. I have fond memories of the newspaper strips as a kid, reading their adventures in the black and white dailies and then in full color on Sunday – and this is the method of webcomic Ace Kilroy.
The man, Ace Kilroy, is the spitting image of Clark Gable, and a classic soldier of fortune in the late 1930s. He is summoned by President Roosevelt to combat the monsters of our childhood, like Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolf Man, who might now be working with Hitler's sinister Third Reich. It's clean cut but gritty action with a square-jawed hero facing off against the solid evils of monsters and Nazis. Really, Ace Kilroy is everything you want in an old-fashioned (and that's a good thing) adventure comic. It's good versus evil, where the good guys wear white and the bad guys wear black. You know who to root for and you know who to boo and hiss. Like I said, it's a good thing.
Rob Kelly has an extensive background studying both comics and film, giving his sequential storytelling flow and cinematic flair. Dan O'Connor has an artistic style that perfectly matches the era and feeling needed for the strip. Together, they make the noir adventure breathe and jump off the page. Their Ace Kilroy really is a 1940s adventure movie and/or comic (take your pick, it's both) come to life. Less than two weeks in, I am hooked.
And Rob and Dan are doing this great old-fashioned comic strip with a twist of contemporary internet promotion, and also using Kickstarter to fund it. So if you dig Ace Kilroy, become a backer! Find Ace Kilroy at the following links:
The Actual Webcomic is here.
A quick who's who background file on the characters can be found here.
The Blog, behind the scenes at Ace Kilroy is here.
Ace is on Facebook here.
You can even follow Ace Kilroy on Twitter here.
You can find the official Kickstarter page here.
And to join Ace's Allies, click here and become an official backer!
Join the adventure!
The Forgotten Foes of Iron Man
By Glenn Walker
The cover to Iron Man #150 (1981) by John Romita, Jr., and Bob Layton
Now that Fear Itself is over, and Iron Man is in recovery from his night of alcoholic excess, bad things are afoot for the Golden Avenger. His arch-enemies Zeke Stane and the Mandarin have been in the background upgrading his old rogues gallery. What better time to take a peek at the Forgotten Foes of Iron Man?
Stane, Hammer, Doom, and more recently Osborn – these are Iron Man’s enemies, right? Yeah, nowadays that’s about right, but the fact is that ol’ Shellhead has one of the more extensive rogues galleries in comics, rivaling Spider-Man, Batman, and the Flash. The problem is most of them are long forgotten.
Let’s start with those that are well known. These have been persistent enemies in the last decade or so…
Norman Osborn: Also known as Spider-Man's arch-enemy the Green Goblin, Norman Osborn is also an industrialist, arms dealer, and rival to Tony Stark. Even if neither had super-powered other identities these two would clash. Most recently Osborn took SHIELD away from Stark and created his own immoral Avengers team to replace the real one when he had them outlawed.
Doctor Doom: It makes sense that these two would eventually butt armored heads and not like each other. They are so similar and yet so different. Both men rule their own empires, both wear armor and wield incredible power. They have crossed paths on several occasions, and it's rarely to have lunch and compare notes.
Justin Hammer sent an army of baddies after Iron Man in issue #127 (1979)
Victor Von Doom is primarily a foe of the Fantastic Four, but has had bad relations with most heroes of the Marvel Universe, but he has a special place in his dark heart for Iron Man. Scarred by an accident, he sealed himself in indestructible armor and also augments his power with sorcery - another reason the Golden Avenger dislikes Doom. Iron Man hates magic. He can't understand it, he can't control, so he abhors it.
In the Silver and Bronze Ages of comics, Iron Man collected quite a colorful assortment of enemies, most of them lost to the sands of time, some not. Hopefully we'll be seeing some of them again real soon. They are…
The Ghost: The Ghost is an industrial spy, common in the world of high tech business, but he is the worst kind - a super-powered industrial spy. True identity unknown, he uses his 'ghost tech' to become invisible, phase through walls, and basically do as he pleases. He currently haunts the Thunderbolts as a current member.
Unicorn: Iron Man was forged in the midst of the Cold War so many of his adversaries are of the 'Red Menace' type, the Unicorn is one of them. Wearing a costume and headgear designed by Professor Anton Vanko AKA the Crimson Dynamo, the Unicorn can shoot a variety energy beams and other powers from the horn on his helmet - thus the name, the Unicorn. He has most recently appeared on Nicktoons' "Iron Man Armored Adventures."
Screen capture from the Iron Man 2 game for iPhone, featuring Ultimo
Spymaster: Employed at different times by Zodiac, Justin Hammer, and Madame Masque, Spymaster is exactly what he sounds like, another industrial spy much like The Ghost. He uses a variety of gadgets to get the job done and is also a trained assassin as well. The original Spymaster was murdered by The Ghost, and since then other men have taken on his mantle.
The Controller: Powered by a super-strong exoskeleton, mind control and his slave discs, scientist Basil Sandhurst tried to conquer New York City, and has since worked with and under many other villains. He has also fought many of the Marvel Universe's heroes, though his primary foe remains the Armored Avenger.
Ultimo: This giant artificial humanoid construct was built by aliens millennia ago and left on Earth. Ultimo has arisen from time to time to fight Iron Man, frequently as a pawn of other villains like The Mandarin and the Yellow Claw. It is known for its few lines of dialogue, the main one being, "If it moves, it dies." Ultimo has appeared in every animated incarnation of Iron Man.
The Living Laser appeared in the cartoon Iron Man Armored Adventures
The Living Laser: Usually thought of an Avengers foe, the Living Laser began his days that way before making a name for himself in Iron Man's rogues gallery. Arthur Parks first used laser technology and then infused into himself becoming a real living laser. Notably he was originally a pawn of The Mandarin, and now makes life hell for the Golden Avenger solo. He has also been seen on "Armored Adventures," as well as the new "Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" animated series.
The Melter: Bruno Horgan was an arms dealer put out of business by Tony Stark and then chose to use his heat technology to become the Melter and take on 'Stark's bodyguard,' Iron Man. And old school villain, he was a member of the first two Masters of Evil groups and eventually was killed by the super-villain-murdering Scourge.
Madame Masque by Jim Cheung
Blizzard: On the opposite end of the temperature gauge is the Blizzard. Three men have gone by this name and costume all using cold-based technology to fight Iron Man. The Blizzard has been a frequent animated Iron Man foe in the 1960s, the 1990s and in the 2010s as well.
Madame Masque: Part Catwoman, part Iron Maiden, and all mercenary, Whitney Frost is both lover and archenemy to Iron Man. She is the daughter of super-powered crime lord Count Nefaria, and she hides her disfigured face behind a golden mask. Masque is a double agent to beat all double agents. In the past she has allied herself with, among others, the Avengers, the Thunderbolts, the Maggia, Norman Osborn, and The Hood.
Hawkeye: This longtime Avenger started his career under the tutelage of villains and Iron Man was his first target. The bowman named Clint Barton eventually turned to the good side with help from the also repentant Black Widow. Later he would become not only Iron Man's colleague and friend, but one of the greatest Avengers.
Titanium Man: Another Red Menace villain from the Silver Age, the Titanium Man is Russian KGB Boris Bullski who with an armored suit similar to the Crimson Dynamo tried to destroy the American capitalist hero Iron Man. Titanium bigger and stronger than iron, Boris crush. Don't be fooled by my levity, the Titanium Man is a bad ass.
The cover of Iron Man #128 (1979) by Bob Layton
Alcohol: This foe has taken down the Golden Avenger more than once. Demon alcohol has always been with Tony Stark, as we've pretty much always seen him drinking, usually martinis the way those billionaire types always do. In the late 1970s, writers decided to give Stark consequences, and he became an alcoholic. It got so bad that he had to give up being Iron Man for a while. The bottle remains a dangerous lurking foe for our hero.
Now, finally, let’s take a look at the Hollywood brigade, those that have been portrayed on the big screen so far…
Obadiah Stane: Played by Jeff Bridges in the Iron Man movie, the man who would become the Iron Monger and ignite the Armor Wars is a fairly recent villain, from the late Bronze Age. Again, a rival industrialist, Stane stole Stark's entire company from him, along with all of his armor prototypes. His son Zeke Stane has sworn revenge on the Golden Avenger, and with The Mandarin's help will soon be making Iron Man's life hell.
The Mandarin: In the Silver Age, The Mandarin was Iron Man's main big bad, so big and bad he still tried to destroy Old Shellhead's superhero team the Avengers, even when he was no longer a member of the team! The Mandarin was a leftover of the Cold War as were most early Iron Man foes, but was also based on something much, much older. A villain in the tradition of Sax Rohmer's Doctor Fu Manchu, The Mandarin gained his powers from ten ancient alien rings, each of which had its own dangerous weaponry. He frequently would employ other villains (both other enemies of Iron Man and not) to do his bidding.
The Mandarin by George Tuska
The Mandarin appeared in slightly subdued form in the first Iron Man film. Over the decades since he was introduced the concept of the Oriental villain has become one of racial insult and rarely used anymore. The Mandarin appeared in the 1966 "Marvel Super Heroes" animated show, in the 1990s "Iron Man" series, again leading a group of other villains against his enemy, and in "Iron Man Armored Adventures."
Justin Hammer: Sam Rockwell gave life to Hammer in Iron Man 2. In the comics, the character is much less slick, less clueless and much older. Like the film version, he's a rival industrialist (yes, there's a theme here), who tried to frame Iron Man, and then sicced an army of super-villains on him when that didn't work. He was a memorable foe in that his actions made Tony Stark crawl into the bottle with dangerous circumstances for the first time.
The Black Widow: Natasha Romanov is again an old school Communist threat from the Cold War days. Double-crossing and triple-crossing is what the spy game is all about, and this Russian spy used her feminine wiles as well as her martial arts training to get what she wanted. Eventually, with Hawkeye's help, what she wanted was to defect to America and join SHIELD. She has also served with the Avengers, and will be played by Scarlett Johansson in next summer's The Avengers.
Scarlett Johansson will reprise her role as Black Widow in 2012's Avengers movie
Whiplash: Like the Black Widow, Whiplash was in Iron Man 2, but he was the main villain as played by Mickey Rourke. The film origins of Whiplash are muddied by being combined with that of the Crimson Dynamo, so I'll concentrate on the comics here. Mark Scarlotti was a Stark employee who traded sides to the Maggia when they offered him the technology to build a suit with cybernetic whips built into it. He later went by the name Blacklash and was eventually killed by a sentient Iron Man armor. Don't ask, these things just apparently happen every day in the Marvel Universe.
The Crimson Dynamo from the Iron Man 2 toy line (Hasbro)
The Crimson Dynamo: The armor has been worn by many men, but the theme is the same. The Crimson Dynamo is an armored superhero, whose power is equal to Iron Man's, and he's loyal to the Communist government of the Soviet Union. Perhaps that bit of datedness is why the producers of Iron Man 2 went with Whiplash. Battles with the Dynamo are always greatly anticipated by readers, and in most cases they are misunderstandings, as in most cases the Dynamo is a good guy. Depends on your perspective of course, and what year it is. If it's 1966, he's a Commie and villain, no matter what, ya know?
There, that should prep you for the upcoming events in Iron Man. It should be exciting when these old foes return in new, improved, and more dangerous form. And as always, you'll be able to check those adventures out at All Things Fun!.
Kids Day at the 2011 NYCC: Chaotic Fun!
By Allison Eckel
Experiences at New York Comic Con are as diverse as the cosplayers in line for Speed Dating. Some go for the panels of industry movers and shakers, hoping to hear exclusive details on upcoming projects. Some go for Artists Alley, hoping to score an exclusive sketch of a fave character by a fave creative. Many go in costume, hoping to connect with other aficionados of the “cosplay” universe. And then of course, we all go for the convention hall, that endless labyrinth of geek-fueled consumerism (and I mean that in a good way).
Where else but Comic Can can the Avatar and Peekachu meet over Beyblade?
I go for Kids Day because I love to share my fandom with my son, now a fourth-grader (he was the special kids’ comics reviewer for the All Things Fun new comics vidcast this summer. In this one he shares his thoughts on Justice League #1). With him in tow, I stop worrying about panels (the lines are too long and the best points will appear online by day’s end anyway) and focus instead on the special programming slate reserved for Sunday. This is a difficult program to get right, and NYCC organizers try something new every year. The offerings run the gamut from quiet and focused to massive chaos: drawing workshops, group light saber battles, celebrity appearances, gaming demonstrations, and more. This year, they put the Kids Day program in its own location, separated from the not-always-all-ages convention hall. This was good and bad. Located in the remote North Pavilion of Javits, Kids Day was very far removed from everything else. Once we got there, we couldn’t just flit in and out; we had to commit to staying long-term. Luckily, the North Pavilion had its own restroom and food cart.
Thomas (right) and his buddy had a go at Quidditch thanks to N.Y.-based International Quidditch Assoc.
At the 2011 Kids Day, we were joined by another family who is hip to geek culture, but not exactly comics. NYCC newbies, you could say. I was eager to see NYCC through the eyes of not only my nine-yr-old comic fan, but his newbie buddy and sci-fi geeky parent. We started the day by learning the motions for several spells from Bellatrix Lastrange and Narcissa Malfoy cosplayers; checked out a Beyblade Tournament; tossed the quaffle in a pick-up game of Quidditch; embarked on a mini-Dungeons & Dragons adventure; and spotted a few celebrities. Oh, yeah: The celebrities who appear for autographs were shoved in the back corner as though the organizers didn’t quite know what to do with them. Overall, the boys had fun, but not for long. By lunchtime, we were ready to head back into the fray of the main convention.
One of our favorite choices in the Kids Day program is the drawing workshop. My son’s first NYCC was 2008, when most of the Kids Day schedule was workshops, held classroom-style, taught by working comics artists. He had a blast and soaked up every trick and tip the artists would teach him. But, overall, those workshops were poorly attended. In subsequent years, fewer workshops appeared in the program. This year, we found only one. But this one was fantastic.
This fantastic book was the basis for the one kids drawing workshop
Titled “Nursery Rhyme Comics,” and listed as appropriate for kids aged four and older, we feared it would skew too young for the two fourth graders in our group. We learned that Nursery Rhyme Comics is the title of an awesome new book published by First Second that showcases 50 nursery rhymes as interpreted by 50 different artists. The workshop brought a few of those artists and their editor together to talk to kids about ways to take existing text and interpret the visuals to tell the story.
Then the kids had a chance to try it out. My son took “Star Light, Star Bright” and turned it into a dramatic, romantic encounter between Hal Jordan as Green Lantern and Carol Ferris as Star Sapphire (when she was evil). I am completely proud.
Of course, we did brave the convention hall. And brave one had to be, for the teeming masses were grumpy by the afternoon. The cool booth attraction this year was digital green screen photos. DC Comics put you into the new Justice League line up, Dell Ray audio books put you into a battle with a dragon, and more. Hasbro toys gave out mini Optimus Prime figures to promote their new Kre-O building blocks (Lego competitors) licensed with Transformers. DC Comics gave out plastic blocks of ice that glow green to promote the Nov. 29th release of Smallville’s entire 10-year-run on DVD (and more of those super-hero logo pins). But most booths gave out marketing fliers only, if anything. Freebies were rare, but demos were not. Many booths offered video game demonstrations, prompting more than one disgruntled fanboy to complain that this was no longer a “comic” con. All I know is that the gaming booths were so crowded we didn’t even try to see what they offered.
Official crowd pic from the NYCC staff. Yes, it was that crowded all the time.
We slowly slogged through the crowd to Artists Alley in hopes of doing a few video interviews for the AllThingsFun You Tube channel. Alas, the Alley hosted way too many fans. Which is a good thing. Keeping my video camera secure in my pocket, I did manage to meet a few artists, including Amy Mebberson and Katie Cook. I wanted to meet Todd Nauck, but the boys were tiring fast and his line was too long. Our final stop was the great pair behind Tiny Titans, Art Balthazar and Franco (Aureliani), but they had stepped away from their table.
There is a moment when a boy’s brain becomes exhausted, but he doesn’t believe it. We reached that moment at 3:00. So we headed to the aisles of book publishers, where I craftily parked them at DK, where the boys sat on the floor, leafing through visual dictionaries of Star Wars ships and Lego figures while I darted in and out of the booths surrounding them. Most book publishers at NYCC have “special prices” that are not that great. I can see a book at the Con, buy it from Amazon with my home, and read it the next day – or better yet, download the digital copy and read it on the train home.
Photo ops like this did not always involve a green screen, but were always popular
Except for Graphic Universe. This all-ages graphic novel imprint of Lerner Publishing offers a wide catalog of titles, including Sherlock Holmes adaptations, a line of myths from various cultures, tween fiction, and more. Their show special, at least by Sunday, was three paperbacks for $10. Since the first book I picked up was $9.95, I call that a good deal.
By 4p.m., we left the Javits convention center. The boys protested, asking to see “just one more booth,” but we were all tired, hungry, and getting short tempered. This year’s NYCC Kids Day was a blast. We did not fulfill our wish list, but we had a lot fun together. Which, I suppose, is what comics fandom is really all about.
Bride of Vidcast Footnotes
By Glenn Walker
An image of Snapper Carr from Justice League of America #200 (art by George Perez)
Hopefully y'all have been following the All Things Fun! Comic Vidcast uploaded every Wednesday, and if not, get yourself over to its special webpage and enjoy. As I said, it's uploaded every Wednesday morning by 11:30 AM sharp Eastern Standard Time, and available for viewing – as are all the episodes, throughout the week afterwards. The Vidcast even has its own channel on YouTube.
I, along with co-hosts Allison Eckel and Ed Evans, discuss the new comics that come out that day for the week. We like to think we offer our own unique and informative view of the comics world and what's going on within it and around it.
Although, sometimes fifteen to twenty minutes just isn't enough to explain some of the references made during the vidcast, and it certainly isn't anywhere near enough time to justify the vast storehouse of useless comics knowledge spilling out of my head. We've had to do an explanatory post like this once or twice before, and hopefully this new edition of Show Notes might help alleviate the pressure on my brain.
Lucas "Snapper" Carr
Allison doesn't like this guy and thinks he's dumb, and didn't know why he was showing up in recent issues of the out-of-continuity Young Justice. Old folks like me were thrilled with both the history and irony of his appearance. Sadly, when most people do think of poor Snapper, they do think lame. That's because they don't have a sense of history, or perhaps don't know his history.
Detail of Snapper Carr from The Brave and the Bold #28, art by Mike Sekowsky
Snapper was designed to be the identifying character in Gardner Fox's Silver Age Justice League of America. He was the little-bit-out-of-date beatnik kid who got to hang out with the World's Greatest Heroes. "Wow, if we, the readers, could be Snapper, wouldn't that be cool?" was the line of thinking, but after a while, Snap got annoying. While Fox was on the book, Carr worked as a storytelling device, informing readers on the ins and outs of the team, the day-to-day operations, and he even had a friendship with the League's second new member, the Atom.
However, as time went by, even Gardner Fox got tired of poor Snap, and used him less and less. When Fox left, and new, younger, hipper writer Denny O'Neil came on board, things changed. O'Neil sought to streamline the JLoA to be more his style, and more in line with other books he wrote. More focus was placed on his pet characters like the darker detective Batman, Green Lantern, his revamped and more socially conscious Green Arrow, and the Earth-Two Justice Society transfer, Black Canary. O'Neil also got rid of folks. Over in her own title, he had depowered Wonder Woman, and here, he had her resign from the League. J'Onn J'Onzz returned to his homeworld, and O'Neil simply just ignored Aquaman as if he didn't exist.
Denny O'Neil had more sinister plans for poor Snapper Carr. In the writer's mind, as Snapper grew older, the League had gotten tired of him, and in turn, Snapper was weary of being made fun of by his peers for being the 'Justice League mascot.' In short, he was feeling alienated, and was ready to strike back at 'the man,' his mentors and friends in the JLA. Snapper fell under the sway of an anti-superhero public speaker (shades of the Glorious Godfrey who would come a few short years later) called Mr. Average.
Cover to Justice League of America #77 (1969)
The insidious Mr. Average convinced Snapper that he had to turn against the heroes, and he weaseled their biggest secret out of poor Snapper: the location of their secret headquarters, the Secret Sanctuary in Mount Justice. Oh, and did I mention that Mr. Average was actually the Joker in disguise? Yeah, this was bad. And it led to Snapper Carr's resignation as an honorary JLA member, and the move to a satellite headquarters in orbit.
But therein lies the irony of Snapper appearing in Young Justice, as you see, the YJ team meets in the old Mount Justice headquarters. Cool, huh? Snapper Carr eventually made amends with the JLA, but not after making further mistakes, like being misled once again by villains like The Key, the Star-Tsar, and the Privateer. He later sidekicked for the android Hourman from the future. Snapper Carr remains a case study in the idea that there are no bad characters, only bad writers.
The Absorbing Man
The Absorbing Man, from Journey Into Mystery #120 (1965), art by Jack Kirby
Stop snickering, Allison. I know how you like to make fun of the sometimes-lame names of Marvel Comics characters, but this one is really cool. And besides, it's DC that has characters like the Crimson Centipede, the Purple Pile-Driver, Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man, and Don Rickles as a super-villain -- not Marvel, so take that.
The Absorbing Man began his comics life as small-time and not-so-bright criminal Carl "Crusher" Creel, and in the typical fashion of most Silver Age Thor villains, being unknowingly empowered by Thor's evil stepbrother Loki. In this case, Loki gave Creel the ability to absorb the strengths and properties of whatever he touches. For example, he touches stone, he becomes as strong as stone, and in actuality, stone. Needless to say, he's been shattered several times.
Cover to Avengers #184 (1979)
Over the years, other than Thor, he has clashed with the Hulk several times, giving you an idea of Creel's power levels. The turning point for the Absorbing Man was in the late 1970s in Avengers #183-184 when he made the big leagues. He ended up taking on the entire Avengers team when all he wanted was to be left alone. From that moment on, he was taken seriously and was considered a major Avengers foe, as opposed to that dumb guy with the ball and chain who sometimes bothered Thor and the Hulk.
He's been animated several times, beginning with the Thor segments of 1966's "Marvel Super Heroes," and most recently in Disney XD's "Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" as both an adversary of the Hulk and the whole team again. Creel has even made it to the big screen, albeit in a mangled comics-to-film version. In Ang Lee's Hulk movie, Nick Nolte plays Bruce Banner's father, who is imbued with the Absorbing Man's powers.
Crusher Creel continues his major threat level status even today as one of The Worthy in Marvel Comics' latest big crossover event, "Fear Itself."
Wonder Man
Wonder Man's various costumes (signed, artist unknown)
Here's another name Allison has busted on, and a character with a lot of history, and an amazing character when written right. Currently he's being miswritten by Brian Michael Bendis in theAvengers comics franchise, as a bitter former member who wants to stop his old teammates by starting his own group, the Revengers. It all sounds familiar, but essentially out of character.
Wonder Man began life as a one-shot, one-note character in the classic Avengers #9 by Stan Lee and Don Heck. Simon Williams was recruited byBaron Zemo and the first Masters of Evil to gain super powers and infiltrate the Avengers and destroy them from within. With a mysterious 'ionic' process, Williams was given enhanced strength, endurance and invulnerability, as well as a rocket belt for flying. He joined the team, and then when the Masters of Evil attacked, Simon had a change of heart and fought against them. Zemo double-crossed him, and Wonder Man became the first Avenger to die in battle. At least he died on the side of the angels.
Wonder Man debuted in The Avengers #9 (1964), written by Stan Lee, cover by Jack Kirby
Wonder Man was not forgotten. His name and memory came up often in the Avengers series. Things got hot when Simon's brother, the Grim Reaper, attacked the team seeking revenge. It was revealed later that Simon's brain patterns were actually recorded, and used as a template for the android Vision's mind after he had been reprogrammed. And much later, Avengers arch-foe Kang stole Wonder Man out of time and used him as a pawn in his Legion of the Unliving. In all cases, fan response was strong.
All of these post-death appearances told the powers-that-be at Marvel one thing: Wonder Man was popular. And what do you do with dead characters in comics when they're popular? You bring them back from the dead of course! Wonder Man returned in Avengers #151, first as azuvembie (don't even ask, or just click, but you've been warned), and then for real and for good, regaining his full member status on the team.
Wonder Man became a fast fan favorite, became a founding member of the West Coast Avengers, best friends with teammate the Beast, got his own series, and yes, died a couple more times, and came back as well. He's become known as a loyal support Avenger, his colorful, and sometimes drab costumes, and for coming back from the dead frequently. What he's not known for is being vengeful and unfoundedly proactive. Again, it's Snapper Carr time -- there are no bad characters, only bad writers.
New Avengers Annual #1, written by Brian Michael Bendis, puts Wonder Man in the Revengers
That said, Wonder Man, and the Revengers, can be found in recent issues of the Avengers franchise of titles, fighting his former friends, the Avengers.
That's all for this time. I'm sure there will have to be more explanations of obscure and arcane info from my twisted mind. Maybe next time I'll teach y'all how to pronounce all the 'O' villains in the Justice League's rogues gallery…
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